However, with every passing weekend, it seems that another Cornhusker team is stealing the show. That would be coach Mike Anderson's Nebraska baseball team you remember, the program that was all the rage a few years back, but has lost a little luster in recent years?

With a three-game series sweep of Texas Tech last weekend, the Cornhuskers improved to 24-4-1 overall and 10-1-1 in Big 12 Conference play. Nebraska also climbed to No. 6 in two national polls and owns a 1 1/2-game lead over Texas A&M in the league standings.

Few predicted a big season for Nebraska. In fact, the Huskers were tabbed to finish sixth out of 10 teams in the Big 12 preseason coaches' poll behind Texas, Missouri, Baylor, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State.

The lukewarm prognostication didn't seem all that unreasonable at the time, especially considering that Nebraska returned one proven starting pitcher in Grand Island senior Johnny Dorn. With the exception of a few reasonably established relievers, the entire pitching staff was a question mark.

But with 29 games in the books, Nebraska leads the Big 12 in team ERA (2.86) and appears to have developed four quality starters in Dorn, Thad Weber, Aaron Pribanic and Dan Jennings. The bullpen, led by Zach Herr, Erik Bird, Erik Anderson and Mike Nesseth, has been solid as well.

In looking for reasons behind Nebraska's success, first give credit to Anderson. After a disappointing 32-27 record in 2007 that included an array of off-the-field problems, he cut ties with some problem-child types and shook up his coaching staff.

That's where first-year pitching coach Eric Newman comes in. After spending the past three years as head coach at Dallas Baptist, Newman has quickly re-energized Nebraska's staff and returned the Huskers to an aggressive don't-walk-anyone approach that the program thrived on under former pitching coach Rob Childress.

Dorn is a prime example of a player who has flourished so far under Newman. After watching his ERA rise from 2.16 as a freshman in 2005 to 5.23 in 2007 as a junior, the right-hander appears to have regained his old form.

Newman has challenged Dorn not to pace himself and give 100 percent on every pitch. The result: Dorn takes a 4-0 record and 2.12 ERA into Friday's scheduled start at Oklahoma State.

Players say that team chemistry has improved greatly, as well. Not to say that all of the players who left after last year were bad eggs, but the mix of personalities is simply different and fresh.

Nebraska is once again playing with a hard-nosed, fundamentally sound edge reminiscent of the Husker teams of the late 1990s and early 2000s under former coach Dave Van Horn.

That said, it's probably too soon to be banking on Nebraska's return to the College World Series just yet. After all, the Huskers have yet to play four of the five teams picked to finish above them in the preseason poll.

Certainly, with the first glance of Pelini's squad on the horizon and the Nebraska baseball team off to such a surprisingly strong start, it's shaping up as an interesting next few months in Husker Nation.

Inconvenient 'truth'

Is anyone seriously still buying this whole global warming racket anymore? Probably not anyone associated with high school or college sports in the state of Nebraska.

Earlier this week, the Cornhusker baseball team had its second consecutive Tuesday night game in April called off due to cold weather. Locally, the weather forecast for Thursday had area athletics directors already canceling and postponing sporting events right and left by Wednesday morning.

Good thing that average temperatures are allegedly on the rise otherwise we might have to just call off spring sports altogether.

Royal flush

Kansas City Royals fans at least those of us still willing to claim the Boys in Blue have been walking tall for the first week-plus of the season. Sure, it's early, but when you're a Royals fan you recognize that this might be your last chance to see K.C. near the top of the of the AL Central Division standings.

Local Royals fans are no doubt also pleased to see former Husker Alex Gordon getting off to a much better start than he did last year during his rookie season. He entered Wednesday night's game against the New York Yankees batting .300 with two home runs, two doubles and six RBIs.

Of course, savvy K.C. fans know that projects out to 46 homers and 139 RBIs for the season for Gordon but hey, let's not get carried away. Right?