Kroenke eclipses Bowlen as greatest owner in Denver sports
READY FOR ROCKTOBER >> With Stan Kroenke as owner, the Rams, Mammoth, Avalanche and Nuggets have been champs in football, lacrosse, hockey and basketball since the start of 2022. Let’s encourage him to buy the Rockies.
Walt, wishful- thinker
KIZ >> Stan Kroenke is one driven, stubborn dude who refuses to lose. Yes, those traits can cut both ways. When Kroenke refused to deal from a position of weakness, trading Carmelo Anthony actually benefited the Nuggets, especially when you consider guard Jamal Murray became the final piece of that deal. On the other hand, Kroenke’s refusal to back down in a showdown with Comcast has earned him vilification by fans upset because it’s tough to find Nikola Jokic and Nathan Mackinnon on local TV. But this is my truth: With all due respect to the late, great Pat Bowlen, the greatest sports mogul that this dusty old cowtown has ever seen is Kroenke.
SPURRING A DYNASTY >> Assuming Jokic doesn’t lose interest, the Nuggets could go on a San Antonio style run over the coming decade.
Peter, Bow Mar
KIZ >> While the Nuggets are talking ’ bout building a dynasty, is it fair to say an Avs team with Hall of Fame talent in Mackinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar has underachieved? The current kings of hockey are the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Since Vegas joined the NHL in 2017, Colorado and the Knights both have won one ring. Conference titles: Vegas 2, Avs 1. Cumulative points: Avs 587, Vegas 575. Playoff rounds won: Vegas 11, Avs 7.
THROUGH THE DECADES >> Fire up the fire trucks. Hey Kiz, did you ever think it would take 40 years in town before you could say that about the Nuggets? Ed, Denver
KIZ >> Heck, until the Nuggets wore down Devin Booker and the Suns, I wondered if it might be another 40 years before Coloradans got to party with their NBA team at a victory parade. You and I both know: An old GOAT like me didn’t have another 40 years to wait.
YELLOW BRICK ROAD >> Here’s to the Nuggets for restoring my fandom. Since they won the championship I’ve been strutting around town like a guy from the Lollipop League in Munchkin Land. It’s inspiring to witness unselfish team play in a very selfish time. Luke, Carbondale
KIZ >> When I guaranteed a championship after Game 1 of the Finals, a feisty fan chastised me for being a newbie who wasn’t a real basketball guy. Then he blasted me as unworthy to be claimed as a card- carrying member of Nuggets Nation, fearing the Great and Powerful Kiz might inspire Miami to win the series. Hey, I get it. Pledging allegiance to a team as a homer is now a badge of honor for many journalists of the please- like- me internet era. That makes a dinosaur smile, because I’ve seen it all before.
RARE HAIR >> And today’s parting shot allows me to fondly remember what a glorious bizinthe- front, party- in- the- back mullet I once sported in the press box.
I was a kid in Denver when long- haired, sandal- wearing sports reporters replaced the Humphrey Bogart, cigar- chomping scribes that always wrote the team line in the press box. Please don’t return to that stuff. B. V., San Antonio