Broncos lose AFC Championship, but I'm grateful for their incredible season
The Broncos lost 10-7 in a game that started off well for the home team but devolved into three quarters of no-offense frustration (as we've seen for much of this year) along with great defense (as we've seen for much of this year) preventing the New England Patriots from scoring any touchdowns except once when, after a Jarrett Stidham fumble, they started on their own 12-yard line.
The Broncos need to improve at running back and tight end, in particular. And it would help if they could add one star wide receiver. We'll have to see who's still on this team next year.
Yes, it was a disappointing end to the season because it felt like the Broncos should have won yesterday. Coach Sean Payton made what a lot of people thought was a bad decision -- and not just in hindsight -- not kicking a field goal and instead going for it on 4th-and-1 early in the second quarter. The Broncos didn't convert and they never scored again. Will Lutz missed two field goals, one of which was quite makeable even though the conditions were bad. Seemed to me that he drove it straight and low because of the conditions, but more than he needed to, and it was tipped and went wide right. That would have tied the game. Sean Payton addressed this in his post-game press conference, embedded below.
A bunch of people I talked with after the game (just random folks who were working at the game in one capacity or another) said the same thing: "New England didn't win. We lost." That's how it felt to me, too. Jarrett Stidham did his best, but Bo Nix was very much missed. You have to think the Broncos would have won that game comfortably if he had been playing.
Anyway, I don't want to focus too much on that. The Broncos had a remarkable season, going 14-3 and winning more games in which they had been behind than any team in NFL history. In one way, I don't think they were nearly as good as their record. On the other hand, their record was their record and they played the games and won. And they sure did make it exciting. How many times when we were down in the 4th quarter did you think, "we've got 'em right where we want 'em."
There's a lot to build on here. The Broncos are a very young team, except maybe on the offensive line. Yeah, they need to invest in a couple of positions but Sean Payton knows what he's doing and I have faith that, working with George Paton, they'll do that. I don't know that next year will have as many Broncos wins as this year because our schedule is going to be much tougher. But I do think there's a good chance that on the basis of talent and offensive production, next year's team will be better than this year's and that will be very exciting for Broncos Country and give another opportunity for the playoffs.
With KOA being the radio broadcast home of the Broncos it's been so much fun to be a very tiny part of the Broncos season and I enjoyed the multiple times I manned a "parabolic mic" on the sidelines this year. Even during yesterday's frigid 2nd-half blizzard. Thanks to the Broncos for a great year, and to Aussie punter Jeremy Crawshaw (who surely won't read this), I say "strewth"!
The economic impact of the Broncos playoff run was big! Denver hotels sell out as Broncos reach AFC title game - Denver Business Journal (gift link; no subscription necessary)
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Just One Thing: Politicians fail us and people die
I have a lot to say about the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday. I hope you'll read my Substack note (and subscribe for free to my Substack).
Death, chaos, lies, and the worst of American politics
Here's the beginning of the note:
It was a huge mistake for Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse for the Veterans Administration, to get into a physical altercation with law enforcement, especially law enforcement that’s so on-edge, while carrying a firearm. That doesn’t mean he should be dead.
And it also seems like a huge mistake by ICE to have shot him as there is not currently evidence that he even attempted to reach his gun.
Alex Pretti’s parents, who live in Colorado, say they urged him to be careful when protesting: Man killed in Minneapolis shooting by U.S. Border Patrol officer has Colorado parents
I don’t know if we’ll ever get the exact story. Did an agent see a gun and yell “gun” during the wrestling match, causing that agent or someone else to shoot Mr Pretti?
Is it true that Pretti was disarmed and his pistol taken away from him before he was shot? Looks like it. Here’s a typical post from someone on the political left:
And a typical MAGA posting on the situation:
Again, please read and subscribe here: Death, chaos, lies, and the worst of American politics
A minute-by-minute timeline of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a federal agent - ABC News
Will this help? National Guard activated in Minneapolis after Border Patrol shooting kills man
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One more thing on this. In her press conference on Saturday, Kristi Noem was really reprehensible. First, she talks about the ICE mission against an illegal alien criminal which seems designed to imply that the man the government agents killed was an illegal alien or trying to impede that operation, neither of which is true. Second, she says that Alex Pretti "approached (agents) with a handgun." That seems designed to imply that he was holding or brandishing or in any other way making it known that he was armed, which also seems to be untrue. Third, she says that this seems like a situation where Mr Pretti was there "to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement." That's an obvious lie, and one for which she should be fired. As I note in my Substack, Sec Noem is causing a massive problem for the Trump administration. Greg Bovino is not much better as he basically said the same stuff. The best you could say is that what they were claiming was unproven when they said it, which is bad enough for a government official, but more likely they already knew they were lying. This is the stuff of banana republics. These people must go.
This is not to excuse the disgusting behavior of MN Gov Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both of whom think they're scoring points with the political left by encourage people to protest more and by calling ICE agents "Gestapo" and other such nonsense.
Jeana took this video on Saturday in downtown Denver. The comments to the post are quite interesting. They seem mostly to be against and sarcastic about the protesters. Obviously there is a certain self-selection bias among KOA social media followers, just as almost all social media accounts have some such bias. By which I mean that very few accounts have followers who represent a truly representative cross-section of the viewpoints in a city or state or nation.
Finally, I wonder what happens now. There are serious pros and cons of the feds reducing (but not eliminating) ICE presence in Minneapolis. Trump doesn't seem like the type to back down but I think he also realizes that these optics are crushing his presidency and any hope of Republicans holding the House in November's elections.
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Today's Guests
Today's guests are KOA's Broncos broadcast team: Dave Logan, Rick Lewis, and Susie Wargin
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Other Stuff
I don't usually lead with international news, especially if it's not a war, but this is quite a roller-coaster and quite a change by Donald Trump.
Chagos Islands debate delayed as Tories call for halt to bill
Starmer ‘withdraws Chagos Islands bill’ in face of Trump’s backlash over deal | The Independent
In a social media post last week, President Trump said that the British plan to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands (south of India, east of Africa) to Mauritius, while entering a long-term lease with Mauritius to maintain a US military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the archipelago, was "an act of great stupidity":
It's an extremely complex situation that I don't pretend to understand though you can learn quite a bit from this articles. What I find interesting is that both Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously expressed their support for the deal, including an official statement from the State Dept:
Donald Trump 'inclined' to back UK's Chagos Islands deal
My friend Dan Hannan is against the deal:
One thing that seems to have changed is awareness of the existence of a 60-year old treaty between the US and UK regarding Diego Garcia that says that the island must remain under UK sovereignty. Therefore, it appears that the UK cannot transfer ownership to Mauritius without violating that treaty unless the US were to agree to modify it, which seems unlikely. I think that Trump is concerned (and probably correctly) about Mauritius selling islands, or at least use of islands, to China.
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Sticking with international issues, Trump is really jamming up Canada. First he makes it very difficult for them to do business with the United States, harming the US and Canada alike, and now that Canada is looking to slightly increase trade with China, Trump is threatening Canada not to do so. Trump is like a doctor who accidentally nicks an artery and instead of repairing it to stop the bleeding decides to shoot the patient in the heart.
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Congrats to the National Western Stock Show for a massively successful 2026 show, including this:
National Western Junior Livestock Auction sets record - Colorado Politics
And NWSS also reported, "The 2026 National Western Stock Show (NWSS) presented by CommonSpirit Health, concluded with 750,039 in attendance, smashing the former record of 726,972 set in 2006."
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I wonder if this can pass in a state this blue, that hates Trump as much as Colorado seems to? Law enforcement cooperation with ICE OK'd for 2026 Colorado ballot
Note that as a constitutional amendment, it would supersede any state law and would require 55% to pass.
Here's the text. It's simple and, I believe, reasonable: Initiative #95 Law Enforcement Reporting Requirements to Federal Authorities
(Pretty sure the number won't be 95 when it gets to your ballot.)
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Lightening the mood, and I always love this stuff: New fossils discovered at Colorado's Dinosaur National Monument
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Metro Denver had one of the hottest real estate markets in the country for years. It's a lot cooler now, but still an expensive place to buy a home: Zillow: Half of American homes lost value, housing market divides - Denver Business Journal (gift link; no subscription necessary)
More data points about the Colorado and Metro Denver economies: So many new Colorado businesses filed to start up in 2025, but renewals declined
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America is in a difficult spot with a liar/grifter/con-man like RFK Jr in charge of health policy:
Moderna Won’t Run Phase III Vaccine Trials as Skepticism Grows in US: Bloomberg - BioSpace
HHS Pauses, Then Restores, $5 Billion in State Health Grants - Bloomberg
There is ZERO data to support this and, because 5G operates at a higher frequency than 4G (which also doesn't cause cancer), it's LESS likely than 4G to have these effects: RFK Jr. 'very concerned' about cellphone radiation when asked about 5G
As usual RFK quotes bogus or non-existent "studies" to make his ridiculous claim. This guy needs to go, but I don't think Trump cares enough about health policy to even think about that, much less do anything about it. 0
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I really need to talk about this: This happened to me recently at a hotel...and now Kristen and I are thinking of (big) barn doors on our master bathroom, a term you're not allowed to use anymore: Hotels Are Getting Rid of Proper Bathroom Doors and Guests Are Revolting - WSJ
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Today's Video
(Baby) Trump explains his Davos speech