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The four-game suspension handed to Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson for his hit on Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joshua Dobbs was upheld Tuesday.

Hearing officer Derrick Brooks, jointly appointed by the NFL and NFL Players Association, declined to reduce the suspension after Jackson appealed the initial decision.

Jackson will miss games against the Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions. He will be eligible to return in Week 16, a Christmas Eve home game against the New England Patriots.

Earlier this season, Jackson had a four-game suspension reduced to two games by Brooks on appeal. The Broncos' game Sunday night against the Vikings was Jackson's first in his return from that suspension.

Less than two minutes into Sunday's game, Jackson lowered his helmet and hit Dobbs, who was a running back on the play after Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson took the snap from center and pitched the ball to Dobbs.

Dobbs, who ended up fumbling, subsequently underwent a concussion check but was cleared to reenter the game.

A 14-year veteran in his fifth season with the Broncos, Jackson was notified of his suspension Monday morning by NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan. Runyan said in the letter, "on the play in question, you lowered your head and delivered a forceful blow to the shoulder and head/neck area of an opponent when you had time and space to avoid such contact. You could have made contact with your opponent within the rules, yet you chose not to.''

With the four-game suspension upheld, Jackson will forfeit $559,889 in salary. He forfeited $279,000 in salary from his previous two-game suspension. He also has been fined four times this season for unnecessary roughness for a total of $89,670 and has been ejected from two games.

Jackson said last week that he had talked to league officials to seek "clarity'' on tackling, including the plays for which he had been penalized. After his earlier suspension, Jackson's teammates were quick to defend him, especially safety Justin Simmons, who took exception to the league's letter to Jackson last month notifying him of the suspension as well as the narrative that Jackson is a dirty player based on the fines and ejections.

Information from ESPN's Jeff Legwold was included in this report.

DETROIT -- — Reggie Jackson scored 21 points and carried Denver in the fourth quarter after two-time MVP Nikola Jokic was ejected in the first half, and the Nuggets handed the Detroit Pistons their 12th straight loss, 107-103 on Monday night.

Jackson had eight points and three assists in the final period as he and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (20 points) shined against their former team. Michael Porter Jr. finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the defending NBA champion Nuggets (10-4), who ended a two-game skid.

“We were desperate tonight, because we were 0-2 on this road trip and we really needed a win,” Caldwell-Pope said. “We knew they were going to come out hard, because they hadn't won a game in a while, but we got it did done.”

Jokic and Denver coach Michael Malone were both ejected after arguing calls. Malone was thrown out for coming onto the court to dispute a call late in the first quarter, and Jokic was tossed for picking up a second technical with 1:22 left in the second period.

“I think Nikola was worried about my welfare,” Malone joked. “It is tough to watch a game on TV — we were hugging on good plays and I was cursing in Serbian on the bad ones.”

Jokic finished with nine points, five rebounds and five assists in 15 minutes. Jamal Murray (hamstring) missed his seventh straight game.

Cade Cunningham had 27 points and nine assists for the Pistons (2-13), while Marvin Bagley III finished with 18 points. Detroit has lost 36 of its last 40 games, dating to February.

“When you look at this stretch, it is a lot of losses, but I think there were some positives,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said. “There were just too many fouls and too many offensive rebounds allowed down the stretch.”

Aaron Gordon's three-point play gave the Nuggets a 106-103 lead with 1:25 to play, and Denver blocked shots on Detroit's next three possessions. That let the Nuggets run the clock down to 11 seconds, and Jackson hit one of two free throws to make it 107-103.

“Our guys know that, if you want to win a one-possession game on the road, you are going to have to get timely stops,” Malone said. “KCP probably made the defensive play of the game when Reggie got beaten off the bounce and he came over and got the stop without fouling.”

The Pistons didn't score in the last 1:41, missing their last four shots.

The Nuggets outscored the Pistons 25-24 in the third quarter to take a 81-79 lead, but Stanley Umude had eight points and an assist in Detroit's 10-3 run to start the fourth.

Denver struggled to score without Jokic, and Jaden Ivey's free throws put Detroit ahead 97-94 with 3:53 left. Jackson answered with a three-point play to tie it.

“This is obviously tough,” Ivey said. “Every single person in this locker room wants to win. We want to win for each other, the coaches, the organization, the fans and the city.”

UP NEXT

Nuggets: At Orlando on Wednesday.

Pistons: At Indiana for an In-Season Tournament game on Friday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Get lit!

Friday. Denver Union Station ushers in the holiday season as it does each year with the Grand Illumination, which comes complete with family entertainment and activities. Things kick off at 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 24, with musical performances in the Great Hall. That will be followed at 4 p.m. by holiday songs from the Denver Dolls and Dickens Carolers, along with horse-drawn carriage rides, children’s activities and, of course, a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. In addition, there will be a holiday market with local artisans.

For the adults, seasonal beverage offerings from Terminal Bar and the Cooper Lounge will be served on an extended patio with views of the station. The evening culminates at 6 p.m. with the lighting of Denver Union Station’s 40-foot-tall outdoor Christmas tree featuring more than 7,000 holiday lights. Each evening after through Dec. 31, visitors will also be able to see the Merry & Bright Lights show, which transforms “the train station’s exterior façade into a spectacular canvas” that displays “interactive imagery created by local Denver artists.”

Black Friday stouts

Friday. Station 26 Brewing will drop four different kinds of big bold beers at its annual Imperial Event + Black Friday Outdoor Lovers Market. It has become a tradition for craft breweries to release imperial or barrel-aged stouts on the day after Thanksgiving every year, and Station 26 has been doing it longer than almost anyone in Colorado.

The brewery, at 7045 E. 38th Ave. in Denver, will be pouring its beers from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and there will be live music from noon to 3 p.m., a food truck and six to eight vendors, including Meier Skis, which will have a Build Your Own Ski Pole booth. The other vendors (noon to 3 p.m.) include Mountainsmith Gear, Akinz Apparel, Rowdy Trails Posters and more. And if that’s not enough, dozens of other metro Denver breweries will be releasing stouts as well, so go to the social media pages of your favorites to find out when and where.

Laugh track

Friday-Saturday. Irreverent local comedian Sam Tallent headlines Comedy Works Denver, 1226 15th St., with two shows on Friday (7:30 and 9:45 p.m.) and two more on Saturday (7:30 and 9:45 p.m.). Tickets to the 21+ shows are $26 and available at comedyworks.com.

Tallent, who is also an author, has been joking around for a decade in Denver, but also tours the country and typically performs up to 40 weekends per year nationwide. His self-published novel, “Running the Light,” about a comedian, came out in 2020.

Ice cream dreams

Friday-Dec. 31. Little Man Ice Cream is transforming its flagship factory and storefront, at 4411 W. Colfax Ave., into Santa’s Factory for the holidays. Not only will there be “an exuberant explosion of twinkly lights” and “ornaments run-amok, but visitors will also find a series of recurring events, including photos with Santa, bingo with Mrs. Claus, private ice cream-making sessions, holiday cookie decorating, gingerbread house building, a tree farm, holiday music and much more.

Oh, and there’s also ice cream: This year’s holiday lineup includes Egg Nog, Gingersnap, Candy Cane and Vegan Hot Cocoa. Santa’s Factory will be open daily. Most events require tickets or reservations, which you make at littlemanicecreamfactory.com.

Holidays on ice

Saturday-March 2024. Pindustry, the Greenwood Village bowling alley, entertainment complex and restaurant, debuts an expansive outdoor rooftop ice skating rink, Pindustry on Ice, starting Friday, but with a grand opening party on Saturday, Nov. 25, from 5 to 8 p.m. The event, which is free to attend, features a silent disco, snow machine, 360-degree photo booth, hot chocolate bar, ice luge, and a ski pass giveaway. Attendees are encouraged to wear ’80s-themed winter wear.

The menu features tomato soup shooters with grilled cheese fingers, along with s’mores, which guests can make on outdoor fire pits. Beverages include toasted marshmallow martinis and peppermint white Russians, plus hot cocoa and hot apple cider. Pindustry on Ice, at 7939 E. Arapahoe Road, will be open every day (except Christmas) through March 2024; Monday-Friday, from 4 p.m. to close, and Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m. to close. Skate rentals are $5, and skating costs $15 per hour. thepindustry.com

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Denver City Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore plans to resign from her position as chair of the safety and housing committee, saying Tuesday that she doesn’t trust Mayor Mike Johnston or his administration to be forthright about his homelessness strategy.

Gilmore announced her intention at the end of a tense, untelevised meeting between most of the council members and officials from the mayor’s office. As they discussed the city’s emergency response to unsheltered homelessness and the influx of migrants from the U.S. southern border, some council members’ frustrations boiled over into pointed comments.

The third-term councilwoman chairs the Safety, Housing, Education and Homelessness Committee, the first stop for many contracts tied to the new mayor’s plan to move 1,000 unhoused people into hotels, temporary micro-communities and other shelters by the end of the year.

“I feel like I’ve been gaslit in meetings — giving me bits and pieces, just enough to do a good dog-and-pony show for the cameras on Channel 8 to get things through to the full council,” Gilmore said, referring to Denver’s public access TV channel.

The city’s overlapping homelessness and migrant situations have resulted in confusion and frustration among council members, including about just who is in charge of the migrant response at city hall. The tensions came to the fore during the noontime meeting even before Gilmore made her announcement.

The mayor was not present. In a statement provided afterward by his office, Johnston said his staff was moving with urgency on both matters.

“We’ve been straightforward with council members by providing them with information as soon as we have it,” he said. “These situations change quickly and we will continue to inform council as we work toward our joint effort to support those most in need.”

Councilman Darrell Watson, whose District 9 stretches north and east from downtown, said during the meeting that he had learned from constituents and colleagues that morning about the city’s relocation of some migrant families without his knowledge. They had been staying in a hotel in his district and were moved to another shelter site to the east.

That happened even though some of those families already had enrolled their children in a nearby school.

“There’s no trust in how you’re managing the migrant crisis,” Watson told Johnston administration officials. “And it appears your administration isn’t talking to each other. I asked one person a question, and the other person doesn’t know what’s going on.”

Evan Dreyer, Johnston’s deputy chief of staff — who served in the same position under former Mayor Michael Hancock — took the blame for poor communication around the relocations. He is the point person on migrant response in the mayor’s office, he said.

Dreyer said after the meeting that the city was trying to make the most of its limited shelter resources with cold weather bearing down this weekend, and that’s what led to some of those relocations.

“Unbeknownst to us, some of those families had enrolled kids in schools nearby,” he said. “Some of them may have had jobs nearby. And so we didn’t know that we were disrupting that. So we have stopped that movement.”

Dreyer apologized to the council members during the meeting. But Gilmore, in particular, was not satisfied.

She said she no longer wanted to oversee the safety and housing committee’s agendas, which lately have been packed with contracts and agreements to meet the goals of Johnston’s House 1,000 initiative.

Gilmore said she suspected Johnston and his homelessness advisors had withheld information from her, especially when it came to potential shelter sites. She could be a more effective representative for her district, she said, if she focused on asking more questions about proposals as a committee member, rather than being in charge of running committee meetings. She represents far-northeast District 11.

Gilmore said she would lead Wednesday’s committee meeting at the start so that she could hand over responsibilities to a new chair. Council President Jamie Torres said either she or the committee’s vice chair, Councilwoman Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, would take over the chair position.

The committee is set to meet at 10:30 a.m., and the agenda includes consideration of another micro-community contract and a briefing about the health impacts of cold weather on homeless people.

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DENVER -- Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs lost a first-quarter fumble Sunday night on a questionable hit by Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson, a play that marked a key turn of events in Minnesota's eventual 21-20 loss.

Watching in real time from the sideline, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said he thought that Jackson -- playing in his first game back following a two-game suspension for similar hits -- should have been penalized after lowering his head and driving the top of his helmet into Dobbs' chest and face mask.

One of the NFL's health and safety spotters noted the contact and sent Dobbs to undergo a concussion check, which he passed. But the Broncos recovered the fumble at the Vikings' 30-yard line and ultimately turned it into a 31-yard field goal from Wil Lutz.

Asked if he thought Jackson should have been flagged, O'Connell said: "On the field, it felt like that. I'll have to go back and look at it. It tends to happen pretty fast out there, but in the moment, coming from the second level the way he did, it seemed like a pretty direct helmet-to-helmet type hit. But I'm sure [officials] saw it differently on the play. They're officiating a fast play right there."

Dobbs was actually a running back on the play; Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson lined up under center and pitched the ball to Dobbs in an attempt to convert a third-and-1. That means Dobbs did not merit protection afforded to quarterbacks in the pocket.

But NFL players also are prohibited from lowering their heads and making forcible contact with their helmets against opponents, a rule that is not often flagged because it is difficult for officials to see. But such hits often result in warning letters, fines and occasionally suspensions.

Jackson was suspended for three games, reduced to two on appeal, after hitting Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave when he was in a defenseless position in Week 7.

In addition to his suspension, Jackson has been fined four times this season and ejected from two games.

Dobbs said he "felt fine" after the hit, explaining why he passed through the concussion test, and deferred to O'Connell on whether Jackson should have been penalized.

"I haven't had a chance to watch it," Dobbs said. "That's something I'll check out. I've got to take care of the football. Third-and-1, I'm trying to make a play, get the first down, keep us on the field, move the sticks. I'll let the coaches and everyone else figure that stuff out with officiating. But at the end of the day, I've got to take care of the football in that situation, especially to start the game."

The Vikings committed a total of three turnovers, including an interception from Dobbs and a fumble by running back Alexander Mattison. The Broncos converted those miscues into nine points, nearly half their total for the night.