Nebraska takes a break from Big 12 play this weekend to welcome the Louisiana Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns to Lincoln.

Here’s what I said about the Ragin’ Cajuns before the season started:

Talk about a tale of two teams not doing what they’re expected. The Ragin’ Cajuns are currently in seventh place in the Sun Belt Conference with a 12-12 record. Their record stands at 22-23 overall and they have a RPI of 114.  What appeared to be a nasty tough match up at the beginning of the season doesn’t appear so now.

I'll admit I haven't paid much attention to the Ragin' Cajuns since I wrote my preview. I checked on them once, and I knew they weren’t doing that well. In writing this preview, I thought I’d check into why.

The Ragin’ Cajuns were ranked coming into preseason, but they started their season at 6-12. Their team batting average is fairly low, only .246. They currently have only one guy batting above .300, and that’s at Scott Hawkins at .309. He has 31 RBI and 33 runs and he leads the team in eight of offensive statistic categories.  

Danny Farquhar was one of the pitchers I mentioned in the pre-season, and he is 3-7 on the season. Another, Hunter Moody, will face Johnny Dorn on Friday in a match up of the two winningest active pitchers in college baseball. Dorn has 36 career wins, Moody 29.

The Ragin’ Cajuns are 9-10 at home, 11-12 away. Nebraska is 24-2-1 at home. Doesn’t bode well for them, does it?

Projected Starting Pitchers

	Nebraska	La-Lafayette
Friday	RH Johnny Dorn (5-1, 2.60 ERA)	LH Hunter Moody (7-2, 3.21 ERA)
Saturday - G1	RH Thad Weber (8-2, 3.75 ERA)	RH Michael Cook (5-3, 4.66 ERA)
Saturday - G2	RH Aaron Pribanic (3-3, 4.29 ERA)	LH Brent Solich (1-3, 7.05 ERA)

With how many wins will Johnny finish his Husker career?

Barring weather issues, one of the two head coaches will reach a milestone this weekend.

• Louisiana head coach Tony Robichaux needs two wins to become the 33rd active NCAA Division I head baseball coach to win 750 career games. Here’s to hoping he gets #750 somewhere else.
• Nebraska Coach Mike Anderson enters the weekend series needing two wins to reach 250 career wins. Here’s hoping he gets them.

If any of you folks are coming into Lincoln from Lafayette, you might stop by Buzzard Billy's in the Haymarket Area. The red beans n rice I had there was excellent. Tell Chris the bartender the loud guy from Corn Nation sent you, and have the Lincoln-brewed porter. It's very good as well.

The Columbus Telegram had posted a full 45-minute speech that Bo Pelini gave at a Chamber Banquet. Informative, funny. As of this morning it’s been taken down - I’m guessing they saw their bandwidth being consumed by gobs.
(Folks, that’s why people post things on youtube - so they can let them provide the bandwidth, not just because it's a place where kids can post videos of themselves picking their nose. If the link goes up there, we’ll attach it.)

He’s a good speaker - he said a lot of the right things about tradition and a return of playing with passion. If nothing else, he sounds good. It’s hard not to warm up to the guy. He also said something about success taking a while, but I have no idea what he means when he says that.

He takes a few veiled shots at the former coaching staff - nothing too heavy, but they’re there.  One that stood out for me is Pelini pointing out that while he was focused on discipline he also said it was important that the players understand that the coach has their best interests at heart - specifically ‘that I have their back’. In other words, the players need to know that the coach would support them.  I’m sure all y’all have heard some stories but let’s just say that the former ‘culture of fear’ extended beyond the people who worked for the athletic department.

He answered a questions pointing out that the players will be practicing in full pads on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then on shorts on Thursday. It’s bizarre to think that’s even a hot issue, but it garnered a fair amount of applause.

Someone must have asked him if he should have been head coach in 2003 (the sound from the questioners was suspect). Pelini responded by saying that he should not have been made head coach in 2003 because Frank Solich should not have been fired - a response which drew applause. More interesting than that (I don’t want to start a Frank debate all over again), he stated that he’s gained a lot of experience since 2003 and is more prepared to be a head coach now.

I like Pelini’s laugh - it reminds me of that guy in high school you thought was too dumb to live past 30. I mean that in a good way.

Nebraska has fallen in love with the guy. That’s not a difficult accomplishment given who he’s replaced. I just hope he’s successful. I don’t want to go through all this again in four years.

[ED - Video is backonline - located here.]

[ED - Bumped from the diaries yet again....]

The city of Lincoln has been looking towards building a new convention center area and arena in the west Haymarket area (near Haymarket Park) for some time now, and now the Journal-Star reports that the mayor has selected the Lincoln Traction Partners' proposal.

The proposal, which will go before Lincoln voters next year, contains the new Haymarket Arena (to replace the aging Pershing center), a 150-room hotel attached to the arena with 70 club-suite like rooms that face into the arena, a second 250-seat hotel near the arena, and three parking garages with built-in retail space.

The arena would likely (as seen in LTP's video) be the new home for Husker Basketball.  The arena looks to be NBA-caliber (like the Qwest Center), and would immediately be one of the top facilities in the Big XII.

Once again I sit at a chair next to the Big 12 Roundtable.  Matt from The Crimson and Cream Machine challenged us to speak of spring and what hope may or may not spring eternal.  Blankman sayeth:

1. Who are some of the new faces that emerged in the spring who could be serious playmakers for your team this fall?

A good question.  I think that Nebraska’s offensive linemen as a whole stepped up large in the spring and made some great strides.  I also think that Lance Thorell stepped up, but he could be this year’s Garth Glissman (also known as the guy we don’t hear about after the Spring Game).  I loved what I saw out of WR Curenski Gilleylen.

2. What is your biggest concern following the spring?

The defensive front seven.  Injuries and departures not to mention flat out inexperience plagues this bunch.  Not to say they will be an entire liability, but they do need to step up.  If Ndamukong Suh can come back and regain his former glory, that will help immensely along with the addition of incoming linebacker Will Compton who looks to vie for immediate playing time at MIKE.

3.  Any major changes (philosophy, coaching or personnel) that you are concerned or worried about?

Yeah, Barney Cotton.  This guy’s got about as much between the ears as Mr. Potato Head except I think I’d trust Mr. Potato Head more with my offensive line.

4.  Looking over the 2008 which home and away game will be the most difficult?

Home: Missouri
Away: Oklahoma with Texas Tech a close second

5.  Time for your way too early predictions (Yes, you can change them in August). Rank how you see your division finishing up next season.

1. Missouri

2. Nebraska

3. Colorado

4. Kansas

5. Kansas State

6. Iowa State

The walk-on program has returned under Tom Osborne.. er, Bo Pelini. Not that it ever really left under Bill Callahan, but you got the idea that it was around only as an amusement. Certainly it was de-emphasized - which means it was comparable to when you’re a civil servant and they assign you off to some meaningless corner department somewhere. You’re still getting paid and they didn’t fire you, but to everyone else you’re a dead man.

The "walk-on makes good" story is a great story. It’s a feel-good story, an American ‘rags to riches’ story. It makes a dream accessible for the everyday kid growing up in Nebraska - who when they were little didn’t dream of one day playing for the Cornhuskers?

Much is made of the walk-on program at Nebraska - I wonder if far more success is attributed to it than it deserves. I’m not saying that out of some blasphemous intent or hidden agenda, but I am wondering what others are thinking.

Given that, who’s your favorite walk-on, or better yet - when you hear the phrase ‘walk-on’ and ‘Husker’ together, what pops into your head? It can be a person, but it can also be a concept. I’d like to know what you’re thinking.

[editor's note, by corn blight] - Bumped from the diaries... we need a basketball update...

It's a week and a half into the late signing period now, and although it has certainly been an eventful week and a half for Doc Sadler and the Huskers, it has not necessarily been good news.

First off, the Huskers have had only a single official visit, when 6-10 huge man Melvin Oliver visited Lincoln during last weekend's Spring football game.  However, the visit was apparently unproductive, as Oliver promptly verbally committed to Seton Hall, pending an official visit there next weekend.

The week continued to get interesting when assistant coach and key recruiter Tony Benford left for Marquette.  Then on Thursday , Doc told the Journal-Star that he would leave the scholarship open if he did not sign a transfer.

A few years ago one of my regular clients hired a new IS Manager. Knowing his background and that he’d come from Carlson Companies, when I first met him I jokingly asked him if Curt Carlson ever liked him enough to give him a statue of himself.

My question was a joke. The guy’s response wasn’t.

“Oh, yeah, I won one of those once. They’re called ‘Curties’, about six inches tall, he used to give them out if he thought you were doing a good job”.

Egad. You have to wonder about the ego of a guy that would give out statues of himself. Not that surprising given Carlon’s success, though, as he built Carlson Companies from the ground up. He also got the University of Minnesota to name their business school after him just because he gave them a boatload of money.

There’s a life size statue of him as you enter Carlson Companies, or at least there used to be, I haven’t been out there in quite a few years. There’s a bust of him at the Carlson School of Management. The key here is that when you’re successful you can just about anything you want and get away with it - even give out little statues of yourself.

Unfortunately, when you’re not successful the same ideas can make you look really stupid. Take our old buddy Steve Pederson for example. He wanted to have statues of himself made, too.

Maybe if old Stevey P got really successful he could make miniatures - little tiny ones you could carry around so you could keep him with you and remember him all the time. Reading through his bio at Pitt, you’d have to wonder why we got rid of him:

Pederson was at Nebraska for five years and we have 23 teams, meaning there were 345 chances for teams get to get NCAA invitations. 15 out of 345 chances is... not very good is it?  I’m thinking there’s a different definition for the word ‘exceptional’ out there in Pittsburgh.

What this means is that Pitt’s standards for athletic success are a helluva low lower than they are at Nebraska, so there’s still a chance for Pedey to get his statues made and then we’ll be sorry.

Especially you because you won’t get one. Maybe you’d like to have had a ‘Pedey’?

---

One more item of interest about Pederson from that Omaha World Herald article:

Being a consultant now for about 20 years and having worked in organizations of all sizes, shapes and industries, all I have to say is

Holy crap.

The only companies I’m aware of where they do quarterly performance reviews are those that have been bought or sold or are about to be. Oh, that and those run by control freaks and megalomaniacs.

In the Big 12 this week:

- Texas A&M sweeps Missouri, including a 15-0 rout on Saturday

- Nebraska wins their first series ever in Waco

- Oklahoma State sweeps Kansas    

- Texas wins the rubber match today to win their series against KSU

You remember the beginning of the Big 12 season, where I said that the Big 12 was evenly matched and that it would be a tough conference, every game would count, blah blah blah, insert your cliche here.

Well. Here we are and the top three teams in the conference- Texas A&M, Nebraska and Oklahoma State have combined for a 47-15. There's a couple things that happened no one expected... well, except for Nebraska coach Mike Anderson.

Nebraska is really good. Texas is, well, not good. That's a huge difference in the wins and losses in conference. On to the week! 

There have been no Huskers taken on the first day of the NFL draft. I find it surprising that Carl Nicks is still available, I thought that we would at least be taken by the middle of the second round. Like I said earlier, this isn’t saying a whole lot for the talent level that Bill Callahan brought to Nebraska.

Only one Big 12 player was taken in the first round - Aqib Taliq from Kansas going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 20th pick.

The second round saw:

• WR Jordy Nelson, Kansas State, to the Green Bay Packers
• LB Curtis Lofton, Oklahoma to the Atlanta Falcons
• LB Jordon Dizon, Colorado to the Detroit Lions (poor bastard)
• WR Malcom Kelly, Oklahoma to the Washington Redskins
• WR Limas Sweed, Texas to the Pittsburgh Steelers
• TE Martellus Bennett, Texas A&M to the Dallas Cowboys
• CB Terrence Wheatle, Colorado to the New England Patriots

Two defensive players from Colorado, and Malcolm Kelly goes ahead of Limas Sweed. Wow.

Eight from the Big 12 sounds awful until you look at the major conference break downs:

• 11 from the ACC
• 8 from the Big 10
• 4 from the Big East
• 2 from Notre Dame, otherwise known as "Independents"
• 11 from the Pac -10
• 28 from the SEC

Okay, the 28 from the SEC is a typo. They had only 8 taken in the first two rounds, but it’s best not to piss them off. These SEC guys get all freaky if someone implies their conference isn't the best at football.

[UPDATE - 11:52 AM - Danny Woodhead was just on ESPN's draft day coverage. Man this guy is humble. Given the chance to spout on about his own accomplishments, he re-iterates that he'd love to be drafted, doesn't like to talk about himself, and only wants the opportunity to show what he's got. He won over the announcer dudes immediately.]

Big 12 Baseball Weekend Preview!

• Missouri at Texas A&M

The series of the week with of the top-rated teams in then nation. Perhaps a chance for Missouri to win a series and pull the Aggies out of first place if Nebraska can take care of Baylor. Texas A&M is on a 12-game conference winning streak. That's going to be put to the test tonight as Missouri's Friday dude Aaron Crow is the best pitcher in the nation.
A&M has Jose' Duran and Darby Brown beating the stitches off the balls this season. In Big 12 conference, they're batting .446 and .425 respectively. The two have combined for 35 runs, 68 hits and 49 RBI's. If that isn't enough, Dane Carter is hitting at .373 and has 22 runs and 22 RBI's by hisself.
It's Missouri's pitching against Texas A&M's offense. Other than Aaron Crow, I'm not 100% sold on the invincibility of Tiger pitching.
I would expect that A&M takes this series 2-1.

• Nebraska at Baylor

There's no reason that Nebraska should lose this series, but I don't feel good about it and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because Baylor's backs are against the wall - if they lose this series they drop further below .500 and are in danger of not making the NCAA tourney. Or maybe it's that Nebraska has never won a series in Waco.

Nebraska has the best ERA overall in the Big 12 and with Johnny Dorn (5-1, 2.60 ERA) on Fridays you know the Huskers should win. He'll be going up against Kendal Volz (3-4, 4.31 ERA). Another battle will be on Saturday when Thad Weber (7-2, 4.23 ERA) goes against Shawn Tolleson (4-2, 4.25 ERA). Sunday, Husker Aaron Pribanic (3-2, 3.86 ERA) will go against Willie Kempf (5-1, 3.75 ERA).

Baylor has struggled on offense this season, getting swept last week by the Aggies. Both teams had explosive mid-week games, with Nebraska crushing Creighton 16-7, while Baylor mashed Texas State 25-13, both on Wednesday.

Television: Saturday’s game will be televised by by Fox College Sports.
Live Video: Baylorbears.com is hosted at CSTV, so you can access the game online using CSTV's All Access feature for the Friday and Sunday games.
Note - Friday night's game has been postponed to Saturday due to inclement weather. Instead, they'll play tomorrow at 2:00 pm and 6:30 pm.
Nebraska should take this series 2-1, but like I said earlier, we've never a series in Waco.

• Kansas at Oklahoma State

Kansas hasn't won at series at Stillwater since 1992 and they won't again this year. Oklahoma State is a tough place to play (17-2 at home this season), their offensive is doing well (.324 as a team in overall play) and they've won six straight.

Don't be surprised if Okie State sweeps this one.

• Texas at Kansas State

Texas should take this series, although why do I say that? They've tanked badly this season. Kansas State certainly hasn't had the season the wanted, but they didn't have as far to fall. It's gone without much notice, but Texas currently has the two top pitchers in Big 12 conference play - Chance Ruffin and Cole Green.

It's a toss up. I'll go with Texas pitchers and Kyle Russell heat, 2-1.

• Oklahoma at Texas Tech

Oklahoma is at 4-10, Tech at 5-13. This one's truly for the basement. Tech is tough at home. Oklahoma just can't seem to win a game when they need it.

Tech wins the series 2-1. Sadly, no one cares.

Nebraska statistics below are for Big 12 conference only games because those are the ones that really count. Okay, that's not entirely true, but our goal is winning the Big 12, hosting a regional and potentially a Super Regional. That goal starts with winnning the Big 12. That's my rational and I'm sticking with it.

Click the "Full Story" link for the stats....

It's time I provided an update on where the teams are with regards to Big 12 statistics. The following are Conference Only statistics for Big 12 baseball as of April 23, 2008.

Big 12 Conference Only Pitching Statistics

To get the most out of the statistics, select your stats, then click on the 'values' button to sort the data.

For those who prefer their data in a more traditional format:

TEAM PITCHING	Games	ERA	Wins	Losses	Saves	Innings Pitched	Hits	Runs	Earned Runs	Walks	Strike Outs
Nebraska	18	4.19	13	4	8	161	161	87	75	61	159
Oklahoma State	18	4.42	11	7	6	159	144	88	78	65	133
Texas A&M	18	4.47	15	3	5	163	179	89	81	57	136
Baylor	18	5.11	8	10	3	155	165	102	88	64	130
Missouri	15	5.62	9	6	3	129.2	138	88	81	52	116
Oklahoma	15	6.13	4	10	1	130.2	151	102	89	64	99
Kansas State	15	6.27	5	10	2	130.2	155	100	91	44	87
Texas	18	6.92	8	10	5	160	189	137	123	76	116
Kansas	15	7	5	10	2	127.1	152	107	99	68	85
Texas Tech	18	7.07	5	13	1	156.2	167	128	123	102	128
Totals	84	5.67	83	83	36	1473	1601	1028	928	653	1189

Big 12 Conference Only Batting Statistics

Traditional non-interactive format:

TEAM BATTING	Games	Avg	At Bats	Runs	Hits	2B	3B	Homes	Walks	Strike Outs	SB	SB-ATT
Texas A&M	18	0.330	654	158	216	32	8	27	84	128	15	25
Oklahoma	15	0.313	530	92	166	29	5	12	42	93	18	21
Missouri	15	0.307	514	112	158	28	1	14	71	96	5	9
Kansas	15	0.282	503	91	142	26	1	18	59	140	2	5
Texas	18	0.277	614	130	170	29	4	22	82	110	12	16
Oklahoma State	18	0.272	614	99	167	19	7	17	49	114	7	10
Nebraska	18	0.264	590	103	156	33	1	11	57	109	21	31
Baylor	18	0.259	594	85	154	30	3	18	64	147	9	15
Kansas State	15	0.252	489	67	123	27	1	8	59	120	11	21
Texas Tech	18	0.248	602	91	149	33	3	12	86	132	22	28
Totals	84	0.281	5704	1028	1601	286	34	159	653	1189	122	181

Comments certainly welcome!