Sunday Notes: Kroenkes Ruling Sports World Again, Avalanche Skating Again Locally

A good Sunday to all. Sunny, beautiful day in Thornton. Let’s do some Sunday NHL and Avalanche notes, starting with a note on the Kroenke sports empire:

• It’s funny, I haven’t heard a lot of chirping lately about how the Kroenke family are “terrible” sports team owners. Last I checked, they had: the Stanley Cup, with the Avalanche, the Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams, a National Lacrosse League championship with the Colorado Mammoth and a 4-0 Premier League team in Arsenal. I would be surprised if the Nuggets aren’t a Western Conference finalist this coming year either.
• Yeah, I know, the thing with Comcast still. I get it. I’m a Comcast subscriber too. It’s stupid. But Comcast are true villains in this thing too. They’re greedy and all I know is my bill keeps going up every month with them. Or every few months. Yet, I can’t get the channel that shows the local winter pro sports teams? Yeah, I know Comcast – I don’t always watch the Altitude channel when the teams aren’t on. I also don’t watch a lot of the Spanish language soap opera channel either, that I’m forced to subsidize. What’s your point?
• Anybody who thinks I’m a Kroenke apologist is way wrong, too. But I believe in giving credit where credit is due.
• It sounds like Nazem Kadri’s day with the Cup yesterday was a big success (Toronto Sun)
• Sam Carchidi gave voice to the grousing and grumbling of the Flyers’ tertiary front office and fanbase. 2016 top pick German Rubstov bolted for the KHL. As GM of the Flyers, Hextall came up short on too many first-round picks, and Sam goes into detail. Philadelphia Flyers.
• Joe Thornton? Evan Rodrigues? Are the Sharks interested in any of the remaining free agents? San Jose Sharks.
• Hall of Fame columnist Dave Molinari says the Penguins’ ‘pigeon’ logo looks awful, but it could be worse. Pittsburgh Penguins
• Documentary recommendation: “Randy Rhoads: Reflections of a Guitar Icon”. As a headbanging kid from the early 80s – and I have the hearing problems now to prove it – Rhoads was just an amazing rock guitarist who tragically died young.
• The top 10 FANTASY hockey defensemen (Hockey News)
• I’ll be at Oktoberfest next month in Munich, Germany. Any Avalanche fans there who want a book signing, let me know.
• From roughly 15-18 years old, I had no girlfriends, because I was 6-5 and about 135 pounds and shy, so my weekend nights were spent BLASTING heavy metal vinyl albums on my stepfather’s very good stereo, with headphones. Kiss, Judas Priest, Motley Crue, Van Halen, Ted Nugent, Iron Maiden, Accept, AC/DC, Quiet Riot, Ozzy, Sabbath, Ratt, Def Leppard, Loudness, Whitesnake, Motorhead, Dio, Krokus – I played it all, up to 11 on my stereo. I LOVED it. And, yeah, now I can’t hear too good.
• An early, sleeper pick for the next Frank J. Selke Trophy: Valeri Nichushkin.
• Avalanche players have been skating regularly most every day, at Family Sports Center. Sam Girard and Erik Johnson have been some of the most regularly-skating guys.