Fast Break
College football
Osborne names himself coach
Few Nebraska football fans are going to argue with Tom Osborne’s decision on an interim head coach.
Already the interim athletic director, Osborne declared himself the coach until he hires a successor to Bill Callahan, allowing Nebraska’s beloved former coach to visit prospective recruits and try to prevent the program from slipping during the recruiting contact period.
Athletic department communications chief Randy York said the 70-year-old Osborne, who took over the department after the firing of Steve Pederson last month, passed an NCAA certification test on his first try Wednesday and has informed the Big 12 office of his new title.
Gary Bargen, assistant athletic director in charge of compliance, said the interim A.D. tag would have limited Osborne to meeting with prospective recruits only if they visited campus. Now he can visit recruits in schools and homes until Dec. 15.
Baseball
HBO to make Bonds movie
HBO Films is planning to turn a best selling book about Barry Bonds’ alleged steroid use and the federal government’s wide-ranging probe into performance enhancing drug use in sports into a movie, one of the book’s authors said Thursday.
Lance Williams, a reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle, said that Ron Shelton has been tapped the director and will co-write the script with “Tin Cup” partner John Norville.
The planned movie based on the book “Game of Shadows” was first reported Wednesday by Variety.
Williams co-wrote the book with sports writer Mark Fainuru-Wada, who recently left the Chronicle to join ESPN.
Junior hockey
Chiefs move up to No. 2 in CHL
The Spokane Chiefs keep moving up the charts.
The latest Canadian Hockey League Top 10 Rankings has the Chiefs at No. 2 behind the Kitchener Rangers (21-3-0-1) of the Ontario Hockey League. It is the highest spot this year for the Chiefs (19-3-1-2).
Spokane left for a tough road trip with five games in six days, including No. 10 Calgary tonight. Other Western Hockey League teams in the top 10 include Tri-City at No. 4 and Vancouver at No. 8.