Photos: Desmond Howard Speaks At Fiesta Bowl Kickoff Luncheon

There’s a reason Michael Porter Jr. has been at the center of all the trade buzz involving the Nuggets, and it has nothing to do with the front office’s opinion of him. The internal regard for Porter is high, in fact, all the way up to ownership. The situation remains as simple as this: If the Nuggets want to be open to even the slightest possibility of improving their roster at the trade deadline, they essentially have to be willing to brainstorm Porter deals by default.

Nix and zones may bring Mahomes, but names will never hurt him. “Bo’s used to being the top dog. He’s not intimidated. He thinks he belongs,” David Morris, Bo Nix’s longtime quarterback coach and founder of QB Country, said a few days ago by phone when I asked about Broncos-Bills and Denver’s first playoff game since 2015.

Led by rookie quarterback Bo Nix, the Broncos are back in the playoffs for the first time since Peyton Manning led the team to a Super Bowl 50 win. And for the first time since the Hall of Fame quarterback retired, Denver looks like it has a long-term answer under center. From Trevor Siemian to Case Keenum to Nix, here’s a look at the Broncos’ different quarterbacks during that span, who they are, how they fared in the role and where they are today. Trevor Siemian John Leyba, The Denver PostBroncos quarterback Trevor Siemian (13) throws a pass to running back Devontae Booker (23) during the third quarter on Dec.

Jamar Cain told Nik Bonitto to relax. Sitting at Bonitto’s Florida home during the second round of the 2022 draft, the 6-foot-3 edge rusher was anxious. More than 24 hours into the draft, he still hadn’t heard his name called. Cain, however, sensed good news on the horizon for Bonitto, who he viewed like a son after coaching him for two seasons at Oklahoma. “I was telling everybody, ‘Nik is either going to the 49ers or the Broncos,’ because those were two teams that just kept calling me, like, ‘Hey, tell me about Nik,’” Cain told The Denver Post. As the second round drew to a close, San Francisco took USC outside linebacker Drake Jackson.

As a 17-year-old competing as an amateur in the Israeli Women Basketball Premier League, Lior Garzon offered a glimpse of the collegiate star to come. The CU graduate student, who transferred to Boulder after two years apiece at Villanova and Oklahoma State, played that winter for Maccabi Ra’anana. She averaged double-digit scoring and was named the league’s rookie of the year, a performance that followed Garzon leading Israel to the bronze medal in the FIBA U18 Women’s European Championship. “Once she had a few games in that professional league with double-digit points, playing next to top-level players, and she was already dominant, I already understood then that she was a special talent,” recalled her national team coach, Roie Levin. “Her rebounding, her size, her shooting ability separated her.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Trying to diagnose the true ceiling of this Colorado Avalanche team has been a season-long challenge, but anyone who wants to believe this club can win 16 playoff games in the spring should point to a sequence Thursday night in the second period. It was also the turning point of a 6-1 victory against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center.