“It’s something we’re very proud of. A lot of great coaches come out of this Valley and get trained in this Valley. Bo Pelini is going to do a good job. He’s competitive and I think he’s got the right perspective. He’s going to build something bigger than a program and bigger than a team. It’s going to be a full, comprehensive experience for his players. And he’s going to have his guys playing good football too. He’s going to have them doing well in the classroom and representing Nebraska well.”

I’d love to see Ohio State on the schedule someday.

According to his AAU coach, Eric Vaughn, “Bear” has the potential to shine.

If Nebraska gets him, he will be, in my opinion, one of the best players to ever play at Nebraska. He’s one of those players that has ‘it,’ whatever ‘it’ is.

I really hope so Mr. Vaughn because I am still steaming mad about losing Roburt Sallie!  Sallie signed with Memphis, so there will be many opportunities to watch what could have been ours on T.V.  Welcome to the Husker Family, Bear! 

[courtesy of Lincoln Journal Star]

Home games against Western Michigan, San Jose State and New Mexico State have not been chosen as part of the Big 12 television package.

The last time at least one of Nebraska’s first three games was not televised by a network was during the 1989 season.

The Nebraska-Virginia Tech game will be broadcast, though it is not yet determined which network will broadcast it or when kickoff will be.

[via Lincoln Journal Star]

Athlon Sports and Lindy’s have Nebraska finishing fourth in the Big 12 North, while Phil Steele’s 2008 College Football Preview places the Huskers second. But all of the publications said better days will come, mainly because of Pelini.

So what does Pelini think about all that?

“Everybody has an opinion. Who cares?” Pelini said. “That’s why you play the games. I don’t worry about all that stuff. It’s irrelevant to me.”

Pelini said he might go as far as look at the cover of a preseason college football magazine. But only if it’s “cool,” he said.

Pelini would rather engross himself in a novel - like W.E.B. Griffin’s “The Shooters.”

“I like the political, the spy, the special ops type of stuff,” he said. “I get a lot of ideas from that.”

All three magazines believe the Big 12 is the nation’s second-toughest conference, behind the SEC.

[via Omaha World Herald]

The new deal, which would run through June 30, 2021, essentially would position IMG as a marketing agent on behalf of the athletic department, streamlining NU’s marketing efforts.

IMG would seek corporate sponsorships for NU, for example, and sell advertising for radio and television broadcasts.

In addition to Nebraska, IMG provides marketing services for numerous other schools, including Kansas, Texas, Michigan, Oklahoma State and Tennessee, according to its Web site.

What’s not in the Journal Star article is the fact that Loserhan came to us through his agent at IMG.

According to his high school coach, Rodney Traweek, the opportunity is almost too good to pass up.

 He’ll talk with the Angels’ organization and see if they can get things worked out as far as what the plan is for him money-wise and when they might expect to be in the big leagues. He’ll look at all of that for sure to see if he can get close to what he wants. And if he does, I’d say chase the dream and play major-league baseball. But if he doesn’t, he knows he has a really good thing waiting him in Nebraska, too.

I wish nothing but the best for Khiry. After listening to some of his interviews, you can tell this is a special kid and NU would be honored to have him put on the Scarlet and Cream. But the fact is this is money sitting on the table with the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream. If it was me, I would take the money and the chance to play professional baseball. He literally could have a 20 year career awaiting him. And for some reason if it didn’t work out, he could always come back to college and play football. Good Luck Khiry!

Roburt Sallie committed to Washington out of high school but failed to meet academic requirements.  He enrolled at prep school and after a year, committed to NU to play in 2006/07.  The NCAA denied  him entrance after Sallie could not produce any homework from his year at prep school.  Sallie had provided test scores and transcripts, but after 3 appeals he was still denied.  Here is what cost NU a shot at possibly the best player they have ever signed.  Sallie, while waiting for the appeal from the NCAA in 2006, enrolled ( or someone else did on his behalf ) in NU, paying his own way.  This was in violation of Big 12 conference rule 6.2 which reads in part  ”any student-athlete who enrolls at a conference institution, part time or full time, must meet NCAA initial eligibility requirements”.  Since the NCAA hadn’t cleared Sallie, he was in violation of this rule.  Nebraska asked for a waiver from the Big 12 Board, comprised of faculty athletic representatives.  A University would have to show extraordinary circumstances in order to receive a waiver, and the conference didn’t feel it was justified.

[Courtesy of Lincoln Journal Star]

I am just appaled that the Big 12 conference wouldn’t consider this an ”extraordinary circumstance” since Sallie was getting the runaround from the NCAA in 2006.  I am writing a strongly worded response to the Big 12 and if you would like to do that,  you can click here.  What on EARTH was the Big 12 thinking?  Roburt Sallie would’ve run through a brick wall to come to NU and they deny him because of 3 DAYS?  This man has gotten the run around since 2006 and this panel had the opportunity to right the wrong and for whatever reason, they chose not to.  Do they want this player in some other conference?  Roburt Sallie is the the type of player the Big 12 needs.  In every interview he ever did about NU, it wasn’t about “I” or “ME” but it was about NU as a school, a team, a family.  What is with the Big 12?  NU made the Big 12 from 1996-2001, but as of late, the conference has been a HEAVY south conference favorite.  What if Texas needed this waiver?  NU gets no respect from the Big 12 in my opinion.  I say we leave this conference and go somewhere else.  They can change the name of the conference to THE OTHER 11.  WHO’S WITH ME?

[Sports Nightly Audio w/ Doc Sadler Press Conference courtesy of Huskers.com]

Lincoln Journal Star reminds us that Loserhan never once called a play for the fullback last year. I guarantee you that’s about to change. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if our first play against Western Michigan is a run up the gut.

While my colleague Steve may not want credentials and access, I most certainly do. But, when we request press credentials from the University of Nebraska, we are given a form letter response saying that only print, television and radio media are given credentials. Universities need to revisit the standards for press access. Frankly, I think our site absolutely qualifies.

That is a laughable policy in 2008. Particularly considering that print media is fast moving to the web, where their readers/viewers are, not to mention the ad dollars.

I’m not going to argue for change here. The argument makes itself as blogs–including several good ones that currently cover the Cornhuskers–are becoming more mainstream by the day.

As an imperfect means of evaluating market place reach, Let’s look at some Alexa rankings:

• Big Red Network’s Rank: 273,995
• The Independent’s Rank: 120,968
• Lincoln Journal Star’s Rank: 34,435
• Omaha.com’s Rank: 32,084

In other words, Big Red Network is the 273,995th most visited site on the web, according to Alexa.

BRN, a part time site run by four fans, isn’t all that far behind Nebraska’s top three newspapers in online circulation (the entire paper, not just the sports section). HuskerZone’s numbers are a somewhat smaller–our traffic typically decreases after the football season (along with the frequency of our posts). But, traffic is one measuring stick. There are others. Like, honesty, integrity, loyalty, professionalism and passion for the subject.

I’m confident you will see members of online media organizations with press credentials in the Husker locker room before too long.