Ouch, my hand.

Van Wilder Goes Wild

Van Wild....I mean Sam Bradford further adds to Broncos embarrassment by completely having his way with Broncos' defense. Familiar no pass rush, no forced turnovers, inability to cover the quick slant, etc...Meanwhile, the offense was almost a carbon copy of the SD game for the first three quarters. Great start in the first quarter and then a nose dive (which didn't help the struggling defense). Making matters worse, we coughed it up a couple of times at key times. While a furious comeback in the 4th quarter made it somewhat interesting to watch down the stretch, you never had the feeling there was a legit chance. Completely sucking for two quarters of the game has a tendency to do that. Combine this home loss with a nice game for Cutler (he's really turned into a great game manager), and chalk this up as another shitty Sunday in the NFL. At least the Raiders lost I guess. While I cannot help myself but root for the B'cos, it's clear the number one overall pick is in our sights. Can't imagine it will be the present coach making that selection though....

Not Too Much Mauldin, Too Much Mauldin

A very nice way to bounce back from a frustrating and pointless two-game Canadian road swing with a big win against a team that could have leap-frogged the Avs in the standings. After a pretty listless looking first period, the Avs flat pucked in the next two periods and applied a hurting on the Wild. My Main Man Mauldin collects four points (2G, 2A) and the #1 Star in what could be a breakout game. Once again, a very fun game to watch, even when Boods let in a obligatory softie that made it 5-3 toward the end of the 2nd period (way too close for comfort at the time). A couple 3rd period goals ensured that this game never got too interesting down the stretch.

As great as this game was, a mystery injury to Stewie is a concern (not to mention what appeared to be a bad knee injury to Winny). Hard to say what happened, considering Stewie easily got the best of the preceding scrap. Let's hope both injuries are minor.

7 goals against the Wild? The ghost of the Jacques Lemaire-coached version of this team is rolling in its grave.

After such a promising start, that game was plenty brutal to watch (even with the good beer specials and a comped 3 Dogs meal). I don't know if it was the fake punt that took the air out of the defense after two good series, but they never looked the same afterward. Rios will always get his points (especially against us it seems), but the defensive squad looked defeated thereafter. One thing that drives me crazy about this defense (and has been the case for the last few years) is how few turnovers we get. That Bailey INT was really just a great defensive play that saved a long pass completion. Didn't really work in the traditional turnover sense in that it would have been 4th down and the punt would have been a similar result most likely....Offensively, as Tirico so aptly put at one point, they just looked out of sync. A few good plays here and there, but nothing sustained after the first drive. The gadgetry was overdone. At a pretty crucial point while the game was still close, we had a 2nd and 3 inside Charger territory. A failed razzle dazzle bomb to the end zone followed by an INT pretty much closed the door on any realistic shot. I guess this team isn't going to win the Super Bowl afterall.....Oh, and he's still very hateable in the post-Cuntler era.....

MLS Champs

Don't really know what the level of excitement is in CO/Denver, but it's pretty much party time here in this little pocket of LA (that I like to call "nik's apartment"), all due to my Rapids. Should have been 1-0 rapids after a blatant penalty kick was not called after Conor Casey was tripped (what up South!). Whatever, he scored anyway a little later on, and so did my main Kandji. I'm sure most blokes would agree, it was a pretty entertaining game all-in-all. Pickens: more than solid (some pretty awesome saves). And boom MLS Cup. Thank you Rapids.

I would also like to thank lads who have attended 'lads night out', especially those that drank a lot of beer.

The view this evening at Pepsi Center includes very insane TAZ leather jacket sightings (and a 5-1 beatdown delivered to the Rangers)

There were sightings of TAZ-themed Rockies shirts this summer, but TD sent me this shot of someone this evening at the Avs game willing to high-roll and really spend bills like he means it...the TAZ leather jacket. You know that shit don't come cheap. Top dollar. Dude had to do some ledger work to figure out how many trips to the Arby's drive-thru he'd have to cut out of his routine to afford that stylish addition to his wardrobe. We're all better for it.

The game? Hell yeah. The kids continue to pile on the scoresheet (and old Hannan also adding to his assist numbers).
That 2nd period was an Avalanche shit storm of goals. Good stuff.
Andy back...looking sharp, but let it be said, he got some solid help in front of him, didn't have to face a ton of pucks.
Good to see Duchene get a goal finally. Porter scoring goals has become a pretty regular occurrence. yes...

Holy Shit, That Was An Awesome Comeback

Young Avs Can Light The Lamp

I know newcomer Greg Mauldin didn't score a goal in this game, but he did register his first career assist and deserves some love. A national TV audience surely ignored the MNF game and was treated to a scoring barrage from the young Avs. While the Avs defense can certainly cause some major heart burn at times, thankfully, this team can also flat score goals no matter which line is on the ice. MJL (with a pair of goals), Stastny, Yipper, The Locker, and Porter (built-in hockey nick name) all score. Not exactly a star-laden cast. And while last year's rookie sensation, Duchey, continues to struggle to find the back of the net, his play is not unnoticed. He had a sweet assist on the Yip goal and even gooned it up a bit in the 3rd. Good to see.....I need to get to a game...is that Blogger's Suite becoming available soon?

Well, I didn't expect that....

I can only imagine Chiefs Zubaz guy didn't either.
A pretty straight up shellac-ing handed to KC today. A dormant Broncos offense awakens and (gasp) runs the ball with success and Orton and Tebow both in the TD pass mix. Not likely enough to jump-start or salvage the season if you ask me...but whatever, a rare "fun" day of football viewing.

I can only imagine the revelry enjoyed by Dahmer and TD at Mile High this afternoon. I guess I chose the wrong time to pass on the chance to attend a game. Can you blame someone for being gunshy to throwdown the ducats in the wake of the Raiders debacle?

Fast starts to games are key. Let it be known. Let's work toward that in the weeks to come and see if we can win a few more games this year.

My Rapids?

Love the fact last night's San Jose - Colorado game was for the Eastern Conference championship. I got Rapids fever......

Buh-Bye, Hawk.....

I know they don't get a lot of love around these parts, but as an alum, I feel I must acknowledge the passing of what turned out to be a shitty coaching tenure at CU. Hawk was a likeable dude (especially when compared to Barnett) who seemed to have a ton of potential to make the Buffs something worth paying attention to when he was hired. But, for whatever reason, it did not pan out. Blame the decision to bring in his son as a QB transfer, the recruiting restrictions, the chore of righting a ship gone totally wrong, the intramurals meltdown, etc. At the end of the day, the dude hardly won any games. And when it seemed like games were in the bag, KU scores 35 4th quarter points. Poof...you're done.........Good thing, because there's load of work to do before the move to the mighty PAC 10. Lots of talk about bringing back Mac. I say it's Eric Bieniemy time. The dude has pro credentials. Give him a shot....

Boods & the 4th Line

Well, the title of this post sounds like some shitty mid-70s pub rock band, but I assure you if you saw them this evening they were anything but shitty. A 5 - zip shellacking administered to the Stars. Who are these Avs?? Porter? Dupuis? The guy with the Dutch name?

Old Raycroft actually stood fairly tall at the end of the game...the Avs were still peppering him, it was 5-0 and he hadn't been pulled. Pretty solid play to end a game where he really stood no chance, if I may be so bold (thank you aggressive Avalanche offense). Kind of liked the guy when he was on the Avs, not a ton. But admittedly I preferred him over Budaj.
Duchene gets a couple assists, Hejduk with a tally, Stewie doesn't even need to muster a point - (honestly, his skill is nuts. just watch) and Budaj gets a shutout against a team that has just been straight-up offensive as of late. Makes for some rather entertaining Saturday night hockey. Pretty sure that was the most shots the Avs have thrown at the opposing goal this year. It looked good. A fairly diametric opposite of that shit-ass Canucks game the other night where they looked sluggish and uninspired. Build on it.
Don't forget the Nugs....they completed the Dallas shutdown tonight. Had to come from behind to do it too.

A Few Words From Patron Saint Chickin

Tyrone here....just want to say this site can't feature a silly little pirate when you pull it up. Understood, this a low point for those who bleed orange. Apparently, this might be a time where we separate a little wheat from the chaff. Chickin ain't standing for that shit. I still live in Denver and go to Broncos' games. You actually might see me or Alfred walking through the Invesco (true, it can't compare to Mile High) parking lot. We bummed right now? Hell yeah! Should we put up with this level of Broncos performance. Hell no! But, now is the time to search deep for your Broncos soul. Blame the coach all you want. But remember, we haven't gone to the playoffs since the Mastermind decided to Not Put In Plummer during a winning season. These are rough times, but either you're with the Chickin, or you're not. Frankly, I don't care.....more seats at the game for me....

Oakland in the House

I’m considering a life altering change. This is something so sudden, so impulsive that my family and I will never be the same. I would have never thought that this would have ever, EVER occurred in my life. What can I say? I’m human. This may be the biggest mistake that I make in my entire life but I can’t deny this. I must satisfy this urge. Want to know what I’m thinking?

I’m thinking of becoming an Oakland Raiders fan.

Truth is I don’t much care for the Denver Broncos anymore. I just don’t identify with them. We have a coach with a philosophy towards football that I just don’t get. Our Quarterback of the future has an extreme right wing viewpoint, we have absolutely no running game and our defense is not really worthy of words to describe it. When I really put some effort into thinking about it I have to say that I like Kyle Orton, I like DJ Williams and Brian Dawkins but that’s about it.

The Denver Broncos have become strikingly un-DenverBroncoish. I never really liked the “predominantly orange” home uniforms. I don’t like the orange Nike Swoosh stripe that runs from the pants to the jersey. I don’t like the revamped 3-4 defense and I don’t like the pass happy offense. I don’t like Invesco Field and I don’t like that ridiculous mascot Miles.

So whom should I root for if it isn’t the Broncos? I relate more to the West Coast than either the East Coast or the Midwest. This limits my choices to either the Arizona Cardinals, the San Diego Chargers, the Oakland Raiders, the San Francisco 49er’s or the Seattle Seahawks.

With all respect to the Cardinals, the Seahawks and the 49er’s I cannot choose them. I hate Phillip Rivers so the Chargers are an emphatic HELL NO. This leaves me with the Oakland Raiders.

So how can I choose the team that I’ve despised for all of my conscious life? I’m kind of drawn to the Raiders’ persona. I identify with the silver and black way of life. The Raiders are like Johnny Cash, Motorhead and Public Enemy rolled into one. The Broncos have become the boy band of the NFL. There is nothing mean or intimidating about the Denver Broncos.

Am I a sellout or a bandwagon jumper? Maybe, but as a season ticket holder for the Denver Broncos I see fans wearing other NFL team garb. The Broncos could be playing the Green Bay Packers and I will see Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and/or Minnesota Vikings jerseys. WTF? You don’t see anyone wearing any other team’s stuff in Oakland. The way I see it, most Broncos fans are sellouts. Only half the people in the stadium are really Broncos fans. The rest of them sold their tickets.

OK. So if not the Raiders, I’m thinking the Saints. Maybe I’ll just give up on the NFL and stick to hockey. It's not helping that my fantasy team is 0-7-1. We’ll see what happens.