It’s a crazy time of year with lots of sports to cover, including an exhibition game that pitted the Nebraska and UNK womens basketball teams against each other here in GI. This is a photo I like that didn’t make the paper.

Nebraska’s Harleen Sidhu (left) and Megan Becker of UNK dive for a loose ball during their exhibition game at the Heartland Events Center in Grand Island. Nebraska won the game, 80-69.

Not really. It just looks like him on the spooky circular stairs. It didn’t take very long to get this photo once we were on location, as Ozzy Osbourne lookalike Mikaul Ault popped into his role without hesitation or encouragement. Ault told me that he’s known what he’s wanted to do from early on in life. Yet, while traveling across the country, he said that people can’t believe that he was really a pig farmer from Grand Island, Neb. I replied that everyone has to be from somewhere, thinking of how I moved to GI from Orange County, Calif.

Grand Island native Mikaul Ault was in town with his Ozzy Osbourne tribute band Aultimate Ozzy. A timely Halloween weekend treat, Ault and his band played at the Liederkranz in Grand Island.

A quiet little moment and the basic human need for warmth as the weather begins to turn colder.

As others pick out cold-weather clothing around her, Nevaeh Ducharme, 3, of Trumbull tries on a pair of gloves and a cap morning during the distribution portion of St. Leo’s Catholic Church’s annual coat drive in Grand Island.

A Husker football photo I like that didn’t make our paper.

Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz (right) is short of the goal line during the fourth quarter as he dives over the pile at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa. Ganz scored on the next play, as the Huskers went on to defeat Iowa State, 35-7.

A couple of photos from district softball. The one below a tight action shot, and this one is just a nice moment of celebration.

After winning the Class A, District 7 championship, Grand Island Senior High’s Sara Petska is hugged by her teammates Emily Mierau (left) and Alissa Christensen (right). Petska drove in the winning run in the top of the seventh inning to give the Islanders the win over Columbus, 4-3.

Nice late afternoon light. Perhaps the sun really did get in her eyes….

York third baseman Kourtney Burianek just misses an infield fly during a B-5 district game against Aurora in Hastings. Aurora won the game, 6-1.

This photo that didn’t make our paper, but I like it — the photo that is — not the final score of the game.

The Missouri mascot celebrates after Missouri defeated the Huskers on Saturday Oct. 4, 2008 in Lincoln, Neb.  The final score of 52-17 gave the Tigers their first victory in Memorial Stadium in 30 years.

Finding a different angle for marching band photos is a challenge, but I liked this one. If only the town’s name was facing the camera….

Marching past the town of Henderson’s water tower, members of the Heartland Huskie Band including (from upper left) tuba player Jordan Hiebner, clarinet player Abigail Bechtel and mellophone player Luis Romo practice for this year’s Harvest of Harmony Parade. The band placed first in Class C last year.

Not sure what the best way is to show that our area’s population is less diverse, but this was a good try.

Two Grand Island Senior High students walk beneath some of the flags from many countries representing the country of origin of Senior High students. According to a recent study, Hall, Howard and Merrick counties saw a fall in foreign-born population living in the area from calendar year 2006 to 2007.

LeRoy Peters of Henderson tosses a husked ear of corn into a horse-drawn trailer during a hand cornhusking demonstration at Husker Harvest Days on Sept. 11, 2008. “I picked 103 bushels per day for 10 days in 60 bushel corn,” he said speaking of his youth. “I got 13 cents per bushel. I had to furnish my own team and wagon. We were young and we were strong.”