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

Additions to MLB: Part 3

There are a couple of questions that one of my fans asked about the Baltimore Orioles.

1. Why has Baltimore fallen so badly.


2. Who is their management and who manages them?

Here is all you ever wanted to know and much, much more! Well, to answer number one: I think they have fallen so badly because they can't get good players. They don't have great farm teams like some clubs have and you can pretty much answer it by using the second question, management and the manager. If the manager isn't good enough or the management is too greedy (which it has been in Kansas City for a number of years), you can't expect to be good. What I mean by management being too greedy is they don't want to spend money on good players.

Management in the Orioles from office is:

Executive Management

Peter Angelos-Chairman of the Board/Chief Executive Officer
*Angelos is an American trial lawyer and the current owner of the Baltimore Orioles
*He led a group of investors that purchased the team in 1993 for $173 million from Eli Jacobs.
*Angelos made a fortune suing the tobacco companies.
*On September 21st, 2006, 1,000 or more Orioles fans protested at Camden Yards against Angelos and the way in which he has run the Orioles in what became known as the 'Free the Birds' demonstration. Angelos responded by asserting that it takes a payroll of $100 million to compete in the American League East, and that it would be impossible for the Orioles to afford such a payroll despite factors that indicate otherwise. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Angelos)

Tom Clancy (yes, the author)-Vice Chairman of Community Projects & Public Affairs
*Wrote many military novels.

Joe Foss-Vice Chairman/Chief Operating Officer
*Commisioner of the AFL before it merged with the NFL.

John P. Angelos-Executive Vice President
*He is a lawyer in the Baltimore area.
*Son of Peter Angelos and is next in line to take over the Orioles.

Buisness Administration

Robert Ames-Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
*Read about him at : http://www.macpa.org/Content/23111.aspx

Lou Kousouris-Vice President/Special Liaison to the Chairman
*Works with the Salvation Army

Baseball Operations

Mike Flanagan-Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations
*Former player of the Orioles from 1973-1987 & 1991-1992.
*Won they Cy Young in 1979.
*Went to the All-Star game in 1978.

Jim Duquette -Vice President, Baseball Operations
*Was the general manager of the New York Mets before being fired and coming to the Orioles.

Scott Proefrock-Director of Baseball Administration
*Was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays assistant general manager before being fired.

Player Development/Scouting

David Stockstill-Director of Minor League Operations
*Didn't find info (sorry)

Joe Jordan-Director of Scouting
*In charge of calling the shots of draft day.

Manager

Sam Perlozzo
*Bio from http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/team/coach_staff_bio.jsp?c_id=bal&coachorstaffid=7210419912

Sam Perlozzo begins his 2nd full season as Orioles manager after guiding the team to a 70-92 record last year...He was in his 10th season on the Orioles coaching staff and his 5th season as bench coach in 2005 when he was named as interim manager to replace Lee Mazzilli on August 4...On October 12, 2005, the Orioles removed the interim tag and Sam was named as the 16th manager in team history...In his two months as interim manager in '05, the Orioles went 23-32...A native of Cumberland, MD, he is the third Maryland native to serve as manager of the Orioles, joining Cal Ripken Sr. (1987-88, from Aberdeen) and Ray Miller (1998-99, Takoma Park).
Sam joined the Orioles in 1996 as third base coach, a position he held for 5 years before becoming bench coach in 2001...He spent 19 seasons as a major league coach, the first 14 years of which he spent as a 3rd base coach...Before joining the Orioles' staff, he had never spent more than three seasons coaching in any city...He has the longest current continuous tenure on the O's staff...Hitting coach Terry Crowley begins his 13th season, but only his 9th consecutive year since rejoining the staff in '99...Only six coaches have served longer on the Orioles staff, and only 10 other coaches in the club's 53 seasons have spent more than 6 consecutive years on the coaching staff: Elrod Hendricks (28), Harry Brecheen (14), Bill Hunter (13 1/2), Cal Ripken Sr. (11), Jim Frey and George Bamberger (10 each), Ray Miller (10), George Staller (8) and Crowley (8, active), Jimmy Williams and Luman Harris (7 each; Harris spent the final month of the '61 season as manager)...In addition to serving as third base and bench coach, Sam also oversaw Orioles' infielders...As part of those duties, he helped Cal Ripken make the transition from shortstop to third base and also worked extensively with Mike Bordick while the Orioles shortstop was setting major league records for most consecutive games and chances without an error, highest fielding percentage and fewest errors in a season in 2002.
Perlozzo was named to the Orioles staff on January 5, 1996...He began his coaching career as a manager in the Mets farm system in 1982...In five seasons with the Mets, he won three league championships and never had a losing record...Won the Carolina League title with Lynchburg in 1983 and was the league's "Manager of the Year"...Promoted to Jackson in '84 and won the Texas League crown with an overall record of 83-53...Named Baseball America's minor league "Manager of the Year"...Captured his third straight championship with Jackson in 1985...Promoted to AAA Tidewater in 1986 and led the club to a 74-66 mark...Finished his minor league managerial career with a 364-263 (.581) record in five seasons... Began his major league coaching career in 1987 as a third base coach with the Mets, a position he held through the 1989 season...Joined the Reds in 1990 and was their third base coach for three years before going with manager Lou Piniella to the Mariners in 1993.

Perlozzo's job is very much in jeopardy. There is always a race to see which manager will be fired first in a season and right now he and Yankees skipper, Joe Torre are neck and neck.

Overall I think the reason the Orioles are bad is because they don't have a great manager, there front office is composed of lawyers and fired general managers. But, I don't know much about MLB's front offices, maybe this is common in most front offices?

Better Know a MLB Team: Part Three

My third team I will be covering is the Baltimore Orioles. They have taken second place from the Yankees as of 5/19/07 and are average baseball.

Here is some history of the Baltimore Orioles. In 1953, "baseball's owners unanimously agreed upon the move of the St. Louis Browns to Baltimore." There first season as the Baltimore Orioles in 1954 they went 54-100 and were 57 games out of first place in their division. In 1961 the Orioles won 95 games but still fininshed 14 games behind the Yankees. In 1966 the Orioles defeated the L.A. Dodgers in their first trip to the World Series in a 4 game sweep. In 1992 a new stadium was built for the Orioles, it is called Camden Yards. On September 5th and 6th 1995 Cal Ripken Jr. (left) became baseballs all-time "Iron man" by tying and breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive games played streak with 2,130.

Now, to this season. Right now the Orioles are 19-23 but are 10 games behind the red hot Red Sox. They are 12-8 at home but only 7-15 on the road. They are 11-9 against the AL East but have struggled against the Central (7-12) and the West (0-2). In their last 10 games, they have won 5 and lost 5. They also have struggled during the day (4-8) and on turf (2-7) and are average at night (15-15) and on the grass (17-16). They have played a lot of 1 run games, going 5-8 in those games. However, they are very good in extra innings, going 3-1.

This season, the Orioles have decent infielders but their outfield struggles. The infield has names like Melvin Mora, Miguel Tejada, Brian Roberts and Aubrey Huff. There outfield has Nick Markakis, Jay Gibbons and Corey Patterson (left). Markakis is the best hitter of them all, batting .250 (ouch!). There pitching staff isn't anything grand either. I haven't heard of most of them. Many of the players for the Orioles are people who were on the Chicago Cubs roster in the last couple years, such as Corey Patterson, Paul Bako, Freddie Bynum, Scott Williamson and many years ago Steve Trachsel. And going by how well they did in Chicago, it could be a long year for the Orioles.

Information from http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/bal/history/index.jsp

News of the Day-5/19/07

Brandon Jackson, former Nebraska Huskers runningback, will be forced to miss minicamp with the Green Bay Packers. Jackson is being forced by the NFL to either "go home and do nothing or go to Los Angeles" to a NFL promotional Premiere event. I guess it's about buisness, but you would think that they could make the players do stuff before the minicamps started. To read more about this topic & other NFL topics, please visit http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/morenews .

Spurs avoid a game 7. The San Antonio Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns 114-106 on Friday night to advance to the conference finals to face the Utah Jazz. Manu Ginobili had 33 points and 11 rebounds, Tony Parker had 30 points and Tim Duncan had 24 points 13 rebounds and an amazing 9 blocks. It was a very physical game with a lot of pushing and shoving. For the Suns Amare Stoudemire scored 38 points and added 12 rebounds while Steve Nash scored 18 points and added 14 assists. The Spurs start their series with the Jazz on Sunday. The Spurs should have no problems with the Jazz beating them in 6 games.

Cavs also avoid a game 7. The Cleveland Cavs beat the New Jersey Nets on Friday 88-72 to win the series 4-2. This is the first time Cleveland has gone to the Conference Finals in 15 years. Cleveland will face Detroit, in Detroit, starting on Monday. For the Nets, Jason Kidd had 19 points and 12 rebounds and 8 assists, Richard Jefferson scored 16 points, Vince Carter only had 11 points and former Nebraska player Mikki Moore scored 14 points. This should be a good series, with all games being close, but Detroit will win it in 5 games.

Street Sense is ready for the Preakness. Street Sense, coming of a win at the Kentucky Derby, will try to make it two in a row at the Preakness. Street Sense is a 7-5 favorite. I believe Hard Spun will win the Preakness keeping Street Sense out of a chance for the Triple Crown. The Triple Crown hasn't been won since 1978 by a horse named Affirmed. The purse for the Preakness is $1 million.

After the first day of interleague play Cubs, Mets and Angels come out with the win. I think Cubs and Angels will win the series 2-1 and Mets will sweep the Yankees. Should be another great day for baseball. You should go outside and enjoy the weather, but if you are a lazy bum, watch the Cubs and White Sox on FOX at 2:55 p.m. CDT.

News of the Day-5/18/07

Jeff Van Gundy was fired as the Houston Rockets head coach. This come just a few days after a new general manager, Daryl Morey, was hired. Van Gundy coached the Rockets to a 52-30 record but once again lost in the first round of the playoffs for the third time in four years.

Brett Favre showed up for minicamp after threating not to. Favre had a lot to say over the last week about how he was frustrated with the Green Bay Packers. He was upset that Green Bay didn't acquire wide reciever Randy Moss from Oakland. He seems to have calmed down and is ready for minicamps.

Another Cincinnati Bengals player was arrested. Linebacker A.J. Nicholson was arrested on a domestic violence charge. This isn't the first time Nicholson has been arrested. He was one of nine players arrested from the Bengals in a nine month span. However, he is the first Bengal to get arrested since Roger Goodell started cracking down on players.

Interleague play starts today with big games in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Should be great series, especially in Chicago and New York.

Gretna takes District Golf with Scott Boehler as coach!

Gretna Breeze

Matt Donahue could take three GOLDS in Omaha!

Picture Source:Rivals.com

Fremont High School has the fastest kid in the state this year and should be favored to win three gold medals at the Nebraska State Track meet this Friday/Saturday. Randal Carter will keep him from the fourth gold in the high jump. Carter has went 7'3". Donahue will be he favorite in the 100, 200, and 400 meter races.

Matt was one of the finest receivers and defensive backs in Nebraska high school football this year. Recruiters were impressed with his 6'2" 170 lb. frame and his speed. He will walk-on at NU this fall.

Here is what Matt had to say last fall 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"




Thanks Matt for sending this information! Good luck at the state track meet!!

Lance Thorell goes for the Gold!

Lance Thorell is one of the fastest hurdlers in the state of Nebraska. This week he will attempt to get the Gold medal in the 110 highs and the 300 intermediate hurdles. His main competition will be Niles Paul of Omaha North, the favorite. Paul was one of the top high school football players in the nation last fall and is headed to NU on a scholarship.

Lance will walk on at Nebraska for football. Lance has excelled at football, basketball, and track at Loomis High School. He may play wide receiver or defensive back. Either way, NU will get a hard working kid who will do everything he can to contribute to the NU program.

Lance is a cousin of Matt Hill, wo plays basketball for Texas. His grandpa, Don Thorell, has quite a group of grandkids who have done well as athletes. Megan Hill plays Kansas volleyball. Drew Billeter plays basketball at Hastings College. Luke Thorell was part of the Loomis basketball championship team along with Lance and Drew and Drew's brother, Lance. There are still a couple of grandkids coming up.

Dan Reese of the BIGRED REPORT says of Lance "He a Legacy! WE will call him "Otter" because he otter be a goodun".

Last fall before the football season, we asked Lance some questions about himself. This was his reply.

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.

Top 5 Stories of the Week

It has been a busy week in sports, here are the top 5 stories so far.

#5: Dirk Nowitzki wins NBA MVP award. Dirk had a great regular season, scoring 24.6 points a game and shooting 50.2% from the floor and 41.6% from behind the arc. These numbers are definately MVP numbers, but after struggling in the first round of the playoffs, many wish they could change their vote. Dirk had a rough first round against the Golden State Warriors. He only averaged 19.7 a game behind 38.3% shooting and 21.1% from the three point line. Golden State out played and out coached Dallas.


#4: Jazz close series with Golden State. Jazz had no problems beating the Warriors in round two. After the Warriors came off an impressive series against Dallas, they started playing like the 8th seed they really are. While the Warriors had the advantage in matchups against Dallas, they struggled to matchup against Boozer, Fisher, Kirilenko and the Jazz.

#3: Bulls dominate Pistons in game 5. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Detroit Pistons Tuesday night to force a game 6. The Bulls after being down 3-0 have stormed back winning game 4 in Chicago and then pounding the Pistons in Detroit in game 5 108-92. The Bulls shot 72.2% in the first half. I don't think the Bulls will win this series but they are causing the Pistons to use precious energy. They will need it for there next round opponent, Cleveland. Cleveland hasn't won its series yet, but I believe they will.


#2: Spurs will cruise through to the next round. With help from David Stern, the Spurs won't have any problems beating the Suns because Stern has suspended All-star Amare Stoudemire for 1 game, along with teammate Boris Diaw (1 game) and Spurs Robert Horry(2 games). They suspension came after Horry committed a flagrant foul on Steve Nash in game 5. Horry then elbowed Suns player Raja Bell, to get the 2 game suspension. What I don't like about the play is that Stoudemire was suspended for violating the rule about leaving the bench during a fight. He never actually left the bench! The rule says that you can't leave your spot on the bench durning a fight. While Stoudemire left his spot on the bench, he only took about three steps away from his seat and never left the bench area. He didn't even get within 10 feet of the fight. This suspension really hurts the Suns because not only do you lose Stoudemire who averages 23.5 points a game and 10.3 rebounds, they also lose Diaw who is Stoudemire's back up. All the Spurs lose is Horry who only averages 4.8 points a game.


#1: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is docked 100 points. Enough with the NBA, it's time for NASCAR. Dale Jr. was docked 100 driver points and the team was docked 100 owner points for not passing pre-race inspection. Jr.'s crew chief, Tony Eury Jr. was also suspended 7 weeks (one week is the All-Star race) and fined $100,000. The #8 Budweiser Chevrolet had the wing on the back of the car mounted improperly. After a little research, Eury said he "discovered that the unapproved brackets were previously used during a wind-tunnel test and had not been replaced before the car came to the track. Eury said with the wing lowered to 18-degrees, the car's downforce was 20 counts less than had it been mounted to specifications." (www.msn.foxsports.com) Dale Earnhardt Inc. Vice President, Richie Gilmore said that they don't have a problem with the ruling, but they do have a problem with the severity of the penalty. They appealed the ruling on Monday.

Projected Class D State Track boys winner!

This Friday the Nebraska State Track meet begins this Friday. The scoring has changed as they will award eight places this year. The scoring will be 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1-. Using district times, this would be the team order of finish for the Class D boys.

1. Wauneta-Palisade 44
2. Elwood 39
3. Loomis 34.5
4. Dodge 31.5
5. Winside 28.5
6. Pawnee City 26.8
7. Falls City SH 26.75
8. Burwell 26.5
9. Newcastle 25.75
10. Wallace 25

Harlan County Lake

The elevation of the Harlan County Lake is up over nine feet since 1/2/07. It has raised from 1926.44 to the present elevation of 1935.66.

Better Know a MLB Team: Part 2

Today we are going to talk about the team who is currently in second place in the AL east. Probably the most well known team in MLB history, the New York Yankees.

Let's start off with a little history, they have a lot of it. In 1903, Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchased the team from Baltimore for $18,000 and moved the team to Manhattan. They were called the "highlanders" because they played in one of the highest spots in Manhattan on Hilltop Field. They lost their first game 3-1 to Washington. They went on to win the next game, their first, against Washington 7-2. Harry Howell recorded the win. In 1912, they began wearing their famous pinstrips. Their name was changed to the Yankees in 1913. In 1925, Lou Gehrig began his 2,130 consecutive games played by pinch-hitting for Pee Wee Wanniger. On July 4th, 1939, Lou Gehrig became the first player to have his jersey retired (#4). On March 17th, 1997, David Wells became the first Yankee to throw a perfect game. On October 26th, 1999, the Yankees defeated the New York Mets in the "Subway Series" to win their 26th World Series. (Information from www.mlb.com)

Now, down to buisness and the present. This season the Yankees will be good, they always are. They will finish second in the AL east behind Boston. They will not win the wild card either. Yes, I said it, the Yankees will not make the playoffs. The Yankees are currently 16-17 but are 7-3 over their last 10 games. They are very good against the AL central and west but have struggled against the AL east, currently 3-11. They are 10-9 at home and 6-8 on the road. They play better during the day and struggle at night. They don't seem to play any better on grass or turf, they have won just about as many as they have lost on both surfaces. In 1 run games they are only 2-6 and 1-1 in extra innings. While the Yankees have a great offense, they struggle from the rubber. They need to find a good starting rotation and their middle relievers need to step it up. They have a great closer in Mariano Rivera, but has had a tough time so far. I believe he will turn it around and close a lot of games for the Yankees. Things will begin to pick up again for the Yankees in a couple months when they get back 5 pitchers who are currently on the DL. By that point, however, I believe it will be too late.

Brad Hartzog has been added to the staff!

The Nebraska Sports Journal has added Brad Hartzog to the staff. We will be looking forward Brad's entries on this site. We are approaching 5000 different visitors in a little over a year when we started.

Please leave your comments as to what special areas you would like us to cover. Coming up next week we have the Nebraska State Track Meet which is one the best high meets in the United States. Also Brad will continue his tem-by-team coverage of major league baseball.

Tampa Bay coach likes Zac Taylor

Read the following article about Tampa Bay and Zac Taylor

St. Petersburg Times

What happen to husker sports over the weekend?

There were two big issues in Lincoln over the last week. First Maurice Purify got arrested for a distrubance outside a bar and Ryan Werhle was dismissed from the baseball team for reasons not yet released. Please read there two articles that I got off www.kqky.com . They are at the following address: http://www.kqky.com/index.php?page_id=q1dela90&description=Sports&PHPSESSID=8673d67e7499208c72c52df040afaa08

Former players will have an impact this fall.

Leon Jackson who played on special teams as a freshman and who switched from offense to defense and back to offense during the spring and his sophmore year is now at Hawaii.

Leon may be a huge factor this year and is a player who is most likely to produce right away on offense from Hawaii's 2007 recruiting class.

Coach Tom O'Brien at N.C. State has not named a starting quarterback for this fall. O'Brien said he owed it to his players to come to the program with an open mind, so he started the spring with no depth chart.

That hasn't changed after spring practice.

"Everybody again will be fighting for a job (in the fall)," O'Brien said.

Returning starter Daniel Evans, transfer Harrison Beck and redshirt freshman Justin Burkes are the candidates at quarterback, where O'Brien said nobody has separated from the pack.

Joe Dailey could make a better receiver than a quarterback. The former Nebraska and UNC signal caller had an impressive spring after considering giving up football entirely. New coach Butch Davis wishes he could have had 15 more days of spring practice. "Even then I'm not sure that I would have been comfortable but there is so much that we have to do here," he said.
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

And now to the NFL. Go to the website below and see what one Tampa Bay Buccaneer fan had to say about Matt Herian. Please copy and paste. It is worth your time!!!!!
http://bbs.buccaneers.com/showthread.php?t=140613

2007 MLB season breakdown by Brad Hartzog

With the 2007 MLB season underway, we have seen some surprises and some disappointments. I will breakdown each team one by one in my 30 part series “Better Know a Major League Baseball Team.” Today’s team is the team with the best record in the AL to this point, the Boston Red Sox.

To better know a team, you have to first understand where they are coming from. The Bo Sox play in the oldest stadium, Fenway Park, which was built in 1912. In 1920, the Sox sold Babe Ruth to rival team, the New York Yankees. In 1953, the Sox scored 17 runs in one inning against the Detroit Tigers. Then, as we all know, in 2004 the Sox won their first World Series in 86 years.

The 2007 season looks to be a great one for the Sox. They have started out the season with an impressive 20-10 start. They are 9-4 at home and 11-6 on the road and are already 5.5 games ahead of second place New York Yankees. Their offense is lead by Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Ortiz is leading the team in almost every offensive category. They also have great players in J.D. Drew, Coco Crisp, Wily Mo Pena, Mike Lowell and Julio Lugo. Their pitching rotation is also great. Their starting rotation includes Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Julian Tavarez, Tim Wakefield (who has the craziest pitch because the ball doesn’t rotate) and much talked about, Diasuke Matsuzaka. They also have a great pitcher in Matt Clement who is on the DL right now. They have decent pitcher in the bullpen and maybe the best closer in the MLB right now, Jonathan Papelbon.

I can’t see the Sox not winning their division. Even thought the Yankees are always good, their bullpen will kill them, even with the addition of Roger Clemens. I predict that the Sox will win their division by 10 games or more. They will finish the regular season with an impressive 110 wins. They will win the AL championship game against the Minnesota Twins and go on to lose to the New York Mets in the World Series..

2007 NU Schedule is nations's toughest!

The 2007 season will be as challenging as the "Big Red" has faced in many years. Every non-conference game will be a challenge and it will be difficult for NU to win them all. Here is the non-conference schedule and what NU can expect in 2007.

Nevada

This 8-5 Western Athletic Conference team in 2006 was beaten by Miami 21-20 in the MPC Computers Bowl. They return 14 starters from last year's team. They will have a new starter at QB this year. Sophmore Nick Graziano looks to be the leader for the team's "Pistol Offense". The strength of the Wolfpack is the defensive front seven.

Wake Forest

Wake Forest was the surprise of 2006 in college football. They were 11-3 and lost to Louisville 24-13 in the Orange Bowl. Wake Forest has 15 starters back. In 2007, Wake Forest will have more overall talent, depth, and experience. If starting running back Micah Andrews can heal from a torn ACL, this team can beat NU at Wake Forest this fall.

USC

USC beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl and went 11-2 in 2006.

USC was one of the best teams in the nation last year and has 18 returning starters back. They only lost one defensive starter. Even though they lost Jarrett and Smith at WR they will reload and have similar replacements. Jarrett and Smith were two of the top receivers in the country last year.

With John David Booty returning at QB and the best linebackers in the country, NU would need to upset USC in Lincoln.

Ball State

This is the easiest of the non-conference schedule games. The Cardinals went 5-7 last year. They return 13 starters. Ball State almost beat Michigan last year but lost with freshman QB Nate Davis 34-26. A much matured Davis should make Ball State competitive this year. The defense is still a weakness and won't be able to stop NU.

Look for a 2-2 to 3-1 record for NU as they start the 2007 conference schedule.

Free Agents!

Zac Taylor and Matt Herian are both headed to Tampa Bay to play football. Shortly after the draft was finished, they signed as free agents. Jon Gruden called Zac Taylor. Taylor should be a good fit as Gruden and Callahan coached together with the Oakland Raiders. Tampa Bay has Chris Simms and Jeff Garcia. Taylor may end up on the practice squad but this writer thinks he can be the 3rd team quarterback. Herian also hopes to make the team and we wish him well.

Harlan County Reservoir

As of last Tuesday, April 16th, the Harlan County Lake has raised six feet. Elevation was 1926.44 on 1/2/07 and Tuesday it was 1932.43. This is a very positive sign and this is the highest the lake has been for a good five years.

ROYALS ARE STRUGGLING AND LOSE CLOSE GAMES!

The Kansas City Royals are struggling at the bat. Here are some batting averages as of today.
Alex Gordon...........................133
Ryan Shealy...........................098
Mark Teahen.........................200
Emil Brown............................184
Mark Sweeney......................162
Jason LaRue..........................154

These are all starters. When they start to hit, they will pull off a series of wins. Pitching has been adequate.

In other news, soon to be drafted, Zac Taylor got engaged to Sarah Sherman on Sunday. Sarah is the daughter of Mike Sherman, the former head coach of the Green Bay Packers. He now is an Assistant for the Houston Texans. Sarah has been getting her masters at UNL. Well, you already know who Zac is so.......Congrats to them!!!!!

Red-White Game a blast!

The Red-White festivities were a lot of fun on Saturday. The luncheon ahead of the game featured Coaches Bill Callahan, Doc Sadler, and John Cook. The video presentations were great and the food was furnished by Skeeter Barnes. Introducing Coach Callahan was Brandon Rigoni, the special teams leader from the past few years. We will miss his spunk. Charles Richardson Jr., this writers favorite player of this year's team, introduced Doc Sadler. The Coach talked about how, right before his father died seven years ago, that his father's wish was to come to a NU football game. Coach Sadler and his father made the trip from Texas and he then realized what a special place NU was. He is committed to making NU Big 12 champs. You believe that he can do it! Jordon Larson introduced Coach Cook, who coached the National Volleyball champs of 2006. Traci Stalls introduced Athletic Director Steve Pedersen who said "We dream of championships" and we "Don't Wait" to accomplish them. Injured football players Kenny Wilson and Zach Bowman were given standing ovations.

The game featured the Sam Keller-Joe Ganz battle for QB. Both played like they can make NU winners this fall. It was pretty even but Sam Keller maybe edged his way to the No. 1 caller. Joe Ganz is a leader however and we will have the bestbackup in years with either player. I hope both get lots of playing time this fall.

Marlon Lucky and Cody Glenn both looked very good. Marlon Lucky suffered some type of knee injury. If Cody Glenn is healthy, this writer likes him because of his tackle breaking ability. Lucky is best at speed, quickness, and making the tackler miss the hit.

The offensive line looked pretty solid. Matt Clauson, Carl Nicks, and Brett Byford looked impressive. DJ Jones received lots of playing time and did well when Lydon Murtha went down with a sprained ankle. Todd Peterson, Nate Swift, and Maurice Purify had great days. Keller likes to throw to Peterson and Purify. Ganz appears to favor Peterson and Swift.

The defense looks solid. N. Suh is dominant. The linebackers all played well. It was good to see Philip Dillard back in action. Our defensive secondary looke good against the second team. Can they be dominant against USC etc.

Nebraska heads into the toughest non-conference schedule in the nation this fall. It will be fun!! This writer is glad we are playing tougher opponents.

Injuries have become a factor. We will have to see how that plays out.

Top Ten TV Shows (Non-Sports)

This writer's Top TV shows:
1. THE SOPRANOS
This show is in its final season which started Sunday, April 8th. Grea Show!
2. THE RICHES FX CHANNEL
New show. Unpredictable! Sometimes funny and entertaining.
3. KING OF QUEENS
Also in its last season. Very funny and one I can relate to.
4. BOSTON LEGAL
The writers of this show have to have fun dreaming up this show!
5. ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW
This writer's all-time best show especially the black and white shows with Barney.
6. THE OFFICE
So very funny and Dwight and Michael are unbelieveable. Pam and Jim are fun to watch.
7. DEAL OR NO DEAL
Simple show but it is hard to switch the channel.
8. HOUSE
Interesting and funny medical show with a very different kind of doctor.
9. ANDY BARKER PI
Funny new show.
10. 60 MINUTES, DATELINE, 48 HOURS MYSTERY, AND PRIMETIME
Enjoy them all.

SCRUBS AND ENTOURAGE (HBO) are two shows close to entering the Top 10.

AMERICAN IDOL could be on this list but until Simon and crew pick who is taken off the show vs people calling in, some of the best singers don't make the cut. Upsets me to watch it!

THE SHIELD AND THE CSI SHOWS are close to the Top 10 but they just aren't good enough to set up a time to watch on a regular basis.

Tiger loses first major after taking lead!

Tiger Woods lost his first major in golf after he has led in the final round. Three times he has lost the lead but the two previous matches he came back and won!! Yesterday Zach Johnson won the Masters. He stayed to his plan of playing short on the par 5's and he made it work. Zach Johnson played in the Ryder Cup last year and is a fine golfer but yesterday he made history. Tiger was beaten like Bobby whipping Tony Sopriano Sunday night. It wouldn't happen again in ten more matches. But yesterday was Zach Johnson's day.

The NU pitching staff has two great pitchers in Watson and Dorn but needs to find a third. Shirek may be the answer as he pitched ok on Sunday but nobody has stepped up to the level of Watson and Dorn.

Steve Octavian is playing some rush end. Wouldn't it be nice to somehow get Barry Turner and Octavian both playing the D-Line at times this fall. Suh looks great in the interior. The linebackers look excellent. Now if we could get the CB's and safeties to jell.

Brad Hartzog, the Cubs expert, suggests that to put the Cubs at the next level they should try to trade Soriano for Carlos Beltran. What would this add to the Cubs? Sorian is known as one of the best in baseball. Is Beltran any better? It looks to this writer that they need relief pitching.

Alex Gordon is struggling. Is he pressing. Should he be sent to Omaha to get things going and will this hurt his mental aspect to the game. What would Gordon do for the attendance of the Omaha Royals? What is your opinion? Let us know.

102-Year-Old Oldest to Make Hole-in-One

Elsie McLean, at the ripe young age of 102 years old, just became the oldest known person to make a hole-in-one on a regulation golf course.

McLean aced the par-3, 100-yard fourth hole at Bidwell Park in Chico, Calif., using a driver. "For an old lady, I still hit the ball pretty good," she said. Alas, because of the pitch of the green, McLean wasn't able to actually watch her ball drop into the cup:

"Where's my ball?" McLean asked.

Her friends, Elizabeth Rake and Kathy Crowder, found it in the cup.

"I said, 'Oh, my Lord. It can't be true. It can't be true.' I was so excited. And the girls were absolutely overcome," McLean said.

McLean will appear on the April 24 episode of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" to celebrate the feat.

The Florida Gators will win tonight!

The Florida Gators will repeat as national champions in NCAA basketball. They are a great team and Ohio State will be defeated by ten points or more.

Baseball has started!!!

The 2007 season has started and it should be a fun year. Barry Bonds should break the all-time home run record presently held by Henry Aaron. This should be a breakout year for the Royals. The Royals beat the powerful Red Sox today 7-1. Alex Gordon was 0-3 with two strikeouts. Watch for the Royals to challenge for a playoff bid in 2007.

The Cubs lost today which is no surprise. However they do have big news as the "Tribune" plans to sell at year-end. Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, Phoenix sports executive Jerry Colangelo and actor Bill Murray are among those reported or rumored to have interest, along with numerous Chicago business figures.This could be the break that will make them winners. The Red Sox sold in 2002 and after many years of not winning a World Series, they now have won.

The Royals will win more games than the Cubs in 2007 but watch for the Cubs to win the World Series by 2011. What's the big deal to wait four more years when it has been so long anyway.

Purify catches Sean Payton's eye!

Sean Payton, head coach for the New Orleans Saints and the NFL Coach of the Year, said today in Lincoln that he was impressed with No. 16. He was speaking about Maurice Purify. Coach Payton said he would like to take him home with him.

This writer was impressed with all the QB's. Keller and Ganz are pretty close but throw two different balls. Keller throws a harder ball and has a stronger arm. Ganz throws a nice ball to catch and is overall pretty accurate.

Carl Nicks is the largest offensive lineman. The line looks bigger with Matt Slauson now playing guard. Myrtha looks slimmer and quicker and improved. The receivers looked impressive with Todd Peterson and Maurice Purify looking real impressive.

The NU linebackers look very good and the defensive line should be ok. Suh will have a big year and hopefully Brandon Johnson will be big. Andre Jones looked more polished.

Overall the team should be competitive to win the Big 12 this fall. The recovery of Zach Bowman will be crucial.

Zach Bowman injures his knee today!

Zach Bowman injured the knee that he did not have surgery on last year. It is unknown at this time the extent of the injury but we all hope it is just a bruise and he will be back soon.

Kenny Wilson broke his femur carrying a tv and will be out for next season. He has been Mr. Unlucky and this injury may keep Major Culbert at running back. Lets wish the best for Kenney Wilson.

The Chicago Cubs optioned Mark Prior to Iowa. This writer feels it won't be too long before he is back to the major leagues.

White and Marks are leaving the NU basketball team!

Jamel White is leaving NU!! He was a great player for a freshman two seasons ago but was average this year. Late in the season he was suspended by Coach Sadler for undisclosed reasons. Hopefully he will flourish in another system.

Karl Marks appeared at times to be a tremendous talent but never fit in the new system. He is rough on the edges but if he ever gets things figured out, he can be an excellent talent. He would be in the highlight reel for this year a number of times as he made some sensational plays for his limited time.

Coach Sadler needs to make room for his players so this will help. Don't be surprised to see a couple more players leave before next season.

Sports Shorts

Why did Dominic Davis change his name to Dominic Williams?
He has changed to his Mother's maiden name because Davis was his brother's father's name (his step-father), and in the state where he is from, he had to take that name. However, after he's had kids now, he stated that he didn't want them to be known as something they are not, and had his name officially changed to Williams so that his children would be Williams' also, as an homage to his mother. Obviously he doesn't care for his step father.

Dominic's career may be over as his knee is very damaged.

The referees inthe NCAA tournament have been inconsistent. It seems they like to call touch fouls and let the big men pound on each other. Greg Odom should have been called for a fragrant foul vs. Xavier. They probably would have lost the game if the foul would have been called so. A critical no call on Georgetown for traveling ended up being a victory for GT. They would have lost without it. That was a difficult call, however w/o instant replay.

How many of you are going to KC this year to watch Alex Gordon and the Royals? How many are planning vacations around it? Even Omaha will be fun to watch this year with a group of younger upcoming players on the team. What are you doing? Let us know.

Husker baseball team is average right now!

Right now the Husker baseball team should not be rated. They are average at best. They beat Western Illinois today 3-2. Dorn has an ERA of 5.40 and Watson is in the high fours. Shirek is at a 4.5 which is expected right now for him. Does Mike Anderson expect to peak during the Big 12 this year instead of earlier in the season as in the past. Let's hope so.

Pete Rose now says he bet on all Red's games when he coached. Different story different day.

Spring ball for the Husker football team tomorrow. Larry Asante will show he is awesome. Again, Joe Ganz has a great chance to be our starting QB.

Is there a witch hunt against Kobey Bryant? Probably not.

Carl Nicks and defensive lineman Suh will be all Big-12 this year. Suh is a sensational player and will be the most improved player on the team.

Zach Bowman is at 90%. Did you know he played BB inhigh school with Mario Chalmers of Kansas?

We will have a safety and cornerback make all Big 12 this year. You saw it here first/

Sports Shorts

Lance Thorell of Loomis made the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal Star's first team in basketball in D-1. He has had a sensational career and next will be track where he will defend winning the hurdles last year. This fall Lance will walkon at NU in football.

John Goodwin was placed on the second team in Class B in both papers. The Holdrege Dusters will miss his talent and leadership next year. He was also an all-state QB.

The NU women will play today against Temple. Should be a great game. The winner plays the #1 team in the nation, Duke. The fourth leading score of all-time for the Huskers is Kiera Hardy who has 1907 points. Karen Jennings is the all-time leading score with 2405 points.

Twenty years ago Moe Iba resigned as NU BB coach after losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Western Kentucky. He was a much underrated coach.

Today's Nascar winner at Atlanta will be Jimmie Johnson. Tony Stewart will finish second.

The biggest upset to this writer so far of the NCAA tournament is Winthrop over Notre Dame. With few upsets the second round play has been exception with a record number of overtimes yesterday.

Texas plays USC today at 5:15. Should be a great game. Matt Hill had one rebound in the first round game with limited play.

Antoine Young (Bellevue West) , a Creighton recruit, and Josh Jones of Omaha Central are both juniors and made the Lincoln Journal's first team Super State Team. Making second team are juniors Mike Fox of Beatrice, John Levorson of Crete, Wes Eikmeier of Fremont Bergan, and Jesse Carr of Ainsworth.

Jordon Hooper, a freshman from Alliance, made the Lincoln Journal's second team Super State team.

The NU baseball team is struggling this year. The lost yesterday 9-8 to Texas Tech and go to 10-7 on the year. Johnny Dorn was hit hard in four innings giving up six runs. Andrew Brown had his fourth home run for the season.

This Wednesday starts the beginning of spring ball for the NU football team. There will be a battle between Joe Ganz and Sam Keller at QB. This writer believes Joe Ganz will be the early leader. This fall could be different.

Senator Chuck Hagel delayed his announcement to run for President of the United States. He has worked himself into a pretty good chance to beat a John McCain, the front runner. It may be easier for him to win this position than to win back the Senate seat in Nebraska. If Hal Daub and Jon Bruning both challenge him, it will be close contest as Hagel has lost some votes due to his criticism of George Bush.

Highlights today in sports is the NCAA BB tournament will Kansas and Texas playing AND the Nascar race in Atlanta. Have fun!!

March Madness Begins!

No better time of the year in sports than the NCAA basketball tounrnament!! Who will win this year? It is never certain as to who will win but it is hard not to pick Florida. Everybody is back from last year's championship team! But as we know in this tournament the unexpected usually happens.

Looking at the brackets, this writer predicts the Final Four to be Florida, Kansas, Georgetown, and Texas A & M. Florida will face off against Georgetown in the Championship game with FLORIDA winning it all again. They have been here before and they are hungry to win it again. They know what it takes.

Spring ball starts next Wednesday. There will be a lot of players not participating due to injuries. Kenny Wilson is out. Zach Lee, contending for the QB position, is out. FB Matt Senske is out. Mike McNiel, potentially the #1 TE, is out. Jacob Hickman, Mike Huff, Corey Young, Barry Turner, and Craig Rourke are out.

If Kenny Wilson can't get better, don't rule out a medical redshirt this year. He has a staph infection in his knee that just doesn't go away.

Major Culbert will continue to workout at RB due to the numbers being down. We still see him as a defensive back when his career gets going.

Good luck to the women's NU BB team. If they win in the first round, which they should, they will face the #1 team in the nation, Duke.

Good grief! Oklahoma St gets beat in the first round of the NIT at home and Kansas ST wins by two at home against Vermont. Has strong is the Big 12. Will they be competitive in the NCAA tournament. Make your comments!

We are back......now what do we do?

It has been close to six months since our house fire and we have been almost non-existent since September of 2006. Where do we go from here? What do you want to hear and talk about? Let me know. It is time to roll again.

This year's Nebraska high school basketball tournament is now complete. This writer was not able to attend the tournament for the first time in many years. With that in mind, it is time to talk about this year's most memorable events of the 2007 basketball tournament.

Loomis has been to state and won two championships in 1999 and 2004 and was beaten in the championship game in 2005. Loomis made it to the semi-finals this year and was beaten by Leigh. The run could be over for a while as they lost a bunch of seniors.

The Class A Championship game was loaded with talent. Bellevue West and the Class A champion Omaha Central teams put on a show in overtime. These two teams have a bunch of talent.

Jesse Carr from Ainsworth is sensational. He is a lot of fun to watch and he has the potential to play Division I ball. Nebraska may be a great choice. The junior has one more season to show his stuff and he will be fun to watch. He has a good supporting cast.

Who are the best high school basketball players in Nebraska this year? They are:
1. Jesse Carr-Ainsworth *Only a Junior. He can rebound, pass, and score.
2. Wes Eikmeier-Fremont Bergan *He is headed to Iowa State.
3. Antoine Young-Bellevue West *Another Junior who is headed to Creighton
4. Jeff Allgood-Bellevue West *Junior When he gets hot no other player can shoot 3's like him.
5. Josh Jones-Omaha Central *Great player on the best team in the state the past two years.

Matt Kenseth will win the Nascar Nextel race in Vegas this week. Jimmie Johnson will finish second.

The NU basketball team is most likely finished for this year. They will lose Charles Richardson and Marcus Perry. Nebraska will have seven new players next year if they all qualify academically. James Barr is one of the seven who will join the team the second semester. He is a transfer from USC. He has a big body and his specialty is rebounding which NU can use. Charles Richardson will be missed and will be hard to replace. The MVP for the 2006-2007 team.

Doc Sadler makes NU basketball fun and he tells it like it is which the fans like. We hope he is around for a long time and it will be interesting how well his recruits do.

Should the men's NU basketball team go to the NIT?? Let us know. Please make comments.

NU Women will go to post season!!

This week starts the Women's Big 12 tournament. NU should go on to the NCAA tournament but a great showing would help their cause. We should get some quality results as they seem to be back on track.

The men's team will play Oklahoma St Monday. They will need to win in Lincoln and then win at least two games in the Big 12 to get to the NIT. They are very capable although they have not been successful lately. The three games with Baylor, Iowa State, and Colorado were all winable but they come up short due to poor shooting.

Ryan Anderson was ejected yesterday in the Colorado game. Xavier Silas started fighting with him and he did what anybody would have done to protect himself. The referees didn't blow the jump ball in time and Silas in a scuffle elbowed Anderson in the head. It looked very intentionable. Don't know why Anderson really was ejected. Silas should be suspended for at least a game.

This writer believes whenever there are rules or restrictions that those that make the rules should explain the reason for them. The NU Athletic Department should explain the access policy to the fans so they understand them. This would go a long ways as we have only heard one side of the story so far. NU has very avid fans and to give a complete open door would cut the efficiency of them getting their job done. What's to keep a car load of drunks going up to the football office or the athletic department and causing a huge disruption. Controls have to be set but it would be nice to have scheduled times for fans to view the complex without an appointment. With more exposure, more money will funnel into the department. A warm but safe atmosphere is beneficial to all.

Kind of weird not having South Sioux City in the girl's state basketball tournament this year. They will be back. Holdrege returns all five starters from their tournament team this year. Crete returns two potential Division I players. Alliance has Jordon Hooper returning. Should be interesting.

Get those NCAA brackets ready. Next Sunday we see who gets in. Who is your favorite to win? Kansas?

NU Men's BB will have difficult time making NIT

This writer didn't think NU really had a chance this year to win over ten games after the exhibition season was complete. They competed this year and played hard. They had two games where the basket wouldn't fall of late. They were Iowa State and Baylor. Both games we could have and should have won. Iowa State allowed the ball to go to Alex Marik but he couldn't put enough of them down.

I love watching Charles Richardson. He is the MVP of this team. He will be difficult to replace but if they are to improve, somebody will need to step up.

The women's team is hopefully back on track and ready to make a run in the Big 12 and NCAA tournament.

It will be fun to watch our new assistant football coach, Joe Rudolph. He is young and looks to be a star on the horizon.

No big upsets today so far at the girl's HS tournament. Holdrege wins by seven and plays Crete tomorrow night.

Who is your MVP on the NU BB team for this year?

NU Men's BB Team will need to step up now!!

We now start our way to the NCAA tournament this week. We go to Baylor. Should be an easy one as we walk away with a 65-64 victory to move up the ladder in the Big 12. We may win the rest of our games which will put us in a great position entering the Big 12 tournament. This writer hopes that Kansas is on the other side of the bracket. Seriously, we need to finish strong and we should be in position to play in the NIT against some tough talent.

The NU women need to get going again and get out of their present tailspin.

High school BB tournament time is here and it will be fun again. Class A is wide open on the boy's side this year.

The first NASCAR race is now complete and what a mess that was. Look for the better drivers to finish up top this week. It was great to see Mark Martin go for the victory. This may be Kevin Harvick's year to win the points race.

Need comments on the following questions:
1. How many victories will the NU men BB team end the season with?
2. What will be the score of our Wed. game this week vs. Baylor?
3. Who will win the Nextel Cup points race this year?

"We Are Marshall"

"We Are Marshall" is the best show this writer has seen in a long time. This is a true story based on a tragic airplane crash that involved the Marshall football team. 75 members of the Marshall football team coaching staff and fans were killed in the crash. The movie is about grieving families and the leadership of Jack Lengyel, a young coach who was determined to rebuild the football team. By doing this he helped a community heal and gain strength.

This is a movie where you don't look at the watch to see if it is about over. It is a great movie and the acting is superb. You can feel the emotions of each one of them. Matthew McConaughey as Jack Lengyel and Antony Mackie as Nate Ruffin are tremendous. Matthew Fox as Jack Dawson does such a great job.

Go see this movie. It is true, well acted, and will have an impact on your life.

Josh Pfeifer of Holdrege was 37-0 going into the State Wrestling meet. He was beaten inhis second and fourth matches. Josh broke the wins, pins, and total points records for Holdrege this year. He ended the season 39-2 and should be proud of his career as a wrestler.

Kansas plays the NU men's team today. Look for this one to be closer which isn't saying much. I think NU will keep it within ten. Predicted score 65-56, Kansas.

What are your predictions for this game?

NU BB will play in the NCAA tournament!

Yes, the NU women will go to the NCAA tournament this year and will do well.

The caption above is for the men's program. Huh? Yeah, NU will get slaughtered by national power Texas A & M tonight, right? Sure or will they. Who would have thought we would knock off Texas Tech on their home floor. Watch for a close game and a chance for NU to win at the end. And if they do then........

We play Kansas St., Missouri, Iowa St., Oklahoma, and Oklahoma St. at home yet. WE win four of five which is possible and that puts us at 7-6. We play Kansas, Baylor, and, Colorado away. We could take two out of three and that puts us 9-7 in the Big 12 with 20 wins. We are off to the NCAA tournament with 22 or 23 wins after the Big 12.

Don't give up yet and even with a loss tonight it is still possible if we finish really strong.

Predicted score tonight is Texas A & M 72 NU 66.

What are your thoughts on this?

Toyota is in NASCAR now. Will they have an impact? Will Michael Waltrip and Dale Jarrett be back in the top 10 in points? Give us your thoughts.

NU BB toughest game coming up

Texas A & M will be the NU toughest opponent to date this Saturday night. They have a ton of talent and just beat Kansas at at Kansas. Remember the team that was ahead of us 43-8. The NU BB won't back down and who knows what will happen so watch and enjoy. Charles Richardson continues to be a great leader.

The new recruiting class of 2007 has been announced. The Schulte kid from Norfolk has been added. Looks like a great class that will fill some of our needs in the future. This writer likes Jaivorio Burkes who turned down a scholarship at Wisconsin and Purdue among others. He is the No. 7 guard per Rivals.com.

Quentin Castille looks like a great running back from Arizona. He turned down offers from Georgia Tech and Louisville. This writer thinks Zach Lee could be the best of the bunch. He is a QB from a Juco in San Fransisco who has three years left to play. He did get hurt in December and may be limited in spring ball. He is the No. 1 Juco QB and is the son of Bob Lee,the former pro QB.

Look for Armando Murillo and Larry Asante to provide some immediate help at defensive back.

Coach Busch did an exceptional job of recruiting this year.

The two road wins back-to-back for the NU BB team were the first since 1999. Danny Nee's team did it twice that year.

Who is your favorite recruit. Let us know who he is and why you like him.

Lance Thorell will walk on at Nebraska

Mike Thorell, Lance's dad, verified that Lance will walk on at Nebraska for football. Lance has excelled at football, basketball, and track at Loomis High School. He may play wide receiver or defensive back. Either way, NU will get a hard working kid who will do everything he can to contribute to the NU program.

Lance is a cousin of Matt Hill, wo plays basketball for Texas. His grandpa, Don Thorell, has quite a group of grandkids who have done well as athletes. Megan Hill plays Kansas volleyball. Drew Billeter plays basketball at Hastings College. Luke Thorell was part of the Loomis basketball championship team along with Lance and Drew. There are still a couple of grandkids coming up.

Dan Reese of the BIGRED REPORT says of Lance "He a Legacy! WE will call him "Otter" because he otter be a goodun".

Last fall before the football season, we asked Lance some questions about himself. This was his reply.

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.

Mike Masin will walk on at NU!

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 Mike Masin. . As a basketball player, Matt went 7-7 from the field in consecutive games.

Mike 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.