Man who claimed for years to be Ohio State All-American tight end appears to be a fraud
Giovanni Strassini had a pretty good deal going. He’d show up as a guest at functions for a Charlotte-based Ohio State fan group, he’d pose for pictures and sign autographs, and he’d talk about his exploits as an All-American tight end for the Buckeyes in the mid-1970s on Facebook.
Big Ten Would Expand Footprint with Holiday Bowl Tie-in
If the Big Ten can punt out, or share, the Holiday Bowl bid with the Big 12, as ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg is reporting they have interest in doing, that would be a win…
Rose Bowl 2013: Too Bad the Big Ten’s Best Didn’t Get a Chance to Play
Give Wisconsin credit. The Badgers came to play and Stanford got all the fight it wanted and then some in the Cardinal’s 20-14 victory in the 2013 Rose Bowl. Montee Ball did all…
Andersen will take back seat during Rose Bowl
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gary Andersen doesn’t mind taking a back seat with his new team when it comes to the Rose Bowl. Andersen was formally introduced Friday as the new head coach at Wisconsin and he made it clear right away that he will be more of a ”fly on the wall” as the Badgers prepare for the Jan. 1 game against Stanford. That’s because his boss, athletic director Barry Alvarez, is already handling the coaching duties at the request of the players following the departure of Bret Bielema for Arkansas. That allows Andersen, who left Utah State after four years, to evaluate players and prepare for next season. ”These kids need to go win a Rose Bowl,” Andersen said after walking past a bowing Bucky Badger mascot and pep band playing the Wisconsin fight song. ”The last thing they need for …
Big Ten teams all underdogs in bowl season
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Big Ten spent much of the year as a national punch line. It might get worse during bowl season. The Big Ten could only fill seven of its eight predetermined bowl slots – and each of those bowl-bound teams is currently an underdog. From the five-loss Wisconsin team that still wound up in the Rose Bowl to the 6-6 Purdue squad that fired its coach, the beleaguered Big Ten isn’t expected to do much of anything in the postseason. The league went just 1-6 in bowl games in 2008. According to odds makers, things could go even worse in 2012. ”I’m not apologizing for us to go to the Rose Bowl with five losses,” Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said during his press conference to announce he would coach the Badgers in that game. ”I didn’t have anything to do with two teams being ineligible in our division. That allowed us to play in that championship game, and we soundly defeated the champion …
Purdue’s new coach sets sights on Rose Bowl
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Darrell Hazell spent most of his coaching career telling others to ”be great.” Now he’ll try to live up to that mantra in his new job at Purdue. On Friday, Boilermakers athletic director Morgan Burke hired the 48-year-old Kent State coach to lead the school dubbed as the Cradle of Quarterbacks out of mediocrity, back into national prominence and presumably back to a Rose Bowl. ”I’m extremely excited to work with the players at Purdue, and I look forward to experiencing a lot of success in the future,” Hazell said in a release issued by the school. ”It’s a wonderful opportunity.” Hazell broke the news to his players during a Wednesday morning meeting after a day of speculation about Hazell’s future. Purdue has scheduled a 7 p.m. news conference to introduce Hazell. Hazell won this season’s Mid-American Conference coach of the year award after leading Kent State to its first winning season since 2001, first bowl appearance in more than four decades and the brink of a BCS bowl game. …
Video: Rose Bowl preview
The BCS Selection Show looks ahead to Wisconsin’s matchup with Stanford in the Rose Bowl at 5 p.m. ET on January 1 on ESPN. Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten Blog
Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio
Wisconsin Badgers (8-5) vs. Stanford Cardinal (11-2) Jan. 1, 5 p.m. ET, Pasadena, Calif. (ESPN) Wisconsin take from Big Ten blogger Brian Bennett: In its 98 previous installments, the Rose Bowl Game presented…
What we learned in the Big Ten: Week 14
Three lessons from a lopsided Big Ten championship game: 1. Wisconsin making the Rose Bowl fits the Big Ten’s 2012 narrative: The first five-loss team ever to play in the Rose Bowl? It…
Badgers get redemption shot in Big Ten title game
Wisconsin is in some unfamiliar territory. No, not the Big Ten title game. The Badgers count as grizzled veterans after playing in last year’s inaugural conference championship, well acquainted with all the hype and hoopla that comes with it. A trip to the Rose Bowl isn’t so daunting, either. The Badgers, after all, rang in the last two New Years in Pasadena. It’s being so, well, mediocre, that’s new for Wisconsin. Winners of the Big Ten title the last two years, the Badgers are getting a chance at the first three-peat in school history Saturday – by default. With Ohio State and Penn State ineligible for the postseason, it’s Wisconsin playing No. 14 Nebraska on Saturday for the title and a trip to the Rose Bowl. ”Obviously it is different and strange this year because of our record going into this game,” said Montee Ball, who last week became major college football’s all-time touchdown leader. ”But it’s not our fault what happened to the teams that can’t play in this game. We’re most definitely going …
