My Top Ten Colorado Sports Moments 2025

 TEN:

December 21st:

Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 5-1. The Wild beat the Avs in a shootout in a prior meeting.  Minnesota had acquired star defenseman Quinn Hughes 9 days earlier to become a legitimate threat to the Avs in the Western Conference.  It didn't matter to the Avs as they dominated Minnesota on the Wild's home ice to get the win. The only mention of the Avs in my top 10. They had a disappointing first round loss to Dallas in the playoffs, but started the new season strong with an amazing 29 wins and only 2 regulation losses as of December 31st.

NINE

March 21st

CSU Basketball 78 Memphis 70

Colorado State's Men's Basketball team wins 11 in a row to claim the Mountain West Conference title and then defeats Memphis in the first round of the NCAA tournament.  It was an amazing run by CSU after their early season struggles (they lost to Colorado 72-55 in December and the Buffs were not good last  season). A heartbreaking lost to Maryland at the buzzer in round two of the NCAA tournament didn't take away from the great season the Rams had.

EIGHT:

May 23rd:

Rockies 3 Yankees 2  Before a sellout crowd at Coors Field the Rockies shock the Yankees with an improbable win.  The Yankees had won 4 straight going into the game, while the Rockies had lost 5 straight.  The Rockies with an 8 win 42 loss record going into the game was the worst start in modern major league history.  The Rockies were starting Tanner Gordon, too, just called up from the minors to start this game.  An improbable win for sure.

SEVEN:

August 1st:

Rockies 17 Pirates 16 The Rockies fall behind 9-0 in the first inning, trail all game until the winning walk off home run by Brendon Doyle.  DNVR says the Rockies were the first team in MLB history to:

- Give up 15+ runs in a game

- Give up 9+ runs in an inning

- Face a 9+ run deficit

...and still win the game

Watch the winning home run here:

https://x.com/rockies/status/1951491022304755823?s=51

Yes the Rockies were terrible in 2025 (with a franchise worst 119 losses) but two games stood out to give the fans something to cheer about.

SIX:

Dec 25th

Nuggets 142 Timberwolves 138 in Overtime Christmas night. Nikola Jokic had one of his best games in nba history with 56 points, 16 rebounds, and 15 assists. The nuggets trailed by 9 points in overtime yet came back to win.

FIVE:

April 26th

Nuggets beat Clippers 101 - 99 with an Aaron Gordon dunk at the buzzer.  Tieing their playoff series 2-2.  See the replay here:

https://x.com/NBA/status/1916294536441041174

FOUR:

May 5th:

Nuggets 121 Oklahoma City 119 - In one of the best finishes in Nuggets history Aaron Gordon sinks a 3 pointer with 2 seconds left to give Denver a come from behind victory over the #1 seed Thunder in the first game of their 7 game playoff series.  Watch the shot here:

https://x.com/NBA/status/1919610015645659382

THREE:

Oct 5 Broncos 21 Eagles 17

Broncos come back from 14 points down in the 4th quarter to beat the defending Super Bowl Champion Eagles 21-17.  The Broncos were 1 win 112 losses in their history when being behind 14 or more points in the 4th quarter before this game.  Biggest franchise win since Super Bowl 50

TWO:

Oct 19th Broncos 33 NY Giants 32

In one of the wildest Bronco home games ever, Denver scores 33 points in the 4th quarter to beat the Giants.  New  York had an 18 point lead with 6 minutes to play.  The Giants go ahead 32-30 with a minute 14 seconds to go, then the Broncos drove 56 yards with no timeouts to setup the game winning 39 yard field goal as time expired.

watch key 4th quarter plays here:

https://x.com/nfl/status/1980087508785668395?s=42

ONE:

Nov 16th

Broncos 22 KC Chiefs 19

Huge win for the Broncos to go to 9 wins 2 losses and send the Chiefs to a 5-5 record.  Close throughout.  Bo Nix leads a 4th quarter comeback for the Broncos to win as time runs out. Wil Lutz clutch in making 5 field goals including the game winner.  This victory was key in the Broncos winning the AFC West division for the first time since the 2015 season.

Top Colorado Sports Moments 2024

 Here's my annual list of the top Colorado Sports Moments for me in 2024:

TEN:

March 30th:

Rockies 9 Diamondbacks 4 - after being outscored 23-4 in the opening two games of the season at Arizona, not was expected of the Rockies in game 3.  Colorado surprised with a 9-4 win and some good performances by the team's young players (Tovar and Doyle had 2 run homers, Nolan Jones had a 2 run triple, Montero drew 3 walks)  I may rate this game higher than other year end reviews because I was there in person to watch this!

NINE:

January 23rd:

Todd Helton is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame!  The second Rockie (after Larry Walker) to get this honor.  Todd played his whole career with the Rockies.

EIGHT:

March 22nd

Colorado 102 Florida 100 - Buffs beat Florida with KJ Simpson's basket with 6 seconds to go to advance:

https://x.com/SBS_CU/status/1771311130855546990?s=20

Longtime buff fan Tyler Ziskin @TZiskBuff wrote on twitter:

I think we just witnessed the best CU basketball game of all time. Dead serious.

SEVEN:

April 22nd:

Nuggets 101 Lakers 99.  After trailing by as much as 20 points the Nuggets beat the Lakers in game 2 of their playoff series with a Jamal Murray buzzer beater.  One of the biggest shots in Nuggets history. See Jamal's shot here:

https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1782630073633296413?s=51&t=SmJYumy51iVHNXKiLmwjOA

SIX:

May 8th

Denver Nuggets Nikola Jokic is named NBA MVP for the 3rd time in 4 years.  Since the implementation of a media voting panel in 1980-81, only three players have finished top-two in MVP voting four consecutive years: Bird, Tim Duncan and now Jokic (source: Denver Post)  Watch this video narrated his wife:

https://x.com/BennettDurando/status/1788357559323165031

FIVE:

Sept 21st 

Buffs win 38-31 in overtime over Baylor in their in their first game in the big 12.  2 seconds to go, Buffs down 7, Buffs get a 45 yard touchdown pass to force overtime.  Then buffs win in overtime when Baylor fumbles going in for the tieing TD.  One of the most dramatic Buff wins in their long football history!

FOUR:

Sept 22nd 

Broncos 27 Tampa 7 The Broncos entered this game with 2 losses where rookie quarterback Bo Nix did not play well.  That all turned around in Denver's week 3 upset of tampa Bay (Tampa was a 6 point favorite).  Nix was 25 of 36 passing for 216 yards, rushed for 47 yards and had a rushing touchdown.  

THREE:

June 27th:

Nathan McKinnon wins the Hart Trophy as the NHL MVP

https://www.nhl.com/news/colorado-avalanche-nathan-mackinnon-wins-hart-trophy#:~:text=MacKinnon%20won%20the%20vote%20for,votes%20and%201%2C269%20voting%20points.

TWO:

April 13th

Denver Pioneers 2 Boston College 0 One of college hockey’s most prestigious programs has officially become the first to win 10 NCAA men’s hockey championships after a 2-0 win over Boston College  The only championship on my list by a Colorado team!

great save by DU goalie Matt Davis:

https://x.com/Romi_Bean/status/1779306789244146115

ONE:

December 14th:

Colorado's Travis Hunter wins the Heisman!  An amazing athlete who plays both cornerback and wide receiver, Hunter is the best player I have ever seen play for the Buffs. 

Top Colorado Sports Moments in 2023

 Though I don't post as often as in the past, I am keeping up with my tradition of the top 10 Colorado sports moments in the past year:

Ten:

Rockies 3 in 1: The Rockies had an awful season, with a worst ever 103 losses. Still 3 events deserve mention - April 6th: Rockies 1 Washington 0.  Only the 11th 1-0 score  in Coors Field history and first time in a home opener. Colorado native Kyle Freeland pitches a gem in front of the home town crowd, and another Colorado native, the Rockies Pierce Johnson, got the save with a 1-2-3 ninth.  Also deserving mention is the the Rockies season opening win over the favored Padres in San Diego.  The Rockies had 17 hits AND 17 strikeouts from their hitters, an unusual feat that hadn't been done from a team since 1900.  CJ Cron led the way with 2 home runs and 5 rbi.  And finally the first Rocky to win MVP of the MLB All Srar game! Catcher Elias Diaz earned the honor with a 2 run pinch hit homer in the 8th inning to give the National League a 3-2 win.

Nine:

January 15th: Nuggets 119 Orlando 116.  Nikola Jokic hits a 3 pointer in the last 3 seconds to defeat the Magic.  See the replay here:

https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1614827828067069955?s=20

Eight:

Colorado Women's Basketball 2 in 1: Nov 6th CU Women's Basketball team beats defending NCAA champion LSU Colorado 92, LSU 78 to open their season. Also deserving mention is the team's  CU 61 Duke 53 victory in the NCAA tournament earlier in the year.   The 6th seeded CU women upset 3rd seeded Duke on the Blue Devil's home court to make it to the Sweet 16 .  It was CU's first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2003.

Seven:

Feb 3rd: The Broncos name Sean Peyton as their new head coach.  Peyton brought a long record of success as coach of the New Orleans Saints to the Mile High City.  First season results were mixed with a lot of drama (Russell Wilson benched) at the end of the year.

Six:

May 11th: Nuggets 125 Suns 100.  The Nuggets close out the Suns with a dominant victory on Phoenix's home court to win the series 4 games to 2.  The Nuggets get to the Western Conference finals for the 4th time in franchise history.

Five:

May 22nd: Nuggets 113 Lakers 111. The Nuggets sweep the Lakers!  All the games in the series were close.  In this one the Lakers had a 15 point lead at half time.  The Nuggets stormed back to take the lead after 3 quarters, and hit some clutch shots at the end to hold on.  After losing 7 series to the Lakers in their history, it was great to finally beat the mighty Lakers!  Jokic had an amazing 3 pointer in the final minutes:

https://twitter.com/justinadamsTV/status/1660976421668364289?s=20

Four:

Oct 29th Broncos 24 Kansas City 9 Broncos break a 16 game losing streak to the Chiefs with a big home win over the defending Super Bowl champs.  This was the high point of the season for the Broncos.

Three:

May 18th: Nuggets 108 Lakers 103.  After trailing for most of 3 quarters, the Nuggets stormed back in the 4th, thanks to Jamal Murray's 21 points that quarter, to beat the Lakers.  The Nuggets went up 2 game to 0 in the series with the Lakers after this win.  Veteran Denver sportcaster Vic Lombardi rated this game as one of his top 5 Denver sports moments ever: https://twitter.com/VicLombardi/status/1659547553313218560?s=20

Two:

Sept 2nd CU Buffs 45 TCU 42.  CU beats last year's runnerup on the road in a stunning victory.  What a way to start the Coach Prime era!  Though the Buffs later struggled in the season to finish with 4 wins, 8 losses this victory was the talk of College Football that week.  Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders:

🏈38-of-47

🏈School record 510 passing yards

🏈4 TDs

🏈0 INTs

CB/WR Travis Hunter vs TCU:

* 11 Catches

* 119 Yards

* 1 INT

* 3 Tackles

One:

Nuggets beat Miami Heat 94-89 in game 5 to win the NBA title!  It was a long wait (47 years) but the Nuggets finally won a championship!  Nikola Jokic became the first player in history to lead the NBA in points (600), rebounds (269) and assists (190) in a single postseason. He won the Bill Russell trophy as the NBA Finals MVP

Phoenix Open Golf

 

Since moving to Arizona in November 2020 one of our favorite activities is to attend the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February each year.  2023 was the third year we attended the tournament and it was as good as ever.

Pictured above is our view from the grandstands about the 12th hole par 3 green.

Here's a view of the crowd in the 12th hole grandstands.  This was one of the few holes where the grandstands were open to the general admission tickets we had.  While the Phoenix Open is known for the crazy action at the iconic 16th hole surrounded by high priced suites, we prefer this location.

We saw many good shots from the pro golfers and some bad ones.  This pga pro had an awful shot from a green side bunker which landed precariously close to a cactus! He ended up with a triple bogey on the hole.

Other spectators walked the course following their favorite golfers.  Here is a crowd following Rory McElroy's threesome as he approached the 12th green.

After watching the action at the 12th green in the morning we walked some of the course ourselves after lunch.  We were able to position ourselves right next to the 3rd hole tee box where we had close up views of pga pros ready to tee off on this par 5.  Pictured above is the eventual tournament champion - Scottie Scheffler.

We saw pga star Jon Rahm up close too!  This year's Phoenix Open had the best field of top pga pros in the three years we have attended the event.

If you are visiting Arizona in early February we recommend attending this golf tournament! (most years on the week preceding the Super Bowl) We like to attend the opening round on Thursday.  This way we avoid the weekend crowds (Friday and Saturday are the busiest days). On Thursday we get to see the full field play, too, instead of after the 2nd round cut Friday evening.

Top 10 Colorado Sports Moments 2022

 

I haven't posted to this blog much in 2022, but I still kept track of big sports events during the year.  Enough to publish an annual list of my top 10 Colorado sports moments.  Two championships are among this year's list along with other highlights - overall thanks to hockey it was a good year!

Number 10: June 27th: Rockies 3 Dodgers 0. The Rockies Chad Kuhl had a complete game shutout surrendering three hits, at hitter friendly Coors Field no less.  Kuhl was just mediocre the rest of the season so this performance was a surprise, especially against a Dodger team that won 111 games in the 2022 regular season. The Rockies, by contrast, only won 68 games in 2022.

Number 9: February 16th: Nuggets 117 Warriors 116. Monte Morris hits a 3 pointer at the buzzer to beat Golden State on the road.  The Warriors would go on to win the NBA championship later in the year. . Watch the game winning shot here: 

https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1494184927612456963?s=20&t=T_4ZUi3vhGZ6aAartQZAgg

Number 8: Sept 25th: Broncos 11 49ers 10.  Russell Wilson leads a come from behind win in the 4th quarter as the Broncos starting quarterback.  A defensive battle, Wilson struggled but then produced some big plays at the end before a national tv audience on NBC's Sunday Night Football.  In retrospect this was a quality win as the 49ers at year's end are one of the NFL's best teams.

Number 7: May/June A couple of Denver athletes honored league wide for their play: Nuggets Jokic wins second consecutive NBA MVP., and the Avs Cal Makar wins the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman.  The first defenseman in franchise history to win the award.

Number 6: Dec 3rd: Deion Sanders named new football coach of the CU Buffs.  That the 1 win 10 loss Buffs could get such a dynamic, big name coach was a big surprise and bodes well for the future of the school's football program.

Number 5: April 9th DU Hockey Pioneers win National Championship with a come from behind win against Minnesota State.  Denver scored 5 goals in the 3rd period to win 5-1, their 9th national championship!  I've been following DU hockey since Murray Armstrong was coach in the 60's - good to see the program get another title!

Number 4: May 23 Avs 6 Blues 3 Nazem Kadri scores the Avs first ever road hat trick in a game where St Louis tries to rough him up. Avs take a 3-1 series lead on the way to closing out the Blues.  A Kadri unintentional  hit on goalie Jordan Binnington had put the Blues goalie out of the series in the previous game.

Number 3: May 27 Avs 3 Blues 2.  Avs come from behind to beat the Blues and advance to the Western Conference finals.  One of the most dramatic goals in team history as veteran 4th liner Darren Helm scores the winner with less than 5 seconds left in regulation. Watch it here:  https://youtu.be/K9cPykH7cTw

Number 2: June 16th: Avs 4 Tampa 3 Stanley Cup Final Game 1 Overtime.  Avs come out fast and lead 3-1 before Tampa ties it 3-3.  Andre Burakovsky gets the winning goal 1 minute 23 seconds into OT to send the home town Denver crowd into a frenzy.  The first Stanley Cup Final game in Denver in 21 years.

Number 1: June 26th: Avs 2 Tampa 1 Avs win the Stanley Cup 4 games to 2!  The 3rd title in franchise history and first since 2001. Watch the final seconds here:

https://youtu.be/Yx9bg4Xq7Ig

photo courtesy of espn

LA Chargers/Denver Broncos Road Trip January 2022

 

I was with a group of Denver Broncos QB Club fans who attended the Broncos/Chargers game on January 2nd. While the game didn't turn out as we had hoped (a 34 to 13 loss to the Chargers) our group enjoyed the experience of seeing a game in the NFL's newest and largest stadium!

Sofi Stadium had the latest in technological advancements, including this unique wrap around video board above the field. With this setup you could sit anywhere in the stadium and have a good view of the replays on the scoreboard. There just wasn't enough replays of good Bronco plays this day!

I liked the wide concourses Sofi had. Compared to past Bronco QB Club road trips to Arizona's, Minnesota's, and Dallas' stadiums these were the widest concourses I have seen. The stadium refreshment stands were plentiful with lots of options for food and drink.

Is Sofi an indoor stadium or an outdoor stadium?? It's both! I hadn't seen this unique setup in other stadiums where the ends of the stadium had concourses open to the outside air, while the field was covered with a retractable dome. The stadium was built on the grounds of the old Hollywood horse race track. The lake you see in this picture was in the infield of the horse track - they kept the lake and built the stadium grounds around it.

The next day our QB Club group got a private tour of the stadium - just for us! Here our guide is explaining the many features of the stadium. There were short video presentations that gave us more information on the tour.

After touring different seating areas, suites, and stadium lounges as part of the tour we got to go on the field! We walked through a tunnel from the Chargers locker room to the field just like the players did on game day.

On the field different challenges were set up for us. The passing drill shown above, with field staff providing us footballs was one. There was also a field goal challenge (my kick was just under the crossbar from extra point range - I don't have the leg Brandon McManus showed on game day where he kicked his Bronco road record 61 yard field goal!)

Here I am recreating on the field the spot where Drew Lock just came up short of a 4th down touchdown. The artificial turf of Sofi was very soft and would be easy to play on. Not like the concrete like Astroturf from stadiums years ago.

A Bronco QB Club road trip also gives fans the opportunity to explore the city we visit the day before the game. Our group had free time on that Saturday. One couple of our group attended the Rose Parade and sent us this picture!

To conclude our stadium tour we visited the LA Rams locker room. We had to visit the locker of one of the greatest Broncos ever - Von Miller!

Sofi was the best stadium I have been to yet! I enjoy going on these Bronco road trips. While I didn't see the Broncos win like I had on other road trips, the chance to experience the NFL's newest stadium was worth it.

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.