Monday Musings - Shawn Who?

Now this is more like it. Wind chill of -20 degrees outside. I’m sicker than a dog with the stomach flu….and the Huskers are already in last place in the Big 12 race. (That’s basketball, for those of you who have never heard of such a sport.) Yes, Doc Sadler has the Huskers playing outstanding ball. In fact, I’m not quite sure why they aren’t ranked.

It’s pretty obvious that the Omaha media has just now realized that it’s basketball season, aside from listening to the horrible play-by-play rantings of Travis Justice every other night on Channel three. Yes, interviews with national color announcers like Fran Fraschilla about what a “great job Doc is doing”, would have been nice a couple of weeks ago. But somebody needs to tell these guys that the Huskers are now sitting back in the basement of the conference, and probably aren’t going anywhere soon with a beatdown to Kansas coming up soon.

Truth is, you could be like 590’s Matt Perrault and just skip Husker hoops talk all together. I understand he’s got Creighton as a sponsor, and they’re the flagship station for their broadcasts…but what’s 590 going to do if ….God forbid….the Earth starts spinning backwards, and NU gets good again ("again"?) in hoops? Will we have week long reports from the Senior Bowl? Will we have to hear hour after hour of Joba Chamberlain talk about how great it was to be a Husker? That’s a serious pickle I’m sure the good folks at Journal haven’t thought of yet.

Oh well, lucky for them Nebraska isn’t going to get on a run anytime in our lifetime, so it’s probably a moot point. Besides, what’s more exciting than talking about a bandwagon mediocre mid-major team playing a glorified junior-high schedule in the most overrated conference in America? It’s gold I tell you. Pure ratings gold.

* Shawn Watson? Really? Didn't he used to work in the sporting goods department at the Target store on 132nd and Center. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Husker coaching move met with more …Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...than this one. Hell, even the die-hards don’t know a lot about him. Nonetheless, nice job for Raider Bill to hire Mr. Watson…you know, giving him a chance to make a name for himself. I’m sure it was because he is a bright young offensive mind…..ABSOLUTELY NOT because he will never make a play for Raider Bill’s job. Besides, with J.C. taking over at QB next year…he could wheel out the dead corpse Tom Laundry and probably win a National Title. More details as they develop. Then again, he may have to leave the program next November , because he got called back to work the overnight stockboy shift during the holiday season. I hear Target has great benefits. Can’t say I would blame the guy.

* Are you sure the Super Bowl is this weekend? Good God do I hate that extra week of hype. It wouldn’t so bad if…oh I dunno…there was some actual HYPE to talk about. It’s actually not a horrible matchup. Not that I’m any sort of Peyton Manning fan by any means…but it wouldn’t break my heart to see jackass Bears fan get his heart stepped on. And yes, I don’t care if the Cubs have sucked balls since the Taft administration…you won the World Series 18 months ago, and the Bulls won every NBA title for like 20 years from 1980-2000. Stop acting so damn downtrodden. Maybe I’m so turned off by sniveling, whiney ass Cubs fan that I just have a bad taste for the city? Who knows. I’m sure all we’ll hear about is the fucking commercials anyway. Does anybody even pay attention anymore to who won?

* Fire Mike Kemp. What’s that you say? UNO is rolling after an 11-2 weekend sweep of the Yoopers from Northern? Not so fast my friend. Forgive me if I get a little wound up over a team that has shifted out of the neutral gear they’ve been coasting in all year. This goes along with exactly what I’ve been telling you people. This team is too talented to have 11 losses. It’s ridiculous. It’s unacceptable…and if anything…this little hot streak makes me want Kemp gone more. The bottom line is, anybody can crank it up toward the end of the season when pairwise rankings and RPI’s are checked day after day. But it takes a truly great motivator to keep a team going all year long. Last I heard, this wasn’t a 2 month season, and you have to look no further than the play of the team during the beginning of the season. Couple that with a completely asinine goalie rotation, and you’ve got a mediocre-to-barely-above-fair coaching leading a group of talented players. I’m sure I’ll catch flak…but it’s the truth. Not that it matters anyway. UNO can’t afford an extra bag of pucks this season…let alone a huge buyout of Kemp’s contract.

* Somebody told me yesterday that the NBA was still going on. Since when did this happen? I thought the league folded when Jordan left? Seriously….I had no idea.

* Speaking of “No idea”, mega kudos to the NHL for playing their All-Star game on a Wednesday night with just over 0.0 ratings points. 400,000 U.S. households? Are you kidding me? What is it about hockey people that just don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to business? I could draw 400,000 viewers if I had a cable access show…let alone a major U.S. sports league.

* Props to http://www.billmustgo.com/ for the link last week. I don’t believe in your overall agenda…but I agree with your mission. Well done guys.