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Wisconsin’s Taylor wins Doak Walker Award

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Jonathan Taylor

Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor is the best running back in the Big Ten Conference and Thursday night in Atlanta, he added to his resume.

Taylor was named the best running back in all of college football, winning the Doak Walker Award.  He is the fourth Wisconsin player to capture the honor, joining Ron Dayne (1999, Montee Ball (2012) and Melvin Gordon (2014).

The sophomore from Salem, New Jersey will enter the December 27 Pinstripe Bowl against Miami ranked first in the nation in rushing yards per game (165.8).  Taylor has rushed for 100 yards in 11 of 12 games this season.  He has rushed for at least 150 yards in six games, and he’s gone over 200 yards four times.

Taylor and senior right guard Ben Benzschawel were first-team picks on the Walter Camp All-American team.  Senior left guard Michael Deiter was a second-team pick.

 

Packers begin search for their next coach

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Packers President Mark Murphy

Whether or not Green Bay Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy should have waited until the end of the season to fire Mike McCarthy as opposed to his doing so after last Sunday’s 20-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals is still being debated.  But Murphy admitted during a news conference on Monday that Sunday’s listless performance was the last straw and a move had to be made.

“In evaluating the season, I really felt that change was needed and kind of Mike’s tenure had run its course,” Murphy said.  “And quite honestly the performance on Sunday night to me made it very clear that a coaching change was needed.”

Contrary to what has been widely reported over the last several weeks, Mark Murphy said quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn’t get Mike McCarthy fired.

Rodgers was asked on Monday if he was the reason for Mike McCarthy’s dismissal. [Read more…]

Strong second half lifts Badgers past Rutgers

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D’Mitrik Trice File Photo by David Stluka)

For the third straight game, the Wisconsin Badgers needed a strong second half to win and that’s what happened again Monday night.

Wisconsin trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half and five points at halftime before rebounding for a 69-64 win over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Big Ten action at the Kohl Center.  The Badgers improved to 8-1 on the season, their best start since starting 15-1 to begin the 2014-15 season.

Ethan Happ scored 20 points, D’Mitrik Trice added 14 and Nate Reuvers added 10 as the Badgers shot 58.6% in the second half.  Wisconsin committed just six turnovers, just one after halftime.  The Badgers outscored Rutgers (5-3, 0-2 Big Ten) 55-45 in the second half.

After a good first half, the Badgers clamped down defensively in the second, holding Rutgers to 40.6% shooting from the field.

The Badgers get a day off on Tuesday.  Their next game is Saturday against the rival Marquette at Fiserv Forum.

Philbin isn’t concerned with Packers job candidacy

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Joe Philbin

Joe Philbin was emotional during his press conference Monday, discussing his role as Interim Head Coach of the Green Bay Packers,  He choked up when discussing the dismissal of his long-time friend, Mike McCarthy.

A short time earlier, team President and CEO Mark Murphy said he would keep an eye on Philbin over the final four weeks of the season and considered the 57-year-old to be a candidate for the team’s head coaching vacancy.

When asked about the possibility of this being an audition for the permanent head coach, Philbin dismissed the notion.

“My ambition in 2018 right now is to help this team play its best football of the year.  Period,” Philbin said.  “And the future’s the future.  We’ll deal with that as it comes.” [Read more…]

Antetokounmpo named Player of the Month

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Giannis Antetokounmpo File Photo – Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Month for October and November.  It is the second Player of the Month honor for Antetokounmpo, previously winning the award for March during the 2016-17 season.  He’s the first player in Bucks history to win Player of the Month multiple times.

While leading the Bucks to the second-best record in the NBA at 15-6, Antetokounmpo averaged team-highs in points (27.3), rebounds (12.9), assists (6.0) and steals (1.5) per game while shooting a team-best 57.7 percent from the field during October and November.  He was the only player in the NBA to average at least 25.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game while he ranked second in the Eastern Conference in scoring (6th in the NBA), fourth in rebound (5th in the NBA) and fourth in field goal percentage (11th in the NBA).

In 20 games during October and November, Antetokounmpo tallied eight 30-point games, had 14 games with 20+ points and 10+ rebounds and seven games with 30+ points and 10+ rebounds.  He also recorded two triple-doubles in wins over Philadelphia on Oct. 24 and Sacramento on Nov. 4.

Marquette’s Howard honored by the Big East Conference

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Markus Howard File Photo – Courtesy of Marquette Athletics

Marquette Golden Eagles guard Markus Howard has been selected Big East Player of the Week on Monday.

Howard helped Marquette to a 2-0 week which included a win over No. 12 Kansas State on Saturday.  He scored 45 points, the second highest single-game point total in Marquette history, in an 83-71 win over the Wild Cats.  Howard shot 11-of-17 from the field and 19-of-21 from the free throw line.

Howard also scored a team-high 17 points in a 76-55 win over Charleston Southern.  For the two games, he averaged 31.0 points and 4.5 rebounds.  For the week, the junior averaged 31.0 points while shooting 51.5 percent from the floor and 90.5 percent from the foul line.

 

Badgers headed for Pinstripe Bowl, nine Big Ten teams going bowling overall

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The Wisconsin Badger football team will face Miami in a postseason bowl game for the second straight year.  The two programs this year, will hook up in the 2018 New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York City.  The game will take place Thursday, Dec. 27 and kick off at 4:15 p.m. and televised on ESPN.

Extending the longest current streak in the Big Ten, the Badgers will play in a bowl game for the 17th straight season.  That is tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the country.

The Pinstripe Bowl is in its ninth year, and fifth of its affiliation with the Big Ten.  Big Ten schools are 3-1 in the Pinstripe Bowl with Penn State, Northwestern and Iowa all earning victories.  Wisconsin will play just its second game in the state of New York, having played to a 20-20 tie at Syracuse on Sept. 18, 1971.

Both the Badgers and Hurricanes finished disappointing regular seasons with 7-5 records.

The Badgers are one of nine Big Ten teams that will play in a bowl game.  Among the other eight are Ohio State and Michigan, who will both play on New Years Day. [Read more…]

Volleyball Badgers to face San Diego in NCAA Regional Semifinals

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For the sixth-straight year, Wisconsin has advanced to regional play of the NCAA tournament.  The sixth-seeded Badgers (24-6) will take on San Diego (18-12 in the regional semifinals on Friday at 1:30 p.m. from Huff Hall in Champaign, Illinois.

No. 3-seed Illinois (30-3) and No. 14 Marquette (28-6) open regional play on Friday at 11 a.m.

Semifinal winners face off on Saturday at 3 p.m. for the right to advance to the 2018 NCAA Championship at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

Wisconsin is one of only five programs that have advanced to the Sweet 16 the last six years in a row.  UW joins BYU, Nebraska, Penn State and Texas on this elite list.

The Badgers are 8-7 all time in the Sweet 16, including falling at No. 3 Stanford in four sets in 2017.  Wisconsin is 2-6 in the Elite Eight, advancing to the NCAA championship match in 2000 and 2013.

Packers make coaching change, fire McCarthy

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Mike McCarthy fired as head coach of the Packers.

Following Sunday’s 20-17 Packers loss to the Arizona Cardinals at Lambeau Field, Green Bay President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Murphy announced the immediate firing of head coach Mike McCarthy.  He named offensive coordinator Joe Philbin as the teams interim head coach.

In a statement from the Packers, Murphy said, “The 2018 season has not lived up to the expectations and standards of the Green Bay Packers.  As a result, I made the difficult decision to relieve Mike McCarthy of his role as head coach, effective immediately.  Mike has been a terrific head coach and leader of the Packers for 13 seasons, during which time we experienced a great deal of success on and off the field.  We want to thank Mike, his wife, Jessica, and the rest of the McCarthy family for all that they have done for the Packers and the Green Bay and Wisconsin communities.  We will immediately begin the process of selecting the next head coach of the Green Bay Packers.”

McCarthy is the first Packers coach to be fired in-season since Gene Ronzani departed with two games left in the 1953 season.

McCarthy led the Packers to a Super Bowl title in 2010.  He departs with a 125-77-2 record in Green Bay, the second-best win total in franchise history behind Curly Lambeau (209-104-21).  Under McCarthy, the Packers also won six NFC North division titles and advanced to four NFC championship games.

Mark Murphy is scheduled to meet with reporters at 1:45 p.m. on Monday.

Hockey Badgers skate to third straight tie

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Freshman forward Brock Caufield had his first career multi-goal game and rookie goaltender Daniel Lebedeff made 37 saves as the Wisconsin Badger men’s hockey team skated to a 3-3 draw with 6th ranked Penn State on Friday night at the Kohl Center.

The final gave the Badgers their third straight tie after drawing even twice last weekend at Michigan.

After a pair of scoreless overtime sessions, Penn State won the sudden-death shootout to earn the extra point in the Big Ten standings.

The last time Wisconsin had three consecutive ties was during the 2002-03 season when the Badgers drew even against Minnesota State, followed by a pair of ties against Alaska Anchorage.

The Badgers are 13-for-13 on the penalty kill across the last three games.  UW has not allowed a power-play goal since Nov. 17 when it went 5-for-7 in a 3-1 loss to Ohio State.

The two teams wrap up the series on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Kohl Center.