Best Coach — College 2015 | Jim McElwain | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
Navigation
Support Us
Search

Best Coach — College

Jim McElwain

For coaches at colleges outside the power conferences, validation for a job well done comes when bigger universities come calling, and that's what happened for Jim McElwain, who was hired by Florida after the end of the regular season. When he took the CSU gig following several strong years as offensive coordinator at Alabama, observers knew he might be looking at Fort Collins as a way station. But this sort of plan only works if a coach wins, and McElwain did, quickly turning around a moribund program and registering a 10-2 record en route to becoming Mountain West Conference coach of the year. He earned the promotion, and CSU is in a better place moving forward because he did.

Readers' choice: Jim McElwain

Best Sports Announcer

Alan Roach

KOA longtimer Alan Roach has manned the public-address system at a slew of Super Bowls, but not at the 2014 edition, because of the theory that hearing him would have given the Broncos an unfair advantage over the Seattle Seahawks. In general, this is an absurd notion, and not only because even the voice of God couldn't have helped Denver enough to win. Then again, Roach's bottomless tone is the next best thing to divinity, at least as far as most local fans are concerned. To people in Colorado, Roach simply sounds like sports, and for someone in his line of work, there's no greater compliment.

Readers' choice: Dave Logan

Best TV Sportscaster

Vic Lombardi

Vic Lombardi continues to stand head and shoulders above his sports-anchor peers, in part because he refuses to be confined to TV. In addition to his work at CBS4, he's become a regular on the 104.3/The Fan morning show alongside Mike Evans and Nate Lundy, giving him even more opportunities to exercise his keen wit and incisive analytical skills, and he's also a near-constant presence on Twitter. All of this activity demonstrates that Lombardi is as passionate about sports as ever. He just can't stop talking about it, and we still love listening.

Readers' choice: Vic Lombardi

Best Radio Sports Show

Sandy & Scott

It's a combination that shouldn't work. Sandy Clough is Denver's resident sports intellectual, breaking down teams, players and strategies with the scholarly acuity of a scientist, while Scott Hastings has a reputation as a fun-loving goofball who's incapable of pronouncing any "g" at the end of a word. But they bring out the best in each other: Hastings loosens up Clough when he's in danger of getting lost in pontification, while Clough inspires Hastings to reveal the genuine depth of his knowledge, particularly when it comes to basketball. They're radio's odd couple, and they make a highly enjoyable match.

Readers' choice: The Drive, with Big Al and D-Mac

Best Mascot

The Twins

Okay, okay: Betty Fitzgerald Hoover and Peggy Fitzgerald Coppom, known collectively as the Twins, aren't traditional mascots for CU-Boulder, which already has a fine one (hello, Ralphie). Instead, they're something better: a wonderful symbol of how love of sports can last a lifetime. The ninety-something pair first became CU football season-ticket holders in 1957, adding men's and women's basketball games to their schedule 22 years later. Since then, the sisters, who dress identically and seem to get more adorable with each passing decade, have been cherished by generations of athletes and fans — and we hope that continues for a long time to come.

Readers' choice: Rocky

Best Roller Derby Name

Sweet Mary Pain

Quick — what's Colorado's fastest-growing recreational pursuit? You know, besides that. Sweet Mary Pain, aka Emily Lucks, is co-captain of the Rocky Mountain Roller Girls' all-star 5280 Fight Club travel team, and also skates as both blocker and smokin'-fast jammer for Dooms Daisies, one of five gloriously named RMRG home teams (the others are Kill Scouts, United States Pummeling Service, Sugar Kill Gang, and Red Ridin' Hoods). No one is better at name games than Colorado skaters.

Readers' choice: Daisy Dukes-Up

Best New Roller Derby Team

Ground Control

The Denver Roller Dolls rebranded themselves as the Denver Roller Derby this year — the league's tenth — partly to mark the addition of a new traveling men's team, Ground Control. The latter joins the high-flying women's traveling teams Mile High Club, Bruising Altitude and the Standbys, and was just accepted into the growing Men's Roller Derby Association. For now, the gents are thrilled to be following the ladies' lead: Led by Tim "Dirt Monkey" Burns and Scott "Scott Free" Paul, Ground Control is coached by Bruising Altitude blocker Lisa "RockScar" Cassell and Tracy "Disco" Akers, a founding member of the Roller Dolls and longtime star of the Mile High Club.

Best Full-Throttle Fun for Women

The Scarlet Headers

Riding motorcycles isn't just for the boys: Each week, the Scarlet Headers, a group of hog-riding women who promote equality in the world of motorcycling, come together to ride, gear up on motorcycle maintenance and support rookie riders. The group's goal is to encourage women to be comfortable in the scene, and the Headers welcome all interested parties with open arms and a spare helmet.

Best Twerking Workout

Twerkshop

If you've ever had the inclination to practice your best Miley moves, the Twerkshop at Tease dance studio is the perfect place to burn some cals while learning a sexy new routine. You'll be dancing to some sick beats, for sure, but don't be fooled: This is a high-energy cardio class, and nobody's wasting time twerking in place. You'll be catwalking and crab-crawling across the floor and back before you know it, bouncing, laughing, and shaping your badonkadonk in the process.

Best Yoga With Live Music

Karma Yoga Center

In Hinduism, "bhakti" means love and devotion — and that's what Katrina Gustafson's classes are all about. As the owner of Karma Yoga, Gustafson incorporates bhakti elements into every class and encourages her instructors to do the same. The best offering is Thursday night's Live Music Bhakti Flow class, with drumming from musician Zay Alejandro Rios, locally renowned for his work at Cleo Parker Robinson Dance. This class gets packed, with upwards of thirty students doing an active asana series that culminates in freestyle dance followed by a shavasana (deep relaxation) set against soft piano. Drop in for $15, or buy a package and save.

Best Of Denver®

Best Of

Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our terms of use, our cookies policy, and our privacy policy Westword may earn a portion of sales from products & services purchased through links on our site from our affiliate partners. ©2024 Denver Westword, LLC. All rights reserved.
Do Not Sell or Share My Information
Powered By Foundation