B5Q Blogopean Union: Badgers news from over the weekend

Good morning! This is going to be a daily(ish) post that discusses the goings on of the rest of the Big Ten Conference, and the country as needed. Much like the European Union, the Big Ten is a loosely confederated group of entities that sometimes have the same goals (like free movement of people between countries or not winning national titles in football or basketball) and sometimes accept new members that they later regret (Estonia or Rutgers).

We hope that you will use this post to comment on things happening around the conference and also as a sort of daily open thread to discuss breaking news or argue about Spotted Cow.

• I didn’t remember that the Badgers won the WNIT in 2000, because I’m a bad fan, but they did and they celebrated that team at halftime on Saturday at the Kohl Center.

I also did not know this recruiting fact about the 2000 Badgers team.

• Unfortunately, the current iteration of the Badgers couldn’t get a win on the afternoon they honored the 2000 WNIT champions, losing a heartbreaker to Nebraska.

• After sweeping the No. 2 Gophers over the weekend, the Badgers remain ranked No. 1 in the country.

• Zack Baun finished up his Senior Bowl week by playing in the actual game on Saturday. I could not find any defensive stats from the Senior Bowl but all reports from the week leading up to the game said Baun was performing well in front of all of the NFL scouts.

• IMO the Badger football team is priceless.

• Nope, that’s definitely Brad Davison. Get it together, Titus.

• It’s really great to see guys like Khalil Iverson and Vitto Brown do so well in the G-League. While it isn’t the NBA, duh, it is still important to show kids that Wisconsin basketball can get you to play professionally.

• Quintez Cephus had a really, really good season that I don’t think we are talking about enough because of how good a season/career Jonathan Taylor had. You throw it to Cephus and it’s an automatic catch, pretty much.

• I guess the Pro Bowl was on Sunday...who knew? T.J. Watt was ready to play though.

• Scott Tolzien was an analyst for the Badgers this past season.

• I don’t know what this is but hopefully Baun doesn’t get hurt during it.

• Apparently the XFL is starting after the Super Bowl. Jake tells us that there are three Badgers playing in that league. Go Orlando Rage!

• Another Badgers player is entering the transfer portal. Seth Currens struggled to find a spot on the Badgers and was probably going to slide down the TE depth chart this year with a couple players returning from injuries and a few talented younger players ready for more reps. We hope that Currens finds a good, new team to showcase his talents.

• Preview of the Wisconsin/Iowa game from the Iowa side of things.
• Penn State is tied for first in B1G hockey. Shockingly, Wisconsin is in last!
• Michigan PG Zavier Simpson is suspended for Tuesday’s game against Nebraska for violating team policies.
• Maryland’s Jalen Smith is the B1G Player of the Week. Kofi Cockburn won his seventh B1G Freshman of the Week award as well.
• In-state OL chooses Minnesota.
• You may not know this, as I only talk about it every chance I get, but I am originally from the Philadelphia suburbs. The same Philadelphia suburbs where Kobe Bryant played his high school basketball at Lower Merion. Bryant, his 13-year old daughter Gigi and seven other passengers died in a helicopter crash on Sunday morning in Calabasas, Calif.

I grew up watching Bryant, from his high school days where I disliked him because Lower Merion always pounded Conestoga (my local high school, which I didn’t attend but still cheered for) to his NBA days where I disliked him because the Lakers suck and Kobe trashed Philly once in the media.

Bryant was a force of nature and had reach all over the world. He could speak multiple languages and was also one of the greatest basketball players to ever live. He was also an accused rapist, a confirmed philanderer and a reformed homophobe. He was also an excellent and involved father. He seemed like someone who was truly trying to get better. There were few more complex men that I’ve ever seen in sports.

It is ok to have mixed feelings about mourning a complicated man like Bryant, I know I do, but it is terrible that a wife and mother woke up today without her husband and eldest daughter and three other little girls lost their father and sister. I am deeply saddened for Vanessa Bryant and her children and I hope they are eventually able to find peace.

RIP Kobe. RIP Gigi.

B1G basketball scoreboard from the past few nights (losses in bold because we are here to laugh at misfortune):

No. 21 Illinois 64 - Michigan 62
Nebraska 72 - No. 24 Rutgers 75
No. 17 Maryland 77 - Indiana 76
No. 11 Michigan State 70 - Minnesota 52
Ohio State 71 - Northwestern 59