Did you open champagne? Eat cake? Kick up your heels to celebrate?

Wednesday officially marked the 60th birthday of the Denver Broncos. It was August 14, 1959 when the American Football League announced that Denver, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Houston, New York, Buffalo, and Minneapolis would be charter members of a league to directly challenge the NFL’s football grip on America.

Much has changed since then. The Boston Patriots now play for the region of New England instead of the city of Boston. The Dallas Texans, unable to fend off the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys (an effort to undermine the new league) moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs. The Chargers, after playing just one year in Los Angeles moved to play the bulk of their history in San Diego before only recently returning Los Angeles. The Houston Oilers relocated to Tennessee and became the Titans. The New York Titans rebranded and became the Jets after just a few years of operation. Minneapolis’ franchise never materialized because it was poached by the NFL prior to any games played. That hole in the original eight teams of the AFL? It was filled by a franchise granted to the city of Oakland, the Raiders.

Through it all, only the Bills and Broncos remain unchanged from their original city and nickname. Sure, there were attempts by the NFL to quash the Broncos franchise during merger talks with the AFL. Yes, there was a very real chance the Broncos could have been moved to Birmingham, Alabama in the late 60’s. Despite being borderline putrid in their early years, the Denver Broncos marched forward through time and became a crown jewel franchise in the NFL that we know today. From a sellout streak that dates back to the early 1970’s to Peyton Manning’s record-shattering run of 2013, the Denver Broncos have made a mark on the NFL of which Broncos Country should be proud.

When Broncos halfback Al Carmichael housed a Frank Tripucka pass for 59-yards on September 9, 1960 to score the first touchdown in AFL history, who then could have imagined what would become of the Denver Broncos today? With more ups that downs in franchise history, Broncos Country has been blessed to have the boys in orange and blue represent the city of Denver for the last 60 years. Happy Birthday, Broncos!

HORSE TRACKS

Woody Paige: Kyle Shanahan to make Denver head coaching debut | Sports Coverage | gazette.com
Columnist Woody Paige details the long and winding road Kyle Shanahan has taken to be a head coach in Denver, when his San Francisco 49ers face the Broncos on Monday.

RTD Reminds Broncos Fans Of Service To Broncos Home Games – CBS Denver
As the Broncos gear up to kick off the 2019 season, RTD is reminding fans of several options to get to the game. BroncosRide will be available for each home game.

Fangio Calls Out Broncos’ Special Teams: Not Good Enough | Heavy.com
Broncos HC Vic Fangio indirectly delivered through the media a scathing message to his special teams coordinator, Tom McMahon.

NFL Outlook: The Denver Broncos are Projected to Finish Ahead of the Bills and Behind the Jaguars in the AFC - Scout.com
Regular Season Recap and Upcoming Game Projections

AFC West training camps: What we’ve learned so far | SI.com
Vic Fangio is already leaving his mark in Denver, new pieces of Chiefs’ defense are mixing in well, Chargers’ young defenders are capable of plugging holes and the Raiders’ first-rounders have come as advertised.

David Montgomery, Tony Pollard among 2019 NFL rookie risers - NFL.com
Is David Montgomery going to take on a huge role with the Bears? Can Tony Pollard step up for the Cowboys? Gil Brandt lists 10 rookies drafted in Round 2 or later who are ready to star in 2019.

2016 NFL Draft revisited: Grades for first-rounders three years in - NFL.com
Lance Zierlein revisits the players selected in Round 1 of the 2016 NFL Draft, handing out grades for Jared Goff, Carson Wentz and the rest of the first-round picks based on their performance through three seasons.

2019 NFL season: Who will repeat 2018 success? Who won't? - NFL.com
Davante Adams was a touchdown machine in 2018, recording a career-high 13 scores. Was his performance a sensation or an aberration? Cynthia Frelund uses her predictive model to project Adams' 2019 production, along with four other NFL players.

Minkah's mom objects to son playing out of position - NFL.com
Minkah Fitzpatrick is playing out of position in Miami, or at least so says Minkah Fitzpatrick's mom, who said the safety is "being used to suit other people['s] skill set not his own."

Mike Vrabel, Tom Brady share playful jabs at joint practice - NFL.com
Former teammates Mike Vrabel and Tom Brady enjoyed a joint practice Wednesday between Vrabel's Tennessee Titans and Brady's New England Patriots. Mike Giardi was on the scene to take it all in.

Jimmy Garoppolo throws 5 consecutive INTs in practice - NFL.com
Jimmy Garoppolo enjoyed a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day at the office on Wednesday afternoon. During one stretch of practice, the 49ers starting quarterback threw five consecutive interceptions.

Tate - Doctor says he gave others banned meds
Giants receiver Golden Tate is keeping open the option of taking action against the doctor who prescribed clomiphene, a banned substance, that led to his four-game suspension.

Brown faces lawsuit over unpaid $38K chef's bill
Raiders receiver Antonio Brown is facing a civil lawsuit that alleges that he failed to pay a chef's bill of nearly $40,000 during Pro Bowl festivities in 2018.

Report: Ratings “up big” over 2018 for second episode of Hard Knocks – ProFootballTalk
With Antonio Brown providing drama literally from toe to head, last night's episode of Hard Knocks was destined to draw a big crowd. It did. Austin Karp of Sports Business Daily reports that the audience of Episode 2 was "again up big" in comparison to last year's second episode of the Browns-foc...

Warren Sapp questions Gerald McCoy’s spot in Bucs’ history – ProFootballTalk
Gerald McCoy felt slighted by the Buccaneers when they gave his No. 93 to Ndamukong Suh shortly after releasing McCoy. He called himself one of the greatest ever to play in Tampa.

Saints sign linebacker Drew Lewis – ProFootballTalk
The Saints signed linebacker Drew Lewis on Wednesday. The Texans originally signed Lewis as an undrafted rookie out of Colorado. Houston waived him last month, and he spent some time with the Colts after that. Lewis made 198 tackles, 12.

Aaron Rodgers: Slash beer prices to get fans as loud as possible – ProFootballTalk
Aaron Rodgers wants lower beer prices and louder fans at Lambeau Field. Rodgers said that for the fans to support the Packers while the defense is on the field, making beer cheap might be the answer. "I'm up for anything that's gonna get the fans as loud as possible," Rodgers said.

Bryan Cox Jr. cited for speeding, marijuana possession – ProFootballTalk
Panthers defensive end Bryan Cox Jr. didn't make it home from training camp in Spartanburg, South Carolina, without making a headline. The North Carolina Highway Patrol pulled over Cox for driving 90 mph in a 65 mph zone on his way back to the Charlotte area after the Panthers broke camp, David N...

Baker Mayfield: People want us to lose because the hype is so real – ProFootballTalk
At this time last year, the Browns were riding a 17-game losing streak and carrying few expectations that they'd be making a push for a playoff spot. It's a very different scene around the team this year.

Travis Kelce: Chiefs’ speedy receivers let us do “anything we want to do” – ProFootballTalk
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is far from the fastest player in Kansas City, but he thinks he'll benefit from the speed of the receivers around him. Kelce was asked what the Chiefs' offense can do with the speed of wide receivers Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Demarcus Robinson and rookie Mecole Har...

Is Jay-Z working toward becoming an NFL owner? – ProFootballTalk
When Jay-Z decided to launch a sports agency six years ago, a well-connected league insider explained Jay-Z's ambition in simple terms: He wants to own a team. Today's deal with the NFL nudges Jay-Z far closer to that goal, if that indeed is the objective.

Colts to make decision on Luck’s status for Week 1 after third preseason game – ProFootballTalk
It is looking more and more like Jacoby Brissett will start the season opener for the Colts. Andrew Luck remains out, isn't expected to play in the preseason, still has his left ankle wrapped . . . and the regular season is quickly approaching.

Odell Beckham Jr. dealing with hip injury, expected back “pretty soon” – ProFootballTalk
Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr. did not participate in team drills Wednesday because of a hip injury. Coach Freddie Kitchens, though, indicated the injury isn't serious.

Dolphins' Kenyan Drake in walking boot, could miss rest of preseason with right foot injury - CBSSports.com
Coach Brian Flores says Drake will be out 'a while'

Aaron Rodgers 'tired' of 'clickbait' coverage, blames 'fake news' for perceived Matt LaFleur drama - CBSSports.com
'We have a great line of communication,' the Packers quarterback said of his new coach

Giants' Golden Tate 'looking into' suing doctor over suspension: 'We're kind of examining all our options' - CBSSports.com
Tate went into detail on the fertility drug that led to his suspension on Wednesday

Vikings have reportedly placed former first-round receiver on the trade block after multiple disappointing seasons - CBSSports.com
Vikings may soon pull the plug on former first-rounder Laquon Treadwell

Colt McCoy running out of time to win Redskins QB battle after being ruled out of second preseason game - CBSSports.com
Colt McCoy is not ready to return for the Redskins after suffering a broken leg in December

Amari Cooper dealing with ligament issue in foot, unlikely to participate in preseason - CBSSports.com
Amari Cooper reportedly has ligament issue in foot, Cowboys monitoring closely