• It turns out Rockies Fever may actually be the Black Plague. After losing a record 103 games last year and then spending the offseason promising that winning is its top priority, the team lost 16-1 in its Opening Day game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• The Denver Auditor’s Office is accusing local teen shelter Urban Peak of violating Denver wage laws when it apparently inadvertently paid workers building its new facility according to residential pay scales instead of commercial ones. Urban Peak says the difference could be as much as a couple of million dollars.
• A 72-year-old Denver Nuggets superfan named Vicki Ray has been banned indefinitely from Ball Arena for violating the NBA‘s Code of Conduct. Known for giving players and refs bags of candy, holiday cards and notes of encouragement, she reportedly crossed the line and hit a player and grabbed a ref.
• Former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel was unceremoniously dumped two days after her hiring as an analyst at NBC News. Staffers at the network revolted, citing her history of election denial, her role in former President Donald Trump‘s fake elector plot and her previous criticism of media as “fake news.”
• It has been a year since Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovitz was arrested by Russia, and his newspaper has commemorated the grim anniversary with a mostly blank front page today.
• The String Cheese Incident brought its traveling musical circus normally reserved for Red Rocks to Dillon’s new amphitheater last year, and organizers apparently weren’t down with that. They are not on this year’s schedule.
• The NCAA provided a waiver allowing women’s basketball teams playing in the Spokane, Wash., regional to stay in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, a city 30 miles from where the tournament was being played, due to a lack of hotel rooms in Spokane. If you’ve heard of Coeur d’Alene, it is a good bet it is in the context of the high number of Aryan Nation members who live there. So how did it turn out? As you would expect. The University of Utah team was forced to change hotels after being targeted by a group of white men screaming racial slurs at them and following them from a restaurant back to their original hotel.
• AI technology has allowed grifter marketers to take content primarily from videos on women’s social media profiles and deepfake them into ads or propoganda, and there is little the justice system can do. One deepfaked video showed “a Christian social media influencer who posts about travel, home decor and wedding planning — in her real bedroom, wearing her real clothes but describing a nonexistent partner with sexual health problems.”
• Colorado state legislators have been trying to change the composition of RTD‘s board of directors because they apparently have realized that electing board members to represent specific geographic districts – and those constituents’ interests – is a recipe for dysfunction. They are not wrong, but how is that different from how it works at the State Capitol?
• In a development everyone saw coming, Boeing CEO David Calhoun announced he will step down in the wake of a string of safety issues at the company. If you are concerned about Mr. Calhoun, fear not. Despite his alleged incompetence, he still stands to walk away with an exit package of about $24 million.
• Members of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team just seem intent on pissing off their fans (and now teammates). A month after star player Lindsey Horan apologized for saying that U.S. soccer fans just “aren’t smart” about the game, rising star Korbin Albert has apologized for social media posts that were anti-LGBTQ+.
• It’s been a bad week for law enforcement officers. Ones in Windsor and two in Denver were arrested this week on harassment and domestic violence charges.
• Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs is the TMZ gift that keeps on giving. Not only did he generate days worth of coverage from the federal raids on his residences seeking evidence in a human trafficking ring, but a corresponding lawsuit dropped A-List names such as Jennifer Lopez and Prince Harry.

Who won the week?

• Doyle Albee and his firm Comprise have acquired VisiTech PR. The move extends Comprise’s “expertise in technology for the global media and entertainment, telecom, cable, wireless, satellite, security and information technology industries.”
• Andrew Hudson, who may have contributed to more Denverites getting jobs than anyone in history, will speak on Strategic Career Development at PRSA Colorado‘s April event. Register here.
• Denverite editor Obed Manuel is joining NPR’s Morning Edition in Washington, D.C.
• Former Denver Broncos trainer Steve “Greek” Antonopulos is now part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Award of Excellence, which recognizes the contributions of non-players to the the game.
• Rumors are that the Colorado Rockies are close to an over-the-air agreement that would see some of its games aired free on a station such as Channel 20. If true, they should announce it quickly – they will likely be eliminated from playoff contention in another month or two.

• Nearly 450,000 metallic Starbucks-branded holiday mugs have been recalled because they can overheat or break when microwaved or filled with extremely hot liquid.
• Organizers of the annual Ruth Bader Ginsburg awards have cancelled their gala event after a fierce backlash from the late Supreme Court justice’s family for honoring Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch. I’m not sure what the criteria for the awards are, but also scheduled to receive them were actor Sylvester Stallone and felons Martha Stewart and Michael Milken.
• L.A. Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani said he is the victim of fraud by his interpreter who ran up millions of dollars in gambling debts and used Ohtani’s bank accounts to pay them off.
• DirecTV now offers a package that allows subscribers to cut their monthly price by opting out of local TV stations. That is not good for local TV news ratings.
• State Farm refuses to issue new policies in California due to continued costly disasters, and now the insurer has let 72,000 existing customers know their policies won’t be renewed. That should be concerning to all suburban and rural Coloradans.
• Prince Harry is gunning for News Corp.’s Rupert Murdoch, alleging that Murdoch was aware of illegal phone tapping that served as the basis of stories for some of the company’s British tabloids.
• Russia has added the “LGBT movement” to its list of terrorists and extremists.
• Elizabeth Hurley‘s 21-year-old son directed her in a new movie being billed as an “erotic thriller.”
• United Airlines and American Airlines led the industry in lost or late bags.
• March Madness started at 10 am MT on Thursday, and by 2 pm most people’s brackets were busted.
• Former Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson took a $3.5 million loss on the sale of his Cherry Hills mansion. Don’t worry – he can afford it. The Broncos are paying him about $38 million to not play for them this year.
• Bruce Springsteen returned to the stage, but fans noticed that he looked a little more like actress Tilda Swinton than himself.

Who won the week?

• Ryan Huff is the new Communications Director for Community Planning & Development at the City and County of Denver.
• Brad Bohlander has been named senior vice chancellor for university relations at the University of Denver.
• Texas-based gas station/convenience store Buc-ee’s opened a location in Johnstown and it has received breathless media coverage usually reserved for the likes of Casa Bonita or Meow Wolf. As Fox31 reported, “Aside from its fueling options, Buc-ee’s offers even more inside its convenience store. From a variety of snacks, meals and souvenir items, Buc-ee’s seemingly offers everything.” I smell a regional Emmy!
• Casa Bonita turns 50 this week.
• Actor Kevin Bacon will attend this year’s prom at the Utah school where his movie “Footloose” was filmed. That was the result of a years-long campaign by students at the school.

• To political progressives, it must feel like mommy and daddy are fighting. Former Colorado Public Radio host Vic Vela has lawyered up and accused CPR of “belittling and mocking his mental health concerns” related to his ongoing struggles with addiction. Meanwhile, CPR contends that Vela was fired because he “demonstrated behaviors that are not in alignment with the values, culture and environment we have at CPR.”
• The Monfort family announced plans to tear down the historic El Chapultepec jazz club. Historic Denver, however, has stepped up and will attempt to secure historic landmark status for the club that opened in 1933 after the fall of prohibition.
• Can someone move Denver’s official weather recording station back downtown from DIA? With as much snow as I have shoveled in the past two days, it is insulting that this storm will go down in history as having produced a few inches of snow.
• Have your car insurance rates increased significantly? It could be because of a secretive program GM has to sell customer driving information to data brokers who then share it with insurance companies. If you drive a Chevy, Buick, GMC or Cadillac, check your mailbox for information about what will no doubt be a class-action lawsuit.
• Two time Masters champion Bernard Langer will miss this year’s tournament due to a pickle ball injury.
• Jennifer Lopez has canceled seven of her concerts for this summer’s tour amid weak ticket sales.
• Norway may not be the quaint, idyllic country we see pictured every four years during the Winter Olympics. A women’s cross-country ski race resulted in about 130 fans who had to be treated for excessive alcohol use or injuries sustained in fights.
• The sports news website Deadspin is the latest media company to lay off journalists. The site was sold to a European digital media company and its entire staff was told they no longer have jobs.
• The city of Golden now has the metro area’s highest median rent at $1,900 per month.
• The L.A. Lakers have promised to fix several embarrasing misspellings on a statue of the late Kobe Bryant the team unveiled outside its arena.
• Princess Kate poured gasoline on rumors about her health following recent abominable surgery. A crudely edited photo of her with her children intended to calm suspicions that she was sicker than the Monarch let on actually amplified those questions. And now Piers Morgan is fanning the conspiracy flames.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins had thousands of Jaromir Jagr bobbleheads stolen en route from the manufacturer, forcing the team to cancel its giveaway promotion.
• A Minnesota state senator referred to a female Delta pilot as a “stewardess“ during a hearing.

Who won the week?

• Maverick Public Relations, headquartered in Denver, has added an office in New York City.
• Sean McNamara has been named the news director at Fox31/KWGN. He formerly was at the Fox affiliate in Kansas City.
• Fox31 investigative reporter Rob Low has been named communications director for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Karma would be if Brian Maass, David Migoya, Tony Kovaleski, Jeremy Jojola and Denver‘s other investigative reporters sink their teeth into a good CBI story in the coming months.
• Former Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning will serve as co-host of the Opening Ceremonies for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
• Give actor Ed Begley, Jr. credit. He walks the walk. Literally.