Monday Grab Bag: The practice facility is open!

That shiny new practice facility that CU's basketball junkies were promised is finally a reality.  The Buffs are out of the roundball dark ages, and the future looks as bright as ever for a program that was continually mired in obscurity.

Today in the bag I'll talk about the new facility before speculating on a depth chart update, congratulating the women's soccer team, and discussing the demotion of a national treasure.

Click below for the bag...




Practice Facility Opens - When Jeff Bzdelik agreed to leave Air Force for the relative basketball backwater that is Boulder, Colorado, the unique carrot at the end of the stick was a commitment by the athletic department to finally put real money into the basketball program.  The real-world impact was a stipulation that CU would break ground on a fancy new practice facility before the start of Bzdelik's 4th season at CU.  CU eventually came through on that commitment, and Saturday marked the grand opening of the crown jewel in non-football athletics at CU.

Associate AD Ceal Barry welcomes the throngs to the brand new facility.  From: the BDC.

I was unable to make the ceremony on Saturday, but by all accounts the facility meets the lofty expectations that its price tag (nearly $11-million) and hype have set.  The Camera has a great story up about the ceremony; in it CU coaching legend Ceal Barry posits that the facility will "pay dividends immediately as we move into the Pac-12," and current mens coach Tad Boyle compares the new facility favorably to the one at Kansas.

Just think, the basketball and volleyball programs at CU now have better practice accommodations that the football program does.  The new CEC practice facility is a permanent structure, standing as a testament to CU's commitment to winter sports excellence.  Finally, after years of neglect, the basketball program can compete on a facilities standpoint with its rivals.  It's not idle talk, it's not a half-hardhearted promise; it's a real brick and mortar symbol that CU actually cares about athletics beyond the gridiron.

A new day has dawned.  Now comes the implementation part.


Updated Depth Chart Released Today - After what was apparently a lack-luster scrimmage Friday afternoon, CU head coach Jon Embree said that there will be some minor shakeups when the new depth chart is released this afternoon.  I honestly don't expect all that much of a surprise, since Embree is seemingly open and honest with the beat writing crew, but I can't help but wonder what the changes will end up being.

All the big names, Miller, Speedy, Hansen, Richardson, etc, are seemingly safe, so it takes a little guesswork to get at what Embree may be changing.  In the year's first Buffzone TV episode, Daily Camera writer Ryan Thornburn hinted that he thought part of that shakeup will be focused at the wide receivers.  Reading between the lines, I can't help but think about the standing of Toney Clemmons.  Rumors have swirled around Allbuffs and the DC of his struggles with drops and lackluster play in practice, so it wouldn't surprise me if the WR Thorburn was hinting at ends up being #17.


Womens soccer keeps the Colorado Cup - In the few short years of its existence, the womens soccer program has been a quiet bright spot through many years of athletic darkness at CU.  The program furthered it's hold on the footy scene in Boulder by beating UNC and outshining metro-area rival DU to win the inaugural Colorado Cup Sunday afternoon.   Keeping the Cup in Boulder is a great way to kick off the year, and the 8 goal output equals a third of the scoring total from last season.  Congrats to the team for a strong start to the year, and here's a great season!

A big crowd saw CU take hold of the inaugural Colorado Cup.  From: the BDC.

The Jesusback is now a third stringer - White America's favorite backup quarterback is now White America's favorite third-string quarterback.  When it came time to spell starter Kyle Orton in Saturday evening's preseason tussle with the Buffalo Bills, it was Brady Quinn (himself a former media darling), and not the Jesusback Tim Tebow, that took the field.  (Quinn, btw, has played rather well so far this preseason) I hope everyone kept the receipt on all those Broncos Tebow jerseys sold last year.

Why isn't the story Kyle Orton finally coming into his own outside of Chicago?  Why isn't the story Brady Quinn rebuilding his career after the disastrous end to his reign in Cleveland?  Why isn't the story of the Broncos preseason actually about football?  Instead all anyone wants to know is the playing status of a 2nd-year QB who has barely proven capable of treading water at the NFL level.  Congratulations Bronco Nation, you've jumped the Sharktopus.


Happy Monday!