As it always does, inevitably, the sun broke through in Boulder Friday.
The snow started to melt. The deep freeze that blanketed the region began to thaw.
Even so, the return of the warmth and the light did nothing to erase the dark pall that settled over the University of Colorado and the surrounding community this week.
On Friday one of the greatest Buffaloes — in many ways the greatest — was laid to rest. The death of Rashaan Salaam by an apparent suicide was a painful jolt for all who watched him achieve feats best described as Herculean, often while flashing a smile that made it easy to assume Salaam was the sort of guy who would always have it all.