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The announcement of inductees to the 2010 Pro Football Hall of Fame is a mixed bag for Denver Broncos fans. Floyd Little, a running back with the team from 1967-75, was up for his last shot at the honor—and finally made the cut. He tells The Denver Post (free registration required) he fell to the floor when he heard the news, relieved after 30 years of waiting for the distinction.
Little retired in 1975 as a decorated player. The six players ahead of him on the list are already in the Hall of Fame, and as the Post points out, all of them played on teams with much more stability from their quarterbacks and offensive lines.
But not all Broncos-related news from the Hall of Fame was good this weekend. Longtime tight end Shannon Sharpe retired in 2003 as his position’s all-time leader in touchdowns, catches, and receiving yards. He has three Super Bowl rings with two different teams and is one of the best smack-talkers of all time. But that apparently wasn’t enough to be inducted.
It was Sharpe’s second chance, and he tells the Post he’s disappointed, but Broncos owner Pat Bowlen isn’t as polite about the snub. (more…)
During yesterday’s Super Bowl advertising blitz, one commercial forever changed the game. It waded outside the usual bounds of provocative and fun, into the stuffy worlds of religion, morality, and politics, as Yahoo! Sports writes. Yet Focus on the Family’s ad featuring Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow wasn’t the no-holds-barred, anti-abortion screed many expected. Rather, the Colorado Springs evangelical group’s commercial was soft on the themes, pushing them nonetheless.
In the ad, Pam Tebow holds a baby photo of Tim, now 22, saying, “I call him my miracle baby. He almost didn’t make it into this world…. You know, with all our family’s been through, we have to be tough.” The tagline, “Celebrate Family. Celebrate Life,” refers viewers to Focus’ Web site.
NOW president Terry O’Neill rails against the ad: “I think CBS should be ashamed of itself,” she tells The Los Angeles Times. Entertainment Weekly’s Ken Tucker also launches some criticism at the ad, theorizing that “what we’re seeing here is FF backing away from a more aggressive statement in order to get its spots on CBS’ air. The result is classic bad advertising: The personalities on display distract from the message this deeply conservative organization wants to spread.”
Tucker adds that the real controversy is CBS’ decision to reject an ad from the gay dating service Mancrunch.com. “No matter how benignly phrased the Tebow ad is, it’s advertising for a conservative organization, as opposed to the rejected ad, with its presumed liberal politics.”
This weekend was an important one for the Denver Nuggets, even though they came out on top in only one of two games. They started things off right in Los Angeles Friday night, smacking the Lakers 126-113 and pulling within three games behind L.A. for the top spot in the Western Conference. It was a great game for the Nuggets, with All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups raining three-pointers and other players stepping up big (recap via Denver Stiffs).
Saturday night wasn’t as good, however, as the Nuggets fell 116-106 to the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City. The Denver Post points out that at one point Johan Petro, Malik Allen, J.R. Smith, and Joey Graham—who, besides Smith, are all reserves and generally see little playing time—were on the floor together in the game’s fourth quarter. It proves how good this team could be if all our players were healthy and suiting up every game.
The Jazz game marked the seventh consecutive contest missed by star forward Carmelo Anthony, who is still hobbled by a sprained left ankle. Coach George Karl says Melo should be back by Tuesday, but his return has been unsuccessfully projected at other points over the last few games. Billups also tweaked his ankle during the Lakers game Friday night, missing the Jazz game. Other players dealing with injuries: Chris “Birdman” Anderson (knee), Aaron Afflalo (ankle), and Nene (left foot).
Let’s hope the Nuggets can get healthy for tomorrow night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, one of the Western Conference’s most potent teams. A peek at the current NBA standings shows that Dallas sits just three games behind the Nuggets and is a likely playoff foe.
Denver’s Nate Marquardt isn’t incredibly imposing at six feet tall and 185 pounds, but the guy is a bruiser and will likely prove it again tomorrow during the Ultimate Fighting Championship 109 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The mixed-martial-arts fighter is looking to take the top middleweight spot, if he can get past Oregon’s Chael Sonnen.
Marquardt tells The Denver Post he’s evolved and is prepared to lay it all on the line. In the past, he says, he fought conservatively, looking to simply earn a decision. Now? It’s all about going after knockouts and submissions. If he can accomplish that against Sonnen, he’ll earn a rematch of the 2007 middleweight title bout against Brazil’s Anderson Silva.
Bleacher Report calls Marquardt “the great one,” noting that he’s better in virtually every aspect of mixed martial arts except classic wrestling, and adding that he’s a “lethal, all around warrior.”
But Sonnen is no pushover. He’s also just one fight away from a title bout, and Bleacher Report writes that he’s in a “kill or be killed” mind frame. Sonnen is an interesting character in his own right, recently unveiling his Republican candidacy for a state legislative seat in Oregon (via USA Today).
In another article, USA Today calls the Marquardt-Sonnen bout the most impressive on the card. The paper has Marquardt ranked as the number two MMA fighter in the UFC, although it points out that both fighters have broad arsenals.
It seems like every other day Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall says something different about his return to the team next season. Now, he’s telling The Denver Post he’s learned something from all the ups and downs of last season, admitting his behavior was “unprofessional.” This year he wants to take a different approach of “going with the flow” and following whatever direction the Broncos want to take.
It sounds good, but Mile High Report isn’t buying it, and writer John Bena thinks Marshall is only shirking his responsibilities in the matter, putting “the team in a tough spot.” Marshall wins either way (if he can fly straight): If the Broncos decide to pay him and extend his contract, he gets more money and the deal he wants. If the Broncos don’t and let him get away, he can legitimately claim he tried to work it out, but the Broncos moved him.
In another article, the Post reports that it’s very likely Marshall has played his last game in Denver. Former Broncos great Shannon Sharpe says it’s clear Marshall and Broncos coach Josh McDaniels have a strained relationship, but it’s not clear how or if they can mend it.
Marshall’s recent comments are likely the result of instructions from his agent, notes Pro Football Talk, which points out that no team is likely to offer him a long-term deal because he has such “a high degree of knucklehead factor.” Let’s just hope Marshall doesn’t go all Terry Tate on anyone (in a nod to great Super Bowl commercials from the past).
The Super Bowl doesn’t air until Sunday, so hardcore sports watchers should tune in Saturday to cheer on a local NASCAR team while waiting for the big game. Operating out of Denver, Furniture Row Racing’s number 78 Chevy is the only team based west of the Mississippi River racing in the event.
The hard work begins with Daytona 500 qualifying, in preparation for the February 14 race. Team members have been on a media push this week to let people know they’re making a serious run this year. They drove in just 18 races last season because of money constraints, but this year they’ve formed an alliance with Richard Childress Racing, which adds technical support and gives Furniture Row the points earned by Richard Childress Racing last year, according to Fox News.
Those points guarantee Furniture Row a start in the first five races of the year, a major benefit for a sport in which smaller, independent teams sometimes struggle to qualify—and a first in the team’s five-year history, notes Motor Sports News.
Furniture Row also added 20 new employees in the off-season, boosting its shop staff to 60.
“I’ve never been this pumped prior to the start of the season,” driver Regan Smith tells Paddock Talk, a racing blog. “And to know that we don’t have to go through the gut-wrenching qualifying process—especially at Daytona—is an incredible relief.”
The University of Colorado men’s basketball team is the definition of mediocrity, with an overall record of 11-11 and a conference record of 2-6. But last night’s game against Kansas in Boulder captured a national headline for nearly becoming the biggest college basketball upset of the season.
Kansas came into the game as the top program in the nation and probably overlooked the Buffs. Who can blame them? CU hasn’t beaten a top-ranked team in 13 games, including six against Kansas, notes the Associated Press. And yet the Buffs managed to make it a close game and force the first overtime between the two teams since 1964. It wasn’t to be, though, as Kansas led throughout the overtime period and ended up with a six-point win.
Boulder’s Daily Camera writes that the game had a March Madness feel. The Coors Event Center was packed, and the crowd finally had something to cheer about. The Denver Post points out that CU never plays Kansas well, dropping the last 14 games against them and 41 of the last 42 meetings, but last night is a sign the team is heading in the right direction.
The bottom line, however, is that there are no moral victories in sports. As the Camera’s Neill Woelk writes, battling from the bottom is the toughest task, and the Buffs will get kicked around until they resoundingly prove they deserve respect.
When you think of Colorado Rockies players who might possibly hold the team back, Todd Helton isn’t one of them. The star first baseman is the highest-paid player on the team and has been the face of the franchise for years. But don’t tell him that.
The 36-year-old slugger tells CBS4 that despite putting up 15 home runs and 86 runs batted in, there were times last year when he was worn out physically and emotionally. Especially down the stretch and into the playoffs, Helton (pictured) says he could have helped the team win and “just wasn’t up to it.”
He’s encouraged by the recent flurry of signings, though, especially the one that will give him a break at first base, Jason Giambi. While Giambi is no spring chicken himself, at least between the two veterans we’ll have a reliable option at first and a potentially potent bat in the lineup at all times.
Still, other questions remain. Can pitcher Jeff Francis return from a shoulder injury that kept him benched last year? Fox Sports writes that the Rockies need the left-hander to regain the form that helped him tie a franchise record with 17 wins in 2007, and that the team’s other pitchers need to keep up last year’s form, as well. (more…)
If you’re going to the Special Olympics’ 2010 State Winter Games in Colorado, be grateful for the kind donation of one Denver couple.
The annual games, which are held at Copper Mountain Resort and Vail’s Dobson Ice Arena, were set to be canceled until the donors, who asked not to be identified, contributed about $80,000, says Kathy Muffenbier, a spokeswoman for Special Olympics Colorado (via The Denver Post).
The 32nd annual event, which is scheduled for March 28-29, provides perks but not all expenses for about 400 athletes and 600 volunteers, according to 9News.
“These generous Coloradoans…have made our athletes’ dreams come true. We are extremely grateful to them,” says Mindy Watrous, president of the Special Olympics in Colorado.
The Colorado Avalanche weren’t supposed to do anything this year. The team—long past the glory days of Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Patrick Roy—is in the dreaded rebuilding mode, trying to find its way back to the top. The Avs have relied largely on a group of rookies and other young players, surprisingly finding a way to hang around at the top of the division all season. Recently, though, the team seemed to be floating back to Earth.
The Avs were on a three-game losing streak, their longest of the year, heading into last night’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Pepsi Center. But they bounced back in a resounding way, stomping the Blue Jackets 5-1 on the backs of their rookies (recap via Mile High Hockey). Colorado is now sixth in the Western Conference and just two points behind the Vancouver Canucks in the Northwest Division, according to NHL.com.
But the team isn’t quite out of the woods yet. The Denver Post’s Dave Krieger wonders if Paul Stastny is earning his five-year, $33 million salary and whether the former University of Denver star deserves to be the team’s highest-paid player. Krieger also wonders if the very same rookies who led the way last night are wearing down, just as they head into the pre-playoffs stretch.
And let’s not overlook what’s going on with John-Michael Liles. Bleacher Report points out that the once-promising defenseman has clearly fallen out of favor with coach Joe Sacco, as evidenced by his benching in last week’s game against the New York Rangers. The move makes it harder to complete the inevitable trade of Liles coming up in March, a situation that needs to be cleared up in order for the team to have any long-term success.
Wednesday is national signing day for high school athletes across the country, and the fact remains that the University of Colorado football team is having trouble attracting the brightest prospects. Columbine High School quarterback Danny Spond, who said last spring he’d head to Boulder after high school, has committed to Notre Dame, according to The Denver Post. Spond changed his mind after CU’s disastrous 3-9 season and the school’s decision to keep embattled coach Dan Hawkins.
Spond isn’t alone. Boulder’s Daily Camera reports that Colorado’s best and brightest sports prospects are “leaving the state in droves,” with the majority bolting to programs like California, Stanford, Northwestern, Texas A&M, Arizona State, and even Nebraska, perhaps CU’s biggest rival.
Most of the students who want a chance to play for a winning team and make a real run at becoming professional football players are opting for more successful, stable college football programs. Spond is the perfect example of that, along with Littleton running back Mister Jones and Steamboat quarterback Austin Hinder, who has opted for Cal.
On the other hand, the Longmont Times-Call notes that CU gained three more verbal commitments over the weekend, but the players’ options were limited, and CU might have been the best offer they had. Besides, just because they sign doesn’t mean they’ll stick. The Colorado Daily reports that among the biggest problems with CU’s recruiting efforts has been attrition. At least 79 players over the last 10 recruiting classes either never cleared the academic bar at CU or didn’t complete the eligibility for the school.
Colorado State University has also had its share of issues with in-state recruiting. The Loveland Reporter-Herald writes that the school may have up to 28 recruits, but the most recent, Pomona High School offensive tackle Chris Stefo, is just the third in-state commitment for the school. Many of the Rams’ new players, reports The Denver Post, are coming from Florida.
Things just keep going right for the Denver Nuggets. Last night, the team played its fifth straight game without star forward Carmelo Anthony, facing the Sacramento Kings, one of their major rivals this year, despite the Kings being one of the worst teams in the league.
Denver eked out a thrilling 112-109 win at the Pepsi Center in one of the team’s best comeback games of the year. The Nuggets were down by 17 at one point and looked as good as dead heading into halftime. But they came out in the second half on a tear, using strong defense to get back in the game and take the lead (recap via the Associated Press).
Last night’s NBA power rankings from Sports Illustrated have the Nuggets at third in the country, behind only the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The win comes on the heels of Coach George Karl being named the Western Conference Coach of the Month (via NBA.com). Karl guided the Nuggets to a Western Conference-best 12-3 record in January, with wins over top-dog teams like the Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs. The Nuggets’ 12 wins in January are just one shy of the franchise-record of 13 wins set in March 1982.
This all follows last week’s selection of Karl as the coach of the Western Conference in the upcoming NBA All-Star Game. But Karl isn’t hogging all the limelight. He’s gunning to haul all of his assistant coaches to the All-Star Game, although he’s only technically allowed to bring three.
“As of now, that’s the goal,” Karl tells The Denver Post. “[We just have] to figure it out financially.”
The countdown to Vancouver is on (T-minus 11 days), and some of Colorado’s gold-medal hopefuls took their last pre-Olympic runs over the weekend.
Aspen’s Gretchen Bleiler won the Winter X Games women’s superpipe competition for the fourth time and hopes to build on her snowboarding success with a gold medal at the Olympics, writes The Denver Post, which notes her silver-medal win in Torino in 2006.
Another Aspen local, Daron Rahlves, had a rougher ride at this weekend’s games. The freestyle skier crashed during the Skicross competition Sunday, reports ESPN, which also has video of the fall. The 36-year-old Rahlves won the race at the 2008 X Games and is considered a favorite in the event’s Olympic debut.
At the local hospital, doctors diagnosed Rahlves with a dislocated right hip, but allowed him to leave. A U.S. Ski Team spokesman tells The Denver Post it’s unclear whether Rahlves will be able to compete in Vancouver or if he will be replaced on the national squad.
Vail’s Lindsey Vonn managed to win and lose over the weekend. On Saturday, Vonn lost her bid for a perfect downhill ski season, finishing fifth at a World Cup race in Switzerland (via The Denver Post). But she rebounded and won the Super G race and season title the next day.
“In a way, it was not so bad losing yesterday,” Vonn told Reuters. “I’d rather lose here and win in Vancouver.”
Shaun White wasn’t the only snow buff making history in Colorado this weekend.
The Snowsports Industry Association’s trade show wrapped its inaugural debut in Denver yesterday, and as Westword writes, “Snagging SIA was a coup: It’s the biggest trade show booking yet for Visit Denver, the city’s convention and visitors’ bureau, projected to pour $352 million into the city over the life of the 11-year contract.”
The weekly used the occasion to profile Denver-based Never Summer, the successful snowboard manufacturer owned by two Fort Collins brothers who are bucking the industry’s tough recession statistics. Their prosperity is mainly due to predicting design trends and building locally at a time when much of the “snowboarding industry has exported itself to China.”
Never Summer (whose women’s Lotus boards are pictured) expected to take a lot of orders at the SIA show, which counted “notable” guests, including U.S. Senator Mark Udall and actress Pamela Anderson (not together), according to an SIA press release.
If you were lucky enough to go, you may know that when it comes to fashion on the slopes, the latest trends look a lot like they did on the fall runways—with lots of neon, metallic, and animal prints in high-tech fabrics, notes The Denver Post. And no more pants on the ground: Skin-tight is in. For gear heads, Outside rounds up its favorites from the show.
Carmelo Anthony’s return to the Denver Nuggets after an ankle injury was delayed over the weekend, and the team really felt his absence Friday night. The Oklahoma City Thunder thumped Denver, 101-84, ending the Nuggets’ eight-game winning streak. The score was Denver’s lowest all season and had teammates pining for Melo’s sprained left ankle to heal.
“We were missing 30 points,” Kenyon Martin tells The Denver Post. “Who’s to say it would’ve helped? We don’t know. But you can’t make excuses. It’s a basketball game.”
The Nuggets’ overall success has allowed the team to move slowly with Anthony and other players recovering from injuries, writes the Post, in a separate article. Martin (pictured) scored 27 points to help make up for the void left by Anthony on Sunday, when the Nuggets beat up the Spurs in San Antonio, 103-89 (via ESPN).
Denver Stiffs points out that the Nuggets have won both games in San Antonio this season, a sign that “Denver is no longer the Spurs’ ‘Little Brother.’”
The Nuggets are 3-1 without Anthony in the last week, but he’s expected to play tonight when Denver comes home to face the Sacramento Kings.
The Denver Nuggets have received some bittersweet news about the upcoming NBA All-Star Game. NBA coaches “snubbed” Chauncey Billups, writes The Denver Post, and instead selected other players to fill out the bench for the Western Conference team.
Injuries and a slow start for Billups probably played a role, but his recent performances had Denver fans believing he deserved the honor, as we noted earlier this week.
George Karl, however, will get to coach his fourth All-Star game—his first since joining the Nuggets, according to NBA.com. Karl earned the honor when the Nuggets clinched the conference’s second-best record for the first half of the season. (The Los Angeles Lakers hold the top spot, but because coach Phil Jackson led the All-Star squad last year, he’s ineligible to coach again this year.)
The distinction is another notch in Karl’s successful career, which has too often been overshadowed by disappointment, as 5280’s Robert Sanchez reported for the magazine in March 2009.
The Minnesota Wild did it again last night at the Pepsi Center. For the third time this year, the divisional rivals beat Colorado on its home ice, shutting out the Avalanche 1-0 (via The Denver Post). The Wild have won five of six overall this season against the Avs, this time snapping Colorado’s six-game winning streak. The loss leaves the Avs in second place in the Northwest Division and ended an otherwise perfect home stand.
Mile High Hockey notes that the Avs face a busy stretch, playing 10 games in 17 days, although none of the upcoming opponents has a better record than Colorado.
Injuries to veterans and rookies are plaguing the Avs again this winter, which could hurt the team down the stretch, Bleacher Report points out. But The Denver Post reports that several key players, including captain Adam Foote, are likely to return soon, which would actually give the team a glut of defenders.
Despite the injuries and young talent, don’t expect Colorado to make any big trades over the Olympic break, writes The Denver Post. The Avs are back at work tonight, facing off with the Stars in Dallas.
Seventeen-year-old Rachael Flatt hasn’t stepped onto Olympic ice yet, but the Colorado Springs figure skater is already enjoying a bright spotlight.
Flatt and 16-year-old Mirai Nagasu will represent the U.S. in the women’s figure skating competition at the Vancouver Winter Games, after edging out former Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen at the national championships last weekend (via Sports Illustrated).
Flatt is a straight-A student at Cheyenne Mountain High School, and the media has already developed a love affair with the five-foot-two, blond teenager who likes “The Office” and Dan Brown novels, People Magazine points out.
ESPN writes admiringly of Flatt and Nagasu’s energy and composure: “Somehow, they’ve both managed to balance school with chasing the Olympic dream, all while finding time to watch reality TV and update Twitter accounts.”
The young women are not expected to medal, but Flatt and her supporters are used to success. The Denver Post, which has assembled a photo slideshow of Flatt, notes that she “is a dark horse for a medal…. However, she has never failed in a big competition. No one is counting her out.”
After producing plenty of off-the-court drama over the last few days, Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith returned to form on the court last night. He scored 22 points to power the team—again without Carmelo Anthony—to its eighth straight win, defeating the Houston Rockets 97-92 (via ESPN).
The talented backup shooting guard has driven fans and reporters crazy lately with his uneven performances and sulky behavior, but Smith has promised to correct his poor “body language,” writes Bleacher Report. Prior to yesterday’s game, he cut a last-minute check to his former Houston-area attorney to avoid a lawsuit over debts, reports USA Today. The distraction might have fueled his game against the Rockets.
After hitting back-to-back, three-point baskets late in the game, Smith, perhaps releasing some recently pent-up angst, was “turning and walking the other way before each splashed the net, screaming in delight,” writes the Houston Chronicle.
The Nuggets have looked good at the bowling alley, too. The Denver Post’s Joanne Davidson writes that the whole roster showed up for the team’s Bowling Ball, a charity event held at Lucky Strike in the Denver Pavilions, which raised $60,000.
For 37 years, the SnowSports Industry of America held its major trade show for ski equipment and apparel in an unlikely city: Las Vegas. Now, the show undoubtedly has a better backdrop: Denver, with its horizon of snow-capped peaks.
The trade group has signed an 11-year deal with the city, notes 9News, which reports that the 15,000-17,000 convention-goers from around the country each year could mean $30 million in revenue for the show.
“When we were in Las Vegas, we were a number. Here, we’re an industry, and we’re of the size that the town needs us, understands us, and it’s a big deal,” says SIA President David Ingemie.
Denver may see a bit of the real white stuff for the show, which begins tomorrow. The city could pick up between one and three inches after 11 p.m., as nighttime temperatures plummet to 21 degrees (via The Denver Post).
Meanwhile, in Mesa County, December’s freezing weather might have damaged grape vines, delivering a $5 million hit to the state’s winemakers, according to Grand Junction’s Daily Sentinel.
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The announcement of inductees to the 2010 Pro Football Hall of Fame is a mixed bag for Denver Broncos fans. Floyd Little, a running back with the team from 1967-75, was up for his last shot at the honor—and finally made the cut. He tells The Denver Post (free registration required) he fell to the floor when he heard the news, relieved after 30 years of waiting for the distinction.
Denver’s Nate Marquardt isn’t incredibly imposing at six feet tall and 185 pounds, but the guy is a bruiser and will likely prove it again tomorrow during the Ultimate Fighting Championship 109 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The mixed-martial-arts fighter is looking to take the top middleweight spot, if he can get past Oregon’s Chael Sonnen.
The Super Bowl doesn’t air until Sunday, so hardcore sports watchers should tune in Saturday to cheer on a local NASCAR team while waiting for the big game. 
When you think of Colorado Rockies players who might possibly hold the team back, Todd Helton isn’t one of them. The star first baseman is the highest-paid player on the team and has been the face of the franchise for years. But don’t tell him that.
Shaun White wasn’t the only snow buff 
Carmelo Anthony’s return to the Denver Nuggets after an ankle injury was delayed over the weekend, and the team really felt his absence Friday night. The Oklahoma City Thunder thumped Denver, 101-84, ending the Nuggets’ eight-game winning streak. The score was Denver’s lowest all season and had teammates pining for Melo’s sprained left ankle to heal.
The Denver Nuggets have received some bittersweet news about the upcoming NBA All-Star Game. NBA coaches “snubbed” Chauncey Billups, writes 
Seventeen-year-old Rachael Flatt hasn’t stepped onto Olympic ice yet, but the Colorado Springs figure skater is already enjoying a bright spotlight.