More on this in my column later, but there was an encouraging sign from Air Force players after their 38-21 loss to Brigham Young.

Fourth place, they all said, isn’t good enough. They want to climb. They expect to climb.

Yes, the Falcons earned a winning record and a third straight trip to a bowl game.

But that’s not enough, according to Anthony Wright Jr., Tim Jefferson and Jon Davis.

They want more. Next season, they’ll get the chance to grab more.

A couple other thoughts:

1) Max Hall was magnificent early, completing 19 of his first 22 passes and that includes a pass he threw away to avoid a sack and a dropped pass.

Here’s the big question for BYU fans:

Will Max deliver a big game and a victory next week against Utah?

(Max’s history suggests the answer will be no.)

2) The BYU line is massive, scary and effective.

I’ve lived in houses that aren’t as big as BYU guard Terence Brown, who’s listed at 340.

He looks about 580.

BYU quarterback Max Hall is shredding Air Force’s defense. AFA quarterback Tim Jefferson appears done for the day. BYU leads, 24-7. The entertainment level is low, and this one looks over.

But at least I’ve been able to listen to BYU’s alma mater several times.

By the end of the day, I might have the words memorized.

I’ve been urged to come clean about the word “imagination.”

So I will.

Here’s my confession:

Wish I had more imagination.

I recently complimented the “imagination” of Mormons, and several readers were offended. Don’t ask me why, but they were.

I don’t care - at least not very much - if BYU fans are offended by my view of their football team. Sports are nothing more than games played and watched by kids of all ages. Moan all you want. We’re just talking about games.

I do care if someone believes I’m insulting his/her faith.

So I’ll repeat - and further explain - my completely complimentary use of the word “imagination.’

Here’s my context for use of the word “imagination.”

Frederick Douglass, my American hero, was born a slave in Maryland, but imagined himself as a free man in the north. That’s how he kept his sanity. He used his imagination to fuel a transformation for himself.

But he didn’t stop after he escaped to freedom in Massachusetts. He kept his imagination on fire and kept imagining a better world. He fought for a nation that would banish slavery. He fought for a nation that would offer equality for every girl and boy, man and woman, regardless of color or country of origin.

And that required a massive amount of imagination.

The Mormon story is an inspiring American story. Leaders imagined a place where Mormons could escape persecution, and they led thousands on a long, dangerous trek to Utah.  The Mormon’s escape from the injustices found in the East required immense imagination.

This is the imagination I’m talking about.

This is the imagination I need more of.

This is the imagination we all need more of.

The Broncos were the biggest surprise in the NFL  a month ago. Heck, the Broncos were the biggest surprise in sports, period.

Now, a Yahoo writer says the Broncos won’t even make the playoffs.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AjMf18aISoltNpsfsj_NH2pDubYF?slug=cr-crystalball111909&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Andrew Ceroni,  USAFA class of 1971, wrote a letter to the Gazette’s editor. His subject was my coverage of Air Force’s football  team.

He wondered about “objective reporting.” And he wanted someone to explain to me “that young men don’t come to the Air Force Academy to play football with the intention of moving on to the pros. No,  they come to the Air Force Academy to graduate as commissioned officers and serve their country.”

You can read the full letter here: (Scroll down to the final letter.)

http://www.gazette.com/opinion/letters-89285-tuesday-.html 

I’m glad Mr. Ceroni wrote the letter, for a lot of reasons.

The first reason is he gives me a chance to explain a couple things.

A) I’m a columnist. I’m paid to offer opinions, which Mr. Ceroni calls “venomous comments.” I get e-mails all the time asking why I’m so opinionated, why I’m allowed to be so opinionated,  why I’m taking a stand when I’m supposed to be neutral.

Reporters are not supposed to offer opinions. Reporters are supposed to be neutral.

Columnists are paid to offer opinions and to take a stand.

I hear from fans who believe I’m too harsh. I hear from fans who believe I’m too soft. I think that response speaks for itself. I can’t write custom written views for every fan.

So, I write what I believe. 

B) I’ve been covering college football  for more than a quarter-century. Virtually all young football  players arrive at a university hoping  to earn an education and play college football. They might hope to play in the NFL. They don’t expect to play in the NFL. The percentage of college football players who become NFL football players  is tiny.

And college football players are smart enough to know this.

Mr. Ceroni suggests AFA’s opponents are filled with players on their way to the NFL,  and that’s not the case.

The primary sports goal for these players is the same as the primary goal for AFA players:

Win football games.

The primary goal off the field for these players is same as the primary goal for AFA players:

To earn a degree.

The AFA football team is different from other college football programs.

But it’s not radically different.

Was watching halftime of Monday Night Football when a thought crossed my mind that often crosses my mind:

When will Chris Berman retire?

His act got old 15 years ago. He’s shrill. He’s irritating. He has no opinions. He swiped a good chunk of his act from Howard Cosell, who was one of the great talents in broadcasting history. But even after swiping so much from such a great man, Berman remains my least favorite broadcaster and I have a feeling several  million weary viewers share my view.

When will Chris retire?

Don’t know, but do know they’ll  be a celebratory retirement party of my house when he leaves the screen.

Here’s ESPN’s propaganda page about Berman: (WARNING: If you’re like me, this page might make your vision blurry and your head ache.)

http://www.espnmediazone.com/bios/Talent/Berman_Chris.htm

Chris Simms has no valid excuse for his performance against the Washington Redskins.

He was rusty?

So what.

Any legit NFL quarterback would have found a way to do something in the second half against the Redskins. Simms was, essentially, a zero.

No, make that less than zero.

He had decent time in the pocket. Simms was looking for the same receivers who shredded the Redskins in the first half.

Simms was an utter disaster. He threw into crowds. He threw over receivers heads. He looked  lost in the pocket.

If Kyle Orton isn’t ready to play against the Chargers, forget it.

If Simms starts, the Broncos are doomed.

BYU fans are the most loyal, thin-skinned and illogical in the Mountain West, and that’s why they’re also the most fun.

Last season, I heard from several dozen irate fans after questioning the might of the BYU football team. This season, I might hear from a few dozen more.

A few things to clear up to avoid the same confusion as last season:

1) BYU will be favored and should be favored to beat Air Force, but that doesn’t mean the Cougars are a legit top-25 team.

Last season, BYU defeated Air Force in an exciting game at Falcon Stadium, then went out and lost to Utah (48-24) and Arizona (31-21) in the Las Vegas Bowl. (Arizona was the fifth-best team in the Pac-10 and had lost five games.)

BYU didn’t beat anybody last season. The Cougars were outscored 70-31 by TCU and Utah. (Air Force didn’t beat anybody, either.)

So, BYU fans, don’t come running to me shouting that a win over Air Force proves the Cougars have a strong program. A win over Air Force only proves BYU is the third-best team in the Mountain West. (Yes, I’m predicting a Utah win over BYU.)

So there’s no reason to get all happy if BYU beats Air Force. Get happy after BYU beats Utah and wins a bowl game and proves it belongs in the Top 25.

2) Air Force isn’t “my team.”

I heard that three or four dozen times.  Here in Colorado, we’re detached from the teams we cover.

I didn’t graduate from Air Force. I’m not a fan. I’m  intensely interested in the team, but don’t root for the Falcons. Never have. Never will. That’s not journalism. That’s being a fan.

BYU is your team. Air Force isn’t my team.

3) I love the state of Utah,  the city of Provo and the grit and imagination of Mormons.

Please, let’s not turn my view of your football team into anything personal.

Utah is one of my favorite states. Wish I were standing somewhere in Canyonlands right now.

And Provo is one of the great secrets in America. Clean, friendly and blessed with a surprising number of solid restaurants. (The best, of course, is Sizzler, but I can’t persuade Jake Schaller or Irv Moss  to eat there with me. One other observation: It is tough to find a good cup of coffee in Provo.)

I’ve visited the Mormon museum in Salt Lake and Brigham Young’s home. I’ve inherited my father’s fascination with the Mormon movement. BYU fans often believe there’s some kind of sports writer conspiracy against the school. If there is, I’m not part of it.

Here’s my main point:

BYU’s football team tried, and failed,  to belong in the top 25 last season. I’m skeptical  that the Cougars belong in the top 25 this season.

And Air Force has good reason to believe it can deliver a mild upset on Saturday.

DENVER - Kobe Bryant is the best player on our planet, but he has a new nemesis in Denver.

Arron Afflalo.

Bryant was quiet, which meant the Los Angeles Lakers were quiet. Afflalo usually covered Bryant without help, getting in his face and forcing Kobe to take tough shots.

The Nuggets had all kinds of advantages in Friday’s game. The Lakers had played Thursday night while the Nuggets rested. The Lakers were without injured center Pau Gasol.

Still …

This was an impressive, important win. It announced the Nuggets are a force in the West, and it announced the Nuggets have a new defensive stopper.

Afflalo will be asked to cover Kobe and Brandon Roy. He’ll be asked to do the anonymous, grimy work.

He looks ready to deliver.

“This team has people to score,” Afflalo said. “And I’m happy to try to stop people.”

Afflalo insisted he did nothing special to prepare for Bryant. He takes hte same approach every night, he said.

A few other observations:

1) The Nuggets bench looked strong. Backup point guard Ty Lawson is a blur, and his dunk over Lakers giant DJ Mbenga was shocking, spectacular and hilarious. J.R. Smith was in his machine-gun mode, launching 16 shots in 23 minutes while scoring 20 points.

2) One other reason this game meant something:

The Lakers had beaten the Nuggets 14 of 17 times, including the playoffs. The Lakers won last season’s NBA title.

Pulverizing the Lakers can only lift the Nuggets hearts.

“We sent a message not only to the Lakers, but to the entire NBA,” said Carmelo Anthony.

“We’re a legit team.”

Jay Cutler threw five interceptions in the Chicago Bears loss to the 49ers Thursday night, and his ridiculous generosity again raised  a question in my mind about this extremely talented, extremely baffling quarterback.

What exactly does he see out there?

Cutler, over and over, seems blind to defenders. He seems to believe he can throw the ball through the bodies of tall,  thick men.

It’s weird. It really is.

Cutler is  madly in love with his arm, and sometimes you can see why. He makes  throws that only a few other residents of our planet can make.

But there’s always the recklessness, the silly defiance of the odds, lurking beneath all that talent.

Cutler is not a kid. The Bears are waiting for him to grow up, embrace maturity and quit imitating a blind man on the field.

The Bears may be waiting a  long time.

As you might expect, Chicago writers were not impressed by Cutler’s performance.

Here are a couple looks at Cutler from Chicago:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-13-haugh-bears-chicago-nov13,0,5829562.column

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-13-morrissey-bears-nov13,0,6699990.column