Jussel: Here’s how the Pats came to sign Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow is now a member of the New England Patriots. And the world is a better place for it. Here’s how it all went down, according to a sometimes-reliable source: Josh McDaniels — yes, that Josh McDaniels — tapped on the office door of his mentor, idol and boss, Bill Belichick. “Who is it and what do you want?” boomed the head coach of the Patriots. “Coach, it’s Little Josh,” came the squeaky reply, “the kid who calls all the ...

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Jussel: What in the blazes are the Nuggets thinking?

Taggert, Hedley Lamarr’s sidekick in the best movie of all time, “Blazing Saddles,” looks puzzled and asks, “What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here?” The Denver Nuggets win 57 games in the regular season, their best effort ever. Their general manager, Masai Ujiri, is selected the NBA’s executive of the year. However, he bolts the team for greener pastures in Toronto, the Raptors being a team that won 23 fewer games than the Nuggets ...

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Jussel: No-brainer for Nuggets: Keep Ujiri

A rather troubling report came out of Toronto last week, with the NBA’s Raptors saying they are interested in signing their former assistant general manager to the position of general manager. The person they are interested in is the recently selected NBA Executive of the Year, the Denver Nuggets’ general manager, Masai Ujiri. Say it ain’t so, Josh. Josh Kroenke, the 33-year-old president of the Nuggets, has been busy of late taking control of the Colorado Avalanche ...

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Jussel: Avs make science of missing playoffs

The National Hockey League playoffs are in full swing. And once again, for the fifth time in the past seven years, the Colorado Avalanche are not involved. Folks, it is difficult not to get into the NHL playoffs. The Avs have made a science of it. And it has turned them into an afterthought at best when it comes to paying attention to the regional sports scene. Second fiddle? More like 10th fiddle. Even Denver University and Colorado College hockey rate higher with area sports fans. At ...

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Jussel: Super Bowl title a good bet for Broncos

When you have Peyton Manning running things on the field and John Elway running things inside the building, it’s never too early to start thinking Super Bowl. Denver Bronco fans picked up good vibes last season and are hungry for more, even though the games that really matter won’t start until after that last Christmas present is unwrapped. The Broncos’ 13-3 record in Manning’s first season at the controls would be the reason Denver is one of the favorites to win ...

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Jussel: Nuggets a work in progress

There is no panic in Denver, not in the offices of Masai Ujiri, the team’s general manager, and team president Josh Kroenke. No, these two are thinking last week’s rather shocking first-round ouster from the NBA playoffs is simply a part of the process of growing, of learning, of getting better. Sunday, Ujiri said, “I think it’s nothing that we need to panic about. We will fix it. We knew we had a growing team, and there would be growing pains, and we will fix the ...

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Rock solid

The Major League Baseball season is roughly one-fifth of the way through and surprises abound. In the American League the Boston Red Sox, one of baseball’s worst teams least season, lead in the East. The Kansas City Royals, one of baseball’s worst for as far back as we can remember, lead in the Central. Two of the big favorites to battle for World Series berths, the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels, may already be ready to auction players. The National League has seen ...

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Jussel: Draft places Broncos on firm ground

Drafting of the biggest, fastest, nastiest, absolute bestest National Football League prospects is at an end. It’s been a busy couple of months at Dove Valley, and now John Elway, John Fox and the rest of the Denver Bronco staff can take a breath — a brief breath. Free agency, at least the brunt of it, has come and gone. In March they brought in, among others, pass catcher extraordinaire Wes Welker, monster blocker Louis Vasquez and Terrance Knighton, deluxe ...

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Jussel: Breaking down the NFL draft

Here’s your National Football League draft primer, everything you need to know for the annual extravaganza. First, the nuts and bolts: It starts Thursday with the first round, with ESPN and NFL Network to do the broadcast, ESPN with live coverage of all the picks and the assorted fillers, the NFL Network to add the feature flavor. The broadcast will start at 6 p.m. (MDT) Thursday. The second and third rounds will be shown Friday starting at 4:30 p.m., with the fourth though seventh ...

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Jussel: Schedule for Broncos has a prime-time feel

If you’ve had a chance to check out the Denver Broncos schedule for the upcoming season, you’ll certainly have noticed that this team will be, if nothing else, well known across the country by the time the season is half over. Peyton Manning and his teammates open on a Thursday night in front of God and everyone else at home in a rematch with the Baltimore Ravens. Don’t make any other plans. Peyton then goes to New York City to battle brother Eli and the Giants, then ...

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Jussel: One owner, two very different franchises

The Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association are a work in progress. The Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League, not so much. Both are owned by the same man, Stan Kroenke, who also happens to own, among others, the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League and the English soccer club Arsenal, one of the most valuable sports teams in the world. ‘Tis a complicated web Kroenke weaves — so complicated in the case of the Nuggets and the Avalanche that ...

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Broncos’ draft strategy is anyone’s guess

Feeling a draft? Yes, the National Football League draft — annually the most anticipated event of the year with the obvious exceptions of Black Friday, the Super Bowl and Groundhog Day — will majestically appear on your tube. As usual, the broadcast will be via ESPN and the NFL Network. ESPN will do the honors for the first round April 25, starting at 6 p.m. After the first round, ESPN will provide sporadic coverage, with the NFL Network to be on the scene a record 45-plus ...

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Pitching puts Rockies on road to ruin

The Colorado Rockies — the baseball team, not the mountain range — open their season Monday in Milwaukee against the Brewers. The mountain range will fare much better over the next seven months. Winning Monday is not an impossible task. Just unlikely. Here’s why ... and get used to this: Milwaukee will send Yovani Gallardo to the hill. Gallardo, according to three statistical services and analysts, ranks between the 15th- and 25th-best starter in the bigs. He has ...

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Jussel: Dumervil’s departure doesn’t doom Denver

Elvis doesn’t mean squat. I’ve heard Denver Broncos fans fretting for weeks about what was going on, then the eventual going on of Elvis Dumervil to the Baltimore Ravens. Although they certainly won’t admit it, there is logic to the Broncos allowing Dumervil to take his hike. March was the month National Football League teams went about the business of fitting round pegs into square holes, signing free agents who, for the most part, weren’t wanted by their former ...

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Jussel: America’s fantasy pastime

I’m all mocked out. The fantasy baseball season has descended upon serious nerds and, being one, I have spent the past two weeks preparing by conducting mock drafts with other like-minded wackos. All-nighters have been common because this is much more serious business than any college midterm or final. Coffee at 2 a.m. takes the edge off Happy Hour Coors and allows me to make unclouded decisions on dilemmas such as: Will I still be able to get Asdrubal Cabrera in the eighth ...

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Jussel: CSU, CU have winnable NCAA tourney games

Good news area hoop fans: Colorado State and Colorado are in the dance. Personally, I’m happy because the two are on opposite sides of the bracket and should end up playing each other April 8 for the NCAA men’s basketball title in Atlanta. OK, just joshing. While both teams would appear to have winnable first-round games, the task for both would take a huge step up in the second round. Colorado State, 25-8 on the season and Mountain West Conference regular-season runner-up, ...

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Fax fiasco won’t define Broncos’ offseason

Isn’t it amazing in this era of technology where people can communicate across thousands of miles in nanoseconds that a fax machine ­— yes, some people still use them — can do so much damage? Surely all of you Denver Bronco fans are aware of the Elvis Dumervil contract fiasco Friday that resulted in his being released. It put a rather good-sized dent in what had been an incredible first few days of free-agency signings by John Elway and his staff. And although ...

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Broncos making big splash in free agency

Remember that smokescreen I warned you about a week ago, saying the Denver Broncos were playing it rather coy leading up to this free-agency frenzy? Things seemed a bit too quiet. Smokescreen? This is an out and out forest fire. Let me get this straight: The Denver Broncos have just signed Wes Welker, the quickest little SOB ever spotted running across, around and/or through the middle of a football field, to a two-year contract. This is a guy who averages more than 100 receptions a ...

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Jussel: Time to start filling those holes

Today is the day free agents can start signing with National Football League teams, meaning the Denver Broncos can start filling what John Elway and John Fox deem to be holes in the roster. Mike Klis, the Colorado Sports Writer of the Year in 2012 with the Denver Post, reports the team definitely has an interest in Rashard Mendenhall, the former Steeler star running back, and Greg Toler, an Arizona Cardinal cornerback. Mendenhall makes plenty of sense in that he is only 25 years old, ...

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Who knows what Broncos’ plan is for free agency

And away we go! Free-agency season is upon us in the National Football League. Teams started negotiating with free agents Friday night, and signings can start Tuesday, the opening of the 2013-14 season. The Denver Broncos, of course, are a participant in this madcap talent hunt and, although team officials have preached patience and restraint when it comes to spending the big bucks on elderly jocks, you never know. Case in point: last season. As the scouting combine was under way in ...

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Jussel: Bronco Nation fantasy

It’s the perfect Denver Bronco world, a bright sunshiny mid-March day at Dove Valley, and John Elway, the team’s resident legend and current boss of everything, is sitting behind his desk. He’s smirking. He already has more than an inkling he is about to pull off a few more of those Peyton Manning-type shockers. Elway, you see, has already agreed with the New York Jets on a trade, giving up a second-round draft choice in the upcoming National Football League draft and ...

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Jussel: Rockies have some work to do

The optimist says the Colorado Rockies will be worth watching this summer, maybe even into the fall. The pessimist has already done away with any TV package that includes Root Sports and given up on targeting travel dates to Denver. Being a realist, I will stay the course, spend countless hours documenting the Rockies’ plight, continuing to hate on the San Francisco Giants and adding a new target, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Giants, of course, are the defending world champions and ...

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Jussel: NFL cap casualties piling up

The next big date for NFL aficionados is March 4. That’s when team administrators can start negotiating with free agents. On tap after that is March 12. That’s when all that talk can become reality, when free agents can make an agreement official. Between now and then, every day for many NFL players is an exercise in walking on eggshells. Virtually any NFL veteran can receive a request from their employer to renegotiate his contract downward. That news could certainly be ...

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Jussel: A few tweaks will make Broncos’ offense hum

The Denver Broncos finished fourth in the NFL in offense, averaging 397.9 yards and 30.8 points per game last season. Peyton Manning, bless his heart, threw for more than 4,600 yards, and running backs ground out more than 1,800 yards. So, you’d take that again in 2013, right? Not with Manning on your team. Not with John Elway at the controls. These are two folks who are competitive to the max. And the Bronco offense of last year is not remotely close to what these two have in ...

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Jussel: It’s time to beef up the Broncos’ D

So much conjecture, so little time. Free agents on the horizon. Mock drafts galore. John Elway, Matt Russell, John Fox and staff are trying to piece together the possibilities for the 2013 Denver Bronco roster, with free agents to be evaluated and a draft plan to be constructed. There are variables ad infinitum in acquiring new players. Teams can start talking turkey with free agents March 2, and can start signing them March 12, which is the end of the 2012 contract season. The draft ...

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Bargain ball: Four Broncos to watch for

The future of the Denver Broncos revolves around Peyton Manning. We know that. As Manning goes, now go the Broncos. But as Manning’s supporting cast gets stronger, the better the chances of the ultimate goal: winning a Super Bowl. Here are four names that will go a long way toward determining what the Broncos’ 2013 roster looks like: Nate Irving, Quinton Carter, Omar Bolden and Philip Blake. So, why would this foursome, a seemingly rather nondescript group, be so important ...

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Jussel: You betcha: plenty of things to bet on in today’s Super Bowl

The woman on the other side of the cage has just handed me a couple of grand in large bills and, free Jack Daniels on the rocks in hand, I decide it’s high time to check out the sports book at the Luxor Casino in Las Vegas, where I’ve been holed up for a couple of days. I don’t frequent the Luxor, normally opting for the Hard Rock because I’m a fan of the ‘60s and ‘70s when all good music was created, and I love to hang out with the Van Halen brothers, ...

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There’s no time to rest in NFL

The Denver Broncos have to get better to contend in the postseason in 2013-14. You know that. I know that. And the Broncos know that, from owner Pat Bowlen down to those lucky youngsters who run errands during practices. It should be simple, this self-improvement process. And in reality, at least in the scheming, it is simple: Let’s decide who is worth their salt on our current staff and roster, have a good draft, go find a few key free agents and check around the league to ...

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Jussel: Broncos’ tackle duo is one of NFL’s best

Quick now, name the best offensive tackle tandem in the National Football League. Um, there’s ... Enough time. How about Ryan Clady and Orlando Franklin of the Denver Broncos? There is proof in at least one respect in that Clady on the left side (yes, the blindside) and Franklin on the more-politically-correct right side allowed only 4.5 sacks between them during the 2012 season. That total was best in the league for starting tackle duos that started every game. Clady, who was ...

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Elway has shown he’s a top exec

The National Football League will use Super Bowl week to pat itself and its biggest stars on the back. A big part of the hype will be announcements each night of at least one of the season’s big awards starting Jan. 31 and running through Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 3. Those awards will be Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, and the big one, Most Valuable Player. The Denver Broncos have ...

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Jussel: Keeping Clady a must for Broncos

Welcome to Season Three of a rebuilding plan created by two Johns. It appears three weeks too soon, but the Johns, Elway and Fox, are already hard at work trying to make next season better than the one that just ended. That won’t be easy after a 13-3 regular-season and the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. And it won’t be easy grabbing now-required multiple playoff wins and a Super Bowl title. I’m sure they don’t need my help, but I am, as always, available — ...

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We saw it, we just can’t believe it

We see it. Believing is another matter. The Denver Broncos have the game won, earning them home-field advantage Sunday in the AFC title game. The clock is down to just more than 30 ticks and the Baltimore Ravens have 70 yards to negotiate, no timeouts and the Broncos leading by seven. Let the Lo-Do celebration begin. Oops. A Joe Flacco prayer on high results in a stumble by Bronco safety Rahim Moore and a catch by Raven wideout Jacoby Jones. The extra point provides overtime. Several ...

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Jussel: Broncos have what it takes to beat Ravens

Herm Edwards knows of what he speaks. Edwards speaks early and often on ESPN’s SportsCenter, NFL Live and seemingly every other talking-head show, and what he says usually makes sense. I think the former Jet and Chief head coach hit the nail on the head early in the week while analyzing today’s Ravens vs. Broncos playoff matchup in Denver. Much has been made of Raven Revenge. Much has been made of several Ravens returning to the lineup on the defensive side, chief among them ...

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Did anyone really expect the Broncos to be here?

All together now, those of you who one month ago saw the Denver Broncos as a legitimate Super Bowl favorite raise your hands. That’s what I thought. Lots of hands. Now, those of you who saw this coming two or three months ago, up with the hands. Not nearly as many. Finally, those of you who saw this coming prior to the start of the NFL season, get ‘em up. Liars! Many of us became hopeful of the Broncos becoming playoff contenders the day John Elway received that mid-March ...

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Jussel: Broncos, Pats clear favorites in AFC playoffs

The Denver Broncos are on top of the heap ... for now. The task ahead is to win three more games against good football teams and claim the Super Bowl XLVII title. Let’s look at who is remaining, briefly first in the NFC, which would provide Denver’s Super Bowl fodder on Feb. 3 in Peyton Manning’s back yard of New Orleans: My NFC pecking order would be Atlanta, Seattle, Green Bay, San Francisco, Washington and Minnesota. Atlanta, which finished 13-3, beat the Broncos ...

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Colts’ return of Pagano could propel Broncos to No. 1 seed

Chuck Pagano, who grew up in Boulder under the watchful eye of father Sam, the legendary former Fairview High School coach, is coming back to work just in time to give the Denver Broncos a huge lift. No, the younger Pagano doesn’t work for the Broncos. Instead, he is in his first year as coach of the Indianapolis Colts. But he hasn’t coached a game since late September, spending most of the this season battling a form of leukemia. Today, after a week filled with tears, ...

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Sing it with me: ‘A two seed and a bye week’

With apologies to Burl Ives and Perry Como, whose recordings helped popularize another version, and some obscure Englishman, who came up with something similar centuries ago: On the first day of Christmas, my Broncos gave to me A two seed and a bye week. On the second day of Christmas, my Broncos gave to me Two new tight ends, And a two seed and a bye week. On the third day of Christmas, my Broncos gave to me Three sacks from Von, Two new tight ends, And a two seed ...

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Jussel: Up-and-coming Browns’ youth can’t hang with No. 1 Broncos

Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu saw this coming in the sixth century B.C. “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them,” he penned. He was surely talking about the sports landscape of today. The best team in the National Basketball Association is the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the best basketball player in the world is Kevin Durant. The Miami Heat and LeBron James have some catching up to do. Kobe and the Lakers? They are chasing the Denver ...

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Jussel: Broncos fans can thank Niners for 1st-round bye

You might want to sign the “Thank You, 49ers” card that is being passed around. We’ll send it out as soon as we get just a few more signatures. And (more on this in just a moment) you might want to get out another thank-you card or two if you are a Denver Broncos fan. San Francisco — despite rain, despite the fact no team ever gets the best of Bill Belichick and his Patriots in the winter months in New England, despite 300 yards passing from Tom Brady in the ...

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Jussel: Broncos hope to keep chances alive for the top seed in AFC

Three games remain for the Denver Broncos in the regular season. Win them all, and they finish 13-3 and will have earned the third seed or better in the upcoming AFC playoffs. Win them all, and they could finish with either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed, unlikely given the fact the two teams currently in front of Denver, Houston and New England, have defeated the Broncos this season. There is that ray of hope, however, because New England, like Denver 10-3, faces NFC power San Francisco today, ...

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Jussel: Broncos can win Super Bowl ... next year

Occasionally, the guy or gal at the other end of the bar will turn and ask the all-knowing sage THE question. “So, what do you think of the Broncos chances?” the fool on the stool is always asking, sure in his or her intent that the answer to be received will be The Gospel as It Truly Will Be. Those seeking wisdom seldom complete the thought but always imply: “What are the Broncos chances of winning the Super Bowl?” because winning the AFC West, as we saw at the ...

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Rockies’ offseason requires barf bag

The temperatures have dropped and days are short. Warm-weather recreation, which I am constantly in search of, is at a bare minimum barring large withdrawals from the bank. That’s why, when the Broncos aren’t playing, I become a big fan of the Hot Stove League, the hangout for desperate fans anxiously awaiting next year. Being no fan of ice fishing and no longer able to do anything other than snowplow down a ski slope, I instead spend much of my time paying attention to the ...

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Jussel: Broncos won’t rest starters with playoff seed at stake

Late each season in the National Football League, teams that have run away with division titles face a dilemma: Just how much do we play our key players in games that don’t mean anything to us? Usually, that equation rears its head the last week or two. The Denver Broncos are in that situation now — with four games remaining, three of those against teams with terrible records, not just losing records, but terrible records. John Fox’s AFC West champions play tonight at ...

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Broncos prove once again they are Super Bowl legit

The Denver Broncos have won the AFC West title for a second straight season and, after nearly a decade of doldrums, are legitimate contenders for a Super Bowl crown. Everyone in earshot wants to jump on board. Feel free; hop on. But be warned: You might end up with a new diversion that can severely impact your life. It happened to my mother. It happened to Sherry Clingman. It happened to Jay Gorby. My mother read every inch of two daily Denver newspapers from her kitchen table in Aurora ...

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Broncos face tough task vs. hard-nosed 
Buccaneers

Today’s Denver Broncos matchup at New Mile High against the Tampa Bay Bucs is bubbling with the obvious. One thing we should notice right away is the fact that these are two pretty good football teams. Denver is 8-3 and in need of one more win to clinch the AFC West. Tampa Bay is 6-5 and very much alive in the chase for an NFC wild-card spot. Denver has won six in a row, the longest current winning streak in the league, and the Bucs have won five of seven, having been nipped last ...

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Jussel: Broncos need to improve in order to beat AFC’s elite

Bits ‘n’ pieces … The Denver Broncos are going to win the AFC West. That’s a given. One Bronco win or San Diego loss and it’s official. Denver, now 8-3, has games remaining against three teams with losing records: Oakland, Cleveland and Kansas City, with both the Browns and Chiefs games in Denver. So, let’s look for a letdown? Not hardly. John Fox’s team has a couple of huge tasks to deal with. First, it must continue to improve. Wins ...

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Jussel: Rockies need to increase payroll to boost winning

Major League Baseball’s Hot Stove League has been percolating for the past week, and will become red-hot in a couple of weeks when executives from all 30 teams gather for a few celebrations, a few drinks at Happy Hour and, yes, plenty of discussion. The Colorado Rockies will be represented — if they can afford the expense. Maybe the staff will find a way to use air miles and use Expedia to pick up a cheap room or two somewhere other than at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & ...

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Jussel: Broncos set up to be more than best in the West

Bits ‘n’ pieces ... The exit polls are starting to form a clear picture: The 6-3 Denver Broncos are going to win the AFC West — and they’re going to be a force in the upcoming playoffs. The first notion, that they will win the West, stems from one seemingly unavoidable fact: The 4-5 San Diego Chargers, Denver’s closest and really only competition, are not very good. Oh, sure, they have a decent quarterback in Philip Rivers, who is capable of putting up big ...

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Can Buffs, Rams climb out of the Bottom 10?

I grew up in the Denver area when the Broncos were starting to hog space on the front pages of the two Denver newspapers. The Colorado Rockies as a baseball team were not yet a figment of anyone’s imagination, and hockey was played by Denver University and an assortment of minor league squads. The University of Colorado football team was big news and often challenged the likes of Oklahoma, Nebraska and Missouri. I cheered hard for the Buffs as I worked my way through K-12. When it ...

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With Manning at QB, this is a game Broncos should win

These are the games Peyton Manning-led teams are supposed to win. Teams led by Peyton Manning — and he certainly has shown he is the old Peyton, not an old Peyton — win 10 games or more every season. Teams led by Peyton Manning have been favored to win the vast majority of the time since 2000, his second year with the Indianapolis Colts. And they have done just that. Today’s game at Cincinnati against the Bengals, a playoff team last season and certainly no patsy ...

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