Friday, March 28, 2008

Your Husker Spring Practice Update

We know, there are literally 30 some reporters who've been covering the Husker Spring Practices, and the really big news is that they're actually ALLOWED to watch what's going on, which hasn't happen in the past four years. The Lincoln Journal Star is doing a great blog on everything going on, and frankly they're so in depth with everything we can't break any new ground with shit. Oh, another good thing is that they're actually PRACTICING. With pads. And helmets. Turns out that sort of thing didn't really happen over the last four years either!

As we predicted when the coaching staff was named, Mike Ekeler is already becoming a media star and will continue to be (we WILL have a good piece on Ekeler after the spring game as we're actually going to get some things from him then about the way things are and the way things ought to be). And of course, players are openly airing their own dirty laundry and throwing the old staff under the bus, most famously Cody Glenn. I mean, we all saw THAT coming.

You know the drill, everything is different now. That happens with a new sheriff in town. But it really isn't news that some players are pissed and saying coaches promised them playing time and certain touches on certain plays during certain games. That's just nitpicking. Let it go. People lie every day. It's great that Pelini's a straight shooter and won't even play that card. The cancer's been cut, and Bo and company have their new plans and systems up and running.

What I'm just amazed at is all of the crazy stories that have transpired over the past three months about how the old staff did shit. Stuff you won't find in the mainstream media, but we'll throw some confirmed favorites here:
  • Husker Reporter Sean Callahan, who was a Billy C favorite probably because they shared the same last name and Sean really dug in and bought into the whole recruiting angle, recently saw the ex-Husker coach at an NFL Combine. He went up to Billy C just to say hello, and Old Man Callahan gave him the Heisman pose. Didn't throw a "hey" or "Hello" back, just ignored him. Yeah, I'd say Bill C's bitter about his time spent in Nebraska.
  • Didn't know this one: During the Stevie P/Billy C regime, all of the famous portraits of the Husker All-Americans that were displayed in the hallway at Memorial Stadium were taken down. After Pelini and crew came in, they found all of those pictures just stored away in a closet. They're back up now. Wouldn't that be like doing away with the retired numbers at Yankee Stadium?
  • When Callahan first came to Lincoln, he at least gave the a courtesy effort to reach out to some supporters. He posed for pictures with the owner of Jerico's in Omaha, gave Omaha's infamous Green Onion lounge an autographed photo. And then the 1994 season hit, and that shit just stopped happening. Billy C had his house way out in the boonies, and was rarely seen in public. When he was, and some BOOSTERS expressed their concern about the direction of the program, Callahan would simply walk away. One said, "We were just wanting to hear him say that things were going to get better, but he just sort of looked at us puzzled and left."

We'll have more fun ones when we hear them, but it is nice to know that players are at least really, well, practicing.

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