Our editor Andy joined Kevin McGuire, Brandon Cavanaugh, and The Subway Domer to talk all things college football and even got in a few Wisconsin mentions... Albeit more GB than Madison, but still. Enjoy the festivities you hanger outers.... 

While your at it make sure you check out the home of college football here on Bloguin by visiting us at Crystal Ball Run and check out the fun work done at Subway Domer and CornNation as well. 

The 2013 Badgers softball team has been one of the biggest and most underreported stories of the sporting year and part of that is our fault. With the focus on UW's NCAA tournament birth and a new regime in place for football this spring, the coverage of softball has been lacking. 

However, it's a team that has made people sit up and take notice to say the least. They've been ranked in the top 25 on multiple occasions this season and have already shattered the school record for wins with a current 38-9 overall record. Their run in the Big Ten has been equally impressive as they currently sit 2nd behind national power Michigan with a 15-5 record. 

That's all well and good, but the most impressive part of all of this is the fact that this team fought through some adversity and didn't fold their season. The credit for that goes to a senior class that's set all sorts of records and continues to break them on a consistent basis. Wisconsin features seven graduating seniors (Molly Spence, Maggie Strange, Megan McIntosh, Whitney Massey, Kelsey Horton, Kendall Grimm, and Shannel Blackshear) who will take to Goodman Diamond for one last time this weekend as they face the Spartans of Michigan State for the regular season finale.

2015 Sun Prairie Point Guard Nick Noskowiak verbally committed to Marquette yesterday after his unofficial visit with the Golden Eagles. Noskowiak, a sophomore at Sun Prairie High School, is widely thought of as a Top-100 player in the Class of 2015. Wisconsin and Bo Ryan were showing serious interest in Noskowiak, but had yet to offer him.

When I asked our friend and recruiting expert Evan Flood from 247 Sports if Wisconsin had a chance to sway Noskowiak's commitment he responded, "Wisconsin won't recruit a committed player. Unless he changes his mind down the road, it's over."

Noskowiak's sudden decision comes as a surprise to me, as top recruits (especially those as young as Noskowiak) usually choose to let their recruitment process go slowly. Noskowiak would have been a great fit for Bo Ryan's system, as he's a very talented player and a smart decision maker.

Where has the time gone, right? We're finally into May and well we here in Wisconsin finally got a small taste of real spring weather over the past few days. Enjoy our 2nd edition of the re-branded video version of Badgers Power Hour - your one stop shop for all the best in Badgers talk now via YouTube.  

On this edition of the show we covered the following topics: 

- Big Ten realignment announcement & implications for UW
- The perceived power of the new Big Ten East
- Wisconsin vs. LSU at Lambeau... YES PLEASE!!
- Big Ten primetime football schedule

So enjoy and don't forget to subscribe to the Sports Intelligentsia YouTube page so you don't miss a single episode LIVE or ON DEMAND. Here is this week's Badgers Power Hour: 

Wisconsin already has a game against current back-to-back national champions Alabama on it's 2015 slate and an upgraded schedule for quite some time into the future. Rumors of LSU and Wisconsin possibly playing a single neutral site game began surfacing late last week, but it appears that the two schools are actually in talks for a series of neutral site games and not just one, like was first rumored.

According to an article on NOLA.com, LSU's athletic director Joe Alleva has acknowledged the fact that there are ongoing discussions between the Badgers and LSU for a game to be played at Lambeau Field (a game that personally I'd love to see since I'm a GB resident and all). However he has indicated things are in the early stages of the process: 

"We're still in the preliminary stages of talking to them," Alleva said Monday. "It's too early. There's too many things to consider. The biggest thing to consider is the value of playing a game that far away versus the value of playing a game in Tiger Stadium. That's what it comes down to.

 

 

"From a recruiting standpoint it's a great game to tell kids you are going to go play in Lambeau Field. But Wisconsin is a long way away."

We all know that the Badgers are back-to-back-to-back Big Ten champions and represented the conference in the last three Rose Bowls, becoming the only team in conference history not named Michigan or Ohio State to do that. With that honor the Badgers players get rings to commemorate another Big Ten championship. 

Here's a look at them courtesy of Kyle French's Facebook page: 

and a closer look here from Lance Baretz: 

They seem simple enough, but we can't see the sides - but it doesn't surprise me to see Wisconsin not go crazy and gaudy with the rings. In the end all that matters is they are champions once again and will be looking for a truly historic fourth straight Big Ten championship. 

We can only dream of that as fans, right? 

Wisconsin vs. Ohio State has produced some of the most thrilling and unexpected football both sides have seen over the past three seasons and it appears the networks are hoping that will be the case once again as ESPN/ABC announced their primetime slate of games and the Badgers vs. Buckeyes at the horseshoe in Columbus on Sept. 28th was on that list - something that seems to have become a near annual tradition. 

It will be the fourth time in six years that this game has made primetime television billing and while early in the season, it could set the tone for the entire Big Ten race. The game will kick off at 7pm CT and will be seen on either ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 - details of which will be determined much closer to kick time. 

This will also the be final meeting between the two schools as members of the same division within the Big Ten with Ohio State in the East and Wisconsin in the West divisions thank to the recently confirmed realignment announcement.

Wisconsin shouldn't be strangers to night games as 24% of their games played over the past five years have been primetime affairs. 

All of this leads to one question? Will ESPN's famed College GameDay program be making an appearance in Columbus for this one? The last time time it happened in this matchup we all remember the results and it will be hard pressed to find a more meaningful game in the final weekend of September than this one. 

While it's just one primetime game on the ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 slate, look for next week to be the timeframe when the Big Ten Network announces it's slate of primetime games and it wouldn't be surprising to see UW on that list either, given it's status as three-time defending Big Ten champions and it's preseason hype as a B1G title contender once again. 

Rick (not Ricky anymore) Wagner was the last Badger picked in this years's NFL Draft, going in the 5th round to the Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens. With Wagner being picked it also meant something that's pretty rare in the world of college sports - an entire starting offensive line from one season was picked in the NFL draft. Yes, we are talking about the 2010 Badgers offensive line in fact. 

In our research that's a feat that's NEVER been done before at Wisconsin. No doubt about it, it's something to be proud of and just another feather in the cap towards proving UW is "O-Line U." Wagner joined Gabe Carimi (1st round), Kevin Zeitler (1st), Peter Konz (2nd), and John Moffitt (3rd) as members of that offensive line in 2010 to get drafted. 

What makes it even more amazing is that one Bill Nagy, who didn't even start in 2010, was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 7th round of the 2011 draft. That's how crazy good that line was. A guy who couldn't even crack that starting line up made it to the NFL and became a starter - until an injury derailed that situation and is now in Detroit.

For me, there is zero doubt about what offensive line unit in the history of the Badgers is the best - it is the 2010 group. I'd love to hear anyone tell me another group was better. Sure 1993 and 2002 could give them a run for their money, but but both of those lines had exactly half as many draft picks out of them as the 2010 unit did. 

After months of speculation and leaks from various athletic directors, including the Badgers own Barry Alvarez, the Big Ten made it official earlier today. Yep, the Big Ten is splitting into East and West Divisions starting in 2014 and going to a nine game conference schedule starting in 2014. 

Of course the long-rumored divisional realignment happened like we all thought it would and the new divisions will look like this: 

East: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers

West: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin 

In order to make one of the rivalry splits work the Big Ten will protect the cross-divisional game between Indiana and Purdue on an annual basis, meaning those two will only play one other team from the other division for the first two years and two from then on. 

It took till nearly the end of the 2nd round, but Montee Ball finally has a home with the Denver Broncos picking the all-time career TD record holder with the 58th pick of the 2nd round. He'll be taking hand-offs from one Peyton Manning this fall in the Mile High city.

After the Broncos went defense in the 1st round, picking UNC's Sylvester Williams, they went impact on offense by adding a much needed anchor at running back.

Last season the Broncos were led by Willis McGahee and his whopping 731 yards, but like years past this team did it by committee and they ended the season ranked 6th in rushing yards per game. 

This pick allows Denver to get younger and faster at a position that was in serious need of "the guy" so to speak. 

Montee is the highest taken Badgers back since Michael Bennett was taken in the 1st round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He's also the first running back selected since Brian Calhoun in the 2006 draft. His pick also will have much of the state of Wisconsin wondering what could've been as the Packers traded down behind the Broncos with obvious hopes of taking a running back.