Denver, CO

The director of the animal shelter said other shelters have started closing their doors to some animals. Denver Animal Shelter is picking up some of the slack.

DENVER — More and more people are giving up their dogs and cats and the animals are nearly overwhelming Denver's safety net shelter -- in part because other shelters won't take them, the director of Denver Animal Protection said.

The number of dogs and cats surrendered by owners to the Denver Animal Shelter this year is more than double pre-pandemic levels, Melanie Sobel said. She said the increasing cost of food and vet bills are contributing factors.

"It's hard to find affordable housing, let alone housing that allows animals that's affordable," she said.

In other cases, she said dogs adopted during the pandemic didn't get enough socialization and now behave badly -- leading their owners to give them up.

"They're here asking for help and the last thing we want to do is turn them away," Sobel said.

However other shelters, she said, have started saying no more often. Aurora's municipal shelter, for example, won't take any more owner-surrendered dogs. Denver picks up some of the slack.

"We're doing everything we possibly can to diminish the euthanasia numbers," Sobel said. But she said the number of dogs and cats the Denver shelter has had to put down is up too -- nearly double the pre-pandemic levels as well.

"It's very hard. It's very hard on the staff too," she said.

To try to keep animals healthy, she said staff and volunteers bring them outside and socialize them. That helps sustain them in the shelter longer and makes them better candidates for adoption.

The shelter said people probably already know how to help -- they need financial donations, people to volunteer and people to adopt.

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The Denver Animal Shelter is also trying to get ahead of the next surge in pets by hiring a social worker to connect pet owners with resources before they get into a situation where they can't care for their animals.

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PHILADELPHIA -- Albert Okwuegbunam lived through the stress of a typical cutdown day for a player on the roster bubble, yet his fate was different than most. Okwuegbunam knew he wasn't going to be a member of the Denver Broncos, who were going to waive him prior to finalizing their initial 53-man roster.

There was a twist. Denver informed Okwuegbunam a trade to another team was possible. So the fourth-year tight end sat tight and waited before he found out he was going to the Philadelphia Eagles.

After three disappointing seasons in Denver, a trade to Philadelphia was what Okwuegbunam needed.

"It's a fresh start," Okwuegbunam said in his introduction to the media. "I'm really excited about the opportunity. I'm gonna come in here and work my butt off. I got a great support system here, great culture. Really I just look forward to being part of a great program.

"(I'm) just looking forward to coming in and adding to that -- in any way possible."

Okwuegbunam already made a strong impression with his new team, having his biggest game against the Eagles two seasons ago when he caught three passes for 77 yards -- including a 64-yarder early in the second quarter. The Eagles knew about Okwuegbunam for a bit, enamored with his 6-5, 258-pound frame that can provide a second option next to Dallas Goedert.

While he hasn't put every aspect of his game together, Okwuegbunam insists the fresh start is what he needed.

"I'm a really hard worker. I wanna win," Okwuegbunam said. "I strive to be the best tight end I can be, and that's effective in the run and pass game."

Okwuegbunam salvaged his career in what turned out to be his final game for the Broncos, catching seven passes for 109 yards and a touchdown in the final preseason game. Buried on the depth chart behind Greg Dulcich, Adam Trautman and Chris Manhertz, the writing was on the wall for Okwuegbunam.

Despite his future in Denver on the cusp of extinction, he was still auditioning for 31 other teams.

"Going into that game, it was just a really big game from me," Okwuegbunam said. "Just the position I was in in Denver, just trying to prove myself going into the fourth year with them. I went out there and had a big game -- and I was really proud of myself for that.

"That led to me being here (Philadelphia). This is a great opportunity and I was super excited about it when I found out I was coming here."

Okwuegbunam is back in a competition for playing time again, competing with Jack Stoll and Grant Calcaterra for the No. 2 tight end spot with the Eagles.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- In the big picture, defense has not been as much of an issue for the Denver Broncos as their offense during their current seven-season playoff drought. At least not for a team that hasn’t averaged more than 21 points a game since 2015.

But if there is anything that symbolizes the defense’s biggest migraine during that time, it would be covering tight ends. They are no strangers to Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce or former Las Vegas Raiders TE Darren Waller racing through the middle of the defense.

As Broncos general manager George Paton has often said, “It’s a space-and-cover league." One of defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s focal points this season is to find a way to lessen the damage tight ends like Kelce are doing in that space.

Joseph's new scheme comes with added responsibilities for linebackers such as rookie Drew Sanders and veteran edge rushers such as Randy Gregory.

“It’s a little different for sure,’’ Gregory said. “[Joseph] has got us dropping some [in pass coverage] and have been working on that, trying to get it right, but it’s a part of it.’’

An eight-time Pro Bowl selection like Kelce is certainly everybody’s problem. He's had nine career games with more than 130 yards receiving, with four of those games against the Broncos. Last season, Seattle Seahawks TE Will Dissly scored three touchdowns all season, one of those against the Broncos, while Los Angeles Rams TE Tyler Higbee scored three touchdowns all season, with two of those coming in the Christmas Day game against Denver.

"Got to get that down," outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper said. "... It's part of it, we're doing it more, at least so far, than we did last season."

It's been the Achilles' heel for a defense that has often finished among the league’s best red zone defenses -- No. 1 in 2019 and 2020, No. 3 in 2021 and No. 7 last season -- as well as among the top eight in total defense in five of the past eight seasons.

Sanders is an intriguing option for the Broncos. It’s a big ask to toss a rookie defender into that deep of a pool, but his height (6-foot-4⅜) and speed (4.66 seconds in the 40-yard dash at 235 pounds) make him physically one of the better TE matchup options the Broncos have had in recent seasons.

Offensive coordinators around the league agree the Broncos’ starting inside linebackers in their 3-4 look -- Josey Jewell and Alex Singleton -- are fierce tacklers at the point of attack who diagnose what's coming quickly. But isolating either one of them in coverage forces the Broncos’ hand defensively and can be a matchup problem down the field.

Sanders, an edge player and inside linebacker in college (Arkansas and Alabama), was quickly moved to inside linebacker with the Broncos when he arrived as a third-round pick in April. He was a unanimous All-American last season with the Razorbacks with 104 tackles to go with 9.5 sacks and six knocked-down passes.

“For a young player, there’s a learning curve and then the confidence starts happening,’’ coach Sean Payton said. “… He’s one of those guys that right before our eyes we're seeing gain confidence … He’s really athletic. It’s awfully important to him, so I’m encouraged."

Sanders flashed that playmaking in training camp as well as in preseason games. He dropped into coverage for a near interception in a joint practice with the Rams and just two days later made a similar drop in the preseason game against the Rams for an interception that he then returned for 31 yards.

He led the Broncos in tackles in the preseason with 12, and he was one of four inside linebackers -- with Jewell, Singleton and Justin Strnad -- to make the roster cut to 53 players.

“Just a talent, really smart, can really run," Joseph said. “We’ve not shown everything we’re going to do with him or everything in the defense, but I’ve said we’d have days he would make a play in practice nobody else could make. So, it’s about him learning, us teaching and getting him ready."

Sanders has tried to remain as under the radar off the field as possible. During the team’s rookie minicamp, Payton joked he would give a gift card to the rookie who gave the most boring interview and revealed the least. Sanders, he said, walked away with the P.F. Chang’s gift card after formulating "happy to be here" a variety of ways.

Later this summer, during another interview, Sanders was asked if he could win another one, and he said, “We’ll see how this goes."

“For him right now, it’s just time on task," Joseph said. “… Talent is obvious, and he works. So now we get to work."

You’d typically think the busiest time of year at a football stadium is football season.

Not so for Empower Field at Mile High over the past several months.

For all the commotion between a Nathaniel Hackett-led September win against Houston and a Jerry Rosburg-led early January win against the Los Angeles Chargers, that was all just a warmup for the frenetic offseason.

When the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group took over the franchise in August, one of the primary questions surrounding its purchase was the future of Empower Field.

The owners are still determining whether they want to build a new stadium to serve as the franchise’s home, one thing they knew for certain was that they wanted to update the current one. In late 2022, the club decided on $100-plus million in upgrades to serve as Empower Field’s second act after a 22-year opening run.

The challenge: Get it done in eight months.

“My challenge to them was that we haven’t touched the stadium in any meaningful way since it’s been built,” CEO Greg Penner said at the beginning of training camp. “When that last game ends, what can we get done before the next season starts? To get the renovations done — we’re not quite there yet, but we will be — to get $100 million worth of renovations done in that period of time is a really big deal.

“I’m very proud of the team and I think the fans will appreciate it.”

For an idea of the pressure and complexities associated with the project, president Damani Leech spoke right after Penner and maybe half-joked: “I was most excited, and I think you all heard it – I was in the back of the room – (that) Greg said things were going well.

“I think we can all quote him there on that.”

Almost immediately in January, the north end zone scoreboard started coming down. It’s been replaced by a video board that is 70% larger, including 30 feet taller.

“You’ve seen some of the images. If you’ve been to a concert, you’ve seen how big it is,” Leech said. “It’s impressive how massive it is.”

It’s the kind of thing that takes weeks to figure out how to program and deploy during games. The Broncos have new video boards in other parts of the stadium, too, which were a rush to get up and running before the biggest act on the planet in 2023, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, came through for two dates in July.

Yeah, another wrinkle to the project: Empower Field still hosted a full set of concerts. That meant putting proverbial lipstick on the construction site and hiding the jackhammers so people could enjoy Swift, George Strait, Ed Sheeran and others from a suite or from the furthest-out rows in the upper deck.

“It’s been quite a heavy lift,” Leech said. “Not just for myself, but (stadium manager) Jay Roberts, Zach Myhra (the Broncos senior director of facilities, construction and planning) and the folks at the stadium who are working incredibly hard. It’s been a sprint. … Two Taylor Swift concerts back-to-back was not easy to do. I think it is just a great credit to their work.”

Other structural changes include a bigger team store and the Breckenridge Bourbon Club, a premium field-level space that can be added on to a season-ticket package.

Owner Carrie Walton Penner told The Post this summer that the club is going to feature local artists, “to really highlight local art in the community.” she said.

Just like the decision to replace the Empower Field turf for one game only – the regular-season finale – the $100 million in upgrades are in some ways a placeholder. It’s improvement, but it’s not an endpoint.

“We’ve got the best fans and it goes far beyond Denver and Colorado,” Walton Penner said. “How do we continue to think about making sure the gameday experience is amazing? That’s been fun to see the plans that are in place for the coming season and how to really make that the best experience whether you’re in the stadium or watching from home.”

Which Denver restaurants, if any, will be getting a Michelin star when the tire/tourism company releases its first-ever Colorado guide? We still don't know — that information will be announced at an invite-only ceremony on September 12 at Mission Ballroom.

But in the meantime, Michelin just dropped the list of Colorado restaurants that have received the first Bib Gourmand designations in the state, and nearly all of them are in Denver. Bib Gourmand restaurants offer "a meal of good quality at a good value," according to Michelin. "The Bib Gourmand amount can fluctuate often due to economic situations in different places, so now we define it as a high-quality meal at a good value," explains Andrew Festa, who handles external communications for Michelin North America. "Generally, at Bib Gourmand restaurants in the U.S., one would be able to order two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for about $50 USD." And that's tax and gratuity not included.

While the Michelin Guide Colorado has been hotly anticipated since it was announced back in June, in their comments on the Westword Facebook page some diners shared that they found the Bib Gourmand list deflating. Says Christopher:

There are some solid restaurants here, but there are a lot of similar or better restaurants in Denver that are nowhere near good enough for a star. Are we just going to lower the bar for a star and call it "Denver good"? It's like restaurant purgatory between Bib Gourmand and a coveted star.

Adds Susan:

I agree with the Asian choices being good values, but not so sure about some of the others. Did a Michelin tire repairman make these restaurant choices?

Notes Michael:

AJ's Pit Bar-B-Q would go out of business if it were in KC or Austin. Can't believe people here think it's "good" BBQ.

Wonders Chris:

How many restaurants in Colorado are going to land a Michelin star? Six or eight? Ten, tops? It’s certainly nice recognition for the state’s restaurant scene, but this isn’t going to be a game changer for many restaurants at all. If it’s a game changer for any, in that the ones that may get a star are already at the top of their game and doing good business.

Responds Dexter:

My prediction is all 1-stars... maybe somebody will get promoted to 2-star next year.

Concludes Scott:

Michelin is an exclusive dinosaur club.

What do you think of the Bib Gourmand list? Post a comment or send a note to editorial@westword.com. And by the way, the name of the award doesn't refer to a napkin around some glutton's neck: "Bibendum," or "Bib" for short, is the name of the tire company's Michelin Man mascot.