My Top Ten Colorado Sports Events for 2019

The Avalanche and local football teams gave me the most thrills in 2019 for sports events of the year, with some baseball and basketball thrown in. My top 10 list:

Number 10:

12/21 University of Colorado Basketball: Colorado 78 Dayton 76.  The most recent entry on my list: De'Shawn Swartz sinks a 3 point basket at the buzzer to give the Buffs the win over 13th rank Dayton.  It was the highest ranked team CU had beaten on the road since 1990 when the Buffs beat 6th ranked Missouri.

Number 9:

9/28 Rockies 3 Brewers 2 In the second to last game of the season, the Rockies win a tight game all the way with some great plays on both sides.  The Rockies were one out away from a loss when rookie Sam Hilliard hits a game tying home run, then Trevor Story wins it with a walkoff in the bottom of the 10th.  It was a disappointing season for the Rockies but they ended in style with a 3 game sweep of the Brewers (the team they lost to in the 2018 playoffs) depriving Milwaukee a chance for first place in the NL Central Division.

Number 8:

11/3 Broncos 24 Browns 19 Free agent quarterback Brandon Allen, in his first start, leads the Broncos to the win.  Rookie tight end Noah Fant has a break out game including a 75 yard td (the longest bronco td of the season)

Number 7:

4/27 Nuggets 90 Spurs 86 - Nuggets win a game 7 playoff series at home, the first game 7 home game for the franchise in 41 years.

Number 6:

9/21 University of Colorado football: buffs beat arizona state on the road 34-31, their first road win over a nationally ranked top 25 team since 2002!  This despite losing their best offensive player (laviska shenault) and their best defensive player (Mustafa Johnson) early in the game due to injuries.

Number 5:

5/7 avs 4 sharks 3 game 6 of the series: avs on the brink of elimination win in OT to force game 7.  While the Avs ended up losing the series in game 7 the game 6 win was one of the best avalanche games in the last 10 years.  This would have been ranked #2 on this list had the Avs won game 7.

Number 4:

12/8 Broncos beat the Houston Texans 38-24 on the road with rookie quarterback Drew lock throwing for 3 tds and 309 yards. The Texans had defeated the New England Patriots the week before so this shaped up as a tough road game for the Broncos. Could the Broncos have their quarterback of the future?  This game showed Lock could be the man!

Number 3:

4/17 Avalanche 3 Flames 2 - trailing 2-0 in the 3rd period the Avs come back to win in overtime to take a 3-1 series lead! This game essentially clinched the series for the Avs as they won the next game easily to win the series.

Number 2:

4/13 Avalanche 3 Flames 2 - #8 seeded Avalanche tie the series 1-1 over #1 seed Calgary in Calgary with a thrilling overtime win after being down 1-0 with 7 minutes to go in the 3rd period.

Number 1:

9/7 University of Colorado football: Buffs beat rival Nebraska 34-31 in overtime after trailing 17-0 at halftime.  An incredible comeback highlighted by a 96 yard flea flicker TD from the shadow of their own end zone, and several clutch completions by QB Steven Montez towards the end of regulation to send the game to overtime.  The Buffs don't play the Huskers too often anymore.  It was great to sweep the 2 game series winning at Nebraska in 2018 and with this home win in 2019!

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!

My Top Ten Colorado Sports Moments of 2017

Nolan Arenado's walk off game winning homer for the cycle is #1 on my "Top Ten Colorado Sports Moments of 2017" (photo courtesy of MLB)  Here's this year's list:

10.  Avalanche 4 NY Rangers 2, Opening Night, 10/5/17 - The 2016/17 season was one to forget for the Colorado Avalanche.  "The 22-56-4 record, for 48 points, not only was by far the franchise’s worst in its 21 seasons in Denver, it was the worst in the NHL since the 1999-2000 Atlanta Thrashers went 14-57-7-4 for 39 points," as reported in the Denver Post.  The surprising win on the road in the season's opener, on the league's biggest stage (Madison Square Garden) signaled that better times were ahead for the Avalanche. While the Avs are still out of a playoff position at year's end (17-16-3 as of 12/28), the team is on the upswing and the opening night win against the NY Rangers was a start to a much better season.

9.  Nuggets 96 Golden State 81, 12/23/17 - I had my top ten list all set then the Nuggets worked their way into my list with a stunning road win against the defending champ Warriors just before Christmas.  The win stopped Golden State's 12 game winning streak.

8.  Avalanche trade Matt Duchene, 11/5/17 - It was no secret Matt Duchene, the #3 pick overall in the 2009 draft, wanted out.  Duchene demanded a trade over a year ago, and Avs GM Joe Sakic received much criticism as Sakic failed to make a deal over the many months of Matt's discontent.  But in the end Sakic got a great haul for Duchene - promising young defenseman Sam Girard, other prospects, and a bunch of draft picks.  After the trade Nathan MacKinnon stepped up his play to become one of the best players in the NHL this season.  Well done, Joe Sakic!

7.  Gary Kubiak resigns as Broncos head coach, 1/2/17 - Just one year after winning the Super Bowl, Gary Kubiak resigns as Broncos head coach.  Any Bronco coaching change is big news, and this one was more of a shocker given the success the Broncos had achieved under Kubiak.

6.  Rockies 2, LA Dodgers 1, home opener, 4/7/17 - The first of four Rockies moments on my list. The Rockies home opener is always a special event on the Denver sports calendar, and this win was extra sweet as home town boy Kyle Freeland wins his first ever start in the majors in front of a sellout crowd at Coors Field.

5.  Broncos 42, Dallas 17, 9/17/17 - The only Bronco game on my top 10 list.  Everything went right for the Broncos this day as they beat America's team (the Dallas Cowboys) in an early season stunner.  The season as a whole was a big disappointment for Denver fans, but at least for one day the Broncos were the talk of pro football with this dominating performance.

4.  DU Pioneers 3, Minnesota-Duluth 2, National Championship Game, 4/8/17 - The DU hockey team wins its 8th National Championship with a narrow, nail-biting 3-2 win over Minnesota-Duluth.  The Pioneers stellar 2017 and championship gave Denver hockey fans something to cheer about in lieu of the Avalanche' disappointing season.

3.  Rockies 3, Atlanta 0, 8/14/17 - In his first game back after a cancer diagnosis in the spring, Rockies starter Chad Bettis pitches seven shutout innings at Coors Field to defeat the Braves.  Bettis comeback and amazing performance made news beyond baseball, inspiring many whose lives have been affected by this debilitating disease.

2.  Rockies 10, White Sox 0, 7/9/17 - Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland's second appearance on my list, as he takes a no hitter into the 9th inning against the White Sox.  Freeland ends up pitching a one hit gem in what I rate as the best performance by a Rockies starter at Coors Field ever. 

1.  Rockies 7, San Francisco 5, 6/19/17 - In front of a packed Father's Day crowd at Coors Field, Nolan Arenado hits a 3 run homer in the bottom of the 9th to give the Rockies a come from behind win over the Giants.  If that weren't dramatic enough, Arenado's blast also completed the cycle for the Rockies 3rd baseman, only the 8th cycle in Rockies history.  The playoff bound Rockies were the top story in Colorado sports in 2017, and Arenado's performance this day was the highlight of an outstanding season.

My Top 10 Denver Sports Moments of 2016

2016 was a good year for me as a Denver sports fan.  Here are my top 10 sports moments:

10. Colorado Avalanche 5 Detroit Red Wings 2, Alumni Game 2/26  

The old timers got together for an alumni game in an outdoor venue - Coors Field!  The NHL/Rockies/Avs did a good job of setting up Coors Field for hockey.  I watched this game from a luxury box thanks to an invitation from the Las Vegas visitors bureau.  It was fun to see the Avs alumni from their great teams in the 90's, early 2000's beat the hated Wings this night.  Patrick Roy was fantastic in making several great saves.  The next night was disappointing as the NHL Avs lost to the Wings, but I did get to meet Adam Foote in the club level of Coors Field.

9.  Denver Nuggets hand Golden State Warriors 3rd loss in 40 games 1/13 

The Nuggets were one of the few teams to beat the Warriors in the NBA regular season.  Read more about the game here.

8.  Colorado Avalanche beat Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in OT in season’s 2nd game 10/17

After a thrilling 6-5 win in the opener against the Dallas Stars at home, the Avs win their second game on against the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins at Pittsburgh.  At year's end the Avs had the worst record in the NHL, but the 2-0 start gave their fans some thrills early.

7. Colorado Buffaloes 27 Utah Utes 22 11/26

The Buffs success in football was one of the best stories of 2016, capped by this win over Utah to win the Pac 12 South division and earn a berth in the pac 12 championship game.

6.  Colorado Rockies beat Arizona Diamondbacks 10-5 in season opener 4/4

Trevor Story hits two home runs in his major league debut.  Story was the "story" of the major league season in April as the rookie surprised us all with an early season power surge.  Story had a good chance to be the Rockies first rookie of the year before a thumb injury prematurely ended his season in early August.

5.  Denver Broncos 21 Carolina Panthers 20 9/8

The Broncos win the Super Bowl rematch in the NFL's season opener on a Thursday night before a national TV audience.  The Broncos came back from a 17-3 deficit in the 4th quarter in an exciting game that was decided by a missed Panther field goal as time ran out.

4.  Colorado Buffaloes 41 Oregon Ducks 38 9/24

The Buffs surprise the perennial power Oregon Ducks in Oregon in a high scoring game decided in the last minute.  This was a program defining win for the CU program, and spurred the team to go on to a 10 win season.

3.  Denver Broncos 23 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 in division round 1/17 

The Broncos come from behind to beat the Steelers in a first round NFL playoff game.  This game turned out to be the toughest of the 3 Bronco playoff games.  Brandon Mcmanus 5 field goals on a windy day proved to be the difference.

2.  Denver Broncos 20 New England Patriots 18 AFC championship 1/24 

The 5th time I've seen the Broncos win the AFC Championship at home to earn a berth in the Super Bowl, and this AFC title was one of the best. The last 6 minutes was the most intense for me ever at a bronco home game as the patriots threatened to tie the score to force overtime, but the Broncos held on.  The final failed 2 point attempt by the Patriots was right below my seats in the North end zone.

1.  Denver Broncos 24 Carolina Panthers 10  Super Bowl Win !!! 2/7

The hope for any NFL fan is to see their team win a Super Bowl in person.  I was privileged to have that experience as my Broncos beat Carolina in Super Bowl 50!  It was a memorable weekend in San Francisco that I wrote about on this blog here.

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. 

Hockey excitement is back in Denver, but did the Avs overachieve last year?

Between periods of last night's Colorado Avalanche home opener the team picked a lucky fan who would win a car if the Avs scored in the first 30 seconds after the intermission.  The fan never had a chance!  The Avalanche not only failed to score in the first 30 seconds for this fan, they haven't scored a goal in their opening two games.

It was good to see excitement about hockey and the Avs back in the Mile Hi city.  I took the above picture at the opening faceoff.  As you can see the game featured a sell out crowd with everyone in their seats for the drop of the first puck.  The Avalanche' excellent video department had another good pregame production last night:



Unfortunately the game did not match the pregame hype.  The Wild again outplayed the Avalanche, winning 3-0.  While I don't consider myself as knowledgeable about hockey as I am about football, here's what I noticed last night:

•  If Tyson Barrie doesn't get hurt in last season's first round matchup against the Wild , the Avs win the series.  I thought Barrie was the best player on the ice for the Avs.  For a franchise who has had trouble finding a good "offensive" defenseman in the past, the Avs now have a good one in Barrie.
• The new additions didn't impress me.  jarome iginla seemed a step slow.  At one power play he was playing the point - what's up with that?  He needs to be in front of the net on power plays.  Iginla is a notorious slow starter so there's still hope he can return to the 30 goal level he was at last year with the Boston Bruins.
• Minnesota had a power play in the first period where they had 9 shots on goal and the puck never left the zone.  It was the most dominant power play I've ever seen without a team scoring.  The Wild are very good and if they continue to get good goaltending, like they did last night from Darcy Kuemper, they will be tough to beat.
• Goalie Sergei Varlamov was solid in net, showing the same form as last season when he was a Vezina trophy finalist (given to the NHL's top goalie)

The Avalanche now go on the road for four games, including matchups with eastern powerhouses Boston and Montreal.  A key to the surprise season last year was the Avs fast start (winning their first 6 games and 12 out of their first 13).  This year could be the opposite, as I see the Avs could be 1-5 or worse after this tough road trip.

It's too early to give up on this team yet.  The Avs still have a good base of young talent (MacKinnon, Landeskog, Duchene, and more).  But I think they are more of a borderline playoff team this season, which was the expectation going into last season before the team's surprise division title.

Three incredible Avalanche home games (Minnesota series 2014)

Avalanche/Wild Game 5, 4/26/14

I've been to all the Avs home playoff games so far and they've been incredible.  Game 1 had the end of game drama (with the Avs avoiding a loss in the last seconds then winning in OT), Game 2 showed the amazing skills of Avs rookie Nate MacKinnon with some of the prettiest goals you'll ever see, Game 3 was a combination of games 1 and 2 (late game drama and Mackinnon stars again)

Watching Nate MacKinnon reminds me of the feelings I had as a Denver Broncos fan in 1983 during John Elway's rookie season.  I could tell Elway had the tools to be a future Hall of Famer, and I looked forward to many fun seasons of watching the Broncos with Elway under center.  MacKinnon's reign as one of the top players in the NHL has just started (he's only 18 years old!)  Barring injury Nate will give Avalanche fans many years of thrills ahead, just has he has done in the playoffs so far.

Playoff hockey is back!

The Pepsi Center was rockin last night! I took this picture from the cheap seats at the opening faceoff. I've been to most Av playoff games since the 90's (I was even at the only Colorado Rockies playoff game in 1978 vs the Flyers) - there is nothing like playoff hockey!

Last night's thrilling, come from behind 5-4 Avalanche win in overtime will go down as one of the best playoff games ever in Denver. 

Top 10 Colorado Sports Moments 2012

I've been a fan of all the Colorado sports teams since growing up in Denver in the 60's.  Here are my top sports moments of 2012:

10. Colorado scores 17 points in 4th quarter to beat Washington State at Pullman 35-34.
Bet you didn't think a Colorado football moment would make it into the top 10!  It was an awful season for the Buffs but at least their ONLY win was an exciting one - coming back from 17 points down to beat Washington State on the road.  After losing 69-14 the week before to Fresno State, and losing their first two games to lowly CSU and Sacramento State this win was totally unexpected.  And much maligned quarterback Jordan Webb had his best quarter of the season in that 4th quarter - winning the game on a gutsy quarterback keeper as time ran out.

9. CSU beats Colorado in opener 22-17 after trailing 14-3 late in 1st half. 
I'm one of those rare CU fans who also roots for CSU except when the Rams play the Buffs.  While this game was disappointing for my CU interests, I must admit I was glad to see new CSU coach Jim McElwain celebrating with his team after this huge win in Denver.  Colorado is better off when both CU and CSU are fielding competitive teams, and this win was huge to get the McElwain era off to a good start in Ft Collins.  Now that I have a son going to CSU I'll be rooting for the Rams a little more, but just a little.  The Buffs are still my favorite college football team.

8. Todd Helton walkoff home run vs Arizona, April 14, 2012.  
Talk about disappointing seasons.  The Rockies joined the Buffs in having a terrible 2012 campaign.  But in the first two weeks there was a magical moment at Coors Field that made me think I was watching The Natural.  At the end of a cold, rainy 5 hour game Todd Helton was up with 2 outs in the bottom of 9th man, man on first, with the Rockies trailing the Diamondbacks 7-6.  Coors field was virtually empty as most fans had departed the cold weather long before the game got to the 9th.  Todd Helton hits a two run homer just inside the right field foul pole to give the Rockies the win!  This fan captured the improbable blast by Helton on video:


7. Avalanche beat Detroit 4-3 Feb 25th ending the Red Wings 23 game home winning streak
Remember the Avs?  With the NHL work stoppage the local hockey team has been pretty much forgotten this Fall, but the team did have some big wins early in 2012.  The best was a 4-3 victory in Joe Louis Arena to stop Detroit's 23 game home winning streak.  The Avs had some other big wins too, like beating the Rangers in NY, but then fell apart in the season's final 3 weeks to miss out on the playoffs.  There were moments, though, like this win against the hated Red Wings, that hinted the Avs could be back on the right track. (addendum: Vancouver actually ended the Wings long home winning streak with a win in a shootout Feb 23rd, but the Avs on Feb 25th were the first to beat the Wings in regulation in Detroit since the streak started)

6. Colorado wins Pac 12 basketball tourney, beating Arizona 53-51.
For most of my life there was not much to get excited about when it came to CU basketball.  I remember Cliff Meely when I was a kid leading the Buffs to a Big 8 title, and Chauncey Billups had his moments in black and gold in the 90's.  But CU basketball has mostly been a wasteland for the last 4 decades.  That's what made this improbable tourney run by the Buffs so sweet!  The victory over Arizona was the Buffs 4th straight in the tournament, and then they followed it up with a first round upset of UNLV in the Big Dance.  After Colorado's horrendous showing in football it was good to let the other Pac 12 schools know that the Buffs could be competitive in at least one sport (other than skiing!)

5.  Nuggets 126 Lakers 114 NBA playoffs game 5.
Denver sportscaster Vic Lombardi had this one pegged.  After the Nuggets lost game 4 at home to fall behind in their first round series with the Lakers 3 games to 1 most fans thought the Lakers closing out the series in 5 was a sure thing.  Not Lombardi, who said at the time he thought the Nuggets would win game 5.  And the Nuggets did just that, led by Kenneth Faried's 21 points and 15 rebounds.  The Nuggets won game 6, too, in a blowout before losing game 7 and the series at the Staples Center.  But at least the Nuggets gave their fans some post season thrills with 3 victories against the Lakers.

4. Broncos 31 Pittsburgh 19
This was the first Broncos home opener I had missed since 1966!  Away on a business trip in Alaska I could only monitor this game through scoring updates on my cell phone, but Peyton Manning's first non-preseason NFL game in over 600 days did not disappoint.  Manning hit Demaryius Thomas with a 71 yard td pass, Tracy Porter had a huge interception TD to clinch the game, and the Broncos beat the hated Steelers in the opener.  With Denver's tough schedule to open the season I saw this game as very important (even with this win the Broncos started off 2-3).

3. Tebow to Thomas beats Steelers in the playoffs
In only the third home playoff game for the Broncos in 11 years, Tim Tebow completes an 80 yard pass to Demaryius Thomas in the first play of overtime to lead the Broncos over the Steelers in the first round of the NFL playoffs.  This win was especially sweet for me, as I was in attendance for this and the last playoff game in Denver, a disappointing Bronco loss in the AFC Championship game in 2006.  Little did we know at the time that this would be Tim Tebow's last game in Denver as the Broncos starting quarterback.

2. Broncos Signing of Peyton Manning
When I first heard the Broncos were interested in signing Peyton Manning I thought, "Why???"  Denver had just come off an improbable playoff season led by crowd favorite Tim Tebow, and I was anxious to see what Tebow could do with a full off season of workouts that he did not have the prior year.  I also thought Manning was a huge injury risk.  But I trusted that Broncos President John Elway knew what he was doing.  The more I thought about it the more I wanted to see Peyton in Broncos Orange!  Peyton Manning turned out to be the best free agent signing of any Denver team since I've been a sports fan.

1. Broncos 35 San Diego 24
With a 2-3 record and trailing 24-0 at half time, the prospects of the Broncos having a good year looked dim.  But Peyton Manning led an amazing 2nd half comeback, outscoring the Chargers 35-0, to lead the Broncos to this huge win (their best Monday Night performance ever in my book).  Going into the season's final week as I type this, Denver would not lose again.  Perhaps the Broncos would have still rebounded had they lost this game and fell to 2-4, but I think this game was the key to the Broncos miracle season.
 

A Visit to Avalanche Training Camp

I visited the Colorado Avalanche training camp for the first hour of practice today (at the Family Sports Center in Englewood). I've never been to training camp in the 17 years the Avalanche have been in Denver so I wanted to see what it was like.

I've been to football training camps a few times (Broncos and CU). In comparison the Avs camp is almost all scrimmage and live game action. I liked that. I saw on a 2nd rink some teaching going on but the main rink was pretty much all scrimmage after the warmups.

I arrived 15 minutes early and all the seats were full. I stood in a corner and watched the action below me. There are not a lot of seats so if you visit training camp arrive early.



I was very close to the ice; this faceoff was right in front of me:



New Avalanche Goalie Semyon Varlamov will be a key to the team's chances this year. In this scrimmage he looked OK to me (with a quick glove hand). I'm anxious to see him vs the Red Wings on opening night (a game I will be at!)