FOX News

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Lots of racing today!

It was kind of exciting watching Ashley Judd running to her husband after he won the Indy 500 today. Dario Franchitti wins his second Indy 500.

What a cool name Will Power is. He let today for a lap or so.

Albert Puhols hit three homers today. He's awesome and the best there is.

What's the deal with the Kansas City Royals hitting when Zach Greinke pitches. Yesterday they got beat 1-0. Friday night the Royals had 12 runs. He is 1-7 and should be 7-1.

Remember those that have lost their lives so that we can live in freedom. Happy Memorial Day!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Will we join the Big 10?

Nobody of power has said anything. Mostly the press has taken this whole story to a new level. Is it a possibility? Yes.

As a fan, the first thing I think of is how the match-ups will be. I mostly think of football. This is the biggest thing going at Nebraska most of the time. I wonder if this would even be talked about before the new coaching staff was hired and we saw success in the program again.

How would it be not playing Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas in football? This is assuming Missouri goes to the Big 10 also. It may take a few years for our football team to be playing these teams in non-conference games if we leave the Big 12. They could sort of boycott us. Who knows.

It would be exciting to play Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan St., Notre Dame(if they join the Big 10), and Penn State. Of course there would have to be two divisions for this to work out. We may not play each of those teams every year. There would also be Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Purdue, Northwestern, and Wisconsin.

The Big 10 plays a different brand of football. They play tough defense and mostly run first, pass second on offense. Games are many times 17-14 or low scoring of some sort. We won't see the 56-44 games that we see in the Big 12. That is unless they change their offenses and go different areas for faster and quicker recruits.

Right now we can drive to a Kansas, Kansas State, Misssouri, or Colorado game. If we go to the Big 12, we would probably drive to an Iowa game and Missouri game if they would join. Otherwise you are flying somewhere. Flights to Chicago are available so if you get that far, you can rent a car and get to a lot of the Big 10 schools but it will take special travel plans.

Now to men's basketball. I think Nebraska could be more competitive in the Big 10. We'll have to step it up a notch but Nebraska won't have to play Kansas or Texas as often. The Big 12 is arguably the top conference in basketball in the nation. The Big 10 is competitive but hasn't had the power teams the past few years. With Texas down this past year both the Big 10 and Big 12 had four ranked teams.

In women's basketball the Big 12 is the best conference in America with seven teams being ranked last year. The Big 10 had two.

In volleyball, Penn St. has been a power the past few years. As a conference the Big 12 may be a little stronger but the Big 10 would be very competitive.

Baseball? I think kids want to play in the Big 12. Lots of talent and probably the best conference in most years from top to bottom.

AS I said in a previous message, the Big 12 is a very strong conference and to save it they need to market itself better. Texas has to stop acting like a bully and work more with the rest of the league, especially the North schools.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

New arena and the Big 10 conference!

It's a great day for the state of Nebraska. The new arena that was approved for Lincoln should add a great venue for Nebraska to attend events for many years to come. Traveling from Holdrege to Lincoln takes only two and half hours. We could be talking NCAA men and women's basketball tournaments of significance, top entertainers, and possibly even a Final Four in Lincoln. The sky is the limit. Nebraskans don't have a lot of top venues to watch these type of events. I would rather travel to Lincoln vs. Omaha just because of the less travel time.

The first year of basketball will be 2013-14. Some of the basketball players with four years of eligibility will get to play in the new arena. How exciting. One of the attraction is that after the game, you will have the opportunity to go eat and enjoy your time vs. the present situation of finding another place to park after you leave Devaney. This should be great for Lincoln. This will be great for Nebraskans.

Sounds like Bob Devaney will stay, at least for a while. The University needs this complex for track, swimming, and basketball practices. It was stated today that the University will spend $20 million for improvements. Parking is one need that will be improved.

The rumors are that Nebraska has been asked to join the Big 10 to make it the Big 14 or 15. Missouri, Nebraska, Rutgers, and Notre Dame were rumored to be the four teams of interest. Both Nebraska and the Big 10 deny the rumors. This whole thing gives the press an fans something to talk about. Next week there will be new rumors.

If it is true, should Nebraska go to the Big Ten Conference? I am a traditionalist and I don't care for change. The Big 12 and SEC are the main conferences in the Big 12. What happens if Texas would go to the SEC? I am not sure, but it would hurt the status of the Big 12. That's a question, if answered, would make the decision to move much easier.

The Big 10's status, in my opinion has dropped in basketball and football the past several years. Would we be making an improvement by moving to them? Yes, it is said that we could make another $5 to $10 million in TV income annually with the Big 10. How about the Big 12 getting with it and get better TV deals. They are a much superior conference in talent.

Nebraska would be hurt in football and possibly in basketball in recruiting. Texas has become a main area of recruiting and relationships have been built but what happens when NU is not on TV in Texas much anymore? How will recruiting be? Realistically, our main area of recruiting will be where the kids can see us on TV and that is in the Big 10 cities. Maybe we can play a bigger role in Ohio and Pennsylvania in recruiting. Hard to know.

I hope the Big 12 can market themselves better and improve the TV revenue. They need to get a long-term commitment from the key schools Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Nebraska. I am sure there is a debate as to who the key schools are but these four teams would make a great nucleus. The Big 12 has to take advantage of what they already have. There is no need to go somewhere else.