Pac-12 Media Day Plati-'Tudes
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| David Plati |
Welcome to a notes and comment column in its 12th year, penned by CU Associate Athletic Director David Plati, who is now in his 28th year as the Buffaloes' director of sports information.
Plati-GÇÿTudes No. 93 ... Albeit a short one, the most famous
Buff who adorned uniform number 93 is two-time All-Big 8 nose
tackle Joel Steed ... How about those Pittsburgh Pirates? We were
big Clint Hurdle fans at CU when he was with the RockiesGÇöhe used to
ask for a couple of CU shirts and hats to wear during spring
training in Arizona to promote the local colleges; heGÇÖs still done
it the last two years (with Texas in 2010 and Pittsburgh this past
spring) ... The 2011 media guide, well information PDF, football
edition will be finished and on-line around August
10.
| Thoughts From L.A. |
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Easily at or near the top of the list for unique media days IGÇÖve been a part of in my three-plus decades in the business: the Pac-12 held its 2011 event at the Fox Studios Lot. Each school was assigned a couple of handlers (ours were awesomeGÇöCarmen and Paul), and they winged us around the lot in a golf cart. Kind of felt like I was riding along with Kevin Kline and Steve Martin from that one scene in Grand Canyon. Different organizations were set up in assorted locations, this little theatre, that big sound stage, etc. Very cool. Beats the usual hotel setting utilized by most conferences. In the past, I was told media day was held on the field at the Rose Bowl. The kids were disappointed that Modern Family wasnGÇÖt filming, mainly because cast member Sophia Vergara (Gloria) was nowhere to be seen. The show apparently fights for parking spaces with Bones judging by two signs stating GÇ£No BONES parking here.GÇ¥ And we were camped out at the famous Beverly Hills Hilton, where we had our SID meeting in their noted Stardust Room on the top floor. |
| Rinse, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat | ||
Senior quarterback Tyler Hansen was our player rep. The questions he got the most centered around the differences between the Big 12 and Pac-12, and being from California, what it is like to now be in the Pac-12. He got a couple of questions about the former staff and about not having Cody there, but to the latter, he said, GÇ£Cody was good for me. He helped out a lot.GÇ¥ He and Cody remain in touch to this day. The goofiest question asked of him? GÇ£How are you strong-willed?GÇ¥ Along with a couple of the traditional superstition questions, but heGÇÖs not superstitious. No questions upset him, but he said after four hours, he was GÇ£a little cranky at the end.GÇ¥ He went to dinner Monday with Jon Embree, his wife Natalyn and their son Taylor, a senior wide receiver on the UCLA team. |
| A Boy Named Stephanie? |
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Line of the summer: when 6-foot-8, 280-pound Stephane Nembot came by my office for me to sign his eligibility form, I noticed we all had been spelling his first name without the GÇÿe.GÇÖ I asked him why, and he replied, GÇ£If I list it with an GÇÿeGÇÖ, people call me Stephanie.GÇ¥ After looking at this 18-year old who must have 3% body fat and is the kind of player former assistant coach Steve Logan once said of Kanavis McGhee, GÇ£Who cares if he ever plays a down, we just need him to get off the bus first,GÇ¥ I have no doubt no one will ever call him Stephanie. That, and I told him in college, we issue pronunciation guides! |
| One Final Big 12 Thought | ||
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Other than comparing the weather here to the miserable conditions we always had to endure in Dallas (where the low Monday night was two degrees warmer than the high in Los Angeles) and Kansas City for the Big 12 media days, both often near or over 100 degrees with humidity almost as high, the two events were different yet the same. The Big 12GÇÖs were a little less stressful for all, spreading 12 teams out over three days (now 10 over two); we had 12 teams compacted into about four hours here today. Thus, just one player made the trip instead of three to the Big 12. The Pac-12 had a record media count this year from what I was told, somewhere in the neighborhood of 300; the Big 12 usually had right around that count for most of the 15 years if I am not mistaken (weGÇÖre all wondering how the SEC pulls it off with 1,500 media in attendance). The one thing I smirked at though was learning the Big 12 led off with a video about this, that, etc., including how the each school had the othersGÇÖ backs when not playing each other. Kind of a smack at us and Nebraska; the new Big 12 bio also mentions how great it is in to have all the schools in one time zone... like the league had any events in Colorado to begin with. Yeah, everyone else has your back, like the academic people at a Big 12 South Division school from Texas last year leaking out our APR information, and only the damaging half, to three reporters, two of which at a national entity ratted them out to us (it was no one in athletics who contacted the media, rather one of their donors who tried to smear us in the conference movement crush a year ago in June).
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| One-Liners |
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Caught up with former CU coach Rick Neuheisel (weGÇÖre close friends to this day) and I was kidding about him being on the hot seat at UCLA. GÇ£Hot seat?GÇ¥ he laughed, GÇ£After media day, IGÇÖm sure itGÇÖll be ratcheted up to walking on the sun.GÇ¥ ... Bruce Feldman was in attendance; recently suspended by ESPN.com, he was in good spirits; heGÇÖs one of the best in the biz ... Another solid one is ESPN.com Pac-12 blogger Ted Miller; not sure how he does it, but his content is not only great, quite often itGÇÖs breaking news; be sure to check him out ... Good to hear Keith Jackson, now 82, is getting better after a recent illness; because of it, we couldnGÇÖt get together for dinner or golf like we often do when I am in southern Cali, but we made plans to ahead of the CU-UCLA game in November ... HereGÇÖs hoping thereGÇÖs a place for him somewhere with the Pac-12 Network ... KeithGÇÖs wife, Turi Ann, is Norwegian and fortunately had no relatives injured or killed in last weekGÇÖs tragedyGÇösame can be said of all the Norwegians associated with our ski team, at least current or recent squad members. But as sophomore Andreas Haug put it, GÇ£WeGÇÖre all in shock.GÇ¥ And a huge (and belated) thanks to CU alum and one-time women's basketball SID Chris Yuhl ('84), who helped shuttle myself, B.G. Brooks and Tyler Hansen around town in the afternoon, including getting to LAX without sniffing the 405 as only a local can! |