Tom Osborne wasn’t kidding when, in discussing his future plans as he steps down from his role in the Nebraska athletic department, he told World-Herald staff writer Rich Kaipust “the main thing” he wants to focus on will be furthering the work he’s already done with youth mentoring programs.

On Wednesday, Osborne was named to the Board of Directors of MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership, a group that “helps children by providing a public voice, developing and delivering resources to mentoring programs nationwide and promoting quality for mentoring through standards, cutting-edge research and state of the art tools.”

“The impact a quality mentoring relationship can have on a young person is real and measurable, and it benefits all of us but right now the …

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A tenacious, second-year Husker baseball coach takes his underdogs to the conference tournament and wins!

If Darin Erstad’s team pulls it off, it wouldn’t be the first time. This week in 1999, Dave Van Horn took his fifth-seeded Huskers to Oklahoma City and captured NU’s first baseball championship since 1950.

John Cole’s leaping catch in left field to beat Baylor, 4-3, was the unofficial beginning of a baseball boom at Nebraska. It represented one of the greatest (and most improbable) success stories in the history of the athletic department.

Can Erstad reignite the program 14 years later? He probably doesn’t have the arms to win the Big Ten tournament, which begins today in Minneapolis. He’ll probably have to wait another year to make an NCAA …

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Omaha.com won’t be hosting any live chats this week, or until closer to the start of the fall sports seasons.

Rest assured, you’ll be able to have “Lunch with Tom” again in the future. When news breaks, The World-Herald will still have you covered. You can always keep up with all of our writers on Twitter and join the discussions on our various Facebook pages (Big Red Today, Bluejays Today, Mavericks Today, CWS, NEPrepZone, Shatel).

In the meantime, we’ll be focusing on the summer’s top events, including the U.S. Senior Open, the College World Series, the Cox Classic and more. It’ll be a good summer, and we’re looking forward to it.

Of course, you can always sign up …

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It took a while for the disappointment to fade after Nebraska’s 19-9 loss to Michigan in its season finale. But then the Big Ten tournament bracket was released.

The Wolverines spoiled the Huskers’ senior day, won a critical three-game series and ruined NU’s shot at a first-round bye. And they weren’t polite about it.

So that’s why the third-seeded Huskers have a little extra motivation — beyond the obvious — when they take the field against No. 6 seed Michigan at 3:35 p.m. Wednesday.

Said senior Chad Christensen: “It’s a good chance to redeem ourselves from the weekend.”

NU coach Darin Erstad’s looking forward to seeing how his team responds.

“It’s fresh in their minds, the butt-whooping they gave us,” Erstad said. “Our guys took …

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Nebraska coach Darin Erstad spoke to the media Tuesday as the Huskers prepare to take on Michigan at 3:35 p.m. Wednesday in the first round of the Big Ten baseball tournament:

…

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Chad Christensen and Pat Kelly were each named first-team All-Big Ten performers by league coaches, leading seven Huskers honored by the conference Tuesday. NU’s Michael Pritchard was a second-team selection, while Kash Kalkowski, Rich Sanguinetti and Blake Headley were third-team selections. Senior Bryan Peters rounded out the group as Nebraska’s Sportsmanship Award honoree.

A first-team pick for the second-straight season, Christensen was one of three first-team outfielders named Tuesday after being the first-team shortstop a year ago. Entering the Big Ten Tournament, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native leads or is tied for the team lead in average (.362), hits (75), runs (39), triples (3) and home runs (2). During conference play, Christensen led the league in batting average (.431), hits (44) and runs scored (26). …

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Nebraska senior Cole Pensick is one of 44 players named to the spring watch list for the 2013 Rimington Trophy, presented annually to the top center in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The award is named in honor of two-time Husker Outland Trophy winner Dave Rimington, who starred for Nebraska from 1980-82.

Pensick, a 6-foot-2, 275-pound Lincoln Northeast product, is one of five senior offensive linemen with extensive playing experience for the Huskers, having played in all 14 games in 2012, including starting the final two games of the year at center.

Pensick is one of four centers from the Big Ten among those on the list, joined by Michigan State’s Travis Jackson, Ohio State’s Corey Linsley and Northwestern’s Brandon Vitabile.

Pensick played mostly as a …

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Tom Osborne felt like he never had a better grasp on what was happening around college football than when he had a vote in the Legends Poll for one season in between his stint as a U.S. Congressman and his return to Nebraska as athletic director.

So while participating in a recent forum in New York City, Osborne wasn’t afraid to mention that he thought the Legends Poll might be the “best method” to help with a selection process when football goes to a four-team playoff in 2014.

Osborne was on with Don James, John Robinson, Terry Donahue, Gene Stallings and the like. Even Bill Snyder before he returned to Kansas State.

“These were all football people,” Osborne said.

They had Saturdays free to watch …

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Nebraska landed a key commit for its 2014 recruiting class last week when Wamego (Kan.) star Kaylee Page committed to the Huskers. Page confirmed the commit over the phone Monday.

At 6-foot-2, Page started at point guard, averaged 21 points and eight rebounds and led Wamego — 15 minutes from Manhattan, Kan — to the 4-A Kansas state title. She’s slated to play small forward, she said, in college. She picked NU over Oklahoma State, Stanford and Kansas, but had many more offers.

“I loved the coaches there,” said Page, who called NU assistant Dayna Finch May 15 and head coach Connie Yori shortly after that. “And I really liked the academic part, too. They care a lot about you transitioning to real life after …

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Being a Husker fan can mean coming to Memorial Stadium on a nice, clear Saturday afternoon in the fall. It also can mean scorching-hot September games. And frigid days in November. But through it all, Nebraska fans still come out to watch the Big Red.

The World-Herald’s Focus on Nebraska photography contest gives fans a chance to share their shots from the 50-year sellout streak and show what Husker football means to them. We’re looking for your best photos showing some of the weather you’ve had to endure to cheer on the team. You also can enter photos from other parts of the Lincoln game-day experience: the tailgating, the pageantry, the players, the coaches and most of all, YOU. The World-Herald this fall will publish …

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