Best Athlete -- Voluntarily Disabled Division 2004 | Aron Ralston | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Athlete -- Voluntarily Disabled Division

Aron Ralston

We've heard of men changing genders and then competing in women's events, and even of women switching teams to compete. Michael Jordan changed sports, and boxer Roy Jones Jr. juggles weight divisions so often you never know where he'll end up. But there's only one athlete we know of who went from being an excellent, able-bodied outdoorsman to a one-armed top jock over the course of a couple of bloody hours. A four-limbed climber of some renown around his home of Aspen, Aron Ralston famously hacked off his own wing with a pocket knife after finding himself trapped under a rock during a solo climb. These days, the tri-limbed Ralston is concentrating on adventure racing. It's unknown if team members permit him to carry his own blade.

Best Athlete -- Lifelong

Larry Imperiale

You think Patrick Roy had an illustrious career? Ha! While Roy hung up his pads last year, Larry Imperiale, the king of freestyle Frisbee, is still hucking disc with the best of them. The software developer, who lives in the foothills west of Denver, has been finishing on top of 'bee tournaments for four decades, and he's won major titles in three of them. The easiest way to tell he's a legend? A freestyle move, the Laerbs Kick, is named after him (Laerbs is his nickname). For anyone who's on the far side of forty and still harbors dreams of athletic grandeur, pay attention: The Kick involves keeping the Frisbee spinning and aloft by brushing the rim every few seconds -- with your foot.

Best Athlete -- Lifelong

Larry Imperiale

You think Patrick Roy had an illustrious career? Ha! While Roy hung up his pads last year, Larry Imperiale, the king of freestyle Frisbee, is still hucking disc with the best of them. The software developer, who lives in the foothills west of Denver, has been finishing on top of 'bee tournaments for four decades, and he's won major titles in three of them. The easiest way to tell he's a legend? A freestyle move, the Laerbs Kick, is named after him (Laerbs is his nickname). For anyone who's on the far side of forty and still harbors dreams of athletic grandeur, pay attention: The Kick involves keeping the Frisbee spinning and aloft by brushing the rim every few seconds -- with your foot.

Best Gym Deal

Dumbbells: A Fitness Club

The wait for machines and the posturing at those big fitness centers is enough reason to skip the gym altogether. And the steam-room culture -- and price -- of Denver's elite clubs isn't much better. But at Dumbbells, $50 a month for singles and $80 for couples buys you access to a clean, well-maintained weight room with little to no wait (except during lunch), yoga and aerobics classes, locker rooms fully stocked with lotions, potions and hairdryers, a juice bar, and a staff that's excited about fitness -- not just about getting your money. Plus, there's the "Just Show Up" incentive: Come fifteen times in the first six weeks of membership, and the club will refund you $25. Sure, you'll have to skip the steam room, but Dumbbells makes up for it with an even more rare amenity: free two-hour parking in the Tabor Center garage.

Best Gym Deal

Dumbbells: A Fitness Club

The wait for machines and the posturing at those big fitness centers is enough reason to skip the gym altogether. And the steam-room culture -- and price -- of Denver's elite clubs isn't much better. But at Dumbbells, $50 a month for singles and $80 for couples buys you access to a clean, well-maintained weight room with little to no wait (except during lunch), yoga and aerobics classes, locker rooms fully stocked with lotions, potions and hairdryers, a juice bar, and a staff that's excited about fitness -- not just about getting your money. Plus, there's the "Just Show Up" incentive: Come fifteen times in the first six weeks of membership, and the club will refund you $25. Sure, you'll have to skip the steam room, but Dumbbells makes up for it with an even more rare amenity: free two-hour parking in the Tabor Center garage.

Best Yoga Deal

The Oxford Club

There are yoga studios and yoga styles to suit almost any practitioner -- but not just any budget: A serious yogi is looking at dropping $120 a month for a class card at most studios. At the Oxford Club, $50 a month ($600 a year) buys yoga seven days a week, plus access to the work-out facilities -- weights, free weights, treadmills, bikes -- and locker rooms stocked with Aveda products. But just because the price is low doesn't mean the studio is some dank, second-rate space. It's light, airy and big enough to spread out in. To sweeten the deal, membership includes twelve free-valet vouchers and discounts at McCormick's restaurant and on spa services and nights in the Oxford Hotel. Om.

Best Yoga Deal

The Oxford Club

There are yoga studios and yoga styles to suit almost any practitioner -- but not just any budget: A serious yogi is looking at dropping $120 a month for a class card at most studios. At the Oxford Club, $50 a month ($600 a year) buys yoga seven days a week, plus access to the work-out facilities -- weights, free weights, treadmills, bikes -- and locker rooms stocked with Aveda products. But just because the price is low doesn't mean the studio is some dank, second-rate space. It's light, airy and big enough to spread out in. To sweeten the deal, membership includes twelve free-valet vouchers and discounts at McCormick's restaurant and on spa services and nights in the Oxford Hotel. Om.

Best Pool Hall

Jillian's, Colorado Mills

Okay, okay: Jillian's isn't one of those smoky, spit-scarred old pool halls that have earned top honors in the past. But let's remember that pool is a social event as well as a sport. So it's about time we paid homage to a company (yes, Jillian's is part of a chain) founded on the pool-as-entertainment theme. And how's this for entertainment? At the Colorado Mills Jillian's, the twelve felt-covered tables in the main section come complete with views of more sports on nearby TVs. And although private rooms are available for the true aficionado, this family-friendly place is designed more for the Huxtables than the Hustler. Because the service is friendly, the equipment superb and the wait never too long for a table, Jillian's has racked up this honor. Just bring your own grit.

Best Pool Hall

Jillian's, Colorado Mills

Okay, okay: Jillian's isn't one of those smoky, spit-scarred old pool halls that have earned top honors in the past. But let's remember that pool is a social event as well as a sport. So it's about time we paid homage to a company (yes, Jillian's is part of a chain) founded on the pool-as-entertainment theme. And how's this for entertainment? At the Colorado Mills Jillian's, the twelve felt-covered tables in the main section come complete with views of more sports on nearby TVs. And although private rooms are available for the true aficionado, this family-friendly place is designed more for the Huxtables than the Hustler. Because the service is friendly, the equipment superb and the wait never too long for a table, Jillian's has racked up this honor. Just bring your own grit.

Best Place to Light One Up

Lyons Classic Pinball

Ding! Ding-ding! (Bump.) Ding! Ding-ding! If you ever walked into a pinball arcade going full-bore in the late '70s, you'd know the sound immediately, because there's nothing like it. Unlike the robotic Pacman and its cavalcade of increasingly sophisticated computerized offspring, pinball is a game rooted in physicality: You grind your hips into the machine, play rough with it, guide it with your hands like a horse, moving the silver ball -- ding, ding-ding -- from bumper to bumper, watching it elide like quicksilver through a mysterious maze, points amassing. The epitome of the age came on the edge of pinball's ruin: Bally's Xenon, a liquid being who cooed at you -- "Xenon" -- in a whispery, come-hither female voice, staring at you coldly yet salaciously from her bitchin' black-glass frame. Oh, to have her back again. The hell of it is, you can: Lyons pinball freaks Kevin and Carole Carroll have thirty pinball machines, including Xenon, at your disposal on any given Saturday night at their Lyons Classic Pinball, a smoke-free throwback arcade where you can share your memories with a new crop of kids -- your own. Unglue yourself from that computer screen and try it sometime. Bring quarters and an urge to get physical.

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