Former Omaha Royals Up For Sale?

One year after leaving Omaha for Sarpy County, the former Omaha Royals are apparently up for sale with a potential buyer in negotiations. The World-Herald report says that it's unclear whether the buyer would partially buy out one of the three owners or the entire franchise.  Ivy Walls, led by Philadelphia businessman Bill Shea, has a managing 50% interest in the team.  The other half is split by Omaha businessmen Warren Buffett and Walter Scott.  The negotiations have gotten serious enough that the potential buyers have met with Sarpy County officials, who are on the hook for paying for the new stadium out in BFE southwest of Papillion.

What does this mean?  Well, even Martie Cordaro isn't talking about it.  But let's make a few observations about the franchise:

• Attendance went up 1% last season.  That's the smallest annual increase since Ivy Walls took over control of the team...and no where near the average 20% increase that new ball parks typically generate.
• Alan Stein, who led the Royals and pushed to build the new stadium, retired last fall.  Martie Cordaro, who's been in charge in Omaha and has built a promotion machine was named to replace him.  Would Cordaro remain with the new ownership, or would he stay with the parent organization if they sell?  Key question to think about.

What direction would the new owners take the franchise?  Same effort to promote the team?  Would they be looking to change the agreement with Sarpy County?  It doesn't sound like the new owners are thinking about moving the team, according to Sarpy County's Mark Wayne.

Is this sale because of the new ballpark?  That could be read two ways:  one, is that now that the heavy lifting of the stadium is done, the franchise is more valuable and the ownership is looking to cash in.  The other is that the meager attendance bump and lack of development around the ballpark is making the investment less valuable to the current owners.  Or is this just the natural state of affairs as business conditions evolve?

I haven't changed my opinion that the new stadium was a mistake for Sarpy County...but there's no denying that the leadership of Stein and Cordaro has revitalized the franchise.  Stein's now retired, and with new ownership a real possibility, what does that mean for Cordaro?  It's something to keep an eye on.

I'll Wait and See about New Husker Basketball Coach Tim Miles

I admit that I had Tim Miles on my second tier of candidates to replace Doc Sadler at Nebraska.  UCLA's Ben Howland was that grand-slam, how the hell did you pull THAT off candidate. It was a crazy idea, but I'll credit Tom Osborne and Marc Boehm for at least opening the conversation.  Likewise with Virginia Commonwealth's Shaka Smart, though we really don't know if Nebraska even made that call.  The other two candidates I had on my top tier were Wichita State's Gregg Marshall and Ohio's John Groce. Osborne made it clear today that no matter what kind of definition of "job offer" you use, Marshall did not receive any sort of offer. Did Lee Barfknecht get his story wrong?  I'm guessing not really.  Marshall agreed to a new contract with the Shockers today, even though Nebraska appeared to be the only other school that was talking to Marshall.  OK, so maybe Osborne (or his representatives) didn't make anything all that close to a job offer.  But I suspect that at some point in their phone conversation, a $2 million salary was brought up...and Marshall declined to pursue the job

John Groce led my "most likely" list when the search began, but Ohio's run to the Sweet 16 may have scuttled that.  I had heard that Groce was not interested in the Nebraska job, but I thought he might be someone who could be "money-whipped" into taking it.  But when Ohio took North Carolina to overtime, I finally accepted that Groce would never have accepted the Nebraska job.  With the core of this season's team returning next season, Groce will be in high demand after next season.

Should Nebraska have hired an up-and-coming assistant coach? Interesting idea, but other than Scott Spinelli, how many of those would have considered Nebraska?  Typically assistant coaches cut their teeth at a smaller school before taking on a power conference job.  (See John Groce, who left Ohio State to be in charge of Ohio.)

So Miles is the guy. I'm starting to warm up to the guy, but I can't say I wasn't disappointed.  I admit I was unrealistic in hoping for Groce to become a Husker.  So it does seem that Nebraska "settled" for Miles.  I get all of the glowing reports from Colorado and Mountain West reporters. But, to paraphrase Dan Hawkins.... "This is the Big Ten!"  Miles worked his way up from NAIA to division II to the Mountain West, but he's never worked at a major college program as an assistant.  How does he know what kind of players Nebraska needs?  How does he convince these types of players to sign with Nebraska.

I've long felt that Doc Sadler's biggest problem was in getting players who could play at the Big XII or Big Ten level. Barry Collier had a similar problem.  So going to yet-another mid-major coach would seem to be repeating the same insanity and hoping for a different result.  Miles addressed that today by suggesting that he needs assistants that are familiar with the Big Ten.  That's a positive sign.

Colorado State assistant coach Ronald "Chin" Coleman would look to be a good candidate to follow Miles to Lincoln.  Prior to joining the Rams, he was an AAU coach in Chicago for 6 years and coached four McDonalds all-Americans.  Those are connections that Nebraska hasn't had before.  Add in another assistant coach with a solid background recruiting at a power conference school, and this would alleviate my concerns. If Miles merely ends up bringing his entire CSU staff to Lincoln, I'll be sounding the alarm.

A lot of people point out that Miles has a losing record in his five years with Colorado State. Bill Doleman of the Mtn was interviewed today on KOZN-1620 AM, and put that into perspective.  The Rams lost twenty games each of the first two seasons.  Was that Miles' fault?  Take this nugget:

Really hasn't had much chance. First CSU team only had 3 schol players when camp started, Had to get APR out of 700s.

Miles had to hold open tryouts to fill out the roster, and were also hit with scholarship reductions due to the academic problems of the team.  Even so, he's gradually pulled the Rams out of the ditch and got them into the NCAA tournament with an RPI around 29 this past season.  I can't hold Miles responsible for the mess he inherited, but I can give the guy credit for rebuilding the team.

Is Tim Miles the right guy for the Nebraska job?  We won't know for a few years.  I do know he wanted the job, and he probably was the best candidate of the guys who were interested.  Should Nebraska have tried harder to convince one of those other guys to consider the job?  Sounds nice in theory, but you can't make people take a job they don't want.  The best you can hope for is that they'll reconsider.  And in this case, none of the "top tier" candidates seemed to be ready to do that.

So the job goes to Tim Miles.  We'll see where it goes from here.  The good thing about making the hire today is that Miles can go to the Final Four to fill out his staff.  When we have that, I'll have a better opinion of Miles and his potential at Nebraska.

Did Creighton Become the "Dirty Birds"? For One Game, Yes

Not sure which was worse in the aftermath of the third round NCAA tournament game between Creighton and North Carolina:  the volume and language of some Tar Heel fans, or the sanctimoniousness of the BratJay fans. Were some North Carolina fans out of line, especially on Twitter to Ethan Wragge?  Absolutely.  But Creighton fans need to own up to the fact that their Jays were thuggish at times against North Carolina.  It's really not even up for discussion; even Greg McDermott had to call Roy Williams to explain that's not the way Creighton normally plays.  And Williams later said that if McDermott hadn't called, Williams would have called anyway.


The clear evidence is on Gregory Echenique's hard shove of Tyler Zeller.  Nearly everybody who watched the replay of it agrees that Echenique should have been called for a flagrant foul.  Oh sure, Tom Shatel wrote that Zeller "took a dive to draw a charge on Echenique" in his post-game comment.  Obviously Shatel never really watched a replay of the incident before submitting his column, a fact he admitted on Monday.  (How in the heck could Zeller have drawn a charge on the play?  North Carolina had the ball and Zeller was heading towards the basket on offense.)  Let's just say this was Shatel's biggest flip-flop since the Solich-should-stay/Solich-should-go columns in 2003.

What about the other two plays?  The Grant Gibbs play on John Henson may not have been illegal, but it wasn't exactly sportsmanlike.  The wink that CBS caught was proof of the intent.  The Wragge foul on Kendall Marshall wasn't dirty in and of itself...but the other two plays set the precedent for the style of play that Creighton was exhibiting.  It clouds everybody's opinions, and when the effect was to send Marshall to the hospital, Wragge pays the price for the sins of Grant and Echenique.

Is Creighton a dirty team?  I can't answer that; other than Sunday's game against North Carolina, I haven't watched more than a few minutes of Creighton basketball since needing a technical foul to defeat the Huskers at home.  They didn't appear dirty that day, and so I have to take McDermott at his word that Creighton doesn't typically play that way.

But on Sunday, there can be no doubt:  Creighton played dirty at times against North Carolina. And just like Nebraska fans with Ndamukong Suh, Bluejay fans need to admit that their team was in the wrong on this one.

Was Hacking John Henson The Plan for Creighton?

Courtesy SBNation

While Creighton fans might not want to admit it, the game turned when Grant Gibbs hacked John Henson on his sore wrist.  After Henson was called for the technical, Gibbs winked towards the Creighton bench, which was a clear admission that Gibbs had succeeded with a deliberate strategy... and if that was the case, North Carolina's response proved that to be a dismal failure.  Before Creighton even knew what hit them, the Heels were up by double digits...and it was game over.

Frankly, I was impressed by how close Creighton kept it the rest of the way.  I expected North Carolina to name their score, and win by 30.  Which raises the question, could Creighton have pulled off the upset if they hadn't tried to take Henson out of the game?

(Footnote from the comments:  as the Tar Heels began their run, Gregory Echenique took out his frustration on North Carolina's Tyler Zeller. Wow.  CBS' Seth Davis wonders how the refs missed this one; ESPN's Doug Gottlieb and Jay Bilas concur.)

Busted Brackets & UNO Hockey Price Hike

I'll admit it... I should have known better, but I figured that this Missouri team would be different.  All the "experts" thought they could go far in the tournament. And heck, if Missouri football could ever shake off the Pinkel Factor to be rated #1 in December, Missouri basketball could make a run.  So I went ahead and ran Missouri all the way to New Orleans.  Not winning there, of course... 

So while Missouri didn't play badly Friday, it seems...they just got outplayed by Norfolk State.  So boom goes my bracket.  So did a bunch of other people that had Missouri winning the whole thing.  So I won't throw my bracket in the trash just yet...who knows what is yet to come.

I'm always amused when I hear people talk about parking around Omaha's CenturyLink Center and TD Ameritrade Park.  "There's no parking down there!"  And once again, Omaha hosts a big event downtown with a sellout crowd ... and guess what.  The parking lots around the arena never filled up completely.  It was the same situation last year during the College World Series.  Lots never filled up, much to the chagrin of lot and garage owners that wanted to charge Rosenblatt prices when the supply of parking spaces was so much higher.

Now, will parking be an issue during the last week of June when the College World Series and Olympic Swim Trials are going on simultaneously?  Yeah...but when you've got upwards of 40,000 people attending events across the street from each other, that's to be expected.  That's the perfect once-in-a-lifetime coincedence.

Josh Jones got all ball?  Yeah right.
Photo courtesy RollBamaRoll.com

Well, I was wrong about Creighton... I thought they would get spanked by Alabama, but the Tide blew an 11 point lead as well as completely botched final few seconds.  I've watched replay after replay, and I have no idea how the refs didn't call a foul on that final shot.  But Creighton found a way to win once again...and you have to give the Jays credit for that.

When I got home last night, I found a renewal packet for UNO hockey tickets for next season.  The letter starts by expressing "appreciation" for my support by offering me the opportunity to renew my tickets at "last year's prices".

Except UNO won't renew my tickets.  They've decided to discontinue the "Red Army" ticket package...and so now not only do I need to find new seats, I'll have to pay an extra $26 per seat this season.

I'm not sure why UNO chose to discontinue the Red Army package.  They claim it's to "enhance the environment"...but UNO can't really drop the Hefty bag and cover the seats in the south end of the arena.  Blue Cross/Blue Shield probably won't appreciate their scoreboard ad being hidden.  So really, it comes down to a price increase for fans on the low end.  I guess their greasing the skids for the big price hike if UNO manages to build an undersized campus facility.

That's the part of this that really disappoints me.  I've long felt that UNO could market hockey and make it a big-time event in Omaha.  I get the feeling that UNO is giving up on that plan, and rather than trying to draw more people to UNO hockey, they just want to draw more money out of UNO's existing fans.

I'm not going to make a rash decision on this, but UNO is sure making it tough to be a season ticketholder.

Creighton Fan Distracted By Tar Heels

Everywhere I turn, somebody is asking how "Creighton got screwed/hozed/wronged/etc. by the NCAA tournament committee" about the Jays #8 seed in the NCAA tournament.  "How are they supposed to get to the Sweet 16 if they have to play North Carolina in North Carolina?"

Time for a reality check:  The Jays weren't likely candidates to advance to the Sweet 16.  Not this team.  Not the one that had to keep pulling rabbits out of their hat to escape losses for most of the last month.  They've had "one-and-done" written on them most of the season.

And that's the thing: if the team is thinking about "woe us" and "North Carolina" like the fans are...well, North Carolina is the least of their worries.  They'll be home on Sunday.  Alabama might be the polar opposite of Creighton.  The Tide' best scorer is suspended, while Creighton likes to spin the scoreboard.  But there's the other side of the equation:  Alabama plays defense, while Creighton is the basketball equivalent of Kevin Cosgrove.  Well, maybe not THAT bad... but playing Creighton is a great remedy for whatever offensive woes you might have.

So what happens when a bad offense meets a bad defense?  History suggests the bad offense suddenly regains it's mojo.  (Witness Nebraska's blowout of Illinois three weeks ago...)  So Creighton had better have amnesia of what they said on Sunday night...and not even think about what could theoretically could await them this Sunday.

Let's talk for a second about the NCAA messing up the seeds.  I understand Creighton fan hoped to be seeded higher.  But the reality is that Creighton's play down the stretch earned them an eight seed. They point out Wichita State got a five, and they beat the Shockers by 7 in Wichita.  Then conveniently forget that in February, the Shockers pounded Creighton by 20 in Omaha.  Who deserves the better seed?  Wichita.  Period.  San Diego State?  Yeah, the Jays won that game... in November.  You can talk RPI and AP polls all you want, but whenever you hear the committee talk about criteria they use, those things are guidelines and they also emphasize how the team is playing at the end of the season.  And Creighton - aside from the blowout of Evansville - hasn't played well since January.

If Creighton hasn't figured out a way out of their funk in their two weeks off, and if they are still thinking about North Carolina, the Tide is going to Sabanize the Jays.  My bracket has Alabama winning this one.  If the Jays pull off the victory, I'll eat my words of course.  But for some reason, I don't think I'll be needing any ketchup Friday night.

UNO Hockey Season Ends With Six Game Losing Streak

Deep down, I wasn't surprised that UNO was swept by St. Cloud State in the first round of the playoffs. That being said, I also wouldn't have been surprised if the Mavs had swept the Huskies either. Lack of surprise shouldn't equate to lack of disappointment. It's extremely disappointing to see the Mavs finish the season on such a low note:  long losing streak, sub-.500 record, and with a whimper.

It's too easy to get dismayed to how the season ended, but there is a reason to be optimistic about the future. Let's start with the roster, which only has two seniors that, frankly, didn't play much.  Another senior, goalie John Faulkner, is actually a junior in eligibility after redshirting as a freshman.  He could be back next season, though that raises questions about the roster.  The Mavs have four goalies on this year's roster, with Mike Taffe taking a year off to play in juniors for the Lincoln Stars.  That's five.  Then Anthony Stolarz committed to play for the Mavs next season.

(Correction:  Yeti from the Lincoln Stars Blog updated me that Taffe did not make the Stars roster, and is now playing in Amarillo of the NAHL  So I'm even more skeptical that Taffe will be back in Omaha in the fall.)

Does UNO need SIX goalies next season?  Hardly.  There will be roster attrition over the summer, as there also needs to be room for incoming freshmen as well.  That's the downside of the UNO situation.  The upside is that UNO will have a wealth of experience returning next season.  This season, they just plain ran out of gas.

The final turning point in my mind was the dismissal of Alex Hudson in December.  At the time, Blais talked about shortening his bench because he didn't have depth at center.  Well, this squad ran out of gas.  Call it a character building experiment, call it whatever you want.  We didn't see as much of the racehorse style of hockey after New Years that have been the trademark of a Dean Blais squad.  And the loss of a talented player like Hudson in and of itself is a huge problem; Hudson's currently playing for Manchester in the AHL...one step short of the NHL.  Not seeing a lot of ice time, mind you...but that's where he is.

So a long offseason begins.  There's a lot of unfulfilled promise on the Mavs roster, and it's not a stretch to think that the Mavs will be a contender next season.  It just wasn't in the cards for UNO this year.

How Does the B1G Think About Tournaments?

The Big Ten Baseball Tournament is looking for a new home, and two candidates are in the Omaha area.  Each has it's own attributes that stand in stark contrast to each other, and many people look at various attributes to point out why the Big Ten would prefer one over the other.

The Omaha World-Herald's Lee Barfknecht provided a little insight on Wednesday on what the Big Ten might consider important.  Sayeth Lee:

The downtown Indianapolis area is the best ever for access for everyone to hotels, arenas, restaurants and watering holes. This town gets it.

Note the two sentences and take each individually.  Best access to hotels, arenas, restaurants, and watering holes.  Omaha has two candidates:  the Trailer Park out in BFE, which features an Embassy Suites a couple of miles away, as well as an Arbys a couple of miles to the west.  Oh, and Shadow Lake Town Center about a five minute drive east.

Or TD Ameritrade Park, which has over 1,000 hotel rooms within a five minute walk of the ballpark. Oh, and restaurants, watering holes, and the like.

Now take the second sentence.  Which ballpark "gets it"?

Hint... definitely not thinking Arby's...

Huskers and Jays Headed for One-n-Dones.

Tonight in all likelihood will be the final game in the Doc Sadler era at Nebraska.  Tom Shatel pretty much summed it up in today's Omaha World-Herald:

If Doc could ever get the players, Nebraska might have something here. Good coach, good guy, winner.

The thing is, I wasn't alone. It's not going to work out for Doc. And there are Husker fans who are sad about it. Mostly because they like Doc. When Tom Osborne speaks of Doc, the first thing he says is, "Doc is a really good guy."

But the other thing is, good guys don't last long in major college hoops. Not unless they can recruit good players.

And that's what will get Doc in the end. He never had a plan to get players. If he did, it was flawed. 

Aleks Maric was a nice player for Doc...but he was a Barry Collier (or more accurately, Scott Spinelli) guy. And really, guys like Maric as well as assistants like Spinelli were what Doc needed to have in Lincoln. You can forgive a few bumps early on due to the timing of his arrival.  But we're past that point now.  Doc owns the problem now. I've had the argument with others as to whether the players have given up on Doc. I don't think so...but he doesn't have the players to compete at this level.  Three years ago, you could blame others.  Not anymore.

So in all likelihood, tonight is Doc's last game at Nebraska barring another "what the hell was that" Illinois type of game.  They just don't have the players and play too inconsistently to expect a victory tonight in Indianapolis.  One and done.

That'll draw a guffaw from the folks on the Hilltop, but the ugly truth is staring them in the face:  Creighton is also looking at a one-and-done as well.  Oh, sure, some people (Dirk Chatelain, bwahahahaha) talk Sweet 16.  It's possible.  After all, we don't have any idea how the brackets will set up at this point.

But let's recognize that Creighton hasn't exactly been playing their best basketball the last month of the season.  They followed a three game losing streak with victories against a woeful Southern Illinois team then three nailbiters that went to the final seconds of the game.  Could have easily been losses; some might argue, should have been losses. And only one of those games was against a tournament caliber team. Oh, they got their mojo back against Evansville in St. Louis with a blowout...but that's a team they needed overtime to beat at home by a point one week earlier.  Then had to pull one out in overtime against Illinois State.

The Jays RPI and Sagarin ratings don't match their performance as of late.  Teams that do well in the tournament usually are playing well down the stretch, and the Jays aren't doing that.  A two week break might do them a world of good...but Creighton is staring a "one and done" in the face.  Again, that's a statement made in the absence of seedings and an opponent.  They could be a 7 seed and have to play a motivated #10 seed who will have seen the tape and know that the Jays can be beaten. Or the committee could pull a 4 seed out and set up a mismatch with a #13 seed.  You never know what they'll be matched up against.  It just smells like a one-and-done as well.

But right now, Creighton fans probably will be back in town in plenty of time to watch Kansas and Missouri in the third round of the NCAA tournament in Omaha.  That is, if they haven't already scalped their tickets.

Mavs Fail To Defend Home Ice Against Denver

After being swept by Denver this weekend, UNO has now lost five straight hockey games at home.  Two weeks ago, they looked to be ready to make a push for not only home ice, but perhaps even a top two seed if they could pull off a couple of sweeps.  Instead, it was the Mavs getting swept...and now they head on the road next weekend to St. Cloud State. Truth be told, I have to think that's almost a better option for UNO now; the Mavs have been a .500 team on the road this season.

Due to sick kids, I didn't get to attend last night's game.  But UNO seemed to be heading towards a 2-1 victory until Andrew Schmit was called for a hooking penalty that had UNO fans and coaches in an uproar.  Dean Blais censored himself in his post-game comments by saying that "you can't criticize officials in the WCHA."  That penalty led to the game-tying goal by Luke Salazar with :38 left in regulation.  The deflated Mavs still had a chance to claim home ice with a tie...but Daniel Doremus' goal 1:57 into overtime sent the Mavs heading for a bus trip next weekend.

Friday night's game might have been the worst UNO hockey game I've ever seen.  Certainly, UNO has been overmatched and outscored by more, but I don't think UNO has ever played worse.  Sloppy, lackadaisical passes, and seemingly unable to even clear the zone at times. UNO had three power plays in the second period and they barely could get the puck into the offensive zone each and every time.  Credit UNO fans for sticking around for the entire game and not booing, even though the performance was absolutely boo-worthy.

One player who didn't seem to take Friday night off was sophomore Matt White, who's emerged in recent weeks as a offensive force. But it's going to take much more than White to have UNO's season extend past next weekend. They'll have to win two out of three to make it to the Final Five in St. Paul.  And UNO's sub-.500 record means that the only way UNO makes it back to the NCAA tournament is with the auto-bid that comes with winning the Broadmoor Trophy in two weeks.

I keep tempering my disappointment in the end of this season by looking ahead to the future.  Dean Blais took over so late in the summer of 2009 that he's really only had two recruiting classes to bring in players suited to his style. There are only two true seniors on this roster, though goalie John Faulkner is graduating this spring and seems unlikely to return with four other goalies expected on the roster next season.  Those ten freshmen on this years roster should seem some benefit from a full offseason of conditioning to be ready to play the racehorse style of hockey Dean Blais prefers.  We haven't seen as much of that this season...but I get the ffeeling that's been out of necessity due to the circumstances of this year.

Which makes me ask the what-if question that's made wonder most of this season...just what would this season been like if the Alex Hudson from last season had been part of the team?

Feeling Snarky About Journalism in the Twitter Era

Earlier this afternoon, the word broke on Twitter that Nebraska was looking to hire Tennessee secondary coach Terry Joseph to replace Corey Raymond. First it was Pete Roussel of coachingsearch.com on Twitter, followed by reporters from the World-Herald and Lincoln Journal-Star, as well as the hosts on KOZN-1620 the Zone.  The story seemed to be falling into place pretty quickly.  Then just as I was leaving work, came a contrary word from Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald:

From the Nebraska end of DB coach search, I've learned there are "half a dozen" candidates, including Terry Joseph.

And here we go again.  Shades of "Joe Paterno is dead (on Saturday night)".  "Lady Gaga is performing at the Capital One Bowl."  A story goes out on Twitter where it starts repeating as outlet after outlet merely passes on the report (sometimes without attribution to the original source), and sometimes omitting key details. And then after everybody is dead convinced the original story is fact...we then find out that the report was wrong and too many media outlets are left holding the bag.  In the rush to be first, they forgot that it's more important to be right than first.

McKewon's report seemed to squash all the furor over the hiring of Joseph.  Joseph is just a candidate?  Well, once again...people jumped the gun.  Or so I thought...and tweeted at that moment:

At least someone locally still investigates MT @swmckewonOWH I've learned there are "half a dozen" candidates, including Terry Joseph.

A little snarky?  Maybe a whole lot of snarky. Well, Kevin Kugler of 1620-AM radio saw that and felt offended, responding:

@Husker_Mike We confirmed, while actually doing a show, that Terry Joseph had received an offer. Does that count?

And you know what... it looks like my snarkiness was wrongly placed. Everything still points to Joseph being offered.  He hasn't accepted yet.  I wasn't listening to 1620, so I didn't hear Kugler or co-host Mike'l Severe say they had confirmed the offer.  And that's all it is at this point.  Nobody says that he's hired...just that an offer has been made.  And nobody has rebutted that story at this point either.

My bad.  My only defense is that the quick response and nature of Twitter leads to quick exchanges.  We shouldn't expect total accuracy in coverage of breaking news.  (Anybody remember the Darren Rovell/Richard Sandomir Twitter war last month?)  That applies outside of Twitter.  (Witness storm coverage on our local television stations, for example.)

So yeah... local media guys... looks like you are handling this one right.  This time, I was the guy who ran off half-cocked and was dead wrong.  I was the guy guilty of that which I criticize others for.

Tonight, hypocrite, thy name is Mike.

UNO Seeking a Hockey Facility Decision

UNO hockey coach Dean Blais set off a bit of a firestorm locally with a quote in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune about the long-rumored arena for UNO:

"It takes two years to build an arena," Blais said. "It [an arena announcement soon] would be perfect timing."
Blais said UNO has been working for three years on the proposed arena. "We have the plans and everything nailed down," he said. "And now it is just getting the pieces of the puzzle put together."

From a contract perspective, it would be perfect timing as UNO's lease at the CenturyLink Center expires in two years.  But let's not forget about the history of UNO; almost nothing goes "perfect" for UNO.  (Aside than being able to hire Dean Blais, I think.)  We've heard this story about a new UNO arena for some time; Blais has even said it was a done deal a few times over the last couple of years.  And it's still not coming.

Or is it?  Some insiders insist it is.  They may be right.  I'm still skeptical.  The common rumor is that it's an 8000 seat arena.  Better than last year's 7500 seat rumor, I suppose.  (One I dismissed at that time to quite a bit of ridicule.)  But still woefully too small.

UNO has a valid reason for looking for alternatives to their existing contract with MECA.  Trev Alberts has talked repeatedly that UNO facility costs are out of line compared with what other college hockey programs pay. He's absolutely right.  But how does UNO get them in line?  A new building could help...in theory...but it really depends on how the building is financed.  And that's where the numbers get awfully questionable in my mind..and since we don't even have a solid proposal to work with, all we can do is guess at the numbers.

A new arena is going to cost $60 million to $100 million, depending on how big it goes.  It opens up new revenue streams (concessions, advertising, naming rights).  It also opens up new charges (mortgage, maintenance) that UNO doesn't currently pay.  And that's where I part with many UNO fans.  The more I hear about the UNO arena plans, the less I agree with the idea.

That's based on what I think the numbers will show, and that's pure guesswork on my part.  Speculation is that an 8,000 seat arena would cost around $60 million.  A right-sized 10,000 seat arena would be more; perhaps $80-$100 million.  Naming rights, advertising, suites, and concession revenue only go so far in paying for that bill.  If UNO has to finance $20 million of that bill, that's probably a $1.2 million mortgage each year at 4.5%. 

Spread that over 22 home games a year, and that's over $55,274 a game.  Dividing that over an 8,000 seat arena, that's almost $7 a seat per game.  Each and every seat.   That's an extra expense, and it's extremely unlikely that UNO is paying MECA anywhere near that amount.  (And I haven't even begun to discuss maintenance of any building in these numbers...)

This is fuzzy math at it's worth.  I'm purely guessing at that $20 million.  If new arena revenues and donations mean less money has to be borrowed, the numbers get better quickly.  If that number is low-balled and UNO has to borrow more, the numbers get even worse for UNO.  It's literally a bet-the-program choice; choose wrong, and the financial impact of that decision could destroy the athletic program.  Choose right, and of course, it could save the program.

I still believe that, at it's core, a decision by UNO to build an 8,000 seat arena is the wrong one.  UNO used to play in an 8,000 seat arena:  the Civic Auditorium.  UNO sold out every game in those years, and that apparently is the basis for thinking that UNO can support an 8,000 seat arena again.  I point out one thing though: if UNO is turning back the clock to 1999, then why is UNO wasting Dean Blais' time.  UNO hired Dean Blais because Trev Alberts thought big.  It was an ambitious plan.

That's why 8000 seats is such a bad idea. It says that this is as good as it gets for UNO hockey, as the Mavs averaged that last season.  There's no vision about taking the program to that next level.  I think Blais has championships in UNO's future.  Championships bring interest in the program, but UNO is capping interest at it's current level.

Some fans point out that if seating capacity is reduced, UNO can raise ticket prices.  Sure, that'll bring in more revenue...from the people who have sustained this program all along.  Thanks for supporting the program through think and thin; now pay an additional $200 per seat to pay for the new arena this season.

I don't know what UNO is really thinking.  It could be an elaborate ploy to get MECA to cut a more equitable arrangement.  Or UNO may have a more realistic financing scenario that I'm not seeing.

All I know is that all this talk about raising prices to play in a too-small of an arena depresses me about the future of UNO hockey.  It makes me wonder how much longer I can afford to continue supporting UNO hockey.

Minnesota Sweeps UNO

Disappointing weekend for UNO hockey this weekend as #5 Minnesota came to Omaha and won back-to-back 3-2 victories over the Mavs.  The Gophers dominated the latter part of the first period, and the Mavs were lucky to go into intermission only down 1-0.  But in the second period, the Mavs seized control of the game with an even-strength goal by Brock Montpetit then a short-handed goal by Jayson Megna.

But early in the third period, the Gophers tied up the game with a goal that was officially credited to Nick Bjugstad, but I still think was actually an own-goal that UNO's Brent Gwidt knocked past Ryan Massa.

That took the air out of UNO's sails and the game went to overtime where controversy erupted for UNO fans. Terry Broadhurst gets knocked to the ice, giving the Gophers an odd-man rush that results in the puck in the back of the net. Watch where Dean Blais tries to stare down the refs, seemingly furious at the non-call against Minnesota.

BTW, props to UNO's organ boy. While he struggles to carry a tune (such as his horrific take on Van Halen's "Jump") most of the game, the selection of Cee Lo Green's "Eff You" as the Gophers skate off the ice was rather poignant.

Saturday night, UNO jumped up to a quick lead as Gwidt scored, only to let the Gophers tie and then take the lead halfway through the first period.  That sent Massa to the bench in favor of John Faulkner, who got hung out to dry in the second period as the Mavs lost track of Kyle Rau, who scored to give the Gophers a 3-1 lead.

As the Saturday night game wore on, UNO just plain looked like a tired team.  At times, they struggled to recognize where to go and where to pass the puck.  One of the trademarks of Dean Blais' teams since he took over the UNO program was crisp passing, but that wasn't seen much in the second half of the Saturday night game.  The one highlight of the night was Matt White taking advantage of a lazy Gopher pass for a beautiful short-handed goal to pull the Mavs within one goal.

(Another aside...nice to see that Fox Sports never updated their UNO logo, so they used the much better looking 1997-2010 Durango instead of the more hideous revised bull head...)

But UNO couldn't tie it up, and the Gophers skated back to Minneapolis with all four points.  UNO sits in a tie with Colorado College for 5th place; the top six teams earn home ice in the playoffs.  In seventh place, Michigan Tech sits 1 point behind the Mavs and Colorado College, who plays Tech this weekend.  Meanwhile, UNO has play #9 Denver at home, including an early 6:37 pm start Friday night as the game will be televised by NBC.  A split "probably" means UNO gets home ice...but it's such a logjam with four teams within two points of each other, there are too many scenarios to consider.

If there was one thing to feel optimistic about was that Wisconsin's sweep of Bemidji State makes it less likely that the Mavs would have to play the Beavers.  UNO has shown they can play with just about everybody in the country this season...except, of course, Bemidji State.

Big Ten Baseball Tournament Considering TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha

The AP is reporting that Omaha's TD Ameritrade Park has submitted a bid to host the Big Ten baseball tournament.  Not a surprise to me; it's a natural fit considering Nebraska's entry into the Big Ten and the popularity of college baseball in Omaha.  Last week, the report that the Big Ten was considering the Trailer Park in Sarpy County drew a lot of attention, and some snarky comments from the folks who favored the building of the second ballpark because the Big Ten was considering BFE, and apparently not Omaha's new stadium.

My response was simply:  "how do you know the Big Ten was NOT looking at TD Ameritrade Park?"  Now the truth comes out: they were looking at both parks.  Not a surprise; both Sarpy County, the former Omaha Royals, and MECA have all talked previously about bidding for the Big Ten tournament.  But which one makes the most sense for the Big Ten?

Well, it's not necessarily a battle between Omaha's ballparks; I'm sure other cities will bid.  This year is the last year the tournament will be held in Columbus, Ohio...I would suspect they'll bid again.  But if the Big Ten does decide to come to Omaha, which park would it be?  There are advantages to both parks.  The Trailer Park is smaller, more intimate, and can easily handle the crowds of 5,000 or 7,000 that the Big Ten expects for their tournament.  Downtown at TD Ameritrade Park, crowds of that size will only fill a quarter or so of the stadium.

But downtown presents a lot more advantages outside the ballpark.  Over 1000 hotel rooms within walking distance, for example.  Fans who want to take a break between games can simply walk back to their room, or to a bar or restaurant.  Shopping too.  Out in BFE, fans have to get into their car and drive for anything.  (How's that Pennant Place coming along?)  I guess there is an Arby's opening up at the Walmart a couple of miles to the west.  And Ameritrade Park was designed for tournaments with multiple locker rooms; not sure whether the Trailer Park has the same type of setup.

So it really comes down to what the Big Ten wants, and what the two organizers bid with.  MECA has apparently bid on an every-other-year basis, apparently to also support the Missouri Valley Tournament.  That may - or may not - be appealing to the Big Ten, who were looking for one home for four years. The financial arrangements are also going to be huge, and those bids aren't going to be released publicly.

I do reject the idea that the TD Ameritrade Park is "too big" for the Big Ten. If Nebraska qualifies for the Big Ten tournament, does anybody really think that those games will only draw 6,000 fans?  Try doubling that, and for the weekend championship games, look for crowds tripling that or more if the Big Red is playing.  Is Ameritrade "too big" if the Huskers aren't playing?  Perhaps...but all those other advantages may mean more to the Big Ten if they are expecting fans from around the Big Ten to accompany their teams. 

A lot was said over the last week about the Big Ten considering Sarpy County "instead of Omaha".  I never fell for that, mostly because if there is one thing the former Omaha Royals are good at is promotion.  They never miss an opportunity to promote themselves, so it's not a surprise that in the dead of winter, they passed on the word that the Big Ten was out in BFE. There's nothing wrong with that; that's the business of minor league baseball, and Martie Cordaro's team does it extremely well.  The problem was with folks who "assumed" that since MECA didn't self-promote their bid, they didn't bid.

This bid shouldn't be considered a "Downtown versus BFE" debate; there are going to be other bidders, and if one of the metro area's ballparks are selected, it's a good deal for Husker fans who will have a better opportunity to cheer on the Big Red in the B1G.

Mavs Split with Colorado College Sets Up Push For Home Ice

UNO hockey traveled to #15 Colorado College and split with the Tigers to remain tied for fourth place in the WCHA.  Friday night, UNO had a game tying goal waived off with under 2:46 left in regulation.  Terry Broadhurst's shot deflected to Dominic Zombo's skate, then trickled into the goal.  The officials apparently felt that Zombo intentionally redirected the puck, though Zombo's skate pretty much stayed on a straight line towards the goal line. A tough judgement call to make; some hockey experts point to the rule saying that if there is any doubt, the goal should be waived off when the puck goes in off a skate...but others feel it was yet another blown call.

For what it's worth, Dean Blais wasn't too happy about it in his postgame interview.  UNO couldn't score down the stretch, and the Tigers held on for the disputed 4-3 victory.

Saturday night, UNO used a third period rush by Ryan Walters who scored the game-tying goal short-handed in the period, then scored the game winner midway through the third period enroute to a 5-3 victory.  Walters added his own editorial comment, by mockingly waiving off the game tying goal in his celebration afterwards. (See it at 1:20 of the UNO highlight video.)

UNO emerged from a two week road trip in better shape than I thought they'd be in.  A 3 way tie for 4th place, three points ahead of seventh place Michigan Tech gives UNO a small amount of cushion with four games remaining...except those four games are against first place Minnesota and third place Denver.  The top 6 teams host first round WCHA playoff series, making it imperative that UNO at least split the upcoming series.  Obviously, winning out would put UNO in great position...perhaps to even get a top two seed which could allow UNO to avoid having to play in the 2nd round games, should they win their first round series.

The bigger issue in my mind is not home ice, but rather merely avoiding Bemidji State.  Bemidji has had UNO's number as of late, going 5-0-1 in the last two years in Omaha.  For what it's worth, Bemidji State is UNO's kryptonite; the Mavs simply have not been able to out-execute the Beavers.  Last year, the Beavers bounced the Mavs out of the playoffs at home, and with Bemidji floating around in 9th place, you almost have to keep an eye out for them and figure out a way to avoid them.

Up next for UNO is #7 Minnesota, making their first trip to Omaha since 2003.  They've rebounded this season now that former UNO assistant Mike Guentzel returned to the Gophers.  Last season, UNO shocked the WCHA by sweeping Minnesota to open the season, and one could argue that Minnesota never recovered.  I get the feeling that the Gophers might remember that.

Husker Hoops Blows Up and Blows Out Illinois

I turned on yesterday's Nebraska basketball game a little late; it must have tipped off right at 4 pm.  Illinois was already up 15-7 barely five minutes into the game.  It looked like the same old thing from the Huskers.  Bad defense, and woeful offense.  Case in point, Nebraska makes a nice steal and has a 4 on 1 fast break opportunity.  Easy basket?  Hardly.  They get in too big of a hurry and a desperation layup clanks off the bottom of the rim.  Simply painful.  One of the commenters over on the CornNation game thread mentions that Kevin Kugler "sound(s) like he’s swallowing his throat" on the BTN broadcast.  Hey, it's his alma mater, and he's got to call it straight up even though he wants to let his frustration loose.

I'm doing some household chores, watching the game on the side and it's 24-16 when I get called away.  I stop back and it's suddenly 24-23.  Then before I can get back to the television, suddenly the Huskers are up 25-24.  Wow.  So now I'm transfixed.  Suddenly, there's a spark in the Big Red, led by a 2-3 zone defense.  Right before halftime, the Illini try to follow a Brandon Richardson three-pointer by playing for the final shot.  But the Husker defense locks them down, and all they can manage is a wild pass out of bounds as the horn sounds.  Nebraska surprisingly leads by 7.

Nice run, but Illinois is just too good to let this stand.  But Nebraska comes out of the locker room with a can of whoop-a$$ that hasn't been opened in a long, long time.  Another three to open the half, and the defense is stifling.  Illinois just plain gave up.  As the Husker run continued, it started to attract national attention on Twitter.  Nebraska went on a 45-7 run from that point when I got called away, and eventually the lead stretched to 30 points.

It was not only stifling defense, but also a fast paced offense that Doc Sadler had originally called for when he first arrived. Take this alley-oop from Bo Spencer to Caleb Walker, courtesy of BTN:

Yowza.  Nebraska emptied the bench shortly thereafter, and while the demoralized Illini cut the eventual margin of defeat to 23, it was still an impressive victory.  But does that change the fact that Doc Sadler appears to be on his last legs as Nebraska's head coach?

Hardly.  It's just one game.  Even Bill Callahan had his 73-31 victory over Kansas State in that awful November of 2007.  That never could save his job, mostly because Callahan ran up the score on the Wildcats to make him look better than he really was.

But I don't pretend to speak for Tom Osborne.  I attribute yesterday's outburst to everything suddenly going right against an opponent who essentially gave up at halftime.  But if Nebraska can somehow build on this performance, gain some confidence, and win a few games down the stretch, you never know.  Sadler won't be allowed to run this program the way he has going forward; he might save his job in theory, but the need for better players isn't going away.  He'll have to find a way to get those players, and fast.   There's a new arena opening in a couple of years, and fans need some reason to be optimistic about the direction of the program.  If Sadler can't do that in the next few weeks (which I'm pretty doubtful he can do), Osborne won't have much of a choice in the matter.

I like Doc Sadler, and wish him the best.  But we need more games like yesterday, and fewer like we've seen prior to that.

It's Official: Mav Hockey Goes Outdoors at TD Ameritrade Park

MECA and UNO plan to lay the ice between 1st & 3rd base.

Today we finally got confirmation that Omaha is joining the outdoor hockey fad.  Nebraska-Omaha will face off against North Dakota next season at TD Ameritrade Park.  Playing hockey games outdoors has become quite a fad in recent years, popularized by the NHL Winter Classic which draws decent ratings opposite college bowl games on New Years' Day.  (That could be due in part to ESPN's bastardization of bowl games, but that's another story entirely.)

The game is nearly a year away, scheduled for Saturday, February 9, 2013.  UNO and North Dakota are naturals for this type of matchup.  UNO head coach Dean Blais previously led North Dakota to two national championships, and it's a straight shot down I-29 for Sioux fans to come to Omaha.  North Dakota has been looking for an outdoor game.  Previously, they were negotiating with Minnesota to play at Target Field, but things fell through.

So will it be a success? Blais thinks it'll be a quick sellout; I'm not so sure.  The game will be part of a doubleheader; the first game will be the Omaha Lancers facing off against the Lincoln Stars at 12:30 pm.  The Mavs and the Sioux (if the folks up north get their way) will follow 45 minutes later.  Omaha is an event town..but will the casual sports fans sign up for this one?  That's a good question.

No doubt that outdoor hockey has been huge in other markets.  Nearly 25,000 showed up in Cleveland to watch Michigan and Ohio State last month.  Nearly 40,000 bought tickets to a doubleheader at Fenway Park last month as well - two years after Fenway hosted the Winter Classic.  Over 110,000 tickets were sold for a Michigan/Michigan State game at the Big House in 2010.  But it's not a universal success.  Last season, UConn played Sacred Heart in front of less than 2000 people.

The timing of this is perfect.  Omaha will be hosting the professional skating championships in late January, and a portable rink will be needed at the CenturyLink Center for the skaters to warm up on.  After that's done, they'll just move it across the street to the ballpark. So that keeps some of the expenses down as the equipment and technicians will already be in town.

Tickets for this aren't going to be cheap.  UNO announced that tickets will start at $30...those will probably be the outfield bleachers.  Count on the good seats costing $75 or $100.  But Omaha is an event town.  UNO fans will want to be there.  Sioux fans are already planning to spend that weekend in Omaha.  I think Blais might be optimistic about ticket sales, but my instinct is that this will sell out.

And if the weather isn't brutal, it could be a lot of fun.  The UNO Marching Band can march in the outfield between periods. The beer is guaranteed to be cold.  And it's something unique.

Players are going to love this.  Many from the north grew up playing hockey outside.  Here's what some of the players at Frozen Fenway told USCHO last month:

“It was unbelievable,” said the Wildcats’ Kevin Goumas. “As a kid you just dream about playing college hockey, much less playing at a ballpark in front of 30,000 fans and playing against a rival like Maine. The atmosphere was unbelievable.”

“You can’t help but notice you’re at Fenway Park,” said UMass goaltender Jeff Teglia. “I’ll never forget it. I found out this morning [I'd get the start] and I can’t tell you how much it meant to me.”

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said the Black Bears’ Brian Flynn.

Last but not least, check out what Joey Diamond had to say about playing at Fenway. Diamond, by the way, is a Yankees fan.
“I thought it was the coolest thing playing in a venue like this,” he said. “It was very special.”
I repeat, a Yankees fan.

After Wisconsin's last outdoor game, two high profile recruits committed within hours after the game, they were so excited about the event.  So now Wisconsin is looking to play outdoors again.  They've played at Lambeau Field and Camp Randall...now next year, they are looking to play Minnesota in Chicago at Soldier Field.

NoDak blogger Goon thinks outdoor games are overdone, but figures that North Dakota might as well join in. Maybe he'll warm up a little if Mario Lemieux and the Stanley Cup make an appearance, as the AP's Eric Olson suggests.

Either way...it's game on...outside.  It should be a whole lot of fun.  Even if they don't put up the Hal Daub Toboggan Run in the outfield.

Sunday Night Dessert: Overrated Bluejays Shouldn't Have Been Ranked To Begin With

No, I didn't watch yesterday's Creighton/Wichita State game...just like nearly every other Creighton basketball game.  But it's hard to miss all of the coverage the Jays get in this area. And truth be told, I've felt that Creighton was overrated all season long.  It all started when Creighton dominated Iowa, which gave many in this area a false reading for just how good Creighton is.  All you need to know is that Iowa then lost at home to Campbell...and Nebraska.  As I said at Christmas

(Non-Creighton fans need) 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.

Well, I figured the Jays would coast through the Valley season...then get blasted back to reality in the NCAA tournament.  Turns out that the Jays aren't even that good.

One thing I did find interesting scanning my World-Herald this morning was a photograph of Creighton head coach Greg McDermott ripping his son on the court.  Apparently he did it multiple times.  I don't know whether McDermott was right or wrong in losing his cool on the sideline; I wasn't watching the game.

What I found interesting was some of the reactions of the media.  Take KOZN radio's Matt Schick on Twitter:

Greg not thrilled w/ Doug's defense on multiple possessions. Grabbed back of his neck and later chest-bumped him. Must be a big game. #jays

— Matt Schick (@ESPN_Schick) February 11, 2012

Interesting perspective.  Or maybe more accurately, a double standard.  Does anybody believe that Schick would have responded the same way if Bo Pelini got upset on the Nebraska sideline?  Hardly.

Tom Shatel at least admitted the double standard in his column today:

CU coach Greg McDermott, who has had a smile on his face much of this season, was seen lighting into his son, Doug, the team's star, on the sidelines. Reportedly, the scene got a lot of run on ESPN Saturday night.

When Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini does it, he gets hammered in some corners of the media and his fan base. The same is fair for Mac. Now, the Creighton coach is more media savvy than Pelini.

Except that McDermott isn't getting hammered for it.  It's a double standard, pure and simple.  Whether the media likes or dislikes Bo Pelini or Greg McDermott should be irrelevant.  But deep down, that seems to be driving the agenda of some in driving the conversation.  And that's unfortunate.

And yes, before someone reminds me...yes, Nebraska is now in last place in Big Ten mens basketball.  This is a team playing out the season, waiting for something...anything to change once we get to late March.

Speaking of late March, writing off UNO hockey's season could be a little premature as the Mavs took three of four points on the road at resurgent Michigan Tech.  The weekend couldn't have gotten off to a worse start.  Ryan Massa was pulled just five minutes into the game after giving up two quick goals.  But John Faulkner held steady the rest of the way, and the Mavs battled back for a 3-3 tie.  Massa redeemed himself with his first shutout as  Mav on Saturday afternoon.  Now the Mavs sit tied for 4th place in the WCHA with #10 Colorado College, who the Mavs will face on the road this weekend.  After that, it's #2 Minnesota coming to town, followed by #14 Denver.

No Missouri Valley Game Can Ever Be the "Most Important" Game in Omaha

Dirk Chatelain of the Omaha World-Herald had yet another mental misfire in his "Brunch Bites" today.

But first, the big event of the weekend: Creighton-Wichita State, for all the Missouri Valley marbles. The CenturyLink Center has hosted a few big games since it opened in 2003, but this might be the most important.

Most important game for the Creighton basketball program?  Perhaps.  I'm not going there, as I'm not a Creighton fan.  Not my call, though I don't think there were many games in the Rick Johnson era bigger than this.  Just wild speculation on my part, though.  I could be wrong.

But the most important game at the CenturyLink Center, nee Qwest Center?  Not even close.  Heck, it almost assuredly isn't even in the top five.  Here's number one in my book:  the 2008 NCAA tournament first round game between Southern Cal and Kansas State.  Two marquee freshman, O.J. Mayo and Michael Beasley, starring in prime time as the lead game on CBS.  Even the Song Girls were in town for this one.  Southern Cal went on defeat the Wildcats 80-67 in that game.

Creighton-Wichita State?  Well, it's big for Creighton fans, I guess.  (Though I doubt that this is the biggest game for Brie fans.  After all, that Mayo/Beasley matchup in combination with Kansas in town meant a huge payday for Creighton fans scalping their ill-gotten basketball tickets.)  But that assertion is proof once again that Chatelain is simply bad at analysis.  Oh sure, he can work his calculator and put together some statistics...but they rarely connect to explain the situation.  Today he used someone else's statistics to tell us something we already know:  this is Doc Sadler's worst team at Nebraska.  (No duh...)

What's surprising is that Chatelain's normally level-headed fellow writer Sam McKewon jumped on the bandwagon.  Maybe the World-Herald is encouraging their staff to cross-promote, but even so, it reflects badly on McKewon to propagate a bad article.  In fact, judging from Twitter, it seems like KOZN's Matt Schick and Nick Bahe have joined in the cross promotion.  That's unfortunate as it seems cronyism and corporate alliances, not merit of the argument, is driving the conversation.

Tuesday Night Beer: Second Thoughts on Sadler and Woodhead

It was a bad weekend for the local teams.  Start with Husker basketball, who dropped another winnable home game - this time against Minnesota. Adding injury to insult, it sounds like Brian Jorge Diaz's foot problems may be terminal.  All the while, you get the sense that Doc Sadler is "dead coach walking."

I'm not sure Sadler should be fired.  I'm less sure that Sadler should be back next season.  We know one thing: barring legal or NCAA issues, Sadler will finish the season.  Tom Osborne would never fire a coach during the season; what would the point be, other than appeasing the boo-birds? But should Sadler return?  I offer one option, and only one option.  And that is that Sadler needs to identify a plan to recruit higher caliber talent to Lincoln. I don't know that Sadler can do it himself. He needs a recruiter, plain and simple. Maybe someone like Scott Spinelli, perhaps?

If Sadler doesn't have a plan, then it's probably time to cut him loose.  He's a good man, but Nebraska is investing too much in basketball to get this type of return.

Then there is UNO Maverick hockey, which lost three of four points to Bemidji State.  Bemidji seems to be Dean Blais' kryptonite; they are undefeated in the last six games in Omaha.  It's not talent; it's a style of hockey that runs completely counter to Blais' style, and seemingly in every game, the Beavers somehow manage to pull off the win.

It's frustrating as heck for UNO fans, who now seem to be resigning themselves to a lackluster end of the season, what with games remaining against Michigan Tech, Minnesota, and Denver.  It's going to take take quite a push by the Mavs to retain home ice for the playoffs.  What's even more concerning is Blais' postgame comments on Saturday night:

“What I see right now is a little bit of a team coming apart at the seams — when you play like that."

 But let's put this into perspective.  UNO is feeling the pain of turning the roster in the transition from Mike Kemp to Blais.  The youngsters that Blais recruited are freshmen and sophomores.  There aren't many juniors and seniors left on this team; it's a team that sorely needs leadership.  That may come in time, but it may not be in the cards for this season.  This year's UNO team could sure use a player like Alex Hudson from last year.  I get that this year's version of Hudson wasn't the same as last year's; the point isn't so much that Hudson shouldn't have been bounced from the team, but rather this team could have used Hudson to have provided the leadership and not get tossed.

Twitter was all abuzz on Sunday night about North Platte's Danny Woodhead.  We all know the story.  The guy that couldn't get a D-1 scholarship offer goes to Chadron, puts up big numbers, goes to the NFL and gets cut by the Jets only to become a star with New England.  But why didn't Nebraska offer a scholarship?  Who's fault is it?  Couldn't Nebraska have used a player like Woodhead?  Absolutely.  But let's put it into perspective.  Nobody else in D-1 offered him a scholarship either. Should Nebraska have?  Neither Frank Solich or Bill Callahan did, though for different reasons.  Woodhead probably wouldn't have fit Callahan's system, and it's clear that recruiting coordinator Scott Downing didn't think much of Woodhead.

But Solich had the first opportunity to offer Woodhead.  It's his mistake, right?  In hindsight, yes.  But put yourself in Solich's shoes.  You have an in-state player who hasn't received a single offer from anybody else.  You are being criticized for recruiting too many Nebraska kids and not enough Rivals "star" players.  Your new boss makes it clear he wants the program to go in a different direction.  And you have a kid that bleeds Nebraska red.  So Solich asks him to walk on to live the dream, and save the scholarship for somebody else.  There's a limited number of scholarships available, and every scholarship you offer to a kid from Nebraska is a scholarship you can't offer to somebody else.

That being said, it was all over once Solich was fired.  I get this feeling that there still was a chance that a scholarship offer from Nebraska might still have been available in late January, depending on how recruiting was going. I look at it like the Bronson Marsh situation; Nebraska couldn't offer early, but might have had room for him late in the recruiting process.

I do know this.  Solich was under a lot of criticism from recruitniks in 2003.  Offering Woodhead a scholarship would have had them up in arms at that time.