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Happy Thanksgiving. Yes, even you Minnesota.

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Happy Thanksgiving, y'all. I hope you are spending it with people you love, even if they are from Minnesota. Since I imagine most (read: all) of you will be glued to the couch/dinner table all day, this video will be the most exercise you get today. The hate will resume in earnest tomorrow.

Dave Aranda named 2014 Broyles Award nominee

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Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, whose defense is ranked in the top five in the FBS in four major categories, was named a nominee for the 2014 Broyles Award on Wednesday. The award honors the top assistant coach in college football each year.

"The Mad Scientist" is in his second year as the Badgers' defensive coordinator, as he brought his 3-4 defense over with head coach Gary Andersen from Utah State. Wisconsin's defense is No. 2 in total defense (259.3 yards per game), No. 5 in rushing defense (97.1), No. 3 in passing defense (162.2) and No. 3 in scoring defense (16.1 points per game).

The Broyles Award winner will be announced Dec. 9 at the Marriott Hotel in Little Rock, Ark. The Rotary Club of Little Rock and Delta Dental will present the award. Last year, another Big Ten conference defensive coordinator, Michigan State's Pat Narduzzi, was the winner.

Zak Showalter's put-back dunk vs. UAB was nasty

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This nasty Zak Showalter dunk came in Wisconsin's win over UAB in Wednesday night's Battle 4 Atlantis opener. Showalter scored seven points in 12 minutes, and this dunk might've been the highlight of the game -- I can't say for sure because I don't have AXS TV, and thusly could not watch the game. Hopefully ESPN gets the channel, so that they can make this SportsCenter Top 10 worthy.

#DecadeofDominance: Badgers take what is rightfully theirs

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I don't want to hurt the Gophers' feelings by posting a video of a team celebrating a big rivalry victory, I know they don't respond well to that, but here we are. Oops.

The Battle 4 Atlantis is such a crazy event

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This is your annual reminder that the Battle 4 Atlantis is almost too damn wacky/awesome to be a real thing. The games are played in ballrooms, and the ceilings are super low. I can just picture Bo Ryan's exasperated hands-up expression when a half-court heave at the end of the first half hits the ceiling and breaks a light or something.

Also, as the @BadgerMBB tweet indicates, there appear to be multiple ballrooms of importance. How weird is that?

The Axe has been spotted

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One policy that hasn't changed: The Axe is still hanging around in Madison.

#DecadeofDominance continues

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You may have seen something or another yesterday about where the Axe may or may not be during this weekend's game. One place I'm positive it won't be is on the Minnesota sidelines. Here in our continuing series, A Decade of Dominance, is the 2011 beatdown in Minneapolis. The Badgers won 42-13, and it probably wasn't even that close. The video features the song "Black Betty" by Ram Jam, which is what I play, turned all the way up, to start every gameday.

Jerry Kill didn't know about the new Axe policy

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Jerry Kill doesn't know about a lot of things. First off, there's this. He didn't know about the new Axe policy. A list of other things that Kill doesn't know about: how to beat Wisconsin in football, how to not look like his school's mascot, how to win a bowl game, how to live in a house like a normal, bill paying adult. I could go on, but I don't really want to bore you.

Preseason college basketball tournaments seem pretty nice

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My team winnin!! Ready for a great week in the Bahamas #OnWisconsin

A photo posted by Sam Dekker (@samdek15) on

The Badgers are in the Bahamas for this week's Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Sure seems like a good time... especially when Madison remains snowy and with temperatures below 30 degrees. Here's the view from Sam Dekker's hotel room, too, if you weren't jealous enough. Wisconsin kicks off tournament play vs. UAB Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on AXS TV; you can find out where you might have that channel right here.

Wisconsin issues clarification on Saturday's plans for the Axe

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Wisconsin has issued the above clarification from head coach Gary Andersen in the wake of Monday's mini-controversy about the planned placement of Paul Bunyan's Axe during Saturday's rivalry game vs. Minnesota. In his weekly Monday press conference, Andersen said the Axe would "disappear" from the sidelines, and be delivered to the winning team's locker room after the game was over.

Turns out the Axe will be placed near the winning team's end zone after the game. This still prevents the usual tradition of the winning team rushing over to the opposing bench to claim the Axe. After last season's 20-7 Wisconsin win, there was a skirmish on the field that could've easily led to a riot in slightly different circumstances.