Add one to the list of obnoxious and demeaning terms the advertising and marketing industries use to sell you a load of junk.
In this case, “niche.”
As in, “hockey will never be a major American sport, suitable more for a niche audience.” Ad world translation: “Nobody cares about your dumb sport except lunatic fans who don’t know better.”
But Colorado sports fans do know better. And this weekend will test their mettle. So-called minor sports will fill the weekend schedule and join with the biggies to make a busy pre-New Year’s sports scene in Denver. Namely:
• The Denver Cup college hockey tournament today and Saturday at Magness Arena will pit four teams — the third-ranked Pioneers, Sacred Heart, Dartmouth and Northern Michigan — against each other in a mini-tournament.
Denver faces Sacred Heart at 7:30 p.m. today, with Dartmouth and Northern Michigan going at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, the winners face off in the championship game, the semifinal losers in a consolation.
• The Avalanche welcomes back defenseman Rob Blake and the Los Angeles Kings at 1 p.m. Saturday for the third game of the four-game season series between the two teams. The Avs already have 5-2 and 4-2 victories over the Kings in L.A. this season.
And Saturday’s game — the Avs’ first early-afternoon game this season — will kick-start a busy weekend at the Pepsi Center. It will be the first of three games there in a 29-hour span — a maintenance crew nightmare.
• Six hours later at Pepsi Center, the Colorado Mammoth is charged with jump-starting the National Lacrosse League season when it host the Calgary Roughnecks. Both teams have NLL titles since 2004 and both made major offseason moves. No wonder the NLL chose the two teams to highlight its marquee season-opening game.
• The Nuggets cap the trio of games at The Can when they host Golden State at 6 p.m. Sunday in the back end of a home-and-home series.
• At 2 p.m. Sunday, the Broncos euthanize their dismal season when they host standout rookie running back Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings have plenty to play for, with a playoff berth still possible. And Minnesota’s strength — its running game — plays to Denver’s weakness, the third-worst run defense in the NFL.
• Finally, the weekend caps with Colorado’s appearance in the Independence Bowl against Alabama, airing at 6 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.
The couch is a plenty respectable place to end up at the end of a busy weekend.
ON THE COUCH
No swimsuit competition?
Sports fans were thrilled to learn this week that LPGA standout Natalie Gulbis will be one of several stars to appear on the ADT Skills Challenge, to air Saturday and Sunday on NBC (KUSA-9) from 2-4 p.m. Her partner? Some amateur named John Elway. They join Greg Norman, Jerry Rice, Dan Marino and others in the two-person competition. The challenge includes contests in long drive, greenside bunker, putting, mid-iron, short iron, trouble shot, pitch over hazard and chipping. Also appearing at the event, which took place Nov. 5 in Florida: Roger Clemens.
OFF THE COUCH
Resolution to run cold.
New Year’s resolutions usually last about 15 hours before they’re discarded or forgotten. So if you “really mean it” this time, it’s best you get a quick jump on getting active before the window closes. Fortunately, there are five good runs before the end of New Year’s Day. On Monday: The Frozen Buns Resolution Run 5K and 1-miler for kids in Crested Butte (gvh-colorado.org); the KCUV Resolution 5K at Washington Park in Denver (emgcolorado.com); and the KRFC Resolution Run 5K in Fort Collins (krfcfm.org). Then on Tuesday, try: the Rescue Run 10K-5K in Colorado Springs (pprrun.org); or the Runners Roost Fort Collins 5K in Fort Collins (runnersroostftcollins.com).
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Owning the Rocks.
The Padres became an early contender for the “steal of the offseason” after they signed free-agent pitcher Mark Prior to a one-year deal this week for $1 million plus incentives. The injury-prone former Cubs star will compete for the fifth spot in San Diego’s rotation. You don’t think Padres management noticed Prior’s career numbers against the last NL West team to reach the World Series, do you? The Rockies against Prior in his career: 40 at-bats, .250 average, no home runs, one RBI, 16 strikeouts. This matchup, if Prior makes it back next season, could be interesting.
WEAK IN PREVIEW
Show me the game.
The pressure put on the full-of-themselves NFL to air the Patriots-Giants game Saturday to a national audience instead of the too-specific satellite subscribers that actually get the NFL Network actually netted real change. The NFL on Wednesday caved and said it will allow NBC and CBS to simulcast the game, which will feature a Patriots team hoping to become the first 16-0 team in regular-season NFL history. The pressure came from all sides, including U.S. senators who threatened to review the league’s exemption from anti-trust laws. Finally, people are starting to stand up for the rights of sports fans!
