So you say you want some football. But how much football can you stand? Can you bury yourself in the gridiron and breathe your way to the surface? Can you paint yourself in hash marks and still see the goalposts?
Find out this weekend when we collectively overdose on football. Between college bowls and the NFL’s final regular-season week, you could seemingly connect a football field for every game between now and Monday and walk from San Francisco to Tokyo without getting your feet wet.
No fewer than 27 games will play out this weekend, with entire seasons and jobs on the line.
For starters, skip to Sunday for a nationally meaningless but nonetheless interesting game in these parts. The Broncos host the Chargers at Invesco Field at 2:15 p.m. in a game with nothing on the line except pride — and the future.
Tim Tebow, quarterbacking the Broncos as a starter for the third time, looks to move to 2-1 in the NFL. He goes against San Diego’s Phil Rivers, who, judging by his reception by fans at , is more hated in Denver than even Jay Cutler.
If the Broncos can defend their home digs, they would finish the season 2-0 — their best finish to a season since 2005, which they closed out with four consecutive wins. In the past four years, the Broncos limped into the offseason, going 0-4 last season and 0-3, 1-2 and 1-1 before that.
The weather in Denver on Sunday should be sunny. But if you stay at home, check Don Criqui and Steve Beuerlein calling the game for a second straight week for CBS (KCNC-Channel 4).
The other heavy-hitter game this weekend probably will be in Pasadena, with Texas Christian going against Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl at 3 p.m. on ESPN. Here’s hoping the mascots for that game don’t get loose like the Air Force falcon did this week. A badger could cause problems at the 92,000-plus-capacity Rose Bowl, and a horned frog would just be messy.
Broncos, Chargers in mixing bowl of football
Football frenzy
No fewer than 27 pro and college games will be played through Monday:
College
Today
Meineke Bowl: Clemson (6-6) vs. South Florida (7-5), 10 a.m., ESPN
Sun Bowl: Notre Dame (7-5) vs. Miami (7-5), noon, KCNC-4
Liberty Bowl: Georgia (6-6) vs. UCF (10-3), 1:30 p.m., ESPN
Chick-fil-A Bowl: South Carolina (9-4) vs. Florida State (9-4), 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Saturday
TicketCity Bowl: Northwestern (7-5) vs. Texas Tech (7-5), 10 a.m., ESPNU
Capital One Bowl: Michigan St. (11-1) vs. Alabama (9-3), 11 a.m., ESPN
Outback Bowl: Florida (7-5) vs. Penn State (7-5), 11 a.m., KMGH-7
Gator Bowl: Michigan (7-5) vs. Mississippi State (8-4), 11:30 a.m., ESPN2
Rose Bowl: TCU (12-0) vs. Wisconsin (11-1), 3 p.m., ESPN
Fiesta Bowl: Connecticut (8-4) vs. Oklahoma (11-2), 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Monday
Orange Bowl: Stanford (11-1) vs. Virginia Tech (11-2), 6:30 p.m., ESPN
NFL
Sunday
Oakland at K.C., 11 a.m., KCNC-Ch. 4
Tampa Bay at New Orleans, 11 a.m., KDVR-Ch. 31
Miami at New England, 11 a.m.
Minnesota at Detroit, 11 a.m.
Carolina at Atlanta, 11 a.m.
Pittsburgh at Cleveland, 11 a.m.
Buffalo at N.Y. Jets, 11 a.m.
Cincinnati at Baltimore, 11 a.m.
Arizona at San Francisco, 2:15 p.m.
San Diego at Denver, 2:15 p.m., KCNC-Ch. 4
Chicago at Green Bay, 2:15 p.m.
Jacksonville at Houston, 2:15 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at Washington, 2:15 p.m.
Dallas at Philadelphia, 2:15 p.m.
Tennessee at Indianapolis, 2:15 p.m.
St. Louis at Seattle, 6:20 p.m., KUSA- Ch. 9
STAY ON THE COUCH
How about Invescold Field?
When the NHL revived its annual outdoor game in 2008 with the first Winter Classic — played near Buffalo in the Bills’ home stadium — the league set an attendance record with 71,217 fans.
That record has stood — and probably won’t be broken Saturday when the Penguins host the Washington Capitals at 67,000-capacity Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, where rain — yes, rain — is expected this weekend.
So riddle us this: What is keeping the NHL from hosting the Winter Classic in Denver? An Avs vs. Red Wings game at 76,000-plus-capacity Invesco Field would surely set records. As for television interest, forget Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Oldies, both of them. Bring on Matt Duchene!
Meantime, settle for Saturday’s game on NBC (KUSA-Channel 9), with puck drop at 11 a.m. The NHL, though, is prepared to bump the game to 6 p.m. if the weather is too warm.
Find the entertaining Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk calling the game, with Pierre McGuire and Darren Pang bundled up in snow gear reporting from the field, near the ice.
GET OFF THE COUCH
Running out the year.
What’s great about the annual “resolution runs” on and around the Front Range is that nobody has had enough time to break their claims for the new year.
Unless you’re picky, in which case you’d notice that tonight’s 26th running of the Resolution Run 5K at Washington Park in Denver takes place Dec. 31. Technically, you’ve had 364 days to break a 2010 resolution to run more.
But let’s pretend the shoes are half-tied, so to speak. For those promising ourselves we’ll run more in 2011, now’s a perfect chance to start.
The 6 p.m. run starts and finishes at the park. The top 100 racers will be timed and scored, and the top 10 will be awarded. The rest of us will eat at the après party.
Check for info.
AROUND TOWN
Melo back on the court.
Carmelo Anthony will make his return to the NBA on Saturday after a five-game leave following the death of his sister.
And it couldn’t come soon enough. The Nuggets, reeling from injuries, went 2-3 in Anthony’s absence. He last played Dec. 18, a victory over Minnesota. And the Melo-less Nuggets’ two wins came in the past two games, in back-to-back nights over lackluster Portland and overwhelmed Minnesota.
Denver will host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday at 7 p.m.
On Wednesday, the Nuggets suited just 10 players, with Anthony, Kenyon Martin (knee), Al Harrington (finger) and Nene (hamstring) sitting out. But Anthony and Martin should return for the New Year’s Day game. Melvin Ely will start at center in place of Nene.
The Nuggets, as calculated by ESPN’s John Hollinger this week, have played the most difficult schedule in the NBA so far this season. But they get a reprieve starting this weekend. Their next four games come against teams with losing records.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
A big hoop-de-do.
The winter high school season resumes Monday after a two-week holiday hiatus, but the real action, at least in basketball, starts Tuesday.
The highlight is a battle of unbeaten boys teams in Fort Collins: Fossil Ridge (7-0) and Fort Collins (7-0) tip off at 7 p.m. “Oh, yeah,” said Chris Hansen, who leads Fossil Ridge, and everyone else in the state, with 32.4 points per game. “I can’t wait.”
And don’t miss Highlands Ranch and Denver East play. Both the boys and girls tip at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Ryan Casey, The Denver Post
