Sad Colorado sports fans should have seen it coming

It has been a rough week for Colorado sports fans. The Rockies lost a gut-wrencher to the mediocre Diamondbacks. It seems more definite that Carmelo will not be a Nugget for much longer. And remembering that being a fan is just for fun, it's important to recognize that out of all of these, the Broncos family is the only one dealing with something truly sad in the death of receiver Kenny McKinley.

Acknowledging the lack of segway from that note, I am writing today to point out that the disappointments concerning the Nuggets and the Rockies were all fairly predictable. Not that it makes it any easier to take...




Ubaldo struggled in a potentially season-killing loss Wednesday night

 The crash of our Rocktober dreams

Doesn't the loss tonight to the Diamondbacks and their less-than-pedestrian pitching staff just bring to culmination two problems that have plagued the Rockies all season? First off, their inability to win on the road, mostly because of a lack of offense. And secondly, they never figured out how to beat bad teams. Those two problems acted together tonight to make us all very gloomy, but we really had fair warning of the downfall that was coming. And remember, if they get our hopes up again, they would have to overcome both issues when they close the season with four games at the Cardinals and their potent pitching staff.

The Rockies are now a definite long shot to make the playoffs because they are running out of games, but we know better than to give up on this bunch. Having said that, I would advise those of you buying postseason tickets to not stress too much about the location of your seats.

The departure of the 'Melo man

As for the Carmelo Anthony situation, the writing has been on the wall for some time. Even if the immediacy of the trade rumors is new, Nuggets fans have had some time to adjust to the fact that the 'Melo man is not in for the long haul. I still think their best bet is to trade him now rather than delay the inevitable, but we will see how Nuggets management handles it.

And while we are talking 'Melo, can we quit pretending that he is an elite all-around player? I am not dissing him; I am forever grateful that he rescued us from the days of Voshon Leonard, Juwan Howard, and last place finishes and delivered a string of playoff runs. I will remember Carmelo fondly for saving this franchise. But he is not an elite player. He is an elite scorer. There is a significant difference.




Carmelo, you're making all of us sad - but really, we should have seen it coming.

When Kobe Bryant doesn't have his scoring chops, he finds other ways to will the Lakers to victories. When 'Melo isn't having his way scoring, he forces the issue, pouts, and makes the problem worse. Carmelo could be an outstanding all around player; we've seen him go beast mode on the boards, and on ever-so-rare occasions, we saw him lock it up on defense. But he has not shown a consistent interest in those areas of his game, especially on occasions when he should have turned it up to help his team win. If he goes to a franchise like the Knicks or the Nets, he is destined for a decorated career as far as scoring accolades, but one sorely lacking when it comes to the hardware that matters.

Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post provided a short update on potential trade partners this morning.