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

I don't know if you've noticed, but we're starting to get a little chill in the air.  Thanks to that daylight savings bullshit, the entirely of my evenings after work are now spent sans sunlight.  I even saw Christmas decorations at the store the other day. Yep, winter is definitely coming.

To match the seasonal mood, I want something dark, complex, and contemplative for the game this week. Something warm both in flavor and profile; something that doesn't mind sitting in a glass while I stare into a roaring fire. That something is Stone's Xacoveza Stout, and it is magnificent.  It's also this week's gameday beer-o-the-week.

Alternatively called an imperial stout, a milk stout, or the Stone-preferred mocha stout, Xacoveza is a big, meaty bastard.  Weighing in at 8.1% ABV with a mountain of flavor, it's a brilliant take on a winter seasonal.  It was originally released as a one-off in 2014, but the brew was so well-received that it now has a slot on Stone national distribution calendar.  A blessing, that.

The flavor profile is meant to be reminiscent of Mexican-style hot chocolate.  Flavored with coffee, peppers, vanilla, cinnamon, and milk sugar, it certainly gets there, producing seductive notes of spice, cream, roasted coconut, chocolate, and espresso.  Similar profile on the nose, too.  While not 'spicy hot,' the peppers definitely play, and combine with the alcohol to really warm you up.  Very pleasant, the kind of thing you want to be drinking on a chilly night.

My bottle is of last year's vintage, aged in cellar conditions since December of 2015.  The rest did the beer well.  While you may not want to wait to taste, saving a bottle or two from the six-pack for future consumption is recommended.  Either way, now or next fall, you won't go wrong here.


Happy Friday!  Go Buffs, beat the Cardinal!

2016-17 CU vs Sacramento State Basketball Teaser

Happy basketball season! We made it!  I can write all I want for my Massive Preview, or talk all I want on the Freeballin' podcast, but, until the ball is tipped tomorrow night, it's not real.  Know what I'm saying?  Once I finally get to walk into the CEC, though... the band, the court, the C-Unit, the team running out of the tunnel... yeah, that'll cure what ails you.

Once the team does finally run out of the north tunnel, though, their task at hand will be the Sacramento State Hornets.  Of course, BuffNation probably knows that athletic department best from such horror shows as whatever the hell this was in 2012, but you may be interested to know that their basketball team has also visited Boulder before. It was back in January of 1994, when they were still an independent, that State tussled with Joe Harrington's Buffs. These were the heady days of the Donnie Boyce era, and, while Colorado that year struggled to an overall 10-17 finish, CU rolled to a 80-56 win over the visitors.  That's all ancient history, though, including the Jon Embree head fake. Best to focus on the here and now.

Katz will bring his Hornets to Boulder tomorrow.  From: the Sacramento Bee

Because, let me warn you, this Sacramento State team is no RPI-300+ joke.  Sure, they finished 10th in the Big Sky last year, but that was with a number of injury issues.  This is a program that had been trending slightly upwards, finishing 2014-15 third in the Big Sky, and probably deserved more from last season. SSU head coach Brian Katz, who has been with the program since 2008-09 season, gets to return four starts from that '15-'16 team, and could, with a little better luck on the injury front, surprise a number of the media who picked the Hornets to finish 8th in their league in the preseason poll.

Those four key returners are seniors Nick Hornsby and Eric Stuteville, along with juniors Marcus Graves and Justin Strings. As a group, they've played a lot of basketball together, and are the clear leaders of this team. In the Blue Ribbon preview for State, Coach Katz was quoted as saying that they boast "the best leadership I've ever been around."

Hornsby is a good small conference forward.  From: Sac State Athletics

The seniors are an excellent pair of forwards, capable of matching up with any grouping in the region.  Right out of the gate the Buffs interior rotation will be tested, both on the glass and defensively.  Hornsby is, especially, an interesting challenge.  The 6-7, 235 lbs power forward is a nightly double-double threat, and feisty in pursuit of rebounds on both ends of the court. He could really push Xavier Johnson on the glass.  The 6-11, 256 lbs Stuteville gets over 70% of his looks at the rim, lead the Big Sky in blacks last winter, and is your more prototypical back-to-the-basket center. How Wes Gordon goes about attacking and defending him will tell us a lot about how the Buffs will be able to deal with life after Josh Scott.

For the juniors, I really like Justin Springs.  He's got great size for a wing (6-7, 230 lbs) and an sweet shooting touch (39% from deep, 57 made three pointers a year ago).  He made a huge leap between his freshman and sophomore seasons, going from essentially zero production to their best overall producer last season.  Graves, though, may be Sac State's single best talent.  A solid point guard now looking to own the starting role, he has been called out by Coach Boyle a few times after practice the last few weeks.  Perimeter guard defense is one of my concerns coming into the season, after all, and it'll be interesting to watch who, if anyone, steps up to check Marcus.

Graves and the Hornets stung ASU last season.  From: USA Today

Beyond the big four, however, there are a lot of unknowns.  In terms of story, the most eye-catching piece would be Jeff Wu, the first Taiwanese-born player signed to a D-1 basketball program.  As a freshman, the guard put up decent numbers, and probably will see a big boost in minutes this season. The Hornets took their international trip to his native country this summer, giving them plenty of experience headed into the season.  After Wu, though, There's not a whole lot I can point to as saying "this guy could hurt the Buffs."  Maybe forward Joshua Patton or backup point guard Jiday Ugbaja?

One thing to really note is that Sac State is very protective with the ball.  They posted a strong 16.7% turnover rate on offense last season, indicative of a team that doesn't play too far outside of themselves.  They were also great at defending the perimeter, keeping opponents under 33% from deep.  As this is something Colorado relies on, keep an eye on the kind of looks the Buffs are finding from beyond the arc tomorrow.  Overall, they really like to get out in transition, getting nearly a quarter of all offensive looks on the break last year.  This shouldn't trouble the Buffs, however, who largely welcome teams to come up to Boulder and try to run with them.

To the practical point, however, while I think the Hornets are a good team, there's still no reason I can manufacture to make me think we in BuffNation should be too afraid of a weird result tomorrow night. Yes, the Buffs lost on opening day last year (in South Dakota against Iowa State), but they haven't dropped a home season opener since Jeff Bzdelik's first game at the helm in 2007 (against New Mexico), and Sacramento State doesn't strike me like a team capable of upending that streak. Do note that they clipped Arizona State in the opener last season, but the Buffs don't have nearly the excuses (new coach, dysfunctional roster) that the Sun Devils had that November day. I usually try to avoid tempting fate, but I'd be very surprised if this game ended in anything other than a big Colorado win.  Give me the Buffs by 15ish, when all is said and done.

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Tip-off from the Coors Events Center is set for 7pm tomorrow evening. When you get to the arena, make sure to pay close attention to the new sound system, court design, and aisle railings.  The athletic department put a little cash into the CEC, now we get to see how it feels under live fire.  For those not coming to the game, televised coverage can be found on Pac-12 Networks, with the radio call on 760 AM.


GO BUFFS! PROVE ME RIGHT, AND BEAT THE HORNETS!

My Massive Basketball Preview 2016-17: The Next Step

"Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing."

- Ron Swanson

"Put some alcohol in your mouth to block the words from coming out."

- Also, Ron Swanson

I interrupt the exciting #Rise in Folsom to bring you: basketball season. There will be no apology.

In the closing throes of my Massive Preview last fall, I stated, emphatically, that the 2015-16 season would be better than the sour experience of 2014-15. 'A rebound is on the way,' I concluded. It was a declaration that was prefaced by over 20,000 words spent describing the ways that I knew the Buffs would just be better than they had been in that disastrous, CBI-concluded campaign. At the time, I'll admit, the statement, and the article as a whole, was written more as a soul-searching dive into literary comfort food than anything else. Hours spent assuaging my own fears that the product on the court wouldn't match my hopes. I could've saved myself the empty calories, however -- it was a declaration that was proved 100% right.

Over the course of 22 wins, including a run of 11-straight that finished just shy of the program mark, the Buffs showed that there would be no return to the painful days of the program's past. They would not fall back into old habits, they would not fade away into the miasma of countless mediocre basketball teams that plague this country. No, they would stay on track, and continue the drumbeat of success that the program has enjoyed since the arrival of Tad Boyle. Above all else, it was fun to watch basketball at the Foot of the Flatirons again.

The '15-'16 Buffs exceeded even my expectations, finishing 5th in the Pac-12 before winding up back in the NCAA Tournament for the 4th time in six years. The team reverted to form, doubling down on defense and rebounding, the old pillars of the Boyle coaching philosophy, while adding some spice in the form of outside shooting. It was a formula that paid off immediately, erasing any lingering doubt left over from the previous winter. While still a flawed team in many aspects, they came together as a group and claimed a number of great victories, including that over eventual Pac-12 champion and Elite Eight entrant Oregon at the Coors Events Center. It was, in isolation, a special season, and one well worth the price of admission.

That's not to say, however, that I feel full having consumed it. That team left some meat on the bone, allowing numerable wins - program-defining, profile-raising wins - to slip through their fingers. The losses toll like the mournful chimes of a funeral procession: Iowa St, SMU, Utah (twice), at USC, at Oregon St, and UConn in the Dance. In each, Colorado had the chance to win, to take the next step toward true relevance on the national stage. In each, they also were their own worse enemy, coughing up leads and settling into defeat. In essence, they failed to grab the brass ring, to claim what could've been theirs.

Such is the casus belli this season: take that next step. Win those games that mean something. Hold on to leads. Stroll into the upper tier of the Pac-12 and the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Become the program, on paper, that BasketBuffs everywhere have longed for.

In this virtual tome, I will try to explain why, exactly, I think the 2016-17 University of Colorado Men's Basketball Team will be able to achieve what last year's could not. I will preview them from a variety of aspects, while predicting just how all the pieces will fit together. I'll look at the roster, profiling the players and discussing how the coaching staff will look to make the great shift from focusing on the paint to the perimeter. I'll look at the schedule, touching on both the non-conference and conference slates, and announce my baseline win prediction for the campaign. I'll also look at the Pac-12, noting how our rivals spent the off-season, and talk about the league as a whole. Finally, I'll close with a look at what should be the best recruiting class since 2012, discussing how the program will retool for a year after the departure of a very strong senior class.

But first, a warning.  Those of you who have been here before know that the word 'massive' in the title is not a misnomer. I'm long-winded to a fault, and the product after the jump is far from brief. If, with that understanding, you're not dissuaded, if you love Colorado basketball too much to let a thing like 'TLDR' get in front of a good time, then grab a beer, strap in, and click below for the preview...

Monday Grab Bag: Yes, Basketball Season Is Still A Thing

It's finally here!  Basketball season is ready to begin, with the Colorado Buffaloes Men's Basketball Team tipping off the 2016-17 campaign this Friday against Sacramento State.  It's been a long road since that that fateful March day in Des Moines, but we're finally back to the business of #TadBall and the OG Rise.  I can't wait!

Of course, with the start of basketball season comes by annual Massive Basketball Preview. Weighing in at nearly 23,000 words, and touching on every topic from the current roster to the next recruiting class, it's the definitive fan-written document on the outlook of the program.  The beast will drop at 8:30 am tomorrow; I really hope you can find the time and energy to give it a look before Friday night.

In the mean time, I have this grab bag for you! Pressed for time, I'm only talking the gritty football win over UCLA, and previewing my preview.

Click below for the bag...

2016 Gameday Liquor-o-the-week - UCLA Edition

Each week throughout the football season I'm going to suggest a good beer liquor 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 beerliquor") So, be warned, these may not be "the best" beers liquors around. But, in the words of Dave Chappelle as Samuel L. Jackson "IT'LL GET YOU DRUNK!"

Mid-week games are an interesting feat.  To get any amount of tailgating in before kickoff, you pretty much have to come straight from work, fighting traffic along the way while carrying your stresses with you.  To make matters worse, once you get to the lots, the party window is compressed. For example, if you leave work at 4:30 today, even given a 30 minute trip to the stadium (which is stretching things), you'll have just an hour, maybe an hour and a half, to prepare for kickoff.  With these kinds of compressed timetables, we just ain't got time for beer.  No, we need to get serious, and up the ante.  So, the pick this evening isn't a beer, it's hard alcohol.  Colorado-based hard alcohol, to be precise.  The unique style of Arvada-based Rado Distilling's Beet Spirit is this week's gameday liquor-o-the-week.

Yep, beets.  Colorado sugar beets. Rado revels in the qualities of what they call 'Colorado's richest natural resource,' and base all their spirits on the plentiful root.  Certainly, beets grow well in this state, but I'm not sure how far I want to go with the 'richest natural resource' noise ... I digress. While you may crinkle your nose at the thought, let me assure you that you eat beets every day.  Much of the country's non-corn syrup sweets are made with white sugar from beets, which tastes identical to that from sugar cane without the requirement of a lush, tropical growing environment.  At the end of the day, sugar is sugar, and you wouldn't be able to taste the difference, anyways.

For our purposes here, Rado uses the beet sugar to make a very rum-esque series of products.  Dark, Gold, and White, their beet spirits can be used as a rum substitute in any number of classic cocktails. Straight in a glass, they strike me as sweeter, smoother, and more complex than most rums that I've tried. I have a bottle of the Gold, and the taste, beyond just simple rum, also reminds me of a good tequila with a warm kick and a near-agave flavor (scent, too).  Aftertaste is earthy and woody, with maybe a little chocolate, but definitely not unpleasant.  Overall, sweet and mixable.

Seriously, these are fun, local products, and I urge you to try some.  I found mine in Superior Liquor, but they they seem to distribute all over the Front Range.  Like any other standard hard liquor, these are all 80 proof, so consume responsibly.  Believe me, the Gold will keep you warm as the temperature dips this evening.

Happy Friday Thursday!  Go Buffs, beat the Bruins!

2016 CU vs UCLA Football Teaser

Well, this is now officially serious.  With the release of the first round of rankings by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, we come to find out that Colorado is 15th in the only poll that counts.  15th.  In the country.  Teams have made the Playoff from similar positions in each of the last two years -- OU was 15th last fall when the first rankings were cut, Ohio State (the eventual national champion) was 16th the year prior.  With that in mind, it is not out of the realm of possibility that, with five wins to finish the year, the Buffs could wind their way to 4th overall.  I've seen weirder shit happen before, believe me.

Hold my beer... watch this...

But that's just just the stuff of dreams, for now.  Reality is the UCLA Bruins, who come to town for a marquee Thursday night affair to kick the month of November off.  No time for a letup now, this is a game the Buffs better win.

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Hype Music for the Week: "Tired Bones" by the Mad Caddies

Yooooooo, is this some hot fire.  From the SoCal ska punk specialists, 'Tired Bones' is one of my favorite songs.  Fast, loud, and with a trombonist that delightfully sounds like he's strangling a cat, I can't help but wonder why this has never made its way to a basketball band track... but I digress. Enjoy!

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Kick-off from a Blacked Out Folsom Field is set for 7pm this evening.  I hope you remembered to take tomorrow off from work, 'cause it's going to get weird tonight.  No worries on the weather front: clear and cool, but otherwise perfectly fine for the first week of November.  For those too soft to head up to Boulder, coverage can be found on Fox Sports 1, with the radio call on 850 KOA.

Click below for the teaser...

Tuesday Grab Bag: Surviving the Bye Week Blues

Hey, happy November!  You know, that month that marks the start of basketball season. It's been a long winding road, but we're almost there.  Two Friday's from now, the season will finally tip off against Sacramento State, and we'll get to see just what Tad and the team have in store for us.  I'll have my annual Massive Preview up for consumption early next Tuesday, but, til then, we'll just have to do with this non-basketball filler.  I apologize in advance.

Oh, and the football team has a sort of big game this week against UCLA.  I guess you can be excited about that, as well...

Today in the bag, I'm reminding you that there are always championships in the #BananaStand, how the rest of the Pac-12 fared in football with the Buffs on a bye, and a stumble on the soccer pitch.

Click below for the bag...