Qwest Center Tickets

Creighton Starts Conference Play vs Illinois State

Don't miss the start of Missouri Valley Conference play for the Creighton Bluejays tonight at the Qwest Center as they face off against the Illinois State Redbirds.  The start of MVC conference play means more evenly matched teams for the Bluejays, as well as more pressure from fans and coaches to perform.

The Bluejays come into conference play looking better than they did at the beginning of the regular season.  With wins over Nebraska, Drexel and DePaul the Jays have shown that they are here to make it to the NCAA tournament.

Creighton lacks big name stars, but this has led to better team play and an impressive 43.5 points per game bench average.  The Freshmen have stepped up to the plate for coach Dana Altman and improved the total play of the Bluejays.  Kenny Lawson Jr., a Freshman, just earned newcomer of the week honors from the Missouri Valley Conference.

The 8-3 Redbirds will be an evenly matched team with the 9-1 Bluejays.  Keep your eye on their ISU Senior Center Levi Dyer who will give Creighton's Dane Watts a run for his money.  Dyer is 6'11 and averages 10.6 points a game for the Redbirds.

Get your tickets to the Qwest Center now, the game starts at 7:00 tonight.

Mannheim Steamroller Hits Big in Omaha

The big Mannheim Steamroller show meant big fun for the sold out crowd at the Qwest Center yesterday.  The word of the night for Chip Davis and crew: extravagant.

Yes, one felt as though they were actually in a winter wonderland at the Mannheim Steamroller concert last night at the Qwest Center.  The festivities started before the show in the hallway where elves and faeries greeted you and entertained children.  Inside you could watch the enormous miniature city on the main floor that was full of life, including the train set that put my childhood train set to shame.

The show itself was also full of theatrics.  I'll admit that at times the three big screens that showed images during the show were a little overwhelming.  But otherwise, Mannheim Steamroller has perfected how to use theatrics to its advantage.  The snow fall during "White Christmas" made the song come to life and proved that even at 60, Chip Davis puts on a great show.

Mannheim Steamroller Rolls Through Qwest Center

The Mannheim Steamroller train will be making a stop at the Qwest Center tonight to put on a great show.  Mannheim Steamroller is one of the hottest tickets to get during the Christmas season, and the show at the Qwest Center will no doubt be packed with people with Christmas cheer leftover from yesterday.

Mannheim Steamroller's success has been huge this year with the release of their newest album Christmas Song, which has predictably raced to the top of the Billboard charts just in time for Christmas.

Leader Chip Davis and crew are mostly Omaha natives excluding the 22-person orchestra that accompanies Mannheim Steamroller.  The band traditionally ends their Christmas tour in Omaha.

The show tonight should feature a good number of songs off the newest, Christmas Song, but will no doubt feature a slew of old favorites that everyone can hum or sing along to.  The best part of Mannheim Steamroller concerts is that everyone already knows the songs, but Chip Davis and Co. give them new life on stage.  Don't miss this show, not only will you enjoy the music, but you will walk out of the Qwest with a smile on your face.

Creighton vs University of Arkansas-Little Rock

The Creighton Bluejays pounded the North Carolina-Central Eagles 88-54 last night at the Qwest Center improving their overall record to 8-1.  Tomorrow the Bluejays will look to improve their 7-0 home record at the Qwest Center against an impressive University of Arkansas-Little Rock team that is 9-1 this season.

Kenny Lawson Jr. was the star for the Bluejays last night at the Qwest.  He had 13 points in the game and lit up the backboards numerous times with slam dunks that got the poeple on their feet.  The most impressive statistic from the game was the 61-15 bench points comparrison.  Coach Dana Altman must have known that the Eagles team was a good fit to give the freshman some playing time.  The bench players capitalized on the opportunity and showed coach Altman that they are ready to start.

UALR will test the Bluejays perfect 7-0 record at the Qwest Center tomorrow night.  UALR's defense will be hard to break as they are a full court press team most of the time.  The Trojans have allowed an average of 54.6 points per game.

Round up the family and head down to the Qwest Center for tomorrow's Creighton game at 2:00.  It will be a great way entertain those relatives that are in town.

Creighton vs North Carolina-Central

No, the Creighton Bluejays aren't playing the Tar Heels team from North Carolina, but they will play North Carolina-Central at the Qwest Center tonight; and if your a High School student, your tickets to the Qwest Center are free!

Creighton (7-1) will take on the North Carolina-Central Eagles (1-12) for the first time ever.  And I hate to sound to optimistic, but the Eagles will likely be a pushover for the Bluejays.  This is the first year that North Carolina-Central is playing Division 1 basketball, and lets just say they have had a tough time.  The Eagles will have an even tougher time at the Qwest Center where the Creighton Bluejays are 6-0.

The Bluejays come off a huge win on Monday against Houston Baptist 110-73.  Ten Creighton players had eight points or more that game.  This leads me to believe that the young Bluejays are working together as a team more and relying less on the superstars.

UNO Mavericks vs Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks

The UNO Mavericks will face the Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks tonight at the Qwest Center at 7:00 pm.  The battle to see who the "better" Mavericks are will finally end tonight...that is of course until next year!  UNO and Mankato State come into this game with very similar overall records with six and seven wins respectively. 

Unfortunately for the Mavericks, MSU has dominated the series between the two teams winning 8 out of the last 10 meetings with the Mavs.  The last time UNO beat Minnesota State was in 2001.  The Mavericks will be looking for another great game from Freshman Matt Ambroz who scored his first goal for the Mavs last game against Union to help the Mavs win.

MSU is the first of three non-conference games for the UNO Mavericks.  Looking to improve on their record of 6-8-3, the Mavericks will take on Yale on December 28 and Princeton on December 30, both games will be played at the Qwest Center.

Rock n' Racquets Show a Success

Not quite sure what to expect, I walked into the Qwest Center on Friday thinking that I would see world-class tennis from the sports biggest stars, Nebraska native Andy Roddick and Serena Williams.  But was I ever wrong!  Not only did I see world-class tennis but I saw an entertaining variety show that starred Andy Roddick.

Roddick showed the crowd at the Qwest Center that tennis is not all about hitting a little yellow ball across the net.  His upbeat attitude, added with his high energy, got the crowd involved.  He invited a young heckler down to the court mid-way through a match with Sam Querrey and served a ball to him for yelling at him.  The serve was nothing short of the fastest serve I saw him serve all night.

On hand at the Rock n' Racquets was a regular who's who of Nebraska well-knowns.  Former Nebraska football player, and Heisman trophy winner Eric Crouch, and former Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne were there to introduce Roddick.  And Nick Hexum, who makes up part of the Omaha music scene, played a great set during the show.

Rock n' Racquets Show Tonight

Andy Roddick is coming home and will bring fellow tennis superstar Serena Williams along with him to the Qwest Center tonight in Omaha to put on an entertaining show featuring a wide variety of acts.

Andy Roddick, who is a native of Nebraska, will play with Serena Williams in a doubles match late in the night. 

Both Roddick and Williams will play singles games first, and then break for an intermission.  The intermission will include music from Zach Hexum and feature the UNO Dance Squad.  After that, the court heats up with Roddick and Williams joining together to play a doubles game.  I would hate to be the people playing those two!

Roddick and Williams are two of the best, and most well known, tennis stars in the world.  While Roddick has fell short recently of winning the big games, Serena has a history of championships and awards.

Get more information at the Rock n' Racquet's website.

Trans Siberian Orchestra Channels Christmas Spirit

Isn't there a smoking ban in Omaha?  Apparently, Trans Siberian Orchestra did not get the message after putting on a stunning show with loads of pyrotechnics that surely had to set off a smoke alarm somewhere in the Qwest Center last night.

Trans Siberian Orchestra started the night off slow with Christmas themed music including a narrator that talked over some songs.  Halfway through the show, TSO switched from traditional pop music to classical pieces.  Mind you, all of these songs are being played with a  guitar in heavy metal fashion.

It was not until the very end that Trans Siberian Orchestra really let loose with the light show and made the inside of the Qwest Center dome glow.  It was an amazing show, and I will surely go next year.

Trans Siberian Orchestra in Concert Tonight

Rock band Trans Siberian Orchestra will perform tonight at the Qwest Center in Omaha.  Trans Siberian Orchestra puts on a show like no other band, and will surely get anyone in a holiday mood.

Although Trans Siberian Orchestra is a rock band at its core, it incorporates so many other styles of music and performance that it would be wrong to just call the show a concert.  With a narrarator, nine singers and six guitar players, the show is full of a variety of performers.  Each person compliments each other and the solo numbers are just as striking.

Taking 15 hours to set up the stage with all of the pyrotechnics and laser light effects, the show is filled with visual entertainment as well as audio.  Bring your sunglasses to the show at the Qwest Center, as Trans Siberian Orchestra is known to be a bright show.