"The Voice of the New Due Process Army" ————– Musings on Events in U.S. Immigration Court, Immigration Law, Sports, Music, Politics, and Other Random Topics by Retired United States Immigration Judge (Arlington, Virginia) and former Chairman of the Board of Immigration Appeals Paul Wickham Schmidt and Dr. Alicia Triche, expert brief writer, practical scholar, emeritus Editor-in-Chief of The Green Card (FBA), and 2022 Federal Bar Association Immigration Section Lawyer of the Year. She is a/k/a “Delta Ondine,” a blues-based alt-rock singer-songwriter, who performs regularly in Memphis, where she hosts her own Blues Brunch series, and will soon be recording her first full, professional album. Stay tuned! 🎶 To see our complete professional bios, just click on the link below.
The Wisconsin Badgers went down to a determined Iowa State Cyclones team in Milwaukee Sunday night in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Tournament. Freshman point guard Chucky Hepburn left the game with a bad ankle injury injury in the first half.
After that, the Badgers looked totally discombobulated! They played hard, but the disorganized offense was totally inept, bricking shot after shot to kill any comeback chances. The Badgers were truly horrible on threes (2-22), and Iowa State’s smothering defense thwarted any semblance of a consistent inside game. That proved a deadly, season-ending combination for Bucky.
The 49 points was the Badgers’ lowest total of the season. They also committed a season-high 17 turnovers.
Big-10 Player of the Year sophomore Johnny Davis, in what likely was his final game in a Badger uniform, finished with a team-high 17 points on 4-16 shooting and 0-7 on threes. Frankly, he looked like a guy who needs another year of college competition before heading for NBA “prime time.” The rather thin Badger bench was truly horrible, save for senior center Chris Vogt.
The Badgers finish 26-8, far exceeding preseason expectations. But, their end of season slump, losing 3 of their last 4, plus the departure of their second leading scorer, “super senior” Brad Davison and the likely departure of Davis leave next season’s prospects in doubt.
Meanwhile, the Cyclones continued their own dream season by upping their record to 22-12 and moving on to the “Sweet 16” for the first time since 2015. Last year, they won only two games! Many congrats to Iowa State and their coach T.J. Otzelberger, a Wisconsin native. And good luck in the Sweet 16!
Meanwhile thanks to Coach Greg Gard and the Badgers for an exciting season! Also, many thanks to Brad Davison for six great years and Johnny Davis for a season of unexpected thrills.
Juwan Howard Michigan Head Men’s BB Coach PHOTO: https://www.marc-gregor.com/Main Creative Commons License “Coach Howard is getting some time off to work on his ‘courtside manner.’”
By Paul Wickham Schmidt
Courtside Sports
Feb. 22, 2022
Michigan Head Basketball Coach Juwan Howard was suspended Monday for the balance of the regular season (five games) and fined $40,000 for delivering a bizarre “head slap” to Wisconsin Assistant Coach Joe Krabbenhoft following the conclusion of the Badgers dominating 77-63 victory over the Wolverines Sunday afternoon in Madison. The penalty was imposed by the Big-10 Conference.
Wisconsin Coach Greg Gard was fined $10,000 by the Big-10 for an apparent “illegal touching” of Howard, while two Michigan players and Wisconsin reserve guard Jahcobi Neath were suspended for one game for throwing punches in the televised melee that followed Howard’s assault on Krabbenhoft.
Howard, a former star at Michigan and in the NBA, delivered a “rote apology” for his actions following the suspension. This was after lamely appearing to defend his conduct at the postgame press conference.
Howard’s claim that he was outraged by a timeout call by Gard with 15 seconds left and that he felt “threatened” in the “handshake line” (which he initially tried to avoid) after being touched on the arm by the 52-year-old, full-head-shorter Gard, who has never “gone after” anyone, failed to pass the “straight face test,” although many members of the media and commentators appeared to accept it at face value. This is the second major “out of control” incident for Howard, who was ejected from a game last season after threatening then Maryland Head Coach Mark Turgeon.
Howard’s childish conduct gained instant national media coverage, overshadowing what should have been the real story: a near perfect second half coached by Gard and executed by his Badger squad. Led by breakout sophomore sensation guard Johnny Davis, who scored 11 straight at one point, the home team broke open a game that had been tied at the half.
Davis finished with 25 points, 6 rebounds, an assist, and 3 blocked shots on defense. Perhaps, Howard’s frustration with being out-coached by Gard and his team seriously outplayed by Davis and his Badger mates was what really was behind the unusual and uncalled-for outburst.
Coach Gard’s Badgers have been one of the better stories in NCAA Men’s hoops. Unranked preseason and picked to finish in the “lower bracket” of the 14-team Big-10, Bucky is now 21-5, ranked 13th nationally, 12-4 conference, and tied with Illinois for second place, just one-half game behind Purdue for the league lead! The Badgers beat the Boilermakers earlier on the road on a night featuring another dominating 37-point performance from Davis.
Davis has been the pleasantly unexpected difference. As a freshman “off the bench” last season, he averaged 7 points and 4 rebounds per game. His “high game” was 17 points. He was a solid, but hardly awe-inspiring, presence.
This season he averages more than 20 and leads the team in scoring, rebounds, and assists while playing tough defense. He is a serious contender for national player of the year. Davis gets lots of help from his friends: scrappy senior forward Brad Davison, highly skilled junior post forward Tyler Wahl, 7-foot inside-outside threat sophomore center Steven Crowl, and calm, cool, and collected freshman floor leader and point guard Chucky Hepburn.
While many expect Davis to be off to the NBA after his breakout season, the Badger faithful are savoring every moment of his extraordinary play. He has developed a “step back, off balance, fade away” jump shot that is basically un-defendable, as the Wolverines learned on Sunday.
As for Howard, with the loss, his Wolverines find themselves in jeopardy of missing the “Big Dance,” with a lackluster 14-11 record (8-7, B10). Perhaps, that will give Howard a little more “time off” to work on his anger management and “role model” skills. They certainly need to improve, and fast, if he is to have a future in college coaching. Assistant Coach Phil Martelli, previously the long-time Head Coach at St. Joseph’s, will take the Wolverines’ helm during Howard’s suspension.
Caged Badger PHOTO: Miss Shari Creative Commons License
🏀MARCH MADNESS:Bucky Game, But Bears Got Game — Baylor Knocks Badgers Off Dance Floor! ☹️
By Paul Wickham Schmidt
Courtside Exclusive
March 21, 2021
The Wisconsin Badgers (18-13) made it respectable. But, the #1-seed Baylor Bears seized control early in the first halfof the South Second Round Game from West Lafayette, IN on their way to a convincing 76-63 victory. The Bears thus move on to the Sweet 16, while the Badgers’ season ends.
The three-point shot, which was the Badgers “best friend” in their round one victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday night, abandoned the Badgers and went over to the Bears. Baylor drained 8 of 17 threes for 47.1%, while Wisconsin shot only 37% from behind the arc, missing 13 of 21 attempts. Turnovers, often a Badgers strength, were their achilles heel this afternoon, with the Badgers committing 13 to the Bears’ four.
Baylor led 42-29 at the half. To their credit, the Badgers hung in and cut the lead to seven points several times in the second half. But, they couldn’t get any closer. After playing consistently against North Carolina, the Badgers reverted to their regular season form with several long “dry spells” that helped seal their fate. Overall, however, Baylor was just too good.
The Badgers were led by seniors D’Mitrik Trice (12 pts.), Nate Reuters (11 pts.), and freshman guard Jonathan Davis (10 pts.). The victorious Bears were paced by junior guard Matthew Mayer, who came off the bench to score 17, eight above his season average.
Although the Badgers were not expected to make the “Sweet 16,” they joined a growing list of Big-10 failures in this year’s NCAA Men’s tournament. Just before the start of the Wisconsin-Baylor game, the #8 Loyola Ramblers (led in spirit by their #1 fan, the famous “Sister Jean”) dominated #1-seed Illinois 71-58, in another “nobody saw this coming” upset. Of the nineBig-10 teams invited to the dance, only Rutgers, Michigan, Iowa, and Maryland remain alive, all with second round games coming up.
Congratulations to Coach Greg Gard and his team on another winning season and NCAA Tournament birth.
Not all news was bad for Wisconsin sports over the weekend. The Badger Women’s hockey team beat Northeastern on Saturday to win the “Frozen Four” and the NCAA Championship!
Bucky Came Out Hungry & Ferocious With A Tar Heel Meal On The Menu, Creative Commons Licenses
🏀MARCH MADNESS: BADGERS COME OUT SNARLING, DEVOUR TAR HEELS IN DANCE OPENER, 85-62!
By Paul Wickham Schmidt
Courtside Exclusive
March 20,2021
After staggering into the NCAA Tournament, losers of five of their last six, the senior-laden Wisconsin Badgers (18-12) looked for at least one night like they belong in the BigDance.
The 9-seed Badgers finally put together a full 40-minute game, eviscerating the 8-seed North Carolina Tar Heels (18-11) in every facet on their way to a very convincing 85-62 win in the first round of the of the NCAA South Regional before a COVID-protocol-limited crowd on Purdue’s home court in West Lafayette, Indiana. The were some Badger fans in the stands, andthey experienced a rare Badger blowout inflicted on a credible opponent.
Senior guards Brad Davison (29 points) and D’Mitrik Trice (21 points) led the #25 Badgers, who drilled 13 of 27 three-pointers. No other Badger was in double figures, although seniors Micah Potter and Aleem Ford chipped in nine apiece.
The Tar Heels’ front line was supposed to dominate. But, the Badgers controlled the boards 37-34, including 28 defensive rebounds to keep the Tar Heels reeling all night. For North Carolina’s Hall of Fame coach, the legendary Roy Williams, this was his initial first round failure after 29 consecutive W’s.
Of course, this year’s mediocre Tar Heel squad, from the middle of an underwhelming ACC pack, yet not without some young talent, bore little resemblance to Williams’s championship-caliber teams of yesterday year. Bucky came into the season with great promise, ranked in the top ten, primarily on the strength of the senior core coming off a Big-10 co-championship in the COVID-halted 2020 season.
But, the Badgers struggled through the Big-10 season, finishing with a lackluster 10-10 record (17-12 overall), good for only a 6th place finish in conference. Mostly significantly, they were 0-8 against the conference’s premier teams: Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State, and Iowa. They clawed their way into the Big Dance largely by beating up on non-conference foes and Big-10 bottom feeders.
The Badgers led wire-to-wire on Friday night, coming out strong and energetic and keeping up the pressure, leading 40-24 at the half. Nevertheless, Badger fans couldn’t relax because, unlike past Wisconsin squads, this team throughout the season blew some sizable leads with long dry spells that let their opponents seize control.
Last night was, however, totally different. Although the Tar Heels came out with a much improved offensive showing in the second half, particularly from their “bigs,” the Badgers basically matched or exceeded them basket for basket to maintain, and even expand their halftime lead. The Tar Heels never got closer than 12 points, and the Badgers settled at a comfortable 14-18 lead for most of the stanza.
Most pundits had given Coach Greg Gard’s Badgers a chance against Williams’s slightly favored, yet highly inconsistent, Carolina squad. But, few, if any, saw this complete and convincing blowout coming.
So, at least for one night, the Badgers looked like a team that belongs in March Madness, rather than an imposter whose invitation suggested a past reputation for consistent excellence rather than the current less-than-inspiring group who limped into the NCAAs, after losing to Iowa for the third straight time in the conference tournament.
It’s probably a good thing for the Big-10. Although generally considered the “premier conference” in America during this COVID-infected season, two of the conference’s highly seeded teams, Ohio State (#2) and Purdue (#5), suffered shocking upsets on the first day. Another perennial power, Michigan State, blew a big lead and lost to a lightly regarded UCLA squad in the tournament “play-in” game.
The Badgers should savor this moment of redemption. Because, their dance is going to get much more challenging tomorrow afternoon when they face the #1 seed Baylor Bears (23-2) at 2:40 PM from West Lafayette. The game will be on CBS and the Bears are an early six point favorite.
Thanks to my Lawrence University Sig Ep “brother” and fellow U.W. Law grad/lifetime Badger fan John “Bear” Sagan, Esq., for sending this item in. Helps put things in perspective after kind of a tough ending to the season.
“The moment is fresh nearly 12 months later, partly because the pain still lingers for the members of the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team.
But even if there were a way for the Badgers to wipe the memory of a 61-56 loss to Notre Dame to end the 2015-16 season from their brains, it wouldn’t matter because their coach keeps bringing it up.
“It should stay in their minds since we mention it about every week,” Greg Gard said. “We referred to Notre Dame more than any past opponent, I think, since I’ve been here in terms of how it ended.”
It didn’t end pretty for UW, which self-destructed in the final minute against the Fighting Irish and watched its season come to an abrupt end in the Sweet 16.
The Badgers (27-9) have arrived at the same step on the NCAA tournament ladder a year later. They’ll face Florida (26-8) on Friday night in an East region semifinal at Madison Square Garden in New York.”
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Schmidt’s Instant Pregame Mini-Analysis
In an earlier post, http://wp.me/p8eeJm-tJ I highlighted the factors that could allow Wisconsin to go all the way to the Final Four: experience, inside play, and Bronson Koenig. All three of those strengths were on abundant display in the first two games as the Badgers downed #9 Virginia Tech and then upset #1 Villanova.
The Badgers also minimized two of the three weaknesses that I thought could make them an “early out:” offensive inconsistency and turnovers.
The other factor was horrible free throw shooting. While the Badgers did have horrible free throw shooting (43%) against Villanova, fortunately it didn’t cost them the game. Ironically, Villanova, a much better free throw shooting team (71%) missed a key charity toss down the stretch which would have given them a one point lead and might have changed Wisconsin’s strategy last minute strategy of having Nigel Hayes drive for a two-pointer.
Florida plays tough defense. So, in addition to maintaining offensive consistency and getting continued outstanding play from Koenig, Hayes, Ethan Happ, and Vito Brown, the Badgers will have to hold down the turnovers and sink their free throws to escape the Gators.
Tune in on Friday night @ 10:00 PM on TBS to see what happens, live from Madison Square Garden in NY!
“I just wanted to enjoy my Monday. Was it too much to ask? The Wisconsin Badgers are back in college basketball’s Sweet 16 for the fourth straight time, having stunned top-seeded Villanova on Saturday—although I wasn’t the least bit stunned, I told you last week it would happen. I predicted Wisconsin all along. Hey Warren Buffett, where’s my million bucks?
It was even better. Not only did my Badgers win, but now they’re coming here—to New York City, my home, for the remainder of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament East Regional.
I was psyched. Psyched for my alma mater Wisconsin, psyched for an NYC invasion of Badger fans (hide your beer and cheese), psyched to parade into work Monday and be an insufferable doofus to all my Journal colleagues with busted brackets and wounded school pride. I was going to march in there with my giant Starbucks and red Bucky Badger sweatshirt, humming “On Wisconsin” and ruining everyone’s day.
I was going to be unbearable. And love every minute of it.
And then…them. You-know-who.
Michigan.
They’ve made the Sweet 16, too. They stunned two-seeded Louisville on Sunday.
It’s a nightmare.”
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Yeah, it was almost, but not quite, enough to make me want to be back at the Arlington Immigration Court wearing my Bucky Badger tie (incorrectly identified as a “grinning weasel” by my dear former colleague Judge Rodger Harris) and whistling “On Wisconsin” and “Varsity” all day in my chambers and in the corridors of justice. All I can say is:
