Plati-'Tudes
July 20, 2001
A bi-weekly notes column penned by David Plati, who is in his 17th year as Colorado's Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations.
As I wrap up year No. 17 on the hilltop (July 27 is the anniversary date), I bring you the 39th edition of P-Tudes, as well as apologizing for having no rhythm this summer to when they've come out. Hopefully I will return to a consistent every other week schedule once entrenched in the school year.
TRIVIA QUESTIONS... CU -- Jashon Sykes has done this every year in the Nebraska game. What is it? Godfather -- Who else screen tested for the role of Michael Corleone?
CONGRATS TO JIM HANSEN... Steve Chapra e-mailed in the latest accomplishment of Jim Hansen, who was recently appointed as a tenure-track professor at MIT (yes, that MIT-the Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Steve, one of Jim's favorite instructors and administrators during his time at CU, pointed out Jim's career track: CU Captain-Rhodes Scholar-Oxford PhD-MIT Professor. Anyone who would like to congratulate Jim can find him at: jhansen@mit.edu.
RE-LAUNCH OF CUBUFFS.COM... We're under construction (so-to-speak) at present, but plan to unveil a new look to CUBuffs.com later this summer (target date is the end of August). We are now aligned with FANSonly, the server host of many collegiate programs. The front page will be cleaner, sharper and less busy, features will expand and navigating around the site will be pretty simple, as it's been. Curtis Snyder is working with FO to ensure a quality look, and it's our intention to get media guides up and running in some form on cyberspace as soon as this year. Some things won't be updated until the switchover occurs, and Curtis is still auditing the 6,500-plus pages we took over in-house from Enlighten in April (that's why occasionally an old page appears instead of updated one -- like I would understand that technology). Stay tuned...
INVESCO IS PRETTY SWEET... Had the privilege of touring Invesco Field at Mile High yesterday, and it will blow away every football stadium in the nation when completed next month. The press facilities are second to none, but the fan amenities won't take a backseat, either. Tremendously wide concourses, angled seats at the stadium floor, two huge video replay boards and things like the Italian-iron cast herd of bucking broncos on the south side exterior make this place stand out. The seats aren't jammed together like at Coors Field or the Pepsi Center, either. The lockerrooms are out of this world, you could hold a wedding reception in the Bronco lockerroom, and the main visiting lockerroom (CU's for the CU-CSU clash) is better than most college home team lockerrooms. They did this place right, as the amount of checklists to complete each area is mind-boggling. There seemed to be a long one posted on a wall every time you turned around.
Worried about Mile High losing its home field edge? Don't be-as explained by Bronco PR chief Jim Saccomano, 40 percent of the stadium had a steel floor at Mile High, and the traditional foot stomping by Denver fans was pretty intense. The new stadium -- 100 percent of the seats, other than the suites, have steel beneath them. Easy math indicates the place should be at least twice as loud.
And look for the stadium district to make a serious bid for the 2004 Big 12 title game, when a north division site will be selected, they're sending in a bid a little after the deadline, but the hope is the Big 12 will take a hard look at it (we've been working on it with them, but the Denver people have a lot of things on their plate, like finishing the place, and couldn't get it in on time). One thing Denver is up against is that Kansas City throws in an awful lot for free and guarantees a sellout to the conference. But this facility kicks Arrowhead Stadium's you-know-what.
BCS CHANGE FOR THE GOOD... It's a good thing the BCS saw the light and reduced the effect of margin of victory from the computer rankings, I always had a feeling some of those somehow could view a 76-0 win over Ball State as a 76-0 win over Florida State when it happened in the early weeks of the season. Schools should not be rewarded for games like that -- period. They already have an adverse effect in league-wide statistics, play three bozos in the preseason and pile up great stats while we're off playing CSU, USC and Washington, and it's hard for our guys to play catch-up, and that's often lost when it comes to selecting all-league teams. And the addition of a "head-to-head" factor among the top 15 is something this column called for last fall (like anyone on the BCS panel saw it, so I am not taking credit...). But it is an excellent move.
TROUBLING NUMBERS... About five years ago, Grant Teaff and the AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) sounded the alarm about the count of high school students playing football being on the decline. A recent Youth Sports Participation poll, conducted by the National Sporting Goods Association that ran in the July 16-22 Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal unfortunately has proven the AFCA correct. And football isn't the only "mainstream" sport suffering. Between 1995 and 2000, one million fewer boys between the ages of 7 and 17 are playing baseball (down to 6.9 million), 900,000 fewer are playing basketball (8.7 million), 800,000 less are suiting up for football (4.0 million), and in hockey, 393,000 fewer are skating (a 36% drop to 707,000). The biggest gainers? Three sports -- can you say Tiger Woods? Golf is up 700,000 to 2.9 million (and that number frankly seems kind of low). The other two more than doubled participation: skateboarding (up 130% to 6.2 million) and snowboarding (up 119% to 2.0 million). There was no change in soccer (5.2 million play it), and other sports that are down include tennis (500,000 fewer, to 1.3 million), volleyball (700,000, to 1.8 million), in-line skating and softball. Regular skiing was not one of the sports polled.
For the girls (same ages, 7-17), there was either no or virtually no change in basketball (5.3 million), softball (3.7 million), baseball (2.0 million), golf (700,000) and in-line skating (6.9 million). The numbers were way up for football (from 400,000 to 1 million), tennis (now 2.0 million), skateboarding (1.2 million) and snowboarding (500,000) and were down really only for volleyball (off 34% to 2.5 million).
The story detailed that extreme sports are now corralling teens as well as kids. As far as television is concerned, for the four major pro sports, teens or kids did not register a single rating over 9.5 in the last four years, and take the NFL out of the equation, the highest rating was a 3.8 for teens watching the NBA in 1997. Major League baseball did not register over a 1.9 for the regular or postseason in 2000, and hockey topped out at 0.6.Does this affect colleges? You bet, and on all fronts. The obvious is in recruiting in the two major money making sports, football and men's basketball, as if this pattern continues, there will be fewer players to choose from. And it trickles down to ticket sales and fan attendance.
Fortunately, an ESPN Sports Poll in conjunction with S&S still shows interest in college athletics in the 12-17 demographic. In 2000, 75.5% of boys and 60.0% of girls considered themselves fans of college football, while 68.3% of boys and 67.5% of girls were college basketball fans. The biggest differences came in the two sports as one would expect: 71% of girls like figure skating to just 19% of boys, and 68% of the boys like boxing, whereas only 38% of girls do (65-43 in pro wrestling). The NFL and NBA reigned as the most popular, with the NHL the least among the big four pro leagues.
So perhaps one of the best ways to ensure the future of sports like football and basketball is to have your kids skateboard to practice. And take them to games!
AND THAT LEADS US INTO... The recent poll by the Rocky Mountain News and KCNC-TV that sought out Denver area fans favorite local pro teams. I believe 391 people were polled, and the results came back something like Broncos (52%), Avalanche (27%), Rockies (14%), Nuggets (1%), Rapids (1%), other (5%). I seriously doubt those percentages are accurate, though the order probably is at this time, the poll did not include area colleges on any level. The Nuggets have been a favorite whipping boy for locals for the last few years, but my belief is that this is a team that will have immediate support of the masses when they really get things going again. Think back to the electricity this team brought the area in the mid-to-late 1970s when they were 65-19 and 60-24 the last two years of the old ABA, and then stormed to a division title after the ABA-NBA merger in 1976-77. This is the team, in my opinion, that paved the way for the Colorado Rockies (both hockey and baseball) and then the Avalanche because those Nugget teams proved that the area would support a team for 40-plus home dates a year with sellout crowds of 17,000 a pop. And that was when the state's population was about half its current size. A better poll might be to find out if area residents consider themselves fans of any or all the five pro teams, CU, CSU, Air Force, other area colleges and high school sports in general. Knowing the affinity for sports in the state, I'd bet that most, if not all would post numbers in excess of 50 percent.
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST... As the Boulder Camera's Neill Woelk put it, likely the only human to see every CU football game, be it home, road or neutral, since 1978 is joining Dan Creedon in retirement. Craig Harper, the Camera beat writer for CU football since Bill Mallory's last season has opted for the paper's early retirement package and is calling it quits. "Harps" has not announced his future plans, but freelancing is in future. The new beat writer for CU football will be Ryan Thorburn, who was on the beat for the Longmont Times-Call a couple of years ago before joining the Camera last summer.
FINALLY, SOME COMPANY... My counterpart at the University of Missouri, Chad Moller, has joined the Internet columnist ranks as of July 11. I was kind of on an island out there, but with the recent publicity in the Denver Post, a story which will be re-run in the SID national newsletter, hopefully many more will join Chad and I in our cyberspace ventures. Check out his take on Missouri sports at: /genrel/071101aaa.html.
TOMEY NOT COMING... A rumor out there we've received a few calls about that somehow remains alive is that former Arizona head coach Dick Tomey will be in town observing our fall camp to analyze, among other things, why we have had so many shoulder injuries. Not true, says Gary Barnett. "Don't know where they keeps coming from, but it was never in the works, was never discussed," he said. "Flat-out not true."
CASOTTI CLASSIC... We held the eighth annual Count Casotti Classic at The Ridge at Castle Pines on July 17 (our annual coaches/staff-media/guest golf tournament). It's designed to build some camaraderie between CU athletic staffers and the media, and again was a fun day for all. The scores improved, possibly because participants know we publish 'em here in Plati-'Tudes.
The Ridge at CP, a 6,490-yard, par-71 layout, played host for a second straight year, and once again, for those who like golf, this is a great track: the perfect combination of challenging holes with some that can be forgiving. Brian Drees, the former Channel 7 sports anchor, is RCP's Tournament Director, and he and the staff there know how to put on a tournament. If you're looking for a place to hold a tournament of any size, give Brian a call at 303/688-0100. The Count, now 77, couldn't join us for golf this year as he had a doctor's appointment, but hope he can join us in 2002!
STAFF STANDINGS 1. Ricardo Patton....... 39-35--74 2. Jeff Luster.......... 38-37--75 3. Gary Barnett......... 40-40--80 4. Dick Tharp........... 40-45--85 5. David Plati.......... 43-43--86 6. Vince Okruch......... 47-41--88 7. Larry Gay............ 47-42--89 8. Chris May............ 47-45--92 9. Shawn Watson......... 50-45--95 10. Bill Hempen.......... 46-52--98 11. Bruce Fletcher....... 54-48--102 12. Lindsay Anhold....... 51-52--103 13. Ed Gow............... 47-54--104 14. Brendan McNicholas... 43-62--105
Ricardo Patton won low honors for a second straight year, he's quite the golfer and he's played now maybe all of nine years. Jeff Luster is our new director of basketball operations, Bill Hempen our new soccer coach and Bruce Fletcher our new director of licensing. Gary B. is still only a couple of months back from shoulder surgery, so an 80 on this loop isn't too shabby. Young Brendan McNicholas opened with a 10 on No. 18, then bounced back and posted one of the best nines all day with a 43 on the front side, before he settled back into his 36 handicap mode. And to those who might be impressed with my 86? Well, don't be -- I was a combined eight over par on the five par threes.
MEDIA/GUEST STANDINGS 1. Tom Krause............ 34-35--69 2. Bobby Anderson (a).... 35-38--73 2. Jim Watson............ 38-35--73 4. Tom Green............. 41-35--76 5. Eric Christensen...... 43-34--77 5. David Treadwell....... 40-37--77 7. Mike Marcely.......... 40-38--78 8. Gordie Hershiser...... 43-36--79 9. David Hunt............ 42-40--82 9. Bobby Pesavento....... 38-44--82 9. Mike Tanner........... 41-41--82 12. Randy Miller.......... 40-43--83 13. Marty Marcely......... 42-42--84 14. Aaron Lopez (b)....... 43-42--85 15. Tom Kensler........... 45-41--86 16. Jim Conrad............ 44-43--87 16. Joe Sanchez........... 45-42--87 18. Steve Gottsegen....... 47-42--89 18. Larry Herz............ 45-44--89 18. P.D. Marcely.......... 43-46--89 18. John Mossman.......... 45-44--89 18. Ryan Thorburn......... 44-45--89 23. Kevin Krueger......... 47-43--90 24. Kevin Dale............ 47-44--91 24. Vic Lombardi.......... 48-43--91 24. Kevin McNicholas...... 46-45--91 24. Pam Penfold........... 42-49--91 24. Eric Sebastian........ 50-41--91 29. Bobby Hayden.......... 46-46--92 29. John Kouri (c)........ 45-47--92 29. Dave Preston.......... 47-45--92 32. Keith Bleyer.......... 41-53--94 32. Greg Mills............ 48-46--94 34. Lee Larsen............ 48-48--96 35. Dwight Larsen......... 53-44--97 35. Steve Hemphill........ 50-47--97 37. Gerry Mellman......... 50-48--98 38. Rick Schwartz......... 56-43--99 39. Patrick Saunders...... 52-48-100 40. Darren Mauser......... 53-48-101 41. Steve Saunders........ 56-48-104 42. Anthony Cotton........ 58-47-105 43. Kevin Eldredge........ 54-54-108 44. Amy Turner............ 62-57-119 45. Sam Adams............. 60-67-127 --. Irv Brown............. 49--WD a--media champion (0-15 handicap) b--media champion (16-21 handicap) c--media co-champions (22+ handicaps)
Closest-to-the-Pin (#12): David Hunt (11') Long Drive (#11): Mike Marcely (310 yards) Longest Putt (#18): Gary Barnett (12')
THIS WEEK'S NUMBER... 50,942. That's the revised capacity of Folsom Field, with the removal of some old rickety bleacher seats at the top of sections 101 and 102 and a complete audit of the entire stadium after other minor tweaks here and there.
TRIVIA ANSWERS... CU -- In all three games against the Cornhuskers, Sykes has posted 14 tackles for a total of 42 of the 297 in his career. Godfather -- James Caan (forced into doing it) and Martin Sheen. But director Francis Ford Coppola got his wish by casting a relatively unknown Al Pacino for the role.
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"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.