The 2010 Broncos Season Preview

By Nick Gustafson

Welcome back Broncos fans!!! Training camp is closed for the year, the Broncos are set to play their last preseason game tonight and the regular season is quickly approaching. Tebowmania invaded Broncos training camp this year and brought with it record breaking attendance numbers. Fans all across the globe are rabid with excitement over Tebow who was arguably one of the all time best college football players in history. In Tebow’s preseason debut he was painfully reminded of why some have doubts as to whether his athletic ability will produce the same record breaking results in the pros as he was used to in college. As Tebow charged for the goal line in a John Elwayesque type of play he was welcomed to the size and speed of linebackers in the NFL and ended up missing a few days of practice due to bruised ribs.

I attended Broncos training camp for the first time this year and what I witnessed was nothing to write home about, so instead I’m writing to all of you Broncos fans. There were flashes of a team with great potential, which were almost immediately followed by detrimental mistakes on both sides of the ball. Those mistakes are expected to happen this early in a season, now it’s the coaches job to correct them before the season starts. The Broncos have been stung by the injury bug early and often in this year’s training camp which has many fans worried, but may in fact provide helpful for the team. Most of the injuries suffered so far in camp are relatively minor, other than Elvis’s pectoral muscle tear. These injuries may in fact be a blessing in disguise for the Broncos team as a whole this year. The minor injuries that the starters have suffered are providing much greater playing time for the other players on the roster. Guys who may have gotten few, if any, reps in practice are getting much more time on the field, which is allowing the coaching staff a better chance to evaluate the talent hidden within some of the lesser known guys.

Tonight’s preseason game is quite possibly the final stage for a lot of players on the team. A last chance hailmary to make the active roster, practice squad, or a chance to make a splash on film that lands them a tryout with one of the other teams looking for that diamond in the rough. Coach McDaniels has shown that he has no problem cutting any player that isn’t performing or isn’t the right fit for his system, so expect at least a couple surprise cuts as well as a few surprise keepers. In his second season McDaniel’s has undoubtedly left his mark on this team by almost completely reshaping the roster in two short years. If the Broncos hope to have any success this season they are going to need more production from this years crop of rookies than they got last year. The Bronco’s draft class of 09 proved to be fairly lackluster in their first season as pros, but there are still high hopes for many of the players taken last year. Robert Ayers is set to have a huge role on defense for the Broncos and with the injury to Elvis Dumervil the production they receive from him will almost surely dictate the success of this defense.

So where does all of this leave the Denver Broncos of 2010? At this point I don’t think that anyone has any idea. Many starting positions on the team are still up for grabs as the season approaches, a few of the teams big offensive stars have yet to play in a single game this year and the team as a whole is still trying to figure out how to work together. Last year the Broncos came out of the gate and rattled off 6 straight wins, shocking the nation and then fizzled down the stretch. If anything I would expect some what of an opposite effect this year. A young Broncos team that struggles in the early stages of the season, but comes together as the year wears on to be a contender in what could be a very surprising AFC West division.



Where Are Thou Pitching?

- Brennan Weiss

Roy Halladay has been hyped up since the Phillies acquired him from the Blue Jays on December 15, 2009, but many have seem to forgotten that he pitches only once out of a five-day cycle. Don’t get me wrong, Halladay definitely deserves to be hyped up and he has without a doubt lived up to all expectations, but with only one reliable starting pitcher in a rotation, success in the playoffs is not feasible.

Where Are Thou Pitching?

- Brennan Weiss

Roy Halladay has been hyped up since the Phillies acquired him from the Blue Jays on December 15, 2009, but many have seem to forgotten that he pitches only once out of a five-day cycle. Don’t get me wrong, Halladay definitely deserves to be hyped up and he has without a doubt lived up to all expectations, but with only one reliable starting pitcher in a rotation, success in the playoffs is not feasible.

Where Are Thou Pitching?

- Brennan Weiss

Roy Halladay has been hyped up since the Phillies acquired him from the Blue Jays on December 15, 2009, but many have seem to forgotten that he pitches only once out of a five-day cycle.

Don’t get me wrong, Halladay definitely deserves to be hyped up and he has without a doubt lived up to all expectations, but with only one reliable starting pitcher in a rotation, success in the playoffs is not feasible.

2010 NL East Preview

- Brennan Weiss

The ending of the 2009 regular season in the NL East division was not the most exciting for baseball fans around the country, but Philly unquestionably took it. The constant, heart-wrenching battle between the Mets and Phillies, both contending for the division championship down to the wire, with just a few games left in the 2007 and 2008 seasons was exciting as hell, but almost gave fans of both cities heart attacks. Going into play in 2009, the only contending teams seemed to be the Mets and Phillies, especially knowing their history. The restocking Braves had greatly weakened after losing some of the greatest starting pitchers in MLB history. The Marlins, who always give other NL East teams some difficulties (especially the Phillies), had a chance to contend, but they seemed to have faded off towards the end of the season. And finally, the Nationals… well, enough said. With a lot less drama amongst the teams last year, along with the Mets’ dozens of injuries, the Phillies easily won the division for the third year in a row. Though 2010 seems like another easy year for the Phillies, don’t count out possibly surprising teams like the Braves and Marlins, who have a multitude of young talent waiting to shine. The Mets could also have a bounce-back year, assuming that they have less than their entire starting lineup on the DL. I don’t want to say that the Phillies have this in their back pocket, but… there really is no need for 162 games to be played, since we all know the Phillies, well, have it in their back pocket.

Willie Davis RIP

By Steven Booth

To me, Willie Davis will always be the Dodgers center fielder. I don’t include the guys who played before him, and fair or not I don’t include the guys after him.

It comes down to this- When I was seven or eight, lying in the bedroom I shared with my three brothers, listening to the games on a cheap clock radio, it was always Willie Davis who started in center field, and usually batted third. Without looking at his reputable statistics on the internet, I remember, through Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett’s voices, that he was a feared and dangerous hitter.

I knew from playing my statis-pro games a few years later, that he had a dangerous combination of power and speed. He could hit leadoff just as well as he could hit cleanup. The Dodgers in those days were usually in the playoff mix and sometimes in the world series, and Davis played an integral role throughout the 1960′s through the early 1970′s.

He also played an integral role as one of the main characters that mesmerized me as a boy and made me fall in love with this amazing game. It was listening to those games on that little radio that captivated me for life. Nothing against Jimmy Wynn or Matt Kemp, but to me, Davis will always be etched in my mind as  the centerfielder for the Dodgers.

His passing is another reminder that the game and the world is changing. Perhaps my sons will always look at Matt Kemp as The Center Fielder for the Dodgers,  and that would be a good thing. However,  me and other fortysomething fans will always have our memories of Willie Davis, batting third, playing center field for Your Los Angeles Dodgers.

Manny Going Spinal Tap

By Steven Booth

It used to be every time the great rock bands of the seventies would tour, there would be some sort of drama attached to it. There would be divorces, drug charges, infighting and other sundry drama that would help stoke the fires for new records and tours. Whether fabricated or created on it’s own, the drama would follow around bands like The Rolling Stones, The Who and Led Zeppelin, and it would fuel the machine that led to higher chart positions, full arenas, and happy newspaper writers.

However since around the mid-1980′s, their dalliances don’t seem to matter much anymore. Keith Richards snorting his father’s ashes or Ron Wood canoodling with a girl young enough to be his grandaughter elicits bored sighs instead of lick-your-lips controversey. the movie Spinal Tap exposed all the cliches and nobody cares much what Keith is snorting or what Ron is getting arrested for.

This brings me to Manny Rameriz and his comments about this year being his last in L.A. The hardcore Dodger fans raised their eyebrows, knowing that with their shaky starting pitching that Manny and his outfield bretheren will need to have great years for the Dodgers to truly matter, but otherwise, who cares? First, everyone knows it is his last year as a Dodger. Unless he has a career year, he is destined to go the “one-year contract” route the rest of his career, and it won’t be for twenty mil a year.  He would be lucky to get Johnny Damon money. More importantly, with his non-existent defensive skills, those one year contracts will be for American League teams as a DH. Ned Colletti is smart enough to not want to bring back a guy who is a shadow of his former self offensively, and atrocious defensively. Even if Manny does have a good year, he is most likely done in the NL.

Yes, his comments are self-serving. Although he has certainly had his moments in Dodger Blue, he has also given us a long suspension and a mediocre second half. If he comes back and has a decent year, the Dodgers can and should milk all they can out of it. If he looks like he did post-suspension, the Dodgers should seek to expedite his wishes and ship him off somewhere else he can finish his career as an eccentric has-been and maybe actually get something in return.

NFL BlindSides: Super Bowl Edition

by Tony Bosma

If you saw my Super Bowl pick from Sunday, you already know I picked the wrong winner and MVP, but nailed the Super Bowl halftime review. The NFL may have featured two quarterbacks living in The Who’s generation this year (Kurt Warner and Brett Favre), but it didn’t take much thought to know that when you rely on older gentleman to perform at a high level, the chances of a let-down are high. Don’t get me wrong, I like The Who, but when the stage surrounding a band is more captivating than their performance, it doesn’t say much for the band. And this is coming from a guy who fully embraces classic rock and is sick with the state of music today.

Since I play by my own rules in this column, I’ll be holding off on game comments to cover a few parts of the Super Bowl spectacle. You know how I felt about the halftime show, but let’s dig a little deeper.

Best Commercials (in no particular order)

• Google: Search On. Who knew you could tell such a nice story through a search engine? Creative and kept you watching to see how it would end.
• Bridgestone: Your Tires or Your Life and Whale of a Tale. A guy gives up his wife before his car (classic) and a bachelor party group ends up with a killer whale in the bed of their truck (even more classic).
• Carmax: Monkey/Dog. Profound looks on an animals face will always make me laugh.
• Hyundai: Ten Years. The fact that this could actually happen made it 50x better.
• Motorola: Megan Fox Photo. Good premise and I’d like to see the results in real life.
• CareerBuilder: Casual Friday. Any office worker would appreciate this commercial.
• E-Trade: Girlfriend. The E-Trade baby is a certified pimp and I hope if I have a kid one day, he is a clone of the E-Trade baby.
• Coke: Hard Times. It’s nice to see Mr. Burns down-on-his luck. It just is.
• Doritos: House rules. Look, any time you have a trash-talking child smacking a grown man after he looked at his scantily-clad mother, you have a winning commercial.
• TruTV: Punxsutawney Polamalu. If Polamalu were the size of a ground hog, he’d still blow up suckers in the NFL.

The Super Bowl Pick

by Tony Bosma

You’ll have to excuse the late posting of my Super Bowl pick, but I simply forgot to click the “Publish” button earlier in the day.

I won’t get into stats and facts you already know, all I’ll say is when you make picks like this, go with your gut feeling and never turn your back on it.

Colts 34, Saints 28

MVP: Peyton Manning

Halftime show: horrible

Think The Unthinkable

Hardly anyone is picking the Saints today.  If they do 3 simple things, they can shock the world.

By Scott Pharr

I have been carefully following all the usual football expert suspects over the last two weeks to try and get a feel for the general consensus regarding their opinion on who will prevail in today’s Super Bowl.  From Peter King to Chris Collinsworth to Trent Dilfer to << enter your NFL Network or ESPN personality name here >>, today will be all about the blue horseshoe and number 18.

Peyton Manning

Overwhelmingly, those who follow pro football for a living are predicting victory for the Colts, and most who see that happening are saying the Vegas line of 5 ½ will be easily exceeded.  There is just not a lot of love to be found for the consummate overachiever Drew Brees and his band of pinball-machine-scoring Saints.  Let me rephrase that..there is plenty of ‘love’ for the Saints, in fact maybe more love than just about anytime I can recall recently, in any sport.  Just not a lot of hardcore football faith that they can actually pull this thing off today.  Watching the Colts systematically take apart the Jets in the 2^nd half of the AFC championship game does make it truly hard to imagine any team better than the Colts for 60 minutes of football.  I offer 3 reasons why the Saints can in fact do what so many say just can’t be done today.