Author: Mark Kiszla [email protected]
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Mark Kiszla: Biggest upset at World Cup? Tourney has become love letter to USA
LOS ANGELES – The World Cup came to America and delivered the U.S. a love letter capable of melting the coldest heart. What makes this soccer tournament so powerful is its ability to make us look up from our cellphones long enough to feel the same goose bumps as strangers from strange lands. I plunked…
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Kickin’ It with Kiz: Why Nikola Jokic needs to get angry with Nuggets brass
Maybe Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic should move to another NBA team. — R., antsy in his pantsies Kiz: My only real complaint about Jokic? He’s too nice. The complacency afflicting the Nuggets that was decried by president Josh Kroenke after a disheartening exit from the NBA playoffs results in no small measure because Joker is…
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Mark Kiszla: Rockies need to do right by Kyle Freeland and trade him to contender
After 10 years, the Rockies need to set Kyle free. Hasn’t the bravest pitcher in franchise history suffered enough? Colorado native and starting pitcher Kyle Freeland is the best of us. He’s strong and stoic. Proud of this state and passionate about his work. K-Free wears his heart on the purple-pinstripe sleeve on the uniform…
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Mark Kiszla: Rather than giving Nikola Jokic a much-needed boost, Nuggets sit on hands during NBA draft
What did the Nuggets achieve in the first round of the draft to help Nikola Jokic return to legitimate NBA Finals contention? Absolutely nothing. Zip. Nada. Who’s in charge of this hot mess? Nobody. Come back, Masai Ujiri. We miss you, Tim Connelly. Is this the result of a brain drain in the Nuggets front…
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Mark Kiszla: What made coach Doug Moe a Big Stiff and the Nuggets’ mad genius
Alex English, George Karl and a band of Nuggets brothers grabbed a slice of pizza, hopped in a time machine and traveled back to the NBA of the 1980s. Their mission? Give one more, forever-lasting hug to Doug Moe, the once and future King of the Dips. “The best — and only — coaching advice…
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Kickin’ It with Kiz: The only way trading Jamal Murray makes sense for the Nuggets
Should the Nuggets make a trade? Jamal Murray had a great year, but disappeared in the playoffs. Can he be the guy that helped them get over the hump again? Don’t know. Aaron Gordon is a tough one. The last two seasons have seen injuries piling up, and he isn’t the player he used to…
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Mark Kiszla: Has Sean Payton finally realized it’s better to win the Super Bowl than the argument?
After 62 years on Earth, has Broncos coach Sean Payton finally learned how to get out of his own way? “When you get older, you just want to win,” Payton said Wednesday after releasing his players to summer vacation at the conclusion of the team’s offseason program. “You always want to win, but you recognize…
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Mark Kiszla: Why Bo Nix and Bronco Country’s ankle fetish are a beautiful thing
We might as well admit it: Broncos Country has an ankle fetish. No, it isn’t kinky. (C’mon, get your mind out of the gutter.) But it’s definitely weird, wacky and in an all-things-orange obsessed way, the very definition of how so very much Broncomania is back in full Rocky Mountain Thunder force. Everywhere he goes,…
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Mark Kiszla: Payton’s Broncos deal is chump change if Bo Nix isn’t a $55 million QB
The Broncos are betting big that coach Sean Payton can get them to the Super Bowl and they can get him to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But the millions committed last week on a new, five-year contract for Payton are chump change compared to a decision that could shape the franchise’s future for…
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Kickin’ It with Kiz: Why ‘Flo’ Balogun is U.S. soccer hero by happy accident
The USMNT’s 4-1 rout of Paraguay in the World Cup opener reminded me of quarterback Peyton Manning’s glory days running the Broncos offense. – R., football/futbol nut Kiz: A U.S. soccer star was born Friday night. Striker Folarin Balogun became the first American player to score twice in a World Cup match in nearly a…