September 15th, 2010 with Comments closed

Meeting of the Coaching Minds: Karl and McDaniels

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – It was quickly evident to Nuggets coach George Karl where the difference between NFL and NBA game prep work rests.

“Their preparation is like our playoff preparation, because they have a week,” Karl said in the midst of a day-long immersion with the Broncos at Dove Valley. “In basketball, we don’t script as [...]

May 13th, 2010 with Comments closed

On This Date: When the Red, White and Blue Ball Stopped Spinning

As a 22-point third-quarter lead evaporated on this night in 1976, it appeared that this would be as close as the Nuggets would ever come to a championship.

The series had been lost; the New York Nets outscored Denver 54-26 in the game’s final 17 minutes, soaring to a 112-106 win that finished the championship showdown [...]

May 11th, 2010 with 2 comments

On This Date: Looking Back at Donnie Walsh

You know the name Donnie Walsh. And if you don’t, and you call yourself an NBA fan, shame on you.  This hoops lifer is the man who didn’t listen to his team’s fans and reaped the benefits, choosing Reggie Miller as Pacers GM in 1987 when most of Indiana screamed to select Hoosier hero [...]

May 10th, 2010 with Comments closed

On This Date: When Larry Brown Wouldn’t Take It Anymore

Larry Brown is the first, most direct branch off the Dean Smith coaching tree.  But while their philosophies share some common threads, in some ways they couldn’t be more different. (Starting with their threads, as the picture below demonstrates.)

Larry Brown, fashion plate.

Take their anger management. Smith’s frustration could reveal itself in borderline comical ways, [...]

May 9th, 2010 with 2 comments

On This Date: Meet Jake Plummer

2003: I quickly sifted through a closet in my haphazardly furnished apartment (two TVs, a large desk, crammed bookshelves, but no bed) looking for the heaviest coat in my closet. It was going to be a damn cold morning: temperatures around 40, steady wind blowing, an upslope snow event in the making. [...]