"That term 'resignation' is not in our vocabulary"

- It may not be in his vocabulary, but the word "fired" may be. Osborne will stick to his word and let Callahan finish out the season, but before he gets back to the locker room after losing to Colorado, he'll be outta there.

Nebraska's Callahan won't resign

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- If Nebraska interim athletic director Tom Osborne wants Bill Callahan out as football coach, he'll probably have to fire him.

Callahan said Tuesday he would not resign before the season ends, even if he were offered a buyout worth more than he is entitled to by his contract.

"That term 'resignation' is not in our vocabulary," Callahan said.

The Huskers (4-6, 1-5 Big 12) go into Saturday's final home game against Kansas State on their first five-game losing streak since 1958. They've been outscored 226-98 in those five games.

Last week's 76-39 loss at Kansas marked the most points allowed by a Nebraska team and ratcheted up the fans' outcry against Callahan.

Osborne has not asked for a resignation and doesn't plan to, athletic department communications chief Randy York said Tuesday. Osborne has said he'll evaluate Callahan at the end of the season.

Callahan's new contract, signed in September, calls for him to be paid $3.125 million if he's fired this month. He said he wouldn't be tempted to step down if he were promised more money to resign now and remove the uncertainty surrounding the program.

"You need to understand this isn't about money. I didn't get into coaching for money, for buyouts, or anything like that," Callahan said.

The fallout of the season hasn't changed his feelings for Nebraska, he said. Callahan has often said he wants to finish his career at Nebraska.

"I sincerely want to be here," he said. "I think I indicated that when I signed a contract extension. If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't have signed the extension."

Callahan said it's embarrassing for a program such as Nebraska to lose five straight and no one feels worse about it than him.

The Huskers led Texas 17-9 in the fourth quarter before losing 28-25 two weeks ago. Otherwise, they haven't been competitive in their losses this season. They have one of the nation's worst defenses, allowing 35.9 points and 477.6 yards a game.

"Gosh, I don't think we wanted to do this," he said. "These coaches didn't purposely tell these kids, 'Hey, don't go out there and tackle today,' or 'Don't go out there and rush the passer.'

"Our guys coach to the best of their ability, and they did the best they could. It hasn't been good enough at this point. Hopefully, Saturday we can rectify this."

Callahan said much of his fan correspondence has been supportive. Of course, there has been lots of negative, as well.

"It's a game," he said. "I understand here in Nebraska it's more than a game. It's life. It's the most important thing to Nebraskans, and I share that passion."

Callahan said he won't leave on his own volition, even if it means relieving pressure on himself, his staff and their families.

"There is a message if you do resign, that you've quit on your football team," he said. "There is no quit in this staff. We're going to keep plugging away and keep pushing and keep coaching and try to get through this."




- Diop on pace to turn in a nice contract year....



Hard work at center of Diop's improvement for Dallas Mavericks

If you didn't see it, then I won't blame you for not believing it.

Not one bit.

I can't lie, I had to watch the scoreboard replay for verification.

Late in the fourth quarter of the Mavs' win over Houston a couple of days ago, Jerry Stackhouse dribbled down the lane and whipped a no-look pass at DeSagana Diop's ankles as he cut to the basket.

Diop snatched the ball off the top of his high tops and leaped high – in one motion – to throw down a forceful, one-handed dunk that gave the Mavs a six-point lead, at the time their largest of the night.

No way he makes that play last year.

Either he doesn't catch the ball and fumbles it out of bounds. Or he can't leap quickly enough to dunk the ball before he gets fouled.

"Stack probably wouldn't have thrown me that pass last year," Diop said with a smile after practice Tuesday.

"But I spent a lot of time this off-season working on my balance and my hands, and it's paying off right now. I'm feeling confident about what I can do."

It shows, even after only four regular-season games. He's averaging 7.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

Just so you know, Diop has never averaged more than 2.3 points per game in his first six seasons.

What we're seeing these days is a new and improved Diop. We're seeing a player who can be a valuable part and make a significant contribution to a championship contender.

The dunk wasn't the only impressive aspect of Diop's game against the Rockets. He had 10 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks while playing a career-high 40 minutes and not committing a foul against Yao Ming, the Rockets' 7-6 Goliath.

Diop committed three fouls per game in 18 minutes per game last season.

Suddenly, there's not much concern over when Erick Dampier will return to the lineup as he recovers from off-season shoulder surgery. There's a sense Diop can handle the minutes and the responsibility.

Diop should also feel good because his contract expires at the end of the season and he's going to get a sweet payday whether it's from the Mavs or someone else.

See, it's no longer a question of whether Diop, 25, belongs in the NBA. The question is whether he's going to develop into a solid starter or a solid backup.

He fits comfortably on the Mavs because they're so good they don't need him to do much. He's only taken 21 shots this season but has made 13. And he's hit 4 of 5 free throws, which is a good start for a career 52-percent free throw shooter.

Diop has always had a good feel for the game. He's just better equipped to take advantage of his knowledge.

If he continues to play strong around the basket, at least opposing teams will be forced to keep an eye on him, which should divert their attention enough to let Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Josh Howard or Devin Harris get to the basket.

This is not to suggest Diop is suddenly going to become the second coming of Bill Russell. But he certainly has the ability to be like New Orleans' Tyson Chandler, who averaged 9.5 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks last season

For that, give Diop all of the credit.

The fat kid who showed up after four wasted seasons in Cleveland, where he never played more than 13 minutes per game, has re-shaped his body after weighing more than 300 pounds. He's lost at least 40 pounds through grueling workouts and disciplined eating.

He even had the nerve to flex in the locker room, showing off his abs to rookie Nick Fazekas, who jokingly accused Diop of having a body shaped by too many chicken wings. Diop quickly corrected him.

"It's from a lot of salad," he said with a laugh.

And a lot of work in the off-season.

After playing summer league ball, Diop returned to Dallas for a couple of weeks. Then he headed to New Jersey to work out with a personal trainer.

He did box jumps and jumped rope. He alternated standing on one leg for minutes at a time and did several other exercises designed to make him more limber and flexible.

"We did a bunch of crazy drills that I had never heard of before," Diop said, "but they worked."

Which is why the Mavs will have to figure out just how much to pay him at the end of the season.



- Rangers could be active on trade front this off-season.



Teams talking trade with Texas Rangers GM

01:06 AM CST on Wednesday, November 7, 2007
By EVAN GRANT / The Dallas Morning News
egrant@dallasnews.com

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jon Daniels is starting to become one of the popular kids.

In less than 24 hours worth of hobnobbing with his fellow baseball general managers, Daniels has received multiple inquiries about the Texas Rangers' depth at catcher and about the availability of third baseman Hank Blalock.

While Daniels isn't motivated to talk about trading Blalock, especially since he is coming off an injury-plagued season that has likely driven his value down, the catching situation might be a little different.

"I'm not looking to move any of our catchers," Daniels said. "But there is a pretty good demand for catching out there."

The Rangers have two potential starting catchers in Gerald Laird and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Laird, who is eligible for arbitration this winter, is coming off a disappointing offensive season. However, he is still only 27 and led the American League in throwing out base-runners. His time at catcher was diminished after the Rangers acquired Saltalamacchia from Atlanta at the trade deadline.

Saltalamacchia split his time between catcher and first base. If the Rangers hold on to Laird, they could have the two share time behind the plate again or have Saltalamacchia play first base full-time. The Rangers, however, believe Saltalamacchia's skills are better suited for being a catcher.

Boston, which has center fielder Coco Crisp available, has inquired about the Rangers' catching situation. While Daniels did not discuss potential trade targets, he did say the Rangers have spent time at these meetings looking at potential center fielders available via trade. The club can't discuss money with free-agent center fielders for another week.

Briefly: Daniels said he's not shopping RHP Vicente Padilla in an effort to move a bad contract, but he is opoen to listening to potential deals. Padilla went 6-10 with a 5.76 ERA in the first year of a three-year, $33.75 million deal. "I think he's going to have a better year next year than this year," Daniels said. "He's had 200-inning seasons, and he's had a better-than-league-average ERA in the past." ... RHP Jacob Brigham, the team's sixth-round selection in the 2006 draft, is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery, which will knock him out for all of 2007.


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