Sports
Wednesday, September 28,1994 Page 7
Osborne
talks of
Frazier
By Pwk twwton
Senior Reporter
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne usu
ally starts his weekly press confer
ence by going over the minor bumps
and bruises his players sustained in
the previous game.
But in Tuesday’s press conference,
Osborne knew he had some elaborat
ing to do on this subject after quarter
back Tommie Frazier entered Bryan
Memorial Hospital on Sunday with a
blood clot in his right leg.
Frazier remains in the hospital to
day, and Osborne said he was unsure
about when he would be released.
“You are always interested in the
injuries and who will not play and
who will play,” Osborne said. “Obvi
ousl y, Tom mie Frazier is one of those
people I am positive will not play this
week. I talked tohisdoctorthis morn
ing, and he said his clot was 40 to 50
percent reduced. So that's a good sign
that the medicine is working.
“In a certain percentage of those,
the medicine doesn ’t make a substan
tial impact. Our No. 1 objective is to
get the clot completely reduced or
removed. Hopefully that will happen
in the next few days.”
The next answer Nebraska fans
want to know is when Frazier will
return to the playing field —a span of
time that has ranged from two weeks
to not again this season.
“It’s still up in the air,” Osborne
said. “I don’t think it’s a done deal
that he’ll miss the restofthe season. It
could happen, but there are some strat
egies that some people are kicking
around that might possibly work.
“We’ll take it one step at a time,
with the first thing being his health
and getting the clot removed.”
Osborne joked when he was asked
if Nebraska was going to play a more
conservative offense in the absence
of its third-year starting quarterback.
“We’re going to specialize on go
ing between the tackles and probably
will never run wide,” Osborne said.
“It will be the same plays and the
same stuff. Most people think it’s too
conservative anyway.”
Osborne said Nebraska must not
be content to stay at the same level
just because Frazier is out.
“We hope that everyone plays with
a lot of intensity,” he said. "Of course,
we need to continue to improve as a
See OSBORNE on 8
Jon Waller/DN
Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier, shown here In
practice three weeks ago, still Is hospitalized.
Volleyball team ready
to retake Big Eight
By Mitch Shwman
Senior Reporter
Every night after the Nebraska
volleyball team finishes practice at
the NU Coliseum, the entire team
huddles together and chants three
words.
“Take the Eight.”
As in the Big Eight conference.
The Huskers, conference champi
ons for 17 consecutive seasons, relin
quished their grip on the title last year.
Apparently, they want it back.
The quest to regain the conference
crown begins tonight as 11-0 Nebraska
travels to Columbia, Mo., to take on
Missouri, 7-6, in a 7:30 p.m. match at
the Heames Center.
“Missouri is always a developed
team,” Nebraska assistant coach Cathy
Noth said. “Starting off the Big Eight,
we are focusing on our side of the
game. We are concentrating on how
we can improve. We want to travel
down to Missouri and develop.”
Noth said Nebraska took a big step
forward last Saturday, battling back
from a fourth-game deficit to beat
New Mexico 17-15.
“The teams we played against in
the past weren’t as competitive as
New Mexico,” she said. “We knew
we had to be pushed if we were going
to improve. That was helpful for our
coaches and our players to play a team
at our level.”
Nebraska moved up to second in
the American Volleyball Coaches’
Association poll this week and stayed
at No. 2 in the Volleyball Monthly
rankings.
Noth said sophomore Jen
McFadden, sidelined with a sore back
last weekend, will not make the trip to
Columbia. The 6-foot-2-inch middle
blocker hopefully will be able to re
turn to the court when Nebraska hosts
Duke Friday night.
Senior Peggy Meyer will fill
McFadden’s spot in the Nebraska
lineup. With McFadden on the bench
against Pittsburgh and New Mexico
last weekend, the Huskersdidn’t miss
a beat, Noth said.
Although she hates to see a player
inj ured. Noth said the play of Meyer,
who was named to the all-tournament
team on Saturday, has contributed to
the Huskers’ depth. Meyer notched a
career-high 17 kills against New
Mexico.
“Peggy’s a gamer,” Noth said.
“She’s a very steady player. It’s good
to have someone who can step right
in.”
Tonight’s match is only the Ti
gers’ second home appearance this
season. Missouri—0-6on opponent’s
home courts and 6-Oat neutral sites—
played its first home match Friday,
with a victory over St. Louis.
Nebraska is 39-2-1 against Mis
souri since the two teams first played
in 1976.
Berringer sorry about Frazier
but worked up about Wyoming
By Pwklaiwon
Senior Reporter
This isn’t the way Brook Berringer
wanted to become the starting quar
terback for Nebraska.
However, with starting quarterback
i .. i T~mmi~ Frazier
I hospitalized with
a blood clot in his
right leg,
Berringer wants
to make the most
of his opportu
nity.
“It feels pretty
good to be the
lMlh«w aarteCBerringer
said. But I hate
to have the job this way. I feel sorry
for Tommie, and I hope he can get as
healthy as he can as soon as he can ...
I’ve been waiting for this for a long
time. I ’m excited for it, and I’m anx
ious for Saturday to get here.”
Just because Berringer will have a
different role in Saturday’s game
against Wyoming, he isn’t doing any
thing di fferent during thi s week ’ s prac
tices.
“I don’t think there will be any
change in the game plan, though,” he
said. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m
preparing like I do for any game. I’ve
always prepared as if I’m going to
start, and this game isn’t going to be
any different.”
Berringer said he would put no
extra pressure on himself just because
he was filling in for a Heisman Tro
phy candidate.
“I’m just going to go out there
Saturday and try to play to my poten
tial,” he said. “I have to get the of
fense moving, and we’ll score some
touchdowns."
Berringer said he wanted to take
this opportunity to try to help improve
See BERRINGER on 8
Muse of accessibility inspires understandable columns
Let me tell you a little something
about myself.
Besides the fact that I've got hair
on 98.3 percent of my body and that 1
sometimes goby the name “Barbara."
I'm truly not a unique person.
I get up in the morning like every
one else. I go to bed like everyone
else, and I have spent most of my life
in a Turkish reform school with a guy
named Raul, like everyone else has.
It's the fact that I'm so cognizant of
my normalcy that makes my columns
the way they arc.
The only thing I m concerned about
when I'm writing this puppy is acces
sibility.
I've read so many columns that
require a Ph.D. in NCAA football to
understand what the writer is talking
about.
Well, I’m not interested in that. I
don’t care to provide a critical com
mentary on Dr. Tom Osborne as a
gridiron tactician. I have no desire to
construct a diatribe on why Danny
i
Nec can’t win the big game.
And why should I be talking about
such matters? Every other sports writer
in Nebraska is.
What I am interested in is wri ting a
column that my friend Frank, wno
resides in California and doesn't get
to follow Nebraska athletics, can pick
up and follow. I want a column that my
girlfriend. Melissa, who could give a
rat's fat heinic about the economic
motivations of the pending baseball
strike, can read and enjoy.
It’s all about accessibility. You
don't need to be a sports scholar to
read this column. Actually about the
only thing you need is a second-grade
reading level. Oh yeah — and a sense
of humor.
Soccer Update: The Huskcr
footics, in their first season of exist
ence, were narrowly defeated 3-1 by
Creighton in the first game in Ne
braska history. Yesterday was the long
awaited rematch. However the
Blucballs — er, I mean Bluejays —
Beau
Finley
got friggitT lucky once again, pulling
out the win.
However, soccer coach John
Walker allegedly said that
Crustacean’s victory was a fluke and
that the Huskers are a much better
team than the team that lost to
Creighton four weeks ago. Walker
also allegedly called the Creighton
squad “ugly.
Only one casualty was reported, a
Creigh-fish player who allegedly got
roughed up after telling Huskah sen
sation Tanya Franck that she “slide
tackled tike a sissy.”
I d be tempted to say a lot of things
to Tanya, but I’d NEVER talk about
her slide tackling.
Women’s Golf Update: The
Husker hackers sent me a press re
lease this week. They obviously were
trying to make up for ignoring me for
the first part of the season, because at
the end of the release. Coach Robin
Krapfl allegedly signed it: “Huggics
and lovies. Coach Krapfl.'’ Those gals
arc so dam sweet.
Anyway, the clubbers arc coming
off a solid fifth-place finish in the
recent Diet Cokc-Roadrunncr Invita
tional. Comfluffer star Melissa “the
farmer in” Odell finished 11th in the
individual race.
However, Odell (pronounced
Odell) allegedly said she would have
won the Roadranner Invite if it weren't
for that pesky coyote. Between all the
explosions and the constant running
around the golf course, Odell's con
centration was completely destroyed
Our hearts go out to Odell, and I think
this is an appropriate time to make a
plea to the NCAA that cartoon charac
tcrs be banned from intercollegiate
athletics.
Perhaps it's fun for the kiddie spec
tators, but I doubt it's fun for the
players who arc constantly trying to
dodge those boulders lhatkeep falling
from the cliffs.
Hey, you try playing a round of
golf with those “Acme trucks con
stantly hauling stufT in. If you don't
think it's tough, maybe you should
talk to the Husker Hackers. They've
lived the nightmare, baby, and they'll
be the first to tell you it ain't no cup of „
tea.
Postscript: If you don't watch the
Roadrunner cartoon, then you prob
ably didn't get that last segment. Hell,
if you're not heavily medicated, you
probably didn't get any of this col
umn.
Finley b I second-year law student and a
Daily Nebraskan sports columnist.