“As a black man, I’d like to see a greater effort from black community institutions and luminaries on curbing gun violence. It affects our community disproportionately, and we’ve allowed the creation of a violent youth subculture that bullies those without the luck, means or world vision to escape it, and even some who seemed to have escaped, such as Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams. The United States leads all peer nations in the number of gun murders by staggering margins. Darrent’s life could be given additional, lasting meaning if we can work to remedy the plague of gun violence in his name.”
Greg, Bloomfield, Mich.
Kiz: If we ever get to the point where guns replace fists as the weapon of choice in a bar fight, then “Let’s take it outside” will not be so much a macho declaration as a death wish.
Retribution not answer
“Blaming hip hop for murder would be ludicrous. It is just as ludicrous, however, to blame a gun in the glove box. I don’t think the gun opened the glove box, crawled on the dash and fired shots at the white Hummer limousine in which Darrent Williams died.
Let’s put the blame where it belongs, on the gangsta wannabe. When the police catch him, I say we put him in a room alone for 15 minutes with the rest of the Broncos.”
Bob, Colorado Springs
Kiz: The death of D-Will gave us all a painful reminder of how many murderers prove so hard to catch every year. While we all want to see the shooter pay for his crime, wasn’t some grossly misguided idea of retribution what got Williams killed in the first place?
Athletes against gangs
“It’s up to society to change the image of gangs and start labeling them for what they really are: weak, insecure, domestic terrorists. A marketing message could easily call them out with examples like, ‘Real men don’t need gangs to prove they are men.’ NFL players could start echoing the message. How inspiring would it be for young kids to hear from players a message that reinforced to be tough and cool means exactly the opposite of what gangs are all about?”
Joe, San Jose. Calif.
Kiz: Athletes against gangs. Now there’s a truly inspired idea. It could start right here in Denver, with local stars sending the message on billboards across town.
Rein in Nene’s appetite
“Don’t the Nuggets have the money to assign Nene a personal trainer so he can drop 25 pounds and have a chance to contribute later in the season? What gives here? Talk about penny-wise and pound foolish.”
Larry, Lakewood
Kiz: OK, boys and girls, here’s your math puzzler for the day: How many $7.95 cheeseburgers can you buy with a $60 million contract?
Let Mother Nature thrive
“While watching the college football championship game between Florida and Ohio State, I really enjoyed the new stadium recently built in Arizona. When compared to what we have in Denver, our stadium becomes laughable. We have such a dump. How could we build one that isn’t enclosed?”
Horace, Northglenn
Kiz: On a beautiful night in the desert, the stadium roof was closed. The place might look cool on TV, but it feels so much like a shopping mall that the only thing missing is a Victoria’s Secret outlet. Give me the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field any day.
Parting shot
And today’s parting shot calls me and my fellow sports journalists out as a bunch of blind cowards, for being unable to see that what ails the Broncos cannot be solved by firing yet another defensive coordinator.
“Since none of you is willing to say it, I will. The biggest problem with the Broncos can be summed up in two words: Mike Shanahan. How can you guys sit back and write about needing a tweak here or a trade there, when the problem starts with the head coach?”
George, Aurora
