Denver

Politico: The House Tuesday passed a bill that would ban most abortions nationwide after 20 weeks. The most far-reaching abortion legislation in the House in a decade, it was passed 228-196, mostly along party lines. The vote is largely symbolic: The bill will be dead on arrival in the Senate. And the White House has already threatened to veto the “fetal pain” legislation, which is based on the controversial assertion that a fetus can feel pain at that stage of development… Anti-abortion Republicans are hoping to capitalize on public outrage about Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell’s murder trial, which captured national headlines. Franks’s original bill was crafted to outlaw late term abortions in Washington, D.C., and it failed in the House last year under a procedure that needed a two-thirds vote for passage. But the Gosnell verdict sparked outrage and reinvigorated activists, and a few days after the conviction Franks broadened his legislation to apply nationwide. Opposing it, Democrats supporting abortion rights are stoking liberal anger over the “war on women” and chiding the GOP for spending its time on a divisive social agenda instead of focusing on jobs. They said the bill is unconstitutional and distracting. The Los Angeles Times has response from Democrats including Rep. Diana DeGette of Denver: “I thought we had established this last fall with the election. Americans are tired of Congress taking up extreme and divisive legislation targeted at women’s health,” Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said at a news conference before the vote. “Many of our Republican colleagues don’t seem to have gotten that message.” [Pols emphasis] A recent Gallup poll found that Americans’ views on abortion had changed little after the Gosnell trial, with 78% saying it should be legal under certain circumstances, compared with 20% who said it should be illegal in all circumstances. All four Colorado House Republicans, Reps. Scott Tipton, Mike Coffman, Cory Gardner, and Doug Lamborn voted for this abortion ban bill. Rep. Lamborn went a fully expected step further and signed on as a co-sponsor. Take note of Rep. Tipton vote for this bill, as he has usually shied away from abortion controversies during his time in office, and could face a woman opponent in 2014–making this a vote that could come back to haunt him. Perhaps even more interesting is Rep. Coffman's vote in favor–not that it's all that surprising, since Coffman was a co-sponsor of Rep. Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" bill, 2011's H.R. 3. But this was an opportunity for Coffman to include reproductive choice in the slate of issues he is "reinventing" himself around, setting himself up as the moderate swing-district New Coffman®. But much like his recent vote against DREAMers, Old Coffman appears to be the "decider." And as for the very good advice given to all Republicans after 2012's defeats, to steer clear of base-pleasing but otherwise self injurious social wedge issues? Now you have their answer, folks.

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Later today, the Colorado Attorney General's office will formally release a 71-count indictment targeting businessman Conley Hoskins and eleven others with defrauding investors who wanted to cas...

In A Federal Case, I'll be eating my way up Federal Boulevard -- south to north -- within Denver city limits. I'll be skipping the national chains and per-scoop Chinese joints, but otherwise I'l...

Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen isn't usually mentioned as one of the great owners in the NFL by the mainstream media. He should be. Consider the chart below, excerpted from footballgeography.com, and see how it illustrates just how successful and just how relatively young Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen is when compared to the NFL's owner elite. And because Pat Bowlen very much belongs in that prestigious club. With 292 wins as owner of the Denver Broncos, Pat Bowlen is already among the Top 10 owners in wins, all-time.That number puts him sixth in AFL/AFC history as well. Franchise From To Seasons Leader W L T W Pct. League Championships Bears 1921 1983 63 seasons George Halas 463 318 40 0.588 8 (1921, '32-33, '40-41, '43, '46, '63) Raiders 1966 2011 46 seasons Al Davis 413 314 8 0.567 4 (AFL 1967, NFL '76, '80, '83) Titans 1960 2012 53 seasons Bud Adams 406 425 6 0.489 2 (AFL 1960-61) Bills 1960 2012 53 seasons Ralph Wilson 384 440 8 0.466 2 (AFL 1964-65) Chiefs 1960 2006 47 seasons Lamar Hunt 381 332 12 0.534 3 (AFL 1962, '66, Super Bowl '69) Steelers 1933 1987 55 seasons Art Rooney 334 362 19 0.467 4 (1974-75, '78-79) Cardinals 1962 2012 51 seasons Bill Bidwill 328 446 13 0.425 Lions 1961 2012 52 seasons William Clay Ford 328 458 15 0.419 Giants 1965 2005 41 seasons Wellington Mara 297 332 4 0.472 2 (1986, '90) Broncos 1984 2012 29 seasons Pat Bowlen 292 199 1 0.595 2 (1997-98) Now, consider: Bowlen is the only owner in the Top 10 with a tenure of under 30 seasons. In fact, he is the only owner in the Top 10 with less than 40 seasons with his club. Bowlen's win percentage (.595) is the highest in the Top 10. Bowlen is six Broncos wins away from moving into the Top 9. Bowlen will very likely cross the 300-win mark in 2013, which will make him the ninth owner to do so. Based on the tenures of other owners with over 300 wins, Bowlen will be one of the fastest owners to reach 300 wins, if not the fastest. I considered Bowlen underrated, but even I was undervaluing Denver's owner of 29 seasons, not knowing he was among the ten winningest owners all time. Between this, recognition for his philanthropy, and the prospect of winning a third Super Bowl in franchise history, 2013 promises to be a big year for Pat Bowlen. A big year among decades of good ones.

NBA Mock Draft Pick #14 -- Dennis Schroeder, Guard, Germany SB Nation's Jazz blog SLC Dunk explains the pick: Last season the Utah Jazz started three guys on the wrong side of 30 at point guard during any random part of the season. The most complete player was the oldest. The best defender was coming off an injury. And the youngest was the one who has the least ‘point guard-y' game of the trio. The madness must stop in a Western Conference stocked with talented point guards who love to run the pick and roll. The Jazz need to correct all of the point guard fail, and will attempt to do so in short order by drafting Schroeder. While he's young and turnover prone, he's injury free and fearless. His shot needs work, but admits with pride that his calling card is defense. It's easy to see why, he has a 6'7.75 wingspan and will get his hands on more balls than a urologist. The Jazz don't need a me-first point guard on the team, they need a PG who can spoon feed our young bigmen and know how to play defense. Out of all that point guards in this draft no one does those two things better than Dennis. Meeting him at the NBA Draft Combine I immediately hated this guy. (A German guy who doesn't listen to Techno music?) However, the entire Jazz roster is filled with pussycats. Maybe it's time we got someone with a little attitude back on the court. SB Nation Scouting Report: Dennis Schroeder More: Full NBA Draft Coverage Updated 2013 NBA Mock Draft Board: 1. Cleveland Cavaliers: NERLENS NOEL2. Orlando Magic BEN MCLEMORE3. Washington Wizards OTTO PORTER4. Charlotte Hornets ALEX LEN5. Phoenix Suns VICTOR OLADIPO6. New Orleans Pelicans TREY BURKE7. Sacramento Kings ANTHONY BENNETT (for Philly)8. Detroit Pistons C.J. MCCOLLUM9. Minnesota Timberwolves KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE10. Portland Trail Blazers RUDY GOBERT (For Phoenix) 11. Philadelphia 76ers MICHAEL CARTER-WILLIAMS (For Sacramento) 12. Oklahoma City Thunder CODY ZELLER13. Dallas Mavericks SHABAZZ MUHAMMAD14. Utah Jazz DENNIS SCHROEDER15. Milwaukee Bucks 16. Boston Celtics 17. Atlanta Hawks 18. Atlanta Hawks 19. Cleveland Cavaliers 20. Chicago Bulls 21. Utah Jazz 22. Brooklyn Nets 23. Indiana Pacers 24. New York Knicks25. Los Angeles Clippers 26. Minnesota Timberwolves 27. Denver Nuggets 28. San Antonio Spurs 29. Oklahoma City Thunder30. Phoenix Suns

With the summer vacation season upon us, we recently looked at Cardhub.com's list of the ten worst U.S. travel cities -- and why Denver was the best. Now, TripAdvisor.com has come up with its o...

If the reports out of the Denver Post saying the Colorado Avalanche won't take Seth Jones with their 1st overall pick are true, we could see the Avalanche making a once model franchise become the punchline of many jokes to come. While there are many who think Sakic could be using this in order to get a better offer in a trade, odds are that they are serious about taking a forward because.....well, I really don't know why.While the debate rages whether or not you should pick for need versus picking for want, it seems the Avalanche are taking the latter, thinking that it could boost their offense to pick either Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, or Alexander Barkov. Any of the top-three skaters would help out the Avalanche for the short-term and for personal numbers, the long-term vision may be skewed. Sakic saying the forwards are too good to pass-up is one thing, but on his first months onto his job; it seems that he didn't take a full vision of his roster.Any of those players will be projects, but it seems that the Avalanche are looking more towards a quick fix with a forward who can blend in with the crowd rather than take the time to build up a franchise defenseman like Jones is projected to be. While Erik Johnson is the top guy on the Avs roster, the depth behind him isn't the best. Jones would be a franchise player and help the offensive output for the defense. With the free agent market being somewhat unspectacular-- the trade market could be the only way for them to improve their blue line this summer.This whole report is adding to the reunion of the better years that the Avs have put in the front office and behind the bench. It almost seems that, instead of trying to improve the team, the Avalanche are trying to bring the shiny names from the past and preach patience to the fan base as they go through some clunky times. There was a small light with the Avalanche's 2010 performance, but since then it's been quite shaky and doesn't look to be going too much better in the long-term. Not to mention that Greg Sherman is still the team's GM is another target for ridicule for this team, but the bigger legend names who used to be with this team coming on board with the front office mask that as much as the struggles during the season.Yet, in the end-- Sakic could be swerving everyone and trying to get more talk for a trade for the first pick to leap over the 2nd and 3rd picks to get Jones and make sure other teams don't get there. Of course, if Sakic is misleading people-- especially after saying they wouldn't hire a coach out of the major junior system-- you have to wonder if it's good to have a guy who has no front office being so quick to lie about what's going on with his franchise.

Training camp will be here before you know it. It’s a perfect time to revisit the 2013 fantasy football wide receiver landscape.1. Calvin Johnson, Detroit LionsMegatron shattered the NFL receiving record with 1,964 yards last year. The only knock is on his touchdown total (five). He had 16 and 12 touchdowns the previous two season respectively, so a return to double-digit scores in highly probable.2. Dez Bryant, Dallas CowboysDez finished with 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns, but averaged 109.8 yards per game with 10 touchdowns in the final eight games. He showed incredible toughness and dedication playing through his finger injury. He’s arrived.3. Brandon Marshall, Chicago BearsMarshall finished with 1,508 yards and 11 touchdowns. His 118 receptions were tied for second with Wes Welker and his 194 targets were tied for second with Reggie Wayne. Megatron led both categories. Marshall is a physical receiver with a quarterback (Jay Cutler) that loves to throw his way.4. A.J. Green, Cincinnati BengalsGreen finished with 1,350 yards and 11 touchdowns. He only had one score in the last six weeks and only topped 60 yards in two of the last five weeks. Despite a “slow” finish, Green is a steady performer.5. Julio Jones, Atlanta FalconsJulio finished with 1,198 and 10 touchdowns. He had five touchdowns in the final six games and a monster game (182 yards, two touchdowns) in the playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.6. Andre Johnson, Houston TexansJohnson stormed back with 1,598 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 147 yards over the last seven games. He’s still a slight injury risk, having missed 12 games in 2010 and 2011, but he’s still a force.7. Demaryius Thomas, Denver BroncosThomas finished with 1,434 yards and 10 touchdowns. He had six touchdowns in the final seven games. I would rank him higher if Wes Welker didn’t join Eric Decker in the Broncos’ WR corps.8. Vincent Jackson, Tampa Bay BuccaneersV-Jax finished with 1,384 yards and eight touchdowns. He only had one touchdown in the final six games, but his size (6′ 5″, 230 lbs) gives him an advantage over the opposing secondary.9. Victor Cruz, New York GiantsCruz returned to the Giants as expected. His 1,092 yards and 10 touchdowns are slightly disappointing compared to 2011′s 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns, but he remains one of the game’s top threats.10. Roddy White, Atlanta FalconsWhite has averaged 1,295.5 yards and 8.2 touchdowns over the past six seasons. Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez and Steven Jackson will prevent opposing defenses from keying in on Roddy.11. Percy Harvin, Seattle SeahawksHarvin averaged 92.4 total yards with five total touchdowns in the first eight games last year. He gets an upgrade at quarterback from Christian Ponder to Russell Wilson. It’s likely that he gets more use in the red zone with Seattle.12. Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis ColtsWayne finished with 1,355 and five touchdowns. He was one of the most heavily targeted receivers last year. Andrew Luck figures to be even better in 2013.13. Randall Cobb, Green Bay PackersCobb finished with 1,086 total yards and nine touchdowns. Greg Jennings’ departure to the Minnesota Vikings opens things up for the Packers receivers.14. Jordy Nelson, Green Bay PackersNelson dealt with injuries for a lot of season. Even missing four games, he finished with 745 yards and seven touchdowns. That’s 22 touchdowns in the past 28 games.15. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona CardinalsOK, I’ll bite. With Carson Palmer on board, Fitz could return to form. He was limited to 798 yards and four touchdowns last year, but averaged 1,296 yards in the prior five seasons. My only concern is Palmer’s ability to remain upright behind their offensive line. They allowed at least 50 sacks in each of the past three years.16. Marques Colston, New Orleans SaintsColston finished with 1,154 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has had at least 1,000 yards and seven

Last night, Adrian Dater of the Denver Post reported that the Colorado Avalanche will likely pass over defenseman Seth Jones, if they pick at number one in the upcoming NHL Draft. Avs to pass on Seth Jones Joe Sakic, the executive vice president of hockey operations, told Dater that the team was leaning toward one of three forwards. "We feel those three forwards are just too good to pass up," Sakic said. It is pretty rare that a team will tip it's hand in such a way just 10 days before the draft. Are the Avs trolling for a trade? The Florida Panthers are rumored to covet highly touted Nathan MacKinnon and are most likely planning to select him with the second choice overall. Sakic would be pretty crafty if he is able to bluff the Panthers into trading up, and then choose Jones anyway, whom they still might prefer. Or, are the Avs being forthcoming and do they really prefer a forward? They are already loaded with talented centers. Although many experts project that the top rated forwards in this draft could be franchise type players. This is all a guessing game for the moment, but let's look ahead for a bit at a scenario that could play out next week Sunday. If the Avs feel that way about the forwards, then the Panthers and Lightning most likely do as well. The Predators are in dire need of offense, so they most likely would take the best rated forward available, even if Jones was still on the board at number four. Supposing the following happens: The Avs take MacKinnon, the Panthers take Drouin, the Lightning take Nichushkin, and the Preds take Barkov. That leaves Seth Jones still at the table when the Hurricanes make their selection at number five. What should the Canes do, stick with the plan and take a forward? They have mentioned that they like Elias Lindholm, and Sean Monahan is a safe pick. But Jones is supposed to be a one of a kind defenseman. The scouting services speak highly of him. At Red Line Report, we have Seth Jones positioned atop the entire draft board, and he had to be pretty special to earn top honors in a year filled with a bevy of flashy forwards. Jones represents as complete a package as we've seen in any defenseman over the past decade. With his mix of size, puck skills, natural athleticism and poise, Jones can dominate and take over games at both ends of the ice, and has an impact on the game in every aspect. Red Line Report (via USA Today) If Seth Jones has a weakness in his game, I do not see it. He is a special defense prospect, and as I outlined in the previous section, he nearly made me break my tendency of preferring an elite forward to a defenseman. Jones is a high-end (arguably an elite) skater, who moves at a unique and unusual level for such a large man. With his very large wingspan and mobility, Jones closes gaps with high efficiency, and he can be difficult to get around. His best trait is his clearly elite hockey sense. Jones was making pro-level reads when he was 16, showing he was, and still is, advanced way beyond his years. He makes a multitude of good defensive plays with positioning, stick work and anticipation. He seems to always to be a step ahead of everyone else. This is evident in his offensive ability as well. He knows when to pinch, and he can exhibit high levels of offensive skill, creativity and vision. Jones has a cannon from the point, which can make him a very dangerous player on the power play. He is a big man with a ton of weapons. Finally, his size is a tremendous asset. He stands around 6'4'', and while he isn't a mean player, he takes his checks with the body. He projects as a top-end physical player. Hockey Prospectus Now keep in mind that drafting defensemen early is a tricky business. There have been many more flops than success stories, but this could be a unique opportunity for the organization to draft a franchise blueliner, arguably something the Hurricanes ha