The Avalanche have secured the first pick in the upcoming NHL draft via the lottery held tonight.

This is huge news for the club which fired its head coach yesterday. 

Seth Jones, the son of Popeye Jones who was playing for the Nuggets when Seth was born, is widely considered to be the top NHL prospect available.

Drafting Jones could be the beginning of a new era in Avalanche hockey - and a new era is something Avalanche Hockey badly needs.

Today on ESPN Outside the Lines, NBA analyst Chris Broussard, in reacting to Jason Collins' coming out as gay, stated that Collins is "walking in open rebellion to God". The reaction to Broussard's comments in social media was immediate, it was damning and it was hateful. In fact, Broussard was on the receiving end of far more "discrimination" than Collins himself was.

I wish to say for the record that I vehemently disagree with Broussard. In my eyes the time has long since come for a society that is “color blind” when it comes to sexuality and that Collins’ pronouncement was as courageous as it was necessary. However, Broussard is in some ways far braver. Society’s pendulum has swung so far that an openly Christian person is in greater peril than an openly gay person is.

The types of reactions I have heard to what Broussard said on TV today are just as venomous as homophobia - and no more well deserved. The fact that Broussard continues to see sexuality as a religious issue is certainly discouraging to most people. It’s a reality, however, that he represents a large cross-section of society. We cannot simply curse these people and counter what we consider to be their hatred with hatred toward them.

Religion and sexuality combine to make a complex stew. Thankfully, our culture has reached a point where acceptance of gays is advancing. That cannot mean that abhorrence of Christians is now the norm. If it is then we have made no progress. We have only replaced one form of intolerance with another. There needs to be a coming together and that only happens when we all put forth the effort to understand each other.

Broussard is an entitled to his religious beliefs as Collins is to his sexuality. Religion and homosexuality have both been parts of America for a very long time. Allowing one out of the closet while pushing the other in accomplishes nothing.

"Washington Wizards center Jason Collins is officially and formally out of the closet, but you already knew that. Here are a few quick thoughts that are rushing through my head right now, having focused a lot of attention on the issue of gays on pro sports here at the South Stands. Forgive me if some of this comes off as just a touch jaded."

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Jets fans won't have Tim Tebow to kick around anymore. He's been released by the Jets, who had six QBs on the roster after having drafted Geno Smith.

This is a sad, sad day for sports web sites from coast to coast. Say what you will about Tebow's acumen as a quarterback, he was ratings gold.

Hopefully he will be signed somewhere - and not in Canada.

TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW

"The Nuggets are unprepared in this series. They have no answer for Golden State's shooters, no plan offensively in the half-court, and they continue to miss free-throws. They look a lot like a poorly coached team."

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It looks like Avalanche fans won't have Joe Sacco to kick around anymore.

According to several credible accounts we follow on Twitter, the overseer of several miserable seasons of lackluster hockey in Colorado is finally the victim of his own wild lack of success. Joe Sacco has been fired.

Oh, happy day.

More updates as events unfold ...

(Via Deadspin)

How can you hate Jay Cutler when he's willing to give a nod to the web site "Smokin' Jay Cutler" by dressing up like THIS for his birthday.

Maybe he's not such a horrendous individual after all.

Linebacker Shaun Phillips is reportedly a Denver Bronco. The announcement that Denver had secured the free agent came via Adam Shefter right during the thick of the sixth round of the draft.

In case you have forgotten who Shaun Phillips is, he played for the Chargers for a long time and got arrested several times. He’s a classic San Diego woman-beating, bar-fighting, cop battling ne'er-do-well. The 31 year old was drafted by the Chargers 98^th overall in 2004. And now he’s ours.

Hopefully now that Phillips is in his thirties he will be a little less likely to grab women by the hair and scuffle with police. He was an under-the-radar free agent who definitely justified a spot on a team. It’s just not real clear he belongs on this one.

Well, it took the Broncos until round 5 to select a defensive end to replace Elvis Dumervil.

His mother named him "Quanterus", but he likes to go by "Q".

Welp. The Nuggets lost again. They trail one game to two in their first-round series with, of all the miserable opponents, the Golden State Warriors. The Nuggets displayed in defeat nearly all of the traits that have consistently plagued them in the playoffs. New year – same old Denver Nuggets – same old questions about George Karl.

At least the Nuggets made the playoffs, though. The Avalanche sure as heck didn’t. In fact, they’re in a race to the bottom of the NHL and their fans are hoping that they fall all the way into the first pick in next years draft.

It looks like the Colorado Rockies are our only hope to enjoy Denver sports from now until football season. Yes, those Rockies. The “road to 100”, worst-season-in-franchise-history, terrible, indefensible Rockies will have somehow elevated themselves back into second place in our hearts and minds if the Nuggets get eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

While the Kroenke franchises baffle people with their failures, the Rockies have somehow risen from the ashes. They’ve taken their fair share of beatings, but they’re inarguably far better than they were a year ago. Walt Weiss has literally given the franchise a new face – and a new attitude. The Blake Street bullies aren’t getting pushed around anymore.

The prospect of the Nugs facing an early exit from the playoffs this year is more than most fans can stomach. Luckily, the Rox are providing a happy distraction.