Bucky's 5th Quarter: FanPosts

Complete list of "Home Bars" in Indianapolis

2010-03-10T22:51:08Z

Each Big Ten team has a "home bar" in Indianapolis for fans to gather before, during and after games. Here is the list:

Illinois - The Ram (140 S. Illinois)
Indiana - Kilroy's Bar & Grill (201 S. Meridian St.)
Iowa - Claddagh Irish Pub (234 S. Meridian St.)
Michigan - O'Reilly's Irish Bar and Restaurant (36 S. Pennsylvania)
Michigan State - Slippery Noodle (372 S. Meridian)
Minnesota - Alcatraz Brewing Co. (49 W. Maryland St.; Circle Centre Mall)
Northwestern - Buffalo Wings & Rings (111 W. Maryland St.)
Ohio State - Champps (49 W. Maryland St.; Circle Centre Mall)
Penn State - Harry & Izzy's (153 S. Illinois)
Purdue - Scotty's Brewhouse (1 Virginia Ave.)
Wisconsin - Buffalo Wild Wings (7 E. Washington)

For more information on special events pertaining the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, click here.

Finishing a thought from today's Game Thread

2010-03-07T21:23:55Z

In today's Game Thread I said this:

It seems like the bench rotation changes game to game, and severely so. Rob Wilson, Bruesewitz, Berggren, Evans and Jarmusz all seem to be 20 minute guys one game and completely absent the next.

Those numbers are easy enough to find, and (with a Brewer rainout today) I had some time on my hands, so here's a quick view:

(These numbers don't include today's game)

Rob Wilson: Averaging 12.7 minutes per game

DNPs: 2 games
1-5 minutes: 6 games
6-10 minutes: 3 games
11-15 minutes: 7 games
16-20 minutes: 7 games
21 or more minutes: 3 games

Ryan Evans: Averaging 12.7 minutes per game

DNPs: None
1-5 minutes: 3 games
6-10 minutes: 7 games
11-15 minutes: 8 games
16-20 minutes: 8 games
21 or more minutes: 3 games

Mike Bruesewitz: Averaging 8 minutes per game

DNPs: 5 games
1-5 minutes: 10 games
6-10 minutes: 8 games
11-15 minutes: 3 games
16-20 minutes: 2 games
21 or more minutes: 2 games

It seems like the disparity I remembered is pretty accurate for Wilson. For Evans and Brusewitz it's a little less severe, but still present.

At any rate, between these three players there have been 26 "outlier" games, games where one of these three played roughly ten minutes more or less than their season average. I'm wondering if that affects the team's ability to stay in sync on offense, since each game seems to have a new mix of contributors.

Your thoughts?

Football Suspensions for Three

2010-02-22T15:01:47Z

Kraig Appleton (WR), Shelby Harris (DE), and Nick Hill (LB) have been suspended indefinitely by Coach Bielema for a "violation of team rules."

I heard this on the radio on my drive to work this morning, and Tom Mulhern confirmed it on madison.com today. Hopefully whatever violation they committed isn't something that is serious enough to warrant dismissal - Appleton could be a valuable wide receiver next year, and the team certainly needs defensive line depth. Disappointing news.

Chaos in the Big Ten

2010-02-15T08:40:49Z

Illinois' wild week, with wins over MSU (somewhat expected) and Wisconsin (stunning), and subsequent loss to Ohio State (being a fan of the Illini must be awesome) has thrown the Big Ten into disarray. So much so that a four-way tie for the regular season championship is not only possible, but perhaps probable. How does it shape up for the four contenders?

Michigan St. Spartans (10 - 3)

The preseason favorites along with Purdue started off strong at 9-0 in Big Ten play, but lost 3 straight following an injury to Kalin Lucas in a blowout loss to Wisconsin. Their toughest remaining games are at home against Ohio State on the 21st, and at Purdue on the 28th. A likely split nets them a 14 - 4 record.

Purdue Boilermakers (9 - 3)

Purdue went on a 3 game skid of their own, but got Lewis Jackson back in a close win over the Badgers and haven't lost since. They have two remaining games against fellow title contenders - at Ohio State on Wednesday night, and at home against the Spartans on the 28th.

Ohio St. Buckeyes (10 - 3)

Ohio State is also on a win streak of their own, of six games including a 72 - 53 dismantling of Illinois on the road. The Buckeyes have two remaining games against fellow contenders, taking on Purdue at home on Wednesday night and heading to Michigan State on Saturday.

Wisconsin Badgers (9 - 4)

The astute reader will note that the Badgers have the worst record of the four contenders. However, Wisconsin has the only realistic chance in the bunch of winning out.

Can they do so? Three of their final five are on the road, but one is at Indiana, and none of the games are against teams ranked in the top 40 in Ken Pomeroy's efficiency ratings.

Winning at Minnesota is certainly possible, though not easy. The Gophers have the best defense of any non-contending team in the Big Ten, and have only lost one game at home all season. Wisconsin played OSU and Purdue, much better teams than Minnesota, close on the road, so the ability is there, but the streakiness of their jump shooting without a post presence is what will win or lose this game. A wild card for this one is the possible return of Jon Leuer - the game will fall right in the 5 week range from his wrist surgery. A few minutes with a genuine post presence would probably put them over the edge against Tubby's squad.

Despite the surprising home loss to Illinois, a win in Champaign is probably more likely than a win at the Barn. Even if Leuer returns to action on Thursday night, he probably won't see more than 15 minutes of action, but by March 6th he should be back at close to full strength. A healthy post-presence on defense would do wonders for the Badgers' ability to defend those maddening mid-range jumpers from McCamey and Tisdale, and the motivation will likely be there as well - being the last game of the regular season, they'll know if a win would get them a share of the championship.

Schofield Tears ACL

2010-01-27T15:32:24Z

According to ESPN, O'Brien Schofield has torn is ACL in practice for the Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL. This really was a really BIG hit for his draft stock. Because he had raised after the East-West Shrine Game.Schofield had three solo tackles and an interception while playing outside linebacker in the East's win over the West in Orlando on Saturday.

It looks like Schofield will be a LB in the NFL. Pro Scout were impressed by competitiveness and versatility. He was projecting in the 3rd round, now who knows what round or any he is drafted in. An ACL takes about 2 years to FULLY recover.

We in Badger Nation hope thatn

The next seven games, and conference predictions

2010-01-23T23:21:12Z

Michigan State has to be the presumptive conference favorite at this point - thanks to an 11 team Big Ten they avoid OSU on the road, and their only remaining road challenges are at Wisconsin and Purdue. Their two game lead over the 4 - 2 Badgers gives them the inside line to the championship.

Wisconsin, Ohio State and Purdue will probably come in at 13 - 5.

Both OSU and Purdue have three conference losses, and both have road games at MSU and face each other on the road.

See below for game by game predictions for the Badgers, who have the most wiggle room in their remaining schedule to move up.

Barring any major upsets (and they don't seem likely, given the pervasive conference mediocrity this season), the four teams above should go into the NCAA tourney seeded between 1 - 6, with the top two teams getting 2 or 3 seeds, and the other two going in seeded 5 - 6 thanks to mediocre out of conference play.

Game by game predictions after the jump for the next seven Leuer-less games:

Penn State @ Wisconsin, January 25th

A loss here to the conference-winless Nittany Lions would be shocking. Leuer's loss shouldn't hurt too much for this one - in his absence, the offense has been atrocious but the defense has stayed fairly airtight, giving up less than 55 points a game. Don't look for Talor Battle to do much damage. And take the under. Prediction: Wisconsin 62 - Penn State 45.

Wisconsin @ Purdue, January 28th

Even with Leuer, this game would be tough to win. UW hasn't won at Mackey since 2005 - going in there without a post presence certainly isn't going to change that. Unless Nankivil plays the game of his life and gets JaJuan Johnson in foul trouble (or gets hot from outside), this is almost certainly a loss. Prediction: Purdue 67 - Wisconsin 54.

Michigan State @ Wisconsin, February 2nd

Can the Badgers notch their third top-10 win of the season? With Leuer, the answer would probably be yes. MSU had no answer for him in the second half at East Lansing, and the crowd probably could goad some extra production out of the guards. Without him, the game is pretty much a coin flip. Tom Izzo has never beat Bo Ryan at the Kohl Center, yet this year his squad (though not as good as 2008) is definitely stronger than the postless wonders. The closest analog to this game is their 2007 matchup in Madison, won by a similarly shorthanded squad by Kammron Taylor on a clutch three with under 10 seconds to play. Prediction: Wisconsin 54 - Michigan State 53.

Wisconsin @ Michigan, February 6th

Another coin flip. The Badgers stole one in Madison on Wednesday, but were thoroughly dominated inside by DeShawn Sims for the first 30 minutes. One would think the home-court advantage might give the Wolverines the edge, but they dropped games to Northwestern and Boston College at Crisler earlier this season, and the Badgers have known success there in the past few years. Without Leuer, though, another close game probably goes to Michigan, who dismantled a similarly shorthanded OSU squad in early January. Prediction: Michigan 57 - Wisconsin 54.

Illinois @ Wisconsin, February 9th

Even without Leuer this game should be a Wisconsin win, but look for the Badgers to shoot atrociously from outside again. Three games in a week tends to take the air out of a team's three-ball production, as Hughes and co. ably demonstrated on Wednesday night against Michigan. Luckily for the Badgers, Mike Tisdale and Demetri McCamey aren't yet the one-two punch of Sims and Harris, so they should have a little easier night on the defensive end. Another low-scoring goes the Badgers' way. Prediction: Wisconsin 60 - Illinois 53.

Indiana @ Wisconsin, February 13th

While somewhat resurgent in Big Ten play, Indiana still isn't very good. They'll be forced into too many turnovers to keep this one too competitive. This game is also the first one that could conceivably see the return of Jon Leuer, coming 4.5 weeks after his surgery. Even if he's still out, look for the fresh-legged guards to combine with Indiana's relatively up-tempo play and push the Badgers over 70 points for the first time since early January. Prediction: Wisconsin 72 - Indiana 53.

Wisconsin @ Minnesota, February 18th

The coin-flippiest coin flip of them all. Leuer has even a better chance of being back for this one, and with him in the lineup UW should be able to get revenge on the Gophers for the unfortunate business last season. Without him, its the Badgers and their limited frontcourt going up against Minnesota and their limited backcourt. Hughes and Bohannon match up perfectly with Westbrook and Hoffarber. Jordan Taylor might be the key for the Badgers here - without Al Nolen the Gophers won't have a true point guard or a bulldog defender, and Hughes and Taylor will have opportunities to exploit that. Similarly, Sampson, Johnson and Bostick should have the edge over Nankivil, Evans and Jarmusz/Bruesewitz. A truly fascinating matchup, but in the absence of Leuer the Gophers take a close one. Prediction: Minnesota 55 - Wisconsin 54.

Geography of a Big Ten Expansion

2009-12-17T20:24:39Z

With all the recent attention given to the possibility of the Big Ten expanding its membership, I thought it would be interesting to visualize the various new landscapes of a 12 (or more?) -team Big 10.

big10expansion (via ingebritsen)

While the map can give an approximate idea of where the new member would be, here's a chart of the distances (roughly estimated, courtesy of Google Maps) from existing schools to the six potential newbies.

	Iowa state	Missouri	Notre dame	Pittsburgh	Rutgers	Cincinnati	Syracuse
Minnesota	217	558	502	868	1205	703	1087
Wisconsin	278	476	241	607	945	443	826
Michigan	581	626	179	283	621	243	502
Mich state	561	606	159	349	687	309	467
Ohio state	677	534	280	185	523	103	473
Illinois	376	296	198	489	827	237	783
northwestern	363	430	112	479	816	314	697
Iowa	137	237	301	667	1004	476	886
Penn state	907	851	478	136	237	418	281
Indiana	542	343	259	409	747	131	696
Purdue	459	388	151	423	761	179	710
Total Miles	5098	5345	2860	4895	8373	3556	7408
Average Miles	463.4545	485.9091	260	445	761.1818	323.2727	673.4545

It seems that between Syracuse's lack of football tradition/success and its distance from member schools, that possibility can be essentially written off. Rutgers would be in the same boat but for its renewed football vigor (...by which I mean proximity to the Manhattan media market). The geographic aspect of restructuring the Big 10 points to Notre Dame being the best choice, and that won't be happening.

If the Big 10 decides to add 3 schools to get to 14, I could envision a combination of Cincinnati, Iowa State, and Pittsburgh. All other factors aside, this would spread the travel distances more or less equally between the existing schools.

Poll

Which school would you prefer to see join the Big 10?

Notre Dame

14 votes

Iowa State

1 votes

Missouri

17 votes

Cincinnati

1 votes

Pittsburgh

5 votes

Syracuse

2 votes

Rutgers

2 votes

42 votes | Poll has closed

Decade Heisman Trophy

2009-12-12T05:09:38Z

Guys-

I thought it would be interesting to poll various SBNation blogs to see who would they think is the 2000's "most outstanding player"

Like the Heisman is actually voted for, I was wondering if you would give a first, second, and third place vote.

Also: I know this is an annoying rule but in order to maintain the integrity of the process I'd like to ask that you don't vote for players from your own team. If you could, Florida fans would all vote Tebow, Texas Fans would all vote Young, and USC fans would give each of their first place votes to their three winners, and the vote would be insanely split up.

I'll close voting one hour before the ceremony, which is at 8 pm EST and 5 PM PST.

A player doesn't need to have won the Heisman to be eligible.

Thanks.

Big 10 Tour / Madison Recap Posted!

2009-11-22T21:56:46Z

Badger Fans,

My sincere apologies for the delay in getting this posted. Thank you for all of your emails reminding me on how tardy I am in getting this post up.

So finally my recap on my trip to Madison has been posted:

http://www.thebig10tour.com/wisconsin.html

I want to thank everyone for all of their feedback on what to see/do while in Madison. Best of luck to you in the bowl game...I intend on coming back for the February 6th outdoor hockey game against Michigan

Take Care,

Drew Cieszynski

Previous links
http://www.thebig10tour.com/penn-state.html
http://www.thebig10tour.com/michigan-state.html
http://www.thebig10tour.com/minnesota.html
http://www.thebig10tour.com/northwestern.html
http://www.thebig10tour.com/illinois.html
http://www.thebig10tour.com/iowa.html
http://www.thebig10tour.com/purdue.html
http://www.thebig10tour.com/michigan.html

(real) Big 10 Tour in Madison 10/31!!!

2009-10-22T17:52:36Z

Wisconsin fans,

Myself and 3 friends who are in no way affliated with the Big 10 currently live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We are trying to travel to all 11 Big Ten schools over 11 straight weekends this season (www.THEbig10tour.com). None of us graduated from a Big 10 school & have relatively little Big 10 experience. Currently living in Milwaukee, we work Mon-Fri & then get in our car and travel to each school on our own dime.

We love the fact that next weekend is finally a "home game" for us as we only have to travel 80 miles west to Madison

While in Madison, we'll be looking for the best fan, the best shirt, best tailgate and more this weekend. We'll have Badger bean bags, Badge ladder toss, and a Badger pong table, so if any fans want to get together to tailgate and share some Wisconsin stories/experiences, please contact me through our site. Also, we're looking for suggestions on what to see/do while in Madison????

Here's to making Madison the best stop of our tour!!!!!!

Thanks

Drew Cieszynski

The (real) Big 10 Football Tour

www.THEbig10tour.com

Depth Chart Analysis

2009-08-27T17:40:15Z

The UW football depth chart was just released on UWBadgers.com, with only a few surprises. I'll go through my thoughts on a few of the positions after the jump.

QB: Scott Tolzien OR Curt Phillips
I'm still not quite sure what this means. But judging from the reports that Phillips had a rough week of practice, he probably made this job into a time-share for now rather than seizing the opportunity to take the job for himself. I expect that Phillips will have the job outright by week 5.
RB: Zach Brown OR John Clay
Again, no shock there, as Brown worked his way into the lineup with a tremendous summer.
WR: Nick Toon and Isaac Anderson
I'm guessing that David Gilreath isn't starting because of a few minor injuries that have held him back. This is a tremendously deep receiving corps, and every player in the top 4 (Maurice Moore being the other) will get plenty of reps.
C: John Moffitt
It looks like the coaches are comfortable with Moffitt returning from injury by next Saturday, enough so to pencil him in as the starter ahead of impressive freshman Travis Frederick.
DE: O'Brien Schofield and J.J. Watt
Watt has been impressing the staff ever since he transferred to UW. His hard work has clearly paid off.
OLB: Jaevery McFadden and Mike Taylor, MLB: Culmer St. Jean OR Blake Sorensen
Injuries have brought some of this about, but the redshirt freshman Taylor is a freak of nature when healthy. Now that he is 100% for the first time since arriving at UW last fall, he'll get his shot to make a name for himself. My guess is he'll be a 4-year starter.
CB: Aaron Henry and Devin Smith
This is one that caught me by surprise. All signs that I've been seeing pointed to Niles Brinkley holding onto the starting job he had last season. Smith had a very good fall, but it's still a bit of a surprise to see an incumbent starter upended in the secondary.

All in all, only a few big surprises. Check out the whole depth chart at UWBadgers.com.

Uncharted Territory....

2009-08-25T22:14:52Z

So I was browsing movies on Netflix, and was lucky enough to come across Uncharted Territory, it is about the Badgers 2006-2007 season which has Alando Tucker, Kammron Taylor, and Jason Chappel as seniors. I'm sure most people remember it, as it was the first time Badgers Basketball was ranked #1 I believe. It is narrated by Mat Lepay, and not gonna lie, I am pretty pumped about watching it. Just thought I would let everyone know about it, in case you hadn't already- this is the first I've seen the DVD

First Badgers Memory

2009-06-28T03:49:22Z

I have been a Badgers fan since I really got into watching football. I was wondering what is the first memory of watching that Badgers that you guys or girls can recall. Mine would be the 1994 Rose Bowl when Badgers beat the Bruins 21-16.
I like the way that they ran the ball with power and persistence behine Brent Moss 158 yards in 36 carries with two touchdowns. As well as having a passing game withDarrell Bevel.

Breakin' Down the Badgers' Defense

2009-06-24T15:19:21Z

Brett Bielema came to Wisconsin as a highly-touted defensive coach from Kansas State. The defense hasn't been anything to brag about since he got to Mad-Town. The end of the '08 season saw the Badgers ranked 37th nationally in total defense, with a 329 yards-per-game average and 43 touchdowns allowed against them.

To put that into perspective, the team that allowed the fewest touchdowns, TCU, gave up only 18.

The defense needs help. Wisconsin was seventh in the conference in fumbles recovered, as well as seventh in passes intercepted.

The defense took away the ball 22 times, to the offense's 30 giveaways.

The Badgers were also weak in the tackle-for-loss department, checking in at ninth in the conference, behind such defensive powerhouses as Northwestern and Indiana.

The sack totals were very low, and with the departure of Matt Shaughnessy, Mike Newkirk, and Jason Chapman from the defensive line, as well as Deandre Levy at linebacker, there are only three guys on the team who recorded a sack in 2008.

The outlook is bleak, right?

Not as much as one might think...

At defensive line, the Badgers return O'Brien Schofield, a senior who will look to up his sack total of five from last season.

Schofield will most likely be joined by a combination of Jeff Stehle, Patrick Butrym, Jeff Moore, and walk-on J.J. Watt.

Watt and Schofield will play ends, rotating with redshirt freshman Brenden Kelly, while Moore and Steel rotate with Butrym at the tackle spots. The coaches seem to think that the line may become very stout over the course of this year.

The two strengths of this defense will be the secondary and the linebackers.

Jay Valai and Chris Maragos have the safety spots covered, while the cornerbacks will be Aaron Henry and Niles Brinkley. Shane Carter will rotate in at safety and try to return to 2007 form, when he logged seven interceptions.

Mario Goins should see some play time, and senior Aubrey Pleasant will rotate in as the fifth defensive back in nickel packages.

The secondary could be extremely good, if those coming off of injury (Henry and Valai) return to their full potential. None of these guys is afraid to tackle or challenge a receiver for the ball.

Look for this secondary to create some turnovers.

With the departure of Levy, and Casillas, Jaevery McFadden will take over the weakside linebacker position. McFadden led the team in tackles last season as their middle linebacker. He is efficient in pass coverage, and he's also a run stopper.

At middle linebacker, Culmer St. Jean will get a chance to show his stuff. St. Jean is uber-athletic, and in spring ball he looked like he will be one of the top tacklers on this team, playing a role comparable to McFadden's last year.

The last linebacker spot will be taken by junior Blake Sorensen. Sorensen is not quite big enough or quick enough to play the middle of the field, but will make an adequate strong side linebacker.

On paper, the defense looks less talented than last year. However, this defense could develop into an explosive unit that is stingy with yards.

Let's hope they develop quickly.

All statistics are courtesy of NCAA.com

Breakin' Down the Badgers' Offense

2009-06-24T15:10:53Z

The Wisconsin Badgers are coming off of a disappointing 2008 campaign. They finished a miserable seventh in the Big Ten, with a 3-5 conference record and 7-6 overall.

The season was highlighted by Florida State's shellacking of the Badgers in their Bowl game.

But, in the immortal words of the poet, "Hope springs eternal..."

The Badgers look to turn around an anemic passing game to help strengthen the always consistent run game.

Pundits are not giving the Badgers much of a chance this year. The preseason magazines have the Badgers picked to finish sixth (Lindy's) or seventh (Sporting News and Athlon).

But we all know those magazines are pretty much worthless anyway.

The Badgers should be better this year on offense. The departure of P.J Hill is not a huge loss as 6'2" 247 pound halfback John Clay steps in ready to pummel opponents as the Badgers' next crushing back.

Clay rushed for 884 yards on 155 attempts, averaging about 5.7 ypc, in the 2008 season.

He also had nine rushing touchdowns last season as Hill's back up. Expect Clay to have a monster season, and to challenge for the All Big Ten Team, especially if the passing game is even semi-efficient.

Behind Clay is Zach Brown, a great change of pace from Clay. Brown is a Junior who rushed for 305 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2008.

The combination of these two will keep defenses worn out as Clay pounds it out between the tackles and Brown goes outside to try and stretch the defense with his speed.

Another strength of the Badgers offense this season will be the tight end position.

Senior Garret Graham made the 2008 All Big Ten team after leading the Badgers in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. Graham has the potential to be one of the best tight ends in the country. He has very consistent hands and is a good blocker.

The rest of the Badgers' receiving corps is experienced and very quick. David Gilreath is returning, as well as Kyle Jefferson and Nick Toon. All of these guys have shown themselves at least capable of catching the ball, Aye, but there's the rub!

No one knows who will throw it to them. The Badgers quarterback position is still in the air.

The current front runner, Dustin Sherer has the most experience, playing in eleven games in '08.

Sherer completed 104 of 191 attempts, for a 54% completion percentage. He threw for only 6 tds, and 5 interceptions.

As you can see, experience is about all that he has going for him. He is a fifth-year senior, and should be throwing the ball better, with fewer mistakes, at this point in his career.

The quarterback who will challenge Sherer for the starting job is red-shirt freshman, Curt Phillips.

Phillips was impressive in the spring game, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for one more, while Sherer was throwing one touchdown to the defense, and one two the offense.

Phillips seems like a more reasonable choice, as the Badgers would then have two threats two run in the backfield, a legitimate passer, and the possibility of incorporating some type of option into their offense.

Phillips could also be the quarterback of the future, and if he did not pan out this season, Jon Budmayr is a good option. The rest of the options at QB are unproven and even more untested than the first two.

Regardless of who plays quarterback, he will need some protection. The Badgers seem to always just reload along the offensive line.

Left tackle Gabe Carimi has 24 career starts, and center John Moffit has 19, the rest of the Badgers projected starters, Jake Bscherer, Bill Nagy, and Josh Oglesby, have very limited experience.

However, the Badgers always seem to have good luck on the o-line. It couldn't possibly be the coaching, could it?

Overall, I think the Badgers' offense will be improved over last season. If Phillips starts at quarterback, we may see some surprise wins, and I think Clay is an upgrade over Hill.

Only 75 days until we find out.

How to post a video as a FanShot

2009-06-03T21:56:16Z

Since we started Bucky's YouTube Series I have received a number of e-mails from members wondering how to post a video as a FanShot.

It looks a little confusing, but it's actually really easy and only takes a minute or two.

Here's a step-by-step how-to guide:

First, go to Buckys5thQuarter.com and click on "New FanShot" in the upper left column of the page.

You will see a box that looks like this:

When the page first comes up, "Image" will be highlighted. Click on "Video". The box will then look exactly like it does in the picture above.

2. Open a new page, go to YouTube and find the video you want to post. To the right of the video there is a box that allows you to customize your video and copy the "embed" code. It looks like this:

To see all the options you have to click on the star next to the embed code. That will bring down the options you see in the picture above. You have the ability to personalize it anyway you want, but usually I click on "Show Border" and pick the red border. Your videos should always be 445x364. They look best on SBNation at that size.

3. After you select your options, copy the code next to "Embed."

4. Go back to the "New FanShot" page and paste that code into the "HTML Embed" box. Then add a description in the "Description" box.

5. On the right side of the page you can add tags. Ideally you should do this. Just type in relevant words such as "Wisconsin Badgers" or any other words that describe the video (i.e. players, coaches, teams, sport, e.t.c).

6. Click "Publish". Your video should now be listed on FanShots!

Wisconsin Badgers Football: On The Rise?

2009-06-01T15:00:02Z

I am a Badger football fan: Cardinal and white, great running backs, smash mouth football—all synonyms for Wisconsin football. What has it meant to be a Badger fan the last 10 years? Great expectations, followed by horrible disappointment. No expectations followed by great results.

Up and down, up and down...it is returning a fumble for a touchdown in the final seconds in 2004 to remain perfect...for now. It is watching Travis Beckum's senior year become a waste.

Seeing Ron Dayne break the record? That was unbelievable. Watching Sherer struggle in 2008? That was extremely painful.

Badgers football is a long and storied tradition. I have been blessed to live recently when the Badgers have been at least decent every year. My earliest memories of Badger football are of the backfield tandem of Moss and Fletcher. I remember Brooks Bollinger coming into the game against OSU his sophomore year down 17-3 and walking away with a 42-17 win.

This year's bowl game was a fiasco. I cried...just kidding...I think. Anyway, it was rough, but hope is on the horizon!

The Badgers have never been a strong passing team that I can remember. The next four years may prove to change all of that. Here are the reasons why I think the Badgers have a great chance to win the Big Ten this year:

1. Anyone other than Evridge at QB. As previously stated, last year was painful to watch as first the offense would struggle and then the defense would struggle. Evridge couldn't stop throwing picks and the running game struggled at times due to the inefficiency of the passing game. It can only go up from here. Phillips or Sherer will be a definite upgrade.

2. John Clay is a beast. Three out of his last four regular season games last year he rushed for over the century mark. (We should probably throw out the Cal Poly game. I could rush for 100 yards against Cal Poly). The 6'2" 240 pound sophomore should improve drastically going into this season.

He averaged over 5.5 yds per carry as the backup last year. His combination of strength and quickness make him dangerous from anywhere on the field.

3. The wide receiving core is much improved. With the incoming class of recruits and guys returning from injury, the Badgers will have a very improved wide receiver corps from last year's. Kyle Jefferson's return and the emergence of Toon will bolster a corp that looks make a huge impact this year.

4. They have a better schedule. They don't play PSU, Fresno State, MSU, or Purdue at home. If the Badgers find a way to win at OSU and Minnesota, they may be looking at a very favorable record this year.

The Badgers will be looking to rebound from a down year. If they don't, the words "hot seat" may be in Brett Bielema vocabulary by the end of the year. However, I am looking forward to some new looks and some new players this fall and the beginning of a successful Badgers football season!

John Clay

Big-10 Responses to Pac-10 Questions

2009-04-08T21:51:35Z

I come to Badger Country because I am curious. Spending much of my time at www.californiagoldenblogs.com I feel I have become overwhelmed with certain left coast viewpoints. I thought I’d move east for some outside opinions. I am not here to talk trash, and I’m hoping for responses with more depth than Big-10… Big-10… Rah-rah-rah! After reviewing some of the Big-10 websites, I chose Wisconsin because you seem like a good bunch and are fairly level-headed. The following are some general questions I have about Pac-10 football, if you have an opinion or response, I’d love to hear it. Again, I’m not here to plug the Pac-10, or get into an internet fight, but rather to obtain an outside opinion. I just want to gauge the general sentiment of the public over yonder, and don’t need thorough arguments supported by a series of statistics. If you are curious, my loyalties are with Cal. Also, if have questions you want to ask a left coaster feel free to ask.

East Coast Bias – I’d guess about a quarter of the regulars at Cal’s site fully believe in East Coast bias, particularly when it comes to recruiting rankings. The basic premise claims simple demographics (78% of the country’s population living in the eastern and central time zones) and geography (west coast time delay) leads to greater coverage and publicity for schools in the eastern and central time zones. The greater publicity and coverage leads to better preseason rankings, which contributes to a season long trend of higher than earned rankings, as the teams are more likely to face other ranks teams benefitting from the same east coast bias. Basically, extra coverage leads to higher ranking which leads to higher rankings throughout the conference, at the end of the season it becomes self-fulfilling prophecy. Do you believe there is some truth to the idea of East Coast bias, or do we just complain a lot?

Scheduling – I believe one of the strengths of the Pac-10 is their aggression in scheduling. I acknowledge that a school’s strength of schedule is a bit based on luck. The OOC games are generally set up a few years in advance, and team strength varies from year to year. For example, Cal played Michigan St. in 2002 and 2008, in 2002 Michigan St. was ranked #15, in 2008 they finished in the top 25, every year in between Mich. St. was a nobody and finished unspectacularly within the Big-10, the fact they were a quality opponent the years we played them was luck. Generally, with exception to Notre Dame U$C only plays BCS conference teams. Cal has played Tennessee twice, Maryland, and Michigan St. with Colorado and Ohio St. on the schedule in the coming years. Oregon, Oregon St. UCLA, all have marquee OOC games this season, even Washington which stupidly scheduled LSU ensuring at least one Pac-10 embarrassment, schedules tough opponents. What does the Big-10 think of Pac-10 scheduling? Do we schedule big games because we have something to prove? Do you not really care what we do, unless it involves the Big-10? Is it admirable, and more teams should play tougher games?

Perception of Pac-10 Teams - Without doing research, which Pac-10 schools would you rate as the 5 best over the past 5 years? Yes, I fully realize U$C has been the best.

Jahvid Best – I was recently youtubing while my girlfriend was packing for the airport, and someone made a video where they rank the Top 15 fastest players in college football. Jahvid Best was not on the list http://vimeo.com/2744979 I declared some serious shenanigans, I fully believe Best is the fastest player in college football, and I would think anyone that has seen him in space would acknowledge his speed as well. I also think that Best has the greatest chance to unseat the big 3 of Tebow, McCoy, and Bradford for the Heisman this year, however, I am a Cal homer with a tainted perception. My question, have you heard of Jahvid Best? Do you think if by some fluke Tebow, McCoy, and Bradford all went down with injury early, that he’d be the frontrunner for the Heisman? Doesn’t Best deserve to be on the list of fastest players in college football?

The Mountain West – Much was made of the Mountain West’s 5-2 record against the Pac-10, and deservedly so. Last year the Mountain West had some very good teams (Utah, TCU, BYU), the Pac-10 also had a down year, particularly the bottom half of the conference. The Pac-10 consistently plays the Mountain West because of simple geography, we are very much isolated on the West Coast. Unlike the Big-10 which has some overlap with the Big East, and the ACC, SEC & Big-12 schools a modest distance away, our closest BCS conference team is Colorado, which is a two hour flight from the nearest Pac-10 school. My question is, what do you think of the Mountain West? I believe that the football conference hierarchy breaks down as follows Group 1: SEC, ACC, Pac-10, Big-12, Big-10 Group 2: Mountain West, Big East Group 3: Everyone else. Are they a flash in the pan? Are they a legitimate threat to overtake the Big East’s BCS bowl bid? Do the top teams in the league hide the fact that the league lacks depth?

Anyway, that’s all, as I said many times before, I’m just searching for a little outside perspective. Please, indulge me in your viewpoint.

Basketball recruiting in Northern IL

2009-03-23T05:14:51Z

If you don't know, not only is Chicago loaded with basketball talent, but the suburbs have equally impressive talent. The northern suburbs which are 1.5-3 hours away from Madison should be a hotbed for Wisconsin scouts. The Illinois colleges' basketball programs are not too good except for the University of Illinois.

Illinois is locking up prospects like Brandon Paul (best senior in IL) and Jereme Richmond (2nd best junior in the nation from Waukegan) in their sophomore or junior years. These players are not going to Illinois so much so because they live in Illinois. It is that Illinois offers them scholarships at a young age which would hard to turn down for 15/16 year olds. I don't think I'm in the minority when saying that I would rather be coached by Bo Ryan than Bruce Weber. More so Wisconsin's basketball program has been more successful recently. Other northern suburbs of Chicago players are going to other Big Ten schools. Matt Vogrich (all-state guard) is going to Michigan. Everybody know Evan Turner who is from Chicagoland (not the north suburbs) and is at Ohio State.

Illinois is one of the top 5 states in high school basketball and most of the talent is located in northern Illinois. With UW-Madison's proximity to the area, we should have our fair share of players from that area. Looking at this year's roster we had nobody from Illinois.

PJ Hill arrested

2009-03-17T03:51:27Z

Kind of unfortunate news here: PJ Hill arrested yesterday morning on [suspicion of] druken driving. It almost makes it seem like there's bad juju going around lately to athletes who leave UW early; Hill, Ikegwuonu last year, Brian Calhoun becoming not very good at football, etc. (Although it seems Devin Harris is doing all right for himself nowadays.) Hate to see our something happen to our former guys, but at least it didn't happen when they were here.