Covering University of Colorado sports, mostly basketball, since 2010

Thursday, September 8, 2016

2016 CU vs Idaho State Football Teaser

You'll note that this is not titled as a 'preview.'  I'm trying to attune my football coverage to my style in basketball season, reserving full 'previews' for the games that matter.  While still counting full value in the the win/loss column, a game against a middling FCS program certainly falls short of that metric.  Accordingly, this 'teaser' will be more narrative and less formulaic than my typical pre-game fare... shorter, too.  So, without further adieu, on with the teaser...

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Hype Music for the Week: 'Walk Like an Egyptian' by the Bangles

I'll admit that it's a rather lame homophonic stretch to go from the Idaho State Bengals to the 80s pop group 'The Bangles.'  The other option, however, was 'Eye of the Tiger' from Survivor, which I thought was even lamer.  So, here you go; some of the worst pop rock to come out a decade known for terrible pop rock.

The Bangles, you might be interested to know, are still together.  They've put new music out as recently as 2011 (Sweetheart of the Sun), are are currently touring the East Coast (or so a quick Google search would reveal).  They was never my cup of tea, musically, but, then again, my most recent music purchase was a slew of prog-metal instrumental tracks, so what do I know?  Enjoy!

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Is there anything better than a late-summer afternoon in Boulder?  Kickoff from beautiful, sun-splashed Folsom Field is set for 3:30p on Saturday.  If for the setting alone, you won't want to miss this one.  For those poor souls unable to attend, coverage will be on Pac-12 Networks, with the radio call on AM 760.

Click below for the teaser...

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Tuesday Grab Bag: #TheRise Explodes Onto National Television

Before I get to the bag, celebrating a strong start to the new football season, I would like to take a moment to admonish those of you removing the brakes from the hype train as it begins to leave the station.  Yes, the Buffs looked good Friday night, and, yes, the rest of the Pac-12 South looked suspect throughout the remainder of Week 1.  However, anyone insinuating (or out-right stating) that the Buffs, after just one game against weak competition, are suddenly players in a league and a division they have routinely played whipping-boy to has lost their damn mind.

I don't want to throw cold water on a performance that certainly deserves recognition and excitement - this is, after all, the best Colorado has looked after a game against FBS competition, such as it is, since... what, Wyoming in 2009? The 2010 RMS? - but let's keep some perspective.  This team was never going to be defined by the way it performed in this game; it will be defined by how they take to the conference slate, something that is still far from known.  Basically, on this happy Tuesday, my message is this: call me after that trip to Oregon at the end of the month.

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Today in the bag, I'm talking the Rocky Mountain Beat-down, notable action around the world of college football, and how the rest of the CU Athletic Department fared.

Click below for the bag...

Friday, September 2, 2016

2016 Gameday Beer-o-the-week - RMS 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!"

It's the RMS, so the honorary beer-o-the-week is, as always, Buff Gold.  Previously, I've talked about how you can spice up the standard golden ale by dropping in a shot of Buffalo Trace bourbon to make a 'Buffalo Maker.'  Advancing the concept further, why not make it a hybrid drop-shot of Trace and local agave spirit Tatanka?  Yeah, I know, that sounds rough, but football is meant for the tough of spirit, so you deserve a beverage to match.

The 'real' beer for this week is an old non-favorite.  Submitted for your approval, I present the offspring of a marketing machine with a plan.  A marketing machine who wantonly leeches on the consumer's cardboard palate, while simultaneously wrapping itself in whatever flavor of the American Dream once existed under the Eisenhower administration.  A marketing machine not of this continent that posits to speak for the beer drinkers of this great nation.  Yep, I'm of course talking about Budweiser 'heavy,' or, as it has bizarrely taken to call itself this summer, 'America,' and it's my gameday beer-o-the-week.
'America?'  But you're fucking Belgian!
Let me first say that I am offended.  If you're going to slap the flag on the side of your brew and call it America, then it better be damn good, worthy of the name itself.  This beer is not good, however.  It is lifeless piss-water, the kind of thing you would expect to come from years of industrialized corporate 'brewing.'  More to the point, the company making the swill isn't even American!  It's a Brazilian/Belgian behemoth, stretching it's devilish tentacles across the globe.  A testament to the might of multi-national business management, sure, but far from the homespun, hard working, blue-collar, patriotic company of the advertising campaign.  It's a sham, a put-on, a hateful ruse. Designed to ply willing rubes from their hard-earned cash while real-deal American brew is shuffled off to the dusty corners of shelves via distribution arrangements.

By now, I'm used to people of all ilks appropriating the Stars and Stripes for their own purposes; that in and of itself may be as American as the apple pie of legend.  However, this attempt is so brazen, so hilarious in its origin, as to piss me the hell off.  Fuck this beer, and fuck the company that put it on shelves.  Enjoy it at the peril of your very soul.

... on second thought, go with the Buff Gold.


Happy Friday!  Go Buffs, get that 'W!'

Thursday, September 1, 2016

2016 Rocky Mountain Showdown Preview

My views on the RMS are well known by this point: I don't care about the opponent, I don't care about the series, and I don't care about the venue.  It is the ultimate shoulder shrug of an event for me, and one that I feel Colorado Football would be better off to scrap in its entirety.  In that vein, I do not deem it worthy of a full preview.  Instead, bypassing the matchup in its entirety, I will choose to focus this space on the one thing involved that I do care about: the Colorado Buffaloes.

That's right, continuing the childish petulance of the previous two years, I flat out refuse to even name-drop tomorrow night's opponent.  You will find NO MENTION of that team below the fold.  I'm taking the opportunity to preview our Buffs, and only our Buffs. No, this isn't like my basketball preview, and nowhere near 20,000 words; don't be afraid.  Just a brief, superficial look at the team, and where I see them headed in 2016.

So, without further adieu, here we go...

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Hype music for the week: "Friday" by Rebecca Black

Have I mentioned before that I hate this series?  'Kill it with fire,' I say, which just so happens to be the same reaction I had the first time I heard this 'song' from pop star (?) Rebecca Black.  Oh, and, wouldn't you know, the RMS this year is being played on a Friday.  It's like this rat poison of a game and this ear cancer of a song were a match made in heaven!  So, those of you riding out to Mile High tomorrow, roll down your windows and crank this beast... 'cause it's Friday, Friday.  Enjoy!

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Kickoff from the *sigh* 88th edition of the Rocky Mountain Showdown will come Friday evening at 6pm from Sports Authority Field.  Much like the company named on the side of the stadium, the series itself has long since run its course, deserving of a complete and total rewrite, but I digress.  If, like me, you aren't going down to Denver to watch in person, you can follow the action on ESPN or AM 760.  If you are going to the game... don't forget to bring a towel... er, I mean, wear black.

For reference, you can find my previews from previous iterations of this series here, here, here, here,  here, and here.... my God, this is my seventh season of football coverage. If that ain't a plea for help, I don't know what is.

Click below for the preview...

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Tuesday Grab Bag: Game Week

While everyone was distracted by the looming spectacle of college football's opening day, Tad Boyle was hard at work, adding talent to the CU Men's Basketball program.  Seemingly out of nowhere, the Daily Camera reported on Saturday that the Buffs have added 6-7 Dutch swingman Alexander Strating to the roster as a preferred walk-on for the 2016-17 season, with an eye towards putting him on scholarship for 2017-18.  A brief internet search for young Alexander, who I will be calling 'the Flying Dutchman,' returned few results, but did unearth this brief highlight film:

I'm always cautious, in regards to game film, but I do see a wiry player comfortable with a jump shot.  What comes after that - the ability to defend, the ability to score in traffic, the ability to play a number of positions - will be far more telling, yet not discernible from the tape at hand. The offer list (UC Riverside, DU, and Loyola) is not very impressive, but those kinds of things aren't always telling when they pertain to an international recruit. For now, a default to 'In Tad we Trust' will have to suffice, and it is telling that Coach Boyle spent one of his precious 2017 scholarships on this veritable unknown; he has to have a good feeling here.

While Alexander's on the roster this fall, there's no doubt in my mind that he will be redshirting.  He'll need time to adjust to the American game, as well as put on a few pounds.  So, until the fall of 2017, we'll just have to wait in anticipation.

Welcome to the program, Alexander!

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Today in the bag, I'm talking my annual football goals, the first results from the world of football, and the fortunes of the soccer and volleyball teams.

Click below for the bag...

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Tuesday Grab Bag: So, will the Buffs go bowling?

With game week finally on the horizon, it's straight to the action this afternoon.

Today in the bag, I'm musing on Colorado's hopes for a celebration-inducing bowl bid, gold in men's basketball at the Olympics, and a pair of big wins to start the season for the women's soccer team.

Click below for the bag...

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Tuesday Grab Bag: I've been watching weightlifting... yep, weightlifting.

This is not a drill, people of Boulder.  The students are back in town as of tomorrow, as student move-in begins in earnest.  Prepare for traffic, loud parties, and extended wait times for delivery pizza.  Of course, while the start of the fall academic calendar comes with its share of downsides, it also comes some decided positives... like the accompanying start of the fall sports calendar.  In fact, it will all get started this weekend, with women's soccer's kickoff in the Springs against Air Force (Friday @ 6pm).  Before you know it, we'll all be treated to the start of football season, the even more exciting start of basketball season, and the throes of a winter of competition across all fronts.  With the Buffs back in town, its finally time to bid summer an adieu, and welcome in the 2016-17 season.  Let's get it on!

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Quickly, a big shout-out to ForeverBuff Emma Coburn for her bronze medal performance in the 3000m steeple chase.  Her American-record run did all of BuffNation proud.  Way to go, Emma!

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Only two topics this afternoon as we inch closer to fall.  Today in the bag, I'm talking Saturday's football scrimmage and the pratfalls of closed door practices, before closing with the Olympics.

Click below for the bag...