Friday Flakes: Team Suh vs. Team Burkhead

I never read the books. I never watched the movies but I still understood what Team Edward and Team Jacob meant. At least I can assume I know. Only one was going to get the girl. It appeared pretty obvious who she was going to pick the whole way. Maybe it wasn’t obvious. Whatever...moving on.

Like many Nebraska football fans this coming Sunday, I am going to have to pick Team Suh or Team Burkhead.

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images

Two of the most popular and dominant Nebraska football players over the past decade meet in one of the largest sporting events in the world on Super Bowl Sunday. If you are like me it is hard to watch sports without pulling for one team or the other. It is much easier if I have one reason to “hate” one of the teams.

I am leaning toward Team Suh merely because they are the underdogs. However, my usual disdain for the Patriots seems to be diminished because of Burkhead. It could be tough.

The best part about this Super Bowl is that our two favorite Huskers aren’t sitting at the end of the bench. Both made impact plays in their respective conference championship games. I guess the best of both worlds would be Suh throwing Tom Brady around like Colt McCoy and Burkhead scoring every touchdown for the Patriots.

It could be my favorite Super Bowl ever.

So who do you have?

---

Nebraska Women’s Basketball Gets Big Win

I was excited to turn on BTN last night to see Nebraska Women putting a beat down on a really good Purdue team. We have an article coming later so that is all I will say about that.

On to the Flakes...

---

Suh and Burkhead Flakes

A Husker game that helps explain the popularity of Rex Burkhead
My favorite Rex Burkhead play came in the rain.

It was that game against Ohio State in 2011 – the one where Nebraska was down 27-6, then Lavonte David took a football away, and Braxton Miller limped off a field, and Rex kept churning out yards and juke moves until he'd pretty much sucked the will out of the Buckeyes.

Ndamukong Suh's image rehabilitation hits Super Bowl
Ndamukong Suh is on the precipice of going legit, as far as sanitizing his image. If he can help the Rams slow Brady and get past the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII, the history of his many indiscretions is not erased, but must be topped with a new characterization of Suh as a winner and contributor to a team in ways many believed he never could be.

Pats' Burkhead happy to be healthy for Super Bowl | Newsday
Rex Burkhead had never experienced a neck injury like the one he had during the season. It forced him to miss eight games. Burkhead said it put things in perspective, made him appreciate playing more. Now the Patriots running back is relishing the fact that he’s healthy heading into Super Bowl Sunday.

Super Bowl 2019: Ndamukong Suh has chance to redefine his legacy | SI.com
Ndamukong Suh is an extremely competitive introvert, and people like that tend to confuse us. Suh has been confusing people since he was a rookie. He seeks the spotlight but is uncomfortable in it. He can be a mediocre teammate by most traditional standards but also a player you definitely want on your team. He can be fundamentally self-involved but desperate to win.

Ndamukong Suh and cheapshot victim now unlikely Rams allies
When the name is brought up, John Sullivan wants you to know he knows where you are going with this.

And so, the seemingly innocent query — “What do you think of Ndamukong Suh’’ — swiftly brings this response from the Rams starting center:

“We had some history,’’ Sullivan said.

Ndamukong Suh Could Be the Key to the Super Bowl - The Ringer
Aaron Donald has been a force for the Rams this year, leading the league in sacks and earning All-Pro honors en route to what’s sure to be a second straight Defensive Player of the Year award. But while Donald will undoubtedly be the best defensive player on the field in Super Bowl LIII on Sunday, the guy lined up next to him may be the real X factor in the game.

Rivals - Super Bowl LIII: Nebraska ties bind Rams' Suh, Pats' Burkhead
The bonds that tie former Nebraska players to their alma mater and each other are some of the strongest in all of college football. A perfect example is the hero’s welcome that former Huskers quarterback Scott Frost received when he returned home to take over the Huskers' program last year.

Patriots' Burkhead cleared hurdles to get into the end zone
He spent a good portion of the 2018 regular season on the injured reserve list.

He spent the conclusion of the Patriots’ 37-31 AFC Championship game victory over Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium in the end zone.

Rex Burkhead's mom gets the perfect Super Bowl sendoff
The Patriots will have a few extra fans cheering them on in Dallas this week. Well, they’ll at least be cheering for running back, Rex Burkhead.

On Tuesday morning students and teachers at Jackson Elementary School in Plano, Texas, surprised Robyn Burkhead, Rex's mom, with a Super Bowl sendoff of her own.

Here’s what Rex Burkhead had to say after scoring the game’s 2 final TDs | Boston.com
For a fleeting moment, it looked as though running back Rex Burkhead might be one of the scapegoats if the Patriots lost the AFC Championship.

When quarterback Tom Brady handed the ball to Burkhead on fourth and 1 from the Kansas City Chiefs’ 25-yard line, the 28-year-old came up short. Many fans expressed their disappointment and confusion with the play call, but Burkhead quickly made them forget about what had just transpired.

Nebraska Flakes

Whitish has best game of season to lead Nebraska women past Purdue | Women’s Basketball | journalstar.com
Hannah Whitish had her best game of the season with 28 points, six three-pointers and 12 assists to lead the Nebraska women’s basketball team to an 84-64 win against Purdue.

Whitish scores double-double, Huskers defeat Purdue 84-64 | Sports | dailynebraskan.com
The Nebraska women’s basketball team defeated Purdue 84-64 on Thursday night behind a strong performance from junior guard Hannah Whitish. The Huskers improved to 10-11 (5-5 Big Ten) with the win.

Huskers trending for WR Demariyon Houston
The Nebraska Cornhuskers are trending in the 247Sports Crystal Ball for one of the top uncommitted prospects in the 2019 class.

Huskers looking for ways to break out of slump | Men's Basketball | journalstar.com
Not long after Nebraska director of athletics Bill Moos reiterated his support for Tim Miles and the Husker men's basketball team on his monthly Sports Nightly appearance, NU assistant coach Michael Lewis took to the airwaves to talk about how the Huskers can dig out of their season-altering slump.

Huskers look to bounce back from four-game losing streak at Illinois | Sports | dailynebraskan.com
The last four games have been a trainwreck for Nebraska men’s basketball, but Saturday’s matchup with Illinois is a great chance for the team to rebound.

Possession and 10: Huskers Made Strides in Year 1 with Frost | Hail Varsity
Sometimes it's very simple: the best offenses are such because they're really good on the opening play of drives. Nebraska wasn't great in that area until recently, but things are looking up.

'Respect Goes Both Ways' NU AD Moos Says on Monthly Radio Show | Hail Varsity
During his monthly appearance on Sports Nightly, Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Moos downplayed rumors that his job might be in jeopardy, saying he was brought to Nebraska to be Bill Moos and won't be changing who he is.

Bill Moos Won't 'Disrupt' Huskers' Season, Shows Support for Tim Miles | Hail Varsity
While Nebraska was in the process of losing a fourth straight game Tuesday night to No. 24 Wisconsin at home, Athletic Director Bill Moos was in his usual box suite. In jeans and a gray hoodie, he watched the Huskers drop a sixth game in eight tries.

Hot Reads: What If There Were No Field Goals in Overtime? | Hail Varsity
The college football oversight committee is considering tweaks to the game's overtime format ranging from removing field goals entirely to going to a 2-point shootout after two overtimes.

Moos not going to change his approach in connecting with fans
"I'm going to continue to be with people, and if we have a cold beer here or there, or a cup of coffee, or a piece of pie, that's me – and it's not going to change."

Non-Nebraska Flakes

Texans QB Deshaun Watson explains what makes Patriots so tough to beat
Texans QB Deshaun Watson explains what makes Patriots so tough to beat originally appeared on nbcsportsboston.com

Deshaun Watson has never defeated the New England Patriots in two starts against them in his brief NFL career, but the Houston Texans quarterback has a good understanding of what makes the three-time defending AFC champions so tough to beat.

Report: Pelicans considering shutting down Anthony Davis for rest of season if they don’t trade him
Would be a nightmare for NBA. One of your top players in the league could be shut down not for injury reasons, but for "personnel" reasons.

Rumor: Gregg Popovich cautioned Dell Demps about trading Anthony Davis to Lakers
Does Spurs president-coach hold grudge against Lakers? Sure seems like it.

2019 Super Bowl odds, line, spread pick: Trust Patriots to challenge Goff, control clock and beat Rams - CBSSports.com
How do you pick against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick?

Answer: You don't

Look, I know they've lost Super Bowls in the past and needed some miraculous help to win a few, but you give me that quarterback-coach combo -- the best ever -- and I will take my chances.

Inside Sean McVay’s Beautiful Mind - The Ringer
The narrative about the NFC champion Los Angeles Rams is that they are changing the NFL. Their true genius, and that of their 33-year-old head coach Sean McVay, is that they are changing very little.

Odds on where Anthony Davis will play next
Not surprisingly, odds regarding where Davis will call home at the start of the 2019-20 campaign are already out. Scroll below to take a look at the most likely potential destinations in the eyes of oddsmakers (via OddsShark).

Take a New Look at Jackie Robinson On His 100th Birthday
To commemorate Jackie Robinson’s 100th birthday, a new exhibition featuring never-before-published Look magazine photos of No. 42 opened today at the Museum of the City of New York.

“STICK TO SPORTS!” Nah.

New 'curses' emerge from Tut's history-making tomb study
From microbial 'freckles' to sticky dust, conservators have solved some problems in the pharaoh's 3,300-year-old funerary monument, but raised new concerns in the process.

How the polar vortex created record subzero temperatures in the Midwest
Remember way back when? When it was super cold? Oh ya, that was like two days ago.

Infant Ibuprofen medicine added to recall | TribLIVE
A recall of medicine for infants sold at three popular pharmacies has added to a recall of the medicine.

---

Regarding Patrick’s Flakes Earlier This Week

Our famed basketball writer, Patrick Gerhart, posted an article about the workforce in the United States in his flakes last Monday. Immediately, there was a political comment about the article. Then we all know what likely happened after that. It did. The comment section spiraled out of control. We had to take that article out of flakes, and hide the comments.

For what it is worth, Patrick mentioned in our slack chatroom that he didn’t even think about the political connotation of the article. He merely thought the article was interesting and therefore worth sharing.

I do not remember which Corn Nation community member made the comment but they said that if you guys are not allowed to make political comments then we should not be allowed to post political articles. I get the point. The source of the political comments could be an article one of us posted in flakes.

Unless I am told by our fearless leader, I do not believe that we should stop posting articles which could be taken the wrong way. The wrong way, meaning, that it could have a political connotation.

There are two reasons for this. First, almost anything, including sports could have a political connotation. There was even a discussion that we should limit the amount of “science” articles that is posted in Flakes.

Second, and most important to me is that I think the articles which cover areas outside of sports really gives you a better idea of who we are as individual people. Maybe it starts to remove the faceless mask that so many people have on the internet.

Now that does not mean that the Corn Nation writers should not “choose wisely” when putting articles in flakes. In fact, last week I had a whole section that I was actually looking forward to sharing. I felt it was thoughtful, and that it might help people going forward. Even if it is helping just one person. It even had lyrics from a Foo Fighters song! What could go wrong with some Foo Fighters?

However, I scrapped it after feeling that the political connotation was too strong. Maybe I’ll bring it back at some point.

So as writers we need to be conscientious about what we post, but if we were to stick to articles that have no political connotation then I think we would be taking away what is so unique abut Corn Nation.

As some have mentioned before, I try to be more positive in my flakes. I take a risk that people will turn something not intended to be political into a political talking point. I try and show people that there are good things happening in the world.

Speaking of the...

From a World Apparently Engulfed In Bad News

The Best Thing I Saw On the Internet This Week x 2

Thanks for reading. Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend if you are in southeastern Nebraska. Hopefully if you are not, then you’ll still get some beautiful weather was well.