…and Happy New Year!
Santa delivered a big win for a much needed bye week in the NFC North Division Championship Game against the Detroit Lions. That was followed up by a Barry Alverez lead Badgers football team’s upset of Auburn in the Outback Bowl on New Years day. Then the Dallas Cowboys took care of business in the first round of the playoffs and punched their ticket for a rematch of the Ice Bowl (yeah, I said it) this Sunday. Marquette’s Men’s Basketball team has been a pleasant surprise, and the Badger’s Men’s team has been holding it’s own. Sorry I haven’t been following them as closely as I should, but I will once the NFL season is over and we head into the sports doldrums and count down the days to the NCAA Tournament.
And don’t forget about the Bucks, who have already won more games this season than they did the entire last year. I’m not sure when Brewers pitchers and catchers report, but before you know it we’ll be listening to the dulcet tones of Bob Ueker coming from sunny Arizona while we dream of warmer days at Miller Park.
And just a quick note on the passing of Stuart Scott. I didn’t know the man personally, but I did invite him into my living room nearly every night on SportsCenter. He and Rich Eisen were often much more entertaining than the highlights that were played. By all indications, he was a decent guy with a great sense of humor, and more importantly, a very loving father. Where ever you are Mr. Scott, I hope the pillows are as cool on the other side as they are here.
By andylwellman
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Posted in Andy Wellman, Green Bay Packers, Marquette Golden Eagles, Milwaukee Brewers, UW Badgers
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Also tagged Badgers, Bob Ueker, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Happy New Year, Ice Bowl, Marquette, Merry Christmas, Miller Park, Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks, NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, NFC North Division Championship Game, Outback Bowl, Rich Eisen, Santa, SportsCenter, Stuart Scott
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When Barry Alvarez took over the moribund football program at the University of Wisconsin, an invite to the Billy Bob Bowl would be enough to get most Badger fans to do cartwheels in their underwear. But several Big Ten titles and Rose Bowl Championships later, and the bar was moved exponentially higher. When he stepped down to become the AD at Madison and handed the reigns over to Brett Bielema, he had built a perennial Conference Championship contender and a near lock for a January bowl game. The one thing that was never really considered was the possibility of a National Championship, and most fans were content with that. Afterall, we were in the same conference with recruiting powerhouses Michigan and Ohio State,
Then the Big Ten instituted a Conference Championship game and suddenly the idea of UW getting a shot to play for the AFCA Trophy became a real possibility. Along came Russell Wilson, and even the national pundits were seriously considering the idea of the Badgers playing for the National title. The problem was that over the years, Beilema’s teams had gathered the reputation for playing some very flat games. Usually one or two, enough to ensure that there would be no undefeated season and or a shot at finishing #1 on the polls. For whatever reason, he has been unable to keep his squads fully focused through every week of the regular season. And once again, today, this year’s team came out flat in an inexplicable loss to Oregon State. And once again, we will not have a BCS title in Madison thanks to Brett Beilema.
Badger State Sports 