My Top 10 Colorado Sports Events in 2018

It was another interesting year for the Colorado sports fan, with the Rockies and Avalanche having strong seasons while the Broncos did not.  For this fan who has followed Colorado sports since the 1960's, here are my top ten sports events in 2018:

Number 10: 

October 21st - Nuggets 100 Golden State 98 - Nuggets beat the defending nba champs to go 3-0 to start the season despite missing 18 free throws. A big block by Juancho Hernangomez at the buzzer preserved the win.  This early season victory was an indication of how competitive the Nuggets would be in the NBA this season (at year's end the Nuggets win/loss record was in the top 3 in the Western Conference).

Number 9:

February 4th - Going back to the previous season, the Nuggets seem to play Golden State better than most NBA teams.  On this night the Nuggets beat Golden State 115-108 in front of the largest crowd to ever watch a game at the Pepsi Center.  The defending champ Warriors were 41-11 coming into the game and the Nuggets were only the second team to beat the Warriors twice during the 2017-2018 season after this game.

Number 8:

November 18th - Broncos 23 Chargers 22.  It was another down year for the Broncos but this game was the team's biggest surprise win. The Broncos appeared headed for another loss, down 19-7 in the second half, before coming back to win in the fourth quarter.  With the Chargers being 7-2 and the 

Broncos 3-6 entering this game, few gave the Broncos a chance for a win, especially since the team hadn't won an AFC West road game since 2015.

Number 7:

November 25th - Broncos 24 Steelers 17.  The best home win for the Broncos in the 2018 season.  Building on the upset victory over the Chargers the week before, the Broncos again came from behind to beat the Steelers.  At the time this game got the team back in playoff contention. The Steelers had won 6 straight before this game so the Broncos victory was a big one.

Number 6:

August 11th - Rockies beat the Dodgers 3-2 with a 2 out 3 run homer by Ryan McMahon in the bottom of the 9th, pulling within 1 1/2 games of first place.  The Rockies and Dodgers were in a tight race all season for the National League West crown (and eventually tied for first place after the 162 game season).  This game looked hopeless as the Dodgers dominated the Rockies through 8 and 2/3rds innings before McMahon's big blow.  The game also gave an early indication of the impact McMahon could have on the Rockies in the future.  McMahon will have a much bigger role with the team in 2019 with the expected departure of DJ LeMahieu.

Number 5:

April 7th - Avalanche 5 Blues 2. It's rare in the NHL's 82 game season you will find two teams playing each other for the last playoff spot in the season's final game.  That's what happened on this night, and the home town Avs didn't disappoint with a thrilling win. Making the playoffs for the Avs was a huge accomplishment after the terrible season the team had the season before.

Number 4:

September 5th - Trevor hits 3.  Rockies shortstop Trevor Story hits 3 home runs in his first 3 at bats, including the longest home run in Coors Field history, as the Rockies beat the Giants 5-3. The win extended the team's lead for first place in the NL West.

Number 3:

April 20th - Avalanche 2 Nashville 1 in game 5 of the teams' NHL playoff series.  Trailing 1-0 with 5 minutes to go in an elimination game, the Avs score 2 goals in the the last 5 minutes for a thrilling win over the heavily favored Predators.  Andrew Hammond, the team's 3rd string goalie, had 44 saves!  “One of the most epic periods I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Kyle Keefe of Altitude TV afterwards.

Number 2:

September 8th - Colorado 33 Nebraska 28.  An extra sweet win for this longtime Colorado football fan as the Buffs spoiled the debut of the Huskers head coach Scott Frost in Lincoln. The Buffs came from behind to beat the Nebraska on 40 yard td pass from Buff QB Steven Montez to wide receiver Laviska Shenault with a minute left to the play in the game!  While the Buffs season was an overall disappointment, this win was the Buffs' best in the past 10 years.

Number 1:

October 2nd - Rockies 2 Cubs 1 in 13 innings in the National League's wildcard playoff game.  The Rockies weren't given much chance to win this one after losing their division to the Dodgers the day before.  Kyle Freeland showed he was one of baseball's best pitchers, shutting out the Cubs over 6.2 innings.  Light hitting Tony Wolters was the extra inning hero, driving in the go ahead run in the top of the 13th with a 2 out single.  Though the Rockies were to lose the next series vs the Brewers, knocking the Cubs out of the playoffs in this game was a huge surprise!

What will 2019 have in store for Colorado sports fans?  A new head coach for the Broncos?  Playoff appearances for the Avs and Nuggets?  Can the Rockies stay competitive with the Dodgers like they did in 2018?  I'll be watching and compiling my 2019 top 10 Colorado Sports Events list - check back next year at this time!

Mark Jackson at the Denver Broncos QB Club

Mark Jackson, one of the legendary Broncos "3 Amigos" wide receivers in the 1980's, entertained a standing room only crowd at our Denver Broncos Quarterback Club meeting today (shown above with club member Cheryl James).

"The 3 Amigos poster is the best selling poster in Broncos history," Jackson told us. "And I don't have one!!!"

Jackson told us a story of going to a charity event after his playing days and seeing a 3 Amigos poster up on a raffle table.  "I'll give you $100 for that poster," Mark said.  "Sorry" was the reply.  "$200, $300??" "Nope, it's a raffle item".  "OK I'll buy 100 raffle tickets at $1 each," Mark told the organizers.  Mark had to leave the meeting early.  He called former Bronco Ron Egloff, who was also at the event.  "Blue (Egloff's nickname for Jackson), some kid won the 3 Amigos poster after buying a $1 raffle ticket," Egloff told a disappointed Jackson.

This was one of many entertaining stories Jackson told the QB Club this day.  Below is a summary of some of his comments.

"I was a 6th round draft choice in 1986 by the Broncos.  I didn't think I'd get drafted.  I was a walk on at Purdue and played 5 years there.  In my early years I was known as the 'Black Rudy' (walkon who tries hard but doesn't get into a game).  But I played with Rod Woodson at Purdue. Going against Rod and other tough defensive backs every day in practice that taught me how to play against bump and run coverage.  Jim Everett was my quarterback at Purdue.  He was a good athlete and had a strong arm.  I was used to catching rockets from Everett so adjusting to Elway in Denver wasn't too tough.  Elway had much more escape-ability than Everett."

How was it playing in Cleveland and scoring the tying touchdown at the end of The Drive?

"Cleveland Municipal Stadium is one of the ugliest places on earth.  But that day I saw it as beautiful!  The Drive was just another day at the office.  John Elway at Stanford, Dave Studdard at Texas, Keith Bishop at Baylor, Steve Sewell at Oklahoma - my teammates and me had been making plays for years.  We've done it so many times it becomes routine.  So the Drive happened because of our earlier preparation."

Do you still have the ball from your final "Drive" reception?

"It was in my Mom's basement.  Then she moved.  I don't know where it is!"

Was The Drive your most memorable catch?

"No it wasn't.  When I was a rookie I scored 3 times, and all were called back by penalty.  Finally against the Bengals in a shootout between Boomer Esiason and John Elway I caught my first TD!  I leaped over Robert Jackson, the Bengals defensive back, to catch it!"

The QB Club crowd listened intently as Jackson told more and more stories from his playing days.  "When I got to my first training camp in Greeley, smelling the Monfort's air, I thought 'whose idea is this'??"

What was your toughest Super Bowl loss?

"On our first drive against the Giants in Super Bowl 21 I caught a pass on 3rd and 18 on the same pattern I had run against Cleveland during The Drive when we had 3rd and 23.  I didn't play much after that.  It was tough watching my team lose from the sidelines."

Jackson talked for 30 to 40 minutes, then greeted fans individually afterwards, signing many autographs and taking pictures.  Jackson co-hosts a talk radio show on Mile Hi Sports Radio from 7 to 9 am - the fans at the Bronco QB club are sure to tune in after listening to Jackson's many entertaining stories from his playing days.

The Denver Broncos Quarterback Club meets periodically at the Fox and Hound Sports Bar in Lone Tree.  Check out our webpage and signup for our mailing list to be informed of our future events.  We welcome all Bronco fans!

A Day at the Broncos Business Huddle

Today the Broncos hosted a group of Denver area business professionals at their second annual Broncos Business Huddle.  It was an excellent event!

At the start of the day the Broncos provided a continental breakfast in the East Club Level.  Pictures were available with the three Super Bowl trophies which me and my wife took advantage of.  The Broncos also provided professional head shots of attendees that were later email'd to us.

Steve Atwater was mingling with the crowd.  Here I took a picture with Steve.  Steve was very personable as he chatted with me about his Bronco career.

Another former Bronco mixing with the crowd was Ed McCaffery.

 

McCaffery was the MC for the main part of the program - one and a half hours of different presentations.

 

Former Broncos placekicker Rich Karlis told us of his success in business after his football career.

 

The highlight was a 45 minute motivational talk by Terrell Davis.

 

TD told us stories from his football career and how the lessons he learned applied to his life after football.  I've heard a number of motivational speeches in the past.  TD's was one of the best I have listened to.

Afterwards attendees were split up into smaller groups to attend 1/2 hour breakout sessions on a variety of topics.

One talk I attended was by Clark Wray, senior director of ticket strategy and analytics.  The mobile ticketing, introduced this year, gives the Broncos much more data to analyze on how to improve fans' experience on game day.  Wray showed us a chart from the opener (the Seattle game) and how the data showed the Broncos the entry problems with a couple of gates.  As a result the team made changes and the survey results from the second game (Oakland) yielded better results.

I also attended a session with Patrick Smyth, VP of Public Relations and Nancy Svoboda, VP of Human Resources.  After a presentation on their roles Smyth and Svoboda opened it up for questions.  I asked how they handled the Chad Kelly situation.  Smyth said they have a plan in place to deal with controversies, and that the Broncos want to be "ahead of the story".  Smyth is like a doctor on call - the Kelly situation broke in the late evening and the Broncos were quick to develop a response rather than waiting until the morning.

My wife attended a session by Mike Sullivan, director of football administration.  Sullivan told stories of when he used to be the agent for Aaron Rodgers, and the challenges of contract negotiations.  It sounded very interesting - I will have to go to that one next year!

To conclude the event the Broncos handed out gift bags.  We have plenty of TD's barbeque sauce and McCaffery's mustard now!  Also included was a $20 gift card to the Broncos team store, a signed photo from Terrell Davis, and other goodies.  The whole event cost participants $20 to attend - the gift bag contents alone were worth much more than that.  Also part of the event were stadium tours.  The Business Huddle has a weekly score prediction contest among participants - last year I won a Von Miller jersey from the contest, and this year I've won a $100 gift card.

The Broncos Business Huddle looks like it'll be an annual event in early November each year.  I encourage you to attend - well worth my time!

In the Audience For the Broncos Huddle TV Show

Another event for the Denver Broncos QB Club tonight!  We were in the audience for the Broncos Huddle TV show which airs on Wednesday night each week on Denver's Channel 9.  Here tight end Jeff Heuerman talks about last Sunday's Bronco loss to the KC Chiefs with Channel 9's Rod Mackey.

 

Will Parks arrived in his casual garb.

 

Parks talked about what a great influence newly traded Demaryius Thomas was on him.  On the flight home from KC Thomas sat with Parks at the back of the plane and Thomas told Parks how much Parks had grown as a player.  Heuerman, too, had good words to say about Thomas taking young players under his wing.  Both said Thomas will be missed.

The loyal fans from the QB club were in attendance, like Bronco Prophet!

Afterwards club members were given the opportunity to take pictures on the Broncos Huddle set.  It was also cool to see the inside of the Broncos practice facility from field level.

Being in the audience for the Broncos Huddle TV Show is a yearly event for the QB Club.  For more information about the QB Club click here.

Touring Sports Radio Station The Fan 104.3

Earlier this week I was given the opportunity to tour sports radio 104.3 The Fan with a Denver Broncos Quarterback Club group.  It was a great experience to see the behind the scenes working of the top sports radio station in the Denver market.   Pictured above is our QB Club group with Fan hosts "D-Mac" and Alfred Williams.

 

In their Greenwood Village studios we learned that The Fan shares the space with three other stations - KOSI 101.1 (adult contemporary), KYGO 98,5 (country) and ESPN 1600 (mostly features ESPN Radio's national programming).  All the stations are owned by Bonneville International, which has 22 stations across the country.

Our host this evening was The Fan's program director Armen Williams, shown above explaining the inner workings of the four stations as he escorted us around the Bonneville Denver facility. 

One of the highlights of the tour was watching The Fan's board operator, Bryan "Big Sexy" Beard, monitor Alfred Williams and D-Mac's radio program (seen through the window above).  There is much more involved in the radio production than I realized!  Beard makes everything run smoothly through his control panel and through communicating to the hosts through off air mikes.

Armen also told us of the importance of the board operator to make a successful show, and described to us the technology all around us.

The show is over - time to meet D-Mac and Alfred!

 

 

Were D-Mac and Alfred ready to go home after their 3 hour radio program?  No!  Both were very friendly as they greeted everyone in our QB Club group individually.

 

 "Can I get your autograph?" asked QB Club member Betty Campbell.  "Sure!" replied Alfred.  Betty said she had met Alfred before, but there was always too big of a crowd around him to get an autograph.  Not so tonight - Betty went home with Alfred's signature!

What a special night this was for our QB Club group!  Thanks to Armen and The Fan for giving us an inside look at their operations.

Due to size limitations, we were limited to 10 guests for this tour.  We are looking into the possibility of scheduling another tour of The Fan in the future so more QB Club members can experience what we did.

Broncos road trip to Arizona with the QB Club

Road trip!  Last Thursday I was fortunate enough to go on a road trip with the Denver Broncos QB Club to watch the Broncos battle the Cardinals in Glendale, Arizona on Thursday night football.  Pictured above are four fans from our group (I'm on the left).

The trip involved more than just the game.  On the day before we toured State Farm Stadium where the game would be played the next night.  Here we were taken into the visitor's locker room.  I wondered what stall Von Miller would have on game day?

As we were escorted around the stadium we had views from different angles.  There really wasn't a bad seat in the house.

 

Our guide described to us how the playing field slides into the stadium from the outside. A natural grass field which is unusual in an indoor stadium like this.  The picture above is where the playing field resides when not in the stadium - this area is used as a parking lot on game days. Our guide said NFL players have consistently rated the Arizona playing surface as one of the best in the NFL.

 

A view from the press box.

 

 At the end of the tour we were greeted in the NFL team store by former Cardinals signing autographs (wr Bryant Johnson and place kicker Neil Rackers)

 

 Game day! We arrived hours early and were treated to a pregame tailgate party.  Much to our surprise it was indoors behind one of the end zones.  It was very uncrowded (maybe because of the Thursday afternoon time) and we had access to unlimited food and drink.

 

The highlight of the tail gate party was watching the Bronco player bus arrive!  We were just feet away from the players arrival with a small group of Bronco fans.  Emmanuel Sanders and Domata Peko gave us waves - surprised to see Bronco fans greeting them inside the stadium.

A couple of hours before game time the stadium's retractable roof was opened.  On a warm night like this the Cardinals and NFL keep the roof open.

 

The Cardinal mascot stopped by our tail gate party.  There were also two former Cardinals and the Cardinal cheerleaders signing autographs.

Game time!  This is the view from our seats - lower level corner end zone.  Of course the Broncos big 45-10 win over the Cardinals this night was the highlight of our trip!  We were fortunate to have many of the Bronco scores in our end of the field.

 

The trip also gave us the opportunity to sample other Phoenix area attractions.  I had my first In N Out burger (excellent!).  We toured the Musical Instrument Museum the next day - one of the best museums I have been to.  And we took in the Phoenix Suns opener at Talking Stick Arena.

Overall it was an excellent trip!  The stadium tour, the pregame tail gate party, the dominant win by the Broncos, and seeing other attractions in the area made this trip special.

Where will the Bronco QB Club go for next year's trip?  Perhaps at Minnesota or at Green Bay? (two games on the 2019 schedule).  Stay tuned!

 

Orlando Franklin/John Davis at the Bronco QB Club

104.3 The Fan's new team of former Bronco Orlando Franklin and sportscaster John Davis were our special guest speakers at the Denver Broncos Quarterback Club meeting tonight. Orlando and John have a talk show on the Fan during Bronco games where they give in game commentary on game action and take questions/comments from fans interacting with them on facebook live. Orlando has special insight into the team as a former Bronco and NFL offensive lineman, and John provides the fan perspective (his family are long time Bronco season ticket holders). Together they make a great team, and they shared their expertise at our Quarterback Club dinner meeting. Below is a paraphrase of some of Orlando Franklin's comments (Orlando took questions from John Davis and from our group):

Should the Broncos get rid of Vance Joseph?

"I would not recommend firing Vance during the season.  Who would replace him?  The team doesn't have a good replacement among the current assistant coaches.  I do recommend that Vance take over the defensive play calling from Joe Woods.  Vance was a good defensive coordinator for Miami - I think he would call more tight coverages to take advantage of the Broncos strong pass rush."

Should Case Keenum be replaced as starting quarterback?

"No.  Case gives the team the best chance to win games.  Chad Kelly isn't ready yet.  The Broncos need to rely more on their running game. Throwing the ball 51 times will not work. I do think the Broncos should have traded for Teddy Bridgewater to give Case some competition.  Case played his best for Minnesota last year because his starting job was always in question - he could play better here if he had more competition for the starting job."

Are the Broncos using Von Miller correctly?

"They need to keep Von on the field.  In the Seattle game Von played 88% of the defensive snaps and that was his best game this season.  Then for Oakland he played 73% of the snaps, and 68% of the snaps for the KC game.  The more repetitions a player gets in a game the better he gets.  Von can take over a game and he can handle an increased work load.

I was in the same draft class as Von. When I went against him in practice that year I wondered 'am I good enough to play in this league?' as Von would beat me constantly.  Then I played against Dallas and I realized Von is a special talent - the others I would face were not nearly as good."

Is the Broncos season a lost cause?

"I still believe in this team.  The strength of the team are the running backs and the defensive line.  Some fans complain about Devonte Booker playing but Booker is lights out in pass protection (the best of the backs). The other position groups need to step up their game."

What about Garett Bolles?

"I thought Garett played well the first two weeks.  On the road he has struggled.  In the Baltimore game he was looking for the snap of the ball too much and that put him in bad position. He needs to change up his sets more."

"What was it like playing for Peyton Manning, Tim Tebow, and Phillip Rivers?"

"Tim had great energy but relied on Chris Kuper (offensive right guard) to put us in the right position.  Peyton always had us in the right position,  When I first heard we were getting Peyton me and Ryan Clady high fived each other.  Little did I know playing with Peyton was the most stress I've had in my life! He was very demanding - he'd call a play at the line we hadn't used in 8 weeks.  But he elevated our play.  After one play Peyton yelled at me to say 'what the hell are you doing!?' A former teammate of mine at the U of Miami was a linebacker on the other side and yelled, 'yeah Franklin - what the hell are you doing?!!' I know he isn't popular with the Denver fans but Phillip Rivers is a great guy.  I felt more relaxed around Phillip compared to Peyton.  Peyton was a practical jokester so you never knew what he was going to pull next."

Who was the toughest player you played against?

"In my rookie year I played against Tommy Kelly of the Raiders.  I got a good pancake block against him (I was 330 pounds at the time) and was laying on top of him.  Tommy lifted me off of himself like I was a rag doll.  That guy was super strong - I couldn't believe it."

========

Overall it was another great evening of football talk with a football insider like Orlando with John Davis and the qb club group asking questions to get further insight into the team and the NFL.

Find out more about the QB Club at our website here.

Haven Moses at the Bronco QB Club

The Bronco QB Club hosted Haven Moses at our lunch meeting today.  This former Broncos wide receiver told us entertaining stories of his playing days, including his big game in the AFC Championship January 1, 1978 (Haven caught 5 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns that day!)

 

Club members Tom Jacobsen and Jamie Teumer displayed jerseys from that great 1977 Bronco team from their collection of Bronco memorabilia.  Seeing the jerseys from that era reminded me how many Bronco legends played on that 77 team!

 

From my Bronco memorabilia collection I took this photo of Haven with an old Rocky Mountain News telling the story of the Broncos amazing victory in that 78 AFC Championship game.

 

The QB Club consists of fans of all ages.  After speaking Haven graciously met with the fans in attendance (including this young girl) taking pictures and signing autographs.

 

The highlight of the meeting was hearing Haven speak about his playing days.  A summary of some of his comments:

• Haven didn't intend to have a career in football - rather he was focused on getting a good education.  He played safety for his high school team.  Haven's Mom forced him to go to an awards dinner after graduation.  "What do you plan to do with your life, Haven?" a visiting coach at the dinner asked.  "I need to get a job," said Haven.  "How would you like to continue to play football?" said the coach.  This resulted in an offer to play at a Callifornia Junior College which Haven accepted.
• The California Juco system at the time, Haven related, played a high quality of football.  OJ Simpson was in Haven's league.  Haven played defensive back.  For one game the team's starting wide receivers were injured, so his coach asked him to play out of position at receiver that day.  Don Coryell, the legendary coach who was then at San Diego State, happened to be scouting another player on Haven's team but couldn't help notice Haven's performance (2 touchdowns as Haven filled in at wide receiver). Coryell gave Haven a scholarship offer to play at San Diego State.
• Haven's junior college performance got the notice of other coaches, too.  Haven received an offer to play for USC (then coached by John McKay) as a defensive back.  "I would have been 4th or 5th on the USC depth chart," Haven related, "a small fish in a big pound.  I was more interested in getting a good education, so I chose the San Diego State offer instead."  Had Haven accepted the USC offer, he would have been OJ Simpson's roommate.
• At San Diego State one of the assistant coaches was John Madden.  "In addition to their football duties, coaches taught classes in those days.  My future wife Joyce took a class from John Madden!"  Later when the Broncos would play the Raiders, Madden always made a point to talk to Haven after the game (including that big AFC Championship game in 1978).  "I never hated the Raiders (largely because of his relationship with Madden) - I respected them," said Haven.
• Haven really liked playing for John Ralston, and thought Ralston didn't get enough credit for the 1977 team.  "John built the core of that team with good drafting," he said.  While he liked Red Miller's coaching he thought Miller didn't have the same skill as Ralston in building a team.  "After the 77 season, Miller let go of Lonnie Perrin, and didn't play Otis Armstrong as much.  Three years later Miller was gone."
• Haven talked about that big AFC Championship win over the Raiders.  "We were ready to play with Norris Weese at quarterback and we felt we would win - we were a team," he said when asked if the team was concerned about quarterback Craig Morton's health.  Morton did play, and the offensive line did a wonderful job protecting Morton.  "We didn't pass too much in that game - Lonnie and Otis behind our offensive line really sealed the win as we didn't want to give the ball back to Kenny Stabler - Stabler was really warming up in the 4th quarter," Haven explained.
• Haven was originally drafted by the Buffalo Bills - the #9 pick in the 1968 draft.  "Me and Larry Csonka were the only non-linemen picked in those first 9 selections," Haven said.  When former Bronco coach Lou Saban went to Buffalo to coach the Bills in 1972 Lou wanted to emphasize the running game (with OJ Simpson).  "Lou wanted me to wear bigger pads so I could block for OJ," said Haven.  "I was glad to get traded to Denver mid-season."
• Haven said he played 14 years and never had a serious injury.  "I only dropped 4 passes in my career - and those were in practice," he joked.  Long time Bronco fans like me remember Haven for the sure hands he had.

 

I so much enjoyed the chance to meet Haven (I was a 21 year old sitting in the South Stands for that big 1978 AFC title game).  I remarked to Haven how cold it was but how I was so excited I didn't notice,  "One of the coldest games I ever played in," said Haven.

The Bronco QB Club will have more meetings this season - check our the club's web page here.