thedenverpost--2020-07-27--Avalanche opens practice in Edmonton, the NHL’s western hub

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar can appreciate what the NHL saw when picking Edmonton as the host city for the Western Conference playoffs .
Bednar and his team arrived in the city Sunday and had their first practice Monday — six days before they open round-robin play against St. Louis at Rogers Place , home of the Edmonton Oilers .
Avs players and staff members have their own floor at the JW Marriott , which is across the street from Rogers Place and connected by an enclosed walkway .
“ Every team has their own players lounge/lunch/dinner room .
We ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and there are some commons areas as well , to be able to go hang out and mingle .
It is a really nice setup , ” Bednar said on a Zoom call Monday .
“ And being right across the rink from where you ’ re ( going to be ) playing is great.
” The Avs and the other 11 Western Conference teams are practicing at local rinks , with Colorado being assigned to four-sheet Terwillegar Arena .
Bednar said his team required a 25-minute bus ride to the practice facility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then we worked our way back here .
That ’ s the way it ’ s going to stay , I think , for a while , ” he said .
Rogers Place , which opened in 2016 , has a practice rink attached to it .
But for now , that will be used only for pregame skates when games begin , Bednar said .
The Avs , who are carrying 31 players , have an exhibition game Wednesday against Minnesota at Rogers Place ( 12:30 p.m. ) before opening the non-elimination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carry a 22-man lineup into an exhibition game , with a 13th forward and a seventh defenseman .
The exhibition game will be available on Altitude and also covered by the NHL Network and NHL.TV .
Blackouts may apply .
“ I ’ d like to play a lineup that looks a lot like what we would go into the round-robin with , ” Bednar said .
“ We ’ ll take all the time that we need to decide before Wednesday on that.
” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said playing in Edmonton @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tournament .
“ Obviously , it ’ s a bit of an adjustment … when you ’ re walking through lobbies or elevators with guys from the other team , ” he said Monday .
“ We kind of stick to ourselves .
We got familiar with the hotel ( Sunday ) and this morning we headed out and had a good practice.
” Cale Makar , the Calder Trophy favorite as NHL rookie of the year , was back practicing after missing multiple training camp skates in Denver last week with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Calgary , a three-hour drive south of Edmonton .
“ I ’ m feeling perfect now , ” Makar said .
“ I had a really good practice today.
” Colorado ’ s final two round-robin games will be Aug. 5 against Dallas and Aug. 8 against Vegas .
Altitude will also televise those games .
The traditional 16-team first round of the playoffs begins Aug. 11 , with the Avs assured of being among the top four Western Conference teams .
“ There ’ s only so much time before we actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Johnson said .
“ ( Right now is ) an important step in where we ’ re trying to go .
”

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar can appreciate what the NHL saw when picking Edmonton as the host city for the Western Conference playoffs. Bednar and his team arrived in the city Sunday and had their first practice Monday — six days before they open round-robin play against St. Louis at Rogers Place, home of the Edmonton Oilers.
Avs players and staff members have their own floor at the JW Marriott, which is across the street from Rogers Place and connected by an enclosed walkway.
“Every team has their own players lounge/lunch/dinner room. We’ve been in there a couple times and there are some commons areas as well, to be able to go hang out and mingle. It is a really nice setup,” Bednar said on a Zoom call Monday. “And being right across the rink from where you’re (going to be) playing is great.”
The Avs and the other 11 Western Conference teams are practicing at local rinks, with Colorado being assigned to four-sheet Terwillegar Arena. Bednar said his team required a 25-minute bus ride to the practice facility.
“Had a great skate, then we worked our way back here. That’s the way it’s going to stay, I think, for a while,” he said.
Rogers Place, which opened in 2016, has a practice rink attached to it. But for now, that will be used only for pregame skates when games begin, Bednar said.
The Avs, who are carrying 31 players, have an exhibition game Wednesday against Minnesota at Rogers Place (12:30 p.m.) before opening the non-elimination round-robin versus the Blues. Teams can carry a 22-man lineup into an exhibition game, with a 13th forward and a seventh defenseman. The exhibition game will be available on Altitude and also covered by the NHL Network and NHL.TV. Blackouts may apply.
“I’d like to play a lineup that looks a lot like what we would go into the round-robin with,” Bednar said. “We’ll take all the time that we need to decide before Wednesday on that.”
Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said playing in Edmonton feels like the Olympics or another international tournament.
“Obviously, it’s a bit of an adjustment … when you’re walking through lobbies or elevators with guys from the other team,” he said Monday. “We kind of stick to ourselves. We got familiar with the hotel (Sunday) and this morning we headed out and had a good practice.”
Cale Makar, the Calder Trophy favorite as NHL rookie of the year, was back practicing after missing multiple training camp skates in Denver last week with a minor injury. He grew up in Calgary, a three-hour drive south of Edmonton.
“I’m feeling perfect now,” Makar said. “I had a really good practice today.”
Colorado’s final two round-robin games will be Aug. 5 against Dallas and Aug. 8 against Vegas. Altitude will also televise those games.
The traditional 16-team first round of the playoffs begins Aug. 11, with the Avs assured of being among the top four Western Conference teams.
“There’s only so much time before we actually start the real thing,” Erik Johnson said. “(Right now is) an important step in where we’re trying to go.”


thedenverpost--2020-07-27--Weld County man could serve life in prison as part of child sex-assault sentence

A Weld County man has been sentenced to 37 years in prison , with the possibility of a life term @ @ @ @ @ case .
Charles Young-Hicks , 26 , was sentenced Thursday after being convicted in February @ @ @ @ @ according to the Weld County District Attorney ’ s Office .
In April 2018 , @ @ @ @ @ after a child victim told an adult that Young-Hicks had assaulter her , according to @ @ @ @ @ part of the investigation , detectives served a search warrant at his home and seized @ @ @ @ @ pornography .
Young-Hicks was arrested in January 2019 after a nine-month investigation .
A jury @ @ @ @ @ assault on a child , by a person in a position of trust — with @ @ @ @ @ 15 and as a pattern of abuse ; obscenity ; child abuse ; sexual exploitation @ @ @ @ @ two counts of sexual exploitation children .

A Weld County man has been sentenced to 37 years in prison, with the possibility of a life term, in a child sex-assault case.
Charles Young-Hicks, 26, was sentenced Thursday after being convicted in February of multiple criminal charges, according to the Weld County District Attorney’s Office.
In April 2018, Greeley police began an investigation after a child victim told an adult that Young-Hicks had assaulter her, according to a news release. As part of the investigation, detectives served a search warrant at his home and seized electronics, which contained child pornography. Young-Hicks was arrested in January 2019 after a nine-month investigation.
A jury found Young-Hicks guilty of sex assault on a child, by a person in a position of trust — with the victim fewer than age 15 and as a pattern of abuse; obscenity; child abuse; sexual exploitation of a child; and two counts of sexual exploitation children.


thedenverpost--2020-07-27--Neighbors to chose between two finalists in renaming of Denver’s Stapleton neighborhood

The voter-decided process to pick a new name for Denver ’ s soon-to-be-former Stapleton neighborhood has produced two finalists .
By Saturday , a winner should be known and the last name of the city ’ s former mayor and known Klu Klux Klan member Benjamin F. Stapleton will be one step closer to being history in the east Denver enclave .
Stapleton United Neighbors , the registered neighborhood organization managing the voting process , announced on its Facebook page Sunday that Skyview and Central Park were the top two vote-getting choices in the second round of public polling .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ open .
Adult residents of the neighborhood have until 2 p.m. Thursday to cast a ballot .
Central Park is the leader , according to charts the organization has shared on Facebook that detail the results of the multi-round voting process .
Central Park , the name of the park that is the neighborhood ’ s most celebrated public feature , earned the most points on the ranked-choice ballots in each of the first two rounds .
Skyview , a reference to the neighborhood ’ s past life as the city ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mosley and Concourse in the second round of voting to make the final two .
Notably , none of the original nine candidate names that honored indigenous people or people of color –Peterson , Randolph or Mosley– made the final two .
Amanda Allshouse , president of the board for Stapleton United Neighbors , which is going by SUN during the renaming process , said the organization is keeping vote totals private until the final results are made public Saturday .
She said the decision to withhold vote totals is part of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and validates ballots .
Allshouse “ feels good ” about participation in the first two rounds , she said .
Efforts to rename Stapleton are decades in the making , dating back to when the neighborhood was still home to the city ’ s Stapleton International Airport .
Benjamin Stapleton , the city ’ s mayor for five terms spread across the 1920s , 30s and 40s , pledged his support to the Klan ’ s racist cause in 1924 , according to historian Phil Goodstein .
As recently as 2019 , property @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that was before the name received renewed attention this summer from social justice activists engaged in the Black Lives Matter movement .
Shortly after Denver School Board Director Tay Anderson vowed to bring protestors marching through the neighborhood ’ s streets if the name was not changed , members of the master community association voted to pursue a new name in June .
“ I ’ m so happy that the community has embraced this process as much as possible and the SUN board has really met the timeline that we laid out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Allshouse said .
“ With the goal being to have a community and a culture that is welcoming and inclusive for all , a name change doesn ’ t achieve that alone .
There is still going to be work to do after this over .
”

Skyview or Central Park?
The voter-decided process to pick a new name for Denver’s soon-to-be-former Stapleton neighborhood has produced two finalists. By Saturday, a winner should be known and the last name of the city’s former mayor and known Ku Klux Klan member Benjamin F. Stapleton will be one step closer to being history in the east Denver enclave.
Stapleton United Neighbors, the registered neighborhood organization managing the voting process, announced on its Facebook page Sunday that Skyview and Central Park were the top two vote-getting choices in the second round of public polling.
Online voting in the final round is open. Adult residents of the neighborhood have until 2 p.m. Thursday to cast a ballot.
Central Park is the leader, according to charts the organization has shared on Facebook that detail the results of the multi-round voting process. Central Park, the name of the park that is the neighborhood’s most celebrated public feature, earned the most points on the ranked-choice ballots in each of the first two rounds.
Skyview, a reference to the neighborhood’s past life as the city’s international airport, edged out other semi-finalists Mosley and Concourse in the second round of voting to make the final two.
Notably, none of the original nine candidate names that honored indigenous people or people of color –Peterson, Randolph or Mosley– made the final two.
Amanda Allshouse, president of the board for Stapleton United Neighbors, which is going by SUN during the renaming process, said the organization is keeping vote totals private until the final results are made public Saturday. She said the decision to withhold vote totals is part of a quality assurance process as the organization tallies and validates ballots.
Allshouse “feels good” about participation in the first two rounds, she said.
Efforts to rename Stapleton are decades in the making, dating back to when the neighborhood was still home to the city’s Stapleton International Airport. Benjamin Stapleton, the city’s mayor for five terms spread across the 1920s, 30s and 40s, pledged his support to the Klan’s racist cause in 1924, according to historian Phil Goodstein.
As recently as 2019, property owners voted down a name change but that was before the name received renewed attention this summer from social justice activists engaged in the Black Lives Matter movement. Shortly after Denver School Board Director Tay Anderson vowed to bring protestors marching through the neighborhood’s streets if the name was not changed, members of the master community association voted to pursue a new name in June.
“I’m so happy that the community has embraced this process as much as possible and the SUN board has really met the timeline that we laid out back in June and stuck with it,” Allshouse said. “With the goal being to have a community and a culture that is welcoming and inclusive for all, a name change doesn’t achieve that alone. There is still going to be work to do after this over.”


thedenverpost--2020-07-28--Mayors want U.S. agents blocked from Portland, other cities

PORTLAND , Ore. — The mayors of Portland , Oregon , and five other major U.S. cities appealed Monday to Congress to make it illegal for the federal government to deploy militarized agents to cities that don ’ t want them .
“ This administration ’ s egregious use of federal force on cities over the objections of local authorities should never happen , ” the mayors of Portland ; Seattle ; Chicago ; Kansas City ; Albuquerque , New Mexico ; and Washington wrote to leaders of the U.S. House and Senate .
Video from early Tuesday showed law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to disperse protesters .
Several loud booms could be heard .
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty late called for a meeting with Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to discuss a cease-fire and removal of heightened federal forces from Portland .
Earlier in the day , a U.S. official said militarized officers would remain in Portland until attacks on a federal courthouse cease — and more officers may soon be on the way .
“ It is not a solution to tell federal officers to leave when there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and personnel , ” U.S. Attorney Billy Williams said .
” We are not leaving the building unprotected to be destroyed by people intent on doing so.
” Local and state officials said the federal officers are unwelcome .
The city has had nightly protests for two months since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May .
President Donald Trump said he sent federal agents to Portland to halt the unrest , but state and local officials said they are making the situation worse .
Trump ’ s deployment of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weekend stoked the Black Lives Matter movement .
The number of nightly protesters had dwindled to perhaps less than 100 right before the deployment , and now has swelled to the thousands .
Early Monday , U.S. agents repeatedly fired tear gas , flash bangs and pepper balls at protesters outside the federal courthouse in downtown Portland .
Some protesters had climbed over the fence surrounding the courthouse , while others shot fireworks , banged on the fence and projected lights on the building .
Trump said on Twitter that federal properties in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day ” without the presence of the federal agents .
The majority of people participating in the daily demonstrations have been peaceful .
But a few have been pelting officers with objects and trying to tear down fencing protecting the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse .
Williams , whose office is inside the courthouse , called on peaceful protesters , community and business leaders and people of faith to not allow violence to occur in their presence and to leave downtown before violence starts .
He said federal agents have made 83 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ justice and police reform in other cities around the U.S. were marred by violence over the weekend .
Protesters set fire to an Oakland , California , courthouse ; vehicles were set ablaze in Richmond , Virginia ; an armed protester was shot and killed in Austin , Texas ; and two people were shot and wounded in Aurora , Colorado , after a car drove through a protest .
The U.S .
Marshals Service has lined up about 100 people they could send to hotspots , either to strengthen forces or relieve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , agency spokesperson Drew Wade said .
Kris Cline , principal deputy director of Federal Protective Service , said an incident commander in Portland and teams from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice discuss what force is needed every night .
Cline refused to discuss the number of officers currently present or if more would be arriving .
Some protesters have accused Wheeler of hypocrisy for speaking out against the federal presence because , under his watch , Portland police have used tear gas and other riot-control weapons on protesters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Portland police should take over the job of dispersing protesters from the courthouse area from the federal officers .
“ If the Portland Police Bureau were able to do what they typically do , they would be able to clear this out for this disturbance and we would leave our officers inside the building and not be visible , ” Cline said .
He said relations between the federal officers , some of whom live in Portland , and city police were good .
Portland police responded Sunday evening to a shooting at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the protests .
Two people were detained and later released , police said .
The person who was shot went to the hospital in a private vehicle and was treated for a non-life-threatening wound .
Also late Sunday , police said someone pointed out a bag in the same park , where officers found loaded rifle magazines and Molotov cocktails .
The shooting was not related to the items , police said .
Associated Press writer Mike Balsamo contributed to this report from Washington .
Selsky reported from Salem , Oregon .

PORTLAND, Ore. — The mayors of Portland, Oregon, and five other major U.S. cities appealed Monday to Congress to make it illegal for the federal government to deploy militarized agents to cities that don’t want them.
“This administration’s egregious use of federal force on cities over the objections of local authorities should never happen,” the mayors of Portland; Seattle; Chicago; Kansas City; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Washington wrote to leaders of the U.S. House and Senate.
Video from early Tuesday showed law enforcement officers filling a street with gas to disperse protesters. Several loud booms could be heard.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty late called for a meeting with Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to discuss a cease-fire and removal of heightened federal forces from Portland.
Earlier in the day, a U.S. official said militarized officers would remain in Portland until attacks on a federal courthouse cease — and more officers may soon be on the way.
“It is not a solution to tell federal officers to leave when there continues to be attacks on federal property and personnel,” U.S. Attorney Billy Williams said. ”We are not leaving the building unprotected to be destroyed by people intent on doing so.”
Local and state officials said the federal officers are unwelcome.
The city has had nightly protests for two months since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. President Donald Trump said he sent federal agents to Portland to halt the unrest, but state and local officials said they are making the situation worse.
Trump’s deployment of the federal officers over the July 4 weekend stoked the Black Lives Matter movement. The number of nightly protesters had dwindled to perhaps less than 100 right before the deployment, and now has swelled to the thousands.
Early Monday, U.S. agents repeatedly fired tear gas, flash bangs and pepper balls at protesters outside the federal courthouse in downtown Portland. Some protesters had climbed over the fence surrounding the courthouse, while others shot fireworks, banged on the fence and projected lights on the building.
Trump said on Twitter that federal properties in Portland “wouldn’t last a day” without the presence of the federal agents.
The majority of people participating in the daily demonstrations have been peaceful. But a few have been pelting officers with objects and trying to tear down fencing protecting the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse.
Williams, whose office is inside the courthouse, called on peaceful protesters, community and business leaders and people of faith to not allow violence to occur in their presence and to leave downtown before violence starts. He said federal agents have made 83 arrests.
Demonstrations in support of racial justice and police reform in other cities around the U.S. were marred by violence over the weekend. Protesters set fire to an Oakland, California, courthouse; vehicles were set ablaze in Richmond, Virginia; an armed protester was shot and killed in Austin, Texas; and two people were shot and wounded in Aurora, Colorado, after a car drove through a protest.
The U.S. Marshals Service has lined up about 100 people they could send to hotspots, either to strengthen forces or relieve officers who have been working for weeks, agency spokesperson Drew Wade said.
Kris Cline, principal deputy director of Federal Protective Service, said an incident commander in Portland and teams from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice discuss what force is needed every night.
Cline refused to discuss the number of officers currently present or if more would be arriving.
Some protesters have accused Wheeler of hypocrisy for speaking out against the federal presence because, under his watch, Portland police have used tear gas and other riot-control weapons on protesters, including peaceful ones.
Cline said Portland police should take over the job of dispersing protesters from the courthouse area from the federal officers.
“If the Portland Police Bureau were able to do what they typically do, they would be able to clear this out for this disturbance and we would leave our officers inside the building and not be visible,” Cline said.
He said relations between the federal officers, some of whom live in Portland, and city police were good.
Portland police responded Sunday evening to a shooting at a park close to the site of the protests. Two people were detained and later released, police said. The person who was shot went to the hospital in a private vehicle and was treated for a non-life-threatening wound.
Also late Sunday, police said someone pointed out a bag in the same park, where officers found loaded rifle magazines and Molotov cocktails. The shooting was not related to the items, police said.
Associated Press writer Mike Balsamo contributed to this report from Washington. Selsky reported from Salem, Oregon.


thedenverpost--2020-07-28--Legal motions for and against new rules, the prospect of future initiatives: Are the oil and gas war

Legal motions for and against new rules, the prospect of future initiatives: Are the oil and gas wars really over?

Several Colorado conservation groups are intervening in a lawsuit challenging new oil and gas rules , and an environmental organization says it might pursue an initiative in 2022 despite talk of a ceasefire in the battle over new regulations .
A Denver District Court judge recently ruled that seven conservation groups could join the state in defending rules approved by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission to implement Senate Bill 181 .
The bill , signed into law in 2019 , mandates changes intended to strengthen protections for public health and safety and the environment .
And while Gov .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ industry are willing to work together to prevent initiatives in 2022 , sponsors of measures proposed but dropped this year are taking a wait-and-see approach .
Garfield and nine other counties are suing to overturn rules approved in December that are aimed at cutting emissions from well sites .
The rules require more frequent inspections of oil and gas equipment statewide and of occupied buildings within 1,000 feet of well sites .
Garfield County supported more than 90 % of the rules , Kirby Wynn , the county ’ s oil and gas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The provisions the counties are challenging “ pose significant economic harm to rural Colorado and Garfield County with little to no environmental benefit in our area of the state , ” he added .
The counties ’ objections include leak controls on the “ smallest and lowest-emitting ” tanks outside the northern Front Range , where ground-level ozone exceeds federal limits , and new requirements for frequent monitoring of leaks near occupied buildings .
The coalition of conservation groups , led by the League of Oil and Gas Impacted Coloradans , Western Colorado @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their motion to join the lawsuit that they participated in the rule-making process and have a strong interest in upholding the rules to protect their “ tens of thousands of members across Colorado.
” The lawsuit is one more development in the ongoing conflicts over SB 181 .
Organizations on different sides have dropped efforts to place proposals on the 2020 ballot in what Polis said in a July 27 column in Colorado Politics was an agreement to let the law work .
“ These groups have committed to withdraw current ballot measures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ willingness to work together to prevent future ballot measures through 2022 , ” Polis said in the column .
But Anne Lee Foster with the group Safe and Healthy Colorado and a sponsor of one of the initiatives said Polis didn ’ t talk to her .
She said supporters ended their campaign for an initiative requiring 2,500-foot setbacks from wells because the Colorado Supreme Court threw out a measure allowing people to gather voters ’ signatures by email or mail during the pandemic .
“ No one talked to us ” about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who has criticized regulators for what she says are concessions to the industry .
She said environmental and community groups are exploring the possibility of another initiative effort in 2022 .
When he signed SB 181 into law in April 2019 , Polis said he hoped it would end Colorado ’ s “ oil and gas wars ” that have been marked by several ballot proposals and millions of dollars to support or quash them .
Polis will work with conservationists and the industry to keep measures from both sides off the 2022 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an email Diane Schwenke , president and CEO of the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce , said supporters of a ballot proposal to create a state oil and gas commission appointed by a panel of retired judges decided to hold off to see how a new , full-time commission works out .
She said the measure ’ s proponents are opposed to major portions of SB 181 .
“ From our perspective , we would rather see this be handled in the regulatory environment and not at the ballot box .
These are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As for a commitment not to pursue an initiative in 2022 , Schwenke said , “ We are in a kind wait-and-see mode .
“ It also depends on what the environmental community does , ” she added .

Several Colorado conservation groups are intervening in a lawsuit challenging new oil and gas rules, and an environmental organization says it might pursue an initiative in 2022 despite talk of a ceasefire in the battle over new regulations.
A Denver District Court judge recently ruled that seven conservation groups could join the state in defending rules approved by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission to implement Senate Bill 181. The bill, signed into law in 2019, mandates changes intended to strengthen protections for public health and safety and the environment.
And while Gov. Jared Polis has said conservationists and the industry are willing to work together to prevent initiatives in 2022, sponsors of measures proposed but dropped this year are taking a wait-and-see approach.
Garfield and nine other counties are suing to overturn rules approved in December that are aimed at cutting emissions from well sites. The rules require more frequent inspections of oil and gas equipment statewide and of occupied buildings within 1,000 feet of well sites.
Garfield County supported more than 90% of the rules, Kirby Wynn, the county’s oil and gas liaison, said in an email. The provisions the counties are challenging “pose significant economic harm to rural Colorado and Garfield County with little to no environmental benefit in our area of the state,” he added.
The counties’ objections include leak controls on the “smallest and lowest-emitting” tanks outside the northern Front Range, where ground-level ozone exceeds federal limits, and new requirements for frequent monitoring for leaks near occupied buildings.
The coalition of conservation groups, led by the League of Oil and Gas Impacted Coloradans, Western Colorado Alliance and Conservation Colorado, said in their motion to join the lawsuit that they participated in the rule-making process and have a strong interest in upholding the rules to protect their “tens of thousands of members across Colorado.”
The lawsuit is one more development in the ongoing conflicts over SB 181. Organizations on different sides have dropped efforts to place proposals on the 2020 ballot in what Polis said in a July 27 column in Colorado Politics was an agreement to let the law work.
“These groups have committed to withdraw current ballot measures filed for 2020 and have expressed a willingness to work together to prevent future ballot measures through 2022,” Polis said in the column.
But Anne Lee Foster with the group Safe and Healthy Colorado and a sponsor of one of the initiatives said Polis didn’t talk to her. She said supporters ended their campaign for an initiative requiring 2,500-foot setbacks from wells because the Colorado Supreme Court threw out a measure allowing people to gather voters’ signatures by email or mail during the pandemic.
“No one talked to us” about dropping the initiative, said Foster, who has criticized regulators for what she says are concessions to the industry. She said environmental and community groups are exploring the possibility of another initiative effort in 2022.
When he signed SB 181 into law in April 2019, Polis said he hoped it would end Colorado’s “oil and gas wars” that have been marked by several ballot proposals and millions of dollars to support or quash them. Polis will work with conservationists and the industry to keep measures from both sides off the 2022 ballot, spokesman Conor Cahill said in an email
Diane Schwenke, president and CEO of the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce, said supporters of a ballot proposal to create a state oil and gas commission appointed by a panel of retired judges decided to hold off to see how a new, full-time commission works out. She said the measure’s proponents are opposed to major portions of SB 181.
“From our perspective, we would rather see this be handled in the regulatory environment and not at the ballot box. These are complex issues,” Schwenke said.
As for a commitment not to pursue an initiative in 2022, Schwenke said, “We are in a kind of wait-and-see mode.
“It also depends on what the environmental community does,” she added.


thedenverpost--2020-07-28--COVID-19 cases hit new weekly high in Colorado, but virus’ trajectory unclear

Cases of COVID-19 in Colorado hit a new high last week , but it ’ s not yet clear if that partly reflects the fallout of an early July blip .
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported 3,799 cases of the new coronavirus in the week ending Sunday , marking the sixth week of increasing cases .
The total likely will rise , though , because the state on Monday said newly reported cases “ may be artificially low ” due to a computer issue .
Even with possible undercounting , the week exceeded the previous peak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The actual situation was likely worse in April , however , because people with milder coronavirus symptoms often couldn ’ t get tested .
It ’ s not yet clear if the increase over the last few weeks reflects a steady rise in COVID-19 cases , said Beth Carlton , associate professor of environmental and occupational health at the Colorado School of Public Health .
Data on people ’ s reports of when their symptoms started shows a spike on July 6 , and a general downward trajectory for nine days after that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days to process data about infections , so we can ’ t yet know if the recent reports reflect people newly developing symptoms , or getting tested for ones that started earlier in the month , she said .
“ That ’ s the puzzle we ’ re trying to figure out , ” she said .
Usually it takes an average of five days to develop symptoms after exposure , so the July 6 spike seems early if people got infected at Independence Day celebrations , Carlton said .
This virus has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than most , maybe because people are adjusting their behavior , she said .
Hospitalizations remained roughly stable to start the week , with 250 people receiving care for COVID-19 as of Monday afternoon , according to the Colorado Hospital Association .
Hospitalizations hit a low of 126 in late June , rose to 275 on July 20 , and have bounced between 240 and 250 for the last week .
No hospitals reported concerns about a shortage of intensive-care beds in the next week .
The hospitalization trend is encouraging , though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sure if the numbers will stay stable , Carlton said .
The Colorado School of Public Health had released projections earlier this month forecasting that the state could run out of intensive-care beds by fall if rapid increases in cases continued — a scenario that seems less likely now .
“ I never wanted to be wrong so much in my life , ” she said .
Since March , the state has reported 44,565 cases of the new coronavirus and 6,271 hospitalizations .
The virus has killed 1,668 people .
An additional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but it wasn ’ t believed to be the cause .
People younger than 40 continued to account for an increasing share of new infections , which may have helped keep new hospitalizations and deaths down .
The state reported 11 deaths last week , though that number may grow because of delayed reporting .
While the numbers allow for cautious optimism , it doesn ’ t mean the public can stop taking precautions like wearing masks and avoiding crowds , Carlton said .
“ We don ’ t know if cases are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she said .
“ We still need guard rails.
” Join our Facebook group for the latest updates on coronavirus in Colorado .

Cases of COVID-19 in Colorado hit a new high last week, but it’s not yet clear if that partly reflects the fallout of an early July blip.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported 3,799 cases of the new coronavirus in the week ending Sunday, marking the sixth week of increasing cases. The total likely will rise, though, because the state on Monday said newly reported cases “may be artificially low” due to a computer issue.
Even with possible undercounting, the week exceeded the previous peak of 3,760 cases in late April. The actual situation was likely worse in April, however, because people with milder coronavirus symptoms often couldn’t get tested.
It’s not yet clear if the increase over the last few weeks reflects a steady rise in COVID-19 cases, said Beth Carlton, associate professor of environmental and occupational health at the Colorado School of Public Health.
Data on people’s reports of when their symptoms started shows a spike on July 6, and a general downward trajectory for nine days after that. It can take up to 10 days to process data about infections, so we can’t yet know if the recent reports reflect people newly developing symptoms, or getting tested for ones that started earlier in the month, she said.
“That’s the puzzle we’re trying to figure out,” she said.
Usually it takes an average of five days to develop symptoms after exposure, so the July 6 spike seems early if people got infected at Independence Day celebrations, Carlton said. This virus has more of a “bumpy” trajectory than most, maybe because people are adjusting their behavior, she said.
Hospitalizations remained roughly stable to start the week, with 250 people receiving care for COVID-19 as of Monday afternoon, according to the Colorado Hospital Association. Hospitalizations hit a low of 126 in late June, rose to 275 on July 20, and have bounced between 240 and 250 for the last week. No hospitals reported concerns about a shortage of intensive-care beds in the next week.
The hospitalization trend is encouraging, though it’s too early to be sure if the numbers will stay stable, Carlton said. The Colorado School of Public Health had released projections earlier this month forecasting that the state could run out of intensive-care beds by fall if rapid increases in cases continued — a scenario that seems less likely now.
“I never wanted to be wrong so much in my life,” she said.
Since March, the state has reported 44,565 cases of the new coronavirus and 6,271 hospitalizations. The virus has killed 1,668 people. An additional 131 people died with the virus, but it wasn’t believed to be the cause.
People younger than 40 continued to account for an increasing share of new infections, which may have helped keep new hospitalizations and deaths down. The state reported 11 deaths last week, though that number may grow because of delayed reporting.
While the numbers allow for cautious optimism, it doesn’t mean the public can stop taking precautions like wearing masks and avoiding crowds, Carlton said.
“We don’t know if cases are going to go up or down,” she said. “We still need guard rails.”
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thedenverpost--2020-07-28--Poll shows Gardner gaining on Hickenlooper, Biden beating Trump in Colorado

The latest poll in Colorado ’ s U.S. Senate contest shows a tightening race , with Democratic candidate John Hickenlooper ahead of Republican Sen. Cory Gardner by six percentage points .
The Morning Consult survey of more than 600 likely Colorado voters shows less of a contest in the presidential race .
Democrat Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump by 13 percentage points , 52 % to 39 % , in the Centennial State .
Polls dating back to last year have consistently shown Hickenlooper , a former governor , with a double-digit lead over Gardner .
Tuesday ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the two political heavyweights with 98 days to go .
Hickenlooper received 48 % of support to Gardner ’ s 42 % in the poll .
The good news for Gardner is that it shows him outperforming Trump , which he will almost certainly need to do by a sizable percentage Nov. 3 if he is to win a second term in the Senate .
Trump remains unpopular with a majority of Coloradans but Gardner ’ s campaign is hoping Biden voters will be willing to vote for him over Hickenlooper .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Hickenlooper .
Not only does he lead the incumbent Gardner as July comes to a close , but unaffiliated voters who were polled favor Hickenlooper over Gardner by 13 percentage points , 48 % to 35 % .
The poll was conducted July 17 to 26 and the margin of error was four percentage points .
Spokespeople for both Senate campaigns declined to comment on it .

The latest poll in Colorado’s U.S. Senate contest shows a tightening race, with Democratic candidate John Hickenlooper ahead of Republican Sen. Cory Gardner by six percentage points.
The Morning Consult survey of more than 600 likely Colorado voters shows less of a contest in the presidential race. Democrat Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump by 13 percentage points, 52% to 39%, in the Centennial State.
Polls dating back to last year have consistently shown Hickenlooper, a former governor, with a double-digit lead over Gardner. Tuesday’s poll shows a much narrower contest between the two political heavyweights with 98 days to go. Hickenlooper received 48% of support to Gardner’s 42% in the poll.
The good news for Gardner is that it shows him outperforming Trump, which he will almost certainly need to do by a sizable percentage Nov. 3 if he is to win a second term in the Senate. Trump remains unpopular with a majority of Coloradans but Gardner’s campaign is hoping Biden voters will be willing to vote for him over Hickenlooper.
The poll also has plenty of good news for Hickenlooper. Not only does he lead the incumbent Gardner as July comes to a close, but unaffiliated voters who were polled favor Hickenlooper over Gardner by 13 percentage points, 48% to 35%.
The poll was conducted July 17 to 26 and the margin of error was four percentage points. Spokespeople for both Senate campaigns declined to comment on it.


thedenverpost--2020-07-28--Community raises more than $170,000 for Boulder family who lost son in devastating weekend crash

More than 1,700 community members have donated over $ 170,000 to support Kelsey Skokan ‘ s Boulder family after the 17-year-old died Friday evening in a car crash that left another son injured and also heavily damaged their home .
Skokan and his older brother , Ian , were driving in a 1973 MG when a dump truck collided head-on with the convertible outside the family ’ s home on North 51st Street .
The dump truck then crashed into the Skokans ’ house , destroying a bedroom , the family said .
Kelsey , who was driving , was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police report , while Ian was transported to a hospital initially but is now back at home .
The driver and a passenger of the semi-truck both sustained injuries , according to trooper Josh Lewis with Colorado State Patrol .
No charges have been filed in the case .
When the call came in around 5:20 p.m. Friday , the Skokans were preparing for their nightly summer farm dinners , held on the 4-acre property .
Kelsey ’ s parents , Jill and Eric Skokan , are the owners of Black Cat Organic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of cultivated and grazing land ) , as well as its corresponding restaurants Black Cat Bistro and Bramble & Hare .
RELATED : See the Skokan family and their Boulder farm in the first episode of The Colorado Plate While the restaurants have remained closed throughout the pandemic , the Skokans continue to run a farmstand daily on their property and weekends at the Boulder County Farmers Market .
Black Cat Farm encompasses a grain mill , hundreds of pigs and sheep , and some 50 acres of vegetables and herbs .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the farm dinners , there ’ s just going to be a lot of food that ’ s just going to go to waste , ” said Doug Brown , a family friend .
Around 40 employees of the restaurants and farm continue to work while the family members , including two more siblings , Morgan and Avery , are taking a break to grieve .
Their GoFundMe page , which was created by friends and fellow farmers , encourages community members who wish to help to also support the farm ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as the growing season nears its peak .
“ It doesn ’ t sleep , ” Brown said of the farm .
“ They have to keep going .
Everything else can ’ t die.
” Subscribe to our food newsletter , Stuffed , to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox .

More than 2,100 community members have donated over $212,000 to support Kelsey Skokan‘s Boulder family after the 17-year-old died Friday evening in a car crash that left another son injured and also heavily damaged their home.
Skokan and his older brother, Ian, were driving in a 1973 MG when a dump truck collided head-on with the convertible outside the family’s home on North 51st Street. The dump truck then crashed into the Skokans’ house, destroying a bedroom, the family said.
Kelsey, who was driving, was the only fatality, according to a police report, while Ian was transported to a hospital initially but is now back at home. The driver and a passenger of the semi-truck both sustained injuries, according to trooper Josh Lewis with Colorado State Patrol. No charges have been filed in the case.
When the call came in around 5:20 p.m. Friday, the Skokans were preparing for their nightly summer farm dinners, held on the 4-acre property. Kelsey’s parents, Jill and Eric Skokan, are the owners of Black Cat Organic Farm (which includes 425 acres total of cultivated and grazing land), as well as its corresponding restaurants Black Cat Bistro and Bramble & Hare.
RELATED: See the Skokan family and their Boulder farm in the first episode of The Colorado Plate
While the restaurants have remained closed throughout the pandemic, the Skokans continue to run a farmstand daily on their property and weekends at the Boulder County Farmers Market. Black Cat Farm encompasses a grain mill, hundreds of pigs and sheep, and some 50 acres of vegetables and herbs.
“If they don’t keep doing the farm dinners, there’s just going to be a lot of food that’s just going to go to waste,” said Doug Brown, a family friend.
Around 40 employees of the restaurants and farm continue to work while the family members, including two more siblings, Morgan and Avery, are taking a break to grieve.
Their GoFundMe page, which was created by friends and fellow farmers, encourages community members who wish to help to also support the farm’s activities, including produce sales and dinners, as the growing season nears its peak.
“It doesn’t sleep,” Brown said of the farm. “They have to keep going. Everything else can’t die.”
Subscribe to our food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.


thedenverpost--2020-07-28--Frontier Airlines won’t be landing on Wall Street

Frontier Group Holdings , the parent of Frontier Airlines , has yanked its registration for an initial stock offering , ending years of speculation on whether and when it would become a public company , according to a letter filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday .
On March 31 , 2017 , the Denver-based carrier filed an S-1 seeking to raise $ 700 million from shareholders to fuel plans for a rapid expansion .
“ The filing has remained dormant for some time now , pre-dating the pandemic , and withdrawing the registration made procedural sense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SEC ’ s perspective , ” said Jennifer de la Cruz , director of corporate communications at Frontier Airlines .
Frontier Airlines was publicly-traded until a drop in business during the Great Recession resulted in a bankruptcy filing in 2009 .
Republic Airways Holdings acquired Frontier for $ 108.8 million out of bankruptcy and sold it in 2013 to Indigo Partners for $ 145 million , including $ 36 million in cash .
“ Frontier had laid out a pretty aggressive expansion plan back in 2017 that would triple the size of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ type of expansion would require Frontier ’ s owners to raise sufficient capital beyond just the retained earnings , ” said Lowell Valencia-Miller , an assistant professor at the University of Denver ’ s Daniels College of Business .
He said a stock offering would have been a great way to leverage expectations of future revenue gains to raise money .
Before the outbreak , the ultra low-cost airline was doing well enough to exercise an option to add new aircraft to its fleet .
Of course , the pandemic caused airline traffic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ everyone in the travel industry .
But because Frontier isn ’ t as dependent on business or international travelers , it has bounced back more strongly than its rivals , aided by promotions such as $ 11 one-way fares .
“ Since the pandemic , Frontier has been slowly adding back capacity to meet the increasing number of leisure travelers .
Based upon industry schedule data , Frontier is flying approximately 45 % of the schedule that it was flying a year ago , ” Valencia-Miller said .
Barry Biffle , Frontier ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s load factor is approaching 70 % , which is much better than many of its domestic competitors , he added .
And that is with the Frontier Airlines leaving middle seats open after a failed attempt to charge nervous passengers $ 39 for that extra space .

Frontier Group Holdings, the parent of Frontier Airlines, has yanked its registration for an initial stock offering, ending years of speculation on whether and when it would become a public company, according to a letter filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
On March 31, 2017, the Denver-based carrier filed an S-1 seeking to raise $700 million from shareholders to fuel plans for a rapid expansion.
“The filing has remained dormant for some time now, pre-dating the pandemic, and withdrawing the registration made procedural sense both from Frontier’s and the SEC’s perspective,” said Jennifer de la Cruz, director of corporate communications at Frontier Airlines.
Frontier Airlines was publicly-traded until a drop in business during the Great Recession resulted in a bankruptcy filing in 2009. Republic Airways Holdings acquired Frontier for $108.8 million out of bankruptcy and sold it in 2013 to Indigo Partners for $145 million, including $36 million in cash.
“Frontier had laid out a pretty aggressive expansion plan back in 2017 that would triple the size of the airline in just 10 years. This type of expansion would require Frontier’s owners to raise sufficient capital beyond just the retained earnings,” said Lowell Valencia-Miller, an assistant professor at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business.
He said a stock offering would have been a great way to leverage expectations of future revenue gains to raise money. Before the outbreak, the ultra low-cost airline was doing well enough to exercise an option to add new aircraft to its fleet.
Of course, the pandemic caused airline traffic to plummet and disrupted the plans of everyone in the travel industry. But because Frontier isn’t as dependent on business or international travelers, it has bounced back more strongly than its rivals, aided by promotions such as $11 one-way fares.
“Since the pandemic, Frontier has been slowly adding back capacity to meet the increasing number of leisure travelers. Based upon industry schedule data, Frontier is flying approximately 45% of the schedule that it was flying a year ago,” Valencia-Miller said.
Barry Biffle, Frontier’s CEO, stated that the airline’s load factor is approaching 70%, which is much better than many of its domestic competitors, he added. And that is with the Frontier Airlines leaving middle seats open after a failed attempt to charge nervous passengers $39 for that extra space.


thedenverpost--2020-07-28--Broncos Mailbag: Can any edge rusher behind Von Miller and Bradley Chubb be productive this year?

Denver Post Broncos writer Ryan O ’ Halloran posts his Broncos Mailbag periodically during the offseason .
You can pose a Broncos- or NFL-related question for the Broncos Mailbag here .
Follow Ryan for more daily updates on Twitter .
Ryan , how ’ s the tight end situation shaking out ?
I figure Noah Fant will be the No .
1 guy , but then what ?
Jeff Heuerman ’ s been here the longest , Albert Okwuegbunam has a rapport with Drew Lock and Nick Vannett was given a decent chunk of change .
Then there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will the Broncos do ?
The Broncos have seven tight ends on the roster and that doesn ’ t count Andrew Beck , who will be a fullback/tight end .
When I projected the 53-man roster last month , I kept four true tight ends : Fant , Vannett , Okwuegbunam and Butt .
Off the roster were Heuerman , Troy Fumagalli and Austin Fort .
The locks should be Fant ( first-round draft pick last year ) , Vannett ( signed from Pittsburgh to be the blocking specialist ) and Okwuegbunam ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ final spot is up for grabs .
Heuerman has the experience , but most of his snaps will be absorbed by Vannett .
The most interesting decision is Butt .
If he can prove he ’ s healthy , I would give him a shot .
And don ’ t forget about Fort , who was trending upward last August when he tore his ACL .
A potential wild card : If the Broncos make rookie KJ Hamler the primary returner , it means Dionate Spencer would be expendable and allow them to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the coronavirus pandemic is still going strong , what are the chances the league will consider doing a bubble or bubbles like the NBA or NHL to limit the spread ?
Zero chance because the logistics would be impossible .
How would all 32 teams practice in the same location ?
Which town would have enough hotels for upwards of 3,680 people ( 80 players and a conservative estimate of 35 coaches/support staff per team ) within range of a practice facility ?
And what about the games ?
The best way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discipline , period .
John Elway not locking up safety Justin Simmons to a long-term contract was a bad move .
He ’ s going to be one of the league ’ s elite safeties for years to come .
Do you think there ’ s a chance he ’ ll be playing in the orange and blue after this season ?
Simmons playing this year on the franchise tag and then re-signing with the Broncos long-term isn ’ t a sure thing .
Just look at the recent history of Alshon Jeffrey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kirk Cousins .
They played on the tag for one or two years and then signed elsewhere .
That said , the Broncos-Simmons relationship appears to be on solid footing .
The best thing for Simmons would be taking another step forward in his production this year and continuing to show he is a good fit for coach Vic Fangio ’ s defense .
The Broncos ’ pass rush was amazing when they had a rotation of strong guys behind their starters , like with Shane Ray and Shaq Barrett behind Von Miller @ @ @ @ @ @ @ addition of Jurrell Casey will help take the pressure off of Miller and Bradley Chubb .
Is there anyone on the depth chart who could be that extra edge rusher off the bench for Denver ?
Also , any chance Shane Ray could return to the Broncos ?
He is a free agent .
The Broncos have moved on from Ray .
They declined to re-sign him last year and he is available now as a free agent .
Looking back at the outside linebacker sack distribution of the past five years … @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3 1/2 , Malik Reed two , Justin Hollins one I agree that having Casey lined up at defensive end should create some opportunities , but the key is getting Chubb back from last year ’ s torn ACL .
But Miller and Chubb do need some help .
Attaochu should enter camp this week as the No .
3 edge rusher .
Reed , Hollins and rookie Derrek Tuzska will compete for the final two spots .
Denver Post Broncos writer Ryan O ’ Halloran posts his Broncos Mailbag periodically during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or NFL-related question for the Broncos Mailbag here .
Follow Ryan for more daily updates on Twitter .

Denver Post Broncos writer Ryan O’Halloran posts his Broncos Mailbag periodically during the offseason.
You can pose a Broncos- or NFL-related question for the Broncos Mailbag here. Follow Ryan for more daily updates on Twitter.
Ryan, how’s the tight end situation shaking out? I figure Noah Fant will be the No. 1 guy, but then what? Jeff Heuerman’s been here the longest, Albert Okwuegbunam has a rapport with Drew Lock and Nick Vannett was given a decent chunk of change. Then there’s Jake Butt and the rest. What will the Broncos do?
— Carey, Littleton
The Broncos have seven tight ends on the roster and that doesn’t count Andrew Beck, who will be a fullback/tight end.
When I projected the 53-man roster last month, I kept four true tight ends: Fant, Vannett, Okwuegbunam and Butt. Off the roster were Heuerman, Troy Fumagalli and Austin Fort. The locks should be Fant (first-round draft pick last year), Vannett (signed from Pittsburgh to be the blocking specialist) and Okwuegbunam (fourth-round pick this year).
The final spot is up for grabs. Heuerman has the experience, but most of his snaps will be absorbed by Vannett. The most interesting decision is Butt. If he can prove he’s healthy, I would give him a shot. And don’t forget about Fort, who was trending upward last August when he tore his ACL.
A potential wild card: If the Broncos make rookie KJ Hamler the primary returner, it means Dionate Spencer would be expendable and allow them to keep an extra tight end.
Given that the coronavirus pandemic is still going strong, what are the chances the league will consider doing a bubble or bubbles like the NBA or NHL to limit the spread?
— David, Denver
Zero chance because the logistics would be impossible.
How would all 32 teams practice in the same location? Which town would have enough hotels for upwards of 3,680 people (80 players and a conservative estimate of 35 coaches/support staff per team) within range of a practice facility? And what about the games?
The best way to limit the spread will be organization-wide discipline, period.
John Elway not locking up safety Justin Simmons to a long-term contract was a bad move. He’s going to be one of the league’s elite safeties for years to come. Do you think there’s a chance he’ll be playing in the orange and blue after this season?
— Chris Martinez, Northglenn
Simmons playing this year on the franchise tag and then re-signing with the Broncos long-term isn’t a sure thing. Just look at the recent history of Alshon Jeffrey, Ziggy Ansah, Trumaine Johnson and Kirk Cousins. They played on the tag for one or two years and then signed elsewhere.
That said, the Broncos-Simmons relationship appears to be on solid footing. The best thing for Simmons would be taking another step forward in his production this year and continuing to show he is a good fit for coach Vic Fangio’s defense.
The Broncos’ pass rush was amazing when they had a rotation of strong guys behind their starters, like with Shane Ray and Shaq Barrett behind Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware. I know the addition of Jurrell Casey will help take the pressure off of Miller and Bradley Chubb. Is there anyone on the depth chart who could be that extra edge rusher off the bench for Denver? Also, any chance Shane Ray could return to the Broncos? He is a free agent.
— Carlos, Commerce City
The Broncos have moved on from Ray. They declined to re-sign him last year and he is available now as a free agent.
Looking back at the outside linebacker sack distribution of the past five years …
2015: Miller 11, Ware 7 1/2, Barrett 5 1/2, Ray four
2016: Miller 13 1/2, Ray eight, Ware four, Barrett 1 1/2
2017: Miller 10, Barrett four, Ray one
2018: Miller 14 1/2, Chubb 12, Barrett three, Ray one
2019: Miller eight, Jeremiah Attaochu 3 1/2, Malik Reed two, Justin Hollins one
I agree that having Casey lined up at defensive end should create some opportunities, but the key is getting Chubb back from last year’s torn ACL. But Miller and Chubb do need some help. Attaochu should enter camp this week as the No. 3 edge rusher. Reed, Hollins and rookie Derrek Tuzska will compete for the final two spots.
Denver Post Broncos writer Ryan O’Halloran posts his Broncos Mailbag periodically during the offseason.
You can pose a Broncos- or NFL-related question for the Broncos Mailbag here. Follow Ryan for more daily updates on Twitter.


thedenverpost--2020-07-28--Science points to in-person learning as safe amid COVID-19 pandemic — but is it safe enough for Colo

Science points to in-person learning as safe amid COVID-19 pandemic — but is it safe enough for Colorado’s school districts?

As school districts across Colorado grapple with how to re-open amid an ongoing global pandemic , the state ’ s largest teachers union insists that any decision to return to in-person learning needs to be driven by “ scientific standards ” and not politics .
The Colorado Education Association , which represents nearly 40,000 educators in the state , says that unless protections against the still-burgeoning coronavirus can be better assured across Colorado ’ s 178 school districts , teachers may not return to classrooms next month .
Yet much of the science on school safety across the globe indicates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taken the lives of nearly 650,000 people worldwide but has largely spared the young , doesn ’ t do well in a classroom setting .
Research papers published in multiple countries , including Australia , France , Ireland , the Netherlands and Germany , found negligible transmission of COVID-19 in school settings .
Last week , a leading U.K. epidemiologist told The Times of London that no recorded case exists of a teacher catching the coronavirus from a pupil “ anywhere in the world ” and that it may have been a mistake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the limited role children play in spreading the virus.
” And in a study cited by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment epidemiologist Dr. Brian Erly last week during a virtual news conference on reopening schools , researchers found virtually no difference in the transmission rate among students and teachers in Finland , which closed its schools during the peak of the pandemic in Europe , compared to Sweden , which kept primary schools open .
“ Keeping primary schools open didn ’ t place the children at a higher risk of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ call .
“ So I think this is an important example for us to look at as we consider our school opening guidance in Colorado.
” But not all the science points in the same direction .
A large study out of South Korea published earlier this month indicates that children 10 and older can transmit the coronavirus as easily as adults .
And a Chinese study published in June concluded that school closures there helped slow the spread of COVID-19 .
Schools in Israel , South Korea and China have had to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in those countries .
Amie Baca-Oehlert , president of the Colorado Education Association , said “ contradictory studies and data ” make it hard to find consensus on what the science is saying about the coronavirus in schools .
“ Everyone ’ s biggest priority is to get to in-person learning , ” she said .
“ But there is also tremendous damage that can be done if we put educators and students in an unhealthy and unsafe environment .
We don ’ t want to experiment on our children — and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be.
” Meanwhile , pressure to resume classroom instruction is coming from doctors .
The American Academy of Pediatrics last month issued reopening guidelines in which it “ strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.
” Dr. Sam Dominguez , pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children ’ s Hospital Colorado , told The Denver Post that remote learning is not equivalent to hands-on instruction in a classroom .
“ Schools are important for education , but they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for at-risk children , food services and they address larger social inequity issues , ” Dominguez said .
“ I think the ability to open schools relies on two factors : the mitigation measures that are put in place and the circulation numbers of the virus.
” Determining how safe is safe enough is the real challenge , he said .
“ Nothing in life is without risk , ” Dominguez said .
“ So we can never get to zero.
” The re-opening of schools in the United States has become a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier this month threatening to withhold federal aid to schools that don ’ t open while teachers in Florida sued the state ’ s Republican governor over his directive that schools open for the 2020-2021 academic year .
Just last Thursday , the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new school-opening guidance titled “ The Importance of Reopening America ’ s Schools this Fall.
” The agency said “ reopening schools creates opportunity to invest in the education , well-being and future of one of America ’ s greatest assets — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to protect students , teachers , staff and all their families.
” All of this is happening against the backdrop of a worrisome increase in the coronavirus infection rate in the United States , as people newly intermingle — often without masks or social distancing — after lengthy lockdowns .
Since the middle of July , daily new cases have repeatedly eclipsed a record-breaking 70,000-plus in the U.S .
In Colorado , the trends are going the wrong way , too , with daily caseloads regularly exceeding 500 — numbers not seen since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though COVID-19 is a disease that overwhelmingly targets older populations — only three people under the age of 20 have died in Colorado from the virus out of more than 1,600 total deaths — teachers in the state are worried about providing the coronavirus a new venue in which to propagate and possibly infect parents , grandparents or medically vulnerable relatives at home .
“ There is a need to get the spread under control , ” Baca-Oehlert said .
A survey recently conducted by the Colorado Education Association of its members revealed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school year fully remote while only 8 % want to start fully in person .
Fewer than 20 % of respondents believe districts can keep them safe .
Meanwhile , guidelines for revving up the school year released by state education and public health officials last week lack specifics and largely leave decisions about start dates and reopening approaches to local school boards , Baca-Oehlert said .
For example , the state guidance stresses the importance of forming “ cohorts , ” or groups of students who stay together through the day to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state officials don ’ t say what they think the ideal number of students is in a cohort .
“ We want to have specific details of how those safety protocols are implemented , ” she said .
“ That ’ s what we ’ re calling on the state to provide — what ’ s the trigger to go to in-person learning ?
” The uncertainty has led to Colorado ’ s two largest school districts — Denver and Jefferson County — announcing that they will start exclusively with virtual learning for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the new academic year .
Jeffco ’ s decision followed a # RECALLtheRestart social media campaign that had gathered 50,000 signatures as of last week urging district administrators to delay in-person plans .
“ I truly understand and recognize the need for in-person instruction , ” Ernest Garibay , a math teacher at Standley Lake High School in Westminster , said during an online union-hosted news conference last week .
“ I also believe that policymakers need to pause and re-evaluate the safest way to do this .
“ I have much more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID presents to our students and school community than I have about an arbitrary start date that is not informed by our current scientific understanding of the global pandemic we ’ re living through.
” John Robinson , president of the Poudre Education Association in Fort Collins , was more blunt on the call .
“ To be honest , my colleagues are terrified , ” he said .
With the threat of pandemic-induced funding cuts to public education in Colorado — $ 14 million alone in the Poudre School District , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ongoing teacher shortage in the state , trying to put in place health measures that reduce class sizes and increase cleaning capacity in schools would be a tall order .
“ It ’ s an impossibility at this point when we ’ re looking to open buildings in two to three weeks to come up with the number of certified , qualified educators that we would need to make a cohort happen , ” Robinson said .
Bret Miles , executive director of the Colorado Association of School Executives , casts the dilemma @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year as a “ hard science versus social science ” conundrum .
Even if the scientific data doesn ’ t justify the level of fear in the community about COVID-19 spread in schools , the fear is still real .
“ It doesn ’ t really matter what the science says if half of your staff is fearful of it and half your parents are fearful of it , ” Miles said .
“ Outside of the science , principals have to have enough people to run the building.
” “ This can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school starts has moved beyond the teacher corps and into the social media world , with parents hotly discussing whether or not their children should venture back into school buildings that were shuttered four months ago .
Greg Nidy , a father of two children attending Secrest Elementary in Arvada , adheres to the precautionary principle in choosing remote learning for his kids .
“ We have yet to see a slowdown in the spread of the disease in the U.S. , ” Nidy said .
“ Nothing has changed since March — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mitigation .
It ’ s dangerous to ask children to go into that unproven environment.
” Ben Wood , also a father in Arvada , takes the opposite position .
His three kids go to Jeffco schools and trying to have them attend class at home “ is a massive strain on parents.
” “ I can not imagine what it would be like for a single mother or father who has to do that and go to work , ” Wood said .
“ Do we want to foster a culture of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with cautious optimism ?
” Wood worries that at-home schooling , sans the guidance , resources and services that public schools provide , will chip away at the development and aptitude of the youngest generation — a prospect The New York Times in June described as “ not pretty.
” New research , the newspaper reported , suggests that by September most students will have fallen behind where they would have been if they had gone to class , with some losing the equivalent of a full school year ’ s worth of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ socioeconomic lines will likely worsen because of disparities in access to web-connected technology and direct teacher instruction .
That bothers Rusha Lev , a pediatrician and mother of four who serves as a member of the Colorado chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics .
“ The risks of not being in school are significant and paramount , ” she said .
“ There is going to be a huge differential in online learning.
” Lev has patients who are homeless , with several children in a family packed into a hotel room @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do homework .
Or immigrant families with parents whose first language is not English , trying to balance low-wage jobs with teaching their children subjects they know little about .
Or simply leaving their kids at home while they go to work .
“ These are some of the reasons we feel they should be in school , ” she said .
In-person instruction can be done if proper mitigation measures are taken , like wearing a mask , keeping a distance and frequent hand washing , Lev said .
She cites her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on her daily as a risk-filled situation she has been able to manage without getting ill. Lev said the preponderance of the scientific data from around the world points to the fact that the coronavirus is simply not as virulent and far less deadly among children in school settings .
And that ’ s more compelling for her than fear and speculation about the unknown .
“ There is more than just hypothesis here — there is data to suggest this setting is not as worrisome as we once thought , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fear , which is reasonable , in most cases this can be done safely.
” Join our Facebook group for the latest updates on coronavirus in Colorado .

As school districts across Colorado grapple with how to re-open amid an ongoing global pandemic, the state’s largest teachers union insists that any decision to return to in-person learning needs to be driven by “scientific standards” and not politics.
The Colorado Education Association, which represents nearly 40,000 educators in the state, says that unless protections against the still-burgeoning coronavirus can be better assured across Colorado’s 178 school districts, teachers may not return to classrooms next month.
Yet much of the science on school safety across the globe indicates that the novel coronavirus, which has taken the lives of nearly 650,000 people worldwide but has largely spared the young, doesn’t do well in a classroom setting.
Research papers published in multiple countries, including Australia, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany, found negligible transmission of COVID-19 in school settings.
Last week, a leading U.K. epidemiologist told The Times of London that no recorded case exists of a teacher catching the coronavirus from a pupil “anywhere in the world” and that it may have been a mistake to close schools in March “given the limited role children play in spreading the virus.”
And in a study cited by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment epidemiologist Dr. Brian Erly last week during a virtual news conference on reopening schools, researchers found virtually no difference in the transmission rate among students and teachers in Finland, which closed its schools during the peak of the pandemic in Europe, compared to Sweden, which kept primary schools open.
“Keeping primary schools open didn’t place the children at a higher risk of infection,” Erly said on the call. “So I think this is an important example for us to look at as we consider our school opening guidance in Colorado.”
But not all the science points in the same direction. A large study out of South Korea published earlier this month indicates that children 10 and older can transmit the coronavirus as easily as adults. And a Chinese study published in June concluded that school closures there helped slow the spread of COVID-19.
Schools in Israel, South Korea and China have had to close again after surges in coronavirus occurred in those countries.
Amie Baca-Oehlert, president of the Colorado Education Association, said “contradictory studies and data” make it hard to find consensus on what the science is saying about the coronavirus in schools.
“Everyone’s biggest priority is to get to in-person learning,” she said. “But there is also tremendous damage that can be done if we put educators and students in an unhealthy and unsafe environment. We don’t want to experiment on our children — and that’s what it feels it would be.”
Meanwhile, pressure to resume classroom instruction is coming from doctors. The American Academy of Pediatrics last month issued reopening guidelines in which it “strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.”
Dr. Sam Dominguez, pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, told The Denver Post that remote learning is not equivalent to hands-on instruction in a classroom.
“Schools are important for education, but they also provide mental health services, screening for at-risk children, food services and they address larger social inequity issues,” Dominguez said. “I think the ability to open schools relies on two factors: the mitigation measures that are put in place and the circulation numbers of the virus.”
Determining how safe is safe enough is the real challenge, he said.
“Nothing in life is without risk,” Dominguez said. “So we can never get to zero.”
“My colleagues are terrified”
The re-opening of schools in the United States has become a hot-button issue, with President Donald Trump earlier this month threatening to withhold federal aid to schools that don’t open while teachers in Florida sued the state’s Republican governor over his directive that schools open for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Just last Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new school-opening guidance titled “The Importance of Reopening America’s Schools this Fall.” The agency said “reopening schools creates opportunity to invest in the education, well-being and future of one of America’s greatest assets — our children — while taking every precaution to protect students, teachers, staff and all their families.”
All of this is happening against the backdrop of a worrisome increase in the coronavirus infection rate in the United States, as people newly intermingle — often without masks or social distancing — after lengthy lockdowns. Since the middle of July, daily new cases have repeatedly eclipsed a record-breaking 70,000-plus in the U.S.
In Colorado, the trends are going the wrong way, too, with daily caseloads regularly exceeding 500 — numbers not seen since late April and early May. Even though COVID-19 is a disease that overwhelmingly targets older populations — only three people under the age of 20 have died in Colorado from the virus out of more than 1,600 total deaths — teachers in the state are worried about providing the coronavirus a new venue in which to propagate and possibly infect parents, grandparents or medically vulnerable relatives at home.
“There is a need to get the spread under control,” Baca-Oehlert said.
A survey recently conducted by the Colorado Education Association of its members revealed that 53% want to start the school year fully remote while only 8% want to start fully in person. Fewer than 20% of respondents believe districts can keep them safe.
Meanwhile, guidelines for revving up the school year released by state education and public health officials last week lack specifics and largely leave decisions about start dates and reopening approaches to local school boards, Baca-Oehlert said. For example, the state guidance stresses the importance of forming “cohorts,” or groups of students who stay together through the day to limit their exposure to others. But state officials don’t say what they think the ideal number of students is in a cohort.
“We want to have specific details of how those safety protocols are implemented,” she said. “That’s what we’re calling on the state to provide — what’s the trigger to go to in-person learning?”
The uncertainty has led to Colorado’s two largest school districts — Denver and Jefferson County — announcing that they will start exclusively with virtual learning for at least the first two weeks of the new academic year. Jeffco’s decision followed a #RECALLtheRestart social media campaign that had gathered 50,000 signatures as of last week urging district administrators to delay in-person plans.
“I truly understand and recognize the need for in-person instruction,” Ernest Garibay, a math teacher at Standley Lake High School in Westminster, said during an online union-hosted news conference last week. “I also believe that policymakers need to pause and re-evaluate the safest way to do this.
“I have much more concern about the real health risks that COVID presents to our students and school community than I have about an arbitrary start date that is not informed by our current scientific understanding of the global pandemic we’re living through.”
John Robinson, president of the Poudre Education Association in Fort Collins, was more blunt on the call.
“To be honest, my colleagues are terrified,” he said.
With the threat of pandemic-induced funding cuts to public education in Colorado — $14 million alone in the Poudre School District, the 20-year veteran teacher said — and an ongoing teacher shortage in the state, trying to put in place health measures that reduce class sizes and increase cleaning capacity in schools would be a tall order.
“It’s an impossibility at this point when we’re looking to open buildings in two to three weeks to come up with the number of certified, qualified educators that we would need to make a cohort happen,” Robinson said.
Bret Miles, executive director of the Colorado Association of School Executives, casts the dilemma over how to launch the upcoming school year as a “hard science versus social science” conundrum. Even if the scientific data doesn’t justify the level of fear in the community about COVID-19 spread in schools, the fear is still real.
“It doesn’t really matter what the science says if half of your staff is fearful of it and half your parents are fearful of it,” Miles said. “Outside of the science, principals have to have enough people to run the building.”
“This can be done safely”
The debate over school starts has moved beyond the teacher corps and into the social media world, with parents hotly discussing whether or not their children should venture back into school buildings that were shuttered four months ago. Greg Nidy, a father of two children attending Secrest Elementary in Arvada, adheres to the precautionary principle in choosing remote learning for his kids.
“We have yet to see a slowdown in the spread of the disease in the U.S.,” Nidy said. “Nothing has changed since March — there is no greater understanding of virus mitigation. It’s dangerous to ask children to go into that unproven environment.”
Ben Wood, also a father in Arvada, takes the opposite position. His three kids go to Jeffco schools and trying to have them attend class at home “is a massive strain on parents.”
“I cannot imagine what it would be like for a single mother or father who has to do that and go to work,” Wood said. “Do we want to foster a culture of fear or do we want to proceed with cautious optimism?”
Wood worries that at-home schooling, sans the guidance, resources and services that public schools provide, will chip away at the development and aptitude of the youngest generation — a prospect The New York Times in June described as “not pretty.”
New research, the newspaper reported, suggests that by September most students will have fallen behind where they would have been if they had gone to class, with some losing the equivalent of a full school year’s worth of academic gains. Gaps along racial and socioeconomic lines will likely worsen because of disparities in access to web-connected technology and direct teacher instruction.
That bothers Rusha Lev, a pediatrician and mother of four who serves as a member of the Colorado chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“The risks of not being in school are significant and paramount,” she said. “There is going to be a huge differential in online learning.”
Lev has patients who are homeless, with several children in a family packed into a hotel room trying to share a single tablet to do homework. Or immigrant families with parents whose first language is not English, trying to balance low-wage jobs with teaching their children subjects they know little about. Or simply leaving their kids at home while they go to work.
“These are some of the reasons we feel they should be in school,” she said.
In-person instruction can be done if proper mitigation measures are taken, like wearing a mask, keeping a distance and frequent hand washing, Lev said. She cites her own work examining babies who spit up on her daily as a risk-filled situation she has been able to manage without getting ill.
Lev said the preponderance of the scientific data from around the world points to the fact that the coronavirus is simply not as virulent and far less deadly among children in school settings.
And that’s more compelling for her than fear and speculation about the unknown.
“There is more than just hypothesis here — there is data to suggest this setting is not as worrisome as we once thought,” she said. “Despite people’s fear, which is reasonable, in most cases this can be done safely.”
Join our Facebook group for the latest updates on coronavirus in Colorado.


thedenverpost--2020-07-28--Rockies’ bullpen passes early test but can it have sustained success?

The Rockies ’ rebuilt bullpen : So far , so good .
Over their first three games , Colorado relievers gave up just one run over 9 2/3 innings in winning two of three over the Texas Rangers .
The Rockies open a two-game set at Oakland on Tuesday night .
Thus far , veteran closer Wade Davis is 2-for-2 in save attempts .
Right-hander Daniel Bard , pitching for the first time in the majors in more than seven years , is throwing 99 mph fastballs and showing poise on the mound .
Right-hander Yency Almonte , who ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ limited big-league time over the last two seasons , tossed two scoreless innings Sunday and looked good doing it .
He struck out three in the Rockies ’ 5-2 victory .
“ Today was a good day for Yency , ” manager Bud Black said .
“ I thought last year , in spurts , we saw the potential for what he did ( today ) .
He ’ s got a lively fastball with movement and velocity and he has a really good breaking ball .
I trust the breaking ball.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consistency from Almonte , and all of the relievers .
“ That ’ s the separator , day in and day out .
Is there consistency ?
” he said .
“ Are you going to do it every night ?
No .
But if you go out there and perform the majority of the time , you are going to have a good career and you are going to help your team win.
” There were some hiccups in the first series of the season , and the Rockies escaped some messes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to if the games had been at Coors Field instead of Globe Life Park in Arlington , Texas .
In Colorado ’ s white-knuckle , 3-2 win Saturday night , late-game right-handers Carlos Estevez and Jairo Diaz had to dodge major traffic jams .
Davis gave up a run in the ninth and needed 28 pitches ( just 15 strikes ) to lock down the save .
In other words , it ’ s way too early to say that Colorado ’ s bullpen , which posted a 5.14 ERA last year ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fixed .
Early-season optimism also must be tempered by the fact that right-handed set-up man Scott Oberg — arguably Colorado ’ s best reliever — is on the injured list with a sore lower back and will likely miss Friday ’ s season-opener .
Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela ( 11-11 , 6.71 ERA in 2019 ) at A ’ s RHP Daniel Mengden ( 5-2 , 4.83 in 2019 ) 7:40 p.m. Tuesday , Oakland Coliseum TV : AT & T SportsNet Radio : KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM Big things are expected of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2020 debut .
The right-hander worked hard in the offseason , dropping 15 pounds and adding muscle .
The finger pain that caused discomfort when he threw a changeup last season has cleared up .
The changeup is becoming an effective off-speed pitch for the fastball-reliant righty .
Senzatela ’ s slider and curve are also becoming more trustworthy .
Mengden originally was scheduled to be a long reliever and swingman , but he ’ s always considered himself a starter , so he ’ s eager for this chance .
Mengden underwent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ considered fully healthy .
How long he ’ ll remain in Oakland ’ s starting rotation is a question mark , considering he owns a career 4.68 ERA and a 17.3 % strikeout rate .
Trending : In this 60-game season , each game counts for 2.7 games when compared to a usual 162-game season .
So what ’ s the Rockies ’ best 60-game stretch in franchise history ?
That would be 2009 when the Rockies went 42-19 from June 4 to Aug. 10 , shortly after Jim Tracy took over for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Colorado qualified as a wild-card playoff team that season .
At issue : Charlie Blackmon is going to hit , he always does .
But three games into this sprint of the season , the all-star right fielder is 1-for-12 ( 0.83 ) .

The Rockies’ rebuilt bullpen: So far, so good.
Mostly.
Over their first three games, Colorado relievers gave up just one run over 9 2/3 innings in winning two of three over the Texas Rangers. The Rockies open a two-game set at Oakland on Tuesday night.
Thus far, veteran closer Wade Davis is 2-for-2 in save attempts. Right-hander Daniel Bard, pitching for the first time in the majors in more than seven years, is throwing 99 mph fastballs and showing poise on the mound.
Right-hander Yency Almonte, who’s looked close to breaking through in limited big-league time over the last two seasons, tossed two scoreless innings Sunday and looked good doing it. He struck out three in the Rockies’ 5-2 victory.
“Today was a good day for Yency,” manager Bud Black said. “I thought last year, in spurts, we saw the potential for what he did (today). He’s got a lively fastball with movement and velocity and he has a really good breaking ball. I trust the breaking ball.”
Then Black talked about the need for consistency from Almonte, and all of the relievers.
“That’s the separator, day in and day out. Is there consistency?” he said. “Are you going to do it every night? No. But if you go out there and perform the majority of the time, you are going to have a good career and you are going to help your team win.”
There were some hiccups in the first series of the season, and the Rockies escaped some messes they likely would not have been able to if the games had been at Coors Field instead of Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.
In Colorado’s white-knuckle, 3-2 win Saturday night, late-game right-handers Carlos Estevez and Jairo Diaz had to dodge major traffic jams. Davis gave up a run in the ninth and needed 28 pitches (just 15 strikes) to lock down the save.
In other words, it’s way too early to say that Colorado’s bullpen, which posted a 5.14 ERA last year (sixth-highest in franchise history) has been fixed.
Early-season optimism also must be tempered by the fact that right-handed set-up man Scott Oberg — arguably Colorado’s best reliever — is on the injured list with a sore lower back and will likely miss Friday’s season-opener.
On Deck
Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (11-11, 6.71 ERA in 2019) at A’s RHP Daniel Mengden (5-2, 4.83 in 2019)
7:40 p.m. Tuesday, Oakland Coliseum
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM
Big things are expected of Senzatela, who’s making his 2020 debut. The right-hander worked hard in the offseason, dropping 15 pounds and adding muscle. The finger pain that caused discomfort when he threw a changeup last season has cleared up. The changeup is becoming an effective off-speed pitch for the fastball-reliant righty. Senzatela’s slider and curve are also becoming more trustworthy. Mengden originally was scheduled to be a long reliever and swingman, but he’s always considered himself a starter, so he’s eager for this chance. Mengden underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery in February but is considered fully healthy. How long he’ll remain in Oakland’s starting rotation is a question mark, considering he owns a career 4.68 ERA and a 17.3% strikeout rate.
Trending: In this 60-game season, each game counts for 2.7 games when compared to a usual 162-game season. So what’s the Rockies’ best 60-game stretch in franchise history? That would be 2009 when the Rockies went 42-19 from June 4 to Aug. 10, shortly after Jim Tracy took over for Clint Hurdle as the Rockies’ manager. Colorado qualified as a wild-card playoff team that season.
At issue: Charlie Blackmon is going to hit, he always does. But three games into this sprint of the season, the all-star right fielder is 1-for-12 (0.83).
Pitching probables


thedenverpost--2020-07-28--Broncos’ Drew Lock ranks in bottom-third of NFL quarterbacks, according to Pro Football Focus

It seems like yesterday that Drew Lock was being praised as the “ next big thing ” by sports personality Colin Cowherd and selected as the No .
15 overall pick in ESPN ’ s re-drafting of the NFL .
That hype isn ’ t quite there from Pro Football Focus for the Broncos ’ second-year quarterback .
Lock was placed in the Tier 4 — the bottom tier — and was the 26th name listed on PFF ’ s rankings of the NFL ’ s starting quarterbacks entering the 2020 season .
“ It ’ s far too early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the Broncos , even with his 4-1 record , but the offseason additions in Denver will give him every opportunity to succeed , ” PFF ’ s Steve Palazzolo writes .
“ … With speed , outside playmakers and viable middle-of-the-field weapons , Lock should have an opportunity to show off the zip and touch that put him in the first-round conversation before he landed in the second round in 2019 .
We ’ ll know much more about Lock by the end of 2020.
” Denver Post ’ s Ryan O @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quarterback situation last week , noted that the Broncos “ were boring and bad until Lock took over in Week 13 .
His combined experience in college and last year should allow him to build on the successes without getting too high and recover from the lows without letting bad weeks stack up on each other.
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It seems like yesterday that Drew Lock was being praised as the “next big thing” by sports personality Colin Cowherd and selected as the No. 15 overall pick in ESPN’s re-drafting of the NFL.
That hype isn’t quite there from Pro Football Focus for the Broncos’ second-year quarterback.
Lock was placed in the Tier 4 — the bottom tier — and was the 26th name listed on PFF’s rankings of the NFL’s starting quarterbacks entering the 2020 season.
“It’s far too early to definitively declare Lock as the future for the Broncos, even with his 4-1 record, but the offseason additions in Denver will give him every opportunity to succeed,” PFF’s Steve Palazzolo writes. “… With speed, outside playmakers and viable middle-of-the-field weapons, Lock should have an opportunity to show off the zip and touch that put him in the first-round conversation before he landed in the second round in 2019. We’ll know much more about Lock by the end of 2020.”
Denver Post’s Ryan O’Halloran previewed the team’s quarterback situation last week, noted that the Broncos “were boring and bad until Lock took over in Week 13. His combined experience in college and last year should allow him to build on the successes without getting too high and recover from the lows without letting bad weeks stack up on each other.”
— Joe Nguyen, The Denver Post
If you enjoy the Denver Sports Omelette, tell a friend it’s easy to sign up here for our daily sports roundup. If you have any questions or suggestions, hit me up on Twitter @joenguyen or by email.
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