It’s a big night for Denver, as the City Council is set to make its final vote on the local government’s 2025 budget.

A new foreclosure management software system and a land ownership exchange between Allied Waste Systems of Colorado LLC and Denver International Airport could also be in the works.

The council has 19 other resolutions on its agenda ahead of its weekly 3:30 p.m. meeting on Nov. 12. City offices will be closed on Monday in observance of Veterans Day. Also, 22 bills will be introduced from various committees, and 16 await final consideration.

Here’s a select list of items before the council on Tuesday:

Contracts and Resolutions:

24-1456: Approves a contract with Government Technology Systems LLC for $800,000 and an end date of 10-14-2029 to design, develop and implement a new foreclosure case management software system.

Bills:

24-1483: Approves an intergovernmental agreement with Denver Connection West Metropolitan District and William Lyon Homes, Inc. for $4 million and an end date of 12-31-2029 to acquire and build a new park located at the intersection of Kittridge Street and Bolling Drive, in Council District 11.

24-1441: Approves a contract with Allied Waste Systems of Colorado LLC (Allied) to exchange ownership of an approximately 18-acre parcel of land fronting Tower Road in the City of Commerce City owned by Allied with a 25.33-acre parcel in Adams County west of E470 owned by Denver International Airport.

24-1447: Authorizes the Manager of Finance, for and on behalf of its Department of Aviation, Airport System Tax-Exempt Interim Revolving Note Subordinate Obligation, Series 2024A (the “Note”), in an amount not to exceed $500 million for the purpose of providing cash flow for current projects in the airport’s existing 2023-2035 Capital Improvement Plan, in Council District 11.

Is that a tortilla in your pocket, Travis Hunter?

Texas Tech threw everything it had at the CU Buffs. And we do mean everything. Shallow crosses. Wheel routes. Flatbreads. Water bottles.

With 12:12 to go in a bizarrely played and even more bizarrely officiated 41-27 CU victory on Saturday, things devolved to the point where Red Raiders football coach Joey McGuire grabbed the public-address microphone at Jones AT&T Stadium.

“Hey … students!” McGuire shouted. “Stop throwing stuff on the field! Please!”

Early in the first quarter, Hunter picked up a tortilla that had drifted onto the field. The best player in college football, who apparently also hates littering, promptly stuck it in his pants.

With 1:18 left in the third quarter and his Buffs up 31-20, Shilo Sanders spotted a water bottle thrown his way. The CU safety grabbed the thing and lofted it back into the stands.

Big 12 refs had about as much control of that tilt as Mr. Toad did his Rolls Royce. CU and Tech combined for 23 penalties and 186 yards in sins. It was the kind of afternoon where, if McGuire and CU coach Deion Sanders weren’t such good friends, someone would’ve started swinging fists or folding chairs by the fourth quarter.

The Buffs’ cooler heads prevailed. Despite the chaos, CU (7-2, 5-1 Big 12) moved into sole possession of second place in the conference with three games left to play. The Buffs extended their road win streak to four straight for the first time since 1996. They survived a 13-0 deficit in the first quarter, and shook off 15 minutes straight of getting punched in the kisser.

But more impressively, they endured a barrage from some of the trashiest fans in college football.

Throwing tortillas? That’s cute.

Throwing a water bottle? That’s assault.

Lubbock didn’t like the refs, so it lost its cool. It didn’t like the scoreboard, so it lost its dang mind.

“I had a vape given to me, (a) water bottle given to me and a beer bottle given to me,” McGuire said later, according to KTXT-FM. “I’m shocked we didn’t get a penalty.”

Tech officials were lucky someone wasn’t seriously hurt. While Red Raider fans struggled to grasp common decency and sportsmanship, Tech’s offensive and defensive lines struggled mightily with CU in the trenches.

Tech tailback Tajh Brooks, who was averaging 5.3 yards per carry at home before Saturday, was limited to 4.4 per tote on 31 attempts. CU piled up 10 tackles for loss and sacked Raiders QB Behren Morton six times.

Just like the road demolitions of UCF and Arizona, the Buffs had several players take turns with the crowbar. Amari McNeill, a transfer from the Tennessee Volunteers, racked up 1.5 sacks, along with three stops for losses. Linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green, another transfer, picked off a Morton pass, while edge rushers Arden Walker (two sacks) and Keaten Wade (1.5 sacks) combined to take the Tech QB down 3.5 times between them.

This one didn’t feel like so much of a game as it did in installments of a mega-bucks movie franchise. Each quarter had a tone, a big bad and emotional twists all its own.

The opening stanza belonged to the hosts. Tech came out of the gates doing its best North Dakota State. How do you mess with a Robert Livingston defense early? Attack the safeties with crossing routes and make those downhill linebackers have to cover receivers leaking out of the backfield.

Down 13-0, CU didn’t force a three-and-out until the first play of the second quarter. Offensively, the Buffs were just 1 for 7 on third downs at the half.

Eventually, though, both teams reverted to type.

The Buffs outscored the Red Raiders 10-0 in the second quarter and 21-7 in the third. Tech came into the weekend leading the Big 12 in penalties per game (7.8). After just three flags over a relatively peaceful first and second quarters, the hosts committed four penalties in the first 12 minutes of the second half.

Back-to-back face-mask and holding flags late in the third stanza took a CU drive from first down at its own 38 to a fresh set of downs at the Tech 27. Shedeur took care of the rest, hitting Will Sheppard for 17 yards and then from five yards out on a perfect lob to the back right pylon — a score that put CU up 23-20 with 4:25 to go until the fourth period.

At the same time, Kansas was busy doing CU a giant solid against Iowa State. The Jayhawks’ 2-6 record as of Saturday morning was deceptive — KU entered the weekend ranked No. 36 nationally in ESPN’s Football Power Index, better than Arizona State (38th), Wisconsin (39th), Cincinnati (40th), UNLV (42nd) and Michigan (46th). Five of those six Jayhawks losses had come by six points or fewer.

KU took it out on Cyclones at Arrowhead Stadium, holding on for a 45-36 win that wrested control of second place, and an inside track to the Big 12 Championship, out of ISU’s sweaty palms.

Rock Chalk in Kansas City will be the Buffs’ problem in two weeks, although it’s a delicious one. Because CU controls its own destiny now. And said destiny is on the express lane to Dallas, Coach Prime’s backyard, and to a berth in the Big 12 title game.

Anything this league’s thrown at CU, the program’s found an answer for. Bottles included.

On Saturday, the Buffs handled trash the way a College Football Playoff team should.

They took it out.

Originally Published: November 9, 2024 at 7:53 PM MST

No one’s ever asked the kids up in the Grading The Week offices to help them with their taxes, but those wise apples sure know how to work a calculator. When it comes to the Nuggets, we were stoked to see Calvin Booth’s roster math start to finally add up.

From Nov. 3-8, despite losing franchise cornerstones Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon to injuries, Denver went 3-0. Yeah, Nikola Jokic carried the flag, the way only a generational MVP can, with 27 points, 15 rebounds and 14.3 assists per game. Michael Porter Jr. averaged 21.3 points, 4.7 3-pointers and 7.0 boards.

But you know what else happened? The Nuggets got almost as many non-Joker points in those three games from players 25 and younger (146) as they did from those 26 and older (153).

Nuggets’ electric youth movement — A-

Holy smokes, Calvin’s kids can play! And play well!

Off-guard Christian Braun picked up the baton for both Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in one swing, averaging 20.7 points, 2.7 treys and 6.0 rebounds. Julian Strawther averaged 9.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Swingman Peyton Watson stepped it up, averaging 14.0 points, 4.7 boards, 2.0 blocks and 1.3 steals.

And Watson provided perhaps the most emphatic (and symbolic) moment of a great week for the Nuggets’ youth movement when on Wednesday night he rallied from two missed free throws to swat away a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shot to salvage a 124-122 victory.

Look, nobody on the GTW crew is thrilled at the idea of the Nuggets missing Gordon for an extended stretch. But if it forces coach Michael Malone to trot out the young guns who’ve become part of his roster’s core, it might turn into a blessing in disguise. Especially given that Malone doesn’t really have much of a choice.

Tad Boyle lands his 300th at CU — A

Sure, it took longer than anybody hoped. And yes, it had a bunch of uncomfortable … er, teaching moments. But a tip of the cap for the umpteenth time to CU men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle for picking up his 300th career victory with the Buffs on Friday night.

Poetically, it came in double OT against scrappy UNC, a program where Boyle cut his teeth as a head coach for four seasons before joining the Buffs for the 2010-11 campaign.

Since #RollTad settled in BoCo, the CU men have won 20 or more games 10 times; reached the NCAA tourney six times (COVID-19 kept them from a seventh); and finished fourth or better in their respective conference race four different times, including last season, when the Buffs were third in the final year of the “old” Pac-12.

Context: From 1960-2010, in the 50 years before Tad arrived, CU had been selected for five berths in the Big Dance — an average of once per decade.

Team GTW brings this up because as good as the new-look Big 12 — no blue bloods, no Oregons, USCs or Washingtons — has been for Deion Sanders and Buffs football, it could prove fairly harsh on Boyle and his rebuilding roster in 2024-25. The Big 12 isn’t a great football league. On paper, it’s setting up to be a beast of a basketball league.

Best show patience with young Buffs who’ll have to learn on the fly while traveling to hoops hornets nests such as Stillwater (Jan. 18), Tucson (Jan. 21), Lawrence (Feb. 11), Ames (Feb. 18) and Lubbock (March 5) this winter. Friday night confirmed that CU’s got a long, long way to go. Boyle’s resume should assure you they’ll get there. Eventually.

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