This is a great time of year. The baseball season hits its stretch run, and games increase in excitement to the point where every pitch counts. It is baseball at its best.
But baseball isn’t the only game in town. Football – pro and college – is front and center, and soccer is charging ahead. And just when you thought you had it all figured out, along comes hockey. Hockey already? Oui.
And somehow, with stars aligned in a square shape, Colorado has become the center of the sports universe. The regional universe, anyway.
Try to keep up:
The Rockies host the Florida Marlins in a three-game series starting tonight at 7 o’clock and ending Sunday at
1 p.m. A good portion of fans coming to Coors Field are clinging to hopes the Rockies can make the playoffs.
The Avalanche returns to the ice
today when training camp kicks off at 9 a.m. at the Family Sports Center in Centennial. After another camp session Saturday, the team’s annual Burgundy-
White intrasquad scrimmage will be played Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Air Force Academy.
The Rapids, with just six games left in the regular season, are too close to the playoffs not to qualify. They remain tied with Columbus as the No. 9 team in MLS, one point behind the eighth and final postseason slot. Sunday at 1 p.m. at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Colorado hosts Chivas USA – the second-place team in the Western Conference.
The CU Buffaloes, settling in as the night owls of area college football teams, play a late Saturday game for the second consecutive week. CU hosts Florida State at 8 p.m. in the first game of the season at Folsom Field in Boulder.
The Broncos open their home schedule Sunday at Invesco Field at Mile High. The 2:15 p.m. kickoff will welcome the Raiders – always an enjoyable victory for Broncos fans. What kind of chance does Oakland have when, in the second week of the regular season, people still are debating who should start at quarterback?
Note to Superfan: If you open your wallet and hustle, you could see each of these games in person. We dare you to try.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Indiana Pacers forward Shawne Williams, arrested for marijuana possession and other charges Tuesday, is going to need a better excuse next time. The former first-round pick was pulled over Cheech and Chong-style with a strong odor of pot coming from the SUV. In the ash tray burned a cigar-sized blunt. Williams’ response to the cop, according to police spokesman Sgt. Matthew Mount: “Mr. Williams denied knowledge of the marijuana even being in his car.”
WEAK IN REVIEW
Maybe it’s understandable when a sparse crowd shows up in Fort Collins when Colorado State is mired in a yawner matchup within the Mountain West Conference. But why did so few people make it to Hughes Stadium last Saturday when a top-10 opponent came to town? In a game against powerhouse California, the Rams drew only 27,805 fans. For comparison, Montana had 22,866 show up for the Grizzlies’ game against Division II Fort Lewis in Missoula. Appalachian State drew an overflow crowd of 28,802 to Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, N.C., to see the Mountaineers, fresh off their stunning upset of Michigan, take on Division II Lenoir-Rhyne.
ON THE COUCH
The backdrop becomes historic when two football teams meet with decades-
long tradition as national powers. Such is the case in prime time Saturday when top-ranked Southern California plays in Lincoln against No. 14 Nebraska, at 6 p.m. on ABC (KMGH-7). The most recent time a No. 1 team visited Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium was 1978, when the Cornhuskers upset Oklahoma 17-14. That is Nebraska’s only win in 10 games against top-ranked teams. Saturday’s atmosphere in Lincoln, suffice to say, will be specifically collegiate. In a town where newspapers run 12-page special sections for spring practice, student tickets for Saturday’s game are being scalped for $300.
OFF THE COUCH
Sure, you could drive through the Colorado mountains to see the colors change. But if ever there was a reason to get out of the car, it would be to see fall begin to arrive with the turning of aspen leaves from green to yellow. Thus you have the perfect excuse to join the Autumn Color Run in Buena Vista on Saturday. The half-marathon, 10K, 5K and 1K runs, starting at 9 a.m., go through the upper Arkansas River Valley near Collegiate Peaks. Check for more information.
