Julie Browman

March Madness

Can you believe it?  March is right around the corner.  How is it almost March? 

I feel like I just took down my Christmas tree!  Anyway, being in sports, when I think of March, I automatically think of “March Madness.”  This time around however, I’m strictly thinking about hockey, not basketball.

It’s going to be absolutely crazy for the Avalanche this March.  Take a look at the schedule and you’ll see why.   Sixteen total games.   Seven home games and nine games on the road in March.  Plus, there’s not a lot of easy games on this schedule.  As a matter of fact, this time of year, there are none!  Two games against the Northwest’s Oilers, two against the Flames,  two against those pesky Canucks, and two against the Wild.  Seven total against Northwest Division teams. 

It’s easy to see what I’m getting at here.  Down the stretch, it is vital to win the majority of these divisional games.  I think we can all agree that this is not ground breaking news, however the difference between Colorado making the post season and not making the post season will probably come down to their record within the division.  

For whatever reason, the Avs have struggled immensely against their divisional opponents this season.  When asked about the record, none of the players can really put their finger on it, but they all agree it has to turn around.  Quickly. 

Hold on to your hats everybody, because it’s going to be a wild ride in March.   

Besides trying to figure out the Northwest, the Avs will host Pittsburgh and also have away games against the Rangers, Devils, and the Sharks.  With just two games in April, the Avs season is going to come down to what happens next month. 

Get ready folks.  March Madness is coming!!!

Itʼs a “big” game! Trust us!

Just under twenty five regular season games left for the Colorado Avalanche. The Western Conference standings are as tight as always. The teams holding onto the last few playoff spots change daily, almost
hourly. The end of the eighty two game regular season schedule is actually in sight. Avalanche fans, itʼs officially crunch time.

If you tune into any of the remaining Avalanche games, youʼll probably hear myself, Kyle, Mike, and Peter talk about how this particular game is a “big” game. Yes, I know. It seems as if we are saying the same thing every single night. We canʼt help ourselves. Trust us. We try and find different ways of saying itʼs a “big game.” I usually try and mix it up with “itʼs going to be a key/important/huge game tonight.” Itʼs hard to avoid. With the standings so tight, from here on out, every game absolutely has
consequences. Every game results will have an impact when it comes to who is going to the playoffs, and who is staying home.

However, to say itʼs a big game for the next 20 games seems a bit monotonous, right? Maybe a bit like crying wolf every night. So I looked up other words for “big”. Hmmm. Unfortunetely, I just donʼt think some of these are going to work. Among my choices were, colassal, humungous, jumbo,king sized, strapping, and whopper. I just have a hard time seeing myself saying, “For final thoughts on this king sized game, letʼs get you upstairs to Mike Haynes and Peter McNab.” Itʼs just really not rolling off the tongue. However, if it comes down to the last game of the season and an Avalanche win puts the Avs in post season? There is no doubt what I will say.

“Welcome to tonightʼs Avalanche game between the Avs and the Nashville Predators. This is a humungous, immense, sizable, strapping, and whopper of a game. For more on this jumbo, monster game, letʼs check in with Mike Haynes and Peter McNab.” Now that sounds just about right.

I Need Your Opinion Hockey Fans

If you liked the NHLʼs Winter Classic this season in Philadelphia, wait until you see whatʼs going down next year. The NHL has announced the Detroit Redwings will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in next yearʼs matchup. Get this. It will be played at Michigan Stadium, and they are expecting a hundred and fifteen thousand fans to attend. One hundred and fifteen thousand people watching an NHL game at the “Big House.” I love it! Commission Gary Bettman even said he thinks there will be so much interest, there still wonʼt be enough tickets available. The whole event made me start thinking about a Winter Classic here in Denver. I think it would be fantastic. The first place I thought of holding it was of course Coors Field. As we know, itʼs a beautiful facility, and they just held last yearʼs Winter Classic at another baseball stadium, at Citizenʼs
Bank Park in Philadelphia. It can be done. Then I started thinking about going even bigger. Apparently I wasnʼt the only one. Some people were talking this morning on the radio wondering if the event could be held at Sports Authority Field. The general feeling was that the NHL wouldnʼt be able to sell out the 80,000 seat stadium. I totally disagree! If thereʼs one thing I know about Colorado, itʼs that we LOVE our sports. Coloradans are experts at making a big event into a HUGE event. The Winter Classic isnʼt just a game...itʼs an experience. Even if you werenʼt a big time hockey fan, I think the experience of it all would be so appealing to the entire community. I donʼt have any doubt we could sell out Sports Authority
Field, but I always tend to go big. What do you think?