Rockies' window wide open

By Tim Walmer

Rox a good bet … If you had the foresight to lay some money on the Rockies to make it to the World Series back in 2007, you probably still chuckle every time you check your bank account. That team came out of nowhere. But those days of flying under the radar are over. Handicappers in Vegas know about the Rockies and all their returning talent. A quick peek at some handicapping websites places them in the neighborhood of 25-1 to make the 2011 Series, behind the Giants, Cardinals, Braves and Phillies, and about even with the Reds and Brewers in the National League. That said, I think the Rockies are a good value at 25-1. The Giants and Phils are a cut above, but I hold Colorado in higher regard than all other NL contenders. Now, I’m no expert, and it’s your money, but someone has to win the pennant – why not the Rox?

Counting down. Speaking of the Pepsi Center … just a reminder the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is coming to our own backyard, with games scheduled for March 17 and 19 at The Can. ESPN.com is projecting the following Denver matchups (seeds in parentheses):

West Region
- Brigham Young (1) vs. Florida Atlantic (16)
- Kansas State (8) vs. Washington (9)
Southwest Region
- Arizona (5) vs. Missouri State (12)
- Louisville(4) vs. Oakland (Mich.) (13)

Notably, most pundits are predicting 11 teams from the Big East Conference of 16 to qualify for March Madness. The 11-team Big 10 will get six qualifiers. I have mixed feelings about this. I know these are strong conferences with numerous power squads. But how important is the regular season if a team such as Marquette, a .500 team in conference play, gets in, while a 20-win mid-major who loses in its conference tournament is left out?

Locally, CSU remains on the bubble, needing some impressive wins down the stretch and a decent showing in the Mountain West tournament to snag an at-large bid. UNC will host its conference tournament and needs just two wins to qualify for its first Big Dance. CU and DU likely will need to win their respective conference tourneys to qualify.

No more Melo. Well, he’s gone. The best player to grace the Nuggets’ roster since Alex English has returned to the bright lights of the East Coast. Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, et al. are settling in with the Knicks, and early returns show the new Nuggets will gel fast enough to sneak into the playoffs. I don’t blame Anthony for wanting to return to his stomping grounds. He gave us seven good years. And I thought the Nuggets brass did a good job of waiting, waiting … then snatching some good, young, relatively cheap talent in return.

But I do have two regrets: First, I wish Denver had been more competitive with the league’s elite during the Melo era. Although the Nuggets qualified for the playoffs every year of his tenure, they flirted with true greatness only briefly, in 2009. The championship window in pro sports is open for just so long, then it slams shut – as it has on the Nuggets. Secondly, it’s too bad Billups, Colorado’s Mr. Basketball, won’t play out his career on his home turf. It looks like we’ll welcome back the King of Park Hill only in retirement.

Here’s to one day seeing both their jerseys hanging from the rafters at Pepsi Center.

E-mail us your thoughts at twalmer@denverpost.com, and we may include them in a future column.