Flakes: Toy Chickens, Adidas & Nebraska, Baseball, Punching Women, & Beach Volleyball

I was going to change the world.

I was going to be the person who made the U.S. Olympic track team AND cured cancer.

Okay, I never really thought any of the above would actually happen, but I was sure that I would make a difference somewhere. I would do something important or noteworthy.

Today, I opened a delivery box and was excited that the toy chicken arrived.

My life has changed drastically since those ambitious days in my early 20's.

You may, or may not, know that a highly pathogenic form of avian influenza (bird flu) has resulted in the deaths of millions of hens across the country, including Nebraska. My sons are the proud caretakers of a small flock of colorful chickens. We have not seen any evidence of the disease and have taken precautions to keep it that way.

Unfortunately, this means that any events where chickens are involved have been cancelled. This includes the poultry show at our county fair, which has been a really fun family event for us for the past 6 or 7 years. The extension 4-H program came up with an alternative (which we greatly appreciate) in that kids can use a model or toy chicken for their showmanship exhibit in place of a real one.

This solution allows for the kids to display their hard work and avoids the potential transfer of the bird flu between little farms like ours. It also means that I spent time Googling some strange stuff. Between my searches for stuffed chickens (I had to amend that search to "toy" chickens), fireworks chemistry (I have three sons who ask a lot of questions about explosive things around the 4th of July weekend), alcohol (wine recipes), and threats to cut off ranchdude's beard (grown for the town 125th anniversary), I may have triggered some weird algorithm. Do you have any idea what my Facebook ads look like now? There is also an unmarked black van sitting on our gravel road... (okay, not really).

At least I know better than to try and make beet wine. Again.

My aspirations in life have changed from 20 years ago. Some things for the better and some for the worse. I imagine that is a life lesson most of us eventually learn, sooner or later.

On to Wednesday Flakes....

On Nebraska, Adidas, Nike and Being Cool | Hail Varsity
Nike or Adidas? One is cooler than the other but there's a unique value to being uncool too.

The wailing and gnashing teeth over uncool Adidas stuff rather than cool Nike and Under Armour duds reached a fever pitch in Nebraska with the announcement that Michigan (Adidas' largest contract) was defecting to Nike.  Hail Varsity's Brandon Vogel defends "uncool". Even if you do not like the idea of staying with Adidas- this article is really well-written.

Getting Nebraska over the top tougher as more schools spend for baseball - Omaha.com: Big Red Today - Husker Football News, Schedules And Videos
College baseball’s marquee event ended a couple of weeks ago without an appearance from the head coach of the host state’s biggest program. Nebraska’s Darin Erstad still has never been. "That’s like touching the Stanley Cup," he said.

It may have slid under the radar with football 'crootin news and Adidas hate, but Nebraska baseball is making a significant change. It is only an insignificant quote in a big article, but Darin Erstad is going to take charge of the Husker offense. You may remember that the offense (or lack thereof) misfired late in the season and essentially wasted one of one of the nation's better pitching staffs and nation's best defenses. Will we see the Huskers finally ascend to their rightful place beating up on the B1G? (that last sentence was sarcasm for Big Ten fans without a sense of humor)

Video shows punch that led to FSU QB De'Andre Johnson's arrest
Johnson has been dismissed from the Florida State football team in the wake of this video.

Awful. Horrible. Do not watch if you want to keep your computer screen intact.

'Particular frequency' of 'Sandstorm' causes Kyle Field stands to shift - CBSSports.com
Texas A&M has reinforced its new south end zone stands at Kyle Field after the song 'Sandstorm' caused some minor shifting.

Some news from former Big 12 foes. My brain immediately went to that rigged 2010 game at Kyle Field. I would laugh if the stadium fell down. As long as nobody was there when it happened. I don't want to see real people hurt. I guess the refs in that game were a lot like me. They wanted to be sure the A&M quarterback did not get hurt either. I am not bitter. I hardly remember it. How about you?

Mirko Jurkovic, former Ohio State signee, to enroll at Georgia, per report - Land-Grant Holy Land
After failing to academically qualify at Ohio State, the former Buckeye commit will reportedly head to Georgia.

A former Husker commit (who changed his mind in favor of the Buckeyes after Pelini was fired) will not head to OSU after all. I am confused that he explored enrolling at Notre Dame before setting his sights on an SEC school. Really, if you cannot academically qualify for the Buckeyes, do you think that the Fighting Irish will let you slide in?

NCAA’s newest championship will be called beach volleyball | NCAA.com
The NCAA’s 90th championship will be called beach volleyball.

It is not sand volleyball. It is beach volleyball. That somehow totally validates the skimpy outfits the pro players wear. I have no idea if the college game has gone down that dark path. I do know that the Husker program has lost recruits and high-quality players because the women wanted to go to a better beach/sand volleyball school. Apparently there is money  to be made in wearing skimpy outfits and hanging out on beaches.

Damn. I am in the wrong line of work.

Broncos roster 2015: Zaire Anderson - Mile High Report

Breaking down the Denver Broncos 2015 90-man roster, one player, one post, one day (roughly) at a time. Today we keep the football rolling looking at linebacker/safety Zaire Anderson.

The former Husker linebacker is getting some appreciation as a potential practice squad candidate for one of the most talented football teams in the NFL (Ranchbabe's totally unbiased assessment of the Broncos roster).

A Look at 2014 Stadium Ejections, Arrests and Incidents From Big Ten Fanbases | Eleven Warriors
What Big Ten teams had the most stadium ejections and arrests during the 2014 season? Who really are the "worst" fans in the conference? Eleven Warriors takes a look.

The greatest fans in college football cannot be the worst (spoiler - nope) but are they the best?

Oldest College Football Hall-of-Famer Behm Dies at 95 - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site
Forrest E. Behm, the most inspiring walk-on in Nebraska football history and believed to be the oldest College Football Hall-Famer, died Monday in Corning, N.Y., at age 95.

If you read no other article in Flakes today. Read this one. Read. This. One.

Former Husker strips down for the cover of ESPN magazine's 'The Body' issue - Omaha.com: Big Red Today Blog
Chantae McMillan, a former Husker track star, is used to media coverage. But posing for the the cover of ESPN the Magazine's "The Body" issue isn't exactly your everyday media experience.

Naked women. (This phrase may have been added because Jon and Brian are tyrants about search engine optimization.)

For third time, Gordon is an All-Star : Latest Husker News
Alex Gordon, the Lincoln native who starred at Nebraska from 2003-05, has made the American League All-Star team for the third straight season, this time as a starter.

Good baseball news! It has nothing to do with Royals fans going 'all-Husker' and inundating online polls with their votes. Nope.