Latest news with #MileHigh
Axios
22-07-2025
- Business
- Axios
Johnston's "dream" meets a $250M reckoning
Mayor Mike Johnston's second State of the City address Monday night brimmed with Mile High optimism — invoking the word "dream" a dozen times and pitching Denver as the "capital of the New West." Yes, but: What the mayor largely skipped in his 38-minute speech was the $250 million budget hole that's about to swallow City Hall — and potentially hundreds of jobs with it. He spent barely a minute on the deficit, pledging to "minimize impact" on city workers and core services while delivering a government that will "work better and cost less." The big picture: Two years into his first term, Johnston touted historic drops in street homelessness and violent crime, downtown revitalization efforts, and a newly overhauled building permitting process. Over the next two years, he's setting his sights on tackling long-term support services for unhoused residents, theft and public drug use, stagnant downtown office demand, and a housing market that's pricing teachers and nurses out. Reality check: How the mayor plans to accomplish his ambitious goals under such severe budget constraints and with staffing slashed is the elephant not just in the room — but squarely in his lap. Between the lines: Johnston also doubled down on plans to put an $800 million "Vibrant Denver" infrastructure bond on November's ballot — a tough sell in a city facing cuts. What's next: A formal budget-balancing plan is expected this fall, likely setting off tense negotiations in City Hall. Layoff announcements could start as soon as Aug. 2. The bottom line: Johnston is urging Denverites to rally around a common vision — but with a quarter-billion-dollar shortfall, it's hard to ignore the realities crowding out the hope.
The Irish Sun
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Lily Allen should be ashamed of her sick confession, her X-rated antics have nothing on this… yet I know who's to blame
SHE has confessed to having a Mile High romp with a married Liam Gallagher, sleeping with high-class female escorts, seeing her father take cocaine and headbutting Orlando Bloom at a Hollywood party. But Lily Allen's latest revelation is her most explosive, and to me, repulsive, yet. 5 Samantha Brick shares her thoughts on Lily's admission Credit: NEWSUK 5 Lily's attitude to abortions has been described as 'wildly feckless' by Sam Credit: Alamy Live News The Smile hit maker giggled away as And yet while her outburst was crass it's not Lily who is to blame for this wildly feckless attitude. Triggered is a word I loathe. But I have zero doubt that her blase brag will have been a knife in the heart to thousands of 'Childless Not By Choice' (CNBC) women - myself included. We're living in a world in which women like Listen, my motto in life is you do you. But we all have a dark side – psychiatrist Carl Jung called it the 'shadow' – that is honestly best left in the dark. Why oh why would an emotionally intelligent woman ever assume that such an abhorrent admission would ever be okay? When the likes of the Suffragettes were dying to give us the votes, when Gloria Steinem galvanised the feminist movement in the late 1960s was it really so a pop star could brainlessly joke about her irresponsible lifestyle? Women in my CNBC tribe - and there are more of us than you think - have spent years, not to mention thousands of pounds trying to end up with a baby. When we call time on our dream of motherhood, grief is a lifelong companion. 5 Lily confessing to her abortions during her most recent podcast episode Credit: YouTube / BBC Sounds 5 Co-host Miquita Oliver on their Miss Me? podcast also shared how many terminations she has had Credit: YouTube / BBC Sounds To dig the knife in further, Lily's 'Miss Me' co-host Recalling her first abortion, Oliver said: 'I was very excited! I felt like I was like a woman.' When Oliver, 41, confessed she didn't know if Allen had ever terminated a pregnancy, she began singing to the tune of Frank Sinatra's My Way: 'Abortions I've had a few... but then again... I can't remember exactly how many'. She continued: 'I can't remember. I think maybe like, I want to say four or five.' Oliver, who doesn't have children, responded: 'I've had about five too! Lily I've never… I'm so happy I can say that and you can say it and no one came to shoot us down, no judgement. We've had about the same amount of abortions.' I'm sorry, is this where we're at in 2025? Part of me feels desperately sorry for the pair of them. That neither of them can recognise that this isn't something cool to riff and praise each other on. But the other part of me wants to wring their bloody necks for such an utterly irresponsible approach to conception and pregnancy. Look, we don't live in the Victorian era. Sleep with whoever the heck you want, whenever the heck you want. Lily has admitted her sense of desire fluctuates - 'I go through horny and unhorny phases' - but contraception is available everywhere. Also, anyone with a brain knows how to keep track of their menstrual cycle. To be clear, I am not against abortion. I am pro-choice and firmly believe a woman's body is her own. I've been on the planet long enough to accompany girlfriends through such procedures. One friend terminated at eight weeks because she didn't want the 'inevitable gossiping' (her words) she thought she'd get walking down the aisle with a baby bump – no judgement from me. Another terminated her pregnancy on the advice of her doctors because the foetus was malformed. I had so much compassion for her. Then there are the dozens of friends who have agonised and wept over the decision because they weren't in the right relationship or it was a one-night stand. All reasons I support. But I'm also 54 and, over the decades, We should never ever normalise abortion or trivialise this act. It disgusts me that these women are trying to frame multiple abortions in society as a lifestyle choice, something so casual and everyday that it's akin to popping out for a coffee. An abortion is not a rite of passage. It is often a medical procedure that comes with health risks, too. And let's not forget our current political climate. They are handing the bonkers, yet growing, alt-right political movement a gift with their selfishly brazen attitude towards potential life. And boy are they rubbing such a revelation into the faces of women like me who weren't able to have children. Look, I'm no angel. Most women I know have had sex and not used protection - myself included - it happens! But that's what the morning after pill is for. I used it once at 17, after that I went on the pill. That's what grown-ups do. Help and support with an abortion In the UK, several organisations offer abortion services and support. You can access free NHS-funded abortion care or choose private options. Accessing Abortion Services: NHS Services: Abortion services in the UK are free on the NHS. Self-Referral: You can contact abortion providers directly to book an appointment. Referral from Healthcare Professionals: Your GP or a sexual health clinic can also refer you to an abortion service. Private Clinics: You can also choose to have an abortion at a private clinic. Important Information: Confidentiality: Staff at abortion clinics will not share your information with anyone, including your GP, without your permission, unless they believe you or someone else is at risk of harm. Counselling: If you're finding the decision difficult, counselling services are available to help you explore your options and feelings. Aftercare: Support is available after an abortion, including counselling and information about aftercare. And throughout my 20s and 30s I continued to use the pill. Yes, I know it isn't a right fit for many women. Thankfully there are a dazzling array of other contraceptive options which shouldn't include an abortion. When I tried to become a mum I was stable, settled and married in my late 30s. After trying for two years, we then turned to the fertility industry. So yes, I am writing this from the pain of that experience. Even though I closed the door on motherhood 11 years ago - the grief never entirely leaves you. I feel nothing but pity for both women brought up to assume that abortions are an acceptable lifestyle choice. Their mothers must be looking in the mirror and wondering where they went wrong. Because in this instance I actually blame their parents. We can all imagine how a conversation about birds and the bees would have gone with hell raiser and feckless father Keith Allen. And Oliver seems like a together woman – but honestly this is an epic failure on her part. 5 Lily Allen and daughters Marnie Rose Cooper and Ethel Cooper Credit: Getty Who knows what Yes I know the pair will honk on about men being responsible too. But that argument has nothing to do with these circs. If I was living in the UK and paying the license fee I'd be campaigning to get this podcast pulled off air. It has zero merit in a world where such views are so utterly and pointlessly cruel. All it has demonstrated is that two privileged, middle class, nepo baby women don't give a monkeys how their lifestyle choices and opinions land with others. I actually don't wish either women the global slagging they are inevitably going to get. But I'd put a very large bet on them both regretting this conversation in the future. And if they don't? Then they are even shallower and more unevolved than I thought they were.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
"Smoked them like a fresh pack of Newport shorts" - Perkins reacts to Thunder's blowout Game 7 win over the Nuggets
Twelve minutes before Sunday afternoon's Game 7 tipoff, ESPN's Kendrick Perkins made his pick for the Oklahoma City Thunder versus Denver Nuggets win-or-go-home game during the network's "NBA Countdown" show. The 2008 NBA champion not only picked the Thunder to win Game 7, but he also predicted that they would smoke the Nuggets. Advertisement "OKC is going to smoke then like a fresh pack of Newport shorts," said Big Perk. "They gonna smoke them today. Their arena is going to be fired up. Those guys are going to be ready. Their defense is gonna get on 'em like a pack of hyenas. I got Oklahoma City winning by double digits tonight." Spoken like Nostradamus, Perkins' pick was spot on. After the Thunder clinched the second seat in the 2025 Western Conference Finals, Perk immediately took to the former Twitter app to show that he not only guessed the winner but correctly foretold how they would emerge victorious. It was like the Clippers vs. Nuggets Game 7 in the previous round If you watched the Nuggets face the L.A. Clippers in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, Sunday's Game 7 had a similar plot, only that Denver was on the other side of the story this time around. The road team got off to a strong first quarter start, and then, when the adrenaline seemed to wear off, the home team picked up the slack and just dusted them off their homecourt in the next three quarters. Advertisement The Nuggets went up by as many as 10 points in the opening quarter, but a big Thunder run to close out the opening period had the home team down by just five points at 21-26 at the end of the first quarter. But behind 17 second-quarter points from Jalen Williams, OKC broke the game wide open with a 39-20 second quarter. They then scored the first nine points of the third quarter to put the "Mile High" squad away. "There's not many games, you wake up in the morning and you know that you're going to remember the game for the rest of your life, and Game 7 is one of them," Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said after the game. "To be able to focus through that and perform the way these guys did today was very impressive." Related: "Graduations don't win or lose games" - Vince Carter's mom hit back at critics who said his graduation was the reason the Raptors lost Game 7 to Philly in 2001 OKC versus Minnesota in the 2025 Western Conference Finals With Daigneault's Thunder passing their biggest test so far, they will now advance to the Western Conference Finals, where the No. 6-ranked Minnesota Timberwolves have been waiting for them. These two teams split their regular season series at 2-2, but it's worth noting that Minnesota forward Julius Randle, who has been the X-factor for the Wolves in the postseason, did not play in three of those games. Advertisement "Julius Randle is bringing the grit that they lacked last year in the playoffs," said Paul Pierce about Randle in the playoffs. "Man, he bringing the attitude 'cuz the young bull had the attitude. He needed the sidekick, a backup to fit. Like KAT was that for him, but it was just a kind of different type of…they both dogs, but this is different. I don't know if I had to compare them to, like a doberman and a pitt." Game 1 of the WCF will be on Tuesday night in OKC, with the home team favored to win by 7.5 points. The Thunder also opened as the heavy favorites to win the series, with an implied probability of 79.6 percent. But if Randle continues with his strong showing, it will be hard for OKC to smoke the Wolves like a pack of Newports. Related: Mark Daigneault reveals SGA's 'secret sauce': "I always marvel at his ability to get himself back to zero after every game"
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rockies Manager Put On Watch Amid Team's Awful Start
With the Major League Baseball season embarking through May, not much is working for the Colorado Rockies. They are approaching the 40-game mark, yet, are still able to count each of their victories on two hands. Notably, the Pittsburgh Pirates relieved Derek Shelton of his managerial duties on Thursday. The move signifies the first fired skipper of the 2025 campaign, but are more on the horizon? Advertisement Considering the Rockies' current six-game losing streak (and counting), one can't help but wonder if a change in brass is also upcoming in Denver. Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black (10) in the dugout at Coors Chenoy-Imagn Images That means all eyes at Coors Field will be on Bud Black as the Rox host the San Diego Padres (ironically, the only other MLB squad that Black has previously managed) for a three-game set. Colorado has already played one series with the Friars in 2025, wherein the Rockies failed to plate a single run. Transparently, a similar result in the Mile High this weekend would be quite detrimental to Black's — who is in his ninth year with the club, posting a total record of 543-688 (.441) — job security. Advertisement On Friday morning, Bleacher Report revealed its list of six managers who could be next on the chopping block, featuring Black at No. 4. Given the present state of the "Blake Street Bombers," I don't think you'll find anyone perplexed by that notion. Colorado has numerous prevalent issues, but as you might imagine, the pitching has been most cantankerous. Genuinely, it must irk Black's soul, as he spent 15 MLB seasons toeing the rubber, even winning the 1985 World Series with the Kansas City Royals. Per FanGraphs, Rockies pitching has permitted a 4.37 skill-interactive ERA, which lands them 27th in baseball. Colorado is also failing to strike out opposing batters, yielding an MLB-worst K-rate of only 17.3%. Advertisement Related: Calls Mount for Dodgers to Make Bold $17 Million Lineup Change Of course, trouble navigating a pitching staff has long been a challenge in Denver. Since inauguration in 1993, the Rox have had seven different managers—Black is just one-of-three skippers in team history who's pushed Colorado into the postseason. The Rockies (who have not won a contest since May 1) are facing the Padres on Friday night. The projected starters are Randy Vásquez and Antonio Senzatela; first pitch at Coors Field is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. ET.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Nikola Jokić has every right to demand a trade from Nuggets
Nikola Jokić should demand a trade. The 30-year-old has every right to want out of this Mile High mess. On Tuesday, the Kroenke family, which owns the Denver Nuggets, executed a panic move without historical precedent by firing Michael Malone three games before the postseason. No team has ever fired a winning coach this late in the season. But that's only half of it. The team also relieved general manager Calvin Booth of his duties as the top basketball decision-maker, indicating that they don't believe in either leading voice to run the show. Cleaning house in April, days before the playoffs? In a league of chaos, this is beyond the pale. Advertisement Imagine if this happened on a team with LeBron James. Or Stephen Curry. Or Kevin Durant. With any other all-time great, we'd be asking the question: How in the world can they be OK with all this? But with Nikola Jokić — who has famously shied away from publicly or privately throwing around his enormous political weight — we skip over that part of the news cycle. We assume that he'll be fine with it all. Frankly, it's an insult to Jokić. The Serbian has been cheated out of multiple championship runs by the Denver Nuggets. By his own admission, Jokić is at the peak of his powers, averaging 30 points, 12.8 rebounds, 10.2 assists this season. Three-time MVP, first-time triple-double average. The 10-year vet has been neck-and-neck with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the MVP race this season, but his best argument for the hardware is buttressed by how terrible his supporting cast is. When SGA has been off the floor, the Thunder have outscored opponents by 75 points across 1,199 minutes. When Jokić has been off the floor? The Nuggets have lost by a whopping 252 points in 1,366 minutes. When it comes to quantifying his supporting cast, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Advertisement Jokic's starless supporting cast I don't think people quite understand how bad the supporting cast has been around Jokić in Denver for his entire career. I'll put it another way. Do you know how many of Jokić's teammates have made the All-Star team while playing next to him? I'm not talking about Paul Millsap earning four All-Stars with Atlanta before joining the Nuggets on the downside of his career. I'm talking about All-Stars in a Nuggets jersey since Jokić joined the league in 2015-16. Want to take a guess? The answer is zero. Jokić has never played with an All-Star in his seven trips to the All-Star game or in any of his 10 years in the league for that matter. Advertisement You might be thinking that it's a technicality, that surely Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon, through all their slow starts, made an All-NBA team by season's end. Nope, no All-NBA appearances by a Jokić teammate either. Jokic hasn't had an All-Star or All-NBA team in his 10 years in the league. (Photo by) (Dustin Bradford via Getty Images) Fine, you might say. At least with an offensive savant like Jokić, you'd have the competency to pair him with multiple defensive stalwarts who were named to an All-Defensive team. The number of All-Defense members next to Jokić during his career? That answer is also zero. Not one. No All-Stars. No All-NBA members. No All-Defense awardees. It's been 10 years. A decade without a star teammate — even on the defensive side — has never happened for a player of Jokić's caliber. Not even close. By my book, it's probably the most underrated storyline in the NBA — how Jokić has been bereft of any star support throughout his career. Jokić stands alone — historically I looked up the 24 MVPs dating back to 1984 and found that Jokić is the only MVP winner (and he's won three) to have never played with an All-Star, All-NBA or All-Defense member in their first 10 seasons in the league. Advertisement You thought LeBron had it bad in Cleveland the first time? At least he had Zydrunas Ilgauskas (2005 All-Star), Mo Williams (2009 All-Star) and Anderson Varejao (2009-10 All-Defense). And that's only in six seasons. James' supporting cast through 10 seasons earned 12 All-League accolades. That's actually below average for an MVP. All-League Awards By Teammates, First 10 Seasons of MVP's Career A reasonable expectation for Denver at this point is to have surrounded Jokić with a supporting cast that has achieved 16 total All-League awards, or about 1.6 per season. That's the average for the 23 other MVPs in the study. Instead, the front office has failed to deliver him even one. Magic had 35 by now. Larry enjoyed 32. Steph 27. Tim Duncan, James Harden and Steve Nash all had 16 All-League awards by teammates at this point in their careers. That's par for the course. Advertisement Can you imagine how Jokić's legacy would change if he had even one star next to him all this time? Michael Jordan had Scottie. Karl Malone had Stockton. Kobe had Shaq. Jokić has … Jamal Murray, who has never finished higher than 10th in the West backcourt All-Star vote. I don't mean to be overly critical of Murray, Gordon and Michael Porter Jr., who are fine NBA starters and strong complementary players who have come up big in the playoffs, notably in the 2023 title run. But the facts are the facts. None of them — Murray, Gordon or Porter Jr. — have even received a single vote for All-NBA first, second or third teams in Jokić's tenure. Not named on a single ballot! That's how far away from star status they are. Even getting a player worth an honorable mention would be a dream for Jokić. The closest comp for Jokić's situation is Kevin Garnett, who went 12 seasons in Minnesota with a supporting cast wholly unfit for a player of his caliber. Garnett in Minnesota saw an All-League award for a teammate only four times. KG played in the 1997 All-Star Game with Tom Gugliotta, who had averaged 20.6 points and even got an MVP vote that season. Wally Szczerbiak (2002 All-Star) and Sam Cassell (2004 All-Star and Second Team All-NBA) also played with Garnett during his first 10 seasons in the league. Advertisement It took KG 12 seasons under Glen Taylor to realize that he needed to take control of his career and head to greener pastures. After his 12th season in the league, Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics where he became immortal next to Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo — commensurate talent for an all-time great like Garnett. The Kevin Garnett lesson Jokić and the Denver housecleaning reminds me of a conversation I had with Chris Bosh in 2016. I asked him what drove him to leave Toronto and join the Miami Heat with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, a triumvirate that won multiple titles. He said it was a private conversation he had with Garnett, who told him in 2010 that he wished he left Minnesota sooner and advised Bosh to take matters into his own hands. This is the same Garnett who told reporters after defeating James in Cleveland in the 2010 playoffs: "Loyalty is something that hurts you at times, because you can't get your youth back." James and Bosh took their talents to South Beach weeks later. It's a message that Jokić should heed. The greatest don't have to go it alone. LeBron didn't. Steph didn't. MJ didn't. Magic certainly didn't. Advertisement It's true that Garnett, James and Bosh hadn't won a title yet before they decided to leave town. The Nuggets ran the table in 2023 and may have bought themselves some credibility in Jokić's corner. But I would argue they won the title despite Jokić's supporting cast, not because of it. Remember it took a Herculean effort from Jokić to pull off that historic run the likes of which we have never seen. That year, he became the first player in NBA history to lead all postseason players in points, rebounds and assists. The Kroenkes can't continue to take Jokić's greatness for granted. In 2022, they lost front office exec Tim Connelly to Minnesota (coincidentally) and handed the keys to Calvin Booth, who has been notoriously inactive in his duties as Jokić's caretaker. Marc Stein pointed out in his Substack a shocking fact: Booth, in his three years, never made an in-season move. He also let key defenders Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown walk in the offseason. But hey, at least he signed Murray to a four-year, $208 million max contract that has yet to kick in. Advertisement Because of Jokić's introverted nature, it's hard to know how much direct influence he's had on the roster or how he truly feels about his supporting cast. What we do know is that the Nuggets' roster is heavily connected to his representation. His agent Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management has six other clients on the roster including Murray, Russell Westbrook, DeAndre Jordan, Vlatko Cancar, Dario Saric and Peyton Watson. By my research , it's the strongest team-agency alliance in the NBA in terms of player count, even outnumbering the CAA-aligned New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers' association with Klutch. (Maybe Schwartz could take over a la Leon Rose, who used to run CAA's NBA operation before taking over the Knicks' front office.) While I don't think Jokić will end up making a trade demand, he's absolutely within his right to do so. Could you blame him if he wanted to play with Luka Dončić and LeBron in LakerLand? A package headlined by Austin Reaves might not get it done, but it'd certainly get the ball rolling. I wonder if the Nuggets would be entertained by Alperen Şengün, whom I've called 'Baby Jokić' in the past. Houston's vicious defensive wings — Amen Thompson, Dillon Brooks and Tari Eason — would be ideal next to Jokić. Or what about pairing Jokić with SGA in Oklahoma City and creating a Denver homecoming for Jalen Williams? The truth is Jokić's greatness has masked the disaster of not surrounding him with commensurate talent. As evidenced by the complete and utter lack of starpower next to Jokić, an MVP's front office has never been more derelict in their duties than Denver's over the past decade. The Nuggets are lucky their 30-year-old superstar is not one to publicly grouse or exert his power. Frankly, they're lucky to even have him.
