Best Slopeside Hangout for Tots Too Teeny to Ski 2011 | Mountain Top Children's Museum | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Slopeside Hangout for Tots Too Teeny to Ski

Mountain Top Children's Museum

Ski towns are great for grownups, less so for the wee ones. Unless you're a baby version of Bode Miller, there's not a whole lot that's designed for the kindergarten set. One exception is the Mountain Top Children's Museum in Breckenridge. The colorful indoor play area just off the main drag packs a lot of fun into cozy quarters, from a mini-planetarium and kid-sized rescue helicopter to a dress-up stage. As is often the case in Breck, admission is a bit steep, but, hey, it's still cheaper than a lift ticket.

Best Sporting Defense of Denver

Bill Simmons

Oh, the Melodrama, how it pained our souls. Our local sportswriters had every angle of the Carmelo Anthony trade covered, but it took a major media voice from out of state to big-up Denver on the national stage. (Sorry, Woody.) Amid overt suggestions that our town isn't good enough or big enough or exciting enough, ESPN.com's Bill Simmons represented, calling Denver "quite possibly" the most laid-back American city. "I have been to Colorado multiple times, twice for book signings; it's an extremely pleasant, unassuming, upbeat place," he wrote on January 13. "After I ripped Anthony in November for holding Denver fans hostage, I was stunned by how many e-mailed me; not to pile on to the rant or add additional thoughts, more to thank me for sticking up for them. The recurring theme? 'I'm glad someone outside of Denver noticed.'" We are, too.

Best Sports Announcer

Drew Goodman

Baseball announcers are second to none when it comes to obnoxious homerism and "I played the game back when it meant something" rambling. So the fact that Drew Goodman avoids these two habits puts him in an elite class. Add in clean play-by-play, useful information and appropriate pace, and Goodman is the town's best sports voice. He usually masters the ability to match the excitement of a moment without over-blowing it, and his greatest gift might be managing to make analyst and former relief pitcher George Frazier sound useful from time to time. Oh, and the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association has named Goodman Colorado Sportscaster of the Year seven times. Goodman can play ball.

Best Sports Bar

Prickly Pete's

Prickly Pete's is the kind of place you can fall in love with after putting just one foot inside the door. It's a rock-solid sports bar with eighteen fifty-inch plasma TVs, substantial platters of wings, nachos and pulled pork, and frequent beer specials. But Pete's separates itself from other joints with its large patio, where, thanks to three fairly sizable TVs dangling above the doors, you don't have to worry about missing any of the action going on inside. And since most folks hanging out at Pete's are from the surrounding neighborhoods and impart the space with a laid-back, welcoming vibe, you won't find the amped-up craziness of downtown spots.

Best Sports Team -- College

University of Denver Pioneers Hockey

This season's story could have been one of tragedy, but instead, it's that of a near miracle. During an October 30 game, University of Denver Pioneers center Jesse Martin was hit while in the corner and suffered three fractures in the C2 vertebra near his brain stem. He was lucky his spinal cord wasn't severed, and through hard work, he's made great strides in his recovery. Martin is even entertaining thoughts of playing hockey again. Meanwhile, the Pioneers ranked in the top fifteen in the country in both scoring offense and defense, and finished the regular season ranked sixth nationwide.

Best Sports Team -- Professional

Colorado Rapids

No mid-season coach firing, no season-consuming trade rumors and no season-deteriorating losing streak. And, oh, yeah, a championship. Possibly a greater accomplishment than winning the MLS title was making Denver care about soccer. After the Rapids beat FC Dallas in overtime to earn their first championship, former governor Bill Ritter declared November 23 "Colorado Rapids Day."

Best Temporary Sport

SmashPutt

It's an art installation. And it's a game. How the two crash together in the Seattle sensation that came to Denver for a six-weekend run is hard to explain. But this we do know: The mechanized mini-golf with air cannons, saw blades, ball drillers and a well-stocked bar is a blast. And cheating is allowed. We hope it comes back again. In the meantime, go ahead: Imagine yourself as Mad Max at the Putt-Putt.

Best Terrain Park

A-51 Terrain Park

Keystone Facebook page

Keystone's A-51 Terrain Park made top-ten lists in TransWorld Snowboarding, Skiing and Freeskier magazines this season, thanks to visionary park designer Jason George. The park has a dedicated lift — best seats in the house for the thrills and spills unfolding below — and features five different zones for everyone from li'l shredders to resident pros like Jossi Wells and Andreas Wiig. There are three jump lines (Incubator, Park Lane and Main Street) and more than 100 rails, boxes and other features scattered throughout the park. And when the season's over, George and his A-51 park crew are just getting started, catering to film crews and pro riders shooting next season's ski porn.

Best Upscale Sports Bar

Big Game

It's a play on words: Not only does Big Game show almost every sporting event under the sun on its slew of gigantic TVs (the thirty-foot HDTV screen might pop your pupils), but it also serves game (as in the meat). In fact, the LoDo spot's menu has included everything from bison to mussels to sushi — not exactly your average sports bar fare — as well as microbrews that stand above the typical Bud and PBR. And if your team is getting blown out, there's always the ping-pong table in the back of the huge space or the Wii, PlayStation and other video-game systems up front to distract you. We've heard that Big Game may be changing its format, but we hope they stay in the game.

Best Way to Breed New Skiers

Fifth Grade Passport Program

Skiing is expensive. Really, really, really expensive. But the fifteen-year-old Fifth Grade Passport Program offered by Colorado Ski Country helps take some of the sting out of it for parents — at least for a year. The program gives three free days of skiing or snowboarding to fifth-graders at each of 21 participating resorts (Vail, Keystone, Breckenridge and Beaver Creek don't participate), for a total of 63 days. And for fifth-graders who have never skied before, there's also a program called First Class that offers one free lesson and rental. And to help parents ease back into the cost the following year, Colorado Ski Country also has a Sixth Grade Passport Program that gives four days at each resort for a total of $99. With all the money you save, you'll be able to afford to buy lunch at the mountain house.

Best Of Denver®

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