Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Top Ten Colorado Sports Events for 2021

 2021 didn't see any championships for Colorado sports teams.  Generally it was a down year for our teams but there were a few highlights:

NUMBER TEN:

Oct 1st: Rockies 9 Diamondbacks 7 at Arizona: The Rockies come back from a 7-0 deficit to win 9-7, scoring 3 runs in the 9th to cap the come from behind victory.  It was the largest road comeback in team history, and I was in attendance to see it.

NUMBER NINE:

June 1st: Nuggets 147 Blazers 140: Double Overtime Game 5 playoff series win.  Nuggets overcome a stellar performance by Portland's Damian Lilliard (55 points, multiple clutch 3 pointers to extend the game) to win the game and eventually win the series.

NUMBER EIGHT:

February 19th: Nuggets 120 Cleveland 103: Jamal Murray scored 50 points on hitting 21 of 25 field goal attempts and 8-of-10 from behind the three-point line, with NO FREE THROWS!  First player in NBA history to score 50 points with no free throws.

NUMBER SEVEN:

March 20th: Colorado 96 Georgetown 73, first round ncaa tournament:  12th seeded Georgetown was favored by many media experts over 5th seeded Colorado, but the game wasn't close.  The Buffs dominated from the start for a sweet win against a prestigious program like Georgetown and their legendary player turned coach Patrick Ewing.

NUMBER SIX:
June 2nd: Avs 3 Golden Knights 2 in overtime:  There's nothing like overtime in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and this game was no exception.  Despite being outshot 41 to 25 the Avs got an outstanding performance from goalie Philipp Grubauer (39 saves) to steal a game from Vegas.  This game would have been higher in my rankings had the Avs won the series, however after this game the Avs lost four straight to Vegas to lose the series in one of the year's biggest disappointments.

NUMBER FIVE:

November 28th: Broncos 28 Chargers 14. After a disappointing loss to Philadelpia and the bye week, the Broncos surprised division rival Chargers with a convincing win.  Rookie Patrick Surtain had two interceptions including one for a touchdown that clinched the victory.

NUMBER FOUR:

April 1st: Rockies 8 Dodgers 5 In their first time opening at home since 2011 the Rockies beat the defending World Series champion Dodgers.  It was not a good year for the Rockies starting with the terrible trade of Nolan Arenado, but opening day was a bright spot in an otherwise dreary season.

NUMBER THREE:

June 8th: Nikola Jokic voted NBA's Most Valuable Player.  An amazing accomplishment for a little known second round draft choice from Serbia.

NUMBER TWO:

July 12th: Home Run Derby at Coors Field: No Trevor Story didn't win but the Home Run Derby was a huge success in front of a sellout crowd and a national tv audience. With home runs flying out of the ballpark one commentator said "Baseball should have the home run derby at Coors Field every year."

NUMBER ONE

November 7th: Broncos 30 Cowboys 16: The Broncos had lost 3 games in a row and then had an unimpressive win over the Redskins at home.  The Cowboys had won 6 in a row and were big favorites in this game.  The Broncos shocked the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, opening up a stunning 30-0 lead before eventually winning 30-16. One of the biggest upsets in team history.