North Dakota Sweeps the Mavs In Omaha's Outdoor Hockey Game

One of THOSE nights for UNO hockey.
Photo (c) 2013 HuskerMike.blogspot.com

If there ever was going to be any spark for UNO hockey coming out of the program's first outdoor game, it was extinguished by senior goaltender John Faulkner's bad night.  The first two North Dakota shots on goal ended up in the net, as did the fifth shot.  That 3-0 deficit was all North Dakota needed to win UNO's first (and probably last) outdoor hockey game at TD Ameritrade Ballpark.

The Mavs put on a nice comeback attempt in the final 30 minutes and carried the play most of the third period, cutting the North Dakota lead in half to 4-2.  A Danny Christo goal off a UNO turnover in the closing minutes of the game sealed North Dakota's 5-2 victory.

What are my takeaways from the "Battles on Ice"?

I loved the idea of UNO playing outdoors when it was announced, and I still think it was a good idea. The idea of a doubleheader with the Lancers was a bad one.  Too many variables can cause a delay to try to get two games in.  Rain, snow, and yes, even sunshine, as we learned today, presents an issue.  The ice issues that caused the UNO game to be delayed until 6:30 pm weren't anybody's fault.  The schedule that tried to put UNO on the ice in the warmest part of the day was.  Spread the games over two weekends, with each game scheduled for noon on Saturday.  If weather conditions cause a delay, you are only worrying about squeezing one game in over the weekend.  Not two.

And what Einstein at MECA tried to fit two hockey games and a basketball game in one day downtown?  If any Creighton fan is complaining about having to walk an extra three blocks to find a place to park downtown because of soft ice conditions at the hockey game, I have very little sympathy.  Creighton basketball games regularly lead to soft ice conditions at the CenturyLink Center when MECA only allows 3 hours to convert the arena from basketball to hockey.  While the basketball floor may be gone, the ice is in such poor shape, the hockey suffers.

MECA's maintenance crew gets the blame for drilling too deep while setting the pegs for the goal after the ice was resurfaced in the first intermission.  They didn't strike oil; they struck refrigerant...and the gooey green mess took an extra 15 minutes to clear up.

After attending numerous Nebraska football games in November, I didn't have any concerns about the weather tonight.  Yes, it rained - and even a brief snow flurry.  But it was in the mid 40's - at night - in Nebraska.  That's a pretty mild evening.  We were well prepared for the game:  snow pants, blankets, hot packs for our hands and toes.  Even the kids did fine; the biggest issue was the lateness of the game, not the cold.

From my vantage point in the upper reaches of left field, UNO fans did a great job of drowning out the 3,000 North Dakota fans who came to town in the first period.  The rain, snow, cold, and three-goal deficit chased many UNO fans home.  I understand why the casual fan left, but disappointed so many left.  (Truth be told, I saw quite a few North Dakota fans leave as well.)

Did the game suck?  Yep.  But it might have sucked just the same indoors.  Getting swept by North Dakota is not a pleasant thing, but it doesn't mean that an outdoor game was a bad idea.  Here's a news flash:  North Dakota is a pretty good hockey program.  Lots of tradition up in Grand Forks.  They'll be in the national picture in March and April.

UNO's three game losing streak really hurts this season though.  With only six conference games left, it's going to be almost impossible to make up the five points that UNO trails St. Cloud State by.  That being said, Colorado College's three point weekend against Denver moved them into a "team under consideration"...and launced UNO up to 18th place in the PairWise.  As long as Colorado College keeps winning, UNO might still have a shot at the NCAA tournament.

Great news UNO fans: the Mavs fell to 24th in the PWR after the UND game but are now 18th now because of CC becoming a TUC with their OT win
— MavMania (@unomavmania) February 10, 2013

And that's a positive that UNO fans can try to take away from the weekend.

North Dakota Too Much For Mavs on Friday

With about 2,000 North Dakota fans nearly outshouting 7,000 UNO fans in their own barn, the no-longer Sioux skated to a 2-1 victory over the Mavs in the prelude to the outdoor "Battles on Ice" game. UNO got on the board with a Ryan Walters goal about midway through the first period only to surrender the lead when Rocco Grimaldi forced home the tying goal a minute later.

North Dakota dominated the Mavs in the second period, thanks in no part to a five-minute major power play after Tony Turgeon leveled NoDak's Dan Senkbeil in front of the benches.  Watching it live, I didn't see anything illegal, but I wasn't focused on it either.  North Dakota blogger Eric Burton watched it on replay and he didn't see anything bad on it.

ESPN's John Buccigross went on Twitter to express his outrage over the call.

What a terrible call in Omaha against Tony Turgeon. Just brutal. Instant replay if you think someone might warrant ejection.
— John Buccigross (@Buccigross) February 9, 2013

Judge for yourself.
 
UNO was able to kill off the penalty, but the Mavs had to extend way too much energy fending off the ferocious North Dakota pressure.  A scrum in front of the net resulted in two Mavs falling on top of UNO goalie Dayn Belfour, giving Danny Kristo an easy rebound goal for the game winner.

Belfour had a solid game in his first start of the season. It was a curious choice in the pregame, but solid in hindsight. Perhaps Dean Blais thought Belfour would be extra sharp and motivated in facing off against his father Ed's alma mater.  Perhaps he thought that with the short turnaround for tomorrow afternoon's game, he wanted John Faulkner to have a night off.   Frankly, I don't know that Faulkner could have done much better.  North Dakota was simply the better team on the ice tonight.

And North Dakota's 2,000 fans were the louder fans on the night.  Credit the students for showing up tonight.  It was a good UNO crowd.  But the North Dakota fans that headed south in advance of the upcoming blizzard showed Omaha what they need to aspire to in support.  Tradition.  Enthusiasm.  Dedication.  That's what North Dakota fans showed us with all of those green Sioux jerseys in the concourse.

@husker_mike UNO is to und what k state was to Nebraska back in those days....a wannabe
— Huskers_3531 (@Huskers_3531) February 9, 2013

Some will claim that tonight was proof that UNO had better limit themselves to a 7500 seat arena.  There's only one problem with that idea.  North Dakota fans would find their way into Tranquility if UNO decided to play in a Muni rink. I speak from experience with a rabid fan base.  Ask Notre Dame about Husker fans.  Ask Northwestern. So hey...if you want to sell your program short to try and keep out the invading hordes from Grand Forks, be my guest...but don't be surprised if you find out it backfires miserably.

There's a better solution out there.  Don't worry about the other team's fans.  Worry about building your own home ice advantage.

The Biggest Weekend In Omaha Hockey History Begins Tonight

With so much attention being paid to the outdoor game at TD Ameritrade Park, some might forget tonight's "prelude" at the CenturyLink Center between North Dakota and UNO.  The 6:30 pm game will be televised by NBC Sports Network, and with 2000 or more North Dakota fans in town, it'll be quite the atmosphere.

Even without the outdoor game, it would be a big weekend.  #7 North Dakota sits two points behind the 14th ranked Mavs in the WCHA standings, and UNO desperately needs wins against top-quality opponents to improve their RPI and PairWise rankings. At this point, UNO isn't even near the bubble for the NCAA tournament, so the Mavs have their work cut out for them.  That sweep by Quinnipiac over the holidays really, really hurt.

The two names to watch out for NoDak are seniors Danny Kristo and Corban Knight.  Kristo is tied with UNO's Ryan Walters for third nationally in goals scored, while Knight is tied with Walters for second nationally in assists.  Dakota fans have filled the online Hobey Baker voting with over 23,559 votes for Knight compared to only 4,620 votes for Walters.

Weather continues to look pretty good.  It may rain Saturday night and Sunday, but right now, it looks more likely that the sun will be out during the afternoon.  Temperatures could top 50 degrees, though a stiff southeast wind could affect the game.

Yesterday, the USHL teams took to the outdoor rink to break in the ice.  The Lincoln Stars apparently went first, early in the afternoon.

Today, those unfortunate nets were strung up behind each goal.  I understand the safety reasons why they are there, but  with the seating so far away in a baseball stadium, I was hoping they wouldn't be necessary.  The grounds crew also flooded the rink with more water over the lunch hour.

Everything seems to be shaping up for a huge weekend of hockey in Omaha. 

Will Maverick Fans Cheer the National Anthem Chicago Style?

Jim Cornelison, who sings the national anthem prior to Chicago Blackhawks games, will be reprising that role on Saturday afternoon just prior to UNO's "Battles on Ice" outdoor game against North Dakota at TD Ameritrade Park.

Anthem legend Jim Cornelison will perform the national anthem before UNO vs. North Dakota in Saturday's #BattlesOnIce! youtube.com/watch?feature=…
— UNO Athletics (@omavs) February 6, 2013

You may not have seen Cornelison sing at a Blackhawks game, but you may have caught him on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 when Fox televised the pregame ceremony at Soldier Field.
So that raises the question...will UNO hockey fans stand and cheer during the anthem, Chicago style? That is the tradition whenever Cornelison sings it, such as in 2010 at Wrigley Field.

My thought is absolutely YES.  Some may feel it's disrespectful, but it's anything but.  Remember the 1991 NHL All-Star Game, just days after the first Gulf War began?  That was probably the first time most Americans had heard of this tradition, and nobody thought badly of it.  Most people probably had chills running through their spines.

That being said, if only 30 people cheer during the anthem, it won't have near the impact of thousands of fans.  And those 30 people will probably feel a little silly if they are the only ones doing it.

So what do you think?  I plan to clap and cheer; what about you?

Could Sunshine Be a Problem For North Dakota's Goalie In UNO's Outdoor Hockey Game?

The weather forecast continues to improve for Saturday's "Battles on Ice" outdoor hockey doubleheader.  The Weather Channel calls for a high of 50, and my WeatherUnderground app is calling for sunny skies.  More and more, it looks like precipitation will hold off until later Saturday night or, more likely, Sunday and Monday.

Those sunny skies may present a problem at the start of the game.  The Omaha World-Herald's Rob White reports that North Dakota will defend the "third base" goal in the first period, and yesterday afternoon in the bright sunshine, the sun was still shining on that end of the rink shortly after 4 pm.  Meaning North Dakota's goalie could be staring straight into the sun at faceoff for the first few minutes of the first period.  By about 4:15, the rink was completely shaded, so this probably won't be an issue for long on Saturday if the sun comes out.  This picture was taken about a half-hour prior to the scheduled face-off time; it gives you an idea of how the sun will align with the rink at the start of the UNO/North Dakota game, as well as potentially the end of the Omaha Lancers/Lincoln Stars game.

So now we'll have some hockey purists complaining about soft ice conditions and weather impacting a crucial game in the WCHA standings. I have only one thing to say:  stay home and watch it on TV then.

Are outdoor games a novelty?  Yep. Hockey teams do lots of novel teams.  They wear special sweaters and have silly traditions like throwing a fish or an octopus onto the ice. But "novelty" doesn't make an outdoor game bad.  I'm pretty sure that every player on the UNO and North Dakota roster is probably treating this as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play an outdoor game in front of a big crowd.  I doubt any are wishing this game could be played inside.

The ice conditions argument is especialy spurious, specially after the poor ice conditions at the CenturyLink Center last weekend. I've heard lots of whining from some fans over the last couple of weeks that just makes me shake my head.  The tickets are too expensive. The sightlines are going to suck.  UNO fans should have had their tickets in their season ticket package for free.  Yadda yadda yadda.

Lets start with tickets.  The tickets are a little pricey.  Some people throw out the top price of $90...many of which are club seats with access to a nice warm lounge to duck into between periods.  But many tickets are just $30, and these probably are going to have better sightlines than the more expensive tickets.  And $30 isn't bad for two games of hockey.  And when you consider the expense of setting up a portable ice rink (which is apparently around $150,000), it's probably pretty reasonable in my opinion.

Do I want to spend $30 a game regularly for hockey?  Nope.  But for a special event like this, I don't have an issue at all. Not when I don't know when I'll get another opportunity to watch a hockey game like this.

Any other hockey people like me think outdoor games are stupid? If I can't see the puck, what's the F'ing point sitting out there??#Dumb
— AJ (@AJtheHater) February 6, 2013

Are the sightlines going to be bad?  Yep.  You are playing hockey in a stadium that was designed for baseball.  Anytime you play a sport in a facility it wasn't originally designed for, there are going to be issues.  That didn't stop college basketball teams from playing games on aircraft carriers - except when moisture presented a safety issue.  That doesn't stop college football teams from playing games in baseball stadiums.  But let's look at this reasonably:  a baseball and a puck are about the same size.  A black puck on a while ice sheet is still easier to spot than a white baseball that goes up into the air against while clouds.  If you are too far away from the field, just bring binoculars.

Look at Northwestern, who yesterday announced an agreement to play football, lacrosse, and baseball at Wrigley Field.  Yes, Northwestern is going to play football again at Wrigley. Five games, in fact.  The issue of only being able to play one way is already being addressed, as work is already underway to make part of the brick wall movable.

Working on moving up brick wall at Wrigley for added prime seats. twitpic.com/c15rl7
— Paul Sullivan (@PWSullivan) February 5, 2013

Yep,even though Wrigley seats fewer people than Northwestern's home field, the Wildcats want to play at Wrigley.  Why?  Because it's cool.  Cool for fans, cool for the athletes.  I doubt Nebraska gets selected for one of those games, because Husker fans have shown the ability to fill up Evanston.  But you never know, and if the Huskers get selected for a game at Wrigley, it'll be hard to resist the temptation to spend a fall Saturday in the Friendly Confines.

Same thing about this Saturday.  UNO hockey outdoors at TD Ameritrade Park is a one-time cool event.  Sorry, but this is just plain cool:

Outdoor hockey rink at TD Ameritrade park! #go Lancers/Mavs!!! twitter.com/OPDABLE1/statu…
— OPD Helicopter (@OPDABLE1) February 6, 2013

 

UNO Maverick Outdoor Hockey Forecast Improving

Ice installation continues at TD Ameritrade Park as I write. Logos on the boards are changing, and it appears they are readying the logos in the ice as well.

Ideally, this would be done already so the ice is seasoned by Saturday, but we're not dealing in an ideal world.  This Saturday isn't going to be about a perfect environment, but rather, an environment that we've never had the privilege to take in before, and may never again.  When kids played hockey outside in the past, the ice wasn't perfect.  And the ice won't be perfect on Saturday.  Of course, the ice is rarely perfect at the CenturyLink Center either, especially when MECA only allows three hours for the transition between basketball and hockey.

So how's the weather?  I'm getting a good feeling on the weather for Saturday.  Still talking low to middle 40's for an afternoon high, and the precipitation chances seem to be dropping for game time.  The storm pattern seems to be slowing down; KSHB's Gary Lezak now suggests that the storm may hit the area on Sunday and Monday.  And yes, he used the word "blizzard" again for next week.  Which was my big fear in December; thankfully, it's now looking to be a day or two after the big game.

Outdoor Hockey Rink Update: Ice Being Laid Down

This morning at TD Ameritrade Park, it appears that the first coat of paint went on the ice.  The installation of the boards was completed over the weekend, complete with the glass.  It appears the boards still show the advertising from the figure skating championships; I'm sure that gets taken care of later this week.

The weather forecast might be improving a wee bit.  Precipitation chances seem to be dropping a bit as the storm system may not move in until Sunday.  Accuweather calls for a high of 42, a 35% chance of rain, and winds out of the southeast at 12 mph.  The National Weather Service calls for temperatures in the mid 40's and a 40% chance of rain, increasing to 50% overnight and on Sunday.  Gary Lezak from KSHB is talking that the part of this weather cycle that brought that December blizzard to Omaha will be cycling through the area at the end of the weekend or early next week.  As long as it holds off from Saturday afternoon, I'm fine with that.

I'd still like to see that precipitation percentage disappear, but I'll take mid-40's for the "Battles on Ice".  I'm looking forward to a unique experience when UNO takes on North Dakota outside!. 

Would Tom Osborne Jump Into The Race to Replace Nebraska's "Worst. Governor. Ever."

Nebraska Lt. Governor Rick Sheehy's resignation yesterday caught quite a few people by surprise.  Some in the media, for example.  But that was more because of the timing.  Rumors of Sheehy's behavor prompted the Omaha World-Herald and KETV-Channel 7 to request Sheehy's e-mail, phone, and office records.  They did the hard work of investigating Sheehy.

Governor Dave Heineman and his office did nothing.  Nothing, of course, until the World-Herald contacted Heineman for comment for their report on Sheehy's abuse of his state-issued cellphone.

This isn't the first time a political appointee of Heineman has turned to be an embarrassment.  There's David Phipps, the Douglas County Election Commissioner who consolidated polling places in poorer sections of town, yet left two Elkhorn polling places intact despite being only two blocks apart.  And let's not forget Lorelee Byrd, the Heineman designee who resigned before she should be impeached for mishandling $300,000 in state funds as state Treasurer.

"Governor Dave" called it "new information" when he received the information from the World-Herald on Friday.  Except, according to KETV, the source for all of this information is Heineman's office.  Here's the question that "Governor Dave" needs to answer.  When multiple media outlets are making requests to your office for Sheehy's records, wouldn't it be a good idea for your office to look into these a bit further?

Maybe, like, so you can act like you know what you are doing.  People expect that of the governor of the state.  It was funny when CollegeHumor.com punked his license plate contest.  It's not funny when that same incompetence festers corruption.

So now that Heineman's hand-picked successor has now blown up in his face like Wile E. Coyote's plans to nail the Road Runner, next year's election to replace the (thankfully) term-limited "Governor Dave" is now wide open.  Who will emerge?

I'll throw out a name because nobody else has:  Tom Osborne.

Maybe Tom Osborne's political days are behind him.  I don't know what Osborne has planned for the future once his term as "Athletic Director Emeritus" is over.  I don't believe it includes cleaning out the garage.  And I definitely don't think it includes fishing all the time.

Tom Osborne isn't a man who's going to be content to sit around the house.  There's another chapter in the Tom Osborne story.  He didn't sit back in 1998 after retiring as football coach.  He didn't sit back after losing the 2006 gubernatorial primary.  And I don't see him sitting back now. 

Maybe Tom Osborne hasn't given much thought towards running for election again.  This weekend's news has certainly revealed a vacuum in the leadership of the state.  And it's not like Tom Osborne has never ever stepped into a situation like this before.

Maybe Tom Osborne doesn't want to be governor.  Maybe Nancy Osborne doesn't want to become the first lady of Nebraska.  But don't ever assume that Tom Osborne won't do something like this because he's retired.  Osborne has had plenty of encore performances to his coaching career.

Is there one more in store?

Saturday Night's Not All Right for Huskers & Mavs

A sick kid kept me away from UNO's hockey game against Michigan Tech tonight. Sounds like I didn't miss much as  the Huskies won 2-1 in overtime. Judging from the radio coverage, UNO was undone by a combination of a neutral zone trap by Michigan Tech and poor ice conditions. The trap has been an Achilles heel for the Mavs under Dean Blais, negating the speedy game that Blais prefers.

The poor ice conditions are likely the result of  the Creighton basketball game played earlier in the afternoon. Creighton likes playing these afternoon games at 2 pm, which only gives MECA three hours to convert the CenturyLink Center from basketball to hockey. UNO sports information director Dave Ahlers noted with disgust during the second period that some people don't think UNO needs it's own arena.

People like me, for example. He has a point, I suppose.  If you conveniently forget that UNO's arena is planned to support both basketball and hockey, just like the CenturyLink Center.  And, of course, if you forget that the proposed arena couldn't handle the fans that showed up this weekend. Last night, over 8,000 were downtown and tonight, more than 9,200. Yet UNO is only planning to build a 7500 seat arena.

So UNO wants to build a too-small arena that their hockey team still has to share with a basketball team. Yep, that's a good idea. Not.

Did get to watch some of the Nebraska basketball game tonight while listening to hockey. You have to admire how hard this team plays most nights for Tim Miles. The Huskers have dealt several ranked B1G teams fits, though we have to remember that close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. We knew going into this season that Nebrasketball was going to be outmanned this season. And they are.

I don't read a whole lot into this season. Doc Sadler's teams played hard too. The real test of Miles will be when he gets B1G caliber players on the court in Lincoln.  And until we get that, I'm still not completely sold on Miles.

Is that harsh? Probably. But so is the reality of Nebraska trying to compete in Big Ten basketball.

Mavs Hang On For 4-3 Win Against Michigan Tech

UNO hockey came out fast tonight against Michigan Tech and held on for a 4-3 victory to keep the Mavs in second place in the WCHA.  First period goals by Johnnie Searfoss and Ryan Walters gave the Mavs a 2-1 lead after the first period.  But UNO had difficulty keeping the momentum the rest of the way as the Huskies came out strong after the intermission. UNO's defense was good enough (or lucky enough at times) to keep Tech from scoring. Andrej Sustr fired home a slapshot late in the second period to put the Mavs up 3-1 after two periods.

Tech dominated the play much of the third period as well, though Dominic Zombo was able to cash in on a rebound to restore UNO's two goal lead with eight minutes left after Tech pulled to within one early in the period. But a dumb penalty by Michael Young for hitting after the whistle led to a power play goal by Tech's Tanner Kero, cutting UNO's lead back to 4-3 with four minutes left.  UNO's defense was good enough the rest of the way to hang on for the win.

It wasn't a pretty win by the Mavs, but it's a win.  UNO was outshot 29-28 on the night; that's a rarity.  Young had a particularly bad game with a frustrating sequence where he misplayed the puck three times on a power play, then was out of position to set up a short-handed chance by Tech.  So UNO escapes a bad performance with a win and two points; can't really complain about that too much.

The win moves #14 UNO to 16-9-2 on the season, and was goalie John Faulkner's 52nd career win. His next win will tie him with Dan Ellis (now with the Carolina Hurricanes) for the school record.  After tonight, UNO sits in a tie for 19th place in college hockey's PairWise standings, which are used to seed teams for the NCAA tournament.  With upcoming series against #9 North Dakota, Alaska-Anchorage, #22 Wisconsin, and Minnesota-Duluth, it's going to take a lot more wins to get UNO in position for the NCAA tournament.  The good news is that if they do that, they'll likely also claim the MacNaughton Cup for winning the WCHA's regular season championship.

Hockey Dasherboards Being Installed at TD Ameritrade Park

Crews began installing the dasherboards at TD Ameritrade Park this morning in preparation for next weekend's "Battles on Ice" outdoor hockey doubleheader.  The weather appears to have slowed down the installation project; the crews spent Wednesday snow-blowing the platform and yesterday was simply too frigid to work.  The cooling system appeared to be installed on Wednesday afternoon, and by the end of the day, about half of the boards had been installed.

The weather forecast for next week continues to fluctuate.  Accuweather is now calling for 46 degrees and a 74% chance of rain in the afternoon.  KSHB-TV's Gary Lezak continues to talk about a storm moving into the area at the end of next week.  Hopefully any bad weather hits Friday or Sunday.

First Weather Forecasts For UNO Hockey Outdoors Look Ominous

We're now getting close enough to the "Battles on Ice" outdoor hockey game between UNO and North Dakota to start looking at real weather forecasts. I've already started planning; I picked up a box of pocket warmers at Menards yesterday. I bought my tickets back in October, so I'm really looking forward to this one-of-a-kind event.  But the first forecast from KSHB meteorologist Gary Lezak (based in Kansas City) gives me pause.  You can check it out yourself by visiting his new Weather2020 site.  Here's what Lezak's team says for next week:

A cold and stormy week is in the Weather 2020 forecast. This will be an active week of weather across the plains states. Expect a strong and fast moving storm to move across between Monday and Wednesday with snow likely across Nebraska and Iowa and a few rain showers farther south. A powerful storm system will be likely either with that mid-week storm or a weekend storm system around February 10th. Kansas City, Omaha, and Des Moines will likely have snow from this second storm. This is probably not a great week for outdoor activities.

It's rather imprecise at this point, and it confirms my fears from December. Bad weather could happen late next week...but maybe not until Sunday.  All hockey fans care about is Saturday afternoon, though. So all we can do is wait and watch.  It doesn't help that the last two Saturdays would have been great days to be outside for a hockey game; you have to figure the weather is going to turn at some point.  This is Nebraska of course.

There's a ballpark over
there, somewhere. Promise.

I plan to provide periodic updates on the construction of the rink at TD Ameritrade Park, but this first update is pretty brief.  Can't really tell much of anything due to the fog.  Even so, I don't think much is going on yet. The rink for the outdoor game has been set up for the Figure Skating Championships as a warm-up/practice sheet of ice over at the CenturyLink Center, and they are probably still breaking it down in preparation to move it across the street.

The Lincoln Journal-Star had a great article last week about the event.  The Omaha Sports Commission says that over 10,000 tickets have been sold.  Not bad.  I had my hopes this would sell out, but that isn't happening.  Wish it had been promoted more; it's a shame that the Lincoln paper is doing a better job covering this than the World-Herald.

Dirk Thinks Turnovers Were Nebraska's Biggest Problem

Once again, I got sucked into reading something in the World-Herald that wasn't worth the time to read, let alone the paper to print it on.  It was hard to miss, with a big banner headline on the front page of the sports section proclaiming "Error Message", and a photo of Taylor Martinez coughing up the ball against Wisconsin.  So I flip in, and start reading:

"Nebraska didn't have one turnover in the 2012 opener. Then the dam broke. By New Year's night, the Huskers had 35. Dirk Chatelain studied the tapes, charted the miscues, and revealed startling numbers on the biggest problem facing Big Red."

Yep.  According to Chatelain, Nebraska's biggest problem wasn't defense.  It was turnovers.  Nevermind the 70 points that Wisconsin scored.  Nevermind the 63 that Ohio State scored.  Nevermind the 653 yards that UCLA racked up, or the 589 yards that Georgia amassed.

Nope.  Biggest problem was turnovers.

Now, that's not to say that turnovers weren't a problem in 2012.  They were an issue.  But it wasn't the biggest issue.  And Dirk's "research"?  Merely a laundry list of every turnover.  So where's the analysis?  Again, he just compares the total to other schools.  So what's his point?  Nebraska turns the ball over too much.

Guess what?

We already knew that.  Every Husker fan already knew that.

So tell us something that we don't know about these turnovers.  He gets close when he points out that Ameer Abdullah and Martinez rank in the top eight nationally in turnovers.  We kind of knew that already. 

The only real insight is Nebraska's five turnovers on punt returns. That's a staggering number IMHO, and something that needs to be addressed.  From my perspective, Ameer Abdullah's days as a punt returner should be over now.  He'll start spring practice as the top I-back, and he needs to focus his attention there.  There's no shortage of receivers that should get a shot at fielding punts this season:  Jamal Turner, Jordan Westerkamp, or Tyler Wullenwaber for starters.

As for Martinez's fumbles, some of that is a direct result of issues on the offensive line.  At least three were the direct result of blind-side hits.  That goes on the offensive line more than Martinez. Think that's why Pelini sought out a junior college offensive tackle in Matt Finnin, to help protect the blind side? But Chatelain doesn't really discuss that.  Of course, some Husker fans will eat up Chatelain's superficial look at the Husker turnover list and use it to bitch and moan for another couple of months until signing day?

The question isn't how Nebraska's turnover issues compare to other teams.  The question is really how does Nebraska fix those turnover issues.  Chatelain doesn't go there.  And that makes this pretty much superficial.

And pretty silly when you look at the end result on the season.  It's true that Nebraska might have managed to squeak out a win at UCLA if they had held onto the ball.  Maybe the Capital One Bowl against Georgia as well.  Maybe.  But Nebraska was going to lose to Ohio State with that defense.  And Nebraska was still getting smoked by the Badgers in Indianapolis with a zero-turnover game.  Not when the Badgers were jet-sweeping the Huskers into oblivion that night.

Mavs Get Road Sweep Their Beaver Nemesis

UNO hockey is returning back to Omaha after a much-needed sweep of their nemesis, the Bemidji State Beavers.  Friday night, UNO won 5-3 with Johnnie Searfoss scoring two goals in his return after suffering a back injury three weeks ago.  Matt White also added two goals, and Hobey Baker candidate Ryan Walters had two assists.  Tonight, UNO won 2-1 behind goals by Searfoss and Dominic Zombo.

Walters remains the nation's leading scorer with 39 points, though that's not helping him in the fan voting for the Hobey Baker Award.  Walters is barely hanging onto fourth place, as fans from North Dakota and Boston College are doing a much better job of stuffing the ballot box for Corban Knight and Johnny Gaudreau.  Walters is tied for second nationally with 15 goals, while White has now moved into a tie for sixth place nationally with 14.

The Mavs finally return home this weekend to play eleventh-place Michigan Tech, followed by the long-awaited series with #5 North Dakota in two weeks.  The sweep puts UNO in second place, tied with Minnesota in the WCHA standings, just one point behind conference leader St. Cloud State.

Is Figure Skating a Sport?

Over the years, I've periodically had discussions with Tim McMahan of The Reader over various sports topics from across the cubicle wall.  One of the more contentious discussions over the years revolved around figure skating: Sport or Not?

Typically, this debate comes up at the Olympics.  Today, it was because the US Figure Skating Championships are in town this week. I take the position that it's not; Tim says it is. He gives his reasons in this week's "Reader".  He brings up some good points, but I still believe that while figure skating is a competition, it's not a sport.  Does it require talent?  Yes.  Does it require skill?  Yes.  Does it require incredible physical effort?  Yes.  But that, by itself, doesn't make it a sport.  Dancing requires much the same physical effort and similar skill, but even fewer people would consider it a sport.  It's a performance, meant to be judged.  It's an art form, not a sport.  Doesn't make it less than a sport; heck, when you consider how society views the winner of "American Idol", you might argue that it's more than a sport.

Emrick calling UNO Hockey earlier
in January 2013.

One thing we did agree on today is that poker, despite it's television deal with ESPN, isn't a sport.

Speaking of the Figure Skating Championships, hockey fans may recognize a familiar voice if they tune into NBC's broadcasts.  Mike "Doc" Emrick will be back in Omaha to be the host of NBC's broadcasts. Emrick was in town three weeks ago to call a UNO/Colorado College hockey game; I'm sure UNO hockey fans wish he were coming back to call another Maverick game.

Tim Brown Confuses Bill Callahan's Bad Coaching for Sabotage

In an interview this past weekend, former Oakland Raider receiver Tim Brown repeated his allegation that Bill Callahan "sabotaged" the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII ten years ago.  This morning, the comments are all over the news, from NBC's Pro Football Talk to ESPN and Yahoo! Sports.

What did Brown say?

"We get our game plan for victory on Monday, and the game plan says we’re gonna run the ball,” Brown said last Saturday on SiriusXM NFL Radio (via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com). “We averaged 340 (pounds) on the offensive line, they averaged 280 (on the defensive line). We’re all happy with that, everybody is excited. (We) tell Charlie Garner, ‘Look, you’re not gonna get too many carries, but at the end of the day we’re gonna get a victory. Tyrone Wheatley, Zack Crockett, let’s get ready to blow this thing up'."

Most everybody thinks this is all new...but it's not to readers of CornNation.  Brown said the same thing in March 2011 in an interview with Dallas' Sportsradio 1310, The Ticket.

So did Callahan sabotage the Raiders in the Super Bowl?  Rich Gannon says absolutely not; he had too much to gain by intentionally losing the Super Bowl.  Bill Romanowski said much the same thing.

I don't believe Callahan tried to intentionally blow the Super Bowl, much like I don't think Callahan sabotaged Nebraska during his four years in Lincoln.  Callahan didn't try to lose.

Callahan just isn't a good head coach.  He's a great offensive line coach by all accounts; perhaps one of the best around today.  But as a playcaller and a head coach?  Over his head.

Bill Callahan was all over the board as a playcaller.  He would go into ruts and go heavy run or heavy pass, and almost always at the wrong time.  His offenses looked balanced on the final stat sheet, but when you look at series of play calls, he typically be either pounding the rock on every play or abandoning the run.  Usually with bad results in critical situations.  Throw the ball on third and short, late in the game against Texas?  Oy.  Turtling against Southern Cal?  My oh my.  And that 2004 loss to Iowa State?  Yikes.

That's not sabotage. That's just incompetence.

So now Dallas is thinking about handing Callahan the keys to the Cowboys' offense next season?  Good luck with that, Cowboy fans. That's the best news the NFC East has heard in years.

I mean, we know he's done it before.  But it's a job he's done very badly.  Just look at Callahan's record.  It speaks for itself.

Why Fans Should Enjoy The US Figure Skating Championships

It's been over 45 years since Omaha has hosted the US Figure Skating Championships.  Things have changed since then; the Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum has been demolished and replaced with an upscale retail development. The costumes are sleeker and more streamlined, and the event is now televised by NBC.  So what else has changed since professional figure skaters competed in Omaha? Lori Fairchild, the senior postiche director of this year's event, graciously answered a few questions about what fans should expect.

Q: Some fans may only be familiar with figure skating in the Olympics, such as the whole Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding drama. Is that what Omahans should expect?

Lori:  Oh, no! Figure skating isn't like a Denver Pioneers hockey game at all.  It's an event filled with grace and skill, as the arena is filled with people await in silent awe of the beauty unfolding before their very eyes.

Q:  So it's more like Creighton basketball, right?

Lori:  No, not nearly that quiet.  Though the affection fans show their favorite skaters can be quite similar, I must admit.  That's why we kept the Bud Bar open and fully stocked with Zima ever since their last game against Northern Iowa.  We're hoping many of them will stick around until the end of the Championships.

Q:  Tell me more!

Lori:  The skaters have put in years of effort to make it to this level.  The intricacies of each movement require careful choreography to put it all together.

Q:  So it's more like Michigan hockey, then?

Lori: No, no, no. Unlike the Weasels, everyone here has already mastered the basics of skating.  You'll be amazed as they twirl and gracefully move around the center of the ice.

Q:  Ahh!  I get it now.  It's more like Bemidji hockey! 

Lori:  That's a little closer, but figure skating simply isn't ugly like the neutral zone trap.  It's beautiful moves by beautiful people wearing beautifully designed apparel designed specifically for each performance.

Lori:  You mean like Oregon football, right?

A:  Kind of, except that it's visually appealing, not garish.  Not quite Nike Pro Combat in design, mind you.

I want to thank Lori for her time explaining the US Figure Skating Championships, and I wish all of performers the best of luck this week.  Enjoy your time in Omaha!

How Badly Is 1620 "The Zone" Missing Kugler?

When Kevin Kugler stepped away from 1620 AM's "Unsportsmanlike Conduct" afternoon radio show, I knew it was going to hurt the show.  While John Bishop has done an acceptable job trying to fill Kugler's role, it's clear the show is not what it used to be.  Nowhere is that more obvious is the show's Facebook page, which has sunk into a quasi-soft-core version of Maxim magazine last fall.  I "unliked" the page at the time, and looking now, it appears that nearly all of my Facebook friends have as well.

But that's not a terribly significant measure by itself. In radio, it all comes down to ratings, and Radio Online brings us the revelation that the ratings for 1620 are down about a third over the last year.  In the fall 2011 ratings, KOZN-1620 AM pulled in a 2.8 rating from 6 am to midnight during the seven day week.  Last winter, it was a 2.7.  In the spring, it was a 2.2, and this summer, it was a 2.4.  This fall, it dropped to 1.9.

Only the overall station numbers are available; nothing that breaks the ratings out by specific show or by demographic.  So there is a danger in using 18 hour a day numbers to infer anything about a four hour show.  But "Unsportsmanlike Conduct" isn't just any four hour show, it's the station's flagship program.  When KXSP-590 AM added Michael Gray's afternoon show, 590's ratings jumped from almost non-existant in the Summer 2011 to a respectable 1.6 in the fall 2011 book.  And since KOZN's ratings went from 3.0 in the winter 2010 book to 2.8 in the summer 2011 and fall 2011 books, competition doesn't explain 1620's plummeting ratings this fall.

Those numbers also show that the network affiliation switch from ESPN to Fox didn't have a direct impact either on the station's ratings.  What did change this summer?  The departure of Kevin Kugler, Matt Schick, and Nick Bahe.  I'm very skeptical that it's the end of the Schick & Nick show; from my perspective, Gary Sharp and Damon Benning are a great addition to the station. Schick & Nick got stale over the years as they seemed to go for stupid gags than sports talk.

My take is that it's the loss of Kevin Kugler. The show seemed to jump the shark last winter, and I stopped listening for a while last winter.  And I've only sporadically listened since.  Kugler was good, but the insufferable Mike'l Severe has actually begun to make former low-rated 590 host Matt Perrault look like a voice of reason in comparison.

It'll be interesting to see what changes ensue at 1620 if the ratings slide continues.  I really hope they focus on the afternoon show; Sharp and Benning have a good thing going in the morning.

Kugler's End of Overtime Call in Denver Gets the Deadspin Treatment

Former Omaha sports talk host Kevin Kugler was in Denver to call last Saturday's Denver/Baltimore game on the Dial Global national broadcast.  At the end of overtime, Kugler and partner Mark Malone expressed surprise that Baltimore would let the clock run out on the first overtime and switch sides of the field.

It came off, though, like Kugler didn't realize that the game was going to a second overtime and the Baltimore drive would continue onward at the 32 yard line. And that earned him a mention and criticism from Deadspin.  As well as on Twitter:

The national radio broadcast didn't know the game continued. Awful job by some guy & Mark Malone
— Scott McCauley (@ScottDMcCauley) January 13, 2013

Kevin #Kugler of Dial Global radio did NOT know the playoff overtime rules.Freaking out at the end of first OT period.Embarrassing man.
— Mike Frankel (@MikeFrankel5) January 13, 2013

Safe to say that this one probably wasn't one of Kugler's better calls  But everybody has a slip-up once in a while, and Kugler's a great announcer.  It happens.

(Side note: Be sure to listen to Kugler's call of Nebrasketball tonight from the Devaney Center on BTN. Maybe Tim Miles gets his first B1G victory against Purdue..)

That being said, I do hate when teams let up and play for a field goal in a game deciding situation.  I understand the risk of turning the ball over, but there's also the risk of the kicker not making the kick  I always believe in taking advantage of every opportunity to win the game, and that not only means trying to score the touchdown, but also trying to get closer.

Speaking of which, I still don't agree with why Denver took a knee at the end of the fourth quarter.  The Broncos have a hall-of-fame quarterback in Peyton Manning, and two timeouts.  Take a shot, with the understanding that you cannot risk a turnover.  You just might win the game in regulation and not even give Baltimore another shot.  I see the counterpoint; cold day, Manning hasn't thrown much.  But you have an opportunity to win the game outright.  If it goes to overtime and Baltimore gets the opening possession, Denver might not get another chance.  Try a couple of pass plays.  Baltimore has no timeouts, so if it gets to third down, take a knee and head to overtime rather than risk a punt and another miracle throw.

Mavs Head into Bye Week Tied Atop WCHA

UNO managed to snag one point this weekend at #7 Denver.  On Friday night, UNO got off to a rough start by giving up a power play goal in the first two minutes of the game, followed by an awful short-handed goal.  UNO managed to cut the Denver lead to one only to quickly give up another one in the second period.  The third period looked promising after goals by Brent Gwidt and Ryan Walters tied the game with just over seven minutes to go.

But then disaster struck; Michael Young let Zac Larazza skate uncontested all the way down the ice just a minute later to put Denver back in front for good.  Larazza drilled another shot a couple of minutes later to restore the Denver two-goal lead, and that was all she wrote for UNO.  UNO did bounce back on Saturday night to force a tie with Denver.  Walters game-tying goal in the second period was his 15th of the season, which leads the nation. 

CBS last week tabbed Walters' as the current leader in the Hobey Baker Award.  For those unfamiliar, the Hobey Baker Award is comparable to the Heisman Trophy, awarded to the best college hockey player.  Fans can cast their vote daily in the fan vote, which counts for 1% of the overall voting.  Walters' currently trails Boston College's Johnny Gaudreau and North Dakota's Corban Knight in the fan voting.

Next up for UNO is one final series with Bemidji State.  Considering the Mavericks lack of success over the years with the Beavers, it'll probably be the last regular season series between the two schools for the forseeable future.  Not sure how to explain the Beavers success against UNO except to shrug it off as the perfect opposite of a Dean Blais team.  Blais prefers a fast-paced offensive style, while Bemidji plays a smothering, trapping slow-down game.  And typically, it only serves to frustrate UNO as the Beavers end up gumming up UNO.  Hence, I don't anticipate UNO willingly scheduling games against Bemidji in the future after UNO departs the WCHA for the NCHC. Next weekend would be a perfect time to finally jettison that Bemidji albatross once and for all.

2012 BlogPoll Final Ballot

After last night's game, there shouldn't be any doubt as to who the #1 team in the country is.  It's after that where the argument lies.  I'll take "Orey-Gone", as Doctor Lou would mumble.  Notre Dame confirmed my long held suspicion they are overrated.

Husker Mike's Blasphemy Ballot - Week 15

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
2	Oregon Ducks	--
3	Stanford Cardinal	2
4	Texas A&M Aggies	5
5	Georgia Bulldogs	1
6	South Carolina Gamecocks	4
7	Florida St. Seminoles	5
8	Clemson Tigers	5
9	LSU Tigers	-1
10	Kansas St. Wildcats	-6
11	Vanderbilt Commodores	5
12	Florida Gators	-5
13	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	-10
14	Oklahoma Sooners	-3
15	Baylor Bears	10
16	Louisville Cardinals	--
17	Northwestern Wildcats	-2
18	Utah State Aggies	--
19	Oregon St. Beavers	-5
20	Arizona St. Sun Devils	3
21	Nebraska Cornhuskers	-1
22	Michigan Wolverines	-1
23	San Jose St. Spartans	1
24	Wisconsin Badgers	-5
25	Texas Longhorns	--
Dropouts: UCLA Bruins, Northern Illinois Huskies

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

Yep.That's them at #13.  Right behind Florida, who laid a more surprising egg against Louisville. Stanford goes to #3, with A&M 4th.  I could easily go with A&M third though. 

Baylor skyrockets in this poll; does anybody want to play the Bears now?  Louisville enters at #16; beat an SEC team in a bowl game soundly, you get the credit.  Nebraska stays ranked; if I think Georgia is a top 5 team, then being tied in the fourth quarter should count for something.  Especially with this motley crue at the bottom.  The only other team I considered for a spot was Oklahoma State, frankly. 

Alabama's Good, Real Good, But Not 60-3 Good

Alabama's domination of a vastly-overrated Notre Dame is going to raise a lot of calls that Alabama's program is the best ever.  Certainly three national championships in four years is a major accomplishment.  But let's pause and look at Alabama's four year run:

2009: 14-0

2010: 10-3

2011: 12-1

2012: 13-1

Three national championships, two conference championships.  49-5

Now let's look at the program that Alabama will be compared to in these "all-time greatest" comparisons:

1993:  11-1

1994:  13-0

1995:  12-0

1996:  11-2

1997:  13-0

Three national championships, four conference championships.  60-3.

Drop 1993 if you wish:  It's still 3 national titles, 3 conference titles, and 49-2.

Bottom line:  Great four year run...but Nebraska's 60-3 run is still the standard for now.  It gets a lot more interesting if Alabama runs the table next year, mind you.  But for now, Nebraska is still the standard.

UNO's Ryan Walters In Running for Hobey Baker Award

#wally4hobey

UNO junior forward Ryan Walters leads the nation in scoring with 33 points on the season, and his 13 goals also lead the nation. So it's no surprise that he's on the list of candidates for the Hobey Baker Award, awarded to the nation's best collegiate hockey player both on and off the ice. UNO's last Hobey Baker candidate was Scott Parse, who was a finalist in both 2006 and 2007.

Award criteria include candidates emulating the exceptional character traits exhibited by the award's namesake, Hobey Baker. An American super-hero, Baker was a World War I fighter pilot and was known as America's greatest amateur athlete in his day, excelling at hockey and football at Princeton. Award candidates must demonstrate strength of character both on and off the ice, contribute to the integrity of his team and display outstanding skills in all phases of the game. Consideration also is given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.  

The fan vote for the Hobey Baker award began today, which continues through March 10th, counts for 1% of the determination of the top ten finalists for the award.

In November, Walters was named the national player of the month for his 15 point performance in leading the Mavs to a perfect 7-0 record.

UNO fans have already started a Facebook page and declared the #wally4hobey hashtag on Twitter.  Not sure if anybody's started anything on Pinterest, but give them time.

Sustr Powers UNO Hockey Into First Place

About midway through the third period of a tied hockey game, Colorado College's Mike Boivin crashed into UNO goalie John Faulkner.  When the ref raised his hand to indicate a penalty, I expected UNO's Andrej Sustr to get a tripping call for sending Boivin crashing into the goal.  So did everybody around me in the upper deck.

Fortunately for UNO, the refs saw the play differently.  Boivin went off with a minor roughing call and it was UNO on the power play.  And instead of Sustr being the goat for drawing a critical penalty, Sustr became the hero, scoring six seconds later with a laser beam slapshot to give the Mavs a 2-1 lead.  A half-minute later, Josh Archibald fired another slapshot into the goal for a 3-1 lead that UNO was able to hold onto.

The game started pretty sloppy.  Not sure if the ice wasn't in the best of shape, if UNO came out extremely sluggish, or if Colorado College was fired up after being embarassed on Friday. Or maybe "all of the above".  UNO didn't get their first shot on goal until nearly midway through the first period, and that actually was merely clearing the zone while shorthanded.  That same power play gave the Tigers their first goal of the game a minute later.  UNO's offense continued to be nonexistent for rest of the first period and most of the second period.  I'm sure the celebration fish that gets thrown onto the ice after the first UNO goal of the game was getting well thawed and fragrant.

@husker_mike I can confirm that...am sitting 20 feet in front of Fishman
— AJ (@AJtheHater) January 6, 2013

But Bryce Aneloski sent the fish onto the ice with a short-handed goal off a turnover generated by Brent Gwidt just before the second intermission to set up UNO's dominant third period.  As the third period unfolded, UNO seemed to wake up and take control of the game.

The win moves UNO into sole possession of first place in the WCHA at the halfway point of the season; that's the latest the Mavs have been in first place in the program's history.  That's not an accomplishment by itself, but rather cements home that this is UNO's best start to a hockey season ever.  And considering that Dean Blais teams traditionally have been stronger down the stretch, that's a really positive sign.

Next week, UNO heads to #11 Denver for a two game series.  The Friday night game will be televised by NBC at 9 pm central time.

Mavs Move Into 2nd Place Tie with 8-4 Victory over Colorado College

Yeah, that's plural men in the crease.

It didn't take UNO long to wipe the bad taste of last weekend out of their mouth; 1:13 to be precise when freshman Tanner Lane scored his first career goal of the game.  UNO had a second goal waived off shortly thereafter for men in the crease; an easy call as you can see.  Sophomore Josh Archibald got it back with a nice power play goal that gave UNO a lead they would never relinquish the rest of the night.

UNO exploded again at the start of the second period with junior Zahn Raubenheimer's diving goal as he was being hooked by Colorado College's Peter Stoykewch just 25 seconds after the intermission.  Archibald added his second goal of the night on the resulting power play to put UNO up 4-1. CC's Mike Boyvin scored the first of his three goals on the night to cut the UNO lead to 4-2 when UNO quickly added goals by Lane and Ryan Walters to put UNO in command 6-2.

From that point on, UNO seemed to play it safe until the Tigers cut the lead to 6-4 after the Boyvin's third goal with five minutes left in the game.  Matt White sealed the victory though with an unassisted goal 17 seconds later, and then Archibald claimed the hat trick in the final minute of the game.  It's the first hat trick for a UNO player since Bill Thomas (now playing for the AHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche) against Alabama-Huntsville in December 2005.

The victory moved UNO into a tie for second place with North Dakota and Denver with 17 points.  Since North Dakota and first place St. Cloud State are playing non-conference games, a UNO win on Saturday night moves the Mavs into sole possession of first place in the WCHA.

I'm trying to remember if UNO has ever been in first place in the conference before, except possibly in the first or second week of the season.  Certainly not after Christmas.  And with one goal and three assists tonight, junior Ryan Walters is the leading scorer in the nation with 32 points.  He leads the nation in goals with 13, and is second in the nation in assists with 19.

That's a big win for UNO tonight, but it'll be pretty hollow if UNO doesn't claim some points on Saturday night.  Especially with a road trip to #11 Denver next weekend...

Doc Emrick Calling UNO Hockey On Friday

With the NHL holding professional hockey fans hostage this season, it's freed up NBC's hockey announcers to call college games.  And this weekend, it's UNO in the spotlight.  The Mavs game against Colorado College on Friday will be televised by the NBC Sports Network at 6:30 pm.  Emmy award winner Doc Emrick will be in the broadcast booth, with Pierre McGuire providing color commentary from his traditional "Between the Glass" position between the benches.

The Mavs were swept last weekend on the road at #5 Quinnipiac, which was a disappointment. Didn't get to see the games as I didn't have reliable internet access, but it sounds like UNO was close on Friday night in a 5-4 loss.  UNO did generate some pretty good offense that night, peppering Quinnipiac goalie Eric Hartzell with 37 shots.  Hartzell is only allowing 1.4277 goals a game (third in the nation), but only faces 20 shots a game on average.  If he had sat out last weekend's games, he'd be the leading goalie in the nation.

Colorado College is currently eighth in the WCHA with a 5-6-1 record.  UNO is tied with Minnesota for fifth with a 7-4-1.  The Mavs are 3 points behind first-place St. Cloud State, who is playing out of conference this weekend against Northern Michigan.  A win and a tie gives the Mavs a tie for first place; a sweep puts UNO in sole possession of first place to start the second half of the season.

Does Anybody Care About the US Figure Skating Championships

Later this month, UNO hockey gets the boot from the CenturyLink Center so that Omaha can host the US Figure Skating Championships.  Sounded like another big time event for Omaha that'll draw huge crowds, right?

You couldn't be more wrong.  Checking the Ticketmaster site, it looks like tickets are plentiful.  How plentiful?  For Friday night, the lower bowl of the arena looks about half full.  I'd guestimate that only about 5,000 tickets have been marked as unavailable on the Ticketmaster site. 

Granted, figure skating is not something that interests me, but I'm surprised at the lack of sales.  I assumed that Omaha would turn out like they do for every other big-time event, whether it's the College World Series, the Cox Classic, or what.  Maybe Omaha has overstretched themselves with this event, or maybe the promoters assumed that tickets would sell themselves.

If they did, they appear to be wrong at this point.

Huskers Valiant For Three Quarters, But Bulldogs Deliver Knockout Blows

After Nebraska got demolished by Wisconsin, some Husker fans dreaded what an SEC school would do to Nebraska. It all comes down to whether you view the Nebraska that got their rear-end kicked from Indianapolis back to Lincoln as the "real" Nebraska, or whether the ten-win Nebraska was the real one.

Well, my take is the "ten win" Nebraska was the real Nebraska.  Nebraska gave Georgia everything they had for the first three quarters, but simply ran out of gas late.  The two differences in this game:

Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray was Peyton Manning/Tom Brady-like on third down.  The final damage was 11 completions out of 14 attempts when Georgia was under the gun.  The killer was that third and twelve, Murry hits Chris Conley on a short crossing route...only to race 87 yards for the clinching touchdown since Pelini sent the house.  Ballgame.  Sometimes it was bad coverage, but more often than not, it was Georgia simply making the play exactly right.  What killed Nebraska today was Georgia's precision on those critical plays.

But Nebraska was in it with a gritty, gutty performance on both sides of the ball.  Nebraska pounded the ball on Georgia to open the second half, and the Bulldogs appeared to be on the ropes midway through the second half when disaster struck.  Ameer Abdullah fumbled the ball away on third and one, and that dashed Nebraska's chances to win. Or did he?

#Huskers claim Jake Cotton recovered the ball, then the whistle blew, so he let go, and Georgia jumped on top of it. There was no review.
— Samuel McKewon (@swmckewonOWH) January 1, 2013

The officials said Georgia recovered, and that's the way it goes. But at that point, the Georgia defense was seeming to be running on vapors, and were completely discombobulated.  Nebraska keeps that drive going, punches it in to take the lead, and it's a whole different ballgame.

Moral victory? Yeah, it's a loser proposition, but after the Wisconsin debacle, it's what it is.  Nebraska held it's own against an SEC squad that came within a few seconds and five yards of the national championship game.  Couldn't handle the Georgia receivers on third down, but Georgia couldn't stop the Nebraska ground game.

Nebraska's defensive line was admirable against the Georgia offensive line, but linebacker play was a little spotty, save for Will Compton's momemtum shifting pick-six interception in the first half.  Secondary play was spotty at times as well; sometimes great, and sometimes awful.  Stanley Jean-Baptiste is great in coverage, but missed twice on corner blitzes to have an opportunity to make a play.  Ciante Evans got burned multiple times today.

So once again in the Bo Pelini era, Nebraska loses four games.  Two 9-4 seasons; three 10-4 seasons.  Not great, not awful.  Some of the games were awful, and that's going to lead to a lot of kvetching in the new year.  So what do we have to look forward to in the new year?

Nebraska's offense proved itself against an SEC defense today filled with guys who'll play on Sunday next season. Does Taylor Martinez make some bad decisions passing the ball?  Yes.  Does  he make good plays happen more often?  Yes.  And the supporting cast on offense might be the best Nebraska has had since the middle 90's.  Seriously.  Name another Nebraska receiver better than Kenny Bell.  Irving Fryar?  Jamal Turner isn't far behind.

It's the defense where Nebraska has issues.  Some will run with the "Bo Pelini can't coach/recruit defense" card after today's game.  It's true that Nebraska's defense was awful this season, but saying one bad season overrides Pelini's track record throughout his career is inane.  Just because Monte Kiffin hasn't worked out at Southern Cal doesn't damage his resume.

Nebraska's defense will look completely different next season; it has to with the number of seniors that played this season.  Daimion Stafford, P.J. Smith, and Courtney Osborne depart at safety.  Will Compton, Alonzo Whaley, and Sean Fisher depart at linebacker.  Eric Martin, Cameron Meredith, and Baker Steinkuhler depart on the line.  An awful lot of holes to fill on a bad defense.

But there are a lot of players who redshirted this season who might be in a position to help next season.  Vincent Valentine, Greg McMullen, Aaron Curry, and Avery Moss on the defensive line. Linebackers Thomas Brown, Michael Rose, and Zaire Andreson.  Jonathan Rose in the secondary.  Are these guys an upgrade over who took the field for the Huskers this season?  Nobody outside of North Stadium really knows for sure.  Bo Pelini said he was excited about who was coming back next season, but what else could he say?

"I'm excited about the football team we have coming back and I think we're going to be a force to be reckon with," Pelini said. #Huskers
— Brian Christopherson (@HuskerExtraBC) January 1, 2013

The bottom line is that some of these names will need to produce next season if the Huskers are going to break out of this four-loss pattern in the right direction.

There are far worse things than losing four games each season.  Bill Callahan proved that.  And hitting the panic button after "only" winning 10 games (and losing badly when you don't) is definitely the wrong thing to do.

That doesn't mean that Husker fans should be happy with the losses this season, or happy about a moral victory against Georgia either. Nebraska has to get better.  Period.