The NBA draft will be held on June 21st and the Denver Nuggets will have to wait to see who is available at pick number 14.  Assuming that no trades are made before draft day, my mock draft looks like this. Phoenix Suns – DeAndre Ayton (7’0 Center/Arizona).  Outstanding athlete for a big man, Ayton dominates the boards with his physicality and can still make the 10-footer to keep the other NBA centers honest.  Along with Devin Booker, the Suns finally have the makings of an actual NBA team. Sacramento Kings – Luka Donic (6’8 SG/SF/Slovenia). The Kings are the worst in the league at evaluating... Read More

If you struggle with the pronunciation of Rockies relief pitcher Adam Ottavino (/ah-tah-VEEN-oh/) it’s understandable. And my guess is that if you’re not a diehard Rockies fan you would struggle recognizing the man at all. In pitching for the Rockies, Ottavino’s job is to not be noticed.  As a middle-to-late-inning set-up man, Ottavino’s job is to hope that the flashy, high paid starters throw a solid six or seven innings, as closer Wade Davis (3yr/$52 million) begins to stretch and warm up in the bullpen to close it out. Ottavino’s job is to face just a few batters in the seventh or... Read More

Last week the NFL owners approved a national anthem policy that would require all players to stand and show respect for the flag.  The policy, which was passed without discussion from the NFL Players Association, would allow players to stay in the locker room during the playing of the anthem if they wished not to participate.  Whether the move was a response to lower ratings based on the taking-a- knee protests, political pressure from fans and the Trump administration, or simply a poorly constructed compromise, the ball is now in the players court.  First Amendment rights aside, if the players... Read More

              The first three picks in the 1993 NBA draft were Chris Weber, Shawn Bradley, and Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway. The three would go on to star in NBA Finals games, All-Star games, movies, and commercials.  The 14th pick in the draft that year was Scott Haskin, a 6’11 center from Oregon State.  Haskin would play only 27 games for the Indiana Pacers before being out of the league for good. When the ping pong ball solidified the Denver Nuggets lottery position last week, the plan seemed obvious.  Select the best player available to add depth to... Read More

After signing Case Keenum to a two-year contract and passing on a quarterback in the draft, how do the Broncos compare to the other 31 teams at the quarterback position for the next few years.  The ranking below.       Green Bay – They have Aaron Rodgers, enough said. New England – Tom Brady stars as Benjamin Button. New Orleans – Drew Brees signed a two-year extension worth $50 million, the Saints are fine. Seattle – Russel Wilson is only 29 years-old, has gone to four Pro-Bowls, and has already won a ring.  They’re good. Detroit – The franchise has issues, but Matthew... Read More

With the Colorado Rockies off to a 20-15 record behind solid pitching and the bats of Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado, we should be relatively satisfied.  After all, the Rockies have already played more road games (23) than any other team in the league, and the assumption is that the slumping bats will come alive once the thin air and short fences do their thing.  But after a team batting average of just .228 and some early struggles that may not correct themselves, here are four moves that Colorado may want to look at…sooner than later.   Find a veteran hitter to plug at first base.... Read More

With all the speculation leading towards the Denver Broncos selecting a quarterback-of-the-future in this year’s NFL draft, gun-slinger John Elway failed to pull the trigger, but didn’t draw a blank.  After Cleveland continued its historic failure of drafting quarterbacks by selecting Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick, the Browns compounded their mistake by selecting Denzel Ward (CB/Florida State) providing the Broncos a gift of edge-rushing proportions. It’s possible that Elway had his eye on Mayfield or Sam Darnold (USC), but after both quarterbacks were taken off... Read More

The Denver Nuggets were a mere 4.4 seconds from making the NBA Playoffs.  Nikola Jokic had the ball in his hands and a one-on-one opportunity.  But like a microcosm of the entire season, Jokic and the Nuggets came up just short.  With a 112-106 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver will have to watch the playoffs from afar as the organization focuses on next year.  Here are five moves that can get us playoff bound in 2018-2019. 1. Do nothing. Okay, almost nothing.  Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Gary Harris made great strides this year.  Under Michael Malone, Denver has improved... Read More

The excitement of the Avalanche players was contagious as the crowd erupted and the final horn sounded.  With a 5-2 victory over St. Louis in the last game of the regular season, Colorado secured the eighth and final playoff spot in what has been a remarkable turn-around season.  One could forgive the doubters for being skeptical as the Avalanche were coming off a last place, 48-point season in 2016-2017. But now that our Colorado boys have made the playoffs, is there room on that bandwagon for one more?  Even if I admit that Saturday night’s game was the only one I watched all season? It’s... Read More

Like sipping a cold microbrew in the cheap seats at Coors Field, I can still taste the success of last year’s Colorado Rockies.  With a 87-75 record and our first playoff game in almost ten years, Spring couldn’t come soon enough.  I doubted the Monfort family, I didn’t want to “trust the process”, but the organization proved me wrong.  The 2018 Rockies brought almost everyone back and even opened up their wallet to sign the top reliever in baseball, Wade Davis, to a huge contract. Blake Street is booming, roof top bars are stocking up, kids are dusting off their gloves, but there’s... Read More