Sports Weekend
Friday, February 16, 1996 Page 7
Beau Finley
Nee shouldn’t
get fired for
society’s woes
The winds of change have been
blowin’ — and so has the Husker
basketball team.
The Comhumpers have been
racked with disciplinary actions,
dissension, self doubt, defeats,
double dribbling and dissentary.
Um, wait — forget that last one.
Suffice to say that Cornhuggcr
basketball is at its lowest point in
some time.
To compound matters, follow
ing the Comhookers’ fifth straight
defeat at the hands of the Iowa State
Cylons (Battiestar Galactica —
cool), the call for the head of Coach
Danny Nee was more prominent
then ever.
On the Sunday alter the game, I
went to Taco Beil with former
ASUN president and sun-tanning
expert, Andy Massey. Massey was
in office during Nee’s hiring and
personally endorsed it.
I asked Massey what prevented
Nebraska from firing this Coach
Nee?
“Dude, don’t you know? He
makes $53 million a year. We’d
have to pay him that for 26 years if
we canned him,” Massey explained.
I was a bit skeptical.
I decided to check things out
with Athletic Director Bill “rug”
Byrnes. I figured he’d let me see the
contract, and things would get
straightened out.
I walked into Byrnes’s office
and asked his secretary for a meet
ing with the big shooter. She re
fused me because I didn’t have an
appointment.
I then quite comprehensively ex
plained to this impudent hag that I
paid her salary and, in fact, funded
this entire friggin’ athletic depart
ment through my tuition payments,
parking fines and hot dog purchases.
She then slapped me pretty hard
with some sort of meat sandwich.
When I got up off the floor, she
was standing over me with her dukes
up, singing, “I am woman, hear me
roar.”
Needless to say, I took off. I’ve
learned not to screw with Helen
Reddy fans.
Well, for now Danny has a job.
Maybe that’s O.K.
You see, I no longer blame Coach
Knee for the problems that have
befallen the Cornbumpers.
I blame society. And my mother.
Husker Bobber Update: Ne
braska swimming and diving coach
Cal Bentz allegedly reported that
he would lift the ban ofno freshmen
in the deep end of the pool.
On a more negative note, how
ever, Bentz did suspend diver Kevin
Gregory for doing cannonballs and
splashing him during practice. Al
legedly, Bentz said he would allow
Gregory back on the team if he
taught Bentz how to twirl his whistle
in that real cool way that lifeguards
do.
*
Finley Is a third-year law student
and a Daily Nebraskan sports columnist.
Huskers to meet match with OSU
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
The two most problem-plagued
basketball teams in the Big Eight will
meet Saturday night at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center.
Nebraska, 15-9 overall and in sixth
place in the conference with a 3-6
record, plays host to Oklahoma State,
the last-place team in the Big Eight.
The Cowboys bring a 12-9 and 2-7
record into Saturday’s 8:05 p.m. game.
The Cornhuskcrs have lost five
straight games for the first time since
1990. The Nebraska players asked their
coaches to call off practice Monday.
On Tuesday, the team began practice
more than an hour late after meeting
with Athletic Director Bill Byrne con
cerning differences between the play
ers and Coach Danny Nee.
Nebraska was 15-4 just three weeks
ago. Earlier this week, Nee said his
team was close to returning to that
level despite its 15-point loss last Sat
urday to Iowa State.
“I really feel this team has the char
acter to recover,” Nee said. “I can just
tell by the body language of people
that the worst is over.”
The Cowboys have lost five of their
past seven games.
Like the Huskers, Oklahoma State
started the season well. The Cowboys
were 8-1 before losing to Tulsa, start
ing a streak in which they dropped
eight of their next 12 games.
They are coming off a 62-59 loss to
Missouri on Wednesday night in
Stillwater, Okla. In that game, Okla
homa State made 12-of-34 free throws.
They were 4 of 19 from the line in the
second half. For the season, the Cow
boys are shooting 57.7 percent from
the line.
In the Huskers’ 66-57 win on Jan.
20 in Stillwater, Nebraska committed
25 turnovers and scored only five field
goals in the second half, but still man
aged to pick up its first win in Stillwater
since 1987. Nebraska swept the series
that season, but finished fifth in the
Big Eight and went to the National
Invitation Tournament.
Nee said turnovers would be a key
Basketball Startersjjj «
Nebraska 15-9,3-8 lit. Wt. Ofass FPS FF«
G Tyronn Lue 6-0 165 Fr. 8.5 3.0
G faron Boone 6-6 195 Sr. 15.4 2.7
F Erick Strickland 6-3 210 Sr. 14.8 4.5
F Bernard Garner 6-7 225 Jr. 10.9 6.3
C Mikki Moore 6-11 205 Jr. 8.0 5.2
Oklahoma State 12-9,2-7
G Adrian Peterson 6-4 190 Fr. 11.7 2.7
G Andre Owens 5-11 180 Sr. 7.2 3.5
F Chianti Roberts 6-6 222 Jr. 11.7 5.1
F Jason Skaer 6-7 215 So. 8.5 5.8
F Jerome Lambert 6-8 215 Sr. 12.3 6.4
to the game Saturday.
“(Oklahoma State coach) Eddie
Sutton is going to bring a team in here
that is very strong, that’s very aggres
sive, and they are going to cause a lot
of turnovers,” Nee said. “If we cut that
down to 10 to 15, our chances of win
ning drastically improves.”
NOTE:
— Because of the state wrestling
tournament, gates at the Devaney Cen
ter will not open until 7 p.m.
Scott Bruhn/DN
Cornhusker sophomore guard Anna DeForge launches a shot between Colorado’s Jen Terry
and Raegan Scott during overtime of Wednesday night’s83-75 Nebraska win. Nebraska will play
host to Missouri on Sunday.
Huskers
motivated
after win
By Mike Kluck
Senior Reporter
Kale Galligan knows the Nebraska
women’s basketball team probably
won’t play with the same emotion Sun
day against Missouri as it did on
Wednesday night.
But Galligan also knows the
Comhuskcrs will have the proper dedi
cation in their 2 p.m. game with the
Tigers on Sunday at the Bob Devaney
Sports Center.
On Wednesday, the Huskersplayed
an emotional game, defeating confer
ence rival Colorado 83-75 in double
overtime to improve their record to
16-8 overall and 6-6 in the Big Eight.
Galligan, a senior from Cedar Rap
ids, Iowa, said the Tigers, who are 13
9 and 4-6, would present the Huskers
with a challenge.
“Missouri is a very scary team be
cause you never know what they’re
going to do except play basketball
hard,” Galligan said. “We’ll take dif
ferent strategies to play as hard as we
did Wednesday night and have the
same emotion.”
See TIGERS on 8
Husker gymnasts hope to improve
Christie, Koziol
to lead NU men
By Gregg Madsen
Staff Reporter
After starting the season with two
meets on the road, the Nebraska men ’ s
gymnastics team will play host to New
Mexico in the Comhuskers’ first home
meet of the season.
The fourth-ranked Comhuskers will
face the No. 2 Lobos at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center.
Nebraska coach Francis Allen said
he was excited about having two home
grown gymnasts, senior Jason Christie
and sophomore Jim Koziol, leading
this year’s team.
The key to success this year, Allen
said, will be how the young talent on
the team blends with the veterans.
“Ifwe can get them to gel together,” !
Allen said, “we can beat New Mexico j
at home, and that will be a good start
for us.”
Christie, a graduate of Lincoln High,
and Koziol, from Millard South, arc
two of five Nebraskans on this year’s
Husker team.
Christie and Koziol tied for the all
around title last week in the Huskers’
223.175-222.25 victory over Okla
homa. Koziol’s 55.85 mark was a ca
reer best, and Christie’s was a season
high.
Allen said the Huskers’ matchup
with New Mexico’s senior all-around
star, Blaz Puljic, would be exciting.
Lincoln Southeast graduate Tim
Gergen also will compete for the Lo
bos.
Another Nebraskan on this year’s
Husker team is junior Ryan McEwen,
a Lincoln Christian graduate. Allen
said McEwen had a tremendous per
See MEN on 8
Women to face
2 ranked teams
By Gregg Madsen
Staff Reporter
Improvement has become the norm
for the eighth-ranked Nebraska
women’s gymnastics team this season.
Since posting a season-low 189.450
score against No. 2 Alabama on Jan.
19, the Cornhuskers have improved
every week, winning at Oklahoma on
Feb. 4 and at home over Missouri and
Boise State.
Last week’s season-high 194.250
point effort against Boise State tied the
third-best team score in school his
tory. Tonight at 7, Nebraska has a
chance to improve again.
The 6-2 Huskers will face No. 11
Utah State, No. 16 Cal-Berkeley and
prescason No. 10 Arizona State in the
Southwest Cup Quadrangular at the
University Activity Center in Tempe,
Ariz.
Nebraska coach Dan Kendig said
the meet would provide his team with
good experience away from home af
ter last week’s record-setting perfor
mance at the Bob Devaney Sports
Center. The Huskers scored season
high marks in vault (48.650) and floor
exercise (49.050) against Boise State.
Six Nebraska gymnasts had per
sonal bests against the Broncos, but
Kendig said he was con fident the team
would improve when additional re
quirements were added to routines.
“We’re hoping to do the same thing,
really,” Kendig said. “If we arc able to
keep taking care of our requirements,
then we’ll continue to improve.”
Senior Joy Taylor, juniors Shelly
Bartlett and Kim DeHaan, and fresh
See WOMEN on 8
