Broncos Mailbag: Why Can’t Sean Payton Figure Out A Way To Run The Dang Ball?

Pedestrian in transition, too little urgency and too many turnovers. The Colorado Rapids deserved every bit of their 4-1 loss at Sporting Kansas City. The nail in the coffin of SKC’s trio of goals summed the game up perfectly. The Rapids finally got out on a good-looking break in the 69th minute, but midfielder Cole Bassett ran out of time and options with his wingers breaking inward into SKC’s trap, leaving him triple-teamed and losing the ball. While Bassett expressed clear frustration with the lack of width, SKC swiftly counterattacked and substitute Erik Thommy scored his first of two goals on the night. The first three SKC goals came in some way off turnovers or mistakes by the Rapids.

Open arms lead to broken hearts. The Avs held their media day Wednesday and if their power play is as on point as their messaging, the city should start planning a downtown parade in June. Val Nichushkin’s availability continues to hold this proud franchise hostage. When coach Jared Bednar and teammates addressed Nichushkin’s suspension in Stage 3 of the player assistance program, I wanted to ask them to blink twice to make sure they weren’t reading off a teleprompter. “We welcome him back with open arms,” Bednar said. “We welcome him back with open arms,” defenseman Devon Toews said. “We will welcome him back with the best of our abilities,” star Cale Makar said. So you are saying he’s welcome back? The Avs know they are a better team with Nichushkin.

It felt like déjà vu at media day for the Colorado Avalanche. A year ago, the most pressing questions for the Avs’ top players and coach Jared Bednar were about Valeri Nichushkin, after he left the team during its first-round playoff exit against the Seattle Kraken. Nichushkin isn’t alone among the key forwards who aren’t available at the start of this training camp, but he was yet again the key talking point Wednesday while he remains suspended from the team through at least mid-November. “The reports are that Val is doing well and he’s making progress,” Bednar said.

When Bo Nix was asked about the characteristics of a good red zone offense in the NFL, the rookie quarterback didn’t shy away from the truth about his rough experience in critical situations. “In the NFL, I haven’t figured out a whole lot because we haven’t scored in the red zone, yet,” Nix said after Wednesday’s practice. Even with former quarterback Russell Wilson across the country in Pittsburgh, Denver’s red zone struggles have remained.

Before the Rockies’ relievers could even settle into their seats beyond the right-field wall, Corbin Carroll jolted them awake. Carroll’s 438-foot blast on Austin Gomber’s seventh pitch Wednesday ricocheted off the second-deck facade and landed in the home bullpen, setting the tone for Gomber’s disappointing start, the bullpen’s long afternoon and the Rockies’ 9-4 loss to the Diamondbacks. “Threw a lot of stuff in the middle of the plate,” Gomber said.

NIWOT — Don’t let Kianna Butler’s ingenuous smile fool you on the softball field. She’s imagining putting you into her pitching blender. The Niwot senior has thrown like an all-state pitcher through the first month of the fall season — and it’s a major reason why the Cougars can imagine big things in their near future. Second in the state in strikeouts, her swing-and-whiff stuff was on full display in a 7-0 win over Monarch on Tuesday afternoon. “I think she feels more at home here now,” Niwot coach Bobby Matthews said of his ace, who moved from Arizona to Niwot last year.