Thomas Wolfe had it all wrong. You can go home again. I'm proving it by returning to the Capital Times, where my first tour of duty spanned 39 years (1971-2010)
Madison, WI
Joined May 2009
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It was a celebration of Henry Mason’s life and it lived up to its billing from Brandon Williams orchestrating the storytelling of Barry Alvarez, Bret Bielema et al to the presence of Paul Chryst, Brooks Bollinger, Darrell Bevell et al. Henry had to look down with a cigar and grin
Nothing better than reminiscing over dinner and trading war stories with the Mondovi Connection: Jess Cole and Tim Krumrie. Represent a memorable chapter in Badger history. Privileged to call them friends.
100 Days til 2025 Opener. Swift & dangerous, leading returning targets Vinny Anthony & Trech Kekahuna loom as big play threats in retooled offense. Both had games of over ‘100’ receiving yards in 2024. Anthony vs Nebraska (7 catches for 137 yards); Kekahuna vs Purdue (6 for 134).
After 100 Days/Tweets til Opener, the Badgers are set to author Chapter 2 in Luke Fickell Era. Opined Fickell, “There are a lot of unknowns that make you say, ‘Let’s focus on the things we do and do them really well and let’s see what kind of maturity we have in Week 1.”’ Game on
1 Day/Tweet til Opener. During his head coaching career, Luke Fickell is 8-‘1’ in season openers. His only loss came on the road at Arkansas in 2022. Since 1996, the Badgers have just 1 defeat in their last 28 openers at Camp Randall Stadium, the only loss to Penn State in 2021.
2 Days/Tweets til Opener. The Badgers are sporting a record of 35-‘2’ vs current members of the Mid-American Conference. Luke Fickell is 9-0 vs the MAC. UW’s only 2 losses came in ‘88 (Don Morton era). Dropped home games to Western Michigan & Northern Illinois (then independent).
3 Days/Tweets til Opener. Nathanial Vakos has kicked ‘3’ or more FGs in a game 6 times the last 2 seasons. In ‘23, he went 3-of-3 vs both WashSt (49,34,29) & Purdue (38,22,48). At OhioU in ‘22, he booted 3 FGs vs Miami (Ohio), BallSt & Wyoming. He was 4-of-5 vs Western Michigan.
4 Days/Tweets til Opener. From 2021-23, Tyler Van Dyke threw for 7,469 yards. Ranks No. ‘4’ among returning Power 5 QBs behind Washington’s Will Rogers (10,339) Mississippi’s Jaxon Dart (7,691) and Auburn’s Payton Thorne (7,674). Van Dyke started 9+ games each of the past 3 years
5 Days/Tweets til Opener. You can assume that safety Hunter Wohler and ILB Jaheim Thomas will be among the B10’s leading tacklers. Wohler led the UW with double-digit tackles in 6 games last year (high of 13 twice). Thomas had ‘5’ double-digit games to lead Arkansas (high of 13).
6 Days/Tweets til Opener. Newly-minted UW starter Tyler Van Dyke went on quite a run during 1st year as starter at Miami. Ended ‘21 season with ‘6’ straight games with at least 300 passing yards (hi 426 vs Pitt) and 3 TDs. First Power 5 QB to do so since LSU’s Joe Burrow in 2019.
