Put me in coach; I’m ready to play.
David Diaz-Infante’s playing days are over but he’s enthused to jump into his new role – analyst beside Dave Logan on the Denver Broncos broadcasts on KOA 850-AM.
Training camp opens on July 28, and the Logan/Diaz-Infante team makes its debut in an Aug. 13 exhibition game against Houston. Diaz-Infante replaces Scott Hastings, and he couldn’t be more excited.
“It’s the closest thing there is to playing or coaching,” said Diaz-Infante, an offensive lineman who bounced around the NFL for nine seasons, including five with the Broncos.
Diaz-Infante views his role as a coach or educator. “You want to educate (fans) about what they don’t understand, and do it in a layman’s vocabulary. It’s a common-sense kind of thing. My job is to tell people why.”
Since he quit the game – “I went through 15 training camps. I was 37 at the last one” – his weight has fallen from a scale-crunching 300 to 265 pounds. He’s concerned about ex-NFL players dying young. “I try to stay in shape. You don’t see many 300-pound people who live to be 90.”
Though he misses playing, he doesn’t miss the work it takes. “I was ready (to retire). I was a guy who had to fight longer and harder than most. I was tired, but I will always love the game.”
He’s also active in community affairs, particularly with Arupe Jesuit High School, a private school for kids from low-income families where, he says, kids are not just getting an education but they are “excelling.” And there is the fundraising golf tournament for Hunter’s Dream for a Cure, raising money for children with neurological disorders.
It’s unlikely any prima-donna interviewees would want to tangle with a 265-pound former NFL lineman, but Diaz-Infante thinks he can handle it.
“There’s a time when you belong in the locker room and a time you don’t. I know the work it takes week in and week out to play in the NFL. I’ve had my share of (being yelled at) … in a room full of people. Some of those people deserve it. I don’t think I’ll be one of those people.”
Around the dial
Some players think it’s the most-authentic baseball movie ever. Kevin Costner stars as an end-of-the-road catcher in the 1988 film “Bull Durham” (Cinemax, 6 p.m. Sunday) … File this under Get a Life: ESPN and FOXSports.com on FSN cranking up their Fantasy Football leagues websites … Colorado College hockey player Marty Sertich among the nominees for best male college athlete at this year’s ESPY Awards (7 p.m. July 17, ESPN) … Anybody catch the new graphics on the Rockies’ games on FSN Rocky Mountain? Didn’t think so. … Quotable: “The only place I got booed … was in my own park.” – Former Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt, on “Best Damn Sports Show Period.”
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-820-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
