HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
The Rifle Bears girl’s and boy’s teams will take on the Bulldogs tonight at Palisade High School in the Palisade Invitational. The girls tip off at 6 and the boys follow at 7:30
The Glenwood Demons can finish out 2013 with perfect 3 and 0 league records if they can get past the Steamboat Springs Sailors tomorrow afternoon at the Pepsi Center. The game on the Nuggets’ home floor is part of the “Prep to Pros” program. The girls game begins at 1:15 and the boys will play around 3:30. Both games will be broadcast live on KMTS.
ROCKIES MAKE TRADES
DENVER (AP) – The Colorado Rockies have reacquired left-hander Franklin Morales from the Boston Red Sox for versatile infielder Jonathan Herrera. It was the second trade the Rockies orchestrated on Wednesday. They also picked up outfielder Drew Stubbs from the Cleveland Indians for reliever Josh Outman. Morales is coming off a season in which he went 2-2 with a 4.62 ERA in 20 games for the World Series champion Red Sox. He was a member of the Rockies when they made their run to the World Series in 2007, only to be swept by Boston. Colorado also picked up minor league reliever Chris Martin in the deal. The 29-year-old Herrera hit .292 with one homer and 16 RBIs in 195 at-bats for Colorado this year. He played second base, third, shortstop and two games in left field.
This has been a busy offseason for the Rockies, who recently acquired lefty Brett Anderson from the Oakland Athletics.
ROCKIES-INDIANS TRADE
CLEVELAND (AP) – The Indians have acquired left-hander Josh Outman from Colorado for outfielder Drew Stubbs. The 29-year-old Outman spent most of last season with the Rockies, going 3-0 with a 4.33 ERA in 61 relief appearances. Outman limited left-handed hitters to a .198 average and had a 3.41 ERA in hitter-friendly Coors Field. The Indians had issues getting out left-handers, a reason they acquired Marc Rzepczynski from St. Louis before the trade deadline. Outman has a 12-11 career record with a 4.61 ERA 146 games for Oakland and Colorado. Stubbs, who came to Cleveland in last December’s trade with Cincinnati for Shin-Soo Choo, batted .233 with 10 homers and 17 steals as a part-time player for the Indians. Cleveland’s signing of free agent David Murphy made Stubbs expendable.
WORLD CUP SKIING/MENS
VAL GARDENA, Italy (AP) – Erik Guay of Canada led World Cup downhill training on Thursday, while Bode Miller was 16th. Guay was 0.22 seconds ahead of overall leader Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway in second, and 0.72 seconds in front of Manuel Osborne-Paradis of Canada in third after their runs on the Saslong course. Guay thought he won last year until a drastic weather change helped later starters. American Steven Nyman earned his second Saslong victory, and Rok Perko of Slovenia claimed second, relegating Guay to third. On Thursday, Nyman was 10th in training and Miller was the next fastest American.
A super-G is scheduled for Friday, followed by the downhill on Saturday. The circuit moves to nearby Alta Badia for a giant slalom on Sunday.
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
VAL D’ISERE, France (AP) – Lindsey Vonn had the second-fastest run in World Cup downhill training Thursday as she increased the pace in her comeback from injury.
The American finished only 0.04 seconds behind Dominique Gisin of Switzerland, who clocked 1 minute, 49.07 seconds on the Oreiller-Killy course. Defending overall champion Tina Maze was third, 0.16 behind. The downhill race is scheduled for Saturday with a giant slalom to follow on Sunday. Vonn has five World Cup wins in Val d’Isere and also won two golds at the 2009 world championships. Earlier this month, Vonn raced for the first time in 10 months after a serious knee injury and a partial re-tear of one of two knee ligaments that were reconstructed.
ELSEWHERE IN SPORTS…
SEATTLE (AP) – The University of Washington has confirmed to The Associated Press that it is looking into recruiting allegations against an assistant football coach following a report in the Los Angeles Times. The report says Washington and Southern California are investigating allegations that Huskies defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi violated NCAA rules by paying for private tutoring and online classes for a recruit. USC recently hired former head coach Steve Sarkisian away from Washington.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Oklahoma City is the only remaining NBA team that is unbeaten at home this season and the Thunder will put that distinction on the line tonight when they host Chicago. OKC takes a seven-game winning streak into the game as part of its NBA-best 20-4 record that includes a 12-0 mark at home.
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) – No. 1-ranked Arizona is expected to get something of a breather tonight after a close win at Michigan over the weekend left the Wildcats 11-0 on the season. The Jaguars are 3-7 this season including a 43-point win over NAIA school Dillard Saturday.
