As the calendar turns to 2018, the team at Mile High Sports looks back on the year that was 2017.
The Rockies made the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade. Furniture Row Racing won a NASCAR Cup Series championship. The Eagles went on a historic winning streak and took home their first Kelly Cup. DU skated to their eighth national title in hockey. The Nuggets turned heads, the Avs hit rock bottom, and the Broncos continued to search for an answer at quarterback.
Here’s what the MHS team will remember from the past year…
What was the highlight of Colorado sports in 2017?
David Hurlbut (Host of “The Morning Huddle”): Martin Truex Jr. and Chad Bettis, for obvious reasons.
Vanessa Hughes (Features Writer): For me, the highlight of Colorado sports in 2017 was the Rockies making the postseason. Granted it was a 1-game Wild Card playoff and they lost at Arizona (I was fortunate enough to be there!), but it was a step in the right direction. The buzz around the team this season, along with many great individual stories (Bettis, Arenado, Blackmon just to name a few), had Colorado sports fans excited about what was happening at 20th and Blake all season and gave fans optimism that this team can do big things in the very near future.
Sean Walsh (Host of “Walsh & McBride”): The return of the Rockies to the postseason.
Doug Ottewill (Editor-in-Chief): Gotta be Furniture Row Racing winning it all, doesn’t it? At my core, I’m not a NASCAR fan, but I have to admit, I was glued to Martin Truex Jr’s quest to become Colorado’s first-ever NASCAR champ.
Rich Kurtzman (CSU Reporter): My favorite moment was Emmanuel Omogbo of Colorado State basketball hitting a buzzer-beater 3 to win a game last spring. He lost his family in a house fire and was the heart and soul of the team. The community embraced him as they stormed the court.
Nate Lundy (President, Host of “Mornings at 5280”): The Rockies season was a fantastic ride and generated a new buzz in town that was well deserved.
Ronnie Kohrt (Executive Producer): Being inside the locker room of the Colorado Rockies Wild Card clinching celebrating. Pure joy on the faces of players who worked so long and hard to get what they achieved. It was quite magical.
Colton Strickler (Broncos Reporter): The highlight of 2017 has to be either the Furniture Row Racing Team or the Rockies making it back to the postseason.
Alissa Noe (Rockies Reporter): Nolan Arenado’s walk-off, Father’s Day cycle — hands down. Even if it did get a little bloody.
Shawn Drotar (Digital Director, Host of “Mornings at 5280”): By far, it was the Colorado Rockies’ surprisingly resilient run to the postseason. After absorbing a litany of injuries to their rotation, first-year skipper Bud Black and an impressive bunch of young hurlers somehow managed to weather the storm. That faith was rewarded by costly and temporary trade-deadline deals that helped get the team over the hump and into the postseason. Even though their run ended after only one game, this team now believes in itself — and ownership clearly believes in what Black and GM Jeff Bridich are doing. Forget the Broncos; the Rockies are the best and most promising team in Colorado.
Logan Hesselius (Radio Producer): Easy. Colorado Rockies. Their season was one to remember, most notably Arenado’s walk-off grand slam on Father’s Day.
Dan Mohrmann (Features Writer): The Colorado Rockies making a run at the playoffs. With the way the team has faltered countless times since 2009, it was great to see a consistent baseball team in 2017.
Who/what surprised you most in Colorado sports in 2017?
Hurlbut: C.J. Anderson staying healthy for 16 games, and the Broncos’ eight-game losing streak.
Hughes: The Broncos surprised me the most, and not in a good way. I knew they would have their struggles with a new head coach, personnel changes and a quarterback controversy that has yet to be settled, but this has been an ugly, disappointing season to say the least. It’s been painful for Broncos fans to watch and the players are clearly sick of this debacle of a season too.
Walsh: The hiring of Vance Joseph and the success of the young Rockies rotation.
Ottewill: How bad the Broncos were. I didn’t expect a Super Bowl run by any means, but the orange and blue were uncharacteristically terrible. That’s always a shock, considering the organization’s history of excellence.
Kurtzman: The Broncos being this terrible.
Lundy: Me leading a group to buy Mile High Sports.
Kohrt: The Colorado Rockies. Not because of the 87 wins during the regular season, but because they changed the entire mindset and culture that loomed like a black cloud over the franchise for 20-plus years. The Rockies aren’t just window shoppers anymore, they’re outbidding teams for Greg Holland, signing big contracts like Ian Desmond and making in-season moves to win with Jonathan Lucroy and Pat Neshek, something that previous Rockies teams, would’ve never even thought about.
Strickler: The thing that surprised me most in sports this season was how bad the Broncos turned out to be.
Noe: CU’s McKinley Wright probably surprised me the most. I didn’t know he’d be that good.
Drotar: John Elway’s seeming stubbornness when it comes to quarterbacks and coaches. I realize it’s only been two seasons, but if first-rounder Paxton Lynch can’t overtake seventh-rounder Trevor Siemian (who’s only in his third season, mind you), than he’s probably a bust. Nevertheless, the Broncos should have played Lynch all season in order to find out, since they knew (or should have known) that they couldn’t truly be contenders with Siemian, anyway. Pair that mess with a trio of first-year coaches in their roles (Vance Joseph, Brock Olivo and Joe Woods), and you’ve built a recipe for disaster. The surprise isn’t that the Broncos were exactly that — it’s that so many fans and media members somehow believed they’d be anything but.
Hesselius: I was very surprised that the Rockies were buyers at the trade deadline. Jeff Bridich has indeed changed the culture and that would never happen under former GMs.
Mohrmann: That the Broncos still very much believed that Trevor Siemian was a viable option at quarterback. There was nothing in 2016 to indicate they should have continued on that path and move sideways for another year.
What “under the radar” story in Colorado sports should have received more attention in 2017?
Hurlbut: Chris Harris Jr.’s great charity work.
Hughes: The Colorado Eagles winning their first Kelly Cup in franchise history should have received more attention. Being the best in any sport is a very big deal, but since this minor league hockey club is based in Loveland, they don’t get as much “love” as they should (although Mile High Sports did have Eagles’ assistant captain, Matt Garbowsky on the cover of the hockey preview issue in October).
Walsh: I would have liked to see CSU’s Michael Gallup get more credit for what he has done. He will eventually be a top-10 NFL WR.
Ottewill: Considering what Mikaela Shiffrin is doing on a global stage, she probably doesn’t get enough love right here in the back yard.
Kurtzman: CSU hoops and their “Magnificent 7” last spring.
Lundy: What Martin Truex and FRR did was amazing. To see an “outside” group win it all is quite an accomplishment.
Kohrt: The dominance of Chris Rusin. No reliever had a lower ERA while pitching 80 innings or more. His flexibility to come in at any time called proved extremely valuable to Colorado. In a year where Greg Holland tied the saves record for the Rockies, Rusin was the best arm out of the bullpen in 2017.
Strickler: The under the radar story that should’ve received more attention was just how close the CSU men’s basketball team was to winning the Mountain West with only seven eligible players on the roster.
Drotar: The meteoric rise of local skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin. The Colorado native from Vail could retire tomorrow as one of the greatest skiers in history — and she’s 22. Shiffrin is already third on the all-time list for slalom wins with 27 — only eight behind record-holder Marlies Schild — and will be favored to defend her 2014 Olympic gold medal in February. The sport that Colorado’s best known for around the world is being dominated by a native daughter… only talking about her every four years should be criminal.
Hesselius: CSU WR Michael Gallup and his NFL potential. Gallup was a juggernaut in Fort Collins and seeing him this season shows he can contribute to an NFL squad in the future.
Mohrmann: The DOD policy change that torpedoed Jalen Robinette and others from being drafted in 2017. It even went as far to affect Cherry Creek alum and Air Force grad Griffin Jax from being able to fully join the Minnesota Twins.
What story was the most overblown in Colorado sports in 2017?
Hurlbut: The Nuggets signing Paul Millsap. (He’s not LeBron.)
Hughes: the Broncos? They are bad, really bad, which is not something any of us are used to, however, media types still try to justify putting them at the top of the sportscasts and on the front page of the sports section when there are other Colorado teams who currently deserve top billing.
Walsh: The over-coverage of the Broncos. They have 5 wins.
Ottewill: That Trevor Siemian was ready to be a bona fide quarterback. Too many people bought that hook, line and sinker. And what do you know? He was still a seventh rounder that was (possibly) just the best of the worst.
Kurtzman: The Broncos’ QB disaster.
Lundy: The Broncos’ QB battle. It never should have been one. Trevor Siemian was the starter in February and should have been named that from the start of mini camp. This team suffered for a lot of reasons. That’s one of them.
Kohrt: The hiring of Mike McCoy. Many thought his hiring would instantly solve the offensive woes and improve it, leaning on the ‘he made Tebow work’ narrative. McCoy failed to not only bring success to the offense, he couldn’t even make it out of his first year, calling plays that weren’t even practiced and bringing too much complexity to an offense that clearly, couldn’t handle it.
Strickler: The most overblown story in 2017 was the Broncos’ QB decision.
Noe: How good the Rockies were, especially in comparison to the other pro sports team around the state.
Drotar: “The Rise.” The University of Colorado football program, buoyed by a stunning, Top-25 finish in 2016, turned out to be “The Anomaly” as head coach Mike MacIntyre couldn’t build upon last season’s success. The Buffaloes weren’t even bowl-eligible, and while the cupboard isn’t empty in Boulder, for a rise to be real… it has to be sustained. Otherwise, recruits won’t believe in it, and neither will fans. Watching defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt depart — not to become a head coach, but to remain a coordinator at another Pac-12 school — proved to be as devastating on the field as it was telling off of it. A heaping helping of skepticism will be back on the Buffs’ plates next fall.
Hesselius: Matt Duchene’s trade saga. It lingered for well over a year and too much speculation went into it before he was eventually dealt to the Ottawa Senators.
Mohrmann: The Denver Broncos. It’s always the Denver Broncos. The fact that the soap opera component of the NFL can dominate headlines while young Nuggets and Avalanche teams continue to improve is mind-boggling. I like the games that come with sports. I do not enjoy any offseason drama.
Who/what inspired you in 2017?
Hurlbut: Bettis, Truex and Harris Jr.
Hughes: Chad Bettis all the way. From what he went through over the last 12 months to where he is now and how he handled everything with class, kindness and grace, he’s really the only choice for me.
Walsh: The return of Tiger Woods in November and Lexi Thompson’s attitude when a rules violation cost her the year’s first major.
Ottewill: The Rockies. From start to finish, you had to fall in love with this team this summer. Bud Black boldly took on a task that nobody in baseball seemed to want. So did Greg Holland. The rookie pitchers took the ball like men. And, of course, Charlie, Nolan, D.J. and even Cargo, who never threw in the towel despite a tough season.
Kurtzman: Against all odds, CSU hoops nearly won the Mountain West with only 7 players last year.
Lundy: Chad Bettis reminded me that at the end of the day, it’s just a game. What matters most is your family, friends, and how you spend your days away from the arena/stadium. The same is true for all of us that cover the teams. In the end, smile, it’s just a game.
Kohrt: Chad Bettis. Not only did he beat cancer, but he took the mound to throw a seven inning scoreless gem in his first start back this year. It was inspiring and it really puts what small things we deal with in life daily into a new perspective.
Strickler: Chad Bettis’ journey back to the MLB was the biggest inspiration to me in 2017.
Noe: Alanna Rizzo.
Drotar: Watching so many athletes donate their time, money and fame to charitable and social causes. In an America where the rich get richer and everyone else gets poorer, between the NBA’s support of its players, and despite the NFL’s lack of support for theirs, 2017 felt like an awakening of sorts. Even wealthy athletes aren’t truly in control of their own careers, and many of them are doing something about it. Whether it’s visible, like J.J. Watt’s multi-million dollar Twitter-fundraising for Houston’s hurricane recovery, or invisible, like Brock Osweiler’s visits to local hospitals — if there’s anything more inspirational than trying to make the world a better, more just, more civil, and more healthy place than you found it, I’ve can’t even imagine it.
Hesselius: Chad Bettis. Landslide answer here. Beat cancer, pitched again in MLB. Many people can’t say they did both in one year. Bettis went full beast mode this year.
Mohrmann: CSU-Pueblo head football coach John Wristen. Playing a round of golf with the man for the August issue of MHS Magazine gave me the chance to understand his journey and his perspective on life. He’s someone that makes you want to always be working to improve yourself, not just in sports, but in life.