Celebrity Sightings: Eric Crouch and Grant Wistrom

Our friends at Fan House Sports are presenting a set of of signing opportunities in the very near future.

Heisman Trophy winner Nebraska Cornhusker and former Omaha Nighthawks quarterback Eric Crouch will be signing autographs at Fan House Sports in the Gateway Mall, Lincoln NE.  The signing will be on October 27th from Noon to 1:30 pm.  Autographs are free on your own item.  Fan House Sports will have items to purchase also.


In 2001, Eric Crouch won the Heisman Trophy, the Davey O'Brein Award and the Walter Camp Award.  He was also the Big 12 Conference offensive player of the year. He is one of a few quarterbacks in Division 1-A to rush for 3000 and pass for 4000 yards in a career. Eric was the 13th player in NCAA history to rush and pass for 1000 yards in a season with 1115 rushing and 1510 passing yards. While at Nebraska, he held records of single season total offense leader with 2688 yards and single game record for total offense of 360 yards. He holds the total offensive touchdown record at 88 and has the most rushing yards by a quarterback at 3434. Eric also has the record for longest run from scrimmage at 95 yards.  

Also coming up is one of the greatest Blackshirts of all time: Grant Wistrom!  Grant will be at Fan House Sports in the Gateway Mall, Lincoln NE on November 24th. VIP signings are available for $75 with a time from 12:30 to 1:30pm.  Public signing is from 2 to 4pm. Autographs will be $25 per item on your own item.  Fan House Sports will also have items to purchase which includes one signature.

Grant Winstrom was member of 3 National Chamionship teams at Nebraska - 1994, 1995 and 1997.  He was first team Big 12 in 1995-1997 and First team All American in 1996 and 1997. In 1996 and 1997, he was also Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Also in 1997, Winstrom was the Lombari Award Winner and the Nagursk Award finalist. He holds Nebraskas record for tackles for a loss at 58.5 and is second in school history in sacks at 26.5. Wistrom was selected 6th overall in the 1998 NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams and played in the NFL from 1998 to 2006.  He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

For more info on these signings, please call Jeff at Fan House Sports at 402-601-6257. 

Celebrity Sighting - Cornhusker Heisman's, 9-1-12 Lincoln NE

The Fan House in Lincoln NE will be hosting an autograph signing with Heisman trophy Winners Johnny Rodgers (1972), Mike Rozier (1983) and Eric Crouch (2001) on 9-1-12 at their store in Gateway mall. A VIP session is available from 9 am to 10:15 am ($100 get photo with players and tropheys and a personalized autograph picture) and than the a General Public session from 10:30am to 12:30pm. Cost per item - Mini Helmets $50 with autographs, Full Size Helmets $150 with autographs, Footballs $50 with autographs, Photos $25 with autographs, Your item $35 with autographs. For more information, call Fan House at 402-601-6257.

Flash Back Friday: August 8th 2009 - My Other Love: The Big Red!

Today is Fan Day in Lincoln so I thought I'd Flashback to 2009's fan day experience.  This year will be the 8th year I went in row.  Photos soon of the this years event! 

We know I love autographs and but I have another big hobby. I'm a pretty big college football fan. I enjoy college football much more than pro because the players play for the love of the game and not money like the pro's often do. Living in Nebraska, it's pretty obvious I follow the Nebraska Cornhuskers pretty close. I've grown up following them for as long as I can remember and it's a pretty big thing in my family. Today, the Huskers hosted "Fan Day" and I made the trip to Memorial Stadium to join the fun. This is the 7th time in the last 10 years I've went and it gets bigger each year. My Dad is also a big Husker fan and he usually makes the trip down and we make a day of it. He couldn't make it this year and because of the heat, Dawn didn't go so it was just me this year. I still had a great time. I try to get as many signatures as possible in the alloted time. It's pretty hard to get more than a hand full of players with 10000 people all tring to do the same thing in a hour and half time frame so I started "2 year" signed ball. The first I did was 2006 - 2007 and I got about half of the team. The newest ball, 2008 - 2009, I managed to get the entire team minus the Offensive line and tight ends. There just wasn't enought time. I got 40 defensive and special teams sigs last year and added 37 offensive players this year. Heres some photos of the madness today and some of the future Husker Stars. Enjoy!
Some Crowd shots showing the madness!

QB Zac Lee

WR Will Henry

WR Niles Paul

WR Menelik Holt

LB Phillip Dillard

I Back Quentin Castille

I Back Roy Helu Jr

Head Coach Bo Pelini

Me at the end of the day with my nearly complete team ball. :)

Celebrity Sighting - 2012 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Nebraska Football Fan day is set for Friday from 2 -3:30pm at Memorial Stadium.  The photo above shows where each group of players will be seated. Some reminders:
-Gate 2 and 24 are the only gates open and is also where the restrooms will be.
-1 autographs per player or coach
-Husker Authentic will be on hand selling mechandise outside the stadium
-The event ends at 3:30.  Please allow coaches and players to leave on time.
-Parking is available in lots 5 and 8.

Omaha Nighthawk News! The UFL League is Still alive!

So Tons of UFL Omaha Nighthawks news and rumors over the last week. We learned last week CBS Sports had picked up rights to broadcast the games. Today, we learn the schedule and that all games are during the week and at night! (Times Central Standard) 9-21 Virginia Destroyers 6pm. 9-28 @Sacramento Mountain Lions 10pm, 10-3 Las Vegas Locos 8pm, 10-12 Virginia 6pm, 10-17 Las Vegas 8pm, 10-23 Sacramento 8pm, 10-31 @ Las Vegas 8pm, 11-9 @ Virginia 8:30pm and the Championship game on 11-16 8pm Site to be determined. TD Ameritrade Park posted the schedule on its Facebook page so one would assume that is where they will play again.

Rumor also has it from sources on Twitter and ESPN, Bart Andrus will be the Nighthawks' new head coach (He was last years Offensive Coordinator); league's Larry Weisman is not offering confirmation but also didnt deny it tweeting nothing had been announced yet and to kindly remove all tweets about the Nighthawks coach until an official announcement has been made. (yeah Right!)

Maybe Im kicking a dead horse... more UFL news

Heard this from the Sacramento Mountain Lions Fan club President:

From Joe Wagoner, Mountain Lions Senior Vice President:

"I wanted to take a moment to let you know that I am leaving my position with the Sacramento Mountain Lions Football team. My last day with the team will be next Friday, February 10. I have accepted an offer to be the CEO of the start-up San Francisco Bulls Hockey Team of the ECHL. The ECHL is an electrifying league with a rich 24-year history. I am very excited to be a part of their new organization.

I have enjoyed my two years with the Mountain Lions immensely. The journey from being the first Mountain Lions employee to witnessing a 20,000-fan home-opener was the most fulfilling accomplishment of my professional career. I’d like to thank team ownership, Paul Pelosi, Angelo Tsakopoulos and David Lucchetti for allowing me this incredible experience. Additionally, I want to thank the members of the front office for their tireless effort, the corporate partners for their unwavering support, the fans for sticking with us amongst all the uncertainty in the world of the UFL and my wife for basically managing our entire life while I was at the office for two straight years.

Rachel and I are very happy to have planted our roots in Sacramento and are looking forward to raising our family here. So we have decided that I will commute to San Francisco. We hope to see everybody around town.

Thanks again for everything and GO MOUNTAIN LIONS!!!

Joe"

Also according to the Story here from Sacramento Business Journals,"Russ Edmonson, the Mountain Lions’ spokesman, said he is resigning from the team as of the end of Tuesday"

Still zero news on the Omaha Nighthawks future. An announcement is suppose to be coming in March.

National Signing day 2012

National signing day.... the day we find out who has ability but often lacks the heart. I'd rather see an entire team of walk-ons with heart and develop the ability than what some of these jokers will bring in the next 4 years. Don't get me wrong, there have been some superstars to come right in and make a difference, but being a Nebraska Cornhusker fan, often these guys don't do much. Thunder Collins anyone? Maybe Harrison Beck? Bubba Starling? The list could go on and on. Needless to say, There have been some good ones like Ndamukong Suh. The guy had both heart and talent. In fact, looking at the 2005 class, he was in was really good class many thought was top 10 in the nation. Our friends over at Husker Corner have a good article on jsut very same topic HERE looking at the 2007 class. They point out you never really know how strong a class is until your 4 or 5 years down the road and list the whole class from that year and how things panned out. Still, it's the walk-on's who come in and have something to prove. They guys who have to really show what they are made of to earn their spots.

I guess in a way, I want things to go back to the way they were in the 80's and 90's. Tom Osborne would go out, find a couple a good players, but the majority of the difference makers were walk-on's. It's the small town in me. Where I grew up, We had quality athletics but most rarely made the radar. My favorite example of a walk on is Scott Shanle. I grew in the same area as Scott. Our high school's were rivals. Scott walked on to the Cornhuskers and red shirted in 1998. After that, he played in every game except the 2002 bowl game because he had the flu. He tied the NU linebacker pass break up record in 2001. Today, he plays in the NFL. He's been there since he graduated.

I have to laugh at the guys pouring over this today. I know one guy who took today off jsut so he can stay up on who's going where. I kinda feel sorry for the some of them. Both the fans and the athletes. Just because a guys will be going on ESPN at noon to declare his school, doesn't make him a god. There's a small town boy or a kid in the city who wants to come in and show what he's got just as bad and chances are... you won't even know he's there until game time.

Just for the fun of it, tonight, I'll edit this post with the signing class and how many stars Rivals.com has ranked them. Not so much as a show case or to be a hypocrite, but more so a few years down the road, I can look back and see if I'm right this fall.

Finally some official UFL news!

I've been reading for a few weeks now an official announcement was coming from the UFL. Many speculated it was going to be the end of the league as they had announce Spring ball would likly happen. Here is is January and nothing had been announce. Today, we finally received official word from the United Football league. Commissioner Michael Huyghue resigned today leaving things wide open for the future. Oursportscentral.com reports , Huyghue as saying "The UFL has experienced funding issues and at this juncture it seems most prudent that I step aside while the owners work to raise the necessary funds to conduct a fourth season."

The article also quoted UFL owners Bill Hambrecht and Bill Mayer:

'UFL owner and founder BILL HAMBRECHT said: "We are greatly indebted to Michael for taking an idea and turning it into a reality against very challenging circumstances. We remain committed to taking the league forward and are moving ahead to fund a fourth season, but we would not be here today without his steadfast leadership."

Chairman of the UFL owners group BILL MAYER added: "I want to personally thank Michael for providing the steady leadership needed to launch the UFL and take it to it's current position. It was not an easy task. The owner group is committed to go forward with the league and play our fourth season this fall."'

Regardless - Spring ball will not be happening in 2012. We will have to wait and see if Fall ball will be returning. As for the Omaha Nighthawks, a 'for lease' sign is in the window of the teams office in downtown Omaha. From my understanding all off the teams staff have moved on to other opportunities. Some will come back if the league does play again and others have moved on completely.

As for this fan, if they play... I'll be there. If they don't and the league folds, I'll still have one of the largest Omaha Nighthawks autograph collections and a pretty impressive collection of UFL merchandise for a sports bars someday! If your interested in purchasing it... let me know. :)

More UFL and Omaha nighthawks news, well sorta... ok, Not really!

In the last few months, many players from the Omaha Nighthawks have went back to the NFL. Most recently Quarterback Troy Smith signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Story Here)

Today, we learn a key part of the Nighthawks is also going back to the NFL. General Manager Rick Mueller, the man responsible for assembling and recruiting players to the team, was hired on to the Philadelphia Eagles as part of the Eagles scouting staff. This is sad news for this Nighthawk fan. Rick was always open to fan interaction. He never sugar coated any answers to questions asked and was always straight forward. He had a knack for bringing players and landing some serious deals.


To continue on from an earlier post where I talked about the UFL and weather or not it was shut down. Things continue to look bleak for the UFL. In addition to ending the season short, losing players, staff, fans, teams and the league not paying bills, mass exodus of merchandise at the close of said shortened season and what ever else I'm forgetting; There still is no official word from UFL officials on the fate of the league. Links on the official UFL website are broken for every major story or bio. Little or no information is out there period, anywhere. There has been no tweets or mention of news on any of the leagues social media sites other than fan postings on news such as Mueller's hiring or the general rants of the UFL being dead.

Another thing I forgot to mention, which seems to also play into things locally in Omaha, is the stadium situation. We all know the UFL was looking at playing in the spring. The big question was where do they play in Omaha. We know MECA won't let them play football at TD Ameritrade park during baseball season, especially before the their golden goose... The College World Series. Another possible solution was maybe play at UNO's Caniglia Field. UNO recently had cut the football program and the stadium now sits empty. With the addition of more bleachers, this would be a very viable option. Well, the Omaha World Herald ran a story HERE about the stadiums future. It seems everything but football is being considered for the space. So much for that idea.

Well, anyways, I guess thats it. Normally, no news is good news but I think it this case... things are done! At least we still have the Omaha Beef! (Which looks like I'm getting season tickets very soon)

Oh! I took some great photos from the sideline of the last game. Once I get through them all, I'll post them up. My guess is as a memorial...

Memories

I got a random text the other day from a very dear friend. It simply said "FIREHOUSE ROCKS!" It was completely out of no where. I responded back - "Hello Random text." LOL! After a bit, she responded back she was listening to her MP3 player and Firehouse was one. It reminded her of a time we had went to go see the band many years ago and she just wanted me to know she was thinking about me. (insert warm fuzzies)

Needless to say I still have my concert ticket stub from the show. I save pretty every stub weather it be from a concert, movie or sporting event... I still have it somewhere. Usually, I toss them in a basket I have over by my desk. That night, I dug the basket out and went through all my stubs. Memories flooded back. Some, I don't remember going to but I have the stub.... Some I don't want to admit I went to... LOL!

Anyways, I have this large frame I saved from the trash and had nothing that fit in it. So I took all my ticket stubs and randomly placed them on it. Now, I can flash back more often!

Are you ready for some football? IFL, UFL and some ex's?

ESPN Dallas Fort Worth is reporting here Terrell Owens is to play for the IFL's Allen Wranglers this spring. No word yet if TO will be making road trips to Omaha to face the Omaha Beef or to Grand Island to play the Nebraska Danger. People in the Omaha area saw first hand what some star power can do to a football team with the Omaha Nighthawks in its first year when it brought in Ahman Green, Jeff Garcia, Cato June, Robert Ferguson and many other NFL vets. Either way, sounds interesting and could be exciting to see what happens.

Speaking of the Nighthawks. Rumors swirled for the last few days that the United Football League had folded after it's 3rd year. Social Media and the UFL website have had little to no updates for months fueling the debate. Nighthawks head coach Joe Moglia had recently taken a head coaching job for a college team and no replacement has been named. Also, Virginia Destroyers Head coach Marty Schottenheimer and Sacramento Mountain Lions Head coach Dennis Green are in news in the hunt for NFL coaching jobs. Than to top it all off, Las Vegas Locos employee Patrick Dux(who has worked in the UFL from the very beginning at the California Redwoods before the Locos) tweeted from @PatrickDux on JANUARY 13 "Crazy day. The UFL shutdown today and J Fisher took a job with the Rams. The team that beat the @tennesseetitans in the super bowl." Than "#FF @adambergen @AndraeT81 @madbacker56 @BobbyRome @krisLgriffin53 @DezSherrod84 UFL shutdown today." Than "Spyder0033 Adrian Awasom
IT'S OFFICIAL ... !!! ... R.I.P. @UFL ... Special Shot Out to Michael Hughes For Single Handedly Killing Da Golden Goose ... #UFL"
Today, Dux reported on his twitter account the "#UFLISDEAD". A follower of his than asked if official word had come out and his response was "no & there never will be. All I know is everyone on payroll was terminated on Friday. I saw both emails from the league and trinet." Amongst other things Dux and many Locos's players have been stating how they have not been paid as of today for the last season. To top it off, Nation Hahn, director of Digital media for the UFL stated on twitter (@UFLNationHah) "I am, and will remain, part of the #UFL family, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds." right after a post about his new job... "Follow my new adventure with @newkind via @nationhahn" Hahn also said on the UFL Access forums "The UFL has not folded, it is still operating. Changes continue to happen behind the scenes. I hope that the UFL plays in 2012, it still has a chance." The Still has a chance part is what gets me the most. Doesn't look to promising.

The last thing I want to mention is something that has really been bothering me in the media latly. Mostly I see this on the Omaha World Herald reporting of Former Nebraska Cornhuskers. They report all former players as Ex's. EX Husker so and so did this. To me, an EX is someone who quit the team or left before finishing, Not someone who finished, graduated and was on good terms. A prime example, the Headline today EX-Huskers to Open Dunkin Donuts.... sounds negative to me. In fact, what did they played for Nebraska even have to do with the story. What about the Houston Texans? That was Browns last football gig. No mention of that. Oh well, Maybe I'll write Warren Buffet a letter now that he owns that rag of a newspaper and complain.