The Portland Timbers reported back to town this week to begin preparation for their 2nd MLS season, with the message to the players being that they will make the playoffs this year. Portland narrowly missed out of the MLS playoffs during their expansion year.
Former Timbers Forward Kenny Cooper celebrating a goal. Cooper was traded to the NYRB's for a draft pick.
The Timbers have made a lot of changes to their roster for this season, including signing more Colombian International players, trading star forward Kenny Cooper to the New York Red Bulls, and drafting Andrew Jean-Babtiste in the first round of the MLS Super Draft.
There are many familiar faces in training camp too, including Futty Danso who has been with the Timbers since their pre-MLS days.
“All the players I’ve talked with want to be stronger than last year and want to improve on where we were last year,” Danso said. “Everyone I’ve talked to during the offseason, the first thing they say is that, ‘I’ve been working out, and I need to make a difference this year.’ So I think everyone has the mentality of I want to make a difference this year. We all definitely want to have a good season.”
The Timbers 2012 schedule has also been released, and is front-loaded with lots of travel to the Eastern Conference. That means the Timbers will play the bulk of their western conference games in the second half of the season, which could be good or bad news for the club because western conference teams are more talented.
The Timbers will play Seattle twice at home and once on the road. They open their season on March 12th in Portland against Philadelphia. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
The Timbers recently finished their first Dribble-Oregon event, where players were sent out all over the state to conduct soccer training camps for kids, meet the locals, and host pub parties to get to know the fans. The event demonstrated the teams commitment to the community and their power to bring people out and get them active.
“We think the Timbers have become and will become even more so Oregon’s team,” said Golub. “Many of our games are broadcast throughout the state, we’re looking to increase that distribution of our games on radio and TV. Papers around the state are covering us more and more. We’re introducing our Academy and Olympic Development Program so we’re involved in player development on a state level.”
The US Women's National Team, who came one score away in a shoot out from winning the World Cup this last summer, is back to domination as they begin the group round of Olympic Qualifying matches in Vancouver B.C.
The Women's Team has played two games against the Dominican Republic and Guatemala in the qualifying tournament and won by a combined score of 27-0.
Hope Solo continued her mastery of the goal-keeping position by posting two shutouts and the USWNT's offense had a lot of practice finding the back of the net. Abby Wombach, the team's captain, was substituted early in both games after taking a large halftime lead. Sydney Leroux took her place and quickly scored four goals in the second half.
The US Women will face their toughest challenge in the qualifying matches against Mexico on Tuesday January 24th. Mexico has also beaten the Dominican Republic and Guatemala...but only by a combined score of 12-0. The US lost to Mexico in their previous qualifying tournament.
"We understand that 14-, 13-goal games can be looked down upon by some of our viewers, our fans, by fans of other countries," said Abby Wambach, who scored twice in the first half. "But the truth is we didn't get our job done the last qualifying tournament, and this is a statement that we're making to the rest of the world, we're making to our region, and we can't take any game for granted. We have to play hard, play physical and respect the game. That's why the results are the results you've seen."
U.S. Men's National Team:
The Men's National team played a friendly in Phoenix against Venezuela. It was a hard fought match going into extratime at the end of the game, and the score was tied at 0-0. The US Men had played a great game, with many chances to score but couldn't ever finish their opportunities. In the 97th minute though, Ricardo Clark scored on a header in front of the goal off a corner kick from Jeremiah Jones.
With both sides playing their "B" teams because starters were playing with their regular clubs, the US was able to come away with an exciting victory.
"Ricardo came in and you could see that he was struggling because he hasn't played for many months," Klinsmann, the US coach said. "He was trying hard to catch up with the group and still not there because of that long stretch. But once on the field he is a player that is technically very gifted."
Tebow Time in Denver may be over til next season, but his heroic last minute and overtime comebacks seem to have inspired Denver's other teams to never give up and to keep believing.
The Denver Nuggets finished a four game road trip to the East Coast this week, and came away from it with four wins. Two wins in overtime, including a double-overtime victory over Carmelo Anthony and his New York Knicks at Madison Square Gardens.
Saturday's game in New York marked the first time that the Nuggets played their former all-star, Carmelo Anthony, after he demanded a trade to the Knicks in 2011.
To start the game, Denver came out working together as a team, passing the ball, as usual. Andre Miller had a great alley-oop pass to Mozgov to put Denver up early in the first. By half time though, the Nuggets were down by 8.
Carmelo Anthony nearly led the Knicks back to victory as he tied the game at 98 in the final seconds of regulation. It was then all Anthony in the first overtime period, as he kept the ball and drove at the basket. Anthony though seemed as if he was going to win the game single handed for the Knicks, but the Nuggets began triple-teaming Melo. The Nuggets tied the game again in the final seconds of the first OT and Anthony tried to get the game winner, but ended up throwing the ball out of bounds, in what looked like an awkward pass.
In the second overtime period, the Knicks showed their lack of depth off the bench as the game wares on. The Knicks looked tired and exhausted as the Nuggets finally went up by 5 and on to win the game 119-114. Gallinari, Anthony's replacement from the Knicks trade last season scored a career high 37 points on 19 attempts. Anthony scored 25 points on the night, but it took him 30 attempts. Anthony was 10 of 30 in shooting attempts in the game.
Knicks fans left the game frustrated at Anthony's performance, calling him a ball hog. This is something that Denver fans are very familiar with and it was obvious on Saturday night that the Nuggets came away from the Anthony trade with the better deal.
The Nuggets ended the week with a 12-5 record, 1.5 games behind the Thunder for the division lead. The Nuggets are also currently ranked second in the western conference, again behind the Thunder.
Avalanche Thoughts of the Week:
The only thing bigger than a quarterback controversy in Denver might be a goaltender controversy. And the Avalanche are in the middle of one. Giguere, the 13 year veteran and Varlamov the young 3 year veteran, have both shown great flashes this year. Unexpectedly though, Giguere has a better save percentage and winning record than Varlamov this season.
Like so many other Denver teams, the Avalanche have had their share of overtime games this month. In January the Avs are 2-1 in OT games, and 11-2 in OT this season. Most recently, the Avs beat Florida 4-3 in overtime with Peter Mueller scoring two goals with one assist in the game.
Last night, the Avalanche traveled to L.A. to take on the Kings. Mueller again scored the go-ahead goal, and Giguere showed his old playoff form once again to give Colorado a 3-1 win and move them into the eighth place in the conference. The Avalanche are one of many teams vying for the final few playoff spots as we approach about two months left in the season. The Kings are in seventh place.
Landeskog (left) and Galidari (right) talk to a group of teens at the Denver Bouldering Club.
19-year old Avalanche rookie, Gabriel Landeskog, scored an insurance goal for the Avs in the third period. Landeskog passed across the rink to Stansy who then gave it right back to Landeskog as he took a shot from the slot and scored.
With ten goals and 13 assists in his rookie season, Landeskog has quickly become one of my favorite players. Besides his play on the ice, Landeskog and teammate TJ Galidari have started a community service project that works with at-risk teenagers in Denver to get them in shape called the Avs Team Fit Program. Landeskog and Galidari took 15 of these kids to the Denver Bouldering Club to introduce them to rock climbing. Its rare to see professional athletes be involved in climbing/outdoor programs outside of their sport, because of the risk of injury. I'm thrilled to see these two young Avs players doing programs like this and I am sure they made a big impact on the teenagers they took climbing.
Rockies Thoughts of the Week:
Dealin' Dan (O'Dowd) has been at it again for the Rockies, in one of the team's most active week's during this off-season.
Before ever even putting on a Colorado jersey, pitcher Kevin Slowey was sent to to Cleveland for relief pitcher Zach Putnam. Dan O'Dowd then focused his attention on finding a true starting second baseman. O'Dowd had been eyeing Red Sox shortstop Marco Suctaro, but the deal seemed dead by mid-week. The Rockies then agreed to send Boston relief pitcher Clayton Mortenson in exchange for Suctaro. Suctaro, 36, hit .299 last season with seven homeruns and 58 RBIs. He also has a .992 fielding percentage, which is the second highest for second basemen in MLB.
One concern for the Rockies now is the age of their starting in field. Catcher Ramon Hernandez is 35 and 1B Todd Helton, Marco Suctaro, and Casey Blake are all 38. Troy Tulowitzki is the only starting infielder under 30, at 27 years old. The Rockies are hoping that this experienced and aging infield will allow promising prospects like 3B Jordan Pacheco and C Willin Rosario to develop for a year longer before taking their places at Coors Field. Pacheco helped lead his fall league team to a championship this offseason and won the fall league MVP award. The Rockies also hope that promising young outfielder, Charlie Blackmon, will make a full recovery from a broken foot he suffered last season.
The Rockies also obtained big name free-agent Michael Cuddyer, who has played his entire 10 year career with Minnesota. Cuddyer is expected to provide another big-bat in Colorado's line up to provide more offense. Cuddyer hit .284 with 20 HRs and 70 RBI's last season with Minnesota. The addition of Cuddyer allowed the Rockies to trade out-fielder Seth Smith to Oakland for pitchers Guillermo Moscoso and Josh Outman.
The Rockies had recently been shopping Smith because of his lack of production at the plate against left-handed pitchers. Moscoso had a 3.84 ERA in 21 starts last season with Oakland, going 8-10. Outman was 3-5 in 9 starts with a 3.70 ERA.
The biggest question now for the Rockies as Spring Training approaches is who will make up their starting rotation. Jhoulys Chacin is expected to be the number one starter with all the other spots up for grabs from the many pitchers the Rockies have recently acquired. Juan Nicasio is also expected to compete for a spot in the rotation after recovering from a broken neck from last season. Nicasio says his recovery is progressing well and expects to be pitching in Spring Training.
Here's the Rockies projected starting day line up:
Projected Starting Day
Lineup
Player
Position
1
Dexter Fowler
CF
2
Marco Suctaro
2B
3
Carlos Gonzalez
LF
4
Troy Tulowitzki
SS
5
Todd Helton
1B
6
Michael Cuddyer
RF
7
Ramon Hernandez
C
8
Casey Blake
3B
9
Jhoulys Chacin
P
Rapids Thoughts of the Week:
The Colorado Rapids reported to training camp this week, and there were many new faces there, including the coaching staff.
Wells Thompson, one of the Rapids mid-fielder, won the beep-test (a multi-stage fitness test) and the Rapid's first round draft pick this year, Tony Cascio, finished second. The beep-test is meant to demonstrate a player's overall fitness and athleticism.
Tony Cascio, the Rapid's first round pick.
Cascio was a mid-fielder/forward at UCONN where he scored 24 goals and was named a 2010 NCSAA First Team All American, as well as the 2010 Big East Offensive Player of the Year.
"I'm very happy to get Tony with our pick," said Rapids head coach Oscar Pareja. "We thoughts he was going to go higher than this, so we were very excited when he fell into our hands. He's a disciplined, intense, and versatille player who caught my eye the first time I saw him play. I'm looking forward to bringing him to the group."
The Rapids have also invited to players from a try-out combine to spring training with the team, Defender Isaac Cowles and forward Sam Archer.
"I'm just very thankful for the opportunity," said Cowles afterwards. "That's what it is right now, another opportunity for me to come out and play my best. I just feel so blessed and thank everybody at the Rapids for this opportunity."
Cowles, a Denver native, attended Faith Christian High and played for club team Real Colorado before attending UNC-Charolette for school where he played in the NCAA Cup finals.
With new coach, Oscar Peraja, who will play a faster paced, Latin style of soccer in Colorado many players are hoping to have better seasons. Peraja's style will be more offense oriented which will hopeful serve Rapid's Forward, Caleb Folan well. Folan was not a fan favorite last year, and played poorly, despite having the second most shots on goal on the team. With a new coach who is more focused on offense, Folan may have a break out season with Peraja.
In other Rapids news, Jeff Larentowicz, made his third start for the US Men's National team in their victory over Venezuela. Larentowicz has been receiving quite a bit of international attention this off season, while also training with EPL side, Bolton.
Broncos Thoughts of the Week:
Denver Bronco's Safety, Brian Dawkins was added to his 9th pro-bowl this week. Dawkins, who missed the final few games of the season with a neck injury seems unlikely to play in the Hawaii game though.
Dawkins joins five other Broncos in the Pro-Bowl inclusing Von Miller, Elvis Dumervil, Champ Bailey, Willis McGahee and left tackle, Ryan Clady.
After the loss to the Patriots, the Denver Broncos held an end of the season press conference. John Elway announced that Tim Tebow will be Denver's starting QB going into training camp. He would not yet name him the starter for the season, assuming he will bring in a couple other QBs to compete with Tebow in training camp. Elway also said that he looks forward to being able to work directly with Tebow this offseason to help him improve his passing motion and hopefully his completion percentage. QB Adam Webber, from the Broncos practice squad, is expected to be one of the other QB at training camp.
Finally, with the Broncos thrilling and unexpected season coming to an end, Denver Post writer Mike Klis has published a book chronicling the season's many great come from behind victories led by Tim Tebow. The book is titled "Will to Win: A Season to Remember". Excerpts from the book can be found here.
With the end of the Broncos season coming to a disappointing but overall satisfying end my attention has turned to the Colorado Rapids and Portland Timbers beginning their 2012 seasons.
The new unbalanced schedule in MLS means that the Rapids and Timbers will play three times, twice in Colorado and once in Portland. Thanks to a fun and unexpected trip to the PNW this summer I'll get to see all three games!
Last year's two games were two of the best of the season. The first game was in Colorado as the season-opener and the Timber's first ever MLS game. DSG Park was packed as Rapids fan's celebrated the MLS Cup Championship and Timber's fans flooded the stadium for their first ever pro game. The atmosphere was unrivaled to any other game in Colorado.
The game in Portland was very hard fought by both sides, as the game went into a 0-0 draw for extra time. The Rapids scored a miracle goal on a scramble for the ball in the box a minute into extratime and were able to come away from Portland with a win!
I can wait for August when I get to experience the atmosphere at Jeld-Wen Field in PDX! Even if it is as an away supporter. I'll have to get to another game during the season as a Timbers fan.
Midway through the second quarter against Pittsburgh a sign appeared over Mile High Stadium. This wasn't an airplane pulling a banner or a skydiver with a flag.
Fans all over the stadium were point to the sky. The man and woman next to me gasped. I heard others saying it was a sign.
I said to my dad, jokingly, "This proves God is a Bronco's fan," referencing the infamous bumper stickers.
For about a minute, a halo of smoke hung over the stadium.
I believed the Broncos were going to go on to win their first playoff game since 2006.
But as with any miracle, Denver would not accomplish a great feat with out first facing adversity.
In the second half, Denver would only score one field goal and Pittsburgh would tie the game at 23 after a costly fumble by Willis McGahee that allowed the Steelers to score the equalizing touchdown.
Denver would then have to face a furious Steeler's offense as they tried to get into field goal position in the final seconds. It was a scene Bronco's fans were used to seeing their own team doing. Driving down-field in the waning seconds of the game. But the defense held, and pushed Rothelisburger back to his own side of the field. These Broncos would not be beaten on a hail mary, and on to overtime we went.
It is fitting that this Broncos team, who had won 3 overtime games this season, would play the first game in NFL history under the new overtime rules that allow each team to get a possession unless the first team scores a touchdown on the initial drive. Denver won the coin flip and got the ball.
The man in front of me stood up, and pointed to his watch. Today, overtime, would be known as 'Tebow Time' he announced to our section. Steelers fans threw taunts at him. The little boy in the Steelers hat behind me yelled at him 'Tebow can suck it!"
All day the Steelers had been stacking the box against Denver's run. "There's no way we can run against this defense. They have all 11 guys within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage," a friend texted me earlier in the game. And sure enough to start overtime, Pittsburgh brought nearly all their defenders to the line. And Mike McCoy, Denver's offensive coordinator called the perfect play.
Denver had run on all but one first down play during the game, and Pittsburgh assumed they would do it again. The ball was snapped, all defenders but one ran to the line of scrimmage. Tebow faked the hand off perfectly to McGahee and threw a beautiful ball 20 yards down-field to Thomas who had one man to beat and then a sea of green grass that Broncos love so much in front of him.
Thomas stiff armed the defender, broke free, and ran 80 yards into the endzone.
11 seconds into overtime and Denver had won a playoff game the entire nation had predicted them to lose.
Mile High shook in celebration, just like the old days. That old Mile High Magic was back, and showed that no matter what, Denver will always be a football town. And just like it should be, there was The Duke of Denver himself, John Elway running onto the field, fist pumping for joy just like when he used to lead these come-back wins.
This was one of the best games of football ever played in Denver.
The Mile High Miracle, led by the Mile High Messiah, Tim Tebow.
For celebrating the Bronco's win, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is my new favorite! It's a fresh hopped beer that is very hoppy and bitter. A pleasant surprise compared to other holiday ales that are usually very malty.
Game Winning Replay of the Week:
Here is the Conan O'Brien version of how Denver beat Pittsburgh.
Big news coming out of DSG Park this week! Rapid's have hired a new coach, Oscar Pareja, a former MLS Best XI. Pareja has been on the coaching staff with FC Dallas, and the job in Colorado will be his first head coaching position.
“I am honored to join such a great organization like the Colorado Rapids, and want to thank everyone at Kroenke Sports & Entertainment for the opportunity.” said Pareja. “This is a dream come true, and I am excited to get started at the Player Combine this weekend and the SuperDraft next week. We already have a great team and everyone is optimistic about what we can achieve this season and beyond," said Pareja at his press conferece.
The Rapids have also announced their schedule for 2012, with the home opener on Saturday March 10th against the Columbus Crew. The Rapids will also play RSL once at home and twice in Salt Lake for the Rocky Mountain Cup. The Portland Timbers will come to Colorado twice, and Montreal, the expansion team, will also visit DSG Park.
Avalanche Thoughts of the Week:
The Avs are on a two game losing skid, but have won seven out of their last ten. They also possess winning records both at home and away.
The Avalanche have been a very streaky team this season, winning many in a row and losing many in a row. Let's hope that the current 2 game losing streak doesn't last much longer.
The Avs will play the second half of a home-home series against the Predators in Nashville this Thursday. This game will be important for Colorado to keep pace with a team slightly ahead of them in the standings.
Center, Ryan O'Rielly, had the Avalanche's lone goal against Nashville in Denver and is continuing his streak of leading the Avalanche in points.
Nuggets Thoughts of the Week:
After losing their first home game of the season to New Orleans, the Nuggets came back and beat the Nets in Denver 123-115. Denver is proving to have depth on it's roster in this abreviated season, but is still looking to find a good groove.
The Nuggets will face a big challenge as Miami comes to town this week, and the Nuggets will hope to hand them their second loss of the season.
1987 had The Drive led by John Elway. 98 yards to tie the game and beat Cleveland in OT during the AFC Championship Game.
1992 there was The Drive II, also by John Elway. 98 yards again, to beat the Houston Oilers in the final minutes of the AFC Championship Game.
2011 now has "The Drive Jr." or "The Drive Too" with John Elway watching his embattled QB, Tim Tebow, lead the Broncos 95 yards downfield to beat the Jets 17-13.
View from my seats in the South Endzone as the Jets punt for the 1st time.
The stakes might not have been as high in 2011 as they were for the first two Drives. Back then the Superbowl was on the line. This time the stakes were improving the season record to 5-5 and staying in the playoff race for the AFC West. Maybe what was most on the line was Tim Tebow's reputation and future in his first national TV appearance.
With just over five minutes remaining in the game The Broncos had not accomplished much. There were 9 straight drives of three and out, a lost fumble by Willis McGahee and many botched opportunities to start drives in the Jets half of the field. The game seemed to be proving all of Tebow's critiques right in that he can't pass, but somehow Tebow found another way to win. As his supporters say, 'he just wins,' and he sure does.
Goodman is pursued by Sanchez into the endzone after intercepting the QB.
Andre Goodman, who Sanchez and the Jets had picked on all night with Plaxico Burress receiving many passes over Goodman, came up big with Denver's first TD of the night. Goodman intercepted Sanchez and returned the ball untouched into the endzone for his first pick-6 of his career.
Von Miller continued his impressive rookie season recording 1.5 sacks on Sanchez and multiple other hits to shake up the Jet's QB. Miller finished the night leading the team with 9 tackles and a forced fumble.
"If you pressure any quarterback and get to him, he will make some bad decisions," Miller said. "That is our game plan every week, just get to the quarterback and get some hits on him."
The Denver defense finally has something opposing teams fear. A pass rush that creates chaos for the opposing QB.
If this photo went just 2 rows higher you could see me and my dad in the top left.
Special teams also had a big night, forcing and recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff after Goodman's pick-6. Cassius Vaughn returned a Jet's kickoff deep into Jet's territory. And most impressive of all was Punter, Britton Colquit's performance, down many punts inside the Jet's own 10 yard line including one at the one yard line with help of a great special teams performance by Mathew Willis.
Thankfully, big plays by the defense and special teams kept Denver and Tebow in the game for the fourth quarter, trailing 13-10. Eddie Royal mistakenly called for a fair catch at his own 5 yard line with 5:54 remaining to set up Denver's 95 yard come-from -behind drive.
The drive nearly ended on the first play when Tebow threw a screen pass to Royal in Denver's own endzone. Royal was nearly wrapped up for a safety, but managed to escape and gain 9 yards. Tebow would hit 3 of 5 pass attempts on the drive, including a great sliding 18 yard catch by tight end Dante Rosario.
Previously Tebow had only carried the ball twice for 11 yards, but on the final drive Tebow rushed seven times for 58 yards and the game winning TD. He finished 9 for 20 in passing with 104 passing yards and was only sacked once.
Tebow celebrates his game winning score.
On Third Down and 4 from the 20, the Jets showed an all out blitz for the first time all night. The Jets rushed at Tebow, Tebow scrambled left and took off for the first down, broke a tackle and went straight into the endzone as he was mobbed by teammates for the go-ahead score.
"I think it was just a bunch of guys that kept fighting, and that had been knocked down a bunch of times and got back up," Tebow said. "I'm proud of these guys for their resiliency and determination."
"After the touchdown, it was fun, but during that drive, it was a lot of focus," wide receiver Eddie Royal said. "Everybody in the huddle was tired at that point, but we all knew we had to suck it up and focus in, and make these plays that we needed."
Denver is now half a game out of first place in the AFC West, with a 5-5 record. An improbable situation given that the team started 1-4 under Kyle Orton and has since gone 4-1 with Tim Tebow at QB. If the Raiders lose on Sunday to Minnesota, Denver will be tied for first place.
The Jets fall to also have a 5-5 record, essentially dashing their playoff hopes in a difficult AFC East division with competition from Buffalo and New England. Denver now owns the tie break over the Jets for an AFC wildcard position.
Tebow Time? Try Miller Time Instead:
With the entire nation setting their clocks to Tebow-Time, The Broncos are setting their clocks to Miller Time. Von Miller's amazing rookie season is being overshadowed by the media circus that is Tim Tebow. Miller leads the Broncos in tackles and sacks, with 9.5 on the season. He is on pace to set a new rookie record for sacks. With the return of a healthy Elvis Dumervil, Miller is even more of a threat as the Broncos seem to be returning to the days of the Orange Crush.
Von Miller gets to Jet's QB Mark Sanchez.
Under a new defensive minded head coach in John Fox, new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and John Elway's emphasis on defense in his first draft as an executive the Broncos seem to be building a defense that can win championships.
"I think guys are beginning to feel more comfortable in the system and what they're being asked to do, and I think some of the play has shown that," said Allen.
In the last two wins the Denver Defense has only allowed 23 points, and Von Miller has nearly knocked the opposing teams QB out of the game or the entire season in both wins.
So as everyone else sets their clocks for Tebow Time, true Broncos fans are living on Miller-Time. We're not yet sure if Tebow is the future of this organization, but Von Miller is for real and he is the Broncos' future on Defense.
Decker Distracted?
Jessie James performs the halftime show wearing Decker's jersey.
Receiver Eric Decker was off his game on Thursday night. He missed all 5 passes thrown to him (though you can't blame him for all of those), and his one pass attempt of the night when out of bound in the endzone.
Decker may have been distracted by the presence of his super star country singer girlfriend, Jessie James, who was preforming the half time show.
Decker is second in the league in receiving touchdowns, with 7 and has 34 catches for 462 yards.
Let's hope Decker just had an off night and returns to form next week against San Diego!
Beer of the Week:
The Twisted Pine just released their double IPA, The Misty Mountain Hop. According to the Pine this is "a single hopped unfiltered India Pale Ale with Simcoe hops." Very hoppy, very good. Get it while it lasts!
"So I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains where the spirits go now" -Led Zeppelin
Drew Litton Comic of the Week:
Tebow's drive, in comic form:
MLS & Rapids Thoughts of the Week:
Colorado Rapid's Supporters groups will be throwing head coach Gary Smith a farewell party during the MLS Cup on Sunday at The Celtic Tavern in downtown Denver.
Many Rapid's fans are still upset about Smith's departure and feel the executives forced him out and that they should have tried to fix the club's relationship with him after Smith brought Colorado their first MLS Cup in 2010.
Kronke Sports Entertainment, who owns The Rapids, Avalanche, Nuggets, St. Louis Rams and Arsenal FC, has not put in the financial backing to the Rapids as they should to keep the team successful and profitable. Rapid's supporters joked on Facebook that there should be an "Occupy Stan's Front Yard" protest where Rapid's fans camp out on Kronke's front lawn to demand the club be given more attention.
The Rapids have a strong and passionate fan base and a lot of talent on the team. With more money put into the team, and marketing the Rapids have the potential to become a very profitable and successful team in MLS.
****************
The MLS Cup kicks off on Sunday, November 20th at 7pm Mountain Time on ESPN. The LA Galaxy will take on the Houston Dynamo at the Home Depot Center in LA.
The Galaxy are heavy favorites to win the cup this year, but many experts involved with MLS are predicting a Dynamo upset. It will be tough for the Dynamo though because they are missing league MVP candidate Brad Davis to injury.
As Colorado fans, lets hope that Houston can pull off the upset over the hated Galaxy!
Rockies Thoughts of the Week:
Nolan Arenado, the fantastic 3rd base prospect of the Colorado Rockies, was named the MVP of the 2011 Arizona Fall League. Arenado played in 29 games and had an average of .388 with 6 home runs and 33 RBI's. The Rockies are excited about his prospect in the major's next year and are inviting him to spring training camp. Arenado may be the answer to the Rockies recent problems at thirdbase.
In other Rockies news, the team has begun hitting the free-agent market and trade market. The Rockies are interested in picking up a 2nd baseman, a right fielder to complement or replace Seth Smith, and starting pitching.
The Rockies have expressed interest in Roy Oswalt, whose agent has said the Rockies have a shot at him. Oswalt is aging and would probably demand a 2 year $30 million contract. This shows that the Rockies have money to spend on big name players. But with big name pitchers failing in Colorado previously, it might be worth looking into players who would not be as expensive.
The Rockies are also trying to trade for Atlanta Braves 2nd baseman Martin Prado, after losing Mark Ellis to LA in free agency. Prado is a career .293 batter, but in 2011 had an off year batting only .260 after three years with an average over .300. The Rockies hope that Prado will thrive in Colorado and return to his form of a few years ago.
Avalanche Thoughts of the Week:
Last night the Avalanche won for the first time since November 10th, beating the Dallas Stars 3-0 at the Pepsi Center in Denver. The Avs had previously lost three straight to Calgary, Minnesota and Pittsburgh.
Giguere makes a save in goal against Dallas.
Back-up goalie Sebastian Giguere got the shutout win, and is possibly beginning to create a goalie controversy for the Avs.
"Giggy is playing very well, giving us what we expected," head coach Joe Sacco said. "Varly has played very well for us, especially at the start of the year. You know, he's going through a tough stretch right now, but I'm confident he'll be back to top form too."
The Avalanche made the game easy for Giguere, outshooting Dallas 45-24 as they constantly put pressure on the Dallas defense the entire game.
The Avalanche will now start an 8 game, 17 day homestand which is the longest of the season so far.
"That was a good start to the homestand. We didn't sit back in this one. We just played the same way the whole game," said Stansty who scored on a power-play goal against Dallas.
Cheerleader of the Week:
It only took about 20 seasons of Broncos games to finally catch one of the little foam footballs the cheerleaders throw into the corners of the South Stands. I had planned that if I caught one I would give it to the little boys sitting in front of me, because when I was that age I always hoped someone would do that for me. The two boys though had both caught the foam footballs earlier in the game so when Katie, this week's cheerleader of the week, threw one my direction I was able to catch it and actually keep it! Thanks Katie for making a childhood dream of getting one of those little footballs reality!
There are many yearly traditions that Coloradans look forward to every year. We look forward to powder days on the slopes. We look forward to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. We look forward to shows at Red Rocks and bluegrass in Telluride.
And we look forward to The Denver Broncos beating the hated Oakland Raiders.
But until this weekend, Coloradans hadn't seen a victory over the Raiders since 2009. The Raiders had beaten the Broncos four straight times. Two of those four losses came in Denver, in 2009 it was on a last second field goal to give the Raiders a 20-19 win, and an embarrassing 59-14 route of Denver's defense in 2010.
But all that changed this week as Denver, led by Tim Tebow, Willis McGahee, and Champ Bailey, came from behind to give the Broncos an impressive 38-24 win over the Raiders in the black hole that is Oakland. It was a team-effort, with offense, defense, special teams and coaching all contributing to the victory.
Denver implemented a read option offense - similar to the kind Tebow led in college - and ran over the Raiders tough defense for 299 yards on the ground. Despite a broken hand, McGahee ran for 163 yards and two long touchdowns. The last TD run put the game out of reach for the Raiders in the final minutes. Tebow also ran for 119 yards, one of which was a great third down conversion to keep the possession for the Broncos in the final minutes. He even remembered to slide down in bounds to keep the clock running.
The Broncos saw improvements on every side of the ball this week. The offensive line dominated the Raiders. The defense had three interceptions and stopped the Raiders at crucial times. Special teams and Eddie Royal had a punt returned for a TD. And Tim Tebow managed to stay on his feet, throw for two touchdowns and was only sacked twice.
The Raiders sure did come after Tebow though. He took many hits on his runs, after his passes and even out of bounds. He took a hit to the chin that cut up his lip and showed his resiliency the entire game.
Tebow still has a long way to go to become a great NFL QB. He only completed 10 of 21 passes and showed he is still inaccurate throwing the ball. His passes did look better against the Raiders though. He got the ball off quicker, wasn't scrambling around in the pocket as much and made good reads on the throws he did complete.
"There's no question we're looking for balance in the run and the pass," coach John Fox said Monday. "We're probably leaning a little bit more on the run right now, and we have to improve in the pass game because in this league you've got to be two-dimensional, not one-dimensional, and it's something I'm sure he'll grow, we'll grow, in time."
It's still to be seen if a read-option offense can be sustainable in the NFL. But this year it has been working well for Cam Newton and Carolina (though it's not used exclusively) and the Falcons had success with it and Michael Vick a few years ago. If Denver can give Tebow a system he is comfortable with where he can grow as an NFL QB his accuracy will start to improve and he will start to become a better pocket passer.
What's Next?
Next week the Broncos travel to Kansas City to take on a Chief's team that no one knows what to expect. The Chiefs lost their first three games by huge point differentials. Then they won their next four games. And last week they were held to only 3 points by a win-less Miami Dolphins team in their own stadium to give Miami their first victory. The Chiefs offense has shown it struggles to score points and the defense struggles to stop other teams. But they have also shown great things this season.
The questions for the Broncos will be if they can keep being successful with their read-option offense. If the running game keeps looking good and Tebow finally completes 50%+ of his passes the Broncos will come out of KC with a win that Coloradans look forward to nearly as much as a win against Oakland.
New York Life Protection Index Update:
Despite having one of their better games protecting Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos still only scored an 11.5 on the NYLPI against the Raiders and were ranked last in the NFL this week. Tebow was only sacked twice in the game, compared to 14 times in his previous two starts.
I know Tebow was hit after the play quite a bit. Maybe the hits he took each time he ran the ball counted against the Broncos in this statistic. But I felt that Tebow was protected better than in the previous games, even though he took more dirty hits against the Raiders.
I still can't find the formula used to calculate the NYLPI and think I may need a new statistic that shows how well the offensive line protects the QB.
Miscellaneous Broncos Items:
The New York Times published a piece summarizing why the Tim Tebow QB controversy has become so heated. It claims religion is at the center of the debate.
These Broncos fans went to the game in Oakland, decked out in Orange, and managed to survive the experience. Great read starting with being heckled by Raiders fans from the highway to the game, seeing Raiders fan sneak into the Coliseum, and spending the entire game with rude comments being thrown their way. The video they took from a cell phone of the black mile walk is worth watching just for the sound of the experience.
Other NFL Thoughts:
This video shows how creative Buffalo Bills fans are with their tailgating. Having spent so many years in the basement of the AFC East, it's great to see that Bills fans are still so passionate and show up in such huge numbers. With a surprise season and a record of 5-3 this year, I'm rooting for the Bills to take the AFC East by storm! Though this weekend they lost big to the NY Jets.
I haven't seen anything like this in Denver where much of the pre-game experience has been taken over by the big tent behind the south stands.
Beer of the Week:
Odell's winter seasonal, the Mountain Standard Double Black IPA, really hits the spot. In winter I love drinking dark beers with chocolate malts but I always miss the IPA's of summer. This beer takes the best of both worlds making a black IPA with chocolate malts and lots of hops from Colorado to give you a great combination of chocolaty malts and piney hops in the same sip. You can pick it up from most liquor stores in a four pack!
Drew Litton Comic of the Week:
Because we here in Colorado love it so much when our Broncos run over the Raiders, here is this weeks comic in tribute to the Bronco's victory.
Rapids Thoughts of the Week:
The Colorado Rapids had a disappointing end to their season this week. Plagued by injury to nearly a quarter of their starting line up the Rapids lost the away portion of their playoff series against Sporting Kansas City 2-0. Days after the loss, the Rapids parted ways with their head-coach Gary Smith, as the two sides could not agree on a contract renewal. Smith led the Rapids to their only MLS Cup in 2010 and brought a great deal of successful starters to the team in his tenure in Colorado.
“After meeting with Gary, we decided it would be in the best interest of both parties to move in a different direction,” said Colorado Rapids Managing Director Jeff Plush. “We’d like to thank Gary for his many contributions to the Colorado Rapids organization. He was instrumental in the Rapids winning our first-ever MLS Cup last year, and we wish him nothing but the best as he explores new opportunities.”
Smith has told ESPN that problems with the Front Office led to his departure from the Rapids.
"Paul, Jeff, Tim, they were involved in the player decisions, and they were the source of a lot of conflict," Smith said to ESPN. "Ninety percent of the decisions were made after heavy arguments. These guys feel they are in a position of power to do that. When I took the job, I was told I would have the final say. But over time that required more confrontation, more energy, and I was sick and tired of the backbiting."
This revelation of the conflict with the front office is disappointing to many Rapid's supporters, as Smith was instrumental in developing many fan-favorites in the starting eleven.
"We have a great team here and it's a huge loss of a coach that coached us for three years and he took us to the finals. It happens, he's got his own life and it just didn't work out with the organization...it'll be hard to get under a new coach and get going again but I just wish the best of luck to Gary and I wish him luck where ever he goes. And we just appreciate what he's done for us the last three years." said Kosuke Kimura, one of the Rapid's star players who Smith helped to develop into a critical part of Colorado's team.
Colorado had hoped to talk to John Spencer, a former Rapid's star and current head coach of the Portland Timbers, about the possibility of becoming the new head coach for the Rapids.
“Colorado, it’s a place that he holds very dear to his heart,” Wilkinson, Portland's GM, said. “His quote to me was, ‘Colorado is home, but Portland is the home of soccer.’ “You can see what value he brings to the [Timbers]. He’s done a great job. We love him here in Portland, and we want John to be successful here in Portland.”
Gary Smith will certainly be missed by the Rapid's supporters as well. The Burgundy Wave, a Rapid's Blog run by supporters put it best:
Smith will forever be remembered for pulling together a group of low-paid pseudo-stars in 2010 and delivering us our first ever trophy. His downfalls aside, Gary was the best manager in the short history of the Colorado Rapids and we'll never forget him no matter how many successes may or may not be in our club's future.
So, here's to you Gary Smith. You'll always be welcomed by us Rapid's Supporters here in Colorado! Good luck!
MLS Cup Thoughts of the Week:
The LA Galaxy and the Huston Dynamo will both be looking for their third MLS Cup Championship in club history on Sunday November 20th at the Home Depot Center.
LA beat Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference Finals 3-1 with a goal from designated player Robbie Keane and some great play by David Beckam.
Huston beat Sporting KC 2-0 at Livestrong Park in the Eastern Conference to move on to the finals. But they lost potential league MVP, Brad Davis, to injury in the game. But the Dynamo still come into the finals feel confident, with their playoff experience.
"It hurts losing [Brad Davis],"says goalkeeper Tally Hall. "But at the same time, I feel like we have a deep team. We have a team of dangerous players, and I think we've proven that even without Brad.”
Avalanche Thoughts of the Week:
The Avalanche have plummeted back to Earth in the last week. The Avs have not won a game in ten days and have lost four straight, including 2 at home and 2 on the road. The Avs record is now 7-7-1 with 15 points. They are ranked 11th in the Western Conference.
Their losses this week included a 4-1 loss at home against Phoenix, an overtime loss in Dallas 7-6, a 2-1 loss to Calgary, and a 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. The Colorado offense has been struggling, except in the loss to Dallas, and the defense needs to start improving the penalty kill if Colorado wants to start winning.
"It's (PK) struggling right now," winger Daniel Winnik said. "It's hard to win games when you're giving up one or two power-play goals a game."
To find their winning ways again, the Avalanche are going to need their young stars to step up and become better leaders. Players like Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog will have to start inspiring their teammates. Coach Joe Sacco should also give Duchene more chances to prove himself on the first line, as he was pulled from it against the Red Wings.
With 8 of the next 10 games played at home, the longest home stretch of the season this far, the Avalanche will have the opportunity to start turning their season around at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
Rockies Thoughts of the Week:
There is talk that the Rockies may keep Ian Stewart in the big leagues as a utility/starting infielder. After his terribly disappointing season last year, I see no way this helps the Rockies at all. Sure, it may be another year until all-star prospect 3B Nolan Arenado is ready for the major leagues. In the mean time Jordan Pacheco showed he can play with the big boys and deserves a chance over Ian Stewart in the Rockies' starting line-up.
Nolan Arenado is continuing his assault on the Arizona Fall League leading nearly every batting category. His defense at 3B has also been impressive, which is beginning to question whether the Rockies would try to develop Arenado in a 1st baseman to replace an aging Todd Helton.
"He has played tremendous defense down here, one of the best defensive third basemen I've seen in a long time," said Rafters manager Stu Cole, also the Rockies' Triple-A manager.
Baseball in America published a good read on Arenado's play in the fall league.
Finally, the Rox need to start looking at free agency and the trade market. For next season they are in desperate need of at least one or two quality starting pitchers, and a 3rd baseman. Another outfielder with a big bat to compliment Seth Smith would help the Rockies compete too.
With the NBA lockout in full swing you have to feel bad for all the seasonal workers who are out of a job right now, like the beer and food vendors, the maintenance people and the Denver Nugget's Dancers. So that's why I'll feature them as this week's cheerleaders:
