Denver, CO

Stephen A. Smith does not want to return to Denver for NBA Finals

Published

3 months ago

March 3, 2024

Stephen A. Smith does not want to return to Denver for NBA Finals

The Boston Celtics won their 11th straight on Sunday and the Denver Nuggets vaulted into first place mid-afternoon thanks to some help and on the back of their own six-game winning streak.

The NBA seems to be shaping up for an NBA Finals matchup the world just missed out on last year, the Celtics against the Nuggets. And what could be better than finally seeing the leprechauns take on the pickaxes, they’ve easily been the two best teams in basketball the last handful of years. For Stephen A. Smith, a trip to Texas seems more appealing than what would be that incredible series.

“I’m not coming around to that (going to Denver,)” he said on ABC on Sunday after Boston’s win. “I’m holding out for the Clippers, I’m holding out hope for Dallas.”

The clip in question: pic.twitter.com/GAYyfItGUL
— Grace Marlowe (@graceofthecurls) March 4, 2024
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ABC has the rights to the NBA Finals, and the whole barrage of buffoons who have said brainless things in the past, descended on the Mile High City last summer only to see the Nuggets go 16-4 en route to the club’s first championship. Later in the summer, ESPN fired two separate members of their main broadcast booth, who possibly not so coincidentally, had been cruel to Jokic in the past. A third ESPN broadcaster who has been highly critical of Jokic in the past was also demoted down the broadcast team depth chart.

It’s Smith’s second time in less than 24 hours that he has been upset by the Nuggets success. The outspoken star of ESPN unloaded on the Lakers after the Nuggets win in Los Angeles on Saturday night. On ABC’s postgame show, he gave almost zero credit to Denver for beating LeBron James’ crew for an eighth-straight time and focused solely on how the Lakers championship aspirations are not being met.

Smith seems to be just another in the long line of ESPN commentators who have begrudged against Denver’s success at best and have straight-up sabotaged it at worst. On top of the gripes about Jokic and the Nuggets now comes some weak hate for the city of Denver.

A city by the way that loves sports so much that it’s the center of the country’s smallest metro area to host a team in all five major North American leagues.

And Colorado certainly seemed good enough for Smith when he sent First Take and every other ESPN show on the road to Boulder for a weekend with Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes last fall. A few months later he’d throw out Deion Sanders’ name as a possible Nick Saban replacement at Alabama. Smith said while discrediting the state and insinuating success in the state wouldn’t be real, “Go ahead and be happy in Boulder, Colorado. God bless you… I was there twice in my life and the only reason for that was him.”

But Smith wouldn’t be the first one to prefer Dallas and other cities over Denver, FIFA did the same when they picked World Cup hosting sites for the 2026 event. Though, in that case, the arena size made sense whereas on the hardwood, the Mavericks failed to make it to the playoffs last year and the Nuggets haven’t been that low since 2018.

A few years later now, we may have the answer to a couple of questions we had earlier in Denver’s build to this title team. Would Jokic need to become an All-Star or even an MVP to get a better whistle? He has done each and the whistle has not followed. And would Jokic’s Nuggets need to win a title to garner league-wide respect? The team accomplished their ring and for a short time had that respect but less than a year later, it’s almost all but been forgotten by the league’s main broadcast partner.

It’s these questions and answers that led to Michael Malone’s legendary vindictive quotes during and after the Nuggets playoff run. And it’s this very attitude by ESPN and their broadcasters that had the entire city of Denver boo-ing a member of the four-letter network’s crew, Lisa Salters, as she handed Jokic his Finals MVP.

Well here the Nuggets are again, back at the top of the West and the NBA’s biggest partner is vocally once more.

Maybe NBA star Kevin Durant said it the best one time on Twitter, “NBA fans don’t like anything about the NBA and it’s weird.”

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Denver, CO

New Denver program aimed at keeping teens busy and out of trouble this summer

Published

4 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Press Room

New Denver program aimed at keeping teens busy and out of trouble this summer

New program is aimed at keeping Colorado teens busy and out of trouble this summer

01:21

Denver city officials on Monday announced a plan to help keep teenagers and young adults engaged and safe this summer. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced his youth works initiative.

With the school year ending, Johnston wants to make sure young people have a way to stay busy and make a little money in the process. The summer youth employment and retention program is aimed at not only helping the youth gain employment but to also retain a summer job.

This is for youth 14-21, and the mayor has partnered with Denver Public Schools and local businesses. Those who participate are able to earn $1,000 from May 20 to Aug. 16 and can also learn job skills and explore career paths.

“We are thinking about this as a multi-pronged approach to how we can engage young people into positive activities and prevent the risks of summer violence,” Johnston said.

To be eligible — you must live in Denver, be between 14 and 21 years old, show proof of income and commit to working at least 100 hours between May 20 and Aug. 16. Applications are open today through June 30. Learn more at denvergov.org/YouthSummer.

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Denver, CO

Report: Pittsburgh, Denver 'In The Running' For Hosting 2026 NFL Draft

Published

11 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Press Room

Report: Pittsburgh, Denver 'In The Running' For Hosting 2026 NFL Draft

The city of Pittsburgh and the Steelers organization are awaiting word on the bid they submitted in February to host either the 2026 or 2027 NFL Draft. The NFL owners are meeting this week in Nashville, and an announcement is possible this week. Team president Art Rooney II expects word this week, and it would make sense with the meetings going on to discuss several league matters.

According to Carolina Panthers beat writer Joe Person of the Athletic on X, Pittsburgh is in the running alongside Denver.

Host cities for 2026 and ‘27 NFL Draft could be announced this week at spring meetings. Denver and Pittsburgh in the running. Charlotte still interested in hosting a future draft, but did not submit a formal bid for this round.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) May 17, 2024

Charlotte is interested but has not yet submitted a formal bid. I don’t know all of the specifics around the decision or the situation, but if Pittsburgh and Denver are the two teams that have submitted bids, then it would make sense that one of the two cities will host in 2026 with the other in 2027.

WPXI’s Jenna Harner interviewed several people close to the process in Pittsburgh in an article on Sunday, and the VisitPittsburgh CEO said that the level of detail the league is getting into at this point in the process seems promising for Pittsburgh. That would suggest 2026 could be the likely outcome, but we won’t have to wait long to find out.

The city of Detroit broke the draft attendance record with 775,000 fans over three days last month. That brought in an estimated $165 million in net economic impact for the city. Hosting the draft would be an event unlike any other that Pittsburgh has hosted, and it would be a welcome economic boon for the city.

Roger Goodell appeared on The Pat McAfee Show during the 2024 NFL Draft and said “that may be coming soon” when asked about Pittsburgh potentially hosting a future draft, so all signs point positive for the Steelers and the city of Pittsburgh.

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Denver, CO

PFF named Quinn Meinerz the Broncos’ most underrated player

Published

18 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Press Room

PFF named Quinn Meinerz the Broncos’ most underrated player

Pro Football Focus went about finding every team’s most underrated player and with the Denver Broncos they went with guard Quinn Meinerz. I’m not sure how underrated he is outside of Denver, but he is surely rated very highly among us Broncos fans.

Pro Football Focus

He was already called the Broncos ‘secret superstar’ back in January by this same PFF outlet, so he certainly hasn’t been underrated by them. In their offensive linemen grades, Meinerz came in fifth overall and third among the guard position.

5. RG QUINN MEINERZ, DENVER BRONCOS: 83.7
Meinerz’s movement ability and strength at the point of attack are incredible assets on the interior of Sean Payton’s offensive line. The Broncos guard proved to be a wrecking ball on the move, amassing the league’s best interior run-blocking grade when pulling (88.3). While he was limited to just 17 pull blocks this past season, his incredible 41.2% impact block rate ranked first among interior linemen with 10 or more.

That 83.7 is one of the better overall grades we’ve seen from an offensive lineman in Denver over the last decade and his 88.7 overall run blocking grade is just insane. He is just the type of guard that fits Sean Payton’s run-heavy scheme, so he is definitely one of the better draft picks in recent years.

In fact, I like the Broncos offensive line heading into a season for once. It seems like they have found a good mix of players there, but we’ll have to wait and see how they go about filling the hole left by Lloyd Cushenberry’s departure. Either way, I’m liking what Payton has done so far with the offensive line.

Horse Tracks

All eyes are on Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix
As quarterback Bo Nix went through the many texts and calls he received after being drafted by the Denver Broncos, he saw a message of support from Hall of Famer John Elway, someone who knows the exact path Nix is embarking on.

Russell Wilson Will Want To Show He’s ‘Still The Guy’ Against Broncos In Week 2
Mike Golic Sr. lists Russell Wilson’s return to Denver in Week 2 as his most anticipated reunion of the season.

Denver Broncos could resurrect career of former All-Pro wide receiver
A wide receiver currently sitting on the free-agent market could make sense for the Denver Broncos for more than one reason.

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