The Drive

Hour 1 of The Drive kicks off with Zach and Phil cross talking with Cecil. The guys discuss Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter getting their numbers retired at Colorado. Are both guys deserving of having their number retired? What are the betting odds saying about the Nuggets and Clippers series? Should Nuggets nation be supremely confident in the Nuggets walking through their first round series? Why are the odds shifting away from the Nuggets as the days go by? Zach asks Phil, if he could magically have either Gabe Landeskog 100% healthy or Val Nichushkin 100% guaranteed to be reliable for the Avs playoff run, who would he pick. We look at the history of Sean Payton trading up in the first round and wonder if we are in store for this this season with the Broncos. Could the Broncos trade up for a stud in Ashton Jeanty or Tyler Warren or could they draft at 20 and then trade back into the end of the first round for another player?

In hour 2 of The Drive, Zach and Phil take a deep dive into the University of Colorado retiring both Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders’ numbers. Is the university rushing this process since the players both left the program within the year? Phil explains why he has a problem with CU having Hunter and Sanders jump the line to have their number retired and lists the players he believes should have that honor first. Is CU erasing their history by only honoring their most recent stars? Does it take anything away from Travis by having Shedeur receiving the same honor even though Hunter won a Heisman? Today’s “Three Count” includes Travis Hunter saying he won’t play football if a team restricts him from playing on both sides of the ball, the NBA’s play-in tournament kicking off tonight, and the Rockies ending their scoreless streak at 32 innings. Zach and Phil react to ESPN’s Field Yates and Mel Kiper Jr.’s alternating mock draft. Who do they project the Broncos to select with their 20th and 51st picks?

In hour 3 of The Drive, Zach and Phil examine the betting when it comes to the Nuggets and Clipper playoff series. How have the odds changed since the series was announced? And who are the current odds favoring in this first round matchup? What does Jokic and Clippers center, Zubac’s history say about their matchup? Zach asks Phil, if he could magically have either Gabe Landeskog 100% healthy or Val Nichushkin 100% guaranteed to be reliable for the Avs playoff run, who would he pick. Between the Avalanche and the Nuggets, which team will benefit from a week off before starting the playoffs? Will either team come into the playoffs rusty? We look at the history of Sean Payton trading up in the first round and wonder if we are in store for this this season with the Broncos. Could the Broncos trade up for a stud in Ashton Jeanty or Tyler Warren or could they draft at 20 and then trade back into the end of the first round for another player? Are the Broncos close enough to go for it and mortgage some of their future?

In hour 4 of The Drive, Zach and Phil take a deep dive into the University of Colorado retiring both Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders’ numbers. Phil explains why he has a problem with CU having Hunter and Sanders jump the line to have their number retired and lists the players he believes should have that honor first. Is the university rushing this process since the players both left the program within the year? Does it take anything away from Travis by having Shedeur receiving the same honor even though Hunter won a Heisman? We hear from Fox Sports and former CU Buff Joel Klatt and his thoughts on the university retiring Hunter and Sanders’ numbers. Should it be alarming that so many former Buffs disagree with the university’s decision? We wrap up the show with DenverSports.com’s Aniello Piro joining the show.

Hour 1 of The Drive kicks off with Zach and Phil cross talking with Dover. The guys react to Josh Kroenke’s comments on the Nuggets. What positives did the guys take from his press conference today? Do the Nuggets have their joy back while playing basketball? Should be put more faith in the first 6 months of the season we saw from the Nuggets or the most recent 3 games? The Avalanche captain returned to the ice over weekend playing for the Colorado Eagles, what takeaways do the guys have? Are Gabe Landeskog and the Avalanche on the same page for his return? What qualities does Gabe have that he would be bringing to the Avs? Is it best for the Avalanche for Gabe to return to the Avs for a playoff run and take someone’s spot?

In hour 2 of The Drive, Zach and Phil react to comments from Nuggets owner, Josh Kroenke as he had his first press conference since the firings of Michael Malone and Calvin Booth. How much blame for the toxic culture within the Nuggets, does Kroenke deserve blame for? Should Kroenke have waited till now to make his firings or gone with his gut feeling and fired them earlier in the season? Today’s “Three Count” features Rory finally winning the Master’s to win a career grand slam in dramatic fashion, the Rockies getting shut out in a series vs the Padres, and the Suns firing Mike Budenholzer after one season. We have an update from Courtland Sutton on his potential contract extension with the Broncos. Phil explains what Sutton brings to the Broncos offense and what he would still like to see from him. What will the contract extension look like for the two sides?

In hour 3 of The Drive, Zach and Phil react to Michael Malone’s message to Nuggets nation. Did the Nuggets owe it to Malone to let him finish the last 3 games of the season and the playoffs? Why did it take Malone getting fired for the Nuggets to show effort? We also hear from Josh Kroenke and him refuting the report that the Nuggets were unwilling to trade Michael Porter Jr. because they share the same alma mater in Missouri. We have the ratings from the Master’s and Zach and Phil try to guess the number. What do we make of the Nuggets finishing 3-0 under interim coach David Adelman? Should we be putting more stock in the past 6 months of Nuggets basketball or the past 3 games? Has James Harden become underrated? We have news on Kris Bryant as he is heading to the IL for lumbar degenerative disease. Is it fair to ask if it’s best for the Avalanche for Gabe Landeskog to join the team for a playoff run? Would Landeskog be better than the potential player he would be replacing?

In hour 4 of The Drive, Zach and Phil react to Nuggets owner, Josh Kroenke’s comments on the firings of Michael Malone and Calvin Booth. Did Kroenke fail the organization by not being more hands on and present in the building? Phil still wants to know why now, was the time for Kroenke to fire Malone. We hear from Kroenke on the moments over the years where he thought about firing Malone but ended up not pulling the trigger. Kroenke also addresses his open mindedness heading into the next coaching search. We wrap up the show with the biggest stories in Denver sports.

Hour 1 of The Drive kicks off with Zach and Phil cross talking with Dover and Cecil. The guys preview Gabe Landeskog’s long awaited return to professional hockey as he will suit up for the Colorado Eagles tonight. What version of Gabe are the guys expecting tonight? We pivot to the Broncos, as Zach questions if Broncos Country should be hoping Shedeur Sanders falls in the draft and the Broncos are able to use him as leverage to trade and gain more draft picks. In the scenario the Broncos are on the clock with Omarion Hampton on the board, would Zach and Phil trade out of their pick to add more picks? If the Broncos new rookie running back isn’t nearing a 1,000-yard rushing season, what went wrong? It’s been three years since the last time we saw Gabe Landeskog on ice in a real game, what are our expectations for tonight? How many minutes are we guessing Landeskog will play tonight? Is there a chance Gabe plays in the Colorado Eagles back-to-back games tonight and tomorrow? Will tonight show us what we would want to see from Gabe to feel confident he can play for the Avs in the playoffs?

In hour 2 of The Drive, Zach and Phil breakdown the looming western conference playoff scenarios. Could the Nuggets be on a collision course with the Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs? Zach reads a shocking stat about just how poorly the Nuggets have surrounded Jokic on the court. Would the guys be in favor of Nuggets interim coach, David Adelman becoming the full-time coach going forward? What qualities is Zach looking for in the Nuggets next head coach? Zach reads quotes from a recent story describing the broken communication within the Nuggets. Today’s “Three Count” includes more quotes from an article detailing the disfunction with the Nuggets, if we are seeing the first “hold-in” in College football with Tennessee and their quarterback, and the Saints may be in the quarterback market now. 9News Broncos insider, Mike Klis joins the show to discuss if Omarion Hampton is the pick at 20 for the Broncos, who will be making the decision for the Broncos on their draft pick, and revisiting the Broncos first Super Bowl title.