Sunday Night Dessert: What a Weekend of Hockey

If you aren't a fan of hockey, this weekend was a great opportunity to become better acquainted with the sport. Today's Olympic gold medal game will likely go down as an all-time classic; Team USA denying Canada the gold medal they covet when Zach Parise scored with under 25 seconds left in the third period to send the game into overtime, shocking the home team that had already started to celebrate.  But Sidney Crosby, who had flubbed and floundered throughout the Olympics, became a national hero by beating Ryan Miller to reclaim the gold.

Interesting to note that both Miller and Parise both have a local connection as well.  In 2001, UNO chased Miller from goal in a sweep of Michigan State at the Civic Auditorium.  Parise, meanwhile, played for North Dakota and current UNO head coach Dean Blais.

No matter how disappointed Americans have to be in the finish of the game, you had to appreciate the love of country shown when 20,000 Canadians sang "O Canada!" at the top of their lungs at the medal ceremony.  Think that would ever happen here?  I kind of doubt it.

Back to local hockey, UNO came up short on Friday night, losing to #6 Bemidji State 3-1, with an empty netter sealing the game in the final seconds.  UNO dominated about half the game on Friday night, but couldn't crack Beaver goalie Dan Bakala to make the Quantum Leap into Pairwise consideration.  UNO did win last night to move back to 18th place, which is striking distance for an at-large bid.  Friday night, UNO looked like the faster, more talented team ... but Bemidji played a tactical game and simply didn't make any mistakes, frustrating the Mavs much of the way.  They're simply an outstanding, well-coached team; you can see how they made that surprising Frozen Four run last season.

Next up for UNO is Bowling Green; how fitting that the Pervs are the final CCHA team to play a series in Omaha.  Whether it's Tuesday Night, the Sharpie incident, Scott Hewson, the blizzard of 2007, or the ineligible player in this season's shootout, wacky things just seem to happen when the Road Cones come to town.  UNO will need to take care of business this weekend, and then likely face Ferris State again.  If they can pull that off, UNO might be in striking distance in the Pairwise...but might just need to win it all to get a berth in the Big Skate later in March.

Dean Blais Talks National Championship for UNO

Dean Blais sat down with the Omaha World-Herald's Tom Shatel and compared his first three years at North Dakota with his expectations for his first three years at UNO: 

“When I took over at North Dakota, the first year we were .500. The second year, we were about six, seven games above .500. The third year, we won the national championship. I could see the same thing here.''

That's not a prediction mind you...but when you consider the history of UNO...that's heady stuff.  But to this casual observer of UNO hockey, I wouldn't put that past Blais to pull this off.  UNO has bounced back strong from a horrible December and early January to finish the CCHA schedule 7-2-1 in the final ten games.  Oh, they swept Michigan...and even knocked number 1 Miami out of the top spot in both polls.  All that conditioning is coming into place, and like last year in Fargo, Blais has his team ready to challenge at the end of the season.

First step is tomorrow night against #5 Bemidji State; get a win or two, and suddenly things start looking awfully interesting for UNO fans.  It's already an exciting time to be a UNO fan; Trev Alberts finishing the details on plans to build a new on-campus arena.  Blais having the hockey program in an upward trajectory.  Next season, the Mavs join the WCHA which brings new opponents who find it an easier drive to Omaha.

Who'd have thunk all that one year ago?

Tuesday Night Beer: MSNBC Hits Ratings Peak with USA/Canada

If you missed Sunday night's USA/Canada Olympic hockey game, shame on you...unless you don't get MSNBC, of course. Yes, I know some people don't "get" hockey...but that doesn't stop most people from watching luge, ski cross, or curling when it's Olympic time.  It was a classic game; with great action right from the opening face-off (The USA scored in the opening minute), and the unbelievable final four minutes as Canada tried to fight back.  The game was MSNBC's second most watched program ever.  Some people point to the higher rankings of ice dancing on NBC as proof that the Peacock network made the right call, but you are comparing apples and oranges.  Many people were unaware where the game was being broadcast; I've even heard from hockey fans who thought these games would be on the NHL Network.  I also wouldn't be surprised if some people refused to watch any programming on the network that brings you Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow.

KOZN radio's Kevin Kugler is working the Olympics for Westwood One, and he reported today that in his conversations with other American reporters, many people expect Nebraska to be a prime target of the Big Ten if they pursue expansion.  Just idle rumor and speculation, mind you, but if Notre Dame and Texas aren't interested, Nebraska is the biggest name on the list.  Yes, Nebraska doesn't bring local media markets to the Big Ten, but they do bring a national following in football that enhances rather than waters down the total package.  The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel interviewed Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez, who suggests that fifteen schools are on the Big Ten's list.  (H/T: Lincoln Journal-Star)  The rumor mill suggests that Nebraska is in the upper tier of that list, for what it's worth.

It's official, Rickey Thenarse got his medical redshirt and will be eligible to play for the Huskers this fall.  He's still rehabbing the injury, and estimates he's about 90% recovered.  I found it interesting that the doctors are taking his rehab slowly, holding him back.  Good move, considering the track record last year with rushing basketball player Christopher Niemann and quarterback Kody Spano back last summer, only to have the ACL fail again.  I'd like to see how Thenarse worked on the mental aspects of the game while he was on crutches; he's always had the physical tools, just needs to put it together on the field.

Hopefully he spent some of his time watching Matt O'Hanlon who showed that the mental aspects of the game are almost as important as the physical aspects.  O'Hanlon has his eyes set on playing in the NFL, and I wouldn't put it past him.  He probably won't get drafted, but someone will give him a shot, and he'll make the most of it.  He might only be on the practice squad, but I think he'll stick eventually.

UNO Upsets #1 Miami

Last night's 4-2 victory over #1 Miami was a huge boost to UNO hockey as they wind down the regular season, and starts setting the stage for an interesting, perhaps exciting, finish to the season.  Last week, CollegeHockeyNews.com named UNO the team of the week following the Mavs sweep of Michigan, and the accolades should only increase this week.  Look for Alex Hudson to get yet more ink this week; he had two goals Friday night and added two assists on Saturday night.

UNO's 7-2-1 push down the stretch has put the Mavs in position to make some noise in March.  They've clinched home ice for the first round of the playoffs, and more importantly, if they win a first round series, they should avoid a rematch with the Miami Redhawks.  In the CCHA standings, it's a muddled mess between 2nd place and 10th.  Only 13 points (essentially 4 games) separate #2 Ferris State and #10 Notre Dame, meaning that there aren't any assurances in the postseason.  This season, a hot team will make some noise, and nobody's hotter than UNO.

Last night's victory also jumped the Mavs to a tie for 18th place in the PairWise rankings, which emulate the NCAA's criteria for selecting and seeding the 16 team tournament.  They're still on the outside at this point, but the next few games give UNO a chance to make up some ground...starting this weekend.

When UNO scheduled Bemidji State for this weekend, I'm sure nobody expected this series to mean anything other than padding out the schedule.  All of a sudden, Bemidji and UNO are preparing to enter the WCHA next season, and Bemidji suddenly is a national power after last season's surprise Frozen Four run.  The Beavers currently sit in fifth place in the Pairwise, meaning that UNO gets a chance to enhance their resume if they can pull off some wins this weekend.  Win this weekend, and make it to the CCHA semifinals in Detroit, and UNO might just find themselves in NCAA tournament consideration.  That makes this weekend's games huge for UNO.

When UNO hired Dean Blais last summer, this is exactly what I expected...a team that would make a run late in the season, and would take UNO to the next level.  Fasten your seat belts, Omaha.  UNO is cleared for takeoff.

Post Sabbatical Wrapup - Part 2

A few more odds-and-ends from the notebook:

While the other Husker blogs obsessed about recruiting, they completely missed the biggest story from two weeks ago...and it wasn't good news either.  Zac Lee's injury will keep him sidelined at the start of spring practice, and maybe all spring.  Definitely not good news for a Husker offense that sputtered against BCS conference competition; this offense needs work, and reps from the best players.  And whether you like it or not, Zac Lee is Nebraska's best quarterback.  I think it's clear that Lee's injury affected his play last season (remember those underthrows of Niles Paul late in the season?); does a healthy Lee hit Paul in stride?  The only good news is that it gives Cody Green a chance to do some serious development and work on poise and better touch and accuracy on his throws.  We know Green has the wheels, but can he develop his arm to become a true dual-threat quarterback?  This spring, he'll have the opportunity.

Speaking of the spring game...over 50,000 tickets were sold in the first week.  A quick check of huskers.com shows that currently the best seats available are more than half-way up the north end zone...meaning that if you don't make a decision soon to buy tickets, it might be too late.  A bigger question might be...will some of this snow still be on the ground in mid-April?

Funny how people who use all the snow here as proof that global warming is a "scam" ignore the record warmth in British Columbia that has forced the organizers of the Olympics to truck in snow.  Before people read too much into that statement, let me simply say that neither situation is proof one way or the other as to whether the Earth is warming or cooling; it's just one winter of varying weather worldwide.

Did anybody else watching Dan Patrick's "interview" of three female US skiers during the Olympic opening ceremonies get the feeling they were watching a middle-aged guy trying to pick up college coeds in a bar?  The best description I could come up with was to call it "creepy" at best.

Post Sabbatical Wrapup - Part 1

A few notes that have been building up over the last few weeks:

The Brion Carnes and Owamagbe Odighizuwa situations highlight the pointlessness of the recruiting speculation that obsesses too many people during hockey season.  Bo Pelini called out bloggers, and while they joined in the mess, the real blame goes to the pay sites.  In the Carnes situation, I wonder if the Western Kentucky story wasn't actually a diversion or practical joke to see who would bite.  High school students don't have an obligation to tell anybody other than college coaches the truth.  Some fans were put off by the Carnes misinformation, but the misinformation was fed to the recruitiniks, not to the coaches.  For the rest of us frankly, it's none of our dang business.  Owa wants to attend a school closer to home in Los Angeles?  Best of luck to him if he thinks that's the place for him.

HuggingHaroldReynolds brings us the sad case of Harrison Beck (H/T to BigRedNetwork), the one time 4-star savior of Nebraska football who went on to flame out in Lincoln and at NC State before finally finding his rightful place at division II North Alabama.  The recruiting services probably did a fine job of rating Beck's physical skills...but totally ignored his immaturity.  Oh, it was all there for the taking; all you had to do was read his KETV-Channel 7 blog and his interviews as a high school senior to realize that he thought he had more game than he really did.  Here's the big deal in my mind:  he's done with football now, and I wonder, is he ready for life after football?

Nebraska basketball got absolutely blasted by Texas yesterday.  Not good at all, but considering the depth of the Big XII this season (4 teams in the Top 25 and 2 more just outside) and the relative inexperience on the court, it's not all that surprising.  Yesterday's game was bad, but this team did lead Kansas in the 2nd half as well as Baylor.  I'm willing to give Doc Sadler more time to figure things out; he's shown the ability to put teams together out of nothing.

With the state budget in disarray thanks to the prolonged economic recession, talk about hitting up the state to pay for the Sarpy County boondoggle stadium has died out.  So it's not a surprise that Sarpy County is planning a county-wide sales tax.  Of course, they're saying it's not for the ballpark.  Of course not.  But I'm reminded of the classic Dilbert story about the guy who got caught in a rainstorm while on a business trip.  The finance department rejected paying for an umbrella when he submitted his expense report, saying that an umbrella is a personal item and couldn't be claimed on his expense report.  So on his next expense report, he attached a note to the bottom report, challenging the finance department to "Now find the umbrella!"  Yes, I know I'm being cynical here, but has Sarpy County ever come out and admitted how they were going to pay for the stadium.  Say what you will about the process former Mayor Mike Fahey used to get the downtown stadium built, but at least he did it in the open.

Red Berenson, You Ignorant $lut

The UNO Mavericks finished off their CCHA home schedule in fine fashion this weekend with a sweep of Michigan.  Last night, UNO reeled off three first period goals to take the lead for the weekend, prompting Wolverine head coach Red Berenson to issue the challenge last night:

"It's one of those nights," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "(Goalie Bryan) Hogan made some good saves to keep us close. We had our chances and we didn't capitalize on them. We've got some bouncing back to do, no question. We saw their best and they didn't see our best."

 'Ol Red might want to revise that quote, because the Mavs came out buzzing tonight and led 4-0 before the Weasels finally broke up the John Faulkner shutout bid in the closing minutes to make the final 4-1.  Dan Swanson iced the game in the third period, scoring twice in 23 seconds on odd-man rushes to break the game wide open.

The sweep launched the Mavs into fourth place in the CCHA after winning seven of their last eight games.  Fourth place would give UNO a first round bye and home ice in the second round, but it's unlikely the Mavs can hold onto that spot.  UNO faces #1 Miami next weekend on the road to close out the CCHA schedule for the Mavs, meaning additional points are going to be very tough to get.  That's going to give the teams trailing UNO an opportunity to move up the standings, especially when you consider that UNO and Alaska play non-conference games the final weekend of February while the rest of the CCHA plays more league games.  With three points up for grabs in each game, even 10th place Notre Dame could push past UNO if they win out and UNO gets swept in Oxford.

That disputed shootout point from the Bowling Green series in November is looming larger than ever.

In a footnote, Meghan Agosta, the little sister of UNO forward Jeric Agosta, scored a hat trick tonight for Team Canada in their opening game of the Olympics, defeating Slovakia 18-0.

It's National Signing Day Again!

Yep, it's time once again for that annual train wreck:  national signing day when recruiting 'experts' pontificate about the wonders of potential college football superstars, and how this date can make or break a football program.  The only problem is that it's mostly bullshit.  (Pardon the language.)

Don't get me wrong; recruiting is important.  But recruiting analysis puts the anal back in analysis.  Remember five years ago and all the hype about Bill Callahan's class?  If not for Ndamukong Suh, you'd have to place that class as a huge dud.  It never lived up to the hype, and frankly, never stood a chance.

Some will simply dismiss my criticism as mere sour grapes and point out how recruiting has turned teams like Southern Cal and Texas into elite teams in college football.  They have a point; Texas and USC have become factories for producing top college players and they're among the elite teams in college football.  Slight problem with that analysis is that USC and Texas have always been amongst the elite teams in terms of recruiting; it wasn't recruiting that made USC and Texas great, it was the coaching staffs that finally took those perennial highly rated classes into highly regarded football teams.  (I'd throw Florida into that mix as well; don't forget how Florida suffered under Ron Zook on the field...)

But what's the harm of this week's excess of recruiting coverage?  Plenty.  It fosters a sense of entitlement and creates an ego in high school kids who simply can't be prepared to deal with the circus that recruiting brings them.  In some cases, they simply can't live up to the hype, and bounce around, such as Harrison Beck, who finally found success in Division II football after failing at Nebraska and North Carolina State.  At it's worst case, it could lead a player down the path to depression or worse when they fail to meet the expectations laid out for them, such as what happened to Marlon Lucky in the spring of 2007.

So will Owamagbe Odighizu or Corey Cooper sign with Nebraska this week?  Don't know, and to a small extent, don't care.  Maybe they are legitimate players; it seems the coaching staffs feel they are.  But I have no way of knowing, and frankly, it's not my decision.  They need to make the best choice for them and their goals in life, whether that's playing football at Nebraska or elsewhere.  I especially worry that fans are expecting Owa to be Suh 2.0, if only because they share hometowns and names that Harry Caray could never get right.

So it's time to sign off for another recruiting sabbatical, shutting off the noise of the worst week of the year in college football.  If you are looking for something productive to do this week in lieu of wasting time on recruiting, try to grab some of the remaining tickets for the UNO/Ohio State hockey game this Friday night.  Less than 2500 tickets remain; they might yet pull this off.  Even if they don't, getting 13,000 or 14,000 into the Qwest Center should make for an entertaining night of hockey.  Certainly a lot more enjoyable than watching press conferences, or even worse, eating rubber chicken at a recruiting banquet.

OWH profile of Alex Hudson

Not much to add about Alex Hudson than what the World-Herald's Chad Purcell writes, but I think Hudson could be one of the best UNO hockey players when his career is done.  Maybe not quite at the Scott Parse, Bill Thomas, Jeff Hoggan, Greg Zanon, or Dan Ellis level...but not far off either.

Speaking of Scott Parse, he's really starting to put together a nice rookie season with the LA Kings.  According to "Jewels from the Crown", he leads the Kings in terms of goals per 60 minutes on the ice. (H/T:  MavPuck)

Sunday Night Dessert: Mavs Break Out

Last week, I suggested that if UNO hockey starts "finding a way to make some of those shots quality opportunities, this group could start scoring in bunches."  Well, that was the story of the weekend for the Mavs...with UNO sweeping Northern Michigan this weekend.  A badly needed sweep and more importantly, a shot of confidence.  Crisp passing and relentless pressure were the key, not to mention a little bit more discretion in taking shots.  Not just tossing it on net, but rather taking a shot with a great chance at pushing through a rebound.  Chad Purcell says UNO could be "scary good" down the stretch.  Don't know if that's sunshine being blown by the local beat writer or not, but I've thought this team would hit their stride late in the season with the reputation of Dean Blais.

The next three weeks are key weekends for UNO hockey, with series at Notre Dame, then home games against Ohio State and Michigan.  UNO's campaign to sell out the Friday night game is well underway, and the "Hockey Night in Omaha" promotion should ensure a large crowd for the Saturday night game against Michigan

Tom Shatel got a little more information about the new UNO arena...and found out that it's 8,000 to 9,000 seats, not the 7k that was mentioned last week.  Much better.  I know the Qwest Center is a little too big for UNO, and it's not on campus, but 7k is way too small for the Omaha market.  8500 or so is probably about right, as long as there's a way to expand it to 10k eventually.  If they can find a way to include the Omaha Lancers in the mix, so much the better.  I'm sure the Lancers would rather not play in BFE Sarpy County after the lessons they learned in Council Bluffs.

Speaking of BFE, I had to drive out to Papillion last week, so I decided to drive past the new Sarpy County ballpark location, and all I have to say is:  My goodness, but this location is even FURTHER out of the way than I thought.  Close to Papillion, yes.  But I checked my watch and set my odometer as I passed 126th & Highway 370 and headed home.  19 minutes and 15.5 miles later, I was in my West Omaha driveway.  I knew I was in trouble when I said "OMG, I'm just now getting to Cabelas?"   Yes, it's about 2 minutes closer than TD Ameritrade Park from my house, but for much of the Omaha market, including the West Omaha market, if folks don't like driving to Rosenblatt today, they're not going to BFE Ballpark.

UNO football came out the surprise winner in the Bronson Marsh sweepstakes after late interest from Nebraska and Kansas.  It's hard to turn down scholarship money.

Nebraska basketball had another rough finish last night against Missouri after battling them long and hard for the first 30 minutes or so on the road.  The big surprise is that Christian "Bratwurst" Standhardinger sat out for academic reasons last night.  I still think Doc Sadler is trying to get his young players ready to play, and they showed signs last night...but they ain't there yet.  Nebraska might have been helped by Missouri looking ahead to Kansas tomorrow night.

With New Orleans' victory over the Vikings tonight, we now await another eight months or so of drama with Brett Favre.  Truth be told, I take a little different spin on this.  The more this situation goes on, the more I'm convinced that the Vikings and Brad Childress has been much of the instigator here.  Note what the Philadelphia Daily News said about Childress' need for a quarterback, and how he pursued Favre throughout the last year.  Is Favre done now?  Hard to say; he certainly took some abuse tonight.  But even if Favre says he's done, nobody will believe it until Favre is sitting at home in Mississippi next September.

Finally, an apology to some of you.  I had noticed that comments had dried up in recent weeks, but never bothered to dig into it.  Turns out my spam filter started rejecting comments several weeks ago...and I never noticed it until last week.  I went back and approved the old comments, and will be keeping a closer eye on things in the future.

UNO Gauging Interest in a New Arena - But Why?

Today's Omaha World-Herald reports that UNO is gauging interest in a new campus arena for hockey, basketball, wrestling, and volleyball.  My first reaction was "great"; UNO hockey could sure use a home where they won't get bumped and can share practice facilities.  The other sports can also use the improved facilities, especially once UNO makes the inevitable switch to division 1.

But then my heart sank when I read the details: 

“The new multi-use complex,” the survey reads, “would be the new home for the University of Nebraska at Omaha hockey team. The complex would have a capacity range of 7,000 to 8,000 seats plus a secondary ice sheet that can be used by the athletic department and other community and campus programs. 

8,000 seats maximum?  What's the point of that?  The Omaha area already has two arenas that size that have their own issues; why build a third that's essentially the same size as the MAC and the Civic Auditorium?  Yes, it's on campus and would have a practice facility attached, but building something that's the same size as a building they regularly sold out just seems to be a poor plan to grow the program.

UNO moved into the Qwest Center to grow the program, and found out that building was probably too big, especially with all of the inconveniences of sharing an arena with another school and a city that entices major events to Omaha.  That's not a slam on the Qwest Center; it's great for the city to have NCAA championships to come to town.  It's just not convenient for UNO's hockey team to get bumped on a regular basis.

UNO is embarking on a drive to sell out the Qwest Center against Ohio State in a couple of weeks.  In less than one week of the promotion, a third of the remaining tickets have been sold.  With less than 5,000 seats left, UNO seems assured of a crowd of 11,000 or more even if nobody else buys a ticket. Here's my question:  If UNO can draw 14,000 or 15,000 to the Qwest Center for a hockey game, why would UNO even consider moving into an arena half that size?

Is UNO suggesting that Maverick hockey is as big as it'll ever be?

I'd argue not.  I don't know how big UNO hockey can be, but I'd suggest that the bare minimum capacity of a new arena is 8,315.  Start there if that's all you can afford, as long as it can be expanded.  Better yet, shoot for around 10,000.

But 7,000?  What's the point in that?

Sunday Night Beer: A Weekend To Forget

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

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

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

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

Orgeron's Final Act on Rocky Top

In hindsight, nobody should be all that surprised that USC brought back Lane Kiffin to replace Pete Carroll.  USC is where Kiffin got his big break, and it's the big stage.  It's easy to dismiss Kiffin's failure with the Raiders (two words:  "Al Davis"), and Kiffin's squad did show some progress this season in Knoxville.

But the NCAA probably won't be too pleased.  They're already on the verge of sanctioning the Trojans, not to mention that Kiffin's already racked up several violations at Tennessee.  Now here's where it gets even more distasteful:  Kiffin's chief recruiter, former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron, was trying to sway his Volunteer recruits to follow the party to Los Angeles as they prepared to depart.

Yep, the NCAA is going to have quite the field day with the Kiffin and the Trojan program before all is said and done.

Fresh off of his role in the Mike Leach scandal at Texas Tech, ESPN analyst Craig James is setting the stage to run for the United States Senate in 2012.  And judging from his interview with the Dallas Morning News, his political acumen is even muddier than his football commentary.  He does recite the Teabagger party line decrying health care reform and the financial stimulus package, even reciting long discredited arguments.  I guess he figures since he stands no chance of gaining any support in West Texas from Red Raider fans, he might be able to get enough support of Longhorn or Aggie alumns who also happen to be devotees of Glenn Beck.

UNO is making quite a push to draw a huge crowd to the February 5th hockey game against Ohio State.  Not just a huge crowd...a sellout crowd at the Qwest Center.  You can buy discount tickets online...or if you want to wait until overnight February 3rd, you can go on campus and buy tickets as cheap as $1 each.  Of course, that's if it's not sold out by then.  The first day's ticket sales were 460, leaving under 7,000 remaining.  Can they do it?  Up until last April, I would have doubted it.  But right now, I wouldn't put it past UNO to pull this off.

Final CBSsports.com 2009 BlogPoll Ballot

I wasn't sure if they were going to do a season-ending BlogPoll, but the other Husker blogs are posting 'em...so I'll join the fun.

Rank	Team
1	Alabama
2	Texas
3	Boise State
4	Florida
5	TCU
6	Ohio State
7	Virginia Tech
8	Iowa
9	Cincinnati
10	Oregon
11	Penn State
12	Brigham Young
13	LSU
14	Nebraska
15	Georgia Tech
16	Pittsburgh
17	Utah
18	Miami (Florida)
19	Clemson
20	Oklahoma
21	Mississippi
22	Stanford
23	Southern Cal
24	Wisconsin
25	Texas Tech

Obviously, Alabama has been my #1 choice since September, so no change there.  I'm moving Texas up to #2 because if I still think that if Colt McCoy was healthy, they would have won.  Boise gets #3 for going undefeated.  Florida's dismantling of Cincy was enough to move them ahead of TCU, and enough to push Cincy down the ballot.

I've given the Big Ten a lot of grief in recent years, so I'm giving them credit for a fine bowl season.  I still like LSU despite another ugly loss on a sloppy field.  And yeah, Oklahoma is back in the top 20. 

Not sure if there actually will be a poll, but if there is, send me your corrections and comments and I'll adjust them as necessary.

Hudson, Bratwurst, and the Brief Respite from the Eternal Winter

Thanks to a horrific week of weather, I didn't get to check out the UNO hockey series against Alaska this weekend. The bitter wind chills made it unwise to take the kids out (especially when they are already battling winter coughs and colds), and Saturday, I wrenched my back digging out a 5 foot deep snowdrift on the back.  So I watched Friday night's game on TV, and followed along at home Saturday night.  The story of this weekend for UNO was my favorite Maverick:  Alex Hudson, who scored all three of UNO's goals.  I can't quite put my finger on it, but Hudson just seems to be a little bigger, stronger, and faster than most everybody else on the ice.

While I was sitting on my heating pad yesterday, I did get to check out the debut of Christian Standhardinger in a Husker uniform against Texas A&M.  The freshman from Germany finally became eligible...and just in the nick of time as Big XII play has begun.  And, oh, does this kid have game. I don't want to read too much into just one game, but if he continues to play at that level, Nebraska has a shot to be competitive in the middle of the Big XII.  Yes, Kansas, Texas, Kansas State, and Missouri are at the elite level in the conference.

The only surprise I had today was hearing the talking heads on television predicting New England to beat Baltimore this morning.  Oops.  Think that injury to Wes Welker didn't mean much now?

Finally, a quick salute to Travis Justice, who's signing off from local sports television. Didn't agree with him frequently, and he had a way of bloviating just about every subject, but you had to respect the effort he put in on local radio and television.  Not sure who'll replace him, because it'll probably take two or three guys to fill his shoes.  (And frankly, with the current economics of broadcasting the way they are, it's unlikely they'll do that...)

Tuesday Night Beer: Blais'n a World Championship for the USA

Congratulations to UNO head coach Dean Blais, who lead Team USA to a 6-5 overtime victory over Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship.  Here's the video of the game winner:
Maybe this accomplishment doesn't mean much to the casual sports fan in Nebraska, but north of the border, this is a big deal.  In Canada, this is as big as the college bowl games are in the United States.  And frankly, in hockey circles, this is huge for UNO as Dean Blais adds "World Champion head coach" to his resume along side "two-time national champion"... think that doesn't carry some weight as Blais talks to student-athletes choosing a college?

Now, it's back to Omaha for Blais.  Up next for UNO is Alaska, with Friday night's game broadcast on NET-HD for those who are frozen inside.

Tonight's Orange Bowl broadcast caps the end of the Fox era with the BCS..something that won't exactly be missed, other than the even sadder realization that next year, the games move completely to cable TV.  Not that Fox did a good job at anything other than cheerleader and band shots, but the idea that the games now are on pay television is a sad indictment of the future of sports on television.  At least we won't have to listen to Fox commentary anymore.

Fox News this weekend inflicted their own bizarre spin on the world into the world of sports in two seperate incidents.  First, Shepherd Smith became a sideline commentator at the Cotton Bowl...then Brit Hume embarked on a crusade to convert Tiger Woods to Christianity. 
Unbelievable.

Back to football, 1620 the Zone reported today that ESPN's college football bloggers think Nebraska will be ranked #9 to start the 2010 season.  First of all, there's the necessary disclaimer about ridiculous pre-season ratings.  Wasn't Oklahoma State and 'Ole Miss in similar positions in the preseason?  'Nuff said.  But these rankings are especially fragile when we don't know the status of Zac Lee's elbow, or even who all will be back?  Especially when a CBS Sports draft "expert" slots junior cornerback Prince Amukamara as a late first round draft pick in the upcoming NFL draft.  Now Amukamara hasn't said anything about leaving Nebraska early, but obviously, that would have to be tempting for Amukamara to skip his senior season.

But is Nebraska a potential top ten team next season?  Maybe, as the schedule seems somewhat friendly.  Steve Pederson dumbed down the non-conference schedule with only a road-trip to Washington to worry about.  A Colt McCoy-less Texas team comes to Lincoln, while a Zach Robinson-less Oklahoma State team would be the biggest road challenge.  Even so, Nebraska's offensive renaissance is a little too fragile to boost the Huskers into the Top Ten at this point.  Certainly they're worthy of being rated, but a top ten rating this early is rather premature at this point.

New Years Night Beer: FSN Failure

With only five bowl games today, I actually was looking more for hockey than football.  I expected Florida to blow out Cincinnati...and it was even worse than I expected.  So with the Gators trouncing the Bearcats, I switched over to FSN to watch UNO play Denver, only to be greeted by a rerun of "The Top 50 Emotional Moments in Sports"  Yep, that's right:  FSN televised the UNO-Denver game, but only to the Denver area, leaving Omaha to get filler broadcasts.  Turns out I didn't miss much, as the Pioneers shut out the Mavericks 7-0.  Still, I'm not sure what FSN's excuse could possibly be.

The other hockey game was everything I expected and more.  This year's NHL Winter Classic was at Fenway, with Boston playing Philadelphia.  Like the previous New Years' games, this game had the buzz the bowl games lack.  And when Boston tied it with 2 minutes left, it ranked up there with the LSU/Penn State soup bowl in terms of excitement.  (I'll pass on the Northwestern/Auburn bumblefest, thank you...)  The overtime was off the charts with the Flyers missing a great chance to win on a breakaway before the Bruins got the win.  Football is still America's game, and college football is perhaps the most passionate version of it, but the bowls seem to making a mockery of it.  Only 5 games?  New Years Day is becoming a shadow of it's former self --- and the NHL is taking full advantage of it. 

I had predicted Oregon to wipe the field with Ohio State, so I was surprised how much I was wrong there.  But maybe not; judging by Arizona's performance on Wednesday night and UCLA's struggle with Temple, perhaps the Pac-10 is the new overrated conference.  Or maybe it's the Big East, judging from Cincinnati and West Virginia.

I'm not sure what to make out about the whole Mike Leach saga down at Texas Tech.  Yes, I think Adam James had his share of problems, and daddy probably didn't help things either.  But let's not forget that Leach had his own issues with the administration at Texas Tech.  He almost got fired last spring; the idea that Craig James got Leach fired is rather simplistic.  If anything, I'd suggest that Craig James is wondering how this situation blew up far larger than he ever thought it would when he complained about Leach.  If anything, I think Craig James might be the only person involved in this who has any regret over what happened.  I don't think Mike Leach does, and I don't think the Texas Tech administration does either.  Not that I'm a fan of James; I remember some of the tripe he used to spew on ESPN GameDay in the early 90's before leaving for CBS.  If anything, he's continued a trend of not engaging his brain before opening his mouth.

I Beg to Differ With Bo: Nebraska's Not Back Yet... But Damn Sure Getting There

In the trophy presentation after a 33-0 Holiday Bowl victory over Arizona, Bo Pelini proclaimed "Nebraska is back and we're here to stay."  With all due respect, Nebraska isn't back ... but making a very strong push in that direction.  Remember "Restore the Order"?  It only took two years for Bill Callahan to drive the Huskers into the ground.

But make no bones about it, Nebraska is closer to where they want to be than at any time since 2001.  Nebraska football is all about championships, and Nebraska came up 1 second short this season.  (There's also a little matter of 8 fumbles against Iowa State and failure to find the end zone against Iowa State.)

But tonight, we saw what Nebraska football can be and should be.  The first bowl game shutout in Nebraska, Holiday Bowl, and Big XII history.  Holding Arizona to 108 yards (72 on  the final drive) and just 5 first downs puts an explanation point on this season, and this comeback.  In the month of November, 2007, Nebraska gave up 172 points in three games.  In 14 games in 2009, Nebraska gave up a total of only 146 points.

Arizona never really got their offense out of neutral, and it was a team effort across the board.  The defensive line applied the pressure, and the secondary blanketed the Wildcat receivers.  We missed Matt O'Hanlon's interception thanks to the long-running Blue Turf Bowl, but he did exactly what he's been doing all season.  Bo Pelini said in the postgame that he'll likely play on Sunday, which should be a tough pill for the haters that bagged on him over the last couple of years.  (The latest in a long line of under-appreciated Huskers on defense, starting with Scott Shanle and Barrett Ruud...)

And what a way for Ndamukong Suh to finish his career.  He didn't put up the numbers, but he was as dominant as ever tonight on the line in ensuring the shutout.  We're going to miss the big guy, but I have this sneaking suspicion that in another couple of year, we're going to be calling Jared Crick the next Suh.

Offensively, Zac Lee took over and staked his claim as Nebraska's starting quarterback in 2010.  Overly maligned offensive coordinator Shawn Watson made a point to have Lee run the ball, and Lee did just that.  He's not Tommie Frazier or Eric Crouch, but he showed tougher running and better decision making on the run than he had all season.  It's going to be a learning process for Lee, but he's showing signs of getting it.  Cody Green is a fine runner, but his arm continues to scare me.  The young man has a lot of work to do as Lee separated himself from Green tonight.

Not sure what happened to Roy Helu, but I assume he injured himself on the slick field.  Didn't matter because Rex Burkhead answered the bell.  GFW called for Burkhead in the "Wildcat" formation, and Watson responded.  I also loved the double I-back set where Burkhead motions into a quasi Pistol/Wishbone formation.  Certainly this offensive staff went back and looked for ways to open up the offense.

I still would like to see fewer 2 yard routes, and more intermediate throws to the receivers.  But I liked what I saw from Brandon Kinnie and, of course, Niles Paul.  Currenski Gillyelen got back on the field...usually on his rear end by not keeping his feet.  Opening up the offense also allowed Mike McNeill to be free to be a part of the passing game rather than blocking.

The offensive line continues to be a concern, but I think that might change next season with redshirted freshmen and junior college transfers.  Only Jacob Hickman graduates, so there's quite a bit of experience returning.

In his post game radio interview, Bo Pelini stepped back from the "Nebraska is back" talk, pointing out that "back" means winning championships.  Holiday Bowl trophies are nice, but Nebraska won't be back until they are back playing in BCS bowl games and hoisting conference championship trophies.  We'll know when Nebraska's back when nobody asks or mentions it anymore.

In the month of December, Nebraska proved they almost there.  Steve Sipple suggests even without Suh, the defense could be even better next season.  The offense looks like it will be better.  The schedule sets up nicely as well.  Next year could finally quiet the naysayers and doubters.  How long until the spring game?  How long until the season opener?  I think we all can hardly wait.

Sunday Night Dessert: Urban Meyer Media Circus

The more you read about Urban Meyer's health issues, the more you have to wonder just how strong the pull of coaching is.  Between heart issues, dehydration, and a brain cyst, Meyer's body is sending him clear signals...but still Meyer wants to coach.  Immediately after last night's announcement that Meyer was stepping down, the rumor mill ran amok, reporting that Bob Stoops was headed to Gainsville.  'Scuse me?  After how many false reports that Stoops was going to Notre Dame, you'd think the media would have learned their lesson about giving credibility to idle speculation.  Stop and think about it: Meyer had already said he would stay at Florida in an administrative position.  Can you imagine taking over the Florida job with Urban Meyer hanging around?  First loss, and people start asking Meyer how he's feeling.

Shawn Watson tells the Lincoln Journal-Star that Cody Green is expected to play in the Holiday Bowl this week.  Good move as while Nebraska certainly wants to win this bowl game, I really think the more important task is to figure out something with the offense.  Ten wins is a great accomplishment, but looking ahead to next season, it's not the number of wins as much as solving the offensive doldrums.  Remember the motto on the west side of Memorial Stadium:  "Not the victory but the action."  With a few weeks of healing for some injured players, it's time to see whether the spread attack works better with Brandon Kinnie involved in the offense.  And whether Green can operate that offense more efficiently than Zac Lee.  Cody Green has better mobility and running instincts than Lee, but at times, his arm reminds me of Jammal Lord in it's inconsistency.  (Sammy Vegas called him a "turnover waiting to happen".)

Notice that with Fox moving the Cotton Bowl to Saturday, there are now only FIVE bowl games on New Years Day?  The Outback at 10 am (why so effin' early?) between Northwestern and Auburn?  Zzzz.  Gator at noon with Bobby Bowden's last game?  Ok for sentimental reasons, I guess.  Citrus Bowl between Penn State and LSU?  Uggh...another game for the Big Ten to embarrass themselves.  Then the Irrelevent Yawner Bowl between Ohio State and Oregon followed by the Sugar Bowl with Urban Meyer's last game for now.  That's it.  Five.  And none particularly compelling.  I may end up watching the NHL Winter Classic from Fenway; early weather reports suggest a 50% chance of snow.

"I'll Be Home for Christmas" --- With No Football???

Like many people, my plans for this Christmas changed after being snowed in with the blizzard.  Typically, much of Christmas is spent with extended family, but this year, I'm only going as far as the new snowblower will take me.  The kids aren't affected that much; Santa still made it so there are plenty of new toys to play with.  But television is a wasteland today.  The Aloha Bowl and Blue-Gray games are history, meaning Christmas is now sadly football free.  In fact, no real sports at all on the television dial.  Just figure skating on NBC and the Not Basketball Association pretending to play hoops on ABC.  Movies aren't much better.  TBS is playing that gawd-awful "A Christmas Story" non-stop.  "You'll shoot your eye out" gladly if you actually watch that tripe.  Best thing so far was Caddyshack.  Not Christmas related at all, but better than a test pattern.

In all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I did get out to the UNO/Minnesota State-Mankato hockey game last Saturday night.  It's somewhat ironic that we're seeing UNO is so many low-scoring games despite Dean Blais' resume of "race horse hockey".  I'm not overly concerned at this point, as I knew the transition wouldn't happen overnight, but I did expect a better November after a good October start to the season.  John Faulkner has become a steady presence in goal.  One player I keep waiting to see jump up and take the next step is Alex Hudson.  Last weekend, we saw a few spurts from him where he simply dominated the ice, failing only to get the puck into the net.

Briejay fans are up in arms over a now-deleted rant by Creighton guard P'Allen Stinnett where Stinnett posted something on Facebook criticizing fans...and of course, the Briejay fans took offense, and the posting in question quickly disappeared from Facebook.  Truth be told, while Stinnett wasn't being politically correct, he did point out the bandwagon nature of some Creighton fans as of late.  Now I admit I don't follow Creighton basketball (though I probably would have watched a Bluejay game today since there was so little else to watch!), but I have heard the bandwagon Creighton fans criticizing the team and Dana Altman, who's the most successful coach in Creighton history.  Not to suggest that Altman doesn't make mistakes, but the idea that Creighton could do better than Dana Altman is laughable.  And I imagine those same bandwagon fans were the target of Stinnett's rant last weekend.

Dirk Chatelain went back and revisited that overhyped 2005 Nebraska recruiting class yesterday.  Probably the biggest observation is the 15 recruits who either never played or played sparingly; that's almost an entire signing class prior to Bill Callahan's arrival.  But other than Ndamukong Suh and possibly Zac Taylor, very few players lived up to the hype that surrounded their signing.  But how could they live up to the fanfare that awaited them when they arrived in Lincoln?  I said it in 2005, and I'll say it again.  Rivals can only measure part of what makes a great football player.  Coaching matters...and when you look at 2007, matters more.  Good coaching can turn average talent into a good player and great talent into all-American players.  Just look at guys like Matt O'Hanlon and Suh for evidence of that.  Conversely, bad coaching can make great players look average or worse-- just look at Suh in 2007 for evidence of that.

Does that make recruiting invalid or unimportant?  Hardly.  Recruiting is important, and the starting point of building a program.  But it's just that --- a start.  The more important thing to observe is that recruiting rankings aren't necessarily relevent.  Southern Cal and Texas consistently have highly rated recruiting classes, but didn't become national powers until Pete Carroll and Mack Brown took over.  Florida State has been a consistent top-ten program in recruiting over the years, but not on the field in Bobby Bowden's twilight years.  Obviously, you want the best players you can get, but remember, recruiting experts frequently get it wrong. Earlier this week, I heard Jeremy Crabtree of Rivals suggesting that Texas wasn't recruiting the best running back in Texas, causing me to laugh.  I'd suggest that the coaching staff at Texas has a difference of opinion on who the best running back in Texas is, and frankly, Mack Brown's staff has more credibility than Rivals.