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Best Mammoth

Gavin Prout

On some teams, the designation of captain is the equivalent of a lifetime-achievement award — an acknowledgement of past accomplishments as opposed to current ones. Not so with the Colorado Mammoth, whose honorary leader is also among its most productive players. In 2008, Gavin Prout finished tied for second in the National Lacrosse League in scoring and led all players in assists. Indeed, he accounted for a higher percentage of his team's scores than any other NLL athlete, and he's a big reason that fellow Mammoth Brian Langtry is racking up goals at such an impressive pace. He more than deserves his "C."

Best Mascot

Rocky

Frankly, we're a little bored of giving the Nuggets' most valuable non-player the nod again. We'd happily reward some other costumed critter — if Rocky wasn't so friggin' amazing. He's a sleek, four-pawed entertainment machine who doesn't have to dress in skimpy outfits to be our favorite cheerleader, and his gags constantly thrill whether they're large-scale or small. After one game this season, he hurled T-shirts at departing fans from the Pepsi Center roof — but he was just as funny when he walked off with a toddler's toy without causing the little one to cry (yes, he gave it back). Cats don't get any cooler.

Best Miniature Golf Course

Aqua Golf

Aqua Golf fell into ruins in recent years, an abandoned driving range on a sad little pond at the edge of Santa Fe Drive, where weeds grew tall as traffic roared by. Then the City of Denver stepped in and took a gigantic paintbrush to the eyesore, installing two miniature golf courses decked out with diminutive sand traps and water hazards, as well as a refurbished driving range, fountains and a clubhouse. All of it opened to the public last fall. Plus, there's a series of whimsical mechanical sculptures dotting the pond. Created by Patrick Hollis, who was inspired by the area's industrial presence, the sculptures feature train wheels balanced on topsy-turvy water tower structures. Now part of the city's Overland Golf Course complex, Aqua Golf is open most days, weather permitting, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; for various fee packages, you can putt-putt, practice drives or try both.

Best Move by a General Manager

Firing of Mike Shanahan

All right, so Pat Bowlen isn't a GM. But no personnel move will make a bigger impact — and, we believe, a more positive impact — on the Denver sporting landscape then Bowlen's dispatching of Mike Shanahan, Bowlen's close friend and a Denver legend. Although new coach Josh McDaniels hasn't exactly endeared himself to Denver fans so far by pissing off QB Jay Cutler, firing Shanny was still a much-needed move that took serious stones. Shanahan's recent draft choices were questionable, his defense was dreadful and things were getting stale. We're hoping that changes soon.

Best New Gondola

River Run Gondola

Keystone Facebook page
Let's face it: Except for those elite few who hike for fresh tracks, most of us skiers and riders who prefer to stay in the lift-served inbounds can be a pretty lazy bunch. That's why we've chosen a sport that lets us ride up the hill while sitting in a chair and then coast downhill. The most physically taxing part of the day is the walk from the parking lot to the first chair and back. And this season, Keystone made that walk a little easier. Its gondola used to require a hike over the bridge and up a short hill before loading, but not anymore. The new eight-passenger River Run Gondola uses the same footprint, except that it stretches a little bit farther so that skiers can load in the village, right across from where lift tickets are sold. Not only is the new gondola faster, but it encourages people to download at the end of the day rather than ski down River Run, where the entire resort used to funnel out in one massive 4 p.m. traffic jam. Now those who want to get in that last, crunchy run don't have to weave through an obstacle course of stalled beginners.

Best New Gym to Get Lost In

24-Hour Fitness Parker Arapahoe Super Sport

You know your gym? It's pretty big, right? Has everything you need? Well imagine your gym was three times the size, had four times as much equipment to make you sweat, plus racquetball courts, two pools, eight basketball hoops, and locker rooms fit for Carmelo. That pretty much describes the new 24-Hour Fitness in Aurora, a fitness maven's Taj Mahal near the corner of Parker and Arapahoe roads. At 90,000 square feet, it's the largest 24-Hour Fitness in Colorado — and among the biggest in the country. It's busy but never packed, clean but not stuffy, and it's got a juice bar. Go forth and get sweaty.

Best New Ski Lift

Sheer Bliss

The 700-acre Big Burn area is one of the most popular spots at Snowmass for its combination of rolling intermediate cruisers and expert glades. But for years, most of the traffic has been concentrated on the west side, served by the Big Burn high speed quad, while the east side has been underutilized because skiers were reluctant to hop on the unbearably slow Sheer Bliss two-seater built in 1975. The lift was so unpopular — especially in cold and windy weather — that the resort only ran it on weekends and busy days. That all changed in November with the opening of the $7 million Sheer Bliss detachable quad. The new, re-aligned lift takes skiers up 2,212 vertical feet — 155 higher than it used to in nine minutes instead of sixteen — and it can carry 2,000 people in an hour, twice as many as before, thus easing congestion on the west side and introducing the east side to a whole new audience of riders.

Best New Ski Terrain

Revelation Bowl

Though it might sound like the creation of a clever marketing pro, Revelation is actually the longtime name of this bowl overlooking the Bear Creek Basin. Above treeline, wide open and situated on a northeastern aspect so that it gathers huge amounts of snow from Telluride's predominantly westerly storms, Revelation Bowl sits directly off the back side of the famous Gold Hill and Chair 14. It's long been the envy of skiers standing atop the mountain, looking for a less traveled path. Now, with the addition of the Revelation quad lift, the resort has opened up 52 new acres of variable terrain. Ridgelines in either direction offer steep pitches and rock features, while the center has rolling advanced terrain and even a groomed cruising path. But it's the breathtaking scenery — views of La Junta Peak, Wasatch Mountain, the San Joaquin Ridge and the San Sophia Range, which looks down on the town of Telluride — that gave Revelation Bowl its name and makes it a place worth celebrating.

Best Nugget

Chauncey Billups

Basketball isn't an individual game — or at least not at its best. But the addition of a single player can make an enormous difference, as Chauncey Billups proved when he joined the Nuggets early this season. In a matter of days, the Nugs were defending better, sharing the ball more often, passing up contested shots to get their teammates better ones, demonstrating discipline rather than a lack thereof, and generally playing like a team. Granted, he's not a miracle worker, as a late-season skid has demonstrated. But he's improved the Nuggets more by his own excellent example than even the biggest fans in his home town might have dreamed.

Best Pick-Up Volleyball

Washington Park

Flickr/Jeffrey Beall
You can keep your sandy beaches and squeaky hard courts; for our money, the best volleyball is played on grass — shirtless and shoeless, in the sun — where you're still able to run and jump (unlike on the beach, where even decently athletic players are rendered virtual invalids). There are plenty of places to play, but none is more convenient or idyllic than Washington Park. On nice days, the park's grass becomes a sea of fluorescent nets and flying bodies, with several matches going at once. And for those who like structure, there's some method to the madness: Games are often organized beforehand, at http://volleyball.meetup.com.

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