61 MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | CONTENTS | SHOPPING & SERVICES | SPORTS & RECREATION | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | FOOD & DRINK | MUSIC & VENUES | Best Place to Watch Women’s Sports The 99ers Sports Bar 909 East Colfax Avenue 720-573-9581 the99erssportsbar.com As the saying goes, “Everyone watches women’s sports.” Now Denver has a place to do just that. Named as an homage to the country’s 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup-winning team, the 99ers Sports Bar on Colfax is Denver’s fi rst watering hole dedi- cated to women’s sports. Owned by a pair of fans who met playing fl ag football, the bar publishes a weekly schedule of which games will be on, and when. Combining the excellence on the bar’s many TVs with great vibes, beer and community makes the 99ers one of our favorite spots to grab a drink while watching a game. Best New Sports Uniform Broncos Throwback Jerseys denverbroncos.com/shop For the fi rst time since 1997, the Denver Broncos released a new set of uniforms for the 2024-25 season, including a throwback to the team’s 1977 jerseys. That year, the Broncos made a run all the way to the Su- per Bowl behind the famous Orange Crush defense. Although the team didn’t win the title that year, Broncos fans won big with these throwback jerseys. They’re crisp and original yet classic, with orange tops and stunning blue helmets that provide fresh takes on the team colors. The throwbacks are so popular that fans have clamored for them to be the team’s main jerseys — and while that doesn’t seem likely, we’ll still cel- ebrate every time they show up on the fi eld. Best Denver Athlete Nikola Jokic Denver isn’t light on studs in professional sports. The Broncos have the NFL Defen- sive Player of the Year in Pat Surtain II, the Avs employ a stable of hotshots in Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Devon Toews, and the city is loaded with UFC fi ghters who love training at elevation. But one pale super- star with arms covered in scratches stands above them all. It’s hard not to get used to Nikola Jokic’s steady greatness as he strolls his way to the NBA’s fi rst-ever 30-20-20 game or earnestly describes a 41-point, nine-re- bound performance as a bad game, but our big, dominant galoot is nothing if not himself. We expect ridiculous stat lines and champi- onship contention from Jokic like we expect the lights to turn on and the toilets to fl ush at home, mostly because it’s what he expects, too, despite the cool and calm approach. As long as our MVP gets to visit his family and horses back home, the Nugs can always count on being in the mix with Jokic. Seeing a gen- erational player recognize there’s more to life than basketball is refreshing, but we’re glad to know he’ll still grind your bones into dust to win. Never change, Nikola. Best Denver Sports Radio Station 92.5 FM Altitude Sports Radio altitudesportsradio.com Denver is a self-admitted Broncos-first town, but we still want to hear about other teams, especially as the Avalanche, Nuggets and University of Colorado football con- tinue winning big games and making post- season runs. The programming at Altitude Sports Radio has struck a fi ne balance of talking sports for those of us who know ball (and puck) while still sprinkling in enough offseason NFL content for casuals and com- muters. Whether it’s Moser, Lombardi and Kane talking Avalanche roster transactions during the morning drive or Nuggets-fi lled afternoons with Polumbus, Hastings and DMac (who’ve been known to buy lunch for listeners), the radio shows and podcasts from Altitude showcase Denver as the proud all-sports city we like to think this is. Best Kiss and Make Up Altitude and Comcast After a fi ve-year dispute between Comcast, Denver’s most popular cable TV provider, and Altitude TV, a television channel owned by the Kroenke family — owners of the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nug- gets, Colorado Mammoth, Colorado Rapids and Los Angeles Rams — the majority of Denver sports fans can fi nally watch their teams on TV again. By putting egos aside and bringing in fresh perspectives in execu- tive leadership, the two sides reached a deal to put Nuggets and Avs games back on TV. Let’s hope they did it in time for another championship run or two. ■
