Tuesday Grab Bag: Runnin' Wild

It was a weird weekend for the Pac-12.  As a whole, the league went 10-2, which is pretty good, but a number of the games went off in kooky fashion, and the South, especially, is starting to lose a little of its luster.  The biggest culprit was Arizona State, who struggled with FCS minnow Cal Poly for three and a half quarters before pulling away late in a 35-21 final (*smug smirk*).  While still a successful weekend, not the easy non-conference blitz those on the Left Coast were expecting.

To top it all off, the news broke on Saturday that the ongoing talks with AT&T/DirecTV over a Pac-12 Networks carriage deal fell through.  AT&T was trying to squeeze the conference, not without reason, and had put together what was deemed a 'very bad deal' for the league.  Just how bad?  Well, reportedly, it would've forced the league to:

1. Overhaul its business model.
2. Rewrite the terms of agreements with current partners.
3. Potentially subject itself to litigation.
4. Compromise the entire endeavor and the integrity of the universities (*cough* a bit overwrought here).

Certainly, there's some spin in that assessment, but, none-the-less, that sounds horrible, and the league soundly rejected it - not a single vote in favor.  *woof*

Now, this is not the end-all on the matter, but, as we're already two weeks into the lucrative football season, time is quickly ticking through the window.  Pac-12 Networks has gone on far too long without getting their channel on the satellite leader, and the hand-wringing by the fans and press is taking over El Jefe's legacy. Something is going to give, and my guess is that it will end up being the Conference of Champions.

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Today in the bag, I'm talking the win over UMass, some updates on upcoming opponents, and some recruiting news from the men's basketball program.

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Friday Beer Post: 2015 Gameday Beer-o-the-week - UMass Edition

Each week throughout the football season I'm going to suggest a good beer for the ubiquitous pre-game tailgate. Let's be honest, with tailgates it's not always top quality that you're looking for. To steal a phrase from the heinous beer terrorists at Budweiser, you want "drinkability." (or what a real beer connoisseur calls "a session beer") So, be warned, these may not be "the best" beers around. But, in the words of Dave Chappelle as Samuel L. Jackson "IT'LL GET YOU DRUNK!"

The Minutemen, as the stories go, were always at the ready, capable of responding at a minute's notice to military needs in the era leading up to the Revolutionary War.  I figure, to combat such a timely enemy, we need a beer that understands the importance of time; one that uses the clock to its advantage. A beer that makes the passing minutes a rite of passage, if you will.  You'll need far more than just a minute's notice to brew this week's beer; in fact you'll need 90 minutes, at least.  That's right, this week's gameday beer-o-the-week is Dogfish Head's epic 90-minute IPA.

90-minute was one of the original Imperial IPAs to adorn the nation's craft beer shelves, and is potentially still the best out there.  Continuously hopped over, you guessed it, 90 minutes, and then dry-hopped to finish, this beer embraces not only the glory of the hop, but its complexity at the most basic level.  Probably not as bitter as you would expect (conveniently, 90 IBUs), this is still a massive beer, and can overwhelm the taste buds of the unready.  Drinker be warned.

For my taste, Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione, who I once got to meet (!!!!!) at an event in Vail, hit it out of the park with this one.  It's hop forward, certainly, but that tidal wave of hops comes with a surprising amount of malty balance, and doesn't strike me as resinous or 'dank' as it could be.  Maybe not one for the hop freaks out there, but one for people who enjoy everything that goes into big, hearty 'Murikan craft brewing.

This is the ship that launched a thousand copy-cat IPAs, so it's best to honor the classics. Get yourself a four-pack of this one, and sip it easy while contemplating the meaning of time itself.  Let the hop flavors swarm over your tongue, and just... relax, man, it that uniquely Boulder way. Certainly don't go too hog-wild; 90-minute clocks in at about 9% ABV. Maybe best to split that pack with a buddy or two.


Happy Friday!  Go Buffs, beat the Minutemen!

2015 CU vs UMass Football Preview

The performance against Hawai'i sucked, and the team knows it.  Despite a lot of positive rhetoric, the Buffs appeared under-prepared and self-destructive against a beatable opponent in the opener.

At Tuesday's presser, Coach Mac was particularly blunt:

I think they made bone-head mistakes that cost us a football game. We outplayed that team, we out "physicaled" that team, we out rushed that team, we out gained that team. We just made bone-head mistakes. Maybe that was because some of them were tight, I don’t know. They didn’t seem tight to me, we just made some bone-head mistakes that we've got to coach better to not have happen, or we would have won that game by a few touchdowns. It's very frustrating.”

The team knows that they did a lot of harm to an upswell of goodwill last weekend, harm that may be very difficult to undo in the immediacy.

Which brings me to this tweet.  Despite the perceived promise among the diehards, the practical involvement of thousands of future donors is dwindling at an alarming rate. Over the past decade, even as the program has careened into the canyon of crap, fan support, for the most part, has remained acceptable. Unfortunately, that grace period is gone, and the student body has begun to flat abandon the program.  I not going to waste words blaming them, nor make excuses.  It is what it is.

The point is, while I don't think the team absolutely needs to (or even can) go to a bowl game this year, they absolutely cannot take a full step backwards.  2015 must be another year of positive feelings. Of improvement.  Accordingly, performances like the one against Hawai'i are not, under any circumstances acceptable. The Buffs need to convert the winnable games, like Saturday's against Massachusetts, into the left-hand column, and stay competitive throughout lesser opportunities.  Else there may not be many around to see it when/if they ever get good again.

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Hype music for the week: Paul Revere by the Beastie Boys

RIP, MCA.

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Kickoff from beautiful Folsom Field is set for high noon on Saturday.  The Buffs will be looking to rebound and regain lost momentum under crystal clear skies.  Seriously, it's going to be gorgeous this weekend. Come game time, there won't be a finer place to be in the Front Range, regardless of the product on the field.  Get your ass to Boulder!

Note: for those making their way to the stadium via the Creek Path (a group that includes myself), please understand that construction is still going on, and some of those traditional routes have been detoured. Check out this map for more information.

Click below for the preview...

Tuesday Grab Bag: Same Old Buffs

It's a shortened week, which means we're straight to the action today.  In the bag, I'm wrapping the loss to Hawai'i, looking ahead to next few opponents on the schedule, and discussing the K-State Marching Band.

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THURSDAY Beer Post: 2015 Gameday Beer-o-the-week - Hawai'i Edition

Each week throughout the football season I'm going to suggest a good beer for the ubiquitous pre-game tailgate. Let's be honest, with tailgates it's not always top quality that you're looking for. To steal a phrase from the heinous beer terrorists at Budweiser, you want "drinkability." (or what a real beer connoisseur calls "a session beer") So, be warned, these may not be "the best" beers around. But, in the words of Dave Chappelle as Samuel L. Jackson "IT'LL GET YOU DRUNK!"

Thursday Beer Post?  What has this blog come to?  Monday Grab Bags on a Tuesday, Friday Beer Posts on a Thursday... does the calendar mean anything anymore?  This simply isn't right! *sigh*  I guess we can all be thankful, at least, that football season has returned, and with it that most hallowed of American traditions: the tailgate. Of course, with the tailgate comes the glaring need for BEER at the tailgate!  Unsure of what to provide this evening?  Here, let me make a game-specific suggestion for you...

CU has ventured forth into the wilds of the Pacific Ocean in search of a win, but I remain in Boulder. I figure, why not pick a beer that combines the best of both worlds?  Luckily, the masterminds over at Avery have provided just such an option; a beer that combines what's great about Boulder (craft brewing in its highest form) with an exotic, Hawaiian-y flavor profile.  That beer, Avery Brewing's Liliko'i Kepolo, is this week's gameday beer of the week.

Poured tall and proud at the new-ish Avery Brewery in North Boulder

Don't get caught up in the name -- this is a classic example of a fruit-infused witbier, a Belgian wheat style that easily lends itself to enhancements (and to consumption on a hot summer day).  In the Hawaiian language, Liliko'i translates to passion fruit and Kepolo to devil, meaning Avery is essentially telling you that this is a version of their staple White Rascal spiked with passion fruit.  Easy enough?  Believe me, drinking one... or two... or five of these is just as simple.

I know some of you may now be going, "but I don't want any passion fruit in my beer.' Come now, don't be so snobby about the flavor profile.  Yes, this is fruit-forward on the tongue, but it's not artificially-sweet and sticky.  This is gloriously tart and acidic, tasting of actual liliko'i, not candy.  Paired with the light and spicy wit base, it's simply a wonderful sipper in the dying days of summer.  Quick, get out to the store and score a pack of these before 11 o'clock rolls around!


Happy FridayThursday!  Go Buffs, beat the Rainbow Warriors!

2015 CU vs Hawai'i Football Preview

Well, we've made it.  After a long offseason only lengthened by the basketball team's struggles with mediocrity (what, you think I'd get through the first football preview without a hoops mention?), we've come to the end of summer's road.  Football is back (with a vengeance), and ready to distract. Finally, some real-life action to discuss while sipping the kool-aid!

In preparation for tonight's festivities, I've looked across the internet for a hype track.  As a true child of the 80s, and with the game emanating from the 50th state, there was really only one choice:

Hell yeah!  Now I'm ready for some football!

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Remember to set the timer on the coffee pot, as the 2015 Colorado Football season will eventually kick off from Aloha Stadium in downtown Honolulu at 11pm MT this evening.  Yes, 11pm; essentially fucking midnight.  Now, to be fair, that is a 7pm start out in the Islands, but, for those of us in the contiguous 48, that means the game will end some time in the early hours of Friday morning.  Hope you planned ahead, like me, and took tomorrow off...

Click below for the preview...

Tuesday Grab Bag: Football takes the stage

Site note:  This week's schedule is a little weird, due to the Thursday kickoff.  I 'hope' to have the Hawai'i preview up tomorrow afternoon, but more than likely Thursday noon-ish.  The FridayThursday Beer Post will be up Thursday afternoon.  Stay tuned...

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Coach MacIntyre decided to give us all a GameWeek gift by releasing an early depth chart.  I can't help but notice that the release came the day after the BDC's Brian Howell posted the paper's projections (mostly correct), but that's less important than the information contained therein.  Of key note:

• There's depth everywhere; 38 returning letter-winners among the 50 available spots on the two-deep.
• Still, only five positions list seniors on the top line -- Nelson Spruce (WR), Stephane Nembot (OT), Christian Powell (RB), Justin Solis (DT), Ken Crawley (DB).
• Of the three positions featuring non-lettered designated starters (all on defense), all are incoming transfers, and, theoretically, were brought in for just such a purpose -- Jordan Carrell (DE), Leo Jackson (DE), and Jaleel Awini (LB).
• Former walk-on Ryan Moeller (!) earned the starting spot at Free Safety.  Cool-cool-cool.
• The kicking game is still a mystery, with the 'OR' tag noted at both punter and placekicker.

As Ryan Koenigsberg noted here, much of the defensive chart is skewed by a strict adherence to the 4-3 format.  As the Buffs are probably going to run a lot of 3-4, consume with large portions of salt.  NOM-NOM.

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Today in the bag, I'm talking my wish list for the football season, some sparkling results from the volleyball court, and the action from the soccer pitch.

Click below for the bag...