Sunday, January 17, 2010

Sunday Night Beer: A Weekend To Forget

Both Nebraska basketball and UNO hockey suffered painful losses this weekend.  I missed much of the Husker hoops game last night, but did catch the sad ending.  I don't know what Doc Sadler was thinking at the end of the game, but waiting until 15 seconds left to start fouling was a major blunder.  I see he admits it as well.  It was especially painful when you consider that Iowa State passed the ball back into the backcourt with eight seconds left on the shot clock.  In that situation, your best bet is to play tough defense and get ready to rebound.

UNO hockey outshot Lake Superior State 82-56 this weekend...and got swept.  I think it's time to put the "hot goaltender" excuse to rest.  UNO just seems to turn everybody into a budding Patrick Roy on the stat sheets.  They're putting the puck on net, but they're not quality scoring opportunities yet.  It shows that UNO still isn't where they need to be under Dean Blais; it's great that they are pushing the offense, but until they figure a way to get it past the goaltender, it's all for naught.  But if they do start finding a way to make some of those shots quality opportunities, this group could start scoring in bunches.

A lot has been said about the idea of Nebraska hooking up with Boise State down the line, but it's becoming apparent that the interest is only coming from Lincoln.  The offer was sent to Boise a couple of months ago, and there's been no response from the Broncos.  I guess Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier isn't ready to walk the talk about "playing anybody."  Even with the risk that neither school would be relevent in six years, I think it's a series worth scheduling for both schools and for college football.

The New York Times feature on Bill Callahan has gotten quite a bit of play this weekend both here and in New York.  The question was raised as to whether Callahan would make a good offensive coordinator, and my stock answer is:  not unless the head coach has an offensive mind and keeps Callahan in check, like Jon Gruden did in Oakland.  I still have the painful memories of October 2007, when Nebraska only scored 59 points in 4 games.  (And people around here were ready to run Shawn Watson out of Lincoln this October when Nebraska scored 64 points!)  I was reminded of Callahan's poor playcalling this afternoon as the Jets ran out the clock against the Chargers.  Four plays with solid power running, thanks to Bill Callahan's offensive line.  But what if Bill Callahan were actually calling the plays?  I'm pretty sure there would have been at least one and probably two passes thrown on that possession.  (Remember that 3rd and 4 against Texas in 2006, when Callahan threw the ball, giving Texas the ball in great position to kick the game winning field goal?)  Would it have worked?  Hard to say for sure, but I'm pretty sure that the Jets would be out of the playoffs by now if Callahan were calling the plays for them.  But that being said, the Jets are in position to return to the Super Bowl because Bill Callahan is coaching the Jets offensive line.

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