aphilso1

Was the talent level really improved that quickly by Bolt? Seems like most of the key contributors this year were upperclassmen. I figured it was more of a player development thing than an overhaul of talent, but I don't follow the baseball team nearly as closely as a lot of others on this board.

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP° Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big Eight Conference) (1973–1995)ci 1973 Nebraska 9–2–1 4–2–1 T–2nd W Cotton 11T 7 1974 Nebraska 9–3 5–2 T–2nd W Sugar 9 8 1975 Nebraska 10–2 6–1 T–1st L Fiesta 9 9 1976 Nebraska 9–3–1 4–3 T–4th W Astro-Bluebonnet 7 9 1977 Nebraska 9–3 5–2 T–2nd W Liberty 10 12 1978 Nebraska 9–3 6–1 T–1st L Orange 8 8 1979 Nebraska 10–2 6–1 2nd L Cotton 7 9 1980 Nebraska 10–2 6–1 2nd W Sun 7 7 1981 Nebraska 9–3 7–0 1st L Orange 9 11 1982 Nebraska 12–1 7–0 1st W Orange 3 3 1983 Nebraska 12–1 7–0 1st L Orange 2 2 1984 Nebraska 10–2 6–1 T–1st W Sugar 3 4 1985 Nebraska 9–3 6–1 2nd L Fiesta 10 11 1986 Nebraska 10–2 5–2 3rd W Sugar 4 5 1987 Nebraska 10–2 6–1 2nd L Fiesta 6 6 1988 Nebraska 11–2 7–0 1st L Orange 10 10 1989 Nebraska 10–2 6–1 2nd L Fiesta 12 11 1990 Nebraska 9–3 5–2 3rd L Florida Citrus 17T 24 1991 Nebraska 9–2–1 6–0–1 T–1st L Orange 16 15 1992 Nebraska 9–3 6–1 1st L Orange† 14 14 1993 Nebraska 11–1 7–0 1st L Orange† 3 3 1994 Nebraska 13–0 7–0 1st W Orange† 1 1 1995 Nebraska 12–0 7–0 1st W Fiesta† 1 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big 12 Conference) (1996–1997) 1996 Nebraska 11–2 8–0 1st (North) W Orange† 6 6 1997 Nebraska 13–0 8–0 1st (North) W Orange† 1 2 It seems you have completely forgotten what Dr. Osborne's on-field results looked like, so I have provided them for your reference.

I get that this is the off-season so there isn't much else to talk about, but I just don't care enough about creighton to give them the level of attention y'all are. Sure, I want to crush them. Their fans are horrible and entitled, they're our rival, and we haven't beat them in a long time. Come creighton game week, I will be right there with all of you. But obsessing over their roster moves 5 months before the season starts...that just screams Little Brother Mentality.

That's a pretty good point. Imagine being the #1 team in the country, and your reward is to draw a team that just ran laps around the B1G. I get that the NCAA is punishing Big Ten teams for not playing OOC, but it is also punishing the other teams in those regionals at the same time.

Hoiberg was a proven commodity at time of hire and Frost was not. Hoiberg's recruiting is trending upward while Frost's level of recruiting still seems kind of TBD. Basketball is easier to turn around due to the smaller roster. For all these reasons, I vote HCFH. Full disclosure: I was never sold on Frost as a "can't miss hire." He inherited great players and a great system at Oregon. He was handed the keys to a Maserati and didn't crash it. That is more than a lot of coaches do, but not something that screams "elite offensive mind" to me. Then he landed a fantastic job for a first time head coach looking to build a resume; he inherited a team that on paper looked horrible coming off of the infamous 0-12 season, but was loaded with talent and knew how to win (10-4, 12-1, 9-4 in the three seasons prior to 0-12). UCF was a program poised for a quick rebound, and whatever coach was at the helm for the rebound would be lauded as a miracle worker. I don't intend any of that to be a knock on Frost. Most up-and-coming coaches also had good luck to help build their resume. But it is a reminder that there's a big difference between hiring a young, up-and-coming coach and a proven commodity. I remember debating a lot with co-workers and friends who all thought Frost was a surefire bet to turn the program around. I was more on the fence in whether he would ultimately work out, but agreed that he should be Moos' first offer given the combination of him being a famous alum and the hottest name in coaching at the time.

1. Husker hoops. I've attended more Nebrasketball games (and losses) than probably all of my other teams combined. The amount of emotional anguish that I've been through with Husker hoops would make it the sweetest championship of all. 2. Notre Dame football. My first love. Those shiney gold helmets sucked me into the world of sports fandom at the tender age of 5, and I've been a glutton for punishment ever since. Sadly, ND's last title was in my lifetime, but a few years before I became a fan. 3. United States men's soccer. Winning a World Cup would mean beating the world at their own game. I can't imagine how amazing that would be to witness. 4. Husker baseball. Growing up in Omaha attending the CWS every year + cutting afternoon classes to catch Husker home openers in college = pure nostalgia. I don't watch nearly as much Husker baseball since moving out of state, but a CWS run would still be a thing of dreams for me. 5. Sporting KC. This one is specific -- I want to see Sporting win CONCACAF Champions League in my lifetime. The boys have won every other trophy available, but winning at the continental level and beating the best Mexican teams would be awesome. It's only rated this low because Champions Leagues can be really weird and unbalanced competitions, and starters often don't even play in the early rounds. ----- large gap ----- 6. Phillies baseball. I've already celebrated a Phillies' World Series, so this is way down the priority list. 7. Utah Jazz. I'm trying to care abut my local NBA team. I just am not a big NBA guy though.

The Boys in Blue looked good again this weekend. I'm surprised how much productivity we are getting up top from Pulido + the Island of Misfit Toys. Pulido is making everyone around him look like superstars, which is much-needed with Johnny on the shelf. Also, shoutout to Ilie for being a rock the past couple matches while playing out of position at CB.

Houston is a nuisance because they take points from us regularly with a far less talented team. They always seem to play their best against SKC and then tank the rest of their schedule. But they also have like 5 total fans in the stands, so it feels weird to hate them. That would be like hating the Miami Marlins.

Are they really the team you hate the most? Can't say I support them, but they are super entertaining to watch when Josef is healthy. Although I get the issues with their fanbase. They do come across as entitled with a very cookie-cutter manufactured culture. But I think that would be the case with any fanbase that wins a title in Year 2. The bandwagon was full before they could develop a culture of their own. Personally, I would place LAFC, Seattle, and Portland at the top of my most hated teams list.

Bad take. Sporting KC has lifted a trophy 7 times since 2000; Tottenham has lifted one.

It's a trombone and the songs aren't random. When the stadium is at full capacity (during non-COVID times), the fans in the Cauldron sing and chant the entire match along with the trombonist and drummers. There are specific songs for corner kicks, for big saves, for goals, and even ones for specific times in the match.

Yes, and you should never speak to that relative ever again.

That or he will start to resemble Lil Red *shudders*

As an avid disc golfer, I am honored that you would consider my recreational pastime for Olympic consideration. Also, fun little disc golf factoid -- my current home course is actually hosting the 2021 Professional Disc Golf World Championships next month. Pretty cool. That's sort of like having your country club selected as the US Open host. And bizarrely enough, The Disc Store in Omaha got the contract as the exclusive vendor for the tournament. So the place I used to buy my discs at my old home is one of the key sponsors for the World Championships being played at my new home 900 miles away. What are the odds?

11. 3-on-3 basketball

The uniforms have changed a bit over the years, too.

Basketball means 5-on-5. You can play 1-on-1, 2-on-2, et al variants, but the game as designed is 5-on-5. My personal druthers would be for the Olympics to be limited to the actual main version of a sport and to cut its variants. Obviously that line is subjective, particularly when it comes to track and field and swimming. Do we really need 6 different lengths of freestyle swimming events? Sure seems like elite swimmers win multiple length events regularly, which tells me that the events are more similar than they are different. Perhaps it should be just a "sprint" distance and "marathon" distance for each swimming discipline. Basketball is more clear cut though. The world recognizes 5-on-5 as the standard for the sport. If you disagree, then I challenge you to name a single country where a 3-on-3 basketball league is the sport's dominant league. I highly doubt you can find one. 5-on-5 and basketball are synonymous, and 3-on-3 is what you do at neighborhood park when you can't find enough people to play a real game.

Yard House. And if you like poke nachos, you should hit Twisted Cork next time you're in Omaha (note: this is a different restaurant and not the same as the better known Twisted Fork). Twisted Cork has the best seafood in Omaha and some really creative dishes. Super underrated restaurant.

CONCACAF Champions League is set up for Americans to fail though. Playing that tournament in March and April, when MLS teams are just coming back from the off-season while the other leagues are in mid-season form, is not exactly a great litmus test. Not saying MLS is on par with Liga MX (we're clearly not there yet) but the gap isn't as big as CONCACAF Championship League results imply.

As a transplant who attends RSL games while wearing Sporting Blue, I appreciate the subtle dig. People here think Rio Tinto is a great atmosphere and I kinda LOL at that. Nowhere close to the atmosphere at Children's Mercy Park.

Puncec and the new French CB with the long hyphenated name are both out with hammies. Not sure why Graham Smith wasn't slotted alongside Fontas though. We are deep in the midfield and thin both up top and in the backline, so I think you will continue to see 4-5 midfielders start just with a couple playing out of position.

That's an interesting question. I don't watch a ton of second division English soccer, as I pretty much will just turn on a match as background fodder if there's an American playing. And I can't say I've seen a ton of crossover of players jumping back and forth between MLS and EFL Championship. So all I have to go off of is the eyeball test, and generally speaking I think the best team in MLS is comparable to better-than-average EFL Championship teams. That being said, the salary gap is significant when you look at teams at the top of EFL that bounce back and forth with the Premier League and compare them to MLS. Norwhich City, for example, has a roster that converts to roughly $30M. Inter Miami has the highest paid MLS roster at $18M. Cracking that Top 3 is probably unrealistic even for the best MLS teams. General related thought: I always find it interesting that casual fans want to compare MLS to second tier English soccer. I think the underlying implication is that MLS is a 'minor league' quality league. However, MLS compares favorably to the majority of first division leagues around Europe, just not the top ones in England, Germany, France, or Italy. Hypothetically speaking, if you drop a good MLS team (like LAFC, for example) into Netherlands' Eredivisie I think they would be middle of the pack. I say that because I've seen quite a few players come over to MLS from the Eredivisie and fail to crack their MLS team's starting lineup. So it's not like being a good player in that league makes you elite in MLS. The talent gap isn't very large, other than when looking at the elite teams in those two leagues (like comparing Seattle to Ajax). I'm using Netherlands as an example, but I think you could say the same thing about most of the European leagues when comparing their roster talent to MLS roster talent.

Also, Seattle looks insane this year. They are scary good, and with this year's unbalanced schedule we have to play them thrice (and two of those in Seattle!) which is not a good thing.

Excellent point. Done.

All the Sporting Kansas City love got buried in the "Live Sports are Back!" thread and, seeing as how there are actually a couple other SKC fans on this page, I have decided to make this the home for all SKC talk. Yes, it is insanely off-topic for a Husker basketball message board. So sue me. I will start. I was very impressed by Salloi's performance yesterday, especially in the first 30 minutes. he was decisive whether dribbling at a defender, passing, or shooting. His first touch was on point. I have blasted his lack of talent for the past few years but he absolutely looked like he belonged on the pitch yesterday.