2014 on the Scene: Best CO Sports Moments

1 – PFM and Pot Roast come up big as Broncos beat the Patriots and advance to their seventh Super Bowl.

2 – Broncos get a bit of redemption from the Raven debacle by beating the Chargers and moving on to the AFC Championship.

3 – The CU Buffs men’s hoops team gets selected to their third straight NCAA tourney

4 – Peyton Manning breaks Brett Favre’s all time TD record in a game versus San Fran.

5 – Rockies clean their front office house and get rid of Dan O’Dowd and Bill Geivett.

6 – CU Buffs win a road game against the mighty UMass Minuteman in Foxboro.

7 - Avs and new coach Patrick Roy reclaim the Central Division title and return to playoffs.

8 - Kenneth Faried makes the all-tourney team as the USA claims gold at the World Hoops Cup.

9 - Vail’s Mikaela Shiffrin stars at the skiing portion of the Sochi Olympics.

10 – Broncos clinch the AFC West for the fourth straight year by beating the Chargers in San Diego.

BACK TO THE ESSENCE:

2013 Best
2012 Best of
2011 Best
2010 Tops
2009 Tops
2008 Best
2007 Tops
2006 Best

2013 For Certain: Top CO Sports Moments

1- Buffs’ guard Askia Booker Euro-steps his way to a buzzer beating 3-pointer as CU snaps a decade-long losing streak to the Jayhawks.

2- The Broncos and Cowboys go at it in a Jerry World sized offensive shoot out that finally sees the Broncos prevail in a game for the ages 51-48.

3- The Buffs force a fumble and scoop it up for a game clinching touchdown in the annual Rocky Mountain Showdown for Mike McIntyre’s first CU win.
 
4- Tad Boyle and CU avenge a loss to Oregon State four days earlier in the Pac 12 tourney in Las Vegas, ultimately netting their second straight NCAA trip and a 10 seed. 

5- Andre Miller reverses the clock and goes to the hole for a winning shot in game one of the Nuggets opening playoff series following a 57 win season.

6- Eric Decker has four TDs as the Broncos pass a critical road test in Kansas City, beating the Chiefs 35-28 and assuming control of the AFC West.

7- The Buffs avenge Sabatino Chen’s game winning overturned shot in Tucson by routing the Wildcats on St Valentine’s Day in Boulder.

8- Peyton Manning tosses touchdown number 51 to Julius Thomas in Houston against the Texans to break the single season TD mark.

9- Peyton Manning throws seven TDs and put the banner controversy in the on the back pages and beat the Ravens 49-27 in the NFL season opener.

10- CU earns it only Pac 12 football win as the  Buffs’ offense and super stud WR Paul Richardson put it on the Cal Bears in Boulder 41-24.

GOING BACK IN THE DAY:
2012 Best of
2011 Best
2010 Tops
2009 Tops
2008 Best
2007 Tops
2006 Best

Used To Call Me Fatso

Denver has had its fair share of ‘Fat’ people come through the 303 (and/or 720, because we always seem to forget about the 720 brothers) over the years. In honor of Fat Tuesday, let’s take a look:

-Fat Lever- Lost in the Magic point guard hype of the mid-80s was the Nuggets own PG, one Lafayette Lever, affectionately known as Fat. (I’ve tried for years to shorten Lafayette, Colorado to just ‘Fat’ but no one really get’s it.) Lean, quick, and playing long, Fat consistently had more triple doubles than his western conference Showtime counterpart. His rebounding prowess was perhaps one of the best that a true point has offered in the last 25 years.

-Brian Bohannon- Baseball players usually take the cake (pun intended) for being the most atheistically unappealing fatsos in the sports realm. The Rockies had their fair share over the years (Dante Bichette was no stranger to the buffets) but pitcher Brian Bohannon certainly was the most rotund. Dude looked more like a radiator salesman than a front line pitcher. Rumor was that he could not have a rosin bag because he mistook it for a bag of powdered sugar.

-Raymond Felton- Look, the guy was in the NBA and plays at a fast level, but he’s still got one of those faces that look if you take a pin to it, you’ll get 30 seconds of deflation.

-Wade Phillips- Colorado’s coaches over the last 30 years have been the thin variety- Shanny, Jim Tracy, Dan Reeves, Bob Hartley, Dan Issel. Even the bigger dudes are just that: big husky dudes. John Fox, George Karl, even Don Baylor, who most resembled Grimace the McDonald’s shake character. Not Donks’ coach Wade Phillips though, he was of the overweight variety. Slap a key ring on that guy and you have the high school maintenance man.

-Mike Horan- He was actually very skinny; but tell me that mustache and weird perm he had rocking wasn’t creepy even back then. Exact type of dude who’d be rolling Bourbon Street chanting “show me your t*ts!”

RELATED: Rahzel – “Make The Music 2000” - “More dark than Mardi Gras, rugged like Gortex…”

2012 Pack: Top Colorado Sports Moments

1- DeMaryius Thomas Goes 80 Yards for TD in Playoff OT- Bedlam ensues at Mile High.

2- Four Games, Four Wins for Pac 12- Staples Center becomes Coors West thanks to Buffs and C-Unit.

3- Buffs get big win in The Pit- Buffs go back to NCAA tourney in Albuquerque and beat UNLV.

4- Broncos sign Peyton Manning- That’s Mr. PFM to you and the rest of the NFL.

5- Nuggets Force Game Seven- Down 3-1, Nuggets win in LA in Game 5, back in Denver in Game 6.

6- Halftime Deficit? So What?- Broncos start winning streak by streaking past Chargers on MNF.

7- Buffs Bring in Coach Mac- SJSU's Mike McIntyre pegged to bring CU Football back to relevance.

8- Hometown Girl Does Good- Colorado teenager Missy Franklin goes multi gold in London.

9- Buffs Do The Charleston- CU Hoops avenge Baylor loss and win Charleston Classic Tourney.

10- For One Day It Was Fantastic- Buffs win only game of the year at Washington State in exciting fashion.

TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE:
2011 Tops
2010 Tops
2009 Tops
2008 Tops
2007 Tops
2006 Tops

Christmas SG Style

Christmas is the SG House and with it comes the tree and all the trimmmings. Like many readers, one may wonder: "what is hanging on the SG Christmas Tree?"  Falling in line with the pillars we rep here, let's take a look...

-CU Ornaments: 15 - Yes, the number of ornaments on the tree outnumbers the wins by the football team over the last four seasons.

-Beer Ornaments: 5 - The favorite is El Boracho ornamnent, which is described as "Mexican or Chicano slang for a drunkard."  Si, pass mas cereveza...Feliz Navidad.

-Rockies Ornaments: 1 - There was two, but one broke over the long storage season.  Kind of like the actual team.

-Nuggets Ornaments: 1 - Surprisingly equal to the number of outside jumpers hit by the team last night.  However, there are a couple gifts wrapped in Nuggets' wrapping paper.  If only the team played that tight of defense.

-Broncos Ornaments: 2 - One of them is a John Elway figurine that is missing his right foot.  The since deceased cat bit it off some years ago.  Damn cat was always a Chargers fan.

-Hip Hop Ornaments: 0 - Always thought a Krylon can on top of the tree might be a nice touch

RELATED: De La Soul f/ Redman - "Oooooh" - ("all my goodies out from under the tree, except the CDs of shiny-suit rappers and flossin emcees who fail at takin it to rhyme degrees")

Legalize and I Advertise

How Colorado legalizing the chronic will affect the various sports teams:

--"Coach Embree?  There's a Mr. Ricky Williams on line one asking if we are hiring?"

--The old 'D' Bronco logo?  The smoke coming out of the horse's nostrils?  Yep.

--CU Buffs award MJ leafs on the back of their helmets for touchdowns, big tackles, interceptions, and mastering a six foot bong.

--Coors Field humidor will keep your weed fresh and green for later use.

--All those charity "Bowl A Thon" events take on new meaning.

--Training tables consisting of chili cheese nachos and cold pizza will force Frito Lay to hire dozens of new sales reps and drivers.

--Denver Nuggets?  Nuggets?  Nuggets (followed by 20 minutes of laughter)

--It just isn't the same coming out on the field to Cypress Hill as it was to AC/DC.

--NBA Players Association asks for expansion teams in every Colorado city over 50,000 people.

--His name is Rashaan Salaam, and today he is vindicated.

RELATED: Mic Geronimo - "Masta IC"

Hello Yellow

Yes, those are the new Nuggets alternate uniforms for 2012-13.  Well, kind of new, since that is the logo from the 80s, but that color is from Big Bird.

Consensus is pretty cool; a nod to the great Nugs teams of the era with a new color twist.  Even if that twist is from a mustard bottle.

They'll wear them for 18 games this year, and as Current Slushy Gutter Winner T-Dub points out, they might have to share them with Marquette.

So, as this blog likes to call the home team the Powder Blue Patrol, we may have to come up with a new moniker for our Mellow Yellows.  The Old Gold Guard?  Dehydrated Piss Patrol?  Yellow Cabbies?

One thing is for sure, they'll wear them for the Knicks visit in March; that yellow belly turncoat Carmelo will love his old team's new color.

RELATED: Junior Mafia - "Get Money" - ("Who would ever think that you would spread like mustard?")

Your Volley, Melo

-Standing too close to Melo and...

...Kerry Walsh's defensive presence goes down 50 percent.
...Misty May's husband (Dodgers' catcher) b*tch slaps Miguel Montero and dead sprints to the dugout.
...Suddenly USA Volleyball is pressured into adding JR Smith to the team.
...Misty May, fed up with not being popular enough in smaller Huntington Beach, requests to be traded to the Dallas Cowboys.
...good thing Kevin Durant is in between, at least he's tasted what the Finals are like.
...Kerry Walsh's case of pink eye clears up from the contact.
...more questions on what the difference between Austria and Australia.
...VH1 calls to see if they'd be interested in sitting courtside on LaLa's reality show.
...Jeremy Lin is left to leave without a counteroffer... to Brazil.

RELATED: Ice-T - "Ricochet" - ("...bounce like volleyball")

Nuggets Just Sick

Hey did you know that Kobe Bryant was sick last night during the Nuggets game? However overplayed (or orchestrated) that was, the Nuggets didn't roll over and play Rolaids for Kobe and cruised to a easy victory. Ty Lawson went absolutely off, Corey Brewer was so smooth off the bench, and a hard foul on The Manimal sent the Nuggets into overdrive to bury the LA crew.
Game Seven, here come the Powder Blues. The last time they visited they weren't even the Powder Blues, but rather the Burgundy Brigade. (Side note: the last Game Seven in 1994 versus the Jazz was the same day as my graduation party. Nuggets lost that game in the afternoon, I got in a wicked fight with then-girlfriend at said party, the neighborhood 40-somethings got pissy drunk, and the normal young adult hijinks ensued. Good times.)

Game Seven will certainly test this young team. The Lakers will hold a Saturday Night home court, Metta World Peace will be back to bang with Faried and Company, and Kobe will have 48 hours to slurp Gatorade or sugar water or Jack Nicholson's armpit sweat.

What is the Nugs game plan for that LA advantage? As we've seen, get up early, get in Bynum's dome, and hold on with clutch shots (any more clutch than Andre Miller and his unkempt hair?) If that doesn't work, there's always a mickey we can slip into Kobe's salad.

RELATED: Cypress Hill- "Phuncky Feel One" - ("Just an ass kickin is what you inherit...")

Bynum Block A Thon

NUGGETS: We heard all weekend leading up to Game One that Andrew Bynum was the key. Bynum, Bynum, Bynum. And what happens? Bynum. Let's call him block head because he altered the Nuggets entire offensive scheme. The Powder Blue Patrol has fouls up the ying yang (Birdman is good for a few rather than growing a beard and getting a tat on the bench.) We all know Bynum isn't the most stable dude in the dome, so their only option might be to hack him up and hope he cracks.

BRONCOS: I go back to the days of the Draft on Tuesdays and bringing a transistor radio to elementary school, so the whole Draftapalooza thing is damn funny. grades, rankings, three days, whatever. That said, the Donks' draft was a very mundae "eh" from the masses. Joe Wolf's son will apparently be a new defesive tackle, some short Sproles-like dude is our thrid down guy now, and we took a QB in the first three picks. Which is weird because I thought we signed some QB this offseason? Hey, I heard that Osweiller is 6-7. Does he have any fouls for Bynum?

ROCKIES: Crazy Sunday at Coors Field saw Johan Santana turn back the clock and Todd Helton provide a memorable grand slam. But a lot of the chatter before the game was about Peyton Manning and Eric Decker taking BP. Apparently Decker crushed a couple dongs into the seats. So this Decker dude is a football stud, was a baseball standout in college, pals around with Peyton Manning, is sticking it to some singer dime piece, and models in his spare time. Yeah, Decker was that dude who you hated in high school. That said, yo Decker, how can I be down? Follow me on Twitter dog.

RELATED: Brand Nubian: "Slow Down" - ("...then your grade is incomplete.")

T-Dot Done

I get juiced when I let loose a little of my cleverness
Up under my follicles with no mousse

When the Powder Blue Patrol looks back in April and wonders a) "how did we miss the playoffs" or b) "damn Okie City is waxing the sh*t out of us right now" they might need to only look back on last night's horrendous 4th quarter for the reason of their plight.

The team went north of the border to T-Dot and turned in a final 10 minutes that made native son Bryan Adams last album look triple platinum. Cuts like a knife applies to the Nuggets right about now.

The giddiness of routing a Bulls team on Monday was replaced by a seemingly disjointed team in Canada. Dare I say, but the Nuggets looked like the pre-Melo squad last night- a collection of athleticism and lots of "long" players. But in the end, they were short on making a simple basket against a piss poor Raptor team (still trying to figure out if the Toronto area is home to a vast deposit of dinosaur bones, or if the naming of the team in the mid-90s was inspired by the most popular movie of the same era. Damn, they were this close to the Toronto Buzz Lightyears.)

The Nene trade and signing of Wilson Chandler might not have set teh team back, but at this point they seem completely incapable of playing 40 minutes of team hoops. Hmmm, you get rid of a long time post player in George Karl's system, add Javale McGee (his antics in Washington are well known), and bring in Wilson Chandler, who was freestyling in China for five months and you can't get team basketball? Or even a damn hoop in the last quarter? Maybe that dig will unearth more than dinosaur bones, but also the Nugs playoff hopes.

RELATED: Kardinal Offishall- "Bakardi Slang"

Saving Chauncey

The SG went on assingment to the Valley of the Sun this weekend (yes, we witnessed the Rox and D-Backs stellar 1-1 tie; how very soccer-esque of them.)

While perusing a local sports apparel shop (top team in this Phoenix shop? Suns? The Cardinals? Nope, that would be the LA Lakers, represented all over the place) we came across a familiar face. One Nuggets Chauncey Billups figurine, complete with tats and everything. How Chauncey found his way to the desert is perplexing, probably filled with typos on order forms or misdirected shipments.

The best part? Chauncey was $4. The SG sprung into action and rescued our Colorado hero from the heat and cactus. While the real Chauncey is in a professional spot with a serious injury and increasing age, his plastic doppleganger is safe back in the Centennial State.

RELATED: Public Enemy - "By The Time I Get To Arizona"

Hops on the Floor

My mentals compatible with the radicals
My oddessey type, qualities allow me to poly with animals...

Is there anything worse than a spilled beer?

I'm not talking when you kick over a can or bottle at a backyard BBQ or watching the game at the crib. I'm talking a fresh poured beer bursting with crispness that suddenly is out of hand on the ground. Pepsi Center has those beers, and last night I shelled out seven bones for one. Cold, bubbly, fresh CL, that had a few precious sips into my pie hole. Then, without notice, it's littering the ground, dripping into the next row with people scrambling to make sure their coats aren't getting some. The lady next to me and her fancy "Sex In The City" high heels are now soaking more brew than me. The culprit was my inability to protect the fresh brew from my bouncing three year old, who hasn't quite figured out Pepsi Center's folding seats, flashing lights, thousands of people, and maniac blimps dropping everything but free anvils. Mix in no appearances by Super Mascot Rocky and a beer in her way is of small conseuquence. End game is that beer, once so promising, is now ready to be sticky residue on some chump's kicks at the Avs game rather than in my belly and I wasn't happy about it.

Spilled beer: there is nothing as shitty.

Except for maybe the way the Nuggets have played lately. Both spilled beer and the Nugs were once tickling our senses. We've had great times with beer (pre spill) and the Nugs (pre losing streak.) The mere sight of the beer can make you nod in approval, the sight of the Nuggets in 2nd place overall in the West raised an optimistic eyebrow. But now, that beer is on the concrete and the Nugs have gone into the crapper. It pisses everyone off. The beer ain't coming back and the Nuggets are off to a stout Pacers matchup.

Your Denver Nuggets: Spilling beer all over in 2012.

RELATED: Onyx - "Shiftee" - ("Fumble up, crews crumble up")

No Mining These Nuggets

Well I'm a sire, I set the microphone on fire
Rap styles vary, and carry like Mariah...

If the local hoops team had a personalized plate ala Knowshon Moreno it might read "FLSGOLD."

After looking like the 2nd best team just a couple weeks ago, the Nugs have come back to the pack in the Western Conference. What gives from a team that looked deeper than a mid-90s Boss song?

One look at that depth and it is a bit supspect. Chris Birdman Anderson is giving the team nothing more than a salry cap headache righ now. The Bird's wings are clipped, and is nothing more at this point than a five to seven minute player typically suited for the end of quarters. Kostas Koufus shows glimmers of hope, but is he really anything more than a ten minute foul machine, get us a few boards type player?

The condensed NBA schedule isn't exactly suited for a good chunk of this team, and throw in a few injuries or personal absences, and it really shows. Think Andre Miller wouldn't be much better with a few days off? Al Harrington trimmed down but he could use less minutes. Rookies like Kenneth Faried or Julyian Stone were still dab in the middle of their college season's last year.

What's left? A hobbled Nene, a float on the perimeter Fernandez, and an Aron Affalo who looks like he spent the lockout locked in a TCBY. All of sudden and the Nugs' depth is barely making it out of the Pepsi Center basement.

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Tebow Gets Clipped

My crew is never ever wack because we stand strong
Now if you say my style is wack that's where you're dead wrong...

Tim Tebow was all over the TV last night at the Nuggets game. Can Denver's "starting QB going into camp" mix well with the NBA?

-If Tebow is running the point, please warn the cotton candy vendors in the 13th row about wayward lob passes.

-With their son in LA, Chauncey's parents have already invited Tim to stay in his old childhood bedroom.

-The read option just doesn't translate well to the NBA. Pesky travelling rules and Nene just doesn't hit that hole.

- "Yeah Tim, the last #15 we had on the roster just didn't work out so well."

-Corey Brewer is thinking: "man, I just can't escape this guy's shadow."

-The virtuous Tebow had to walk to the concourse to avoid the sultry and scantily clad Nuggets dancers each stop in play.

-George Karl would tire of playing four defenders while Tim prays after every made basket.

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2011 Tell Em: Top CO Sports Moments

1- Tebow mania went into the beginning of meltdown mode when his 20 yard ramble beat the Jets. A national TV audience saw him and the Broncos get back to 500 and had every talking head from Bristol to Denver yapping. As play-by-play man Dave Logan simply asked as he crossed the goal line: “are you kidding me?”

2- The Chicago Bears came to town in mid-December with a stout defense and some hopes of the playoffs. Through three and a half quarters they almost gave the Broncos their first home shutout ever. Cue Tim Tebow and a 59 yard game-tying FG and 51 yard game-winner from Matt Prater and the Broncos stood at 8-5 and the Tebow Meltdown was in full effect

3- A shaky game by the opposing kicker and great defensive play by the Buffs in the first half lead to the end of their four year road streak with a win over Utah. The day-after-Thanksgiving upset prevented the Utes from appearing in the inaugural Pac-12 Championship and gave the Buffs some momentum going into the offseason.

4- After the Donks and their “traditional” offense laid an egg versus the Lions, the coaching staff went retro with Tim Tebow. Out were long passes and complex passes, in were option plays, QB draws, and straight rushes up the gut. A power game resulted in nearly 300 yards on the ground and the beginning of the Bronco win streak.

5- After the February deal of Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks, no one expected the Nuggets to do much of anything. What we saw though was spirited team-oriented basketball lead by the Knicks’ former players in Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, and Danilo Galinarri. Posting on the Western Conference’s best late records, the Nuggets again won 50 games.

6- The Buffs hoops team took a horrendous and suspicious NCAA snub and turned it into a long NIT run. With a veteran 21 win team lead by NBA lottery pick Alec Burks, they avoided a letdown and ran through their bracket as a top seed. The reward was a trip to Hoops Mecca, Madison Square Garden, where they fell in the semifinals in a classic game to Alabama.

7- The Rockies highlighted their stellar April by making quick work of the Cubs and their legions of invading fans with a sunny Colorado Sunday win 9-5. Talk of winning the West wasn’t “if” but “by how many.” Everything was clicking for the Purp; timely hitting, power numbers, steady pitching, and defense.

8-10- In no specific order select the following: the Broncos win versus the Chiefs in KC where they completed two passes; their “shootout” overtime win in Minnesota; or their miracle cover the onside kick win versus the Dolphins.

RELATED:
2010 Tops
2009 Tops
2008 Tops
2007 Tops
2006 Tops

Mav-tastic Start

Rollin' with my posse we're gettin kinda bored,
there's not another posse with more points scored...

The Nuggets went down to Dallas in what promised to be a hectic NBA season and took it to the NBA Champs.

--You can tell who kept active during the lockout and played overseas or worked on their game. Exhibit A: one Ty Lawson, who was the best player on the court. Not only was he the quickest player, but the best shooter, and best slasher to the hoop. Jason Kidd had no chance to keep up with him, and while Andre Miller isn't the quickest guy, he still has a step on most veteran guards.

--The Nuggets are deep like the end of a swimming pool. The #1 pick Kenneth Faried couldn't even crack the rotation in a blowout. More telling is not just the depth, but the type of player that George Karl can bring off the bench. Crey Brewer and athleticism, Al Hrrington with size and veteran craftiness, Rudy Fernandez and his sharpshooting, Bridman for energy and defense.
--For the first time in many years, there was a season opener without one Carmelo or K-Mart. Looks like Birdman picked up the tattoo deficiency with some fresh ink.

--Ten years ago did anyone think Vince Carter would essentially be a journeyman?

--Gallo defintely has the chance to be the top option on this team. He is athletic and fast, and can hit from anywhere on the court. Right now he's just way too loose in his game; making sloppy and out of control mistakes. A season with Karl might tighten up his game.

--This NBA season is going to be crazy. The number of games in as many nights and back to backs is just baffling. Analysts say young teams will benefit, but we should question that. Young players constantly hit "walls" sometime 2/3 the way through the season. Remember in college they play two games a week and play a max of 35 games. However, couple young and deep, like your Powder Blue Patrol, and you might have something.

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NBA: The 'A' is for 'Absent'

You got beef than holla,
My crew sticks together like Richy and Dollar...

It's looking more and more like we're not going to have an NBA season (which is bad news for all three of the SG readers. Less basketball means less to talk about in the winter "doldrum" months which means more rambling about beer or even less content. On second thought, that may be a good thing.)

With D Stern (I like calling him that, sounds like a early 90's conscious rap group. "Yo you check the knowledge Dstern was droppin on "Lessons of a Rebel"? Yo, homeboy goes after it!") cancelling the first two weeks of the season, it deprives me of the Melo visit to the Pepsi Center. Quite possibly that visit would've been the most reviled return in Denver sports history. Booing. Lots of booing. Maybe some Tiger-like hot dogs thrown on the floor. Lots of dudes with old "15" Nugget jersies covered with duct tape that read cheesy things like "traitor" or "Jello" or "Tebow." (I own three Carmelo jersies, so good chance I would be in the duct tape and Sharpie crowd. Probably would've went with "Mr. LaLa" on mine.) Hot ticket indeed.

In all it's probably a good thing for Melo, as the longer he stays away from Denver (at this point he might not return to our fair state until Spring 2013) the easier it will be for Denver fans to forget him and his act last year. Alas, there'll be knuckleheads like the SG to remind you to keep that duct tape handy.

RELATED: Gravediggaz - "Dangerous Minds" - ("face full of duct tape")

What's The Frequency Kenneth?

What I say should be displayed at the Smithsonian
Your rhymes are phonier than cubic zirconias...

The NBA Draft went down last night and the Nugget and CU activity was heavy. A few thoughts from SG Land:

-As the teams in front of the Nuggets started making picks (Iman Shumpert to the Knicks?) it looked like the Nuggets would lock in on Kenneth Faried, and when Nolan Smith went to Portland, they quickly snatched him up. Last time we saw Faried in our fair city he was making Rick Pitino and Louisville look like timid wallflowers. He'll provide instant boards and instant energy. Pair him with Birdman, Ty Lawson, and Gallo and you have almost a hockey-like "energy/mucker" lineup. Faried will help with the likes of Serge Ibaka in the conference.

-Ah, the dreaded flip side that we always seem to piss on your campfire with. While Faried is a rebounding machine, he'll now be going from the Ohio Valley Conference playing Tennessee-Martin and Eastern Kentucky to playing 82 games versus the Spurs and the Lakers. Banging with some dude who's now a insurance rep to Blake Griffin is a big difference.

-Most shocking graphic of the night? This was the Nuggets first 1st round pick since 2005. Say what? Where did all those picks go? Are they with all those mismatched socks somewhere?

-First of all: good for Alec Burks going in the lottery. Second: he's going to Utah. A collective meh from the combo Buffs/Nuggets fans. He'll be going to an awful team, so he should have a chance to grow his game (developing an outside shot is top priority) and should get plenty of minutes.

-Please no mention of Faried and one Dennis Rodman in the same paragraph. Faried, by all accounts, isn't some freak who has more tats and piercings than some dude at Terrelle Pryor's ink shop. But more importantly, Rodman is an all-time great on the boards. Yes, both him and Faried hustle their way to rebounds, but Rodman was a true student of the boards. He studied not only his opponent's shots, but his own teammate's shots. He knew everything from teh spin of the ball to the velocity of their shots. Five Championship rings isn't bad either.

-Andre Miller coming back to Denver shows you George Karl's pull with his bosses. He was in their ear all day and night about getting Miller back. Try that with your boss sometime; just walk around all morning whispering "chalupa" and see if some magical Mexican Fast Food goodness apppears come lunchtime.

-I don't have a problem with the Felton for Miller trade, but I do have a problem with helping a Western Conference team get better. The Blazers did that with acquiring Felton while the Nuggets now have a 35 year old point guard who has appeared to gain a few lbs over the past couple years. Yes, he'll be great off the bench for 20-25 minutes, but he will not be able to keep up with the younger athletic PGs in the league. Karl will have to carefully manage his minutes depending on the matchup.

-They got a guy late in the draft nicknamed "Chu Chu". He's actually a basketball player and not your weird cubicle mate's spiritual guru.

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Getting All Mavericky

Shuttin down your slot, time for pumpin
Poisonous sting which thumps up and act chumps...

The Mavs made team basketball back en vougue last night capturing their first NBA title and keeping the O'Brien Trophy in the Western Confrence, where our Denver Nuggets also happen to reside.

Add another hill for the Nugs to climb. As if the up-and-coming Thunder, the steady improving Blazers, the Lakers with some guy named Kobe, the kids in Minny and the Clippers weren't enough for the Powder Blue Patrol. Now, the newly minted Champs and their flush with cash owner will matchup up three times a year with the Nugs.

When it became apparent the Mavs were going to win this thing, I kept thinking back just two years back. The Nugs and Mavs matched up in the Western Semis and the Nugs arguably manhandled the future champs. K-Mart was in Dirk's head from the get-go, taking a hard foul and almost rendering him worthless for the rest of the series. A spry Chauncey Billups matched up with Jason Kidd and made him look ancient, and George Karl seemed to scream checkmate over Rick Carlisle. Of course, the addition of Tyson Chandler was huge for Dallas, and some dude who's name rhymes with "Jello" decided he was too big for The Box State and the fate of the two teams went in complete different directions.

But a big "what if" has remain in us Nuggets' fans heads; that same Mavs' core just celebrated with an all night bender while that Nuggets team is completely fragmented across the globe and a seemingly distant memory.

RELATED: Lupe Fiasco- "Hip Hop Saved My Life" - ("Drive up to Dallas went to open up for amateurs")