Crossroads

Could we have seen Carmelo Anthony's last game in a Nugget uniform? Maybe. The Denver Nuggets recently offered Anthony a 3-year contract extension worth $65 million. No agreement has been announced between the Nuggets and Anthony up to this point. I can see Denver's point of view since Anthony would be a free agent next summer and could opt out of his contract, thus Denver would get nothing in return for him (I am having Dikembe Mutombo flashbacks as I write this). If Anthony doesn't sign the extension Denver would rather trade him now than lose him next summer. From Anthony's point of view he is undecided about the deal because Denver is undecided if they want to pay money to win a championship or just save money. Anthony needs help. Denver's combined playoff record is a dismal 16-30 since Anthony came to Denver in 2003. What Denver has lacked is a quality big man in the paint. We have seen the likes of Marcus Camby, Francisco Elson, and current players like Nene, Chris Andersen, and Kenyon Martin contribute but still get dominated in the paint by taller, more physically dominating, disciplined teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs. So when Anthony gets offered a contract to the tune of 3 years $65 million I understand why there is hesitation to agree to continue in Denver. Anthony wants Denver to show they are still committed to winning a championship and what better time to show that commitment than through free agency? Acquiring a big name free agent not only brings Denver a post presence but also keeps Anthony here for 3 more years. Denver obviously does not have the ability to sign a big name free agent; they must work a sign-and-trade deal with another team willing to take on Denver's baggage, cutting their own roster's payroll. Denver players I am willing to see us give up for a sign-and-trade deal include JR Smith, Nene, and Kenyon Martin. These 3 players are Denver's greatest trade asset to bring in a big name like David Lee, Chris Bosh, or Amare Stoudemire. Sure Denver would be giving up paint presence if they let go of Kenyon Martin and/or Nene however we would be gaining consistency, which we currently do not have. Letting go of JR Smith alone would automatically turn Denver's overall basketball IQ up by at least 100 more than where they are now, Denver GM Mark Warkentien has proven to be one of the most brilliant GMs in the NBA by bringing in Chauncey Billups, drafting Ty Lawson, signing Chris Andersen, and signing Arron Afflalo. He's worked finances in with talent and has made Denver a competitive playoff basketball team. A big problem for Denver is the fact that Warkentien's contract was up at the end of the 2009-2010 campaign. Hopefully Stan Kroenke knows that Denver needs Warkentien now more than ever. If he re-signs Warkentien and brings in a big name this summer, Denver's championship window of opportunity just extended at least 3 years. Hopefully Kroenke's commitment is still with Denver, after all he just bought the St. Louis Rams. I guess we will soon find out where his commitment is.

Rockies

I was in attendance for another World Series-type thriller between the Boston Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies last night. Although the outcome was different than Wednesday night I walked out knowing it was a moral victory for the Rockies; at least for the offense. Here was a team in the Rockies that had struggled offensively most of the year facing a Red Sox team coming into Coors field having won 6 straight games, allowing a combined 20 runs in those 6 games. The Rockies offense managed to post a whopping 21 runs in their three game series vs the Red Sox. Keep in mind these are all numbers without Troy Tulowitzki in the lineup. Colorado's pitching continues to frustrate me with their inconsistency. Part of that is due to Jim Tracy's inconsistent bull pen management as well as players coming back from injury. Last night, Colorado should not have allowed Pedroia to hit 3 home runs. After Pedroia's 2nd home run, Tracy should have intentionally walked him before he had the chance to hit his 3rd. Overall, Colorado still held their own vs Boston winning 2 out of 3 and now find themselves sitting at 4 games above .500, along with a little confidence in their hitting. Colorado can really help themselves climb up the standings with 7 out of their next 10 games being within the National League West.

The Rockies put on a show last night. Conversely, the Red Sox particularly Jonathan Papelbon squandered a miraculous 4-run 6th inning comeback against Ubaldo Jimenez, who by far had his worst outing this season, lowering his ERA to 1.60. Yes, last night killed his ERA and somehow he didn't get the win however a win is a win for the Colorado Rockies; especially when half of the crowd at Coors field were Red Sox fans. Usually the story this season has been about Jimenez bailing out Colorado's lack of offense with his pitching but last night the opposite happened; Colorado's offense bailed out Jimenez. After watching Jimenez come out of the game last night (classic situational and sometimes overkill substitutions by Jim Tracy and Bob Apadaca) it was great to have Huston Street back for the first time this season. He played decent, pitching 1 1/3 innings allowing one hit. We have missed him this year having to deal with Corpas. Last season Street saved 35 of 37 games and 23 of those 35 games were 1-2-3 outs with no hits allowed. When I thought my birthday was going to be dampered in a loss to the Red Sox, Ian Stewart homered in the 9th to tie the game, followed by Jason Giambi for the walk-off home run. Fittingly, Giambi who wears #23 for the Rockies won the game on June 23rd. This was by far one of the best Rockies games I have been to. It is exciting to look at the standings seeing Colorado at 38-33 only 3.5 games out of the NL West lead and only 3 games out of the wild card lead. Last year this time Colorado sat at 37-35 and 2.5 games out of the wild card lead. The Rockies are in great position with Huston Street coming back from injury, Jorge de la Rosa expected back soon and also considering the fact Colorado is now 5 games over .500 for the first time this season.

State of the Broncos

It has been very frustrating being a fan of the Denver Broncos lately. Seeing Mike Shanahan go in exchange for an unproven head coach and seeing our best players go in exchange for unproven players has been tough to swallow. I'm all for the Broncos going in a new direction however I am perplexed at the decisions made by the Broncos lately.
The biggest problem with Mike Shanahan was he had too much power as a general manager. He was one of the best head coaches in the NFL but several poor moves did him in as a GM. So the Broncos decide Shanahan had too much power, release him, and bring in Josh McDaniels, an unproven young head coach and give him more authority in personnel decision making. Some people will argue Broncos GM Brian Xanders makes the decisions in the front office. Brian Xanders wasn't the one who dangled Jay Cutler to be traded in exchange for Matt Cassel and draft picks. Early on, I believe McDaniels decided Cutler did not fit in his plan in building a winning team. Believe it or not I am over the fact Jay Cutler is gone. I have burned his jersey and I have accepted it. There are other moves more daunting and disturbing made by McDaniels.
Take the 2009 NFL draft for example: The Broncos passed up on Texas DL/LB Brian Orakpo for Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno in the first round. Brian Orakpo went to the pro bowl his rookie season while Knowshon Moreno was far from it. He had a strong start to the season but wore down and disappeared toward the end. The main argument for bringing in Orakpo was considering the fact that in today's NFL, the career of a full-time RB is about 6-8 years if that, whereas a DL/LB would be 8-10 years. People will argue if a team runs running back by committee this will extend the career of running backs but why would you waste your first round pick on a running back? Use that pick to help improve Denver's 26th ranked rush defense in 2008. Granted Elvis Dumervil stepped up in the 2009 campaign and led the NFL with 17 sacks, but having Orakpo coming from the other side would've given any offense huge headaches facing our defense.
Another perplexing move is the fact we traded our future 2010 first round pick for 2009 second round pick Wake Forest CB Alfonso Smith. That's like trading someone $100 in exchange for $50. I know the move was completely financial because Bowlen did not want to pay three first round draft picks in one year, but we could've done better than that. Alfonso Smith isn't even a starter.
Speaking of non-starters, we also used a first round draft pick on Tennessee DL/LB Robert Ayers. I've heard people say no one player can be labeled a bust without three years of failure. First round draft picks are not meant to be projects. First round draft picks are supposed to be instant contributors. So far, here are three guys that are contributing to keeping the bench warm more than they are helping the Broncos win football games.
How about Fresno State QB Tom Brandstater in the sixth round? He was recently cut and now he's in Indianapolis fighting to be Peyton Manning's backup, but nonetheless a wasted draft pick. Here is a classic knee-jerk reaction by McDaniels looking to draft a project QB late in the draft with nothing materialized while Brandstater was here.
The only quality draft pick that has helped Denver is Notre Dame S David Bruton. He proved in 2009 to be one of our best special teams players and maybe one day he will be a quality starting safety for Denver.
The mid season move that was really disappointing was when McDaniels decided to release Jack Williams to make room for Ty Law. I knew McDaniels was looking for an upgrade at nickel corner but this was not the answer. For one thing Jack is only 25, he was in his second year with Denver under Champ Bailey's tutelage, he was being replaced by a guy who was a former Patriot (big surprise) who was 36 years old, and in his 15th year in the NFL. Ironically the Broncos went 2-6 after we acquired Law- not that Law had a direct effect on our mid-season choke job.
Moving on to the 2009 off-season, February rolls around and Peyton Hills gets traded to the Browns for QB Brady Quinn. New Browns GM Mike Holmgren must not have seen much talent out of Quinn on film or he wouldn't have traded him to the Broncos. I trust Mike Holmgren's judgement of QB talent more than Josh McDaniels. After all, Holmgren coached Joe Montana, Steve Young, Brett Favre, and Matt Hasselbeck, whereas McDaniels has coached Tom Brady and Matt Cassel. The acquisition of Brady Quinn just seemed like another knee-jerk reaction by McDaniels.
When the 2010 draft came around I knew McDaniels would make a big splash. Seeing Denver's run-game wear down late in the 2009 season I wanted to see us get Idaho G Mike Iupati or even Florida C Maurkice Pouncey. Denver obviously had a glaring need at the center position since Casey Wiegmann went back to Kansas City, so Pouncey would've been a great choice. When it was announced that Denver drafted Georgia Tech WR Demaryius Thomas I was relieved that it wasn't Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant (it wouldn't have made much sense to ship problem child Brandon Marshall out of town and draft another one in Bryant). Then came Tebow. At first I was disappointed with the selection because at the time we drafted Tebow we were still in desperate need of offensive line help and we also gave away 3 picks we traded up in order to get Tebow (a lot of analysts think he would've been available for Denver to pick without trading away 3 picks to Baltimore and Philadelphia). I like Baylor C JD Walton and Utah G Zane Beadles. Both guys are big interior offensive linemen who can help transition us from zone blocking to McDaniels' power blocking scheme. If both of these guys pan out, this solidifies Denver's offensive line for several years. From left to right we have Ryan Clady, Zane Beadles, JD Walton, Chris Kuper, and Ryan Harris all 27 years old or younger. I also like Minnesota's WR Eric Decker who analysts say is a top 5 WR in this year's draft but somehow dropped to the third round. He took Ed McCaffrey's number, so I expect him to throw mean blocks at defenders while pointing in their face as they lay on the ground in disbelief. And hopefully CB Perish Cox out of Oklahoma State and CB Syd'Quan Thompson out of California both provide the youth infusion Denver needs in our aging secondary.
While we observe Josh McDaniels as someone who may have several emotional knee-jerk reactions maybe he is standing by his principals of how to build a super bowl-winning team. It's too early to tell if hitting the reset button last off-season was a good idea since there are so many new players here. It's easy to observe that less than 1/4 of the roster remains from the Shanahan era and it's only been a year since McDaniels took over. It's also clear the only move made by McDaniels that has paid dividends immediately is the acquisition of future hall of famer Brian Dawkins. Every other move made is questionable, and much like many Americans who love and criticize this country I will continue to love and criticize the Broncos- the only difference is McDaniels would not have been voted in office to replace Shanahan!

Raiders and their fans

I hate the Oakland Raiders. I hate other teams in the NFL and in other sports but nothing comes close to my hatred for the Oakland Raiders. They are the ultimate villain in all of sports. Their fans are ridiculous! Some of them just wear Raider gear because it's trendy or stylish but most of them think every Sunday for 16 weeks out of the year is Halloween. They dress up in these hideous looking costumes and they try to use fear and intimidation to drive road fans away (which works out because I wouldn't be caught dead in the Black hole). Their fans also flip you off even when they are in your stadium. Talking football with any Raider fan always turns ugly when you give facts as to how bad their team is they just start taking personal shots!
They are 29-83 (winning pct .258) since 2003 (worst winning pct in all of sports), and although the Broncos have split the season series the last two seasons with the Raiders we are still 10-4 against them going back to 2003. The Broncos have gone 8-8 the past two seasons, and going a little further we have gone 32-32 over the course of the past four years (nothing to be proud of). The Raiders haven't sniffed a .500 record or better since 2002 (the year they got blasted by Tampa Bay in Super Bowl XXXVII).
The Raiders' players are just as bad. I have early memories of Raider players throwing Elway into the bench on the sideline after he was out of bounds, Ed McCaffrey getting kicked in the head on the ground in the end zone after scoring a touchdown, and more recently Eddie Royal burning DeAngelo Hall for 146 yards on opening night, and Hall getting upset with a few late hits out of bounds. The best one was last year in week 3 at Oakland, Denver left tackle Ryan Clady had just another day at the office of domination on the line of scrimmage vs Richard Seymour. After being neutralized play after play, Seymour got fed up and pulled Clady down to the ground by his dreadlocks. After the game, when asked by a reporter about the incident, Seymour said he would do it again. Welcome to Oakland, Seymour. Players come to Oakland, get dominated, and take cheap shots. That's how they operate.
These are a few examples of why I hate Oakland. Their fans are dirty, their players are dirty, and their city is a dump. Oakland is the armpit of America.

Let me introduce myself

Let me start off by introducing myself. My name is David and I have a huge love for Denver sports. In terms of winning, times have been rough in recent memory for all sports in this town, however we have had a lot of success looking back at the last 15 years. I was fortunate enough to witness the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 1996, followed by the Denver Broncos winning Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII in 1997, 1998 respectively, and another Cup in 2001 by the Avalanche. We have also seen new stadiums built in the Mile High City for all the major sports (Pepsi Center for the Nuggets/Avalanche, Coors Field for the Rockies, and the New Mile High (the name Invesco is totally weak I am not here to promote Invesco) for the Broncos. So four championships, and three new stadiums. Great! I am thankful but I am hungry for more. And to clarify, I am not hungry for more stadiums, I want more championships.