Gambling has not corrupted sports. Unethical, immoral people like Chauncey Billups have.

– Frank, casting stones

Kiz: I ain’t no historian, so this is strictly a guess: Sports bookie might be the world’s second-oldest profession. As any old, gray-haired Broncomaniac could tell you, a gambler didn’t have to wander too far into a back alley looking for somebody willing to book a bet on your local NFL team way back in the days of Craig Morton and Randy Gradishar. But now? A whole menu of sports bets can be found with a few thumb taps on your cellphone. This technology has corrupted how we cheer for sports. For example: Say you’re a Nuggets fan that hit on a $50 prop bet when forward Aaron Gordon scored 50 in the season opener, but then watched Denver take a bummer loss in overtime against Golden State. For a fan, did that game go in the books as a win, a loss or the source of a conflicted heart?

Billups was making approximately $5 million per year to coach the Portland Trail Blazers. There was no need to get involved with the group that rigged poker games.

– M.M., doing the math

Kiz: Well, I can’t tell you what makes Billups tick. But I do know athletes who live, breath and eat competition can become obsessed with that action. Professional gambler Billy Walters claimed in 2023 that golfer Phil Mickelson wagered $1 billion over a 30-year period. And now that NBC regularly puts Michael Jordan in front of a camera during its foray back into NBA coverage, I’d love to hear Mike Tirico have an extended chat with M.J. about his thoughts on why athletes are attracted to gambling.

My husband thinks I’m crazy to be so bummed about Billups. But as a Denver kid who’s also a George Washington High, CU Buffs and Nuggets fan, I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this news.

– Megan, roots run deep

Kiz: While we all love John Elway, Nikola Jokic and Joe Sakic, they didn’t grow up in Colorado. On the Mt. Rushmore of local sports icons, Billups is the one guy who is actually from here. We watched him grow up. He’s the NBA legend from next door. One of us. Methinks that’s why it hurts so badly to watch the King of Park Hill do a perp walk outside a court house.

In a game they’re favored by 3.5 points, I want the Broncos to win, but they’re due for a loss that the Cowboys’ offense might will to fruition.

– Cisco, livin’ his best life

Kiz: The peeps ask me all the time: Are the Broncos going to win this week? My standard reply: Spend half as much time studying the stock market as you do worrying about the score of a football game and your 401(k) will thank you on Monday morning.

And today’s parting shot takes aim at the everything-where-you-turn presence of sports gambling in the United States.

It was a bad idea from the get-go. Most of the people who bet on sports have no money to lose by gambling.

– Steve, Naples, Fla.