New Year's Plati-'Tudes
Welcome to a notes and comment column in its eighth year penned by CU Associate Athletic Director David Plati, who is now in his 24th year as the Buffaloes director of sports information:
Happy New Year! Hopefully 2008 is great for you and yours, as well as for the
Trivia Questions
This edition’s three Q’s to test your mind (or to breeze through they’re it’s cake to you):
CU?Cody Hawkins recorded just the second 300-yard passing game in CU bowl history when he completed 24-of-39 passes for 322 yards against
Who Am I??I lettered three times in skiing at
Music?The Beatles had
Name That Tune?What song is this lyric from: “Well the Illinois Central and the Southern Central freight.”
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Quick Hits
The Buffs are 25th in the fall NACDA/U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup final fall standings (172 points, California leads with 370; Texas, in ninth, and Oklahoma State, 23rd, are the only two Big 12 schools ahead of the Buffs)... Congrats to former soccer star Fran Munnelly, who recently accepted the Branch Operations Coordinator position at Raymond James Financial Services in Boulder; former Buff golfer James Dawson did the hiring (funny, he went by Jamie before entering the world of high finance)... People attacked Paciolan for the Rockies World Series ticket problems; well, we’ve been with them since just about its first year of operation and have minimal if any real problems; the inside word of a malicious attack was in fact just that, one no one would have been prepared for regardless of what the after-the-fact “experts” had to say (funny how they all line up to be on TV, isn’t it?. And most seldom have any real world experience)... Nice: The CU-Wyoming women’s basketball game (a Buff win over the ranked Cowgirls on Dec. 5), was the third-highest rated women’s hoop game ever on
Click Here Quick
I don’t know how long it will remain posted on ESPN’s web site, but click on the below for some fun banter between Mike and Mike talking about CU’s Brittany Spears winning the Big 12 Player of the Week honor for January 7. They do leave them up for a while; you need to go to the video box and scroll down to find Mike & Mike: Brittany Spears: http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/show?showId=mikeandmike.
CNBC To Profile Ryan Black
CNBC's "The Big Idea with Donny Deutsche" on Tuesday, January 22, will have a feature on former Buff Ryan Black, who has made it big in the vitamin drink world. The show airs at 10 p.m. EST (8 p.m. MST); for more information on the show itself, go to: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15838512/.
Football Revisited
I think most would agree that the Buffaloes made progress under second-year head coach Dan Hawkins, as CU improved from 2-10 to 6-7, coming up just short in the Independence Bowl against
Specifically, watching how guys like Jordon Dizon, Terrence Wheatley and Tyler Polumbus matured and turned into leaders. They could have bailed when things were as nasty as could be, but stuck it out. I don’t think I ever saw guys like Alonzo Barrett and Byron Ellis without smiles on their faces, and how can one not admire a guy like Hugh Charles, who arrived in college already with his pilot’s license. Joe Sanders bounced around from position to position as did his playing time, but I may have seen his dad in the last five years more than my own, a very loyal Buff. Stephone Robinson and Chase McBride, the 5-8 on a good day twins, provided much excitement when they were back there on punt returns and were joys to work with.
Other seniors were also consummate team players, perhaps no one more than Kevin Eberhart, who started as a true freshman before Mason Crosby would take the field the same year. He patiently waited his turn, and the saying good things come to those who wait certainly was applied when he kicked game winning field goals in the opener against Colorado State and then over No. 3 Oklahoma. Then there’s Edwin Harrison, who played wherever he was needed and moved to guard five games into his senior season for the betterment of the team. It was nice to see Dusty Sprague become a part of the offense again and then finish in the top 10 in both catches and yards. Throw Lionel Harris in there to, as he’d play every snap some games and token ones in others, but was always ready to go in there; it was fitting he closed with interceptions in two of his last three games. And good guys like Tyson DeVree and Samson Jagoras, both of whom transferred in at the height of madness in 2005, turned into solid contributors. And you can’t forget two who didn’t play this past fall, Alvin Barnett and Bernard Jackson. B-Jax in particular, with the health issues of his father and his young son, was always a joy to visit with and you can’t help but root for the young man.
My first team, the ’84 one, is special to me despite its 1-10 record, as was the ’89 one (’90 was its splitting image) and the ’94 team. Right there would be the ’95, ’01, ’85 and ’04 teams. It would just be impossible to rank them.
My favorite all-time CU team that I worked closely with? Gotta go with my 1981 golfers,
Legendary CU Trainer Passes Away
One of the few remaining links to the Dal Ward staff at CU passed away on October 22, as former CU trainer Jack Rockwell passed away at the age of 81 in
Rockwell joined the Buffs in 1953 and was the team’s head trainer for the next seven years, before moving on to the St. Louis Cardinals in the National Football League. He would serve as the head trainer for the Cardinals for the next 12 seasons (1960-71).
While at CU, he served as the trainer for the U,S, Olympic basketball team which toured Russia in 1958; a member of that team was former CU center Burdie Haldorson, a two-time gold medalist. Several of his student prot?g?s at CU also went on to have great careers in athletic training, including Larry Chace (Calgary Stampeders in the CFL) and Lloyd Williams (CU, Air Force and the ABA Denver Rockets). He used to return to CU annually for the spring game to serve as the “alumni” trainer when the game used to pit current varsity members against former players.
His multi-faceted career also included employment at Johnson & Johnson, as well as a two-year stint as executive secretary of the National Athletic Trainers Association. Rockwell was inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame in 1977 for his service and many contributions to the NATA and the profession. He traveled with the U.S. Gymnastics team as its athletic trainer in the 1980s and later traveled with the LPGA.
His distinguished career as an athletic trainer and physical therapist included being inducted into the National Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame in 1977, and the Missouri Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame. He helped found the National Athletic Trainers Association, of which he served as Executive Secretary. Upon moving to the
Jack was a decorated war veteran of World War II, where he served from 1943-1946. He fought as an infantryman at the
Jack was a graduate of the
(Much of the above was from the on-line obituary by the
Shenanigans?
A letter to the editor in the Denver Post was published, one regarding some alleged negative Buff fan behavior at the Independence Bowl. Yes--alleged--no one can seem to corroborate that anything of the sort happened. The fan claimed he was a Nebraska fan at the game in the CU section, though records here show this person bought a basketball team in the year 2000.
Now contrast that to an E-mail we received from Stacey Posey of
Last night we sat right in the middle of the students, they were very respectful even while they had their fun. The band was respectful and had sooooo much heart! And the team, when they went to the end zone during half time to kneel and openly pray without shame, we were so touched!
We watched
Makes you wonder about the legitimacy of letters always complaining about CU fans, which almost always are from a certain fan base of another team. They need to take a deep breath, because we saw things coming out of that group this year that no one had seen before anywhere in college football when their own team failed to meet their expectations. I've been around college football for three decades now, and the rap our fans get is uncalled for and totally exaggerated; they are similar to almost all places I've visited.
Where They Are Now
Had a chance to spend some time with Garry Howe, the nose tackle on CU’s 1990 consensus national championship football team, when we were in Des Moines for the November 10 CU-Iowa State game. He is now working for Wells Fargo in Des Moines, is married with three boys and a fourth child on the way. He has a moonlight business, as he is part-owner of a limousine business. A native of Spencer, Iowa, he was the athlete the town forwarded to the new Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, which has a display featuring the most famous athlete from every town Iowa. He has fond memories of his CU days, which of course led to an NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and seven years with the Iowa Barnstormers in the Arena Football League; he proudly points out that 10 of the 11 starters on the defense on that ’90 team went on to play pro football. Howe led the Buffs in tackles for loss (22) that year, just ahead of OLB Alfred Williams (20.5), with 96 tackles overall, third best on the team, including runner-up to Williams in sacks with 10. He also led the team with four forced fumbles. Any old teammates wanting to get in touch with Garry can find him at Garry.W.Howe@wellsfargo.com.
Speaking of Williams, he is one of CU’s next two nominees for the College Football Hall of Fame; he and fellow co-captain of the national championship team, guard Joe Garten, have been nominated. The screening committee will begin its work later this winter and the class of 2008 will be selected in the spring.
Ron Monteilh ('04) recently checked in as well; he's living in Atlanta where he is a financial advisor and is also in the process of getting his real estate license. He went into private business after one year of Arena football, and occasionally works out with another former Buff down Atlanta way, Marcques Spivey ('01). Those looking for Ron can find him at ronmonteilh@yahoo.com.
Moran On The Offensive
Former Colorado SID Mike Moran ('68-79) recently penned the below to the New York Times in response to a story it ran last month on the absurd boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics by the Carter Administration. Mike was also the chief communications officer for the United States Olympic Committee from 1979 to 2003:
Honor 1980 Olympians
To the Sports Editor:
Re "Athletes From 1980 Get Medals," Dec. 18: If Congress truly wishes to recognize the 1980 United States Olympic team that was forced to stay home from the Games in Moscow, it should go well beyond simply changing the designation of the Congressional medals awarded to the athletes in the summer of that year.
Some 220 of those athletes never had the chance to be called Olympians again and were denied their dreams as a result of this ill-conceived and politically motivated act by the Carter administration.
If the Congress and the United States Olympic Committee truly want to recognize this team, I have these suggestions.
*Stage a suitable recognition ceremony in 2010, the 30th anniversary of the
*Ask the International Olympic Committee to recognize the team, and those of the scores of other nations coerced to boycott the Games, as official Olympic teams.
*Request an official apology to the athletes, who were used as political pawns, from President Jimmy Carter for this ugly moment in American Olympic history.
Mike Moran
Bohn To Vietnam
Athletic director Mike Bohn will be in Vietnam for 10 days in late January, on a special trip for a handful of athletic directors sponsored by NIKE. The group will tour NIKE facilities for a first-hand look at its Vietnamese operations. Should make for a quite interesting "Throwin' You A Bohn" when he returns.
CU Alums, Take Note! Former CU offensive lineman Kane Cullum (’99) recently e-mailed me and extended an invitation to any ex-Buffaloes looking for a job, to make a change, or advance their career to send them his way. His area of expertise is in the Executive Search Arena in Supply Chain/Distribution/Logistics (both globally & nationally). He may be able to get in touch with some recruiters that could help them. Kane can be reached at kcullum@purcellintl.com or 858/292-3280 (ext. 107). Tiring of Playoff Talk
Has anyone ever figured out that the schools (and not just the presidents) by en large are not playoff proponents? The ones that seem to from year-to-year are the one or two that got left out of the BCS title game (though we did not take that stance back in 2001).
And, if the Rose Bowl had selected Georgia instead of Illinois, all the BCS games might have fallen into place; as it was, only the Orange was contested to the end. A plus-one playoff would take care of this.
I liked Ivan Maisel’s closing summation in a recent ESPN.com column: “For all of the upheaval over the course of the season, playing 13 games is an effective method of revealing impostors. It is another reason college football has the best regular season. Playoff talk continues, as it has for 40 years.”
Neuheisel
It’s funny seeing some of the responses and the revision of history with the hiring of former CU football coach Rick Neuheisel at UCLA. “He killed two programs,” is what many have said. Really? He killed CU? Much of the 2001 Big 12 Championship team were comprised of his recruits. “He won with Bill McCartney’s players.” True, but every new coach does that if he’s a winner, and those who enjoy mocking his coaching forget that he took over a team in ’95 that had 10 players selected in the first 71 of the NFL Draft, and then lost starting quarterback Koy Detmer three games into the year. We may have had no business winning seven or even six games that year and we still went 10-2.
Whenever I do my book on my life-long experiences here after my days at CU are over and I am on the Champions Tour (insert snicker here), I will have a lot to say on this subject as well as what happened at Washington, where some of the worst kind of people you would ever meet in the media helped to do him in. Bitter people of little or zero character who still were taking potshots at him the weekend he was hired by UCLA.
Bottom line, UCLA scored a hit. Rick, who remains a good friend, never said he did everything right, has learned from his mistakes and took the time to work his way back up the coaching ladder and has earned his shot at redemption.
Good Luck,
Sorry to see long-time Boulder Camera sports editor Gary Baines step away from his duties. Baines, a CU graduate and a huge supporter of the sport of golf (he was an Evans Scholar), will do some freelancing and start a golf website, which he wasn’t ready to fully reveal the details of just yet.
Replacing Baines will be co-editors, Chris Shelton and Jennifer Osieczanek; Chris has been on the women's basketball beat most of this decade and will remain so with his new duties, so most Buff fans should be familiar with him. Jennifer has been more behind the scenes, but within the last year has written an insightful column each Monday on a potpourri of subjects. Both should fare well with this new assignment.
Book Update
Speaking of books, Tales of Colorado Football by
The P-?Tudes Survey I queried the survey group on a couple of questions; here are those results: 1) Dan Hawkins gave himself an “F” for his first year in A 12 4.5% A- 19 7.1% B+ 43 16.1% B 82 30.7% B- 54 20.2% C+ 36 13.5% C 14 5.2% C- 7 2.6% D 0 0% F 0 0% (267 Total respondents) 2) What school or team do you think has the best fans, as defined by how positively root for their own team but also how well they treat opponent fans. For the sake of this survey, participants could not vote for CU, but could for any other 77 28.8% 61 22.8% 18 6.7% 13 4.9% 12 4.5% Air Force 11 4.1% 8 3.0% 6 2.2% (2) Notre Dame 5 1.9% (2) Stanford, Any of the Service Academies 3 1.1% (4) Baylor, Duke, UCLA (Pros: Cubs) 2 0.8% (3) 1 0.4% (21) Arkansas, Clemson, Florida State, Kansas, Kansas State, LSU, Mississippi, Navy, Nebraska, None, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia (Pros: Angels, Cardinals (MLB), Dodgers, Red Sox, Steelers) (267 Total respondents; 12 no answer/opinion) Some of the comments: --When we were (at Wisconsin) in '95, after we pummeled them (43-7), I was selected by a Wisconsin cheerleader to go out on the field and dance with her during the '5th Quarter' - while in my CU tank-top and hat. Additionally, the Badger faithful insisted on buying my dinner and drinks after the game in a bar across from the stadium. On of the best road trips ever! --The best fans in --L.A. Dodger fans are good to sit with as they are quite passive and are more concerned with their arrival and departure. --While some may be slightly “better” than others (depending on game-time, weather, opponent, etc.), there is none that clearly stands alone at the top. --
The Dara Update
Former CU wrestler Larry Marks (’62) recently wrote in to update P-?Tude readers on his daughter, Dara. Some of you may recall that about three years ago, Dara (A&S ’97; captain of the club softball team) was a highly ranked professional mountain biker (an Olympic sport). Well, last year she retired from that sport after being ranked as high as fourth in the nation for three years running, finishing 18th in the World Cup championships in New Zealand. She is now a pro Xterra racer and on Oct. 21, at the World Championships in
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The P-?Tudes Mailbag
The usual grab-bag of questions fired my way by P-?Tudes readers and others that I thought others would be interested in:
Q: Why do I always see a person, usually a young looking adult, dressed in the opposing teams clothing (shirt/hat) standing very near Coach Hawkins during every game and a young adult dressed in Buff clothes standing very near the opposing coach during game?
A: Courtesy J.T. Galloway, CU Equipment honcho: Those are the ball boys from the opposing team. Not all teams play with the same football; we use NIKE balls, for example; other schools may have a sponsor agreement with a different supplier, or prefer a different ball altogether. And if the opponent is a NIKE school, we all have our own logo on the ball. Game balls are used in multiple games until they are cycled out; the quarterbacks start breaking them in early in the week in practices to get them ready for game day, and then pick which ones they feel most comfortable with.
Q: Did Dan Hawkins really say he would forfeit the
A: Well, that’s how the answer I gave the Boulder Camera reporter, after being condensed, came across; but basically the answer is yes, and for any game, not just
Q: How did you score Eric Cartman to do the introductions for the CU-Nebraska game?
A: I’ll take about 3 percent credit on that, for thinking of it would be cool if we could do it, but I had no previous relationship with the South Park guys, CU alums Trey Parker and
Q: At the beginning of the second half on a few occasions, I’ve noticed that Ralphie has run with the cheerleaders behind her and no football team. Everyone cheers but they seem to be wondering where the team is. What gives?
A: In those instances, the team hasn’t been ready to leave the lockerroom yet, as they’re finishing up halftime adjustments. Ralphie can’t really run much after the clock hits the 4:30 mark, as she needs to complete her loop and be in her trailer before the visiting team comes out for the second half.
Q: What became of Gary Barnett and his former assistant coaches? I know Brian Cabral stayed, but where is everyone else?
A: From his 2005 staff, Darian Hagan also remained on staff with Cabral; Craig Bray (secondary) is now the defensive coordinator at Arizona State; John Wristen is the head coach at CSU-Pueblo, charged with resurrecting the football program at his alma mater; Mike Hankwitz is now the defensive coordinator at Northwestern (he was at Wisconsin in 2006 & 2007), but was let go as the head coach there hired a buddy; Dave Borbely is the offensive line coach at Virginia; Shawn Watson is the offensive coordinator at Nebraska; and William Inge is the linebacker coach at San Diego State. Shawn Simms went to
A: Probably what you did, at least for the Fiesta and
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Baseball Final Thoughts
Let me get this straight: Troy Tulowitzki loses the National League Rookie of the Year race by two votes (after losing out on a Gold Glove by a close margin); fielding is one-third of what a baseball player does (DH’s aside), how do the writers’ not acknowledge that? Dave Kreiger of the Rocky Mountain News summed it up best when he wondered if the voters who had
Clemens On 60 Minutes
The last question from Mike Wallace to Roger Clemens regarding his alleged steroid use on 60 minutes (January 6) asked if people would believe him after that interview if he never used steroids. I’ll go with Clemens; after seeing how this country has turned to “guilty until proven innocent” for practically anyone who is in the public eye, I side with what our constitution originally set up. And I firmly believe anyone in possession of a grand jury report who is not authorized to possess it should also see jail time as that should be a crime. It would restore my faith in the grand jury process. Heck?some of you know that frivolous lawsuit I had to endure for years from a fan message board operator; I was always advised that I could not tell my side of the story by our lawyers, to wait for my day in the courtroom; meanwhile, the plaintiff can make up anything he wants to influence public opinion, as it never has to be introduced in court. So automatically, many think you’re guilty in some manner; as far as my deal was concerned, anyone who knew the real facts of that thing always sided with me and the University?it was never about credentials, but that was the easy way to get us into court. Thankfully, we went about 11-0 in court rulings and we’re still trying to recoup our legal fees in the case.
What I have found sort of hilarious in all this are the baseball players who claim they were injected by teammates but it was only a B-12 shot... at least Clemens was inoculated by a trainer; would any of you even on a city softball league team want your first baseman sticking a needle in your arm (or elsewhere) instead of a medical professional?
Website(s) of the ?Tude
Former Buff golfer Edward McGlasson has created a blog for those who wish to follow the ups and downs of his pursuit of a professional golf career. He made it out of the first round of PGA Tour qualifying school in early November in
Congrats Shouts
? Former CU guard/center Marwan Hage was named the Hamilton Tiger-Cats top offensive player for 2007. Hage, now a four-year Canadian Football League veteran (all with Hamilton), anchored a young offensive line that guided the “Ticats” to a league-high 6.1 yards-per-carry average.
? Former Buff All-American skier Tyler Shepherd was recently named the first ski cross coach for the United States Ski Team. The event, which features side-by-side racing, will debut at the 2010 Winter Olympics in
? Former Buff All-American placekicker Mason Crosby completed his rookie regular season by doing something no first-year player had done since 1985?lead the NFL in scoring. He hit all 48 of his extra point kicks and made good on 31-of-39 field goal tries for 141 points, also a single-season Green Bay Packer record. He edged
? To Christopher Prem, a senior Air Force ROTC student here at CU. He organized the Colorado Water Ski Team, procuring a practice site and a boat for this team in its first year of existence. His team traveled between 13 and 17 hours ONE WAY each weekend to ski in the
? To former CU sports video director Tom Doyle, who is currently in a Colorado Lottery commercial; he plays a coach of the opposing pee wee football team in an ad run around sporting events. Tom has pursued an acting career since leaving CU in 2004.
?
And... to me! On January 9, I completed 25 years as a full-time employee in the athletic department. That’s 25 years of walking in the same door, as we’ve been in the same location all this time. I don’t know if that should be rewarded or if I should have my head examined, but the ride so far has been great and good things are happening again here. Gotta love the rollercoaster! Things That Make You Go Hmmm...
It did not surprise me that his Chicago Bull teammates voted unanimously to bench rookie Joakim Noah recently. My only personal experience with him came at the White House in April 2007, when
This Week's Number: 11
On January 9, the women’s basketball team posted its 11th straight win, a 70-58 effort at
Baseball................................. 25 (May 27, 1939 to May 13, 1941)
Women’s Basketball............ 25 (Dec. 19, 1994 to March 23, 1995)
Football.................................. 21 (Nov. 15, 1908 to Oct. 5, 1912)
Men’s Basketball.................. 14 (Dec. 27, 1941 to Feb. 28, 1942)
Golf......................................... 13 (March 29 to May 4, 1963 AND April 6 to Oct. 12, 1965)
Women’s Gymnastics......... 11 (1978-79 season)
Women’s Tennis.................. 11 (April 2, 1980 to March 11, 1981 AND Feb. 28, 1988 to March 26, 1988)
Women’s Soccer.................. 11 (Aug. 31, 2003 to Oct. 10, 2003)
Men’s Tennis........................ 10 (March 28, 1993 to May 14, 1993)
Volleyball............................... 10 (three times: during 1994, 1997 and 1998 seasons)
Trivia Answers
CU?Koy Detmer passed for 371 yards on 25-of-45 passing to lead CU to a 33-21 win over
Who Am I??Per Kare Jakobsen, a CU ski team member from 1988 through 1990. His 13 individual Nordic wins, including NCAA titles in 1988 and 1999 set a CU record, one which current CU senior Lucie Zikova is closing in on as she has 12 through January 12.
Music?Hey Jude. The song, composed by Paul McCartney to cheer up Julian Lennon after his parents were divorcing, stayed number one for nine weeks in the summer and fall of 1968. It was originally written as Hey Jules.
Name That Tune?Long Train Runnin’, by the Doobie Brothers. One of my all-time favorite songs (in my top 250, I actually keep a list), but I have to admit I have no idea what the lyrics to this song mean.