University of Arizona Advances to Final Five in College World Series

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There are some stories I love to follow in this time of chaos and uncertainty.  One involves my alma mater, The University of Arizona, where long ago I went to play on their baseball and basketball teams.  I was a Wildcat, a jock, and a member of the Delta Beta chapter of Beta Theta Pi national fraternity.

The year before I arrived on campus to start the "fall freshman rush" the Wildcats baseball team won the College World Series and they were the defending kings of college baseball in 1964.  It was a proud program I was invited to join.

Arizona first fielded a team in 1904, and won four national championships in 1956, 1959, 1963, and 2012.  Legendary coach Jerry Kindall was coach when I arrived and he won three of the four national championships.

The Wildcats appeared in the College World Series seven times prior to this year, 1956, 1959, 1963, 1976, 1980, 1986, and 2012.

The Arizona Wildcats ranked 7th all time entering this year games won during the regular season, 2,347 wins.

Yet baseball is not the only talent of this team.  Here is a story about a creative group of Wildcat players who caught the attention of the ESPN network TV people, not for their baseball skills, but for their ability to make entertaining music videos to motivate the team. So impressed was ESPN they allowed the team to shoot a video used in all the promotion for the College World Series.  Here is the story.

Arizona baseball: Sawyer Gieseke produces music video for College World Series

Eric Vander Voort | NCAA.com

Jun 21, 2016 15:58 EDT

OMAHA, Neb. -- Plenty of talent is on display this week at the College World Series. Even some talent off the baseball diamond.

Meet Sawyer Gieseke, a junior utility player for Arizona. He's played 17 games this season at three different positions (third base, second base and catcher), and he's a film and television major.  Geiseke has a YouTube page for his film work, which often features his Wildcat teammates.

With Arizona in Omaha, Geiseke and ESPN teammed up to produce a cover video for "This Town," a song by O.A.R. (Of a Revolution) often used on College World Series broadcasts. This version is by "Bear Down Revolution," with Bear Down being Arizona's mantra. Gieseke and his teammates went around Omaha for the video, which he produced himself. The band features teammates Robby Medel (No. 34), Michael Hoard (No. 31) and Tyler Crawford (No. 30).

This Town Video

Let it Slide Video

Under the name Goo Goo Cats the boys did another music video called Let it Slide.

Omaha Hosts 66th straight College World Series

Every year since 1950 the College World Series is held in Omaha, Nebraska at Ameritrade Stadium, one of the best college stadiums in the nation if not the best.  About 35,000 fans attend every game in the annual series in June.  This brings up my second sense of pride in the CWS.

I worked for three Mayors of Omaha from 1969-1973 when major improvements were made to Rosenblatt Stadium, host site for the CWS, and a decision was made to begin plans for a new stadium to replace the original Rosenblatt Stadium so the series could remain in Omaha and continue to host the annual College World Series.  A story follows about the success of the Omaha project with the NCAA to use a permanent host city for the national championships.

  

College World Series History

It started as a public/private experiment and now, more than 50 years later, Omaha is synonymous with the College World Series. The College World Series was first played in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1947. Kalamazoo hosted it again in 1948. The tournament was then moved the following year to Wichita, Kan and that year former President George Bush Sr. was captain of the Yale baseball team. The College World Series was first played in Omaha in 1950 and total attendance was 17,805. Although the College World Series is now a profitable event, it lost money for 10 of the first 12 years that it was in Omaha 1950-1961. Four Omahans who maintained their faith and interest in the College World Series during those "lean" years are due much of the credit for the tournament's continued presence in Omaha. They are the late Ed Pettis of the Brandeis Stores, the late Morris Jacobs and the late Byron Reed, both of Bozell & Jacobs, and the late Johnny Rosenblatt, Mayor of Omaha and an avid baseball fan. How this community nurtured the College World Series from humble beginnings to its status as a nationally recognized event is quite a story. A story of how the people of Omaha, its business leaders, city officials and volunteers, embraced the Series and teamed up with the NCAA to make it grow.   Today, College World Series of Omaha, Inc., a non-profit organization, is the local organizing committee for the annual NCAA Division I Championship Baseball College World Series. Guiding the activities of the local contributors and the many volunteers involved in the Series is the executive committee of the College World Series of Omaha, Inc. board. This group of dedicated individuals meets each month to develop policies and plans that assure the success and growth of each year's Series. It has been our pleasure to host the CWS for more than 50 years.  The Series is an event in which we take pride. A lot of hard work, dedication and commitment of many volunteers, local business contributors and the city, has built the College World Series from its humble beginnings to the enjoyable event it is today. Continued fan support of the College World Series has made the event a very special place for teams that have had the opportunity to compete for the National Championship. .

Why does the national media refuse to cover stories like this about good cops?

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Police Officer Kerrie Orozco was the first female police officer killed in the line of duty in Omaha.

As a former news reporter for the Omaha World Herald and a former member of the staff for the Mayor of Omaha, there are some stories that are difficult to absorb, especially when they hit so close to home.

On May 22 of this year a 30 year old woman, baseball coach for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Omaha, wife, mother of three, and one who was dedicated to helping her community, was murdered.  She was also a 7 year veteran of the Omaha Police department.

Police Officer Kerrie Orozco was the first female police officer killed in the line of duty in Omaha. She is the 51st Police Officer killed in the line of duty in 2015.  There were 133 officers killed in 2014 and 119 in 2013.

I can remember 45 years ago this year when I was on the staff of Mayor Gene Leahy, and we had a police officer, Larry Minard, murdered by a suitcase bomb planted by the Black Panthers.  This came after years of racial unrest.  Minard, who left behind five children, was buried on the day of his 30th birthday.

Recently the police nationwide have had a lot of bad press as the media chooses to highlight the few bad cop incidents and ignore all the good cop stories.  My old newspaper has tried to focus on the positive when it came to Officer Orozco and I am publishing their coverage in order to honor her, and the work of the vast majority of police protecting our land.

Omaha World Herald
                            
A month ago, Omaha Police Officer Kerrie Orozco was proud of the weight her premature daughter had gained.

“She’s pretty close to 6 lbs!” Orozco wrote on Facebook, underneath photos of her two stepchildren holding baby Olivia Ruth.

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Orozco had been looking forward to today — the day when she could take Olivia home after three months in the neonatal intensive care unit.

But she didn’t make it.

Orozco, 29, was killed Wednesday, her last day of police duty before taking the rest of her maternity leave to spend with her first-born child.

Gunfire erupted when Orozco and other officers attempted to arrest Marcus D. Wheeler, on a felony warrant for first-degree assault about 1 p.m.

Orozco, who was part of the gang unit, is the first female police officer in the department to die in the line of duty. She is the 25th Omaha officer killed on duty overall and the first since 2003.

Wheeler, 26, also died of injuries from the shooting near 30th Street and Martin Avenue. Wheeler was a convicted felon and a known gang member, police said.

Police are planning a 4:30 p.m. Wednesday press conference to provide more information on the shootings.

In a press conference late Wednesday afternoon, Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said Orozco, who was a seven-​year-veteran, dedicated her life to service.

“This is a somber day for the city of Omaha,” Schmaderer said. “Officer Orozco was a top-notch individual, and the city of Omaha owes her a debt of gratitude, and her family, like no other.”

Schmaderer laid out a basic timeline of events:

At 12:58 p.m., Orozco and other members of the Metro Area Fugitive Task Force were near Martin Avenue and Read Street, looking for Wheeler, when they spotted him about a block away, near 31st Avenue and Vane Street.

Wheeler shot at officers, then ran north through a wooded area toward the backyard of a house at 3057 Martin Ave.

Orozco, another officer and a sergeant confronted Wheeler, and shots were exchanged.

Orozco collapsed.

While officers rendered first aid to Orozco, Wheeler ran east and collapsed in the backyard at 3042 Read St. A semiautomatic handgun with a drum magazine was found near him.

A man living at the Read Street house said he saw Wheeler lean against a downspout and fall to the ground. He said Wheeler was pointing at his chest, where he had been shot.

Officers performed CPR on Orozco and Wheeler, Schmaderer said.

"It was really sad," Valentine said, "really heart-wrenching, watching the officer."

Both Orozco and Wheeler were taken by ambulance to Creighton University Medical Center in extremely critical condition. They were pronounced dead at the hospital.

Angela Valentine, who lives just east of 3057 Martin Ave., was taking a nap Wednesday afternoon when her son walked in and said, "I think I heard shooting." Valentine then heard what she thought were police outside the house say, "Get down! Get down on the ground!" The officers were yelling toward the back of the neighbor's house.

Valentine then heard two shots, then many shots.

She looked outside and saw a female police officer on the ground near the corner of her house. "There was blood on her pants and the upper part of her body," Valentine said. Other officers were trying to keep the officer calm, she said, and were "going into CPR mode."

Following the news of Orozco’s death, condolences began pouring into social media from across the nation. Hundreds of people, including law enforcement officers and police departments, posted comments, many containing the hashtag #SupportBlue.

Crime scene tape remained around 3057 Martin Ave. on Thursday morning. The Omaha Police Department's mobile command center was parked directly in front of the house, and the crime lab van also was parked in front of the command center. Eastbound Martin Avenue was blocked from Vane Street to Read Street.

After looking at a photo of Wheeler on Thursday, a neighbor said, "I've absolutely seen him hanging around, kicking it in the driveway. I've seen him coming and going, but not causing any trouble. Of course, if you're laying low, you wouldn't want to cause any trouble."

He said he recently started seeing people coming and going, mostly at night.

Orozco was the second female law enforcement officer in the state to be killed in the line of duty, according to the Nebraska Law Enforcement Memorial. Amanda Baker, a Scotts Bluff County corrections officer, was strangled in February 2014 by a 15-year-old inmate at the Scotts Bluff County Detention Center.

Schmaderer said he had spoken with Orozco’s family. At the press conference he also offered condolences to Wheeler’s family.

Mayor Jean Stothert, who was out of town for her son’s wedding, said in a statement:

“Officer Orozco will be honored by the entire community for her service and bravery through our prayer and our continued community support for all police officers.”

Stothert ordered flags in the city to be lowered to half staff in Orozco’s honor until dusk on Monday. In addition, the lights on the Heartland of America Fountain and the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge will be blue through Memorial Day.

After the shooting, more than 20 bystanders gathered at the crime scene, which spanned 30th to 33rd Streets and from Read to Whitmore Streets.

Outside 3057 Martin Ave., where gunfire had been exchanged, police were talking to Erica Coppage-Williams. She had recently moved into the house, said her father, Anthony Williams.

Coppage-Williams, 24, appeared distraught as she sat in her front yard. She let out tearful screams and called out to her father while talking to police.

Wheeler and Coppage-Williams had a child in 2009, court records show.

Coppage-Williams was booked by Omaha police Wednesday night on suspicion of obstructing a peace officer, aiding consummation of a felony and disorderly conduct.

Authorities had been searching for Wheeler in connection with the Sept. 5 shooting of Antonio Martin near 60th Street and Curtis Avenue. Wheeler was released from federal prison in February 2014 after being convicted of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

Schmaderer called Wheeler “a very dangerous individual” and said the community needs brave individuals to apprehend such serious criminals. Orozco and the Metro Area Fugitive Task Force officers go after “the worst of the worst,” he said.

Orozco returned to work shortly after giving birth to Olivia on Feb. 17. With Olivia facing an extended stay in the NICU at the Nebraska Medical Center, Orozco wanted to save her maternity leave for when Olivia left the hospital.

Before she had her own child, Orozco served as a mother and a mentor to other children, coaching baseball and volunteering with numerous community organizations.

She was a stepmother to Natalia, 8, and Santiago, 6, children of her husband, Hector Orozco Lopez. They were married in a civil ceremony in 2011, then had a church wedding in 2012.

The Police Department was collecting food donations for Orozco’s family. By 10 p.m., so much food had been dropped off at precinct stations that the department was suggesting that any additional donations be taken to homeless shelters in memory of the officer.

The Omaha Police Foundation announced Wednesday night that it would give all of its Omaha Gives donations to the Orozco family.

The donation total has topped $75,000, from more than 1,800 donors, the most of any nonprofit in the campaign.

Asked at the press conference whether the shooting would damage police-community relations, Schmaderer rejected the idea. Officers are also a part of the community, he pointed out.

“I think you’ll see the city of Omaha band together ... and certainly support Officer Orozco for her sacrifice,” he said.

“I think Omaha is a tremendous community. I’ve said all along that north Omaha (is a) tremendous community,” he said. “And we’re going to work through this issue with the community side by side.”

Many details about the shooting haven’t been released. A press conference may be held later today, officials said.

“My greatest concern is with my officers and their families and the integrity of this investigation,” Schmaderer said.

By Wednesday night, flowers, candles and other tokens were being left as makeshift memorials at the crime scene and outside Omaha Police Headquarters.

The chief had a message for his officers, who were struggling with the loss of their well-liked colleague.

“Keep your head held high, we’ll do our job professionally, and we’re going to grieve,” Schmaderer said. “We’ll grieve like anybody else.”

World-Herald staff writers Kevin Cole, Christopher Burbach, Bob Glissmann and Emerson Clarridge contributed to this report.

Here is an update from an Omaha TV station. 

OMAHA, Nebraska (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Thousands of community members lined the streets of Omaha, Nebraska Tuesday to pay tribute to a fallen officer.

Hundreds of officers took Kerrie Orozco to her final resting place in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Officer Orozco was killed in a shoot-out earlier this month while trying to arrest a known gang member.

The shift she was working was supposed to be her last before going on maternity leave to take care of her daughter Olivia, who was born prematurely in February.

And Speaking of little Olivia, she's already living out her mother's legacy. On Sunday she was in a onesie that read "Keep Calm and Kerrie On."

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Doug McDermott NCAA player of the year

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Doug McDermott, the basketball machine from the Creighton Bluejays swept all the top national awards for player of the year.  During they past season he averaged 26.7 points, tops in the nation, and 7 rebounds while leading Creighton to a 27-8 record and NCAA tournament invitation.

With 3,150 points and 1,088 rebounds McDermott is one of only three men in history with over 3,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.  He also is one of only three in NCAA history to be named All American three years.

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Nebraska versus Missouri - Sometimes reporter's bias is just too obvious

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Last Saturday Nebraska pounded unbeaten Missouri 31-17 and a Missouri correspondent was not at all pleased with the winning tradition of the Big Red.

Mike DeArmond is the longtime Missouri football and basketball beat reporter for the KANSAS CITY STAR. He’s also an alumnus of Mizzou, class of ‘72.

Saturday DeArmond appeared on a Kansas City TV pregame show for the Missouri-Nebraska football game to give his opinion on something that can be a sore subject for more Kansas Citians than you know.

That is, dealing with local Nebraska football fans, Kansas Jayhawks hoops fans and St. Louis Cardinals baseball fans. During his TV appearance, DeArmond originally was asked what he thought of Nebraska football fans, whom he proceeded to lump together with KU and Cardinal fans:

“There are Cardinal baseball fans, there are Kansas basketball fans and there are Nebraska football fans. They were all born of the same parents. They’re all inbred, separated a birth because they’re all just impossible to handle.

"They think the world revolves around them. They think that no one should possibly question their moral superiority and therefore anytime anybody beats Nebraska it’s a good day.

“When Missouri beats them, because I happen to cover Missouri, it’s easier to write a story when Missouri beats Nebraska because it’s impossible to write a story when Nebraska beats Missouri.”

Mike DeArmond Talks about Missouri-Nebraska Rivalry.



For a more balanced story and perhaps the reason the reporter is biased against Nebraska here is an excerpt from a story on Nebraska that appeared on the Bleacher Report blog by writer Lake Cruise on October 28, 2010.

The two programs have, in fact, played in the second-oldest rivalry in the Big 12.

Mizzou-Kansas is the oldest by about one year and 100 days.

Nebraska-Mizzou has been played on the gridiron 103-105 times.

According to multiple sources including the University of Nebraska football program’s official site, Cornhuskers football began playing opponents in 1890.

A whopping total of two games were played that year. Get this—the first game was against the Omaha YMCA, a game that took place the day after Thanksgiving.

Nebraska won 10-0.

In 1891, Iowa became Big Red’s first major college opponent. Illinois, Missouri and Kansas, in that order, were next.

All the way back to November 5, 1892: That is how far back Mizzou-Nebraska goes.

That was the first scheduled meeting, and it was supposed to happen in Omaha, but it was a forfeit in favor of Nebraska.

George A. Flippin was the quarterback of that team; he was also the first African-American to play for Nebraska. According to the University of Nebraska, Mizzou refused to play the 1892 game because of Flippin’s presence.

He was also the fifth African-American to play for a predominantly white university. (Google Frank Kinney Holbrook and Archie Alphonso Alexander.)

Both teams played in the Western Interstate University Football Association (WIUFA) from 1892-1897 along with Iowa and Kansas.

In 1893, Mizzou won the first actual meeting, 30-18. They also won the second meeting.

Nebraska won by a score of 41-0 in 1897, and they have not looked back since.

The Huskers were originally nicknamed the Grasshoppers, and the football program had several nicknames in the early years: Tree Planters, Rattlesnake Boys, Bugeaters, Antelopes and Old Gold Knights, to name a few.

The team was first called Cornhuskers in 1899, and the school’s colors were changed to red and cream around 1900.

Sports editor Charles “Sy” Sherman is credited with giving the nickname, and he was known as “father of the Cornhuskers.”

From 1903-1910, they did not play Mizzou at all. After that, the matchup was discontinued until 1922.

Nebraska joined Mizzou in the Missouri Valley Conference, before they moved to the Big Eight.

Since 1927, the winner has gotten the engraved Victory Bell Trophy.

Mizzou was ranked No. 5 in the nation at one point, after an 8-4 season under Warren Powers in 1978 that ended with a 35-31 victory over Nebraska.

The rivalry was within five games until 1979, before Nebraska ran off 24 wins in a row.

On November 3, 1979, Tom Osborne defeated Powers in Columbia, 23-20, in front of 74,000. Nebraska was ranked No. 2, and Mizzou was not ranked.

Jarvis Redwine, Dave Rimington, Russel Gary, Andra Franklin and Bill Barnett played big roles on that 'Huskers roster.

Leo Lewis, Kellen Winslow and Phil Bradley played in the Veer offense. James Wilder, Eric Wright, Kevin Potter and Wendell Ray were also Missouri standouts.

Tom Osborne was seven and 10 in 1979. That is, he was head coaching the team for his seventh season, and he was in his tenth season as the offensive coordinator.

Nebraska finished at (10-2, 6-0-1). A dominant Oklahoma team (11-1, 7-0) won the Big Eight under Barry Switzer, who was in his seventh season as head coach.

Billy Simms and George Cumby were All-American Sooners, and JC Watts was a capable wishbone-triple option quarterback.

OU had won seven straight Big Eight titles under Switzer, with four undefeated conference records in those seven seasons.

I have published articles in many seasoned markets, in all of the major genres. And I believe that the best fans, not just college football, but in sports—period—belong to Huskers Nation.

Astonishing in their sportsmanship and in their knowledge of the game, Nebraska football fans are the superlative in the country, in my opinion.

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Latest BCS Polls Point to Alabama - Nebraska for National Championship

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So here is the latest BCS poll and my personal favorites, Nebraska, Arizona and Iowa continue their climb back to the top.  Okay so maybe they aren't there yet but they will be by the end of the season.  In fact all three are still at the top of their conferences.

So how does that result in my conclusion this early in the season that it will be Alabama versus Nebraska for the national championship when they are ranked 6 and 7 in the BCS poll?  Oregon loses to Arizona, Auburn loses to Alabama, TCU, Boise State and Utah continue to drop in the polls because they do not have the competitive schedules of Alabama and Nebraska.

Besides, one of the best rivalaries of the 1970's and '80's were the bowl games when the two schools squared off under the legendary coaches Bear Bryant and Bob Devany and a national championship was always on the line.  Anyway, that's my take, what is yours?

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College Football - Another #1 Bites the Dust as Boise State (WHO?) Climbs Charts

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For the second week in a row a number 1 team lost, Ohio State, along with two more of the top ten, Nebraska and South Carolina. It is starting to look like all the marquee teams are going to beat each other during the season so either the national championship will be decided between teams with at least 1 or 2 losses, or it will be Boise State versus TCU for the national championship.

Only unbeaten Oregon and Oklahoma stand between Boise State and being number 1 at the moment but threatening in the wings are unbeaten major conference teams like Michigan State, Missouri and Oklahoma State while Utah is also unbeaten.

Looks like bigtime football to me.

While Boise State still faces Nevada (19) TCU must face Utah so at least one more unbeaten will fall. Michigan State, Missouri and Oklahoma State all must face other Big Ten or Big 12 powerhouses so it is highly unlikely they will survive the season unbeaten.

It just might be the year the surprise small team from a small conference slips through the cracks and steals the national championship while the big boys are busy beating up each other. If so Boise State is the most likely champion.

Who and where is Boise State you might ask? It is in Boise, Idaho, capitol of the state with a metro area of 590,000 and about 20,000 students attend Boise State. It is a regional university founded as a junior college in 1932 and upgraded to four year in 1965 with a football program for the top jocks who don't go to the elite football programs but want to show they belong with the big boys.

So, the Boise State Broncos have only lost one game this season and the past two seasons combined, the best record in Division 1 football. When the BCS poll comes out today, which measures teams by strength of schedule, don't be surprised in Boise State isn't #1 for the first time in school history. They will not stay #1 because their schedule is weaker than bigger schools so they need to stay unbeaten and hope the Oklahoma, Alabama and Ohio State teams lose a couple of games.

If there was ever a year a small school might play for the title this could be it. I mean stranger things than that have happened this past year. Stay tuned. Since all my top teams have already lost one game, I am making Boise State #1 until someone knocks them off.

Go Broncos!!!
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