Jon Keyworth at the Bronco QB Club

Former Bronco running back Jon Keyworth spoke to a Denver Broncos Quarterback Club group Saturday afternoon with entertaining stories of his playing days, and sobering facts about the concussion-related injuries ex-NFL players deal with.

In addition to his playing exploits Keyworth is best known for his "Make Those Miracles Happen" song during the Broncos AFC Championship 1977 season.  "We were flying home from Houston after clinching the division title," Keyworth said.  "The celebrations on the plane were wild - it was the first time the Broncos had won anything in their history."  Keyworth had a conversation with a couple of friends who were restaurant owners at 1 am the following morning.  "There should be a song to celebrate this," one said.  Keyworth's friends had connections in the recording industry and within 2 weeks the "Make Those Miracles Happen" song was recorded.

"I knew nothing about making a record," Keyworth said, yet thanks to his friends "Make Those Miracles Happen" was in the Denver stores as a 45-rpm record by the time of the AFC Championship game vs Oakland.  The song was a big hit, and still is played sometimes whenever the Broncos are making a playoff run. "Like during this year's incredible miracle Super Bowl season" Keyworth said.

Keyworth even was able to convince some of his teammates to strategically pose naked for the album.  Keyworth's roommate, running back Jim Jensen, was on the album cover.

Keyworth played for the Broncos from 1974 - 1980.  He was originally drafted by the Washington Redskins.  "Jon, you don't want to come here," said Keyworth's friend Bill Brundige.  Keyworth was a teammate of Brundige at the University of Colorado.  "With George Allan as the coach, you won't play for four years," Brundige cautioned.  Allen was notorious for playing veterans over rookies.

Kay Dalton was on the CU staff during Keyworth's college days.  When Dalton was fired from the Buffs he got a job on John Ralston's Bronco staff.  "Dalton told Ralston to trade for me," Keyworth relates, and that's what happened.

Keyworth's rookie season was a tumultuous one.  He came to camp during an NFL strike.  With the Bronco vets holding out the coaches were able to get a good long look at Jon.  "I remember in the first preseason game coming into our locker room under the South Stands.  Above me were a group of Bronco vets holding out.  'I'm going to kick your ass!' the vets yelled down at Keyworth, not happy that Jon had crossed the picket line.

The strike was soon settled and Keyworth found himself third on the depth chart at fullback, behind Joe Dawkins and Bobby Anderson.  Dawkins was soon traded, and Anderson broke his leg in the last preseason game.  The Broncos then decided to go with a backfield of Floyd Little and Otis Armstrong.  When Little was hurt in a game vs the Colts, offensive coordinator Max Coley turned to Keyworth and said, "OK Jon, you're on!"

The next week Keyworth, starting with Armstrong, had his best game as a pro, rushing for 148 yards in an upset of the Raiders at Oakland.  At the time it was the second most yards gained by a Bronco running back in team history.  Keyworth kept a positive attitude through his early struggles with the team and eventually it paid off with a starting gig.  "It doesn't matter what happens to you, it's what you do with what happens to you," Keyworth said - a motto he lives by.

Keyworth told us other entertaining stories of from his Bronco playing days:

• The time coach Red Miller wrestled linebacker Glenn "Lumpy" Hyde to the ground in front of the players, with the team cheering both sides on.  "Red was a great player's coach," Keyworth said.
• A practical joke Randy Gradishar played on Floyd Little. Floyd had a special shampoo that he used to help with his hair loss. Gradishar took a bottle of regular shampoo and dumped it on Floyd in the shower, destroying the effects of Floyd's special formula. Little was incensed! Little connected on a punch to Keyworth as Floyd exited the shower.  "Do I fight back against 'the franchise'?" Jon wondered.  He thought the better of it, and 15 minutes later he and Floyd were laughing about it as Little discovered Gradishar was behind the prank.  Incidents like this built team unity, Keyworth said.
• Bronco guard Tom Glassic overslept and missed the team bus to Super Bowl 12.  Glassic's Dad drove Tom to the game (at the Super Dome) but Glassic couldn't get in.  Nobody believed he was a member of the Broncos.  

Then the tone of the meeting became serious.  "My brothers are all suffering," Keyworth said as he told of retired players dealing with the effects of CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy - head injuries).  "The NFL has suppressed the truth for years," Keyworth said.  "I had 1000s of concussions during my playing career," he relates.  Today Keyworth is a strong advocate for natural treatment of the disease, not with "the horrible drugs with bad side effects."  Keyworth works with his wife Claudia at a Health and Wellness Clinic promoting holistic remedies to restore brain function for NFL vets.  "These guys are suffering greatly," Keyworth said.  "Keep them in your prayers."  The Keyworths urged our group to see the movie Concussion to learn the facts about CTE.

Since I was a kid I have been collecting newspapers from great moments in Bronco history.  On the morning of the Keyworth meeting I dug up an old Denver Post Sports Section from 1974, "Otis Jon Run Raiders Defense into the Ground" the headline read.  It was the story of Keyworth's career 148 yard game he had in the big upset of Oakland that year.  I took the above picture with Jon.  "I don't have much memorabilia from my playing days," Jon told me.  "I want you to keep this," I replied, handing him that old newspaper.  Jon was very appreciative and even had a tear in his eye as he thanked me.

It was the least I could do for this ex-Bronco who I enjoyed watching in his playing days, and for his contributions today in promoting new treatment options for retired NFL vets still suffering from the effects of concussions.

NHL Stadium Series - February 2016

On February 26-27th, 2016 my wife and I attended the Avs/Red Wings outdoor games at the home of the Colorado Rockies baseball team.  At first I was skeptical of how hockey would come across in such a big stadium as Coors Field, but I was to discover the two events were very entertaining.

From our travel business we were invited to sit in the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau suite for the weekend.  As you can see we were a bit far from the rink in Suite S02 (along the first baseline near the right field foul pole).  We were prepared, though, bringing binoculars to view the action.  The suite was wonderful, with complementary food and drink and access to all the amenities of the Coors Field club level.

First up - the Avs/Wings Alumni game on Friday night, featuring players from this intense rivalry from 1995-2002.  It was fun to see these former star NHL'ers, like the Avs Joe Sakic and the Wings Steve Yzerman competing, and brought back memories of the many great Avs/Wings games I attended in the past. The best player on the ice this night was current Avs coach and former goalie Patrick Roy, who looked to be in top form making several outstanding saves.  In fact I thought he played better than the Avs starter in goal for the regular game on Saturday night! (Semyon Varlamov)

I was surprised these old alumni played a full 60 minute game, with 20 minute periods.  Though there were some adjustments - like the clock running continuously and penalty shots (as pictured above) on any penalty.  Still it was close enough to a real NHL game to be enjoyable, and unlike Saturday night the Avs won!

Any hard feelings between the teams seemed to be forgotten after the game as the Avs/Wings alumni did a handshake line and posed for pictures on the ice.

Time for the real NHL game on Saturday night!  We arrived early and I took this stadium shot from behind home plate on the lower level.

While the alumni put on a good show the night before, the pace of the real NHL game was much faster.  This game meant something in the standings, too, as both the Avs and Wings are battling to make the playoffs as the season winds down.  I found myself more focused on the game, and less on the surroundings, for the real Avs/Wings matchup.

Saturday night featured more than just the game, like this pre-game concert by Andy Grammer, complete with fireworks.

Between periods was another concert, from Denver-based rock band The Fray.  I thought the light effects in the outfield were even more spectacular than the fan card show I saw at the Super Bowl earlier in the month.  Very creative!

Saturday night ended in disappointment as the Red Wings broke the tie with one minute remaining, and then added an empty net goal to win 5-3.  I was hoping to see a 3 on 3 overtime so I was disappointed with the Wings last minute goal.  Still the whole weekend was very enjoyable.  The outdoor venue was great for a one time special event. 

Broncos are World Champions! Attending the 2016 Super Bowl

On the first weekend in February 2016 I attended the second Super Bowl in my life - and oh what a weekend it was!  Here I am with my son Andrew in downtown San Francisco near Super Bowl City on Saturday night.

Thanks to the Denver Broncos Quarterback Club I won the opportunity to purchase a pair of tickets at list price to the game.

We arrived at the San Francisco airport at noon on Saturday.  As we walked to the baggage claim we saw scenes from the previous 49 Super Bowls on the terminal walls.  Naturally I was drawn to this picture of Super Bowl XXXII and the Broncos big win over the Packers that day.

There were displays of memorabilia from all 32 NFL teams.  Here's a picture of the Bronco display.  The jersey was worn by Floyd Little in his last game for the Broncos.

A closer look at the Broncos display revealed the shoe that Jason Elam wore to kick his record tying 63 yard field goal.  To the left was the draft card the Broncos turned in to select Demaryius Thomas.

The Super Bowl committee was very well organized, with volunteers throughout the airport available to answer questions from visiting fans.

We checked into our San Francisco airport hotel (the Holiday Inn) and we soon were off to the downtown area.  Our plan was to go to Super Bowl City but long lines prevented that (a 2 hour wait to get in!).  Instead we went to the NFL store inside the Moscone Center.

More crowds inside the large NFL store.  We saw far more Bronco fans than Carolina fans (in fact we saw more fans from other teams than Panther fans).  Lots of interesting NFL merchandise here but I resisted the urge to buy at the store's inflated prices.

Instead of battling the crowds at the NFL venues we enjoyed walking around downtown San Francisco and having a delicious seafood dinner on the waterfront.  We heard some residents were not thrilled with all the tourists descending on their city for the Super Bowl, but it surely must have been a boost to the local economy.

Game day!  We rode to the stadium in style with a friend who had arranged limo transfers.

Our excitement grew as we approached the stadium.  We were directed to an outdoor plaza where we went through security and had our tickets scanned.  No outside food or drink was allowed to be brought in - a couple of protein bars I brought had to be thrown out.

Even though it was three hours before kickoff the plaza area was packed with fans.   Here we saw Terry Bradshaw telling fans of his Super Bowl playing days and answering questions from the fans.  In another area we saw the CBS set with Boomer Esiason and others on the CBS broadcast team doing a pregame report.  A stage was setup for pregame concerts. 

Bronco fans were given free orange rally towels at this stand.  We got a couple of these keepsakes but we didn't see many fans waiving them during the game.  Rather than stay in plaza area too long we were anxious to get to our seats to get a bite to eat.

 At our seats at last!  We were very happy with our view - even with the 10 yard line in the second row of the upper deck.  This was a similar angle to my season ticket seats I have back home at Sports Authority field.

We sat next to Jim and Marilyn from the Bronco QB Club.  They have been to every previous Bronco Super Bowl dating back to the first one in 1978.  Thanks to the Bronco QB Club they were able to keep their streak alive!  My seats were much better than the ones I had at the only other Super Bowl I attended (Super Bowl XXI featuring the Broncos/Giants at the Rose Bowl)

The game is finally here!  Lady Gaga appeared as a small dot far on the field below as she sang the National Anthem.  The Blue Angels flyover, timed perfectly as the anthem ended, was an amazing sight to see.  The pregame ceremonies were well done - I also liked the introduction of the previous 49 Super Bowl MVPs.

Kickoff!  Not an empty seat at Levis Stadium as the game started.  Our section was almost all Bronco fans and we were loud!  Overall there seemed to be many more Bronco fans in attendance than Panther fans.

There's nothing like being at a Super Bowl game, but the halftime show is really better watching at home.  I thought the show was just OK, and then I was more impressed when I watched the replay on TV the next day.  Fans in attendance were given cards to display with instructions on the scoreboard as to when to lift them up.

Hold on, Broncos, hold on!  The defense gave Denver the early lead.  The intensity grew in the second half as Carolina threatened to get back into the game.  No worries as the Bronco defense was dominant on this day.

Broncos win!!!!  There is nothing like seeing your team win a Super Bowl in person.  I was so glad to be able to experience this once in my lifetime, and be able to share it with my son.  A day we will remember forever!!!

The AFC Championship Game Experience

I have attended all seven AFC Championship games played in Denver - including the Broncos Sunday's thrilling 20-18 victory over the New England Patriots.  Here are some pictures of my experience.

That's me in the third row of the upper deck in the brown shirt behind the guy with the "7" Elway jersey.  My son Andrew in the Mile High football t-shirt is next to me.  Why didn't I wear orange?  The weather forecast called for temperatures in the lower 40's so I figured I'd be wearing a coat all day.  No one would see my shirt so why not wear a warm flannel one?  But when we arrived the temperatures felt like a September game.  The early 1 pm kickoff resulted in the sun shining on us for most of the 1st half.  By the second half the temperatures dropped to the upper 30's and the coats came on - not too cold and perfect January football weather.

Our seats, in the second deck in the northwest corner behind the end zone, would prove to be a perfect vantage point for the drama we would witness at the end of the game.  Every game I bring binoculars (to see plays near the south end zone) and a radio to listen to Dave Logan's KOA Radio play by play.

This Patriot fan was seated near us but he was relatively quiet during the game (wonder why?)  We saw a number of Patriot fans while walking to the stadium, but once inside we didn't see as many.  For the Pittsburgh playoff game the week before there were far more visiting fans.

The crowd gave a big cheer for the pregame skydivers landing on the field after jumping from high over Mile High.  The roar was a hint of how loud the stadium would get later that day.

The crowd noise rose during the player introductions - boos for the Patriots and cheers for the home team.

As shown on the scoreboard, 102.8 DBs (decibels) at kickoff!  The fans were really getting into it now.  It was the loudest I have heard the crowd at Sports Authority Field.  Not quite as loud as the old Mile High Stadium but plenty loud enough.  The noise would play a major factor in disrupting many a Patriots play this game.

Fast forward to the end of the game - Broncos win!  The last 6 minutes were the most intense I have ever experienced in my 50+ years of attending Denver home games, as the Patriots threatened to tie the score in the north end zone below us.  We were high fiving everyone around us as victory was assured in the last few seconds.

WIth our north end zone seats we also had a great viewing angle for the post game trophy ceremony.

Was this the greatest Bronco home game ever?  I still rate the first AFC Championship win (20-17) on January 1, 1978 as my favorite Bronco home game of all time (I was in the South Stands for that one).  But this sweet victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots is a close second - a nice bookend to that first AFC Championship game for my many years of cheering on the Broncos at the old and new Mile High.  Regardless of the outcome of the Super Bowl in two weeks, the memory of what happened here on January 24, 2016 will always bring a smile to my face.  Go Broncos!

Broncos AFC Championship This Sunday Reminds Me of Their First One

Here I am with my son Andrew before the Broncos/Steelers playoff game this past Sunday.  The Steeler game brought back memories for me of the very first Bronco playoff run at the end of the magical 1977 season.

Yes I attended my first playoff game on December 24, 1977 against these same Pittsburgh Steelers.  I was age 21 at the time - just one year younger than my son Andrew is today.

This AFC Championship game matchup this Sunday really reminds me of the Broncos first AFC championship game in 1977 (actually January 1, 1978);

• The Broncos beat the Steelers to reach the championship game each season in a close, hard fought, emotional game.

• The Broncos are playing a defending Super Bowl champion at home for the AFC title (Raiders in 78, Pats in 2016)

• Broncos are led by a strong defense with a just good enough offense led by a savvy veteran qb with health issues (Craig Morton in 78, Peyton Manning in 2016)

• Broncos are underdogs (to the Raiders in 78 and the Patriots are favored Sunday by 2 1/2 points)

• Early kickoff for a Denver home game (12 noon in 1978, 1 pm this Sunday)

While the odds makers and experts will favor New England, don't bet against the Broncos! Just like a strong defense and the home field was enough for Denver to beat the Raiders in that AFC Championship game on New Years Day 1978, I think the same factors can lead to a Broncos win this Sunday.  I'll be there - attending my 7th AFC Championship game in person in Denver (Raiders 1978, Cleveland 1988 - the Fumble, Cleveland 1989, Jets 1999, Steelers 2006, Pats 2014, Pats 2016)

Mark Cooper at the QB Club

Former Bronco Mark Cooper educated a Denver Broncos Quarterback Club crowd on the intricacies of NFL offensive line play at our monthly meeting Tuesday night.

Cooper played on the John Elway Bronco teams from 1983 through 1987 at various positions along the offensive line.  He was drafted in 1983 in the second round - the same year Elway started with the Broncos.  Cooper told us he roomed with Elway in that first year.  In addition to his time in Denver Cooper played for Tampa Bay from 1987-89.  He was a college teammate of Hall of Famer Jim Kelly and former Georgia head coach Mark Richt at the University of Miami.  With these credentials we were anxious to hear Cooper's insights on the current Broncos team.

Cooper is still very much involved in the game - coaching youth football in the Denver area in addition to being a realtor (he's been with ReMax for 25 years).    He said he still watches a lot of film on the Broncos.

He described the zone blocking scheme that Gary Kubiak has once again turned to after this scheme was so successful with the Shanahan coached Broncos.  Former Bronco offensive line coach Alex Gibbs "invented zone blocking", Cooper said.  "If you want to understand zone blocking do a youtube search on Alex Gibbs - he has a 3 part video seminar up there on zone blocking."  I later found the Gibbs video series on this Seattle Seahawk fan site.

Cooper said the running backs are just as important as the line in the zone blocking scheme.  He said early this year the Bronco running backs weren't that good at it, but he's noticed considerable improvement as the season has progressed.

While he thinks Alex Gibbs is done with coaching, he had some entertaining stories to tell of his time with Gibbs as his o-line coach.  In one game Cooper roughed up a defensive lineman that had taken a cheap shot at John Elway.  Cooper drew a flag, and head coach Dan Reeves was not happy, chewing Cooper out as he left the field for the roughing penalty.  Gibbs pulled Cooper aside and said, "do it again!" In a gladiator sport Gibbs appreciated Cooper standing up for his teammate. 

Cooper was very open with his opinions on some past and present broncos offensive linemen:

Should Tyler Polumbus be starting?  No, Schofield is better but Schofield looks to be playing hurt.
Ryan Harris - he's not a left tackle - he'd be better at right tackle
Evan Mathis - not a fan, it was a horrible trade (Mathis was actually a free agent signee - but you get the point)
Max Garcia - he's decent, definite potential for the future
Ryan Clady - the team really misses him this year.  A solid left tackle, though he lost a step after his last injury.  
Ty Sambrailo - showed potential, could be another solid guy like Clady
Orlando Franklin - wish he was still here - he's a good tackle.  He was not a good guard.

Cooper described in depth his opinions on the correct way to play the offensive line, demonstrating different moves for the qb club audience.  Overall he's been disappointed with the current Broncos offensive line.  "3 offensive linemen have been turtled this season" (knocked on their backs), Cooper said, "that never happened when I played."

Cooper remembers fondly his playing days in Denver.  "Our playbook was twice the size of what we had in Tampa," he said.    "There was nothing more fun than playing in front of the fans at Mile High."

I learned more about offensive line play in one night in listening to Cooper than my many years of watching the game as your average fan.  This is one feature I appreciate about our QB Club meetings - we hear from insiders and get new perspectives on the team and game we all love.

Our next guest speaker will be "Make Those Miracles Happen" Bronco RB Jon Keyworth in March, and in April Cecil Lammey will return to give the club his annual draft preview and offseason assessment of the Broncos.  If you join the club now you'll get these two meetings plus all the meetings of the 2016-2017 season.  $50 for a family membership, plus $20 per person for our buffet dinner meetings.

Top Denver Sports Moments of 2015

The Denver Broncos dominate my list of the top Denver sports moments of 2015.  Here's my list:

10.  Nuggets draft Emmanuel Mudiay #1.

The Nuggets draft young point guard Emmanuel Mudiay with the 7th pick of the first round of the NBA draft.  Many experts rated Mudiay as one of the top three in the draft, so Denver was fortunate he fell to them at pick 7.  Mudiay got off to a promising start in his rookie year but at year's end he is struggling with injuries and turnovers.  Still he has shown enough promise to lead future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd to say "(Mudiay) will be better than me."

9. Colorado Rockies win opener 10-0 over Milwaukee.

In their most impressive opening day performance in team history, the Rockies stunned the Brewers in Milwaukee 10-0.  Baseball opening day always draws more interest than other games on the long 162 schedule.  Would this opening day blowout be a sign of better things to come for the Rockies?  No, as they struggled to a last place finish in the NL West once again.  But for one day the Rockies were the talk of the baseball world.

8.  Colorado Rockies sweep the defending champ Giants in mid-April.

The Rockies opening day win was not their only highlight in April.  A surprising sweep of the defending World Champ Giants in San Francisco temporarily put the Rocks in first place.  At least they held Denver fans interest until the NFL draft and Bronco mini-camps later in the month!

7.  Denver Nuggets beat Houston Rockets in the season opener.

The Nuggets surprised the Houston Rockets on opening night with a convincing 105-85 win over the Rockets in Houston.  This game was doubly sweet as former Nugget Ty Lawson struggled while his point guard successor, Emmanuel Mudiay, had 9 assists.  Like the Rockies, opening day would not be a sign of better things to come for the Nuggets, as they have lost 7 of their last 8 at year's end.

6.  Broncos Beat Ravens 19-13 in season opener.

It was a good year for openers for most of our teams as the Broncos edged the Ravens 19-13 to start their season.  The Ravens had a chance to score the go ahead TD in the closing minutes when Steve Smith dropped a sure TD pass from Joe Flacco.  The win setup the Broncos to go on a 7-0 start while the Ravens never recovered.  This was the same Raven team that almost beat the Super Bowl champ Patriots in the playoffs in January.

5.  Broncos Beat Kansas City 31-24 in Thursday night football opener.

This was to be the game where the Chiefs finally beat Peyton Manning and the Broncos.  It sure looked that way for most of the game before Denver tied the score in the closing minute, then stunned the crowd with a fumble return td just when it looked like the game would go to overtime.  This sent the Chiefs reeling to a 1-5 start before KC recovered with a 9 game winning streak.  As it looks like the Broncos will once again win the division at year's end, they could not have done it without this victory.

4.  Colorado edges Colorado State 27-24 in overtime.

Lots of Colorado fans do not like this annual rivalry game to be played at Denver's Sports Authority Field.  And the game had lost its appeal in Denver in recent years.  But this 2015 game was a classic in the series.  A near sell out crowd for the first time in five years added to the atmosphere.  As a CU fan I liked the result - one of the few highlights in an otherwise disappointing season for the Buffs.

3.  Broncos win the battle of the unbeatens on Sunday Night Football 29-10 over Green Bay.

In a prime time battle of two 6-0 teams, the Broncos had their best performance of the season in dominating the Packers for an easy win.

2.  Broncos edge Bengals 20-17 in overtime.

In a game which should decide the 2nd seed and first round bye in the playoffs, the Broncos overcome a 14-0 first half deficit to edge the Bengals in overtime.  The game had many twists and turns, with the Broncos winning on a fumble recovery in overtime.  It was the third coldest home game in the team's history but the Broncos comeback win warmed the hearts of the Mile Hi faithful.

1.  Broncos beat New England 30-24 in overtime.

It was a thrilling year of overtime victories for the Broncos (3).  None was sweeter than this 30-24 win over the defending Super Bowl Champ Patriots.  The Patriots dominated much of the game and had a 14 point lead early in the 4th quarter, but Denver quarterback Brock Osweiler, making his first start, led an amazing comeback for the win.  The frigid weather, the first "snow" game in Denver in 10 years, added to the Sunday night atmosphere.  Whatever happens to the Broncos in the playoffs, CJ Anderson's 48 yard clinching td run will long be remembered as one of the great moments in Broncos history. 

And these two didn't make my top 10 but deserve honorable mention:

University of Denver wins ncaa lacrosse championship

In a sport dominated by eastern colleges, DU became the first school west of the Mississippi to win the national championship in lacrosse.

Broncos part ways with John Fox, hire Gary Kubiak

 After a surprising and disappointing playoff exit against the Colts in Denver, the Broncos part ways with head coach John Fox and bring home former long time assistant and player Gary Kubiak.