07-09-2006, 11:39 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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FBF All Star Running Back!
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 637
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Practice Ends A Day Early
Was reading this and definetly thought it was something you all can enjoy.
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.ph...4&storyID=5739
Quote:
From the Field to the Lanes
Final Camp Practice Replaced By Bowling Outing
By Andrew Mason
DenverBroncos.com
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The way the Broncos defenders and offensive players exhorted themselves in huddles Saturday morning, one would have thought that the regular-season opener had been pushed up a couple of months.
They bellowed. They hollered. They bobbed up and down, the requisite movement of an energetic unit at the cusp of competition.
They were also about to go bowling.
"It's always going to be competitive," wide receiver Darius Watts said. "We've all got competitive minds and spirits. We'll be competitive all the time."
The Broncos called off their last minicamp practice Saturday morning, changing sport from football to bowling and venue from the rain-dampened fields at Dove Valley to Arapahoe Lanes. It marked the second consecutive year that the Broncos have called off their last offseason practice in favor of a team bowling excursion.
"We had a couple of good days and he gave us a bone (by letting us) do this," Watts said.
Although cleats and freshly-cut grass were abandoned for garish bowling shoes and shiny lanes, the players seemed as focused on excelling as they were during the two minicamp practices, which were conducted at a fairly spirited pace. Bragging rights -- and a large trophy -- were on the line.
The defense took the team title, which was decided by having the top 10 bowlers in each category of the club -- defense, offense and coaching staff -- bowl a frame apiece to comprise a game.
"Defense wins championships, and we just showed it to everybody on the team -- offense, coaching staff, upstairs management," said linebacker Keith Burns, who closed out the match by bowling two 10th-frame strikes and leveling nine pins on his third and final toss.
Celebratory mayhem ensued. Defensive coordinator Larry Coyer, watching from a few feet away, grinned and raised his styrofoam drink cup in salute to his charges. Locker-room bragging rights belonged to his side once again.
Watts bolstered the offense's cause by rolling three consecutive 10th-frame strikes, but the offense nevertheless fell three pins short (146-143), as safety Sam Brandon logged a ninth-frame strike that proved to be a difference-maker.
Some of the players had fairly impressive individual scores earlier in the morning. Jason Elam had the high game of all the Broncos, bowling a 215. Charlie Adams followed with a 212, while Marty Johnson notched a 201. Wide receiver Domenik Hixon had the high game among Broncos rookies, notching a 177.
Watts, meanwhile, took up bowling as an undergraduate at Marshall University, claims a 195 average and boasts of a personal high of 279. Such numbers were no shock to the boss.
"It doesn't surprise you," Head Coach Mike Shanahan said. "We've got a lot of great athletes and a couple of these guys are in bowling leagues, but it's kind of interesting to see Keith Burns throw two strikes in the tenth and Darius Watts throw three strikes.
"It gives you an idea what kind of competitors we've got."
Their fiery, feisty interaction wasn't limited to bowling, either. Several players -- including Jake Plummer, Bradlee Van Pelt, Jay Cutler, Tony Scheffler and Preston Parsons -- spent part of the morning huddled by a machine where each tried to maneuever a mechanical claw in order to snag a stuffed animal, an endeavor that proved worthy of peeks from Shanahan and assistant head coach Mike Heimerdinger.
The vision of well-to-do athletes roaring and gesturing over the opportunity to claim prizes that probably cost about 11 cents to assemble was an odd sight. But given their inherent competitiveness, even an activity such as that proved worthy of emotion.
This likely won't be the last bowling excursion of the year; the team typically gathers for an evening at the lanes during training camp. There, the coaches will try to wrest the trophy back from the defenders.
"We were complacent," Shanahan said of the coaches. "Last year we had 200, this year we had 111, so we need to practice a little bit."
Added Watts: "We've got one more chance to get that trophy and the offense is going to come out with it next time."
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Practice Ends A Day Early
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