Congratulations!

Our colleague and friend, Kevin Denke, and his wife, Malisa, welcomed a new addition into their house yesterday. Tierney Marie was born shortly before 4:00 in the afternoon at Platte Valley Medical Center in Brighton.
She was 7 pounds 8 1/2 ounces and measured 20 3/4 inches. To see a picture, go to http://royalbness.blogspot.com/
We suspect that all are sleeping soundly today, and we couldn't be happier.

Thanks for the education

Leave it to Major League Baseball to re-educate this old coot on the calendar.
For the last two years, they've been telling me that "there's only one October."
I can safely say, "Thank you from the heart of my bottom."

Surprised and not really surprised

Aside from being the favorites to meet in the World Series and from being among the teams ousted in the first round of the playoffs, the Cubs and the Angels have something else in common.
They forgot how to do the things that made them the talk of baseball this season.
In the Cubs case, everything shut down at once .. pitching, hitting, defense. If you can't do the three basic fundamentals of baseball, the success rate won't be real high.
In the case of the Angels, it was "waste not, want not." One player left 14 runners on base by himself in four games. The Halos surrendered three runs Sunday night by not catching a 150-foot fly ball. They surrendered two more runs because they couldn't turn a double play.
On to the next round. The games should get better over the next 2 1/2 weeks.

Poll time

One thing reporters tend to be is curious. And in the sports department, we were curious about football.
Our specific question is “Who is the best football player from Fort Lupton and Brighton high schools?”
Yes, we know that players come from different eras and had different emphasis on training and weight rooms and the like. And we realize that it makes such comparisons somewhat hollow.
But that doesn’t matter to us. We want to give you your chance to state your case for the best from the gridiron.
Send us some information about the player. When did he play? What position(s)? What made him your pick for the top player in the school’s history? Did he go on and play collegiately? Did he come back and coach either at the school or somewhere locally?
Be as eloquent as you choose. Be as brief as you choose. But send us some names. The school has a rich tradition in athletics, and we’d like to tap into some of that history.
The rules are few and far between.
* Vote early and vote often (just like in Chicago). We encourage ballot-box stuffing and all sorts of other chicanery. We won’t draw the line at sorting through hanging chads either.
* Have some fun with this while knowing that you are educating some newcomers to the area at the same time.
Send your nominations to ssmith@metrowestnewspapers.com or sports@metrowestnewspapers.com. The deadline is Nov. 26. We’ll name the winners Dec. 3.

Where did everyone go?

Courtesy of colleague Kevin Denke, this was the scene at Tropicana Field just before the Tampa Bay Rays ventured into the playoffs for the first time yesterday.
It's just flat embarrassing, not just for the servicemen and women on the field but for the franchise as a whole.
One gets the feeling the ownership hasn't made many friends, even with this year's on-field success.

Arrogance away?

The University of Colorado's football team has a well-deserved reputation for arrogance. Has had for years.
So could there be a sign of change brewing in Boulder?
Starting quarterback Cody Hawkins drove out to Brighton this week and let 9-year-old Zach Canaday shave his head. The story is in this week's Brighton Standard Blade (www.metrowestfyi.com).
Hawkins did this on his day off from practice and because someone else in the community needed a pick-me-up.
Say what you will about the program or his dad (who happens to be the coach). It's pretty obvious the Hawkinses raised a pretty decent son.

Jobs that won't last

We're starting a list of sports-related jobs that may not last, regardless of the present economic condition.
The first members are:
1) An organist at any professional sporting event
2) The sole source of mature advice for such athletes as Ricky Williams of the Miami Dolphins (quoted as saying he was tempted to smoke marijuana during his team's week off last week) and Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets (he and many a police officer are on a first-name basis around Denver).
3) Coaches for the Oakland Raiders until Al Davis retires.
Additions?