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Weekend, January 23-25, 2009

Posting on law school website stirs controversy By Megan Orear THE DAILY CARDINAL

DANNY MARCHEWKA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

A main pipe located near the Biochemistry building on west campus burst Thursday morning, causing natural gas to leak, and students and faculty were told to evacuate the surrounding area.

WiscAlert warns campus of pipe burst, gas leak By Melanie Teachout THE DAILY CARDINAL

The strong smell of natural gas seeped into buildings on the west side of campus Thursday morning due to a major gas main bursting. The leaking gas caused students and staff to evacuate buildings on campus, including Agricultural Engineering, Plant Sciences, Moore Hall and Biochemistry. According to Dan Schroeder, a university service associate working in the Biochemistry building, everything underground on campus should be mapped carefully, but a construction project adjacent to the Biochemistry building accidentally caused damage to an underground water pipe. “Construction was working on a new sewer and they hit a water line, which filled the trench up with water and mud,” Bernadette Galvez, public information offi-

cer for MFD said. “It then broke the gas line.” Although the event occurred at 10:00 a.m., university officials sent WiscAlert e-mail and text messages at approximately 11:50 a.m., cautioning students to avoid traffic areas near the building and the surrounding area. The building’s air intake system continued to filter the gas from the punctured pipe into the neighboring buildings until occupants noticed the smell of natural gas. “The air-handling systems in the buildings were turned off. Our best course of action was for them to turn off the ventilation system.” Lt. Michael Newton of Emergency Management & UWMadison System Continuity of Operations said. As soon as they realized there was a problem, the staff in the Biochemistry building called the UW Police Department, the

Senators protest against abortion clinic By Erin Banco THE DAILY CARDINAL

The controversy over the opening of a second-trimester abortion clinic in Madison continued Thursday when 28 Republican senators sent letters of complaint to the Chief Executive Ofﬁcer of UW Hospital. According to Lisa Brunette, UW Hospital spokesperson, the plans for the opening of the abortion clinic have not been solidiﬁed. “There are two steps left before this can happen,” she said. “The hospital boards, which govern the university hospital and clinics, need to OK the plans. If that happens, the Madison Surgery Center, which

is a separate organization with its own private boards, needs to vote on whether the plans will be approved.” State Sen. Glenn Grothman, RWest Bend, who signed the letter and who according to Brunette has been at the forefront of the anti-clinic campaign, said second-trimester abortions are almost “beyond belief.” “It is over the top … there are very few places that do these things, I don’t know what in the world UW is doing getting involved in this,” Grothman said. “I think both Meriter and UW Hospital will be hurt by it.” Brunette said it was the decision of abortion page 2

Madison Fire Department and Madison Gas and Electric, who all quickly fixed the problem at the scene of the gas leak. According to Schroeder, MG&E turned off the gas and put in a new section of pipe to eliminate the dangerous fumes. Students and faculty reentered the Biochemistry building approximately two hours after officials started the evacuation. “The university is trying to be extremely careful with these kind of things,” Schroeder said. “It may have been, in some people’s minds, an overreaction, but they just did not want anything to happen.” Though the situation was a precautionary action, UWMadison officials were focused on ensuring the safety of students and faculty. “UW did a really good job. UW police and the students all cooperated and contributed to the ease of the situation,” Galvez said.

TODAY ON THE WEB8 dailycardinal.com Doyle testiﬁes for more commuter rail funding Rail system demand and ridership increases Study ﬁnds Wisconsin Covenant needs more funding UW think tank compares program to those of other states State unemployment rate increases to 5.8 percent Wisconsin still faring better than nation as a whole

A notice posted on the UWMadison Law School website Tuesday seeking interns for the re-election campaign of Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson is drawing criticism from one lawmaker. StateRep.SteveNass,R-Whitewater, condemned Abrahamson’s post on the website in a statement, and sent a letter to Chancellor Biddy Martin calling for a stop to “activities related to promoting campaign positions for Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson using public and university resources.” “It appears that the chief justice’s campaign is using her inﬂuence and ofﬁce to solicit campaign workers through the UW-Madison Law School. The description of these internships is clearly unseemly, unethical and possibly illegal,” Nass said in the statement. According to Nass spokesperson Mike Mikalsen, there are rules that prohibit the use of public resources for campaign purposes, and Abrahamson violated state law. Supreme Court races are nonpartisan, but according to Mikalsen, these rules apply to all state and local races, regardless of if they are partisan or not.

Abrahamson could not be reached for comment. According to university spokesperson Dennis Chaptman, university legal counsel reviewed the situation and determined as long as they are posted in the same manner as other postings, notices of political opportunities such as Abrahamson’s are not illegal. UW-Madison Professor of Political Science Donald Downs said he is unsure if Abrahamson’s actions were illegal, but said she is a “very principled person” and as Chief Justice would know the rules. “The fact that students from the university are helping her is not a problem. It’s a question of how they were recruited,” Downs said. One Wisconsin Now, a political watchdog group, said in a statement Nass has failed to attack Republican candidates for similar offenses and called for an investigation against him. “This selective attack raises serious concerns that this was nothing more than Nass using his taxpayer-ﬁnanced ofﬁce to campaign against a candidate,” OWN Director Scot Ross said. Abrahamson will oppose Jefferson County Circuit Judge Randy Koschnick in the April 7 election.

AMANDA SALM/THE DAILY CARDINAL

UW-Madison senior Olivia Zieve discussed the state of the university’s economic affairs with Chancellor Biddy Martin at the campus-wide forum held in Grainger Hall Thursday.

Students voice new ideas for chancellor at fourth forum By Ashley Davis THE DAILY CARDINAL

Faculty, students and members of the Madison community met Thursday for the fourth economic brainstorming forum led by UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin. The open assemblies provide a unique opportunity to discuss ideas held by those who are affected by the state budget deﬁcit. The forum began with a short introduction by Martin as she acknowledged the “very difﬁcult budget” UW-Madison community will have to work with.

Though she anticipates the upcoming year to be the most trying, she said she is optimistically waiting to hear legislation’s ﬁnancial decision about the budget. “[The budget] will present opportunities as well as challenges,” Martin said. The approximate attendance of 5060 individuals divided into smaller groups to brainstorm cost-cutting strategies in response to the budget shortage. forum page 2

“…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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TODAY: cloudy hi 27º / lo -1º

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Weekend, January 23-25, 2009

An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892 Volume 118, Issue 77

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News and Editorial edit@dailycardinal.com Editor in Chief Alex Morrell Managing Editor Gabe Ubatuba Campus Editor Erin Banco Rachel Holzman City Editor State Editor Megan Orear Charles Brace Enterprise Editor Associate News Editor Caitlin Gath Opinion Editor Jon Spike Arts Editors Kevin Slane Justin Stephani Sports Editors Ben Breiner Crystal Crowns Features Editor Diana Savage Food Editor Sara Barreau Science Editor Bill Andrews Photo Editors Kyle Bursaw Lorenzo Zemella Graphics Editors Amy Gifﬁn Jenny Peek Copy Chiefs Kate Manegold Emma Roller Jake Victor Copy Editors Aime Agather Emma Condon, Danny Marchewka Frances Provine

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Board of Directors Vince Filak Alex Kusters Mikhail Hanson Nik Hawkins Dave Heller Janet Larson Chris Long Alex Morrell Sheila Phillips Benjamin Sayre Jenny Sereno Terry Shelton Jeff Smoller Jason Stein

Dangerous bus behavior lacks a warning

DAVID HOTTINGER it’s getting hottinger

remember hearing a story a little while back about a guy in Canada who went psycho on a Greyhound bus and started stabbing the man seated next to him. The horriﬁed Canadians, when they became aware of the proceedings, frantically ﬂed the bus just as the guy commenced sawing his neighbor’s head clear off his bleeding body. Cell phone footage from the passengers showed the killer scampering around the empty bus, brandishing the severed head in the blood-splattered windows. I never heard any follow-up to the story—I assume things eventually simmered down and folks got back on the bus and continued on to Toronto, or whichever of the other three Canadian cities they were headed to. In any event, it’s a pretty grisly tale. You wonder what the other guy said to get himself done like that. Maybe he

was farting a lot or whistling a really annoying tune, like “Hot Blooded” by Foreigner. However it started, I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised it happened among our neighbors to the north; according to Wikipedia, the Canadians are by nature a violent and degenerate people. In America, where the rule of law and common decency prevails, someone would have shot the dude before his shenanigans became so newsworthy. Even so, when I found myself boarding a Greyhound earlier this week to make my glorious return to Madison, I couldn’t help but wonder, which one of these wackos was gonna try to cut my head off? If you’ve never taken a Greyhound, let me tell you, it’s no Badger Bus. For one, there’s no free Red Bull and the bathrooms smell more like burps. Also, it’s a lot easier to imagine the kind of people that ride Greyhounds trying to chop your head off than the comparatively tame crowd that packs your average Badger coach. I’m a pretty bad ass dude, so I wouldn’t say I was scared taking the Greyhound with

For the record Corrections or clariﬁcations? Call The Daily Cardinal ofﬁce at 608-262-8000 or send an e-mail to edit@dailycardinal.com.

the Canadian-decapitation story running through my head, but I would say I kept myself on guard. My uncle told me Canadians have been known to venture into American territory and can be hard to distinguish from normal people. So while others on the bus iPoded-out, I kept a keen lookout for any shifty Canadian-like activity and my ears peeled for that tell-tale “ooo, look at that cow there, eh?” I ran through a few things in my head while I taped all the plastic cards in my wallet around my neck in a protective barrier. Naturally, the would-be killer would choose me as his target, as I’d have the prettiest head to parade around. I saved a few message drafts in my phone so in my dying throes I could send a dramatic mass-text to all the contacts in my life. As the ride went on, I oscillated between the informative but verbose “getting stabbed, prob won’t ttyl. if I liked u, ur cool. : (” and the elegant simplicity of just “g2g” for my last words. To make a long story short, I got to Madison. It didn’t take long before I got bored of being vigilant and instead started counting how many Private

Pleasures outlets there are along I-94 in Wisconsin (there are 17, only one with beer lube). Basically, what I’m trying to say is that I had a long boring ride on a Greyhound bus during which I brieﬂy daydreamed about an armed struggle with a hell-bent Canadian psycho. Later, I got real far on the Tuesday crossword too, but that doesn’t make for much of a column. I relay the story really so I can pose a question. Gruesome murders of the type described above, sensational as they are, are nothing new. Likewise, people have been doing things like burning themselves with coffee and having things fall on them for a while now. How come, then, McDonald’s has “Careful, hot things might burn you!” warnings plastered over its cups, and vending machines are required to have illustrations of the possibility of the machine crushing you if it falls your direction, while Greyhound can slink by with no “Careful, some guy might snap and cut your head off on this thing!” labels on its seats? I just think we should be consistent. Email dhottinger@wisc.edu with thoughts.

Madison landlord urges UW housing safety Anna Bukowski THE DAILY CARDINAL

Madison landlord Dave Wood recently proposed a campaign directed toward UW-Madison students that seeks to increase safety education in student housing. Wood created the campaign after making routine visits to his properties and ﬁnding many violations that compromise personal safety. Wood’s biggest concerns were front doors and ﬁre doors being propped open. “Kids are in a hurry with their lifestyle and they aren’t taking responsibility … [the campaign] is for their

well-being, the safety of their roommates and the safety of the buildings,” Wood said. The campaign’s goal is “to prevent and ask for personal responsibility through education.” Wood sought the help of Madison Property Managements, the company responsible for his eight rental buildings. MPM will put up safety ﬂyers and posters in the buildings. In conjunction with lease signing, students will also sign a copy of the ﬂyer pledging their knowledge of the information. Wood also began collaborating with The Madison Fire Department in the fall to gather the key messages for

UW receives grant to prevent domestic violence on campus

WEEKEND: partly cloudy hi 11º / lo -4º

By Erin Banco THE DAILY CARDINAL

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of Violence Against Women granted UW-Madison $300,000 Thursday to help prevent domestic violence on campus. Other partners from within the university and around the Dane County area will work with the university to help prevent not only domestic violence, but sexual assault and stalking as well. Partners include UHS, Domestic Abuse Intervention Services and the student organization PAVE: Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment. Alexandra Cruickshank, student representative for PAVE, an organization based off peer education, said she is excited the organization has the opportunity to work with the university to fight sexual assault. Carmen Hotved, Violence Prevention Specialist and PAVE advisor, said there are two grant requirements, including the education of law enforcement offices and the partnering of various organizations. “Domestic violence and sexual assault are community problems, so they require multidisciplinary response,” she said. The University Subcommittee on Sexual Assault and Dating Violence applied for the grant last spring and was notified of its acceptance

December 2008. Hotved said UW-Madison is one of seven new campuses to receive the money, but there are 21 campuses nation-wide who currently enjoy the grant’s beneﬁts. Although the subcommittee did not apply for the money in light of any particular situation, Hotved said there is always a great need for a greater amount of resources to make sure perpetrators are held accountable. According to Hotved, the grant money is already being used to provide new students and their parents with web-based tools to help with domestic violence and sexual assault education. Shannon Barry, executive director for the Dane Country Domestic Abuse Intervention Services, said her organization will use the money to make a closer and more intimate connection with the university. “One of the things that has been more of a challenge for us has been connecting with the university and the university students,” she said. According to Barry, between one third and one half of all arrests in Dane County are domestic violence-related. “National data shows that when people are dealing with an economic crisis, which most of us are, we tend to see increased rates of domestic violence and escalating severity of violence,” Barry said.

the program. “Young people don’t realize the responsibility that comes with off-campus housing – [their knowledge] stops at paying the rent on time,” spokeswoman Lori Wirth said. Wirth hopes the community will increase efforts using Wood’s campaign as an example. “The ﬁre department is thrilled with the initiative,” Wirth said. “To have someone in the business community to help put the word out, that’s a real gift.” UW-Madison would like to collaborate with the housing safety campaign as well. UW-Madison spokesman John Lucas said the university always seeks to

forum from page 1 Throughout the series of forums, ideas pertaining to themes of longevity, efﬁciency and unity reoccurred the most. Members of the forum also saw opportunity in creating more common areas across campus, citing the overuse of specialized “niche” areas. One attendee said the possibility of using such spaces to combine courses “could potentially further campus unity while also cutting costs.” Attendees recommended utilizing electronic media to cut costs while also sustaining an eco-friendly mindset. Suggestions included posting required readings on Learn@UW and incorporating online components in large-scale lectures. A senior Zoology major focused on the need for leadership cohesion with the university’s administration and student body.

abortion from page 1 the physicians at UW Hospital and Meriter Hospital who wanted to open the clinic in the first place. “They believe there is a great need for the clinic in the community,” she said. Grothman said he sent out a press release which identified countries that do not allow second trimester abortions, including Germany and France. Brunette confirmed the rarity of second trimester abortions, claiming

increase safety for students. “The idea is to bring key participants to a common table to share input and work together to make improvements,” Lucas said. Lucas stressed the community will be safer if people work to reduce their risks and pointed out that prevention is always the main goal. The Madison Police Department expressed their ongoing support for the safety program. MPD Public Information Officer Joel DeSpain said, “Partnering with the community is the key to keeping everyone safe,” and emphasized safety will never improve without widespread support. “UW is fragmented … [for example] tonight we’re only focusing on half of the equation … the administration,” he said. Martin’s signature on letter to President Obama Regardless of financial challenges, Martin said it is of top priority to maintain the university’s preeminence as a high-value and cuttingedge research institution. Martin earlier this month partook in a letter to President Barack Obama as one of nearly 50 other higher education leaders arguing for the importance of scientific research. The letter asked President Obama to consider increasing research funding while developing his economic stimulus package. “Scientific research is a part of our core mission and we are consequently generating ideas that make the world a better place to live,” Martin said. less than 10 percent of abortion clinics cater to the second trimester. According to Grothman, there were protests outside Madison Surgery Center Thursday and there will continue to be protests at Planned Parenthood locations in the future. “Protesters there are going to start again Good Friday and continue for 40 days and 40 nights,” he said. “There are usually a lot of university students.” CEO of UW Hospital Donna Katen-Bahensky could not be reached for comment.

opinion dailycardinal.com/opinion

Weekend, January 23-25, 2009

New afﬁrmative action solution still years away RYAN DASHEK opinion columnist

o a college student, the application process is a familiar one. Taking tests and composing essays that could potentially determine our future, we strive to exhibit our intelligence as well as our uniqueness to the admissions office. And of course, when one talks about college admissions, it is almost impossible not to touch upon the subject of affirmative action. The mere mention of the subject may force any student to ask, “Is affirmative action going to help or hurt me in the long run?”

Afﬁrmative action can play an important factor in diversifying a speciﬁc population by encouraging minorities to apply.

Affirmative action works, despite the few inherent drawbacks that come with any attempt to level the playing field between minority groups and whites.

However, it is because of these limitations that affirmative action is more of a short-term fix, rather than a cure for the very longstanding problem of discrimination. One of the largest complaints against affirmative action is that it allows underachieving minorities to take the place of white applicants who are more qualified. Thus, on a university level, minority students take the place of white students, even though the white students may have been able to perform better on tests and in school than the minority students. This is an outrageous claim. First of all, underqualified white students with connections or alumni parents will probably displace more qualified students than any minority groups. So why not get mad at them instead of minorities, when a number of times minorities lack the academic resources that many whites have access to? Second, college admissions do not accept students based on their past accomplishments, but on estimations of how much that student will contribute to society. Although achievements may be a good gauge, it is not the only way to evaluate potential contributions. Also, students of different ethnicities will add greatly to a population oversaturated with a

Editorial Cartoon

specific race of students by exposing that population to different cultures and ideas. Lastly, student athletes are notorious for not being able to meet the academic standards set by a college, and yet we all tolerate this. A student may be accepted into a competitive college not based on their intelligence or future contributions to society, but merely because they can catch, kick or throw a ball well. Even though this is a generalization and there are several cases where this is simply not true, there are just as many cases where it is. Affirmative action can play an important factor in diversifying a specific population by encouraging minorities to apply. All of us come to college not only to get

By Levi Prombaum opinion@dailycardinal.com

a higher education but to also gain valuable life lessons. Some of these life lessons should include learning about other races and cultures, because the more familiar we are with something the less likely we are to fear and distrust it. There is no denying the fact, however, that affirmative action causes a certain amount of racial tension. By taking into account a person’s skin color, you are categorizing people purely on the basis of an inherited trait, which will always cause strife in society. It is because of this added racial strain that affirmative action will never lead to a truly color-blind society. You simply cannot label people a certain way and expect that the whole problem will sort

itself out. If we are going to hire people by factoring in their ethnicity, then there are always going to be other people blaming those of race for stealing jobs and positions away from whites. Discrimination will continue. This really is a vicious cycle, one that will continue to perpetuate itself until a new system is in place. Perhaps when we stop giving special consideration to people based on race, socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicity, physical ability, etc., etc., then we will be able to truly judge a person based only on their merits. Of course, that sort of idealized dream world is a far ways away. Ryan Dashek is a junior majoring in biology. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

Letter to the Editor:

Event offers liberal forum opportunity I wanted to make a commentary on the significance of this recent inauguration. We have entered into a new political era, a really positive time for people wanting progressive change. In my experience, people had been pretty demoralized during years of conservative dominance. The Obama inauguration in the Rathskeller was in stark contrast to this. Many people couldn’t conceal their grins. I even found myself on the brink of tears when it hit me that today was that day I never thought I would see. We got our first Black president!

We have entered into a new political era, a really positive time for people wanting progressive change.

However, even though Obama has been elected with the use of radical rhetoric, Obama’s cabinet choices suggest that his real plans are more like the neo-liberalism of Bill Clinton than the radical change he has campaigned

around. Now is the time for the left to come together and figure out what we can do to make sure we see the real change people are hoping for and expecting. The public forum I have been involved in organizing will be the perfect way for the left to come together and coalesce for this new time with Obama in the White House. We have a great lineup of speakers including: Jennifer Loewenstein, associate director of Middle East Studies here at UW-Madison, John Nichols of The Nation, Matt Rothschild of The Progressive Magazine, Lance Selfa who wrote “Democrats: A Critical History” and Will Williams of Veterans for Peace. It will be this Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Orpheum Stage Door. —Jessie Otradovec Physics Student UW-Madison

featuresscience

4 • Weekend, January 23-25, 2009

dailycardinal.com/science

For fullest comfort, why not travel by rail? UW Professor renews interest in railroad industry with new educational programs By Kaylee DeGrace THE DAILY CARDINAL

WILLIAM BRIDGES/CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

As Professor Bridges personally illustrates, while effective lasers do exist, any kind of hand-held laser gun would currently require a colossal amount of power and cooling systems to function.

Blasters and phasers and ray guns, all nigh? By Bill Andrews THE DAILY CARDINAL

In addition to self-driving cars and humanoid robots, it seems we can now add one more science fiction device to the world of reality: laser guns. While not as peaceful or significant as developing a flying car or faster-than-light travel, laser guns still represent a significant achievement of science, along with many sci-fi nerds’ dreams come true. Long the weapon of choice in novels about aliens, robots, space travel or some combination of the three, few weapons could be more lethal than a laser gun. Push a button and a beam of light capable of destroying almost anything comes out; how elegant (despite the opinion of Obi-Wan Kenobi). Of course, we’re not quite there yet.

“There is nothing magic about radiation from a laser” William Bridges Carl F. Braun Professor of Engineering Emeritus California Institute of Technology

Zeus, the laser gun developed by the U.S. Army to detonate roadside bombs, may represent the ﬁrst step toward this aspect of a typical sci-ﬁ future. It is a “directed-energy weapon” (to use the military’s term) that actually uses a laser beam to detonate its targets. It’s not exactly a hand-held device, since the beam director, operator’s station, support subsystems and the laser itself are stored on the back of an unarmored Humvee, according to a 2002 story of its development in Military & Aerospace Electronics. But, ungainly as it may be now, the fact remains that we now can count lasers among our military arsenal. “If one knows where [roadside bombs] are located with the precision required for a (presumably) focused laser beam to be effective,” wrote a laser expert in an e-mail, “destroying them could probably be achieved by any of a number of methods.” And in fact, the science behind a machine like Zeus is fairly straightforward.

“There is nothing magic about radiation from a laser,” wrote William Bridges, Caltech Carl F. Braun Professor of Engineering Emeritus, in an E-mail. “The radiation is absorbed by the target and [it] heats up, hopefully exploding the target. You need to deliver a certain quantity of energy to raise the temperature to the ignition point.” Exactly how much energy that is depends on experience with the specific materials. Since energy is just power times time on the target, this will likely require many kilowatts times many seconds, resulting in many kilojoules (kJ) of energy, he said. Bridges also noted that even the best, most advanced lasers have pretty poor efficiency, usually less than 10 percent; this means that to deliver one kJ of energy to a target, the laser must safely get rid of the excess nine kJ it spent delivering the energy. “Personally, I think a rocket-launched grenade is a much cheaper, more effective way of delivering a lot of energy to a small stationary target to blow it up,” wrote Bridges. “The missile delivers most of the energy to the target, while the laser dumps most of the energy in YOUR airplane!” While Zeus is designed to be a non-lethal defensive laser, that won’t always be the case. Just two months ago Northrop Grumman announced the introduction of its FIRESTRIKE laser, which its press release called “a ruggedized, high-energy, solidstate laser designed as a line replaceable unit (LRU) for battlefield applications, ready for order now.” Like those Bounty Selecta-Size paper towels, which allow one to choose just how much paper towel to use, so can the LRUs be combined to fit “specific warfighting missions and/or platforms,” according to its brochure. “The result is a flexible, ‘gamechanging’ military capability with tailored lethality.” Although it shouldn’t be surprising that a defense contractor would use the latest technology to build a better weapon, the clearly lethal intention for the FIRESTRIKE laser may give some pause. Is it possible this is leading up to the first actual hand-held laser gun?

Professor Bridges thought it unlikely, owing to the complicated machinery necessary to safely get rid of all the laser’s excess energy, and referred to a drawing he used to show in lectures. “It showed a stick figure holding a pistol-like device, but there were cables dangling out of the handle that went over to a large tractorlike vehicle with a huge electrical generator, and a huge fan-andradiator cooling system,” Bridges wrote. “Not exactly what Buck [Rogers] used.” Still, given the remarkable ability of science to miniaturize and surprise, it might be prudent to ask what implications the possibility of such a hand-held device might have. Lester H. Hunt, a UW-Madison philosophy professor who studies guns and violence, thinks it wouldn’t really be a big deal. “I don’t see any reason why [laser guns] would present a different issue than standard metal slug weapons,” Hunt said. “The technology isn’t necessarily raising new issues,” assuming the it has no unforeseen effects, such as a laser beam going right through everything in its path or interacting unexpectedly with peoples’ physiology.

“The result is a ﬂexible ‘gamechanging’ military capability with tailored lethality.” Brochure FIRESTRIKE Laser Northrop Grumman Space Technology

So what does all this mean? First, it means that the use of military lasers is on the rise, which probably won’t affect the majority of the U.S. population. Second, it means that even though it’s possible that someday hand-held laser weapons might become reality, it’s a small possibility, and probably wouldn’t change much anyway. Third, and perhaps most tragically, it means we’ll have to wait that much longer for flying cars and faster than light travel. But, given their obvious military advantages, perhaps it’s only a matter of time until these become reality too.

Only hours after I was born, I rode in my first automobile (it was an ambulance, but that’s another story). When I was 14, I flew on my first airplane, but I was 20 years old before I rode on my first train. Even then, it was only because I couldn’t afford the plane ticket from Syracuse to Boston. As soon as I sat down on that train, I wondered why I had never taken it before. It was great! I had tons of leg room, I didn’t have to check my bags or go through security screening, I could plug in my laptop and watch movies, and all-in-all it took the same amount of time as it would have if I had flown — I just spent more of it traveling instead of waiting at the gate for my delayed flight. Oh yeah, that’s the other great thing about taking the train: guaranteed connections! Anyway, I’ve been taking the train for mid-distance travel ever since. Cross-country and I’ll fly, two hours or less and I’ll drive, but other than that, Amtrak’s got my bid.

Trains can actually pull one tone of freight 400 miles and use only one gallon of fuel.

But comfort and convenience aren’t the only reasons I love trains. They also happen to be the most carbon-friendly mode of transportation, according to www.carbonfund.org. Trains can actually pull one ton of freight 400 miles and use only one gallon of fuel. And as far as passenger trains go, well, most people I know don’t weigh nearly a ton. As awesome as trains are, no college degree programs for railroad engineering exist anymore in the United States. The University of Illinois was the last school to discontinue its railroad program in 1982, according to C. Allen Wortley, engineering professional development professor emeritus at UW-Madison.

Wortley is trying to get schools to develop a railroad curriculum, which is great because as global climate change becomes more imminent with each passing year, the U.S. is going to need rail travel to survive. As the first step to increasing the available education opportunities for the rail industry, Wortley organized the UWMadison Railroad Engineering Program in 2001. It started with a survey course on civil engineering for rail. In 2008, the program offered eight two- to three-day course assemblages on topics ranging from maintenance to highway rail-crossing safety to train-bridge engineering.

As global climate change becomes more imminent with each passing year, the U.S. is going to need rail travel to survive.

Wortley says of the three legs of education—undergraduate, graduate and adult continuing education—his seminars contribute to the third leg. Between 25 to 80 professionals attend each seminar, he said. Rail travel is not without its challenges, however, and the industry is looking for new railroad specialists to overcome these challenges. One challenge is safety when trains cross roads (and the noise that they make as they cross). Another is maintenance, and a third is the need for train bridges. And of course, as with every industry, it needs money. According to Wortley, President Bush never funded Amtrak. But I fund Amtrak, and you can fund Amtrak, too. I’m not talking about donating half a million dollars to the railroad industry. Just consider the pros and cons when it comes to traveling home for the holidays. Who knows, after deliberating over hassle, cost, comfort, convenience, environmental effects and the bottom line, you might find taking the train will work out in your favor too.

LORENZO ZEMELLA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Even though some might ﬁnd them old-fashioned, taking the train remains a surprisingly comfortable and eco-friendly way to travel.

arts Andrew Bird delivers on ‘noble’ release dailycardinal.com/arts

Weekend, January 23-25, 2009

Ho!” an instrumental bookend for the record. “Masterswarm” abrasively takes the torch from “Oh No” and begins as a quiet Delta blues stomp, but transitions to flamenco style guitar and percussion. Drummer and loop extraordinaire Martin Dosh lends his atmospheric talents, masterfully fitting the end of “Masterswarm” with a quiet electronic beat that keeps the album flowing.

CD REVIEW

continues to morph until Bird sobers the lighthearted mood with “this will be the end of me.” This contrast helps to frame the song as a whole while it escalates from a calm, wordy beginning to a pulsating end. Most of the songs on Noble Beast follow this format. Bird is constantly changing moods and atmospheres within longer songs instead of chopping them up, which adds to the overall integrity of the record. Bird, who has released a record every two

years since Music of Hair, consistently releases albums that showcase the absolute best of his talents. Bird, like his songs, continues evolving. He does not branch out very far in new directions, but he is continually improving the quality of his music. Each record is just another layer like an instrument in one of his songs. As individual records they are eminent and individual, and as of right now, Noble Beast stands out the most.

‘09 Oscar Nominations Noble Beast Andrew Bird

PHOTO BY CAMERON WITTIG

Whistling and violinist extraordinaire Andrew Bird reﬁnes his organic sound to near perfection on his consistently beautiful latest release. by Anthony Cefali makes Armchair Apocrypha and The THE DAILY CARDINAL Mysterious Production of Eggs sound Andrew Bird is an artist of mul- almost sophomoric and incomplete. tiplicity and contrast. Nothing he As far as musicianship goes, Noble produces is ever as easy as it sounds, Beast is at a level of its own. Sonic though Bird makes it all seem effort- nonsense blends seamlessly with Bird’s less. His latest release, Noble Beast, conﬁdent vocals and classically honed is unapologetically candid, charac- chops. Distorted electric guitars and terized best by his signature vocal pristine acoustics butt heads to crehooks, intricate violin work and ate a harmonious ambiance, the perwhistling. Bird’s fondness for layered fect cradle for the sparse yet integral simplicity and acoustic samples give percussion that quietly haunts the his music an uncannily organic qual- record. Noble Beast begins with the ity that he frames with intelligent lazy “Oh No” and winds its way rhetorical content. Noble Beast is through almost an hour of astoundwithout a doubt Bird’s most ambi- ing violin work, electronic looping tious work to date. Its grandeur and Bird’s witticisms to arrive at “On

Dosh’s contributions are often overlooked because they ﬁt so seamlessly into the artistic realm of Bird. Yet, Dosh contributed most of the music to Noble Beast’s most interesting track, “Not a Robot, but a Ghost.” The song begins with ominous clarinets hovering above the acoustic glitches of Dosh’s percussion, then bridging into a sampled beat, it just accelerates from there. Bird croons over a terse guitar riff “I crack the codes / and end the war.” With each verse, Dosh turns up the energy ultimately reaching the soaring chorus, consisting of bouncy piano and Bird’s carefully constructed lyrical meditation on chaos and death. As usual, Bird’s quirky lyrics help to contextualize his music and give it another layer beyond the notes. The lyrical content of Noble Beast is both playful and existential. Bird tackles dense concepts, but assigns them to awkward or humorous situations so as to not bring down the pop qualities of his music. “Anonanimal” is the best example of how he plays with words. The song begins with the words “See sea anemone / The enemy / See sea anemone,” and it

With the Academy Awards set for February 22, it’s time to evaluate the top performances of the year. Here is the list of top nominees vying for this year’s prestigious statue.

Best Actor: Richard Jenkins - “The Visitor” Frank Langella - “Frost/Nixon” Sean Penn - “Milk” Brad Pitt - “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Mickey Rourke - “The Wrestler”

Best Supporting Actor: Josh Grolin - “Milk” Robert Downey Jr. - “Tropic Thunder” Philip Seymour Hoffman - “Doubt” Heath Ledger - “The Dark Knight” Michael Shannon - “Revolutionary Road”

Best Actress:

Anne Hathaway - “Rachel Getting Married” Angelina Jolie - “Changeling” Melissa Leo - “Frozen River” Meryl Streep - “Doubt” Kate Winslet - “The Reader”

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams - “Doubt” Penelope Cruz - “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” Viola Davis - “Doubt” Taraji P. Henson - “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Marisa Tomei - “The Wrestler”

Best Picture: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” “Frost/Nixon” “Milk” “The Reader” “Slumdog Millionaire”

Wisconsin-native Bon Iver builds on simplicity for latest EP by Jacqueline O’Reilly THE DAILY CARDINAL

Eau Claire, Wis., native band, Bon Iver, is back with its new EP, Blood Bank. Coming off the success of its phenomenal ﬁrst album, For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver returns with the folksy sounds that made its last album so successful: soulful vocals, intricate melodies and stirring lyrics.

CD REVIEW

Blood Bank EP Bon Iver But this time Bon Iver has a different set up as frontman Justin Vernon is joined by Mike Noyce and Sean Carey. These new additions add bulk and greater depth to Vernon’s solo sound, and while that sound didn’t necessarily need additions, the added instrumentation offers an appealing twist to already great music. The EP starts with its title track, “Blood Bank.” Different from a classic Bon Iver song, it features more percussion and electric guitar. It could be

slightly unsettling to those used to the simplicity of Vernon and his acoustic guitar. However, the harmonized “ooo’s” that graced their debut can still be found in “Blood Bank,” keeping the band from straying too far from their initially attractive sound. “Beach Baby,” on the other hand, possesses the same qualities so omnipresent on For Emma, Forever Ago. It’s melodic, moving and simply lovely. Stripping away the excess and leaving nothing but vocals and guitar, Vernon recalls a moment of love at the beach. A familiar island sound also plays in the background, adding mellowness to the song that will put anyone at ease. An upbeat piano melody is the backdrop for Blood Bank’s third track, “Babys.” In this happy song, Vernon sings of a multiplying summer as a transitioning rhythm is pounded out on piano. The one problem with this song is that it can get monotonous at points. The same piano riffs are drawn out for slightly too long, and the repeated lyrics just don’t do the trick, being more redundant than beautifully simple. “Woods” closes the EP and stands out most amongst the four. The lines, “I’m up in the woods / I’m down on my mind / I’m building a still / To slow down the time” are repeated throughout the song by auto-tuned vocals, giv-

ing Bon Iver a more severe, electronic sound. The song is bare beyond these voices, removed from any instrumentation or driving rhythms, creating a very natural, honest melody.

Overall, Blood Bank ﬂows well, with each song having its own unique traits. Although it doesn’t reach the brilliance of For Emma, Forever Ago, it is in no way a failure. Bon Iver is clearly

trying out a new sound and ensemble, and while there is room to grow and adjust, this EP is promising and shows that great things can be expected from Bon Iver in the future.

PHOTO BY TIM LYTVINENKO

Bon Iver took the music world by storm last year receiving wide acclaim for their debut For Emma, Forever Ago, now frontman Justin Vernon is adding texture to his sound on Bon Iver’s latest release.

comics 6

All Hail the King! The King of Hearts is the only king without a mustache. dailycardinal.com/comics

Weekend, January 23-25, 2009

Fierce

Today’s Sudoku

Anthro-apology

By Eric Wigdahl wigdahl@wisc.edu

Angel Hair Pasta

By Todd Stevens ststevens@wisc.edu

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 Daily Code

Popcorn

a b c d e f g h i

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Sid and Phil

By Alex Lewein lewein@wisc.edu

The Graph Giraffe

By Yosef Lerner ilerner@wisc.edu

“Y ticv ku cmmj yn vmz dicv pqz hypm, Yf’c sqnna oqze dmgaicm Y’k ticvyn’ yf zysvf.” The Roots Lyric Yesterday’s Code:

“I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier that this.”

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

Evil Bird

By Caitlin Kirihara kirihara@wisc.edu

Fluff Job

ﬂuffjob@gmail.com

Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com DROP ZONE

1 5 9 14 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 24 28 32 33 34 36 38 40 41 43 45 46 47 50 52 53

ACROSS

Recover from a sprint, perhaps Defect Prolonged attack Beauty- cream additive Misplace “That’s What Friends Are For” voice What raindrops do Get a sense of Splits up evenly Always used by poets Moll Flan- ders’ creator What base stealers do Type of log Sufﬁx with “benz” Verses of tribute “Nova” follower To any extent It’s much sooner than later Remains to be seen? Grayish green Breaker Mediocre mark Bit of sediment What beach balls do Ladd and Freed Animal pouch Zigzags downhill

56 Female player 60 What airplanes do 62 Certain liqueur ﬂavoring 63 Nephew of Cain 64 Arraignment offering 65 Uses a bus pass 66 Russo of “Two for the Money” 67 The fourth man 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 18 19 23 24

DOWN

Butcher’s hook Botanist’s wings Oxford part Air riﬂe projectile Prepared for frying, maybe Politician Trent It’s a grate thing Garden neatener Electronic control mechanism, informally Start of Barney’s theme song A case of pins and needles Used up Expires Rock climber’s need They’re kept under wraps Writes out of the will Presided over, as a case

25 Put six feet under 26 Take a playful poke at 27 ___ of iniquity 29 Carthage neighbor 30 Certain closet contents 31 Reduced, as tension 35 Having a scalloped edge 37 Attorneys’ jargon 39 Money roll 42 San Antonio landmark 44 Type of rayon 48 Reply 49 Meal leftovers 51 Rich sources 53 Old wound mark 54 Burt’s ex-wife 55 At the center of 56 Like ___ of bricks 57 First name in mysteries 58 Editor’s “Let it stand” 59 Former Iranian monarch 61 Butte-to- Great Falls dir.

sports

dailycardinal.com/sports

Weekend, January 23-25, 2009

Women’s Hockey

Lady Badgers hope to net wins at St. Cloud State

By Nico Savidge THE DAILY CARDINAL

The No. 2 Wisconsin women’s hockey team travels to Minnesota to challenge St. Cloud State in a series Jan. 23 and 24, and will look to continue the success of their powerful and

quick-striking offense. During the Badgers’ recent series against North Dakota at home, the UW offense jumped on the Sioux early and often. Wisconsin sophomore forward Hilary Knight scored 38 seconds into the ﬁrst game, and the team

scored a pair of goals within one minute twice during the second game. So far this season, the team has outscored its opponents 122-30 and is averaging more than ﬁve goals per game. “We have some great, tena-

DANNY MARCHEWKA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Wisconsin sophomore forward Hilary Knight leads the Badgers this season with 43 total points.

cious goal scorers,” junior forward Meghan Duggan said. “I think if we can continue that and just jump out on teams early and set the pace from the beginning of the game, we should be successful.” Duggan has been a key part of that offensive success, posting three goals and two assists against North Dakota. She was also one of seven different goal scorers in Saturday’s contest with the Sioux. Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson said that a balanced offensive attack has given the team confidence and added to the threat they pose. “They’re trying to improve on a daily basis, and when they see results on a weekend, it gives them more confidence,” he said. “It is a good pattern to be in.” Wisconsin will try to recreate the success it had against St. Cloud State in December, the last time the teams faced off. When the Badgers took on the Huskies at the Kohl Center Dec. 5 and 6, they came away with 7-0 and 6-2 wins to end the first half of the season. Johnson, however, said it will be harder this time around because of the road environment and St. Cloud’s confidence coming off a sweep of Ohio State.

“We’re going to have to have everybody playing at a real high level, be competitive,” Johnson said. The Badgers will need to be a disciplined team against St. Cloud, and must avoid looking ahead to their upcoming series against Minnesota Feb. 7 and 8. The top-ranked Gophers took over the No. 1 spot in national rankings as well as the lead in WCHA standings after the Badgers’ loss to Minnesota Duluth Jan. 10. Duggan admitted that the rivalry between the two schools, not to mention the fact they are ﬁghting for the top spot in the country, could make it hard to concentrate against St. Cloud Friday and Saturday and Ohio State a week later. “We’re clearly rivals and I think everyone gets hyped up for that series,” she said. “But I think the team is pretty grounded in being able to take one game at a time.” Johnson said the team shouldn’t have that problem because, “we don’t talk about it until they [Minnesota] become our next opponent.” “It doesn’t help with getting organized for Friday night [against St. Cloud],” he said. The Badgers face off against St. Cloud State at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday.

Swimming

Wisconsin swimmers look to make waves in their home meet this weekend By Daniel Lyman THE DAILY CARDINAL

This weekend the Wisconsin men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will host dual meets Friday and Saturday at the Natatorium on the UW-Madison campus. The men will compete Friday evening at 6 p.m. in a meet versus St. Olaf College. On Saturday at 2 p.m. both the men’s and women’s teams will compete against UW-Green Bay. These will be the last home meets of season for the Badger swimmers and divers before the teams go off to compete in the Big Ten Championships and eventually the NCAA Championships in March. Having a home meet at this point in the season is something that both the athletes and the coaches are looking forward to. “It’s nice to be home after a long training trip, and we’re in the last stage of preparation for championship season, so it’s nice to be home, be in our own beds and turn the corner to some fast swimming,” said head coach Eric Hansen. Junior swimmer Phil Davies, who recently broke the Wisconsin record for the 100 freestyle at the Texas Invitational, also enjoys

super bowl from page 8 in Hawaii. Research suggests that every year about 25,000 people come from out of state to attend the Pro Bowl, making this a fairly easy decision. But either way, I think the league would beneﬁt from keeping this format long after the 2010 season. Although the extra week may still drive some people crazy, the new timing of the Pro Bowl could create an excellent distraction for NFL fans looking for some type of entertainment leading up to the big game. It will make the city of Miami the focal point of the league for a long period and could allow for excellent promotional opportunities during this time. During the week off, the NFL can

meets in Madison. “There is less pressure because we practice here and it’s our home pool. It’s great to have meets here because people’s families and friends come.” “These [meets] are two more opportunities to get our quickness back and show our athleticism.” Eric Hansen head coach UW Swimming

For seniors like All-American Christine Zwiegers, the meet will take on a special meaning, as it is the last time she will compete in her home pool. “For some of the relays we would like to break a pool record, and just because it is my last [home] meet, I would like to have fun and just enjoy it with the team,” Zwiegers said. All the seniors will be recognized in a ceremony before the meet Saturday. Once the swimmers get in the pool this weekend, they will be looking to build off the success from their past couple meets in Texas and Hawaii take the time to celebrate not just the success of its Super Bowl teams, but achievements from around the league. The fact that participants in the Super Bowl can no longer suit up for the Pro Bowl emphasizes team play and winning a championship over individual achievement. This sets a good example for future players and creates a greater sense of responsibility. This weekend, the country will once again be teased by a brief vacation en route to the Super Bowl. But if next year’s experiment proves successful and ultimately continues, at least the NFL can give its fans a much more enjoyable end-of-year experience. Does a week without the NFL drive you crazy? Let Matt know by e-mailing him at mfox2@wisc.edu.

and continue to improve before competing in the Big Ten and NCCA Championships. In a sport where fractions of a second can make you or break you, as we saw with Michael Phelps this past summer, the team is motivated to use every meet to ﬁnetune their technique and achieve the fastest times possible. “I thought we preformed real well against Hawaii during our training trip. Each one of these meets we need to be a little more sharp each time ... These [meets] are two more opportunities to get our quickness back and show our athleticism,” Hanson said. Zwiegers noted that being at home and getting more rest should contribute to lower times. “We’ve been getting not a lot of rest, but [with] a little bit more, and I think people are ready to step up and swim a lot faster,” Zwiegers said. Davies said the meets this weekend will be a great opportunity to get in the pool prepare for championship meets. “It’s another opportunity to race and to prepare for the Big Ten’s and NCAA’s... Working on details like starts and turns that are going to be important at the bigger meets,” he said. Both the men’s and women’s

PHOTO COURTESY UWBADGERS.COM

Wisconsin senior breaststroker Eric Johnson will compete in his last home meet as a Badger this weekend at the Natatorium. teams are conﬁdent in their abilities to preform well as individuals and as a team. Coach Hanson may have summed up this belief best when he said, “I have expectations for every-

body, so I’ll be watching everybody and everything they’re doing. For us to be the team we’re capable of being, everybody needs to know their role and swim well.”

sports 8

dailycardinal.com/sports

Weekend, January 23-25, 2009

Men’s Basketball

UW hopes to get back on track By Matt Fox THE DAILY CARDINAL

The Wisconsin men’s basketball team has blown two consecutive second-half leads, resulting in devastating overtime losses. Saturday, the Badgers (3-3 Big Ten, 12-6 overall) will try and turn things around on the road against No. 24 Illinois (4-2, 16-3). The Badgers opened their Big Ten season with three consecutive wins but have since lost their last three to fall to .500, tied for fifth in the conference. In its last two contests, Wisconsin has been unable to finish off its opponents due to sloppy second-half play. Wisconsin junior point guard Trévon Hughes has struggled recently with his decision-making. After committing more than two turnovers just once in Wisconsin’s first 15 games, Hughes has committed three or more turnovers in each of the last three games and a total of 14 takeaways. Although UW head coach Bo Ryan certainly expects more from his starting point guard, he is still optimistic that Hughes will be able to redeem himself. “He’s lost some of his mojo right now,” Ryan said. “He’s got to get it back. But if anybody can, he can. Maybe he needs some help, too, from the other guys.” Hughes and company will have their hands full against a talented Fighting Illini squad. Last year, Illinois failed to reach the NCAA tournament after finishing just 1318, its worst record under head coach Bruce Weber. But so far this season, the Fighting Illini have been a force in the Big Ten, and

Women’s Basketball

their 4-2 record has them tied for second in the conference. Illinois currently has four players averaging double-figures, including leading-scorer and sophomore guard Demetri McCamey, who is averaging 11.7 per game and also ranks fifth in the Big Ten with five assists per game. Sophomore forward Mike Davis is averaging 11.1 points per game and ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 7.3 rebounds per game. Senior guard Chester Frazier has also been a solid playmaker for the Fighting Illini, leading the Big Ten with 5.7 assists per game. The Fighting Illini have already knocked off two ranked, Big Ten opponents in Purdue and Michigan. They are also coming off a commanding 67-49 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes. In this contest, Illinois had 13 steals and created 20 Buckeye turnovers. This type of intensity from Illinois’ defense will make it even more important for the Badgers to keep their composure and hold onto leads to pull out a victory. “You’ve got to finish on some plays and you’ve got to keep that little bit of cushion,” Ryan said. “We’ve been there, we’ve done it where we get a little momentum.” Recently, Ryan has tried to jumpstart the Badgers’ momentum by trying to expand Wisconsin’s rotation of players. With five freshmen, this year’s team has not shown the same level of depth as in years past, but two solid performances in Wisconsin’s loss to Iowa have shown that maybe the Badgers’ bench will surprise opponents as the season continues.

MATT FOX the fox hole

KYLE BURSAW/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Wisconsin sophomore guard Jason Bohannon is averaging 11.4 points per game this season and has a team high 34 3-pointers. Freshman guard Jordan Taylor set career-highs with 10 points, three assists and two steals in 20 minutes of action. Taylor also hit a long threepointer as time expired in regulation to force overtime against Iowa. Also, senior forward Kevin Gullikson made his ﬁrst career start for the Badgers, playing 21 min-

Wisconsin: 4-5 Big Ten (14-6 overall) Penn State: 3-5 Big Ten (8-10 overall)

utes and registering four points, two rebounds and two assists. If Gullikson continues to play well, he could take some pressure off the rest of Wisconsin’s forwards. Saturday’s tip-off in Champaign, Ill. is set for 3 p.m. The game will be nationally televised from Assembly Hall on ESPN.

Up next for UW: @ Michigan State TV: BTN When: Sunday, 1 p.m.

Wisconsin falls to Nittany Lions in overtime By Jay Messar THE DAILY CARDINAL

With a ﬂick of the wrist, Penn State guard Tyra Grant sunk a turnaround jumper at the buzzer to beat

visiting Wisconsin 58-56 in overtime Thursday night. “It’s a heart-breaker,” Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. “We showed enough toughness to get

KYLE BURSAW/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO

UW junior forward Mariah Dunham registered 12 points and nine rebounds as the Badgers went on to lose to Penn State.

Future Super Bowl changes worth a shot

back in it and our kids worked hard, but we come away empty.” Wisconsin (4-5 Big Ten, 146 overall) had no answer for Grant, who scored 23 of her 32 points in the second half and in overtime on 50 percent shooting from the floor. The Badgers were led by sophomore guard Alyssa Karel with 15 points and junior forward Mariah Dunham with 12 points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Teah Gant also added eight points and three steals for Wisconsin. Wisconsin lost at the Bryce Jordan Center—an arena where the Badgers have amassed a dismal 1-15 record—after picking up its only win in University Park, Pa., last season. Wisconsin rode a lead for the majority of the first half, leading by as many as 13 points on a Dunham free throw. Penn State (8-10, 3-5) responded with a pair of field goals in the final two minutes to cut the deficit at half to 24-15. The Badgers kept the momentum, cruising to a 41-24 lead with 10:21 left in the game on a layup by sophomore forward Tara Steinbauer. But Penn State responded with a 19-0 run to take a two-point lead on a Grant basket with 3:29 to go in the game. “We needed to get more production out of the post,” Stone said. “We missed about 10 easy

looks during that 19-0 run. We just couldn’t get it to fall.” Karel tied the game on a pair of free throws and Dunham hit a jumper to tie the game back up at 45 apiece with 50 seconds remaining. Yet neither team could convert on its ﬁnal possession in regulation, sending the game into overtime. A step-back three by Grant put the Lions up 51-47 midway through the extra period, but Wisconsin went back up by one on a Karel three pointer with just under a minute to go. Grant made a jumper and a free throw to put PSU up two, before Gant drove to the rack and tied it up with a layup. With 14 seconds left in overtime, Grant brought the ball up the floor and called for the isolation play. Gant played solid defense, but Grant’s shot found nothing but nylon to give the Lions an integral home victory. “I felt good going into the overtime and I thought our kids showed toughness,” Stone said. “We just didn’t ﬁnish. That’s the bottom line.” Wisconsin also finished with 20 turnovers. Wisconsin will next travel to the Breslin Center to take on Michigan State (12-6, 6-2) Sunday afternoon. Tipoff against the Spartans is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. —uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.

s always, this weekend will provide plenty of entertainment for sports fans. The college basketball season continues to heat up during conference play, while the NBA and NHL have nearly reached the midpoint of their respective seasons. But without taking anything away from these events, this weekend will still likely be remembered as “the weekend before the Super Bowl.” The traditional one-week break between the Conference Championships and Super Bowl is a format that desperately needs a change. For more than four decades the Super Bowl has become not only a major fixture in American sports, but in American society as a whole. The game’s TV ratings are consistently the highest of the year, meaning everything that goes along with the game—the betting, the advertisements, the halftime performances and the media coverage—are magnified significantly. With all these parameters, it’s understandable why the NFL and TV executives would like to take a weekend off to promote the big event to its full potential and create even more suspense leading up to the game. However, the consequences of this format have also created a series of problems, especially in catering to the league’s large fan base. The NFL completely stops the building momentum of its playoff system, only to make fans wait longer and drag out a game that could just as easily be played the following week. This makes the amount of media coverage over this two week-period almost unbearable. General game predictions heat up right after the AFC and NFC championship games, and though it’s necessary for analysts to break down the matchup, the unpredictability of past Super Bowls has shown that it would be unwise to take any prediction too seriously. Furthermore, players and coaches receive an unimaginable amount of coverage for their activity off the field. I don’t know about you, but I’m not very interested in where Larry Fitzgerald got his hair cut or where Ben Roethlisberger went out to dinner. Can you just keep your focus on the game at hand? Also, the current format has the Super Bowl proceeded the following week by the Pro Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii. It’s a privilege to watch the NFL’s best competing on the same field, but the timing of the game creates an extremely anticlimactic end to the season. Late last December the NFL announced some new changes for next season. The 2010 Super Bowl and Pro Bowl will both be held at Dolphin Stadium in Miami. The Pro Bowl will be played the week before the Super Bowl. Those selected from the AFC or NFC Championship teams will not participate in the Pro Bowl. This change will be instilled on a one-year test basis, and was also conducted because of questions about the current economy and lack of tourism super bowl page 7