Husker Mike's Blasphemy

Monday Night Beer: Sarpy County Starts Feeling the Pain

2009-07-13T21:14:00.002-05:00

The folks in Sarpy County are now beginning to realize the boondoggle that their county officials have committed to. Kermit Brashear, the county's chief negotiator, has run up a tab of $678,000 so far...and the meter is still running, much to dismay of some in Sarpy County.

And they haven't even broke ground yet.

If they are already worried about how the costs have escalated on the negotiating phase, just wait until construction actually begins. Remember, the budget calls for building a new stadium for half the going rate. Maybe they'll keep Econobox Park in BFE under the budget...but the trend can't be good for Sarpy County.

The man who was unaware of what Steve Pederson was doing to the Nebraska athletic department is now defending the BCS. If that isn't proof enough of the need for a playoff system, I don't know what is.

I see Tom Osborne is writing yet another book. Frankly, while I'll probably get around to reading it, I'm not sure what else Osborne has to offer that he hasn't already said in his other books. Perhaps he'll give us his reasons why he thinks his run for governor failed, or perhaps he'll have some new insights as to the direction of college athletics. But more likely is that it's going to be much of what was already in his previous books.

I still need to finish up another Sun Belt conference preview for Louisiana-Lafayette for CornNation. It's actually more difficult to write previews for Sun Belt opponents than the others, as there is so little reference material other than the athletic department web sites to work from. I'll get that done later this week, and start turning my attention towards the Big XII schedule, where I already have a baseline to start from.

Props to KMTV-channel 3's Travis Justice for another half-hour of UNO coverage last night. Not only did he shock me with more coverage, but it was all broadcast in widescreen 16:9 coverage on my LCD TV. (One could write a joke about seeing Trav in HD, but I won't go there.) Good interview with UNO head coach Dean Blais and assistant coach Mike Hastings. I'm still concerned that Hastings is back at UNO more because he was with the Lancers than because of his 14 year record in the USHL. But when I listen to Blais, I'm reminded of what a home run hire he is. If Blais does for UNO what he did for every other place he's coached, I'll be more than happy to change my mind about Hastings.

Now, hopefully Trav and KMTV-channel 3 will consider televising a couple of road hockey games this season. That might sound like a stretch...but the days of saying that UNO can't do much of anything ended when Trev Alberts was hired.

Tuesday Night Beer: It's Summertime and Nothing's Happening

2009-07-07T19:44:00.002-05:00

AJ the Huskerh8r (who's back, BTW, with his Hater's Diary) dinged me for not updating the blog for a week. Truth be told...there really hasn't been much of substance happening. You almost have to make stuff up or rehash old news to make it new.

Take the "news" that Sarpy County and the Royals have finalized their deal. Big whoop there; we've known that's been coming for at least a month. (Yeah, I know some people have known it was coming a lot longer than that; I held out hope longer than most that it wouldn't.) The only interesting news was that stadium construction would only take 14 months. That sounds short until you remember that this stadium is only going to cost $25 million, or about half the going rate for AAA stadiums in Ohio, Georgia, and Nevada. We'll see how this turns out. I suppose that if the Sarpy County stadium isn't ready in time, they could always play at Rosenblatt in 2011.

Speaking of 2011, I've felt that the perfect opener for TD Ameritrade Park would be a Chicago Cubs exhibition game at the end of spring training. Well, yesterday the Cubs and the Ricketts family announced they had a working agreement to submit to Major League Baseball for approval. Then today, a second agreement was announced to sell the Cubs to investor Marc Utay for slightly more, but less upfront money. So what's going on in Chicago? Good question. Best answer at this point is that the Utay proposal is the backup plan in case any questions arise from the bankruptcy court or MLB. It also keeps the pressure on the Ricketts to complete the purchase, knowing that there is another willing buyer. In any event, those plans for the Cubs downtown will have to wait a while longer.

More proof of the lack of substance in local sports news. The Husker athletic department announced on their Facebook page that the Husker wrestling recruiting class was ranked fourth in the country by some magazine. Ugghhh. Recruiting hype is spreading to other sports. Somebody in the athletic department's communications department didn't learn anything from the Steve Pederson/Bill Callahan clusterfool.

Speaking of Facebook, I'm working on a Facebook page there if you'd like to follow Blasphemy there. Still a little rough; haven't had enough time to get it all cleaned up the way it should be. I am on Twitter as well...

Junior High and Congress Now Part of College Football

2009-06-30T21:22:00.002-05:00

As much as I love college football, it's problems are setting the stage for an implosion of the sport. (OK, maybe "implosion" is a little strong. But it's sitting on the precipice of a cliff, and if something doesn't change quickly, off the edge it goes...) Two events in the news today signify the breaking point:

Dateline Knoxville, Tennessee. The Tennessee Volunteers just secured a commitment from Evan Berry. No big deal, you say? What if I told you that he's not even in high school yet. That's right. Tennessee just got a verbal from a 13 year old kid that just finished the eighth grade.

Stop and digest that for a second. He's not scheduled to graduate high school until 2013, and can't officially be offered a scholarship for another three years.

The madness is mitigated slightly by the fact that Berry is the son of former Vol James Berry and the brother of all-American safety Eric Berry, who'll be a junior this fall. Madness, mockery, whatever you want to call it, but when colleges are recruiting at the junior high level, you've got proof that something has gone off the deep end. As the Sporting Blog points out, the chances that this commitment will hold are pretty low. He very well might end up at Tennessee in the end due to the family history, but the idea of a 13 year old making a college decision pretty much makes a mockery of the current mess that is college recruiting.

Dateline Washington: Next Monday, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is making the case for anti-trust action against the BCS due to the inequities of the current situation. College football is sitting on a powder keg here; if the BCS presidents continue to stonewall against the inevitable college football playoff, they run the risk of getting the federal government mandating a playoff. It's not going to happen soon, but count on it... The BCS deal with ESPN is likely to be the last one unless the college presidents make some serious changes to the current system. Otherwise, change will be forced on them.

Think that's unrealistic? Think this will damage the game? Think again, and think back to the last time the issue of anti-trust interjected on college football. In 1984, the Supreme Court found that the NCAA's control over the television rights for college football was a violation. Back then, only two or three games were shown on television each week, usually regionally.

Now, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and FSN usually carry three games each Saturday, with additional games on CBS, Versus, and CBS College Sports. Not to mention regional syndication of games. Did that hurt college football? Hardly. For those of us old enough to remember those days in the 70's and 80's, Nebraska usually only got one or two games televised each season. Now, with pay-per-view, nearly every game in recent years has been televised.

Let's be honest. The BCS is better than it's predecessors, but one way or another, we're going to have a college football playoff. It's better for everybody if colleges find a way to make it happen themselves rather than wait for the government to mandate it.

Mavs Make the Jump to the WCHA

2009-06-26T22:33:00.003-05:00

The only surprise about UNO leaving the CCHA for the WCHA is that the entire deal was completed today. Before today, it seemed that it was going to be a process that would take a few weeks, but once the parameters of an agreement between UNO and the WCHA were complete, there probably was little reason to drag the process out. In fact, perhaps Trev Alberts pushed to get the whole deal completed immediately so that there were no opportunities for "surprises" down the line.

The winners in this deal are obvious: college hockey gains by keeping Bemidji State's program alive. The WCHA gets bigger, and probably will earn more revenue with more rounds of playoff hockey. UNO reduces their travel costs and gets to share in the larger pool of revenue that the WCHA affords.

The loser? The CCHA loses UNO and the playoff revenue that is generated in Omaha. The CCHA will likely get the consolation prize of Alabama-Huntsville, but the unhappiness of the CCHA is clear from their terse news release.

That's not intended to criticize the CCHA in this situation. The CCHA jumped in and gave UNO a home when the WCHA previously rejected them. UNO fans should be very appreciative of the CCHA and their years of membership. But in this situation, the right thing for everyone is for UNO to make the move. It accomodates Bemidji and Alabama-Huntsville, keeping those programs viable, and discourages the NCAA from downsizing the NCAA tournament.

So a whirlwind couple of months for UNO hockey seems to be winding down. Trev Alberts is hired. Mike Kemp becomes his assistant athletic director. Two-time national champion coach Dean Blais takes over for Kemp. UNO bolts the CCHA for the WCHA. And now there's discussions that in his spare time (!), Alberts also renegotiated the Mavs lease with the Qwest Center.

Whew. What a ride.

(A special shout-out to Goon's World, who has been on top of this situation from the WCHA side of things.)

WCHA Making Concessions; Hastings Joins the Mavs

2009-06-24T23:12:00.000-05:00

Earlier this evening, the WCHA held an informal "straw poll" to determine whether the current WCHA schools will approve a handshake agreement for UNO to join the WCHA. The terms appear to be that the WCHA would either waive or significantly reduce the leagues entrance fee for UNO and that UNO would immediately be eligible to share in league revenues. Some would point to that as a great deal for UNO, but they neglect one little fact. UNO already is a member of the CCHA, and this switch benefits the WCHA, Bemidji State, Alabama-Huntsville, and college hockey in general more than the Mavericks. The WCHA benefits by going to 12 teams, Bemidji benefits by getting a home in the WCHA, and Alabama-Huntsville benefits by gaining UNO's spot in the CCHA. Certainly UNO benefits by the increased revenue sharing in the WCHA ($100,000 per school last season), but UNO doesn't face the urgency the other parties have.

If the straw vote goes as expected, the WCHA will put the terms in writing and UNO will formally apply to join the WCHA. Everything would be approved over the next few weeks, and by all accounts, this upcoming season will be UNO's swan song in the CCHA.

Omaha hockey fans are all aflutter with the announcement that Mike Hastings is joining UNO after all. Dean Blais named Hastings "associate head coach" today, creating quite a buzz of excitement around town.

Except here.

Yes, I know Hastings record as the winningest coach in the USHL. But I can't get one thought out of my mind. If Mike Hastings had spent 14 seasons as the head coach of the Des Moines Buccaneers followed by one season in Minnesota as the #2 assistant with the Gophers, would Hastings have been considered to be "associate head coach" of the Mavs?

My instinct, for whatever it's worth says no. Certainly he's qualified to be an assistant coach of the Mavs... maybe even be the top assistant to Dean Blais. But I get a little skittish with the talk that he's the "heir apparent" to a man who hasn't even coached one single game for UNO.

Some would wonder why Hastings would leave Minnesota, and I have a simple answer for that. Right now, I'd suggest that UNO's hockey program might just be a little more stable than Minnesota's at this time. That's a statement that can easily be misinterpreted, so I'll clarify. The Gophers have a tradition and a talent level that UNO can only dream of at this point. That's NOT what I was saying. But Don Lucia is starting to feel the hot seat in Minneapolis, while Dean Blais is starting a four year contract with the Mavs. Advantage: UNO. With the Gophers, Hastings was the #2 assistant behind John Hill, who took over for Lucia when he took a medical leave of absence earlier this season. So being named the top assistant is a promotion for Hastings.

To be sure, if Blais works his magic again and pushes UNO up to the elite level of college hockey, his assistants will most definitely be leading candidates to take over when Blais decides to retire. But to consider it a "done deal" is unfair to everyone at this point and time. Hastings might look like the slam dunk candidate when that time comes, but for now, it's just unnecessary speculation. Especially after the absurd rumors from this past winter that Hastings would take over as UNO head coach.

Sunday Night Beer: Leadership from Sokol, Osborne, and Pelini

2009-06-21T22:28:00.001-05:00

What a quiet offseason it's been for Nebraska football since the end of spring practice. Looking back over the last few weeks, it's been pretty much Mavericks and Omaha stadium entries because there really hasn't been much of substance regarding the Huskers to blog about. Yeah, Tyler Gabbert "committed", but anymore all that really means is that "he's decided he's attending the University of Nebraska unless he changes his mind". In other words: much to do about nothing. Unfair to Gabbert? Maybe, but I'd think fans around here would have learned their lessons after watching big brother Blaine and Josh Freeman change their minds...as well as watching Harrison Beck and Patrick Witt transfer. Bottom line is that I don't start setting expectations for any player until they enroll on campus and put on a jersey.

David Sokol joined Tom Osborne and Bo Pelini for "Leadership 101" last week. Leadership is kind of an enigmatic experience for me; one I'm still struggling to get my hands around just what it is. But at it's core, it's more communication than anything else, which seems counterintuitive to me at first. I've previously felt it was ideas and brilliance at it's core, but how do you explain leaders like Ronald Reagan going from "Bedtime for Bonzo" to the White House?

Sokol's name keeps showing up in sports circles in recent years. He's donated to Creighton to fund an arena on campus. He was a critic of UNO's administration in the Nancy Belck/Jim Buck fiasco. And don't forget MECA's involvement with the downtown stadium and negotiations with the Omaha Royals. But his first public involvement in sports was with Frank Solich back in 2003, and he talked a little about what happened:

“When Frank reached out to me, he was having to change some assistant coaches. He asked me, ‘How do I do what I have to do?’
“He had been thrust into the head coaching job without being able to make his own mark on it. Tom wanted him to keep those assistants. Frank did not confide early enough to Tom that recruiting was sliding because some of those coaches had basically retired with Tom. He needed to make some changes but didn’t know how.
“The thing I hated about the whole (Steve) Pederson thing was that Frank was making a lot of progress and had hired a good staff, including Bo, and we never got to see what they could have done.’’

A lot of recruitniks have taken their shots at Frank Solich and his alleged struggles in recruiting. I hate to bring the subject up again, but Sokol brings us a reminder that college football is a team game. If parts of the team aren't living up to their end of the bargain, it's hard to have success. By all accounts, Solich struggled with that leadership issue until it finally boiled over in 2002. But did Solich turn things around in 2003? We'll never know...and it's an issue that frankly, will never go away.

Pelini's comments on leadership seem to be somewhat hypocritical when you look at Pelini's sideline antics last season, until you realize that while you see what he's doing, you don't know what he's actually saying. So I've read Pelini's quotes from last week over and over again, and I'm getting a feel for what he's actually doing on the sideline:

“You have to know when to put the hammer down and when to put your arm around someone. Sometimes you’ll see a kid make a mistake in a game that results in a touchdown the other way. As he runs back to the sideline, the coach runs out to meet him and chews him out.
“Is that what’s best for the kid — or the coach? The coach is basically saying ‘It’s not my fault.’ What you have to do is pull the kid over and say, ‘You’re better than that. You’ll get them next time.’ You have to coach them up. Fix it. You don’t ever point the finger. You point the thumb — back at yourself if you’re a leader.’’
“You can’t be the same for everyone. You have to adapt according to how people are. Some people react to criticism, and some don’t. Know your employees. It’s your job to get them from Point A to Point B. But I always try to end whatever I say with a positive thought. If you can’t let it go, they won’t let it go.’’

No doubt that Pelini uses strong language and strong emotion on the sideline. But is he attacking the person, or the mistake? Note that he points out that everyone reacts to criticism differently, and perhaps the people that get the biggest chewings-out are the ones that react well when getting a barrage from Bo. Also note that last paragram: end it with a positive thought and let it go. It seems that the director probably turns away from Pelini before we get a chance to see it, but I wonder if we had the audio track from Bo Pelini's headset, we might not get a different perspective of Bo Pelini on the sideline.

Speaking of fiery leaders, the World-Herald's Chad Purcell was back on the hockey beat today, if only for a day (hopefully it's longer), to highlight UNO coach Dean Blais. What's become clear to me is that Blais not only has an eye for talent, but also a love of teaching and a love of the game. Just about everything I read about Blais confirms my belief that this is the man that UNO needed to hire to take UNO hockey to the next level. It's going to be quite a treat to see how UNO responds to this change.

Will UNO be in the WCHA or CCHA after this upcoming season. Reports from the WCHA world seemed to indicate that it's a "done deal"...but then Trev Alberts put the brakes on that on Friday, saying that it's anything but. What does this mean? Well, UNO is in the drivers seat on this deal. UNO doesn't need to make the switch, but college hockey and the WCHA needs UNO to switch. There are other options, but none are as attractive. If UNO makes the switch, UNO's concerns have to be addressed, and Trev Alberts seems to be driving a hard bargain.

Bottom line: I think UNO will end up in the WCHA, but the arrangement will be to UNO's favor in the end.

Tuesday Night Beer: Lancers Want No Part of BFE

2009-06-16T23:23:00.000-05:00

The situation in BFE Sarpy County just keeps getting more difficult to figure out. It's been long reported that the plans for the highway 370 site included an ice rink, but Saturday, the World-Herald reported that the owner of the Des Moines USHL team is planning to build a 4500 seat arena for skating and hockey there.

Which was rather concerning to the Omaha Lancers since they have no plans to play outside of Omaha. The Lancers learned the hard way the risks of moving away from the population base, and moved back.

“There is a strong sense of excitement in Omaha that we are coming back home. I have no clue what their plans are (in Sarpy County). I want people to know that the Lancers are going to be in Omaha.”

So now not only do we have the boondoggle of the Sarpy County stadium...but also a 4500 seat arena with no tenant. Not to suggest that there isn't a need for ice in Sarpy County, there is. There just isn't a need for a 4500 seat arena, what with UNO planning an arena and Creighton opening their own this fall.

Speaking of UNO's arena, Dean Blais talked this weekend about growing UNO's attendance average five digits...perhaps as high as 14,000 fans. Sounds unrealistic? Ten years ago, if you would have told me that Creighton would be averaging 16,000 fans for basketball, I would have been rolling on the floor laughing at the suggestion. But winning and making a few NCAA tournament appearances turned a program that struggled to sell out the Civic Auditorium (unless the Huskers were the opponent) into one of the top schools in college basketbal in terms of attendance. And winning and NCAA berths is the expectation Blais is bringing to UNO.

If UNO does manage to get attendance up to that level, it'll finally bury forever the idea of UNO hockey playing at the Civic ever again. On the other hand, the cost of a UNO campus arena just went up since now the minimum size just jumped to five figures.

Blais also sounds the warning alert for the out of control monster called recruiting that is killing college athletics:

"But no, the big changes are the rules and regulations, and the NCAA with (more and more) early commitments. I think it really has to change. I don't think it's good and healthy for schools to be promising scholarships, and a kid doesn't turn out. Usually a verbal commitment is verbal -- in ninth grade, you don't know what that kid is going to be in four years. As coaches, we're created a monster and we have to change it. I don't have all the answers, but I don't think it's good, for the kid or the colleges.
...
"But the early commitments, I said this five years ago -- it's gotten too young. It's not healthy. If you don't do it, you fall behind. If you do do it, someone's going to get in trouble sooner or later."

Husker offensive coordinator Shawn Watson might be a victim of an out-of-control recruitnik who's impersonating him in e-mails to high school coaches. I'd be curious to find out if this simply a Husker fan who's either (a) too curious or (b) thinking that he's actually helping... or whether he's trying to discredit Watson on the recruiting trail.

Four Years of Blasphemy

2009-06-13T12:05:00.001-05:00

Today marks the 4th anniversary of "Blasphemy"...and what a four years it has been. If I can toot my own horn, this is now the longest running local sports blog. Sure some blogs started before me locally, but they've all either stopped or taken long hiatus. In fact, this is post #801 for Blasphemy as the fifth year starts. Let's put that in perspective: it's longer than Bill Callahan and Matt Perrault lasted. And oh, how things have changed over this run. Steve Pederson nearly ran the Husker athletic department into the ground, and was fired. Jim Rose is no longer the voice of the Huskers, and is reduced to promoting the flat-earth society in the mornings on KFAB (denying global warming, the dangers of second-hand smoke, etc.). The Nancy Belck/Jim Buck saga is also becoming a distant memory as well.

A new stadium for the College World Series is being built downtown (and unfortunately, a second stadium in BFE Sarpy County as well). Bo Pelini has Nebraska football on an upswing. Doc Sadler gets 140% out of his basketball teams. Dean Blais is likely to produce similar results for Maverick hockey. The future of local sports is much brighter than it has in several years.

Thanks to all of you for stopping by over the years. I hope you've enjoyed reading the blog a fraction as much as I've enjoyed writing it. And with expectations growing for both the Huskers and Mavs, it should be even more enjoyable as we enter our fifth year.

Not Blasé About UNO Head Coach Dean Blais

2009-06-12T20:55:00.002-05:00

When Trev Alberts introduced Dean Blais as UNO's new hockey coach this afternoon, the news echoed through the college hockey world, and the response can be summarized in one word: "Whoa."

Locally, the name Dean Blais doesn't mean much. I'll freely admit, that it didn't mean much to me until a month ago. I don't follow the WCHA or the USHL that closely, though once I connected Blais to North Dakota's national championships, I was intrigued. Then I dug into Blais' record:

At North Dakota:

262-115-33 in ten seasons
Five WCHA conference titles in ten seasons
Two WCHA championships
Seven NCAA tournament berths in ten seasons
Two National Championships, and one Frozen Four Runner-Up

How can you not be impressed by that record? Then add in what Blais did at Fargo, taking a first year team into the USHL finals, sweeping the Omaha Lancers out of the playoffs and being named USHL coach of the year.

With all due respect to the other candidates, the Blais resume stands head and shoulders above the rest. Locally, I'm sure that Mike Hastings would make a bigger splash initially with his name recognition from his years with the Omaha Lancers. But let me put this hire into perspective in comparison. This is like Iowa State hiring Barry Switzer. This is like Nebraska basketball hiring Rick Pitino. This is like Nebraska baseball hiring Augie Garrido instead of Dave Van Horn in the late 90's. Trev Alberts went out and signed a coach who will be second amongst active coaches in winning percentage when the Mavs take the ice this October.

Blais will bring a much different style of hockey to UNO this fall: a run-and-gun high-octane speed offense. (Can you imagine Alex Hudson in this type of offense?) Kemp has been more of a defensive oriented coach, so I'm sure the transition may be rough initially. But Blais' Fargo squad became quite the force by the end of the season, and Blais won a national championship in year three with the Sioux. In fact, look at the comments from SiouxSports.com:

"which will come first-blais winning his third NC or his hand picked successor(sp) Hak winning his first?"

"The upgrade in effort on the ice his first year at UND was unmistakable. I'm sure the fans in Omaha are in for a similar treat."

"I will predict that he'll have UNO in the Frozen Four within 3 years though."

Some people use a baseball analogy, calling this a "home run" hire. I'll use a hockey analogy. "Trev Alberts shoots...and scores!" While I credit Mike Kemp for helping point Alberts towards Blais, I'm giving Alberts the credit for pulling it off when frankly, very few gave UNO a chance to pull it off.

In fact, Alberts had to sell Blais on the job. Blais turned down an initial offer, but on Wednesday, he came across the following quote from Bill Bradley:

"Ambition is the key to success. Persistence is the vehicle you'll arrive in."

So on Wednesday, Alberts told Kemp that he was going to make a second run at Blais. He worked out the deal with Blais, then worked out the deal with the "boosters of substance" that helped bring Alberts to UNO in the first place. It's a good investment for UNO; when UNO has a chance to hire someone like a Dean Blais, you do everything in your power to make it happen.

And it has happened. After David Miller resigned in March, I stated that UNO's biggest need was a leader with vision who could make things happen. Within a month, Trev Alberts was hired and despite no experience in administration, he has become exactly that leader -- and then some. UNO ended last hockey season with many question marks; now the Maverick hockey program finds itself on a path towards elite status in college hockey.

(Photo courtesy of mavpuck.com )

UNO Hockey Coach Announcement Imminent? (Hint: Dean Blais!)

2009-06-11T22:41:00.005-05:00

Earlier this week, UNO athletic director Trev Alberts and assistant AD Mike Kemp boarded a plane to interview six candidates to replace Kemp. Former North Dakota head coach Dean Blais told the World-Herald to ask Alberts about the situation.

Now, the Duluth News-Tribune's Kevin Pates reports that former UNO and current Minnesota-Duluth assistant Steve Rohlik got a second interview on Wednesday. Also mentions Princeton coach Guy Gadowsky as another candidate.

The Western College Hockey blog reports that this decision might be done "sooner than expected".

Based on the noise tonight...and the fact that the College World Series starts on Saturday, an announcement could be coming tomorrow.

Update: 6/12/2009 Noon: UNO will introduce Dean Blais as UNO head coach this afternoon at 2 pm.

Tuesday Night Beer: Omaha.com & Huskers.com Get Makeovers

2009-06-09T22:24:00.000-05:00

The Nebraska athletic department and Omaha World-Herald unveiled long-overdue redesigns today, though I give both mixed reviews. Visually both are improvements over the previous design, but both designs seem to waste valuable screen real estate. It's a common error I see with web developers who use the "latest and greatest" equipment. The design of both sites looks great on a high-powered computer with a large monitor...but not so much when you bring it up on older home computers with smaller monitors (or laptops). Both sites waste so much real estate at the top of the page to alleviate clutter on huge monitors that suddenly most users will have to scroll to see anything other than the top headline.

Both sites also seem to be pushing multimedia...whether it's called for or not. A Tom Osborne audio interview on Huskers.com is informative, but most people could read the interview in 1/5th of the time that it takes to listen to it. Osborne discusses bowls as well as what will happen after the FSN TV contract expires after the 2012 season....but doesn't really say anything about what might be changing. Kind of frustrating to spend the time listening to the interview and not really find out anything new.

Don't get me wrong. Good multimedia is great...but the multimedia needs to capture some sort of essence of a special event. The "Bo Pelini Locker Room Speech" does that very well, intermixed with 2008 highlights. It captures the raw emotion that Pelini brings...and couldn't be shared any other way authentically. The Osborne interview...well, offers absolutely nothing that couldn't have been done better with a simple transcript.

Supposedly the Omaha.com redesign is going to support reader comments, but so far, it's only on selected stories. Tom Shatel's column, for example, would be an excellent place for comments, but it's not there. So hopefully he'll catch my comments to today's column here:

The problems the Royals face in sharing Rosenblatt with the NCAA are a good reason for building a new stadium...but not necessarily two. Couldn't you build a stadium with space to accomodate sufficient office space for both the Royals and the NCAA? Certainly would cost less than two stadiums.

Shatel also seems to be picking up on the vibe that UNO athletic director Trev Alberts seems to be looking to make a bid for a big name hire, such as Dean Blais. KETV's Matt Schick posted a transcript to parts of last week's interview with Trev Alberts, where Alberts makes some eyebrow raising statements:

We’d like it to be in the middle of the month of June. We will not rush this decision. It’s too important for our future. We will do all of our due diligence. We’re going to aim for the moon, and try to get the best possible candidate that we can to try to convince him to be our head coach. If that happens soon, great. If it’s later, that’s okay too. We need to get the right fit.

Many people have assumed that UNO would target an assistant coach, but Alberts statement about "aim for the moon" indicates that UNO is shooting higher. No offense to local favorite Mike Hastings, but if Alberts can lasso a coach that has won two national championships such as Blais, that's a huge change in fortunes for UNO. After years of watching UNO's administration stumble and bumble and bungle their way, Alberts seems to be bringing a fresh attitude to UNO.

Tomorrow's announcement that TD Ameritrade is purchasing the naming rights for the downtown stadium is a bittersweet announcement for Omaha. Don't get me wrong; it's a good thing for Omaha and the downtown stadium. It also silences some of the naysayers who still continue to insist that the downtown stadium is a mistake. Yes, it appears that the downtown stadium is not going to be utilized as much as it should be. But the value of the College World Series alone makes it a good deal even without the Omaha Royals playing there.

But it's bittersweet because I still wonder what could have happened in a couple of years. The Ricketts family, who founded Ameritrade and still sit on the board, are finalizing the purchase of the Chicago Cubs. When the Chicago Cubs contract with Raccoon Baseball in Des Moines expires after the 2012 season, it wasn't outside the realm of possibilities that the Chicago Cubs might want to explore a minor league affiliation in another market...especially one where the family business owns the naming rights to a stadium. No, the Iowa AAA baseball team isn't going anywhere...but after 2012, there is no assurance that the Iowa AAA baseball team will be affiliated with the Chicago Cubs. Sadly, with the Omaha AAA baseball team committing to play in BFE Sarpy County for the next 25 years, the chances of the "Omaha Cubs" becoming reality disappeared as well. Sigh. O! What could have been.

Is UNO Targeting Dean Blais?

2009-06-05T23:11:00.002-05:00

Trev Alberts updated the Omaha World-Herald and KETV-Channel 7 on the search for a new hockey coach:

Alberts said phone conversations have taken place with some applicants as well as others who haven't applied, and said that process is ongoing.

Alberts said there are no immediate plans to conduct a formal on-campus interview, but also said his target date of mid-June to July 1 for making a hire is still reachable.

The "others who haven't applied" comment caught my attention, as it means that UNO is being somewhat aggressive in pursuing coaches, not just sitting back and seeing who applies. Who could that be?

Fiona Quick of the Minnesota Hockey Journal adds to the speculation that it's none other than Dean Blais, who won two national championships for North Dakota before trying his luck in the NHL. She does question whether Blais is interested, as it seems that some Gopher boosters are pushing for Blais to replace current head coach Don Lucia when his contract expires - or maybe sooner. Certainly Blais' resume affords him the opportunity to choose his next job, so it's very possible that Blais isn't interested in UNO.

If he isn't, I don't think money would be the issue. Granted, UNO athletics has an ongoing money issue, but UNO boosters came up with the funds to bump up Alberts salary. I'd be shocked that those same boosters wouldn't consider opening up their checkbooks again if that were the only issue preventing Blais from accepting the UNO job.

From my perspective, it looks like UNO is pursuing Blais. And it's not because of his resemblance to David Letterman:

Wednesday Night Beer: Clarence Thomas Making Friends

2009-06-03T22:19:00.002-05:00

I normally don't pay any attention to incoming recruits, but the story about Jason Ankruh meeting Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on a flight back from a recruiting trip caught my eye, but not for the usual reasons. It's a great story, but considering how finicky the NCAA can be at times, could the NCAA rule that this is a "extra benefits" violation? After all, how many high school graduations does Thomas, an admitted Husker fan, speak at? Remember, this is the same organization that declared Eric Crouch ineligible over a ham sandwich.

I happened to catch the Journal-Star's tweet about Eric Piatkowski, and asking about the interest level in the NBA Finals. With all due respect to Pike and former Husker Tyronne Lue, the NBA Finals are of no interest to me. The NBA (Not Basketball Anymore) jumped the shark in the early 90's. I was watching the NBA Finals (probably the Bulls) and had to leave the room for a few minutes, and came back a few seconds before NBC cut away to a commercial. NBC cuts to a 15-20 second (maybe longer) montage of still photographs of players set to the John Tesh do-do-do-dodo theme music ... without any clue as to what the score was. They come back from commercial, and since it was the days before Fox made the on-screen scoreboard a standard feature of sports broadcasts, I had to wait even longer before NBC finally flashed the score on the screen. In the meantime, I was subjected to features, interviews, and self-promotion...and the game had become secondary. In other words, it had become entertainment, not sport.

So tomorow night, I'll be watching the Final...the Stanley Cup Final game four between the Red Wings and Penguins. Good series so far, with the Wings leading the series 2-1. I wondered if the freak goal by former Michigan State forward Justin Abdelkader on Sunday night in Detroit might have demoralized the Penguins, but they bounced back on Tuesday night to win at home. I just wish former Maverick Bill Thomas was still up with the Pens; his season apparently ended last month in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Thomas played 11 games with the Pens earlier this season, scoring one goal.

Shocker of the Year: TV doesn't want to show NU's games against Florida Atlantic or Arkansas State

2009-06-02T22:33:00.001-05:00

To nobody's surprise, the Big XII's television partners (ABC, ESPN, FSN, and Versus) all declined to televise the first two Nebraska football games against Florida Atlantic and Arkansas State. Jeff Sagarin's end of season 2008 ratings had Florida Atlantic rated #102 and Arkansas State #107. Don't look for the Huskers other non-conference game to be televised either, as Louisiana Lafayette finished last season rated #106.

What does that mean? If you want to watch the games, call your cable or satellite provider because these games are headed to pay-per-view once again. Is it better than listening to the game on the radio? Maybe, unless you don't take into consideration the lasting effects of Husker fans' willingness to pay $29.95 to watch Nebraska football. Last season, the TV networks passed on the Nebraska/Kansas game, choosing instead to show Iowa State/Colorado. That decision was likely influenced by the prospect of making more revenue from selling the game on pay-per-view instead of selling commercials.

The real blame for this goes to Steve Pederson's awful scheduling; there's no excuse for playing three Sun Belt teams in 2009. Two, perhaps. Three, absolutely not. Budgets require playing three non-conference home games each season, so that could justify two Sun Belt games. (I'd hope Nebraska could do better, though.) The other game should be a home-and-home against a BCS or at least an upper-half mid-major foe. Fortunately, once Pederson's scheduling mess is overwith, it looks like the schedules are improving down the line.

Still no word on the television coverage for the Nebraska vs. Virginia Tech game, though. This game will be televised under the ACC television coverage package. Looking at the college football schedule, the Huskers/Hokies game looks like one of the better matchups on September 19th. ABC has already chosen Texas Tech at Texas for their prime-time game, and CBS will almost assuredly take Tennessee at Florida for prime time as well. Other games on the schedule that will fight for TV coverage include Kansas at Duke (yeah right), Kansas State at UCLA (hee hee), Utah at Oregon, and UConn at Baylor. I don't see any games even remotely approaching the Huskers and Hokies, so I look for ABC to grab this game for a 2:30 kickoff or ESPN for a primetime matchup. Since ABC already selected the Tech/Texas game for primetime, I doubt they'd do a split-national broadcast with yet another Big XII team.

(Correction: The Duke game is at Kansas, and will be televised by Versus.)

Speaking of media coverage, UNO has announced that they are moving Maverick sports broadcasts to the campus radio station, KVNO 90.3 FM. I have mixed feelings on this, as I'm worried that UNO will lose exposure on a non-traditional station. Hopefully Kevin Kugler and Mike'l Severe will still cover UNO sports even though they won't be carried on their station. (Trev Alberts probably could solve that problem simply by agreeing to a weekly interview on "Unsportsmanlike Conduct".) The upside of this decision is that KVNO should have better coverage in the metro area, especially at night. KKAR seems to fade out at night as you hit the western city limits, and according to the FCC, the KVNO signal should reach Fremont. It's going to be an odd fit: sports and classical music. But it can't be any more bizarre than the idea of former Z-92 morning zoo host Otis Twelve spinning Mozart in the morning.

It's Official: The Royals Will Play on Highway 370

2009-06-01T22:00:00.000-05:00

The Sarpy County Board made it official today, selecting the site at 126th and Highway 370 as the new home for the the Royals Triple-A affiliate. It's a bittersweet moment for the metro area in my opinion. The good news for the Omaha area is that the Royals will be remaining in Omaha area. The bad news is in an ideal world where all entities (local governments, the Royals, and the NCAA) cooperated, one stadium could have been sufficient. In this time when the economy is contracting and government is criticized for spending too much money, the notion of two ballparks in the Omaha area is regrettable.

After reflecting on things over the weekend, I realized that while I think the decision to build a stadium in Sarpy County is the wrong one for the Royals and Sarpy County, if Sarpy County insisted on building a stadium in Sarpy County, the highway 370 location was very likely the best decision for the county. Not necessarily the Royals, mind you. For Sarpy County, it was kind of a no-brainer. The land and infrastructure costs were the lowest at that site, and the promise of potental development was the highest. From the county's perspective, highway 370 is low risk - high reward. Papillion is booming and the promise of shopping and recreation is a benefit to everyone. The opportunity for the developer bringing an ice rink or two to the area is another benefit. Omaha suffers a shortage of ice for skating and hockey because of the expense, so additional rinks represents a good thing for the metro area.

I still believe that the proposed stadium is still a mistake for both the Royals and Sarpy County...but both organizations have now signed off on it, making my objections irrelevant. We still don't know how Sarpy is going to pay for it, which was my #1 objection all along. I also question what a $25 million dollar stadium that holds 6000 fans looks like when the going rate for a 7000 seat stadium is double that. Heck, a single big screen will cost over $1 million. (For comparision, Nebraska is installing two new video screens and ribbon boards at this time for a total cost of $3 million) And yes, it's too far southwest of the metro area.

Twice in the last day or so, I've heard references to my blog in the media without any attribution. Which is fine; I'm open to criticism even if they don't want to acknowledge the source...but they shouldn't be surprised by a response.

Some have mentioned why my motivation is, even questioning why people oppose "progress". My motivation is simple: I want the best thing for the metro area. The city is already committing many millions of dollars for the downtown stadium, and the money being invested in a second stadium is a waste of resources in a time when there are far greater needs in this city than a second stadium. The downtown stadium was a no brainer; Rosenblatt had infrastructure issues that weren't going away, and the NCAA was requesting a new stadium by all accounts. It's unfortunate that the Royals and MECA couldn't come to an agreement downtown, and for that, I blame all parties: MECA, the Royals, Sarpy County, and to a lesser extent, the city of Omaha.

In an interview yesterday, Alan Stein denied that the Royals tried to play one bid off of another one in their dealings with MECA. Whether that's true or not, the Royals were already in discussions with Sarpy County long before they negotiated with MECA, and there is no way that those discussions could not have influenced the Royals positioning. When you know that you are going to have alternatives, you aren't going to be interested in compromising. The Royals knew of interest from Sarpy County, and MECA likely knew as well and weren't going to get into a bidding war.

In my rush to post (with a cranky one-month old on my lap) Friday night, I didn't make my objections to the location very clear. For most of the metro area, the proposed stadium is further away than either Rosenblatt or the new downtown stadium; that's not going to encourage fans to attend Royals games. Except, of course, for folks who are located nearby: Papillion, La Vista (to some extent), Millard, Gretna, and Elkhorn. I used the I-80/680 interchange as the focal point because it illustrates the areas where the 370 location is better than the alternatives. For people southwest of I-80/680, the 370 location is definitely closer. Northwest, it's somewhat of a push since many of these people would use the interstate either way. Northeast of I-80/680 is the audience that loses in this discussion; those people just got a disincentive to attend the Royals games.

The real question is whether there is a latent demand in Papillion, Millard, and Gretna for sporting events that will make up for the inevitable loss of fans from the rest of the metro area. That's the gamble the Royals make. Lot of families there, absolutely. But there are families everywhere in the metro area. Don't forget the Royals play one block west of the premier family destination in this region; the current location doesn't seem to hurt the Henry Doorly Zoo one bit.

Nearly seven years ago, the Omaha Lancers moved to Council Bluffs in an attempt to reenergize a fan base and serve an underserved audience for sports in southwest Iowa. After a failed name change, they are moving back to Omaha this fall, leaving the Mid America Center with a questionable future after watching Lancer crowds dwindle as the move alienated more fans than attracted new fans. The proposed stadium in western Sarpy County is even further away from the city limits than the Mid American Center. The question remains to be answered: did the Royals move towards their fan base ... or away?

It's been interesting to observe the various biases that have emerged over the past year and a half over this issue. The Omaha World-Herald, for it's measure, has been strongly in favor of the downtown stadium. Kevin Kugler and Mike'l Severe of KOZN radio, on the other hand, have been negative towards the downtown stadium and the biggest cheerleaders for the Sarpy County stadium. Obviously, any reader of this blog knows my position, as this is an opinion blog.

In any event, the debate is over. The stadium in Sarpy County is underway, right or wrong. Will I be wrong, as I was over the ability of Sarpy County to pull it off? We probably won't know for sure for another five or ten years.

Not Chalco...It's BFE for the Royals

2009-05-29T22:42:00.003-05:00

The Omaha World-Herald is confirming tonight that Sarpy County has selected rural Richfield, Nebraska as the future home of the Omaha Royals. Reports the World-Herald:

All indications point to the Schewe farm property near 126th Street and Nebraska Highway 370 as the preferred destination for several reasons. Cost appears to be a major factor favoring the site, as well as its potential to meet the county's goal of spurring significant new commercial, retail and entertainment development.

Besides the ballpark for the Omaha Royals, the Papillion site developer proposed an ice rink, a fitness center, an indoor water park and a hotel, new restaurants, a shopping center, plus future professional offices and homes. Separately, two flood-control lakes are planned for the area.

That's the upside, of course. The downside is simple. The Royals are moving to the outskirts of town, away from the population base. From the I-80/680 interchange, it's about 8 miles and a 12 minute drive to the highway 370 location, according to Google Maps. Or basically the same distance away as Rosenblatt, though three minutes longer because the drive to Rosenblatt is all interstate.

That's right...from southwest Omaha, the new stadium location is a LONGER drive than Rosenblatt Stadium.

In other words, for people expecting the new stadium to be more convienent...it's anything but. Or more simply: Epic Fail.

Alberts Looking Long Term at UNO

2009-05-29T06:53:00.003-05:00

Trev Alberts was only named athletic director at UNO one month ago...but in an interview with the Omaha World-Herald, he started to share his vision for UNO long term, showing more initiative and foresight than we've seen from UNO in many years.

Trev told a local Rotary Club yesterday that UNO needs an on-campus facility for hockey and other sports.

"What I'm trying to do is say, 'What will we look like in 15 years?' In my opinion, if we're still playing hockey downtown, and our athletes (in other sports) are driving all around town playing in various venues, then I don't think it looks very positive for our athletic department."

Trev gets it. That's it, in a nutshell.

"We're happy with what the CCHA has done for us. We realize the WCHA can provide some things the CCHA can't. The Big Ten might start (sponsoring) hockey. How does that affect us? How do we position ourselves? We can't think short-term, we have to think long-term."

Trev brings up an interesting argument in the WCHA/CCHA alignment debate. Namely, the rumors of a Big Ten hockey conference. If that happens, say good bye to Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State. Maybe Notre Dame as well. Suddenly the WCHA, with North Dakota, St. Cloud State, Denver, and Colorado College looks much more viable for UNO.

As for the hockey search, he indicates that current head coaches have also applied, and that a new coach could be named later this month. No word on specific candidates, but the pool of candidates could be even deeper than fans have speculated.

A Mea Culpa over the Chalco Boondoggle

2009-05-27T21:22:00.001-05:00

It's time for me to admit I was wrong about the prospect of Sarpy County building a ballpark for the Omaha Royals. Doesn't mean I agree with the decision; I'm still convinced that the second stadium isn't necessary and that a solution could be found for the Royals to play in the new downtown stadium.

But it's not happening. Barring a huge change of opinion by the Sarpy County Board, it will all become official next Monday. The question isn't if, but rather where.

Why was I wrong? I've spent most of the last time arguing the question was really "how". How could Sarpy County pay for a new stadium? The idea of the Legislature paying for it was pure folly, and I was convinced that once the charade was over, Sarpy County would back down.

What I failed to consider was that Sarpy County really wanted the Royals. When you REALLY want something, you usually find a way to make it happen, whether you can afford it or not. Some might argue that's the root cause of today's economic crisis; people overextending themselves on spending. (That's another issue entirely, for another blog.)

In the end, Sarpy County wants the stadium, and will find a way to make it happen. We may never know what "Plan B" really is, as I kind of expect Sarpy to muddle through on paying for it through next year, and try to resurrect LB 615 once construction has started and both sides have begun to consumate the relationship with real money and real commitmets. When that fails again (and it should because the state should not be funding a ballpark for Sarpy County), we may finally learn what Plan B is.

So where will Sarpy County build the stadium? I go back to the original suggestion: Cabela's is the best location, bar none, if money is not an issue. But I think money still is a huge factor, which breathes life into the Bellevue and 370 locations. Bellevue makes the most sense in my opinion; it redevelops a blighted area, and it's more likely to get support from the state as a redevelopment project. The downside to Bellevue is that this stadium has been sold as a "west Omaha stadium" (even though it's not in west Omaha and is almost as far from parts of West Omaha as the downtown stadium is), and Omahans may reject the Royals as the "Bellevue Royals." The highway 370 location is intriguing only because of the prospects of little league fields for Papillion and two much-needed ice rinks. The idea of shopping and restaurants developing around the 370 location sounds intriguing, until you realize the dearth of that type of development on 13th street, where the stadium is co-located with the Omaha area's biggest tourist destination.

The dynamics of the Sarpy County boondoggle have made it difficult to protest or criticize it. We don't know where it's going to be built, we don't know how it's going to be paid for, and we don't even know exactly how much it's supposed to cost. And nobody outside of the Royals and the leaders of Sarpy County will know those answers until it's a done deal: signed, sealed and delivered.

Downtown Omaha's Master Plan Doesn't Include the Civic Auditorium

2009-05-24T23:04:00.000-05:00

The City of Omaha is finishing up the process of updating the 1973 master plan for downtown Omaha. The original document provided the impetus for the Gene Leahy Mall and set in place the framework that led to the Qwest Center and other improvements in downtown. But the old plan is now over 35 years old and overdue for an update. The World-Herald published a sneak preview today of the plan which will be formally announced on Wednesday.

One of the focuses of the update is the potential of up to eight new skyscrapers to grow the Omaha skyline along the busy Dodge Street and Capitol Avenue corridor. Of course, when you are building downtown, every new project has to remove something that might exist, but isn't as valuable to the community as the new project.

Something such as Omaha's Civic Auditorium.

Today's printed edition of the World-Herald confirms my long-standing opinion: the Civic Auditorium site will eventually be replaced by an office tower at some point in the future.

That doesn't mean tomorrow, next year, or five years from now. But somewhere down the line, the bulldozers and wrecking ball will be arriving at 18th and Capitol Avenue to make room for growth in the Omaha economy.

Doesn't mean that the Civic didn't serve it's purpose during it's era, but times change. The Qwest Center is now the crown jewel for big events in Omaha. Could it be remodeled to make it a little nicer? Certainly, but at what cost? Investing money in the Civic also means reducing capacity (to add in suites and the like) and now also means reducing the options available to grow the city itself.

The old Qwest Center/Civic Auditorium debate fires up time and time again in UNO Hockey circles. But I really think this debate may finally be coming to an end, with the answer being "neither". Trev Alberts has talked about the need for UNO hockey to practice closer to where they play and go to class. That points away from downtown Omaha. Now, with the days for the Auditorium being numbered, investing money into the Civic for major renovations makes little sense. Why spend $20 million dollars to renovate, then spend even more money to tear it all down?

I don't know what UNO's future plans are. Frankly, it might still include the Civic for the short term. But long term, it's becoming clear that UNO is going to need their own arena at some point down the line.

Is Dean Blais the Frontrunner for UNO?

2009-05-21T22:15:00.003-05:00

The Duluth News Tribune's Kevin Pates reports that former North Dakota head coach Dean Blais is the front runner to be UNO's next head coach. Blais brings an impressive resume to the job search, winning two national championships for the Sioux before trying his luck in the NHL. Whether Pates has some inside information, or merely connected with wishful thinking of local fans on mavpuck.com isn't known.

I will say this: if Dean Blais is sincerely interested in getting back into college coaching in Omaha, he has to be considered the front-runner.

Two more names have confirmed interest. Former Lancer head coach Mike Guentzel and former UNO assistant David Quinn both tell the Omaha World-Herald they're interested. Guentzel coached the Lancers from 1992 to 1994, then left for Minnesota as an assistant coach. The Gophers won back-to-back national titles in 2002 and 2003. Guentzel was a finalist in 1996 to be UNO's first head coach, and is currently at Colorado College. Quinn has been at Boston University since leaving UNO earlier this decade, helping the Terriers win the national championship this past season.

If not Blais, either Guentzel or Quinn appear to be outstanding candidates as well. Certainly it appears that UNO is drawing far more interest in the search for hockey coach than it did during the athletic director search.

Alberts & Osborne Joint TV Interview

2009-05-20T22:31:00.001-05:00

UNO Television got quite the exclusive interview last week: UNO athletic director Trev Alberts and Nebraska-Lincoln athletic director Tom Osborne were the guests on "Consider This...". Much of the focus was on Alberts decision to jump from television broadcasting to administration, but there were a few tidbits of interest for Husker and Maverick fans:

Alberts wants to reproduce the ethics and atmosphere that he experienced while a Husker football player at UNO. He feels UNO has good people, but mismanagement and a revolving door at the top of the athletic department have made UNO athletics difficult to deal with.
Osborne feels that Husker facilities are in good shape, but there is a pressing need for a practice basketball facility since Nebraska is the only Big XII schoo without one. He thinks Doc Sadler is building a solid program, but he'll need a practice facility to stay competitive with the rest of the conference.
Alberts says UNO's facilities are exactly the opposite, pointing to the hockey situation. After listening to Alberts, I'm becoming more convinced that the answer to the never-ending Qwest Center -vs- Civic Auditorium argument is NEITHER. Alberts points out the hassles of practicing half-way across town (or further) from the arena where the hockey team plays; the team wastes time driving equipment back and forth. UNO has long talked of building a practice facility near campus at Chili Greens, but that won't solve the problem unless an arena is located there as well. Building a practice facility downtown doesn't look practical either; the Qwest Center probably has other plans for expansion, and I have no idea where you'd place a practice facility around the Civic. The Mancuso convention center appears to be too small, and the exhibition hall has the support pillars for the arena above. Do you tear down the Music Hall? I'm not sure there's room on the north or west sides either. Even if you squeeze it in..does it REALLY make sense to build it away from campus long term.
Alberts was ambivilant when asked where he wanted to be five or six years from now. Three months ago, he had no idea he'd be an athletic director back in Nebraska, so he obviously wasn't prepared for that question. That being said, he probably should have mentioned something about being at UNO; UNO's had enough turnover lately that he really should be striving to provide the Mavericks some continuity. Things may change down the line, but until that occurs, I'd hope that Alberts plans to be growing UNO athletics.
Osborne answered that same question with his typical dry humor, merely hoping he's still "vertical." But Osborne did make it clear that he's interested in leading Husker athletics for at least another two or three years. In other words, Osborne seems to be planning to stick around past the 2010 date that was announced when Osborne took over in 2007. Osborne talked about wanting to see a couple more years of Bo Pelini's team and also get Doc Sadler his practice facility so he could "compete nationally."

It was an interesting interview that apparently isn't available online. (One final broadcast appears to be scheduled tomorrow morning at 10 am on Qwest Choice channel 74 and Cox channel 17 in Omaha.) Too bad, because it was interesting for both Mav and Husker fans alike.

Sunday Night Dessert: Bringing on the Summer Doldrums

2009-05-17T22:42:00.003-05:00

Nebraska baseball swept Baylor this weekend, ending the most dismal season since John Sanders left. It's nice to end the season on a positive note, but it doesn't ease the disappointment. It's interesting to note how some fans have developed a sense of entitlement over the baseball program. If AJ the Huskerh8er hadn't thrown in the towel on his blog, he could easily have spent this entire spring flaming bandwagon fans who turned on Mike Anderson after last season's post-season meltdown and this season's poor record. Tom Osborne has a better perspective than the "Fire Mike" crowd, at least. It was a bad season, to be sure, but the only man to ever win a College World Series game at Nebraska deserves a mulligan.

So, baseball season is over. Husker softball ended their NCAA tournament run. Track and field is still going on, but other than that, we're now in the summer doldrums of college sports locally for the next three months or so. That doesn't mean nothing newsworthy is going to happen; just that there aren't any games to talk about. Football season is still 111 days away, so we'll be previewing things there. We should start seeing some closure on the Sarpy County boondoggle and Trev Alberts seems to be ready to make some things happen off-ice for the UNO hockey program.

Had some discussions this week about how Omaha could possibly work thorugh the objections of the Pacific Coast League towards the College World Series. Let's face it, the NCAA is unlikely to compromise here. I don't think the NCAA is going to support a noon Royals game before a series game in the evening. But there are other options available. Perhaps moving a series or two to Haymarket Park in Lincoln, if the Saltdogs were willing. Or doing what other sports do: play an unbalanced home schedule, and play those games on the road. If the PCL needs to schedule Omaha and Fresno in late June, move the games to Fresno. Do those options cost the Royals money? Absolutely, and the Royals would deserve compensation for that. But the more I think about it, the PCL's concerns over the CWS schedule is something that could be negotiated. That would require more give from MECA, which they have been unwilling to do. That also would require more give from the Royals, who simply don't need to compromise as long as Sarpy County is willing to give the Royals everything they want.

And right now, it sure looks like Sarpy County is going to do just that, which is going to make the whole argument moot.

KMTV-Channel 3's Travis Justice and MinnesotaHockeyJournal.com's Fiona Quick keep insisting that former Lancers coach Mike Hastings is the favorite to be named UNO's next hockey coach. In both cases, the logic seems pedestrian at best: Hastings spent 14 years in Omaha with great success with the Lancers, leaving to position himself for the next level. But one year's experience at Minnesota somehow makes him the "favorite"? A candidate, of course. But making him the "favorite" without explanation is just plain simplistic.

Nothing wrong with Hastings per 'se. But the list of better qualified potential candidates started off long, and only grows longer. I've suggested former North Dakota coach Dean Blais (two national titles) and Boston University assistant David Quinn (defending national champions). Some other names have been added to the list. Former Lancer coach and current Air Force head coach Frank Serratore is one name. Former Lancer player and Robert Morris head coach Derek Schooley is another. Former Mav assistant and current Minnesota-Duluth assistant Steve Rohlik as well. Bottom line is that there are so many coaches out there with better resumes than Hastings, I'm hoping one of those applies for the job.

Besides that, Mike Hastings told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he's not pursuing the UNO job. Maybe that's political speak; maybe Gopher fan doesn't like the idea of their assistants looking into other jobs. But maybe, just maybe, Hastings realizes he's not ready to be a D-1 head coach yet either.

The End of the Mike Kemp Era

2009-05-14T21:35:00.000-05:00

UNO's announcement that Mike Kemp is stepping down as hockey coach to become associate athletic director leaves me with mixed feelings. Sad because I like Kemp, and wished him the best throughout his career. Happy, because if he had to step aside as hockey coach, this might be the best way to handle it. (Steve Pederson could learn a thing or two from Trev Alberts about how to delicately handle personnel changes...and Alberts has been on the job for just over two weeks!)

Right or wrong, whether Trev sang a song today or told the truth, it's not known. And frankly, it doesn't matter at this point. We've known that Kemp was on shaky ground for the last year or two, and so the idea of Mike Kemp sticking around UNO is a happier ending than what was otherwise possible. The "Fire Kemp" crowd gets their wish: a new coach, and the Kemp backers know that Kemp is still contributing to the program.

But is it a promotion? That's a spin job; it's probably a lower stress job, but coaches earn more than administrators for a reason. Nevertheless, it's probably the best for UNO.

Both Kemp and Alberts sounded very positive about taking UNO hockey to the next level. There are important decisions to be made in the days and weeks ahead: who'll be the next coach and what conference will UNO play in?

The leading candidate to replace Kemp in my opinion is David Quinn, the former UNO assistant and current associate head coach at Boston University, who won the national championship last month. Also getting mention is former Lancer head coach Mike Hastings and former North Dakota head coach Dean Blais. Blais is another intriguing candidate, who won two national titles for the Sioux before trying his luck in the NHL. Hastings gets a lot of mention locally because of his Lancer ties, but his resume pales next to Quinn and Blais.

Towards the end of the press conference, Alberts mentioned "big things" in the future of UNO hockey. It's unclear what that means. First up is answering the WCHA/CCHA question, and Alberts mentioned that Don Leahy is already looking into that. What else could it be? There are numerous facility questions that UNO needs to answer: practice ice and potentially a campus arena to finally put the Civic-vs-Qwest Center debate to rest for good. I get the feeling Alberts is enlisting Kemp to assist with that effort.

If that's the case, UNO hockey may be ready to begin a renaissance. Today was a bittersweet day for UNO hockey, but hopefully we'll look at today as a watershed moment for UNO. For tonight, let's issue an "Ole!" to Mike Kemp for his service to UNO.

After the Funding Fails: Sarpy Tries to Salvage The Boondoggle

2009-05-14T20:57:00.002-05:00

The aftermath of the failure of Sarpy County's financing plan surprised me today. Not the failure itself, mind you. That was inevitable. It's been the reaction by the boosters of the Sarpy County ballpark, who spent the day weeping crocodile tears over the "sudden" failure. Kermit Brashear, the chief lobbyist for Sarpy County, expressed outrage over lobbying by the City of Omaha, MECA, and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce against the proposal.

As if he should have been surprised. Much of LB615 was a retread of the failed proposal to build a new stadium in north downtown a few years back; if that had passed, the Royals would be playing in NoDo today. So it should come as little surprise to Brashear to find Omaha in opposition to the bill now. (And the idea that a lobbyist complaining about others lobbying is rather ironic...)

So why is Brashear whining? The most obvious is that he (and his cohorts) are trying to work up emotions to get the Legislature to reconsider the bill to "save the Royals for the Metro area." In other words, if you criticize the funding, you are against Triple-A baseball. Quite a reach. When Mike Fahey proposed a 2% "entertainment tax", protests didn't kill the stadium proposal. It just meant, go back to the drawing board and find another way to pay for it. And frankly, nobody really expected LB 615 to pass. Many hoped, because the alternatives are less pleasant to Sarpy County than sending the bill to Lincoln. (To Sarpy go the spoils, to Omaha goes the screws, to Lincoln goes the bill...)

So if Brashear is to be believed, does the rejection of LB 615 spell the end of the Sarpy County ballpark? Maybe, but Tom Shatel asked Royals owner Alan Stein about the chances to play downtown, and Stein pretty much eliminated those. Of course, why would he give up on Sarpy County at this point?

So where do things stand? Here's my best guess.

Chances of the Sarpy County ballpark occuring? Probably 70/30 in favor at this point. The lack of funding hurts Sarpy badly at this point, but if they pull out now, they admit failure and that they wasted the money they spent with Brashear. So they'll probably move forward and muddle through. Hold on to your wallets, Sarpy County residents.

If Sarpy bails, the chances of playing downtown? Maybe 10% at this point. Shatel gives a bunch of reasons, but it really comes down to two issues: money and the College World Series disruption. The downtown stadium is bigger than the Royals would like, but I don't think it's a showstopper. (GM Martie Cordaro recently said that they could make a 24,000 seat stadium work because they already are doing it.) The College World Series interruption is the main issue, as the Pacific Coast League simply doesn't want to schedule an extended road trip for the Royals. I don't think the Royals want to play in town during the CWS; they simply know they can't go on the road like they used to, especially with the CWS lasting longer and longer.

Money is the other issue. Stein contradicted himself by telling Shatel that the Royals wouldn't play downtown "for free"...then specified all of the revenue related issues why the Royals couldn't work out a deal downtown. Suite revenue, naming rights revenue, and the revenue from managing the stadium themselves instead of MECA. In the end, it all could be negotiated, but both sides expected far more out of the agreement than either is willing to deal at this point.

That doesn't make Alan Stein a bad guy; in radio interviews, he's affable almost to a fault. He won't say anything bad publicly, and may have not made it clear to the city and MECA just what he needed to make a deal downtown work. Now he's got a deal that's better for him, and he's not going to budge as long as it's still on the table. (Not better for Omaha or the state of Nebraska, mind you.) But that's his right as owner of the Royals: it's his team and his right to get the best deal he can.

Could Omaha somehow work out a deal for the Royals still? Maybe...but probably the biggest hurdle would be to somehow find a way to cut the length of the Royals road trip during the College World Series. And frankly, I don't see how the NCAA agrees to that. They need scheduling flexibility in case the rains come, and don't want to see the field abused any more than necessary.

Sarpy County Ballpark Funding Fails ... Now What?

2009-05-13T18:16:00.002-05:00

In what has to be a surprise to nobody, the bailout plan for the state to fund the proposed Sarpy County ballpark failed today when it became clear there was no support for it, despite an all-out attempt by Sarpy County to push it forward.

So does that kill the Boondoggle? Nope...but now the charade is over. It's finally time for Sarpy County to tell us how they actually plan to fund this ballpark. Time is short for Sarpy County, as they have until the end of the month to bail on the plan. They've already wasted nearly five months on the hope that the state would play Santa Claus. Now it's time for reality.

So how does Sarpy County do this? Well, for starters, the project goes on a diet to trim costs as much as possible. Southport by Cabelas now becomes the least likely location, as Sarpy County probably can't afford to pay for the land. In fact, Sarpy may now be pushing for cash donations along with land donations in a last gasp effort to make this happen.

The Bellevue location becomes more likely, as Bellevue and Sarpy County could reach an agreement to use city funding (sales taxes and tax-increment financing) to offset the county's expenses. That won't be enough; if it was, the Royals would already be playing in a 9,000 seat stadium downtown.

What about the rest of the cost? Sarpy County previously suggested inheritance taxes, hotel taxes, and keno taxes. Problem with that is, with the exception of a recent increase in the hotel tax, that money is already committed elsewhere. Is Sarpy County going to really eliminate those other programs to build a ballpark? Or will this be a shell game, where property taxes go up to pay those other programs, freeing up the other revenues for the stadium?

Of course, Sarpy County can bail on this project anytime this month. I don't think that happens right away, but the longer Sarpy County waits to announce the real financing plan, the more likely that happens. It's interesting to note that all this happened the day AFTER Hal Daub went down to defeat. Coincedence? I wonder.

In any event, Mayor-elect Jim Suttle needs to start putting pressure on MECA to help salvage the Royals. Sarpy County isn't dead yet by any means, but the illogical notion of Chalco is finally starting to collapse.