Usa Today Sports' Super Bowl Lii Picks

SAN DIEGO — Walks haunt, and late-game walks haunt absolutely. Usually. The Rockies’ 5-4 win over the Padres on Monday night at Petco Park was the exception. They pulled off the victory despite issuing 11 walks, only the third win in franchise history when they walked 11 or more. It also happened on May 12, 1995, at Florida and on June 5, 1999, vs.

How do you forgive a brother who won’t stop breaking your heart? “Can they trust him?” ESPN analyst and former NHL goalie Kevin Weekes replied when I asked about Valeri Nichushkin, the Avalanche’s prodigal son. “Only he can answer that. Hopefully, they can.” Hopefully. The Avs are in trouble deep without him, limping into Game 5 of their best-of-seven playoff series with the Dallas Stars on Wednesday on a three-game losing skid while staring at a 3-1 hole. Nichushkin, Colorado’s mercurial winger, was suspended by the NHL for six months for violating Stage 2 of the Player Assistance Program before Game 4 at Ball Arena.

The morning after his team’s quest for a second championship was potentially derailed by stunning pregame news and a substandard Game 4 performance, Nathan MacKinnon did the one thing he knows best. He went to work. MacKinnon was one of a few regulars on the ice Tuesday for a Colorado Avalanche optional practice.

Broncos fans can buy single-game tickets shortly after finding out who the team plays and when. The NFL is set to announce its entire schedule at 6 p.m. Wednesday and the Broncos will be putting a limited number of single-game tickets up for sale shortly thereafter via Ticketmaster. Denver is making full-price tickets, starting at $37 and limited to four per household, available, the club said in a Tuesday news release.

It’s the Holiday season in Denver. The Nuggets’ second-round playoff series has been characterized by a wrinkle in Michael Malone’s rotation: increased bench minutes for 35-year-old Justin Holiday, who was in and out of the lineup throughout the season. Holiday, who signed a one-year deal with Denver at the veteran minimum last July, was a DNPCD (did not play; coach’s decision) 24 times during the regular season.

Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert was fined $75,000 for making a money gesture with his hands during Game 4 of Minnesota’s playoff series against the Nuggets, the NBA announced Tuesday morning. The league determined that Gobert made an “inappropriate and unprofessional gesture that questions the integrity of the league and its game officials,” according to a news release.