Melo’s education continues.
“You mentioned in a recent column that Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony needs unselfishness and intelligence to establish himself as a premier player. What evidence of either of those traits have you ever seen him exhibit? He is a great scorer, not a great player, despite his inflated opinion of himself. None of the Denver press wants to admit this, but for a top player, Anthony has one of the worst court IQs ever seen. The number of dumb plays he commits is astonishing, and he still refuses to guard anyone when a defensive switch is involved. Those are not characteristics of a leader. No way, no how.”
Efrem, Denver
Kiz: Of all the great players in Nuggets history, from Dan Issel to Fat Lever, it’s Melo who has the best chance to bring this franchise its first NBA championship. Furthermore, Anthony’s basketball IQ continues to grow, or did you miss the 11 assists he dished before hitting that game-winning shot at Oklahoma City?
No Hall pass for Bowlen.
“Broncos owner Pat Bowlen in the Hall of Fame? You have to be joking. He should be required to spend the offseason with the Rooney family of Pittsburgh and see how a football team should be run.”
Larry, Golden
Kiz: Bowlen has done good by Denver. But here are my top four Broncos who deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame: 1) Shannon Sharpe; 2) Louis Wright; 3) Terrell Davis; and 4) Randy Gradishar.
St. Patrick to the rescue.
“OK, Avs fans, the season is over and the problem is obvious. It’s not injuries or offense or defense. These players are heartless. Mix that with the fact Cammi Granato would be a better coach than Tony, defenseman Scott Hannan’s mental lapses and a management office that could clearly not care less about success, and you get what we have here.”
JW, Greeley
Kiz: Hold on. Be patient. One of these years, Patrick Roy will be back working the bench or the front office for the Avs.
Big Ben gaining on Brady.
“Mark, I am convinced you have a dangerous case of Tom Brady envy. How you can put Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the same class as Brady is just plain silly. You have continually knocked Brady over the last few years, even though he has been the class of NFL QBs since 2001 and will go down in history as the greatest ever, once he comes back and wins a few more Super Bowls before he retires. Even your Broncos owner wants to be like the New England Patriots and Brady, hence the hiring of Josh McDaniels as coach.”
Dom, Centennial
Kiz: Tell your man T.B. to take his eyes off Gisele and check the rearview mirror. Someone is gaining quickly on Brady as the league’s most successful quarterback. At age 26, Big Ben now has won two Super Bowl rings.
A.I. not Detroit’s answer.
“I was distressed when Allen Iverson was traded to Detroit. He could have been a success in Denver if Anthony had worked harder, if Nene had shed pounds, etc. Now that A.I. is gone, Anthony and Nene have really changed for the better. Maybe it was Chauncey Billups coming to town. I don’t know. But Iverson is totally out of his game in Detroit. Iverson has adjusted his game to the Pistons; they haven’t adjusted to him. He’s reduced to 10 to 12 shots per game. It’s obvious he isn’t happy. Why wouldn’t he be?”
Bob, Denver
Kiz: Iverson is not long for Detroit. No later than next season, he will be the star attraction in an NBA town that needs to sell tickets.
Pack packing a dozen championships
And today’s parting shot reminds us that pride mattered in the age of Vince Lombardi, but many of us have stopped counting what happened in the NFL before the Super Bowl was invented in 1967.
“Jan. 2, 1966: Green Bay 23, Cleveland 12. I bring this up for two reasons. No. 1: Someday this will be an answer to a trivia question. When was the last NFL championship game that didn’t mean anything? No. 2: Much has been made of Pittsburgh winning a record sixth championship. By my count, that is exactly half the Packers’ 12 NFL titles.”
Tim, Cañon City
