Broncos’ Smith preparing to play Super Bowl with heavy heart

Sunday’s Super Bowl extravaganza against the Carolina Panthers will be only the second time Smith has seen Thomas play in person.

Bears receiver Kevin White has a big fan in Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas.

When Thomas and his mother were finally reunited, there was more quiet reflection than celebration. The match isn’t an afterthought.

“It’s not something I’m used to, but I have to deal with it”, Thomas said. “It didn’t seem like 16 years. Now that she can, she’s just as excited”. So it wasn’t too bad. (Sidenote: Denverites can order their own chicken parm sandwiches through the Uber app on Super Bowl Sunday.) While it might come off like a lighthearted joke by someone on staff, a lot of thought went into putting it on the menu. This one is about the mum.

This isn’t the first Super Bowl trip Hancock has made as mayor. His grandmother, Minnie Thomas, remains incarcerated.

Smith was facing 20 years until US President Barack Obama granted her clemency, along with the sentences of 45 other non-violent drug offenders. Smith was originally released from prison in July, then spent time in a halfway house. It was more about the busyness and government hassles of getting her acclimated to the real world. I was going to go up there and be myself.

You can also tell it remains sensitive ground for Thomas.

That’s right-the 24-year-old sportsman is enamored with his pal Ben Higgins’ televised quest for love. She played basketball and ran track in her high school days, so they formed a bond through sports.

“We kept winning”, Thomas told Allen. She always wanted to compete against me for some reason.

She’s making a bet with Denver Mayor Michael Hancock on the outcome of the Super Bowl. He traveled to New Jersey in 2014 to see the Broncos’ ill-fated match against the Seattle Seahawks.

“All of our relationships are very close”, Thomas said. I don’t have to talk to her on the phone.

Thomas must push the emotion to one side.

Thomas, a six-year veteran, caught 105 passes for 1,304 yards and six touchdowns for the Broncos after signing a five-year contract extension with $43.5 million guaranteed and a maximum value of $70 million. To have her at games, I don’t have to think no more, wish she was at the game. Why the National Football League insists on doing this to us we may never know…. We know we can’t go out there and turn the ball over because it’ll get ugly real fast.

And as for Manning’s health, Thomas isn’t anxious at all.

Thomas, 28, admitted he is still pinching himself that his mother, who was arrested when he was 11, is now a free woman.

Give this to your mom.