Although higher than the national average, the cost of a gallon of gasoline in Denver last week fell 2.8 cents from the previous week.

This compares with the national average that has fallen 3.3 cents per gallon during the week. The national average has decreased 8.6 cents a gallon during the last month and stands 10.4 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.

Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, said the fall in prices was not surprising.

Police Chief Cathy Lanier said Thursday that all three victims suffered head trauma and appear to have been attacked suddenly and without provocation.

“Within the past 48 hours, there’s been three separate incidences where individuals have been assaulted or suffered head trauma. While we have not yet definitively linked these instances at this time, there are certainly similarities that give us cause to consider that possibility,” Lanier said.

Gary Dederichs, who investigators think had worked in Colorado as a nurse and was possibly retired, was found dead shortly after 6 p.m. in an alley in 800 block of Emerson Street NW in the Petworth area.

Police said he had been staying with a resident of the neighborhood.

Dederichs had suffered a blow to the head, police said. An autopsy concluded the manner of death was homicide.

Citing safety, public health and negative perceptions by tourists, business owners say they largely support Denver’s proposed ordinance banning unauthorized camping.

“I’m absolutely all for it,” Subway district manager Tor Ericksen said of the proposal. “We’re business owners, and we want to make it safe and inviting for our customers.”

The issue became deadly serious for Ericksen three years ago when an arriving manager stepped over a man sleeping in the doorway of the Subway at 16th Street Mall and Tremont Place. The man stood up, stuck a gun in the manager’s back and robbed the store.

That incident prompted a change in protocol for downtown Subway stores when they open in the morning.

“Our procedure now is that the manager has to stand at the bottom of the (entrance) ramp and yell to the people to vacate immediately,” Erick sen said.

Along with business leaders’ support of the camping ban comes a virtually unanimous sentiment that they don’t want to be viewed as trying to make criminals of the homeless.

The ordinance is scheduled to be discussed today in the Denver City Council’s Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Denver Police Chief Robert White has said he would expect few arrests if the ordinance passes, using instead an approach in which officers would talk with unauthorized campers and guide them to social services.

But having the law on the books “will eliminate the gray area,” Subway’s Ericksen said. “It gives us, and the police department as responders, more of a format to deal with it.”

Visit Denver, the city’s convention and visitors bureau, said the homeless camping downtown is one of the top two complaints heard from meeting planners. (The other is the distance to downtown from Denver

Dawkins, who was nagged by neck injuries late last season, missed Denver’s two playoff games in January and waited six weeks after he became a free agent to make his choice.

“The Lord has blessed me to play in the NFL for 16 years,” he said.

That will be first of two readings of the bill.

The bill would allow police to confront people camping on public or private land and arrest them if they don’t have permission to be there or refuse to leave.

Opponents argue it would make being homeless a crime, since there aren’t enough shelter beds. Homeless advocates want to amend the bill so that it can only be enforced if shelters have open space.

Brooks says people and businesses complain about all the people sleeping in public.

He also has concerns with sanitation, thanks in part to the Occupy Denver protests.

The full schedule was released by the NFL on Tuesday and Manning’s first game for Denver will be a huge one against the league’s best defence from last season.

The Steelers and Manning are no strangers to each other after numerous big AFC battles down the years, but a neck injury ultimately led to Manning being released by the Indianapolis Colts after missing last season.

As if Pittsburgh needed more firing up, Denver were the team that knocked them out of the play-offs last season thanks to a late TD throw from Tim Tebow – who has since left the Broncos to join the Jets.

“There will be a lot of attention paid to Peyton Manning’s first game with the Denver Broncos, so it will be exciting to start out that way,” said Steelers president Art Rooney.

It doesn’t get any easier for Manning and Denver as after their Sunday night nationally televised clash with Pittsburgh they travel to Atlanta in week two for a Monday Night Football clash – meaning the four-time MVP’s return to action will be a very public affair.

The first Sunday of the NFL season on September 9 also sees the San Francisco 49ers take on the Green Bay Packers, while plenty of attention will be on New Orleans, and not just because they will host the next Super Bowl.

The Saints have had coach Sean Payton suspended and interim coach Joe Vit is also banned for the first six games, while their opening day opponents Washington will most probably have Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III in their ranks after next week’s draft.

14 games will be played on Thursday nights for the first time, starting in the second week of the season with Chicago and Green Bay renewing NFC North rivalries at Lambeau Field.

Two more games will be played outside of the USA once again, with Wembley Stadium hosting the St Louis Rams against the New England Patriots in October, while the Buffalo Bills again play in Toronto against Seattle in December.

Thanksgiving Day is synonymous with NFL games, and this year there seems to be one of the best line-ups in recent memory, with a tasty Turkey Day triple.

Detroit look like real contenders and they host another in their traditional game on November 22 against the Houston Texans, who many believe could have gone to the Super Bowl last year but for terrible injuries at quarterback.

The Dallas Cowboys are also traditional Thanksgiving hosts and they welcome Washington to Texas who will know a bit more about star QB Griffin should they draft him as expected.

A third game on the day features the Patriots facing off against bitter AFC East rivals the Jets, who could have Tebow at the helm by then, or still Mark Sanchez, or both!

The play-offs begin on January 5, 2013, with the Super Bowl being held in New Orleans on February 3.

Manning and his new teammates reported to the Broncos’ headquarters Monday morning for the start of the team’s offseason conditioning program.

He is the second weapon Denver has signed that has played with Manning. Former Colts’ tight end Jacob Tamme inked with Denver last month. Stokley visited the Broncos — whom he played for from 2007-09 — on Monday and his agent tweeted Monday that he will sign with the team.

Normally a player would refrain from any on court action after such an injury, but Harrington decided to do otherwise. He knows that his team is clinging onto a playoff spot and needs him more than ever, especially in the game against Minnesota Timberwolves.

“You’re limited,” Harrington said today after shootaround, in regards to the injury. “You can’t really bend and explode. For me, the biggest thing it’s bothering me with is rebound. But I can move forward and laterally. I want to finish this thing out. And this is the best part of the season when you’re in the hunt like this, trying to get a playoff spot. So I’m not going to leave the guys hanging.”

He did play in the game against the Wolves and justified his role with 11 points and 4 rebounds in Nuggets 113-107 victory. His explosiveness was limited due to the protective braces and was clearly facing difficulty with rebounds.

Denver, 32-26, are currently on the 8^th playoff spot in Western conference with the same record as that of the seventh placed Houston Rockets. Nuggets still have 7 more games left in the regular season and with Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns just breathing below their necks, things can change dramatically.

The 32 years old veteran knows the importance of the next upcoming games and his decision is both bold and heroic. But all the same, he is also in contact with the doctors as the injury might worsen. If that happened, he will have no choice but to undergo a surgery.

“My biggest concern is making sure I can’t make myself worse from this, put myself in danger to hurt something else,” Harrington said. “That’s the biggest thing I’m going to through with the doctors, to make sure I can continue to play at a high level without putting myself at a risk.”

Al Harrington has been averaging 14.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in this season and is on par with any of the 1^st unit players. His impact especially on the defense is a lot more than the stats indicate.

Nuggets have been suffering blow after blow with player’s injuries. Wilson Chandler has sidelined due to hip strain while Danilo Gallinari just came back on Monday after missing 10 games due to a broken left thumb.

In the prime time of the season, Harrington’s heroic decision will go down into the history as a testament for loyalty and devotion to the franchise. He has indeed put his team before himself.