When Talking Title Contenders, Don't Forget Sooners

Casey Mittelstadt lives and breathes hockey, maybe even more than the typical NHL player. It’s part of what helped him become one of the best prospects in his draft class, what helped him figure it out at this level after a slower-than-anticipated start, and why he has connected so well with Nathan MacKinnon since arriving in Denver before the trade deadline last season. It’s also a big part of why he believes a recent funk will be in the rearview mirror soon. “I haven’t really had something like this since I was really young,” Mittelstadt said.

SAN ANTONIO — Can Coach Prime afford to stand pat on Pat Shurmur? Deion Sanders turned up in Boulder two Decembers ago with an NFL-ready pocket passer ready to take the wheel. He won’t have that in 2025. Kaidon Salters isn’t Shedeur Sanders. Julian Lewis won’t be as a true freshman. As an NFL lifer, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur smoothed over some of what few rough edges Shedeur had left in his game.

CINCINNATI — Sean Payton was in the midst of discussing the Broncos’ 30-24 overtime loss to Cincinnati on Saturday night when he made and immediately reiterated a point, almost in passing. “No. 5 is a good player,” Payton said, referring to Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. “A real good player.” Higgins didn’t catch his first pass until a third-down conversion in the second quarter, but from then on he worked over cornerback Riley Moss and the rest of Denver’s secondary all the way through his 31-yard toe-tap and walk-off overtime touchdown on back-to-back plays. Higgins authored the first three-touchdown game of his career and, in the process, helped keep Cincinnati’s season alive. Whenever the Bengals’ season ends — the Broncos can ensure it’s a week from now if they beat Kansas City and clinch the final AFC playoff spot — Higgins is in for a massive payday.

Former Texas Longhorns infielder Skyler Messinger wanted to clarify something. “When I say that ‘Tulo’ has a screw loose, I mean that as the highest possible compliment I could give him,” Messinger said. Translation: Tulo, aka Troy Tulowitzki, the hitting and infield coach at Texas, still brings mind-boggling intensity and passion to the baseball diamond.

Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood have completely changed the narrative of the 2024-25 season for the Avalanche. The Avs had one critical issue they could not control — player availability, stemming from injuries and a suspension — and one they could. That was the goaltending, which languished near the bottom of the NHL rankings in nearly every category. Enter Wedgewood, then Blackwood 10 days later.

Reporters have pregame routines, too. When I arrive at an NBA arena outside of Denver, mine includes familiarizing myself with the most optimal route from press row to the visiting coach’s interview room. It’s not always as simple as descending the steps of the lower seating bowl and going through a court-side tunnel.