TODD HENRICH'S PRESS BOX VIEWS: NU losing ground in all-sports race

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For years, there were folks in Nebraska who said that former athletic director Bill Byrne was emphasizing the Huskers' all-sports finish at the expense of football.

Byrne never hid his yearning to win the Directors' Cup, then called the Sears' Cup, signifying the nation's top athletic program. He got as close as fourth in 1996-97, then finished sixth in 1999-2000.

This year, the Huskers will finish a very mediocre 32nd, nipping Princeton but finishing behind the likes of Vanderbilt, BYU, Virginia and Georgia Tech.

Six teams from the Big Ten Conference outscored Nebraska, which was outdone by seven Pac-10 teams. Nebraska would have been eighth in the SEC.

Even Texas A&M, where Byrne took up residence in 2003, buried the Huskers by nearly 200 points - the equivalent of two national championships - in this year's Directors' Cup standings.

Clearly, the Husker Nation is not the same player on the national stage that it used to be. And there are many who question whether Nebraska is coming back.

What if the West Coast offense sinks in the Midwest?What if baseball peaked in the Dave Van Horn era?And will NUbasketball ever see the NCAATournament again?

We don't know if Steve Pederson is concerned about Nebraska's all-sports finish. A spokesperson said last week he wasn't answering questions on the subject of Nebraska's year in review.

All we know is that the AD was busy meeting with his coaching staff, presumably to set some priorities for next season.

A good point of emphasis would be righting the sinking ship in the Directors' Cup derby. Since peaking in 1996-97, Nebraska has lost ground in six of the seven succeeding years.

With all the support it receives, Nebraska's athletic program should never be ranked outside the top 25.

Even the anti-Byrne crowd would agree with that.

With all the bizarre crashes, officiating gaffes and the like, you didn't think things in NASCARcould get any stranger.

Then Tony Stewart, of all people, asked for calm in the chaos of NASCAR's weekly changing of the rules.

"As frustrating as it's been for everybody, I think we have to be realistic about making rule changes,"Stewart, who is better known for his passion than patience, told The Associated Press. "Any time you change a rule like that you're going to run into a situation that somebody doesn't think of, because there's only so many different scenarios you can think of."

NASCAR, however, does need to start acting and reacting more like a big-time professional sport than a fly-by-the-seat-of-its-pants operation.

With all the technology in the sport, hasn't NASCAR outgrown having some guy with a flag standing at the mouth of pit road making determinations that could affect the outcome of a race?

Then again, I had thought NASCARfans had outgrown the red-neck shenanigans of throwing garbage onto the track.

Remember all that talk about how the regional/super regional format could lead to more northern teams making it to the College World Series?

Well, consider that Arkansas is the northern-most team in this year's field in Omaha. And in the super regionals last week, Vanderbilt was the school representing all the snowbelt baseball fans who barely had their stocking hats packed away by the time their baseball teams were storing the bats for another offseason.

The NCAAwould do well to move the season back another week and standardize the season.

In the meantime, if you're headed to Omaha to watch some games this week, you might want to utilize the fan shuttle from the Clarion Hotel, 4888 S. 118th St. Buses depart 1 hour, 15 minutes before the start of all games. Cost is $3 per person.

n If you want to know the best place to grow a nice lawn, consider the infield of any of the area's racetracks. With all the rained-out shows, I know some drivers who need a new hobby this spring.

n The Sporting News says Iowa and Nebraska are talking about playing football in 2007 and 2008.

The Huskers have a home game scheduled with Southern California in 2007 and no games set for the following season.

n Finally, if you've been looking for a way to help the tornado-ravaged Norris School District, put together a team for a four-person scramble July 1 at Hillcrest Country Club. Cost is $125 per player, which includes cart and green fees, a social hour and dinner. Proceeds will benefit the Norris High School Activity Fund. Registration deadline is Saturday.

For information, contact the First State Bank of Hickman at (402) 792-2411.

Reach Todd Henrichs at 473-7439 or thenrichs@;journalstar.com.