What a tough weekend for the state's big-time basketball teams. Marquette's seven-game winning streak ended when the defense disappeared at Notre Dame. Wisconsin's six-game roll...

The Bucks are back to life without Andrew Bogut now that the hard-luck center has added a broken ankle to his medical résumé. Can the season be salvaged? What a surprise, huh? It's just ridiculous...

The Brewers and Ryan Braun will soon know whether the National League MVP must watch the first 50 games of 2012. Last week an arbitration panel heard Braun's appeal of his positive test for a banned substance in October...

The Observers faced their biggest challenge, short of a Brewers-Yankees World Series: a playoff game between the football teams they've loved for more than 50 years. There was no way they could watch Packers-Giants in the same place...

Fans of the Badgers probably wish they could burrow away from the memories of last week's agonizing losses in football and basketball. Fortunately for the rooting half of the Observers, there was a little time...

Let the NFL playoffs begin! Not, of course, for the 15-1 Packers, who earned a week off and home-field advantage against any conference rival. Now the question is which NFC...

Before Frank headed back East for the holidays, the Observers held their annual discussion about the ballot for baseball's Hall of Fame. As a member of the Baseball Writers' Association...

“Disappointed” wouldn't adequately describe the Milwaukee Bucks or their fans last spring. “Dejected” or “devastated” would be more accurate. The 2009-'10 season saw the Bucks improve by...

It's hard to imagine a more disheartening story for the world of baseball. Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun, just named the National League's Most Valuable Player, failed a drug test in October and could be...

Was there ever a more exciting weekend for the state's sports fans? Marquette and Wisconsin did their basketball rivalry proud in a gritty 61-54 MU victory in Madison. Then the UW football team got its revenge against Michigan State, 42-39...

The NBA apparently will return on Christmas Day, and the Observers think one big reason is that the millionaires on both sides of the lockout realized they wouldn't be missed until April—if then. Yes, college basketball is that good—always available...

The contrast couldn't be more striking. While the NBA's bickering owners and players seem determined to lose their entire season, Major League Baseball and its...

A legendary college football coach, revered for his character as well as his success on the field, loses his job because he didn't do enough to stop the alleged sexual abuse of children...

There's no avoiding it, even if it tempts the football fates. The Packers are 8-0 and looking unstoppable on offense, which means their fans will be thinking about a perfect season...

Much as it may pain Brewers fans, the St. Louis Cardinals earned their World Series trophy. As Ryan Braun said after the Cardinals ended Milwaukee's season, “The best teams get to the postseason. The hottest team wins it.” And maybe...

Bret Bielema said it best: “All the stars had to be aligned for that to happen.” The Wisconsin football coach was talking about the final play Saturday night in East...

When a team's season ends sadly, certain things can look inevitable. The Milwaukee Brewers' defense was spotty all season, so of course it would be a factor in their disheartening loss to heated rival St. Louis in the...

It's not for the faint of heart, this Brewers postseason. A two-game lead evaporated in Arizona, a 2-1 ninth-inning lead vanished in Game 5 before the Miller Park magic prevailed, and Sunday the hated Cardinals...

The greatest sports weekend ever in Wisconsin? It's hard to imagine anything better than what took place as October opened. The Brewers began their quest for the World Series by beating Arizona twice at Miller Park. The Badgers welcomed Nebraska...

There's no law that Wisconsin has room for only one Titletown. Green Bay claimed the name in the Packers' glorious 1960s and it certainly fits again. Madison is home to the defending co-champions of Big Ten...

A trip to see relatives on the East Coast took Frank away from firsthand viewing of the Super Bowl champions and soon-to-be National League Central winners. Yes, he probably could have seen the Packers and Brewers through some terrific form...

It was looking so easy for the Brewers. Their five-week, 27-5 eruption set them up comfortably for a division title, a first-round playoff series against wild-card Atlanta...

No one listens to NPR for sports coverage, except for the real national pastime of political blame-flinging. But even NPR should have known better last weekend when a news...

Last season was close to ideal for fans of the Wisconsin football team. The Badgers rolled to a share of the Big Ten title, thanks in part to one of the program's greatest victories...

Vince Lombardi might have disagreed vociferously, but when it comes to NFL preseason games—especially the openers—winning isn't everything...