Brooksy Blog is back after a little R&R for the holidays and post football season recharge. Even though I have rested the local sports scene has continued to cook. Without further ado lets dive in and get caught up shall we......................
.
----------GOLDEN NUGGETS-----A fast start this season looked to be a tall order for this edition of hoopsters residing at the Pepsi Center in Denver. So far so good as the Nuggs raced to their second consecutive blowout win over Utah in the home opener. After looking pedestrian in the opener vs Dallas Nene unloaded for 25 points and seven rebounds against the Jazz. The Nuggets are the classic example of addition by subtraction with the departures of Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin. This group plays defense like their job depends on it. They are what I like call long on defense making it very tough for teams to make sharp passes through all the "tree limbs." Ty Lawson continues to shine after acquitting himself so well at the end of last season. And to make things even better is this bench is not made of wood. One the most under appreciated ballers in the Association is Andre Miller who had 12 assists against just one turnover. Those numbers were usually a good reverse total for a month for the always pouting J.R. I especially like the addition of Rudy Hernandez who win a handful of games by himself when he gets hot from downtown. Hell even sometimes lazy and lumbering Al Harrington is hustling on defense as well as filling the lane on the break. It looked almost certain that big Al would be let go but as of now that looks like a distant memory. The Nuggets depth most certainly will serve them well in this compressed NBA season. A 2-0 start is fantastic but we will learn a lot the next five days as Denver plays at Portland Thursday. Then its the first of the dreaded back-to-back-to-back games two of which are against the Lakers.
----------ORTON! IS THAT YOU?-----Well, well, well it all is just too ironic but it comes down to a quarterback battle between the Broncos Tim Tebow and the Chiefs Kyle Orton. Both squads come into the game off disappointing losses to put it mildly last Saturday. Tebow gift wrapped four interceptions in the Broncos embarrassing loss at Buffalo. Two of the thefts were returned for touchdowns. Orton was his usual self the first three quarters vs the Raiders as KC settled for two field goals. But a great individual effort by Chiefs RB Dexter McCluster turned a short little dump pass into a 49 yard gain to set up the tieing score. In fact Orton got the ball right back and had the Chiefs poised for a game winning field goal attempt that was blocked. The Raiders show know compassion for the home team winning the game on the first possession of overtime. Despite the loss the Broncos still have destiny in their hands needing a win or Raiders loss vs San Diego to make the playoffs. The past two weeks the Broncos defense has been leaky to put it mildly and will need to shore that up against old "neck beard" Orton to pull out this win. At the same time Tim Tebow will have to be much more careful with the ball to avoid a repeat of last weeks Buffalo disaster. The key could be the health of RB Willis McGahee as well as the play of the suddenly leaky Broncos defense.
.
----------MR UNCONVENTIONAL-----So far the most entertaining show in town may be watching CSU-Pueblo Men's Hoops coach Ralph Turner work the sideline before, during and after games through the mythical "mid-point" of this his first season at the helm. The results have been mixed to this point as the Pack sits at 3-3 in RMAC play and 5-3 overall. But if the weekend before the break is any indication this team will make some noise before the season is out. An improbable game winner by Jed Knafelc helped defeat Western New Mexico and a most exciting 12-0 spurt early on in the second half against NM Highlands was the turning point against the Cowboys. Turner expects this team to be at its very best by regular seasons end and he wastes not a minute in seeing it happen. Every night during pregame warmups he is right out there with the team coaching them up when 99 percent of his coaching brethren is twiddling their thumbs or reading play charts while the players go through the motions getting loose. Once this year at Adams State the squad didn't retire to the locker room at halftime opting instead to sit on the bench wathcing the halftime show while periodically being lectured one by one by Turner. So far the the most unconventional style is producing wins and easily could be 5-1 in RMAC play. Stay tuned............
.
----------STEADY AS SHE GOES-----Pack women's head coach Kip Drown understands full well how important staying in contact with the RMAC leaders is in the early going. So far, so good as the ladies have raced out to a 5-1 conference record. This team has a certain swagger right now that should serve them well as the season progresses. As long as the tempo stays up, the rebounds are under control and, most importantly, the shooting gets a bit better this team has chance to contend for the RMAC title. Drown has a distinguished record of bringing home the hardware in the tournament but I think it is no secret he would like to win a regular season crown just to prove it can be done.
.
----------RMAC ROUNDUP-----Only six games into the RMAC season it is tough to distinguish just who is in the best shape. I have always been a believer in former Nuggets head coach Doug Moe's plus/minus system for determining just who is leading the way at any given point of the season. It is very simple system. You get a +1 for a road win, a -1 for a home loss, a 0 for both a road loss or a home win. On the mens side Metro State is a +3 followed by Mines at +2. The Pack is tied with six teams currently sitting at +1. The big losers so far are Regis and Western State who both sit at -3 . On the womens side CSU-P is in very good shape sitting at +3 and in a tie with Metro State and Fort Lewis also at +3 . The big loser so far is Chadron State sitting at -3 . I will update this each week as the RMAC season rolls along.
.
----------PROGRAM REMINDER-----The next broadcast of Thunderwolves basketball will be Saturday New Years Eve. The women tip at 100pm and the men at 300pm. Our coverage on Homer1350-AM begins at 1245pm. Remember you can also hear the games on www.homer1350.com . Free smart phone download is also available at www.iheartradio.com . Also want to remind everybody that Saturday is Fan Appreciation Day brought to you by Clear Channel. Admission is free to both games. Hope to see you out at Massari Arena before ringing in the New Year later that night.