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Weekend, February 19-21, 2010
Edgewater saga prompts look at approval process PART 1 of 2 By Grace Urban The Daily Cardinal
After many months of debate, the long-awaited Edgewater vote at the Common Council meetings next week may finally seal the fate of Hammes Co.’s proposed redevelopment project. But the lengthy process the project has gone through to gain city approval has officials questioning whether the system is conducive to new development. The council had hoped to vote on all the committee actions necessary for full approval of the project at its meetings Feb. 23 and 24, but according to Ald. Bryon Eagon, District 8, the final decision will be postponed. The council, will,
however, vote on whether to overturn the Landmarks Commission decision. Following the Common Council’s inability to overturn a Landmarks Commission decision to deny a certificate of appropriateness to the project in December, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz criticized what he deemed to be a “broken system.” “There was widespread support for the project on the council. No member of the council actually spoke against it,” Cieslewicz wrote in his blog. Cieslewicz said the council’s inability to overturn the Landmarks decision with a supermajority vote could be attributed to their need to address a “narrow legal question” about whether the ordinance imposed “significant
Graphic by natasha soglin/the daily cardinal
hardship” on Hammes Co. Eagon said there is room for improvement in the city’s approval process for development projects. “It’s important to maintain that quality and character [of Madison] but also support new investment in the future of the city,” he said. He said one possible way to attempt to strike the balance is by offering economic
incentives such as tax breaks. “But there’s also intangibles of the quality of life that Madison provides,” he added. “Stressing some of those other less tangible benefits of the city itself [adds to] possible direct incentives in the form of economic issues to specific projects.” Conversely, Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, said, “On
paper I think [the process] is fine. I see us run into problems when commissioners start asking for a lot of ancillary items.” Although it is clear that a project needs to get approval from multiple city committees to go forward, there is no one specific path for a proposal to take when edgewater page 3
Committee debates city rail locations By Nick Crowley The Daily Cardinal
photo Courtesy Forest Banks
Graphic by natasha soglin
An aerial view depicts the Seasonal Equipment Site which remains in the same location during summer drilling.
By Jeremy Berg The Daily Cardinal
In one of the coldest places on Earth, UW-Madison scientists are building the world’s largest telescope to search for some of the universe’s smallest particles. Located at the South Pole, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory will, as its name implies, look for tiny, subatomic particles called neutrinos, which are produced by nuclear reactions that take place in the cores of stars and in other deepspace phenomena. Because neu-
trinos are far smaller than even a single atom, and because they have no electric charge, they can pass through large, solid objects, such as the Earth, or strong magnetic fields. As a result of these properties, they come straight from their source without being deflected or absorbed. This makes the neutrino an ideal messenger particle to convey information about events occurring far across the universe. UW-Madison professor Francis Halzen, the lead researcher on the IceCube project, believes neutrinos
have the potential to change the way astronomy is done. “The important thing is, they’re just like light,” Halzen said. “People have done astronomy with light since they had eyes, and so, we want to do astronomy with neutrinos.” Being able to detect neutrinos and determine where they are coming from will help researchers peer into the depths of space and hopefully expose some of the greatest mysteries confronting modern astronomy and physics, such as the nature of supernova explosions,
black holes, dark matter and other deep-space phenomena. The same properties that make neutrinos an ideal messenger particle, however, also make them extremely difficult to detect. Trillions of neutrinos stream through the human body every second, but few, if any, ever interact with atoms. And if a particle never interacts with any of the matter around it, it is essentially impossible to detect. icecube page 4
The Madison Downtown Coordinating Committee discussed possible train station locations Thursday night for the highspeed rail set to connect Madison to Milwaukee and potentially to the Twin Cities. Set to open in January 2013, the Amtrak railroad station in Madison would integrate the city into a series of railroads that facilitate transportation between major cities in the Midwest. The state and federal government have already allocated $810 million to the project, but logistics such as the station location have not yet been worked out. The council deliberated between two sites, one adjacent to the Madison airport on the outskirts of the city and the other near the Fiore Shopping Center, a downtown location. Barry Gore, a city planner with experience in railroad planning, presented the benefits of a downtown station location. Gore said the accessibility of a downtown station to students and government workers was a key motive for a station within the city. “The station would be surrounded by bus stops, sidewalks and bike trails,” Gore said. “People would step off the train and see the capitol as a rail page 3
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”
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Weekend, February 19-21, 2010
An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892
Nerd is the word: It’s chic to be a geek
Volume 119, Issue 91
2142 Vilas Communication Hall 821 University Avenue Madison, Wis., 53706-1497 (608) 262-8000 l fax (608) 262-8100
News and Editorial edit@dailycardinal.com Editor in Chief Charles Brace Managing Editor Ryan Hebel Campus Editor Kelsey Gunderson Grace Urban City Editor State Editor Hannah Furfaro Enterprise Editor Hannah McClung Associate News Editor Ashley Davis Senior News Reporters Alison Dirr Ariel Shapiro Robert Taylor Anthony Cefali Opinion Editor Todd Stevens Arts Editors Katie Foran-McHale Jacqueline O’Reilly Sports Editors Scott Kellogg Nico Savidge Kevin Slane Page Two Editor Features Editor Madeline Anderson Ben Pierson Life and Style Editor Photo Editors Isabel Álvarez Danny Marchewka Graphics Editors Caitlin Kirihara Natasha Soglin Multimedia Editor Jenny Peek Editorial Board Chair Jamie Stark Copy Chiefs Anna Jeon Kyle Sparks Justin Stephani Jake VIctor Copy Editors Alice Cho Alison Dirr, Aubrey Lauersdorf, Min Sun Lee Caitlin Linehan, Lisa Robleski, Patrick Shipe
Business and Advertising business@dailycardinal.com Business Manager Cole Wenzel Advertising Manager Katie Brown Accounts Receivable Manager Michael Cronin Billing Manager Mindy Cummings Senior Account Executive Ana Devcic Account Executives Mara Greenwald Kristen Lindsay, D.J. Nogalski, Sarah Schupanitz Graphic Designer Mara Greenwald Web Director Eric Harris Marketing Director Mia Beeson Archivist Erin Schmidtke The Daily Cardinal is published weekdays and distributed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and its surrounding community with a circulation of 10,000. The Daily Cardinal is a nonprofit organization run by its staff members and elected editors. It receives no funds from the university. Operating revenue is generated from advertising and subscription sales. Capital Newspapers, Inc. is the Cardinal’s printer. The Daily Cardinal is printed on recycled paper. The Cardinal is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. All copy, photographs and graphics appearing in The Daily Cardinal are the sole property of the Cardinal and may not be reproduced without written permission of the editor in chief. The Daily Cardinal accepts advertising representing a wide range of views. This acceptance does not imply agreement with the views expressed. The Cardinal reserves the right to reject advertisements judged offensive based on imagery, wording or both. Complaints: News and editorial complaints should be presented to the editor in chief. Business and advertising complaints should be presented to the business manager. Letters Policy: Letters must be typewritten, double-spaced and no longer than 200 words, including contact information. Letters may be sent to letters@dailycardinal.com.
Editorial Board Charles Brace Anthony Cefali Kathy Dittrich Ryan Hebel Nico Savidge Jamie Stark Todd Stevens Justin Stephani l
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Board of Directors Vince Filak Cole Wenzel Joan Herzing Jason Stein Jeff Smoller Janet Larson Chris Long Charles Brace Katie Brown Benjamin Sayre Jenny Sereno Terry Shelton Melissa Anderson l
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ANDREW LAHR spare me the lahrcasm
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oday’s tough economic times have left business firms in the gutter. With these titans of industry failing, who inherits the earth? Answer: Geeks, nerds, dweebs, whatever you may call them. They are the inquisitive, usually socially inept subpopulation of the world. This is a fact of life that even the most moronic members of society understand. Geeks are the most important natural resource the world has ever known. Without them gravity would be nothing more than a shitty John Mayer song, and earth would still be flatter than an emaciated Nicole Richie. As important as geeks are today, they’ve got it rough, thought of as nothing more than that four-eyed square/possible serial killer that breathes really hard behind you in biology class. Well, I’m here to tell you you’re lucky he’s breathing, ‘cause some day he’ll solve global warming and cure AIDS in his spare time after a tiring “World of Warcraft” binge. Everyone knows it’s possible to succeed in law or business without using the majority of your
brain, and if that’s your slice of pie, fine. Just remember that the DNA sequence in that blood or semen sample and that fancy Palm Pilot you stroke during the night alone in your fancy hotel aren’t being crapped out of thin air by the science fairy. Why am I coming to the rescue of the outcasts of society you may ask? Well, for one, I’m a dork, and though maybe not right up there with Steve Urkel and Billy Gates (wish I were), it’s important to look out for your own kind... something I’ve been doing since accepting my place in society, something which happened fairly recently, in fact. Cue the spiraling memory scene. It was a regular, quiet Saturday night for me. I’d just finished fixing my Xbox 360 motherboard for the zillionth time... honestly, Microsoft. I’ll be damned if I’m going to shell out shipping and handling so a few “technicians,” as they call them, can try their best to “fix” their shitty products just so it can break again on me. Besides, there’s no way I’m waiting a friggin’ month and a half to pwn n00blets in “Modern Warfare.” We’ve got a saying in our apartment that I definitely didn’t just make up for this article, “The n00bs we shall pwn, ’til the cows they come home.” I was just finishing up some organic chemistry before sitting down with one of Tolkien’s lesser
The Dirty Bird
ERICA ANDRIST sex columnist I just started dating a new guy. Do you have any suggestions on how to ask if someone has been tested for STIs and what types of questions should I be asking? What should I know about my STI testing besides positive or negative? Thanks, Tested and Confused
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© 2010, The Daily Cardinal Media Corporation ISSN 0011-5398
For the record In the Feb. 18, 2010 article “City committee impressed with changes to Edgerwater Hotel design,” it incorrectly paraphrased Ald. Marsha Rummel, District 6, as saying the changes were “moving the tower 15 feet further from the shoreline” when it should have said “moving the tower 15 feet further to the east to expand the lake view.” The Cardinal regrets the error. Corrections or clarifications? Call The Daily Cardinal office at 608-262-8000 or send an e-mail to edit@dailycardinal.com.
known works,“The Silmarillion,” quite the read, actually, if you’re into that sort of thing. I’m sure you aren’t. I’ve read it three times. So there I was, half-assedly using some retrosynthetic analysis to create alcohols from various carbonbased reagents. God, there’s just something about O-chem that really revs my engines on the weekend. Anyway, once I successfully synthesized my favorite alcohol, ethanol (you know... BEEEER), I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself at the infamous volatile, colorless liquid for the countless acts of sheer stupidity it has coaxed out of both me and my German/Irish ancestors. In fact, it was because of a night full of ethanol-induced tomfoolery that I was taking that particular Saturday off, a rare occurrence to say the least. Well, anyways, it was on that fateful night, as I cracked open the pages of wholesome Middle Earth lore, that I had an epiphany. As I paged through one of my favorite chapters involving a couple of elves, the dark lord and one badass dragon, it hit me. “My God,” I thought to myself, “Am I a geek?” I set my novel aside (I never drop books), as my inner nerd and all of the memories tied with it began to flash before my eyes in all their glory. Transformers, the Ninja Turtles, comic
books, Zelda, “Star Trek,” “SuperSmash Bros.,” Obi Wan Kenobi, “LOTR,” a little playful hacking here and there, “Halo”... you get the idea. I’m pretty sure I read every Harry Potter straight through without rest, even the ones that ended up sucking, which turned out to be quite a few, as ashamed as I am to admit it. Do I try to hide this from the world? Is geekdom something to be insecure about? The answer is a resounding no. Why, you may ask? Because firstly, if you’re a geek you already don’t give a shit about what people think. Another reason being a geek is jive that not many know about is they’re absolutely slay with the women. You’d be surprised how quickly even the most well-educated sorority sluts will fall under your spell with the use of a few charming words with more than three or four syllables. “Ohm’gosh yer sooooo smart!” Chalk one up for the pencil pushers. By now if you’ve read this far you’re either hopelessly lost in class, semi-illiterate or, in the most likely case, you probably are in fact a geek, and I applaud you for that. Shots and “Star Trek” at my place this weekend. Let’s get drunk and speak in Klingon. Kirk out. Andrew’s serious about the “Star Trek” thing. Email aplahr@wisc.edu for an invite.
sex and the student body
popping the sti question: the ultimate sex test
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What a perfectly timed question as National Condom Week comes to a close! We’ve spent a lot of time raising awareness about barrier methods this week, but there are many other ways to take charge of our sexual health. One of those things is talking to our partners about sexually transmitted infections and STI screening. It can be tricky to broach the subject, whether we’re in a new relationship in a long-term relationship, or with someone we don’t plan on seeing again. Talking about syphilis right before we get it on doesn’t generally help to improve the mood. Maybe our partners will think we have an STI if we bring it up. What if we’re invading our partner’s privacy? It’s always good to remind ourselves the STI conversation is a healthy, normal one to have. STIs don’t discriminate, and while contracting one doesn’t have to ruin our lives, we still have every right to protect ourselves as well as we can if we choose to engage in sexual activity. Nonetheless, it can still seem awkward to bring up the topic. I would not give this advice under any other circumstance, but here—fake it. Regardless of the way you
feel inside, smile at your partner and ask for consent. “Do you want to have sex?” If your partner says yes, bust out a condom and whisper, “Great! I’ve ultrasupermegahorny since my chlamydia test came back negative a couple weeks ago.” Maybe not those exact words. But the point is to not make your partner feel uncomfortable. Some might argue the question itself makes people feel awkward, but the phrasing and delivery of the question have a far greater impact. Most humans have an excellent capacity for nonverbal cues. If I am standing with arms crossed, staring at the floor, nervously mumbling, “Uh, so have you noticed any unusual redness or swelling in your genital region lately?” you can be assured my partner is going to feel creeped out. On the other hand, if we offer a smooth, confident delivery, our partner is much more likely to respond positively (more on “positive” in a sec). Most of us know talking about STIs and barrier methods is a healthy thing to do. One of your partner’s reactions will likely be relief, since she/he was wondering how to broach the subject, too. If we’re the ones being asked about STIs—tell the truth. If we haven’t been screened, we should say so. If we just finished a round of antibiotics, say so. And by all means, shoot the question right back at your partner. Your partner is not accusing or interrogating, she/he is being proactive about his/her health—and yours too. Remember, this convo is a dialogue (or trialogue, etc.). And if our partners don’t ask, that’s no reason not to speak up ourselves. Next, don’t forget these questions have answers, and our partners may not respond the way we expect or hope they will. It’s important to be prepared for this. Each of us has the right to refuse to engage in sex with any person for any reason, and if your partner’s herpes disclosure is a deal-breaker
for you, that’s your prerogative. However, a little background can help immensely when our partners or we have STIs. Be prepared with some follow-up questions. “Are you taking medication for that? When was your last outbreak?” Questions like these can help us more accurately assess what risks are involved in sexual activity and will help prevent us from dismissing a potential partner based on our own ignorance of STIs and their transmission. Lastly, knowing our own status is the foundation of this conversation. Some STIs do not have routine screening tests, so a key part of knowing our complete status is to know ourselves. Grab a hand mirror and have a look from time to time—if you notice any new bumps or inflammation, get it checked out. Chlamydia and gonorrhea can be screened with a urine test. HIV and syphilis are done with a blood test. An oral swab can be used to test for HIV in some Madison locations. Female-bodied individuals can be tested for some strains of HPV with a pap smear. Locations offering some or all of these tests include UHS, Planned Parenthood (check out its new location on South Park Street), AIDS Network, Briarpatch and Access Community Health Centers. Thanks again for your question, TaC, and best of luck with the new guy. While ordinarily I would try to end my column with some dorky pun, this week I want to close with a big shout-out to my antihomie, state Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend: Hey dude, talking about being gay doesn’t turn you gay any more than talking about being pregnant turns you pregnant. But if you’re worried about that, wouldn’t it be best for you to just never open your mouth about queer issues ever again? Yeah. Good chat. Thanks. E-mail Erica all your sex questions at sex@dailycardinal.com.
dailycardinal.com/news
ASM may increase stipends for staff By Kayla Johnson The Daily Cardinal
The Associated Students of Madison Student Council and Student Services Finance Committee included several increases for staff stipends in their proposed 2010-’11 budgets, with the highest increase at $3,000. According to ASM Vice Chair Tom Templeton, the proposed ASM internal budget, which will be finalized by a conference committee next week, would increase some staff stipends about 15 to 20 percent on average. ASM passed the SSFC budget of about $8,400 for the SSFC chair, $7,000 for the vice chair and $2,800 for the secretary. Templeton said, however, that there are also several stipend decreases of up to 3 percent. According to Templeton, the stipends were determined to partially cover staff members’ tuition, taking into the account expected cost of living, what the individual receives for financial aid, and expected family contribution. Templeton said since the staff members receive a set stipend, the positions are automatically paid less than minimum wage for the hours they
put into the job. “It is not near equitable to what the job demands of you,” he said. According to SSFC Chair Brandon Williams, some stipends increased this year to ensure that they will never increase arbitrarily again. The proposed stipend increases have sparked controversy because of large increases in various positions, such as the 75 percent increase for the SSFC vice chair. Ac a d e m i c Affairs Committee Chair Jonah Zinn said he feels the stipend increases are unnecessary, especially with the current economic recession. “It seems ridiculous that we are giving ourselves these massive increases, and I think it’s unreasonable,” he said. Representative Colin Ingram said at the Student Council meeting Wednesday that he also does not see a good reason for the increases. “I haven’t heard very good justifications for these increases,” he said. Templeton said he believes the staff members are not paid equitably for the work they perform. “We are not trying to be overpaid,” he said. “I see this job as being a public service and a representative.”
edgewater from page 1 attempting to gain city approval. Maniaci suggested streamlining the process by limiting the number of times an item comes to committee. “You see applicants come through for informational meetings, and then they come for initial approval, and that usually takes a couple meetings,” she said, referring to the Urban Design Commission. “And then they go through the Plan Commission and the [Common] Council, and then
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Proposed bill would limit 911 audio access By Justin Eells The Daily Cardinal
A bill banning public access to recordings of 911 calls was reviewed by a state Assembly committee Thursday. The bill was introduced Dec. 11, 2009, by both state Reps. Amy Vruwink, D-Milladore and Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee. It was co-sponsored by state Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, and referred to the Committee on Personal Privacy. Under the bill, a requester would maintain the right to inspect and copy a transcript of a 911 call but not have the right to inspect or copy an audio recording. The legislation was motivated by the Brittany Zimmermann case, which involves a 21-year-old
UW-Madison student who was killed in her apartment in April 2008. Opponents of the bill says it violates freedom of information laws. “There are many occasions where those tapes provide important information about how well the system responds, about what the facts are in a given case, and it’s clearly in the public’s interest to have continued access to these recordings,” said Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council. Peter Fox, executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, called the bill “legislation by anecdote.” “We shouldn’t enter into legislation to restrict public records
based on one incident no matter how painful,” Fox said. A spokesperson from Vruwink’s office said there is a misperception that this bill would totally restrict access. The spokesperson said that people would be able to to review the transcripts of the tapes, but not the audio. Fox said he supports the “balancing test,” which allows custodians of public records to request that they be restricted, and for judges to decide whether records are appropriate for public disclosure. Fox said there are “cases where there is a justified reason for the public to have access to the actual tape recording to determine if the 911 center is operating appropriately for the benefit of all the citizens.”
Madison to sue county over automated 911 dispatch system The city of Madison will sue Dane County to prevent it from moving ahead with changes to the 911 nonemergency dispatch system, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announced Thursday. According to Rachel StrauchNelson, spokesperson for Cieslewicz, on Tuesday the county announced it would implement an auto-attendant system at the 911 center Saturday. The automated system is intended to allow 911 dispatchers to focus on emergencies rather than “serving as a reception center for incoming business phone calls” by connecting callers with services
they come back to Urban Design for final approval, so that’s a lot of meetings.” The necessity for developers to gain approval from multiple committees becomes not only time consuming, but expensive. Hammes Co. President Robert Dunn has repeatedly expressed frustration with the process, arguing that the Edgewater project’s controversial tower will make it financially feasible for Hammes Co. to restore the original 1940s building. In the end, it appears as if
they’re looking for, according to a statement released by County Executive Kathleen Falk. According to Strauch-Nelson, “[The county would] also end dispatcher’s parking enforcement calls for the city of Madison when that auto-attendant goes into effect, or they would charge the city for that service,” something the city strongly opposes with the service costing $33,000. The city argues Falk does not have legal standing to implement the program without the consent of the 911 center board. “Not only do I believe that the county’s actions are not supported
Madison is engaged in a balancing act between preserving what is deemed historic while attempting to remain a viable community by attracting development projects and, consequently, jobs. “There’s arguments to be made that the current process for development can be too drawn out or lengthy and it may hinder projects,” Eagon said. “But there’s also arguments to be made that the current structure strengthens projects because it allows for so much input from so many different citizen experts and policy makers.”
under law, but they are either premature or they represent a bad public policy,” Cieslewicz said in a statement. Strauch-Nelson said over a dozen government leaders and police chiefs throughout the county attended the news conference Wednesday to show their support for Madison’s decision. “They share [Madison’s] concerns,” she said. “They see this as a dangerous precedent … If the county can unilaterally decide what calls it’s going to dispatch and what ones it won’t, then what will be next?” —Grace Urban
rail from page 1 landmark, and they would know they are in Madison.” Supporters of the downtown site said the economic incentives provide another crucial benefit. Former UW-Madison history professor Stan Schultz commented on the economic role of a downtown station, saying, “Every city since the 1800s has grown economically after railroads were placed in the city limits. We can
learn from this history.” Royce Williams of the Citizens Advisory Committee suggested the airport as an alternate location. Williams included the airport’s proximity to taxis, food and parking as benefits of an airport location. Despite an aggressive timeline for the construction of the railroad and station, the final decision for its location has not been decided by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
Isabel álvarez/the daily cardinal
Congratulations Candice! UW Madison student Candice Lindstrum won $1000 for her essay in The Daily Cardinal’s $1000 for 1000 Words contest.
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Weekend, February 19-21, 2010
icecube from page 1 Fortunately for Halzen and the IceCube team, on very rare occasion a neutrino will collide directly with the nucleus of an atom and cause a nuclear reaction that emits a small amount of blue light. If scientists can detect this light, they can infer a great deal about the neutrino that created it and where it came from. A Huge Idea Scientists have known that neutrinos could be used in astronomy since they were discovered in 1956. One of the greatest difficulties, however, was designing a large enough detector. “When they thought about it a little bit–a little bit in this field means 20 years–they realized they needed detectors that were a kilometer in size, and nobody knew how to do this,” Halzen said. “You need a big block of very transparent material,” he added. The prevailing idea for many years was to attempt to build a detector in a kilometer cube of water, deep in the ocean. “People couldn’t make that work,” Halzen said. “So that’s when the idea came: What about using ice?” “The only thing you can be sure of is if you stop doing fundamental science you are dropping off a cliff eventually.” Francis Halzen professor UW-Madison
The gigantic sheet of ice that makes up the South Pole is almost two miles thick. Thus, the ice at the bottom is under enormous pressure from the weight of the ice above it. This compresses the ice, eliminating impurities that would distort the researchers’ measurements. “Even in a lab, you cannot make a solid that’s as transparent as the ice at the South Pole,” Halzen said. In the 1990s, UW-Madison scientists constructed a small, proof-ofconcept telescope at the South Pole, nicknamed AMANDA (Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array), to demonstrate that the technique worked. “People thought I was crazy when I said well you go to the South Pole and drill 2.5 kilometers in the ice,” Halzen said. “That’s simpler than putting [sensors] in water off the coast of Hawaii? And the answer is yes, and we’ve proven it.” Construction on AMANDA finished in 2000, and in 2002 the National Science Foundation awarded the university a $242 million grant to build the full-scale IceCube Neutrino Observatory. Construction on IceCube began in 2005 with the deployment of the first string of sensors. When construction finishes early next year, IceCube will consist of a total of 86 strings made up of 60 sensors each for a total of over 5000 sensors
arranged in a grid one cubic kilometer in size. These sensors are buried roughly a mile under the surface of the ice. Construction is limited to December and January, summer in the southern hemisphere. The harsh conditions at the South Pole, with an average winter temperature of -85oF, make working outside impossible during any other part of the year. Putting it All Together As one can imagine, the execution of placing the sensors is not a simple process. Deployment manager Tom Ham oversees the entire process. First a 2.5-kilometer-deep hole is melted in the ice using a hot water drill that requires roughly as much power as a heavy diesel-electric locomotive. “When you think about it, that’s a long way down just to put hot water,” Ham said. “To melt ice that deep is a big thing.” It usually takes about 24-32 hours to drill a single hole. Once the drilling is finished, the string of 60 sensors is lowered into the hole. Each sensor is enclosed in a plastic sphere slightly larger than a basketball and was custom designed for the IceCube project. Their job is to detect the blue light emitted by neutrinos interacting with atoms in the ice and to then transmit the information to the surface. After the string of sensors is installed, the water in the hole slowly refreezes over the course of the next week and a half to a month. The sensors become permanently secured in the ice and can therefore never be removed for maintenance or repair. Thus far, 79 of the scheduled 86 strings of sensors have been installed in the ice, and the remaining seven strings will be installed by next January to make the station fully operational. Making Sense of the Data Then the focus of the project will shift to learning how to deal with the immense amounts of data generated by IceCube. UW-Madison physics graduate students Laura Gladstone and Nathan Whitehorn are already confronting these problems. “There’s a lot of steps between taking the data and getting it up to where you can say something,” Gladstone said. “With [IceCube] there are special challenges to understanding what you have because we didn’t build most of it, it’s naturally occurring,” Whitehorn added. Unlike many other large physics experiments, such as the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, in which the entire experiment is contained in an artificial environment, researchers do not have control over the parameters of the experiment. “If you want to do particle physics with IceCube, the particles you’re getting, you don’t know where they’re coming from, when they’re coming, or what their properties are in advance,” Whitehorn said. This adds a great deal of difficulty to the project. While UW-Madison is the lead institution, there are over 400 people from roughly 30 institutions around the world working in collaboration with researchers like Gladstone and Whitehorn to sort through the data already being generated by the partially operational observatory. “It’s a really neat place to be,” Whitehorn said. Why Now? As with any sort of fundamental science project such as IceCube, how-
Each vertical black line represents a single hole in the ice, and each black dot a single sensor. Every hole has had a string of 60 sensors lowered into it and is over a mile and half deep. ov
IceCube Lab Surface
The sensors detect blue light emitted as a result of neutrino collisions in the ice (below). Data about the light detected is transmitted to the IceCube Lab at the surface, where it beamed sur via satellite to IceCube headquarters in Madison. Because the light arrives at different sensors at different times, researchers can use this data to reconstruct the original path p of the neutrino.
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GRAPHIC BY NATASHA SOGLIN/THE DAILY CARDINAL
ever, the question always arises: Why? More than anything, the reasoning is grounded in the researchers’ curiosity about how the universe works. “When you stop doing fundamental science, you become a developing country,” Halzen said. He argued that because fundamental science research is by nature unusual, it generates technology that never would have been discovered any other way. “The only thing you can be sure of is if you stop doing fundamental science you are dropping off a cliff eventually,” he said. “Discoveries that become important are made elsewhere, and you play catch-up, or worse, if you are not part of it.” Halzen also noted that such research is of intrinsic value to the human spirit. “The reason we know our place in the universe is because we do cosmology. If people stop being curious about these questions, I think this would be a very sad day.”
PHOTO COURTESY NSF
Researchers from UW-Madison led a team that included others from about 30 institutions around the world, pictured above preparing one of the many powerful sensors for its descent into the South Pole ice.
arts
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Weekend, February 19-21, 2010
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Argos funny in Brut, not so much ‘Now!’ By Kyle Sparks
manage to stray away from the Top 40 pop hooks they despise, they have a hard time What’s the deal with Art Brut, anyway? demanding legitimacy, risking comparisons Are they a rock ’n’ roll band that makes to “Weird Al” Yankovic and the like. The jokes or a joke band that plays rock ’n’ roll? music itself is well thought out, even if not And what’s the deal with the French? When altogether inventive, and the band plays with it comes to inconsequential leisure goods machinistic precision. But the trouble is (cheese, wine, soccer) they’re that Argos fills a similar role. CD REVIEW some of the world’s best, All too often, the charmbut when it comes to things ing, endearing singer who that actually matter (influstrives on roughshod riffs encing global politics, winand speedy singalongs is laid ning wars) they don’t have atop a stagnant hook parlaythe same success. So why, ing a narrative he cares little then, would anyone aim to about. It’s a forced gimmick join a resistance against such from the same guy responFixing the Charts, harmless friends? sible for making gimmickry Volume 1 Eddie Argos, the ceasesound organic. Everybody Was lessly witty frontman (who The trouble with scoldin the French is not, in fact, French), ing Argos for this, though, Resistance... is here to provide all our is that we’re robbing him Now! answers and even rewrite of his originality. Nobody some of our questions. tells Ryan Howard to stop swinging for the Fixing the Charts, Volume 1—the debut fences, because we’ve all learned to accept his from rock ’n’ roller Argos’ pop side project, high strikeout rate as a tradeoff for his power. Everybody Was in the French Resistance... Argos is the same guy who wrote a noteworNow!—is a song-by-song recreation of thy song about DC Comics and chocolate modern pop. Argos and Co. flip the script, milkshakes, so of course he’d want to tell writing irrecognizable perspectives of some Avril Lavigne to stop being a homewrecker. of pop music’s most recognizable songs. Make no mistake: Eddie Argos is still a Take, for instance, Avril Lavigne’s funny man. But Argos’ shtick works with unavoidable summer jam “Girlfriend.” Art Brut because he’s speaking to his peers. When Lavigne sees a man in a doomed His wit doesn’t depend on his rock ’n’ roll relationship looking for a way out, Argos backbone, but its ruthless style is enhanced is there to tell her on “G.I.R.L.F.R.E.N. by the context. His quirky witticisms are (You Know I’ve Got A)” that the boyfriend substantiated by the heavy background, is happy just where he is and those mixed while the straightforward riffs look to his signals she’s getting are just annoyance. lyrics for ingenuity. But with French Resistance he scales back. He tells us about his girlfriend without mentioning how many times he’s seen her naked, and he’s worse for it. He struggles with this new backAll too often, the charming, ground, unsure of what he can or should say, endearing singer who strives on roughafraid his mannerisms might cause too much shod riffs and speedy sing-alongs is laid of a stir. Argos has always just said whatever he atop a stagnant hook parlaying a wanted, and the new self-imposed restrictions cut narrative he cares little about. out his endearing honesty. His forced lyrics are not enough to stand alone, and without the sturdy backbone of Art And there’s more. Argos warns Bob Brut’s riffs, his novelty wears down. Put simply, Dylan he’d better reconsider on “Think French Resistance is a one-trick pony trying to Twice (It’s Not Alright),” tells Kanye West get by on novel goods (think cheese, wine, socnot to be so judgmental on “Coal Digger” cer), and while we’re likely to indulge in their and teaches Frank Sinatra that “My Way (Is materialism from time to time, we’re still bound Not Always the Best Way).” to go to Art Brut for our more substantive needs The problem is, while French Resistance (think DC Comics, chocolate milkshakes). The Daily Cardinal
Danny Marchewka/cardinal file photo
MadHatters, along with Redefined, Tangled Up in Blue and Fundamentally Sound, will team up this Saturday to put on the third A Cappella Showcase.
Raising their voices: singing to support By Jacqueline O’Reilly The Daily Cardinal
There are several a cappella groups on campus, each with a distinctive sound and personality. This Saturday, the four groups—Fundamentally Sound, Tangled Up In Blue, MadHatters and Redefined —will team up to put on the A Cappella Showcase, a concert event featuring the groups both separately and together. This is the third year UW’s various a cappella groups have teamed up. “Working with the other a cappella groups was really fun,” said Alexandra Machover, a member of Tangled Up in Blue. Fundamentally Sound’s Joseph Wenninger explained that even with the inevitable challenges that arise when combining several distinctive groups, the process still proves to be rewarding. “Although trying to maintain focus with 60-plus singers is extremely difficult and frustrating at times, the talent that each group brings to the table helps the small amount of focus achieved go a long way,” he said.
In an effort to appeal to everyone’s taste, each group is aiming to perform within a wide array of genres.
In previous years, the concert has been made up merely of each group performing solo. This year will be the first time the four groups will actually sing together, collaborating on the show’s opening number. “Having everyone together on stage starts the show on a really good note,” said Erica Nelson, business manager of Redefined. The particular song the groups will be collaborating on is under wraps, Nelson did hint, “It is a chart topper, one that everyone will know.” This is not to say each group’s individual talents won’t be highlighted. Members from all four were enthusiastic about what their specific sets included. “We’ll be debuting four new songs at the showcase: Michael Buble’s ‘Haven’t Met You Yet,’ James Brown’s ‘I Feel
Good,’ the fabulous Lady Gaga tune ‘Speechless’ as well as an exciting new arrangement of ‘On, Wisconsin,’” MadHatter David Redick said. Nelson was also excited about her respective group’s set, saying, “You can expect a lot of high-energy songs from Redefined.” Although excited about their individual talents, those participating in the show were most excited about the bond the four groups are making.
Proceeds from the showcase will benefit the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, a charity close to each group’s heart.
“We are now considering ourselves a community more so than just individual groups,” Nelson said. With all this energy and talent, the A Cappella Showcase is sure to be entertaining. In an effort to appeal to everyone’s taste, each group is aiming to perform within a wide array of genres. “Audience members should expect to hear a variety of songs—pop, ’80s, alternative, etc.,” Machover said. “The musical arrangements are always very impressive from each group.” Proceeds from the showcase will benefit the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, a charity close to each group’s heart. “Cancer is an issue that affects everyone,” Nelson said. The groups were looking for a universally supportable charity, and because of several of the group’s past experience with Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society was an easy choice. “It’s very clear it’s a benefit concert, and we want to put our emphasis on that,” Nelson said. “But it’s not a sad event.” The four groups are looking to top the $7,000 the event brought in last year. “It’s rewarding to know that that was because of our work,” Nelson said. “We’re all really proud to be a part of this.” The A Cappella Showcase will be held this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Union Theater. Tickets cost $10 for students and $15 for general admittance.
Photo courtesy Cooking vinyl
Everybody Was in the French Resistance... Now! frontman Eddie Argos is best known for his band Art Brut. This humor does not translate over well to Argos’ side project, Everybody.
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Ya hear that, Starbucks addicts? Apples are more efficient at waking you up in the morning than caffeine. dailycardinal.com/comics
Weekend, February 19-21, 2010
Holy Moly!
Today’s Sudoku
Evil Bird
By Caitlin Kirihara kirihara@wisc.edu
© Puzzles by Pappocom
Ludicrous Linguistics Classic
By Celia Donnelly donnelly.celia@gmail.com
Solution, tips and computer program available at www.sudoku.com.
Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. The Graph Giraffe
By Yosef Lerner
Sid and Phil Classic
By Alex Lewein alex@sidandphil.com
Today’s Crossword Puzzle
Crustaches
By Patrick Remington premington@wisc.edu
First in Twenty
By Angel Lee alee23@wisc.edu
Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com And Then What?
ACROSS 1 15-0 in baseball, e.g. 5 Antiknock ingredient 10 Gold-winning Korbut 14 It’s plucked in Parma 15 A bib catches it 16 Bank or library offering 17 Browse through 18 In desperate need of help 20 Like craft fair goods 22 Annoy 23 “Gidget” star Sandra 24 “The Mikado” wardrobe item 25 Cooperative effort 30 Sting’s real last name 34 Celestial spheres 35 First sound in an MGM movie 37 Infamous first name among hoteliers 38 “This ___ shall pass” 39 Egg-based paint 41 What gossiping tongues do 42 Draw forth 44 Weapon with a bellshaped guard 45 Meet head-on 46 Authors Anya and Ernest 48 Insults
0 Aromatherapy setting 5 51 Times gone by, in times gone by 52 Is a part of, as a play 55 Handle incorrectly? 60 All over 62 “Hello, sailor!” 63 “Just ___!” (“Be right with you!”) 64 War classic “Low ___” 65 Hackman of “The French Connection” 66 “Honey do” list item 67 Absinthe flavor 68 Casey Jones, for one (Abbr.) DOWN 1 Acting too hastily 2 Doomed vessel in “Jaws” 3 No longer bedridden 4 Bicycles built for two 5 Collection of Norse poems 6 Beat a path 7 “Battle Hymn of the Republic” author 8 Hither and ___ 9 Argentine grasslands 10 Ancient 11 Goods for a fence 12 Caesar’s conquest 13 Opening payment 19 Astronomer’s sighting
1 Kitten’s noise 2 25 Bags at the mall 26 Create chasms 27 Assayer’s raw material 28 Seven Hills city 29 Certain sorority woman 31 At times 32 Bring into law 33 Continues furiously, as a storm 36 Coral buildup 39 Alley target 40 He may OK a KO 43 Czarist-era peasant group 45 Fall display 47 Bullock of “The Blind Side” 49 Abbr. after many a military title 52 Give ___ lip (punch) 53 Castro calls it home? 54 “___ bien!” 55 Between mini- and maxi 56 13th or 15th of the month 57 All dried out 58 “Blaze” politico 59 Once-over giver 61 “... ___ one for the Gipper”
Washington and the Bear
By Derek Sandberg kalarooka@gmail.com
opinion Make your meals meatless dailycardinal.com/opinion
By Jenny Lynes THE GREEN ROOM
“Help stop violence?” “Not today,” you said. Gruesome images of upside-down, bloody, feces-stained cows litter animal rights and environmental literature. They’re on the pamphlets you’ve rejected on State Street, too. It’s disconcerting to read studies about the negative effects of red meat and belching cows ruining the atmosphere, to be sure. Still, surprisingly little of it actually translates to a change when we’re standing in the lunch line. The answer to why most of us don’t oblige and cut down? Simple: Meat tastes good. Though I won’t deny an occasional urge for my favorite sausage-filled breakfast sandwich, I’m proud of the changes I’ve made in cutting out meat to improve my health and help out the environment. So what did it take? For me, it wasn’t until I left my urban home to work on a small family farm in Maine and asked the farmer what he thought about “industrial meat” that I realized how simple the choice really is. “I would never eat that shit,” he said. That pretty much settled it. Don’t get me wrong––the farmer and I shared plenty of eggs (fresh from the coup) and bacon (formerly known as Napoleon the pig). But as I learned more about the implications of mass-produced, machinelike treatment of animals, I learned that most
of the meat I’d been eating away from the farm was a product of a disgusting, unethical and dangerous industry that wreaks havoc on our land, water, air and health. Did you know that the chickens to be served at KFC are fed and raised in a manner that they reach physical maturity in just over one month? Count me out.
Let’s put animals aside, though, and first consider the implications for our own bodies. There was a time when eating meat was considered a treat. Now, it’s not unheard of to have it in three meals a day. Need protein, you say? Americans currently consume around 110 grams of it a day, which is roughly double the government’s recommended intake. In fact, new research has shown that high consumption of red and processed meat increases the risk of death from cancer and heart disease, as much as 50 percent among women. This type of diet also increases our chances for diabetes, and the rates have sharply increased since 1980 to prove it. Don’t worry too much though, there’s still time to prevent it simply by replacing some meat eating with plant-based foods. Americans spend about $147 billion annually on preventable illnesses related to food choices: obesity, salmonella outbreaks, diabetes and heart complications. This, paired with astounding hormone influxes and antibiotic resistance thanks to the manner in which it is produced, results in a big headache for the health sector. All the while, CAITLIN KIRIHARA/THE DAILY CARDINAL
the meat industry is encouraged to expand because of better sales than ever before. While there are scary implications of mass-produced mystery meat (read: McDonald’s), it’s not that all meat is bad for you. But, we must consider if we want to support such practices and realize that we often do so at the expense of putting something healthier into our bodies. Onto the environment. Since pigs, for one, produce about four times the amount of waste a human does, you can only imagine what happens with literally millions of pounds of feces created daily––it leaves the feedlots with a one-way ticket into our streams and rivers, polluting our air on its way. On top of this pollution, the industry contributes huge amounts of greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, worsening global warming. However, these are preventable problems. According to Environmental Defense, if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week, the effect would be the same as taking more than a half-million cars off U.S. roads. While I have determined that the quality of industrial meat is unsatisfactory for my preferences, I realize that is personal. One thing that isn’t: our responsibility to be informed and choose to take steps to help preserve the resources on this planet for those who will come after us. My overall-wearing, milking, chicken-feeding days have ended, and I’ve resumed my Madison residence for now, but I remain happy and confident with my decision to give up meat unless I know where and how it was raised. While I don’t believe everyone has to take this step, I do think the message is clear––we need to change the way we eat. I propose that we all eat much, much less meat than we tend to currently. My challenge for Madison is to include it once every other day for now––but I think you’ll see, as I did, that a life with meat as a treat is surprisingly pleasing. Jenny Lynes is a contributor to The Green Room. Please send all responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
Weekend, February 19-21, 2010
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view Cardinal View editorials represent The Daily Cardinal’s organizational opinion. Each editorial is crafted independent of news coverage.
don’t look a gift train in the mouth
T
he White House announced in late January that Wisconsin would receive over $810 million in federal grants to develop high-speed rail in the state between Madison and Milwaukee. An additional $13 million will be used to improve the existing MilwaukeeChicago line and study the feasibility of connecting to Minneapolis. This grant, which the state won in competition against other states around the country, has the real possibility of creating thousands of jobs and increasing tourism at a time when countless Wisconsin families need relief. Yet to listen to some state politicians, this is a harbinger of financial ruin. Milwaukee County Executive and Republican candidate for governor Scott Walker said this week that the costs of maintaining the rail line could be passed down to taxpayers. Both he and his rival, former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann, advocate not accepting the federal money. Republicans in the state Assembly said the costs of operating the line could be $7.5 annually and not covered by federal funds. Although genuine concerns about long-term financial responsibility are legitimate when considering a project of this size, the hyperbolic posturing on display is more about scoring cheap political points than fiscal common sense. Republican former Gov. Tommy Thompson advocated consistently for high-speed rail before joining the Bush administration, and his GOP successor, Scott McCallum, similarly favored it. It was Thompson’s task force on passenger rail service that recommended seeking federal funds in the first place. Walker and Neumann are rush-
ing to prop up their conservative credentials not because of any supposed concerns regarding costs, but because rejection of federal funds is fast becoming a litmus test for Republican candidates hoping to emerge victorious in tough primaries. Neither mentions that, according to Thompson’s task force report, over 70 percent of Wisconsin’s population would be within an hour’s drive of the rail lines. Both neglect to point out that Wisconsin in the past has considered using $50 million worth of bonds that can be authorized by the state Department of Transportation. A combination of funds from cities along the rail line and private investment are other options also worth pursing to fill any financial gaps. And the fact remains that if Wisconsin did not use the federal funds another state like Illinois or California would jump at such an opportunity. To refuse the federal funds point blank would be foolhardy at best and harmful to the state’s economic recovery at worst. Make no mistake, Gov. Jim Doyle made an error early on when his administration said the number of jobs created would be near 13,000 when more realistic estimates show it being closer to 4,700 temporary jobs. Lawmakers should also be encouraged to ask the hard questions of federal programs whenever projects have the potential to spiral into debt. But there is a big difference between searching for solutions and partisan grandstanding. In the face of high unemployment and dwindling faith in elected officials, Wisconsin voters demand more from candidates for the state’s top office than soundbites that cater to an angry minority of residents.
Modern sense of entitlement detrimental to society, governmental policy MATT PAYNE opinion columnist
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here are many issues facing our country today. They range from terrorism, to our economy, to our national debt. Yet there is one issue that doesn’t grab headlines on MSNBC, CNN or Fox. In fact, it often fails to enter the political discussion in this country at all. The culture of entitlement we live in today is something we cannot overlook. The founding principles of this country dictate that we all have the ability to earn prosperity through whatever means necessary within the law. As students we know this better than anyone else. The more we study, the better we do. While some of us may have to work harder to earn the same grade, we all have the ability to earn it. Imagine though for a minute that we didn’t have to earn our grade. That if a student didn’t study
hard enough and got a 1.5 GPA, the university could take a few GPA points from you and give it to that individual. Would that be fair? Would you be willing to give up any amount of your hard-earned grade point average for another student? Even if that student came from a tough family background or was otherwise disadvantaged, I would think that a majority of students would agree that the school taking your GPA to benefit someone else, be they a lazy slacker or a hardworking but disadvantaged individual, would be unfair. The same ideas apply to almost every other aspect of our society: We have to earn prosperity. Yet some in this country have a different take on prosperity. They believe prosperity comes through the federal government, not individual effort. They believe the collective “we” will provide for them no matter what they do. They feel affluence is their right, no matter how they obtain it. The argument that affluence is a right is a central debate to many of the issues that face our country today. An example of this
is the debate over health care. Many progressives see health care as a right, a human necessity. They believe the federal government should have the ability to force one person to provide for another, that no matter how the recipient treats their body or what genetic disposition they may have, one person must provide for the well-being of another. In essence, a person is entitled to health care paid for by another.
The argument that affluence is a right is a central debate to many of the issues that face our country today.
Affluence as a right is also central to the debate over the economy. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the much demonized “rich,” or the top quintile of income earners in our country, pay a staggering 86
percent of the income tax. In fact, the bottom 40 percent of income earners actually get paid by the federal government through tax credits. The so-called Bush “tax cuts for the rich” actually helped the bottom half of income earners from 2000 to 2006, as they were paid more through tax credits and handouts. Yet some want the wealthy to pay even more. To them it’s not fair that some in society make so much money, so they should be forced to give that money to those less fortunate. Again, the idea that one person is responsible for the well-being of another comes into play. It’s not that conservatives are greedy, self-centered Minotaurs. In fact, studies show conservatives give a higher percentage of their income to charity than liberals do. Conservatives are just as compassionate as liberals. We don’t want to see anyone go hungry or without health care. We want to help others just as much as any progressive does. The biggest disagreement that exists between the two ideolo-
gies is the role government plays in that compassion. Progressive liberals think the government is the primary vehicle to provide for those less fortunate. Moreover, they believe some people are entitled to that taxpayer help. Conservatives, on the other hand, believe it is the individual who can provide to those in need through vehicles such as volunteer organizations, church groups and other private institutions that do more than a government handout ever could and are much more efficient about it. So to those who believe health care is a right, one person should be forced to give to another person and people are entitled to our aid, I would submit to you that other means exist to provide for those in our society who are less fortunate. Otherwise, I would appreciate you sending a letter to Chancellor Martin stating your intention to give me some of your GPA. Matt Payne is a sophomore intending to major in Chinese and economics. Please send all responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
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Weekend, February 19-21, 2010
Men’s Hockey
Men’s Basketball
UW to host St. Cloud as WCHA race heats up By Parker Gabriel THE DAILY CARDINAL
PHOTO COURTESY OF BRAD FEDIE
Ralph Sampson III celebrates the Gophers’ win over Wisconsin as Jordan Taylor looks on. The loss is the Badgers’ third straight to Minnesota.
Badgers sputter, fall to Gophers in Leuer’s return By Tom Lea THE DAILY CARDINAL
MINNEAPOLIS—Wisconsin was supposed to have an added lift entering Thursday’s game against hated Minnesota. With UW getting junior forward Jon Leuer back from his broken wrist and with the Gophers being losers of seven of their past 10 games, this contest had a Badger win written all over it. Somebody forgot to write that in the script. Behind 16 points from junior guard Blake Hoffarber and a dominating effort on both the offensive and defensive glass from a hungrier Gopher squad, Minnesota extended its current winning streak over UW to three with an emphatic 68-52 win inside a sold-out Williams Arena. With the loss, UW not only dropped its second of three games, but also essentially squashed any hopes of a Big Ten title. “It’s always tough to lose a game in the Big Ten,” said senior guard Jason Bohannon, who chipped in 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting. “Especially when you’re right in the heat of a title race. It’s tough. “Minnesota came ready to play, and we just didn’t finish the game tonight.” The Gophers finished the game by hitting 47.6 percent of their shots from the floor in comparison to UW’s 30.5-percent clip. Minnesota also controlled the glass, as the Gophers out-boarded Wisconsin by a 41-28 margin. It seemed every time the Badgers had a chance to make a run or cut into the lead, particularly in the second half, the ball would slip off a Badger fingertip or get lost on its route to the net and miss. One particular instance comes to mind. With momentum seemingly tilting in the Badgers favor and just less than nine minutes to play, Leuer, who had 4 points on 2of-12 shooting, hoisted a three that would have cut the Gopher lead to two points.
But unfortunately Leuer’s shot set the tone for a stretch of play that effectively doomed the Badgers’ chances. The shot clanked off the iron and fell into the arms of freshman forward Mike Bruesewitz, who promptly kicked it out to Bohannon for an open look from distance. Bohannon, who has been red hot lately, missed his wide-open look. Again, UW reeled in an offensive rebound, only to see junior forward Tim Jarmusz’s shot go by the wayside. When his shot ricocheted off the iron directly to senior guard Trevon Hughes, who finished with a gamehigh 19 points, UW had a fourth shot to cut the lead to two with a made triple. Instead, Hughes’ shot, like the three immediately prior to his, missed the mark, and Minnesota finally collected a rebound and promptly went on an 11-0 run that didn’t end until Hughes hit a 3-pointer with less than two minutes left. By then, it was too little too late. “We clawed back and got it to 47-42 and missed three straight wide open looks off of offensive rebounds,” UW head coach Bo Ryan said of the stretch. “If somebody is going to tell me that we’d go eight minutes without hitting a shot there ... I just thought we were in great shape to that point, meaning we survived some things early. “We couldn’t buy one.” Wisconsin finished the game with 33 points off 30 shots from downtown. It also only managed to muster six points inside the paint for the second time in three games. For a team that had momentum seemingly on its side as it heads toward March, Thursday’s game was a painful reminder of what happens when shots don’t fall. “Tonight we played like we did last year,” Hughes said. “It’s unacceptable. We had a crappy week of practice and it was all my fault. I was being a goofball in practice all week, and that’s unacceptable. “I’m going to step up my leadership.”
In college sports, a matchup of teams ranked in the top five nationally usually brings hoopla, hype and the sense of a special occasion. For Wisconsin this weekend, its just another week in the thick of the WCHA title race. The third-ranked Badgers welcome No. 4 St. Cloud State to the Kohl Center for the final weekend of regular-season hockey in Madison. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. both Friday and Saturday for what promises to be another high-stakes showdown among the college hockey elite. Both the Badgers and Huskies currently find themselves looking up at Denver (32 points) in the WCHA standings. St. Cloud sits just one point back but has also played two more conference games than either Denver or Wisconsin. The Badgers (29) will need help to secure the MacNaughton Cup but do control their own fate when it comes to playing at home in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. While everybody talks about championships, both conference and national, as ultimate goals, head coach Mike Eaves noted that playing at home is a stepping stone to realizing such lofty expectations. “[To] get home ice and finish in the top three so you don’t have to play the extra game in St. Paul, those are little branches and little intermediate marking points that we want to get to,” he said. For Wisconsin to clinch home ice this weekend, they would have to knock off St. Cloud both nights and come away with four points. If the Badgers can replicate the special teams effort from last weekend, those four points will be a lot easier
to come by. After killing off 13 of 14 power plays last weekend, UW faces a potent unit from St. Cloud, headed by junior Garrett Roe and senior Ryan Lasch, who have combined for 79 points (28 goals, 41 assists) this season. “They move in transition real well,” junior defenseman and captain Ryan McDonagh said. “The second you have a turnover at the blue line or the red line it seems like it’s coming right down your throat.” The Badgers will counter with a dynamic offensive attack of their own. Senior center Blake Geoffrion earned National Player of the Week honors after posting seven points (3G, 4A) last week. Along with power-play partner and fellow senior Michael
Davies, Geoffrion gave Mankato fits all weekend with his presence around the net. “[Geoffrion and Davies] are on fire right now,” McDonagh said. “There aren’t a lot of guys that can do what they do. It’s a huge part of our team’s success.” As the Badgers enter another demanding weekend and steamroll toward the postseason, the dynamic skills of Geoffrion and Davies will not be the only thing they have working in their favor. “We know how to play tight games and tough teams because we’ve been doing it all year,” senior forward Andy Bohmbach said. “This will really help us when tournament time comes.”
LORENZO ZEMELLA/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Michael Davies and the No. 3 Badgers will host No. 4 St. Cloud State.
Nothing’s worse than coverage of NFL draft JACK DOYLE doyle rules
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ere we go again. Another year of college football wrapped up, the next class of freshman studs committed and now the inevitable barrage of mock drafts from ESPN gurus Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay. Captivating, right? The NFL draft, along with the analysis preceding it, may be the single most overhyped event in sports. For some, there is simply nothing else that compares to the two aforementioned “experts” devoting their lives to predicting who will and won’t succeed at the pro level. But for people who don’t foam at the mouth for 4.2 speed or a 6'8" wingspan, the whole draft process is one big yawn. Although I see the appeal of mock drafts to the general public—namely that they are another reason to talk about football—ESPN devotes more time covering them than Prince Fielder spends at Old Country Buffet. Well, at least their salad bar. What’s the difference if Kiper moves someone down a slot or
McShay disagrees about who is the ninth-best running back? Viewers don’t need to be bombarded with updates and sidebars flashing this trivial info. What’s more, it’s as if every new “SportsCenter” requires, at minimum, two or three interviews featuring the draft gods squawking at each other. There is simply too much analysis and breakdown before the draft is even two months away. Things get exponentially worse when the NFL combine comes around. Rather than Kiper and McShay analyzing relevant information, like actual game performances, the pair salivates over 40-yard-dash times and bench-press numbers. If a running back doesn’t have 4.4 speed they say, “He might not be able to transition to the fast-paced NFL,” or something of the sort. Don’t get me wrong, these two have way more expertise in the field than I do, but these comments drive me crazy because there isn’t a strong correlation between combine numbers and how a player may actually perform at the pro level. After Kiper and McShay have ceased their cute bantering, it is finally time to get to the actual draft—and what a letdown it is. I can now spend four-plus hours watching the
first round of the draft waiting for the one team I actually support, the Pittsburgh Steelers, to make their selection. Yippee. Is it really necessary that teams have 15 minutes to pick during the first round? Other than the Vikings’ pathetic woes, there doesn’t seem to be a problem with teams making their choice well before time expires. Decrease this time by five minutes and that could potentially shorten the first round by almost three hours. But why should anybody care about these two at all? In my eyes, Kiper and McShay exist only to fill time in ESPN’s 24/7 schedule and provide watercooler chitchat. Sure, it’s interesting to talk about who might be your team’s top pick, but the gruesome twosome suffer from mass overexposure in the process of evaluating draft stock. So why would anybody with any kind of life watch this slow, prolonged and downright uneventful gala? I’m not sure—I recommend reading the sports page the next day, or if the print medium isn’t your cup of tea, watch the “SportsCenter” bite-sized version the next day and pray Kiper and McShay aren’t on. Is NFL draft coverage relevant or only useful for the biggest football nerds? E-mail Jack at jpdoyle2@wisc.edu.