The most nimble, most entertaining mascot in professional sports, Rocky the Mountain Lion has won this award so often that we might have to retire the trophy -- or at least provide the high-leaping, slam-dunking feline with the lightning-bolt tail a lifetime supply of Meow Mix. Even NBA refs love Rocky, as evidenced by their tolerance of his comic hectoring and anti-authoritarian hijinks. A Western Conference title would suit this all-time all-star just fine; he'd be sure to drain a couple of rainbows from half-court.

When versatile, multi-sport broadcaster Drew Goodman -- now in his sixth year with the Rockies -- calls a baseball game, you don't get flash or fulmination or partisan outbursts. You get good, solid reporting, well-grounded in fresh facts and delivered in the modulated, New York-accented tones of an old pro. After all, this is a man who used to double as the TV voice of the Denver Nuggets, working more than 190 games per year between hoops and baseball. The young Rox may lose ninety-plus games again this year, but Goodman's a clear winner -- not least when he greets with diplomatic silence the cackling inanities of his "color man," ex-relief pitcher George Frazier.

That Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets' third-year shooting star, was left off the 2006 All-Star roster was a travesty commented upon even by NBA commish David Stern. The seventh-leading scorer and sixth-best foul shooter in the league, 21-year-old Melo may still toil in the shadow of his even more famous 2003 draft-mate, Cleveland Cavalier LeBron James, but for the Nuggets, the 6'8" forward out of Syracuse is the one essential building block for a solid future.

For a while there, the controversial trade that sent Broncos running back Clinton Portis to the Washington Redskins for cornerback Champ Bailey looked like Shanahan's Folly. But the six-time All-Pro certainly lived up to his rep this season. Despite a painful shoulder injury that kept him out of two games, Bailey racked up eight interceptions and a slew of tackles in the regular season, and his dramatic, 100-yard return of a Tom Brady pass in the Broncos' playoff victory against New England sealed the deal. Never mind that heartbreaking near-miss of an errant Ben Roethlisberger throw early in the AFC title game with the Steelers: Look for Bailey to lead a beefed-up Broncos secondary again next season.

A first-ever trip to the disabled list and a mysterious, self-acknowledged mental funk compromised Todd Helton's ninth season in purple pinstripes, but by the end of 2005, the steady first baseman wound up the fifth-best hitter in the National League at .320. This year he remains the rock of the Rockies, the foundation on which Clint Hurdle's inexperienced club is built. Helton has enjoyed just one winning season (2000) since joining the club, but at 32, the .337 career hitter sees happier times ahead for the league's youngest team. "If we don't get in the way of ourselves," he predicts, "we have a chance." Just call the team Todd and the Toddlers.

In mid-March, Quebec-born Alex Tanguay was leading the post-Peter Forsberg Colorado Avalanche in goals, assists and points. A left-handed stick with quick moves and a powerful slapshot, the sixth-year winger is also blessed with good size (6'1", 190 pounds) and unshakable will -- appealing assets as the NHL tries to skate back into the public's heart after a near-fatal work stoppage last season. Look for Tanguay and team captain Joe Sakic to shine in the playoffs.

Now that the Michael Jordan of lacrosse, Gary Gait, has moved to the sideline to coach his old team, Colorado Mammoths forward Gavin Prout has inherited the boss's mantle as the team's top scorer, assist man and points leader. From Whitby, Ontario, the 5'10" speedster also has the respect of fellow players in the league: He was voted assistant captain of the West Division squad in this year's National Lacrosse League All-Star Game.

For the second straight season, Colorado Rapids coaches and players named their 6'2" goalie, Joe Cannon, as most valuable player. Along with his penchant for acrobatic saves -- he sported a 1.25 goals-against average last year -- Cannon was lauded for his leadership on and off the field. Major League Soccer's 2004 Goalkeeper of the Year returns for this third season in a Rapids jersey and, at age thirty, looms a top choice to be the starting goalie for the U.S. National Team in the World Cup.

In the high-scoring Arena Football League, gaudy offensive statistics come as no shock, but try these on for size: 122 catches, 1,486 receiving yards and 41 touchdowns. Those are the 2005 numbers for Colorado Crush offensive specialist Damian Harrell -- enough to earn him the league's Offensive Player of the Year award as the Crush won its first Arena Bowl title. The 6'3" former Florida State wideout has been on the Crush roster since the beginning, back in 2003; in tandem with quarterback John Dutton, he's running up the yardage again.

John Elway has long known the taste of pay dirt, but when the Arena Football League team he co-owns (with a couple of guys named Bowlen and Kroenke) won the Arena Bowl championship on June 27, 2005, in Las Vegas, the famous ex-quarterback took special satisfaction. The Colorado Crush had been a member of the league for just three seasons -- in 2003, the team's record was a dismal 2-14 -- and it wasn't until Elway replaced original head coach Bob Beers (a longtime Elway family friend) with AFL veteran Mike Dailey that the Crush's fortunes took a turn for the better, culminating with the 51-48 win over the Georgia Force in Arena Bowl XIX. Last year Elway explained the new pressures of being an owner: "When you get to the game, you feel helpless.... I'm used to touching the ball every down. When you're up in the box, you think about what could go wrong." On June 27, almost nothing did. And the team's 6-2 record so far this season bodes well for a shot at a championship repeat.