John Mayer performing Human Nature Michael Jackson Memorial Tribute

This is pretty neat. Suggestion: hit play and then hit pause so you can let it load. Enjoy

Moonwalk: Michael Jackson's YouTube Legacy

Dangerous Tour (Live In Bucharest) - She's Out Of My Life

2008 FOOTBALL 202-PART 3

This is the third segment of Football 202 attended by 132 Husker fans. There were fans from twelve states that attended Football 202. One of those fans was the dad of Husker great Terry Connealy, Marty Connealy. He had two of his grandsons with him who look like they could be Huskers soon. They go to school in Mullen.

Also in the football office on Friday was Cody Green, a great quarterback recruit in the 2009 class. He was with his sister and mother. He is a tall athletic looking kid who reminds this writer a little like Josh Freeman. It looked like he was having a good time. He did not attend Football 202.

The Football 202 group had the pleasure of listening to Bo Pelini for a generous amount of time during the day. He told about his story of getting into the coaching ranks.

After playing for Ohio State, he went to Iowa as a GA and worked with the offense. He left after one year because they didn't offer the right setup to go into Sport Administration, which was what he wanted to do. He still wanted to coach also so he did send out numerous resumes to various teams. He was helping coach a high school team when one day the following fall Dwight Clark of the 49ers called him and asked if he was interested in being a scout for them. Clark met with Pelini and asked him to analyze three players and send the results to San Fransisco so they could evaluate his work. They were impressed and Pelini was hired as the head of scouting.

Pelini said he quickly "became bored" working in this area. He spent evenings with Ray Rhodes and other defensive coaches looking at film. They were impressed with his ideas and he was hired in mid-season as an assistant to the assistant secondary coach. At the end of the season Ray Rhodes went to the Philadelphia Eagles and Mike Shanahan went to the Denver Broncos. They both offered him jobs. But Mike Shanahan did give him some advice. He suggested that Coach Pelini stay with the 49ers who had a great system, George Seifert as head coach, and a defensive coordinator named Pete Carroll. Coach Pelini said "the best career decision he ever made was not taking the Bronco or Philly job as an assistant coach." He said "you are a product of what you are exposed to." The five years with the 49ers formed him into a great defensive coach. The rest is history.

Coach Pelini believes that coaching is all about relationships and teaching. In regards to teaching he learned in San Fransisco the following concepts:

1. Teach a player what to do
2. Teach a player how to do it
3. Most importantly, you need to teach WHY you are doing that way.

Whatever job that you have, you have to know the WHY. That way when there are changes in formations or adversity, you know how to react in a positive manner.

Coach Pelini believes that the best player is even in his emotions. "Players have to in control. Emotion happens when you have built a team, when you are playing for "N", not themselves."

Coach Pelini said "the players aren't quite ready yet, but they WILL be ready for the first game." This writer believes him.

In the afternoon, we had the pleasure to listen to Eric Crouch. Crouch was introduced as not only a great player and Heisman winner, but also a great person by Jeff Jamrog.

Crouch discussed his pro career. He said "he wanted to play quarterback" but the Rams drafted him as a receiver. Crouch was burned out from football when he left the Rams. He was injured most of his pro career and had nine surgeries before it was over. He said he doesn't know if his pro career is over now, but he does enjoy his recreational equipment sales business in Omaha.

Crouch raved about his high school football coach Fred Petito of Millard North.

Crouch said you always needed to "know what you were doing during the game" at NU. He said he would stay after practice and throw balls for an hour or two after practice. He worked hard.

His greatest college game, he said, was beating Notre Dame in overtime at Notre Dame with the stadium mostly red. He also mentioned the TD pass he caught from Mike Stuntz and the long Missouri run for a TD.

Crouch was very humorous and talked about the time when he was in New Orleans for the Walter Camp award. He said officials called him to go eat. He met Rex Grossman in the elevator and asked him if he was going out to eat because he assumed all the candidates were invited. Grossman was in shorts and had a pizza so he figured out real quick that he was going to eat with them by himself. They told him that night at supper that he was going to win the award.

Crouch also talked about running to a defensive team's strength sometimes when the defense would shift. He said "I thought, what the heck and they would go out and make ten to fifteen yards."

Part 4 will be the final segment. It will include more on Coach Pelini, the offensive coaches installing plays, and meeting with four of the players! Stay tuned.
Crouch had a great message and was interesting to listen to.

An interesting web site is www.tv4u.com. Check out Classic Sports/Classic Football and look for the 1976 Bluebonnet Bowl with Nebraska vs. Texas Tech. Ron Franklin is a sideline announcer and the game is shown in its entirety.

TV4u.com

Perlman Surprises!

I have never considered Harvey Perlman a representative of sports let alone being a spokesman for the BCS. Perlman has seemed to be a square shooter and he seems to be more comfortable with science and music announcements than sports. Just found it interesting.

What in the world is Congress doing talking about the BCS anyway. There are much more worldly issues to be dealing with than if the BCS is breaking anti-trust laws. Let the courts decide it rather than Orrin Hatch trying to spell out that Utah is better than Nebraska. It appears now that the BCS setup as we know it will be gone. That may be good but keep it out of Congress.

Personally I am ok with the BCS but don't have power conferences. Just take the best teams and let the system set it up. If two teams end up undefeated at year end, let's play one more game to decide the overall champion. Most years there wouldn't be an extra game but it would add excitement to the bowl games. Money needs to be split with the conferences that have the better teams. Last year the Mountain West Conference got $9.8 million which was half of the amount of money the three bigger conferences got. When they won their BCS bowl their conference should receive more money. It needs to be a little more fair. Their conference is not equal to the Big 12 but the payback should be more fairly distributed. How much? I am not sure.

I would like to see somebody that knows all the facts comment on this.

Look for Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, and Kyle Busch battle for the Nascar race this week.

2009 Red White Spring Football Highlights

60 days until Florida Atlantic

Harlan County Lake elevation

On June 29th the elevation of the Harlan County Lake was 1947.03. This is compared to 1947.88 on 6/29/08. On June 26th, 2007, the elevation was 1939.85. The town of Alma had a record crowd for its parade today.

2008 Football 202 Part 2

I attended the UNL Football 202 program last year. It was a GREAT experience!! Here is the second part of what I wrote last year.


This is Part 2 to this writer's day at Football 202. 132 Husker football fans attended "class" to learn more of the "inside" workings of the football team. Please refer to my July 26th blog for this writer's first set of notes.

It was mentioned in my Part 1 blog that next year's attendance may double when it gets around what a neat time we had with Football 202. The great thing of having 132 was that we all fit in the players meeting room in the football office.

After James Dobson spoke to us we took a break. At that time my daughter Kim introduced me to Chris Kiffin. He is a son to Monte Kiffin of the Tampa Bay Bucs and a brother to Lane Kiffin, the Oakland Raider head coach. Chris is 26 and is an intern for the football team. He will work with the tight ends this season. He played football for Colorado State as a defensive lineman. Coach Watson said that when he was with Colorado they had to use a smash block on Chris when they played Colorado State. A smash block consists of two lineman blocking one defender using a certain technique. Needless to say, Chris Kiffin was an excellent college football player and is a very good kid.

Also working as an intern is Austen Everson who was a standout QB for Coach Frank Solich at Ohio University in 2005 and 2006. It is my understanding he will be working in the video area.

After break we had the pleasure to hear Trev Alberts speak. His story is interesting and he has a passion for Husker football that may only be matched by Jason Peter.

Trev said that a Husker player has the "burden and responsibility to represent the state well" and to win football games. To be a Cornhusker means you do everything possible to put a winner on the field and anything less than that is not acceptable. He mentioned that, as a player, you have to understand what Nebraska football means to the fans.

Trev Alberts was from a small school in Iowa. He said his dad really didn't want him to play football because he needed to help with farm work. He said when they grew up they didn't have a TV. He did go out for football and had a pretty successful career.

Back when Trev was getting recruited, they didn't have internet recruiting services but Tom Lemming had a publication. Trev's dad called Tom Lemming and asked why his son wasn't on his all Midwest team. Lemming told him to send $25 and he would send Trev future copies. The next publication had Trev Albert as second team on the Midwest team. This helped him get recognition with college football programs.

One day Earl Bruce, who was then coaching Northern Iowa called him and said they would like to offer him a scholarship. He asked what that meant. Coach Bruce said that if you come here we will pay for your schooling if you play football for us. Trev said "alright, sounds good to me."

One day the legendary Nebraska linebacker football coach, John Melton, showed up at his door. That started his relationship with Nebraska. He had two or three offers from other schools and Iowa had asked him to walk-on but then Nebraska got interested. Dave Gillespie asked Alberts to send him some film. Trev laughed when he told us what his football tape consisted of. A father had taped a couple of games on an old recorder. He sent that tape to Nebraska.

Trev Alberts admired Tom Osborne. When Coach Osborne visited him, he wrote down on a piece of paper eight names. Trev's was at the bottom. Coach Osborne explained that if Trev came to Nebraska that he would be listed as the eighth linebacker. It would be up to him to move up. He admired Coach Osborne because he didn't make promises that he would start if he went to Nebraska. Coach Osborne also wanted competitors on his football team and they had to have the drive to improve themselves to start.

Trev Alberts went to Nebraska despite his parents wanting him to stay closer to home and attend Iowa. Iowa offered him a scholarship after Nebraska did. The other reason he went to NU was:

1. He loved the visit to Nebraska
2. His high school football coach told him to go to Iowa because he could never play at NU. He said he still loves his high school coach dearly.

Trev Alerts said playing at Nebraska created a "larger mission of college athletics". He said that the student-athlete was never mistreated. We were always treated right."

He said that playing at Nebraska gave him many life lessons. Perseverance was a key. He felt like quitting many times but his dad told him he was not to quit and that being a quitter makes it easy to quit other things in life. He learned a different level of toughness and work ethic and that the work ethic was set by those that had an investment in the state.

"We believed in what we believed and we didn't waiver. We had principles." Another life lesson learned was honesty.

Trev Albert ended up as a rush end for the Cornhuskers. He attributes a lot of his success to his position coach, Tony Samuel. He won the Butkus award when he was a senior.

Trev Alberts was very entertaining. You can see why he has been successful on television. He said he is still friends with Mark May and had just spoke to him a couple of weeks ago.

Trev left us with "Football can't be about total thinking. You have to be free to play."

Next up is Bo Pelini.

Mayo Clinic atrium piano, charming older couple...

I wished I would have learned how to play the piano better

Second to Last Tonight - Part 2 of 8

Johnson will win at New Hampshire!

Jimmie Johnson will win this weekends race! He has a fast car.

Carl Edwards will race well. He has a good history on medium tracks.

Tony Stewart has the pole due to a rainout. That is good news because the pole has been important when rainouts occur this year. Stewart hasn't prcticed well but he will have the lead early and won't have to go through the field. Expected finish:

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Carl Edwards
3. Tony Stewart
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Denny Hamlin

Stat of the week: Only 26 current major league players and managers, out of 1,042, have college degrees. This is according to the Wall Street Journal. It could be with this lack of education and the money they are getting paid that maybe steriods make sense to them. Let's see, take some pills or go back to college and do 20 page reports for a few years to get my degree.....what should a baseball player do? Not a smart decision but what would you do?

Black Eyed Peas ))) Boom Boom Pow [Clean] | Lyrics Included |

Boom Boom Pow!

Top 10 sports most awkward interviews

I want to kiss you Suzy Kolber!

Top 10 sports most outageous commentators call

Oh no!! Oh no!!

Fragrances

Jessica Simpson has a new fragrance inspired by Tony Romo. I created a new fragrance inspired by eating pistachios and plums.

Ed McMahan passed away today. He is Johnny Carson's sidekick. Wouldn't it be great if some channel played reruns of the Johnny Carson show. We will miss the "Here's Johnny" announcer.

Texas looks like they can take the series to the third game. LSU and Texas both have some great players. What's with Russell Moldenhauer. Doesn't have a home run all year and then hits four for Texas in Omaha. Maybe he can sign with the Omaha Royals. Well at least until they move to the new stadium.

Ok so Brett Favre is going to Minnesota to play for the Vikings. I am in the minority but good for him. I wonder what number he will wear? He will look very odd in a Viking uniform.

For Pete's sake, Manny Ramirez had 50 games to get his hair cut and he didn't. He played for Albuquerque and didn't do so good. However the Albuquerque team broke an all time attendance record of with over 15,000 at the game.

Lucas Glover Wins U.S. Open

A recap of the 2009 US Open

Revved up again!

After spending a wonderful week in Sweden with my family, it is time to blog again. In Sweden, we met family on my mom's dad side. It was a very interesting, educational, and rewarding trip. The family in Sweden went above and beyond in showing us a great time. We are very fortunate to have had this experience.

Everybody is skinny in Sweden. They eat a lot but they exercise a lot and they eat the right things.



I did have one night in Sweden where the skoaling got carried away. Just one night.



This is Father's Day and a special time for myself. My dad was the greatest dad ever and I miss him a bunch. Not a day goes by that I need his help or have a question for him. He is watching over us. Also my daughters were home to celebrate Father's Day with me. We had a very fun and memorable time. I am blessed with three great daughters.

Now on to less important things........

Mother Nature was not kind to the US Open Golf Championship. The rest of the final round is tomorrow and its too bad we have to work. Has to be bad for the ratings. Tiger will be in the mix but he has too many strokes to make up. Look for Lucas Glover to be the US Champ.

Things are bad in Washington for a number of reasons but the Washington Nationals aren't helping things with the worst record in baseball. I see they won three games in a row this week though.

The Nascar race today was a mess. I don't like road courses or restrictor plate races when it comes to the fantasy league. Kasey Kahne won today with Tony Stewart second.

Football 202 and vacation!

I'll be on vacation for a week so may not be posting. We'll see what the internet access. It's camp time again. There are 1400 kids and athletes attending camps in the next couple of weeks. Also at the end of July, there the second year of Football 202.

The following is Part 1 of my segment on Football 202 in 2008. Enjoy. Please make a comment below as to what you want more of on this site.




PICTURES COURTESY OF THE OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

This writer found out how little he knew about the new age of football last Friday when he attended Football 202, a new program headed by Bo Pelini, the Nebraska football coach. Jeff Jamrog, the head of football operations, organized the day that allowed Husker fans to see up close a small sampling of what goes on inside of "Nebraska football." 132 attended the event. My guess is that next year there will be double that amount.

My daughters, Sarah, Jessica and Kim, paid and registered me for Football 202 as a birthday/Father's Day present and it was one of the best presents a dad could get. It was also fun to see Kim during the day as she works in the football office.


In addition, this writer sat in front of Tom Shatel from the Omaha World-Herald. See his article about Football 202 :

Tom Shatel

Jeff Jamrog started the day reviewing information regarding Nebraska football. Their budget is close to $34 million. The football programs helps pay for most of the budgets for the rest of Nebraska athletics.

Some of the items budgeted are interesting and mind boggling. Here are a few of the budgeted items:

Guarantees to non-conference teams to play at Nebraska......$2,700,000...
Recruiting expense ......$560,000...
Postage.....$50,000....
Supplements......$112,000....
Autographed footballs....$12,000....
Team travel.....$437,185...
Contest or game expense....$1,350,000.. Out of this officials are $170,000..
Scholarships......$2,000,000....

Nebraska is #1 in the conference in paying out for guarantees for teams to play at Nebraska. The average guarantee is $710,000. Jamrog said this is not a position NU wants to be in.

Recruiting is a top priority for Nebraska. Their priorities in the area of recruiting are:
1. Nebraska (500 mile radius)
2. California
3. Texas (In the 2009 class, six of the nine recruits are from Texas)
4. Florida
5. National Junior Colleges
6. National Position Recruiting

The Huskers grade each player they are looking at. One of the items that is very important is that social skills must be good. If a player doesn't act like a team player or doesn't seem to blend in with the present players on a visit, they are eliminated right away.

Jamrog discussed official visits vs unofficial visits. He noted that on an official visit that "we have 48 hours to impress the recruit".

Jamrog is down to earth and a very funny guy. He was enjoyable.

James Dobson was the next part of the program. He is the new strength coach for Husker football. He says when a recruit is looking to a college team one of the first things they should check out is the strength coach, his assistants, and the weight room facilities. He said a football player will spend more time working out and lifting than he will with everybody else during his college stay.

The new emphasis to the NU football team by the new strength coach is developing burst and speed. They do their workouts based on 40 yard dashes with very short rests and then repeating the short bursts again. They also workout almost year around which they hope will give NU an advantage. Dobson doesn't believe in taking time off because you lose what we have gained in a short period of time.

James Dobson is very likable and as energetic as any person you will ever see. The tour guide mentioned that the players are drenched in sweat now when they leave a workout. Asked if they were not this way the last few years, the tour guide diplomatically said "Next question!"

Oklahoma Preview!

Nebraska plays Oklahoma on November 7th. Oklahoma is a team of few weaknesses! See one site's preview for Oklahoma.

craveonline.com

Harry Caray on CrackerJacks

The good ole days!! Harry is funny and he might have had one Bud Light before this audio.

Gretna takes second in Class B golf

Gretna, the returning Class B golf champs, had another great performance finishing second in this year's tournament. Jared Gustafson shot a 70 and won the honor of Class B's best player. Gretna is coached by Scott Boehler. Adams Central won Class B by 11 strokes.

John Hurley continues to shine. The O'Neill, Nebraska native helped Texas A & M to the NCAA match play championship by not losing a match.

The Nebraska pregame prayer is one of the most googled entries into this site. I thought I would republish the prayer so everybody can read.

Football Pre-game Prayer
Dear Lord,
In the battles we go through life
We ask for a chance that's fair
A chance to equal all our strife
A chance to do or dare
And if we win,
Let it be by the code
With faith and honor held high
And if we lose,
Let us stand by the road
And cheer as the winners go by.
Day by day
We get better and better
A team that can't be beat
Won't be beat.

Larry the Cable Guy Before Redneck

Yep this IS Larry The Cable Guy!!

2008 Kansas @ Nebraska Football game (Larry The Cable Guy)

Would you bundle up with Mark Mangino?

Holdrege's Killough wins all class gold medal

It hasn't happened for a long time! Not since 1983 has a Holdrege athlete won an all class gold medal at the state track meet. Kristin Killough was the best female athlete in the state in the pole vault for 2009. She cleared 11' 6 1/4". Good enough to beat Maggie Maher from Kearney by a 1/4 of an inch; Maher won the all class gold medal last year. Killough becomes only the second girl to win an all class medal. Also, Holdrege's Kellie Fegter was second at this year's state meet in Class B in the pole vault which allowed Holdrege to have a 1-2 punch.

In 1983, Beth Stuart won the gold in the shot put with a throw of 46' 6 1/2". That same year she won the discus with a heave of 149'3". Beth is the only Holdrege athlete to win the gold in two events.

So there have only been two girls to receive the all class gold medal. How many boys have received it from Holdrege. If you answered six, you were correct!

Boys State Track All Class Gold Medals received by Holdrege athletes:
1967 Marv Ayers 180 low hurdles 19.7
1953 Dale Knotek high jump 6'2 1/2"
1978 Todd Brown triple jump 50' 2 1/4" (All time state meet and all time record)
1969 Kirk Yentes shot put 57' 5 1/2"
1948 Ted Lofgren shot put 48' 11 1/4"
1967 Steve Yentes discus 166' 1/2"
1966 Steve Yentes discus 168 3 1/2"

Steve Yentes is the only Holdrege athlete to win two different years.

Loomis' Brian Schukar won the long jump all class gold in 1998 with a leap of 23' 3 1/4". Bertrand's Jim Schaefer had the longest jump in the state in 1963 with a 22'9" effort.

The Best Collection of Amazing Basketball Shots Ever!

Orlando lead 2-1. The Cavs are in a little bit of trouble,. Watch this video on amazing golf shots!

Not so briefly!

Joh Hurley hits the ball off the tee as far as most of us would like to be laying two. He is one of the longest hitters in college golf and is now on a mission to become known on a nationally. From O'Neill, Nebraska, not known as the mecca of golf, he now plays for Texas A & M. He will play in a few tournaments in Nebraska this summer but he will be playing to qualify in such events as the US Amateur.

Once upon a time, three years ago, John Hurley was playing in the state Class B tournament. That tournament didn't work out so well as Corey Shield from Holdrege pulled off the big upset. Here are some excerpts from my blog back in May of 2006.

"Cool and calm Corey Shield of Holdrege won the Class B Championship with a 66 today at The Highlands in Lincoln. His final 36 hole total was 139 and he beat John Hurley from O'Neill by one stroke. Hurley ended with a 140. Shield led most of the day by one or two strokes but Hurley's putts put in tie after the 16th hole today. Shield then birdied the 17th hole and Hurley sank a 10 foot putt for a par giving Shield the one stroke lead. On the 18th, Hurley had a big drive but ended in the rough. Both golfers were on the green in two with twenty foot putts. Neither sank their next shots but both parred and Shield ended the winner. Hurley was going after his third straight title. He led by two strokes after the first day and shot a 69 on Wednesday. He will attend Texas A & M on a golf scholarship this fall. Only three strokes out was Brandon Crick from McCook. He ended with a 142. EJ Hamilton and Nathan Jaeger tied for 4th with 149s."

Hurley is now in the Top 200 in college golf. He will be playing in the NCAA Championship tournament next week. He will try to qualify for the Nationwide tournament at Champions Run in Omaha. He will continue to try to get his national ranking up.

brian regan little league

Brian Regan is one of the funniest comedians alive. His experiences with Little League baseball are similar to this writer!

Sports at its best!

This writer predicts an upset in American Idol tonight. Kris Allen will win the competition over the more talented Adam Lambert in a very close race! Kris has a huge fan club with the younger girls who can thinks he's "cute".

Gretna goes to State meet by one strokes. Coach Scott Boehler said the winds were 35 MPH.

District Results

Table Creek Golf Course

May 18, 2009

Individual Medalist

1. Dylan Heng – Nebraska City (77)

2. Max Rudder – Norris (77)

3. Mitch Johnson – Omaha Skutt (78)

4. Sam Sullivan – Nebraska City (79)

5. Matt Munro – Omaha Skutt (79)

6. Jared Gustafson – Gretna (80)

7. Grant Cole – Auburn (81)

8. Justin Meyer – Platteview (82)

9. Chase Brion – Gretna (82)

10. Tim Jensen – Syracuse (82)

Team Standings

1. Omaha Skutt – 326

2. Nebraska City – 335

3. Gretna – 345

4. Syracuse – 346

5. Platteview – 358

6. Norris – 379

7. Wahoo – 386

8. Plattsmouth – 394

9. Waverly – 395

10. Falls City – 404

11. Auburn – 436

12. Ashland – 458

Gretna Golfers

Jared Gustafson 38 – 42 = 80 (6^th Place)

Chase Brion 43 – 39 = 82 (9^th Place)

David DeBolt 44 – 46 = 90

Jason Wendelin 48 – 45 = 93

Patrick Carney 48 – 47 = 95

Holdrege girls shine at State Soccer but lose in final 3-0 to Omaha Scutt.

Harlan County Lake elevation on May 19, 2009 was 1946.77 compared to 1944.33 on May 21, 2008 and 1936.12 on May 15, 2007.

Osborne accurate in analysis of Mike Anderson

Holdrege's Erica Sturgis at the Soccer State Tournament. Picture courtesy of the Lincoln Journal-Star.

First of all, congratulations to my daughter Jessica and Scott Wheeler on their first anniversary. Last month my oldest daughter, Sarah and Robert Baltensperger celebrated their first anniversary!

Nebraska beat Baylor on Saturday 5-0 behind Sean Yost's complete game shutout. Yost, a freshman, becomes the first Husker freshman to pitch a complete game shutout in nine years. The future is brighter. The win puts NU at 24-24-1 in 2009. Not the year they wanted.

Mike Anderson is a great role model and a great coach. When the season didn't meet up to past performances, the rumblings started. Those that understand the game have been disappointed but realize that baseball is a tough sport to coach.

Osborne, on Friday, explained some of the elements that have made it tough for NU. He said "NU lost to professional baseball 14 of 18 potential returnees and recruits who were selected in the 2007 and 2008 drafts." The Omaha World-Herald reported that NU lost seven pitchers to the draft the past two years that were drafted within the first ten rounds. They also mentioned that this year's rotation could have been Aaron Pribanic, Dan Jennings, and Zach Herr, all underclassmen that went in last year's draft.

So NU took what they had this year. In Big 12 play the ERA was 7.80 coming into this weekend. But Nesseth on Friday and Yost on Saturday have shown what good coaching and experience has done for their development.

Today, Senior Erik Bird gets his first Big 12 start. It would be great for him to close out the final game with another great performance. He has performed well during the weekday games. With a similar performance today maybe the pro scouts will take a look at this talented player.

The Holdrege girls are in the finals of the State Class B soccer tournament on Tuesday. Jordan Pfeifer scored on Friday to become the first girl in soccer state tournament history to score from western Nebraska. Sophomore Kirsten Larson scored the winning goal. Holdrege went on to win 2-1 in overtime. They beat Lincoln Pius on Saturday 1-0. Jaci Gillispie scored Holdrege's winning goal. Holdrege plays Omaha Scutt on Tuesday. Scutt haven't allowed a goal in like the last ten games. Nebraska recruit excels for Scutt. Scutt is played in the finals the past four of five years. Good luck Dusters!!

Nebraska received a commitment from Keeston Terry, a receiver from the Kansas City area. Great name for Husker football. At 6'2" and 180 lbs., Terry is listed as a four star receiver by the recruiting services. It sounds like Terry meets the criteria of who NU is going after these days; great athlete, but just as important a great student and person. NU recruits have to generally meet all three of these attributes. Also it is important that recruits come from a winning program. His coach, Terry Donahue, says his best is yet to come. Donahue was raised in Nebraska and was a former KU quarterback.

Ty Kildow is a walk on for NU football this fall. Saturday he propelled Millard South to the Class A finals in baseball. Could he be a two sport athlete also?

If you haven't seen the show Southland on Thursday nights, see it. It has become the best show on TV from this writer's view.

Skinner has wreck!

Mike Skinner had one heck of a wreck last night.

fanhouse.com

Spring Sports

The runner second from right is Shelby Boehler of Lincoln, Bryce's girl, competing in the 7th grade track meet at Lincoln High last Saturday! As you can see, she did well!

It is that time of year. The state track meet is next week. State tennis is near. State soccer is this week. And state golf is in a couple of weeks!! Great time of year.

A couple of Holdrege Dusters are making the news. First, junior safety Pat Ackerman has been named a team captain for the UNK football team for the 2009 season this fall!! It show what hard work and dedication can do for you.

Second, former tennis standout Marcelle Strydom is doing well at UNK for the tennis team. The team is playing in the national tournament at Altamote Springs, Florida. The Lopers won the RMAC and Central region tournament. They will play Concordia College of Bronxville, NY in the "Sweet 16" round. Strydom is the #3 singles player and is also on the #2 doubles team.

Finally, Scott Boehler's Gretna team is starting to peak late. They are the returning State Class B champions from last year.

Waverly Invite Results

May 11, 2009

Individual Medalist

1. Dylan Heng – Nebraska City (70)
2. Jared Gustafson – Gretna (70)
3. Chase Brion – Gretna (70)
4. Max Rudder – Norris (75)
5. Konner Oltman – Norris (75)
6. Clayton Rakes – Nebraska City (76)
7. David DeBolt – Gretna (76)
8. Sam Sullivan – Nebraska City (78)
9. Dylan Lester – Lincoln Southwest (78)
10. Hayden Thomson – Lincoln Southwest (78)

Team Standing

1. Gretna – 304
2. Nebraska City – 310
3. Lincoln Southwest – 324
4. Mt. Michael – 326
5. Norris – 340
6. Platteview – 341
7. Crete – 344
8. Elkhorn – 349
9. Norfolk – 349
10. Wahoo Neumann – 350
11. Brownell-Talbot – 364
12. Plattsmouth – 377
13. Columbus – 394
14. Lincoln Northeast – 414
15. Waverly B – 444
16. Waverly A – 620

VARSITY

Jared Gustafson 36 – 34 = 70 (2^nd Place)

Chase Brion 38 – 36 = 74 (3^rd Place)

David DeBolt 39 – 38 = 77 (7^th Place)

Jason Wendelin 42 – 41 = 83

Patrick Carney 48 – 41 = 89

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Birthday Mom!! Mom is pictured with my three daughters.

My mom is the nicest mother a son could ask for. She has always been there for us when we needed her. There is no one any kinder than she is. I am so lucky to have had a mother like her. Happy Mother's Day mom!! Thank you for all you have done for me!!

Jessica (left) is moving this month to her first house in Gretna!! So fun!! Kim (right) just graduated from UNL yesterday with high distinction. Wow! Sarah (Second from right) is going to have a baby in early December. How exciting!!!!!


Did you know Fred from YOUTUBE.COM fame is from Columbus, Nebraska? I didn't until I read it in the Omaha World-Herald today. He is hilarious. My favorite Fred view is when he can't find his meds. His real name is Luis Cruikshank and he attends Columbus Lakeview. He is now turning his funny videos into money through a revenue-sharing program. Finds Fred's videos on Omaha.com. Fred Figgelhorn's view of his life is much different from the real Luis Cruikshank. Fred is scared of deep swimming pools and dentists. Fred Goes Swimming is on its way to 26 million views. Be sure to check out Youtube.com or Omaha.com.

Andy Levi posted that David Ragan's car in the Nascar race last night had lost so much of the car body that driver's were putting $1 on it.

Saw the NU baseball game Friday night. NU played real well after the second inning. Nesseth was great after giving up five runs in the first and second innings. NU has a ton of young good hitters. It seems they need so really good pitchers that want to go to a very good program before they go to the pros. A couple of ace pitchers would instill a lot of confidence into this team.

Some facts about pigs and flu!

Read the facts!!!!!!!! The article was delivered by mpaynknoper on Twitter.

CAUSEMATTERS

Briefly

The Carl Edwards wreck last week will be shown for years to come. Luckily nobody was killed on the track or in the crowd. See it here!

Dailyracing.com

This writer continues to follow the Gretna Dragons golf team coached by Scott Boehler.
Elkhorn Invite Results
April 29, 2009
Individual Medalist

1. Drew Taylor – Millard North (75)
2. Grant Riewer – Elkhorn A (77)
3. Jared Gustafson – Gretna (78)
4. Joey Hoffman – Mt. Michael (78)
5. Alex Totusek – Brownell-Talbot (78)
6. John Rasmussen – Millard South (78)
7. Matt Munro – Omaha Skutt (80)
8. Blaise Lanoha – Ralston (80)
9. Connor Lindahl – Elkhorn A (80)
10. Max Rudder – Norris (80)
11. Ryan Sutter – Millard West (80)
12. Ryan Healey – Omaha Skutt (80)
13. David DeBolt – Gretna (80)
14. Evan O’Keefe – Millard South (81)
15. Mitch Johnson – Omaha Skutt (82)


Team Standings

1. Omaha Skutt – 312
2. Elkhorn A – 317
3. Millard West – 319
4. Millard North – 321
5. Gretna – 330
6. Mt. Michael – 334
7. Millard South – 341
8. Ralston – 344
9. Norris – 351
10. Elkhorn B – 351
11. Platteview – 355
12. Omaha Burke – 356
13. Waverly – 365
14. Brownell-Talbot – 365




VARSITY
Jared Gustafson 38 – 40 = 78 (3rd Place)
David DeBolt 40 – 40 = 80 (13th Place)
Chase Brion 41 – 43 = 84
Patrick Carney 45 – 48 = 93
Carter Hawkins 51 – 48 = 99

Find out about the tragedy at the Dallas Cowboys practice facility.

ESPN

Nebraska baseball is competitive but just can't win right now. NU has lost six straight league series, 10 straight conference home games and 15 of 16 Big 12 games overall. This writer will see the string end this Friday in Lincoln!!

In today's baseball game against Missouri, there were five freshmen and one sophomore in the batting lineup. Freshmen Boomer Collins was two for five with a double, stolen base and two runs; Cory Burleson was two of four with a double; Kale Kiser had an RBI; Cody Ache was one of five with an RBI; and Khiry Cooper was one of three with two runs and a stolen base/ In addition sophomore Ben Kline was two of four with two RBI's and one run. Youth is evident. In the pitching area sophomore Sean Yost went 5.1 innings as the starter and only had two earned runs with six strikeouts. Eric Rose and Kash Kalkowski pitched for 2.1 innings. Sophomore Michael Mariot pitched the final inning with a strike out and not earned runs. Four of the Huskers five pitchers were sophomores today.

Pitching matchups for the Yankees and Boston
Monday: LHP Jon Lester (1-2, 5.40) vs. RHP Phil Hughes (1-0, 0.00), 7:05, YES, ESPN

Tuesday: RHP Joba Chamberlain (1-0, 3.13) vs. RHP Josh Beckett (2-2, 7.22), 7:05, YES

And finally a deleted scene from Parks and Recreation.

NBC

Bird becomes NU's #1 pitcher!

Erik Bird pitched a complete game tonight to beat the Lobos from New Mexico. Bird controlled the Lobos who led the nation in batting average at a .371 and was one of the top teams in runs scored with 9.7. Bird held them to two runs as the Huskers won 4-2.

Cody Glenn has now buried himself into a hole by telling the press he got suspended because of selling tickets. He should have just said "No Comments" and come clean with the Redskins when he was asked in private. They may not want him now.

John Hurley (Texas A & M)of O'Neill is tied for 20th with Brandon Crick of Nebraska after three rounds of the Big 12 tournament. Oklahoma St. leads and Nebraska is still in 10th.

Matt is gone on America Idol.

The 2010 Mock NFL board has N. Suh going #2 in the draft. Probably not far off.

159 swine flu deaths in Mexico now.

When did the World Series of Poker become a sport and take up so much time on ESPN?

Celtics lead Bulls 3-2 and the Magic take a 3-2 lead over the Sixers.

Duke guard Greg Paulus will visit NU to play QB. Sounds like he is favoring Syracuse.

Big 12 Golf completes first round!

John Hurley from O'Neill is the number 4 golfer for Texas A & M. He was 10 over today and is tied for 17th at the Big 12 tournament. Texas A & M is in 3rd place--four strokes off the lead.

Nebraska is 10th out of the ten teams. Brandon Crick is nine over and tied for 14th.

Oklahoma St. and Colorado are tied for the lead. Derek Tolan from Colorado was one under and had the best score so far in the tournament.

Colorado's Spring Game has three former Husker recruits!

Colorado has three former Husker recruits playing in their spring game. All three left after Bill Callahan was fired.

Bryce Givens is presently the number one left tackle on the depth chart. He was one of Nebraska's top recruits last year.

Shaun Mohler is a senior Will linebacker. He is listed as number two on the depth chart.

The final former Husker, now Buffalo, is Doug Rippy. He is a redshirt freshman and is listed the number two Sam linebacker.

The Husker baseball team won 11-4 tonight and keep slim hopes alive to make Big 12 tournament.

Blair Invite Results

April 21, 2009


Individual Medalist

1. Andrew Frakes – Elkhorn (72)
2. Connor Lindahl – Elkhorn (73)
3. Jared Gustafson – Gretna (74)
4. Chase Brion – Gretna (75)
5. Andy Diediker – Wayne (76)
6. David DeBolt – Gretna (76)
7. Mitch Johnson – Omaha Skutt (76)
8. Cody Gorsett – Blair (76)
9. Ryan Healey – Omaha Skutt (77)
10. Collin Jeffries – Wayne (77)
11. Grant Riewer – Elkhorn (78)
12. Taylar Peitzmeier – Elkhorn (78)
13. Luke Blanc – Oakland-Craig (79)
14. Jordan Swenson – Oakland-Craig (80)
15. Johnny Spellerberg – Fremont Bergan (80)



Team Standings

1. Elkhorn – 301
2. Gretna – 313
3. Omaha Skutt – 318
4. Fremont Bergan – 330
5. Blair #1 – 335
6. Oakland-Craig – 336
7. Wayne – 346
8. Platteview – 351
9. Logan View – 352
10. Fort Calhoun – 356
11. Blair #2 – 370
12. Arlington – 380
13. Plattsmouth – 387



VARSITY
Jared Gustafson 37 – 37 = 74 (3rd Place)
Chase Brion 39 – 36 = 75 (4th Place)
David DeBolt 37 – 39 = 76 (6th Place)
Patrick Carney 42 – 46 = 88
Carter Hawkins 47 – 46 = 93

West Coast Offense hasn't produced NFL draftees at receiver!

When the west coast offense was introduced at Nebraska, there was a vision by many that NU produce a number of receivers for the NFL. So far, the top receivers for NU during this era have been Maurice Purify, Nate Swift, Terrance Nunn, Todd Peterson, and Marlon Lucky (RB).

Maurice Purify made the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad last year for part of the season. Terrance Nunn did not make an NFL team. Nate Swift has a chance to be drafted as does Marlon Lucky (not a receiver). Todd Peterson may have to go the free agent route.

None of the above look like they will be stars in the NFL. We hope they do well.

It can be said that so far NU is not a factory for receivers to the NFL. We'll see what the future holds.

NFL Draft this Weekend

This writer thinks that Zach Potter will be the first Husker drafted sometime early in the 3rd round. Look to Lydon Murtha to go late in the 3rd round and Matt Slauson to go late in the fourth round.

It will be interesting to see if Joe Ganz or Nate Swift get drafted. Also Cody Glenn has a chance. My guess is they and other Huskers will sign free agent contracts as early as Sunday or Monday.

What do you think?

Lance Thorell receives the Brooke Berringer Citizen Award!

Lance Thorell was one of twelve members of the NU football team that received the this reward. The reward goes to those that exhibit great community service.
2009 Brook Berringer Citizenship Team (years on team)

* Anthony Blue, CB, Cedar Hill, Texas, 2009
* Dan Glassman, DE, Omaha, Neb., 2009
* Alex Henery, PK, Omaha, Neb., 2009
* Marcel Jones, OT, Phoenix, Ariz., 2009
* Adi Kunalic, PK, Fort Worth, Texas, 2009
* Blake Lawrence, LB, Shawnee Mission, Kan., 2008, 2009
* Marcus Mendoza, WR, Houston, Texas, 2009
* Todd Peterson, WR, Grand Island, Neb., 2007, 2008, 2009
* Lance Thorell, DB, Loomis, Neb., 2009
* Dan Titchener, P, Cheyenne, Wyo., 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
* Jake Wesch, PK/H, North Bend, Neb., 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
* Tyler Wortman, LB, Grand Island, Neb., 2008, 2009

The Red White game was fun to watch. Ndammukong Suh showed he may be the most dominant player in the country. The Red offense looked very potent on paper. With Suh on the White defense, they couldn't get untracked. Play after play he dismantled the offensive linemen and disrupted the offense. He had a sack and seemed to be involved in some way with every play he was in. When Suh was in the game, the Red offense had around eight yards total offense. After his day was pretty much done in the mid-second quarter the Red offense went on and had 380 total yards. Without Suh, the NU defense is good. With Suh, well, it may be.........

Zac Lee has a very accurate arm and he is fast. Now he will need to take over the offense and become a leader, if he isn't already. Latravis Washington is pretty good also but not in the league of Lee at this time.

NU has a whole herd of really good tigh ends. They can block and catch the ball. I wonder how we can play all them. We might see Ben Cotton or Mike McNiel spread out some this fall.

It is hard to judge or single out players on the offensive line. The defensive line is better overall. No running backs showed anything amazing. Collins Okafor's 33 touchdown was nice.

Two receivers that stuck out were Chris Brooks and Antonio Bell. They made some really nice catches. Both could be starters. Wes Cammack beat the secondary for a nice touchdown also. He beat a couple of veteran defensive backs, Asante and West.

Defensively, the tight ends dominated the linebackers in the passing game. Will Compton looked real good on run defense. The first and second team defensive line players are superb. Barry Turner had a quiet day and is not quite back yet.

P.J. Smith seemed to look really good for a freshman. Will Compton had some nice tackles. Anthony Blue looks like he may be close to 100%. Baker Steinkuhler seems to be improving.

Joe Ganz poked some fun at Coach Pelini during the luncheon on Saturday. He joked that in 2003 when Pelini was part of the coaching staff that they did not try to recruit him. Ganz introduced Pelini at the luncheon. (Ganz was recruited and signed by Bill Callahan).

There were almost 100 recruits at the game on Saturday. One recruit was bigger than all the rest. His name is Mike Moudy of Castle Rock, Colorado. He is an offensive lineman who is 6'7" and 315 lbs. He committed to Nebraska this weekend. He is BIG!

Red-White game will have some surprises

The game should be interesting tomorrow; at least interesting as scrimmages go. It is a venue in which some players that haven't made the headlines can show they are special too! This article is about who this writer thinks will shine with effort tomorrow.

Really NU is not only short of quarterbacks but they don't have a lot of running backs for tomorrows game. When you look at experience at I-back, there will be Quentin Castille and Marcus Mendoza only. Oh wait Mendoza is a receiver now.

This writer thinks that Lester Ward will have a really good day. He will be #14 on the White team. But the star of the day could be Collins Okafor. Nothing much has been said about him since he signed in 2008. Tomorrow will be his day to show his stuff and we think he will. Watch for Okafor to have the crowd talking after the game. #29 of the Red team has a great effort tomorrow.

As mentioned earlier, Marcus Mendoza will be a receiver this year. He is #32 of the Red team. Watch for him to have a good day. He may be used to showcase his talent and he is probably the second fastest player on the team behind Prince Amukamara. How? We will have to wait and see. Remember the old wingback reverse. He is perfect for it.

Jacob Hickman (#67 Red) and Andy Christensen #62 Red) will be the two top offensive linemen. No huge surprise on Hickman but Christensen has been away from the game for a year so that will be encouraging.

Josh William (#17 White) is a redshirt freshmen, is a defensive end behind Barry Turner. He is bigger and very fast. He will stick out in the game.

Linebacker Sean Fisher (#42 Red) is tall and not really built like your normal linebacker but he is a fast and great athlete. He will be fun to watch. Matthew May (#36 Red) may be NU's best linebacker right now. A tremendous athlete from Imperial, he is a hitter. Enjoy the show he puts on. Will Compton (#51 White) does look like a slightly smaller version of Dick Butkus. He is a redshirt freshman, who can hit.

Lance Thorell, from Loomis. will be a sophomore this fall is an underrated athlete. He is fast and he can hit. He will have a turnover tomorrow and he will show why he had a lot of playing time in 2008. Watch #23 on the Red team.

Prince Amukamara (#21 of the Red) is much improved and will show why he is a key player for 2009. He is just plain fast and a good hitter. Then there is redshirt freshman P. J. Smith, who could be a starter at safety in 2009. Really, it is possible. He is #13 for the Red team.

One more player this writer really likes for 2009 is Will Henry #8 of the White team. He is 6'6" and is much improved. The question is if Latravis Washington can get him the ball. He will a few times.

Zac Lee is the best quarterback for NU by quite a ways this year. Cody Green will be #2 going into the season next fall. The question is if he will burn his redshirt or not. If NU needs him, he can play. There is just so much to learn. He can run and he has a great arm.

Robert Mavre, the quarterback from Miami last year, could join NU. That is ok, but his stats weren't that good. He started about half the games for Miami (Fla) in 2008 and if he does join the Huskers, he will have to sit out 2009.

The Red team wins tomorrow 27-13.

Harlan County Lake elevation

The elevation of the Harlan County Lake is 1946.42. Last year it was at 1943.70. In 2007, the elevation was 1932.43. The lake is up 14 feet in two years. How is the fishing for everybody? I have fished for 11-12 hours on the Republican River so far this year and I haven't had a bite.

Standup writer contributes to blog!

One of the best standup comic writers I know did this little bit today to share with some friends. Thought I would share Bradlee Hartzog's funny take on a couple of things.

So I'm watching baseball last night and realized that the coaches wear the same uniforms as the players but it doesn't seem weird to anyone. They have on the pants, shirt, hat and even the cleats. What? Are the coaches hoping they will get into the game? Maybe if enough players get hurt, they will let us play! This doesn't happen in other sports. You don't see a football coach with pads and a helmet on. Maybe they should? Wear a helmet with the one crossbar like kickers and punters used to. Coaches get hit more than kickers and punters anyway. I would love to see a 60 year old basketball coach in shorts, a jersey tank top and maybe a head band.

As a society we are getting lazier. You can tell this by looking at the history of soap. First there was a bar of soap, then apparently people decided it was too much work to lift a bar of soap. "Can't we just push down on a spout thing and have it in liquid form?" Then all I have to do is work up the lather. Then we got even lazier. Now they have soap that is already lathered for you. All you have to do is wash it off. No work required. Is that a job for people? "Lather up this soap and then put it into containers so other people can use it to wash their hands too." Now there is hand sanitizer. We don't have to turn on the sink or dry off our hands. Before long you will just have to touch your hands to something and they will be clean. Probably by magic.

In the food world, everything has been turned into baby size. Everyone loves baby sized food. We have baby carrots, baby corn, baby pickles. Veil is from a calf (bovine baby), but I make one comment about eating someone's children and everyone freaks out. I just don't understand you people.

Brad

The Cavs will win the NBA title!

Cleveland clinched the best record in the NBA tonight. They have only lost one time all season at home. Do the math. Labron clicked in 37 points.

The Gretna golf team takes second and continues to improve. Scott Boehler is the coach.

Ashland Invite Results

April 13, 2009
Individual Medalist

1. Cody Gorsett – Blair (74)
2. Konnor Oltman – Norris (75)
3. Tim Jensen – Syracuse (75)
4. Luke Conrad – DC West (77)
5. Chase Brion – Gretna (77)
6. Jared Gustafson – Gretna (78)
7. Taylor Murren – Wahoo (79)
8. Collin Vacek – Blair (80)
9. Nate Evans – Mt. Michael (80)
10. Tommy Christenson – Mt. Michael (80)
11. Max Rudder – Norris (82)
12. Eric Preissler – Bennington (83)
13. Sam Conrad – DC West (83)
14. Taylor Hobbie – Bennington (84)
15. AJ Brant – Blair (84)
16. David DeBolt – Gretna (85)
17. Garrett Kent – Platteview (85)
18. Jacob Landers – Elkhorn (85)
19. Dylan Dravland – DC West (85)
20. Thomas Faulcner – Elkhorn (85)


Team Standings

1. Blair – 324
2. Gretna – 332
3. DC West – 333
4. Mt. Michael – 335
5. Syracuse – 343
6. Elkhorn – 347
7. Norris – 349
8. Wahoo – 351
9. Bennington – 353
10. Platteview – 357
11. Waverly – 371
12. Arlington – 374
13. Roncalli – 374
14. Weeping Water – 397
15. Ashland – 421




Gretna Golfers
Chase Brion 37 – 40 = 77 (5th Place)
Jared Gustafson 40 – 38 = 78 (6th Place)
David DeBolt 42 – 43 = 85 (16th Place)
Jason Wendelin 45 – 47 = 92
John Peters 52 – 55 = 107

A little bit of baseball!

The Kansas City Royals have a pitcher by the name of Kyle Farnsworth. This writer believes he could attribute to ten losses for KC this year. I remember his days with the Cubs and Yankees.

Steve Sipple, of the Lincoln Journal-Star, reported today that there is some ex-Huskers interested in the UNO athletic directors job. Former all-American linebacker and television commentator Trev Alberts, former linebacker/catcher and radio commentator Adrian Fiala, and former all-American outfielder and UNL assistant athletic director Paul Meyers are mentioned as potential candidates. All would be interesting hires. For Paul Meyers it may be step one before Tom Osborne retires in Lincoln. If he is already in line to take the job at UNL, he won't take the job at UNO.

Nebraska baseball is now 16-18-1. Pitching is really not good right now and the hitting is not consistent. NU is young and this writer is a fan of Mike Anderson. They will need to to hit a hot streak soon.

The Omaha Royals have Luke Hochevar, Brian Banister, Chris Lubanski, and Mitch Maier playing for them. If you get a chance go watch them before Kansas City calls them up!

Jared Crick is ready to step up!

Jared Crick has worked hard and will be a force this fall. He is big and strong. He doesn't look anything like the day he started as a freshman. Watch for him to fill Ty Steinkuhler's place very well.

People have forgotten how dismal North Carolina had gotten until Roy Williams showed up. They are the best team in the nation and Roy Williams has been the one to get them there. He is the top coach in college basketball.

Nebraska is 64th in the Pomeroy ratings in basketball. Watch for them to move to the low 40's next year. They should have a real shot at the NCAA tournament. Last year they ended around 90th.

The Royals will win 90-95 games this year. They should win the Central Division. The keys for them is Gordon and Butler and solid pitching.

WOW, the announcement of Alonzo Edwards and Cookie Miller leaving the team was a surprise as far as Cookie Miller goes. He said he is leaving for family reasons. I am not surprised that Alonzo Edwards is leaving because something wasn't right with him and the team. But Cookie Miller was probably our second most valuable player this year and his loss will hurt. It is apparent that NU wants a taller point guard but Cookie was still a spark to the team. I saw both of them last Friday together leaving Memorial stadium. I didn;t know at the time that this was happening.

NU practice has some surprises!

I watched the Friday NU practice during the Coaches Clinic on Friday. There were some surprises for this writer. A surprise is seeing something that makes you take note. It is something that is unexpected. Seeing Roy Helu perform is not a surprise because I expected it. Here are my top six surprises:

1. Ndamukong Suh. Yeah, right! A surprise?? I already said he may be the top defensive player in the nation this fall. This writer was totally impressed by the leadership position he has taken. He is the leader for the defense. He gets on players when he knows they can do better and he pats others on the back. When he is off the field he wants to know what the defensive call is so he can watch his fellow players. He has taken a special liking to linebacker Alonzo Whaley. (Zoe they call him). When Ricky Henry and Terrance Moore got in some fisticuffs, Suh charged out and grabbed Moore. Suh is the leader of the team!!!

2. Will Henry. At 6'5" he has now turned into a physical player and he can take a hit. Zac Lee likes to throw to him. He is easy to see and he can catch the ball. It looks like this kid could get a lot of playing this fall. Watch for Will Henry.

3. Will Compton. For a red-shirt freshmen, he is built like a true linebacker. When he learns the system, he will be a force. He looks powerful and fast. He makes some of the other linebackers look like true freshmen. Phil Dillard wasn't at practice on Friday that this writer can see but he was there on Saturday.

4. Jacob Hickman. He seemed to be our best offensive lineman going one-on-one with the defensive linemen. He was one of the few who seemed to consistently handle his man. He will be good and potentially an All Big 12 player.

5. Cameron Meredith and Josh Williams. Both are red-shirt freshmen who are our backups to Barry Turner and Pierre Allen. If either of them have to go into a game, they can play. They have developed well. They are fast and strong. Williams is especially quick and might play a role like Demorrio Williams did in 2003. Both these players could handle the offensive line except for maybe Hickman.

6. Prince Amukamara. He is the fastest kid on the team. At least that's my guess. He seemed to be better than all the other cornerbacks. He looks like he can make turnovers and break up a lot of passes. Extremely talented.

Zac Lee is way ahead of the other QB's but Cody Green will be great when he learns the system. Green has a heck of an arm. Zac Lee is very fast. Crouch-like fast almost. Andy Christensen is good enough to start. He was impressive. Mike Smith and Derek Meyer did well also. Smith is consistent as the left tackle. On defense, Larry Asante was impressive. Lance Thorell continues to develop and makes plays. He likes to hit. Marcus Mendoza, who is playing receiver, could be a role player on this team. He could be the second fastest player on the team and you notice him with his quickness and speed. Remember the old wingback reverse. He's the man!

Kyle Busch will win the race in Texas on Sunday!

Nebraska baseball was swept for the first time in 12 years.

Golf Champs from Gretna Coached By Scott Boehler!

The Gretna Dragons won the Class B Golf title in 2008. They have three starters back and hope to take a run again at the title. See the Gretna Breeze article..

Gretna Breeze

Helu and Suh will get post season honors!

If these two work hard, stay injury free, and keep their noses clean, the sky is the limit.

Roy Helu is the best back NU has had since Ahman Green. He can do it all. He is a special back that doesn't come along very often. He can break tackles and avoid them. Sounds simple but very few backs can do both and make it look easy. Look for Helu to be in the Top 10 in Heisman voting this winter.

Most great defensive linemen go unnoticed. They are double teamed. They make some plays but usually two linemen can pretty much handle a great player. Suh breaks up double teams. He can change a whole offensive scheme because of his dominance. He is the best defensive player NU has had in many years.

Academics are important to NU athletics!

The academic department and NU athletics team together to make sure athletes are going to class!! No big news but the academic department is also making sure that athletes are paying attention in class and participating!! The NU football players have found out recently what happens when they don't pay attention in a recent team meeting.

I said recently that NU's biggest win in basketball this year was not Texas but Missouri. NU beat Missouri 56-51 on January 10th. Now Missouri is in the final eight teams left in the tournament. They will face a rough Connecticut team on Saturday and I don't expect them to win but the way they are playing.......

One thing is for sure: you can't rely on what you read in the newspapers and the Internet as to who is going to start this fall. Last year, Ricky Henry, John Leverson, Alonso Dennard, and Major Culbert were all said to be starting on last year's team but it never happened. It seems the press starts talking how great a player is and they really have no idea as to what the coaches are really looking at. Take what you read with a grain of salt. Just today I was asked, "Do you think Latravis Washington will be starting?" Well let's let him learn some of the plays first!

Nobody is talking about Derrick Meyer, the former Silver Creek product who played for K-State early in his career. Look to Derrick Meyer to play a lot of ball this fall. The kid can play and he only has one season left to play.

Now for a little fun!! It's fourth and 22 with three seconds left in the game vs. Virginia Tech. NU is on their own 35 yard line. NU is down 27-21. The coaches send in Latravis Washington for a Hail Mary pass. He throws the ball 78 yards and hits 6'5" Will Henry for a touchdown. NU 28-27!!!

Jimmie Johnson will win the race at Martinsville this week! Bank on it.

If only I could redo my brackets, I think I'd have an all Big East final with Villanova and Connecticut.

Albert Pujois is "Le Homre"!

Albert Pujois is the best player in baseball. He is the man. Pujois has never hot worse than .319, never hit less than 32 homers, never had less than 103 RBI's, and has never finished out of the Top 10 in the MVP voting. He is only 29. In 1999, Pukois was playing for Maple Community College in Kansas City. He hit .419 and had 22 homers but wasn't drafted until the 13th round to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Pujois is not only a great player but he is a good person and is active in community affairs. He has a strong belief in God. He is le homre.

NU baseball coach said he is having his funnest year as coach. His huskers just beat two of the toughest pitchers in college baseball from Oklahoma St. They didn't just beat them, they had 13 runs on 17 hits in Tyler Lyons and Andrew Oliver's 5 2/3 innings.

March Madness is upon us and I see I erred in filling out my brackets. My vision in picking was that the Big 12 wasn't as good as many think, the Big 10 was not good at all, and the Pac 10 would be the surprise conference with some upsets. I was wrong on all accounts and that is why I am at the bottom of the standings.

Kyle Busch wins today and just has to be the top racer in NASCAR. The real test is to see how he finishes the last ten races this year.

Big 12 is doing well in post season!

Texas A & M, Oklahoma, and Texas won today in the NCAA tournament. Baylor beat Georgetown in the NIT. Pretty good results.

Nebraska just never got going against New Mexico. We aren't going to win very many games when Ade Dagundaro and Ryan Anderson go 4 for 22 from the field. But the Huskers still looked like they had a chance fighting back from 19 down to seven down and we had the ball. We just couldn't get it to drop. Roburt Sallie knocked in 35 today for Memphis. 10-15 shooting 3's.........NU needed that this year. Sallie only averages four points a game but he was hot today.

What would the NU baseball team be without Adam Bailey. He has nine homers and around 35 RBI's already. We haven't had that kind of performance since Gordon.

March Madness started today. It looks to be an exciting tournament. This year has been a year of surprises and starting Saturday, there should be some exciting games. UCONN and North Carolina looked very good today.

Who is the best boy's high school basketball team in Nebraska this year? There are those that think Hastings St. Cecelia is the best. They definitely can play with anybody. Creighton Prep beat Ralston by seven earlier in the year and Hastings St. Cecelia beat Ralston by one. On Championship Saturday, Hastings St. Cecelia was better than Omaha Creighton Prep.

Nebraska has a tough go in NIT!

I feel sick!

Nebraska is in the toughest bracket in the NIT if you use the Pomeroy Ratings as a guideline. Only Georgetown, Washington St, and San Diego St. are rated ahead of Notre Dame and New Mexico of the teams that didn't make it into the NCAA tournament. NU plays New Mexico in the first round and then would probably play Notre Dame in the second round with a win.

NU play at New Mexico on Tuesday night at 9:00 pm. New Mexico only lost two home games this year. New Mexico is rated 38th and Nebraska is 73rd. New Mexico has a26 point win over San Diego St which is a #1 seat in the NIT. They beat Utah by six points.

But a victory is possible for Nebraska. New Mexico is not a great defensive team. They give up a lot of offensive rebounds which NU has not been good at this season. Their defensive efficiency has weaknesses. NU will need to hit baskets, which they have been struggling with lately. But if they can hit some shots and get a few offensive rebounds, well they can win. New Mexico just came off a loss to Wyoming at the Mountain West Conference. Wyoming is not that good. They may be a lot like Nebraska but not as good.

A real positive is that New Mexico is not that good of an offensive rebounding team and if we can keep them at one shot on possessions that will change NU's game plan and they can be more aggressive on offense.

It should be an interesting game and watch for the game to be decided in the final seconds. NU plays New Mexico(21-11) on ESPNU Tuesday night.

Right now it looks like Missouri has the best chance to go the farthest in the NCAA tournament from the Big 12. Hopefully Kansas and Oklahoma can play better than they did in the tournament. They are pretty good teams but they better show up for every game or they won't last long.

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.

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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