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.
