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| [h=1]Ring In '13, Remember '12 Plati-'Tudes[/h] Release: 01/13/2013 Courtesy: David Plati, Associate AD/Sports Information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Plati-'Tudes No. 96 ... currently worn by Chidera Uzo-Diribe, the best player to ever don 96 in a CU uniform is All-American Kanavis McGhee (1987-90) ... Hit my 30th anniversary as a full-time CU employee on Jan. 9; didn't remember it until nearly 7 p.m., so I missed out on having someone buy me a post-work libation ... Is it me, or does anyone else seeming get in their inbox "Join My Network On LinkedIn" every freakin' 20 minutes. And you usually don't know them ... And speaking of annoying, anyone else tired of hearing about Joe Theismann's prostate troubles?
CU—What anniversary is former Buff Dave Logan celebrating in 2012-13? Who Am I?—I started out at Southern University in Louisiana as a basketball player. A former Buff spotted me working out on the track and convinced me to attend the University of Colorado. I ran everything from the 100 to the mile, and particularly excelled in the 400. I earned my way into the Olympics in that event, and just missed the bronze medal by less than three-tenths of a second. Who am I? Music—Can you name a very well-known singer who as a drummer in the CU Marching Band in 1970 and 1971? Name That Tune—From what song is this lyric passage from: “Cause my bartender, she's from the islands ... Her body's been kissed by the sun ... And coconut replaces the smell of the bar ... And I don't know if it's her or the rum.”
The end of a calendar year brings the usual top 10 list of this or that, and it’s no different here in the editorial department at Plati-‘Tudes (okay, that exists just in my head). But here is what I thought were our top 10 most exciting moments of the 2012 calendar year:
And other top CU stories:
This came from Cameron Lewis, Zach Grossnickle’s mother (who attended college with me, well, back in the Carter/Reagan years  . Zach, of course, was a punter/kicker for the Buffs and will graduate on time this spring and will forego his senior season. In her own words:“On Senior Day, you may have noticed we had three people on the field. The third person was Ian Weber, a developmentally disabled young man who Zach met when he volunteered at a Special Olympics type camp run by Tyler Polumbus (another former Buff) when the NFL was locked out a couple years back. Zach is wonderful with kids, and these kids especially. He ran the kicking and punting sessions along with the starting punter for the Kansas City Chiefs, and when a kid would run up and say, miss the ball, he'd still heap on the praise and encouragement about their smooth leg movement and how much they had improved, high-five them, and pump his fist, and so on. The kids ate it up. “After the camp, there was an autograph session, and the other "coaches" were all NFL players: Seahawks, Jets, Chiefs, Broncos, etc.; Zach was the only guy in college. But these kids have a smaller world view, and they know only two football teams: the Buffs and the Broncos. So Tyler and Zach had all these people getting photos and autographs. The Chiefs' punter was good natured about it, grinning, ‘Hey, don't mind me, I just play in the NFL ...’ “One of the moms came over to me and complimented me on what a great kid Zach is, and how much her son had enjoyed the camp. Her son, Ian, is and was a huge Buffs’ fan: he was wearing a No. 7 Colorado jersey that day because he also loved Cody Hawkins. The mom said, ‘If you ever get a chance that Ian can help by picking up the kicking tee, or being an honorary water boy, whatever, it would mean the world to him.’ I said we'd look into it, but it never happened. Right afterward, Zach was benched, so since he wasn't kicking or punting, it seemed all too awkward to get Ian to be the kick-tee returner, and the months went by.
“On Thanksgiving evening, Zach texted me and asked for me to bring some extra Sharpie markers down to the team hotel. He doesn't ask for much, and sometimes when we get an odd request, it really means, ‘There's something I need to tell you’ or that he there's some problem. But it was only 12 minutes from our home, so we said, ‘Heck Sharpie markers, easy request.’ “When we met Zach in the lobby of the Westin, I asked what he needed Sharpies for, and he said since all the guys were hanging out in the hotel, he decided it would be a great time to get a football signed for Ian. He brought two Sharpies, but so many guys had signed the ball, so far, the pens were running out of ink. “So on Friday, before the last game, Ian became Zach's stand-in brother on the field, and was bouncing off and on the field in joy. When Zach ran out through the other players and handed Ian the signed ball, I thought he would explode with happiness. It was such a big deal for Ian, and such an easy task for us, overall. We had a blast, and Ian's enthusiasm was contagious. (He must come to a lot of practices, because he knew guys by name who all high-fived him.) “I think it was wonderful that Zach had this whole other thing to think about on Thanksgiving and on Friday, and we all felt fortunate that it worked out the way it did.”
While I’m on the subject, coaching changes are never easy; I think many people forget those of us in the department work day-in and day-out with the coaches and many close friendships are developed. That’s why it was great to see that Eric Bieniemy and Greg Brown quickly landed new jobs, Bieniemy as the running backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs and Brown as the new secondary coach for Alabama. Jon Embree is a good man; there is no doubt about that in my mind. He’ll land on his feet, and he’s already proclaimed that his love for his alma mater will not waiver. And yes, Bill McCartney was passionate in his defense of Embo, though the dismissal had nothing to do with race, Mac’s defense of one of his own was admirable but likely went over the top at times; that’s okay, in the end no damage was done. He’s still welcome on our campus, and we’ll likely see more of him now that his grandson, Derek, has reported for the spring semester (Derek has bulked up to 6-4, 240, and Mike MacIntyre commented to me that he liked what he saw when he met him. Not to mention throws coach Casey Malone, who wants him to throw the discus after spring ball concludes). The spring game is set for Saturday, April 13, with a Noon starting time. The Pac-12 Network will televise all 12 spring games from around the conference between April 13 and May 3.
A: Colorado has several former players and coaches that made the 2012 NFL playoffs. Players include Justin Bannan (Denver), Mason Crosby and Brad Jones (Green Bay), Tyler Polumbus (Washington), Jimmy Smith (Baltimore) and Nate Solder (New England). Former coaches are Tom Cable (Seattle), Moses Cabrera (New England), Jim Caldwell (Baltimore), Karl Dorrell and Vance Joseph (Houston), Chris Morgan (Washington) and Bert Watts (Denver). And don’t forget Matt Russell (the former linebacker is the Broncos director of player personnel) and Jim Ryan (former color analyst for KOA; he’s on the Houston staff).
If you have never stumbled across this page on Facebook, it was assembled to remember fallen teammates as well as link to stories about CU players from the past. Entitled “Old Buffaloes Never Fade Away,” you can find it here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/176821165687313/463409370361823/?notif_t=group_activity. There was an interesting story in the Wall Street Journal recently on the net worth of college football programs. Colorado came in at No. 32, valued at $202.9 million; that was third in the Pac-12 behind Oregon (roughly $265 mil) and Washington ($260). Texas was first ($762), followed by Michigan ($732), Florida ($600), Notre Dame ($597) and Ohio State ($587). Read it here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324391104578225802183417888.html. The NCAA recently did an in-depth story on San Jose State, where we hired our new football coach Mike MacIntyre from. It centered around how the Spartans excelled both in academics and on the field; click here for that link. And StadiumJourney.com was very kind to us in reviewing Folsom Field and the Coors Events Center, which you can find here http://www.stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/folsom-field-s412 and here http://www.stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/coors-event-center-s535.
“In college I had the privilege to play football with some amazing guys, and we lost a great one two days ago, Bart "Hitman" Roth. Pound for pound, Bart is the toughest person I've ever known. He was fearless! It's times like these that I reflect back to all the thousands of hours that I spent with my Buff Brothers. No matter what race, Black, White, Samoan, Hispanic, we were, and still are, a "Band of Brothers." We lived together, sweated together, bled together, partied together, fought together and today we cry together, all for each other! Each and every one of my Brothers were not only great football players, but great individuals, and we lost a great one in Bart. My deepest sympathies go out to his family, and all of us, "His Brothers." Today, our hearts are saddened, but as always, we will stand "Shoulder to Shoulder." Rest in peace Bart, and thank you for your enthusiasm for life, your leadership, and most of all for you amazing character.”
"Bryan was a dear friend, loyal father, husband and an amazing teammate," West said. "While we mourn the loss of this great man, we're comforted knowing that Bryan is in a better place. I will always remember Bryan's infectious laugh and smile. He had this bigger than life aura about him and this consumed all those around him. He constantly had an upbeat attitude and outlook at everything life threw at him. I will greatly miss my dear friend and cherish all the memories we had on and off the field." Rashaan Salaam, CU's 1994 Heisman Trophy running back who ran for 2,055 yards, many thanks to Stoltenberg’s crushing blocks, recalled how important "Stoli" was to him. "I was the one who won all those awards, but without my offensive line, that never would have happened. I always believed that those awards were honoring all of us, and Stoli being the center was the heart of that great offensive line. They all went on to play in the NFL, that's how good that group is, and to learn that one of them is now gone is just devastating to me, to all of us."
Runner-Up: Some have said CU was cheap when it hired Jon Embree as head coach, forgetting that he deferred potentially half a million dollars in salary to the pool for his assistants; that pool, in excess of $2.3 million in 2012, ranked 21st in the NCAA. The figure under new coach Mike MacIntyre will be $2.6 million this coming season.
Who Am I?—Ambassador David Bolen. CU’s first Olympian and its fourth African-American in any sport, he lettered three years in track (1946-48) and was fourth in the 400-meters at the London Olympics in a 47.2 time (Jamaica’s Arthur Wint won in 46.2, and the USA’s Mal Whitfield won the bronze in 46.9, just ahead of Bolen). He is known as “The Ambassador,” bestowed that title he worked hard to earn as then-President Jimmy Carter made him the first black ambassador in U.S. History. Now residing in Scottsdale, Ariz., he recently celebrated his 89th birthday in December. The former Buff who spotted him at Southern? All-American and CU Athletic HOF member Gil Cruter. Music—The drummer in our marching band was none other than co-founder and lead singer of Earth Wind & Fire, Philip Bailey. The Denver East High School graduate attended Metro State briefly before transferring to CU for two years before his musical career took off. Name That Tune—From 2009, the former warm-up band for Jimmy Buffett, the Zac Brown Band, and their hit, Toes. It’s quite catchy, most like it the first time they hear it; I did. See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiL_beZtiQc. “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. |
