Sports Weekend
Friday, April 12, 1996 Page 9
Mike Kluck
Call-in show
gets new life
after KFAB
The last three months have been
a roller coaster ride for SportsDay
Mid-America host Jim Rose.
On Feb. 29,afterdoinghissports
call-in show for three years on the
Nebraska Sports Network, Rose
received a call at 4 in the afternoon
from KFAB General Manager
Chuck Jewell. KFAB has been the
flagship station of the Nebraska
Sports Network since 1983.
Two hours before SDMA was
scheduled to air, Rose said Jewell
informed him KFAB had decided it
wanted the show to go in a more
“caller-driven direction.”
“It’s an oxymoron for shows to
be caller-dri ven,” Rose said. “Their
contention was there’s too much
Jim Rose and not enough anything
else. I thought that was a ludicrous
and an idiotic statement.
“That’s not what a sports talk
show or any talk show revolves
around. A talk show revolves around
your ability to disseminate infor
mation in such a way to make it
entertaining or compelling.”
But Rose thought KFAB had a
hidden reason for not wanting him
to remain the host of the Nebraska
Sports Network’s sports call-in
show.
In February, Great Plains Media
Inc. was awarded the rights to broad
cast Nebraska football, volleyball,
baseball and men’s and women’s
basketball. The company will take
over Aug. 1.
Then in March, Great Plains
Media Inc. President Paul Aaron
announced KKAR and KDGE in
Omaha and KLIN in Lincoln would
broadcast the network events, mark
ing the first time since 1926 that
KFA B won ’ t be covering Nebraska
football.
Because KFAB knew it would
not be a part of the network after
Aug. 1, Rose said, it probably didn’t
want to support any of NSN’s pro
grams. Rose said he expected Great
Plains Media to continue the
SportsDay Mid-America call-in
format.
“KFAB took zero interest in the
program,” he said. “KFAB did not
want it on the air, and they never
promoted it.”
2 s But now Rose has the last laugh.
Most of the network’s program
ming will run through KLIN, and
Rose probably will have more con
trol.
There arc also plans for KLIN to
work jointly with KKAR when
Great Plains takes over the NSN.
“I want KKAR to feel an emo
tional attachment to this show that
KFAB did not,” Rose said. “I don’t
want KKAR to get in the same rut
KFAB did. I want them to be in
volved so that they will highlight
it.”
More than likely, however,
Rose’s roller coaster ride is just
getting started.
Kliick Is a graduate student in jour
nalism and a Dally Nebraskan senior
reporter.
NFL scouts cast eyes on Phillips
By Mike Kluck
Senior Reporter
Lawrence Phillips’ whirlwind tour
of NFL cities is over.
Now, the former Comhuskcr 1-back
and top NFL prospect will interview
with a couple more teams at his home
in California,and wait until April 20to
learn his spot in the NFL draft.
Phillips, considered by NFL insid
ers to be a likely top-five pick, has
been in seven NFL cities during the
last two weeks. During those visits, he
has met with team owners, coaches
and personnel.
But Phillips’ agent, Mitch Frankel
oflmpact Sports Management in Boea
Raton, Fla., said it was too early to
know if Phillips would be drafted by
the New York Jets with the No. 1 pick
in the draft.
Gymnasts
ready for
regionals
By Gregg Madsen
Staff Reporter
Since the beginning of the 1996
season, the Nebraska women’s gym
nastics team has had one goal, the
NCAA Championships.
On Saturday night at the NCAA
Midwest Regional in Salt Lake City,
the Cornhuskers have a chance to ei
ther reach that goal or end the season.
Nebraska is the No. 5 seed in the
regional behind top-seeded Utah, Ari
zona State, Arizona and Brigham
Young. The winning team from each
of the NCAA’s five regionals will ad
vance to the NCAA Championships
along with seven at-large teams.
Advancing to the April 25-27 cham
pionship meet in Tuscaloosa, Ala.,
won’t be easy, but Nebraska coach
Dan Kendig isn’t backing down from
the challenge. He said he thought as
many as five teams from the Midwest
Regional could advance to Tuscaloosa.
“I feel good about our chances,” he
said. “We’ve had a great week of prac
tice, and I think they arc confident that
we can do well.”
In last year’s regional at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center, Nebraska fin
ished second with a 194.725. Utah
won with a 196.625.
Utah coach Greg Marsden said he
thought his twa-time defending na
tional champion Utes would benefit
from having the meet on their home
floor.
“We have four freshmen in about
10 or 12 routines,” he said. “And fresh
men who have never been through this
before tend to be a little inconsistent.
We hope that having this at home will
help them to relax.”
Marsden said Utah, ranked No. 3 in
the nation, had been inconsistent this
season.
“We always work on execution and
consistency,” he said. “I feel like we
have made some progress in that way,
but we really haven’t hit 100 in a
competition this season. Our inability
to fully accomplish the consistency
has been the big problem.”
Nebraska also has a youthful look,
starting five freshmen. One of them,
Bi g Ei glit ne wcomcr-o f-the-year M i sty
Oxford, said she thought the Huskcrs’
youth would not be a problem.
“I’m not sure how we’ll react,” she
said. “It’s going to be overwhelming,
but I think we’ll be able to handle it.”
Husker freshman Courtney Brown
will lead off on the balance beam and
Amie Dillman, also a freshman, will
lead off on the vault and in the floor
exercise.
Nebraska lost to Arizona State on
Feb. 16 at the Sun Devil Classic, where
"He could come from Mars, and if he has talent. I
don't really care about where he's from or his past
problems."
JOHN BECKER
St. Louis Rams’ college-scouting coordinator
“He can do for a team the same
tiling he did for Nebraska,” Lavan
said. “He has the ability to make big
plays and to consistently make them.”
Phillips, who was once a Heisman
Trophy candidate, played in five games
last season, rushing for 547 yards and
nine touchdowns. In the Fiesta Bowl,
Phillips ran for 165 yards and two
touchdowns.
He finished his career as the fifth
leading rusher in Nebraska history.
His 1,722-yard total asa sophomore in
1994 is the second-best season in
school history.
But when a team evaluates Phillips,
Lavan said, it has to look at both his
football qualities and his personal char
acter.
see Phillips on iu
Hurt NU
aims for
NCAAs
By Gregg Madsen
Staff Reporter
Even though the Nebraska men’s
gymnastics team will limp into
Saturday’s NCAA West Regional at
— the Bob Devaney
Sports Center, it
doesn’t plan on
limping out.
Nebraska will
use four of six pos
sible gymnasts on
the floor exercise,
vault and horizon
tal bar because of
u . back injuries to
Harris sophomore all
arounder Jim Koziol and freshman J.D.
Reive.
The meet, which will begin at 7
p.m., pits No. 4 Nebraska against sec
ond-ranked California, No. 6 Okla
homa, 11 th-ranked New Mexico and
No. 12 Brigham Young. Stanford, the
1995 national champion, rounds out
the competition.
The top three teams in the region
will advance to the NCAA Champion
ships, April 25-27 in Stanford, Calif.
Nebraska is looking for its 18th
consecutive bid to the NCAA Cham
pionships.
Californiadcfeated the Comhuskers
last week at the Mountain Pacific
Sports Federation Championships in
Santa Barbara, Cal i f, scoring a 22 8.95.
Oklahoma and New Mexico also fin
ished ahead of the fourth-place Husk
ers.
Oklahoma coach Greg Buwick said
the Sooncrs’ second-place finish had
given histeamaconfidcnce boost head
ing into this weekend’s meet.
“We’re not intimidated by Ne
braska,” he said. “In fact I’d prefer to
go to Nebraska than any other place.”
Nebraskajunior still rings special
ist Ted Harrissaidthe Huskersweren’t
going to be intimidated either.
“There will be a lot of talent out
there this weekend,” Harris said. “But
we have talent, too. If we can go out
and hit 100 percent, we’ll be right
there.”
The Huskers finished third in the
West Regional last year, behind
Stanford and Oklahoma.
Nebraska senior all-aroundcr Ja
son Christie placed fifth in the all
around at the meet with a 56.85.
Christie, Allen said, has not reached
his potential this season. But the Lin
coln High graduate has been showing
signs of life lately. He scored a season
high 56.225 at the MPSF Champion
ships, finishing fourth in the all-around.
See MEN on 10
“Right now, the Jets hold the trump
card,” Frankcl said. “It's not for sure
right now what they will do with their
pick.” | v
On Wednesday night and Thurs
day, Phillips met with Baltimore
Ravens’ coach Ted Marchibroda, di
rector of football operations, Ozzic
Newsome, and running backs coach
A1 Lavan. The Ravens, formerly the
Cleveland Browns, hold the draft's
fourth pick.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have the
second pick, the Arizona Cardinals
hold the third pick and the New York
Giants will draft fifth.
Earlier this week, Phillips met with
New York Jets’ coach Rich Kotiteand
director of personnel Dick Haley.
Lavan said Phillips would be able
to immediately challenge for a posi
tion next season with any team.
Matt Miller/DN
Nebraska freshman Courtney Brown performs on the balance
beam earlier this season. Brown will lead off on the balance
beam Saturday night for the Cornhuskers at the NCAA Midwest
Regional in Salt Lake City.
ASU scored a school-record 195.85
points.
Sophomore all-arounder Meagan
Wright will lead the way for the Sun
Devils. Wright seored a career-high
39.475 against Nebraska, including a
9.975 score on the uneven bars.
The Huskers will be counting on
another standout performance from
senior all-arounder Joy Taylor, who
was named the NCAA academic All
American of the year Wednesday.
The senior from New Palest ine, Ind.,
is fresh off a career-best 39.375 first
place finish in the all-around at the Big
Eight Championships March 30 in
Ames, Iowa.
Junior all-arounders Shelly Bartlett
and Kim DeHaan also will be counted
on for big scores, Kendig said.
DeHaan won the uneven bars at the
conference championships with a 9.9
and the floor with a 9.85.
DeHaan, from Sioux Falls, S.D.,
joined Taylor as a first-team academic
All-American, marking the first time
See WOMEN on 10
