Brett Farrey » Badgers

UW Badger Volleyball 2009

Brett — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:02:23 +0000

My wife and I are season ticket holders, and I’ve been wanting to blog about the team, but I wanted get a better feel for the team.

There is a lot of new players this year, but I was surprised to see them missing Dykstra and Kingsporn. Nikki Klingsporn, for whatever reason, is now playing for Marquette. I don’t buy she transferred to a new school simply because she likes Marquette’s new coach. My guess is she transferred because she more or less lost her job to last year’s freshman, Janelle Gabrielson.

They have some really good young talent, and a lot of them are playing now. Kirby Toon and Alexis Mitchell have been getting a lot of starts, but they’re both very green. Kirby looks like she’s going to be a really good hitter, but she’s a little short and looks a little lost on the court. Alexis looks like more of a blocker, but at 6’1″, she’s also a little short.

One of the problems I see with this team is they don’t have any dominating blockers. Ohlander is the only one that has some significant height at 6’6″. She’s an excellent blocker and a decent enough hitter.

Brittney Dolgner has been the face of this team the last few years, and I guess I don’t quite understand why. There’s no doubt, she is an incredible hitter, but she is a major liability in the back row, and I don’t understand why they don’t rotate her out. Teams are serving right at her, and for the most part, it’s working. It’s not that she can’t receive, it’s that she can’t move her feet. It’s like she’s standing in mud.

My favorite player is easily Allison Wack. She’s arguably the best hitter on the the team, and most importantly, she rarely makes mistakes. She should be the face of this team. My only complaint is that Allison has an absolute killer jump serve, which she no longer does. Actually, nobody on the team jump serves anymore, which I’m guessing is a coaching decision.

Janelle Gabrielson is another one of my favorite players. She’s just a great all-around player. She’s a really good setter, a solid blocker, tough at the net, and is probably one of the better hitters on the team. If it were up to me, they’d be running more of a 6-2 so they could take advantage of Janelle’s hitting ability, and Jessa Benson’s setting ability. Jessa, at 6’2″, would also bring some height to the lineup. Waite played her a lot Friday night against Illinois, and only good things happened when she was in the lineup.

One player I like is Kelsey Maloney. She held a clipboard last season, so it’s been exciting to see her slowly getting into the lineup this year. She brings some height to the front row, and so far, she seems pretty mistake-free. I want to see more from this girl!

One last player I want to mention is Kelli Kasha. Kim Kuzma has been a great back-row defender, but she’s a senior, so who’s going to take over for her? As of right, my best guess would be Kelli Kasha. She had an incredible save in the back row last night against Northwestern.

Go Badgers!

UW Badgers Volleyball on Facebook

Badger Game

Brett — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 01:33:49 +0000

My wife and I went to the Badgers/Michigan game this afternoon, which the Badgers won. Instead of blogging about the actual game, I thought I’d blog about something that’s been bothering me for a few years now. I don’t know what it is, but the fountain soda at the Kohl Center tastes horrible. We’re season ticket holders for hockey and volleyball, and both the Kohl Center and the Field House has weird tasting soda. It’s like there’s too much syrup or their hoses are dirty, or something! Either way, it tastes nothing like the Diet Coke that I’m familiar with.

While we’re on the subject of food and the Kohl Center; how many years are they going to serve the same awful food in the luxury boxes? The term “luxury box” makes you think you’ll be living in the lap of luxury during the game. Yes, there’s alcohol, snacks, and some of the best seats in the house, but why the bland chicken and frozen pizza? Me personally, I skip the chicken and hit the concessions. Regardless, I still jump at every opportunity to watch a game in one of the luxury boothes, but if the food was better, it would be the ultimate game experience. If you’re unsure how to improve the food, I suggest talking to the people at Lambeau Field, since they’re luxury box food is excellent.

Oh, by the way, the Badgers won! Go Badgers!!!

Wisconsin Badgers Football Flashback: UW 38, Northwestern 7 9/26/98

Brett — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:20:53 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

http://www2.jsonline.com/badger/fb/uws92698.stm

Barry Alvarez is not worth $750,000 a year

Brett — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:14:53 +0000

Barry Alvarez is WAY overpaid. Yes, the Badgers are typically competitive, but by no means are they one of the best in the country, and there is no reason Barry should be the third highest athletic director in the country. I think it’s time to cut Alvarez loose and find a much more affordable and qualified candidate for the job. I appreciate the fact Alvarez brought the football program back to life, but there is no way he’s deserving of $750,000 per year as an athletic director. I say promote Vince Sweeney to athletic director. Sweeney is currently listed on UW website as Senior Associate AD for External Relations. Hell, what’s Al Toon doing these days?

Baggot: Is Alvarez worth $750,000 a year?

Badger Cal Poly debacle

Brett — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 02:55:11 +0000

The Badgers should be embarrassed. I will admit, Cal Poly was a lot better than I thought they’d be, but the Badgers almost got beat at home by a AA division football team. Actually, in my eyes, they did get beat. If Cal Poly’s kicker didn’t miss one those two missed extra points, the Badgers would have lost the game. Alvarez better do some soul searching and figure out what’s going on with the football program, or even he and his statue will be run out of town. I partially blame coaching, but you also have to blame recruiting. They simply don’t have the elite players they’ve had in the past. The question a lot of people are asking is, can Bielema win when it’s just the players his people have recruited. My guess is Alvarez will stick with Bielema, even though he sucked a big fat egg this season. Let’s hope for the best. Let’s hope the Badgers can bounce back from an embarrassing season that ended by almost getting beat at home by a AA division football team. That sounds bad, doesn’t it? That’s because IT IS bad!

Memo to the Badgers: Hit the showers, season over

Big Ten Network destroying fanbase

Brett — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 21:05:38 +0000

I realized this past weekend that I haven’t been much of a Badger basketball fan, and nor have my parents. In the past, my parents have been HUGE Badger fans. They’ve tried to attend as many games as possible or would watch the games on TV. They still watch the Badgers when they can, but they also aren’t as enthusiastic as they once were, and it’s due to the 20+ games being shown on the Big Ten Network. When games are on the BTN, they are forced to hear about the game the next day, and aren’t as emotionally involved with the team, and don’t want to be. I kind of felt the same way during the football season. Why should I get emotionally involved when I don’t know from one day to the next which games I’ll be able to watch.

The fact is, the Big Ten Network is destroying each school’s fan base.

Big Ten Network ruins Badger Football finale

Brett — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 01:29:36 +0000

The Wisconsin Badger’s football team ended it’s regular season with over 50% of Madison not being able to view the game since it was on the dreaded Big Ten Network. I just never imagined 4 out of the last 5 games would be on the BTN.

The BTN promotes their network as if it’s a good thing for the Big Ten, but in fact, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. The truth is they want to over-charge for a handful of second rate football and basketball games. Yes, they’re showing sports like field hockey, volleyball, and other sports, but what kind of ratings are those getting? I doubt those ratings are worth a damn. So, in essence, the BTN is over-charging for only a handful of games.

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More Big Ten Network ridiculousness

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Big Ten Network

Brett — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 21:11:04 +0000

This will be the third weekend in a row where the Badgers have been on the Big Ten Network, and I won’t be able to watch the game. BOLLOCKS! I’ve gone from being pissed to very disappointed. I’ve been become such a huge fan over the years that I’m starting to wonder if it’s time to find another team to follow. The fans have been left out to dry by the Big Ten Network and companies like Charter, and I don’t know about other fans, but I won’t be quick to forgive if and when I ever get the BTN. Anyone selling BTN sucks t-shirts? I want one!

Letter to the fans

Big Ten And Charter Cable Deal Causing Big Headaches

Give Us The Games, Not the Hustle…

Fuck You Big Ten Network

Brett — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 16:59:21 +0000

It’s 11:39, the Wisconsin/Citadel game is underway, and I can’t watch my team because it’s on the Big Ten Network. The Big Ten Network and anyone that supports BTN, can take a shit train to fuck off. You money grubbing bastards have forgotten about one important thing, and that is the fans. Who’s idea was it to start this lame-ass network anyway? You can keep pointing the finger at networks like Charter, but it’s YOU that is over-charging for the network, and demanding that it be on a basic package.

Let the protests begin!

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Big Ten Network snubs fans

Brett — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 20:48:47 +0000

I originally liked the idea of the Big Ten Network, but the fact that they can’t work out deals with the major cable and dish providers like Charter and Dish Network and they still plan to into the season with it, just perplexes me. Basically, the Big Ten Network is required to watch some of the games this season. In fact, this season, a lot of the football games will be on the Big Ten Network, and unless you have Direct TV you won’t be watching the game.

Why you shouldn’t be mad at Charter and Dish?

Big Ten Network wants more money per customer($1.10) than the NFL Network(70 cent range). Are you kidding me? Based on those numbers, this is clearly only about money, and whoever is behind the Big Ten Network should be ashamed of themselves. The Big Ten shouldn’t be about the money, it should be, first and foremost, about providing a means for Big Ten fans the opportunity for better coverage.

Unfortunately for me, my condominium has hook-ups for Dish Network and cable, but no Direct TV, so I’m screwed. What about all the bars that show the game? Do they all need to drop Charter and Dish Network to get Direct TV? It sounds like a conspiracy to me.

What can I do?

Sign the Petition

Email the following people:

Elizabeth.Conlisk@BigTenNetwork.com

Mike.Vest@BigTenNetwork.com

Annoy their corporate sponsors

Annoy BigTen.org

Related Articles:

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Fans would appreciate BTN on expanded basic

Big Ten Network fighting hard for cable viewership

Tempers Flare as Discussions on Big Ten Network Heat Up

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Big Ten Network still stuggling with cable companies

Big Ten Network still seeking carriers

Big Ten Network and AT&T: Political Bedfellows

Don’t Everybody Rush To Subscribe To The Big Ten Network (Like You Can Anyway)

Big Ten Network, cable battle anything but basic