FOX News

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Huskers head to Dallas this morning!!

The football team will be in Dallas this morning to start preparations for the Cotton Bowl against Dallas. This writer's prediction is 27-26 Nebraska. How do you see the game. Let us know with your comments.

Nebraska may take 30-31 recruits yet this year. They have 27 commitments so far. Needs are at tight end, offensive line, defensive line, and a speed athlete.

Nebraska would like to get Jaivorio Burke for the offensive line and Kevin Dixon on the defensive line.

Three Big 12 teams are in the Top 25 Poll. Kansas is tenth, Texas A & M is 12th, and Oklahoma State is 14th. Texas is the only other Big 12 team that received votes.

Look for MAC power Central Michigan to wipe up on Middle Tennessee State tonight.

The KC Royals season is about to start. Well almost. Will Alex Gordon be in Omaha or KC? My guess is attendance for the Royals will be up substantially this season as they are putting together a pretty solid team.

Nebraska plays at Miami of Florida on Saturday. They are 8-3 and continue to improve. Charles Richardson and Alex Marik have to stay healthy. On January 3rd, the Huskers are back home against Savannah State.

Monday, December 18, 2006

2007 Husker Football Recruiting Class is in Top 10!

Nebraska now has 23 recruits who have committed for the 2007 class. They added three more recruits this weekend. Their average rating is 3.17 stars. This weekend they added some defensive help at linebacker and the defensive line. Great news considering we will be losing all of our front four.

One prospect that is down to Nebraska and Oklahoma is Jaivorio Burkes. He is out of a JUCO in Phoenix and is rated a four star. He is 6' 4" and 311 lbs. He is an offensive lineman. Hope we can win this one.

We did get Joseph Townsend, a 6' 4" defensive tackle, from Los Altos Junior College in California. He may be able and provide some immediate depth. He is rated four star and 5.8 by rivals.

Also, we received a commitment from Austin Stafford, the 42nd rated high school player from California. He is an outside linebacker. Heis 6' 2" and 197 lbs. He is a three star by Rivals.com.

In addition, we received some addition defensive help by getting a commitment from Terrance Moore. He is a defensive tackle out of a high school in New Orleans. He is a two star but if Nebraska likes him that much, he could be rated higher. Terrance plans to redshirt next season and put on some lbs. He is 6'3" and 267.

The Nebraska freshmen scored 43 points in a rout of Alabama A & M. Ryan Anderson scored 19 and Sec Henry scored 11. One major concern is the hip stress fracture of Alex Marik. He didn't play yesterday and has reinjured his hip. Without Alex, we will have a difficult time competing in the Big 12. NU plays Wyoming Wednesday at 9 PM at the Rainbow Classic in Hawaii.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Jake Gdowski has Colorado St. Rams fan interest!!

This site has had 33 hits from Ramnation.com's message board today checking out Jake Gdowski. The fans are excited about Jake and they hope he commits to them.

Wasn't it fun watching the Nebraska volleyball team win last night. The whole night was action packed and this fan was on the edge of his seat the whole match. Doe you suppose the ESPN 2 camera man like Barbosa of Stanford? NU should be great again next year if they work at it again. I wonder how far NU's reserves would go as we have a lot of great players on the bench.

Andre Jones has lost his blackshirt. No reason why, but Ricky Thenarse is getting some good reps on the first team.

Who was the NU volleyball teams only loss this year? Colorado!

Jay Norvell has interviewed for the Boston College head coaching position.

Kenny Wilson has knee tendinitis and Cody Glenn still has foot problems. Brandon Jackson has a broken hand but is practicing. Marlon Lucky appears to be recovered.

I wonder how much fun it is to watch volleyball from the top seat at the Quest Center. Do you need binoculars? Great atmosphere though.

Who is the best Nebraska high school basketball player you have seen this year? Send your comments!

Monday, December 11, 2006

Sam Keller will be NU QB in 2007

Nebraska is using the bowl practices to to prepare for Auburn and to practice for 2007. Sam Keller is getting a lot of reps. Reports are that he has a better arm than Zac Taylor has. The question will be if he can be a leader like Zac has been. If he does, NU should be in great shape at QB. Starting fall camp this writer sees the following order of the 2007 QB's.

1. Sam Keller
2. Joe Ganz
3. Zac Lee
4. Patrick Witt

Witt could be a redshirt candidate depending on how things develop. As the season matures Zac Lee should move up to #2 QB.

J.B. Phillips is working out at fullback. He has caught 13 passes for two TD's in 2006. We need to get more production from the fullback besides blocking. Dane Todd was sensational at blocking this year but wouldn't it be nice to use the fullback as a target for a lot of passes. I wonder how the old fullback trap would work now and then also just to mix things up. J. B. is smart but he will need to work on his penalties.

Offensive lineman Jordon Picou is working at nose tackle. It appears we need to recruit two or three more defensive linemen and at least one more offensive lineman in the 2007 class. Recruiting safeties and cornerbacks has been a priority.

LaTravis Washington, Fabians's cousin, committed to NU to make it 21 recruits now. NU has moved up to the Top 10 in recruiting. LaTravis is a safety out of Florida. He is listed by Rivals. com as a three star recruit.

Tyrell Spain will probably move back to wide receiver in 2007.

The NU men's BB team signed another recruit for 2007. This makes eight. His name is Jeremy Barr and he is transferring from USC. He is 6' 8" and 262 lbs. His wingspan is 73 inches. This is compared to Kevin Durants's wingspan of 75 inches, the sensational freshman from Texas. Jeremy should really help with rebounding which is a weakness of this year's team. Jeremy was a 2005 Rivals.com Top 150 player. He will have three years to play for NU.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Kansas City Royals Report by Charlie Wiiest

Charlie Wiiest reports on the Royals this week. Very good info. Baseball is coming soon.


"I don’t if you can follow this link, but the article is about their new rule five player which they got from San Diego. Interesting to note, R. Hernandez was who they released in order to make room for this kid on the 40 man roster. My understanding of rule five pick’s are that in order for them to stay with the organization they have been chosen by, they have to stay on the major league roster all year or if they don’t, they go back to the original team, in this case San Diego. Rule five players are fun to watch as it’s like watching a minor leaguer develop at the major league level. A couple that comes to mind of recent are Andrew Cisco for the Royals and the Cardinals had Hector Luna. They usually are very talented but often times are so very raw it can be interesting to watch them. Typically they will drive a major league manager crazy. Luna ended up being traded because of his erratic play. Anyway, thought you might want to know.

Here is the link: http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061210&content_id=148152&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp

In addition, it is my understanding the Royals are in pursuit of Miguel Batista who pitched well for Arizona last year. If that were to happen the rotation would be probably something like the following:

Meche

Batista

O. Perez

L. Hudson

with De La Rosa, Elarton, Grienke, and Bannister (Floyd’s boy – trade from the Mets on Burgos)

With Burgos gone now, and this would have been the situation anyway, Octivio Dotel will be closing. He was hurt last year. Interestingly enough, the Cardinals were also in pursuit of him and also pursued him in 2005 before he signed with Yankees. Hopefully he stays healthy. If you remember he came out of the Astro’s organization and was part of the trade with Royals regarding C. Beltran.

If the Royals don’t sign Batista, don’t be surprised to see them test the trade market for another arm. However, the trade market is pretty thin and would take a stud in order to get any A list Royal minor leaguers. My guess would be someone like a Reggie Sanders for someone who is desperate for a DH or left fielder. My guess, is they may wait until after spring training starts to see where they feel where the likes of M. Maier (on 40 man roster currently), A. Gordon (#2 overall prospect in minor league ball) & B. Butler (#13 overall minor league prospect) belong.

Also keep in mind they had the #1 pick in the draft last year. L. Hochevar is listed as the number #30 overall prospect in baseball. If he is as advertised, he will either be in the major leagues by the end of the year or will be much higher than #30. I doubt they really want to rush him much (see Zach Grienke project).

Anyway, this got a little long, but thought you might want to know. Pitchers and catchers report in about 65 days!"

Charlie

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Zach Bowman will return to NU next year.

With Bowman not going to the NFL, who will be two starters at safety and the two starters at cornerback for the first game in 2007?

Sunday, December 03, 2006

It will be Auburn in the Cotton Bowl!!!

Nebraska will play Auburn in the Cotton Bowl. Auburn is 0-3 lifetime against NU with the last meeting in 1982. Auburn is 10-2. Auburn beat Florida 27-17 earlier this year. Their losses were to Arkansas and Georgia.

Nebraska to the COTTON BOWL!

The momentum had changed. It was third and ten for Oklahoma on their own one yard line and then Paul Thompson hit Hermaine Gresham for a 35-yard pass. Thompson hit four more long passes and eventually a TD to put Oklahoma ahead to stay 21-7. It was the play of the game.

Nebraska held Oklahoma to 42 yards rushing. Nebraska was averaging four yards a carry. Surprising to this writer that we were able to out rush them and then still lose the game. When Brandon Jackson went out of the game with an injury we seemed to run the ball less but we were still effective on short passes. Five turnovers were a killer as Taylor was rushed hard. NU outyard Oklahoma 366 to 307. We were not dominated in any way.

Great year Huskers!! The bowl game will be another tough matchup but NU with some time to prepare will be tough.

The NU basketball team looked to have a win on Saturday but lost to Rutgers 75-73. Aleks Maric spent most of the day in foul trouble and without a great backup, the Huskers had trouble rebounding. We are very reliant on Marics and Richardson to carry us this year and if they can't be in the game we seem to be in trouble. Freshman Ryan Anderson continues to contribute with 17 points.

Waunita-Palisade may be the best high school basketball team west of Grand Island. They beat rated D-1 school Arapahoe by 31 points on Friday night. Overton, who beat #2 D-1 school Loomis on Friday night, was beaten by Arapahoe Saturday night.

Chadron State lost to very tough Northwest Missouri St. 28-21 in a playoff game. Danny Woodhead, who has the single season rushing record in NCAA football history, was held to 16 yards rushing.

Will Barry Bonds be on the Kansas City Royals roster in 2007. That would fill the stadium as he is going for the all-time homerun record.

Dana Altman, the excellent Creighton coach, was coached all four years by Dave Oman who now coaches at Grand Island. Dana went to school at Wilbur.

The NU volleyball team heads to Florida and will take probably take on Florida in the finals. Florida will be on their home floor and have only two losses. Should be interesting.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Your choice-You pick!

As per Brad Hartzog's suggestion, we will try a new feature on this blog!

WHO IS THE GREATEST QUARTERBACK IN NEBRASKA HISTORY?
Nebraska has had a lot of great quarterbacks that could run, pass, and be great field generals. Who is your pick as Nebraska's best QB and why did you pick them? Who are your second and third picks?

Johnny Rodger's new book.

Deborah Trivitt left this info on the blog. This book for make a great Christmas present!!!!

"Johnny will be in Scottsbluff Saturday at Copperfield's Book Store from 1-3 p.m. signing copies of his book, An Era of Greatness: Coach Bob Devaney's Final Four Seasons in University of Nebraska Football.

Sunday, he'll be in Sidney at the Book Corner from 1-3.

If you don't have the book, or need a gift for a Husker fan, visit his website: www.jr20.com."

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Nebraska will need to be successful passing!

For the Cornhuskers to win Saturday night in the Big XII Championship game, we will need to come out throwing. Penalties will need to be minimal. After we open the game up passing and have some success, we then can run and mix it up. Oklahoma will have some success running the ball and one would think that will be their game plan. The Huskers will need to execute and execute. It should be a great game. With 60,000 fans attending from NU, it will be almost like a home game. Great advantage for the Huskers.

Nebraska plays North Texas tonight in what is called to be a great game. North Texas has beaten Tulsa this year and Doc Sadler says this will be our toughest opponent so far. Wasn't Creighton out toughest?

Adrian Peterson will not play Saturday for OU.

Will Johnny Rodgers be back returning punts Saturday. We need to break a big one!!

Nebraska women are rated 27th. They beat Texas-Pan America by 77-37 last night.

Frank Solich becomes the first coach in NCAA history to take teams to a league's championship game in two different conferences. He has been named the 2006 MAC coach of the year.

Nebraska in an upset over OU, 27-24.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Jake Gdowski and Noah Keller make Super-State first team!

Grand Island' s Jake Gdowski and Kearney's Noah Keller made the Lincoln Journal Star's Super-State first team!! Both have Division I potential and will contribute to the college they end up choosing.

Gdowski is a three year starter and was double teamed every down on defense. He ended the season with 37 solo tackles, 26 assists, five tackles for losses, and three fumble recoveries in 2006.

Keller had 93 solo tackles, 118 assisted tackles, and seven sacks to lead the Class A champion team, Kearney.

Matt Donahue of Fremont made the first team Super-State team as a defensive back. He had five interceptions, 42 receptions, 905 yards, and seven touchdowns this year. He's a game breaker.

Nebraska recruit's Niles Paul (Omaha North), Juniors Baker Steinkuhler (Lincoln Southwest), and Collins Okafor (Omaha Westside)also made the team. Harland Gunn of Omaha Central still plans to attend Miami Fla was a Super-Stater as an offensive lineman. Josh Cherry (Kansas State) from McCook was the Super-Stater kicker. Philip Bates (Iowa State), another Omaha North athlete, was a Super-Stater. He has opened his college choices back up after Dan McCarney was let go.

Eric Love and Jared Crick (Nebraska) were second team Super-Staters. Lance Thorell of Loomis was all-state in D-1 as defensive back.

Nebraska will play Oklahoma in the Big XII Championship game. This will match the two hottest teams from the North and South divisions. Look for Oklahoma to be seven point favorites. Nebraska can win this if they don't have a major lapse during the game, penalties are minimized, and keep their turnovers down to one or less. Oklahoma has two losses to Texas and Oregon and the loss to Oregon was wrong due to the officials making a wong call. Oklahoma is a top eight team and will be very competitive. They have seven straight wins.

Look for Nebraska to move into the top twenty. They need a win next Saturday to stay there as four losses will hurt their rankings.

Who will play Ohio State in the National Championship game. Looks now like USC or Michigan. Michigan had their chance however when a rematch for the championship occurs the team that lost the first match has won eight out of twelve times. USC has been there before. This writer would like to see the winner of the SEC take on Ohio State. The SEC is the toughest conference in college football and it would be the most competitive game.

Nebraska BB plays two home games this week against Arkansas-Pine Bluffs and North Texas at home. They should look to go 5-0 in a great start. The schedule in December will expose our weaknesses and this team will improve but don't get expectations too high for now.

Frank Solich and the Ohio Bobcats will play in the Mid-America Conference title game on Thursday against Central Michigan. The Bobcats are 9-3 and have their best record since 1968. The coach from Central Michigan, Brian Kelly, will be talking to Iowa State about their opening and may be a leading candidate.

Lindsay Anderson, a former Holdrege Duster, had 17 points for Doane vs. Montana Tech Saturday. Doane is nationally ranked.

Danny Woodhead of Chadron State broke the NCAA single season all time rushing record with 2740 yards. No other college football player has had over 2700 yards in a season. Woodhead will play again next week as Chadron beat West Texas A & M 43-17. Woodhead also has 34 TD's this season. Chadron will play Northwest Missouri State in the next round of the playoffs a Maryville, Mo.

Hard to believe Nate Funk had only four points against George Mason and yet Creighton won 58-56.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Nebraska may be favored in the Big 12 Championship!!

Oklahoma needs a win today to play in Kansas City next weekend in the Big XII Championship. The trouble is they are playing rival Oklahoma St who has a pretty good team and they are playing at Stillwater. For Oklahoma St., beating Oklahoma is the most important goal of any season. This is a HUGE rivalry and the favorite doesn't win very often. Look for a close game and don't be surprised if the hot Oklahoma team is beaten today.

That would lay the framework for a Texas-Nebraska rematch. Colt McCoy isn't healthy yet and the Texas defense doesn't look as quick and fast as when they played NU earlier. Nebraska would be favored in a rematch due to Texas's late season fall.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is a time to be thankful for everything we are blessed with. Many lost their lives so that we can have so many freedoms today. I hope we never take that for granted or those freedoms will eventually disappear.

This will be our first Thanksgiving without dad. He was a very special dad who always taught us to do the right things. We miss his humor and his always loving care for our family. I feel blessed that God gave me a dad that was also my best friend, hunting and fishing partner, and parent. We miss him but the memories will allow us to continue on in life. We know he is in a better place now.


The Colorado football game is this Friday. Why is that the Colorado fans seem to hate Nebraska so much? I would enjoy hearing comments on this subject. Colorado hasn't won many games this year but they have been close so we will need to play a very good game to win. It will be the last home game for a number of seniors including Zac Taylor. They will be missed.

Injured Zach Bowman is going through the steps to see if he should enter the NFL draft. He has to commit by mid-January. If it is determined that he can come back 100% by next summer, I would think he will enter the draft.

The Husker BB team is 3-0. They are shooting lights out in the first three games. The team will need to improve a quite a bit before the Big 12 to compete. After the two home games next week, NU will face Miami Fla, Rutgers, Oregon and possibly Hawaii in December. We will see how they compete against these teams away from Bob Devaney. Docd Sadler has created a lot of excitement with the program and is fun to watch.

NU has seven BB recruits and may recruit one or two more players. It will be interesting as to which players will transfer or lose their scholarships as NU upgrades the program. With this approach the players will be working hard to show the coach they are worthy of keeping their scholarship.

The NFL network will show the Denver-KC game tonight. This network is only available in 33% of the households. It will be interesting as to how many viewers watch the game. This game is huge for both KC and Denver.

Dallas and Detroit always play on Thanksgiving. Dallas should win. Detroit will have a tougher game against Miami. Look for Detroit to upset Miami on Thanksgiving day.

Enjoy your day and have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Sports in a Glance

The NU basketball team won in a stunner Saturday night beating Creighton 73-61. What a difference Alex Mariks has made to the team in so many ways. NU shot lights out and Ryan Anderson had 19 points and six rebounds. He has been an excellent rebounder. They keep saying he isn't that athletic but he sure is getting the job done. Mariks had 17 points and nine rebounds. There is a lot better feeling right now that NU can compete in the Big 12. We have moved up from the bottom tier to the middle tier and hopefully will continue to improve. Amazing considering a new system with a new coach and all the injuries that we have had.

Will the football team improve its rankings today. With losses by Maryland, California, and Wake Forest, we should move up to 20th to 21st.

The Miami Hurricanes may not make a bowl this year. WOW! Brandon Gunn, please change your mind and go to NU. Don't be surprised if Barry Alvarez is the next coach. What a challenge he would have. He knows the AD at Miami and he may be the coach who could get the program back on track.

Who should play Ohio State in the National Championship game? I say the most excitement would come from the winner of the Floriday/Arkansas SEC Championship game. Ohio State beat Michigan in a close one so a rematch would be less exciting. Ohio State outyarded Michigan 503 to 397.

Remember Randy Moss?

Today is the final NASCAR race. Watch Jimmie Johnson win today with a top ten finish.

Crete finished the season strong beating Holdrege, McCook, and Elkhorn. They have a history of peaking at the end. Elkhorn had a very strong team.

Kearney wins Class A beating a very strong Omaha West side team. Congrats to Overton who won the D-1 championship!

The NBA needs to get tougher on discipline and improve its image before many people start to watch it again.

The Colts will still be undefeated after Monday night vs the Bears.

In non-sports news, we lost a great one in Milton Friedman this week. He was a top economist that had major influence on this writer. His book "Free to Choose" should be read by all college students and discussed. He was a strong advocate that keeping as much away from the government to manage was much more efficient. He believed in free capitalism and not the socialistic approach we take today where the government needs to take care of us. He believed that free enterprise was the way to go and that people would feel better about themselves if they were not supported by the government but supported themselves. He believed that free countries have to be close to free capitalism or we would move away from freedom itself. How free can we be when many rely on the government to the extend they do?

The high school basketball season is about ready to begin!

NU looks like it will either go to the Cotton Bowl or Holiday Bowl. The problem with the Holiday Bowl is that they might have a rematch with USC but would likely play California. If they go to the Cotton they may play a team like Arkansas.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Texas gets beat by Michigan St

The Texas Longhorns took their first loss of the season losing at Madison Square Garden 63-61 to Michigan State. Texas played with four or five freshman in the game most of the game. Matt Hill had four points, one block and seven rebounds.

Ohio U won the East side of the MAC Conference last night beating Akron. Ohio U goes to 8-3 for the season with a big victory over Illinois at Illinois.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Doc Sadler and more

Read the Tom Shatel article in the Omaha World-Herald today. One of his best. Now if he could stick to columns like that, instead of praising or critizing coaches after they win or lose, he would consistantly have great columns. Doc Sadler continues to excite this writer for the future of Husker Basketball.

What happened to Tommy Frazier at Doane. It is surprising he didn't put together a better team. He must of been tough.

Five Huskers are still injured ant not playing for the NU BB team. They are Marcus Perry, Kyle Marks, Chris Balham, Jay-R Strowbridge, and Paul Velander.

The Ohio U football team is 5 1/2 point favorites at home vs Akron tonight. What a turnaround!

Bo Pelini is being considered for the Michigan St and Iowa St jobs.

The Husker football team continues to add value to our team with the addition of a kicker and QB.

The new BB recruiting class is rated higher than teams like Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, UNLV, and USC. The fun begins!

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Nebraska Basketball team wins

Alex Mariks return last night showed how valuable he is to the team. They played much better than the previous two exhibition games. NU beat UNO 76-62. NU has to get at least two more big men to contribute or it could be a tough season. This team is very similar to Connie Yori's first women's team. Short on numbers and at some times only had six or seven players that could contribute. Hopefully by year-end the outlook for bodies wille be better when Kyle Marks and Marcus Perry returns.

The press has made too big of deal of Bobby Knight's actions where he "quickly lifted"the chin of one of his players. The player, Michael Prince, and his parents feel he didn't hurt anything. Let's leave it alone.

NU BB signed seven players for next year and the recruits have been rated #20 in the nation. Things will be better.

The NU football team needed a bye before the Oklahoma State game. This writer believes if this would have happened, we would only have two losses. This has been a long season with no breaks for the players and coaches. Last year the NU team played much better after the bye weeks.

NASCAR seems to be a letdown this year. A lot of the races have been "boring" and the point race isn't as exciting as many had hoped. Jimmie Johnson will take it easy this week and finish as high in the race as he needs to win the points race.

The Creighton-NU game of Saturday night should be competitive and much closer than last year. There will be a lot of blue in Bob Devaney that night but the home town crowd will help the Huskers. Marik, Richardson, and Jamel White will all need to perform well. Jim Ledsome has to get to where he can make a major contribution in a reserve role. We need the big men to improve quickly.

Sek Henry has played well.

Matt Hill is making a major contribution to the Texas team. He is in the ESPN magazine this week. Texas plays Michigan St. on Thursday. Kevin Durant, who plans to turn pro after his freshman year, plays like a pro now. Texas plays the Phoenix Suns offense and they aren't afraid to shoot threes.

The Nebraska volleyball team needs to rebound from their loss to Colorado. Follow them and see how they do. It is now the time to start peaking.

Let's hope the Husker football team scores 28 points in the third quarter against Colorado. So far this year they have only scored 42 points in the third quarter. Zac Taylor is completing 49% of his passes in the quarter compared to 62% for the year.

NU has another commit from a QB for the 2007 class. His name is Jared Lee and he looks like he can compete for a starting position. With Sam Keller, Patrick Witt, Joe Ganz and Sean Hillebrand, the Huskers have upgraded their talent since losing Harrison Beck.

Josh Freeman is showing why NU wanted him.

High school football finals start tomorrow. Should be fun.

What will the score of the Colorado-Nebraska game be? My prediction in July was 45-21. I will stay with it.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Sports shorts

Tom Shatel wrote today "Nebraska beat Missouri 34-20 in a game the program, and the coach, really needed." His articles every week are centered around whether the coach should go or not and he is hot or cold depending on whether we won that week or not. If we win, the coach is great and if we lose, he should be fired. Same stuff as when Solich was coach. It gets old. Many fans do the same thing, which I think shows their ignorance and knowledge about football or any sport. We always want to blame the coaches or the referees.

What has happened to Iowa and Iowa State. Iowa State has been a major disappointment. They have had injuries and players suspensions, but they are still not playing very well. I suppose I should say they need to get rid of Dan McCarney but he is a great coach and they will be back.

The receivers were great on Saturday. Except for one dropped pass by a tight end, the NU receivers made some unbelieveable catches. Nate Swift was awesome and the TD from Purify to Nunn was perfect.

NU started one freshman, three sophmores, and a junior in the offensive line on Saturday. Do you suppose they will continue to improve? Yes, they will.

Texas A & M will be very tough this week. It would be a great victory but they will be tough away from home. I am sure if we lose that the cry will go out to fire Callahan. Sad.

Frank Solich is now 7-3 and they are looking at a winning season for one of the few times in the last twenty some years.

Turner Gill and Buffalo slaughtered Kent State yesterday. They continue to improve.

Joe Dailey had a good day with three TD's and almost 300 yards passing.

Bo Ruud made some huge plays vs Missouri. He is a gamer.

NU seems to struggle most against teams with excellent WR's. It is impressive how we held down TEs Rucker and Coffman.

This writer enjoys watching Cody Glenn play. Hopefully he will get a few more snaps next week.

Another player fun to watch is Suh. He makes things happen. Barry Turner makes big plays also. Moore and Carriker will be in the NFL next year.

Patrick Deuel has lost over 700 lbs. He was in the crowd close to where this writer sits. Congrats.

Josh Freeman of K-State continues to improve. He will be a fine QB. That's why NU wanted him.

NU is 25th in the nation and back in the polls.

NU BB starts tomorrow night in an exhibition game against UNK. I hop Doc Sadler can field a team because he has a bunch of injuries. Sounds like they will be fun to watch.

Wishing the Loomis and Holdrege football teams well in the playoffs on Monday night. Holdrege plays a very tough Crete team. Waunita-Palisade has upset Arapahoe and Axtell to get to the quarter-finals vs. Loomis.

Millard North is some kind of playoff team. They have three losses but upset Lincoln Southwest in five overtimes. When the playoffs start every year, they are there.

Friday, November 03, 2006

NOAH KELLER

Picture Source:Rivals.com

Class A playoff team Kearney has two outstanding linebackers that are as good as pair in high school football in Nebraska this year. One is Joey Rousseau. The other is Noah Keller. Scout.com says this about Noah. "Keller ranks as the top linebacker prospect in Nebraska in 2006. As a junior, in nine games, he recorded 121 tackles (48 solo), 10 tackles for loss, two sacks, and one interception. "

Noah is 6'1" and weighs 225 lbs. He benches 330 lbs and squats 600 lbs. He runs the 40 in 4.6 and has a vertical jump of 37 inches. Allen Bradford, the five-star recruit that went to USC in the 2006 recruiting class, had a vertical jump of 29 inches.

In 2005, Keller had 306 yards rushing as a fullback and 147 yards receiving. Keller and Rousseau both can become Kearney's all-time tackler with app 100 tackles this year. They were tied at the beginning of the year.

As a junior Keller won the all-class gold medal with a throw of 62' 31/4" at the Nebraska State Track meet.

We received Noah's questionaire and here is what he had to say.

Favorite Game Memory:

"Shutting out Millard West, then the #1 ranked team in the state, 24-0."
"Winning the State Class A and All-Class shotput this last May at the Nebraska State Track meet"

Best Athlete You Have Played Against:

"Zach Potter"

Favorite Team (Pro and College):

"San Fransisco 49-ers and Virginia Tech Hokies"

Favorite Player:

"Lawrence Taylor"

Colleges Interested in You:

"Colorado State, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio plus many others"

College(s) You Are Interested In:

"Same as above"


Personal

What Is Your Favorite Books:

"Bleachers , By John Grisham"

Who Is Your Favorite Movie Actor:

"Will Ferrell"

What Is Your Favorite Movie:

"Friday Night Lights"

What Is Your Favorite TV Show:

"Family Guy"

Which Actor Would You Like To Be Like:

"Samuel L. Jackson"

What Are Your Hobbies:

"Football, hanging with friends, and paintball"

What Is Important For You To Be Successful:

"Grades"

Noah was picked as one of the "Super Six" players in Nebraska this year by the Omaha World-Herald. Noah has been offered Division I scholarships by Colorado State and Ohio. He would look great in a Nebraska uniform. Good luck in picking your school.

Thank you Noah for completing the questionaire!

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Matt Hill debuts for Texas!

Texas played an exhibition game tonight against Lenoir-Ryhne. Matt Hill had 10 points and five rebounds. All the points were scored in the second half. The freshman played well on a very talented Texas team. The final score was Texas 98 Lenoir-Ryhne 64.

Monday, October 30, 2006

NU football will rebound this week

Just when most fans think NU is going into a tail-spin, this writer believes that they will win the last three and end 9-3 in the regular season. With two of the three games at home and an away game at Texas A & M, it is the time for this team to jell. They will.

Okie State is a very talented team. Missouri is not as good and we have them at home. We will control the next three teams by running the ball and the defense will be healed up enough to stuff any offense we will face. On to 9-3 and to KC for the Big 12 Championship.

The NU basketball team starts their exhibition season a week from today against the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Should be a fun game to watch. Coach Sadler said they have had so many players injured that he has had to use his student managers to scrimmage. They are not as far along as he would like because they have had so many injured players. Not a good sign early but hopefully soon some of the players will heal and start to get into shape. They will get better as the year progresses. I bet they will be fun to watch.

Wednesday catch a high school football playoff game and enjoy.

What is your projected score for the week? Can we stop the tight ends Coffman and Rucker? I think that will be the key this week.

Give me your score. This writer says NU 27-20 Huskers!!!

Friday, October 27, 2006

High School Scores of Interest

Class B
Beatrice 35...............................................Waverly 13
Hastings 21................................................Seward 0
Holdrege 28..............................................Lexington 0
Ralston 17..................................................Gretna 16

Playoff Games

St. Paul 41..................................................Minden 14 3-6
Neligh-Oakdale 41....................................Franklin 26
Blue Hill 41.................................................Cambridge 14 3-6
Southwest 25.............................................Burwell 6
Perkins Co. 20...........................................Amherst 14
Elm Creek 20.............................................Kearney Catholic 12 Upset Elm Creek goes to 4-5
Axtell 56.....................................................Creek Valley 19
Wauneta-Palisade 40...............................Arapahoe 36 Surprise
Loomis 28..................................................Anselmo-Merna 12
Elwood 28..................................................Leyton 18
Overton 41................................................Crawford 0
Pleasanton 19............................................O'Neill St. Mary's 14
Bertrand 36...............................................Eustis-Farnam 20 Bertrand goes to 4-5

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Can NU beat Oklahoma St?

NU will have their hands full this week. If they play one of their better games they can win. Two key factors that could affect the outcome. WR Adarius Bowman may be the best receiver we have seen this year. Hard to believe after playing USC. Look to Bowman to be a receiver who has a career night with Bobby Reid, one of the best passers in the nation, throwing to him.

The second factor is Oklahoma State leads the nation in kickoff returns at 30.7. If we kick the ball to the 10 yard line, the average starting position would be between the 40-45 yard line. This will be hard to overcome if we don't kick the ball in the end zone. NU has had to spend a lot of time on this issue this week.

NU should be able to move the ball against OSU. Look to a high scoring and close exciting game this week.

NU 38-OSU 31.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Sport Shorts

As the snow flew in the fourth quarter at the NU-Texas game, it come to mind that we have never seen a more positive, emotional and enthusiastic crowd as the one in Lincoln yesterday.

Nebraska played well enough to win and if so many things would have been different the outcome would have been different. It doesn't matter though as Texas won 22-20. We should be proud of our team!!!

We have to get a stronger kickoff so eliminate the opposing team's great field position if we want to move up a step nationally. We have to get stronger depth in the secondary to compete in a BCS bowl. By looking at our recruiting efforts last year and this year, we are doing this.

I don't think NU will move up much in the polls as only Oregon and Georgia Tech lost right in front of us. Rutgers may move ahead of us as they continue to look impressive.

Brandon Jackson continues to impress!! He had a highlight reel shuttle pass from Taylor.

Texas is good, real good. Their offensive line is ready for the NFL. Our defense played very well except the last drive. Steve Octavian put on some huge hits. The linebackers were very impressive. Jay Moore stuck out as doing an exceptional job. Ruud and Bradley played well.

The offensive line for NU struggled in the 2nd quarter but played well in the second half.

Maurice Purify had a great catch for a TD. He has 17 receptions now. Taylor played a good game but when pressured in the 2nd quarter he was off on his throws.

Marlon Lucky's throw was a bullet that for a while looked like it was going to sale over Nathan Swift's head. Swift didn't have anybody within 20 yards.

Missouri, Okie State, Texas A & M and even Colorado may provide exciting games. We should be in all the games and have a very good chance to win. Next up is Okie State. Top rated QB Bobby Reid was hurt with a concussion Saturday. Even then, Texas A & M only won by one, 34-33. No game will be easy.

Frank Solich's Ohio team beat Turner Gill's Buffalo team 42-7. Both teams are on the rise and better things are to come for Buffalo. Ohio may be looking at a winning record this year which has only happened like twice in twenty-some years.

The Big 12 South is still much stronger than the North Division. The 3rd place team in the North is K-State which is 1-3 in the Big 12. Look for a Texas-NU matchup if NU can stay healthy and knock of Mizzou and A & M.

Carl Bohl's North Dakota State team only got beat by the Minnesota Gophers 10-9 on Sat.

Chadron State's football team is playing very well and is undefeated. Danny Woodhead is sensational and is breaking all records in their division.

Vince Young, Corey Ross, Tom Osborne, Rich Glover, Forrest Behm, Mike Rozier and Johnny Rogers were all at the game yesterday. WOW!

You say Forrest who? He was one of the Four Horseman that was a star in the 41 Rose Bowl. Just a little older but an exceptional player.

Josh Freeman was 5-19 with two interceptions for K-State Saturday. They lost to Mizzou 41-21.

High School playoffs start this week. Friday, Creighton Prep 5-4 goes to Kearney 8-1.

Thursday, Minden 3-5, Elm Creek 3-5, and Cambridge 3-5 are playing in the playoffs.

D-1 features Axtell, Arapahoe, Elwood, Overton and Loomis in the West Division. That will provide for some excellent football. This is a fun time of the year.

The Cardinals were very impressive in the first game 7-2 over Detroit.

In the elections, don't vote for Initiative 423. Vote for the people that decide the budgets, not this. This writer likes Scott Kleeb over Adrian Smith. He seems to have the leadership to help the third district. He has a bright future. I am frankly very tired of the Ricketts/Nelson ads. They are so negative. Don't you agree?


The OC returns November 2nd without Mischa Barton. Shoot.

Friday, October 20, 2006

LANCE THORELL

Lance Thorell, a senior at Loomis High School, is relatively an unknown except for the schools that have played against him. Coach Grant Mollring of Eustis-Farnam was quoted earlier in the year in the Kearney Hub "and the best athlete west of Kearney, in my opinion, is Thorell". Eustis-Farnam plays Loomis this week in D-1 action.

Thorell has excelled in football, basketball, and track at Loomis High during his career. He played on the D-2 championship basketball team three years ago. He had top five performances in Nebraska in the 110 highs and the intermediate hurdles.

He is a two time all-stater in football. Last year he had 101 tackles and eight interceptions. Coach Denis Reese has put him in a position where he can help the team the most. His sophmore year he played receiver on offense and had a great year with all-stater Drew Billeter throwing TD's to him. Last year he played QB. This year he converts to running back. He will be tough to stop and should have a sensational season.

His strongest positions in college looks to be receiver and safety. He has excellent speed, great hands, and is a very tough hard hitter on defense.

Lance is 6'1" and weighs 180 lbs. He benches 245 lbs. and squats 315 lbs. His 40 time is 4.6 and he has a 33 inch vertical jump. His best season in receiving was in 2004 when he had 914 yards receiving and 14 TD's.

Lance will excel whereever he plays and would be a great walkon for the Nebraska program.

This year the word will get out how good he really is. Watch his progress this season.

He responded to our questionaire and here is what he had to say:



Favorite Game Memory:

"Beating Bertrand 48-16"

Best Athlete You Have Played Against:

"Steve Dent of Mullen and Wade Vontz of Cambridge"

Favorite Team:

"Huskers"

Favorite Player:

"Michael Vick"

College Interested in You:

"Iowa, Doane, South Dakota, UNK, Concordia, Morningside, Dana"

College You Are Interested In:

"Iowa, Doane, UNK, South Dakota"

PERSONAL

What is Your Favorite Books:

"Sports magazines"

Who is Your Favorite Movie Actor:

"Brad Pitt"

What is Your Favorite Movie:

"Dumb and Dumber"

What is Your Favorite TV Show:

"That 70's Show"

Which Actor Would You Like To Be Like:

"Brad Pitt"

What Are Your Hobbies:

"Hunting and Playing Sports"

What is Important For You To Be Successful:

"Making money"

Thank you Lance for giving us this information and good luck in the playoffs.





JAKE GDOWSKI


He comes from a football family. His dad, Tom Gdowski, was a three year letterman from Nebraska as a defensive lineman. He is also related to the former QB Gerry Gdowski who started for NU.

Jake will be playing center and defensive line for Grand Island Senior High this fall in his senior season. These are the positions he plans to play in college. Jake is 6'3" and weighs 270 lbs. He has benched 325 lbs and has done 510 lbs. in the squat. He has ran a 4.8 40 and has a vertical jump of 28 inches.

We have received back our questionaire from Jake this week and here is what he had to say:

Favorite Game Memory:

"Coming back down 30 at halftime vs. Norfolk"

Best Athlete You Have Played Against:

"Ricky Henry"

Favorite Team:

"Broncos"

Favorite Player:

"Warren Sapp"

College Interested in You:

"Nebraska, Colorado State, Iowa State, Kansas, Wyoming, Ohio, and Harvard"

College You Are Interested In:

"Same teams that are interested in me"

PERSONAL

What is Your Favorite Books:

"No favorites. I like Sports Illustrated"

Who is Your Favorite Movie Actor:

"Nicholas Cage and Jim Carrey"

What is Your Favorite Movie:

"Old School"

What is Your Favorite TV Show:

"That 70's Show Boston Legal with Denny Crane is a close second"

Note: He is just saying that because Denny Crane is so good looking and he says this writer looks like him.

Which Actor Would You Like To Be Like:

"Ben Stiller"

What Are Your Hobbies:

"Poker"

What is Important For You To Be Successful:

"Continuing to work hard and stay focused"

Jake has one Division I offer from Colorado State. He is a very hard worker, humble and has patience. He would be a perfect fit into the Nebraska program. Let's hope it happens. Thanks Jake for your time.

"Denny Crane"




Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Stats and comments

Steve Octavian has not been a major factory this season. Injuries have slowed him. Cody Glenn may not play again this week.

Barry Turner has been quiet in the sack department with only one. He has been quiet so far this year. Who would have thought.

Nebraska is converting third downs at a 57-percent rate, compared to 33 percent last season and 31 percent in 2004.

Nebraska has 14 rushing touchdowns this season. We only had 10 all last season. Much improved and there is no reason to think the pace won't continue. Thank you offensive line.

The offensive line is led by Byford, Austin, Christensen, Huff, Patrick, and Slauson. Murtha has moved to the second team which showed there is some distance from the first and second teams.

Where is Brandon Johnson ? Suh looks like he may be ready for some increased playing time. He looks real good.

Nebraska is among six teams nationally to rank among the top 30 in rushing offense, passing offense and total offense. The others: Missouri, Louisville, Oregon, Arizona State and Washington State.

Nebraska ranks 10th nationally in rushing offense (224.25) after winding up 107th last season at 96.0. Again the offensive line has a lot to say about this.

Nebraska ranks No. 6 in total offense (472.50) after finishing 96th last year (320.33). The competition will get a little tougher with the Big 12 coming on but not much better.

Zac Taylor has completed 70.8 percent of his passes, and his 178.26 pass-efficiency rating ranks third nationally. He is throwing the ball as well as any QB in the country. Too bad we had to play USC. Reid from Okie State has a pass-efficiency rating of 185.1.

No receiver from NU is in the top ten in receptions or receiving yards in the Big 12. Titchener is 8th in the Big 12 in punting with a 39.4 average. We have nobody in the top eight in the Big 12 in kickoff returns.

Jim Ganz was a little shaky last week but we hope he continues to improve in future games.

Itis a sure bet the Arizona St fans would like to have Sam Keller back right now. Rudy Carpenter had four interceptions in their blowout loss last weekend.

Kansas is fourth in the Big 12 in Rushing Defense allowing only 81.8 yards a game. Nebraska will up that average this weekend.

Nebraska leads the Big 12 in total offense and is third in the Big 12 in total defense.

Predictions

COLLEGE
Nebraska 27 Kansas 10
Iowa 24 Ohio State 21
Auburn 21 South Carolina 17
Florida 21 Alabama 20
Michigan 35 Minnesota 14
Texas 45 Sam Houston St. 0
Louisville 36 Mississippi 7
LSU 39 Mississippi St 10
Kansas St 27 Baylor 17
Missouri 31 Colorado 17
Iowa St 27 N. Iowa 10
Texas A & M 27 Texas Tech 21


HIGH SCHOOL
Elwood 32 Loomis 26
Cozad 25 Holdrege 21
Millard South 27 Omaha Central 14
Lincoln East 24 Lincoln NE 14
Millard North 35 Creighton Prep 14
Hastings 23 Aurora 21
Omaha Skutt 28 Gretna 17
Ralston 21 Plattsmouth 14
Wood River 29 Adams Central 7
Chase County 38 Chadron 21
Howells 42 West Point CC 14
Clay Center 28 Hampton 21

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Sports Shorts

Kent Pavelka will broadcast the NU basketball games replacing Randy Lee. It was not mentioned if Matt Davison will still be at his side. This comes after Pinnacle Sports were bought out.

Cody Glenn has been missed after not playing the past two weeks.

The offensive line for NU played very well against Troy. The backs had some big holes to run through. Marlon Lucky's 51 yard TD was fun to watch as he made some nice moves.

Get Notre Dame out of the top 20 at least. They are very overrated.

Georgia 14 Colorado 13.......It's hard to believe there isn't parity on college football.

The Doane Tigers continue to lose....??

Silas Fluellen passes for three TD's to give Wayne State theit first win.

Chadron State is vastly improved as they go to 4-0. Danny Woodhead has four more TD's.

Why can't the US win the Ryder Cup?

Jeff Burton wins at Dover. It has been a while.....since there wasn't a burnout after the win. Great job Jeff!

Does anybody know who the World Heavyweight Boxing Champ is? It wasn't that long ago where having that title was one of the biggest achievements in sports.

NU dominated Troy because Troy had played two back to back games against Florida State and Georgia State AND because NU had a very good game. Special teams need to improve. Our punting is not the greatest, returns on punts and kickoffs need improvement and we need to kick off deeper so teams don't start with good field position. The kickoff coverage has been very good overall to compensate for the short kicks.

HS Game of the Week..... Holdrege and Cozad

College Games of the Week... Ohio State at Iowa Oregon at Arizona State

Rudy Carpenter had four interceptions this week. Do you suppose Arizona State wants Sam Keller now?

Can we improve from our 40-15 loss to Kansas last year when we play them for Homecoming this week? Hard to believe now that we lost that bad last year.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Matt Hill interview

Picture Source:Rivals.com

This article was sent to us by Cindy Hill, Matt's mother. Read to hear the latest on Matt. The interview was done by TexasSports.com.

Q&A with Matt Hill

09/21/2006

Post Matt Hill is one of seven freshmen preparing for their first season of college basketball with the Longhorns. Hill was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter at Lincoln Southeast High School (Lincoln, Neb.), where he set school career records in scoring (1,242 points), rebounds (755) and blocks (244).

He averaged 20.1 points, 12.7 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game while leading Southeast to a 20-5 mark and the Nebraska state semifinals as a senior. Hill was tabbed Mr. Basketball and the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Nebraska in his senior season.

Hill recently sat down with TexasSports.com to talk about his early impressions of Texas Basketball, the transition between high school and college and the start of individual workouts.

What are your general thoughts now that you are three weeks into fall semester classes and individual workouts? It has been a little difficult managing both school and workouts. It feels like most days you go from place to place to place with no breaks for a while. It has been an adjustment, but it's definitely teaching me the importance of managing my time.

How do you feel you are progressing on the court in the workouts? I feel pretty good about how I'm doing on the court. I'm trying to learn the system, do what the coaches tell me to and adjust to the college game.

What are the major differences you've seen to this point between high school and college basketball? Everyone is your size. The speed of the game and the individual players are a lot faster at the college level. Players are much more skilled and there is definitely more action above the rim.

What have been some of the differences between your hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska and Austin? Austin is a little more liberal. It is different than Lincoln, but I like it and it's been a good change for me. I'll always love Lincoln since it's my hometown, but I definitely have grown to like Austin a lot.

How important was it for you to come in early this summer with the rest of the freshman class? It was really important. Getting to know where all the buildings are on campus and getting adjusted to taking college classes was very helpful. It also was important to get to know the other players. Coming in cold in the fall would have been really tough. The chemistry that we built over the summer was pretty big.

Did you see any benefits from your time with (strength and conditioning coach) Todd Wright over the summer? Coach Wright knows his stuff. It's almost like he knows my body better than I do, so he is able to point out areas for improvement. Being able to work with him is really going to be big for my development. He really helped increase my flexibility and range-of-motion during the summer.

How does it make you feel to hear all the players consider you the surprise of the summer pick-up games? It does make me feel good. I knew I was under-the-radar coming in, so I didn't expect the other guys to know that much about me. I felt like I played the way I always have during the summer.

With so many new faces playing together for the first time, how would you rate the chemistry of the team right now? I think our chemistry is great. All the players get along really well. Coming in this summer helped a lot. You can tell that on the court, we are starting to get know each other's games and play well together.

Is there a difference between Coach Barnes as a recruiter and the coach you see on the court? He does bring a different demeanor once he gets on the court. He wants you to get better every time you get on the court, and I like that. But I do think he is the same guy I got to know during the recruiting process. He is pretty personal with all the players.

What's your favorite part of playing in the post? I like being able to do the dirty work. I like the feeling of outworking other guys, being physical, getting rebounds and being scrappy.

http://www.texassports.com/?s=&url_channel_id=16&url_article_id=4835&change_well_id=2

Mike Masin will be NU walkon

In the Lincoln Southeast-Lincoln East basketball game last year, this writer noticed the big kid who come in the game for Matt Hill. He could run well and was quick. His name was Matt Masin. . As a basketball player, Matt went 7-7 from the field in consecutive games.

Matt is one of the biggest kids playing high school football in Nebraska in 2006. He is 6'7" and weighs 300 lbs.

Masin was a leader for the Lincoln Southeast team. He started on both defense and offense in the line. Last year they were beaten by the state champs Millard North in the first round of the playoffs 49-0. This game was a huge disappointment but also was a building block during the summer for them to get better in 2006.

Mike will be a NU walk on this fall. Read what Mike had to say before the 2006 football season:

Favorite Game Memory:

"Beating Lincoln Northeast last season"

Best Athlete You Have Played Against:

"Zach Potter"

Best Team You have Played Against and the Year:

"Millard North 2005"

Favorite Team (Pro and College):

"Nebraska"

Favorite Player:

"Kurt Mann"

Colleges Interested in You:

"Iowa State, Kansas, Ohio, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas State, Colorado State, Nebraska, UN-Kearney"

College(s) You Are Interested In:

"Iowa State, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado State"

PERSONAL

Who Is Your Favorite Movie Actor:

"Will Ferrell"

What Is Your Favorite Movie:

"Talledega Nights"

What Is Your Favorite TV Show:

"The Daily Show"

Which Person Would You Like To Be Like:

"Will Shields"

What Are Your Hobbies:

"Music and my farm"

What Is Important For You To Be Successful:

"Work Hard"

At the Louisiana Tech/NU game last fall,Jake Gdowski and Masin were together visiting. This writer motioned over Jake and in visiting with him, he was asked about Masin. Jake said "he is really nice guy and a good football player!" He was the biggest recruit visiting that day.

We wish Mike the best of luck at Nebraska and will be looking forward to following his progress in the coming seasons.

Thanks for providing us with this information.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Matt May

Picture Source:Rivals.com


C-1 #2 ranked Chase County has rolled over their opponents this fall. They are 3-0 with wins over Perkins County (41-0), Hershey (49-0) and Kimball (66-8) They are led my Mike May, a standout running back and linebacker.

Last year Matt ran for 1700 yards, had 177 receiving yards, and 28 touchdowns. On defense he had 130 tackles with 2 interceptions.

Luke Pinkelman, of Cozad, rated Matt May as the "Best Athlete He Has Played Against".

Here is what Matt had to say in his questionaire:

Favorite Game Memory:

"Beating Cozad on a last second field goal"

Best Athlete You Have Played Against:

"Eric Pieper-Norfolk Catholic"

Favorite Team (Pro and College):

"Indianapolis Colts, Miami Hurricanes"

Favorite Player:

"Walter Payton, Present-A.J Hawk"

Colleges Interested in You:

"University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Ohio, South Dakota State, Iowa, UNO, Colorado State, Iowa State"

College(s) You Are Interested In:

"Same"

PERSONAL

What Are Your Favorite Book:

"Crunch Time-Jim Grassi"

Who Is Your Favorite Movie Actor:

"Will Ferrell"

What Is Your Favorite Movie:

"Friday Night Lights"

What Is Your Favorite TV Show:

"My Name is Earl, The Colbert Report"

Which Person Would You Like To Be Like:

"Steve Carell"

What Are Your Hobbies:
"Lake Activities, watching movies"

What Is Important For You To Be Successful:

"Work hard, play for the right reasons, use my teammates"

Matt is 6'1" and weighs 185 lbs. He thinks he will play safety or cornerback in college. He will make an outstanding addition to whatever college he attends. He benches 300 lbs. and squats 600 lbs. He runs the 40 in 4.5 and has a 32 inch vertical jump.

We wish Matt well and will follow his progress as the year goes. Chase County should battle Norfolk Catholic in the finals in C-1 if everything goes as they should.

One interesting point is Hershey is ahead of Chase County in wildcard points 48 to 45 but Chase County beat them 49-0.

Thanks Matt for providing us with your information.






Monday, September 18, 2006

Not embarrassed against the Trojans


Two years ago we lost to Texas Tech 70-10. Last year we lost to Kansas 40-15. Last Saturday we went against USC at the Coliseum in LA. We lost 28-10. WE played hard and we played smart overall.

Bill Callahan and staff went with a game plan that if we would have had a couple of breaks in the 4th quarter, we might have been in a position to win. So why all the fuss about we didn't play to win. If we would have come out throwing on every play which is what the quick and fast USC team wanted us to do, the score might have been 65-20 and we would have been out of the game in the first quarter.

We had a couple of passes we could have picked off for TD's which would have been the break we needed. We had a Lucky fumble that was crucial. We had a 15 yard penalty after a 20 yard run by Wilson. It seemed we had the momentum at that point. But they played hard.

We had them confused on defense until they threw the pass to a receiver on the line of scrimmage and then another received blocked the CB and the receiver ran for a number of yards. They ran this play a few times and were successful. When we had to cover this play, it opened up a number of opportunites for USC. Their passing game opened up and was successful. But even then with a couple of breaks we could have won. Should we have won, no, but we were given a chance because of the game plan.

Basketball teams didn't try to run against the old UNLV teams cause that would have played right into their game. When Lucky was caught from behind by a 260 lb linebacker you knew they had a bunch of skilled players.

USC is darn good and I think they will have a good chance to end up #1. Jarrett and Smith will catch a lot of balls in the NFL. They have five or six defensive players who may star in the NFL. John David Booty can play in the NFL.

Think about all the criticism given to Callahan and his staff. They spend 18 hours a day studying football and they have a staff that is as good as any in college football. I guess it is everybody's right to say what we should have done to win the game. Most of the critics never played football but they now know more than a coach that has taken a team to the Super Bowl. This writer believes we did the best thing for us to win.

We have a really tough game coming this Saturday and we will need to be at the top of our game to win. Then on to the Big 12 and the run to the champioship game. Should be fun and have faith in the players and coaches!

Let us know how you feel about the game plan with USC and the rest of the season outlook.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Matt Donahue

Picture Source:Rivals.com
Fremont High School has one of the finest receivers and defensive backs in Nebraska high school this year. He is Matt Donahue. Recruiters are impressed with his 6'2" 170 lb. frame and his speed.

Fremont is 1-2 this season with all the games being close. Against Lincoln NE, Matt finished with three receptions for 94 yards, including a 59-yard TD reception. Matt also had three interceptions.

Here is what Matt had to say in our questionaire.

Favorite Game Memory:

"My junior year against North Platte or beating Lincoln Southwest my sophmore year"

Best Athlete You Have Played Against:
"John Fisher-Lincoln Northeast"

Best Team You have Played Against and the Year:

"Kearney"

Favorite Team (Pro and College):
"Tampa Bay, Huskers"

Favorite Player:

"Chad Johnson"

Colleges Interested in You:

"Colorado State, Kansas, Nebraska, Kansas State, Vanderbilt, Iowa St., Illinois, South Dakota St., Northern Iowa"

College(s) You Are Interested In:
"Don't know yet"

PERSONAL

What Are Your Favorite Books:

"Comedy"

Who Is Your Favorite Movie Actor:

"Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn"

What Is Your Favorite Movie:
"Wedding Crashers"

What Is Your Favorite TV Show:
"Sports Center"

Which Person Would You Like To Be Like:
"Michael Jordon-He is an all-around good guy"

What Are Your Hobbies:

"Playing catch with a football"

What Is Important For You To Be Successful:
"My grades"


Matt had 734 yards receiving and four interceptions in 2005. After only two games in 2006 he has four interceptions and 300 yards receiving.

Matt benches 215 lbs. and squats 315 lbs. He has a 4.48 40 time and has a vertical jump of 36 inches.

Matt averaged 21.8 yards a catch, with eight touchdowns in 2005. He tested well in the camps he attended this summer. Watch his progress this year and see if the Fremont Tigers can make it to the playoffs.

Thanks Matt for sending this information!

Wild scores

College

Iowa 27 Iowa St 17

Michigan St 38 Pittsburgh 23

#4 Auburn 7 #6 LSU 3

#2 Notre Dame get clobbered by Michigan This game was at Notre Dame For most teams this would knock them out of the Top 20 or so. I am sure ND will still be rated high.

#15 Oklahoma gets beat by Oregon in a wild one. Oklahoma had it won and then lost in the closing minutes.

#13 Tennessee lost to Florida

Texas Tech was beaten by TCU

Nebraska High School
Franklin 30 Cambridge 6 You have to look at that one for a while. Hard to believe. Franklon 3-0 and Cambridge 1-2

Millard South 27 Kearney 17 Omaha World-Herald's #1 Kearney gets its first loss. Millard South has beaten then #1 Millard North also.

Lincoln Southwest 24 Omaha North 23 The game of the week as Austin Cassidy hit Micah Fisher with a 76 yard TD pass late in the game. Omaha North has QB Philip Bates (Iowa State) and Niles Paul (Nebraska). They connected for two TD's.

Lincoln East 27 Omaha Benson 7 QB Ebke scores four times.

Ralston 27 Beatrice 20 OT

Millard North 21 Millard West 14 OT #4 MN beats #8 MW to go to 3-1.

#1 McCook 21 # Aurora 0 Kansas St recruit Josh Cherry ran for two touchdowns and throws for one.

Hastings beats Holdrege 23-17 in OT Holdrege had the lead 17-10 late in the game.

Lincoln SE beats #10 Creighton Prep 14-7 Souteast is playing better ball.

C-2 #2 Creighton 3 #10 Wakefield 8

8 Man-1 #5 Axtell 19 #4 Overton 15

8-Man-2 Clarkson 32 #2 Dodge 6

Anselmo-Merna 22 #4 Sargent 0

Saturday, September 16, 2006

USC 28 NU 10

Nebraska played the top team in the nation tonight and gave a great effort. USC had the better talent but things could have been different if........

1. Andre Jones would have intercepted the pass in the second half. He had an easy trip to the end zone.

2. Marlon Lucky's fumble gave USC excellent field position and later they score a TD.

3. Cody Glenn's running would have helped as our success would have been from power vs speed tonight. USC was very quick and fast.

4. NU would have went to the pass more frequently and earlier in the game. It appeared we were trying to stay in the game by eliminating an huge turnovers and wait for some breaks to get us the lead. In the second half most of the breaks went to USC.

USC will have three or four players in the first round of the draft next year.

Danny Woodhead ran for four TD's and 324 yards as Chadron State upended Wayne State.

Joe Dailey did not play for North Carolina today and Josh freeman did not play for Kansas State.

The Big 12 is not a power this year. Five or six teams from the MAC Conference could play in the Big 12 and be very competitive.

Florida St and Miami (Fla) are down this year.

Top five college teams are 1) USC 2) Ohio St 3)Michigan 4)Auburn 5)Florida One team from the Pac-10, two from the Big 10 and two from the SEC.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Eric Love

Picture Source: Eric Love
Eric Love's most memorable game was in the playoffs last year. Sounds like it could be made into a movie, it is so amazing. Read below to see what he had to say.

The Cozad Haymakers went to 2-0 Friday with a win over No. 6 Scottsbluff at Scottsbluff 22-16. Eric scored an 11-yard run with 2:11 remaining in the game to give Cozad the win. He had 99 yards rushing. The previous week they beat Gothenburg 34-0.

Eric is a 5'9" 185 lb. running back. He benches 270 and squats 390. He has run a 4.56 40 and has a vertical jump of 30 inches.

In 2005, his junior year, Eric ran for 2015 yards and had one reception. He had 58 tackles and four interceptions of which he returned two for touchdowns of 40 and 50 yards.

Here is what Eric had to say in the questionaire:

Favorite Game Memory:

"Set a NSAA state single game post season rushing record against Kearney Catholic in the 2nd round of last year's playoffs. 33 carries for 445 yards. Went to the hospital at halftime for an IV. Scored four touchdowns in the game. First half I had 274 yards rushing and two touchdown runs of 19 yards and 94 yards. Second half I had 171 yards rushing and two touchdowns of 82 yards and 3 yards."

Favorite Team (Pro and College):

"Cowboys, Nebraska"

Favorite Player:

"Emmitt Smith"

Colleges Interested in You:

"Princeton, Colorado School of Mines, University of Nebraska, Omaha, South Dakota State, University of South Dakota, Chadron State College"

College(s) You Are Interested In:

"UNL, UNO, Colorado School of Mines, South Dakota State, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Colorado State"


PERSONAL

What Are Your Favorite Books:

"None"

Who Is Your Favorite Movie Actor:

"Will Ferrell"

What Is Your Favorite Movie:

"Animal House"

What Is Your Favorite TV Show:

"Myth Busters"

Which Actor Would You Like To Be Like:

"None"

What Are Your Hobbies:

"Hanging out with friends, snowmobiling, playing tennis, playing my guitar"

What Is Important For You To Be Successful:

"Dedication and hard work in the weightroom and in the classroom"

Eric Love is a returning All-Stater this year. It looks like Cozad will be in the playoffs even though they have moved up to Class B. We wish you well this year.

Thanks for providing your information.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Chadron State 35 Montana State 24

Last week-Montana State 19 Colorado 10 The team that beat Colorado gets beat by Chadron State the following week. Just shows how wacky this season has become already. Chadron looks to be vastly improved.

Kansas State 45 Florida Atlantic 0 Josh Freeman goe 0-4 in passing with one interception. Too bad

Florida St. 24 Troy 17 Suppose Nebraska is looking past USC to Troy. Just kidding.

Kansas 21 Louisiana -Monroe 16 Is the Big 12 down that much this year. The Warhawks (whatever that is) had 453 total yards to Kansas's 360.

Ohio State 24 Texas 7 Ohio State is now clearly #1

I-AA New Hampshire 34 Northwestern 17 Wow! Parity in football is here.

Steve Octavien had six tackles today. His Blackshirt is on "pause" due to academic issues.

Buffalo 40 Bowling Green 48 2 OT's

Ohio 35 Northern Illinois 23

Maurice Purify caught his first TD pass today. He will have many more.

Friday, September 08, 2006

LUKE PINKELMAN

Picture Source:Rivals. Com

Cozad defeated Class B #6 Scottsbluff on Friday to go 2-0. Cozad is for real in Class B and one of the main reasons is Luke Pinkelman. Pinkelman plays offensive guard. At the Colorado St. football camp this summer he impressed their coaches. Many colleges are watching his progress this season.

Pinkelman also is a great shot putter. He won the Kansas Relays this spring with a throw of over 62'. He is talented to the level where he may be a two-sport participant at whatever college he attends.

Luke is 6'3" and weighs 275 lbs. He benches 410 and squats 530 lbs. He has ran the 40 in 5.07 and has a vertical jump of 27 inches. Luke has broke some of Chris Dishman's lifting records at Cozad.

In addition to Pinkelman, Nebraska commit Jared Crick and standout Eric Love also play for Cozad.

Here is what Luke had to say in our questionaire:

Favorite Game Memory:

"Playoffs against Kearney Catholic"

Best Athlete You Have Played Against:

"Matt May-Imperial"

Favorite Team (Pro and College):

"Minnesota Vikings"

Favorite Player:

"Dan Marino"

Colleges Interested in You:

"Colorado State, Nebraska, Northwest Missouri State, Ohio, Iowa State, Oregon, Kansas, South Dakota State, Wyoming, Chadron State"

College(s) You Are Interested In:

"Nebraska, Northwest Missouri State, Iowa State, Colorado State, Chadron State, Oregon"

Are there other sports in College you would like to participate in:

"Track"

PERSONAL

What are your favorite books:

"Where the Red Fern Grows"

Who is Your Favorite Actor:

"Owen Wilson"

What is Your Favorite Movie:

"Friday Night Lights"

What is Your Favorite TV Show:

"ESPN"

What Actor Would You Like To Be Like:

"Owen Wilson"

What Are Your Hobbies:

"Hunting and Fishing"

What is Important For You To Be Successful:

"To work hard, have goals, and to have character"

Luke will have to decide between Division I football and track or both. He is a very talented individual. He will be a major contributor to the Cozad Haymakers this year and they should go far into the playoffs. We hope you have a great year in football and track.

Thank you for sharing your information with us.



ALEX STOVER

Picture Source:Rivals.com
The Gretna High School Dragons had a player verbally commit to a Division I school this week. He is Alex Stover, a standout offensive/defensive lineman and he will be playing for the Wyoming Cowboys next year. Alex is a three year starter on both offense and defense for Gretna. Alex plays guard and tackle on offense and noseguard and tackle on defense.

The 6'2" 260 lb. star will play in the defensive line for the Cowboys. He likes defense because it is more aggresive. Wyoming was attractive because it he likes to fish and hunt and he really likes the campus.

Alex benches 295 lbs. and squats 450 lbs. He has a vertical jump of 27". He ran a 4.87 at the Nebraska camp this summer.

Alex is one of five returning starting linemen for Gretna this year and they have high hopes to go a long way in the playoffs. He is a returning all-stater in Class B.

Here is what Alex had to say from our questionaire.

Favorite Game Memory:

"Winning"

Best Athlete You Have Played Against:

"Wayland Latham and Cole Brunner"

Editor note: Cole Brunner, from Elkhorn Mt. Michael is playing for the Ohio Bobcats this year. Wayland Latham played for Omaha Skutt and was also a standout wrestler.

Favorite Team (Pro and College):

"Broncos"

Favorite Player:

"Terrel Davis"

Colleges Interested in You:

"Iowa, Iowa State, South Dakota State, Colorado State, Wyoming, Kansas, and Kansas State"

College(s) You Are Interested In:

"Wyoming"

Personal

What Are Your Favorite Books:

"Any Louis L' Amour or Gary Paulsen books"

Who Is Your Favorite Movie Actor:

"Vin Diesel"

What Is Your Favorite Movie:

"Gone in 60 Seconds"

What Is Your Favorite TV Show:

"Law and Order, CSI"

What Are Your Hobbies:

"Hunting, fishing, outdoors, cars, friends, and family"

What Is Important For You To Be Successful:

"So I look back and know I made an impact. A difference"

Wyoming coach Joe Glenn feels he can make a difference for them in the next couple of years too. Good luck to Alex this year in doing well in the playoffs.

Thank you for completing the questionaire!


Wednesday, September 06, 2006

NOAH KELLER

Picture Source:Rivals.com

Class A top ranked Kearney has two outstanding linebackers that are as good as pair in high school football in Nebraska this year. One is Joey Rousseau. The other is Noah Keller. Scout.com says this about Noah. "Keller ranks as the top linebacker prospect in Nebraska in 2006. As a junior, in nine games, he recorded 121 tackles (48 solo), 10 tackles for loss, two sacks, and one interception. "

Noah is 6'1" and weighs 225 lbs. He benches 330 lbs and squats 600 lbs. He runs the 40 in 4.6 and has a vertical jump of 37 inches. Allen Bradford, the five-star recruit that went to USC in the 2006 recruiting class, had a vertical jump of 29 inches.

In 2005, Keller had 306 yards rushing as a fullback and 147 yards receiving. Keller and Rousseau both can become Kearney's all-time tackler with app 100 tackles this year. They were tied at the beginning of the year.

As a junior Keller won the all-class gold medal with a throw of 62' 31/4" at the Nebraska State Track meet.

We received Noah's questionaire and here is what he had to say.

Favorite Game Memory:

"Shutting out Millard West, then the #1 ranked team in the state, 24-0."
"Winning the State Class A and All-Class shotput this last May at the Nebraska State Track meet"

Best Athlete You Have Played Against:

"Zach Potter"

Favorite Team (Pro and College):

"San Fransisco 49-ers and Virginia Tech Hokies"

Favorite Player:

"Lawrence Taylor"

Colleges Interested in You:

"Colorado State, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio plus many others"

College(s) You Are Interested In:

"Same as above"


Personal

What Is Your Favorite Books:

"Bleachers , By John Grisham"

Who Is Your Favorite Movie Actor:

"Will Ferrell"

What Is Your Favorite Movie:

"Friday Night Lights"

What Is Your Favorite TV Show:

"Family Guy"

Which Actor Would You Like To Be Like:

"Samuel L. Jackson"

What Are Your Hobbies:

"Football, hanging with friends, and paintball"

What Is Important For You To Be Successful:

"Grades"

Noah was picked as one of the "Super Six" players in Nebraska this year by the Omaha World-Herald. Noah has been offered Division I scholarships by Colorado State and Ohio. He would look great in a Nebraska uniform. Good luck in picking your school.

Thank you Noah for completing the questionaire!

Monday, September 04, 2006

Sports shorts

Former Husker Drew Anderson, of Kearney, has now played in 13 games with AAA Nashville. He is batting 301 with three doubles, one triple, five RBIs, and 12 runs.

Alex Gordon is batting 325 with 29 HRs and 97 RBIs.

Ben Roethlisberger had an emergency appendectomy and will miss the opener. He was not wearing a helmut during the surgery.

Doc Sadler's brother Pedro has said that the NU practices will be unlike any we have seen before. Most of the practices will be open to the public.

The NFL season starts in three days.

Who is the best running back for NU? They are all good. Brandon Jackson had the run of the day on his touchdown. Kenny Wilson had a great run for a TD but it was called back. Glenn ran really well shoeing power and speed. Marlon Lucky showed a lot of power vs last year.

The offensive line seemed to work best when Nicks, Slauson, Patrick, Austin, Huff, Christensen, and Mann were in the rotation. They are improved this year.

The loss of Philip Dillard will be felt. He was having a sensational game before his injury. With his loss, Lance Bradenburgh moves over to back up McKeon at middle linebacker and Clayton Sievers moves behind Stewart Bradley. Sievers played tight end Saturday also.

With the loss of Isaiah Fluellen, backup to Cortney Grisby, Titus Brother or Corey Young or Anthony West will need to stepup to a backup roll. Corey Young is a true freshman from Millard North. Anthony West is also a true Freshman. Seems like we have ten receivers that are excellent but the secondary backups are good but young.

There is celebration in Orleans, Beaver City, and Oxford as Southern Valley beat Cambridge 21-0. This is the first time since they consolidated in 1995.

Ratings here are: Class A #1 Lincoln Southwest #2 Millard South #3 Omaha Westside #4 Millard North #5 Kearney

Class B #1 Omaha Skutt #2 Elkhorn #3 McCook

The Kansas City Royals are now competitive and fun to watch.

One last race to the Chase. Kasey Kayne is only 30 points from the top ten. The next race is Richmond Saturday night. What a track for the final race. Anything can happen.

Surprise College football scores.......Montana State 19 Colorado 10...Rutgers 21 North Carolina 16 Joe Dailey actually had a good game hitting 67% of his passes for 234 yards and one touchdown. He had two interceptions but the last one on the final drive was caused by the receiver not continuing his pattern. ............Oklahoma 24 UAB 17......Kansas State 24 Illinois State 23 Josh Freeman did not play ........Iowa State 45 Toledo 43

Nebraska High School football

Brad Hartzog, who officiated at the Overton-Kenesaw game was impressed with Andy McCarter and Joel Hodgson. McCarter had 2 rushing T.D.'s. One for 60 yards and the other 55 yards. Hodgson had 3 T.D.'s. First was 4 yards, second was 1 yard and third was 39 yards. Overton won 35-6.

Jake Gdowski who attended the Nebraska game said that Jim Ebke of Lincoln East was "an impressive player". Ebke threw for 180 yards and three toughdowns and had 98 yards rushing and a touchdown in the 35-7 win over Grand Island.

Lincoln Southwest, who this writer rates #1 in Class A, was led by Austin Cassidy who ran for 219 yards from his QB position.

Jordon Langer of Lincoln Christian had 329 yards rushing and five touchdowns. Casey Hauptman of Millards North had 257 yards passing and two touchdowns. Yes, Coach Fred Petito must be passing more this year. Tyler Vandament, from Bellevue West had 170 yards receiving and three touchdowns. Tyler's grandparents are from Holdrege. Niles Paul, the Husker recruit, had 165 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

Surprise scores of the week.......C-2 #10 Amherst 0 Ravenna 41 Class B #1 Beatrice 13-#4Elkhorn 28 8 Man-2 #4 Falls City SH 32 NC Lourdes 50

Lincoln Southwest plays Lincoln Southeast this week. Standouts Ollie Sloup and Austin Cassidy will lead the favorite Southwest team against SE.

Elkhorn plays at Gretna this week in a game that means a lot every year in Class B. Lineman Alex Stover leads Gretna this year. Kevin Thomsen of Elkhorn has had offers from Wyoming and Colorado State.

In C-1 #10 Auburn plays Ashland-Greenwood who is rated 7th in a big game. Two-time 1000 yard rusher Luke Lundy plays for Auburn.

Kearney Catholic plays Hastings St Cecelia. Kearney Catholic is rated #8. Clay Center goes to #2 in EM-1 Bruning-Davenport. Clay Center is #1 in EM-2. Bruning-Davenport is the returning champion and has Cory Voss, a linebacker, and Preston Lentler, a lineman, who are standouts.

Also in EM-2 action, Mullen plays at #6 Sargent. Jacob Davenport had 39 TD's and 2,314 yards rushing in 2005. They also have LB Ian Cox who is a defensive standout.

Go to a game and enjoy!!!!!