SB Nation User Blog: Jezru

What happens next and when? (Offseason Calendar)

Jezru — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:37:22 -0000

I borrowed this off of a Blazer site. Print it our and put it next to your Birdman and Chauncy photos there on your desk for quick reference.

July 1 2009: Free agency begins, though teams cannot officially sign until the final cap numbers are announced. Last year the signing moratorium lasted until July 11, though I haven't seen a date yet for 2009. The moratorium runs through July 7, so signings can officially begin on July 8.

July 10-19: Las Vegas Summer League

July 22-25, 2009: Team USA Trains in Vegas

September 7-20, 2009: EuroBasket tournament

September 8, 2009: Spain vs. Great Britain

September 30th, 2009:
Training camp begins (for the Blazers anyway -- I couldn't find the start for the Nuggies.... Around this date...)

October 28th, 2009:
'09/'10 Season begins.

Two Things I Would Like To See Happen at (Invesco Field at) Mile High Before I Die

Jezru — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:42:07 -0000

Seeing Colorado Kitten's post of her tour of (Invesco Field at) Mile High caused me to again ruminate on two things that I would very much like to see happen at (IFA) Mile High before I die. Being the sentimental and history loving fan that I am, I hope that others may be inclined to throw support behind these things and maybe get them done... someday... preferably before I die. Of course I have little or no plan on how to proceed, but I thought I'd just toss these out there.

1. Old Mile High -

Having grown up in Colorado I attended everything from motocross to Zephyrs games to Bronco Alumni games to Rockies games to whatever you can think of at Mile High. It was a fantastic, if not totally imperfect, venue and it just broke my heart when the old gal came down. I've since been to a game at the new stadium (I no longer live in Denver) and I stopped by to check it out prior to that time. I've got to say that whenever I've been in the area, my eyes wander to the adjacent parking lot where you can still almost imagine the field. Heck those stairs there in the corner of the parking lot lead to where home plate was when I went to baseball games there. How many corner of the endzone tippy toe catches occurred in that corner?

The first item I'd like to see Happen at (IFA) Mile High would be to simply paint in green the outline of where the field was. Maybe paint in white where Home Plate was too.... So much awesomeness occured on this little plot of land I would like to see some memorialization of it. I'm a sentimental fan, I know... But it would be nice to see a token something special done for those that have fond memories.

2. The Barrel Man

Tim McKernan wore the barrel rain or shine for just about every home game since 1977. An icon of the team, he was the first "Bronco" inducted into the Hall of Fame (in their fan section a few years before John Elway). In 2007 he hung up the barrel for good, but still attends games. This passionate Bronco fan was an icon to all of us and it's just too sad to see that he's no longer roaming the aisles. The thing I would like to see happen at (IFA) Mile High before I die is to have a bronze statue of this superfan erected somewhere in the stadium - preferably somewhere facing the field. His fandom was legendary and we can't let history forget a man who came to every game for 30 years in his underwear - that's just not fair.

Call me crazy, call me nuts... But these are two things I would like to see happen at (IFA) Mile High before I die.

Nuggets' Jones given flagrant foul after tripping Kobe

Jezru — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:14:32 -0000

Nuggets' Jones given flagrant foul after tripping Kobe

No mention of suspension

Pickaxe and Roll

Jezru — Sat, 23 May 2009 05:46:59 -0000

Hey Broncos fans!

It's the offseason. It sucks. I know you all are seeing the bleak baseball only season (season of dispair) looming here in the next couple of months... The calm before the pre-season storm, but a time where even sportscenter is mind numbingly boring... How many Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers highlights can one see before Sportscenter loses all meaning....?

I have the cure! At least here in the short term. Check it out! MHR's sister site www.pickaxeandroll.com is kickin major butt when it comes to non-broncos post season Denver sports! The Denver Nuggets, a basketball team - a team from Denver that uses a roundball and not an oblong one - I know! No pads! - Is kicking some butt in the "National Basketball Association" playoffs. The Nuggs just beat Lakers (think Raiders in yellow with an uninformed fan base) and are headed home to Pepsi Center to protect Denver pride. Site operator Nate does a fantastic job, you won't be disappointed.

If you're hankerin' for a little Nuggs love and can't find the place, check it out. It's pretty freakin sweet... Like the Nuggets.... Like the Broncos...

The Nuggs need your support! Check it out!

Behind Enemy Lines: Staples Center - Section 333

Jezru — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:43:50 -0000

First of all I have to say an epic thank you to my buddy, a Bucks fan, who hooked these tickets (and for spotting me two beers) - my kidney is yours my friend!

So here I was, a Nugget fan entering the arena of the hated ones. Ready to defend my team until the very end.... However, PSLakerfan was right. I have never in all my years of being a fan of visiting teams ever encountered a more amicable crowd. It's true. Of everyone there I was given hassle only one time (aside from the dude next me - more on that later). Do I credit this to the fact that Laker fan is classy? No. Laker fan is uninformed. As I said earlier, they don't know basketball. I walked around wearing my Pickaxe logo hat, yellow Hawaiian shirt and blue undershirt the whole time and nobody recognized the pick axe logo. To summarize what I said earlier, if it ain't the Laker's logo, they don't care. If it ain't the Lakers doing well, then forget it. Bandwagoners? Mmmmmm....

This was the sight that greeted me when I got there.

via i562.photobucket.com
Gross right? I know.

There were a few Nuggies fans around... But they were few and far between. We got into the game a little late. The LA traffic held up my buddy with the tickets, but hey, what can you do? I wouldn't have been there without him anyway so I slugged a beer and waited.

We got into the game and after going through the metal detector we were greeted by poor misguided souls handing our what? Car flags! Incredible...

via i562.photobucket.com

These things are so annoying they have to give them away...

Of course with any free thing, there was some hoarding....

via i562.photobucket.com

I'm not taking your picture, I promise.

We finally got to our seats and we were seated higher than the scoreboard. Nosebleeds indeed! I tell you though, we could see everything and the trajectories of the shots couldn't have been clearer. It was close at first...

via i562.photobucket.com

Yes, even Staples Center loves the Pepsi Center.

Then things got ill. We fell behind and there were these dudes that were providing some odd basketball commentary. "Our bigs are key..." - Really? Are they are you sure? Going out on a limb there boy-o!?

I do question what he was saying since we were so far up I could barely tell the bigs from the... anybody... Here's us during a timeout.

via i562.photobucket.com

Those Laker girls are something else....

via i562.photobucket.com

Hi!

Then we pulled close at halftime... Over halftime they were running texts people sent in to a specific number at the game. Though my "The Pickaxe is going to roll" was not broadcast, another Nugg fan got this on the scoreboard....

via i562.photobucket.com

A shoot-around that ensued....

via i562.photobucket.com

Then holy crap it got close. They showed a split screen of Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise and I made a vocal comment questioning their manhood and the tatted up Latino gentlemen sitting next to me became annoyed. We later made up. His name was Juan. Good guy Juan. Just don't knock Tom Cruise.

The game progressed and the Nuggets hung in there... Hung in there in the lead.

via i562.photobucket.com

...and then we won. Finally. It was epic. It was grand. It was 20,000 Laker fans on suicide watch!

via i562.photobucket.com

The commentators behind us and Juan having left early (diehard fans?!), exiting was easy. It was once we were outside that I ran into these fellows. Apparently one of them was marketing these shirts... I told them to come to Pickaxe and tell people how to buy and we would... Guess who Jezru is...

via i562.photobucket.com

Holy crap... I should have shaved.... My face... Or smiled or something... Jesus...

Who cares.... The Nuggets won and my hat is crooked. BFD!

BUT! My friends! I gotta tell you the best part was what I encountered on the way to the car.. There it was in the street just as BroncofanstuckinSD foretold.... A Laker flag in the middle of the street - something straight out of Life After People....

via i562.photobucket.com

On the way home I reveled in the tar and feathering of Derek Fisher and Phil Jackson. One woman called in to complain that the refs were agianst the Lakers (really? How many times did Kobe double dribble and travel tonight?!).

The manic Laker nation is alive and well. 24 hours ago they were ready to recieve any and all trophies... Tonight? Not so much.

It was an epic experience that I shall not forget any time soon. The Nuggs won and it was awesome. I even got a Melo chant in there a couple times...

Nuggs in 6!

The Laker Scourge: Car Flags

Jezru — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:03:54 -0000

More than anything, this is a plea from me to the Nuggies to win tonight so we can stop obnoxious behavior. All over LA these stupid car flags are popping up and the more success they have the more flags I'll see. I had my camera with me so I can take pictures at the game tonight to send to Nate to post here and so I caught this fellow who was just down the street from my house.

via i562.photobucket.com

Yes, Nuggets fans, you probably have an obnoxious Laker fan in your neighborhood.

I counted no less than seven cars with these annoying flags today.... The Nuggets have to win or this could get out of hand. Every year the Lakers go deep in the playoffs these silly things come out and increase in numbers until they fall on their ass at which time they all simultaenously vanish.

Why do I hate these flags? Because they tipify what drives me crazy about Lakers fans in general. They are the kings of bandwagon jumping. When they're good, they're all diehard fans. When they're bad nobody notices because everybody's doing other crap. If you are a true Laker fan, fly your silly little flag during the regular season or, heck, before the WCF. There weren't as many flags last week as there are today. Why? Because the Houston series didn't make the Laker bandwagon look so attractive and Laker fans weren't about to jump on unless they could be right in doing so. Diehards indeed.

Seriously, I live here. I can't have these people running amok. So, Nuggies, please crush the hopes and dreams of these people, will you?

P. S. Anthony Carter you're on my list too.

Then and Now: Nuggies Advance to Western Conference Finals

Jezru — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:52:56 -0000

1984-85: Nuggets Get "Fat" And Natt

In 1984-85 Denver arrested the previous season's slide and turned in a stellar season. Everything fell into place for the Nuggets as they finished 52-30 and contended for the Western Conference title.

Before the season even began Denver made a crucial move by engineering a blockbuster trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Nuggets sent Vandeweghe to Portland in exchange for Wayne Cooper, Lafayette "Fat" Lever, Calvin Natt (who made the 1985 All-Star Team), and two draft picks. The deal paid immediate dividends for the Nuggets. They got off to a 12-3 start, floundered a bit, then found their second wind, going 29-14 from January through March, including 20 straight wins at home.

The team's momentum in the second half of the season carried over into the playoffs. Denver met San Antonio in the first round and engaged the Spurs in a postseason shootout for the second time in three seasons. This time the Nuggets prevailed, winning the best-of-five series in five games. Denver had an easier time in the conference semifinals, trouncing the Utah Jazz, four games to one. Their reward, however, was a matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers bounced the Nuggets in five high-scoring games on their way to the NBA title.

For the season, Alex English scored 27.9 points per game, and 6-6, 220-pound Calvin Natt had the best of his five seasons for Denver, averaging 23.3 points. Two of Bobby Jones's team defensive records fell when versatile 6-3 guard Fat Lever recorded 202 steals and Wayne Cooper blocked 197 shots. Dan Issel retired after the 1984-85 season, having averaged 20.7 points over a 10-year Denver career and scoring 16,589 points for the franchise. All told, Issel scored 27,482 points in his ABA/ NBA career, ranking behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, and Moses Malone on the all-time ABA/NBA scoring list. At the time of Issel's retirement he owned most of the Nuggets' career offensive records, although he was later superseded by Alex English.

via i.cdn.turner.com

History repeats itself, does it not? Interesting how we sent Kiki packing once again and engineered a crazy blockbuster trade that allowed us to soar to the Western Conference Finals. Things are going to be different this time around!

Nuggs/Lakers: How about some numbers?

Jezru — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:42:48 -0000

Becuae of the constant harassment in my office over my shunning of the local lakers and because I root for my hometown Nuggies, I was forced to go inside the numbers for a little ammunition that I urge to all to throw in the faces of smug laker fan...

Check it out:

In the first round series, Denver scored a cumulative 542 points, outscoring the Hornets by a cumulative 121 points.

In the first round series, the Lakers scored a cumulative 533 points, outscoring the Jazz by a cumulative 46 points.

Now check this out:

If you factor in game one of the Dallas series, the Nuggets added another 109 points to the cumulative points total and 14 for the outscoring cume total.

Now if you factor game one of the Laker's series, you can only add 92 points to the cume points total and you have to subtract 8 points from their outscoring total because they are big fat losers thus far in round 2.

This gives the Nuggets a cume points total of 651 total points and the Lakers 625 cume points. Edge: Nuggets by by 26 points or 4.3 per game.

The outscoring cume totals are also interesting. Nuggets outscored their opponents by 135 points (WOAH!) while the Lakers have only outscored their opponents by just 36 points. The Nuggets have outscored the Lakers 3.75 times over. Even if you erased the lopsided 58 point victory from the Nuggs' total, it would still be over twice as many points than the Lakers. Impressive! Edge: Nuggets.

Now, let's not forget that being the one seed the Lakers have played lower seeded teams than the Nuggets and so it would stand to reason that the Lakers would have an easier time of it when it came to match-ups... The numbers here don't lie - the Lakers aren't having as much success in the playoffs as the Nuggets.

Why the point disparity? The Nuggets are playing lights out defense and the Lakers aren't. Assuming the Lakers are able to come back against the Rockets and we do match up in the finals (assuming we don't collapse to the Mavs) my money is where my heart is. Edge: Nuggets.

I want to see Kobe cry.

Best Logo Ever?

Jezru — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:16:06 -0000

I was just admiring the Nuggies logo on my hat (the circular one with the pickaxes) and was wondering what people think about the various logos over the years... Is there a hands down favorite? Here are the logos through the years...

via www.remembertheaba.com

1967-1971

via www.nbahoopsonline.com

1971-1974

via www.sportslogos.net

1974-1981

via blog.iso50.com

1981-1993

via mergenchuluun.com

1993-2003

2003 - Today

The poll is for the best logo... But I also am wondering what is the hands down worst?

Poll

Which logo is best?

The dribbling rocket.

3 votes

The cracked out miner lookin' guy.

41 votes

Rainbow Flava

43 votes

Dark logo of the late 90's...

8 votes

Powder Blue and Gold

47 votes

142 votes | Poll has closed

Brett Favre is a little man...

Jezru — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:29:39 -0000

My Packer fan friends are furious over the recent news... Since it's the offseason and things are a little slower I thought I would share the thoughts I shared with them with you all.

What it all boils down to is Favre's not considering his legacy.

He was one of the greatest packers ever and had none of this bullcrap ever happend, Favre would stand among the packer monoliths untouchable - a legend. Nobody would remember Ted Thompson or harbor any ill will toward him or Favre.... A football hero , right up there with Lombardi and Lambeau... But this was/is not to be. You see Brett Favre is a little man...

Farve reached down from on high a plucked a veritable unknown person (in the eyes of the monoliths), Ted Thompson, and said, "You... I will show you that you are a jerk face". Like a high powered executive that made the poor descision to pick a fight with the guy who bags his groceries, Favre did not elevate Ted Thompson to his monolith stature. No, Favre climbed down from his pedestal into the deepest gutter and started poking a guy in the chest that in the long run nobody would ever remember anyway, in the process alienating every single person who put him there. You see, Brett is a little man...

How little? I suspect he will be the first person to be roundly booed at his HOF induction... Perhaps to the point of interruption...

Let's take a moment and get on our knees and thank the good lord that John Elway never tried any of this crap with us. My sympathies are mildly with Green Bay on this one... With 23 (estimating) people in the HOF they have all the room in the world to let one of their greats fall from grace....

Brett should be and shoulda been smarter.