Pelini to be Named Head Coach?

ESPN is reporting according to the ever popular "multiple, unconfirmed sources" that Bo Pelini will be named head coach early next week. Turner is still my #1 choice but when your #2 choice is this guy, things could be worse (see 2003 coaching search). However, rumors are only rumors until T.O. says something.

Osborne Back as Nebraska Head Coach

clipped from www.omaha.com NU Football: Osborne is interim head coach LINCOLN — Make sure that you're sitting down for this one: Nebraska has a new head football coach. It's Tom Osborne. The 70-year-old interim athletic director appointed himself Wednesday as interim head coach. Unfortunately, it is only temporary and only for recruiting. We can dream...

Nebraska Coaching Update

So, here is what we know: Bo Pelini has already interviewed. Turner Gill will interview shortly (or did today). All other candidates are complete speculation (Jim Grobe, Brian Kelly, Guy from Boise State [there is no need to look up his name]). Tom Osborne will pick the right person. We'll probably know before the end of the week, which will give the new coach a chance to get some recruiting done in the next two weeks. Stay tuned...

2007 is turning out to be a fine year for the University of Nebraska

And not just because Callahan got fired. This should make Robb and gang very happy---The UNL is back in the Top Ten, in a really, really good way. The Scientist just released its 2007 version of the Best Places to Work in Academia and UNL came in at an impressive #8! Given the large number of superb universities and research institutes in the USA, this is no mean feat. I guess the N does stand for Knowledge! (Well, that joke just doesn't work as well in print as it does in the spoken realm.) Congrats, y'all. v.

Callahan Fired!

Hooray! Press conference at 10:30 AM Eastern on ESPN2/NEWS!

V: Free Barry! Indict Bush!

[V is back with another rant. This is pretty surprising if you know V. He hates him some Barry Bonds. Seriously, he's like a dog with a bone with that guy. We've had to pull him away from strangers who V felt did not hate Bonds enough. There is significantly less schadenfreude here than I was, frankly, looking forward to. Mostly it's just facts and $#!#. Enjoy.] So they indict Barry Bonds and he could possibly spend 15-20 years in jail for perjury and obstruction of justice? Look, I hate Bonds too, but COME ON! The money-grubbing, low-life owners and the commissioner knew perfectly well what was going on since the mid-90s. The fat-cat owners got obese on the juiced-up game (and BTW, more than half the population doesn't care if athletes use steroids) and they want to send Bonds to jail? Bonds is merely an attention whore. You want to serve him justice? Ignore him and don't put him in the Hall of Fame. You want to indict somebody who told significant lies? How about Bush, Cheney, and the rest of the treasonous bastards in this administration? Damn, the hypocrisy kills me. While on hypocrisy, it is in all of your interest to know that Bush just vetoed a bill that would raise the NIH budget from about $29 billion to about $30 billion annually. He vetoed a billion dollar (about 3%) increase for the single most essential funding mechanism for biomedical research in this country. Apparently, (and I quote from the article) "the president decried the Democrat-led Congress for engaging in what he called a 'spending spree,' and said that the legislative majority was 'acting like a teenager with a new credit card.'" You have got to be kidding me, right? Through 2008, we would have spent at least $600 billion on an avoidable, useless war in Iraq. That money could have funded ALL of NIH biomedical research at current levels for the next 20 years. If you trust the latest congressional projections on the total cost of the war and its aftermaths (approx. $1.6 trillion), then that money could have funded the total NIH budget, with an annual 10% increase, for at least the next 40 years! (my calculations: 30 billion at 10% compound interest over 40 years turns into approx 1.3 trillion). I’m getting desperately sad. Come on people, can’t we do anything to stop this nonsense?

Evening Chuckle: Please Pay Them Already

Oh, and put the Daily Show and Colbert back on YouTube while you're at it.

Warren Buffett Is Awesome

...and not just because he is from Nebraska (although that helps). He argued today in front of the Senate finance committee in favor of the Estate Tax. He further argued that the revenues from the Estate Tax should be used to give tax breaks to the poor. How novel. That's right. The third richest man in the world is in favor of a tax...on the rich. Let me see if I have this straight. People with more money pay more taxes and people with less money pay less taxes? Huh. [At least all the rich aren't complete bastards.]

Another Example of Why Elections Matter

clipped from www.nytimes.com Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Two dates — two numbers. Read them and weep for what could have, and should have, been. On Sept. 11, 2001, the OPEC basket oil price was $25.50 a barrel. On Nov. 13, 2007, the OPEC basket price was around $90 a barrel. In the wake of 9/11, some of us pleaded for a “patriot tax” on gasoline of $1 or more a gallon to diminish the transfers of wealth we were making to the very countries who were indirectly financing the ideologies of intolerance that were killing Americans and in order to spur innovation in energy efficiency by U.S. manufacturers. But no, George Bush and Dick Cheney had a better idea. And the Democrats went along for the ride. They were all going to let the market work and not let our government shape that market — like OPEC does. If God really did want George W. Bush to be president (as some have contended), He must really hate America. Either that or Islam really is the one, true faith. Either way, it is going to take decades to get over the damage he has done (Bush that is, not God).

What Did I Just Say?

I said this. Others are saying similar things. Give it up John. It is the only way you can beat her.

One More Reason to Buy a Hybrid

clipped from www.latimes.com Will Chavez pull the trigger? Venezuelans may give their president the power to restrict oil production -- and cause a global recession. On Dec. 2, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez can tip the world into a recession. On that day, if Venezuelan citizens pass the dozens of constitutional amendments on the ballot, Chavez will essentially be granted dictatorial powers -- an elected strongman reminiscent of Spain's Franco, Italy's Mussolini and Orwell's Big Brother. The day could easily deteriorate into one of violence, martial law and suspension of oil production, the latter calculated to inflict maximum damage on the U.S. economy. This is probably a bit alarmist, but it is interesting. Chavez needs oil revenue pretty badly to keep his influence up in Latin America; so, I can't imagine him shutting the tap completely but he could certainly drive the price of oil way up. Can we have a rational energy policy now, morons?

Perhaps I Spoke Too Soon on Clinton

I'm not going to go too far out on this limb, but I may have overstated how handily Hilary Clinton had already wrapped up not only the Democratic nomination but the actual Presidency. The latest polls in Iowa and New Hampshire show that Clinton, Obama, and (although less so) Edwards are getting awfully tight. So, here's a little advice: Edwards people in IA and NH, get behind Obama. If you want to beat (as my brother calls her, Hillary W.) Clinton and then win the White House, get behind the guy who has the money and can actually beat her. If Obama wins Iowa and New Hampsire, he'll roll. Remember Kerry? (I know we'd all prefer to forget.) Again, I have no dog in this fight (stay tuned for more Unity '08 BTW). I'm just saying.

Callahan Prefers to Be Fired

clipped from www.kmtv.com Callahan Asked To Resign, Refuses Action 3 News as learned from two separate sources close to the Nebraska football program that head coach Bill Callahan addressed the team before practice and told them he was asked to resign.    Coach Callahan according to both sources told the team he would not step down as head coach. He must have enjoyed it so much when Al Davis canned him that he wants it again. Unfortunately, Tom will probably be nicer about it than Davis. What a selfish @$$hole. If he were to resign we could start an open search for a coach. We might be able regain an air of stability and help improve recruiting. Callahan clearly cares about Nebraska and the program...I wonder if he'll shout "See ya later, you %#$@ing hillbillies!" as he is driving out of Lincoln? I know what I'll say, "Don't let the door hit you, dumbest coach in America!"

If Dems Win the VA Senate...

If the Democrats in Virginia take control of the Senate that means that they will have control for the next re-districting. If so, I will absolutely hold their feet to the fire for REAL non-partisan re-districting. This is what we need to help reform the U.S. Congress. Non-partisan re-districting went down to defeat in California a couple of years ago (mostly for unrelated reasons). That ballot initiative was my great hope for leading the way in non-partisan redistricting across our nation. Virginia can now be that hope - that leader. Imagine - competitive House races! Election years when more than 1% of Congress turns over. (God forbid, if you are invested in the status quo.) So, if the VA Senate goes Democratic, it will be up to all of us to make sure that Congressional (etc.) districts are drawn reasonably, not partisanly. Non-partisan redistricting is, quite simply, vital to changing the hyper-polarized politics in this country and a way to bring us all back to the rational center. So, Virginia Democrats - be forewarned. We will be watching. And if you put partisanship before common sense, you may lose control of the Senate as quickly as you gained it (if you do).

Next Nebraska Head Coach?

clipped from sports.espn.go.com After years as a doormat, Bulls stomp to the top of the MAC "Turner's got excellent demeanor," said Ohio coach Frank Solich, who had Gill on his staff when he coached Nebraska from 1998-2003. "He's always showing composure. That rubs off on his players." It needs to be Turner Gill. I like Bo Pelini (and wouldn't be disappointed with him as head coach) but Gill knows/is NU football. Plus, if Gill comes he will stay for 15-20 years. I don't have any reason to believe the same would be true of Pelini.

V: Manning v. Brady; Seriously, Is This Even Close?

[Guest blogger V is back with some random musings/rantings on sports. As always, his views do not represent those of this blog - although I completely agree with everything he says. Also, as long as we are talking sports, if you root for Notre Dame over Navy today, you hate the troops. Just so you know.] The Patriots-Colts tilt on Sunday: I was initially tempted to think that the Pats will win this game by over 2 TDs. But, back in 1998 another team (with an in-form Randy Moss) was tearing up the league. The 1998 Minnesota Vikings set the single-season scoring record and won 15 of 16 games in the regular season. Their one regular-season loss came at the hands of Tampa Bay, whose head coach then was - Tony Dungy. [Editor's note: Whooo!!] So, I don’t know about tomorrow's game. Tony’s one of the best coaches I have seen. Heck, he built such a good team (especially defensively) in Tampa that even Jon Gruden couldn't screw it up before they won a Super Bowl. And before you Chucky apologists come at me with your underwear all in a bunch, I'll have you know that I only needed two pieces of evidence to revoke Gruden's "offensive genius" status: Chris Simms and Bill Callahan. Game over, thanks for playing. [Editor's note: Those two destroyed my two favorite teams!] Anyway, I am tired of hearing (from the national media, not just the local Indianapolis yahoos) about how Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are 1A and 1B and either could be either. Seriously, is this even close? Brady has achieved far more while having far less to work with. Manning is a very good NFL QB and will go down in history as such, but Brady is just far, far better. Brady is dangerously close to laying claim to being the best EVER in the history of the game (and two more Super Bowl titles will do it, in my opinion). Peyton will (or should anyway) be remembered for his Gregory Hines imitating happy feet in big games, for managing many big games badly, and for being the "class act" and his throwing his O-line under the bus. Notice how the TV talking heads love to verbally fellate Manning when things go well ("you see, Tom Moore gives him 3 plays and he chooses one at the line" - "he sees the entire field" - what a master of the game" - "what a field general" - "coach on the turf" - "look at him audible so beautifully" - etc, etc, etc) and curiously give him a pass when he screws up. Like when used to consistently call the wrong plays in big playoff games. In consecutive years when he was being repeatedly planted on the turf in New England, it would have been nice to see him hand the ball off to Edgerrin James more, or call some screen passes or draws - anything to make the pass rush hesitate. (If I remember correctly, in the second of those debacles - in bad weather, when he was getting killed by the rush - Edgerrin handled the only ball 14 times in the entire game. As good as a back and receiver that he was, Edge should have handled the ball 35 times). But Manning wanted to win with his ego and lost miserably. And then, don't forget, he threw his O-line under the bus. When Manning finally won a title, it was as much on the legs of Addai and Rhodes as with his arm. So he finally learned his lesson on play calling. So he's a good QB. But to try and place him as "arguably the best of all time" (like many in the media do) is laughable. Just amongst the QBs that I have seen play, I could argue that Montana, Elway, Kelly (remember the years when he ran a pretty good no-huddle, and but for one unfortunate Scott Norwood field goal attempt might have gotten at least as many rings as Manning?), Marino, and Favre were all better than Manning. I could also argue that Young and Aikman were at least as good as Manning too. Brady stepped in as a replacement on what was then perceived to be a so-so team at best, and was immediately excellent. He stepped in and suddenly that team elevated its play to incredible heights. And he never looked back; in fact, he only gotten better. Brady has never had a catastrophic performance in any game, let alone a big game. And his team has maintained an unbelievably high level of play through constant player flux on offense. I'll concede that Brady had Vinatieri, but then again Brady did command an offense of relative no-names and, at crucial times, repeatedly put the team in position for Vinatieri to do his magic. I think the fact that nobody saw Brady coming is the reason that the talking heads still have some reservation about admitting to how great he really is. The ESPN blowhards like to pride themselves on their prognosticating skills (in particular you, Mel Kiper, who used to go by Mel Kuyper Jr. a few years ago), and therefore find it hard to psychologically digest that they completely whiffed on a player who might end up being the best ever at his position. Whereas Manning, they rated very highly from the beginning. Plus he's got the last name that magically buys him get-out-of-jail cards when he screw up, so it seems like he screws up less than he actually does. Their egos are tangled up in it, so what do you expect? Objectivity? Ha! A-Rod: While banging on ESPN, can I ask that the media, starting with Peter Gammons and Co., please stop with the self-righteous indignation about A-Rod disrespecting the game by announcing during Game 4 that he would not re-up with the Yankees. I'm no fan of A-Rod or Scott Boras but sheeeesh. Hey media people, (and I'm quoting The Onion and Steven Colbert) I just had a stroke of genius. Are you ready? Open your mouth, baby birds, cause Mama's about to drop you one sweet, fat nightcrawler - If you guys don't talk about it, it will not be news. And if you plead (as you do repeatedly) that it was news and that you were duty-bound to cover it, then cover it and move on to your pieces on - here, I have some suggestions - how a cancer-survivor closed out the World Series, how Boston came back from the brink of elimination against Cleveland, how Manny Ramirez is a better hitter than A-Rod will ever be, how a minor league team won 21 out of 22 games to qualify to meet Boston in the World Series, how the Red Sox fans are now more obnoxious than the Yankee fans were etc, etc. And if you cannot move on because you have to cater to the public demand (as you've pled) i.e., if A-Rod and Boras can indeed capture enough public interest by their announcement to actually, successfully, upstage the World Series (as you've accused them of/have vilified them for doing) then guess what? - the story IS bigger than the World Series and A-Rod has the right to do as he damn well pleases. So shut your ad-revenue-whoring mouths and deal with it. For years now, the media has defended its catering to the lowest common denominators by citing public interest. "If we give Anna Nicole Smith 1000 times the coverage that we give Kurt Vonnegut, that's because that's what the people want. We are not supposed to make moral judgments - we provide you decide - supply and demand - ratings - advertising revenue - blah-blah-freaking-rationalization-blah". Well folks, when for the sake of profit you (i) pander to the basest in human nature, (ii) systematically cull intelligent programming because it is easier to make and sell crap, (iii) schedule your games to end past midnight, well then you raise a generation of kids that, for instance, may care more about A-Rod’s contract than about your showcase game itself. Congratulations!

AFRICOM

clipped from www.theatlantic.com The Next Frontier Africa matters. It is no longer a third-rate theater of war. The Pentagon’s decision to stand up a war-fighting command exclusively for Africa by the end of 2008 presages a new direction for the global war on terrorism, with profound implications for the military and its relations with the State Department and other executive-branch institutions. It also provides a way for the United States to deal with a rising China. I've said before that China could be the battleground for the proxy war between China and the U.S. Question is will this make Africa a worse place? And is that even possible?

1,000 Years?

clipped from www.washingtonpost.com The Invincible Man Aubrey de Grey, 44 Going on 1,000, Wants Out of Old Age Aubrey de Grey may be wrong but, evidence suggests, he's not nuts. This is a no small assertion. De Grey argues that some people alive today will live in a robust and youthful fashion for 1,000 years. He's probably nuts...but if not, I want in.