Columnists

Alan Tapley is an educator, author, and blogger who has lived just outside of Boulder for the last twenty years. His published work includes two novels, two children’s books, a series of cartoons in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and multiple sports related articles. His love for family and the state of Colorado is only matched by one thing, his passion for sports. The first baseball game he ever attended was at Wrigley Field, before there were lights. At the final Bronco game at the old Mile High, he allegedly cut out a piece of his seat in the South stands. But regardless of being here for the Avalanche’s last Stanley Cup, the Rockies only World Series appearance, and all the Broncos’ Super Bowl Victories, his wife never fails to remind him that he wasn’t at the University of Colorado in 1990, like she was. The year the Buffs football team won the National Championship
Recent Content

The Nuggets acquired Cam Johnson, and he comes from nowhere near Wisconsin. But with the money they saved, also got Hardaway, he’s good, but he’s no David Thompson. Bruce Brown was like more o…
The Nuggets acquired…
The Nuggets acquired Cam Johnson, and he comes from nowhere near Wisconsin. But with the money they saved, also got Hardaway, he’s good, but he’s no David Thompson. Bruce Brown was like more of a bonus, not to mention there’s Jonas Valancianas. Though he may play in Greece, the guy’s seven feet, and for Jokic good minutes he’d loan us. In OKC Nikola Topic should play, SGA and J Williams got paid. The Twolves re-signed Naz Reid just in time, but Alexander-Walker still done walk away. Anfernee Simons to Boston is fact, son. Jrue Holiday in Portland, reaction? The Lakers ac…


The NBA Draft is upon us and Duke’s Cooper Flagg will undoubtedly be the first player selected. I’m just doubting that it will be in a Dallas Mavericks jersey. Flagg, a 6’9 forward, averag…
The NBA Draft is upo…
The NBA Draft is upon us and Duke’s Cooper Flagg will undoubtedly be the first player selected. I’m just doubting that it will be in a Dallas Mavericks jersey. Flagg, a 6’9 forward, averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists during his freshman year, leading his team to the NCAA Final Four, while being named college basketball’s Player of the Year. Nico Harrison, the general manager of the Mavericks, is more than aware that Flagg, the consensus number one pick, would fit in perfectly at the small forward position on a Mavericks team that already has Anthony Davis, Kyr…


It was a typical Saturday. I grabbed a little coffee, got comfortable on the couch, put some sports on the television, and scrolled Instagram reels on my phone. The house could have used a decent …
It was a typical Sat…
It was a typical Saturday. I grabbed a little coffee, got comfortable on the couch, put some sports on the television, and scrolled Instagram reels on my phone. The house could have used a decent cleaning, the yard begged to be mowed, and the grocery list wasn’t shopping for itself, but the day was packed full of sports. In the French Open, top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka and 21-year-old Coco Gauff were already in the second set. At lunchtime, the New York Yankees were due to face the Boston Red Sox. And at the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of horse racing’s triple crown, Sovereignt…


Last year couldn’t have gone much better for the Denver Broncos (10-7). The team rebuilt the entire roster, ended a seven-season losing streak, won ten games, made the playoffs, and apparently, f…
Last year couldn’t…
Last year couldn’t have gone much better for the Denver Broncos (10-7). The team rebuilt the entire roster, ended a seven-season losing streak, won ten games, made the playoffs, and apparently, found their quarterback of the future. Bo Nix, the first-round selection out of the University of Oregon, would finish the season with 29 TDs, 12 INTs, 3,3775 yards passing, and multiple rookie records. The 6’2, 216 lbs. quarterback completed 66.3% of his passes, ran for 430 yards, and was named one of the finalists for NFL Rookie of the Year. Expectations for the Broncos continued to grow…


The Colorado Rockies introduced a new menu item at Coors Field last Sunday. It’s called the Sacrificial Lamb. Bud Black, the Rockies all-team leader in managerial wins, was let go on Sunday foll…
The Colorado Rockies…
The Colorado Rockies introduced a new menu item at Coors Field last Sunday. It’s called the Sacrificial Lamb. Bud Black, the Rockies all-team leader in managerial wins, was let go on Sunday following the team’s historically bad start to the 2025 baseball season. Despite a rare victory in Black’s final game, Colorado’s 7-34 record is tied with the 1988 Baltimore Orioles for the worst start in major league history. Did Bud Black deserve to be fired? Absolutely. On top of the historically bad start, Bud Black had been responsible for seven straight losing seasons, includin…


Full disclosure, I did not do a 2025 mock draft this year. But if I did, I would have had the University of Colorado, two-way star, Travis Hunter going in the top five, and I would have been right …
Full disclosure, I d…
Full disclosure, I did not do a 2025 mock draft this year. But if I did, I would have had the University of Colorado, two-way star, Travis Hunter going in the top five, and I would have been right as the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to take Hunter with the second overall pick. As for his quarterback teammate, Shedeur Sanders, I had him potentially going to the New York Giants with the 3rd overall pick, probably going to the New Orleans Saints with the 9th overall selection and undoubtedly ending up as a Pittsburgh Steeler if he fell all the way to number 21. And I would have been wr…


It’s Tax Day, and I’m not claiming a lot of itemized deductions, but I’m writing off the Colorado Rockies. Apparently, Charlie Monfort’s accountant told him to offset any capital gains with…
It’s Tax Day, and …
It’s Tax Day, and I’m not claiming a lot of itemized deductions, but I’m writing off the Colorado Rockies. Apparently, Charlie Monfort’s accountant told him to offset any capital gains with some losses, and the Rockies (3-13) are doing their best to comply. As usual, Monfort just shows that rich people don’t pay taxes. No income tax, no payroll tax, and the man has never heard of a luxury tax. That’s Charlie. Cheap enough to use TurboTax, too cheap to buy a Turbo Bat. But I guess it’s that time of the year again. Worrying about the numbers, wondering where all the …


For the first time since 2008, four number-one seeds have advanced to the Final Four in this year’s NCAA College Basketball Championships, and we shouldn’t be surprised. The tournament committe…
For the first time s…
For the first time since 2008, four number-one seeds have advanced to the Final Four in this year’s NCAA College Basketball Championships, and we shouldn’t be surprised. The tournament committee properly seeded Auburn, Duke, Florida, and Houston, placed them in regions that limited team travel, encouraged home fans to attend, and pitted them against schools such as Norfolk State, Middle Tennessee State, and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, as they jogged through opening rounds. With programs that already attract attention from the best players each year, these four teams al…


Man versus Machine. In 1997, an IBM computer defeated World Chess Champion, Garry Kasparov, 3.5 to 2.5, in a best-of-six tournament. In a game of Jeopardy! back in 20ll, IBM’s Watson AI took o…
Man versus Machine. …
Man versus Machine. In 1997, an IBM computer defeated World Chess Champion, Garry Kasparov, 3.5 to 2.5, in a best-of-six tournament. In a game of Jeopardy! back in 20ll, IBM’s Watson AI took on former champions, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, and beat them on National Television. In 2016, playing the game of Go, Google’s AlphaGo defeated World Champion Lee Sedol, demonstrating AI’s ability in complex strategic games. How did I know all that? Well, by asking Artificial Intelligence (AI). And now, in 2025, bracket fillers just can’t wait to hear what ChatGPT, DeepSeek, G…


It may sound like I’m aging, old school, or simply stuck in the past, but sports aren’t what they used to be. Take the college football overtime process for example. Each team now has one poss…
It may sound like Iâ…
It may sound like I’m aging, old school, or simply stuck in the past, but sports aren’t what they used to be. Take the college football overtime process for example. Each team now has one possession starting at the opponent’s 25-yard line. If the game is still tied, they play another overtime. If the game is still tied, they alternate with 2-point conversion tries until a team is victorious. In my day, they just flipped a coin and scored. In major league baseball, there’s now a pitch clock, the bases are larger, the shift is not allowed, and if a game goes into extra innings…


It is being called one of the biggest trades of all time. Bigger than Shaq to the Heat (2004), Harden to the Nets (2021), or Durant to the Suns (2023). Bigger than Michael Burry during the col…
It is being called o…
It is being called one of the biggest trades of all time. Bigger than Shaq to the Heat (2004), Harden to the Nets (2021), or Durant to the Suns (2023). Bigger than Michael Burry during the collapse of the housing market (2007), George Soros messing with the Bank of England (1992), and bigger than Peter Minuit trading beads to the Indigenous People to get Manhattan (1626). Okay, maybe not that last one. Just days before the NBA Trade Deadline, the Dallas Mavericks sent Luka Doncic, a 5-time All-Star and 5-time All-NBA First Team selection, to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Dav…


The Grossman Theory was first hypothesized prior to the coin flip of the 2007 Super Bowl. The Indianapolis Colts were led by a young quarterback by the name of Peyton Manning. Manning was the first …
The Grossman Theory …
The Grossman Theory was first hypothesized prior to the coin flip of the 2007 Super Bowl. The Indianapolis Colts were led by a young quarterback by the name of Peyton Manning. Manning was the first pick of the NFL draft nine years earlier, the son of a former NFL star, and one of the faces of the league. The Chicago Bears’ starting quarterback was Rex Grossman, a no-named backup quarterback with a handful of starts, a lousy completion percentage, and average at best. I thought to myself, in a world in which only names like Staubach, Bradshaw, Montana, and Aikman have hoisted the Cham…


I should have known that week eighteen was going to be a weird one after checking my Fantasy Football lineup for my championship finale, and reading that Jayden Daniels was only projected to play the …
I should have known …
I should have known that week eighteen was going to be a weird one after checking my Fantasy Football lineup for my championship finale, and reading that Jayden Daniels was only projected to play the first half at most. The good news was that the list of free agent quarterbacks available was plentiful. I could go with starters from Kansas City, Buffalo, San Francisco, or even Philadelphia. The bad news is those starters were Carson Wentz, Mitch Trubisky, Joshua Dobbs, and Tanner McKee. Let’s just say that when your Fantasy Championship is reliant on either Bailey Zappe or Joe Milto…


On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, the Broncos winning 35 to 3. (Okay, technically the first day of Christmas has the Chiefs at Steelers and the Ravens at Texans. But whatever.) …
On the first day of …
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, the Broncos winning 35 to 3. (Okay, technically the first day of Christmas has the Chiefs at Steelers and the Ravens at Texans. But whatever.) On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a two-team parlay that I love, and the Broncos winning 35-3. On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, three 7 and 10’s (as in, the final season wins and loss record of Indy, Cincy, and Miami, which would assure the Broncos a playoff spot regardless of their last two games.), a two-team parlay that I love, and the Broncos w…


The College Football Playoff brackets were announced last Sunday, and to be honest, only three teams should be upset about it. The Alabama Crimson Tide (9-3) had a legitimate beef with the second h…
The College Football…
The College Football Playoff brackets were announced last Sunday, and to be honest, only three teams should be upset about it. The Alabama Crimson Tide (9-3) had a legitimate beef with the second hardest Strength of Schedule in all of football, wins over Georgia and South Carolina, the fact that they play in the SEC, and of course, the obvious. They’re Alabama. The Miami Hurricanes (10-2) had a gripe as well. They have a Heisman quality quarterback, only two close losses to Georgia Tech and Syracuse, and both losses came on the road. And the Army Black Knights (11-1). Okay, may…


I’ve been getting ready for Thanksgiving for months. Thirteen weeks to be exact. Countless hours of watching sports, three to four days a week concentrating just on football, excessive drinking an…
I’ve been getting …
I’ve been getting ready for Thanksgiving for months. Thirteen weeks to be exact. Countless hours of watching sports, three to four days a week concentrating just on football, excessive drinking and overeating, and even nightly arguments at the dinner table, all preparing for the big day. Our setting will resemble the Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight. We will all get a little blurry, act a little fake, stand around not doing much, except my family is not afraid to throw a few punches. I know. Thanksgiving can be difficult sometimes. The infighting, backstabbing, and awkwardness of…


It all started years back, when NBA TV would offer a free preview for the first two weeks of the season. Snuggled in the corner of my living room, I would binge watch NBA basketball like your favorit…
It all started years…
It all started years back, when NBA TV would offer a free preview for the first two weeks of the season. Snuggled in the corner of my living room, I would binge watch NBA basketball like your favorite Netflix series. But unlike your favorite shows, I didn’t need to watch the entire series to figure out the ending. You may need an entire season or more to see Tony Soprano die, Walter White blow up a cartel, or Jon stab Daenerys. All I needed was a dozen games to tell me all that I needed to know. I can’t predict mid-season trades, or who gets hurt, but after a dozen games I can t…


If you’re a Carolina Panthers fan, Sunday must have been rough. Losing 28-14 to the Denver Broncos doesn’t seem that bad on the surface, but when you allow Bo Nix to throw for 3 TDs and rush for …
If you’re a Caroli…
If you’re a Carolina Panthers fan, Sunday must have been rough. Losing 28-14 to the Denver Broncos doesn’t seem that bad on the surface, but when you allow Bo Nix to throw for 3 TDs and rush for another, it’s not a good look. The Panthers’ (1-7) best quarterback, Andy Dalton, is a 38-year-old backup that couldn’t play after being involved in a small car accident. Carolina’s second-best quarterback, Bryce Young, continued his short career struggles throwing two more interceptions in what seems to be a first-round bust. To make things worse, Young was selected one pick before…
