The Rockies' miraculous run through the playoffs with players like Matt Holliday, Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki, Jeff Francis, Brad Hawpe and Garrett Atkins, finally ended with a World Series loss to the Boston Red Sox.

"The World Series team and a lot of my business ideas, management philosophies and marketing philosophies came from the university. In fact, that's where it all started. I'm proud to be an alum of the University of Utah. My education there turned into some success with the Rockies."

He hopes the Rockies get back to the World Series soon, but this time win it.

"I think this team is billed to sustain the success we've had," Monfort said, stating 16 players on the 25-man roster came up the Rockies' farm system, which ranks seventh in Major League Baseball, and two more came via a trade of one of their top pitching prospects.

"It shows we're scouting well and developing well. We got great caches in great places and we're drafting well," he said. "We've got guys behind these guys, so I think we've got a great system in place."

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E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com