Lincicome foaming, Hawkins laughing

A columnist that a faction of CU fans love to hate is Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post, for supposedly, his black heart toward the Buffs.

Maybe Bernie Lincicome of the Rocky Mountain News will be the next target come open season.

Monday's newspaper roasting of CU coach Dan Hawkins' response to the exodus of six players recently seemed disconnected and off target.

What Lincicome maybe failed to grasp was Hawkins' quotes were not meant to satisfy the media, but instead grab the attention of the fans, players and future recruits.

Calculated, Lincicome writes of Boss Hawkins' "rant." Yeah, possibly, but the sentiment was real and the majority of fans, whether they approve of the coach or not, likely couldn't argue with what he said.

Is it a surprise that success requires commitment? Don't recruits don't know what they are signing up for when they decide to play Divison 1 college football? And are players shocked when the coach believes a little more might be required of them to turn around a stink hole, as 2-10 CU was last season?

Lincicome must have been adopted by the culture that is Boulder but only that side of the wall that sees success at athletics as a foolish pursuit.

By all means call Hawkins a loser. Just check his pre-Buffs' record first and realize Greg Schiano was one big loser at Rutgers once too, and some chump named Bill McCartney was also thought to be a loser too, and that Mac guy took a lot more grief than Hawkins likely ever will.

A nut, Lincicome writes. O.K., to each his own but I think Gary Barnett had some of that thrown his way as well, and he happens to have some impressive marks on his resume.

Hawkins has a duty to change the culture and sometimes you get knocked down in the beginning before you get it turned around, something some fans and media don't realize.

It is also important to point out to Lincicome that in college football, in life, toughness wins -- mentally first, physically second.

All of us non-athletes even realize that, why doesn't he.

So Lincicome isn't impressed with Hawkins "rant," and sees him as a nut. His opinion, while just as important as the one expressed here, are not the ones Hawkins seeks. That would be his players and his recruits.

No coach can rebuild Rome in a day, no matter Lincicome's expectations. Think Florida one the national championship on one recruiting class? Was uber-recruit Tim Tebow the reason why the Gators won it all? Did Pete Carroll win everyone over after year 1 at USC? What about Mack Brown at Texas? His 2005 class won the national championship for him?

I think the people who need to get it, got it, respect it and will be better off for it.