Pirate Galaxy » confident that hell be playing, Cheika said

LINCOLN, Neb. -- When it comes to football and politics, Nebraska is as red a state as there is. When it comes to basketball, its a deep shade of blue, as in Creighton blue.The 10th-ranked Bluejays (8-0) and Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-3) play their annual game Wednesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, and Creightons dominance is expected to continue. The Jays have won 14 of the previous 17 meetings, including each of the last five by at least 10 points . Another win would even the all-time series 25-25.The matchups story lines provide a fun yet contentious backdrop.First, not much gets under the skin of Huskers fans more than the small Jesuit school in Omaha being better than the states flagship university at anything. On top of that, it bugs them that a lot of Creighton fans root for Nebraska in football -- the Bluejays dont have a team -- and even cheer for the Huskers in basketball outside the one game a year against the Jays.The `Jaysker thing, said Omaha radio host Nick Handley. That draws this weird, aggressive debate. The true Nebraska fans say you cant be a fan of both.Second, the Huskers have given scant attention to Omaha when looking for players. Creighton has two starters from the states largest city, guard Khyri Thomas and center Justin Patton, and each said he received no recruiting interest from Nebraska. Neither said his feelings was hurt.I wouldnt have chosen Nebraska anyway, Patton said. I look better in blue.And then theres the Greg McDermott-Tim Miles dynamic and their repartee. McDermott, the Creighton coach, is 12-0 all-time against his Nebraska counterpart going back to the late 1990s when they were Division II coaches at Wayne State and Southwest Minnesota State.McDermott pointed out that Miles never beats him on the golf course, either.I can only hope the game Wednesday would be as easy as the Ryder Cup match between our two staffs this summer, he said. I dont think they were mathematically eliminated after the first day, but it was close.Said a smiling Miles: They cheated. Typical Creighton. Heres a guy, 18-handicap, shoots 81. When Macs got sand coming out the bottom of his shorts and ears and hands, hes the biggest sandbagger you ever met in your life.This is one of the toughest nonconference weeks ever for the Huskers. The game against Creighton will be followed by a visit to No. 3 Kansas on Saturday.Creighton is fifth nationally in scoring at 90.8 points a game. Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster is scoring 19.4 points a game, Maurice Watson is second in the country in assists (9 per game) and Patton is second in field-goal shooting (78.9 percent).The Huskers top scorers are Tai Webster (16.9 ppg) and Glynn Watson Jr. (13.8). Their best win is over Dayton, 80-78 in the Wooden Legacy in Fullerton, California, two weeks ago. They stayed close with now-No. 2 UCLA until the closing minutes in an 82-71 loss at the same tournament.Were going into an arena thats full, a lot of energy in the building, McDermott said. When they come here, our building is the same way. Its what college basketball is about. When you have a rivalry like that in the state where you have two of the top 20 fan bases in the country and you get together, its a lot of fun.---More college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.orgNHL Jerseys China . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football. Clearance NHL Jerseys . 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Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night.The Wallabies expect David Pocock to be available to overcome a concussion to face Scotland this weekend, while injured hooker James Hanson could be back in training next week.Pocock sent a brief shock through the Australian camp when he was forced out of Saturdays win over Wales with concussion.The powerful 28-year-old - who was started at blindside flanker against Wales, for the first time in his career - was understood to have been furious at being benched by the match doctor, with Cheika admitting he was given a spray by his star forward over the substitution.The Wallabies will adhere to all the head injury assessment protocols but remain confident hell be able to line up at Murrayfield for Saturdays second leg of the Spring Tour - and the next hurdle to clear towards winning the grand slam.Im confident that hell be playing, Cheika said on Monday.There were fears Hansons tour could be over after he underwent surgery on a fractured jaw last week, which allowed Waratahs youngster Tolu Latu tto face Wales and become the Wallabies 12th debutant this year.ddddddddddddHowever, its hoped Hanson, after having four plates inserted into his face last week, will resume training next week with a view of being available for the tour-ending clash with England on December 3, or potentially the crucial showdown with Ireland the week before.(Hansons) massive (swollen) jaw is starting to reduce a little bit, every day its getting smaller and smaller, Cheika said.The surgeons gave quite a bright picture for the next few weeks ... Obviously hes not going to be in line for anything this week and well see how he deals with that and then from there well make some decisions.Ideally hes going to stay with us all this week. Well have a look and see what his comeback is like and if we feel like hes an option to play in the last few games, and then well make a call from there. ' ' '