Close encounters
Drunk plumber and cookies add color to sports editor’s ‘season
In an effort to avoid writing a sappy, “I'm
going to miss this job ” end of the year column,
Sports Editor David Wilson took it upon himself
to share some random thoughts he compiled
throughout the semester.
You know you’ve got good seats at an NBA
game when you can stick your hand out and
find your fingers in the mesh jersey on Shawn
Bradley’s back.
Of course, I wouldn’t just go to an NBA
game for fun - because they aren’t any fun. I
was on a spring break vacation in Denver writ
ing a feature on former Cornhusker Erick
Strickland.
As a reporter and an editor at the Daily
Nebraskan, I’ve found myself with access to
restricted areas at Major Leauge baseball
games, NFL games, and tons of major college
events.
I’ve been fortunate. I’m just a college kid
getting all kinds of experience in a professional
world. And that’s been pointed out to me more
than once.
In an effort to sell more tickets, the Denver
Nuggets offer seats to fans on the end of the
bench. No joke.
So this drunk plumber, who got tickets on
the bench from his boss, had been blabbing to
A.C. Green and Bradley all game, when he
noticed me laughing at him.
“What are you laughing at?”
“What are you doing sitting on the bench?”
“How did you get your ticket?”
“I'm a reporter."
“No you’re not. You're too young. You don't
look professional.”
Ouch. I didn't even have my hat on. Luckily,
A.C. Green, a 13-year NBA veteran, had my
back.
“I believe him.”
The Nebraska football team was well on its
way to winning its third national championship
in four years when some guy (I don’t deem him
worthy of looking up his name) tossed a foot
ball through a hole and won a million dollars at
halftime during the Orange Bowl.
Good for that guy.
I was then faced with one of the toughest
decisions to challenge me this semester. I could
watch Spanish pop sensation Jon Secada’s half
time fiasco of go wait in line for a chili dog.
The choice was obvious.
As I was waiting in line for the chili dog,
who walks into the press box? That guy. Yeah,
the guy that just won a million dollars.
He discretely attempted to sneak right in
front of me.
“Oh, I just won a million dollars. I’m so
sweet, blah, blah blah.”
“The end of the line is back there, buddy,” I
said.
“Oh.”
Thinking back. I should have offered him
my place in line for a hundred bucks.
We were sitting around the Sports Pavilion
one night this semester when the phone rang.
No big deai. It happens all the time.
Photographer Matt Miller answered the
phone, “Sports desk, Biff here.”
“Will you accept a collect call from Mike
Bibby?”
Yeah, as in, Arizona All-American basket
ball player, Mike Bibby.
Miller took the call and handed me the
phone.
It was really Bibby.
He was looking for Sam McKewon for
some crazy story Sam was working on. Sam
wasn’t around, so me and Bibby shot the bull for
awhile.
Since then, Miller doesn't answer the phone
“Biff here” anymore.
The first thing I noticed when I got off the
plane in Boise, Idaho, was the strong smell of
pine needles.
It brought me back to when I was just a
young lad growing up in the mountains near
Sandpoint, Idaho.
I jumped in a cab and told the nice older dri
ver my story as we drove to the dorms at Boise
State University. I was skipping a day of class to
cover the Nebraska men’s basketball team in the
first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“So why did you move from Idaho?” the
man asked.
“Well, my parents thought everything was
kind of backward up there. There were lots of
weirdos: witches, vampires, Nazis.”
“What’s wrong with Nazis?”
“Uh, nothing, I guess.”
“Yeah, I think a lot of people up there are
just misunderstood.”
Yeah, whatever buddy. Please don't kill me.
Upon arriving at Boise State, I went straight
to the tournament.
Fans there weren’t too into either Nebraska
or Arkansas, but they especially liked Lil’ Red.
Even though 1 had seen him a million times
before, I thought Lil’ Red was particularly
funny for some reason. A little too funny, if you
know what I mean.
Then the Huskers blew the lead and lost the
game. It was late. I had to get my story written.
So without being told otherwise, I went and
listened to the Arkansas players speak in the
post-game interview room - where every team
that had played that day had spoken to the press,
win or lose.
Nebraska, though, didn’t show.
I ran around until I found the locker room.
Huffing and puffing, I caught the last of the rest
of the Nebraska media interviewing coach
Danny Nee.
Then we entered the locker room. It was
silent. Dead silent. Gloom and pissed-offness
filled the room. Every head was hung. Venson
Hamilton sat on a sink and stared at a toilet.
Tyronn Lue whispered to the media. And
Cookie Belcher ate a cookie.
Now that’s funny.
NU goes
to NCAAs
for 2nd year
SOCCER from page 9
tournament.
But the Wolverines were not the
only opposition No. 7 NU had to deal
with. The NCAA Tournament selec
tion committee set up a second-round
matchup with No. 2 Notre Dame.
The Huskers knocked off
Michigan 5-1, but lost 6-0 to Notre
Dame, which ended up in the semifi
nals.
“It was a disappointment that we
didn’t get to the final four,” Walker
said. “I wasn’t happy with the wray
the selection committee set up the
tournament, but there was nothing
we could have done about that.”
Walker said even though the
team did not get as far into the tour
nament as in 1996, xhe team was the
strongest in the program’s history.
“Realistically we were one of the
top five teams in the country,” Walker
said. “Two years in a row we have
been No. 6 and No. 7 in the country.
Now, we need to establish ourselves
in the top five every year.”
Seven Husker players were
named to the All-Big 12 conference
team. Engesser was named to the
Soccer Buzz All-Central region
team. Engesser led the team in scor
ing with 49 points on 23 goals.
Senior goalkeeper Rebecca
Hombacher had 11 shutouts and a
0.52 goals against average.
“All the credit needs to go to the
players,” Walker said. “A lot of people
talk about being champions, but not
all of them are willing to do the wo if.”
Osborne discovers life after football
OSBORNE from page 3
loved the classroom, but I knew I
couldn’t do both coaching and teach
ing, so I chose coaching, but always
in the back of my mind was the idea I
would return to classroom.”
After getting Moeser’s approval,
their problems were because I’d just
gone through it myself.”
With his new classes, Osborne
will have more time to prepare.
The final quarter of his responsi
bilities at UNL will be with
University Foundation’s fund drive.
Fie said he will sneak and make some
he talked to leachers College Dean appearances to help raise money for
James O Hanlon, ^ ^ a library addition,
who told Osborne “i feel the aca
happy °tUo'dhave / ktlOW I Will demic center of
nappy to nave any university is
teacher C)sborne m^SS COfltdCt with *he H^ry, and d
teacner. usoorne hasn t had much
will teach an pldyerS dfld done t0 il for a
undergraduate r s long time,”
class about COdchcS ” Osborne said,
coaching football ' Broadcasting
and a graduate Tom OSRORNF and politics are
class about issues 1UM UommiNb
in athletics former NU football coach ...
in duiiciws. _ Osborne probably
usoome saiu -
he chose to teach
coaching football because it’s some
thing he is interested in and because
he thinks he can help young people
with X’s and O's and how to treat
players.
“So many times a young guy
watches a movie where the coach
breaks clipboards over a guy’s head
and rants and raves, and that’s their
idea of coaching,” Osborne said. “I
don’t think it has to be that way.”
Osborne didn’t rule out teaching
other subjects, but he said statistics
will not be one of them. When
Osborne first started teaching, he
taught statistics.
“I really didn't want to do that at
all,” Osborne said. “But the teacher
had quit, and the chairman of the
department told me on the first of
August that I was the replacement.
“I was one day ahead of the class
and book. I might say I was a pretty
good teacher because I knew what
won’t be going
into, but he never ruled out either
one of them. v
Expanding the Teammates
Program is another goal of
Osborne’s. The program has been
successful in Lincoln, so Osborne
wants to take it to other schools
across the state
The program pairs adults with
junior high students in a mentoring
program.
“This program makes a differ
ence in the lives of kids,” Osborne
said.
As for Saturdays in the fall,
Osborne is not sure he will be at
every game, but if he is, he is afraid
of where they might put him.
“1 may be up there in the knot
hole section,” Osborne said. “It’s
where I started out in the ’50s ”
And in his spare time, he said, he
will be found at a lake or stream
doing some fishing.
—ih^^a
Matt Miller/DN
TOM OSBORNE retired last season after coaching the Husker football team
for 25 years. However, he is not leaving empty-handed. Memorial
Stadium’s field was dedicated Tom Osborne Field on April 24.
