Friday Flakes: Shooting is the Only Thing that Can Save Tim Miles

The snowball has been rolling down the hill for several weeks. It continues to get bigger. It continues to get heavier. The longer it rolls down the hill, the harder it will be for Tim Miles to stop it.

I hope he does. I’m not sure he can.

In order to get on an unexpected roll to finish out the year the shooting has to get better. Coach Miles knows that 21% from the field is not going to get it done against Big Ten Competition. It isn’t going to get it done against anybody.

They can hang their hat on defense. Holding Maryland to 60 points is actually impressive. It is hard to get a group of kids to play defense when they’ve lost five games in a row. Especially when the ball isn’t going in the hole. That is a credit to Coach Miles.

I’ve said it to anybody who would listen. This team this season was not built for a long run through the conference if they rely on outside shooting. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t win. The best shooters on the team are streaky shooters. They aren’t consistent shooters.

This is the roster Miles has and it is nothing he can do to change it. You cannot will the ball to go into the hole.

However, if there is any glimmer of hope it is that with streaky shooters, they are bound to get hot again. Hopefully it happens before it is too late.

Husker Flakes

Athletic department close to cleaning the slate on buyouts - WE ARE FREEEEEE!
At the end of February, the Nebraska Athletic Department will have three football buyouts off the books.

Losing streak continues for Huskers - 24/7
Nebraska came into Wednesday night’s matchup with No. 24 Maryland looking for a spark to break out of a five-game losing streak.

The Huskers, however, found more of the cold shooting and rebounding issues that have plagued the team in its struggles in Big Ten play in a 60-45 loss to the Terrapins at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Notable quotes from Scott Frost's press conference - 24/7
Nebraska head coach Scott Frost met with the media on Wednesday afternoon as the Huskers put the finishing touches on a quiet finish to their 2019 recruiting class.

The Huskers signed one additional prospect on Wednesday -- Oklahoma City wide receive Demaryion Houston -- and added a few more walk-ons to the class, but otherwise it was a quiet National Signing Day devoid of drama for the Big Red.

Frost sees big changes in the Huskers in one year's time - 24/7
Scott Frost doesn't ever want to be home with his family on Christmas again.

You understand. Being home means the Huskers aren't bowling. Being home means sitting there in your sweats watching other teams you stood toe to toe with the second half of the season play in those postseason games.

Held breaks down running back signee Dedrick Mills - 24/7
ne of the biggest questions about Nebraska’s 2019 recruiting class centered on when — or if — Garden City CC running back Dedrick Mills would be part of the Husker class when all was said and done.

Mills signed with Nebraska officially on Jan. 14, and he was one of the small handful of players to be featured by the Nebraska athletic program for National Signing Day on Wednesday.

Maryland's Bruno Fernando Stomped On A Nebraska Dude
Maryland’s Bruno Fernando made an enemy out of every man, woman, and child in Nebraska tonight, as in the second half of the Terrapins’ road game against the Cornhuskers, the brilliant big man finished off a dunk with some Ndamukong Suh action on poor Tanner Borschart.

Frost Likes the Leadership Qualities of Nebraska's Incoming Class | Hail Varsity
On Wednesday, Nebraska coach Scott Frost fielded questions to put a bow on the 2019 recruiting class. That included a look at the leadership qualities of the class.

Non-Husker Flakes

NBA trade deadline: Anthony Davis talks quiet for Lakers, Pelicans
Despite offering nearly every player in their rotation not named LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly haven’t been able to even get a counter-offer in their trade talks with the Pelicans about Anthony Davis. They reportedly aren’t very confident that will change between now and Thursday.

Rob Gronkowski hit by beer can at Patriots Super Bowl parade
Hold on. Gronk has a story.

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski stopped by “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Wednesday night to show off the Lombardi Trophy and share a very Gronky tale.

It obviously involves a championship, a party and alcohol.

After Tennessee disaster, Greg Schiano gets shot with Pats
A little over 14 months after a Twitter mob and a painted rock derailed his shot at becoming the head coach at the University of Tennessee, Greg Schiano will reportedly become the highest-profile assistant coach in football – defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots.

NBA trade deadline: Mavericks deal Harrison Barnes to Kings
One move wasn’t enough for the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. Hours after dealing Iman Shumpert away as part of a three-team deal, the Kings went out and acquired Harrison Barnes from the Dallas Mavericks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The move must have come together quickly, because Barnes was on the court playing for the Mavericks against the Charlotte Hornets when the deal broke. He didn’t play the fourth quarter and finished the game with 10 points in 26 minutes.

“STICK TO SPORTS!” Nah.

Nebraska university to drop standardized test requirements
Creighton will no longer require most first-year applicants to submit results from the ACT or SAT tests beginning in 2020.

Lincoln police seize a mace | Crime and Courts | journalstar.com
Lincoln police officers responding to a report of a suspicious person near 48th and Pawnee streets early Monday ticketed a man for concealing a weapon, in this case, a mace.

Not Mace. A mace.

Avengers: Endgame Might Be So Long, It Needs an Intermission
Hold on to your butts: Coming Soon’s Alan Cerny alleges that Marvel is considering an including an intermission in Avengers: Endgame...because the currently-being-tested cut of the film is three hours long.

A Smithsonian Researcher Reflects on What It Will Take to Land Humans on Mars | At the Smithsonian | Smithsonian
Mars has always held a special fascination for humanity. Its reddish color in the night sky has strong associations with war and destruction, while astronomers have long speculated on the possibility that life might exist there, either now, or at some time in the past. Viewed from Earth-based telescopes, its features have prompted all manner of speculation about the planet and what humans might encounter there.

Snakes May Have Driven the Evolution of Primate Vision | RealClearScience
Evolution has favoured the modification and expansion of primate vision. Compared with other mammals, primates have, for example, greater depth perception from having forward-facing eyes with extensively overlapping visual fields, sharper visual acuity, more areas in the brain that are involved with vision, and, in some primates, trichromatic colour vision, which enables them to distinguish red from green hues.

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New Show Spotlights Nebraska

Comedy about a couple who live in New York City. Dax Shepard’s character inherits this farmhouse in Nebraska and they decide to move there.

Avengers: End Game - Rumor

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A Coffee and a Conversation

I needed to kill an hour of time while my cell phone was getting fixed so I went across the street to Scooters in Lincoln. After ordering a coffee (black), I took my book and sat down in a circle of chairs. There was a coat and kindle on the chair next to me. The owner of the kindle was walking back across the room with a drink.

I opened my book.

“Hey chief, what are you reading?”

I looked up at him and said, “Good Friday on the Rez.”

“Really? What’s that about?”

“The author drove from Alliance, NE to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota to meet his friend. He wrote about the history of the area as well as what happened on the drive.”

“I love books. I read them all the time. Except I can’t make sense of them. I can’t put two and two together. Ya know what I mean?”

“What kind of books are you reading? I can’t make sense of some “classics” either.”

That was the last thing I said in a conversation that lasted twenty minutes.

From what I gathered over the next 19 minutes is the following. It all started when his dad started putting needles into his arm. That is when he became addicted. Since then he has been in and out of “crack houses.” He has slept on the street and behind bushes. God is good. There is a $20,000 bounty on his head. At least that is what he has heard from five different people. He loves his wife, but the last time he saw her he left her at the “crack house.” Guys could then have their way with her because she’s addicted too. She has already lost her kids because she would just leave them alone so she could go find drugs. But he loves her. He will always love her. If somebody ever hurts her he is going to put a bullet in that guys head. He’ll do it. Trust me. He has seen some stuff. Dead bodies are nothing to sniff at. They stick with you forever. He could go use the money he has and get a bag, but then he’d just end up doing the entire thing in one night. Then he would probably be sent back to jail. They don’t care about you in jail. God is great. He is gifted. He is gifted because he is a clairvoyant. He sees spirits all the time and everywhere. He hears voices. Am I a clairvoyant? No. Too bad. His wife is also a clairvoyant. She is also schizophrenic. Just like he is. Hopefully he can find his wife tonight. It has been too long since he has seen her. He loves her. He loves his wife.

He starts looking outside as an older couple walks into Scooters. He has to leave right now. Then he gets up and walks out almost leaving his stuff. We shake hands and he says “thanks.” I tell him good luck.

...

I sat there for a good two minutes and did nothing. What just happened?

There are multiple assumptions I can make about this guy. But one thing I know is that if I had my cell phone with me then I might not have stayed and listened to that entire conversation. Maybe it is a good thing I didn’t. He probably needed somebody to talk to and I just happened to be the right person at the right time.

OK, This Is Hilarious

When you think about getting rid of twitter, and then somebody posts something like this and you remember why you have twitter.

The Best Thing I Saw On The Internet This Week x 3

Thanks for reading! Stay warm this weekend.