It's been awhile for this writer, so bare with me as I step in for Nate today! But I'm opening things up with a simple question... Are you down with Danny O'B? Well, Wale is! (warning NSFW)

While the song isn't all that new, Rob Havenstein brought it to our attention yesterday while making a little fun of D.O'B himself:

My boy Danny O'Brien's thug points just shot through the roof with the Wale shout out. 40 secs in youtube.com/watch?v=qi2no_…

— Robby Havenstein (@RobBigDaddy78) June 21, 2012

O.k., now that that fun is done, it was a great day to be Sam Dekker yesterday as he scored seven points on an infected toe to help the USA win the FIBA Americas U18 Championship. It wasn't even close either, winning 81-56 over the hosts Brazil.

More after the Jump.... 

We've been focusing on a lot of football as of late here on the MTB College Sports Bucket List but today our focus turns to the world of college hockey. If you know anything about the sport there are a few areas of the country where the sport is huge - the Midwest and the East Coast.

Out east it's arguable that there may not be a bigger rivalry than the one between two Ivy League schools and members of ECAC Hockey, we're talking about Cornell vs. Harvard. Wisconsin fans should be well versed by just how good Cornell can be as they stopped the Badgers hopes of winning yet another national title in 2010 in the NCAA Frozen Four. 

No. 59 Cornell vs. Harvard (D1 Hockey):

The rivalry is rooted in the traditions of the two schools, with Harvard being the oldest of the Ivy League schools and Cornell being one of the youngest. It doesn't help that the young kids on the block, the Big Red of Cornell, lead the all-time series with a 71-59-8 record. It's also one of the oldest of the college hockey rivalries dating back to 1910.

Summer is always a crazy time of the year in basketball recruiting and in 2012 the level of crazy is being kicked up a notch thanks to some new recruiting rules. But on the court things are also taking on a crazy pace with various camps and massive AAU competitions being scouted all over the country. With that in mind we'd thought we'd bring you a unique update to the world fo Badger basketball recruiting in a special episode of Badgers Power Hour. We'll be LIVE starting at 7pm Central tonight, 6/20/12.

So join our editor Andy along with Jon McNamara of Badger Blitz as we talk all things Badger Basketball recruiting and give you your first taste of our basketball reporter Cole Brown on the radio side of things as we discuss the impact of Uhtoff transfering and what to look forward to in 2012. Also, you'll want to tune in for a special contest announcement ahead of next weeks big Badgers Power Hour, it's something any Badger football fan won't want to miss!

Don't forget you can listen LIVE here and on demand anytime by downloading the awesome Stitcher app for your iPhone, andriod, or even right to your PC! It comes highly recommended from us here at MTB!

We've had a few days off from our summer long journey through the best that college sports has to offer.  Today we return to the MTB College Sports Bucket List with a look at a game that us Badger fans have fond and not so fond memories of and all in one season.  

No. 60: Wisconsin vs. Michigan State (FBS Football): 

Over the past two seasons this is a game that has become the most important one in the Big Ten. They are the only two teams to have met three times in the past two years within the conference and all three have been absolute classics. The games have become so important that there are talks about possibly adding a trophy to the meetings in the future. Unfortunately we will see at least a two if not four year period of time where this game doesn't take place because of how the divisions work in the conference. 

College football fans won't soon forget the disputed Hail Mary that beat Wisconsin in the regular season this past year and they equally won't forget Bucky's amazing comeback to top Sparty in the first ever Big Ten Championship game. It's a high standard of on the field play and both sets of fans have red meat to add to the rivalry.  

Realistically when most think of Wisconsin vs. Michigan State they tend to think of the basketball rivalry, but this has been an interesting one on the football field. Overall the Spartans actually hold a 29-22-0 advantage in the series, something that may surprise a few people outside of the Badger fanbase.  

In many circles within the Badger fanbase the Spartans are thought of as the albatross around the neck of Badger football. Countless times otherwise great seasons have turned when facing the green and white. East Lansing has been especially brutal to the Badgers, where they are just 7-16.

Need proof of this? Try the 2004 meeting where the 4th ranked Badgers came in undefeated and looking like a really good National Title contender. However, a game Spartans squad won 49-14 and ended any shot at a once in a lifetime season from the Badgers. Need we even mention the 2010 season? 

If you are on the other side of this rivalry you probably see things a bit differently.

There are a lot of MSU fans that feel the 2011 Rose Bowl should've been theirs and it wasn't because of a ridiculous formula for tie-breaking the champion which came down to the BCS standings between Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Michigan State.

All of those things have added amazing fuel to the fire between fans that already don't like each other all that much in one sport and now it's carried over to the football field. This is a game that's quickly rising in the ranks and if we were to revisit this list five years from now I have a feeling it could rank higher.

Throughout June we've been bringing you a look at our favorite time of the year - College Football Preview Magazine Month. So far we've gone through Lindy's and Phil Steele, but today it's one of the oldest of all the magazines out there - Athlon Sports.  

You should know the drill by now, so let's just dive right in to the deep end, shall we?

Wisconsin ranks 17th and predicted to finish 2nd in the Leaders division to Ohio State, but play in the Big Ten title game. Here are the full standings with predicted records as well.

Big Ten Standings: 

Legends 

1. Michigan 11-2 (7-1)

2. Nebraska 10-2 (6-2)

3. Michigan State 9-3 (5-3)

4. Northwestern 7-5 (3-5)

5. Iowa 7-5 (3-5)

6. Minnesota 5-7 (2-6)

The Badgers Summer Elite camp is always an interesting time as new offers and a lot of movement happens with Wisconsin recruiting. This year Wisconsin got two more commits for their 2013 class following th conclusion of camp, one name Badger fans should be familiar with and another from a city that's produced two of the most highly talked about recruits in the last two classes.

On Sunday the brother of 2012 freshman Vince Biegel, Hayden, committed and from Kenosha, the home of RB's Melvin Gordon and Vonte Jackson, athlete/wide receiver Jazz Peavy confirmed his offer and commitment to the Badgers.

Biegel's offer was for a "grayshirt" scholarship, which means he won't become part of the team until January of 2014.  It's something that's in his best interest as he needs to add some weight to his frame and it also helps keep a scholarship open in the 2013 year.

As we've done with all the verbals, we'll break down what's known and what we've seen of the players, so let's go ahead and dive in to that.

Hayden Biegel Profile/Rankings: 

(photo courtesy 247sports)

Position: Offensive Tackle

Height: 6'7" 

Weight: 250lbs.

In a release earlier today the Wisconsin athletic department announced the awards for Male and Female athlete of the year, giving the Male award to Montee Ball (Football) and the Female award to Brianna Decker (Women's Hockey).  

The naming of either as winners shouldn't surprise anyone as both had seasons for the record books.  Ball racked up a litany of awards and records along the way.  His list of awards included the Silver Ball (B1G MVP) from the Chicago Tribune, both the RB of the Year and the Offensive POY in the B1G, a consensus 1st team All-American pick, and being named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and the Doak Walker Award.

We all know about his nation best 1,926 yards rushing and his Barry Sanders' TD record tying performance (39TD's), so those numbers alone should've made this a slam dunk but his competition was pretty stiff - coming from the likes of Justin Schultz (Hockey), Japheth Cato (Track & Field), and of course teammate Russell Wilson.  

Decker, the Women's athlete of the year, had just about an equally impressive season and you could argue even a better one than Ball had.  She led the Badgers to a conference crown and the NCAA Frozen Four final.  The junior led the nation in goals with 37 for the year and was named the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner (Heisman of Women's Hockey).  She was the 4th Badger to win the award and was named 1st team All-American as well as the WCHA Player of the Year.

Her honors weren't just limited to the Badger program though as she was a member of the U.S. Women's National Team that took home the Four Nations Cup in 2011 and a 2nd place finish at the IIHF Women's World Championships.  

Decker's award is the 2nd straight season a Women's Hockey player has won the award.  Ball reclaims the Men's award from the basketball team, which had Jordan Taylor named the AOY in 2011.

Ball will now be up for the Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year from the Big Ten and Decker will now be up for the Suzy Favor Female Athlete of the Year as each Big Ten school nominates a male and female for the award. 

We've hit the 40 down mark here on the MTB College Sports Bucket List so before we get to it, let's make sure to refresh where the countdown has taken us so far!

It's been an interesting ride so far as you can see above, so let's continue the journey and introduce you to the 40th member of our Bucket List, but the 61st best game to see:

No. 61: Washington vs. Washington State (FBS Football): 

This very well could be one of the most underrated rivalries in all of college football and it's got a pretty decent name - The Apple Cup - to boot.  This rivalry is sure to become a pretty spicy one with the Cougars of Washington State hiring the Pirate, Mike Leach, to run the show in Pullman, WA.  The guy just is a pure gold mine of quotes and I'm sure won't disappoint when it comes to this rivalry.  

Inside the Wisconsin fanbase there may not be a more contentious and highly charged subject than that of Badger baseball. While watching the likes of Stony Brook and Kent State make their trips to Omaha for the College World Series earlier this week it got me to thinking about May 10, 1991 and the loss of Wisconsin baseball.  

Of course this is a topic that seems to creep up nearly every year around these times and for good reason. Wisconsin is the only school in the Big Ten to not have a baseball program, it's also a program that was around for 117 years of play before being dropped following the 1991 season.  

However, what seems to be happening with the distance from that decision is a lot of myth and hyperbole about just what happened and why Badger baseball isn't back as of yet.  

These days it's almost taken as gospel that Title IX was the single reason for the demise of the program and while it certainly was a factor, let's remember it wasn't the only issue at play. Simply put, 1991 was a vastly different time in college athletics and in Wisconsin athletics specifically.  

It's hard to believe that we're nearing 40 down in our countdown of the greatest games you need to see if you're a true college sports fan.  But tonight, we're higlighting a game that's become much more relevant in the past few years than it was before.  It's Big Brother vs. Little Brother - Michigan vs. Michigan State.

No. 62: Michigan vs. Michigan State (FBS Football):

This rivalry is hard for Badger fans to maybe understand at the deep level because we're a state where one school dominates the landscape, you know the one we give you coverage and opinions on?  But having gone to school in a state where two schools split the state I can attest that the rivalry is deep and bitter because you grow up wanting to go to one school or another and hating the other from a very young age.  

Michigan is seen as the "sexy" school because it's been a national football powerhouse until recent years and Michigan State has a bit of a "Little Brother" complex to it because of that and the percieved lack of coverage in the biggest media market in Detroit.  

To say this one goes beyond football should go without saying, but for both schools the annual football game holds the most significance.  Up until recently it was a football rivalry completely dominated by Michigan.  The Wolverines own a 67-32-5 record in the rivalry that dates back to it's inception in 1910.

One thing needs to be clear, it's not that Michigan State wants so badly to beat Michigan, Michigan also LOVES to beat it's little brother just to remind them every chance they get who the biggest and baddest in Michigan actually is.  

If you listent to a Michigan fan they'll point out the overall record, but a closer look into things proves that just like any good or great rivarly these two teams have had periods of dominance.

Before the Spartans joined the Big Ten in 1950 and became full members in 1953 virtually every game since 1910 had been played at Ann Arbor and before the introduction of the Paul Bunyan Trophy in 1953 it was Michigan dominating the series at 33-9-3.

With the introduction of of the trophy the Spartans took over the series with MSU going 14-4-2 from 1950 to 1969, then there's the recent history which Michigan fans would rather forget.  Currently Michigan State is on a four game winning streak and will be going for five in 2012.

The Maize 'n Blue's longest winning streak stands at 8, but they dominated the series from 1970 to 2007 before MSU's current winning streak, going 30-8 during that nearly forty year stretch.

If you need any proof of how bitter this one is, just take a gander at the replay of last years game.  It was full of old school nasty if you know what I mean.  

This one should be very interesting going forward as both are now contenders for Big Ten championships thanks to Mark Dantonio at MSU and Brady Hoke bringing Wolverine football back from the dead at Michigan.  

If you were just thinking of today this one would be vastly higher on the list, but the sheer dominance of Michigan overall put this one a bit lower in the standings.  Nonetheless this is a must see game if you want to call yourself a true college sports junkie!