Mile High Sports Radio-Best Station in Denver...

Okay, I've highlighted the on-air talent and talked about Sports Radio in Denver before but never really given enough reason.  I'll talk a little more of both here.

93.7 FM/1510 AM Mile High Sports Radio is the best sports radio station and best station to listen to in Denver.  There I said it.  The reasons are immense but the main reason is their relationship with the listeners:

• Mile High Sports Radio hosts have a relationship with their callers like no other.  They take the time to listen to their callers and get them involved.
• They know their callers by name and address them by name.  They are not addressed as caller, they don't get talked down to (well maybe if Eric Goodman is having a bad mood that day). 
• While I was not able to attend, they had a listener appreciation party at World of Beer on June 19th.  What other station is going to get listeners buzzed for free and hang out with their listeners?  None that I know of.
• Their sponsors help pay their salary but instead of taking all the schwag, they take part of that money in gift cards and constantly are giving their listeners free stuff.  Who doesn't like free stuff?

I tune into other stations shows and used to call them, but listening to Sandy Clough talk over people and berate them as the know-it-all he is or the other shows allowing a 15 second quick take before being dropped, I get tired of it.  Maybe it's because their listeners only have 15 seconds of interesting take, but I've heard some good conversations get dropped or talked down to by too many hosts of other sports talk shows in Denver.

The biggest reason I like Mile High Sports is they talk a lot of local sports but mix in what's going on nationally better than any other sports program in the Denver area.  The best take isn't always the hosts but their guest or the fans is what I've learned after 15 years in this Sports Talk listening game.  I tune in to listen to a show's host but also to provide entertainment and add something to the show.  They have to keep you entertained and wanting to see what is next.  So, here is what I do for my listening and why I don't tune in elsewhere and maybe you'd get the same benefits from :

Before 6 a.m.: Steve Czaban is the choice on Mile High Sports.  Sometimes if Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio has something good they are talking about, I may tune in.  Otherwise I can listen to 104.3 The Fan play replays of their shows the day before and considering I only tune in to one of their shows, I skip it
6-7 am: If I am driving or at the office, it's the Morning Edge.  McChesney and Fogoros with Josh Dover may talk sports for half of it but the rest is bacon and things to make you wake up and drive or get working with a smile on your face.
7-9 am: This is where it gets rough for me.  The Press Box with Peter Burns and Lance Britton when he fills-in are great.  They are entertaining.  Mark Kiszla is best used as a 15 minute spot.  2 hours of him is painful.  The alternatives at these times are not good but this is where my surfing is constant and I actually listen to music sometimes at these times.  Mike and Mike are just too national and talk way too often of the same teams that I have grown sick of hearing about, i.e. The Jets, The Knicks, Notre Dame, The Lakers and The Heat.  104.3 is getting it right by adding Vic Lombardi but as I said before, Mike Evans just doesn't cut it anymore.  He's the guy the station has moved around and tried to let go but can't.  Better alternatives and where I would think of listening in place of Evans would be Mark Mosier (I know he does hockey but he has the time in the mornings and was always good), Sandy Clough-two big name guys that keep each other from getting too cocky is needed, Nate Kreckman-Not sure what's happening with Gary Miller coming on in the afternoons on ESPN 102.3/105.5, so take my tied for favorite host and put him on what would be Denver's Greatest Show.
9-11 a.m.: No doubt it is stuck on Mile High Sports Morning Mayhem!!!  Danny Williams is the co-MVP in Denver Sports Radio and his Pippen in Cello Romano keeps him from going "THERE".  JoDo kills it on the boards and he knows callers by name when they call-in.  That is class!!!  Best show in Denver like I said before here!!! Ranking Denver's Sports Radio
11 am-3 p.m.:  Things get jumbled around here.  ESPN is still on national for an hour.  Clough gets another hour to be the know-it-all, end-all and then Grandpa Gil comes on 93.7.  This is where I tune out often.  I focus on all work related things and meeting time is around here.  I only tune in around these times if breaking sports is happening or I am in the car.  The station doesn't stay on any show at this time.  Irv & Joe (93.7/1510), Les & Tom (102.3/105.5) and Gil (93.7/1510) all sit behind Hastings (104.3) though.  Hastings could host with anyone and I'd listen just so I can hear his takes.
3 pm-6 p.m.: I am not going to lie, I can't make a decision here, but usually listen to Mile High Sports.  That said, Kreckman keeps me interested enough to tune in over on ESPN.  The Fan has lost my interest.  Alfred had too many concussions to make sense or to read/remember what is going on in Denver Sports.
6 pm and after: One choice, Mile High Sports.  Unless the Rockies, Broncos or Nuggets are on, I am listening to some solid shows with Renaud Notaro, Brandon Spano or Reed Marks and the man with the band name Zach Fogg doing solid work on the boards, second to only Josh Dover as a producer.


Weekends are few and far between when I can listen to the radio, but if I am on a run or going out for an errand, then there are a couple great shows on during the weekend.  Denver Sports Nation on Mile High Sports with Joshua Dover, Adam Kinney and Dario has great guests from local bloggers/web sites/writers and is solid knowledge from young guys that know their stuff.  They are my favorite weekend show... outside of football season.  Riding Shotgun with Cecil Lammey kills it on ESPN Denver.  Fantasy football knowledge and football player knowledge of Cecil is un-paralleled in Denver easily.  He kills it during the weekends and when I need a football fix, I try to make a Starbucks run during his show.

As you can see, I am a Mile High Sports listener above all others but there are some shows and hosts that do it right and pull me away from there at times.  Denver Radio should be very interesting these next few months with the personnel changes on The Fan and ESPN and with football season fast approaching.

Nuggets Best Move in 2013 NBA Draft: TRADE OUT OF IT!!!

The Denver Nuggets still need to land a head coach after landing an assistant to Josh Kroenke, AKA The KSE Dictator, in Tim Connelly but hiring that coach means little for next week's NBA Draft.  That is unless the Nuggets stepped up and got Doc Rivers or kissed each ring on all 10 fingers on Phil Jackson's hands and wherever he may keep the 11th (let's hope it's not a Prince Albert location).  We know that's not happening, so what Connelly's hiring means is we have a guy around for the NBA Draft to help assist Kroenke and to help take some of the weight off his shoulders which is pretty immense considering he has less hands than cookie jars he has been putting them in.

So onto the lecture at hand (yes, I went Snoop Dogg or Snoop Lion or Snoop Doggy Dogg):

The Nuggets best move is to exit out of the NBA Draft.  The main reason is this draft is average at best with next year's draft looking to be amongst the best we've seen for talent in the first round.  Heck, next year we could see 6 or 7 Kentucky Wildcats go in the first round and they may all be better than Nerlens Noel.  Next, the Nuggets have depth and plenty of young talent that needs playing minutes.  Unless it's a guy that can fix some of their woes in his rookie campaign, it's not worth adding another guy to ride the bench when the Nuggets could trade this year's pick for a 1st rounder next year.  Two first round picks and a player on the Nuggets roster next year could get them a top lottery pick in 2014.  The Nuggets have talent, they will have a new head coach and let's be honest, they need immediate impact players to bring in from free agency and for their current group to step up.  No one at Pick 27 appears to be more than a back-up on this roster and one that has no impact at that.  What the Nuggets need to do draft night and in free agency are these things:

• Trade Pick 27 to the Raptors, Grizzlies, Heat, Warriors, Lakers or Rockets.  All of them are out of the 1st Round in this draft and all need to add some talent.  The Heat are without any young players and if the Big 3 are to return another season, they need a young guy to fill-in for one of the most average benches in Finals History.  To be honest, the Raptors may make the most sense because they probably will have the highest pick in 2014 and a GM that is an old friend.  Masai Ujiri is buddies with Josh and maybe Josh can convince him he really needs to add someone at the cost of a higher pick in Round 1 next year.  Additionally, Masai built this team and he may want to trade for a player or two for a big contract and that pick, do it.
• So that brings me to what is next, if a lottery team likes more than one player to give them 2 in this draft, sell immediately.  Same trade scenarios of a player and pick for heavy contract and next year's pick comes into play.
• Now that the Nuggets have traded away their draft, start calling 2nd round fringe players.  The first call should have already gone to one up the road in Andre Roberson.  The Nuggets most likely will lose their best defender in Andre Iguodala to a team that will pay him more.  Roberson's offense is not great and his foul shooting is much the same (to me that sounds like AI2.0 right there). 
• Next, make calls to these free agents representatives in order:
1. Kyle Korver-Korver fits an immediate need for a 3-point shooter.  He also fits in at SF where the Nuggets have Wilson Chandler and an injured Danilo Galinari.  Chandler was atrocious during the Nuggets past two post-seasons and they need someone to push him.  Who knows how healthy Gallo is?
2. Martell Webster-Who?  That's right and that's how the Nuggets make-up is around the league, so keep it that way.  Webster is as deadly as Korver is from downtown and fills a hole at SG.  Put him with Fournier and you have 2 solid SGs.
3. Will Bynum or Darren Collison-Either one works.  Both are solid back-up PG that give the Nuggets a younger player.  Andre Miller is too old.  You can take away his home in Denver.  He's just too old.
4. Carl Landry or Paul Millsap-The Nuggets are thin behind Faried at PF.  They played a lot of smaller line-ups when he rested or went with Gallo there.  Milsap and Landry are both undersized, hard-working PFs that bring some energy and toughness.  Sounds a lot like the guy they have and it works well.

There you have it.  The Nuggets 2013-2014 team is in place and they are bound for an early exit in the playoffs in 2014.  The difference is they can add an impact player in the draft in 2014 and do it by giving up very little in the 2013 draft.  The Nuggets need to see what they have in their deep bench of players and see who is meant to get more minutes.  The next Nuggets coach most likely won't win 57 games next year, but George Karl would have barely got to 50 himself and has shown his system does not breed playoff success.  The Nuggets will have a full year under their belt with a new system come the 2014-2015 season and the personnel, coach and impact player from the 2014 Draft to finally make a run in the playoffs.  Their roster could look like this next season:

Nuggets 2013-2014 Potential Roster w/ Depth Chart

PG-Ty Lawson, Will Bynum or Darren Collison, Julyan Stone
SG-Evan Fournier, Martell Webster, (Korver)
SF-Wilson Chandler or Kyle Korver, Jordan Hamilton, Quincy Miller
PF-Faried, Millsap or Landry, Anthony Randolph
C-McGee, Koufos, (Randolph)

 Yes the above roster is not glamorous but it's built around getting the most out of solid players that bring something to the table that aren't household names. The way to get big names is to win in the playoffs and have an impact player to build around.  Parker and Ginobli were just guys until they won with San Antonio.  If they were super stars from the day they were drafted, they wouldn't have ended up as part of the Spurs dynasty.  They got their with a Tim Duncan.  The Spurs got lucky that year to get Duncan.

The Nuggets can not land a big name free agent the way the NBA is set up.  They could probably throw a ton of money at a Dwight Howard or Chris Paul and they would just be ignored.  The simple fact is that even though Denver grows in skyscrapers and population and nightlife for all ages, ethnicities and types of people; it does not bring the cameras, worldwide marketing ability and attention that Los Angeles, Miami and New York bring to those that have left being the main guy in smaller markets like Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, LeBron James and Chris Bosh amongst current players and many before and since then.  Hopefully in the 2014 Draft that player can be landed and have a career like Duncan where he makes his teammates better and sticks around in a smaller market city because he finds a home and championships in Denver.

Colorado Rockies Paddling Up Creek...

I am not talking the weak current South Platte a couple of long bombs from Coors Field, I am talking white water rapids sort of creek or you may say river.  In the Ricjuesir game Thursday, June 13, the Rockies lost 3 of the top 4 offensive players in Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler.  Fortunately, CarGo will go today, June 14, after taking a foul ball off his foot in the on-deck circle.  Fowler looks to be out a little bit longer from taking a pitch to his hand while squaring for a bunt, but it should only be a few games.  Troy Tulowitzki on the other hand is out 4-6 weeks with a broken rib.  For the contending Rockies, this is awful news.

The Rockies have had a start to the season that only a diehard Rockies fan that has her/his blinders on would have expected.  They are currently tied for 2nd in their division, 2.5 games back, and tied for the NL 2nd Wild Card (another stupid Selig).  The NL West looks to be wide open and if a team gets hot for a month, that may be the difference.  Unfortunately, that's not happening for the Rockies anytime soon.  They have relied heavily on the bats of 2 of the best players in baseball in CarGo and Tulo.  Both are amongst the best at their positions both offensively and defensively.  Unfortunately, the Rockies and their fans have come to expect Tulo to be out 25-50 games or 115 like last year.  Tulo will be out a minimum of 29 games with the hope he can return right after the All Star game, but if the injury takes longer to heal, it could be 50 games and an August return.  It is really too bad, Tulowitzki has been having an amazing year.  He leads the NL in OPS and Slugging Percentage.  He then  is in the Top 5 of the major offensive statistics of AVG, HR, RBI and OBP.  Additionally, he leads the league in Field Percentage at shortstop.  Tulowitzki is a difference maker and a Top 5 player in the league.  The Rockies are lucky to have another player that is almost on his level in a Top 10 in most major statistics and in general in CarGo.  The problem is, the Rockies haven't got consistent production outside of Dexter Fowler and Michael Cuddyer.  CarGo will no longer be protected in the line-up by Tulo and his stats and this team will feel it.

The Rockies have been fortunate their starting pitching and bullpen have been solid.  Yes, they have cost them a few games but that's baseball.  For the most part they keep them in every game and the team has played great ball.  The Rockies lost too much when both Tulo and Dexter went down.  They are going to feel it these next couple weeks if Dexter's recovery takes more than a few games and even after that, the Rockies might not be able to handle what looks like Everest compared to Pikes Peak.

Here is what has to be done to try to Band-Aid these issues until Tulowitzki gets back and at least remain within 5 games come the All Star Break.  Get aggressive as a front office.  This entail trades, bringing up guys and swinging for the fences.  Here are some suggestions:

• Start Roy Oswalt and give him 3 games to pitch.  He is an old guy that can still pitch unlike Jon Garland and Jeff Francis.  The rotation is getting by on fumes.  Jeff Francis is lucky to be on a roster and doesn't need the courtesy to get one more start.  I worry about his giving up HRs in Coors Field.  The good news is Oswalt is 4-0 at 5 starts in Coors Field.
• Tyler Chatwood is healthy again and actually has been solid while pitching up after getting the call-up.  If Oswalt struggles or the fragile Chacin continues to stay shaky, it may be time to bring Drew Pomeranz up.  He has been up and down in the minors this year with his high pitch counts and average WHIP.  That said, he has to prove himself soon at the next level.  I think 3 more weeks is enough time if any of the guys struggle.
• Make a trade for a 1B or 2B that has some pop.  The Rockies have had no power at these positions for years.  2B is a tough place to get a power hitter, but first base is a place you expect it.  Todd, thanks for all your years and your swan song ending with hoping to see you bat 0.250 but if the trade is there to get a guy that can help, do it.  Your farm system has yielded nothing because you have let Todd sit there and ignored the position for years.
• Panic if shit hits the fan.  The Rockies will have no pop in their interior infield for awhile.  If by the time the trade deadline and All Star Break hits, the Rockies are out of it, trade everything that is not necessary for future years so you can get better for future years.  Cuddyer could get you a decent prospect or two, waive or trade Helton for a bag of peanuts, Torrealba could help a contending team.  Yep, another Rockies youth movement.

I hope the Rockies stay in contention but based off last year when Tulo went down and the fact this team doesn't have the Yankees ability to have a fill-in for every position makes it a tough creek to paddle and I don't see it.  Hey, Broncos training camp is coming up so at least the Rockies will keep us interested until they fall out of contention come the All Star Break.

Tim Tebow as a Pat fits like a glove...

For you pessimistic anti-Tebow folks I am not talking about OJs glove but Dan Marino isotoners style and not like what he messed up by not using and having an illigetimate kid. I digress.  Tebow is back on a NFL roster and he found a great fit.


A few things I HAVE to say before I go on, Tebow is not at blame for the national circus.  He does promote his love for Christ and it rubs some people the wrong way.  I believe if a player can do crunches in his driveway and get tons of press, why not have a guy get press for doing the right things as a player; working hard, shutting his mouth and believing he can be a NFL QB.  What is wrong with that?  He can play quarterback at the NFL level.  It is not how so many people are used to seeing a quarterback play and it makes them uneasy.  He doesn't have the perfect footwork or mechanics.  He isn't the most accurate quarterback.  The simple fact is when given the chance he performs.  You can't say that for about a dozen QBs that made starts last year, two of which he had to watch play for 16 games. 

He no longer is under pressure and attention to push a less talented player in an Orton or Sanchez that is given the nod because they look and act like the status quo QB in practice. Well if I can channel my inner Allen Iverson, we talking about practice?! practice?!  That is where Tebow will make a coach go "Is this guy serious?!" like Happy Gilmore trying to make a putt in his qualifying tourney. The simple fact is when you unleash Tebow (yes I just went Skip Bayless) and he is allowed to play his game he gives you the opportunity to win. The Broncos FANS, Tebow fans and franchise experienced this firsthand as did all the idiots that say he can't play quarterback. Did I miss something or wasn't that Tebow that lead a 2-4 Denver team to the playoffs?  Is he the guy that threw for 316 yards in a playoff game?  I missed it where he couldn't play QB but Sanchez, Matt Cassel, Brady Quinn, Blaine Gabart, John Skelton and dozens of backups can and deserve a shot over him.  He threw for over 300 yards the year before against Houston as well. 
Tebow is now in a perfect situation.  Tom Brady is the man.  He is entrenched there.  No real fan would clamor for Tebow over Brady.  He can develop as a quarterback and also help the team win games in the case of Brady going down for a few games or in a game.  Then why did he have to leave Denver you ask?  Peyton Manning was not entrenched here with fans.  There was questions about his neck.  There was a tough beginning of the season schedule and what Tebow did was fresh in many Broncos fans minds including mine and management couldn't have a controversy.  There is no controversy in New England.

Tebow is in a system where he can sit back, learn and contribute while still being a quarterback and not have to solely be a tight end or some other position a team wants him at that he will most likely only be averag.  Even if Tebow isn't used, he at least is learning and developing.  Tebow is the ideal back-up.  He has played and won in NFL games before.  He is confident.  He is not afraid to throw the ball 60 yards down field.  He can create something out of a play when there may not be anything. 

I don't know if Tebow will ever start in the NFL as a QB again, but the guy deserves a shot over some guys who get years to prove themselves or because of where they were drafted or because of how they look physically.  Romo, Gabbert, Cassell, Quinn, Fitzpatrick are the latest ones but there is a much longer list from the past that include the Mirer's, Russell's and Leaf's of the world.  The biggest reason Tebow deserves his shot is he doesn't give up and believes his team has a chance with the ball in his hands.  The success he has had late in games shows that as long as your coach doesn't overreact, if you are within a couple scores with 5 minutes to go in a game, you have a chance.  I hope he is given a couple games due to a minor injury to Brady, succeeds and a team realizes that if you adapt your system to him, he is worth taking a shot on and building your team around him for a couple years.  If Locker can start an entire NFL season looking like a much more timid player when a play is needed to be made than Tebow, why can't Tebow? 

I am happy for Tebow.  Another year means he earns a pension from the NFL for the rest of his life.  He is given a chance to not be the focus of attention like he has been since he was drafted by the Broncos and since the Jets butt fumbled how to best utilize him last year, which would have been as the starter the last half of the season where it was time to take a #2 or get off the pot. In New England, it will be to use him as a TE/HB/QB where he is a great decoy or a great trick play guy.  Tebow lines up at TE, takes two steps back and takes a lateral, everyone expects a run and he hits a streaking Amendola across the middle is one scenario that works in my mind.  There are many more.  As a fan of Tebow (both person and player), I hope he succeeds and sticks in the league for a while.  There are plenty of guys that never played behind great QBs that were irrelevant (every Elway, Marino, Manning and Tom Brady back-up), but Tebow will never be irrelevant because he had success at the NFL and it fueled the fire for his fans and for his haters.  I will never understand how Tebow won some of the games he did in the pros and how he racked up the stats he did at Florida (hey, better looking players have came through since and not had his success there), but the fact is if a player has that much belief in himself and a coach that does as well, anything can happen in the NFL.  What better example than Tom Brady's road to the NFL fame?!  Tebow can be the next Steve Young where he has to develop his great arm strength to match with his ability to run while sitting behind a HOF QB.  Best of luck #15 Timmy Tebow! 

Denver Nuggets Shake-Up is All The Right Moves...

Cue One Republic or put in the Tom Cruise HS football movie on VHS from the early 80s.  Now that I have your attention after your brain being stimulated, I'll say it, the Nuggets made All The Right Moves. 

I have been a fan of the Denver Nuggets for as long as I can remember.  I grew up watching games at McNichols and watching Drew Goodman doing the games on PSN in elementary and spent nights listening to Jerry Schemmel in junior high while other kids were listening to All 4 One on KS104 (okay I listened to that on non-Nuggets nights).  My HS years I had to be thankful for the Avs and Broncos keeping my spirits up and in college I had to thank alcohol and a rigorous school schedule along with Colorado football to keep me sane.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Nuggets winning, but I want more.  And finally the Nuggets ownership has said and shown they do too.  Josh Kroenke made the right decisions these past couple weeks in firing George Karl and letting Masai Ujiri go for $3 million a year.  I think the whining about Masai are pretty mute.  The guy is getting paid a premium that honestly wasn't worth matching with the Nugs power structure..  I believe Kroenke in how it went down, he offered him and Toronto was Masai's one team he would listen to.  Masai can work with someone he has an even better relationship with in Jerry Colangelo.  Masai wanted to be back in Toronto in a city that fits his style and his worldwide name.  People say no one knew Masai before he became GM in Colorado, well wrong.  True fans knew of his scouting days here and how he left to take a bigger job in Toronto and how that city fit with his going to Africa and the international love that city has.  Look for a foreign rich roster in Toronto with a lot of diamonds in the rough is my prediction.  Hell, the Nuggets got one in Evan Fournier and Masai has that eye as such a great scout.  He is well respected, well spoken and I believe a great GM, but I don't think he had the hand to rule the Nuggets.  I believe Kroenke is that hand. 

Once that hand didn't feel like it was going to swat away anything from his friend Ujiri, his first order of business was having some honest discussions with George.  I don't think those two saw eye to eye with the personnel, with the style of play (especially the weak defense against inferior offensive teams) and with the adjustments needed to be successful when it mattered most at all, the playoffs.  Like Kroenke said, "I am not here to win awards.  I am here to win banners." 

George and his supporters all point to the fact the Nuggets won more games without a superstar.  They talk about how we haven't missed the playoffs with GK as coach.  They miss the number one reason why he is gone, George Karl isn't going to win you championships.  He has been in the league as a HC for 25 years.  In that time he has been to one NBA finals and 3 conference finals.  He was a coach you want if you want to win games in the regular season.  I've had enough of that as a Nuggets fan and believe Karl was a big reason the Nuggets have not taken that next step, not the personnel the Nuggets have.  I have enjoyed seeing 110 point games and seeing long lines for Tacos at Taco Bell.  I have enjoyed seeing a winning product, but as a fan, as a franchise you want to see banners.  They are missing at the Pepsi Center. 

The Nuggets have lacked in a couple areas Karl always has, developing players and relying on an average player instead of an upside player.  Karl has always been good at getting the most out of players that fit his mold of hard working and constant energy.  Kousta Koufos is a great case-in-point.  But Karl loves his overrated PGs; Anthony Carter, Andre Miller and Earl Boykins come into mind, and has always had a superstar issue (after his Supersonic days); Carmelo, Ray Allen are cases in point.  Kroenke saw guys like Evan Fournier, Timofy Mozgov, Wilson Chandler and JaVale McGee and went why does it take an injury to get these guys on the floor?  The Nuggets played their worst Center all year the most minutes because he was a Karl guy.  They played Galinari while Chandler sat the bench (believe me Chandler's play in the playoffs was bad but you were having a SF play PF and C in GKs over reaction offense) and Fournier rode the pine in blowout games when giving Fournier minutes in place of Andre Miller made sense to a fan and Kroenke, but not to the stubborn Karl. 

So, Nuggets fans, I have to say this, DON'T FEAR and QUIT BITCHING.  Give Kroenke a chance.  The fact is Kroenke loves basketball and it's the right time for him to take control and have a coach and front office ran how he sees fit.  The Nuggets have talent.  They need to get a couple more players that can fit whatever vision they and their future Head Coach have.  In Denver we are seeing what sports is becoming, one guy making the calls and that guy is not a GM or coach.  Those guys are hand picked to fit the vision for what the main guy sees working.  The Nuggets are good enough to win 50 games with the talent they have and getting a couple of better role players.  They lacked a guy that could hit it from outside to match the offense they ran.  They lacked a coach that could make his team switch to a shut down defensive team, grinding it out and adapting to when they had to switch to half court.  The coaching and the playing due to it were atrocious against Golden State and ultimately what I believe caused Kroenke to say it was time.  The simple fact is the Nuggets had the advantage if they kept their game like they did in Game 1 since David Lee was injured for the playoffs.  George overreacted after the best shooting performance I've seen from a team.  I sat there in disbelief at the lack of pedal to the floor in Games 3 after a huge lead and being in control at half going into Game 6.  The decision making was awful from not using timeouts correctly to personnel.  I knew after watching Game 3 the Nuggets had no shot, not because the players but because the coach lacked the direction needed in the playoffs. 

I will say it first, the Nuggets will make the playoffs and be more prepared for it.  Their roster is playoff tested and they will have a coach that fits Denver but fits the NBA's style in the playoffs where defense and half court with shooting is needed.  Kroenke will get some shooters through Free Agency and trade.  I hear this crap about they won't win 50 games like they did with Karl and they won't be a Top 4 seed.  Who cares?  If they win 45, make the playoffs and look ready come that time that is all that matters.  The fact is, you know after the first two games whether the away team has a chance in a series.  I knew after that blowout the Warriors had a chance.  After Game 3 you know who will most likely win the series if that away team shows they have a chance, at that time I knew Golden State would win the series.  I haven't seen a chance since the Nuggets played the Lakers in 2009.  I am excited for the next few months when a coach and roster is shaped.  It may take some time, but unlike the Broncos did in the mid 2000s of spinning your wheels and being one and done in the playoffs, the Nuggets will either build upon what they've done and take the next step like Detroit in 2004 or like Dallas did a few years back or fall of the map and end up and in a few years like Golden State, Memphis and Indiana where they are on the cusp.  I think with the right coach and a couple more players, you could say the Nuggets are on par with those last 3 teams who all looked like they have a legitimate shot in the next couple years.  I think the talent level is not far off for the Nuggets and those teams.  I know a bad team after watching that 11 win Nuggets team, this isn't a 30 win team with a different coach but a team that could win close to as many games (yes, in the 50s) and have a better shot come May to hopefully play into June.  Because I don't care about any trophy the Nuggets bring in besides a Larry O'Brien!

Denver Sports Radio gets back two of it's best, Vic Lombardi and Gary Miller...

Ever since I heard Joel Klatt was leaving Colorado for LA (can I get a Hallelujah?!) I thought one name, Vic Lombardi.  Lombardi is the elder Klatt.  Both have a certain swagger like Derek from Step Brothers where you just want to do what Dale does to him in the tree house, but Vic is much easier to stomach and honestly is one of the best radio show personalities Denver has had to offer in the last half a decade.  Unfortunately, Gary Miller and his show was pulled from the carpet by Lou from Littleton when he sold out The Ticket to become ESPN Radio Denver and get Mike and Mike talking New York, Notre Dame and all other ESPN rhetoric every morning.  I live in Denver and am a Denver fan, so I want to listen to local sports.  Unfortunately, I can't stomach Klatt.  I tried.  He was solid when he had a wise ass like Nate Kreckman or a fellow Buff QB brethren to keep his arrogance at bay but with his appropriately noted Ace and Gary show with Mike Evans, I only find myself keeping 104.3 The Fan on during their segments with Vic because Vic challenges Klatt like his old co-hosts used to.  Lombardi and Klatt would have been listening gold and were on their segments.  I am a big CU fan and am not a Mike Bohn fan, much like Klatt, but I liked the questions Vic used to get Klatt and others to defend their positions.

My morning commute will now have a tough choice and will probably require a lot of pointer finger and thumb dexterity starting July 1st when Klatt moves on to hopefully greener pastures.  Lombardi hopefully will not drive me batty like Klatt if Evans stays with him and displays a similar position with him.  Mark Mosier would be a good fit but he only seems to do fill-ins.  I say welcome back Vic.  Your show with Gary Miller was great and to be honest the Morning Mayhem show I listen to is a younger, hipper version that I believe I enjoy because it reminds me of what you had.

Additionally, Gary Miller will be doing all CSU Rams play-by-play and host an afternoon show on ESPN Radio 105.5/102.3 and do coaches shows with basketball coach Larry Eustachy and football coach Jim McElwain   For some reason we have 2 ESPN stations in Denver, often playing the same thing.  I look forward to Miller in the afternoon.  I won't want to hear much of his pro-Ram talk but that's understandable being a lifelong Buff fan.

It leaves me wondering what is going to happen to the likes of Kreckman, Charles Johnson and what other shake-ups are in-store.  My hope is Kreckman teams with Lombardi or Miller.  I believe Kreckman is a great talent and carries shows, that's why they call him the Working Man.  Only Danny Williams can combat him for entertainment from the Denver Sports Radio hosts.  I have blogged about Ranking Denver Sports in that link there but it may have to be changed up a little by the start of football season, so look for that in late August.  For now, I will spend June wondering what is in store and looking forward to the changes ahead.