Final Score

              
          37                   34

2013 Gameday #1

VS   

From  the minute Nebraska and Wyoming signed a 3 game deal the first game in 2011 in  Laramie the next two in Lincoln Nebraska tried to get the Laramie game moved to Denver and  anybody who was  fortunate enough to get Tickets in Laramie  on September 24^th 2011 will tell you how happy they were the game wasn’t  move to Denver The Weather was a perfect 70 degrees at kickoff and the atmosphere quite honestly was one of the best atmosphere’s I have ever experienced for a football game. A third of the crowd was rooting for Wyoming a third was rooting for Nebraska and a third was decked out in home made stitched together jerseys and shirts of both teams. Nebraska won the game 38-14  and was never threatened Wyoming played well enough that they came out of the game with a positive vibe. Some how it was exactly perfect outcome for a near perfect football experience.

The big question for the game tonight is the weather. It really has been a cool summer. UNTIL this week. It’s as if on cue for a team that plays at 7000 feet that doesn’t get much severe heat and gets no humidity that a summer that had seen many 80 degrees days now saw 100 degree days with 100 percent humidity. The forecast for tomorrow calls for Temperatures around 95 at kickoff with a possibility of scattered showers bringing in the humidity. Wyoming simply isn’t use to this and isn’t very deep. So look for Nebraska to try and Pound Wyoming and wear them down. The 7 O’clock kickoff will help some but it will still be bloody hot. The EMT’s better be on their toes.

As for the game? Wyoming is pretty good offensively and Nebraska’s questions are on defense. However Wyoming doesn’t run the ball well and makes their living throwing the ball. The strength of Nebraska’s defense is their secondary. First games have mistakes that lead to garbage touchdowns and if Wyoming gets 1 or 2 they may score into the 30’s. However I think a score in the 20’s is more likely for the Cowboys.  And Wyoming’s defense is very porous and Nebraska’s offense is of course loaded. Wyoming’s offense is good enough to score some points on Nebraska’s defense but Wyoming ‘s Defense won’t stop Nebraska.

Count’s Krystal Bawl…

Nebraska 52

Wyoming 24

B1G Predictions week 1.

Thursday August 29th
Indiana 49 Indiana State 21
Minnesota 38 UNLV 17

Friday August 30th
Michigan State 31 Western Michigan 7

Saturday August 31st
Nebraska 52 Wyoming 24
Iowa 20  Northern Illinois  17
Michigan 45 Central Michigan 10

Northwestern 42 California 27
Illinois 42 Southern  Illinois 9
Ohio State 48 Buffalo 3
Penn  State 31 Syracuse 20
Cincinnati 34 Purdue 20
Wisconsin 44 Massachusetts 7

Nebraska Cornhusker 2013 Football preview.

Offense: It’s great that Taylor Martinez has no loss of confidence but let’s put the delusions of grandeur to bed here and now. Nebraska’s offense will baring injuries be really good and could be great. It will not however be the best in school history. They will not score 53 points a game like the 95 Huskers nor 52 points a game like the 83 Huskers however 40 points a game is not out of the question.
Nebraska is set at everywhere on offense but tight end. Taylor Martinez already owns much of the record book. If he stays healthy you may as well rename the record book The Taylor Martinez memorial playbook. Running back still looks strong but not as strong as it did before Braylon Heard’s transfer to Kentucky. Amir Abdullah ran  for over a 1000 yards last year and is set for another big year. Ball security appears to be his only weakness. Imani  Cross was the short yardage back last season. He lost 15 pounds to try and add some speed. 2 Highly touted Freshman provide back up. Nebraska doesn’t use Fullbacks to run much anymore but they do still use the to block and receive the ball. CJ Zimmer and Andy janovich are both solid there. Kenny Bell, Jamal Turner, Quincy Enunwa, Taariq Allen simply put  make this is the best wide receiving crew in Nebraska history. There are also some youngsters like Jordan Westerkamp  that the coaches are excited about. Tight End is the only question mark on the offensive side Ben Cotton and Kyler Reed are gone. Only Jake Long has any game experience. Long  is a great blocker but hasn’t caught many passes.  This is expected to be the best offensive line of The Bo Pelini era. The line 4 starters from a line that was good but inconsistent last season.

Defense: Can we talk  about offense some  more? First the good news. Nebraska  had a very good secondary  last season for the most part and it returns 3 starters and 4^th man who played enough to be a  starter. This is the strength of the defense which would be great if Nebraska were back in the Big 12 and not in the Big 10. The Front 7 is Oscar The Grouch Green. Since Nebraska’s front 7 struggled so much last year that could in time  be a good thing but there will be growing pains. Only Jason Ankrah has any starting experience on the defensive line. Thad Randle also has playing some experience but that is  it. The coached believe what this group doesn’t have in experience it makes up for in talent. The Linebacking group is greener if that is possible. Atheism in the front 7 has been a huge problem for Nebraska sans Lavonte David for the last 2 years. That appears to be somewhat rectified. Still it’s hard to think  of a front 7 less experienced than this one other than maybe 2007. Do I have to remind you how that season turned out?

Special Teams:  Great Kicking is almost getting to be a Nebraska  trademark. At Field Goal kicker since 1995 Nebraska has had Kris Brown, Josh  Brown who both had long successful NFL careers. David Dykes and Jordon Congdan were both sold. Alex Henery was the greatest College Kicker I  have ever seen and Brett Maher followed him with great success. Now the job falls to Maurio Baundi. If the Spring game is any indication he’ll be fine. He made one kick from  50yards and barely missed from 58. If Anything Nebraska’s punting game has been stronger longer than it’s field goal kicking game has. Going back to the late 80’s  Nebraska had a string  of great punters. This year the job will fall to Freshman Sam Foltz who is also a back up receiver so maybe you can expect some fake punts this year. When Nebraska catches the ball on Punt and Kick returns they have been solid returning kicks. The problem is catching the ball. Amir Abdullah, Kenny Bell, and  Jamal Turner were all tried a year ago and all struggled to a field a kick. Eventually Nebraska put Rex Burkhead back to catch punts sacrificing  a return for  just catching the ball. Rex now plays for the Cincinnati Bengals. It got to be such a problem last season that when  kicks were successfully fielded the fans  cheered. Obviously this needs to be fixed.

The Schedule. It’s hard to find a major college football team with one much more friendly.  Thanks to buying  off Southern  Miss’ ex coach the first 5 games are at home and only UCLA  would seem to be a threat. Here Nebraska get’s a break by the TV gods putting the game at 11. There is no Ohio State or Wisconsin. Home games against Northwestern and Michigan State will be anything but easy and road trips to Michigan and Penn State will be a chore. Still If Nebraska stays healthy on offense and plays at least average defense it’s hard not to find 10 wins here.

Finally: If they stay healthy Nebraska  will average at least 38 points a  game on  offense and with  their schedule that should guarantee another 10 win season  whether or not Nebraska takes the next step up off the 10-4 merry go round will be up to a very green defense. A good goal for this defense would be to average holding their foes to 21 points a game  or less. 99.9% of the teams in College Football are going to lose a game from  time to time and this team almost certainly will as well. Another sign of progress will be what will the loses be like?  Too often the last two years by halftime I was smoking a cigar and looking and reading a Modesty Blaise comic strip while keeping only a half eye on the massacre on the screen. Those days have to stop. Ohio State is the class of the Big 10 but the legends race appears to be a 3 horse photo finish between Nebraska, Michigan and Northwestern with Michigan State behind by just a nose. If there was any reason to believe Nebraska’s defense is going to be much improved despite their inexperience there then  I’d say this could be a very special season. But I haven’t seen it yet. The Spring game didn’t which isn’t a great way to judge such things anyway didn’t ease any fears. Nebraska will be good again. There will be many great memories this year again. There will be 10 wins again. Whether or not there will be 3 or 4 loses will depend on whether or not Nebraska wins the Legends…again.

A Word Of Advice

You may notice if you read older threads that many of them are littered with junk and spam  in the comments. DO NOT CLICK ON LINKS!!!!

The Count.

Modesty Blaise A Taste For Death

Modesty Blaise A Taste For Death by  Peter O'Donnell **** 1/2 / *****  

The fourth Modesty Blaise novel starts with Willie Garvin noticing the grisly death of Judy Pilrim while her blind sister Dinah escapes. The murder was ordered by  the criminal mastermind Gabriel and  Dinah was kept alive because although blind she has a psychic ability to find buried objects.  pipes, treasure...etc. Garvin rescues Dinah and threw a series of coincidences Modesty Blaise and her sometimes boyfriend Steve Collier become involved and it become apparent that not only Gabriel but  the giant killer Simon Delicata  working with Gabriel need to use Dinah Pilgrim to find buried treasure. It's difficult to judge the Modesty Blaise books by The James Bond Books even though they are the same genre. The Books are clearly designed to be fun fast reads. And that they are. There's violence and sex o'pleanty and O'Donnell proves just as adept at moving a story a long in novel form as he is in Comic strip form. Willie Garvin gets a bigger role here but as always it's clear it's Blaise who is at the end of  the day the boss. That Garvin (the male) is Robin to Blaise (the female) batman is what makes these stories work so well.

The first four novels in the series were all well done and there isn't much to separate them in terms of merit. I would put A Taste Of Death just below  Sabre-Tooth and just above I Lucifer and Modesty Blaise. The Next book in the series is The Impossible Virgin. 

Not Guilty.

Not all surprised. Sick? Yeah a little but not surprised.

Late Edit by Mr. Brown:  Regardless of anyone's opinions on the Zimmerman trial, the tragedy about what happened cannot be ignored: if Mr. Zimmerman had just stayed put in his car and not followed Trayvon Martin, like what the dispatcher told him to do in the first place, there wouldn't have been a trial, George Zimmerman wouldn't be the most polarizing figure in America currently, and Trayvon would have been 18 years old.

The Miami Heat Your 2012-2013 NBA Champions

Game 3 San Antonio 113 Miami 77

I've been waiting to use this photo :)

Credit as always goes to the Great Yoga Frog check out his website at Yoga Frog caps

Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 Miami Vs Indiana

Game 7 Boys and Girls. No way in Hades did I think we'd be here tonight. On an off topic note Greg Brady was on Adam 12. His  Mother's Boyfriend was drunk and holding her at gun point. Tell me that wouldn't make a bitching episode of The Brady  Bunch.

LeBron had better decide to take this game over because LeBron the facilitator will be home tomorrow to fire up the hibachi.

Indiana better learn how to hold on to the damn basketball

Steve Kerr says Indiana has to keep their turnovers down to 15. They'll have more than that at halftime.

Glad they don't seem to be calling the flops but this game is getting away from Indiana.
  
Reggie Miller just pointed out that if you're the Pacers you want to stay close...No Reggie if you're the Pacers you want to get blown out.

If you're Eric Spoelstra you have to be pleased with this first half. Reggie bringing that in-depth analysis once again.-

Poop. Miami 52 Indiana 37 at half. Really disappointed in Indiana. Gonna go take a shower put on a T-shirt in Pajamas. If Second half doesn't improve I'll be heading out to have a smoke.

Miami 76 Indiana 55 after 3 quarters

Final Score Miami 99 Indiana 76. NBA Finals start Thursday. San Antonio Spurs Vs The Miami Heat.

Star Trek Into Darkness Or: My Final Farewell to Eileen.

Dear Eileen,

One month before your passing, our phone conversations varied among many topics, but they would, somehow, revert back to the science-fiction/fantasy genre. Granted, even before then, when we talked chatted on Facebook, the subject would return to the genre that made you a fangirl of said genre, from The Boy Who Lived and the Seven Realms, to Star Wars and Star Trek. Hell, I can't even remember how many times you you quoted the line where C-3PO tells Han that the chances of navigating through an asteroid field successfully was approximately three thousand seven hundred and twenty to one! (Damnit, now you've got me saying it!) Just before you passed, you continued to geek out over how you wanted to watch Star Trek Into Darkness, the big follow up to director J.J. Abrams' prequel of the original Trek movies. The other movies I was jazzed about seeing: Iron Man 3, The Hangover Part III, Man of Steel - they didn't hold a candle to how badly you wanted to see the continuing adventures of Captain James T. Kirk and his crew, traveling the realms of space at warp speed.

Unfortunately, you weren't able to get that opportunity.

I wish you had, if nothing else, for the opinions and analysis that we would have, because there's much doing on in this latest installment. After Kirk (played once again by Chris Pine) disobeys Starfleet's directive of extinguishing a volcano before it can destroy an indigenous race without being spotted by said indigenous people, now Rear Admiral Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood), along with the rest of the board in the Federation, strip Kirk of his status of the U.S.S. Enterprise, and his role as captain. The situation changes dramatically as the Federation is attacked by one of they own, the mysterious and deadly agent John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch of the BBC's Sherlock) through a series of terrorist attacks, from a bombing of the Starfleet library in London, to the attack at headquarters in San Francisco, killing several captains and officers in the process. Kirk is re-instated as Captain of the Enterprise  and he is given a green-light to find, capture and bring back Harrison to justice by Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller).

That's pretty much the plot to Abram's second outing in the Trek universe, and I'm not going to comment further because doing so would invoke spoilers, which I won't reveal here.What I can say to you, Eileen, is that Into Darkness is everything you'd expect from Abrams: an engaging story, great characters, and expertly staged action set pieces that dazzling and thrilling to watch. The entire cast returns for the second installment, including First Officer Spock (Zachary Quinto), Communications Officer Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Senior Medical Officer Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Karl Urban), Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg), Lieutenant Commander Sulu (John Cho) and Ensign Checkov (Anton Yelchin)., and each character gets their chance to shine, though Yelchin's Checkov is mostly reduced to running around the engineer deck whenever the ship is thrown into chaos. In fact, Pegg, Saldana and Cho are give much more to do in this installment than last time, as all three become integral parts to middle section of the film.

Again, i'm being vague out of fear of spoilers, but i'd be doing a disservice if I didn't bring up the biggest flaw of Into Darkness, namely the fact that Abrams takes a crucial plot twist from the Star Trek movies of yesteryear and slaps it in this film. Granted, it did work, as it demonstrated that Kirk finally understands humility and that there are no-win scenarios in being the commander of a ship, but then, kind of like how Bill Condon pulled the rug right out under Twi-hards everywhere towards the end of Breaking Dawn: Part II, Abrams more or less does the same thing here, and for you, being the sci-fi/Trek fan that you were, it may leave a sour taste in the mouth.

Still, besides Abrams almost hitting the copy and paste keys with Into Darkness, there's still so much to like in this film. You would have enjoyed all the banter between the crew of the Enterprise, especially between Spock and Kirk. They may have settled their differences between each other in the first film, but their philosophies - Kirk leaping without looking, Spock searching for a logical solution before he leaps - still put the two men at odds with one another. And what good would a team of protagonists would do without a villain, and Cumberbatch has it in spades as Harrison. He's a cunning, ticking timebomb, always putting himself two steps ahead of Kirk and his crew and the Federation, who want nothing more than him in a body bag. You should see the interaction between him and Pine's Kirk on board the Enterprise as he says, "I am better than you...at everything." He's a brilliant actor, hiding the madness of his character's motives. Pine is also solid as Kirk, as he begins to learn this his arrogant, rule-breaking ways has consequences, as he must learn to respect his power as Captain. And I don't know what else I can say about Quninto as Spock, except that he was born to play this iconic character. Not only is he the spittin' image of Leonard Nimoy's character, he understands he is a man in war with himself - the cold logic of his Vulcan side, vs the emotional and feeling Human side.

I believe you would have enjoyed this movie, Eileen, and I wish to the Gods, both the Old and the New, that you could have seen it and we could talk about it. But maybe you already have, and that the Gods were able to get a copy of the movie and you were able to see it from the opening notes to Michael Giaccino's wonderful score, to the end credits which play the 60's Star Trek television theme. Maybe one day we'll get that chance to discuss and compare notes, but until then, to quote Spock himself: "I have been, and shall always be, your friend. Live long, and prosper."

*** stars out of ****