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Grading The Week: Carmelo Anthony’s sour grapes over Nikola Jokic wearing No. 15 more “petty” than anything Nuggets did to him

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Grading The Week: Carmelo Anthony’s sour grapes over Nikola Jokic wearing No. 15 more “petty” than anything Nuggets did to him


Let it go, ‘Melo.

The grudge.

The burr in your backside.

The history.

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The No. 15.

Especially the number 15.

First off, belated Happy New Year! The usual peanut gallery inside the Grading The Week offices took a week or so off to get the holidays out of our system, then another unplanned week or so to get a family-spread dose of mild coronavirus, the Christmas gift nobody wanted, out of our respective lungs.

And no sooner were the gang of idiots breathing easier when somebody sent over a clip from former Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony’s podcast this past Thursday with The Kid Mero, “7PM in Brooklyn.” And you know which one, don’t ya?

“You had to feel a (certain) way when (the Nuggets) gave (Nikola) Jokic that 15?” The Kid Mero asked of Anthony, referring to his old Nuggets number and the one now worn by the greatest player in franchise history.

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“Because that’s ‘Melo(‘s number 15).”

Melo dropped his shades and gave a look.

“Hell, yeah … what I believe is that (the Nuggets) gave him 15 to erase what I did,” Anthony replied.

Oh, doctor.

Can we go back to COVID?

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Melo’s Sour Grapes — D

A lot to unpack here. But before we do, we’ll let Anthony, who wore 15 with the Nuggets from 2003-2011, continue.

“Did you feel it was a petty maneuver (by the Nuggets)?” The Kid Mero asked.

“It was a petty maneuver,” ‘Melo replied.

“It wasn’t like, ‘You’ve got numbers to choose from.’ … it’s like, ‘Here, you got 15.’ And ya’ll put Jokic in the middle of that. He (doesn’t know) what the (expletive is) goin’ on.”

Couple things.

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For one, this whole “squatter’s rights” sword cuts both ways, my friend. While you were flying high for the Knicks, Jokic was wearing the No. 15 as a youth basketball player in Serbia. That relationship, which Anthony had nothing to do with, goes back more than a decade.

For another, Jokic wasn’t the first guy to get handed ‘Melo’s old 15 once he’d fulfilled his wish to be traded out of town. That honor goes to power forward Anthony Rudolph, a German-born big man who wore it from 2012-2014.

The 6-foot-10 Rudolph wound up making 82 appearances for the Nuggets as the next “No. 15,” started five games, averaged 10.4 minutes and 4.3 points for Denver, and most certainly did not erase — or even remotely threaten — Anthony’s legacy in the Mile High City, a legacy that included four All-Star Game appearances in eight seasons.

We’ll give ‘Melo this much: Yes, he was one of the top five or six players in team history, and that hasn’t changed some 13 years after he left town. Yes, it’s more than a bit random that two post players inherited his old Nuggs number. And yes, it’s even more random that one of them, a guy few in Denver had even heard of in 2011, blossomed into a two-time NBA MVP and Finals MVP as the centerpiece of the franchise’s first-ever league championship.

But hoops is a funny game like that. And by throwing shade this week, Anthony wound up looking a heck of a lot more petty than the Nuggets ever did.

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Hey, airing your dirty laundry over laundry was probably cathartic, ‘Melo. Still, if you’re trying to see your name in the rafters at Ball Arena forever more, it’s hard to see what comes off as a bad case of sour grapes smoothing a path.

The Nuggs are going to retire a 15 one day. Frankly, they should retire two. But moments like these don’t twist arms as much as they twist old narratives. And not for the better.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.





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Denver, CO

Fire destroys home under construction in northwest Denver

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Fire destroys home under construction in northwest Denver


DENVER (KDVR) — An early morning fire on Friday left a home completely ablaze in the Highlands neighborhood, just a week after another house under construction went up in flames in the same area.

The Denver Fire Department shared photos of the incident, as crews were called to 3643 Mariposa, where images show a fully consumed home under construction.

“I think they [firefighters] kicked in the neighbor’s door just to make sure nobody was at home,” neighbors Lucy and Kyle said. “Some of the other houses, their windows got blown out from the heat!”

Just 11 days earlier, on June 8, a home under construction caught fire in the same neighborhood near West 33rd and Navajo. Nobody was hurt in either fire.

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And just about two years earlier, in July, another fire in the same area ignited around West 36th and Osage. All of the properties are/were under development by the same group.

“I wasn’t present for any of the fires,” Ryan Yoffe, a member of the developer group, said.

Yoffe does say he thinks he knows how the last two fires had been set, saying it’s the City of Denver that needs to do better with surveillance.

“It’s likely related to the amount of homelessness in the area, looking for properties under construction to live in or burn down,” Yoffe said. “The City and the Police Department need to do a better job patrolling to limit the number of homeless people camping in the neighborhood.”

Denver Fire Department officials say the most recent incidents are under investigation, but that nobody was hurt in either.

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Denver, CO

Rockies ride Kyle Freeland’s gem, Braxton Fulford’s double to 4-3 win over Pirates

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Rockies ride Kyle Freeland’s gem, Braxton Fulford’s double to 4-3 win over Pirates


The night belonged to Kyle Freeland, who joined the 1,000 K Club. The moment belonged to Braxton Fulford. The ninth inning — and a big sigh of relief — belonged to closer Antonio Senzatela.

Fulford hit a two-run, two-out, pinch-hit double in the eighth inning off Mason Montgomery to lead the Rockies to a 4-3 win over the Pirates at Coors Field in front of a Friday night crowd of 33,596.

Fulford drove in Tyler Freeman and Cole Carrigg, who scratched out back-to-back two-out singles off Montgomery.

“I had been warming up in the cage for that at-bat for a couple of innings, so I felt pretty prepared,” Fulford said. “I got an advantage count (3-1) and I knew he was going to come with the heater and I was all over it.”

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Fulford caught Montgomery for three seasons at Texas Tech, so he knew the left-hander’s tendencies.

“It’s kind of unfortunate for pitchers that you catch, because you kind of get to see their stuff,” Fulford said. “You kind of understand more of who they are. So I do feel like I had the advantage there.”

In the ninth, the Pirates loaded the bases against Senzatela with no outs on a single by Marcell Ozuna and an error on a groundball by shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. But Senzatela struck out pinch-hitter Tyler Callihan and induced Jared Triolo to ground to Tovar, who started the game-ending double play.

“It was kind of a crazy ending to the game — bases loaded and no outs,” Freeland said. ” ‘Senza’ got a big punchout in that situation, picks up Tovar. Then Tovar gets another opportunity to turn a double play, and he gets it done.”

Before all of the late-game drama, Freeland pitched his best game of the season: 7 1/3 innings, two runs allowed on four hits, no walks, and eight strikeouts. It marked the fourth time in his career that he pitched 7 1/3 or more innings.

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“Tonight, I thought he was absolutely exceptional,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “I thought his body language was impressive. He attacked the strike zone — relentlessly. His heater had good ‘vert’ tonight. The breaker was good. It seemed like he was in control all night.”

“Gritty” is the word often used to describe Freeland. Dominant was a more apt description on Friday night. History-making works, too. Freeland’s eight Ks gave him 1,001 for his career, joining right-hander German Marquez (1,069) as the only two pitchers in franchise history to eclipse 1,000. Freeland struck out Marcell Ozuna in the seventh for No. 1,000, and then promptly fanned Brandon Lowe for 1,001.

The hard-core Rockies fans behind the dugout gave Freeland a standing ovation.

“I’m very grateful for the fans always supporting me, and for making it this long in my career to reach some of these milestones, especially with one ballclub,”  said Freeland, who struck out eight and walked none for the second time in his career. “I definitely hear those fans when I pop out of the dugout after every inning.”

The 33-year-old Denver native blanked the Pirates for the first seven innings, giving up just two hits. Pittsburgh finally got to Freeland in the eighth, putting up back-to-back doubles by Esmerlyn Valdez and Triolo to cut Colorado’s lead to 2-1. Up to that point, it looked as if Freeland had the juice to throw a complete game, especially since he threw just 81 pitches.

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Man arrested on suspicion of murder in Denver shooting near South Park Hill, Hale

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Man arrested on suspicion of murder in Denver shooting near South Park Hill, Hale


Denver police arrested a 35-year-old man on suspicion of first-degree murder in a fatal shooting near East Colfax Avenue and North Dahlia Street.

Joseph York was arrested Thursday after detectives identified him as a suspect through interviews and surveillance video, the Denver Police Department said in a news release Friday.

Detectives believe York was arguing with the victim, 25-year-old Elijah Barr, before the shooting in the early hours of June 7, the Denver Police Department said in a news release Friday. The intersection is between the city’s South Park Hill and Hale neighborhoods.



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