Denver BRONCO'S -- Official Thread (dark horse, draft, preseason, cheerleader) - - Page 298 - City-Data Forum

Josseppie · 07-17-2012, 12:40 PM

Double H send me a message asking about Rick Upchurch and his medical condition. I thought I would post it here since I read the articles about it and would be easier for me to find.

This is the first one from the Chieftain:

Former Puebloan and Broncos wide receiver Rick Upchurch is back in town and hopes to see old friends and make new ones Sunday at a fundraiser aimed at helping him pay for life-saving medication. Upchurch, who returned to his native Cape Coral, Fla., in 2006, has a form of leukemia that cannot be treated with a bone-marrow transplant but is being controlled with chemotherapy that costs about $10,000 a month, according to friends who are hosting Sunday's event.

The link: Rick Upchurch returns to Pueblo for fundraiser - Pueblo Chieftain: Local News

The second:

During the 1970s and the early 1980s, many considered Rick Upchurch the best punt returner in the NFL. When he was in college, people said he was too small to play at the next level, but through it all, he battled to prove them wrong. Now he finds himself in an even tougher battle. The former Puebloan and Denver Broncos wide receiver was diagnosed in October with a form of leukemia that cannot be treated with a bone-marrow transplant but is being controlled with chemotherapy that costs about $10,000 a month. Upchurch, who returned to his native Cape Coral, Fla., in 2006, was back in town Sunday for a fundraiser at Angelo's Pizza Parlor on the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo.

The link: Former Bronco Rick Upchurch embraced warmly by Puebloans - Pueblo Chieftain: Local News

My thoughts are with him and his family and I hope everything turns out good.

DOUBLE H · 07-17-2012, 03:13 PM

I ran into this article earlier this morning just by chance. I am just stunned by this news. It was just a year or so ago that Rick came over to my side of the state for a Bronco alumni event.

I had met him on several other occasions. He was always good in regarding signing autographs for the kids-always! In fact he done a motivational function at the local fitness center here where I live-was a great speaker! He and his wife lived out in Pueblo West; in fact his wife was running a successful home business dealing in z-coil shoes. During that time Rick was active in the Pueblo community, for a time he had a sports call in show on KCSJ in Pueblo. And also got involved in coaching the kids, was head coach at Pueblo East High School earlier this decade.

I am just floored by this news. Equally stunning is when I cruised through the web and did not see anything on him in the Denver Post as this was reported in the Chieftain on the 2nd of this month. But I'll keep trying.

Joss, thanks for posting those links.

WyoNewk · 07-18-2012, 10:05 PM

I'm sorry to hear about the struggles of Rick Upchurch. He was a wonderful Bronco -- good on the field and off. As I recall, he used to make an annual 700 mile round trip trek to my home town, Gillette, WY, with a handful of other Broncos to play a charity basketball game against our local high school team. I hope he does well with this latest struggle.

iknowftbll · 08-03-2012, 07:30 AM

Anyone care to take a stab at the Broncos record this year? I posted a link (post #2959 of this thread) to my game by game predictions I made on a sports-only forum. There I predicted a finish of 11-5. I don't see the team being much worse than 10-6. Still, it's a tough schedule and in the NFL there is always some team that comes out of nowhere and surprises a few people.

DOUBLE H · 08-03-2012, 08:50 AM

I'm going to go with 10-6. I've yet to look at some of the preseason football magazines (Athlon, Lindy's, Pro Football Weekly, Sporting News, etc.) I can't remember the last time any of those guys got the correct picks, but it makes for good reading anyway. My own personal favorite is Pro Football Weekly.

The local sport talk duo in my area has one guy at 9-7, the other at 10-6. Agreed, it IS a tough schedule. Denver doesn't play a team with a losing record until Carolina (week 10, I believe.) I haven't heard any predictions out of the guys on 102.3 "The Ticket" or 104.3 "The Fan".

Right now I'm taking a look at the O-line. Denver should have gotten the deal done with the contract extension with Ryan Clady. And the coaching staff is watching Chris Kuper's progress carefully. That was one nasty injury he suffered in that final game with K.C. Am hoping he'll be able to start this season, but I'm thinking it will be at the halfway point of the season. We'll see.

Orangeish · 08-03-2012, 10:28 AM

I think Denver would be one of the harder teams for me to project, because I really don't know what to expect out of Manning. But he has earned the benefit of the doubt, and I think he will get them to a hard fought 9-7. Maybe a slow start, then a strong finish or something like that.

Really, I don't know what to expect out of that entire division. It will be an interesting year out west.

DOUBLE H · 08-03-2012, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iknowftbll

I'm willing to wait and see where this plays out. This could have a tremendous impact on the defense this year. If he is suspended, those games are likely going to be the first 4-6 or so. That part of the schedule is ugly, and the Broncos are going to need everything they have to get through it. This certainly does not help.

Fast forward a couple weeks. Unless I've missed something, this issue is still sitting in Goodell's lap. The longer this goes on without any comment from the Grand Poobah, the more I'm scratching my head. Dumervil had a great year last year, and the Broncos can ill afford to lose him.

skins_fan82 · 08-04-2012, 08:20 AM

ANybody going to the scrimmage today? I've already got a pint of cognac and i'm looking to get wasted and scream with some fellow Broncos fans!

(Yes, I'm a skins fan. but i live in denver now, and i've adopted denver as my 2nd team)

iknowftbll · 08-04-2012, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DOUBLE H

Fast forward a couple weeks. Unless I've missed something, this issue is still sitting in Goodell's lap. The longer this goes on without any comment from the Grand Poobah, the more I'm scratching my head. Dumervil had a great year last year, and the Broncos can ill afford to lose him.

So true. It's a little unsettling that we have seen or heard nothing of this. If they are going to charge him, then do it so we can move forward. Sitting around and waiting for the info is driving me crazy. Either way, I would expect Doom to face a suspension. Between that and DJ, our defense is definitely going to suffer. But hopefully the offense will be able to do enough to overcome these setbacks early in the season.

bluescreen73 · 08-06-2012, 10:42 PM

Really? Keith Brooking? Was Randy Gradishar too busy to make a comeback? Brooking's a stand-up guy but he fell off a cliff the last couple seasons in Dallas. Hopefully they signed him to mentor our linebacking corps because if he's on the field full-time we're screwed.