NFL
Welcome to the Mile High Review! This will be the first edition of a weekly review of all things Denver sports. I’m not a Colorado native, but I’ve lived here for nine years now. An East Coast transplant (shout out to the boss Joe in the DMV), life in this dry, rocky terrain can be tough to get used to but you do, and you learn to love it. The purpose of these will be to promote some Denver love, which is sorely missed on the national stage. I will look at the top stories and/or topics that tickle my fancy the most for each of the three major sports teams: Nuggets, Broncos, and Rockies. It will be mostly based on sports but, since I can’t anything fully seriously, there will be lots of sarcasm and my pathetic attempt at humor as well. So, let’s get this party started!
NBA: Nuggets
With the NBA in the doldrums of the offseason, there is not much Nuggets news. So, let’s rewind a few weeks. About three weeks ago, Isaiah Thomas posted a video in which he referred to Cleveland as a “s***h***” and said that he can understand why “LeBron left again”. In the words of the famous ESPN Monday Night Countdown segment, C’MON MAN! There are two reasons I don’t like this, and I will explain them now.
First, if IT wants to be mad at anyone, he needs to be mad at Kyrie and Boston. Being a huge fan of LeBron James, I follow his teams well. I can say that much of the Land wanted Thomas to succeed in Cleveland. Of course, everyone wanted Kyrie over Isaiah. Who wouldn’t?! People willing look to move past that though. Cavs fan were even patient has he slowly rehabbed to be ready. What Cleveland fans were not forgiving of, however, was the crybaby attitude of Thomas during his stint in Ohio. Again, it’s important to state that the true parties to blame here are Kyrie (for getting his undies in a bunch about playing with the greatest player on the planet) and Boston (for treating Isaiah like complete crap). Thomas could have been more grateful.
Let’s be honest. IT had maybe one good game in a Cavs jersey. To then go and call people out and act as if he was the cornerstone of the team was out of line. We’re all wishing him the best here in Denver. He will be a great addition to a backcourt that already includes Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, and Will Barton. I think I can speak for everyone in Denver when I say we hope he keeps his attitude in check and channel that negative energy into getting buckets.
NFL: Broncos
This week, I’m going to vent a little frustration about Broncos Country around a similar issue. As a new budding Broncos fan (I’ve forsaken the Dallas Cowboys and he who must not be named), I’ve noticed a disturbing trend among the fans here. I can’t really say I understand it. I can definitely say I don’t like it. Most important, I pray it changes. Broncos fans absolutely love to build up backup quarterbacks to tear them down.
Let’s first look at phase one of this odd phenomenon: falling in love with the backup. First, it was Brent Osweiler. Then, it was Paxton Lynch. Now, it’s Chad Kelly. Before I move forward, I should add that I know his name is Brock, but we call him everything but that in Denver. It’s a Mile High thing. Moving on. I can understand the excitement around Kelly. He has a swagger at QB that Denver hasn’t seen since Elway in his hay. On top of that, he’s the nephew of a hall of fame legend. Even with how great he has looked in the preseason, which he will be starting in the final game, there is no reason for him to be starting over Case Keenum. As we like to say on Crossing the Line: JUST STOP!
Now, phase two: tearing down the backup. The person with this honor is now Paxton Lynch. If you’ve never followed Denver sports closely, you wouldn’t know the absolute tsunami of support behind Paxton Lynch for the last couple of years. Almost everyone here in Denver wanted to toss poor Trevor Siemian and insert their proverbial savior in Lynch. I just never saw it. Lynch looked mediocre at best when he did get the nod. Then, he went and got hurt doing what everyone screamed at Siemian for, which is being in the pocket too long. To be fair to both, it’s easy to be in the pocket too long when you have a pocket for less than a second before it collapses.
After the injury, he was just never the same. His confidence is gone. It’s time for him to go. Difference is that everyone sees that now, whereas I saw it too years ago. The man they so loved is now an outcast. I feel bad for him in that respect. He was being made out to something he was never going to be, and that’s not Lynch’s fault. That’s what comes with being the backup quarterback for the Denver Broncos.
MLB: Rockies
I hesitate to even write anything about the Rockies at this juncture. So, I’m going to keep this short and not express any true optimism. Last year, I wrote about why Rockies fans should not fear the pre-postseason fall off. I was so wrong. I’m still sore from the bite in the butt I received from that. To avoid that same fate, I’m just going to state facts.
The Rockies are currently 71-60, which puts them one game back of the Diamondbacks in the NL West (the toughest division in baseball) and a game and a half back of the Brewers for the Wild Card. The remainder of their schedule consists of mostly division games with the last seven games against the Phillies and Nationals. The games against the Nationals will likely be what gets them in the playoffs or keeps them out. We shall see.
That’s all for this week. I leave you this week, as I will every week, with a random Colorado fact:
The highest paved road in North America is the Road to Mt. Evans off of I-70 from Idaho Springs. The climbs up to 14, 258 ft. above sea level. (www.50states.com)
