Tag: Big Cat

Barstool Big Cat unveils NIL plan for Badgers long-term future at quarterback

Barstool Big Cat unveils NIL plan for Badgers long-term future at quarterback

One of Wisconsin’s most famous alumni is looking to help the Badgers win on the football field.

That is Dan Katz, a media personality most known for the highly successful ‘Pardon My Take’ podcast with Barstool Sports. Katz is one of Wisconsin’s most vocal fans in the sports media world. He also seems to have a vision for some future NIL funds that can help the team.

Katz was recently listening to Dave Portnoy (Michigan graduate and super fan) explain his plan to, in essence, buy the Wolverines a top-end quarterback with NIL money. Portnoy said he’d pledge $3 million annually to help Michigan afford a top-end talent at the position. In today’s age of recruiting, that is something he technically is able to do.

Katz said he would do the same for the Badgers, though maybe not to the same dollar figure. He elaborated in a video posted on X:

Wisconsin has been an active player in the transfer quarterback market over the last few seasons. It signed veteran transfers Tanner Mordecai and Tyler Van Dyke in 2023 and 2024, respectively. That initiative will likely continue into the future, especially with the program lacking top-end high school recruits at the position.

Branding is important in today’s age of college football. Katz’s initiative can do nothing but help the Badgers, regardless of what the team looks like in three, four, or five years. This is a story we’ll return to as future high school recruiting and transfer cycles continue.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion.

Seahawks DL Leonard Williams turned 30 years old on Thursday

Seahawks DL Leonard Williams turned 30 years old on Thursday

The Seattle Seahawks did not technically have a second round pick in the 2024 NFL draft. I qualify it with “technically” because technically the Seahawks used their second rounder to acquire defensive tackle Leonard Williams  Considering how dominant he was in the trenches, even in a unit that struggled mightily last season, I believe it is safe to say the 12th Man is happy the second rounder was used in this capacity.

Now, Williams is here to say, after he inked a lucractive extension with Seattle. It has been a big offseason for Williams, and the celebrations for Big Cat continue, as he turned 30 years old yesterday!

Williams was a considerable problem for offensive lines last season. The monstrous defensive tackle was practically unblockable. His highlights from the 2023 season can be seen here.

The Seahawks defensive line will need Williams back in action for 2024, as the unit will look to improve under the leadership of new head coach Mike Macdonald. Considering how suffocating Baltimore’s defense was for the last two seasons under Macdonald, one can only hope Williams can help replicate the success in the Emerald City.

More Seahawks Wire stories

Matt Hasselbeck shares highlights from epic Seahawks 2001 overtime win 

Ranking the NFL’s top 33 tight ends by annual salary

Seahawks pick EDGE in this 2025 NFL mock draft

PFF position rankings for 11 key Seahawks players

Wisconsin basketball takes playful shot at a famous James Madison alumnus

Wisconsin basketball takes playful shot at a famous James Madison alumnus

Wisconsin basketball’s social media is ready for the team’s NCAA Tournament quest to begin.

First up for the Badgers is a Friday night battle with No. 12-seed James Madison at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Wisconsin enters as a sizable favorite, though James Madison quickly became a popular upset pick by analysts and fans once the bracket was revealed.

Related: Social media relitigates Zach Edey’s whistle from Wisconsin’s upset win over Purdue

The matchup is tailor-made for Pardon My Take, one of the most popular sports podcasts in the world. The two hosts are Dan Katz (Big Cat) and Eric Sollenberger (PFT Commenter). Katz is a famous Wisconsin alumnus and one of the school’s biggest advocates. Sollenberger, on the other hand, went to James Madison.

James Madison basketball is rarely on this stage, so Sollenberger is seldom heard from about the program. Katz, on the other hand, is front-and-center when it comes to anything Wisconsin athletics.

Going back two years, the two hosts were quite literally front-and-center for Wisconsin’s memorable buzzer-beating victory over top-ranked Purdue. The win clinched the Badgers a share of the Big Ten title — and is arguably the program’s best win in the last half-decade.

Plenty of photo and video evidence exists of Sollenberger courtside rooting for the Badgers. Because that evidence exists, Wisconsin basketball on X had to remind Sollenberger who he used to root for:

Wisconsin and James Madison are set to tip off at 9:40 p.m. Eastern with the game being broadcast on CBS.

Regardless of which team wins Friday night, Pardon My Take may be the biggest winner of anybody.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

[lawrence-related id=73320,73271,73188,73008]

Barstool CFB show coming to Madison

Barstool comes to Madison

The Barstool College Football show will be in Madison this weekend for the Badgers’ Big Ten matchup with #3 Ohio State (7-0) at 6:30 on Saturday at Camp Randall.

Wisconsin will look to snap a nine-game losing streak, a stretch that includes three Big Ten Championship games, versus the Buckeyes. Head coach Luke Fickell is a former player and coach for Ohio State and he’ll be squaring off with his alma mater for the first time as the Badgers’ leading man.

As for Barstool, Dan “Big Cat” Katz is a Wisconsin alum and he’s attended multiple sporting events as a member of the media, including the 2022 Big Ten clinching win over Purdue in men’s basketball a couple years ago.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=none image=]

Social media reacts to Wisconsin WR Chimere Dike’s 52-yard TD catch

Some of the best social media reactions to Wisconsin WR Chimere Dike’s 52-yard catch and run for a touchdown:

The Wisconsin Badgers have moved the ball exceptionally well so far in their matchup against the Northwestern Wildcats, and they were able to score on their second drive after being pinned at their own 2-yard line.

Related: Big Ten football and big game expert predictions and picks for Week 6

Following an outstanding interception by Badgers’ safety Kamo’i Latu, Wisconsin’s offense took advantage on their third drive with a spectacular 52-yard catch and run for a touchdown from wide receiver Chimere Dike. The junior wideout has been outstanding in the first half with six receptions for 147 yards and two touchdowns.

The Badgers have been able to impose their will on the Wildcats so far, up 21-0 in the second quarter, under the direction of interim head coach Jim Leonhard.

Here are some of the best social media reactions to Wisconsin WR Chimere Dike’s 52-yard catch and run for a touchdown:

A major announcement could be coming tonight, but it isn’t anything you’d ever expect

At 7:30 p.m. CST tonight coach Gus Duggerton–Barstool Sports’ Dan Katz’s made-up coach on the video game NCAA 14–will enter the…

At 7:30 p.m. CST tonight coach Gus Duggerton–Barstool Sports’ Dan Katz‘s made-up coach on the video game NCAA 14–will enter the coaching carousel and it’s been reported that, if the job opens up, Wisconsin is one of the coach’s top targets.

The Coach Duggs story began at the beginning of quarantine when Dan Katz, or @BarstoolBigCat, dusted off an old copy of NCAA 14 and started streaming the games on Twitch.

The story is now seasons old and the national icon–and current Tennessee head coach–is coming off a lopsided National Championship loss last night.

As reported today Duggs will likely return to the Volunteers, but it was also mentioned that if Wisconsin has an opening they will be one of the favorites to land Duggs.

Earlier today Graham Mertz–Wisconsin’s highest-rated quarterback recruit in school history and soon-to-be redshirt freshman in the program–joined the group trying to lure Duggs to Madison.

The announcement will come tonight at 7:30 p.m. CST on Pardon My Take’s Twitch channel.

While we await the return of major team sports in America, Coach Duggs has become a national story, one which had more than 100,000 people watching last night’s National Championship stream.

Were the coach to come to Madison, Badger fans could get a breath of fresh air and get to look forward to gamedays again–virtual or not–that would help return a sense of normalcy to everybody’s life.