Blame Nets, Not Me, Says Carmelo

Around the AFC Lamarvelous: The MVP resides in Murrland, and there’s no need to think twice about it. Bills quarterback Josh Allen has put up absurd numbers (3,549 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, six interceptions and 11 rushing touchdowns). But what Baltimore star quarterback Lamar Jackson has done lately should be enough to earn his third MVP award.

Broncos (9-6) at Bengals (7-8) When: Saturday, 2:30 p.m. MT Where: Paycor Stadium Radio/TV: 850 AM, 94.1 FM/NFL Network Broncos-Bengals series: Denver is 22-11 in 33 regular-season games dating back to 1968; the Broncos lost 15-10 in the last meeting, on Dec. 19, 2021, at home, and have dropped two of their last three games to the Bengals. In the spotlight: Bengals passing game is dangerous, but don’t forget about RB Chase Brown The Broncos will have their hands full trying to contain wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

There’s good-on-good in the NFL. Then there’s Pat Surtain II vs. Ja’Marr Chase. The Denver cornerback and Cincinnati wide receiver could see each other often Saturday afternoon when their teams collide in a game with major playoff implications. Each has authored a dominant start to his professional career. And each is putting together his most dominant work yet this fall. Each line on their resumes from 2024 looks more ridiculous than the next. Chase is in line to become just the fifth wide receiver since 1970 to win the triple crown — lead the NFL in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. With two games remaining, Chase’s 108 catches are seven clear of the next batch.

Champ Bailey says college football’s future wears shades and a cowboy hat. If your school isn’t looking for its own Coach Prime Effect after 2024, it’s not just missing the boat, baby. It’s kissing the gravy train goodbye. “Prime, to me, is the trend,” Bailey, the Broncos icon, Pro Football Hall of Famer and TNT/Warner Discovery college football analyst, reflected earlier this month when asked about CU football coach Deion Sanders. “He’s one of a kind.

Nikola Jokic continues to bloat the stat sheet, now becoming proficient in the quadruple-double: scoring, rebounding, passing and yelling. What’s going on with the NBA’s best player? I got pushback when I suggested the Nuggets owed him an apology for the roster construction in early November and again last week when I endorsed a trade for Chicago’s Zach LaVine. One thing is clear: It is becoming increasingly impossible to ignore Jokic’s frustration with his teammates, with the losses, with the wild inconsistency of the 16-12 start. Jokic showed his emotions on multiple occasions during a deflating 110-100 Christmas Day loss to the Phoenix Suns.

SAN ANTONIO – Ben Finneseth was a senior at Durango High School when his father took him to Golden to visit the Colorado School of Mines. “I asked my dad, I was like, ‘Can we just drive up to Folsom Field? I just want to see it. I’ve never seen it,’” Finneseth said this week.