Badger, Badger, Badger, Badger, Badger

Triple Overtime! Triple Overtime! Wisconsin 1, Cornell 0 and the Badgers go to the Frozen Four!!!

See this is the good thing about having your own blog. Despite the fact that almost no readers care about the college hockey playoffs, I am selecting this dramatic victory as my lead story!

From the stick of UW defenseman Josh Engel to the stick of UW freshman winger Jack Skille and past a stunned Cornell goaltender David McKee.

"I just buried my head and shot it," an elated but exhausted Skille said after ending the second-longest game in NCAA playoff history. "That's usually what I do. I try to get all of it."

Skille got it all Sunday evening at the Resch Center.

His one-timer a little more than 11 minutes into the third overtime lifted UW to a 1-0 victory over Cornell in the Midwest regional final and sparked an emotional victory celebration. On the ice, the UW bench emptied instantaneously as Skille disappeared beneath his teammates. In the stands, the crowd of 8,086 fans, almost all dressed in UW attire, roared with a mix of pleasure and relief.

"We're going to the Frozen Four," Skille said, repeating the thought that crossed his mind when he saw the puck slam into the back of the net at 11 minutes 13 seconds of the third overtime. "We're going to Milwaukee."

UW, which fell one victory short of a Frozen Four berth in 1993 when the championship was played at the Bradley Center, didn't miss this chance.

The Badgers (28-10-3) face Maine (28-11-2) at 7 p.m. on April 6. Boston College (25-12-3) and North Dakota (27-10-2) meet at 2 p.m. in the first semifinal. The winners meet in the title game at 6 p.m. on April 8.

"We want more," UW senior captain Adam Burish said. "And we're going to work for more."

Cornell (22-9-4) made UW work harder for this victory than any other this season.
The teams combined for an NCAA-playoff record 100 shots, with UW peppering McKee with 60. Cornell stymied five UW power-play chances. McKee made six consecutive saves, in a span of 57 seconds, during the last of those power plays, late in the third period.

David McKee, Cornell Goalie and Irving kid, was dominant in the loss with 59 saves …

McKee, a Hobey Baker Award finalist last year, and Elliott, the only goaltender on the Hobey list this season, put on a show worthy of their resumes.

Elliott was credited with 40 saves and extended his streak of shutouts to three - a first in program history. His two biggest saves came in the third overtime, when he denied Big Red left winger Topher Scott on an odd-man rush and stoned left winger Matt Moulson at the doorstep.

"It's pretty incredible what he's doing," UW left winger Nick Licari said of Elliott, who was named the regional's Most Outstanding Player.

McKee made 59 saves and seemed to be getting stronger as the game went on for the Big Red (22-9-4). The winning goal came on a play when he thought a teammate would be stationed at the half-boards of the defensive zone. Engel was there instead and his quick pass to Skille left McKee vulnerable.

"(Skille) one-timed it and didn't give me time to react," McKee said. "It was a good play by him."

McKee’s Bio …

Class: Junior
Hometown: Irving, Texas
Height / Weight: 6-1 / 185
Position: Goaltender
Experience:2L
Last Team: Texas Tornado

Before Cornell
McKee joined the Big Red after a successful season with the Texas Tornado of the North American Hockey League. He posted a record of 26-7 with a goals against average of 2.41 and a save percentage of .899. McKee was named to the NAHL first team and was also named to the all-rookie squad.

Stars beat Calgary; Arnott very good again …



Above, George Mason.

Despite not caring about any of the 4 teams left, you have to admit the George Mason story is absurd ….

Little-known George Mason led mighty Connecticut by a point late in the first half. Within minutes, it trailed by 12. George Mason, which had never won an N.C.A.A. tournament game in its history until nine days earlier, somehow regained the lead against a team that had won two national championships since 1999.

George Mason lost the lead four more times. It took it back every time, repeatedly sending the Verizon Center crowd, rooting for history and the home team, into rafter-rattling delirium. A sign behind the George Mason bench read, "Can you hear us now?"
The message came through, loud and clear, after five minutes of overtime. With players dancing and administrators crying, a deep voice spun a crazy, swirling dreamlike celebration both deeper into euphoria and sharper into reality. "Your attention," a voice blared above the din. "Would the winners of the Washington D.C. regional please assemble on the center stage."

Up jumped the George Mason basketball players. Above the chaos, the scoreboard silently offered nothing but facts: Mason 86, UConn 84. The moment will last forever.

Ask Yahoo about low seeds …

Dear Yahoo!:
What's the lowest-seeded team to ever advance to the men's Final Four? What about to win it all?
Jeffrey
Burke, Virginia

Dear Jeffrey:
Everyone loves an underdog. And nowhere can you find more mutts howling for an upset than at the men's NCAA tournament. First-round shockers are to be expected at the Big Dance, but most party crashers bow out in the middle rounds to make room for the big, bad power schools. Have any Cinderallas stayed past midnight? Let's go to the videotape for a look.

Ever since the field expanded from 48 to 64 teams in 1985, the lowest-seeded squad to make it to the Final Four was LSU in 1986. An 11 seed, the Tigers lost to eventual champion Louisville. The lowest seed to win the championship was eighth-seeded Villanova in 1985. They capped an amazing run by toppling Patrick Ewing's mighty Georgetown team.

Kurt Busch wins a wild day at Bristol …as far as I am concerned, they could race at Bristol once a month…That is my favorite track…

How the heck do the Redskins get around the cap? They don’t. Todd Archer is on the case with a nice breakdown of what the Redskins do …

The Redskins' spending does create problems, such as having players no longer on the roster counting against a current cap. Eventually, the Redskins will have to pay a price against the cap for paying these prices for players now.
At least that's what their opponents hope.

But remember this: All it has gotten the Redskins is one playoff victory since Snyder bought the team in 1999.

The Reaper awaits in Detroit …

If the Mavericks really want to get Johnson's attention, it will happen Tuesday night against Detroit. A much-needed two-day break should let the Mavericks freshen up before their visit to the Pistons, who are heavy favorites to return to the NBA Finals in June. Having beaten them by 37 points in November, the Mavericks figure to see an angry bunch of Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

"They're going to play with a chip on their shoulder," Dirk Nowitzki said. "They got the best record in the league, and they're going to come out firing. They're so balanced, you can't really concentrate on one guy. It should be a great defensive battle."

That's the hope, anyway. The Mavericks are one game removed from probably their worst defensive game of the season when Golden State punctured them for 122 points at American Airlines Center.

"Avery gave us an earful after that defensive outing," Nowitzki said. "We scored 121 at home and still lost at home. That's not really our style. We want to set the tone defensively every game."

The question is whether that's realistic for these Mavericks. Their offense remains much more dangerous than their defense, which is why national media members continue to disregard them as unworthy of inclusion with San Antonio, Detroit and even Phoenix since the return of Amare Stoudemire.

Is there crying in basketball? …

Further rumors of Arrested Development’s future ….

25 best Arrested Development moments ….


Rob Petitti loves his mail …

Compliments of the NFL's performance-based pay program, Rob Petitti has a freshly invested $100,000 tucked away in a mutual fund, a special-order hot tub that is to be delivered to his Dallas home sometime Friday, an itch to make one more big purchase, and if possible, even more motivation for the 2006 season.

"To tell the truth, I was shocked, because I didn't realize [the PBP program] could be worth this kind of money," Petitti said of the bonanza bonus that arrived in his mailbox last week. "A guy told me, like, 'Oh, you might get $80,000 or $90,000,' and I was pretty cool with that. And then I found out how much I was going to get, and I couldn't believe it."

The second-year veteran, who started all 16 games for the Dallas Cowboys at right tackle in 2005, is now a true believer. Only the 209th prospect selected in the 2005 draft, having dropped into the sixth round after an injury-plagued senior season at the University of Pittsburgh overshadowed what had been an otherwise superb college career, Petitti is No. 1 on this year's performance-based pay roll call.

If you enjoyed the discussion on Friday of the Leprechaun, You may love this …If you don’t know what I am talking about then Click Here …

Bob,

There is a great story about a locla kid that plays hockey. He only has one normal arm. I have coached against him several times and he is a great hockey player. he will be going to Latvia to represent the USA. great story, chek it out.

Story Here …

Justin Miley

Wow. Thanks, Justin for that.

Dancing Ditka …

Turn down your speakers if you are at work and F-bombed Tupac offends the dude in the next cubicle over: NBA Fights …it will make you hate the Jazz all over again…

Meredith sent me this gold:

Just got this email from my friend...y'all need to get to the bottom of this:

"Chicago Cubs reliever Ryan Dempster is in the back of ESPN magazine this week (the one with Chri$ Paul on the cover) and he was asked if he saw Brokeback Mountain. He said yes, and he thinks there ought be a Brokeback Dugout. Dan Patrick asks who would be his Heath if he was Jack, and he said Gabe Kapler! He said not because he thinks he's gay, but he is a really well-built handsome man."

There will seldom be college hockey leading off the blog. But then again, it has been since 1992 since Wisconsin has been to the Frozen Four.