Sports
‘Big Red Confidential’ lives up to name
Publisher says sales going well I
‘Big Red’ author loses credibility
Ely Darran howler
enior Reporter
Sources at Contemporary Books Inc., which
ublished the controversial book Big Red
Confidential; Inside Nebraska Football, said
the book’s first week of sales were good.
Amy Kelly, assistant sales manager for
Contemporary Books Inc., said Monday that
50,000 books were distributed to vendors
icross the country and that the “up-to-the
ninute” sales indicate that 20,000 had been
sold. She said the records show that none have
>een returned.
“As far as I know it’s really done well,’’
<.elly said. “It had plenty of pre-publicity on it,
especially because of the nature of the book.”
The book, which was written by former
Sports Illustrated investigative reporter Armen
Keleyian, scrutinizes the Comhuskers’ foot
)all program, including accusations of drug
and steroid use by players, illegal cash pay
nents and ticket sales to boosters.
Donna Adkins, publicity director for the
publishing company, said the book was
shipped out a week before its publishing date of
Sept. 5. She said she expects all 50,000 books
to be sold.
“The book is a balanced, fair book,”
Adkins said. “They’ll either buy it or they
won t. We expect to sell those 50,000 copies.
We re in the midst of promoting it right now.
We expect to sell it all the way through Christ
mas time.”
Kelly and Adkins said the book has done as
well as predicted.
I think that’s what the market had antici
pated and, of course, we anticipate to sell all of
them,” Kelly said.
Kelly said 1,000 books remain on hand at
the Chicago-based company. She said that
because of the book’s demand, another 10,000
20,000 will be printed.
“We believe we’ll do real well with this,”
she said. “There’s a lot of college football fans
that want to know the scoop on Tom Osborne. ’ ’
Kelly said the 50,000 books printed is much
higher than the company’s normal figure of
20,000-25,000.
“That’s a fairly large print for a company
our size,” she said.
Kelly said she is not sure where the book has
been selling the best.
“I imagine in Nebraska and surrounding
areas,” she said. ‘‘That’s just a guess.”
Martha Hoppe, trade book manager at the
University Bookstore, said 40 of the 100 books
See BOOK on 14
By Brandon Loomis
Senior Editor
“Big Red Confidential: Inside Nebraska
Football,” a book detailing the problems and
pressures heaped on the championship-seeking
Comhuskers’ program, submerges its credible
and compelling elements by living up to its
name — with confidential sources.
Each time author Armen Keteyian begins
making a convincing portrayal of cocaine and
steroid use or player benefits from boosters, he
lapses into quotes from minor and often unnec
essary anonymous sources.
Keteyian presents perhaps his most credible
evidence in a section theorizing that steroid use
was widespread at Nebraska at least during the
early 1980s. On the record, he reports state
ments from a former major U.S. steroids
dealer, Tony Fitton, that he supplied several
Nebraska players with enough steroids to go
around.
Former lineman Dean Steinkuhler, also on
♦be record, says he knew of at least five or six
players, mostly linemen (including himself),
who used steroids during their Nebraska ca
reers. Keteyian reminds readers that former
defensive linemen Neil Smith and Lawrence
Pete were arrested in 1986 and found to have
steroids in their possession. He also re-hashes
other scrapes between Huskers and the Lincoln
Police Department.
But the credible and convincing argument
ends there.
Kcteyian talks to a dealer going only by the
name of Nelson and divulges much the same
information that Fitton gave. A whole slew of
unnamed former players add tidbits here and
there to the controversy, but little to the book.
Likewise, the apparent problem with play
ers selling their family game passes until the
NCAA cracked down in 1986 is for the most
part from the record and identified sources.
Former I-back Mike Rozier said he never
sold his tickets but often would trade for mer
chandise such as radios. Former fullback An
dra Franklin said he sold tickets for about
$5,000 a season. But unidentified players then
enter the picture, adding relatively little.
If Keteyian would let the record speak for
itself, it would. As it is, Husker fans have every
reason to doubt much of what is said, and every
excuse to turn their backs on what credible
evidence is presented.
The pattern of credible evidence mixed with
mysterious sources continues in every other
topic discussed, including cocaine use, pos
sible gambling violations in the 1983 team,
See REVIEW on 13
IDespite Allegations
Manager optimistic about racing season
By Jeff Apel
Senior Editor
A glimpse of light shines through
the dark cloud that hovers over Ne
braska horse racing.
Stale Fair Park Manager John
Skold said Monday that he is optimis
tic about the upcoming racing season
even though Nebraska racing is being
rocked by numerous allegations. The
allegations include charges of hidden
ownership and stories of alcohol and
drug abuse that stretch from coast to
:oast.
Skold said he isn’4 overly con
cerned about the impact of the allega
ions even though they will not reflect
favorably on Nebraska racing. He
said horse-racing fans should remem
ber that the allegations focus on the
integrity of individuals, not the hon
esty of particular tracks.
The hidden ownership charge al
leges that an Ak-Sar-Ben official
raced horses that were registered
under another individual’s name. The
charge is considered serious because
of potential conflict of interest prob
lems.
That allegation, along with other
undisclosed allegations, reportedly
is being investigated by the Nebraska
State Patrol and the attorney gen
eral’s office.
Skold said he hopes the Nebraska
State Patrol and the attorney gen
eral’s office act quickly.
“They need to get their conclu
sions out,” he said, “so we can put
those things behind us.”
Skold said he wants horse-racing
fans to realize that State Fair Park
runs an honest business. He said the
track prides itself on providing good,
fun entertainment, and not on run
ning a crooked business.
Skold said he hopes two changes
will bolster State Fair Park this year.
He said the track has dropped its
Wednesday program and altered its
starting time in hopes of cutting ex
pcnses and increasing attendance.
Skold said racing on Thursday
through Saturday will begin at 6 p.m.
He said 6 p .m. is an ideal starting time
because officials found that the 5 and
7 p.m. starting times employed last
year were too early and too late.
Sunday’s card will begin at 2 p.m.
Skold said the lost day of racing
will not mean that fewer races will be
run. He said the track will run 10
races on Thursday and Friday and 11
on Saturday and Sunday, which
means State Fair Park is scheduled to
run five more races than it did last
season.
Skold said he had a good reason to
drop Wednesday racing.
“Wednesdays have never been
one of our greater days,” he said.
“We approximated the amount of
business we would have, and we
wanted to cut our expenses. That’s
the bottom line.”
Skold said a lot of State Fair Park ’ s
success this season will depend on the
weather.
Two years ago, the Park’s biggest
race in history — the $50,000 Big Red
Mile -- was delayed a week after
freezing temperatures plagued the
track. The entire last week of the
meet then was cancelled after several
See RACING on 15
Retired football coach remains involved
In UNL athletics through Husker clubs
I buck Green
Reporter
ir Cletus Fischer, his responsi
lo University of Nebraska-Lin
athletics is still there, but the
i-day work weeks aren’t,
scher, director of the Com
er Beef and Wheel clubs, left the
hours and stress-filled football
hs behind when he retired as
aska’s offensive line coach in
)w, he said, his football Satur
are spent in the stands or at
i, watching the games on televi
Jut I still see the coaches all the
_and the players are always run
ning around here,” Fischer said.
not like me and the football
tKlil are a million miles apart.”
IMscher’s responsibilities with the
MKtc\ Club include setting up trans
^Muion for coaches and athletic
[Mulmcnt officials, and providing
Jfcbsportaiion for recruiting pur
frhc Beef Club, on the other hand,
■primarily a fund-raising organiza
M). It originated in 1962 when a
jjDup of ranchers from Grand Island
Bught steers to be slaughtered, and
■id the meal to feed athletes at the
Mining table.
■ Since Fischer took control of the
Soup, membership has increased
Bom 400 to almost 1,300.
I But he wants more.
| ‘‘We’re hoping to get the mem
bership to 2,500 within the next two
or three years,” Fischer said. ‘‘We’re
really just getting started.”
Members of the Beef Club pay
yearly dues of $250. With 2,500
members paying that each year,
“we’d have a pretty solid fund-rais
ing foundation,” Fischer said.
Fischer played halfback at Ne
braska from 1945 to 1948, then spent
one season with the New York Giants
before beginning his coaching career
at St. Edward High School.
Prior to assuming his current posi
tion, Fischer served on former Ne
braska coach Bill Jenning’s staff as
the Husker running backs’ coach in
1960 and 1961. He then was the jun
ior varsity’s offensive line coach
from 1962 through’1966.
From 1967 to 1968, he was the
junior varsity coach, then became the
varsity’s offensive line coach, where
he remained until his retirement in
1986.
Fischer says the most enjoyable
aspect of his current position is the
people he works with.
“They’ve been really super
people,” he said. “They’re suppor
tive and very cooperative. It makes
the job a lot of fun.”
Fischer said he doesn’t miss
coaching as much as some people
might expect.
“I haven’t really had lime to miss
it,” he said. “The two organizations
I’m involved with keep me busy.
“There’s no job like coaching.
When you’re a coach, half the time
you don’t even know what day it is.
You just know that every seven days,
you have another game.”
Fischer said the greatest change
from coaching to working with fund
raising activities is the amount of
time spent at work each day.
‘‘With (fund-raising), you can
have a five-day work week, if you
want it,” he said.”Icanbehome at 6
o’clock and eat supper like a normal
person. It’s not quite as demanding as
coaching is.”
Many of the major athletic depart
ment fund raisers this year are cen
tered around the 100th anniversary of
football at the University of Ne
braska-Lincoln.
One of the most ambitious proj
ects, Fischer said, is the promotion of
a drawing with the Gillette Dairy Co.
Throughout the summer, he said,
people have bought tickets in hopes
of winning one of 200 footballs that
have been autographed by former
Husker players.
Fischer said the players date from
the 1922 season to present. More
footballs - “hopefully 10,000 or
20,000,” Fischer said - will be sold
to the public.
Also, sets of 100 Nebraska foot
ball trading cards are now circulat
ing, and a Kansas artist has com
pleted a set of seven drawings depict
ing different eras of Husker football.
Fischer said the largest drawings will
be sold for $2,000 each, while the
smaller 10x11 prints will be sold for
$200.
Money raised will go to the ath
See FISCHER on 14
H. !
Former Nebraska offensive line coach Cletus Fischer dis
plays some of the items being sold in conjunction with the
Cornhuskers’ 100th anniversary.