This might be what they call “the real nitty-gritty.” And this weekend is time to get down to it.
Four playoff series will garner considerable interest in Colorado in the coming week, with two teams playing in the area before Monday and two local squads heading to other parts of the country.
The Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League faces a West Division semifinal game Saturday at the Pepsi Center. The Colorado Eagles of the Central Hockey League can advance to the conference final with a victory tonight in Loveland.
And, not to be outdone, the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League travel to face the Idaho Stampede in a semifinal game today, and the Nuggets kick off their first-round series with the Spurs on Sunday in San Antonio.
Try to keep up.
The Mammoth, the No. 1 seed in the West Division, will host the fourth-seeded San Jose Stealth on Saturday at 7 p.m. It will be the third consecutive game between the teams, after they split a season-ending, home-and-home series.
The Eagles, with a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven series with Oklahoma City, can eliminate the Blazers tonight at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland. Colorado, the No. 2 seed in the CHL’s Northern Conference but the second-best team in the league during the regular season, last season dispatched the Blazers in the same round.
The 14ers dominated in the first round, downing the defending champion Albuquerque Thunderbirds on Wednesday 130-100. The 14ers will face the regular-season champion Stampede on the road.
And the Nuggets will look for their first playoff series win (and second ever) over the Spurs since 1984. Since the Nuggets and Spurs joined the NBA in 1976, they’ve met five times in the playoffs.
All in all, plenty of playoff action to mull over between now and Monday.
THE COUCH
ON: If you tried in vain to find television coverage of Mark Buehrle’s no-hitter for the White Sox on Wednesday, you weren’t the only one. ESPN was airing basketball, and ESPN2 had boxing. FSN was showing the Rockies. And Chicago-specific WGN had a dog on a skateboard – why, we don’t know. No “live updates” and no “bonus coverage.” Buehrle’s no-hitter was a no-show. Three days later and a dollar short, as they say, WGN will air the White Sox-Tigers game Saturday at 11 a.m. Also, Fox (KDVR-31) will show the Cardinals-Cubs at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
OFF: Earth Day 2007 graces us Sunday. Celebrate by getting outside for one of two celebratory races. The Earth Day 10K and Eco-adventure Walk starts at 9 a.m. Sunday at Paepcke Park in Aspen (call 970-925-1481). And the Wild Oats Earth Day 4K kicks off in Boulder at 9 a.m. (conservationcenter.org).
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Take a petition to the United Nations! Next stop: the world! A resolution, sponsored by two Wyoming senators congratulating the University of Wyoming women’s basketball team for winning the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, won approval in the U.S. Senate. “The Cowgirl basketball team and coaching staff serve as an excellent example of what the state of Wyoming represents, plain old hard work and steadfast dedication,” said Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.
AROUND TOWN
It’s tricky calling any pitching matchup at Coors Field a “potential duel.” But when the Padres’ Greg Maddux, right, takes the hill Sunday for a 1:05 p.m. start against Jason Hirsh and the Rockies, pitching might be the highlight. Maddux (1-1, 3.86 ERA) has a 5.96 ERA in eight career starts at Coors Field. But he is 6-1 in those games. Not bad at all. Hirsh, who has surprised in the early going at 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA, has twice pitched into the seventh inning this season. Not bad. Of course, at Coors Field, all of this pitching talk could easily be made moot with a routine seven-run inning. The game broadcasts on KTVD-20.
WEAK IN REVIEW
On the occasion of Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff ending his tenure with the Bobcats on Wednesday, Miami coach Pat Riley said: “I love Bernie. He’s one of the best the NBA’s ever had.” Pat, buddy. Maybe you weren’t in the league between 1994-96 as Bickerstaff, then coach of the Nuggets, ruined the team before sending them into a shame spiral that lasted seven years.
