Sports
Tuesday, August 30, 1994 Page 7
Possible Big Twelve title
pits money against talent
By Mitch Sherman
Senior Reporter
When the Tier I Bowl Alliance plan
goes into effect at the end of next
season, many coaches in the South
western Conference feel their part of
the country is going to be left out.
Although Texas, Texas A&M,
Baylor and Texas Tech will be joining
the Big Eight to form the Big 12 prior
to the 1996season, Baylor coach Chuck
Reedy said the Cotton Bowl was get
ting the short end of the stick.
The alliance calls for a national
championship game to be alternated
yearly between three sites: the Orange
Bowl, the Sugar Bowl and the Fiesta
Bowl.
“Certainly Dallas (site of the Cot
ton Bowl) has a lot to ofTcr,” Reedy
said Monday. “Everyone in the Big 12
recruits in Texas. It’d not only be good
for the Texas schools; it would be good
for all the Big 12 schools.”
Reedy said he was in favor of play
ing an annual Big 12 championship
game at the Cotton Bowl.
The championship game would pit
the winner of the south division (four
Texas schools plus Oklahoma and
Oklahoma State) against the champi
7 cion't see any reason for a game in Dallas over a
game in Kansas City or Oklahoma City.
OSBORNE
Nebraska coach
on of the north division. The winner of
the championship game would then
advance to the Tier I Bowl Alliance,
Reedy said.
But some of the current Big Eight
coaches aren’t happy with the idea of
a championship contest.
“1 would prefer not to have a cham
pionship game,” Nebraska coach Tom
Osborne said. “The reason being that i f
you have two teams that arc playing
well, you would rather not put them
head-to-head.”
The Southeastern conference cur
rently uses a format similar to the
proposed Big 12 plan.
Osborne said he would prefer to
have two divisional winners advance
to the bowl alliance without meeting
head-to-head.
Colorado coach Bill McCartney
agreed with Osborne.
“It looks like we arc headed to
wardsa national championshipgame,”
McCartney said. “If we have a nation
al championship game, I wouldn’t be
in favor of a Big 12 championship
game. The Big 12 might have two
teams headed towards a champion
ship, so let’s not knock one out.”
“1 don’t see any reason for a game
in Dallas over a game in Kansas City
or Old ahoma C i ty,” Osborne said. “The
people down therejoined the Big Eight.
The way I understood it, they were
going to take the Big Eight rules.”
Iowa State coach Jim Walden
brought up another point in the issue.
“I think it’s a terrible idea,” Walden
said. “But you can’t argue with dol
lars. It sounds good monetarily be
cause everything is money driven in
Distance from Dallas
Lincoln, NE
Columbia, MO
Ames, IA
Manhattan, KS
Boulder, CO
Lawrence, KS
Stillwater, OK
Norman, OK
589 miles
807 miles
593 miles
443 miles
1092 miles
487 miles
271 miles
188 miles
’
lootball, and football is paying all the
bills.”
Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes said
a championship game made sense.
“It would be sort of indistinctive to
not have anybody as a champion,”
Dykes said. “ You can ’ t have two cham
pions. That wouldn’t be loo great of a
deal. You have to have somebody in
first place.”
Jay Calderon/DN
Nebraska quarterback Brook Berringer gets off a pass during a scrimmage with
outside linebacker Jeff Olsen in pursuit. Berringer got in a few snaps against
West Virginia in the Kickoff Classic. He is the only scholarship quarterback
behind Tommie Frazier.
Result gets mixed feelings
By Trevor Parks
Staff Reporter
When Don Nchlcn spoke to the media after
his team lost to Nebraska 31-0 at the Kickoff
Classic, he had the look of a tired man.
“All I want to do is gel out of here,” Nehlcn
said.
On the other hand, Nebraska coach Tom
Osborne said he was happy things went the
Cornhuskcrs’ way after taking the gamble of
playing in the first game of the college football
season.
“It gives us a little momentum going into the
season,” Osborne said. “It gives us an opportu
nity to shake things down and sec where we are.”
According to Nchlcn. Nebraska is in a pretty
good position to start the season.
“They’re a good football team, no question
with that,” he said.
Osborne said he was glad to beat a team like
West Virginia, but he can’t tell how good his
team might be after just one game.
“The first three games will test us pretty
well,” Osborne said.
Osborne also said having some time off
between the opener and the next two games —
against Texas Tech Sept. 8 and UCLA Sept. 17
— will be beneficial to the Huskcrs.
West Virginia plays host to Ball State Satur
day and doesn’t have an ofT week until Nov. 5.
Although Nchlcn was disappointed that his
team lost, he hoped to find something positive
out of the game.
“We at least got one game of experience
under our belts now if nothing else,” Nchlcn
said. “We should learn quite a bit from this
game.”
Nchlen said he was still upset that his 11-0
Mountaineers didn’t play the Huskers for the
national championship in the Orange Bowl last
season.
He also said Sunday’s performance by his
team probably wouldn’ t havc been duplicatcd in
Miami.
“We’re a completely different team from a
year ago,” Nchlcn said. “W hen you stub your toe
in major college football, you don’t automati
cally get a second chance.”
NOTES:
Nebraska’s Big Eight rival, Colorado, will
start the season without two starters. Buffaloes’
coach Bill McCartney announced that No. 1
wide receiver Michael Westbrook and No. I
strong safety Donnell Leomiti arc suspended for
one game for disciplinary reasons.
Athletes shouldn’t be penalized for off-season flashing
1 did a little yoga, practiced my
breathing exercises and drank copious
quantities of Nyquil.
I made the conscious decision this
year that I wouldn’t get overexcited
while watching Husker football.
No more leaping in the air after
every semipositive \skcr play.
No more yelling, “feel that, Mr.
running back” after every good hit.
No more chants of
“Hccccecccccecy,
Wusscccccccccccy” when an oppos
ing player got injured.
1 had dedicated myself to a season
of quiet enjoyment — restrained en
thusiasm, if you will.
Then the friggin’ game started.
By the middle of the first quarter. I
found myself standing on the coffee
table screaming: “C’mon, Zebras.
Eddie Stewart’s getting held like a
newlywed.’’
By the second half, I had tucked my
10-ycar old cocker spaniel under my
arm, juked my mother out ofher socks.
systematically hurdled every piece of
furniture in my house and yelled,
“Heisman, here I come.”
There, of course, were real ly no bad
calls.
1, of course, real izc I’m not Tommie
Frazier. (However, I do have an aunt
who thinks we bear a striking resem
blance.)
The reason I bring up my activity
during the game is to make this point:
Y ou can lake the game out of Nebraska
—Sunday’s game was played in New
Jersey — but you can’t take the game
out of me.
Also, you can’t take copious quan
tities of Nyquil out of me without a
stomach pump. Just a little tip for you
insomniacs out there from your Uncle
Beau.
Now for the topic du jour.
Wait, why did I just use the word
“du jour?”
Could it be that by throwing in a
random French word, I think I can
somehow impress you, my vast read
Beau
Finley
ership, with a bloated sense of culture
and vocabulary?
Is this the typeofcgomaniacal sports
punk I’m turning into?
Well, I owe all three of you reading
this column a little more respect. Al
low me to rephrase: Now for the topic
of the day.
There have been unsubstantiated
reports that a member of the Nebraska
men’s tennis team is facing expulsion
from the squad for posing nude in a
national periodical.
For purposes ofanonyinity, I won’t
use Rick Stcmpson’s real name and
instead will call him “the player.”
Allegedly, the player was ap
proached by editorsof Field and Stream
magazine about doing a “natural” pic
torial.
The player did admit that he was
confused by the editor’s use of the
word “natural” but stood by his right to
be pictured any way he thought proper.
“Hey, 1 got a constitutional right to
flash my butt in the middle of a river.
THAT’S RIGHT. Just look at the
friggin’ Constitution. It’s all there.
Butts ... rivers ... obscene exposure.
It’s all there,” the player allegedly
said.
However, the athletic department
supposedly doesn’t concur with the
player’s constitutional interpretation.
According to unsubstantiated re
ports from my confidant and gerbil,
Mookie, the player has been asked to
leave the team.
The athletic department was un
available for comment, but they did
allegedly say that the tennis team needs
to start getting a little more sun.
Now, if you’ll indulge me in a little
commentary, I think any athletes, when
not participating in their respective
sports, should be able to conduct thern
selves in the manner that they deem
appropriate.
In the present ease, the pictorial
was tasteful and artistic. Well, if you
don’t count that one picture with the
player and the three muskrats. But
seriously, besides that, everything was
done with a high degree of integrity.
We must allow public figures to
lead the lives they want to lead. I mean
first it was James Brown and now this.
Will Big Brother ever leave his grimy,
bureaucratic hands o(T of us?
I feel compelled loend this column
with a correction. Last week, I report
ed that the Nebraska football team had
two scholarship quarterbacks and a
scholarship wussy. This is erroneous.
Nebraska, in fact, has two scholarship
quarterbacks and a walk-on wussy.
Sorry for the confusion.
Haley l« a second-year law student and a
Dally Nebraskan sports columnist.