AVALANCHE

Timeline 25: Remembering the biggest Colorado sports stories of 2001

May 26, 2020, 6:23 AM

On March 6, 1995, The Fan was born. In the 25 years since, a lot has transpired on the fields, courts and ice in Colorado, giving the hosts and listeners who’ve been part of the station during that time plenty to talk about and debate.

During the course of the next few weeks, we’ll take a look back at that history, remembering the good times and the bad, the winners and the losers, the successes and the failures. It’s a series we’re calling “Timeline 25” and it continues today with a look back at a wild and wacky year in Colorado sports history – 2001:

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Mission 16 W

After losing in the Western Conference Finals in each of the previous three seasons, including back-to-back losses to the Stars in a Game 7 situation, the Avalanche were on a mission during the 2000-01 season. From the opener, Colorado had one goal in mind – winning the Stanley Cup.

They started the season on a tear, posting a 9-0-2-0 record out of the gate. And they never slowed down, finishing with a mark of 52-16-10-4 to win the Presidents’ Trophy as the best record in the NHL.

The Avs stormed into the playoffs, where they were looking to accomplish two goals. One, they wanted to avenge the postseason setbacks in recent seasons. Two, they wanted to help Ray Bourque, the 40-year-old defenseman who had come over from Boston in 2000 to chase an elusive championship, finally hoisted the Cup.

As a result, they had a mantra in the playoffs: “Mission 16 W.” The Avalanche had to win 16 games, four in each series, to win the championship.

They breezed through the first round, sweeping the Canucks. But the conference semifinals were a struggle, as the Kings took them to seven games. Then, Colorado finally got out of the Western Conference Finals, besting St. Louis in six.

The Stanley Cup Finals were a battle, as the Avs faced off with the defending champions. The Devils took a 3-2 lead in the series by winning Game 5 in Colorado. Heading back to New Jersey for Game 6, things looked bleak for the Avalanche.

But Patrick Roy turned in a performance for the ages, stopping every shot the Devils sent his way. Colorado’s 4-0 win on the road forced a decisive Game 7 at Pepsi Center.

That game, played on June 9, was dominated by the Avalanche. Alex Tanguay scored two goals, Joe Sakic added another and Colorado skated to a 3-1 win.

It was the second championship for the Avs since moving to the Mile High City prior to the 1995-96 season. And for Bourque, a Hall of Famer in his 23rd NHL season, it was finally time to hoist the elusive Stanley Cup, providing one of the most-memorable scenes in the state’s sports history.

***

Bad Contracts

It’s hard to remember now, but there was a time when the Rockies were among the biggest spenders in Major League Baseball. When it came to chasing free agents, Colorado was in the mix with the big boys, competing with the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and others tossing around mega-deals.

Heading into the 2001 season, the Rockies pushed all of their chips into the middle of the table. Coming off of an 82-80 season, Dan O’Dowd decided to shell out big bucks for a pair of pitchers that were expected to push Colorado over the top.

He gave Denny Neagle a five-year, $51-million contract. And then, O’Dowd broke the bank on Mike Hampton, giving him an eight-year, $121 deal that was the largest in baseball history at the time.

Early on, it looked like the investments would pay off. During the first two months of the season, both pitchers were on fire. Hampton started the season 9-2, earning an All-Star invite in the process, and Neagle was 5-2. On June 17, the Rockies had a 36-32 record, putting them on pace to compete down the stretch.

Then, the wheels came off. In a six-week span, the Rockies went 7-29, falling to 43-61 and completely out of the race in the National League West. During that stretch, Hampton’s record fell to 10-8, while Neagle went to 6-5.

By season’s end, Colorado was an extremely disappointing 73-89. Most of the blame fell on their two big-money pitchers, as Hampton (14-13, 5.41 ERA) and Neagle (9-8, 5.38) wound up posting very mediocre seasons.

Things didn’t get any better, as the two hurlers would continue to struggle as Rockies. Hampton would last one more season before heading to Atlanta, while Neagle would pitch two more years in Colorado and then be out of baseball.

Their signings continue to impact the franchise to this day. It’s been nearly two decades, but the Rockies still refrain from jumping into the fray when it comes to big-money free agents. And on the pitching front, Colorado has to stick with their homegrown plan, as proven pitchers avoid the franchise at all costs.

***

Buffs in Contention

At the beginning of the 2001 season, it didn’t seem like Colorado would be competing for a national champion. In the opening week of the season, the Buffaloes were upset at home by Fresno State, a 24-22 loss that seemed to end their hopes before Labor Day.

But then a funny thing happened. CU started winning games.

The Buffs strung together a pair of five-game winning streaks, with a loss at Texas sandwiched in the middle, to run their record to 10-2.

Along the way, they posted some impressive victories. They beat five top-25 teams, including No. 1 Nebraska and No. 3 Texas in back-to-back weeks.

The win over the Cornhuskers was one of the most-memorable in the history of the program. Colorado dominated their rivals at Folsom Field, beating the top-ranked team in the country by a 62-36 count, a score that Buffs fan will never forget.

The next week, in the Big 12 Championship Game, CU avenged their loss to Texas. In a wild, back-and-forth game, the Buffs came out on top, winning 39-37.

Those victories were supposed to catapult Colorado into the national championship game. Heading into the selection show on Dec. 2, that’s what all of the computer projections were showing.

So it came as a shock when Nebraska got the nod. Despite getting blown out by CU, and not winning their conference championship, the Huskers were invited to play Miami in the Rose Bowl. Colorado would have to settle for a trip to the Fiesta Bowl, where they’d lose to No. 2 Oregon.

It was a disappointing end to a memorable season. But that 2001 campaign provided some of the best moments in CU history.

***

A New Home

The Broncos had called Mile High Stadium home since their inception in 1960. For four decades, the franchise had played in front of raucous crowds, creating one of the best homefield advantages in all of sports.

As a result, there was plenty of angst when Denver opened Invesco Field at Mile High prior to the 2001 season. Yes, the team’s new home was nice and new. But it lacked some of the charm that comes with 40 years of history, as every rusty bolt and beam had been a part of history.

On September 10, the Broncos played their first regular-season game in their new home. And things got off to a good start. That night, before a sold-out crowd and a national television audience, Denver won 31-20, beating the Giants on “Monday Night Football.”

The victory, however, came at a price. In the game, Ed McCaffrey suffered a gruesome broken leg, an injury that would sideline the Broncos star wideout for the rest of the season.

That news, however, would quickly become an afterthought. The morning after the game, the 9/11 attacks took place at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and over a field in Pennsylvania. That would change the country, including the sports world, forever.

The Broncos first-ever regular-season game in their new building was also the last sporting event of the pre-9/11 era.

***

Issel’s Outburst

Heading into the 2001-02 season, the Nuggets were feeling positive. The year before, the team had finished 40-42, teetering on playoff contention. And that season, they had started the campaign with a 26-18 record, showing that they could compete.

As a result, a postseason berth was the goal the next year. That’s what everyone on Dan Issel’s team was shooting for when the season began.

Quickly, however, it became apparent that something wasn’t right. For whatever reason, the Nuggets simply weren’t clicking.

By December 11, after a home loss to the Hornets, Denver was 7-14 and heading nowhere. They’d lost five straight games and tensions were running high.

As the Nuggets left the court at Pepsi Center that night, Issel got into an altercation with a fan. Cameras from a local television station caught the exchange, with Denver’s head coach uttering a racial slur.

The clip quickly spread, creating a firestorm. The Nuggets responded by suspending their head coach for four games, but many didn’t think that punishment went far enough.

Eventually, the pressure of the situation became too much. Issel, looking to put it behind him and allow the organization to move forward, resigned on December 26, ending his second stint as the team’s head coach.

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