Huskers: How To Not Fuck It Up This Upcoming Fall

1. The QB situation: Martinez, Leadership, etc. 2010 was a two-part season: the filling in and out of love with Taylor Martinez. What did we like? His lightning speed, his dual-threat dynamic (of running inside or outside), and his fresh swagger. But after he quickly rushed for 1000 yards at the beginning of the season, defenses started to figure it out: Martinez likes to pull the ball, he tries to make something out of little, and, when he rushes, he doesn't put get his body low enough to protect himself. And they developed blitz-heavy schemes because Martinez--whose throwing motion and instincts as a passer were underdeveloped anyways--couldn't keep his composure under pressure, wouldn't stay in the pocket and instead ran around like a chicken with its head cut off.


Even worse, though: when he got hit, and eventually got hurt, he carried himself like he was the only one to carry. When he got hurt vs. Mizzou, instead of going straight to medical examination room (in the home team's locker room), he first made a roundabout trip to get his cell phone on the opposite side of the stadium so that he could call his dad. While there's a heart-warming element in that, it also showed that he was in little hurry to get back to a team that needed his presence.

Of course, that may be understandable, since some of the coaching decisions really prevented him from ever being the offensive head last season. "Who's going to start?" was the lead question going in last season. And it was a question that kept getting asked as the season went on. If, as a coach, you're going to give so much leadership responsibility to a QB, you have to give him a surer spot; he has to know his place.

With all of that in mind, here's what needs to change: Martinez needs to get in sync with his wide-outs during spring work-outs. He needs to learn both how to protect himself, and that there are times when you have to risk taking a hit. And all of that needs to happen under the assumption that, supposing Bubba Starling doesn't go in the MLB draft, there isn't a pre-season starter. Once September 3 comes around, there needs to be, if not a definitive decision, at least an impression of who's the team head. In the meantime, Watson's got to fine-tune that new offensive system to coordinate with the skills we've got at QB.

2. Not get shit on by the Big 12. Oh, hello Big 10. It's nice to finally meet you. And even though you've given a bit of a cold welcome (i.e. the toughest schedule in the conference, maybe in the league in general), at least we're confident that you won't totally fuck us come time to arrange bowl appearances. And no more Texas omens.

3. Find a replacement for Henery. For a defensive-minded coach like Pelini, special teams are everything. So I hope our head coach goes through the stats and realizes how many games we eeked a win out of by a mere field goal, oftentimes from the 50+ range. He was a sure shot for 3 points.

But he was also one of the most successful punters we've had in recent memory, not only in net punt average, but also in the number of times he put the ball inside the ten yard line (and, at the same time, out of bounds, safe from the reach of the return man). He swung the field position in our favor most every game.

Invest in that, Pelini. It's one of the most overlooked recruits we'll need for this upcoming year.

4. Discipline from top to bottom. You can't expect to finish up well when you're among the most top 20 most penalized teams in the league. When, in any given game, you've committed as much as 5x the amount of penalty yards as your opponent. Watson, get your offensive linemen ready to go on Saturday--too many false starts, holding penalties, personal fouls, God damn.

But I think this also starts at the top. Pelini, you've got more fervor than I saw in the Solich and Callahan eras combined. But you've got to control that hot head. You make yourself media fodder when you go off on the officials, players, or even when you give a pale interview to the media.You'll keep out of public criticism, and get a group that doesn't stray into its own way of things: that is, everyone will have more trust.

And we should. You've got some good things going.

Grab some popcorn, it's time for a show!

Ok, it's time to talk about a team that we actually know, not just from watching Sports Center, reading sports blogs, or following Twitter posts. I am going to talk about my peers (hopefully I don't need permission or written consent or something for this). Specifically, I want to talk about the Northwestern College Women's Basketball Team.

Let me just start off by saying that these girls are absolute STUDS and are incredibly entertaining to watch. I am not saying this as a basketball expert by any means, I am just a person with a general knowledge of the game that can appreciate when a team can kick some serious butt, yes butt. I will be honest, I have not watched every home game that the women have played this year, but when I do go to the games I am always thoroughly impressed and amazed by what they can do on the court. They may not be able to dunk or throw passes that turn into alley-oop dunks, but they play the game quick and aggressively and with an extreme amount of hustle and passion. GPAC Players of the Week are not made of anything less than those characteristics and our women have been able to boast of a few Players of the Week this year along with GPAC Player of the Year, Becca Hurley.

I may be speaking with some bias as a female athlete myself, but often times I think people tend to look past women's sports and not give the full amount of credit that the women are due for their accomplishments. One example that backs up this claim is the fact that the Bultman Center Gym is waaaaay less crowded when the women play a game than when the men do. I think, in terms of pure talent and skill the women are completely up to par with the men, which makes me wonder why the fan base is quite a bit smaller for the women compared to the men's team. But, I just want to focus on the women's team and try to avoid comparing them to the men's team.

I watched the Raider Women play for the GPAC Championship on Tuesday (March 1st) against the Morningside Mustangs, definite rivals of all Raider teams. This was an incredible game. It was back and forth and tight in score the entire time. The range between scores for both teams was never very far and quite often the score was tied. Towards to end of the game the Raiders had pulled ahead by about 8 points with not much time on the clock. Sitting in the crowd I was actually getting a little nervous because the Mustangs were getting a few drives and making some points. But, I could tell that our girls were completely keeping their cool. They knew they just had to finish the game strong, keep up both the defense and the offense, and make their foul shots if the opportunity presented itself, which it did a few times and the Raiders were able to secure the lead with even more of a cushion. The Raiders won the game with a final score of 84-74 to win the GPAC Women's Basketball Championship.

Seriously, if you have not watched these women play you need to because they are outstanding. And, their season is not over because they are headed to the National Tournament along with the men's team. Good luck to both teams as they compete next week in this prestigious tournament!

Glory Benson

Land of the free, home of the Muskies

Over the weekend I attended what was my third ever hockey game. The first game I went to was a high school all-star game about five years ago, and since it was an all-star game it wasn’t all that exciting. The two most recent games were part of the annual Heemstra and West All Hall Date Night. I’ve attended the past two years, and while you would think that I would learn a little more about the sport with each game I attend, that is not the case.

This particular game was between the Sioux City Musketeers, Muskies for short, and the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League. The Muskies have won only two of the seven games they’ve played against the Force this season, but since they lost the game I went to last year, I was hoping they could pull through with a win this time around. Spoiler alert: they didn’t.

The Muskies' version of the Bash Brothers.

The game started out great. Like I said before, I know nothing about hockey, so instead I amused myself by yelling phrases such as “Puck off!” and quoting lines from D2: The Mighty Ducks like “Wu Wu Wu Kenny Wu!” and “It’s knuckle-puck time!”

Fargo went up early 1-0, but the Muskies came back with a goal from Max McCormick three minutes into the second period, tying it 1-1. Muskies goaltender Matt Skoff stopped shot after shot after that, but eventually Fargo got past him making the score 2-1 just before the end of the second.

Into the third period, the Muskies tried to make a comeback, but the Force were too much and scored a third and fourth goal late in the period, putting the game away for good. Stats compiled after the game showed the Force taking 43 shots on goal, while the Muskies took an embarrassing 16. Fargo’s 4-1 win leaves them tied for second in the USHL West Division standings.

I understand scoring, and I understand penalties, but everything else about the game was foreign to me, so I took the liberty to look up the meaning to a couple hockey phrases:

1. Icing - When a player shoots the puck across at least two red lines and it remains untouched. It is not icing if the puck makes it into the net, it is counted as a goal.

2. Goal Crease - The area directly in front of the goaltender. It can only be entered by offensive players who have possession of the puck.

3. Power Play - When a team has a one- or two-man advantage due to the other team’s penalties.

As exciting as hockey is (I mean come on, fighting is encouraged), I had a hard time getting into the game, and I found myself watching the fans more often than the game itself. Hockey seems like more than just a game, it’s almost a lifestyle for its fans. Muskie fans are loyal, and from what I gathered they’ve been going to games for years and will continue to for years to come, even though the Muskies are average at best. Players grow up in the game from the time they’re little, and it seems natural for them to pursue it as a career.

That’s great, and I’m sure if I took the time to really get into hockey, I would love it, too. If I understood the game more, I could become a true fan. I appreciate it, and I know I could never skate as well as those guys while handling a puck and getting slammed into the boards. I want to love hockey, but something in me just struggles to grasp the game. It was an enjoyable experience though, even though the Muskies were not victorious, and I would not be opposed to going again sometime.

One of the times when I would have yelled "Puck off!"

Now, if you would please excuse me, I have to get back to D2. Team USA is about to play Iceland in the championship of the Junior Goodwill Games.

Atypical Results

Again college athletes made news today…but they weren’t out doing service projects or donating to the poor like everyone expects.  A study done by Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports revealed some very surprising findings.  The people at SI and CBS did a background check on every player on the roster of the top 25 teams in college football.  Since we always hear about how athletes are such upstanding citizens and all around great people, it was surprising to hear that 7% of the players sampled had criminal records.  If I were to guess, I wouldn’t think any of those guys would be involved in that kind of stuff!  We never hear of an athlete in trouble with the law. 

The article went on to report that most of these coaches do not perform any sort of background check on recruits.  Since that last paragraph is a load of BS, I think it’s high time to start them.  According to the article, players come in to a program with charges ranging from assault and battery to sex crimes.  Many of these players have multiple arrests.  The funny thing is that many coaches don’t even know it.  There were two programs that ran background checks of their recruits and those that don’t gave reasons as to why they don’t.  They reasoned that they could get the necessary information from coaches and from interviews.  Well obviously they don’t have the right questions.  “Have you ever been arrested?” would be a good start. 

I don’t believe these background checks should be the determining factor however.  They could serve as a single factor in the recruiting equation.  Coaches should make it a priority to get to know each and every player at a personal level.  Not just athletic ability.  Coaches need to find players’ true character.   

I’m not saying that any athlete with a record should never be allowed to play.  I’m not trying to judge, as I haven’t been a perfect citizen either.  There are several success stories of players who turn their life around after going to college.  Everyone makes mistakes; it’s those that learn from them that are truly successful.  I am a firm believer in second chances and everyone should get one but it’s getting out of hand. 

Taken straight from the NCAA website:

The Association – through its member institutions, conferences and national office staff – shares a belief in and commitment to:

• The collegiate model of athletics in which students participate as an avocation, balancing their academic, social and athletics experiences.

• The highest levels of integrity and sportsmanship.

• The pursuit of excellence in both academics and athletics.

• The supporting role that intercollegiate athletics plays in the higher education mission and in enhancing the sense of community and strengthening the identity of member institutions.

• An inclusive culture that fosters equitable participation for student-athletes and career opportunities for coaches and administrators from diverse backgrounds.

• Respect for institutional autonomy and philosophical differences.

• Presidential leadership of intercollegiate athletics at the campus, conference and national levels.

I don’t think the results of this report bring a positive light to the NCAA.  They aren’t recruiting according to these standards.  They are more concerned about athletic ability and if the player will help them on the field.  Coaches are evaluated by their wins and losses-not by the percent of players that graduate. 

Again, I don’t believe background checks will solve everything, but I think it will be a step in the right direction.  They need to have more guidelines on who should be recruited to play.  They need to get at the true character of the player.  Who knows, maybe some day ESPN won’t be flooded with allegations and court cases.

ar

An Impassioned Defense

I realize upon posting this that most of you don't have the time to plow through this many words regarding sports, what with spring break rapidly approaching and all. So you know what? Feel free to watch the videos, ignore the words, and decide for yourself if my mission here was successful. (Of course, I like to believe the words will further my case as well.) With no offense meant to a fellow blogger, my mission is simple. I'm here to convince you that the NBA, despite allegations to the contrary, is well worth your time.

Don't get me wrong, to follow the NBA as much as me, you need a whole new level of commitment (insanity?). You need to drop $200 to watch every regular season game online. You need to actually sit down and watch two or three games every night. You need to frequent NBA blogs, ESPN.com, and other sites in search of nuggets (and Nuggets) yet unwitnessed. Those of us who treat the NBA like it's our lives often give up our lives in return.

But casual NBA fans have never been in a better position to enjoy the game. Don't take my word for it. Ask Blake Griffin.

Basketball is the perfect mix of pure grace and brute force. Soccer has never caught on in the US because of its lack of aggression and violence, despite the grace and athletic ability on display. Football is built on short bursts of violence, which in turn lead to long periods of inaction, often lasting two or three times as long as the action itself. Basketball meshes the two together, through violent dunks, hardnosed defense/blocks, and beautiful movement, passing, and teamwork.

No team wins when it isn't a team in basketball. In the 90's, after Larry Bird and Magic Johnson retired, a ridiculous amount of teams tried to follow Chicago's model for winning championships, in which one perimeter player dribbled out the shot clock in an isolation before trying to create a shot. These teams had apparently forgotten that the Bulls had MICHAEL FREAKING JORDAN playing for them, and everybody else, well, didn't. It made for bad offense. It made for final scores of 80-72. It made for bad basketball. But fortunately, for all of us, the NBA figured itself out.

For starters, let's put to rest the allegation that the NBA is full of players standing around on offense.
Putting aside the difficulty level of that assist...you can't put it aside? I don't blame you. Not only did Rajon Rondo know EXACTLY where Ray Allen was, but he was off balance and he still caught Allen DIRECTLY in his shooting rhythm. Now watch the clip again, try reeeeally hard not to watch Rondo, and instead watch the rest of the team. Exactly ONE player on offense didn't move during the clip...Allen, the guy who ended up swishing the three. He didn't move because, well, he was WIDE open. There was nobody within shouting distance of him. The rest of the team? Rotating and trying to create openings for each other. Turned out they didn't need to, Rondo had it under control.

Sure, the Celtics are known as a team with a ton of chemistry, who play as a team as a general rule. So let's talk about a team sporting the greatest individual basketball player in the world today.
So much for isolations. So much for superstars being unable to share. So much for one on one basketball. As a matter of fact, LeBron is averaging over 7 assists per game this year (two more than Jordan's career average). He is also 13th in the NBA in assists, the only non-point guard in the top 15. So if we may, let's just say so much for LeBron the selfish basketball player.

As for defense, it is becoming increasingly popular to be a great defensive team, since great defensive teams like Boston and Los Angeles keep winning NBA titles. As a unit, players are taking an incredible amount of pride in stopping the other team from scoring. And it's working. The team allowing the fewest points per game so far this season is Boston, who also happens to be the number one team in the Eastern Conference. Miami, Orlando, and Chicago are all in the top 6 in defense as well as being the top 4 teams in the Eastern conference. But it's also popular to be a top defensive stopper as an individual player. Take it away LeBron!
Many players take so much pride in the defensive end of the ball, they refuse to even allow players to score after a whistle, swatting away shots that are utterly meaningless. Dunks and layups are almost always contested. Defense is very much alive and kicking in the NBA. Don't believe me? Last year's NBA All Defensive First Team included LeBron, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, Kobe Bryant, and Gerald Wallace. 4 of these players made deep playoff runs, including Bryant who won the championship. Every single one of those players played in the 2009-2010 All Star Game.

Ahhhh yes. The All Star Game. The bane of the NBA existence. And unfortunately, for many people, it's also the only game they watch during the regular season. What they witness is the NBA's best performing like the NBA's worst, all offense, no defense, only one or two players really trying, and they are selfish players making a run for the All Star Game MVP award. Smarter players who made the team often request to sit the bench to avoid injuries and extended minutes in what is nothing more than a well attended exhibition game. Judging the NBA on its All Star game is like judging a beautiful woman for having an ugly henna tattoo, and blowing her off upon seeing it. Ultimately the henna doesn't matter. It actually has nothing to do with her as a person, and it can be ignored until it fades away.

Now, I realize that I've been using only the most elite players as models, but for a casual basketball fan, these are the players you SHOULD be able to watch on a regular basis. And honestly? If you do sit down and watch a real game, instead of seeing one on one offense and no defense you are much more likely to see something like this...

I won't argue the fact that there are selfish, lazy basketball players in the NBA. But that was true from 1950-1999 as well and not just from the NBA, but from the NFL, Major Leage Baseball, the NHL, you name it. And you know what? Those players weren't successful at the pro level. Success in any professional sport requires dedication to every aspect of the game, attention to detail, wonderful athletic ability, and the correct mindset in which working towards anything less than winning is failure. In no sport are these requirements as naked and obvious as the NBA, meaning that when they are broken, the player looks especially bad. But when a player (or a team) puts it all together, it's something truly special. And if that player happens to be your favorite player of all time, there's even a chance you might get to witness this.

The NBA: Where Amazing (and Hell Yeah, It's Worth It) Happens.

Birkie Blitz

While most rational people spent most of the past weekend inside, bundled up with blankets and cursing that damn groundhog for getting our hopes up and letting us down once again this year, a group of 8,850 crazed Olympic stars and ski- legend wanna-be’s went deep into the snowy forest trails of northern Wisconsin to race 50 kilometers in the 38^th annual American Birkebeiner cross-country ski race, which  began at 8:00 a.m. the morning of Saturday, February 27^th, while the temperature was around negative 10 degrees.

The whole concept of the race has probably left you with many questions, such as: “What were they thinking?!?” “Did an Eskimo win?” and “Why would anyone willingly choose to spend their Saturday in Wisconsin?”

I really can’t come up with a good answer for that first question, so let’s go on to the second. No, an Eskimo did not win. And by the way, they prefer to be called Inuit, not Eskimo, and not everyone from Alaska skies or is qualified to be a politician, contrary to rumors.

Caitlin Compton, from Minneapolis, won the women’s 50K skate course with a time of 2:15:26.0. Compton’s time not only got her the first place finish, it also got her the honor of setting a new course record that was almost three minutes faster than the previous record set by Rebecca Dussault in 2010. The second and third place finishers, Morgan Smyth of Utah, and Evelyn Dong of Oregon, also finished under Dussault’s former record holding time of 2:18:18.1.

In the men’s 50K skate race, the first place title went to Norwegian native Tore Martin Gunderson, who finished with a time of 2:00:32.8. Gunderson said the Wisconsin course was “fantastic,” further evidence the guy is a naïve foreigner who has not yet experienced Minnesota.

And for those of you who thought skiing 50K, or basically 31 miles, was easy enough- don’t worry! There was also a 54K classical ski race, fondly known as the Birkie Classic.

Winning the men’s Birkie Classic for the second year in a row was Juergen Uhl of Vermont. The man got first- place, but did little to break stereotypes for other little boys growing up with the name Juergen.

Another Minneapolis native, Jennie Bender, won the women’s title for the Birkie with a time of 2:50: 09:3.

Back to that last question you were wondering earlier (why would anyone go to Wisconsin, ever, and then go skiing outside for over two hours?)…This race is considered the most prestigious and is the largest cross- country ski marathon in North America, larger than races in Canada even! So I can only imagine the answer the reasons people have for wanting to participate: Pride. Guts. The same reason people go bungee jumping or eat at Taco Bells. The thrill of doing something unbelievable.

And what is the significance in all these results of the American Birkebeiner Championship? Well, if you haven’t caught on so far, I had an agenda to prove to you all that Minnesota girls are the best, and the results of the Birkie did an excellent job of backing me up.

Boring............

The National Basketball League sucks.  Plain and simple.  No offense to a fellow blogger, but it’s boring, selfish basketball.  ESPN is cluttered with NBA trade news, “the decision” and salary news .  Rewind twenty years and that’s when basketball was at it’s finest.  With the likes of Jordan , Johnson, Ewing, and Bird it was fun to watch.  There was real offense, real defense, and it was about the game. 

I was bored on All-Star weekend and ESPN Classic had the 1992 All-Star game playing.  I actually sat and watched half the game.  I don’t remember the last time I sat and watched a professional basketball game.  The game was fun to watch.  Even though it was an All-Star game, there was offense and even defense.  It had all the flair of an All-Star game but it had pick-and-rolls that ended in alley-oops, give-and-goes with a Jordan reverse lay-up. 

Compare this to the most recent All-Star game.  Their offense was LeBron against the West and Kobe against the East.  There weren’t enough basketballs to go around that night.  Kobe Bryant finished the game with 37 points and was basically a black hole.  He wasn’t gonna give the ball up. 

This is basically the story of every NBA game.  It’s one-on-one, go to the hole even when there are three guys standing wide open waiting for a chance to prove he’s worth playing in the NBA, or pull up bombs from 30 feet.  I was no Kobe, but I woulda sat my ass on the bench if I pulled up for three off the first pass.  I was also taught that in a basketball offense, you needed to move without the basketball-set screens, cut to the basket, get some one else open.  I’m no NBA coach, but I think this philosophy would still apply in the league, but apparently not.  Whenever Kobe, LeBron, or Carmelo have the ball, the other four players are frozen.  They could just as well find an empty seat , spend $30 on a couple beers and hotdogs and enjoy the show. 

 Another thing the NBA is lacking is defense.  There is none.  I see better defense watching sweaty old men trying to re-live their glory days.  They at least have a little bit of shame when someone blows by them for a lay-up. 

Back in the good ol’ days even the stars played defense.  In the last ten years, the only “star” players to win the Defensive Player of the Year were Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard.  If you go farther back, Jordan won one, David Robinson won one, and even Payton.  LeBron doesn’t have any, Kobe-none, Wade-zero.  Even the stars realized that they have other players on their team.  Jordan knew that Pippen was a deadly weapon and that Steve Kerr could bury three’s from anywhere on the court.  While Jordan averaged 30 points per game, he also averaged 5.3 assists.  Larry Bird averaged 24 points and 6.3 assists.  Carmelo Anthony averages 24 points and 3 assists a game. 

The NBA blows.  It’s boring and hard to watch even in the playoffs.  The greats cared about winning not how much they money they made.  They let their championships do the talking, not their endorsements.  It was fun to watch.  They cared, they hustled, and they made the extra pass.  It was when basketball was at it’s greatest.