Krista Lundgren chronicled all the action from the Sept. 30, 2010 matchup between the Badgers and Minnesota with the Gameday Blog.

MADISON, Wis. -- Please join Diane Nordstrom of the Wisconsin Athletic Communications office as she chronicles the Badgers' (11-2 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) match vs. No. 7 Illinois (10-2, 2-0) live with the Gameday Blog. Wisconsin is looking for its first Big Ten Conference win while the Illini are one of three teams atop the league standings.

The blog is interactive, so be sure to chime in with comments and questions and vote in the polls. The live blog will start at 5:30 p.m. (CT).

Tonight's match airs live on the Big Ten Network. You can also listen to the match in the Madison area on The Mic 92.1 (WXXM-FM) with Jon Arias or follow the live stats through Gametracker.

Three former Badgers will be competing for roster spots on NBA clubs after being added to training camp rosters in the past week.

Marcus Landry (2004-09) was invited to the Sacramento Kings' camp last week and is among 19 players competing for 15 roster spots. Landry began the 2009-10 season with the Knicks before being dealt to the Celtics and finishing the season with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League.

Greg Stiemsma (2003-08) also has signed on to compete for a roster spot on the Cleveland Cavaliers' training camp roster. Stiemsma spent the 2009-10 season playing for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the NBDL.

After his outstanding performance at the 2010 FIBA World Championships over the summer, Kirk Penney (1999-2003) was added the San Antonio Spurs' camp roster on Tuesday.

From the Spurs' release:

The San Antonio Spurs today announced they have added Kirk Penney to the training camp roster. The addition brings the Spurs roster to 19 players.

Penney, a native of New Zealand, is coming off an impressive showing at the 2010 FIBA World Championships. In six games with the Tall Blacks, he averaged 24.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting .458 (44-96) from the field, .367 (18-49) from three-point range and .764 (42-55) from the foul line. His 24.7 ppg scoring average ranked second in the competition. Penney has represented the Tall Blacks in numerous international competitions, including the 2004 Olympics in Athens and 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

The 6-5, 220-pound guard has spent the last three seasons playing for the New Zealand Breakers in the National Basketball League.  He was named the NBL MVP in 2009 after leading the league in scoring (24.2 ppg) and was selected to the All-NBL First Team in 2008, 2009 and 2010.  

Penney had a brief stint in the NBA with the Miami Heat and the L.A. Clippers in 2004 appearing in six games. He has seen action with the Sioux Falls Skyforce (2010) and the Asheville Altitude (2004-05) in the NBA Development League. Penney has also played professionally in Spain, Lithuania, Israel and Germany.

Stiemsma, Penney and Landry join Devin Harris, who enters his third season with the New Jersey Nets and seventh season overall, as the former Badgers currently on NBA training camp rosters.

With the non-conference portion of the schedule complete, Badger fans are eager for the main event to begin. Through the first four games, folks have used a couple of different terms to describe this team, such as inconsistent and resilient. Both descriptions apply.

After hanging 70 points on a desperately overmatched Austin Peay squad, there is one thing even the harshest scheduling critic should admit. After at times being accused of playing down to the competition, the Badgers did no such thing last Saturday.

As someone pointed out after the game, one could argue that last week's game created little if any interest outside the locker room. The key is the players needed to care, and they did.  Many times a game such as this can be sloppy beyond description.

The Badgers avoided sloppy play, and now they can move on to Michigan State with the hopes of being a reasonably healthy team.

MADISON, Wis. -- Please join Diane Nordstrom of the Wisconsin Athletic Communications office as she chronicles the Badgers' (11-1 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) match vs. No. 2 Penn State (10-2, 0-1) live with the Gameday Blog. Both teams are looking for their first Big Ten win as Wisconsin lost to Ohio State in five sets on Friday and the Nittany Lions lost a five setter at Illinois on Friday.

The blog is interactive, so be sure to chime in with comments and questions and vote in the polls. The live blog will start at 12:30 p.m. (CT).

Today's match airs later on the Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. You can also listen to the match in the Madison area on The Mic 92.1 (WXXM-FM) with Jon Arias or follow the live stats through Gametracker.

Allison Metcalf and Brian Mason chronicled all the action the Sept. 25, 2010 matchup between the Badgers and Austin Peay with the Gameday Blog.

MADISON, Wis. - Please join Diane Nordstrom of the Wisconsin Athletic Communications Office as she chronicles all the action from tonight's match between Wisconsin (11-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) and Ohio State (12-1, 0-0) with the live Gameday Blog. Both teams open the Big Ten season tonight as league play began earlier this week when Purdue edged Indiana.

The blog is interactive, so be sure to chime in with comments and questions and vote in the polls. The live blog will start at 6:30 p.m. (CT).

Tonight's match will be streamed live on BigTenNetwork.com. You can also listen to the match in the Madison area on The Mic 92.1 (WXXM-FM) with Jon Arias.

The Badger squad takes on the Purdue Boilermakers this Friday and concludes the weekend against Indiana on Sunday.  Wisconsin (3-3-2) is more than ready to be on the road again after earning two wins against Tennessee and Vanderbilt last weekend.

Senior co-captain Taryn Francel will be playing her sister, Purdue sophomore Tayler Francel, at the Varsity Soccer Complex in West Lafayette, Ind. The sisters will go head-to-head this Friday to kick-off both teams' Big Ten opener.

Elliot Hughes from the Badger Herald goes into detail on the Francel sisters' response to the upcoming battle.

Badger Herald: Distance, conference rivalry not enough to break sister bond

Wisconsin legend Suzy Favor Hamilton will be featured Tuesday night as part of the "Big Ten Icons" series on Big Ten Network, a countdown of the top 50 student-athletes in Big Ten history.

Favor Hamilton, a nine-time NCAA champion during her time at UW, checks in at No. 19 on the countdown. Her special, hosted by broadcasting legend Keith Jackson, will air at 8 p.m. Tuesday evening.

Here's a brief glimpse of Favor Hamilton's episode of Big Ten Icons.

Football fans, not to mention players, have often heard coaches talk about how games, and even seasons, can be defined by a handful of plays.

Who knows what last Saturday's game against Arizona State means for the rest of the season, but you certainly could say a handful of plays made the difference between victory and defeat.

To this observer, Jay Valai's blocked PAT after the Sun Devils' last touchdown was huge not just for what happened, but also how close that play was to becoming a potential disaster for Wisconsin.

With their home-opening tournament last weekend, the Badger men's soccer team received media coverage from the Badger Herald, the Daily Cardinal and Wisconsin Soccer Central.

The Badgers battled Dayton to a 0-0 double-overtime draw at the McClimon Complex on Sept. 19, 2010. Check out the game in pictures at UWBadgers.com.

Wisconsin vs. Dayton, Sept. 19, 2010

Jordan Ozer chronicled all the action in Wisconsin's 0-0 double-overtime draw against Dayton on Sept. 19, 2010 at the McClimon Complex.

 

Allison Metcalf and Brian Mason chronicled all the action the Sept. 18, 2010 matchup between the No. 11 Badgers and Arizona State with the Gameday Blog.

Jordan Ozer chronicled all the action from Wisconsin's 1-0 loss to San Diego State on Sept. 17, 2010 with the Gameday Blog.

ABC and ESPN have released the coverage map for Saturday's game between Wisconsin and Arizona State. The telecast can be seen on ABC throughout much of the Big Ten footprint, as well as in the Southwest.

The game will air on ESPN2 in all other areas of the country. The coverage map can be found below:

The University of Wisconsin and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame will jointly honor Coach Barry Alvarez this Saturday, Sept. 18, during an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments®, the nation's No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans.

Between the first and second quarters, Alvarez will be recognized as he is set to become just the ninth Badger to be elected into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Former Badger women's hockey player Carla MacLeod announced her retirement from international hockey on Tuesday.

With only nine upper classmen (three seniors, six juniors) the Badgers have already seen a substantial impact from the newcomers.

Freshman Kodee Williams has been a key contributor to the 2010 squad, notching the first goal of Wisconsin's season and the first of her career in Wisconsin's 1-1 tie with Washington on Sept.5.

Elliot Hughes from The Badger Herald dug deeper into the Toronto, Ontario, native's progression.

Badger Herald: Lack of depth at forward means women's soccer turns to youth

If you are a Badger fan still splitting a gut from laughing after Minnesota lost to South Dakota last Saturday, consider this a friendly heads-up -- the Coyotes come to Madison next September.

When an FCS team knocks off an FBS squad, my first reaction is to wonder how many seniors start for the underdog.  South Dakota has three, and none of them is the quarterback who accounted for five touchdowns against the Gophs.  By the way, the defensive line and special teams coach is Jake Sprague, who played for the Badgers from 1998-2002.

Suddenly, the urge to fire off a few cheap shots at Gopher fans is quickly fading. South Dakota plays in the Great West Conference. Cal Poly has a football team in the Great West Conference. Remember Cal Poly?

Krista Lundgren chronicled all the action from Wisconsin's 1-0 win over Milwaukee on Sept. 12, 2010 with the Gameday Blog.

Krista Lundgren chronicled all the action from the Sept. 10, 2010 game between the Badgers and South Dakota State with the Gameday Blog.

Brian Mason and Allison Metcalf chronicled all the action from Wisconsin's 27-14 victory over San Jose State on Sept. 11, 2010 with the Gameday Blog.

ESPN3.com  |  GameWeek Guide  |  This Week in Football

With ESPN providing live coverage of Saturday's home-opener for the Wisconsin football
team, even fans without seats at Camp Randall Stadium can see the Badgers take on San Jose State.

Now, the same goes for the Fifth Quarter.

In addition to ESPN's live broadcast, Saturday's game will be streamed live on ESPN3.com and, for the first time, the web stream will include live coverage of the Fifth Quarter after the game.

Fans can watch the UW Marching Band's traditional post-game performance immediately following Saturday's game, with ESPN3.com extending its broadcast until the conclusion of the Fifth Quarter.

The Fifth Quarter coverage will only be available live, however, and will not be available as part of the archived game broadcast.

If you want to catch the Fifth Quarter -- and the Badgers-Spartans matchup -- in person, tickets are still available.

UW men's tennis assistant coach Evan Austin recently accepted the head coaching job at Drake University.

The 2010-11 school year has begun on the campus of UW-Madison, and with it, some action within the Badger basketball program. With workouts, The Hill and vacancies on the staff, it's been an eventful start.

Tuesday marked the first day of individual workouts for the players. NCAA rules allow for the student athletes to work with coaches on fundamentals in small groups. When I stopped by the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion to see how things were going, senior Jon Leuer, sophomore Mike Bruesewitz and freshmen Duje Dukan and Josh Gasser were working on taking one dribble into a 10-foot jumper while assistant coach Gary Close whacked them across the arm and chest with a large foam club.

From what I saw, Leuer looked smooth (as always) and brushed off the "contact" from Close like a fly at a BBQ... shoo. Bruesewitz was still sporting the giant, red curly hair-do and the two freshmen were just trying not to screw up. Ah, the first day of school.

Another first this week was the inaugural running of The Hill for 2010 on Thursday. All 17 players ran eight repetitions up and down the Elver Park hill setting an impressive pace for this early in the season. The four freshmen (including 6-10 Evan Anderson and his size 20-something feet) seemed unfazed by the steep workout.

First day at The Hill photo gallery

I asked one of the newcomers, Ben Brust, how it went and he said, "Not too bad, but I came out over the summer and ran six reps just to test it out." Savvy freshmen this year, apparently.

Finally, Bo Ryan and his staff have been busy trying to replace a few valuable figures on the Badger bench. Assistant coach Howard Moore has moved on to be the head coach at Illinois-Chicago and Ryan could be close to hiring his replacement.

Wisconsin video coordinator Matt Ryan followed Moore to UIC to serve as the Director of Basketball Operations. Lastly, the Badgers' Director of Basketball Operations, Joe Robinson, moved on to explore different opportunities within the sporting world.

That's three integral pieces of a bench staff that consists of only six members to begin with. The potential influence of new blood is exciting, but the three newcomers will have big shoes to fill. Evan Anderson-sized shoes.

Congratulations to the newest members of the University of Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame.

Former football coach and current  Athletics Director Barry Alvarez, 12-time All-American swimmer Ellen Stonebreaker, two-time NCAA champion wrestler Donny Pritzlaff, two-time All-American track athlete Dick Houden, football All-American Dan Lanphear, four-time Academic All-American football standout Don Davey  and Theran Welsh, who remains the highest scoring defenseman in Badger hockey history.
 
To say the least this is quite a group, and UWBadgers.com is featuring each inductee. I hope you take a few moments to read about some of this school's greatest performers.

Please join Diane Nordstrom of the Wisconsin Athletic Communications Office as she chronicles all the action from tonight's match between the Badgers (5-0) and Loyola Chicago (3-2) with the live Gameday Blog. Tonight's match will decide the championship of the InnTowner Invitational as both teams are 2-0 in the tournament.

The blog is interactive, so be sure to chime in with comments and questions and vote in the polls. The live blog will start at 6:30 p.m. (CT).

Live video and audio of the match is available online at InsideBadgerSports.com The match airs live in the Madison area on The Mic 92.1 (WXXM-FM).

MADISON, Wis. - Please join Diane Nordstrom of the Wisconsin Athletic Communications Office as she chronicles all the action from today's match between the Badgers (4-0) and Chicago State (0-5) with the Gameday Blog.

The blog is interactive, so be sure to chime in with comments and questions and vote in the polls. The live blog will start at 12:10 p.m. (CT).

Live video and audio of the match is available online at InsideBadgerSports.com The match airs live in the Madison area on The Mic 92.1 (WXXM-FM).

MADISON, Wis. - Please join Diane Nordstrom of the Wisconsin Athletic Communications Office as she chronicles all the action from tonight's match between the Badgers (3-0) and Duquesne (4-0) with the Gameday Blog.

The blog is interactive, so be sure to chime in with comments and questions and vote in the polls. You can also email the blogger directly at mailto:dkn@athletics.wisc.edu. The live blog will start at 6:30 p.m. (CT).

Live video and audio of the match is available online at InsideBadgerSports.com The match airs live in the Madison area on The Mic 92.1 (WXXM-FM).

Heading into its season opener this weekend, the Wisconsin men's soccer team attracted some media coverage this week. Check out the articles below before the Badgers take on Santa Clara on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the UC Irvine College Classic.

Wisconsin goalkeeper Michele Dalton will be featured on a public service announcement for the Big Ten Network's "Faces of the Big Ten". The Mt. Prospect, Ill., native is representing the conference and the Wisconsin women's soccer team for her organization of the first-ever University of Wisconsin campus- wide food drive--"The Red and White Hunger Fight".

Eight student-athletes from each Big Ten school will be featured in the 2010-11 "Faces of the Big Ten" PSAs. The 30-second "Faces of the Big Ten" PSAs will be shown throughout the year on the Big Ten Network.

On Sunday, UWBadgers.com caught up with sophomore defender Lindsey Johnson. The Sussex, Wis., native, who was named to the 2009 Big Ten All-Freshman team, talked about the team's 1-0 loss against Cincinnati and highlighted some key improvements that the team will have to focus on heading into the Husky/Nike Invitational this weekend.