@MarkKnudson41
Strike One: It could have been.
The planets aligned. Things fell into place. And it all happened early enough in the week that there could have been a make-up Rocky Mountain Showdown this past Saturday.
Both the UNLV at Colorado State and the Arizona State at Colorado games were cancelled when on-campus COVID-19 outbreaks occurred on the opposing campuses. The Rams and Buffs were both left high and dry through no fault of their own, with no opponents for the upcoming college football Saturday.
Once the Pac 12 conference rescinded its policy against playing-non-conference games, the door was opened wide for a CU at CSU make up tilt. Or was it? The Rocky Mountain Showdown, originally scheduled for September 5th at Canvas Stadium, could have been played…except that the Pac 12 conference stipulated that all non-conference games would have to be played at Pac 12 facilities.
Could that have been the deal breaker? It appears likely.
Certainly the game should have taken place in Fort Collins. There was a contract in place for 2020 that would have brought the Buffs to the Fort for the first time since 1996. No way anyone could justify any insistence on playing in Boulder for medical reasons. The Coronavirus case levels have not been higher in FoCo than in the People’s Republic, just 45 minutes to the south. One place is not any safer than the other right now.
Power Fiver conference arrogance is nothing new. But hanging on to the idea that Pac 12 locations are somehow safer than other places just…because, is utter nonsense. The league has already had six conference games cancelled in just three weeks. Pac 12 locales have proven that they aren’t safer than anywhere else.
Insisting that CSU adhere to testing protocols that meet Pac 12 standards would have been no problem. And allowing the game to be televised by the Pac 12 Network could have also been worked out pretty easily under the circumstances.
But insisting that CSU play at Folsom for “safety reasons” – IF that was indeed the case – is complete nonsense.
Perhaps CU wanted a home game to balance out their schedule…as did CSU. That’s understandable on both sides. Still, under the circumstances, CU should have agreed to go to Fort Collins because that’s what was supposed to happen this season, pre-COVID.
Early in the week, it appeared that the Mountain West conference wanted CSU – which has now lost two winnable home games when outbreaks hit their scheduled opponents – to play a rematch with Wyoming, which also had their game with Utah State cancelled when the Aggies had an outbreak. If you read between the lines of Wyo AD Tom Burham’s letter to his fans, it would appear that CSU balked at that idea, having already played and defeated the Cowboys just a couple weeks ago.
The Rams wanted to play CU, according to Head Coach Steve Addazio. It’s really sad that the powers that be weren’t able to make that happen.
Perhaps when this screwed up regular season is over, the two programs can make it happen as a post season event? Is anyone stopping them then?
Strike Two: So what do the Denver Nuggets do now?
You know that old adage that, “if something aint broke, don’t try to fix it?” Tim Connelly and his crew certainly went into the week feeling good about where their team was at. It certainly wasn’t broke. They actually were looking to add on – and did so with a couple of nice pick ups in the NBA Draft. Zeke Nnaji, a 6’11” front court player from the University of Arizona could offer some help this season, and young guard RJ Hampton has a bright future after what will likely be a red shirt year upcoming for him.
They even worked out a deal to bring in seasoned Argentinian point guard Facundo Campazzo from Real Madrid to help distribute the ball to what they believe will be a dynamic scoring punch of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.
These were all very welcome additions.
Then came the unexpected subtraction of highly valued forward Jerami Grant, who inexplicably signed with the lowly Detroit Pistons for the exact same amount of money he was offered by Denver. A head scratcher that left the Nuggets scrambling.
They added power forward JaMychal Green after losing Grant and back-up center Mason Plumlee, and re-signed veteran power forward Paul Milsap as well. Are they done adding on now?
As things stand, Denver will still miss Grant. He’s a cut above his replacements.
The biggest thing that has to happen for Denver? Porter Jr has to become consistent on offense…AND improve dramatically on defense. It really is that simple. Grant’s length and defensive mindset made him very valuable against some of the best wing players in the league. On the other hand, MPJ was a defensive liability up until now.
For the Nuggets to take the next step, MPJ has to take the next BIG leap.
Strike Three: Todd Helton’s third year on baseball’s Hall of Fame ballot has arrived.
Thanks to the analytics crowd, it’s very easy to make a case for the guy most people feel is the Greatest Colorado Rockie ever. (Hall-of-Famer-elect Larry Walker didn’t play his entire career in Denver, remember.) Helton’s park-adjusted statistics very clearly put him near the head this year’s class of nominees that includes Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling and others. And his defensive abilities rank him among the best first basemen ever.
Thanks to the excellent Twitter feed of “@HeltonHOF” we know that Todd Helton is one of four MLB players ever to have an OPS over .950 and save 70+ defensive runs over their career. And he’s one of only seven first basemen (four are already in the Hall) to have 2,500 hits and 350 home runs in his career. That’s EVER in baseball history. Then there’s this Tweet:
“If Todd Helton returned to baseball and proceeded to go hitless for 600 consecutive at-bats, his career batting average would still higher than that of Ken Griffey Jr, Frank Robinson, Carl Yastrzemski and 58 other Hall of Fame position players.”
So why is Helton still considered a long shot for Hall selection this year? He should be a slam dunk selection with stats like his.
It’s the “Coors Field” stigma of course. Even though analytics are designed to make adjustments for playing conditions, some voters still can’t get over it. The hope is that Walker’s selection last year at this time will pave the way for Helton. Eventually.
But this should be the year. The 2020 field is…underwhelming.
Most feel that Schilling will finally get his due and get elected. One of the best post season pitchers ever, he should have been in long ago. Problem is he can’t keep his mouth shut. Some of the absurd and vile things he’s promoted very publicly – like the stuff that got him kicked off ESPN TV – have hampered his chances. He should be a Hall of Fame player even while he’s a Hall of Shame person. No doubt his acceptance speech will be…memorable. And hopefully very short.
Bonds and Clemens have an outside shot. The entire Performance Enhancing Drugs thing has been talked about to death. The bottom line remains that both were Hall of Fame players before they ever indulged in illegal substances. But will enough voters ever agree?
The Baseball Writers Association of America members get to vote for 10 guys, also choosing between players like Andruw Jones (should be in), Jeff Kent, Manny Ramirez (did ‘roids make him great?) Andy Pettitte, Scott Rolen, Gary Sheffield, Billy Wagner and Omar Vizquel to name the front liners. How many of them are slam dunks? None.
I’d take Helton over all of these guys faster than you can say Cooperstown.
If you believe the pundits – and they got it right last year – Helton’s going to have to continue to wait. Standard procedure these days is for guys like Helton – not slam dunks – having to wait until they near the end of their time on the ballot – like Walker did, getting picked in his 10th and final year of eligibility. Not sure why Walker (and others) are better players after they’ve been retired 15 years than they were when they were retired for five, but maybe that’s why I don’t have a vote? Do stats improve with each passing year?
Regardless, getting the call was worth the wait for Walker. Hopefully that wait won’t be too much longer for Helton.