DENVER –The Nuggets have played on Christmas Day 11 times in their storied history. The Broncos have done so only four times. This year is only the second time that both teams are playing on the same Christmas day, and sports bars are getting ready.

“It almost makes you feel like you’re at the game,” said Adis Mizic, Kitchen Manager at Tom’s Watch Bar in Denver, where they’ll be having giveaways and a live DJ to get the crowd feeling festive. “The energy in this, it’s just amazing… that’s kind of the whole point. We want you to feel like you’re at the game.”

At Chopper’s Sports Grill in Denver, Christmas came early. Owner Frankie Schultz and his team just installed a 350-inch LED screen to handle the demand of such successful sports teams.

“Literally, we just got it up this morning,” Schultz said. “It’s pieces that go together, but it’s seamless, and we’re really excited about it.”

Management at both of the sports bars are appreciative of those who volunteered to work on Christmas. Tom’s Watch Bar is supplying their employees with a special meal, and Chopper’s will have their kitchen closed, but with premade snacks available.

Denver7’s Anaya Salcedo

With low staffing, and unsure of how many patrons are going to show up on Christmas, Schultz hopes people will be willing to cut businesses some slack this holiday season.

“We’re going try to do what we can,” Schultz said, laughing. “We don’t know if it’s going to be five people or 200 but… it’s a holiday, so hopefully we get some forgiveness.”

The day of Denver7 Christmas sports starts off tomorrow with three NBA games, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Pregame coverage of the Broncos-Chiefs game starts at 5:30, with kickoff at 6:00 p.m.

The Nuggets-Timberwolvse game gets underway at 8:30 p.m. It will start on The Spot Denver3 until the football game is over. Then, it will move to Denver7 for the remainder of the game and news after.

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Wednesday’s Injury Report

Marne Royce Hadden

OBITUARY

Marne Royce Hadden died in hospice on December 8, 2025 after a brave battle with cancer. She was predeceased by her parents and brother, Alex, and is survived by four siblings.

She was born on November 4, 1951 at Huntington Memorial in Pasadena, California, the fourth child of Wesley and Dorothy Hadden. Until she was seven, Marne lived with her family at the Huntington Hotel in Pasadena where her maternal grandfather, Stephen W. Royce, was the owner and managing director, and her father, the assistant sales manager. In the summer of 1958, the Hadden family moved to Rancho Santa Fe to run the Royce family’s recently acquired Inn at Rancho Santa Fe.

The Ranch in the early ’60s – a tranquil village with a market, library, hardware store, and gift shops – was magical for most children, but even more so for Marne who had the run of the Inn’s beautiful grounds, attended the local school, kept chickens and baby quail as pets, and learned to ride. She soon became an accomplished equestrienne competing in horse shows around the state with her trusty steed, Rocky Neil, and collecting scores of blue ribbons across multiple events from western bareback to stock horse equitation. At The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, Marne was a popular student athlete and captain of the Royal Purples in her senior year. She graduated with the class of 1969 and went on to Pine Manor Junior College in Brookline, Massachusetts, where she made the honor list in the winter term of her freshman year.

Tragically, Marne suffered a scuba diving accident in the late summer of 1970 that left her disabled for the rest of her life. Diminished but ever resilient and surrounded, supported, and cared for by family and friends, Marne persevered in her inimitable style. She found childlike joy in everything she did from baking cookies, coloring, playing dominoes to weekly visits to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park with Suzanne Keil, her dear friend and constant companion. Marne was also lovingly cared for by her caregiver, Linda Tate the last 10 years of her life.

For years, Marne proudly led her pygmy goats, Friday and Harbor, in the 4th of July parade and rode her large tricycle to the Helen Woodward Animal Center where she volunteered and participated in the handicapped riding program, often stopping by the Chino Farm on her way home for the watermelons she loved and the corn they cooked for her.

In recent years, Marne loved visits to the beach and programs at the Rancho Santa Fe Senior Center, across the street from the lovely home she was raised and lived in for nearly 70 years.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Hellen Woodward Animal Center. A private memorial service will be held at a later time.