HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
GIRLS
Grand Junction Central Warriors—36 Rifle Bears—-34
BOYS
Grand Junction Central—50 Rifle—-40
Olathe—The Grand Valley Cardinals travel to Olathe tonight to take on the Pirates. The girl’s game tips off at 5:30 and the boys contest will follow at 7.
NFL / DENVER BRONCOS
Englewood— Peyton Manning will start for the Denver Broncos in the playoffs. Coach Gary Kubiak informed his team of the decision Thursday morning when players returned from a three-day furlough after securing the AFC’s top seed. Manning missed seven starts with a left foot injury. He returned to action Sunday when he relieved Brock Osweiler in the second half and led the Broncos (12-4) to a 27-20 win over San Diego. The Broncos went 7-2 with Manning as their starter and 5-2 under Osweiler, including Sunday’s win over the Chargers. Osweiler has never taken a snap in the playoffs. Manning is 11-13 in the playoffs over his 18-year career. That includes an NFL record nine first-game exits, three Super Bowls and one ring.
NBA
Minneapolis, MN—The Denver Nuggets’ six-game losing streak came to an end with last night’s 78-74 victory over the Timberwolves in the Twin Cities. Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 20 points.
NHL
Denver—The Avs beat the Saint Louis Blues last night in overtime, 4 to 3. Gabe Landeskog scored the winning goal.
ELSEWHERE IN SPORTS…
NEW YORK (AP) – The class of 2016 for the Baseball Hall of Fame features two recent stars, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza (pee-AHT’-zah). Griffey garnered 98.84 per cent of the vote to gain admittance while Piazza got 83 percent. Induction ceremonies at Cooperstown are July 24.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Golden State has been golden this season with a record of 33-2 but not too far behind are the San Antonio Spurs. They remained unbeaten at home with a 123-98 win over Utah last night. On the season the Spurs are 31-6.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Cleveland remains the top team in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers, who started a six-game road trip last night in Washington, beat the Wizards 121-115 as Lebron James and Kyrie (ky-REE’) Irving combined for 66 points. The Cavs are 24-9.
UNDATED (AP) – Lovie Smith is out as coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was dismissed last night after two seasons and a record of 8-24. After going 2-14 in their first season with Smith, the Bucs improved to 6-10 this season.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Despite reports saying he might be leaving New Orleans, Saints coach Sean Payton says he’s staying put. The Saints have had back-to-back 7-9 seasons but overall have enjoyed success with Payton as coach.
