Sometimes it’s possible to dream, even if you’re not asleep.
Stuck in a cubicle at work?
Stuck doing chores at home?
Stuck in summer school?
Well, then, this daydream is for you.
Let’s take a journey through the next calendar year or so. One might call it an unrealistic fantasy; I say it’s a really good dream that, with a little bit of luck, could come true.
Not that kind of dream.
This is a sports dream. Specifically, a Denver sports one. The Broncos winning Super Bowl 50 was so sweet that I’m ready for more. Can you imagine if that was only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to throwing parades downtown?
Some say titles are addicting. Let’s see if the “big four” in Colorado sports can satisfy a craving. Here’s how Denver gets four more championships in the next 12 months.
Avalanche
The decision by management to keep Patrick Roy behind the bench another season pays tremendous dividends. The Avalanche quickly return to their form from the 2013-14 season behind the tremendous play of Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon, and Roy’s fiery leadership.
The team finishes with more than 110 points and secures home-ice advantage throughout the Western Conference Playoffs. After cruising through the first two rounds, the Avs and Blackhawks battle through seven gritty games before a Landy laser in overtime sends them to the Stanley Cup Finals.
In the championship series an old rival comes knocking in the form of the Detroit Red Wings. Semyon Varlamov channels his inner Roy and stands on his head in the finals; the Avalanche sweep Detroit and bring another cup back to Denver for the first time since Ray Bourque and the boys did it in 2001.
Roy’s rewarded with a well-earned 10-year extension.
Broncos
July 15 rolls around and a smiling John Elway and Von Miller stand together at the podium at the UC Health Training Center posing for the cameras – Miller has just become the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.
Training camp comes and goes with little drama and Mark Sanchez seizes the starting job, no real questions asked. As the calendar rolls into September, Sanchez and the Broncos beat the Panthers and Cam Newton 28-0 on opening night – the defense scores two touchdowns.
And that theme continues through the regular season. If you thought the 2015 Broncos had the best defense of all-time, you thought wrong. This defense sets NFL records for fewest points allowed, most points scored on that side of the ball and propels the Broncos to a 16-0 record.
The team takes the exact same road as it did in last year’s AFC Playoffs, and once again Miller makes life hell for Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady. He records four sacks in each game as the Broncos head to Houston for Super Bowl LI. But this time on the other side of the ball it’s Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. The Broncos treat him no differently than they did Newton a season ago and repeat as champs.
Miller wins another Super Bowl MVP, and wins “Dancing with the Stars” next spring.
Nuggets
The dominoes start falling into place at the NBA Draft Thursday night, as Buddy Hield takes an unexpected tumble right into Tim Connelly’s lap and the Nuggets sprint to the podium to take the former Oklahoma star.
During the regular season the Nuggets sneak up on folks like they used to. The Can turns into their biggest weapon and the team beats their own record from a few years ago, running and gunning all the way to a 39-2 mark at home. A .500 record on the road leads to a 60-win season and a high seed in the playoffs.
Behind an improved Emmanuel Mudiay in his second year, Rookie of the Year Hield, Sixth Man of the Year Kenneth Faried, MVP candidate Danilo Gallinari and one of the best 3-point shooters in the league in Wilson Chandler the Nuggets stun the Western Conference, ultimately dethroning the Spurs to get to the NBA Finals and exacting some sweet redemption for all those torturous playoff series over the years.
Denver inflicts another painful memory on a cocky and no longer hungry Cleveland, stunning LeBron and Co. in the Finals to start another 50-plus year curse.
Rockies
Sitting around .500 entering September, the Rockies hang around just enough to make us all pay attention. And then Rocktober Part Two (or part three if you count 2009) happens.
Behind the brilliance of Jon Gray and Tyler Anderson, the Rockies get hotter than Denver was temperature-wise this past week. The team reels off more than 20 wins in September and catches the Giants on the last day of the season to steal the NL West and capture their first-ever division crown.
In the playoffs, Trevor continues writing his own Story, helping the Rockies beat the Nationals in the Division Series and then breaking the hearts of all Cubs fans by hitting a go-ahead, Game 7, ninth-inning home run at Wrigley Field.
The World Series produces a familiar foe, as the Red Sox think this will be 2007 all over again. But not so fast. Carlos Gonzalez and Nolan Arenado turn Fenway Park into their own personal home run derby and the Rox return the favor, sweeping the Sox away and sending a very angry Big Papi into retirement.
Meanwhile, up in Toronto, Troy Tulowitzki pulls a hammy throwing his remote against the wall in disgust.
***
Wake up yet?
The good news is you don’t have to be asleep to daydream.