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Keeler: Deion Sanders’ new offensive line coach wants CU Buffs to “build a fence” that stops top Colorado recruits from leaving. Can we get a hallelujah?

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Keeler: Deion Sanders’ new offensive line coach wants CU Buffs to “build a fence” that stops top Colorado recruits from leaving. Can we get a hallelujah?


BOULDER — Godzilla wouldn’t throw down with Phil Loadholt. Unless the King of the Monsters wants a place of honor among Deion Sanders’ luggage, best swing that mighty tail ’round the other direction and run, son.

If the Buffs’ new offensive line coach is ever cornered in a dark alley by a bear, Yogi’s as good as a rug. At 6-foot-8, 340-ish pounds, when Loadholt rises and stretches at the dawn of a new day, the man blots out the sun.

“It’s like (an) eclipse walked outta here,” CU’s wide receivers coach Jason Phillips cracked Monday as he replaced Loadholt on a makeshift podium across the hall from The Buff Team Store.

Like tugging on Superman’s cape, spitting into the wind and pulling the mask off that old Lone Ranger, you mess around with Phil at your peril.

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“We want to recruit the top talent, as you’ve seen with Jordan (Seaton) coming in,” Loadholt said when I asked him about his philosophy and lodestar. “And then hopefully keep the guys that are in-state (in Colorado), keep them here.”

(Sound of a record scratching, then silence.)

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Go on.

“I know we’ve got some good linemen (from Colorado) that are at other places right now,” Loadholt continued. “And we hopefully can build a fence around that and keep those guys here so that we don’t have look at other places, you know what I mean? So hopefully, we can start building that relationship around the state.”

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Priority for you?

“One-hundred percent. One-hundred percent.”

As Loadholt spoke, off in the distance, I could almost hear ex-CU big man Matt McChesney scream out a “hallelujah” from halfway across town.

The first step toward addressing a problem? Admitting you have one in the first place. Since 2017, per 247Sports.com’s database, Colorado high schools have produced seven offensive line prospects who rated as four stars or higher, or an average of one per recruiting cycle. The Buffs wound up signing … one of them.

And while Coach Prime is more of a “let’s portal them in as free agents when they’re juniors or seniors” sort than a developmental, Kirk Ferentz, Barry Alvarez, Bill Snyder kind of guy, talent is talent. And baby steps forward are still steps. Especially when they’re trending in the right direction.

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“Being a good player doesn’t make you a good coach,” the first-time offensive line boss noted. “I understand that as well. But I definitely lean on my experience.”

At 38, Loadholt is a blocker who’s been around the block a bit. A star in football, basketball and track for Fountain-Fort Carson, his frame and pedigree blossomed at Garden City (Kan.) Community College, then at the University of Oklahoma. The Minnesota Vikings plucked him in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft, and he proved to be a mainstay up front in the Great White North until injuries hastened his retirement in the summer of 2016. The coaching bug bit, and stops on the staffs at UCF, Mississippi and Oklahoma led Coach Prime to make Loadholt his offensive line guru this past offseason.

“(The hiring process) was surreal, man,” Loadholt recalled. “It was full circle for me, obviously, being (from) about an hour and 45 minutes down the road. So being able to come back to my hometown, spend time with my parents and my sister, who still live here … it’s great.”

We learned a lot about Sanders last year, for better or worse. The only quicker way into Coach Prime’s doghouse than becoming a sports columnist is being CU’s offensive line coach after Shedeur Sanders just spent three hours running for his life on national television.

“No, he made that clear,” Loadholt said with a grin. “He made that very clear. But the interview process was real. I went and (saw) him, went down to his house and (saw) him and spent some time with him down there and let him know my philosophy and how I want to take care of things.

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“And that point (about Shedeur) was definitely made, that it’s important to keep the quarterback up. So I’m excited to have that chance to do that.”

According to 247, the top in-state prep prospect for the Class of ’25 is another top-shelf lineman, Cherry Creek tackle Soren Shinofield. The Buffs haven’t offered yet, reportedly. But if Loadholt is serious about building a fence, he can start with the garden out back.

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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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