■ Keeping Fizer in check
key to Huskers slowing
down No. 17 Iowa State.
By Matthew Hansen
Staff Writer
As the final seconds ticked off the
Devaney Sports Center clock,
Nebraska’s Larry Florence weaved in
and out of traffic, trying to find an
open shot before the buzzer sounded.
He was looking to win the game
forNU.
Instead, his attempt to send the
Comhuskers to a win over Iowa State
Jan. 12 may have become a micro
cosm for both team’s seasons.
Florence’s game-winner from the
baseline bounced off the side of the
rim. The clock ran out. The Cyclones
had escaped with a 66-65 Big 12 road
victory.
Husker Kimani Ffriend said the
last-second defeat meant more than
just another “L” in the loss column.
“That was a really tough loss for
us, because it was a game that we
should have won,” he said.
“Those kind of losses really hurt
you.”
Exactly one month later, much
more than one point separates
Nebraska and Iowa State. The
Cyclones have won six of their last
seven conference games, including
victories over Big 12 North powers
^ We have to come out and prove we
can win a road game. We really need a
confidence booster at this points
Kimani Ffriend
. - Nil center
Kansas and Missouri. • „ ;
Their road victory over Mizzou
on Wednesday vaulted the team into
sole possession of first place in the
conference.
Meanwhile, Nebraska has
dropped four of its last seven since
the ISU game.
While the Cyclones enter
Saturday’s game looking to keep their
Top 25 ranking, Ffriend said the
Huskers are just looking for a win -
any win.
“We have to come out and prove
we ca^win a road game. We really
need a confidence booster at this
point,” he said.
. Cary Cochran said despite the
Husker’s road woes, the-near miss
against Iowa State gives. MU confi
dence. ;
“The fact that we played them
real, real close before kind of sits in
the back of your mind,” he said..“Iowa
State has definitely proven that they
are for real, but it’s not like we are
facing a team that absolutely crushed
us before. In those types of games,
you wonder if you really belong.”
One Iowa State player that NU
might not have confidence against is
Marcus Fizer. The power forward
scored 26 points and added 11
rebounds in the first game.
Cochran said Fizer was a tough
player to slow down and maybe
impossible to stop.
“Fizer is having an MVP-type of
year, and I think he probably is the
Big 12’s MVP right now,” Cochran
said.
“Every team in the conference
has tried to stop them, and none of
them really has. He’s just that good.”
Ffriend, along with Steffon
Bradford and Louis Truscott, will
battle Fizer in the paint on Saturday.
Ffriend said that the NU post
players have to step up.
“We weren’t aggressive enough
with him the first time,” Ffriend said.
“This time, we have to try to match
his physical play. And we also can’t
allow him any transition baskets. We
just have to play better defense
against him.”
Gymnasts look for consistency
■ Women’s gymnastic
team faces tough competi
tion in Kentucky meet.
By Jason Merrihew
Staff writer
Three competitions in one week
tend to test a team’s ability to survive
under pressure. Tonight, that test
begins for the Nebraska women’s
gymnastic team at 6:30 p.m. in
Lexington, Ky.
The four-team meet consists of
Kentucky, Illinois, James Madison
and Nebraska.
“Kentucky competes well at
home,” Nebraska Coach Dan Kendig
said. “They’re the team to beat.”
The Huskers’ main focus is to
work on consistency and to prevent
more injuries.
“We really have not had a consis
tent meet this year,” Senior All
American Heather Brink said.
“We're going to go in and hit our rou
tines the way we practice them”
Preventing further injuries will
also be a must for the Cornhuskers
when they compete at Kentucky.
Nebraska will not be at full
strength tonight because of an injury
freshman A.J. Lamb sustained last
week at Oklahoma.
Lamb rolled her ankle on the
floor exercise. Because of her ankle,
Kendig said he plans to use his star
freshman just on the bars to prevent
further damage.
“We need to be smart so we have
the team again,” Kendig said.
The Cornhuskers will rely on the
veteran leadership of Brink. Last
weekend, Brink paced the Huskers in
the all-around with a second-place
finish, scoring 39.30:
Junior Amy Ringo will also have
to pick up some of the slack with the
loss of Lamb in the all-around. Ringo
placed third in the all-around at
Oklahoma with a 39.10.
Luckily for Kendig, Nicole
^ We need to be
smart so we
have the team
again”
DanKendig
NU coach
Wilkinson will compete at full
strength for the Huskers. Wilkinson
has been plagued by minor injuries
all season.
Senior Arica Lamb can help the
team score with her veteran leader
ship on the vault.
Freshmen Julie Houk, Jen French -
and Jess Wertz will onee again be
called on to help Nebraska.
“This team doesn’t give up,”
Kendig said.
“They work hard, and they com
pete well as a group.”
NFL veterans flood
"k .
free-agent pool
Th^ NFL’s annual free-agent
period starts Friday with the possi
bility that some of pro football's
biggest stars will be on the open
market, victims of age, injury or the
salary cap. ‘ ‘ ' V
That group includes Steve
Young, Jerry. Ricei, Dan Marino,
Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas and
Deion Sanders. All could be retired
or with new teams next season.
Marino; the Jead'ing passer in
NFL history, took the first step on
Thursday by voiding the last two
years of his contract. Marino said
that if he doesn’t retire, he’d prefer
to re-sign with the Dolphins for a
reduced salary rather than join
another team.
Smith and Thomas, meanwhile;
followed Andre Reed into1 free
agency on Thursday, breaking
Buffalo’s last ties to the Super Bowl
teams of the 1990s.
“It’s a sad day, a very sad day,”
Smith, 36, told The Associated Press
after his release. “I thought I would
have finished my career in Buffalo
and had an opportunity to go back
and win a“ championship in
Buffalo" ’ ' '
Instead, Smith, Thomas arid
Reed —: none ready to retire — will
test the free agency market.
“The Bills felt squeezed by cap
' onomics ” said Leigh Steinberg, the
agent who represents Smith and
Thomas.
“Neither of these players wanted
to leave..It. was their intention, since
they both had long and illustrious
careers, to stay.”
Most of the NFL’s 31 teams were
battling salary-cap problems as the
midnight deadline approached. The
cap this year is increasingly only $5
million per team — the Cost of one
good free agent — to $62 million.
That means even major stars could
face the choice of accepting pay
cuts, going elsewhere, or^ in the
cases of Young and Marino, consid
ering retirement.
. Young, Rice and Marino are the
most intriguing. ^ - ; , -
The 49ers renegotiated Yourtg’s
contract to take $3 million off the
cap.' - •'
But Steinberg said Youftg will
probably decide in April Whether to
retire following a series of concus
sions, stay with Sari Francisco, or
ask for his release. Rice, who inter
ests Washington and Dallas among
others, wants to play next season but
might be released for cap reasons or
at his own request.
I thought I
would have
finished my
career in Buffalo
tf
Bruce Smith
relea^e4 .1?y Buffalo Bills
Sanders, on the other hand,
already wants out of Dallas, which
in any carse would release him June 1
to make cap room. He’s due to make
more than $ 12 million next season.
On Thursday, the New England
Patriots saved some money by waiv
ing tight end Ben Coates and sign
ing Lawyer Milloy to a seven-year,
$35 million contract.
Tim Brown passed on free
agency and signed with the Oakland
Raiders. Terms weren’t disclosed.
Denver cleared some cap room
by cutting defensive ends Alfred
Williams and Neii Smith, two veter
an members of their, two Super Bowl
teams. Smith was due to make $2.5
million and Williams $1.6 million.
Joey Galloway was declared an
unrestricted free agent by arbitrator
Nick Pumas in Washington, defeat
ing an NFL and Seattle claim that he
didn’t fulfill the fifth year of his
contract after sitting out half the sea
son.
. The Seahawks designated him
their franchise player and general
manager-coach Mike Holmgren is
expected to try to trade Galloway,
who would get $4.1 million under a
one-year contract if he stays in
Seattle.
^Indianapolis signed tight end
Ken Dilger to a five-year, $ 15 mil
lion contract.: ’ >
Arizona made Pro Bowl defen
sive end Simeon Rice its franchise
player after an arbitrator ruled in the
team’s'favor following a hearing on
a grievance brought against the
team by the NFL Players
Association. *■
As the franchise player, Rice
would be paid $4.32 million next
season, the average of the top five
salaries at his position.
Rice, second in the NFL with
16'/2 sacks last season, has been out
spoken in his desire to leave the
Cardinals, but Arizona now has the
right to match any offer for him.
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Attention SOS Participants
•The Student Opportunities and Services Advisory
Board invites you to an evening of FUN & GAMES!
What: NU v Kansas - Women’s Basketball
Spaghetti Dinner - at Spaghetti Works
When: February 13, 2000,1:30 p.m.
Where: Devaney Sports Center - meet inside the
%$01 ■ vL.i
Cost: m with student ID;
[S .. { jtjSS&L sSk$:
Meet other SOS students, cheer
on the team, have fun! See you there!
California looms for wrestlers
■Four meets in two days
will test the Huskers’ sta
mina and ability.
By David Diehl
Staff writer
Coach Tim Neumann isn’t exact
ly Clark Griswold and none of his
wrestlers are named Rusty, but the
Cornhuskers are taking a bit of a
vacation.
Sevenih-ranked Nebraska ships
off to California for four matches in
two days this weekend. Fresno State
and Califomia-Davis are on the slate
tonight. Cal State-Bakersfield and
California-Poly are up Saturday
night for NU ( 7-5-1).
Nebraska is coming off the
toughest part of its schedule heading
but west. The Cornhuskers have
faced eight straight ranked oppo
i-:— -
nents since they wrestled unranked
Wyoming on Jan. 15.
They’re also looking to rebound
from losses to Oklahoma and
Oklahoma State last weekend when
the Huskers won six of 20 matches.
“With a trip to California - with
good teams but not necessarily great
teams -1 think the guys will be able
to get some confidence back and get
on a roll heading into Iowa State next
week,” Neumann said.
Of the four teams on tap this
weekend, only Cal State-Bakersfield
is ranked in the top 25. Nebraska,
currently ranked 16th, defeated
Bakersfield 28-18 at the National
Dual tournament.
Neumann said wrestling a sched
ule like this year’s helps the team pre
pare for other matches.
“Wrestling the schedule we do,”
he said, “(wrestlers) have to learn to
prepare for every match just as
though it was the same type of an
opponent, whether it’s an easy oppo
nent or a tough one.
“At the NCAAs, all six oppo
nents are going to be really tough.
And you’ll mentally wear down if
you haven’t been preparing your
mind for the same for every competi
tion.”
Brad Vering, ranked No. 3 at 197
pounds, said despite the lack of pres
tige in the opponents this weekend,
bad things will happen if the team
doesn’t come in focused.
“We’re not good enough where if
we go in there and don’t wrestle, we
could have guys get beat,” Vering
said. “It might be hard to beat the
whole team, but there are some guys
that could get upset this weekend,
especially with four matches.”
Neumann agreed.
“Each team has three or four real
good kids,” he said, “and individuals
could go 0-4 if they don’t show up
mentally.”
■ --.
Remember to recycle your DN
