The covid19 pandemic put a damper on the Colorado sports teams and on sports nation wide in 2020. Still there were some memorable games for Colorado teams. My annual top 10 list:
NUMBER TEN:
Denver Broncos 10/18: It was a disappointing year for the Broncos as the team only has 5 wins heading into the season finale vs the Raiders. But the Broncos did get two entries on my top ten list. The first? The Broncos beat their long time nemesis the New England Patriots 18 to 12 on the Patriots home field. Sure the Patriots did not have Tom Brady in 2020 but this was especially a surprise with the Broncos starting 3rd stringer Brett Rypien at quarterback.
NUMBER NINE:
Colorado Rockies 9/6: Rockies 7 Dodgers 6 A second straight win for the Rockies in LA (they had lost 17 of 19 against the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine before this series). The Rockies were the only team to win a series against the World Series Champion Dodgers in 2020.
NUMBER EIGHT:
Denver Nuggets 8/30: Jamal Murray with a 50 point performance to give the Nuggets a win in an elimination game vs Utah (119-107) and squaring their playoff series 3 games to 3. Murray has scored 142 points combined in 3 consecutive playoff games, emerging as Denver's next all star.
NUMBER SEVEN:
Colorado Buffaloes football 11/7: The Buffs beat ucla 48-42 in karl dorrell's first game as head coach. This was a big surprise as Dorrell was a late hire after previous coach Mel Tucker quit unexpectedly. With limited off season practices and with a quarterback who played at safety the year before, this was a surprise win.
NUMBER SIX:
Colorado Avalanche 8/31: Facing elimination down 3 games to 1 the Avalanche raced to a 5-0 lead in the first period and won their playoff game 6-3 against the Dallas Stars. The Avs were without their top 2 goalies and won the game with 3rd stringer Michael Hutchinson in net. The Avs losing this series in game 7 was the year's biggest sports disappointment, but this win and the game 6 win when facing elimination were highlights at the time. They just couldn't win 3 straight elimination games like their arena partners the Nuggets did vs Utah and the LA Clippers.
NUMBER FIVE:
Denver Nuggets 9/11: Nuggets 111 Clippers 105 Down 3 games to 1, facing elimination in the series and behind 16 points in the 3rd quarter, it didn't look good for the Nuggets. But the team had an amazing comeback to win the game in the 4th quarter to force a game 6.
NUMBER FOUR:
Denver Broncos 11/1: Broncos 31 Chargers 30 Broncos come back from 21 points down in the 3rd quarter, and score on the last play of the game with 1 second on the clock, to beat the Chargers. Drew Lock had 3 td passes in the comeback and Phillip Lindsay had a big 55 yard td run to spark the comeback.
NUMBER THREE:
Colorado Avalanche 8/2:Nazem Kadri scores with 1/10th of a second left to give the Avalanche a 2-1 win over St Louis in the first game back after the pandemic shutdown. A big win as the Blues were in 1st place, the Avs in second place at the time.
NUMBER TWO:
Denver Nuggets 9/15: Nuggets 104 Clippers 89 - Nuggets win game 7, coming back from a 3-1 series deficit, to reach the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2009.
NUMBER ONE:
Denver Nuggets 9/1: Nuggets 80 Jazz 78 in game 7 to win the series after coming back from a 3 games to 1 deficit. Sure the Nuggets came back from a similar 3-1 deficit in their next series against the Clippers, but this game had more drama than any other Nuggets playoff game at the end. Utah had a 3 pointer that just missed at the buzzer which would have given the Jazz the win and the series.
So the Nuggets surprising playoff run to the Western Conference Finals was my highlight of the Colorado sports year in 2020. What surprises will 2021 bring? Stay tuned ...
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