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Flakes: Summitt, Ryan, OMAHA!, Helium

The sports world lost two legends yesterday. Omaha is hosting major events. Former Huskers are doing great things, and we found more helium!

By ranchbabe
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Yesterday, the sports world lost two legends in Pat Summitt and Buddy Ryan.

Summitt won more basketball games, men's or women's, than any D1 coach in history. She died at age 64 due to Alzheimer's disease. Imagine if her health had allowed her to coach another 10 years? Would she have set an untouchable record? It is hard to know for sure but her legacy goes far beyond Tennessee and women's basketball. Her impact even transcends sports. She was an inspiration for girls and women everywhere and for aspiring coaches of both genders.

There will never be anyone like Tennessee Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt
She was one of sports' most accomplished figures but also universally beloved and humbly warm. To say there will never be anyone like Pat Summitt is not hyperbole. In fact, it seems inadequate.

AN ALTERED STATE - Every Day Should Be Saturday
PAT SUMMITT, 1952--2016

Pat Summitt: A Privilege. - Rocky Top Talk
We all think our teams, our stories, our moments are the best. Today we get to be right. I was a hair too young to remember Pat’s first national championship in 1987. But I remember being a kid and...

Pat Summitt inspired a generation of basketball players
Pat Summitt brought respect to women's college basketball and made young players -- even those who weren't good enough to suit up for the Lady Vols -- want to be the best.

Find A Cure For Alzheimer’s | The Pat Summitt Foundation
Pat Summitt was the head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteer basketball team until she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011.

Buddy Ryan is best known as the architect of the "Monsters of the Midway", perhaps the best defensive unit in the history of the NFL. He was 85.

The time Buddy Ryan conjured up a defense that nearly beat mighty Nebraska | FOX Sports
When OSU finally faced Nebraska in that season, the Huskers were No. 2 in the nation. Jet gave mighty Nebraska fits. The Huskers managed just 215 total yards with only 73 on the ground — the team’s lowest regular-season output in 23 years. Nebraska only scored one field goal in the first half. This was just a week after Nebraska ran for 434 yards against the No. 9 team in the country, defeating the Washington Huskies, 55-7.

Buddy Ryan, defensive architect of 1985 Bears, dies at 85 - Chicago Tribune
Buddy Ryan spent 26 seasons as an NFL coach and went to three Super Bowls, but his crowning achievement was as defensive coordinator of the 1985 Bears.

OMAHA!

There are two big amateur sporting events going on in Omaha right now. The College World Series and the US Olympic swimming trials. Here is an update on both.

Emotional Morrison Saves Coastal | D1Baseball.com
Coastal Carolina righthander Mike Morrison wasn’t in a hurry to leave the mound when pitching coach Drew Thomas approached him after 103 pitches and with two outs in the seventh inning.

Newcomers sweeping aside U.S. swimming's famous Olympians at trials - Yahoo Sports
From Yahoo Sports: From Missy Franklin to Natalie Coughlin to Matt Grevers, some of the biggest names in American swimming are being left behind.

More Husker Sports....

Former Husker’s love for pole vaulting turns into one for coaching at Florida - Omaha.com: Sports
Florida assistant Nic Petersen loves that look when something suddenly clicks with his jumpers. Coaching moments that get in your blood, the former Husker pole vaulter said, and you can’t get rid of them. Nor does he want to — he says he has the best assistant job in the country.

Wong-Orantes Selected to U.S. National Team Roster - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site
Nebraska libero Justine Wong-Orantes has been selected to the U.S. Women's Volleyball National Team that will compete at the Pan American Cup from July 2 to July 10 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Where the Huskers Stand Without Andrew White | Hail Varsity
The Nebraska basketball program took a significant blow on Saturday when senior-to-be Andrew White III asked for his release so that he could play somewhere else next season as a graduate transfer.

Former Huskers back in Lincoln for alumni camping experience | Football | journalstar.com
They came out one-by-one for what was a reunion of sorts, jogging through a line of kids with hands extended for high-fives.

This and That....

Baylor Announces Briles' Termination At Time When Fewest Would Notice | Houston Press
In an incredible display of accountability, Riley invited Tracy to come speak to his football team about the victim's side of college's disturbing rape culture. At one point during her speech, Tracy pointed out Riley specifically, saying that she hated him more than the men who raped her.

More fuel for the great "balloon debate".

Discovery of new helium reserves a "game changer" for medical industry | Ars Technica
Tanzania could now hold the solution to the world's chronic helium shortage.

O.J. Simpson Documentary: How Far Have We Really Come? | The MMQB with Peter King
In a culture awash in social media, we like to think a superstar can no longer shield his true persona from the public the way Simpson did. But are we actually any closer to the athletes we admire and celebrate?

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

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