👋 Good Morning!

The Rockies have won back-to-back games for just the third time this season. A win this evening would mean the club is on a winning streak. To quote an all-time classic baseball movie: “It has happened before.”

We all know the deal at this point. The Rockies are a lost cause this year. Hunter Goodman homering twice yesterday was a fun moment though. 10 of his 13 homers have come out on the road, which might be his best argument to represent Colorado in the All-Star Game. The young catcher is one of the few fun things about Rockies baseball at the moment.

— Justin Michael

Injury prevention is one of the biggest focuses for the Broncos offseason program under Sean Payton.

A process he learned from the great Bill Parcells, Payton’s focus over the first five weeks of work is not really about practicing football, it’s about getting everybody back into shape.

“We’re probably the only team that stays in phase one for five weeks,” Payton told reporters. “The most important thing we do is lift, change our bodies, run, condition. We’ll have plenty of time for football.”

What’s interesting about Payton’s approach is that while the veteran coach eases his team into things with a more mild offseason program, unlike many teams in 2025, he’s still very much still a believer in the starters playing in preseason games.

While it’s easy to support the logic of not wanting guys to get injured in games that don’t count towards the standings, it’s also true that players need to get into football shape by playing football. You can rep things in practice, you can do all the simulated processes in the world, but there’s no substitute for being live against another opponent.

READ: Sean Payton reflects on the offseason program | by Henry Chisholm

The Pac-12 is expected to announce its eighth football member for the 2026 season any day now. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Texas State is the heavy favorite to receive an invitation to join the league for all sports. Other possibilities include Memphis, Tulane, UTSA and UCONN.

Future Pac-12:

Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Oregon State, San Diego State, Utah State, Washington State, Gonzaga (non-football).

Antonio Senzatela is projected to start for the Rockies on the mound this evening. The veteran pitcher comes into tonight’s Nationals game with a 1-10 record and 7.23 ERA.

The Avs will be well represented in the upcoming Winter Olympics. Four players have already been announced for their respective countries and there’s a possibility of a few more being added to rosters as well.

As of now, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar will both play for Canada, while Gabe Landeskog (Sweden) and Martin Necas (Czechia) will represent their home countries in Milano and Cortina as well.

The 2026 Olympics will have NHL players for the first time since 2014. After how electric the Four Nations Face-Off was this past winter, I can’t wait to see the international action.