Spending for equilibrium.
“Is point guard Andre Miller in Denver next season? The Nuggets gain nothing in terms of the salary cap, but bring back a player who should never have been allowed to leave. Power forward Kenneth Faried is a project. The bodies Faried will face in the NBA are much more than he had to deal with at Morehead State. The Nuggets will not score like they have in the past unless Danilo Gallinari picks up many aspects of his game. The good part is coach George Karl will mold this team into his system, but the smart thing to do is spend money sooner than later. Unless the Nuggets spend big bucks, this team will not compete because it is out of balance all over the court.”
Bob, Aurora
Kiz: Regardless of whatever hunky-dory words Miller might utter about re-joining the Nuggets, I guarantee you when he hits the court, the veteran guard will believe he’s better than designated starter Ty Lawson. This could be a headache for Karl. Just sayin’. Everybody will be much happier with Faried if the hype machine stays under control. Faried is not as good as DeJuan Blair, who averaged 8.3 points and 7.0 rebounds for San Antonio. On the subject of spending money, if the Nuggets shed more than $20 million in payroll from the books by letting Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith walk, might it make sense to take a run at either Jason Richardson or Jamal Crawford, free-agent guards who could provide Denver some scoring punch?
Taking the good with the bad.
“I hope the Avalanche organization, as well as the sportswriters in this town, learned something from the whole Chris Stewart trade. Before he broke his hand in that fight, he wasn’t just fighting and scoring, he was on his way to an all-star season. Then came all the whining about how stupid Stewart was and how he was going to have to change. It was like people were thinking they’d convert him to the next Wayne Gretzky. Let’s just hope we can handle the good and bad that comes with toughness, in the form of top draft pick Gabriel Landeskog and perhaps a free agent like Vancouver defenseman Kevin Bieksa.”
Russ, amateur general manager
Kiz: After looking at a photo of the baby-faced Landeskog and his girlfriend on the night of the draft, a curmudgeon might wonder if the teenager’s next stop would be the NHL or the high school prom.
Won’t get fooled again.
“I was fooled once by David Beckham, but won’t be again. The MLS got my money because I wanted to see the Poshman play in Denver. I won’t go to the Rapids again. The fans deserve a refund.”
Frank, Golden
Kiz: The league office fined the Galaxy $5,000 for the gamesmanship involved with Beckham’s mysterious absence. Perhaps a more appropriate punishment would have been to order Los Angeles coach Bruce Arena to pay a refund to every Colorado fan who felt cheated.
It’s a team sport.
“When fans buy tickets to see one player, they run the risk of not seeing him. They purchased tickets for the Rapids vs. the Galaxy, not Colorado vs. Beckham. True soccer fans would not complain about such a thing.”
Patrick, soccer purist
Kiz: Ah, yes, a self-appointed guardian of the beautiful game telling the rest of us how to think. Listen, I love soccer. But I’m no purist. For example: There are too many 1-0 games. It’s not that 1-nil is boring. But a 3-2 score would more likely represent the true skill of the two teams. A single fluke score too often sends the superior side home in defeat.
Clemens least of worries
And today’s parting shot is taken at an easy target: wasteful government spending.
“What’s the deal? The economy is not improving, the housing market continues to decline, gas and oil prices rise, we are conducting military operations in at least four countries and out-of- control government spending threatens to bankrupt the country. In spite of these problems, our elected officials in Washington think it is a priority to investigate pitcher Roger Clemens for, of all things, lying to Congress. What’s the matter with these bozos? Can’t they find anything better to do?”
Tom, Arvada
