Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Nebraska Football Preview

Over 4 years ago I was sitting in a New York City Hotel Room when word came that Bill Callahan was hired as head coach. My buddy was in the same room and within 15 seconds we were battling over if it was the right hire. I applauded the hire, he hated it. Well 4 years later, he was right, I was wrong. The Callahan experiment is over and the Bo Pelini experiment begins.

Pelini enters Nebraska with some good talent left behind by Callahan. While at Nebraska, Callahan loaded up on recruits that were highly ranked by recruiting services; however, he failed to coach those recruits into superstars. Oddly enough, one little known recruit will open the season as Nebraska's most dangerous weapon.

Joe Ganz opens the season as Nebraska's starting quarterback. For four years, Ganz studied, practiced, and waited, and waited, and waited. Then last year, when starting quarterback Sam Keller went down, Ganz was thrown into the fold and all he did was pass for 15 touchdowns and 1,400 yards in three games including a school record seven touchdown passes against Kansas State. Ganz will need to cut down on the interceptions (7) and will not have as many experienced receivers to throw to. Ganz is also mobile and we saw that mobility shine in last year's game with Colorado when Ganz took off for a 29 yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Marlon Lucky, a once heralded recruit out of Southern California, returns for his senior year to Nebraska to lead a trio of running backs which also features sophomores Roy Helu, Jr. and Quentin Castille. Pelini did not name a starter after fall camp; however, Lucky has the most experience and has also shown he can catch the ball coming out of the backfield. Look for Lucky to get the most carries and action early on.

Like Ganz, Senior Wide Receivers Nate Swift and Todd Peterson enter their fifth year in the Nebraska program. Only Swift returns as a bona-fide starter although Peterson has shown signs of excellence. A plethera of talent wait in the wings including Juniors Menelink Holt and local Omaha product Niles Paul. At this point, there is no wide receiver like big, strong, wideout like Maurice Purify on this team, so Ganz will have to make do with this group this year. Hunter Teafatiller was counted on to lead the Huskers tight end corps this year but two DUI arrests have led to the dismissal of Hunter. Sophomore Mike McNeil will likely start the year, but expect others to get a look.

Going into the start of the year, Nebraska is moving on without Senior Guard Andy Christensen, who is on trial in Lincoln for sexual assault charges. Although Christensen has not been convicted of the sexual assault at a bar, he did plead guilty to two misdemeanors and will likely not play this season, convicted or not. The good news for Nebraska is that four starters return on the offensive line, led by Senior Left Tackle Lydon Murtha. Sophomore Mike Smith, a converted defensive end, came out of nowhere in fall camp to grab the other starting spot at tackle.

There was no denying that Nebraska could score points last year. In fact, in their last three games of the season, Nebraska averaged 51 points per game, even though they lost 2 of the 3 games. The points may not come in those number this year, as Nebraska is expected to control the game more on the ground, hoping to keep its own defense off the field. When needed though, this offense can turn it on in an instant.

As for the defense....well....that's the main reason that Beau Bridges stunt double is out and Bo Pelini is in. Last year, for the first time in about ever, Nebraska was ranked near the bottom of the country in total defense. Even Kansas racked up 76 points on Nebraska, which is more points than in one game than Kansas scored on Nebraska during the entire decade of the 70s and the entire decade of the 80s. Pelini will have a challenge on his hand as inexperience reigns all across the defense. As of posting time, Pelini had yet to award any blackshirts to players.

The defensive line is the one area of the defense that actually carried experience. Nebraska returns all 4 starters on the defensive line that had major trouble getting to the quarterback last year. Barry Turner returns for his senior season at defensive end. Turner had a fabulous freshman year but has been non-existent the last two years. The most talent player, Ndamukong Suh, returns to anchor the defensive tackle position. At 6-4, 300, Suh has the size to block up the middle of the field and the speed to get to the quarterback at the same time. Among other plsyers returning that have seen significant action the last two years include Clayton Siever, Pierre Allen, and Ty Steinkuhler. Look for Baker Steinkuhler, the gem of Nebraska's recruiting class (and who also ran down Terrell Pryor in the US Army All American Game) to redshirt this year.

This year's Linebacking corp is as Carl Lewis would say..."uh oh" Out of three starters, one is a former walk-on, and one is a former runningback. Only Phillip Dillard returns with any experience and its limited at that. Dillard, another former heralded recruit, has potential to be a great Nebraska linebacker. Cody Glenn moves from the runningback position and earned himself a starting spot in spring ball, and then held onto it in the fall. Look for Tyler Wortman to start at the other linebacker spot, with true freshman Sean Fisher and Will Compton seeing significant playing time.

THe last four years you have probably noticed Nebraska corners and safeties face guarding wide receivers. Throw that philosophy out the window. This year the players will be taught to turn to look for the ball, in an effort to force more turnovers. Expect a lot of more interceptions and a lot more consistency among Husker defensive back this year. Out of the top 8 listed on the depth chart, only two starters return in Armando Murillo at corner and Larry Asante at strong safety. Rickey Thenarse is a star waiting to be born and he will anchor the free safety position this year. Anthony West won the other starting cornerback job in fall camp but expect to see Eric Hagg and Prince Amukamara see extensive playing time.

So, how will Nebraska do this year? I'll say 7-5. Here is my breakdown of the schedule

Western Michigan-win
San Jose State-win
New Mexico State-win
Va Tech-loss
Missouri-loss
at Texas Tech-loss
at Iowa State-loss
Baylor-win
Oklahoma-loss
Kansas-win
at Kansas State-win
Colorado-loss

Sunday, August 24, 2008

College Football 2008

From today through Wednesday, I'll be updating my blog with College Football predictions for 2008. I'll preview the Nebraska Cornhuskers specifically on Wednesday. For now, JB will break down his top 10 teams and will also provide some predictions for the season in the "JB Sez" column. Without further ado, here is my top 10 (the top 10 will be updated through Tuesday).

1. Southern California-A favorable scheduele for USC this year features all tough non-conference and conference games at home (including a September 13th showdown against The Ohio State University). Quarterback Mark Sanchez, who was injured in fall camp appears to be healthy and ready to take the full reigns as the next great Trojan QB. He is surrounded by tremendous talent which include Wide Receiver's Patrick Turner and Vidal Hazelton (former five star rivals recruits) and tailback Joe McKnight (another former five star rivals recruit.) Brian Cushing and Rey Maulauga lead what is undoubtedly the best linebacking core in college football Stoday and both could be top 10 picks in the NFL Draft come next spring. With it becoming ever harder to go undefeated in college football, it would be hard to argue that a one loss USC team would not belong in the BCS National Championship game.

2. Ohio State-In reality, Florida or Georgia should probably be #2, but the SEC is the toughest conference in the country, and this is the year I think they will finally all cancel each other out and keep each other out of the national championship game. Ohio State is clearly the class of the Big 10 and they return 9 starters on offense and defense including Junior Runningback Chris "Beanie" Wells. Terrell Pryor, the consensus #1 recruit in the country, will arrive on campus this fall and is expected to provide an immediate impact to the Buckeyes. Don't expect him to start, but his role could be similar to what Tim Tebow did in Florida in 2006.Expect the Buckeyes and Trojans to have a rematch in the Orange Bowl in Miami this coming January.

3. Florida-All day I debated between Georgia and Florida for this spot. In the end, I chose Florida thanks to a softer schedule and the presence of defending Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow. Florida does have some issues on the defensive side of the ball (see Michigan torch the Gators in the Citrus Bowl); however, Florida overhauled their defensive staff and return at least 9 players who started on defense last year. I don't know if Florida will beat Georgia on November 1; however, a softer schedule bodes well for Florida to return to the SEC Title game on the first Saturday in December.

4. Georgia-The Bulldogs were undoubtedly the best team at the end of the college football season last year. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they had some tough losses early on and failed to qualify for the SEC title game. The Bulldogs return key offensive players at all positions, lead by QB Matthew Stafford and RB Knowshon Moreno. What could doom Georgia is a tough tough schedule which features road games at LSU, at Auburn, along with the traditional Jacksonville contest with the Gators.

5. Oklahoma-Although the Sooners flamed out in the BCS, they yet again won the Big 12 title, handing Missouri their only two losses in the season, including a 38-17 thrashing in the Big 12 title game. The Sooners are loaded on the offense side of the ball, returning Sophomore QB Sam Bradford and RB Demarco Murray, who is a star waiting to be born. The Sooners also return all 5 starters on an experienced offensive line. With the offense in place, defensive minded Bob Stoops should have no issue getting his defense in order, along the way to another Big 12 title. Its a definite possibility that as long as Oklahoma can avoid losing more than one game, they have a good shot at the National Championship come this January.

Rest of the Top 10.

6. Missouri-Heisman Trophy Candidate Chase Daniel and All American Candidate Jeremy Maclin return to lead the Tigers. With Kansas having the toughest schedule in the north, and no other contendor in site, the Tigers will have no problem returning to the Big 12 title game.

7. Clemson-Features the best Runningback combo in College Football with James Davis and CJ Spiller. Can Tommy Bowden finally cash in on a weak ACC conference?

8. West Virginia-With Pat White returning to run the offense and super sophomore Noel Devine, the Mountaineers should see no immediate drop off in their first year with Rich Rodriguez as Head Coach

9. LSU-The Tigers have a lot of talent, but a lot of inexperience. Its still unknown who will be the QB for LSU, but don't count out Les Miles making stars out of his loaded recruiting classes.

10. Texas Tech-10 starters return on offense including QB Graham Harrell and WR Michael Crabtree, who both are likely Heisman Trophy candidates. Tech's commitment to defense slide them into my top 10 for the first time ever.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

New York.....New York.....

On Friday, August 15, I arrived in New York City uncertain if I would fulfill a goal of mine in seeing a game at Yankee Stadium. The forecast for rain and thunderstorms was 80% and the radar around New York City showed a line of storms to the west. With the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern, my dad and I headed up on the 4 train for the Bronx. We arrived shortly before 5:00 p.m. and decided to head into the park to see Monument Row. After several failed attempts to walk down to momument row, I headed to get a beer ($9.50 for a 24 oz) and head to my seat. As i sat down, someone next to me said, "you know, we are under a tornado warning." I figured the threat wasn't too great, as they were not evacuating the stadium, but nonetheless I kept an eye on the sky. Nothing happened and the rain was still pouring and the tarp covered the field at 7:00 p.m. Things looked bleak, but the rain stopped and baseball began at 8:30p.m. Finally, a game at Yankee stadium featuring my favorite team, the hapless Kansas City Royals. It was a very good game with both teams leaving a lot of runners on base. About the 7th inning we left our seats down the right field line in search of better seats. We eventually snuck down about 25 rows behind the third base dugout and sat in these padded seats, which probably retail for $200 or more.

With the score tied at 3 heading into the top of the 9th, "enter sandman" began to play, meaning only one thing, Mariano Rivera time. Now, Rivera has not been his best this year with the game tied, so I held out hope the Royals could scratch across a run; however, I was less than optimistic with the bottom of the Royals order coming up. To my shock, Esteban German doubled in the right field gap with 1 out and moved to third on an infield single by leadoff hitter Mitch Maier. Mike Aviles stepped to the plate with 1 out and on the very first pitch, Rivera threw a wild pitch (his 2nd in 6 years). The ball bounced behind the catcher, and German scored from 3rd. The bottom of the 9th was very dramatic. Jakim Soria, "the mexicutioner", came on and walked the leadoff batter but was able to somehow pick the runner off 1st. After getting the 2nd out of the inning, Soria gave up a single to Derek Jeter, a walk to Bobby Abreu, and a little dink infield hit to A-Rod. From my vantage point, Soria had plenty of time to throw out A-Rod, but probably didn't trust his fielding ability. With my heart pounding, Jason Giambi lined an 1-0 pitch to center, Mitch Maier made the catch, and the Royals celebrated a well earned 4-3 victory. After the game, my dad and I took the times square as we partied near the 4 a.m. bar closing times.

We spent Saturday in New York City, visiting Central Park, Times Square, and what may be my new favorite bar, McSorley's Pub, located near New York University. I recommend everyone go there to try out their light and dark beer. Sunday was the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, where I took a lot of good pictures, with some great artificats (see the links below). Monday, may have been the best/worst day of the trip. It started out with a visit to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, where special connections got me to the floor (no public visits are allowed, just invited guests). After that, my dad and I headed to Times Square and then took a trip to visit the Hello Deli, located right near the Ed Sullivan Theater, home of Dave Letterman. I took a photo with Rupert G, the owner of the place, and then made a quick visit to Shea Stadium.

Then, about the worst thing happened. Some douchebag mechanic from United somehow incorrectly filled out the fuel tank of the plane incorrectly, thus ending that flight for the night. I tried so hard to get on standby with other flights to Chicago, but to no avail. Finally, at 8 p.m. I got on to one, but I missed my connecting flight. Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled about spending the night in Chicago. United was nice enough to put me up in the Hyatt at O'Haire and I headed there. Now, I knew the WWE was in town at Rosemont for Monday Night Raw. I figured there was a slight chance they may stay at the Hyatt and when I arrived at 11p.m., several wrestlers and announcers were hanging at the bar. I got some very good photos including John Cena and Harley Race and got to briefly see Vince McMahon. It was a nice consolation prize to end a horrible day.

So, what happens the next morning? Delayed again!!! This time there's a pressure problem with the plane. I was able to get on a plane with American (at United's expense) and get back to Kansas City, to drive three hours back to Omaha. What a mess. No wonder United is always bankrupt. They are always delayed, and always having to comp people. What a terrible airline. I am never flying them again. Overall, it was a very great trip and I want to get back to NYC soon (just not on United)

Check out the links to the photos

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056226&l=566ef&id=32503236

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056227&l=d2ea6&id=32503236

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056229&l=46fbc&id=32503236

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056231&l=ec9b7&id=32503236

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056232&l=bd959&id=32503236

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056233&l=0b2bb&id=32503236

Wow I smile terribly in that last one

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Off to New York

I'm off to New York until next Monday. i'll blog about it Tuesday night. Yankee Stadium Friday, Cooperstown on Sunday, and perhaps something good on Monday, don't want to jinx it though.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

JB Sez No Tiger? No problem........

Padraig Harrington has shown this year that he can pick up the slack with a Tiger-less PGA Tour. Harrington shot a 3 under on the back 9 today at the PGA Championship to win by two shots over Sergio Garcia and Ben Curtis. In addition to winning the PGA and British Open this year, Harrington finished in a tie for 5th at the Masters and has had two other top three finishes on tour this year. Its clearly the best year of his career and it gives the European Ryder Cup Team a very very hot golfer heading into the Cup next month, something the United States just does not have right now. Although it was nice to see Padraig win, wouldn't it have been better to see Sergio win? That way everyone can clown on Sergio for winning his one major, in an event that did not have Tiger Woods. To me, it would almost be better for Sergio to get his major without Tiger, than with him. Time will tell if this young, stubborn Spaniard will ever put together four solid rounds in a major to take home one of golf's most prestigious prizes. If I'm Sergio, I'm making a trip back to the putting green tonight. The difference in today's tournament was Harrington making three clutch putts on 16, 17, and 18 while Garcia missed puts on 17 and 18 which could have kept him in the tournament.

Brett Favre is now a New York Jet. I don't think there's a happier person to have a resolution to this matter other than me. I was at a point where I was not going to listen to any sports radio, visit any sports Web site, or watch any Sportscenter. For one month we were subject to "Brett Favre all the time" and it drove me nuts. That being said, I don't see the media circus ending anytime soon, but it should die off a little bit. After all, the NFL season is upon us and there are 30 other teams not named the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers.

I'll probably have some more thoughts later in the week prior to my trip to New York to watch the Yankees play the Royals. I need to make sure I visit Yankee Stadium once, before they move to the new park.

For now, enjoy this video. This is one of the best pranks I have ever seen. Check it out.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Monday, August 4, 2008

A few things on my mind....

Right now I am in the midst of a research project that I hope to have posted this week. It involves Oakland Athletics and their General Manager Billy Beane and his "Moneyball" philosophy. For now, just a few thoughts on my mind.

Big Brown defeated a field of six inferior horses to take the $1 million Haskell Invitation on Sunday. Big Brown struggled throughout the race but finally came on strong at the end to take the race by a length. There are still concerns in the Big Brown camp, as Big Brown did not initally respond to the jockey's commands to "go" and Big Brown drifted to the center of the track as he came down the stretch. More than likely, Big Brown will not run until The Breeders Cup Classic on October 25th before being retired to stud.

So far The Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers have benefited from the trade last Thursday. Manny is 8-13 in 3 games with Boston with 2 homeruns, helping L.A. take 2 of the remaining 3 games in the series versus Arizona. Jason Bay scored both runs in a 2-1 win Friday night and hit a 3 run homer on Saturday as Boston swept Oakland last weekend. We'll see how things turn in the long run. So far, so good.

Green Bay Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy was still meeting with Brett Favre as of 9:15 p.m. Central Monday Night. Nobody is sure what is being said but I'm sure McCarthy is pressuring Favre not to come back. Unfortunately for the Packers, Brett Favre holds all the cards because he has 3 years left on his contract and if he wanted to come back, NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell had no choice but to reinstate him. The sooner this gets cleared up the better, as the Packers franchise is in major turmoil. Then again, as a guy who hates the Packers, I am enjoying this.

The PGA Championship is this week. Does it really mean anything with Tiger in it? Well, no, but I'll still watch. Who's gonna win? I have no idea, but I'll pick KJ Choi for the hell of it. A lot of "no-names" will play in this event too, so watch out for one of those "no-names"

Back later this week, for now, enjoy this youtube video