Wednesday, April 3,1996 Page 7
Mike Kluck
Death steals
emotion away
from the game
A child will have seen 18,000
deaths or acts of death on television
by the age of 18.
Because I’m slightly older than
18, that number is probably closer
to 30,000. Of those 30,000, none
will stick in my mind more than the
one I saw Monday.
Watching National League um
pire John McSherry walk four steps
from home plate, fall face first into
the warning track and die on tele
vision has left me with a variety of
emotions from uncanniness to sad
ness.
It’s an eerie feeling to watch the
scene unfold on television, but to
see the scene in real life and watch
a person die in front of you is per
haps the most depressing thing in
the world to experience.
In 1994, I had the opportunity
to go to a Texas A&M football game
with friends of mine who were
boosters of the school.
The 1994 season was the 100
year celebration of football at Texas
A&M. On this particular Saturday,
the university was recognizing
alumni members of the band. Texas
A&M’s band is almost as important
as its football team.
By halftime A&M had a decent
lead over Mississippi State. Every
one in the stadium (except the Bull
dog fans) was having a good time.
When the alumni band entered
at halftime, I turned to my friend
and joked with him how excited the
members must be and how fast their
blood was probably racing through
their veins.
The alumni band did its tradi
tional military march for about five
minutes. Then it stood at attention.
Near the 40-yard line, a man had
fallen and it wasn’t long before doc
tors and trainers were rushing to his
side.
And despite being at least 40
yards away, you could still distin
guish the pumping of the chest.
The stadium, which just a few
minutes ago was whooping and
hollering, was quiet enough to hear
the sobs of the man’s wife as she
was led on to the field.
And as people around me broke
into tears, silently prayed or just
stood there stunned, defibrillation
was administered.
Finally after 16 minutes, which
seemed like hours, the patient was
loaded into an ambulance and taken
to the hospital and the game con
tinued.
It was eerie for everyone in the
stadium to yell and clap for crush
ing tackles. Probably one-third of
the stadium cleared out after half
time, which is not common at Aggie
games.
Even the people I came with
didn’t stay until the end of the game
for the first time in 16 years. We
just didn’t have the emotion.
Cincinnati and Montreal’s sea
son-opening game was played on
Tuesday, probably without a lot of
emotion. t
Kluck is a journalism graduate stu
dent and a Daily Nebraskan senior re
porter.
Jay Calderon/DN
Ahman Green was Nebraska’s leading rusher a year ago and the first Husker freshman to rush for 1,000 yards. Green, who has been
bothered by a sore quadricep this spring, ran a 4.34-second 40-yard dash in January.
Green ready to take over top spot
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
Ahman Green doesn’t mind being
part of a banged-up group of Nebraska
I-backs.
Sure, he is concerned that there
might be a lack of depth at the posi
tion, but that means Green, a sopho
more in the fall, will get the chance to
be a little more selfish during spring
practice.
“It’s kind of tough to practice when
there’s not many I-backs healthy,”
Green said. “But you get a good work
out. I don’t mind all the extra work
because it will pay off next season.”
No. 3 I-bacic James Sims pulled a
hamstring during last Saturday’s
scrimmage and reserve Chad Eicher
also missed time, leaving Green, his
backup Damon Benning and Steve
Raymond as the only healthy horses
in the Husker stable.
Green, too, has missed time this
spring because of injury.
He was slowed at the end of winter
conditioning after having his tonsils
removed. Green sat out of the
Comhuskers’ first scrimmage because
of a sore quadricep and groin muscle,
and on Monday he battled through
practice with the flu.
A healthy Green will be an impor
tant part of Nebraska’s offense next
fall.
In his first season, Green started six
games and rushed for a freshman
record 1,086 yards on 141 carries. He
finished just 81 yards shy of setting
June Henley’s Big Eight freshman
rushing record.
“He had a great year last year, and
so far he’s showed himself very well,”
running backs coach Frank Solich said.
“He’s an experienced back now. He has
a great talent level, and he knows what
he wants to get accomplished this
spring.
“At this point he’s really showed
well through the practices this spring.”
Before spring practice began, the 5
foot-11, 210-pound Omaha Central
graduate came within a fraction of a
second of becoming the fastest player
in the history of Nebraska football.
On Jan. 19, he ran a 4.34-second
40-yard dash, the second-fastest time
in school history. His time was one
hundredth of a second behind the Ne
Umpire’s legacy lives on
By Mike Kluck
Senior Reporter
Bill Kinnamon knew of John
McSherry’s weight problem long
before the National League umpire
collapsed and died Monday at
Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
But Kinnamon, a former two
sport letter winner at Nebraska who
graduated from Lincoln High, also
knew the McSherry who had gained
the respect and admiration of Na
tional League umpires, players and
managers.
Kinnamon, who now lives in
Largo, Fla., was the head instruc
tor at the Somers School of Umpir
ing in Daytona Beach, Fla., when
McSherry, a minor league umpire
at the time, enrolled for training in
1969. The school became part of the
Major League Umpire Develop
ment Program.
Kinnamon, a former National
League umpire, lettered in football
in 1945 and baseball in 1946 while
at Nebraska.
“I didn’t have to supervise John
for very long,” Kinnamon said. “He
moved up very fast and eventually
took over in helping the Umpire
Development Program.”
He also quickly moved up in the
National League. In 1971,
McSherry umpired his first open
ing day baseball game. Monday’s
game was his last.
Seven pitches into the season
opener between the Reds and
Montreal Expos, McSherry, 51,
turned, took a few steps from home
plate and had a massive heart at
tack. Reds’ team doctor, Richard
Jolson, said McSherry died almost
instantly.
After an autopsy, it was an
nounced Tuesday that McSherry
died of severe heart disease and an
irregular heartbeat. His funeral will
be Friday in New York.
The 6-foot-4 McSherry was
listed at 328 pounds, although
Kinnamon said McSherry, who had
battled weight problems throughout
his career in the National League,
probably weighed more.
McSherry was never able to take
off the weight, Kinnamon said. A
few years ago at the request of the
National League, McSherry entered
a weight-loss program at Duke Uni
versity.
“It worked for a while, but then
he put it back on again,” Kinnamon
said. “He was always able to work
and got around real well for being
See McSHERRY on 8
braska record of 4.33 set by Keith
Jones in 1985. Green’s 1.45-second
10-yard dash tied Jones’ school record.
Those times and Green’s 4 percent
body fat are a result of a tough work
ethic, he said.
“There’s one thing I’ve done all my
life and that’s work hard,” Green said.
“Lately I’ve been a little under the
weather, so I’ve had to hold back some
and I’m real worn out.”
Entering fall camp last season after
an All-American high school career,
Green was listed sixth on the depth
chart. But after struggling in fall prac
tice, he moved up the chart quickly.
Lawrence Phillips was suspended
See GREEN on 8
Sooners
blast NU
into cellar
By David Wilson
Staff Reporter
The Oklahoma bats were on fire
Tuesday night as the Sooners lit up the
Nebraska baseball team 24-7 with 25
hits, including five home runs.
A season-high crowd of 1,031 fans
witnessed the massacre at Buck Beltzer
Field. But no more than 40 remained
at the end of the three hour and 40
minute game.
Oklahoma (21-10 and 8-2 in the Big
Eight) was led by senior leftfielder
Bobby Brown, who finished 4-for-7
with five RBIs and ignited the Sooner
See OU on 8
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