Sport Shorts

I feel as stupid as I look. This writer really thought that NU would beat Baylor. All the news was positive as NU was having some of their best practices all year and Baylor had basically given up. Now before the season was to start, Baylor was in most Top 25's. They had almost everybody back. But they had a terrible Big 12 season and "had given up."

Even though NU couldn't hit shots most of the season, against Baylor it had to be very frustrating as they couldn't get anything to drop. That is with the exception of Ade who was 9-15. Baylor looked like the Top 25 team they were supposed to be. They did one better today bu beating Kansas. That even makes me feel worse because I start to think what could have been. Texas is playing well now too. Missouri will be tough. Who knows who will win the tournament because it is wide open.

The Harlan County Lake is growing again. The elevation is 1946.36. This compares to 1942.56 on 3/11/08 and 1930.73 on 3/13/07. There are no outflows right now as they are disking the islands below the dam.

It will be interesting to see how Barry Turner comes out this spring. He is a difference-maker and with Suh and him in the line, well............

TO Owens is going to have a reality show on VH1. Oh boy...don't think I'll watch that one. Good luck to the Buffalo Bill's sideshow.

Florida and Oklahoma are the favorites in college football for 2009.

The NU baseball team is showing some promise. It will be a fun and interesting year. Will Adam Bailey continue his hitting? Will Belfonte start to hit? How about Yost and Hauptmann and the pitching. Khiry Cooper looks solid. They will continue to improve and who knows???

There will be a new ballpark in Sarpy County for the Omaha Royals. It will cause some renewed enthusiasm when it is completed.

I like Lincoln Southwest in Class A, Ralston or Beatrice in Class B, Hastings St. Cecilia in C-1, Ravenna in C-2, Giltner, D-1, and Hayes Center in D-2 in the Nebraska Boy's State Tournament. I wish I was there.....

The Hastings St Cecelia's 81-7 victory over Southern Valley earlier in the year is still one of the most amazing things this season. C-1 Southern Valley won nine games this year. 46-0 at halftime! Just amazing.

I brushed my teeth last week. What do you think?? Charming, I think.

NU by ten in the first round!

I'll take NU 66 Baylor 56!

What is your projected score?

Larry the Cable Guy will perform at Memorial Stadium!

Lincoln Journal Star

Charlie McBride talks recruiting

My brother Scott sent this to me in an e-mail. It was from an interview in 2006. I am not sure of the source. The most impressive performance I have ever seen in the Red-White game was Terry Rodgers. This was before he got hurt.

Interesting quotes from old Charlie Mcbride... If anyone has forgotten:

HP: Do you have any recruiting stories about some of the athletes you
recruited?

CM: The best story I have is when I went to North High School in
Wichita, Kansas to recruit a young man who was a friend of ex-husker
Jeff Smith. Jeff now lives in Wichita and works in the justice system.
He's a parole officer. Through the years Jeff has gotten to be really
good friends with this one particular kid and, I didn't know this, but
the player came up to me and said, coach, I'm so and so and I really
want to go to Nebraska. He said Jeff has been one of my friends and he's
talked to me about Nebraska. He got his degree there and that's what I
really want to do. I looked at the kid and he was just a little guy. I
look at this film and I'm saying to myself, you know we need to
scholarship this guy. He was probably 155 ? 160 pounds, probably 5'9".
So I went back and showed Tom the film and he said, Charlie we can't
recruit him. He said we're bringing in Johnny Rogers' son and we cannot
take two small running backs. We just can't do it. So I went and turned
the kid down. His name was Barry Sanders. So I'm famous for turning
Barry Sanders down and a lot of people through the years called me a lot
of names, but of course after they read this segment, they may call me
more. It was bad because Johnny's son Terry got hurt and never really
played much. Barry Sanders was like trying to tackle an eel. The guy was
probably the best back I ever saw, as far as running the football.
We were at Oklahoma State and the teams both went to the same movie
theater. After the show Thurman Thomas, Oklahoma State's running back
actually came on our bus. Broderick Thomas and Neil Smith were sitting
up in the front of the bus. Thurman said "there's nobody on this bus
that can take me one on one." I remember Neil Smith saying, "Well we
believe that, but there's eleven of us that can". In the third quarter
he had seven yards rushing and they put Sanders in and he had 77 in the
fourth quarter. I looked at Tom and said "that's the guy we turned down"
and he just shook his head and said, "Yeah I see that." Then we had to
put up with him for the next three years or so.

I guess I need your help after all.

Please click on this site to help me win a contest. You don't have to do anything but click on the link. Thanks!

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NU basketball wins weirdly!

Nebraska, not known for their free throw shooting, closed out the game shooting 16 of 18 free throws. NU had been hitting less than 70%. Then Alonzo Edwards hits two threes!! He isone of our big men that haven't played much this year. Toney McCray hits for 17. Cookie Miller has five rebounds. Paul Velander and Brandon Richardson go 1-9 from the field. On and on............but NU wins the game 66-62 at WACO vs. Baylor. Next game up.....Baylor in the Big 12 tournament.

What in the world happened to Creighton. 73-49 or something like that. Surely it won't be Creighton vs Nebraska in the first round of the NIT will it?

Yeah we need to step up recruiting a notch but first let's step up our non-conference schedule by three or four notches and play in some top venues (Madison Square Garden) and maybe recruiting for Doc will get better. Here is the Pomeroy ratings of our home games this year in Lincoln:
195..307..134..53.(Creighton)..196..222..269..This was our worst loss of the year vs.MD Baltimore County..273..341..330..............That's bad. The only team in the top 133 teams in the country we played was Creighton. WOW!

Missouri played at home or on a neutral court (23) Xavier, (36) USC, (27) California, 25 Illinois, and Georgia. Now Missouri before the seasons started wasn't supposed to be that great this year but they played a tough non-conference schedule and then reeled off a 13-3 record in the Big 12.

Texas played at home or on a neutral site (34) Notre Dame in Hawaii, (6) UCLA, (20) Villanova, and (13) Michigan St. My guess is Matt Hill is at Texas because he can go to some of the top venues in America and Texas plays some of the best teams right there in Austin. Oh yeah, Texas is really good and we can't compete with that. Well, NU beat Texas this year in Lincoln.

Texas A & M played (95) Stephen F. Austin, (55) Tulsa, (38) Arizona, and (41) LSU at home or on neutral sites.

Baylor, yes Baylor, played (73) Providence, (17) Arizona St., (18 Wake Forest, and (64) South Carolina at home or on neutral sites.

If Baylor and A & M, and Missouri can add four or five non-conference games at home or on neutral sites, why can't NU. I know its tough but the fans want to see better talentcoming into Lincoln to play the Cornhuskers. The players want a good quality tournament to play in where the talent is some of the best. It will prepare them for the Big 12 and fan interest will increase. It has to happen!

Here's our projected finish at Atlanta with our Nascar race tomorrow:
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Carl Edwards
4. Jeff Burton
5. Greg Biffle
6. Clint Bowyer
7. Matt Kenseth
8. Kevin Harvick
9. Tony Stewart
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Nebraska BB will win final two games!

NU will win tomorrow night in Lincoln and THEN go to Baylor and beat a team that has lost ten out of twelve games. That will leave NU 8-8 and 19-12 overall. NU will win the first game and then lose to KU in the second round of the Big 12 tournament. They will go to the NIT 20-13.

Lance Thorell was in Holdrege on Sunday and helped the Bethel Luthern Church with a fundraiser called Huskers' Rock'n the Heart. Lance said that "With God's help, you can get through everything."

Lance answered questions for close to an hour. Here are some of his comments.
1. Suh was not very happy two years ago but when Pelini came to NU he wanted a family atmosphere. Suh liked that and started to have fun again as a player.
2. Lance thought that Bo Pelini chews spearmint gum at the games but he didn't know how many packs he went through each game. He jokedly did say as long as he is chewing gum, he was doing less chewing on the players.
3. Lance was asked about Bo's grey sweatshirt he wears during the games. He said he thought he wore it because it made him more comfortable and the players wanted him comfortable.
4. The players that were not at class or were late had to go the length of the field doing five pushups and five setups every five yards. When the whole team was disciplined, they had to do pencil rolls the length of the field three times. He said everybody was puking.

NU football isn't all glamour is it? Luke did an excellent job and you can tell he loves NU football and respects and likes his coaches.

In other notes, Major Culbert has left the NU football team.

Technically a Technical

On Friday night the Franklin Flyer women took on undefeated Sandyhills/Thedford. S/T missed a last second shot and everyone stormed the court because they thought the game was over but there was 0.1 seconds left on the clock. The refs then gave Franklin a technical for having too many players on the floor. S/T made both free throws to go into overtime and eventually won the game. Tough call to make as a ref but technically the correct call. Read the entire aricle from the Kearney Hub and let me know if you think a technical should have been called.

(Hub photo by Matt Noffke)

Kearny Hub

Sport Shorts

How is that Harlan County Lake doing? Well, it is presently at 1946.12. This compares to 1942.37 on March 4th, 2008 and 1929.33 on February 28,2007. The lake is up almost 17 feet in two years. WOW!! This fishing should be really good in 2009. Reproduction should be very good.

Nebraska plays K-State tonight in what should be a K-State win. I think the must-wins are over. We just need to play hard and hope for an NIT bid!

Nascar goes to Vegas this week. Here is this writer's expected finish.

1. Jimmy Johnson
2. Carl Edwards
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Matt Kenseth
5. Danny Hamlin
6. Greg Biffle
7. Jeff Burton
8. Jeff Gordon
9. Mark Martin
10. Kyle Busch

Why is the Shelby 427 now 427 rather than 400? Do you remember the wreck Jeff Gordon had last year? See the answers here.

Fanhouse

IcyHot Huskers fall to the Aggies

The Huskers lost last night 57-55 on a last second shot. The first half the Huskers were on fire and dominating the Aggies but it was a different story the second half. The Huskers were cooler than cool (ice cold) in the second half which cost them the game. The Huskers shot 48% from the field with 45% from behind the arc in the first half while A&M shot 39% from the field and 40% from behind the arc. Turnovers were the story of the first half. A&M had 9 turnovers to the Huskers zero. In the second half, the Huskers shot only 25% from the field and 16% from behind the arc. With no threat inside for the Huskers, they struggled when they couldn't hit from the outside. One of A&M's best players, Josh Carter, finally turned it on in the second half and hit the game winning shot as time expired. It was a heart breaker because the Huskers had the lead since 4 minutes into the game. They suffered an eleven minute drought in the second half where they didn't score a field goal. This is the reason the Husker aren't great yet. They can be a good team and most of the time are a good team but if you have no inside threat, you cannot be great. The Huskers have some great shooters but when you are struggling from outside, you have to get some easy buckets inside and when that is not an option, that's when the Huskers collapsed. The Huskers really need to win at least two games if not more in the Big 12 Tournament in order to even be considered for March Madness. I enjoy watch the Huskers play, but it was a hard loss to take last night, especially for the players.

Patrick Witt is leaving the Nebraska football program!

Patrick Witt was the QB most thought would be leading the NU football team next year! His father has confirmed he is leaving the program according to the Big Red Network. It's a shocker and it will be interesting to see why he is leaving.

Sports Shorts

The NFL combine in Indianapolis has begun. Lydon Murtha had a great day. He was the only lineman to break five seconds in the 40 with a 4.89. It was the second fastest 40 since the inception of the combine by a lineman. WOW! He was also first in the 3 cone drill and the 20 yard shuttle. He was second in the vertical jump with a jump of 35 inches. He was 3rd in the standing broad jump.

Matt Slauson just did a couple of events and finished 3rd in the vertical jump with 34 inches and 3rd in the standing broad jump. Slauson will do his running at the PRO day in Lincoln at a later date.

Marlon Lucky and Nate Swift will perform tomorrow. Zach Potter and Cody Glenn will go Monday.

NU baseball lost today 2-1 to Louisiana/Lafayette. They are 1-1 now after winning in 15 innings Friday night. The Husker pitchers look real good but the hitting has a long way to go. Nebraska doesn't look like a team with much power. In fact it may be a few games before they hit a home run. They won't have many this year.

Jason Whitlock says with the problems in California that maybe its time to bring the Sacramento Kings back to KC. Not a bad idea. The economy is definitely better there and will be for a long time. Why not? Maybe we can see Kansas City/Omaha like it used to be. Remember Nate Archibald and Sam Lacey. It would be fun to see the NBA again. I don't really watch it much but if they were playing closer the interest would increase, for sure.

Nascar goes to California tomorrow. California is having financial trouble. I wonder if the crowds are down. I wonder if there will be a full house for the race tomorrow. Here's how I see the top ten finishers:
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Carl Edwards
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Jeff Burton
5. Kyle Busch
6. Kevin Harvick
7. Tony Stewart
8. Jeff Gordon
9. Mark Martin
10. Kasey Kahne

Who do you put your odds on in California??

Because I am so cute, I like to tell cute jokes.
Why did the chicken cross the road? To prove to the squirrels it could be done.

A man accidentally cut off all of his fingers with a saw. The doctor said, "Thank goodness for microsurgery. Give me the fingers, and I'll sew them back on!" The man said, "I couldn't pick them up!"

I tried to build a dog house, but I only had enough dogs to build 3 walls.

How do they get the "Keep off the grass" sign on the grass?

Can you find buck teeth at the dollar store?

NU goes to 6-5 in Big 12

NU won tonight 46-41. That is Nebraska style. That is a Moe Iba style win! Remember Moe and how NU fans got tired of him because they wanted more scoring. I just like wins!! I appreciate the great hustle and if we can slowly improve the overall talent each year, which will be a challenge, I am all for it.

Ade Dagunduro had 18 points. Almost half the points tonight. I have been thinking lately about the possibility of Ade playing in the NBA. Don't laugh. He has talent. But in the NBA he would need to be a guard and I am just not sure he can do that. But for his size, he is very good. He is the MVP for NU this year.

Nebraska is one of the nation's leaders in steals and turnover ratio. They hustle more than any team I have seen this year, they play controlled ball, and they are very focused on offense. This leads to very few turnovers and low scoring and a 6-5 record. Moe Iba is back at Nebraska.

Now if we can get Ryan Anderson, Steve Harley, and Paul Velander hitting threes again like they can around tournament time, we could go a long ways in Oklahoma City. If Brandon Richardson and Toney McCray can continue to improve, then who knows how far we can go............I'll bet Moe Iba is watching this team.

NU falters against Missouri

Nebraska just fell apart on Saturday vs. Missouri. They couldn't make a shot, they had 20 turnovers, and Missouri made a lot of transition baskets. The result MU 71-NU 47. Bad deal.

Nebraska dropped from 59th to 63rd in the Pomeroy Basketball ratings. Nebraska is improved this year even without Alex Maric. Last year they ended up 95th in the same ratings.

Nebraska plays Colorado this Wednesday. Colorado is dangerous, scary, and improving. Nebraska will need to slow down the game and play defense like they can. NU 57-54.

NU baseball starts this weekend. They go to Louisiana-Lafayette, who is a very good team. Who are the starters going to be for Nebraska this year? Looks like Mike Nesseth 4-1 3.58, Erik Bird 5-1 4.05, and Jordan Roualdes who is a new member of the team this year. After that you have Matt Freeman 0-0 4.66, Casey Hauptman 1-0 4.34, and Michael Mariot 2-0 6.95. NU offensively will be led by Nick Sullivan and D.J. Belfonte.

The NFL combine starts this week. Former Nebraska players Matt Slauson, Nate Swift, Lydon Murtha, Marlon Lucky, Cody Glenn, and Zach Potter have all been invited.

Nebraska has a tough task today but..

Could NU upset the Tigers in Columbia today? Yes, they can. No I am not in a dream world today. Nebraska seems to match up well with the Tigers and they are playing great ball so.... it can happen. We'll go out on the limb today and call it a 51-50 victory for the Huskers. This game could take them a long way to the NCAA tournament. Ade Dagunduro has to have a great game AGAIN and Velander, Harvey, and Anderson have to hit some 3's. Toney McCray could also be out next star and he needs to have a good game today.

Now on to the DAYTONA 500 and predictions for this week. It is hard to predict this race because you never know who is going to be knocked out by the BIG ONE. But Mark Martin is part of the Hendrick's team this year and has Gordon, Earnhardt Jr and Johnson as teammates. Put Stewart and Newman (They are using Hendricks's engines) with them and Martin has a lot of drafting partners. Martin is well liked and so he is this writer's favorite to win. Look to Jeff Gordon to push him to victory and finish second. Kyle Busch will be third and Tony Stewart fourth.

Here is our projected finish:
1. Mark Martin
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Kyle Busch
4. Tony Syewart
5. Brian Vickers
6. Jamie McMurray
7. Scott Riggs
8. Elliott Sadler
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
10. Reed Sorenson

NU beats Texas for a big win!

Nebraska beat Texas 58-55 on Saturday. Nebraska slowed down the game by waiting to take a shot or go the the basket with ten seconds left on the time clock. The defense created turnovers by their swarming defense. Ade Dagunduro played perhaps his best game as a Cornhusker. He had seventeen points and nine rebounds. He showed he could drive and score against much taller players and he can also hit the three point shot. Cookie Miller played his usual smooth game of running the team. Toney McCray was very impressive and as he gets better, he will be a key to Nebraska's future.

Nebraska is now ranked 59th in the Pomeroy Rankings. Their best win was probably not against Texas but their win vs. Missouri on January 10th. NU won that game 56-51. Missouri is now ranked 9th in the Pomeroy rankings. They are 20-4. Their other losses are to Xavier(20), Illinois(25), and Kansas State(34). Our next game, which is next Saturday, will be at Missouri. They are a hot team right now.

Doc Stadler has put his stamp on this team. They are 2nd in the nation in turnover percentage and 4th in steal percentage.

I watched Jesse Carr and Colorado State play TCU Saturday. Jesse Carr is having a great year. He had 30-40 fans from Ainsworth watching the game. Both teams didn't play defense any where near what Nebraska does. The shortest team(Nebraksa) in Division I is also the scrappiest.

The Pomeroy Rankings have Duke (1), Connecticut (2), and North Carolina (3).

Did you know that 48% of the college football All-Americans were ranked three stars or less coming out of high school? Only 33% were listed in the top 100 coming out of high school. That's why a Boise State is always a high ranked team even though they have averaged 75th in recruiting.

In college basketball, Oklahoma and Kansas have a combined record of 17-0 in league play.

Martin Truex Jr. and Mark Martin will be in the front row for the Daytona 500.

There are a lot of car changes this year. Watch for these drivers to be in different cars.
Tony Stewart #14
Paul Menard #98
Joey Lagano #20 It will seem very different not having Tony Stewart in this car.
Casey Mears #07 Clint Bowyer's old car.
Mark Martin #5 Casey Mears' old car
Ryan Newman #39
Travis Kvapil #28
Scott Speed #82 First year
Clint Bowyer #33 Harry Gant made this car famous in his day.
David Stremme #12 Ryan Newman's old car.

Nebraska and Texas play in a huge Big 12 game!

Texas has lost two in a row at home to Missouri and Kansas State. Not what you would call powers in college basketball. Texas is in a must win situation. Nebraska has won two in a row on the road against the bottom of the Big 12, Colorado and Texas Tech. Tomorrow Nebraska will be home.

The key players for Texas will be A.J. Abrams, Dexter Pittman, and Damion James. If all three of these players score 15 points or more, NU is in trouble. Gary Johnson could be their wildcard. Texas is loaded with talent.

Paul Velander, Ryan Anderson, and Ade Dagunduro are keys for Nebraska. They all have to score 15 points or more for NU to win. To NU's disadvantage, the score will be in the low 70's. Something like 72-71. Whichever team has those players score as stated above will pull out the close win.

Both need to win. Both need the win to advance to a different level in the Big 12. It should be a great game!

Matt Hill comes back to Lincoln to play to tomorrow. Hopefully he will get some time on the court. He is playing well defensively. He is getting better offensively. He could hurt Nebraska with his size if they let him get some playing time. By the way, Matt Hill is a cousin to Lance Thorell, who is a Nebraska football player.

See the article on Matt Hill.

Austin Statesman

Nebraska will even Big 12 record at 4-4!

Nebraska will go to 4-4 in the Big 12 Wednesday night with a score in the area of 57-52. NU needs a win in the worse way and is a better team than Colorado this year. They should be able to sweep them. It also looks favorable for the Huskers to squeeze out a win over Texas this Saturday. Nebraskans will get a chance to watch Matt Hill in Lincoln for the first time. Oh, if he was only a Husker!!!

Have you seen the Glenn Beck Show in FOX. Watch it! It will open your eyes.

How about "THE OFFICE" Sunday night. Best show ever for the best TV today. It is a classic.

How do you think the Huskers will fair in the next two games?

Tomorrow is the signing day for recruits. Looks like 21 or 22 high character kids that know how to win!! Needs overall have been met. Great job! Now it is time to go to work.

I've Been Tagged Too

This is Kim. As you can see below, my dad John got tagged. Then he tagged Brad and me and Brad has already made an entry so I will now tell 7 things about myself:

1. Finding new music is one of my favorite things to do. I love searching iTunes and youtube to find new songs. I especially like songs that are acoustic, have nice lyrics, and are easy to sing to. Most people don't like the music I love because they say it is boring, depressing, and puts them to sleep. But it's those kind of songs that keep me awake when I am driving because they are so fun to belt out!

2. I have been very blessed with my family. I have great parents who do anything for me and are always there for me. I talk to both my mom and my dad John at least once a day. I also have two great sisters, Sarah and Jessica, who I share a special bond with. We are very close and I know we always will be.

3. I have also been blessed with amazing friends. From the time I was really little, I have always had a group of friends that share my values and my sense of humor. I still have most of the same friends that I had in high school, and have gained more in college. Being in my sorority Delta Gamma has been an experience like no other and I know I will be lifelong friends with many of them.

4. I work in the Nebraska football office. If I told you all of what I did, I would have to kill you. Not really, but that's fun to say. I have worked there for a year and a half and there definitely have been good times and bad times, but it will be an experience that I will never forget and be such a unique part of my life. I am currently working back with Coach Pelini's secretary so I get to do a lot of things for him. I also do a lot of work for the summer football camps.

5. I can't wait to find the guy I will marry. I sometimes fear I never will, because good guys seem to be very few and far between. People tell me that I am too picky, but that's only because I would never settle for less than the best person for me.

6. I am going to graduate in May and I have no idea what I am going to do when I am done. I am working at the football office until the end of June to help with camps, but after that, I need to find a big kid job. I sometimes search for jobs online and I have never found a single one that appeals to me, so that is probably going to be a problem.

7. A large portion of my time is spent either on Facebook, checking my email, or watching tv. I can't get enough of Facebook and I don't really know what I did before I had it. Right now the shows that I have to watch every week are: Desperate Housewives, Samantha Who, Kath & Kim, Grey's Anatomy, The Office, & Friday Night Lights.

And that is seven things you may or may not have known about me, and you may or may not care... :)

Pat knight Ejected in NU game!

YOUTUBE

Now I've been Tagged

This is Brad (a rare contributor to the Journal, sorry John). As you may have already read below, John got tagged by the Todd. So now, John has tagged me and I have to tell 7 things about myself. So here it goes:

1. I am a HUGE Chicago Cubs fan. I have liked them for about 15 but loved them for the last 5. I never really cared to watch baseball or even play baseball but it has become my favorite sport to watch. I can watch a Cubs game everyday, which I usually do during the season (thanks to WGN and MLB.tv). I have been to Wrigley 3 times and been to about 10 Cubs games total. I would love for them to win the World Series but I know never to get my hopes up too high.

2. Like John, I was raised in and around Orleans. I enjoyed growing up there and glad I got to live in a small town. I went to grade school in Orleans but we to high school at Southern Valley. It was nice to consolidate with Oxford and Beaver City because a lot more opportunities arose after becoming a larger school.

3. I have a wonderful wife, Renelle. She is a teach at the Middle School here in Holdrege. She has been a teacher for 4 years and she likes it somedays. She loves her job but I can't imagine dealing with 8th graders all day. John is my favorite uncle thats name starts with J on my moms side.(John, you didn't mention anything about your favorite nephew in yours. I'm very disappointed).

4. I work as a Lab Tech in the Holdrege hospital and enjoy doing that. I have to draw the blood as well as run the test too. I have been here for 5 years now. It has gone fast!

5. While working in a lab is my job, I have many other passions. My passions come and go. I watch TV and see someone do someting on there that I think looks cool and I have to try it. I used to watch (and sometimes still do) The Ace of Cake on the food network. They decorate cakes on there and they are amazing. So I had to try and decorate a cake one time. It turned out pretty well for my first time, I thought anyway. I also enjoy comedy. I have written a small book called Dumb Concepts. It's pretty much like Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy but they are ones I have made up. I am currently working on a stand-up routine. I don't know what I will do with it when it is completed because I am somewhat shy around people and especially talking infront of them so I wouldn't be able to do the act. I also enjoy making videos of funny things but don't usually because I would need other actors and I am embarrassed of asking people do be in them because they might realize that I have the most random thoughts and ideas. I also wish I knew enough about computer software to make a cartoon because I have some ideas for a cartoon (it would be a Simpsons/Family Guy type cartoon) but I'm not smart enough to put it all together.

6. I very much enjoy watching tv and thanks to DVR I can watch more tv and not feel guily because I just skip through the commercials. Here is my lineup for a week:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report I watch MON-THUR.
Sunday: The Simpsons
Monday: Chuck, Heros, The Big Bang Theory
Tuesday: Scrubs, now American Idol, Fringe
Wednesday: Lost, Life, now American Idol
Thursday: My Name is Earl, The Office, 30 Rock, CSI (the good one)
Friday: nothing (Flashpoint might be on Fridays, I can't remember. It's been too long since it was on last.)
Saturday: SNL

I know, I watch a lot of tv.

7. My newest love is raquetball. I started playing about a month ago (never played before that) and I love it. I was terrible at first but since have moved up somewhere between bad and okay.

That's it from me. Thanks John, this was fun.

Nebraska basketball is close to being good!

Nebraska is a center and maybe a power forward away from being a top 25 team. That means by next year, NU will be fighting to get into the Top 25 and the following year, they will be there. There is little difference between the top of the Big 12, after Oklahoma, and the ninth best team. It is usually a player or two and some luck.

NU should beat Texas Tech, away, and Colorado, away. This will bring their record back to 4-4 in the Big 12. They will need to go 5-3 after that which won't be easy to end up 9-7 which could get them into the tournament if they would win a couple of games in the Big 12 tournament.

This writer is going with Arizona to win the Super Bowl. Why not? Great defense and a good offense! Arizona 30 Pittsburgh 24.

I've Been Tagged!

Todd from collegefootballtopten.com has tagged me. This means I need to give seven facts about myself.

collegefootballtopten

So we will give it a try.

1.I LOVE TO HUNT AND FISH
I have a passion for hunting and fishing. I love to hunt deer most of all. I got my first deer with a bow this year. I have shot deer with a rifle since I was 16. I also hunt turkey, pheasant, ducks, and geese. My dad started us hunting when we were very young and it is exciting, like the Nebraska football season. When my dad passed away a couple of years ago, many of the stories we still tell and memories I still have were tied to fishing and hunting. I have fished mostly along the Republican River, below where we were raised, for catfish. I do enjoy all fishing for all kinds of fish. My hunting and fishing buddies are my brothers. How much better can it get.

2. I WAS RAISED NEAR ORLEANS, NEBRASKA
I grew up near this small town in south-central Nebraska as I said by the Republican River. Our life was pretty simple when I was younger and we didn't have the rush-rush life we have today. Most everybody went out for all sports. Orleans was only 610 people when I went to high school. Now it is around 435. I am so glad that I was raised in this environment. We worked very hard and just enjoyed a slower quieter life.

3. I LOVE FAMILY
I have a great wife. Her name is Janet. She gives me space to enjoy things I like to do like hunting and fishing. She is there when I need her. I have three great girls who are grown up now. Two of my daughters, Sarah and Jessica, got married last year. They both have jobs and have great husbands. Sarah and Rob live in Lincoln. Jessica and Scott live in Omaha. Kim is in her last semester at UNL. I am very blessed. I also have two step-sons, Derek and Drew. Derek is a successful farmer. Drew is in his final year of school at Hastings College and is coaching basketball at Lawrence-Nelson. Derek and Ashley have a daughter. Drew and Whitney have a son. My mom is precious and is as nice a mother as you could ask for. I have three brothers and a sister and we are a very close family. I am very blessed.

4. HUSKER SPORTS
The biggest sport in Nebraska is Husker football. If you have never been to a football game in Lincoln, you should go. It is like no other in college football. In the fall, it becomes a big part of our life. Two of my daughters have worked in the football office, Sarah and Kim. Sarah worked for five years in the office and was recruiting office assistant before she changed jobs. Kim still is working there and assist Bo Pelini's secretary and is in charge of organizing the summer camps. Jessica is also a huge fan. I have season tickets and hardly ever miss a game. I also have season tickets for Nebraska basketball and enjoy going to those games also. I try to go to a few baseball games every year. It's a lot of fun.

5. I WORK IN A BANK
I was raised on a farm and I never ever wanted to work inside. I wanted to be an FBI agent and until my sophomore year in college, I had a criminal justice major in mind. But then somebody told me how much paperwork there was with being an FBI agent and this turned me off. Don't ask me how I got into banking and have been in this occupation for the past 33 years. I'm just not sure.

6. I LOVE TO READ
Reading is very enjoyable to me. I like to mix fiction with non-fiction. For instance, I read the Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell this month. The last book I read was Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck. This was given to me by Jessica and Scott. It is one of the best books I have ever read. It actually is somewhat similar to Glenn Beck's life, but not quite. It is a story that makes you appreciate what you have versus being unhappy about what you don't have. God is more important than material things (and how we act when we don't have them). It really makes you think. I have also been reading a book, The Nebraska Vault-History of the Cornhuskers by Mike Babcock. It has a wealth of information and has replicas of old tickets etc. It is written by the top historian of Nebraska football. Kim gave me this book. My next books are non-fiction. They are "Cross Country" and "Plum Spooky".

6. I LOVE TO EAT
It is not a coincidence that one of my favorite shows is Bizarre Foods on the Travel channel. Most of my life has been centered around food. I just love food of all kinds. I loved the Omaha Steaks package I got from Sarah and Rob. I love so many foods that cooking for me is easy. Sometimes I wish I was pickier but I am not. Of course being overweight has caused me some health problems so my eating habits are starting to change gradually. But I do love to eat!

7. I LIKE TO WATCH TV AND GO TO THE MOVIES
I try to DVR two or three shows every day so that I fly through the commercials and not take so much time watching TV. Boston Legal was great because I always wondered how much fun the writers had dreaming up the storylines. The Office is so funny I really look forward to watching it. I like Dateline NBC, 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, and FoxNews.
On the movie scene, I just watched Gran Torino. Funny as can be. My all-time favorite is Christmas Vacation. I like all kinds of movies. Lastly I watch a lot of sports. I am a sports fantasy junky. I love Nascar and have watched races at five different tracks. Fantasy football is a lot of fun. I also due fantasy golf and baseball and others.

So now I am supposed to tag seven other people who will give seven facts about themselves. I don't think I know seven bloggers. I will tag Jessica for her web site. I challenge Brad and Kim to give their seven facts on the Nebraska Sports Journal. I challenge Michael to list his seven facts on his website.

The Wheelers

Hunting and Fishing Journal

The Toddler comments on NU's recruits from Texas!

So far here is what I found.

Robinson is a running back for Euless Trinity High School. Euless was ranked number 1 in the nation by someone last year before losing in the playoffs. They have had a great program since I have been in Fort Worth (1996). I haven't found how many yards he had last year, but I am sure he will be a solid back. His 4.5 speed is decent, but maybe the Nebraska coaches can get it down a little bit. He knows how to win.

I don't know much about the other players. I think that Burkhead is just a good athlete who might be versatile. The other two are big tall linemen who need time in the weight room before we now how good they can be. These are only the players from North Texas. There is a middle linebacker from Ailene who looks pretty good, a corner back from San Antonio, an undersized DT from somewhere called Galena Park, and you have the quarterback.

Cody Green is the quarterback from Dayton, TX. He is 6-4, 220 and runs a 4.7 (needs to pick up some speed). He is a dual threat QB and is the # 7 ranked QB by Scout.com. He looks like he might be a keeper. He also has a 3.6 GPA (according to him, see scout.com). The Big Red Report did a story (interview?) about him earlier this month. We'll see.

Todd

--
Todd E. Jones
Get ready for Saturdays this fall!
www.collegefootballtopten.com

www.dfwfootball.net
All DFW. All Football

Things Just Stink!

Nebraska played hard and good enough to win today, but they just couldn't hit the shots! Sometimes they just don't fall. That's the shots, of course. The players were all over the court scrambling for loose balls and making things happen. It just stinks that the shots wouldn't fall. NU lost the game today but won the fans with their effort. They'll win games with this type of effort, but to lose today just stinks.

I thought booing President Bush as he left the White House this week was just total classless. At a time when the country needs unity, booing our outgoing President stinks.

Why are all these coaches getting fired. The colleges and pro teams hired them because they were great coaches and all the sudden they don't know how to coach? All the sudden they get stupid? Maybe the Athletic Directors and more importantly the General Managers of the pro teams need to look at themselves. It stinks.

Suspending John Daly for six months to play on the PGA tour stinks. He has been doing what he has been doing for several years and now we penalize the fans with a suspension? It stinks. He isn't hurting a team and if kids see what happens to a great player when he does the wrong things, then he may set an example for others.

When this wave of political power runs on a platform of keeping the environment clean, why did this group have some of their members arrive in Washington this week on 600 different jets. An all-time record for an inauguration. Do they think their jets won't cause pollution? It just stinks! Literally! The past two years the earth has recorded its two coldest years since records have been kept. Global warming? It stinks---the propaganda that is!

The fact that Marty Schottenheimer isn't coaching stinks!

How long will the high salaries be paid to professional athletes? It is way too high and with the economy downturn, team owners will start to take losses that will hurt all sports!! It stinks!

The fact that Boston Legal is no longer making new shows stinks!

The NU football team should have been rated in the Top 25 this year! It stinks!

In high school basketball, what about the team that won 100-0? That stinks!

Southern Valley had won five games this year and then played Hasting St. Cecelia! They were beaten 81-7!! Southern Valley's top score had two points! That stinks! Not the kids or the teams. It just doesn't seem possible. How can a team that has won five games be behind 46-0 at half? When I played we at least had somebody hit a shot by the second quarter.

Went hunting with a guide this winter called "Tracker" Bill Gerdes. All I have to say is he STINKS!

EEEW! What stinks? I gotta go!!!

NU will upset Oklahoma St.

This writer is 1-3 in picking NU basketball games this year but they are 2-0 at home so I go with the upset Saturday in Lincoln vs. Oklahoma St. NU is 2nd in the country in turnover percentage and 6th in steal percentage. This is a Doc Sadler team and you wouldn't expect them not to be good in these categories.

NU played well Wednesday night vs. Oklahoma. The game just got out of hand at the end, otherwise NU was very competitive.

The 2009 college football predictions are starting to come out. Everybody has Florida #1. Virginia Tech is rated in the Top 10 in all predictions and NU travels their way in 2009. Here is how the Big 12 is projected to finish in 2009:

MR. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Tony Barnhart (Atlanta Constitution-Journal)
#2 Texas
#5 Oklahoma
#7 Oklahoma St.
#20 Texas Tech
Nebraska is not rated in the Top 25

BRUCE FELDMAN (ESPN)
#2 Texas
#3 Oklahoma
#10 Oklahoma
He only does the Top 10

MATT HAYES(SPORTING NEWS)
#2 Texas
#3 Oklahoma
#12 Oklahoma St.
#21 Kansas
#23 Nebraska
Huskers must find a QB, but a surge of confidence from a nine win season---and playing smarter on defense---will carry over into 2009.

RIVALS.COM
#2 Texas
#4 Oklahoma
#10 Oklahoma St.
#19 Kansas

DENNIS DODD (CBS SPORTSLINE)
#2 Oklahoma
#3 Texas
#9 Oklahoma St.
#14 Kansas
#16 Nebraska
Slowly, surely the Huskers are getting swagger back. The difference in the Big 12 North is the Kansas game being in Lawrence KS.

MATT SCHLABACH (ESPN)
#2 Texas
#4 Oklahoma
#10 Oklahoma St.
#22 Nebraska
The Cornhuskers made great strides under first year coach Bo Pelini. So much so that they might be ready to challenge Kansas for the Big 12 North title in 2009. To take the next step, though, Nebraska will have to replace most of its skills players. Quarterback Joe Ganz, I-Back Marlon Lucky and receivers Nate Swift adn Todd Peterson are all departing. Seven starters are back on defense.
#23 Kansas
#25 Texas Tech

Sport Shorts

Paul Velander is having a great year on offense. He is rated 2nd in the nation in turnover percentage, 6th in field goal percentage, and 14th in the overall offensive rating for all players.

Nebraska plays at Oklahoma tomorrow night. If NU can stay within 10 points, it is a good night. NU doesn't have an answer for the top player in college basketball, Blake Griffin. He is averaging 22 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. The question is: "Will Brian Diaz play and how good is he?"

Oklahoma coach Jeff Caper had a 39-27 record coming into this season at Oklahoma. He has built them back to a national power. The game will be played at the Lloyd Noble Center which has a capacity of 12,000.

As an attendee of Football 202 last year, it was easy to see that one of the major positives of the football program was James Dobson. He is NU's head strength coach. He has a great passion for his job and the players! He is taking conditioning to a new level and with another year, the Huskers will be in better shape next year.

Look for a lot of new starters in 2009 on the football field. The defensive secondary could feature a lot of different faces.

Bill Self may have committed a recruiting violation. All he did was say hello to a recruit and told him "nice game". The rules have gotten way out of hand.

Augie Garrido, baseball coach from Texas, may lose his job because of his DUI. In this era, there is little tolerance for this type of arrest.

In 1971, NU had nine players on the All Big Eight team. Assistant coaches Monte Kiffin, Jim Walden, Carl Selmer, and Warren Powers all went on to be head coaches at the college level.

Who's the better QB, Mark Sanchez from USC or Matthew Stafford from Georgia? The top pick may be Stafford and his reward? may be to get drafted first by Detroit.

Football recruiting team ratings show LSU first, Ohio State second, and Texas third. USC is fourth with Nebraska 24th. Put whatever value you want on the rankings but we all know it doesn't mean much.

Cody Glenn may be our first draft pick as scouts are pretty high on him.

This writer doesn't think Chase Daniel will get drafted!!

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO BAR IN THE LEFT COLUMN. THERE IS SOME NEAT STUFF ON THERE!!!!!!!!!!

Matt Hill plays 27 minutes against Texas Tech!

Matt Hill played extensive minutes Saturday vs. Texas Tech! He played 27 minutes and had six points, five rebounds, and one blocked shot. Texas won 71-49 at Texas Tech. Matt is a former Lincoln Southeast graduate.

A few night ago Matt attended the San Antonio Spurs game with Alexis Wangmere, also a Texas player. Wangmere was Cameroon, which is in South Africa. His legal guardians are Mr. and Mrs. R.C. Buford. R.C. Buford is the General Manager of the San Antonio Spurs. At halftime, they went up Spurs box where (Desperate Housewives)Eva Longoria was eating. Matt got to meet her and said that she was pretty little. Eva Longoria is 5 feet tall and weighs under 100 lbs. Matt is 6'9". Longoria is married to San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker.

Nebraska could use Matt Hill this year. But they had an impressive win vs. Kansas St. Saturday with a 73-51 win. NU was hitting from all cylinders. Their effort was great and the defense overwhelmed K-State. This writer is now 0-3 in predicting NU games. K-State goes to 0-3 in the Big 12.

Approximately 12,000 fans watched Rex Eckwall, Kent Pavelka, Erick Strickland, and Danny Nee get honored for being the newest members to NU's Basketball Hall of Fame. They all got a nice welcome. Danny Nee was cheered and it was good to see the coach with the most wins in Nebraska history.

Yesterday, Kim (daughter) and myself went to the movie "Gran Torino". It is a must see!! It may be Clint Eastwood's last movie and it is different than most movies you will ever see!

Wildcards in the Super Bowl!

Look to Philadelphia and Baltimore to be in the Super Bowl. Both are wild cards. Baltimore has the best defense in football and will upset Pitsburgh in a low scoring game. Arizona will end their run with a loss to Philadelphia.

Should be two great games in the NFL this week! Don't miss them!

NU basketball took a hit last night losing to Iowa State at Iowa State. K-State probably won't go 0-3 and will be the Huskers this weekend 56-53. I hope I am wrong. This is a huge game for the Huskers because if they lose this one, they may be challenged to win three or four more games in the Big 12. Go Huskers!

Clcik on the FunOffice Pool icon in the left top column and register to play the America Idol game. We are all competitors even if it is just American Idol. The league name is Nebraska Sports Journal and the password is loser.

Nebraska has BIG win vs Missouri!!

Nebraska beat Missouri 56-51 on Saturday!! This is a win many fans thought wouldn't come. Missouri was one of the highest scoring teams in the nation with 86 points per game and what do you know NU holds them to 51!! WOW!

This writer thought NU would go 7-9 in the Big 12, but with this win he ups the record to 8-8. NU plays Iowa State in Ames this week. NU has to sweep Iowa St. and Colorado this year so this is a big game. This writer predicts a 58-57 win vs. Iowa State.

Ade Dagunduro had 20 points for the Huskers to the lead the scoring. He has been shooting a high percentage of shots lately and has become the go-to guy.

Who is Ade Dagunduro? He is a senior and was on the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team last year. He is the seventh player for Nebraska during the Big 12 era to be named as a Big 12 Rookie of the week. He was the second leading returner in scoring and rebounding from a year ago. He averaged 8.9 points per game and 3.6 rebounds.

Dagunduro joined the Huskers after a standout season at Antelope Valley (California) Community College, where he led the Marauders to a 31-7 record in 2006-07. He averaged 18.2 ppg and 8.8 rebounds that season. Before entering junior college, he played one season at Inglewood High School in California. He led his team to the Division II state title game and earned second team all-state.

Ade's brother, Ola,was a two year leader winner for the NU football team in 2005-06. Before coming to NU, he was recruited by Missouri, Miami, USC, UNLV, Penn State, Marshall, and Pepperdine.

Reading the Nebraska Football Vault written by Mike Babcock, it was interesting to read that Bob Devaney was not Tippy Dye's first choice as head football coach in 1962. Tippy Dye, our AD, wanted to hire Hank Foldberg from Wichita State. Foldberg did not take the job and decided to go to Texas A & M to be their football coach and AD. Makes you wonder what might have been different if Hank Foldberg would have been named our coach instead of BOB DEVANEY.

It is mentioned that if Duffy Daugherty hadn't of help hire Devaney as an assistant coach at Michigan State, Devaney probably would have got out of coaching. Devaney had coached high school football for 14 years prior to this hiring.

Devaney was hired that first year for $17,000. He had a contract with Wyoming. The book says that Wyoming's facilities were probably better than NU's at that time. But there was talent at Nebraska. The previous coach, Bill Jennings, was Bud Wilkinson's recruiting coordinator at Oklahoma before he came to NU. He was good at it. More about the NU story on another day.

Matt Hill, the former Lincoln Southeast product, is starting to get more playing time at Texas. He is still getting stronger and back to playing shape after missing last season to an injury. He played four minutes vs. Iowa State on Saturday and had two rebounds. Read more......

Texassports.com

Mac Brown for President!

Texas pulled out an ugly win last night against Ohio State, who lost to USC 35-3 and Penn State 13-6. Texas scored a touchdown with 16 seconds left and earlier got a first down by an inch or two on fourth down. Mack Brown said that he wasn't sure before, but now he was sure that Texas should be #1. Holy crap, you were lucky to win against a team that shouldn't even be in the top ten. Mack, what should USC do, join the NFL?

I'll bet the cops have a story or two when they picked up Charles Barkley for DUI. I wonder if Charles bet the cops he'd pass the test.

In the book, OUTLIERS, Malcolm Gladwell, has come to the conclusion that baseball, hockey, and soccer players born in January through April have a much better chance to excel. The reason being is that when they get in these programs as a youngster, the cutoff date is January 1st, so those born earlier in the year are so much more mature. They outshine the kids that are born later in the year. Eventually the younger kids get discouraged and lose interest. This means that almost half the talent is eliminated before they even get started. Look at any successful baseball team and you will see most birth dates are early in the year. If only I would have known this years ago, I could have saved a lot of time because I was born in June!!

JOKE OF THE DAY
A guy walks into a restaurant, orders a drink, and asks the waiter if he'd like to hear a good Notre Dame joke.

"Listen buddy," he growled. "See those 2 big guys on your left? They were both linemen on the Notre Dame football team. And that huge fellow on your right was a world-class wrestler at Notre Dame. That guy in the corner was Notre Dame's all-time champion weight lifter. And I lettered in 3 sports at Notre Dame. Now, are you absolutely positive you want to go ahead and tell your joke here?"

"Nah, guess not," the man replied. "I wouldn't want to have to explain it 5 times."

Scenes from the Gator Bowl!

Pictures were taken by our very own Kim Boehler from Jacksonville, Florida at the Gator Bowl! The first picture is Mike Smith, Kim Boehler, and Mike McNeill. The last picture is Larry The Cable Guy. Enjoy!

Will NU win?

Looks like an even matchup tomorrow in the Gator Bowl. NU and Clemson are both playing good ball at the end of the season. Clemson will have more fans at the game but NU may be louder.

The game comes down to turnovers. NU has to have three turnovers to win and they have to give up only one possibly two. The prediction is, if NU has three turnover, NU 27 Clemson 21.

If Clemson wins the turnover battle, they will win the game. But my prediction is Nu will get the three or more turnovers and the win!! Look to the 27-21 NU win.

NOW, how do you see the game? Give your prediction!!

Best of 2008!!

It used to be when you went to a Nebraska football game, the biggest decision that day was when we planned to leave the game. It was a given that Nebraska was going to win except maybe when we played Oklahoma and possibly when we played Colorado or Missouri. But we pretty much won just about every game by a large margin. Now that has changed. You just can't be sure that we will win and that, for this writer, makes every game exciting.

The Texas Tech was such a surprise!! We watched the game in New York City at the Irish Rogue bar. It was full of Nebraskans. It was a very excited group and the cheering was loud!! This bar is only about four blocks from Good Morning America and it has every Nebraska game on TV. There are a lot of very faithful NU fans in New York. We sat by actress Merle Dandridge (lead in Spamalot) who was from Bellevue and Kim Miller an attorney from New York who was originally from Omaha. The game was so fun because who would have guessed we should have won the game against one of the Top Ten teams AND the game was in Lubbock!! It was disappointing to lose but you kind of knew that Nebraska was on its way back.

The best and most exciting game for this writer was the Colorado game. We were beat!! There was no way on fourth and 25 NU could get a first down. And we didn't because Alex Henery kicks a huge FG and puts NU ahead. The crowd was wild and people were falling all over the place. What a great feeling. A game that gave you chills!!

The worst game to watch this year was the Missouri game. Nothing much to be said but NU just got beat in every phase of the game. Missouri peaked that day because they have been average since then. But who wants to talk about the worst of anything.

The best NU basketball game so far this season has been the Creighton game. NU pulled that out at the end. NU just hasn't had much of a home schedule to get too excited so far. Hopefully they can pull off an upset or two during the Big 12 part of the season. Leave it to Doc Sadler to do it.

The women's volleyball team was so much fun to watch in the tournament it gave you chills. Congratulations on playing so well when we really didn't expect it.

You can see this writer likes to see close games with NU winning at the end. That makes it so much fun!!

My best TV shows this season are "Boston Legal" and "The Office". Boston Legal was such a blast to watch. Can you imagine the fun the writers had coming up with some of the story lines. It was hilarious!! This writer will really miss that show. I will miss "Denny Crane". The Office is just so funny. If you haven't seen it, give it a chance. You will enjoy it. Dwight is so bad, he is good. Michael is, well, so much like but yet unlike your boss at work.

My best movie of the year was "The Bucket List". This writer cried watching it. I suppose that it reminded me a little of losing my dad two years ago. The Bucket List will go into my top ten of all time list in movies. Juno and Charlie Wilson's War were pretty good also.

My best book was 90 Minutes in Heaven. It is a book that you will think about for the rest of your life. It is inspiring. Jason Peter's book "Hero of the Underground" was also interesting. It is just so hard to see a person can get so hooked on drugs and let it control you to that extent. It is a must read but it has a lot of bad language. "Boom" by Tom Brokaw was very educational and fun to read. It is about 650 pages long, but well worth it.

Best song of 2008 features former Huskers Joe Chrisman and Bret Lindstrom.

SEA OF RED

What is your top movie, TV show, and book for 2008?? Share it with us!!

Huskers arrive at Sawgrass Hotel!

The Huskers arrived today in Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl. They will be staying at the Marriott Sawgrass Hotel. The pictures are courtesy of Huskers Illustrated. If you are not members of Huskers Illustrated, you should join up!! Go to nebraska.rivals.com and get the latest on Nebraska sports and Husker recruiting.

The picture of the Huskers from right to left is Joe Ganz, Lance Thorell, Zac Lee, Ricky Thenarse, and Ben Cotton.

Merry Christmas!

Let's not forget the true reason of Christmas and that we are celebrating Jesus' birth!! It changed all our lives and we are so happy that God gave his son for us!

The words "do not be afraid" run through many of the stories about the first Christmas when Jesus was born.

When the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her that she would give birth to Jesus his first words were "do not be afraid, Mary". The angel who appeared to Joseph to tell him about the child Mary was carrying says to him "do not be afraid". When the angel appeared to the shepherds to tell them of Jesus' birth his first words were also "do not be afraid". We need to hear this because we are anxious and fearful and there is much we find threatening. Our personal circumstances this Christmas may be difficult. The credit crunch is bringing misery to many. Terrorism is rarely out of the news. Many live as victims of injustice and cruelty.

But the message of that first Christmas at Bethlehem still has power to change lives and renew our world for the better – "a Saviour has been born to you", "peace on earth and goodwill towards all people".

If we can open our lives and accept the loving invitation of God for us in Jesus Christ, and if we can share that love in our care for others, then the Christmas message will lessen our fears and bring us all comfort and joy.

Many of the words above were taken from a story by Andrew Anderson who is a minister and wrote a story called "Christmas teaches us to not be afraid." I thought they were fitting to share with you today!!

Merry Christmas to The Toddler. He has a great website to put it in your favorites and visit it often.

collegefootballtopten

Also visit a new website about hunting in Nebraska. It is a great website and go and see what Mike has for you every day.

Hunt and Fish Nebraska

Merry Christmas to all!!

This picture was taken this summer in Holdrege on our golf course!! Santa was a little hot!


During this bowl season, fantasize you are really playing!





The World's Shortest Fairy Tale
>
>
> Once upon a time, a guy asked a girl 'Will you marry me?'
> The girl said, 'NO!'
> And the guy lived happily ever after and rode motorcycles
> and went fishing and hunting and played golf a lot and
> drank beer and scotch and left the toilet seat up and
> farted whenever he wanted.
>
> THE END

Nebraska gets a BIG recruit!

Jason Ankrah, from the state of Maryland, has announced he wants to be a Cornhusker!! He is a four-star defensive end. He weighs 248 and is 6'4". Looks like a good one! Here is an update on recruiting!

Nebraska so far has ten offensive and thirteen defensive recruits that have committed so far.

Let's take a closer look.......

Quarterback
IN Cody Green
OUT Joe Ganz

The loss of Ganz will be pretty major but there some good QB's on the roster with Lee, Witt, and Spano. Green could compete next fall but usually it takes a year or two to learn the system. The QB race in 2009 will be the story of the 2009 team. Witt, Lee, Spano, or Green could all be in the running for starting QB next year.

Running Back
IN Dontrayevous Robinson, Rex Burkhead
OUT Marlon Lucky

With Castille and Helu back, our concern will be depth and who will be that third and fourth back. Mendoza will be in the hunt. But now we have "Superman", Rex Burkhead from Texas. It will be interesting to see if he can play up to his expectations. If so, he will get playing time next year.

Fullback
IN C.T. Zimmerer
OUT Thomas Lawson & Hunter Teafatiller

So far, sadly, not a key position other than blocking

Offensive Line
IN Nick Ash, Jesse Coffey, Brent Ovale, Jeremiah Sirles
OUT Lydon Murtha, Mike Huff, Matt Slauson

We lose some key players but the depth is there to possibly improve before next year.

Wide receivers
IN Brandon Kinnie
OUT Nate Swift, Todd Peterson

Key losses for the offense. We have some younger guys coming up along with M. Holt. Gilleylen, Paul, and Cooper. We need to recruit at least one more receiver in this class.

Tight End
IN J.T. Kerr
OUT None

NU should be stronger at this position a year ago after much improvement this year.


DEFENSE

Defensive End
IN Kevin Young, Jason Ankrah
OUT Zach Potter, Clayton Sievers

The loss of Potter is especially big. Sievers has played well also. We need may need one more recruits at this position as the depth isn't there. Barry Turner and Pierre Allen should be starters next year. Cameron Meredith has played some but is injured and looking for a medical redshirt.

Defensive Tackle
IN Cole Pensick, Thaddeus Randle
OUT Shakuree Barfield, Ty Steinkuhler

We need one or two more commits at this position too. Suh is back but again depth is not there at the present time. Jared Crick had some quality time this year.

Linebackers
IN Shawn Bodtmann, Chris Williams, Earnest Norman
OUT Tyler Wortman, Cody Glenn

Chris Williams is the real deal. He has the best chance on this year's commits to play right away if he can overcome his injury this fall in high school. We lose Wortman and Glenn so we need possibly one more recruit at linebacker. Depth is an issue but with Mike Hays, Sean Fisher, Lawrence, and Williams, we may better next year.

Defensive Backs
In LeAndre Byrd, Taylor Martinez, Dejon Gomes, Andrew Green, Lazzari Middleton, Dijon Washingon
OUT Armando Murillo

With the nickel and dime packages, NU has six defensive backs. The coaches obviously see these positions to the success of the defensive schemes and they also see we need improvement by evidence of the numbers. All but Murillo is back and we will also have Anthony Blue back.

The coaches went after needs. We may need to get a recruit or a quality walkon for punting.

It seems the longer we go into the recruiting season, the better the quality we are getting!! We now have five four-star recruits! All of them look like they can play next year!

We have nine recruits out of Texas. I wonder if THE TODDLER has a comments on any of them!! What comments do you have?

I wonder if Nebraska's intern, Chris Kiffin, will join brother and dad at Tennessee?

Robert Sallie was the leading score for 23rd ranked Memphis yesterday against power Syracuse with 12 points! Oh if only it would have worked out.

NU's Cookie Miller (4) and Brandon Richardson (3) had seven steals yesterday against IPVW. Steve Harley had 21 points and Ade Dagunduro had seven rebounds.

Matt Hill hasn't seen much playing time this season at Texas as he is still in the process of gaining back his strength from being injured this past year.

Hastings College student Drew Billeter is the basketball coach for Lawrence-Nelson this season. Lawrence-Nelson has not had a winning season in five years but have started this season 5-0. They beat Shelton last night 58-55 in OT at Shelton. Shelton is coached by former Loomis assistant Dan Brown. Drew is a former all-state player from Loomis.

Oh my gosh!~!

Nebraska volleyball almost did it again!!! Down two sets, they beat Penn State in the next set. The first loss of a set for Penn State all year! Just an emotion win! Then they win the fourth set 25-22. But Penn State gained the momentum in the fifth set and win 15-11. What an effort for the Huskers!! Maybe as big as effort as this writer has ever seen in sports!! Be proud of the Husker woman's volleyball team. They represented the state very well!

Update on the final stages of recruiting!

Nebraska so far has eight offensive and seven defensive recruits that have committed so far. On our present two deep chart, we will be losing eight offensive players and seven defensive players after this year.

Let's take a closer look.......

Quarterback
IN Cody Green
OUT Joe Ganz

The loss of Ganz will be pretty major but there some good QB's on the roster with Lee, Witt, and Spano. Green could compete next fall but usually it takes a year or two to learn the system. The QB race in 2009 will be the story of the 2009 team. Witt, Lee, Spano, or Green could all be in the running for starting QB next year.

Running Back
IN Dontrayevous Robinson
OUT Marlon Lucky

With Castille and Helu back, our concern will be depth and who will be that third and fourth back. Mendoza will be in the hunt.

Fullback
IN C.T. Zimmerer
OUT Thomas Lawson & Hunter Teafatiller

So far, sadly, not a key position other than blocking

Offensive Line
IN Nick Ash, Jesse Coffey, Brent Ovale, Jeremiah Sirles
OUT Lydon Murtha, Mike Huff, Matt Slauson

We lose some key players but the depth is there to possibly improve before next year.

Wide receivers
IN Brandon Kinnie
OUT Nate Swift, Todd Peterson

Key losses for the offense. We have some younger guys coming up along with M. Holt. Gilleylen, Paul, and Cooper. We need to recruit at least one more receiver in this class.

Tight End
IN J.T. Kerr
OUT None

NU should be stronger at this position a year ago after much improvement this year.


DEFENSE

Defensive End
IN Kevin Young
OUT Zach Potter, Clayton Sievers

The loss of Potter is especially big. Sievers has played well also. We need one or two more recruits at this position as the depth isn't there. Barry Turner and Pierre Allen should be starters next year. Cameron Meredith has played some but is injured and looking for a medical redshirt.

Defensive Tackle
IN Cole Pensick, Thaddeus Randle
OUT Shakuree Barfield, Ty Steinkuhler

We need one or two more commits at this position too. Suh is back but again depth is not there at the present time. Jared Crick had some quality time this year.

Linebackers
IN Shawn Bodtmann, Chris Williams, Earnest Norman
OUT Tyler Wortman, Cody Glenn

Chris Williams is the real deal. He has the best chance on this year's commits to play right away if he can overcome his injury this fall in high school. We lose Wortman and Glenn so we need possibly one more recruit at linebacker. Depth is an issue but with Mike Hays, Sean Fisher, Lawrence, and Williams, we may better next year.

Defensive Backs
In LeAndre Byrd, Taylor Martinez, Dejon Gomes, Andrew Green, Lazzari Middleton, Dijon Washingon
OUT Armando Murillo

With the nickel and dime packages, NU has six defensive backs. The coaches obviously see these positions to the success of the defensive schemes and they also see we need improvement by evidence of the numbers. All but Murillo is back and we will also have Anthony Blue back.

The coaches went after needs. We may need to get a recruit or a quality walkon for punting.

USC has 16 recruits. Four have five stars and 11 have three stars as per Rivals.com ratings. NU has no five star recruits and three four star recruits and are rated 29th in recruiting. The No. 1 team in the rankings is LSU with 20 recruits: three five stars and eleven three stars.

The NU volleyball team pulled out a come-fom-behind win last night vs. Washington. They were down 0-2 and rallied to win. Now on to Omaha and hopefully another national championship!

It's official!

Nebraska will play in the Gator Bowl at noon on New Year's Day. It will be televised by CBS.

Here's what tigernet.com has to say about one of it's players:
Michael Hamlin, a first-team All-ACC safety, is the leader of Clemson's defense. The graduate has six interceptions to rank in a tie for sixth in the nation, and he has also contributed a team best nine pass deflections. His 15 passes defensed rank among the national leaders as well. Hamlin is second on the Clemson team in tackles with 102 and has 18 career takeaways (interceptions plus fumble recoveries). He ranks second in Clemson history in that category, just one short of Terry Kinard's career record of 19 set between 1978-82.

And here's what clemsontigers.cstv.com has for information on their site:

Clemson is 10th in the nation in scoring defense (16.6), ninth in pass efficiency defense, 10th in pass defense (167.3) and 17th in total defense (294.8). Clemson led the ACC in scoring defense and is second in the nation behind Southern California in fewest yards allowed per pass attempt.

Clemson is led on offense by running backs James Davis and C.J. Spiller, quarterback Cullen Harper and wide receiver Aaron Kelly. Davis has 725 yards rushing and has scored 11 touchdowns this year. He needs just 112 rushing yards in the Gator Bowl to become Clemson's career leader and two touchdowns to establish a Clemson career record. He currently has 49 after a three touchdown performance against South Carolina in the regular season finale.

Spiller leads the ACC in all-purpose running and was named first-team All-ACC as a specialist this year. Spiller needs just 114 all-purpose running yards to become Clemson's career leader. He has 612 yards rushing and 430 yards receiving in addition to ranking 12th in the nation in kickoff returns. His reception yardage total was a Clemson record for a running back.

Should be a close game. This writer thinks the spread should be Nebraska favored by eight points.

Coach Danny Nee and Erick Strickland will be inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame on January 16, 2009.

Former Nebraska Coach Bill Busch is headed to Utah State to be their new defensive coordinator and safeties coach. He will be under their new head coach Gary Anderson who comes over from Utah where he was the defensive coordinator. Best wishes to Coach Busch who was one of my favorites under Coach Callahan. Funny guy!

Nebraska showed it has a long ways to go to play with the best. #19 Arizona State beat Nebraska today 64-44 at Tempe. No doubt from the start who had the most talented team but the Cornhuskers did give a great effort. Nebraska needs a couple of good big men to move up to the next notch,

This writer loves Coaches Bo Pelini and Doc Sadler. He hopes they are around for a long time.

The last Nebraska All-American was Barrett Ruud in 2004.

Leading this year's team in interceptions are Zach Potter and Ndamukong Suh with two each. Kind of odd beings their defensive linemen.

The Big 12 is the best conference in football and basketball. In basketball, The Big 12 has had six teams advance to the Final Four in the last seven seasons, more than any conference in the country. A year ago, the Big 12 had more wins against top-25 opponents than any conference in the country. The winning percentage of the Big 12 teams in NCAA play (,642) is the best in the country over the past six seasons. These facts were taken out of the new 2008-9 Basketball Media Guide.

The Nebraska Sports Journal's Top Five Football Teams will remain the same as last posted on November 23rd.

1. Oklahoma
2. Florida
3. Alabama
4. Texas
5. USC