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

Doing Sports God's Way With Lance Thorell!!

This is an awesome video!!

Godtube

Nebraska thrills the crowd.

PICTURE COURTESY OF THE LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR
SEE THEIR PHOTO GALLERY FOR OTHER GREAT PHOTOS

Friday afternoon Nebraska knocked off Colorado 40-31 in the most thrilling NU game this writer has ever attended. Nebraska seemed to be in control of the game after Colorado opened up a 14-0 lead but every time you would look at the score we were tied or behind. This writer didn't worry about it because we just seemed to be outplaying them and it was a matter of time. It was a matter of time at the end when we had a 4th and 25 from the Colorado 40 yard line. Thoughts went through my mind that we were beat. The ride home was going to be disappointing. There was no way. The sickening thought of our fake field that backfired for a Colorado touchdown went through my mind.

Should we punt? There was less than two minutes left in the game. A first down by Colorado and this game was over. Kunalic could possible hit a field goal from that distance but the chances were slim. Our offense didn't look to be with it this series so a first down needing 25 yards was not very probable. And then Alex Henery come on the field. He is a heck of a kicker and my vote all year long for All Big 12 but 57 yards? It couldn't be a fake. Not after the last one we tried. Impossible. And then the ball was snapped and he actually kicked it. Some yelled "It's short!"

But it kept going and going and then this writer saw a fan raise his hands behind the goal post and the crowd erupted. It went crazy! People were falling over over the place! Fans were hugging other fans they didn't even know. It has never been that loud in the Nebraska stadium.

But the game wasn't over. They had hit three early passes for a lot of yards and they might do it again. QB Hawkins threw the ball down the middle with his tight end temporily open. At the last second Lance Thorell leaped and knocked the ball away from the receiver. Wwwhhheeewwww! Still time left. Hawkins goes back to throw and Zach Potter, for the second time in the game, deflected it away to N. Suh and Suh races to the end zone for a touchdown. The crowd went crazy again and this time it might have been just as loud or louder. Nebraska had it won at last!!

Yes, we beat Oklahoma a few years ago on the Stuntz to Crouch pass. That was crazy, Yes, we beat Missouri on the famous Frost to Davison pass in overtime a few years ago. And yes we beat Texas A & M a couple of years ago on the Taylor to Purify pass when it looked like we were beat. The Oklahoma-Nebraska Game of The Century was as good as it gets. There are others. But this writer wasn't at those games and two of those games weren't even in Nebraska. Never had we had 85,000 plus fans at a game like this. It was loud. It gave you goosebumps and it made you emotional!

If you get a chance view Corn Nation's (In the Blog List) replay of the fieldgoal. WOW!

Stars of the game were of course, Henery and Suh, Helu again, and Zach Potter. Oh and the Nebraska fans!!!

The Big 12 was also crazy today. Kansas beats Missouri and Nebraska ties for the Big 12 North.

We are 8-4 and probably headed to the Gator Bowl. Let's go 9-4 but maybe don't make it so exciting this time.

Happy Thanksgiving to NSJ

Happy Thanksgiving to readers at the Nebraska Sports Journal! Happy Thanksgiving to John and the gang who run Nebraska Sports Journal. I hope that you have plenty to be thankful for, such as a possible bowl game for Nebraska in a tropic weather place. Over at Collegefootballtopten.com, I posted my annual Top Ten Things I'm Thankful For, if you have a chance, check it out. Here's a hint. It includes the guys from Nebraska Sports Journal.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oklahoma remains #1 in the Nebraska Journal Standings!

Oklahoma showed its speed last night and dominance of Texas Tech in an easy victory. Here is our new rankings:

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

This writer predicts an Oklahoma/Florida Championship game! How do you see it?

Nebraska now looks good for the Gator Bowl!

Nebraska has to beat Colorado next Friday. With the Notre Dame loss today vs. Syracuse, they should have eliminated themselves from playing in the Gator Bowl. Nebraska should be at the top of the list!

The Gator Bowl is held in the Jacksonville Municipal Stadium which seats 76,877 and is the home of the Jacksonville Jaquars. The game features the third place team of the ACC vs. Notre Dame, or a team from the Big East or Big 12. The ACC is so close that it could be a number of team that could play in the Gator. Boston College, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Florida State, Wake Forest, Clemson, Miami (Fla) and Virginia Tech could all be possibilities.

The Gator Bowl is the site where, in 1978, Ohio State Coach Woody Hayes clotheslined a Clemson player after he intercepted an Ohio State pass. Woody Hayes lost his job the next day.

Former MVP's of the Gator Bowl include:
1954 Vince Dooley
1957 John David Crow
1965 Fred Biletnikoff
1966 Floyd Little
1971 Pat Sullivan
1971 ArchieManning
1974 Earl Campbell
1978 Art Schlicter
1980 George Rogers
1984 & 1985 Thurman Thomas
1989 Andre Rison
1991 Cale Gundy
1994 James Stewart
1996 Donovan McNabb
2001 Michael Vick
2002 Javon Walker
2007 Calvin Johnson
2008 Graham Harrell

This would be Nebraska's first appearance in the Gator Bowl!

Nebraska is getting closer to the Top 25!

Nebraska is #20 in the RPI ratings in college football. We are getting votes and are ranked in the 35th area in most of the polls. Three of our four losses come from #2 Texas Tech, #5 Oklahoma, and #13 Missouri. The other loss was to Virginia Tech and they have now dropped out of the Top 25.

I find Joe Ganz as my most exciting player to watch and the player right now NU can least afford to lose. Roy Helu Jr. is the most exciting back we have had in many many years. Every time he runs the ball there is a chance he can get to the endzone. Nate Swift is next. He is the all-time leader in receptions for NU and he also can score at any time. Mike McNiel is an excellent tight end and Matt Slauson is my favorite lineman because he can pass block and run block consistantly, but more importantly he paints his face before the games.

On defense, this writer loves to watch N. Suh. He is a force and All-Big 12. Zach Potter is an excellent D-End with Pierre Allen not far behind. Ty Steinkuhler likes to make plays. This writer's favorite defensive back is Loomis's Lance Thorell. We hope to see more of him before season's end.

Rankings are as follows:
1. Oklahoma
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. USC
5. Texas Tech

Oklahoma has too much speed for Texas Tech. But the game should be "I don't even want to leave to go to the bathroom" fun!!

Listen to this! The Pomeroy Rankings for college basketball has Nebraska #10 in the nation right now.

Galleries

I wanted to introduce you to my gallery section at Collegefootballtopten.com. I have a Collegefootballtopten.com gallery at Flickr, and there is a link at my site. I have just a few pics, but I am looking to add more. Anyone that has pics of a game that you attended can send me the pic in an email (info@collegefootballtopten.com) and I might include it in the gallery. Another way to get your pic in the gallery is to take a pic of yourself wearing Collegefootballtopten.com gear.

Another gallery I have up at Flickr is one in which the famous Bob Lilly signed copies of his new book at our store in Fort Worth, TX. You can check it out as well.

It looks like the Cornhuskers have pulled things together winning four out of their last five games. With a win over Colorado next week, the Huskers can secure second in the Big 12 North. They would be 8-4 with that win and probably wish they could get that Virginia Tech game back. And, by the way, Nebraska took the number 2 team in the country to overtime in Lubbock. Not bad. I think Bo Pelini has done a great job in his first year. It's tough enough for anyone to stop these Big 12 offenses, much less a team who has a new coach. I know that you Husker fans are happy with the results. Good things are coming for Nebraska.

Nebraska will take care of Freeman and the Wildcats!

This writer hated to see Josh Freeman switch his commitment to Kansas State a few years ago but now it is a blessing. If Freeman would have come to NU, we probably would have never had Joe Ganz start and seriously I'd rather have Joe Ganz.

Look to NU to be inspired because of the blackshirts and the fact that they want to play in the Gator Bowl vs. the Sun Bowl.

Look to the weather to be cold and windy. NU will get three plus turnovers tomorrow but both offenses will depend on the run so it will shorten the game. NU wins 23-14. Look to Marlin Lucky to have a great game!!! The front four on defense will play very well again!!

Nebraska could be headed to the BRUT SUN BOWL!!

If Nebraska can win out, chances are they are headed to the Sun Bowl in El Peso, Texas. The game will be 12/31/08 at noon and will be televised on CBS. Oregon State may be the opponent but others could be Oregon, Arizona, and California. Remember Oregon St beat USC earlier in the year.
And guess what! The Village People will be performing at halftime.

The Sun Bowl has had many great players participate. They include:
1. Priest Homes, Texas
2. Kyle Orton, Purdue
3. LaDanian Tomlinson, TCU
4. Zach Thomas, Texas Tech
5. Merlin Olson, Utah State
6. Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh
7. Tommy Cassanova, LSU
8. Bert Jones, LSU
9. Rick Bryan, Oklahoma
10. David Rimmington, Nebraska
11. Pat Tillman, Arizona State
12. Cornelius Bennett, Alabama
13. Derrick Thomas, Alabama
14. Thurman Thomas, Oklahoma State

Nebraska has played twice in the Sun Bowl and is undefeated. In 1969, they beat Georgia 45-6 and in 1980 they won 31-17 over Mississippi State.

Tickets are on sale and they range from $15-60.

"We aren't in Kansas anymore"

Dorothy: [has just arrived in Oz, looking around and awed at the beauty and splendor] Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more.
Dorothy: [after a pause] We must be over the rainbow!
[a bubble appears in the sky and gets closer and closer. It finally lands, then turns into Glinda the Good Witch wearing a spectacular white dress and crown, holding a wand]
Dorothy: [to Toto] Now I... I know we're not in Kansas!


Right before the "Tunnel Walk" yesterday, the big screen showed a scene from the Wizard of Oz. It is the part where Dorothy tells Toto "We aren't in Kansas anymore". It fired up the crowd!! Everybody realized that Kansas, who hadn't won in 40 years years in Lincoln, had their hands full. Even on a freezing day with the wind blowing 30 miles an hour from the north the crowd warmed up and helped the team stay fired up for the entire game.

It was so cold this writer wished that Coach Mangino was close to him to get warm. It was that cold! This writer is pretty sure that Mangino could have eaten Toto by the end of the game. Don't get me wrong, Coach Mangino is one of the best coaches in college football. He has taken Kansas to new heights. But he looks so big in blue. Almost as big as myself.

The Nebraska offense played their best game of the year. The line played very well. Roy Helu ran very well. He is the fastest back we have had in a while. The 50 yard touchdown in the second half is my play of the year so far. It fired the crowd up as much as this writer has seen since the Stuntz to Crouch pass vs. Oklahoma.

Joe Ganz continues to play very well. He the best QB that NU has had in the past ten years. He fits this offense very well. He is a leader and a gutsy player. We will miss him next year!

On defense the front four are playing extremely well. As this writer has said before, Suh is an all Big 12 player. He is dominating. Not a bad fullback or tight end either. What a day he had.

The secondary and linebackers are ok but this is the area that is keeping us from being a Top 25 team. Thanks to a few dropped balls to open receivers yesterday or Kansas may have won the game. KU knew who to pick on yesterday. They constantly threw the ball at a couple of our cornerbacks and were very successful doing so. We are young in the secondary so we should only get better in the future.

Kansas didn't only lose the game 45-35, they lost a recruit also. Earnest Norman switched his commitment from Kansas to Nebraska yesterday. He is a 5'11" 220 lb linebacker from Texas. He is rated the 39th best middle linebacker by Rivals.

One more race this year for Nascar. Jimmie Johnson has the cup won.

Now a little bit of politics. This was in my bulletin today at Church.

A Grave Mistake and an Abiding Hope
Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director, Priests for Life

Americans have made a grave mistake in electing Barack Obama to the presidency. Yet America herself remains great and is not a mistake, which is why so many of her citizens will continue, with even greater energy and determination, to defend her founding principles.

The man elected to the Presidency said during the campaign that he does not know when a human being starts to have human rights. How can one govern from that starting point of ignorance? Governing is about protecting human rights; to do it successfully, you have to know where they come from, and when they begin.

The President-elect has already failed that test miserably.

The American people do not share Barack Obama’s extreme and offensive views on abortion. They never have and they never will. The coming four years will see a widening gap between the people and their President on this fundamental issue. As Americans come to know how extreme his position is, the intensity of the struggle to protect these children will only increase.


One last thing. My #1 team, Oklahoma St., was beaten bad yesterday by Texas Tech. Here is my new Top Teams:

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

Nebraska is out pick in a close one!

What is Mangino picking?







Nebraska will win this week in a Texas Techish type game 42-41. Lucky and Helu will have great games. Look to Mike McNiel to score this week. The defense will struggle but will get three turnovers and over two sacks.

Kansas, coached by the 2007 National Coach of the Year, Mark Mangino, is very good again. Not quite the team it was last year, it is a very fine team. It is obvious Mangino likes to eat so that qualifies him as my hero.

The key to the game is containing Reesing on the zone option. If he starts running at will, we could get behind early again. Sharp will have his 150 yards rushing but we have to stop Reesing or things will totally open up and get out of control.

My guess we will do a respectable job of holding down Reesing but he will get 100 yards+ rushing.

NU will show some trick plays this week. Why hold them any longer. This is a huge game for NU. Cody Glenn will have a very good game this week. Watch Ricky Thenarse emerge as a big factor. Lance Thorell will have five plus tackles and his first turnover this week. Will he take it in for a TD. Watch! It will be exciting!

Mendoza will catch a pass this week and look to him to run a reverse for some good yardage.

It going to be a HOOT!

My Top Six teams this week are:
1. Oklahoma State
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. Florida
5. USC
6. Penn State


NU basketball played an exhibition tonight and beat Chadron State by 30 points. Toney McCray had 18 points and Eshuante Jones 16. Two freshmen. Steve Harley put away 13 points.

Starters tonight for NU were Chris Balham, center, Steve Harley, guard, Sek Henry, guard, Ade Dagunduro, guard, and Ryan Anderson, guard. Cookie Miller, last year's starting point guard played the second most minutes behind Harley with 23 minutes.

What is your score of the football game tomorrow and your predictions of what may happen?

Don't even want to talk about it!

This writer agrees with the coach, let's move on. You can't spot a good team like that 35-0 and expect to win. Oh well, we won the final three quarters 28-27.

This writer thinks its odd that so many fans complained last year that we needed some fire in the program and now they are complaining about Bo Pelini's passion for the game or temper, however you want to look at it. This passion is all fans wanted to be happy. We just wanted them to play hard again. Bo Pelini is very passionate and he will continue to be that way. He had a flag thrown in his only other game he played so why did you think he would change. This writer likes the passion and our coach will make things happen down the road. Just don't try to change who he is.

Boy did NU play a lot of reserves the other night. New numbers were all over the field. Watson, Koehler, Lawrence, Witt, and the list goes on and on. Competition for positions should be fierce. It may also show our overall knowledge of the schemes are not being picked up by some of the players.

Next up is Kansas. It will be a tough one and Kansas will be favored by 3-6 points.

NU basketball starts this Friday with an exhibition game against Chadron State.

This writer thinks now it will be low scoring!

This writer has changed his mind and thinks this game will be low scoring.
Not entirely, but this writer is a contrarian so we will go will a score of 21-18, OU. Hard to believe right now but yes the defenses will be pretty darn good this Saturday and NU will stay in the game until the end.

Nate Swift is a great talent and a hard working player. He broke Johnny Rodgers record for career receptions last Saturday. But did you know "The Jet" had the previous record and accomplished his record in three years because Freshman couldn't play back then. So to equal Rodgers record, Swift would have to have 48 more receptions this year to do what Rodgers accomplished.

Top College football teams!
1. Oklahoma State
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. Florida
5. USC
6. Penn State

Yes, OSU got beat by Texas by three or four points but would have Texas have beat them at Stillwater. This writer doesn't think so. We'll take OSU as #1 right now.

Tom Tresh recently passed away. He played in the ourfield with Mantle and Maris in the 60's. Great player.

The Phillies won the World Series. It was over before this writer could get into the series.

The Ernie Davis Story, we hear, is a great movie. Hope we can get to the Sun Theatre in Holdrege to watch it this weekend.


My brother just sent this picture. It is Kansas Coach Mark Mangino when he was a baby!!