News Net Going to the Rose Bowl? Make sure your tickets are real

Since sifting through dull newspapers, hyperbolic blogs, and overflowing RSS feeds for meaningful news can be an arduous process, News Net catches and compiles both the amusing and the significant reports that were overlooked over the course of the weekend. Here are some things to think about as the work week begins.

• The match up for the 2011 Rose Bowl was confirmed last night to the glee of already celebrating Badger fans—UW will play against the undefeated TCU Horned Frogs. If you’re online looking for tickets today, the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau already issued some guidelines on how not to get conned—for starters, take a friend to meet the seller in person in a public place, thereby lessening the odds of being jumped, since two targets are better than one. If you must complete the sale online, use a credit card so the charge can be disputed, and demand a picture of the ticket. 10,000 Badger fans got to the stadium for the 1994 Rose Bowl only to discover they had fake tickets—don’t become a cautionary tale.

• WYOU, Madison’s public access channel, has a $10,000 budget hole to fill, and Madison musicians are stepping up to help all week. “Just Say Ho,” the station’s musical fundraiser, will bring live performances of Madison bands every night through this coming Sunday, with re-runs of the performances airing throughout the day. The lineup includes Beth Kille, The Weather Duo, Fambly Fun!, and more that you can watch for free on Charter channel 95 and 991, or online at WYOU’s website. For that cover-free entertainment, a pledge of a buck or two might be in order; you can do so on its website or by calling 608-258-9644.

• Sadly, brutish crimes occur in urban areas like Madison from time to time. So the robbery of an East Side resident early Saturday morning is, unfortunately, not all that surprising. But dammit, the Capital Times wants you, the reader, to take notice, hence its headline, “Robber punches woman in face.” This poor woman, free from serious physical injuries but still likely smarting from the attack and frightened from the intrusion into her home, didn’t get one euphemism—like “assaulted” or “accosted”—in her media coverage. She got punched in the face. Perhaps the Cap Times is trying to add some succinct realism to its headlines—or maybe somebody needs to invest in a thesaurus.

• Wisconsin saw an influx of Canadian geese into the state this year, and not only are those suckers mean, their droppings often contribute to elevated bacteria levels in local lakes. In fact, the goose poop forced temporary closures of several beaches this summer, including Vilas and Olin Park. Thus, officials are seeking the best way to deal with the extra geese around Madison, considering everything from training dogs to chase geese away to “more lethal options,” which is code for “gun hunting season on Madison beaches is officially open!” A final public meeting on the topic is planned for January before the Madison Parks Department issues its official recommendation.