Benfred: Where Would Cardinals Be Without The Redbirds?

Ryan Feltner knew it the nanosecond that Jack Suwinski clobbered his hanging 2-2 curveball. He’d made a big mistake. The Rockies’ right-hander contorted on the mound in frustration while Suwinski watched his two-run homer soar 459 feet to right to stretch the Pirates’ lead to 4-1 in the seventh inning. Pittsburgh went on to win, 5-2, in front of a Friday night crowd of 31,717 at Coors Field. The Rockies have lost four straight in LoDo for the first time all season. “I thought all of my pitches were generally working,” Feltner said.

Buy your shares of Adam Beaudry stock before it’s too late. Like any 18-year old goalkeeper, Beaudry wants to be one of the best the U. S. has ever seen. Colorado Rapids goalkeepers coach Chris Sharpe, without an ounce of doubt on his face, said Beaudry’s on that path. In a similar vein, Sharpe said he’d be “absolutely stunned” if Beaudry doesn’t become the U.

INDIANAPOLIS — The U. S. Olympic swimming trials will make a splash on their grandest stage yet — a temporary pool inside the massive domed stadium that is home to the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. The powerhouse American team will be determined over the nine-day, prime-time competition, which starts Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium with the spotlight on Katie Ledecky and her quest for a fourth trip to the Summer Games. As usual, there are plenty of compelling storylines at a meet that many swimmers find more nerve-wracking than the actual Olympics.

If you’ve ever ridden a chairlift, you know it’s easy to drop things and perhaps never recover them. The folks who help clean up ski mountains once the snow melts do, too. On Tuesday, more than 200 Breckenridge Ski Resort employees traversed the mountain’s most popular peaks to clean up the remnants of winter before opening for summer recreation on Friday.

PINEHURST, N. C. — Colin Prater feels a little like Kevin Costner’s character in “Tin Cup” this week — a relative unknown who suddenly finds himself thrust onto one of golf’s biggest stages at the U. S. Open. It’s a movie Prater is quite familiar with, which is why he and his caddie staked out a spot at the far right end of the practice range — just in case things went completely awry. “It was funny we were joking before we got out here, like, we’re not going to the left side of the range just because we didn’t want that dreaded S-word to kick in,” Prater said with a laugh, referring to Costner’s character who developed a case of the shanks before his round.

In the days the Broncos have opened practice, rookie quarterback Bo Nix has rarely made a mistake. But during the final day of mandatory minicamp, the former Oregon standout’s pass during the 7-on-7 period proved costly. Nix attempted to throw to rookie wide receiver Troy Franklin, but cornerback Levi Wallace, who had provided tight coverage, tipped the ball before securing an interception. While Denver’s offense was inconsistent, the cornerbacks tried to state their case in a heated competition. During 11-on-11 in the red zone, Nix’s pass attempt to wide receiver Brandon Johnson was broken up by cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian.