LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A fire investigator suspects arson in a fire that damaged a Lincoln apartment.
The four people in the apartment awoke Sunday to find walls and a refrigerator door scorched. No injuries have been reported.
Lincoln Police Capt. Danny Reitan estimated the damage at $500.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Pictures of billionaire Warren Buffett and Paul McCartney enjoying ice cream together in Buffett’s hometown of Omaha are popping up online.
Buffett and McCartney grabbed ice cream Sunday night in Omaha’s Dundee neighborhood after dining out together.
Fans of the investor and the former Beatle snapped pictures of the two men as they enjoyed their treat on a bench outside the ice cream shop.
McCartney is scheduled to perform Monday night at Lincoln’s new downtown arena.
Buffett is chairman and CEO of the Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A portion of a downtown Grand Island building has collapsed during a fire.
Authorities say one firefighter suffered minor injuries fighting the blaze, which was reported about 8 p.m. Sunday and extinguished about four hours later. Some firefighters remained on the scene to combat hot spots. The building housed Ron’s Transmissions and other businesses.
Fire Chief Cory Schmidt says fire crews and trucks from the Grand Island Rural Fire Department and from Hastings and St. Paul helped his firefighters.
The fire cause is being investigated.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say the officer who shot a man suspected of stabbing two other people has six years on the force.
She was identified in a department news release as Angela Lydon.
The shooting occurred around 6:30 a.m. Sunday at a home in southeast Omaha, after officers were sent there to handle a report about a disturbance.
Officers say they found 38-year-old Jennifer Hickman outside the home with critical injuries and then encountered a 42-year-old man with a knife. Police say Lydon fired and struck the armed man once. Then officers found 63-year-old Walter Hickman with knife wounds.
The Hickmans and the man who was shot were taken to a hospital for treatment. They are expected to survive their wounds.
No officers were injured.
Three former all-conference offensive linemen headlined by All-American and 12-year NFL veteran Russ Hochstein join Nebraska’s all-time leading tackler Barrett Ruud in a group of four Huskers being inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
Hochstein, a two-time first-team All-Big 12 choice as an offensive guard for the Huskers in 1999 and 2000, joins 1971 All-Big Eight offensive tackle Carl Johnson and 1982 All-Big Eight offensive guard Mike Mandelko in this year’s Hall of Fame class.
Hochstein, an All-American for the Big Red in 2000, went on to an impressive 12-year career in the NFL that included a pair of Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots (2002-08). The Hartington, Neb., native spent three seasons with the Denver Broncos (2009-11) and one with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2012.
Hochstein began his NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001, the same team that launched Ruud’s eight-year career in the league. Ruud, who is now on staff with Coach Bo Pelini’s program, spent his first six NFL seasons with the Buccaneers from 2005 through 2010. He spent 2011 with Tennessee before closing his career in Houston in 2012. In addition to owning a Nebraska record 432 total tackles, the Lincoln native is part of the most extensive family tradition in Husker football, dating back to his great-grandfather Clarence Swanson in 1921. Barrett will join his great-grandfather and his father, Tom, in the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame.
Johnson, who helped Coach Bob Devaney’s Big Red claim national titles in 1970 and 1971, was an All-Big Eight offensive tackle in 1971 before spending the 1972 and 1973 seasons with the New Orleans Saints.
Mandelko was a three-year letterman for Coach Tom Osborne’s Huskers from 1980 to 1982. The Lexington, Neb., native was an All-Big Eight choice as an offensive guard in 1982, helping the Huskers lead the nation with 394.3 rushing yards and 518.6 yards of total offense as a senior.
Nebraska-Kearney All-America quarterback Justin Coleman adds a state college flavor to the 2014 induction class. Coleman, a native of McCook, Neb., was the runner-up for the 2000 Harlon Hill Trophy and finished sixth nationally for NCAA Division II’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy in 1999.
The Nebraska Football Hall of Fame also will honor legendary Husker Coach and Athletic Director Tom Osborne with its President’s Award in 2014. The Hall also will recognize Kim and Jill Wolfe of Columbus with its Clarence E. Swanson Meritorious Service Award. Dan and Lisa Koch of Elkhorn will be honored with the Lyell Bremser Special Merit Award.
More information on the special merit award winners will be provided at a later date.
The Nebraska Football Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Nebraska Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. The College Football Hall of Fame opened in South Bend, Ind., in 1995, and is scheduled to open its new headquarters in Atlanta this year.
In order to make the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame ballot, players must have been either an All-American or first-team all-conference selection during their careers. They become eligible for the ballot after a 10-year waiting period from the end of their collegiate careers. Major national award winners earn automatic induction. Active NFL players are not on the ballot. Hochstein and Ruud earned induction in their first appearances on the ballot.
This year’s Nebraska Football Hall of Fame class will celebrate with an induction dinner on the University of Nebraska campus on Friday, Sept. 5. The class will be introduced prior to Nebraska’s football game with McNeese State at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6.
Nebraska Football Hall of Fame Inductees (2014)
Carl Johnson, OT, Phoenix, Ariz. (1970-71)
An offensive tackle for Hall of Fame Coach Bob Devaney’s 1970 and 1971 Huskers, Carl Johnson earned first-team All-Big Eight honors in 1971. The 6-4, 245-pounder from Phoenix, Ariz., earned all-conference honors in his only year as a starter for the 1971 Big Red, after serving as an outstanding reserve lineman as a junior transfer for the 1970 national champs. Johnson, who spent two seasons at Nebraska after transferring from Phoenix Junior College, helped the Huskers rank third nationally in scoring offense (37.2 ppg) and 11th in total offense (421.3 ypg) as a junior. As a senior for the unbeaten Huskers, Johnson helped NU rank third nationally in scoring (39.1 ppg) while ranking eighth in total offense (437.7 ypg).
The graduate of South Mountain High School played in the All-America Bowl following his senior season before being chosen in the fifth round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. He spent two NFL seasons with the Saints before closing his professional career with Portland in the WFL in 1974.
Mike Mandelko, OG, Lexington, Neb. (1980-82)
An All-Big Eight offensive guard for Coach Tom Osborne’s Huskers in 1982, Mike Mandelko helped Nebraska to an NCAA rushing title as a senior. With Mandelko as a senior leader on the line, the Huskers rolled up 394.3 yards per game on the ground, while also leading the nation with 518.6 yards per game in total offense. The 6-2, 255-pound native of Lexington, Neb., paved the way for quarterback Turner Gill, I-backs Roger Craig and Mike Rozier and wingback Irving Fryar at the skill positions, as the Huskers averaged a nation-leading 41.1 points per game. Mandelko was NU’s left guard, opposite right guard Dean Steinkuhler, while playing next to Outland Trophy-winning center Dave Rimington. A second-team All-Big Eight choice in his first year as a starter for the Huskers as a junior in 1981, Mandelko helped NU rank No. 2 nationally with 330.5 rushing yards per game, while leading the Big Eight with 437.5 yards per contest in total offense.
Russ Hochstein, OG, Hartington, Neb. (1997-2000)
A three-year starter for Coach Frank Solich at Nebraska, Russ Hochstein was a first-team All-American by The Sporting News in 2000 and a two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection in 1999 and 2000. The 6-4, 290-pound offensive guard from Hartington, Neb., helped the Huskers claim the 2000 NCAA rushing title by averaging nearly 350 yards per game on the ground.
A team co-captain in 2000, Hochstein was also chosen as the winner of the Cletus Fischer Native Son Award before being selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2001 NFL Draft (151st overall pick).
Hochstein went on to one of the longest and most successful NFL careers of any Husker in history. The Cedar Catholic High School graduate spent 12 seasons with the Buccaneers, Patriots, Broncos and Chiefs. He won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Patriots in 2003 and 2004. In his 12-year career he played in 149 NFL games with 37 starts.
As a Husker, Hochstein started the final 29 games of his career, including every game of the 1999 and 2000 seasons. In Nebraska’s memorable 27-24 overtime win over Notre Dame, Hochstein was credited with a school-record tying 23 pancakes (knock-down blocks).
Barrett Ruud, LB, Lincoln, Neb. (2001-04)
Nebraska’s career leader with 432 total tackles, middle linebacker Barrett Ruud joins the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame after a successful eight-year career in the NFL. Ruud, who was a second-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (36th overall pick), spent six seasons as one of Tampa’s top tacklers before spending the 2011 season with the Tennessee Titans and 2012 with the New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans. Ruud recorded 658 tackles in the NFL, including six sacks while adding seven career interceptions and six fumbles forced.
He produced four consecutive 100-tackle seasons from 2007 through 2010, when he started 63 games for the Buccaneers. He played in 113 career games with 78 starts.
Before heading to the NFL, the 6-2, 240-pounder was a third-team AP All-America linebacker for the Big Red in 2004, after claiming first-team All-Big 12 honors. A team captain and Nebraska’s Defensive MVP in 2004, he participated in the Senior Bowl in 2005.
A four-year letterman (2001-04) and a three-year starter, Ruud appeared in 50 games with 37 starts in his Husker career. His 432 total tackles included a school-record 218 unassisted stops. He notched 50 tackles for loss, including eight sacks. He also had 29 quarterback hurries and 12 pass breakups. In 2003, playing in his only season under then-Husker Defensive Coordinator Bo Pelini, Ruud scored touchdowns on a 27-yard interception return against Texas A&M and a 15-yard fumble return against Oklahoma State. He also produced a then-school-record 149 tackles as a junior for the Big Red in 2003.
A Lincoln Southeast High School graduate, Ruud helped lead the Knights to a 48-2 record and 1997, 1998 and 2000 Class A state championships. He joins his great-grandfather Clarence Swanson (1919-22, inducted 1974) and his father Tom Ruud (1972-74, inducted 1997) in the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame.
Hall of Famer from the State College Ranks
Justin Coleman (Nebraska-Kearney, 1997-2000)
The most prolific passing quarterback in the history of Nebraska-Kearney football, Justin Coleman joins the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2014. Coleman, a four-year star for the Lopers from 1997 through 2000, was the runner-up for the 2000 Harlon Hill Trophy after closing his career with a school and then-NCAA Division II-record 11,213 passing yards. He completed a school-record 706 passes in a school-record 1,193 attempts for a 59.2 completion percentage. As a senior, he was one of 23 finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. A four-time All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference selection, Coleman had his No. 5 jersey retired by UNK in 2003. He was just the second Loper football player in history to receive that honor.
As a freshman in 1997, Coleman threw for a then-school record 2,804 yards. He broke his own record as a junior with 3,167 yards in 1999. He added 2,645 passing yards as a senior and 2,597 as a sophomore to own four of the top eight passing seasons in UNK history.
His prolific yardage totals included a school single-game record 483 yards against Wayne State on Sept. 4, 1999, when he also set the school record with six touchdown passes. He added six more TD strikes against Fort Lewis exactly one month later. He added five other 400-yard passing games in his career to own six of the top-11 single-game marks in the UNK record book.
Coleman, who finished sixth in voting for the Harlon Hill Trophy as a junior in 1999, added a school-record 99 career touchdown passes while throwing for a school-record 273.49 yards per game in his outstanding career.
President’s Award
Tom Osborne (Nebraska)
College Football Hall of Fame Head Coach Tom Osborne will be honored as just the third President’s Award recipient in the history of the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame, joining Dan Kelley and Clifford Hardin.
Osborne, who was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1998, led Nebraska to three national championships (1994, 1995, 1997), 13 conference championships and 25 consecutive bowl games, including 17 major bowls in his 25 seasons as the Husker head coach. His teams won nine or more games every season and captured 11 national rushing titles.
The hand-picked successor of Hall of Fame Coach and Athletic Director Bob Devaney, Osborne was the offensive mastermind behind NU’s back-to-back national championship teams under Devaney in 1970 and 1971.
Osborne capped his coaching career with a 60-3 mark over his final season. He finished with a 255-49-3 career record from 1973 to 1997. His student-athletes won six Outlands, three Lombardis, one Heisman, one Butkus and one Johnny Unitas Award. They also captured 55 first-team All-America awards and 67 CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
After serving the state of Nebraska in the U.S. Congress from 2000 to 2006, Osborne became the University of Nebraska’s 13th Athletic Director on Oct. 16, 2007. He led the Husker athletic department until his retirement on Jan. 2, 2013.
Osborne and his wife, Nancy, have three adult children, Mike, Ann and Suzanne, and four grandchildren. The Osborne family continues to pour time and support into the TeamMates mentoring program, which they founded in 1991. The program provides encouragement to school-aged youth to help them graduate from high school and pursue post-secondary education.
The President’s Award is one of the most prestigious awards given by the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame. It is presented by the Executive Committee to deserving individuals for outstanding leadership and service to the University of Nebraska, the Nebraska Athletic Department and the Husker Football Program.
Clarence E. Swanson Meritorious Service Award
Kim and Jill Wolfe (Columbus)
Inaugurated by the Nebraska Chapter in 1972, the Clarence E. Swanson Meritorious Service Award is given annually to honor a person or family “for outstanding contributions to the University of Nebraska and the Husker Athletic Department through personal service, personal support of athletic department programs and dedication to the Husker football program and intercollegiate athletics.”
Lyell Bremser Special Merit Award
Dan and Lisa Koch (Elkhorn)
Inaugurated by the Nebraska Chapter in 1974, the Lyell Bremser Special Merit Award was created to honor a person “with a background of interest in and support of intercollegiate football, who has made a sizeable contribution to society through public service and/or self-sacrifice.”
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Seattle’s Felix Hernandez will start Tuesday night’s All-Star game for the American League and Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals will open for the National League.
Hernandez, the first Venezuela pitcher to start for the All-Stars, is 11-2 with a 2.12 ERA. He is just the second Seattle pitcher to start an All-Star game following Randy Johnson in 1995 and 1997.
NL manager Mike Matheny of the Cardinals chose the ace of his own staff. Wainwright is 12-4 with a 1.83 ERA and three complete games in 19 starts. It will be the 11th All-Star start by a Cardinals pitcher.
The semifinal matchups for the first College Football Playoff will be announced Dec. 7 on ESPN.
The network said Monday the four teams chosen by the selection committee to compete for the national championship will be disclosed at 12:45 EST at the top of the College Football Playoff Selection Show.
This season the semifinals will be played at the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The pairings for the other four New Year’s games that are part of the playoff rotation will be announced by the selection committee by 3 p.m. EST on Dec. 7.
Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long, who is the chairman of the selection committee, will be interviewed on the show. Rece Davis will host, with analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Danny Kanell and David Pollock.
A North Platte woman has been arrested on a child abuse charge after she allegedly dumped a bowl of hot soup on a 12-year-old boy.
At around 5:00 p.m., on July 13, an officer from the North Platte Police Department responded to a residence in the 1100 block of East 5th after receiving a report of possible child abuse.
Police say 35-year-old Heather Kinney allegedly became angry at the boy for misbehaving and pushed several items off the table, including a bowl of hot soup.
According to Officer Rodney Brown, the hot soup landed on the boy, causing burns and blisters to his neck, shoulders and torso.
Brown said the officer met with Kinney, who had left the residence, and placed her under arrest.
She was processed and released at the Lincoln County Detention for felony child abuse.
The boy’s condition is unknown.
A man and woman from North Platte are in jail on felony charges after they were busted with a large quantity of methamphetamine on Friday night.
At around 8:00 p.m., on July 11, an officer with the North Platte Police Department observed a black Dodge Durango driving in the area of 6th Street and Adams Street.
The officer had learned earlier that the vehicle may be displaying fictitious Colorado in-transit tags.
The officer followed the vehicle to a residence in the 1200 block of West 6th Street, and made contact with two subjects, 27-year-old Sheena Strand and 30-year-old Ross Rivera, as they exited the vehicle.
When asked about the plate, Strand and Rivera claimed that they found it and put it on the Durango.
Additionally, the officer detected the odor of burning marijuana emitting from the vehicle. Strand and Rivera admitted that they had smoked it earlier in the day.
During a subsequent search of the vehicle and personal items, the officer discovered drug paraphernalia commonly used to smoke marijuana and methamphetamine, and a large self-sealing clear baggie containing approximately 80 grams of a powdery substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine.
Both Strand and Rivera were transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and charged with felony possession of methamphetamine-more than 28 grams, and felony distribution of methamphetamine.
Strand was also cited for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.
IRVING, Texas (AP) — A rising gold football-shaped trophy will be the prize for the national champion in the new College Football Playoff.
College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock unveiled the more than 2-foot-high trophy Monday. Made from 24-karat gold, bronze and stainless steel, the bottom of the trophy is shaped like a football and rises to form an actual-sized ball at the top.
Hancock says the more than 2-foot trophy, which weighs about 35 pounds, is designed to be hoisted from its foot-high base. Hancock took a selfie with the trophy, but says the first hoisting will be reserved for the winner of the first national championship game Jan. 12 in Arlington, Texas.
When addressing the cost of the trophy, Hancock called it a “priceless one-of-a-kind piece of art.”
