Denver Post sports columnist Woody Paige posts Woody’s Mailbag every Thursday on DenverPost.com. The next installment is slated for Sept. 4.
To drop a sports-related question into Woody’s Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s . And to browse the archive of videos in Woody’s World, .
Hey, Woody. I read your . Do you think there’s enough time between now and the regular season for Ryan Clady to become serviceable at left tackle?
— Matt, Pueblo
Matt – Clady started out very poorly in the opening exhibition, but it was , and he was matched against Mario Williams on running downs. Williams moved to the other side on third down. Williams smoked him. He settled down later and did a pretty good job. He’s going to need help, but with the offensive line sliding and moving, he won’t have to take on a great defensive end by himself every play.
I’m not sure about him, honestly. He wasn’t much of a run blocker in college, and I’m not wild about his attitude. I’ve seen only a few rookie left tackles have good years in the NFL. It’s the second-toughest position on the team. QB is first. I think he’ll be OK, based on what I’ve seen, but nothing special this season. I’m interested in seeing his development the next few weeks before I make a decision on the Broncos’ season.
How many home runs would Manny Ramirez hit if he played at left field for the Rockies? Would it be more or less than the runs he would allow playing left field for the Rockies?
— Anthony Vallejos, Los Alamos, N.M.
120. I don’t know, Anthony. Fenway Park is easy for right-handed hitters, and he never broke a home run record. The humidor has taken away players’ ability to hit 50 home runs. Congratulations, Dan O’Dowd. I personally liked it better when Andres Galarraga, Larry Walker, Dante Bichette and Vinny Castilla would hit 40-plus home runs.
Manny will never play here, so it doesn’t matter. They won’t pay Matt Holliday $20 million a year. You think they’re going to pay Manny $20 million?
How does “Around the Horn” work? How far in advance do you tape the show? Does ESPN edit out any mistakes? Thanks.
— J.P., Paramus, N.J.
J.P. – Here’s the inside truth about “Around the Horn.” We have a conference call for about an hour each morning. The producer gives us the questions, and we give immediate, spontaneous answers. They don’t tell us what to say or what not to say, despite what some lying columnist in Los Angeles claimed. If the question is boring, it’s changed to something else.
We get to the studio about three hours before the program is aired. We get makeup (to prevent shine) and test the microphones and the TV cameras. The show is produced in Washington, D.C., and the commentators are in four different cities.
Most of the guys do research. I just show up and give my honest opinion, and try to be humorous. Some critics of the show think I’m a village idiot. It’s a character I play. I’m a little bit smarter in person.
We tape the show. Most days we tape straight through, and it’s treated like a live show, even when I mess up. If there’s a major mistake, like me shouting an obscene word at Jay Mariotti, or if the fiber optics crack, we tape the segment over. Yesterday we did all four segments in one take. It took about 45 minutes. I can hear the producer, Aaron, and the director, J.D., in my ear during the program. They never say what I should say. They say: “Shut up.” We try to have fun, and we usually do.
I like Paramus, N.J. Great mall.
Division I football in Colorado (basketball, too) has been lacking lately. What do we have to look forward to this season? Anything?
— Mike, Colorado Springs
I wrote that appeared in Tuesday’s paper, Mike. You may read it. I like The Kid Scott. He’s going to be big-time. Colorado has more depth, more experience, more quality people at the skill positions. And the new quasi-spread, no-huddle offense will work well against teams not accustomed to it.
They could be twice as good as last year and not win as many games (six). The Buffs have eight losable games of 12. I figure they’ll steal a couple at home, although they have six away from Boulder. They’re not going to beat West Virginia, Texas, Missouri, Kansas State, Florida State, Texas A&M and maybe Nebraska.
CSU is not going to be much this year, maybe five victories, and Air Force probably will win seven games. It won’t be a big year for college football, again, in Colorado.
Hey, Woody. What do you think of Joe Sakic waiting this long to announce his retirement plans? I think he can take as long as he wants, if there’s any chance he’ll come back.
— Pete, Detroit
Me, too, Pete. He can wait until opening day as far as I’m concerned. He’s earned the right. I think he wanted to spend the entire summer enjoying his family, seeing how his health is and deciding if he really wanted to go through it again.
He doesn’t want to be like Brett Favre. It’s almost impossible for players to walk away from something they’ve done and loved their whole lives. It’s hard for anyone to leave their profession, unless they’ve hated it all along. He’ll be back.
Woody – Brett Favre to the Jets. Your thoughts? Thanks.
— Donna, Cheyenne
The Jets will be better. Favre won’t be quite as good. Maybe eight victories. I’m happy that he wanted to come back, and it has an effect on the Broncos. They go to New York in late November.
I saw in The Denver Post. Ever been to Casper for a game?
— Mike, Denver
Mike – The past spring I met the executives from Casper, who had changed the team’s nickname from Rockies to Ghosts. I thought it was a great idea. They have their own identity now. I loved all the possibilities with the name ghost, and they told me about the glow-in-dark caps the team would wear. These are some seriously great creative people in Casper.
I told them I would come up for a series. I guess I lied. I didn’t make it. I love Casper. I was in Cheyenne a couple of weeks ago, but couldn’t make it to Casper. My loss. I would have loved to have gone up there. Maybe next year. You and I will get a bus together and go to Casper, Mike.
Let’s hope the Ghosts don’t disappear. Let’s hope they scare every opponent. I think they should have “Sheet Night,” and everyone who wears a sheet with the eyes cut out gets in for a dollar. They can do big ads saying “Sheet Happens.” Maybe I’ll go to Casper this weekend instead of watching the Broncos.
Woody Paige first joined The Denver Post in 1981 as a sports columnist. To drop a question into Woody’s Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
