Big Show for Monday

Topics:
- NFL Draft overview
- Huskers have a great draft
- Pats are big winners
- Eagles, Chiefs screw it up again
- Brady Quinn money loss
- Death of Josh Hancock
- Gordon passed Dale at Talladega

Guests:
2:15 - Stewart Bradley New Eagle
2:30 - Nick Athon Warpaintillustrated.com Chiefs
3 pm - Fairways and Greens panel including CU Golfer
4 pm - Jay Moore, New 49ers

Chasing Adam Carriker and Brandon Jackson for today or tomorrow

Gotta Love A Drunk Bruce...

Listen to the end closely :)

Weekend Review

I had a really fun weekend, Billy Joel, NFL Draft, Red Sox win 2 of 3 over Yankees, Gordon did win at Talledega and it finally feels like Spring/Summer here in Omaha.

Personal Note: My girlfriend and I saw Billy Joel at the Qwest on Saturday night and who are we sitting next to at the show? 3 members of the Altman family - No Dana. I thought that was pretty funny. I'm sure if a husker fan saw us they would have thought we were together but it was pure luck of the draw. Billy put on an amazing show - highly recommend seeing him.

Mock Draft: Congrats to the GM's of the 1st (JaMarcus Russell), 12th (Marshawn Lynch), and 32nd (Anthony Gonzalez) pick in our Mock Draft from Friday. 3 prizes will be given out including the awesome Rolling Rock Grill. It's an actual grill! Last year it was 3 picks right. This year 3 picks right. We are getting better..... or not! :) - Sidenote: 17th pick was correct but by wrong team.

Actual Draft: The first "What!" move of the Draft came with the 9th pick of the Draft as Miami passed on QB Brady Quinn and went with wideout Teddy Ginn Jr. He's a talent - no doubt but couldn't they have traded down to get him? Top 10 pick Ted Ginn? Wow. That was a shock given his injury and his lack of size on the next level.

2nd "What!" move was the Philadelphia Eagles with their first pick overall - 2nd rounder with several QB's on the board rated higher than Kevin Kolb the QB from Houston but they took him! It was bad enough to trade their first round pick to rival Dallas but this guy was a system QB in Conference USA! The line that the last QB that got boo'd by Eagles fans was Donovan is crap. McNabb was the player of the year at Syracuse in the Big East! The only worse pick might wind up being Ginn to Miami but the Kolb pick was crazy. The Eagles can say that it had nothing to do with McNabb's knee but with needs they have at safety and wideout...going QB with their first pick says a lot.

3rd: Patriots getting WR Randy Moss for a 4th rounder. The Patriots are surrounding QB Tom Brady with some of the best WR talent in the league. Starters: Randy Moss and Donte Stallworth. Back up Wes Welker and Troy Brown. This is a team that is solid with it's Tight end and Running back position and now they are set with their WR's. Look out for Pats!!

Nebraska players at the Draft: Amazing draft for the Husker players. Adam Carriker to the Rams at 13 becomes the highest player draft from the school since the Rams took Grant Wistrom with the 6th pick. Great fit.

Then BJax goes to Green Bay in the 2nd round!! Huge news for him given the fact that some said he wasn't a day 1 pick. He goes to replace a former Husker in Ahman Green who had a hell of a career with the Pack. Really happy for Brandon Jackson and we'll get to watch him next year play with a hall of fame QB.

How about Stewart Bradley going to Philly in the 3rd round!! I wasn't totally shocked he went day one but that's a good place for him. He'll get some help with Buckhalter being there already with the transition to the next level. The Philly media will learn what a character he is and I'm sure he'll be a favorite quote this summer.

I know Jay Moore can't be happy with getting picked in the 4th round but going to San Fransisco is not a bad place. They are rebuilding and they were suppose to take Carriker in the first but passed. So they got his teammate. He'll get a chance to have an impact on that roster next year.

Red Sox vs. Yankees: Sox take 2 of 3 in the Bronx this weekend after starting Dice-K, Wake, and Tavarez. Red Sox are now 5-1 against NY this year and NY lost another starter to injury. Up by 6.5 games, to start May is awesome but there is so much baseball left to be played. I will say it again though - unless NY gets Roger Clemens, the Yankees will not make the playoffs.

Gordon passes Dale Earnhardt at Talledega: Well, we talked about it on Friday. NASCAR probably isn't very happy with their fans as they pelted Jeff Gordon's car today after he passed Dale Earnhardt on what would have been his birthday at the Super Speedway. To top it off, he won the race on CAUTION! Not good.

Tomorrow's show should be fun......2 to 6 only on Big Sports 590.

Big Show Mock Draft Results

I want to thank everyone who came out and picked today at donahue's...pictures to come later.

Results:
1. Oak- JaMarcus Russell LSU
2. Trade up TB - Calvin Johnson GT
3. Cle- Brady Quinn ND
4 . Trade down Detriot - Adrian Peterson OU
5. AZ - Gaines Adams Clemson
6. Wash - Amobe Okeye Louisville
7. Minn - Joe Thomas Wisc
8. Atl - Laron Landry LSU
9. Miami - Leon Hall Mich
10. Trade up Denver - Patrick Willis Ole Miss
11. SF - Adam Carriker NU
12. Buff - Marshawn Lynch Cal
13. St. Louis - Jamal Anderson Ark
14. Carolina Levi Brown Penn St.
15. Pitt - Jarvis Moss FL
16. GB - Ted Ginn Jr. OSU
17. Jax - Reggie Nelson FLA
18. Cinn - Aaron Ross TX
19. TN- Darrell Revis Pitt
20. NYG - Paul Poluszny Penn St.
21. Houston - Chris Houston - Ark
22. Dallas - Dwayne Jarrett USC
23. KC - Joe Staley Central Mich
24. NE - Mike Griffin TX
25. NJY - Justin Harrell TN
26. Philly - Lawrence Timmons FSU
27. NO - Greg Olson Miami
28. NE - David Harris Michigan
29. Balt - Anthonly Spencer Purdue
30. SD - Steve Smith USC
31. Chi - John Beason Miami
32. Indy - Anthony Gonzalez OSU

Let's see who's right and who wins prizes!!!

Big Show for Thursday

Topics:
- Bloody Sock a fake???
- NFL Draft conversation
- Nascar talk
- Why do you hate Jeff Gordon?
- Mock Draft update

Guests:
3 pm - Scott Wright NFLDraftcountdown.com
4 pm - John Heyman SI Baseball writer
5 pm - Mark McCarter Sporting News Nascar writer

Big Show for Wednesday

2 Year Anniversary Show!

Topics:
- Remember when
- New Daly ad banned - see video below
- Did Brandon Jackson make a mistake?
- Chiefs to trade LJ?
- Keyshawn to ESPN
- New Husker BB recruit
- Former Jay caught smoking up
- A-Rod wants to be a Yankee now
- Phillies will be first to lose 10,000

Guests:
4 pm - Jim Lampley HBO Sports
4:30 - Scott Gutschewski Pro Golfer from Omaha

Daly's Banned Ad

This will make the show today for sure!

2 Year Anniversary April 25th

Brian and I would just like to say Happy Birthday to Big Sports 590 :). 2 years ago, I received the opportunity to move to Omaha and host the Big Show. You think I sounded excited when Dana Altman came back? You should have heard me when I got the offer to come Omaha. It's been everything and more that I had hoped for.

It's hard to believe it's already been 2 years but we wanted to thank everyone who listens to the show, emails the show and supports the show. Thank you and let's go for many more.....

Matt

Big Show for Tuesday

Topics:
- Gotta Feel For Chase Wright
- A Rod on a tear
- Mark Prior done for good?
- Bama's Spring game draws 92+
- Chief's head towards the draft
- 4 year nailed at spring game
- Wood vs. Aluminum
- Buckhalter has to pay child support

Guests:
4 pm - Nick Athlon Warpaintillustrated.com

Chasing a few others...

Yankees Suck :) Red Sox Sweep on Back X 4

Mock Draft Teams Available

As of Noon on Tuesday, here are the teams available for Friday's Mock Draft Show. If you want one of them - email me at Matt@bigsports590.com

Teams:
Jacksonville
Cinncinnati

*updated Thursday at 3 pm

Mock Draft will be held at Donahue's on L street in South O from 2 to 6 pm on Friday. See you there.

Big Show for Friday

Topics:
- Red Sox vs. Yankees Part I
- Sox fans are the worst fans?
- A-Rod is clutch now?
- New stadium for O Royals
- NFL Draft
- Old Nebraska responds to New

Guests:
3:30 - Doug Stewart O Royals
4 pm - Charles Davis NFL Networks
5 pm - Johnny Rogers Husker Great

IT'S ON!

YANKEE VS. RED SOX STARTS TONIGHT!!

2007 Mock Draft Casting Call.....

So do you want to represent your favorite team and select their first pick in the 2007 Big Show Mock Draft? If you do, starting tomorrow at 2 pm - you must choose your favorite team to play virtual GM for and email me at Matt@bigsports590.com It's first come first serve so get your emails in quickly after 2 pm.

The 2007 Big Show Mock Draft will take place at Donahue's in South O from 3 pm to 6 pm on Friday April 27th. Prizes will be given to those who participate and you'll win prizes if you pick correctly for your team.

Here are somethings to remember:

1. YOU MUST BE ABLE to come Donahue's on Friday April 27th from 3 to 6 pm. The Draft will take about 3 hours to complete and you can't leave until you pick.

2. We'd like to see you dress the part as a great fan of the team you are representing. We need 31 individuals representing 32 teams picks.

Have fun and email away! :)

Big Show for Thursday

Topics:
- Why don't you care about the O Royals?
- If the O Royals left would you care?
- Omaha is a bad baseball town
- Phillies are a mess
- Ryan Howard hurt and Myers to the pen
- More on NU infighting
- Do you belive in the Madden Curse?
- Text message ban

Guests:
3 pm - Rob Crain Omaha Royals Marketing
4 pm - George Darlington - Former NU D Cordinator
5:30 - Brian Fish Bluejay asst. coach to talk bout text ban

Fantasy Baseball....

So Brian, PeteyMac and I are in a fantasy baseball league together. We just did our auto draft and my team looks pretty good. After toying around with the roster for a bit. Here's my starting team as of Monday:

C - Kenji Johjima - Seattle
1B - Paul Konerko - Chicago
2B - Marcus Giles - SD
SS - Juan Iribe - Chicago
3B - Akinori Iwamura - TB
OF- Bobby Abreu - NY (VERY soon to be traded)
OF - Rocco Baldelli - TB
OF - Ken Griffey jr. - Cinn
UT - Kevin Youkilis- Boston

SP - Roy Oswalt - Hou
RP - Brian Fuentes - Colorado
P - Justin Verlander - Det
P - Curt Schilling - Boston

But here is the KICKER! Get the players I have on the DL or on the bench!!! - NL MVP Ryan Howard. All Star Troy Glaus of Toronto, Angels killer Vlad Guerrero and soon to be Red Sox - Roger Clemens!! Once my team gets healthy - I'm going to be pretty good. I can move Baldelli and Griffey to the bench for security as Glaus and Vlad are starters for sure and Ryan is going to get going sooner or later and I will move Youkilis to the bench when that happens. Pauli is too good not to play.

I love Fantasy baseball because it requires you to follow players that you would otherwise not care about at all. Plus, can talk trash to your boys. But for an auto-drafted team - I'm pretty happy. Now if I can turn Abreu into a Red Sox player (Pap or Dice-K) I'll be really happy.

I'll keep you updated on the Big Sports league.....

Phillies are a MESS: Myers to the WHERE?!

As someone who spends a good deal of time in the City of Brotherly Love, I have to talk about what is going on with "Fightin' Phils". There was so much hope for this season for the team but it looks like the drought of Championships dating back to the early 80's will continue after the last few days. I know we are REALLY early into the season - not even a month in - but the white flag is already coming up.

Philadelphia is a very weird city. Being from Boston, it is hard for me to fully explain it except to say that they love to hate themselves and expect it all to fall apart. They are Red Sox fans on a continual loop of the 1986 season. Last night, we saw how ugly things can get with their baseball team.

When Charlie Manuel goes after WIP's Howard Eskin for no other reason than because he's frustrated and angry at his own team, you know the end is near for him. Now, the team has done the equivalent of Manuel's flip out by taking their "No. 1" Brett Myers and put him in the pen as a SET-UP MAN!

I thought Manuel was going to get fired, now it's GM Pat Gillick too.

Baseball pitchers have pride. They have an ego. No. 1 starters have that and swagger to boot. If you make Brett Myers the closer, at least you are saying that you trust him with the game on the line. You tell the fans that he is a very important member of the ball team and you need him in crucial situations. But when you demote him and put him as a set-up man you are saying that 1. He's not a good starting pitcher and no longer valuable 2. That Tom Gordon is still THE MAN in the bullpen. 3. You are in complete panic mode. What, does Jon Leiber give you a better chance to win every 5th day?

Let's list some No. 1 pitchers in the NL East: Tom Glavine, Dontrell Willis, and John Smoltz (was a closer) - would you EVER put any of them as a SET UP MAN! Myers has never been in the pen and will have no idea of how to approach getting ready, mentally getting set, and how to approach batters. The crazy story today I thought was Manuel vs. Eskin near fight, but by the end of the day - Gillick's pushing of the panic button should be what Phillies fans are talking about.

Edit: Myers made his first appearance tonight - was a bit shaky but no runs given up.

Big Show for Wednesday

Topics:
- Jays nip Nebraska 2-1 last night
- Jays get another instate basketball player
- Ref tossed for tossing Duncan
- Iowa St. player arrested again
- Charlie Manuel tries to fight talk show host
- Houston Nutt is writting letters to fans
- NCAA to ban text messaging
- Pearlman gives Peterson a thumb's up

Guests:
2:30 - Mitch Sherman Omaha World Herald
3:15 - Gerry Pollard DI Ref
Chasing Bluejay Commit Josh Jones

Podcasting is fixed!!

Big Show for Tuesday

Topics:
- Are video games to blame for V Tech shooting?
- Marlon Lucky is Ok
- Bluejays vs. Nebraska tonight in Lincoln
- Paying for the Qwest Center
- Royals are back to being the Royals

Guests:
3 pm - Dr. Robin Ogle UNL Prof. of Criminology
4 pm - Ed Servais Bluejay Head Baseball Coach
4:30 - Kendall Rogers Rosenblattreport.com
5 pm - Qwest round table with State Sen. Pat Engel from So. Souix City and State Sen. from Norfolk Mike Flood

Podcasting Problems...

Hey, Just want to let you know that we have experiencing some technical difficulties uploading the show today on Podcasting. We are currently working on this and hope to have it fixed asap. We apologize for the problem and hope to fix it very soon.

Thanks for listening.

Big Show for Monday

Topics:
- Huskers Monday reviewing the Spring Game
- Lucky hurt
- Callahan broadcasting abilities
- Touchdown Celebrations
- Sopranos/Entourage
- Jackie Robinson Anniversary

Guests and Events for Huskers Monday:
2 to 3 pm - Live in Studio Pete McIntyre Action 3 Sports
3 to 4 pm - Fairways and Greens Golf Panel (3 guests)
4 pm - Coach Bill Callahan, Sam Keller etc. Post game sound
4:30 - Entourage/Sopranos Update
4:45 - Bill Steckis Author of Baseball In The Prose
5 pm - Steve Ryan BigRedReport.com
5 to 6 pm - Live in Studio Former Husker Clester Johnson

Big Show for Friday

Topics:
- Reaction from Yesterday' s show
- Solich invite to golf tourney
- Imus apology to Rutgers
- Did you know this happens a lot?
- College Football going back to old clocks
- Jackie Robinson celebration
- Royals tough loss
- Wistrom retiring?

Guests:
2:45 - Kevin McNabb O Royals
3:30 - Adeola Dagunduro NU Recruit
5 pm - Steve Ryan BigRedReport.com

Big Show for Wednesday

Topics:
- Alex Gordon's first homer
- Who will replace Turgeon?
- Spring Basketball Signing Day
- NFL Schedule is out - SNF kills MNF again
- Gambling in College Sports - Toledo FB story
- Dice-K vs. Ichiro tonight
- Cold climates hosting early MLB games

Guests:
2:30 - Van Coleman CSTV
3:30 - RJ Bell Pregame.com
4 pm - John Donovan SI baseball writer
5 pm - Steve Ryan Bigredreport.com
5:30 - Brian Fish CU Bluejay Asst. Coach

Gathright of the O Royals.....WOW!

Big Show for Tuesday

Topics:
- Imus story is WAY overblown
- Turgeon gone to A+M
- Durant and Wright gone to the NBA
- 102 year old woman has a hole-in-one
- Adam Carriker racing up draft boards
- Spring game coming quick

Guests:
3pm - Press Conferece for Mark Turgeon at A+M
4pm - Press Conference for Kevin Durant leaving TX
4:30 - Joey Gathright of the Omaha Royals - See video above
5pm - Steve Ryan BigRedreport.com
5:15 - Peter Schrager FoxSports.com NFL Draft expert

Preview Of Tomorrow for Ichiro vs. Dice-K?

Ok so this whole thing is Japanese to me....no, seriously....it's in Japanese but it has 3 at-bats of Ichiro against Dice-K. Looks like Ice owns the I man....wait, can't say that anymore without Rev. Al slapping at me - so I meant Ichiro. Let's hope for a similiar result tomorrow as Dice faces him in the US for the first time and all of Japan stops to watch.

Suspension Should End This Story

I'm a talk show host. You know this if you read this blog on a regular basis. I'm not afraid of controversy and have a deep love for the beauty of arguement. I want to say upfront that I have been a big fan of Don Imus for years and his work. His morning show on WFAN has been one of the leaders in our industry and he has done amazing work on air. Last week however, Don Imus, made a bad joke that was totally over of the line. Plain and simple, it was a joke but a great radio man is being destroyed because of what was said.

Don Imus has been suspended for 2 weeks by CBS Radio and MSNBC for comments he made on his show about the Rutgers Women's Basketball team. Imus appeared today on Rev. Al Sharpton's radio show (why he has a show I have no idea) to apologize to the African American community. Of course, Sharpton invited the media in to take pictures of the event. Rev. Al never misses the chance to get his mug in front of a camera. I have never been a fan. I like some of his messages but not so much him personally. Don was contrite and honest about his mistake and spoke openly about the situation he put himself in. Again, he made a mistake.

This story is being blown out of proportion by the US Media who love to report dirt not stories. Don Imus made a racist, horrible joke but should he be fired for what he said? Please. It wasn't like he said that holocaust didn't happen or that Jimmy The Greek was right. He made a joke about the Rutgers' women basketball team that was tasteless but turn on the radio and you'll hear tasteless jokes. It happens ALL the time. Hell, I make bad, tasteless jokes all the time. They might not be racist, but they can be bad or controversial none the less. Fire him? The very question is comical.

What do you want from the guy? His other lung? This is just another example of people who have nothing better to do than bitch about someone who said something that was outrageous. Personally, I love outrageous. I don't love racist but Imus has been making people talk about his show for years. Now, Presidential candidates are being told that they shouldn't appear on his show because it would say that they condone his joke. Hall of Famer Cal Ripken just pulled out of a scheduled interview (still doing my show :) ) because he doesn't want to be associated with the statement. All for what? To show that they aren't racists? That's ridiculous. It. Was. A. Joke! Do you think he meant it?

Don Imus was stupid and out of line. He said he was sorry and now has been suspended. That's enough. Stop the public stoning. Stop the pitch fork waving. The story should die with the CBS Radio suspension. Unfortunately, Anna Nicole is boring and over now. MSNBC, CNN, Fox News etc have to find their next juicy story and this is exactly what they were looking for. I know the NCAAP want him fired and Black Journalist do too but I think in a few days they will calm down. "Nappy Headed Ho's" is what he said. He said it in New York - a town that had Howard Stern on for years who said amazingly offensive things but never was fired for them. The problem is that MSNBC carries the show and it was shown in every town in America. Soccer moms got their sweater vests tangled up over it.

Forget Iraq. Forget investigating the corrupt presidency. Forget finding something worth reporting. No, it will be "Should Don Imus Be Fired?" for the next 4 days until the next stupid story comes up for America to talk about. It's a sad day for the media as we eat one of our own.

Big Show for Monday

Topics:
- Iowan Wins the Masters!
- Turgeon to Texas A+M
- Arkansas has their next coach finally
- Alex Gord0n's first week in the major
- A-Rod hits walk off grand slam but NY not good
- Papelbon is back in proper role
- Sopranos and Entourage update

Guests:
3 pm - Fairways and Greens Panel (3 guests)
5pm - Big Show Big 5 at 5
5:15 - Steve Ryan BigRedReport.com
5:30 - Post Scrimmage sound of Coach Bill Callahan

After 2 min - this gets really funny :)

Fairways and Greens Is Back!

This Monday at 3 pm - the most complete golf show in Omaha is back! Fairways and Greens with Matt Perrault tees off year No.2 with a full recap of the Masters.


Fairways and Greens is a one hour, weekly golf show which aires every Monday from 3 pm to 4pm on Big Sports 590. The show features interviews with media members covering the game, Dr. Charles Plott - a clinical sports psychologist, and Gary Mayes of Equip2golf.com - a website dedicated to the tools of the bag.

Each week, I will review a golf course in the Omaha area and give you my opinion of the track. You will also get a quick lesson on the "Rules Of The Game brought to you BayHills Golf Course". All that, plus weekly giveaways. So tune in Monday at 3 pm for Fairways and Greens with Matt Perrault

In addition to the golf show, Big Sports 590's Annual Golf Tournament will take place at Bayhills in Platsmouth on Friday May 18th. More information to come including tee time so stay tuned but SAVE THE DATE!!

Big Show for Friday

Topics:
- Gillispie to UK
- Huggins to WV
- Loyalty??
- OU recruiting scandal gets interesting
- Dice-K K's 10 Royals
- A-Fraud chokes again
- Gator players going Pro cry

Guests:
Sound of Gillispie and Huggins Press Conferences
3 pm - Howard Richman KC Star
5pm - Steve Ryan BigRedReport.com

Thanks To Everyone

I apologize for not being on the Bus but it looks like the guys who went had a blast. We hope to do something like it again but thank you to everyone who went a long and understood why I couldn't be there. Blame Dana :).

The Anti-Dana

First Billy Gillispie told UTEP that he wasn't leaving, agreed to more money but never signed his contract. He jumped at Texas A+M right afterwards.

Now:

Gillispie recently agreed to a lucrative contract extension with A&M after being wooed by Arkansas, but he did not sign the deal. According to one report at the time A&M and Gillispie verbally agreed to to the extension, the new deal was going to pay the coach about $2 million annually, making him the highest paid of his Big 12 peers.

The Reason for AGAIN not signing after tellling everyone Aggie "I'm your man":

Kentucky has announced it will hold "a pep rally and a press conference" Friday afternoon to announce the hiring of the program's 21st head coach. And according to a source at Kentucky, Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie is the man the Wildcats will introduce to Big Blue Nation.

That is why Dana Altman is one of a kind in the coaching business. Nobody turns down Arkansas and $1.7 Million Dollars for Creighton and Omaha expect Dana Altman.

Priceless Quote

From the Dallas Morning News:

Brad McRae, the booster at the center of the excessive-pay scheme that landed Oklahoma a date with the NCAA infractions committee, blamed the problem on OU football players Wednesday and said he had no knowledge of what was happening.

"Did I tell Rhett Bomar that he could come in there and punch in and out anytime he wanted to? I did not," McRae said in a telephone interview with The Dallas Morning News. "I never liked Rhett Bomar, anyway."

That, along with J.D. Quinn saying "All I did was take cash" is my favorite recruiting scandal story since Albert Means.

Big Show For Thursday

Topics:
- Latest on Arkansas player issues
- Dice-K makes his MLB Debut
- MLB package is back on Cable!!
- Alex Gordon not doing well
- Huggins to WV done deal
- Carlos Beltran will be the MVP like I said
- Husker Football injuries
- Doc Sadler to Arkansas?
- Masters update

Guests:
2:30 - Replay of Dana Altman from last night
3:00 - Greg Doyle CBSSportsline.com
4:00 - Correll Buckhalter Philadelphia Eagles running back
4:15 - Post Practice with Coach Bill Callahan
4:30 - Cox Cable Spokesperson
5:00 - Carlos Polk San Diego Charger Linebacker
5:15 - Steve Ryan BigRedReport.com

Remember - Year 2 of Fairways and Greens on Big Sports 590 will begin on Monday at 3 pm. For one hour, we will talk about the Masters, talk to experts, and review local courses. It all starts Monday at 3 pm!!

Bye Bye Billy

He and Tim Hardaway have a date with obscurity

The Latest Rumors On the Altman Story...

Ok, here is what I have heard tonight after freezing my ass off at the airport and at the Old Gym where the players met for their meeting with Dana.

1. The move back to Omaha had nothing to do with Bruce staying at CU. He was never going.
2. Dana just couldn't leave Omaha. He just wasn't feeling it in Arkansas
3. Arkansas was going to pay him $1.7 million for 7 years
4. All the recruits have been contacted and they are re-committed to Creighton
5. All players are still committed to Creighton next year

Press Conference tomorrow at 12 noon that will be carried live on Big Sports 590 and Action 3 News. Father, Bruce and Dana will all talk publicly.

We are still trying to work out who will do my show tomorrow. The Birthday Big Show Big Bus to KC is still a go for tomorrow with me on it.

Dana is BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dana turned down Arkansas and will land in Omaha at 8:45 pm!!

More to come tonight after I get back from the airport....

Big Show for Tuesday

Wow. Another day, Another Press Conference. Lots and Lots of things to talk about.

Topics:
- Dana to Arkansas fall out
- Bruce won't follow and I've got the email to prove it
- Sound from last night's press conference
- Scott Sutton to Creighton?
- Todd Lickliter to Iowa
- Florida wins National Championship again
- Will we ever see a better starting 5 in college hoops?

Guests:
2pm - Father Schlegel Creighton President
2:15 - Bruce Rassmussen - Creighton A.D. (sound)
2:30 - Sound from Dane Watts, Josh Dotzler, Pierce Hibma
3 pm - Randy Aieta - The Sports Animal Tulsa Radio
4 pm - Anthony Tolliver former CU center
4:30 - Mike DeCoursey - Sporting News Basketball writer
4:45 - Todd Lickliter Press Conf. at Iowa
5 pm - Charlie McBride - Former Nebraska coach
5:30 - Barry Hinson - HC of Missouri St.

Chasing former CU Coach Eddie Sutton

I Was Dead Wrong About Bruce....

The AD of CU is going no where. This was confirmed to me via email after Bruce read this blog. He wasn't very happy with my opinion of the situation but I'm really glad he chose to clear it up completely. I still believe that he could have killed the story yesterday on the podium when he was asked about Arkansas but I'm really glad he killed it today:

Matt, you drew conclusions that seemed perfectly logical to you. Butyou were very much in the wrong. I was not going to Arkansas, I am notgoing to Arkansas, I will not go to Arkansas. And I would challengeyou, in the future, to make a better effort to look at the entire beastbefore you draw your conclusions. And, if you are going to draw harshconclusions based upon you level of information, make certain you haveasked the harsh questions. You did not ask me if I were going toArkansas. My answer on friendships was a very open answer--I have beenfriends with Dana for 13 years...we have together poured our hearts andour souls into this program for 13 years...we have spent more time witheach other in the past 13 years with each other than with our wives(sad,but true). Our friendship will not end...nor will it change....the onlything that was to change was the business relationship...he would becoaching in Arkansas and I would be AD-ing in Omaha.

I want to thank Bruce for that information and I apologize for any inconvience I might have cause him. I'm really happy he is staying at CU.

Is Bruce Next?

Now that Dana is gone to Arkansas - all eyes are on AD Bruce Rasmussen. ESPN.com reported this tonight:

A source close to the situation said Creighton also is losing athletic director Bruce Rasmussen, who will go with Altman to Arkansas as his director of operations for men's basketball.

The move, viewed as a step down for an athletic director, would put Rasmussen in line for an administrative position once athletic director Frank Broyles retires, which is expected at the end of the year, the source said.

On Monday, Rasmussen dispelled that scenario.
"Obviously, I'm not in Arkansas," Rasmussen told The Associated Press. "If my bosses will have me, I plan on continuing to be here."

Here is what he told me afterwards:

Q: Is it strange to have a rumor about yourself going to Arkansas?

A: Well there have been a lot rumors about me not being the Athletic Director at Creighton (laugh). I think it's human nature that when two people have a close relationship, have a friendship - that people would suspect that that would continue, not only as a friendship but as a business relationship. I think that's human nature. But the reality is that we will continue to have a friendship but our business relationship is going to change. (- More on the one on one interview with Bruce tomorrow on the show)

So Bruce is playing the Dana Altman game. "I am at CU so that's where I am". Does that mean he is not going to Arkansas at any point? He never said that. Does that mean he isn't going to help CU get a coach and then leave? He never said that. So the speculation will continue.

My feeling - he isn't going to Arkansas....yet. You don't need to hire a director of basketball operations until the end of the summer. Plenty of time to get a coach, find a successor for Bruce with the new coaches approval and move to Fayetteville with Dana. Not being the AD and a Basketball Ops person would be a change in business relationship right?

The next phase of waiting and seeing has begun.

PS - How about Iowa? I was wrong about Gary Barta not doing anything with the head job....getting Todd Lickliter from Butler is a great hire. Nice work.

Dana is Gone

Well, it finally happened. Dana Altman will be introduced as the new Head Coach of Arkansas at 5 pm tonight. I'll have a lot more on this today on the show

Guests:
2 pm - Jeff Goodman Foxsports Radio

Others: - Travis Live in Arkansas
Barry Hinson - Coach of Missouri St.
A talk show host in Arkansas too....

A LOT of phone calls....talk to you at 2

Monday Morning Thoughts

Back in the Big O. Here are some of the things rolling around in my head this morning.

- Dana Altman to Arkansas? Well, I've got an emailer sending me flight plans of this Booster plane landing in Omaha at Noon from Fayetteville via Atlanta. No clue if this is a sign of Dana going to there but it would not shock me. I was once told that Reva, Dana's wife, wants to get away from the cold. She wants to be somewhere warm. Arkansas is great job with great facilities. The Bud Walton is a nice as the Qwest and they own the place. No Husker games there I promise you that. And this state has a had a history with Arkansas.........stay tuned.

- I gave my playoff predictions yesterday. Here are my individual awards:

NL MVP - Carlos Beltran Mets
NL Cy Young - John Smoltz Braves

AL MVP - David Ortiz Red Sox
AL Cy Young - Dice-K Red Sox

- How about this gem reported by The Boston Globe: We pretty much think of baseball as the Red Sox and Yankees and everybody else is the Washington Generals," said one ESPN employee who shall remain unnamed. Ouch

- We won't see Dice-K in KC....He'll pitch on Thursday....Josh Beckett on my birthday...Great.

Closing Out Vacation Thoughts....

It's always sorta sad when vacation comes to an end. Your brain for the last 9 days has been on cruise control and the reality of life hasn't been around to bother you. Well, as I close out my vacation and get back to the grueling schedule of a 30 minute show tomorrow and then a roadie to KC for the Sox game on my 30th :), here are some closing thoughts that have entered my mind over the past week

- Vacation is great. However, it sucks when your girlfriend works nearly the entire time. I definitely caught up on my wandering around over the last week. I easily walked 20 miles this week - I might walk 20 miles in a month in Omaha and that's stretching it.

- Philly and Omaha are very similar when it comes to football - always on the brain. I have been listening to sports talk radio out here and when Takeo Spikes was traded here a few days ago - you would have thought that Tom Brady was coming to town to play. That's all people wanted to talk about. Not that he hasn't been a player for 2 years or that the Eagles still won't win because they aren't a team (they are a QB with 10 other players on offense). This town hasn't won anything in 23 years and it shows when they go bonkers for a Linebacker.

- I saw Dice-K for the first time in person yesterday. My mother and my Stepfather flew down from Boston to go to the game with my girlfriend and I. He was everything that I thought he'd be. How about striking out Ryan Howard, NL MVP on 3 PITCHES! Now, he gave up a 2-run homer to the next batter Pat Burrell, but everyone knows that Burrell will never do that in the regular season, so I was happy. Anyways, can you blame Dice-K for losing focus a little bit after blowing away Ryan? I mean, it was Dice-K's first game ever inside in MLB ballpark and he just K'd a guy who was the '05 NL Rookie of the Year, '06 NL MVP and hit 58 bombs last year. He froze him on a crazy breaking pitch and even smiled a bit after throwing it. Definitely the highlight of the week.

- The Red Sox won both exhibition games this weekend over the Phillies who paid them to come play here. How about that? Guarantee games in MLB like College basketball but unlike college - you lose them both at home with about half the crowd cheering against you! It would be like paying Duke to come into your building on back to back nights and having them bring the Cameron Crazys along. The Red Sox hammered the Phillies starting pitching and you would have thought you were at Fenway as they did. Cole Hamels - Mr. Next Big Thing gave up 4 homers on Friday including a bomb to hated JD Drew. Adam Eaton served up a cheeseburger to Big Papi on Saturday on his way to giving up 6 earned runs in 4 innings of work. The AL is SO much better than the NL and it was obvious by watching the back-ups play late in the game. No doubt guys like Joe McEwing would make the Phillies' roster but barely will play in Boston this year. However, it was the number of Boston fans inside Citizen Bank Park that impressed me. The Nation is still growing.

- It's Florida and Ohio State's world and we are just living in it. After watching UF kill Ohio St. in the BCS Championship game.....do we really have to see it happen AGAIN! Ok, sure it's basketball but do you really think that the Buckeyes are going to be able to handle Noah, Horford and co. on Monday night? Pssshh...Please. Greg Oden is great but he's not very bright basketball wise right now. He played 3....count 'em 3 minutes in the first half vs. Georgetown after picking up 2 really dumb fouls. Scary thing is - THEY WON THE GAME! Know why? G'Town couldn't handle Mike Conley Jr....know who can? Florida. Expect another Noah- standing on press row - Gator chomp celebration.

-Shouldn't Opening Day be holiday? Think about it - what other sports day has their ENTIRE fanbase smiling and feeling good about themselves? Royal fans are excited, Devil Ray fans are hopeful, and Nationals fans are argueing with the experts about their team and wondering "what if?". What other day in sports has the ability to make people believe the impossible? Nobody should have to work when feeling like that.

- Tell Philadelphia that "Why Not Us" is a Red Sox term that can't be ripped off just because Jimmy Rollins opened his mouth and forgot how good the Mets and Braves will be this year.

- Milwaukee is going to be my favorite National League team this year. While I was in Huntsville, I saw Ben Sheets, Prince Fielder, Ricky Weeks, and Tony Gwynn Jr. all develop at AA. I think they are ready to have a break out year. If Sheets stays healthy, the Beer City could be loving life this summer. (It's hard for me to be happy about this because I hate Bud Selig for what he did to The Extra Innings Package. Yet, the players can't control the fact that they have a jackass for an owner in hiding) They won't make the playoffs but it will be fun to watch them try.

- Baseball Predictions: Red Sox, Tigers, Twins, Angels in the AL for the postseason. I won't say who I like in the World Series....but come on - guess? But I know what you are thinking - Matt, come on we know you hate the Yankees but no New York? I have fought myself on this but have you seen their rotation? It's horrible! Who the HELL is Darrell Rasner????? That guy is in their rotation and you want me to put them in the playoffs? Unless they trade A-Rod this year - no way. The Sox might have Julian Tavarez but Schill, Dice-K and Beckett make up for it.


Mets, Braves, Cardinals, and LA in the NL for postseason. I like the Mets to get to the Series finally after last year's joke of a playoff ending. They should have beaten the Cardinals. They weren't that good but they got hot at the right time.

Baseball is BACK! Enjoy it!!! :)