Tom Lange recuperating following Wednesday's heart surgery

Tom Lange, UW-Whitewater’s 1997 Distinguished Service Award recipient in the Whitewater Athletic Hall of Fame, is recuperating this weekend following heart surgery last Wednesday at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison.

Doctors needed 10 ½ hours to complete the heart valve replacement surgery.

After spending the first couple days in post-operative intensive care, Lange is now in a private room at St. Mary’s Hospital.

“Mr Warhawk,” is known to hundreds of past and present Warhawk athletes, coaches and fans for his work and dedication to UW-Whitewater and Whitewater High School athletics.

Cards, flowers, etc may be sent to:
Tom Lange
250 Indian Mound Pkwy, Unit 4
Whitewater, WI 53190-1561

Another pretty well known personality - Milwaukee Brewers Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Uecker, the radio voice of the Brewers for 40 years, underwent successful heart surgery earlier this year.

It was almost a Tony Romo-Steve Tenhagen "Burlington pipeline" to UW-Whitewater

You may not believe this but high-profile Dallas Cowboy quarterback was originally going to come to UW-Whitewater to join another former Burlington teammate, Steve Tenhagen, as a member of the UW-Whitewater football team.

Tenhagen, a grade ahead of Romo, had a huge impact on Romo’s high school sports career.

According to Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press Gazette (11/27/07) article: “Tony Romo probably would have attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater as a football and basketball player had not Division I-AA Eastern Illinois stepped in late and offered him a football scholarship.

The truth be told, it was the pass-catch combination of Romo to Tenhagen that brought statewide attention to the Burlington duo.

While Burlington went 3-6 during Romo's senior season in 1997, the Demons went 9-3 despite an 0-2 start in 1996 and advanced to the third round of the WIAA Division 2 playoffs. After never having played quarterback in high school prior to his junior season, Romo completed 126 of 193 passes (65.2 percent) for 1,863 yards, with 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Steve Tenhagen, Romo's favorite receive during the 1996 season, graduated. The 6-foot-5 Tenhagen earned first-team All-State honors after catching 56 passes for 934 yards and 14 of Romo's 22 touchdown passes.

(Editor's note: please note the adjacent photo of former UW-Whitewater reciever, Steve Tenhagen, in a 2001 game vs. UW-River Falls at Perkins Stadium - photo courtesy of Jeff Seisser, Daily Jefferson County Union)

But by far the biggest reason was Burlington being moved from the Southern Lakes Conference following the 1996 season and being moved to the much more competitive Southeast Conference in 1997 for the sub-500 1997 season.

"I would say it was more the league change," said Tenhagen, who watched Burlington regularly during the 1997 season

While Tony went on to a record-breaking career at Division 1AA Eastern Illinois University, Tenhagen, without Romo had a hugely successful Warhawk football career.

Tenhagen is currently the head football coach at Delavan-Darien High School in nearby Delavan, Wisconsin.

I’ll have a “Where Are They Now” story on Tenhagen in the next few days on the Warhawkfootball.com News Wire.

Oak Park-River Forest recruiting "pipeline" to UWW

As I indicated yesterday, I'm working on a Warhawkfootball.com feature article on the highly publicized pipeline of student-athletes from Oak Park-River Forest High School in suburban Chicago two hours north to UW-Whitewater. I believe it was Max Sakellaris that was the first to journey north to Whitewater. That was in 2003.

Sakellaris returned how to become a football coach and teacher at OPRF High School. Two other members of the "Warhawk family" joined Max on the Huskies' football coaching staff. Former Warhawks' Randy Borgardt and Josh McMahon were also part of the OPRF coaching staff. The three have left Oak Park-River Forest for new jobs at Morton High School in Berwyn/Cicero, Ill. Max tells me that Randy is the Offensive Coordinator, Josh will be coaching wide recievers and Max will coach the offensive line on Morton High School's varsity staff.

Under the tutelage of UWW offensive line coach Steve Dinkel, Max was a four-year starter at offensive tackle, a fexture on the All-WIAC list (Three-time, First-Team selection and was a unanimous selection in his junior and senior seasons. A two-time All-American selection, Sakellaris ended his career by being named Don Hansen’s Football Gazette 2006 Offensive lineman of the year.

Among several other student-athletes to have migrated to UW-Whitewater is Levell Coppage. Already a two-time All-American running back entering his junior season, Coppage captured the 2009 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl "Player of the Game" honor scoring three touchdowns in the Hawk's 38-28 win over Mount Union to capture UWW's second Division III National Championship in three years.

The UW-Whitewater passing game will be in good hands with Josh Gehring

Josh Gehring looks right at home at his desk in the Student Athletic Complex. I had a chance to sit down for a ten minute chat with the newest member of Lance Liepold's 2010 coaching staff.

Gehring is coming off a remarkable three-year stint at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa.

Gehring helped guide Morningside into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics playoffs in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The Mustangs went from averaging 24 points per game to 36.1 (2007), to 48 (2008) and finally 45.1 (2009). Morningside averaged over 400 yards per game during his three years as the school's offensive coordinator, with MC's quarterbacks completing more than 60% of their passes all three seasons. After the 2009 season he was named the American Football Coaches Association NAIA Assistant Coach of the Year.

Gehring tells me that he looks forward to the "challenge" of coaching at Whitewater and working with Offensive Coordinator Steve Dinkle and the rest of the staff as the Warhawks get set to defend it's 2009 NCAA Division III Football Championship.

I'll have a full story on Coach Gehring tomorrow morning on the Warhawkfootball.com News Wire.

Dash 7 posts the first comment here on Voices Eye On Football Blog

Thanks to Dash7 for the first official comment to one of my posts here on Voice's Eye On Football Blog. Dash 7 asks for my thoughts on some of the 2010 Warhawk players that will significantly "step up" with additional playing time this season.

Dash also asks about the incredible pipeline of student-athletes that have migrated from Oak Park-River Forest High School. I'll be doing a feature article on the OPRF connection either Thursday or Friday on Warhawkfootball.com and I'll have a blog post on the subject.

I cordially invite my Voiceseyeonfootball.blogspot.com readers to ask me questions or deliver you view on Warhawk Football subjects. That is the reason that I have developed the Blog in time for UWW's 2010 football season

Wiilie Warhawk's "cousin" was in Whitewater Wednesday

I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say the UW-Whitewater mascot - Willie Warhawk - is flat-out the No. Division III mascot in the nation.

Willie Warhawk's first cousin - the Pizza Hut Chicken Mascot - was "pushing" Pizza Hut chicken wings Wednesday evening during "rush hour" in front of Whitewater's Pizza Hut near the corner of Main and Tratt Street.

The Pizza Hut Chicken Mascot was doing a great job... a matter of fact I stopped in to purchase an order of wings.

Despite one being a hawk and the other a chicken, you can certainly tell the two birds are related!

Maybe at a Warhawk game this year the Pizza Hut Chicken Mascot can join "cuz" Willie at the Perk?

Lane Olson set to lead Warhawk defense in 2010

Lane Olson is set to help lead the UW-Whitewater defense to a sixth consecutive WIAC Championship and return to the playoffs.

I caught up with the Lane Train during his Tuesday morning weight room workout. Olson was selected as one of four captains for the 2010 Warhawks. Olson says he enters his senior season as a player that will lead by example on the practice field and on game day.

"I just want to keep everybody on the same page, make sure they got their head right, make sure nobody is over-cocky." Olson tells me that the key entering training camp is for everybody to "be on the same page, have the same goals and the same "wants," stay as a family, and to improve to be an even better team than last year's.

Oh, by the way, if you haven't head, the Warhawks captured the 2009 NCAA Division III National Championship, its second national title in the past three seasons.

I'll have a feature story on Lane on the Warhawkfootball.com News Wire Tuesday evening.

The anticipation of preseason training camp is alive and well

When I walked into the football offices in UW-Whitewaters Student Athletic Complex today I felt a definite anticipation for the start of preseason football practice. Players will report back to campus on Saturday, August 14th with the first practice session set for Sunday, August 15th.

I my stop at the SAC this morning I had the privilege of meeting Josh Gehring, UW-Whitewater's new quarterback’s and wide receiver’s coach and pass game coordinator. The 2009 NAIA Assistant Football Coach of the year at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, brings a great resume with him to join Lance Leipold's coaching staff. I plan to sit down and chat with Coach Gehring tomorrow.

I also stuck my head into the SAC's conference room to briefly chat with Warhawk assistant coaches Brian Borland, Kevin Bullis and Tom Karthausser. The agenda of the day was preparation for the Hawk's 2010 defense with preseason practice less than two weeks away.

More on Voice's Eye On Football Blog will be coming up later today.

Welcome to Voice's Eye on Football Blog

Hi everybody, Tom "Voice" Pattison here. Welcome the voiceseyeonfootball.blogspot.com!

Already the owner and publisher of the hugely popular Warhawkfootball.com, Website, Voice has developed a companion blog Website this season to allow commentary and readers views around Warhawk Football Nation.

Voice's Eye on Football Blog is now online to give Warhawk football fans the opportunity to voice comments on a team that has captured five consecutive WIAC football championship, five straight trips to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl NCAA Division III National Championship game vs. Mount Union College, in the process capturing the 2007 & 2009 Division III Title.

To comment on Voice's commentary all you have to do is click on the comment link immediately below the commentary.

Make voiceseyeonfootball.blogspot.com and Warhawkfootball.com daily stops on your internet browsing.

The 2010 Warhawk football team reports for preseason practice on Saturday, August 14th. The first practice is set for Sunday, August 15th

Welcome

Welcome to Voiceseyeonfootball.blogspot.com