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There's been much debate around the news room about our "11 most exciting stories of 2010". Do I care? Not really. Because outside of the sports department, no one actually covered any of these stories. Here's how we concluded our list...
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Troy Tulowitzki signing mega-contract, Iowa Western winning first JUCO World Series, Central girls basketball and volleyball dominating the competition.
THE LIST
11 - FRUITA MONUMENT BOYS HOOPS
The Wildcats went from worst to first, and won the SWL championship. It was quite the feat, but the Wildcats also lost their first playoff, albeit to an underrated Boulder team.
10 - JOSH MCDANIELS FIRED
This could have been moved up on the list, but we all saw it coming, and it was based on the lack of success by the Broncos (which is negative).
9 - FRUITA MONUMENT SOFTBALL
Central had dominated the SWL the last few years, but Fruita Monument got over the hump in 2010. They won the league title and advance to the 5A state semi-finals.
8 - UBALDO JIMENEZ NO-HITTER
If Ubaldo's success came in the second-half of the season rather than the first half, and had the Rockies made the playoffs, this would have been higher. But given the right-hander's second half struggles and Colorado finishing 3rd in the NL West, this story slid a bit.
7 - CARMELO ANTHONY DRAMA
Even if you find this story annoying, it is interesting, and won't seem to go away. Carmelo Anthony might be the best player in franchise history and losing him could/will have a MAJOR impact.
6 - OLATHE FOOTBALL
State champs for the 2nd time in 3 years? Obviously one could argue that this should be near the top of the list, but we've actually come to expect this success from the Pirates. So it wasn't as surprising when they won the 2A title again.
5 - MESA STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL
At one point, the Mavericks were 20-1 and ranked No. 9 in the country. Mike Dominguez was the best player on a team that was already expected to finish in the top-4. Mesa State packed Brownson Arena, game after game, and advanced to the semi finals of the Central Regional.
4 - RIAR GEER / BEN GARLAND
Not just one, but two local athletes signed rookie free agent contracts with the Denver Broncos. Neither made the 53-man roster, but both gave GJ residents another reason (i.e. Tebow, Orton, Moreno, McDaniels) to watch all four preseason games.
3 - TIM TEBOW EFFECT
The Broncos shocked everyone when they drafted Tebow with the 25th overall pick, but they might not have been far off. Before he even threw a pass, #15 had the best-selling jesey in all of the NFL and even had his own shoes and underwear contract. His only immediate local connection is that he plays for the Broncos, but he's also been the most captivating athlete in Denver since late April.
2 - BRYCE HARPER JUCO
Baseball is such a funny sport that we don't really know what kind of Major League player Bryce Harper will be. But at 17, he stole the show at the JUCO World Series. To start, he became the first player to ever require his own 30-minute individual press conference. Then he exploded in his third game, hitting 2 home runs and driving in 8 RBI's. Just 24 hours later, he was ejected following a called 3rd strike. And by the way, it was the best attended Series in the tournament's history.
1 - GRAND JUNCTION FOOTBALL
Maybe it was the fans, or maybe it was the magic, or maybe it was just the way they lost in heartbreaking fashion... but the Grand Junction football was the most exciting team to cover all year. Consider this: none of the 5A teams on the Western Slope had won a playoff game since they moved back to 5A a few years ago, and that includes the Tigers who finished 3-7 in 2008 and 2009. Their style of play also upped the ante. Not only did they run over the competition, but they were fun to watch through the air. And who knows what would have happened had they held on in that quarterfinal loss to No. 2 Regis Jesuit (I'm guessing they would have lost to No. 1 Mullen in the 5A state championship game).
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