In linguistic terms, the English language is split by rhoticity – how the letter R is used. Depending on the region, some accents make the R clear. Others soften, lengthen or drop the sound, until it nearly disappears.
We in Colorado know our R’s. It’s not “Larry Wah-kuh.” It’s “Larry Walker.” It’s not “Brad Hawpe,” it’s “Brad Haw-” eh, his name stays the same.
Boston is different. There’s a reason every dumb Kennedy impersonation sounds the same. Pawk yah caw in Hah-ved yawd, etc., etc.
It’s as clear as the difference between purple and green. Rockies vs. Red Sox. Us vs. Them.
Generation R: Which side are you on?
The center of the debate in Denver this weekend will be at the corner of Colfax Avenue and Elm Street.
The Elm bar near Park Hill has become the go-to Red Sox spot in Denver, like an island of dropped R’s in a sea of clean pronunciation.
“We show all the Red Sox games,” Elm bartender Cissie Bailey said. “The owner isn’t even a Sox fan. But all the employees are. Every last one of us. So we took over.”
The lunatics have taken over the asylum. Look out.
“But the Series is the best outcome we could’ve hoped for,” Bailey said of the Rox-Sox matchup. “Red Sox fan or not, we just expect great baseball.”
Nevermind the Rockies’ World Series ticket-sales debacle. There are better places to watch this weekend’s games than Coors Field. Ignore the bandwagon and find some place with rabid fans – inebriated or not – who know the game.
Baseball, more than any other sport, is a talker. There are countless topics to debate and discuss, and plenty of time to do it.
Pull up a “bawh” stool, order a “beah” and get to watching. Games 3 and 4 go Saturday and Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
STAY ON THE COUCH
Here’s hoping history repeats. Only once in the past four years has Texas Tech lost consecutive games. Colorado last season downed the Red Raiders 30-6 in Boulder, one week after Tech had lost to Missouri. This season, with the Buffaloes traveling to Lubbock for a nationally televised game, Tech is fresh off a 41-10 loss to Missouri. Colorado will try to get history to repeat Saturday at 10 a.m. on KMGH-7, with Dan Fouts and Tim Brant on the call for ABC.
GET OFF THE COUCH
Gorillas, gorillas everywhere. There is a pillowcase full of Halloween-themed running events this weekend, all likely a good time. For a thorough list, check the calendar at denverpost.com/extremes. Among them, notice Saturday’s Denver Gorilla Run that starts and finishes at the Wynkoop Brewing Co. in Denver. The 5.6K race, a benefit for the Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund, is uniquely fun. Racers, with their entry fee, are given gorilla suits to run in. Imagine the sight of a block full of gorillas racing through Denver – only slightly beyond the normal weirdness. Check denvergorillarun.com.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
A chance to be special again. The Broncos rank 29th in kickoff return yards and tied for 28th in punt return yards – no way to distinguish yourself in special-teams play. But there’s hope. His name is Jeremy Bloom. The former University of Colorado standout, originally drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, is available (hint) and this week worked out for the Carolina Panthers.
WEEK IN PREVIEW
Off-again, on-again league. It’s difficult not to be cynical about the National Lacrosse League at this point. The NLL last week canceled the 2008 season after it couldn’t agree on a labor contract with the players. But Thursday, the NLL came back and said it will play this season. So was the cancellation just a ruse? A marketing ploy? An underhanded way to gain leverage against the players? Either way, the whole thing screams “bush league.”
AROUND TOWN
Hockey times two. The Rocky Mountain Rage, in its first season last year, finished in last place in the Central Hockey League’s Northwest Division. The rival Colorado Eagles, on the other hand, won the CHL title.
But this season has started completely different. The Rage is 2-0, having won back-to-back road games for the first time in its history, and leads the division. The Eagles to start the season have just one win in three games.
Both teams are in town for home games this weekend. The Rage opens its home schedule in Broomfield with a game agaist the Tulsa Oilers and the Eagles host the Arizona Sundogs in Loveland, both on Friday. And, around the corner, the Rage hosts the Eagles in a crosstown matchup Tuesday.
