SB Nation User Blog: Husker Mike

Former Husker Brian Duensing Recalled to the Minnesota Twins

Husker Mike — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:31:16 -0000

Former Husker Brian Duensing Recalled to the Minnesota Twins

Brian Duensing, 26, made the team out of spring training but was sent to Rochester on April 13 after giving up two runs on two hits in his only appearance. He was 4-6 with a 4.66 ERA in 13 starts for Rochester.

Rock M Nation Previews the 2009 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Husker Mike — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:35:53 -0000

A pretty good look at the 2009 Nebraska Cornhuskers from fellow SB Nation blog "Rock M Nation".

It's a solid analysis, although they do suffer from looking at the season as a whole and the in-game trends, rather than the progress during the season. Is there any doubt in Husker fans' mind that the team on the field in November was significantly better than the team on the field in September?

Pete Carroll's Open Invitation to Preseason Practice

Husker Mike — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:22:33 -0000

More photos » by Danny Moloshok - AP

FILE - In this Dec. 27, 2008 file photo, Southern California quarterback Aaron Corp drops back to pass during an NCAA football practice for the Rose Bowl Game in Los Angeles. Sophomore Aaron Corp has emerged as USC's No. 1 quarterback at the end of spring practice. Pete Carroll announced today that USC's fall practices will be open tot he public. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok, File)

Browse more photos »

On Twitter this afternoon, Pete Carroll issued an open invitation to fans, boosters, supporters, and probably even other coaches to USC's preseason practices. (All except their pregame walkthrough the day before their season opener against San Jose State.)

As if that's not cool enough for fans, he's also holding a "mock game" at the LA Memorial Coliseum on the last Saturday of August. Kind of a "spring game" in August. Needless to say, Pete Carroll isn't concerned about "hiding" anything in his preseason practices. Of course, when you've been one of the top college football programs this decade, you can usually get away with anything.

I just have to wonder what kind of crowd might show up for a "mock game" in the Coliseum. In fact, I wonder what would happen at Nebraska if they opened up a scrimmage to the general public to attend. If dear 'ol Nebraska U can sell out a spring game, just what would happen for a preseason practice that would give fans their first look at the incoming freshmen?

Could you even sell tickets? Even if NCAA regulations didn't allow it, the income from concessions might prove to be quite the windfall for the athletic department. In today's era where colleges are looking more than ever for revenue sources, selling tickets to a scrimmage might be one way to raise additional funds.

I don't know if EVERY practice should be open to the public; after all, coaches should be allowed to keep certain things under wraps. But certainly opening up selected workouts and practices to fans and the media would increase goodwill and positive coverage of the program, as well as potentially being financially rewarding.

Poll

What would you think of a scrimmage being open to the public at Nebraska?

Huskers to Wear Throwback Uniforms against Louisiana Lafayette

Husker Mike — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:31:45 -0000

In honor of the 300th sellout at Memorial Stadium, Nebraska will don replica uniforms designed to match the 1962 uniforms from Bob Devaney's first season and the first sellout against Missouri. Fortunately, the stadium will not be a throwback era; a capacity crowd of approximately 85,000 will be there for the Louisiana-Lafayette game, not the 31,180 capacity from 1962.

In addition, game tickets and programs will be replicas of the 1962 versions as well. Unfortunately, the prices on those tickets and programs will NOT be replicas. After the game, the uniforms will be auctioned off with a minimum bid of $500 each for helmet, jersey, and pants.

First look at the jersey makes me want that jersey fulltime, but the helmet I can do without. Aesthetically, the block N is bland, but it's been an NU tradition for so long, I see no reason to alter it. Even for a throwback game. The numerals on the jerseys are so cool and distinctive, I'd like to see them full-time.

The game has also been designated as homecoming, which sounds surprising at first, but after the Oklahoma State pasting in 2007 and the scare against Baylor last season, perhaps it's best to move the homecoming game up in the schedule.

Poll

What's your opinion about the throwback uniform idea for the 300th sellout?

Trev Alberts: Bringing the "Nebraska Way" to Nebraska-Omaha

Husker Mike — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:26:53 -0000

Many people dismissed the idea of Tom Osborne being anything but an interim "hold-down-the-fort" athletic director when he returned to Nebraska after the failure of Steve Pederson. Of course "just a football coach" has since turned out to be a pretty darn good athletic director in reversing Nebraska's gravitation towards Pediocrity. The Husker football team rebounded well under Bo Pelini. Basketball seems to be on the upswing under Doc Sadler, though in all fairness, Pederson gets credit for hiring Sadler. But all throughout Husker athletics, you get the impression that everyone is back on the same page and a positive vibe is running throughout the athletic department.

That's the essence of the "Nebraska Way". Teamwork, excellence, a sense of family whatever aspects you want to add on, you name it. There's a certain way that things were done at Nebraska, and when a bureaucrat tried to remake it in his own image, even hiring "management consultants" (ala "Office Space"), it suffered until Nebraska returned to it's roots.

It's been often said that the days of former coaches retiring to the athletic director's office is over. With the requirements of managing multi-million budgets, facilites, fundraising, and personnel, it's not just a sport anymore, it's big business that requires an MBA, not X's and O's.

Or does it? Certainly there's no doubt that athletic directors need to be business-savvy, but not at the expense of truly understanding how athletics operates. Athletics IS the business, and an MBA needs to understand that degree is just a skillset they bring to the business.

When Trev Alberts was introduced as Nebraska-Omaha's athletic director two months ago, many people shook their heads and ridiculed the selection as a desperate move by a division 2 school who was completely lost.

Nobody's laughing at Alberts and UNO anymore.

In fact, much like the return of Osborne resulted in a huge wave of positivity within the Husker program, Alberts has presided over an incredible two months for the UNO Maverick program. And I don't think he's even had a chance to move his family to town yet.

At his introduction, Alberts made it clear he understood that UNO's hockey program needed to be the flagship of the Maverick program, much like football is the flagship in Lincoln. And he moved quickly to start solidifying the hockey program, bringing back 80 year old former athletic director Don Leahy as a consultant (there's that family aspect again) and promoting head coach Mike Kemp to be his top assistant athletic director. Then Trev opened up the search for Kemp's replacement and shocked all of college hockey. He targeted and convinced Dean Blais, who had won two national championships at North Dakota before trying his luck in the NHL, to take over as UNO head coach. Then to finish off that, he negotiated with the WCHA (with members such as Minnesota and Wisconsin) to move UNO from the CCHA (which includes the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Notre Dame), with WCHA commisioner Bruce McLeod commenting about how touch Alberts was in negotiating a deal.

Oh, and in between all those developments has been a renegotiation of UNO's lease with the Qwest Center and talk about eventually building a campus arena for the hockey program.

Just your average two months at 60th & Dodge Street in Omaha. Not.

I don't know whether all of these changes are going to work out well for UNO, but optimism and excitement over UNO athletics has never been higher. It all goes back to the hiring of Trev Alberts, who is bringing a "Nebraska Way" to Omaha. Last season, fans worried that the program had plateaued. Now UNO fans dream of eventually being national champions, just like Husker fans. Many fans have felt that Dave Rimington or Paul Meyers are the leading candidates to replace Osborne when he's finally ready to step down. But don't cross off Trev Alberts, who's quickly building quite the resume up the road in Omaha.

Kansas City Chiefs Sign former Husker Mike Brown

Husker Mike — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:20:05 -0000

Kansas City Chiefs Sign former Husker Mike Brown

The Kansas City Chiefs signed former Chicago Bears' safety Mike Brown. Brown spent the previous nine seasons in Chicago following his Husker career. With the Bears, he was a two-time pro-bowler but has missed the end of the last five seasons with injuries.

More from fellow SB Nation blog Arrowhead Pride about the signing of Mike Brown.

2009 Husker Football Opponent Preview: Arkansas State

Husker Mike — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:18:50 -0000

In Nebraska's bid to win the Sun Belt Conference championship in 2009, Arkansas State stands to be the biggest challenge of them all. Florida Atlantic seems to be the team that Husker fans look most warily at, with a top 25 offense and a four year starter at quarterback. But frankly, I think Arkansas State is the best of Nebraska's three Sun Belt foes.

The Red Wolves, who changed their mascot from the Indians last season, are lead by seniors Corey Leonard and Reggie Arnold on offense. Leonard will also be a four-year starter, and is a dual-threat quarterback who can hurt you with his legs and his arm. Ask Texas A&M about Leonard; he gashed the Aggies for 86 yards on the ground in wrecking Mike Sherman's debut in College Station. For last season, he rushed for 516 yards and threw for 2347, totalling 16 touchdowns through the air and four more on the ground.

Three-time all-conference running back Reggie Arnold rushed for 1074 yards and seven touchdowns last season. He'll be backed up by sophomore Derek Lawson, who added 695 yards and an impressive 7.2 yards per carry average in his freshman season.

Defensively, the Red Wolves will be led by returning Sun Belt defensive player of the year, defensive end Alex Carrington. All told, Arkansas State returns eight starters from the second best defense in the Sun Belt Conference. Phil Steele named junior defensive tackle Bryan Hall to his first-team all conference list, and added five more defenders on his second and third all-conference teams. Arkansas State finished 2008 as the #2 defense in the Sun Belt behind Troy.

Arkansas State finished 2008 at 6-6, though they added a nice pelt with a road victory over Texas A&M in the season opener. Their other BCS conference opponent, Alabama, blanking the Red Wolves 35-0.

With a mobile quarterback, solid running backs, and a stout defense, the Red Wolves are the best of the Sun Belt foes the Huskers will face in 2009. It's almost a no-win situation for the Huskers in this game: you are expected to win, and if you lose, you face uproar and embarassment. But if fans were planning to spend the money on any of the pay-per-view broadcasts of the Sun Belt schedule, the Arkansas State matchup is likely your best bet. If the Huskers are on their game, the Huskers should win this game going away, but if they're not, Arkansas State could claim another upset over a Big XII foe.

Poll

If you were a Vegas oddsmaker, what would you set the line for the Nebraska/Arkansas State matchup at?

2009 Husker Football Opponent Prevew: Florida Atlantic

Husker Mike — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:52:17 -0000

Florida Atlantic finished 7-6 in 2008, with a season ending victory over Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl. With a solid offensive backfield returning led by senior quarterback Rusty Smith, expectations are high for the Owls. Smith is getting some serious buzz going into his fourth season as FAU's starting quarterback. Phil Steele named Smith his #11 quarterback in the nation in his preseason magazine. Junior wide receiver Cortez Gent also was recognized by Steele, rating him the #33 wide receiver in the country. Smith will also benefit from the return of all-conference tight end Jason Harmon, who missed the 2008 season with a knee injury. All told, the Owls return six offensive starters, with the key losses being at running back and on the offensive line.

The Owls' defense only returns four starters, led by juniors corners Tavious Polo and Tarvoris Hill. Polo, a freshman all-American in 2007, was slotted by Steele as the #21 cornerback in the country. The defensive line is anchored by tackle Josh Savidge, who is the sole returning starter up in the front seven.

The Owls 7-6 record is a little misleading, as Jeff Sagarin rated the Owls #102 in the country last season. Those seven victories were against Alabama-Birmingham (4-8, Sagarin #116), Western Kentucky (2-10, Sagarin #161), Louisiana-Monroe (4-8, Sagarin #135), North Texas (1-11, Sagarin #171), Louisiana Lafayette (6-6, Sagarin #106), Florida International (5-7, Sagarin #113), and Central Michigan (8-5, Sagarin #96). Against BCS conference opponents, the Owls didn't fare well. In the season opener against Texas, the Owls lost 52-10. 9-4 Michigan State shut out the Owls 17-0, and 7-6 Minnesota beat FAU 37-3.

Florida Atlantic's top 25 offense represents a solid challenge for a Nebraska secondary which had a tendency to break down and give up huge plays at time. But the Owl defense will need to find some more playmakers in 2009 than were on the field last season. The Huskers can ill afford to overlook any opponent in this day and age of parity in college football; just look at what fellow Sun Belt conference foe Arkansas State did to Texas A&M last season. If the Huskers pay attention to business, Nebraska should be able to handle the Owls in the season opener.

(CornNation.com will be previewing the 2009 football season during this summer.)

Owls vs Cornhuskers coverage

Poll

If you were Vegas oddsmaker, what would the spread be on the Husker/Owls matchup?

Huskers by three touchdowns or more

72 votes

Huskers by double digits

97 votes

Huskers win a close one

5 votes

Owls pull off the upset in Lincoln

4 votes

Owls shock the nation with a double digit victory over the Big Red

9 votes

187 votes | Poll has closed

Strength Coach James Dobson Tailor Training to Football

Husker Mike — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:54:38 -0000

Strength Coach James Dobson Tailor Training to Football

It almost seems like a duh, but James Dobson believes in training players for the skills they'll need on the field, not just training to build muscle mass or speed. Football players don't run miles on the field or bench press the opposition.

"You look at the game of football, what are the demands? We try to mimic those in how we train."

College World Series Visitors Guide to Omaha

Husker Mike — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:15:17 -0000

For 60 years, Omaha has been the home of the College World Series. ESPN promotes the NCAA brackets as the "Road to Omaha" as Omaha has an unprecedented run as the home of an NCAA championship event. Last year, the NCAA agreed a 25 year extension to keep the CWS in Omaha, meaning that the "Road to Omaha" will continue to be the culmination of the college baseball season. Many fans of Texas and LSU are very familiar with Omaha, but CWS newbies Southern Miss and Virginia are making their first trips to Omaha.

First thing fans need to do is figure out where to stay in the Omaha area and how to get here. With eight teams coming to town, flight arrangements and hotels are hard to come by. Tickets to the games are somewhat easier to find. Each school gets an allotment, and a few tickets are held for sale each morning. The best deal is the books of general admission tickets that get you into the bleachers. They are good for any session, and especially during the week, rarely does the fire marshall shut off admittance. Weekend games are another matter entirely. If you want to try the bleachers, grab a good hat and plenty of sunscreen and get in line early. A book of 10 bleacher tickets will cost you $70 and can be used for any session; you won't get a better deal for an NCAA championship event.

Parking around the stadium is mostly horrible, as it's in a neighborhood area and the stadium parking is all reserved. You'll probably spend $10 to $20 to park on somebody's lawn...and hope someone doesn't box you in. Shuttle busses and taxis are available for "nominal charges", but typically don't give you much flexibility to come and go.

The College World Series runs about a week and a half, so if your team makes a run, you may be spending a lot of time in Omaha. On the other hand, two teams will be eliminated by the end of day four. So while it might be tempting to gorge yourself on baseball, you may want to do some other things around town between your teams games.

The Old Market district in downtown is a couple of miles north of the stadium, and is filled with shops, restaurants, and bars for a pleasant evening on the town. It'll be bustling just about every night, and some establishments may even run shuttle busses down to the stadium. In a couple of years, it'll be even more bustling as the CWS will be moving in 2011 to a new stadium just north of downtown, which will make it much more convenient to go from the game to some nightlife to a hotel.

You can't come to Omaha and not visit one of our steakhouses. And no, I'm not talking Sizzler or even Outback. I'm talking about local classics. Johnny's Cafe is in the heart of South Omaha and is a local legend. Warren Buffet's favorite is Gorat's. If you have a car, my personal recommendation is to head to a little place called the Drover and try their Whiskey Steak. I suppose if you have an expense account or money is no object, you could try Omaha Prime, Flemings, or Mahogany Prime...which are all supposed to be excellent...but you pay dearly for those.

Of course, a steakhouse trip needs to be reserved for an evening when your team isn't playing. If you need to eat around the stadium, the area is filled with beer gardens and food stands. The long standing tradition is Zesto's on 13th Street, just a couple of blocks south of the stadium. They add a beer garden during the series and it's quite the hangout. The ESPN broadcasters usually get Zesto's delivered to the booth during the game.

After the game, the ESPN crowd tends to hang out at Pauli's on Leavenworth Street. It's a small neighborhood bar that becomes Omaha's Cub headquarters during the baseball season.

Omaha's not all eating and drinking. We have our share of cultural institutions, such as the Joslyn Museum if that's your preference. If there is no afternoon game or you are up early, check out the Henry Doorley Zoo across the street from the stadium. Parking is a real issue for the zoo during the series, so get there at 9 am or earlier. Across the river in Iowa, three casinos will gladly take your money, if you so choose.

Omaha is a fairly easy city to get around, but stadium traffic is horrific. My expectation is that traffic issues will improve when the games move to the new stadium downtown, but for now, give yourself plenty of time (probably an hour and a half to two hours) before the game to find parking and get to the stadium. Don't worry about having extra time on your hands around the stadium; there are plenty of diversions outside the stadium that it can be a blast even if you don't get inside the stadium.

Other fans from other teams and Omaha area residents: chip in with the comments and add your own recommendations or feel free to contradict my opinions to help make this more useful to our visitors.