Stefan Marenco

General assignment reporter

Breaking news and statewide spot assignments

Stories by Stefan Marenco

Colorado's Goc Malual (8) finishes at the rim over North Texas defender Cole Franklin (10) during Sunday's Mile High Hoops Classic exhibition at the Auraria Event Center in Denver, with Alex Dickeson (1) in the foreground.

Front Range

Buffs hold off North Texas 67-64 in Denver exhibition thriller

Freshman Alex Dickeson scored a team-high 15 points and Colorado survived two missed North Texas three-pointers in the final seconds of the Mile High Hoops Classic at the Auraria Event Center.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-19

A Denver player carries the puck against Michigan at Magness Arena, in a photograph from Friday's series opener. Michigan won the opener 4-1 and completed the sweep with a 4-3 win on Saturday.

Front Range

No. 1 Pioneers rally to tie, but Michigan wins 4-3 on a late bounce

Kieran Cebrian tied the game at 3-3 in the third period, but Asher Barnett's shot caromed in with 4:53 left as No. 2 Michigan completed a two-game sweep at Magness Arena.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-19

Folsom Field under the lights for a night game against Utah, in a 2016 file photograph. Saturday's meeting with the Utes also came down to the final play at the same stadium.

Front Range

Colorado rally falls short as No. 11 Utah holds on 27-24 in Boulder

Down 13-0 at halftime, Colorado scored 17 straight points to lead No. 11 Utah in the third quarter. A late Isaac Wilson interception set up the Utes' winning touchdown, and a final Hail Mary was batted down at Folsom Field.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-18

John Beake circa 1974, when he was the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive backfield coach, before he joined the Broncos' front office in 1979.

Front Range

John Beake, the Broncos GM behind two Super Bowl titles, dies at 87

Beake was Denver's general manager for 14 years, spanning three Super Bowl appearances in the 1980s and the back-to-back championships of Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII. He joined the Broncos in 1979 and helped trade for John Elway in 1983.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-18

Nathan MacKinnon with the puck in a file photograph. MacKinnon had a goal and three assists on Friday night, factoring in four of Colorado's five goals against Pittsburgh.

Front Range

MacKinnon posts four points as Avalanche score five straight to beat Penguins 5-2

Pittsburgh led 2-0 inside nine minutes at Ball Arena. Colorado answered with five straight goals, three of them in the second period, and T.J. Hughes scored the first goal of his NHL career.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-17

Broncos cornerback Jahdae Barron in a file photograph. Denver's secondary, playing without Pat Surtain II and Talanoa Hufanga, intercepted Sam Darnold twice in the last two minutes of regulation and overtime on Thursday night.

Front Range

Lutz hits from 53 in overtime as Broncos survive Seattle rally for a 17-14 win

Denver led 14-3, produced almost nothing after halftime, and still won: two late interceptions of Sam Darnold, the second by Ja'Quan McMillian in overtime, set up Wil Lutz's winning kick at Empower Field.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-16

Gabriel Landeskog in an Avalanche road uniform in a file photograph. Landeskog scored Colorado's first goal on Wednesday night, deflecting a Nazem Kadri shot at 4:55 of the second period, after an earlier Landeskog goal was disallowed for a kicking motion.

Front Range

Hintz wins it in the fourth round as Stars beat Avalanche 3-2 in a shootout to split the set

Colorado had two first-period goals taken off the board, tied the game in the third on Brock Nelson's goal, and still took a point. Casey DeSmith made 25 saves for Dallas and the 100th win of his career.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-15

The main entrance to the Broncos' stadium at Mile High, now Empower Field, in a file photograph from when it carried the Sports Authority name. Denver hosts Seattle there on Thursday night without two of its starting defensive backs.

Front Range

Broncos rule out Hufanga and Surtain for Seahawks visit, with Hufanga expected to miss two to three weeks

Both defensive backs have ankle injuries and neither practiced on Wednesday. Riley Moss is questionable with a ribs injury, leaving Denver thin in the secondary for Thursday night at Empower Field.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-15

Martin Necas in an Avalanche home game against Buffalo in a file photograph. Necas scored both of his goals in the second period on Tuesday night in Dallas, the second of them on a power play, as Colorado beat the Stars 3-2.

Front Range

Necas scores twice, Blackwood makes 24 saves as Avalanche edge Stars 3-2 in Dallas

Colorado won a fight-filled first game of a home-and-home set without Cale Makar, who stayed in Denver as his wife prepared to deliver twins. The teams meet again Wednesday night at Ball Arena.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-14

Levitt Pavilion in Denver's Ruby Hill Park, which hosted the Great American Beer Festival's first outdoor edition Oct. 10-11. The nonprofit amphitheater's lawns and stage held tasting sessions, the awards ceremony and live music across the weekend.

Front Range

GABF closes first outdoor edition at Levitt Pavilion with 336 medals

The 44-year-old festival left the convention center for Ruby Hill Park, awarding 336 medals from 7,267 entries over a sold-out weekend with growing pains.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-12

The Ogden Theatre at 935 East Colfax Avenue in Denver, where the Sex Pistols played Friday night. Frontman Frank Carter stopped the show to confront a man who entered the band's women-only mosh pit.

Front Range

Sex Pistols' Carter halts Denver show over women-only mosh pit

The Friday confrontation at the Ogden Theatre came as the band tours North America for the 50th anniversary of "Never Mind the Bollocks."

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-11

Ball Arena during a Colorado Avalanche game in January 2023. The Avalanche fell 6-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the arena Saturday night, their first home loss of the season.

Front Range

Nylander's five points power Maple Leafs past Avalanche 6-3

Nathan MacKinnon scored twice for Colorado, but Toronto struck twice in the final minutes of the second period to hand the Avalanche their first home loss.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-11

Coors Field in 2022. The Rockies are raising ticket prices about 12 percent after finishing 58-104, their fourth straight 100-loss season.

Front Range

Rockies raise ticket prices about 12 percent after a record fourth straight 100-loss season

Club president Walker Monfort said the increase aims to close the gap with the MLB average after Colorado finished 58-104: "It's never fun and there's never a right time."

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-07

Pat Surtain II lines up for Alabama in 2019, two years before Denver made him the ninth overall pick; the ankle injury he suffered Sunday at Levi's Stadium could sideline him for about two weeks.

Front Range

Down to three corners: Broncos brace for Chargers without Surtain and Moss

Pat Surtain II is week-to-week with an ankle injury that could cost him about two weeks, and Riley Moss is sidelined with a ribs injury. If both miss Sunday's game in Los Angeles, Jahdae Barron and Kris Abrams-Draine would start, with Brent Austin and Sean Fresch available from the practice squad.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-06

Deion Sanders walks the sideline during Colorado's game at Houston on Sept. 12; after a third straight loss, he is keeping the Buffs practicing through the bye week.

Front Range

Sanders sends Buffs back to practice during the bye as the QB competition stays open

After a 29-7 home loss to Texas Tech dropped Colorado to 2-3, Deion Sanders is using the off week for full practices instead of rest. Julian Lewis, the week-one starter, did not play Saturday, and Sanders insists the job is an open competition among three quarterbacks.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-06

Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, where the Broncos' injury-hit Sunday tilted San Francisco's way on the 49ers' home turf.

Front Range

Broncos fall 24-14 in Santa Clara as Surtain, Moss and Bryant leave with injuries

Denver was tied 3-3 at halftime Sunday at Levi's Stadium, then lost both starting cornerbacks and a receiver in a 24-14 defeat to the unbeaten 49ers. All-Pro Pat Surtain II hurt his right ankle, Riley Moss hurt his ribs, and Pat Bryant was carted off in the third quarter.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-05

A packed Folsom Field during a 2016 game. On Saturday, Oct. 3, Colorado led No. 10 Texas Tech (coaches poll) at halftime before falling 29-7.

Front Range

Buffs fall 29-7 to Texas Tech, and Sanders names the problem out loud

Colorado led No. 10 Texas Tech 7-3 at halftime Saturday at Folsom Field, then collapsed: four turnovers, a 26-0 second-half deficit, and a third straight loss that sends the Buffs into a bye week at 2-3.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-10-04

Storm Peak and Silverton in the San Juan Mountains, where a Flood Watch is in effect through Wednesday morning.

Water

Polo's remnants to soak Colorado midweek as flood risk eclipses snow chances

Forecasters say a tropical moisture-fueled system will bring heavy rain Wednesday, with flash flooding the main threat and mountain snow chances below 30 percent.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-09-29

Amtrak's California Zephyr along the Colorado River. The daily long-distance train follows the route the Denver and Rio Grande Western pioneered.

Opinion

The Zephyr and the West

Watching the California Zephyr climb out of the Fraser Valley is a reminder that Colorado's future was always going to run on steel.

Stefan Marenco · 2026-09-16