14,000 excuses for not taking down the tree sooner

Finally got around to taking down the Christmas tree this weekend. Some people might think this is late, but remember, the "12 days of Christmas" traditionally STARTS on December 25th. And judging by the number of people at the tree recycling center, I wasn't the only one. In the 5 minutes I was there, a half dozen more trees showed up.

The undecorating didn't stop me from catching some of the football and hockey action this weekend. I don't ever remember so many road teams winning in the playoffs before; 3 road teams won last weekend, and 2 more today. And anyone who bothered to watch NBC's coverage of the NHL sure got a treat yesterday. Philadelphia scored twice in the last 3 minutes of regulation to tie the game, but Colorado won in overtime. Then they switched to Boston-Dallas just in time for a shootout.

Props to UNO goalie Jerad Kaufmann for shutting out #20 Ohio State on Friday night. UNO followed that up with a tie on Saturday night, giving them 3 needed points in the standings. Up this weekend is Michigan State at the Qwest Center. UNO swept the Spartans in November at their place; another sweep would help UNO's positioning in both the conference and in the battle for the NCAA tournament. Miami is pulling away in the standings, but the rest of the league is up for grabs. 7 points seperates 2nd place from last place.

Last month, I complimented Steve Pederson for his plan to sell the additional 6,500 Nebraska football season tickets. And, as things look, it turned out even better than expected, as they received over 14,000 requests. Scanning the internet over the last couple of weeks, I was amazed by the number of people who worried that a $250 donation per ticket wouldn't be enough to lock into tickets. Guess a lot of people weren't aware that Husker season tickets have been readily available for the last few years for a $150 donation. That ignorance means more money in the athletic department coffers; this reverse auction may have turned out even better than planned. (I think that's why they cut off requests last week.) Of course, the Huskers performances against Colorado and Michigoon didn't hurt either.