H U S K E R D A N
LET THE GAMES
BEGIN
This Saturday the Florida Atlantic Owls,
coached by Howard "Helicopter" Schnellenberger, will take on the Nebraska
Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. For those of you too
young to remember, it was Howard's Miami Hurricanes that handed Tom Osborne and
the Huskers the most painful, aggravating, devastating, crushing, numbing,
cataclysmic loss in the modern era (1962-2008) of Husker football
history when they upset the Huskers in the 1984 Orange Bowl.
It's been over 25 years ago (even before the
current Husker players were even born) and it still pains me. Turner
Gill's attempted two point conversion pass to Jeff Smith fell harmlessly into
the dark Miami sky, ending Tom Osborne's first chance in 11 years to grab a
national championship.
In all my years as a Husker football fan, no loss
even comes close to this one. For all of us geezers, galoots, old farts,
and codgers who still remember, it would be very nice to see ol' Howie get an
old country ass-whoopin' Saturday night. And no, any kind of a win
wouldn't come close to making up for the loss. Sigh...
SOME RANDOM
THOUGHTS...
1) I'm anxious to see how Shawn Watson's prize
student, Zac Lee, does in his first season as the projected
starter.
2) Will Cody Green have a big impact before
the season ends?
3) I'm really looking forward to seeing
"Ty-RUN-asauras Rex" Burkhead perform this fall.
4) Will he be able to pick up blitzing
linebackers who want to take Zac Lee out of the game?
5) Why do people who drive dippy little 4
cylinder cars feel compelled to install super loud mufflers on them? Do
they really think that suddenly they're driving a Top Fuelie
dragster? It's a FOUR CYLINDER!
6) Okay, where was I? Right,
football.
7) I want to see how the group of young and
inexperienced linebackers perform this fall. They should be able to
develop into a good crew, especially with the D-line anchored by the likes of
Ndamukong Suh, Pierre Allen, Barry Turner and Jared Crick.
8) It'll be interesting to see how Virginia
Tech fares at home against Alabama. Should the Hokies win, they would
likely be a Top Five team when the Huskers come to Blacksburg.
9) Husker Trivia
Question
Which former Nebraska head football
coach holds the record for the highest winning percentage at the
University of Nebraska?
a) Bob Devaney
b) Tom Osborne
c) Ewald O. "Jumbo"
Stiehm
d) Walter C. "Bummy" Booth
e) Frank Solich
(The answer appears at the end of this
column.)
10) Will Bo Pelini have a sideline meltdown
this fall?
11) Will Alex Henery be able to find a deep
snapper and holder so that he can resume his kicking success this
fall?
12) Why do instructions for DVD recorders,
cell phones etc. have to be so confusing? I know, it doesn't take much to
get me confused.
13) Why do theaters charge the same
price for all their first run movies? There are films that are less
expensive to produce, are shorter, have fewer stars, but they all cost the
same. I don't get it.
14) Will former Husker quarterback, Joe Ganz
find a place in football after this fall?
15) Why does TV network feel the
need to hire Lou Holtz as a broadcaster? It is painful to have
to listen to him. Thank goodness for the mute button.
16) Can the Huskers avoid any meltdowns this
fall?
17) Will Lane Grindle have to sub again for
Greg Sharpe this fall?
18) I can't wait until September 19th when
Tennessee travels to Florida.
19) BTW, the Gators will not win the
national championship this year.
20) It's been really difficult trying to
figure out the O-line this fall. Who's on first? What's on
second? Very confusing.
KENT PAVELKA
SIGHTING
Recently, I ran into Kent Pavelka, former voice of
Cornhusker football. I asked him about the "BB HOF" tattoo I saw on his
arm. He told me it was for his induction into the Nebraska Basketball Hall
of Fame. He also "suggested" I pay more attention to Husker
basketball.
Here are some links that will keep everyone posted
on what Kent's doing these days.
MOVIE REVIEWS
Here
is a review of some of the movies Mrs. Husker Dan and I have seen over the
summer.
RATINGS CHART
5 Stars=The Best, a
Classic
4 Stars=Good flick
3 Stars=Good, but not great
2 Stars=An hour and a half of your
life you'll never get back
1 Star= Get your money back and sue the
producer, director and the owner of the movie theater.
"Doubt" (4
Stars)
Meryl Streep
Amy Adams
Miranda Priestly meets, well, a
priest.
"My Sister's
Keeper" (2 1/2 Stars)
"Love Story" meets a Kleenix
factory
"Gran Torino" (3.5
Stars)
Clint Eastwood
Dirty Harry meets Archie
Bunker
"The
Reader" (4 Stars)
Kate Winslet
"The Graduate" meets "The Nuremberg
Trials"
"Slumdog
Millionaire" (4 Stars)
Mahatma Ghandi meets Regis
Philbin
"Sunshine
Cleaning" (3.5 Stars)
Amy Adams
Alan Arkin
CSI meets "Little Miss
Sunshine"
"NEW IN
TOWN" (3.5 Stars)
Renee Zellweger
Harry Connick, Jr.
"Fargo meets "Tommy Boy"
Some great Norwegian lines ala
"Fargo"
"Momma Mia!"
(1 Star)
Meryl Streep
Guys: If your wife, girlfriend
or ANYBODY asks you to watch this, run away as fast as you can! Just
because Meryl Streep is in it, don't take the bait!
"Marley and
Me" (1 star)
Owen Wilson and Jennifer
Aniston
Maybe the book is better. If
not, why would it be made into a movie? This is the story of a "cute"
dog that does more damage to a house than Katrina did in New
Orleans. The sad part is that the ending should have happened about 20
minutes into the movie.
ARE YOU
READY?
KEEP UP WITH THE HUSKERS THIS
FALL
Gerry Gray with Great Plains
Marketing http://www.greatplainsmktg.com/ wants
to let all the service men and women who are stationed around the world to know
that they can keep track of the latest Husker football news by tuning in to
the "Husker Radio Hour" aired Thursday nights from 6:05-7:00 Central time.
The show's co-hosts are former Husker greats Joel Makovicka and Matt
Hoskinson. On Friday nights also from 6:05-7:00, they can tune
in to the "Husker Beat Radio Show" hosted by 1620 The Zone's Mike'l Severe
and Lincoln Journal sportswriter Steve Sipple. Both shows can be accessed
via the Internet.
HUSKER TRIVIA
ANSWER
c.)
Send your comments to [email protected]. For past Husker Dan columns, click here.