Nebraska...not feeling Frosty anymore

[entropy]

Was Nation’s No. 1 Highlight the Best TD Ever?

Randy York's N-Sider

When Andy Hoffman and 7-year-old son Jack woke up Sunday morning, they didn't pinch each other before that first bite of toast, and they didn't ask each other about a dream they both lived but still can’t quite grasp. A lawyer in Atkinson, Neb., Andy calls Saturday's experience a "surreal ripple effect" of an audacious idea that emerged from circular logic, yet somehow soared to the top of the nation’s sports conscience at a time you'd least expect.

When a loving father and a brave son are closing in on the finish line of a 60-month chemotherapy protocol for brain cancer, they don't expect the world, including ESPN's Sports Center and ABC's Good Morning America, to focus on an ordinary family that had an extraordinary experience. When that happens, though, a mom and a dad are humbled because they know that the national spotlight is also focusing on the University of Nebraska, on head coach Bo Pelini and his football program, and on the disease itself. Who could have guessed that Jack’s historic and heroic 69-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter of Nebraska's annual Spring Game would be trending like March Madness and the NCAA Final Four?

Somehow, the sports world not only paused and took notice of this creative 11th-hour idea, but also relished and embraced it, reported and promoted it, and, in its own way, elevated a unique Nebraska story to a league of its own.

Pint-Sized Hero Poster Child for NU's Program

What America has here is a pint-sized national hero who's stolen hearts across the country. He's become a catalyst for a program with college football’s best overall record over the past 50 years, not to mention home for an unprecedented 325 consecutive home game sellouts. Talk about positive brand awareness. Here are a dozen ways Jack is representing Nebraska, Husker football, Big Red fans and pediatric brain cancer:

1) Jack becomes the game’s leading rusher on one magical play.
2) Jack receives the game ball in the locker room from Coach Pelini.
3) Jack becomes the No. 1 video “Play of the Day” on ESPN.
4) Jack is swarmed by Nebraska media, warmed by national response.
5) ESPN played, replayed and kept Jack prominent in its rotation.
6) ESPN.com headline asks: “Is Jack’s touchdown the greatest one ever?”
7) Kirk Herbstreit: "One of the coolest things I've seen in a long time."
8) Erin Andrews of Fox Sports tells nearly 1.8 million Twitter followers: “I love Nebraska, Bo Pelini, and the fball team for allowing that little fan to have a moment like that today!
9) Actress Alyssa Milano tells 2.4 million followers: “OMG! MUST see! Tiny cancer survivor scores in Nebraska's spring game & Nebraska go NUTS”
10) ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt tweets how "a 7-year-old named Jack Hoffman & Nebraska reminded us why we love them.”
11) ESPN’s Stuart Scott and Colin Cowherd and SI.com’s Stewart Mandel follow suit. Warning: Keep a tissue nearby.
12) Larry the Cable Guy tweets that “Jack got-r-done!!” and “made a lot of people happy today. Tell him Mater was cheering him on.”

After a Day in Sunshine, Time for Church, Reflection

Jack, his dad, plus a friend and his dad, enjoyed dinner with Rex Burkhead and parents Rick and Robyn on Saturday night, then drove 3? hours back to Atkinson. "Fortunately, we were all on a drug-free, alcohol-free high from an amazing afternoon at Memorial Stadium," Andy said, adding that the weekend whirlwind transitioned Sunday to church and reflection for a quiet, courageous kid to get back to his normal routine in small-town America. Relatively unaware that his shadow is reaching across the country and around the world, Jack will go to school Monday, play with his friends and become a beacon of hope for the cause of pediatric brain cancer. Because Team Jack has raised more than $300,000 for Uplifting Athletes to support the disease that continues to threaten his life, Andy shares the sanctity of Saturday's experience with equal does of humility and respect for everyone who made it possible.

Andy Hoffman loves the way fullback C.J. Zimmerer, the president of Nebraska’s chapter of Uplifting Athletes, was involved from the outset. He was shocked when Jeff Jamrog, assistant AD for football operations, called him Friday night to discuss the idea while Jack was in bed, preparing for an early-morning drive. Both father and son were thrilled when Jamrog, Zimmerer, receivers coach Rich Fisher and Pelini made sure that a bold, inspiring idea became a reality and was shared around the world. Much of it traces back to Pelini inviting the Hoffman family to Nebraska’s football banquet last December and telling them how much Jack inspired the team and how much the team wanted Jack to remain a part of the Husker family experience, even though Burkhead, his buddy, would move on to the NFL.

“Today was another ‘once-in-a-lifetime-experience’ for our son,” Hoffman told me Saturday. “Coach Pelini is world class. Truly there are no words to describe what this means to Jack and our entire family. Watching Jack run ahead of both teams towards the North end zone, I was absolutely overcome with emotion. Our heart overflows with gratitude for what Coach Pelini and his staff have done for our son. It truly means the world.

“Jack is so incredibly blessed to have had today’s amazing experience,” Andy said. “We’re thankful to Coach Pelini for the opportunity, but we also thank God that He has given Jack the physical ability to make that run. Pediatric brain cancer is a horrific illness. For Jack to undergo two very deep brain tumor surgeries and almost a year of chemotherapy, we find it amazing that he has the physical ability to run 69 yards. It’s a gift from God.”

Coach Pelini Kneels, Connects with Players, Jack

Inside the doors of a postgame locker room, Jack received the game ball, and the Huskers shared a spiritual moment. Coach Pelini and his team went to a knee, and Nebraska’s head coach held a player’s hand on the left and a 7-year-old’s hand on the right. Like Pelini did at a pre-bowl practice, Pelini then asked Jack to “break it down”.

"What a special moment that was when Jack got the game ball in the locker room,” Andy said. “It’s one that he will never forget nor will I. Jack was absolutely pumped when he was invited to join the team on the field. He loved running with the football. Taylor Martinez was so gracious. He was helping Jack every step of the way, starting on the sideline when Joe Ganz was drawing up the play. What fantastic ambassadors for the program! Everyone exemplifies the great character of their coach - something the Burkheads have known for four straight years."

Zimmerer took Jack under his wing on Nebraska’s sideline Saturday. “C.J. has been there every step of the way during Jack’s fight,” Andy said. “It really meant a lot to Jack and our family that C.J. was such a big part of today’s touchdown run. We can’t thank Coach Pelini enough for everything that he’s done for Jack and our family this past year.”

I tell Jack I remember how he challenged and then beat Rex in a race from the South end zone to the North end zone a year-and-a-half ago. Then I ask him which race was more fun – the one where there were only a five people watching or the one where at least two-thirds of the 60,000 fans were watching, plus a national television audience? Jack looked puzzled and thought for a few seconds, then a light bulb came on inside his head. He smiled broadly. “Both!” he said. “I like both the same!!”


http://www.huskers.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=207095760

[entropy]

On April 22, 2011, Andy Hoffman's healthy 5-year-old son suffered a massive seizure that lasted nearly 30 minutes. Jack Hoffman nearly died of respiratory failure.

Then doctors delivered Hoffman and his wife, Brianna, a grim diagnosis: Their son had a golf-ball sized malignant tumor near the stem of his brain. On May 20, 2011, Jack underwent brain surgery, but surgeons were unable to extract much of the tumor because of its location on his brain.

Over the next several months, Jack suffered as many as a dozen seizures a day, and medicine was doing very little to control them. Doctors told Andy his son needed a second surgery to remove the rest of the tumor, but the procedure was so risky there was a chance Jack wouldn't survive.

[+] EnlargeJack Hoffman
Scott Bruhn/Nebraska Media RelationsWearing the number of his favorite player, Rex Burkhead, the Nebraska staff drew up a play for 7-year-old Jack Hoffman.

"They said your son might not wake up," Andy said. "After several weeks of prayer, we decided to go for it."

Before Jack underwent the second surgery, he and his father compiled a bucket list of things he wanted to do, in case the surgery wasn't a success. High on the list was Jack meeting his hero, then-Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead. The Hoffmans live in Atkinson, Neb., and Andy's brother, Mike, was a walk-on nose guard on Cornhuskers teams that won three national championships during the 1990s.

Several weeks before Jack's second surgery, the Hoffmans drove more than three hours to Lincoln, Neb., where they had lunch with Burkhead and had a tour of Memorial Stadium. Burkhead promised he would stay in touch.

Miraculously, Jack survived a second brain surgery on Oct. 10, 2011. Surgeons at Boston Children's Hospital were able to extract 95 percent of the tumor, and he hasn't suffered another seizure since the procedure. Now, Jack is nearing the end of a 60-week regimen of chemotherapy, and an MRI last week revealed the chemo has dramatically shrunk what's left of the tumor.

Burkhead, who finished his college career with the Cornhuskers last season, has been Jack's biggest fan during his fight. And there was no bigger fan at Nebraska's spring game Saturday than Burkhead, who hopes to be selected in April's NFL draft.

On Friday, as Nebraska's coaches pondered how to spice up their annual spring game, wide receivers coach Rich Fisher suggested getting a fan involved or even a child with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

"How about Jack?" Cornhuskers coach Bo Pelini asked.

Because of his relationship with Burkhead, Jack has become an integral part of the Nebraska program over the past two years. Burkhead and his teammates wear "Team Jack -- Pray" bracelets and visit him regularly. Last year, Burkhead started a Nebraska chapter of Uplifting Athletes, a nonprofit organization that uses college football players to raise awareness for rare diseases, and helped raise more than $300,000 for pediatric brain tumor research.

?

Sometimes our kids feel like, 'Wow! Football is tough and it's difficult.' Football is hard. But when you compare it to what a 7-year-old like Jack is going through, it pales in comparison.
? -- Nebraska coach Bo Pelini

On Sept. 29, Jack walked through the tunnel with Nebraska's players before their 30-27 victory over Wisconsin in their Big Ten opener. Before they left the tunnel, Burkhead hoisted Jack to slap a lucky horseshoe, a Cornhuskers tradition. Another boy, 6-year-old Isaiah Casillas of McCook, Neb., joined them on the pregame walk. Tragically, Casillas died of complications from a brain tumor on Dec. 2.

"Jack has taught me a lot about life," Burkhead said. "He's put my life in perspective. To see Jack battle, it's something I never had to go through when I was a kid. But he's still living life and having fun and laughing. Just seeing that is motivation for me. If there's anything in my life that I think is hard, I take a second look at it now."

Andy already was planning to attend Nebraska's spring game with his son. Around 9 p.m. ET on Friday, director of football operations Jeff Jamrog called with a special request. Jamrog told Andy that the coaches wanted Jack to suit up and play a down. The icing on the cake: The Cornhuskers would make sure he'd score a touchdown.

Jack was already in bed, so his father didn't break the news until Saturday morning. On Friday night, Andy scrambled to put together a Nebraska uniform for his son. Jack has never played organized football, but he had a red No. 22 jersey, which the Hoffmans purchased only minutes before they met Burkhead for the first time. Burkhead's autograph is on the back of the jersey. Andy found a pair of his brother's old Nebraska practice pants in a storage closet, and Jack had a plastic Nebraska helmet and shoulder pads he'd received for Christmas a couple of years ago.

"It was a makeshift uniform," Andy said. "When he woke up Saturday morning, I told him, 'Jack, let me tell you about this phone call I received last night.' He said, 'Oh, that would be cool.' I don't think he fathomed what would happen until the drive down."

When the Hoffmans arrived at Memorial Stadium, they were summoned to a players' pregame meeting. During the meeting, Pelini reintroduced Jack to his team.

"This kid is the toughest kid in Nebraska," Pelini told his players. "Today, he's going to fight with you."

[+] EnlargeJack Hoffman
Scott Bruhn/Nebraska Media RelationsOnce Hoffman got moving, he was off to the races with quarterback Taylor Martinez in tow.

Nebraska's players erupted.

During the first half, Jack stood on the sideline with his father in street clothes. During the third quarter, a handful of Nebraska players huddled around Jack while he changed into his football uniform, which he hid in a backpack.

Pelini wasn't sure when he was going to put Jack into the game.

"I told the coaches to ask his dad how far he could run," Pelini said. "Did we need to get the ball to the 10-yard line or 20-yard line? His dad said it didn't matter if it was 90 yards."

When the Red team took possession with less than eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Pelini decided it was the right time to put Jack into the game. Before Jack took the field, he huddled with star quarterback Taylor Martinez and a graduate assistant. They showed Jack the play he was going to run.

"Taylor drew a picture for Jack on a marker board so he could see where he was supposed to run," Andy said. "I think that's where the nerves kicked in. I think it went from excitement to a deer-in-the-headlights look."

As Jack prepared for his moment of glory, his dad offered him a few words of advice.

"Don't fumble, don't fall down and don't run out of bounds," Andy told him.

And then Andy turned to Martinez.

"Hey, he might run the wrong way," Andy said. "Just steer him in the right direction if he does."

On second-and-10 from the Red 31, Jack lined up in the backfield. Martinez was in the shotgun, with Jack lined up to his left and fullback C.J. Zimmerer on his right. Martinez took the snap and handed the ball to Jack, who ran to the left -- the wrong way -- before Martinez pointed him back to the right. Jack sprinted around right end 69 yards for a touchdown.

By the time Jack crossed the goal line, both sidelines emptied to celebrate with him in the end zone. With a crowd of 60,714 cheering, the Cornhuskers hoisted Jack on their shoulders.

[+] EnlargeJack Hoffman
Scott Bruhn/Nebraska Media Relations Hoffman ran it 69 yards into the end zone to the delight of the entire stadium.

"It was all unscripted, other than us letting him score a touchdown," Pelini said. "Our kids running into the end zone, I never told them to do that. When I saw both sidelines empty and saw them celebrating with him that was special. Our kids have been around this young man and have such a tremendous amount of respect for him and love him. He doesn't say much, but he's an intense kid. Obviously, he's been through so much."

As Jack was running for the end zone, Andy stood on the sideline and couldn't even take photos with his camera because he was so overcome with emotion.

"It was just such a rush," Andy said. "I was proud for a lot of reasons. I was so proud of how he did. He didn't fumble the ball. He ran the right way. I was so proud he didn't let Coach Pelini down. I lost it."

Pelini said the best part was Burkhead was back on campus to witness Jack's run.

"It made it perfect," Pelini said. "You wouldn't want to do it when Rex wasn't around because he's been such a part of his life."

Said Burkhead: "It was awesome. It's something you can't put into words as far as how emotional it was. I was a fan of him. It was great seeing him get to enjoy the Husker experience. As a boy growing up in Nebraska, that what you dream to do."

More than anything else, Andy is thankful his son's time in the spotlight has raised awareness for pediatric brain tumor research.

"This wasn't a [public relations] stunt," Andy said. "They love Jack and they've given him the red carpet. We just can't say enough for what Coach Pelini and Rex have done for Jack and our family."

Pelini is thankful Jack has taught his players lessons that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

"It's what we try to teach them every day: that there's a much bigger picture out there other than football," Pelini said. "There just is. Sometimes, that gets lost with everything that goes into college football. There's so much pressure and so much at stake. Sometimes our kids feel like, 'Wow! Football is tough and it's difficult.' Football is hard. But when you compare it to what a 7-year-old like Jack is going through, it pales in comparison. They should look up to the heavens every day and be thankful."




Post Extras:

[entropy]

By Randy York

Josh Elliott covered all major sports for Sports Illustrated before moving to ESPN in 2004. He received his MA in Journalism from Columbia University in New York City, where he now anchors Good Morning America, a show that reached a milestone on March 25 with the most first-quarter total viewers in America. That was a first for ABC in 20 years, so please forgive Elliott for deliberately going over the top Monday morning when he introduced one of America’s newest heroes – Jack Hoffman, the 7-year-old cancer patient who carved his name into Nebraska’s football record book.

Elliott teased a joint appearance from Jack and his dad, Andy, Monday morning, saying ABC would be “talking to the greatest running back in Nebraska Cornhusker history” via Skype. Later, Elliott qualified his statement. “Never before has there been a play of the day so reflected,” he said. “It might be the greatest sports moment of the year, and we’ll be talking to the person who authored it.” When Jack finally appeared on the screen with his dad from Atkinson, Neb., Elliott told the two that Jack’s run had become a “national movement over the weekend” and, of course, he’s right. Team Jack was so “national” that fans turned a #RollTide Twitter hashtag into #RollJack, plus new tags such as #GigEmJack, #HookEmJack, and on and on.

“National movement” is an accurate description, but let the record show that Jack Hoffman, Boy Wonder, goes beyond America’s borders. The video of his inspired run has been seen around the world – from Croatia, Italy and Spain to the UK, Israel and Australia. Analytics are moving so fast, in fact, that our social media team cannot get a full demographic report on the YouTube video. We can, however, confirm that 26 countries have at least 100 views apiece of Jack’s run. At least five countries have a minimum of 1,000 views each – the U.S., Canada, Australia, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Interestingly, fans from three Southeastern Conference schools (Texas A&M, LSU and Arkansas) and fellow Big Ten school Michigan have used their respective fan sites to honor Jack’s “one moment in time” 69-yard touchdown … a run that’s being heard – and seen – around the world.

Here are three quick examples that landed in my personal mailbox:

1) From Sweden: Anders Berghagen was so impressed with Jack’s run, he plans to show it and discuss why it’s important with his IK Frej Taby youth soccer team. “Jack, you set a new standard on how to act. I am extremely impressed and can see you scoring a touchdown in a real game someday,” Berghagen wrote. “And Nebraska, you have a new Cornhusker fan here in Sweden! I am sending photos of my team and our fans as get well wishes for Jack.”

2) From Australia: Frank Donnelly, coordinator of pre-registration programs for the School of Nursing at the University of Adelaide in Australia, wrote to congratulate Jack and the Huskers from Down Under. “Watching the video of young Jack Hoffman score his TD as a member of your team was one of the best moments I have ever seen in sports,” Donnelly wrote. “It was moving and impressive, and an event like this is what makes America a great country.”

3) From Canada: Brian Haynes lives in Delhi, Ontario, Canada. “Kudos to the entire Nebraska team and coaching staff and especially to Rex Burkhead for his leadership,” Haynes wrote. “Watching that video was so touching because the team and the entire university have rallied around this brave little boy. To be in the stands for that run had to be the single biggest thrill for any Husker fan anywhere. Little Jack, you’re a star in more ways than one!”

Nebraska Associate Athletic Director Jamie Williams agrees. “Jack’s jaunt brought tears to my eyes,” said Williams, a former Husker tight end who became a co-captain and a Super Bowl champion with the San Francisco 49ers. “All the emails we’ve received and the all the media coverage we’ve had truly illustrate that sport is a vehicle that can transcend itself. It can illuminate the spirit and highlight the greatness of humanity. I’m proud to be a Husker, and I’m like every Husker fan and all of our new fans coming aboard across the country and around the world. Every time we watch that video, we say ‘Run, Jack, Run!’”

Indeed. Huskers.com and The N-Sider have received emails that reinforce Williams’ big-picture view of an impromptu decision to honor Little Jack for his courage, his confidence and his friendship with Burkhead, one of the most dedicated, inspirational and popular players in Nebraska football history. Stay tuned. We’re still sorting through all the feedback, so don’t be surprised when you learn that fans supporting some of Nebraska’s biggest rivals are now Husker fans, too, thanks to Jack Hoffman, Boy Wonder.

[entropy]

By Randy York

Josh Elliott covered all major sports for Sports Illustrated before moving to ESPN in 2004. He received his MA in Journalism from Columbia University in New York City, where he now anchors Good Morning America, a show that reached a milestone on March 25 with the most first-quarter total viewers in America. That was a first for ABC in 20 years, so please forgive Elliott for deliberately going over the top Monday morning when he introduced one of America?s newest heroes ? Jack Hoffman, the 7-year-old cancer patient who carved his name into Nebraska?s football record book.

Elliott teased a joint appearance from Jack and his dad, Andy, Monday morning, saying ABC would be ?talking to the greatest running back in Nebraska Cornhusker history? via Skype. Later, Elliott qualified his statement. ?Never before has there been a play of the day so reflected,? he said. ?It might be the greatest sports moment of the year, and we?ll be talking to the person who authored it.? When Jack finally appeared on the screen with his dad from Atkinson, Neb., Elliott told the two that Jack?s run had become a ?national movement over the weekend? and, of course, he?s right. Team Jack was so ?national? that fans turned a #RollTide Twitter hashtag into #RollJack, plus new tags such as #GigEmJack, #HookEmJack, and on and on.

?National movement? is an accurate description, but let the record show that Jack Hoffman, Boy Wonder, goes beyond America?s borders. The video of his inspired run has been seen around the world ? from Croatia, Italy and Spain to the UK, Israel and Australia. Analytics are moving so fast, in fact, that our social media team cannot get a full demographic report on the YouTube video. We can, however, confirm that 26 countries have at least 100 views apiece of Jack?s run. At least five countries have a minimum of 1,000 views each ? the U.S., Canada, Australia, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Interestingly, fans from three Southeastern Conference schools (Texas A&M, LSU and Arkansas) and fellow Big Ten school Michigan have used their respective fan sites to honor Jack?s ?one moment in time? 69-yard touchdown ? a run that?s being heard ? and seen ? around the world.

Here are three quick examples that landed in my personal mailbox:

1) From Sweden: Anders Berghagen was so impressed with Jack?s run, he plans to show it and discuss why it?s important with his IK Frej Taby youth soccer team. ?Jack, you set a new standard on how to act. I am extremely impressed and can see you scoring a touchdown in a real game someday,? Berghagen wrote. ?And Nebraska, you have a new Cornhusker fan here in Sweden! I am sending photos of my team and our fans as get well wishes for Jack.?

2) From Australia: Frank Donnelly, coordinator of pre-registration programs for the School of Nursing at the University of Adelaide in Australia, wrote to congratulate Jack and the Huskers from Down Under. ?Watching the video of young Jack Hoffman score his TD as a member of your team was one of the best moments I have ever seen in sports,? Donnelly wrote. ?It was moving and impressive, and an event like this is what makes America a great country.?

3) From Canada: Brian Haynes lives in Delhi, Ontario, Canada. ?Kudos to the entire Nebraska team and coaching staff and especially to Rex Burkhead for his leadership,? Haynes wrote. ?Watching that video was so touching because the team and the entire university have rallied around this brave little boy. To be in the stands for that run had to be the single biggest thrill for any Husker fan anywhere. Little Jack, you?re a star in more ways than one!?

Nebraska Associate Athletic Director Jamie Williams agrees. ?Jack?s jaunt brought tears to my eyes,? said Williams, a former Husker tight end who became a co-captain and a Super Bowl champion with the San Francisco 49ers. ?All the emails we?ve received and the all the media coverage we?ve had truly illustrate that sport is a vehicle that can transcend itself. It can illuminate the spirit and highlight the greatness of humanity. I?m proud to be a Husker, and I?m like every Husker fan and all of our new fans coming aboard across the country and around the world. Every time we watch that video, we say ?Run, Jack, Run!??

Indeed. Huskers.com and The N-Sider have received emails that reinforce Williams? big-picture view of an impromptu decision to honor Little Jack for his courage, his confidence and his friendship with Burkhead, one of the most dedicated, inspirational and popular players in Nebraska football history. Stay tuned. We?re still sorting through all the feedback, so don?t be surprised when you learn that fans supporting some of Nebraska?s biggest rivals are now Husker fans, too, thanks to Jack Hoffman, Boy Wonder.

[entropy]

http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlines/articles/CONN00243744.html

[entropy]

http://www.omaha.com/images/cartoon/koterba20130409.jpg

[entropy]

nwi.com



Feel-good stories are as rare as a Cubs winning streak.

Happy headlines usually don't sell newspapers, unfortunately, but here goes anyway.

Did you see that video clip of 7-year-old Jack Hoffman, dressed in a full Nebraska uniform, charging down the field as 60,000 fans cheered him on at the Huskers' spring game last Saturday?

Little Jack is battling brain cancer, and a 60-week chemotherapy protocol plus two surgeries had made his young life a daily ordeal — until Nebraska coach Bo Pelini intervened.

Jack's inspiring 69-yard touchdown run as Nebraska players cleared a path to the end zone had more than 2 million views on YouTube by Monday. It also aired on ESPN and national news networks.

After the scrimmage, a bald Jack and the team took a knee in the locker room, held hands, and prayed for those who have a cross to carry in life.

America clutched the pint-sized hero to its breast and had a good cry as Twitter went crazy.

That included former Nebraska star Jared Tomich, a St. John native.

"What a great piece," he said of the touching video clip. "I was a mess (emotionally). And what a sense of pride, that being my school."

Tomich's Halo of Hope organization for young cancer victims works with the hospital in Omaha as well as 10 others nationwide. He had been closely following Jack's story on Facebook.

Each year, Tomich and former NFL players Grant Wistrom and Jerry Wunsch pick several kids from their hospital network and treat them to a week at their Circle of Friends Camp in Wisconsin.

"Twenty-five percent of those kids (eventually) don't make it because of their cancer," Tomich said.

What happened over the weekend at the University of Nebraska didn't surprise the 1992 Lake Central grad.

Such humanity is as deeply ingrained in Nebraska athletes and coaches as are its 350 consecutive home sellouts and having the best overall record in college football the last 50 years.

"There, it's just college football," Tomich said. "Everyone's energy is put into one team, one sport."

His senior season at Nebraska, Tomich recalled how a young fan with cancer was brought into the locker room to meet his idols, all of them bald, and had his head shaven as well.

They gave him an official Nebraska game jersey.

They took photos of the boy with his new buddies.

"We helped him 'ease' into the social part of having cancer, and it was neat to see how that helped him at school while being around other kids," Tomich said.

"That was about as cool as it gets."

Tomich said that young fan enrolled at Nebraska years later and became the football team's equipment manager.

"That caring nature was one of the things Tom Osborne instilled in his players, and Bo is doing that now," Tomich said.

We need more feel-good stories. They're like sunshine and 70-degree temps.

You can't get enough.

This column solely represents the writer's opinion. Reach him at al.hamnik@nwi.com

[entropy]

[ame]http://youtu.be/3HpWlVJDjGg[/ame]


east stadium update.

[entropy]

New huskers floor..

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=207160160

[entropy]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20130411/HUSKERS/704119836/1002#miles-plans-to-suspend-biggs-for-dui-arrest

Miles to suspend Biggs next year. Hopefully he figures it out..

[entropy]

UNL to pass more...

http://www.omaha.com/article/20130410/HUSKERS/704109793

[WM Wolverine]

You want Martinez passing more against the B10's better secondaries?

[entropy]

if we don't challenge the secondary deep and between the hash marks... no.

[Wild Hoss]

You want Martinez passing more against the B10's better secondaries?

Well, we drop tOSU and Wisco off the sched in favor of IN and ILL, both of which were in the 100s in Pass Defense last year, so we won?t be seeing as many of the better ones. Trade MN for Purdue, but MN had the 4th-best pass defense in the league last year, statistically speaking. Taylor shredded them.

Given our lack of backs and TEs, and a glut of receiving talent, throwing it around a bit more makes sense.

[WM Wolverine]

M and Nebraska have the same schedule in division and both play PSU.

*Michigan: Ohio, Indiana...

*Nebraska: Illini, Purdue...

I see us being the top two teams in the West this year so November 9th at the Big House will be critical for who plays Ohio State in the CCG.

Spartans btw get to miss all of Ohio, Wisky & PSU.