FOX News

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Nebraska women roll over Illinois by 20!

The Nebraska women are second in the Big 10 now and improved their record to 17-3. Nebraska was led by Lindsey Moore with 20 points and Emily Cady with 17.

Madonna will do halftime show at Super Bowl!

Remember 2004 when we had the slip at halftime with Janet Jackson? Since then we have had the old school come in and perform like Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones. Even the Black Eyed Peas didn't work out too well. But I think Madonna will be the best in a while.

Victoria Azarenka won the Austalian Open in tennis and is the new number one player. Remember that name.

I wish I would have known Victor Cruz should be drafted. Never heard of him really until this year. Cruz is a second year player from UMASS. The Giants have some great receivers in Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, and Victor Cruz. They will make Eli Manning look good.

Miami is still the best in the NBA. Oklahoma City and Chicago have the best records presently but look to Miami at the end.

Towson is no longer riding a 41 game losing streak with a win over UNC Wilmington on Saturday.

Iowa St. knocked off Kansas on Saturday. WOW!

The Minnesota Golden Golphers were down three with four seconds to go and beat Illinois in overtime. They have won four of their last five games and play in Lincoln next Sunday.

This is a big week for the future of Nebraska football. Whether Andrus Peat signs with Nebraska or goes with Stanford or USC or possibly Florida St is huge. This kid is good and he has a great chance to start for the Huskers next year. He is that good.

Nebraska goes to Northwestern this Thursday toplay. Northwestern is a NCAA bubble team right now so this game will be huge for both teams. This is a big determining week for the Huskers.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Big 10 is very strong in 2012!


The Pomeroy Ratings show Ohio St. as Number 1. Wisconsin is rated 3rd, Michigan St. is 4th, and Indiana 11th. The Big 10 is the top conference is the nation right now.

In comparison the always strong Big 12 has Kansas at Number 2, Michigan 8th, and Baylor 9th.

Nebraska is 122nd, by the way, but has improved from the 140's earlier. The only team in the Big 10 rated lower is Penn St. at 133. Iowa is at 110 but Nebraska beat them on their home court in their last game.

Probably the most exciting recruit is Dorial Green-Beckham from Springfield, Missouri. He is a five start wide receiver who has stayed tight lipped as to where he is going. He has a list of five schools. They are Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Arkansas. That's quite a list.

Former Rutgers coach Greg Schlano is the new Tampa Bay Bucs coach. Will he be another college coach who fails in the Pros. Those like Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, Bobby Petrino and others didn't make it. Schlano's motto is TBA-Trust, Belief, and Accountability.

Former Texas A & M coach Mike Sherman is the new offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins.

Jim Harbaugh is Sporting News Coach of the Year in the NFL. Well deserved.

Some Big 10 players struggled somewhat at the Senior Bowl during practice. Russell Wilson had a touchdown pass today but he measured only 5'11" and this could hurt his NFL chances. Mike Brewster, the center from Ohio State, struggled in practice most of the time. Nebraska's Alfonso Dennard also struggled and now with a hip flexor injury, he will have to do well in the combine.

Roy Oswalt is probably headed to the St. Louis Cardinals. Should make them stronger. The loss of Pujois will be hard to overcome however.


Thursday, January 26, 2012

Huskers beat Iowa

The Nebraska men won a big game in Iowa City tonight versus the Hawkeye 79-73. Big win!! Brandon Richardson was back to his form a couple of years ago scoring 25 points.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Sport shorts

Nebraska plays Iowa at Iowa tomorrow night. Should be a very close game. Nebraska is projected to have a 13-16 record right now. They have to win more than that and be above .500 to play so that makes the game tomorrow that more important. Iowa will be favored in this game by two or three points.

Nebraska will need to beat Iowa both times they play them this year and also knock Minnesota or a couple of others to get to the NIT.

Ohio State is ahead of Penn State right now 65-44. Ohio State is the best team in the nation.

Word is that Alfonso Dennard got beat in practice at the Senior Bowl practice. Hopefully he can improve play is the practice and game will play big in where he gets drafted.

My interest in the NBA is been determined by the Nebraska players in the league. Right now it is hard to get excited. Hopefully we will have somebody soon playing again in the NBA. It may be a few years away.

The recruit that excites me is Jordan Westerkamp, a receiver out of Illinois. I really think this kid has a chance to start where Brandon Kinnie left off last year. The trouble is where do you put Jamal Turner.

I really hope Andrus Peat will commit to Nebraska. I can see him starting at left tackle next year. With true sophomore Tyler Moore at right tackle we would have two young great players in the lineup.

Urban Meyer will make Ohio State a power. They can't go to a bowl next year but they will be pretty good. Michigan is on the rise also with Brady Hoke as their coach. Look to the Michigan-Ohio State game being a huge game for national prominence in the years to come.

Will Missouri be able to recruit their Texas players in the future with them now in the SEC. It will be tougher for sure. Nebraska has found that out somewhat.

Back to NU men's basketball....Brandon Richardson is 3rd in the Big 10 in steals. Nebraska is #95 and Iowa #107 in the RPI rating. In the last five years Nebraska has 99 win and Iowa 77.

Look to Nebraska to win 59-58 at Iowa tomorrow.

Danica Patrick will skip the Indy 500 to race in Nascar's Coca-Cola 600.


Saturday, January 21, 2012

Nebraska faces best team in the nation today!

Ohio State is the best team in the nation with the best player in the nation, Jared Sullinger. Sullinger is Charles Barkley size and ever bit as good. He's only a sophomore. He's be an All-Star in the NBA. They also have DeShaun Thomas and William Buford. They will probably find themselves in the NBA also. Needless to say Nebraska has their hands full in Lincoln tonight.

But the Huskers are playing greta ball right now. I am not sure how they won the other night versus Indiana but it was a huge rush at the game when the buzzer went off and Nebraska was leading 70-69. The Huskers played very well in the crutch. Dylan Talley, a junior, played a key role in the win as well as Brian Diaz who made two free throws in the final seconds.

As we saw last Wednesday, anything can happen. Nebraska is good enough to win if they play a perfect game.

However I see the game Ohio State 67 Nebraska 53.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Nebraska plays Indiana in men's basketball!

Indiana has been one of the elite programs in college basketball for many years. They are like Nebraska in football. They have won National Championships, five in all. They have won 20 Big 10 championships!

Their coach is Tom Crean. Crean is in his fourth year as head coach and was at Marquette prior to that. Crean is married to Joani Harbaugh and her brothers are John and Jim Harbaugh. Both the brothers are still in the NFL playoffs!

Nebraska is much improved and will give Indiana a ride for a while.

Indiana 58 Nebraska 50

Monday, January 16, 2012

Magic With Pigeons

Husker men's basketball comes close.

Nebraska was in it until the end with great defense but lost by five points to Wisconsin on Sunday. It appears that the NU team is going to be competitive from here on out. The Husker women look lost for the first time in the Big 10 to Penn State.

The 2012 tight ends for the Huskers look good. Kyle Reed, Ben Cotton and Jake Long are all back. Hopefully Reed can become a pass catching threat in 2012 again.

Nebraska has offered junior quarterback J. T. Barrett a scholarship for the 2013 recruiting class. He is from Wichita Falls, Texas. As a junior, Barrett rushed for 1,515 yards and seven TD's while throwing for 1,600 yards and 14 more scores. He had seven inerceptions but completed 70% of his passes.

Nebraska is looking for a time to honor Frank Solich. That would be great!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Kiss the bottle with Danile Radcliff on SNL January 2012

Kristen Wiig does Funny Target Lady on SNL with Danile Radcliffe

Nebraska men's basketball closer this time!

Nebraska was beaten 64-40 the last time it played Wisconsin. The game was in Lincoln. This time it is in Wisconsin. I attended the last game and it wasn't much fun.

Nebraska has some new life. Brian Diaz and Dylen Talley are back playing. This has made a big difference. They have to stay healthy for Nebraska to have a respectable season.

Wisconsin is a very disciplined team and is well coached. They like to slow down the pace and play an efficient offensive game along with great defense. They are very good at it.

Nebraska will have to speed up the game this time and force the pace to have a chance.

They should stay in the game for a while. They will have shoot very well and this time Wisconsin will have to shoot poorly. The last game was the other way around. It is likely that Wisconsin will shoot ok so it is unlikely Nebraska can win this game. Very unlikely. But this game should reflect the improved Nebraska team and it should be much closer.

Prediction: Wisconsin 63 Nebraska 50.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Now that's what we are talking about!

Kudos to the NU men's basketball team for their first win in the Big 10. They did it in fine fashion breaking out early with the lead and never giving it up. The Huskers won 70-58. The return of Diaz and Talley make the Huskers a whole different team. Bo Spencer led the Huskers with 19 followed by Toney McCray with 13 but it was Diaz's play underneath that made the difference. Diaz scored four points and had five rebounds. The Husker's record goes to 9-7.

Bill Callahan is now the offensive line coach with the Dallas Cowboys.

The Nebraska women play at Wisconsin tonight. They are having a pretty darn good season with a 14-1 record. They ar 3-0 in the Big 10. Jordon Hooper leads in scoring with a 20.0 average. Wisconsin is 5-11 and 1-3 in the Big 10.

Holdrege High's Taylor Jurgens tied the school record with 10 steals against Broken Bow and then hitthe game clinching free throws against Southern Valley last weekend.

Thursday, January 05, 2012

Average Nebraska football team ends season!

Expectations were high this year but when it was all said and done Nebraska had an average team this year, at least from our standards. Yes, we ended up ranked at 23rd or so but the ratings also included an averge Penn State.

What happened?

Well, first of all we could have used a healthy Jared Crick all year. His loss was bigger than a pesona realizes. He really never was healthy all year, it appeared. His past play in a game like Northwestern may have made the difference in the game. A strong pass rush was hardly ever there. Any quarterback can find receivers if he has seven to ten seconds to find an open receiver.

We no doubt have some very skilled players, just not enough of them. When you watch an Oregon or West Virginia or an Alabama or the #1 LSU team, you realize we are just average right now.

Part of the problem is adapting to the new Big 10 and adapting to stronger linebacker play. Lavonte David was awesome and Will Compton played well most of the year but we didn't have overall strong defensive play. Our defensive backs were probably better at the end of the season than we gave them credit for. They can't stay on a guy forever when there is no pass rush.

Offensively we just can't keep the tempo going for four quarters. We show we can get the job done but then we fold. The offensive line played well at times but not to the level we need to be a Top 10 team.

Fortunately we have a bulk of the key players on offensive coming back next year. Will we get an identity on offense. Will we decide what kind of offense we want to be and get really good at it. Tim Beck called at great first half in the bowl game. We kept them from getting us in a 3rd and ten situation in the first half. WE mixed things up real well. Then after a couple of bad breaks and we got down the South Carolina defense had us where they wanted us and it all fell apart. Their defensive line is too good and when they know we have to pass, watch out.

WE were an average team this year and that is all there is to it. We were the type of team that could beat anybody when we were rolling such as Michigan St. When things didn't go well we could lose to anybody like Northwestern.

Nebraska football may become like being married. Lower your expectations and everything will go better. But as a Nebraska fan, we just can't do that!!

Recruiting is going slow if you look at numbers but it appears we have some strong defensive players coming in. Hopefully we can add another seven top quality players in the final days of recruiting. That's where it all starts. Recruit and develop players.

I am one that likes the coaching changes and I look forward to the new season. But before I get thinking we are a Top 10 team next year, they have to prove it to me.

As a season men's basketball ticket holder I was pretty excited about seeing the new teams in the Big 10 play this year. I thought Nebraska would be competitive. I was wrong. Injuries have hurt and our talent level of who we are playing right now, as a whole, is way below teams in the Big 10. Something has to change. Go out and see the basketball teams, men or women. Support them and let's see how the season ends up.

The women's team is pretty fun to follow. They have a young team and they are playing well. Lindsay Moore and Jordan Hooper are really scorers!!

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Le Deuxieme Souffle 1966

Keys to a Nebraska victory!

Nebraska has a key game tomorrow. With a lot of recruits deciding this week where they may go a good showing on both sides of the ball are imperative. Nebraska goes against the #2 passing defense in the national so a lot of passing yards will be hard to come by. With Jordon Westerkamp, maybe our top recruit this year who is trending toward Notre Dame, is it important our passing game is at its best. He is a receiver and he wants to go where the action is.

I will have to admit that I really want us to win tomorrow because of recruiting and the psychic of the team going into 2012. If Nebraska is going to keep on improving on the national stage we have to beat this SEC team.

Keys for the game:

Nebraska has to be in a position of third and less than four yards:
With the solid passing defense that South Carolina has, we have to keep them on their toes. If we are put in third and ten situations, we are in trouble. Rex Burkhead and Taylor Martinez have to have some good positive runs on first and second downs. IF we don't have production on the early downs standout pass-rushers Melvin Ingram and Jadeveon Clowney can pin their ears back and go for Martinez. The offensive line have to put together their best game of the year and our play calling will to have plays that keep South Carolina on their toes. This is the key to the game

Nebraska has to get to Connor Shaw:
The defensive line and the linebackers have to get to the quarterback. We have to rush his throws and yet contain him from running all over the field. Expecting the defensive backs to stay on the receivers for six, seven seconds won't work. We play too much man to man to make that work. We might see more blitzing as the game goes. Press the quarterback. Keep him moving but not up the field. Dennard will have his successes but so will but so will Alshon Jeffery. We must keep him to an average game. He is an All-American.

So we must win the war in the trenches on both sides of the ball!!

Win the turnover war:

Nebraska hasn't done well in turnovers in the games we lost. It is important that we have one or less turnovers and we make them have three or four. If this happens, we can win this thing. Press Rush Shaw and make him try plays that won't have a large amount of success. Interceptions and fumbles have been common in bowl games for South Carolina. Let's hope the trend continues.

Nebraska 24 South Carolina 23.
Should be a very close game so a play or two can make the difference but we have to be successful in three keys of the game to have a chance.

I really like Doc Sadler and most importantly Nebraska basketball. I think it started in college at UNL and the football games seemed to always be blowouts in the seventies so I went to a lot of basketball games because you never knew if we were going to win or not. I feel bad for Doc Sadler. I think he has great ethics and is a very likable coach. With injuries to three of our top six players this year, it doesn't look like we will get a fair look as to how good this team will be. At times we will be competitive and we will win a few games but will it be enough. We have a really really tough schedule coming up. Let's wish them the best and support them.

On January 1, 1971, my dad and I attended the Nebraska-LSU game in Miami Florida at the Orange Bowl. We won the game and our first national championship. Great memories!!