Thursday, October 18, 2007

Weekend TV Preview


(That's Nebraska's linebacking unit by the way, at least most of the white guys.)



- Overall, not a great collection Saturday of games, top to bottom. It is very top heavy, with Rutgers-South Florida, Texas Tech-Missouri, Kentucky-Florida, and Auburn-LSU being the marquee games. Other than that, pretty weak schedule. Regardless, lock yourself in your TV room and don't talk to your family.

Not a good week last week as I went 8-13-1, bringing my record to 77-64-3.



Thursday

South Florida (-2) at Rutgers - ESPN - 6:30 pm

South Florida, possibly the most surprising #2 team in the nation since Miami's improbably rise to dominance in the 1980's. This team has been in college football for only 11 years. This Cinderella story can't go on can it? Maybe not, but for this week, they'll handle an average Rutgers team that's suffering from New Orleans Saints syndrome this year. South Florida has a fast defense and a much better QB.
Pick - South Florida -2

Utah at TCU (-3.5) - Versus - 7:00 pm
Utah is a tough team to figure. Beat UCLA by 38, got shutout against UNLV, and beat Louisville on the road. I know what TCU is. They have a shatty offense, a good defense, and try to win games ugly. I'm taking points in this one.
Pick - Utah +3.5

Friday

Louisville (-3) at Connecticut - ESPN - 7:00 pm
Louisville proved a little to me last week in beating Cincinnati, who I thought was pretty good. How can I pick UConn in any sport but basketball? Give me a good QB on the road, no matter how bad Louisville's defense is.
Pick - Louisville -3


Saturday

Penn State (-7.5) at Indiana - ESPN - 11:00 am

Indiana is a surprise team in the Big 10, won't make much noise in the title hunt, but will probably win 7-8 games, which is a huge leap for them. I can't stand Penn State, so give me points.
Pick - Indiana +7.5

Iowa at Purdue (-7) - ESPN2 - 11:00 am
Purdue finally gets to play a bad team, so expect its offense to get back on track. Iowa sucks nuts.
Pick - Purdue -7

Oklahoma (-29) at Iowa State - FSNSW - 11:30 am
After getting absolutely beaten to holy hell last week at home, Iowa State runs the gauntlet again. There's no way they keep it close after last week's beat down.
Pick - Oklahoma -29

Texas (-25) at Baylor - Versus - 11:30 am
Texas heads an hour north on I-35 and basically plays a home game. So given that the after-Oklahoma theory is off to a good start (56-3 vs. Iowa State), I'm going with Texas to continue to keep rolling.
Pick - Texas -25

Wake Forest (-3) at Navy - CSTV - 12:00 pm
Wake looked decent against Florida State a week ago, but then again I think FSU sucks. Navy really showed me something against Pitt. This could be the potential Nebraska coach bowl, with both of these coaches rumored to be high on Osborne's list. Give me Navy to ram it down Wake's throat.
Pick - Navy +3

USC (-17.5) at Notre Dame - NBC - 2:30 pm
USC has shown me nothing the past few weeks. They should have gotten beat by Arizona, lost to Stanford, barely beat Washington, and blew out a horrible Nebraska team. Notre Dame sucks as well, but they're at home, USC's Mark "Dirty" Sanchez is still the QB, and ND's defense isn't half bad. Give me the under and the Irish.
Pick - Notre Dame +17.5

Texas Tech at Missouri (-3.5) - ABC - 2:30 pm
Could be the game of the day, and could have 70 points scored in this one. I can't wait for this game. Tons of points, 2 local boys at QB, and Big 12 South and North title implications for each team. After watching Mizzou go to Norman and almost beat OU, I have to go with the home team.
Pick - Missouri -3.5

Florida (-6.5) at Kentucky - CBS - 2:30 pm
What a game last weekend against LSU. I love watching Andre Woodson. Very underrated atmosphere in Lexington, tough place to play. Florida will win, I can't see them losing their 3rd game so early in the season, but it will be tough, and likely go down to the final minutes.
Pick - Kentucky +6.5

Michigan State at Ohio State (-17) - ESPN2 - 2:30 pm
Ohio State is a very overrated #1 team, a product of a crazy season so far. MSU won't beat them, but they won't get blown out either. That offense can score on anyone.
Pick - Michigan State +17

Kansas (-3.5 at Colorado - ESPN - 4:45 pm
Kansas just keeps winning, but have only beat one team of substance, Kansas State. And Kansas State is proving to be just an average team. Colorado can play with anyone as long as its in Boulder, and Kansas is due to lose.
Pick - Colorado +3.5

Michigan (-2.5) at Illinois - ABC - 7:00 pm
Everything's setting up perfectly for Michigan. After losing 2 non-conference games at home, they're doing like they always do, beat weak Big 10 teams. They're headed for a title showdown with Ohio State. They may be over-athleted out of conference, but in conference, them and Ohio State are head and shoulders above the rest of the league. They're 1995 Nebraska compared to a lot of these teams. Illinois' luck seems to have run out and they're headed for their 3rd loss in a row.
Pick - Michigan -2.5


Crown Game



Auburn at LSU (-11.5) - ESPN - 8:00
This is a little early for the Crown Game, but since there's nothing past 8 pm worth a damn, this will have to do. If I'm going to bend the rules for the Crown Game, this is a worthy candidate. At night, in the bayou, a top 25 matchup, Ron Franklin with the call for ESPN. This should be a great one. Auburn has come on of late after stinking up the place early in the season. LSU has played 2 physical, tough games in a row and seems to be hurting at some key positions. They look like a beat up team that is showing the effects of a brutal conference schedule. Give me points. Auburn can keep it close on the road, as they proved against Arkansas and Florida.
Pick - Auburn +11.5


Sunday

Arizona at Washington (-8.5) - FOX - 12:00 pm

Not sure how good Washington is, but they win. They'll get exposed as an average team at some point, but not this week. Tim Rattay is starting and I'll go against him any day of the week.
Pick - Washington -8.5

Tennessee (-1.5) at Houston - CBS - 12:00 pm
I'm going with the presumption that VY plays. As long as Ahman isn't 100% and Andre Johnson is out, I have to bet against Houston.
Pick - Tennessee -1.5

Minnesota at Dallas (-9.5) - FOX - 3:00 pm
Dallas has done pretty good stopping the run this year, but has struggled against the pass. Minnesota couldn't pass on Skyline HS, but can run the ball on anyone. They also can't defend the pass. I can see Romo having 350 yards, and Dallas doing just enough to make Minn's run game not completely hurt them. 31-13 Dallas.
Pick - Dallas -9.5

Pittsburgh (-3.5) at Denver - NBC - 7:15 pm
Denver is horrible, Jay Cutler is horrible, and Pittsburgh is good. Denver absolutely sucks against the run, and whoever has Willie Parker on their fantasy team, get ready for a monster day.
Pick - Pittsburgh -3.5




- Tom Osborne's first day on the job. This story just re-iterates just how much of a prick former AD Steve Pederson was.



• In turmoil, NU takes T.O.: A legend returns

• Osborne will stick around awhile

LINCOLN — Tom Osborne was 10 minutes late for his first day of work as Nebraska interim athletic director.

Interim Athletic Director Tom Osborne works two phones in his new office during his first day Wednesday in Lincoln. Osborne was on hold waiting to go on the air for a local talk show and the other was one of several calls Osborne took from well wishers.Caught in traffic, he said.

He parked his car, carried his little briefcase past a statue of himself and walked into a building that bears his name. Then, another problem.

"When I walked in the front door, I had to ask them what floor the athletic director's office was," Osborne said. "And when I got to the (third) floor, I had to ask where the office was."

Osborne had been through the Tom and Nancy Osborne Athletic Complex only once. He had never seen former Athletic Director Steve Pederson's office.

By Wednesday afternoon, Osborne had found the bathroom. He sat at Pederson's old desk and made phone calls, still a little uneasy about his new domicile.

"I got more room than I know what to do with," he said. "I feel like I'm lost."

The day started when he learned of a senior staff meeting about stress relief. Nobody told him about any meeting. He walked in late. A little embarrassing, Osborne said.

He probably didn't have to attend, but "I just kind of wandered in there and thought that'd be a good time to introduce myself."

He spent the morning putting faces to names. His employees showed him around. Lots of rooms and hallways in the Osborne Complex.

"Sometimes even the legends like that don't know which way to turn," said Randy York, Nebraska associate athletic director for communications.

Osborne had a phone at his ear most of the day, taking interview requests from the likes of radio personality Jim Rome. He ate lunch at the training table.

He tried to make sense of rumors swirling around the state that claimed that he was firing the football coaches on Wednesday.

Not true, Osborne said. In fact, he met with Bill Callahan's staff at 12:30 p.m.

"I just tried to let them know that I was here to support them any way I could," Osborne said, "and they don't have to blame themselves for what happened with the change in athletic directors.

"That it was more an administrative thing and it wasn't based on football scores or wins and losses. (I told them) I'd do whatever I could to help them, and then we'll sit down and talk at the end of the year and see where we are."

It's important, Osborne said, the coaches know he's "not out to get them."

Three hours later, he watched a Husker practice for the first time in years.

He even gave the OK to take the pictures of the football All-Americans out of storage and hang them.

"Looks like there's a lot of walls around here," Osborne said. "We ought to be able to find some place for them."

Osborne hopes to find some place in the complex for former athletes, too. Access and security were tight under Pederson.

"I went to see Harvey Perlman the other day and just walked right in," Osborne said.

Former players received an e-mail on Wednesday in which Osborne offered a limited supply of sideline passes to games. Osborne let them know that they're welcome into the A.D.'s office.

"If some people don't want to be bothered, that's fine," Osborne said. "But I'm here to be bothered. So we'll try to relax some of that stuff."

Directing an athletic department requires small talk and hand-shaking, but it's as much about paperwork and number-crunching.

"There's plenty of people around here . . . to do the day-to-day detail work," he said. "A lot of what I'm going to be doing will be people-related. That'll be my focus for the next few weeks."

That seems OK to people in the athletic department. A few senior staffers said they felt rejuvenated Wednesday morning.

Today, his old job complicates his new schedule. He's got to find a way — or find somebody — to administer his business mid-term to two afternoon classes. Osborne will teach when he can this semester, but he'll be calling on some guest speakers to help.

For now, he keeps his office in the College of Business Administration: a quaint abode at the end of a quiet second-floor hallway.

The view from that office, well, there isn't one unless you count the outer wall of Love Library.

At the Osborne Complex, he looks out to the north skyline, over a state-of-the-art practice facility and green practice fields. He has a balcony. He has red chairs and a glass desk and posters of the Nebraska national championship teams he coached.

None of it, by the way, came with him in that briefcase.

"I don't have a lot of baggage," he said.





- A pretty good description of the Nebraska state/fan base. Reading this makes you realize how hard it is to please these people.



A new world for the Huskers
By JOE POSNANSKI

LINCOLN, Neb. | Dark clouds hang low over Nebraska. The weather service calls for thunderstorms throughout the week. Northeast Nebraska is getting hammered with record amounts of rain. It all figures.

At the Nebraska Bookstore on Q Street on Tuesday afternoon, a woman hops from one rack of University of Nebraska clothes to another. She hangs “25% Off!” signs on each. Exclamation points and everything.

At Husker Headquarters on P Street, no one even looks at the 93 varieties of Nebraska hats for sale, one of which features the Nebraska “N” in Japanese and another of which looks like a husk of corn.

Through the window of the newspaper rack on N Street, you can see the enormous single-word headline in the Lincoln Journal Star, a word that is supposed to sum up all the wild emotions people in the state feel after the whirlwind last few days. Saturday, the Nebraska football team lost to Oklahoma State 45-14 at home, in Lincoln, at Memorial Stadium — on Homecoming, no less — and it was the worst home loss for Nebraska since everybody liked Ike. Monday, the Nebraska chancellor fired athletic director Steve Pederson even though the buyout will cost Nebraska a staggering $2.2 million.

Tuesday, the headline read: “SACKED.”

It’s a good word. That’s about how a whole state feels right about now. Sacked.

•••

You have to understand what Nebraska football means up here. It isn’t exactly religion the way Kentucky and North Carolina basketball is, and it isn’t exactly a birth-right like Alabama or Ohio State football, and it isn’t exactly a passion like Red Sox baseball in New England. No, here, Nebraska football defines precisely how people see themselves. Nebraska football, plainly, is who these people are.

There’s a children’s book they have in stores here called: Husker Football for Kids! Yes, they do love exclamation points in Nebraska. According to the Journal Star, the sign placed on the door announcing the Pederson Firing Press Conference read: “Welcome to the Visitors Center! Press Conference at 4:00 p.m. Today. Please join us …”

Anyway, while I’m certain that other college football programs have children’s books like Husker Football for Kids! (or Counting With the Huskers! or Hello, Herbie Husker!), I also suspect no other book has quite the same lesson.

In Husker Football for Kids!, Nebraska’s football team faces the Idaho PotatoPeelers (funny, I thought they were on Kansas’ schedule), and it’s a tough game. Idaho puts up a good fight. In the end, though, Nebraska pulls off the victory, which leads to the final page, and the big lesson.

“As the teams walk off the field,

Husker fans cheer

For the Cornhuskers and the PotatoPeelers

Because they BOTH played a good game.”

There it is, in a nutshell, the image Nebraska fans have built through the years as America’s Classiest Fans. Even more, though, this is the image Nebraska fans have of themselves. You have to understand it has been this way going on almost 50 years. Grandfathers in Nebraska can barely remember before Bob Devaney took over the program in 1962, and from that year until three seasons ago, when the coach who dare not be named (Bill Callahan) took over, the Cornhuskers never had a single losing season. They never missed a bowl appearance. They were almost always in the national championship fight.

All that winning, after a while, becomes a part of you. It isn’t that Nebraska fans got spoiled — that’s not the right word. They built a lifestyle around all the winning football, much the way people in Seattle built their lifestyles around rain and coffee or people in Los Angeles build their lifestyle around highway traffic.

Every game at Memorial Stadium has sold out since, not surprisingly, 1962. Nebraska fans all wear red — no group of fans anywhere is as obsessive about the color they wear to games — and they show up early, they are generally the friendliest fans to be found anywhere, they wander around Lincoln and buy more Husker stuff at the Nebraska Bookstore and munch on Husker Burgers (cut into the shape of the state of Nebraska). Then the game happens, and they cheer everybody, including the unlucky souls who had the misfortune of getting battered by their Cornhuskers on that particular day.

So what happens when it all goes bad? What if it stopped raining in Seattle? In 2004, for the first time in two generations at least, Nebraska lost more than it won. Panic. Mayhem. Last year, Nebraska did win the Big 12 North title (it lost to Oklahoma in the championship game), it went to the Cotton Bowl (lost to Auburn) and while it wasn’t just like old times, it was certainly looking up.

Then, this year happened. Nebraska won its first two games (including a squeaker against Wake Forest) and then got obliterated by Southern Cal. The Huskers almost lost to Ball State at home. They beat Iowa State and then got obliterated again, this time by Missouri. And that led to Saturday’s fiasco against Oklahoma State — the Huskers were losing that game 38-0 at the half.

Now what?

Television stations all over the country showed America’s Classiest Fans leaving the stadium at the half. According to a couple of sources, some fans actually returned to the Nebraska Bookstore and returned the merchandise they had bought that morning.

“I know other colleges go through this,” said one person looking through the on-sale merchandise Tuesday. “But it isn’t supposed to happen at Nebraska.”

•••

When Steve Pederson was hired as athletic director in 2002, there was much joy throughout the state. Pederson is a Nebraska native — North Platte, to be exact — and he had worked at Nebraska for some time, and he knew Nebraska. At least that’s what everybody thought. He once said: “We’ve got 1.7 million walk-ons!” Yes! That’s it! Nebraska football isn’t something that people in the state just watch. They live it. At some schools, the athletes are seen as role models for the fans. But in Nebraska, the fans are role models for the athletes, see? You have to act right to be a Nebraska fan. You have to have faith in the people in charge. You have to have love for the players. It’s a lifestyle. More than one booing Nebraska fan was shushed at Memorial Stadium through the years.

Well, then the great Tom Osborne retired and Frank Solich became head coach, and things started changing. Oh sure, Nebraska was still winning — but not as much, not as big. The program seemed to be teetering a little bit. Nebraska got destroyed and embarrassed in the 2001 national championship game. The next year, the Huskers went 7-7, which was scary. In 2003, they went 9-3, but Pederson had seen enough.

“I refuse to let this program gravitate toward mediocrity,” he said.

He fired Solich. What’s worse, he fired Solich — a longtime Osborne assistant and loyal Nebraska soldier — without even calling Osborne to let him know. Like I say, Nebraska fans seemed split about it. Most did not like the way it was done. But, I would also say, most fans thought something had to happen. Solich was no Osborne. Pederson talked about returning Nebraska to where it belonged.

Then things really got bad.

The coaching search was a clown act. Pederson may or may not have offered Houston Nutt an enormous sum (Pederson later said he did not, though many other people say he did). Nutt definitely did not take the job. Several sources said that Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders was offered the job (Pederson denied this, too) but he turned it down. Lots of people reportedly turned it down. For weeks, Pederson refused to comment — his management style generally seemed to be not commenting — and he seemed to be making no progress at all. Finally, and rather suddenly, Pederson announced that he had hired an NFL coach, Bill Callahan, who had the distinction of being one of the few coaches in history to reach a Super Bowl one year and be fired the next.

Callahan had limited college experience — he had never even been a coordinator in college — but he had been an excellent recruiter, and he still had the Super Bowl shine, and again it seemed the Nebraska fans mostly thought, “OK, we’ll wait and see.”

Well, everybody has seen now. Callahan had the losing record his first year, a so-so year followed, and then the Big 12 North title. For that (and a big win against Nevada this year) Pederson signed him to a new five-year deal. But that fit: Pederson himself had just signed a new five-year deal less than two months earlier (reportedly for more than $2 million per year). It was raining money in the Nebraska athletic department.

And suddenly, nobody was feeling too good about Nebraska football. Pederson’s secrecy, his penchant for cutting good deals for himself, his seeming disrespect for Nebraska’s great tradition (he often talked about reshaping Nebraska football) was turning people off. Callahan does not seem to have the passion for the job, nor the ability to connect with people in Nebraska. Then Paul Meyers, a former Nebraska baseball star and major fundraiser, resigned for “personal reasons.” That made some news.

Then the football team began losing big. That made lots of news.

Then Pederson was fired.

And now, there’s an identity crisis in the great state of Nebraska.

•••

Most people believe there is one man who can help Nebraska get its groove back, and that’s Tom Osborne himself. He may be 70, and he may not have had much to do with Nebraska football the last 10 years, but heroes don’t stop being heroes. Osborne was hired Tuesday to be the “interim athletic director,” but that’s just a title. What people want is for Osborne to make things like they were.

Of course, that’s no easy trick. Nebraska, like all the great old powers, faces new challenges in today’s sports world. There’s parity across the land. It becomes harder and harder to recruit in another school’s backyard. You can see the problems they are having at Miami, Florida State, Alabama, Penn State and so on.

Still, the news of Pederson’s firing did seem to lift the spirits of a lot of people. The radio is filled with talk-show voices who believe that a new athletic director and new coach will make things right again. In a Nebraska City truck stop, two men talk about how it will take time but things are looking up (“That Osborne didn’t know squat about politics, but he knows about football,” one says). In Lincoln, even under those dark clouds, there’s some new hope.

“People will keep buying Nebraska,” says a woman at the counter in the Nebraska Bookstore. “It’s just what people do around here.”




- Some more pictures that are running wild around the internet. This season has been a photoshop nerd's dream year in making fun of Nebraska's struggles.





Wednesday, October 17, 2007

My Hero is Back


- This should tell you all you need to know about the state of Nebraska football. Tom Osborne, upon retirement, had vowed to stay away, not meddle, not take an admin job within the University, and just let the program go on without his presence in a decision making role. So for him to step in says it all for this program.

- They are in a bad way right now. Osborne saw that the University he loves is struggling. The program he built into the most dominant of all time is not even 1/100th of what it used to be. Every semblance to what he built is totally out of the window. He needed to step in. He knew he had to. His program (don't kid yourself, this program is and always will be his) was in shambles. And he knew no one else in America would know how to fix it but him.

- He knows what it takes to win. He knows how to build a program. He knows how to connect with the in-state donors/boosters. He knows how to connect with the ridiculously overreacting, obsessive fan base. He knows about the morals, ethics, and attitudes that are involved with the state of Nebraska. This cannot be underestimated. It's a weird state with unique schools of thought by its residents.

- I didn't get to watch the press conference, but I listened. Wow. I hadn't heard him talk since 1997. To hear him talking was therapeutic. It was calming. Of course it brought back nothing but good memories. They need this guy. He has a presence about him that I can't even explain. I bet those in the audience were in a trance listening/watching him. He is Nebraska football. He is the state of Nebraska.

- Like I said earlier, it's hard to explain the cult of that state. They need one of them. Although Steve Pederson was a native, he wasn't one of them. He never connected and didn't have their philosophies and beliefs. Osborne is the common man of Nebraska who knows what it takes to please the fan base and win. He knows the traditions, he knows the people, he knows Nebraska.

- It's not going to be easy. I'm not even sure how long he's going to be on board or what the odds of him being successful are. But I know he's the only one qualified to take this huge endeavor on.

- He's going to be the middle man to the next era of the program. He's going to try re-build the foundation and then put people in place to take it on to the next level for years to come. They hired him to plug the hole in the Titanic, get it sail-ready again, and then put the right people in place to take it to its destination.

- We can't delusional here. The mid-90's aren't coming back. 60-3 over 5 years and 3 national titles aren't coming back either. But I can't think of anyone else I'd want in charge of re-building the program than the guy who built the greatest dynasty in college football history over a 30 year period.

- My hero is back.




- Some records and feats created/sustained under Tom Osborne.

Consecutive 9 win seasons - 33
Consecutive bowl appearances - 35
Consecutive winning seasons - 42
47 game home winning streak - 5th longest in NCAA history
26 game winning streak
11 time NCAA rushing champion
60-3 record from 1993-1997
4 National title appearances in 5 years
3 National titles in 4 years
24 game win streak over Missouri
24 game win streak over Oklahoma State
36 game win streak over Kansas
29 game win streak over Kansas State




- Anytime you can lay a shot on that whiny ass Brad Miller, (whose facial expression is set at cry mode at all times), it's a good thing. Atta boy Howard.



Mavericks' Howard ejected after tangling with Kings' Miller

01:16 AM CDT on Wednesday, October 17, 2007
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – A case of mistaken identity in a meaningless but rugged preseason game could end up having major ramifications for the Mavericks when the regular season opens.

Josh Howard was ejected Tuesday night when he came to the aide of teammate Devin Harris, who had been shoved to the ground by Sacramento center Brad Miller with 7:01 left in the second quarter at Pan American Center on the New Mexico State campus.

Howard gave Miller a hard forearm in the back of the neck. He then was put into a bear hug by Kings assistant coach Chuck Person. Players were grabbing and shoving each other, but it didn't appear any punches were thrown. It also was unclear whether any players left the bench area.

Punches, whether they land or not, and escalating a fight by leaving the bench are automatic suspensions of at least one regular-season game.

A flagrant foul, penalty two, was called on Howard, which does not carry an automatic suspension, but the NBA office will review the incident. It's possible Howard could be suspended for the Oct. 31 season opener at Cleveland.

"I was protecting my teammate, that's about as simple as you can put it," Howard said. "It was a dirty play, and it wasn't even Devin."

That was the strange part. Miller triggered the fracas with the wrong player.

It started when Miller and Mavs rookie Nick Fazekas got tangled on a rebound. Miller took offense to Fazekas' actions on the play, but when he turned around, Harris was the closest Maverick. So Miller strongly shoved Harris to the floor.

The 6-3 guard popped up and got in the chest of the 7-foot Miller. That's when Howard raced in.

"I don't think it's a suspension," Mavs coach Avery Johnson said. "We'll see what happens. We're a team that tries not to back down. You got to hold your ground out there. You got to defend yourself. I don't advocate anybody fighting. But he got pushed and he needed to do something about it in a legal way."

Howard said he will accept whatever decision the league makes regarding any penalty.

Said Harris: "He pushed me to the ground, and we can't have that type of action on the court without some kind of response. You got to know what you're doing out there."

The Mavericks were happy Howard came to Harris' defense.

"It doesn't matter where we're playing, we've been together so long that we're going to have each other's back," said Jason Terry, whose 3-pointer with four seconds left gave the Mavericks a 101-99 win. "If it means a guy's going to miss a game, so be it."

Center-free: The Mavericks were without any healthy centers Tuesday night.

Starter DeSagana Diop was sent home Tuesday morning with flu-like symptoms. D.J. Mbenga and Erick Dampier are recovering from injuries, and Jamal Sampson was in Dallas with a foot injury.

Avery Johnson joked that assistant coach Popeye Jones would be starting. As it turned out, it was Darvin Ham, who continues to make a case for making the team.

"The odds may be stacked against him, but the odds have a way of changing," Johnson said. "The odds were stacked against the Colorado Rockies when the season started and look at them now."

Monday, October 15, 2007

About as bad as it gets


- Had the displeasure of watching the worst home loss in over 50 years Saturday.

- It's becoming clear that Callahan has not adjusted the college game. The gameplan, the atmosphere, the attitude is way too business like and rigid. It seems as if everyone is playing for a check and looking at playing ball like it's a job.

- The sideline was just dead. No energy, no life, no encouragement. Just pitiful.

- It had all the feel of a Miami-St. Louis NFL game.

- How does an 8-4 team that returned everyone outside of their defensive line play this bad? Last year's team was close to losing only 2 games and getting to 10 wins. And now, with everyone back 1 year later, they may not get to 6 games. Someone has to be held accountable for this collapse.

- That's all I care to say about this situation. I believe the wheels are in motion in Lincoln to get everyone but Callahan out of there, athletic director included. This week should be interesting.

- How sad is it that Texas A&M-Nebraska will not be televised this Saturday? 2 teams before the season that were supposed to challenge for titles, and now they're struggling to keep games close against marginal teams.





- Chip Brown checks out the situation.....



Callahan has Nebraska in wrong direction

Winning tradition in Nebraska is taking a beating under Callahan

03:34 AM CDT on Monday, October 15, 2007

Before the season started, Texas A&M's trip to Nebraska this week figured to affect the Big 12 title race. Now, just call it the Contract Buyout Bowl.

Dennis Franchione appeared to have the market cornered on negative headlines after hare-brained coaching in a loss at Miami and then making money off a secret e-mail newsletter without his boss's approval, possibly violating NCAA rules and federal laws.

His players tried to rally around Fran but were demolished in Lubbock by old friend Texas Tech. The Red Raiders won, 35-7, on Saturday as defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeil joined Tech quarterback Graham Harrell and receiver Michael Crabtree of Carter in rock-star status.

But if we were in New York City, it would be safe to say Nebraska's Bill Callahan could knock Franchione off the back page of the tabloids.

Callahan has turned the most respectful fans in college football into disinterested boo-birds, making it easy to forget the program was once set on autopilot for winning.

On Saturday, one week after getting drilled, 41-6, at Missouri, Nebraska allowed a school-record 38 first-half points at home. The Cornhuskers fell behind, 38-0, before losing, 45-14, to Oklahoma State.

"I'm not worried about my job," Callahan said after his Big 12 record fell to 14-13 in four seasons. "I'm just going to do the best I can, and whatever happens happens. I don't think you can coach in fear or coach like you're scared of something."

Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson fired Frank Solich in 2003 at the end of a 10-3 season. Solich had a six-year record of 58-19 (.753) and played for a national title in 2001. When Pederson announced Solich's firing, he said Nebraska wasn't content with mediocrity and would no longer concede Big 12 titles to Oklahoma and Texas.

Now, Pederson and Callahan are probably serving their final days in Lincoln. Their contract extensions before this season mean Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman may also be in trouble if the university's board of regents decides new blood is needed.

Here's what Pederson and Nebraska fans have gotten in four seasons with Callahan:

•In 2004, his first year in Nebraska, the team nearly led the nation in turnovers and set a school record for points allowed in a 70-10 loss at Texas Tech.

•The 2004 team went 5-6 and ended two of the school's most prized accomplishments: 42 years without a losing season and 35 straight bowl appearances.

•In 2005, Nebraska lost to Kansas, 40-15, ending the Big Red's 36-year winning streak against the Jayhawks.

•Along the way, Callahan was quoted calling OU fans "(expletive) hillbillies" and was reprimanded by the Big 12 for making a throat-slash gesture. He even called Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman a primadonna when Freeman dropped his oral commitment to Nebraska. Can you imagine Tom Osborne calling a high school kid names in the press?

But Callahan appeared to turn the corner with Nebraska fans by beating Michigan in the 2005 Alamo Bowl. Then the Cornhuskers won the Big 12 North last season.

But in the Cotton Bowl against Auburn, Callahan brought back all the previous nightmares. Early in the first half, he called a fake punt that was botched inside his own 30-yard-line , leading to an easy Auburn touchdown. Then, on fourth-and-11 with two minutes left to play, he called for a pass instead of going for a 47-yard field goal that would have tied the score. The pass fell incomplete, and Nebraska lost, 17-14.

This year, Nebraska was humiliated at home by USC; barely defeated 23-point underdog Ball State, 41-40; and then was routed by Missouri and Oklahoma State.

Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne left the same job at Nebraska in December 2002, avoiding the firing-and-hiring mess that engulfs the Cornhuskers this season. But Byrne probably has his own mess to deal with in College Station.

The most heated competition between Texas A&M and Nebraska may not be on the field Saturday in Lincoln but in the back hallways, where the schools will decide who will lead these teams next year.

Texas A&M (5-2, 2-1) at Nebraska (4-3, 1-2), 1 p.m. Saturday (KFXR-AM 1190)





- The boosters have some demands and hopefully they get met.



Future of NU brass up in air
By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Sunday, Oct 14, 2007 - 11:58:25 pm CDT
Sure, Dale Jensen had a few minutes to talk Nebraska football. Got a half hour?

Never mind that it was hours before his Arizona Diamondbacks were to play Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday. Jensen had his Huskers on the mind.

He painfully listened to Saturday’s game, a 45-14 Husker home loss to Oklahoma State, a day Jensen considers the program’s lowest in modern history.

“At halftime, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, just don’t let this thing get into the 60s,’” Jensen said.

A Lincoln native and one-time University of Nebraska-Lincoln student, Jensen made himself worth hundreds of millions of dollars as a bank computer software mogul, big enough that he’s now part of a four-man partnership that owns the Diamondbacks.

Big enough that he’s given millions to UNL. Big enough that when he says he’s had it with that university’s athletic director and football coach, you pay attention.

“The general consensus from everybody I’ve talked to is that (Bill) Callahan and (Steve) Pederson both have to go,” Jensen said.

And if they don’t go, would he keep sending money to the athletic department?

“Right now, today, if someone came to me (asking for money) and I knew the current leadership was going to be there, probably not,” he said. “Not even probably. I get to vote with my pocketbook and that’s the only vote I have.”

Jensen said he doesn’t know of any coordinated effort afoot by big donors to try to inflict changes on the athletic department.

But he does hear plenty of unpleasant talk after an embarrassing seven-game start to this Husker football season. Losses by 18, 35 and 31 points have left many red-faced and asking for dismissals.

Much of the disgruntled voices don’t want to just get rid of coach Bill Callahan, but also of the man who hired him, athletic director Steve Pederson.

“I don’t have a bone to pick with anybody. I just know what’s happening, and it’s not good,” Jensen said. “I’m a Nebraskan and Nebraska football became the largest single point of pride for many Nebraskans that never even had anything to do with the university. Well, that pride isn’t there now.”

Insert another opinion, this one from Dan Cook, another guy with a lot of money, a 72-year-old and prominent Husker booster.

“Don’t panic in a decision like this. This has profound changes if you make some quick move,” Cook said Sunday. “And what message does it send to other people that you may want to hire? If you fire a coach or something like that, what’s the next coach think: ‘Every time they lose a game, they’re going to want to hang me.’”

Though he called Saturday “a sad, sad day for Nebraska,” he thinks he’d give Callahan and Pederson at least one more year.

“Steve Pederson is a friend of mine. I will say that straight out,” Cook said. “But I will say … if you don’t deliver, there is a time when you pull a plug. I don’t think this is the time to pull the plug on either of those guys.”

But if the plug were to get pulled on Pederson, who’s doing the pulling?

According to University of Nebraska Board of Regents members Randy Ferlic, Kent Schroeder and Chuck Wilson, such a decision is reserved for Chancellor Harvey Perlman.

“In this case, Perlman has the management decision in his hands,” Ferlic said. “The regents could interfere, but I think it’s highly doubtful.”

Perlman could not be reached Sunday and did not return a message left on his home phone.

Ferlic said no regents meetings have been held to discuss the state of the football program, nor were any scheduled.

“I just get the same e-mails everyone gets (from fans), 100 a day,” he said. “They’re all saying roughly the same thing.”

Wilson, the regents chairman, said he had received a couple hundred e-mails over the weekend “lamenting the sad state of things.”

Such is the gloom that has overcome Husker football.

By the final minutes of Saturday’s loss to Oklahoma State, half the stadium was empty. Callahan heard angry shouts from fans as he left the field, and even worse things were being written by the anonymous on message boards in the day that followed.

Cook thinks the negativity has almost reached the point of absurd.

“I think there are people in this state who really want to see this thing fail, and if enough people want to see things fail, it’ll fail,” Cook said. “And the consequences of it are enormous to Nebraska.”

Jay Noddle, a booster out of Omaha, said the results on the field have been troubling, but hoped decisions of potential changes would not be made rashly.

“To rush to a decision and make major changes and so on and so forth may seem like the right thing to do at this moment, but could do more harm than good,” Noddle said.

He had a hard time watching Saturday’s game, not just what happened on the field but also the environment that surrounded it.

“It’s sort of shocking. It’s sad,” he said. “I don’t think it’s indicative at all of the spirit of Nebraska. We got to go get that back.”

Noddle does not think big boosters will influence any change so much as Nebraskans at large.

Cook also downplayed the role of the boosters, saying the people who shoot off their mouths the most often give the least to the program.

“You’d be stunned at the number of people who are the loudest talkers who do nothing for that program except sit back and bitch and carp,” Cook said.

He said he would not pull back on the donations he gives despite the recent struggles.

Some former Husker players have been less accepting.

There was one invitation sent to former Husker letterwinners Saturday night inviting them to a Wednesday meeting where they could have an “open and candid discussion on the direction of the Nebraska football program.”

Jensen said he knows of many people in Nebraska’s N Club, made up of former Husker letterwinners, who “feel alienated” from the current program. This started soon after Pederson arrived as AD, he said.

“I’m not going to name names, but trust me, these are people with household names and they are incredibly upset,” Jensen said.

“It’s one thing when the program is going through a down time, but when you feel betrayed, you were loyal all these years, and these guys are N Club members feeling that. There’s too many of them for somebody to just dismiss it.”

Jensen wanted to stress that he’s not blaming the current players. He thinks Nebraska’s athletes are as good as anyone’s out there.

“I don’t blame the kids at all,” he said. “The problem comes from leadership. That’s where it all starts. It starts with leadership, and that leadership is as far up the flagpole as you want to go.”




- Big 12 Rankings



1) Oklahoma - Not sure about the defense.
2) Missouri - Played Oklahoma tough, expect a rematch in December.
3) Texas - As always, played lights out a week after the Oklahoma game.
4) Texas Tech - Secretly rooting for them.
5) Kansas - Not getting much respect, and the schedule doesn't help either, only Missouri presents a challenge the rest of the year.
6) Kansas State - Tough team.
7) Oklahoma State - Capable of beating anyone with that offense.
8) Colorado - A mid level team that isn't there yet, but can play with most teams.
9) Texas A&M - Not sure what to say about them.
10) Nebraska
11) Baylor
12) Iowa State



- Top 10



- Another weekend of upsets. More reason why there needs to be a playoff. With everyone losing, picking 2 teams for the championship game is even more subjective this year.


1) South Florida - Yes, South Florida. Beaten ranked teams West Virginia and Auburn. That's more than what Ohio State can say.
2) Boston College - Quietest top team in the nation.
3) LSU - Have to keep them up here, they win out, they jump either of those teams, even if they're undefeated.
4) Arizona State - Will have a chance to prove they belong. Games with Cal, USC, and Oregon coming up.
5) Oklahoma - Must dominate to get over a weak Big 12 schedule.
6) Ohio State - Play someone.
7) Oregon - Could quietly end up with 1 loss.
8) USC - Tough road ahead and I doubt they make it through, probably add 2 more losses to their record.
9) West Virginia - Winning, but schedule is weak as hell.
10) Kentucky - Not a bad team at all.



- Dirk refreshed and ready to go.



Mavs' Nowitzki ready for hectic schedule

Long postseason, lengthy run for German team among goals


08:58 AM CDT on Monday, October 15, 2007
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com

Dirk Nowitzki was sick and tired of basketball in May. The Mavericks had just lost to Golden State in a monumental first-round upset and, though he had to stick around Dallas for another week to collect the MVP trophy, the superstar forward was spent.

Emotionally, he had one foot out the door, and it wasn't long before both feet were physically planted firmly in Australia for the start of a vacation and two months completely away from his $16 million-a-year job.

As good as that time away was, Nowitzki wants no such repeat. He stresses that he wants to play about 12 consecutive months of basketball.

"It was a long summer," he said, "longer than we all expected or wanted."

But now?

"I hope to go all the way with everything," he said.

By that, Nowitzki means he wants to go all-in, to borrow a poker expression. The Mavericks have learned from the last two seasons, Nowitzki said, and he hopes to be playing in June again during the NBA Finals.

After that, he would have almost no time to prepare for the German national team's appearance in a pre-Olympic qualifying tournament, probably in Greece in July. If the Germans grab one of three spots available, it would be off to Beijing in August for the Olympics.

Considering Nowitzki's September was eaten up by the European championships and the Mavericks opened camp Oct. 2, that would be a full year of basketball with no down time.

It would be well worth it.

"It's going to be a long season, hopefully," Nowitzki said. "I understand it could be an unbelievable schedule going into next year."

And if all of that busy time comes to pass, Nowitzki may think back to the first two months of this summer when he spent time in Australia and relaxing in Germany.

It was therapeutic, to say the least.

"For me, it was great," he said. "For two months, I didn't touch a ball. Obviously, I was a little fed up with basketball, and I wanted to get away from it."

The Olympics has been a dream of Nowitzki's since he began playing the game. The German team finished second in the European championships three years ago, but it has never qualified for the Olympics in Nowitzki's time.

He has committed to play through the Beijing Olympics. At that point, if the Germans have not qualified, he said he will probably will step away from international competition.

"I'll be 30 and it would be four more years before the next Olympics," he said.

In the meantime, he will go about the business of getting the Mavericks into a deep playoff run. If they had their druthers, they would fast-forward to the playoffs.

But Nowitzki knows that's not the way it works.

"Every great season starts with a great preseason," he said. "We're all ready. We were so close two years ago and last year we lost to a hot team. It's always fresh in your mind. But you also try to push it away and focus on the future. You don't want to harp on things too long. You find a way to move on. But the frustration, I won't forget."

It's what pushes him forward toward what he hopes is a long, exhausting season.