Thirty-Two Franchises: Denver Broncos

Began in the AFL in 1960; joined the NFL for the 1970 Season.

All-Time Record:  518-472-10 (.523)

The Broncos, Raiders, Chiefs (then known as the Texans), and Chargers were the Western Division of the AFL in 1960, and they have been together ever since.  Here's how they've done against each other in the regular season:

Denver v. Kansas City:  56-73-0

Denver v. Oakland:  55-72-2

Denver v. San Diego:  72-57-1

Kansas City v. Oakland:  73-54-2

Kansas City v. San Diego:  71-57-1

Oakland v. San Diego:  68-60-2

Super Bowl Record:  3-5 (XXXII, XXXIII, L) (1997, 1998, 2015)

Top Passer:  John Elway (51,475 yds)

Top Rusher:  Terrell Davis (7,607 yds)

Top Receiver:  Rod Smith (11,389 yds)

Top Coach:  Mike Shanahan (138 wins)

Top All-Time Player Based on Approximate Value:  John Elway (AV of 206)

2024 College Football Preview: Classic Big 8

Nebraska hasn't won the Classic Big 8 since 2009, but the Conference remains formidable.  This year, they begin the year with four teams ranked in the CBS top 20:

11.  Missouri

17.  Kansas St.

18.  Oklahoma

19.  Oklahoma St.

25.  Kansas

27.  Iowa St.

34.  Nebraska

55.  Colorado

On November 9, Mizzou will host Oklahoma for the first time since 2010.  Oklahoma leads the all-time series 67-24-5, but Mizzou won the last matchup in Colombia.

Kansas St. will play Oklahoma St., Colorado, Kansas, and Iowa St.  The Wildcats' game with Colorado will be their first since 2010.  The Buffaloes lead the all-time series 45-20-1.

Oklahoma St. will end its season on November 29 in Boulder, Colorado.  This will be the first meeting between the Pokes and the Buffaloes since they met in the 2016 Alamo Bowl, and their first regular season meeting since 2009.  Colorado leads the all-time series 26-20-1.

Colorado will also visit Nebraska on September 7.  Colorado hosted Nebraska last year, and the Buffaloes have won the last three matchups in the series.  But Nebraska still has the all-time lead:  49-21-2.

Only one classic conference left.

XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020 (Day 3)

It's 8 a.m. Monday in Tokyo, and Channel 6 is ready to lay some Sunday-night Olympics love on us. Here are our medal standings of the moment:

 

1. China 6 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze

2. Japan 5, 1, 0

3. United States 4, 2, 4

4. South Korea 2, 0, 3

5. Italy 1, 1, 3

T6. Australia 1, 1, 1

T6. France 1, 1, 1

T8. Hungary 1, 1, 0

T8. Tunisia 1, 1, 0

T10. Austria 1, 0, 0

T10. Ecuador 1, 0, 0

T10. Iran 1, 0, 0

T10. Kosovo 1, 0, 0

T10. Thailand 1, 0, 0

T10. Uzbekistan 1, 0, 0

T16. Canada 0, 2, 0

T16. Netherlands 0, 2, 0

T18. Brazil 0, 1, 1

T18. Chinese Taipei 0, 1, 1

T18. Great Britain 0, 1, 1

T18. Indonesia 0, 1, 1

T18. Serbia 0, 1, 1

T23. Belgium 0, 1, 0

T23. Bulgaria 0, 1, 0

T23. Colombia 0, 1, 0

T23. Georgia 0, 1, 0

T23. India 0, 1, 0

T23. Romania 0, 1, 0

T23. Spain 0, 1, 0

T30. Germany 0, 0, 2

T30. Kazakhstan 0, 0, 2

T30. Turkey 0, 0, 2

T30. Ukraine 0, 0, 2

T34. Estonia 0, 0, 1

T34. Israel 0, 0, 1

T34. Mexico 0, 0, 1

T34. Mongolia 0, 0, 1

T34. Slovenia 0, 0, 1

T34. Switzerland 0, 0, 1

They've also given seven medals to athletes from Russia, which invited everybody over to Sochi for the Winter Olympics in 2014 and then cheated.

 

Previous reports:

 

-- XXX Olympic Summer Games, London 2012 

-- XXXI Olympic Summer Games, Rio 2016 

-- XXXII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020 (Programming Note) 

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020 (Day 0)

-- XXXIII Olympics Summer Games, Tokyo 2020 (Days 1 and 2)

XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Introduction/Day 0)

OK, today I'm going to concentrate on figuring out how I'm going to enjoy these Winter Olympics. I love the Olympics, and I especially love the Winter Olympics, and I especially love it even more still when it is staged somewhere outside the United States--like this year.

We've got some alpine skiing, biathlon, curling, luge and ski jumping happening today in Pyeongchang County, South Korea, but I'm uncertain how much of that we are likely to see here because the opening ceremonies aren't until 8 p.m. Friday Korea Standard Time, which would be 5 a.m. Friday Channel 6 Standard Time. I'm really hoping Frank Morock and the sports desk at Channel 6 plan to show everything live in wee hours of the mornings the next couple of weeks, because that would totally suit my schedule. 

OLYMPICS!

COMMENTS FLOW!

Previous and future reports:

-- I Olympic Winter Games, Chamonix 1924
-- II Olympic Winter Games, Saint Moritz 1928
-- VIII Olympic Winter Games, Squaw Valley 1960
-- XII Olympic Winter Games, Innsbruck 1976 
-- XVII Olympic Winter Games, Lillehammer 1994
-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Preface)

Church This Week

So here's what we're planning to talk about in church this week:

When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali--to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

"Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, along the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles--
the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living the in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned."

From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called to them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.

That's Matthew 4:12-25 from the New International Version, and here's that whole chapter from Biblica, the Colorado Springs-based publisher and copyright-holder of the NIV.

Thoughts on the Denver Broncos

Denver has been to the AFC title game 10 times.

Seven of those games were in Denver.

The Broncos are 6-1 in those games.

Of the 5 previous times Denver won the AFC title at home, here is what happened in the Super Bowl:

XII:  Dallas 27, Denver 10

XXII:  Washington 42, Denver 10

XXIV:  San Francisco 55, Denver 10

XXXIII:  Denver 34, Atlanta 19

XLVIII:  Seattle 43, Denver 8

So in those five games, Denver was outscored 186-72.  Their only victory was over the worst team ever to win the NFC.

Some people say this is about choking.  But it’s not.  The truth is that those Denver teams weren’t very good, and benefited enormously from their home field advantage and/or the general weakness of the AFC.  Check out these scores:

1977:  Denver 20, Oakland 17

1987:  Denver 38, Cleveland 33

1989:  Denver 37, Cleveland 21

1998:  Denver 23, Jets 10

2013:  Denver 26, New England 16

2015:  Denver 20, New England 18

In my opinion, Denver was not the best team in 1977, 1987, 2013, or 2015 – they only won because of home field advantage (and, in 1987, thanks to one of the worst fumbles in NFL history).  Their victories in 1989 and 1998 came over two of the worst teams ever to reach the AFC Championship game.

This year, there were probably three teams in the AFC better than Denver:  the Steelers, the Chiefs, and the Patriots.  But once Denver got ensconced in its mountain fortress, where no one else can breathe, that was all she wrote.

Yeah!

XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 14)

I! Am! Mikaela Shiffrin!

American Mikaela Shiffrin Becomes Youngest-Ever Gold Medal Winner In Women’s Slalom http://t.co/WeOHDZ5YA9 pic.twitter.com/ojYx2qb9MX
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) February 22, 2014

Previous reports:

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 13);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 12);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 11);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 10);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 9);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 8);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 7);
-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 6);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 5);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 4);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 3);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 2);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 1);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 0);

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day a);

-- XII Olympic Winter Games, Innsbruck 1976;

-- II Olympic Winter Games, Saint Moritz 1928, and

-- I Olympic Winter Games, Chamonix 1924.

U.S. Amateur Final

Today's final match in the U.S. Amateur golf championship -- being played at Cherry Hills Country Club near Denver -- features:

1. Michael Weaver of Fresno, Calif. He plays for the University of California. Weaver defeated the following golfers to get here:

-- Zac Blair of Ogden, Utah (2 & 1)
-- Patrick Rodgers of Avon, Ind. (2 up)
-- Albin Choi of Canada (19 holes) (Weaver was 2 down with two holes to play)
-- Ricard Gouveia of Portugal (4 & 3)
-- Justin Thomas of Goshen, Ky. (3 & 2) (Thomas was last season's NCAA Player of the Year)

2. Steven Fox of Hendersonville, Tenn. He plays for UT-Chattanooga. Fox defeated the following golfers to get here:

-- Jeff Osberg of Philadelphia (3 & 2)
-- Douglas Hanzel of Savannah, Ga. (1 up)
-- Zack Munroe of Charlotte, N.C. (2 up)
-- Chris Williams of Moscow, Idaho (4 & 2) (Williams was the top-ranked amateur in the world)
-- Brandon Hagy of Westlake Village, Calif. (2 up)

This will be a 36-hole match. NBC's coverage will start at 3 PM Central Daylight Time.

U.S. Amateur Semi-Finals

Here were the matchups yesterday in the semi-finals of the U.S. Amateur golf championship, being played at Cherry Hill Country Club near Denver:

1. Justin Thomas of Goshen, Ky., who played for Louisville St. X and now plays for the University of Alabama, took on Michael Weaver of Fresno, Calif. Weaver is a Cal Bear.

2. Steven Fox of Hendersonville, Tenn., who plays for UT-Chattanooga, took on Brandon Hagy of Westlake Village, Calif., another Cal Bear.

Here's how Michael Weaver started his match with Justin Thomas: birdie, birdie, birdie. That put him two up after only three holes. Thomas actually birdied the third hole himself, but then he bogeyed the fourth hole to fall three down. Weaver added birdies at the 8th and 10th, and that put him five up with eight to play. Thomas made a slight comeback after that, but Weaver's blistering start was just too much to overcome. The Californian advanced to the final with a 3 & 2 victory. I think Thomas played pretty well, but it would have been almost impossible to beat Weaver yesterday.

Fox and Hagy had an extremely close match, with neither man being able to build more than a one-hole lead. After fourteen holes, they were all square. Then Hagy bogeyed the 15th hole to fall one down. The next two holes were halved in pars -- but then Fox birdied the 18th to win the match 2 up.

U.S. Amateur Quarter-Finals

Here are today's quarter-final match-ups at the U.S. Amateur golf championships, being played near Denver.

1. Justin Thomas of Goshen, Kentucky, who played for Louisville St. Xavier and now plays for the University of Alabama, will take on Oliver Goss of Australia, who will be a freshman at the University of Tennessee this fall.

2. Ricardo Gouveia of Portugal, who plays for Central Florida, will take on Michael Weaver of Fresno, Calif., who plays for the University of California.

3. Steven Fox of Henderson, Tenn., who plays for UT-Chattanooga, will take on Chris Williams of Moscow, Idaho, who plays for the University of Washington.

4. Cheng-Tsung Pan of Taiwan, who plays for the University of Washington, will take on Brandon Hagy of Westlake Village, Calif., who plays for the University of California.

Congratulations to the Cal Bears and Washington Huskies for their very strong performance in this event so far.

U.S. Amateur Round of 16

Only 16 golfers are left in the battle for the U.S. Amateur. Here's what's happening with the three who are of interest to us.

1. Justin Thomas of Goshen and the University of Alabama is playing his teammate, Bobby Wyatt. Wyatt, who is from Mobile -- and who once shot a 57 at the Alabama Boys' State Golf Championship -- also plays for the Crimson Tide. Through seven holes, Wyatt is one up.

2. Chris Williams of Moscow, Idaho and the University of Washington is playing Edouard Espana of France. Williams is one up after the first hole.

3. Patrick Newcomb of Benton -- who played for Marshall County and who now plays for Murray State -- will play Brandon Hagy of Westlake Village, California. As you can see here, Westlake Village is quite different from Benton. Hagy plays for the University of California. That match is scheduled to tee off at 2:50 Mountain Daylight Time -- and you should be able to see it later this afternoon on the Golf Channel.

U.S. Amateur Round of 32

Here are what our three golfers of interest are up to in the round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur golf championship, now being played at Cherry Hills near Denver.

1. Justin Thomas of Goshen, Kentucky, is two up with two holes to play in his match against Max Homa, who plays college golf for the University of California.

2. Patrick Newcomb of Benton -- who played for Marshall County and who now plays for Murray State -- is one down after four holes of his match with Michael Hebert of Alpharetta, Georgia. Hebert plays for Auburn.

3. Chris Williams of Moscow, Idaho -- who plays for the University of Washington -- is three up after nine holes of his match with Adam Stephenson of Greenville, North Carolina. Stephenson played for East Carolina.

Update on Amateur Golf

We've been busy with the Olympics, so a few golf items fell through the cracks.

The U.S. Women's Amateur championship was won last week by 15-year-old Lydia Ko of New Zealand, who beat out Emma Talley of Princeton for Low Amateur at the U.S. Women's Open. At the U.S. Women's Amateur, Miss Talley finished two rounds of stroke play in a tie for 66th place -- and thus missed the chance to advance to the match-play phase of the tournament by one shot.

This week, the U.S. Amateur championship is taking place at Cherry Hills Country Club near Denver. Two Kentuckians made it into the match-play rounds. Justin Thomas, of Goshen, tied for 13th in the stroke-play phase with a two under par 139. Patrick Newcomb, of Benton, tied for 51st with a two-over par 143.

Thomas, who attended Louisville St. Xavier High School, now plays for the University of Alabama, where he will be a sophomore. Today he advanced to the round of 32, as he beat Barry Dyche of Charlotte, North Carolina by 3 and 1.

Newcomb, who went to Marshall County High School, now plays for Murray State, where he will be a senior. Today, in the round of 64, he will play Richard Lamb of South Bend, Indiana.

We will also be keeping an eye on Chris Williams of Moscow, Idaho, who will be playing in the round of 64 today.

I Am Watching the Olympics (Day 5)

Urgh! I've already missed three rowing medals races today!

Previous reports:

-- watching Day i (July 25)

-- watching Day ii (July 26)

-- watching opening day and the opening ceremony (July 27)

-- watching Day 1 and the men's cycling road race (July 28)

-- watching Day 2, the women's road race, and Team USA's performance relative to the U.S. percentage of world GDP and an introduction to "Olympic Efficiency Scores (OES)" (July 29)

-- watching Day 3, an introduction to "Extended Olympic Efficiency Scores (EOES)," a tip of the hat to Team USA swimming, an arch of an eyebrow toward Team China swimming, a women's basketball update, end-of-day OES and end-of-day EOES (July 30)

-- watching Day 4, a men's basketball update, badminton jive, "culture war" jive, end-of-day OES and end-of-day EOES (July 31)

I Am Watching the Olympics (Day 1)

And China shoots to the top of the medals table, with gold and bronze in women's 10m air rifle. Poland claimed silver. Women from Lebanon, Pa., and Woburn, Mass., came in fifth and seventh.

Nineteen sports are in action today, and medals in, by my count, 11 events will award medals today. One of those, the men's cycling road race, is being televised live by NBC right now, and a 29-year-old from Boulder, Colo., is in second place. But cycling is an event of such heartbreak here at the HP that I can hardly bear to watch. So, I'm probably most interested in women's fencing, where 18-year-old Lee Kiefer of Lexington is competing in the round of 32.

Previous reports:

-- watching Day i (July 25)

-- watching Day ii (July 26)

-- watching opening day and the opening ceremony (July 27)