Before heading to Florida and 2012, here's a look back at my picks as the top sports stories of 2011:
1. UNO drops football and wrestling, moves to Division I.
UNO doesn't have the wide-range appeal of the College World Series at a new baseball park or Nebraska in a new conference, but those events were expected. For sheer news value, and shock value, Trev Alberts' announcement to drop long-time staples in football and wrestling — especially on the cusp of another Mike Denney national championship — shook this community. The move divided a good portion of Maverick fans and Alberts put his career on the line, for better or worse, with this move.
2. Nebraska breaks into the Big Ten. The games, the match-ups, the trips were surreal. They were the story, more than NU's 9-3 season.
3. First College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park. There was no middle ground on this one. You either thought it worked better or hated its plainness. There were concerns of flooding, the high winds that sent everyone indoors and a lack of home runs. But finally, South Carolina made the transition complete with a repeat title.
4. Tom Osborne fires a coach — baseball coach Mike Anderson — and hires former Husker Darin Erstad. The firing of Anderson, who led NU to its only CWS win, was every bit the news item because many wondered if Osborne would do it. He did, then made an intriguing, popular hire.
5. Creighton beats Dana Altman. It was in something called the CBI tournament, but Altman's return to his former homecourt in his first year at Oregon was unforgettable. Many Jays fans won't remember who won the CBI (Oregon did, by beating Creighton in a best-of-three championship series), but they'll recall the strangeness of playing their old coach — and beating him — in the CBI championship series opener.
6. Omaha Storm Chasers. Splashy new park. Boffo attendance. Fifteen players sent to Kansas City. Pacific Coast League champs. A baseball summer like no other. Perfect storm, indeed.
7. UNO hockey. In their first year in the WCHA, the Mavs had their highest-ever conference finish, third, and made the NCAAs for the second time in program history. They lost to old friend Michigan, 3-2, in St. Louis.
8. Creighton baseball. The Jays won the Valley regular-season and tournament titles, the latter in Omaha, and earned a No. 2 seed at the Oregon State regional. They went 1-2 in Corvallis, but the 45-16 season, in the first year in TD Ameritrade Park, transformed the image of the program in Omaha.
9. Ralston Arena/Civic Auditorium. Perhaps taking a cue from Sarpy County and the Storm Chasers, Ralston announced the construction of a small arena and signed up the Lancers, UNO basketball and the Omaha Beef — signaling the beginning of the end to the Civic Auditorium.
10. Omaha Nighthawks' future. The Nighthawks' second season had less buzz. In fact, there was more talk about whether there will be a third season. Joe Moglia, the chair of TD Ameritrade, was president and head coach for one season, then left to take the Coastal Carolina job, creating more uncertainty for the future.
That's my list and I'm sticking to it. If you think I left anything out, or have a better list, send me an email.
• I say Creighton needs to be careful not to lean too much on Doug McDermott. Many Creightonians say I need my head examined.
They say that the Jays proved their mettle at the end of the first half against Northwestern, coming back to take a one-point lead without Dougie — though they fell behind by eight in the first place without him.
Good point. And maybe I'm making something out of nothing, but I've seen too many teams with a superstar sit back and enjoy the show. Then when the big guy gets in foul trouble or gets cold, they don't know what to do.
That shouldn't be the case with a Jays team full of veterans, starting with senior point guard Antoine Young, and another floor leader in Grant Gibbs. That's what the Jays tell me, including coach Greg McDermott.
"He's (Doug) obviously an important part of our offense, but we can also function without him if we have to," the coach said. "That was really the first time this year, in a close game, where he's been in foul trouble and I thought the guys handled themselves well."
Maybe the thing to watch will be how the Valley refs treat Doug when the league starts this Wednesday night. Or maybe I should just sit back and enjoy the show.
• Even with Dylan Talley and Jorge Brian Diaz, Nebraska had an uphill battle in the Big Ten. Without their minutes, defense and scoring? The Huskers are pushing a boulder uphill, starting Tuesday night when Wisconsin and Big Ten hoops find the Devaney Center.
I'm picking the Huskers to win six league games. Don't ask against who. How many times do they play Iowa and Penn State?
• The Missouri Valley preseason player of the year will be on the floor at CenturyLink Center on Wednesday. He's Kyle Weems, the Missouri State senior, as voted by league coaches, media and sports information directors.
If you took that poll now, it might be unanimous for Doug McDermott.
• The Bears always seem to lose their head coach to the big conferences. The latest new guy on the bench is Paul Lusk, a longtime assistant for Matt Painter at Purdue. Lusk began his playing career at Iowa (1990-91) before transferring to Southern Illinois.
One of his assistants is Steve Woodberry, who played for Roy Williams at Kansas from 1990-94 (two Final Four teams).
• Look for Ross Els to get strong consideration for either recruiting coordinator or special teams coach at Nebraska. Els has a reputation on the staff as an organized, smart guy with good ideas. Sounds like a recruiting coordinator. Like colleague Sam McKewon, I'd be intrigued with Ron Brown as a special teams coordinator. Brown is a detail guy and he also coaches effort. That's special teams. And few teach the art of blocking better than Brown.
• The Lincoln legal system paved the way for Bo Pelini to play Mike Caputo. I'm hearing from plenty of critics who say the Lincoln folks are giving breaks to Huskers like Caputo and Lauren Cook. For years, I've heard others say the Lincoln cops and city attorneys were out to get Huskers and make examples of them. So which one is it?
• Don't know how anyone can complain about the NCAA being too tough on Ohio State. The school knowingly played ineligible players in last year's Sugar Bowl. That in itself deserves a bowl ban. As for Jim Tressel's five-year penalty, that's the NCAA saying don't lie to us.
• If you were Bill Polian, would you trade Peyton Manning or keep him? Tough call. But consider: If you keep Manning, and he can't play at his familiar high level, and he's surrounded by an average team, what's the point? It's too late then to get anything for him. I'd be tempted to move the great one now, get a high pick and a quarterback to groom Andrew Luck, and move on. Glad I'm not making the call. Much easier behind the press box window.
• The NBA should start every season at Christmas. Nobody missed anything the last two months, except players and their pay checks. Now it's a sprint until April and the playing field is somewhat leveled.
Maybe you could do like me: just don't pay attention to the NBA until Christmas. Some would say they wait until April.
• I'm making out my annual list of New Year's resolutions. At the top of my list is: don't get thrown out of a fourth-grade girls basketball game.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1025, tom.shatel@owh.com
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