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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 1996)
Sports Wednesday, January 17,1996 Page 7 Derek Samson Super Bowl a super bore with Cowboys They’re back. Hop back on that bandwagon. After a one-year absence from the annual Super Bowl Blowout, the Dallas Cowboys have returned to demolish another inferior AFC team on Jan. 28. And I couldn’t feel any sicker. After watching the Cowboys taunt their way past Green Bay 3 8 27 on Sunday, I noticed plenty of Dallas jackets back on campus Monday. I’m sure all those same fans had Packers shirts (bought during Christmas break) waiting in the closet—just in case. But I can’t blame anyone for jumping all over the Cowboys; after all, aren’t they “America’s team?” Shouldn’t America adopt a team that does more dancing dur ing one game than the entire cast of Solid Gold did in a decade? And isn’t it the American way that anytime a co-worker (in this case, a teammate) gets a raise, you must go in and demand more money? If you don’t get it, you don’t go back to work. Even if I’m 8Qyearsold, I hope to see the day when a true “team” like Green Bay (they actually jump into the crowd on touchdowns) wins the big one against America’s favorite bandwagon team. But I must face the fact that the ‘Boys are back,’ and will win their third Super Bowl in four years— even if Emmitt Smith does yell at Barry Switzer on the sidelines. Unfortunately, no Knight Rider reruns are scheduled for Sunday. So I’ll either have to watch Dallas moonwalk all over Sun Devil Sta dium or tune in to some bowling. I already know what I’ll see in the eame. There will be Michael Irvin pushing off the comerback, drop ping the pass, then complaining to the off cial s, coaching staffs, team mates and angels from above that there should & a flag on the oppo nent. Then there will be Smith get ting hurt on his first run, only to come back and rush for five touch downs and have Fox commentator John “I-love-Dallas” Madden pro claim him the toughest man alive. There will be Deion Sanders, who will have yet to make a tackle, high-stepping out of the huddle up to the line of scrimmage and all of the way for eight yards on a reverse. And there will be Troy Aikman finally connecting with Irvin, who will again push off, for a 40-yard touchdown. Aikman will raise his arms in the air, thinking, “I hope I look pretty,” while Irvin will dance in the end zone for 16 days. And all the fans of America’s Team will celebrate. Meanwhile, I will be wondering why professional bowlers can’t get a strike on every throw. Samson Is a senior news-editorial major and a Dally Nebraskan sports colnmnlst Huskers’ inside game comes to life By Trevor Parks Senior Reporter Tho Nebraska basketball team might not be too kind in welcoming Missouri-Kansas City to Lincoln to night after a tough loss to Oklahoma in three overtimes on Saturday. The Cornhuskers, 12-4 and 1-1 in the Big Eight, play host to the 4-6 Kangaroos at 7 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. After the 117-100 triple-overtime loss to the Sooners, Comhusker coach Danny Nee said his team should be focused for UMKC, a team to which the Huskers have never lost. But Ne braska has beaten the Kangaroos by three points or fewer in three of the past four seasons. “We’re in a rugged part of the season where you will be playing on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and if you Stai aims for second straight title By Mike Kluck Senior Reporter All of his life Brenden Stai has dreamed about playing in a Super Bowl. | t Bpt the 6-foot | 4,305-pound Pitts ; burgh rookie from | Nebraska never ex | pected his chance to if come this early in ■ his professional ca I reer. In a 13-month I period, Stai has won c**! a national champi a onship, been a third-round NFL draft choice and earned the opportunity to play in Su per Bowl XXX on Jan. 28. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime op portunity,” Stai said Tuesday from his home in Pittsburgh. “There are guys in this league who have never played in a Super Bowl or a national champion ship, and here I am having done them both in just over a year. I’m pretty lucky.” But luck alone isn’t the reason Stai said he had earned the start in Pittsburgh’s first Super Bowl appear ance in 16 years. Stai said some of his success this season had been a result of his work ethic and dedication, both at Nebraska and in the pros. But it was a combination of luck and hard work that earned Stai a start ing position just seven weeks into the season. After Steeler left tackle John Jackson injured his knee in the sev enth game, right guard Justin Strzelccyk moved to Jackson’s posi tion, which opened a spot for Stai. After Jackson returned, Stai, who made the AFC all-rookie team this season, had made a good enough im pression on the Pittsburgh coaches to keep his starting position. “Obviously they were very pleased with what I was doing,” Stai said. “I’ve put a lot of hard work into what I have done this year.” After Stai earned a starting spot, the Steelers, who started the season 3 4, won eight of their next nine games to finish 11 -5 and qualify for the AFC playoffs. Pittsburgh received a first-round bye and defeated Buffalo in a divi sional playoff game. The Steelers then faced Indianapolis for the AFC Cham pionship. Even though Pittsburgh led 20-16 with 97 seconds remaining in the con See STAI on 8 win one or lose one, you have to leave it behind you and take care of the next one,” Nee said. The Huskers’ inside game, dor mant for much of the past two years, has been showing signs of coming to life recently. In the past two games, forward Bernard Gamer, center Mikki Moore and center Venson Hamilton have had increased success. Gamer, a transfer from Western Nebraska Community College, showed signs of why he was chosen as the National Junior College player of the year last season with 21 points and 12 rebounds against the Sooners. That marked Nebraska’s first double double of the year. “It was a breakthrough game for him,” Nee said. “He played to his See UMKC on 8 Basketball Starters ""SS Nebraska HL Wt. Class PPG RPG a • 165 Fr. 9.1 2.8 195 Sr. 17.6 2.8 I m ' ? . 225 Jr. 10.4 6.4 Missouri-Kansas City tirn 9HK ;®H80K•.** : l; 9ft *|$9• G Erin Washington 5-10 160 Sr. 10.0 3.4 f Dar^Rircte 6-5 185 > $r. 16.4 9.5 F Chris Johnson 6-6 230 Sr. 11.0 7.6 cf MHi ~ sr;: 6.8-: 3.4 Scott Bruhn/DN Nebraska gymnast Shelly Bartlett practices her balance beam routine. The junior is Nebraska’s top all-arounder. * Gymnast scores high in class, competition By Gregg Madsen Staff Reporter Shelly Bartlett’s love of gymnas tics can be traced back to her older sister s’dance classes. “We used to go pick them up at their dance studio,” said Bartlett, a 5 foot-4 junior from Spokane, Wash. “They had gymnastics on the side, and I used to kind of run around and be wild.” When her family moved to Idaho, she joined a gymnastics program and began competition. She was 61 /2 years old. Fourteen .yearsiater,gymnastics is still in Bartlett’s life. Competing in the all-around in every meet of her first two seasons, Bartlett has been a consistent force for Nebraska. She is the co-holder of the Ne braska balance beam record, earning a 9.9 in 1994, and has been named All Big Eight and academic All-Big Eight during both of her seasons as a Comhusker. Bartlett said she was excited about the Huskers’ chances for success this season, and she is confident that the addition of four freshmen to the start ing lineup will only help the team. . 'X_See BARTLETT on 8 Nee delays his decision about Surles By Todd Walkenhorst Staff Reporter Despite third-degree assault chargesbeingdropped against Chester Surles, Nebraska basketball coach Danny Nee said Tuesday that it would take some time to evaluate the forward'S situation. Lancaster County Attorney Gary Lacey dropped the charges in ex change for Surles’ participation in a pre-trial diversion program. Surles was arrested Jan. 2. “The charges ounes have been dropped,” Nee said. “He’s filed for pre-trial diversion, and he has to go through that process. His status will not change until after that process and evaluation.” Surles, the sophomore forward from Saginaw, Mich., attended his first pre-trial diversion meeting on Monday. Nee said he was not sure of the exact process that Surles would have to go through. “We’re still in the evaluation stage,” Nee said. “He’s going through the process of pre-trial diversion. My un derstanding is the next (meeting) is the 29th.” Despite not playing since Dec. 30 against Mississippi State, Nee said Surles was handling the si tuat i on wel 1. “I think he’s handling it good under the circumstances, or as well as you can expect under the circumstances,” Nee said. “He regrets what happened, but he has a real positive attitude.” Nee said he had allowed Surles to participate in most aspects of the team’s practices. “He practices every day,” he said. “We don’t keep him in the parts that have to do with the preparation for the team, but all of the other parts of the practice he’s in.” Until the pre-trial diversion pro gram is completed, and more facts are compiled, Nee said he would not make any final decisions on the status of Surles. This season, Surles averaged 12.2 minutes in six games and scored 6.5 points per game. “I don’t have enough information to make a decision today,” Nee said. “When I get all of the facts, he’s either going to be in with us and back on the team, or he’s not going to be back on the team. I don’t know.”