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Best Coach — Professional

John Fox

Let's not go nuts here because John Fox led the Donkeys to a .500 record in a crappy division, but he gets credit for not doing what so many coaches in his position would have done: be a stubborn, old, crotchety coach. Rather than try to shove a square peg into a round hole by making Tim Tebow run a traditional NFL offense, Fox played to Tebow's strengths and integrated a read-option that allowed football Jesus to throw less and run more. Now Fox has the exact opposite situation to work with in Peyton Manning. We think he'll be fine.

Readers' Choice: George Karl

Best Combination of Alcohol and Exercise

Beer Mile

Hosted annually by the Denver Run Club, the Beer Mile requires participants to chug a beer and run a 400-meter lap — then repeat three times. Beer Miles are held all over the country, and Denver's most recent version was held on St. Patrick's Day, naturally. It's BYOB — and make sure you come with the strong stuff (at least 5 percent alcohol by volume), or don't come at all. All beers must be twelve ounces, as well. Oh, and if you throw up, you have to do a penalty lap.

Best CU Graduate Sports Victory

Jennifer Barringer Simpson

Rather than donning Tim Tebow jerseys, the sports name Coloradans should have plastered all over their clothing in 2011 was that of Jennifer Barringer Simpson. In an unexpected victory, the 25-year-old University of Colorado at Boulder graduate (and 2008 Olympic athlete) took the gold medal for the 1,500-meter track event at the World Championships in Athletics in South Korea last year. Simpson sped past the rest of the racers in the final few moments to become the victor, making it the first time since 1983 that an American woman took home the title.

Best Dog Park

Stapleton

Here's the thing about dog parks: They're for dogs, and mostly medium-to-large dogs that need some exercise. So while you, the human, might like a spot with a lot of grass, shade, benches, pedicures and an espresso bar, your dog wants a huge expanse of land to burn off its energy. Stapleton fits that description better than any park in the city. It's massive and it's all sand. Rocky may have made running in sand look easy and super-awesome, but it will have your dog's tongue hanging in no time.

Readers' Choice: Cherry Creek

  • 2002 Spruce St., Denver, 80238 Map

Best Free Weekly Yoga Class

Community Yoga at the Mercury Cafe

Every Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the Mercury Cafe, Kendall Perry and Piper Rose teach Community Yoga, a class open to all ages and skill levels. The best part? It's free — for everyone. Whether you're a yogi with decades of experience, a first-timer, a senior citizen or a toddler, the instructors make sure the class is tailor-made to fit. The Merc's big wood floor and availability of natural light make for a comfortable, no-pressure environment, with plenty of room for stretching and bending. Every so often, Community Yoga transforms into "show-ga," with local musicians and performers joining in to create a live soundtrack. After class, students can continue their healthy trip downstairs for a nourishing brunch from the Merc's all-organic menu.

Best Guess for How Many Times Tim Tebow Will Be on the Cover of Sports Illustrated in 2012

Four

Stop the presses! Our crack team of researchers pegged the answer to this question at three, but that was before the Peyton Manning signing. Then we revised downward, briefly, to zero, before finally settling on four, thanks to Tim Tebow's trade to the New York Jets. Bright lights. Big City. Meet your new biggest star.

Readers' Choice: Two

Best Halfpipe

Buttermilk

Shaun White's perfect score in the Men's Snowboard Superpipe competition at Winter X Games 2012 wouldn't have been possible without a perfect pipe to play in, and this season, Buttermilk's 22-footer was widely regarded as the best in the world, not just the best in Colorado. Sixteen-year-old Aspen local Torin Yater-Wallace milked his home pipe for all it was worth, claiming the bronze medal in the Men's Ski Superpipe finals and then building on his training there to finish in second place overall on the Winter Dew Tour. He seems to have learned a couple of things in the terrain park, too: In March, Yater-Wallace landed the first-ever switch 1800 — five complete spins, taking off and landing backwards — in the slopestyle competition at the final stop of the U.S. Grand Prix.

Best Knock-Down, Drag-Out Fights With Flair

Primos Hardcore & Wrestling

With every death-defying match, "Joey Terrofyn" McDougal puts his bloody heart and soul into Primos Hardcore & Wrestling. The owner of Colorado's premier entertainment fighting company started out several years ago loosely affiliated with the Juggalo wrestling circuit. Eventually, the wrestler and promoter realized that his brand of high-flying stunt show was a niche all its own, and he split from the Detroit clown cult. McDougal brought famed world wrestler and death-match fighter Mick Foley to the ring in Colorado last year and is starting up his own Lucha Libre league, REVoLUCHA, this year. With those kinds of moves, Primos Hardcore & Wrestling won't stay underground for long.

Best Lift Ticket Deal

Woodward Wednesdays at Copper Mountain

If you noticed some of your colleagues taking weekly "sick" days this winter, blame the $35 Woodward Wednesday Pass deal at Copper Mountain. The pass — a fraction of the price of a regular full-day ticket at Copper or anywhere else — was good for a single-day lift ticket on the new Union Creek high-speed chairlift serving Copper's terrain-park system and some beginner and intermediate slopes, as well as a drop-in session with the coaches at Woodward at Copper's indoor training facility and an après-shred beer or soda. Locals found the rips/tips/sips combo irresistible, even if they had a season pass elsewhere, and frequently found themselves sharing the Wednesday sessions with pro skiers and snowboarders and other visiting celebrities: In January, Lil Wayne stopped by to skate the bowl in the Barn at Copper, later giving Woodward Wednesdays the Weezy stamp of approval.

Best Mammoth

John Grant Jr.

As long as goals are still a good thing in lacrosse, then John Grant Jr. is not only the best Mammoth, but the best player in the entire National Lacrosse League. He currently leads the league in points, goals and power-play goals, and is third in assists. In fact, he may be the biggest reason the Mammoth own the best record in the NLL.

Readers' Choice: John Gallant

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