Plati-'Tudes - University of Colorado Athletics

Volume III, Issue 4

May 21, 2002

A notes column penned by David Plati, who is wrapping up his 18th year as Colorado's Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations.

You all heard last from me, what, two months ago? So much for being bi-weekly; think the tagline should read, "An erratically timed notes column penned by a harried S.I.D."... So I guess this one better be good, eh?

TRIVIA QUESTIONS
CU--Three Buffaloes have scored holes-in-one in competitive CU golf history. The last was by Tobias Forsgren in 1999; who recorded the first two, and, for bonus points, what was special about the first one?
Godfather--In the "Godfather" episode of Seinfeld, who replaced Jerry as the godfather to one of his friend's newborn baby boy?

EARLY TV INDICATIONS
We should know the TV arrangements for the first month of the football season in early June. The CU-Colorado State game from Invesco Field at Mile High will be shown on either ESPN or ESPN2, with a host of times a possibility. The San Diego State game on Sept. 7 appears to be the second or third best game in the Big 12 that day; ABC will likely grab Alabama at Oklahoma, leaving CU-SDSU or Utah State-Nebraska as the other two games for Fox Sports/TNT to select between. You can probably go to the bank that ABC will televise both the Southern California and UCLA games at 1:30 p.m. mountain time; the CU-USC tilt is not in the mix for prime time on the 14th, and there's no prime time affair set as of now for the 21st. The early morning syndicated game, the one that aired locally on Channel 20, no longer exists in the non-conference portion of the season; FSN will still originate those during the league slate (the reason? Too many Big 12 schools schedule weak foes, and the networks can't burn all the appearances of those who don't before league play). Each appearance earns participating schools a share around $170,000, with two shares for non-conference games.

CONGRATS TO KJ
Okay, my obvious source for some of the above was ABC's Keith Jackson. But how about the fact that he played his first 18 holes of golf last Monday after having both knees replaced, and he almost shot his age with a 74? Now that deserves a 'Whoa Nellie.' (Remember, he's only said that for a commercial!).

BOWIE COMING TO DENVER
Speaking of "insider information," David Bowie is coming to Colorado this summer to appear in concert. My younger bro, Mark, plays rhythm guitar and bass for Bowie, and he first informed me of his impending visit last month. It's now official, August 10 at City Lights, in Denver. So, think the odds are pretty good someone in the band will be donning a CU jersey during the show or what?

SEARS CUP
The Buffs currently stand ninth in the 2001-02 Sears Cup Standings, and CU does appear to be headed to an all-time best finish since the competition began back in the '93-94 school year. Stanford is running away with things at present, with 1125 points in the final winter standings, followed by North Carolina (715), Minnesota (659.5), Michigan (609), Florida (601), Texas (568.5), Penn State (553), UCLA (542) and Colorado (541); Oklahoma rounds out the top 10 with 525. Only two other programs have over 500 points through NCAA championships completed as of April 25.

CU's best finish came during the '97-98 season, when it tied for 19th, as Colorado has four top 25 finishes in its history. The Buffs are in position to pickup more points in as many as three sports, which if significant, could keep CU in the top 10 for the first time in the Sears standings.

Men's golf advanced out of regional play into the NCAA Finals, and is guaranteed of scoring more points for the Buffs. At least 22 more points, as that is what the 30th place team is guaranteed to receive; the 17th place team receives 35, with each team that follows, all the way to 30th, receiving one less per spot (18th, 34; 19th, 33, etc.). First gets 100, second 90, third 80, fourth 75 and fifth 71; sixth gets 68, and each spot from seventh through 16th gets three less than the previous place (seventh, 65; eighth, 62, etc.). So the golfers could rack up some serious additional points.

And remember how points are calculated for track: schools get the greater amount for men's and women's competition between indoor and outdoor. The men finished 11th and the women tied for 16th at the NCAA Indoor, so if they better those finishes, CU will pick up additional points as well. Coach Mark Wetmore thinks the women definitely can better their finish, and gives the men's team a shot at doing so as well.

Could that happen? CU's outdoor track teams are ranked as high as they have been in recent memory. In the Trackwire polls of May 14, the Colorado women were ranked No. 6, with the men in at No. 7. UCLA, South Carolina, USC, LSU and Nebraska were ahead of the ladies, while Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Florida, SMU and Mississippi State topped the Buff men. Wetmore's Buffaloes finished sixth (women) and eighth (men) ate the recent Big 12 Championships in Columbia, but he has to hold back some of the troops at the league meet so that they are in primo form come the NCAA's, which are May 29-June 1 in Baton Rouge.

MOSLEY CAPTURES AUSSIE HONOR
Congratulations are in order for former Buff hoopster Jamahl Mosley, who was named the recipient of the National Basketball League's (Australia) Sixth Man Award. Playing forward for the Victoria Titans, he averaged 11.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, shooting 46 percent from the field in playing in all of Victoria's games in 2001-02. He had 16 points and nine rebounds in the Titan's Game 1 playoff win over Melbourne last weekend. Mosley, who lettered four times for Ricardo Patton and the Buffaloes between 1997-2001, received 55 out of a possible 90 votes for the honor.

KEARNEY, CU EAST?
A couple of familiar names to those who follow the Buffaloes have landed in Kearney, Neb. Former CU women's hoopster, Kami Carmann, is a weekday news reporter for NTV, where Matt Schick, a sports reporter/anchor, has also landed. Those who listened to KVCU over the past few years know his voice from the War Room, the Monday Night talk show he co-hosts with Wade Wimmer. Carmann, who lettered four years for Ceal Barry, is best-known for being the fianc? of CUBuffs.com webmaster Curtis Snyder (not!), while Wimmer is best known for being the next door neighbor of moi (true! His lawn looks better than mine, though).

CHIAVERINI JOINS KUSA-TV
In March, former Buff Ryan Chiaverini returned to Colorado from Billings, Montana, where he worked the past two years as a sports anchor. He joined Denver's KUSA-TV (Channel 9) on March 25 as general assignment reporter in sports. And yes, covering Colorado will be included in his metro-wide beat. The twin brother of Darrin Chiaverini, a wide receiver now of the Dallas Cowboys, he played two years for the Buffs (1998-99) as a safety and special teams performer and graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism from CU. See, Kami and Matt, you can come home again!

IN-COLUMN COMMERICIAL
Plati-'Tudes is sponsored by www.saccosays.com, the most popular site on the Internet managed by an NFL public relations director. Check it out!

SCOTT NAMED UTAH STATE HEAD COACH
Congratulations to former Buff Raegan Scott-Pebley, who was named head women's basketball coach at Utah State University. The USU program will return for the 2003-04 season after a 16-year hiatus. Raegan, 26, played on three Bight Eight tournament championship teams at Colorado in the 1990s, played two years with the WNBA's Utah Starzz, and served as an assistant coach at both Colorado State and George Mason. Good luck reviving the Aggie program, Raegan!

RIVALRY UPDATE
As selected by P-Tude readers, here's an update on our two most recognized rivalries for the '01-02 academic year: the Buffs are now 15-11-1 against Nebraska (7-3-1 in games/matches, 8-8 in meets/tournaments) and finished 11-8 versus Colorado State (3-3 in games/matches, 8-5 in meets/tournaments). The Buffs and Huskers will see each other at the NCAA track championships to complete their competition.

CU-CSU IN DENVER
We've had a few calls/e-mails about the Colorado State game being included in our football season ticket package when it was supposed to be an away game. In actuality, the "away" tag was eliminated when the contract was signed last year with INVESCO Field at Mile High for the stadium to host the 2001, 2002 and 2003 games (the 2004 game returns to Boulder and a campus setting). They're neutral games that both have decided to consider a home game. While we are considered the "away" team, the home and away designation at a neutral site usual cover these things: who gets what lockerroom and corresponding sideline, who wears what jersey, which conference do the TV rights belong to, who hosts the press box and does credentials, etc. Colorado was the home team in '01; CSU is the home team in '02 and '03 for just such instances. In fact, the lockerroom and sidelines along with ticket locations for fans are the same for all three years, so really the few things left are which teams gets or wear their home jersey, will the game come under the Big 12 or Mountain West for television rights, and who hosts the media, myself or CSU's Gary Ozzello.

"Since the seating allocations to the individual schools remain the same, both schools agreed, for the 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons, to make this game a part of their season ticket packages," senior associate AD Jon Burianek said. "We believe this would be the most effective way to ensure that ticket holders would receive seats in relatively similar locations every game."

"Both of us (CU and CSU) see this as a home state event, a home game at a neutral site. So both of us decided to make it part of our season ticket packages," CU ticket manager Ed Gow says.

The Boulder Camera took the stance that we were forcing our fans to buy the CSU game ticket, based upon 40-45 e-mails they received complaining about the situation (funny, we totaled 20 complaints across the entire department, meaning over half of those who e-mailed the Camera didn't make an effort to e-mail or talk to anyone here; or perhaps just a handful of people orchestrated an e-mail campaign). But it gave me an idea for the latest Plati-'Tudes survey questions to gauge their opinions. Here's what 56 respondents said:

1) Are you a season ticket holder for Colorado football? YES-46; NO-10.
2) If you are a season ticket holder, do you want the CSU game ticket included? YES-42; NO-4.
3) Do you consider CU's season football ticket a good buy in our marketplace? YES-36; FAIR/DECENT-11; NO-4; NO ANSWER-5.

I know for a fact that those on my survey list aren't our "lap-dogs" so-to-speak, and don't necessarily agree with everything I throw out there. I've done enough surveys to think they do represent a silent majority, however, so I think the results above are more indicative of the masses than the Camera story might have led people to believe.

Some of the feedback on the CSU ticket being included:

"(Some) people will whine no matter what you do. Two years ago, they were mad because you didn't include it, now they are mad because you did." - Jason Maggard
"I would buy no matter what, as would most other season tix holders. I think it is just a sticker shock situation. It seems like not that long ago I was paying $20 for the season as a student. But hey, my degree from CU is treating me all right!" - Steve Mizdor
"Absolutely, in the past it was a pain in the neck having to buy tickets to the CSU game separately. Other than the NU game, the CSU game is our most important game of the year." - Woody Gruenler
"Yes it should be but the seats should be fairly equivalent to what we have in Boulder. Our tickets in Folsom are on the 3-yard line. At Mile High Stadium we had to sit in the end zone and we were not pleased at all." - Ted Mellin (Plati-'Tude Note: We know many get displaced, but a reminder we only get half the sideline seats at Invesco instead of both sides like at Folsom; a problem for CU and our 37,000 season ticket holders, including students, not as much if it all for CSU and their 16,000 or so).
"If you didn't include that game in the package, and I had to fend for tickets on my own, I wouldn't feel like you were taking care of me as a season ticket holder." - Scott Hartman
Yes, I am a season ticket holder, and Yes, I think it should be included in the season package. Although, I do not feel that we should play anyone in Mile High anymore. The college atmosphere is almost non-existent. Playing CSU is fine, but it should be in Boulder and Fort Collins." - Ross Moff

And on the ticket being a good buy or not:

"I consider a college football game an entire weekend event. For the joy I get at a CU game, $50 bucks is a bargain" - David Tedesco
"Our season tickets are a very good value. Don't lose focus, Buff fans, because as you know, unlike most of the over-hyped pro sports around here, Buffs' football actually matters." - James Daal (Now James, be nice!)
"The best way to validate the ticket value is this: When I have an open ticket, I've invited other friends to come to the games. But I get turned down sometimes because they know they can buy a scalped ticket at the game for much less than the face value of the ticket. Last year, friends of mine got into games for as low as 10 bucks per ticket, while I paid 40-plus. Same was the case with my basketball tickets... Just food for thought." -- Jayson Bethurem
"Not really, to be honest. But I'm a bleachers kind of guy." - Name withheld.
"Well, Paul McCartney at Madison Square (Garden) was $250 for the best and $125 for the next level. It's never too much when the Buffs are winning." - Scott Snyderman
"Yes, I think it's a good buy, but not because I compare it to prices of other sporting events & entertainment. I think it's a good buy because I love the Buffs and Folsom Field on a fall Saturday is one of my favorite places." - Brian Lollar
"Like a lot of things, I would like lower prices, but, for the Buffs, I do not mind spending $320 for 7 games. I wish Oklahoma & Nebraska were coming to Boulder on opposite years. Next year's home games will be more attractive than this year's." - Charlie LeCorchick
"Yes, but there should be an opt-out for those who wish." - Richard Engel

RANDOM OBSERVATION
Is it me, or is the NBA draft lottery really dumb? I'm probably biased because the Nuggets always seem to get the short end... I vaguely remember it was instituted because the schedules were so unbalanced between conferences that it would give the worst team from each side a chance at the No. 1 pick. Is there really a difference between a 22-60 team in the East and a 17-65 team in the west?

ALL-TIME STATE TURNAROUNDS
The Colorado Rockies dismissed manager Buddy Bell in April after the team got off to 6-16 start. Incidentally, Buddy is a good man, and became a heckuva CU fan after moving here. He loved college basketball, attending several games either with his family or third base coach Rich Donnelly (whom I worked with in 1982 at the old Denver Bears). He also took his clan to the Fiesta Bowl last January. Those of us who go to know him were really rooting for the Rox to do well under his tutelage.

That aside, I'll bet many of you didn't know that CU teams have at least three of the top 10 all-time season turnarounds in state history in the "modern" era (post-World War II). In 1986, the football team opened 0-4 before reeling off five straight wins, which set up a battle against Oklahoma for the Big Eight title and the Orange Bowl. In 1953-54, the men's basketball team opened 0-7, but rebounded to finish the regular season 11-9, winning the Big Seven and earning an NCAA tournament berth (when there was something like 12 teams invited). The '91-92 women's basketball team opened 8-8, including an 0-3 record in league play, only to reel off 14 straight wins to win the Big Eight title.

A couple of others that come close to making my list was the '54-55 men's hoop team, opening 3-4 before going 15-1 and reaching the NCAA Final Four; and the '61-62 men's hoopers, who after a 3-5 start, won the Big Eight by winning 12 in a row, eventually reaching the Elite Eight in finishing 19-7. And my list doesn't include the '59 football team, which opened 0-3 under first-year coach Sonny Grandelius but rallied to finish 5-5. (Or opening 0-1 last year in football and winning 10 of the next 11 to rise to No. 3 in the polls. Not that it wasn't a test of fortitude, but a lot of teams in the state have rallied from being 0-1 to win titles... including the '76 football Buffs.) See, I'm trying to not to have CU dominate the list, as we have several examples of turning around a season after a sour start or two.

Around the state, others include the 1969-70 Denver Rockets in the old ABA; they opened the year 9-20, changed head coaches, and soon reeled off 15 straight wins (and won 24 of 28) to rally to a 51-33 record. The new coach, Joe Belmont, actually lost his first game and saw the team drop to 9-20 before going 42-13. The 1982-83 Denver Nuggets opened 10-16 and rallied to finish 45-37 under Doug Moe. The Nuggets were known around that time for putting together double-figure winning streaks the second half of the season, doing three other times close to what the '82-83 team did. The 1973 Denver Broncos opened 1-3, but went 6-2-2 down the stretch to finish with the club's first winning season in team history (7-5-2); the 2000 Broncos opened 2-3 but won nine of the last 11 to finish 11-5 and make the playoffs. Up the road in Fort Collins, the Rams opened 0-4 in 1967 and finished 4-5-1, with Sonny Lubick's '97 team going 9-0 after a 2-2 start to finish 11-2. The 1968 Air Force Falcons, coached by Ben Martin, opened 1-2 only to finish 7-3; included in the 6-1 run to end the year were big wins over both CSU (31-0) and CU (58-35).

The first all-time comeback in the state happened in 1948, according to retired Denver Post sportswriter Frank Haraway. The Denver Bears, members of the Western League at the time, put together a 16-game winning streak and went from last to first. The streak actually led up to the debut of Bears Stadium (renamed Mile High in 1968), as the team moved into its new digs in the midst of the season.

If I'm omitted a great turnaround, e-mail me and I'll mention in the next P-Tudes.

The Rockies won their first six games after the switch and are 14-8 since; history in the state shows that a reversal of fortunes certainly isn't out of the question. There's often a lot of negative media coverage around the state, and it's obvious that certain reporters or talk show hosts thrive on it to make waves; really only the Avalanche have seemed to avoid it recently (seven straight winning seasons and two Stanley Cups will do that). So here's hoping the Rockies can turn it around simply, if for nothing else, it would make for a positive story.

LATE ENTRIES
I received a few late entries to the survey conducted in my last P-'Tudes, when I solicited opinions on the top two most important sporting events ever held within the state of Colorado. A couple of good ones were sent in by Mike Moran, the PR head honcho at the U.S. Olympic Committee (and former CU SID, the man who had the tough job of following Fred Casotti in 1968). He cites a June Sunday in 1983, when sprinters Evelyn Ashford and Calvin Smith set back-to-back world records in the 100-meters at the National Sports Festival in Colorado Springs. But he came up with perhaps the coolest entry: The 1979 festival which selected the 1980 U.S. Olympic ice hockey team that won the gold medal at Lake Placid and became the sports event of the century. Mike recently announced his retirement, effective at the end of the year, and will marry long-time girlfriend Gretchen this June.

And on a more local front, P-Tooder Tom Lyons wanted to include the 1982 Boulder-Fairview football game. "Eric McCarty dragged Brad Wright the last 10 yards into the end zone. Then Toby Fairbanks made the PAT out of the hands of a Tom Gebhardt hold. Panthers won, 21-20... first time in 20 years."

You know, some pretty amazing things have taken place in the state's borders and span several sports. We've been pretty lucky in this state.

HERE WE GO
Groundbreaking took place April 16 to signal the start of construction for Folsom Field's suites and club seats structure, which will add some 2,500-plus seats atop the stadium's east side by August, 2003. Obviously the groundbreaking was of ceremonial nature, but real things are already happening. Utilities are being relocated, and soon a construction entrance will be created. The contractor began drilling caissons on April 22, utilizing a swing shift (between 4 p.m. and 1 a.m.), with decibel checks to make sure we're not bothering our neighbors in University Heights. The construction firm has a website that those interested can follow the progress: www.turner-shaw.com. We will also link to it from our website.

CHAMPIONSHIP CONNECTIONS
There are a couple of Colorado ties to the top NCAA men's basketball champions. At Maryland, the Division I titleist, ticket manager Wendy Brown graduated from CU and logged some time in the Buff ticket office in the late 1980s. And at Metro State, the Division II champ, Roadrunner sports info director Chris "De-Con 4-Gone" DeCcnna was a student assistant in our media relations office. Hope the rings make it down to your rung on the ladder, Wendy and Chris!

THE BUFF IS RIGHT, ER, THE PRICE IS BUFF
One of CU's Cheer Squad members recently appeared and did very well on the popular game show, "The Price is Right." Jennifer Uchida, a third-year team member from Denver (Green Mountain High School), was selected as a candidate to play from the audience while she attended a taping in California while on spring break in late March. Jennifer was very successful on the show, winning out of contestant row, winning her game, and then winning on the wheel to advance to the showcase showdown. Being a cheerleader, she did a standing "back tuck" on stage, at one point almost tackling host Bob Barker. What was Jennifer wearing? A personalized t-shirt stating, "I came all the way from Colorado to C U Bob." The show aired on CBS on April 29.

HANSEN'S WELCOME NEW ADDITION
Former Buff and Rhodes Scholar Jim Hansen and wife Juli welcomed daughter Katherine into the world this past March 12. Actually, she sprang on her loving parents two days early; delivery was scheduled for March 14, but we guess Katherine wanted out in time to select her NCAA tourney bracket. Jim's note to tell us: "Great news! Juli 'produced' a 6-lb, 0-oz (17-inch long) baby named Katherine." Produced? Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy... Those who would like to take a look, picks are at: http://wind.mit.edu/~hansen/katherine.html.

IS IT NEWS OR ENTERTAINMENT?
Some recent examples that should make all of us think about media coverage in general:

EXHIBIT A: If an assistant athletic program director for a visible Division I school beat a reporter up, it would no doubt make headlines, right? If a reporter roughed up an assistant athletic program director, shouldn't it as well? That wasn't the case this past March. A Minneapolis newspaper reported that a Denver Post reporter did just that on March 17. Former editor of the Post, Glenn Guzzo, admitted that "there was an altercation, and Mr. (John) Romo received some injuries... and we're still investigating." Romo is the assistant for the University of Minnesota's hockey team. The story was never reported here in Colorado. Now those who might say reporters aren't public figures, well, please explain all the coverage the recent passing of Gene Amole received. I don't think anyone disputes the fact that Amole, a long-time columnist at the Rocky Mountain News, was a public figure, and all the accolades that have come his way are most definitely deserved. And then there's also the coverage of the tragic death of Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl in Pakistan. But they can't have it both ways. A reporter who breaks the nose of a school official should expect to wind up in the newspaper. We might still be investigating something, but that doesn't keep it out of the papers. So that's an apparent one-way street.

EXHIBIT B: On May 4, KUSA anchor Ward Lucas erroneously reported that coach Gary Barnett had pulled the scholarships of four players that day, after the four had a court appearance the previous day. One of the player's lawyers revealed that his client had his scholarship pulled, along with three other players. Gary confirmed that was the case, but that he had informed the players in late January or early February. The 9News report made it appear that Gary did it as a knee-jerk reaction because of the events in the days leading up to the arraignments. I called Channel 9, spoke to Cindy, who was on the assignment desk during the broadcast, and asked for a correction. None aired. I called in after the show, spoke to producer LaShauna Sewall (who was as nice as could be), but was informed that she had talked it over with Lucas and they decided together that it "was a matter of semantics." This surprised me, because I've known a lot of people at 9News for a long time, and I would have never expected that answer, basically telling me that it didn't matter that the facts were reported wrong. Neill Woelk then phoned from the Daily Camera and asked to clear it up, as a caller or two had called in questioning the Camera's reporting some four days earlier about the revoking of scholarships. I told Neill that they had it right and that I called Channel 9 and asked for a correction and that they had passed. He then called KUSA, and he told me that they seemed pretty nervous a newspaper wanted to write about their error. While I fully give credit to KUSA for airing a correction the next day, I wonder if it was only because of the threat that the Camera was going to write something, and it came down not to journalistic integrity, but to image in the community. 9News obviously does a lot of good things, i.e., the 9 Health Fair, and it didn't want to suffer a blow to their credibility.

EXHIBIT C: Has some media become more concerned about the business end then just good old-fashioned solid reporting? Take CNN for example: less than six hours after reporter Christiane Amanpour was the first journalist to interview Yassir Arafat by telephone, and CNN was promoting that. Tasteless, considering the war on terror? Maybe. Inconceivable, because Arafat hung up the phone on her after she asked one of the stupidest questions in live television history? Definitely. (The question: Do you feel they are out to get you? Well, duh.) Many consider her the top reporter on the Middle East (I'd agree with that), but the question was dumb. And it didn't stop TV's traditional, "We had it before you had it." I discussed that last year after the plane crash of the Oklahoma State basketball team, and it still sickens me think back to the Fox affiliate in Oklahoma City trying to find out if the plane that went down was the one "with the starters on it." Amanpour's expression when Arafat was yelling at her over the phone and then hung up was one of definite surprise, but CNN went for the promotion regardless. And I do giver her credit for having Arafat's private number and it's not easy to conduct that kind of live interview. I'd have no problem with it if CNN didn't choose to promote the fact they got to him first.

A lot of this comes back to Bryant Gumbel's line about a decade ago decrying that we've become a nation of critics. In my own journalism class (athletic media relations), an assignment was to update the game notes after we went to a Denver Nuggets game. Three of the students poked fun at the Nuggets attendance, despite the fact that they were told to write the notes as if they were Nuggets employees. When I asked why you would poke fun at your own team, they basically said they thought it'd be funny. I informed them that's a sure way to get in trouble.

THIS WEEK'S NUMBER
74.23. That is the current stroke average for the men's golf team for 183 competitive rounds this season, which stands to set a school record. The mark as of now is 74.41, set by the 1999-2000 squad; CU advanced to the NCAA Championship Finals last Saturday by claiming the 10th and final qualifying spot out of the Central Regional. This team is of the mindset to do some damage at the NCAA's, and is out to top the school's best previous showing (8th) in 1968.

TRIVIA ANSWERS
CU-- Hale Irwin scored the first in 1967, and then 30 years later, Norton Rainey made the second. Irwin's was extra special as he made it in the third round of the NCAA Championships (en route to a 65 and eventual victory). Godfather-- Good 'ol "Cosmo Kramer."