While print newspaper subscription numbers are well below their heights, printed papers still reach a large number of people. And a print product allows for some clever design approaches less often seen online. The latest example of that comes from the sports front page in Sunday’s edition of The Denver Post, which covered the Colorado Avalanche’s Game 7 loss and the Denver Nuggets’ Game 7 win with a juxtaposition of the “Seventh Hell/Seventh Heaven” headlines on the same page. Here’s how that looked, via Post sports editor Matt Schubert:
Heaven and Hell on Game 7 Saturday in Denver …@BennettDurando on the Nuggets: https://t.co/xWYF5TAZpa@cmasisak22 on the Avs: https://t.co/Ld4hrySicQ@TroyRenck on Adelman: https://t.co/qgNaMGOVVd@SeanKeeler on Mile High: https://t.co/xgKSnjmZ9L pic.twitter.com/nxjczNs2pi
— Matt Schubert (@MattDSchubert) May 4, 2025
As Schubert noted in response to a reply from Altitude TV’s Vic Lombardi, this was a pivot from a hoped-for “Seventh Heaven” headline for both:
The hope was that SEVENTH HEAVEN would apply to all things on that page.
— Matt Schubert (@MattDSchubert) May 4, 2025
Here are some of the other responses this front drew:
Great work by our editors. Fantastic looking front page. But Seventh Heaven was the plan. Avs threw Ragu on that plan. https://t.co/MNpMYRgibu
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) May 4, 2025
Great work on that sports cover https://t.co/GeyoPr72MY
— Michael Hicks (@MHicksEditor) May 4, 2025
There have been quite a few notable front pages and sports front pages from newspapers over the years. Not all of those are in the positive column, but this one is. This was an impressive way for The Denver Post to capture both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat for sports teams they cover Saturday, with that heaven/hell dichotomy. And the print format allowed for that to be done in a beautiful form.