When the person formerly known as Chris Jackson decided to change his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, he was labelled by some of society as a troublemaker and rabble-rouser. Those labels did not dissuade him from continuing to stand for what he believes, by not standing, actually. When Rauf decided to not stand for the National Anthem based upon his beliefs,…

It’s a tradition older than words on a page, passing our games and traditions down the pipe. In today’s modern sports era, having a father or mother in a professional sports league seems to heavily increase the odds that there might be offspring in the mix. While there are legendary familial duos in sports who have even taken the field together, (hi, Ken Griffeys Sr and Jr., LeBron James would like to speak to you about Bronny) there are also simply legacies that are handed down from father or mother to daughter or son.

In his first game as the Denver Broncos quarterback, John Elway had issues with where he lined up on the field, and was relieved repeatedly by Steve DeBerg in the Broncos 2-1 start. Coach Dan Reeves named DeBerg the starter after that, with Elway soon returning after a DeBerg shoulder injury. An inauspicious start with Elway’s tail-kicking, in what would…

I was lucky to be on a trip home in the summer of 2012, almost exactly a decade ago. I was hanging out with my dad, watching the Denver Broncos second preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks. It was Sometime in the late third or early fourth quarter (as I recall), the Seahawks put in a rookie QB who might have been their third stringer… Maybe their second. To be fair, he was playing against second- and third-stringers himself when he lit up the field, but there was no doubt he was electric. I very clearly remember my dad, on that first drive, half-laughing, half-muttering…

Who the hell is THAT?!?!?

Well, THAT WHO ended up being one Russell Carrington Wilson…

Once a week on Friday mornings, I jump onto an hour-long call with three of the biggest pains-in-the-asses I have ever known or met. They also happen to be my three dearest and oldest friends, the kind of folks that blended more into family than friendship eons ago. We still keep this appointment, come hell or high water, over and above the demands of work, family, and friends, as it means something to us. We have a common bond.

Football season is upon us, and whether your favorite jersey says Broncos, Buffaloes, Falcons, or Rams, there’s reason to think things are looking up this season.

Vin Scully was the voice that originally inspired me to have anything to do with storytelling in sports. The guy that inspired people like Chris Berman and Joe Buck and a litany of others to let silence tell the story in its moment. I remember reading a Vin quote in the Los Angeles Times when I was a kid that the remarkable Rick Reilly also relayed in his moving tribute to Vin this week:

“I don’t really do play-by-play. I do conversation.”

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, o-ohhIf you liked it then you should have put a ring on itBeyonce A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.Robert Quillen Summer is wedding season, in case you didn’t know, or are not a follower of Bridal Wars, Bridezillas, Yes to the Dress, or any one of the other matrimonial shows whose…

If you were walking down the street in Colorado, and you saw a “7” jersey coming your way, there’s only one name you’d expect to see on the back, and it ain’t Joe Girardi.

From the perspective of many, Connelly was the architect of all that had gone right with the Nuggets… With his departure, had the Nuggets just lost their Carroll Shelby?

… what a beautiful sight. Not the Avs winning it all. Not that it’s Colorado faithful. Those are admittedly wonderful. But more that that many people can be that happy in each other’s presence any more. Stunning stuff. It can make for groups that can move mountains. Kind of like an Avalanche.

“Winners embrace hard work. They love the discipline of it, the trade-off they’re making to win. Losers, on the other hand, see it as punishment. And that’s the difference.” – Lou Holtz It actually took John Elway a few Super Bowl trips to get the combination right, to be fair. It took Mr. Bronco until his fourth (and fifth) tries…

I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion. – Mia Hamm A dear friend of mine with a very sweet set of pipes has his fingerprints on parts of the first major championship that Denver and Colorado…

It was impossible. It simply couldn’t be done. For the few hundred years they’d been measuring and trying, no one could break a four minute mile. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried it. I tried running a quarter mile once in less than 60 seconds, and truly thought I might die. It’s a hell of a fast clip, and…...

When a long and winding road led me through Las Vegas and points unknown last week, I had the pleasure of stopping by a well-regarded comedy club on the Strip to take in a night of laughs. The results were laughable in a few regards. The show took the usual shape, with a host, a featured comedian, and a headliner…...

“If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won’t, you most assuredly won’t. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad.” – Denis Waitley It feels like a switch inside us sometimes, doesn’t it? Whether emotional, mental, or physical, most each of remembers a moment when something fell into place for us,…...

“You are who you want to be most.” – Brent Slade You don’t need to go searching for Mr. Slade as a famous individual. He was simply an old friend of mine who was kind and patient enough to listen to me lamenting how much I wished a life situation had turned out differently. As I bemoaned all the circumstances…...

“The hallmark of excellence, the test of greatness, is consistency.” – Jim Tressell To say it was unexpected is an understatement. Possibly no one said it better than Nikola Jokic himself, sitting in front of a small stable while in a conversation with TNT’s Ernie Johnson… Johnson: Did you always consider yourself a long-shot? Jokic: If it’s not me, who…...

MISSION 16W It was a saying that Ray Bourque hung up in the Colorado Avalanche locker room to refer to that season’s championship plans. It meant that only one thing should matter to the Avs, as it did to Bourque. Getting to the postseason, and putting themselves in the best position possible to get 16 wins in the postseason. In…...