02-01-24 Romi Bean with Broncos Country Tonight

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Really happened to be joined by romyBean from CBS Colorado. Bean's how are
you doing tonight? The FM?I know your name is CFM. What
a great surprise. I'm doing great. You're one of the few people who
call me PFM. I mean,look, there's two pfms in Bronco country.

(00:20):
People didn't know, so everybody,this is the other one. This
is the other PFM right here.Well, hey, I wanted to talk
to you a little bit about theDenver Nuggets. The reserves announced today for
the All Star Game, and notablymissing was Jamal Murray. Just your thoughts
on that, you know, it'sunbelievable. I saw somebody post I guess

(00:46):
Jamal Murray might go down as oneof the top players to never get an
All Star nod. It's you knewthat. It felt like with Jamal going
into last year, there was theokay, well, it's gotta win a
championship, all right, what canhe do? You know? And he's
playing excellent this season. So manytimes he's carried this team with or without

(01:07):
Nicola Jokich. It's the best twoman game in the NBA, and it's
a two man game. I realizedhe plays with Jokich, But it's just
disappointing because Jamal deserves to be there. He's, well, you know,
one of the best players in theleague and the West is crowded. You
give it that the West is crowded, but but it sucks because he deserves
it, you know, and heshould be there and you hope that he

(01:29):
gets there one day. And youknow, it's one of those things too
where look, you know what,Jamal probably used it as as fuel,
but low key, it's like,all right, won the championship, Like
and I'm playing great this season.What more do you want from me?
You know, just it's not fairI have to ask you about that,
because yeah, I mean, theNuggets won a championship and has been it

(01:51):
was a couple of years since thefranchise and have been in this particular position.
But if you are Jamal, it'sgot to mean a little more to
you other than just say, hey, I got a title, but in
an All Star game, even eventhough we know that in this All Star
Game it may not really count,like we're talking and talking about baseball,
but it has to mean something tohim, knowing as though, hey,

(02:14):
this is how the voters voted andyou're still not viewed in that particular All
Star fashion. Oh. Absolutely.And Jamal is one of those guys that
carries a whole lot of chips onhis shoulder. I mean that's how he's
built. That is definitely gonna tickhim off. There's no no reason that
well, no reason that it shouldn'the should be mad about it because when
you look at the Nuggets, youknow, look at what he was out.

(02:37):
You know for those playoff runs.This team couldn't win a championship without
Jamal Murray. Obviously Jokic as thisgoes, you know, this team goes
as goes, But when Jamal wasout with the knee injury, this team
couldn't get far in the playoffs.I mean, this team does not do
what they do without Jamal Murray.He's a championship caliber players, absolutely an

(03:00):
All Star And it does make youfeel like, well, what more can
I do? Right because and atthe end of the day, big picture,
yeah, winning championships is a wholelot more important. But it's frustrating.
You know, it's gonna be frustratingfor him too, knowing that it's
out of your control and it's justunfair and you mentioned that the West is

(03:21):
loaded here. I mean the otherreserves are Paul George, Devin Booker,
Steph Curry, Kawhi Leonard. Imean, these are like established names in
the league that it's just tough tocrack into that list, and then once
you do, then you sort oftend to start to make it year after
year after year. Oh right,and some of it, you know,

(03:42):
there's always a fan voting part two, so there's always a little bit of
a popularity contest. And you know, again I knock on any of those
guys, but no, those guysare defending champions. Yeah, that's true.
And there have been nights this seasonwhere Jamal Murray has just been I
mean, unbelievable. I think ina lot of ways, he's a heart
and soul of the Steam and peopleknow that. And that's why I think
people in Nuggets Nation get really upsetbecause they know Jamal brings so much more,

(04:06):
even than just his play to thecourt. I know, I said,
you know, this team goes asJokic goes, but Michael Malone's say
it all the time, like JamalMurray is the heart and soul of this
team. You know that there's thingsmore than even just his play that they
come an All Star. But peopleoutside the market who don't watch, well,
they don't care about that. Now, Romie. Last night the Nuggets
faced off against the Thunder, noNicola Jokich, But it seems whether Nicola

(04:31):
Jokic is in a game or he'sout of the game. But when they
when the Nuggets face this Thunder team, it's like no fear with these young
guns. And do you think ofall the teams in the West that we
can say, well, the Nuggetsmay need to worry about, may not
be the Clippers. Is it theOKC Thunder? You hit the nail on
the head. They are just fearlessand they play with so much confidence for

(04:56):
such a young team. They playyou hard every single night. I mean,
they are a fun, fun teamto watch. I still think when
it comes to playoffs, though,and you look at any seven game series,
I still feel competent in the Nuggetsbeating anyone in a seven game series.
I don't see OKAYC beating them seventimes. That being said, they
are three and one this season overthe Nuggets. But I think it's a

(05:17):
lot of experience comes into play inthe postseason. A lot of other factors,
but yeah, this is a dangerousteam, and you know Sga is
a dangerous player. The Douggets havetrouble guarding him. He's just such a
dynamic player. He's theother one ofthe teams you have to worry about,
but the Timberwolves or a team thatthe Nuggets really have to worry about,

(05:38):
even though the Nuggets always are alwaysget the better of the Timberwolves. I
do also again think the Nuggets couldbeat them in a seven game series,
but I think that's the Timberwolves.Okay. See, they all make for
tough competitions. The West is alittle bit tougher this year than it was
last year. To me, itjust felt like last year all the competition
was in the East. I justcouldn't see anyone remotely close to beating the

(06:00):
Nuggets. There's also a lot oftalk about the Clippers. I think the
road through the West is a lottougher this year than it was last year.
And look, if I didn't wantthe Nuggets to win, I totally
be pulling for Okac because what afun young team. But I think experience
will take over when it matters mostwith the Nuggets in the playoffs. Yeah,
SGA has really elevated into that allstar type of player. And it's

(06:20):
fun to see guys do that.And you mentioned it, Romi. There
the top of the West right nowreally crowded, a tight bunch there with
Minnesota, Ok, see the Clippersand the Nuggets. The Nuggets are nineteen
and four at home this season.How big of a deal do you think
getting home court advantage in the playoffsis going to be because of course that

(06:43):
was huge last year for that run. Well, I think that it is
huge. And this gosh Ballerina inthe playoffs was absolutely insane. And then
of course the project of being achampion. I think they've have like twenty
three straight sellouts. I mean,you know, all seasons. So the
energy is there. It's the realdeal. The players will say all the
time it makes a difference, andit absolutely does. And I think one

(07:06):
thing that the Nuggets do that thishas bothered us with the Broncos forever,
is the Nuggets take advantage of thealtitude, which I feel like Broncos teams
have not in recent years. Right, they come out hot, they try
and run these guys off the court, run them out early play a really
fast ball game. They know thatthey can use it to their advantage.
Mike Mullen is very open about that, and I think it's huge, and

(07:28):
so that is a big piece wherethey know that that's something that you can
utilize in Denver, along with thecrowd and everything else. So it does
feel like with the West being alittle tighter, I think, yeah,
extra home games do matter at thispoint, but I also believe the Nuggets
feel they can meet anybody anywhere.But I love how they play at home.
I love how they take advantage ofthe altitude and the crowd's insane,

(07:49):
So you certainly would want it,especially when the West looks tighter. So
once again known nikolea. Jokis.But we did see coach Malone roll out
the other night against Casey with somewhatof a smaller lineup, And with that
rollout, we saw twenty one minutesfrom Peyton Watson. How impressed have you
been with Peyton Watson thus far?Oh? I love it. Peyton Watson

(08:13):
is so dynamic, especially defensively,and I think he continues to prove to
Michael Malone that he can be adynamic defender down the stretch and in the
playoffs, and you've seen him onsome of these guys even throughout the season,
right on kd On Giannis, hecontinues to make big, really big
plays. He uses that wingspan.He is long, and he is strong,

(08:35):
and he's i think most dynamic onthe defensive side of the ball,
and he can come up with somehuge plays. You know, you almost
look at last year, Christian Brownis kind of the kind of the darling
of the bench. I feel likePeyton Watson could be that guy this year.
He just makes so many dynamic defensiveplays. He plays really hard plays,
really tough. I think, andlook, Michael Maloll loves defense.

(08:56):
That is how you win that man'sheart. But I also think when you
look at him offensively, you know, the knock on Peyton last year was
that he was just a little recklesswith the shots. You know, he
was young and crazy and kind ofdoing whatever he wants. Even there,
you can see he's taken more care. He passes it when it's not coming
to him. So you've seen hisgame grow and grow at a really fast

(09:18):
rate. But I think just defensively, Daton Lauson shows that he can be
a really really dynamic defender. BeI think a huge piece of this team
defensively in the postseason run. Talkingabout snubs, I mean he got snuffed
from that Rising Star game coming upAll Star weekend too, So no love
for the defending champs here in theNBA. I guess one thing I wanted

(09:41):
to ask you about romy You know, Joel embi did not play against the
Nuggets here in Denver yet again.The seventy six ers got fined for that.
And one of the things that Nickand I are going to talk about
coming up here in a little bitis this sixty five game threshold to be
considered for some of the postseason awards. Joel Embiid did hurt his knee and

(10:05):
now he's going to be sort ofon that line where he might not be
eligible. What do you think aboutthis role that the NBA has put into
place. I like it. TheNBA had a massive problem with load management,
with players not playing, and they'reat the point where they have had
to do something about it. Imean, it has gotten so out of
hand resting guys for such long periodsof the season, and you know,

(10:28):
you can prefer to guys that youwant. I saw something the other day
that Michael Jordan, I don't evenknow, like you know, all the
eighty game seasons he's pay you lookat Kobe Bryan. I know I sound
like the old man, get offmy lawns. But the one thing you
know, Kobe always said, rightwas he never tried to never miss a
game because he knew that person sittingup in that very top corner seat maybe

(10:48):
spent all the free money that theyhad that month to come see him,
and he wanted to make sure hecould see them. I think it's important.
There's a huge problem in the NBAwith star players sitting out way too
much, and I think it's justcome to a point where they got to
do something, and then it becomesunfortunate when you have a situation like this
Joelle. Yeah, he did actuallyhurt his knee, but you know what,

(11:09):
earlier in the season, maybe youshouldn't have blowed managed. I know,
eighty two games a lot, butthere's guys Nicola Jokich's this twenty five
games going back to the twenty eighteenseason. So everybody, you know,
if you're hurt, yeah, don'tplay. But as they say in some
of the other leagues, right,or you hurt or you're injured. So
I think that I'm all on boardwith it because I think that the NBA

(11:31):
has to fix that problem and they'redoing what they can too well. Romie.
When you look at the AFC Westand over the past couple of weeks,
things have gotten really intriguing. TheBroncos add Cody Rager to the front
office, Pete Hartmichael is now onas an offensive assistant. But looking at
other teams, you think about whatthe introduction of Jim Harbaugh today and then

(11:56):
the news breaking that Antonio Peers decidedto Cliff Kingsbury to his offense as his
new officeer coordinator. How do youthink those hires make the AFCs that much
more intriguing? Do you know what'sthe funny guys? My answer is I
do think it makes it intriguing.But I feel like every year, not
just us, like nationally, everyone'slike the AFCUS man right, a couple

(12:18):
of years ago, Oh man,I'm looking at all the quarterbacks in the
af US and now it's like,look at all the coaches in the AFCU
wes Like every year it's got thepotential. Everybody's talking about it, you
know, being about this crazy vauntaedivision and then it has just been the
Chiefs and the rest hanging out.So I am hoping that this year it

(12:39):
actually lives up to the off seasonhype, because there's been quite a few
off seasons where there's been the hype, right, and it hasn't been there.
However, Jim Harbaugh, I meanit is huge. Jim Harbaugh's one
everywhere he's gone, you know,and he's a proven winner. Players buy
in. It feels like if there'sone guy that can stop the Chargers from
chargering, it's Jim Harbaugh and it'sin huge and obviously what is he going

(13:01):
to be able to get out ofJustin Herbert and Antonio Pierce is the right
man for that job. I mean, Mark Davis would have just been such
a jump if he had gone outand gone somewhere else. Those players,
I think, you guys can justtest this. I've never seen players play
for an interim the way they playedfor him. I mean, he knows
how to galvanize the team and nowbring it in a guy like Cliff it

(13:22):
does. It just makes the AFCWES once again one of the most interesting
divisions. And you know what,I hope it is because this Chiefs run.
I mean, I respect it,but it's crazy right for Super Bowl
in five years And part of thatnot to take away from anything they've done
right, but I mean they've justrolled over this division year after year after

(13:43):
year. It would be great theother three teams could really shore up and
make it, make it so it'sa it's a dogfight all the way down
the stretch. I think that'd bebetter for the NFL as well, and
it'd be a lot better for us, to be honest today, During his
intro press or, Jim huh saidthat during the transition period he's interested in
living in an RV near the facilityRummy. He says he wants to live

(14:07):
and he kind of looked at hiswife and was like, Hey, are
you gonna Are you on board withthis? What do you think living in
an r V? Football twenty fourto seven? Now, I feel like
it's cool when Gardner Minshew does it. I don't know if it's that cool
with Jim Harbaugh's doing it, likeGod bless his wife. Like you're a
grown man with a wife, Likeyou're gonna make your wife? Don't know?

(14:31):
A hotel right by there? Headcoach, have him build you a
shower in a bed in the facility. Can you know you can do whatever
you want? It's a little weirdabout it. Hold on, Rummy,
I'm gonna see. Let me seeif I can change your mind, because
I was trying to do it withPhil as well. I know, when
we think about r v's, wesometimes think about those crusted iron deficient stains

(14:56):
on the r V. But we'retalking about so Cow, We're talking about
Tenson Town. Have you seen someof those double decker rbs. Yeah,
but don't I just feel like he'strying to be like the la version of
Dan Campbell, Like this is likeI live in an RV. Yeah,

(15:18):
the four season he lives in avan down by the river. Yeah,
that's what Robby. The last thingI wanted to talk to you about.
Obviously you're close with coach Prime upthere and see a sad CU Boulder.
The schedule just came out for nextyear, some new teams on there with
with the Buffs moving to the Bigtwelve. What do you think about this

(15:41):
late coming up here this fall?Yeah? You know what. I actually
when they first made the move tothe Big twelve, I was like this
would be great. Big twelve iskind of a weaker football division than the
Pac twelve in my opinion. Ikind of said all those things, But
we don't know what she is goingto look like. Just looking at the
schedule, I think it's a schedule. I think there's, you know,
a high ceiling there, but therecould be a low floor depending on how

(16:04):
things go. I think that there'ssome pretty tough teams there all around.
There's gonna be some interesting trips too, Right, they go to Florida in
September. Now, I know there'sa lot of Florida boys on the team,
but if you look at the historyof the Broncos, for example,
tend to struggle in Florida and September, there's a lots of interesting dynamics like
that. You know, I've neverfared well against Texas Tech. I think

(16:26):
that. I think it's gonna begreat. I think that the Buffs just
fit so much better in the Bigtwelve, fits who they are so much
better. I'm excited about that.I think the interesting thing is we don't
know what this bus team is goingto be look like. We've obviously seen
the work they've done, and they'veshored up the trenches and a lot of
the spots that they need to Butwe're still kind of waiting on the defensive

(16:47):
coordinator, still waiting to see whatPat sure we're going to do, if
it'll be different this year. Weknow they've got the town skill positions,
but it's hard to say what thisteam's gonna look like until we see it
right on paper. Right now,it looks like they've brought in all these
guys. But I do think it'sgonna be you know, I think it's
gonna be a tough play. Ithink it's gonna be a tough season.

(17:07):
I love that we got Nebraska andTSU at the beginning of the year,
and you know what North Dakota that'sgonna give me. Yeah, that's nothing
to give me either. That's athat's a tough stretch to start the season.
So it's one of those things whereyou got to come out hot,
right you kind of because there's thatsecond half of the late after that second
by that looks like a really toughstretch. So they got to get some

(17:30):
some wins early on and exciting one. Well, romy thank you so much
for hopping on here. Always apleasure to talk with you and love the
inside. What a treat. Thanksfor having me, guys. Thanks,
Bean's appreciate it. That's romy Beanfrom CBS Colorado.