Summer Goal: Waterslide

MY GOAL FOR THE SUMMER..... DO THIS.

Bleeker to the CWS

Derrick Bleeker is representing Colorado at the College World Series in Omaha. He is a Skyline High School graduate and now mainly plays left-field for the Arkansas Razorbacks. He is the epitome of a "nice guy"; he's a team player, a hard worker and he remains grounded in his hometown.

Check out the article I wrote about Bleeker.

http://www.9news.com/sports/article/273817/345/Derrick-Bleeker-from-Colorado-to-Omaha

Shane O'Neill: My first PROFESSIONAL package

My first package for 9NEWS. Wouldn't it be ironic that O'Neill's first day on the job would technically also be mine. We were in the same boat; both nervous and both excited.

http://www.9news.com/sports/article/273372/345/Fairviews-Shane-Oneill-joins-Rapids

Happy Fathers Day Pops.

Happy Fathers Day …. Coach, teacher, pillow, golfing buddy, fire starter, raft captain, “Main Man” and DAD. For some reason I always wanted to be around you or even be like you, and for some reason I still sometimes do. I’m proud to be your son, pops.

Lebron James made me reconsider my fanhood

As a sports nut, I don’t hate athletes. I despise their ability to be better than me in every possible way, sure, but that fact is inevitable. I’ve come to terms with it.

Lebron James may be the most despicable, in the cutesy Pixar kind of way, athlete of all time. So why in the world did a 12-for-12 free throw night turn me against the world and into a LEBRON BELIEVER? I’m not exactly sure.

Spurn, scorn and scoff all you want.

Amid game 2 of the NBA Finals I found myself rooting for the most hated man in America. It was an interesting feeling to say the least, like wearing socks with sandals and enjoying it.

James was not awe inspiring, like the performance he had in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, or inspirational, as in the commercials he is in encouraging kids to stay in school. He wasn’t even self-endorsing, and flagrant about it.

It is my decision whom to root for, and I’ll be taking my cheering abilities, indirectly, to South Beach with Lebron.

Broncos minicamp dating scene

How much can you really learn about a football team in three days? It’s like a 15 minute blind date in a dimly lit room.

John Fox and the Denver Broncos aren’t alone though. Their minicule mandatory minicamp, three days in only helmets, brought together the roster likely not to differ much from the preseason roster. So despite only getting a glimpse of what is to come from the Broncos, post-Tebow, it wasn’t bad.

“I’m just pleased with everybody’s effort, and I thought we got a lot accomplished. We’ve still got a lot left to accomplish,” said the head coach. But then he quickly reverberated, “All in all, we still have a long way to go.”

Getting in a rhythm in three days isn’t really even possible. It’s like ordering dessert on this seemingly romantic outing even before you know their zodiac sign. But hey, she did, at least, say “yes”.

“It’s all relative,” said Fox who at this time was separated from the team. “ The other 31 teams had no offseason a year ago, and this year they all do.”

There are no real pressing unknowns, so it’s just a positive get together. Peyton Manning will be the starting quarterback, it will be a running back-by committee effort, and the defense is far from good but better than it was. The basics are basically there.

Second date? Make that a month, training camp starts June 28.

US Open has a lone Coloradoan qualify

The U.S. Open Championship is the toughest test in golf, and a lone former Colorado high school golfer made it past the qualifiers and is ready to take on the challenge.

Shane Bertsch will hit the very first golf shot of the tournament hosted at The Olympic Club just outside San Francisco, California. The former Evergreen High School Cougar, who went on to play collegiately at New Mexico Junior College and Texas A & M, was garnered the very first tee time(Tee Time: 7:00 a.m. off Hole #9 paired with Tommy Biershenk and Martin Flores)  after overcoming the daunting task of qualifying for the event  at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland.

Thirteen current and former Colorado high school golfers were able to make it past the local qualifiers, but were one step and two rounds short of a chance to play with some of the best golfers in the world.

The Heritage at Westmoor in Westminister, Colorado, hosted a local qualifier and helped Gustav Lundquist, a seventeen year old that attends Regis Jesuit, Greg Johnson, a Bear Creek High School graduate and now attends Regis University in Denver, Jonathan S. Park, a freshman at CSU-Pueblo and Overland High School graduate, Ben Portie, a former University of Colorado golfer and coach as well as a Ranum High School graduate, and Luke Symons, played golf at CU and is ThunderRidge High School alumni and advanced to the sectional.

The other Colorado local qualifier took place in Fort Collins at Collindale Golf Club. Cameron Harrell, an eighteen year old who recently graduated from Air Academy High School and now attends Colorado State University, led the way followed by Derek Fribbs, a Douglas County High School alumni and a junior at the University of Colorado, Danny Hahn, a former Columbine High School Rebel, David Oraee, who went to Greeley West and now plays for the University of Colorado, Mike Kitowski, a Fort Collins High School graduate and former golfer for CSU, and Alexander Gutesha, a Cherry Creek High School alumni and golfer at the University of Kansas.

Outside the Mile High State there were several former Coloradoans that were on the cusp of making the cut for the US Open. Mark Hubbard qualified for the sectional qualifier at Ironwood Country Club in Palm Desert, California, but is a native and graduated from Colorado Academy before going to San Jose State University to play golf collegiately. Steamboat Springs High School alumni and Adams State College golfer Ryan Brees made the first cut in Powell, Ohio, at the Kinsale Golf & Fitness Club.

Colorado native, Bertsch will lead the rest of the field into 2012 U.S. Open Championship that is contested Thursday to Sunday.

Tulowitzki reaggravates groin in Triple-A

DENVER- Troy Tulowitzki reinjured a left groin that put him on the disabled list two weeks ago.

His first stint of rehab playing for the Colorado Sky Sox was going well. He hit a two-run home run and a single in the first three innings alone. But a scary moment for the ballclub an hour north on I-25 spread to the Rockies clubhouse quickly.

But from what the manager heard, and told the media just a few hours after the incident, it should be just a slight setback and maybe a positive for a struggling major league team.

“I don’t anticipate, from what I’ve heard, that it’s serious,” said Jim Tracy. “I don’t necessarily have any specific timetable as to when it is he resume a rehab assignment and/or be ready to play for us.”    

The All-Star shortstop was recovering from a pulled groin against the Houston Astros and was placed on the 15-day DL on May, 31^st. He was recovering and began his first live-game rehab Wednesday in Colorado Springs.

Tulowitzki was attempting to tag up on a fly-ball to center field; he took a few steps, and returned to the base. He was taken out of the game immediately, As the rumors made their way to Coors Field, Jim Tracy was making sure his shortstop takes his time to get fully healthy.

 “On a scale of one-to-ten the initial injury might have been a 9 or whatever, this one is at a 1½ to a 2,” said the manager. “It was more, it scared him. And so rather than push the envelope we did the cautionary thing and removed him from the game.”

Tulowitzki was scheduled to play five innings in Triple-A Wednesday.

Bradley-Pacquiao: Down for the Count

“If this were American Idol, without a doubt, Manny Pacquiao would have won. But it was not. I gave an honest opinion,” said Duane Ford who scored the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley 115-113 to give the split decision to Bradley.

But the long time boxing judge has a point, maybe it should be more like American Idol.

The Pacquiao-Bradley fight, in this day-in-age of technology and pundits , will likely go down as one of the most, if not THE MOST, outrageous doctorings of a prize fight in history.  It led SportsCenter the morning after Celtics-Heat Game 7, Stanley Cup Game 5, and the Belmont Stakes occurred.

 It shone a black light on a sport that was previously in the dark, but making the travesty and downfall even more glaring and noticeable.

The fight is being reviewed by the WBO, but likely little is to happen. It would be a problem deemed unfixable. A rematch is inevitable, there is a clause in Pacquiao’s contract that entitles him to an immediate second fight, one that will likely gain twice the buzz of the first. But the second fight should be different.

What the sports lacks is star power, most noticably, inside the ropes. And besides beating their heads against the wall, or as Bradley likes to call it “Round 4 with Manny”, they should alter the guidelines of the artbirator. Give the people a reason to watch, with a phone line for them to vote with operators standing by.  

You couldn’t replace Michael Buffer with Ryan Seacrest, but rather Simon Cowell for Duane Ford.

Bring in former boxers, athletes, celebrities, and even a few commentators ringside and let them watch the event. It’s “boxing”, not technical “Flamenco”. Everyone has seen a schoolyard scrap, and it’s no real secret, to those watching, who won. Take 9 scores, drop the high and the low and count them up.

What is the harm in that, besides what will occur inside the ropes. Bring stars to the ring, even if they won’t be the ones squaring off.

Boxing is old, it’s lost the raw edge, Pacquiao-Bradley was the final thing you saw before it all went black. It might be down for the count, or it could be up for it.  

Heat-Thunder: Here we go

One of the most anticipated NBA Finals in recent memory could place all the crystal balls out of commission forever, because they can’t even predict what is going to happen between the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder, in a series that has just commenced.

Lebron James, the three-time MVP, and Kevin Durant, the three-time scoring champion won’t go quietly into the night. To each his own, but neither actually owns one.

If you have this NBA Finals series going anything but 7 games then you BETTER have a good reason. It’s a 336 minute, or more, dissertation waiting to happen.

Kevin Durant and Lebron James will likely play on the USA basketball team that could be the most dominant team in the Olympics since the Dream Team came to fruition in 1992. For now, they’ll be HBO “True Blood” before they become HBO “Entourage”. The two most polar teams will clash like they are attracted to each other.

A prediction of any sort seems moot. Miami’s big three of Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade and James against Oklahoma City’s big three James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Durant will offset each other. They will all go for big games because that is what big players live for. There won’t be a need for all 10 players to be on the court at the same time in the fourth quarter, a 3-on-3 driveway matchup would suffice.

Meteorologist warm of high temperatures and the rumblings of storms. This is going to be good; even “Legend…. Wait for it….” 

Derek Wolfe makes minicamp

Dove Valley opened their doors for minicamp Tuesday and for the first time the Broncos first draft pick, Derek Wolfe, walked in wearing blue and orange with the rest of the team.

“[It’s] good to finally be out here with the teammates and working and getting better,” said the defensive tackle.

Wolfe was drafted number-36 overall, or early in the second round after the Broncos traded out of the first round, from the University of Cincinnati. The newest Bronco found himself unable to participate in the first team offseason OTAs (organized team activity). Under NFL guidelines, the former Bearcat had to wait until after his graduating class walked in its ceremony (which occurred Saturday) to join the team.

“You can look at the plays and see what’s going on but when you’re not getting coached up its hard to see what you would be doing wrong. That’s the hardest thing, is being behind,” recalled Wolfe, who was more concerned about not being able to grasp some of the new concepts.

This setback was short-lived.

“Trying to build your confidence, you’re just trying to catch up the whole time,” said Wolfe. “I think I caught up pretty quick and towards the end of practice I started to get it. It’ll come along.”

The 6-5, 300 lbs defensive lineman has a long way to go, but even after a lone practice under his belt Wolfe is adamant about making an impact right away.  

“I expect to contribute. Obviously they didn’t draft me with their first pick not to play,” stated Wolfe. The first Broncos 2012 draft pick has already signed a four-year $6.25 million contract. “I have some expectations here and I’m just trying to live up to them.”

The Broncos and Wolfe will continue on with minicamp for two more days before waiting over a month for full training camp to begin.   

Karl's NBA Finals Prediction: 9NEWS Article

http://www.9news.com/sports/article/272094/345/George-Karl-picks-OKC-but-favors-Lebron

My very first contribution as a young professional is an article for 9NEWS.

"DENVER - The Denver Nuggets northwest division rival - the Oklahoma City Thunder - takes one step closer to their first ever NBA Championship. The Thunder will begin the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat Tuesday night.
......."

Williams Tweets Playbook

When you “open your playbook” you would not want to necessarily do the way Broncos linebacker DJ Williams did. Via Twitter.

The six some odd plays Williams revealed weren’t reveled by other NFL teams. They weren’t secret plays drawn up, and this isn’t DJ-gate. Every single team in the league has these same plays, and NFL-typeface paper in thousands of 5-inch binders.

The Manhattan Project was never confused for the corner-bar Manhattan.

Over the course of a full season every team will likely show all their plays, on both sides of the ball. They are scouted to the nth degree by the time they line up against an opponent. Most scouts can probably tell you which leg Williams puts his pants on first.

But it’s the principle of the decit. The fact that a leader of the defense, Denver’s second leading tackler last year, would be so inept to wrap up a key piece of information such as this one. The price you pay is theortical.

Williams act, his lack is discretion or lapse in sound judgement won’t lose the Broncos football games. It’s simple a PicSlip. #oops.

The Art of NBA Screens

Two steps isn’t what it used to be. A pivot foot is far from pivotal in the NBA game of basketball. It’s the whistler-giver, never been called and seemingly never will be ever again.

But not far behind, and not far aloof from this discretion of migration, is a moving screen.

An NBA forward is no small man, so when they come by to set a screen or whatever it is that Kendrick Perkins does, it’s difficult to elude. Try finding mayonnaise in the grocery store with that one mom on the phone gallivanting with the extended push cart, you’re destination is their challenge.

It’s no longer a plausible offense, despite it giving the offense an undeterred advantage.

All-Stars and D-League call-ups are all pros in the art of moving screen. Running up the court with their hands raised as if they are completely innocent, yet going directly at the opposing guard who is helpless and hapless to not get in the way.

They are immovable objects, in stark contrast to their very description, in movement.