Packer Roster Moves

The Green Bay Packers signed three linebackers on Wednesday.

Matt Wilhelm was signed out of free agency. He is an inside linebacker who has played in 82 games over an eight game career, most recently for San Diego. Wilhelm takes the place of Maurice Simkins, who was released by the Packers.

Diyral Briggs was claimed off wagers from the Denver Broncos. He is an outside linebacker who has played in just six games in his career. He takes a roster spot from Brady Poppinga, who was placed on the injured reserve list after the Miami game.

Erik Walden was also signed off the free agency list after being released by Miami earlier this season. Walden has played in 28 career games.

Big Weekend for Wisconsin Sports

Both the Wisconsin Badgers and the Green Bay Packers held on in close games to beat rival opponents this weekend. The 13th ranked Badgers came out of Iowa with a win over the 15th ranked Hawkeyes on Saturday, and Sunday night the Packers beat the Vikings in what was likely Brett Favre's last trip to Lambeau Field.

#13 Wisconsin - 31, #15 Iowa - 30

The Badgers overcame injuries to three huge offensive weapons - Lance Kendricks, James White, and Nick Toon - and still managed to beat Iowa 31-30. This was the first time since 2004 that the Badgers won consecutive games against ranked opponents. Wisconsin ended a two-game losing streak against Iowa as they regained the Heartland Trophy, and evened up the all-time series at 42-42-2.

The loss of James White put John Clay solely in charge of the rushing game. He ran for 91 yards and two touchdowns against one of the best run defenses in the conference. Montee Ball added three carries for 18 yards and the go-ahead touchdown. Ball was also a huge factor in the passing game, catching five passes for 41 yards. Ball proved he still is a valuable asset to this offense, even though his playing time has dropped since James White's emergence.

Scott Tolzein was extremely efficient once again this week, despite throwing an interception. Tolzein finished 20 of 26 for 205 yards and threw a touchdown pass to fullback Bradie Ewing.

The real story this game was coaching. It was obvious Brett Bielema wanted to come away from his alma mater with a win. Bielema's playcalling was phenomenal, and his gutsy calls paid off. Bielema called a fake punt in the middle of the fourth quarter. Punter Brad Nortman ran for 17 yards, and kept the drive alive. The Badgers went on to complete a 15 play, 80 yard drive, with an eight yard touchdown run from Ball, and took a one point lead with a minute left in the game.

Poor clock management by Iowa and a huge sack from JJ Watt kept Iowa out of field goal range. Watt also blocked an extra point attempt early in the game, a play that at the time seemed irrelevant, but turned out to be extremely important.

Bielema was extremely pleased with the way his team has played the past 2 weeks:

“Two pretty good weeks,” Bielema said. “I tell you what, it makes this (bye) week even that much more special.”

The Badgers' record improves to 7-1, 3-1 in the Big Ten, while Iowa drops to 5-2, also 3-1 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin moved to #10 in the BCS standings. The Badgers sit next weekend out, but return to action in 2 weeks at Purdue.

Green Bay - 28, Minnesota - 24

The Green Bay Packers righted the sinking ship on Sunday night by beating the Vikings, ending a 2 game losing streak and putting themselves back on top of the NFC North. The Packers, now 4-2, are tied for first with the Bears, who hold the tiebreaker with their head-to-head victory.

Both the Packers and Vikings came out firing. The first half was filled with offense, as the teams entered halftime with the Vikings leading 17-14. The Pack struck first in the second half with a touchdown pass to Greg Jennings. Then the defense took over.

The Packers were able to pressure Brett Favre into 2 terrible interceptions, both caused by linebacker blitzes.  A.J. Hawk picked Favre for a 21 yard return, and Desmond Bishop returned a Favre interception 32 yards for a touchdown. Nick Collins picked off Favre on the ensuing drive on an excellent defensive play.

Favre managed to bring the Vikings downfield and score a touchdown on the following drive, making the game 28-24. The Packers' defense stiffened on the final drive, not allowing Favre another 4th quarter comeback.

Rodgers was a little off for much of the game, missing receivers and throwing 2 bad interceptions. However, he was 21 of 34 for 295 yards with touchdown passes to Jennings and Andrew Quarless. The rushing game combined to gain 84 yards, with Brandon Jackson rushing for 58 yards and a touchdown.

The Packer defense only managed to sack Brett Favre once, but was able to pressure him in the second half, forcing bad throws.

Vikings' coach Brad Childress criticized Favre's ball control after the game:

"You can't throw it to them, you've got to play within the confines of our system," Childress said of Favre. "Sometimes it's OK to punt the football. You can't give seven points going the other way, not in a game like this."

Aaron Rodgers acknowledged the significance of this victory:

"Our biggest rival and the close score, the way it ended, it was definitely a special night for us," Rodgers said.

The Packers go on the road next weekend to face the New York Jets.

NCAA Basketball: Preseason Coaches Poll Released

The first coaches poll was released today for the 2010-2011 NCAA Basketball season.

Five Big Ten teams made the poll, including Michigan St. Ohio St., Purdue, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Here's how the coaches ranked the teams in the preseason:

1. Duke
2. Michigan St.
3. Kansas St.
4. Pitt
5. Ohio St.
6. Villanova
7. Kansas
8. Purdue
9. North Carolina
10. Kentucky
11. Florida
12. Gonzaga
13. Syracuse
14. Baylor
15. Missouri
16. Illinois
17. Washington
18. Butler
19. Memphis
20. Tennessee
21. Georgetown
22. Temple
23. Virginia Tech
24. Wisconsin
25. Texas

Badgers Take Out #1

For the first time since 1981 the Wisconsin Badgers emerged victorious from a matchup with the nation's top ranked team. The Badgers knocked Ohio State out of the top spot with a decisive 31-18 victory on Saturday night.

The Badgers entered the game as the #18 team in the country, the underdog at home against the Buckeyes. The combination of a consistent running game and tough defense helped the Badgers prove the oddsmakers wrong and come away with a win.

This game was the most exciting sports event I've ever attended. The atmosphere was unbelievable at Camp Randall. The stadium was filled to capacity before kickoff, which hasn't happened for quite some time.

David Gilreath's opening kickoff return for a touchdown set the tone for a night full of headaches for Ohio State. The Badgers quickly added two more touchdowns, both on rushes by John Clay, to take a 21-0 lead.



Ohio State then scored 18 unanswered points, making it a three point game. The Badgers responded with a 10 play, 73 yard drive capped by a James White 12 yard touchdown run.

The Badgers managed to control the Buckeye offense for the rest of the game, and Blake Sorenson intercepted a Terelle Pryor pass late in the 4th quarter to seal the victory.

Following the victory, the crowd stormed the field despite the PA announcer's best attempts to convince us otherwise. Camp Randall became a sea red and white, as fans congratulated and celebrated with the players.

John Clay became the first player in 30 games to rush for 100 yards against the Buckeyes. He totaled 104 yards and 2 touchdowns. James White added another 75 yards and a touchdown.

Scott Tolzein threw for 152 yards and connected on 81% of his pass attempts. Nick Toon led The Badger receivers with 6 receptions for 72 yards.

David Gilreath was named the Big Ten Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after his performance against Ohio State. Gilreath's 97 yard touchdown return made him the Big Ten's all-time leader in kickoff return yards. Gilreath finished the day with 163 total return yards, bringing his career total to 2,677 yards, passing the 2.575 yards set by Michigan State's Derrick Mason after the 1996 season.

The Badger defense held Terrelle Pryor to just 156 passing yards and 56 rushing yards. JJ Watt sacked Pryor twice, and Pat Muldoon added a sack as well. The Badger secondary didn't allow a passing touchdown.

The Badgers moved up to #10 in the new polls. Ohio State dropped to #11. The new rankings have Michigan State at #8 and Iowa at #13, making next week's game at Iowa a pivotal matchup for Wisconsin.

Oops!

Watch your hands when you have a female ref!

Two Favorite College Football Plays of the Weekend

So this weekend in the NFL was not worth writing about because the Packers are so frustrating right now. However there were two plays in college football that epitomize the reason I love it. The first one shows Andrew Luck a future NFL one round draft pick, light up USC's Shareece Wright after a fumble recovery. The second one, I love because sometimes college coaches try to get to cute and young college players make the most of the stupid decision. Surprise onside kicks are great in EA Sports NCAA 2005 but not also in the actual game, unless its the Super Bowl of course.








Vote for your favorite!

Badgers Breeze Through Homecoming Border Battle, Prepare for Matchup with #1

The Wisconsin Badgers beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers in UW's homecoming football game on Saturday, keeping Paul Bunyan's Axe in Madison for the seventh straight year.

Wisconsin (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten) rushed its way to a 41-23 victory over Minnesota (1-5, 0-2 Big Ten). The Badgers rushed for 250 yards and five touchdowns, with the majority of the production coming from John Clay and James White, who both broke 100 yards in the game. Scott Tolzein added 223 passing yards and threw a touchdown pass to Jared Abbredaris.

The Badgers bounced back from a disappointing loss to Michigan State last weekend.

"After a loss and a bad taste in your mouth, you can't look back, you've got to move forward, and I thought our guys did that," Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said. "I can't say enough about our ground game. John Clay and James White and the big guys up front blocking up for them are really special."

This was the second time this season both Clay and White rushed for at least 100 yards in the same game. In the past three games White has amassed 361 rushing yards and has found the endzone eight times. White's emergence as a force in the running game comes at a vital point in the season as the Badgers prepare to square off with the newly labeled #1 Ohio State Buckeyes.

After #1 Alabama was upset by #19 South Carolina the Buckeyes jumped to the top spot in the polls. This will be the first time the Badgers faced a #1 team since 2007, when they traveled to Ohio State and lost, 38-17. Wisconsin seeks a different outcome this weekend.