Hey Stiffs, the Nuggets return home this Friday to face the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 27th and then the Clippers on Jan. 29th for a mini two-game homestand. Our partners at TiqIQ have some great deal on seats, if you want to catch a game on the cheap! Check it out ...

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THIS JUST IN! The Nuggets - yes, your Denver Nuggets - have given us six seats located right behind the Nuggets bench to giveaway at this Saturday's STIFFS NIGHT OUT party. Click through for more details...

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Just in time for the playoffs, professor David J. Berri of "The Wages of Wins" fame has a new book out and Denver Stiffs readers can win a free copy!

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Official Rules for the Stumbling on Wins Contest

No Purchase Necessary.  A Purchase will not Increase Your Chances of Winning.

1.                  Eligibility:  The Stumbling on Wins Contest (the "Contest") is open only to legal residents of the United States and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are at least eighteen (18) years of age.  Employees of SportsBlogs, Inc. or other companies associated with the Contest, as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, and children) and household members of each such employee, are not eligible to enter. 

2.                  Sponsor:  The Contest is sponsored by SportsBlogs, Inc., 1740 N Street, NW, Washington, DC  20036 ("Sponsor").

3.                  Agreement to Official Rules:  By entering the Contest, you indicate your full and unconditional agreement to, and acceptance of, (a) these Official Rules and (b) Sponsor’s decisions, which are final and binding.  Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

4.                  Entry Period:  The Contest beings at 2 p.m. ET on April 15, 2010 and ends at 2 p.m. ET on April 17, 2010.  Entries submitted before or after the Entry Period will not be eligible.  Sponsor’s computer is the official time-keeping device for the Contest.

5.                  How to Enter: Visit www.denverstiffs.com and answer the trivia questions that are posted as part of the contest; send your answers to denverstiffs@gmail.com with the subject line "Stumbling on Wins."  The body of your email should contain your guess as to (i) the total number of playoff games that the Nuggets will play (including the NBA finals if you think they will go that far), and (ii) the cumulative final score of the Nuggets final game.  There is a limit of one (1) entry per person/e-mail address.  Entries will not be acknowledged.

6.                  Selection of Winners:  The winner will be the entrant who correctly guesses the exact number of postseason games that the Nuggets win, or comes the closest without going over.  And in the event of a tie, the winner will be the entrant who correctly guesses the exact final TOTAL score of the Nuggets final postseason game or the entrant(s) (up to 4) who comes closest to guessing the exact final TOTAL score without going over the total.  If there are more than 4 entrants who correctly guess the exact number of Nuggets postseason wins and correctly guess the exact final game TOTAL score, winners will be selected by having their names printed, dropped into a hat and selected at random by Andrew or Nate.  The odds of being selected depend on the number of entries received and the performance of each entrant. 

7.                  Notification and Requirements of Potential Winners:  Sponsor will attempt to notify potential winners within five (5) business days of the date of selection.  If a potential winner does not respond within two (2) business days after the notice is sent, the Sponsor will select an alternate potential winner in his/her place according to the Judging Criteria.  Only three (3) alternate potential winners will be contacted.  Except where prohibited, a potential winner may be required to complete and return an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release.  If a potential winner is a minor, his/her parent or legal guardian will be required to sign the documents on his/her behalf.  If a potential winner fails to sign and return these documents within the required time period, an alternate potential winner may be selected in his/her place according to the Judging Criteria.  Only three (3) alternate potential winners may be contacted.

8.                  Prize(s):  Each of four (4) winners will receive a copy of the book entitled "Stumbling on Wins:  Two Economists Expose the Pitfalls on the Road to Victory in Professional Sports by David J. Berri and Martin B. Schmidt, retail value $16.49 USD and $16.51 CAD.  A winner is responsible for paying any applicable income taxes and any and all other costs and expenses not listed above.  Any prize details not specified above will be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.  A prize may not be transferred and must be accepted as awarded.  You may not request cash or a substitute prize; however, Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize with another prize of equal or greater value if the prize is not available for any reason, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. 

9.                  General Conditions:  In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Contest is impaired in any way for any reason, including, but not limited to fraud, virus, or other technical problem, Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, either: (a) suspend the Contest to address the impairment and then resume the Contest in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules; or (b) award the prize(s) according to the procedures set forth above from among the eligible entries received up to the time of the impairment.  Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner.  Any attempt by any person to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law.  Failure by Sponsor to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.  Proof of sending any communication to Sponsor by mail shall not be deemed proof of receipt of that communication by Sponsor.  In the event of a dispute as to any online entry, the authorized account holder of the e-mail address used to enter will be deemed to be the participant.  The "authorized account holder" is the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.  The Contest is subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited.

10.              Release and Limitations of Liability:  By participating in the Contest, you agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor, its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents (the "Released Parties") from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Contest or receipt or use of any prize, including, but not limited to: (a) unauthorized human intervention in the Contest; (b) technical errors related to computers, servers, providers, or telephone, or network lines; (c) printing errors; (d) lost, late, postage-due, misdirected, or undeliverable mail; (e) errors in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; or (f) injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant’s participation in the Contest or receipt or use of any prize.  You further agree that in any cause of action, the Released Parties’ liability will be limited to the cost of entering and participating in the Contest, and in no event shall the Released Parties be liable for attorney’s fees.  You waive the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages.

11.              Privacy and Publicity:  Any information you submit as part of the Contest will be used for purposes of this Contest and treated in accordance with Sponsor’s Privacy Policy. Except where prohibited, participation in the Contest constitutes an entrant’s consent to Sponsor’s use of his/her name, likeness, voice, opinions, biographical information, and state of residence for promotional purposes in any media without further payment or consideration.

12.              Disputes:  Except where prohibited, you agree that any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in Washington, DC.  All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, your rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of Washington, DC, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of Washington, DC or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than Washington, DC.

13.       Results:  To request a winners list, send a request by email to denverstiffs@gmail.com.  Requests must be received within four (4) weeks of the end of the Entry Period.

The Nuggets wrap up the preseason tonight in a rematch with the Lakers. George Karl had this to say in the Denver Post today about last night's game: "I thought our defense was pretty first-class for most of the game," Karl said. "And I thought our offense stunk." The regulars should see reduced minutes tonight and Karl plans on playing J.R. Smith a lot (it'll be the last we see of Smith for a while.) The game will be in my second favorite city, San Diego, as the Nuggets wrap up their California Tour.

The Nuggets face the Indiana Pacers in Taiwan in the first of two exhibition games to be played in Asia.  The game is televised on NBATV at 5:30 am MDT tomorrow.

Offer your thoughts on Game 1 ... whatever you want to talk about. But above all ... who is going to win tonight?

It's obviously important for Orlando to split these first two games. Game 1 is usually the easiest to steal, so tonight should be almost a "must win" for Orlando in my opinion. We've seen all the, "Phil Jackson is 23,568-0 when he wins game one" stats - so if Orlando wants to take this they'll need an inspired performance from Dwight Howard and Company tonight.

Don't fool yourselves and think Kobe wont have his team fired up. With his place in NBA History at stake (0-2 in the Finals without Shaq if they lose) Kobe will be gunning for this title and it all starts tonight.

The NBA season presses on.

Phil Jackson will be pursuing his 10th and record-breaking NBA title (currently tied at 9 titles with Red Auerbach) and Kobe Bryant will be looking for his 4th ring and his first one without Shaquille O'Neal.

But standing in the way of the Lakers is the Orlando Magic. The Magic are a free-shooting team with a lot of depth. Orlando went 2-0 vs. L.A. during the regular season ... why does that matter now? Just ask the Cleveland Cavaliers who went 1-2 against the Magic during the regular season and just lost to Orlando in 6 games.

This should prove to be an entertaining series as both teams feature high-powered offenses.

Key match-up:

Dwight Howard vs. the Lakers Bigs: L.A. (as we know) features Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Andrew Bynum. The Lakers bigs could and should have a great series as they will create match-up problems for the Magic down low. Orlando likes to use Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu at the power and small forward positions, so Stan Van Gundy will have his work cut out for him deciding how to cover Bynum and Gasol.

When Odom enters the game ... the Magic will match-up better defensively as Lewis can cover Odom and Howard can focus on Gasol.

Should be an entertaining series and I'm not even going to get into predicting who is going to win it. It'll be very difficult for L.A. to stop Orlando's momentum, but having home-court will be to the Lakers advantage.

Follow the home blogs here:

Lakers: Silver Screen and Roll

Magic: Third Quarter Collapse