Whoa, Nellie!

That was an actual quote I got from a Creighton fan tonight. And not just any Creighton fan: a graduate, multi-season ticket holding Creighton fan.

The conversation came about after I told him that someone who he offered two tickets to last Saturday's Creighton game replied something along the lines of "I can't go, but tell him that Doc says 'hi.'"

After laughing about that for a minute, he said that at this point, he probably would rather have Doc Sadler as a coach, because he "gets more out of less, especially compared to Dana." Upon hearing this, I asked him what Doc would do with Creighton's current roster. His reply:

"Oh, man..."

So there you have it. A die-hard (and I do not use that term lightly with this person) Creighton fan admitting that he would take Doc Sadler over Dana Altman.

I sincerely hope that Bluejay Cafe gets a hold of this post, then whines about it and claims that we made this story up.

Doc's your daddy, Jays!

Labels: Bluejay Cafe, Creighton, Dana Altman, Doc Sadler, Nebraska basketball, Suck it Creighton

**NOTE: You can read the second part to this interview here.

With the Huskers' season opener this Saturday, we wanted to step up our output and content here on the ol' Heavy Soul. To go along with The Tunnel Walk, MIB has gone to town with his "Reasons to get excited/be worried" pieces, along with the mascots and punters--and it is evident that people out there appreciate the efforts.

Another way we wanted to enhance the content was kind of a random thought that we had--we thought it would be cool if we interviewed someone that was somehow involved with sports in The Good Life, particularly Nebraska Football. Naturally, the first person we thought of was Tom Osborne. Unfortunately, he was not available.

However, the second person we had in mind not only was available, but provided us with such a great interview that we had to split it into two parts (the second running tomorrow).

Tom Shatel, the lead sports columnist for the Omaha World-Herald (and author: you can buy his book Red Zone: The Greatest Victories in the History of Nebraska Football here), has been observing and offering unique insight of Nebraska sports since 1991. Originally hailing from San Diego, Shatel attended Missouri and has worked with the Dallas Morning News, the St. Louis Sun, and the Kansas City Star. Shatel also served as the President of United States Basketball Writers Association (Andy Katz is the current president, if that gives you an idea of the prestige of that position).

Shatel's columns have become a "must-read" Sundays after Husker games (especially last year), and holds the extremely high honor of being labeled as Heavy Soul's "Favorite Sports Columnist."

Tom was gracious enough to take on over 30 questions as posed by contributors of Heavy Soul, and answered ALL of them. Today's topics will cover questions involving Nebraska Football past and other sports topics. Tomorrow will focus on the 2008 Football Huskers, as well as questions pertaining personally to Shatel. So without further ado, let's get on with the interview.

Heavy Soul: From the standpoint of you being a member of the media, what are some of the initial differences you see in covering the Huskers (i.e., the Pederson/Callahan regime vs. Osborne/Pelini)? Any big differences for you personally?

Tom Shatel: It's more genuine, open, honest. You don't feel like there's an agenda. Callahan really didn't have time for small talk, although he and I had a good relationship. There just wasn't much conversation and Bill could be hard to find. Bo is your next door neighbor. You feel like you could invite him over to the driveway for a beer and talk about how the kids are doing in soccer.

HS: When you walk around the Athletic Department offices at NU, do you see any tangible differences since Tom Osborne came back around?

TS: I didn't walk around the offices much before and I don't now. When I've been up there, people are happier, smiling, looser. So, to answer your question, it's night and day.

HS: When Steve Pederson was hired, did you ever hear things "off the record" that would have led you to believe he was arrogant as he turned out to be? On the other hand, do you think that he just had a personality that came off as arrogant, but in reality he was a decent guy (we're trying to leave you an out here, if you can't tell)?

TS: Nobody had a clue this was coming. Nobody. We were all geniuses who thought it was a brilliant hire because of the Nebraska ties. Nobody knew SP had changed, somewhere since leaving Nebraska, and was trying to change the image of the program.

Heard a good story once, from someone close to SP, someone in the department. He said that Pederson grew up in North Platte with a small town Nebraska chip on his shoulder. Didn't like the hard work Nebraska image, the farms, the corn, all the way down to the walk-on program. This person said Steve had stars in his eyes, thought Nebraska should be big time and more like California or New York. That made a lot of sense to me, after the way things went.

(Editor's Note: We have heard the same thing, and it breaks our little North Platte hearts.)

HS: Is there anything more to the story of the now-infamous Frank Solich decision to start Bobby Newcombe over Eric Crouch? We all know that Crouch went back home, and Solich essentially recruited him back to NU. Anything else left out of that story?

TS: Eric basically grew up without a dad. Millard North coach Fred Petito became like a father to him, that male figure he could talk to. I think when Eric thought he should be starting over Bobby, he snapped, went for a drive and found the person who he could open up to. That was Coach Petito. I think it may have crossed his mind to leave. I think it was more he just needed some time to get away and figure it out. Eric would be the first to admit he's made some mistakes, grown up, would do some things different. I don't think it was more than the scenario I described, I really don't.

HS: What do you think is the most controversial event that has taken place during your time covering Nebraska sports?

TS: Lawrence Phillips and nothing else is close. That divided Husker Nation more than anything that has happened in my 17 years here.

HS: What do you think is the best quality of the Husker Fan? Worst?

TS: Passion. That stadium will never be empty. If someone doesn't win, he'll be fired. That's a fire that never, ever goes out.

HS: How likely do you think it is that Nebraska will get a basketball practice facility? And how likely do you think it is that Lincoln will build an arena in the Haymarket?

TS: There will be a basketball facility but it will wait until after the city of Lincoln figures out if it's going to build a new arena, which will come up next spring. I have no idea on the likelihood of the arena passing. I would guess it's pretty good because of the overall entertainment value and, like Omaha with the Civic, the options available are old. We'll see.

HS: Here's a tough one, and one we know that you've discussed from time to time in your column, but here it goes: Do you really think it is OK for people who wear their Scarlet and Cream during the fall to switch over to that ridiculous royal blue in the winter? Most of the contributors here are from North Platte, and none of us understand this phenomenon. We feel that you pick your team, and you stick with your team. Obviously, there are many people in Omaha that do not. Do you think it is because Creighton games have become an event being in the Qwest Center? Or is it legitimate?

TS: I don't care if they switch over, and I understand why it happens, but don't tell me it's a real rivalry. You wouldn't see anyone in Alabama who is a Bama football fan and an Auburn basketball fan. My feeling is, there are 8-10,000 Creighton hardcores, win or lose. Once Doc Sadler gets it going, and going good, a lot of that blue will turn back into red.

HS: More basketball: How much fun is it to interact with Doc Sadler?

TS: He's been awesome. It's like working with a family member. Too easy. Don't tell my boss.

HS: Follow-up: who is the funniest person you've ever covered?

TS: I can't think of a lot of comics but I would probably say Johnny Orr or Billy Tubbs when I was covering Big Eight hoops in KC. They would literally say something funny every interview.

HS: Do you think Omaha could support an NBA team?

TS: No. Season tickets at $60 each, $10 parking, $10 beers, you name it. We're too cheap. And we're a college/big event town.

(Ed. Note: He's right, dammit. I'd give anything for that not to be the case, though.)

HS: 1997 Cornhuskers vs. 1997 Wolverines: Who wins?

TS: I think it's a very good game, closer than either side wants to admit. My tiebreaker, as a bitter Charger fan, has always been this: Nebraska beat the heck out of Peyton Manning and the 1998 national champion Vols; Michigan barely beat Ryan "Cryin''' Leaf. End of story.

HS: Designated hitter vs. having the pitcher bat?

TS: I'm a National League guy.

HS: Do you like the Cubs' chances to win it all this year?

TS: No. Like my friend Chicago Bob says, talk to me after the last out of the World Series. There is something different about this Cubs team, though. I won't try to explain.

HS: Who is the greatest athlete of the past 25 years: Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods?

TS: MJ but only because Tiger's body of work isn't near done.

HS: Who would win in a drink-off: Coach Devaney or Coach Pelini?

TS: Devaney, by 10 shots and a pitcher.

That wraps up Part I of the interview. Come back tomorrow, where we'll have his responses to Part II, with topics ranging from what he thinks will surprise Husker fans this season (hint: it's not good), his favorite Omaha resturaunts, and the moment Tom officially felt like a Nebraskan.

Labels: Nebraska basketball, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Nebraska Football, Omaha World-Herald, The Heavy Soul Interview, Tom Shatel

So Hales and I (special shout to MIB and Deuce, they were there, just not during the discussion) were trying to figure out when the last time Nebraska basketball beat two ranked opponents in a week (a feat they accomplished after beating Texas A&M Saturday 65-59).

Hales and I both figured there was a good chance that the last time this feat was accomplished, FDR was still in the White House. However--and for whatever reason, this is no longer in the story linked above, although it was this morning--it was just 9 years ago the last time this happened. It was the same year, 1999, the last time Nebrasketball beat a ranked opponent in a true road game (at #24 Kansas in 1999).

All in all, a great week for Nebraska. A once-in-a-decade performance from the basketball team (although I firmly believe this will be a common occurance as long as Doc is around), and a nice start for the baseball team. Hell, the baseball season starting is good enough reason to be excited, let alone seeing G.I. Johnny Dorn throw a hell of a game against Stanford Saturday night.

Labels: Doc Sadler, Kickin' Ass, Nebraska Baseball, Nebraska basketball

Labels: Doc Sadler, Nebraska basketball, Suck it Creighton

To celebrate the Huskers coming to Omaha and taking on the Oregon Ducks at the Qwest Center (it's about time a proper school hosted a game there. Anyways....), I thought I would post this picture. I saw it on a message board. It had me pining for typing class; pounding out sentences as fast as humanly possible so I could play Oregon Trail or Jeopardy.

Anyways, I'll never understand the internet's obsession with ninjas and nostalgia...and I don't want to. I'm just happy it's all there.

Labels: Awesomeness, Nebraska basketball, Oregon Trail

This was taken from Tom Shatel's column today, in reference to Dana Altman and Creighton wanting to play Nebraska twice a year:

"...Told about Altman's idea on Monday, Sadler said, 'I have no problem considering it, but we have to do what's best for both programs."

"...Sadler said on Monday, '[The Creighton game] is the 17th most important game, as far as I'm concerned.' Ouch. In other words, the 16 Big 12 games (including Colorado and Baylor) are more important to Sadler than CU. I understand his thinking. I'm not sure that Creigtonians will appreciate it..."

Well, tough shit, Creightonians. Because I'm pretty sure that Doc doesn't appreciate you trading your red shirts in for blue v-neck cardigans in the winter time.

I thought this line was hilarious, mainly because of this: what Sadler said is true. He's paid to win conference championships and make runs in the tourney (er, get to the tourney). So really, the Creighton game doesn't matter in a lot of ways. Preseason/early season games just don't matter in college basketball that much anymore. However, he could have said it in this way.

Instead, he took a nice little jab at Creighton. And I think that was absoultely intentional. Dana Altman, who is the basketball "god" in the media around here, is trying to push his weight around a bit here. Getting a chance to play a Big XII team twice a year does nothing but pad Creighton's tourney resume.

Playing Creighton twice a year--particularly at this juncture--does nothing great for Nebraska. They get to play a well-coached team twice a year, and could be looking at an additional loss or two for the first year or two of this. But does playing Creighton really get Nebraska ready for the Big XII? Does it really get them ready for the athletes and speed of their opponents they'll face the majority of the season? Does it help their tourney resume enough to play them twice?

Yes, I'm sure it does to an extent. But I don't think there is any way that it helps Nebraska as much as it does Creighton. So stick to your guns, Doc! Do what's best for Nebraska, not the Omaha World-Herald and Dana Altman.

Labels: Dana Altman, Doc Sadler, Nebraska basketball, Omaha World-Herald, Suck it Creighton, Tom Shatel

Husker Basketball '07-'08

It's Doc-ball year 2, and i promise you all that Nebraska basketball is on the up and up. Doc is that good, I think you all owe it to yourself to take an hour out of your schedule sometime and go watch one of his practices (yes he opens them to the public). It's intense, it's exciting, and you can't help but come away from one not thinking Doc is the type of coach that will always succeed.......even at a football school. Add in the fact that outside of KU the Big XII is very average and the future looks incredibly bright. Did i mention that possibly the biggest recruit since Andre Woolridge just resigned (stupid NCAA clearinghouse or he'd be starting this year as well) and will be playing on the wing for the next 3 years. Roburt Sallie is going to be a stud, i'd go out on a limb and say that if he was playing this year you would have an NCAA tourney team.

On with the predictions..the squad looked great in the first half and poor in the second half against some school with a mascot of the Blue Hose....i shit you not, and came away with a less than inspiring 15 point win last saturday. Tomorrow, Alabama A&M comes to the Bob, after that you get to see them take on Norfolk State. See a pattern? Yes the non-conference schedule is pathetic (insert Creighton jab) and our RPI is going to be attrocious, but i think Doc put toghether this schedule to get some confidence and build for the future, but with this schedule it will take 10 conference wins to get to the dance, and boys that just ain't going to happen. This should be an NIT team, which will be a step for next year.

The Squad:
5-spot: Maric, The big Aussie is back for his senior year (only sr. on the team), will be dominant again and should have more shooters to take off some pressure than he had around him last year. He will get close to 18ppg and 10 rpg. He is far and away our best player and the team will go as he goes. Chris Balham is back again but still isn't healthy. Maric's main backup will be a JUCO transfer named Shang Ping. He's about 6'10 and has very good touch around the rim out to 15 ft, has a decent build but is not a banger. Will be a serviceable replacement and should give Doc more options to play with 2 bigs.
4-spot: This is a weak spot again this year. Ryan Anderson is a great player and ideally would be starting at the 3, but it again looks like he will star t at the 4. He's great on the offensive end and is a tough matchup, but extremely undersized and slow on the defensive end. Alonzo Edwards is a newcomer with a very high ceiling but hasn't looked good in the games so far. If he comes on it would be a great help as Anderson could move back to the 3.
Guards: Much improved this year...Sek Henry and Jay-R Strowbridge are both back and look to be greatly improved but the newcomers are why i'm excited. Ade Dagunduro (yep, Ola's brother) looks like a Div-1 player. 6'5, 190 and long. He's great defensively and is a slasher. Cookie Miller is a 5'7 bug in a jar, he should be the starting PG in my opinion. He's Charles Richardson, but much quicker. He's fun to watch and could be the key to a successful season. Finally their is Steve Harley, came in as the most highly touted recruit in the class but has looked fairly avg to this point. He's a great talent offensively but won't see the floor until he learns to play D.

Here's my fearless prediciton:
I'm saying 11-2 non-conference, wins @ Creighton and @ W. Kentucky but losses to 2 of these 3: Oregon, Rutgers, Arizona State
In conference i'm hoping for 8-8:
Wins - @CU, Baylor, ISU, Tech, Mizzou, OU, @OSU, CU
Losses- KU, @ KU, @ Mizzou, @ KSU, @ aTm, @ OSU, @ Texas

8-8 would get us a favorable seed in the conference tourney, 1 win there and you are looking at a very successful 20 win season and being on the tourney bubble but not getting a bid.

There it is boys, give me yours....


PS...Creighton sucks, Kentucky Blows

Labels: Creighton, Creighton sucks, Doc Sadler, Nebraska, Nebraska basketball