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PYB checking in for the second straight day....a summertime record for 2012. We, of course, had no plans for a post today. But our ire was piqued while reading omaha.com.

--We left it alone when Taylorina Martinez was named to the Davey O'Brien award a couple weeks back. Big deal, another meaningless award made even more meaningless by limiting itself to a certain list of candidates before one snap of football is played. But now, old T-Vagic finds himself a Manning Award candidate, which was created to honor the achievements of Archie, Forrest and Forrest II.

So, if candidates are selected on their abilities to look make stupid faces after yet another crushing on-field error, we concur. Martinez is a top choice. Maybe the mob will rig the NCAA season just like it has rigged two Super Bowls for Forrest Jr.

--The Big Red Bracket that the Omaha World Herald has created is, for lack of a better word, gay. In pure ESPN fashion, it's a contrived gimmick used to fill dead air before the season begins. After all, how many times can sports geeks discuss possible position switches on the NU offensive line?

Anyhow, PYB picked out one ridiculous result. Alex Henery's 57-yard game-winning field goal crushed NU's 52-7 stomping of Colorado in 1992 by a count of 3547 to 846. OMG, WTF???

After pissing our pants, it points out all you need to know about Nebraska football at this time. Fans have forgotten what it meant to be good. Most latch on to any piece of "success" they can from recent years, apparently forgetting that the 52-7 bottle blasting came against an eighth-ranked Buffalo team stocked with Kornhole Stewart (complete with a 3/8 for 17 yard day), Michael Westbrook, Rashaan Salaam and Charles Johnson.

It was the coming out part for Tommie Frazier and his incredible four-year run. PYB will remember one of its favorite plays of all time, when true freshman Frazier ran over Deon Figures before Figures horse-collared Frazier before they both stood up and stared each other down for several seconds  (check the 1:30 mark of this video and excuse the music...a Nebraskan made it, after all). They hated each other, as they should have.

The good days, when winning meant something, losing hurt like a motherfucker (for weeks), and players weren't buttbuddies as soon as the game ended. (Check this video link, which comes with a Brad Nessler narration instead of Creed's droning and even features a Steve Carmer interception -- a rare bird indeed. It also features a Will Shields fumbleroosky at the 4:41 mark and the Frazier-Figures play at 6:05. Oh yes, don't forget the option being run with precision and offensive lineman that were able to move, pull AND block somebody!!)

The Halloween night crowd was, for the record, also the loudest we've been a part of at Memorial Stadium (two of our buddies were among the 25 ejections mentioned in the previous LJS link). And we realize that that claim is like bragging about banging Bill McCartney's daughter -- not exactly something to be proud of. Still....

THIS....in comparison to beating an unranked, 5-6 CU team after new coach Bo Pinelli almost tanked the game by calling the over-the-should-flip fake field goal for the 15th time in two weeks, turning a potential 10-point lead into a tie game. Of course, we all excused Pinelli at the time, thinking it was an isolated gaffe that every coach will pull over the years. Or not. We're fine.

Postscript: In watching highlights from yesteryear, PYB has been most alarmed by the current lack of firepower on the defensive line. NU used to be stocked with stars, but most importantly, underappreciated depth of impact players: Trev Alberts, Travis Hill, John Parrella, Terry Conneally, Broderick Thomas, Neal Smith, Lawrence Pete. Now, we're stuck with Cam Meredith.

Postscript II: Finally, check the 8:50 mark of the Nessler video for a cameo by Lance "Bullethead" Gray. It comes complete with a kickoff return knockout blow.

We're still fine....