Local/State Briefs

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Huskers going heavy on Texas recruits again

LINCOLN -- Nebraska added a high school recruit from Texas for the third consecutive day Thursday when offense guard Nick Ash committed to the Huskers. The 6-foot-5, 265-pounder from Keller, Texas, had received scholarship offers from Arizona, Purdue, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt and Washington State..

On Wednesday, Nebraska received an oral commitment from defensive end Emerson Evans out of Alief Taylor High School in Houston, according to Rivals.com. The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder also had scholarship offers from Mississippi, Utah and UTEP.

Tuesday, offensive lineman Jesse Coffey gave his verbal pledge to the Huskers. The 6-7, 290-pounder from Denton, Texas, had offers to play from Arkansas, Harvard, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas A&M and Tulsa.



Nebraska 2009 Commitments

Committed/Not signed    Pos.    Ht.    Wt.    Hometown

Nick Ash                               OL    6-5    261    Keller, Texas

Shawn Bodtmann                LB    6-0    205    Scranton, Pa.

Jess Coffey                          OL    6-7    270    Denton, Texas

Emerson Evans                   DE    6-1    230    Houston

Cody Green                         QB    6-4    220    Dayton, Texas

Cole Pensick                       DT    6-2    250    Lincoln

Thaddeus Randle               DT    6-1    255    Galena Park, Texas

Dontrayevous Robinson    RB    6-1    215    Euless, Texas

C.J. Zimmerer                    RB    6-0    213    Omaha



--Source: Rivals.com



GOLF

Four share lead in 100th Nebraska Amateur

LINCOLN  --  Four golfers share the lead entering the final round of the 100th Nebraska Amateur at the Country Club of Lincoln.

Texas A&M golfer John Hurley of O'Neill, Jayson Brueggemann of Lincoln, Nebraska golf recruit Scott Willman and local club favorite Knox Jones all sit at 2-under-par 214 with 18 holes to play in the event.

Blake Giroux of Omaha is two shots back at even par 216.

Final round action begins at 7 a.m. Friday. Hurley and Brueggemann will be paired together in the final group at 11:30 a.m. Jones and Willman will begin play at 11:21 a.m.

Jones was the tournament champion in 2001. The other three golfers are seeking their first state amateur stroke-play championship.

Devon Kastler of Kearney  --  an Ord native  --  leads four area players who made the cut in the tournament. Kastler is tied for 24th with a three-round total of 227.



Nebraska Amateur

Thursday's Third Round

At Country Club of Lincoln

Top 10 Individuals

John Hurley, O'Neill    72-72-70 -- 214

Jaysone Brueggemann, Lincoln    70-70-74 -- 214

Knox Jones, Lincoln    71-69-74 -- 214

Scott Willman, Lincoln    71-68-75 -- 214

Blake Giroux, Omaha    70-72-74 -- 216

Kevin Stanek, Bellevue    77-72-68 -- 217

Mike Coatman, Lincoln    73-76-70 -- 219

Bill Spangler, Lincoln    74-73-73 -- 220

Greg Pohlmann, Columbus    75-77-70 -- 222

Collin Craft, Omaha    77-73-72 -- 222

Brandon Crick, McCook    72-78-72 -- 222

David Easley, Lincoln    70-72-80 -- 222

Area Players

T24-Devon Kastler, Kearney    79-75-73 -- 227

T37-Jim Rash, Doniphan    75-77-79 -- 231

T51-Josh Reinertson, Gibbon    79-78-77 -- 234

T53-Jordan Reinertson, Gibbon    77-78-80 -- 235



SOFTBALL

Hastings Parks and Rec to offer fall softball league

The City of Hastings Parks & Recreation Department will be running a Fall Adult Softball league. The team fee will be $240 with all teams playing eight league games and a double elimination tournament. The Men's division will play on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the Women's division will play on Mondays and Wednesdays.  The registration deadline is Aug. 8 with play beginning on Sept. 8. 

For more information on this league, rules, and registration forms please contact the Hastings Parks and Recreation office at (402) 461-2324



USHL

Storm partners with MS Society for 5K Fun Run

KEARNEY -- Nebraska's Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League has announced today that it is teaming up with the Multiple Sclerosis Society for the First Annual Stormy's 5K Fun Run/1K Walk on October 18th, 2008 at the FirsTier Event Center in Kearney, NE.  Storm players and staff will be on hand to help encourage all participants along the way.  Every entrant will receive a ticket to the October 18th game versus the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and will also receive a t-shirt for participating. The Storm is extremely excited to create a fun event that will inform people about the disease.  Vice President Kyle Means stated, "It's surprising how many people are affected by MS in one way or another. So our players and organization are thrilled to team up with the MS Society to raise awareness and support for this cause."  Proceeds from this event will be donated to the MS Society.

Multiple Sclerosis is a very common disease that attacks the Central Nervous System and can cause many disabilities. One out of every 750 people in the United States has a chance to be diagnosed with MS every year. Although there is no cure for Multiple Sclerosis, officials have been working very diligently to find a cure. Many events, like Stormy's 5K Fun Run/1K Walk, are held every year to raise money and awareness for Multiple Sclerosis.

For further information regarding the Fun Run, donations or for sponsorship opportunities, please contact the Storm offices at (308) 338-8809. If you or someone you know is effected by MS, please visit the National Multiple Sclerosis website at www.nationalmssociety.org.



FOOTBALL

Registration for 5th-6th tackle league to be Aug. 23

Registration and equipment check-out for the Islander Tackle Football league will be from 1-2 p.m. Aug. 23 at the Grand Island Senior High practice fields. The program will emphasize the development of basic tackle football skills and teamwork. The season will consist of five games played on Saturday afternoons starting Sept. 21 and running through Oct. 19. The cost of the program is $50. An Islander Tackle Football T-shirt is given for each paid registration. For more information, contact Jim Jeffries at 382-1124 or the Islander Athletic Office at 385-5581.



MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Big 12 Conference Announces League Basketball Schedule

Highlighted by three national television windows each week on ESPN or ESPN2, the Big 12 Conference has announced its men's basketball conference schedule for the 2008-09 season.

Nearly 90 percent of Big 12 Conference games this season will be televised nationally or regionally on an ESPN network, ABC, CBS or the newly branded, regionally syndicated Big 12 Network. The games are being broadcast as part of the first season of a new multi-year agreement with ESPN that runs through the 2015-16 season.

The league slate tips off on Saturday, Jan. 10, with five contests broadcast nationally or regionally. The Big 12 resumes its spot in ESPN's traditional "Big Monday" lineup two days later when Texas travels to Oklahoma. Over the course of the 2008-09 campaign, every school in the conference will be showcased on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC. Nebraska will have four appearances on ESPN or ESPN2 and an additional two contests televised on ESPNU during league play.

The Big 12 this season becomes the first conference to be guaranteed three weekly men's basketball telecast windows on ESPN or ESPN2, which reach 96 and 95 million homes, respectively. In addition, 95 games overall (conference and non-conference) will air annually with more than 60 contests broadcast by ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN360, ABC or another national over-the-air network.

In August, Nebraska is expected to release its non-conference schedule along with a full television lineup with its third-tier partner Fox Sports Midwest. The Huskers will have eight games on FSN Midwest within the state of Nebraska and expects to have those games available on ESPN Full Court for the second straight year. Overall a minimum of 23 Husker contests will be seen on television this season, including every conference game.

For more information on the Husker schedule when it becomes available, check back frequently at Huskers.com.



WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Huskers announce 2009 Big 12 women's  schedule

LINCOLN --The Nebraska women's basketball team found out its tentative 2009 Big 12 Conference schedule on Thursday, when the Big 12 office released the league's composite schedule. The Huskers, who return four starters and 12 letterwinners from a team that advanced to the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, will tip-off the Big 12 schedule by facing Oklahoma, which also advanced to the NCAA second round a year ago.

The Sooners, who will battle the Huskers at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday, Jan. 10, will be the first of four 2008 NCAA Tournament qualifiers from the Big 12 to journey to Lincoln during the league season. Iowa State (Saturday, Jan. 24), Baylor (Wednesday, Feb. 4) and Kansas State (Wednesday, Feb. 25), all advanced to the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

Three more 2008 Postseason WNIT qualifiers from the conference will also tangle with the Huskers at the Devaney Center in 2009, including Kansas (Wednesday, Jan. 21), Texas Tech (Saturday, Feb. 14) and Colorado (Tuesday, March 3).

The Buffaloes will come to town for Senior Night, when the Huskers will expect to honor two-time first-team All-Big 12 forward Kelsey Griffin, and fellow senior Tay Hester. Griffin, an All-America candidate, hopes to cap one of the best careers in Nebraska women's basketball history by leading the Huskers to their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and sixth straight postseason bid.

Nebraska's conference schedule will provide plenty of opportunities for the Huskers to prove themselves. Overall, Nebraska will play 14 Big 12 regular-season games against 2008 postseason qualifiers, including nine Big 12 games against 2008 NCAA Tournament teams.

Nearly every league team returns a majority of its starters from a year ago, when the Big 12 sent 11 teams to postseason tournaments, including eight teams to the 64-team NCAA Tournament field.

The Big 12 also put together a record-setting performance in postseason play in 2008, when it became the first conference in history to post a perfect 8-0 record in NCAA first-round action. The league's three teams in the Postseason WNIT (Colorado, Kansas and Texas Tech) also posted first-round tournament wins.

Big 12 road action will provide even more challenges in 2009. The Huskers hit the road in league play for the first time with a showdown at Texas on Wednesday, Jan. 14. The Longhorns earned a trip to the second-round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

After road tests at Missouri (Saturday, Jan. 17), Kansas State (Tuesday, Jan. 27), and Colorado (Saturday, Jan. 31), the Huskers will face 2008 NCAA Elite Eight qualifier Texas A&M in College Station, Texas on Sunday, Feb. 7.

The Huskers will then head to Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, to face Iowa State on Wednesday, Feb. 18, before traveling to Kansas for a second crucial Big 12 North Division showdown on Saturday, Feb. 28. Nebraska will close the regular-season by heading to 2008 NCAA Sweet 16 qualifier Oklahoma State on Saturday, March 7.

Regular-season action should prepare conference teams well for the new schedule at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championships at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, March 12-15. For the first time, the Big 12 women's tournament will tip-off on a Thursday and will feature four straight days of action culminating with the Big 12 Championship Game on Sunday afternoon. In previous years, the women have tipped off their tournament schedule on Tuesday with a day off on Friday and a Saturday night title game.

Nebraska has not yet released the non-conference schedule for the 2008-09. All conference dates are tentative and subject to change. The Big 12 Conference women's basketball television schedule has not yet been announced.



CORRECTION

Nebraska-Kansas football score incorrect

An article in Thursday's edition of The Independent incorrectly stated the final score of last year's Nebraska-Kansas football game. The Jayhawks won 76-39.