NEBRASKA FOOTBALL SIGNING DAY – MATT RHULE COMMENTS:
RHULE – IN A SPRINT TO COMPETE:
Matt Rhule, Nebraska Football head coach wrapped up his first recruiting cycle as leader of the Big Red today and spoke about how he’s excited to finally get into developing the Huskers quickly…
The Huskers nabbed 39 players in this year’s class; mostly coming from traditional high school or JUCO recruits, but adding 11 players from the transfer portal.
RHULE – PORTAL IS GREAT FOR NEBRASKA:
Nebraska Football head coach Matt Rhule was asked his thoughts on the transfer portal after his first stint returning to collegiate recruiting during his first months at the Big Red…
The Huskers added eleven players – including three from the Georgia Bulldogs – over the off-season.
RHULE – STANDARD IS TO WORK HARD IN RECRUITMENT:
Nebraska Football head coach Matt Rhule spoke at his signing day press conference about the mentality the Big Red coaching staff has when it comes to the recruiting process…
The Huskers appeared to wrap up a Top 30 class by the final tally for Rhule’s first recruiting cycle.
TOM BRADY RETIRES… AGAIN:
Tom Brady, who won a record seven Super Bowls for New England and Tampa, has announced his retirement.
Brady — the most successful quarterback in NFL history, and one of the greatest athletes in team sports — posted the announcement on social media Wednesday morning, a brief video lasting just under one minute.
He briefly retired after the 2021 season, but wound up coming back for one more year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He retires at age 45, the owner of numerous passing records in an unprecedented 23-year career.
KEARNEY BASKETBALL DROPS HOME TESTS WITH PIUS:
The Kearney Basketball teams dropped their home tests with Lincoln Pius on Tuesday night, as the girls fell 49-43 and the boys lost 62-54.
Full recap stories from the contests can be found at KGFW.com. The Bearcats will be back in action on Saturday afternoon for another conference matchup as Kearney hosts Lincoln Northeast.
NEBRASKA MEN FALL IN CHAMPAIGN TO ILLINOIS:
Playing its seventh starting lineup of the season and coming in as heavy underdogs, Nebraska gave Illinois more of a fight than most expected on Tuesday night.
In the end, though, the final outcome was all too familiar for the Huskers in a 72-56 road defeat at State Farm Center.
After rallying to take a 50-48 lead with 12 minutes to play, NU made just two more field goals the rest of the game. That propelled the Illini to end the night on a 24-6 run over the final 12 minutes.
Sam Griesel did his part with 21 points and six rebounds, but Keisei Tominaga was the only other Husker to score in double figures with 11 points off the bench.
The loss drops NU to 10-13 overall and 3-9 in Big Ten play, having now lost six of its past seven games. Illinois improved to 16-6, 7-4.
RHULE SUES FORMER TEAM PANTHERS FOR SEVERANCE COMPENSATION:
Former Carolina Panthers head coach and current Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule filed an arbitration suit last week against the franchise.
The suit claims the Panthers are refusing to pay Rhule’s severance compensation following his firing from Carolina and subsequent hiring at the University of Nebraska.
In the suit, which was filed with the NFL on Jan. 25, Rhule seeks to receive the offset money he claims is due to him from the Panthers. According to sources, the suit doesn’t allege specifically how much money Rhule is seeking, but contract terms indicate there’s roughly $5 million in dispute.
In January 2020, Rhule signed a seven-year contract worth more than $60 million that would pay him an annual base salary of $8.5 million through the 2026 NFL season. Rhule signed an eight-year contract with Nebraska that pays $74 million in base salary along with $4 million more in deferred salary if he remains employed by the school across various vesting dates.
SEAN PAYTON ENTERS AFC WEST WITH BRONCOS:
The Denver Broncos have agreed to a deal with the New Orleans Saints that will make Sean Payton their head coach, a person with knowledge of the accord said Tuesday.
The Broncos would send their first-round pick, No. 29 overall, in this year’s draft to the Saints along with a future second-rounder. Denver also will receive a third-round pick in the trade.
Payton, 59, went 152-89 in 15 seasons with the Saints and 9-8 in the playoffs. He led New Orleans to a 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl following the 2009 season. He stepped away last year when quarterback Drew Brees retired.
The Broncos, who went 5-12 in 2022 and extended their playoff drought to seven years, fired rookie coach Nathaniel Hackett on Dec. 26 after he went 4-11.
TEXANS NAME 49ers COORDINATOR HEAD COACH:
DeMeco Ryans has been hired as coach of the Houston Texans, giving him his first head coaching job and bringing him back to the place where he started his playing career.
Ryans joins the Texans from the San Francisco 49ers, where he spent the past two seasons as their defensive coordinator.
He replaces Lovie Smith, who was fired after just one season where the team went 3-13-1.
Ryans led a 49ers defense that led the NFL this season by allowing just 300.6 yards a game.
Local Results & Schedules:
THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:
TUESDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- Girls Basketball: v. Lincoln Pius X @ Kearney High School
- LPX 49-43 KHS
- Boys Basketball: v. Lincoln Pius X @ Kearney High School
- LPX 62-52 KHS
- Girls Basketball: v. Lincoln Pius X @ Kearney High School
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- Girls Basketball: v. Sandhills Valley
- KCHS 59-18 Sandhills Valley
- Boys Basketball: v. Sandhills Valley
- KCHS 52-23 Sandhills Valley
- Girls Basketball: v. Sandhills Valley
WEDNESDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- Collegiate Signing Day @ CHaT – 4 PM
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- Women’s Basketball: v. Doane – 6 PM
- Men’s Basketball: v. Doan – 7:45 PM
- KGFW Sports Schedule:
- Sports Nightly w/ MBB Head Coach Fred Hoiberg (6 PM – 8 PM)
THURSDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- Swimming & Diving: v. Norfolk @ Kearney High School – 4 PM
- Wrestling: @ Grand Island – 7 PM
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- Girls Basketball: v. Adams Central – 6 PM
- UNK:
- Women’s Basketball: @ Central Oklahoma – 5:30 PM
- Men’s Basketball: @ Central Oklahoma – 7:30 PM
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- N/a
- KGFW Sports Schedule:
- Sports Nightly (6 PM – 7 PM)
- Nebraska Women’s Basketball v. Michigan State (7 PM – 10:15 PM)
FRIDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- N/a
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- Wrestling: @ Arcadia-Loup City Invite – 2 PM
- UNK:
- Softball: v. Colorado Springs @ Lubbock, TX – 11 AM
- M/W T&F: @ Concordia Classic – 12 PM
- Softball: v. Eastern New Mexico @ Lubbock, TX – 3 PM
- Women’s Tennis: v. Midwestern State – 4 PM
- M/W T&F: @ Husker Invitational @ Lincoln, NE – 4:30 PM
- Wrestling: v. Fort Hays State @ Health & Sports Center – 7 PM
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- M/W T&F: @ Concordia Classic – 1 PM
- KGFW Sports Schedule:
- Sports Nightly (6 PM – 8 PM)
SATURDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- Swimming & Diving: Kearney High Diving Invite @ Kearney High School – 10 AM
- Girls Basketball: v. Lincoln Northeast @ Kearney High School – 3:30 PM
- KGFW Pregame at 3:15 PM
- Boys Basketball: v. Lincoln Northeast @ Kearney High School – 5:15 PM
- KGFW Pregame after KHS GBB
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- Swimming & Diving: Kearney High Diving Invite @ Kearney High School – 10 AM
- Girls Basketball: v. Columbus Scotus Catholic – 2 PM
- Boys Basketball: v. Columbus Scotus Catholic – 4 PM
- UNK:
- M/W T&F: @ Husker Invitational @ Lincoln, NE – 12 PM
- Softball: v. Southwestern Oklahoma State @ Lubbock, TX – 11 AM
- Women’s Basketball: @ Newman – 1:30 PM
- Wrestling: v. Central Missouri @ Health & Sports Center – 2 PM
- Softball: @ Lubbock Christian @ Lubbock, TX – 3 PM
- Men’s Basketball: @ Newman – 3:30 PM
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- Softball: @ Ottawa, KS – 1 PM
- Women’s Basketball: @ Mount Marty – 2 PM
- Softball: @ Ottawa, KS – 3 PM
- Men’s Basketball: @ Mount Marty – 3:45 PM
- KGFW Sports Schedule:
- Kearney Girls Basketball v. Lincoln Northeast (3:15 PM – 5:15 PM)
- Kearney Boys Basketball v. Lincoln Northeast (5:15 PM – 7:15 PM)
SUNDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- N/a
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- N/a
- UNK:
- Women’s Tennis: v. Hastings – 8 AM
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- N/a
- KGFW Sports Schedule:
- N/a
