Cautious
optimism
merited
A h h .
finally. There
it is, right in
your own
hands. Your
simple
excuse to not
wurryaooui David
prospects of Di0hl
the 2000
Comhuskers.
Fear not, for what you have
proves to you just how loaded
these Huskers are.
It’s the depth chart for the San
jose State game on Saturday. And,
most likely, the depth chart for the
Notre Dame game and the Iowa
game and so on - save for a Dan
Hadenfeldt punting and a poten
tially Thunderstruck running
back corps.
The latest and most crucial
volume ofWho's Who of Nebraska
Football came out on Monday,
and now Nebraska fans have sup
posed proof of this looming
national title due in January.
It’s all right there in front of
you.
Bobby Newcombe, Matt
Davison, receiving game. Check.
Dominic Raiola, Russ
Hochstein, pancake syrup. Check.
Carlos Polk, Kyle Vanden
Bosch, skull and crossbones
Blackshirts. Check.
Now, most importantly, Eric
Crouch and Sears Hophy. Check.
Wait a second. Back up the
Comhusker Caboose. It’s not that
easy.
If the NU season were a roll
call of doormats - say if they
played in the MAC or WAC or Pac
10 for that matter - this depth
chart would get them through it
While the schedule doesn’t
exactly match a triathlon in its dif
ficulty, San Jose State and Baylor
won't come calling each Saturday.
Hie top of foe Big 12 is tops in
the nation - the odds of either
Kansas State, Texas or Nebraska
making foe Orange Bowl are bet
ter than none of them going.
The Huskers will have to
develop more depth at key posi
tions to get past Kansas State ora
possible matchup with Texas in
December or even past
Oklahoma in Norman.
“You try and put those guys
without experience in situations
where they can be successful,”
Defensive Coordinator Craig Bohl
said, “and you make sure they’re
doing the things they can da”
Situations where they can be
successful In other words, up by
35 points in the fourth quarter.
But that won’t be foe case come
Nov. 11 and Manhattan, Kan.
Certainly that won’t be the
case if Crouch goes down, which
is (surprise of all surprises) a pos
sibility in an option offense. In
that scenario, Jammal Lord or Joe
Chrisman will have to lead the
Huskers toWs.
Not exactly peaches to fans or
Coach Frank Solich.
“We don’t have a guy that is
ready to step in and play any
where close to foe level of Eric,”
Solich said. “That, of course, is
because of inexperience.”
Besides running an offense,
nuances like running a huddle,
getting to foe line and managing
foe dock don't come automatical
ly with a start, Solich said. It takes
experience.
Theres the same scenario on
the other side of the ball.
Who do you think will get
picked on in a tight game with
exhausted starters on the sideline
and green second-stringers
between the hashes?
Randy Stella? Maybe early on,
but he'll turn heads and All-Big 12
ballots come season’s aid
Scott Shanle? Rod Baker?
Erwin Swiney? TYoy Watchorn?
Youbetcha.
It's names like those dotting
the depth chart that make your
eyebrows raise in wonder. What if
Stella gets a bad stinger and is
forced to sit out two or three
series? Can Blanchard Johnson
get to the outside as fast and track
down David Allen?
Certainly, Johnson will prove
himself worthy, just like Willie
Amos, TJ. Hollowell and other
freshmen, true or redshirt, will.
Getting them experience now
will pay dividends later, of course.
But focus on the now.
The Big 12 hasn’t seen or
heard much from Pat Ricketts
because the redshirt walk-on has
never played college football.
Although he will develop into
a prominent defensive back in
Please see DIEHL on 9
- *
CfHM P-Iflf
jIcVcii DfflWi/i/n
Gao Jim U of ShangN, China, serves during voMeybaN practice Tuesday. Li, who at one time was considered one of the best vofcybal play
ers in the world, recently becanre a new addition to the Hashers'coaching staff.
Chinese star helps coach NU
BY SEAN CALLAHAN
The Nebraska volleyball team
got its fair share of souvenirs from
its trip to China earlier this sum
mer.
They were given Adidas prac
tice jerseys with their names in
Chinese. They picked up various
trinkets during sightseeing tours.
But the most interesting sou
venir wasn’t something they could
pack in a carry-on bag.
Guo ]un Li, who at one time
was considered to be the best out
side hitter in world, is just one of
the many new faces that have been
added to the 2000 Cornhusker
coaching staff. Li and the Huskers
crossed paths while in China.
The result is one of China’s best
volleyball players of all time team
ing with one of the premier college
volleyball programs in the United
States.
“We met her while we were in
Shanghai,” Coach John Cook said.
“She was coaching a high school
team that hosted us for three days.
We developed a relationship with
her there, and she followed us
around for the rest of our trip."
Cook and Assistant Coach Staci
Wolfe describe Li as a legend to
international volleyball. Li was the
star player of the 1988 and 1992
Chinese Olympic teams.
A story Cook related described
her accomplishments as a player
and what she means to China.
“When they won the world
championships in 1990 it was a
huge deal,” Cook said. “She shared
with us that she was given two
houses. Not one, but two houses.
Not very many people in China
even have their own homes, let
alone two.”
Li, whose American name is
June, said she is happy to be a part
of a program like Nebraska’s, where
she is a volunteer coach.
She received her green card
earlier this summer and is now
looking at earning some hours
^ toward her graduate degree.
Before she can begin her grad
uate studies, Li must improve her
English. She is enrolled in an
extensive English program at the
university.
“I like the Nebraska volleyball
team, coaches and players,” Li
said. MI am honored to be a part of
Please see CHINA on 9
San Jose
game is first
live webcast
BY JOHN QASMNS
Don’t have tickets to Saturday’s Nebraska-San
Jose State game? Steaming that the game woifr be tel
evised? Still dying to see it hve?
Well, for the first time in college football history,
you’re in luck. All you have to do is log on
Foxsports.com, the fastest-growing sports site on
the Internet, will webcast the game, slated to kickoff
at 11:30 a.m. with a pregame show at 11:00.
The Web site decided to go forward with the first
webcast game in college football history after both
ABC and Fox Sports television networks decided not
to cover it
Saturday’s game will be the first college or profes
sional football game webcast live.
“This is history,” foxsports.com senior vice presi
dent Danny Greenberg said.
“It’s exciting. We’re thrilled to be at the forefront,
and I think it’s only the beginning. Itls a chance to see
what technology is capable ot“
HuskerVision, NU’s sports television, video and
big screen production operation, will provide pic
tures.
Pinnacle Sports Network - which has produced
the radio broadcasts of NU sporting events since
1996, will provide audio.
All of this coverage is also linked to huskers.com,
the official site of the NU Athletic Department.
Formeriy huskerwebcast.com, the site has provided
the Pinnade broadcasts of Husker games for the last
two years, recording over a million hits per week dur
ing football season.
The reason foxsports.com picked this game was
simple: Nebraska’s the No. 1 team and Husker fans all
over will log oa
“Last year we received e-mail from people who
received our games via the Internet from Guam and
the North Pole,” said Gary Sharp, a pregame
announcer for Pinnacle.
“(Having the game broadcast onanational site) is
a great way to introduce our product to even more
people,” he said.
Much of the family of starting right comerback
Erwin Swiney - who will play for the first time since
late 1998-will tune in. Swings family is from Dallas,
and he has friends in Atlanta and other far-off places.
“Now, they get to see me play,” Swiney said.
“They're all excited about that”
The main glitch in what could be a successful
technological breakthrough is the possibility of delay
and break-up on computers.
Technically, Greenberg said, the following mini
mums are needed: a 56K Modem, DSL or Cable
Modem with an Internet connection and a modem
set to 800x600 and QuickTime 4 or RealPlayer G2. An
information page on faxsports.com tells the user the
reouirements needed.
In layman's terms, however, “as long as you’re able
to watch video on your computer, you should be in
good shape,” Greenberg sakL
“The faster the modem is, die better the video
quality will be. People should not expect to turn on
the computer and see something that is identical to
what you’re used to watching on television.”
The audio will be dear for everyone, Gieenbuig
said.
The process of receiving the webcast, assuming
you have proper equipment, is simple: First, using
your Internet server, log on to foxsports.com. There
you should see a “Nebraska Wfebcast” icon. Click (Ml it.
From there, it is self-explanatory.
No other major sporting events are planned to be
webcast on foxsports.com in the future.
“This is an experiment,” Greenberg said. “Well
see how it goes. Then well dedde if we should keep
trying this in the future.”
Football notes:
NU had its last practice in pads before Saturday^
game after what Solich called a “long, hard fall camp*
The health of the meat of NU’s defensive line is
still shaky, but looking up slightly.
Senior defensive tackle Loren Kaiser will return to
practice today after an appendectomy left him out for
a week. He is listed as day-to-day for Saturday, listed
behind Kaiser is Jeremy Slechta, whose left knee still
swells occasionally from a tom ACL he suffered seven
games into last year.
No. 1 nose tackle Jason Lohr continues to recover
from a sprained toe and “moved around well*
Tliesday, according to Solich. He will most likely start
Please see WEBCAST on 9
NU soccer team overcomes yellow cards, ejection
■A rule prohibiting profanity
on the field left the team
without Christine Latham.
BY JAMIE SUHR
Not even a couple of
naughty words could slow down
the rolling Nebraska women’s
soccer machine.
During NU’s 5-0 win over
Southwest Missouri State, the
Cornhuskers (3-0) were forced
to play at a one-player disad
vantage for the final 44 minutes
after Christine Latham received
her second yellow card for using
profanity.
The NCAA adopted a new
rule, enforcing a no-profanity
policy. Any players heard swear
ing would receive a yellow card.
“The new rule is no swear
ing, and for some people it just
•% 44
comes out,” Kelly Rheem said.
“It depends on the ref, but he
was listening for it”
Because of her ejection from
the game,
Latham has a Huskers 5
mandatory -yc|| n
one-game jWIju u
suspension,
which she will serve Sunday
against Drury.
Meghan Anderson, who also
received a yellow caution, was
sorry to see Latham lose her
cool.
“It’s disappointing because
Coach (John) Walker spent a lot
of half time talking to us about
it,” Anderson said.
Aside from the ejection, the
Cornhuskers were also penal
ized with five yellow cards.
As for the team’s on-field
action, Walker was pleased with
how well the women played.
NU dominated on defense,
allowing just one shot on goal.
For the season, the Huskers
have yet to allow a goal.
Rheem put NU up 1-0 after
scoring her first goal of the sea
son off of Anderson’s deflected
shot.
All four first half goals were
scored by different players,
including Latham’s fourth.
“It took us awhile to score,
but that’s okay,” Walker said. “It
forces the issue and keeps the
girls playing hard. We scored a
couple of good, quality goals.”
Just one minute into the sec
ond half, Latham was ejected,
and the Huskers were playing a
person short.
NU still didn't allow a shot
on goal.
The Huskers rounded out
the scoring with a Breanna Boyd
direct kick.
David Oasen/DN
MU junior Danka
Carey beats an
SMSU player to
the bal Tuesday
night The
flUSRcfj juTivU
the visitors 54,
shutting out a*
opponent far
the third time in
three games this
tfasnn