Author: Mark Kiszla [email protected]
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Mark Kiszla: Avs’ championship window closes when Joe Sakic leaves Ball Arena
The Avalanche have gone back to the future, scheming to hoist the Stanley Cup again by doing it the only way this NHL franchise knows how. Let Super Joe do the heavy lifting. “We could panic and try to blow everything up and start all over,” Joe Sakic said Thursday, vowing to run it back…
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From the Golden Ball to the USMNT, The Denver Gazette’s predictions | 2026 World Cup preview
The Denver Gazette gives its predictions for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Paul Klee, sports editor The USMNT will… shock the world with a quarterfinal run, a feat made even more difficult with the expansion to 48 teams and the new round of 32. The massive field leads to an astounding 72 games in the…
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Mark Kiszla: World Cup celebrates soccer’s rise into big four of American sports | 2026 World Cup preview
Only old men yelling at dark clouds of cynicism have failed to see the light: Soccer has made it big in America. But the quality of soccer made in America by dudes wearing red, white and blue? Well, that’s a whole ‘nuther story. In ’Murica, we’re good at road-tripping at Buc-ee’s. Making deep World Cup…
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Mark Kiszla: Why Nuggets’ chronic injury woes are desperate cry for help
If it hurts the broken-down Nuggets to watch the NBA Finals from the sofa as much as it torments them to play basketball on the court, then shouldn’t Job 1 for Denver be painfully obvious? Heal thyself. Too often, this team’s starting five is in no shape to make a championship run. That’s more than…
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Kickin’ It with Kiz: MacKinnon for McDavid a blockbuster trade that could do both superstars good
Thank you, Kiz! It’s about time someone called out Avs center Nathan MacKinnon. He’s a jerk. Did you notice this past season that whenever No. 29 was named the second or third star of the game in Colorado that he failed to appear on the ice? We fans did. As the three stars are a…
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Mark Kiszla: Avs won’t win another Cup until somebody makes MacKinnon grow up
The Avalanche won’t ever get out of this rut if the NHL’s most talented team can’t find somebody to kick Nathan MacKinnon’s butt. Chris MacFarland, the ultimate hockey nerd, was never going to be the man to do that dirty work. So it’s just as well that C-Mac has moved on to Nashville, where the…
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Mark Kiszla: The late Claude Lemieux left trail of blood on the ice and hugs from the heart
The blood of the most brutal feud in NHL history was on the hands of Claude Lemieux. Until his final breath, the rugged player whom friends and Avalanche teammates fondly called Pepe could never wash away the stains on his heart. “You know, it was hard for me to deal with that hit,” Lemieux confessed…
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Kickin’ it with Kiz: Here’s what could put coach Jared Bednar on thin ice with Avs
Broncos coach Sean Payton was a Bo Nix injury from a Super Bowl appearance, and a large fraction of Broncos fans still wanted him run out of town for his failure to kick a field goal against New England. The Avs are in denial. Coach Jared Bednar should’ve been fired a couple of years ago.…
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Mark Kiszla: Avs would be crazy to run it back, because Father Time is undefeated
LAS VEGAS – In the dying final seconds of their championship dream, Father Time coldly broomed the Avs off the ice and out of the NHL playoffs. “We’ll be back,” Colorado captain Gabe Landeskog vowed Tuesday night, while standing accountable at his locker stall in the aftermath of a 2-1 loss to Vegas that eliminated the…
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Mark Kiszla: After another Avs playoff flop, coach Jared Bednar must get canned
LAS VEGAS — For an Avalanche dynasty that never was, there will be no more tomorrows. The championship-caliber team that Colorado hockey icon Joe Sakic built from scratch has a fatal flaw that can no longer be ignored. When roughed up in the dark corners of the rink, these Avs blink. They are front-runners who…