Best Rockie 2013 | Carlos Gonzalez | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Rockie

Carlos Gonzalez

We know, we know: CarGo's stats fell off in a significant way between 2011 and 2012, when his batting average went from an extraordinary .333 to a pedestrian .259. But whether or not his production reduction had to do with pressure he put on himself after signing a huge contract, he's still the most complete player on the Rockies' roster, with the sort of upside boasted by few current players. That's why we expect him to bounce back in a big way this season — and if he brings a few of his teammates with him, maybe the Rox won't continue to be a National League bottom-feeder in 2013.

Best Roller Derby Name

Fiona Grapple

Beth "Fiona Grapple" Bandimere is a blocker for the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls' Sugar Kill Gang and team captain of the 5280 Fight Club all-star squad, and already has a national roller derby championship title to show for herself. Her nom de derby channels mid-'90s malcontent Fiona Apple, rather obviously, but also captures the full spirit of fighting for every inch on the track, which Ms. Grapple, a bludgeon of a blocker, embodies as well as anybody. This year, however, thanks to the reductive reality-TV shorthand of CBS's The Amazing Race, Bandimere and her 5280 Fight Club teammate Mona "Triple Shot Misto" Egender came to be known as the "Roller Derby Moms," a pair of clean-cut competitors, each with three kids, who held their own on the show.

Best Roller Derby Skater

Sandrine "Francey Pants" Rangeon

The Denver Roller Dolls imported jammer Sandrine "Francey Pants" Rangeon — a former ice hockey player for the French national team — from the Montreal Roller Derby league in 2012, and just in time. She helped lead the Dolls' Mile High Club to the Women's Flat Track Derby Association's West Region Playoffs in September, where she set a record for the highest scoring jam in post-season competition. Then she outdid herself at Nationals with an astounding 44-0 jam against the Texas Rollergirls' Texecutioners, and helped the Mile High Club finish the tournament in third place. Rangeon won Tournament Jammer MVP honors at Nationals, and the bout — Denver 210 vs. Texas 199 — was later voted Bout of the Year in the Derby News Network's Best of 2012 poll.

Best Roller Derby Team

Mile High Club

There are now eight Colorado-based roller derby leagues sanctioned by the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, and the Denver Roller Dolls was the best of them in 2012, by far: DRD's Mile High Club all-star team took second at the 2012 "Bay of Reckoning" West Region Playoffs in Richmond, California, in September, and third at the 2012 WFTDA National Championships in Atlanta. The team is currently ranked second in the world, according to the new WFTDA rankings calculator. The league, which expanded this year with the addition of a fourth home team, the orange-and-blue-clad Orange Crushers, will also host the new Colorado Cup tournament April 27-28.

Best Skate Park

Erie Community Skate Park

Pro skater Rob Dyrdek, founder of the Street League Skateboarding series, stopped by in March to inaugurate the new $1.2 million, 16,800-square-foot Erie Community Skate Park, the first Street League-branded public facility. The skate park, which officially opened in January of this year, has already become a mecca for street skaters. A minimalist masterpiece, it was built by California Skateparks in partnership with SITE Design Group, with an emphasis on street-inspired ledges and rails (rather than bigger and badder bowls). The mirrored design allows equal access for goofy-footed and regular-footed approaches, and the park's features suit beginners and pros alike. A second phase of construction scheduled for this summer is expected to add more beginner-friendly terrain and bring the total square footage to 25,000.

  • 450 Powers St., Erie, 80516 Map

Best Ski Porn

Sunny

Denver-based Level 1 Productions stepped it up in every sense of the word this year, moving its headquarters out of director Josh Berman's house to more official digs (a new studio and retail space on upper Larimer Street), then releasing Sunny, the best ski film of the season. Berman's thirteenth film in as many years earned him "Best Movie" honors at the 2013 Powder Awards and Best North American Film at the 2012 IF3 International Freeski Film Festival. The film featured twenty top athletes skiing in locales around the world, but we're partial to the sections filmed in Breckenridge and Denver.

Best Snowboard-Camp Value

So-Gnar Snowboard Camp Tour

The seventh annual So-Gnar Snowboard Camp Tour from Golden-based pro snowboarder Pat Milbery and his fun-loving So-Gnar posse featured local stops at Loveland and Winter Park this season for kids of all ages — with some moms, dads and grandparents in the mix — focused on having fun in the terrain parks and on custom features (like a bright-orange couch) installed just for the occasion. The camps (this year's tour made a dozen stops across the U.S. and one in Japan) are beginner-friendly, but they also cater to intermediate, advanced and expert riders, with a focus on fun and creating a positive vibe to encourage safe progression. At $125 for a two-day camp session with a small army of pro riders, the So-Gnar camps are far and away the best bargain around for anyone looking to learn new tricks.

Best Snowsports Publication

Snowboard Colorado

Given the draw that Colorado has for extreme-sports enthusiasts, a magazine showcasing the talents of local and national celebrities (many of whom reside in our resort towns) was inevitable. Since Snowboard Colorado's first printing in fall of 2010, the magazine has continued to highlight the technological advancements in the industry, the strides that Colorado companies have made to push the sport, and, most important, the progressive talent coming out of the snow-covered hills of Colorado.

Best Sports Announcer

Mike Haynes

Mike Haynes honed his style on the radio, a medium in which his high-octane pronouncements were necessary. After all, he had to help listeners picture what was happening, and he managed to do so better than anyone in the market. But he's proved to be just as adept at calling the action on TV. He knows the game inside and out, and he manages to convey his loyalty to the Avs without conjuring up excuses for them when things are heading south. He makes each goal seem bigger, every check more crushing, and those glove-dropping fights the equivalent of championship bouts on blades.

Best Sports Bar for Food and Drink

Highland Tap & Burger

Highland Tap & Burger isn't just a sports bar — but you wouldn't know that on game day, when this LoHi spot is packed with hat boys and bros cheering and jeering whatever's playing on the many TVs, drinking beers, taking occasional smoke breaks on the patio, and stuffing their faces with the great food that comes out of the kitchen. When they opened the place three years ago, the owners applied a fine-dining sensibility to a pub-like menu, and they've held to those standards. The result is Denver's best burger, offered in a variety of styles with toppings both plain (white cheddar) and fancy (truffle aioli), as well as impressive root-beer pulled-pork sandwiches, meatball sliders and incredible homemade chips.

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