My Week that Was - October 3

On the Sun Prairie Loop. 9/26/2026 dwm

After no-ride last week, I was back on the bike Saturday morning for a long ride (fourth longest this year: 110, 98, 88, and 87 miles). 

When I returned around 2 in the afternoon, there was laundry waiting and a project from the office I brought home so it would be done by Monday. 

That's when I realized I didn't have a Sunday blog posted, so I made sure to write about our fun Friday evening watching the Milwaukee Brewers earn their 101st victory.

Amidst everything going on, I put the Badgers football game on the screen thru Peacock streaming to see if Wisconsin could keep it close against Penn State University, the 13th ranked team in the Associated Press weekly poll.

Flying the flag celebrating a score. 9/19/26 dwm

 I hoped to see them use their previous two games as a spring-board to a better performance against a much better team.

 While there were critical mistakes in the first half by several players, those individuals and a terrific performance by the Badger defense kept it close over three quarters. 

 Then in the last quarter, quarterback Colton Joseph, tight end Jacob Harris, receiver Eugene Hilton, and running back Darrion Dupree redeemed themselves.

Joseph threw three interceptions early in the game, but came back to complete 8 of 12 passes for two touchdowns and 141 yards. The last touchdown was a 15 yard completion to Harris who ran the ball the remaining 57 yards for the go-ahead score. The defense was stout all-game and despite giving up yards as the clock wound down, the Nittany Lions didn't score. It was Wisconsin's first win on the road against a top-25 ranked team since they beat Purdue in October 2021. It was the first time they won at Penn State since 2003! 

The view from my office. 9/29/2026 dwm

I suspect a lot of Badger fans will find their way back to the stadium and their screens for the rest of the
year! 

 

The project for Monday was ready to deliver when I got to Prairie Ridge. At noon, three volunteers came in to put the rest of the letters together. That went quickly and then we used glue sticks to seal the envelopes. The mail finished Monday was delivered Tuesday on our west campus and a couple hundred envelopes will be mailed to off-campus supporters.

 

Tuesday was picture perfect and thankfully I got a picture from my office. There were moments when the breeze sent leaves gracefully falling to the ground.

 

Chris Borland before the movie. 9/30/26 dwm

 Wednesday evening Oakwood showed the movie, Requiem of a Running Back. It's the story of Lew Carpenter who played in the NFL for ten years spanning the mid-1950s to mid-1960s. 

 

 One of the teams he played with was the Green Bay Packers and he later served as an assistant coach with the team.

 

 The movie was produced by one of Carpenter's four daughters who wanted to know more about her father and the odd behavior she witnessed as a child. That was a big adjustment for her as football was the center of the family's universe.

 

Chris Borland is from Ohio, where he grew up and played high school football there before coming to Madison where he played four years with the Wisconsin Badgers before getting drafted into the NFL by the San Francisco 49ers. It was the spring after his rookie year that he decided to walk away from football because of concerns over Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). That was ten years ago.

 

He believes tackle football should be avoided until kids are at least 14 years old and personally meditates and practices good brain health which includes getting a good night's sleep. He was part of the movie and has shared his thoughts on brain injuries with the audience. You can see the movie, Requiem of a Running Back, on Amazon Prime. 

 

Thursday brought rain to the greater Madison community. While driving across town on the Beltline it rained harder, making it difficult to see. Thankfully most of the traffic slowed because of conditions. It wasn't a thunderstorm but there was a lot of rain in a short time.

 

Friday was beautiful. I had the day off for a family trip to Ladysmith, Wisconsin, 220 miles north of here. It qualifies as officially north because the small community of 3,000 plus people straddles U.S. Highway 8 which, when you cross it, means you are officially 'up north.'

 

On the drive up we stopped at country store that my wife likes to visit whenever we are within 30 to 40 miles of its location. I'll have more on that in Sunday's blog (10/ 4/2026).

 

That's it for this week; I hope your next seven days are spectacular!