On the road again — in Nebraska
Another whirlwind football weekend. A flight to Kansas City on Friday with Mike Baldwin and Miss Saigon, followed by a drive to Omaha. Saturday morning, a drive to Lincoln for a morning kickoff and Oklahoma State’s historic rout of Nebraska, then a night drive back to KC. Sunday morning, a quick flight home, a mad-dash drive to east Norman for church, then back to the interstate, where I met boss Mike Sherman for the drive to Dallas and the game of the season in the NFL, Patriots-Cowboys. Finally, a late night drive home.
AMERICAN HEARTLAND
Omaha is a charming city. Nice downtown. Lovely parks. Easy to get around. It’s sort of a small Kansas City, another Midwestern city I just love. And Lincoln is a quality place, too. Sort of a small Austin — university and state capitol all nestled together downtown — without the pretensiousness. Nebraska has got to be one of my 10 favorite states. That’s a ranking I need to do. My favorite states, in order.
Going to a game at Nebraska is extra special. The fans really are classy and take great pride in their status as the nice folks of college football. The Husker fans were hard-pressed to even boo their team’s own sorry performance; down 38-0 at halftime to Oklahoma State, then a 45-14 loser. OSU academic guru Marilyn Middlebrook told the story in pregame that on their 1999 trip to Lincoln, a cold front blew in, and the Cowboy contingent wasn’t dressed properly. So Nebraska fans outfitted them in blankets to help keep warm. The story doesn’t surprise me one bit.
NU’s Memorial Stadium is one of my favorite ballparks in college football. Very strangely built. The east side is not as high as the end zone seats; the west side is a huge structure, with several stories of luxury suites. But somehow, it all works and makes for one of the great settings for the sport.
SATELLITE RADIO
I’m no big fan of satellite radio; I think it has the potential to harm local radio, and I don’t want to harm anything local. But Thrifty outfitted us with satellite radio in the Dodge Nitro we rented, and it came in handy driving home Saturday night. We listened to OU-Missouri, the Tigers’ crew, and it was a very professional production. But Arkansas-Auburn and Louisville-Cincinnati were on the radio, too, and both were great games that went to the wire. If you’re a sports fan, and you’re driving a lot on the weekends, I have to say, satellite radio is the way to go.
GOOD EATS
I don’t patronize ala carte joints. But sometimes you get caught. Friday night, we went to Omaha Prime, an old-money steakhouse in downtown. Great, great beef streak. I had a New York strip, medium rare, that was just unbelievable. But throw in a scrumptious salad, a potato and asparagus (don’t ask), and the bill climbed into the $50 range. Omaha Prime was good, but it wasn’t that good.
A few other food adventures on the trip:
1. In St. Joseph, Mo., we stopped at a McDonald’s for Miss Saigon to get a salad. They made us pull up and said they would bring it out to us. We sat for 10 minutes, then she went in and retrieved it. My wife figured out this problem years ago. When at a drive-through and asked to pull up or pull around, she says no thanks. Usually, this stuns the drive-through controller. But my wife says, no, that’s OK, I’ll just sit here. They never forget about you when you’re blocking the drive-through.
2. Here’s the best way to get a thick milk shake. Don’t ask for one. Years ago in Creede, Colo., I went into an old-fashioned ice cream shop and asked how thick they could make their shakes. “As thick as you want it,” I was told. Make it as thick as possible, I said. Moments later, I got a shake that I swear was pure liquid. Saturday night, we stopped at some gas station in northwest Missouri that included a Baskin-Robbins. I told the gal I wanted something thick, with sprinkles. We settled on a shake. Same thing. Pure milk. I give up.
3. Arby’s is the best fast-food buy in the business. We stopped on the way to Omaha, and me and
Baldwin shared the 5 for $5.95; a splendid deal. Coming home from Dallas on Sunday night, me and
Sherman did the same. Except in Gainesville, the deal was 5 for $6.95. Huh? Roast beefs with melted cheese and potato cakes cost more in Cooke County, Texas, than anywhere else in America?
10 BIG LOSERS FROM WEEK 7
10. Miami: The Hurricanes had a chance to stay in the ACC race but gave up a fourth-quarter field goal and lost 17-14 at home to Georgia Tech. Now Miami is 1-2 in the Coastal Division, with little chance of making Randy Shannon’s first year special.
9. Rice: The 1-4 Owls had a chance to go 2-0 in Conference USA. They led crosstown foe Houston 48-35 after three quarters. But the Cougs rallied for a 56-48 victory.
8. Vanderbilt: The Commodores get few chances to beat Tennessee, Georgia or Florida, the upper crust of the SEC East. But Vandy led Georgia 17-7 in the third quarter. Then the Bulldogs rallied to tie, a Vanderbilt fumble wiped out a sure field goal try and Georgia won 20-17.
7. Missouri: The Tigers hadn’t won in Norman since 1966 but led OU 24-23 in the fourth quarter. Then the Sooners rallied for a 41-31 lead that delays Mizzou’s ascension into the national spotlight.
6. Connecticut: The Huskies were 5-0 and had a chance to be one of the few undefeated teams left halfway through the season. But UConn gave up a fourth-quarter field goal and lost at
Virginia 17-16.
5. Charlie Weatherbie: The Louisiana-Monroe coach — and ex-OSU quarterback — coached the Indians to a loss to hapless North Texas, and ULM fell to 1-5. Weatherbie’s team looked competitive in a opening-week loss to Tulsa, but his program is going nowhere, at 16-36 under Weatherbie.
4. Cincinnati: The Bearcats were ranked 15th and had a chance to be 7-0 with a home victory over
Louisville. But the Cardinals rallied for a 28-24 victory, and Cincy’s November showdowns against South Florida and West Virginia lost some luster.
3. UTEP: The Miners seemed the likely West Division winner in Conference USA, but after an overtime loss to East Carolina, UTEP has no margin for error. Tulsa, UTEP and Houston all are tied at 2-1.
2. Kevin Riley: The backup California quarterback played well in relief of Nate Longshore but tried to be the hero in the waning seconds. Rather than throwing the ball out of bounds to allow Cal to try a tying field goal, Riley tried to run the ball in for a touchdown. He was tackled at the Oregon State 10-yard line, and the Beavers kept Cal from ascending to the No. 1 ranking with a 31-28 upset.
1. Les Miles: Miles is one heck of a coach, but he became predictable in the third overtime, and Kentucky emerged a 43-37 upset winner over LSU. Facing 4th-and-2 from the UK 17-yard line, Miles called timeout. Baldwin, the OSU beat writer who covered Miles when he coached the Cowboys, said Miles wouldn’t throw, that he would stay conservative. Sure enough, Miles sent LSU up the middle, and Kentucky stuffed the run for the big upset.
TWO SIDES OF THE RIVER
Entering Oklahoma, you are greeted by WinStar casino. Entering Texas, you are greeted by DW’s adult video store. I don’t know which is worse. Well, yes I do. Texas’ side of the river is more embarrassing. And I would assume less lucrative.
TRAVEL GRIPE OF THE WEEK
Will Rogers has got to be the world’s most convenient airport. I sometimes can leave my house an hour before takeoff, drive the 25 minutes there and be at the gate on time. I don’t recommend it, but I’ve done it. But the parking at Will Rogers has gone south. Way south. A few years ago, trying to add more spaces to the big lot north of the terminal, the airport wiped out the center lane where the tram could patrol for pedestrians. You could walk to the center, stroll down the middle and a tram was sure to spot you. Now, it’s just pure luck if a tram picks you up in a reasonable time. So I started parking in the garage, which is a dollar more a day but far more reliable, since you walk yourself to the terminal.
Trouble is, last Friday, the garage was closed. Said it was full. Which is nonsense. Cars leave the garage as often as they go in; nobody lives at the airport. They are expanding the garage, which will be nice. But parking at Will Rogers will remain a crapshoot.
10 BIG WINNERS FROM WEEK 7
10. Kirk Ferentz: A train wreck of an Iowa season found a little substance when the Hawkeyes stunned upstart Illinois 10-6.
9. Boston College: Usually, it’s BC ruining a special Notre Dame season. When the Irish had the chance to turn the tables, Boston College wouldn’t give in, holding off Notre Dame 27-14.
8. Navy: Midshipmen beat Pitt in overtime to reach 4-2 and soon will be bowl-bound.
7. Penn State: The Nittanys routed Wisconsin 38-7 and now have only one tough game left,Ohio
State on Oct. 27. At 5-2, Joe Paterno is headed for a solid year.
6. Pat Fitzgerald: The young Northwestern coach had shown nothing to excite in his 1 1/2 years as head coach. The Wildcats were 6-11 in Fitzgerald’s first 17 games. But now in consecutive weeks, he’s beaten
Michigan State 48-41 and Minnesota 49-48, the latter in overtime after trailing by 21.
5. Jim Grobe: The best coach in college football took out Florida State for the second straight year. His
Wake Forest Demon Deacons, who can’t have five players worthy of a Florida State scholarship, beat the Seminoles 24-21.
4. Hawaii: The Rainbow Warriors remain in the hunt for a BCS bowl, but only after surviving cagey Dick Tomey and San Jose State in overtime.
3. Arizona State: Sun Devils trailed Washington at halftime but spurted to a 44-20 victory that keeps Arizona State among the unbeatens going into the roughest stretch any team will face this season. Cal,
Oregon, UCLA and USC.
2. Thursday Night Football: A great game, Wake Forest 24-21 over Florida State, and a fabulous setup for the next two weeks. South Florida, No. 2 in the BCS, at Rutgers this Thursday. Then Boston College, No. 3 in the BCS, at Virginia Tech the next Thursday.
1. Tom Osborne: Let’s see. Old pal Frank Solich gets a victory, Ohio U. over Eastern Michigan. Old quarterback Turner Gill gets his third Mid-American Conference win of the year, 43-33 over Toledo. Old foe Steve Pederson is axed as Nebraska athletic director after Oklahoma State’s rout of the Cornhuskers. And old school Nebraska asks Osborne to be interim AD and decide the fate of the football program.
FRIENDLY SKIES
I love flying Southwest. Sometimes you get a really witty flight attendant, which we did on Friday. He told us to be careful getting our bags after landing, because “shift happens,” and he suggested any complaints be directed to the airlines’ northern office, “Northwest.com.”
CAPITOL TIMES
State capitols are sort of a travel hobby of mine. I like to drive past as many as I can. Check out the architecture, the setting. I rarely get out and go inside, although I’ll bet they are fascinating. I still get a charge any time I go inside the Oklahoma capitol; it just feels like freedom at work. Let’s do a quick count. Earlier in the year, I went through Montgomery, Ala., which means now I’ve been to 30 of the state-capital cities. Here are top 10 capitol buildings:
10. Indianapolis: Unique green dome sets this capitol apart.
9. Lincoln: Skyscraper capitol. Three-story building has a 400-foot domed tower, adorned with “The Sower” at the top.
8. Montgomery: Traditional Southern look.
7. Austin: Big and classic, with the Goddess of Liberty atop the pink granite structure.
6. Denver: A glinting golden dome.
5. Oklahoma City: Used to be domeless, and I thought the dome project was a big waste of money. But after The Guardian, the Indian sculpture, was placed atop the capitol, I love it. Simply love it and marvel at it every day I drive past on the Broadway Extension.
4. Albany: Massive building, inspired by Paris’ Hotel de Ville, that sits on a hill in downtown, with a look straight out of a Tim Burton film. Think the original “Batman.”
3. Hartford: Topped by a gold leaf dome, looks almost like a castle.
2. Jefferson City: Setting makes it special, sitting high on the bluffs above the Missouri River.
1. Des Moines: Golden dome, with a belvedere and a golden lantern on top. Plus a bonus — four smaller golden lanterns are attached to copper-covered domes at every corner of the building. Those domes are decorated with vertical lines of intermittent gold.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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