Season Opening Plati-'Tudes
August 19, 2016 | Football, General
Welcome to a notes and comment column in its 16th year, penned by CU Associate Athletic Director David Plati, who is now in his 33rd year as the Buffaloes' director of sports information.
Plati-'Tudes No. 102 … I know, I know, two within two months; my plan is to get back to penning a few more of these … Happy to announce the hiring of Jason Clay (Colorado'06) as associate SID; he'll be helping me with football and skiing. Jason was in my class in the School of Journalism and has had a meteoric rise in the business, ascending to the assistant AD/external communications at Fresno State less than a decade out of school … Our women's soccer team will once again open CU's 2016-17 athletic season, participating in two Colorado Cup matches this weekend; the season opener is tonight at Air Force and then Danny Sanchez' Buffs turn around and host Colorado State Sunday afternoon … For those who are wondering (imagine it's very few of you, or at least I hope so!), the football media guide came in at 548 pages, our biggest ever.
| Trivia Questions |
The opening four mind teasers:
CU—Testing your memories: 2016 marks the 30th anniversary for one sport and the 20th for another. Which are they?
Who Are We (CU)?—Our careers did not overlap at Colorado so we were not teammates, but we each lettered four times in the same millennium. We were coached by the same two people. One of us has made it three times and the other twice. We have both run a lot, but we're not measured in yards. We both accomplishes firsts. And we both have been bronzed.
Music—What group's member is credited with first playing his guitar in a wild windmill motion?
Name That Tune—From what song is this lyric passage from: "Now this band's goin' to play from, nine to one … Everybody here's gonna have some fun."
| Quick Hits |
It's a presidential election year, which warrants telling the CU football statistic crew's connection to the season: Jack Landon will begin in 44th year on our crew, as he first was hired by then-SID Mike Moran for the 1973 season. Jack is the son of Alf Landon, who ran against FDR in the 1936 presidential race and as of last season, only 18 people in the nation had served longer at one school ... How about those Buff alumni in "The Basketball Tournament" (or TBT); won four games to reach the championship game before losing 77-72 to a stacked team of Overseas All-Stars. The prize of $2 million was winner-take-all, but our Buff alums, coached by Dwight Thorne and Beau Gamble (he says he was really the G.M.), and led by Marcus Hall did the school proud (Hall easily could have been the MVP but they went with a player from the title team) ... How cool was it to see the first NFL game in Los Angeles in 22 years and have former Buff Nelson Spruce become the darling of 89,000-plus fans right before your eyes? He caught six passes for 51 yards (39 after the catch) and a touchdown in the Rams' 28-24 come-from-behind win over Dallas, with the fans cheering "Spruuuuuuuce" after each reception … How about three CU SID office alums working beach volleyball at the Rio Olympics: Tim "The Fish" Simmons, the SID from 1979-81, and the brothers Strauss, Mike and Doug, both student assistants in the mid-to-late 80s (and Doug then spent time as an assistant director while Mike split to the Big 8 Office) ... I, like many, am disappointed that the NFL's contributor committee didn't see fit to make Bronco owner Pat Bowlen a finalist for the 2017 Hall of Fame and selected Jerry Jones instead; I imagine the two are fairly close in what they've done for their teams and the league, but Bowlen is in failing health and Jones seems just fine. Or in cases like this, just take in all three (the other is former commissioner Paul Tagliabue).
| "All-Century" Team |
ESPN.com recently had its Pac-12 correspondents select All-Century football teams … 2000 through 2015, that is, so really they were "This-Century" squads ... except they did not select ones for Colorado or Utah, since we both just joined the conference in 2011. A little puzzling, since it's not like neither of us played the first 11 seasons this millennium. So here's what I came up with for CU's 21st century team, or the first 1/6th of it, anyway, without plugging in any current players (last season in parenthesis):
Chris Brown
Running Back: Chris Brown ('02), Rodney Stewart ('11). Brown was third nationally in rushing before being injured late in the 2002 season, derailing his run for the Heisman (he would finish eighth in the voting).
Tackle: Nate Solder ('10), Victor Rogers ('01), Tyler Polumbus ('07).
Guard/Center: Wayne Lucier ('02), Marwan Hage ('03). Both started at least one season at each position.
Center: Mark Fenton ('06)
Tight End: Daniel Graham ('01). The John Mackey Award winner and a consensus All-American.
Fullback: Brandon Drumm ('02). The "Alaskan Assassin" as nicknamed by Brent Musburger.
Receiver: Paul Richardson ('13), Derek McCoy ('03), Nelson Spruce ('15). Richardson was CU's first first-team all-conference receiver in 16 years.
Defense
Ends: Abraham Wright ('06), Chidera Uzo-Diribe ('13)
Tackles: Justin Bannan ('01), Tyler Brayton ('02). With a nod to George Hypolite ('07).
Inside Linebacker: Jordan Dizon ('07), Thaddeus Washington '06). Dizon was the Butkus Award runner-up; Jashon Sykes ('01) would have likely made the top two had he not suffered neck injury and didn't play as a senior.
Outside Linebacker: Brad Jones ('08).
Cornerback: Jimmy Smith ('10), Terrence Wheatley ('07).
Safeties: Michael Lewis ('01), Medford Moorer ('03).
Nickel: Jalil Brown ('10). Open to anyone who played the position at least one season.
Special Teams
Placekicker: Mason Crosby ('06). Two-time All-American, one of six players to lead his college and his pro team in scoring.
Punter: Mark Mariscal ('02). Ray Guy Award winner.
Kick Returner: Roman Hollowell ('01).
Holder: Nick Holz ('06).
Snapper: Justin Drescher ('10). Has made a career of the same in the NFL.
I had Troy Andre, one of my assistants who spent a decade assigned to the women's basketball team and last year with the men to give me his basketball AC teams. Here's what he came up with (6—denotes wild card selection from any position):
Women—Brittany Spears (G/F), Jackie McFarland (F), Tera Bjorklund (C), Chucky Jeffery (G), Mandy Nightingale (G), Jenny Roulier (6).
Men—Andre Roberson (G/F), Josh Scott (F), David Harrison (C), Spencer Dinwiddie (G), Alec Burks (G), Richard Roby/Cory Higgins (6, tie).
Mason Crosby
And since men's golf has been my "beat" since the spring of '79, my All-Century Men's Golf Team (2001-16) would be: Jeremy Paul, Kane Webber, Derek Tolan, Matt Zions, Philip Juel-Berg, Edward McGlasson and David Oraee.
| Tom Kensler |
As I mentioned in my Pac-12 Media Plati-'Tudes, former beat writer and retired Denver Post reporter Tom Kensler suffered a brain aneurysm on July 6 and underwent two surgeries; unfortunately for all of us, he passed away after valiantly fighting for two weeks. Tom was just 64 and barely a year into his retirement; his wife Pam and he had a lot of travel plans (and had already done some) but fate didn't care and he was taken way too early. He worked at newspapers in Amarillo and Oklahoma City before relocating one final time when he joined the Denver Post in 1989 and spent many years covering local colleges, including working as CU's beat writer from 1996-99, 2006-12 and 2014, as well as national and local golf. He had a great interest in the accomplishments of our college golfers and would usually sell his editors on at least one annual feature on one of them. Another example of how life at times is anything but fair, as we lost a good man – not just a good reporter. A funeral mass was celebrated on August 6 at the Archdiocese of Denver Mortuary Chapel, and turnout was a Who's Who of Denver and Front Range sports media. A long-time member of the Football Writers Association of American, several FWAA members also journeyed to town to pay their respects in person.
| Three Others Lost And Mourned |
I'm also saddened to relay the passing of three others with connections to the University and athletics. Two were life-long great Buffalo fans, both of whom volunteered hundreds of hours and were familiar faces to many at football practices and Buff Club events. Charlie Whitaker passed away on July 26 after a long battle with cancer (he was 78), and Will Fischer succumbed after a lengthy illness on August 4 at the age of 81. If you ever attended practice or a CU athletic event, you might not have known their names, but you knew their faces.
Mike Glynn, who replaced Rick George as CU's football recruiting coordinator and director of operations in 1991, passed away from a heart attack on July 29; he was just 60. Though Mike was with the program for just two years, he touched many lives and was an all-around good guy who'd give you the shirt off his back; he remained a huge fan of the team until his death in Tucson, where he relocated several years ago.
| A Touching Remembrance |
A few of us recently received a letter from a Chris Kildow, a member of a family that has long held season football tickets. I have never received anything like this in my 30-plus years, and I found it so unique that I thought I would include as it is important to Chris, who lost his father last December; he simply "just wanted to share the below story about a great man. I am not a writer by any means but this was something I felt strongly about writing." So here it is, verbatim:
"About 2 years ago, my Mom and Dad were walking through the portal to the Rocky Mountain Showdown and my Dad stopped and took a really, really deep breath and let it out with a big sigh. My Mom turned to him and said "what is that all about?" My Dad just smiled and said, "I made it to another CU season.
"Lee Kildow is no ordinary fan. He has been going to every game for 30+ years with my mom right there by his side. They would book their vacation plans around getting to at least one away game each year. He attended so many bowl games from the Bluebonnet, Orange, Fiesta, Big 12 Championships and many in between. He was there for the 'Miracle in Michigan' to witness 100K people go dead silent. He can attest they never changed the scoreboard to show the Buffs won. Dad was ready with the camera if they did.
"During the National Championship when we kicked to Rocket Ismail, I left the room in disbelief. Then the words rang out … 'I think there is a flag.' There were never sweeter words to be heard from your Dad. He was there in Washington when the team walked on the field holding hands and pointed to the heavens for Sal.
"There wasn't a day that would go by without us talking Buffs football. And I do mean 365 days a year. He couldn't get enough news about what recruit we were trying to get, any personal story about a player, game recaps and the list goes on.
"When I told my Dad I was going to get married he was so happy for me. Then when he found out she was a Husker, he sat back in his chair and said "I think that is a deal breaker." He was completely serious. The only thing that saved my marriage was us moving to the Pac 12. Speaking of Nebraska, when CU beat the Huskers 62-36, he turned to me and his grandson, Corben, and said, 'Take in this moment, savor it, enjoy it, it may never happen again.'
"The family legacy was carried on when his granddaughter, Kylie, attended CU. He was very proud of her becoming a Buff.
"As you know, the Buffs have struggled to get wins in the last decade but my Dad's loyalty has never wavered, he would say 'I wish they would stop saying 'be patient', don't they know I am getting old?'
"Last season, my dad attended the CU versus Stanford game and left at halftime as he wasn't feeling well. For a man that would never leave a minute early from any game, I knew something must have been wrong; 33 days later, Lee Kildow passed away at 84 years young.
"Buff Nation lost their most loyal fan ever and going to game will never be the same but he would want us to carry on and most of all … just win baby! I promise you, my family will carry on the tradition of being at every home game and cheering every play for our beloved Buffs. I will also be at the Big House to watch Miracle in Michigan Part 2. When we do win … you can thank Lee Kildow … as you know he will be there in spirit.
"I challenge Buff Nation as you walk into every home football game this fall to stop and take a BIG deep breath and say, 'I made it to another season.' Thanks for the memories Papa." — Chris Kildow
| Woody Paige |
Still young at heart after turning 70 in June, Woody Paige called it a career at the Denver Post earlier this summer, but he's not retiring. He is now writing for the Colorado Springs Gazette, which is part of the Anschutz Corp., Philip Anschutz Empire which also includes several sports teams as well as the Broadmoor in the Springs. With other longtime Post figures like Irv Moss and Neil Devlin taking buyouts, the sports staff is just a shadow of its former self. We came across the entire sports section from the Denver Post from Sept. 25, 1994 – yep, the day after "The Miracle in Michigan." Here's a list of the reporters who had bylines or were somehow referenced that day, with an (*) noting that they are still there:
Denver Post Sports Staff (September 1994): Sam Adams, Jim Armstrong, Jerry Crasnick, Adrian Dater, Neil Devlin, John Henderson, Tom Kensler, *Mark Kiszla, Natalie Meisler, Mike Monroe, Woody Paige, Todd Phipers, Joe Sanchez ... and of course, "Pike's Peek" (an anonymous notes/hit-and-run column); Irv Moss did not have an article that Sunday. Thus, Kiz is the lone survivor; Henderson, Kiszla and Paige were all with us that Saturday in Ann Arbor; last year, the Post only traveled once, sending one reporter (Kiszla) to Utah. How things have changed, to quote an old t-shirt.
| Kansas City Buffs |
On the last day of training camp for the Kansas City Chiefs (August 18), five with Buff ties stopped to take a picture. From left to right: Alex Aiello (CU tennis letterwinner interning with the Chiefs PR department), guard Daniel Munyer (class of 2014), former Buff running back Josh Ford ('13), Cydney Ricker (Chiefs PR; Cyd spent five years working in our SID office) and Eric Bieniemy, CU's all-time leading rusher and current KC running backs coach.
| The P-'Tudes Mailbag |
Q: Just curious why the non-conference schedule is a little lackluster the next few years.
A: Essentially, our membership in the Pac-12 has caught up with us; when we joined the league, we had several home-and-home with Pac-12 schools lined up (either under contract or wading through the process to finalize). When I say several, I mean five. We converted the Cal series at the time, but it did open up some future holes. Thus, we have a few FCS opponents filling those vacancies (we were one of eight who had never played below our division until 2006, when we played Montana State; think it's down to three or four now). That's part of the reason you want to be proactive and schedule out as many as six, eight or even 10 years (heck, Stanford and Notre Dame are scheduled to play through 2032).
Q: Is the Pac-12 Network's show "The Drive" going to follow the Buffaloes this year? Seems like it's our turn.
A: They have tweaked that almost every year, and this season, they will attempt to feature all 12 schools over the course of the season; the plan for now is for the Pac-12 folks to spend the week in Boulder leading up to the Oct. 15 Arizona State game.
Q: I thought it was odd that the McCartney family released a health update on Mac, it just seemed a bit unusual.
A: Perhaps it was rare for a family to release that kind of info, but the reasons behind it made perfect sense. Mac's long-term memory for the most part is intact; occasionally he will forget the name of a former player or colleague and it's only natural for people to be offended if he doesn't remember them right away. Plus, everyone knows how religious the entire family is, thus this was a way for them to ask for prayers for their patriarch.
| Things That Make You Go Hmmm... |
I saw over the weekend an idea for the Big 12 to merge with either the Pac-12 or the Southeastern Conference, under the assumption it could mean mega-dollars (I'm not totally sold on that), thus creating a 22- or 24-team league. Outside the nine dots for sure, but how often would you even see schools that aren't in your division (the idea was for 12-team divisions)? Why even bother to merge — just approach the TV networks together and make some kind of deal for more non-conference games to add to the inventory. I for one never has liked the idea of four "super" conferences of 16 teams each, maybe I'm old school (or just old), but there was some charm when conferences were at eight members and you could annually play everyone in football and everybody twice in basketball.
| Website(s) & Links of the 'Tude |
The Associated Press recently did a ranking of college football's all-time top 100 teams and CU came in at No. 27. The AP established its own set of criteria to create the rankings based on its weekly polls going back to the start in 1936. We have obviously been in a lull for the last 10 years, and if this was tabulated in 2006, my guess is that Colorado would be somewhere between 14th and 18th. We are still fourth in the Pac-12, behind USC (No. 5), UCLA (No. 17) and Washington (No. 20). The link: http://collegefootball.ap.org/top-100.
And if you're a college sports fan, check out this site: https://tmgcollegesports.com/. It features three of the most experienced collegiate writers in the nation who have banded together to create their own web page: Mark Blaudschun of Boston Globe fame, Herb Gould (Chicago Sun-Times) and Chris Dufresne (Los Angeles Times). There's a small annual cost, but it's worth it.
| Schollie Trick |
I've seen many walk-ons awarded scholarships in my time here, but the way Kyle Evans found out this past Tuesday was priceless. Coach Mike MacIntyre called the five captains up to the front of the team, and then intimated that Kyle was in some kind of code of conduct violation and had to read the "charges" aloud to the team. What he read was actually the awarding of a scholarship to him. Some great, albeit a tad cruel, trickery by the 'ol coaching staff. See it here.
| This P-'Tudes Number(s): 102 & 151 |
Those are the rankings of CU golfing twins Jeremy and Yannik Paul … in the WORLD amateur rankings as of August 15. They are third and fifth, respectively, among German players; a total of 6,836 players are ranked. Jeremy, who is rewriting many of CU's records, will be a senior in 2016-17, while Yannik, who has etched his name to several marks as well, will be a junior after taking last year off.
| Trivia Answers |
CU—Our women's volleyball team is celebrating their 30th anniversary after beginning play in 1986; our women's soccer team is having its 20th (the program started in 1996).
Who Are We?—Colorado's bronze medalists in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, steeplechaser Emma Coburn and 1,500-meter performer Jenny Simpson. Coburn became the first American woman to medal in the steeplechase, and Simpson did the same in the 1,500. Both also just missed out on a second-place finish and the silver medal.
Music—The Who's Pete Townshend. Amongst the many crazy things the band did in their heyday, including smashing their instruments.
Name That Tune—From all the way back in 1953, Ray Charles' Mess Around. Featured in two movies much later on, in 1987 (Planes Trains & Automobiles) and 2015 (Ted 2). A melding of those scenes is contained in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X2mJtqixdc
"Plati-'Tudes" features notes and stories that may not get much play from the mainstream media; offers Plati's or CU's take on issues raised by those who have an interest in the program; answers questions and concerns; and provides CU's point of view if we should disagree with what may have been written or broadcast. Have a question or want to know CU's take on something? E-mail Dave at david.plati@colorado.edu, and the subject may appear in the next Plati-'Tudes.
