Back tomorrow

- No blog today, too busy. Picks for the weekend on tap for tomorrow.

- U2 is greatness, and so is BaD Radio.

It's USC week

- The best coaching situation in America? You be the judge. What's his motivation to get back to the communist NFL?


- The USC Song Girls




- Sam Keller is back playing USC, this time in a different uniform. I'll take the 347 yards and 2 TD's, just hold back on those 5 int's.

And just get used to it, there's going to be more stories written about his game in Tempe, Ariz in 2005. Where he staked ASU to a 21-3 halftime lead over #1 and invincible USC, threw for 258 yards and a TD, took bows, fist pumped, and made a scene to the student section going into the locker room at halftime. Only to throw for only 100 more yards and 1 TD, with 4 INT's in the 2nd half, while watching Arizona State lose that lead and the game, 38-28.

By the way, I love all of the arrogance and confidence. If he did that Saturday, I wouldn't mind one bit.


The LA Times chimes in.

Square peg Keller comes full circle

Quarterback found he didn't fit in at Arizona State, where he was a rising star before a USC comeback and an injury derailed him. Now at Nebraska, he's about to get another shot at No. 1 Trojans.

By Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 11, 2007

LINCOLN, Neb. -- "Destiny is not a matter of chance," the quotation reads above the entrance to the Osborne Athletic Complex. "It is a matter of choice."

The phrase is credited to Nebraska politician and statesman William Jennings Bryan, but the words might as well be inscribed on a chain around the neck of Nebraska senior quarterback Sam Keller.

Two years ago, while starring at Arizona State, Keller disappeared into halftime at Sun Devil Stadium with a 21-3 lead over No. 1 USC.

Keller raised his arms to a jubilant student section on his way to the locker room. The upset victory was going to make Arizona State a national title contender and possibly make an All-American out of Keller.

A reporter for the Arizona Republic proclaimed "game over" in the press box and a reporter from Los Angeles scribbled the premature proclamation on his notepad.

Less than a year later, Keller woke up here, running Nebraska's scout team.

Bad dream?

"Probably the luckiest thing that's ever happened to me," Keller said.

Keller played that second half against USC in 2005 and had four passes intercepted, the last hitting star receiver Derek Hagan in the hands before the ball trickled somewhat miraculously into the arms of USC's Kevin Ellison, who made the game-cinching pick while flat on his back.

USC rallied to win, 38-28, and it was Keller's turn to go belly-up.

He suffered torn thumb ligaments the following week at Oregon, relinquished the job to Rudy Carpenter, then earned his starting spot back before the 2006 season, only to lose it the next day when Sun Devils coach Dirk Koetter, reportedly under pressure from players, gave the job back to Carpenter.

And that was Keller's cactus career.

He transferred to Nebraska, sat out last year, and will be in the huddle here Saturday night when No. 1 USC plays the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska is ranked No. 14 in this week's Associated Press poll.

Arizona State was No. 14 when it played host to top-ranked USC on Oct. 1, 2005.

"Kind of weird how it ends up," Keller said in a recent interview on campus. "You get another crack at a team that was, in actuality, your last point of success as a starter. . . . I never would have foreseen this."

Keller foresaw beating USC two years ago and leading Arizona State to the Pacific 10 Conference championship, if not the national title.

After stepping in for injured Andrew Walter to win most-valuable-player honors in the 2004 Sun Bowl -- he threw for 370 yards in a victory over Purdue -- Keller opened the 2005 season by passing for a school-record 669 yards in his first two games.

Forty touchdowns and 4,000 yards seemed possible. Keller might even have turned pro.

"That could have happened if I didn't get hurt, or that could have happened if I had beaten USC," he said.

Plans changed. Arizona State went one way and Keller went another.

Nebraska was running low on quarterbacks after touted prospect Harrison Beck transferred to North Carolina State.

"When he raised his hand to come, I said, 'Absolutely,' " Nebraska Coach Bill Callahan said of Keller.

What happened at Arizona State remains somewhat a mystery.

This is Keller's don't-want-to-talk-about-it version:

"It was a business decision they made, players and coaches alike," he said. "Me, I made my own decision . . . and that was not to stay there."

One story: Keller's teammates didn't trust him with the quarterback keys, so they revolted at a team meeting. Keller had a reputation as a partyer. There were posted pictures of him in the company of booze and girls.

The Omaha World-Herald, in a recent article, quoted an anonymous former Arizona State player saying a couple of seniors complained about Keller's off-field behavior and essentially "threw him under the bus."

There was another plausible theory that, if a choice had to be made between quarterbacks, Keller was more expendable. He had only one year of eligibility left compared with three for Carpenter, who might have transferred had Koetter stuck with Keller.

Keller, who turns 23 on Sept. 28, has never denied that he likes to socialize. He is of legal drinking age. When frequenting bars now, Keller is careful not to have a drink in his hand when someone snaps a picture.

He also says Internet stories regarding him were overblown.

Rather than beat the stories down, Keller said, he ignored them.

"You can't let it bother you or it will tear you up," he said. "Half the reason people say some of the things is they want a reaction out of you. They want to see you go in the tank, they want to see things get worse and worse. And the reason is, you were once way up there. And once you're on top they want to knock you off."

Keller knew there would be trust issues when he transferred into town. "You come to a place and you're new, and your picture is on the front page of the paper before you even get here," Keller said. "It's like, 'Who is this guy?' "

He couldn't just walk in here with his gunslinger reputation, so he made a calculated decision. "The minute I got here I went to work," he said. "I became a grinder."

Callahan knew about the rumors that trailed Keller from Arizona State.

"None of that factored in," he said. "People asked me the same thing you're talking about. I don't know what went on, I don't really care what went on. All I'm happy about is that he's here and playing for us."

Nebraska players said they would have been suspicious had Keller walked into town with an attitude.

"If he would have come in with a big head, he obviously would have shunned some guys," senior safety Bryan Wilson said. "Sam's not that guy. . . . He came in humble. He ran the scout team last year."

Wilson even did his own research on Keller.

"I knew a couple of guys who went to ASU," Wilson said. "Everybody said the same thing. He's a good guy. He wasn't arrogant; he was just a fun-loving guy who loves football."

Go to school, go to practice -- "books and ball," as Callahan says.

Isn't that how a new player earns respect?

"You just show them," Keller said. "Talk is cheap. Everything that circulated [in Arizona] was all talk, know what I mean? I just had to come here and be myself. The whole process made me realize how much I love football, and how blessed I was to have this second opportunity. Because it was taken and yanked away, and I've had to crawl my way back."

Keller has not been spectacular in victories against Nevada and Wake Forest. He is averaging 225.5 yards passing per game, with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Part of Keller's problem in the past was that he sometimes took too many chances on the field -- that's the gunslinger in him. He has had to accept a more mature approach in Callahan's West Coast offense. But even Callahan says: "I don't want to kill his spirit. I told him, 'All I'm trying to do is get you to maintain your poise, keep you thinking ahead, keep you thinking through the job.' "

Unlike with the Arizona State team he led in 2005, Keller has a marquee tailback to lean on at Nebraska in Marlon Lucky, who is third in the nation with 323 yards rushing.

As far as destiny goes, well, Keller made his choice and it wasn't by chance.

And now top-ranked USC is coming back to town -- a different town.

Two years after Keller thought he'd flushed it all away that day in Tempe, the gunslinger gets one more shot here in Lincoln.

Don't expect any first-half fist pumps this time.



- From the Lincoln paper.


Keller gets second chance against USC

By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Tuesday, Sep 11, 2007 - 09:11:20 am CDT

Held back by a fence and guys in security shirts, the boys found their best option to be shouting.

“Sam! Sam! Sam!”

Sam Keller emerged from the locker room and into the southern heat with a middling stat line: 24-for-41, 258 yards, one touchdown, one fumble, two interceptions.

And maybe those numbers weren’t good enough for some grown-ups back home, those people already unloading their Husker concerns onto blogs, message boards, radio shows, whatever. But it was sure as heck good enough for two red-shirted boys lining a fence in Winston-Salem, N.C.

“Sam! Sam! Sam!”

The Husker quarterback didn’t hear them. There were media types already converging on him to ask about the next game, that one against Southern California. Never mind it was only minutes after an exhausting 20-17 win against Wake Forest.

Keller said he’d like to enjoy the win for the night, but eventually he started answering questions about the No. 1 Trojans anyway.

The senior had played them, after all. And for one half at least, he had those Trojans scared.

This was back in 2005, before Keller transferred to Nebraska, back when he was at Arizona State.

He completed 26 of 45 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns against the Trojans. He also threw five interceptions, four of them in a second half that saw USC rally to a 38-28 win.

Keller remembers plenty of it. You don’t forget the ones against teams like USC.

“We took what they gave us. We were patient. They want to keep the game in front of them, just like Wake Forest did,” Keller said. “And, at the same time, when you get down against them, there’s windows. You can hit those windows, but they close really fast.

“What happened against SC the last time I played them was I tried to hit windows and when their linebackers get a hand in the air ... those guys are so fast they’ll just jump up and take it (the ball).”

Keller had Sun Devil Stadium rocking that night, helping Arizona State to a 21-3 halftime lead against a USC team that featured Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush.

Then came the second-half interceptions. He told you about those windows. They close quick.

Despite his interceptions, then-ASU coach Dirk Koetter said after the game that Keller made some “beautiful plays.”

“I wouldn’t trade Sam for too many guys out there,” Koetter said that night. “I love the way that guy plays and he’s going to have plenty of great plays and plenty of big games over the next year-and-a-half.”

From Keller’s perspective, the Sun Devils gave it away.

“Yeah, that was a really talented defense and we had them. They couldn’t really stop us. If we just didn’t beat ourselves,” Keller said after that game. “But they were somehow always in position, in all of those plays.”

Arizona State was ranked No. 14 that night, the same ranking Nebraska holds today — four days before USC rides its white horse into Lincoln.

Husker coach Bill Callahan watched tape of that Arizona State game last year while scouting the Trojans, but not since.

He said Monday that the viewing was long enough ago he couldn’t offer you a proper evaluation of Keller’s play from the game, and he probably won’t watch tape of it again this week.

Why would he? Nebraska has a different offense than Arizona State. USC has different players.

Callahan also said there will be no special messages delivered from him to Keller this week just because it’s USC.

“Just the same message as we do week in and out. It’s no different,” he said. “This is a big game because it’s our next game. We’ve been real consistent in that regard. That’s our approach. That’s how we’ve always approached each week’s contest.”

Despite the miscues against Wake Forest, Keller said he played better in that game than his Husker debut against Nevada.

Husker offensive coordinator Shawn Watson agreed.

“He did a nice job of kicking himself around the pocket, making some nice throws,” Watson said. “He, like myself, knows that he needs to continue to improve and continue to get better, but he is. That’s the upside of it. He’s getting better every time he comes out.”

Until 10 days ago, Keller had gone close to two years without playing a game that counted. That didn’t stop expectations of Husker fans from soaring.

It was not beyond the hope of some that he might emerge as an equal to last year’s quarterback, Zac Taylor. Maybe he’d even be better. No small challenge, considering Taylor was the 2006 Big 12 offensive player of the year.

Of course, people forget how it began for Taylor. In his first two games as a Husker, his numbers were 29-for-69, one touchdown, three interceptions.

Keller’s first two games: 38-for-66, two TDs, three interceptions.

Good, not great. This week the numbers must be great.

When talking about the challenge, Keller called it a “big, big, big game.” Three bigs.

He said he loves big games.

Watson senses that, too. On Saturday, he was asked if he wished this game were played later, giving Keller more time to ready himself.

“Not really,” Watson said. “It falls when it falls. It’s time to go, man. It’s time to play it.”





- Nebraska injury report/practice notes

Red Report: Callahan tight-lipped on injuries
Monday, Sep 10, 2007 - 07:34:03 pm CDT
Husker coach Bill Callahan on Monday continued with his trend of not revealing much about Husker injuries.

The two injuries of interest right now are those of defensive tackle Ty Steinkuhler and safety Tierre Green.

The junior Steinkuhler, who injured a knee less than five minutes into the opener, made the trip to Wake Forest on Saturday. He even warmed up, but did not play a snap.

The senior Green, meanwhile, suffered a shoulder stinger in the third quarter of Saturday’s game and did not return.

Callahan revealed little more other than both players are “day-to-day.”

Getting the snaps in Green’s place was senior Ben Eisenhart, Culbertson native.

Eisenhart appeared to have a game-clinching interception Saturday, only to have it taken away after officials looked at a replay and said he trapped the ball.

“He’s a smart guy. He’s a tough guy,” Callahan said of Eisenhart. “And, of course, being from in-state, he’s a guy who just bleeds Husker red. He’s going to give everything he’s got.”

BY THE NUMBERS — 14: Nebraska’s ranking in both the Associated Press and USA Today Top 25 polls. It is the Huskers’ highest ranking since reaching No. 12 in the AP poll midway through the 2003 season.

SCOUTING REPORT -- CB Zack Bowman: Husker senior cornerback Zack Bowman is showing no ill effects of the major knee injury that put him on the shelf for almost five months this offseason.

The co-captain was second behind safety Larry Asante on the team in tackles Saturday, with seven.

Of course, the big play was his interception in the end zone with 6:05 left that helped preserve Nebraska’s 20-17 lead.

Wake Forest quarterback Brett Hodges lofted a pass to the corner of the end zone that went right to Bowman.

It was, as Callahan said, “the lift we needed to close them out.”

What happened on that play?

Nebraska was playing a zone coverage, dropping seven guys back.

“He was playing what we call a ‘sevens coverage,’ where basically it’s like a picket fence (in the secondary),” Callahan said. “I thought it was just a great play, understanding the nature of their route distribution, and making the play on the ball.”

OPPONENT WATCH -- Colorado: According to the Boulder Daily Camera, Colorado redshirt freshman Cody Hawkins suffered his first loss as a quarterback in 60 games on Saturday against Arizona State, dating back to his days of Pop Warner football.

The son of Colorado coach Dan Hawkins completed only 15-of-42 passes in the game for 155 yards. The Buffs only had 39 rushing yards and blew a two-touchdown lead in the 33-14 defeat.

“We had their wallet,” CU corner Terrence Wheatley told the Daily Camera. “We took their money and we gave it back to them with interest.”





- The Daily Oklahoman says Nebraska has a chance to put the final piece of the Big 12 credibility puzzle together by beating USC, after Texas and Oklahoma took care of their business last weekend. I'd say Nebraska's challenge is a tad stiffer.

Cornhuskers have final shot at putting Big 12 over the top

By John Helsley
The Oklahoman

Oklahoma's attention-getting rout of Miami delivered a much-needed blow in favor of the Big 12's reputation.

Texas did its part Saturday, too, halting the league's 17-game losing streak against ranked non-conference foes by rallying to knock off TCU in Austin.

Still, the Big 12's rep isn't all that. And just one final shot at some national pop remains — until at least December — for swaying perceptions of being overrated.

And it's a loooong shot: Nebraska's tangle with No. 1 Southern Cal on Saturday night.

Agree or disagree with those who say the Big 12 has been found lacking. But critics can back up their position with data.

Yes, seven Big 12 teams are ranked or receiving votes in at least one of the two major polls, with the Sooners and Longhorns each occupying spots in the top 10. But memories of that 17-game slump against ranked outsiders — stretching to the first three games of this season — and a 3-5 record last bowl season haven't dissipated on the strength of one decent weekend.

That will take more than OU walloping an unranked has-been or Texas taking down some BCS wannabe.

It'll take a statement game. So good luck, Huskers, it's up to you.

"I think it's a great competitive challenge for our football team,” Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said Monday, downplaying the matchup. "We've been in big games. We've played the Michigans and the Auburns and the Oklahomas and the Texases.

"And this is the next big game on our schedule.”

Oh, it's big all right.

ESPN and its College GameDay crew will be there, building up all day to the prime-time 7 p.m. kickoff. The rich traditions of both programs will be saluted. Lee Corso might even go completely wacky and waddle around inside the Herbie Husker suit.

And before the nation's eye, in some ways the Big 12 will be on the spot.

"I'm for the Big 12,” said OSU coach Mike Gundy.

Same at Missouri, even if the Tigers figure to fight it out with the No. 14 Huskers for North Division superiority.

"I want the Big 12 to win every game there is, I'll keep it at that,” Tigers coach Gary Pinkel said with a laugh.

Big 12 status is no laughing matter.

Oklahoma and Texas find themselves in the national title picture. One — the survivor of the Red River Shootout — figures to remain there.

Yet if come early December it becomes crowded at the top and unbeatens from the Pac 10, Big Ten, SEC or, say, a perfect West Virginia are involved, conference strength could become a factor in deciding the BCS championship game matchup.

And Nebraska-USC could swing the Big 12's fate — one way or the other.




- From the Tulsa paper.

Big 12 is hoping for fall of USC

BILL CALLAHAN did not endear himself to Oklahomans in 2004 when, after a loss to OU, he referred to Sooner fans as "hillbillies."

But OU fans -- and Big 12 coaches -- will be in a mood to give Callahan hugs and kisses Saturday night if the Nebraska coach can find a way to ambush top-ranked USC.

OU would like to see the Trojan horse toppled for obvious reasons. The Sooners have BCS title game ambitions and the path has fewer obstacles if USC, one of four teams ranked ahead of Oklahoma in the coaches' poll, absorbs a defeat.

The Big 12 would relish a Nebraska victory because the league needs luster restoration. Big 12 teams went 0-13 in nonleague games against ranked opponents last season.

The league helped itself last week, when Texas beat a ranked TCU squad and Oklahoma routed once-proud Miami, Fla., and Nebraska won a road game against defending ACC champ Wake Forest. Those cap feathers upped the Big 12's record to 18-6 this year against nonleague foes.

But nothing would re-establish the Big 12 as the real deal like a Nebraska victory over the alleged best team in the land.

Asked if he has a rooting interest in the USC-Nebraska game, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said, "Not really, other than I am for the Big 12. I didn't know they played them this week. (P.S. Coaches are notorious for tunnel vision that requires 24-hour focus on their teams.) But we always, myself, I always want the Big 12 teams to win."

Callahan trotted out some coach-speak Monday. "This is a big game because it's our next game," he said.

But it's big for reasons other than that.

The nation is watching. ESPN's College GameDay crew is coming to Lincoln for the first time in six years.

Games like this don't occur very often in Corn Nation. This will mark the fourth time a top-ranked team will play the Cornhuskers on their turf and, for the first time, the opponent won't be OU. No. 1-ranked Sooner squads visited Lincoln in 1955, 1974 and 1978.

Callahan, whose record at NU is 24-15, needs a glorious conquest to secure approval from Husker fans who still miss classy champ Tom Osborne.

Callahan was granted a contract extension last week that runs through 2012. Said athletic director Steve Pederson, "In terms of what he's done for the program, he has certainly met or exceeded my expectations at this juncture."

But Husker fans would like to see Callahan do more. He is 3-6 vs. ranked teams and 0-5 vs. top 10 teams.

Is Nebraska capable of beating mighty USC? The Cornhuskers may have to get lucky -- make that Marlon Lucky -- to do it. The Trojans beat the Huskers 28-10 last season, holding Callahan's team to 211 total yards, including 68 rushing yards on 36 attempts.

Lucky, a junior I-back from North Hollywood, Calif., carried 10 times for 27 yards against USC last season. Now he ranks first in the Big 12 and fifth nationally in rushing yards (161.5 yards per game).

If Lucky can be a factor Saturday, perhaps the Huskers can hang with a team that Callahan says has no weaknesses.

"Our guys will compete," Callahan said. "That's all I'm interested in is to see is how hard we compete and, if we do that, I'll be satisfied."



-USC Notes

- A starting CB for USC is out for Saturday's game. And other USC notes from the LA Daily News.

USC cornerback Pinkard is sidelined
BY SCOTT WOLF, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 09/10/2007 11:05:20 PM PDT


USC's secondary was dealt a potentially critical blow Monday when cornerback Josh Pinkard was believed to have torn ligaments in his knee, according to sources.

Officially, USC coach Pete Carroll said Pinkard was out for the Nebraska game and would need more examination by team doctors.

"There's more in there than what we thought," Carroll said.

But sources said Pinkard tore ligaments in his left knee, the opposite knee he tore ligaments in last season. Pinkard redshirted last year, so this injury would be costly because he would have just one year of eligibility remaining.

He was considered so impressive in training camp at cornerback that he switched from safety and was named the starter ahead of Cary Harris, who started 11games last season.

"Josh is an incredible athlete and he seems to be a more dominant athlete on our practice field at corner," Carroll said.

What noise? Traveling to Nebraska is considered one of the toughest road experiences in college football, but Carroll sounded unfazed by the challenge.

"We've dealt with this for years," he said, referring to recent trips to Arkansas, Notre Dame, Kansas State and perhaps the loudest crowd, a game against Virginia Tech at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
USC is expected to pipe in crowd noise at practice this week to help prepare for Nebraska, which is a Carroll standard whenever the Trojans play a tough road game.

As if a trip to Nebraska is not enough, ESPN will bring its College GameDay show to Lincoln. USC is the first team ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll to visit Nebraska since 1978, when top-ranked Oklahoma was upset by the fourth-ranked Huskers.

Tailback rotation: C.J. Gable will start again against Nebraska with Stafon Johnson as the backup. Chauncey Washington, who missed the Idaho game with a sprained shoulder, will try to get cleared by doctors today but is expected to play sparingly.

Freshman Joe McKnight should also see more time because his sprained knee feels better.

"We're hoping to use him," Carroll said. "He's looking better out there."

Green hopeful: Tailback Broderick Green, who suffered a stress fracture in his foot, said he hopes to play this season even though he will be out at least another month.

"No, I'm not going to redshirt," Green said. "I'll have the boot off my foot in a couple weeks so I think I'll be playing."

Quick comeback? Center Matt Spanos, who tore a triceps muscle before the Idaho game, will try to practice this week but is not expected to play.

Back to grass: USC practiced on FieldTurf on Monday even though Carroll disdains it.

"I can't get used to liking it but the players don't seem to mind," he said.

The Trojans return to Howard Jones Field today and Wednesday.




- Good piece on a Nebraskan in Iraq.

Big Red is golden for those serving red, white and blue

Matthew O'Brien grew up in Oshkosh, Neb., population 762, and the self-proclaimed, "Goose Hunting Capital of Nebraska." The local hospital has exactly 10 beds. The newspaper publishes once a week. The nearest major airport is 220 miles away in Denver.

"The middle of nowhere," says O'Brien, 22.

Maybe that's why O'Brien enlisted in the Army in 2004 and became a paratrooper -- 82nd Airborne, 2nd Battalion of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Delta Company. He did a tour of duty in Iraq three years ago and was deployed to Afghanistan in February. Afghanistan is where he lost the vision in his right eye and suffered partial sight loss in his left eye.

"I don't think they can fix it," he says. "I've been to doctors in Germany, San Antonio, Washington, D.C. They're trying to do the best they can. It kind of sucks because I was right-eye dominant."

Kind of sucks? But this is Spc. Matthew O'Brien for you. Never met a day he didn't like. Glass-entirely-full type of guy. E-mail address begins, "OB1hotstuff. "



"I just serve my country," he says. "Some people do different jobs and I chose this one."

Through it all -- in tiny Oshkosh … in Iraq … in Afghanistan … and now at the Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg, N.C. -- there has been one red-and-white constant in O'Brien's life: Nebraska football.

Even though Oshkosh is closer to the Wyoming and Colorado state lines than it is to the Nebraska campus in Lincoln, O'Brien is a child of the corn. He knows more about Cornhuskers football than its coach, Bill Callahan. Maybe even more than the great Tom Osborne himself.

Eric Crouch this. Scott Frost that. Is there a detail of any Nebraska game that O'Brien doesn't know?

It didn't matter if he was in the Middle East or the middle of nowhere, O'Brien never forgot about the team he loved. And as it turns out, Nebraskans never forgot about him, either.

This is where Art Ladenburg, NU Class of '60, comes in. Ladenburg lives in Fairfax, Va., and spent 30 years in the CIA. He knows a little something about special ops.

Ladenburg is nuts about the Cornhuskers. He knew Nebraska was playing at Wake Forest on Sept. 8, knew that Groves Stadium seats less than 30,000 fans, and knew tickets would be at a premium (for ACC games, Wake is required to provide the opposing school with 4,300 tickets; for the Nebraska game, just 3,000 tickets for 15,000 requests). So he bought a Wake Forest season ticket. And he wasn't the only NU fan to pay anywhere from $99-$190 for the Demon Deacons' six-game home package.

"We're a little crazy here in Huskerland," Ladenburg says.

But in a good way. Nebraska fans give a standing O to the opposing team, win or lose, at the end of every game. They're not college football's most patient fans, but they're the most polite. Even most of their hate mail is nice.

"The greatest fans in all of college athletics," says Randy York, Nebraska's associate athletic director. "Nebraskans are good-hearted people who do good-hearted things."

Ladenburg is one of those people. He noticed that the Sept. 15 Wake Forest opponent was none other than Army. Bing. "There must be a military hospital nearby," he said to himself.

There was: the Womack Army Medical Center, home of the Warrior Transition Battalion. The WTB includes 345 soldiers, some of whom underwent single-limb amputations, or suffer from mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), or, in O'Brien's case, have experienced acute loss of vision.

Ladenburg decided to donate the Army ticket from his Wake Forest season-ticket package to the wounded soldiers at Fort Bragg. Then he posted his idea on a Nebraska football fan Web site. Before long, dozens, then hundreds of Huskers fans were pledging their Army tickets to the WTB.

"Fans have actually gone out and bought more [Wake Forest] tickets," Ladenburg says. "What group deserves it more than those guys?"

At last count, Nebraska fans have donated about 200 tickets. They'll spring for more as soon as they hear there's 345 Warriors.

"The amount of participation for this is extraordinary," says Lt. William Bishop, who coordinates operations for the battalion. "It's one of the largest contributions we've had."

On Wednesday at Fort Bragg, a first sergeant asked members of the Warrior Battalion, "Anybody here from Nebraska?"

"Yes, sir," O'Brien said. "I'm from Nebraska."

"Well, there's some people who want to talk to you. They have some tickets for a Nebraska game. You want to go?"

Are you kidding? Does a Husker wear red and love lard? Of course, O'Brien wanted to go.

O'Brien can't drive a car because of his eyesight, so a friend from the base shuttled him 2½ hours from Fort Bragg to Winston-Salem. Nebraska fans invited him to a party Friday night, and on Saturday he watched (sort of -- his eyesight made it difficult to even read the scoreboard) the Huskers beat Wake, 20-17. It was the first Nebraska game he had ever attended in person.

"This is a dream," he says.

Now he has a ticket for the Army game.

"And I got lucky on that one too," he says. "The guy who had the tickets didn't know I was already going to the Nebraska game. When I told him -- and offered to give him back the Army tickets -- he said, 'No, no, you look like you love football more than I do.'"

He does, which is why he'll happily take whatever seat they give him Saturday afternoon at Wake. And if the traffic isn't too bad, he might make it back to Fort Bragg in time for the second half of the USC-Nebraska game.

Whatever happens, O'Brien says he owes Nebraska fans a handshake.

"Cornhusker fans, you can't beat them," he says. "I hope I get a chance to thank everybody."

Actually, Matt, it's the other way around.



- Picks O'the Day

Yesterday - 4-2
YTD - 144-131

Survival

- It wasn't pretty, the offense was hit and miss running the ball, and Sam Keller made some mistakes that could have cost them the game. But they came away with a victory on the road against a 2006 conference champion. I'll take it. Play that way against USC this Saturday, and it'll be 45-0.

Observations:

- I couldn't understand how Nebraska's O-line could look so ordinary after playing such a complete game the week before. This is a Wake defense that gave up some major points and yards to Boston College the week before.

- The complacency and lack of focus was alarming. Looking ahead? Maybe. But that's a bad trait for a team, especially when they're on the road, where your focus and intensity level should be at its highest.

- WR's, like last week, were painfully ordinary. Callahan must upgrade this position immediately. Too many drops for the 2nd game in a row.

- Why Wake didn't run the shotgun, WR end around every stinkin' play is beyond me. Nebraska couldn't stop it and showed no improvement in stopping it all game, and Wake ran it a ton. I'd have run it every damn play. The lack of speed on Nebraska's defense should have been exploited.

- Roll outs by the QB and crossing routes across the secondary was another thing that killed Nebraska. They got burned once, Wake dropped another sure-TD, and it could have been much worse if Wake had kept running it, but strangely, they didn't.

- I'm a Callahan fan, he's improved the talent level, the offense, and the overall state of the program. But he still kills me with key play calls late in games and an NFL-like mentality in managing a game.

The timeout on 3rd and 2 from the Wake 35 with roughly 2:30 left was just dumb. Keep the clock running, you've been running the ball pretty well on the drive, have them on their heels a tad, have a little bit of momentum, and you force them to use their timeouts. Just keep lining up and pounding the ball. Don't let them rest and get the right personnel in.

That's just overthinking the situation. If you're dead set on going for it on 4th and not kicking the FG (which he apparently was), why not say to yourself, we're just going to line it up and have 2 plays to make 2 yards and we're not going to overthink it by calling a timeout and killing our own momentum. And if we don't make it? They have to burn their own timeouts and will have a much tougher time going down the field.

Instead, Wake was able to regroup, save their timeouts, and stuff Nebraska 2 consecutive times.

I'm not agreeing with the line of thinking of going for it on 4th. I'm just saying if you're going that route, Callahan could have done it a lot better and smarter.

Me personally, I'd have pooched it and pinned them inside the 10. You have an all conference punter, use him.

- If they run some of those slow developing plays like they did against Wake next week, they may have only 50 yards rushing. So, since they likely will run these plays and the running game will be effectively shut down, guess who must come to the rescue? Sam Keller.

- I know some are down on Keller, but I'm not one of them. Yes, he looks uncomfortable at times with the offense, he locked into receivers a bit too much, but his WR's suck bad, he has no TE, and he puts the ball on the money with great accuracy. The WR's just can't catch the damn thing. I don't remember them being this bad last year, and the same group returned from last year.

- If Nebraska loses next Saturday, it won't be because Keller wasn't accurate and didn't put them in a position to win. Yes, he has the Brett Favre syndrome of trying to do too much and never thinking a play is dead, but so far, his turnovers haven't been debilitating. He's been saved a few times by the defense, but ultimately, they're 2-0 and he's continuing to learn and make mistakes without sacrificing wins. Some of those mistakes will get eliminated as he gets more comfortable with the offense.

- He took them down the field, he made throws, put the ball on the money, and got no help from an ineffective run game. He's going to be all right.

- The running game wasn't good, but Lucky played well. He ran hard and did what he could. The line just didn't play well. He's proving he can be a 25 carry horse.

- Suh is a beast. I always knew he was strong, but Saturday he showed it big time. He blew up some plays and saved Nebraska's ass when Wake got in the red zone. Big time.

- Luck, luck, luck. I can't lie and say Nebraska didn't get lucky. But I don't care, it was a road win and it kept them 2-0 going into the biggest game of the Callahan Era. The only hope I have is Keller's experience in big games or against top opponents and Nebraska's ability to play 10 times better at home than on the road.


- National Observations



- Texas A&M should be worried. How do you shut a team out for most of the game only to implode late, get taken to OT, and be put in a position to where anything can happen. To where your ability to control the game is no longer in your hands. They got lucky.

- Texas still doesn't impress me. TCU's offense licks a fat one. Texas did what they should have done to a team like that at home. That said, TCU's defense is very good and they'll win 10 games or so, so Texas should be given some credit.

- Oklahoma validated a lot of what I thought about them. They're good, very good. Could be the fastest defense in the land. And Bradford doesn't look like a freshman.

- I knew Va. Tech would get rolled. LSU's stout.

- Never bet on Auburn or Georgia. Ever. Neither can score, are inconsistent and will always disappoint. Auburn just flat pisses me off. Give me a team that actually wants to score points. Just pitiful.

- I don't want to hear crap about Louisville or West Virginia. To play defense like that and expect respect from around the country is just ridiculous. I'll never take these teams seriously when talking BCS if they continue to play defense like they do.

- Michigan, thank you for finally exposing yourself to the rest of America. I've been on your case for a few years now, but now you've finally dropped your pants in front of the nation. I love it when my predictions are correct, I love it even more when it's Michigan or the Big 10.

- This conference sucks. Ohio State struggles with Akron, Michigan St. with Bowling Green, Michigan gets exposed on defense for the 2nd week in a row, Minnesota barely beats Miami (OH), and Wisconsin barely beats UNLV. I love it.

- Gameday's in Lincoln on Saturday.


- Big 12 Rankings



1) Oklahoma 2-0 - No doubt.
2) Texas 2-0 - As much as I'm down on them, they still beat a ranked team and a pretty stout defense.
3) Nebraska 2-0 - They need to show me something this Saturday.
4) Missouri 2-0 - No matter how bad Ole Miss is, they still beat an SEC team on the road.
5) Texas A&M 2-0 - That Fresno debacle dropped them.
6) Oklahoma St. 1-1 - Good bounceback.
7) Kansas St. 1-1 - Actually did better than I thought against San Jose St.
8) Texas Tech 2-0 - Not paying attention to them until they play someone.
9) Kansas 2-0 - Same as Tech.
10) Colorado 1-1 - Good crown game Saturday night.
11) Baylor 1-1
12) Iowa St. 0-2 - The most pitiful team in D-1.


- National Top 10

1) LSU - It's going to take an SEC dog fight one Saturday or a stroke of luck to beat them.
2) Oklahoma - They're f'ing good.
3) USC - Being idle and looking lackluster against Idaho will drop you.
4) Florida - Not a bad start to defending the title. They'll lose a few, but for right now, not looking bad.
5) West Virginia - Ended up beating Marshall by 25, but it was too hard for a top team. There's just not anyone else to put at #5.
6) Texas - Ok, you're back in the top 10. Beating TCU has to count for something.
7) Cal - A very close game, gave up too many points, but it was a road game against a decent team.
8) UCLA - Really like this team, really do.
9) Wisconsin - Not sure why they're here, but they are.
10) Louisville - Just looking for any excuse to blast them out of the top 10 after giving up 42 points to Middle Tenn St.


Dropped out and probably won't be seen again
Va. Tech
Georgia





- Rangers continue to fly under the radar but just keep winning. Do you think anyone in the metroplex even thinks about them anymore? Have won 5 games in a row and 12 of 14. And actually may not finish last, as they pull into a tie with Oakland for 3rd.
Win again last night, 12-9.

Rangers' leaky pen makes mark in win


12:15 AM CDT on Monday, September 10, 2007
By EVAN GRANT / The Dallas Morning News
egrant@dallasnews.com

ARLINGTON – In case you had to tune into the Cowboys opening kickoff Sunday and missed the end of the Rangers game, which had been scheduled to start a mere five hours earlier, well, you missed another record-breaking win.

In this case, that wasn't such a good thing.

In outlasting the weather and an even sloppier Oakland club, 12-9, seven Rangers combined to heave the ball 230 times to home plate. Since pitch counts were first tracked in 1988, no team has thrown more pitches in a nine-inning win. Colorado had thrown 229 in a win over St. Louis in 2000. Being lumped with Colorado when it comes to pitching records isn't a very good place to be.

The good news for the Rangers, however, was that their fifth consecutive win moved them into a virtual tie with Oakland for third in the AL West. It's the first time they haven't been alone in last in the division since April 24.

"It wasn't nice to watch," manager Ron Washington acknowledged. "But as well as we've been playing lately, for these guys to grind things out and answer Oakland when they came back, I'm very proud of them."

Or as Ian Kinsler put it when asked if this was the worst game in the history of baseball: "No. ... Wait, yeah, it probably was. I'm glad we won this, because it would have been a really bad loss."

The question the Rangers must answer is whether this will be a pyrrhic victory in their pursuit of .500. They are six games under (68-74) with 20 to play.

But they have an exhausted bullpen and a doubleheader Tuesday at Detroit to start a stretch of 17 games in 16 days.

Vicente Padilla, who has a 9.06 ERA on the road this season, starts Tuesday's first game.

Washington will be without: Frank Francisco (who threw 56 pitches in 1 1/3 innings, an outing so bad that the official scorer declined to give him the win even though he had the first shot at it); Scott Feldman (who tweaked his knee and was also bypassed for the win after allowing three walks in 1 1/3 innings); Bill White (who threw 38 pitches in two innings to earn his first major league win) and John Rheinecker (32 pitches).

The Rangers may be able to bring Sunday's starter, Kevin Millwood, back on short rest after he threw only 30 pitches. But it's more likely he'd be available for Wednesday's game rather than Tuesday's doubleheader.

"Hopefully, Padilla can give us seven or eight innings," Washington said. "If we have to go to the bullpen in the fifth, we are in deep trouble."

The Rangers seemed to have control Sunday after the rain delay. They scored eight runs in the bottom of the second to take an 8-1 lead. The inning included a three-run homer by Sammy Sosa that traveled 442 feet into the club level in left field.

"I think the thing I'll remember most about my first win was finally getting to see Sammy hop," White said.

The A's, however, whittled it to 9-8 by scoring three runs in the top of the seventh. The Rangers answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Jerry Hairston Jr., in an 8-for-71 slump, singled through the left side to score two runs.

"Hey, it was a long day, but we won the game and there is nothing ugly about that," Michael Young said. "It may have been long, but it was worth it."



- Picks O'the day

Weekend FB - 15-10-1

YTD FB - 20-13-1

Weekend TV Preview

A chronological TV watching plan for your weekend.

Thursday

6:00 pm - ESPN2 - Middle Tenn St at Louisville (-40)
If you caught last week's thrashing of Murray St., you know what Louisville can do against inferior opponents at home. Expect the same. Lay the points.
Pick - Louisville -40

6:30 pm - ESPN - Oregon St. (-3.5) at Cincinnati
Oregon State's QB play worries the crap out of me, with 3 guys sparing us to death against Utah. Cincinnati looked damn good last week against a shatty team. Oregon State didn't play horrible on offense, but it wasn't stellar. The defense completely stuffed a pretty good team and athletic, talented QB (Brian Johnson).
Pick - Oregon State -3.5

7:30 pm - NBC - New Orleans at Indy (-6)
Really don't like the NFL, but I will watch this game because of the talented offenses. These 2 teams will actually produce an entertaining NFL game only because of their offenses. I don't know much, but I know Indy lost some key parts and New Orleans returns virtually everyone. And if last year's gambling season proved anything to me, it's that when in doubt, always take the underdog.
Pick - New Orleans +6


Friday

6:00 pm - ESPN - Navy at Rutgers (-16.5)
Won't even be a game. Ray Rice may have 250 yards rushing. Blowout.
Pick - Rutgers -16.5


Saturday

11:00 am - ESPN - Nebraska (-8) at Wake Forest
The first road test for Sam Keller and Nebraska. Wake Forest coming off a 10 point loss to Boston College on the road in which they were torched for 400 yards passing. Nebraska coming off a 600+ yard total offense effort against Nevada (a bowl team the past 2 years). The Nebraska defense also gave up no TD's. Nebraska can now run the ball and protect the QB, 2 things that are a must on the road. Expect Callahan to let Keller air it out. I see a 10-14 point win for Nebraska.
Pick - Nebraska -8

11:00 am - ABC - Miami at Oklahoma (-10.5)
Oklahoma scored 79 points vs. North Texas. Against a high school coach who was rumored to have run the same 1-look defense all game, against maybe a top 5 worst team in the country, and against a team that is still trying to implement a totally different offensive scheme. Basically Oklahoma did what they should have done.

I know I'm high on them, but after thinking about it a little, I'm reversing field and giving Miami a great shot at this. A top 5 defense, a stellar D-line, a ball hawking safety, and a veteran QB give me hope that they can cover and I wouldn't be surprised if they pull it out. Bradford may get sacked 5+ times and picked off more than a few times.
Pick - Miami +10.5

1:00 pm - CSTV - Cal (-14) at Colorado St.
Expect a ton of points. Expect a DeSean Jackson highlight. Expect to be entertained. And expect Colorado State to cover.
Pick - Colorado State +14

1:30 pm - ESPN2 - NC State at Boston College (-14)
A rookie starter and ex-Husker goes for NC State at QB. I just can't let my preseason sleeper and ACC Atlantic Champ not cover 2 TD's at home vs. a team like this.
Pick - Boston College -14

2:30 pm - ABC - Oregon at Michigan (-8)
How does Michigan respond? I'd say by barely beating Oregon. I hate this team so much I don't want to write anything else about them. An overrated team year after year.
Pick - Oregon +8

2:30 pm - FSNSW - Fresno State at Texas A&M (-17)
Texas A&M rolls.
Pick - Texas A&M -17

4:00 pm - ESPNU - UAB at Florida State (-33.5)
Another team I despise because of how mediocre they've become and how overrated they consistently are. What people don't realize about Bowden is that he's been doing nothing for the last 20 years. He has hasn't made an executive decision since the early 90's. He'll grab the headset every once in a while and listen in on his assistants, but he's basically there to fill up piss bags and call recruits during timeouts.
Pick - UAB +33.5

4:45 pm - ESPN2 - South Carolina at Georgia (-5)
I really like Georgia, mainly because I think Matt Stafford is going to really take off this year. South Carolina looked like crap last week, and Georgia just doesn't lose at home between the hedges. The win over Oklahoma State really impressed me. If they can shut down OSU's offense, they'll rip Spurrier's A-hole into next week.
Pick - Georgia -5

5:00 pm - ESPN - Notre Dame at Penn State (-17)
Watch this line, as it could quadruple in the next 2 days. Another team in my crosshairs, Notre Dame, absolutely sucks. And now that they've thrown that Clausen kid in there, forget about it. An embarassing runaway blowout victory for Penn State. And Jaba the Hut continues to be the most overrated coach in America.
Pick - Penn State -17

5:30 pm - Versus - BYU at UCLA (-7.5)
Is there anything more fun to watch than a late afternoon game from the Rose Bowl? Even if you don't like either team, flip over to this game and just enjoy the beauty of the gold helmets and the Rose Bowl.
Pick - UCLA -7.5

6:00 pm - FSNSW - TCU at Texas (-9)
Reasons to watch - to see Mack Brown apologize for a non-conference loss at home, to watch the man child Tommy Blake for TCU, to watch Colt McCoy look ordinary and flustered by the TCU defense, to watch the cameras pan the crowd for hot UT ass, and to maybe catch any possible Jamal Charles interviews. Upset.
Pick - TCU +9

8:00 pm - ESPN2 - South Florida at Auburn (-7)
After watching the crap Auburn pulled last weekend vs. Kansas State, don't be surprised if South Florida comes in and wins this game. It's unlikely, but Tommy ball preaches 1 point games, so take the points.
Pick - South Florida +7

8:15 pm - ESPN - Virginia Tech at LSU (-12.5)
The marquee matchup of the day will turn out to be more hype than anything. LSU and VT will struggle to score, but VT will have more trouble than LSU. Expect a 20-3 LSU win that won't even be that close.
Pick - LSU -12.5

THE CROWN GAME
First, let me explain the crown game. You've basically been laid out on the couch, out in the garage, or somewhere else watching games since 11 am. You've almost maxed out your drinking for the day, maxed out your football watching as well, and you're ready to wind your day down. But you can squeeze one more game in however. So you retire to your bedroom or your recliner, turn off the lights, mix 1 (or 2,3,4) Crown Royal drinks, turn down the A/C, and catch a late-night West Coast game. You can fall asleep to great scenery, great stadiums, great looking coeds, and lots of offense. Thus, you have enjoyed the Crown Game.

9:15 pm - FSNSW - Colorado at Arizona St. (-15)
Lots of offense, great looking women in the stands, and always the possibility of an in-game arrest with Dennis Erickson now coaching Arizona State.
Pick - Arizona State -15


Sunday

As much as I despise the NFL, there's nothing else to watch on Sundays, I still love the Cowboys, and I'm in 3 Fantasy Football Leagues. So I guess I'll throw a few games in here.

12:00 pm - FOX - Philadelphia (-3) at Green Bay
The Donovan McNabb comeback tour starts in the land of cheese, beer, and bratwurst. Philly is my Super Bowl pick, so let's get on 'em right off the bat.
Pick - Philadelphia -3

12:00 pm - CBS - Miami at Washington (-3)
Who cares????? Why I hate the NFL, give me one reason to watch this game.
Pick - Home team? Washington -3

7:15 - NBC - NY Giants at Dallas (-5)
Our first 2007 interfacing with John Madden. Oh how I missed his brilliant color commentary. His stellar explanations of complicated football details have me dialed in every Sunday night. Me and every other soccer mom out there, which he apparently thinks is his audience. NY sucks, Eli sucks, I don't care who's injured for Dallas, this team sucks.
Pick - Dallas -5


- Non TV picks of the weekend (in order of confidence)

1) Tennessee (-10.5) vs. Southern Miss
2) Florida (-26.5) vs. Troy
3) West Virginia (-24) at Marshall
4) Missouri (-6) at Ole Miss
5) Northwestern (-10) vs. Nevada




- Nebraska vs. Wake Forest

- Wake Forest Scouting Report

Insider: Wake Forest
BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
Thursday, Sep 06, 2007 - 12:16:19 am CDT

Kenneth Moore, WR / Sr. / 6-0 / 204 pounds

Moore’s 15 catches against Boston College last week were nearly half his 2006 season total of 32. He was called into emergency running back duty last year, so don’t be surprised to see Wake Forest try him on the ol’ end-around sometime Saturday.

Sam Swank, PK-P /So. / 6-2 / 206 pounds

In the opener, he certainly didn’t look like the team MVP or All-ACC player of a year ago, averaging just 31.3 yards on six punts. NU shouldn’t expect to see a guy who in 2006 averaged 41.2 yards and hit 23 of 31 field goals to be off his game again.

Alphonso Smith, CB / Jr. / 5-9 / 191 pounds

Boston College tried to pick on Smith on its opening play last week and he returned an interception for a score. Don’t let his size fool you into thinking he lacks pop, either. He also forced a second-quarter fumble that was returned for a TD.

Quarterbacks: Nebraska catches a break here, as last year’s ACC rookie of the year, Riley Skinner, is listed as doubtful after separating his shoulder in the opener. Another 6-foot-1 Floridian, Brett Hodges, replaced Skinner late in the third quarter last week and completed 17 of 23 passes for 130 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Skinner marched the Demon Deacons 77 yards to pay dirt on his first drive. But without the support of a running game, he needed to keep up that Superman act — tough task considering Wake Forest’s offensive system is designed for the quarterback to be more of an efficient manager than a super hero.

Running backs: Wake Forest’s 2-yard rushing output last week had people bringing up a 1998 game against Florida State in which the Deacons wound up with minus 30. The top tailbacks, senior Micah Andrews (coming back from knee surgery) and sophomore Kevin Harris, may need to work on their shake-n-bake moves, because they were definitely in the frying pan while producing a combined 17 yards in the opener. Redshirt freshman Josh Adams, the leading rusher in North Carolina two years ago, could get a shot, as De’Angelo Bryant is moving to fullback to provide depth for the versatile Rich Belton.

Wide receivers: It’s scary to think what Kenneth Moore might have done last week had he not spent most of the third quarter receiving fluids to fight off dehydration. As it was, he still grabbed a nation-best 15 passes. Wake Forest’s passing game is more East-West than North-South, but opposite Moore, Kevin Marion is a reliable deep threat (he had two plays of longer than 80 yards last year), and he had five catches against Boston College. Demir Boldin, whose brother, Anquan, was 2003 NFL rookie of the year, could be the wild card. In 2005, he was No. 2 on the team in receptions, but last year was academically ineligible.

Offensive line: The folks at Athlon who touted Wake Forest for having the best offensive line in the ACC must be scratching their heads after last week’s struggles. Or maybe that ranking was based on pass protection? The line did give up just two sacks in the opener. The respect for this group starts with senior center Steve Justice, a preseason first-team All-American by Lindy’s, and NFL prospect Chris DeGeare (6-foot-4, 362 pounds) at right guard. Even with these guys, Wake Forest, trailing by a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, couldn’t get the yard it needed on consecutive runs and had to turn the ball over on downs.

Defensive line: NU’s offensive tackles probably won’t have to deal with end Matt Robinson, who led the Deacons in sacks and tackles for losses in 2005, and had worked his way back after missing last season with a broken kneecap. But he sprained his ankle on the first play against Boston College and isn’t expected to play Saturday. On the other side, Jeremy Thompson has similar explosiveness. He’s one of only nine players from coach Jim Grobe’s seven recruiting classes to play as a true freshman. The four who’ve exhausted their eligibility went on to play professionally. Inside, holding blocks against Zach Stukes is a tough assignment.

Linebackers: This group might have been considered the best in the ACC if Jon Abbate hadn’t declared for the NFL following his junior season. As it is, Abbate is with the Houston Texans and Wake Forest is still pretty salty. Aaron Curry, the No. 2 tackler in 2006, appears ready for an expanded role, while Stanley Arnoux , who manned the outside position opposite Curry last season and finished No. 4 on the team in tackles, is replacing Abbate in the middle. Chantz McClinic has taken Curry’s old spot and was the third-leading tackler last week. Depth might be a concern, as redshirt freshmen are at two of the backup spots.

Defensive backs: After allowing 408 passing yards in their opener, the Deacons rank 114th out of 115 NCAA Division I-A teams. Kevin Patterson, a starting cornerback in 2006, has moved to strong safety but might switch back if Kerry Major doesn’t make quick strides. Boston College picked on him often last week (he had eight tackles and just one breakup). The other corner, Alphonso Smith, began the season with an interception return for a TD and also caused another turnover that produced a score. Free safety Chip Vaughn turned Smith’s second play into a 38-yard fumble return.

Special teams: Maybe Sam Swank was miffed that the offense didn’t give him any field-goal opportunities last week. Whatever it was, the two-time Lou Groza Award semifinalist (who in two seasons has made 42 of 55 field goals, including 7 of 9 from at least 50 yards), barely averaged 30 yards on six punts and had just one of those fair-caught. Don’t expect a repeat performance. The Deacons’ starting wide receivers double as return men. Kenneth Moore averaged 13 yards as a part-time punt returner last season. Now, he’s the No. 1 option. Kevin Marian (16.8-yard average last week) handles kickoffs.

SCOUTING REPORT

In his first game as Boston College’s coach last Saturday, Jeff Jagodzinski watched his team overcome a 14-0 deficit to beat Wake Forest 38-28 thanks to quarterback Matt Ryan throwing for five touchdowns and the defense limiting the Demon Deacons to 2 yards rushing.

The Eagles rushed for just 54 yards, but “we got our game plan upside down a little bit, because we had to throw the football to get back in it.”

Jagodzinski credited Ryan for executing the game plan when Wake Forest had good pass coverage.

“One of the things that we do here is we spread the ball around pretty well, and we had nine different receivers catches passes. Our scheme is built on that. We don’t have a go-to guy, so Matt’s the guy who runs the whole train.

“Our defense did a really good job all (game) on stopping the run. They were forced to pass, which they’re not a passing team. They want to run first, and we ended up taking that away from ‘em.”

That was not surprising, though.

“I thought our run defense in the spring and preseason was pretty darn good. We had a hard time running against ‘em.”

After Wake Forest lost Skinner in the third quarter, Hodges led the Deacons on a 77-yard TD that made it 35-28. But the next two series produced just 28 yards, and Hodges then threw an interception on the final possession.

“They were driving to tie the ball game up, and then we got up two scores, so they had to throw. I don’t think they changed (their play calling) at all (because of having a different quarterback).”





- A well respected Insider's look at the Texas victory over Arkansas State

Texas Football: Quick Impressions of Arkansas St Game

September 1st, 2007 by Scipio Tex

Right now I’m doing an impression of a pile of steaming baboon [censored].

Make no mistake, had we played Appalachian State, a Division I-AA squad of actual quality, we would have lost by two touchdowns. That’s not hyperbole. It’s empirical fact. I just looked up the word complacency in Wikipedia and it had a picture of our coaching staff holding Lloyd Carr commemorative 1997 Michigan MNC mugs. If any of you come at me with a “a win is a win” I will hunt you down by your IP address and make you read Bill Little soliloquys until you take your own life.

We were outplayed by a Div I-AA football team that outgained us 397-340, demonstrated a superior running and passing game, had better coaching and headier QBing, and generally outhustled us despite their sloppy penalties and a smooth screwing by the officials on the onside kick. They botched multiple opportunities in the red zone and missed some chip shot field goals. That’s how we escaped our home field with a win.

I watched the game in a sports bar in San Francisco full of alcohol and ire, so without the benefit of TIVO, crayons, and a Strawberry Shortcake spiral, my observations will be of the 10,000 foot variety; I’ll write on a more granular level when given the opportunity though watching a replay of that pathetic effort will be trying. Every single concern that we could have had about this football team before the year has been proven absolutely valid while several concerns we didn’t have have surfaced prominently.

It’s going to be a long year, boys. Pray to Odin that another VY is in the pipeline who through sheer force of his personality can push our prolapsed uterii into place and fashion our staff a pair of makeshift gridiron clackers.

Offense

Our gameplan was gutless in only the way a Greg Davis gameplan can be, though this pecuilar variety of squeezable softness usually only surfaces in Dallas. 1st and goal. The score is 21-6. We’ve struggled, but now it’s time to ice the game. Let’s finish this thing, score again to go up 35-6 and go get better watching the film. We open in a spread set. Eh? Did I mention that it was 1st and goal? Four downs later, they have the ball. We escape with a 21-13 win, tails tucked securely over our poop hatch.

Our running game is an abomination…by design. I’m not interested in discussing push at the point of the attack, though it was lacking. I’ll be happy to explain how simple down blocking alleviates that problem, but that’s deep football knowledge, the kind of [censored] most of us picked up playing in high school. As with the Dark Days of Tim Nunez, I’m not interested in talking about the mosquito, I’m interested in talking about the swamp. We dwell in an environment of proscribed failure. Without a running threat at QB, our players operate at schematic disadvantage on every play because our offensive coordinator can’t be bothered to notice that the lateral running game isn’t the most efficient means of moving downhill. Rare is the time I try to drive to New York from Austin by heading West for several hundred miles first. Delayed counters don’t work against run blitzes and toss sweeps in a 3 WR set don’t go really well against a nine man front goalline defense. These are just things I’ve picked up along the way in life. Call me Paul Brown.

JC is a special runner trapped in a comically inept run scheme. When a RB has to break three tackles in the backfield to get three yards, you need to look at the system, not the players. Let me emphasize run game. JC’s blocking was horrendous throughout the game and he whiffed on blitz pickup on at least five occasions. On two of those occasions he ran past a blitzing linebacker, saw Colt get nailed, then let out a little Mack Brown clap that was captured on replay. Good stuff there.

The passing game was off throughout the game. I’ll give the wide receivers a very solid passing grade. Sweed made some tough catches and Nate Jones was hosed on at least two scoring opportunities when Colt threw passes with his left arm, apparently. Colt just looked uncomfortable. I can’t really qualify it better than that. I’m a Colt fan, but I’m not entirely sure that he’s over last year’s injury. Balls were sailing, he continuously underthrew open receivers, and he demonstrated bizarre lapses in arm strength. The interceptions were just…odd. Colt wasn’t a concern for me before this season. He is now.

Jermichael Finley was wisely hidden in our gameplan. We wouldn’t want our second most talented receiving option to get more than one catch for eight yards. It might alert others to his presence. Let’s keep that weapon hidden for Baylor.

Defense

Duane Akina wore DC training wheels for years and it might be time to put them back on. Larry MacDuff continues to uphold a decade long tradition of linebacker coaching. Our blitzes were as disguised as Donald Trump in a blonde wig and Oprah with a Sharpie moustache. On several occasions, our blitz front didn’t match our secondary coverage. The hot route is as open as a Buddhist’s mind. Screening us is laughably easy.

The back 7 is as pedestrian as anticipated - equally against the run and pass. It ran the gamut: bad technique, being physically beaten, not having an awareness of the ball in the air. Eventually, we started offering ten to twelve yard cushions, which suggests that a Texas Pom Girl could have grabbed 5 for 60 and a touch against us. I won’t call out Foster and Palmer specifically, but it’s time to go young and the time is now.

As usual, our top four tacklers were all in the secondary, a rather amazing accomplishment given the fact that Arkansas St ran the ball 30 times (34 minus 4 sacks), threw several screens and swing passes, and double teamed our DL on every running play. Typically, LBs will make some of those plays, but then again, I’m a boring football traditionalist. Our LBs contributed at expectation: Bobino was lost in the zone read, Derry making plays metaphysically, Killebrew drawing key personal fouls on 3rd and long, the youngsters promising and full of potential but apparently never having received a moment of mentoring in their lives. We’ve contributed a decade of non-development at this position and our standard has been upheld. I appreciate that sort of consistency and rigor.

The front four played OK, though Okam was absolutely excellent. He is finally healthy and it showed. God bless him and I hope he’s our next millionaire DT. Losing Orakpo ripped out my heart and I wish him a speedy return. Jones, Lokey, Houston and Lewis all made plays, but not at the level expected given the competition. Arkansas St clearly diagnosed who our playmakers are and they made sure they got the attention they deserved. Watching two unblocked LBs sprint past a ASU RB who simply delayed and planted to get six to ten yards was all too commonplace; all the while Lokey and the playside DE were both being double teamed like porn stars. We couldn’t get consistent pressure with four, which makes me wonder.

We have some deep fundamental issues in terms of toughness, in terms of leadership, and with a fair number of the guys wearing our headsets and drawing X’s and O’s on the whiteboards. This is heresy to write, but a home loss to a team like ASU may be required to force us into the fundamental changes we’ll need.

We may be provided that opportunity soon.





- Jerry expects T-New to be ready for the opener. And the WR's appear healthy and ready to roll.

Cowboys' Jones happy with Newman's recovery

Cowboys owner is optimistic Newman will play in season opener


11:28 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 5, 2007
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
tarcher@dallasnews.com

IRVING – Terence Newman did not feel like talking about the partially torn plantar fascia in his right foot. Neither did Cowboys coach Wade Phillips.

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones, however, said he liked what he saw from Newman on the field Wednesday during rehab work and is optimistic the cornerback will play in Sunday night's season opener against the New York Giants.

"He was pushing off and then he would rest it and then he would come back and push off again," Jones said. "The morning will be key. It'll be a little sore from the work he did."

Newman said he would talk about his availability for the game on Friday. Giants coach Tom Coughlin said he expects Newman to play.

Newman has not practiced in about three weeks since suffering the injury in a practice with Denver. Jones is holding out hope Newman will be available today.

Sounding board gone: Tony Romo had trust in Wade Wilson, but he will be without the quarterbacks coach for the first five weeks of the season. Wilson is serving a suspension for violating the NFL's policy on banned substances.

"Wade's great because he's always been a sounding board," Romo said. "He's a guy I can bounce ideas off of. He's spent so many years in the league as a player and a coach that he's always real good with explaining things and just those little tidbits on the field when I need questions answered quickly. It'll hurt definitely not having him around."

Romo said he spoke with Wilson after the suspension was announced. Wilson cannot have contact with the Cowboys until Oct. 9.

In the meantime, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will work closely with the quarterbacks and coach Wade Phillips has brought on former coach Harold Richardson to serve as an extra set of eyes in the press box.

Parcells sought Giants job: According to Tom Callahan's upcoming book, The GM: The Inside Story of a Dream Job and the Nightmares That Go With It, which was obtained by the New York Daily News, then-Cowboys coach Bill Parcells met with a former colleague before the Giants-Cowboys game at Giants Stadium in December and expressed interest in the soon-to-be-vacated Giants general manager's job.

As part of a renegotiation after the 2005 season, according to Jones, Parcells could seek a GM job elsewhere in 2007, but he could not coach another team. Jones does not believe that affected Parcells' coaching performance.

"The one thing that I never questioned and I admired him for was his focus and his attention to detail, not only on game day but other days as well," Jones said. "He basically could have been just making sure at the time, but I don't question his focus and his intensity for that game. That didn't happen."

Terrell Owens dismissed the issue Wednesday.

"Man, at this point in time, anything regarding Bill Parcells is not a non-issue, it's a dead issue," he said. "D-e-a-d, dead. He's probably somewhere fishing. We couldn't care less about what's going on with Bill right now."

Cowboys expecting Strahan: Giants star Michael Strahan reported to practice Tuesday after missing all of training camp, but Coughlin is not sure if the pass rushing defensive end will play Sunday.

The Cowboys, however, are expecting Strahan to be involved in passing situations if he does not start.

"I'm reluctant to make a real quick decision on that," Coughlin said. "Obviously, there's been a lot of time missed. He needs to get in and get to work and know that he can defend himself. And I need to know that, too. That's going to take some more work."

Briefly... Receiver Terry Glenn returned to practice for the first time since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery Aug. 1. ... Linebacker Kevin Burnett has stepped up his rehabilitation from ankle surgery now that the 12 staples have been removed. He is hopeful he can play Sunday. He was going to test his ankle during Wednesday's rehab work to see if he could practice today. ... Linebacker Greg Ellis did not practice, continuing his rehab from Achilles' tendon surgery. ... The Cowboys practiced inside Wednesday because of the morning rain.






- Rangers continue to roll, and win 1 run ball games. After playing horribly in 1-run games in 2006, they are now 24-16 this year. A direct result of the change in philosophy brought on by Ron Washington. Playoff teams win close games.
Rangers win 3-2.

Rangers closer to .500 after 3-2 win


02:15 AM CDT on Thursday, September 6, 2007
By EVAN GRANT / The Dallas Morning News
egrant@dallasnews.com

ARLINGTON – Dare we even ask this question: Can the Rangers reach the .500 mark this season?

Given where they were, oh, three months ago, it seems implausible, absurd even, to ask such a question. But if they keep winning close games the way they have been lately, anything's possible.

With a 3-2 win over Kansas City on Wednesday, the Rangers crept within nine games of the .500 mark (65-74) with 23 still to play. It's the first time Texas has been within single digits of the mark since May 21.

"I don't know where we can finish," manager Ron Washington said. "We'll achieve whatever mark we achieve. But we've shown we can play good baseball, and I just want us to continue that."

Good baseball means winning close games, and the Rangers have excelled at that lately. The Rangers have won their last four one-run decisions, six of their last seven and 11 of their last 15. They are now 24-16 in one-run games this season. They've already passed the 2006 win total (17). They haven't won more than 24 one-run games since 2000 (they won 27).

With Vicente Padilla giving the Rangers solid work for six innings, the lineup on three occasions found ways to force single runs across the plate. On each occasion, they used the tenets of manufacturing runs to aid the inning.

In the second, Brad Wilkerson led off with a walk and then stole second. He scored on Hank Blalock's double.

In the fifth, Frank Catalanotto singled with one out and moved up on an errant pickoff throw, allowing him to score on Michael Young's two-out single.

And in the sixth, Wilkerson led off with a single, tagged up on a fly ball to move to second and then scored on Blalock's single.

"The experience of playing these kinds of games are only going to help us long term," Catalanotto said. "The pitchers learn how to pitch in these situations. We learn how to score. I think now we understand that if we get that one insurance run, the bullpen can close it down."

Said Washington: "Playing games like this and winning games like this, it makes you believe. It's helping us believe."



- Picks O'the day

Yesterday - 0-3
YTD - 140-129

Trouble in Austin

- Like I expected, things aren't going so well down in Austin. A lackluster performance and a near loss to a I-AA team will do that to you. None of this surprises me. If TCU can get anything out their QB, if Tommy Blake actually plays, and if Aaron Brown (#1 RB) can play, they're covering the spread and winning that game down there. Don't discount Gary Patterson's record vs. the Big 12 (6-0).

Lots of questions for Longhorns


05:04 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 5, 2007
By CHIP BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
chipbrown@dallasnews.com

Analysis –It was a joke, but it sounded like Mack Brown's evil twin.

"We do have one of the few fan bases that get on a suicide watch after we win, but that's OK," Brown said, referring to his team's 21-13 home victory over Arkansas State.

That sounded a lot like the Brown who used to crack on the Texas fans because he felt they constantly overreacted. Brown recently said he now agrees when UT fans gripe. But this Brown said he didn't make any call to arms to his players after Saturday's win that felt like a loss because "this place is hard enough. We can win by 40, and people are mad."

While Brown tried to keep things light with the media, there's no doubt No. 7 Texas has serious questions going into Saturday's Southwest Conference revival against No. 19 TCU.

"We have good players, but we're still trying to figure out who the leaders are," said Brown, who has a defense made up of 11 junior or senior starters.

Texas' performance makes it four straight games in which the Longhorns have underachieved: a loss at Kansas State, a loss at home to Texas A&M, a 26-24 escape against 6-6 Iowa in the Alamo Bowl and Saturday's disjointed performance.

Brown tried to keep the sky from falling. But maybe Chicken Little is on to something in Austin. The back-room spin on the Forty Acres was that Arkansas State game-planned all summer for Texas. That the Indians ran from a spread offense, completely different from the power running attack it used last year. Texas, according to the spin, was utterly vanilla because it was trying to keep surprises for TCU.

Then, how do you explain Texas' defense blitzing over and over again, and still allowing 397 yards to a team picked to finish third in the Sun Belt? How do you explain averaging 3.1 yards per carry after having all off-season to fix the running game?

How do you explain failing to punch it in after having first-and-goal from the 3? And this time Texas had senior defensive tackle Derek Lokey playing short-yardage fullback. Lokey's absence last year against Nebraska, K-State and Texas A&M because of a broken leg was the excuse when Texas couldn't make a yard in those games. What's the excuse now?

"It's a big game for TCU, and a huge game for us," Lokey said of Saturday's showdown that could define UT's season. "They're trying to prove they belong on the national stage, and we're trying to prove that as well. We don't want them to think it's a bigger game for them than it is for us. It's not."

Does that sound like a player loaded with swagger, fully confident Texas can pounce on the SWC team that got left behind? Or does that sound like a player hoping to avoid becoming the 18th straight Big 12 team to lose to a ranked nonconference opponent since Texas beat USC in the Rose Bowl for the national title?

Offensive coordinator Greg Davis said sophomore quarterback Colt McCoy might have been pressing in the second quarter against Arkansas State, when he threw two interceptions and nearly had a few more passes picked off.

"His expectations for himself are out of sight," Davis said. "I told him after the game, if you're not careful, you won't enjoy this. I want him to enjoy the process. There's a lot of people who hit 22 of 33 passes and they've had a good night."

Davis said McCoy made some brilliant decisions, such as on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Limas Sweed in the first quarter. On that play, McCoy checked from a run to a pass, changed the protection and changed Sweed's route.

But Davis said McCoy also overlooked some open receivers by not checking down and changed a few routes on pass plays that didn't need to be changed, including one of his interceptions.

"We give a lot of freedom to the quarterback," Davis said. "And if you're not careful, you start seeing things that aren't there."

Added McCoy, "I felt like I didn't play in the second quarter at all. I felt like I made some poor decisions and poor reads and did a lot of things that didn't help our football team. I think it was a good wake-up call for us. We will have to play better against TCU because they are a great team."

Brown tried to stress the positive with his team Sunday because he thought his players might be hearing a negative message from the media and fans.

"This is the best thing that could have happened," Brown said. "This puts focus in guys who were even thinking of taking a lazy step."

Brown and co-defensive coordinator Duane Akina said jobs in the back seven on defense are up for grabs this week after its performance against Arkansas State. Last year, the top three leading tacklers for the season were defensive backs, always a bad sign. On Saturday, the top four tacklers were DBs.

"There's a lot of things you can learn in a struggle," Akina said.

Brown was asked if he worried his team would be labeled soft for failing to convert on fourth-and-goal from the 1 after having first down at the 3 in the third quarter.

"As far as labels, this place is going to have them by the hour," Brown said. "I'm more worried about making six inches than about some label."

Only with a win against TCU on Saturday will Brown's evil twin go away. Otherwise, Brown's suicide watch jokes won't sound remotely funny.


- The NoTex Rant Big 12/National Rankings



Big 12

1) Oklahoma 1-0 - No doubt the class of the league. Big test Saturday for sure with Miami. A great defense coming to town.
2) Nebraska 1-0 - I need to temper my enthusiasm on this year's prospects until I see how they do on the road and against an elite team these next 2 weeks.
3) Texas A&M 1-0 - Fresno won't be a bad challenge, nor will the trip to Miami in a few weeks.
4) Texas 1-0 - Only here b/c Oklahoma State sucked ass last week. Hoping they lose to TCU so I can drop them below Texas Tech.
5) Missouri 1-0 - Defense looked bad. Offense looked as expected. SEC road game coming up, albeit against Ole Miss, but still is an SEC road game.
6) Texas Tech 1-0 - Beat SMU on road, whatever.
7) Kansas State 0-1 - Should I be impressed they should have beat Auburn on the road or should I chalk it up to Auburn playing typical Tommy Tuberville ball? Never blow a team out and win tight games no matter the opponent? I'm going with the latter, the truth will come out on this team, they suck.
8) Oklahoma State 0-1 - This team's been reading too many press clippings, as has Bobby Reid.
9) Kansas 1-0 - 52-7 over directional Michigan school.
10) Colorado 1-0 - Survived wild game with Colorado State.
11) Baylor 0-1 - Shut out in Fort Worth. Guy Morriss on his way out. Impossible to win at that school.
12) Iowa State 0-1 - How did they fall so far? Losing at home to Kent State???


- National Top 10


1) LSU - Any time you shut out a conference foe on the road, it's impressive.
2) USC - Better light a fire in their asses. Appeared bare minimum vs. Idaho.
3) Oklahoma - If Bradford plays like that every week, watch out.
4) West Virginia - Defense very suspect, but offense kicks ass.
5) Wisconsin - Not a bad win vs. a BCS conference.
6) Florida - Will get exposed at some point, maybe against Tennessee.
7) Cal - I was very impressed with them hanging 48 on an SEC team.
8) Louisville - Want to see them play someone before I give them any hype.
9) Georgia - If Stafford has improved, they could be a dark horse in the SEC.
10) UCLA - Offense is night and day with Jay Norvell calling the plays now.

Missed out
Va. Tech - will get rolled in Baton Rouge
Texas - will lose at home to TCU



- Baseball's pennant races are getting good. A look at the NL wild card.....

NATIONAL LEAGUE

SAN DIEGO PADRES
Who's hot: Adrian Gonzalez is hitting .326 in August and September, and is currently riding an eight-game hit streak. His offense and the pitching of Jake Peavy (7-0, 1.17 ERA in last eight starts) and Greg Maddux (4-0, 1.97 ERA in last five starts) have carried the Padres.
Who's not: Chris Young has a 6.39 ERA in his last five starts, and the Padres have lost all five games. Looks like the combination of innings and injuries has caught up to him.
Outlook: The Padres and Diamondbacks play nearly identical schedules down stretch, so Wednesday's game, the last meeting between the two this season, is big, especially with a six-game road trip looming.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Who's hot: Doug Davis, Tuesday's winner, has been fantastic. He has a career-high 13 wins and is 8-1 since the All-Star break after beating the Padres handily.
Who's not: Orlando Hudson entered Tuesdaay's game in a 6-for-42 funk, but he may have snapped out of it with a 3-for-3 showing.
Outlook: Diamondbacks get the Cardinals next, so they can't afford a letdown. They're just 1-3 against St. Louis this season.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Who's hot: How about that Dodgers defense, which has turned eight double plays in the last two games. Also, Matt Kemp has been real good in his last two starts, collecting seven hits in his last 10 at-bats.
Who's not: Now that he's back, Nomar Garciaparra qualifies. He went 3-for-20 in his last six starts before going on the disabled list.
Outlook: Everything is with an eye toward next week, when the Dodgers' season could be made --or -- broken by six meetings with the Padres and Diamondbacks.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Who's hot: The last six games in which Ryan Howard has homered, the Phillies have won. He's got 46 RBIs in 50 games since the All-Star break, including two in Tuesday's win.
Who's not: Pat Burrell is 1-for-17 since the Phillies swept four straight from the Mets and is now batting just .222 away from Citizens Bank Park this season.
Outlook: The schedule gets a little easier with the Marlins and Rockies visiting Philadelphia, though the Fish gave the Phillies fits by taking two of three after the Phils drubbed the Mets.

COLORADO ROCKIES
Who's hot: Jeff Francis should only pitch in the daytime. He's 6-0 with a 2.68 ERA in seven day starts this season (his night ERA is 4.62). Matt Holliday, ranked among the leading candidates for MVP in ESPN.com's Player Rater, has 12 RBIs in his last 11 games.
Who's not: Ryan Spilborghs is the only Colorado bat that's gone cold. He's just 3-for-28 in his last 10 games.
Outlook: The Rockies could have their fate determined in a week, with three home games against the Padres and four in Philadelphia. Colorado has enjoyed the comforts of home, going 41-26 at Coors Field, but is just 31-40 on the road.





- More on the death of Carter Albrecht.

Carter Albrecht’s presence on the local music scene will be missed

06:16 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 5, 2007
By MIKE DANIEL / The Dallas Morning News
mdaniel@dallasnews.com

When it came to music, Jeffrey Carter Albrecht was obsessive. But the guitarist and keyboardist was also compulsive in about sharing his gifts.

His contributions to the local indie music scene might be measurable somehow if the walls at Dallas' live music clubs, recording studios and tucked-away rehearsal rooms could utter a single sentence about his performances there.

When Mr. Albrecht, 34, died early Monday, he was a member of rising indie pop band Sorta, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, Salim Nourallah's band (the Polaroids) and he was solidifying his own solo material. He had also helped found, played with in or performed with the Limes, Sparrows, Budapest One, Burden Brothers, Paul Simon, David Howard, Chris Holt and the Egos, and the Dead Thing. He'd even tickled ivory for the Dallas Symphony before he migrated to local pop and alt-country about 13 years ago.

He was shot to death as he tried to kick in a neighbor's door in an apparent drunken rage after beating his girlfriend, police say. The neighbor reportedly thought Mr. Albrecht was a burglar and fired a pistol up high through the back door as a warning. The shot hit the 6-foot-4-inch Mr. Albrecht in the head instead.

A life of music
His passing has numbed Dallas' indie music community. Many of those who knew him insist that he was never violent; they describe him as even-tempered natured and sometimes shy. His death is a shame no matter what the circumstances, especially since Mr. Albrecht's passions were so far removed from the behavior surrounding his death. that marked his exit.

"He was so consumed by music," said local musician and producer Mr. Nourallah, with whom Mr. Albrecht worked as a band mate and session musician for several years. "Sometimes it seemed that he forgot about everything else. Every time I called him to come play on a session — even with someone he'd never heard of — he was there, usually within 24 hours. Whoever was in the room was blown away by his playing."

In 2003, he won the Dallas Observer's best songwriter and musician awards for his expansive generosity, which was born from a love for music performance in all of its forms. When it came to that, he was game — wherever, whenever, whatever and with whomever. And his game was frightfully good.

"At the Allgood Cafeé about a month ago, my daughter Sophie wanted to sing with him," said Kenny Withrow, guitarist for New Bohemians. "She wasn't going to be denied, either. But Carter just had a great attitude about it; he got her a chair, and just told her some things to sing before each song, and she stayed up there the whole set and sang with him. She loved it."

On recordings such as Sorta's most recent CD, Strange and Sad But True, and Edie Brickell & New Bohemians' 2006 offering, Stranger Things, Mr. Albrecht's keyboard playing is delicate and supportive, with no pretension toward flash or embellishment. His musicianship is plainly keen and tight, but it holds little hint of his actual capabilities or his aptitude.

Talented instrumentalist
Mr. Albrecht took up guitar well after graduating from Southern Methodist University in 1995 with a piano performance degree. Yet his guitar playing was as deft and assured as his work on keys. He even contributed harmonica to New Bohemians material.

On a stage, the Kansas native's attitude was plain: utter joy, combined with a stately but slightly awkward and bashful grace that easily endeared him to an audience. His actions when performing often seemed inherently apologetic for being so competent; that effect was magnified when he played with someone outside of his circle, such as Dead Thing or local R&B legend Bobby Patterson, who had recently befriended Mr. Albrecht and thought of him as a kindred spirit.

"There's a lot of reasons that people make music; it's the biggest stereotype that you don't make money with it, of course," said Michael Schoder, owner of the Granada Theater and CD World and an active local-music supporter. "He was doing it for another purpose. He was one of those guys doing it for the love of music. And of those, he was maybe one of the greatest musicians that this city has ever seen."

Destiny cut short
"Virtuoso certainly fits," said Zac Crain, music editor of the Observer when Mr. Albrecht won its awards. "He's one of those guys that if he walked into a bar, you thought he had to be somebody. He had that aura. Then you heard him play, and you knew he was somebody."

His long, lanky frame and clean-cut boyish appearance gave him the look of a long-lost Smothers Brother.

"He was a personable scenester," Mr. Schoder said. "He was always around, always there. His loss feels like.….in your grandma's big house, there's usually that big picture that's been there forever. It's like taking that picture down."

"We were in a hotel in Brooklyn, getting ready to record the New Bohemians record," Mr. Withrow said. "I hear him laughing, and I walk into his room, and he's got this magazine of kittens open on the bed. He was alone, laughing at pictures of kittens. The simplest things would make him laugh like that."

Mr. Albrecht's legacy has been terribly shortened. Some believed that he was destined to be the savior of Dallas' local pop music scene (whatever that means). His plans were to finish work on a new Sorta CD in the coming weeks, then spend the fall in Austin with songwriter and guitarist Charlie Sexton, with whom he was to collaborate on a debut solo CD.

In the minds of those closest to him, it's the creative aspects of his musicianship — specifically his songwriting, which had only been offered publicly in bits and pieces through his many projects — that was his greatest talent.

"He was so much better than all of us," said Sorta bassist Danny Balis, who also lived with Mr. Albrecht. "I just think he was probably too good. He was an Elliott Smith. He was a Bob Dylan. He wasn't an every day writer. His body of work was so important, but very few people got it and understood it. And I'm not just saying that because I'm biased; I truly believe it. He had ‘it.'."

"The beauty of Carter was that every time we stepped on stage.….[pause]. I mean, in this city, you don't get much better a musician than him," said Trey Johnson, Sorta's lead songwriter and vocalist.

"The Dallas music scene is kind of hobbling along as it is, but to lose Carter.….It's going to be really hard for a lot of us to carry on like nothing happened," Mr. Nourallah said. "It's such a waste of a remarkably talented and kind musician.

"If he was only good at one of those things, then that would have been great. But he was so good at all of those categories. He was truly one of a kind."

Mr. Albrecht is survived by his father, Kenneth, and his mother, Judith, both of Plano. Memorial services will be at 2.p.m. Friday at Parkway Hills Baptist Church, 2700 Dallas Parkway in Plano.


- More from his girlfriend

Girlfriend of slain musician cites anti-smoking drug

08:05 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 5, 2007
By MICHAEL GRABELL and TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News


Friends of a popular Dallas musician killed early Monday are at a loss to explain what caused him to spin out of control, beat up his girlfriend and try to kick in her neighbor's door after a night of heavy drinking.

Now they're wondering whether a pill that Carter Albrecht had recently started taking to quit smoking may have sent him over the edge. But there is no hard evidence that the drug causes bouts of rage.

"I really believe it was the drug," said his girlfriend, Ryann Rathbone. "He would have never been abusive toward me, never, ever. He and I had a very peaceful, loving relationship. He and I loved each other so much."

While some users of the drug Chantix have reported symptoms of anger on Internet blogs, no studies released by the Food and Drug Administration, the manufacturer Pfizer or other researchers have linked the drug to violent outbursts.

"When there's something new put in the mixture, it's natural to wonder, 'Might this have made a difference?' " said Dr. Bryon Adinoff, an addiction expert at UT Southwestern Medical Center. "There may be truth to it, but we don't know and we likely may never know."

Mr. Albrecht, who played guitar and keyboard for the bands Sorta and Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, was fatally shot as he tried to kick in the neighbor's door in the 9000 block of Santa Clara Drive, just east of White Rock Lake.

Dallas police said the neighbor shot one time at the top of the door to scare him away, but instead struck the 6-foot-4 musician in the head.

The case will be reviewed by a Dallas County grand jury to determine whether there will be charges against the neighbor, whose name has not been released.

But the shooter will probably be protected under state laws allowing Texans to use deadly force to prevent someone from breaking into their homes at night. A new law that took effect Saturday, known as the "Castle Doctrine," strengthens those rights by eliminating the requirement that people try to flee before shooting in self-defense.

One neighbor, Natalee Morse, said she and others who live nearby brought groceries to the homeowner in sympathy.

"We wanted to do something to show we support them," she said. "It's a terrible position to be in. All of us thought we'd do the same thing if we were in that position."

According to police reports, there have been 15 burglaries on the 1 ½-mile stretch of Santa Clara Drive since January 2006. Four of those burglaries took place in vacant houses, and one occurred in a backyard storage shed. No reports of robberies could be found during that time.


'Chantix dreams'

Friends said Mr. Albrecht, 34, was normally a laid-back guy who never became violent when drunk. He and his girlfriend had been taking Chantix for about a week and planned to stop smoking Monday. They had started having vivid sleep experiences that users have nicknamed "Chantix dreams."

"It was giving them awful, strange nightmares," said bandmate Ward Williams.

Changes in dreaming, along with nausea and constipation, are common reactions to the drug, according to Pfizer and the FDA. But they are also symptoms of withdrawal.

Chantix is a prescription medicine that works by blocking nicotine from attaching to the brain receptors that produce feelings of pleasure. It was approved by the FDA in May 2006 after studies showed it to be far superior to other anti-smoking drugs without any major side effects.

"While we haven't had an opportunity to review the details of this case, clinical studies do not suggest a causal relationship between Chantix use and rage," said Pfizer spokesman Francisco Gebauer.

An FDA spokeswoman said the agency would look into the matter but didn't have enough information to say whether the drug could have contributed to Mr. Albrecht's violent outburst.

But Dr. Adinoff said it's possible that heavy drinking on top of the Chantix might have triggered a strange reaction. That's why most drugs bear warnings against taking them with alcohol.

"Both of them interact with some of the same regions of the brain," he said. "You mix alcohol with another drug that affects the central nervous system and you can easily get some unpredictable effects."


Behavior change

Ms. Rathbone said she met Mr. Albrecht about 1 a.m. Monday at a bar on Greenville Avenue. He had taken a dose of the drug just before going to the bar and didn't seem drunk when she got there, she said.

But as they left the bar shortly after 2 a.m., Mr. Albrecht started acting bizarrely, she said. He began quoting a book about the oppression of the Jews called Constantine's Sword, which he had recently been reading.

"He was saying weird, off-the-wall stuff that didn't match our conversation," Ms. Rathbone said. "I think because I didn't understand, he started to get mad at me. It didn't make sense."

She said they were home about 10 minutes when he became out of control.

"He wanted to leave, and I didn't want him to drive," she said. "He already didn't know who I was at that point. I didn't want him going anywhere."

That's when he began to hit her, she said. "He didn't even realize he was hurting me. He had no idea. He was saying the same kinds of stuff that didn't make sense. It was like he was in a dream."

Mr. Albrecht chased Ms. Rathbone outside, and she ran back in, locking him out, the police report said. Mr. Albrecht then went to the back of the neighbor's home and started banging.

The Dallas County medical examiner's office will conduct toxicology tests to determine what was in Mr. Albrecht's system. But that will probably take several weeks.

"We're not by any means scientists or chemists," said Sgt. Larry Lewis, a Dallas homicide supervisor. "We'll look at anything and everything."



- Picks O'the day

Yesterday - 2-1
YTD - 140-126

1)