Notes rule, my brackets drool. …
Yes, Daniel Graham looked around the AFC West before signing with the Broncos. And yes, he considers it a personal challenge, playing in the same division as Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates.
While he may never catch as many balls as those two, he vows there’s a receiving threat inside him just waiting to come out. Or, more to the point, waiting to get more opportunities than he got during his days in New England, where he never caught more than 38 balls a season.
“I’m looking forward to extending my role more than what I did the last five years,” Graham said. “I don’t know who put that label on me – ‘blocking tight end.’ I’ve been an all-around tight end. You can go back to my college days and see that I’ve been a pass-and-catch tight end and a run-blocking tight end. It’s part of my game.”
In signing Graham, the Broncos have acknowledged their need to get more production out of their tight ends in the passing game. Since you asked, here are the numbers: Gonzalez caught 73 passes last season, two more than Gates. The Broncos’ four tight ends combined for 43 catches, including 18 apiece by Stephen Alexander and Tony Scheffler. …
Just so you know, since this is March and all, I’ve decided to go by JamesOn Armstrong the rest of the month. …
Or, given the looks of my brackets, JamesOff. …
My brackets are so ugly, they’re cute. In fact, I’m going to save them for my fifth-grader so she can stick them on her refrigerator some day. …
It isn’t gonna be easy, but I’ll see if I can contain my grief over Duke losing long enough to get through this column. There, I did it. …
Memo to Notre Dame, Holy Cross and Oral Roberts: Where’s your Moses now? …
Duke is gone and UConn and Syracuse weren’t invited to The Dance. So it’s official, then. This global-warming stuff is out of control. …
Not that the list of strange goings- on ends there. For the second time in 19 years, no No. 12 seed beat a No. 5. …
Jake Plummer has “some things” to work out with the Broncos before he officially retires. As in $7 million in bonus money he owes Pat Bowlen. Um, Pat, would you settle for an autographed picture and a slightly used Honda Element? …
Bill Visas, owner of Bill’s Sports Collectibles, on Jake the Snake: “Jake is starting to get a little street cred since he retired. All of his stuff is selling better than it did six months ago.” …
George Karl on the state of the Nuggets: “We play fun basketball, and then we play immature basketball.” Question is, when is it going to translate into winning basketball? Because, in case you haven’t noticed, we could use a few more winners in this dusty old cowtown. …
Just wondering: What does Marcus Camby, ever the soft-spoken team guy, really think of his reduced role in the Nuggets’ offense? He recently finished a stretch of nine straight games without double-digit shots. …
It had to happen, I guess. Peyton Manning hosting “Saturday Night Live,” that is. Look for the Performer Formerly Known as the Guy Who Couldn’t Win the Big One on your tube this week. …
Reggie Hayes of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel on the Iditarod musher whose wrong turn left him 18 miles off course: “The lead dog was male, so he refused to stop and ask for directions.” …
The real reason they call it March Madness: By month’s end, everybody but the little old lady in accounts receivable is ticked off at the world. Why? Because, after careful consideration of which schools had the cutest mascots, she won the office pool. Hope you choke on your prunes, grandma! …
And now for a sentence I never thought I’d be typing: Todd Helton would be a great dark-horse pick for your fantasy-league team. …
Vanderbilt chancellor Gordon Gee ruffled a few feathers when he reorganized the athletic department and put it under control of the school administration. Gee, when asked by HBO’s Bob Costas what would have happened if he had attempted the same strategy at his former schools, Ohio State and CU: “I’d be pumping gas in Vernal, Utah, my hometown.” …
Some mid-major. Butler’s list of victims reads like a who’s who of hoops: Notre Dame, Tennessee, Indiana, Gonzaga, Purdue and Maryland.
Jim Armstrong can be reached at 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
