RIFLE PLAYS FOR STATE FOOTBALL TITLE
Aurora–The top-ranked and undefeated Rifle Bears hope to cap off a perfect season tomorrow afternoon as they battle the 10th seeded Silver Creek Raptors in the 3A State Championship game at Legacy Stadium in Aurora. Kick-off is set for 1 o’clock and will be broadcast live on KMTS and over the internet at KMTS.com with pregame coverage beginning at noon.
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Peach Valley–The new basketball season tips off tonight at Coal Ridge High School as the Titans girls and boys host the Glenwood Demons at 5:30 and 7 o’clock.
Carbondale–The annual Brenda Patch Memorial basketball tournament gets under way tonight at Roaring Fork High School. The Rams’ boys and girls will host Eagle Valley, Basalt and Steamboat Springs. The tournament concludes
tomorrow night.
Elsewhere in sports….
NUGGETS LOSE A TOUGH ONE
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Andre Iguodala’s (ihg-woh-DAH’-lahz) 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded was waived off, and the Golden State Warriors held on for a wild 106-105 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night after four replay reviews over the final 3.4 seconds. Iguodala received a cross-court inbounds pass and connected from the left wing with a hand in his face, and Denver players celebrated by running off the court toward their locker room. But the Warriors stayed put and waited on yet another review by officials at the scorer’s table – then began their own cheers at raucous Oracle Arena when officials ruled the shot came just an instant after time expired. Iguodala missed the last of three free throws that would have tied the game with 3.4 seconds to go, but Denver still had two more chances to win. The Nuggets take on the Lakers tonight in L.A.
PAC 12 FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TONIGHT
UNDATED (AP) – Eighth-ranked Stanford will host No. 17 UCLA for the Pac-12 championship game this evening.
The favored Cardinal went 8-1 in league play and are 10-2 overall. The Bruins are 9-3 with a 6-3 conference mark.
The winner will play in the Rose Bowl. The loser probably ends up in the Alamo Bowl. That’s because sixth-ranked Oregon’s only loss was to North Division rival Stanford, meaning the Ducks are likely to get the conference’s other BCS spot.
ATLANTA (AP) – Atlanta built a quick 17-0 lead last night before beating the NFC South-rival New Orleans Saints 23-13 in the Georgia Dome. The Falcons improve to 11-1 and can capture the division crown with a Tampa Bay loss to Denver on Sunday.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) – Louisville will play in college football’s Bowl Championship Series for a second time. The Cardinals edged the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers 20-17 last night in what was essentially a Big East championship game.
MIAMI (AP) – San Antonio coach Greg Popovich sent four of his starters home before finishing up a six-game road trip with a 105-100 loss at Miami. NBA Commissioner David Stern calls the decision “unacceptable,” and is apologizing to fans, saying that sanctions against the Spurs will be forthcoming.
NEW YORK (AP) – WFAN radio reports that David Wright and the New York Mets have agreed to a $138 million, eight-year contract that would be the richest in franchise history. The deal would keep the All-Star third baseman under contract with the Mets through the 2020 season, when he will be 37.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – Former major leaguer Chan Ho Park retired after a career spanning nearly two decades in the United States, Japan and South Korea. The 39-year-old right-hander was the first South Korean-born player in the Major League Baseball and holds the MLB record for most wins by an Asian pitcher, going 124-98.
