Have you noticed that other cities have better sports teams than Colorado?  The pain and suffering continues for Colorado Sports Fans into another long, long summer. 

The Rockies might just add to the suffering with their terrible start and shambles of a pitching staff.  The injury to Troy Tulowitzki doesn’t matter, honestly, because he was not even hitting the weight of a high school sophomore when he went on the disabled list.    Jeff Francis went zero for April in wins and started the month of May the same way.  Brad Hawpe is on primed to hit only six home runs this season with his one long ball a month pace and the additions of De La Rosa, Quintinilla and Hererra are starting to bring back memories of three and four seasons ago when the Rockies ran out “Todd and the Triple A Team”.

The Nuggets are due for major changes, but probably won’t flinch and the Avs don’t need a lot of tweaking, but probably will overhaul the roster.

It has been doom and gloom around here since the Rockies were swept in the World Series by the Red Sox.  Remember the scene?  The Boston team was dancing with the stars near the pitcher’s mound at Coors Field after Jonathan Papelbon wiffed Sky Sox outfielder, Seth Smith for the final out.

We know that George Karl will remain head coach of the Nuggets.  It would make some sense for the team to bring in some players who are remotely interested in listening to the coach and playing some team basketball.  Even though the Atlanta Hawks were blown out in Game Seven by the Celtics on Sunday, at least they played the first six games as a team and showed what can happen when you play together and play solid defense.  Oh, they also listened to their coach, Mike Woodson. 

Carmelo Anthony is no longer everyone’s favorite player around here anymore.  In fact, the Nuggets brass should be stripped of their expense accounts if they don’t at least try to move him.  4-20 in the playoffs and 0-5 in the first round.  Next!   Please don’t tell me they are going to re sign Allen Iverson.  That would just be plain stupid.  That kind of abuse of the United States currency should be a federal offense.

In the NBA, coaches, players and front office personnel are always attempting to spin their side of the story and not what is blatently obvious for anyone who has been around the game for more than 24 hours.  How many times have you heard, “we’re close”, or “we are ready to make a run next year”, or something to that effect? 

This is done because the coaches and front office people would really rather not have to look for other jobs.  It is that simple.  They try to get the media and public to believe their boloney also.

The Avs, on the other hand, in spite of having the same ownership do not seem afraid to make big moves.  The local NHL capologists have already begun work on what a team should look like that can make it to at least the Western Conference Finals in the spring of 2009. 

The burning and yet to be answered question is whether or not Joe Sakic will return for one more year.  Personally, I hope so because with one arm tied behind his back he is still better than most players on the ice.

The time is now for changes and for Colorado teams to step up and win again.  The next time for the Nuggets will be the first time.  The Avs are due for a return to glory.  The Rockies will be lucky to be in the Wild Card discussion by the 4th of July and oh, hey, how about those Broncos??  Mini camp is just around the corner.

Settle in, relax, take your time.  This summer is going to be a long one for Colorado Sports Fans.  Wake me up when the winning starts, OK?

Tim

April 30, 2008

Contact:  Kevin Medina

               Mile High Sports Radio 1510

               303-650-1795

Mile High Sports Radio’s Neverett Going National 

Denver, CO— Veteran Denver Sports Talk Host, Tim Neverett will return to the national sports radio airwaves at midnight (MT) this  Friday, May 2/Saturday, May 3 when he begins hosting overnights for Sporting News Radio Network.  His show will be heard in nearly 170 markets coast to coast including

Neverett currently is the host of the award winning “Press Box” morning show heard on Mile High Sports Radio KCKK 1510 AM in

Neverett is a veteran of national sports talk radio having worked for the original Boston based national talker “The Sports Final” in the late 80’s and early 90’s.  He relocated to

He will continue to serve as one of the hosts of the Colorado Rockies Pre and Post Game Report, “FSN LIVE” and play by play announcer for the Colorado Crush of the AFL, College Hockey and Basketball as well as High School Football for

                                                            ###

I am tired of the inner city punk coming out in Carmelo Anthony.  His poor excuse for an attitude came out and his true colors showed immediately after Game 3 on Saturday afternoon at Pepsi Center.  It is never his fault.  Just ask any official he has ever complained to.  Well, that would be all of them in the league, probably. 

“I didn’t foul him, man.  Slim did it”,  Carmelo might utter.  And it wasn’t his pot in the backpack or in the glove compartment, either.  Please.  Enough with the bull__it.

How much longer does this experiment need to continue?  Yes, I admit a 50 win season is better than what the Nuggets used to run out there Pre-’Melo, but enough is enough.  This team should be way better than it is. 

Carmelo’s diatribe about everyone from the team to the coaches quitting was finger pointing.  He said he wasn’t pointing fingers, but that is exactly what he was doing.  At least he was smart enough to start with himself. 

Allen Iverson was upset with Karl for not playing him more than a minute in the fourth quarter.  That was the coach letting him know who is the boss.  A.I. is under the impression that he runs the show and can do whatever he wants.  Do you think that Larry Brown was frustrated with him in Philadelphia for a reason now?  For a player as great as he is in one on one situations, he has no championship rings and no Gold Medals.  Huh, figure it out.   Some guys were simply meant to be good, but not to win the big one.

Melo might be the same way.  He was yelling at George Karl during the fourth quarter, telling the coach to “don’t just sit there, do something!”

So, I guess the Melo man does not have all the answers, afterall.  George Karl did not become one of the winningest coaches in the NBA by being stupid and by “not doing anything”.  He has forgotten more about basketball than Anthony will probably ever know.  Karl has also won a heck of a lot more playoffs games than Carmelo has.

The grossly overblown payroll of the Nuggets needs to be reformed, redone, reworked and repaired as soon as possible. 

Start with offering Carmelo and his 13 million dollar smile.  Since Dwayne Wade of Miami makes the same amount of money, how about a one for one trade?  Miami is the worst team in basketball since the Washington Generals and a culture change is needed in both the Nuggets and Heat locker rooms. 

How about if Melo’s hip hop buddy, Jay-Z, picks him up for his Nets team that is moving to Brooklyn?  Melo likes the New York/East Coast lifestyle and there is a lot more trouble he can find in the Big Apple. 

The Nuggets need to find someone, anyone willing to entertain a deal for Carmelo.  Then there is the overpaid, overhyped Answer.  Iverson and his 20 million dollar price tag should be next.

Kenyon Martin is laughing because he knows he is not worth his 13 million dollar price tag and that no other teams want him.  Denver is stuck with him and he knows it.  I wonder if he will get another tattoo this summer?  Unfortunately, it would appear as though Marcus Camby and his 8 million dollar contract will be shipped out.  He might be the easiest big ticket item the team can move this off season.

Nuggets owner Stan Kronke is used to blue light specials at his Wal Mart stores.  After the Lakers complete the first round sweep tonight, Kronke needs to instruct his front office to get busy, dump salaries and go to market.  Paying the luxury tax for being over the salary cap simply is not worth it even for the man who has a seemingly bottomless pit of cash.

Kronke has proven that he is willing to do whatever it takes to win.  He has spent the money in an effort to win an NBA title.  I tip my cap to the owner for his efforts.  Now he needs to wield his mighty sword and slash the teams roster and payroll and bring a more realistic attitude back to Denver as far as pro basketball is concerned.  It doesn’t mean we cannot have a championship team here.  It means we all have to go back to being more patient and be willing to support a team that licks its’ wounds and reconstructs itself.

The high profile “leaders” on this team have already quit on Karl, stopped listening to him and have been ripping him in the papers.  The are committing basketball’s version of a mutiny on the bench. I have seen this before and we are seeing this right before our eyes right now.

Look for the Nuggets to give an effort in the first half, but will quit again in the second as they get pounded by Kobe and crew….again.   They have given up.  The organization should now give up on them and send them on their merry way.  I would much rather see a team of lesser (and less expensive) players, do what is asked of them by their coach and play hard on both ends of the court than watch this lousy minded group of professional check takers. 

I would much prefer to see the Nuggets play their way back into the Draft Lottery and try and rebuild again.  Kronke should keep Karl and do the right thing.  Do the more difficult thing.  It is always easy to fire the coach, but it is not always the coach’s fault.  See Utah Jazz for the best example of this.  Jerry Sloan is the Mike Shanahan of the NBA…..coach for life.  One difference, though……the Jazz are competitive and win most of the time.

Blow it up.  Trade Carmelo, Let A.I. go.  The experiment has failed and the Nuggets have failed their fans again.

As Jerry McGuire and Rod Tidwell screamed, “show me the money!”, the Broncos are trying to avoid doing just that to some yet to be named rookie.  As we speak, the Orange and Blue are trying to scrape a few nickels together in preparation for tomorrow’s NFL draft.

A pick at number 12 this year could cost the Broncos between 10 and 12 million dollars in guaranteed money. 

From the business standpoint, does it make sense to pay someone 10 million dollars who has never taken a snap for your football team when you have had to lay off eight loyal employees who have contributed a heck of lot more to the organization behind the scenes than this year’s first round pick probably ever will?

The Broncos say they could not afford to pay the aforementioned employees anymore, so they had to let them go.  And you expect them to pay a number 12 draft pick this year?

Show me the money.

All the evidence from recent events would suggest the Broncos are not that interested in dropping another huge guarantee to a player who has yet to play a down.  They plopped down 8 million guaranteed dollars to DE Jarvis Moss last year and Moss gave them virtually nothing in return in year one.

I would be more surprised if the Broncos keep the number 12 pick, than if they traded out of it.  I would also not be surprised at all if they traded completely out of the first round altogether.  With nine overall picks, the Broncos can still stockpile players for the future, but don’t have to drop a massive first round chunk of money.

Don’t forget DL Dewayne Robertson from the NY Jets just cost them a guaranteed 4 million bucks, the majority of that guarantee to be deferred until 2009, but still, it is a commitment to pay.

Follow the money.  Show me the money.

This year’s Broncos draft smells like a busy day on Sunday for rounds three through seven.  Let me make a guarantee.  Mike Shanahan will not tell us anything important at today’s pre draft press conference.  He is a mastermind at avoiding the point of certain questions and talking around them.  He can say nothing, while using a lot of words to do it.

Look for the Broncos to trade down or completely out of the first round tomorrow.   Be surprised if they keep the 12th pick.  The only way they keep that pick is if they cannot find a trade partner.

Follow the money.  Show me the money.   Show me a rookie salary cap.

Tim

Alright, can we get the summer started now for local basketball fans?   I know, I know.  One game does not a series make, but if you go by first impressions some other NBA Western Conference team is already saying, “We got next!”.

I never thought it was a good idea to poke a sleeping tiger with a stick.  That is what the Nuggets did with Kobe Bryant yesterday.  He was brutal in the first half.  He couldn’t hit the ocean if he threw the ball from the side of a boat. Bryant was a non factor in a close game and on the bench for a good part of the second quarter.  The Nuggets had the Lakers star right where they wanted him.  Then, stupidly, they poked him and he woke up.

28 second half points, 18 in the fourth quarter would be a start for the probable NBA MVP in this series.  

The Nuggets had no answer whatsoever for Pau Gasol.  The Spanish center had a playoff best 36 points, 16 rebounds and 8 assists.  He cannot be guarded by anyone on this Nuggets roster.  The only way to defend Gasol would be to hire Tanya Harding’s ex-boyfriend to whack him on the knee with a lead pipe before Game 2.

During one possession in the third quarter, big man Lamar Odom was allowed to get a rebound and dribble down the sideline past five, count ‘em five Nuggets on his way to the basket for an easy two points.  At times, the absense of defense of any kind had to be particularly embarrassing for George Karl and his staff.  At this point, Karl and crew can only roll their eyeballs and throw their hands up when witnessing their one dimentional team.

Listening to Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson analyze the game on TV, they picked on the lack of defense on the part of the Nuggets.  It was apparent early, but they were trying to be kind.  Then they had no choice in the third quarter.  They had to finally unload on the Nuggets’ biggest weakness.

The Answer did haven’t have one for the Lakers and was so wound up about it he got himself thrown out of the game.  He knew the game was over and uncharacteristically quit on his team.  Iverson had enough.  Kenyon Martin and Kobe got in a war of words, but lesson number one is that you shouldn’t talk trash when you and your team are getting smoked by the league’s best player and his friends.

Anthony Carter needs to stop whining about getting hit by Bryant’s sharp elbows and begging the team’s film guy to send tape to the league office.  Tattle tale’s never win.  The team that scores more points wins and I expect the Lakers to win four games in this series before the swelling goes down over Carter’s eye.  Didn’t anyone tell him that the NBA is just south of the UFC when it comes to being a contact sport? A.C. should pull up his skirt and start playing instead of acting like a female dog.

J.R. Smith needs to shut up and play basketball, too.  He is learning to play, but he does not have enough veteran status to act like one and think he can get away with it with the officials.

On a positive note, when did Linas Kleiza become Larry Bird?   His 23 points on 9-13 shooting was perhaps the brightest spot of the Nuggets game on Sunday.  Kleiza actually looked unstoppable at brief moments and the Nuggets were milking that cow.  The milk dried up, however and the Lakers took over and crushed the team in powder blue.

Game 2 is Wednesday night in Los Angeles.  Expect a much more determined Nuggets team to show up……and lose again.  They can’t matchup with the West’s best. 

The Lakers pay their players $9, 371, 237 collectively less than the Nuggets, but you would never know it by watching them play against one another.

If the Nuggets are to win on Wednesday in L.A. they will need much more than just their team bus to catch fire.  They will need their shooters to catch fire and simply play to outscore the Lakers. 

They certainly can’t stop them.

Tim

You don’t see that everyday.

The Colorado Rockies played the most innings in a single game in the history of the franchise on Thursday night/Friday morning.  22 innings to decide a two to one score.  This ties for the eighth longest game in major league history and the longest game in 15 years.

I am writing an extra edition today due to the fact I need to fill some time before the radio show starts.  

From time to time I serve as a studio host on FSN for the post game show and FSN Live after that.  Last night was another of those nights.  Due to the six hour and 16 minute game, the post game show and the 30 minute FSN Live show,  Tim Ring and I did not get off the air until after 3:00 am today.  I usually wake up sometime in the 4 o’clock hour to do the Press Box Radio show on Mile High Sports Radio 1510, so I figured there was no use in going to sleep.

I have been awake, without a wink of sleep since I woke up on Thursday morning at 4:30 to do yesterday’s radio show.  I worked on a number of projects on Thursday including doing some TV work at Comcast for the Mtn Network’s Mountain View show.

I showed up at FSN Rocky Mountain’s downtown studios at 5:50 pm for our 6:00 pm rundown meeting then to tape a peice with Eric Hillman for the Rockies Pre Game Show.    Eric, Jeff Huson, Tim Ring and myself did our regular work, watched the game and in every bottom of the inning from the ninth to the 22nd, we were prepared to begin the pre game show.  We could not believe what was going on.  Inning after inning after inning after inning. 

We told jokes, stories, talked about scenarios, played manager, did what we had to do to stay alert and be ready to go.  About 1:00 a.m. I received a call on my cell phone from a producer friend of mine at ESPN in Bristol asking when I thought the game would be over.

At 2:15 a.m. in the top of the 22nd inning, my wife finally realized that I was not home and called me to see if I was at the bar or in jail.  Obviously, it was neither.  I was locked down at the anchor desk.  Jeff, Eric and I would occasionally talk to Drew Goodman and George Frazier at Petco Park.   Two Red Bulls were not enough.

Today, I will get a few hours of sleep and fly to Kansas City for Tomorrow’s Arena Football game between the Crush and Kansas city.  You can hear that game on Mile High Sports Radio 1510 live and watch Joel Klatt and me call the game on FSN at 9:00 pm on tape delay.

I better get used to the long and strange hours….soon I will make my return to national sports radio.  I will tell you about that when I am caught up on my rest.  

Have a good weekend

Tim

Pepsi Center continues to get some solid use out of its’ ice sheet.  Last week, the excitment of the Frozen Four filled the building and determined a champion.  Tonight, the Avalanche will play game three of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against Minnesota’s replacement team, the Wild.

What ever happened to the Good Old Days when the North Stars were gliding around The Met?  Well those days are long gone and the enormous Mall of America now sits on the site where the North Stars and the Twins used to play.  The new arena in St. Paul is gorgeous and the past of Minnesota’s pro hockey is just that; the past.

The present is the Wild and the fact that powerhouse forwards Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra play so well together.   The Slovakian national team linemates continue to show off their chemistry from the Olympics.  The Avs need all their resources to contain the powerful pair of Europeans if they want to move on to the next round of the playoffs.  

The Nuggets continue to amaze me.  They continue to underachieve every time they step on the court.  The economics of the NBA are rediculous and the Nuggets are Exhibit A in the case that something needs to change. 

For a team that has the third highest payroll in the basketball world at over 80 million dollars, only the Mavericks and Knicks, who are 1 and 2 in the race for most fically irresponsible businesses on planet earth,  the Nuggets will be lucky to barely make the post season again.

The free wheeling, freelancing Nuggets make me wonder how in the world George Karl has any hair left.  What do you suppose he says to them during timeouts?  Whatever it is they don’t seem to listen very well.  J.R. Smith only listens to him when he tells him to shoot, but J.R. doesn’t need to be told.  He continues to jack up shots from the parking lot regardless of the situation.  Good luck in the playoffs with this motley crew.

I spent Friday and Saturday at the University of Iowa doing some work for the Big Ten Network.  I saw the Hawkeyes football practice facility and watched the team practice for a short while.  I broadcast a softball game with Michigan State and Iowa in the snow.  Fans still showed up and were tailgating in the cold, rain and snow……for softball.   I guess they don’t have TV, the Internet or even bowling in Iowa City.  What is Iowa City like?   Turn your clock back 15 to 20 years and you have Iowa City.  The Football stadium is less than 100 yards from the city’s major hospital.  Don’t they believe in zoning there?  What happens on game day if there is an emergency?   I guess it would be tough luck for the patient.  I was in my car at a stop light in between the stadium which is practically on the street as it is with the hospital on my right just shaking my head.  In the Big Ten apparently football is bigger than anything.

Same in the SEC where in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the top edges of Bryant-Denny Stadium literally hang over some rooftops of people’s homes.  Roll Tide.

 I walked by the Colorado Rapids team at the Airport on Friday and was less than overwhelmed. Major League Soccer, right?   Major League, right?  Tell me what Major League team wears the same sweat suits at an airport so people know who they are and flies commercial rather than charter.  I overheard a guy on his cell phone saying sarcastically to the person at the other end,” the Rapids are at the gate next to me, boy that’s the highlight of my week”.   Sorry boys, but the only thing Major League about MLS is the name.   Can you imagine if you were on the same flight as the Broncos and the players had to wear the same clothes so they didn’t get lost?   The Rapids should take a page out of Hockey’s book and make their Major League players adhere to a professional dress code (coats and ties) when traveling.  It would at least make the franchise appear more Major League and less like a high school team.

Tim

Following a season like no other, the Rockies had an off season like no other also. 

While the small ticketing staff toiled into the wee hours processing World Series ticket refunds, the new stars of the National League were busy with photo shoots, contract extentions and examining the bruises on their backs from all the pats there they had been receiving.

A second year shortstop on the cover of magazines with his own personal chant is struggling out of the gate.  Troy Tulowitzki will swing his way out of it sooner or later, but he is finding out quickly that this is April and not October.  While most in this part of the world agree that he should have been the Rookie of the Year had defense been factored into the equation, his defense isn’t proving anything yet in season number two.  A sophomore slump?   Maybe, but this is baseball.  You win some, you lose some.

Following the sweep by the Diamondbacks yesterday, Tulo is hitting a mere .192 with only five hits in 26 at bats striking out six times.  He hopes to turn his fortunes around tonight against veteran pitcher Tom Glavine and the Atlanta Braves.

After Matt Holliday (.182  4/22) recorded the Golden Sombrero with four wiffs on opening day, I saw him in the hallway outside the Rockies Clubhouse in his game underwear with a bat in his hand.  He just got back from the batting cage where he went immediately after the game’s final out to see if he could still make contact with a baseball.  Apparently he can.  Holliday jacked his first home run of the season on Sunday afternoon, but it wasn’t enough as the Rockies would lose 5-2 in ten innings.

Todd Helton (.320  2HR) is locked in.  After he homered on opening day, he was asked if it was important to him to get that first one out of the way.  He sort of glared at the reporter and said, “no, it is just another swing”.

Players like Tulo and Holliday are sick of the “panic button” type questions that they have been receiving since the opening day loss to Arizona.  It is still pretty early, but……..

The players who had great success last season appear like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders and are really pressing right now.  Holliday relaxed a little on Sunday and finally found his cut.  Tulo needs to forget about his “star status” and his Mazeratti and just go out and play like the kid that he still is.  When he is having fun, the Rockies seem to win.  When he is shaken, the Rockies get stirred.

There are expectations for this ball club now.  That is what happens after you go to the World Series following multiple seasons of let downs and dissapointments.  Expectations are a good thing for this wannabe baseball town, however.  It is about time the fans are actually surprised and upset when the Rockies lose a game or their favorite slugger leaves another runner in scoring position.  That is how it is supposed to be in a baseball town.  Then you call the radio station and complain.  Get it?

The last time the Rockies were swept in a series was the World Series.  The problem this time is that is was against a team they will see 15 more times this year and every one of those remaining games with the Snakes will end up being critical.

Panicking, no, pressing yes.  The Rockies will try again tonight with Aaron Cook (0-1) testing his sinker against the Braves.  There is no way the Rockies figured that Taylor Buchholz would be the only pitcher with a positive decision after the first six games.  Maybe that all changes this evening and Rockies can get back to playing the level of baseball they are capable of.

Tim

Take me out to the ballgame, take me out to the crowd.  Buy me an eight dollar beer.  Today is when the Rockies open defense of their National League title when they play in St. Louis against the Cardinals.

What?  It is still hard to say with belief.  The Rockies are the defending National League Champions. 

I ran into Padres manager, Bud Black and bench coach, Craig Colbert at a San Diego State basketball game not too long ago.  I have known Colbert from our days working in AAA baseball and he came down to the broadcast position with Black after the game to see me.

I said to Black, “Bud, in Colorado we are all waiting for the same thing you are”.

He said, “what’s that?”

“Matt Holliday to touch home plate”, I responded.  

He rolled his eyes and smartly said, “that was some ball game, huh?”

With snow falling this morning in the Metro Denver area, it was as though the schedule maker consulted the Farmer’s Almanac again.  You watch, when the Rockies open at home on Friday against the Diamondbacks, the weather will be perfect.  It just always works out that way.

The Red Sox and A’s opened with two games in Japan last week, the first game was exciting.  The Nationals and Braves gave us a great one last night with a Ryan Zimmerman walk off homer for their first win in their brand spanking new ball park.  Baseball is back.

How do the Rockies pull off an encore worthy of last season?  Only one way…..win the World Series this time.  Is that likely?  I don’t think so, but it will be fun going through the process.

When you look at Sports Illustrated this week there is a Rockie (Troy Tulowitzki) on the cover and when you flip open that cover there is another Rockie (Holliday) featured in a double full page Nike ad.   Before last year that would have been more unlikely than winning 20 of 21 games down the stretch.

The Rockies are on the map now as a legitimate Major League club.  Ownership and management had asked the fans for patience when they continued to run a number of minor league lineups out there in an effort to get out of an economic mess due to the irresponsibly punch drunk signings of players such as Mike Hampton, Denny Neagle, Larry Walker and Preston Wilson.

Finally out from underneath those stupid overpayments, and fresh off a World Series appearance, the Rockies have run out of excuses.  It is time to be a perennial contender.  The fans of this town deserve a winner with the patience they have displayed and now have expectations of this talented lineup.

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks and some Rocky Mountain Oysters as soon as I pay the man for my 25 dollar parking spot. 

In the immortal words of one of Denver’s least favorite sports figures, Al Davis, it is time to “just win, baby”.  Let’s see if the Rockies can do just that against the Cardinals and start defense of their Pennant Winning season the right way.

Tim

Let’s do a little math, shall we?  

The Nuggets have the third highest payroll in the entire world of professional basketball at over 80 million a season.    That is a lot of money considering most of the teams that spend less money on players are far ahead of them in the standings.  As of today, the Nuggets are still on the outside looking in sitting a game and a half out of the 8th and final playoff spot with 12 games to play.

Dallas is still catchable at 44-26 and in 7th place, while Golden State is in 8th place at 43-26 with 13 games left including home and away games vs. Denver.  The Nuggets still have games remaining with Phoenix (two of them), Utah, Houston,  Sacramento, the Clippers, Seattle and Memphis (tonight).   Three of the seven remaining opponents have better records than the Nuggets while four teams are below the Mendoza Line.

Golden State still has games remaining with Dallas (two of them), Phoenix, San Antonio, New Orleans and the Lakers who are headed to the post season.  The Warriors will also play Seattle (twice), Portland, the Clippers, Sacramento and Denver (twice) all who are on the outside looking in at the moment.

Statistics and probability would say the odds favor the Warriors to hang onto that last playoff spot in spite of a tougher record.  With Dallas in an apparent Free Fall, Dirk out and Kidd invisible, the door is still open for Denver.

If the probable and very possible happens, meaning the Nuggets don’t make the playoffs, ownership needs to consider something drastic; something almost unthinkable.  They need to consider trading Carmelo Anthony and anyone else with a price tag of 13 million who is not producing playoff wins.    Since Kenyon Martin has been virtually un-tradable, meaning no one else in the league wants him, Melo to go might be another way out of the Salary Cap debacle.

With five players eating up the majority of the cap money with one player chewing up a quarter of it (A.I. gets 20 million per season) the Nuggets are a perfect candidate for the NBA’s version of Chapter 11.  Time to reorganize.

Melo and K-Mart are responsible for 26 million dollars combined, while Marcus Camby and Nene take up another 16 million, the rest of roster with the exception of Eduardo Najara’s five million annum, are left to pick up the crumbs. 

Look it up, how many other players in the NBA making five million a year are going to give you better production than Najara.  Look it up.  The list is long.

The dollars don’t make sense.  This roster needs to be blown up and the Nuggets need to start over.  The Celtics did it and look where they are are.  They are only the best team in basketball. The Nuggets cannot win in the post season with the players they have, that has been proven over the last three and soon to be four years.  There is no reason, none whatsoever, with the resources the franchise has at its’ disposal, that this team cannot be a perennial winner, as in championships.

The longer largely overpaid players stay in one town without winning a title, they begin to overstay their welcome.  So far, Carmelo is 0 for his short career at getting into just the second round of playoffs.  The second round is not good enough, however, and neither are the Nuggets as they are currently constructed. 

No playoffs this year would call for a major re-construction of the franchise.  Blow it up and let’s start all over again.

Tim