Bowl Predictions For UW

It's the first day after Thanksgiving, so I thought I would spoil the good mood and cheer by linking to a story that offers some bowl projections for college football. The bad news isn't that the Badger football team is projected to be heading to the Insight Bowl (Dec. 31 in Arizona) - the bad news is that according to this story, the game is televised by the NFL Network. What?! Why would the NFL Network (a channel most people in Wisconsin don't have) have the rights to televise a college football game?

OK, now you can get back to your leftovers while I go prepare for some old school sandlot football!

14 More Games To Look Forward To - NFL

Last week I highlighted 14 December college basketball games that have the potential to be great matchups. Today I offer 14 NFL games in December that will most likely have an impact on the final standings and the positioning for the playoffs.

SUN, DECEMBER 7

Washington Redskins (7-4) at Baltimore Ravens (7-4), 12 pm

Dallas Cowboys (7-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3), 3:15 pm

MON, DECEMBER 8

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-3) at Carolina Panthers (8-3), 7:30 pm

THU, DECEMBER 11

New Orleans Saints (6-5) at Chicago Bears (6-5), 7:15 pm

SUN, DECEMBER 14

Pittsburgh (8-3) at Baltimore (7-4), 12 pm

NY Giants (10-1) at Dallas (7-4), 7:15 pm

SAT, DECEMBER 20

Baltimore (7-4) at Dallas (7-4), 7:15 pm

SUN, DECEMBER 21

Pittsburgh (8-3) at Tennessee Titans (10-1), 12 pm

Carolina (8-3) at NY Giants (10-1), 12 pm

MON, DECEMBER 22

Green Bay Packers (5-6) at Chicago (6-5), 7:30 pm

SUN, DECEMBER 28

Miami Dolphins (6-5) at NY Jets (8-3), 12 pm

Tennessee (10-1) at Indianopolis Colts (7-4), 12 pm

NY Giants (10-1) at Minnesota Vikings (6-5), 12 pm

Denver Broncos (6-5) at San Diego Chargers (4-7), 3 pm

Badgers Will Face UConn, Monday Night

UW defeated San Diego earlier tonight, 64-49, to advance to the Paradise Jam Tournament title game. The Badgers will be up against a tough opponent - No. 2 Connecticut. The game will tip-off at 7:30 pm central time, and will air on FSN in Wisconsin.

The Huskies beat Miami tonight, 76-63. UConn (4-0) has also beaten Western Carolina, Hartford, and La Salle, and the Huskies are averaging 86.3 points in their first four games. UConn's center, Hasheem Thabeet, is 7'3" and will certainly pose a tough matchup for the Badgers. In UConn's win over Miami, Thabeet scored 19 points, had 14 rebounds, and 7 blocks - hopefully he tired himself out!

Last year, the Huskies finished 21-6, with a 10-4 record in the Big East. They, ironically, lost to San Diego in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament, 70-69. UConn's roster this year boasts 6 seniors and 5 juniors.

Sarah Palin: Redefining "Idiot" Every Day

Have you seen the video of Sarah Palin giving a news conference with turkeys being slaughtered as the chosen backdrop?

I found this on The Onion's A.V. Club website:

"Arrested Development" - The Movie?

Life in TV Land is not fair.

Horrible comedies like "Two and a Half Men" or pretty much anything on Fox, are allowed to survive despite being contrived, hacky, gross for gross' sake, stale, horrendously unfunny pieces of crap. Meanwhile, shows that display a genius level of writing and acting are frequently sent to the gallows, because not enough Nielsen families tune into good shows (those would be the rubes in your neighborhood who religiously watch every "Law & Order" and "CSI" incarnation).

"Arrested Development," which was lucky to survive 2 1/2 seasons with poor ratings, was cancelled by Fox in 2006. I still remember how the network unceremoniously dumped the final four episodes all on the same night - the night of the Opening Ceremony for the Winter Olympic Games.

Why am I bringing all this up now? Because ever since the final episode aired, there has been speculation that someday an "Arrested Development" movie would be produced. And in the past couple of weeks, there have been multiple reports that such a movie is closer to becoming a reality. Plus, there is now an IMDB page for the movie.

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I would be the first person in line at the cinema to see such film, and would probably see it at least twice. On the other hand, even though the show ended prematurely, it did end with a somewhat proper and satisfying finale. Plus, there always lies the danger of a television show not translating to the big screen. One of the funnier shows of the past decade, "Strangers With Candy" (starring Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert), led to a quite unfunny film five years after it was cancelled. And though I have yet to see the "Reno 911" movie, I have discerned from others that it doesn't match the series' best moments.

It seems that whether or not "Arrested Development" makes it into theaters will hinge on the series' creator and mastermind, Mitchell Hurwitz. Hurwitz has just one writing credit to his name post-AD, and it appears to have been a show that was never picked up. Hopefully that is a sign that he has been busy at work completing a fantastic script for "Arrested Development: The Movie."

At any rate, all of this speculation gives me the opportunity to post some funny moments from one of the greatest TV shows:

14 Games To Look Forward To - College Basketball

Below is a list of 14 potentially awesome college basketball games, all of which will be played in December. Looking at the list, Texas easily has the toughest schedule on paper - four games against Top 25 teams, including two on the road. Besides the Wisconsin games, the matchups I'm most looking forward to are Duke at Purdue, UNC at Michigan St., and UCLA at Texas.

What games are you looking forward to? Any games missing from the list?

(All times listed are central standard time)

TUE, DECEMBER 2

No. 10 Duke at No. 11 Purdue, 8:00 pm, ESPN

WED, DECEMBER 3

No. 1 North Carolina at No. 5 Michigan State, 8:15 pm, ESPN

THU, DECEMBER 4

No. 19 USC at No. 12 Oklahoma, 6:00 pm, ESPN2

No. 4 UCLA at No. 7 Texas, 8:00 pm, ESPN2

SAT, DECEMBER 6

No. 25 Wisconsin at No. 15 Marquette, 8:30 pm, ESPNU

TUE, DECEMBER 9

No. 7 Texas at No. 23 Villanova, 8:00 pm, ESPN

SAT, DECEMBER 13

No. 13 Memphis at No. 22 Georgetown, 1:00 pm, CBS

SUN, DECEMBER 14

No. 9 Gonzaga at Arizona, 5:00 pm

TUE, DECEMBER 16

No. 15 Marquette at No. 14 Tennessee, 8:30 pm, ESPN

SAT, DECEMBER 20

No. 5 Michigan State at No. 7 Texas, 1:00 pm, CBS

No. 2 UConn at No. 9 Gonzaga, 3:00 pm, CBS

No. 21 Davidson at No. 11 Purdue, 3:00 pm

TUE, DECEMBER 23

No. 7 Texas at No. 25 Wisconsin, 8:30 pm, ESPN2

No. 24 Kansas at Arizona, 9:30 pm

Reactions To Badgers' Season Opener - GUEST POST

Scott S. on UW's 68-61 victory over Long Beach State yesterday:

Well, the weird thing about the Badgers is that they didn't play that bad. There is just one HUGE weakness: Height. They're just too damn small. I've been ranting about this for months and no one will listen. Here's my rant:

Greg Stiemsma should have red-shirted his freshman year. It was the stupidest move ever not to. He played in 10 games, not one meaningful minute, and scored about 6 meaningless points. I'm not saying Stiemsma is the end all, be all by any stretch of the imagination, but he brought a defensive presence and offensive rebounding ability that this team DEARLY lacks.

Ok, so back to the Long Beach State game. Nankivil is too small to play center, and not a good enough athlete to play anywhere else. Leuer is too weak to play center. Gullickson is too short. Their best lineup is the starting five, minus Nankivil and adding Taylor. They're small and quick.

Unfortunately, its kind of like Marquette. When Marcus Landry (who is the only player who played his ass off) is your center at 6'7", you're going to get KILLED on the glass. I love Krabby, but he can't jump, and thus at 6'6" is too small to play power forward.

Overall impressions of the team? Bohannon is going to be the 2nd best scoring option. Bo isn't happy with Hughes, and essentially gave Taylor just as many minutes. Taylor is a better defensive player than Hughes, and probably by the end of the season will be just as good offensively - really like Taylor. Nankivil was poor with the ball, committing too many turnovers.

The real problem is, when you have guys like Krabby, Jarmusz, Nankivil, Rob Wilson (who someday could be a Flowers-esque defensive stopper) on the floor, you don't really have a lot of scoring options. None of those four scare you, so teams focus on Landry and Bohannon. The absolute X-factor is Hughes, and he played poorly.

I know I've said it a lot, but I want to see what Jared Berggren can do. He's 6'10" and athletic. I don't see how he can be dramatically worse than 6'8" Nankivil. One of the staples of Bo's Platteville teams was that they went 10-deep and applied a hellish full court press throughout the game. Well, these Badgers are 9 deep, and guys like Hughes, Taylor, and Wilson excel at pressing the ball full court. I'm not proposing using it exclusively, but an occasional 3 or 4 minutes pressing action might generate some easy buckets. Defensively, minus the lack of a true center, we're fine. I just don't think we can score enough to compete for a Big Ten title.

Bears vs. Packers, 11.16.08 - Videos

Bears vs. Packers, 11.16.08 - Pictures

The view from section 102, row 1:



The Bears warming up before the game:

The Packers before kickoff:

That annoying FOX sound guy was in our way probably half of the game:

FOX Sports sideline reporter Pam Oliver drew cheers every time she walked by the sections. One fan yelled out "Hey Oprah!"

Rodgers drops back to pass.

Ryan Grant cuts to the outside.

The halftime show included an eagle.

It was a good day for the Packer offense. 37-3, GB wins and moves into a tie for first place.

Badger Basketball Season Starts Sunday

The UW men's basketball team starts the 2008-09 season Sunday afternoon, with their first non-conference game at home against Long Beach St. (3 pm start time).

The Badgers enter the season ranked in both the AP (#25) and the Coaches (#21) polls. There are 2 other Big Ten teams in the top 25 - Michigan St. is #6 in the AP and Purdue is #11.

Last year UW only lost to three teams before the NCAA Tournament, and two of those were during the non-conference schedule. The Badgers lost to Duke and Marquette early in the season, and then lost twice to Purdue during the Big Ten schedule. But those losses didn't prevent UW from winning the Big Ten regular season title outright, which they followed up with a Big Ten Tournament title.

There are a few teams that will provide the Badgers with tough tests before the Big Ten season begins. From November 21 to 24 UW will participate in the Paradise Jam Tournament, where they could play Valparaiso, Miami, and Connecticut (ranked #2 in both preseason polls). On December 1 the Badgers will travel to Virginia Tech for the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. UW then travels to Marquette (#16) on December 6. Last year the Golden Eagles beat the Badgers at the Kohl Center 81-76. On December 23 the Badgers will play host to #7 Texas. Last year UW went down to Austin and beat Texas 67-66 when Michael Flowers made a game-winning three-pointer with seconds left in the game.

Here are a few final notes before tomorrow's game:

-The UW got two national letters of intent signed this past Wednesday.

-Freshman Ryan Evans has decided to redshirt this year. That leaves 4 true freshmen still available to come off the bench for Bo Ryan.

-The Badgers have lost just 1 season opener during the Bo Ryan-era. That was his first opener, back in 2001, at UNLV.

Packers' Rushing Defense: Ugh

After yesterday's demoralizing loss to the Vikings came this bit of bad news out of Green Bay: Nick Barnett is gone for the season.

As the article points out, this will most likely have an impact on the Packers' already poor rushing defense.

Here's a look at what challenges lie ahead for the now depleted GB run defense:

Nov. 16 - Chicago
The Bears are middle of the pack rushing the ball, averaging 110 yards per game. Rookie Matt Forte is averaging just under 80 yards a game, and has over 700 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns, with 0 fumbles.

Nov. 24 - at New Orleans
The Saints are statistically the 5th worst team running the ball - averaging about 90 yards a game. Star tailback Reggie Bush has missed time due to an injury, but he should be back for this game. Deuce McAllister is averaging less than 45 yards per game in the 7 games he has played in.

Nov. 30 - Carolina
The Panthers have one of the better running attacks in the NFL, and are averaging just under 120 yards per game. DeAngelo Williams has 4 touchdowns and is averaging about 73 yards per game, while rookie Jonathan Stewart has 5 touchdowns and averages over 40 yards per game.

Dec. 7 - Houston
The Texans are slightly worse than the Bears, and are averaging about 107 yards per game. Steve Slaton is the Texans' leading rusher, and he is averaging 60 yards a game and has 5 touchdowns.

Dec. 14 - at Jacksonville
The Jaguars average over 115 yards per game, and are led by Maurice Jones-Drew, who has 9 touchdowns in 9 games. He averages just 48 yards per game though.

Dec. 22 - at Chicago - See Above

Dec. 28 - Detroit
Much like everything else about the Lions, the rushing offense is woeful - 2nd worst in the NFL. The team averages just 75 yards per game, and their leading rusher (Kevin Smith) has compiled just 401 yards in 9 games.

Overall, Green Bay won't be catching any breaks the rest of the season. Out of all of the remaining opponents, only the Lions are equipped with an inept rushing offense. The good news is that the Pack won't have to face Adrian Peterson anymore in 2008.

Election Aftermath

In securing the presidency Tuesday night, Barack Obama won several states which went to George W. Bush in 2004:

Indiana, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada

And as of today North Carolina and Missouri are still "too close to call," but North Carolina is leaning toward Obama and Missouri is leaning toward McCain.

For me, the biggest surprise was Indiana. Indiana had not gone to a Democrat since 1964, and in 2004 it gave Bush a 21 point lead. No doubt that the economy was a big issue for Hoosiers.

Also, the fact that Obama was able to capture Indiana, Virginia, and presumably, North Carolina, is very telling. I did not think that Obama would sweep all three states, mostly because they all were pro-Bush in 2004. And like Indiana, the last time Virginia went Democrat was in 1964 (for NC, they last went Democrat in 1976).

In the long run, the more devastating losses for the Republicans may be losing Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico - not to mention nearly losing Montana, and showing some vulnerability in North Dakota and Arizona. In 1992, Montana, Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico were states that went to Clinton, and four years later Clinton picked up Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. In the elections of 2000 and 2004, the Democratic candidate picked up one of those western states only once (Gore won New Mexico in 2000). As traditional electoral power states continue to lose electoral votes (such as Pennsylvania), some of these western states will be gaining electoral votes (Nevada for example may gain 3 after the 2010 census).

I have yet to see any solid reports of the national voter turnout. The Washington Post is reporting the total number of votes for each candidate as follows:

Obama - 63,550,319
McCain - 56,178,736

In 2004 about 62 million Americans voted for Bush, which broke the previous record for any one candidate.

If you take those two totals from Obama and McCain, you get about 119.7 million votes between them - which is lower than the 121 million total votes for Bush and Kerry in 2004. So those record national turnout numbers may not actually happen, but it could be a little while until the numbers are finalized.

Don't Forget To Vote!

I was number 232 at my local polling place earlier this morning, and it did not take long at all - about 10 minutes.

So go vote - and be weary of those electronic voting machines:

2008 Election Night + TV = Circus

What to expect when you turn your television on tonight for election coverage? According to Tom LeGro at pbs.org, this year's coverage will include:

"Building-size banners, interviews with holograms, a virtual reality U.S. Capitol building, reporter “Launch Pads,” electronic clipboards, magic maps and magic walls"

LeGro goes on to outline what the major networks will be offering.

Here is a rundown of when the major networks begin coverage. And here is another.

The coverage I'm most looking forward to is Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's "Indecision '08," which starts at 9 pm (central time) on Comedy Central. But before that begins I'll probably flip around a lot, between ABC, NBC, PBS, and FOX.

Election Eve 2008

Apparently I have two votes.

Yesterday I used the State of Wisconsin Voter Public Access website to verify that I was indeed registered in Eau Claire, and to confirm the location of my polling place. I entered my first name as "Tom," and the page that appeared listed my address from 4 years ago in Madison. Under the "Registration Information" section, it said that my status was still "active."

Then I entered my first name as "Thomas," which brought up a page showing the registration information that reflects my current address in Eau Claire. And it too shows my registration status as "active."

I can only assume that this is some sort of reward for being such a good citizen - two votes!

On a different note, I came across this cool graphic from JSOnline, which shows how the state (county-by-county) has voted in every presidential election since 1964.

Will Tuesday Be "A Seismic Election Day" ?

George Will's column from today looks at several possibilities for Tuesday night.

Some of the things he highlights I mentioned last week in this post.

Badger Basketball Preview - Guest Post

Scott S. watched UW's exhibition game last night, and provides a preview of the 2008-09 season:

My disclaimer to this preview/review is that the game was played against a Division II school, Augustana, though they were a D II tournament team last year. No Badger played more than 23 minutes in the 81-57 win.

STARTING FIVE

TREVON HUGHES - The key word with Hughes is consistency. He can look dominant at times with his combination of speed and shooting range, but at other times commits foolish turnovers and terrible shots. Hughes was relatively quiet, finishing with 7 points. The key, however, was that he only had 1 turnover. He efficiently got the team into their offense, and fed the post players, who had a large height advantage.

JASON BOHANNON - I've been waiting for J-Bo to develop a midrange game as well as the ability to put the ball on the floor. He made great strides last year in becoming more than just a 3 point specialist, and appears to have progressed even further this year. J-Bo played solid D, and contributed 12 points. I was impressed most with his 3 offensive rebounds, including an athletic tip in off a Landry miss. Very poised and controlled on the court, even with the constant substitutions.

MARCUS LANDRY - Landry was simply dominant over the outmanned Augustanians. He put the ball on the floor, hit the spot up jump, and dominated in the post, en route to 21 points in 21 minutes. Landry could turn into the 2008 version of Alando Tucker, an undersized power forward who isn't afraid to bang inside. A definite possibility for Big Ten player of the year, especially since the team has other scoring options to take the pressure away.

JOE KRABBENHOFT - With the Badgers up 15 late in the first half, Krabbenhoft chased a loose ball, jumped over the scorer's table, and landed on some guy in the 2nd row. Someone forgot to tell Joe that this was an exhibition. Krabby is a glue guy, whose All-Big 10 defense was on display yet again. Probably the most consistent player on the team. Solid decision maker who is still somewhat limited offensively, but knows his role and provides toughness.

KEATON NANKIVIL - The Great Question Mark. Nankivil started at center, even though he's only 6'8. He's strong for his height, somewhat like a Mike Wilkinson type player. His skill level, however, is not near that of Wilkinson's. Nankivil didn't score in 17 minutes, but did have 7 boards. Wasn't as dominant as you'd hope against a small front line. Could be challenged for minutes by a variety of players.

THE BENCH

JON LEUER - I'd read the last few weeks about Leuer's added strength over the summer. It appears accurate. Leuer was phenomenal, banging inside, popping outside for the J, and driving inside. He held up much better on the boards than last year, and showed improved footwork as well. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get the majority of the minutes at the 5, especially against teams that don't have a big center.

TIM JARMUSZ - Jarmusz is kind of like a younger Krabbenhoft, albeit smaller. A solid player fundamentally who will make the right decisions on the court, but not a game changer. In 14 non-descript minutes Jarmusz had 2 points and 4 boards. Ryan trusts him, which is the number one factor in the distribution of minutes.

THE FRESHMEN

JORDAN TAYLOR - Taylor was the most impressive of the freshmen, with 5 points and 5 assists in 21 minutes. I loved the lineup of Taylor, Hughes, and Bohannon on the court together. Taylor and Hughes could both get into the lane at will and either finish or dish. Taylor's game is similar to that of Hughes, a quick, strong player who would rather drive than shoot the 3. Played hard and smart, and seemed to understand the nuances of the offense. Bo seemed happy with him, so expect to see him on the court, possibly taking some of Jarmusz’s minutes.

ROB WILSON - The 6'5 swingman from Cleveland was as advertised. Wilson is a strong, athletic player whose specialty is defense. Wilson didn't seem as comfortable on the offensive end, but did attack the hoop when the plays broke down.

RYAN EVANS - Evans only played 10 minutes, but had 6 points. Very athletic at 6'6, but raw. Impressive hops who could be a surprising contributor to the team, though still wouldn't be shocked if he red-shirted.

JARED BERGGREN - I was excited to see the 6'10 Berggren play, and disappointed that he didn't appear in the first half. Only got 5 minutes and didn't do much. Still excited to see him play.

IAN MARKOFF - 7 footer played 4 minutes. Will probably red-shirt, provided the equally 7 foot JP Gavinski takes the role of "Tall 7 foot guy who has a uniform, but doesn't play."