He won’t show up in the official box score or on any Major League Soccer-sanctioned rosters, but the Rapids’ secret weapon for their game Tuesday night against the New England Revolution will be a 19th-century Italian immigrant with tendencies toward pyromania.
Antonio Zambelli founded the Zambelli Fireworks Internationale company in 1893, then passed it along to his son George, who perhaps made more advances to the modern fireworks display than any other entrepreneur George, who died in 2003, introduced the choreographed display.
The Zambelli company will once again light the sky above Invesco Field at Mile High in what has become one of the biggest July Fourth fireworks displays in the region.
And this, the 11th fireworks show following a Rapids game, will be the last at Invesco Field. Next year the event moves to the Rapids’ new home in Commerce City. Since 1997, the Rapids have averaged more than 51,000 fans at their July Fourth game.
The booms and bursts launch after the Rapids take on the Revs in a nonconference contest at 7:30 p.m., pitting two teams each trying to break from the middle of the pack with 18 points apiece.
The Rockies have their own fireworks planned, with two shows at Coors Field on Monday and Tuesday. Those displays follow the Rockies-Mariners interleague series games, each starting at 6 p.m.
WEAK IN REVIEW
It’s hard to imagine any of the thousands of online fantasy basketball dorks in America doing a worse job of managing the New York Knicks than general manager and coach Isiah Thomas. It was Thomas who selected a consensus second-round pick in the first round at No. 20 – Renaldo Balkman, an “under-the-radar” forward from South Carolina.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE …
Now is the perfect time for Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn to get serious and hire Larry Brown as head coach of the men’s basketball team. Brown, who got the Star Jones treatment from the Knicks last week, once coached in Denver and might be interested in the chance to head a program just down the road from his good friend, George Karl.
THE COUCH
ON: If you were waiting for the World Cup to move beyond those vaunted Angola-Iran, Tunisia-Saudi Arabia matchups and into more exciting territory, now’s the time. The best match of the tournament so far airs today at 9 a.m. on ESPN and KCEC-50 (Spanish) when two perennial powers, host Germany and the “other” South American team, Argentina, face off in a quarterfinal. Then, on Saturday, two games should offer plenty of drama, as England takes on Portugal at 9 a.m. (KMGH-7 and KCEC-50) and Brazil and France get set for a rematch of the 1998 final at 1 p.m. (ESPN and KCEC-50.
OFF: Want to shave 30 seconds off your 1-mile time? You can do it, no problemo. The trick is signing up for the Superior Downhill Mile, starting at the corner of Rock Creek Boulevard and McCaslin Road in Superior on Tuesday at 7 a.m. The course starts with a steep drop, then flattens out some, then drops some more. A bonus prize will be given to the first male to break four minutes and the first female to beat 4:30. Register at active.com or check denverpost.com/extremes for a full calendar of events.
AROUND TOWN
Born from a United Nations speech in 1977, the North American Indigenous Games, first contested in 1990, will showcase premier athletes for a sixth time beginning Sunday in Denver. It is just the second time the games will take place in the United States. Hosted by the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain tribes of Colorado, the NAIG has scheduled competitions in 16 sports, including wrestling, volleyball, soccer, softball, canoeing, basketball, boxing and lacrosse (a centuries-old sport originated by the indigenous peoples of North America). The games run through July 8. Check www.naig2006.com for more information.
