From 1940 through 1967, a Burlington Route steam train named the Texas Zephyr ran from Denver to Dallas. It was a key commercial transportation bond between the Centennial and Lone Star states. Nearly 40 years later, the link between Denver and Dallas again comes to the fore.
Three local teams travel to Texas or host a Texas team this weekend. On Saturday, the Avalanche go to Dallas to take on the Stars while the Rapids do the same for a game against FC Dallas. Texas A&M comes this direction for a football game against Colorado in Boulder.
For the Avalanche, its 6 p.m. game will be its first trip to Dallas since beating the Stars 3-2 in overtime to take a 3-1 series lead in the first round of the 2004 NHL playoffs.
The Avs eliminated the Stars in Denver the next game, but that was an entire season ago and much has changed. Mike Modano and Joe Sakic will still face off, and Marty Turco and David Aebischer, the starting goaltenders in the 2004 playoff series, will again be in net.
For the Rapids, the postseason is right around the corner. And when they take on FC Dallas at 6:30 p.m., a potential playoff matchup will be in the works. Both teams have qualified for the MLS postseason.
But with the fourth-place Rapids just five points behind Dallas, and four behind Los Angeles, key seeding and crucial home-field advantage are up for grabs.
In Boulder, the red-hot Buffaloes take on the Aggies to cap off homecoming week at 5 p.m. Last Saturday, Colorado began its bid for a repeat Big 12 North title with an impressive 34-0 win over Oklahoma State. The Aggies and Buffs, each with identical 3-1, 1-0 records, are knocking on the door of the top 25.
Texas A&M leads Colorado in The Associated Press poll, but the Buffs are ahead in USA Today’s rankings. Good news for coach Gary Barnett: Colorado is 3-1 for the third time under his lead. The previous two 3-1 starts (in 2001 and 2004), led the Buffs to Big 12 North titles.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
More player-comedians to alter the NFL’s “No Fun League” reputation. See: Colts’ defensive end Dwight Freeney, who rattles off laughers nearly every time he opens his mouth. This week, Freeney said, “I’m like that wildflower in a field of daisies. I’m that unusual animal you’ve never seen before.” And, “Sometimes, I know the play even before the ball’s snapped. Looking at film is like studying a crime scene. I’m the investigator.”
WEAK IN REVIEW
Nearly no one gave the Padres a chance against the Cardinals in their NL division series. And for good reason. San Diego, which barely put together a .500 record in qualifying for the playoffs, have not threatened in two losses in St. Louis. Apparently, all those divisional games against the Rockies and Dodgers didn’t quite prepare the Padres for a real team.
THE COUCH
On: This is the weekend when two time-honored traditions form a couch-potato plexus of Homer Simpson proportions. Baseball, it is said, is the most literary of sports. And in the postseason, as demonstrated by its lengthy history, the game reaches its climax. Of course, you can’t read a baseball game. That’s where the most American of pastimes – watching TV – comes into play. It will take a bit of effort, and some stamina, to organize a schedule, but you should be able to watch each of the remaining baseball division series games. Today is AL day, with Boston hosting Chicago in an elimination game at 2 p.m. on ESPN2. Then Los Angeles goes to the Bronx to take on New York at 6 p.m. on ESPN. On Saturday, any and all remaining series, both NL and AL, will be played and televised on either ESPN or FOX.
Off: Ted “Cave Dog” Keizer wants to become the first person to complete a 50K hike in each of the 50 states. Why? Who knows. “Why not?” might be a more apt question. Keizer, 34, is trying to complete more than a marathon in each state in less than 100 days in honor of Bob Marshall, the founder of the Wilderness Society and former lands director for the U.S. Forest Service. Keizer takes on the Great Sand Dunes National Park’s Sand Ramp Trail today in Colorado. The dunes, situated in the San Luis Valley, rise more than 700 feet and cover nearly 35 square miles. Keizer’s hike will begin at treeline on Route 583 and end at park headquarters on Route 150. Anyone who cares to join – for fun or to recreate the search party scene from “Space Balls” – can do so. Find out more at www.duofold.com/hike50.
AROUND THE STATE
All this talk about how hockey has finally returned – nonsense. Hockey never left. In fact, hockey found a home in Colorado, with two-time defending NCAA champion University of Denver and top ten-ranked Colorado College leading the charge. Both teams, along with Air Force, get going this weekend. The Pioneers, ranked No. 1 in the season-opening USCHO.com/CSTV poll, host Lakehead (Ontario) University in an exhibition Saturday at Magness Arena at 7 p.m. And sixth-ranked CC hosts national power Maine, along with Air Force and Union College, in its Ice Breaker Tournament at Colorado Springs’ World Arena beginning today. Air Force goes against Maine tonight at 5 p.m., with the Tigers following against Union at 8 p.m. On Saturday, CC and Maine do battle.
