Ummm . . . . Yeaaaahh

Uh, oh.

The Nebraska football team won today 17-3. If I told you just that information, Nebraska fans would jump up and down and cheer and say, 'Sears Trophy/ADT Trophy/Whatever Company Trophy, here come to get you.'

But in the words of Lee Corso, 'Not so fast, my friend!'

Let's fill in the rest of the picture. Nebraska beat South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits. Nebraska beat the daunted South Dakota State Jackrabbits 17-3.

Give SDSU a ton of credit. They came into this game EXPECTING to win. And you know what, they almost did!

Taylor Martinez, who looked like one of the top QB's in the country the first two weeks of the season including a hostile trip to Washington last week, threw 6-14 for 140 yards, 1 TD and two interceptions. And the interceptions were not tips that fell in the wrong teams hands. The interceptions were rookie mistakes. Taylor owed the interceptions in his post game press conference and said that they were his fault. In the first three games, Martinez had three 100+ yard games and every time he ran the ball, you were expecting a 50 yard TD run. SDSU looked like they knew the play that was coming stuffed it. Taylor ended his 100+ yd/gm streak tonight only gaining 75 yards on 13 carries.

Martinez didn't get any help either. It seemed like the whole team was off the whole game. Head coach Bo Pelini took blame for the game saying that the team was out coached, out played and all of that was on his shoulders. The defense wasn't clicking like it was last week. The amazing secondary that we saw in Washington that only allowed four completions for Jake Locker, gave up 12 catches for Thomas O'Brien.

All around, it was not a good game. It was a win, but not a good game.

What will we see next week? That is the question. Will we see a team that is pumped for the Big 12 season and their last time they will ever have to face Kansas State? I would think so. But I also thought that tonight's game would have been a 30 or 40 point victory . . . not a 17-3 win over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

One Hell Of A Debut!!!

Well, Omaha. You all heard the buzz and excitement all summer Pro football in Omaha.
Did it live up to the hype? You bet your ass it did!

That was a crazy game, a crazy halftime show, a crazy environment and that was game #1. We still have four more home games including some high profile names coming to Rosenblatt Stadium.

Highlights of the night:

• I don't know if it was a highlight, but the reception that the crowd gave when Mayor Suttle was introduced for the opening coin toss. That has to suck to hear a 23,000+ of your citizens booing.

• In contrast, it was nice to see the booing that the Husker fans in the crowd gave to Colonials DB Ryan Palmer when his name was announced and the fact that he played at the University of Texas.

• The electricity in the air from the very first kick off. People have never seen a Nighthawks game before. There is no history for this team. But people embraced the team as their own right away. The Nighthawks became Omaha's football team.

• The level of play on the field was awesome. This was not a college football game. This was a professional football game and it looked like it. These guys were a little faster, a little bigger and a little better than even the Huskers down I-80.

• The new traditions. Since this is a new team and a new fan base, traditions can pop here and there. During the game PA announcer Matt Schick had the crowd yelling 'FIRST DOWN' every time the Nighthawks got one. And the fans loved it and got into it.

• Nelly. Nelly fans got a jam packed 10 minute show at halftime filled with a bunch of songs. I looked around and I saw people back behind what was home plate and the farthest away from the stage dancing and getting into the performance.

• The ending. The Nighthawks organization could not have asked for a better ending to their opening night. People left the stadium on a high and were ready to buy tickets to the next game. And they were going to go home and on Facebook and tell their friends about how great of a time that they had and the buzz will continue.

What a night. We'll see you next Saturday at Rosenblatt Stadium when we see Jeff Garcia going head to head with Daunte Culpepper.

WOW!!!

Can You See Us Now?

You know those stupid Verizon commercials with the huge group of techies following behind him while he repeats the line, "Can you hear me now?" I see Taylor Martinez with with the whole Nebraska team behind him and telling the country, "Can you see us now?"

Nebraska beat Washington 56-21 on Saturday and that was one hell of a performance for their first game on the national stage. People across the country go a chance to see what Nebraska fans saw the first two weeks of the year. But this time, it wasn't against Western Kentucky or Idaho. It was on the road against a PAC-10 team, at one of the loudest stadiums in the country.

The sound didn't appear to faze the young QB one bit. Like the first two games of the year, he looked like a veteran who's gone on the road before and played in hostile environments before.

HE DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A FRESHMAN!!!

He looks like seasoned veteran quarterback leading an upper level D-1 program.

This was the first big measuring stick game for this Husker team. Sure they could be 'Nobody State' in a stadium full of their own fans. But can they beat a BCS on the road in enemy territory. Yep. And they looked good doing it, too.

Next up, a tune up homecoming game. Last weekend was the perfect game for Coach Pelini. Look good on the national stage and come away with an impressive victory, BUT show some kinks (Cody Green fumbling his first two snaps) that you can use it as a teaching game as well. 'Guys, nice job. That was one hell of a victory, BUT here are couple things that we can work on to take it to the next level.'

The South Dakota State game is a clean up game where you can clean up your mistakes, work on the fundamentals and get your head on right for the Big 12 season.

After that, another big time stage with a Thursday night game against Kansas State. The stage will be yours again. Martinez will get to shine and the secondary will have a chance to do their thing. And EVERYBODY will be watching. Make a statement against K-State and then comes THE GAME.

The first two seasons of Bo Pelini's reign at Nebraska got off to a shaky start at the beginning of the season and then things turned around at the end. It looks like those days are behind him. Make the statement early and turn some heads in September and October.

Two more games to get through and then it will be time for THE GAME!!!

On The Road Again . . .

This week the Nebraska football take to the road for the first time this year when they go the Pacific Northwest and take on the Washington Huskies at 2:30.

Is it a big deal? I think so.

There will not be the familiarities that you are used to at home. You won't have your bed. You won't have your friends and family (I know, I know . . . your teammates are your like family, but you know what I mean). You won't have your usual pre and post game routine. You won't have 86,000 people yelling for you.

You will have 70,000+ people yelling against you.

The veterans have done this before. They know what they're doing. But the freshman might have a rude awakening. This isn't like playing your cross city rival in high school football. It can be intimidating and daunting.

This is where the coaches come in. One of the best sports movies of all time is Hoosiers. Do you remember the scene where Gene Hackman pulls out the tape measure and they measure the height of the basket? 10 feet. Just like at home. They should do that on Friday. Get the whole team (or just the freshman) out on the field and get a long tape measure and measure from goal line to goal line. 100 yards. Just like at Memorial Stadium. Just like on the practice field. It's football. That is essentially what Carl Pelini said in today's press conference. The field looks the same as it does at home. The only thing that changes is the stands and the color in the seats.

It's football.

Playing on the road can be intimidating, but it also could be motivation. You want people on your team who will feed off of the crowd, both the positive crowd at home and the negative crowd on the road. You want those people who will thrive in those situations.

Will Taylor Martinez shine on Saturday? I don't know, but he'll get his chance to if he can handle the crowd and realize that it's just football.

Happy Labor Day!

I forgot to post his yesterday, but I wanted to say Happy Labor Day, to the entire work force out there. This country would not be the country that it is without the laborers.

Thank you!!

In Or Out?

Does Boise State deserve to be in the BCS Championship game?

It depends.

It depends are the remaining 11 plus games of the season for every team in college football. I want to congratulate the Bronco's for winning their FIRST game of the year. You know who else won their first game of the year? Half of the football teams playing college football!!! After the game last night where beat Virginia Tech 33-30 in thrilling game in Washington DC, Boise State was celebrating like they had just won it all.

IF they were to run the table and win the rest of their games this season, do they deserve a spot in the BCS Championship game? It depends on what the other teams in the country do. I believe that a 1 loss Alabama or a 1 loss Ohio State or a 1 loss Texas or (wishful thinking) a 1 loss Nebraska has just as much of a case to play for it all as Boise State.

I agree that you shouldn't penalize Boise State for the conference that they play in or the schedule that they have, but you also can not penalize Alabama if they were to lose 1 game with the grueling schedule they face in the SEC.

Monday night was an instant classic. It was an amazing game that people will be talking about all season. But, IT WAS THE FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON!!!

Let it all play out. We have a couple of months to argue. Just take a breathe and let's watch some football!!

What A First Impression!

All I can say is 'WOW'!

Taylor Martinez gets the start at quarterback for the opening game as a freshman. That doesn't happen very often. In fact, it hasn't ever happened before. And the way he looked in the opening drive, you can tell that he has earned that spot.

On the third play of the day for the Huskers, Martinez keeps the ball and makes a 46 yard run for the end zone to get his first of 3 touchdowns of the night. He has an explosiveness that is impressive. Before you know it, he's past the defensive line and is shaking a linebacker or two.

Here's is line AS A REDSHIRT FRESHMAN PLAYING IN HIS FIRST COLLEGIATE GAME EVER:

7 runs for 127 yards and 3 TD's. 9-15 passing for 136 yards. That's 263 of total offense.

But, it's more than the numbers. He just looked like a big time college quarterback out there. He showed confidence. He showed poise. He looked like a leader on the offense. Taking nothing from Zac Lee and what he did with the team last year, but Martinez looked like he fit the roll of starting quarterback better than Zac.

Keep in mind that this is all against Western Kentucky. This is all in game one. This is a long season. We've got a long way to go. But 85,555 plus a pay-per-view audience may have just took a peek at the future of Nebraska football. That is a lot to put on one kid, but the future does look good at the quarterback position.

The Good:

• Yeeaaahhh, that's a no brainer. Taylor Martinez.
• Rex Burkhead looked good with 5 rushes for 57 yards and a TD.
• The offensive looked like it was well balanced and it was clicking in the air and on the ground (for game #1 against Western Kentucky). 536 total yards with 289 yards coming on the ground and 247 yards coming in the air. Not bad. In the post game interview room, offensive coordinator Shawn Watson looked as happy as could be.

The Bad (or rather things that need some work):

• The defense wasn't bad, but they're weren't the best and head coach Bo Pelini agreed with that in his post game press conference. Western Kentucky was able to rack up 299 of total offense with 5 foot 8 inch running back Bobby Rainey counting 155 yards of that. The backfield got beat on a few plays. Overall, not the best and not Cosgrove-like. But they will sure hear it from Bo next week. Suh is gone (he as actually on the sidelines for this game), but Crick showed signs of being the beast that takes his place!

This was Western Kentucky. They've got a lot of work to do until Texas comes rolling into Lincoln. Bo Pelini said that this is not the polished product, yet. Next week comes Idaho and then you get your first real test of the season with a road trip to Washington. Taylor Martinez was able to shine in front 85,000+ friendly patrons, but what about 70,000+ people against you. That's the next measuring stick.

But, one thing is for sure . . . after watching the first game of the year, screw the Big Ten (for now) . . . let's play some football this year!!!!

Let's Do This!!

Football season is here. We are just minutes away from Nebraska's final season in the Big 12. The Huskers want to go out in style, leave the Big 12 on top and make a statement to their new opponents in the Big Ten.

It all starts NOW!!!!!!!!

Are You Ready?

It's almost here! I can't wait for the temperature to start falling. I can't wait to pull out my sweatshirts. I can't wait to spend the whole weekend watching football!!

Saturday is Fan Day out at Nebraska where Nebraska fans have a chance to go through the line to meet and get autographs from all of the Husker football players and coaches. Then, that afternoon, the fun begins. The football team will have their first practice before the start of the season. We will get daily updates from practice. If you're in Lincoln, you'll be able to drive by campus and see the guys out there working out.

The Big 12 Farewell Tour will get underway on September 4th. Besides that Texas game, I'm almost the point where I could care less about the Big 12. The future of Nebraska is not in the Big 12. Nebraska was never fully comfortable in the Big 12. The Big Ten is our future. I will take notice of Big Ten games more this year. I will watch the Big Ten Network more this year. I, for one, am looking more towards the future and not at the past . . . EXCEPT FOR THE TEXAS GAME!!!

SSSSUUUUUUHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Team USA Baseball

There is something in sports that Midwesterners love. They always have and they always will. They love it when players leave everything on the field for the love of the game. It is shown in their fanaticism for college sports, whether it's Huskers, Bluejays or the Maverics. They love it when kids are on the field giving it everything they have to win.

They also love their country. Why shouldn't you. No matter what your political views, EVERYONE has to admit that this is the best country in the world . . . hands down.

Why not combine both of these loves! And you can tonight. Tonight, the USA National Baseball team will be playing the Japanese National Baseball team at Rosenblatt at 7:00 pm. You will see college aged kids out there playing for their country. They will be decked out in red, white and blue and the name on the front of their jersey will not say UCLA, Arizona State or South Carolina. The name on the front of their jersey will say USA!!!!

These kids know what that means and know that they are representing their country in a competition on the field. A lot of these guys were here a month ago playing in the final College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium. And now their back to play for their country.

The least that we could do as Americans and as baseball fans is to show up and root them on to victory!

Counting Down!!

I just wanted to throw this out there . . .

49 DAYS UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF SATURDAY FOOTBALL THIS SEASON!!!

Once we get past the All Star Game, the we seem to be on the second half of the summer. We start to see more football stories on SportsCenter. Camps start coming together for the NFL teams followed soon after by college football media days (by the way, how crazy will Big 12 media days be this year, especially for Nebraska). Then when August gets here, the college players will get back on campus to begin practicing. And don't forget your fantasy football drafts! And before you know it your whole weekend is spent on the couch with a beer in hand watching the pigskin.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

It's About Time

14 year!!! What all has happened in the last 14 year? How many people who are 20 now, remember when they were 6 years old?

We've hosted two Olympics in the US in that time. We've elected a black president in that time. We've seen the rise and fall of several boy bands in that time. We've seen the addition of 3 new Star Wars movies in that time.

It's been 14 years since the National Team has won the All Star game. Do you remember that crazy summer with Sosa and McGwire? Yeah, this happened even before then. The last time the National League won the All Star game, the steroids era was in full swing in the MLB, but wasn't known by the public.

14 years ago, Mel Gibson was the cool guy from the Lethal Weapon movies. (Man, that guy's career is in the crapper now.)

Congratulations, National League!! You did it! You got that 14 year old monkey off your back!!!

Most Boring Day Of The Sports Year

Today (the day after the All Star Game) is the only day of the year where there are not any of the major sports playing at all. No baseball, no football, no basketball, no hockey, NOTHING!!! I couldn't imagine going more than one day with out any sort of sport to follow.

So, use this day to recuperate. Spend it with your family and out of the heat. Make your wife think that you would rather spend time with her instead of 'watching all of the games that are on TV'. She'll love you and it will give you a free pass for the second half of the baseball season and the first part of the football season.

Hillman Out! Yost In!

I feel bad for Trey Hillman. You manage a game. You win the game. And then you get fired. That sucks. That is like you making a great presentation and then getting fired. The problem is that you didn't get fired based on that one presentation and he didn't get fired based on that one game. Trey Hillman didn't win. Plain and simple.

Trey came in after Buddy Bell stepped down and he was going to bring some fresh air to the club. A young coach with energy that would put a spark in the clubhouse and get these young guys going. It didn't happen. There were signs that it could happen. A great start to the 2009 season that had Royals fans wondering if this would be the year that they become a .500 team and try to contended in the AL Central Division. But then the Royals became the Royals of the last two decades and went back to the bottom of the division. The Royals showed signs last year with a pitcher that was able to overcome being on a bad team to be awarded the American League Cy Young Award. It's a great building block for this season, but on May 13th, the day that Trey gets fired, Greinke finally picks up his first win of the season.

Trey Hillman seems like a really nice guy. Dayton Moore obviously really likes Trey. That was evident when he broke down crying at the press conference to announce the firing of the manager. If you're a nice guy the loses baseball games, you're still losing baseball games. You're not winning. You're not contending and you're not putting butts in the seats.

What do the Royals need to get out of the basement in the division and be talked about with respect? I don't know. But, they need to go talk to the Rays because they've done it.

Big 10?

There's been a lot of discussion about the conference re-alignment and the changes that will be coming to the college football and college sports landscape. And yesterday came the report from WHB in Kansas City that the Big 10 has made 'initial offers' to Notre Dame, Rutgers, Missouri and NEBRASKA. Is this a good thing? I say yes.

There are more positives to moving to the Big 10 than there are positives of staying the Big 12. By the looks of it, the Big 12 could be a picking ground for the other conferences. The Pac 10 wants to expand and the SEC wants to expand and the Big 10 wants to expand. Who is NOT looking at expansion? . . . the Big 12. If anything, the Big 12 is looking at schools that they will need to replace leaving schools. Why not get ahead of the changes and do whatever you can to move to a conference where you know they will have quality opponents? Why not do everything you can to go to a conference that has their own TV network?

Beat the rush and lock yourself into a good conference rather sit on your hands and get stuck in a mediocre to bad conference.

I hope we see this in the World Cup . . .

Congratulations!

Congratulations not only to the National Champions, the Duke Blue Devils, but also you have to give it up to the Butler Bulldogs. I don't know if I have ever seen a more exciting national championship game. It was close the whole way and either team could have won. Butler was just a fraction of an inch from completing the miracle season and pulling off one of the biggest upsets in all of sports.

Duke might have the title of National Champions, but Butler deserves a share of it. And I guess I have to also congratulate the athletic director of Butler, Barry Collier, for making it to the championship game.

This Would Suck!!!

Dude get's hit my Joe Flacco! Ouch!

It's Almost Here!

It's almost here. My sports holiday is opening day. I plan on getting my work done early so that I can get home and sit on my butt all day and watch 'America's passtime'.

My ideal day would include a spot in the bleachers of a baseball game, with scorebook in one hand, a hot dog in the other hand and a cold beer in the cup holder. There is nothing better.

Opening day is the day for optimists. Everybody has the same record and there's a chance for everybody to make a run and end up in the playoffs and the World Series. Even my Kansas City Royals (hey, it happened the Rays). Opening Day is also a sign that we made it through winter. The bitter cold is gone and the green grass and sunshine is here.

Hell0, baseball. It's good to see you. I've missed you.

NFL Network Loves Suh

I'm watching the NFL Combine online at work and they just need to change the name of the network to NSN (Ndamukong Suh Network). They are giving him a ton of love and it's good to see. Whatever team he goes to (and if the Rams pass on them, they are CRAZY and deserve to be the worst team in the league) he will become the face of the team and will be a fan favorite.

Funny!

Here's a picture of Flordia head coach Urban Meyer receiving a text message last night at the Florida basketball game. I think he just found out that Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin has left UT to coach at USC. Hilarious!

UPDATE: Here's the video . . .

Shocker!

PLEASE tell me that you weren't surprised that Mark McGwire took steroids! Congratulations, Mark! You've confirmed what everyone that follows baseball already new. You took steroids. You've tarnished baseball. I hope you feel better. Baseball will never be the same because of you and all of the roid heads in the MLB. You've broken records. Records that no longer mean a thing. If another player hits 62 home runs, it is no longer an accomplishment. If a player hits 62 home runs now, they don't get a car and a celebration, they get questions and scrutiny. Thanks for tarnishing my favorite sport forever. I hope you got it all off your chest and you feel better about yourself.

NFL Playoff Week 2 Predictions

First off, that was one hell of a game last night between Green Bay and Arizona. There was huge lead, a huge comeback, horrible defense (on both sides of the ball), a missed FG (that should have been a gimme to win the game), an overtime and a defensive TD to end the game when there was no defense by either team all game. Two words . . . instant classic!

My predictions for week 2 of the NFL Playoffs

Arizona at New Orleans (-7): New Orleans gets things fixed following their bad end of the season and win this one and covers 45-24.

Baltimore at Indianapolis (-7): There's a reason why Manning won his 4th MVP this season. Indy wins and covers 35-21.

Dallas at Minnesota (-3): Upset of the weekend. Dallas is playing very good and Favre will throw 2 INT's. Dallas wins 21-14.

New York at San Diego (-7.5): The Chargers are playing great at the right time. Chargers win by the Jets cover 28-24.

WOW!

Two thoughts: A) What a hell of a shot! B)What a way to lose a game!

The Fun Part Of The Season Starts Now

For all basketball fans in state, either the blue ones or the red ones, the best part of the basketball season start now.

Conference season.

The rest is the preseason. It's like the non-conference in football. Some good games, but for the most part we see teams like Houston Baptist and Maryland-Eastern Shore. There's nothing like a good Florida A&M or Texas Pan-American to get your basketball blood pumping.

Now we will see familiar teams with coaches and players that know each other and know their style of play. There are no more guaranteed wins. Anybody can beat anybody. Upsets will happen and tempers will flare. You can't tell me that it is not fun to watch Creighton and SIU battle on the hardwood. That's fun basketball.

So, with the college football and bowl season all but over, here's to the round ball and fun few months until March Madness.