Philly fan wants a break. “I realize you’re writing for a Colorado audience and just having fun with a Philadelphia angle to a baseball playoffs story. But please. Enough with the throwing snowballs at Santa Claus! Do you realize that happened at an Eagles game in the 1960s? If you want to rake us over the coals for verbally abusing Rockies bullpen pitchers, fine. But this Santa reference that every out-of-town media member trots out is so tired.”
Tom, Philadelphia
Kiz: Right you are. I should have left Saint Nick out of any discussion of vulgarity by Philly fans, and concentrated on the ethnic slurs shouted by hecklers at Colorado catcher Yorvit Torrealba, which offended Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca. “When it gets downright rude and ethnicity gets involved, that’s going past being a fan,” Apodaca said. Sounds as if Philadelphia has more than upheld a crass tradition dating back to those relatively innocent days of abusing Santa Claus.
How’d Britney make this list? “Here the Rockies are: the little engine that could. A franchise with a $54 million payroll is closer to a pennant than the $200 million Yankees. It’s George Mason streaking to the Final Four. It’s Rocky Balboa going the distance with Apollo Creed. It’s Britney Spears regaining custody of her children.”
J.P., Washington, D.C.
Kiz: If the Rockies can win the World Series, then we’d know nothing in sports is impossible. Heck, Mark Cuban might even win “Dancing with the Stars.”
Why, I oughta. “If I ever see you in person, I’m gonna punch you in the face so hard you’ll never write again, Kiszla.”
Chris, defender of the Rockies
Kiz: Guess it really is true. Baseball does attract all the intellectual fans. But threatening to rearrange my homely mug seems a bit extreme merely because I wrote Matt Holliday never touched home plate when he scored the most memorable run in Rockies’ history, don’t ya think?
Comical? No way. “Good to see an objective article from a hometown journalist regarding Matt Holliday scoring the winning run against San Diego. I root for neither the Rockies nor Padres, but it was obvious he missed home plate. That was the biggest blown call I’ve seen in baseball in years. Not because it wasn’t close, but because of the magnitude of the umpire’s error. It’s comical the response you’re getting from Rockies fans. You’ve got to call it like you see it.”
Gary, Tyler, Texas
Kiz: You telling me some Rockies fanatics would take a silly game a little too seriously? Nah. Where on earth would you get that idea?
Rust on Gold. “In assessing the Broncos defense, I’m wondering about linebacker Ian Gold. I’ve always been a Gold fan, but it appears that he is missing more than his share of assignments and tackles. Any thoughts?”
Mike, Jersey County, Ill.
Kiz: Your favorite Denver defender still possesses talent. But long gone is the time when he was good as Gold. Hurts to say, but sooner or later, the Broncos need to send Gold packing so they can put D.J. Williams at weakside linebacker, where he belongs.
Parting shot
Today’s parting shot is from a baseball clairvoyant who obviously saw the Rockies morphing into the 1927 Yankees when our local club’s record was 76-72 in September, and now wants anyone late to this party to stay away from Coors Field.
“For once you didn’t mail in a column about the Rockies, you bandwagon hack. You need to eat some crow and wash general manager Dan O’Dowd’s car 500,000 times. All the best,”
Billy, Aurora
