Things In The Springs

By: Mike Moran

May 23, 2010

Mike Moran was the chief spokesman for the United States Olympic Committee through thirteen Games, 1980-2002. The Omaha, Nebraska native was the Sports Information Director at the University of Colorado for a decade before joining the USOC in 1978 as it left New York City for Colorado Springs. He was the Senior Communications Counselor for NYC2012, New York City’s Olympic bid group from 2003-2005 and is now a media consultant. Reach him at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  and read more of his columns at www.coloradospringssports.org

The 88^th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is less than five weeks away, but already, there are great stories surfacing everywhere about drivers and racers in this most unique motorsport event that has been around since 1916………one of the best is the story of 16-year-old Littleton high school student Savannah Rickli, the youngest driver ever to tackle the Hill…………check out this great piece done recently on 9News in Denver by reporter Anastasiya Bolton on the Dakota Ridge High School junior who will drive her 2003 Mini Cooper S with co-driver Rebecca Greek, in the Time Attack 2-Wheel Drive division on June 27………http://www.9news.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=87313448001………last year more than 5,000 fans made their way to see the race at spots along the historic 12.42 mile course that ends at the 14,110 foot summit………and with a classic showdown looming in the Unlimited Division among four-time champion Nobuhiro Tajima, Rhys Millen and Paul Dallenbach, I’d suggest that you get your tickets now, and plan to bring the family to the splendid Fan Fest on Friday, June 25 in downtown Colorado Springs to see the drivers, racers, cars and motorcycles, enjoy music and food, and get ready for the Sunday spectacular on the Hill……..check it all out at www.ppihc.com and make some plans before it’s too late to be part of one of our city’s signature sporting events, the second oldest motorsports event in the nation behind the Indianapolis 500…………The upcoming Sports Corp College Football Kickoff Luncheon on June 29 at the Colorado Springs Marriott will add University of Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn to the field of special guest speakers………..with head coach Dan Hawkins unavailable, Bohn will be on stage with head coaches Troy Calhoun (Air Force), Steve Fairchild (CSU), John Wristen (CSU-Pueblo) and Scott Downing (Northern Colorado) to give fans a look at the upcoming season………Bohn just finished taking his coaches and staff on a lengthy bus tour of Colorado cities to talk about the Buffs and the programs at CU, and this was a spectacular success and a great idea………when I was the sports information director at CU from 1968-78, a consistent problem was the disconnect between the Buff programs and the areas of the state outside the Denver Metro area, though we tried to tackle it……..I can recall vividly taking star receivers Cliff Branch and Larry Brunson over to Grand Junction one winter’s night in 1972 to speak, on a private plane flown by my old buddy Jack Landon……I don’t think anybody from CU had ever been to Grand Junction, and on the way back, Jack was changing fuel tanks and the place dropped 5,000 feet over the mountains in the blink of an eye, scaring the dinner out of all of us on board……..probably some NCAA violation in the first place, but we are well past that now……….brings to mind again how much I wish Bohn and AFA athletic director Hans Mueh would sit down and create a new football series between the two schools and revive what was a great rivalry……..but who knows now what lies ahead in the next few months when the college football world explodes with some sort of complete restructure of the top conferences, and the world hanging on the blogs, columns and comments by conference commissioners, as well as athletic directors Jack Swarbrick (Notre Dame) and DeLoss Dodd (Texas)………Colorado and Utah to the PAC 10? Nebraska, Missouri, Rutgers and the Irish to the Big Ten? SMU and Boise State to the Mountain West Conference? The revived old Southwest Conference with the Oklahoma and Texas Schools, Arkansas and others, leaving the Big 12 leftovers to scramble for a place to live? There is a lot of sweating going on in a number of offices inhabited by conference commissioners who don’t want to sit around and get lapped, and school presidents determining what’s best and where the most money is for the next decade……..it’s going to shake out soon, and it will be huge for the future of college football and basketball…….I know diehard Buff fans might not agree, but I think a rivalry with PAC 10 schools would sell in Boulder, because it’s really tough to try to continue to compete in a Big 12 in football and basketball with powerhouses with resources and money at Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Missouri and Kansas………..it was a treat to see hulking Mason Finley of Salida throw the discus and shot at the 2007 and 2009 State Games of America along with his little sisters…..now, the former Buena Vista High track and field All-American is at Kansas, and over the weekend, he won the Big 12 shotput and discus as a freshman, and his marks at the third-best nationally…………he still holds the national prep mark in the discus at 235-6…………..mark him down as a solid 2012 Olympic Team hopeful who could be as good someday as Al Oerter, Parry O’Brien or Randy Matson………..what was perhaps the best Colorado Springs Sky Sox team in history to begin this season has been decimated by injuries and the callups by the Rockies, particularly one of the best minor league pitching staffs……gone are starters Jhoulys Chacin and Esmil Rogers (with the Rockies), Samuel Deduno (injured) and Tim Redding (released, picked up by the Yankees)………….Eric Young, Jr., is injured in Denver, and the Sky Sox have players like catcher Chris Iannetta and pitcher Taylor Buchholz trying to get back up with the parent club, with relievers Franklin Morales and Huston Street and maybe oft-injured starter Greg Reynolds probably headed for rehab stops at Security Service Field…………it’s just the way it is in the minors, and fans get used to it…………”player development” is the job of the Triple A club, but these constant transactions also show fans the fragile depth of a major league team, especially with pitching…….worse, there’s almost nothing in the way of players at AA Tulsa who could help………..my Hero of the Week is Texas Rangers boss and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, who is demanding that his starting pitchers go much longer into the game, as the pitchers of yesteryear did, and forget about “pitch counts” and “quality starts” that usually mean going five innings and leaving with the lead.