Netiraskan
Tuesday, March 19,1991
Osborne critique inevitable
Look out, Coach Osborne.
For the last few years, the col
lege basketball season has been the
time for Nebraska fans to crawl
into a hole and lick their wounded
egos.
After they sufficiently expressed
theirdi spleasure at Tom Osborne * s
ofTense, Charlie McBride’s defense
and Nebraska’s inability to win the
big game in football, the fans dis
appeared into their recliners.
Unsettling memories of late-sea
son losses were washed away as
Huskcr fans enjoyed the euphoria
of March Madness from their liv
ing rooms.
This year, however, they have
not had the chance to enjoy their
annual spring hibernation.
They have been chasing the Com
husker basketball team around the
Midwest, watching wide-eyed as
Nebraska surprised the nation on
the road to the NCAA tournament.
They have been awake cheering
on the “other Huskcrs” while the
slinging sores of the gridiron fes
tered under their bright red “Nec
braska basketball” sweatshirts.
This spring they arc tired, they
arc grumpy and they arc not going
to get much sleep in before spring
football.
In other words, this spring will
be the toughost season on the H usk -
ers in a long time, despite not hav
ing to play anything more than an
intrasquad game.
Nebraska fans arc going to come
out in droves one more lime to sec
if Osborne has turned into Bill Walsh
over the winter and adopted a purely
passing offense.
They will bitch about any play,
whether it goes up the middle,
toward the short stdc or toward
open field, if it gains less than 10
Chris
Hopfensperger
4
yards.
They will rally behind a quar
terback who can dance through
defenses better than most I-backs,
only to turn on him when he throws
an interception.
His replacement will win the
favor of the Memorial Stadium
crowds until they find out he is as
slow as molasses when it comes to
running the option.
Spectators will clamor for their
choice out of a long list of potential
field generals.
Mickey Joseph, the shake V
bake quarterback, who gained 554
of Nebraska’s most exciting yards
last season, will try to return from
the leg injury that ended his season
last year.
Senior Tom Haase, who came
off the bench to lead the Huskers
back in their Citrus Bowl loss, will
be a top contender for the job as
well as Mike Grant, who struggled
with a knee injury after battling
Joseph for the starting role early in
the season.
Not even mentioned in the thrcc
deep depth chart arc redshirt fresh
man Matt Gragnano and sopho
more Malt Jones, who led the
Nebraska junior varsity in its last
season.
Unfortunately, none of them will
be able to play perfectly enough to
silence the Comhusker critics.
It is not bad enough that Ne
braska will have to replace almost
an entire team defensively. It will
have to replace one of the best units
in the history of the school.
McBride is probably reeling from
trying to figure out how to replace
last year’s Blackshirts who ruled
most of the Huskers’ games with an
iron fist.
Gone is All-American defensive
lineman Kenny Walker, who wasn’t
fast enough to catch every quarter
back.
Gone is NFL prospect linebacker
Mike Croel and two-time leading
tackier Pat Tyrance, who weren’t
strong enough to bring down every
streaking running back
Gone are two-time All-Big Eight
starters Reggie Cooper and Bruce
Pickens, who weren ’t agile enough
to cleanly knock down every pass.
Back arc a bunch of guys who
will never fill the shoes this state
has etched in its collective dreams
of Huskcr greatness.
I hope no one will gel hold of
the Huskers’ fall schedule, which
lists potential Nebraska losses to
teams like Washington and Colo
rado State.
Undoubtedly Nebraskans will
stream from every nook and cranny
of the state to critique the Huskers’
new gamcplan.
They will compose their own
guides to winning the national cham
pionship which will end up, with
all theolhers,as easily broken ideas
in a game of hard knocks.
They will crowd the bleachers
of Memorial Stadium, swapping
statistics and keeping up on a sport
that doesn’t start for another six
months.
Maybe Obome should tell them
all to take a nap.
Hopfensperger is a sophomore news
editorial major and a Dally Nebraskan
sports senior reporter.
NU faces competitive NMS
The weather-battered Nebraska
baseball team will see its first action
in more than a week when intakes on
Northwest Missouri State today in a 4
p.m. doubleheader at Buck Bellzer
Field.
The Bearcats are a Division II team
but beat Division I Eastern Michigan
twice this season and lost to nation
ally ranked Arkansas 7-5, a team
Nebraska split a doubleheader with
earlier this season.
Coach John Sanders said he ex
pects Northwest Missouri State to be
competitive.
“They’ll be very anxious to play a
Division I team and do well,” he said.
Wednesday the Comhuskers will
face Wayne State for a single game
starting at 1:30 p.m. at Buck Beltzer.
- Nick Hytrek
‘Razor’ shaved; crowd froths
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mike Ty
son, rocked in the sixth round, beat
Razor Ruddock in the seventh round
Monday night when referee Richard
Steele stopped the fight after a flurry
sent Ruddock to the ropes but did not
drop him.
Ruddock turned his hands up and
looked at Steele in disbelief that the
fight was over, then bodyguards rep
resenting both camps pijed into the
ring and a melee broke out.
Tyson knocked Ruddock down in
the second round and again in the
third. Ruddock, however, came on
strong in the sixth and had Tyson in
trouble late in the round with several
hooks and a right hand.
In the seventh, action slowed until
Tyson landed a six-punch combina
tion with both hands that sent Ruddock
back to the ropes and Steele stopped it
at 2:22.
When order was restored in the
ring and the time was announced,
there were thunderous boos from the
crowd of more than 15,000.
Several minutes after Steele’s
shocking action, security men were
still pitching people from the ring.
The last two punches that drove
Ruddock into the ropes were a right
hand and a left hook. He appeared
dazed but looked more shocked at
Steele’s decision than from Tyson’s
punches.
Fairy-tale team wins
By Jeff Singer
Staff Reporter _
The Cinderella team — or ralhcr
the Tom Thumb team — of the All
University intramural men’s basket
ball tournament continued winning
Tuesday night, as the regular-season
Small Fry champion Untouchables
upset previously undefeated Delta Tau
Delta B1 68-64.
The Dells entered the game 9-0
and had a tremendous height advan
tage. No Untouchable was over the 5
foot, 10 inch limit of Small Fry com
petition, while each Deli was taller
than 5-10.
The game started out with the bigger
team taking a big lead, with Delta
Tau Delta racing ahead 27-9 behind
the play of 6-5 center Jason Moxness.
The Untouchables closed the gap
to a 32-23 deficit at half. Moxness
had 10 points and 10 rebounds at the
break.
The teams traded baskets the first
few minutes of the second half, and
the Dells still held a 42-36 lead with
15 minutes left in the game. The
Untouchables then started to live up
to their name.
A barrage of three-pointers sparked
a 12-2 run that gave the Untouchables
their first lead of the game at 44-42.
The lead increased to four points when
John McMillen hit a jumper with eight
minutes left.
Dean Hcstcrmann was the key to
the Untouchables’ comeback, lead
ing the squad with 23 points.
“Everybody usually scores the same
amount, but tonight I really fell it,”
See FAIRY-TALE on 8
Hosers bum Sig Eps
By Chris Hopfensperger
Senior Reporter _
The members on the Sigma Phi
Epsilon-A1 teamiitafircunderJamar
Johnson Monday night and got burned
by The Hosers in the second round of
the All-University Playoffs.
Johnson, who signed last fall to
play with the Nebraska basketball
team, scored 34 points to lead The
Hosers to a 76-53 win. His perform
ance was spurred on by his opponents
on the floor, he said.
“Sometimes you’ve got to fight a
little fire with a lot of fire of your
own,” Johnson said. “I get pushed
sometimes. Sometimes I get mouth.”
Some of the players on the Sig Ep
team were talking a little trash on the
court, Johnson said, but he did his
talking with his numbers.
“Where 1 come from that’s how
we play,” Johnson said. “That’s how
I was brought up — to just play the
game.”
A 5-foot-l 1 guard, sitting out this
season as a Prop 48 casualty, Johnson
said he is playing inlramurals to stay
in shape and have a little fun.
The Hosers, 10-0, were heljxxl down
low by the play of former Nebraska
football linemen Brent Pick (6-foot
5) and Jake Young (6-4).
Johnson said The Hosers were
without teammate 6-4 Kenny Walker,
the All-American defensive tackle.
The Sig Ep team was led by the
See HOSERS on 8
f UNLV advances in NCAA tournament
Coach says remaining contenders will prove challenging
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Having
survived a close call against Geor
getown, UNLV men’s basketball coach
Jerry Tarkanian said there isn ’ t a team
left in the NCAA tournament that
can’t beat his defending national
champions.
“I’ve said it all season—any team
can beat us on a given night. There’s
no team left in the tournament that
can’t beat us,” said Tarkanian, whose
undefeated Runnin’ Rebels (31-0) held
off the Hoyas 62-54 Sunday to reach
the Sweet 16. “They’re all going to be
lough from here on in.”
The Rebels will leave for Seattle
on Wednesday for their Thursday night
game against Utah. Arizona will meet
Scion Hall in the other West Regional
semifinal.
Also on Thursday, in the South
east Regional, Arkansas will play
Alabama and Indiana will play Kan
sas.
UNLV centcrGcorgc Ackles, who
suffered a sprained ankle jn Friday’s
victory over Montana, played only 13
minutes against the Hoyas and had
two points and one rebound. His re
placement, 7-foot Elmore Spencer,
scored two points but blocked six
shots.
Ackles’ status for Thursday is
uncertain, although he is expected to
play.
“Wc didn’t want to use him unless
he was 100 percent and he wasn’t,”
Tarkanian said.
“Hopefully, with a couple of days’
rest and treatment at home, I’ll be
ready for Seattle,” Acklcs said.
‘ George has been our starling center
all year and it hurts when he’s not at
full speed,” Tarkanian said. “He runs
the court so well.”
Tarkanian, who went into Sun
day’s game 0-5 against Georgetown,
said he was happy to have the Hoyas
behind him.
“Utah is a good perimeter shoot
ing team, and they’re real patient,"
Tarkanian said. “They’ll be real lough.
And you know Arizona is going to be
tough, and Scion Hall will be, loo.”
The Rebels are 7-4 against Utah,
having last played the Ulcs in 1983.
Ulah advanced lo the regional semifi
nal with an 85-84 double overtime
victory over Michigan State. The
Rebels beat Michigan State at Ann
Arbor in December, 95-75.
“I knew it was going to be real
tough, and it was one of the toughest
I can remember playing,” Tarkanian
said. “I have the greatest respect for
Georgetown. They never give you an
inch. We’re just glad lo get past ihem.”