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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 1993)
Netyaskan Sports William Lauer/DN Nebraska linebacker Ernie Beler tries to track down a Missouri receiver during the Comhuskers’ 49-7 win over the Tigers. Back on line Injuries don’t slow Beler’s return By Tim Pearson Senior Reporter For Nebraska linebacker Ernie Bcler, this season represents a new beginning. After suffering through an injury-plagued junior year, the senior from Bayonne, N.J., has started all seven games this season for the undefeated Comhuskers. Beler suffered a severe ankle sprain be fore last season, forcing him to miss the first three games. Although Beler played in the Huskers’ final eight games, he said he wasn’t com pletely healthy. “I know there were times last year when my ankles weren’t even 60 or 70 percent,” Beler said. “Last year, 1 really prepared myself well during the off-season. “It seemed like the injuries came one after another.” Beler said he hoped to get back to the form he showed in 1991, his first season with Nebraska. During his sophomore year, he was the Huskers’ alternate strong safety. He played in all 11 games and finished the season as Nebraska’s 12th-leading tackier with 41. “I feel that in that first year when 1 got a chance to play a lot, it made me feel good about myself,” he said. “In the second year, I wanted to play even better. “But injuries hampered that. This year I want to see myself get back to the old form. I want to be aggressive and confident.” Beler has gotten back into the flow this season. He is the Huskers’ fifih-leading tackier with 31 tackles, already nine more than he had all of last season. But the injuries still remain, Beler said. “They’re chronic injuries,” he said. “I have to take care of them and keep up a lot.” Despite the injuries, the old form showed up in the Huskers’ 45-28 win over Kansas State on Oct. 16. Beler came up with a key interception and helped stop the Wildcats on a fourth and-goa1 at the Husker 4-yard line with just over three minutes remaining in the game. The interception was Beler’s first at Ne braska. “I just got on a roll, and we were in a zone defense, and that freed me up,” he said. The new 4-3 defense has freed up Beler, too, he said. “But it is kind of fun banging with the big guys,” Beler said, “instead of running around getting your head cut off in coverage.” McCartney will ask fans to keep peace By Jeff Griesch Senior Reporter Eleven years ago, Colorado coach Bill McCartney designated Nebraska as the Buffa loes’ No. 1 rival. Now, McCartney said he was concerned the Colorado-Ncbraska series is turning into more than just a rivalry. During the Big Eight Coaches’ weekly tele conference Monday, McCartney said he had always thought rivalries were great for college football on the field. But keeping things friendly in the stands has become a problem over the past two years for Nebraska and Colorado. Two years ago, Nebraska fans complained about being mistreated in Boulder, Colo., be fore, during and after the Comhuskers’ 19-19 tie with the Buffaloes. Last season, Colorado fans returned from Lincoln with complaints of their own about threats and slurs from Nebraska fans during the Huskers’ 52-7 win. Both Nebraska coach Tom Osborne and McCartney said they would like the bad blood between the fans to stop. “Last year, I heard a few more complaints from Colorado fans as well as from the Nebras ka fans about some of the behavior of our fans,” Osborne said. “We try to do what we can to keep our own house in order but I can’t really do anything about what happens out there.” Nebraska fans have a different view of the rivalry from the fans in Colorado, McCartney said. “My sense is that they really feel mistreat ed,” McCartney said. “People in the state of Colorado think the rivalry is just fun, and people in Nebraska think it goes beyond just fun. “I think the Nebraska people are really upset and they expect Colorado to be cordial and show the hospitality they would expect anyone to receive when visiting our great state.” McCartney said he wanted to keep the rival ry friendly on and off the field but he couldn’t regulate thousands of Colorado fans’ feelings. ■ His designation of Nebraska as a rival hasn’t W L T Pet. W L T Pet. Nebraska 3 0 0 1.000 7 0 0 1.000 Colorado 2 0 1 .833 4 2 1 .643 Oklahoma 2 1 0 .667 6 1 0 .857 Kansas St. 1 I I .500 5 I 1 .786 Kansas Ml 1 2 0 .333 3 5 0 .375 Missouri 1 2 0 .333 2 4 1 .357 Iowa St. 1 2 0 .333 2 5 0 .286 Oklahoma St. 0 3 0 .000 3 4 0 .429 Saturday's Results Colorado 16, Kansas State 16 Oklahoma 38, Kansas 23 State 20, Oklahoma State li Nebraska 49, Missouri 7 DN graphic fostered fans’ ill will, McCartney said. Since 1982, McCartney has had the Nebras ka game highlighted on the Buffaloes’ sched ule. That same year, he had a sign posted at Folsom Field that read “Beat Nebraska.” It also has been reported that McCartney won’t allow his players to wear red. “I don’t feel like I have contributed to any kind of bad feelings,” McCartney said. “1 don’t think I can control people’s behavior or emo tions.” But McCartney said he planned to issue a statement to Colorado fans encouraging them to treat Nebraska fans with respect. “I do plan to say something.... I will choose my words carefully to try and get people to keep the rivalry friendly,” McCartney said. Injuries force line adjustments By Mitch Sherman Staff Reporter Nebraska offensive line coach Milt Tenopir told the Extra Point Club on Monday that the Husker offense would feel the effects of inju ries suffered in Saturday’s victory over Missou ri. Starting right guard Brenden Stai and No. 3 center Jon Pedersen each broke their left legs and had surgery Sunday. Tenopir said No. 1 center Ken Mehlin would move to right guard and Aaron Graham would start at center against Colorado. “There’s a little bit of disjointedness there,” Tenopir said. “It’s really important in the offen sive line that guys that play side by side under stand each other. There’s always an advantage ofha ving worked together five or six ballgamcs.” Tenopir said Stai had been playing very well and losing him would hurt the offense — especially this week. “Brenden really has been playing very well,” Tenopir said. “He’s probably our strongest football player physically. He has really come into his own this fall. “We all count this as a big ballgame, and it is a big ballgame because it is very crucial to who is going to go on to win the Big Eight championship.” Tenopir said the Huskers had not over looked previous opponents, but knew all year that this week’s game in Boulder, Colo., would be important. “In the back of their minds they knew prior to the year’s start that there’s three or four teams that they just have to beat,” he said. “But after a year ago against Iowa State, they also know that every one of them is important.” The Huskcr coaching staff was pleased with Saturday’s performance and feels the team is progressing well, Tenopir said. “This last week, on both sides of the bal 1, we probably put it together as well as we have in the first seven ballgames,” Tenopir said. loronto victory over truly American team hard to take As the Toronto Bluejays captured their second consecutive World Se ries Championship on Friday night, it was hard not to wonder what has happened to America’s game. Sure, Toronto probably did have the most talent. But, despite the Jays’ 1 ineup filled with American All-Stars, it was hard to swallow the fact that baseball’s crown will stay north of the border yet another year. When Toronto beat Atlanta in 1992 for the championship, it was much easier to handle. It was a first — a Canadian team winning something —that was bound to happen. Besides, the Braves shouldn’t even have been there if not for their seventh-game miracle against Pittsburgh in the Na tional League Championship scries. This year, Toronto had to topple Philadelphia for the title. No team has ever better represented the majority of America than the Phillies. With players like John Kruk, Pete lncaviglia, Lenny Dykstra, Darren Daulton and Mitch Williams, how couldn't you root for them? ( These guys shouldn’t be baseball players. Maybe construction workers or plumbers, but they shouldn’t be professional athletes. These are the same guys from your hometown who come to the high school games, sit on the hood of their cars out by right field, drink excessive amounts of beer and yell obscenities at the opposing team. You would be hard-put to find another team in baseball that weighs less, has more facial hair, goes through more chewing tobacco in a year and, Derek Samson most importantly, plays with more heart than the Phillies. For some unknown reason, there were many anti-Phillie fans out there. Many people called Philadelphia of fensive, aide and sloppy. For the sake of the Phillies, all those people should be called wimps. When you see Kruk rumbling his chubby body around third base and performing an awkward head-first slide into home, the true character of baseball shines. That’s the real spirit of baseball: the most unathletic team in major league baseball making it all the way to the World Series on pure heart. If the Phill ics were a football team, they still would be wearing leather helmets. But that’s no reason to cheer against them. It was depressing to see Toronto prevail over Philadelphia, but it was even more depressing to see Toronto fans in the United States. It’s hard to believe people would cheer for Toronto when all that can be seen in Skydome are Canadian flags and the attitude-troubled, self-loving Rickey Henderson and Devon White in the Bluejay lineup. On the other side, there islncaviglia sprinting in from lefl field to make a diving catch or Dyksira screaming at himself all the way out to his center field position after making a third out in the wind and rain of Veterans Sta dium in Philadelphia. I was not a Phillie fan when the season started, but the team grew on me. It was not hard to decide who I was cheering for in baseball's postseason. It was sad to see a Canadian-owned team, for the second-straight year, win the title in America’s game. What made it worse was it had to be over such an American team. Smwi It a top bo MO re sew i-edlto rial Major aid a Daily Nebraikaa staff reporter a ad cola Maiit.