I hate those heavily weighted games for the Broncos during the first four weeks of the NFL season. I’d rather see inter-conference games scheduled in the opening month, while the product gets in shape. I would hate to see Denver start 0-3 and endlessly hear how 0-3 teams rarely make the playoffs.

– C.R, Syracuse, N.Y.

Kiz: Aw, quit your bellyaching. Broncos Country wanted its beloved team to return to elite status. Were the Broncos down and out for so long that we forgot the reward for winning your division is a schedule built to test your legitimacy as a Super Bowl contender? If the Broncos truly are prime-time players, a tough schedule won’t stop them from winning 12 games.

My hopes for this Broncos season? Quarterback Bo Nix stays healthy. Davis Webb proves to be a great playcaller. The D continues to be dominant. And all three running backs are better than expected. My dream scenario is to see all the “hope” come true and the Broncos are playing in the last game of the year at SoFi Stadium. My fear? That ankle can’t get right, because nothing else matters if No. 10 isn’t right.

– Frank, Super Bowl dreaming

Kiz: With Nix eligible for contract extension after this season, the reliability of his ankle is nothing less than a $50 million question.

The Avs must not take Las Vegas lightly. The Golden Knights are a much more competitive team than they were in the regular season. They look like Florida from a year ago, saving their best for the playoffs. Have a good blend of skill, toughness, speed, defense, experience and coaching. Goaltending? It’s questionable.

–  N.S.H., on quest for Cup

Kiz: When the Golden Knights turned to John Tortorella to take over as coach on March 29, everyone knew exactly what Vegas was getting. He’s a stark-raving-mad hockey genius. Torts doesn’t give a hoot what anybody thinks. About anything. Over time, he’s impossible to live with. But in the mad, mad, mad world of the NHL playoffs, there’s nobody better at kicking a team’s arse into gear than Tortorella.  

There aren’t too many cakewalks at this point in the NHL playoffs, which is why I still believe the Cup is one of the best, most honest championships in the world. At the end of it all, it’s hard to say the wrong team wins, because every team must go through so much to get there.

– Z-man, Denver

Kiz: Home-ice advantage matters. But at this point in the playoffs, little else about what happened in the regular season does. It’s all about who’s playing the best hockey with everything on the line. Over their past 20 games, the Avalanche and Las Vegas have each won 15 times, while Carolina has posted 16 victories. So be prepared for some high anxiety, because two hockey brawls stand between Colorado and the Cup.  

And today’s parting shot questions the sincerity of Nikola Jokic saying he wants to be a Nugget forever.

Why does everyone assume Jokic will stay with the Nuggets? What motivation does he have to stay? Joker may like Denver, but he ain’t winning anything there ever again as long as Oklahoma City and San Antonio rule the roost in the Western Conference.

– Leslie, doomsayer