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January 2009 - Posts
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What do the Badgers do when they're down by 2 with 5.8 seconds left...
The atmosphere in the Kohl Center is beyond fantastic! It is 10xs louder than it was for the MN game last week, thank goodness. Every basket gets an uproar that sounds like a little slice of heaven! If only Bucks fans were this into it. I know…college is more exciting (my opinion).
This game went beyond the scope of basketball for many fans. At halftime they announced that Mark Johnson was chosen to coach the USA Olympic Women’s Hockey Team! How exciting! You may remember his name from the movie “Miracle.” Miracle tells the true story of Herb Brooks, the player-turned-coach who led the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to victory over the seemingly invincible Russian squad. Mark Johnson was a star player for the gold medal team.
 
Mark Johnson on the microphone with complete excitement and gratitude in his voice.  This will go down as another historic moment for UW.
But let’s get back on track. Ever since Purdue set the Badgers off on their little losing streak, only about 2 weeks ago, UW has secretly been plotting their revenge. Or at least that’s what I’d like to think. They kept the heat on throughout the first half, slipping up a bit only at the end, a partial attribute to what could be called “questionable” fouls. On another note, Purdue plays fantastic defense, keeping their opponents at an average 35.6 FG%; Badger were at 45.5% for the first half, and 41.4% for the second.
During the 2nd half the Badgers were on the Boilermakers like ‘white on rice.’ They were playing great basketball, finishing shots, rebounding, and continuing to make quick, accurate passes. With 8:43 left in the game they tied it up at 49 and the sound was deafening! The game went point for point right up until the end. With 5.8 seconds left the Badgers were down by 2 points. Then they missed a shot in the paint, had to foul Purdue, he made both FTs, Hughes made a 3, and that was it. I couldn’t believe it! Keep your heads up boys. We'll get 'em next time.
Records coming in: Boilers (15-4); Badgers (12-7)
Half Final
Badgers 30 63
Boilers 36 64
Top scorers: WI- Keaton Nankivil-21; Trevon Hughes-15
Purdue- E’Twaun Moore-17; Keaton Grant-10 Random:
- The camera zoomed in on Ravens safety and former 5’6” 186lb Badger football elite, Jim Leonhard. Big cheers from the crowd. Leonhard was the only undrafted rookie to make the Bills’ opening day 53-man roster in 2005. After his contracted expired in February of ’08, he was picked up by the Ravens and started 13 of the 16 games after Dawan Landry was injured in week 2. He posted a career high 85 tackles (4th on team), his 1st career sack, 6 PD and an INT as part of the NFL’s 2nd ranked defense. Ravens finished 2008 having not allowed a 100 yard rusher in 35 consecutive games. Just a little info for you.
- Halftime was a little 10yr old boy who could dribble better than most of the pros, swear to god. Two bballs at once doing things I didn’t know were possible! Somebody get this kid an agent!
- I have renewed faith in our student section (not that I ever really doubted them, just the lack of superfans at the MN game made me sad)!
-Your Gridiron Girl
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 Had some fun with "Bango" before the game.
Let me just start off by saying that I love the Milwaukee Bucks! Now I know that may sound crazy to some of you, but put yourself in their shoes. What do you do when your best player goes down for the season, and another is a constant question mark? Do you know what that can do to a team mentally? Our football team last year had almost the entire coaching staff walk one day at the start of the season and I was beyond devastated. We had to work twice as hard to stay competitive. I’m sure the Bucks team feels the same way right now. So maybe "respect" is the word I'm looking for.
The Bucks came into the game (22-25), Minnesota Timberwolves came in at (15-27), so if I were a betting woman, I would have put my money on Milwaukee!
Quarter 1 2 3 Final
Bucks 21 43 60 83
Timberwolves 20 47 74 90
Attendance: 12,914
The game overall was closer than I thought it would be, well, until the 3rd quarter. But there were just a lot of “sloppy” mistakes. Dumb fouls, moving picks, bad passes… It seemed like half the team was almost over-excited to be playing so much in the absence of some key players. Things settled down a bit in the 4th, but now they needed one hell of a comeback to win it.It would take some serious rebounding skills and the ability to finish.
 Super-fans of the game! Now that's what I like to see.
Randoms:
-A Bucks player who I will not name game me his phone number before the game…I’m sure he just really wants me to interview him. :)
- I was unaware that some of the players wore padded compression shorts. I thought they were just a football thing, but I could definitely see #24 Jefferson’s through his white shorts.
-One of the Timberwolves players had a big tupper-ware container full of candy and he was sharing it with the media guys, haha. I didn’t get any…
- I love watching the refs warm up before the games. Imagine your dad jumping around trying to “loosen up.” They look like little jumping beans bouncing around next to the players who have at least 1ft on them. Oh, and they made the “kiss-cam!” Thank goodness nothing happened.
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Here's your weekend in review...
Brewers
"On Deck" event , which drew more than 10,000 fans to the Midwest Airlines Center, including some who began lining up in the frigid weather at 5 a.m. CT to have prime spots in line for autographs when the doors opened at 10 a.m.
Trevor Hoffman privately finalized his new contract with the Brewers nearly two weeks ago.
· Hoffman finalized a deal worth $6 million on Jan. 13 that includes $1.5 million in incentives for games finished.
· Spoke with Brewers head athletic trainer Roger Caplinger, who assured Hoffman that the Brewers would adapt to Hoffman's own workout regimen.
· Choice came down to the Brewers and Dodgers.
· He will continue to enter games to AC/DC's "Hells Bells", along with the headline "Trevor Time" on the scoreboards
· Full story
Brewers face hearings with Corey Hart and Ricky Weeks
· Outfielder Corey Hart is seeking $3.8 million, and the team offered $2.7 million. Second baseman Rickie Weeks is seeking $2.8 million, and the Brewers offered $2 million.
· The sides can negotiate up to a hearing date in February, at which time a three-member panel of judges would listen to arguments and choose one salary or the other.
· "I don't think that as a player you want to go [to a hearing]," said Hart, who admitted that he was surprised by the $1.1 million gap between his proposal and the team's.
· Full story
Bucks
Lost 117-87 to ATL Hawks Friday night
Won 106-104 vs Sacramento Saturday night
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NEXT GAME: Bucks vs Timberwolves
Monday, January 26, 2009 @ 7:00 pm (CT) - Bradley Center
TV: FS Wisconsin RADIO: Newsradio 620 WTMJ |
Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond announced today that guard Michael Redd will miss the remainder of the season. See full story.
· Torn (ACL) and (MCL) in his left knee during the third period of the Bucks win over Sacramento on Saturday, January 24
· "I’m deeply disappointed but everything in life happens for a reason and this is God’s plan for me," said Redd. "I have faith in my teammates and coaches to continue to work together to make our fans proud. I will be supporting them wholeheartedly from the sidelines and working equally hard to return to the court in the best condition possible for next season.
· "A special thank you to all our fans for their great support this season – my 9th as a Milwaukee Buck. Our team still has work to do and I know with our collective support we can cheer them on to a special season."
· In 33 games this season (32 starts), Redd averaged a team-high 21.2 points with 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steal in 36.5 minutes.
· Saturday’s game was Redd’s 550th in a Bucks uniform – 8th in Milwaukee history. This season, he moved into 5th on the Bucks all-time scoring list, passing the 11,000 point mark at Charlotte on January 3; 5th in minutes played and 8th in field goals made. He stands 184 points behind Bob Dandridge for 4th all-time in franchise scoring (11,478); 31 field goals made behind Sidney Moncrief for 7th all-time (4,000); 34 free throws behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for 2nd all-time (2,374); and 19 games behind Glenn Robinson for 7th all-time (568).
Andrew Bogut missed his sixth consecutive game and ninth game this month for the Bucks with back spasms and is listed as day-to-day. The Bucks improved to 5-8 on the year without their starting center. Charlie Bell was also inactive with right ankle soreness for the fifth time this month and is day-to-day.
The Bucks recorded their 22nd win Saturday and didn’t do so last season until February 26th. The Bucks improved to 9-1 after losses in their last ten opportunities.
Badgers
Saturday- Krabbenhoft's double-double wasn’t enough as Badgers lost to Illinois, 64-57 · 4th loss in a row (Illini, Iowa, MN, Purdue)
· The Badgers' final-minute comeback effort fell short Saturday as in Champaign, Ill. Wisconsin (12-7, 3-4) was led by Joe Krabbenhoft who posted his eighth career double-double with a career-high 16 points and 12 rebounds. UW was unable to top a hot shooting Illinois offense en route to its fourth conference (17-3, 5-2). Full story.
Home game- Tuesday 8pm vs Purdue. Let’s see some revenge!
Marquette
Golden Eagles beat DePaul Saturday, 79-70
· Marquette (18-2) undefeated in the Big East
· It is the best start ever for Marquette (17-2, 6-0) in conference play, topping a 5-0 mark 16 years ago when the Golden Eagles were known as the Warriors and played in the Great Midwest.
· 13-0 at the Bradley Center
· Full story
Senior Bowl
Wisconsin’s own #63 Kraig Urbik was the starting right guard for the winning North team. Read about the game at seniorbowl.com
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Hey guys! In case you missed it, I had a great time on the Sports Radio 1250 morning show Wednesday and today with Doug Russell and crew. I'll be there again on Monday attempting to fill in for Mike while he's out of town, so make sure to tune in from 7-9am!
Here are the podcasts from Wednesday's show...
Gridiron Girl & Doug Russell pt I
Gridiron Girl & Doug Russell pt 2
Here's what's happening this weekend:
Friday:
11am-5pm: 2009 Bucks Bowl for a Cure Day. Spots are still open!
6:30pm: Milwaukee Bucks (21-24, ranked 8th in Eastern Conference) head to play the Atlanta Hawks (25-16, ranked 4th in Eastern Conference).
7pm: Admirals hockey vs San Antonio followed by a Phil Vassar Concert! Tickets are still available so check out the Admirals website for more details.
Saturday:
10am-5pm: Brewers on Deck, Midwest Airlines Center. $20 at the door or purchase in advance for $15. Check out the Brewers site for more info.
1pm: Marquette’s Golden Eagles take on DePaul.
3pm: Badgers take on Illinois! Ahh, rivalry across borders.
6pm: 2009 Under Armour Senior Bowl
6pm: Milwaukee Wave vs New Jersey Ironmen, US Cellular Center. See Wave website for ticket info. Sunday:
1pm: Chili Cook-off: "Chili Bowl III," Milwaukee's largest chili cook-off, is ready to keep you
warm this weekend. Head to Serb Hall to taste the creations of over 25 restaurants.
1-3pm: Women's Pro Football Tryouts for the WI Warriors. See their site for more details, or email me at brigid@yourgridirongirl.com
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Final: Bucks 133, Mavericks 99
Ok. I get it. Their record before tonight was 20-24, which puts them right in the middle of their conference…but they can still make the playoffs this year! So what’s with the incredibly low attendance(13,898 out of 18,717 seats)?? It just seems like no one really cares about the Bucks this year. Then again, it’s hard to get passionate about a team that’s less than 50%.
This game was great though! Dallas came into it with a 24-17 record, which leaves them unranked in the Western conference. The bucks were crap for most of the first half, but FINALLY pulled ahead 49-47 towards the end of the second quarter and stayed ahead, finishing the half 64-58 Bucks. Quick Stats 1st Half:
Bucks: FG- 22/42= 52.4%
3P- 6/8= 75%
FT- 14/27= 82.4%
Mavericks: FG- 18/38= 47.4%
3P- 3/7= 42.9%
FT- 19/22= 86.4%
The 3rd quarter it felt like the Bucks came out as a whole new team. All of a sudden they just couldn’t miss, and the score at the end of the 3rd was 101-85 Bucks just like that. Finally the crowd really started to get into it! The 4th was the same thing! Redd and Villanueva were on fire. The Bucks straight up out-played Dallas. You know it’s good when they bench the starters. Quick Stats 2nd Half:
Bucks: FG- 26/41= 63.4%
3P- 7/18= 38.9%
FT- 10/12= 83.3%
Mavericks: FG- 12/44= 27.3%
3P- 2/4= 50%
FT- 15/17= 88.2% Score leaders: Charlie Villanueva(32); Michael Redd (27); Dirk Nowitzki (30); Josh Howard (19) Random…
-I heard that for his bachelor party, Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, and friends flew his private jet around the world partying…literally! He is so laid back and looks super fun! He was there in a button-down and jeans and was so into the game, cheering on the players and getting them revved up.
-Dallas Mavericks’ Jason Kidd dumped his wife to date supermodel May Anderson. No offense Jason, but if you weren’t a pro athlete…there’s no way.
-One of the Energee Dance girls winked at me. No joke! I’m not sure what to make of that, haha.
-Oh good lord. A woman just walked by who was wearing an elaborate black fur shawl, leopard print, AND leather! I don’t care who you are…totally inappropriate for a basketball game.
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