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Avalanche Journal: Cale Makar’s peers agree. Colorado defenseman “is just on another level”

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:36:16 GMT

Cale Makar has been on a remarkable run of late, even by his lofty standards.If there was one specific sequence that reminded everyone of his brilliance, it came just past the midway point of the third period Wednesday night, when Makar stole the puck from Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller, raced to the other end of the ice and sealed a Colorado Avalanche victory with a breakaway goal.Look, it’s way too early in the season to be worrying too much about the NHL’s individual awards. That disclaimer in place, anyone who holds a futures ticket for the Norris Trophy that doesn’t have the Colorado star’s name on it probably doesn’t feel all that great about it after Makar has spent the past couple of weeks reminding everyone why so many of his peers believe he’s the best defenseman on the planet.“They are similar in ways, but Makar has been the best defenseman in the league for a while now,” said Nashville’s Roman Josi, who won the...

Deion Sanders promises changes after CU Buffs fall 23-17 at Utah Utes, end season on 6-game skid

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:36:16 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY — The Buffs are completely different from where we left them against the Utah Utes a year ago. And first-year coach Deion Sanders promises even more changes are coming.Especially with the CU coaching staff.“A few (moves), a few,” Sanders said when asked after the Buffs’ 23-17 loss to Utah if his staff would be in flux for Year 2 of the Coach Prime Era.Including offensive coordinator?“Excuse me?” Sanders asked.Including offensive coordinator.“I don’t know. I don’t know about that one.”Sanders shook up his offensive play-calling a month ago. Offensive coordinator Sean Lewis, who joined the Buffs after serving as a head coach at Kent State, was relieved of his play-calling duties before CU’s home game with Oregon State this past Nov. 4.While Lewis remained on the staff, the reins were handed to analyst and former Broncos coach and NFL head coach Pat Shurmur. That change couldn’t stop the Buffs from f...

Palo Alto holds off Mountain View for CCS D-IV title in ‘one of the greatest games ever’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:36:16 GMT

SAN JOSE — There was no hesitation on the Mountain View sideline late Saturday afternoon.After nearly four quarters of back-and-forth football for the Central Coast Section Division IV championship, coach Tim Lugo called timeout and sent his offense back onto the San Jose City College field for a two-point conversion attempt that would have given his team the lead with 42 seconds left.But Palo Alto was up for the moment.The Vikings made the stop, recovered an onside kick and celebrated a second consecutive section championship, 34-33, a result that had participants on both sides marveling about what had just unfolded.“This was probably one of the greatest games ever,” Palo Alto offensive star Jason Auzenne said. “It will stick with me for a long time, most definitely.”Palo Alto’s Jason Auzenne returns a Mountain View kickoff for 56 yards in the 1st half of the CCS Division IV high school football championship game against Mountain View at City College in San ...

Pedestrian killed by southbound Caltrain in San Mateo County

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:36:16 GMT

(KRON) -- A second pedestrian was killed within the span of two days by a southbound Caltrain in Brisbane Saturday afternoon, according to a spokesperson for the transit agency.At approximately 1:15 p.m., the victim was fatally struck by commuter passenger Train 240 on main track No. 4, Caltrain spokesperson Tasha Bartholomew said in a statement. Emergency personnel, including police and fire teams, were present at the scene. There were no additional reports of injuries among the 120 passengers on board.At 2:04 p.m., authorities issued clearance for train movement on main track No. 3. Fifteen minutes later at 2:19 p.m., Transit Police released Train 240 and all tracks to operate at their maximum authorized speeds.An investigation is currently ongoing by the Transit Police.This marks Caltrain's 14th fatality this year, with the most recent incident occurring on Friday afternoon in Redwood City.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

No. 4 Washington finishes perfect regular season with 24-21 win over Washington State in Apple Cup

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:36:16 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Grady Gross made a 42-yard field goal on the final play, Rome Odunze caught two touchdown passes from Michael Penix Jr. and No. 4 Washington beat Washington State 24-21 on Saturday in the Apple Cup for an undefeated regular season.Playing likely his final game at Husky Stadium, Odunze caught a 40-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and hauled in a 21-yarder on the final play of the third quarter to give the Huskies a 21-14 lead.Odunze then added his biggest running play of the year. Facing fouth-and-1 at their own 29 with 1:11 left, he took a reverse 23 yards. Odunze later played defender breaking up a potential interception at the goal line and Gross nailed the winner.In the final year of the Pac-12 before most of its members scatter to other conferences, Washington (12-0, 9-0) became the first school in the 12-team era to go unbeaten in the regular season. The last conference team to finish the regular season unbeaten was Oregon in 2010 before the conference e...

North Dakota State destroys drake 66-3 in opening-round FCS playoff game

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:36:16 GMT

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Cam Miller threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns and North Dakota State annihilated Drake 66-3 in an opening-round game of the FCS playoffs on Saturday.NDSU advances to the second round and next week plays sixth-seeded Montana State (8-3). The Bison have won four of their last five. NDSU moved its record to 45-4 in the FCS playoffs, including a 35-1 record in the Fargodome.After Miller fumbled the ball away on the first play from scrimmage, North Dakota State (9-3) rebounded to score touchdowns on its final five drives of the first half and led 35-3 at halftime.Drake took a 3-0 lead on Shane Dunning’s 30-yard field goal with 12:34 left in the first quarter. By the end of the quarter though, Cole Payton had a 20-yard scoring run and Raja Nelson had a 5-yard scoring run for a 14-3 North Dakota State advantage.Miller completed 10-of-11 passes and Payton had 104 yards rushing on 13 carries and scored twice. Luke Bailey threw for 111 yards for Drake and was inte...

Liberty finishes 1st perfect regular season in program’s 50 years with 42-28 win over UTEP

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:36:16 GMT

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — No. 22 Liberty completed the first undefeated regular season in the program’s 50-year history, with Quinton Cooley rushing for three touchdowns in a 42-28 victory over UTEP on Saturday.Quarterback Kaidon Salter ran for a team-leading 94 yards and threw for a score as the Flames made their Conference USA debut by becoming the league’s third team to go 12-0, joining Tulane (1998) and Houston (2011). They are the first team Division I team from the state of Virginia to win 12 games.“Making history like that is just something you didn’t start out to do,” first-year coach Jamey Chadwell said. “As coaches, you’re, ‘All right, what’s next. I’m thinking about next week.’ We’ll look back on it and just how special it was, especially being new.” Liberty (8-0 C-USA), which rushed for a season-high 441 yards, will host New Mexico State in the conference championship game Friday, but likely will need a Tulane loss to have a shot at the Group of Five bid to the N...

Ollie Gordon II’s 5 TDs lead Oklahoma State past BYU in 2OT, into Big 12 title game

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:36:16 GMT

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Ollie Gordon II ran for his fifth touchdown of the game in the second overtime, and No. 21 Oklahoma State rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat BYU 40-34 on Saturday, securing a spot in the Big 12 Championship game.BYU had a chance to win after Gordon’s final score, but Oklahoma State’s Trey Rucker ripped the ball from Isaac Rex after a catch and recovered the fumble to end it. The Cowboys celebrated after the play was confirmed by replay review.Oklahoma State (9-3, 7-2 Big 12, No. 20 CFP) eliminated rival Oklahoma from the title game. The Cowboys will play No. 7 Texas next Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.Gordon, who entered the week as the nation’s leading rusher, finished with 166 yards rushing on a cold, rainy day and has 1,580 this season. Alan Bowman passed for 321 yards and Leon Johnson III had nine catches for 132 yards for Oklahoma State, which matched the third-largest comeback in school history.Jake Retzlaff pa...

Aguilar throws 4 touchdown passes, Appalachian State advances to Sun Belt title game

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:36:16 GMT

BOONE, N.C. (AP) — Joey Aguilar threw four touchdown passes and Appalachian State blew past Georgia Southern 55-27 on Saturday, clinching a berth in the Sun Belt Championship in the process.The Mountaineers (8-4, 6-2 Sun Belt Conference) fell behind by 11 points in the first quarter then outscored the Eagles 52-13 over the final three quarters.Aguilar threw second quarter touchdown passes of 27 yards to Kaedin Robinson and 41 yards to Cristan Horn, leading the Mountaineers to a 27-17 lead at halftime.Aguilar hit Eli Wilson from 2 yards and Anderson Castle scored on a 15-yard run to extend the lead to 41-17 after three. Aguilar and Robinson hooked up again, from 10 yards, and Maqueul Haywood capped the scoring with a 27-yard run late in the fourth.Georgia Southern’s only highlight in the second half was a 100-yard kickoff return by DeAndre Buchannon.Aguilar finished 23-of-36 passing for 296 yards with the four scores and one interception. Kanye Roberts had 109 yards rushing and...

Reed’s 4 TD passes carry Western Kentucky past Florida International, 41-28

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:36:16 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Austin Reed threw four touchdown passes and Western Kentucky scored early to post a 41-28 win over Florida International in the regular-season finale on Saturday. Western Kentucky beat FIU for the fifth straight time and now is 11-6 all-time against the Panthers. The Hilltoppers (7-5, 5-3 Conference USA) will finish their season by going to a bowl game for the 10th time in the last 12 seasons and the fifth time in coach Tyson Helton’s five years at the school. Reed and the Hilltoppers took the opening kick and drove 75 yards in 13 plays. Reed hit Malachi Corley with a 2-yard pass for a 7-0 lead then hit Jimmy Holiday with a 39-yard touchdown with :57 left in the quarter. Upton Stout returned a FIU fumble 16 yards for a score as time expired for a 21-0 lead to start the second quarter. FIU got on the board when Keyone Jenkins tossed a 3-yard pass to Rocky Beers, but Reed answered with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Easton Messer and Dalvin Smith pulled up and threw a ...