It hasn’t been the most exciting year in the opinion of this Wisconsin sports fan, but I do have some favorite moments. Here is my personal Top 10:
10. Despite the Packers losing the game, the 4th quarter of the Pittsburgh-Green Bay game in December was one of the most exciting quarters of NFL football of the season. Hopefully we’ll ee more offense like this out of the Packers in January.
9. Marquette defeats the fashionable pick Utah State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in March. The Golden Eagles go on to lose a heartbreaker to Xavier on a bass line violation in the second round. It’s the second year in a row that Marquette exits in heartbreaking fashion.
8. I give up watching Major League Baseball. The inequity of salary and the inability for players, owners, union, the commissioner and fans to see these differences frustrate me so much that I decide it’s best for me just not to follow the game anymore. Happy trails MLB.
7. The PGA Championship takes place a couple miles from our house right here in Chaska, Minnesota in August.
6. The Wisconsin Badgers jump out to an early lead over Duke in December and go on to frustrate the highly ranked Blue Devils en route to a victory. The win also gives the Big Ten a win in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.
5. We get to see Marquette play in the Old Spice Classic at Disney World in November. The Golden Eagles defeat Michigan in the preseason tournament semifinal game.
4. The Green Bay Packers show their new 3-4 defense and rally with a huge touchdown pass by Aaron Rodgers in the closing minutes and defeat the Chicago Bears in the NFL Sunday night opener in September. It is Rodgers’ first comeback victory against a team other than the Lions.
3. The Wisconsin Badgers fall behind big to Florida State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in March. Not known for being a come from behind team or for scoring a lot of points, the Badgers go on a huge second half run to come back and win.
2. In November, Milwaukee Bucks’ rookie Brandon Jennings goes for 55 points against the Golden State Warriors in only his seventh NBA game. It’s the most points scored by a Bucks rookie ever and third most by a rookie in NBA history. It’s also the fewest number of games it has ever taken a player to score 50-plus in a game.
1. Aaron Rodgers becomes a consistent force for the Green Bay Packers leading the team to a winning season and himself into the middle of the MVP race along with Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and the man he replaced, Brett Favre. Charles Woodson also has an incredible year and is up for defensive player of the year.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Badgers Beat Duke
Here it is in the middle of football season, and I am talking college basketball thanks to the Wisconsin Badgers. They once again are stealing some headlines from my beloved Packers. And it comes in typical fashion.
The preseason Big Ten basketball predictions once again had Michigan State at the top of the list thanks to Tom Izzo and his incredible job of recruiting top players. Second on the list was Purdue thanks to their young team from a couple years ago now coming together. Then Ohio State again due to great recruiting. Where was Wisconsin on the list? Seventh. Behind these three schools and then overrated Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois.
This is an annual tradition. The so-called experts look at the Badgers and see that Bo Ryan has not gone out and found the top athletes. They say that the Badgers have lost their star players (who four years ago were also not considered very good) and that this Badger team will not be as good as last year. And then year after year, Bo goes out and finishes in the top three in the Big Ten.
Well, it looks like it will probably happen again this year. We got a hint of this when the Badgers smoked Top 25 ranked Maryland in the Maui tournament a couple weeks ago. And then this Wednesday was the big one. Wisconsin went out and ran with fifth ranked Duke in the first half and then enticed them into a typical Badger slow-down game in the second half en route to an upset of the Blue Devils. Not only was it a huge win for the Badgers, but it was the first time Duke ever lost in the Big Ten-ACC challenge. And it was the first time the Big Ten ever combined to win the challenge.
I doubt Wisconsin will ever get the credit they deserve especially under Bo Ryan’s non entertaining system, but it’s wins like this that just go to prove that this program is one of the best in the Big Ten and one of the top twenty programs in the country this decade.
On Wisconsin!
The preseason Big Ten basketball predictions once again had Michigan State at the top of the list thanks to Tom Izzo and his incredible job of recruiting top players. Second on the list was Purdue thanks to their young team from a couple years ago now coming together. Then Ohio State again due to great recruiting. Where was Wisconsin on the list? Seventh. Behind these three schools and then overrated Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois.
This is an annual tradition. The so-called experts look at the Badgers and see that Bo Ryan has not gone out and found the top athletes. They say that the Badgers have lost their star players (who four years ago were also not considered very good) and that this Badger team will not be as good as last year. And then year after year, Bo goes out and finishes in the top three in the Big Ten.
Well, it looks like it will probably happen again this year. We got a hint of this when the Badgers smoked Top 25 ranked Maryland in the Maui tournament a couple weeks ago. And then this Wednesday was the big one. Wisconsin went out and ran with fifth ranked Duke in the first half and then enticed them into a typical Badger slow-down game in the second half en route to an upset of the Blue Devils. Not only was it a huge win for the Badgers, but it was the first time Duke ever lost in the Big Ten-ACC challenge. And it was the first time the Big Ten ever combined to win the challenge.
I doubt Wisconsin will ever get the credit they deserve especially under Bo Ryan’s non entertaining system, but it’s wins like this that just go to prove that this program is one of the best in the Big Ten and one of the top twenty programs in the country this decade.
On Wisconsin!
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