Friday Flakes: Blackshirts Next Week? And a Good Dog

Something is Missing

There is that unspoken elephant in the room among Nebraska football fans. Nobody has been talking about it for almost the entire fall camp. I think it is partially because there are so many new faces coming and going on the football team, including changes in offense, defense and recruiting that nobody has noticed that one missing link.

What about the Blackshirts?

I try and find something Nebraska related to write about every Friday since I started doing the Friday Flakes. So far I have been lucky enough that something falls in my lap at the right time.

Well this time nothing fell into my lap but I noticed something was missing. It wasn’t the Blackshirts per se that were missing. But the concern about whether the Blackshirts are going to be handed out before the first game? Are they going to be handed out only to the starters?

Nothing. Silence.

Good.

A Good Dog

Seven years ago my wife and I were about to get married and we wanted a dog. I grew up with a Dachshund. I no longer had interest getting a dog that burrows into the blankets again. Because you know what happens? This is what happens.

The Dachshund burrows into a blanket. Then your older brother stands up to go to bed. But before heading upstairs he needs his blanket that is on the floor. So he grabs the blanket and throws it over his shoulder. Little did he know that there was a reason why the blanket was a little heavier than it normally should be. My brother swung the blanket over his shoulder and the dog went flying.

The dog went from being warm and comfortable in a blanket to being flung through the room and slammed into the wall. I saw it all happen right in front of me. Poor dog.

Don’t worry the dog was fine. He kind of had the look like “what the heck just happened?”

....

Anyways back to adulthood. Before choosing a dog the wife and I started watching episodes of Dog 101 on the Animal Channel. I made a list of the breeds that were of interest to me. I wanted something larger (you know, not something you can fling across the room just by picking up a blanket). I also wanted a breed that was protective of the family. We planned on having kids (we have three now) and I wanted there to be a first line of defense as well as a loving member of the family.

So the list was continuing to be compiled until I saw the dog that was perfect for us. A Rhodesian Ridgeback. I had never heard of this breed but it was everything I wanted. The dogs were known to consider themselves a part of the “pack” and are thus protective of the “pack,” especially children. Plus they do well with really extreme temperatures. Which is perfect for Nebraska. We decided it was the dog for us.

We named her Dagny after the character from Atlas Shrugged. STICK TO SPORTS! She was everything we wanted and a little more. Her downside is that she is “excessively affectionate.”

“Excessively affectionate.” I got that from a website somewhere.

One concern I’ve had since we have had the kids is that Dagny appears to be more focused on my wife and I. She doesn’t ignore the kids but she seems to prefer to be around me and the wife. So I was concerned that she might not be as protective of the kids as I wanted.

Well something happened a couple weeks ago that put that concern to rest.

My two oldest kids were playing in our yard with some of their friends. They we throwing a ball around and tackling each other. Dagny was sitting on the porch with me. That’s when I looked back toward the kids and noticed a large brown dog entering our yard. It started jogging toward the kids.

Before I had a chance to even stand up Dagny sprinted not only toward the dog, but she sprinted to a spot that put her between the dog and the kids. She had the hair on her back standing straight up and started to growl at the brown dog. The brown dog turned around and left.

The brown dog could have been completely innocent and had zero bad intentions but Dagny didn’t care. She got between what could have a threat and my kids.

She is a good dog.

News You Can Use that has Shades of Scarlet and Cream

Roberts granted release as late wave of attrition continues for Huskers: Lincoln Journal-Star - Parker Gabriel

Avery Roberts was officially granted his release from the Husker program, a spokesman confirmed Wednesday afternoon.

Husker O-lineman’s departure from program confirmed: Nebraska 24/7 - Brian Christopherson

Nebraska junior offensive lineman Jalin Barnett has stepped away from the game of football, Greg Austin said following Wednesday morning’s practice.

Huskers have veteran O-Line in 2018: Grand Island Independent - Bob Hamar

The Huskers may be running a new system this year, but for the first time in years they do have a veteran offensive line up front to run behind.

Gifford healthy, ready to lead Huskers: Grand Island Independent - Bob Hamar

It wasn’t long ago that Luke Gifford was one of the new guys at Nebraska.

Non-Husker Related Sports

Lamar Odom Says He Had 12 Strokes, 6 Heart Attacks During 2015 Coma

When Lamar Odom fell into a coma in 2015 following a drug overdose, his condition was much worse than previously understood.

ESPN Recruits Football Experts to Tackle Rating Issues With “Get Up”

“As of Monday, the not-so-popular morning show had reached 300,000 viewers just 14 times in 98 episodes.”

“STICK TO SPORTS!” Nah.

The Unusual Difficulty Of Photographing Pandas

Pandas are undeniably adorable to behold, but that is not what made photographer Ami Vitale fall in love with them. In fact, finding new ways to photograph these iconic bears for National Geographic made this one of the most challenging projects she has worked on.

America’s Invisible Pot Addicts

“There are plenty of people who have problems with it, in terms of things like concentration, short-term memory, and motivation,” he said. “People will say, ‘Oh, that’s just you fuddy-duddy doctors.’ Actually, no. It’s millions of people who use the drug who say that it causes problems.”

A reminder that you can be for legalization but still think it causes problems just like other drugs and alcohol.

Was Napoleon Defeated By The Weather In 1815?

“In 1812, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France was considered unstoppable. The weather did not get the memo and he slunk out of a Russian winter, defeated.”

I think we all know who to thank for that one.

Random Wikipedia Article: Facts You Never Knew You Needed

The Panama Papers are 11.5 million leaked documents that detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities. The documents, some dating back to the 1970s, were created by, and taken from, Panamanian law firm and corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca, and were leaked in 2015 by an anonymous source.

The documents contain personal financial information about wealthy individuals and public officials that had previously been kept private. While offshore business entities are legal (see Offshore Magic Circle), reporters found that some of the Mossack Fonseca shell corporations were used for illegal purposes, including fraud, tax evasion, and evading international sanctions.

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Remember to be grateful for who and what you have. If you are reading this you are almost certainly in the top 1% of the entire world.

Have a great weekend!