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Best Rapid

Pablo Mastroeni

Now in his third year with the Colorado Rapids, defense-obsessed mid-fielder Pablo Mastroeni has revealed a new taste for attack, but there's no one better in Major League Soccer as a stopper. Just 5' 9" and 150 pounds, the Argentine native moved to Phoenix when he was four and played college soccer at North Carolina State. Those who previously didn't know him -- or the game itself -- took notice in 2002, when Mastroeni became a vital part of the U.S. National Team that shocked perennial powers like Portugal and Mexico at the World Cup before that tough loss to the Germans. Once again, National coach Bruce Arena has picked Mastroeni (and Rapids teammate Ritchie Kotschau) for his roster, but Rapids fans will get to watch the feisty, dogged defender all season long at Invesco Field.

Best Fan Promotion

Hot-tubbing with models, Colorado Mammoth

Sure, it's swell to nab a T-shirt at a Nuggets game or pick up the latest bobblehead doll. But for sheer feel-good, trouser-tightening reward, nothing beats the Colorado Mammoth's promotion of letting some lucky fan (in one instance, volunteers were asked to race across the field in swimming flippers, honors to the winner) sit and stew field-side with swimsuit-clad hotties from Donna Baldwin Talent, a modeling agency. The view is awesome -- and you can almost see most of the lacrosse field, too. Hot tub by Cal-Spa, if you care.

Best Fan Promotion

Hot-tubbing with models, Colorado Mammoth

Sure, it's swell to nab a T-shirt at a Nuggets game or pick up the latest bobblehead doll. But for sheer feel-good, trouser-tightening reward, nothing beats the Colorado Mammoth's promotion of letting some lucky fan (in one instance, volunteers were asked to race across the field in swimming flippers, honors to the winner) sit and stew field-side with swimsuit-clad hotties from Donna Baldwin Talent, a modeling agency. The view is awesome -- and you can almost see most of the lacrosse field, too. Hot tub by Cal-Spa, if you care.

Best CU Athlete

David Harrison

He's seven feet tall and his skills look a bit raw, but sometimes he handles the ball with amazing grace, and the minute you see him work his way into the paint, you see he's one of the strongest, most instinctual centers in college basketball. Without David Harrison, their junior redwood from Nashville, Tennessee, the Colorado Buffs might be an ordinary also-ran in the tough Big 12 Conference. With him, they're a tournament contender and an upset threat to the big dogs of the league, including vaunted Kansas. Harrison completed the regular 2003-04 season averaging seventeen points, nine rebounds and almost three blocked shots per game -- team highs all -- and coach Ricardo Patton has counted on him to give the Buffs muscle and the power of intimidation. That could end soon: At last report, Harrison was considering forgoing his senior year in Boulder for the NBA draft.

Best CU Athlete

David Harrison

He's seven feet tall and his skills look a bit raw, but sometimes he handles the ball with amazing grace, and the minute you see him work his way into the paint, you see he's one of the strongest, most instinctual centers in college basketball. Without David Harrison, their junior redwood from Nashville, Tennessee, the Colorado Buffs might be an ordinary also-ran in the tough Big 12 Conference. With him, they're a tournament contender and an upset threat to the big dogs of the league, including vaunted Kansas. Harrison completed the regular 2003-04 season averaging seventeen points, nine rebounds and almost three blocked shots per game -- team highs all -- and coach Ricardo Patton has counted on him to give the Buffs muscle and the power of intimidation. That could end soon: At last report, Harrison was considering forgoing his senior year in Boulder for the NBA draft.

Best CSU Athlete

Nolan Martin

Look out, Tiger. Put a three-iron in Nolan Martin's hands and he'll inevitably knock it stiff. Last fall, the Colorado State senior from Colorado Springs led the Rams golf team to the best single season in school history. They played six tournaments (against multiple schools) and finished in the top four five times. Individually, Martin became just the third CSU player to win two tournaments outright: the Fresno Lexus Classic and the Ron Moore Invitational. In two other events, he finished third. Martin's per-round average of 69.52 strokes was one of the best in the nation, and as the fall season closed, Golfweek magazine ranked him eleventh among U.S. collegiate players. The spring college golf season has just started, and Martin is already shooting low almost every week. Watch for him sometime soon on the PGA Tour.

Best CSU Athlete

Nolan Martin

Look out, Tiger. Put a three-iron in Nolan Martin's hands and he'll inevitably knock it stiff. Last fall, the Colorado State senior from Colorado Springs led the Rams golf team to the best single season in school history. They played six tournaments (against multiple schools) and finished in the top four five times. Individually, Martin became just the third CSU player to win two tournaments outright: the Fresno Lexus Classic and the Ron Moore Invitational. In two other events, he finished third. Martin's per-round average of 69.52 strokes was one of the best in the nation, and as the fall season closed, Golfweek magazine ranked him eleventh among U.S. collegiate players. The spring college golf season has just started, and Martin is already shooting low almost every week. Watch for him sometime soon on the PGA Tour.

Best DU Athlete

Adam Berkhoel

He's had his moments of self-doubt this season, and when the University of Denver Pioneers hockey team went 3-4-1 in January while getting outscored 16-22, senior goaltender Adam Berkhoel knew he wasn't playing up to form. But then the team put together a nine-game unbeaten streak that propelled them into the post-season. Berkhoel had turned into a brick wall, astonishing teammates with his athletic play and evincing praise from coach George Gwozdecky. "He'll make saves that, for a lot of people, seem unbelievable," Gwozdecky said. "But for Adam, he does it on a regular basis." A 190-pounder from Woodbury, Minnesota, Berkhoel began his DU career in 2001 as half of the famous "two-headed" goalie (the other head belonged to Wade Dubielewicz) that shut down the top shooters in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Berkhoel started going it alone last season, and upon his shoulders rest the Pioneers' tournament hopes.

Best DU Athlete

Adam Berkhoel

He's had his moments of self-doubt this season, and when the University of Denver Pioneers hockey team went 3-4-1 in January while getting outscored 16-22, senior goaltender Adam Berkhoel knew he wasn't playing up to form. But then the team put together a nine-game unbeaten streak that propelled them into the post-season. Berkhoel had turned into a brick wall, astonishing teammates with his athletic play and evincing praise from coach George Gwozdecky. "He'll make saves that, for a lot of people, seem unbelievable," Gwozdecky said. "But for Adam, he does it on a regular basis." A 190-pounder from Woodbury, Minnesota, Berkhoel began his DU career in 2001 as half of the famous "two-headed" goalie (the other head belonged to Wade Dubielewicz) that shut down the top shooters in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Berkhoel started going it alone last season, and upon his shoulders rest the Pioneers' tournament hopes.

Best College Coach

Mike Dunlap, Metropolitan State College of Denver

When a couple of big-deal basketball schools came calling, Metro State hoops coach Mike Dunlap politely said no and got back to the business of keeping his Roadrunners at the top of the Division II game. Since 1997, Dunlap has won a pair of national championships for the big commuter school on the Auraria campus, and the 2003-04 'Runners finished the regular season with a 25-2 record and won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament, earning them another number-one national ranking and a big shot at a third D-2 title. An undersized Alaskan with the will of a bulldog, Dunlap recruits everywhere from Australia to Eastern Europe. He also torments his players with verbal harangues, early-morning practices and motivational ploys ranging from cajolery to outright insult. But there's no one they'd rather play for -- or learn from.

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