It's Thanksgiving day and Colorado sports fans should be thankful for plenty of things. Here are five of them:
5. Football Season Is Winding Down
That probably comes off as a bit harsh, but football in Colorado has been more painful than fun over the last few months. Air Force is going to a bowl game, and the Colorado Buffaloes sacked their head coach and are only a win away from becoming bow-eligible. That's about all that's going for football in the state right now.
But the Denver Broncos are 3-7 and heading nowhere fast. The Broncos are the big ticket in the state and as they go so goes the entire football scene. While there will be plenty of questions for the Broncos and their fans to answer during the offseason, it won't be as painful as watching this team on the field.
4. Chris Stewart
The Colorado Avalanche winger leads the team in goals (11) and points (24). With Matt Duchene having his ups and downs in his sophomore season, Stewart is turning things up in his third season in the league. Will he be able to have cornucopia of goals tonight against the Edmonton Oilers?
3. Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony may only have the rest of the season in Denver, so fans should be thankful that he is still here and helping the Nuggets win games. He's scored 67 points over the team's last two games, both wins. He went a career-best 17-for-17 at the free throw line in his 38-point game against the Golden State Warriors.
Maybe next Thanksgiving we'll all be thankful that Melo changed his mind and decided to stay with the Denver Nuggets.
2. Carlos Gonzalez, Ubaldo Jimenez, Troy Tulowitzki
The Colorado Rockies have a window of opportunity through 2014 to win with this trio of amazing baseball players. Fans should be grateful for the next four seasons the team has them under contract. As long as all three players are on the team, the Rockies will have a solid core to build around for the next few seasons.
Next year I want to be thankful for the Rockies' first World Series victory.
1. A Colorado Rapids' Championship
Colorado hadn't seen a championship in state since 2001 when the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils in seven games in June of that year. But all that changed on Sunday when the Colorado Rapids won the 2010 MLS Cup in extra time. Once again, Denver is a championship town!