2008-09 Nuggets: Denver's Shining Glimmer Of Hope

On a sad day in recent Denver sports history, it has been announced by Pat Bowlen that the Broncos will trade Jay Cutler.

Cutler, Denver's young, disgruntled, and over emotional quarterback has been involved in an almost month-long soap opera with newly appointed head coach Josh McDaniels.

Until the firing of Mike Shanahan in December, Cutler went along playing with little media attention besides his newly discovered diabetes.

After Shanahan was fired, the first rumble out of Cutler was that he was unhappy, and that he told Bowlen not to fire Jeremy Bates, the Broncos play-caller in '08.

Bowlen has recently denied ever having the conversation with Cutler, and Bates was fired after the offensive-minded McDaniels was brought in as head coach.

Cutler then asked for a trade, but cooled off after a few days away at home.

Then came the most recent fiasco with McDaniels. Not only are the Broncos officially in a rebuilding phase now, they lost the one player from '08 whose job seemed to be safe—a pro bowl quarterback.

This downturn in Denver sports does not end with the Broncos, it seems to be widespread.

The Avalanche are down right dreadful. They will not make the playoffs this season. The other night I tuned in for a bit, until I realized they were losing 7-1 after the second intermission.

The Rockies, while being much better than in years gone by, still have owners that do not want to spend the big money that keeps big stars, and wins big games.

Matt Holliday, the heir-apparent face of the franchise to aging star Todd Helton, was traded away to the Oakland A's because he wanted too much money.

The guy was superhuman, with huge rippling arms, and could take almost any ball over the Coors Field fences.

Jeff Francis, the team's supposed ace, will miss the entire season recovering from shoulder surgery. Without Francis, the ace becomes Aaron Cook who had a career year last season, with 16 wins and an all star selection.

All is not lost though, if you call yourself a fan of the Mile High city.

The Denver Nuggets are on a tear, and have a great chance to compete in the NBA's wild west. With the win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night (111-107), the Nuggets clinched a playoff birth for the sixth consecutive season.

The Nuggets' record of 49-26 is the best ever 75-game mark for a Nuggets team in the NBA. Chauncey Billups has brought an air of commitment, leadership, and hard work to the young Nuggets, and has pushed them to excel.

Also, Denver moved into sole possession of the second spot in the West Tuesday night, half a game ahead of San Antonio, who lost to Oklahoma City.

Truly, the Nuggets have their best chance of moving past the first round this year, which would be the first time during the 'Melo era.

The Nuggets are playing the best basketball Denver has ever seen, and it has come at an opportunistic time, as the Avs, Broncs, and Rox are all basement-dwellers.

Now, all the Nuggets need is a packed Pepsi Center with raucous fans, not these "sit-on-my-hands" fans.

Denver, please go catch a game downtown, and cheer loud and proud for your Nuggets.

They're the only good team in town anyway.