DENVER (AP) – Patrick Roy has been hired as coach of the Colorado Avalanche. The team said Thursday it had reached an agreement in principle with the Hall of Fame goaltender to take over as coach and vice president of hockey operations. The 47-year-old Roy won two Stanley Cups with Colorado. He becomes the sixth coach in Avalanche history and the 14th in franchise history; the team began as the Quebec Nordiques and joined the NHL in 1979. Roy has spent the last eight seasons as coach and general manager of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, winning the 2006 Memorial Cup.

ROCKIES TAKE ON GIANTS IN BAY AREA

San Francisco—Tyler Chatwood (2-0) takes the mound tonight for the Colorado Rockies at AT&T Park in San Francisco against the Giants’ two-time Cy Young Award winner, Tim Lincecum (3-3). The Giants and the Rockies are tied for first in the National League West.

BRONCOS SECOND YEAR RUNNING BACK BULKING UP

ENGLEWOOD (AP) – Coach John Fox declared in the aftermath of Denver’s loss to Baltimore in the playoffs that the Broncos needed to bulk up their backfield. Turns out they didn’t have to draft Wisconsin running back Montee Ball to accomplish that feat. Ronnie Hillman, who was down to 180 pounds by January, is pushing 200 pounds in his quest to get more playing time in 2013. That extra mass and muscle should help him better take on blitzers and linebackers in his second season in the NFL. Hillman’s rookie season was marred by a pulled hamstring in camp and weight loss during the season, two factors that combined to keep him from honing his blitz pickup skills that are a prerequisite for playing alongside Peyton Manning.

NUGGETS GM MAY BE LEAVING

DENVER (AP) – The Denver Nuggets are letting general manager Masai Ujiri, the NBA’s Executive of the Year, meet with the Toronto Raptors about their GM vacancy, Yahoo Sports is reporting. Yahoo reported that Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke is prepared to offer Ujiri $3 million annually to return to Toronto, where he was assistant GM for three years before joining the Nuggets in 2010.
Ujiri is one of the league’s lowest-paid GMs, making less than $1 million annually in Denver, where he has reshaped the Nuggets into a Western Conference contender following the 2010 trade of Carmelo Anthony. His contract with the Nuggets expires June 30, and the 42-year-old Ujiri has said he wants to stay in Denver.

Undated—If you plan to drink during the three-day Memorial weekend, don’t get behind the wheel. Law enforcement agencies across Colorado will be targeting drunk drivers starting tonight through Tuesday morning. The “Heat is On” campaign will include sobriety checkpoints at various locations as well as increased and saturation patrols. The sheriff’s offices of Garfield, Pitkin and Eagle Counties will be involved along with the police departments of Glenwood Springs, Rifle, Aspen, Basalt and Snowmass.

FEWER MEMORIAL DAY TRAVELERS EXPECTED IN COLORADO, HIGHER GAS PRICES

Glenwood Springs—With gas prices hovering near or above 4 dollars a gallon, fewer people are expected to make long trips for the kickoff to summer according Triple-A of Colorado. Officials say the decline from last year will be about 1 percent.

FIRE DANGER

Grand Junction—The dry southwest part of the state is under a red flag warning for the next few days. Forecasters at the National Weather Service say due to high winds, low humidity and very dry fuels in the backcountry, people need to be extra cautious with outdoor fires.

GW CANYON ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION CONTINUES

GLENWOOD SPRINGS (AP) – Colorado Department of Transportation officials are reviewing the Interstate 70 construction zone on the east end of Glenwood Canyon following the second fatal car accident in the five-mile stretch during the past six weeks. CDOT spokeswoman Nancy Shanks said Thursday anytime there is a fatal accident, the department reviews highway conditions to determine if they played a role. C-DOT is getting copies of the accident reports and traffic engineers will review them.

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Grand Junction—The annual Western Slope High School All-Star Softball classic is being played tonight under the lights at Bergmann Field at Colorado Mesa University. A handful of local girls are playing Brittany and Erin Neuroth from Rifle High School.

ROCKIES BEAT THE D-BACKS IN 10 INNINGS

Denver—The Colorado Rockies edged the Arizona Diamondbacks last night at Coors Field, 5 to 4. Willin Rosario’s single in the 10th inning drove in Carlos Gonzalez with the winning run. Troy Tulowitzki hit a solo home run and a double.

MORE ROCKIES NEWS

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – The Colorado Rockies have assigned three-time All Star pitcher Roy Oswalt to the Tulsa Drillers. Oswalt is to start on Friday evening against the Midland Rockhounds at ONEOK Field. The Drillers say Oswalt will throw about 75 pitches and will likely make between three and five starts for the Class AA ball club.
Oswalt signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies on May 2. The right-hander has spent 12 years in the majors, pitching for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers. Oswalt has a 163-96 career record. The plan is for Oswalt to be fit enough to join the Rockies in mid or late June.

ELSEWHERE IN SPORTS…

UNDATED (AP) – Mike Krzyzewski (shuh-SHEF’-skee) is apparently on the verge of announcing that he will remain as coach of the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team. A person with knowledge of the decision says the Duke coach will stay on. Krzyzewski was originally expected to step down but the person tells The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that a news conference will take place tomorrow.

CHICAGO (AP) – Brian Urlacher (UR’-lah-kur), a former Associated Press NFL defensive player of the year, has announced through social media accounts that he is retiring. Urlacher spent 13 seasons with the Chicago Bears but in March was unable to reach a contract agreement with the team and became a free agent.

MIAMI (AP) – The first game of the Miami-Indiana NBA Eastern Conference final is tonight in Miami. They met three times during the season with the Pacers winning the two games played in Indianapolis and the Heat taking the one in Miami.

OTTAWA (AP) – Playing on their home ice, the Ottawa Senators are looking to even their best-of-seven NHL Eastern Conference semifinal tonight with Pittsburgh. The Penguins won the first two games in Pittsburgh and then lost the third game in Ottawa in double-overtime, 2-1.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Ron Jaworski of ESPN says he has offered Tim Tebow (TEE’-boh) a job with his Arena Football League team, the Philadelphia Soul. Jaworski, who is a former Eagles quarterback, says he is serious in offering Tebow a job with the AFL club.

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Glenwood Springs—One person was killed and four people were seriously injured early this morning when a car collided with a semi in Glenwood Canyon just east of the Hanging Lake Tunnel. According to early reports from the Colorado State Patrol, the accident happened between 4:30 and 5 o’clock this morning. I-70 has been closed in both directons since then at Dotsero on the westbound side and for eastbound traffic at Glenwood Springs exit 116. The collision took place in the two-lane construction zone at mile marker 126. The truck’s fuel tank ruptured and both vehicles caught fire. Due to the serious nature of the accident, officials say it’s going to take some time to repair the guardrail, inspect the bridge for any damage, clean up the fuel spill and complete the investigation. Around 6 o’clock this morning, emergency officials on the scene were guessing a closure of up to 8 hours but it could be longer. For travelers who cannot wait, the alternate route is State Highway 13, to US-40 to 131. For truckers in Glenwood Springs considering the alternate route, take I-70 west to Rifle since there is no place for big rigs to turnaround on Highway 6.

WEST SLOPE MULE DEER POPULATION DECLINING

Meeker—Wildlife biologists that have been studying and researching the drop in the mule deer population in western Colorado will report their findings during a public meeting in Meeker next week. The meeting will be held Wednesday night, May 29th at 7 at the Mountain Valley Bank on Main Street in Meeker.

GARCO COMMISSION CHAIRMAN NAMED PRESIDENT OF REGIONAL ASSOCIATION

Glenwood Springs—Garfield County Commssion Chairman John Martin will be installed as the new president of the National Association of Counties of the Western Interstate Region this Friday in Flagstaff, Arizona. Martin is attending the association’s conference in Arizona this week.

OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY AT ODDS WITH FRONT RANGE COMMUNITIES

LONGMONT (AP) – Some northern Colorado communities are looking to strictly regulate oil and gas drilling rather than stopping it all together. Boulder County commissioners on Tuesday voted against extending a moratorium on new wells set to expire June 10. They instead agreed to try to phase in the expected development.
Commissioner Deb Gardner hopes the county will be able to hire its own inspectors and technical experts to monitor wells – possibly around the clock – before new drilling occurs. Meanwhile, a divided Fort Collins city council lifted its drilling moratorium late Tuesday, allowing Prospect Energy to drill under regulations stricter than the state’s.

ENGLEWOOD. (AP) – The Denver Broncos keep bringing in veteran free-agent cornerbacks and Chris Harris keeps fending them off.
He aims to do the same with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who signed a one-year, $5 million deal with Denver this spring. Last season, the Broncos brought in Drayton Florence and Tracy Porter. Florence was cut in training camp and Porter started the season as the right cornerback but got sick and never won his job back with Harris playing so well. Rodgers-Cromartie is slated to start opposite Champ Bailey this season with Harris moving to nickel back. That’s not really a demotion because in today’s pass-heavy NFL, teams consider the third cornerback another starter. Harris also wants to start in the Broncos’ base defense, though, and history shows he has a good shot.

ROCKIES LOSE TO D-BACKS

DENVER (AP) – Patrick Corbin tossed a three-hitter for his first complete game and struck out a career-high 10, lifting the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.
Corbin (7-0) joined Randy Johnson as the only lefties in team history to begin the season 7-0. He also turned in his club-record ninth straight start where he’s pitched at least six innings and allowed two runs or less.

COLORADO REC TEAM MANAGEMENT FIRM GROWING

BOULDER (AP) – A Colorado-based company that helps people manage their recreational sports teams’ activities online has acquired key assets of Weplay Inc., a sports social-networking site that had been backed by athletes including Peyton Manning and Derek Jeter.
Boulder-based TeamSnap said Tuesday it is acquiring the customer base, technology and online coaching resources of Weplay. TeamSnap CEO Dave DuPont says the acquisition cost less than $5 million. He didn’t disclose other terms. The announcement follows the news last month that TeamSnap raised $2.75 million from investors.

ELSEWHERE IN SPORTS…

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Vinny Del Negro (NAY’-groh) is out as coach of the Los Angeles Clippers after their first-round playoff exit. The Clippers won a franchise-record 56 games, had a 17-game winning streak and won the club’s first Pacific Division title before their early playoff exit. Del Negro had a 128-102 regular-season record in three years with the team.

NEW YORK (AP) – The NBA and the players’ union are combining to donate $1 million to tornado relief efforts in the Oklahoma City area. The donation follows $1 million pledges from the Oklahoma City Thunder and star forward Kevin Durant.

BOSTON (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers’ new stadium being built in Santa Clara has been chosen as site of Super Bowl 50 to be played in February 2016. That stadium, due to open next year, beat out South Florida, which was stymied in its bid to host an 11th Super Bowl.

SAN ANTONIO (AP)- The San Antonio Spurs have home-court advantage tonight as they try to go 2-up on the Memphis Grizzlies in their NBA Western Conference final. The Spurs blitzed the Grizzlies with 14 3-pointers while hitting 53 of their shots in a 105-83 victory in the series opener on Sunday.

NEW YORK (AP) – The NBA draft lottery is tonight in New York. The Orlando Magic, who posted a league-worst 20-52 record, have a one-in-four chance of snagging the No. 1 pick, which is expected to be Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel.