Break out the Frisbees -- a new disc-golf course is coming to Boulder.

The Boulder City Council late Tuesday night gave initial approval to an 18-hole disc-golf course at the yet-to-be-developed Valmont City Park.

While a final concept plan for the park -- which sits at Valmont and Airport roads in northeast Boulder -- is still a work in progress, a majority of the City Council agreed the park should include a permanent disc-golf course.

"It will serve a whole community of people very well," Deputy Mayor Crystal Gray said.

The course, as envisioned, would sit on the south end of the park and cover 18 to 20 acres of the 132-acre development and cost up to $70,000 to install -- not including the cost of removing troublesome prairie dogs from the site at $200 per animal.

"I think this needs to be done," Councilwoman Lisa Morzel said. "To me, Frisbee golf is one of those sports people of all ages can play, whether they're competitive or not."

Longmont resident John Bird, president of the Mile High Disc Golf Club, said before the meeting that many followers of the sport are excited about the possibility of a "tournament-grade" course at Valmont.

Alice Guthrie, parks and planning superintendent for the city, said the course would be free to access, and probably open to other general uses.

So far, city plans developed with the help of public input include a bike terrain park, a fenced dog area, pedestrian trails, a "tot-lot" playground, surface parking, sidewalks and the renovation of a historic farmhouse on the north side of the park.

On the south side, suggested items include a multipurpose artificial turf field for soccer, rugby and baseball, an "adventure playground," park shelters and a picnic area.

Still undecided is whether to include an ice arena, indoor or outdoor tennis courts, a gymnasium or a performing arts center at the park.

A final concept plan for Valmont Park is scheduled to come back to the City Council for final approval as early as July 8.

Only hours remain until adventure-film fanatics come out in their fedoras for a stroll -- or life-or-death chase -- down memory lane.

"Indy" fans are expected to start lining up today outside area theaters for the midnight showing of the fourth and long-awaited installment of the legendary Indiana Jones series.

"We already have our tickets," said Alison Layman, 27, of Boulder. "They have been hanging on our fridge for two weeks."

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is scheduled to open nationwide Thursday, with select theaters offering midnight shows -- including Boulder's Century Theatres on the Twenty Ninth Street mall and Broomfield's AMC Theatres at the FlatIron Crossing mall.

Although notoriously secretive director Steven Spielberg has allowed few pre-screenings, the flick's world premiere Sunday at the Cannes International Film Festival brought positive feedback from critics andhas local fans "dying" to see the latest Jones installment.

"Because they're fairly old, I've watched them all in the past week to get caught up," said Layman, who, like Indy, constructed "booby traps" as a child in her backyard. "I have high expectations for the new one."

Layman said she and her husband went online months ago and snagged seats for the 10 p.m. Thursday show in Boulder. They're hosting a pre-viewing party for other ticket-holding friends before the group rides over to the theaters early -- in costume.

The $185 million movie has been hyped for months by experts in the entertainment world as a guaranteed blockbuster bound to break box-office records.

"Raiders of the Lost Ark" was released in 1981; "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" debuted in 1984; and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" came out in 1989. The new film reportedly is nostalgic of the first three movies.

"What can you expect from a 60-year-old Harrison Ford?" said Alan O'Hashi, 55, of Boulder, conceding Jones' mortality is what makes him so appealing.

"He's not locked in time like Superman," said O'Hashi, who plans to see the movie wearing his Jones-inspired fedora. "He's mortal and has to use his mind and instinct to get to the end of the movie."

Ben Fields, 14, of Boulder, is of the younger generation of Indy fans. But, Ben insisted, there's no less enthusiasm. He said he doesn't need a movie premiere or even Halloween to don his adventure hero's famed hat and jacket.

"I wore it once to school," he said. "My friends thought I looked pretty cool wearing that."

Ben's mother, Denise Fields, said her son doesn't just dress like Indiana.

"Last night, he was doing a very credible performance of Sean Connery as Indy's dad," Fields said. "He's pretty good."

For Jaffa Rosenfels, 34, of Broomfield, the Indiana Jones movies are sentimental. For his 10th birthday, Rosenfels said, his dad rented the first Indy movie -- and a VCR. Rosenfels and his friends replayed it over and over that weekend.

"I watched it eight or nine times," he said. "It's the only movie I ever took my grandfather to. That's why I love the movie so much. It's so endearing."

Jeff Bzdelik isn't promising to turn Colorado into the next Duke.


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But the Buffs head coach has more in common with Mike Krzyzewski than a last name that could stump a spelling bee champion.

Bzdelik, like "Coach K" years before the McDonald's All-Americans and national championship banners arrived at Cameron Indoor Stadium, has enough self-confidence to attempt to build a basketball program from the ground up at a university that won't lower its academic standards to achieve higher win totals.

"Coach K and I talk a lot," Bzdelik said of his longtime friend on Thursday. "In his second and third years (at Duke) he was 10-17 and 11-17. And he had an alumnus put his finger in his chest after his third year and say, 'You will never last here. We need to get rid of you.'

"But they stayed the course."

Bzdelik could have name dropped all afternoon. His peers -- from Pat Riley to Bob Knight to Mike Dunlap -- respect and admire his eye for talent, knowledge of the game and work ethic.

But he wasn't trying to impress members of the media or responding to irrational message board rants. Bzdelik -- who accepted this daunting challenge just over a year ago -- wanted to remind everyone that it is going to take several years to transform CU basketball from a bad Big 12 punch line into a respectable top 20-caliber program.

"I'm different," said Bzdelik, who could probably earn a similar or higher salary in the NBA as an assistant coach without all of the headaches that come with being the face of a last-place team. "I like to see if I can do something that people say you can't do."

The fact that Jeremy Williams will likely become the seventh Ricardo Patton recruit to leave CU since Bzdelik was hired doesn't look good from the outside. The fact that the APR for the men's basketball program is below the NCAA's standard doesn't look good from the outside. The fact that the Buffs lost 20 games last season doesn't look good from the outside.

The future, however, looks pretty bright from inside Bzdelik's bright new office at the Coors Events Center.

"My point is that if you're going to build something with a great foundation, it just takes time," Bzdelik continued.

CU will welcome five freshmen recruits to campus for the 2008-09 season in point guard Nate Tomlinson, combo guard Ryan Kelley, forward Toby Veal, forward Austin Dufault and center Trey Eckloff. These players, unlike most of the members of Patton's last class, were recruited by other BCS schools.

"Obviously we're going to be very, very young next year," Bzdelik said. "But I believe we're going to be very skilled and we're going to have depth. We will also have a willingness from all to buy in."

To their credit, Richard Roby and Marcus Hall bought what Bzdelik was selling last season. And both players enjoyed dramatic improvement with their all-around games as seniors, which will give them a better opportunity to play professionally.

Seven of the other players Bzdelik inherited -- whether it was due to a lack of talent, poor work ethic or failure to take care of business in the classroom -- did not fit well with the new coaching staff. Now they're either transferring to Northern Illinois, playing for mid-majors and junior colleges, or at home soul-searching.

Bzdelik has said from Day One that it's going to take some time for him to turn things around at CU, but that doesn't mean he's a patient man.

"What I'm really excited about is all these young men really want to be here," Bzdelik said on the subject of next year's roster. "There's no bad habits to erase."

Three of the elder statesmen on the Buffs next fall will be sophomores Cory Higgins, Casey Crawford and Levi Knutson. The only upperclassmen, senior Jermyl Jackson-Wilson and junior Dwight Thorne, are role players with great attitudes.

"We'll have growing pains," Bzdelik warns. "There's no question about that because of our extreme youth. But it's a great investment in our future."

James Begley approached his coach, one of the few men he can have an eye-level conversation with, and made a simple statement Sunday afternoon.


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"I have the last throw," the Colorado senior said.

His coach, Casey Malone, already knew that. As a 2004 Olympian, Malone kind of knows by now how a track meet runs. But the statement wasn't meant to inform. It was meant to reassure.

Begley had the best discus throw in the prelims at Sunday's Big 12 Track and Field Championships, earning him the last throw in the finals. But both the CU pupil and teacher knew someone would best Begley's prelims mark, forcing him to win on the final throw of the meet.

He did just that when he unleashed a toss of 173 feet, one inch through a beautiful Boulder sky to earn the fifth-year senior his first conference title.

"I couldn't have asked for a better ending to my career, to win on my last throw in front of my hometown fans," said Begley, who clapped to the CU fans after his win. "I had all my friends here, my parents, my high school coach. It was just a great way to end my career here."

It wasn't a bad way to cap a weekend, either. He finished ninth in the hammer throw Friday with a personal best of 189-04 and fifth in the shot put Saturday with a personal best of 56-4½. He scored 14 points for the Buffs as the team earned its first conference title win since 1947.

Begley's win was an unexpected boost for the Buffs. The 6-5 big man had the third-best throw in the conference coming into the meet, but he managed to have the best day of any thrower when it counted.

"As an athlete, I can understand how hard it is to have your best day on the most important day," said the 6-8 Malone, who won a national title at Colorado State in 1998. "If I wrote screenplays, this is how I would write it -- winning on the last throw of his career at Potts Field."

After spending the last five years tossing heavy objects, Begley is heading into a more delicate field. He has a job in the E.&J. Gallo Winery's management training program.

He distinguished himself at CU as a leader by heading the Student Athlete Advisory Council while putting together several charity events such as Buffalo Hugs, the Angel Tree and Read With the Buffs. Now he'll take those skills -- and a Big 12 gold medal -- into the next stage of his life.

"I wanted to have a special senior year," he said. "So far, it's going pretty well."

CU's Tolan alternate for Open qualifying

University of Colorado golfer Derek Tolan will be an alternate for U.S. Open Sectional qualifying.


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Tolan earned alternate status at one of the two U.S. Open local qualifiers held in Colorado on Monday.

Tolan played in the 2002 U.S. Open.

Tom Glissmeyer of Colorado Springs had a hole-in-one en route to a 67 and a first-place finish at the Colorado Golf Club in Parker. Glissmeyer played in the 2003 U.S. Open as a 16-year-old.

The 12 qualifiers will move on to U.S. Sectional Qualifying to be held in June at 14 sites. Columbine Country Club in Littleton will host one of the U.S. Open sectional qualifiers on June 2.

Bob Stone remembers how the first Bolder Boulder race looked 30 years ago: short, colorful and made out of a nylon material quite similar to women's underwear.

That would be the running shorts, of course.

The year was 1979. Boulder runner Frank Shorter had just popularized the latest state-of-the-art running shorts, "little shorty things with liners inside of them" in red and bright blue, as Stone recalls. Everyone who was anyone was wearing them.

Stone had his own pair. They were bright yellow and orange.

"They would be consideredridiculous today," says the Boulder runner, who has since participated in almost every Bolder Boulder.

A few of these short-shorts will inevitably grace the race this year -- on serious old-schoolers or athletes dressing up for a laugh -- but overall, this year's starting line will look a lot different from the 1979 version.

Boulder -- and its vibrant running community -- have been a major force in that transformation.

Boulder innovations

Shorter's short-shorts were the beginning of a full line of athletic wear that would become Frank Shorter Sportswear.

The Boulder-based company would eventually move runners out of clammy cotton T-shirts and into technical, moisture-wicking fabrics. Two more Boulder athletes, Tim Cronin and Stan Mavis (who now heads Sugoi performance apparel), are also considered instrumental in driving the transformation in running clothes, Shorter says.

Cathy Boyd, with Boulder's Fleet Feet store, says business booms around race time, when many athletes want to treat themselves to a new race-day outfit as a reward or motivation. That especially applies to women, whose running clothes have also made big strides, with Boulder businesses leading the path once again.

"No longer do you see women just wearing shorts. You see a lot of women wearing really cute, sophisticated running skirts," Boyd says. "It's great because a running skirt looks good on everyone, and the shorts under the skirts reduce chafing."

SkirtSports Inc., a popular running skirt manufacturer, is based in Boulder. The skirts are trendy enough that runners can wear them around town, not just while working out.

"Running styles these days have a more cross-over appeal," Boyd says.

Running fashion

progresses

Eventually, the tiny 2½-inch inseam shorts of 1979 morphed into Spandex. Then came the high-waist poufy bottoms, such as Umbro soccer shorts.

Women went through a velour track suit phase, mostly in purple and gray shades. Luckily, that didn't last long because velour is too hot and not very durable.

Before moisture-wicking fabrics, early Bolder Boulder runners sported cotton tees, which tend to grow heavy with sweat and feel clammy. Many male runners ended up running shirtless, which put them at risk for sunburn.

Thick cotton sweat pants were even less practical. Stone remembers running with his partner one year in a downpour. His friend's pants soaked up so much rain that the runners had to stop. His friend took off his pants and cut the legs off on nearby barbed wire so he could proceed.

Today, more men wear long, baggy shorts, similar to basketball uniforms, according to local running stores. The most popular color is no longer bright orange -- it's black.

And although long running shorts might be easier on the eye, they're too bulky for most distance runners. They tend to flap around and interfere with the movement of the legs.

"I don't understand," Stone says. "I don't wear anything too brief -- I keep it as close as I can to being acceptable in the fashion world, as short as you can get away with -- but I definitely don't want them baggy."

High price, high

quality

Modern running clothes are also more expensive, says David Mastbaum, of Boulder, who has been running since the 1960s.

Still, he says the right clothes are important, especially in cold conditions. His thumbs suffered frostbite during a climbing expedition in the '80s in the Soviet Union, and he says he's thankful for today's quality running gloves that keep his hands warm.

Also, modern Lycra tights support key muscle areas, such as around the knees and hamstrings.

"After all these years of crazy sports, my body can use all the support it can muster," Mastbaum says.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Aimee Heckel at 303-473-1359

The Colorado men won the Big 12 Track and Field Championships on Sunday afternoon.

The Buffs clinched the victory on their home turf -- Potts Field -- with 32 points in the 5,000. CU’s Brent Vaughn won the event and six of the top eight spots in the race were earned by Buffs.

The title is CU’s first men’s track title since 1947, when Colorado was a part of the Mountain States Conference.

Boulder police officers were left scratching their heads Saturday night about how to deal with two men who shot each other with Taser devices during an argument on University Hill.

Sgt. Pat Wyton said Casey Dane, a private security guard working for Colorado Security, was in an ally behind the Mamacitas restaurant, 1149 13th St., and got into a heated argument with another man whose car had been booted for parking illegally.

The owner of the car, Harvey Epstein, a bartender at the Mexican restaurant, left to retrieve a set of bolt cutters, Wyton said, and then returned to the vehicle to try to pry off the boot. When he returned, about 7 p.m., Dane allegedly ordered him to drop the cutters or he would shoot him with a gas-propelled Taser device because he felt threatened.

The guard, Wyton said, "decided to shoot the guy."

But what the guard didn't know, Wyton said, was that Epstein also had the same type of Taser in his pocket -- which he then used on Dane.

"They shot each other," Wyton said. "It was just kind of a bone-head deal."

Both men pulled the electrified probes from their own bodies and did not need medical attention, he said.

Wyton said that, following the confusing encounter, Epstein was arrested and taken to the Boulder County Jail on suspicion of felony menacing and use of a stun gun.

LOS ANGELES -- The NCAA on Monday opened an investigation into whether former USC basketball player O.J. Mayo received tens of thousands of dollars in cash and benefits from an agent's representative before and during the one season he played for the Trojans.
Big 12 Championships first step to Beijing for Buffs
Buffs finish eighth in NCAA tuneup event
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The allegations were made by former Mayo confidant Louis Johnson during a segment of the ESPN show "Outside the Lines" broadcast Sunday.

USC responded to the report by releasing a statement Sunday saying that the NCAA and Pacific 10 Conference had reviewed Mayo's situation before and during his enrollment at USC "and did not identify any amateurism violations."

That review, conducted by the school's compliance office in conjunction with conference and NCAA authorities, was extensive with a scope far beyond perfunctory NCAA Clearinghouse procedures, said a source with knowledge of the situation who wouldn't speak unless guaranteed anonymity.

In its own statement to the Los Angeles Times on Monday, the NCAA said the allegations made on the television show were "new to the NCAA. This information was not available when the NCAA examined Mr. Mayo's academic and amateurism status prior to his collegiate enrollment, and we will review the information in conjunction with the institution and the Pac-10 conference."

When the Big 12 outdoor track and field championships begin Friday at Potts Field, it will represent the culmination of nearly a year of hard work for most of the athletes involved.


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For Colorado distance runners Jenny Barringer and Brent Vaughn it will be just the first of multiple weekends over the next two months that will demand the best they have to offer. If they can navigate the stretch of stress and fatigue as well as coach Mark Wetmore believes they can, both could complete their summers competing in the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

"Those two have better chances than many collegians," Wetmore said. "There probably aren't 10 collegians in the country that have the chance that Brent and Jenny have.

"Now for all collegians, they have the problem of going to school, taking classes, final exams, Big 12s, regionals, NCAA. Their professional opponents are sleeping until 9 and getting massages and training twice a day and can pick their races very carefully. Jenny and Brent and our other athletes who are qualified for the trials, it will be their fourth or fifth big meet in a row. That's a bit of a disadvantage, and that's why not many collegians make the Olympic team."

Barringer is the USA Track and Field defending champion in the steeplechase, making her a favorite to finish among the top three at the Olympic trials later this summer and earn a ticket to China. Vaughn recently set a school record in the 5,000-meter run with the second fastest time recorded in the event in the nation this year.That puts him contention to finish in the top three as well.

Both athletes begin the week trying not to get ahead of themselves. They say they are focusing on one meet at a time and hope to help their teammates finish as high as possible in the team standings this week in the conference meet. The Buffs are hosting the three-day meet for the first time in 15 years.

Barringer has competed in the steeplechase and the 5,000-meter run in the past two Big 12 outdoor seasons. Late last week she still wasn't sure which events she would run this year in the conference meet.

She is without doubt the strength of a CU women's team in rebuilding mode this year.

"I'd like to pull as much weight for the team as possible," she said.

Barringer has run just twice so far this spring in the outdoor portion of the schedule. She said she met her goal in both outings, including a win in the 1,500-meter race at the Oregon Relays last month. The junior from Oviedo, Fla., is still trying to work some kinks out at this point, but she isn't going to shy away from the perception that she is the woman to beat this week in her events.

"I think I've kind of created a name for myself in the steeplechase," Barringer said. "Anywhere you go you have to hope that a good reputation precedes you.

"I'm sure that there are some people that see me that way in the steeplechase, but it's not without a lot of really good competition. I'm not going to go in too confident."

Barringer won't even allow herself to think about the Olympics. Sure, it serves as motivation, but she prefers to think of the Olympic Trials (June 27-July 6) in Eugene, Ore., as the end game. And she will approach the Big 12 meet this week as well as the regionals and NCAA championships as benchmarks along the way to that destination.

"I still kind of feel like I'm in that stage of anticipation where I'm waiting for everything to start rolling and start taking off," she said. "The Big 12 is going to be a big part of that."

Wetmore began talking about the possibility of an Olympic run with both Barringer and Vaughn last summer, and both have been training with that ultimate competition in mind all year. Wetmore handicaps Barringer's chances this way.

"There are three or four other excellent women in her event who have achieved the Olympic A standard for competition in the Olympics," he said. "So it's not a shoo-in for her. But she has a very strong chance.

"She won it a year ago and she has a very strong chance at being in the top three this year. And therefor being in the top three with the Olympic A standard, she's off to China."

Vaughn said a year ago he was looking forward to making a run at the 2012 Olympics and considered himself a long shot for the 2008 games. His efforts over the past 10 months have convinced him he is a contender four years earlier than he first planned.

"I've been training hard and I knew I was going to be able to make a jump not having indoors and just being able to train," he said. "Mark always does a great job with his athletes when he is allowed to just train them.

"I've been training hard now for four months without really racing."

WAYS TO LIVE GREEN:

IS HE THE BEST MASCOT IN THE COUNTRY?

another day in the life of winter.

laugh laugh

Break out the Frisbees -- a new disc-golf course is coming to Boulder.

The Boulder City Council late Tuesday night gave initial approval to an 18-hole disc-golf course at the yet-to-be-developed Valmont City Park.

While a final concept plan for the park -- which sits at Valmont and Airport roads in northeast Boulder -- is still a work in progress, a majority of the City Council agreed the park should include a permanent disc-golf course.

"It will serve a whole community of people very well," Deputy Mayor Crystal Gray said.

The course, as envisioned, would sit on the south end of the park and cover 18 to 20 acres of the 132-acre development and cost up to $70,000 to install -- not including the cost of removing troublesome prairie dogs from the site at $200 per animal.

"I think this needs to be done," Councilwoman Lisa Morzel said. "To me, Frisbee golf is one of those sports people of all ages can play, whether they're competitive or not."

Longmont resident John Bird, president of the Mile High Disc Golf Club, said before the meeting that many followers of the sport are excited about the possibility of a "tournament-grade" course at Valmont.

Alice Guthrie, parks and planning superintendent for the city, said the course would be free to access, and probably open to other general uses.

So far, city plans developed with the help of public input include a bike terrain park, a fenced dog area, pedestrian trails, a "tot-lot" playground, surface parking, sidewalks and the renovation of a historic farmhouse on the north side of the park.

On the south side, suggested items include a multipurpose artificial turf field for soccer, rugby and baseball, an "adventure playground," park shelters and a picnic area.

Still undecided is whether to include an ice arena, indoor or outdoor tennis courts, a gymnasium or a performing arts center at the park.

A final concept plan for Valmont Park is scheduled to come back to the City Council for final approval as early as July 8.

Only hours remain until adventure-film fanatics come out in their fedoras for a stroll -- or life-or-death chase -- down memory lane.

"Indy" fans are expected to start lining up today outside area theaters for the midnight showing of the fourth and long-awaited installment of the legendary Indiana Jones series.

"We already have our tickets," said Alison Layman, 27, of Boulder. "They have been hanging on our fridge for two weeks."

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is scheduled to open nationwide Thursday, with select theaters offering midnight shows -- including Boulder's Century Theatres on the Twenty Ninth Street mall and Broomfield's AMC Theatres at the FlatIron Crossing mall.

Although notoriously secretive director Steven Spielberg has allowed few pre-screenings, the flick's world premiere Sunday at the Cannes International Film Festival brought positive feedback from critics andhas local fans "dying" to see the latest Jones installment.

"Because they're fairly old, I've watched them all in the past week to get caught up," said Layman, who, like Indy, constructed "booby traps" as a child in her backyard. "I have high expectations for the new one."

Layman said she and her husband went online months ago and snagged seats for the 10 p.m. Thursday show in Boulder. They're hosting a pre-viewing party for other ticket-holding friends before the group rides over to the theaters early -- in costume.

The $185 million movie has been hyped for months by experts in the entertainment world as a guaranteed blockbuster bound to break box-office records.

"Raiders of the Lost Ark" was released in 1981; "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" debuted in 1984; and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" came out in 1989. The new film reportedly is nostalgic of the first three movies.

"What can you expect from a 60-year-old Harrison Ford?" said Alan O'Hashi, 55, of Boulder, conceding Jones' mortality is what makes him so appealing.

"He's not locked in time like Superman," said O'Hashi, who plans to see the movie wearing his Jones-inspired fedora. "He's mortal and has to use his mind and instinct to get to the end of the movie."

Ben Fields, 14, of Boulder, is of the younger generation of Indy fans. But, Ben insisted, there's no less enthusiasm. He said he doesn't need a movie premiere or even Halloween to don his adventure hero's famed hat and jacket.

"I wore it once to school," he said. "My friends thought I looked pretty cool wearing that."

Ben's mother, Denise Fields, said her son doesn't just dress like Indiana.

"Last night, he was doing a very credible performance of Sean Connery as Indy's dad," Fields said. "He's pretty good."

For Jaffa Rosenfels, 34, of Broomfield, the Indiana Jones movies are sentimental. For his 10th birthday, Rosenfels said, his dad rented the first Indy movie -- and a VCR. Rosenfels and his friends replayed it over and over that weekend.

"I watched it eight or nine times," he said. "It's the only movie I ever took my grandfather to. That's why I love the movie so much. It's so endearing."

Jeff Bzdelik isn't promising to turn Colorado into the next Duke.


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But the Buffs head coach has more in common with Mike Krzyzewski than a last name that could stump a spelling bee champion.

Bzdelik, like "Coach K" years before the McDonald's All-Americans and national championship banners arrived at Cameron Indoor Stadium, has enough self-confidence to attempt to build a basketball program from the ground up at a university that won't lower its academic standards to achieve higher win totals.

"Coach K and I talk a lot," Bzdelik said of his longtime friend on Thursday. "In his second and third years (at Duke) he was 10-17 and 11-17. And he had an alumnus put his finger in his chest after his third year and say, 'You will never last here. We need to get rid of you.'

"But they stayed the course."

Bzdelik could have name dropped all afternoon. His peers -- from Pat Riley to Bob Knight to Mike Dunlap -- respect and admire his eye for talent, knowledge of the game and work ethic.

But he wasn't trying to impress members of the media or responding to irrational message board rants. Bzdelik -- who accepted this daunting challenge just over a year ago -- wanted to remind everyone that it is going to take several years to transform CU basketball from a bad Big 12 punch line into a respectable top 20-caliber program.

"I'm different," said Bzdelik, who could probably earn a similar or higher salary in the NBA as an assistant coach without all of the headaches that come with being the face of a last-place team. "I like to see if I can do something that people say you can't do."

The fact that Jeremy Williams will likely become the seventh Ricardo Patton recruit to leave CU since Bzdelik was hired doesn't look good from the outside. The fact that the APR for the men's basketball program is below the NCAA's standard doesn't look good from the outside. The fact that the Buffs lost 20 games last season doesn't look good from the outside.

The future, however, looks pretty bright from inside Bzdelik's bright new office at the Coors Events Center.

"My point is that if you're going to build something with a great foundation, it just takes time," Bzdelik continued.

CU will welcome five freshmen recruits to campus for the 2008-09 season in point guard Nate Tomlinson, combo guard Ryan Kelley, forward Toby Veal, forward Austin Dufault and center Trey Eckloff. These players, unlike most of the members of Patton's last class, were recruited by other BCS schools.

"Obviously we're going to be very, very young next year," Bzdelik said. "But I believe we're going to be very skilled and we're going to have depth. We will also have a willingness from all to buy in."

To their credit, Richard Roby and Marcus Hall bought what Bzdelik was selling last season. And both players enjoyed dramatic improvement with their all-around games as seniors, which will give them a better opportunity to play professionally.

Seven of the other players Bzdelik inherited -- whether it was due to a lack of talent, poor work ethic or failure to take care of business in the classroom -- did not fit well with the new coaching staff. Now they're either transferring to Northern Illinois, playing for mid-majors and junior colleges, or at home soul-searching.

Bzdelik has said from Day One that it's going to take some time for him to turn things around at CU, but that doesn't mean he's a patient man.

"What I'm really excited about is all these young men really want to be here," Bzdelik said on the subject of next year's roster. "There's no bad habits to erase."

Three of the elder statesmen on the Buffs next fall will be sophomores Cory Higgins, Casey Crawford and Levi Knutson. The only upperclassmen, senior Jermyl Jackson-Wilson and junior Dwight Thorne, are role players with great attitudes.

"We'll have growing pains," Bzdelik warns. "There's no question about that because of our extreme youth. But it's a great investment in our future."

James Begley approached his coach, one of the few men he can have an eye-level conversation with, and made a simple statement Sunday afternoon.


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"I have the last throw," the Colorado senior said.

His coach, Casey Malone, already knew that. As a 2004 Olympian, Malone kind of knows by now how a track meet runs. But the statement wasn't meant to inform. It was meant to reassure.

Begley had the best discus throw in the prelims at Sunday's Big 12 Track and Field Championships, earning him the last throw in the finals. But both the CU pupil and teacher knew someone would best Begley's prelims mark, forcing him to win on the final throw of the meet.

He did just that when he unleashed a toss of 173 feet, one inch through a beautiful Boulder sky to earn the fifth-year senior his first conference title.

"I couldn't have asked for a better ending to my career, to win on my last throw in front of my hometown fans," said Begley, who clapped to the CU fans after his win. "I had all my friends here, my parents, my high school coach. It was just a great way to end my career here."

It wasn't a bad way to cap a weekend, either. He finished ninth in the hammer throw Friday with a personal best of 189-04 and fifth in the shot put Saturday with a personal best of 56-4½. He scored 14 points for the Buffs as the team earned its first conference title win since 1947.

Begley's win was an unexpected boost for the Buffs. The 6-5 big man had the third-best throw in the conference coming into the meet, but he managed to have the best day of any thrower when it counted.

"As an athlete, I can understand how hard it is to have your best day on the most important day," said the 6-8 Malone, who won a national title at Colorado State in 1998. "If I wrote screenplays, this is how I would write it -- winning on the last throw of his career at Potts Field."

After spending the last five years tossing heavy objects, Begley is heading into a more delicate field. He has a job in the E.&J. Gallo Winery's management training program.

He distinguished himself at CU as a leader by heading the Student Athlete Advisory Council while putting together several charity events such as Buffalo Hugs, the Angel Tree and Read With the Buffs. Now he'll take those skills -- and a Big 12 gold medal -- into the next stage of his life.

"I wanted to have a special senior year," he said. "So far, it's going pretty well."

CU's Tolan alternate for Open qualifying

University of Colorado golfer Derek Tolan will be an alternate for U.S. Open Sectional qualifying.


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Tolan earned alternate status at one of the two U.S. Open local qualifiers held in Colorado on Monday.

Tolan played in the 2002 U.S. Open.

Tom Glissmeyer of Colorado Springs had a hole-in-one en route to a 67 and a first-place finish at the Colorado Golf Club in Parker. Glissmeyer played in the 2003 U.S. Open as a 16-year-old.

The 12 qualifiers will move on to U.S. Sectional Qualifying to be held in June at 14 sites. Columbine Country Club in Littleton will host one of the U.S. Open sectional qualifiers on June 2.

Bob Stone remembers how the first Bolder Boulder race looked 30 years ago: short, colorful and made out of a nylon material quite similar to women's underwear.

That would be the running shorts, of course.

The year was 1979. Boulder runner Frank Shorter had just popularized the latest state-of-the-art running shorts, "little shorty things with liners inside of them" in red and bright blue, as Stone recalls. Everyone who was anyone was wearing them.

Stone had his own pair. They were bright yellow and orange.

"They would be consideredridiculous today," says the Boulder runner, who has since participated in almost every Bolder Boulder.

A few of these short-shorts will inevitably grace the race this year -- on serious old-schoolers or athletes dressing up for a laugh -- but overall, this year's starting line will look a lot different from the 1979 version.

Boulder -- and its vibrant running community -- have been a major force in that transformation.

Boulder innovations

Shorter's short-shorts were the beginning of a full line of athletic wear that would become Frank Shorter Sportswear.

The Boulder-based company would eventually move runners out of clammy cotton T-shirts and into technical, moisture-wicking fabrics. Two more Boulder athletes, Tim Cronin and Stan Mavis (who now heads Sugoi performance apparel), are also considered instrumental in driving the transformation in running clothes, Shorter says.

Cathy Boyd, with Boulder's Fleet Feet store, says business booms around race time, when many athletes want to treat themselves to a new race-day outfit as a reward or motivation. That especially applies to women, whose running clothes have also made big strides, with Boulder businesses leading the path once again.

"No longer do you see women just wearing shorts. You see a lot of women wearing really cute, sophisticated running skirts," Boyd says. "It's great because a running skirt looks good on everyone, and the shorts under the skirts reduce chafing."

SkirtSports Inc., a popular running skirt manufacturer, is based in Boulder. The skirts are trendy enough that runners can wear them around town, not just while working out.

"Running styles these days have a more cross-over appeal," Boyd says.

Running fashion

progresses

Eventually, the tiny 2½-inch inseam shorts of 1979 morphed into Spandex. Then came the high-waist poufy bottoms, such as Umbro soccer shorts.

Women went through a velour track suit phase, mostly in purple and gray shades. Luckily, that didn't last long because velour is too hot and not very durable.

Before moisture-wicking fabrics, early Bolder Boulder runners sported cotton tees, which tend to grow heavy with sweat and feel clammy. Many male runners ended up running shirtless, which put them at risk for sunburn.

Thick cotton sweat pants were even less practical. Stone remembers running with his partner one year in a downpour. His friend's pants soaked up so much rain that the runners had to stop. His friend took off his pants and cut the legs off on nearby barbed wire so he could proceed.

Today, more men wear long, baggy shorts, similar to basketball uniforms, according to local running stores. The most popular color is no longer bright orange -- it's black.

And although long running shorts might be easier on the eye, they're too bulky for most distance runners. They tend to flap around and interfere with the movement of the legs.

"I don't understand," Stone says. "I don't wear anything too brief -- I keep it as close as I can to being acceptable in the fashion world, as short as you can get away with -- but I definitely don't want them baggy."

High price, high

quality

Modern running clothes are also more expensive, says David Mastbaum, of Boulder, who has been running since the 1960s.

Still, he says the right clothes are important, especially in cold conditions. His thumbs suffered frostbite during a climbing expedition in the '80s in the Soviet Union, and he says he's thankful for today's quality running gloves that keep his hands warm.

Also, modern Lycra tights support key muscle areas, such as around the knees and hamstrings.

"After all these years of crazy sports, my body can use all the support it can muster," Mastbaum says.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Aimee Heckel at 303-473-1359