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From left, Greg Penner, Condoleezza Rice, Rob Walton, Mellody Hobson and Carrie Walton-Penner photographed at the UCHealth Training Center on Wednesday, August 10, 2022.
Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post
From left, Greg Penner, Condoleezza Rice, Rob Walton, Mellody Hobson and Carrie Walton-Penner photographed at the UCHealth Training Center on Wednesday, August 10, 2022. The Walton-Penner ownership group, which includes limited partners Mellody Hobson, Condoleezza Rice and Sir Lewis Hamilton, paid $4.65 billion for the Broncos. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
Mark Kiszla - Staff portraits at ...

Now that our dusty old cowtown’s favorite football team is owned by the Walmart family, I’m curious to know if they have a return policy for quarterback Russel Wilson and this entire NFL franchise. Just how does the Walton-Penner ownership group go about getting a refund on the $4.65 billion they paid for the Broncos? Do family members merely show the original receipt at their local Walmart, then wait for a refund to be posted on the same credit card they used to make the purchase? Or do they just end up getting a store credit?

Buddy, Aurora

Kiz: Well, it seems unlikely the bickering Bowlen kids will offer even a partial refund, so how do the crazy-rich Waltons begin to recoup some of that $4.65 billion? Perhaps they could interest you in buying an entire rack of orange No. 3 jerseys, all at 50% off.

Should the Broncos tank for a shot at drafting quarterback Caleb Williams of Southern Cal? I hate it when I agree with you, Kiz. But some nice folks out there in Broncos Country don’t realize there are no style points in the NFL. It doesn’t matter whether you lose by one point or 30. The better teams win close games.

N.L., throwing in towel

Kiz: I’m afraid coach Sean Payton might still find a way to win six or seven games, which will condemn the Broncos to that football purgatory where both the playoffs and an elite quarterback in the draft are beyond their reach.

Was the decision not to retain Ejiro Evero as the Broncos’ defensive coordinator made by Payton or by Evero?

Fred, Prairie du Chien, Wis.

Kiz: Evero and Nathaniel Hackett are twin sons of different mothers, best buddies joined at the hip. When the Broncos fired Huggy Bear, Evero was destined to walk out the door of team headquarters, disappointed his friend wasn’t given more time to figure out how to turn Wilson into Aaron Rodgers.

Living in San Diego as a Broncos fan is rough, and it feels like everyone here talks about Justin Herbert of the Chargers as if he’s the next Hall of Fame quarterback. But all Herbert does is lose games. Sure, he puts up big stats and shows flashes, but a quarterback is measured on wins and losses.

Kirk, life’s a beach

Kiz: Nobody asked me but … Herbert is the most over-rated player in the NFL.

It sure looks as if the Rockies will lose 100 games for the first time in franchise history. Manager Bud Black needs to be fired, but ownership obviously isn’t going to do that. Dick Monfort sits in his office, all fat, dumb and happy, while counting his money from ticket sales.

Tony, demands accountability

Kiz: Hey, why should Mr. Monfort care if the Rockies lose their 100th game of the season, so long as there are 25,000 Dodgers fans in Coors Field to cheer when it happens later this week?

And today’s parting shot seems appropriate on the 40th anniversary of my employment at The Denver Post, with a loyal reader encouraging me to write a memoir.

“Fresh Out of New Ideas” would be a great title for a book by Mark Kiszla.

Matthew, bookworm

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