Texas 22 Nebraska 20

----It was much like the being ripped away from home and forced back to Iraq from leave. After Marlon Lucky's 25 yard HB Option Pass to a wide open Nate Swift a Husker upset seemed inevidible. A failed 2 point conversion should have seemed ominous though. I really could walk through the entire game. The six Texas fumbles, of which only one was recovered by Nebraska, the dropped pass to a wide open Nate Swift at the Texas 39 yard line in the third quarter, or Terrance Nunn's critical fumble, which set up a Texas victory.
----But then there was a 63 yard touchdown pass to Maurice Purify which held as the Huskers only offensive success of the 1st half. An amazing Brandon Jackson run off of a shovel pass in which he broke three tackles and made a game of it. And 0 second half sacks on Zac Taylor after he had been a crash test dummy for the Texas D-line in the first half. Then there was our defense, which held Texas a team averaging 42 points per game to about half of that. A defense that stepped up and jammed Texas from scoring twice from within our five yard line.
----I really can't see why this is such a hard loss to take. We played a superior team, a team whose only loss in the past two seasons has been to #1 Ohio State. We made mistakes, they made mistakes. We had the game in hand and let it slip away. Texas had the game in hand and watched Zac Taylor throw a last second prayer into the endzone. This is not the same Nebraska team that played USC earlier this season. This is not the same conservative, play not to get blown out game plan Bill Callahan brought to USC. This is a Husker team whose offensive strategy was derailed in the first half by Texas and we regrouped and found one that worked.
----I thought we'd lose this game. I figured being overmatched by a more physical and more talented Texas team would be too much for Nebraska to overcome. I didn't think our defense could contain their explosive offense and I was positive our running game wouldn't work against their steadfast front seven. And honestly I thought we would crumble and Texas would take control in the second half. I was wrong. We stopped their offense when it needed to be stopped. We found a way to protect Zac Taylor and carved their secondary up, and honestly Bill Callahan outcoached Mack Brown.
----We have some challenges awaiting us until the possible Big 12 Championship game. We have Oklahoma State, Missouri, and Texas A&M. None of them are near the talent level of Texas. Barring a Husker meltdown or a Longhorn upset we'll see Texas again. Last time we played Texas twice in the same season we dropped the initial game 24-22. And then we beat the 22-6 in the Big 12 Championship Game. Given in 1999 we were a one loss team and Texas was a four loss team, still we've seen it happen before. We now know we can compete with Texas. And barring a similar breakdown last year following a loss to Texas Tech; we'll be in KC. We'll walk in knowing we can hang with this team and with a chip on our shoulders. Texas is going to be in for a fight. And in my opinion it'll be one they won't win.

Interesting Article

I decided to look in on an article detailing Pat Tillman's brother breaking his silence for the first time since September 2004. I have read into the Pat Tillman situation quite a bit and it still baffles me the level of insensitivity it was handled with. Here's the link to the article and as is true with most things these opinions are not mine but of Kevin Tillman. And in no way would I express these opinions over an open forum while serving in my current capacity.


http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/200601019_after_pats_birthday/

There And Back Again

Sorry I haven't updated in well over a month. I returned from leave Wednesday morning and have being trying to harrass this computer into allowing me to post a blog since.

Leave was a godsent. After nine months in Iraq I can honestly assess that the line between military and civilian had blurred to a point where I had myself convinced I was a miserable person. Most people live in denial of their immaturity and I am definetly guilty of that crime myself. I guess at just over 21 I haven't matured, or had the life experience necessary to help keep my situation and my life as a whole as two seperate entities. Anyways I found I was happy, even when the situation would dicate a more somber mood. I found thatI was still more upbeat then my best days in Iraq.

Rundown on key events

*Went to Nebraska Vs. Kansas Game and stayed for the entire thing. It took my dad and I 45 minutes to leave the stadium and another hour plus to make a normally 20 minute drive. After Nebraska scored the go ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter a guy behind us had a heart attack... needless to say I spent way too much on the tickets and continued to watch the game... I did however between plays act concerned.

*My buddy Chris and I went in on a boat. It eneded up costing $450. It has a Johnson 70 HP Motor on it and has a solid body. We tore up the carpet, the seats and have to repair about a six inch hole with fiberglass. It's a 15 ft boat and it'll be awesome for fishing.

* My buddy Dustin had the transmission go out in his 1995 Thunderbird so I coaxed Chris into putting a new one in it. In the end we had to drop the gas tank, the drive shaft, and the whole exhaust to get it out and a new one in. Needless to say it was a pain in the ass and we regretted doing it almost instantly. In the end a wire bunch connected to the transmission which causes the car to shift were badly fraid so naturally the car wouldn't leave first gear. And better news is no junk yards had one availabe and on top of that Ford stopped manufacturing it.

* I went to see my sister who has a new boyfriend who isn't some goth freak. It was relieving and hopefully soon she'll begin to explore other colors than black.

* I had high speed internet and got to drive a car!!!

* I wore what I wanted.

* My chain of command consisted of myself and I walked in around in a world where there was no rank. It was a spectacular feeling and I can't wait to feel it again.

* Other than that nothing which I will post on a public forum happened. I chilled out hung out with friends, visisted family, watched football, etc.

Well that about wraps it up. Hopefully I'll maintain this a little bit better. Go Huskers!!! If you lose keep losing. I want Callahan fired. I hate his conservative offense, this isn't the NFL Bill, you can't throw seven games and still make the playoffs. If you are overmatched don't just quit and try to play it safe. I'd rather see us lose 72-0 with 6 turnovers then 21-0 with none. Sorry I really hate watching us quit trying to put up points after the first 14 points we score. Peace

Nobody Loves You, Everyone Hates You

As bewildering as it may seem: The title has nothing to do with my post. I simply have spent the last two nights listening to Greenday's Bullet In A Bible and can't get it out of my head. And I figured why not add to the nonsensical ravings which sweep across my Blog like the black plague. I currently have 13 days till I get to see the real world. Because naturally being in Iraq is like being a surreal, alternate reality where there is no rain, it's always too hot, and a tremendous access of dirt, dust, and sand. But to say the least I heavily anticipate going home and escaping.

Why I hate going to a range: Ranges suck, and I will always despise them. First off you waste a whole day. You are outside all day, and you are waiting all day. Then you shoot shadow figures; sillouettes which represent the human body. Based off of how well you do you will be given a grade such as Marksman, Sharpshooter, Expert, or Hawkeye. The sillouettes are set from varying distances away. For the M16, anywhere from 50 meters to 300 meters in incriments of 50. You are given 40 rounds and the end goal would be to put a bullet in each target. I could go more in depth but the general essence is you are rewarded for your ability to fire at a piece of paper/cardboard, which is supposed to represent a person. This is the Army's gauge for marksmanship. And you must have gotten the feeling that most likely I'm not very good at this procedure. If fact I would go so far as to say I suck. I hit 1 or 2 targets above the minimum and then I'm done. I am equipped with a lot of rounds. I figure if it needs killing the more the marrier. It might take me five rounds to hit a target, but I still have another 25 to ensure the target is no longer a threat.

Where's Osama: If I was Osama Bin Laden's Public Affairs Representative I would follow in the footsteps of Where's Waldo. Put out a book and dress Osama in a red and white striped man dress and turbin. And then place a composite of him (obviously he's not going to be able to pose in foreign coutries) at various sites throughout the world. At least then George Bush could hold a press conference and show the nation his intellectual prowlness in finding Osama Bin Laden in each of these fun filled, challenging puzzles.

Did I really say the above mentioned piece: Yes and for the record, I consider in complimentary because I classify Where's Waldo right along side a Rubix Cube. And there are a large portion of highly intellectual Americans with college degrees and years of schooling who can't solve these puzzles.

Do I bash the military: Recently someone who is deployed with me has come upon my blog and told be I bash the military. After re-reading each of my entries I believe I bash myself moreso than the military. I do have the right to criticize myself as I want. And my opinion as a citizen of the United States is my obligation to be critical of myself, especially because of my heightened role in the protection of the United States against the ever growing threat of terrorist. Terrorist are not people. They do not have souls and they only survive off of the tears of Americans. Their weakness... love. If we love the terrorist they will catch of fire and burn.

Bullets My Only Weakness: Another random bit from the movie Harold an Kumar Go To White Castle. I am running out of wild stories. I like my new format and I think I will continue running with it. If you read this and look in a mirror and say Mr. Clean 73 times he will appear and wrestle with you. If you beat him you will be granted three wishes. Well actually after the government taxes you'll actually only have 1.8 wishes.

Peace Out

19 Days and a Wake Up

I have tried posting two in one day so may times it's sickening. Here I'll try again, based off of my title that is how long till I go on leave. How estatic am I? Well it's not so much that I'm excited its that I can see a brief light in the tunnel. I can't can't see the other side yet, but there is a pretty sizable crack which I can see sunlight pouring in. I really don't want to go on leave due to the simple fact that I have to come back here. To understand exactly how much I love this place simply scroll down through my blog. But I'll save you the time; I despise it. But it'll kill almost three weeks of my deployment and I'll get paid to sit at home and chill out. But overall I'm psyched I'm almost out of here.
On the 30th of September I'm going with my dad to catch the Nebraska vs. Kansas Game. Which sadly enough will be my first Husker Game ever attended. Other than that I can't throw down one more date as far as things I know I'm doing. I just can't wait to do what I want and not what is wanted of me. To once again know the feeling of being an individual, and to be able to know that I am the master of my own destiny. Hold on I retract that statement. Obviously there are various other entities which moreso than myself are controllers of my destiny. But I think you get the jist.
Once again I am pretty much out of things to say. But I will call it now at this moment. On September 16th, the Nebraska Cornhuskers will defeat the USC Trojans. I'm feeling a 45-42 score on that one.

My Night

After work 6 September 2006

16:55 Leave work head to Chaplain's Office. (Not for counseling I hang out there)
17:06 Cowell puts in Lewis Black (Note: Lewis Black is not funny; all he does is bash both Republican's and Democrats which is far too easy.)
17:43 After uncomfortably trying to sleep in the lawn chair, I decide Lewis Black sucks and I want sleep and leave to my room.
18:00 After getting changed and deciding that I will fall asleep watching The Simpsons I pop the DVD in last a couple episodes and crash.
21:30 I go in and out of consciousness waking up to the Simpsom's episode where Homer discovers the root of his mental condition is that he had stuck a crayon up his nose as a child and it was pressing against his brain. He gets it removed and becomes a genius, him and Lisa get along great and he finally understands how brilliant she truly is. But with his newfound intellect comes the loneliness and he can't take it anymore and eventually has Moe reinsert the crayon. Lisa is heartbroken but before he had it done he wrote her a note letting her know how much he appreciated her and so on. It was a real nice ending plus I love that episode.
21:41 After realizing I could no longer fall asleep I rolled out of bed hungry and decided to search my office for food. After beating feet back to the office I manage a can of Spaghettios, and two packages of Chicken flavored Ramon Noodles.
21:46 Walking by the Chaplain's office the lights are out and nobody's in, bunch of wussies it not even 10 pm.
21:53 First I have to clean the bowl, which still has Ramon Noodle deposits from the last time I decided not to go to chow. (Note: Baby Wipes can wipe a baby's ass, clean an M16, virtually clean anything else imaginable, and of course clean my bowl so I can enjoy Ramon Noodles.
22:03 Up in my bed enjoying another episode of the Simpson's and of course my Chicken flavored Ramon Noodles. After finishing the Ramon Noodles I go back down for the Spaghettios. Once I finish those I decide it is due time for a shower.
22:50 I begin my shower
23:05 End Shower
23:07: Begin Brushing Teeth
23:10 End Brushing Teeth
23:15-00:10 Walk into watching Gaskins play Texas Hold 'Em on his XBox. Virgously root for him and watch him get rich and poor over and over again.
00:10 More Simpson's
00:50 Need Sleep turn off Simpson's.
01:00 Set sleep on IPod for 3o minutes. Listen to The Joker by The Steve Miller Band. Then
try various other bands and end up listening to Shinedown, both 45 and Simple Man twice. About halfway through the second time on Simple Man my IPod turns off. Damn its already been half an hour.
01:30 I try some White Stripes, and then some System of the Down. Neither to any avail. Finally I can't remember what I was listening to but I fall asleep somewhere in the vicinity of 0200. Another night in Balad, Iraq.

This is For You Kane

My Bold 2006 Nebraska Cornhusker Football Predictions:

First off I disagree with the majority of people who believe this is a 2-3 loss season. There is no reason this couldn't be a 1 loss season.
1.) Our secondary will be exposed and teams will take aim. This may work out well with us considering the front seven are very solid. Teams will throw deep on us, they may be successful but the catch is whether the quaterback will be laid out before he has a chance to throw the ball.
2.) If our offensive line is as solid as is being said and we have four running backs so solid that we could not distiguish a starter among them our offense will be solid. If Zach Taylor is as solid as the last three games last season, and the offensive line actually decides to make holes for the RB and give Zach time to air it out, we will only lose one game.

My overwhelming opinion on defense is it only has to be good enough to give up less points than your offense is capable of scoring. If the defense can force turnovers and your special teams is great then you don't need a shutdown defense. I think our offense is capable of putting up five touchdowns any given game. I think our running game will be effective and the variation in styles of all four backs will make the opposing defense struggle. And if the running game is successful then the passing game is going to pick opponents apart. Our defense is going to give up some big plays and our secondary isn't going to play up to par of the rest of the defense. I don't like Tierre Green in the secondary. And I really don't like Courtney Grixby either. I think our secondary is going to be exploited pretty well. We will get to the quarterback, and we will force interceptions and errors in general by the starting QBs. We will give up points, we're not going to be a shutdown defense. We will give ground to teams, but our front seven are going to be a menance.

Here's what it comes down to, if Callahan's offense does what I believe its capable of and resembles the flashes of dominance visible in the final three games of last year then this is going to be an exciting season. We will run through the Big 12 North and with the exception of Texas or USC will dominate the schedule. We will beat either USC or Texas. One of those two teams will fall to us. We won't lose both. This will be a great season and I think this is Callahan's make or break season. If this season goes 8-4, with the brand new athletic facilites and the remodeling of Memorial Stadium, Callahan needs to fix it fast.

32 Days and Counting

I believe you have truly hit a low when you begin referring to life back home as "my civilian life" or "the civilian world". Its sad that I am filled with excitement to imagine the possibility of being able to pick out my own wardrobe. Its going to be so great to walk around and be in a world without rank. Its going to be great to wake up in the morning and ask myself what I want to do today. It's going to be exciting to exceed 30 mph. I was talking to my sister yesterday and she said we had to do something exciting when I got back. I told her at this point walking arond Wal-Mart would excite me. I am very easily amused at this point as far as not being in a military environment. I only wish it were permanent, and not only another brief tease.
Season #11 and counting: I am currently over halfway through Simpson's Season 11 on DVD. And a point of pride... still not one episode I haven't seen. I keep wondering what season I quit avidly watching. Well I have six more seasons, and six more things to maintain my sanity.
I'm playing NCAA 2007, currently Terrance Nunn and Zach Taylor are #1 and #2 for the Heisman. I recently jumped the difficulty setting up to Heisman, so maybe I'll have some trouble. After beating Kansas 104-59 (Second Half was my second team defense, trust me they need improvement.) Zach Taylor had 728 yards passing in that game, 10 Passing TDs, 1 Rushing and only 1 Int. That was on All-American so its not like it was on JV and I did run up the score a little bit. Other than that nothing new Peace Out