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Weekend, February 20-22, 2009

MGE will give back extra funds

Early release of inmates possible under budget plan

By Anna Bukowski

By Steven Rosenbaum

THE DAILY CARDINAL

Madison Gas and Electric proposed a customer refund Thursday of payments made last year that are subject to the approval of the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. If passed, the refund will be applied to customers’ bills by the end of March. The average refund will be $12.50, but the range will be “all over the map ... some businesses may get thousands,” according to MGE spokesperson Steve Kraus. According to MGE, the refunds will be calculated proportionally to the customer’s utility use. The rebate accounts for the declining fuel costs in the past year. By law, MGE must fix their prices a year in advance; that is, “the gas you’re using today wasn’t purchased today,” PSC spokesperson Teresa Smith said. MGE’s cost estimates, and customers’ bills, proved higher than the actual fuel prices. MGE allows for a small margin of error above or below the estimated cost. However, if the margin exceeds a certain amount, MGE will file for a refund of the surcharge. The fuel to generate electricity is a large part of MGE’s budget; therefore they must account for fluctuating fuel prices with retroactive refunds. MGE can also charge a surtax to compensate for unexpectedly high fuel prices. “2008 was very volatile,” Kraus said. “Fuel prices went down, so [MGE] overcharged.”

Gov. Jim Doyle’s 2009-’11 budget proposal released Tuesday includes a program that would result in the premature release of inmates from the state’s prisons. The Criminal Justice Reform Initiative, aimed at reducing the budget of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, would also include the elimination of misdemeanor probation for certain nonviolent offenders. Department of Corrections spokesperson John Dipko said specific figures are unknown at this stage, but “the governor’s budget ensures the Department of Corrections will continue to fulfill its mission of keeping Wisconsin safe, but in a more efficient and effective way.” “I haven’t seen the details, but the state is in a budget crisis, and if we can save a few dollars by monitoring nonviolent criminals in a cheaper way, we might have to do that,” state Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, said. State Sen. Fred Risser, DMadison, said he supports the plan and believes laws regarding prison terms are too harsh. He said he would like to see reduction of sentences and an easier parole process for individuals who have proven they have been rehabilitated. “It’s not beneficial to society for people who have been rehabilitated to remain incarcerated,” he said. According to state Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, Wisconsin incarcerates about twice as many people as Minnesota does, despite the fact that the states are similar in population and socioeconomic status. Black said it costs the state up to $40,000 per year to incarcerate one prisoner. “If we can safely help [prisoners] return to a productive life in society, we will be making a big dent in the state budget deficit,” he said. UW-Madison law professor Walter Dickey said that there is a historical precedent for early release in the state. “Wisconsin has done it several times in the past when the overcrowding problem has been serious,” he said. Budget deficits have led other states, such as California and Arizona, to implement similar measures, raising some concerns over public safety. According to Dickey, the public will remain safe as long as the Department of Corrections makes wise decisions about the prisoners they release early and there is adequate supervision of offenders.

mge page 3

LORENZO ZEMELLA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Police responded to the Palisades Apartments after two teens pointed a weapon at the manager of the Doubletree Hotel. The weapon, which was thought to be a gun, turned out to be a BB gun.

Teens arrested with BB gun outside Palisades By Rachel Holzman THE DAILY CARDINAL

Two teens were taken into custody Thursday night after the manager of the Doubletree Hotel reported the two suspects had a gun, which was actually a BB gun. According to Lt. Dave McCaw of the Madison Police Department, the manager of the Doubletree, located at 525 W. Johnson St., reported that a black teen wearing a gold coat had pointed a gun at her. While

she was on the phone with the 911 center, she reported the gun was handed to another black teen in a wheelchair who was waving the weapon toward the Palisade Apartments. The 15-year-old youth in the wheelchair told police he threw the weapon onto a porch of a nearby house when he heard police were coming. The house, McCaw said, was the residence the other teen had gone into. Police arrived at the scene to

find the teen in the wheelchair outside the house since he was unable to enter the residence without assistance. Both teens were taken into custody and were transported to the Juvenile Reception Center. The suspects, whose names will not be released, were charged with disorderly conduct while armed. McCaw said the police were unaware the weapon was a BB gun palisades page 3

Gov. Doyle signs budget-adjustment bill into law, pushes for bipartisanship By Cathy Martin THE DAILY CARDINAL

DANNY MARCHEWKA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Gov. Jim Doyle signs the budget-adjustment bill, which will help improve the state’s budget problems, at the state Capitol Thursday.

Gov. Jim Doyle signed the budget-adjustment bill, which will reduce the current budget deﬁcit and cut state spending, at the state Capitol Thursday. Doyle said the legislation will directly reduce the current state budget gap by $700 million and will cut $125 million in state spending. He added the bill will create jobs by using $300 million of federal funds, modernize infrastructure and bring down health-care costs while expanding access. “This bill lays critical groundwork for getting our state’s economy back on track,” Doyle said. “It creates a platform for federal stimulus dollars to work quickly and efﬁciently.” The bill was just introduced Monday and passed Wednesday in the state Legislature without a single Republican vote in its favor. Doyle said he is glad the Legislature moved quickly and

did not waste time “pointlessly” deliberating. “I really appreciate the fact that the Legislature was ready to act and act very expeditiously,” Doyle said. State Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Green Bay, said Democrats passed the bill quickly to purposely keep people from examining it and realizing the negative impact it would have. “This bill should be nominated for a Sundance Award … because [it] was carefully choreographed to minimize the amount of news coverage that it got,” Montgomery said. The bill includes a number of tax increases, including a raise in taxes for corporations, which Montgomery said will constrain their budgets and give them no incentive to hire new employees. “At the end of the day, what this bill did was kill jobs. It’s just as simple as that,” Montgomery said. “The opportunities for UW doyle 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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TODAY: scattered ﬂurries hi 27º / lo 17º

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Weekend, February 20-22, 2009

An independent student newspaper, serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison community since 1892

I know it’s old, quit hating on my Dell, yo

Volume 118, Issue 97

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 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 Nick Dmytrenko 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, Alex Kuskowski Danny Marchewka, Caitlin Sachs

Business and Advertising business@dailycardinal.com Business Manager Alex Kusters Advertising Manager Sheila Phillips Mindy Cummings Billing Manager Accounts Receivable Manager Cole Wenzel Account Executives Katie Brown Ana Devcic, Natalie Kemp Tom Shield Eric Harris, Dan Hawk Web Directors Marketing Director Heath Bornheimer 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 Nick Dmytrenko Dave Heller Alex Morrell Frances Provine Jon Spike Gabe Ubatuba Hannah Young l

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 l

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

WEEKEND: snow hi 24º / lo 11º

DAVID HOTTINGER it’s getting hottinger

’m a PC, so as you would expect, I get hate-crimed a lot by the Mac-jority. To date, I’ve had my bike tires slashed ﬁve times, three bricks thrown through my bedroom window with notes telling me to “Burn in Dell,” and seven girlfriends’ fathers who’ve ﬁred shotguns in my direction after discovering their daughters were necking with “Windows wiper.” It’s getting gal-dang ridiculous. I got kicked out of the Velvet the other night just because some coastie hussy ratted me out to the bouncer for being Dellish. You should have seen the look on her face. Pure hate. People like to say the civil rights movement ended with Obama’s election, but at one of the whitest public universities in America, we’ve just found a new way to channel our proclivity for prejudice: computerism. It wasn’t always this way. I remember back in nineteen nickety-six when my dad came home

with a Gateway 2000. The neighbors didn’t ostracize us or move to a more Mac-ish cul-de-sac in the suburbs; we remained a respectable, PC-owning household. Now, if I pull out my Inspiron during lecture I get coffees thrown at me until I ﬂee the building. I’ve even had a professor who, upon discovering my computer-icity, refuse to respond to the emails that originated from my “barbaric” machine. I’m not going to back down, though. I will not stand to be treated like a second-class student just because as an incoming freshman I chose to blow my graduation money on a computer that didn’t have Eve’s apple on its cover. No sir. Nor am I going to go the nonviolent route, either. That part of me died when I watched my brother’s HP get Jamba-Juiced in College Library by some bigot who didn’t care for his optical drive. I’m going to ﬁght back like the humans did in Independence Day. Most Mac users aren’t even aware of their prejudice. They just think their computers are so friggin’ superior that it’s just a matter of time before that’s all anybody has, as if the new president has promised an

iMac in every home and a MacBook on every lap. Well guess what? We PCs are still here, and until we get better-paying jobs, we ain’t going nowhere. We’ve seen this happen in our country before, when the white settlers assumed the uncivilized Indian tribes would just melt away in the face of modernity. Well, we’ve learned from the Indians, you Steve Jobsists, so we know not to accept your small-pox ridden jump drives in exchange for our precious Microsoft Ofﬁce software. The peoples of the PC will band together; the Dells, the Toshibas, the Compaqi, even our little Eee PC brothers. Together we will resist the tide of the white laptops and retain our rightful places at the Council Fire in the Great Infolab. It’s not that I don’t see the value of the Mac life. As a young child, I enjoyed countless hours playing Number Munchers and Z-Bug on the green-screened Macs at school. Even now, I can appreciate that four-screen thing your MacBooks can do and the comfort of going with the ﬂow. But there is value in the traditions of my people, too. And I sold my shares of Apple stock before it took off, so I’m

Neighborhood watch: Overly concerned citizens You can’t even trust the nice ones these days To the Editor, On Feb. 2, you may have read an article titled “Too-friendly man considered suspicious.” If the title doesn’t give away the danger to society then maybe some of the details will help readers to understand this new threat. In the middle of the afternoon, a woman was approached by a man who she claimed had a “weird friendliness about him,” naturally leading her to believe “there was something evil about his character.” He said “hi” to the woman and announced he was one of her new neighbors. Having escaped this caring criminal, she did what any completely on-edge, insanely cautious citizen would do when approached by a nice guy with pale blue eyes: She called the cops. This new overly nice brand

of evil poses a major dilemma for society. How can we stop nice people before it’s too late? Keeping nice people off the streets shouldn’t be too hard. We could ask them to turn themselves in, only the nicest people would show up. Another solution would be for all the non-criminals who aren’t evil to stop acting so nice. The nice ones would stick out like sore thumbs just long enough for us to put them behind bars. Whatever solution Madison decides to adopt, it will be best if, like the women in the story, we all keep our ﬁngers on the 911 speed-dial just in case. I think the police department will support me when I say they would rather lock up

1,000 jerks than have one nice guy walking the streets. Even if the woman was wrong, and a real nice new neighbor was the victim of kindness proﬁling, it must be nice for the dispatcher to get a call like that after hundreds of rapes, robberies and murders.

still really bitter about that. I think there is reason for hope, though. If the PC and Mac peoples can just learn to understand one another, we may be able to construct a society where my children can play backyard football in peace on their PC, and your children can look at four screens of porn on their powerful MacBook Pros. But like any dream, it will take struggles and sacriﬁces to achieve. In an age when more and more aspects of our everyday lives transpire on a screen of some sort, securing equal computing rights has never been a more critical issue. Not long ago, we began to buy shoes and register for classes online. At present, we watch television and read the newspaper off the Internet. In the future, I expect we will all meet our spouses on eHarmony and our friends on iChat. But until we all have iPhones, it’s important we respect the different computers that we were born into college with and realize that diversity is what makes our campus great. So compute, and let compute. But if any of you make fun of my crappy Dell again, I swear I’ll rip your fucking space bars out. Does anyone remember Z-Bug? Tell David at dhottinger@wisc.edu if you do.

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Weekend, February 20-22, 2009

New fraternity chapter to debut on campus By Alyssa Connolly THE DAILY CARDINAL

The UW-Madison Greek community will welcome a new fraternity chapter this spring. Beta Chi Theta accepted the bid Tuesday for 10 UW-Madison students to form a chapter of the national South Asian fraternity on campus. The group of UW-Madison students, including sophomore Abhi Pulla, sent their application to the national organization in early February. After reviewing their application video and essays, the national fraternity called Pulla to tell him they

had accepted the UW-Madison bid. Beta Chi Theta’s National Vice President of External Affairs Rahul Kapoor said the fraternity is interested in expanding to the UWMadison community because of the school’s attention to “the pillars our fraternity is primarily based upon.” The pillars include service, athletics and academics. “I guess we kind of showed to them that we can balance our schoolwork, we’re a good group of guys who are dedicated and committed and we like to party, but at the same time we’re responsible,” Pulla said. “I think that’s

what they were looking for.” Kapoor said he receives several requests from universities on a daily basis, but UW-Madison’s stood out. “They’re well-rounded,” he said. Pulla originally heard about Beta Chi Theta through a friend and went to a meeting with a fraternity representative to hear more. “It really intrigued me,” Pulla said. “I thought I could deﬁnitely be an asset to this fraternity.” In March, a “new membership educator” will come to Madison to help the students complete the process of becoming a colony of Beta Chi Theta. Kapoor said the men

would concentrate on learning how to run an organization. Pulla said the UW-Madison Beta Chi Theta chapter will likely establish themselves in the campus’ Greek system through the Multicultural Greek Council, as opposed to the Interfraternity Council, in which houses do not afﬁliate with particular ethnicities. Although it is South Asianbased, the fraternity is not limited to students of South Asian ethnicity, according to Pulla. “As long as you promote South Asian awareness, that’s the important thing,” he said.

Students discuss lack of sex education in Asian-American families By Beth Pickhard THE DAILY CARDINAL

Student leaders evaluated the prevalence of sexual discussion in Asian families at a forum in the Campus Women’s Center Thursday. The Asian American Student Union and the Campus Women’s Center held the event to address sexual issues prevalent in American society. Participants broke off into groups to discuss interracial relationships, sexuality in Asian households and LGBTQ issues in Asian communities. According to discussion leaders, interracial relationships with Asians in America are skewed. They said Asian women are more likely to marry white men, but Asian men are less likely to marry white women, which may be a result of stereotypes of Asian women enforced throughout history. Phill Lee, AASU member, said the stereotypes are evident in America and should be addressed, as well as other issues, even though

UW coalition hails domestic-partner benefits in budget A state group is advocating for the provision granting health care to domestic partners of state employees in Gov. Jim Doyle’s 2009-’11 biennial budget proposal. According to a release from the Wisconsin Coalition for Domestic Partner Benefits, the UW System has been unable to recruit and retain faculty members because of the lack of domestic-partner benefits. Domestic-partner benefits were introduced in a number of previous budget cycles but were then dropped by the Joint Finance Committee, according to Chris Daniels of WCDPB. However, Daniels said he is confident the issue will pass in this cycle because the co-chairs of the JFC are “supportive of the issue.” UW-Madison’s Associated Students of Madison decided in its meeting Wednesday to become an official affiliate of the WCDPB. Hannah Karns, vice chair of ASM, said the group’s Academic Affairs Committee helped initiate the partnership. “We are one of the only Big Ten schools that does not have domesticpartner benefits in terms of job recruitment for not only faculty and staff but for graduate students as well,” she said. “Students look ... at our retention rates of students and professors.” In the upcoming months, the coalition and ASM will work with other state groups to plan a statewide day of action to take place Mar 25. —Erin Banco

they may be hurtful. “These are topics that run through my head, but we’re so rehearsed in our denials,” he said. “Our rationalizations are so powerful and so subconscious.” AASU members analyzed how sexuality is addressed in Asian households. Discussion participants said Asian households are conservative because parents do not want to discuss sexual issues with their children. Four out of approximately 25 men, who were mostly white, raised their hands when asked if their parents ever spoke to them about sex. The same number said their parents had spoken to them about LGBTQ issues. According to AASU member Duc Luu, this is one of the critical issues AASU, an organization with members from many ethnic groups, aims to discuss. “We try to address the more critical issues and be socially active. We’re a diverse group,” he said. Chanel Matsunami Govreau,

news

palisades from page 1 until they tried to unload it. “When the officers picked up the weapon, they thought it was a real gun,” McCaw said. Sgt. Jennifer Krueger Favour of the MPD said the teens were both students at Madison East High School. Krueger Favor said no one was harmed and there was no property damage, but the case is still under investigation. McCaw commended the 911 center for their efforts in the case. “The 911 center was so quick on this case, which ultimately made this apprehension possible,” McCaw said. “If we did not have the instantaneous communication with the dispatch center, this case may have slipped away.”

mge from page 1

DANNY MARCHEWKA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

UW-Madison students gathered in Memorial Union Thursday to analyze the reasons why Asian-American families tend not to discuss sex. CWC publications coordinator and AASU member, said the event was a great collaboration between two organizations she is passionate about. Many UW-Madison community members stayed after the event ﬁn-

ished to continue the discussion. “People were really open about talking about the different issues, and I really was impressed with people’s maturity and listening as well,” Matsunami Govreau said.

A/V club

GRACE FLANNERY/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Artist David Linton creates psychedelic performance art using audiovisual equipment, mirrors, holograms, crystals and other objects at the Memorial Union Play Circle Thursday night.

PSC acts as a price regulator, and it will review MGE’s proposal in the upcoming weeks. The commissioners will “deny, amend, modify” or approve the refund, Smith said. PSC audits MGE’s records and judges whether or not a credit or surcharge is due. Kraus expects PSC will approve the refund and believes PSC’s approval process is the fairest way to account for changing fuel prices. In a constantly changing market it is “too difﬁcult to look ahead,” Kraus said.

doyle from page 1 graduates coming this May will be hurt by this bill.” Doyle said the bill is fairly bipartisan and includes initiatives Republicans usually support, like making cuts in state government. He said it lacks Republican support because of the party’s conscious decision not to cooperate. “Everyone is going to have to have some faith that if we all work together … we can get through this in a way that will make us stronger in the years ahead,” Doyle said.

comics 4

Good Living. Antarctica is the highest, driest, windiest, emptiest, coldest place on earth. dailycardinal.com/comics

Weekend, February 20-22, 2009

Muito Difícil

Today’s Sudoku

Anthro-apology

By Eric Wigdahl wigdahl@wisc.edu

Angel Hair Pasta

By Todd Stevens ststevens@wisc.edu

Sid and Phil

By Alex Lewein alex@sidandphil.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 Daily Code

The Fox

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

“Mxud oek’hu vboyd’ xywx, jqau co xuqhj qbedw Y’bb ru jxu xqhcedo je uluho bedubo iedw Jxqj oek buqhd je fbqo .” NIckel Creek Lyric Yesterday’s Code:

“Well, you’re two penises short of a Shania Twain reimagination band!”

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

The Graph Giraffe

Evil Bird Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com COMING OUT ON TOP

1 6 10 14 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 25 27 29 30 33 37 39 40 42 43 45 47

ACROSS Editorial changes of heart Majesty preceder Glance over “I’m With Stupid” shirt feature “Happy Motoring” company Subordinate staffer Came from behind Preﬁx with “friendly” Strange- sounding city? Places for combats or contests Lower electrical capability Up and about Skewed view Craven or Unseld Stratosphere streaker, once Got ahead (with 45Across) Poetry Muse Carrot on a stick, e.g. Company that merged with Kmart Swash- buckler’s quality They mingle at landﬁlls See 33-Across Place above place

48 Two-of-a- kind vessel 50 Small acces- sory case 51 Wave feature 53 Ferdinand’s ﬁrst lady 57 Old Testament book 60 River in central Switzerland 62 Linked- computers acronym 63 Seized control 66 Comics page drooler 67 Greek war god 68 Shooter, before shooting 69 Speaks on the record? 70 The motion of the ocean 71 Paper for a letter DOWN Full When shooting wraps up? 3 Proofreader’s ﬁnd 4 Twenty hundredweights 5 Honeybun 6 Himalayan humanoid 7 Milo of “Barbarella” 8 Walk all over 9 Do tire maintenance 10 It may getrattled 11 Ceramist’s oven 12 “Hey, what’s the big ___?”

1 2

13 Private dinner? 18 Doesn’t look forward to 19 Originate 24 “Li’l ___” 26 Turn sharply 28 Round and strip, e.g. 30 Spanish room 31 Men-only, as a party 32 Audiophile’s concern 33 Lumines- cence 34 Popular German import 35 Part of many mineral supplements 36 “I’ve ___ it up to here!” 38 Tighten, as laces 41 Genre of Jonathan Swift 44 Vaughan of jazz 46 One is one 49 Warm up, as leftovers 51 Refers to 52 Sealed, as a package 54 Andean ruminant 55 Some Europeans 56 Tennis star Agassi 57 “Young Frankenstein” assistant 58 Scotch partner 59 “Take ___ from me” (“Here’s my advice”) 61 Church feature 64 Swiss canton 65 Go in haste

By Yosef Lerner ilerner@wisc.edu

By Caitlin Kirihara kirihara@wisc.edu

arts

Oscar update: In The Daily Cardinal Oscar preview from Feb. 19, 2009, all graphic design was created by Jenny Peek, Daily Cardinal graphics editor.

dailycardinal.com/arts

Weekend, February 20-22, 2009

Celebrating the worst of 2008 in style KEVIN SLANE citizen slane

PHOTO COURTESY ANTI- RECORDS

N.A.S.A. has been in and out of the studio for six years working on this debut, with the product drawing on inspiration from the widest extremes of music, containing featured artists M.I.A., Chuck D, Tom Waits, David Byrne, Geo rge Clinton and Kanye West, among others.

Guests carry N.A.S.A. on debut By Emma Roller

“The People Tree” blasts off with fat raps accenting David Although stoners have to Byrne’s characteristic tin-ear chorely on their imaginations when rus. Byrne continues on “Money,” thinking of possible musical this time with fellow veteran collaborations of their musical Chuck D providing the rhymes heroes in heaven, kids with a in between Ras Congo’s refrain, penchant for crisp “Money is the CD REVIEW rap and newroot of all evil.” wave yelpers have “Way Down” found the earthly gives listeners equivalent in The a break in the Spirit of Apollo, form of a downthe debut album tempo jam with of L.A. disc jockey haunting vocals outfit N.A.S.A. from Barbie The Spirit of N.A.S.A. Hatch, some Apollo (North America funky guitar and N.A.S.A. South America) RZA presiding is comprised of DJs Squeak E. admirably over it all. Clean, aka Sam Spiegel (and In “Four Rooms, Earth View,” brother of director Spike Jonze), Method Man explodes on the and DJ Zegon, aka professional track with chants of “Wu! Tang! skateboarder Ze Gonzales. Apollo Wu! Tang!” followed by power has been six years in the mak- chords, blips and Yeah Yeah ing, and judging by the presti- Yeahs’ Karen O topping it off gious lineup on the album, it with a raw, monotone refrain. appears to have been six years “Spacious Thoughts” employs well spent. Tom Waits’ Cookie Monster THE DAILY CARDINAL

vocals, horn blasts and Kool Keith to throw the album back to a time period that never existed, one that is frankly a bit frightening. “Gifted” lends a sufficiently danceable, euro-club beat supported by dark synths and sci-fi effects to Kanye’s boasts like, “I could never be too big for my britches.” Thankfully, Swedish indie darling Lykke Li takes the song’s ego down a notch with her airy chorus, while Santogold’s self-assured drawl adds subtle depth to the cut. On “A Volta,” Amanda Blank plays the bad girl rapping in the bathroom alongside rasta ruffian Sizzla, who matches her line for line. Lovefoxxx, frontwoman for Brazil’s Cansei de Ser Sexy adds flavor with backup vocals. Next, in “Whatchadoin?,” Spank Rock’s punishing rhymes meet M.I.A.’s whines about infidelity to create a banger almost as big as the infant that recently emerged from the woman’s burgeoning womb. Jungle beats and

guitar licks courtesy of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner push the track over the edge to make it the best song on Apollo. The album is downright exhausting by the time “The Mayor” rolls around—after all, one can only rock for so long. The requisite “this is a DJ track” police sirens and vinyl scratching don’t help, but Ghostface Killah’s kung fu sauciness is tempered well by The Cool Kids’ trademark mellow swagger. “N.A.S.A. Anthem” ends the album as the intro began it, with a cheesy quote from a moonwalk voiceover: “When those two Americans stepped from on moon, the people of this world were brought closer together. And it is that spirit, the spirit of Apollo, that transcends geographical barriers and political differences.” A bit preachy, but it’s a nice closing sentiment nonetheless. Without the starstudded lineup, however, it never would’ve made it past liftoff.

Complexities of math and life collide in ‘Proof ’ By Joe Skurzewski THE DAILY CARDINAL

Death. Romance. Family tension. Math problems. These are just a few of the themes touched on in the Madison Theatre Guild’s presentation of “Proof,” showing this month at the Bartell Theatre. In “Proof,” playwright David Auburn tells the story of a Chicago family in the midst of tragedy. Auburn molds a story that brings together the hardships of everyday life with the complexities of the mathematical world. This backdrop provides for an excellent show enhanced by moving performances from the actors. The play begins with a young woman named Catherine in her early 20s sitting on her back porch and talking to her father Robert, a prominent mathematics professor. Catherine and Robert engage in a discussion that reveals a tension in the family between the father’s obsessive work life and the

daughter’s life ambitions. In an instant of pure dramatic effect, the audience discovers through this conversation that Robert has died, and Catherine has bared the burden of planning his untimely funeral. Jessica Jane Witham and Stuart Brooks, who play Catherine and Robert, respectively, share an onstage magnetism that reﬂects the intrinsic relationship between father and daughter. Meanwhile, Catherine must deal with her overzealous yet affectionate sister, Claire, played by Susan Finque. Claire relentlessly tries to convince Catherine to sell her father’s house and move in with her and her husband in New York. The audience can relate to the sibling rivalry that Catherine and Claire display, one that slowly but surely transforms into a collective struggle to overcome the grief of their father’s loss. As the play progresses, the audience learns through several

ﬂashbacks that Robert had fallen into bouts with schizophrenia, and that Catherine took care of him until his death. Robert’s health struggles not only drew him away from his career, but prevented Catherine from pursuing her own ambitions. Throughout the course of the play, a romance sparks between Catherine and Hal, one of her father’s former students, played by Nathan Figueroa. Hal desperately wants to carry on Robert’s legacy through the work he left behind. However, his relationship with Catherine reveals a startling truth about one of Robert’s many notebooks and shows just how much of Robert’s legacy Catherine carries with her. One of the play’s great triumphs is that it brings forth a simple elegance that contrasts with the heavy issues at hand. The audience sees the entire story unfold on a quiet, unassuming back porch of a Chicago home. Picnic tables

and lawn mowers parallel family quarrels and passionate romances. “Proof ” succeeds in taking the complex problems of academia and relating them to the complex problems of life, amid the serenity of a simple setting. “Proof ” has previously received honors and awards from the theater community. The play won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001. It also won the Tony Award in that same year for the category of Best Play. And in 2005, David Auburn co-wrote a ﬁlm version of “Proof ” which starred Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins and Jake Gyllenhaal.

“Proof” where: Bartell Community Theatre on 113 E. Mifﬂin St. when: Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 21 at 3 and 7:30 p.m. cost: $15

he Oscars are coming up this Sunday, and the stars are ready to align. Soon we will find out whether “Slumdog Millionaire” will strike it rich, or perhaps “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” will cast some “Doubt” on the award? Puns aside, I’m glad the Oscars will finally be over so the media can focus on the award show that truly matters: the Razzies. Formally known as the Golden Raspberry Awards, the show ridicules the year’s worst films. Frankly, these awards are 10 times more fun than the Oscars. After all, it really is that much more enjoyable to make fun of people rather than stiffly standing around and pretending to honor them. This year is no different, as the worst picture nominees are as formidably bad as ever. “Disaster Movie” is collectively nominated with “Meet the Spartans.” According to John Wilson, the man who runs the Razzies, the explanation for bundling the movies into one nomination was “two movies jointly nominated for sharing one berry badly beaten dead horse of a concept!” This free-wheeling, fun style of nominations is what buoyed the Razzies from their creation in Wilson’s basement in 1980 to the popular event it is today. Luckily for Wilson, people enjoy celebrating the worst of Hollywood. Some celebrities even go so far as to show up and accept their Worst Actor trophies. In 1987, Bill Cosby accepted his three Razzies for “Leonard Part 6,” then had them reproduced in gold and Italian marble, and re-accepted them again on “The Tonight Show.” In 2001, Tom Green celebrated his wins for “Freddy Got Fingered” by bringing his own roll of red carpet to the awards and giving a speech that included a never-ending piece of music on the harmonica. Finally, in 2004, Halle Berry showed up to accept her Worst Actress award for “Catwoman,” and gave a tearful speech attempting to parody her 2002 Oscar acceptance speech for “Monster’s Ball.” While onstage, she called the film a “piece of shit, Godawful movie,” which earned her laughter and applause, along with the admiration of many who felt her reputation had been tarnished by the role. This kind of lighthearted fun, along with a little mean-spirited ridiculing, is just what makes the Razzies great. Last year, Lindsay Lohan won Worst Actress for both of her personalities in her schizophrenic turn in “I Know Who Killed Me,” and Eddie Murphy was nominated for Worst Actor, Worst Actress and Worst Supporting Actor for his various cross-dressing and cross-racial roles in “Norbit.” And this year, one of the worst directors of our time, Uwe Boll, will receive a lifetime achievement award for being “Germany’s answer to Ed Wood.” It’s nice to know that while Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke will be cavorting with the stars and yearning for a little golden statue, Mike Myers and Paris Hilton will be waiting to find out which one of them can bring home a big, fat Golden Raspberry. Are you a die-hard Oscars fan who lives for the golden statue and resents anyone who doesn’t? E-mail Kevin at kslane@wisc.edu.

opinion 6

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Weekend, February 20-22, 2009

Separate church, state in same-sex marriages By Kevin J. Mack THE DAILY CARDINAL

According to Article I of the Wisconsin Constitution, all people are to be treated as equals by the state. This is something most of us take for granted. Yet it isn’t always the case. Consider the situation faced by same-sex couples. Currently, they cannot be married by the state, nor can they receive any of the benefits granted to married couples. These benefits include some very basic rights such as hospital visitation, survivor’s benefits and being included in a health-insurance policy. Still, progress has been made over the years. Some churches are now willing to recognize same-sex couples, even “marrying” them. I must use quotes around “marrying,” however, because there is a kicker: The state will not recognize these marriages. It begs the question: Who is it that decides which couples can be married and which can’t? And by what criteria?

The answer should be every church decides [on same-sex marriage] based on its own criteria, and the state should too.

The answer should be that every church decides based on its own criteria, and the state should too. Shouldn’t it be one or the other? We purport, in this country and in Wisconsin, to have separation of church and state. Other than on the issue of marriage, it can be argued that we have it. Regarding marriage, however, the two are completely intertwined. Or rather almost completely, as it is possible to get married without any church involvement. A couple can have a “civil ceremony” even though they are not being married by any church. So the idea of separation

is not only possible, but it already exists. It’s just convoluted. The state will recognize one couple’s union without any sanction from a church; it will also refuse to recognize another couple’s union, even if that couple has the blessing of their church. The larger issue here would be that there is a very good reason for church and state separation—the two institutions have different aims. The smaller issue is that there is disagreement as to what constitutes “marriage.” This issue can be easily resolved by having the state remove itself from the marriage business. Churches can go on marrying their members or choosing not to based upon their own criteria, just as they have for thousands of years. The state can recognize couples based on its own criteria— criteria that should not include sexual orientation any more that it should include ethnicity or religious affiliation. The state confers legal rights, churches do not. If a couple wants to officially become united and receive the benefits which currently go to married couples, they would apply for a certificate of civil union and, assuming they meet certain criteria (such as both being adult citizens), they would receive it. They would then be free to have whatever ceremony they saw fit to have, including a good, old-fashioned church wedding. The state would then be treating its citizens equally, as prescribed by its state Constitution. Couples currently being denied basic rights would no longer be denied these rights. Churches would continue to marry their members that wish to marry, as always. Even people who insist that same-sex couples should not be allowed to marry could be satisfied, as, in their eyes anyway, these people would not be married. Kevin J. Mack is a junior majoring in history. We welcome your feedback. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

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By Levi Prombaum opinion@dailycardinal.com

Rick Warren controversy another partisan battle By Brian Bienenfeld THE DAILY CARDINAL

For months leading up to the 2008 presidential election, America was engulfed by an ideology of change. You don’t have to be a political expert to understand where this immense passion for change came from. For those of you too busy spying on Russia from Alaska to understand how the confident ineptitude of the last eight years spawned this call for change, then this article may not be for you. On Nov. 4, Americans decided a man by the name of Barack Hussein Obama should be the one to usher in this wave of change. The election marked a change from the partisanship that has crippled the efficiency of our legislative process, a change away from leaders that make promises they don’t fulfill and a change from the isolation and suppression of differing ideals. These are the changes we have asked Barack Obama to make. So, starting Jan. 19, Americans will be ready for those words and promises to be put into action ... right?

From what I understand, we are all on the same side, and we are all American.

Well, not so much. For the inauguration on Jan. 18, President Obama selected Evangelical Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the invocation speech. That decision has spawned an immense controversy on both sides of the pendulum, particularly from Obama constituents. Rick Warren is reverend of a megachurch in Orange Country, and he has been one of the most prominent evangelical leaders in calling for Christians to confront poverty, AIDS and genocide. Seems like a great choice so far—one might even wonder why Warren wasn’t Obama’s choice for

vice president. Here’s the part where America’s short-term memory kicks in. Warren is also strongly against homosexuals, and voted for Proposition 8 in California. Warren is also a vehement pro-life supporter. Angry and disappointed, some Americans felt betrayed by Obama for allowing someone so different to speak at the Inauguration. Unfortunately, Democrats and liberals who think it is an inauguration just for them have missed the point completely, and worse still, they have forgotten why they voted for Obama in the ﬁrst place. First of all, by allowing Warren to speak at the conception of this new presidency founded upon the idea of change, Obama took initiative to put his words into action even before he was officially sworn in. I’m sorry, but when a liberal, Democratic presidentelect asks an evangelical, pro-life reverend to speak at his inauguration, how is that not the manifestation of change Americans have been calling for? Obama could have done what former-President George W. Bush did by choosing people with the same ideals to speak at the Inauguration. But then Obama wouldn’t be living up to the change he promised. Promising something and then delivering on it: If that is not change from the last eight years, I don’t know what is. “There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President ... [but] I will listen to you, especially when we disagree,” Obama said after his victory. With the inclusion of Reverend Warren, Obama is taking the steps to change from the Bush Administration that isolated and ignored differences in perspective. Obama is trying to bring the country together. Ideological differences cannot continue to divide America, especially with the foreign and domestic challenges that lie ahead. Obama, answering the call of the American voter, has begun to cement a new American

identity from the inception of his first day as president. An identity believing that, in his words, “out of many, we are one.”

What [Obama] is doing is uniting differences under a common goal, American progress and prosperity.

With the act of inclusion rather than exclusion of a different perspective, Obama is living up to his word, claiming, “while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.” When people talk about there being two Americas, or blue versus red states, it is almost funny. From what I understand, we are all on the same side and we are all Americans. Even more depressingly comical is the claim from the Human Rights Campaign, who said that “by inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian and bisexuals have a place at your table.” Let’s be serious, people: Obama is not going to abandon his beliefs on gay rights and abortion. What he’s doing is uniting differences under a common goal, American progress and prosperity. For critics on both sides of the controversy, I leave you with a warning from Obama on the night the calls for change were thought to be realized. “Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.” Well America, you got the change you asked for, but I guess we prefer words more than action. Brian Bienenfeld is a junior majoring in history and communication arts. We welcome your feedback. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

sports

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Men’s Hockey

Weekend, February 20-22, 2009

Women’s Hockey

One more time for senior class By Brandon Storlie THE DAILY CARDINAL

DANNY MARCHEWKA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Senior goaltender Shane Connelly struggled in the third period of his lone game against Denver, giving up four goals on his last six shots, but hopes his improved conditioning will help him this weekend.

UW ready to battle for top spot By Ben Breiner THE DAILY CARDINAL

Another series, another top-10 opponent. That’s just the road the Badgers must travel through the WCHA. No. 13 Wisconsin will take the ice against the No. 8 Denver Pioneers this weekend in hopes of moving back into ﬁrst place in the WCHA. The Badgers now sit one point behind Denver and North Dakota in the conference standings after their second bye in three weeks. Much like the Badgers’ last opponent, Minnesota, the Pioneers are a deep and talented squad. “They’re a good shaking team, a team that has transition, they play hard, they’re well-coached and for some reason they seem to have success in the Kohl Center, so we’re concerned about all those things,” Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves said. Denver is coached by George Gwozdecky, who played on Wisconsin’s 1977 title team, and has won seven of its last nine games at the Kohl Center. However, they have been struggling lately, coming into Madison on a 2-3-2 streak. The Badgers will, however, be welcoming back one familiar face, as sophomore defenseman Brendan Smith is set to play in his ﬁrst game since Jan. 9. Smith will pair primarily with the team’s leading scorer, junior defenseman Jamie McBain. Eaves said that Smith’s minutes will likely be monitored, but that

hawkeyes from page 8 victory in its last 11 games. “Getting to the free-throw line was really beneﬁcial for us,” Bluder said. “We’re fourth in the country in free throws, so it’s always a point of emphasis for us to get to the free throw line. I thought our seniors showed great leadership against a young Wisconsin team.” With just two games remaining, Wisconsin is clinging to the seventh-place position in the conference—the highest seed the Badgers could receive going into the Big Ten Tournament. Wisconsin is up a half game over Penn State (411, 9-16) after it suffered a home

he will be thrown back onto the top power-play defense pairing. Thirteen of Smith’s 21 points came on the power play, where his powerful slap shot helped him score seven goals. Although Wisconsin’s alreadydangerous power play will be bolstered by Smith, Denver sports a powerful offense which averages a league-high 3.57 goals per game. “[The pioneers] play hard, they’re well-coached and for some reason they seem to have success in the Kohl Center.” Mike Eaves head coach Wisconsin men’s hockey

That scoring success comes despite that absence of sophomore forward Tyler Bozak, who centered the top Pioneer line when the teams met earlier in the season. Bozak accrued 14 assists and seven goals in 18 games before getting injured. “It’s going to be different because now they’ve got [Anthony] Maiani and Joe Colborne scoring,” sophomore defenseman Cody Goloubef said. “One guy out of the lineup doesn’t mean much for us. I mean, they’re all scoring. They’ve got a group of guys who can put the puck in the net, so it’s nice, but nothing too serious.” Eaves also said that Bozak was a “special talent” on the power play, defeat to third-place Purdue (124, 19-8) Thursday night. The Badgers have the top two Big Ten teams remaining on the conference slate in Michigan State (12-3, 197) and Ohio State (12-3, 215). Wisconsin will host the Spartans Sunday at the Kohl GANT Center in hopes of avenging a 59-50 loss earlier this season in East Lansing, Mich. —hawkeyesports.com and uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.

which now is converting 15 percent of its chances, nearly the worst in the conference. When these teams first met in mid-October when the Badgers were coming off two losses to a pair of top East Coast teams in New Hampshire and Boston College. Denver took both games, breaking past Wisconsin after the first period, winning 6-5 in the first game and battering reserve goaltender Scott Gudmandson in a 7-4 contest. The first game was a especially difficult for senior Wisconsin goaltender Shane Connelly, who played an excellent first period but gave up a goal to Bozak with one minute left, and held a 4-2 lead after the second. Connelly then tired in the third, letting four of the last six shots he saw slip past. “It was early in the season and I think fatigue set in and I kind of mentally wandered a little bit,” Connelly said. “I think the team [did] the same thing. We were so excited about ... beating Denver, being out-shot incredibly, and we kind of just, we backed down. We were intimidated from them coming at us so much.” The Badger players, however, emphasized that back then the team was not playing complete games and said the team had grown in that area during the season. The puck drops at 7 p.m. both Friday and Saturday nights. The first game will be broadcast on MyMadisonTV Friday and Fox Sports Net Saturday.

dunks from page 8 acting skills than their athletic ability. Of course, this fault should not be solely placed on the participants, but the league that allows it to continue. For starters, the league needs to be more careful when selecting judges. This year, the NBA brought in former Phoenix Suns players. While some of them are credible evaluators on the art of the dunk, others seemed clueless and were even sneaking peeks at the other judges’ scores in order to make their own decisions. How can the participants and the fans take the contest seriously if the judges aren’t even treating the event as a legitimate competition? Now there are rumors that

All good things must come to an end. This weekend marks the ﬁnal regular season series in the careers of six seniors on the Wisconsin women’s hockey team. As their collegiate careers come to an end, the magnitude of their success at the UW becomes that much clearer. This year’s senior class is, without question, the most successful in the history of the program. Statistically, they have rewritten the school record books. Senior forward Erika Lawler’s 156 points as a Badger put her in a tie with former UW standout Jinelle Zaugg for fourth on the school’s career points list. Senior forward Angie Keseley’s 122 points at the UW are also good enough for ninth on the list. On the other end of the ice, senior netminder Jessie Vetter owns almost every meaningful goaltending record at the UW. Her 82 wins and 35 shutouts are tops on Wisconsin’s career lists, and she has a shot at the career mark for best save percentage as well. Even with all the accolades, Vetter has managed to take everything in stride. “Vetter’s really a different kind of goalie,” freshman goaltender Nikki Kaasa said. “She’s really calm and relaxed, always fun. She’s able to react really well and let the puck come to [her].” As a class, all the seniors have done is win. At every level. In just under four full seasons in Madison, they have amassed 126 wins and just 16 losses. There have been gold medals and countless conference honors, both on and off the ice. There was a WCHA title, and then another. There was a pair of league tournament champion-

ships and three consecutive Frozen Four appearances. And then there were the national titles. After Wisconsin qualified for its first NCAA tournament in the spring of 2005, the class of 2009 provided a missing piece, helping the UW to its first national championship with a 3-0 win over archrival Minnesota in March of 2006. In 2007, they did it again, this time with a 4-1 win over MinnesotaDuluth to avenge the Badgers’ only loss of the season. Despite their success, the class of 2009’s effect on this year’s Badger squad goes beyond victories and stat sheets. Though the team has only lost twice in regulation this season, it is the seniors’ leadership through adversity that has made the biggest impact, especially on the younger players. “After the first loss at Minnesota, there was panic in VETTER everyone’s eyes,” freshman defender Brittany Haverstock said. “They just settled us down.” The Badgers should have little adversity to deal with this weekend against Bemidji State. Wisconsin is 371-2 all-time against the Beavers, with the lone loss coming in December of 2001. When the teams met earlier this season, the Badgers won both games decisively, outscoring BSU 130 on the weekend. This time around, faceoff is set for 2 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at the Kohl Center. There will be a ceremony before Saturday’s contest to honor the six Badger seniors: Rachel Bible, Kayla Hagen, Alycia Matthews, Keseley, Lawler and Vetter.

DANNY MARCHEWKA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Senior center Erika Lawler is now tied for fourth on the Wisconsin all-time scoring list and has accrued 46 points this season.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard LeBron James has a desire to participate in next year’s contest. His reasons for wanting to participate are obvious, as he has already achieved so much in ﬁrst few years in the league, and many of the best players in the league’s history have made their mark through the dunk contest. But before LeBron accepts this challenge, he might want to think about the perception of the contest in recent years. Does he want to be remembered as a true professional with exceptional skills, or a self-absorbed circus act looking for attention? The NBA doesn’t have the right to tell its players how to behave, and I’m not saying they shouldn’t be enjoying themselves. But discouraging some of

the theatrics in recent years could go a long way toward restoring the contest back to its glory days. Think that the dunk contest should be even more ridiculous? Tell Matt at mfox2@wisc.edu.

sports 8

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Weekend, February 20-22, 2009

Men’s Basketball

Wisconsin rings up ﬁfth-straight Bo’s crew crushes Hoosiers by 17 in Assembly Hall By Matt Fox THE DAILY CARDINAL

The Badgers didn’t need a heroic last-second bank shot to get a win in Assembly Hall this year. Junior guard Trévon ran circles around the young Hoosiers, leading Wisconsin with 21 points as they cruised to a 68-51 win. Senior Joe Krabbenhoft added his own big night, scoring a career-high 18 points, grabbing five rebounds, and dishing out two assists. With the victory Wisconsin kept its five-game winning streak alive and improved to 17-9 (8-6) on the year. A slow start by the Badgers HUGHES allowed the Hoosiers to stay close until halftime. Krabbenhoft said earlier in the week the Badgers couldn’t look past this Indiana team. “Coach Crean has them playing real hard and believing in each other that they can beat anybody,” he said. “They’re going to go out guns blazing ready to beat us and we just got to be ready for it.” The Badgers were definitely ready for it, especially Hughes. He scored 10 of the Badgers’ first 15 points and

frustrated the Hoosiers on defense all night. It was the third time he scored over 20 this season. Heading into the locker room. Wisconsin’s lead was only one, but they came out on ﬁre in the second half. An 18-4 run on the backs of Krabbenhoft and Hughes to begin the half gave the Badgers a 15-point lead. Wisconsin held Indiana scoreless for over six minutes during the run until Indiana freshman Nick Williams hit two free throws. The Hoosiers failed to get the game back in reach the rest of the night. Just like in most cases when the Badgers win, a strong defensive effort helped them outplay their opponents. They forced 15 turnovers while only turning the ball over themselves ﬁve times. Wisconsin also refused to give up the easy shots, which got them in trouble during their mid-season slide. They held the Hoosiers to 40.5 percent shooting and only allowed two 3-pointers, both coming when the game was in control. During the six-game losing streak, the Badgers’ defense faltered down the stretch, but now they are putting together complete games. Krabbenhoft mentioned earlier this week they didn’t forget how to play solid defense. “We never really got away from it, we just weren’t doing it for 40 minutes,” he said. “Just executing the whole game down the defensive end, not having defensive lapses.” Indiana was lead by freshman

MATT FOX the fox hole

talked at halftime about how we needed to come out with more intensity and be the aggressors on the court, and we did that.” A jumper by Zastrow and a pair of layups from Steinbauer and Zastrow brought the Badgers to 41-39, but Wisconsin could get no closer. Wisconsin put Iowa in the bonus at the 10:32 mark in the second half, and the Hawkeyes shot 18-for-22 from the line in the second semester to seal their ninth

ast weekend’s NBA All-Star festivities in Phoenix provided the high level of entertainment that basketball fans have come to expect over the years. The league maintained a similar format from years past with different skill competitions, followed by the game. The game was disappointing at best, as the West blew out the East by a score of 145-119. Although the league has little control over the game itself, improvements should be made to other parts of the weekend, especially one of the fans’ most coveted events: the Slam Dunk Contest. Without a doubt, this unique weekend is all about providing entertainment for the fans and recognizing the talents of players from around the league. But there is a fine line between entertainment and theatrics. I thought that some of the behavior on display during the contest was downright embarrassing and took away from the competition as a whole. The antics that bothered me most dealt with props. Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard set a new standard last year by wearing a Superman costume before completing a high-flying dunk. This time, he took it a step further by stepping into a fake phone booth off the court before re-entering in costume. New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson got in on the act as well, switching to a green uniform to create his own “Krypto-Nate” alter ego. Whatever happened to just letting the creativity of the dunks speak for itself? To prove my point, let me take you back to some of the more memorable dunk contests in NBA history. The first NBA dunk contest took place in 1984, and that decade held many unforgettable moments. There were the innovations of Julius Erving, who many would say is the real pioneer of the dunk and helped make it what it has become today. There was the excitement of watching 5'7" Spud Webb fly through the air for a victory in 1986. And, perhaps most memorably, there was the ongoing rivalry between Dominique Wilkins and Michael Jordan, who combined for four Slam Dunk titles in seven years. All of these dunkers competed with immense style and flashiness, but at the same time maintained a sense of class and professionalism. Particularly with Jordan and Wilkins—the two always looked to dazzle the crowd. But they also had tremendous respect for each other, enjoyed the spirit of competition and took their performances very seriously. They didn’t need props—Jordan and Wilkins knew that their dunking alone was enough to make a strong statement about their exceptional level of talent. Even in 2000, after a two-year hiatus from the Slam Dunk Contest, Vince Carter put together one of the most electrifying performances in the contest’s history. When it came to staging the dunks themselves, Carter was all business. Today it seems that participants have completely neglected the standard set by past participants and are much more interested in showcasing their

hawkeyes page 7

dunks page 7

LORENZO ZEMELLA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Senior forward Joe Krabbenhoft helped power the 18-4 run early in the second half, which put the game out of reach for Indiana. guard Verdell Jones III with 16 points. They also welcomed back junior Devan Dumes from his two-game suspension. The win lifts Wisconsin into a tie for fourth in the Big Ten

standings heading into Michigan State on Sunday. The Spartans have been vulnerable this year in East Lansing, losing to Northwestern and Penn State. —uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.

Women’s Basketball

Second-half lapses let Hawkeyes roll over Badgers By Jay Messar THE DAILY CARDINAL

What has quickly become a frustrating season for the Badgers continued Thursday at CarverHawkeye Arena as the Badgers fell to Iowa 72-65—the seventh loss of

their last eight contests. “Our kids fought to the very, very end,” Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. “They played very, very hard. I’m proud of the team. They work so hard.” Despite having all ﬁve start-

ANDREW BERNHAGEN/THE DAILY CARDINAL

The Badgers got a double-double from sophomore forward Tara Steinbauer but could not avoid a 72-65 defeat at Iowa.

Gimmicks cheapen dunk contest

ers in double figures, the Badgers (5-11 Big Ten, 15-12 overall) got just two points off the bench on a combined 1-for-7 shooting. Sophomore forward Tara Steinbauer led the Badgers with her second career double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. “[Tara] has just done an outstanding job,” Stone said. “That’s almost three straight games with double-doubles, and we need that from Tara.” Junior guard Teah Gant led the scoring column with 15 points, and sophomores Alyssa Karel and Lin Zastrow added 14 and 11 points, respectively. The inside game of Zastrow and Steinbauer kept the Hawkeye defense honest, as the post tandem created easy firsthalf Wisconsin baskets. “Wisconsin probably played better against our zone [defense] than any team we played in the last six or seven games,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “They forced us out and we would have liked to stay there because of their potent high-low attack.” Iowa (10-5, 17-9) also had five players in double figures, and sophomore guard Kachine Alexander recorded a double-double of her own with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Iowa shot 57 percent from the floor against Wisconsin, improving on its 52 percent shooting performance at the Kohl Center in late December.

A stingy Hawkeye defense paired with a poor offensive showing in the second half doomed Wisconsin’s hopes of stealing one on the road. After leading 32-30 at the half, Wisconsin did not score in the second half until Gant hit her second free throw with 14:43 left in the game to bring the Badgers back to within eight, 41-33. “That was huge for us,” Bluder said. “In the ﬁrst half Wisconsin was getting all the loose balls. We “We talked at halftime about how we needed to come out with more intensity and be the aggressors ... and we did that.” Lisa Bluder head coach Iowa women’s basketball