Flooding in Boulder Threatens Football Game Against Fresno State

It's just a game. That is quickly becoming the mantra regarding the University of Colorado Buffaloes football game scheduled for Saturday against the Fresno State Bulldogs. CU is closed today while officials evaluate damage to the campus that has affected nearly every building. There has been flooding in dorms and some 500 people living in family housing on campus have been evacuated. The City and County of Boulder are on Emergency Alert.

Sometimes it takes the wrath of Mother Nature to remind us that the things we do for entertainment pale in comparison to real world issues, especially when they slap us in the face. More than 10 inches of rain have fallen on Boulder and the University of Colorado over the last several days, including an estimated 6-8 inches overnight. On top of that, the rain continues and is expected to drop several more inches today and tomorrow.

The damage inflicted by the massive storm has not been limited to Boulder. Much of Eastern Colorado has felt its wrath. Lyons to the North of Boulder is effectively an island, with every road in and out closed by floodwaters, debris and washed out roads. In the mountain towns just west of Boulder, waters have washed away buildings and homes. So far, at least two deaths have been attributed to the 100 year-storm. With the light of day, the true extent of the damage is becoming evident.

The CU Buffs football team is 2-0 for the first time in 5 years, and after the nightmare 2012 season in which they went 1-11, the players have been fired up to play a Bulldog team which completely destroyed them last season by a score of 69-14. This CU team has improved greatly since last year, and the team has been anxious to show that improvement against a FSU team which is ranked #27 in the country.

All the desires and plans for the game by the players and head coach Mike MacIntyre and his staff might have to redirected toward helping CU and Boulder recover from the worst rains Boulder has ever experienced. The amount of precipitation Boulder and CU have received in the last 72 hours is roughly the same as they would normally get in an entire year (around 16 inches). Forecasts call for several more inches in the next 48 hours. It could be less than that, but it could also be much more.

There have been no official statements from CU about the status of the game that is scheduled for kickoff shortly after noon on Saturday. This does not mean that the officials do not think it is important, it just means they have more important things to worry about right now. Not just the condition of the buildings on campus, but more importantly, the safety of the students and staff at the state's flagship university.

More and more, even the question about whether to play is met with incredulous stares. This is just as it should be. After all, it IS just a game.

Colorado Buffaloes 2013 Opinion: Please Spare us the Musings of Slick Rick Neuheisel

The University of Colorado Buffaloes continued fall camp on Thursday and played host to the Pac-12 Network and their resident weasel "Slick Rick" Neuheisel. As a horrible past head football coach to no less than 25% of the teams in the new Pac-12, the weasely-one now returns as an "analyst" and "media celebrity." This apparently impressed the local media enough to have a plethora of articles written about whatever drivel leached out of his lips about the state of CU football, the University of Colorado, and Boulder.

It is truly an indictment of the local media that they chose to waste space that should have been allocated to Mike MacIntyre's Buffaloes by instead writing about the musings of a man who has been disgraced, fired, and frequently accused of being a liar and lawyer. I digress, of course, and must admit that calling anyone a liar and a lawyer would be redundant. But hey, after all, this is 2013 and fame is more important than anything, especially honesty and integrity.

Unfortunately for NewWeasel and the local media, some of us have been around long enough to remember the first go-round. I worked at the Daily Camera Newspaper when the boy wonder first made his way into Boulder in 1994 to work with the great Bill McCartney.

Mac had won one National Championship during his tenure coaching in Boulder, but more importantly, had come within two bad games of winning two more championships (the NC game against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl following the 1989 season, and the 1994 game against Nebraska in Lincoln). If you had been there to see those games and those seasons, then you know what I am talking about.

McCartney shocked everyone by announcing his retirement following the game in which Rashaan Salaam wrapped up his Heisman Trophy by going over 2000 yards in a season during the season ending game with Iowa State. The 1994 team was so good that NINE Buffs were selected in the NFL Draft the following April, including SEVEN in the first three rounds.

Colorado surprised a great many people by choosing a very young Neuheisel over more experienced coaches with at least coordinator experience to become the next head coach of the Buffs for the 1995 season. I have to admit that I was excited that CU was showing rare foresight (or so I thought then) by hiring a guy who was nearly the same age I was. Judith Albino was wrong to hire Ricky Boy then, and I was wrong in thinking that a guy smart enough to get through law school and pass the bar had the dedication to be a great head coach.

As an aside, I realize that the Wikipedia page dedicated to Rick Neuheisel says he was the Offensive Coordinator for the Buffs in 1994, but that is wrong. The OC during Mac's final year was Elliot Uzelac.

Neuheisel inherited a perennial top-5 team built by Mac, and then got way too much credit when the Buffs won 10 games each of his first two seasons. In hindsight, the Buffs would have won 10 games in '95 and '96 no matter who was the coach because of the depth of the program built by McCartney. Once the program was in the hands of players developed by Neuheisel's staff, however, the wheels started to come off the program.

It was bad enough that the Buffs went from their typical 10 wins in a season to only 5 in 1997, more embarrassing still was that CU had to later forfeit their wins because they used an ineligible player. Also came revelations that there were recruiting improprieties from the very top (the big dog, or, in this case, the big weasel). Those things alone had me and other serious Buff fans calling for Ricky's job.

What really pissed me off about the articles written by the local media is that they really don't know anything about the people they are writing about. Several mentioned their incorrect belief that Buff fans were angry with Neuheisel for leaving CU to go to Washington. Nothing could be further from the truth. I became chat room friends with several people at UW fansites during that time. In a much more civilized era of college sporting discussions, I explained my misgivings about Neuheisel.

Several years later, after the general consensus that Neuheisel had embarrassed their school as well, they thanked me for trying to warn them. Years later, we marveled at the warped mentality that led UCLA to hire a man who had twice run afoul of the NCAA, leading to sanctions of his teams, and then successfully sued the NCAA and Washington for doing their own jobs poorly.

One would think that nowadays that any hiring Rick analysis would come with a comprehensive risk analysis. That is, considering his high pay, profile, and position, what does he offer as a benefit compared to potential risks to the prestige and financial health and wellbeing of the program?

All said, like most lawyers, you have to take anything Rick says with a grain of salt. Better yet, in the case of Neuheisel, you should probably add the wedge of lime and shot of tequila to make anything he says palatable. I am sure the local media, in their obsequious desire to pay homage to fame and/or infamy, believe they are entitled to share the opinions of such a man “who is like any other man, only more so.” (Casablanca). I think I share the opinions of many long time Buff fans who have the image of Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men come to mind when we say we “don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.”

Opinion: MAYBE Alex Lewis Belongs in Jail

Alex Lewis Mugshot from the Boulder County Sheriff's office.

Maybe Alex Lewis, former offensive lineman for the University of Colorado, belongs in jail.

These are the FACTS and they are not under dispute:

-- Friday Day May 10th: CU offensive lineman Alexander Lewis announced to the national media that he was leaving Colorado for the Cornholers at the University of Nebraska.

-- Friday Night May 10th: Lewis went out drinking. By his own admission, he consumed 22 alcoholic beverages. That's right, 22, as in six glasses of wine, ten beers, and six shots. Even for a very large man, that amount of alcohol would make him VERY intoxicated.

-- Early Saturday Morning: While walking on The Hill shortly after 3 a.m., Lewis got into an altercation with a cadet from the Air Force Academy. The altercation left the cadet hospitalized and led to the arrest of Lewis for 2nd Degree Assault and two counts of Harassment.

-- According to the CU depth chart, Alex Lewis is 6'6" tall and weighs 285 pounds.

-- Cadet Lee Bussey is 5'11" tall and weighs 185 pounds.

-- That means that Lewis is 7 inches taller and 100 pounds heavier than the Air Force cadet.

-- Also arrested and charged with 2nd Degree Assault was Colorado QB Jordan Webb.

-- Donald Brenner is the lawyer for Alex Lewis.

-- CU and Nebraska were rivals in the same conference from 1948-2010. The are no longer in the same conference.

-- Nebraska and the Air Force Academy have never been in the same conference and are not considered rivals.

-- Once again, those are the FACTS and they are not under dispute.
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Once we get past the facts, we get to the CLAIMS, particularly from the lawyers involved. It is important to remember to make sure those claims make sense in light of the known facts. In this case, several of the claims do not seem to hold water.

Of course, many claims by lawyers have to be taken with the grain of salt that comes with "lawyer-speak" -- which is very similar to "journalist-speak." In this type of speech, the use of the words "MAY" or "MAYBE" are bandied about with great frequency because they allow the speaker to say just about anything without making an actual claim that might be identified as an outright lie. Using the words "MAY" or "MAYBE" allows those involved to throw out any unlikely scenario as a possible alibi for actions of the accused. MAYBE.

As a good journalist, let me play the game too. Media reports that quote lawyer Brenner MAY indicate he has done a poor job addressing the press about his client. And I will go out on a limb and say outright that the press HAS done a POOR job in challenging the claims of Brenner.

The first claim by Brenner about his client that should have raised objections from the press is his assertion that his client "MAY" have been accosted for wearing Nebraska gear. The purpose of this use of "MAY" is to bring to light the long rivalry between CU and Nebraska. In response to the "MAY" is the use of the word "WHY" - as in, WHY would an Air Force cadet care about the no longer existent rivalry between CU and Nebraska?

The other claim made by Brenner that should have raised questions from the press was his claim that "My client didn't do anything but shove a fellow." Really? Do folks normally end up in the hospital after being shoved? Were you there Mr. Brenner? Is it possible that your very intoxicated client MAYBE does not remember clearly what happened? Is it possible that MAYBE your client donned Nebraska gear and decided he was in enemy territory and he was looking for a fight? That MAYBE he was trying to impress his new teammates in Lincoln by kicking someone's butt in Boulder? Is it possible? MAYBE.

As an American citizen, Alex Lewis should be considered to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If he is found guilty, however, he should go to jail and pay the price for his actions. 2nd Degree Assault is is FELONY. NO MAYBE about it.

UPDATE May 15th
Both Alex Lewis and Jordan Webb were officially charged today (Wednesday, May 15th) with Second Degree Assault, a felony. Lewis was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of Harassment.

According to an article in the Daily Camera, the attorney Donald Brenner backed off his earlier claims that his client Lewis was accosted for wearing Nebraska gear. He is quoted as saying that Lewis "wasn't dressed in Nebraska gear. I don't know where I got that from. I've been bombarded by the press with so much innuendo. I get confused." Chilling words indeed for Lewis, who faces possible prison time if convicted.

UPDATE June 6th
The preliminary hearing for Alex Lewis and Jordan Webb has been postponed until July 1st. Both men remain free on bond.