Dear Santa, please bring us a Rockies owner who has a clue
DEAR SANTA >> Please line up a buyer for the Colorado Rockies who actually loves baseball and doesn’t just use the sport as a business write- off.
— Ron, baseball nut
KIZ>> While the Los Angeles Dodgers have committed more than a billion dollars to Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, could Rockies owner Dick Monfort sell you a $ 3 beer to cry in on the party deck prior to opening day of the 2024 season? I don’t know if there’s anyone on the planet who can spend with the Dodgers, who seem to think writing checks is more essential to a World Series contender than throwing strikes. The problem with Monfort isn’t that he’s cheap but that he doesn’t have a clue on how to build a winning baseball team.
O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN>> I’ll keep it simple. My Christmas sports wish is for Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog to return to game action.
— Nate, hockey nut
KIZ>> The only thing the Avs need more than a legit secondline center is the leadership of Landeskog on the ice and in the room. They won’t win the Cup without him. But if Landy is ready to skate in the playoffs, there’s not a team from Boston to Las Vegas better than Colorado.
MORE MADNESS>> My Christmas wish is a Sweet 16 appearance in March Madness for the CU men’s and women’s teams. Heck, I’ll even throw those CSU Rams in there, as well.
— Rob, basketball nut
KIZ>> Wouldn’t it be cool if we got a rematch between CSU guard Isaiah Stevens and CU freshman Cody Williams with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line?
PICKY KIZ>> Vic Fangio was too boring. Nathaniel Hackett was too soft. Now Sean Payton is too harsh? Kiz, who are you, Goldilocks? Payton is the right coach for the disaster he inherited. NFL coaches are not here to serve players; they’re here to get the best out of players.
— Nadia, Denver native
KIZ>> Goldilocks? Me? Nah. I’m more like Prince Charming. And speaking of charming … when Payton was having his little meltdown in the face of quarterback Russell Wilson during the loss at Detroit, what exactly was he coaching? Or was Payton merely demonstrating to Wilson how to lose his mind under duress?
REALITY CHECK>> Breaking news! Coaches yell at players. Some coaches also spot media hacks, as Payton clearly has done with most of this market.
— Keith, Denver
KIZ>> Payton is a master of structure. He’s awesome with X’s and O’s. He embraces the spotlight and thinks quickly on his feet. Those are all Hall of Fame coaching tendencies. The shame is Payton lets his big dictator energy undermine some of that success. And you know what? I bet he knows it.
STRAIGHT SHOOTER>> And today’s parting shot is a toast to the unvarnished truth.
Payton is an authoritarian and not built for today’s NFL. He is old- school, and it doesn’t work in today’s school. Kiz is the only Denver media personality that has guts. The rest of them are homers and afraid to tell the truth. Thanks, Mark, for being authentic and representing unbiased journalism. If some fans want to go into their echo chambers, let ’ em.