Many of us Nebraskans hate to see it go.  The rivalry with the Kansas teams just a state below us (to the south that is) and that is nothing short to compare with games of the past with rival Kansas State. 

Check it out from years past:

1998- (1)Kansas St 40, (11)Nebraska 30 – “The Facemask”

A game that couldn’t be remembered more oppositely amongst the two teams’ fan bases. K State fans remember this game as the crowning moment of their most successful season of all time. Husker fans remember this game by a single motion, taking a closed fist, fingers toward your face, and dragging it slowly from your forehead to your chin.   (or in other words… OUCH)  This game sparked the beginning of the rivalry. And the end of Eric Crouch’s neck.

Key Stat- Kansas St. had 6 fumbles in the game and lost 4 of them, turning the ball over 5 times total, however the Wildcats outgained the Huskers 512-351 in total yards.

2000- (11)Kansas St 29, (5)Nebraska 28 - ”2 Minute Blizzard”

Sometimes a higher force steps in and decides who is going to win a football game and fate just has to be accepted. This game was played in a somewhat rainy conditions throughout most of the night, before temperatures dropped and an outright blizzard took over the field, soon after the Wildcats scored the go-ahead touchdown. For a team that already struggled throwing the ball, the Huskers stood little chance in driving for the game winning score in the snow.

Key Stat- Quincy Morgan caught 7 passes for 199 yards, and two touchdowns, from quarterback Jonathan Beasley.

2002- (11)Kansas St 49, Nebraska 13 - ”Oh Lordy”

The beginning of the end for the Husker Dynasty that reigned supreme in the Big 12, which coincided with the beginning of the Jammal Lord era. Watching the highlights of this game was enough to make me throw up in my mouth a tiny bit. It was their worse loss in 34 years. And they had those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad red stripes down the sides of their uniforms. Anyone who thinks Solich was unjustly fired should take a look at this season’s results. Or Mr Lord’s play. Enough said… moving on…

Key Stat: Kansas St. outgained Nebraska 415-97 in rushing yards.

2004- Kansas St 45, Nebraska 21 – “Bleh, Maybe This was a Bad Idea”

Who could forget this memorable quarterback matchup between Joe Dailey and Allen Webb? Hopefully both fan bases. The Wildcats went 4-7 this year while the Huskers topped that with a 5-6 record. Need more be said about this game?

Key Stat: Darren Sproles attended local high school, Olathe North.

2006- (20)Nebraska 21, Kansas St 3 – “Needed Revenge?”

Whew, finally. Was starting to have doubts about making this list. The Huskers broke a streak of four straight losses in Manhattan in this snoozefest, where all highlights have been trashed and burned. The Huskers won the Big 12 North that year while the Wildcats were stuck with Ron Prince and Josh Freeman. Wait, one of them turned out successful?

Key Stat: Nebraska scored on a fake field goal (which is always fun).

2008- Nebraska 56, Kansas St 28 – “Heluuuuu Bo Pelini!” The Huskers marched up and down the field, led by (the poor man’s Rich Gannon) Joey Ganz, to the tune of 610 yards. It was Bo Pelini’s first year and the last year of Ron Prince. This was the game that cemented Josh Freeman as a bust as a Wildcat (he was outperformed by Carson Coffman after getting benched) in my mind, and am still shocked, SHOCKED, to see him finding success in the NFL. Oh well, at least he never beat Nebraska.

Key Stat: This was the game that the Husker defense regained their historic “Blackshirt” jerseys in practice, never to look back. In hindsight, this will go down as a monumental game, seeing as how dominant the defense has become since then.

Both teams are coming into this game undefeated and are working towards leading the Big 12 North this year.  Should be an interesting game and I glad I get to tune in from the “Big Sky”.

Source: seattletimes.nwnewssource.com

In September 2008, we were that about the impending debut of Colorado’s first IKEA — a plan whose roots stretched all the way back to 2004. The latest? The company has issued a press release confirming that contractors have been hired with an eye toward opening an outlet in Centennial in the fall of 2011.

That’s big news to online IKEA lovers of the sort who congregate at IKEAfans.com and ColoradoIKEAfans.com, both of which are reacting to the announcement with delight. So don’t try telling them IKEA’s just a store. If you do, they may smack you with a piece of flat-packed furniture.

Look below to read the press release…….

IKEA SECURES CONTRACTORS AND ANNOUNCES FALL 2011 OPENING FOR FUTURE CENTENNIAL STORECONSHOHOCKEN, PA — IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced that contractors have been hired and a site-work permit is pending for its future Denver-area store. This progress allows for a Fall 2011 grand opening in Centennial, Colorado, increasing the Swedish retailer’s presence in the western United States. Until IKEA Centennial opens, customers from Colorado and beyond can shop at IKEA stores in Draper, UT and Tempe, AZ or at www.IKEA-USA.com.

IKEA has retained Centennial-based Saunders Construction as the construction management firm. Other Colorado firms involved with this future IKEA store include: CLC Associates for civil design; Kimley Horn Associates as traffic consultants during the approval process; Ground Engineering providing environmental analysis and geotechnical services; Otten Johnson Robinson Neff & Ragonetti serving as local counsel; real estate brokerage firm Legend Retail Group assisting IKEA in the site selection process; Geothermal Systems of Colorado installing the geothermal component, and Miller Global selling the land. Atlanta-based GreenbergFarrow is architect responsible for store design, site planning and construction documents.

“With our land purchased, team selected and site-work permit pending, we now can schedule IKEA Centennial to open Fall 2011,” said Doug Greenholz, IKEA real estate director. “Construction crews soon will begin clearing and grading the site, and we look forward to breaking ground officially in a couple of months.”

In addition to 10,000 exclusively-designed items, IKEA Centennial will present approximately 50 different room-settings, three complete model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area and a 500-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries or salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the showroom, baby care rooms, preferred parking and play areas throughout the store.

The 415,000 square-foot future IKEA Centennial, with approximately 1,500 parking spaces, will be built on 13.5 acres along the western side of Interstate 25 in the Park Meadows area, accessible from connections to Dry Creek Road and County Line Road exits, and will employ approximately 400 coworkers when the new store opens. The store will reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. Also, IKEA Centennial will be the first U.S. IKEA store to incorporate a geothermal component as part of the heating and cooling system, so heat will be pumped either from or into the ground, depending on weather conditions.

There currently are more than 300 IKEA stores in 38 countries, including 37 in the U.S. Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered a wide range of home furnishings and accessories of good design and function at low prices so the majority of the people can afford them. IKEA has been ranked in FORTUNE’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, Working Mother magazine’s annual list of “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers” and Training magazine’s annual “Top 100″ ranking of companies that excel at human capital development. IKEA incorporates sustainable efforts into day-to-day business, and continually supports initiatives that benefit causes such as children and the environment. For more information about IKEA, please go to www.IKEA-USA.com.

So have you been influenced by the “IKEA” Effect yet?  If not, if you are a thrifter that like contemporary style with garage sale prices… you will be right at home!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Recommendation….

Do not do p90x in the morning and then go play basketball at night… that is what I did on Day 8 with doing Chest and Back and Basketball and I am feeling IT!  With continuation of this p90x journey and also the 90-Day Challenge:

Day 9 we took the morning off yesterday but did Plyometrics at 9 pm. 

Today, Day 10, my wife and I did Shoulders and Arms early in the A.M along with Ab Ripper X. 

The objective is to obviously “KEEP GOING”

As an avid reader I found an article and had to feature the success of a good college friend from Nebraska,

Grady Gigstad, 28, of Omaha shows off his before and after photos, like those taken by most users of P90X. Gigstad lost 23 pounds and 3 inches off his waist during the 90-day workout. “I look back on it now and I’m happy that I did it,” he said. “But it never got any easier.”

What do you presently struggle with TODAY that you can accomplish tomorrow?

I know that we all can achieve more in a day than we think is possible. 

Get up, Get out and Get After It.

For more on the story from the Omaha World Herald, click here!

Well we all talk about a “New Year a New You”. 

While my wife and I sat at our relatives houses over the Holidays enjoying enormous amounts of great food, we talked about how do we burn that off after the holidays???

I honestly enjoy working out but I have issues with a home based workout. 

1.  If you lack motivation, chances are you will fail. 
2.  If you have numerous things going on : kids, spouse, job/career. business, rental property etc chances are you will fail. 
3. If you don’t put your health as a priority in your life, eventually you will fail.  (unfortunately  :  (
4. If your dog “ate the workout”, chances are you will fail.

So how do you succeed? 

1.  In anything, you need to find a partner – If you are struggling with something in most cases you turn for assistance and guidance.  In the workout realm, I have found that this is crucial to your success.

2.  Look at main stream TV – take The Biggest Loser for example – Our country continues to skyrocket with health issues, vast obesity rates, lack of energy and motivation and it all starts with exercise and treating your body correctly.

 I am NOT an expert on the subject but I do know you do need two things: 

A Desire for a better life and a Partner/ Coach to help you along the way. 

A good friend of mine, Michael J Maher  a real estate broker in Kansas City has put together a 90 Day Challenge for everyone to find accountability with others working out in this new year, 2010.

The plan is to workout at least 30 minutes everyday.  My wife and I choose the p90x workout for it’s intensity and we have already achieved results but honestly, whatever works.  Whether you are a biker, skiier, runner, walker or weight lifter, you desire to track your results and gain motivation but seeing and hearing from others that are doing this along the way. 

Check the group on Facebook at :  90 Day Challenge.

If you want to be accountable with yourself  I recommend starting a journal or blogging (much like you see here) about your workouts.  See what will happen 90 days later!

Best,

Dave Hageman

The target sits squarely on the backs of the Kansas Jayhawks. They are the consensus preseason pick as the No. 1 team in college basketball for 2009-10. If there is a publication or poll that has selected another No. 1, it has been done quietly and without much thought.

As a HUGE fan of Kansas growing up in Nebraska (i know that there probably wasn’t much of a support system ; ) ), I have been a die hard fan of Kansas Jayhawk basketball since in elementary school.  Back in the day when Danny Manning lead Danny and “the Miracles” all the way in 1988 at Kemper Arena to two years ago when Mario Chalmers nailed a 3 pt shoot to push Kansas into an eventual win over Memphis.

I even have interest in naming my next dog Phog… After the great coach and Fieldhouse , Phog Allen Fieldhouse.  As a great sport college basketball gets underway again this year, I always am interested if the worthy Jayhawks can pull out another championship.

Before North Carolina cut down the nets at the Final Four in Detroit, the press was already selecting Kansas as the next team to beat. The prediction was conditionally based on the return of senior point guard Sherron Collins and junior center Cole Aldrich. When those two announced they were having too much fun in Lawrence and wouldn’t enter the 2009 NBA draft, the deal was complete. The addition of freshman Xavier Henry was gravy — very significant gravy.

Collins and Aldrich are determined to win back the national trophy they carted away from San Antonio in 2008 and, in the process, become the first Jayhawks ever to wear two championship rings.

Aldrich and Collins are first-team preseason All-America choices. In the Big 12, they share preseason player of year honors. If that doesn’t impress you, consider this statement from Kansas coach Bill Self.

“Cole has a chance, in my opinion, to be the best true big man Kansas has had since Wilt (Chamberlain),” Self said at Big 12 media day. “Danny (Manning) wasn’t a center. Raef (LaFrentz) wasn’t a center. That’s a pretty big statement for 50-plus years.”

Self also has supreme confidence in Collins, who shouldered a huge load last season as the Jayhawks regrouped after losing all the starters from that championship team. “Last year I pretty much had to be on top of my game or we would lose,” Collins said. But he knows it won’t as demanding this time around. Tyshawn Taylor is better. So are the Morris twins: Marcus and Markieff.

Kansas has so much depth that Self is considering redshirt seasons for Mario Little and Travis Releford. Little fought off injuries and averaged 4.7 points and 3.2 rebounds in 23 games last season. Releford, a two-time high school All-American, played in 32 games as a freshman. Reserve Conner Teahan might also sit out the season, but Self would still have enough for an extremely talented nine-man rotation.

Of the newcomers, Henry has received the most publicity, and he might be the first one-and-done player in Kansas history. His outside shooting and rebounding will be a big boost. But remember the name Thomas Robinson. The 6-foot-9 freshman has made a big impression in the practice.

From www.kuathletics.com “His motor is different than what we’ve had,” Self said. “Thomas has changed practice more than anybody else.”

Unlike last season, when the Jayhawks did better than anyone expected, Aldrich and Collins have a strong supporting cast this season. Are they good enough to live up to the ultra-high expectations? Only time will tell.

That’s myfirst storyline of the season on things I am passionate about.  Yep, KU Basketball.  Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Go KU.

So we are off to the races…  Two weeks are almost finished and I have been working hard on p90x.   It has gotten a lot easier compared to week 1.   Alot easier.  And waking up in supper early in the morning is something i still struggle with… I will be completely honest.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I will post my weight on Monday as i weigh in every Sunday evening.

Also, i don’t know if any of you rather much get into Friday the 13th but here is a little trivia for you:

Why is Friday the 13th considered unlucky?

One of the most commonly held superstitions in our so-called civilized, educated society is that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day, and since, in this equation, each is held to be unlucky, added together, their sum can only equal double trouble.

Superstitions swirling around Friday as being lucky or unlucky have existed since ancient times, beginning with the northern nations. Ancient Romans dedicated the sixth day of the week to their beautiful, but vain, goddess Venus, so, when the Norsemen adopted the Roman method of naming days, they naturally adopted Venus as their name for the sixth day of the week. Their closest translation for Venus, Frigg, or Freya, eventually evolved into Friday, a day they considered to be the luckiest day of the week.

From a religious standpoint, Muslims tout Friday as the day Allah created Adam, legend has it that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, the apple, on a Friday, and later died on a Friday, and Christians consider Friday as the day on which Christ was crucified by the Romans.

The Scandinavian belief that the number 13 signified bad luck sprang from their mythological 12 demigods, who were joined by a 13th demigod, Loki, an evil cruel one, who brought upon humans great misfortune. The number 13, in the Christian faith, is the number of parties at the Last Supper, with the 13th guest at the table being the traitor, Judas. When Christians combine this day and number, the combination can only hold special significance.

Whether or not a person considers Friday the 13th as unlucky, he or she must understand that this superstition, as well as others, merely stem from beliefs or practices man used, and continues to use, to explain, and to protect himself, from events beyond his control in his complicated world. He worked, and works only with the bag of knowledge he has on hand.

Only when factual, scientific bases for these beliefs are unearthed, and people do not dispel the beliefs, but instead cling to them, the beliefs become superstitions. Today’s beliefs may very well be tomorrows superstitions. Until then, however, don’t step on a crack!

My wife (Sara) and I had a power packed weekend with about 4 kids… We don’t have kids yet but we as always available for friends that want a night away or need a babysitter..  Well, this was a true test of why it may be even more difficult to be DISCIPLINED while continuing to workout faithfully.

Instead of having my Rest day on Sunday i had to switch since i didn’t get to workout on Saturday.  I felt kind of like the guy to the right!….

See the rest of the story in my video!

Click here to view the embedded video.

A little update:  started Day 1 at 212 pounds.

On Day 6, I was at 210. 

I have a goal to get to around 195 lbs.

Remember, it isn’t that you can’t do it now, it is that you currently struggle with…  (doing a pullup, pushup or even excelling in other areas of your life).

To order P90x, go their main page or find a Beach Body Coach online:  http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/p90x.do?code=P90XDOTCOM

Alrighty so today included Shoulders and Back plus Ab Ripper.

I got to say that the lactic acid is building!  Motivational it may be for me to post these each and every day but when are you going to get the results you want?  Even if it is not in the Physical aspect or pillar of your life, my recommendation : START NOW.  ACT TODAY. 

A very well known self help / self improvement author said this, ”Most people never get their year going until mid-March. All the heavy hitters that I know start off with a BIG January and build on it.”

Bob Proctor

Again if you want different results you have to do… something different. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

A little about Shoulders and Arms and Ab Ripper: 

)3 – Shoulders and Arms – Nothing rounds out the perfect physique like a pair of well-defined arms and shoulders, and with its potent combination of pressing, curling, and fly movements, this routine will leave you feeling stronger and looking sexier. Whether you want to build muscle mass or just slim and tighten what you’ve already got, these targeted shoulder and arm exercises will get you the results you want.

Ab Ripper X -

The combination and sequence of movements in this unique workout taps into not only abdominal strength, but true core strength as well. Master these 11 highly effective exercises and you will achieve vital abdominal muscle strength to benefit your overall health and physical performance. You’ll also develop that highly coveted 6-pack as you take Ab Ripper X to full throttle. It’s extreme work that’s better than any machine in any club.

Hey guys,

On Mondays I have a Mens accountability group so i had to do yesterday’s workout in the mid day.  Today, I woke up around 5:30 am to get started on Day 2, which was Plyometrics.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A little bit about Plyometrics:

Get ready to go airborne. With over 30 explosive jumping moves, you won’t be spending much time on the ground during this highly intense cardio routine. Plyometrics, also known as jump training, has been proven to dramatically improve athletic performance. If your sport involves a ring, rink, field, court, or track, then this training will give you the edge. Just be prepared to “Bring It” for a full hour when you leap into this workout, because there is no letting up.

TO order P90x go to their homepage, http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/p90x.do?code=ERROR_P90X or you also find a Beach Body Coach online.