It’s Friday! That means Ten Big stories in 10 little bites. We’re loaded today, with Husker football and baseball, Eric Crouch and Mike Moustakas, Doc Rivers and RG3, Barrett Ruud and Urban Meyer, a unique high school story and a personal anniversary. But first, turkey for breakfast.
>> 11 a.m. against Iowa? I realize it’s not ideal for fans, especially those that want to stand in line at 3 a.m. for $6.99 mixing bowls. But in this era of 238 channels, it’s important to find time slots without competition. Nebraska-Iowa is just about the only game on TV at 11 a.m. on Thanksgiving Friday. That’s worth a lot, especially if you play well.
>> The ninth-inning loss to Ohio State Thursday was an apt …
Read more »
Nebraska’s Black Friday (Nov. 29) game with Iowa received a 11 a.m. kickoff for the third straight year. National TV on ABC. NU’s game with Illinois got a 11 a.m. kickoff earlier this week. That leaves home games against Northwestern, Michigan State, South Dakota State and UCLA to still receive start times.…
Read more »
Another week on the recruiting trail, another busy week for NU in SEC country. Read up on the Huskers’ offer to Alabama quarterback Kendrick Doss, and get updates on several Husker recruiting targets in Florida, including a quarterback, offensive lineman and receiver.
For the best recruiting analysis, check out Sam McKewon’s latest column, “Tim Beck’s value clear in Huskers’ situation” (and don’t forget his most recent “Big, Fat Recruiting Update“).
But that’s not all the news. On the Omaha.com/recruiting page, we’re constantly linking to the latest stories, videos, Twitter posts and more to keep you informed about what’s shaking on the NU recruiting front.
Here are five of the week’s top stories:
Before we begin, let’s assume that Christian DeLeon’s elbow is indeed healthy enough for him to go. Now, here’s the situation: Nebraska needs four wins in three days, and two of its top starting pitchers have already thrown.
Friday: The Huskers, in win-or-go-home mode from this point on, face either No. 4 seed Minnesota or No. 5 seed Illinois (two teams they took a three-game series from, on the road). Is there a chance that Tyler Niederklein or Ryan Hander could start against one of those clubs and hold them off long enough for the NU offense to pile up runs on a midweek starter? That’s the consideration. Common sense probably tells you to start DeLeon. He’s the Huskers’ best guy left (by far). But …
Read more »
Just a bunch of leftover takes on Thursday’s competitive game. Great pitching and some clutch hitting by two of the more resilient teams in the conference.
Comments from both Nebraska and Ohio State representatives are below…
DARIN ERSTAD
On the lessons learned: “I use this — the feelings and emotions they’re having, being so close and not being able to come out with a victory — (to show) just how important every rep is that you work on. And how much work you put in, in the offseason. Those are the things that it’s for. It’s that feeling, you don’t want to have that. That’ll make you fight and work even more. It’s tough, but at the same time, it’s something you’ve got to learn …
Read more »
Creighton men’s and women’s tennis coach Tom Lilly has never been to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which hosts the U.S. Open each year.
He now has plans to make his first trip to famed tennis center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., next April.
Lilly told the World-Herald on Thursday that the National Tennis Center will host the 2014 conference tennis tournament. St. John’s, which is located in nearby New York City, will serve as the host school.
“It’s a one-year deal and then we’ll see how it goes next April,” Lilly said.
After the 2014 championships, Lilly expects the host school and site of the tournament to rotate.
“I know other coaches would like to host,” he said, “and we’re a team that …
Read more »
Creighton junior Becca Changstrom earned a spot on the Capital One Academic All-America third team on Thursday.
The honor is the first for Changstrom, the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference pitcher of the year, and the first by a Bluejay softball player since 2010.
The right-hander recently earned MVC scholar-athlete first-team honors, and was named to the All-MVC first team and the MVC all-tournament team after she won the pitching triple crown in Valley play with 13 wins, 133 strikeouts and a 1.34 ERA.…
Read more »
Construction workers were hard at work Thursday deconstructing the existing scoreboard that hangs at center court of CenturyLink Center Omaha, making way for a new-and-improved display for fans.
As The World-Herald’s Erin Golden reported back in February, the arena is getting a new scoreboard along with new digital panels that run around the sides of the arena and updated marquees outside. It’s a $5.8 million investment, but Roger Dixon, president of the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority, said some of the benefits include larger screen sizes with higher resolution, as well as better video coverage overall.
“We’ll be able to utilize more cameras on replays,” Dixon said.
Here’s the video from Thursday’s deconstruction along with more updates from Dixon:
In the last four weeks, the Huskers have won two games in a row just once. Six wins and eight losses. Not necessarily the consistent type of baseball they’d like to see.
And even that mini-winning streak (two games) was incredibly arduous, perhaps maybe even fortuitous. NU beat Minnesota 8-0 on May 12, and two days later it blew a huge lead and barely held on for an ugly 12-9 win over Creighton.
Now Nebraska needs a new streak at the most critical time of the year. After beating up on Michigan 11-2 in the Big Ten tournament, the Huskers face No. 2 seed Ohio State at 3:35 p.m. Thursday.
In coach Darin Erstad’s mind, it comes down to starting pitching. Stringing together quality starts …
Read more »
Below is a sampling of what the Husker players and coaches had to say after beating Michigan 11-2 and advancing in the Big Ten tournament.
Nebraska plays Ohio State at 3:35 p.m. Thursday. Plenty more on NU’s first-round win to come on Omaha.com. Stay tuned.
DARIN ERSTAD
On the performance of Kyle Kubat (7 IP, 1 H, 6 K): “It’s pretty much what he does. He pounds his fastball in to righties, it opens up the whole plate. He’s able to throw his changeup in any hitter’s count he wants. And he competes. … I thought his breaking ball was as sharp as it’s been. He doesn’t throw a ton of them, but you throw a wrinkle in and it’s a pretty effective three-pitch mix.”…
Read more »
