Colorado sports notes: Nikola Jokic's plan to stay with the Nuggets forever and the offseason moves that energized him

DENVER (AP) — The Nuggets gave Nikola Jokic what he wanted this offseason, adding the kind of depth the Oklahoma City Thunder boasted when they survived a seven-game second-round series with Denver on their way to winning the NBA championship.
The expected payoff isn't just in a deeper rotation and fresher legs come playoff time but also in a colossal contract extension for their superstar next summer.
Jokic bypassed the opportunity to sign a four-year, $212 million deal this summer because next year he can sign that same four-year extension for $293 million.
“I mean, I don’t think about it,” Jokic said. “I think those contract extensions come as a reward, as something that is natural to the sport. Especially in today’s NBA how you see how the salary cap is growing and everything.”
While Jokic, who is entering the third year of his five-year, $276 million supermax contract, didn't directly say if he intends to sign the extension in 2026 he did say, "My plan is to be a Nugget forever.”
Jokic seems energized by the changes the Nuggets made this offseason, when they took the interim tag off coach David Adelman, replaced GM Calvin Booth with the duo of Ben Tenzer and Jonathan Wallace and added several veterans following the trade of Michael Porter Jr. to the Brooklyn Nets.
“I mean, they definitely changed the team,” Jokic said.
Two seasons after winning their first NBA title, the Nuggets acquired sharpshooting wing Cam Johnson in the Porter trade that also freed up salary cap space to address myriad roster deficiencies.
They brought back Bruce Brown, who played a critical role in the Nuggets' title run before cashing in as a free agent afterward. They also added another veteran in guard Tim Hardaway Jr. and traded for center Jonas Valanciunas to back up Jokic — and even play alongside him at times.
The Nuggets also get 2024 first-round pick DaRon Holmes back from a torn Achilles tendon that sidelined him as a rookie.
“Bruce is back. We won with him. Need to save his career again,” the Joker joked. "We have Cam and Jonas — we have a bunch of new guys. We have Holmes healthy. We’ll see. It’s a new energy, new beginning for us. Hopefully, we can do something.”
Brown, who signed with Indianapolis after the Nuggets' championship parade and was quickly traded to Toronto, said he pined to return to Denver soon after leaving.
“Indy was great for me when I was there but it was only three months,” Brown said. “And once I got to Toronto we were on two different roads, right? They were rebuilding ... and I was past that time. So, I think right away, as soon as I got there, I wanted to come back.”
Colorado Avalanche have big expectations with Landeskog's return and Burns' leadership
Colorado Avalanche
Last season: 49-29-4, lost to Dallas in first round.
COACH: Jared Bednar, 10th season (390-246-64).
SEASON OPENER: Oct. 7 at Los Angeles Kings.
DEPARTURES: F Charlie Coyle, F Jonathan Drouin, D Erik Johnson, D Ryan Lindgren, F Miles Wood.
ADDITIONS: D Brent Burns, F Victor Olofsson.
GOALIES: Scott Wedgewood (13-4-1 with Colorado, 1.99 goals-against average, 0.917 save percentage), Mackenzie Blackwood (22-12-3 with Colorado, 2.33, 0.913)
BETMGM STANLEY CUP ODDS: 8-1.
What to expect
A new level of leadership with captain Gabriel Landeskog’s return to the lineup for an entire regular season. Landeskog made his way back from a serious knee injury for the playoffs last spring. It was first time he’d played in an NHL game since helping the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup title in 2022. Colorado also brought in another strong leader in Burns, who’s 40 years old and looking to win the Cup for the first time in his 22nd season. The bearded Burns is already a popular figure in the locker room.
Strengths and weaknesses
The good: Colorado has stability in net with the tandem of Wedgewood and Blackwood. From Dec. 8, one day before Blackwood was picked up from San Jose and a week after Wedgewood was acquired from Nashville, Colorado surrendered only 2.37 goals-per-game. It was the third-best mark in the league over the span.
The not-so-good: Figuring out how to make the most of their depth. Anchoring the center spot on the top two lines are Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson. Jack Drury figures to be the center on the third line and Parker Kelly could get the job on the fourth. It also could be Zakhar Bardakov. The Avalanche are coming off a season in which they used a total of 49 players, the most of any team in the league and tied for the highest amount in franchise history. Injuries played a significant role in that.
Players to watch
Easy answer: MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar. MacKinnon is coming off his third straight 100-point season (32 goals, 84 assists), while Makar won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman. A full season in Denver for Martin Necas could pay big dividends, too. Necas was acquired in the trade on Jan. 24 that sent Mikko Rantanen to Carolina (Rantanen was later dealt to Dallas). In 30 games with Colorado, Necas had 11 goals and 17 assists.
Prime return for Colorado in 1st game at TCU since Sanders won debut there in '23 opener
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — There were a lot of unknowns before coach Deion Sanders made his Colorado debut against a future Big 12 opponent coming off an appearance in the national championship game.
Now for the first time since their prime 45-42 upset in that much-hyped 2023 season opener, the Buffaloes play at TCU again Saturday night.
“We had so much fire, fanfare and athletes, bona fide dogs, and we went and did what we had to do,” Sanders said this week. “I’m pretty sure they understand what transpired there."
Sanders was answering a question about returning to the site of his first Colorado win, and how quickly that changed the perception of a program that won only once the season before his arrival and a complete roster overhaul. But those comments came after he initially said he couldn't live in the past.
“The past is the past," he said. “We’re going to leave that there.”
No more Hunter and Shedeur
Things have changed, including Colorado (2-3, 0-2 Big 12) being back in the conference where it was one of the original 12 members in 1996. The Buffs left for the Pac-12 in 2011, a year before TCU (3-1, 0-1) joined the Big 12, but they didn't face each other last season when in the same league together for the first time.
Colorado no longer has quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the coach's son, or two-way standout and 2024 Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. Both went with Deion Sanders from FBS program Jackson State to Colorado.
“I don't think anybody knew how that was going to go. And I don’t know if anybody knew those guys were going to be as good of players as they were,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said. “You look at some of the plays Travis Hunter made in some critical situations. He did what the guy that won the Heisman Trophy is supposed to do. He kind of took over games, and certainly did that in our game. They had those guys for two years. And now they’re retooling a little bit.”
First steps toward a Heisman
Hunter played more than 120 snaps that hot September day, when the Frogs were a three-touchdown favorite after playing in the national championship game the previous season in Dykes' debut with them.
Along with being one of Colorado's four 100-yard receivers that day, Hunter made an incredible diving interception near the goal line after TCU drove 95 yards from its own 1 when trying to take a second-half lead. He was the first FBS player in 21 years with 100 yards receiving and a pick in the same game.
Knocked out of the poll
The Frogs fell out of the AP Top 25 after that loss and stayed unranked until winning their first three games this season. Those wins included another hyped opener, at North Carolina in six-time Super Bowl champion head coach Bill Belichick's college debut, and the last scheduled game in a 110-year-old rivalry against SMU, where Dykes was previously the coach.
But they were back in the poll only one week before losing their Big 12 opener Friday night at reigning champion Arizona State.
Colorado is coming off a 24-21 home loss to No. 23 BYU, and its other Big 12 loss was at Houston. Those two sets of Cougars are among the league's four undefeated teams. The Buffs opened the season with a 27-20 loss to Georgia Tech, which is now 5-0 and ranked 17th.
“We feel like we have a pretty darn good football team, even though the record don’t display that. Two games to ranked opponents by 10 points in total, makes us think, darn, a play here and play there, we’ll get it going,” Sanders said.
“They've lost to three quality opponents,” Dykes said. “Lots of team speed, a lot of playmakers on both sides of the football, another mobile quarterback.”
After Deion's Cowtown debut
The win at TCU was the first of a 3-0 start for the Buffaloes under Sanders, but they went 1-8 the rest of that season. The Horned Frogs rebounded with a three-game winning streak of their own before losing six of their last eight games — and finished 5-7 a year after an undefeated regular season got them into the College Football Playoff.
TCU and Colorado were both 9-4 last season. The Frogs finished with a four-game winning streak, and the Buffs missed out on the Big 12 championship game after being on the wrong end of a four-team tiebreaker.
“Last year we were close, I mean extremely close," Sanders said. “One game away, I feel, from being in the Big 12 championship."
Air Force-Navy football game is still on despite government shutdown
The Air Force-Navy football game will go on as planned in Annapolis, Maryland, on Saturday, but that doesn’t mean the athletic departments at the service academies are unaffected by the government shutdown.
The Naval Academy Athletic Association is a nonprofit that has acted independently since 1891, limiting the impact of government actions on Navy’s athletic teams. But Scott Strasemeier, Navy's senior associate athletic director, said some coaches who are civilians and are paid by the government are affected, though none are with the football program. The rest of the coaches are paid by the Naval Academy Athletic Association and are unaffected.
“A couple of our Olympic sports teams are affected by a coach or two that also teaches PE (physical education) and therefore is still government,” he wrote in an email. “Every team has coaches, so all teams are competing and practicing.”
Air Force is feeling it as well. Emails to Troy Garnhart, the associate athletic director for communications, prompt an automated response saying he is “out of the office indefinitely due to the government shutdown and unable to perform my duties.” Garnhart is a civilian who handles media for the football program.
Air Force also won’t be streaming home athletic events, and the academy said on its athletics website that updates would be significantly reduced and delayed.
Air Force canceled several sporting events during a shutdown in 2018, but the athletics website said that won't be the case this time.
“All Air Force Academy home and away intercollegiate athletic events will be held as scheduled during the government shutdown,” Air Force said in a statement on its website. “Funding for these events, along with travel/logistical support will be provided by the Air Force Academy Athletic Corporation (AFAAC).”
A.J. Brown among Eagles with declined production even as the champs take 4-0 record against Broncos
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A.J. Brown’s stat line for the week included one catch, one cryptic social media post and one long explanation as to why he let his frustration with his role in the offense get him down even with the Eagles off to a 4-0 start.
It’s easy to wonder, what would his mood be like if they weren't winning?
The only numbers that really matter in sports are the win-loss record and Philadelphia couldn’t have boasted much more of a better run headed into Sunday’s game against Denver (2-2).
Counting the playoffs, the Eagles have won 10 straight games, are 20-1 overall in their last 21 games and have won 18 straight times in games started and finished by reigning Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts.
But the 4-0 start has largely been missing the blockbuster plays (well, outside of special teams ) and breathtaking runs that defined the Eagles a year ago.
Led by first-year coordinator Kevin Patullo, every key Eagles offensive player has seen a significant dip in production from last season.
Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards in the regular season and set the NFL record with 2,504 total yards rushing in a season. He has rushed for only 237 yards this season -- he topped 200 yards in a game twice last season -- at a 3.1 yard-per-carry clip.
Hurts has topped 200 yards passing just once and hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in either of the last two games.
DeVonta Smith has two 1,000-yard receiving seasons, yet has just 17 catches for 158 yards in four games.
Smith declined to talk to the media after the Eagles beat Tampa Bay and so did Brown after the five-time 1,000-yard receiver was held to one catch for 8 yards. Brown had six catches for 109 yards in a Week 2 win against the Rams, and has just eight receptions for 42 yards with no touchdowns in the other three games, hardly the type of production worthy of a receiver who signed an extension ahead of last season with $84 million in guaranteed money.
Brown appeared to share his unhappiness on social media.
“If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way,” he wrote.
Speculation over what the post meant lit up sports talk radio lines and led to plenty of guessing on social media over what the wide receiver meant with the Biblical quote.
Turned out, not much.
Brown said this week after a buzzy 48 hours he took “full accountability” for letting his “frustrations boil over” and choosing to post instead of speak his mind on Sunday.
He added, the post didn't have anything to do with the Eagles.
“My message on Twitter was not directed at anyone in the building. Not my coaches, not my quarterback, my GM, nobody," he said. "I take full accountability. I have open communication with all my coaches and with my quarterback as well.”
Brown said he trusted his Eagles and he trusted his coaches to fix the offense before they started learning tough lessons from losses rather than winning. Brown, who set a franchise season record with 1,496 yards in 2022, said he wanted to stay with the Eagles.
“This is home. This is my home. I did it to myself," Brown said. "This is my home. I love it here, but you just see frustration because we want to be great.”
Brown’s production — and mindset — against Denver will be worth watching.
“If you look through the first four games, he’s been doing some different stuff,” Patullo said. “Sometimes the ball finds him and sometimes it doesn’t. So going into every game, you plan on making sure he’s the primary and moving around and doing stuff for him. If it doesn’t go his way, that means usually we’re on rhythm or something good’s happening and Jalen is reading it out, it’s going to other guys.”
Denver D
The Broncos have kept their opponent out of the end zone twice this year and seven times since the start of the 2023 season. That’s the most in the league in that span.
On Monday night, they didn’t allow the Bengals to cross midfield after their opening field goal drive.
“That says a lot,” cornerback Patrick Surtain II said. “No matter who’s back there. I know Joe (Burrow) was out, but we always pride ourselves to make sure that we eliminate explosive plays and make it harder on the opposing offense and that’s what we did. That’s the standard that we got to keep holding ourselves to in order to win those big-time games.”
The 82 touchdowns Denver has allowed since the start of 2023 are the third-fewest among all NFL teams, behind only Kansas City (77) and Baltimore (81).
Sack attack
A year after leading the league with a franchise-record 65 sacks, the Broncos again lead the NFL with 15 sacks through the first month of the season.
“We definitely hold ourselves to a certain standard, hold ourselves accountable,” edge rusher Jonathon Cooper said. “It’s always a race to the quarterback for us.”
Ground game
The Broncos didn’t have a 100-yard game from a running back in Sean Payton’s first 38 games in Denver. On Monday night, J.K. Dobbins ended that drought with a 101-yard performance.
“That means a lot to me. I’ve been working really hard to get that, especially for coach Payton,” Dobbins said. “I know that means a lot to him, as well. My offensive line is blocking incredibly. I can’t do it without those guys. It’s a great feeling and maybe I can go back-to-back now.”