Sports
David Wilson
Neuheisel’s
image lands
him UW job
He walked in fashionably late -
with his wife and kids - and heads
turned. Fans whispered and pointed
as he took a courtside seat next to a
couple of opposing-team-student
paper sportswriters at the Coors
Events Center in Boulder, Colo.
It was February 1996, and Rick
Neuheisel was coming off a 10-2
record in his first season as
Colorado's head football coach, but
there was more to his presence.
Thin, wavy blond hair, boyish good
looks and a smile that demanded
respect - not to mention his upscale
Nike sweater vest.
He was a decent tootball coach,
but a great image.
Neuheisel took his players on
playful outings to improve team
togetherness. He played guitar for
them. When Boulderites closed
their eyes, they pictured Neuheisel
leading the Buffaloes as they
pranced through the daisy-filled
forests outside of town singing
“Rocky Mountain High” with John
Denver and the Muppets.
Another 10-2 season followed in
1996, and just when it looked like
Colorado had made a great move
with the addition of Skippy, a 5-6
season followed in 1997. Then the
Buffaloes finished 8-4 last fall.
So under Neuheisel, Colorado
lost 10 games in two consecutive
seasons for the first time since 1986
87. But the dude still looked good.
Evidently, that’s what the
University of Washington saw when
it inked Neuheisel to a seven-year
deal worth somewhere in the ball
park of S1.5 million per year. Husky
Athletic Director Barbara Hedges
must have dug his image.
Jim Lambright, who was fired
from the position last month, knew
his football, but was old and
wrinkly. Neuheisel is just the oppo
site.
Neuheisel is someone players
and fans can rally around. And
they’ve already begun in Seattle.
Somehow, cameras were rolling
when Neuheisel thrust his hand in
the air and proclaimed, “We’re
going back to gold!” referring to the
gold helmets Washington wore three
years ago. The Husky players went
nuts.
Maybe, Neuheisel just wants to
hang onto some of those gold
sweater vests he snagged from
Colorado. Either way, he knows
what to say, and he has the look - the
look of a guy who knows how to
coach - whether he really does or
not.
I never said anything to
Neuheisel that February day in
Boulder. I just sat and pondered his
presence. Of course, I did get the old
head nod as he left - fashionably
early.
Wilson is a senior news-editor
ial major and a Daily Nebraskan
staff writer.
RARIFIED AIR
Jordan’s legend will live on Story by
after expected retirement AJZnker
JT1 or a generation of post-Modern era
sports fans, he almost seemed timeless -
he would always just be there in the
papers, the pictures and the posters.
There’s the 6-foot-6 cardboard
cutout of him for kids to chart their
height.
There’s the poster of him at the 1987
All-Star Game Slam Dunk Contest —
tongue hanging out — the one that gave
him the signature.
There’s the elegant, yet strong,
portrait in black and white that
reads simply “Wings.”
His Aimess.
Jumpman.
Michael Jordan. |
For Larry Florence, a senior forward on the
Nebraska basketball team, there is no doubt
about who has the poster space on his wall. i
“They're all over,” Florence said about I
his share of Jordan posters and pictures.
“I’ve been watching Michael ever
since I can remember. He’s just somebody
I’ve looked up to, like millions of people
have.” ■
And with Jordan expected to announce
his retirement today after 13 seasons in the ■
NBA with the Chicago Bulls, the story ■
came as a surprise to many.
“I was thinking, with the 52-game sea- H
son, that he'd jump at the opportunity to fl
come back for another championship,” ■
Florence said. “But I think it was just time H
for him; time to step dowrn.”
Also surprised at Jordan's decision to
retire was Cornhusker forward Troy V
Piatkowski, younger brother of former NLJ V
Please see JORDAN on 10 ’
His Airness
to finally land
Wednesday
CHICAGO (AP) - For six months, Michael Jordan
teased, taunted and tantalized a nation awaiting his
answer.
At last, he appears to have one.
The greatest player in NBA history and the most
popular athlete since Muhammad Ali is expected to
announce his retirement Wednesday at a news confer
ence in Chicago, a source with close ties to the NBA
told The Associated Press on Monday night.
If so, it would be the second time in five years that
Jordan has walked away from the game.
“This is a man who truly, as far as I’m concerned,
is the modern-day Babe Ruth,” former NBA great
and current Lakers Vice President Jerry West said
recently.
Just as with Jordan s first retirement, a number of
factors - his age, a picture-perfect ending to last sea
son, a fractured beginning for this one - appear to
have influenced his decision. And just like last time,
Jordan could change his mind and return.
But for now, he is expected to once again leave
Please see RETIREMENT on 11 ^