SPECIALSMessin’ With Texas
Once upon a time (actually, not all that long ago), the Nebraska football team enjoyed such respect. Season after season, the Cornhuskers were in the national title conversation. They’re back in that conversation following a 48-13 victory at Kansas State, televised nationally last Thursday night by ESPN, and coupled with South Carolina’s 35-21 Saturday upset of Alabama; the latter was the defending national champion and ranked No. 1 in both major polls. Nebraska moved up to No. 5 in this week’s Associated Press media poll and No. 4 in the coaches’ poll, where it even received two first place votes. The last time the Cornhuskers were ranked as high as fourth was prior to the 2002 Rose Bowl game against…
entered on 10/13/10 at 01:39 PM | read more »
The Jump
Aside from a reliable supplier of detachable collars, Nucky Thompson’s got nothing on me when it comes to swaying the vote. How else to explain the fact my three choices for the new Omaha Royals team name are among the nine finalists still in the running? Simple luck? Probably. Judging by some of the online comments, people are really pulling for the Royals after seeing the list of alternatives. I’ll admit there are some bad ones in there. Anything that’s not plural (Force, Hail Storm) should be avoided at all costs, but I still maintain that history and regional specificity are our best guides. Initially my vote went like this: Cattlemen, Sodbusters, Omahogs. Sodbusters is my new top choice. A…
entered on 10/13/10 at 01:33 PM | read more »
Nighthawks Night
Even the moon was perfect. It began as a curious orange sliver peaking from behind the bluffs in Iowa. It rose until it was full-on silver against the black sky over Rosenblatt Stadium as Jeff Garcia threw a game winning touchdown pass in the waning seconds of the Omaha Nighthawks’ first game. If it had been a movie any person with an ounce of cynicism would’ve hated it. Here’s the scene: Set in football-mad Omaha, a United Football League team comes to town. The league, falling somewhere between the NFL and the Canadian Football League on the scale of national importance, lost a reported $30 million in its first season and could use a big draw. They get it when…
entered on 09/30/10 at 08:57 PM | read more »
The Jump
We’ve got a Veeckie dynasty going in Omaha. What’s a Veeckie? Only the most lusted after award a minor league baseball franchise can win. This week the Royals earned one for the third consecutive year. Most baseball fans know the name Bill Veeck but if you don’t here’s the abridged version: Between 1946 and 1979 Veeck owned three major league teams and brought the notion of the wacky promotion to the game. Famous stunts include sending 3’7” Eddie Gaedel and his impossibly small strike zone to the plate in 1951 (he walked), allowing fans to manage the St. Louis Browns for a game from the stands via placards (they won), and the doomed “Disco Demolition Night” where fans were…
entered on 09/30/10 at 02:14 PM | read more »
Humbling Homecoming
Huskers struggle to defeat Jackrabbits Bo Pelini addressed the possibility beforehand. “Human nature is part of it, but we ask our guys to overcome human nature and push them along,” he said on the Tuesday before Nebraska’s final non-conference game. “It’s always going to be a factor. But as a coaching staff and a coach you have to work and do something to help them overcome that, constantly talk to them about it.” Despite those efforts, however, human nature almost certainly was a factor in the Huskers’ 17-3 victory against South Dakota State. “We expected a blowout,” junior linebacker Lavonte David said, admitting an opinion shared by most in the Memorial Stadium crowd of 85,573. No disrespect toward South Dakota…
entered on 09/30/10 at 01:15 PM | read more »
The Jump
Usually I’m not a fan of team names that don’t end in ‘s’, but I’m willing to make an exception for Cattlemen. That’s my pick of 24 names the Omaha Royals are considering as their new moniker next season. Don’t worry, there is a chance the name won’t change at all. The current team name is among semi-finalists selected from over 1,400 fan submissions, but there’s a significant marketing opportunity here. Minor league baseball is the home of the regionally specific, historically quirky team name. Teams like the Montgomery Biscuits and Lansing Lugnuts can sell hats and shirts throughout the country just by being a little different. Being a regionally specific, historically quirky kind of guy, I’m casting my three…
entered on 09/24/10 at 02:12 PM | read more »
Husking the Competition
Husker offense explodes in Washington Late in the first half of Nebraska’s 56-21 victory at Washington it seemed like old times, when power football characterized the Cornhusker offense and linemen got their due. It was offense in black and white, not the vivid color of 1080p HD LED or plasma. Washington had just cut the lead to 21-14, scoring a touchdown two plays after recovering a fumble at the Nebraska 6-yard line. Husky Stadium was rocking. After a 39-yard kickoff return by Brandon Kinnie, the Huskers began first-and-10 at the Washington 48-yard line. From left tackle to right tackle, the interior of Nebraska’s offensive line looked like this: Jeremiah Sirles, Keith Williams, Mike Caputo, Ricky Henry, D.J. Jones. With…
entered on 09/24/10 at 01:07 PM | read more »
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...
more »Cosmic Forecast, Apr. 4-Apr. 10
The real astrological spring is around dawn on Wednesday the 10th, with the Sun, Moon, Mars and Venus all conjunct in Aries. I see a lot of...
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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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