Time and again, reporters have asked Harvey Perlman and Tom Osborne, “What’s the succession plan at athletic director? What’s the plan when Osborne calls it quits?” I think we have a new front-runner in Jamie Williams.

Osborne recruited his former tight end for this role, which NU created specifically for Williams. The next 2-3 years could easily be his apprenticeship.

On the other hand, this isn’t Osborne’s call, it’s Perlman’s. And Harvey may not like the idea of promoting from within the athletic department.

Keep an eye on Williams’ profile. The more visible his activities, the more likely Osborne is trying to groom him.

>> Jeff Culhane reports that Nebraska’s conference tournament opener was delayed 10 minutes because the grounds crew forgot to drag the dirt after both teams took infield. If that ain’t a metaphor for Big Ten baseball…

>> If Ty Blach’s last game at Creighton came Tuesday afternoon, what a way to finish a career. Blach, who is draft-eligible, has absolutely dominated the past three outings. He had a complete game, five-hitter against Dallas Baptist, then went seven shutout innings against Wichita State. Now a one-hitter against the No. 1 seed at the Valley tournament. For Blach to get another start, Creighton needs to stick around a few more days.

>> Speaking of lefty pitchers who are draft-eligible, Logan Ehlers finished his season at Howard Junior College last week with a 12-1 record. His ERA was 1.17. He struck out 1.23 batters per inning. Ehlers, the former Husker recruit, will likely get drafted higher than the eighth round, where he went in 2010.

>> The World-Herald is writing a lot this week about Bob Boozer, who died Saturday. Here’s what Charles Barkley said on TNT late Monday night:

“They put the ’60 Olympic team and the original Dream Team in the Hall of Fame last summer. So he comes in with Jerry Lucas, Walt Bellamy, Jerry West, Oscar Roberston. Everybody’s cool and everybody’s having a great time. And I’ve got my guys. So Bob comes up and says, ‘We’da kick ya’ll ass.’ And we’re like, ‘who are you?’

“And he’s like, ‘I’m Bob Boozer. I was on the team. And we would have just kicked ya’ll ass.’ It was like a long weekend. And every time he saw us, he says, ‘Michael Jordan, we’da kicked ya’ll…’ But he was doing it in a way — he was such a really fun man to be around.

“I didn’t know a lot about him, but spending that weekend with him, I felt a special kinship. Obviously being on the Olympic team, I knew he played in the NBA for a while. But man, he had us laughing the entire weekend. ‘Cause we’re like, ‘Shouldn’t Jerry West and Oscar Robertson be bragging?’…

“Gonna miss ya, Booz. We woulda beat that ’60 team like a drum.”

>> Great, great, great idea from Tom Shatel. Move Bob Boozer Drive in front of the CenturyLink Center.

>> Ahman Green defends homosexuals in the NFL.

>> A month ago, LSU outfielder Raph Rhymes was chasing .500, a rare feat in college baseball. He has since cooled off. But on Monday, coach Paul Mainieri made a stunning revelation. After the 2011 season, Rhymes volunteered to give up his full-ride scholarship so Mainieri could improve the team. Rhymes, who didn’t got cut from the Tigers as a freshman, will be one of the big stories of the CWS if LSU qualifies.

>> A high school senior was disciplined at graduation for…Tebowing.

>> Stan Van Gundy’s greatest hits. Great comedy.

>> Virginia Tech fans are getting SEC fever.

>> Has Lane Kiffin matured?

>> Cool stuff from SI stat guru Luke Winn. He examines how realignment will likely affect college basketball conferences. The ACC should be No. 1 by a wide margin, thanks to the additions of Pittsburgh and Syracuse. The next tier is the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. Tier 3 is Big East and Pac-12. Tier 4 is Missouri Valley, Mountain West and Atlantic 10.

>> Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News ranks Creighton basketball 13th in his offseason top-25. Indiana is No. 1. My guess is the Jays will start between 15-20 in the official rankings.

>> What is the most entertaining NBA playoff series since the Jordan era? I presented this question on Twitter the other night. I received votes for several series.

Here’s my top-5:

1– Warriors/Mavericks, 2007 First round.
I’m a sucker for big upsets, and there wasn’t anything as crazy as Don Nelson’s team bombing 3s over the No. 1 seed Mavs.

2– Lakers/Kings, 2002 Western Conference finals.
Sacramento was good enough to win a championship, no doubt. But L.A. had Robert Horry, while the Kings had Peja Stojakovic. One was much better in the clutch.

3– Celtics/Bulls, 2009 First round.
The beginning of the Derrick Rose era in Chicago. The series featured seven total overtimes in a seven-game series. A 3-OT Bulls win (Ray Allen had 51 points) in Game 6 was the highlight.

4– Suns/Clippers, 2006 Second round.
Those Suns — before the Shaq trade — were the most entertaining team of the 2000s. They went toe-to-toe with the Clippers for seven games; the winning team averaged almost 120.

5– Lakers/Blazers, 2000 Western Conference finals.
A seven-game thriller between two loaded rosters. Portland had a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter of Game 7 but blew it.

Honorable mention:
Cavs/Magic 2009
Mavs/Spurs 2006
Cavs/Pistons 2006
Lakers/Celtics 2009
Suns/Mavs 2005

What am I forgetting?