Thanks to coronavirus, the Stock Show didnt happen and lawmakers wont go back into session until mid-February, making this blah time of the year seem even worse. Some odds and ends:

NFL playoffs

Even if I hadnt followed the NFL playoffs, I would have known the games were coming because I started getting recipe requests for my go-to game-day specialities: Scotcheroos, which my friends erroneously call K-Bars, and White Girl Enchiladas.

Watching the playoff games made me nostalgic for the Broncos in their heyday. I loved being assigned to cover the football parties and sampling the smorgasbord of goodies provided by the hosts and their guests. Denvers dailies were filled with mouth-watering recipes for game-day spreads, and grocery store inserts were packed with great prices for chicken wings and avocados.

I regularly brought containers of K-Bars to the state Capitol, where one of the biggest fans turned out to be lobbyist Ben Waters. He calls these souped-up Rice Krispie treats unicorn meat. For one of his birthdays I brought over two containers, one for the party and one for his addiction. When I told him I hid a batch in the freezer, he let out The Ben Waters scream.

As for the White Girl Enchiladas, I started making them when I worked at my first newspaper job, in Gallup, N.M., in the early 1980s. The natives laughed when they learned the enchiladas were made with the holy grail of Midwestern cooking, a can of Campbells Cream of Something soup. But more than one asked for the recipe.

A few years ago when the brand White Girl Salsa appeared, friends emailed me to say I should have trademarked the name of my recipe. When I make enchiladas back in South Dakota, some folks refer to them as a hotdish. I love that.

Dont tell Rep. Daneya Esgar, but I still use Hatch green chiles. She is the unofficial spokeswoman for Pueblo chiles and even has a tattoo to prove it. To make it up to her, Ill bring her a batch of K-Bars.

If you want the recipes for K-Bars and White Girl Enchiladas, you know where to find me: againlynn@gmail.com.

As for the playoffs, the first game on Jan. 24 was between Green Bay and Tampa Bay. I didnt really care who won, I just wanted a good game, which it was. The Buccaneers, led by Tom Brady, prevailed, which excited former U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner. He emailed me that Sunday to remind me that the Bucs general manager, Jason Licht, is also from Yuma.

I did have a favorite for the second game, the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Buffalo Bills. I was thrilled last year when KC won the Super Bowl, but unless its the Broncos playing back-to-back for the championship I want to give other teams a chance.

The Bills have lost four Super Bowls. So have the Vikings. So had the Broncos before Denver beat Green Bay in 1998.

I really wanted the Bills to win, although KC QB Patrick Mahomes (Is it just me or does last name sound like cajones?) was too much for the Bills. I would like to point out, however, that Buffalo has added its own contribution to game-day delights: Buffalo Hot Wings.

On game day, I was reciting the Broncos incredible road to their first Super Bowl win. Jacksonville at home, the Chiefs in Kansas City, the Steelers in Pittsburgh and then on to San Diego for the big game.

My sister Brigid looked at me in shock. How could you remember all that? she wondered.

How can anyone forget? The party I was assigned to cover had hired a caterer, and Denver won the game.

The drought

Speaking of the Broncos, the drought in Colorado is worsening every month.

That likely means another year of massive wildfires, plunging lake levels and dried up farmland in Colorado. Last year, fires tore through more than 625,000 acres.

Story after story in recent weeks have painted a doomsday scenario.

According to experts, the fiery hellscape that was Colorados 2020 fire season is just a preview of whats to come, 5280 Magazine reported.

Snowpack dwindles in Colorado as widespread drought continues, blared the headline in Colorado Politics.

Its hard to believe that just four years ago the snowfall in Crested Butte was so intense that drifts covered street signs.

That January I made a rare trip to the mountains to see my sister Susan and her husband, Bruce, who for a number of years would take a break from snow in Wisconsin to spend six weeks or so skiing in Crested Butte. Their condo complex was buried in snow and to leave by the front door you walked through a tunnel that had been shoveled from the building to the street.

A friend visiting around the same time was outraged to get a traffic ticket. How could he obey parking signs he couldnt read because they were covered in snow?

The only thing I dislike more than excessive snow is wildfires, so I am hoping something happens here in the next month or two.

Stock show

The National Western Stock Show, which was established in 1906, is held every January for 16 days unless, of course, there is a pandemic.

Its the premier livestock, rodeo and horse show in the nation, and photos of the Stock Show parade, with cattle running through downtown Denver streets, always dominate the front pages.

Except when the parade was canceled because of the risk of animal injury and injury to people is far too great with the 4 to 8 inches of snow predicted and six-degree temperatures.

That was in 2017, the same year snow hammered Crested Butte.

The cancellation of this years entire event resulted in a loss of more than $120 million in revenue, but organizers are hoping to come back next year bigger and better, Stock Show CEO Paul Andrews told Colorado Politics.

We love agriculture. We love rodeo. We love the horse show. We love livestock. So not being able to do what you love is heartbreaking. But we're also the world of agriculture, farmers, ranchers, frankly the toughest people on the planet, Andrews said.

And we won't be overcome by a virus.

Words to live by.

Some good news

Two things are making me smile: Ted Lasso and chlorine.

Ted Lasso is a wonderful show about an American football coach managing an elite British soccer team. Ted is, as one reviewer said, an eternal optimist with his heart unabashedly on his sleeve.

My hairdresser found solace in the show when her business was closed last year. When I googled the show, one headline read, Why Ted Lasso is so good.

One reason is because it makes you feel good.

As for chlorine, the indoor-pool in our condo is finally open after closing last March. My muscles ached the first week, but at last, a good hurt.

Originally posted here:

BARTELS | Fleeting thoughts amid the mid-winter doldrums - coloradopolitics.com

Bernie meme created by OCN

It all started so innocently:an unassuming tattoo parlor, Copperhead Tattoo Parlor, an inquisitive BBQrestaurant, Owlbear Barbecue, and a simple request for the Bernie meme.

Enter tattoo artist, Sam Kuhn. According to The Denver Channel, Kuhn printed off the viral Bernie meme for the Denver, Colorado, restaurant to post on their door, and a few hours later, James McFaulOwlbear Barbecue smoker, friend, and tattoo clientmade his way to Kuhn's chair and left later that day with Bernie on his body. On his leg, to be exact.

The Bernie meme made its debut on social media hours after the Inauguration on January 20, 2021, when a photo of Bernie Sanders socially distancedduring the event, sitting with hands crossedwiththose now-famous Vermont repurposed sweater mittens, caught the attention of America. Really,the world. Social media blew up with Bernie appearing in photos sitting on the bench with Forrest Gump, onthe couch with the Friends cast, and so many more skillfully photoshopped and clever images. Not to mention the overwhelm ofBernie merch!

As for the Bernie meme tattoo, we've not seen another of its kind ...yet. For the time being, it seems it's anoriginal, much like Bernie Sanders himself.

And so concludes the story of how BBQ, body art, and the "Bern" managed to put a smile on our faces. How about yours?

Did this tattoo make you smile? Let us know in the comments.

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Style 'The Bernie Meme' Is Forever Immortalized on a Denver Man's Body - ourcommunitynow.com

In the dreary days of winter in an offseason with little action I mean little action for the Rockies, not for ever-improving teams like the Padres or the Mets who landed Francisco Lindor on Thursday sometimes its fun to think about hypothetical scenarios down the road. Since the Rockies arent giving us many new additions to analyze, how about we look at the rumor of new uniforms coming to Colorado in 2022?

While not 100 percent confirmed in its authenticity, in a response email that appears to be legit from Rockies owner Dick Monfort to a fan, Monfort allegedly said, next year we will have a new uniform, according to SportsLogos.net. In addition, the email also says the Rockies are trying to work out a deal with Trevor Story while also complaining about agents, and praising Rockies analytic efforts to put players at different positions and experiment with different things from nutrition to how they do batting practice to better adapt to coming in and out of altitude, but those are topics for another day. Even if the email is not real, we can still imagine a future with a different Rockies uniform.

I, for one, love the Rockies unis because of their classic nature with the pinstripes and font. There have been subtle changes over the years, like moving from Rockies to Colorado on the front, adding vests, or shifting shades of purple, but no major changes. That being said, maybe its time to really change it up and rock something new. Far and away, my favorite part is that the Rockies are the only team in the MLB to have purple as a main color. Therefore, my vote is for more purple. That can be more purple on the uni or solid purple, or a purple hat, but lets maximize the purple. While were at it, some kind of mountain incorporation would be cool too. It doesnt need to be over the top, like Larry Walker wore so well (scroll down in this link to see), but maybe more mountains in the background, like Kyle Freelands forearm mountain tattoo (pictured nicely here), with the word Rockies in front. A new cap with something like that would be sweet. If I had any artistic or graphic design skills, I would try to design one, but right now this just lives in my imagination. If you could design a Rockies uniform, what would you do? Go wild in the comments.

Purple Row wrote a lot about uniforms in 2020, in large part because in April when there should have been baseball, there wasnt, so what else are you going to write about? Here is a great overview of the current uniforms from Renee Dechert. After the season, Dechert wrote about how the Rockies performed in each uniform and the results werent great because their record was 26-34. The Rockies went 12-11 in the white pinstripes, 12-13 in the gray away jerseys, 1-4 in the purple tops, and 1-6 in the black vests. Considering those numbers, why not try something new?

In terms of polling on desires for new uniforms, the Purple Row community was pretty divided with 36 percent saying no to a new look, and two groups of 32 percenters who said it was either time for a complete change in uniforms or at least time to add more options while keeping the current jerseys. If we say Monforts email is real, it isnt clear as to whether it will be a completely new look or just a new addition. Either way, it would probably cause some fans to buy one and drop more money into the teams coffers.

Its hard to imagine a uniform change, but it is exciting. It also seems fitting when you think about what the Rockies are worried most about right now, which is money. (We all wish it was winning, but its just not believable.) In 2019, Major League Baseball and Nike came to a deal to add the Nike swoosh to all MLB jerseys, netting $1 billion for the league, according to Forbes. That reportedly meant each team got $3 million. In addition to the revenue, league officials said the deal would bring in younger fans who follow the Nike brand. The jury is still out on that.

However, theres even more money to be made. In 2019, the Washington Post reported that advertising patches on MLB player uniforms were inevitable. The article also makes comparisons to the NBAs jerseys ads, which are worth anywhere from $5-20 million for teams each year. SportsLogos.net reported earlier this year that MLB owners want ads immediately and the moving marketing stamps could come as soon as 2021, but could be more likely for 2022, which happens to be when the Rockies might be unveiling a new look. Considering the Rockies were willing to cut David Dahl to save $2.6 million, its hard to imagine what company the Rockies wouldnt turn away for a few million. Images of patches that say Waste Management, symbolizing Jeff Bridichs track record for free agent deals or a sarcastic Draft Kings logo that appears to encourage betting, but could be mocking the current state of the farm system, comes to mind. Or maybe they would end up with uniforms that look like Girl Scout vests or punk rock jean jackets with various patches scattered all over. Its certainly feasible the Rockies would do anything to bring back some of the money they lost in 2020. Who knows what could happen.

So, lets do a different poll.

Colorado Rockies: An update on the minor league season for 2021 | Rox Pile

Noah Yingling, citing Baseball America, gives a very interesting update on how the 2021 season may roll out. According to MLB sources, spring training is still on as scheduled, but it will only be major leaguers and Triple-A players to limit sizes for pandemic safety. After that, Double-A and Single-A players will come in for their own spring training, resulting in their regular seasons being delayed. As Yingling points out, this is far from the worst news because whats most important is that full seasons are still scheduled for all levels, even if it means Single-A and Double-A will extend into October. Hopefully, this can be the plan.

Coors Field predates Wrigley? One part does | MLB.com

It still blows my mind that Coors Field is the third oldest baseball stadium in the National League, but Thomas Harding takes this one step further in pointing out some very old history of brick building the Rockies call home. Not only is the corner of 22nd Avenue and Blake Street cool because its the home of a microbrewery that birthed Blue Moon, but also because the building was constructed in 1912 and then incorporated into the construction of the stadium before it opened in 1995. This fun trivia fact makes me miss sitting in Sandlot Brewery and Coors Field even more than I did before.

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Colorado Rockies news: Are new Rockies uniforms on the horizon? - Purple Row

Five Finger Death Punch vocalist Ivan Moody has been very public about his ongoing battle against addiction (including getting a head tattoo), and is looking to turn what he's learned into a benefit for other. Moody has announced via Instagram he plans on transforming both his Las Vegas and Colorado homes into recovery homes for men and woman between the ages of 18 and 40.

Moody notes that overdose and suicide rates are only going up, and he wants to help.

"I'm going to take my Vegas home and I'm going to do my best to turn it into a possible home for young women fighting in recovery, probably from the ages of about 18 to 40 depending. I'm not going to get into too many details but that is one. The second part of that is I am also going to do the same thing back in Colorado except for young men. Same age group," he said.

"It's one thing to go to meetings and it's another thing to be active and give back because that is what recovery is all about. It's giving to someone else in place of the ones who gave to me."

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FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH Vocalist to Turn His Two Homes Into Recovery Houses - Metal Injection