SPECIALS
Ready to Roll
The Omaha Rollergirls suit up for a bout in much the same gear as any athlete: kneepads, helmets, mouth guards … fishnets. OK, so that last bit of garb isn't standard in the sports world, but it’s a fitting component of ORGs’ stunning cocktail of sport and style, skill and spectacle. Visiting their bunker at the old Cheap Skate near 90th and Maple for a practice/scrimmage it’s clear that while the skaters’ tattooed-rocker-meets-retro look is hot, their derby names hilarious and their pin-curls on point, the aesthetic is only as bangin’ as the fierce athleticism. Angela Parker, an Air Force unit program coordinator who skates as Alice D. Tripp, is a new skater in 2011, but she’s refereed in previous…
entered on 02/16/11 at 02:25 PM | read more »
Recruiting trail cools as the coaching search gets hot
All is fair in love and recruiting. If Bob Devaney didn’t say that he should have. The Irish Orator of Stadium Street — that name hasn’t quite caught on like I had hoped — would’ve delivered it with a wink and a laugh, charming the pens right out of reporters’ hands. That’s not really Bo Pelini’s approach. On Feb. 2 Pelini signed his best recruiting class to date, a fact that should have been big news given Nebraska’s inert end to the 2010 season. Instead, the typically gruff Pelini press conference focused on the bigger news leaked from Indiana’s head coach Kevin Wilson. Wilson let slip that defensive backs coach Corey Raymond had left the Hoosiers to take the same…
entered on 02/08/11 at 04:23 PM | read more »
Sports talk stations swap formats
Who’s ready for an early January weekend jaunt to frosty Winnipeg next year? If you’re a UNO hockey fan that trip could be a reality as the Mavs and the University of North Dakota are reportedly close to finalizing a deal to play a game in Manitoba’s capital city Jan. 7, 2012. I’ll confess to not knowing much about Winnipeg other than it’s about three hours north of Grand Forks and therefore likely colder than Omaha, but I did spend some time on the city’s tourism website to cull some valuable facts. Winnipeg is the coldest city in the world with a population greater than 500,000 meaning more people consciously choose to be miserable for months there than anywhere else.…
entered on 01/25/11 at 07:11 PM | read more »
Leaders and Legends remains lame
The public spoke and, after thinking about it, the Big 10 didn’t listen. Conference officials announced last week that the league would keep its universally panned division names of Leaders and Legends for at least the 2011 season. League commissioner Jim Delany decided to review the decision back in December and there was legitimate hope that maybe the conference would adopt something normal. Apparently Delany didn’t read the Internet, where coming up with more ridiculous sounding names became a bit of a sports blog parlor game. SEC fans have always poked fun at the Big 10 as a stodgy, out of touch conference, but now everyone’s piling on. As the newcomers here, I’m not sure how we’re supposed to defend…
entered on 01/19/11 at 08:36 AM | read more »
Triathlon training and new watches
* I had this beautiful idea that the Timex line of Ironman watches were created long ago in partnership with one of the world’s best tri-athletes who, having broken timepieces from many supposedly fine watchmakers, went to the company and said, “I need a watch that’s not afraid to work to the point of collapse. Also, it should be water-resistant to 100 meters.” Not the case. It’s just a nice bit of co-branding but I’ve still never felt comfortable wearing an Ironman watch because I’ve never completed, or even entertained the idea of, a triathlon. But if you are considering going the run, bike, swim route TotalWellness Multisport is Omaha’s first triathlon coaching center. In collaboration with The Bike Way…
entered on 01/12/11 at 12:17 PM | read more »
Ten wins and a cloud of doubt
How do you win 10 games in a college football season and finish unranked? With their embarrassing 19-7 loss to a previously .500 Washington team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers might be about to find out. Heading into the Holiday Bowl the Huskers were ranked 16th and 17th respectively in the Coaches’ and AP polls; but as losers of three of their last four they could be on the outside looking in when the final polls are released. Since Bob Devaney arrived in 1962 the Huskers have never won 10 games and finished unranked, a span that includes the era where only 10 teams were ranked by the AP and UPI. Ranked or not, this season was still a success when compared…
entered on 01/05/11 at 09:56 AM | read more »
Nostalgia and new beginnings
In 1991 Madonna wrote a terrible song called “This Used to be My Playground.” It was a nostalgic slab of nothingness designed to support the singer’s lead role in the significantly-better-by-comparison baseball film A League of Their Own. The nice thing about 2010 is that, as far as I know, no one used that song in tribute to Rosenblatt Stadium. This was the year of farewells to the old South Omaha ball yard and from the start of summer on it felt like there was hardly time to do anything but say goodbye. The temptation towards wistfulness was everywhere but folks largely elected to party instead. Well played, Omaha. In June, Rosenbaltt hosted its final College World Series. This was…
entered on 12/29/10 at 08:04 AM | read more »
Cosmic Forecast, May 2-May 8¿Cómo ésta? Happy Cinco de Mayo. This is the/a week to clean up, take care of and finish up your spring cleaning. Take care of all the/your loose...
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Cosmic Forecast, Apr. 25-May 1
Happy Full Moon conjunct a retrograde Saturn at 5° degrees Scorpio, at 3 ’til 3:00 on the afternoon of the 25th. Watch out! Responsibility is about...
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Cosmic Forecast, Apr. 18-Apr. 24
Welcome into Taurus, ruler of both the throat (the part of the body astrologically attributed to the second sign), and the planet of love, Venus....
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Cosmic Forecast, Apr. 11-Apr. 17
We just saw the start of the astrological New Year at dawn on April 10th; the Aries New Moon during Aries. That’s when to initiate your spring...
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Big Pharma and the Money-Go-Round
Another record fine has been levied against a Big Pharma company. This time it’s GlaxoSmithKline, the fourth largest drug company in the world with...
more »Nature’s Perfect Food? Eggs-actly!
It comes in its own package, albeit a tad fragile. It has a reasonable shelf life, even at room temperature. It has relatively low production costs...
more »It looked good on the label. And, to the best of my recollection, the product info described a loving pet owner in Colorado whose longtime canine...
more »“What are words for? When no one listens, what are words for?” So hiccupped Dale Bozzio in 1980 as I stood watching her and my friend Terry Bozzio...
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