Sports
j Wednesday, October 19, 1994 Page 7
Damon Lee/DN
Nebraska quartarback Tommla Frazlar spaaks for tha first tlma slnca a blood clot was dlscovarad Sapt. 25. Frazlar said
ha was flnlshad for tha saason but should ba raady for spring practlco.
Bouncing back
Frazier overcomes depression; concentrates on recovery
By Mitch Shfwnn
Senior Reporter
For the first time since being admitted to
Bryan Memorial Hospital on Sept. 25. Ne
braska quarterback Tommie Frazier spoke
to the press on Tuesday afternoon.
Frazier, who underwent surgery on Oct.
6 to tic off a superficial vein that was feeding
a blood clot behind his right knee, said his
recovery was going well.
“I feel a little down and out, not being
able to play the rest of the season." he said.
“But if s just something that came with the
injury, and I'll take it from there."
After being released from the hospital for
the first time on Sept. 28, Frazier returned to
practice with the Cornhuskcrs on Monday,
Oct. 3. The junior from Bradenton, Fla.,
said he threw about five or six passes and
worked out on the exercise bike.
“After the first clot,” he said, “1 thought
it was totally over.”
On Tuesday, Oct. 4. Frazier’s doctors
told him another clot had been discovered.
It was also at that point he learned he was
finished for the season.
“My heart dropped." Frazier said. “It
seemed like it just stopped right there. I
wasn't expecting that.”
Since then, Frazier, released from the
hospital for the second time on Oct. 11, said
he had learned to come to grips with the fact
that he was done for the year.
“I pretty much accepted it.” he said. “The
first couple of days, I was kind of down.
Then I missed the Oklahoma State game.
My mom was here, and I was kind of de
pressed. But after that I have been taking it
in stride.”
The former Heisman Trophy candidate,
who had put together 23 consecutive starts
before missing the Oct. 1 Wyoming game,
said the toughest times had come when the
team was playing. Frazier made the trip to
Manhattan, Kan., on Saturday and watched
as Matt Turman and Brook Berringer led
the Huskers to a 17-6 win over Kansas State.
Frazier said he definitively would attend
Nebraska's two remaining home games
against Colorado and Kansas. He will also
travel to Iowa State on Nov. 12, but he said
he wasn't sure if he would be able to go to
Missouri this weekend or Oklahoma on
Nov. 25.
He said it wasn't always easy to stand on
the sidelines.
“1 love the big games when they ’ re close,"
Frazier said. “That’s when I play my best
ball.”
During the Kansas State game, he said
he was thinking, “I wish I could just suit up
right now and play. But I understand the
circumstances I am in.”
Instead, Frazier said, he could help the
team by offering the players — especially
the quarterbacks — advice in tense mo
ments.
“Saturday, 1 tried to calm Matt (Turman)
down a little bit," he said. “You could tell he
See FRAZIER on 8
Huskers hope
to be 18-0
after Kansas
By Tfvor Parks _ __
Staff Reporter
The 17-0 Nebraska volleyball team, 4-0 in
the Big Eight, have won three consecutive Big
Eight road games. The Cornhuskcrs will try to
continue their record-setting 17-match win
ning streak.
The No. 2 Nebraska vol
leyball team concludes a
four-game road trip against
Kansas at 8 p.m. Wednes
day in Lawrence.
The Jayhawks arc 4-14
this year and 1-3 in the
conference.
B Kansas is led by freshman
Leslie Purkeypile, who
Noth leads the team in hitting
percentage at .173.
Nebraska assistant coach Cathy Noth said
playing on the road always was difficult.
“The goal on the road is to improve as a
team,” Noth said. “Then when you go back
home, that will help going down the stretch.”
Included in those last three road wins were
back-to-back four-game wins at Kansas State
and Iowa State.
But, looking at past results, the Jayhawks
shouldn't pose a problem for the Huskers.
Nebraska holds a 52-0 all-time record against
the Jayhawks. The Huskers have been taken to
fbur games only six times and five games only
once in the series against Kansas.
Last season Nebraska defeated the Jayhawks
3-0 in Lincoln and 3-1 in Lawrence.
Noth said thinking about the 52-match win
streak against Kansas could get the Huskers in
trouble.
I know when I was a player that you don t
think of what the record is,” Noth said. “You
just want to go in. get the job done and go
home.”
Former Husker All-American Karen
Schoncwisc coaches the Jayhawks. Schonewise
took over for Frankie Albitz. who had coached
at Kansas for nine years.
The Huskcrs will return home to play host to
Iowa State on Saturday at the NU Coliseum.
Nebraska defeated the Cyclones last Saturday
in four games in Ames.
With seven of their last nine matches at
home. Noth said these road tests should pre
pare the Huskcrs well.
“When we go down there, we don’t want to
diddle-daddle around,” Noth said. “Each of
these matches prepares us for the matches to
come.”
A gerbil named Mookie and an analyst who’s kooky
I tell you, my vast readership and
fclloy^babics, I’m as lonely as a cross
dressing hemophiliac sitting on a fish
ing dock with a muskrat hanging
from each car.
That’s pretty lonely.
As you all perhaps know, my gcr
bil and confidant, Mookic. moved out
of my room and, in effect, my life.
It s been a long two weeks without
Mook. and my pain has only intensi
fied with the notice that Mookic in
tends to sue me for palimony.
For those of you non-lawyers who
may not be familiar with legal cause
of action. I’ll give you a briefdescrip
tion:
Palimony is where you like give
money to a buddy for like some rea
son or something.
I guess it’s pretty cool for Mookic,
but it sort of blows for me. I not only
lose the pal I talk to and eat Twinkics
with but also have to give the little
squid cash. The law bites.
Oh well, the joke's sort of on him.
My net worth is only about 49 cents.
Lhc fair market value of a bag of stale
chocolate doughnuts.
Hence. he ain't gettin’ mutin’. You
can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip.
Let ine place Mookie aside for a
second and get to my intended topic:
Lee Corso.
For those of you who do not watch
ESPN. Lee Corso is the network’s
chief college football analyst and also
a part-time Mary Kay cosmetics
dealer.
Corso stated last week that the
Cornfyooters would lose to the Kansas
State Air Kitties, the Colorado Golden
Felons, and the Oklahoma Swooners.
Nebraska, of course, did not lose to
the flying felines, thus quashing the
first portion of big boy's prediction.
But Corso was not fazed by his
inaccuracy.
Corso immediately stated after the
17-6 Cornpooper win over Kanccr
State that Nebraska's offense couldn’t
beat Colorado.
You know, I ’ vc been hearing these
Nebraska naysayers for the past 10
years. I thought we were finally
through with them after last year’s
Beau
Finley
Orange Bowl performance. But
noooooooooooo.
Corso, who picked the
Cornhuggers to win the national
championship a few weeks ago, has
to keep up the outdated analysis that
Nebraska can't win with a conserva
tive offense.
The Huskers have proved over and
over again that they, in fact, can and
will win with a dominating running
attack.
Hey, Corso: You're a bandwagon
jumpin’, no-thought goolball, and
your mother dresses you funny. Wake
up and smell the defense.
The only thing Nebraska can’t beat
is Corso's dog, because Corso has
already beaten it.
Hey, Lee: OW ROW ROW ROW
ROW ROW ROW ROW ROW ROW
ROW ROW ROW!
That’s the sound a beaten dog
makes. But. then again, you already
know that, don’t you. Lee?
CRYBABY CORNER: Chad
“flowers in the month of’ May. the
quarterback for the Kansas State Air
Kitties, will be the subject of this
week’s corner.
Chaddic spent an appreciable
amount of Saturday’spostganic press
conference complaining that Ne
braska was a “dirty team*’ and pre
mised this label upon an eye-gouging
incident that occurred during the
game.
What happened on the play in
question is that May decided to put
his head into the pile to try to get some
extra yardage. Well, surprisingly
enough, someone touched Chadwick,
and he got his eyes poked.
Hey, pretty boy, let me explain to
you the laws of probability. If you run
into a pile of 15 people, and among
them, eight are trying to grab and
tackle you, chances are fairly high
that your head is going to get touched.
I would also say that in these cramped
conditions, there's a good chance a
flailing hand could pass through the
face mask and poke an eye.
Is this dirty? No. It's probable, or
at least substantially possible.
Besides, what do you expect? Did
you think Terry Connealy and Chris
tian Peter were going to give you
candy and flowers in the pile? Well,
they're sentimental guys and maybe
they would alter the game, but the
middle of a football game is no time
for pleasantries.
Chad, frankly 1 think you’re a teary
eved weenie who’s more concerned
about excuses than about a fair as
sessment of the contest.
Urn, Chad: OW ROW ROW ROW
ROW ROW ROW ROW ROW ROW
ROW ROW ROW!
That's the sound you’re going to
make when Colorado beats you this
Saturday.
Finley ii ■ second-year km student and a
Daily Nebraskan sports columnist.