Rockies
Without third basemen Nolan Arenado in the lineup the Rockies’ defense and offense suffered and Colorado dropped the series finale in Seattle 5-3 on Sunday.
Arenado was given his first day off this season mainly because he’s struggling at the plate (.185 batting average), but it was his glove the Rockies missed. Chris Owings started in Arenado’s place and made two errors on one play in the seventh inning that led to three unearned runs, technically the difference in the game.
Germán Márquez started for Colorado and went seven innings allowing five runs, only two earned, while striking out four. At 2-2 Márquez has half of the Rockies’ (11-4) losses this season despite having a 2.08 ERA.
- The Rockies are back home for a three-game series with Arizona starting Monday. Tonight’s game (6:40 p.m., AT&T Sports Net, 850 AM), will see righty Jon Gray take on Arizona’s Robbie Ray.
- Charlie Blackmon extended his hitting streak to 13 games after going 2-for-3 on Sunday. Blackmon is hitting .529 with five doubles, three homers and 18 RBI during the streak.
- Despite having the third-best record in baseball, and having swept the team with the best record (Oakland), the Rockies are ranked eighth overall in MLB.com’s latest power rankings.
- MLB.com released its rankings of the Top 30 prospects in the Rockies’ organization. Middle infielder Brendan Rodgers topped the listed, followed by 2020 first-round draft pick, outfielder Zac Veen.
- Lastly, former Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta retired over the weekend.
Nuggets
Point guard Jamal Murray made his long-awaited return to the starting lineup during the Nuggets’ 134-132 double overtime win on Saturday against Utah, blowing past his minutes restriction in the process.
Murray was supposed to play 20 minutes in his first official NBA game in more than five months, but finished with nearly double that (39). He ended with 23 points, a career-best 12 rebounds and eight assists. He pointed to fatigue as part of the reason he missed back-to-back free throws at the end of the second OT that could have put the game away.
“You know I’m tired when I miss two free throws at the end. But it felt good. Not playing for months and then having that intense of a game, it definitely wore on me — the way I played and the way I shot. I just have to be smarter sometimes and try and get the easy one.”
Jamal Murray after playing his first game in the NBA bubble.
Denver (46-24) is in third place in the Western Conference, one game behind the Clippers and a game and a half ahead of the Rockets.
Denver takes on the Los Angeles Lakers tonight (7 p.m., Altitude, TNT, 92.5 FM) in Orlando. L.A. already has clinched the No. 1 seed in the West.
- For you sports bettors out there, DraftKings is running a promotion for tonight’s Nuggets-Lakers game. Here’s how it works: First, place at least a $1 bet on either team. Then, for every 1,000 bettors who do the same you’ll receive a free $1 bet. Meaning if 20,000 people bet on the game you’d get one free $20 bet. As of this writing the current free bet you’ll receive is $35.
- TheDNVR.com’s Adam Mares talked with former Nuggets coach George Karl and they discussed Michael Porter Jr., offensive flow and fostering leadership in young players among other things.
Avalanche
With Saturday’s overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado will be the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed and face the Arizona Coyotes in the first round of the playoffs. The schedule for those games was announced by the NHL on Sunday night, here’s a look:
| Date | Time (MT) | Home team |
| Wed., Aug. 12 | 3:30 p.m. | Colorado |
| Fri., Aug. 14 | Noon | Colorado |
| Sat., Aug. 15 | 1 p.m. | Arizona |
| Mon., Aug. 17 | 3:30 p.m. | Arizona |
| *Wed., Aug. 19 | TBD | Colorado |
| *Fri., Aug. 21 | TBD | Arizona |
| *Sun., Aug. 23 | TBD | Colorado |
Despite neither team actually being at home, having home-ice advantage still is important because the home team is allowed to make the final line change during stoppages.
- TheAthletic.com’s Dom Luszczyszyn and Harman Dayal did an in-depth break down of the Avs-Coyotes first-round matchup. They point out that in hockey in particular there’s really no such thing as a major upset, but it still would be surprising to see Colorado lose to Arizona.
- Meanwhile, The Denver Post’s Kyle Fredrickson wrote about J.T. Compher and Colorado’s third line.
Broncos
TheAthletic.com’s Nick Kosmider looked at where the Broncos’ offensive line stands heading into the 2020 season.
With the O-line in mind the Broncos are expected to sign free-agent right tackle Demar Dotson, an 11-year NFL veteran who started 15 games for Tampa Bay each of the past two seasons. Dotson likely would be competing with Elijah Wilkinson for the starting right tackle job after Ja’Wuan James opted out of the upcoming season due to COVID-19 concerns.
- On Sunday, Carroll Hardy a former Broncos executive and three-sport start at Colorado died at the age of 87. Hardy played in the NFL and MLB and later worked for the Broncos for nearly 25 years. He lettered 10 times at CU in football, baseball and track.
Arguably Hardy’s biggest claim to fame is that in 1960 he became the first and only person to pinch hit for Hall of Famer Ted Williams after Williams fouled a ball off his foot. - Over the weekend ESPN.com released its rankings of each position group across the league. Here’s where the Broncos were ranked in each category:
| Position | Broncos’ ranking |
| Quarterback | 28th |
| Running backs | 8th |
| Wide receivers | 16th |
| Tight ends | 15th |
| Offensive lines | 17th |
| Interior defensive lines | 8th |
| Edge rushers | 7th |
| Off-ball linebackers | 10th |
| Cornerbacks | 22nd |
| Safeties | 5th |
| Overall | 19th |
Rapids
The MLS announced its scheduling for the continuation of the 2020 regular season. The Rapids next game is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 22 at Dick’s Sports Goods Park against Real Salt Lake.
In all, Colorado will play six games in a 22-day stretch, three games each at home and on the road. Additional games and dates for the MLS Cup playoffs will be announced in the future.
| Date | Opponent | Time (MT) |
| Sat., Aug. 22 | Real Salt Lake | 7 p.m. |
| Wed., Aug. 26 | at FC Dallas | 6:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Aug. 29 | Sporting Kansas City | 7 p.m. |
| Sat., Sept. 5 | at San Jose | 8:30 p.m. |
| Wed., Sept. 9 | Houston | 7 p.m. |
| Sat., Sept. 12 | at Real Salt Lake | 7:30 p.m. |
CSU Rams
Over the weekend The Coloradoan released an in-depth report about racial insensitivity and abuse within the CSU athletics department. The story including quotes from players, coaches and administrators both using their name and anonymously.
If proven to be accurate I don’t think there’s any question that AD Joe Paker and current football head coach Steve Addazio should no longer hold either position. Currently all football activities have been put on hold at CSU.
