The Wisconsin Sportscast

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Mike Johnson: A Great Wisconsin Coach, and Badger Men’s Basketball Needs Momentum Mar 12, 2025

Show notes

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Oates is out on assignment, so Lucas is joined by the Dean of Wisconsin Sportscasting: Jay Wilson! Jay was in Duluth over the weekend for Badgers Women's Hockey as they continued another dominant season. They are ranked number one in the NCAA, having lost only one game this season so far. Only one team has gone undefeated throughout an entire season in NCAA Women’s Hockey, and the fact that the Badger’s are right behind that is historic. The strategy? Have a team filled with great talent and one of the best coaches in Wisconsin history in Mark Johnson.

Maybe it’s a debate about whether or not Johnson is one of the greatest coaches in Wisconsin collegiate history, but Lucas and Jay don’t think so. He already has seven national championships under his belt, and might secure another this year. He’s still the top goal scorer in Men’s Hockey in Wisconsin. And he does great work to uplift the sport of women’s hockey. Johnson can make a move that has everyone else scratching their heads, and it just works. He understands the real philosophy of hockey and his players. There’s been chatter that he might retire if he wins another championship, but Jay says that he still has the knowledge and energy to keep going. Like a lot of college sports, it might come down to how much he wants to deal with continuing to work around NIL.The Badger Women’s next game is Saturday, and they have a real chance of going all the way again this year. At the very least, they are probably the best team in the league.

Meanwhile, the Men’s Basketball team had a tough loss to Penn State in Madison over the weekend. The last time Penn State won in the Kohl Center was in 1995, and the loss sets a bad momentum heading into the Big 10 tournament. But that might not be the end of the world, as a quick loss in the Big 10 tournament would give them a little rest before the NCAA tournament starts up shortly after. But Lucas says they need at least one win to build up some momentum ahead of their chance to play in Milwaukee to start off the NCAA tournament.

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Badger Basketball Seeding and Packers Need to Grow Mar 05, 2025

Show notes

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Lucas and Oates join the show from the field once again as the Badger’s Men’s Basketball team sits slated, as of Tuesday night, as a number 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. There’s even a chance that they could play in Milwaukee, though that would require you to read into some of the predictions being thrown around. They’ll need to hold onto that number 3 seed for a little while longer if they want that to happen. We know the NCAA wants to put the Badgers in Milwaukee, if only because it’ll be sure to put some butts in the seats. There’s been plenty of great NCAA tournament Badger games in Milwaukee, and going back would be great for ticket sales.

But first they have to win some games. They took a loss to Michigan State on Sunday, even after leading at halftime. While their shooting faced some real trouble, there was one good number coming out of that game. Nolan Winter had 17 rebounds against the Spartans. It’s been a while since the Badgers have seen that, since the Orlando Tucker days. Winter might not be the strongest physically on the court, but he’s certainly active, and when there’s a body on him he can move. The Badgers take on Minnesota on Wednesday before ending the regular season on Saturday in the Kohl Center with Senior Night. They’ll be losing a handful of great players after this season, with McGee, Tonje, Crowl, Klesmit and others graduating this year. They’ve signed a few incoming freshmen already, including a good handful from Wisconsin high schools. As they should, Oates thinks, as more and more good players come out of the Badger state in recent years.

Meanwhile, the Packers have some work to do on their roster, and one name is sticking out: Davante Adams. He’s a free agent, and certainly would be of interest to Green Bay. It’ll come at his price, though, even if he wanted to be a star player on a Super Bowl contender team. Yes, the Packers need a top receiver, but they have a few other needs too, and that might take salary cap priority.

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Dick Bennett’s Winning Coaching and The End of the Tush Push Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Lucas and Oates join the show from the field to discuss the reunion of the 2000 Wisconsin Badgers Men’s Basketball Team. Making it to the Final Four before losing to Michigan State, Dick Bennett joined the team on the court ahead of last Saturday’s loss to Oregon. Bennett got a great reaction, as he should as a great Wisconsin basketball coach. The 2000 Badgers Basketball Team wasn’t filled with superstars, but the sum was greater by the sum of its parts. That’s not to say that the players themselves weren’t good, smart players. But together, under the tutelage of Dick Bennett, they became a really great team.

Bennett’s teams were defensive teams, and his defense is still being played in high schools across the state. You add in players getting hot and they could go far. Well, not far enough to beat Michigan State, but it’s hard to knock them for that in 2000. The team even had one of the greatest players to come out of Madison with Roy Boone. He was versatile, and worked with Bennett in a way that made the whole team shine. Boone’s now coaching here in Madison, with other players from the 2000 team also coaching across Wisconsin.

Turning to the modern day Badgers, they had a tough overtime loss to Oregon over the weekend after dominating for three-quarters of the game. Oregon didn’t so much win as much as the Badgers lost. The game revealed some weaknesses in the Badgers that could be exploited by other teams down the line. Mostly, if you put real pressure on the Badgers, they won’t recover. Or at least they didn’t. Oates thinks that this has a chance to turn into a positive for the Badgers, teaching them some humility, and as long as it doesn’t fracture the team (which it likely won’t), it could put some fire under the Badgers ahead of tournament play.

Finally, the Packers are in Indy for the NFL Combine and making some moves. The Packers were, as it turns out, the first team to call for the ban of the Tush Push. It should be banned! At least Oates thinks so. If it’s illegal to pull a runner forward, why should you be able to push a runner forward? At the end of the day, most teams will probably be glad to see the play banned. Except the Eagles, that is.

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Art of Hockey Fights, and Badgers Beat Purdue Feb 19, 2025

Show notes

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Lucas and Oates take to the ice as Team USA’s hockey team took on Team Canada. The game set a record, with Matthew Tkachuk throwing the first punch in the first two seconds, and three fights breaking out in nine seconds. If any game was going to sell the game of hockey, it’ll be that one! There were some, let's say, political overtones to the fighting, which died down once 10 seconds had passed. Team USA got booed right out of the gate, and a few guys took umbrage with that.

Lucas thinks the game was fun because of the fights! It was boys being real boys, almost as a throwback to the “old days” of hockey. There isn’t as much fighting in hockey anymore, as evidenced by the fact that teams don’t have a designated fighter on the roster anymore. But it’s part of the game, at the end of the day. In Madison, there have been plenty of fights on the ice. The most famous probably being the “Water Bottle Game” against North Dakota in 1982, which grew so big it spilled into the beer gardens. Lucas loves hockey fights, saying that there is a real art to it. Yes, there have been some attempts to cut down on fighting in recent years, but at the end of the day it was just good clean fun.

Speaking of the Badgers, the Men’s Basketball Team currently sit at #3 within the Big 10, in part because of their big win over Purdue over the weekend. The game certainly opened some people’s eyes, as it’s not just any team that’s able to put up 94 points against Purdue at home. The Badgers just shot really well and showed up Purdue with a super connected offense. The Badgers are turning into a team where everyone needs to be blocked at the 3-point line and several guys can run to the basket reliably. Just look at Klesmet, who’s really grown this season and is showing to be deceptive in what he’s able to do. As a team, they’re improving every week, and they have 100% earned their spot.

Finally, sticking with the Badgers, Oates has some thoughts on Kamari McGee’s flagrant foul against Purdue. It didn’t look on purpose, thinks Oates, and he didn’t hit very hard. But within the Big 10, any contact to the groin is going to be called a flagrant. Oates doesn’t love it, plenty of former Badgers didn’t love it, but it still ended up helping the Badgers as they became fired up looking for revenge.

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Super Bowl Breakdown, and Middleton Leaves Milwaukee Feb 12, 2025

Show notes

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, the Eagles beat the Chiefs in the Super Bowl as the NFL season comes to an end. That means it’s time to look ahead to next season, and hopefully the Packers were able to learn a few things while watching the game on Sunday. One of the big deciders in the Super Bowl was the pass rush the Eagles were able to put on against Mahomes. The NFL’s star quarterback was sacked six times, with never more than four men rushing him. That shows something that’s been lacking in the Packers defense this year: consistent pass rush can win big games. The NFL may look a bit different, but the games are still won in the trenches, and the Eagles were able to rattle Mahomes and keep him on high alert all game. You get hit a few times and pretty quick you’re going to be looking for that next hit instead of looking for an open passer.

Oates says that what the Packers need to be on the lookout for this offseason is a great speed rusher, someone who can fly off the edge and get in the quarterback’s face. Even if he doesn’t make the tackle, he’ll still be able to force the quarterback to move around instead of looking for their target. They need a speed rusher even more than they need a number 1 wide receiver, Oates thinks. Sure, they need a great receiver, but so does everyone. At this time, the team needs to prioritize their needs and get someone who can put some heat on the offense. Or so Oates thinks. Meanwhile, Lucas has to ask: where is Aaron Rodgers going to end up next year? Or maybe the better question is: who can put up with him?

Meanwhile in Milwaukee, the Bucks have traded away Khris Middleton, one of their integral players who helped win them their championship ring. It’s a sad development, but maybe the right move. Sure, when he wasn’t hurt he was great. Maybe he wasn’t a superstar like Giannis, but he was underrated and will likely have his number retired one day. But ever since he hurt his knee in 2022, he just hasn’t been the same. He’s been with the Bucks for 12 years, and it’ll be sad to see him go. But in his place, the Bucks get Kyle Kuzma, who is bigger and younger than Middleton and brings some athleticism to the Bucks, which at the end of last season was one of the biggest things they needed. Like it or not, he’ll be able to help the Bucks in ways that Middleton couldn’t anymore.

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Not the Biggest Trade of All Time, and Mason Crosby Retires Feb 05, 2025

Show notes

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Lucas and Oates look at what is being called “the biggest sports trade of all time!” It likely isn’t, and there is probably a little recency bias coming from the people calling it that. But that’s not to say that the Mav’s trading Luca Doncic to the Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis (plus a little extra) isn’t a big deal. It’s still a huge deal! Both Luca and Davis are NBA All-Stars, if not even better. Yes, Luca doesn’t play defense, but he helped bring the Mavs to the NBA Finals last year! The big shock with this trade is that it came out of nowhere. Nobody seemed to see this coming. Could the Mavs have gotten more from this trade? Probably, but a lot of trades don’t make sense. Plus, Anthony Davis is also an amazing player! Prone to injury? Yes. On the older end? Also yes (he’s been playing for over a decade). But that doesn’t mean he’s not an amazing player.

The trade was big, and it got Lucas thinking: could this happen in Milwaukee with Giannis? It could, Oates thinks, but likely won’t. Sure, the Bucks haven’t been surrounding him with the greatest players in the league. But he’s playing great this year. That said, Giannis has about two years left on his contract, which is right about the time you’d want to trade a big-time player like that. Oates still doesn’t think it’ll happen, but if Luca can be traded, anyone can.

Turning to the NFL, Mason Crosby announced Tuesday that he’s retiring after 17 seasons. Or maybe the NFL is retiring him, it’s hard to say. Either way, he left an important mark on the Green Bay Packers. After one bad season, he stuck around and since became a clutch kicker who could be depended on ninety nine times out of a hundred. A true Green Bay fixture, he was a great athlete and was held to a high stature in the locker room. He even quietly broke records, being the teams all-time top scorer with 1,918 points over his career with the Packers (over 800 points more than number two on the list Ryan Longwell). He also quietly appeared in a record number of games for the Packers with 258, three more than even Brett Farve. He’ll be remembered fondly in Wisconsin.

Finally, the Super Bowl is just a few days away, and Oates thinks it’ll be a great game. It was two years ago! He’s taking the Eagles, breaking from his “best quarterback wins” rule. The Eagles just have more talent on their side, and the Eagles have been playing great in recent weeks. That leaves one burning question: will we see the last tush push in the NFL this Sunday? Hopefully we do.

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Wisconsin Basketball Transfers: Where Are They Now? Jan 29, 2025

Show notes

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Wisconsin Men’s Basketball has continued to be on a roll in recent weeks (minus a loss to UCLA last week). Lucas and Oates decide to look back a bit and ask: where are Wisconsin's big name transfers from last year now? The big one they tackle first is AJ Storr, who left the Badgers for a big money contract in Kansas. Since his big move though, Storr’s been floundering and averaging around six points per game. Sure, he got some good money, but if he keeps this up his odds of landing in the NBA are slim.

Chucky Hepburn, on the other hand, has been doing pretty well for himself in Louisville. After setting the school’s record for assists, his playing has been more uptempo than what we saw in Madison. That’s the team’s doing, but at the same time Wisconsin is a bit more uptempo than they were with Chucky on the team. Oates would love to see him return, but then who would be replaced? He certainly would thrive with the current Badgers, and Lucas thinks the Badgers could have still gotten Tonje if he would have stayed.

Finally, Connor Essegian has also been thriving in Nebraska. After the Badgers win against the Cornhuskers over the weekend, Wisconsin showed him a lot of respect, as they should! He was a great kid in Wisconsin who didn’t complain when he wasn’t played, he just didn’t work out for Wisconsin. The student section at the Kohl Center did not show him the same amount of respect. While Essegian shouldn’t be booed, Oates thinks that booing college players isn’t entirely uncalled for these days, especially when you can see how much they’re getting paid now.

Shifting to some Badger players finally, Wisconsin has a tough game on Wednesday night as they take on Maryland. Two teams that have been a bit of a surprise, and Maryland has been in the process of brushing themselves off. It’ll be a tough game for the Badgers ahead of a stretch of tough games. The Big 10 is filled with a lot of great teams, and it’s likely that several teams will be making it to week 2 of the NCAA tournament this year.

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Goodbye to Mr. Baseball, and The Best Football Team Money Can Buy Jan 22, 2025

Show notes

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Lucas and Oates remember one of the biggest figures in Wisconsin sports: Mr. Baseball himself Bob Uecker. Uecker was the man who could laugh at himself and made a career out of it. Sure, he was known before he became the voice of the Brewers, but you’ll be hard to hear an argument from anyone that he wasn’t one of the best baseball announcers in the history of the sport. He didn’t script out any of his calls (other than his signature calls, which were more spur-of-the-moment mannerisms than anything else), and he was at his best when the game was a blowout and he was allowed to tell stories and jokes. Baseball has its challenges when trying to call play-by-play, but Uecker could do it all and there was nobody who was better at calling those big moments.

There’s been a lot of big Brewers in history, from Yount to Yellich, but Uecker was always on top. His TV and movie appearances definitely helped, but also because of his cordial attitude and his love of both baseball and people. It’s telling when players both young and old have had nothing but fantastic stories to share about him. Uecker was even a Milwaukee native and proud of it. The Brewers will not be the same without Uecker, and his presence has been felt at every Brewer game since they entered the major leagues.

But there are other stories of the day, including Ohio State becoming the college football national champions with the best team that money can buy. Okay, so they’ve brought out the big money and brought in some great players, but if you look at the team you likely won’t find more pure talent on any other team in the nation. Maybe it took losing to Michigan to happen, but once they started playing to their level of talent there was no question who the best team around was. This does now prove to be a good test for Ohio State fans. What’s more important, winning the national championship or beating Michigan. Sure, Ryan Day is now 70-10 as a coach, but is that enough to satiate Ohio State fans?

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Packers: A Good Team, But Not A Good Enough Team Jan 15, 2025

Show notes

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Lucas and Oates start with some breaking news out of college sports as the NCAA proposes to reduce the transfer windows into a single transfer window. Under the proposal, there would be just one 10 transfer window in January. No more players checking out before the bowl games! Lucas says hey, progress is progress. Oates is not so sure. Not that he doesn’t think it’s a good idea, just that he isn’t holding his breath that it’ll come anytime soon. He’ll wait to see if it will hold up before a judge before he starts celebrating.

But of course, the main topic today is the Packers. Green Bay’s season came to an end in Philly after losing to the Eagles on Sunday. To sum up the season with a phrase: they were a good team, but not a good enough team. So many people expected them to really step up this year, and they simply didn’t. Yes, they spent their money well last offseason when they picked up some top players on both sides of the ball. But look at Love. Expectations were high at the end of last season, and he just didn’t grow this season (though Oates thinks he didn’t regress either). Yes, he had some injuries, and those probably played into why he wasn’t as mobile as he needed to be. But people just expected more.

The defense played well this year, Lucas thinks, but the issues laid in the offense. There is a lot of talent on the Packers offense, but there needs to be a standout, specifically a standout wide receiver. Jacobs is great, but there were very few explosive plays on Sunday.

Look at next year, the locker room will be looking different. One thing that we know is that Tom Clements, the Packers’ long time quarterback coach, is retiring. As a man who had worked with Farve, Rodgers, and Love, the Packers are definitely going to miss him next year. Plus, two major players are almost certainly gone: Christian Watson and Jaire Alexander. It’s neither of their faults, and nobody would rather sit around hurt than play. But you still need to show up, and both of their absences were felt on the field.

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Packers Playoff Preview: Watson Out and LaFleur Frustrations Jan 08, 2025

Show notes

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, it’s a Packers playoff preview as they take on the Eagles this Sunday with some losses on both sides of the ball. Jaire Alexander is still out on the defense, and Christian Watson went down with a no-contact injury against the Bears on Sunday. Looking at the NFL today though, they should be considered lucky they haven’t lost more top players. Watson is certainly a great player, who’s greatest skill might be his ability to dictate how the defense is going to play. He’s fast, he’s a deep threat, and he has a skill set that isn’t found anywhere else on the team. But his absence won’t particularly hurt the Packers on Sunday, Oates says. It’s not Jaire’s or Watson’s fault that they’re out, but they need to be available to play if they want to stick it out in the NFL. Because of that, and because both of them have a history now of debilitating injuries, their futures are murky at best. Yes, Jaire has certainly made some people mad from time to time, but if he gets cut loose, it will be because of the injuries.

Moving to Sunday, the Packers have a chance to redeem themselves after their loss in Brazil. That loss, Oates says, should not be considered by fans this weekend as both teams have changed dramatically since week one in Brazil. Still, there’s something up with Jordan Love. He’s looked pedestrian and straight mediocre in recent weeks. He can’t blame his injury anymore, at least any injury that we know about. Lucas suspects he’s gotten conservative and isn’t dynamic in any way. Yes, he’s throwing significantly less interceptions, but he’s also not playing great like everyone hoped at the end of last season. But who knows what that’ll mean against the Eagles with Jalen Hurts who, as of Tuesday, remains on concussion protocol. Even if he’s healthy by Sunday it’s been nearly a month since he’s last thrown a football, which could be significant on Sunday. Whatever happens, it’ll likely be a great game and it is by no means a lost cause for the Packers.

That said, especially after Sunday’s loss to the Bears, the criticism of Matt LaFleur has grown significantly in recent weeks. Oates says it’s not unwarranted, so long as you ignore some of the “body language” arguments. He’s suffered some serious clock management issues in recent weeks, and Oates thinks it’s because of his biggest head coach complaint: he is trying to call too many plays. A coach needs to be thinking three or four plays ahead, and you can’t do that when your head is buried in the play cards. Sunday’s game against the Bears was a great example of that. Now imagine if he did that during a game that actually mattered?

Finally, moving to Badger Men’s Basketball, Greg Gard’s team put up 116 points against the Hawkeyes while holding Iowa to just 85. An amazing game, says Oates, from a team that if they hit their stride will be really hard to beat. Gard’s coaching has changed for the better in recent years and it’s turning the team into a real powerhouse. He’s blending styles in his offense and loosening the reins on the players. Players aren’t looking over their shoulder everytime they miss a shot. Gard is adapting to the world of college basketball today, and hopefully they can keep up their steam.

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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