BLOCKBUSTER!

(thanks to El Guapo for the post title)

Well, the trading deadline has come and gone, and the Nuggets barely made a ripple in the stormy ocean of the Western Conference.

I'm a little bummed about this. The Nuggets really seem to be one player away from making a title run. But for all the rumors - Artest, Mike Miller, Kyle Lowry, Zach Randolph (this rumor may or may not have been a joke), etc. - nothing happened. I really thought they'd try to make a run at it this year, before Camby dies and AI slows down. The West isn't getting any easier next year. And we did nothing?

Well, not nothing. The Nuggets did trade Von Wafer (who I liked in college) for Taurean Green (who I hated in college because he played for Florida). That's basically one player who never plays for another. Except Green is slightly younger than Wafer, which makes it even less likely George Karl will ever play him.

Now, I'm going to try to not be so negative. I'm excited for Taurean Green. Maybe he'll be a solid contributor someday. He's a good ballhandler, supposedly shoots the three well, and fits in well with the rest of the Nuggets guards in that he's a defensive liability. But let's just say he's not the player that's going to put us over the top in the West.

The acquisition of Green did lead to the biggest laugh I've had in a good while though. A little research on Taurean turned up this beauty, his Draft Express profile:

Taurean Green - Previous Team: Florida, Junior

Physicals:
H: 6' 1"
W: 173 lbs
Bday: 11/28/1985
(22 Years Old)
Positions:
Current: PG
NBA: PG
Possible: PG
Comparisons:
Best Case: Jameer Nelson
Worst Case: Chucky Atkins

How about that for good news! Apparently, the best the Nuggets could ever hope for from him is to be Jameer Nelson, who the Nuggets actually already drafted in 2004. But they traded him away for the rights to the 20th pick in the 2005 draft, which they used to pick Julius Hodge, who averaged 0.9 points in 2.4 minutes before almost getting murdered in a hail of gunfire on I-76. He now plays for the Adelaide 36ers in the Australian NBL basketball league, and is doing well.

However, according to Draft Express, if Green ends up as an absolute, abject failure in the NBA, and doesn't live up to anyone's expectations, he will end up like *shudder* Chucky Atkins. The same Chucky Atkins the Nuggets brought in as the "solution" to our point guard problem. Unfortunately, Nuggets fans only got a teasing look at what Chucky brings to the table. He posted some sizzling numbers, 22.8% from the field, 24.4% from three, 4.0 points and 1.9 assists in 10 games before succumbing to a sports hernia.

To sum up: we just acquired a guy, who, if he exceeds expectations, may one day be better than a player we drafted years ago, then traded away for nothing. And if he's a failure, he has a chance to be every bit as bad as the guy who's supposed to be our starter. So yes, our backcourt is a complete dumpster fire.

Oh, by the way, GET WELL CHUCKY!

But one more thing. Kleiza. I love Kleiza. I like the hardcore Lithuanian fans who come to cheer him on at the Pepsi Center. I like the way he talks - Eastern European guy who learned the English language by listening to DMX albums. I like how he plays tough. I like how he hustles and understands fundamental basketball skills unlike some of his teammates (*cough* JRSMITH *cough cough*). I like how he's improving on shooting threes, which the Nuggets desperately need from him. I like how he's capable of scoring 40 points.

But geez. The sticking point in Nugget trade talks was the refusal to give up Kleiza?

I've got to say, if we passed on several good trades because of him, he better turn into something better than a poor man's Matt Harpring. Seriously, he's a slow 3. What's this upside everyone is so terrified of losing? That in three years he becomes the slowest defender to ever win the NBA's 6th Man Award? It ain't like he's taking over the 2. Or pushing Melo for playing time. He'll be coming off the bench for the rest of his Nuggets career.

Nice job Nuggets, way to make me secretly resent a player I used to love. Now I'm angry and guilty.

What I secretly hope is that the Nuggets are going to make a move in the off-season, and are saving up for that. But if Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports is right about this:

Kleiza isn't just a player for Denver, but part of the ownership's family. Stan Kroenke has known Kleiza since his days at Missouri, when he was a teammate and close friend of Kroenke's son, Josh. The Nuggets traded for Kleiza, a 6-foot-8 Lithuanian, on draft day in 2005 and watched him develop into a terrific young player.

"There's a feeling from ownership that, ‘Hey, we've helped turn this kid into a player, so how can we let him go'" an Eastern Conference executive said.

I don't think he's going anywhere.

Alright, I'm over it. Go Nuggets. Especially Linas. I feel bad already for the ugly things I said about you.

The Milagro Beanfield War is Denver's New Book

John Nichols' novel "The Milagro Beanfield War" is this year's selection for the "One Book, One Denver" program. Mayor Hickenlooper announced the choice today. There is a series of events planned during the program, which includes a reading from the author himself on Nov. 13 at West High School.

The novel is the story of a young man who defiantly taps into an irrigation channel to water his father's arid bean field - an act that touches off a struggle between the poor community and the big business interests who control the water.

The U is back, doing what they do

Golfer Profile: Gregg Edwards

From the Bradenton Herald, 9/28/06:

Behind the Greens

Who: Gregg Edwards.

Age: 35.

Job title: Mini-tour professional, instructor at The River Club.

Family: Fiancee, Sandra Wimmer; son Carter Lane, 13 months.

Favorite sports team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I've had season tickets for six years.

Noteworthy accomplishment: Winning last weekend's Sarasota County Open at the Golf Club at Capri Isles in Venice in a five-hole playoff against Mike Cummings (both shot rounds of 72-70 for a 142 total).

Most rewarding aspect of job: I always feel I'm playing to better myself. I've played every sport, and golf is the best - it doesn't matter how big you are, what color you are, where you came from. All that matters is, what did you shoot?

Most challenging aspect: Making a 3-footer for the win. Any time you make a swing, you're one nanosecond from disaster, so you have to grind it. It's a lot of fun, but it's exhausting.

Management skills: They call Capri Isles "Capri Alley," and I had to accept hitting 4-iron instead of 3-wood and allowing 150-160 yards as opposed to getting greedy. I hit 16 greens the first day, which is pretty solid.

Moving on up: I'm playing this week in The Florida Open Golf Championship at Eagle Creek in Orlando. Mike Pascuzzi, the owner here, has given me a great opportunity by allowing me to practice and teach, and I'm going to represent the club as best as I can. I won a Moonlight Tour event in Lakeland and tied the course record here with a 65, so I'm on a roll.

Staying focused: My brother Charles sent me a book, Zen in the Art of Archery, and it was so basic it brought everything back.

Climbing the ladder: I had a 14 handicap when I moved here in 1994. When I worked in the cart barn at Tara Golf and Country Club, I was hitting 1,000 balls a day, then I got lessons from David Leadbetter in Naples. Later on, I worked in the cart barn at Longboat Key - whatever I had to do to keep my dream alive.

Favorite quote: It's from Bobby Jones: 'Intense concentration upon results, to the absolute exclusion of all thoughts as to method, is the secret of a good shot.'

Dream foursome: Bobby Jones, because he was a pioneer of the game. Freddy Couples, just because he's cool. And Tiger Woods - he's probably the greatest of all time.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Henry, Herald Staff

The Denver Skyline

For a variety of reasons, downtown Denver is experiencing a building boom. The Denver skyline hasn't changed much since 1985, when most of the tall buildings downtown were constructed, but that is soon to change. In addition to the projects you can already see like Glass House, several projects have broken ground or are in the planning stages. Here is a quick look at some of them:


One Lincoln Park (website)

One Lincoln Park is already under construction on the lot formed by the intersection of 20th St., E. 20th Ave., Lincoln St. and Welton St. The building will be 32 stories and feature condos, ground-floor retail, underground and structured parking, and an infinity pool on the 7th floor.



The Spire

This project is a 41-story condo tower on the corner of 14th and Champa. According to the ever-trustworthy Denverinfill.com, it should be breaking ground within the month!






Great Gulf tower (see their website here)

This 55-story building is planned for the southwest corner of 14th and Lawrence, just behind the restaurants and shops of Larimer St. The tower will feature for-sale condos, a landscaped rooftop park with pool, a private gym/spa/wellness center, ground floor retail, and underground parking.




Four Seasons Hotel and Residences (see their website here)

A 50-story Four Seasons hotel tower that will feature luxury condos in addition to hotel rooms, along with commercial space and underground parking. The tower will be located on 14th St. between Lawrence and Arapahoe. So far the only progress on this project is a new sales office in the DPAC complex.

Florida Open: First Round Results

The first round of the Florida Open is complete, and Gregg Edwards is in a tie for 58th place after shooting a two-over 73 on the day. After tomorrow, about 2/3 of the field will be cut, meaning that the top 50 and ties will probably advance. Edwards is right on the edge.

Orlando resident Camilo Benedetti leads the tournament with a blazing 7-under 64.

Benedetti was born in Medellin, Colombia, but moved to the US as a sophomore in high school. He starred at the University of Florida and was the first freshman in UF history to win the SEC Championship. He, Nick Gilliam, Bubba Dickerson and current PGA Tour pro Camilo Villegas were part of a dominant UF golf team that won the 2001 NCAA Championship. Benedetti tied the course record by posting a 65 in the final round of that tournament, and finished second overall, ahead of such familiar names as Lucas Glover, Ricky Barnes, D.J. Trahan, and Bryce Molder.

Benedetti's group, which included David Kirkpatrick (two-under 69) and Joseph Alfieri (two-under 69), shot the lights out in the first round.

Edwards was grouped with Guy Woodman (two-under 69) from Old Windsor, England, and David Damesworth (plus-eight 79) of Minneola, FL. Woodman was featured on the Golf Channel series, the Big Break IV as a member of the European team, and made it to the finals of the competition. Recently, he has been trying to qualify for full-time status on the European Tour. Damesworth is a veteran of the Hooters and Moonlight Tours who played college golf at Cornerstone University in Michigan.

Edwards tees off tomorrow at 12:48 PM. It promises to be a hot day, with zero percent chance of rain and a high of 89 degrees.

(click on the underlined links above for more information).

Nuggets News: Thank You Houston

According to ESPN.com, the Houston Rockets have signed Bonzi Wells to a two-year deal for $5 million. This is a fantastic move by the Rockets, because it means he won't be playing for the Nuggets. Thank you Houston.

I just can't imagine that the Nuggets had any legitimate interest in this guy. He's everything Denver doesn't need. And I mean the city as a whole, not just the team. He's a bad character guy and a malcontent and he doesn't shoot threes. I never understood the attraction.

Now if we can just get some value for one of our big men. K-Mart has been talking like he wants to remain a Nugget and play hard this year. If he and Karl can patch things up, I'd be excited about him staying around. We do have a logjam at PF/C now though. Here's what the roster looks like right now:

Starters
PG - Andre Miller
SG - J.R. Smith
SF - Carmelo Anthony
PF - Kenyon Martin
C - Nene

Reserves
Earl Boykins - PG
Julius Hodge - G
DerMarr Johnson - G
Yakhouba Diawara - G/F
Eduardo Najera - F
Linus Kleiza - F
Reggie Evans - F
Joe Smith - F
Marcus Camby - C/F
Jamal Sampson - C

I just can't imagine what the Nuggets are planning to do about this. Someone's gotta go. But all the big names on our front line have proven they are unable to stay healthy, so it's a scary proposition to bank on any of them.

There's been a lot of rumors about K-Mart towards the end of the summer, and none of them sounded any good. The worst was the Zach Randolph for Martin deal. I hope to hear something better than that. And in case anyone was unaware of this, we still need perimeter shooting. For about the fourth consecutive season.

The Florida Open

The Florida Open golf tournament kicks off tomorrow morning, with roughly 144 golfers trying to win their share of $62,000 in a tournament that draws many of Florida's top golfers. The event will run 72 holes, with a cut down to the lowest 35% and ties after 36 holes.

Past winners of the Open include PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour members Bob Murphy, Gary Koch, Bruce Fleisher, John Huston, Bart Bryant, and Dudley Hart.

Last year's winner Colby Beckstrom won $12,000 for first place by shooting an 8-under 202 over a shortened three rounds of competition at the par-70 Loblolly course in Hobe Sound, Florida.

This year, the event will be held at the Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando. The course is a Ron Garl and Howard Swan design that features lots of bunkers, lots of water and some very long holes. From the "tour" tees, the course plays 7,198 yards, although it remains to be seen how long the course will play tomorrow.

And we'll be watching the scores intently. That's because our boy Gregg Edwards tees off at 8:33 AM EST to make a run at that crystal trophy and first-place check.

Good luck brother!

THE FOX FOOTBALL ARROW RETURNS

Fox has brought back the awful Fox Football Arrow during their NFL coverage that shows the down and distance for the offensive team. Instead of the bright yellow from last year, they toned it down a little and made it team colors.

The problem with this is that it obscures the players on the screen. You can't see if there is a tight end or who he is, or who is lined up across from him on the defensive front. It's stupid and distracting.

Honestly, who needs this thing? I guess it helps if you're watching the game at a bar after downing 19 shots of whiskey, and the sound is off on the tv and you've never seen a football game before. And you forgot to wear your contacts. But seriously, who else needs/wants this thing?


Please, Fox, kill the arrow. Not even the glowing puck was this stupid.