Tourists lined the streets of LoDo, legends returned to the X Games, and the coronavirus continued to steal the headlines.  A look at the whacky week that was in the world of sports.

• Coors Field hosted the All-Star Game festivities this past weekend, including Monday’s Homerun Derby, a fan favorite. The balls were flying out in record numbers as the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, Colorado’s Trevor Story, and eventual derby winner Pete Alonso put on a show.

Story performed well in the homerun contest but continues to struggle during his regular-season hitting a mere .246 with just 11 homeruns.

The season-long slump has come at the worst time as Story’s trade value continues to decline amid rumors that the Rockies’ shortstop will be dealt by the July 30^th trade deadline.

Considering what the Rockies got in return for Nolan Arenado, the organization will probably trade Story for three minor league no-names, one beer vendor, and still end up writing a check to the other team to sweeten the deal.

• Losing Trevor Story will be a tough loss for the team, but even a bigger loss for the Promotions Department. I can imagine the tag line for 2022.

COME SEE RAIMEL TAPIA, YONATHAN DAZA, AND GARRETT HAMPSON LEG OUT INFIELD SINGLES!  Tickets now on Sale!

• Speaking of the Rockies, the team has had an outbreak of the coronavirus lately as multiple players and coaches have been placed on the injured list due to COVID-19 protocols.

Apparently, the 85% of reported players that have been fully vaccinated is not quite enough to keep the team fully protected.

Maybe someone should put that warning on the side of the box.

• The outbreak of COVID-19 continues to dominate the sports world as the New York Yankees were forced to cancel their game with the Boston Red Sox just days after the All-Star break.

No truth to the rumor that Yankee Stadium will be renamed the Delta Center.

• Team USA basketball had to replace Bradley Beal (WAS) due to COVID-19, while temporarily placing Jerami Grant (DET) on the COVID-19 protocol list. The two spots were filled by JaVale McGee (DEN) and Keldon Johnson (SAS).

Losing Beal and Grant may have come as a shock, but the real shock was that JaVale McGee and Keldon Johnson were named as the best available replacements.  What? Was Brian Scalabrine out of town?

• Prior to a pivotal game five of the NBA Championships, the Milwaukee Bucks organization had a small heart attack when it was announced that Antetokounmpo was placed on the COVID-19 protocol list and would not be available to play. Fortunately for the Bucks, it was Thanasis Antetokounmpo and not his brother Giannis.

That being said, with just one win away from a championship I would smother Giannis in hand sanitizer, secure him tightly in bubble wrap, and place him in the Witness Protection Program until the next tip-off.

• The COVID-19 protocols are affecting athletes at the Olympic Village in Japan, Wimbledon Tennis players, and even sidelined the Colorado Rockies’ 64-year-old manager, Bud Black.

I miss the days when being placed in COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocol was just code for Got Caught Going to the Strip Club.

• The Washington Football Team announced that the organization would come up with a permanent name and logo in 2022 after removing the controversial Redskin name from the team before the 2020 season.

Considering that the Washington Nationals can be referred to as the Nationalists, the Capitals is too close to the Capitol, and the Bullets were removed just in time to avoid backlash after a shooting occurred outside of the baseball stadium last weekend, canceling the game.

They may want to stick with the Washington Football Team.

• Finally, 53-year-old skateboard legend Tony Hawk made his return to the sport as he competed in the Vert Best Trick Contest at last weekend’s X Games.

Unfortunately, Hawk was upstaged by a 12-year-old Brazilian skateboarder named Gui Khury, who landed a 1080 to capture Gold in becoming the youngest X Game winner in the history of the event.

Hawk drove away soon after to do some promotional events while Khury stood patiently near the main entrance of the parking lot, waiting for his mommy to come pick him up.

Images via theathletic.com, espn.com, twitter.com, bleacherreport.com, nypost.com, thewrap.com

Alan Tapley The Athletic Supporter

Alan Tapley is an educator, author, and blogger who has lived just outside of Boulder for the last twenty years.  His published work includes two novels, two children’s books, a series of cartoons in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and multiple sports related articles. His love for family and the state of Colorado is only matched by one thing, his passion for sports.  The first baseball game he ever attended was at Wrigley Field, before there were lights.  At the final Bronco game at the old Mile High, he allegedly cut out a piece of his seat in the South stands.  But regardless of being here for the Avalanche’s last Stanley Cup, the Rockies only World Series appearance, and all the Broncos’ Super Bowl Victories, his wife never fails to remind him that he wasn’t at the University of Colorado in 1990, like she was.  The year the Buffs football team won the National Championship.