druski_2k5

I've got Husker Season Box Sets from 1992-2001 and I also purchased a couple of the TV Broadcasts of the National Championship Games as well [94 Orange Bowl, 96 Fiesta Bowl, 98 Orange Bowl]. The TV Broadcast of the 1995 Orange Bowl is the only one I'm missing. [I'm also missing 1996 Orange Bowl vs. Virginia Tech, but that's not as important as it wasn't a National Title Game, I just wanted all TV Broadcasts of all the Bowl Games of the from 1993-1997 Seasons]. https://www.bestofbigred.com/1995-Orange-Bowl-TV-Broadcast-on-DVD That is the only place that appears to sell the TV Broadcast of the 95 Orange Bowl, but it's always Out of Stock. I gave them my E-Mail to be notified when it's In-Stock but I have never been notified it has been in stock and that's been a year or so now. Try to get your name on their E-Mail list & maybe they'll have some in-stock eventually! I hope to get a copy eventually in the future! I've got a VHS Tape of the 95 Orange Bowl, but the quality is iffy and I think some of the commercials & Halftime Footage may have been cut out as well. I ripped that VHS Tape to my PC but the Quality has degraded over the Years, the Game from the Husker Box Set looks better, but I kept the File as it was a fun project. Also running a degraded VHS Import on a 4K Monitor looks a bit odd, but that's about as close as I've gotten to completing this quest.

Great read thanks for sharing! I'll take most of that with a grain of salt but some of that wouldn't surprise me in the least. I find it interesting that the article flat out states that Pederson & Eichorst were brought in to fire the current coaches. Don't know if that was every truly officially confirmed, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit. But you would think if that's the plan they'd have someone lined up right? ....right? RIGHT?!?! What an absolute debacle. Both times. We made that mistake once, but to do it again?! There are no words for doing it twice like we have. It just makes me more fired up after reading and re-living that again. I never believed in Mike Riley. Ever. I knew it was doomed from the start. Nice guy, bad fit. I was not truly a Callahan fan, but wished him well & gave him a chance, but saw the writing on the wall in 2007 like everyone else. Maybe he should have got a few more years but the Defense was so bad, Bo just won a National Title as a Defensive Coordinator, I think you still had to make that move though to go with Bo especially since we all wanted him just a few years before. I think Callahan could have got a few more years if he replaced Cosgrove but he didn't so that's where we are. Plus Nebraska was closer to Nebraska back then than we are now. I think Bill is a good Offensive mind but maybe not a good Head Coach. He's done pretty well with an Assistant Coach career in the NFL, maybe that's where he should have stayed. That part about him being cool and aloof after players signed is upsetting to hear. You can't be a Coach at a place like Nebraska and have that kind of attitude. And then he was begged to take the job?! If true, wow. Just....wow. I can't believe it was that bad. We definitely settled in 03 and 2015. But yes, the common denominator: Perlman. I think there's a lot of ego there too with him and it shows if all of that is true. I still remember when he came out and berated Bo after the A&M game. That's when I knew things were not well with them behind closed doors. I think a lot of us were just as angry as Bo was that night. We were trying to win a Conference Championship, erase the bad taste of the Conference Title Game the year before, give the Big XII the wave goodbye out the door with their Football Title and go to a BCS Bowl and he comes out and does that to Bo. That's not his role. If anything the Athletic Director [Coach Osborne] and Bo should speak about behind closed doors [I assume they probably did] and not to have the Chancellor of the University make a statement to the media. What an egomaniac. That was the end of Bo's attitude though. Sure he still got passionate and fiery but he was never the same after that public shaming & neither was the team. Lost the Big XII Title game after being up 17-00 and then being up 20-17 at Halftime against Oklahoma, got put in a terrible re-match vs. Washington that no one wanted to play as we beat the tar out of them earlier that year. Washington wanted us though, they got their revenge but we didn't want to be there. We should've been in a much better Bowl Game. So yes, a lot of that adds up after a while, bad decision after bad decision after bad decision after bad decision and you end up where we are. We've had a lot of great players, a lot of great guys off the field who have represented Nebraska well, but the Administration has been an issue for a long, long, long time. Osborne seemed to calm the waters a bit, but he can't be there forever nor should he be. Nebraska needs to be able to win without Coach Osborne all over the program, as much as we all love Coach. And I have to clarify an earlier post, maybe Osborne was not forced out, maybe that was his intent to retire all long then. However, I remember that he did not have a say in his replacement and neither did Bo. Perlman acted all alone and we end up with a loser like Eichorst. I know Alvarez is one of us, but part of me still wonders if that was not a plant job by the Badgers in some way shape or form. I'd hope Barry wouldn't do that to his Alma Mater, and that is conspiracy thinking, but I always wondered. We need to make sure we are all on the same page and going in the same direction from the top of the University down to the fans. From the outside, it looks like that's the way now, I hope it is, but we need to start winning & winning soon. It will be interesting to see how Trev reacts. I think we are in good hands with him though.

Frost gets another year. Unless we get absolutely shellacked in the remaining games in embarrassing fashion, he gets another year. I'd love to see part of the Staff evaluated and make replacements as needed. The worry with that though is you bring in Coaches to fill in the gaps knowing that you might only be here for a year. That's a tough position to be in for both parties. I also worry about our Recruiting class too. I don't follow it as much as others, but it's not looking too bright right now.

I miss the original Big XII. Politics aside, I wish that version of the conference still existed just for the opponents alone. There was more History, more Tradition, it was hard to let that go even when we did make the move. The move was the correct move overall to the Big Ten though. Yeah there's more money in the Big Ten & that will in general help the University as an institution which is great, but from just nostalgia and history alone, I miss the original Big XII. It's just hard to get excited about Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Maryland, Rutgers [I'm sure some may same of us current day]. We haven't been truly good since Bo was let go. The "hard to get excited" for some of the games could just be because of the struggles from 2015 onward, but the Big Ten still feels like someone else's home. Deep down I'd rather us hang 56 on a Big XII team that we have history with. Maybe it'll be better once we get back to 9 wins & competing for Conference Championships. I wish there could have been something like the Big XII Network like we have with the Big Ten Network and less politics, less of the the 11-1 votes and things like that. I'd still prefer that as a Conference even with or without a protected Rivalry Game against Oklahoma.

I never wanted Bo fired. Yes some of his attitude wore tiresome on most, not me though, I want a coach that's going to fight for us and our players. The players responded to that as well mostly however once Bo truly lost his cool the team seemed to take a nose dive as well. That can't happen either obviously. There had to be a fine line of being passionate yet keeping things under control. I do think he was trying to reign it in a bit, but I never wanted him gone. As others mentioned, he found some dudes, he developed a lot of guys and found a lot of gems. It's just a shame we couldn't have one at least one of the three Conference Championship games we played in. Definitely should've won the 2009 and 2010 Conference Championship Games for sure. We had an arrogant Administration that forced Osborne out, got an Athletic Director that was not good for us in Eichorst, & the Administration figured we could easily win 9 games without even trying. They wanted better PR so they hired the nicest guy possible. It's the only explanation why Mike Riley was hired in the first place. Nice and win 9 games on a yearly basis they thought. Nope! That was such a bad move. Administration didn't have anyone planned to replace Bo just like Pederson didn't after Solich. I do think Bo burned some things on his way out didn't help Riley out at all once he took over so that didn't help, but he should never have been fired after 2014. Just like Solich should have never been fired after 2003. Now I also believe that 2013 could've been better had Taylor Martinez not gotten injured, and we had still had a lot of good pieces in 2014 after he Graduated but what really baffles me is that Bo seemed to refused to adapt his Defensive scheme to the Big Ten. Maybe he changed a few things but it's hard to tell without breaking it all down. He's not without fault but that's the one that really gets me. He saw we got ran all over at times, he played in the Big Ten, he grew up in Ohio. What gives?! He beat Iowa but couldn't stop Wisconsin. Or we'd have a great game and then lose next week unexpectedly. Baffling!! The blowouts on the big stage were hard to swallow too. At least we don't have that problem anymore. Bo's teams were just very up and down when we got to the Big Ten. The Big Ten has gotten immensely better with coaching talent since we joined and top to bottom is just extremely tough week in and week out. I do think once Bo was let go and the way he went out set Riley up for a tough road ahead. I don't know if the players really bought into Riley when he arrived, especially the upper-classmen, and that may have hindered Riley a bit from the start. Just like how bad Riley was at developing, some iffy recruiting and his culture set Frost up for a tough start too. Frost was not without his faults when he made some bad decisions when arrived though too. I don't want Frost gone. I want to see him with another year. I'd like to see what he can do with another Quarterback, & that's not a insult on Adrian, he has kept us in games and put us in positions to win & has been our best Offensive Player since he's been here, but ultimately, we just aren't winning games. Great stats and where he's at on the All-Time Nebraska charts, but that doesn't always tell the whole story. Sometimes it's the Defense's fault, sometimes it's no supporting cast and most of the time is timely mistakes, mental errors or special teams that have cost us. Seems like mostly we just beat ourselves. I can accept a loss but I hate watching us beat ourselves. If Frost gets another year, and Martinez comes back, and it's the same old, then he may not get a Sixth year with a different Quarterback. I do think we are improving, frustratingly slowly though. My worry is the Defense loses a lot for next year and if we don't fill those gaps in, how bad could things look if we aren't scoring 40 points a game??? Frost is also a bit softer than I was expecting. I just can't believe our Offensive Line doesn't look any better in Year 4 with his recruits. The Defense brings the energy & passion but the Offense doesn't seem to bring the pain on their side of the ball, especially up front. I don't see as much passion out of Frost as I thought we would. He needs to get a little more excited on the sidelines. I think players feed off of that, and while that can be good or bad as well [see: Pelini], I figured he would be a bit more emotional. He seems to just be a bit nonchalant like Riley. Don't see too many coaching moments. Maybe that's off camera, maybe he's trying to be more of a CEO, but I figured we wouldn't be a soft team and would always be the most physical team on the field regardless if we won or lost. Sometimes it's true and other times it's not. I'd rather watch a Bo Pelini & Scott Frost Nebraska Team play any day over a Mike Riley Nebraska Team though.

I know you might be joking, and probably are, but I thought Callahan had some pretty good Offensive Lines when he was here. 05 & 06 comes to mind as some of the better ones we've had Post-Osborne. The 07 one may have been good as well, but we kept having to play from behind because of an awful Defense we just had to go Texas Tech on everyone. So it's hard to tell how good they would have been if not always playing from behind. I know Zac Taylor would get just plastered after some of his Passes, but overall, I thought Callahan's lines were pretty good while he was here, there were just other issues that ended up being his downfall. He has a track record of working as an Offensive Line Coach at various stops in his NFL career, so I would assume he's pretty good in that role. Maybe we could hire Frankie to coach Running Backs now that he's retired, and maybe Bo can come in as well and help with a Pass Rush or maybe even help on the Offensive side of the ball! He had some very good Offenses while here too!

I thought it was pretty cool for the 50th Anniversary, it made sense. Maybe they should have came out with the 71 style Jersey's as well that, would've been pretty cool to match! With that said: I can't stand the Gray Face-Masks nor the Stripes Full-Time. I don't even like Gray Face-Masks for other teams! Just yuck & throws the whole color scheme off in my opinion unless it's a color of the team. The Stripes are just too reminiscent of Wisconsin, Alabama and Oklahoma. The Stripe-less pants are a way cleaner look and glad we brought them back when Frost was hired. I'm good with one Alternative per year of course, or maybe rotating in some other things as the year goes on, or something for a special game or something. Thought the NU Helmet against Buffalo was nice. The Memorial Throwbacks from 2018 were cool too! Some of the Blackshirt Alts has been okay. I think Red Stripes on All-Whites is a nice look. However, I did love the Black Shoes we had yesterday. They just make the team look tougher. Wish we'd wear them full-time! If I had it my way I'd just trout out the 2001 Uniform for a majority of the games: Red Jersey Solid White Pants - No Stripes Tall Red Socks Black Shoes White Jersey Solid Red Pants - No Stripes Tall White Socks Black Shoes

Oklahoma may be a bit overrated, but that's still okay, they are still very talented and still a very good Top 10 Team. The Defense did a hell of a job yesterday, and you could tell they were ready to play, playing physical and fast and flying to the ball. That was Blackshirt Defense and Attitude!! Never quit all game and they deserve kudos. The rest of the team didn't quit either after things went bad, that game could've unraveled but didn't. I think that's huge in the mental aspect of where we are at as a team is at right now. Now we just need to build on it. I will watch on replay but it sounds like the Offensive Line was better as the game progressed?? Pass Protection seemed to be pretty solid during the live viewing but I was still puking at how bad we are at Run Blocking. We still need something that works in the Running Game to hang our hat on instead of having Adrian bail us out with his athletic ability. Need to be able to rely on Bread and Butter running plays to stay ahead of the sticks, we have to stay out of 2nd and 12 or 3rd and 9s. Or maybe part of the problem is that teams are just daring us to throw and blitzing like crazy against us to stop the Running Game, I'd have to go back and look to see. Obviously everything and then some has been said about Special Teams, it will continue to be a circus until it gets fixed. If we don't have a Kicker and we are in manageable, maybe the odds tell us just go for it on 4th Downs. Regardless, glad of the effort yesterday, very proud of the performance on the Road. Almost shocked the world, just need to build on it. It could have unraveled but didn't and there was fight throughout. But now the "real" season starts, and I think Michigan State is a must-win game if we want to go bowling. We just need more discipline, develop a solid Running Game that will help Play-Action pass, maybe find a Kicker and just let the Defense keep doing what it's doing and we should go bowling at least. Damn that loss to Illinois still!!!

I never experienced the 60s, 70s and 80s Rivalry of the Huskers & the Sooners. I experienced the Huskers dominating the 90s as my introduction to Husker Football, but I understood the importance of the Oklahoma game when I was growing up. I don't expect all College Football Players to know their programs/teams history, especially nowadays when the current players know nothing about it other than from what's written about it, but respecting or learning the importance of a game like this is great too. After we lost in 2000 to the Sooners after being up 14-00 I remember being pretty devastated. I made my mind up that Off-Season that I wanted to go to the Oklahoma game in Lincoln the following year for revenge if at all possible & thankfully I was able to experience that. The 2001 Oklahoma Game is one of my favorite memories of All-Time and one of my favorite Father-Son moments. It was a cold morning and both Defenses were salty and as advertised. It was loud from start to finish, just as it should have been. Every snap felt like it could be a turning point as what was dubbed the Game of the Century already. I still remember watching Black 41 Flash Reverse unfold sitting in the Northwest Part of the Stadium. There was some running around & then all of a sudden the ball was in the air [something we hardly ever did back then] and I looked down the sideline & everyone, and I mean I saw everyone in the East/South Stadium stand up to get a better glimpse of the play and someone in Red caught the ball and the crowd roared down there first followed by the rest of the Stadium once we all realized what had just happened!!! We looked on the Video Boards & saw that Eric Crouch was in the End-Zone. Somehow, someway, Eric got in the End-Zone!!! It was fun to see the replay in the Stadium to see what had actually happened. We pulled off a great one! What a great radio call that was for that play as well! After a great day of Defense by both teams, we pulled some magic out of our hat to put the game on ice with some Offense. It was one of the greatest roars I've ever heard in Memorial Stadium. They had the Eric Crouch Heisman graphic ready to go on the Video Boards. It was truly magical & I'll never forget it for as long as I live. It's just too bad that season ended the way it did. I was attending UNL at the time of the 2009 Oklahoma game & had Student Tickets. That was the loudest Husker Game I've ever attended. Every snap, every play was like a Rock Concert when Oklahoma was on Offense. Our Offense was ugly as it had been all year, but watching the 2009 Blackshirts go to work and do everything they could to get the team in position to win was unbelievable & euphoric! This win saved our season! Our voices were gone by the time the end of the game! The hits, how great Suh played, how great the Defense played as a unit, Henery's kicking, Prince's Interception that set up a Touchdown, Roy Helu running hard, Matt O'Hanlon having a whale of a ball-game and picking off Landry Jones three times and the last time to end the game. Wow! That entire night was just loud, loud, LOUD!!!! I had to work the next morning & someone came in and said they heard the final roar from the crowd from their house on the last Interception. That's what historic Rivalry Games are all about!!! We ended up attending the Big XII Championship against Texas as well that year, and it's too bad that game also ended the way it did too & we almost/should have/did pull it off!!! That loss still hurts! It's hard to think about both of these wins knowing how both seasons ended. It's also upsetting that we didn't get our revenge in the Big XII Championship on the way out the door the next year too. A Big XII title against Oklahoma would have been a fitting way for us to leave the Big XII. Bo should have had Back to Back Conference Championship wins! It's too bad the way things ended with the Big XII. I still wish we could have made it work in a way with the other 11 original teams in a way but that's for another topic of discussion. Again, I don't expect the current players to understand or feel the whole history of the Oklahoma series, just like I couldn't relate to the years I wasn't alive when it was the biggest thing when Thanksgiving came, but I learned to understand it as I grew in my Husker fandom. It also helped growing up as a Husker fan around those who experienced it as well, as not all of our players did, but hopefully they understand some of the history between both programs and try to make some history themselves. I just hope we make it respectable this weekend. Give ourselves a chance to take the game deep, don't beat ourselves, and try to get something going on Offense. I don't expect us to win, much less compete the whole game, but I just hope something gives for our Offense to make it interesting & we make enough plays on Defense to have a puncher's chance to be a give them some problems on Saturday. Wit all that said and all the memories, I just wish we were further along in the Frost Era. We've never lost to Oklahoma when I've attended [97, 01, 09] so maybe I should make a special trip down to Norman this weekend!

I would've liked to see them keep Sirius for ONE more year with the new sound system. In my opinion, no one gets into Sirius because NO ONE CAN FREAKING HEAR IT!!! Nothing more embarassing than a drummer like myself hearing people clap off-beat because they don't have rhythm or they can't hear the song. Mind you, I am not a blue hair, I just turned 27, and think there are so many songs you can screw this up with and I'm sure it will be screwed up somehow. Back in the mid 90's the song sounded loud and was coming at you in every direction. That was bone chilling and awesome! When I was in the student section, I could never hear the song. I went to the Iowa game this past year, and was right behind the North endzone, and I still couldn't hear the song. So that would be my proposal/reasons for why it's not as good as it used to be. In regards to a new song, I think you have to keep it as an instrumental. An intimidating, yet huge build up for the crowd/players as an instrumental. That was the great thing about Sirius. There was a build-up, you could sense it, feel it, which is why one more season with it under the new sound system might have done wonders for it. Good songs will be timeless, no matter the year or age group listening to them. Just because it's "some old 80s song by a band way ahead of their time" doesn't mean it's a bad song for us and what it used to bring us memories of and hopes of capturing those memories again. I just hope it's not a complete and utter disaster like 2007 was.

Honestly I think the decision has already been made. Either in Eichorst's mind, or in Pelini's mind. I truly believe that either Eichorst has told Bo that he will get another year, with staff changes in mind, or he has already informed Bo that he will be let go at the end of the year regardless, or Bo will resign on his own. Two games @ Penn State and vs. Iowa will not determine it. I doubt Bo would even get the bowl game to show anything. The only reason why I say this, is because there has been NO public support from either Eichorst or Perlman on the issue. Down in Gainesville, the Florida Athletic Director came out in public support of Will Muschamp, saying that he is the future, he is doing great things, etc. They know who they want their coach to be, but we don't see that same public support for Bo. Now I know Eichorst is a behind the scenes guy, and states that if no one knows his name then he is doing his job, so maybe that's how he operates. However, with recruiting possibly sufferring from this, and just the negativitiy of a dark cloud over the program, Eichorst could solve all of this with a public statement in support of Bo. But we have not seen that and I don't think we will. We all know Perlman is NOT a Bo fan. What he did after A&M in 2010 was complete bull*hit. If anything, you keep that in-house. You don't go running to the camera complaining when you are the Chancelor of the University and not the Athletic Director. Thank you for getting us into the B1G Ten Harvey, now please STFU and step away from the scene and worry about running UNL. The only reason why he still has his job is because he saved his own by firing Pederson. Another reason why I think the decision has been made to move on, is there HAS to be a plan in place to find the coach that Eichorst wants. You don't want to "Steve Pederson" this decision by waiting until after Iowa, and then start putting out feelers and interviews and finally hire a coach in January 2014, much like the Bill Callahan debacle. A good athletic director always has a short name of candidates so he can put out feelers before the decision is even made, and it's an emergency list of "just in case" something bad were to happen to whoever the head coach is. Right or wrong, even if we win out, that is what it feels like to me is going on. I have no sources or anything of that nature, this is just what it "feels like" to me. I have been a staunch Bo Pelini supporter, but after Minnisota, I was a Bo-leaver. I was willing to tollerate him until the end of the season. Then the defense started playing better, and the win in Ann Arbor was huge. I figured at that point, he gets one more year will all the youth and injuries. If Pelini gets one more year will be based on a few factors: The defense is playing better. The offense is banged up. There is young talent across the borad to make a SERIOUS deep run next year. I am ALL FOR giving Bo Pelini one more year, even with his current staff, or even a few more years with changes made. But to me, I don't think he is going to get that chance. Either he will resign and save face, or Eichorst will replace him after Iowa and have a candidate ready shortly after to take over before Christmas to salvage a recruiting class. I still think it was wrong to fire Frank Solich in 2003. I believe it will be wrong to fire Bo Pelini in 2013. I believe Bo has earned at least one more year. But with all the talk, all the feelings I have from administration, I do not think he will get that chance. After Tapegate came out, I think Eichorst and Perlman were done with him then and have been putting out feelers ever since. Again, just my opinion, no sources or leads, just my gut insticts. In 2003, the program was trending slightly upwards, even with the blowout vs. Kansas State. They showed toughness in Boulder, after returning there from the 2001 beating. In 2013, the program is trending slightly downward, with all the drama, close calls, and everything else. I am Pro-Nebraska, not Pro-Coach or Pro-Player, I want what is best for Nebraska. I do believe there are people who could do better than Bo, but at what cost? 90% of what Bo does I love. It's the other 10% that is just maddening and makes you wonder what he is thinking.

I graduated in May from UNL, so I am no longer eligible for student tickets. I want to know what the current procedure of student tickets are? I know the University went from paper tickets to electronic [N Card] tickets for the 2012 season to "cut back on printing costs" [read: not the real reason] and so that students would stop profiting on such low prices by selling them [read: real reason]. I didn't purchase student tickets last year so I'm not really sure the latest policy on them or how they are sold or scanned at the gates? I am looking to buy some student tickets for a few games this year with some friends, because they are cheaper than regular tickets, and we would rather stand in the student section than sit anywhere else since that is what we used to do when we went to games. Is it possible for non-students to purchase student tickets in electronic form now? I know you have to pay a validation fee, so that's completely fine by me, but I was just wondering if this was possible for non-students to still purchase student tickets?

Looking pretty sharp! I hope that red stays red throughout the entirety of the field's life span. You could tell how badly the last field had aged under the lights at the stadium in person, even in 2009 I thought it needed to be replaced ASAP, and you could tell it's aging a bit on TV as well. I like the idea of multi-turf, but if you're going to do multi-turf colors I wish both sides of the 50 would be dark green to emphasize the logo more, and then go every 5 yards or every 10 yards after that alternating between shades. Kind of like what Oregon does. Their midfield is dark green for 10 yards and their logo really comes out and then it's 5 yards alternating of dark to light after that and it looks MUCH more balanced than just every 5 yards where mid-field looks weird with two different shades. If it were up to me, I think one shade of dark green turf would look beautiful as well. Kind of like prior to 2005, but just darker. Really glad they added Tom Osborne field back onto the turf. Very cool to see that again. Wish the B1G logo were red though. Not sure if that's a school or conference decision. I would just combine a little bit of both the two ideas posted just above me. :boxosoap :rant Good stuff guys!

Yes, you read that right. The Heat are boring. On the fast break they raise the entertainment factor a little bit but not much. Flashy dunks, ally oops and isolation plays don't impress me. Their half-court offense is awful to watch when they run isolation plays. So much standing around. The Pacers stood around a lot too and they got off a ton of bad shots when they weren't under the basket. That's why it was so tough to watch. The Spurs are constantly moving, setting screens and making great passes. Anyone is a threat to score besides DeJuan Blair, who never sees the court anymore. The Heat do a good job too when they move the ball to their shooters, but they rely on isolation plays from James and Wade a lot. I just can't stand isolation plays and poor spacing with no movement. Just like oops and dunks, in the end, the 2 points are the same. I like it when teams play together and move the ball around to make the defense rotate and find the best shot possible. Just a personal taste. Another factor will be turnovers. When the Spurs turned it over to the Grizzlies and Warriors, it usually resulted in transition 3s or easy buckets at the end of the court. The Heat are the best team at feasting on teams mistakes. Thankfully the Spurs track record in moving the ball and having good ball security is really good so they need to negate the silly turnovers like the Pacers committed in Game 7 as much as possible to win. LeBron is the best basketball player on the planet, no denying that. The Spurs will have to use the Kobe defense and let him go off points wise but make him a non-facilitator in terms of distributing the basketball. If the Heat role-players go off, the Heat will win. The Spurs will need to do a great job shutting down the role-players. LeBron will get his, and that's okay because he can't beat the Spurs by himself. Should be a great series.

In order of most valuable to least: Spurs: 31-37-21-28-25 Heat: 28-31-29-32-27 A 37 year old Duncan vs. a 28 year old LeBron is huge. Plus if the Spurs started the 35 year old Ginobli instead of the 25 year old Green - Ginoibili plays starters minutes - it looks a lot different. Instead of going with "most valuable age" how about we just go all out and list overall age of the teams? http://en.hispanosnb...eams/comparison Spurs: 27.9 and 5.5 years experience. Heat: 31.2 and 9.1 years experience. Sure, the number of the Heat age might be inflated by Juwan Howard, but that's what the statistics say. I believe those numbers are from the beginning of the year so they may not be "100%" accurate, but it definitely shows the myth that the Spurs are some old-bones team. Their core has experience and age, yes, but they've stayed consistent on top giving Parker the reins and building around Parker and spreading the floor with their motion offense as opposed to "give the ball to Duncan and wait for the double team" offense of 10 years ago. The Spurs have stayed consistently good because they have evolved. Pretty hard to do for such an "old" team since you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Duncan playing now is playing pretty darn well for a 37 year old compared to when he won the MVP in 2002-2003 when he was the focal point of the offense and touching the ball every possession.