Nuggets coach George Karl will appear on FSN’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period” today at 11 p.m., with guest host Gary Payton, who played for Karl when they were with the Seattle SuperSonics.
Which brings us to a ride on the Way Back Machine.
Zip back to 1994. The Nuggets, with LaPhonso Ellis, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Dikembe Mutombo, finished the regular season with their heads barely above water. But their 42-40 record and fourth-place finish in the Midwest Division were good enough for an eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Skip forward one month. After shocking No. 1 seed Seattle — coached by Karl and led by guard Payton — the Nuggets got two possessions away from a berth in the Western Conference finals before losing to Utah in the seventh game of the semifinals.
Return to now. The Nuggets, struggling somewhat of late despite a win over Phoenix on Wednesday, are 12 games above .500 at 36-24. But they’re currently out of the playoff picture, trailing Golden State by one game for the eighth and final spot.
Funny how there seems to be an entire world of difference now.
Bright side for the Nuggets, though, is that a late-season run could jump them to the No. 4 seed. They’re just three games behind division-leading Utah. And 10 of Denver’s 22 remaining games are against teams ahead of them in the Western Conference.
Which brings us to tonight’s megatilt at the Pepsi Center. The Nugs take on the West’s No. 1, San Antonio, in a nationally televised 8:30 p.m. game.
It will be the Nuggets’ third game on ESPN this week — a number they surely didn’t reach in 1994.
AROUND TOWN
Another hot series on ice.
The Gold Pan Trophy is on the line, but much more is at stake when No. 7 Denver and No. 5 Colorado College cap their regular seasons with a home-and-home series this weekend. A WCHA title, league tournament top seed and an inside track toward the Frozen Four — those are all at stake. The Pioneers and Tigers have met in 265 games since 1950. But this weekend’s twofer — tonight in Denver at 7:30 p.m., Saturday in Colorado Springs at 7 p.m. — might be one of the best goal-tender matchups in series history. DU goalie Peter Mannino has five shutouts to rank second in the NCAA. CC counters with freshman Richard Bachman, whose 93.4 save percentage is tops nationally. Denver (22-11-1, 16-9-1 WCHA) can leapfrog North Dakota for second place in the conference. Colorado College (24-9-1, 19-6-1) is looking to retain first place.
STAY ON THE COUCH
Oops, there goes hoops.
There are 12 Division I men’s and women’s basketball teams from Colorado Springs to Laramie, and 11 likely won’t finish with winning conference records. Only the Wyoming women’s team, which has moved in and out of the national top 25 this season, will finish with a record above .500, being 12-4 in the Mountain West Conference. A tough year on the area collegiate hoops scene, to say the least. But things come to a close this weekend, highlighted by the Colorado State men hosting New Mexico on Saturday at Moby Arena (3:30 p.m., airing on The Mtn.), and the Colorado men traveling to face Nebraska on Sunday (1 p.m., FSN).
GET OFF THE COUCH
Schuss it or lose it.
Snowpack might be at more than 150 percent of average in many parts of the Colorado mountains, but it won’t last forever. The clocks jump forward Sunday for daylight saving time, so spring is near. So the COSMIC Series Randonee Ski Race at Loveland on Saturday should be enjoyed while the gettin’s good. The traditional mountaineering race, with multiple ups and downs, will cover more than 2,500 feet of climbing for a recreational division and about 4,500 feet of climbs for advanced telemarkers, alpinists and snowboarders. Check or for more information.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Ski powers powering along.
Not a surprise, but still noteworthy: The CU and Denver ski teams are among those looming near the top of the NCAA Championships at Bridger Bowl in Bozeman, Mont. The four-day competition continues today, with the men’s 20-kilometer and women’s 15K classical cross country races. A champion is crowned Saturday after the men’s and women’s slaloms. The Pioneers and Buffaloes account for 35 of the 54 previous national championships — DU has 18 titles to CU’s 17.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Coming to a TV near you.
If you can’t make it to Pueblo for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Shootout or to Boulder for the Bolder Boulder, you can still see them. The RMAC men’s and women’s basketball championship games, to be determined after today’s semifinals, will air live on ALT2 on Saturday starting at 6 p.m. And the May 26 Bolder Boulder will be broadcast on FSN after the two parties reached an agreement this week.
