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Shaq raps on New York stage, takes shots at Kobe
(Posted 06/24/2008. Written by espn.com. )

Four years, two teams and a championship later, Shaquille O'Neal is still ripping Kobe Bryant.

Video on TMZ.com shows the Phoenix Suns center doing a freestyle rap in a nightclub on Sunday night in which he puts down his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate.

"You know how I be," Shaq rapped. "Last week Kobe couldn't do without me."

Bryant led the Lakers to the NBA Finals this season, but they were beaten 4-2 by the Boston Celtics.

O'Neal and Bryant last played together during the 2003-04 season, when the duo led the Lakers to the Finals. They lost to the Pistons that season, and soon after O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat, breaking up a duo that won three titles.

O'Neal went on to win a championship with the Heat in 2006. During his rap, O'Neal, who was traded to the Suns last year, said that he is "the difference between first and last place."

He also implored the crowd to sing along to his oft-repeated chorus: "Kobe [expletive], tell me how my [expletive] tastes."

Smiling and laughing often, O'Neal also sang that Bryant broke up his marriage.

"I'm a horse. Kobe ratted me out," he rapped. "That's why I'm getting divorced. He said Shaq gave a [woman] a mil. I don't do that 'cause my name's Shaquille. I love 'em, I don't leave 'em. I got a vasectomy, now I can't breed 'em."

In 2004, Bryant, while embroiled in a rape investigation, alleged that O'Neal paid up to $1 million in hush money to various women. O'Neal told ESPN then: "This whole situation is ridiculous."

After repeating the chorus a number of times on Sunday night, O'Neal ended his rap by singing, " Kobe, you can't do without me" over and over.

Reached by ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on Monday, O'Neal issued the following statement: "I was freestyling. That's all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever. That is what MC's do. They freestyle when called upon. I'm totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all. And by the way, don't forget, six albums, two platinum, two gold. Anybody who knows me knows I'm a funny freestyler. Check the NBA DVD when I was rapping about Vlade Divac during my first championship run. Please tell everybody don't make something out of nothing."

O'Neal and Bryant do have a history of feuding, however, which started even before the Lakers split them up. Bryant bristled when O'Neal called him his "little brother." At one point, Bryant questioned O'Neal's conditioning.

Soon after being traded by the Lakers, O'Neal didn't hide his disdain, calling Bryant a "clown" and a "joke."

In recent years, however, the war of words has quieted, and O'Neal even went on record as saying that Bryant should have won the 2007 MVP award.

On Monday, O'Neal tried to explain how the freestyle format shouldn't be taken too seriously.

"Everyone that knows Shaq knows two things about me: One, that I'm a rapper, and two, that I'm a comedian. When I played with Kobe, me, him, Brian Shaw, J.R. Rider, we had freestyle sessions all the time. ... all in fun and we said crazier stuff than that. If I hurt anyone's feelings, I apologize."

Georgia climbs back to knock off Fresno State in Game 1
(Posted 06/24/2008. Written by espn.com. )

Joey Lewis hit a tiebreaking double in Georgia's four-run eighth inning, and the Bulldogs came from three runs down to defeat Fresno State 7-6 in Game 1 of the College World Series finals on Monday night.

Fresno State appeared to take control in the top of the eighth when it scored three runs to go up 6-3. But Georgia (45-23-1) wasn't finished, and now stands one win away from a second national championship to go with the one it won in 1990.

Fresno State (45-31), 4-0 in elimination games in the NCAA tournament, will try to keep its improbable postseason run alive when the teams meet in Game 2 on Tuesday.

After Matt Olson singled leading off the bottom of the eighth, Fresno State called on closer Brandon Burke. Gordon Beckham sent Burke's second pitch over the fence in left-center for his 27th homer, with Burke breaking into a big smile and shaking his head as soon as the ball left the bat.

Burke (4-6) walked Rich Poythress, and then Matt Cerione doubled into the left-field corner. Poythress made it home from first, coming across the plate for the tying run as Danny Muno's relay throw hit him in the back.

Cerione scored the go-ahead run when Lewis' bouncer up the middle glanced off the second-base bag and shot into short left field.

All-America closer Joshua Fields, who gave up four runs to Stanford in the ninth inning Saturday, set Fresno State down 1-2-3 to end the game.

Will Harvil (2-1), the fourth of Georgia's five pitchers, worked a third of the inning for the win.

Fresno State led 6-3 in the top of the eighth after Steve Susdorf hit a tiebreaking double.

Susdorf's nation-leading 32nd double off Alex McRee ignited a three-run eighth that gave Fresno State's depleted pitching staff a little cushion. Tommy Mendonca hit his 18th homer and Detwiler followed with an RBI double against Justin Earls for a 6-3 lead.

Fresno State got home runs from the bottom of its lineup to take a 3-2 advantage.

Jordan Ribera, the No. 9 hitter who came in batting .118 in the CWS, homered off Georgia starter Trevor Holder's first pitch of the third inning.

In the fifth, after Holder walked Ryan Overland, Detwiler sent a drive high into the stands in left field for his second homer in Omaha and 10th of the season.

Before its eighth-inning outburst, Georgia had scored single runs in the first, fourth and sixth innings.

Woods set to have season-ending knee surgery
(Posted 06/20/2008. Written by espn.com. )

Tiger Woods walked tenderly out of Torrey Pines with a U.S. Open trophy he was destined to win on a left leg worse than anyone imagined. A group of children called out to him and Woods looked over and waved.

It turned out to be a most symbolic gesture.

So long, Tiger.

See you next year.

Woods revealed Wednesday he has been playing for at least 10 months with a torn ligament in his left knee, and that he suffered a double stress fracture in his left leg two weeks before the U.S. Open. He said he will have season-ending surgery, knocking him out of the final two majors and the Ryder Cup.

"I know much was made of my knee throughout the last week, and it was important to me that I disclose my condition publicly at an appropriate time. I wanted to be very respectful of the USGA and their incredibly hard work, and make sure the focus was on the U.S. Open," Woods said on his Web site. "Now, it is clear that the right thing to do is to listen to my doctors, follow through with this surgery, and focus my attention on rehabilitating my knee."

He sure wasn't listening to doctors by playing the U.S. Open, a victory that now looks even more impressive.

Out of competition for two months because of April 15 surgery to clean out cartilage in his left knee, he suffered a double stress fracture in his left tibia two weeks before the U.S. Open.

Hank Haney, his swing coach, was with him in Florida when doctors told Woods the preferred treatment was three weeks on crutches, followed by three weeks of rest.

According to Haney, Woods looked at the doctor and said: "I'm playing the U.S. Open, and I'm going to win."

"And then he started putting on his shoes," Haney recalled. "He looked at me and said, 'Come on, Hank. We'll just putt today.' Every night, I kept thinking there was no chance he's going to play. He had to stop in his tracks for 30 seconds walking from the dining room table to the refrigerator.

"He was not going to miss the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. There just wasn't any discussion."

And it was a U.S. Open that will be talked about for years.

Despite a torn anterior cruciate ligament and the double stress fracture, Woods managed to win a major that required five days of flinching, grimacing and a long list of spectacular shots that have defined his career.

He went 91 holes on a leg that got worse each day, finally defeating Rocco Mediate on the 19th hole of a playoff.

"When I talk about golf, he doesn't count," Mediate said Monday after the playoff. "He's not normal."

Woods, 32, did not say when he would have surgery, but he canceled a clinic that was scheduled for Tuesday at Comerica Park in Detroit. Haney said the typical recovery is six to eight months. This will be Woods' third surgery in five years on his left knee.

"There will be debate whether he rushed back for the U.S. Open," said Mark Steinberg, his agent at IMG. "But I don't think there will be any debate that he rushes back from his next surgery. He won't need to. Augusta is in April. And if things go according to plan, he'll be able to play an event or two or three."

Woods first went to Haney toward the end of 2002 to overhaul a violent swing that was putting enormous pressure on his left knee. Haney suspects the pain has been increasing, and Woods stopped hitting balls after his rounds at last year's British Open.

"He's been playing way less than 100 percent for a long, long, time," Haney said. "It has limited him a lot in practice. He's going to come back better than he's ever been."

Woods was already plenty good, with 65 victories that rank third all time on the PGA Tour, and 14 professional majors that are second only to the record 18 won by Jack Nicklaus. This is the 500th week Woods has been ranked No. 1 in the world.

Even in his abbreviated 2008 season, he won five of seven tournaments worldwide. Dating to the discovery of the torn ACL, Woods won nine of 12 tournaments, including two majors, and never finished lower than fifth.

"While I am obviously disappointed to have to miss the remainder of the season, I have to do the right thing for my long-term health and look forward to returning to competitive golf when my doctors agree that my knee is sufficiently healthy," Woods said. "My doctors assure me with the proper rehabilitation and training, the knee will be strong and there will be no long-term effects."

Woods will miss a major for the first time in his career -- the British Open next month at Royal Birkdale and the PGA Championship, where Woods is the two-time defending champion, in August at Oakland Hills in Michigan.

"Tiger is an enormous attraction, there's no denying that," Royal & Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson said. "But the Open Championship has had many exciting finishes which Tiger has not been part of, and I'm sure there will be more. It's very sad. We're very sorry that he's succumbed to the injury and he won't be competing in the Open.

"We hope he has the speediest recovery."

Woods also will miss the Ryder Cup in September, meaning the ninth player in the U.S. standings will qualify for the team. Coincidentally, Woods had mathematically clinched a spot on the team by winning the U.S. Open.

"We sent him flowers for winning the U.S. Open. Now I wish I had put in a note of condolences," U.S. captain Paul Azinger quipped. "But this is not about Tiger and the Ryder Cup. It's about Tiger getting better and his march to history."

The majors won't miss Woods nearly as much as the PGA Tour -- and the networks that televise it -- especially in the second year of the FedEx Cup, which Woods won in a landslide last year.

He still might be on top of the points race in August leading to the playoffs. Even with Woods no longer playing the rest of the year, he will keep his spot in the playoff events for which he is eligible.

"Tiger is our tour," Kenny Perry said from the Travelers Championship, which starts Thursday at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut. "When you lose your star player, it definitely hurts."

Woods had committed to playing in next week's Buick Invitational. He hosts the AT&T National the week after that, at Congressional Country Club in Washington, D.C.

"I'm sorry about Tiger having to miss the rest of the year due to more knee surgery," Phil Mickelson said in a statement. "I know how frustrating it was to lose most of last summer to my wrist injury but I expect him to be back as strong as ever and look forward to competing with him as soon as possible."

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said his concern was for Woods' health and well-being.

"For an athlete as talented and competitive as Tiger Woods, taking the rest of the season off must have been an incredibly difficult, yet necessary decision, one that we understand and support completely," Finchem said in a statement. "The fact that he needs additional surgery only makes his performance and victory at last week's U.S. Open all the more impressive. First and foremost, our concern -- as it would be for any of our players facing surgery or illness -- is for Tiger's health and overall well-being, both on and off the golf course. We wish him the best toward a speedy recovery."

Woods is private about his health and personal life, never more so than at the just-completed U.S. Open. He didn't say anything about the torn ACL or the stress fractures, and wouldn't say how he was treating the knee, only that it was more sore as the week went on.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was when the injury first happened.

Woods said he tore the ACL while jogging at home after the British Open last July. He played on, going on a streak that included seven consecutive victories, including the Dubai Desert Classic on the European tour and his Target World Challenge, an unofficial event.

He did not play overseas late last year for the first time since 2003, hopeful that rest could allow him to play more this year. But the pain intensified through the Masters, where he finished second, and Woods said the cartilage damage developed from the ACL injury.

He bypassed surgery on the torn ligament April 15, hopeful that by cleaning out the cartilage he could make it through the year. What he didn't anticipate were the stress fractures as he tried to get ready for the Memorial.

"The stress fractures that were discovered just prior to the tournament unfortunately prevented me from participating and had a huge impact on the timing for my return," Woods said. "I was determined, though, to do everything and anything in my power to play in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, which is a course that is close to where I grew up and holds many special memories for me."

Woods has won eight times at the public golf course in San Diego -- a U.S. Open, a record six times at the Buick Invitational and a Junior World Championship as a teenager.

He called his U.S. Open victory "probably the best ever."

On Wednesday, he explained why.

Stanford uses four-run fifth to oust top seed Miami
(Posted 06/20/2008. Written by espn.com. )

Sean Ratliff homered and Cord Phelps tripled in Stanford's four-run fifth inning, and the Cardinal ousted top-seeded Miami from the College World Series with an 8-3 victory Wednesday night.

The Cardinal (41-23-2) advanced to the Bracket 1 finals against Georgia, needing to beat the Bulldogs twice to return to the best-of-three championship round for the second time since 2003.

Starter Danny Sandbrink and reliever Erik Davis held the potent offense of Miami (53-11) in check. The Hurricanes failed to join the 1999 squad as the only No. 1 national seeds to win the College World Series.

Miami, ranked No. 1 for most of the second half of the season, has been eliminated in three games in each of its four CWS appearances since 2003.

Phelps collected three of Stanford's 11 hits and drove in two runs. He had a single and double to go with his triple and missed out on hitting for the cycle when he flied out to short right in the seventh inning.

After Miami's first two batters reached base on singles, Sandbrink and Davis combined to hold Miami without a hit until the sixth inning.

Davis (8-3), sent to the bullpen for the CWS after struggling as a starter late in the year, shut down a Hurricanes threat when he entered in the fifth. After Sandbrink issued a leadoff walk, Davis walked his first batter to put two runners on.

But he got Jemile Weeks to foul out trying to bunt and struck out Miami's top sluggers, Yonder Alonso and Mark Sobolewski.

For Alonso, the No. 7 pick in the draft by the Cincinnati Reds, it marked the first time since March 2007 that he struck out three times in a game.

Davis worked out of trouble again in the eighth after giving up three straight singles to open the inning. Jason Hagerty's sacrifice fly pulled Miami within five runs, but the Hurricanes would get no more as Davis struck out Yasmani Grandal and Blake Tekotte.

Drew Storen took over for Davis with no outs in the ninth after Weeks walked and Alonso doubled. He got Sobolewski to pop out and struck out Ryan Jackson, then got the last out when he snagged Adan Severino's hard liner.

The Cardinal took a 2-1 lead in the third on Randy Molina's sacrifice fly and added another run in the fourth before breaking things open in the fifth.

Ratliff's 22nd homer of the season and fourth in 10 NCAA tournament games ended Miami starter Enrique Garcia's night after 4 1/3 innings. Garcia (7-3) had worked at least five innings in eight of his nine previous starts, but was tagged for five runs on eight hits -- the last being Ratliff's high fly into the stands in right-center.

Toby Gerhart reached on Sobolewski's error at third and Jake Schlander singled before Phelps sent a pitch from Anthony Nalepa into deep center for a two-run triple.

Davis, a 13th-round draft pick by the San Diego Padres, earned a measure of redemption with his performance. He had been a starter in all 16 of his appearances before the CWS but landed in the bullpen after three straight poor outings. He had allowed 11 earned runs in his previous 13 innings coming into Omaha, and pitched an inning of relief against Florida State on Saturday and allowed a run on two hits.

In his four innings against Miami, Davis gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out six.

Sandbrink, a freshman, allowed two hits and a run in the sixth start of his career.

Fresno State within one win of CWS finals
(Posted 06/20/2008. Written by espn.com. )

Those surprising Fresno State Bulldogs don't know when or where their postseason run will end, but they sure are enjoying the ride.

By knocking off No. 2 national seed North Carolina 5-3 at the College World Series on Tuesday night, the Bulldogs assured themselves of playing at least until the weekend. And if they win again Friday against Carolina or LSU, they'll be playing for the national championship next week.

Upsets of Rice and now the Tar Heels have put the Bulldogs (44-29) in control of Bracket 2.

"You kind of don't have any expectations going into something like this. None of us have ever been here before," closer Brandon Burke said. "We're kind of taking it from pitch-to-pitch and game-to-game and see where we go from there."

North Carolina (52-13), the national runner-up the past two years, will meet LSU (49-18-1) in an elimination game Thursday, with the winner facing Fresno State on Friday. If the Bulldogs lose, they'll play the same opponent Saturday in an elimination game.

It's almost overwhelming for a Fresno club that started the NCAA tournament as a No. 4 regional seed. Before this year, no one seeded so low had made it to the CWS.

"A lot of these teams -- Rice, obviously, North Carolina -- they've been here the last few years and they kind of know what to expect," Burke said. "And they may take us a little lightly."

Fresno State has shown no fear against two of the decade's most successful teams in college baseball. The Bulldogs put a 17-5 beating on Rice in their opener, and they could have scored more Tuesday if they hadn't left 12 runners on base.

"These guys decided long ago that they're not going to play who's in the other dugout or what name is across their uniform," Fresno coach Mike Batesole said. "They've just been playing baseball. It's fun for me as a coach to just get out of the way and watch them do it. When you're just playing baseball and not concerned about the outside things, it can be really fun."

Alan Ahmady hit the go-ahead single in the fifth inning and five Fresno State pitchers combined to hold Carolina scoreless for all but one inning.

"We come out and play hard every game, and it's really special," said Burke, who earned his 13th save. "Every pitch that every pitcher on our staff throws is the most important pitch they've ever thrown as we get deeper and deeper into this."

The Bulldogs knocked out Tar Heels starter Adam Warren (9-2) in the fifth after opening the inning with three straight singles. Brian Moran came on and gave up Ahmady's two-run single that gave Fresno State a 4-3 lead.

Ryan Overland homered leading off the second inning, marking the first time North Carolina had trailed in a game since the fifth inning of its regional opener against UNC Wilmington.

The Tar Heels went up 3-1 in the third on three run-scoring hits: a triple by Tim Fedroff, double by Kyle Seager and single by Chad Flack.

Steve Susdorf hit the Bulldogs' second homer of the game -- and sixth of the CWS -- to pull Fresno to 3-2 in the fourth. Then, Ahmady delivered his bases-loaded hit against Moran in the fifth.

Carolina had 11 hits, but left runners in scoring position in three of the last five innings.

"We don't play well when we're behind. I don't know why," Carolina coach Mike Fox said. "Tonight, we swung at a lot of balls. Credit Fresno State pitchers. Their pitch is off the plate a little bit. We press a little bit. The strike zone was small for both teams, and I don't think we took advantage of it."

Rob Wooten, Carolina's closer, allowed one run on three hits in 3 1/3 innings, including Erik Wetzel's RBI single in the eighth for Fresno's final run.

Fresno starter Justin Miller worked four innings, allowing all three runs on seven hits. Jason Breckley (3-2), the third pitcher, worked just a third of an inning to get the win. Burke allowed one hit in his 1 1/3 innings.

Freshman Danny Muno had three singles, walked and was hit by a pitch to reach base five times. Wetzel went 3-for-5.

"It's not just one specific person. It's a new one every day," Susdorf said. "The other day, it was Muno and [Jordan] Ribera. Today, Wetzel had a key hit, and so did Ahmady. And Muno is always on base."

North Carolina now must win three games to return to the best-of-three championship series for the third straight year.

"Once you get in the loser's bracket, it's tough," Carolina third baseman Chad Flack said. "You just take it one game at a time, one inning at a time."

Lincoln Saltdogs

Saltdogs Drop Series Opener to Wichita
(Posted 05/23/2008. Written by Jeremy Rasmussen. )

The Lincoln Saltdogs entered Friday Nights contest with Wichita tied with the wingnuts for second place in the Northern Division of the American Association, a game and a half back of the St. Paul Saints. Unfortunately, they would not exit the game in the same position.

The fall-like weather wasn't able to cool the Saltdog bats early as they held a 3-2 lead after 5 innings, but the depleted bullpen of the Wingnuts was able to stifle the Saltdogs offense for the remaining four innings enroute to a 6-3 victory.

The loss snaps the Saltdogs improbable 7 game winning streak and moves Wichita ahead in the standings by a game, dropping the Saltdogs to third.

The 'Dogs and 'Nuts will go at it again Saturday Night at Haymarket Park, first pitch is scheduled for 7:05

Mizzou sweeps NU
(Posted 05/19/2008. Written by Nebraska Media Relations. )

Ben Kline had a pair of hits and drove in two runs, but No. 5 Nebraska was unable to salvage the series finale, falling at No. 12 Missouri, 7-3, Sunday afternoon.

Kline led the Huskers (39-12-1, 17-9-1 Big 12) by going 2-for-4 and driving in a pair of runs for his seventh multi-RBI performance of the year, while Jake Opitz had three of the Huskers� six hits on the afternoon.

For Missouri, Greg Folgia had three hits, including a homer, and three RBIs, as the top three hitters in the Missouri lineup combined to drive in six of the Tigers� seven runs on Sunday. Ryan Lollis had a pair of RBIs while Aaron Senne chipped in a pair of hits and drove in a run for the Tigers (37-17, 16-11 Big 12). It marked the first time NU had been swept since dropping three games at Baylor in 2006.

The Huskers finished the Big 12 schedule in third place and will take on Baylor in the opening game of the Big 12 Tournament. The conference office will announce the times and the brackets later tonight.

Rick Zagone (2-3) earned the win in relief, allowing one run on two hits over 2.1 innings of work, while Kyle Gibson went the final three innings of his second save of the year.

Nebraska used some timely hitting in the top of the second, taking a 1-0 lead on Kline�s RBI single. With one out, DJ Belfonte was hit by a pitch, stole second and moving to third on Cody Neer�s ground out. Kline fought off three two-strike pitches before bouncing a single up the middle to score Belfonte.

Nebraska�s lead would be short-lived as the Tigers took advantage of Husker starter Aaron Pribanic�s control, scoring three times to take a 3-1 lead. With one out, Pribanic walked the next two hitters before Steve Gray�s RBI single to right tied the score at one. Andrew Thigpen�s infield single loaded the bases before Pribanic struck out Kyle Mach for the second out. Folgia than hit a grounder that Tyler Farst could not pick up for an infield single, allowing MU�s second run to score. Lollis then coaxed a bases-loaded walk for the Tigers� third run of the inning.

Pribanic (3-4) lasted just 1.2 innings, allowing three runs on four hits along with three walks to take the loss.

The Huskers manufactured a run in the top of the fourth, taking advantage of a Missouri error to pull within 3-2. Belfonte opened the inning with a walk and stole second before advancing on Ben Kline�s fly ball to right. Bryce Nimmo hit a fly ball that was dropped by Senne, allowing Belfonte to score

Missouri got both runs back in the bottom of the fourth One out singles by Mach and Folgia put runners on the corners for the Tigers. Lollis plated the first run with a ground out to second before Senne made it a 5-2 game with an RBI single to score Folgia.

Nebraska pulled to within 5-3 in the sixth, as Kline came through with his second two-out RBI single of the afternoon. Farst opened the inning with a single and moved to second on Neer�s grounder before Kline came up with sharp single to right, scoring Farst from second.

That would be as close as the Huskers would get, as Mach opened the sixth with a single and came home on Folgia�s two-run homer to left center to make it a 7-3 cushion.

The Huskers will head directly to Oklahoma City from Columbia where they will open up Big 12 Tournament action on Wednesday against sixth-seeded Baylor.

COOK OFF TO UCLA
(Posted 04/30/2008. Written by Associated Press. )

The daughter of Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook says she'll play at UCLA rather than stay home and play for her dad. Lauren Cook is a junior setter for Lincoln Pius X. She says she's accepted a scholarship offer from longtime UCLA coach Andy Banachowski. Cook says she pledged to the Bruins during a weekend visit to Los Angeles. She says she wants to make a name for herself out of the shadow of her father.
Cook has set the single-season record for assists two straight years while leading her high school team to a second consecutive Class B championship. She's the Gatorade Nebraska volleyball player of the year and PrepVolleyball.com's national player of the year for the junior class.

CWS STAYING PUT
(Posted 04/30/2008. Written by Associated Press. )

The College World Series will be played in Omaha at least through 2030, under an agreement the city and NCAA have reached. The city and NCAA have been discussing a long-term contract for months, with much of the discussion centered on the construction of a new downtown ballpark to replace 60-year-old Rosenblatt Stadium. Plans for a ballpark adjacent to the Qwest Center have been moving forward for weeks, and Wednesday's "memorandum of understanding" promises a commitment of at least 20 years once the current contract expires after the 2010 CWS. Mayor Mike Fahey spokesman Joe Gudenrath says the memorandum paves the way for a final agreement to be reached by the June 14 start of the College World Series.

SCC OFF TO NATIONALS
(Posted 04/30/2008. Written by Sandy Conners. )

Southeast Community College�s men�s golf team secured a trip to the National Junior College Athletic Association�s Division II National Tournament with a convincing victory at the Region IX Division II Tournament held April 26-27 at Scottsbluff Country Club. Southeast�s Derek Nicholson took medalist honors after winning a playoff, and three of his teammates finished in the top five to help the Storm run away with the 54-hole event.
SCC�s David Oldham was third, Nate Koch fourth and Brandon Schrock fifth. They helped Southeast to a team score of 934, a whopping 66 strokes better than runner-up Central Community College of Columbus. Miles City Community College of Montana was third. The tournament featured 36 holes of play on the first day, followed by a final 18 holes on the second day. The NJCAA Division II National Tournament will take place May 20-23 at Goodyear, Ariz.

Stars, Lancers go to Game 5
(Posted 04/30/2008. Written by Chris Goforth. )

The Lincoln Stars will force a series deciding game 5 against Omaha after defeating the Lancers 4-3 last night. After trailing 2-1 after the first period, Lincoln was able to battle back and even the score 3-3 at the end of regualtion. Lincoln's Chris Forfar made the winning goal in overtime to give the Stars a little more life. The final game of the series will be tonight in Omaha. The puck drops at 7:05.

Big Sixth Inning Pushes Huskers Past Creighton
(Posted 04/23/2008. Written by Chris Goforth. )

It took one big inning and a strong bullpen outing for Nebraska to defeat interstate rival Creighton last night 4-3. Ben Kline's single in the bottom of the sixth brought in the third and fourth runs for the Huskers to help cap the win. Mike Nesseth stepped to the mound for the Huskers in the bottom of the eighth inning to finish the game, striking out the final batter of the game in dramatic fashion. The two teams will play once more tonight, this time in Omaha. First pitch scheduled for 6:35pm.

Omaha Takes Game One Against Stars
(Posted 04/23/2008. Written by Chris Goforth. )

Omaha dominated Lincoln last night, defeating the Stars 5-0 in game one of the second round of the playoffs. The Lancers took a 3-0 lead after the first period and never looked back. Lincoln never got their offense rolling, recording only 18 shots on the night. Omaha amassed 18 shots in the third period alone and ended the night with 40. The Stars will look to rebound in front of the home crowd at the Ice Box for game two Friday night.

Former Husker defensive end Mike Rucker

Former Husker Rucker Retires from NFL
(Posted 04/22/2008. Written by Chris Goforth. )

Former Nebraska defensive lineman Mike Rucker announced today that he is retiring from pro ball. Rucker, drafted by Carolina in 1999, spent his entire career as a Panther and became of the teams most beloved players. Rucker retires as the second-leading tackler in franchise history with 553 tackles and also amassed 55.5 sacks.

Nebraska Takes 2 out of 3 from Kansas
(Posted 04/21/2008. Written by Chris Goforth. )

Kansas avoided the sweep over the weekend, defeating Nebraska in the third game 6-3. Nebraska won the first two games by only one run in each game. Jayhawks pitcher T.J. Walz played his longest outing of the season, pitching 7.2 innings with 5 strikeouts and allowing the three runs off six hits. Nebraska will refocus and play a non-conference interstate rivalry series against Creighton. First pitch is set for Tuesday at 6:35pm and will be played at Hawkes Field.