Tag Archives: Badgers Men’s Basketball Team

From the Penthouse to the Outhouse

February 4, 2014 – 2:19 pm

With the latest NFL season now officially in the books, the annual sports doldrums are set to begin. While the NBA (which really doesn’t get interesting until the playoffs) and the NHL (which as a fan of sports in Wisconsin I REALLY have no vested interest in) seasons are currently ongoing, my personal interest begins to shift toward NCAA Basketball. The next big thing on the annual sporting calendar is March Madness, and how our four Division IA teams will fair.

Which brings me to the UW Men’s team. I can’t remember a more precipitous plunge in the rankings by one of these teams than what has happened to the Badgers over the last month. From at one point getting off to the best start, 16-0, in school history and being ranked as high as 3rd in the country, to losing 5 of 6 and completely dropping out of the rankings just boggles my mind. From getting some solid wins against quality opponents to losing at home to unranked conference rivals, it’s been the tale of two seasons so far. Now, how that will transfer to post season success, if they even have a post season, I can’t say. It will have to go down as one of the most disappointing performances that I can remember.

By andylwellman | Posted in Andy Wellman, UW Badgers | Also tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Just A Few Thoughts

January 24, 2014 – 12:49 am

Here are a couple of topics that I was thinking about today. I won’t go into much detail about them, as I’m not very knowledgeable about them, and I also thought that it might be a way to spark some conversation in the comments sections.

First, the University of Wisconsin Men’s Basketball team. What the heck happened? The last time I wrote about them, they were 16-0 and off to the best start in school history. Since then they’ve lost 3 straight, including one at home, and have fallen in the rankings from 3rd to 9th. I hope I didn’t jinx them, but they’ve gone from nearly no national coverage when they were doing well, to everyone wondering if they were just lucky to start out the season so well. Should we be concerned about the rest of the season for the Badgers?

Second, the Milwaukee Brewers signed free-agent RHP Matt Garza to a 4 year, $52 million deal pending a physical. He was 10-6 last year with a 3.82 ERA while playing for both the Cubs and the Rangers. He has had some injury issues, but does appear to fair better in the National League. He gives up his fair share of homers, which could troublesome in Miller Park, but he doesn’t walk many, so that helps to limit the damage done by the gopher ball. How does this affect the outlook for the 2014 Brewer’s season?

Third, today ESPN declared that the Milwaukee Bucks were the worst run franchise in professional sports. That seems a little hard to believe when you consider the likes of the Cleveland Browns and the Florida Marlins (I can’t think of an NHL example, as I’m REALLY clueless about that league). Why are they the worst, and what needs to be done to change that?

So there we have some talking points. Feel free to comment, or write an entire post if you wish.

By andylwellman | Posted in Andy Wellman, Bucks, Milwaukee Brewers, UW Badgers | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments (2)

I Want To Like The Bucks…

January 8, 2014 – 12:48 am

…I really do. Even though I’m not nearly the NBA fan that I once was some 25 years ago, they are the professional basketball team from my home state. I’m not old enough to remember the Championship, but I can recall watching playoff games when they were on tape delay. I grew up on the Don Nelson teams of the 80’s, when they would make annual trips to the playoffs with the likes of Sidney Moncrief, Marcus Johnson, Junior Bridgeman, Harvey Catchings and Brian Winters. And later with Terry Cummings, Craig Hodges, Alton Lister and Paul Pressey. While they never won an NBA title, you could always expect a decent showing in the post season, with some classic matchups with the Celtics or 76er’s. Now they’ve become the equivalent of the 90’s Brewers; a lackluster team playing in a less than spectacular building.

The reason I was thinking about this today was because nearly simultaneously I received an offer for some tickets to the game while ESPN 540’s D-List’s question of the day was if you were to receive a free limo ride, free tickets and free food to tonight’s Bucks game at the Bradley Center, would you take them? Now, I’m not one to shy away from a freebie, but considering how cold it is, I would have to think twice. They are playing the Clippers, one of the more exciting teams in the league, but I’ve never been the type that goes to their favorite team’s games to watch the other guys. Which brings me back to the less than mediocre, pre-Miller Park Brewers.

Back then, I would think about taking the kids to a game, an experience I’m sure they would remember for a lifetime. But I just couldn’t do it, considering how much it would cost and what we were getting in return. Never mind the less than family friendly environment that we might sometimes encounter, the ubiquitous “product on the field” would never measure up. And that’s the problem with the current edition of the Milwaukee Bucks, a last place team seemingly playing for the first pick in this summer’s NBA lottery. At least the Badgers Men’s Basketball Team is ranked in the top 5…for now.

By andylwellman | Posted in Andy Wellman, Bucks | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)