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Archive for March, 2010

UW makes smart choices with Geoffrion

March 5, 2010 Comments off

Two weeks ago, Wisconsin senior tri-captain Blake Geoffrion suffered a vicious blow to the head that resulted in a concussion during the Badgers’ 7-4 victory over St. Cloud State.

That hit, delivered by Huskies center Aaron Marvin, resulted in a three-game suspension for Marvin handed down by the WCHA. That will keep him out of the Huskies’ final series this weekend and SCSU’s first playoff game next week.

For Geoffrion, the concussion meant the Brentwood, Tenn., native did not make the trip to Houghton, Mich., last week for the Badgers’ series against Michigan Tech. The decision to keep Geoffrion out an entire week following the hit likely was not popular with UW fans.

But it was the right one.

Too often in the past have athletes at every level returned too early from head injuries. Doing so puts such athletes at a greater risk of further injury from any additional contact. And while one concussion is bad enough, any additional concussions can lead to serious permanent damage. Just ask any professional athlete who has retired from head injuries.

Keeping Geoffrion out was a sign of smart decision-making by the UW men’s hockey team.

Wisconsin’s senior forward is far more important to their team in March than he would have been last week against Michigan Tech. So, by giving him a full week to recover from “getting his bell rung,” the UW coaching staff made a great decision for their future.

While Geoffrion likely would have wanted to return as soon as possible, taking it slow was the best choice. The last thing the Badgers need is to lose their top Hobey Baker Award winner for the entire season because he returned too soon.

Besides, why not keep him out a little longer to give a spark to the Badgers’ season finale series against the Gophers in Minnesota?

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Baggot’s criticisms of Alvarez surprising, commendable

March 5, 2010 2 comments

It’s not often I’m overly impressed by journalism within the state of Wisconsin. For the most part, in my experience, news coverage in this state gets the job done, but does little to wow its readers or viewers.

With that, I think it’s important to note I was particularly impressed with the efforts of one local writer this week: Andy Baggot of the Wisconsin State Journal. I’ve always thought of Baggot as one of the best reporters along which I’ve had the privilege of working. His columns, on the other hand, sometimes leave something to be desired.

Which brings me to this week. Baggot’s column about Barry Alvarez and the UW Athletic Department’s inability to raise sufficient funds for a hockey practice facility was one of the best I’ve read recently. Not only by Baggot, but by anyone in the area.

First, Baggot’s strong suit (reporting) is well showcased in the piece. He uses good statistics, applicable quotes from Alvarez and others, and reports on something he knew was likely to be announced the next day. While many others may have waited — by choice or necessity — to write a similar piece after the announcement of the delay, Baggot knew enough about the situation to write it beforehand.

What Baggot did was to essentially announce the project delay before the UW even did so.

At the same time, and more importantly, Baggot did not hold back. His column could have just been about how it was disappointing to see the project delay, and express an opinion on how important the facility was to Badger hockey. Such a column would be good, but not really anything groundbreaking.

Instead, Baggot chose to criticize Alvarez for his lack of ability in bringing in money for such projects. With the power of Alvarez and others within the UW Athletic Department to shut out any media member from sporting events, you definitely have to pick your battles. For many, attacking Alvarez would not be a battle worth fighting.

But because Baggot had sufficient information and certainly felt strongly about the situation, he made his opinion known. And his main point was a good one, too.

“If you want people to donate large sums of money to a cause, you don’t embarrass them. You woo them.”

Hopefully, if Alvarez is even the least bit embarrassed by the column it will have a positive effect on future donation recruiting efforts within the UW Athletic Department.

Even if it doesn’t, it’s a column that certainly was worth writing for Baggot. And if you haven’t read it yet, it’s worth reading for anyone who cares even slightly about the Badgers.

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Race to the Top? Or bottom?

March 4, 2010 Comments off

What do you do when you’re fired along with each of your co-workers on the same day? How do you react when learning President Obama supports the decision to fire all of you?

Those are the questions facing every teacher on the Central Falls High School staff this week after the school district’s Board of Trustees voted 5-2 in favor of firing 93 people, including all 74 teachers as Central Falls High.

It’s immoral they say; illegal even. And a large number of people within the community support the teachers’ side of the issue. But was the firing really such a terrible decision?

To say Central Falls High School is in bad shape would be putting it nicely. A better way of describing its situation would be this: it’s one of the nation’s worst high schools. Just take a look at the numbers.

Out of 808 students at the school, 96 percent are in poverty. Less than one out of every two students graduates. Only 55 percent are proficient in reading. And a staggeringly low 7 percent of Central Falls students are proficient in math. That’s right seven.

Simple math tells us that only 56 of Central Falls’ 808 students fall under the category of being proficient in math. The other 752 likely couldn’t even come up with that statistic.

When a school is that bad, certainly students and families must shoulder a significant portion of the blame. But there’s no reason to believe the teachers are not primarily at fault. Even if they were not, firing all 74 of them serves a great purpose as a warning to both the teachers and the students.

Under the current plan the school can hire back only 50 percent of those fired last week. So, the highly controversial decision has the potential to motivate the entire faculty to improve their performance in the classroom. If they want to keep/regain their jobs, that is.

On the other hand, it could certainly discourage both the teachers and students, but based on the current statistics, they could not do much worse.

Obama hit it on the head saying schools that fail their students should take responsibility. Because if the teachers are not held accountable for their actions, how could you expect the students to be responsible?

The timing of the firings coincided with Obama’s speech, which focused on a proposed $900 million in grants for struggling states and schools districts. There’s one catch though.

They have to drastically change or shut down their worst performing schools.

It looks like that’s one race in which Central Falls appears to have gotten a head start.

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MBB sidebar 3/4

March 4, 2010 Comments off

Hughes, Bohannon relish in senior day victory
By Jordan Schelling
The Badger Herald

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Point-Counterpoint 2/4

March 4, 2010 1 comment

                        
PCP: Daly’s best revenge?
By Jordan Schelling and Adam Holt
The Badger Herald

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Whose worse: Leno or Palin?

March 3, 2010 Comments off

Last night, Sarah Palin helped Jay Leno relaunch his new/old Tonight show. Palin appeared as a guest during Leno’s second night of his return to his old time slot on national TV, having failed to make it with a one-hour prime time show.

It was the perfect match: Leno, a polarizing figure himself after forcing Conan O’Brien out to make his way back to the Tonight Show, and Palin, one of the most polarizing figures in our nation today. Her guest spot was predictable at best and embarrassing at its worst.

Leno asked Palin softball questions the entire time, which seemed intended to paint her in a positive light. While it would be unexpected for him to do otherwise, the louder than usual crowd reactions to Palin’s responses would make you think she was saying something groundbreaking or even significant. But that was far from the case. As usual, Palin’s colloquial speaking nature was on display for anyone who cared to tune in.

About the notes on her hand, Palin said: “Just to get the left all ‘wee-weed’ up, and get their heads spinning, I’m gonna promise I’m gonna keep doing it.”

It got worse, though, when Leno invited Palin to do a stand-up comedy routine. Her third joke involved Olympic snowboarder Shaun White, saying, “I watched him do a double mctwist 1260. And the only other people to do a double mctwist 1260 was last week, the White House, on health care.”

At the end of the show, I could only wonder: Whose writers are worse, Leno’s or Palin’s?

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