John Gaskins
Kansas City
to let down
fans again
It happens every year for us
demented die-hard football fans.
The NFL season starts, and
we cut off all normal human
activities on Sundays and pull up
the recliner, canned beverage in
one hand and remote in the other,
and wither away into the football
oalaYv
C?-J
Usually I get as giddy as Bill
Clinton at a Hawaiian Tropic
Girls pageant for my fall NFL
Sundays. However, this year, I
think I’ll just hibernate through
the regular season and wake up
for the playoffs.
Why, you ask? Well, I’m a
Kansas City Chiefs fan. You must
understand my plight.
For 10 years, the Chiefs have
had everything going for them: a
winning team, a top-tier coach in
Marty Schottenheimer, and their
own Palace of Versailles,
Arrowhead Stadium, filled with
crowds of loyal, red-clad, scream
ing fans that give it maybe the
best home team atmosphere in
pro football.
Plus, the players, coaches and
media claim that with the addi
tion of two powerhouse defensive
players in veterans Chester
McGlockton and Leslie O'Neil,
this “could be the year.”
Of course, that cliche has pol
luted Kansas City’s air since
Shottenheimer took over. Every
year, the Chiefs bulldoze their
way through the regular season
only to fall into the tank in the
playoffs.
They re dreamers. They’re
pretenders. They’re a bunch of
teases.
The Chiefs are like the girl of
your dreams you spot and talk to
at a party - a girl that you would
give anything to go out with.
They look good, give you
what you want for a while, but
when the time comes to take that
next step and go for your destiny,
they break your heart.
So, if everything goes accord
ing to the past, this Chiefs season
promises the usual: Some incred
ible victories over top NFL teams
at Arrowhead, lots of easy wins
against division opponents, a
heartbreaking loss to the Broncos
in which Shottenheimer will lose
his red-hot, vein-popping head,
and a meltdown in the playoffs
that will make fans like me more
bitter than a disgruntled postal
worker for yet another off-sea
son.
So, to spare myself this agony
of unanswered prayers, I think I’ll
just say sweet dreams until the
Super Bowl. I sure hope the
Chiefs will be there, but I’m not
counting on it anymore!
Gaskins is a sophomore
broadcasting major and a Daily
Nebraskan staff writer.
Brown credits team for record
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Senior staff writer
Somewhere between the 27-yard
line and the Nebraska sideline, Kris
Brown allowed himself to smile - to
silently congratulate himself for
breaking the Cornhuskers' all-time
scoring record Saturday at Memorial
Stadium.
During his short jog off the field,
the significance of the his third-quar
ter field goal kick dawned on Brown.
He thought briefly of Mike Rozier,
Johnny Rodgers and Ahman Green -
the names that sit behind his on the
NU scoring chart.
But the moment quickly passed,
and he trotted back onto the field
with his tee, ready for the ensuing
kickoff.
Everything was business as usual.
Years from now, Brown expects
his record to mean more to him.
Because now, as the end of his
career at Nebraska approaches,
Brown has chosen to shift his focus
from records and individual goals to
his relationships with his teammates
The senior place-kicker carries
people, not records, in his heart.
“I didn’t set any individual goals
for myself before the season began,”
Brown said. “My goals are team
goals.
“I really want to enjoy my team
mates and my coaches this season.
That is what means the most to me. I
want to enjoy every minute I have left
here.”
Brown doesn’t thirtk or say piuch
about joining the ranks of Nebraska’s
all-time leading scorers. He didn’t
celebrate for himself after the game
and he still hasn’t - 315 points does
n’t seem like such a huge number
when Brown considers the list of
teammates who helped him to reach
it.
“I guess the thing is, I didn’t
accomplish this by myself,” Brown
said. “When we line up for field
goals, there are 11 guys on the field. 1
couldn't have broken that record
without the snapper or the holder or
the guys on the line. They deserve
just as much credit.
“This is a team game. You accom
plish things together.”
Brown’s list of individual accom
plishments at Nebraska runs long. In
addition to his scoring record, Brown
holds school records for points after
Mike Warren/DN
KRIS BROWN puts another one through the uprights during Nebraska’s second home game against the University of
Alabama-Birmingham. Brown moved into first place on the all-time Nebraska scoring charts after kicking a field
goal during Nebraska’s 38-7 victory.
touchdowns (92) and consecutive
field goals (17).
As a junior in 1997, Brown
earned First-Team Academic All-Big
12 and Honorable Mention All-Big
12 honors.
“That record (the all-time scoring
mark) and those things mean a lot to
him, but you would never know it by
the way he practices,” said NU
Assistant Coach Dan Young, Brown’s
kicking coach. “I think that shows the
work ethic that he has. He just gets
things done.”
Brown deems such an attitude
necessary for his position.
As a kicker, Brown doesn’t inter
act with most of his teammates in
practices. He doesn’t participate in
tackling drills. He isn't subjected to
the daily pounding most of the
Huskers endure.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m at
practice for about five minutes,”
Please see BROWN on 8
Football Starters <
Nebraska Starters
Offense
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt.
OB 12 Bobby Newcombe 6-0 195
IB 36 Correll Buckhalter 6-0 225
F8 45 Joef Makovtcka 611 240
WB 5 Shevin Wiggins 5-11 200
SE 6 Kenny Cheatham 6-4 210
TE 88 Sheldon Jackson 6-5 245
LT 69 AdamJbteh 65 315
LG 63 James Sherman 6-2 295
C 59 JoshHeskew 63 290
RG 72 Ben Gessford 6-2 290
RT 65 Jason Schwab 61 300
PK 35 Kris Brown 5-10 205
California Starters
Offense
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt.
QB 10 Justin Vedder 60 200
TB 4 Marcuc Fields 6-2 210
F8 40 Joshua White 611 240
WR 81 Dameane Douglas 6-1 190
WR 88 Phititp Pipersbucg 610, 180
TE 45 A.J. Kunkle 6-2 230
LT 64 JohnWefcoum 65 315
LG 76 Tate McCallister 6-3 285
C 73 John Romero , , 63 315
RG 60 Reed Diehl 6-4 285
AT 7tri KewnDoherty T 65 300
PK 27 Ignacio Brache 6-0 210
Saturday 6:30 p.m.
Memorial Stadium
Berkely, Calif.
Fox Sports
Defense
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt.
LR 57 ChadKelsay 6-3 250
NT 96 Steve Warren 6-1 305
DT 91 LoravKaiWf 6-5 280
RR 84 Mike Rucker 6-6 260
SLB 46 Brian Shaw 6-1 215
MLB 44 Jay Foreman 6-1 240
WLB 2(7 ErfcJOhnson 6-1 205
LCB 16 Erwin Swiney 6-0 185
FS 21 Mke Brown 5-10 205
ROV 25 Joe Walker 5-10 200
RC8 22 Ralph Brown 5-9 180
P 23 Bill Lafleur 5-11 200
Defense
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt.
DE 33 John McLaughlin 6-4 240
NT 94 Jacob Waasdorp 6-2 250
DT 98 Jetty Deloach 6-4 310
DE 73 Andre Carter 6-4 245
QLB t3 Sekou Sanyika 6-3 230
ILB 42 Justin Flagg 6-1 235
y i 44 Albert Dofsey 6-2 235
LCB 31 Derrick Gardner 6-0 185
FS 20 Pete Destefano 6-2 215
SS 9 Marquis Smith 6-3 220
RC8 25 Chiditwuoma 5-9 175
P 89 Nick Harris 6-3 205
Jon Frank/DN
Huskers at full strength for Invite
■ After losing its first
game of the season, No. 24
Nebraska looks to rebound
this weekend against
Clemson and Stanford.
By Jay Saunders
Staff writer
Of the 22 players on the Nebraska
soccer team, only four were on the field
Oct. 15,1995.
That is the last time the
Comhuskers lost at home - a 3-1 set
back against SMU. Last weekend,
Wisconsin-Milwaukee beat the
Huskers 2-1 in overtime.
“The players are determined to not
let that happen again,” NU Coach John
Walker said.
To avoid its second consecutive
home loss, which also hasn’t happened
since 1995, the Huskers will have to
defeat two ranked teams.
Nebraska
hosts the
Husker Fila
Invitational
this weekend
at the Abbott Sports Complex. NU
faces No. 8 Clemson at 7 p.m. Friday,
and goes up against No. 20 Stanford at
1 p.m. Sunday.
“When players come here,” Walker
said, “these are the kinds of games they
are looking for. It will be business as
usual for us. There aren’t going to be
any major changes.”
The first ever Husker Fila
Invitational will be the first road trip of
the year for Clemson. The Tigers vault
ed to No. 8 in the NSCAA/Umbro
coaches’ poll after home wins against
Auburn and No. 18 Maryland.
Senior Becky Hogan, who played
for NU in 1995, said the team isn’t wor
ried about where Clemson is ranked.
“We were Number Eight and look
what happened,” Hogan said. “But
Clemson is a perennial powerhouse and
we will have to play our best soccer.”
NU may benefit from the possible
IIBBMKJ
return of junior
Lindsay
Eddleman from
injury. The
Huskers also
welcome back a group of three players
who missed last week’s game while
playing for the Canadian national team.
Sophomore Karina LeBlanc and
juniors Amy Walsh and Isabelle
Morneau helped Canada qualify for
next year’s World Cup, but Hogan said
she is glad they are back on this side of
the border.
“Congratulations to the
Canadians,” Hogan said, “but it is great
to have them back. They instantly bring
a sort of a Nebraska tradition.”
Even with their return, Walker said
the Huskers are still depleted.
However, he said, the return will
help the younger players, who played a
role in last weekend’s loss.
“We are looking at two of the better
teams in the country this weekend,”
Walker said. “Any time you can bring
experienced players back that helps.”
NU hitter
leads with
loud style
By Andrew Strnad
Staff writer
Loud and obnoxious.
Those aren’t the usual traits that
describe team leaders, but then
again, this isn’t a usual team leader.
Outside hitter Jaime Krondak is
one of three seniors who have been
tagged as leaders of the fourth
ranked Nebraska volleyball team.
While Krondak wouldn’t go so
far to call herself a “ringleader,” she
likes being called unconventional.
“I’m loud and obnoxious, Fiona
(Nepo) is loud and obnoxious,”
Krondak said. “We have no prob
Please see KRONDAK on 8