Saturday, January 13, 2007

Clarifying the "no respect" angle

Welcome to those of you who found their way here from the Isthmus. Unfortunately, the link that brought you here kind of bore a sensationalized title, namely "Sports media "desperate to find fault" with Wisconsin basketball."

I don't believe this is the case at all. The national media has, by and large, given the Badgers their due. The early versions of Joe Lunardi's Bracketology have featured UW as a 1-seed. Luke Winn of SI.com has them as the #1 team in the nation in his Power Rankings. They're getting plenty of respect.

What I don't care for are these self-styled maverick columnists who feel the need to do something nonsensical in order to stand out. Take, for instance, the guy who voted Boise State first in his final football poll, ignoring the forty-odd points Florida hung on until-then wire-to-wire #1 Ohio State. Or the jerk from a paper known as the Chicago Southtown, who somehow has the power to help decide whether or not baseball players get into the Hall of Fame. He turned in a BLANK BALLOT when voting time came around. Why? Because he's not sure who used or didn't use steroids. We don't know who's guilty, so let's assume everyone is! Or at least, let's do something ridiculous to drive traffic to our paper's website, right?

So, that's why I took on Jeff Goodman. His logic ("the Badgers beat a team I consider elite, but that doesn't mean they're elite! They only won by three!") did not impress me That's all.

People who are complaining that UW is getting no respect are letting their feelings from football season (well, to be fair, the last fifteen football seasons) run over and give them something to complain about. The national media is on to the Badgers. They like what they see. Simmer down and enjoy.

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