Buff commit WR Jarrod Darden is still rehabbing from his season ending injury and is not quite 100%. Darden, a 3* 6'5" 210 pounder from Keller, Texas, suffered a fractured fibula and a torn ankle tendon. Due to the injury, I expect Darden to be a red shirt candidate next year to hone his skills and also make the decision of whether to convert him to a tight end or not. Darden has decent speed but not great speed. Darden was the first commitment the Buffs got in the 2009 cycle.

John Henderson of the Rocky Mountain News goes over his gift list for this Christmas. He think Dan Hawkins should ask for this:

Dan Hawkins: A healthy offensive line. If he loves his son, he should find a way to protect him. If Hawkins loves his job, he should find a way to control the line of scrimmage.

If he loves his job, he should...(fill in the blank of things the Buffs need to do better next year).

The subtitle of this men's basketball article by the Daily Camera reads "Bzdelik's Buffs Vow To Not Overlook Struggling Panthers." I don't think that should be a problem because the Buffs could lose to anyone that they play. The Buffs take on Prairie View A&M tonight at the Coors Event Center tonight at 8pm. They follow up with Louisiana-Monroe on Tuesday before they head off to spend a week in Hawaii for the Rainbow Classic.  I can't wait for Big 12 play. Yes, it will be a struggle but getting up for these games against Directional U of A&M Central State is hard. Prairie View A&M. The Panthers are from the SWAC boasting a 3 - 7 record, losing their last three and are 0 - 6 on the road. Some of the those road losses include UCLA, Missouri, Wyoming, Hawaii, Baylor and New Mexico State.

Good news for the Buffs that Casey Crawford will be in the mix tonight as the 6'9" sophomore missed the CSU game due to an ankle injury.

If you are jacked up for the game between the Buffs and Panthers tonight, cubuffs.com puts out a good preview of the game. Here is a little tidbit from that preview:

CU has scored at least 70 points in all four victories and have five players shooting over .550 percent from the field (min. of 16 shots): Tomlinson (.667), Jackson-Wilson (.625), Crawford (.591), Thorne II (.577), Higgins (.568) ... CU is 4-1 when shooting over 50 percent  from the field (50% at Stanford)

The Buffs football team are not the only ones welcoming in a recruit this weekend. The men's basketball team is also hosting another Aussie as Jeff Bzdelik is really making headway in the Outback, something schools like Utah and St. Mary's in the WCC have done successfully with players like Patty Mills. The Buffs will welcome in forward Cody Ellis according to the Denver Post:

One of Australia's top young basketball prospects toured the Colorado campus with his family Thursday and said he is strongly considering CU.

Cody Ellis, a 6-foot-8 forward and the star of Australia's under-19 national team, is a senior at the Australian Institute of Sport in Sydney and expects to sign a national letter of intent during the spring signing period in April.

Starting guard Nate Tomlinson and in-coming commit Shane Harris-Tunks, a 6-11 center, are also from Australia. Harris-Tunks is a teammate of Cody Ellis. Here is some info from an Australia basketball site:

In his first year at the AIS Cody brings an interior game with the ability to stretch defenses to the perimeter. Coming from good basketball pedigree, Cody is a knowledgeable player with great passing skills and making good decisions. He will be working on his explosiveness; sharpness of skills and defending on the perimeter.