Long before the Avalanche started winning Stanley Cups, Colorado was home to a short-lived and decidedly less-successful National Hockey League team: the Colorado Rockies. Operating from 1976 to 1982, the club established itself as a hard-working outfit on the ice that was constantly hobbled by a series of impatient owners and a host of controversial - and often crazy - front-office maneuvers. The result was a team that didn't win many games but did...