Badger Bits: Badger Kickoff 2010 Available Now!

Here are your Badger Bits for Tuesday, July 13th:

Adam's 'Big Surprise' of the summer is finally available for purchase! Badger Kickoff 2010 is now available over the internet and at news stands throughout the great state of Wisconsin. Be sure to get your copy before the season finally kicks off in 54 days with UW's season opener at UNLV. It features the in-depth coverage of the Badgers that you won't find in any other college preview magazine. 

Law Buckeye over at The Rivalry, Esq. has an article up from late June evaluating the mechanics of Wisconsin signal caller Scott Tolzien. Law Buckeye calls him a "quintessential NFL style quarterback." So far in their 11-part series, Tolzien is tied for second best in the Big Ten with Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi. Maybe he'll finally get some much deserved high-fives this year. Poor guy.

Andy Baggot has a story on the challenges the UW Men's Hockey team head coach Mike Eaves will face after the team's run to the NCAA championship game. The hockey team is facing one of the largest exoduses (exodi?) of talent in its storied history as it loses seven seniors to graduation, four underclassmen to the NHL, and two assistant coaches to other programs. Eaves is choosing to remain positive:

"It’s a good time for it to happen because we can grow together," Eaves said of the makeover. "We can grow together and it will be exciting." - Mike Eaves via Andy Baggot

The 2010-11 squad is expected to have as many as nine freshmen, so hopefully any down-turn in the program's fortunes will be short lived.

The UW Athletic Department released some attendance numbers from the 2009-10 seasons, with over 1.3 million Badger fans attending games last year. Football averaged about 80,000 per game- good enough for 15th nationally. The football team has been ranked in the Top 15 for attendance every year since the 2002 season. Men's Hockey also set a NCAA record high, averaging 15,048 fans per game. We have lead the NCAA in average attendance for 12 straight years. The Women's Hockey team also lead the nation in attendance, practically doubling runner-up Minnesota at 2,227 fans per game to 1,131. The Volleyball team also lead the Big Ten in attendance, and the Men's Basketball team has sold out every game for seven straight seasons- making its sellout streak stand at 122 games.

Over at Mountain West Connection they have a preview of season opener between UNLV and Wisconsin here. 

According to the Janesville Gazette, Jon Leuer of the Men's Basketball team continues to rake in the pre-season awards and accolades, as seen by his invitation to the USA Men's select team. Leuer will play and train against the USA Basketball Men's team, which includes NBA players like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and the NBA's latest villain: LeBron James. 

Adam Rittenberg of ESPN's Big Ten Blog has UW wideout Nick Toon among 5 players who just missed his top 25 Big Ten Players of 2010. Toon will be one of Tolzien's top options when he decides to air out the ball next season. If you haven't bookmarked Rittenberg's blog yet, you should. His daily lunch links and Big Ten columns are always worth the read. 

And finally, Mike Lucas at Madison.com has a feature about the connections between two of UW's newest 2011 football recruits.

As always, it's a great day to be a Badger!