Wisconsin teams are America’s teams

The state of Wisconsin, the land of my birth, has precious little to cheer about when it comes to sports. We (they) have the Green Bay Packers, with Aaron Rodgers leading the team to yearly forays into the Playoffs and one Super Bowl win — XLV. Before Rodgers took the helm there was Brett Favre, who, despite going to play for them [expletives deleted] Minnesota Vikings, is as beloved a Packer as any retired GB QB. He brought us many wins and a Super Bowl.

But then we also remember Favre and the 1997 Packers BLEW IT in the Super Bowl, losing to the Denver Broncos (no, I’m not going to let it go) and just this past January Rodgers and the 2014 Packers BLEW IT in the NFC championship game against the Seattle Seahawks … and no, I’m not letting that one go either. I just wiped a tear from my eye.

Was it a shot clock violation? The basket counted and Wisconsin went on to win.
Was it a shot clock violation? The basket counted and Wisconsin went on to win.

And here’s another thing that really bugs me about the media and the NFL: how is it the Dallas Cowboys are “America’s Team,” when they were (are) the poster boys for bad behavior, drug and alcohol abuse and haven’t even sniffed at the possibility of getting to a Super Bowl, let alone winning one in … adding up the years … wow! Twenty years, in NFL count, 19 if you live in the real world. They won Super Bowl XXX in January 1996.

So, why are they America’s team and not the Green Bay Packers? Green Bay, the only team in professional sports owned by the citizens of their city/state; in this case the people in the city of Green Bay, instead of some egomaniacal owner who likes to be the center of attention, when it comes to his sports franchise. The Green Bay Packers are American ideals and fantasies personified … just sayin’.

The Milwaukee Brewers went to the World Series once. And they lost it in seven games to those [expletives deleted] St. Louis Cardinals. I hate the Cardinals more than I hate the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox … well, maybe not the Sox …

For my formative years the Brewers were an American League team, but some time ago Major League Baseball had to go mess with things that weren’t broke and put the Brewers into the National League. On the other hand, it allows me to hate the Cardinals more, since the Brewers and Cards are in the same division and therefore play against each other more.

Nigel Hayes will be a key player for the Badgers Monday night.
Nigel Hayes will be a key player for the Badgers Monday night.

Now, when you look at college sports the Wisconsin Badgers sports teams have been very good as of late. Two years ago the Russell Wilson-led Badgers LOST IN THE ROSE BOWL to … who cares. But the Badgers did win it twice in a row: 1999-2000. So our premier university has represented well in college football.

Wisconsin Men’s hockey used to be da bomb, and who knows, maybe it will be once again. Goalie Joel Rumpel just signed with the San Jose Sharks …

And this really begs the question: how is it a state like California, known for its year-round summer-like weather, sports not one, not two, but three pro NHL hockey teams? A place that can’t really host a stadium series game properly because the ice melts on the rink and the first question in press conferences is always, “How’s the ice?”

So how does California, a state whose residents didn’t even know such a game existed until 40 years ago, get three NHL franchises and Wisconsin, a cold weather state where kids grow up playing ice hockey outdoors where it’s cold and hard, can’t even get one?

Up you ass, NHL. A franchise would flourish nicely in Milwaukee or Madison. You could put an NHL franchise in Sheboygan and pack the place. That’s how Wisconsin sports fans roll.

Frank Kaminsky is the cornerstone of the Wisconsin Badgers team.
Frank Kaminsky is the cornerstone of the Wisconsin Badgers team.

Which brings us to Wisconsin Men’s basketball. Women’s sports at Wisconsin have done really well, but this is about their men’s basketball team. For the past decade-plus I’ve watched the Badgers, and on a few occasions the UW-Point and UW-Milwaukee teams, get into the NCAA tournament. Only to be dismissed in the first two rounds. But then they made it to the Sweet 16 and then the Elite 8 and once, in 2000 to the Final Four … and then last year the Wisconsin Badgers Men’s Basketball Team made it to the Final Four again — only to be dispatched to the bus ride home, in the final seconds, by the University of Kentucky Wildcats. Ah, the Wildcats. They lost the championship game to UCONN, the University of Connecticut. Yeah, Connecticut has championship basketball programs, both men and women and they’ve been a powerhouse in round ball for decades.

This year the Wisconsin Badgers Men’s Basketball Team made it into the tournament again, beating some of the best teams in each round to advance. They had been to the Sweet 16 before and the Elite 8, but making it into the Final Four, still, that’s a great achievement.

This year they met the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in the first round and that went off without much fanfare. It was a blow out actually. But then the Badgers met the Oregon Ducks and the Tar Heels of North Carolina in the second and third rounds — and sent them back to Eugene and Chapel Hill.

Sam Dekker had an incredible game against Arizona and proved to be a key component in Saturday’s win over Kentucky.
Sam Dekker had an incredible game against Arizona and proved to be a key component in Saturday’s win over Kentucky.

That put the Badgers into the Elite 8 facing the vaunted Arizona Wildcats, the 2015 PAC-12 champions. With great perimeter shooting from Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker (10 for 13 from 3-point range in the second half alone), the Badgers sent the Wildcats of Arizona back to Tucson. That left them to face the unbeaten Wildcats of Kentucky in the Final Four. Kentucky — everyone’s favorite because, well just because. They have more of a winning history in the NCAA and they are cool and this could be the year an unbeaten team wins it all. You could hear it in the national network’s announcers, they were rooting for the Wildcats.

This year we got a choice of three feeds to watch: the national feed, and then a feed from each team. So if you wanted Wisconsin announcers, you tuned into a different channel than TBS. But I watched the national feed because it was the only one in high definition.

It was a tough game. Each team went on scoring runs that had fans cheering and screaming. Badgers missed shots they were supposed to make; the Wildcats stole the ball and converted the turnovers into points. At one point it looked like the Kentucky Wildcats would remain unbeaten. But then the Wisconsin defense stiffened and the Wildcats only scored once in the last five minutes of the game, when the Badgers went from four behind to four points ahead. The Wildcats committed three shot-clock violations in those final minutes. At the end of the game the Wisconsin Badgers had the once unbeaten Kentucky Wildcats flummoxed and their coach, John Calipari, out of answers. He could only watch as the final seconds dribbled away and the Wisconsin celebration went into overdrive.

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski — Coach K
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski — Coach K

And then at the post-game press conference Andrew Harrison let slip into a hot mic some rather inflammatory words when asked what it was about Wisconsin forward Frank Kaminsky that made him so hard to cover. Now the focus is on what this kid said in a moment of absolute disillusionment and sadness. We can all agree it was inappropriate and he did apologize — he even called Kaminsky to apologize personally — so we are moving on.

Now we are at the Championship game of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, with everyone’s brackets busted and two #1 seeds competing for the national title: the perennial favorite Duke Blue Devils versus the Wisconsin Badgers.

The Blue Devils of Duke are probably the greatest men’s basketball team in the history of NCAA men’s basketball. People used to say that about UNC and for a while, UCLA, but Duke has dominated NCAA men’s BBall for over 30 years, under the fanatical perfectionist Mike kr … who knows how to spell or pronounce it! Everyone just calls him Coach K. Okay, it’s Mike Krzyzewski.

When I think of great — really great — NCAA men’s basketball coaches there are just three that pop in my mind: John Wooden of UCLA back in the 1960’s, Dean Smith from UNC (North Carolina) from the 1960’s to the 1990’s and Coach K. Is he as good — or better — than John Wooden? There’s really no comparison because they coached and won in wildly different eras. Coach Wooden won tournaments in which only 16 teams played. All of Coach K’s wins came in the 64-team format. That’s a huge difference. But they are probably the two greatest NCAA men’s basketball coaches of all time.

That’s who the Wisconsin Badgers face tonight in Lucas Oil Arena. A team with a coach who has won it all four times and made the Final Four a dozen times. The Badgers haven’t won the NCAA championship since 1941.

Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan.
Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan.

Bo Ryan is an excellent coach; he wins nearly 75 percent of his games. He’s taken his team to the Final Four two years in a row. His team defeated the highly favored and unbeaten Kentucky Wildcats. Right now Coach Ryan has a team of forwards and guards, all of whom can handle the ball. They play disciplined defense — just ask Kentucky — and they can wear down opposing teams with their speed and discipline.

Wisconsin has a lot to cheer for tonight. The men’s basketball team represents the state, players from Wisconsin and one from Illinois; but we forgive that lapse because Frank Kaminsky can play rings around most players.

We’ll be watching the game, from beginning to end, screaming for the Badgers and probably booing the Blue Devils, although, let’s face it: they are the other great team in this game.

We’ve been waiting a long time for this and maybe, just maybe, if the Badgers win I’ll forget about the Packers and Brewers championship and playoff losses. At least for a couple days.

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Unfortunately Wisconsin lost. Midway through the second half they were ahead by nine points, but then momentum shifted and Duke came back, led by freshmen Grayson Allen and Tyus Jones. There was a controversial out of bounds call that looked like it should have gone to the Badgers, but a game isn’t won or lost on one call by the refs. Congratulations to the Duke Blue Devils. Final score: Duke 68, Wisconsin 63.

(All photos via YouTube)