Still Keeping Score

Troy Tulowitzki is gone, and it may be in part because he simply lacked the patience of his former teammate Todd Helton. The five time All-Star shortstop who won a pair of Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers, and helped the Colorado Rockies to their only National League pennant has been shoved out the door. He said he was shocked, and I take him at his word, but when the dust settles, I don't know that he will always feel the same way.  And this next sentence is not a critique in any manner, merely an observation. While Troy Tulowitzki is the very best at his position in all the game, he is no Todd Helton. If he stays healthy, Tulo will be one of the best to ever play the position.  He may yet obtain the championship rings he desires, and pile up many more silver and gold plated trophies.  However, some guys can only be at their very best when in contention.  The Rox have been unable to get themselves back into a title hunt, and that was wearing out the incredible ...

Be careful what we wish for, especially in this case, since it came true. Half of Broncos Country was in shock at the sudden "mutual parting" of former head football coach John Fox and Denver's VP of Football Operations John Elway less than 24-hours after the team was eliminated from the SuperBowl tournament.  The other half of Broncos Country was thinking maybe Coach Fox had taken the team as far as he was able and were ready for a substantive change. As quick as the Broncos' season ended, Fox was gone and nearly as fast, John Elway knew exactly who he wanted to lead his team.  Gary Kubiak, Denver's favorite back-up plan.  The former quarterback was drafted the same year as Elway, before the blockbuster deal that brought the Hall-of-Famer from the then Baltimore Colts.  Kubiak made the roster and became a better than average understudy who competently took the field the few moments Elway wasn't able to play over the years. A lot of talk about how attent...

     As Broncos Country gathers around the legion of media coverage at Dove Valley, all waiting to see what color smoke lifts into the rarified air of the Mile High City, it still feels weird that we're talking about a new face to coach the team.  In this instance, the odds are the face will be pretty familiar among the initial three candidates interviewed since the team mutually parted ways with John Fox.      When is good not good enough?      Apparently after another game with an incredibly talented roster falling short in a critical game.  The loss to the Colts was not enough in and of itself for Vice President of Football Operations, John Elway to send a coach packing.  Four consecutive AFC West division titles sounds pretty good to most NFL teams.      But it was an itch no one could quite scratch.  How could the Broncos not show up in New England?  How could they miss out on a very winnable co...

There was a day when it was extremely cool to be a fan of the Baltimore Orioles.  I remember, because I was one of them.  We were legion.  The O's always won, they had the best pitching in all of baseball and a defense that was a perennial spectacle of efficiency.  They were so good, so often with a system in place called "The Oriole Way."  Teams at every level all over the country attempted to emulate the pitching, defense and yes, the occasional three-run homer style of baseball played in Baltimore. This quick historical review is how I have to explain things to my kids, who thought I was only joking when I talked about the O's as a powerhouse in Major League Baseball. They spoiled me rotten, those three time World Champions did. They won the Fall Classic in 1966, 1970 and 1983, to go along with six American League Pennants and eight division titles.  They battled among the AL elite, and frequently dispatched the mighty New York Yankees with ease, and ...

I'm not going to paint my house orange and blue, but I understand. My level of Broncomania remains at a semi-sane level, where I can tell you what time it is from a Broncos' clock, or change the channel with my official NFL authorized Broncos' remote control, complete with the horse head logo on it.  And I'm considering finally tracking down the foam Bronco shaped head gear Shannon Sharpe wore a couple times during the championship years. Based purely in Colorado vernacular, I'm a "Transplant" not a "Native." However, my story is not unique, we many who relocated to the state over the last few decades have banded together with the "Natives" to form Broncos Country. My journey from Maryland was a surprise when my Grandmother announced she was moving west.  Her, my Mom, my one brother at the time and two dogs ran the I-70 gauntlet for nearly two thousand road miles to the Mile High City.  That was 1970, and I was five.  But I was al...

Colorado University need look no further for another basketball coach for as long as head Coach Tad Boyle is breathing in the thin, rarified air of Boulder.  It may seem like a bold claim after a mere three seasons at the helm of the Buff basketball program, but we're witnessing greatness fans couldn't even imagine a handful of years ago. It is true he hasn't reinvented the sport.  Tad Boyle hasn't drawn up a scheme that confounds foes, or signed a squad of soon-to-be-NBA players throughout his roster.   He has accomplished what no one before him has -- and that is to convert a football school into a basketball tradition inside of 36-months.  Oh, I know, CU hasn't been much of a football school either, at least since the last run as Big-12 Champions in 2001.  That was four head football coaches ago. In fact, the hiring of Boyle away from the University of Northern Colorado may be the primary reason CU Athletic Director Mike Bohn was allowed to hire his t...

     They say the higher altitude makes for less oxygen and thus harder to breath sometimes for our sea level friends in for a visit.  Apparently there is still plenty of air left for football fans to whine about everything and even stuff I wasn't sure was a category for complaints.  While I completely agree this bold move by the Denver Broncos to sign Peyton Manning is a huge risk, it isn't worth the apoplectic fits flying around online and on the radio waves this fine day.      Yes, it is a lot of money.  Yes, Manning has been injured a bunch, he is old, and he spent his best days of his youth beating the stuffing out of the Broncos.  And yes, it certainly feels like the team is throwing Tim Tebow under an orange bus.  However, if the future first ballot Hall of Fame quarterback has any ammo left in the chamber, and can stay healthy, Denver's NFL team just got a whole lot better.      Risk versus reward is somet...

     It did not seem that long ago that quarterback conversation in the Mile High City was completely dominated by another former SEC All American.  I can't quite place it, but he was famous.  And he seemed like a person the Denver Broncos also looked to guide the team for the near term.  Ah, the sports universe is a fickle place though, isn't it?      Today, Peyton Manning is visiting Dove Valley and talking shop with team Vice President John Elway and head coach John Fox.  The visit is so exciting there were photos all over the Internet before the engines on Pat Bowlen's private jet cooled down.  A jet carrying quite a bit of NFL quarterback experience, some baggage and a boatload of questions.  It was not really a surprise the fans that not only heard about the visit, they had to stand around the Broncos' headquarters facility to merely glance at the legendary possibilities that stand before the franchise.  The gatheri...