Favre on Letterman 4/24/08

NFL Draft this weekend

The 2008 NFL Draft is upon us. History shows that Packers GM Ted Thompson most certainly will trade some of his pics, maybe even players to gain more choices.

Currently the Packers sit at #30 in the 1st Round. Packers also have picks #56 and #60 in the 2nd round, an extra pick coming via the Corey Williams trade to Cleveland. Having 3 picks in the first 60 gives the Packers some ammo to actually move up for once. The only likely scenario is if the Packer are extremely high on someone and cannot live without him. Nobody in this draft stands out as a player the Packers just can't live without.

At #30 teams might be interested in the Packers pick, similar to Cleveland last year, trading a 1st rounder to Dallas to get QB Brady Quinn. Ted Thompson will listen to trades for teams interested in his pick. A likely scenario would be a team interested in QB Brian Brohm or QB Chad Henne who will not go very far in round 2 before they are chosen.

So the question remains, who will the Packers pick at #30. Most mock drafts have the Pack taking CB Antoine Cason from Arizona. Last year all the "experts" had the Pack taking Marshawn Lynch RB Cal, but he was taken a few picks earlier by Buffalo. Other mocks are showing TE Dustin Keller from Purdue as a popular choice.

The fact of the matter is nobody knows what Ted Thompson is thinking, and he sure proved that last year taking DT Justin Harell with his 1st round pick. The 2008 NFL draft begins Saturday at 2:00 on ESPN. Good Luck to TT and the Green & Gold!!!

Bucks Hire Scott Skiles as New Head Coach

Newly hired GM John Hammond wasted no time in hiring a new head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks. Moving quickly after firing Larry Krystkowiak, the Bucks announced the hiring late yesterday.

Skiles played 10 seasons with five teams in the NBA and has been a head coach previously with the Chicago Bulls and the Phoenix Suns. Next season will be his ninth as a head coach in the league and he has a career coaching record of a 281-251. His teams have made the playoffs five times.

The Bucks were looking for someone with head coaching experience, someone that has won, has had playoff experience as a head coach, and whose teams compete and play hard every single night. Skiles was their man, signing him to a 4-year, $18 million dollar contract.

Packers 2008 Schedule Released

Packers 2008 schedule was released and have the Green & Gold playing in 4 Primetime games. The Pack kick-off the 2008 season with a Monday Night game vs. Vikings. It's yet to be determined if they'll retire Favre's jersey that game or not. I would advise against it, as new starting QB, Aaron Rodgers, will have enough to worry about in his 1st start on Monday Night Football.

Other notable games are Oct 19th against the Indianapolis Colts at home, a Sunday night game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept 21st at Lambeau, and a Monday Night game late in the season against the rival Bears on Dec. 22nd at Chicago. Here's the complete schedule:

2008 Green Bay Packers Schedule/Opponents
DAY DATE OPPONENT TIME
Mon. Sept. 8 MINNESOTA VIKINGS 6 p.m.
Sun. Sept. 14 at DETROIT LIONS noon
Sun. Sept. 21 DALLAS COWBOYS 7:15 p.m.
Sun. Sept. 28 at TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS noon
Sun. Oct. 5 ATLANTA FALCONS noon
Sun. Oct. 12 at SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 3:15 p.m.
Sun. Oct. 19 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 3:15 p.m.
Sun. Oct. 26 BYE WEEK
Sun. Nov. 2 at TENNESSEE TITANS noon
Sun. Nov. 9 at MINNESOTA VIKINGS noon
Sun. Nov. 16 CHICAGO BEARS noon*
Mon. Nov. 24 at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 7:30 p.m.
Sun. Nov. 30 CAROLINA PANTHERS noon*
Sun. Dec. 7 HOUSTON TEXANS noon*
Sun. Dec. 14 at JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS noon*
Mon. Dec. 22 at CHICAGO BEARS 7:30 p.m.
Sun. Dec. 28 DETROIT LIONS noon*

Should we be worried about Brewers closer Gagne

Last night the Brewers were holding on to a 2-1 lead in top of the 9th. Enter Brewers closer and $10 million dollar man Eric Gagne. Gagne blew his first save opportunity against the Cubs in the opening series and sent shockwaves to the hearts of Brewers fans everywhere. "Pull him!!! Take his job away, find a new closer", were all the voices of Brewer fans after 1 game.

Tuesday nights game added a little more ammo to that argument. Gagne need 1 out to get his 2 save in 3 tries, but shook off catcher Jason Kendall sign for a change-up and threw a fastball right down the middle to the Red's Corey Patterson. Patterson took the 2-2 pitch with 2 outs out of the yard for the game tying HR, making it 2-2 in the 9th.

The Brewers would battle back in the 10th and Second-baseman Rickie Weeks delivered the game winning hit bringing home JJ Hardy for the Brewers win. Gagne could breathe a sigh of relief......for now.

Gagne coming into this season had just 10 blown saves in his career. With Milwaukee he's already blown 2 in 3 games. The pressure is on for Gagne in a big way, but it's a long season and many more games to come. Gagne will blow some more games, but I believe it's too early to send him packing. We can only hope he can saves more than blows.

So is he.......or isn't he???........(going to say retired)

While reiterating that he's "happy" with his decision to retire, former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre said in a recent interview that he might heed the call, should the team need him if starter Aaron Rodgers is injured......which given Rodgers history might not be too far off.

"It would be hard to pass up, I guess," Favre told the Biloxi (Miss.) Sun-Herald in an interview posted on its web site Tuesday. "Yeah, I can probably be up there doing that and playing, but again, I don't know. It's only speculating. I think the world of that team. I had a lot of fun, not only this year, but over my career. Those guys I played with this past year, a lot of young guys, a lot of fun. . . .

"It was a fun year. That was fun, throwing the ball around like we did. There's no reason to think that won't happen again. Aaron (Rodgers) has fallen into a great situation. And if that opportunity presented itself and they did call, it would be tempting. And I very well could be enticed to do it."

Favre's comments came during an interview with reporter and longtime friend Al Jones, who is writing a book about Favre that will be published by the newspaper. Favre did not speak about whether he would come back with another team.

Any possible comeback by Favre would likely be dependant on the amount of time he would have to get ready.

"It would be hard to go up there at 38," Favre said. "It was hard to stay in shape. I say that, I worked out and I worked out hard. Week in and week out, I was just drained. Finally, for the first time, I felt, not that 38 is old, but I looked around at practice and these guys are bouncing around. And I practiced every day and all the time people would ask me, 'God, how do you do it?' Inside I'm saying, 'I have no idea.' It's a struggle.

"But to think that if they called me in October and told me, 'Hey, we need you this week.' That would be hard. I'm sure mentally, I would be refreshed. I'd be away from it for a long time. But mentally vs. physically, the last thing I'd want to do is go up and it's 'Oh this is great,' and all that stuff, and me be excited, and then just flop. You just can't show up and play."

As to his failure to file his retirement papers with the league, Favre said there is no ulterior motive.

"To be honest with you, never having retired before, I didn't know you had to do that," Favre said. "The Packers had to call. At some point, you have to do it so you don't count toward the salary cap."

Favre also now realizes he could un-retire at any time.

"You can change your mind the next day," he said.

But, for now, Favre is content.

"I guess the best response would be, right now, no (I'm not coming back)," he said. "I'm happy with my decision. Just taking it one day at a time."

You think he's getting bored already??? Football is all Favre knows since he was a young boy. It's a big adjustment into "regular life", that we're all accustom to. And sounds like Favre's not enjoying it quite as much as he thought he would.

Bucks Yi, shut down for the season

While I have not wrote once about the pitiful Milwaukee Bucks this year, this story peaked my interest........kind of.

Milwaukee Bucks rookie forward Yi Jianlian will miss the final eight games of the regular season with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

The Bucks made the announcement Friday night before their game against the Indiana Pacers.

Coach Larry Krystkowiak was optimistic that the 20-year-old Yi would be ready to play for China in this summer's Olympics. However, he'll need two to three weeks of rest and rehabilitation before resuming basketball activities.

Well as long as he's good to go for the Chinese Olympic team I'm happy. He really did not do much for the Bucks this year, but then again nobody really did either.

Yi averaged 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 66 games, has missed eight games since Feb. 5 with various injuries, including five from March 7-15 with a sprained right wrist.

Our only hope is for the lottery once again, a high pick, and perhaps a new coach!!!

Brewers Crush Giants in Home Opener 13-4

45,212 fans turned up to watch the Milwaukee Brewers for the home opener at Miller Park, the third-largest crowd in the ballpark's eight-year history. In the first game of the year against Chicago, Tony Gywnn Jr. shined. The next game Jason Kendall & Jeff Suppan stole the spotlight. Friday's game was Bill Hall's turn.

Hall was moved this season to 3rd base from center field, taking over for Ryan Braun. Braun's bat was amazing last year earning him NL Rookie of the Year honors, but his glove wasn't as reliable. Hall had a down year last year, but looked to change all that this year. Today's game he did not disappoint going 3-for-5 with 2 HR's and 6 RBIs.

The Brewer bats were hot all around crushing the Giants 13-4 with 16 hits. Rickie Weeks extended his streak of games with a run scored at 17. That ties a MLB record. Weeks went 2-for-4 with 1 walk and 3 runs scored. Prince Fielder went 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBIs.

The win went to Carlos Villanueva who pitched 5 innings, gave up 8 hits, 2 runs, and had 6 strikeouts tying a career high, for a 3.38 ERA. One other note Ryan Braun did not get into the hit parade, going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. Probably the only negative in an otherwise great game by the Brew Crew.

Brewers take on the Giants Saturday with the Giants sending Kevin Correia and the Brewers, Manny Para. Para is a promising young pitcher who has been given the opportunity in the starting rotation.

Here we go Brewers.....Here we go!!!!!

Crean Leaving Marquette for Indiana

Every year it seemed Tom Crean's name would come up as a potential coach for the ______ job. Crean had 1 eye on Marquette and one eye on Michigan State, Kentucky, Indiana, and many other schools. Crean would talk about his love for Milwaukee and his desire to stay hear leaving his legacy at the Bradley Center and continuing to improve the Marquette basketball program year in and year out. That all changed on Tuesday night, when it was reported Crean had accepted the position as the next head coach at Indiana.

Crean was introduced at a news conference Wednesday. He replaces Kelvin Sampson, who resigned before last season ended amid NCAA allegations of recruiting violations.

Crean held up a T-shirt that read "Crean & Crimson," a play on the team's colors of cream and crimson. He will try to restore the reputation of a team that changed coaches three times since Bob Knight's firing in 2000.

Crean's contract is for eight years, with an average salary of more than $2 million.

Crean leaves behind a program that has produced such stars as Dwayne Wade, Travis Denier, Steve Novak, all are currently in the NBA. If I need to go into depth on what a star Wade has become, I'll tell you later about a guy named Favre and what he had done for the Green Bay Packers. He also was making $1.65 million a year, which put in as one of the top paid coaches in the NCAA at Marquette.

Marquette has their big three still intact, Jerel McNeal, Dominic James, and Wesley Matthews, ready to make yet another deep run next year in the NCAA tournament. However, they've already lost out on Nick Williams a high school player who had already committed to Marquette, and Wednesday had asked to be let out of his letter of intent.

Indiana on the other hand has to deal with NCAA sanctions, lost scholarships as punishment from former coach Sampson, and the loss of all starting 5 players from this year. Eric Gordon, IU star freshman will most likely declare early for the NBA. DJ White, IU's other star will be graduating and Interim coach Dan Dakich announced earlier Tuesday that he'd kicked Armon Bassett and Jamarcus Ellis off the team, though Crean could conceivably bring the two starting guards back. He's got a lot of work ahead of him restoring IU image, and basically starting over from scratch.

Brewers Open 2008 With a Win Over Rival Cubs

The Milwaukee Brewers kicked off the 2008 regular season vs their division rival, the Chicago Cubs. What started off as a dreary day for both teams, a unsung hero emerged from the Milwaukee clubhouse, and a new star was born for Chicago. Of course I'm talking about Chicago's Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome, who's name alone could almost get you in trouble with the FCC. The other star you might not have guessed, his name Tony Gwynn Jr., who's days as the Milwaukee Brewers center fielder are already numbered. Gwynn is filling the CF spot because of free agent signee Mike Cameron is serving his 25 game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance last fall.

In his first career opening day start, Gwynn had two squib singles to provide all the offense the Brewers could manage off Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano in the first six innings. His bunt helped set up the Brewers' three-run ninth off Cubs closer Kerry Wood. And his sacrifice fly off reliever Bob Howry scored Craig Counsell (leadoff pinch double) with the winning run.

Gwynn also caught Derrek Lee's short liner to center for the final out that gave Gagne an ignominious win and David Riske a squeaky-clean, nine-pitch save in his first appearance for the Brewers.

Pitching for the Brew Crew was their ace Ben Sheets and he did not disappoint. Sheets went 6.1 innings, allowed two hits and struck out seven, while also taking a 41 minute break due to a rain delay.

"I was going to start thinking about it strongly at the hour mark," manager Ned Yost said of the possibility of not letting Sheets return after the third-inning rain delay. "We never got there. He felt good, and I trust my pitchers."

Both the Brewers and the Cubs struggled with their closers. Kerry Wood plunked Rickie Weeks with his first pitch. Gwynn put down a two-strike sacrifice to get Weeks to second and set up an intentional walk to Prince Fielder. Ryan Braun followed with a single to left center to score Weeks and make it 1-0. Two hitters later, Corey Hart lined a double to the right-field corner that made it 3-0.

Eric Gagne sputtered in his Brewers' debut when Lee (single) and Aramis Ramirez (walk) reached with no outs. After falling behind 3-0 to Fukudome, Gagne finally threw a strike. But Fukudome struck the next offering just to the right of the 400-foot mark in center.

"We still don't have that kid figured out," Yost said of Fukudome, who doubled, walked and singled in three at-bats against Sheets. "Compared to the times we saw him in spring training, he was a different hitter today."

While Fukudome had his moments, so did Gwynn.

"It's early, but a game like that against the Cubs, it's huge for us," Gwynn said.

It is also too early to be concerned about Eric Gagne after 1 game but he was shaky at best on the mound. With Gagne, the Brewers are waiting to see what they have. For three years (2002–2004) he was statistically the most outstanding closer in the game, winning the Cy Young Award in 2003. During that period, he set a major league record of 84 straight converted save chances. With the Red Sox, his last team, Gagne allowed 14 earned runs in 14 innings (a 9.00 ERA) with three blown saves and an opponent batting average of over .350. For the Brewers sake, I hope he becomes the pitcher he was in 2003, or the $10 million per year he's being paid will be money down the drain.

Congrads to the Brewers on their win over the Cubs. Brewers are now undefeated and in 1st place.

UW's Donovan opts for the CFL

Former Wisconsin quarterback Tyler Donovan has signed a three-year contract with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League, according to his Brookfield-based agent.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

According to agent John Perla Jr., Donovan will be one of four quarterbacks in pre-season camp.

Donovan, from Arrowhead High School, started all 13 games for UW last season. He passed for 2,607 yards with 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and guided UW to a 9-4 record.

Adam Carolla Interviews Ryan Braun - Jim Rome is Burning

Curry Lights up UW

Badgers fall to Davidson in Sweet 16

Davidson's amazing tournament run continued on Friday night. This time it was at the expense of the #3 seeded Wisconsin Badgers, as the Badgers fell 73-56.

With LeBron James on hand to watch him play, Davidson's Stephen Curry added to his growing legend with 33 points on 11-for-22 shooting, including 6 for 11 from three-point range. The Badgers defense and Michael Flowers just couldn't contain Curry, or any Davidson players for that matter.

Early on in the game Wisconsin PG Trevon Hughes went down with an ankle injury and the Badgers missed him all game. They had a tough time generating any type of offense and looked lost at times. It certainly was not your typical Badger basketball, we've all become accustom to. The Badgers also failed to establish any inside game, sometimes leaving 4 guys outside of the paint and behind the 3 point line.

From a defensive standpoint, it also did not look like Badger ball. They got beat inside, left guys wide open for 3's, and lost out on countless offensive rebounds. Basically they got out-played, out-hustled, and out-coached.

To look back on the season and say it was a disappointment, would be wrong. The Badgers had a great year and exceeded expectations by winning both the regular season Big Ten Championship and the Big Ten tournament championship. Farewell to seniors Brian Butch, Greg Stiemsma, and Michael Flowers.

Davidson now takes on #1 seeded Kansas on Sunday for a berth to the Final Four.

Photo credit: Joe Koshollek

Packers Long Snapper Rob Davis retires

Rob Davis has quietly spent the last 11 seasons long snapping for the Green Bay Packers. Besides Favre, Davis was the only remaining member of the Packers 97 Superbowl team. Now both have officially retired.

Davis will be headed for the Packers front office as director of player development. Davis had been a player/coach assisting in that department while still playing on Sundays for the past few years.

In his new role, Davis will assist players in adjusting on and off the field and contributing to the community. Davis said he's already contacted some players about his plans.

"We want them to finish their education, that's first and foremost," Davis said. "We all know the smarter you are, the better a football player you will be."

Thompson said Davis, who was one of the most respected leaders in the Packers' locker room throughout his career, should have little trouble succeeding in his new role.

"He's been a tremendous contributor as a player and I have no doubt that he will carry that commitment and enthusiasm to his position," Thompson said in a statement. "He is someone who has always been respected as a leader and mentor in the locker room and we know that will continue."

The Packers signed Thomas Gafford to compete for Davis' vacant position. Gafford lost a training camp competition to Davis in 2006.

A Classy move by the Packers and to keep an asset like Davis around was a great move. Best of luck to Rob Davis in life after football.

Flowers to key in on Tourney Darling, Stephen Curry of Davidson

Michael Flowers can take a player right out of a game. Just ask Michigan State start guard, Drew Neitzel. Late in the season, Flowers held Neitzel to 1-10 shooting and made life miserable for the Spartans. He plans to do the same to the Tournament's biggest story Stephen Curry of Davidson.

Curry is the 4th leading scorer in the nation at 25.7 points a game, and is shooting around 44% from beyond the arc. He has lead Davidson to the Sweet 16 and beat opponents Gonzaga and #2 seeded Georgetown. Curry's numbers in the tournament are ridiculous. In two games he is shooting 51%, including 52% from three-point range. In second halves alone, he is averaging 27.5 points per game. His 70 points in two tournament games account for 45% of the Wildcats' scoring. Basically shut down Curry and Davidson might just struggle.

Given the number of screens the Wildcats are expected to set, Wisconsin's ability to slow down Curry and make him really work for his points is going to depend on how well Flowers chases.

We'll see how he fares Friday night against Curry. Flowers' goal is simply to make Curry work for whatever he gets.

"All I worry about is if I'm there, if I'm making him sweat," Flowers said. "And if I'm not making him sweat, then I feel like I don't deserve to be out there and I'm not doing my part."

Badgers take on #10 seeded Davidson on Friday night in the Sweet 16. The winner advances to play Kansas/Villanova in the Elite 8.

In a Surprising Move, Brewers Release............

Claudio Vargas. Vargas was 3-1 with a 3.86 ERA in Spring Training, and looked to lock up one of the final spots in the starting rotation.

Brewers skipper Ned Yost said, "We feel, in all fairness to him, we didn't see him pitching in Triple-A. We feel like he's a big-league pitcher."

Yost said there was some slight interest in Vargas on the trade market but not enough to make a deal. When Vargas cleared waivers, the Brewers decided to release him.

As expected, Vargas was somewhat shocked by the move.

"I thought that when they signed me, they needed me here, so I'm kind of surprised a little bit," said Vargas, who was 3-1 with a 3.86 ERA in five spring outings. "And the way I've been pitching, I've been (as good) as any starter here, maybe except one or two.

"I understand, they want to keep Carlos and Parra in the starting rotation. And Yovani will come back soon, so someone (was out). I know I can start at some point in the major leagues for some other team."

The move paves the way for two young pitchers to stay on the Brewers staff. And they are Manny Parra and Carlos Villanueva. Villanueva looked to be the odd man out toward the end of Spring Training and was going to start the year in Triple-A. All has since changed after the move.

The starting rotation now looks like: Sheets, Suppan, Para, Villanueva, and Bush for the time being. Yovani Gallardo is expected to join the rotation in mid-April after recovering from knee surgery, bumping one of the 5 out of the rotation.

Capuano career in jeopardy with a tear in his surgically repaired elbow

Chris Capuano, who had reconstructive elbow surgery on his pitching arm in 2002, might need to have additional surgery to repair a torn replacement tendon in his elbow. The injury known as "Tommy John" surgery haunts every pitcher. Cappy is going on his second. Many pitchers don't recover from this injury so Cappy is facing an uphill battle once again. It's rare for a pitcher to need a second "Tommy John" surgery, and also rare for one to return to top form afterward.

An 18-game winner in 2005 and a National League all-star in 2006, Capuano bolted to a 5-0 start last season but went winless in his last 12 decisions and pitched in 22 consecutive losing efforts by the Brewers, including four in relief.

That skid forced Capuano to compete for a job in the starting rotation this spring. Including the aborted outing against Seattle, he was 1-1 with a 9.00 earned run average in four games (two starts).

"I know for a fact that I can come back to 100%, which is the key," said Capuano, who indicated that the tendon tear "looks pretty clean."

"When you go through any rehab, it's 100% believing you're going to come back better and stronger than you were before surgery. If you don't commit to that fully, you're not going to come back as quick.

We wish Cappy the best on his rehab and hope to see him in a Brewers uniform soon.

Marquette loses a heartbreaker to Stanford in OT

Marquette played Stanford about as tough as you can. That's what made their 82-81 overtime loss to the Stanford Cardinal so difficult to swallow.

Knowing they'd have to get every player's best effort to try and slow down the #3seeded Cardinal's 7-foot Lopez twins, the #6 seeded Golden Eagles got that. MU also ran every available big body at them at some point, used up almost every available foul and tried every trick in the book.

Yet it was Brook Lopez's turnaround jump shot with just 1.3 seconds remaining that proved to be the difference, as it sent Stanford on to the Sweet 16 next weekend and MU back to Milwaukee to reflect on a memorable season that ended in heartbreaking fashion.

"It was an extremely tough shot. He hit a number of tough shots down the stretch," said MU point guard Dominic James. "Our guys were battling down low, and it just happened to fall. This team is all about facing hard times and people doubting us. We showed a lot of character throughout the tournament, throughout the entire season.

Brook Lopez finished with 30 points - 28 of which came in the second half and overtime - and Robin Lopez added 18 to lead Stanford, which shot 50.0% in the second half and 62.5% in the decisive final 5 minutes. MU was paced by Jerel McNeal's personal-high 30 points, 9 of which came in the extra session on 3 three-pointers.

After finishing regulation tied, 71-71, the overtime essentially wound up being Brook Lopez vs. McNeal, with the difference being Lopez was knocking down layups and short jumpers while McNeal was hitting three-pointers.

The lead changed six times up to the final possession, with McNeal's third and final three making it 81-80 with 2:18 left. Stanford had three shots at retaking the lead - all on the same possession - but missed all three.

MU kept the ball with some timely offensive rebounding from there, and twice had shots to extend its lead. But twice McNeal missed mid-range jumpers, the second of which Stanford corralled and got to midcourt, where the Cardinal called time out with 9.2 seconds remaining to set up a final shot.

"I was just trying to do whatever I could to help my team win," McNeal said. "We've been known in the overtime, crunch time, for shooting jump shots, and they were shooting layups. They were going to win shooting layups over jump shots."

It came as no surprise that the ball went directly into Brook Lopez, who, as he had done all game to that point, scored from the left block. The game-clincher came at the expense of Dwight Burke, who had good position and challenged as best he could, but simply couldn't get high enough to affect the shot.

"The shot that he made was a tough shot," said MU coach Tom Crean. "Brook made big plays, and he caught it so deep that we couldn't get our double-team down there."

MU called time out with 1.3 seconds left to set up a final play, which saw Lazar Hayward throwing a baseball pass to Dan Fitzgerald at midcourt. Fitzgerald got his hands on the ball but couldn't control it, and time expired, ending the Golden Eagles' season in the most painful way possible.

Photo credit AP

Badgers roll into the Sweet 16

The Wisconsin Badgers showed they're not just a defensive team, but they can score too, beating the #11 seed Kansas State 72-55. Kansas State freshman phenom Michael Beasley who put up 23 points and had 13 boards, but was not the story, Badgers Sophomore Guard Trevon Hughes was.

Hughes scored a game high 25 points and was 4-9 from 3 point land. The Badgers also got solid performance out of Greg Stiemama who had a career high 14 points and 7 boards. Michael Flowers was pretty good, too, scoring 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including a perfect 3 for 3 from three-point range. Marcus Landry and Joe Krabbenhoft helped hold Beasley to six points and two baskets in the second half.

The Badgers, who hit 9 of 22 three-pointers, held Kansas State to 39.6% shooting, no three-pointers and a season low for points. And besides Beasley (23 points) and Bill Walker (18), no other Wildcat scored more than four points.

The Badgers improved to 31-4 and set a school record for victories in a season. They advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third time in Ryan's seven seasons.

They will play either #2 seeded Georgetown or #10 seeded Davidson on Friday at a time to be determined at Ford Field in Detroit. Georgetown and Davidson play at 1:50 p.m. today in Raleigh, N.C.

Photo credit AP