Different Strokes joke about Broncos win gets Monday off to a painful start

Silly me. I thought the most aggravating Denver local-TV moment this morning would be Channel 9's use of a seemingly endless promo for the Baz Luhrmann film Australia as a blatant time waster toward the end of the 5 a.m. half hour -- a topic already derided here in the...

By Michael Roberts

December 1, 2008

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Silly me. I thought the most aggravating Denver local-TV moment this morning would be Channel 9's use of a seemingly endless promo for the Baz Luhrmann film Australia as a blatant time waster toward the end of the 5 a.m. half hour -- a topic already derided here in the November 21 blog "Filler Video Reaches New Levels of Irritation on 9News Thanks to Bolt." But no: Considerably more agonizing was a reference a few minutes later by Channel 4 anchor Tom Mustin to rookie running back Peyton Hillis, who gained over one-hundred yards in the Broncos' 34-17 victory over Brett Favre and the New York Jets. In a segment with Rocky Mountain News columnist Sam Adams, Mustin affected the accent of a prepubescent Gary Coleman as he asked, "Wha' chu talkin' 'bout, Hillis?"

This line was a gag in the medical, rather than comedic, sense of the word. Anyone know the Heimlich manuver? -- Michael Roberts

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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