In Europe, skier Lindsey Vonn requires a five-bodyguard escort to leave a race, yet in the U.S., she can stand in relative anonymity at the base of a mountain without garnering as much as a “hello.”

Although Vonn has racked up a staggering number of overall World Cup titles and wins in individual races across the globe (recapped at lindseyvonn.com), she still feels a responsibility to help grow the sport on American soil.

Beyond adding more trophies to her already-stuffed shelves, Vonn tells the Vail Daily she wants to help make ski racing more mainstream in the United States. A good place to start would be next weekend’s slalom and GS races at Aspen’s Winternational World Cup Event. Vonn took fourth in both races last year and hopes to not only improve her individual performance, but to give American fans something exciting to watch in the only women’s World Cup race in the U.S. this year.

Nobody is going to hand Vonn the victory, though, and she faces stiff competition. The Associated Press reports that Germany’s Maria Riesch edged Vonn by .08 seconds at the opening women’s World Cup slalom event last weekend in Levi, Finland, with Finland’s Tanja Poutiainen coming in third. Vonn tells the AP it was nice to put the race behind her in preparation for the Aspen Winternational, an event that wasn’t confirmed until yesterday, reports The Aspen Times.

Winternational chief of race Jim Hancock assures International Ski Federation officials there’s enough snow for the race to proceed, despite the lower slopes of Aspen Mountain showing bare spots up to about a week ago. Several nights of snow-making and natural snowstorms fixed the problem, and the race will move forward November 28 and 29.

The quarterback situation for the Denver Broncos is apparently much worse than the team has been letting on since its humiliating 27-17 loss to the Washington Redskins last weekend.

Yahoo! Sports reports that Kyle Orton didn’t practice yesterday because of torn ligaments in his ankle, but that he’ll try to push through and play against the San Diego Chargers this weekend at Invesco Field at Mile High.

The Associated Press points out that Orton (left) has played through leg injuries before, most notably last year, when he led the Chicago Bears to a 6-2 record before getting hurt. After injuring his right ankle in a November 2, 2008, game against the Detroit Lions, he racked up interceptions and saw his passer ratings drop. The Bears eventually shipped Orton to Denver with a handful of draft picks in exchange for Jay Cutler.

Backup Broncos quarterback Chris Simms has been taking most of the snaps in practice this week, but after last week’s dismal performance in the second half against the Redskins, many fans would rather see a banged-up Orton play. Simms completed just three of 13 passes and was often wildly off the mark, but he tells AP that more practice time with the starting unit will help. We’ll see.

Meanwhile, Bleacher Report questions whether the team’s culture has actually changed, or if it’s all a mirage. Last year, the Broncos needed to win one of its last three games to make the playoffs and couldn’t find a way to do it, even though they played the woeful Oakland Raiders and the Buffalo Bills—both at home. This year, the Broncos took a three-and-a-half game lead heading into November after beating the Chargers in San Diego, but they haven’t won a game since.

Colorado Avalanche backup goalie Peter Budaj hasn’t had many opportunities in the net this season, thanks to the stellar play of goalie Craig Anderson. And last night, Budaj proved there’s been a good reason for that. The Avs lost to the Edmonton Oilers 6-4 after taking a 4-2 lead late into the second period. The Denver Post pins most of the blame on the hapless Budaj, with the caveat that the Avs wasted two five-on-three opportunities.

Those wasted chances are a big deal and could have been the difference in the game, but Budaj simply seems to lack the confidence of a successful NHL goalie. He gave up five goals on 32 shots, costing the Avs two points in the standings on a night when they had a chance to put more distance between Colorado and the rest of the Northwest Division.

A peek at goalie statistics at NHL.com shows Budaj has given up 10 goals on 69 shots for a less-than-mediocre .855 save percentage. That’s good enough to get him ranked 55th in the league out of 65 goalies. Anderson’s .927 save percentage, on the other hand, is tied for fourth-best in the NHL. Anderson has played 20 games so far this season, more than any other goalie in the NHL. Mile High Hockey calls Budaj one of the most divisive players on the squad.

Thankfully, the Avs are good despite their backup goalie. JustBet.com calls the team “officially the surprise of the 2009-10 NHL season,” adding that the Avs are a good bet for gamblers.

The Denver Nuggets cruised to a surprisingly easy 130-112 win over the Toronto Raptors last night at the Pepsi Center. The first half was a classic slug fest, with both teams scoring in bunches and finishing knotted at 64. But the Nuggets turned on the defense and the offensive power in the second half, led by Carmelo Anthony’s 32 points (via The Denver Post).

Anthony is one of the NBA’s best players and a possible MVP candidate, notes the Los Angeles Times. He’s third in the NBA in scoring at nearly 30 points per game, having six games with 30 or more points and two 40-plus-point nights.

Anthony has to remind the media and Denver fans, who have known him for years, that he’s just 25 years old and is just getting started in terms of learning what it takes to continually perform at an advanced level. He’s led the Nuggets to an impressive 8-3 record, despite the team playing without J.R. Smith for seven games while he served a suspension, and, as InDenverTimes notes, despite four sets of back-to-backs.

It helps that Melo’s surrounded by talent, including rookie point guard Ty Lawson, who’s averaging more than 10 points per game and has logged more than three assists in his first handful of games at the pro level.

The Canadian Press points out that Lawson’s transition to the NBA has forced coach George Karl to give him quality playing time, something Karl is typically loathe to do for rookies. Karl says Lawson makes the Nuggets even better than last season, when they took the Los Angeles Lakers to six games in the Western Conference finals.

We’ll learn today whether the Baseball Writers Association will name Colorado Rockies manager Jim Tracy the National League Manager of the Year. Troy Renck of The Denver Post believes it’s almost a foregone conclusion given Tracy’s accomplishments this year.

He was the bench coach when former manager Clint Hurdle was fired on May 29 and the Rockies were sitting at 18-28. At the time, it seemed like another wasted year for Denver baseball, but Tracy solidified the lineup, and the team went 74-42 under his command. The turnaround was one of the best course corrections in the history of baseball, and it earned Tracy and Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd the Sporting News’ top manager- and executive-of-the-year honors, respectively.

Renck says both men are still working out deals with the team, but both are expected to sign three-year contracts.

Meanwhile, Purple Row predicts how well many of the returning players will play this season. The projections, while somewhat confusing, point to great depth for Rockies in 2010, but lowered expectations for Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and outfielder Carlos Gonzales, which seems surprising, considering Tulowitzki’s borderline-dominant play last season and Gonzales’ ever-increasing contribution to the team. Either way, Tulowitzki and Gonzales will be the main horses in the Rockies’ stable for years to come.

In the meantime, the team will enjoy a brand-new training facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the beginning of the 2011 season, MLB.com reports, noting that the Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks, which will share the training facility, broke ground Monday on the project. It will try to re-create the fan-player interaction that was synonymous with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida.

It’s amazing how quickly perceptions can change in the NFL. The Associated Press compares Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels to his Washington counterpart, Redskins head coach Jim Zorn, in discussing this weekend’s game.

Anyone who follows the NFL at even a cursory level knows that’s anything but a compliment, given that Zorn was recently stripped of his play-calling responsibilities and likely won’t make it to a third season in D.C.

Unfortunately, the parallels are there: Zorn started last season 6-2 as a rookie head coach, with rumors of Coach of the Year swirling. The Redskins are a dismal 4-12 since then, with many critics saying Redskins owner billionaire Dan Snyder treats the team as his own fantasy team, spending as much as he can on the sexiest free agents without creating a cohesive team atmosphere.

After Denver’s surprising 6-0 start, the Broncos have been outscored 58-10 over the last two games, with just one offensive touchdown in the two embarrassing losses.

But let’s pump the brakes. McDaniels is in no danger of losing his play-calling role, and Broncos owner Pat Bowlen is nothing like Snyder.

This weekend’s game may be just what the doctor ordered for the Broncos, however, with CBS Sports noting that the Redskins are in a tailspin and looking to avoid five consecutive loses for the first time in eight years.

McDaniels was smart enough to realize the Broncos’ offensive line has been awful the last two games, barely giving quarterback Kyle Orton time to think. In response, McDaniels has demoted left guard Ben Hamilton, replacing him with backup Ross Hochstein, reports The Denver Post (free registration required).

Hamilton has started every game for the Broncos since 2002, with the exception of 2007 (when he was out with concussion issues) and one game this season, when he was out with a hamstring injury.

The Colorado Springs-based U.S. Olympic Committee is turning to a seasoned veteran in an attempt to fix what many believe is a rapidly declining organization.

Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue (left) has been tapped as the chairman of an independent committee that will study the USOC board and figure out what can be improved (via The Associated Press). The board has been under increasing criticism over the last few years, most recently after Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympics failed.

The board reportedly forced out CEO Jim Scherr in March and replaced him with board member Stephanie Streeter (via 5280.com). Now, yet another CEO must be found before February’s 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The Denver Post’s sports blog calls Streeter’s hire “disastrous,” saying she ignited a revolt of the national governing bodies last summer before announcing she would step down.

Meanwhile, the AP also reports that the El Pomar Foundation, one of Colorado’s largest charities, ponied up $3 million to help keep the USOC headquarters in Colorado Springs. The money is part of a $13 million requirement to fund the first phase of $53 million in improvements, which include upgrades to the Olympic Training Center, new USOC headquarters, and buildings for a number of national governing bodies.

The rest of the $13 million is due to the USOC by November 18 and will come from the city issuing certificates of participation, a form of lease-purchase arrangement that allows cities to take out loans without asking voters.

The Denver Nuggets have dropped two games in a row, and they’ll have the chance to get back on track tonight in Chicago. But, as CBS Sports writes, they’ll have to go through a Bulls team that’s playing well and looking for its first 4-0 start at home since some guy named Michael Jordan led them to a championship in the 1997-98 season.

At 5-2, the Nuggets remain the league’s highest-scoring team, led by Carmelo Anthony’s 31.4 points per game. But he can’t do it by himself, and the other players need to step up and help out.

Luckily, J.R. Smith returns to action tonight after serving a seven-game suspension for the car accident that killed his best friend this summer and landed Smith in jail on reckless-driving charges. Smith is among the most beguiling characters in professional sports. His natural athleticism and ability make him arguably one of the best players in the league, but his immaturity has a way of limiting him on and off the court.

His time in jail may have changed him: Smith says he wants to grow up, telling Nuggets.com’s Aaron Lopez he wants to be known as Earl, which is his real name, and that J.R. represents the old “crazy” kid who was prone to “knucklehead” activities. Whatever we call him, the Nuggets need his instant offense, which averaged more than 15 points per game last year.

Earlier this year I joined others in calling for the firing of former Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle—and the baseball gods obliged. It wasn’t personal; he just wasn’t getting the job done and something had to give.

The Rockies went on to lead one of the most dramatic turnarounds in baseball history under interim manager Jim Tracy before falling in the playoffs to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Late last week, the otherwise lovable Hurdle was finally hired as the hitting coach for the Texas Rangers (via ESPN). Hurdle was the Rockies’ manager from 2002 to 2009, but served as the team’s hitting coach from 1997 until April 2002.

In a relatively thorough analysis, The Dallas Morning News points out that the Rockies’ hitting improved, sometimes dramatically, under Hurdle’s tutelage, and a similar boost for the Rangers could go a long way. (more…)