Chestnotes roasting on an open fire …
Not that they want to be, but CU, CSU and Air Force all will be home for Christmas. Our State’s three Division I-A teams have combined for a 10-24 record – CSU and Air Force finish their seasons Saturday – and won’t go to a bowl for the first time in 25 years. The last time the three in-state schools felt such misery was in 1981, when they finished a combined 7-27 – Air Force 4-7, CU 3-8 and CSU 0-12. …
Still wondering whether Mike Shanahan made the right move Monday? Don’t.
Bottom line is, the Broncos have scored 195 points through 11 games, leaving them tied with the dog-bottom Lions for 24th in the league. Two other last-place teams – the Dolphins (197) and Redskins (199) – have scored more points than the Bronx. …
Said Javon Walker, when asked if he were concerned about making the playoffs: “Obviously it’s a concern. In this division, you’ve got to win a lot of games because the teams are so good.
“Right now, for me, there’s a sense of urgency because we’ve got to run the table. We’ve got to get some wins so we can be put back into contention and have teams be scared against the Denver Broncos. We’ve got to strike fear in people.” …
Maybe we’re kidding ourselves. Maybe it’s as simple as this: The only way the Broncos will be an elite team again is if Jay Cutler develops into an elite quarterback. Because when it’s all said and done, that’s usually what it takes. Fact: The Broncos have been around for 46 years. During John Elway’s 16 seasons, they played in five Super Bowls. In the other 30 seasons, they played in one. …
Just wondering: Is there a college hoops team out there playing a tougher nonconference schedule than Air Force? By the end of November, the Falcons will have faced Duke, Stanford, Texas Tech and Wake Forest. …
Let me see if I’ve got this straight. One year after letting their heart and soul, Johnny Damon, get away, the Red Sox are throwing big money at J.D. Drew? And we all thought the Blue Jays lost their minds last winter. …
Headline on sportspickle.com: “Eli Manning not sure how to tell Giants he was adopted”. …
Not that the Giants are in trouble, but Lou Holtz says they’re living an Eli. …
Ben Wallace’s line last Friday vs. the Sixers: zero points, zero rebounds and, from the sounds of things, zero interest in playing for Scott Skiles. …
If Omaha North High School wide receiver Niles Paul, the top prospect in Nebraska, doesn’t hit it big with the Cornhuskers, it won’t be for a lack of good genes. He’s Ahman Green’s nephew. …
They don’t call him a multiple threat for nothing. Falcons QB Michael Vick flipped off the Georgia Dome crowd with both hands after Sunday’s loss to the Saints, the fourth in a row for the Dirty Birds. …
Do the Nuggets miss Kenyon Martin? Going into Tuesday night, they were 0-2 with him in the lineup and 8-2 without him.
Not only that, they lead the league in points in the paint at 52.3 per game. They had 60-plus vs. Golden State and the Clippers. Nothing out of the ordinary there, except that they only did it four times in the entire 2005-06 season. …
From the life-isn’t-fair dept.: Ohio State, No. 1 in every football poll, moved into the top spot this week in the ESPN coaches poll for hoops.
My Buckeyes correspondent, Post sportswriter Tom Kensler, tells me it’s the third time one school has owned the top spot in both sports in the same week. UCLA did it in 1967 and Notre Dame in 1974.
Catch Jim Armstrong from 6-9 a.m. during “The Press Box” on ESPN radio 560 AM. He can be reached at 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
