Wisconsin

Please let me start my thoughts with this disclaimer: I have no animosity toward government employees. By and large their service enables our society to function, and almost all do their jobs well. That said, there are millions of citizens who wonder why unions are in government and worry even more that an entity of the government can petition and plea and ply with campaign contributions those elected and entrusted with the purse strings of taxpayers money. What will happen when the great and vast maw of government overwhelms the private sector?

Wisconsin is ground zero in the struggle to restore fiscal sanity to government. Budgets are spinning out of control, thanks to union contracts providing overly generous retirement and health care benefits and skyrocketing Medicaid costs. President Obama, instead of focusing on systemic problems, seeks political advantage and multiplies the difficulties confronting state governments. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker faces a $3.6 billion dollar shortfall over the biennium beginning July 1. He is asking state workers, who currently contribute little or nothing to pensions, to kick in 5.8 percent of wages and to pay 12.6 percent of the cost of health insurance.

For three days, thousands of ordinary citizens in Wisconsin have rallied in the state capital to protest tyrannical government actions against the will of the majority of the people -- just like Egypt. Yet The Sun has not given the citizens of Wisconsin the same front page coverage that it gave Egyptians. Now, the governor of Wisconsin has threatened to call out his military to quash the popular uprising -- just like Egypt. Yet The Sun still hasn't given the citizens of Wisconsin the same front page coverage that it gave Egyptians.

Wisconsin's public employee unions are doing a lousy job of being villains. They're willing to have their salaries and benefits cut 8 percent as Gov. Scott Walker has sought, and they're not asking for much in return — just to maintain the right to collective bargaining. Yet Madison is now facing a second week of protests over the collective-bargaining power issue because it appears Wisconsin's Republican governor is more interested in busting the unions than balancing his budget.

Maryland public-sector unions want to send a message to their counterparts in Wisconsin: "We're with you. " Several of the largest Maryland state employee groups plan to rally in Annapolis on Tuesday to show solidarity with employees in Wisconsin, who are protesting the effort by Republican Gov. Scott Walker to take away collective-bargaining rights from public-sector unions. Among the many signs draped over a railing in the rotunda of the Wisconsin state capitol is a yellow bedsheet with the words, "Baltimore is here with you. " While the efforts of Walker and Wisconsin's Republican state legislature would be unlikely to find much legislative support in deeply Democratic Maryland, union leaders here say it reflects a rising national trend against government employee unions.

Records through Monday (last week's rank) 1. Texas 22-3 (3): You have to go back to Jan. 8 to find a team that scored at least 65 against the Longhorns. 2. Ohio State 24-1 (1): Hard to punish the Buckeyes, who shot 54.3 percent in their loss to Wisconsin. 3. Pittsburgh 23-2 (4): Panthers beat Villanova without leading scorer Ashton Gibbs. 4. Kansas 24-2 (2): The Jayhawks were blown out by Big 12 rival Kansas State on Monday night. 5. Duke 23-2 (5)

TUESDAY'S TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS F1 Australian Grand Prix (T) SPEEDNoon Autos FIA Touring Car: Morocco (T) SPEED2 a.m. British Touring Car: Rockingham (T) SPEED3 a.m. M. bask. Oakland@Tennessee ESPNU7 American@UMBC (T) MASN7:30 Drexel@Louisville ESPNU9 Wisconsin-Milwaukee@DePaul MASN9:30 Georgia Southern@Cincinnati (T)

The list for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award for the nation's top college senior quarterback has been narrowed to five. The remaining candidates for the 2010 Golden Arm Award are: • Andy Dalton, TCU, who has led the Horned Frogs to an 11-0 record, passing for 23 touchdowns and amassing nearly 2,500 yards while compiling a QB efficiency rating of 163.9; • Colin Kaepernick, Nevada, who has completed 166 of 247 passes for...

Let's be honest: This weekend is just killing time until next weekend, when a season's field could get flipped at Tuscaloosa's Iron Bowl and Reno's "Biggest Little Football Game in the World," Boise State at Nevada. Now is the time to muse, reflect, relax and take in a ballgame at Wrigley Field. America's pass time: Illinois and Northwestern are exchanging lineup cards Saturday at Wrigley Field. The football configuration is precarious to say the least, with only a few feet separating the back line of the east end zone from a padded wall.

Ohio State is one and done as No. 1. John Clay ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns and James White darted in for the clinching score in the fourth quarter as No. 18 Wisconsin took down top-ranked Ohio State 31-18 Saturday night. For the second week in a row, there will be a new No. 1 in college football, with the Buckeyes (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) falling the way Alabama was beaten last week — on the road and in conference. Wisconsin hadn't beaten a No. 1 since 1981, when the Badgers knocked off Michigan 21-14.