Quad rugby, or wheelchair rugby, has become known as “Murderball.” Wheelchair basketball – which takes center stage in Lakewood this weekend with the four best teams in the Western Hemisphere facing off against each other – likewise should have a rugged nickname.
Maybe “Blitzball” or “Court Clash.” No, those names are amateur.
Elite wheelchair basketball is not.
“These guys are incredible athletes. They just bang the crap out of each other,” said Stuart Klugler, a coach and organizer of the North American Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, going Saturday and Sunday at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood.
The tournament collects four teams from the National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s elite division: the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks and British Columbia. The teams include some of the best players in the world in a round-robin tournament that will be used to seed the national tournament in March in Lexington, Ky.
Keep an eye on B.C.’s Pat Anderson, a professional player in Europe and a former standout at the University of Illinois. Anderson “could legitimately play in a high school game without any rule changes. It’s worth it to pay to watch him play,” Klugler said. Which won’t be a problem, since admission this weekend is free.
Nuggets’ standouts include Rob Knight and Taz Capasso, both affiliated with Denver ball over the last decade, and Adam Lancia, a teammate of Anderson’s on the Canadian National team.
And, for fans familiar with Denver’s wheelchair basketball history, this weekend will mark the return of the Mavericks’ Jeff Glasbrenner. A former Ironman qualifier, Glasbrenner in 2005 scored a record 63 points to lead Denver to a tournament title in Lakewood.
“It’s a very fast game,” Klugler said. And with attendance routinely near 14,000 for Paralympic games, this weekend’s up-close look at international, elite wheelchair basketball is a boon for the area.
Check coloradowheelchairsports.org for a schedule of games.
* This story has been corrected. It originally omitted Larry Sidebottom as the chief organizer of the North American Wheelchair Basketball Tournament.
What We’d Like to See
Peter Forsberg’s possible return to the Avalanche may just be a rumor. But where there’s smoke, there’s fire. The fact the Avs have approached the Flyers about a trade is significant. And salary cap doubters need not scoff. Taking on Foppa’s salary is entirely possible. The whispers already include swapping Jose Theodore to the open-net Flyers for Forsberg.
Around Town
When the Nuggets travel to Utah to take on the Jazz tonight – airing on Altitude at 7 p.m. – the game will feature a team leading the Northwest Division with a four-game cushion. With the Jazz ahead and looking like one of the Western Conference’s best teams, the Nugs need to cut the deficit, and now. Just two other games remain between the teams after Friday. And, to make matters more difficult, Denver returns home to face the Nets on the tough end of back-to-back nights. Saturday’s game starts at 7 p.m. at the Pepsi Center. And note this: Allen Iverson notched his 20,000th point Tuesday. It took him 713 games to get there, the sixth-quickest rise among the 29 players with at least 20,000 points, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Only Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Elgin Baylor did it quicker.
The Couch
On: Consider the three completed PGA tournaments this year a preseason. Golf doesn’t count unless Tiger is involved. Tiger Woods, winner of six consecutive tournaments to close the 2006 season, is seeking No. 7 at the Buick Invitational, airing from San Diego on Saturday and Sunday on KCNC-4. His streak, the second-longest in PGA history, threatens Byron Nelson’s 11 wins in a row in 1945.
Off: There are plenty of reasons to get outside this weekend, but only one event on the calendar this year will be like Redstone’s 23rd Sled Dog Races on Saturday and Sunday. The competition, the only major sled dog race in Colorado, will include around 45 teams in six divisions and will race through Redstone, the “Ruby of the Rockies,” on the edge of the White River National Forest, about 30 miles south of Glenwood Springs. Check redstonecolorado.com for more information.
Weak in Review
Rockies owner Charlie Monfort this week told Denver Post baseball writer Troy Renck he expects – nay, demands – that the team win this season. Translation: The Rockies better win now before Monfort rids the club of talented players, lest he is required to pay a reasonable price to keep them around. Enjoy watching Matt Holliday while you can, Rockies fans. He won’t be part of this cheapskate team for long.
