Weekend Update

That low rumbling you hear is the sound of the Husker baseball bandwagon slowing starting to move out of the garage. You remember Husker baseball don’t you? That wave of Husker pride that was out of control during the early 2000’s…yet somehow fell completely silent over the past few years? (thanks to some of the larger choke jobs in NCAA baseball history. Seriously...Manhattan? San Francisco?)

Most of you know my stance on this, but I’ll say it again: College baseball doesn’t do a whole lot for me. Not because I don’t get it, or not because I don’t like the game…I certainly do on both counts. But perhaps the unfair advantages that southern teams have, coupled with the butt-ass stupid way in which the NCAA decides who gets to hosts regionals…has somewhat soured me on the whole thing. (That and the old 16-10 games) All of that not withstanding, look for the bandwagon to continue rolling faster and faster as the season goes on. Personally…I’m not against it. At least it will give the rest of us another chance to make fun of you. (What do you want me to do? Trash your wrestling and volleyball success?)

And no, I'm not going to break down the matchups. I'm not going to comment on your strong pitching staff. I'm not going to say beating Northern Colorado 32 times in a season means a hell of a lot, because it doesn't. (Unless of course UNC is actually really good, and I just missed something.) But hey..if you want to go sit out in 40 degree weather and watch Nebraska play UN-Kearney...knock yourself out. I'm simply noticing that the bandwagon is beating louder and louder as the days get slightly warmer.

** Is it just me, or has this year’s NCAA tournament been the most stale and boring one to date? I think I’ve said this each of the past few years, but I’m starting to detect a pattern. Seriously, for YEARS this was the one event that almost never let you down. It was always exciting, entertaining and well worth watching. (The games I attended in person not withstanding, because at least there you can soak up the vibe of the event…oh yeah, and song girls.)

Yet somehow, the same NCAA that put every Final Four in a cavernous and stale dome setting, now feels the need to make every single game look exactly the same. I realize they’re trying to make it completely neutral, but is it necessary to make all of the regional courts look exactly the same? Could anything be more boring to the eye than two days of blowouts, all on the same court? (yet in different cities, so they can make 4 times the money?)

I just don’t understand why stuff has to be messed with and then veiled over as being “better for the game.” Stale setting and uninteresting games are not “better for the game”. They’re killing a once great event due to their greed and ignorance.

Wow, what else is new?

** Reading the Omaha paper this morning, I was thrilled to read yet another preview of the (assumed) heroic turnaround of the Husker linebacking corps. You remember them don’t you? That group of mediocre badasses who most of you propped up beyond reason for an entire off-season last year, only to watch them get scored on more than Christina Aguilera at a post-Grammy party?

That's not shocking. I already knew you sucked…what I didn’t realize was how stupid your new coaches were. From new linebacker coach Mike Ekeler in the World Herald on Sunday regarding his linebackers, “We’re fairly deep. We’ve got a lot of good guys. We don’t look at it as a scholarship and non-scholarship. We just need to see who’s going to rise to the top That’s what it boils down to.”

Huh?

Uhhhh, Mike…I’m not sure you realized this, but you gave up 30+ points EIGHT times last year. You gave up 60+ not once…but TWICE….in two of your last three games. And you’re, “fairly deep?!?!?” Deep in what Mike? (I already know the answer to this question.) And didn't you "graduate" all 7 guys in front of the defensive backfield? Sure they may not be AS BAD as the clowns you trotted out there last year, but when was the last time a team full of rookies were considered "fairly deep"?

Look, I’m all for blind confidence and positive reinforcement. GOD KNOWS you need just about anything positive you can find right now. But there is a big difference between confidence and flat out LYING to make things not seem so bad. This whole, “All we have to do is play harder” bullshit is laughable, and one of the things that will keep me giggling at you throughout the year. I mean, have you all even checked to see if these guys actually coached last year? Are ANY of you worried at all about stuff like this? “fairly deep”??? What?!?!

And I haven’t even mentioned offensive coordinator and second coming of God Shawn Watson. I realize Watson is probably a bit shell-shocked from having to run 30 yard post patterns on 4th and goal from the 1 last year…but is that any excuse to the fact that this guy doesn’t seem to have any clue what he’s talking about?

West Coast? Power running game? Spread? I’ve heard all sorts of labels about his new and wonderful scheme to restoring your precious order…but do you think the fact that Todd Pederson and Nate Swift are your best passing options are screaming out “spread offense” at this point? Does the fact that Marlon Lucky is your one and only receiving threat seem a bit disconcerting to you? And has ANYBODY mentioned the fact that you might want to improve on that 117th rated turnover margin? Funny, how that little nugget seems to be slipping by people.

Of course it doesn’t have to make sense, because Joe Ganz has got all of this down. Never mind he’s a senior and will have to learn all the changes that are added, all with many of his best weapons gone and the weight of the world on his shoulders. But hey, a little blind ignorance never really hurt anybody did it?

Can’t wait to see what these guys tell me next. What’s coming up? Barney Cotton comparing the Huskers pathetic offensive line to the Patriots?