The Avs were in the middle of a team meeting, either in the last days of November or shortly after the calendar flipped to December. There was a video clip of a forward going to the net — not to score a goal, but to draw coverage away from a teammate to open up a play the Avs wanted to make.

That player who did the selfless thing? That was Lehkonen. And a nickname was born.

“Someone called him ‘the sacrificial lamb’ and I just call him that now,” Avs goalie Mackenzie Blackwood said a few weeks after the meeting. “It¶¶Òõap just fitting for his role.”

Calling Lehkonen one of the most underrated players in the NHL is passé at this point. Everyone who pays attention knows that Lehkonen is an excellent, all-around player and an integral part of the Avalanche machine.

He’ll be the same for Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. Lehkonen won’t be in NBC’s promotional graphic when Finland and Sweden play Feb. 13 in the biggest game of the round-robin format at the event. But he will be a huge part of the Finns, the perennial underdog that so often punches above its weight.

“You always want to represent your country. It means a lot for sure,” Lehkonen said. “I think we’ve got a really good team, but we know it’s a short tournament. Anything can happen. I think we’ve got a really, really good shot.”

There are hockey players who don’t like to talk about themselves, and then there is Lehkonen. He’s often a man of few words, at least in English and at least around reporters. But those closer to him get to see his sense of humor, his enjoyment of Marvel and Harry Potter movies and the other things that make him a beloved teammate.

They are also more than willing to gush about Lehkonen. He’s probably your favorite hockey player’s favorite hockey player.

Here’s just a sampling of Avs players talking about why they love Lehkonen:

Nathan MacKinnon: “He just does everything correct. Routes are a big part of hockey. Predictability as a linemate is important, and he definitely brings those two things. He’s got a great attitude. He’s selfless and just a very competitive guy as well. He’s very, very competitive. Quiet, obviously, but a great sense of humor, and just a warrior for us.”

Brock Nelson: “If you know the game, you appreciate the ins and outs, the intricacies of his game. It¶¶Òõap all the little plays, the battles. He does a little bit of everything. He impacts the game in every way. It¶¶Òõap just the way he goes about it. Just a quiet guy, humble, goes out there, works extremely hard and gets the job done. He’s an easy guy to root for.”

Cale Makar: “It’s his compete level. It’s on another level and it’s completely unmatched. He’s kind of a Swiss Army knife. You can put in any scenario and he’ll do his best, never any questions asked. He’ll always do what’s best for the team. He’s also an unreal guy and unreal teammate.”

Blackwood: “Because he does all the (expletive) nobody wants to do. Every day, he does all the (expletive) everybody dreads doing — going in the corners, going to the net front, getting crosschecked, taking hits to make little plays. Nobody wants to freaking do that (expletive) all the time, and he does it every day. So that’s why everybody loves Artturi.”

‘He’s a junkyard dog’

Lehkonen is listed at 5-foot-11 and 179 pounds. Put him next to Nelson or Valeri Nichushkin, and his teammates tower over him. Those two look like hockey players who were built in a lab.

Nichushkin does a lot of the same things that Lehkonen does, the stuff Blackwood said others don’t want to do. But he’s 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds. How Lehkonen absorbs the punishment and still finds ways to make the plays he does is remarkable.

“He’s a junkyard dog,” Blackwood said. “You don’t always have to be the biggest guy if you have the mind for it. That¶¶Òõap something you can’t teach people. They either have the mind for it or they don’t.”

Lehkonen is the son of a coach, and his brain is his superpower. That helps him find an edge in so many ways.

It’s the way he processes what is happening on the ice. It’s how he’s crafted a playing style that has helped him steadily increase his role over the course of his career to where he now often plays next to one of the two best players in the world on the first line of the NHL’s top team.

“I think he’s figured out that’s how he’s going to make a living and stay in this league a long time,” MacKinnon said. “He just competes his ass off every night. I think that’s why you see a lot of guys come and go where they just don’t have that fire to compete. They just can’t do it every night for six, seven months. That’s what he brings.”

While other players will mesmerize with speed, power, or effortless grace on a pair of skates, there is lots of craft in Lehkonen’s game. He reads the play and where the puck is going before the defenseman trying to mark him does.

He sees the open patch of ice for MacKinnon to find him. He anticipates where the puck is going next while on the penalty kill.

Even in the high-traffic areas, Lehkonen finds a way.

“He’s so smart with his stick,” Nelson said. “I feel like you can’t really tie up his stick. He’s always in a good spot where he knows he can keep his stick free and open. I think the timing is a big part of it. He just has all of it pieced together. He can find his certain spots, get there and I’m sure he takes a beating but he stands in there and always has a chance. He knows all the right angles and how to get himself open.”

There’s an obvious selflessness with Lehkonen that endears him to teammates and fans alike. But it’s not just work ethic or courage. There is loads of talent in there as well, even if it isn’t always the type of stuff that pops off in a highlight package.

“Art just has this way of like, getting in the way,” Avs defenseman Josh Manson said. “When he’s around the net, he’s getting in the way and winning puck touches. I think that¶¶Òõap one of his most unbelievable qualities is the way he wins puck touches in every zone, keeping pucks alive. It¶¶Òõap a real skill to just always be in the way, tangling guys up.

“Just think of his line. Nate is going to beat guys one-on-one. So that turns it into a two-on-one, but instead, there is Art tangled up with the guy, and he can’t get over to play Nate and now it¶¶Òõap one-on-one with the goalie. He created that for Nate.”

Those are the moments that don’t show up in a box score or on a highlight reel. Lehkonen does plenty of that as well.

He scored 27 goals last season, which was a career high. He’s on pace for 28 this year, and with 42 points already, his personal best (51) will be second best after this season.

His two goals Wednesday night in the final Avs game before the Olympic break were a perfect summation of his impact. Lehkonen scored the first while behind the goalie, down on his knees in the blue paint during a chaotic scrum of bodies.

The second one began as a 3-on-2 break for the Avs, but Lehkonen was behind the play. His teammates didn’t convert, and four San Jose Sharks were able to get back into a defensive position.

They probably thought things were under control, until Lehkonen snuck into the play behind them as a trailer, and found the perfect spot for MacKinnon to find him for a one-timer.

“He’s not going to be necessarily carrying the puck around all night, but he’s going to be the best forechecker, best backchecker, great penalty killer,” MacKinnon said. “He’s got great goal-scoring instincts as well. He does everything like, pretty good or really good, you know? He has no weaknesses.

“He told us that a coach in Montreal told him he’ll never score 20 goals in this league, and he almost had 30 last year. That was great.”

So sick was little David Sturgeon that he couldn’t leave his second-floor bedroom, even to celebrate Christmas. He couldn’t go down the stairs of his family’s Denver home to see the tree or the decorations hung upon it.

But what David did have was a window. And outside that window was a pine tree.

He also had an electrician for a father. It was 1914, two years after the elder Sturgeon — also named David, though he went by D.D. — founded . With his son sick upstairs, Sturgeon took some of the family’s light bulbs, dipped them in green and red paint, and strung them along a length of electrical wire. Then he clambered up the pine tree and festooned it with incandescent color.

“David lay in his bed, watching the lights sparkle like emeralds and rubies against the ermine mantle of snow,” the still-running Sturgeon Electric in 2017.

It’s believed to be the first time Christmas lights had been hung outside anywhere, said Jason Hanson, a historian and chief creative officer at History Colorado. Indoor Christmas lights were invented , by Edward Johnson, a colleague of Thomas Edison.

But no one had moved the lights outside.

The year after Sturgeon strung up the tree, some neighbors hung up their own lights, too. The tradition spread across the city and, later, the country.

By 1919, lights and decorating municipal buildings. In 1920, the oldest-running large-scale light display . Kansas City , and Denver launched its own in 1938.

“There’s something about it that just feels right. At the holiday season, it’s dark. You’re bringing light,” Hanson said.

Like the marvel in Denver, Johnson’s earlier invention of Christmas lights also involved a tree and a window. In the early 1880s, he’d strung 80 red, white and blue bulbs on a tree in his parlor window, .

Still, it would take years before electric lights became ubiquitous. At the time, Christmas candles were far more common. But they were also dangerous: A 1917 Christmas tree fire caused by a candle killed several people in New York City. A local teenager — whose family also worked in the burgeoning electrical industry — then suggested that his family produce colored bulbs for festive and safer lighting, .

In Denver, Sturgeon would later be crowned the “Father of Yule Lighting.” The lights helped earn Denver the moniker of “Christmas city of the world,” a title encouraged by Frances “Pinky” Wayne, a veteran Denver Post journalist who also served as the Christmas editor.

In 1924, a decade after Sturgeon climbed the pine tree, Wayne and The Post hosted the first citywide outdoor lighting contest (featuring $500 in prizes, including a Hoover vacuum). Mr. and Mrs. N.A. Wimer, who lived at East Eighth Avenue and Vine Street, won the grand prize, according to The Post.

The next year, Wayne wrote, “the number of contestants increased more than 200%” and their “installations were 1000% more beautiful.” Weeks before he would be crowned that year’s winner, a local reverend declared his commitment to supporting the city’s growing reputation.

“Believing in Denver as I do, and believing that it is the duty of citizens and Christians to emphasize the Christmas spirit, my sons and I are going the limit to do our share to uphold Denver’s claim to the title of Christmas city of the world,” the Rev. David C. Bayless told Wayne.

In Denver, the city’s annual tradition helped bring colored lights to the region, Hanson said. The city kept its lights up through the National Western Stock Show each January. The event drew people from across the region. They would return to their hometowns and, newly illuminated, eye their Christmas decor and their pine trees anew — just as Sturgeon’s neighbors had, years before.

“Then, as now, neighbors got to keep up with the neighbors,” Hanson said.

History Colorado now includes in its “Zoom In” exhibit, which features 100 objects from the state’s past. (The lights aren’t Sturgeon’s original; they were made by , the company founded by the New York City teenager who’d helped popularize electric lights after the fire there.)

Before including the lights in the exhibit, Hanson said History Colorado tasked a team of researchers with debunking Sturgeon’s claim to fame.

But they couldn’t disprove it, he said, beaming.

In an email to The Post, , an emeritus lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin who wrote a book about Christmas in America, said “history-keeping” was complicated. But she, too, wouldn’t “take away Colorado’s claim.”

As for the origin story, it’s unclear exactly how old young David Sturgeon was when his father lit up the tree outside his window, or the nature of his illness. A death notice for him was published in the Denver Post nearly seven years later, in September 1921, and it cited his age at 13 when he died.

Don Egan, the president of Sturgeon Electric’s commercial and industrial division, said the story’s been part of the company culture during the entirety of his nearly 35 years there.

“It’s emotional for some people,” he said. “The heritage, the history. The fact that it started with D.D. Sturgeon and that the Sturgeon name still lasts today.”

Both the family and the city are now part of how Americans think about Christmas, Hanson said.

“People who celebrate Christmas, I’ll bet you the image in their head when you say ‘Christmas’ involves some kind of lights, lighted houses, ‘National Lampoon’ lighting up the house so it can be seen from space,” he said.

“All that starts with the Sturgeons.”

And if you’re looking for panic-inducing mystery and action? “The Gorge” has those, too.

The movie, which premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday, Feb. 14, is a hybrid romance-horror starring Miles Teller (“Top Gun: Maverick”), Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Menu”) and Sigourney Weaver (everything good) as operatives in a high-concept scheme that unfurls like a blood-stained blanket.

Director Derrickson, known for blockbusters such as Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” and the horror hits and admitted it’s an unusual approach to a love story — especially one dropping on Valentine’s Day. But the mix of vulnerability and terror fits with the times.

“That’s what I think is interesting about the script and, ultimately, (it’s) the reason I made the movie,” said the 58-year-old, who grew up reading his mother’s 1970s book reviews done while a freelance writer for The Denver Post while working as a delivery boy for the paper in North Denver. “The innovation and ambition of blending genres in such a seemingly effortless way was really done well.”

Derrickson now lives in Los Angeles.

In “The Gorge,” Teller and Taylor-Joy play elite snipers who are recruited to live in guard towers on either side of a fog-shrouded gorge for one year. Their recruiter, Sigourney Weaver, won’t tell them what they’re guarding — only that they can’t let it escape the gorge — and their rotation begins sleepily enough.

That doesn’t last. Suddenly out of their element in a wide-open wilderness that is never specified — even to the protagonists — the film teases out the same feelings with which our characters grapple. When they start communicating via hand-written signs, viewed only through binoculars, a new dynamic takes shape and their love grows.

But that’s not all. The movie’s tagline reads: “The world’s most dangerous secret lies between them,” which works for both the plot and the themes of uncertainty, forced isolation, connection, and survival. Screenwriter Zach Dean did that intentionally, Derrickson said, since the script was written during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It really is a movie about two lonely, isolated individuals finding each other and fighting hard to be together,” Derrickson said. “They’re so wary in their profession because they have to be. But if they didn’t have this distance they’d probably never open up to each other. There’s safety for them to engage with that person in a way they normally wouldn’t.”

Derrickson had just fallen in love and gotten married before getting the script, he said, so the romantic themes resonated with him. The music is the “emotional tell” of the movie, as he put it, not the clever, special effects-driven action or its explosive third act.

“That’s embedded in the core in themes that (composers) Trent (Reznor) and Atticus (Ross) did,” he said. “That real sense of existential isolation giving way to pervasive danger.”

Nine Inch Nails leader Reznor and British composer Ross are Oscar winners and longtime musical partners who bring a confident hum of electricity, cranking it up and down when necessary. The horror of the unexpected is something Derrickson has embraced, having grown up in what he called a violent, working-class neighborhood.

Five years ago, he shared an image of his with the message: “The mother of my friend next door was murdered when I was seven. This is where all the horror films come from.”

That “creepiness” drives his career, he said, but so does his time in Colorado’s climate. For “The Gorge” in particular, he was inspired by the turn-on-a-dime weather he experienced while growing up here, which connected to his love of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s work.

“There’s direct inspiration in Italian horror and Dario Argento, with the fog and mist, but my favorite director is Kurosawa and I teach a course (at Biola University in La Mirada, Calif.) on him,” he said. “The presence of weather in his movies is more dominant than in any filmography. You have to have lived in Colorado to understand that distinctiveness and how potent it is and how fast things seem to transition.”

“The Gorge” takes place in a forest that was realized partly through location shoots, and partly through sound stage sets. As is often said of movie settings, it’s a character in its own right. But the natural elements aren’t always meant to be threatening, given the movie’s unusual blend of tones.

“The volatility of weather, the absence of weather, the seasons affecting your body — so much of that comes from knowing what it feels like in the mountains,” he said. “I’ve hiked Pikes Peak and I know these environments. Part of the attraction in (this project) was to create a sense of place where you have the isolation and the calmness and quietness — even with what’s in the gorge. It’s that Rocky Mountain peace I felt as a teenager going hiking in the summer.”

We’ve flown in formation with the sci-fi saga for decades. The late Colin Cantwell of Colorado Springs designed most of the prototype ships for 1977’s “Star Wars,” and lately, Colorado born-director Rian Johnson (“Episode VIII: The Last Jedi”) and voice actor Dee Bradley Baker (“The Clone Wars,” “The Bad Batch”) have left their deep marks on the canon.

But with the Monday, Dec. 2, premiere of “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” on Disney+, our latest Star Wars tales will be even stronger with the Colorado force.

“I initially pitched the idea to Lucasfilm in 2017, right as I finished promoting ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming,’ ” said Fountain native Jon Watts, who directed the last three “Spider-Man” movies for Marvel Studios. “I flew into L.A. from the Tokyo premiere and went straight from the airport to (Lucasfilm president) Kathy Kennedy’s office. I was so jetlagged I’m surprised I made any sense at all, but it started as a really simple pitch: a group of kids that don’t know very much about the Star Wars galaxy get lost in the galaxy and have to find their way home.”

At that point, all they knew was that they wanted it to be about kids lost in space. And that was the codename for a long time — “Kids in Space,” Watts said. As it is made clear in the first three episodes of the season, which The Denver Post screened, “Skeleton Crew” takes the franchise in a fun, thoroughly invigorating but still very Star Wars-y direction.

The limited series traces the “Goonies”-style adventure of a quartet of kids who stumble upon a lost spaceship and are thrust into a mission to survive and find their way home. While the child actors are all relative unknowns, the show also stars Jude Law, who’s no stranger to Disney sci-fi projects as a veteran of “Captain Marvel” (and dozens of other movies, including the upcoming “The Order,” adapted from Denver City Council member Kevin Flynn’s book).

“There would be shots that we designed that required him to do something very specific with his body or his face or in the lighting,” said Lee Isaac Chung, the Denver-born director of “Twisters” and “Minari,” who helmed a pivotal episode of “Skeleton Crew.” “The way that he so precisely hits things and then performs in a new way is really next level.”

Chung, who grew up in Atlanta, is an Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe-winning filmmaker but also a box-office hero with this year’s “Twisters.” Watts is a Hollywood champ who’s proven himself indispensable to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a trio of box office-smashing, well-reviewed “Spider-Man” movies starring A-listers Tom Holland and Zendaya.

“Skeleton Crew” carries their confidence and spark, zooming past recent Disney+ Star Wars series like the so-so “The Acolyte” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and arriving up there with franchise-best entries such as “Andor” (albeit with a much different tone). “Skeleton Crew” is lighter and faster-paced, emphasizing discovery, joy and panicky trepidation over elaborate plot points or marginal relationships to the Skywalker family.

The first two episodes of the limited series premiere on Disney+ on Dec. 2, with subsequent episodes premiering at 7 p.m. each Tuesday. Watts and Christopher Ford are both head writers and executive producers, along with Lucasfilm heavies Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson, producers said in a statement.

That talent pool made staying in a Star Wars mood easier, but it was still a challenge to carry the feeling of creator George Lucas’ movies all day long while working on the series, Watts said.

“The best advice Ford and I got about this was from our producer, Dave Filoni,” Watts said. “He worked with George Lucas very closely for many years, (including creating ‘The Clone Wars’ and ‘Rebels’), and encouraged us to try and emulate the creative process that George used when originally creating the Star Wars galaxy instead of trying to just copy the aesthetic. That was a really helpful tip.”

“What’s nice when you work on these shows is that Filoni is kind of the high priest of Lucas, and he gives a primer at the beginning on ways to keep the language still within the Star Wars universe,” Chung said. “And that (extends) to the way that things should look, the way shots might play out, the types of camera movements that might be done.”

The point, Chung added, is to continue to add to the world that was already built, and not just to express himself as a filmmaker within that world. That’s part of why he was hired, of course, but he takes his duty seriously, whether it was getting his Star Wars feet wet by directing an episode of “The Mandalorian” or balancing fan expectations and project-specific concerns.

“Skeleton Crew” injects more substance to back up the creative whimsy and bedrock commerce of the franchise. Despite its corporate backing and strictures, it still comes from a fundamentally earnest place, Chung said.

“When you see George Lucas films outside of ‘Star Wars’ — ‘American Graffiti’ especially — there’s so much heart and character to that story and to the way that he tells it,” Chung said. “That’s kind of the way I approached ‘Skeleton Crew’ and ‘The Mandalorian.’ It’s really got to be character-first and all the fantasy and action will fall into place because it’s Star Wars. But I drew a lot of inspiration in the way (Lucas) looked at people and aliens as a humanist.”

Colorado, of course, played a role in the series, as it has with other Colorado-born Star Wars directors, actors and writers.

“I grew up in Fountain and would spend my time wandering in the fields, hoping I would stumble across some kind of exciting, Amblin-style adventure,” Watts said, referring to Steven Spielberg’s production company. “It never happened, but I tried to capture that same feeling in ‘Skeleton Crew.’ ”

Chung moved away from Colorado at a young age, but with his family based in Colorado Springs, he visits often and gets outdoors as much as he can, he said. Lately, he discovered a love of fishing on the Gunnison River.

“I’ve always felt like the mountains are a big part of who I am,” he said. “I don’t remember Colorado, because I left when I was a baby, but I’m there quite often. My sister has a place where you can see Pikes Peak and it’s just gorgeous. I feel like that seeps into us, and I do feel a (connection) with Jon Watts in that regard.”

Chung half-joked that he also stole some able Lucasfilm crew members for his project that followed “Skeleton Crew,” the “Twister” reboot “Twisters,” which was a surprise, . His work on Star Wars, including the outdoor filming and special effects-heavy production, helped set him up for “Twisters” in a way that other projects likely wouldn’t have, he said.

“I work really well with filmmakers who draw from life experiences in whatever way they’re doing it,” Chung said. “Even if it’s completely different from that context of where they actually grew up. Jon is making this a Star Wars show set on a different planet but there are still so many things I feel are very personal to him. It’s a show about young people, and we’re all trying to remember what that felt like.”

Here’s what to know in advance of the Friday, Nov. 1-Nov. 10 event, which takes place at various venues across the city. Visit for more information and to buy tickets.

The basics

The festival this year features 185 titles that span genres and formats from narrative features and documentaries to shorts, music videos and episodic shows. It offers red carpet, special presentations and individual screenings among other ticket tiers, as well as packages.

The screenings, events, panels, parties and industry guests are spread across Denver Film’s home base of the Sie FilmCenter, as well as the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, MCA Denver Holiday Theater, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and the AMC 9 + CO 10.

Individual screenings are typically $19 with fees, $27 for special presentations, and $50 for red carpets/galas. Tickets and the full schedule are available at .

The celebs

Denver Film Fest this year welcomes plenty of notable creatives, but the brightest among them is Anthony Mackie (the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s new Captain America), along with director George Nolfi for their film “Elevation,” which was shot mostly in Golden and Boulder (Nov. 4). Director Jason Reitman’s new film “Saturday Night,” which traces the run-up to the first “SNL” episode, also arrives with him and others in tow (Nov. 7).

Multi-talented actor Patricia Clarkson will be at her “Lilly” gala presentation on Nov. 2, while similarly versatile award-winner Melissa Leo will appear with “The Knife” (sold out; see below). There’s also Jesse Tyler Ferguson (“Modern Family”) and his new movie “All That We Love,” plus Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Hard Truths”), Joan Chen (“Dìdi”), Andrew Wyatt (“Barbie”) and Gabrielle La Belle (“Saturday Night”), among others.

The buzz

Denver Film said this week that screenings of “The Piano Lesson,” “The Brutalist,” “Nickel Boys” and “Blitz” are already sold out, and that “Lilly” (starring Clarkson), “The Knife” (Leo), “Saturday Night” (Reitman), “Dìdi” (Chen) and “Jazzy” (Golden Rose) are close to selling out.

That’s not surprising, given that they’ve been on sale for a few weeks, but it’s a reminder that if you want to attend something with buzz, mark it now. We’d recommend perusing the Special Presentation slate, which includes lots of 2024 fest-faves and other indies. See “Bird,” “Better Man,” “Oh, Canada,” “Nightbitch” (starring Colorado’s Amy Adams), “Small Things Like These,” and “The Room Next Door.”

The locals

The gala presentations — or the more formal, high-profile screenings — include the new movie “The Order,” based on a book by Denver City Council member Kevin Flynn, and starring Jude Law.

But you can also see Alexandre O. Philippe’s “Chain Reactions” (a documentary about the impact of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”); Jeff Gipe’s Rocky Flats doc “Half-Life of Memory: American’s Forgotten Atomic Bomb Factory”; Taylor McFadden’s “Lovers”; Jeff Orlowski-Yang and Sarah Keo’s “Chasing Time”; and other titles from statewide filmmakers as part of the Colorado Spotlight section. ]]> 6819332 2024-10-31T06:00:50+00:00 2024-10-30T16:51:03+00:00 /2024/10/29/jay-norvell-csu-rams-football-mountain-west-title/ Wed, 30 Oct 2024 02:16:57 +0000 /?p=6814250 FORT COLLINS — Who cares that CSU’s stuck in It’s a fight the Rams can win, baby.

Three words, FoCo faithful:

“I really don’t care, to be honest with you, about scheme and all that stuff — it’s about the results,” CSU football coach Jay Norvell said of his Rams (5-3, 3-0 Mountain West), who’ll take a three-game win streak into Nevada on Saturday night.

“So we’re committed to playing a certain way … we’re unapologetic about that and we’re going to continue to do the things we feel like we need to do to win.”

The Rams sported a winning record on Oct. 27 for the first time in seven years. Feels more like 15.

Take out 2020, and CSU’s got a 14-24 mark over its last five Oct. 27ths. This is usually the point in the season where fans of a 3-5 team try to squint really hard to see six wins and a postseason berth.

But not this fall. (that team went 2-1 with a bye) and first in an October with four games or more since — well, 2017 again.

But because this is CSU, even the fun in Fort Fun doesn’t seem to come easy. Norvell’s Rams are a curious creature right now, a winning team that’s sometimes painful even for the locals to watch.

CSU’s scored 17 points or fewer three times this season; had to hang for dear life against a 1-6 Air Force crew; let a pass-poor, mediocre Oregon State bunch escape in double OT after pinning the Beavs to the ropes; and got pummeled by the only two ranked teams on its fight card (Texas, CU) by a combined score of 80-9. For every step forward for Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, the young QB often seems to take a teensy step back.

And yet the last month might be Norvell’s best pure coaching job since his arrival in FoCo before the 2022 season.

The Rams keep swinging with whatever clubs are left in the bag. They didn’t fold up a single tent when their best player on either side of the ball, wideout Tory Horton, was lost for the season.

Norvell had to re-structure, re-invent and re-think this offense on the fly about three weeks in. He did the logical, if aesthetically humdrum thing — play to his strengths.

For CSU, that’s two relentless tailbacks; an experienced, physical offensive line; and a veteran defense that’s already seen everything twice over.

Goodbye, Air Raid.

Hello, Wisconsin West.

The Runnin’ Rams averaged 190 rushing yards in October while giving up just 165 per game on the ground and snatching three takeaways per game. If you liked the middle portion of the Broncos’ 2023 roller-coaster, CSU’s more or less trying to fashion a similar script. With a happier ending.

It’s not exactly what was promised. It’s not always easy on the eyes. But it’s working.

No apologies.

No caveats.

No asterisks.

Embrace the ugly.

“Honestly, I think the guys in the scheme have bought in (to) that, ‘OK, if we want the downfield shots that we want, if we want the 1-on-1 matchups, we’ve got to block for the guys who are running,'” said Winfield, a 4-star wideout from Baylor who probably didn’t come here to open holes for Avery Morrow and Justin Marshall, but has done it anyway.

“Even in the receiver room, that was hard for us to understand, at first. But I think now that we see, as Caleb Goodie’s last touchdown (vs. New Mexico) was a play-action post over the top, it’s all coming hand-in-hand. And I think the guys are seeing it now.”

Look at it this way, Rams fans: While the football gods tooketh Horton, they also gaveth the worst Air Force and Wyoming teams in a generation — at the same time.

If the Carolina Panthers were a collegiate conference, they’d be the Mountain West. You could pilot one of those through the gap between Boise State and UNLV and the rest of the league.

In yet another gift from On High, CSU doesn’t play the Broncos or Rebels. The bottom four squads in the MW are a combined 7-25, and CSU gets to face all four — with three still left on the slate in Nevada (Saturday) on the road and the Pokes (Nov. 15) and Utah State (Nov. 29) at home.

Now you have to squint to not see at least seven wins on the Rams’ dance card. Chalk says this team lands at 8-4. The worst 8-4 team in the country beats a sexy 4-8 any day of the week. If the Rams win out, they’ve uglied themselves into the Mountain West championship game.

“A win is a win,” Winfield said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s ugly or pretty. All I know is, our team is going to find a way to win. And I feel like that’s what matters at the end of the day.”

Embrace the ugly.

Because ain’t winning beautiful?

The fest, which runs Friday, Nov. 1 through Sunday, Nov 10, includes hundreds of screenings, panels, workshops, and parties; other celebs such as Patricia Clarkson, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, are also confirmed. But adding Mackie and the local premiere of “Elevation” is a last-minute coup, given his high profile in recent years.

“Elevation,” premiering nationally on Nov. 8, co-stars Morena Baccarin in its post-apocalyptic road tale. Mackie’s character and a pair of women “venture from the safety of their homes to face monstrous creatures to save the life of a young boy,” according to a studio synopsis.

Mackie’s 5 p.m. event on Monday, Nov. 4, in Denver, includes the Colorado premiere of “Elevation” with MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater, followed by a post-film Q&A with Mackie and director George Nolfi. Tickets are on sale now for $27.31 (including the service fee) at .

Mackie, who’s best known as winged Avenger Falcon and the new Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (the MCU’s “Brave New World” is scheduled for a Feb. 14, 2025 release) plays a single father in the post-apocalyptic Rocky Mountains — a trope that¶¶Òõap getting another flogging here, following a decades-long string of movies, TVs and video games that depict Colorado as ground zero for nuclear holocausts, zombies and hostile aliens.

Principal photography for “Elevation” began in November 2022 in various Colorado locations, and finished up in late March 2023. At the time it started, “Elevation” was confirmed as “the biggest production to come to Colorado since (Quentin Tarantino’s 2015 film) ‘The Hateful Eight,'” wrote Colorado film commissioner Donald Zuckerman in an email to The Denver Post.

The film was mostly shot around Golden and Boulder, with George Nolfi directing, and Brad Fuller as principal producer, Zuckerman said. It cost about $18 million while employing nearly 300 cast and crew, according to the .

Watch the trailer below.

The concerts, presented and performed by Colorado Symphony, arrive after an August debut of the program at the Hollywood Bowl, where an orchestra tackled the sprawling film scores that have soundtracked the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since its debut with 2008’s “Iron Man.” The MCU’s first major arc ended with the “Infinity Saga,” a two-part series consisting of 2018’s “Infinity War” and 2019’s “Endgame.”

Tickets for the Feb. 15 and 16 concerts at Boettcher Hall, led by resident conductor Christopher Dragon, are on sale now for $15-$115 by calling 303-623-7876 or visiting .

The show, which is synchronized to film clips, spans “the Tesseract’s concealment on Earth by the Asgardians, across time and space to Tony Stark’s ultimate sacrifice. Revisit the earliest days of Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor as they discover their place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – each accompanied by their own unforgettable heroic music,” according to a statement. “Recapture the excitement as Earth’s mightiest heroes join forces for the first time and open the door to the next wave of Avengers.”

That next wave hasn’t been as lucrative as the previous one, which is partially why Disney seems keen to continue monetizing the past films’ success. Notably, “Infinity Saga” and “Endgame” were huge box office successes that Disney has yet to replicate in the MCU, with each earning , according to Box Office Mojo.

“This unique Marvel Studios adventure connects events, themes and characters from the MCU and celebrates The Avengers, Iron Man, Black Panther, Black Widow, Thor, Captain America, Captain Marvel, The Hulk, Ant Man, and many more,” producers wrote. “The Guardians of the Galaxy don’t miss this party either, dropping in to deliver a taste of their iconic mixtape backed by the Colorado Symphony.”

Mackie, best known as winged Avenger Falcon and the new Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, plays a single father in the post-apocalyptic Rocky Mountains — a trope that’s getting another flogging here, following a decades-long string of movies, TVs and video games that depict Colorado as ground zero for nuclear holocausts, zombies and hostile aliens.

In the “Elevation” trailer, Mackie and a pair of women “venture from the safety of their homes to face monstrous creatures to save the life of a young boy,” according to a studio synopsis.

The trailer opens with a scene-setting elevation number against a black screen (10,458, which is about twice Boulder’s elevation of 5,430). Mackie’s unnamed character embraces his daughter as she runs toward him from a cabin, and a brief flashback shows explosions in a lush pine forest, informing us that civilization ended three years ago.

“We lost our homes, our communities, and most of the people we loved,” Mackie’s character says in a voiceover. Elevation numbers tick down like a wall clock as the group descends their high country perch in the 2:17 trailer. “We still don’t know why above 8,000 feet we’re safe.”

Of course, Mackie must leave the safety zone for the lower-elevation Boulder to get the life-saving medical treatment, which sets in motion the race against “earth’s new apex predators,” as Maddie Hasson’s unnamed character calls them. “Humanity’s final fight begins at 8,000 feet” is a very Colorado tagline, too.

The movie, also co-starring Morena Baccarin (“Deadpool,” “Serenity”), is produced by some of the same folks as “a Quiet Place” and “The Purse,” both franchise-birthing titles that drew viewers to theaters en masse. “Elevation,” which is releasing exclusively in theaters on Nov. 8, seems both grittier and more action-oriented than those, but we’ll see when it’s finally here.

Principal photography began in November 2022 in various Colorado locations, and finished up in late March 2023. At the time it started, “Elevation” was confirmed as “the biggest production to come to Colorado since (Quentin Tarantino’s 2015 film) ‘The Hateful Eight,'” wrote Colorado film commissioner Donald Zuckerman in an email to The Denver Post.

The film was mostly shot around Golden and Boulder, with George Nolfi directing, and Brad Fuller as principal producer, Zuckerman said. It cost about $18 million while employing nearly 300 cast and crew, according to the .

Watch the new trailer below.

That’s because Fan Expo, a Toronto-based company that also produces pop-culture conventions in Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco, has the resources and scale to attract big names and big crowds. Its all-things-to-all-fans approach covers cosplay, anime, comics, sci-fi, gaming, fantasy, and horror, but drills down deeper with panels, workshops and meet-ups.

Here’s everything you need to know about this weekend’s event, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of people per day to downtown Denver. (And check out our photos of a workshop for cosplayers that was held at Meow Wolf a week before the expo; see more below.)

The nitty gritty

Fan Expo Denver takes place Thursday, July 4-Sunday, July 7, at the Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St. Tickets range from $29-$70 for an adult single-day pass, with prices depending on the day, and $24-$65 for youth 13-17, or $12 each day for 16 and under. Kids 5 and under are free. VIP passes are sold out. Visit for more.

A free mobile app () can help you navigate the floorplans and schedules, although a Getting Here page mostly reminds of how hard it is getting around downtown at the moment, with the 16th Street Mall under construction, the convention center’s RTD Light Rail stop closed for the weekend, and a construction project at Colorado Convention Center severely limiting on-site parking.

If you’re downtown and you can walk there, you should. We also recommend looking at for pedestrian and bike routes to get from your apartment, house or hotel room safely and cheaply.

Famous names

This year is looking to be its best yet. Captain Marvel herself, a.k.a. Oscar winner Brie Larson, is the marquee name, but there are others of a similar stature: Susan Sarandon (“Thelma and Louise”), Rosario Dawson (“Ahsoka”), Andy Serkis (“Lord of the Rings”), Geena Davis (“Beetlejuice”), Rainn Wilson (“The Office”), Ella Purnell (“Fallout”), Adam Savage (“Mythbusters”), Eli Roth (“Hostel”), Keith David (“They Live”), Antony Starr (“The Boys”) and cast members of “Saved by the Bell,” “Star Trek: Picard,” “The Boys,” “Charmed,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Dr. Who” and “Supernatural.”

Voice actors from the animated shows “X-Men ’97,” “Star Wars: The Bad Batch,” “Futurama,” “Dora the Explorer,” and “Danny Phantom” will be joined by performance-capture and voice artists from games like Super Mario Bros. (Charles Martinet), Baldur’s Gate III (Neil Newbon), Sonic the Hedgehog (Roger Craig Smith), and Marvels’s Spider-Man 2 (Nadji Jeter and Yuri Lowenthal).

Spend, baby, spend

As is de rigueur, the meet-and-greets, photos, autographs and other interactions with big names will cost you. If you planned for that, good, but expect some sticker shock if you want an audience with Larson ($215 for a photo, $175 for an autograph) or Dawson ($150 per photo). That’s pretty much the only way to see them, since most of the big names are not participating in panels or Q&As that are included with floor admission.

Authors, comics artists

You can also spend money to support comics artists, authors and independent names along Artist Valley, which may be a better value for your budget. It’s a bit of an odd term for a gathering of creatives (a valley, really?) but it pairs thematically with Merchant Mesa, which is the straight-up retail area.

Both offer in-person selections of signed and personalized comic books, merchandise, sculptures, prints, toys and other wares. (They’ll certainly be happy for your support: a single booth costs vendors $1,725, , with per table.)

Cosplay galore!

Cosplayers have for more than a decade been particularly well served at pop culture conventions, but this year’s formal activities seem more fan-friendly than ever. As The Denver Post witnessed, dozens of creative makers gathered on June 30 at Meow Wolf Denver for a Fan Expo-sponsored, 14-and-up that helped makers get a jump on this year’s costumes — with professional help from Meow Wolf monster-maker Kate Major and notable Colorado cosplayer Gilly Muniz.

Fan Expo Denver itself will also feature from nationally known cosplayers such as Stitched in Starlight, Regina Ayala and Clockwork Faerie.

Kids activities

Fan Expo Denver’s forbearer conventions always had a strong, educational element, courtesy of founder and Denver nonprofit Pop Culture Classroom. That continues for the most part today, with 2024 offering Q&A sessions with voice actors Kathleen Herles (“Dora the Explorer”), Johnny Yong Bosch (“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”), and Charles Martinet (Super Mario). Pop Culture Classroom returns with its interactive Kid’s Lab, alongside gaming sessions, a scavenger hunt, a Kid’s Costume Alley, animation workshops, and kid-friendly movie screenings.