The first round of The Denver Post’s Greatest Athlete in Colorado History championship bracket came to a close at noon on Wednesday. We totaled more than 40,000 votes. Here’s a look at the results and a preview of the second round:
Under the Sun quadrant
First-round results:
- 1. Nolan Arenado (93.65%) d. 16. Taylor Phinney (6.35%)
- 2. Larry Walker (82.12%) d. 15. Hale Irwin (17.88%)
- 3. Goose Gossage (89.29%) d. 14. Danny Jackson (10.71%)
- 4. Roy Halladay (89.23%) d. 13. John Stearns (10.77%)
- 5. Todd Helton (85.60%) d. 12. Emma Coburn (14.40%)
- 6. Andres Galarraga (50.49%) d. 11. Carlos Gonzalez (49.51%)
This matchup went back and forth all week but ultimately the Big Cat came through and edged CarGo by just 13 votes in this battle of Venezuela Rockies stars. - 7. Trevor Story (72.64%) d. 10. Lindsey Horan (27.36%)
- 8. Troy Tulowitzki (68.68%) d. 9. Mallory Pugh (31.32%)
Second round preview: Baseball proved dominate in the first round. Six Rockies advanced, as well as Baseball Hall of Famers Goose Gossage and Roy Halladay. Halladay vs. Helton could be the most-contested matchup in this quadrant.
- 1. Nolan Arenado vs. 8. Troy Tulowitzki
- 2. Larry Walker vs. 7. Trevor Story
- 3. Goose Gossage vs. 6. Andres Galarraga
- 4. Roy Halladay vs. 5. Todd Helton
Gridiron quadrant
First-round results:
- 1. John Elway (91.90%) d. 16. Rashaan Salaam (8.10%)
- 2. Peyton Manning (93.35%) d. 15. Darnell McDonald (6.65%)
- 3. Champ Bailey (73.05%) d. 14. Dave Logan (26.95%)
- 4. Floyd Little (77.13%) d. 13. Tim Tebow (22.87%)
- 12. Christian McCaffrey (81.56%) d. 5. Dutch Clark (18.44%)
- 11. Shannon Sharpe (92.66%) d. 6. Jack Christiansen (7.34%)
- 7. Terrell Davis (78.28%) d. 10. Byron White (21.72%)
- 8. Von Miller (58.94%) d. 9. Steve Atwater (41.06%)
Second-round preview: Perhaps the most decorated of the four quadrants, this round features five Pro Football Hall of Famers, another who is assured to join them in 2021. Can a Vonster and Colorado’s favorite son make some noise to advance? Matchup to watch: No. 3 Champ Bailey vs. No. 11 Shannon Sharpe.
- 1. John Elway vs. 8. Von Miller
- 2. Peyton Manning vs. 7. Terrell Davis
- 3. Champ Bailey vs. 11. Shannon Sharpe
- 4. Floyd Little vs. 12. Christian McCaffrey
Water and Ice quadrant
First round results:
- 1. Peter Forsberg (97.80%) d. 16. Jaccob Slavin (2.20%)
Percentage-wise, this was the most lop-sided matchup in the first round. Peter the Great dominated the vote count over the Erie-native turned NHL all-star. - 2. Patrick Roy (94.51%) d. 15. Mikko Rantanen (5.49%)
- 3. Joe Sakic (94.52%) d. 14. Adam Foote (5.48%)
- 4. Missy Franklin (72.12%) d. 13. Milan Hejduk (27.88%)
- 5. Lindsey Vonn (84.09%) d. 12. Rob Blake (15.91%)
- 6. Mikaela Shiffrin (73.23%) d. 11. Jeremy Bloom (26.77%)
- 10. Paul Stastny (77.35%) d. 7. Eddie Eagan (22.65%)
- 9. Nathan MacKinnon (51.64%) d. 8. Amy Van Dyken (48.36%)
A close bout, MacKinnon garnered just 40 votes over the four-time Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer.
Second-round preview: Will the Avs’ old-school Big Three (Forsberg, Roy and Sakic) power past this round of competition like they did in the first or will some fresh faces pull off an upset? The bout to watch is No. 3 Sakic, the long-time Avs captain, against No. 6 Shiffrin, who is on pace to become the greatest skier ever.
- 1. Peter Forsberg vs. 9. Nathan MacKinnon
- 2. Patrick Roy vs. 10. Paul Stastny
- 3. Joe Sakic vs. 6. Mikaela Shiffrin
- 4. Missy Franklin vs. 5. Lindsey Vonn
In the Arena quadrant
First-round results:
- 1. Chauncey Billups (94.05%) d. 16. Jamal Murray (5.95%)
- 2. Alex English (93.57%) d. 15. Tom Chambers (6.43%)
- 3. Jack Dempsey (92.38%) d. 14. Rose Namajunas (7.62%)
The Manassa Mauler, one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all-time, took out Colorado’s first UFC champion to remain as the only combat fighter left in this tournament. - 4. Nikola Jokic (88.95%) d. 13. Shelly Sheetz (11.05%)
- 5. David Thompson (89.48%) d. 12. Stevie Johnston (10.52%)
- 11. Dan Issel (77.66%) d. 6. Henry Cejudo (22.34%)
- 7. Dikembe Mutombo (73.41%) d. 10. Bobby Jones (26.59%)
- 8. Becky Hammon (52.49%) d. 9. Carmelo Anthony (47.51%)
A late burst pushed the former CSU standout to a 59-vote victory over Anthony in the first round.
Second-round preview: Nuggets dominate round two, making up six of the remaining eight athletes. The big matchup is No. 4 Jokic against No. 5 Thompson. Can Big Honey bring down the Skywalker?
- 1. Chauncey Billups vs. 8. Becky Hammon
- 2. Alex English vs. 7. Dikembe Mutombo
- 3. Jack Dempsey vs. 11. Dan Issel
- 4. Nikola Jokic vs. 5. David Thompson
— , The Denver Post
If you enjoy the Denver Sports Omelette, for our daily sports roundup. If you have any questions or suggestions, hit me up on Twitter or by email.
A special offer for Sports Omelette readers! for the first month and only $6.99/month thereafter. Cancel anytime.
Ask The Experts
+ Broncos Mailbag: Have a question about the team? .
+ Nuggets Mailbag: Have a question about the team? .
+ Avs Mailbag: Have a question about the team? .
+ Rockies Mailbag: Have a question about the team? .
