Overall it was a pretty successful weekend for current and former Badgers as the U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials got underway. The weekend featured former Badger Matt Tegenkamp earning his second straight trip to the Olympic games as he finished 2nd in the 10,000 meters on Friday, the opening night of the trials. 

Hear him in his own words after earning his birth right here: 

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Tegenkamp ran the 5000 meters for the USA in the 2008 Beijing games and stepped up the distance just four year later, running for Oregon Club Elite. 

It was an underdog performance to say the least as he wasn't one of the favorites in the event, yet he joined winner Galen Rupp (also of Oregon Club Elite) in breaking the previous trials record. Tagenkamp ran 27:33.94 to place second, finishing 8 seconds behind Rupp, but 3 seconds ahead of 3rd place finisher Dathan Ritzenhein.

The Badgers could end up with two runners in the 10,000 meters at the Olympics should Mohammed Ahmed make the Canadian team during his run on Wednesday.

Over the weekend the Decathlon was also contested and it was a sight to see if you had the chance to watch, as two Badgers competed in the event that saw winner Ashton Eaton break the World Record in the event scoring 9,039 points to take the win. Former Badger and 2007 NCAA Outdoor Decathlon champion, Joe Detmer finished just out of a spot in 4th with 7,931 points. In David Grzesiak's first attempt at a U.S. National Championship the senior finished 13th (4th amongst collegiate participants) with 7,009 points.

The vast majority of Badgers competing at the trials will see competition heating up this week as finals go off in most events over this coming weekend. We'll be here to cover it all, so check back here and follow us on Twitter as we update when information breaks all week long.

Welcome back to the world of the MTB College Sports Bucket List where the games and events all matter and you may just learn a thing or two about what true college sports fandom is all about. We're on to another event you may have no idea about, but you really should!

No. 58: CIAA Basketball Tournament (D2 Basketball): 

Quick, name the top three attended basketball tournaments in the country? I'm guessing you've got two real quick in the Big East tournament and the ACC tournament, but I'm guessing that you also wouldn't know the third if you weren't reading this feature because it's the D2 CIAA tournament which attracted over 200,000 fans to Charlotte last season. It's not only a huge fan event, but some great basketball being played.

The CIAA is the oldest HBCU (Historically Black College or University) conference in the country and it has only one college (Chowan State) that isn't a HBCU. In the past this tournament was also featured as part of ESPN's coverage of Championship Week. 

What makes this such a hugely attended event? Well the CIAA has billed it as a huge "reunion" of sorts because it's not just all about the basketball. There are huge parties, celebs galore, and even a fashion event all tied to the basketball game.

Sure some people may show up for all the other things surrounding the basketball, but don't get it twisted, the basketball is just as good as what's happening around the venue - with Charlotte currently hosting through 2014.

What also makes this conference unique is it's provided some great talent to the NBA including the likes of Earl "The Pearl" Monroe (Winston-Salem State), Ben Wallace (Virginia Union), Charles Oakley (Virginia Union), and more.

The conference has also been very competitive for years on the national level with five D2 National Championships along with two more national runner-ups. Virginia Union, the school most famous for producing Ben Wallace, has 3 national titles with the latest coming in 2005 (also finished runner up in '06). Winston-Salem State and former member North Carolina Central also have won D2 Championships and St. Augustine's was the runner up in 1984.

The mixture of events surrounding the tournament as well as the quality of basketball on the court makes this an event you shouldn't miss and the increasing numbers of people attending the tournament on a yearly basis show that it's only continuing to grow into a must see event and for that they land pretty high on our list for a non-D1 event.

Wisconsin men's hockey uphed its reputation of creating quality pro prospects on Saturday when two current men’s hockey players and one incoming player were selected in this weekend’s National Hockey League Draft.

Incoming freshman forward Nicolas Kerdiles was the first Badger off the board when he was selected in the second round, No. 36 overall by the Anaheim Ducks. The Irvine, Calif. native, who lives a short distance from the Honda Center where the Ducks call home, was the leading scorer on the USA U-18 team that brought home the gold at the 2012 IIHF World Championships.

Defenseman Jake McCabe was selected later in the second round when the Buffalo Sabres picked him with the 44^th overall pick. McCabe is coming off a freshman campaign that got off to a late start due to a hand injury. He finished the season with three goals and nine assists in 26 games.

With the addition of McCabe, 13 Badgers have now been selected in the first or second round of the draft during the tenure of head coach Mike Eaves. Of the previous 12 players, only Blake Geffrion has donned the white and cardinal sweater for all four seasons of eligibility.

Brendan Woods also got the call on Saturday when he was picked up by the Carolina Hurricanes in the fifth round, No. 129 overall. The soon to be sophomore forward skated in 34 games and tallied five goals and five assists.

Woods has stated that he plans to return to UW next season.

Last season, 22 former Badgers skated in at least one NHL game. Only Michigan had more alumni (23) in the league.

It's 2012 USA Track & Field Olympic Team Trials time as they get underway today and Wisconsin will be well represented as 15 athletes with ties to the Badgers program will be involved this weekend. There's actually 16 Badgers with chances of London glory on their minds as Mohammed Ahmed competes in the Candadian trials as well. 

Here are the list of Badger qualifiers according to a release by USA Track & Field as well as the Badger Athletic Department: 

There's an old saying: "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Well, this is our attempt to do that as every Friday we'll give you the best in news and commentary from the Big Ten blogosphere. If you ever have a story worthy of this feature on the site by all means, hit the contact button on the menu and send it to us, we can't always find everything after all!

Having said all of that, let's get right into it, shall well?

The gang over at Crimson Quarry took a look back at one of the most courageous HC's in Big Ten history - Terry Hoeppner, who passed away five years ago this week. It's a great piece and got me wondering where the Hoosiers would be had he not passed away, after-all they were on their way up before his passing.

It also seems as though the ghost of Kelvin Sampson won't let go at Assembly Hall either, as the damage he did is still being undone, this time in the classroom.

What a strange week it's been for Penn State as the Jerry Sandusky Trial heads to the Jury room, yet what could be a vital piece of information will never be known by the guys and gals on the jury.

More after the jump... 

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)