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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 1998)
Ted Taylor Omaha to keep CWS tradition Thank y ou Jack Diesing Jr. Thank y ou for keeping the state's most important sporting event, the Coliege World Series, in Omaha. For eight days in June every y ear since 1040. Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium has been, the center of the collegiate baseball world and now. thanks to Diesing and CW S Inc., that w ill remain so through the y ear 2000 During the last 10 y ears. Diesing, president of C'W S Inc., has done every thing in his power to keep the senes in Omaha When the NCAA said Omaha needed a bigger stadium or it would move the tournament to the Minneapolis Metrodome. Diesing added seats to the stadium. And this time before the NCAA could even ask for more renovations. Diesing dangled a S3 million check m front of them and said in effect, "just trv to take the CWS away from us " All of it has been, and will be. monev well spent. The monev means that for at least the next two Years (>maha w ill continue to be the sight of college baseball's equivalent to the NCAA Final Four It means Omaha can keep preparing for its weekiong eelebra lion of everything that is good m col legiate athletics It is a week where eight teanw . T voting men wb! tulfil! a dream of making the ultimate road trip to Omaha, of ail places but onh one team travels home the National Champion A week w here thousand- of lan from all oxer the country usuallx places like Baton Rouge. La College Station. Texas: Palo Alto. Calif., and Tempe. Anz. make their annual pilgrimage to the CWS like a Husker football fan does to Miami exerx January A week my parents take off of work and spend hanging out in the parking lot and in the stadium with best friends they have not yet met. but will be on the next year's Christmas card list. A week when CBS and ESPN make their annual visits to Omaha to . do their part in putting the River City on the map. A week where every camera shot of the crowd and the game allows Omaha to put another feather in its cap. It's a glorious w'eek where more than 20,000 fans pack the cozy con fines of Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium exery afternoon and night to show the NCAA and the rest of the country the College World Senes belongs m ()maha its our little way of saying thanks. Jack Ted Taylor is a senior news-edi torial major and the Daily Nebraskan associate news editor. NU women can’t shake road jinx By Mike Kluck Staff Reporter LUBBOCK, Texas - Having won seven of its last eight games - including road games at Missouri and Oklahoma - the Nebraska women's basketball team was sup posed to be ov er its road jinx. It was a road jinx in which the Cornhuskers fell behind by 20 points in the first half at Kansas, Colorado and Iowa State, and w'as forced to attempt a second-half comeback. The jinx reappeared Wednesday night in front of 8.200 fans at a sold out Lubbock Municipal Coliseum as Nebraska fell behind Big 12 Conference leader and fifth-ranked Texas Tech by 18 at halftime before losing 87 62. The loss, Nebraska's worst in 124 games, dropped the Huskers to 21-8 overall and 10-5 in the Big 12. Kubik With the win, the Red Raiders (20-5. 14-1) wrapped up the Big 12 Conference regular season championship. NU is now tied for third in the league. "Our defense was nonexistent tonight," NU Coach Paul Sanderford said. "Defensively, we didn't do a good job, and we didn't keep them off the boards. "It just steamrolled on us. I felt helpless on the bench - totally help less. It was our worst performance of the year." The Huskers fell victim to a 20-4 Texas Tech run in the first half as the Red Raiders expanded a 13-12 advantage to 33-16 with 7:05 remaining. From the beginning Nebraska could not stop the inside play of senior Big 12 Player of the Year can didate Alicia Thompson and junior Angie Braziel. Thompson and Braziel scored 23 ofTexas" first 25 points and finished the half with 3 1 of the Red Raiders 45 points. “That's our strength to go inside,” Texas Tech Coach Marsha Sharp said. “It has been the thing Please see WOMEN on 8 Huskers roll to key win H Texas Tech loses steam as Nebraska takes an early lead and doesn't look back. — By Shannon Heffelfinger Senior Reporter Hoping to lay a solid claim on the fourth-place spot in the Big 12 Conference, the Nebraska men's bas ketball team had prepared for a 40 ! minute battle with fifth-place Texas Tech Wednesday nmht. But a cold-shooting Tech offered lit tle more than a five-minute distraction, and fans turned their attention to Nl "s Tyronn Lue In what max have been Lue's last performance at the Bob Devanev Spoils (. enter, the defensive-minded Huskers (I*-10 overall and d-(> m the league) nev er allowed Texas Tech (13-12 and Si to come within 10 points after the 15 minute mark of the first half. Lue grabbed four of NT "s l7 steals in the Huskers' 82-05 win. The |unior guard also led both teams with 23 points as fails chanted "One more year" to Lue. who has said he max forgo lus senior year to enter the NBA draft. "(Tnils were running through mv bod\ when (the fans) did that." Lue said "It felt good to know that the fans want me back." But for now. Lue said, he wants to take a "wait and see" attitude. NL Coach Danny Nee agreed. "He's going to evaluate the situation and do what's best for him." Nee said. "If its not right, then he won't do it. He'll stay and control his own destiny." Lue took control of the game early in Nebraska's fifth-straight win in two weeks. He converted b of 10 attempts to score 17 of his 23 points m the first half. Lue finished the half w ith a 3-point field goal with 0 Ob seconds remaining, and Nebraska ended the period with a 42-24 advantage. "The game was realty decided in the first five to lb minutes." Nee said "We established ourselves at the defensive end. and we did a great |ob on (Corv i ( arr and (Stan) Bonewitz” Nebraska used Larry Florence to harass Carr, who struggled from the field, making 4 of 13 shots. The guard trio of Carr. Bonewitz and Rayford Young, who hav e av eraged 53 points per game collectively this sea son. combined for 35 points and made only 9 of 31 field-goal attempts. "They missed their shots earlv and we made ours," Lue said. "They backed off a little after that." Even though the Eluskers rank fourth m the league. Cookie Belcher said, they have not lost sight of their ini tial goal - an NCAA Tournament bid.. Michael Warren/DN (TOP) NEBRASKA GUARD Cookie Belcher scrambles for a loose ball. Jay Calderon DN (ABOVE) NU POINT GUARD Tyronn Lue awaits his pregame introduction. Former player running back to NU offense By S am McKewon Senior Reporter A former Nebraska running back, who also was part of Coach Tom Osborne's first recruiting class, will return to coach the running backs for the ( 'ornhusker ~ Dave Gillespie, currently an assis tant coach and administrative assistant at Kansas. wa> named to the position Wednesdav bv NT Head Coach Frank Solicit, who vacated the position when he took over for the retiring Osborne in January. Gillespie will also be in charge of evaluating recruits for the Huskers, sim ilar to the position he held at NU from 1986-1993 when he was the recruiting coordinator. Solicit said that (liliespie was a solid selection for th position, consider ing his familiarity w ith Nebraska's Gillespie program. “Having played here as a running back and working here as a recruiting coordinator, he knows the Nebraska system," Solicit said. Originally from San Jose. Calif., Gillespie was a part of Osborne's first recruiting class in 1973 and played for the Huskers from 1974-76. After his playing career. Gillespie coached high school football in Lincoln and Hastings before returning to NL in 1985. As recruiting coordinator at NL front 1986-93. Gillespie had a hand in overseeing the recruiting of 15 All Americans for Nebraska, including Tommie Frazier and Grant Wistrom. The eight recruiting classes Gillespie oversaw went on to post a record of 87-9-1. "Dave helped put together three national championship teams (1994. 1995. 1997).” Solich said. "He has the work ethic necessary to be successful and has demonstrated that lie knows how to relate well to placers.” When Gillespie left Nebraska, he went to Kansas where he coached the tight ends in 1994 and the defensive line in 1995-96 He was an administrative assistant to KU Coach Terrv Allen in 1997.
