This weekend is a hard one for me every year. This weekend our beloved humbled Broncos come within 15 miles of my home, and I don't even get to watch them on TV (despite paying for the Sunday Ticket). That's right. I am an SF Bay Area dweller, stuck between a rock and a hard place.

First of all, the Raiders cannot sell out their stadium. Even this year, when they still have a (negligible) chance at the playoffs this late in the season, we are blacked out here in the Bay. Every year I contemplate heading out to the Coliseum (a place I am very familiar with as home of my similarly struggling A's) to take in the game, but am yet to do it.

Why? The problem with that is that the Coliseum is not necessarily a safe place to be for a Broncos fan. Between the bathroom assaults, stabbings and the Oakland cops being accused of targeting visiting fans, the notorious behavior of Raiders fans is definitely a concern. Some have alleviated that by wearing generic black clothing, or alternate clothing altogether. I am willing to go to a game only in my Broncs hat, but if I am not willing to wear black at a Raiders game. With the stage set, the real conundrum comes after the jump...

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So last year for my birthday, my mother got me a gift certificate to DenverBroncosProShop.com. (Cool mom, eh?) So I immediately spent the gift certificate on a coupla hats and a sweatshirt. One hat was way too big, as was the sweatshirt. I sent them back and was credited on account. The other hat has been rocked in Tokyo, San Francisco, North Carolina among others...

About a month ago I went to use my credit (was hoping some new season stock had come in) and found that the online store was almost empty. They basically had Champ jerseys, kids clothes and some ugly novelty items. I immediately emailed them to ask if this was a short term stock clearance or were they going out of business and what should I do with my credit. I never heard back...

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Tailgating Party (via evilmightyacorn)

This Saturday morning my wife and I will be hopping on a jet plane and heading to Denver to watch some throwback Broncos. (Trading in sunny Californian 70 F days for 35 F highs -  the things we do for love of football!) Big thanks to my sister for scoring me tickets as a birthday present. Extra big ups to my wife for not just letting me go but wanting to come along! We have plans for Saturday night (our hotel is in LoDo), but Sunday morning remains unscheduled - which is where you all come in...

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So I live in San Francisco, or more importantly on Sunday, within 75 miles of the Oakland Coliseum. That means that game is blacked out for me, the local bar, my buddy with the Sunday Ticket package... and my gameday plan of sitting on the couch with my wife, chatting with you all and watching the Broncs own the Coliseum is foiled.

This is not a question of whether the blackout is good or bad, just how to deal with it. If you wanna discuss the merits of the blackout, our friend BChiper just put up a post here on just that issue.

As I see it I have a number of options, and I want the MHR faithful's opinion.

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The attempt to salvage my week after a canceled vacation, namely 50 yard line seats to last night's preseason opener, proved to be just what the doctor ordered. From our seats we had a good view of the field and the Broncos bench, and easy access to bathrooms and beer. Not quite the beach time I had planned for this week, but a great chance to see some NFL action and check out the new look Broncs' offense, defense and players.

I tweeted a few times, but my phone was not liking the MHR comments setup... I will have to fix that before I go to Denver for the NE game in October. I tried to watch for the stuff you all asked for in comments on my initial post about going to the game. I haven't yet seen the broadcast of the game, so all my conclusions are from watching realtime both with and without binoculars, and by the end of the game a thick set of beer goggles as well. Read on for a few observations and takeaways from my visit to "the Stick."

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So when the preseason schedule came out, I was saddened to see that the Broncos were coming to my town for tomorrow's game, while I was scheduled to be on the beach in Cape Cod on vacation. For reasons I won't go into, vacation was canceled and through the magic of Craigslist, I am now the proud owner of a ticket to tomorrow's game (and one for my buddy, too). 50 yard line, 23 rows back from the Broncos bench. Man am I excited.

So is anyone else tailgating tomorrow such that I can show up straight from work, big bottle of hoppy west coast ale in hand, and talk Broncs before heading into the stadium? I swill be leaving from work in downtown SF on the first bus out, and should be there before the gates open. I will be wearing the MHR shirt I won for my draft predictions. If the stars align I will even get Hillis to sign it!

During the game I will be watching the line play, especially the D-line/NT's. I am excited to see the rookies in the secondary as well. Of course Moreno will be paid attention to, but I imagine he will be hard to miss. Anyone else people want me to pay attention to? I will write up my thoughts Saturday after the game and post them here so tell me if there is someplace I should train my binocs.

Go Broncos!

So last weekend I was in Denver with my groom's men celebrating my upcoming nuptials, seeing the Rockies look bad and being present for one of the greatest NFL finishes of all time.

Amazingly enough, this week I am headed back. No dudes, beer and nosebleed seats this week. Just me and my sister in the FedEx luxury box.

I will be coming in from Denver proper while my sister trains it from Littleton. I intend to be early (and less hungover) than last week. Anyone tailgating and want one more to join in the fun?

In the meantime, this is what I am looking forward to this weekend:

1) My second ever NFL game, second in two weeks and second luxury box experience (the other was in Oakland for the A's). Will I drink white wine?

2) Seeing my wonderful older sister, who may just be as big a Broncos fan as I am. Even though he is staying at home with a friend so we can focus on cheering, my infant nephew will be wearing his Broncos sweats. Awesome.

3) Watching for signs of life on the defensive side of the ball. Seeing Moss, JMFW, Woodyard, et al. come in and be difference makers. We have a real chance with a banged up Saints O.

4) Eddie and Brandon. Brandon and Eddie. Touchdowns and first downs. Catches and runs.  (Maybe a little Cliff and Darrell would be alright, too)

5) Trying again to put some faces to the names from this great website. And maybe sharing a bloody mary or three.

Everyone enjoy the game. Go Broncos!

I posted a while ago about my bachelor weekend which is happening in Denver and includes the upcoming tussle between our Broncos and the dreaded Clunkers... now it has arrived and I sure am excited.

These are the top things I am fired up about:

1) Seeing my first game at  "Invesco," and my first NFL game and my first Broncos game - all at once! Sounds like the nosebleed section will be playing a role in the events, so that is extra cool. I intend to be hoarse by the end of the first half...

1a) Seeing my first game at Coors Field Saturday. Guaranteed better than the first two Rockies games I saw - at Mile High!

2) Watching the Chargers dreams of a Super Bowl start to fade as our D shuts them down, plants Phyllis on his ass and as their D gives up yards in chunks. I feel great about a lot of the matchups, and the injuries so far are going our way. Boss will be back, and I am hopeful that the run D to be at least as good as last week.

3) Jack M!@#& F@#!*^% Williams! I hope he plays, and makes some plays. Woodyard too. I love those guys. Football players to the core.

4) Drinking Colorado beers. And lots of them. With my best friends in the world. Falling Rock, here we come. (I am skipping  the strippers - do you know how many beers a lap dance costs? And last time I went to a strip club in Denver, I paid good money to hear the weepy life story of one of the young women who was working. I am waaay too nice.)

5) Meeting some MHR folks in the flesh. UnarmingMermaid said he'd be at the game, and Denver_Native sounded like a maybe for tailgating. You two - shoot me an email at the address on my profile page and we can trade cell numbers. Anyone else interested in trying to meet up? No guarantees on how early I get up on Sunday, but I will be there as soon as my hangover lets me.

Go Bachelors! Go Beer! Go Broncos!

So it has just been confirmed that my bachelor party is going to be in Denver the weekend of September 14th. Besides general carousing, we will be attending the Chargers/Broncos game - we managed to get enough nose bleed seats for the whole group (6 right now). This will be my first ever regular season NFL game, first ever Broncos regular season game and I am really pumped!

I know we are going to spend significant time at Falling Rock Tap House, and probably will go out to The Ethiopian Restaurant (one of my faves) on Colfax Saturday night. The Rockies play the Dodgers that Saturday, so that might be an option. I am planning to eschew the strip club thing -- I'd rather spend the dollars on Laughing Lab and TommyKnocker MapleNut. I think we are staying at the La Quinta over by the freeway, but that isn't confirmed. 

So my question to MHR is -- anyone else attending this game? Wanna meet up to tailgate or grab a drink before or after? Do you have some good seats I can come visit you at? I am hoping we will have homebrew to share before the game, but no guarantees.

Anything else we must do as a crew of bachelors in Denver?

I thought this series would give up the ghost with the start of camp... but with some major changes to the squad already, I figured I would give a go at one "in camp" dispatch about a higher profile player. If it goes well, maybe I can fit a couple more in before cut downs begin.

For this episode, we are going to look at Kenny Peterson, who is vying for a spot on the defensive line, most likely as a Defensive Tackle. Although he mostly played end in college, switching to tackle his senior year, Peterson seems to fit best at the tackle position in the NFL. He has some shown flashes, but hasn't started a game, in 5 NFL seasons

After a rough year last year, Kenny has been very active in the offseason and OTA's, garnering the following mention from coach Shanahan after Sunday's practice:

At the end of the OTA days, Kenny earned a chance to be our starter. We have a lot of competition. We will evaluate this day-by-day, and he is doing a good job.

Read on to find out more about why Kenny will Make The Team!

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Both RMN and CBS4 are reporting that John Lynch's absence from practice is due to disgruntlement, and that he will be released to pursue another job - either playing or broadcasting - tomorrow.

[As of 7:30 MDT on Wednesday the Denver Post is reporting that this has been verified by multiple sources, so it seems certain that Lynch is no longer a Bronco. So long,  John. Thanks for everything.]

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Hi folks. Back with another edition of Why He'll Make the Team. I am going to continue looking at undrafted free agent pickups because, well, they're the most fun! 

Today we're are going to take a gander at Lorne Sam, a Florida State and UTEP product. Sam, whose brother P.K. played on a Patriots championship team, was a highly touted high school player, and went to the Seminoles to be a QB. After being moved to receiver, and several injuries, Sam transferred to UTEP where he played QB, RB and WR. He earned his undergraduate degree in 2006, playing 2007 as a graduate student. At the combine he competed as WR and enters camp as longshot in a deep group of wideouts. Will he make the team? Read on and see what you think.

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Not that I have anything other than what the mainstream news is reporting, but it appears Javon Walker has been hospitalized with a broken orbital bone after being found unconscious on the street at 7:30 this morning. Police said he sustained significant injuries and was the apparent victim of a robbery.

Reports have him at various clubs spraying people with Dom Perignon until around 6:30am. Nobody deserves this... no matter how dubious their behavior.

I am sure there are more details to come, but this sounds serious. I am guessing we don't see much of Javon in the AFC West this year.

photo via www.broncoscountry.com

I was just catching up on the media out of mini-camp this last week, and ran into this "gem" of an interview over at the (horrible) Denver Post. This really is, overall,  a terrible piece, and I apologize for linking to it.

No, I didn't want to share Lindsey Jones stumbling her way through an explanation of D-Jax's  career, as if she just woke up and hadn't had her coffee yet (Sorry Lindsey - try dropping the frequent "uh's" -- it doesn't, uh, help...) Nope, it wasn't the goat-like beard Jackson is sporting that made me point this out to you (although I do sorta like the the crumb-catcher he's growing, despite the fact that you'd think it could get tangled in one's chinstrap).

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For my next installment of Why He'll Make the Team I thought I would stick to hometown prospects - except this time we will go with with the Broncos hometown (as opposed to my ole' Kentucky home where Wesley Woodyard played college ball). Some of you may already be aware of this, but one of the UFA pickups is a Denver native, went to Cherry Creek High School (SE of downtown Denver, Englewood area for those not familiar) and then starred as an offensive tackle at  CU Boulder. And, despite calls from Tony Dungy and Jeff Fisher after the draft concluded without him being selected, Polumbus chose to come play for his favorite team, the same team he plays in Madden, the Denver Broncos.... As usual, we will take a look at some critiques of his game, and try to allay any concerns.

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As my first attempt at some useful copy here on MHR, I thought I would start at the bottom of the barrel, try to counter-act some the negativity that comes with the months of scrutiny between combine and season, and try to make an argument for why some of the guys who are falling off of people's depth charts will end up on the squad. I am calling the series:

Why He'll Make the Team

We are going to start first with one of my favorite UFA pickups of the year, Wesley Woodyard. Admittedly I, as a Lexington, KY native, hold a place in my heart for UK Wildcats, but this guy has a whole lot going for him. He also took a lot of knocks in the last few months. We will look at those, and then I'll try to refute them.

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Hello to anyone reading my fan posts. Thought I would write up a brief intro to me.

I am a 30-year old self-employed computer consultant living in San Francisco with my lovely fiancee and two cats. We are getting married in Mendocino county in October. I work primarily for non-profits and activist groups, with the occasional business project thrown in. I specialize in project based work, including technical planning and project management.

In my free time I like to hike, camp, bike and grow things in my garden. I brew a lot of beer and make wine, and have an active online community around that. For the last year I have been experimenting with herbs other than hops in my beers. These experiments have run the gamut from tasty to intense, but all have been worthwhile brews. In short, I am a big hippy.

I also spend an inordinate amount of time thinking, reading and talking about sports. I grew up playing soccer on a traveling team out of Colorado Springs (Go Chargers!) and watching Colorado College hockey (RIP Broadmoor World Arena).

Having grown up in the Springs, the Broncos hold an important part in my sports pantheon. Being surrounded by Ray-dah fans has only raised the stakes... I do my dangdest to not miss Broncos games - but have yet to make it to one. I am trying to leverage my bachelor party into my first one...

The Rockies only showed up in CO at the end of my childhood there, so I only saw them at Mile High, and have very little stake, although they might be my #1 NL team. I have adopted the Oakland A's (after having been repeatedly aghast at Giants games due to people talking on their phones, leaving for sushi with two men in scoring position, or at the end of 9 with the score tied, and a general corporate attitude) as my hometown team, although I am very upset, like many folks out here, with the proposed move to Fremont. (No public transit access? Are you kidding me?) In protest, I am only going to discount $2 games this season. No fun helping pay for the knife that is going to stab you in the back.

That's me in a nutshell. Don't ask me again. :-)