The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, September 08, 1989, Page 7, Image 7

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    Sports
Jayhawks take humble approach to 100th year
By Jeff Apel
Senior Editor
While the Nebraska athletic department is
sponsoring several promotions in conjunction
with its 100th year of football, the Kansas
athletic department is taking a more humble
approach.
Bob Frederick, the Kansas athletic director,
said Thursday that the Jayhawks arc not going
all out with their 100th year of football because
they are trying to rebuild their program. Kan
sas, which has compiled a 452-423-57 record
during its 100 seasons of football, has not had
a winning season in eight years.
Frederick said the only things that Kansas is
doing is publishing a book which details the
last 28 years of Jayhawk football, retiring a
jersey and honoring its All-America selec
tions. He said Kansas never seriously consid
ered promoting the centennial like Nebraska,
which is selling everything from autographed
footballs to paintings.
“We’re being fairly low-keyed about it,”
Frederick said. “If our team was much better,
we might do more. But right now, we’ve got
more important things to spend time on.’’
Cletus Fischer, a former Nebraska assistant
football coach who is now the director of the
Husker Wheel and Beef Club, said the Corn
huskcrs launched their centennial promotion in
hopes of offsetting potential financial prob
lems. The Nebraska athletic department has
estimated that it will lose $500,000 in revenue
this season because of probations which will
keep the Oklahoma and Oklahoma State foot
ball programs off television.
Fischer and Gary Fouraker, the assistant
athletic director for business affairs, said Ne
braska officials also hope that the sale of cen
tennial items raises enough money to build a
new trophy display area. They said if enough
money is raised, the present trophy room in the
South Stadium would be replaced by a new one
in the West Stadium.
Fischer said the sale of promotional items
has gone well. The items which Nebraska is
selling include paintings which are auto
graphed by Husker football coach Tom
Osborne and Athletic Director Bob Devaney
for $2,000, autographed footballs for either
$100 or $28 and replica jerseys for $29.95.
The Nebraska athletic department is also
selling baseball caps, plaques that feature busts
of Osborne and Devaney, sweat shirts and
pants, sweaters, jackets, lapel pins, coffee
mugs and felt pennants in conjunction with the
centennial.
Fischer said the fastest-selling item has
been the autographed footballs. The footballs
are $100 if a fan wants to purchase a limited
edition type that includes a number on it, while
the regular ones arc $28.
“We’re real happy with the footballs,”
Fischer said. “We’re hoping to gel over
$200,000 on them.”
Fischer said Nebraska needs to “get back to
the public’ ’ in future promotions. The Huskers
next scheduled public benefit Scpl. 29, when a
golf scrambler sponsored by America West
will be held at Firethorn Golf Club.
/
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i
Northern Illinois coach
presents optimistic outlook
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Jerry Peuibone is happy to be re
turning to Lincoln, byt the extent of
his joy will depend on the outcome of
Saturday’s game.
Peuibone, entering his fifth year
as Northern Illinois’ coach, was Ne
braska’s recruiting coordinator from
1979 to 1981. He returns Saturday
with an optimistic outlook for the
game against the No. fourth-ranked
Comhuskers.
The game begins at 1:30 p.m.
Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
“We’re going to go out there and
do the best we can,” he said. “It will
be a special time for me -- going back
to Memorial Stadium. I had a very
positive experience at Nebraska, and
I’ve still got a lot of close friends
there. It will be special.”
Unc ol the greatest experiences
in college football is playing in
Memorial Stadium on a Saturday
afternoon,” he said.
Northern Illinois returns with
eight offensive and six defensive
players from last season’s 7-4 team.
“We have the opportunity to have
an excellent team,” Pettibonc said.
‘ ‘ We have a lot of experience and we
probably have the best depth we’ve
had since we’ve been here.
‘‘We want to show people that we
can have that type of season (like last
season) on a regular basis.”
Pettibonc’s main concern is the
quarterback position. Marshall Tay
lor, who started four years for the
Huskies, completed his eligibility
last season.
Stacey Robinson is Northern Illi
nois’ new starter. Against Cal State
Fullerton last Saturday, Robinson
completed 10 of 17 passes for 114
yards, and rushed for 89 yards and
two touchdowns on 19 carries.
Northern Illinois won the game
26-17.
“I’d give Stacey a passing grade,
no pun intended,” Pettibone said.
“There’s room for improvement, but
I think he gained some confidence.”
Defensively, Pettibone said, the
Huskies should continue to improve
quickly.
“Last year, we made some big
plays early,” he said. “That set the
tone for our defense the entire season.
We’ll be bigger and stronger and at
the same time, our defense is predi
cated on quickness and speed.”
Last week, the Huskies’ defense
held Fullerton State to just five yards
rushing.
Nebraska offensive line coach
Dan Young scouted the Fullerton
State game, and Coach Tom Osborne
said he was impressed with what
Young told him.
“He said they executed their
wishbone pretty well, and seemed to
do all the basic things wishbone
teams do.” Osborne said.
Osborne said he and Pettibone
have remained in contact since Petti
bone left Lincoln in 1981. Pettibone
said Osborne is an inspiration to him
as a coach.
“There’s no question that Tom
Osborne is one of the giants of major
college football,” he said. “He’s a
great man who has had a positive
influence on me and my career.”
Pettibone said the Huskies arc out
to prove that last season’s winning
record was not a fluke.
“Last year was a positive break
through, and we feel like we will have
a good team this year,” he said. “ But
we have to prove we are capable of
lining up and playing good football
each week.
“We have to show that we aren’t
an up-and-down program.”
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Nebraska linebacker Chris Caliendo puts the heat on Missouri quarterback Mark Ram stack
during the Cornhuskers’ 26-18 win against the Tigers last season.
Identical twins to play on rival teams
at Comhuskers’ football season-opener
By Darran Fowler
Suff Reporter
Having two sons playing Division
I football at different schools is an
exciting, but sometimes trying, situ
ation for the parents of identical twins
Chris and Cary Caliendo.
Chris is a 6-foot-2, 240-pound
senior weakside linebacker for Ne
braska, while Cary is a 6-foot-3,242
pound redshirl-junior right defensive
end for Northern Illinois.
Their parents Chuck and Nancy
Caliendo of Brookfield, Wis., suffer
and celebrate with them every week
during football season.
“The excitement is unbelievable,
but the frustrations are doubled up,”
Chuck said. * ‘There’s a lot of reasons
why they’re going to perform well or
why they’re not going to perform
well, and you kind of live-and-die
with them. So it’s hard to concentrate
on one or the other, especially when
you’re at one game and you’re won
dering what’s happening with the
other.” •
But they never miss a game.
“Come Thursday or Friday we’re
off someplace,” he said.
Whom they go to watch depends
on proximity or the significance of a
particular game, Chuck said.
Saturday’s Nebraska and North
ern Illinois contest is a “dream
game,” he said.
“We got mixed emotions,”
Chuck said. “We’ll be cheering for
every defensive play. I would be
thrilled if Nebraska won it and North
ern Illinois put up a good showing.”
Cary, who had arthroscopic sur
gery on his left knee six weeks ago,
said he will be ready for Saturday’s
game. The doctors left the decision to
play up to him, he said.
“I know I’m going to be ready for
the Nebraska game,” he said. “I’m
going to play my hardest because it’s
my brothers team and I love my
brother.”
Cary had the same surgery done to
his right knee at the end of his senior
season in high school, but after his
knee heals his problems are over, he
said.
Chris, who will share Husker play
ing time with fellow linebacker Pfct
Tyrance, said his brother ’ s chances of
going to a larger school were dimin
ished after his first knee injury.
Cary, Who is a two-year starter and
will line up against Nebraska left
tackle and first-time starter Tom
Punt, said Northern Illinois deserves
more credit than it’s receiving.
“No matter the outcome, win or
lose, they’re (Nebraska) going to
know they were in a football game,”
he said.
Cary is self-confident and outspo
ken.
“I’m feeling very confident in
myself,’’ he said. “I don’t get a lot of
recognition. I feel like I’m one of the
best defensive ends in the country.”
Northern Illinois is rising out of
obscurity, he said, because the Hus
See CALIENOO on 10
Former Nebraska players
to challenge softball team
By Darran Fowler
Senior Reporter
An exhibition softball game fea
turing former Nebraska players
against this year’s team will not be all
fun and games.
Twenty-six former Comhuskers
will team together to play Nebraska
at the softball complex at 7 p.m. to
day. University of Nebraska-Lincoln
students who present their IDs will be
admitted free.
Nebraska softball coach Ron
Wolforth said both teams will take
the game seriously. He said team
scores will be kept, even though the
game will not end until everyone has
played.
“These arc kids that are really
competitive and it would be a dis
service not to keep score,” he said.
“We’re going to use this as an oppor
tunity to have a game-like situation.”
Nebraska opens its regular season
Sept. 15 with a double-header against
Kearney Stale. The games will be
played at the NU Complex.
Included among the alumni play
ers returning are All-America selec
tions Lori Sippel, Lori Richcns and
Denise Eckert.
Sippel holds several Husker pitch
ing records. Her 93 wins, 1,052
strikeouts, 10 no-hitters and 0.50
earned run average are the best in
Nebraska history.
Eckert’s records include: most at
bats (864), hits (284), triples (26),
See SOFTBALL on 8