More Monday Links

A decent amount of good reads today for the utter lack of action right now...

-- It's good to hear the Bzdelik is rebuilding the bridges with local Colorado HS basketball programs, but we're going to have to continue to be patient because this seasons looks like it's going to be a rough one.

-- Doesn't look like the Buffs or even CSU will be reentering the world of D1 College Baseball anytime soon...

-- CU may not have a NCAA baseball team but at least they now have a club Bass Fishing team! (On as side note I have tossed back plenty of brew's on ole Lake Eufala, the brownest lake in the world...)

-- Finally, we at The Ralphie Report can not neglect our namesake, so here is a story on Ralphie V.

Bzdelik Staying, Tolan's First Round A Success

Although probably not a front runner for the Bulls job, Bzdelik announced today that he is not interested in the head coaching vacancy and expressed his commitment to the University of Colorado.

"I am honored that one of the premier organizations in all of sport, the Chicago Bulls, would consider me as a candidate for their head coaching position," the statement said. "However, my staff and I remain deeply committed to re-establishing Colorado basketball as a consistent winner."

This is a major win for the Buffs as a coaching change, especially after a large footprint has already been left on the program by Bzdelik, would have set the program back many years.

Tolan in the Hunt

It is safe to say that the pressure of being the first CU golfer to make it to the NCAA Championships in 6 years didn't effect the Buffs Junior Golfer Derek Tolan. After a relatively late tee time yesterday, Tolan shot himself to a 2 over par 74 which was good enough for 1oth place and only 5 shots off the lead. UCLA's Kevin Chappell is currently in the lead shooting a 3 under 69. We will keep you posted on Tolan's status for the rest of the tournament.

Thursday Tidbits

-- In regards to yesterday's post on the Bzdelik to the Bulls rumors, CU Athletic Director Mike Bohn is already playing the spin doctor.

"Our high-quality, marquee coaches' names will always be speculated with openings across the country"

-- If Buff golfer Derek Tolan is going to finish in the Top 5 of an NCAA Golf Event for the first ever, than I know of no better place the National Championships.

-- Here's to hoping that the Colorado's entire D-Line is scary next year (to opposing teams, not Buff fans)...

-- I just hope I'm not building myself up for a let down as my excitement over Darrell Scott's arrival continues to build.

-- Seems like the Sooners (as well as every other college in the country) should have done this a long time ago. You can skim over the article, but make sure and read all of the crybaby comments.

-- Last but not least, 3rd Saturday in Blogtober has a post on the new and innovative ways that SEC coaches are getting around the "Saban Rule".

Bzdelik on the Move?

Fresh off one of the more shocking lottery upsets in recent history, the Chicago Bulls are narrowing down the list of options to become their next head coach. Still remaining on that list is CU's own Jeff Bzdelik, who is a Chicago native and still has many roots in the Windy City. Although Bzdelik is considered a dark horse, his ties with Chicago and his tough defensive style of coaching could be intriguing to the Bulls. For Bzdelik, you have to believe that he will listen seriously to any offer from such a high profile team. He does have a good thing brewing in Boulder, currently bringing in the #3 draft class in the Big 12 according to many of the recruiting experts and he has already received strong financial support that was non-existent in the Patton era. With that being said, the Bulls have a lot to offer Bzdelik. Again, he is a Chicago native, and the Bulls are also one of the premier franchises in the NBA and they are located in the lowly (but improving) Eastern Conference. They have a pretty solid core group of players but the most important thing is the money that could come along with the deal. Currently, Bzdelik makes about $800,000 a year with the Buffs. The Bulls offered former coach Scott Skiles a four-year, $16.5 million contract last year before he was let go this season so Bzdelik would be in line for a huge pay increase. And did we forget to mention that they will have the #1 pick. Coaching at Colorado does offer a little more job security, though, as most NBA coaching positions are like a revolving door.

It will be interesting to see what develops. If Bzdelik were to leave the program, it could set the Buffs back significantly as 7 players have already left the program since he took over for Ricardo Patton and who knows what would happen to the recruits that have signed with the Buffs this year. Bzdelik had to sell himself more than the program and with that bond potentially being broken, the next couple of years could be terrible in Boulder.

Cleaning House

It looks like Coach Hawkins gave the CU basketball team the "go play intramurals brother" talk and the players obliged. Or Bzdelik may have changed the words to "go play at Northern Illinois brother." Although the most recent player leaving the team is just "speculation", six others have left the team since Jeff Bzdelik has taken over the hapless program that Ricardo Patton attempted to run. These seven players leaving is even more validation that the Patton run program was a joke and as soon as a little discipline was instilled, the players’ true colors were shown. In my honest opinion, the program needed to clean house and in a little more than a year, that has been done. Most of the teams Patton assembled were not worthy of Division 1 Big 12 basketball. Can you see any of these players stepping on the court with the Kansas Jayhawks of the world or even Kansas State? Probably not one would survive. Yes the facilities need to be updated and the culture has to change, but it looks like the free ride culture is no longer an option. Let’s just hope Bzdelik can field a team!