Merry Christmas to All

Sadly, there is nothing worth watching on TV until tonight.  Just fake NBA basketball (I guess they were on strike; did anybody notice) and the absolutely brutal "Christmas Story" marathon.  Ugh.  Couldn't the NFL have saved one or two of yesterday's games for this afternoon to tide us over?  Heck, I'm starting to miss the old Blue/Gray all-star game.

Enough of the complaining...I've heard enough of it from my kids who have been overdosed on Santa the last few days.  Instead, a few Christmas wishes for local sports fans:

Husker football fans:  Coming to acceptance to the fact that Nebraska has a coach many other programs wishes they could have.  That, and shoring up some holes in the secondary this spring.

Husker basketball fans:  Patience, patience, patience. With Brian Jorge Diaz ailing, the Huskers are once again playing small, and judging by Nebraska's performances last week, going to get pounded in the Big Ten this season. I don't know what the answers are, but if Doc Sadler doesn't find some reliable big men and someone who can shoot soon, it's going to be time to make another change.

Creighton basketball fans:  An HD camcorder for KMTV-channel 3.  No matter how badly Nebraska plays on-the-court, they still look 100 times better in HD on BTN and NET than Creighton does on the production equipment originally used for the 1971 Nebraska/Oklahoma broadcast.

Non-Creighton basketball fans:  A strong stomach as you try to ignore the hype from the Hilltop. Don't worry, unless McDermott's team vastly improves in 2012, the Jays will be exposed in mid-March.  Yeah, Creighton is a little better than Nebraska right now...but that's not saying much this season.  Certainly doesn't justify a vote in the Top 25, let alone being actually ranked.

UNO hockey fans:  Waiting for the second half spurt that Dean Blais usually assembles late each season.  This year's December swoon wasn't as bad as in past season, though it's hard to think of a worse loss in UNO history than the 3-1 loss to Alabama-Huntsville at the start of the month.  Patience is in the order, as UNO typically only dresses four juniors and seniors each night.  That's an awful lot of youngsters on the ice, so you have to expect things like the UAH game.  But the payoff is coming down the line in a couple of years when this year's sophomores are seniors.

Omaha Nighthawks fans:  First and foremost, a player development deal with the NFL that salvages the UFL. Then, a season that starts sometime after the 4th of July so that games can be played downtown at TD Ameritrade Park.

Darin Erstad:  A roster of college baseball players that play as tough for the Huskers as you did.

MECA:  Finding someone that can promote the heck out of an independent league baseball team so that we can have baseball back in Omaha in the summer time after the College World Series.

And to everybody:  Merry Christmas!