Year in review

Was watching the Wisconsin year in review, and reflecting on another very good year for Barry Alvarez's program. Some more thoughts:

-Nine straight Big Ten titles for the men's cross country team? Impressive. No wonder coach Jerry Schumacher was a hot commodity for Nike, which lured him away.

-The women's hockey team finished second in the country ... and it was sort of disappointing for a program that had won the previous two national championships. Mark Johnson's got things going well.

-The football team had a 14-game winning streak and was ranked #5 heading into the loss at Illinois. It's easy to forget the team had reached those heights.

-Tyler Donovan was one tough SOB.

-Gerry DiNardo made the point that the football program under Bielema, while not struggling by any means, has not been as consistent as it was under Alvarez. Interesting point, one that bears watching closely as the roster becomes more and more BB's.

-USC and West Virginia are the only other programs to have played in four straight January bowl games. No reason that can't continue this season, although it's far from a certainty.

-Jolene Anderson left Madison as the fourth-leading scorer in Big Ten women's basketball history, and she's never been mentioned in this blog. Shame on me.