👋 Good Morning!

The annual trip to Fenway Park was not much fun for the Rockies. The Red Sox out-scored them 29-7 over the three-game sweep and pretty much had the games in control by the fifth inning each night. It looked like a freshman team was scrimmaging the seniors.

With 72 losses already on the books before we’ve even gotten to the All-Star Game, the Rox are 50 away from breaking Chicago’s 2024 record of 121 losses with 69 games to play. They’re on pace to finish as the worst team in franchise history and that’s saying something considering they’ve lost 95+ games five times in the last 20 years.

If Dick Monfort had even a little bit of dignity he would feel some shame and sell the team. I’ve probably already said it 10 times this season but baseball fans in this state deserve so much more.

There was a time when Rockies baseball was one of the biggest passions in my life. I hope to feel that way again. How about that Party Deck though?

— Justin Michael

The Avalanche have not been very active on the free agent market. There is still some work to be done with filling out the lineup though. They opened up over $6 million in cap space by sending Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Columbus. The question now is what will they do with it?

AJ Haefele went in-depth on this topic — and I highly encourage you to read the piece in its entirety — but here are a couple of guys that they could take a look at and what our Avs insider thinks.

F Joel Kiviranta – I’m surprised to see Kiviranta still on the market. He plays his tail off (meow?) and produces elite defensive results. His 16 goals were a hilarious outlier for his career. If he’s still unsigned in August and the Avs haven’t done anything else, why not run it back?

F Nikolai Kovalenko – Similar to Kiviranta, but more unproven. Does he want to go back to the KHL? Is his obsessively liking all of the Avalanche’s posts on Instagram a sign that he would come back, or is he just a jovial person who isn’t holding a grudge? He still has lots to prove in the NHL. Does he even want to?

D Jon Merrill – I keep pounding the table for this guy just because he should be a cheap, reliable rotational defender. Now that the Avs are overloaded on the right side, Merrill being a lefty would bring them the kind of balance they really need. Is he significantly better than Keaton Middleton? I’d say yes, but give Middleton another year to keep working on his game and he might surpass Merrill. His inclusion on this list is indicative of what’s left in the free-agent market.

READ: What work is left for the Avalanche this summer? | by AJ Haefele

The Nuggets have had great success hiring up-and-coming talent within their front office.

READ: Josh Kroenke’s rare gift for spotting executive excellence | by Mike Olson

PJ Locke recently announced that he went through spinal fusion surgery. The same procedure that WWE star Randy Orton had, it’s fairly rare among NFL players.

READ: How does PJ Locke’s injury affect the Broncos? | by Henry Chisholm