Plati-'Tudes: 2002-03 Season Debut
Aug. 17, 2002
We're just days away from kicking off the 113th season of intercollegiate athletics at the University of Colorado, as women's soccer opens the year with an exhibition against Air Force on August 21. Soccer and volleyball play their first real matches on August 30, with football and cross country opening the next day. So, where the heck did the summer go?!
TRIVIA QUESTIONS: CU--The CU football team opens the 2002 season ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press poll, the fourth highest CU has ever been ranked in the preseason by the AP. Name the three other years CU was ranked higher (bonus if you know the ranking!). Godfather--In Godfather III, which featured quite a few leaps and bounds that made it unbelievable for the most part, what was perhaps the most amazing thing that took only six seconds?
THE DROUGHT & FOLSOM: We're obviously in one of the worst droughts in modern times along the Front Range, and some have inquired about how our grass fields are doing. Well, the grass fields at Folsom as well as the practice fields are surviving just fine because we use ditch water to keep them healthy. The water comes from two sources: the Anderson Ditch, which feeds the stadium and the majority of the main campus, and the Smith-Goss Ditch, which we utilize for our practice fields. The water is non-potable and is untreated for drinking; or as (assistant AD/facilities) John Krueger puts it, "You can't drink it, but it's not like we're taking ground water from Rocky Flats, either."
U.S. 36 CONSTRUCTION: Those heading to campus will notice a big difference at the turn off U.S. 36 (28th Street) on to Colorado in the near future. There will be two left turn lanes into campus from U.S. 36, and at the same length as in the past. The improvements will definitely expedite the traffic flow on game days, particularly for weeknight basketball games. In addition, the left hand turn lane from Colorado Avenue to head north on U.S. 36 is now twice as long as it has been. You will not be able to turn right on to Colorado from the intersection, however; you'll have to do that earlier (about 200 yards up the road). The old median was reconstructed this summer, eliminating the one that had grass/weeds in it and replaced with the familiar reddish cement that is common around town. A big thanks to the city on this one-it looks much better and will be much more functional.
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMM: I was looking at the Scripps Howard preseason college football ratings when they came out on Aug. 14; roughly at the same time the Sagarin ones were released. Now, if these are all based on computers, why aren't all 117 Division I-A schools tied for first with either a 100.00 or 0.00 rating in no human elements are supposed to factor in? Makes you wonder, doesn't it. Speaking of Scripps Howard, one of its columnists, David Nielsen, penned today (Aug. 17) about how college football powers traditionally get an unfair head start in the polls. That's probably true; but David, in your own SH "computer" poll, your top 10 is full of them: Oklahoma, Miami, Fla., Texas, Florida State, Tennessee, Florida, Nebraska, Colorado, Georgia and Washington. So you make fun of fellow journalists and coaches, yet Scripps' poll is no different (thus exposing further the human element in such polls). He wrote that only Colorado was able to crack the top five in the BCS of teams that began the season unranked, an injustice to Maryland and Illinois, both of which won their conferences. However, the strength of the Big 12 helped the Buffs, even in a year when CU didn't have its usual brutally tough non-conference slate. Illinois played California, Northern Illinois and Louisville in the non-Big 10 season; Maryland faced Eastern Michigan, West Virginia and Troy State outside of its ACC games. That's pretty good evidence why you've got to play some tough ones before league play hits.
J.J. ON THE MOVE: Former Buff J.J. Flannigan has joined Mowatt Financial Inc., an Englewood (Colo.) financial planning firm as its marketing coordinator. The announcement said that J.J. hopes to capitalize on his football career to attract professional athletes to one of Denver's premier private financial planning firms. "Many of my fellow teammates have looked to me for this type of advice for years, and I can think of no better firm with whom to affiliate," J.J. said. "Dave, [Mowatt, President] understands that most players have a limited playing career in the NFL, and he stresses the importance of educating them about investing their income wisely to preserve it long past their NFL retirement.
"J.J. is a great addition to our team," said Mowatt, whose firm has been dispensing financial advice for over 25 years. "He is extremely well-known and is trusted by current and former players across the country. With all the recent articles about NFL players being scammed, professional athletes have a desperate need for sound, trustworthy financial advice. The partnership between J.J. and our firm will deliver just that."
J.J. was an all-Big Eight tailback in 1989, helping CU to an 11-1 mark that year. The San Diego Chargers drafted him, playing with them for a year before being traded to the Minnesota Vikings, where he finished his NFL career. He went on to play in the World League for the London Monarchs. After completing his professional football career, J.J. spent eight years counseling troubled youths before joining Mowatt.
PESAVENTO SURFACES: Bobby Pesavento, CU's senior quarterback in 2001 who led the Buffs to the Big 12 title after basically a season-ending injury to Craig Ochs, has finally surfaced on the pro football scene. For perhaps the most unique team in all of sports (I know, you're not supposed to use most before unique, but if it ever applied, it's now). He's playing for the Cape Fear Wildcats in Arena Football, and he had quite the starting debut on Aug. 2 as he led Cape Fear to a 57-48 win over Richmond in the quarterfinals. He completed 23 of 30 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns, and also scored twice running the ball. Cape Fear will face Albany in the semifinals this weekend.
FORE!: A couple of CU offensive lineman, thanks to Bobby Anderson, had a recent thrill at the John Elway Celebrity Golf Classic. Seniors Justin Bates and Wayne Lucier both had the opportunity to caddy; Bates for Joe Theismann and Lucier for Mike Eurizone. Lucier had something in common with his 1980 USA hockey team gold medal winning golfer; their fathers played in a college football all-star game several years ago in New England.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL GRADUATION INFO: The AFCA recently compiled some data on graduation rates for collegiate football players between 1981 and 2001 (the first 17 years of info was collected by the old CFA, with the AFCA taking over in '98). On the whole, graduation rates for players were in the 40's (percent) the first seven years of the survey, with a low of 41.6% reported in 1986. The 2001 figure of 59.0% percent is an all-time best, based on 1,199 graduates (also an all-time high) out of 2,038 grants for 95 schools that participated in the survey. Results also found that of the student-athletes who graduated, 22 percent did so in four years or less, 31 percent required four-and-a-half years, 35 percent needed five years, and 11 percent five-and-a-half or longer. Most colleges have a graduation rate for all students somewhere in the 60-67 percent range, so football players are becoming no different than their peers in this area.
ATTENTION GOLFERS: Recently, I became a charter member of the Rocky Mountain Golf Writers Association (hey-I write more golf than a lot of people!). One of the fringe benefits was the group's first tournament-36 holes at Pole Creek (Tabernash, north of Winter Park) and SolVista (Granby). While I won't talk about my scores, I will talk about three courses I saw, including the brand new Grand Elk Ranch, which opens later this month (we received a private tour).
First, I've wanted to play Pole Creek for years, as people raved about the scenery. Their rants were correct; the view from the No. 9 tee on the Ridge course is about as breathtaking as you'll see anywhere, whether you're standing on a tee box or a mountaintop. It's also a par-5 that a washed up hack like me reached in two, because it's 575-yards down, down, downhill. Pole Creek consists of three 9-hole layouts, and it's a pretty solid test of golf while taking in the sights (par-72, with the highest point at about 8,810 feet above sea level).
Grand Elk opens the last week of August, and it's being touted as Colorado's only Heathland style course; it was designed by non-other than the Walrus himself, Craig Stadler. While this track is not a mountain course in the sense that the fairways line mountainsides, the elevation is still 7,935 feet and it sure looks like it will be a quality test of the game. The greens are smaller, around 4,000 square feet on the average instead of the usual 5,500-6,000. It's a par-71 layout that will play 7,200 yards from the tips., and there is definitely something about the look of the course that stands out, and quite frankly, makes me want to play it ASAP. Located just outside Granby, it's 79 miles from Denver.
SolVista currently has nine holes in play, with its back nine set to open in September if things remain on schedule (in fact, it was rather cool to see two fairways in which no grass has grown yet-you never realize just how smooth the ground can be). Currently, you have to play the front nine twice for a full 18 holes, but this was also a unique track that had some really fun holes. The head pro, Brian Ryall, spent some time as an assistant at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, so he knows mountain golf. This course winds around some terrain more than it climbs hillsides, but native grasses and tricky water placements made it both enjoyable and a solid test.
Just my two cents worth, but if you're like me and live on the Front Range, promise yourself to play more mountain golf in the summers to come. I know I'm going to!
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?: Former Buff defensive back Tim Ross had reason to e-mail in earlier this week. He ended up graduating CU with two degrees, a BA in English and a BFA in Film Production, and he now works for the Directors Guild of America (www.dga.org) in Los Angeles. "We're basically the major film and television director's version of SAG," he says. He is in the basic cable residual department and deals with directors and producers on a daily basis. In his spare time, he has written three screenplays, "Judgment Reversed", "Windy" and "It's a Thugz Life," and is in the middle of a fourth, a biography about the hottest movie star of the 1940's entitled, "Peek a Boo: The Veronica Lake Story." (He noted that all screenplays are copyrighted and registered with the Writers Guild of America). He has not yet contacted any agents, producers or studios regarding his work because his approach is to get an interested director attached first. "I know in my business it is just a matter of time before I can match up the right director with one of my screenplays. Like everything, timing is everything. Among the many major film and television directors I'm currently dealing with is Robert Mandel." At CU, he palled around with Ted Johnson and Jon Knutson, and excelled on special teams as well as a high jumper in track. In October 2001, he married Michelle Black, who hails from Thousand Oaks, Calif., and this year he was elected as the 2nd Vice President of the Hollywood Congress of Republicans. The HCR is an organization that promotes Republican politics within the entertainment industry, and lists R. Lee Ermey of "Full Metal Jacket" fame, the great Gary Oldman as well as actor/musician Michael Damian as members. He lives in Tarzana with his wife and pet cockatiel "Hopper," and lists his hobbies as writing, politics, film history, sports and rooting for the Buffs! He has his own website (http://hometown.aol.com/sfvrepublican/myhomepage/profile.html) and can be reached at MRTIM29@aol.com.
SPEAKING OF FORMER PLAYERS AND WEB SITES: Remember offensive lineman Chan Moody? He's gone on to pro wrestling; check out his website at: http://www.iwfpromotions.com/ChanMoody.htm.
A NEW BUFF IS BORN: Congrats to former volleyball player
Michelle Kohler-Nelson, who gave birth on June 3 to Cole
Christopher (left), who entered the world at 7 pounds and 14.8
ounces (point 8? When did they start getting that exact). Michelle,
hubby and son are all doing fine, residing in the Kansas City
area.
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMM II: CU fan Al Bernstein had this observation about the baseball strike, and in particular, the players' view of the owners making exorbitant money: "If it's that profitable, why haven't a group of players ever banded together to buy a team?" Wow.
SUMMER BUFFS II: Plati-'Tudes reader and tennis fan Jim Gilbert informed us of another "Summer Buff" accomplishment that we were unaware of. Former Buff Mirko Javanovic won the singles title of the Elam Classic (June 14-16) in Grand Junction, the highest payout of any tournament on the Colorado tennis scene, according to Jim. He also teamed with another former Buff, Jerrad Harbaugh, to claim the doubles crown. Mirko has completed his playing eligibility, but will be back at CU this fall to complete his education.
CSU IN THE BIG 12?: The Rams were the choice to add to the Big 12 in a recent Plati-'Tudes survey taken following a Sporting News article that listed Iowa State and Missouri among several candidates should the Big 10 decide to expand from 11 to 12 teams. Expansion in the Big 10 does not appear imminent, as Notre Dame rebuffed a bid a few years ago to make the league an even dozen, but TSN's Tom Dienhart raised the point in the magazine's August 12 issue. He figured the conference wouldn't look at expanding until the current BCS contract runs out in 2005.
Dienhart thought the University of Pittsburgh would be the most logical choice, but that Louisville, Missouri, Syracuse, Rutgers and Iowa State were also possibilities. Thus, the survey question simply said, "Should Iowa State or Missouri leave the Big 12 to join the Big 10, who would you like to see join the Big 12?"
Polls results (unscientific, of course) had P-'Tude readers selecting CSU as more or less the runaway choice--28 of the 69 respondents picked the Rams. Arkansas and BYU tied for second with 10 votes each, followed by Notre Dame (6), Arizona (4), Air Force (2), Louisville (2), New Mexico (2), Utah (2), Wyoming (2) and TCU (1).
CU does lack a true geographical rival in the conference, if the measure is simply a convenient drive on the Big 12 roads. Oklahoma has Oklahoma State, Texas A&M has Texas, Texas Tech has Baylor, Nebraska has Iowa State and Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri all have each other.
If Iowa State left, the Big 12 would lose the Des Moines television market; if Missouri vamoosed, St. Louis loses interest, and there would be fewer TV sets in Kansas City. One of the first considerations for any replacement would be what TV market would come to the table; CSU and Air Force would bring a few more sets in Denver and around the state, but is there another school that could bring more? I don't really think so.
Utah or BYU would pick up the Salt Lake City market, but they likely would not abandon each other. And don't forget both ISU and MU are Big 12 North Division schools, so the likely replacement would have to come north of the 37th parallel (the southern border of Utah, Colorado and Kansas) unless there is some kind of radical realignment within the conference.
Common sense says that Arizona would not leave the Pac 10 and its rival, Arizona State; Arkansas probably doesn't bolt the SEC; if Notre Dame didn't join the Big 10, it's not going to join the Big 12 (face it, the Irish probably can sign on board with the Big 10 any time it wants to). TCU or SMU only add Dallas, and that city is covered with a heavy concentration of UT and A&M fans, and along with Houston, were schools left behind from the old Southwest Conference days. Houston, Rice, New Mexico are in the southern territory and wouldn't make sense, Louisville is too far east, as most likely is Memphis.
The fact is, there's not an untapped TV market for the conference in the north region of the Big 12, unless it raids the Big 10 and grabs Minnesota for Missouri or Illinois for Iowa State. Anyone think either would desert the Big 10?
You know we'd like some company as the lone mountain time zone school, so I'm thinking CSU or Wyoming make the most sense. Wyoming might just be a bit far to travel for schools that don't travel by charter (two-plus hours from Denver), so that leaves Colorado State. But would the Rams leave the Mountain West, the conference in which it was a key figure in spinning off from the old WAC? BYU fans might not like it, but the recent history has shown the Rams are the premier football (and women's basketball) school in the league. Being a cornerstone member of the MWC, with the second largest TV market after San Diego, CSU's departure would have a huge ripple effect throughout the conference. CU was loyal to the Big 12 a few years ago when the Pac-10 came calling; CSU could be just as loyal to the MWC. But the Big 12 Conference and its healthy distribution checks are one heckuva lure, something Pac-10 hasn't matched.
So in my humble opinion, either extend an invitation to CSU, or what the heck: add Hawai'i.
SPEAKING OF SURVEYS: ESPN The Magazine had an interesting one earlier this month, where they declared what sport was the most followed in each state. The U.S. is truly a football nation, as 39 states and the District of Columbia emerged as football territories: 31 for the NFL and eight for college football (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee). Eight were deemed baseball states (five in New England, along with Arizona, Iowa and Washington. Iowa?), two college hoop states (no surprise here: Kentucky and North Carolina), and one for the NBA (Utah). Colorado was one of the 31 proclaimed as part of the "NFL Nation" by the publication.
HOW ABOUT THAT MANDY?: Former CU women's hoop star Mandy Nightingale, after being let go by Portland in the WNBA, came back strong in her other sport of choice and is the 2002 open women's trick waterskiing national champion. She was featured in a recent Sports Illustrated in the magazine's popular "Faces in the Crowd" section.
BOWIE & DENVER: Now that David Bowie's (and the Area2) Tour is complete, my brother (one of his three guitarists) informs me that the band felt Denver had one of the best crowds on the 11-city North American trek. Bowie particularly fell in love with the Tattered Cover Bookstore (he's a big book guy). People are still buzzing about the show's encore-ending song being "Ziggy." Mark was going to wear a CU jersey for the encore, but when he tried it on, the material in the shoulder area was so thick it would have messed with his guitar playing; so he did the smart thing.
THIS WEEK'S NUMBER: 8,257 (through August 17). That is the number of consecutive days that our head cross country and track coach, Mark Wetmore, has performed a daily workout. "I don't want to miss one, because one then turns into two, and two into three and so on." He knows the last day he didn't work out: January 8, 1980. One word: Wow!
TRIVIA ANSWERS: CU-- The Buffs opened at No. 2 in 1972, and at No. 5 in both 1990 and 1996. Godfather--- When Michael had a diabetic attack in Sicily, it took the priest's aide just six seconds to return after being asked to fetch some orange juice and some candy. He brought back a pitcher of the juice and what must have been eight candy bars. Now that's service!
"Plati-'Tudes" features notes and stories that may not get much play from the mainstream media; offers 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.