Mile High Sports Magazine: January 2013 by Drew Wallace

THE LEAD

Pool Shark Amy Van Dyken was Colorado’s first crush in the water | As told to Brent W. New People always ask me if I give Missy (Franklin) advice. At this point, she needs to be giving me advice. I started swimming because I was a severe asthmatic. I couldn’t do a lot of things that my friends were doing, like go out to recess in the cold, because my doctors said I could get a severe asthma attack. Or if it was too windy, yep, I’d have an asthma attack. Change of seasons – asthma attack. So being frustrated that I couldn’t do all those things I asked him what I could do to keep active, because I was having a hard time even walking up my stairs. He said, “Swimming would be good for you.” I was not a good swimmer when I began at (age) six, but I just kept practicing and practicing until I started winning. Winning is addictive. My senior year at state, I qualified for the ’92 Olympic Trials in the 50 free. That was the first time I was like, “Oh my gosh, I might be kind of decent at this sport.” So it takes me a little longer to catch up than most people. When we first got there (in the 1996 Olympic Games), there was no media attention on me. Then by the end, we had all these celebrities watching. We had Demi Moore there watching, Bruce Willis, David Hasselhoff and the Clintons came like every night, because Chelsea (Clinton) had a crush on one of the male swimmers. Endorsements will follow Missy whenever she decides she’s ready for that. I think it is great she is still deciding to go to college. She will deal with that when it is time because she is going to have longevity in this sport. When I first did endorsements, I remember the Wheaties box. It was so exciting and overwhelming. I remember Mary Lou Retton was on there and Michael Jordan – and I thought, “A dorky, asthmatic kid shouldn’t be on this box.” It wasn’t until I worked this London Olympics with Fox Sports that I realized how big of a deal the Olympics is. I had some ice cream and some Snickers in my cart. And this lady looked at me in the supermarket and was like, “And you call yourself a role model. ” I couldn’t believe it; I was starving. Something has always set wrong with me. In 1996, I did the same thing I did in 2000. Both times, Rowdy Gaines was the announcer. In 1996, he touted me as a hero. He was like, “Oh ha, that’s funny; you spit in your competitors lanes.” I’d been doing it since high school. It was a good luck thing. Then in 2000, the swimming wasn’t as exciting as it had been in ’96, so Rowdy made it a bigger deal than it was and he vilified me in 2000. It definitely hurt. He blew it way out of proportion. @milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

THE LEAD I don’t have a problem with (Dutch swimmer) Inga (de Bruijn). I don’t have a problem with the Dutch. My grandfather is Dutch. I love the Dutch. She was my biggest competitor so that’s why I spit it in her lane. But now it is a little funny. My radio guys call me the “Spit Girl.” And I wasn’t hocking a loogie; I was spitting pool water in their lane, not on them. I have no idea how Inga broke those records out of nowhere. I’m not saying I know she was on something. It was just crazy to me. Missy definitely has a killer instinct. She does it in a different way. She laughs and likes to enjoy the company around her. But what she does do – I forget what race it was in London – but when she came out, the camera zoomed and she had this look like I haven’t seen on anybody.

I remember Mary Lou Retton was on there and Michael Jordan – and I thought, “A dorky, asthmatic kid shouldn’t be on this box.” It was real brief. And then they announced her name and she smiled and waved. But for that couple of seconds she had this look like, “This is my race. I’m going to go get it. Everybody else back off.” I went to a Broncos game. I think it was a Broncos-Packers game. I went with my sister and a friend of ours. And our friend said, “You should meet my friend (former Broncos punter) Tom Rouen. You two would be perfect together.” And I looked him up in the program and was like, “Yeah, he’s kind of cute.” I saw Tom (Rouen) with all those linemen out there and was like, “Oh great, he’s probably short.” Later that night, we were at the Chop House and my friend said Tom was there and I said, “Okay, I’ll meet him.” The story that got back to him was I was like “Oh really! I want to meet him!” – like a giggly little girl. But, we’ll let him live that dream. We don’t discuss who is the better athlete because we both know it’s me. It’s nice to keep those swimming records in Colorado. I told Missy, “I want you to beat it, so it stays in Colorado.” And she did.

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

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lineup

Mile High Sports Awards

Features 54 The Mile high inTerview â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mike MacinTyre One-on-one with CUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new football coach By Woody Paige

60 Zulu Tracy

The old Hot Stove League travels to Africa By Pencils Robinson

64 Bring on 2013

Breaking down the sports landscape ahead By D-Mac

68 a nod To hisTory

Remembering the 10th Mountain Division By Doug Ottewill and Chris Anthony

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

lineup

DEPARTMENTS notebook

16 timeout With… tony cArter One-on-one with the Broncos cornerback By Chris Bianchi | @chrisdbianchi

18 you Should knoW… mAtt SierrA And conner cordovA

Co-hosts of Shameless MMA on Mile High Sports Radio By Chris Bianchi | @chrisdbianchi

20 WiSe Beyond hiS yeArS

Checking in with Colorado’s own Cole Norton By James Merilatt | @jamesmerilatt

22 eleven yeArS, ten WinnerS

A look back at the Sportsperson of the Year By Doug Ottewill

24 dreW’S vieWS

The cartoonist’s unique take on Colorado sports By Drew Litton

26 month of mAGic

January has regularly been a month to remember in Denver By Robin Carlin

28 denver holdinG Serve The Mile High City is scoring winners By Casey Light

30 WilliAmS Q&A topS clickS liSt

Exclusive chat with the Broncos linebacker earns most online views By Chris Bianchi

32 BeSt of the BeSt

The inaugural Mile High Sports All-Colorado football team Presented by Six Zero Strength + Fitness

34 SAyinG GoodBye to A leGend Conor Casey’s departure tough, but necessary By Chris Bianchi

36 the Weekend WArrior – Weekend Ski Guy Presented by CU Sports Medicine

38 norm’S noteS

An equal opportunity offender

40 Good Stuff / BAd Stuff

What we like / don’t like about sports this month

42 the GAmer

Davy Armstrong is always gamin’ By Doug Ottewill

44 the urBAn life

Kosta Koufos settles into his Golden Triangle pad By Julie Browman

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

48 A SportS QueStion from

50 the experience

Why do golf balls have more than 350 dimples?

The editor hits the gym with A.I.9, By Doug Ottewill

A BeAutiful Girl – Brooke S.

A Workout With iGGy

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Letter from the editor

Real Gold

Missy Franklin has far more than hardware

“ s it real gold?” That’s what I asked Missy Franklin as I picked up one the five Olympic medals she’d just sprawled out on the countertop of William Swartz Photography in Littleton.

“Can I bite one? Just to see?” I continued, not giving her a chance to answer. Missy got a funny look on her face in the split second it took for her to realize I was just joking (the wiseacre that I am). Then, she smiled. Then, she laughed. It was the same smile

What you see is what you get. and laugh I’ve seen thousands of times on television since summer. It was the same smile that won the hearts of America in 2012. It was the same laugh she shared with Bob Costas when he asked her about tweeting with pop icon Justin Bieber live on NBC. It was the same because it’s real. The girl you met this summer – the one who began at Regis High School in Centennial, Colo., who invaded YouTube and then arrived in London, and who ultimately landed smack dab in the middle of your living room – is the real deal. She’s the same one – still. What you see is what you get. Remember Missy Franklin singing along to that catchy “Call Me Maybe” song (sorry, I know, I just put it back into your head)? Well, that’s what she does. I sat and watched as she was prepped by hair and makeup crews, bopping her head and singing along to every word of every pop song on XM Radio. She texted. She tweeted. She smiled and laughed some more. She’s a kid to be sure (in the words of Golden’s own Kip Winger, She’s only 17!). But when I asked her if she’d decided whether or not she’d be swimming for Regis High School this coming season, she became a grown up in a hurry. “It’s been really hard,” she said candidly with less of a smile than before. It was a decision that had been weighing on her, one that had become a hot topic – dare I say controversial. She knew it, and more than anything, she wanted to make the right decision. A week later, she did. It was right for her, which is all that really mattered.

I asked her if she had a “favorite” medal. After all, she has five to choose from. “Not really,” she said. “They all mean something special. But sometimes, I feel bad for ‘Bronze.’ Everybody always asks to see the gold medals. But they never ask to see that one. And I like it just the same.” All five of them dangling from her neck at once is an impressive sight to say the least. In a decade of publishing Mile High Sports Magazine, I can honestly say that I haven’t encountered this type of excellence – never this much hardware all in one place.

Ironically, the gold medal is made up of 92.5 percent silver, 6.16 percent copper and a plate that constitutes 1.34 percent gold. Missy Franklin, however, is solid gold. I promise. I bit one, and met the other. This issue honors the very best of Colorado sports over the past year. Our Sportsperson of the Year award is the greatest honor our publication can offer. And believe me when I tell you, this year’s choice was easy. In fact, there was no other choice – the one, the only, the real deal – our very own, back-to-back winner, Missy Franklin.

Olympic medals are designed and constructed specifically for each Games. The medals awarded to the victors in London feature Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory, and weigh 14.1 ounces each (that makes Missy’s “necklace” almost 4.5 pounds).

Doug Ottewill Editor-in-Chief

EDITOR’S PICKS | The best of January 2013 BEST QUOTE (p.2) – “We don’t discuss who is the better athlete, because we both know it’s me.”- Amy Van Dyken on former Broncos punter and current husband Tom Rouen

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

BEST FEATURE (p. 78) – Sportsperson of the Year: Missy Franklin – Jon Ackerman’s crafty prose adequately explain why Missy was our No. 1.

BEST PHOTO (p. 96) – Jathan Campbell captures the essence of excellence with this in-your-face portrait of MHSM’s High School Athlete of the Year, Wilkins Dismuke.

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Contributors

tHis MontH’s toPiC:

WHO WAS THE MOST COMPELLING LOCAL ATHLETE Of 2012?

EDITORIAL

DISTRIBUTION

senior eDitors Brian Dvorak – Peyton Manning. He cost me a Shanahan’s dinner. Michael Stock – Aside from my daughter, who absolutely refused to touch the soccer ball with her hands, I’ll go with 18. Ted Yhedri – Ms. Missy.

RADIO

Contributing eDitors Clinton Doaks – Kenneth Faried; I haven’t watched someone rebound like that since Rodman. Norm LaChatlier – PFM, my favorite middle name in sports. Drew Litton – Missy Franklin. Red Schaefley – Tad Boyle (former athlete, turned compelling coach).

on-air Hosts Marcelo Balboa Lance Britton Brian Brown Irv Brown Peter Burns Conner Cordova Dario J. Correa Jimmy Doogan Josh Dover Garrett Duman “Coach” Eklund Andrew Fogoros Eric Goodman Kurt Hansen Lindsay H. Jones Meegan Kiefel Adam Kinney Mark Kiszla Mark Lammey Reed Marks Jason McBride Matt McChesney Mark McIntosh Renaud Notaro Joe Rico Marcello Romano Jenny Dean Schmidt Matt Sierra Lisa Snyder Brandon Spano Gil Whiteley Dan Williams Joe Williams Andy Zodin

eDitor-in-CHief Doug Ottewill – In the pool or in person, Missy Franklin.

Story Behind the Story Featuring back-to-back cover girls We tend to take a lot of heat for our annual snow angels issue, which just came out last month. in and of itself, it’s the quintessential “it is what it is” product. We make no bones about it – sex sells and we’re selling.

High school’s Missy franklin, the back-to-back winner of our sportsperson of the Year award, was also scheduled to model. the December cover girl and the January cover girl. same place. same time. same purpose.

sorry. that’s the blunt, perhaps cold, side of it. but the other side of the story is that everyone involved with the issue has a great time, and there’s no “objectifying” or “degrading” taking place whatsoever. furthermore, the proceeds from that one issue help us to do what we truly love – to celebrate sports at every level, which is precisely

the great irony was that emily was there representing an issue that is sometimes loathed; Missy was representing an accomplishment that’s been universally celebrated since July, and an issue that everyone loves. but perhaps not so ironically, they were just two young ladies with a lot more in common

The December cover girl and the January cover girl. Same place. Same time. Same purpose. what we do in our January issue (the one you’re holding). on nov. 21, the day before thanksgiving, those two worlds collided.

than not. separated by just two years in age (emily is 19, Missy is 17), they were just two all-american girls. if one didn’t know better, they could have been chatting away and walking down the same hall at any school High, usa.

at swartz Photography in Littleton, emily Hendricks, the bubbly college student from Cu-boulder and the winner of our snow angels cover girl contest, was scheduled to model at 10:30. at 2:00 p.m. on that same day, in that same place, another bubbly teen, regis

and we are proud to claim that both emily and Missy have graced our cover.

@milehighsports

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

both accomplished. both smart. both pretty. both witty.

Contributing Writers Jon Ackerman – Missy Franklin over Peyton Manning because she’s 17 and a true Coloradoan. Chris Bianchi – Conor Casey. Julie Browman – Scott Hastings. Robin Carlin – Missy Franklin. Jimmy Cautosin – Von Miller. Vanessa Hughes – Kenneth Faried. D-Mac – For my money, nothing beats watching your kids play sports. So, for hockey, wrestling, baseball, lacrosse and track, I’ll take Connor and Dylan McKee as the best sporting action in the state. Daniel Mohrmann – Demaryius Thomas (according to NFL Network, pronounced Dee-MAR-ee-us.). Woody Paige – Missy or Manning. Steve Quinne – John McEnroe. We partied when he was here in Denver, so I consider him local. Ken Reed – Kenneth Faried. Pencils Robinson – Missy Franklin. No contesto. Pat Rooney – Missy Franklin. forMer ProofreaDer Laura Rothenfeld – Peyton Manning, of course! Contributions MHSM will consider, but assumes no responsibility for, unsolicited proposals, manuscripts, photographs and illustrations. All such materials not accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope will not be returned. Haas Rock Publications, LLC retains all reprint rights for submitted materials.

CREATIVE

art DireCtor Shane George – Von Miller. graPHiC Designers Becky Antcliff – Missy Franklin. Drew Wallace – Gabriel Landeskog (I miss hockey). Contributing PHotograPHers Bill Swartz – Duh! MF! Jathan Campbell – Peyton Manning. Don Cudney – Manimal, for obvious reasons. Getty Images – Missy Franklin. Randy Parietti – It’s a toss up between Missy Manning and Peyton Franklin.

ADVERTISING SALES

aCCount exeCutives Chris Dolge – Missy Franklin sets the bar for all of us. Will McKinlay – Von Miller; I love watching a good Broncos D.

Distribution CoorDinator Amber Merilatt – Ben Merilatt (golf, tee ball). station Manager Casey Light – D.J. Williams, Denver Bronco and Dyme Life practitioner. exeCutive ProDuCer Josh Pennock – Missy!

HAAS ROCK PUBLICATIONS

PresiDent James Merilatt – Peyton Manning, for truly rekindling BroncoMania. aCCounting Kathy Merilatt – Missy Franklin, a hometown girl who won big at the Olympics, but never forgot her own community touched by the fires this summer. in-House LegaL CounseL William T. Sawyer, Esq. – Missy Franklin. Mile High Sports 975 Lincoln Street, Suite 201 Denver, CO 80203 P. 303.650.1795 f. 303.524.3410 www.milehighsports.com Copyright 2013 Haas Rock Publications, LLC All rights reserved

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Mailbox SNOW ANGELS

JON EMBREE

MAC

BUTCH JONES

THE NUGGETS, MICHELLE BEISNER, LICKING ONE’S ELBOW AND CHRIS BIANCHI’S CHINOS

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25%

21%

WHAT YOU ACTUALLY WROTE US ABOUT

JON EMBREE Don’t think anyone doubts Jon Embree’s desire and dedication, but there was no on field improvement from the CSU game to the Utah game and the coaches still looked lost on the sidelines. Excuses don’t fly when you compare CU to UNC (won Coastal ACC but is on NCAA sanctions), Rutgers/ Syracuse (atop Big East), Northwestern (9-3 and was in Leaders hunt until late), UCF/Tulsa (playing for Conference USA title), and San Diego State/Fresno State (tied for MWC title). If you want to look in the backyard, UW, ASU, UA and OSU all have their programs on the upswing and are headed bowling with no beach to tout and worse weather than Boulder. Michelle Mink, Submitted via the Mile High Sports Daily.

SNOW ANGELS By far your best Snow Angels edition yet. Kudos, MHSM. Kent Mulburry, Denver, Colo.

I’m really impressed with the way your radio hosts handled covering the dismissal of Jon Embree. While every other station was fueling an already volatile fire, your hosts showed restraint and responsible reporting. Thank you for staying above the fray! Mark A., Submitted via email.

Where in the world do you find these incredible girls? The cover says “local,” but I don’t see this type of talent on any given night in LoDo. Where? Tell me, where? Joe T., Submitted via email. Editor’s Note: C…O, Joe. Just as it is in high school football talent, Colorado is a very underrated state. What type of seedy places are you frequenting anyway? Here are my top-10 shots from this year’s magazine: 10. Renee, p. 87 (she’s an institution); 9. Skyler, p. 117 (bunny of the year); 8. Jordan, p. 152 (I haven’t given a crap about hockey until this photo); 7. Nicole, p. 103 (neat underpants); 6. Crystal, p. 72 (Wilt wishes); 5. Jessica C., p. 57 (simply super); 4. Jordan, p. 155 (I hated soccer until now); 3. Emily, the cover (why not more of this beauty?) 2. Jordan, p. 154 (Tad is rolling after this shot); 1) Crystal, p. 74 (Dear Lord. Bazinga!). Chris N., Submitted via email. Editor’s Note: Chris, I can see you’ve spent a considerable amount of time evaluating this issue (thanks…I think?). I will personally tell these particular Snow Angels where they stand with you. Just got your December issue. Thanks but no thanks. You people are sick. Judy H., Submitted via email. Editor’s Note: Death, taxes and people like Judy. Until next year, haters.

BILL MCCARTNEY I have been a Buffs fan since the 1960s and have lost all respect for Bill McCartney. All the good that he did for CU, he just undid in one stupid tirade. Hiring a bunch of former players with no head coaching or coordinator experience was just a bad decision in the first place. It was time to admit the mistake and move on. Did McCartney see any of this season? I know there is a real lack of talent, but still, this season was absurd. McCartney, in my opinion, should not be involved in any aspect of CU football. He is a raving old man. David Pineda, Submitted via the Mile High Sports Daily. 12

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

THINGS WE WISH YOU’D WRITTEN US ABOUT

Why wasn’t Gil Whiteley prominently featured in Snow Angels like he has been in the past? I don’t know, Gil; but you can just come ask me instead of writing.

2 An AD has to wear any hire he/she makes and it will follow them for the rest of their careers, good or bad. If Mike Bohn allowed some former players to make the decision for him, then he’s wrong on two levels – not having a backbone to stand up for what HE believes is the right and using a head coach who was essentially given a New York minute as the scapegoat. Only at CU would an AD get three whacks at hiring a head football coach. Embree was handed a football program that was in complete shambles (that’s not up for debate, it is what it is), was paid the lowest of any BCS coach and had to fight for things that should have been standard. Embree was building the program the right way. Too bad he wasn’t given the same opportunity as his predecessor did to see it come to fruition. But great job, Doug, of oversimplifying the matter and twisting the facts to suit your warped argument (in your Mile High Sports Daily). If you had a clue, you would shut yourself up. Art Gomez, Submitted via the Mile High Sports Daily. Editor’s Note: Damn, man, you’re one of the meanest “Arts” I’ve ever known.

editor@milehighsports.com

Could I have about 200 copies of Snow Angels to give to my friends? Sure thing, Jenny Dean Schmidt. We thought you’d never ask (really, we didn’t).

I would like to personally apologize to Eric Goodman for ruining his CU coaching scoop. Very thoughtful of you, Butch.

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8 THINGS YOU’LL LEARN iN THE NOTEBOOK

Tony Carter wasn’t the first member of his family to star at Florida State. (p. 16)

Regis High School’s A Bronco has never been baseball team produced MHSM’s Sportsperson more than Walt Weiss. (p. 20) of the Year. (p. 22)

When it comes to online clicks, burritos are one of the top draws. (p. 30)

A november ski trip is going to drAw some ribbing from co-workers. (p. 36)

The Rapids recently released a future Gallery of Honor inductee. (p. 34)

Bill McCartney and Mike MacIntyre have more in common than a nickname. (p. 40)

Even people who weren’t alive when he played know Bo Jackson was great. (p. 42)

LEADERBOARD What’s up? What’s doWn?

Denver Broncos

Division champs. First winning season in seven years. Double-digit wins.

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

coloraDo avalanche Remember them? No one else does either, which is bad for all involved.

@milehighsports

TimeouT WiTh

TONY CARTER Denver Broncos Cornerback | As told to Chris Bianchi I wasn’t really a fan of teams; I liked players. I liked different players on different teams, so I wasn’t really a Jaguars fan.

I grew up watching (Florida State stars) Warrick Dunn, Charlie Ward, all those guys. That’s the reason why I went there. My dad played basketball there, so I didn’t have a choice.

Right now, I’ve been going to Fleming’s (steakhouse in Englewood) a lot lately. I just hang out wIth my famIly and frIends, my brothers, my grandma, my mom. hang out wIth them. Play cards. VIdeo games. chIll around. I’m a homebody for the most Part, so I just go back to florIda and hang out wIth my famIly and frIends.

barry sanders Was Who I LIked WatchIng When I Was groWIng uP. he Was very excItIng, Just shakIng everybody and that athLetIcIsm. there Were no other PLayers LIke hIm.

I’m sIngle. I’m not a momma’s boy, but I’m real close wIth my mom and my grandma.

I can go for a good steak, baked Potatoes, and macaronI and cheese any day. though, It’s got to be cooked rIght. 16

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

In my IPod, I’ve got southern raP. LIL’ Wayne. Jay-Z. anythIng that’s goIng to get me PumPed and goIng. some of that southern raP.

my favorIte movIe Is ProbabLy Life WIth eddIe murPhy and martIn LaWrence. that’s an oLd one.

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YOU SHOULD KNOW

Matt Sierra and Conner Cordova HOStS Of

ShameleSS mma ON MiLe HigH SpOrtS raDiO aM 1510 | fM 93.7, SUNDaYS 12p-2p there were plenty of firsts in Colorado sports in 2012. CU’s first Pac-12 championship in basketball, the first season of the denver Cutthroats hockey team and the University of denver’s first season in the WaC come quickly to mind. ¶ But as 2013 gets rolling, you will soon be able to add the first sanctioned professional fight on a Colorado military base to that list. ¶ With the help of Mile High Sports radio’s Matt Sierra and Conner Cordova, Buckley air Force Base in aurora will host a closed ring of Fire caged mixed martial arts fight in February. ¶ the fight, as Sierra explained, is intended to boost the morale of military, and Shameless MMa will be charged with organizing and promoting the fight. ¶ While the precise date and exact fighters are still to be determined, the event will feature fighters from ring of Fire, one of the top north american martial arts professional circuits. But instead of battling in a packed arena, ring of Fire will take its fight to lift the spirits of air Force fighters at Buckley. ¶ “to be a part of something like that, it’s awesome,” Sierra said. ¶ But bringing live martial arts to the military is far from the only charitable cause Sierra and Cordova have undertaken; the duo also organized a toy drive in december. ¶ the big project taking place at Buckley will be the first ever fight of such a high magnitude that will be fully closed to the public. and it’ll be for a great cause. by Chris bianChi

@chrisdbianchi

Mixed Martial arts is soMething that (the Military personnel) can relate to. they get into situations where it’s fightor-flight all the tiMe. - Matt sierra

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

notebook

Wise Beyond His Years Checking in with Colorado’s own Cole Norton | By James Merilatt

very January, Mile High Sports Magazine catches up with a Colorado kid who is chasing his dream – baseball player Cole Norton. This time around, however, Norton is no kid; he’s a young man midway through his senior year in college. And the maturity shows at every turn. “The most important thing for me is graduating,” the outfielder at Saint Mary’s College (Calif.) says. “I only have two classes left to get my degree.” But having well-rounded goals doesn’t mean he’s shelved his big-league aspirations. Norton is just keeping them in their proper perspective. “As far as baseball, I just want to leave it

all out there,” he says of his last season on the diamond for the Gaels. “I have no regrets up to this point; it’s been a good career for me. I’m just going to ride the horse as long as I can.” By all accounts, that journey should lead him to Major League Baseball’s amateur draft this summer. “As long as I stay healthy and have a pretty good season, things look pretty good for me,” Norton says humbly, when asked about his chances of being selected. “Obviously, I’m not a first 10 rounds kind of a guy. Some scouts have told me that I have a pretty good shot.” But the Regis High School graduate isn’t leaving anything to chance.

“If it happens in June, I’m definitely going to see how far I can take it; if it doesn’t, I have plenty of opportunities elsewhere,” he explains. “I’ll go to dental school. That’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid.” That stage of life is probably going to have to wait, however. Playing minor league baseball, chasing the dream shared by every boy who has ever picked up a bat and glove, will come first. “I’m definitely going to set a timeline for myself; realistically, I’ll give it three to four years,” Norton says, demonstrating a levelheaded approach not often seen in young athletes. “If I’m not making any progress at that point, it’ll be time to cut my losses.” Those decisions are for another day, however. Right now, Norton is excited about building upon a junior season that saw him rack up 49 hits in 49 games, hit .449 as a leadoff hitter and belt his first collegiate home run. “That was surreal,” he says about the shot he hit last April against Pepperdine. The same can be said for watching Cole Norton grow up right before our eyes.

@jamesmerilatt

The BesT of The BesT Five current MLB pLayers to eMuLate

Who do young baseball players look to for inspiration? Cole Norton, a Regis High School product and a current senior at Saint Mary’s College (Calif.), offer his suggestions:

Hell on Wheels”

- Cole Norton’s walk-up song, sung by country music star Brantley Gilbert

carLos GonzaLez Josh haMiLton (rockies) (anGeLs)

“Plays the game hard. A five-tool player. Really fun to watch. Very approachable.”

“I really admire his story. Coming back from where he was to what he is now is remarkable.”

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

toDD heLton (rockies)

“Works hard. Doesn’t talk a lot; let’s his play speak for him. Just a humble, down-to-earth guy.”

@milehighsports

Derek Jeter (yankees)

“What’s not to like about Jeter? He’s a great leader, so he’s a good guy to take notes about.”

Mike trout (anGeLs)

“He’s my age. He’s a freak of nature. He’s going to be around a long time. Really focused.”

“I like to find a quiet spot in the leftfield corner, get my mind focused, say a couple of prayers and relax a little bit.” - Cole Norton, talking about his pregame ritual

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Eleven Years, Ten Winners A look back at the Sportsperson of the Year | by Doug Ottewill

Never, Never, Not ever Five local sports Figures who never had a shot

hile Missy Franklin graces the cover of this month’s issue – Mile High Sports Magazine’s lone two-time winner of our prestigious Sportsperson of the Year Award – January serves as a reminder of winners past. Franklin takes home the honor in our 11th year, but here’s a look back at the previous 10 (including her): 2003 – Jeremy Bloom At the time, Bloom was just a kid, but he did huge things in 2002. He was an All-American football player and a world-class skier, but perhaps more impressively, he was busy fighting for the rights of amateur athletes everywhere. 2004 – Jeff Byers Never in the history of the Gatorade National High School Football Player of the Year Award had a lineman ever earned the honor. But in 2003, Loveland’s Byers – a massive offensive lineman headed to USC – did just that. 2005 – Kiki Vandeweghe The Denver Nuggets had been a dormant (at best) franchise for the better part of a decade. But the new GM changed the team’s uniforms, hired a blue-collar coach in Jeff Bzdelik and drafted Carmelo Anthony, all of which seemed to do the trick. 2006 – George Gwozdecky and George Karl In what’s been dubbed our “worst cover ever,” we celebrated an NCAA national hockey title at DU and a miraculous turnaround that resulted in a 50-win season for the Nuggets. As such, both coaches were co-honored.

2007 – Mike Bohn After several years of negative press and national scrutiny, Mike Bohn was hired by CU to change the culture and perception of the school’s athletic program. While the landscape was tough, Bohn did just that. 2008 – The Colorado Rockies Just months after “Rocktober,” there was absolutely no other choice. In late 2007, the Colorado Rockies stole the hearts and imaginations of every Denver sports fan with their miraculous run to the World Series. 2009 – Chauncey Billups Though he hadn’t been a Nugget for long, the trade that brought one of Denver’s own back home changed how fans viewed the Nuggets. Later that spring, “Smooth” led the blue and gold to the Western Conference Finals. 2010 – Jim Tracy Amidst a very strange and disappointing spring of 2009, the Rockies replacement skipper turned things around at 20th and Blake in dramatic fashion. What seemed unthinkable in April occurred, and Tracy had his club back in the postseason. 2011 – The Colorado Rapids A championship can never be overlooked, so when the Rapids took home their first-ever MLS Cup trophy, we appropriately put the hometown soccer team on the cover in honor of their title. 2012 – Missy Franklin For the first time in the publication’s history, a woman won our highest honor. Franklin’s 2011 was unprecedented, but her 2012 captivated an entire nation – which is why she’s on the cover of the issue you’re holding.

@dottewill 22

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

5 4 3 2 1

Jay Cutler Sorry, Jay, but your signature pout never inspired us. Ever.

Sheldon Williams “The Sheldon Williams Era” sure was fun while it lasted, but the Nuggets big man never factored in.

Jayson Nix After Rocktober, the Rox shipped off second baseman Kazuo Matsui in favor of Nix. In 2008, he hit .125 in just 22 games.

Kyle Orton Eight was anything but great. Vanilla meets beige meets Ambien.

Josh McDaniels Such a destructive little guy, huh?

Abby Waner Aside from Missy Franklin, Waner is the only back-to-back winner of any Mile High Sports Magazine award (High School Athlete of the Year 2004 and 2005). Waner now coaches at the University of Denver. the number oF individuals earning the title oF Mile HigH SportS Magazine’S sportsperson oF the Year and not appearing on the cover (JeremY bloom – 2003, in Favor oF John elwaY; mike bohn – 2007, in Favor oF mike shanahan)

Drew's Views Drew Litton sums up the month in CoLoraDo sports

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

GIRL’S TAKE PRESENTED BY

Month of Magic

January has regularly been a month to remember in Denver

january

BIRTHDAYS

| By Robin Carlin

hen the Broncos clinched the AFC West way back on Dec. 2, football in January became a lock. And that’s not a bad thing, as the Broncos postseason winning percentage in the first month of the year is an impressive .593. Better yet, the Broncos have won at an .846 clip when playing at home in January. Generally speaking, when the Broncos are in the postseason, it is a magical month in the Mile High City. Here are some of the month’s most memorable moments:

Jan. 1, 1978: AFC Championship Game vs. Oakland

“It’s all over, Fat Man!” That’s what Broncos linebacker Tom Jackson told John Madden after the Broncos beat the Raiders at Mile High Stadium, earning their first-ever trip to the Super Bowl.

Jan. 11, 1987: AFC Championship Game at Cleveland

When a game has a name that’s part of every Broncos fan’s lexicon, it has to be memorable. “The Drive” certainly falls into this category.

Jan. 17, 1988: AFC Championship Game vs. Cleveland

Like “The Drive,” this game earned it’s own moniker – “The Fumble.” A late-game lead was slipping away, until Jeremiah Castille stripped Earnest Byner just before he crossed the goal line. Denver recovered and the rest is history.

Jan. 4, 1992: AFC Divisional Playoff Game vs. Houston

Down one with just 2:07 remaining on the clock, John Elway found himself in almost the exact predicament he’d been in just two years prior. From his own twoyard line, Elway engineered one of his greatest come from behind wins, a sequence now known as “The Drive II.”

Jan. 25, 1998: Super Bowl XXXII vs. Green Bay

It’s arguably the greatest day in Denver sports history – the day John Elway and the Broncos finally hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.

Jan. 17, 1999: AFC Championship Game vs. New York

The Broncos overcame a 10-0 deficit at home, largely behind Terrell Davis’ dominating 167yard rushing performance.

Jan. 14, 2006: AFC Divisional Playoff Game vs. New England

Champ Bailey’s 101-yard pick-six against Tom Brady, who hadn’t thrown an interception since the previous season’s Super Bowl, proved to be the difference in Denver’s 27-13 win.

Jan. 8, 2012: AFC Wild Card Game vs. Pittsburgh

Denver’s ranking among all NFL teams since the 1970 AFL/ NFL merger in Super Bowl appearances (6). 26

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

First and 80? Why not? Tim Tebow’s connection with Demaryius Thomas on the first play in overtime was all the Broncos needed to cap a miraculous playoff win against the Steelers. Behind Peyton Manning, will the Broncos make January 2013 one to remember?

@carlinrobin

Jan. 1 – Mark Olver, 25 (Avalanche) Jan. 6 – Tad Boyle, 50 (CU) Jan. 7 – Jhoulys Chacin, 25 (Rockies) – @Jhoulys45 Jan. 8 – Kevin Vickerson, 30 (Broncos) – @kvick96 Jan. 15 – Drew Moor, 29 (Rapids) – @drewmoor Jan. 16 – Matt Duchene, 22 (Avalanche) – @Matt9Duchene Jan. 19 – JaVale McGee, 25 (Nuggets) – @JaValeMcGee34 Jan. 20 – Creighton Reid, 26 (Mammoth) Jan. 21 – Tim Wheeler, 25 (Rockies) – @TimSWheeler Jan. 24 – Elvis Dumervil, 29 (Broncos) – @EKD92 Jan. 25 – John Orsen, 29 (Mammoth) – @Orsy82 Jan. 26 – anthony Wallace, 24 (Rapids) Jan. 27 – Mark Matthews, 23 (Outlaws) – @markmatthews222 Jan. 28 – andre Iguodala, 29 (Nuggets) – @MindofAI9 Jan. 30 – Jordan Pacheco, 27 (Rockies) – @jstyleP Be sure to wish all of Denver’s January birthday boys a #HappyBirthday on Twitter!

Number of years it took the Broncos to make the playoffs. The organization was founded in 1960 and their first year to make the postseason was 1977 – when they went all the way to the Super Bowl.

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Denver Holding Serve the Mile High city is scoring winners | By Casey Light

H.O.F. BOund IntroducIng the 2012

inductees Into the colorado

tennIs hall of fame chad harrIs

t’s not easy to put 25 Grand Slam finals appearances and a gold medal on the same court in just a matter of hours. But that’s what Denver did when the PowerShares Series brought Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, John McEnroe and Michael Chang to Pepsi Center in the 2012 tour’s penultimate event, the Jeep Championships presented by Cancer Treatment Centers of America. The Champions Series senior men’s tennis tour has been in existence in one form or another since 2005, but 2012 marked the tour’s first stop in Denver. What began as a single tournament in Houston, Texas, is now a 12-city tour of one-night tournaments featuring legends of the game. Now presented by PowerShares QQQ for the second year, the tour features other top names like Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl. Denver ranked in the top third in attendance on the 2012 tour, showing that tennis is holding serve in the Rocky Mountains. “We were very happy with the support we received in the Denver market our first time there,” said Jon Venison, founding partner of

InsideOut Sports & Entertainment which runs the PowerShares Series. “The Denver tennis community came out to support the PowerShares Series and we look forward to returning soon.” Andy Zodin, host of Sunday Night Sports Zone (Sunday nights 6p-8p on Mile High Sports Radio AM 1510 | FM 93.7), scored exclusive interviews with Agassi, Courier and McEnroe at the event, all of which can be found at milehighsports.com. Zodin will host another marquee event on the Colorado tennis calendar on Feb. 1, as he emcees USTA Colorado’s Annual Awards Gala at the Denver Marriott Tech Center. Inductions will be made into the Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame (see sidebar) and USTA Colorado will present its 2012 Annual Awards to players, organizations and volunteers who have distinguished themselves through their dedication and commitment to the sport. Tickets are available at coloradotennis.com and proceeds benefit the Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation, providing tennis opportunities to youngsters in need.

194 “Denver is high on our list. Hopefully, we’ll be right back here next year.” – Jim Courier on planning the 2013 PowerShares Series tour 28

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

The combined number of ATP singles titles for McEnroe (77), Agassi (60), Chang (34) and Courier (23).

The lone native Coloradoan in the class, Harris’ mark on Colorado tennis was made even before he had a learner’s permit. In the USTA national 14s division, he ranked third in the country and was on a U.S. national junior team featuring Andy Roddick and Chris Martin. He won four state championship team titles while at Cherry Creek, along with three straight No. 1 singles titles from 1997-99. In 2000, at the age of 18, he became the first teen since 1937 to win the Colorado State Open.

VIctorIa Palmer heInIcke Women’s tennis can thank Palmer (Heinicke) for the infamous grunt that now permeates the sport. Dubbed “the Grunter” by fellow tour players in the late 1950s and early ‘60s, Palmer’s professional career was impressive, if short. It included a round-of-16 finish at Wimbledon at age 17 and U.S. Championships wins over Billie Jean Moffitt (King) and Karen Hantze Susman. She retired from professional tennis at age 19 when she moved to Colorado Springs and established herself, along with her husband, Nye, as Colorado teaching and coaching fixtures.

clayton Benham Despite his short time in Colorado – just three years – Benham left an indelible mark on University of Denver tennis. Not only did he serve as the team’s No. 1 singles and doubles player, but the Hawaii native also coached the team in his final two years at the university. Between 1950 and 1953, he won the Denver City Open men’s singles title three times and Intermountain men’s singles title twice.

WarrIck Jones While enlisted in the U.S. Army and stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Jones was a three-time Army tennis team member and won the Armed Forces Tennis Championship three times – once in singles and twice in doubles. The Ohio native became a force in the Colorado State Open, winning numerous age division events. He has won USTA National Championships on grass and hard court and in both singles and doubles play.

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Williams Q&A Tops Clicks List Exclusive chat with the Broncos linebacker earns most online views | By Chris Bianchi in certain situations or you blame yourself. There’s always the “If I was there, what would have happened.” That’s not to say the guys there weren’t adequate enough; it’s just that you want to be a part of it. You want to help out.

Have you watched all the games? The funny thing about it is that every time my eyes were on the TV, we’d play horrible. So during the last two games, I would just turn my back to the TV. When they’d cheer, I would look. That started with the Patriots game, when we started coming back.

In early November, milehighsports.com’s Chris Bianchi and Doug Ottewill had the chance to interview Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams, who at the time, had not conducted a public interview for more than two years. The piece debuted on milehighsports. com and was the web site’s most-read article for all of 2012. Here are snippets from Bianchi’s exclusive chat with the Broncos’ embattled linebacker:

“I served my punishment – sitting out nine games. You know what I mean? I’m losing $3 million. that’s what people don’t understand.” – D.J. Williams in milehighsports.com’s November interview

According to comScore’s September ratings, milehighsports.com ranked as the eighth-most-visited local web site in metro Denver, within just weeks of re-launching. 30

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

Have you talked to your teammates while you’ve been out? Champ (Bailey) is probably the guy that I’m closest with on the team. We text back and forth after games. He would ask me what it looked like from an outside perspective.

What’s the most misunderstood thing about D.J. Williams? That I’m selfish. I’ve been here nine years. I’ve been here through eight different defensive coordinators, eight different linebackers coaches. I’ve played every linebacker position you can think of and I never complained about it.

What’s been the toughest part about being gone? To watch the games, and see your team not being successful, you feel that you could probably help them

Why do you think that might be? I’m not as open to fans as most people. But at the end of the day, it starts out with your coaching staff and your teammates. Fans can be

makeshift – I’m not saying our fans are, but they can be. It’s hard to open up to people you really don’t know. That’s not me. That’s not my personality. I don’t talk to people I really don’t know genuinely. Even elevator talk, sitting at the bus stop, “Hey, how’s the weather?” I’m just not big into conversation with people I don’t know. I’d say it probably started in high school.

Why are you talking to us now? Is this something new? I just felt like the story, or the way I’ve been portrayed, has gone way too far off the track. And that’s not me. I didn’t have a problem before with people saying, “(D.J.) doesn’t like to talk to the media,” or this and that. But for media personalities to make up stories about me, or to exaggerate stories, or to make things seem a lot different than what they are, I felt like it was time for me to speak up. For the rest of D.J.’s revealing exclusive interview with Chris Bianchi, check out milehighsports.com.

@chrisdbianchi

THE THREE B’s KEyS To onlinE conTEnT In early September, milehighsports.com re-launched, branching out to focus on generating the most up-todate news in Colorado sports in addition to providing great daily columns. Our points of emphasis: The Broncos We know you love your horsies. We do, too. So we try and provide you the most comprehensive coverage on the web through our Broncos beat writer, Andrew Mason, formerly of MaxDenver.com. Mile High Sports is one of only two print media entities in town that travels to every away game. We also combine all the Broncos news from around the web and gather it for you in one complete source for the latest on the orange and blue: milehighsports.com. BaBes Disclaimers need not apply: A web site for sports guys will never go wrong by featuring the fairer sex. Those of you who spent a Saturday afternoon tearing through our annual Snow Angels issue last month can attest; there’s no need to reinvent the wheel here. We’ll have some of those ladies on the pages of milehighsports.com on a near-daily basis, with fresh pictures and behind the scenes peeks.

@milehighsports

BurriTos Uh, what? Let’s explain this one a bit. In mid-September, we posted a story about Nuggets center JaVale McGee giving out burritos to random fans, a story we took directly from his Twitter account. The next thing we knew, thousands of readers were checking it out and every news source imaginable was referencing the piece. It’s our belief that Twitter is perhaps one of the greatest sources of news these days, and athletes aren’t exactly shy to express what they’re doing or thinking via social media. This trend is something we plan to take advantage of in this new age of media. Denver athletes: You’re officially on notice. If you tweet something silly, we’ll write a story about it, and maybe even make fun of you a little bit. As for the rest of you, enjoy Denver’s newest but most comprehensive sports site, the all-new milehighsports.com

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The Inaugural Mile High Sports All-Colorado Football Team

Presented by Six Zero Strength + Fitness as seen on Root Sports Rocky Mountain

ToP HonoRS Colorado MVP

Chris Fox (Ponderosa)

ConCrete Charlie

Dominic Rael (Wheat Ridge)

CoMebaCk Player of the year

Davion Amos-White (Wheat Ridge)

“Gold 16” adVersity award Zack Golditch (Gateway)

Brody Westmoreland (left) and Luke Del Rio (right)

CoaCh of the year

Tony Lindsay (Denver South)

offensiVe Player of the year

Christian McCaffrey (Valor Christian)

QuarterbaCk of the year

Luke Del Rio (Valor Christian)

runninG baCk of the year

Derek Jackson (Pueblo West)

reCeiVer of the year

Mitch Parsons (Chaparral)

offensiVe lineMan of the year

Chris Fox (Ponderosa) Luke Papilion (left) and Jacob Knipp (right)

first-teaM all-Colorado defense DL – Collin Albershardt (Mullen) DL – Austin Berk (Grand Junction) DL – Stanley Gilbert (Valor Christian) DL – Zack Golditch (Gateway) DL – Sam Mabany (Denver South) LB – Jake Hanks (Fort Collins) LB – Patrick Healy (Mullen) LB – Derek Landis (Lakewood) LB – K.C. Rivera (Frederick) CB – Cameron French (Denver South) CB – Deante Manlove (Overland) S – Spencer Svejcar (Ralston Valley) S – Evan White (Cherokee Trail) All-Around – Dominic Rael (Wheat Ridge)

defensiVe Player of the year

Cameron French (Denver South)

s widespread prep recognition fades in mainstream media, Matt McChesney is making sure Colorado’s top high school football players are receiving the credit they deserve. Just days before class 4A and 5A state championships were played, the former Denver Bronco, Colorado Buffalo and Niwot Cougar named the inaugural Mile High Sports All-Colorado Football Team presented by Six Zero Strength + Fitness. As color analyst for Root Sports Rocky Mountain’s coverage of high school football, McChesney witnessed firsthand the top-level talent in Colorado. More than 200 players, coaches, families and friends were in attendance as the inaugural Mile High Sports All-Colorado team was

recognized at a banquet at Six Zero Strength + Fitness in Centennial, Colo. The team was also recognized on Root Sports Rocky Mountain during halftime of the 4A state championship game. Each individual award winner and each first- and secondteam player was recognized for his accomplishments and the individual award winners were lucky enough to be presented their awards by such names as Joel Dreessen, Chad Brown, Marc Stout and Rick Lewis. The highlight of the evening occurred when Gateway’s Zack Golditch, who was shot in the neck in the Aurora theater shootings July 20, 2012, received a standing ovation as he received the “Gold 16” Adversity Award.

@milehighsports

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

first-teaM all-Colorado offense QB – Luke Del Rio (Valor Christian) QB – Brody Westmoreland (ThunderRidge) RB – Jakob Buys (Ralston Valley) RB – Derek Jackson (Pueblo West) RB – Christian McCaffrey (Valor Christian) RB – Tahj Willingham (Cherry Creek) TE – Mitch Parsons (Chaparral) WR – Hunter Burton (Cherry Creek) WR – Tanner Gentry (Grandview) WR – Sam Martin (Fairview) OL – Chris Fox (Ponderosa) OL – Sam Jones (ThunderRidge) OL – Taylor Knestis (Lakewood) OL – Blake Nowlands (Douglas County) OL – Dan Skipper (Ralston Valley) OL – Reid Stable (Mullen) K – Daniel Carlson (Classical Academy) P – Tyler Bender (Wheat Ridge) KR – Austin Conway (Overland) All-Around – Travis Avila (Fossil Ridge)

defensiVe lineMen of the year

Collin Albershardt (Mullen)

linebaCker of the year

Derek Landis (Lakewood)

seCondary Player of the year

Cameron French (Denver South)

seCond-teaM all-Colorado offense QB – Jacob Knipp (Ralston Valley) QB – Luke Papillion (Cherry Creek) RB – Jake Hand (ThunderRidge) RB – Trevonte Tasco (Denver South) RB – Pete Williams (Denver South) TE – Trae Moxley (Roaring Fork) WR – Mitch Colin (Pomona) WR – Connor Skelton (D’Evelyn) OL – Jake Bennett (Bear Creek) OL – Conner Cain (Heritage) OL – Dalton Risner (Wiggins) OL – Mike Williams (Denver South)

seCond-teaM all-Colorado defense DL – Jordan Brown (Grandview) DL – Joshua Johnson (Eaglecrest) DL – Deion Trejo (Wheat Ridge) LB – Jordan Anderson (Ralston Valley) LB – Sean Glenn (Windsor) CB – Xavier Lewis (Eaglecrest) S – Davion Amos-White (Wheat Ridge) S – Lance Cox (Windsor)

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Saying Goodbye to a Legend Conor Casey’s departure tough, but necessary | By Chris Bianchi

f you happened to take a stroll inside or outside of Dick’s Sporting Goods Park any time during the past five years, it wouldn’t take long to locate a picture of iconic striker Conor Casey. But after five-and-a-half star-studded years, Casey and the Rapids agreed to amicably and mutually part ways on Nov. 16. Rapids technical director Paul Bravo called it the toughest decision he’s ever had to make during his time in charge in Commerce City. But ultimately, Bravo said that he needed to look out for the club’s best interest in making a decision that inevitably brought strong emotional ties to the table. Casey is the Rapids’ all-time leading goal scorer and was raised in Denver. He was a key part of helping his hometown team to its first-ever MLS Cup in 2010. But after a string of

New BegiNNiNgs | Conor Casey wasn’t the only player to leave the rapids

coloradorapids.com

The holding midfielder assumed a starting role for part of the season when the Rapids tried a two holding midfielder formation, but with Hendry Thomas’ acquisition in August, Nane became expendable.

What we do know is Conor helped us win our first championship. The thing we want to continue to reiterate is we have a lot of fond memories of him that brought us a bunch of joy in 2010.

edu

– Colorado Rapids technical director Paul Bravo on parting ways with Conor Casey

after missing the postseason for the first time in three years, the rapids look to move forward. part of that process includes saying goodbye to more than just conor casey. here’s a quick look at seven other players, including a couple of regulars from a season ago, who won’t be wearing burgundy in 2013: Luis Zapata The Colombian left back started 26 games in his lone season in Commerce City, but the 32-year-old player’s departure clears an open left back spot for youngsters Anthony Wallace and Chris Klute in 2013. tyrone MarshaLL The 38-year-old veteran, who was originally drafted by the Rapids back in 1998, may be done for good after a long and prosperous career, including two stints with Colorado. Joseph nane

The striker was hampered by injuries after midseason and didn’t play for the final few months of the season, but he also struggled during his brief time on the pitch and failed to make an impact in 2012. ian Joyce The backup keeper didn’t have much of a place after Steward Ceus impressed in his final two games for the Rapids. And with starter Matt Pickens firmly entrenched, there was little opportunity for Joyce. scott paLguta The center back was a reliable backup for Oscar Pareja’s squad in 2012, but with Drew Moor and Marvell Wynne firmly in the Rapids’ 2013 plans, Palguta was likely deemed a surplus to needs. tyson WahL The midseason acquisition from Montreal failed to establish himself in the Rapids’ starting 11, and with Wallace returning from injury and Klute’s late season emergence, Wahl didn’t have much of a chance for playing time.

injuries reduced Casey to just seven goals in the last two years, likely playing a role in the two sides’ split, Bravo and Casey mutually agreed to part ways with one another. But even after the split, the two sides appeared to remain strongly amicable. Casey said in a team statement on the day of his departure that it was “truly an honor to be able to play in front of my hometown fans and to bring a championship to Denver.” Bravo, meanwhile, said that he was a “huge fan and will always will be” of Casey’s. It’s the cycle of soccer, and while it’ll certainly be strange to see a Colorado Rapids team without him, it’s a move that’s likely to be best for both Casey and his beloved former team.

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

”

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THE WEEKEND WARRIOR PREsENTED by

THE WARRIOR: Weekend Ski Guy

Featuring dan Mohrmann, writer for MHsM and producer for Mile High sports Radio [Editor’s Note: Based on a true story]. m, guys. Is there anything I can do around the office to kind of, well, ‘get ahead’ before the weekend?”

Head

”

Why do you ask, Dan?

Here’s a stat for you: Based on studies in 1997, 17,500 head injuries occurred in ski or snowboard accidents. Of those, a whopping 40 percent were deemed “preventable” or “less severe” if a helmet was used. Point being? Get and wear a helmet. The biggest difference between 2013 and 1997? Easy. Helmets are officially “cool” (just look around the slopes). There’s absolutely no reason not to wear a helmet.

“Well, my girlfriend, kind of, well, ‘signed me up’ for this ski thingy over the weekend.” Sounds like you’re going skiing. Sounds great, but isn’t it only November?

Hands, aRMs

“Yea. I guess. I don’t know if the snow is any good. I think her family is up there or something, so, I kind of said I would go.” Sounds terrible. Sounds like you’re going to miss the Broncos game in favor of freezing your a$$ off and hob-knobbing with potential future in-laws, all while ruining your new skis and risking injury. “Well, I haven’t been in a while and they’ve got this place lined up ‘n’ all, so…”

glutes, quads, back, knees

Knock yourself out – figuratively speaking, of course. Dan, is, of course, that guy. Weekend Ski Guy. Get Dragged Off the Couch to Go Skiing Guy. And probably, About to Get Hurt Guy. It’s sad but true for most locals. A sport in which we used to thrive as kids has now turned into one of the biggest heath risks we take. We’re not in the same shape as we were in junior high. Limber bones and joints have slowly eked and creaked into ticking time bombs, especially on the slopes.

Get fit – for skiing. Just because you’re in good shape, doesn’t mean you’re not at risk while on the slopes. Bench press and bicep curls can make one look great, but those exercises don’t necessarily help a skier. The key muscles in skiing and boarding are ironically ignored by most gym routines. For that, one should focus on the quadriceps, the gluteal muscles and the lower back. Having strength in those areas will drastically decrease the chances of knee and leg injuries. Simple exercises that can rapidly improve those muscle groups include weight-free squats, lunges and balancing sets. And don’t forget, that two-hour ride in traffic does nothing but stiffen you up; so, make sure to stretch and warm up before going full steam ahead.

The most common injuries to skiers are as follows: Knee ligament tears (ACL tears are most common), shoulder dislocations and AC separations, thumb sprains.

bOOts

The only boot one should wear skiing or snowboarding is one that fits. If the shoe fits, wear it. If not, try again. Properly fitting boots are the best way to avoid unnecessary injuries.

knees

But, you know the drill. You’re going to go up sometime this winter. It’s a fact. It’s just what we Coloradoans do, no matter how much you “haven’t” prepared. As such, we’ve sought some advice – a few pointers that might allow you to arrive back to work safely on Monday morning, just like Dan.

The most common injuries to snowboarders are as follows: Wrist sprains/fractures, ankle sprains/fractures, shoulder dislocations and AC separations.

@danmohrmann

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Norm’s Notes An Equal Opportunity Offender

have you come to grips with the walt weiss hiring yet? I’m always griping about the Rockies.

Are you AmAzed by the wAy Peyton mAnning hAs PlAyed in yeAr one As A bronco? Not as much as the Colts are. what do you think of mike macintyre? His last name is way too hard to spell. why did the nbA stick it to the nuggets with a road-heavy schedule early in the season? To keep Pepsi Center available for Disney on Ice and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. how shocked are you that Knowshon moreno is playing well? Is “sauced” a form of shocked? Are the people running the nhl as dumb as they appear? Not as dumb as you, apparently; you spelled “ruining” wrong.

what’s the story with tracy Porter? Ask him on Twitter; he has plenty of time to answer you. 38

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

will the nuggets ultimately regret the JaVale mcgee contract? It’s only money.

@milehighsports

what do you think of the rockies offseason moves? They should be the favorites in 5A. is mike bohn getting a free pass? I hope so. Parking in Boulder is a nightmare. what’s your early take on Andre iguodala? He might as well be in Alaska. why on earth would csu agree to play at Alabama next season? Terrell Owens could give you 1.5 million reasons. will Jack del rio stay in denver beyond one season? Yes. I’m sure he won’t move until after spring. Are cu or csu a tourney-caliber team this season? One of them is. Time will tell which one. why is ty lawson so maddeningly inconsistent? Because he’s a Denver Nugget. is this year’s broncos defense better than the orange crush? Ask me again when they have a soda named after them. do you consider butch Jones a colorado sports villain? He’s not quite Bill McCartney. can the broncos reach the super bowl? New Orleans isn’t a difficult town to get to. get on the record early: who’s going to win next year’s sportsperson of the year? His middle name better be “Freaking.” what’s your new year’s resolution? Twenty pounds less. Twenty grand more. Twenty questions that annoy you every month.

GOOD STUFF

BAD STUFF

Things we LIKE about sports

Things we DON’T LIKE about sports

Streaks No matter the fashion or the level of difficulty, watching a team string together wins is tough to beat.

Johnny Football The only thing better than watching this freshman win the Heisman was witnessing him tear up the SEC.

Black and White Racism is a terrible thing, but accusations when none exists is arguably worse; not everything is black and white.

Pro Bowlers When your team boasts multiple Pro Bowl selections, it must have been a pretty darn good season.

Tepid Stove League Pretty quiet over on 20th and Blake, don’t you think? Why would the worst team in franchise history make any moves?

Queen of the Month

Tool of the Month

Snow AngelS

MAScoT ReSoluTion

After a month of rave reviews, you, the reader, have once again let us know that December is your favorite issue.

Mike MacIntyre Placing the Buffs new coach here may be premature, but he certainly doesn’t belong on the other side of the page.

Kyle Keefe The front man on the Altitude All Sports Summit is knowledgeable and funny. Plus, Brooklyn Decker likes him.

Road Schedule David Stern is the only schedule maker in the country whose software doesn’t recognize Denver as a home site.

Our Jan. 1 promise is that for the next 12 months, we’ll continue to criticize the worst mascot in sports.

Roger Goodell The NFL’s fine system is a joke. Hockey Yes, you were right here last month. Nobody knows how to handle concussions. But with no solution in site, you’ve moved And off-field behavior is poor. Good job, Rog. into “idiot” status.

NO. 2 AIN’T SO BAD MIke MAcINTyre wASN’T The BuffS fIrST chOIce, BuT ThAT’S OkAy On Dec. 10, when the university of Colorado announced that it had hired San Jose State’s Mike MacIntyre, it wasn’t necessarily a celebration. It wasn’t an indictment of MacIntyre, who had successfully turned around San Jose State from a 2-9 team in 2009 to a 10-game winner last season. Instead, the lack of enthusiasm stemmed from the fact that Cu had openly courted – and allegedly landed – Cincinnati’s Butch Jones. When that somehow crumbled, MacIntyre was the man. Clearly, though, he was Cu’s “no. 2.” But that may not necessarily not be a bad thing. Look who’s been “no. 2” (or worse) in Boulder before:

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

CHuCK FaIRBanKS, 1979-81 (first choice was Tom Osborne) BILL MCCaRTney, 1982-94 (first choice was LaVell Edwards, second choice was Chuck Shelton) GaRy BaRneTT, 1999-2005 (first choice was Gary Kubiak)

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Arguably, the biggest, most important, factors that played into the Rapids decision to sign Armstrong were his mental toughness and maturity. At the tender age of 18, Armstrong was a player who had earned the confidence of a professional sports organization. To say he was “ahead of schedule” would be an understatement.

Armstrong has a tremendous level of conditioning. Aside from being strong for his size, he can quite literally go all day. He’s a workmanlike player who has young legs. And this season, he feels like he’s developed more of a killer instinct, something that comes with plenty of time at the pro level.

Armstrong came up through the system as a midfielder, but recently, Oscar Pareja has shifted him to right back. Why? Simple – Armstrong’s skill set can be trusted. He’s got quick feet and is confident in his ability to clear the ball out of the back, or to navigate it toward an attack.

MHSM SCOUTING REPORT

NAME

DAvy ARMSTRONG

POSITION: RIGHT bACk AGE: 21 HEIGHT: 5'10" WEIGHT: 150 lbS. ExPERIENCE: SIGNED by THE RAPIDS IN AUGUST Of 2010. AfTER COMING UP THROUGH THE DEvElOPMENTAl TEAM, HE’S THE ClUb’S fIRST-EvER HOMEGROWN PlAyER. PhotograPhy By Don CuDney Photo | @DonCuDneyPhoto 42

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

THE GAMER DAvy ARMsTRonG is AlwAys GAMin’ Davy Armstrong is practically a kid. His age suggests so, as does his boyish grin. But his “9-to-5” is anything but child’s play. Despite his birth certificate, Armstrong makes a living by playing a big-boy game. But that doesn’t stop him from indulging in some “kid” fun.

His favorites are Metal Gear Solid, Battlefield, Halo, Dead Space and Call of Duty. But this obsession with video gaming excellence is nothing new. “Tecmo Super Bowl,” says Armstrong without hesitation when asked about his first memory as a gamer. “We’d play that game all the time. I was always San Francisco. Bo Jackson was fast, (but) Jerry Rice caught everything.

Armstrong is a gamer. A serious gamer. As in video gamer. “We still have it, so my brother and I will still go at it.” In fact, he estimates that he spends three hours per day honing his skills on some of his favorite video games. He plays solo. He plays his brother. He even plays online against his teammates from the Colorado Rapids.

“Nintendo. Super Nintendo. The first Game Boy. GameCube. Playstation. Xbox. PS3. And Xbox 360.” But for Armstrong, video games are more than a hobby, they’re a tactical way to rest up and stay out of trouble. “During the season, you come home from training and you’re too tired to do anything, so I put on my system,” he says. “I joke about it with my friends. They say, ‘All you do is play video games.’ And I say, ‘Nope, I’m recovering.’ It really does keep me away from exhausting myself before the next training (session).”

In a way, he’s a video game historian. “I’ve kept them all,” he says of his own gaming collection.

And when that next training session occurs, Armstrong is ready. After all, he’s a gamer.

@milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

1 Digs FEATURING THE WELCOMING HOME OF NUGGETs CENTER

KOSTA KOUFOS

LOCATION:

DeNver’S GOLDeN TrIANGLe

Tour by Julie browman PHoToS by JaTHan CamPbell

1 – Nuggets center Kosta Koufos is more than happy to call Denver home. After short stints in Utah and Minnesota, Kosta is settling in quite nicely here in the Mile High City. He is one of the nicest pro athletes you could hope to come across – so nice he graciously gave MHSM a tour of his Golden Triangle condo, where he and his girlfriend, Leia, feel right at home. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom home is in the perfect location for the Nuggets center. “It’s close to downtown, and it’s a place to get some peace and quiet,” he says. Given the choice on an off day, the couple would rather hang out in their cozy home than go out on the town. “I really just want to relax and spend time with Leia.” 2 – Last season, Kosta lived in the same building. This season he has moved to another unit. Part of the appeal of this particular space is that it came fully furnished. “It made everything so easy,” he explains. “It’s homey and it feels very comfortable.” 3 – Kosta’s condo is spacious and comfortable. It’s definitely a place you want to spend some time. However, it’s the balcony that is the home’s most unique feature. It’s absolutely huge! It wraps around the unit and has amazing 180-degree views of the mountains and the city both to the north and the south. The balcony is so big, there is room for a grill, a dining room set, and couch and chairs. “Before it got cold, we were out here all of the time,” says Kosta.

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

4 – When Kosta and Leia step out for a bite to eat in the neighborhood, they’ll head out to Cap City Tavern or Charlie Brown’s Bar and Grill. The two are also fans of the Cherry Creek area. However, staying in for meals is typically Kosta’s No. 1 choice. “Leia is a great cook,” he says. “She just made chicken parmesan, which was awesome. I’m spoiled. She’s a really good cook.” Leia is a little shyer about her cooking skills. “I attempt it,” she laughs.

@milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

5 5 – The master bedroom also boasts a great view of the mountains. In his third year with the team, Kosta is already a big fan of Colorado’s beauty. “We have been to Pike’s Peak and Garden of the Gods,” he says. “We also just like to drive around and look around.”

MUST SEE TV

The Nuggets big man lists his favorite shows for MHSM 1. South Park

“It’s a very funny show. I’m a huge South Park fan. It definitely has a different type of humor.”

6 – With the Nuggets, Kosta feels like like he has a place to call home. “I love it here,” he says. “I think Denver is a melting pot of different cultures. It’s not too big, and its not too small.” Part of the appeal of Denver is also the city’s large Greek community. “The Greek community has been very supportive. My first game at Pepsi Center there was a section of people waving Greek flags. It was great.”

2. Family Guy

“Same concept as South Park. I love cartoon shows. I also like that the show has a lot of guest stars.”

3. SportsCenter

“When I get a chance, I’ll watch basketball games and highlights.” Kosta will also catch The Top Ten and The Not So Top Ten segments. “I’ve been on both,” he smiles.

7 – With the huge balcony, the condo is more than big enough for the couple. Occasionally Kosta’s family will visit from Ohio, and stay with Kosta and Leia in their guest bedroom.

4. River Monsters

“It’s always interesting to see what’s lurking in the waters.”

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

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A SPORTS QUESTION FROM

A BEAUTIFUL GIRL

THE GIRL

brooke s.

Age: 23 Occupation: Professional sports dancer Favorite Team: CU Buffaloes (“Go Buffs!”) Favorite Athlete: Terrell Davis THE QUESTION

The original golf ball had no dimples. i have one dimple. Why do currenT golf balls have more Than 350 dimples?

THE ANSWER ah, ms. brooke, this is technically a science question rather than a sports inquiry. it is, however, an excellent one. you must be sharp. ¶ simply put, it’s a matter of resistance. according to a study that we thought about conducting, but then lazily deferred to the internet, golf balls (or any balls for that matter) are slowed down, and thrown slightly off course, because of the drag of air against the ball. This “friction” is minimized when dimples are added to the ball. ¶ more dimples mean less surface area, which causes less drag, thus equaling more distance. ¶ and you are correct; the first golf balls were, in fact, smooth. but golfers quickly realized that golf balls that had been heavily used – and scuffed – traveled straighter and further. as such, they began defacing them long before the first tee. ¶ in 1905, a golf ball manufacturer named William Taylor (his friends may or may not have called him “billy dimple”) was the first person to add dimples to his golf ball designs. by 1921, dimpled golf balls had become standardized and were the required equipment in major tournaments. during the 1930s, the use of dimpled golf balls became standard, and the dimple was there to stay. ¶ and now a question for you: Why don’t all girls have a dimple like yours? That seems to work pretty well. - Red Schaefley, MHSM senior editor

Photo by Jathan Campbell

@jathancphoto

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milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

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THE EXPERIENCE

THE EXPERIENCE: A Workout with Iggy The editor hits the gym with A.I.9 | by Doug Ottewill [Editor’s Note: A huge thanks to Steve Hess for taking the time, and to Andre Iguodala for being great sports.]

little more than a month ago, I was given (or gave myself) a new kind of writing assignment. For working purposes, we’re calling this new twist “The Experience.” The idea behind The Experience is to participate in something the average person doesn’t typically get to do, and then report back via the pages of Mile High Sports Magazine. This was the mission when I dialed up Steve Hess, the 15-year strength and conditioning coach of the Denver Nuggets. Hess is one of my favorite people in Denver sports. He’s a maniac, one of those guys who simply oozes passion for what he does. He’s also one of the best in the biz. He develops individualized exercise and nutrition programs for some of the greatest athletes in the world, and he’s one of just 12 trainers on the planet to sit in on the UnderArmour training council. “Steve, I need you to put me through a real NBA workout,” I told him. I’m a dying basketball player. Despite my age, I’m not ready to let go of the game, but it creeps away from me a little more each year. To heck with it; let’s see how far away it really is. Put me through the ringer, Steve. I’m never going to make it as an NBA player (this I realized long ago), but I’d like to say I worked out like one some day. That kind of tale is barstool gold. “I’ll do you one bettah,” Hess said on the other line in his South African accent. “I’m going to put you through Andre Iguodala’s workout – with Andre Iguodala.” Whoa. This got pretty serious pretty fast. The whole workout like a pro concept sounded pretty cool, until it became, workout with a pro. I’m a Nuggets fan through and through, and the last thing I’d ever want is for the organization’s Dream Teamer to look up in the stands and think, “There’s the a$$clown who messed up my workout.” I can see it now. Nuggets down two. Time running out. Iguodala pulls up for a three… Short. No legs. Why? Because of me, impeding the progress of one of the world’s greatest athletes.

league. I’ll do some extra pushups, maybe a set of suicides beforehand, and I’ll be good to go. Less than a week after my phone call with Hess, I arrive at Pepsi Center – at 8:15 in the morning. I’m greeted by Hess, who’s already bouncing off the walls. As has been written many times in this magazine, the guy is like the freaking Energizer Bunny. He does more before 8:00 a.m. than most people do all week. And he never stops. Iguodala is allegedly like this, as well. Hess has prepped me that Iggy is always the first Nugget in the gym, and he never skips a workout. According to Hess, “There’s nobody better to work out with.” What am I walking into? “I’m not going to kill you,” Hess assures me.

“Sounds great, Steve. I’m in.” Gulp. Super news. The truth of the matter is, no matter how ridiculous or illogical it sounds, there’s that faint voice in my head, the one that used to be an athlete, whispering, “You’ve got this. You can hang.” Besides, I work out. I get to the gym – two, maybe three times a week. I play hoops on Monday nights in the ol’ coulda-woulda-shoulda

He tells me that if I ever feel like I’ve “hit a limit,” just to let him know. Right. I’ve seen Hess work guys out before. He’s like a drill sergeant, but 100 percent positive. No matter what, I’m not going to tell this guy I’m tired. I’m definitely not going to do so in front of a Denver’s new A.I., who happens to love practice (Remember: No impeding the progress of the Nuggets).

@milehighsports

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

Creativity is a trademark of every Steve Hess workout.

“I’M goINg To puT You THRougH ANdRe IguodALA’S WoRKouT – wiTH ANdRe IguodALA.”

Hess employs ropes for his shoulder workouts – ropes that seemingly get heavier as you go.

- Steve Hess

Hess assures me that this workout isn’t going to be of the “heavy weight” variety. A little bit of everything – “whole body stuff.” Lots of core stability. And lots of intensity. Thirty minutes – tops – and we’re done. Sounds reasonable. We begin by shifting a medicine ball from one hand to the other while walking at a brisk pace on the treadmill. I’m on the left. Iguodala’s on the right. He doesn’t appear to be put out by my presence, but it’s still early. He looks over and says, “Let’s do this.” Iguodala also tells me that he’s been experiencing a little pain after seeing the dentist – doesn’t feel as good as he normally does. Could it be that I’m catching a break? Hess doesn’t care about sore teeth, or the fact that I’m a decade older than Iguodala and currently a free agent – literally, a free agent. His only concern is the day’s goal – “GET BETTAH!” – a mantra he reminds us loudly and repeatedly throughout the workout. After we hop off the treadmill, Hess begins to put us through the gauntlet. He has us doing the exact same exercises, but we’re alternating stations. We’re doing stuff I’ve never done before, and we’re doing it fast. We’re utilizing what feels like every muscle group in the body.

As the workout progresses, I’m surprised that I’m hanging in there with Iguodala. There’s no question he’s “better” than me at each of the stages, but I’m not completely drained of energy just yet. For exercises that involve weight or resistance cables, we’re doing the same number of reps, but Iguodala is using approximately 15 to 30 pounds more than I am – and I’m okay with that. Most importantly, I don’t feel like I’m slowing him down.

Kettle bells and lunges showed plenty of my weaknesses...

By the last set of exercises, however, I begin to feel the burn. These final few minutes remind me that I’m not ready for big boy basketball. I’m a moderately conditioned office guy trying to hang with an elite athlete. Still, Hess is in our ear. “don’t stop now! don’t quit on me now, dougie!” he barks. “gimme three more! Two more! one more! “okay, we’re done!” In typical Steve Hess fashion, he’s slapping high fives and telling me how well I’ve done. Iguodala offers up a much-appreciated hand slap, as well. I don’t believe I’ve ruined his workout.

...and exactly how much stronger iguodala is comparitively.

But here’s the kicker: Both of us have to get back to work.

Legs. Shoulders. Chest presses. More shoulders. Curls. Kickbacks. Reverse flys. You name it, and Hess has somehow figured out how to include it in our 30-minute session.

I’ve got a staff meeting where I’ll sit down in a “pleather” chair for 45 minutes. Iguodala will walk out the door and onto the Nuggets practice court, where he’ll be checking the likes of danilo gallinari and Corey Brewer for the next two hours. I’m done, but he’s just getting started.

No specific exercise, in and of itself, is all that tough. But it’s the speed and intensity that Hess demands from one drill to the next that make this experience both challenging and effective.

And therein lies the difference between an NBA superstar and me. Well, that, unfathomable god-given talent and about five digits on our bank statements.

Want to watch the video? Log onto milehighsports.com, search “Workout with Iggy” and see if Ottewill turns green.

Assistant strength and conditioning coach Felipe Eichenberger checks his stopwatch, wondering how long i’ll last. @milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

THE NEW

COACH MAC ONE-ON-ONE WiTH CU’s NEW fOOTball COaCH

THE MILE HIGH INTERVIEW

MIKE MACINTYRE Interview by Woody Paige; Foreword by James Merilatt

t’s been a tumultuous few years for football at the University of Colorado. On the field, the team has struggled, winning only four games during the past two seasons. And off the field, recent months have brought the controversial firing of Jon Embree, bad blood with former players and a much-publicized rejection from Butch Jones. In the wake of these troubles, CU

needed to find someone to take over the reins and right the ship. Athletic director Mike Bohn found his man. He turned to a coach who has spent his life surrounded by the game, living and breathing the sport in a region of the country where football is king. He’s the son of a coach. He played defensive back at Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech. He’s been an assistant

coach on both sides of the ball – at small colleges, at big schools and in the NFL. And he was the head man during a remarkable rebuilding job at San Jose State. Now, he’s the coach charged with changing the fortunes at Colorado. He’s the man responsible for returning the Buffaloes to prominence. He’s this month’s Mile High Interview – Mike MacIntyre.

@milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

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Welcome to Colorado, first of all. I heard that you hadn’t been to Boulder before. Obviously, you’ve been to Colorado with San Jose State playing CSU. When you were with the Cowboys and the Jets, did you ever come to Denver for games here? No, we didn’t. Denver came to us; we never came here. So you haven’t been out here on vacations like everybody else? I went to Durango once to ski at Purgatory. But that was back in college, a long time ago. It was on spring break. Some college friends and I flew out here.

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One of the things that Mike (Bohn) told me impressed him about you was your attention to detail. That’s something that Bill Parcells was really known for. Starting with Parcells, and then including your father and David Cutcliffe – who has worked with both Peyton and Eli Manning – you’ve had the opportunity to be with a number of very good coaches. What did you learn from being around those kinds of guys? With Parcells, I really learned the organizational factor of practice. That was one of my jobs when I was with him in Dallas; I did the practice schedule for him. I learned a tremendous amount. The other thing I learned from Bill was how to evaluate players; he’s a phenomenal evaluator of talent. And then, how he builds a team was very impressive. I learned a lot of other things, but those three really stand out. I know you’ve gotten a great deal from your father. But if I recall, one of the main things was teaching you the values of life. I’ve heard that you’ve carried that one; talking to players about values before you go into film study and that sort of thing. You’re involved with FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). Was that approach one of the major things you took from him? My father really cared about people. He had no ego; what you saw was what you got. He cared about young people being successful. He cared about what was going on in their lives and he wanted to help teach them life lessons, to help them grow into great husbands, great fathers and great people in society. That was very, very important to him. He did a lot of things to mentor young men and help them through a lot of situations, trying to teach them the things that really, really matter. From the other coaches you’ve worked with, were there any things that stood out? David Cutcliffe is the best college football coach in America. His knowledge of the game is amazing – offensive, defensive and special teams. The way he is able to coach the coaches, so to speak, 56

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

understand recruiting and fundraising, building facilities – he can do a little bit of everything. That’s what’s so special about him. Another thing I learned from David is how he is so honest with everybody. He really cares for the people that he works with. That meant a lot. But he is a phenomenal, intense football coach; one of the best minds I’ve ever been around. We all take things from other people, but then have to develop our own style. Having taken all of those things from other coaches that you’ve worked with, what do you think is the best attribute you’ve developed on your own? Bill Parcells used to always say, “I want you to do the things I’m implementing in the program, but always be your own personality. Don’t try to be my personality. Don’t try to be another coach’s personality.” I think that I am my own person, but I have had so many people invest in my life and my profession. The one thing that I have always had is a tremendous amount of passion. If you met me, followed me around all day, saw me on the practice field with the kids and saw me at the games, you’d see that I have a tremendous amount of passion and a tremendous amount of energy. I like to invest in people. And I love the competition of football. That’s the attribute that intertwines with everything else. What really brought you to Colorado? For a guy who hasn’t spent a lot of time here, what drew you to this place? You could have waited for other opportunities; what steered you toward Boulder? This might sound a little funny, but when I was in college I played at Georgia Tech and the year after I graduated, Georgia Tech and Colorado split the national championship. That was very vivid in my mind, reminding me of what Colorado has been. And in the early 2000s, they won a lot of Big 12 championships during the time I was with the Cowboys; so I noticed that success a lot. So I just felt like this was a school that has a lot of passion, is a great academic institution and is in a beautiful area. Things go in cycles. I saw that they’re on the down cycle, so I hope that I can be the one to help them come back on an up cycle. They have a history of being able to do that. It’s not something that would be unbelievable. So I just felt like it was a phenomenal opportunity to be able to help Colorado come back to college football prominence. My favorite place in the world to eat is right across the street from Georgia Tech. The Varsity?

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You got it. When I was at Georgia Tech, you’d have 1,000 students eating there at midnight during exam time. That was always a lot of fun. Nobody here will know what we’re talking about. No, they won’t. But if they’re ever there, they gotta get an orange slush drink. Do you remember what they say when you go to the counter? I just know they make your order fast. What do they say? I forgot. Whatcha got? Whatcha got? That’s right. (Laughs). That’s exactly right! You spent two years at Vanderbilt as a player, where your father was the head coach. You’ve been at Duke as the defensive coordinator. Both of those are great academic institutions, but both have found it difficult to win on the football field. Colorado is a very good academic institution. Do your previous experiences make you aware of the challenges that a coach faces when trying to accomplish both things at a high level? Yes, I’m aware of those challenges. But I tell you, I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing at all. The way all of the NCAA standards are ramping up over the next couple of years, there are more studentathletes that will be viable for places like Vanderbilt, Duke, Stanford and Colorado. The whole landscape of college football is changing on that front, more so than people have noticed. Bill McCartney told me, and I’m paraphrasing, that Colorado should be willing to take a look at studentathletes who maybe are marginal in terms of test scores and grades but have great potential to graduate. Bill said that’s what he looked at when he was recruiting. And like you, he was a great recruiter. Both of you were named Assistant Coach of the Year during your careers. He felt like someone who wasn’t a great high school student could be molded into graduating, if you saw the potential in a young man. Do you think that’s true and do you think that’s something you’d like to emphasize during recruiting? Coach McCartney is a phenomenal coach and he did an unbelievable job here at Colorado. What he’s saying there is that as a recruiter, you get to know these young men. And when you get to know them, you’ll find some young men who might have come from an environmental situation that hindered them a little bit, but you know they have the want-to, the will and the work ethic, and if they’re put in the right environment, they’d have a chance to succeed. It’s a chance to

change their stars, so to speak. There are some young men who can do that. But you have to really know the young man and know that they have the ability to face those challenges, to persevere and to become successful. You’ve worked in a number of different offensive and defensive systems. You adopted sort of a pistol-style offense at San Jose State, correct? When you say “pistol,” most people think it’s all option. We just line up in the pistol formation, in the gun. But we can run the ball downhill, run the power game, run the inside zone, run counter, run hard play-action pass, use our tight ends and hit deep crossing routes. But also when you’re in the gun, you can get the ball out of your hands quickly, running bubbles, quick screens and spread stuff. We have a very good mixture of being able to hit somebody in the mouth and run downhill, plus being able to do boots, play action and those types of things. It keeps the defense in conflict. And then we’re able to do a lot of the spread concepts that people like to use today, getting it to our receivers in open space and let them make some people miss. I like what we do. I think it also helps our defense get better; they can play against downhill running teams and also spread stuff. Overall, it helps our whole football team. Do you think that the altitude here is conducive to an offense that’s run at a faster pace? Is that going to be part of your scheme and philosophy, trying to wear opponents down because of the altitude? That’s a very good point. When I was at San Jose State, we were 30th in the country in scoring offense, but we also led our league in time of possession. We were able to keep the ball moving, run the football and have different speeds to our offense. One of the speeds that we do quite often is the hurry-up. We call it “Indy,” or “IndyCar,” speed. That means speed it up and go; here we go. That is something we’ll definitely do here. You’ve had a background as a player and as a coach on the defensive side of the ball. Personally, are you more interested in defense? I wouldn’t say that. I have worked on both sides of the ball. I worked for David Cutcliffe for two years as his receivers coach (at Ole Miss), so I was able to sit in there and see him tutor Eli Manning. That really helped me tremendously in my growth as a coach. But I’ve also been a defensive coordinator; I learned a tremendous amount in that role. I am hands on, on both sides of the ball, but probably a little bit more so on defense just because I really enjoy working with the secondary. You’ll see me on the practice field working with the defensive backs, throwing balls and doing drills. You kind

@milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

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of revert back to your first love, so to speak. I love working with those secondary guys, so I can gravitate toward there. A lot of the students at Colorado are from outside the state. It’s an interesting mix, not unlike other Pac-12 schools, such as Cal and Stanford. So it’s important to engage them with the football team. How are you going to reach out to the student body, to get them to get behind what you’re trying to do? I’ll definitely go out and speak to different groups. But the main thing we have to do is make Saturdays exciting again; we need the kids looking forward to it during the week. That just adds something to the whole college experience. College football in the South is a different experience. Is it possible for you to bring that kind of flavor here? I sure hope I can. That’s what I grew up and cut my teeth on. Saturdays in the Southeastern Conference are all-day affairs. People get there at eight o’clock in the morning and tailgate all day, and then they sit out there until late in the evening talking about the game afterwards. It’s kind of a ritual, to say the least. I know here at Colorado that we have great fans. Folsom Field is a great place to play. And with the way the Pac-12 is now, with all of the television,

took the job at San Jose State that the school was hiring a smart coach, but now they need to find out if you were a good coach. He said that everyone would know by 2011. So he was a pretty smart columnist on that one. When you arrived in that situation, which was certainly as challenging as this one, there were a lot of people wondering about you. And now once again, they’re wondering about you. Obviously, you’re a smart young man. You are a good coach, but people want to find out if you were a good hire. What do you think you learned by the experience in San Jose that you bring to Colorado, having done it once before? I learned to stick to my plan, work my plan and stay focused. Do it the right way. If you find roadblocks, go over them, around them or dig a ditch underneath them; just keep moving along your path to your ultimate goal. Eventually, through perseverance and hard work, we will be successful. When that will happen, I don’t know. But I know it will happen. Have you been given assurances that you’ll have the time to implement your plan? Did it concern you that your predecessor only had two years? No program in the country assures you of any amount of time. I think what they look for is progress on a daily basis. We’ll

the main thing we have to do is make saturdays exciting again; we need the kids looking forward to it during the week. - Mike MacIntyre

it’s bringing the conference more and more to the forefront. That adds a little more pageantry to things. At San Jose State, you were surrounded by the Pac-12. So you aren’t coming into a conference that you’re unfamiliar with in terms of recruiting against those schools. How did that prepare you for what you’ll be dealing with over the next several years? You’re exactly right; we were completely surrounded by it with Stanford and Cal. We also played UCLA. We played against some Pac-12 teams. And I understand Pac-12 recruiting. I’m very familiar with the teams, with their styles of offense and defense. A lot of the film we watched was of Pac-12 teams because a lot of our opponents played against teams from the conference, as well. One of my best friends in the business, Mark Purdy (columnist for the San Jose Mercury News), wrote when you 58

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

show them progress. People that were around the program at San Jose State could tell we were making progress even before it showed up on the football field. They could tell that the academics were changing. They could tell that the weight room was changing. They could tell that the practice effort was changing. We didn’t have as many knuckleheads. Everything was changing along the way. Eventually, you build the foundation and the wins start coming. That will happen and we’ll keep continually showing progress. The bad thing about our business is that most of your progress is judged on Saturday afternoon on the scoreboard. But before that can start clicking your way, there are a lot of things that have to happen. These young men and our coaching staff have to keep building upon the foundation. There is a nucleus of young players at CU who are good. So is your first

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Mike MaCintyre

the coach’s journey to Boulder

player and be able to evaluate them correctly. We want to make sure the young men who are BCS football players come to the University of Colorado. That’s extremely important to me. We’ll do clinics in the area. We’ll do traveling camps. We’ll make our presence known. The only way to have people understand you is flesh to flesh. It’s not by an email. It’s not by a text message. It’s going out there to meet them, looking them eye to eye. I’m going to do that. Our coaches are going to do that. Eventually, that’ll pay off and help us get a lot of good young men from Colorado to play at the University of Colorado.

Playing Career 1984-85 – Vanderbilt 1987-88 – Georgia Tech Coaching Career 1990-91 – Georgia (Asst.) 1992 – Davidson (DC) 1993-96 – Tennessee-Martin (DC) 1997-98 – Temple (DC) 1999-2002 – Ole Miss (WR/DB) 2003-06 – Dallas Cowboys (DB) 2007 – New York Jets (DB) 2008-09 – Duke (DC) 2010-12 – San Jose State (HC) 2013-Present – Colorado (HC)

priority to keep them on board, with the second priority being the recruiting of players to join them? As a head coach, you start letting these young men know that you care. Then, you have to start letting them see your expertise, to show them that you’re able to help them achieve their goals, both on and off the football field. Once they realize how much we care and what we do, then these young men will want to stay. But they have to give you time to be able to show that. It doesn’t happen in one meeting. You ask them to give you time, so you can show them in the spring, summer and next fall that you can be successful. On the recruiting front, is an all-year process. It’s just like shaving; you can’t miss a day or it shows. We’ll keep working that and we’ll start producing good results eventually. I would assume the meeting with the current players is something where you say, “Give me a chance and I’ll give you a chance; before you make a rash decision, take a look at what we’re doing here.” Is that a fair statement? That’s exactly right. That basically sums it all up. We’re all going through different situations, so let’s work together and give each other a chance to learn about each other. Once we do, I know it’ll fit well and we’ll be very successful. It’s been reported that you had your coaches meet with every high school coach in California when you were at San Jose State. I assume you’ll do the same thing here. Colorado hasn’t connected for years and years and years with the high school coaches in the state. As a result, it’s almost like coaches here steer their players to schools other than CU. I think what’s been missing is what you did at San Jose State, actually reaching out and connecting to the high school coaches. How critical is that to you? We’re definitely going to reach out and try to hit every single school in the state of Colorado. I have coaches who cover every area of the state. We want to turn over every stone. We want to find every

I’m sure you found out in California that there are a lot of places that don’t get a lot of attention. The same is true here in Colorado. Yes we did. There were a lot of places that San Jose State hadn’t been in 10 years. We showed up. The school might not have had a player, but they had a coach who knew a coach at another school where they had a good player. All of the connections intertwine. If they know you are out there genuinely trying to find young men to play at the University of Colorado, it helps. Religion is very important in the South, so I know that’s a part of your life. How have your religious background and convictions affected you as a football coach? My faith has given me strength and the ability to handle pressure situations. It has also helped give me hope in life. That has really given me a great peace as I deal with all types of situations that arise. It has been a steadying experience for me and given me the ability to cope with things. Is there a book beyond the Bible that is really important to you in your life? I like the book Good to Great. It talks about how you need to focus on certain, very important things and not a bunch of things. It’s a few key things that are what make you successful. What do you do to get away from football? What is the other side of you that allows you to have some peace? I enjoy going out for runs. That gets my mind freed up. I really enjoy being around my family. Watching my kids play ball is really an enjoyable thing for me to do to relax and put life in perspective. I hit the golf ball every once in a while at events, but I don’t get a chance to get out very much; I’d rather spend time with my family. Have you discovered that Boulder is an unusual, special place? I’ve been too busy, but my wife and daughter have really enjoyed it, going around and seeing everything. It’s definitely a neat place.

@milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

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Here’s How it Happened. i swear to nkulunkulu. Jim tracy is sitting on tHe sofa in His House off tHe 11tH tee in tHe estates at cHerry creek country club. it’s decorated like a clubHouse. purple carpet. bins of sunflower seeds. group sHowers. a rub down table. read on 60

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

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Does that giraffe have a sports hernia?

It’s only a few days after he’s resigned as the Colorado Rockies manager following a franchise-worst 98-loss season. The San Francisco Giants have just claimed the National League pennant, winning three straight over the Cardinals, and 37-year-old Marco Scutaro, dealt by the Rox in July, hit .500 and won the NLCS MVP. “He hits .270 for us, goes to San Fran, thinks he’s Willie Mays and hits .360,” Tracy mutters. “Can’t anybody play baseball in this cowtown? Everybody we trade becomes an All-Star. Huston Street? Jesus! Thank God for Ubaldo. He couldn’t win in Williamsport.” Even his ex-boss Clint Hurdle managed to win 15 more games than he did, in godforsaken Pugahuh no less. And another ex-Rox manager in another dismal burg, Jim “Mail It In” Leyland, has just led Detroit to the World Series. And Chris Iannetta? The one smart trade Colorado made and Iannetta signs a threeyear, $15.5 million deal with the Angels. What kind of game is this where a lifetime .235 hitter can make four times the salary of a brilliant baseball man? Tracy calls his wife in. She’s been chipping whiffleballs in the backyard.

ill-tempereD anD near-sighteD rhinos, the umpires of africa.

“Debra, let’s get the hell out of here before the Series starts and Scutaro drives in the winning run in game seven or some crazy nonsense. And call a decorator and change this godawful purple color scheme. “Let’s go someplace where they never heard of a pitch count, a squeeze bunt, the infield fly rule or a can of bleeping corn,” Tracy says to Debra, trying not to sound like he’s yelling at another head case who can’t throw a first strike at Coors Field. “How about Africa? I’ve never heard of a ballplayer from Africa, have you? Although I can think of a few I would have liked to have sent there. Along with the whole front office.” Two days later, Jim and Debra are sitting in economy class on a South African Airlines flight from Dulles to Johannesburg. “You couldn’t get business class?” Tracy asks Debra. “I tried to use your miles but United said they didn‘t have an opening until 2015. Hey, it’s only 14 hours.” “The cheap humps. Stewardess. You got any sunflower seeds?” “I’ll need to see your credit card, sir.” “Sh*t.”

@milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

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After a restless night and refueling stop in Dakar, the Tracy’s debark in Joburg, then catch a flight to Durban on the east coast overlooking the Indian Ocean. A driver transports them three hours to the Zulu Nyala Game Lodge, which will be their home base for six days of safaris. At eight the next morning, they board an open-topped truck with three other couples and their guide – a lean, spry, effervescent Zulu named Peace. He reminds Tracy of Ubaldo Jimenez and his crazy grin after he’d walked two batters and given up a three-run home run. He doesn’t share this with Debra. He’s vowed not to think about baseball. But as they bounce through the bush and encounter animal after animal, he can’t help but make comparisons between the animals and his former players. It’s springtime in the bush and there are newborns everywhere; it reminds him of his September lineup. The 60-mph cheetah is Dexter Fowler. The 11,000-pound elephant blocking the road is the front office, standing in the way of progress. The wounded wildebeest limping along the savanna is Todd Helton. “Some vacation,” he grouses to himself. “I can’t quit thinking about baseball.” Jim keeps his own counsel and doesn’t relay any of the animal-baseball comparisons to Debra. She deserves a break from “the game” and a chance to enjoy the game. “Looks like we need another 20 elephant photos, Deb,” is all he says.

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

But after a week on safari, he can’t wait to check out of the Zulu Nyala Lodge. After a few nights at the Oyster Box Hotel ($1,100 a night for the Deluxe Suite facing the Indian Ocean) in Durban, Jim and Debra fly to Capetown and settle into a quaint bed and breakfast in the Franschhoek (Dutch for “French Corner”) wine region in the Western Cape Province. They’ve rented the honeymoon suite at La Petite Ferme, a small but spectacular vineyard and winery. The food and the wine are magnificent. They’ve got their own private pool, where they spend afternoons gazing out over the vineyard, sipping the winery’s crisp sauvignon blanc, noting the hints of grapefruit and overtones of passion fruit. Their reservation is open-ended. Jim hasn’t thought about baseball since they were in a bar in Durban a week before, watching a cricket match on TV. “Looks a lot like baseball,” Debra said. “Yup,” said Jim and ordered another Carling Black Label. They left their cell phones and iPads at home and don’t know what’s happening back in the States, much less any baseball news. Tracy misses the playoffs about as much as he misses the political ads and Dinger. It’s about 10 o’clock and Tracy is into the second hour of his morning bath, reading his favorite magazine, anticipating stepping onto the bathroom’s heated floors and wrapping himself in a heated towel.

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He hears the hotel phone ring and Debra calls out, “Jim, you’ve got a call from the States. It’s Kelly Doherty.”

“Holy sh*t,” Tracy says. “Most of my guys couldn’t throw 12 innings in a month.”

“Who in Nkulunkulu’s name is Kelly Doherty and how in the hell did he find us?”

“We don’t generally use ‘holy’ and ‘sh*t’ in the same sentence here, Mr. Tracy. The Jesuits frown on it.”

“Dunno. Guess you’d better talk to him.”

“You got a shortstop with a tender groin or a catcher who gives up 22 passed balls? An inane mascot? Any of the players make more money than the manager?”

Tracy reluctantly works his way out of the big tub and drips his way to the phone. “Tracy here. Whaddayawant?” “My name’s Kelly Doherty, Mr. Tracy. I’m the athletic director at Regis High School in Denver. We’ve got an opening for a varsity baseball coach. You interested?” “You know I lost 98 games this year, doncha?” “Yeah,” Doherty says, “but you had a lot of injuries, front office interference, rookies, that 75-pitch thing. Besides, you couldn’t lose more than 20 games in a high school season. The job’s yours if you want it.” “Your office wouldn’t be right across from mine, would it?” Tracy asks. “You wouldn’t even have your own office,” Doherty replies. “You’d share one with all the other coaches. The only coaches here who have their own offices are Coach Shaw, our basketball coach, and my brother, Michael, the swimming coach. “You got a pitch count?” Tracy asks. “Kids can’t throw more than 12 innings in three consecutive calendar days; 70 innings in a season.”

“Not officially,” Doherty says. “How long’s the season?” “Maybe three months,” says Doherty. “Think we could wrap this up, Mr. Tracy? This call’s costing a fortune. We’re on a pretty tight budget here at Regis Jesuit. Except for swimming and basketball, of course. Hey, you want the job or not? I’ve got Ozzie Guillen on the other line.” “You don’t want Guillen. He can put a lot more than ‘holy’ and ‘sh*t’ together in a sentence. I’ll take it,” Tracy says.

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BRING ON

As we enter 2013, it seems like everything starts anew. Spring is highly overrated. It is in January where we can truly begin again. It is where we can lose weight, stop smoking and in general stop behaving like pigs. You breathe a deep breath of fresh air and say to yourself, “Well, I’m certainly not gonna do that same sh@#! again this year.” Best wishes and intentions abound for brilliance in the new year, and with that I proudly stand shoulder to shoulder with our local sports teams. Santa has nothing on what I now present. The gift that keeps on giving. The blameless, guiltless, sure-fire answers and expectations for the new year. DENVER BRONCOS

breaking down the sports landscape ahead By D-Mac

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

You can’t really ask much more from this team than what they have done. Acquiring Peyton Manning was the “mic drop” moment in John Elway’s career. As Manning’s health questions have drifted away into oblivion, he almost seems like a bargain. There is no doubt that no matter what, the Broncos will contend for a Super Bowl as long as Manning is the quarterback. It’s hard to believe we are two years removed from Hurricane Josh McDaniels and the gimmicky success of Tim Tebow. Sure, there were some eyebrow-raising moments about the draft. The Broncos could’ve done better. They could’ve had Doug Martin and Derek Wolfe if they hadn’t coveted covet Brock Osweiller so much. Hey, Kirk Cousins looks like a pretty good late-round pick up, huh? But, that is simple quibbling and nobody likes a quibbler. The fact of the matter is that through free agency and drafting correctly (by choosing Von Miller instead of Marcel Dareus), the Broncos have assured themselves a high level of success.

In addition, John Fox was an absolute brilliant hire. Its not that he’s the most innovative guy in the world. Heck, he’ll tell you himself he’s just a P.E. major. But, Fox allows coaches to coach and he isn’t threatened in the least by accomplished coaches being on his staff. I can’t imagine Jack Del Rio will be back, but that is okay. There will be somebody like him out there. Mike McCoy will probably be history too, but look who’s an OC now – Jim Caldwell, who tutored Manning for so many years in Indy. Great assistants exist and love working with a guy like Fox who lets them do their thing. McDaniels ran off Mike Nolan and replaced him with a dude who had never been a DC, never mind a head coach. Hey, we all thought the name Wink Martindale was cute, but good ol’ Wink would’ve been better suited to Tic Tac Dough. Instead, as he ran the defense, it was just d’oh-d’oh-D’OH! The Broncos have the right people in charge and the right people on the field. They have reached out to the fan base with an openness that is rarely seen. It’s home run after home run for this team. However, they are quietly desperate for one last piece of the puzzle. Quinton Carter slipped on a bad piece of carpet in a dimly lit indoor bubble that ruined his entire season during training camp. Fortunately for the team, Rahim Moore played to his level of expectation, but the lack of a significant indoor facility is an embarrassment. They have to be smart about how they move forward because even though they own the land to make this capital improvement, there are politics connected to building the facility, so they have to massage this maneuver. However, telling players to drive themselves over to an indoor crap hole that is better suited for youth soccer teams during training camp and inclement weather days has simply got to end. I’ve spoken to Joe Ellis and Fox about this issue and it’s going to happen. This is a move not for the Manning era, but for the next 50 years of Broncos football. Denver Broncos, I hereby bequeath to you in 2013: The Elway Fieldhouse.

Rich guys don’t fire themselves and rich guys don’t sell their teams for the greater good. The Monfort brothers act more like the Ringling brothers with collapsing tents. Recently, Dick Monfort and Dan O’Dowd (who is in charge of what now exactly?) went on a bit of a goodwill tour. It was a positive step. Also, quietly and behind the scenes, the Rockies have moved Jay Alves from a direct contact relationship with media outlets and have given that job to a bright, young and energetic guy named Nick Piburn. Again, this is a smart move that will curry more favor with basically everybody in the media. However, Weiss may have his most challenging moments off the field rather than on the diamond. There was a prominent player on the team who was shocked that Weiss would take a job in which a great deal of his responsibilities will be dealing with the media. It was literally laughable. But again, we will all give Weiss a shot and basically blame him for nothing. He hired his pal, Dante Bichette, who also has been an experienced hitting coach with high school kids – most notably his own son. Weiss knows the game. Bichette knows how to hit. But can the organization keep its head above water? The opening home game lineup and the closing home game lineup were completely different. Pitching is one of the mysteries of the universe here in Colorado, but somehow, someway, we’ve seen this team play in a World Series. It can happen again, but was the miracle of ‘07 just a fluke or a repeatable model? Colorado Rockies, in 2013 I hereby bequeath to you: The incredibly misguided but unmistakably non-sensible loyalty of the Colorado baseball fan. We’ll be back in droves.

ROCKIES

The laundry list of needs is beyond epic. The maneuvers reek of an Embree-like administration. Hey, let’s hire a friend and then let him hire three friends and let those three friends hire six friends and let those six friends hire the batboy who is also in charge of season ticket sales. This isn’t a joke, the Rockies reached out to hire a manager that didn’t even apply for the job. And to boot, they hired him away – from a high school. I’ve been beaten over the head with “Walt Weiss is a good guy” so much, I feel like Nancy Kerrigan’s knee. I’m simply not buying it. I’m not buying it, not because I think Weiss is a jerk, but I simply don’t trust the people who are making the decisions. Listen, you know something is wrong with an organization when they can’t convince their current manager, who led his team to the worst record in team history, to return to his job where he makes $1.4 million a year. If Jim Tracy’s message to the fan base is, “These guys don’t have a clue,” then why should we trust in what they do?

@milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

DENVER NUGGETS

This is a tough one. On opening night, I sat down with Josh Kroenke and with a gleam in his eye, he happily discussed his 18-month obsession and debut of the Nuggets new gold uniforms. I promise you, in person, these things look great; but on TV, they look like leftover Thanksgiving squash. Actually, maybe the uniforms look closer to the leftover dried residue that collects on the opening of a mustard nozzle. Now that I think of it, the uniforms just look like mucus you would either cough up or blow out your nose – probably blow out your nose more than cough up. I swear to God, in person, individually, the uniforms are cool. There was no way of knowing how awful they would appear when grouped together. Sadly, this appears to be true for the team itself. Individually, there isn’t a weak spot on this squad, but once again we don’t have a clear-cut leader or identity. Every J.R. Smith swished jumper in New York City is a painful reminder of how we simply lost a player because he couldn’t get along with George Karl. Now, we have a team of choirboys who seem to love playing for Karl and he seems to love coaching – and they have settled into absolute mediocrity. Nobody is all that surprised and the road schedule for the Nuggets has been brutal early in this season. So, I’m not going to jump to final judgments. But there needs to be better cohesion, better chemistry and better coordination or this team is going to lose a lot of close games and find itself bounced out of the first round once again. Denver Nuggets, in 2013, I bequeath to you: A bona fide leader in Ty Lawson and a reliable jump shot from Danilo Gallinari.

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

COLORADO AVALANCHE

FEBRUARY

8-10 VAIL-CO

2013

Well, what do you want from me? Miracles? You can’t have ‘em. When I see Matt Duchene tweeting how psyched he is that his team from Moosejaw is on a three-game winning streak, I want to absolutely throw up in my replica Stanley Cup that has been collecting dust in the basement for the past decade. I swear, this is a recent Duchene tweet: “Great final night last night in Göteborg with the boys. Best of luck in the rest of the season. I’ll be watching! #FrolundaHC. Now onto my next stop... Switzerland! Excited to be the newest member of AmbriPiotta! Can’t wait to get there and get started #ForzaAmbri” What the F@#$!? Are you kidding me? Hey, it’s clear, the players have moved on. Why wouldn’t they when there are hockey teams that sound like medicines willing to pay these guys to play part-time? Duchene is excited about playing hockey in Switzerland in December? You mean we can’t get you to miss a roadie to Alberta on a Tuesday night? Duchene, like the vast majority of other hockey players, is just doing what is logical. He is giving up on the NHL. Kyle Quincey has kept it local and plays for the Cutthroats whose logo is a fish. Their slogan is “Go Fish!” Nevermind 16W, we have card game banter! It’s absolutely pathetic and for me it’s completely over. I don’t care if the NHL ever comes back. My son is a travel hockey player, so I’ll be at 40 or so hockey games that truly matter this year. I’ll see hockey played by kids who love it and coaches who spend their free time coaching it. I will love hockey more than ever and travel with my kid all over the country to see hockey. So guess what NHL? I don’t give a damn what you do. I don’t care what your issues are. I don’t care when and if you come back because I won’t be there to watch either way. You blew it. Colorado Avalanche, in 2013, I bequeath to you: NOTHING, especially not my time.

SOME QUICK HITTERS

CU football, in 2013, I bequeath to you: Some loyal college students who will be real fans – in a sad season, that was the saddest. How lazy or drunk can you be if you aren’t willing to walk across the quad to go to a game? Give me a break. You’ve now got Dan Hawkins 2.0 with coach Mike Mac. Get ‘em going, Coach! Colorado Rapids, I bequeath to you: A tattooed, slightly worn down superstar from Europe. The David Beckham experiment actually worked. Go and get one of those guys – maybe Messi in 10 years. What, he makes how much? Uh, well maybe somebody with weird hair from Colombia. DU Pioneers, in 2013, I bequeath to you: The attention you deserve in hockey and lacrosse – two incredible programs that just get better and better every year. Does coaching matter? Take a peek at what is happening on that campus. CU basketball, in 2013, I bequeath to you: A contract extension for Tad Boyle. What a turnaround! Mike Bohn may not be able to locate a football coach, but boy he hit a home run with Boyle. Now you’ve got to pay the man or he’ll be gone, too. Is it possible we really could have March Madness in this state year after year? Finally, to you, the sports fan, in 2013, I bequeath to you: My deepest respects. You keep showing up. You keep pulling for those frustrating teams. You keep caring when, for every reason in the book, it looks like you are being held up at sports gunpoint. It is amazing to watch day in and day out, game in and game out, the love and passion of the sports fans in not only the teams, but in the participation itself of sport. It’s 2013, and it’s going to be a great year. @milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

S K I :: C L I M B S N O W S H O E :: B I K E R U N :: N O R D I C F I L M :: T E L E D O G S :: P H O T O

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milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

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A Nod to History RemembeRiNg ColoRado’S 10th mouNtaiN diviSioN By Chris Anthony and Doug Ottewill (with credit to additional sources)

“Not everything is about money. Sometimes there are just stories that are important to tell.” - Chris Anthony, international ski star

And the one you’re about to read is one such story. Chris Anthony has traveled far and wide – to every corner of Mother Earth – just to ski. To say that he’s a world-class athlete would be an understatement. Certainly, he is that; he’s conquered some of the biggest, baddest mountains on the planet. But he’s also a historian, an explorer, a teacher and an ambassador. He is a steward of the sport that has granted him so many opportunities. And he’s a storyteller. With the help of Warren Miller Entertainment, he’s told a lot of them. For the past 23 years, Anthony has been featured in the legendary action movie series, helping to tell the stories of his sport’s most hidden gems, or its most treacherous terrain. And when he returns to flatter ground, he re-tells his tales of adventure to schools filled

with wide-eyed kids, weaving the twists and turns of a ski run into more important concepts like chasing dreams or applying the lessons of sport to life. But through Warren Miller movies, there was one story he had yet to tell. It’s a story he knew – sort of. It’s a story that he had been told – a few tiny fragments at a time – during the course of his entire life. As a native of Colorado, and someone who had been on skis since the age of one, Anthony’s memory is dotted with bits and pieces, anecdotes and footnotes, of this particular story. What he didn’t know, however, was that the story was actually chapter one of the story of him. Anthony was raised on the ski slopes of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, and this story is how those very slopes came to be.

@milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

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Soldiers in the 10th Mountain Division skied in heavy cotton and wool outers while carrying 80-pound backpacks and rifles.

In November of 1939, more than four decades before Anthony first buckled himself into a pair of ski boots, the Soviet Union invaded Finland. Finnish soldiers on skis annihilated two tank divisions, humiliating the Russians. Charles Minot (Minnie) Dole, the president of the National Ski Patrol, saw this as a perfect example of why the U.S. Army needed mountain troops. Dole spent months lobbying the War Department to train troops in mountain and winter warfare. In September of 1940, Dole was able to present his case to General George C. Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff serving under the 32nd President, Franklin D. Roosevelt. On Dec. 8, 1941, the Army activated its first mountain unit, the 87th Mountain Infantry Battalion (which later became an entire regiment) at Fort Lewis, Wash. The unit was dubbed “Minnie’s Ski Troops” in honor of Dole. The 87th trained on Mount Rainier’s 14,408-foot peak. The National Ski Patrol took on the unique role of recruiting for the 87th Infantry Regiment, and later, the 10th Mountain Division. Thus born was the “10th Mountain Division” in Colorado. This unique organization came into existence on July 13, 1943, at an army base built in the Colorado Rockies known as “Camp Hale.” The Division trained at 9,200 feet above sea level and honed the skills of its soldiers to fight and survive under the most brutal mountain conditions. They were deemed “The Ski Troopers.”

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

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In preparation for the 10th Mountain Division, the war department’s office of chief engineers initiated plans for construction of the camp. On April 7, 1942, the construction contract was awarded to Pando Constructors, a local business group representing engineers, architects and construction firms. Camp Hale took seven months to build, hosted 8,000 ski troops and eventually grew to a population of 14,000 men and women. The camp was built alongside a portion of the Rio Grande Railway at the Pando Valley. Camp Hale included mess halls, infirmaries, a ski shop, administrative offices, a movie theater and stables for livestock. The troops built their own ski area a couple of miles further up the road. Hundreds of white painted barracks that housed more than 14,000 soldiers ran like a grid across the valley floor. The 10th Mountain Division had a home. Ironically, in the summer of 2012, a railroad tunnel from the original Rio Grande railway built in 1890 was discovered when a portion of the 10th Mountain Memorial Highway collapsed in upon itself. The old wood beams of the tunnel had rotted away. A 35-foot wide, 100-foot deep hole swallowed the road and revealed the old track that was the inspiration for placing Camp Hale at that exact geographical spot. History buried, history revealed.

brought an antique hand wound camera to film portions of the footage he aimed to gather. “We definitely wanted an authentic feel for the movie,” said producer Josh Haskins. “In order to do that, we felt it was important to live in that moment.”

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“it Was not easy. it Was not comfortable. it Was very difficult and it gave me a great appreciation for What those guys did.” - Chris anthony History, and a deep appreciation for it, drew Anthony to the story of Camp Hale and the men of the 10th Mountain Division – so much so that he petitioned Warren Miller Entertainment to share his interest. While Anthony was more than familiar with the filmmaking process, he also knew that most segments in a Warren Miller flick are tied to exotic locations, the steep and deep, and often, a sponsor. Telling a story about the 10th – the way Anthony wanted to – would be a departure from the “typical” Warren Miller film segment. This was not a fastpaced, powder-bashing concept. It was about history, and it was about the greatness of America and the men who fought for it. In its simplest form, it was a story worth telling.

Today, Camp Hale is nothing more than a quiet meadow. Located between Red Cliff and Leadville in the Eagle River Valley, it looks like most other undisturbed lands owned by the U.S. Forest Service. About all that’s left to remind modern generations that Camp Hale existed are the ruins of a concrete foundation that was once a bunkhouse. But Anthony had heard and read what took place at Camp Hale during World War II. He had questions. What was it like to live at Camp Hale? How did the men of the 10th Mountain Division train? What challenges did these men face that the modern skier – or soldier, for that matter – did not? There was only one way to find out – re-create the winter of 1943 at Camp Hale.

An RV housed equipment and provisions, but the entire crew camped in tents outside for the duration of the filming. They wore the heavy cotton and wool uniforms worn by the 10th, and they skied on the same rigid wooden skis. Men from the 10th skied with 80-pound backpacks and a rifle; so too would Anthony. “We wanted to step back and be in the boots they skied in. We can talk about it all we want, but we wanted to feel it,” explained Anthony in an interview with KOA radio after filming took place. “It was not easy. It was not comfortable. It was very difficult and it gave me a great appreciation for what those guys did.” Furthermore, Anthony wanted to share this moment of re-created history. As such, he enlisted Scott Kennett and Tony Seibert, both descendants of men who served in the 10th. Hugh Evans, a 10th Mountain Division veteran who was interviewed for the piece, set the stage for what the crew was about to experience. “I thought they were going to kill us all off,” said Evans of his days spent training at Camp Hale. “(We were) sleeping out in temperatures down to 30 below zero without a tent. You wake up in the morning and sometimes you were covered with snow. You just broke yourself out.”

And after nearly five years of Anthony’s persistence, that’s what the folks at Warren Miller Films finally concluded, as well. Multiple partners who found an importance in what Anthony was doing, arrived and collaborated. These supporters put forth actions instead of words. With major support from the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum, Warren Miller Entertainment and financial grants from several foundations, a documentary film project came to life.

Warren Miller Entertainment’s director of cinematography, Chris Patterson, came prepared. From collectors, he had located all of the original gear, right down to goggles, skis and boots. He even

In 1945, four months before the atomic bomb dropped, effectively ending World War II, the 10th Mountain Division was activated and sent to Italy. On Jan. 28, 1945, the 10th entered combat in Italy’s North Apennine Mountains.

“We definitely Wanted an authentic feel for the movie.”

The division faced German troops positioned along the five-mile long Monte Belvedere-Monte Della Torraccia ridge. Other Army divisions had attempted to secure Mount Belvedere three times, even holding it temporarily, but none

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milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

- Josh haskins

“you Wake up in the morning and sometimes you Were covered With snoW. you just broke yourself out.”- hugh Evans had succeeded. To get Mount Belvedere secured, the ski troopers had to take a ridgeline to the west known to the Americans as Riva Ridge (Vail Mountain named a ski run “Riva Ridge” in honor of this battle). The Germans on Riva Ridge protected the approaches to Mount Belvedere. After much scouting, it was decided the assault would be at night, a 1,500-vertical ascent. The Germans considered the ridge to be impossible to scale and manned it with only one battalion of mountain troops. The attack by the 10th took place on Feb. 18, 1945, and was an unwelcome surprise to the Germans, ultimately proving to be a complete success. Victorious on several significant fronts, the 10th chased the Germans out from multiple strongholds. Next up for the 10th Mountain Division: The Pacific. Plans for the 10th to take part in the invasion of mainland Japan (“Operation Downfall”), however, were cut short. In August of 1945, Japan surrendered before the 10th ever arrived. The unit was sent back to the United States instead, and on Nov. 30, 1945, the famed 10th Mountain Division was demobilized and inactivated. During World War II, in more than 114 days of combat, the 10th Mountain Division suffered 992 casualties, while 4,154 were wounded in action. The 10th took on the most casualties of any division in the United States military.

One of the 10th’s men who lost his life in combat was Jim Kennett. While Kennett never made it back to Camp Hale, his nephew, Scott, did. Sixty-five years after Jim made the ultimate sacrifice for his country, Scott Kennett could be found struggling mightily on the

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“The veTerans are in Their 90s now, PreTTy soon, There will be no sToryTellers.”- JoSh haSkinS

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snowpack where his great uncle once trained. Alongside Anthony and lugging that impossible 80-pound backpack – surely the same one that his uncle carried – Scott took fall after fall. “If you get a little bit forward on the skis, you’re gone,” said Scott after trying to master the long and rigid sticks used by the 10th. “If you get back, you’re gone, too.” Added Anthony: “We even broke a pair.” One of the men who did return to the States following World War II was Pete Seibert. In 1945, he was injured from mortar fire, shrapnel piercing through his helmet. Other fragments nearly severed his left arm and destroyed his right kneecap. He also suffered a broken femur.

Pete Seibert (shown here), the founder of Vail Ski Resort, served in the 10th Mountain Division.

Seibert was told he’d never ski again, but after spending 17 months in an Army hospital, he later went on to win skiing’s 1947 Roch Cup. He’s also widely credited for founding Vail Ski Resort. Six decades later, Seibert’s grandson, Tony, skied alongside Kennett and Anthony at Camp Hale. Like the others, Tony struggled mightily. It could be interpreted that Tony also struggled to grasp the magnitude of the moment – at least initially. Anthony and Haskins

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both say the adventure at Camp Hale gave Tony, who was quiet and reserved at first, an entirely new perspective on his grandfather, who passed away in 2002. “In the beginning, it was all about ski action, like we were on any normal shoot,” said Haskins in an NPR interview. “(But) it was a very emotional time for them. It was a different environment for them. To draw these emotions out of the athletes was special.” With the help of Anthony, Kennett and Seibert were skiing on the hallowed grounds of their ancestors. But the snow that covers Camp Hale is hardly the only link to the 10th Mountain Division. In truth, an enormous percentage of Colorado’s ski industry can be credited to the veterans of the unit. Skiers like Anthony, Kennett and Seibert have the brave men of the 10th Mountain Division to thank for the evolution of their sport, which runs parallel with the industrial boom in our country, post-World War II. It was a time when America prospered and leisure time activities became an industry of their own. Following the war, many 10th Mountain veterans managed or directed ski schools at 62 ski areas, while an estimated 2,000 became full or part-time ski instructors. Some of the

immediate effects included the unloading of all the surplus equipment to the public following the war, including 100,000 pairs of skis, boots, bindings and poles. Aside from Seibert’s Vail, ski resorts such as Aspen and Arapahoe Basin can be traced back to veterans who served in the 10th.

This past November, hordes of modern ski fans in Colorado witnessed the first showings of Flow State, the Warren Miller film that showcases Anthony’s original vision on the 10th Mountain Division. And on Jan. 17, a longer, more detailed iteration of the documentary, Climb to Glory, will be shown in its entirety at Denver’s Oriental Theater. Anthony’s project is truly a tribute to the men of the 10th Mountain Division and Camp Hale. Bits and pieces of their story have been passed down, sometimes with more detail, sometimes with less. But Anthony’s inspiration tells their tale in a unique and glorious fashion. “The veterans are in their 90s now,” Haskins said. “Pretty soon, there will be no storytellers.” Anthony, a man whose own life can be traced back to the slopes, found it important to act as their liaison. In short, he collected and repackaged the fading fragments of the story of Camp Hale and the men who inhabited it. It is, after all, an important story to tell.

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milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

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Start planning your trip to PAGOSA SPRINGS online at www.visitpagosa.com, m, m, by calling 866-439-6237 or scanning the code below.

WINTER ADVENTURES 2013 NO SNOW? NO PROBLEM: Glenwood Springs offers a day trip that doesn’t require snow

While there’s no guarantee of fresh powder ski days, Mother Nature has provided Glenwood Springs with a bounty of wonders that can be enjoyed with or without snow. Glenwood is host to prolific hot springs, an extensive network of caves and terrific dining and entertainment venues, all within a short distance of most Colorado ski towns. A soak in the world-famous Glenwood Hot Springs Pool will take spirits to new elevations. The therapy pool features temperatures that hover around 104 degrees, while the “big” pool is closer to bathwater temperature at 90 degrees. The pool is open daily during the winter months from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and admission prices are $14.25 for teens and adults and $9.75 for kids (ages three through 12;) children two and under receive free admission. Another ticket for adding twists and turns to a winter vacation is Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. Featuring the state’s longest alpine coaster, a 4D motion theater, scenic gondola rides, cave tours, laser tag and a mountain-top restaurant with breathtaking views, the Adventure Park is a fun and affordable trip whether skiing is part of the mix or not. Priced at just $35 per person for a Funday Pass and a guided cave tour, it’s a must-take winter excursion. OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Head south to Pagosa Springs

Nestled in the majestic San Juan Mountains at the base of the Continental Divide, Pagosa Springs is one of Colorado’s last undiscovered gems. Known for its amazing hot springs, endless outdoor activities and the most snow 76

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

in Colorado at nearby Wolf Creek Ski Area, Pagosa Springs is the perfect destination to explore southwest Colorado and the surrounding awe-inspiring beauty.

RESORT RECO: DEVIL’S THUMB RANCH AND SPA: The Tabernash hideout has it all

When winter lays a fresh blanket of snow over the San Juans, and the sun takes its place in the deep blue sky, there is absolutely no better feeling in the world. It’s time to get out and enjoy this incredible wonderland. With amazing skiing and snowboarding nearby at Wolf Creek Ski area, more than 31 miles of groomed Nordic trails, hundreds of miles of snowmobiling terrain, good spots for ice fishing and winter fly-fishing and ice skating downtown, Pagosa Springs is a magical place to discover winter adventure. And, many will tell you that winter is the best time of year to enjoy the hot springs, especially if you’ve been out playing in the snow all day. HIKER’S PARADISE: Zapata Falls near Alamosa offers a winter spectacle

It’s a fact: Coloradoans love to hike. But winter tends to slow down the hiking activity, especially in the mountains. That shouldn’t necessarily be the case, though, as there are plenty of “winter options” for hikers. Take Alamosa, an outdoor playground, for example. Alamosa is one of the most diverse places to visit in the state of Colorado. In a single day adventure, one can climb the tallest sand dune in North America, fish in a state park and hike in a national forest. There are no traffic jams and no over-crowded streets – just pure Colorado adventure at your leisure with a friendly, small-town atmosphere. Alamosa has accommodating hotels, and charming, family owned restaurants. But there is one adventure that’s specific to winter that few folks know about. Snowboarders and skiers may head for the nearby slopes, but they’re missing Alamosa’s coolest winter attraction – Zapata Falls. This is a stunning sight, especially when it’s frozen over. A short hike up to the falls is well worth the effort. Upon arrival, hikers can walk right into the canyon and up to the frozen cascade of ice. When standing in front of this giant wall of ice, one can see and hear the water rushing behind it. It’s a softer roar than the one heard in the summer, but it’s no less spectacular. The winter allows for a much more up-close-and-personal look at the waterfall, and the canyon that conceals it.

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Looking for a quaint, yet elegant winter getaway? Isn’t everyone? The trick, however, is to find the resort that has everything, is near everything, but doesn’t attract everyone. Better yet, try finding all of that at a place that’s not too far from Denver. Good luck. Actually, there’s no luck required. Such a place exists – you just might not have heard of it. Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort and Spa is located just an hour-and-a-half from Denver, and just minutes from Winter Park. With rustically upscale accommodations, two gourmet restaurants, a full spa, miles and miles of cross country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, horse rides and sleigh rides – all set on over 5,000 acres of winter wonderland – there are literally hundreds of options for the entire family. Check them out at DevilsThumbRanch.com; you won’t be disappointed. A TRUE COLORADO WINTER: Kremmling is the cure for the “winter blues

You won’t find the weekend commuters in Kremmling. In fact, you probably won’t find too many skiers, either. And that’s exactly what we like about the town. While it’s known near and far for its fishing and hunting excellence, winter in Kremmling offers some of the best backcountry snowmobiling, cross country skiing and ice fishing in the country. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for Kremmling’s annual ice fishing contest (Feb. 16, 2013). With a $5,000 cash purse and a $10,000 tagged fish contest, you could definitely make a dent in those holiday bills. For more information on experiencing a true Colorado winter, log onto KremmlingChamber.com.

One. Two. Free.

Your third night’s on us. This winter, there’s no reason to hurry home. When you stay two nights with us, your third is free.* Sleep more, ski more, spa more, experience more. And plan on joining us for one of these special events: January 6 - Skijoring Clinic January 12 - Frozen Toe Classic Pond Hockey Tournament January 26 - 26th Annual Governor’s Cup February 3 - Ski, Spa & Sip Womens’ Clinic February 22 - Beer Pairing Dinner featuring Steamworks Brewing Co.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE SPECIAL RATES & PACKAGES OR CALL 970-726-5632

*May not be combined with any other promotion or package. Expires 5/15/13. Blackout dates apply, including holiday periods. Dependent upon availability. May not be available for all lodging types. Not valid for groups or existing reservations. Other restrictions may apply.

3530 County Road 93 • Tabernash, Colorado 80478 • www.devilsthumbranch.com • 970-726-5632

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

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Regis Jesuit high school

missy’s missy missy’ s WorlD W Worl D A 17-yeAR-old giRl fRom coloRAdo stole the show in london

it’s late on the night of July 30 as 17-year-old missy franklin sinks into her bed inside london’s olympic athlete village. it’s her first quiet moment alone after a night that – unbeknownst to her at the time – would set her life on a dramatic new course. it’s one of the last quiet moments she’ll enjoy in the foreseeable future.

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“What is this?” she thinks to herself. “Did this really just happen? Do you realize what you’re holding right now?” She’s clutching her first Olympic gold medal, one from a batch that goes down as the largest and heaviest medals in Olympic history – roughly 14 ounces in weight, 85 millimeters in diameter and seven millimeters thick. The Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike, peers out from the front and London’s unique Olympic logo takes up the back, each medal affixed to a purple ribbon. Only the engraving on the bottom differentiates one prize from another. Franklin’s reads, “Women’s 100-Meter Backstroke.” Thoughts dance in her head, of the congratulatory hugs and handshakes from peers on the pool deck, the outpouring of love from family and friends outside the venue. This is when the reality of Franklin’s accomplishment begins to set in. She can’t yet vote in the upcoming U.S. Presidential election, but she’s won an Olympic gold medal for her country. Her parents, Dick and DA, couldn’t have been more proud as they watched from the nosebleed section of the London Aquatics Centre, marveling at their only child, who swam a 200-meter freestyle semifinal race (and qualified for the next night’s final) just 14 minutes prior to a comefrom-behind win in the 100-meter back. After his daughter touched the wall in American-record time (58.33 seconds), Dick high-fived the spectators around him. DA

cupped her mouth in disbelief, then covered her teary eyes and fell into Dick’s arms. Missy caught a glimpse of her parents’ reaction on TV just as NBC went live with her post-race interview. Before she could utter a word, tears of joy mingled with the remaining drops of pool water on her cheeks. The Denver-metro area was just as thrilled. Big Bill’s New York Pizza, one of Missy’s favorite dining establishments near her Centennial home, quickly hung a sign that read, “Congratulations Missy!” That act was soon followed by Tony’s Meat Market a few blocks away, by the Chili’s in Aurora near Missy’s high school, Regis Jesuit, and by numerous families in the Franklins’ neighborhood. Watching on TV that night was Nuggets president Josh Kroenke. He was set to fly across the pond in a few days to catch some Olympic action, but knew his father, billionaire Stan Kroenke, was already in London. The family had a pair of swimming tickets reserved for Josh the next night, but considering he was still in Denver (perhaps working on a trade that would bring Olympian Andre Iguodala to the Nuggets?), they’d be going unused. So Josh asked his father to arrange for Franklin’s parents to take the seats. Dick and DA were contacted the following day by a Kroenke assistant and given directions to the yacht on which the family was staying. The vessel’s captain greeted the Franklins, handed them a pricey pair of ducats, and hours later they

@milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

of the Year

“Whenever I go out somewhere, I now actually have to think about how I look. I can’t just roll out of bed in my PJs and go to King Soopers.” - Missy Franklin

ranklin left us no other choice, really. That one glorious week in London turned her into Colorado’s mostpopular athlete, and arguably

America’s most-feted Olympian coming home from the Games. The whirlwind began in England, shuffling her from the Today show to a studio with Bob Costas to numerous other engagements. But it intensified as soon as she landed at Denver International Airport. Franklin told only a select few confidantes about her return date, not realizing how often her recently de-braced smile was splashed across American flat screens. But the employees of United Airlines knew they were carrying precious cargo. The pilot taking Franklin to Denver recognized her on board and congratulated her a couple times over the PA system. As he pulled the plane into its gate at DIA, the pilot came on again and urged Franklin to look out her window. The ground crew held American flags and unfurled a banner reading, “Welcome Home, Missy!” As she stepped off the jetway, more United employees greeted her with red, white and blue balloons, streamers and American flags, and shouted their congratulations. With her face as red as some balloons, Franklin and her family were whisked away in a golf cart as fellow travelers also hollered their well wishes. By the time they reached

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milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

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were sitting next to “The Most Powerful Man In Sports,” as dubbed by Sports Illustrated. Stan Kroenke owns the Nuggets, Avalanche, Rapids, Mammoth and St. Louis Rams, and is a majority shareholder of Arsenal, a soccer club based in London. Needless to say, his seats were a step up from the ones given to parents of Olympians. “We were very spoiled,” DA says. “It was wonderful. It was hard to go back up top the next night.” Unfortunately, the Franklins’ new seats five rows from the pool didn’t bring their daughter any extra luck. Missy finished an agonizing fourth in the 200-meter free that night, missing a medal by one one-hundredth of a second. However, she found her place atop the podium again two days later, swimming the opening leg as the U.S. women won the 4x200-meter freestyle relay in Olympic-record time. That marked Franklin’s second relay medal, as she helped win bronze in the 4x100-meter free relay on the Games’ opening night. She finished fifth in the 100-meter free on Aug. 2, but returned a day later to set a world record in the 200-meter back, her second individual gold. Then, on swimming’s final night, Franklin swam the opening backstroke leg of the 4x100-meter medley relay, gave her teammates the lead, and watched as they brought home another world record and gold medal. The seven events Franklin swam were more than any other U.S. woman had ever competed in at an Olympics. The four gold medals were more than any other female, period, at the London Games. And those four titles tie her with fellow Colorado swimmer Amy Van Dyken for the most gold medals at one Olympics by a U.S. woman. To those impressive feats, we add another: After taking MHSM’s Sportsperson of the Year award in 2011, she is the first athlete to secure the honor twice.

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baggage claim, local TV crews were thrilled to see the Olympic hero. Some had been there since the morning, not knowing exactly when Colorado’s new superstar would land. “We thought we were being so sneaky, too,” Franklin says. “We were like, ‘We’re going to be so tired; we can just slip in, slip home.’ But it was so awesome to come home to that.” It was her first taste of the biggest change in her life – instant recognition. “Whenever I go out somewhere, I now actually have to think about how I look. I can’t just roll out of bed in my PJs and go to King Soopers – which did happen and someone asked me for a picture. I was like, ‘Sure, I’m really sorry about (my appearance), though.’” Franklin’s look is often taken care of for her now. Like when she was a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno the day before her senior year started, and when she made a couple cameo appearances – on one of her favorite TV shows, Pretty Little Liars (the episode is set to air in February), and in the movie The Internship, featuring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn (due out in the summer of 2013). There’s also the magazine photo

shoots, such as for Vogue and the good-looking one you’re holding in your hands. Franklin doesn’t feel like much of an icon, but there’s no denying others now see her as one. She was among the celebrity guests at the U.S. Open in New York for Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, where she sang Call Me Maybe with the hit song’s originator, Carly Rae Jepsen, and played tennis partnered with Novak Djokovic, a five-time Grand Slam winner. “Funniest guy you will ever meet,” Franklin says. She later walked the red carpet for MTV’s Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, where she sat behind British boy band sensation One Direction. “I literally thought I was going to die. I was so excited. I was taking creepy pictures on my phone like all night,” she says. It’s a comment such as that when you’re reminded Franklin really is just 17 years old. But then she goes on to discuss another experience equally as memorable from the post-Olympic parade and you’re reminded she’s much more mature than most her age. The day after her phone blew up because

SportSperSon of the Year @milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

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her friends saw her on TV behind One Direction, she was among the celebrities – including Tom Hanks and Halle Berry – taking phone calls for the Stand Up To Cancer Telethon. “I was on the phone lines and I did some Skype conversations,” she says. “It was just incredible because people would call and you’d thank them for donating and ask them who they’re standing up for, and some people just had the most

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to leave their rooms, then led some ambulatory patients in a dance party. “She’s doing a lot of things that are giving back to the community, which I’m really proud of her for doing,” DA says. Franklin’s procession also included visits to the local professional teams. First, she was the featured guest of the Rapids on “Colorado Heroes Night,” then an honorary captain for the Broncos at their season opener. She wasn’t

“I was taking creepy pictures on my phone like all night.”- Missy Franklin inspirational stories. It was so cool just the way these people opened up to a total stranger and just told me about the people they had lost and how. It was a very emotional night, but I was so happy I could be a part of it.” In November, the Franklin family helped the Samaritan House serve Thanksgiving meals to homeless folks. In December, Missy was chosen by kids at Children’s Hospital to be their Christmas-time special guest. She first visited those unable

nervous to greet the likes of Peyton Manning or Champ Bailey because she met many players at a team mini-camp in June. Rather, she was on edge because Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker had her thinking she would actually flip the coin. Oh, Missy, the coin’s huge; you’ve got to flip it the right way and it has to go in our favor, they told her. “And I was beyond freaking out,” she says. But really, the referee is the

“She’s doing a lot of things that are giving back to the community.” - DA Franklin

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

@milehighsports

of the Year

only person who touches the coin. For her Rockies appearance, however, an actual pitch was required. Thankfully, Matt Belisle showed up at Regis a couple weeks in advance to work with her on technique. She nailed the throw, and in return for Belisle’s teaching, she agreed to compile some swimming workouts for the pitcher to try in his offseason. Franklin’s final stop was with the Nuggets, for whom she presented a game ball to the referees. Surely, if the Avalanche had games to play this season, Franklin would have been that squad’s guest, as well. “The players have just been so supportive, especially Eric Decker,” DA says. “They all get it; they know what it’s like, the changes that are occurring in her life. They know that she can’t walk down DIA without someone stopping her and wanting a photo.” Few people know exactly what DA is going through, though. As her daughter’s star began to rise pre-London, she left her job as a physician to become Missy’s unofficial manager. Someone needed to handle the mounting media requests, travel arrangements and fan mail. DA figured things would die down after the Games, but they’ve only

picked up. She says she now turns down 95 percent of the media requests she receives. And she won’t feel comfortable going back to work until the loads of letters in her and Dick’s master bedroom are answered. Oftentimes, she’ll enlist help from her friends, who come over to sift through mail. They’ll organize it so it’s ready for Missy whenever she finds a down moment to sign a few hundred autographs. Other piles are gifts, some of which are peculiar, like the large box of beef jerky; others make the family uneasy. “We get presents from all over the world, which we have to be careful with because of NCAA (regulations),” DA says. “But there’s a lot of things we can’t return because people will send them and there’s no return address.” Of course, all these gifts and NCAA regulations wouldn’t be an issue if Missy opted to become a professional, thus accepting the millions of endorsement dollars awaiting her. She could hire an agent, someone trained in handling this abundance of requests. But Franklin has said many times over how much she loves being part of a team, whether that’s the U.S. Olympic squad, her high school team

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milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

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“They know what it’s like, the changes that are occurring in her life. They know that she can’t walk down DIA without someone stopping her and wanting a photo.” - Missy Franklin

of the Year

or the group in which she’s invested most of her adolescence, her Colorado Stars club team coached by Todd Schmitz. Thus, she signed on to swim for the University of California, Berkeley starting in the fall. Shockingly, opting to stay amateur was a much-scrutinized decision. Well, shocking to Franklin. “I wasn’t used to having so many people watch what I was doing, but obviously it was interesting. I block myself out from a lot of media and a lot of talk that goes on outside, but from what I did hear, it was really interesting to hear different people’s opinions on it and just what they thought. And I think one of the things a lot of people don’t know is, no matter what, I was going to go to college, regardless of whether or not I went pro. It was just a matter of whether or not I was going to swim for the team,” Franklin says. Some may call it a foolish choice, but it was undeniably mature. “At 17, I just felt like I’m not quite ready for swimming to be my job yet,” she says. Soon enough, it will be. Franklin plans to compete collegiately for two years, then turn pro about 16 months prior to the 2016 Rio Games. At that point, she’ll continue to train at Cal under the tutelage of Teri McKeever, who was a 2012 U.S. Olympic coach.

Franklin just won’t be able to compete in NCAA meets. However, she can hire an agent, maybe purchase a car, a house or possibly a place for Dick and DA to live. Because once Missy settles in at Cal, she likely won’t call Colorado her residence until she’s done collecting Olympic medals. About her recruiting trip to Cal, she said, “It felt like it was home and like that’s where I was meant to be.” Don’t fret, Colorado. We’ll still see plenty of Missy. America won’t let her leave the spotlight anytime soon.

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milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

“At 17, I just felt like I’m not quite ready for swimming to be my job yet.” - Missy Franklin

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Photo courtesy NBC Olympics

Congratulates Sportsperson of the Year Regis Jesuit High School admits students of any race, color, and national or ethnic origin.

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bY JAMES MERILATT

Eighteen million dollars. That was the gamble Pat bowlen, John Elway and the rest of the broncos brain trust made in March when the most-prized free agent in NFL history was on the open market.

In hindsight, it looks like a nobrainer bet. But at the time, it was a risky proposition. Peyton Manning hadn’t played in a football game for more than a year, having missed the entire 2011 season after four neck surgeries. And the future Hall of Fame quarterback still hadn’t regained all of the strength in his right arm, as the long process of nerve regeneration was still underway. So no one knew for sure what the Broncos would be getting for their investment. Would Manning be 100 percent? Maybe 50 percent? Somewhere in between? It was a complete guessing game. Yet the Broncos went all in; they pushed $90 million dollars worth of chips into the middle of the table, offering Manning a five-year deal that was completely guaranteed in year one. Thus, the $18 million gamble on No. 18. To say Denver hit the jackpot would be an understatement. In every way, shape and form, Manning has paid huge dividends. He’s exceeded even the loftiest expectations, which is saying something considering the threering circus that surrounded the pursuit of the quarterback (flights being tracked online, motorcades through the streets of Durham being televised live and rumors flying around Twitter at warp speed). “He’s a guy that raises all boats,” Elway said of Manning at

the news conference announcing the biggest free agent signing in NFL history. “He’s just going to have a tremendous effect on the Denver Broncos.” He could not have been more correct. As a team, the Broncos have enjoyed their first winning season since 2006, their first year with a double-digit victory total since 2005, and their first back-to-back division titles in 25 years. As a result, their one of the favorites in the AFC to advance to Super Bowl XLVII. The Broncos have been transformed from a gimmicky team that lucked its way into the postseason in 2011 into a legitimate championship contender. That’s almost entirely due to Manning. Just 12 games into his first season in Denver, the Broncos had already clinched the division title and Manning had already established a new franchise record for touchdown passes in a single season. During the final four weeks of the year, he would position the Broncos for a playoff run and pursue Jay Cutler’s mark for most passing yards, as well. Not bad for a guy who isn’t even completely healthy yet. Peyton Manning made a smashing debut in the Mile High City in 2012. It’s why he’s been chose as Mile High Sports Magazine’s Pro Athlete of the Year.

@milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

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Photo Credit: Jack Dempsey/Colorado Mammoth

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JOHN GRANT, JR. Colorado Mammoth

GABRIEL LANDESKOG Colorado Avalanche

VON MILLER Denver Broncos

BRENDAN MUNDORF Denver Outlaws

After three consecutive losing seasons, including only a combined nine wins in the previous two seasons, the Mammoth got back on track in 2012, ending the year with an impressive 11-5 mark, secondplace finish and a trip to the playoffs. How did they turn things around? They leaned on their best player – John Grant, Jr. And in 2012, the star attacker did more than just carry his load. During the season, he notched his 1,000th career point in January, scored his 500th career goal in March, set a new National Lacrosse League record for points in a season with 116 and earned his second league MVP award.

How good was Gabriel Landeskog’s first season in the NHL? After seeing just 82 games from their rookie left wing, the Colorado Avalanche decided to make him the youngest team captain in NHL history. On Sept. 4, 2012, the Avs officially slapped the “C” on Landeskog’s sweater three months before his 20th birthday, a worthy honor given the Swedish-born player’s first season in Colorado. After being selected with the second-overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Landeskog went on to score 22 goals and record 30 assists in his first pro season, a performance that helped him garner the Rookie of the Year award – the Calder Memorial Trophy.

While the offense received most of the attention, it was Denver’s defense that helped turn the Broncos into contenders in 2012. And leading the charge for a unit that seemingly transformed from a liability to a strength overnight was Von Miller. A season after winning the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year award, the second-year linebacker turned in a performance worthy of Defensive Player of the Year consideration. He’s developed into one of the league’s premier pass rushers, but also turned into an all-around player by becoming dominant against the run, as well. Game after game, Miller was in the opposition’s backfield, causing havoc and propelling the Broncos defense to newfound heights.

While the Outlaws season may have ended one game short of their ultimate goal, a big reason the team finished the regular season with a league-best 11-3 record and made it all the way to the MLL championship game was the play of their seventh-year attacker. On the season, Mundorf finished with 59 points, the second-highest total in MLL, in just 12 games. That performance, coupled with Denver finishing atop the standings, was enough to earn Mundorf the league’s Most Valuable Player award, making him the first Outlaws player to ever receive Major League Lacrosse’s highest honor. Had Mundorf not been injured in the final, the Outlaws likely finish No. 1.

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milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

Colorado DATE

OPPONENT

SATURDAY 1/12 MONDAY 1/21 (D-1/19)

WASHINGTON STEALTH

FRIDAY 1/25 SATURDAY 2/2

@CALGARY ROUGHNECKS CALGARY ROUGHNECKS MINNESOTA SWARM

SATURDAY 2/16 Edmonton Rush TUESDAY 2/26 (D-2/24) @PHILADELPHIA WINGS SATURDAY 3/2 Rochester Knighthawks SUNDAY 3/10 (D-3/8) @TORONTO ROCK HOME GAMES

www.facebook.com/AltitudeTV

TIME 7PM 12:30PM 7PM 7PM

MaMMoth

Notes

DATE

OPPONENT

TIME

Notes

LIvE, ALT2

SUNDAY 3/10 (D-3/9) SATURDAY 3/16 SUNDAY 3/24 (D-3/23) SATURDAY 3/30

@BUFFALO BANDITS Buffalo Bandits @CALGARY ROUGHNECKS Philadelphia Wings

10 PM 7PM 10 PM 7PM

DELAY LIvE DELAY LIvE

@EdMonton Rush Minnesota Swarm

10PM 7PM

DELAY LIvE

@MINNESOTA SWARM

10PM

DELAY

Delay LIvE LIvE

7PM

Live, ALT2

SUNDAY 4/7 (D-4/6)

9PM 7PM

DELAY Live

SATURDAY 4/13 SUNDAY 4/21 (D-4/20)

7PM

DELAY

All TIMES mountain. DATES AND TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

Home games aired live, away games shown with a delay.

www.twitter.com/AltitudeTV

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by Chris bianChi

you can count on one hand the number of losses ross dausin suffered during his three seasons as the quarterback at Colorado statePueblo. after CsuPueblo’s most recent 12-1 season, dausin finished his career an astounding 32-3.

As Pueblo head coach John Wristen put it, the Texas native Dausin is the glue that holds the Division II team together. “When something’s not going just right, (Ross) pulls them all together and says, ‘Hey, let’s get this thing going in the right direction’,” Wristen said. “And sure enough, those guys respond to him.” Despite the fact the ThunderWolves averaged more than 200 yards per game on the ground, Dausin still posted gaudy stats in the air. He threw for nearly 400 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-13 win over Black Hills State on Oct. 20. He threw for 306 yards in a 41-24 win on Sept. 8 at Northwestern Oklahoma. And Dausin threw for over 200 yards in nine of CSU Pueblo’s first 12 games. But most importantly, he only threw nine interceptions during that span. Dausin possesses a skill set most Division II quarterbacks don’t have. At 6-foot-6 and 223 pounds, he also has the athletic ability to effectively elude the rush and can even scamper for a first down if need be. But Dausin’s greatest attribute doesn’t necessarily lie in his size, speed or accuracy, even with impressive stats ready to back up any of those claims. According to Wristen, what makes Dausin “one of the top quarterbacks (he’s) coached” is his unparalleled competitiveness.

“The one thing that stood out to me is his character and his attitude to helping us build a championship program,” said Wristen. Three spectacular years later, and Dausin is at the pinnacle of college sports, all out of little Pueblo, Colo. Dausin will not only leave Pueblo with the knowledge he was integral in building a program that’s become an annual national title contender, but he’ll also hold a truckload of ThunderWolves records, including single-season records for total offense, passing yards, touchdowns and the single-game passing yardage record. Wristen believes there’s a shot that Dausin could play at the next level, too. With two other players on the CSU-Pueblo roster also receiving NFL looks, the coach’s goal is to get his players to the next level – after they did the same for his program. “I think if he gets the right opportunity, he could get in an NFL camp,” said Wristen. “We’re going to do everything we can to get him in an NFL camp, because he sure deserves it in my mind.” Through a humble path, Dausin may wind up on his sport’s biggest stage. And in the process, he helped put CSU-Pueblo football on the map, the very reason he’ been chosen as Mile High Sports Magazine’s College Athlete of the Year.

@milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

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CARLON BROWN University of Colorado

SHALAYA KIPP University of Colorado

MARK MATTHEWS University of Denver

ANDRE ROBERSON University of Colorado

Carlon Brown will forever be remembered by Buffaloes fans for his dominant performance in the Pac-12 tournament, where he scored 18 points in a quarterfinal win over Oregon and added 17 more in a blowout win against California. Brown’s efforts netterd him tournament MVP honors, and his windmill dunk in the California game dominated SportsCenter the next day. But more importantly, Brown led CU to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nearly a decade. The L.A. product averaged 12.6 points per game in his senior year and provided the senior leadership that the young Buffs lacked.

Just a few months removed from running the 3,000-meter steeplechase in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Kipp is enjoying yet another dominating season for the University of Colorado. To qualify for the Olympics, Kipp put together a personal-best 9:35.73 in the 3,000meter steeplechase. In London, Kipp finished 12th in her heat with a time of 9:48.33. In addition, Kipp helped CU claim its inaugural Pac-12 cross country title last year by leading the Buffaloes with a fifthplace individual finish in the Pac-12 championships. Perhaps even more impressive, Kipp was the NCAA outdoor steeplechase champion in 2012 with a time of 9:49.91.

During his four-year tenure as an attacker for the Pioneers lacrosse team, Matthews scored 155 goals and 216 points – both career records at DU. When he graduated in May, he ranked second nationally in career goals scored and fourth in career points. In 2012, Matthews was a second-team All-American and led the Pios to the NCAA quarterfinals in May. Matthews helped take DU to the next level during his four years on University Boulevard, leading the Pios to the NCAA Tournament in the final three years of his career. It’s no wonder that Matthews was drafted first overall in the NLL draft in October and fourth overall in the MLL draft back in January.

Roberson averaged a double-double during his sophomore year, helping the Buffaloes claim the Pac-12 championship in March. But beyond Roberson’s 11.6 points and 11.1 rebounds per game was the timing of some of his best performances of the season. In the Pac-12 tournament, he had 20 points in the opener against Utah and a team-high 17 in the Pac-12 semifinal against California. Then, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Roberson singlehandedly owned the glass, hauling in 16 boards, in CU’s 68-64 upset win over sixth-seeded UNLV. This year, the 6-foot-8 forward is averaging a double-double.

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milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

EvEry Sunday EvEning

4:00-6:00 pm prESEntEd By

milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

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wilkins dismuke PRO ATHLETE of the Year

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COLLEGE ATHLETE

HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE

of the Year

rock canyon high school

to say that Rock Canyon’s wilkins dismuke is “the best” is more than just an opinion – it’s practically a fact.

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by doug ottewill

As a freshman on Rock Canyon’s lacrosse team, Dismuke scored a whopping 48 goals. As a sophomore, he ranked first in Colorado in both goals and assists. He was subsequently named to the Denver Post’s AllColorado first-team. Following his sophomore season, he also competed in the prestigious Warrior 40, a lacrosse game held for the nation’s best prep players, and was named the game’s offensive MVP. As a junior last spring, he was named the state’s best player, when the Denver Post honored him as the Colorado Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year. And over the past summer, he again competed in the Warrior 40; this time, he earned honors as the game’s overall Most Valuable Player. Best in the state. Best in the country. And what’s scary is that Dismuke still has one more high school season in front of him. “Every tournament I go to, coaches are asking me, ‘Who is that kid?’” says Nate Watkins, a former Denver Outlaws player who’s now the president and coach of Wild Lacrosse, Dismuke’s club team. “Wilkins is athletic with great vision and has a complete game – dodging, shooting and feeding.” Now standing at 6-foot-3, Dismuke didn’t always have lacrosse dreams in mind. “I wanted to play football,” he says. “But nobody would let me – (they) said it was too dangerous.” One of the people who discouraged Dismuke from playing football was his older brother, Flinn Fowler. In fact, Fowler could be credited for encouraging and developing his kid brother. “He really was the one who got me into (lacrosse),” says Dismuke.

And it was Fowler who took notice when, as a freshman, Dismuke seemed to have a natural gift in the sport. “Flinn basically said, ‘Hey, you might want to start taking this pretty seriously. You could be something in this game,’” recalls Dismuke, who has already committed to play for Johns Hopkins in the fall of 2013. Fowler’s advice was prophetic, and the nation’s top player just continues to get better. “Wilkins is a student of the game,” says Watkins. “If he sees something, or learns something new, he’s going to go home and try it until he perfects it. He’s very talented but he’s a hard worker. He’s the first Colorado kid I’ve seen get out of his comfort zone with his stick in an effort to improve or simplify his game. He’s incredibly creative.” Dismuke’s high school coach, Robert Diehl, saw something even more rare in young athletes. “One thing that’s been consistent – from the time he stepped onto the field as a freshman – is his level of competitiveness,” says Diehl. “He’s got absolutely no fear; there’s no ‘off switch’ with Wilkins.” On a whim, at the age of eight, Dismuke tried out for the Junior Mammoth squad. Surprisingly, and without having logged much experience in the game of lacrosse, he made the team. Less than a decade later, he’s the nation’s top high school lacrosse player, an undeniable and unprecedented status that’s earned him the honor of being Mile High Sports Magazine’s High School Athlete of the Year.

@milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE

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RAYMOND BOZMANS Fort Collins High School

BONNIE BRANDON Cherry Creek High School

EMMA LAZAROFF Centaurus High School

JOSH SCOTT Lewis-Palmer High School

It’s a major accomplishment to set a state record in any track event. It’s even more impressive to win individual state titles in three separate track and field events. Raymond Bozmans of Fort Collins accomplished all of the above last spring. Not only did Bozmans set the state record for the 100meter dash, with a blazing time of 10.27, but at the state meet, he stood atop the podium in the 100, the 200 and the 400. Currently running for TCU, Bozmans, a high school All-American, will also be remembered for his owning up to his own controversial and costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the 400-meter relay.

In practically any other circumstance, Cherry Creek’s Bonnie Brandon would easily be known as the state’s best swimmer. In any other era, it’s conceivable that she’d win multiple state titles, in multiple state swimming meets. But unfortunately for Brandon, Missy Franklin stood in the way more than once. That doesn’t mean Brandon isn’t an exceptional swimmer. She will be swimming for the University of Arizona this year, and she narrowly missed a spot on the Olympic team at the U.S. preliminaries this past summer. After finishing fifth in the 100meter backstroke, Brandon also qualified for the final round of the 200-meter backstroke.

Not only did Centaurus senior Emma Lazaroff lead the state in scoring, she topped the entire nation. No girl in high school lacrosse had more goals than Lazoroff. Now at Duke, Lazoroff tallied 123 goals last spring, a mark that topped the entire sport at the high school level. And her mark of 380 career goals is a Colorado state record. Leading the Warriors to a 13-5 mark and back-to-back trips to the state semifinal, Lazaroff was a three-time first-team All-Colorado selection, and earned honors as an All-American twice. As a senior, she was named the UnderArmour Colorado and West Coast Player of the Year.

By now, the best kept secret in Colorado high school basketball is out – everyone knows about Lewis-Palmer’s Josh Scott. These days, Scott is known as an instant contributor on the University of Colorado’s men’s basketball team, already averaging more than 12 points and five rebounds for the Buffs. And although Scott was named Colorado’s “Mr. Basketball” last spring, he did so quietly, playing in class 4A in Colorado Springs. His stats were, however, gaudy. Scott averaged 28.5 points (a state best), 11.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 1.2 steals and 1.2 assists per game, and led Lewis-Palmer to a 27-1 record and the 4A state championship.

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milehighsports.com | January 2013 |

Congratulations to all the high school student-athlete nominees Ferrari of Denver supports high school sports

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this team.” The fans – and the wins – have returned to Boulder, making Tad Boyle an easy choice for Mile High Sports Magazine’s Coach of the Year.

of the Year

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tad boyle COLLEGE ATHLETE

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University of Colorado

Who’s your taddy? (clap clap clap clap clap)! Who’s your taddy? (clap clap clap clap clap)!

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by dan MohrMann ann

As the Colorado Buffaloes close out a victory in the Coors Event Center, that chant fills the arena to deafening levels. Never before has this passion and emotion been associated with CU basketball. In only his third year as head coach of the program, Tad Boyle has raised the level of play – and now expectations – for the Buffs. With the recent struggles that CU football has experienced, Boyle’s accomplishments seem all the more impressive. Boyle, a Colorado native, was tabbed by Mike Bohn to take over the reins in Boulder after Jeff Bzdelik left CU to coach Wake Forest. In his first year as coach of the program, Boyle almost took his team to the NCAA Tournament. In fact, it was believed that the 2011 Buffs were the biggest snub from that year’s bracket. Boyle would not be denied a second time. Last spring, rather than leave the Buffs’ fate in the hands of a selection committee, he coached his team to a Pac-12 championship, guaranteeing a berth in “The Big Dance.” At that moment, it became clear that under Boyle, Colorado basketball was going to be taken very seriously. “Since the day I got this job, I feel like I’m the luckiest guy in the world to be able to coach at the University of Colorado,” Boyle said. “I took over a program that had some good players, but not necessarily a winning résumé. I hope (making the NCAA Tournament) is a first step in building a perennial top-25 program.” The choice to bring in Boyle looks like a brilliant move by

athletic director Mike Bohn. Bohn had sought out a big-name candidate in Bzdelik, only to have to him leave for a high-profile position in the ACC. When Bohn had to find a replacement, he didn’t go for the big name, but rather an up-and-comer who had Colorado ties. When Bohn made the hire, he knew right away that the fan base in Boulder would get behind Boyle. “(His success) doesn’t surprise me. His intestinal fortitude, his competitive grit, his attention to detail, his people skills and his recruiting effort are all off the charts,” Bohn said. “It’s extremely gratifying to see our fan-base, our recruits across the country, the media, our student section and our student body as a whole recognize what a gem we have in Tad.” It wasn’t long ago that the Coors Event Center had a difficult time attracting fans. No longer is that the case, and the Buffs have given the students and the Boulder community reason to rally behind the basketball team. On top of winning, Boyle has brought in highly ranked recruiting classes, something the program has not seen on a consistent basis. Boyle may not have attended CU, but the university has adopted him as one of its own – and Buffs fans hope Boyle sticks around for a long time. “What fuels me is to put a product on the floor that makes (the fans) proud; they inspire me,” Boyle said. “That’s what it’s about. It’s not about what I’ve done; it’s about what I can do to make them want to come back here to support.”

@milehighsports | January 2013 | milehighsports.com

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DICK KATTE Denver Christian High School

TIM MILES Colorado State University

DAN WOODLEY Regis Jesuit High School

JOHN WRISTEN CSU-Pueblo

To end a career with a championship is a dream to most players and coaches. Dick Katte went above and beyond that in his final season as the head basketball coach of the Denver Christian Crusaders. Katte’s team went undefeated in the legendary coach’s last season, going 26-0 and winning the 2A state championship. Katte, who spent 48 years as the coach of the Crusaders, posted 876 wins in his coaching career and claimed eight state championships in total. Amazingly, through his entire career, not a single one of his players was recruited tto play at he Division I level.

Tim Miles did something that hadn’t been done since 2003; he got the Rams into the NCAA Tournament. Along the way, Miles’ squad earned victories over three top-25 programs. Along with Colorado’s Tad Boyle, Miles made the state of Colorado respectable during the college basketball season last year. Although Miles left Fort Collins following the 2011-12 season to take the job as head coach at the University of Nebraska, his impact and influence as head coach gave the Rams a solid foundation, one that will undoubtedly help keep CSU on the college hoops map for years to come.

In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Regis High School hockey team, Dan Woodley coached his team to a Colorado state championship and a USA Hockey national championship. Coming into the 2012-13 season, Woodley has amassed a coaching record of 13021-2 for Regis. In seven years, he has been able to capture three state titles. In those three state championship seasons, Regis totaled just two losses. With the Avalanche on hiatus for much of 2012, it isn’t a stretch to point out Regis Jesuit High School as the hockey center of Colorado, with Woodley being the primary reason.

Five years ago, CSU-Pueblo didn’t have a football team. In 2012, the ThunderWolves went undefeated in the regular season and held a No. 1 national ranking for most of the season. That’s the work that John Wristen has put into the program. Not only have the ThunderWolves become a threat in the RMAC, but they have become a national power after only a handful of years in existence. Although the team has yet to capture that elusive national title, it appears it’s only a matter of time for Wristen, who’s carefully molded what has become the best college football program in the state.

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THE BACK PAIGE

The Right Man for the Job

Mike Bohn fits the University of Colorado By Woody Paige

he November Saturday after he turned 11 in 1971, Mike Bohn was selling sodas in the stands at Folsom Field. The kid wasn’t making much money because he was engrossed in watching Colorado thump Oklahoma State 40-6, and dreaming of one day playing quarterback in the stadium for the Buffaloes, who would finish No. 3 in the country that season behind Big Eight rivals Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Six years later, CU coach Bill Mallory would offer Bohn, a three-sport standout at Boulder’s Fairview High School, a football scholarship. However, a short time later, athletic director Eddie Crowder fired Mallory and replaced him with Chuck Fairbanks. The new coach told the young man there was no place for him at Colorado. “I was devastated. I wanted to play for my hometown school,” Bohn says. Luckily, one of Mallory’s assistants hooked on at Kansas and eventually gave Bohn an opportunity to join the Jayhawks. “I became all-clipboard for four years.” Today, Bohn’s job once again is at Folsom Field. Now he is the athletic director at CU. He has just fired his football coach, and has hired another. And, at 52, Bohn still can dream. “I want Colorado to play in the Rose Bowl. I want the school band to march in the parade, and the Buffs to represent CU and the Pac-12 against the Big Ten. We’re going to do it,” Bohn says. A few weeks ago, if some people had their way, Bohn would have been thrown to the Pearl Street curb as he was in high school. He had dismissed Jon Embree only

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two years after getting rid of Dan Hawkins, two coaches Bohn had hired. At the final moment, Butch Jones had backed out of a deal with the Buffs when Tennessee jumped in to hire him. And, ultimately, Bohn signed Mike MacIntyre (see the Mile High Interview on page 55), architect of a turnaround at San Jose State. “In retrospect, Jones probably did us a favor,” Bohn said. “In coach speak, he didn’t have the stones to come to Boulder. We ended up getting the right man and the right fit for Colorado.” Just as Bohn is the right man and the right fit for Colorado, the university, and Colorado, the state. Those who wanted him gone don’t get what he has done for both. A year after graduating from Kansas, he returned to Colorado as an associate athlete director at Air Force (1984-92). He worked for the College Football Association, headquartered in Boulder, from 1992-95. He was associate AD at Colorado State for three years, served as athletic director at Idaho and then San Diego State before taking over at CU in 2005. The athletic program had a $32 million budget then. It will have a $60 million budget next year. Bohn primarily was responsible for moving the Buffs from the Big 12 to the Pac-12, where the school connects with the majority of its alumni base and has a stronger institutional and athletic suitability. CU will receive $20 million in TV revenues, and all football and basketball games are being televised nationally. The athletic budget will be balanced. Despite the disastrous past several seasons, Bohn has galvanized the athletic department with the school’s administration, the faculty, the students, the boosters and the community. He has hired new, successful men’s and

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In coach speak, (BuTch Jones) dIdn’T have The sTones To come To Boulder.”-mike Bohn women’s basketball coaches. A new practice basketball practice facility was constructed. The men’s team is selling out home games and season-ticket sales are the most (6,700) in the history of the program; fundraising from donors and sponsors has reached a historic high; the suites and club seating at Folsom Field were sold out for the first time ever, and most of the athletic teams are succeeding. “We realize, of course, that the football team is foremost, and is the face of the program, and we are committed, without compromising our academic and character standards, to producing a program that excels on an annual basis,” Bohn says. Everybody sees the duck floating above the water, but not the churning underneath. And few care that CU is adding a women’s lacrosse team, put in place a junior Buffs boys and girls partnership, and has a “green”

initiative for zero waste at the stadium and the arena. For most, football is all that matters. If MacIntyre can win six games next season (for instance: CSU, Central Arkansas, Fresno State, Arizona, Cal, Utah) and nine the following year (i.e., CSU, UMass, Hawaii, Arizona State, Oregon State, Utah, Washington, Cal, Arizona) the next, there will be a calming on campus and in Colorado. Then, the Buffs of 2015 need to get through the non-conference schedule (at Hawaii, UMass, CSU and Grambling State), win their home games against Arizona, Oregon, Stanford and USC, and take three on the road (at Arizona State, Oregon State, Utah and Washington State). They would play for the Pac-12 championship in Folsom Field. And with a victory, they’d go to the Rose Bowl. The long football nightmare would be over. And Mike Bohn’s dream would be fulfilled.

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