B5Q Blogopean Union: will the Stanley Cup be back in Madison this 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 Nebraska).

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 (which we NO LONGER DO).

• Folks who have been reading this site for a while may remember that we used to do a post every morning (during the week) that contained updates from around the Wisconsin athletic department and the Big Ten in general. Now that it is fall (by sports being played, NOT by weather) we’ll be doing it again. You can hopefully expect this post to go up (just about) every weekday morning between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. CT.
• While we are doing some site announcements, let me list all of the writers’ Twitter accounts so you can harass them over there too. Matt Belz, Tyler Hunt, Owen Riese, J.J. Post, Bremen Keasey, Jake Dicker, Ryan Mellenthin and Kevin O’Connell. You can find my Twitter handle at the top of this post and, as always, you can reach us @B5Q.
• You should also follow us on Instagram @buckys5thquarter and subscribe to Bucky’s 5th Podcast on Spotify, Apple and Stitcher. You can also like us on Facebook. Once Tyler finally learns how to dance, you’ll be able to find us on TikTok too.

• This is awesome news for hockey fans. All Wisconsin women’s hockey games will now be streaming on BTN+ for the next three seasons.

There are three different packages that fans can choose from and it also sounds like there will be two games a season broadcast on Big Ten Network.

“Given the quality of WCHA hockey, which features three full-time Big Ten members in Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin, we jumped at the opportunity to become the exclusive streaming home for the league,” said Michael Calderon, Senior Vice President of Programming and Digital Media for the Big Ten Network.

• Speaking of good hockey news...if you’re going to be in Madison for the football game this weekend it sounds like you may just see the Stanley Cup wandering around.

• You may have seen this on Twitter a few weeks ago, but former Badgers men’s hoops player (and current South Dakota hoops player) Walt McGrory announced that he has been diagnosed with bone cancer. We know that McGrory will kick cancer’s ass and we wish him the best of luck as he starts his treatment this week.

• We have a full preview of the Badgers volleyball series with Dayton scheduled for later today, but it should be noted that students are welcome to come to tonight’s match for free! Go, be loud, and watch the best volleyball team in the country.

• There has been a large push on social media for fans to get to Saturday’s football game early, so here is the schedule of pregame events so you can decide when you want to take your seat. If I ever accomplish anything as someone who covers the Badgers it will be to get them to change the “enter the field song” from “Where the Streets Have No Name” to basically anything else.

• The men’s soccer team has had a dreadful start to the season. Hopefully they can turn it around this weekend.

• The women’s soccer team hits the road Thursday night for a tilt with Loyola (Chicago) before returning home to take on Baylor on Sunday.

• Indiana WR vs. Iowa’s corners will be a fun matchup to watch this weekend.
• The Penn State writers all think the Nittany Lions will have a good season however...many think that this weekend’s game in Madison is one of the toughest on the schedule for PSU.
• Purdue received a legacy commitment from a large offensive lineman.
• Ohio State plays Minnesota tonight in football! That’s exciting because it means one of these loathsome teams has to lose. Here is a film breakdown of what the Buckeyes will have to do on defense to slow down Mo Ibrahim and Minnesota’s rushing attack.
• What does Jim Harbaugh have to do to keep his job after this season?
• We love a good walk-on story here, so this is a list of MSU walk-ons that could make an impact for the Spartans this season.
• Tom Allen thinks that his Hoosiers can continue their turnover luck this season by being aggressive.
• Do the Gophers have a chance against the Buckeyes tonight? Here is what the staff at The Daily Gopher thinks.
• Speaking of the Gophers, the volleyball team lost to No. 1 Texas, 3-1 on Wednesday night, in an exciting match. While Minnesota is off to a rough start this season, it is due to an extremely tough schedule. They are a good team and should play Wisconsin tough later this season.