Denver, CO
Nuggets’ Jamal Murray on missing NBA All-Star Game again: “I think you guys have seen me play at a pretty high level”
In recent years and especially since his prolific NBA Finals output last summer, Jamal Murray has steadily taken up a mantle that sounds like a backhanded compliment.
He’s considered the NBA’s best, or at least most accomplished, player to never be named an All-Star.
The Nuggets point guard, after missing the cut again in his seventh healthy season as a pro, was asked Sunday whether it’s motivational at this point.
“Yeah, of course, but there’s multiple players in the league that should be All-Stars (who aren’t), you know what I’m saying?” Murray said. “(De’Aaron) Fox wasn’t an All-Star. There’s somebody else. Trae (Young) wasn’t an All-Star. So … what do you want me to do now? I think you guys have seen me play at a pretty high level against those same guys who are All-Stars.”
Murray is averaging 21 points (a hair off his career high), 6.6 assists (a career high) and 1.9 turnovers (fewest since his rookie year) per game this season. His 26.7% usage rate is higher than ever, and his shooting splits are on pace to rival his outstanding 2020-21 season for the best of his career: 47.1% from the field, 40.6% from 3-point range and 85.4% from the foul line.
“I mean, it’s every year,” said Nikola Jokic, who was named to his sixth consecutive All-Star Game. “… I feel, or we feel, that he’s supposed to be (an All-Star). But maybe that’s just us.”
As Murray pointed out himself, however, it was a crowded group of players fighting for spots. He is currently 11th in scoring among Western Conference guards, and the current parameters call for only 12 total players per conference. Sacramento’s Fox missed an invite to Indianapolis despite averaging 27.5 points and shooting a career-high 38% from three. His true shooting percentage beats Murray’s by a hair as of Sunday night (57.8% to 57.7%).
“Last year, I felt Aaron Gordon had a great case to be on the All-Star team, and this year I felt that Jamal Murray had a great case to be an All-Star. But that wasn’t the case. And I feel for Jamal,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “But in a weird way, he may not be an All-Star, but to me he’s a superstar. He’s a world champion. And he’s done things in the playoffs that a lot of All-Stars have never and will never do. And that’s one thing no one can ever take from Jamal Murray. … What I love about Jamal is he’s a team player, and he’d much rather help this team win a back-to-back championship over being named an All-Star.”
If any one factor inhibited Murray this season from beating out his statistically similar contemporaries for a reserve spot (Paul George, 22.9 points on 46.4/41.2/90.9% shooting), it was likely games played. Murray has appeared in only 37 of Denver’s first 51, having missed November with an ankle injury. It was an early setback in the pursuit of individual accolades that Murray evidently hasn’t been able to overcome despite his impressive numbers.
Malone took exception to lack of availability being a valid reason for exclusion.
“The thing you read is, ‘Oh, he didn’t play enough games to be an All-Star,’ and all these different kind of diatribes about why guys don’t make it,” Malone said. “‘Well, he’s on a losing team. Well, he didn’t play enough games.’ I think it’s all B.S. Plenty of guys make it on losing teams. Plenty of guys make it that have missed games. And whether Jamal uses that as motivation or not, we’ll see. But I think he’s motivated in just helping this team win.”
The paradox with Murray is his playoff pedigree. On the biggest stages of his career, the 26-year-old has convinced the NBA community of his ability. Between the Nuggets’ 2020 bubble run to the Western Conference Finals and their championship run last season, Murray averaged 26.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.9 assists, shooting 48.8/42.3/91.2%. He had a 30-point triple-double in an NBA Finals game to match Jokic in Miami.
But autumn injuries and slow starts to the regular season have remained a trend, just enough to prevent Murray from joining his MVP teammate at All-Star weekend.
“It is what it is,” he said.
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Denver, CO
Twitter reacts to another Bo Nix comeback vs. Texans
The Denver Broncos have made significant work of the fourth quarter this season. Denver has outscored opponents 80-26 in the final 15 minutes during their six-game win streak, which have led to some heart-pounding games from the Broncos this year. Denver has scored 96 points in the final 15 minutes this season, tied with the Green Bay Packers for the most in the NFL.
In Sunday’s win over the Houston Texans, the Broncos entered the final frame down 15-7, before promptly scoring a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game with just over 12 minutes left. Bo Nix then led a final Denver drive to kick the game-winning field goal as time expired. Sunday marked the Broncos’ fourth fourth quarter comeback this year, tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the most this season. Twitter lit up after Nix’s latest great escape.
The Broncos now have a short week to prepare for the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football.
Social: Follow Broncos Wire on Facebook and Twitter/X! Did you know: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
Denver, CO
First memorial to Flight 629 bombing, one of Colorado’s deadliest mass murders, unveiled in Denver
There is a distinct before and after the night of Nov. 1, 1955, when a United Airlines flight exploded over a sugar beet field near Longmont, killing all 44 people on board in one of the deadliest mass murders in Colorado history.
There is before Susan Morgan lost her parents, Stewart and Anne, at 12 years old because a Denver man, Jack Gilbert Graham, put a homemade bomb in his mother’s suitcase.
Graham bought a life insurance policy as he escorted his mother, Daisie King, to the gate for United Airlines Flight 629 at Stapleton Airport. She unknowingly carried 25 sticks of dynamite, timed to explode after the Portland, Oregon-bound flight took off.
There is before Dave Benedict learned, at 3 years old, that he would never meet his grandparents, James and Sarah Dorey, because they were killed when a bomb exploded on their flight to visit him for the first time.
Now 70 years after the bombing of Flight 629, families of the 44 victims gathered at the former Stapleton control tower for the unveiling of Colorado’s first memorial to the tragedy.
“Today’s commemoration is not just about what happened in 1955, it’s about who we became because of it,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek told hundreds of people gathered at the FlyteCo Tower on Saturday morning.
It was also about healing, Benedict said. He thought this weekend would include a dinner, maybe, and was at a loss for words to describe what the ceremonies and events organized by the Denver Police Museum and dozens of other organizations and volunteers meant to him.
“The ability to listen to other people’s stories and to hear what carrying 70 years of unspoken pain has been like… we’re hearing that over and over again,” he said. “Very few of the victims’ children or spouses had any context in which to talk about this, to work through it or process it, so that’s happening now.”
In the decades after losing her parents, Morgan came to realize she also had lost her life as she knew it and who she thought she would become, she said.

But even knowing the darkness that became part of her life, Morgan told the crowd of families, first responders, investigators and court officials, she cannot wish that it never happened. That she had never created her “second family,” or viewed the world with clear eyes.

“I’m among a large group of people whose lives have been scarred by the same tragedy as mine,” Morgan said. “That sense of something shared is a remarkable thing.”
It’s not clear why it took so long to create a memorial to the bombing, although some officials on Saturday speculated the scattered nature of the victims’ families – only one, Daisie King, was from Colorado – played a part.
But each one had a story, former Denver Police Department Deputy Chief William Nagle told the crowd. Nagle read out name after name, describing the life behind each one.
Capt. Lee Hall, a World War II veteran who was planning to retire early. He left behind a wife and four children.
Helen Fitzpatrick, who was flying with her 13-month-old son, James, so he could meet his father and namesake while he was deployed in Japan.
They were restaurant owners, general contractors, car salesmen. Folks taking the first airplane trip of their lives.
“What is important now is that we tell the story of each of these 44 lives,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston told the crowd.
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Denver, CO
Denver mom turns backyard into emergency food pantry on Halloween amid SNAP benefit uncertainty
DENVER — A Denver woman turned her backyard into an emergency food pantry on Halloween, hoping to fill a need while federal food assistance remains uncertain.
Joanna Rosa-Saenz organized the grassroots food drive after hearing about food insecurity in her northwest Denver neighborhood.
“We live in America. We shouldn’t be hungry, we shouldn’t be hungry,” said Rosa-Saenz. “And I don’t want anyone on my block to be hungry.”
Denver7
Federal judges in two separate cases ruled Friday that the Trump administration cannot suspend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the government shutdown.
The Massachusetts ruling came after about two dozen states sued the federal government, arguing the Agriculture Department’s plan to halt all SNAP payments starting Nov. 1 would unlawfully cut off aid to millions of low-income families.
The Agriculture Department had argued it could not legally tap contingency funds to keep the program running. But the judge disagreed and ordered the agency to report back by Monday on how it will fund benefits. Under the ruling, payments could still be temporarily reduced depending on available funds.
Around the same time, the Massachusetts decision was issued, a federal judge in Rhode Island delivered a similar ruling from the bench. That case was brought by cities and nonprofit groups, and the court likewise found the administration must use available funds to continue providing benefits.
President Donald Trump indicated his administration would comply with the rulings, but accused the courts of issuing conflicting opinions and is seeking more clarity on how SNAP should be funded.
National Politics
Judges say Trump administration can’t suspend SNAP benefits during shutdown
Despite the rulings, it’s unclear when and how much assistance will be given out for the month of November.
With the need still there, Rosa-Saenz opened her backyard to the public Friday afternoon and asked the community to drop off canned goods while trick-or-treating.
The emergency food pantry now holds essential items like canned and dry goods, personal hygiene products and baby items.
Denver7
Rosa-Saenz, a single mother of three, told Denver7 she understands the challenges many families are facing today because she is a former SNAP recipient.
“I remember having to stand in line for a food box, things like that,” Rosa-Saenz said.
But to get the food drive up and running, Rosa-Saenz knew she needed help. Several nonprofits joined the effort, including Lacy McDonald, executive director of Outer Haven, a nonprofit working to reduce youth inequities.
Denver7
“One phone call can turn into this,” said McDonald. “And this is just a little snippet, so think what we could do together as a whole city.”
Before trick-or-treating started Friday night, more than 900 pounds of food had been collected for Rosa-Saenz’s backyard.
“That’s what community is,” she said. “Community is stepping up, working together and really making unity in the community.”
Scripps News Group contributed to this report.
If you would like to donate, below is a list of donation locations:
- 4229 Irving St. in Denver.
- Open from Nov 1 through Nov. 10
- Donations can be dropped off from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily
- 5123 Chase St. in Denver
- Open from Oct. 31 through Nov. 2
- Please place donations at the end of the driveway
- Moonflower Coffee, located at 4200 W Colfax Ave. in Denver
- Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily
These are the most needed items:
- Ramen, pasta, rice, cereal
- Canned tuna, chicken, beans, soup
- Canned fruits & veggies
- Peanut butter & jelly
- Baby food, formula, diapers & wipes
- Menstrual products, toothpaste & soap
- Denver7 Gives has created a campaign to help Coloradans struggling with food insecurity. Click on the form below and select “Help Fight Food Insecurity“ to donate.
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