Tag: Mark Kiszla
-
Mark Kiszla: Rather than giving Nikola Jokic a much-needed boost, Nuggets sit on hands during NBA draft
What did the Nuggets achieve in the first round of the draft to help Nikola Jokic return to legitimate NBA Finals contention? Absolutely nothing. Zip. Nada. Who’s in charge of this hot mess? Nobody. Come back, Masai Ujiri. We miss you, Tim Connelly. Is this the result of a brain drain in the Nuggets front…
-
Mark Kiszla: What made coach Doug Moe a Big Stiff and the Nuggets’ mad genius
Alex English, George Karl and a band of Nuggets brothers grabbed a slice of pizza, hopped in a time machine and traveled back to the NBA of the 1980s. Their mission? Give one more, forever-lasting hug to Doug Moe, the once and future King of the Dips. “The best — and only — coaching advice…
-
Kickin’ It with Kiz: The only way trading Jamal Murray makes sense for the Nuggets
Should the Nuggets make a trade? Jamal Murray had a great year, but disappeared in the playoffs. Can he be the guy that helped them get over the hump again? Don’t know. Aaron Gordon is a tough one. The last two seasons have seen injuries piling up, and he isn’t the player he used to…
-
Mark Kiszla: Has Sean Payton finally realized it’s better to win the Super Bowl than the argument?
After 62 years on Earth, has Broncos coach Sean Payton finally learned how to get out of his own way? “When you get older, you just want to win,” Payton said Wednesday after releasing his players to summer vacation at the conclusion of the team’s offseason program. “You always want to win, but you recognize…
-
Mark Kiszla: Why Bo Nix and Bronco Country’s ankle fetish are a beautiful thing
We might as well admit it: Broncos Country has an ankle fetish. No, it isn’t kinky. (C’mon, get your mind out of the gutter.) But it’s definitely weird, wacky and in an all-things-orange obsessed way, the very definition of how so very much Broncomania is back in full Rocky Mountain Thunder force. Everywhere he goes,…
-
Mark Kiszla: Payton’s Broncos deal is chump change if Bo Nix isn’t a $55 million QB
The Broncos are betting big that coach Sean Payton can get them to the Super Bowl and they can get him to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But the millions committed last week on a new, five-year contract for Payton are chump change compared to a decision that could shape the franchise’s future for…
-
Kickin’ It with Kiz: Why ‘Flo’ Balogun is U.S. soccer hero by happy accident
The USMNT’s 4-1 rout of Paraguay in the World Cup opener reminded me of quarterback Peyton Manning’s glory days running the Broncos offense. – R., football/futbol nut Kiz: A U.S. soccer star was born Friday night. Striker Folarin Balogun became the first American player to score twice in a World Cup match in nearly a…
-
Mark Kiszla: Avs’ championship window closes when Joe Sakic leaves Ball Arena
The Avalanche have gone back to the future, scheming to hoist the Stanley Cup again by doing it the only way this NHL franchise knows how. Let Super Joe do the heavy lifting. “We could panic and try to blow everything up and start all over,” Joe Sakic said Thursday, vowing to run it back…
-
Mark Kiszla: World Cup celebrates soccer’s rise into big four of American sports | 2026 World Cup preview
Only old men yelling at dark clouds of cynicism have failed to see the light: Soccer has made it big in America. But the quality of soccer made in America by dudes wearing red, white and blue? Well, that’s a whole ‘nuther story. In ’Murica, we’re good at road-tripping at Buc-ee’s. Making deep World Cup…
-
Mark Kiszla: Why Nuggets’ chronic injury woes are desperate cry for help
If it hurts the broken-down Nuggets to watch the NBA Finals from the sofa as much as it torments them to play basketball on the court, then shouldn’t Job 1 for Denver be painfully obvious? Heal thyself. Too often, this team’s starting five is in no shape to make a championship run. That’s more than…