Sports Today 6/7/07

I would like more interaction with the readers, so every entry, I will put a story in that isn't true. Please vote which one you think is made up. Leave your vote in the comment section.

Schilling Pitches No Hitter-Well Through 8 2/3 Innings.

Boston Red Sox pitcher, Curt Schilling, had a no hitter through 8 2/3 innings before giving up a single to Shannon Stewart. Schilling got the next hitter to fly out to win the game 1-0. This would have been Schilling's first no hitter.

Mighty Ducks Fly Past the Senators

The Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup on Wednesday. Even though it was a championship game, no one cared. The Cup Finals produced the lowest ratings in NBC primetime history. Please leave any comments on what you would change to make the NHL more exciting.

MLB Draft Makes No Sense

I think the MLB draft is odd. First of all, there is about 100 rounds to draft players. Second, no one knows a single person who is drafted. Third, even if you are a terrible team and you have a top 5 pick, that player doesn't have to sign with you. So, you are not going to get better if you use a draft pick and then don't get a player for it. Just sounds dumb to me and I would be irrate if I was terrible and no one wanted to play for me. For those who are Cubs fans, with the third overall pick, they selected third baseman, Josh Vitters (left) out of Cypress High School in California. For those Royals fans, they selected second overall with infielder Mike Moustakas (right) out of Chatsworth High School in California.

New Baby Watermelon Champion

We have a new Watermelon Eating Champion in Nebraska. Evan Jameson won the watermelon eating chamionship over the weekend, eating 2 1/2 slices of watermelon in 1 hour. He defeated last years champion, Derrek Jones who could only eat 2 1/4 slices. Jameson now goes on to the national championship in Hawaii starting in July.

Other Things

The Harlan County Lake has raised its elevation from 1926.44 on 1/2/07 to 1937.37 on June 5th. This is an increase of 10.43 feet.

The top shows this past year were:

1. The Sopranos Just finished its last show in its last season.
2. Boston Legal The writers have to have a blast with this one.
3. The Office Right in there with the Queen of Kings as the funniest show to watch.
4. King of Queens This comedy just had its last show ever also. Just a great show and the reruns and fun to watch also.
5. Andy Griffith My all-time best show. Still one of my best choices.
6. House Unpredictable doctor show. If you haven't watched it, do so.
7. The Riches Best new show on TV
8. Entourage Funny unpredictable show
9. The Shield Great cop show

Watch "Traveler". May be a hit soon! "How Things Are Made" is really good!!

This writer likes a lot of sports shows. Hockey is not one of them. All food shows are fun. 60 Minutes and Dateline are interesting. Inside Edition is entertaining.

And in sports, Alex Gordon had four hits today and raised his average to .190.

NCAA Baseball Tournament off to a wacky start!!

The trip to Omaha and the College World Series has begun. What a wacky start! It is proof that this year's winner will be hard to predict. Five of the top eight seeds were beaten. Those include #1 Vanderbilt, #4 Texas, #6 Florida St., #7 Arkansas, and #8 San Diego. The three winners were #2 Rice, #3 North Carolina, and #5 Arizona State.

How did the Big 12 do? Nebraska, Texas, Baylor, and Missouri were all beaten. Texas A & M and Oklahoma St. were the only Big 12 winners. Also Creighton was beaten.

Seven of the 16 #1 seeds were beaten. There were four teams in each regional. #3 seeds Oregon State, Louisville, and Oklahoma State won their regionals.

This will be an exciting year so get ready for anything and everything!!!

NU walkon is headed to Ohio University!

Matt Donahue of Fremont is no longer walking on at Nebraska. He is headed to Ohio University after he was offered a scholarship by them. He joins Noah Keller of Kearney. Ohio University is coached by Frank Solich.

Nebraska Deer Season Applications can be sent in June 11th!

Sports Today-Weekend Edition 6/3/07

12 Crushed After Soccer Match
Twelve people were crushed to death in Zambia after a soccer game. Zambia won the match against the Republic of Congo 3-0 but fans were in a hurry to leave after the game started and hour late.





Cavs Have a Chance in Finals
With a defense like the Cavs have, they have a chance in any game no matter who they are playing. The Detroit Pistons, who have a very good offense, didn't score 100 points in any of the games against Cleveland. I didn't get to see the game on Saturday night, but LeBron was amazing in game 5. Like John said in his entry, LeBron scored 29 of the last 30 points in that game. James took many difficult shots but rarely missed. I think the Spurs will win in 7 games because they have a very good defense along with offense and I think they have learned a lot by seeing what Detroit didn't do, which is double team James.


Best Movie in the Last Year
John asked which was the best movie I have seen in the last year. To me, the best was Blood Diamond. It was a very good movie with Leo DiCaprio. I enjoy most movies with Leo, another of my favorites is Catch Me If You Can. My wife's vote is for The Pursuit of Happyness.








Cubs Are Struggling
Cubs have struggled on and off the field. They Cubs can't win a game and they are having problems in the club house. Two days ago, catcher Michael Barrett and pitcher Carlos Zambrano got into a fight. They say that is behind them now. Yesterday, skipper, Lou Piniella was ejected and now suspended for getting in the third base umpires face and kicking dirt on him. Lou disagreed with a call at third base even though it was the right call, which Lou agrees to now. Cubs have an easier June schedule than they did in May so hopefully they can turn it around. Cubs are winning 9-0 in the 5th inning. Royals are struggling as well and are down 4-1 in the eighth inning.


Local Man Wins Corn Eating Contest
A man won his 17th consecutive corn eating title. He ate 76 ears of corn in 1 hour, beating his own record of 68. Locals say that there is really no way of beating this man because he has the deadly combination of teeth and a place to put all that corn. When asked for comment, the champion said "I can beweev it. I won again. I fweel wike the happiest man eva." Congrats agin!!!

Tidbits

It will be Cleveland vs. San Antonio this Thursday in the beginning of the NBA Championship series. Look to San Antonio to win in six games. Having Cleveland in the finals will be a huge step for the NBA. People want to see a good kid like LaBron James, who will be a superstar, play. How in the world can a player in the NBA score 29 of the last 30 of his team's points at the end of a game. How unbelieveable is that? Many basketball fans have never really watched him play. This will be their first time because now they have a reason to watch. Get rid of the thugs and clean up the NBA. People want to see good basketball with athletes that want to win.

The Nebraska football game with Nevada will be on ABC at 2:30 on September 1st. Only about 12 weeks away. Bryce Givens, the best lineman recruit from Colorado, previously committed to Nebraska. Texas has now offered him a scholarship so his status could change. Let's hope not.

With a five run sixth inning, the NU baseball team remains in the NCAA playoffs with a 6-5 win over Monmouth. Today NU faces UC-Riverside in an elimination game at 4 pm. Look for Johnny Dorn to start.

Alex Gordon is batting .181. The Royals have 21 wins compared to 22 by the Cubs. The Cubs are having internal trouble right now and things are tough in Cubsland.

Look for Denny Hamlin to win at Dover today with Jimmie Johnson second.

"We are Marshall" is the best movie I have seen in the past year. What is yours?

If you like to fish for catfish, try the Republican River. It's the best fishing in years. How the river get the name "Republican"?

LaBron James/NBA

If Cleveland could get into the championship game, the NBA would go a long way in improving its fan base. This is the NBA's chance to improve its status. Did you know that more people watched the Indy 500 "rain delay" than watch the Utah/San Antonio game. That tells it all.

Sports Today 5/29/07

Cavs Are In Trouble for Tonights Game

For tonights game against the Detroit Pistons, The Cleveland Cavs are going to be without there point guard, Larry Hughes. Hughes sustained a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his foot while making a layup in the first quarter of Game 3. I thought that the Cavs were going to win this series but with Hughes out for tonights game, Cleveland will lose at home and lose in game 5 at Detroit.

Kansas Star Tears ACL

As I reported a couple days ago, Kansas star, Brandon Rush, did not enter the NBA draft. Part of the reason could have been because of a torn ACL. Rush could be out for up to six months after hurting his knee in a pick up game.

White a No Show at Minicamp

Former USC star LenDale White didn't show up for Titans minicamp. Titans coach, Jeff Fisher, was uncertain why White didn't show to camp. Reports say that White had troubles with his flight and was stuck at the airport. White has had problems this off season already by showing up for camp at 260 lbs and then suffered a hamstring injury.

In a previous entry, I was asked who I thought was Nebraska's best NBA player. I honestly have never be alive when Nebraska has had "great" basketball players. The best of my time was maybe Tyronn Lue.

NU goes to Arizona regional

SPORTS SHORTS

Nebraska will be the third seeded team at the NCAA regional in Arizona. They take on UC Riverside in a 4 pm game on Friday. Looks like Watson goes the first game. Luke Wertz will be the starter the second game. The third pitcher will be Johnny Dorn and hopefully getting away from the Big 12 will help him get back on track.

Casey Mears used pit strategy to win the Coca Cola 600. All the favorites pitted and took full gas and tires and Mears "splash of gas" got him the win. This is the first win for Mears this season.

I forgot the Indy 500 hadn't finished and forgot to watch the end. Ashley Judd's husband won!

KC is struggling again as they lose to Baltimore 9-1. Alex Gordon is 0-3 and is batting .188. I believe he will break .200 by June 12th. I wonder when Craig Brazell will go to KC? He is 0-5 tonight as Omaha is beating New Orleans 8-3. He has hit 20 HR's in the minors this year and KC could use some power.

Denis Watson won the Senior tournament this weekend. It is his first victory in 20 years. This writer saw him win the Las Vegas Invitational in 1984.

Sports Today-Weekend Edition 5/28/07

Patriots Player is Missing

Marquise Hill, DE for the New England Patriots has gone missing after a jetski ride on Saturday. Hill was last seen on a jetski with a woman who was able to swim to a pylon after them both went into the water. The Coast Guard looked through the night on Saturday but have yet to locate Hill. Hill was not wearing a life preserver.

Update: A body, believed to be Hill's was found Monday. They are waiting for confirmation from the family.

Update: It was confirmed that it was Hill's body.

LeBron, Cavs Turn it on for Game Three

King James finally played like one in game three. James scored 32 points with 9 rebounds and 9 assists to beat the Pistons 88-82 to make the series 2-1. With no one losing at home yet, it's still anyones series. If Cleveland can win game 4 to tie it at 2 apiece, I think the Cavs will win the series.

Mears Gets His First Checkered Flag

Casey Mears gets the first win of his NASCAR career in North Carolina at the Lowe's Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600. Mears gambled at the end of the race by not taking more fuel and had just enough to finish the race and take his first drive to the winners circle. With this win, Hendrick Motorsports continues its domination.

Two Holdrege Girls Get Second at State

On May 19th Holdrege sophomore, Bronwyn Allmand, was defeated by Grand Island CC's Jaycie Schmidt in the finals of the class B No. 2 singles final. Schmidt defeated Allmand 7-5, 7-6. Duster, Marcelle Strydom, was defeated to Omaha Skutt Catholic's Elise Sambol in the class B No. 1 singles final. This is the third straight title for Sambol.

Josh Davis to Canada

A story fresh from Husker Extra!

Josh Davis lands in Canada

This from the "whatever happened to . . ." department:

Former Husker I-back Josh Davis signed this week with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.

Davis joined the NFL New York Jets in 2004 as a free agent and made the team out of training camp but was sidelined for the majority of the season with a knee injury.

Davis ended his NU career with 3,427 all-purpose yards.

Perhaps he'll again be taking handoffs from Eric Crouch, who is competing to become the Argonauts' starting QB.

HUSKER EXTRA

Sports Today 5/25/07

Kansas Star Not Declaring for the Draft

Brandon Rush, who led KU in scoring last season is staying for his junior year. Now Kansas has all but Julian Wright, who is declaring elgible for the draft, coming back for a run at their third Big 12 championship in a row. Kansas went 33-5 but failed to win it all again.

You know you are a red neck when...

A former stripper, Angela Harkness (31) was sentenced to 40 months in prison for embezzling more than $1 million. She embezzled from 2000 thru 2003, with help from a banker, Gary Jones, to start her own NASCAR racing team. She created Angela's Motorsports and entered a team into the Busch Grand National Series with featured driver, Mike McLaughlin.

Taking the Memorial Day Weekend Off

I will not be posting an entry over the busy weekend. You have better things to do than read a blog and I have better things to do than write a blog. I will be back at it on Monday with all weekend stories. Have a save and fun Memorial Weekend!

Sport Shorts

Gretna, coached by Scott Boehler, ended up third in the Class B Boy's State Golf Meet. Sidney (603) and Scottsbluff (607) were ahead of Gretna (613)at the end. Seven of the top eight players on Sidney and Scottsbluff were seniors. Gretna had one senior on its top five. Jared Gustafson, a sophmore, was third at the state meet and Ryan Boyer led the team. Look for Gretna, if they work hard in the off season to challenge next year for the championship in Class B.

Alex Gordon continues to hit better and has raised his average to .191. He has three homers and had back-to-back two hit games on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Portland is first and Seattle is second in the NBA draft. This writer feels that Kevin Durant would be the best pick in the draft. Greg Odom will also be a great pick. Both teams will be improved next season with either one of these players.

Nebraska football recruits for 2008 include the best offensive lineman from Nebraska, Colorado, and Iowa. Throw in possibly the best QB in the nation in Blaine Gabbert and we have a great recruiting class already.

Right now the NU baseball team is down 1-3 against K-State in the Big 12 tournament. They are in the bottom of the 8th with K-State batting. Charlie Shirek pitched three innings giving up two runs. The problem is NU only has three hits. Nu hasn't come from behind all year so maybe tonight they............

Sports Today 5/24/07

I am trying to get more Nebraska sports news into this daily entry. If there are certain topics you would like to hear about, please let me know.

Nebraska Squeaks by A&M to Make it Through the Big 12 Opener

In the eighth inning of the game, with Nebraska leading by one run, A&M had the bases loaded with two outs and their best batter at the plate, All-Big 12 junior Blake Stouffer (left). Nebraska reliever, Matt Foust (right) started in a big hole by throwing 3 straight balls. Stouffer took strike one on the next pitch and swung over the top of two sliders to end the threat. Nebraska added one more run in the bottom of the eighth to 5th seeded A&M 5-3. Nebraska now faces eighth seeded Kansas State tonight at 7:30. Info from the Omaha World Herald

ESPN to Air Five Big 12 Football Games

Fox Sports Net agreed to sub-license the rights to broadcast five Big 12 football games in 2007 to ESPN. Three of the five will air on ESPN2 and the other two, on ESPN. This could be good news for Nebraska fans because ESPN might pick up the October 6th game against Missouri.

Info from the Omaha World Herald

Stop Blaming Other People!

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people try to blame everyone else for their problem(s). For example, don't sue McDonalds for serving coffee that is hot after you spill it on yourself. The same person would have sued McDonalds for serving them coffee that is too cold. This story that has got me fired up this time is the father of the late Josh Hancock, former Cardinals pitcher, is suing the restaurant that served Hancock alcohol. They are also suing the towing company whose truck was assisting a stalled vehicle. The owner of the stalled vehicle is being sued as well. Ok, so you are suing a restaurant for giving your son alcohol that he asked for, the towing company for helping a stranded person and a stranded person whose car stalled? You don't think it was your son's fault whose blood alcohol was twice the legal limit, he was speeding and using a cell phone. There was marijuana found in the SUV also. Please, stop blaming others for your own problems.

Info from http://msn.foxsports.com/?MSNHPHMN

Sports Today 5/23/07

Keyshawn to Announce Retirement

Keyshawn Johnson, formerly of the the Carolina Panthers, will announce his retirement sometime today. Johnson, who will turn 35 in July, played 11 seasons in the NFL. Johnson is expected to sign a contract with ESPN as a football analyst.

Portland Wins the Lottery

The Portland Trailblazers won the NBA Draft lottery on Tuesday. Seattle has the second pick, followed by Atlanta, Memphis and Boston. The top 5 picks should go:

#1 Greg Oden (F)-Ohio St.

#2 Kevin Durrant (F)-Texas

#3 Brandan Wright (PF)-North Carolina

#4 Al Horford (PF)-Florida

#5 Jeff Green (F)-Georgetown

Spurs Go Up 2-0 on Utah

The San Antonio Spurs have taken a 2 game advantage in the Western Conference Finals. They defeated the Utah Jazz 105-96. Tim Duncan scored 26 and added 14 rebounds, Manu Ginobili scored 17 points and Tony Parker scored 17 points and 14 assists. While the series is never over until a team loses at home, I think the series is pretty much over. San Antonio will win 1 of the next 2 games in Utah and finish the series in San Antonio.

Ducks Fly to the Stanley Cup Finals

The Anaheim Ducks closed out the Detroit Red Wings in game 6. Anaheim took a 3-0 lead but Detroit stormed back to make it a close game. The final score was 4-3.

Info from http://msn.foxsports.com/?MSNHPHMN

Sports Today 5/22/07

Arkansas QB transfers to USC

Sophomore QB Mitch Mustain who was undefeated as a starter (8-0) last year is transfering to USC. Mustain will have to sit out this year because of NCAA rules but will have 3 years left of eligibility starting next season. Mustain completed 69 of 132 passes for 894 yards and 10 touchdowns with nine interceptions last season.

Everyone on LeBron's Case for Passing on Game Winning Shot

A lot of sports writers are wondering why LeBron (left) didn't take the last second shot in the 79-76 loss to the Detroit Pistons. Here are the top 3 reasons why you can't blame LeBron for passing on the last shot.

3. LeBron hadn't got a call all night. LeBron was driving to the basket all night and getting fouled and they didn't once call a foul. This is LeBron's first playoff game without a free throw attempt.

2. You go for the win on the road. Everyone know that when you are down in the closing seconds of a game, you go for a tie and home and a win on the road. They were in Detroit, so the it makes sense that you pass to the corner for a three pointer, to win the game.

1. Dontell Marshall (right) shot 40% from behind the arc in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Marshall also had six 3 pointers against New Jersey in game 6 of their series.

After Marshall missed the shot with the score 78-76 Detroit made 1 of 2 free throws to win the game.

Foreman Claims to Be Drugged Durning the 1974 Fight "Rumble in the Jungle"

Former Heavy Weight champion George Forman is claiming in his new book "God in My Corner", that someone drugged him just prior to going into the ring to face Muhammad Ali. "I almost spit it out ... Man, I know this water has medicine in it," Foreman told his trainer at the time, according to his book. "I climbed into the ring with that medicinal taste still lingering in my mouth ... After the third round, I was as tired as if I had fought 15 rounds. What's going on here? Did someone slip a drug in my water?" This writer is sure he is making up this story to help sell his new book. If something like this happened to you, would you wait 33 years to tell anyone? I don't think so.

Information from http://msn.foxsports.com/?MSNHPHMN

Sports Today 5/21/07

Ducks Lead Series 3-2

With only 47.3 seconds left in the regulation, Ducks defenseman, Scott Niedermayer deflected a shot that got by Dominik Hasek to tie the game at 1. In overtime, Temmu Salanne, scored the game winning goal. Anaheim now is has a 3-2 lead in the series.

I Suck Again

My predictions for interleague play were not that close. I said that the Mets would sweep the Yankees, which the series was Mets 2-1. I said LA Angels will win 2-1 but they swept the Dodgers and I said Cubs would win the series 2-1, which they did. One out of three is not bad.

More Trouble in the NFL

Another NFL player was arrested over the weekend. Jets kick return specialist, Justin Miller(left), was arrested Sunday for allegedly punching a woman at a night club. "I want to apologize to everyone for this situation, including my family, my teammates, the Jets organization, our fans and the entire NFL," the cornerback said in a statement released by the team Sunday night.

Bengels wide out Chirs Henry (right) failed to show for a court ordered drug test and could be headed to jail. Henry is already suspended for 8 games to start the regular season.

Street Sense, Quesionable for the Belmont Stakes

After not winning the Preakness and no chance of winning the triple crown, Street Sense may not run in the Belmont Stakes "Right now, I don't think we probably will," trainer Carl Nafzger said Sunday. "There's not really any reason to go there right now."

Information from http://msn.foxsports.com/?MSNHPHMN

Sports Shorts

It is obvious in the last month that Luke Wertz is NU's best pitcher. With the struggles of Watson, I wonder how long it will be before Wertz starts pitching on Friday nights, Dorn on Saturdays, and Watson, Foust, or Shirek on Sunday?

Randal Carter of Papillion was the highlight of this year's 2007 Nebraska Track meet. He cleared 7'4" and just missed the national record when he attempted 7'5 1/2". The Olympic qualifying heighth is 7'4 1/2".

Omaha Central won Class A over Kearney. Omaha Central freshman Stephon Washington beat Niles Paul in the 300 intermediate hurdles with times of 38.327 and 38.349.

The Loomis boy's team won their fourth championship in 11 years. Lance Thorell won both hurdle events, was fourth in the long jump and fifth in the 400.

Those present at the Class B shotput said that Luke Pinkleman pumped out a 66' throw and his first complete warmup. He won the all-class gold with a throw of over 63'.

Millard North's Kianna Elahl broke the 300 intermediate hurdle state record on Saturday.

Omaha Central's Jasmine Johnson broke the girl's 400 meter record with a time of 55.76.

Drew Anderson from Kearney is only batting .178 for Milwaukee's AAA club this year. Brandon Buckman, who is playing for the Cardinals's A club, has nine home runs, 13 doubles, 37 runs batted in, and a .333 batting average.

Happy Birthday!!

This site was started on May 17, 2006. The original name of this site was follow-your-dream. In August of 2006, we changed the name to Nebraska Sports Journal. We have attempted to entertain, inform, and get participation from other sports fans. In the next year, our goal is to increase comments and get more participation from other readers. In the first year, we have had 5004 page loads, 896 first time visitors, and 1640 returning visitors. These numbers will be our benchmark to grow on.

In the past month, we added Brad Hartzog to wrote for this site. By looking at the quality of his work, this is the biggest step we have taken to grow this site since we began. Keep viewing because things will continue to improve.

We encourage readers to give us comments as feedback is very valuable!!!

Johnny

Sports Today 5/20/07

Kevin Harvick wins the NASCAR All-Star Challenge

The all-star challenge was at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, NC. Harvick ran a great race all night and capped it off with a victory and $1 million. For complete race results, go to http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/cup/results?categoryId=168&gameId=20070519027&season=2007

Curlin beats Street Sense by a nose

With rider Robby Albarado, Curlin came from behind to beat Street Sense in one of the closest finishes of all time. The winning time was an amazing 1:53.46, which equaled the stakes record. My choice for the race, Hard Spun came in third. These same three horses finshed the Derby in the top three spots. So, Hard Spun should win the Belmont Stakes with Curlin in second and Street Sense, third.

Senators make it to there first Stanley Cup Finals

The Ottowa Senators defeated the top-seeded Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 in overtime to win the series 4-1. Ottawa will now wait to face Anaheim or Detroit, and will start that series on the road. The Western final series is tied at 2, with Game 5 at Detroit on Sunday.

Information from http://msn.foxsports.com/?MSNHPHMN