The Drive

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.

In hour 3 of The Drive, Zach, Phil and the group compete in our weekly trivia vs the morning show. How will we follow up our 3-1 performance from last week, when Zach and Drew were absent? We get an all-time trivia moment from Zach. 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? We list athletes from history that also missed long extended periods of time to return to their sports.

In hour 4 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 disfunction within the Nuggets. We wrap up the show with the biggest stories in Denver sports today. How will Gabe Landeskog do in his return to professional hockey? Will Russell Westbrook continue to see his minutes decrease?

Hour 1 of The Drive kicks off with Zach and Phil cross talking with Cecil. The guys discuss the Nuggets win over Sacramento last night. Was last night a sign of things to come or just a win over an average team in the NBA? Can the Nuggets turn into the defensive team they were in 2023 and make a run in the playoffs? Was last night a vintage Nuggets and Jokic game where he played pass-first? We react to the reports of Michael Malone giving Russell Westbrook special treatment. Was Malone right to take a shot at his young players in favor of Westbrook? Phil relates it to his time with the Broncos when the coaching staff kept giving a player opportunities despite making mistake after mistake. The guys react to an AI service predicting the next 10 national champions in college football, which features CU creating a dynasty with three straight championships in the late 2020’s. Is it realistic for Coach Prime to build the next dynasty in college football in Boulder?

In hour 2 of The Drive, Zach and Phil react to Jokic’s comments after the Nuggets game last night. Do we think Michael Malone watched the game last night? What were the guys first takeaways from interim coach, David Adelman? Should we be taking note of Christian Braun getting guys together for a dinner but not inviting Michael Porter Jr.? Is Nuggets owner, Josh Kroenke becoming the interim president of basketball operations the right move for the organization? Was the pay difference between Michael Malone and Calvin Booth, a divisive topic between the two? Today’s “Three Count” features Nathan MacKinnon resting tonight as the Avalanche come to the close of their regular season, an update from today’s Rockies game as they look to avoid getting swept by the Brewers, and an update from the Frozen Four as DU looks to win their 11th National title. We circle back to a report that there was not a Nuggets dinner that Michael Porter Jr. was not invited to and “it was a joke”, but the guys aren’t buying it. Zach asks if Josh Kroenke was more present around the Nuggets, would these issues in the organization still have happened.  Would Kroenke’s presence have kept Malone and Booth more professional?