This note’s for you, Archie Manning. Happy 56th birthday to the greatest college quarterback who ever was. …
Rick Upchurch used to date a college student who went on to become the most powerful woman in the world. They were madly in love, endlessly passionate and deeply committed to one another.
At least, if some publishing house calls, that’s his story and he’s sticking to it.
Now back to reality. Upchurch, the greatest punt returner in Broncos history, was never romantically involved with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the late 1970s, when she was studying for her Ph.D. at DU. Parade magazine linked the two in a gossip column last weekend, but Upchurch swears they were just friends.
“Absolutely not, as far as being intimate and all that kind of stuff,” said Upchurch, when asked if the two had been an item. “It was a friend-date kind of thing. She was someone I could talk with, and I was someone she could talk with. We used to go to the movies. Or I’d go over to her house and her mom and dad would cook for us.”
So much for the ex-Bronco rumor of the week. Not that Upchurch expects his phone to quit ringing off the hook anytime soon. You don’t get romantically linked to the President of the United States’ right-hand woman without hearing about it.
“My wife, Donna, has been great about it,” Upchurch said. “She said, ‘Hey, Rick, let’s write a book about it. If we’re getting all this attention, maybe we can make some money.”‘ …
At the risk of telling you something you already know, the only way the Pistons don’t beat the Pacers is if the NBA docks them points for Ben Wallace’s hair. …
Call me up and write me nasty e-mails if I’m wrong – my day isn’t complete without a couple dozen – but Kiki Vandeweghe isn’t going anywhere. …
Great news. The Avs right about now would be ahead in their series against the Red Wings en route to another Stanley Cup. …
Nice to see NHL commissioner Gary Bettman testifying before Congress about the league’s steroids policy. It still is a league, isn’t it? …
By the way, MLS commissioner Don Garber testifying about steroids? Soccer fans may need to lay off the ‘roids, but I’m thinking the players don’t. …
For the record, Pele said he wasn’t there to talk about the past. He only wanted to talk about the future. …
OK, so they’ll have to stay hot to keep up the pace, but give the Rockies a little credit. With 11 wins, they’re three ahead of Jon Garland. …
Congrats and good luck to ex-Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik, now that they finally got around to announcing his appointment to the Air Force. …
Rod Smith, providing a tell-tale math lesson involving the Broncos’ special teams: “We always started inside the 20 and the other teams always started outside the 30.” Add in their red-zone struggles, and you can see how the Broncos could rank so high in overall offense and defense and not win anything. …
You knew this was coming. Vikings running back Onterrio Smith, he of The Original Whizzinator infamy, blew off the media after the team’s minicamp the other day, prompting this headline in the St. Paul Pioneer Press: “Smith whizzes past reporters.”
Catch Jim Armstrong from 6-9 a.m. during “The Press Box” on ESPN 560 AM, and on Fox Sports Net’s “Insider Edition.” He can be reached at 303-820-5452 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
