The Colorado School of Mines football team’s three-year RMAC win streak ended in the same place the last one did — inside Stocker Stadium on the Western Slope.
Colorado Mesa quarterback Liu Aumavae threw a pair of touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, and the Mavericks rallied from 13 points down to upset fourth-ranked Mines, 14-13, and claim the Nyikos Cup on Saturday.
A two-point conversion put the Mavericks (3-2, 2-1 RMAC) over the top, with Sam Horneck getting it done on a reverse option pass that handed Mines (4-1, 2-1 RMAC) its first RMAC loss in three years.
The Orediggers’ last conference defeat also came at Colorado Mesa — a 26-21 loss on Oct. 23, 2021, that ended a 14-game conference win streak. Mines won 23 straight RMAC games after that en route to two NCAA Division II championship game trips. But after playing with fire in back-to-back narrow road wins to start the season, the Orediggers were unable to stave off the Mavericks on Saturday.
Mines quarterback Evan Foster hooked up with Max McLeod for a 10-yard touchdown in the first quarter to open the scoring. McLeod finished with seven catches for 92 yards, breaking Brody Oliver’s program record of 4,010 career receiving yards in the process.
A punt block set up the Orediggers at the Mavs’ 9-yard line in the second quarter. Three plays later, Landon Walker dove into the end zone for a 13-0 lead after Mines missed the point-after attempt.
The Orediggers didn’t score again, however, as Foster was sacked five times and finished 14-of-30 passing for 159 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
Aumavae found Trevin Edwards for a 6-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, but the PAT was blocked by Jaden Healy to keep the Orediggers’ lead at 13-6.
After Mines punted on its next possession, CMU chewed up 5 minutes, 41 seconds of clock with an 11-play, 98-yard march that ended with Aumavae connecting with Quezon Villa for a 9-yard score. After the trick play two-point conversion gave CMU a 14-13 lead, Mines had two possessions to drive for the winning score but came up empty both times. A strip sack recovered by the Mavericks ended the game.
For Shedeur Sanders, last year stood as a convincing opening statement.
The quarterback started with a record-setting performance in an upset road win against TCU. A couple of weeks after that, he led a last-second, 98-yard TD drive to eventually beat rival CSU in double OT. And even when CU’s wheels fell off, he still showed mettle, flashed several well-timed watch-flexes and played hurt, until he couldn’t anymore.
Now, it’s time for Sanders’ closing arguments in black and gold starting with Thursday’s opener against North Dakota State at Folsom Field. And if the team plays better around the senior this fall, it could be historic.
“If (the offensive line) can protect him, this young man may put up one of the great seasons in college football history,” predicted CU play-by-play man Mark Johnson. “(Darian) Hagan is at the top as national champ, and Kordell (Stewart) is up there too, but Shedeur is going to put himself in the conversation as the greatest Colorado quarterback if he has another season like he did last year.”
Sanders, who missed the final six quarters of 2023 with a back fracture, is healthy again. The Buffs retooled their offensive line with transfers and the top high school left tackle in the nation, Jordan Seaton.
If the big men can block a year after the line allowed 56 sacks, the weapons are there on the outside. Two-way star Travis Hunter, Jimmy Horn Jr., and transfers Will Sheppard and LaJohntay Wester give Sanders the chance to top last year.
And that’s saying something. Even as the Buffs stumbled to 4-8 and last in the Pac-12, Sanders set CU records for passing yards in a season (3,230), completion percentage (69.3), touchdown-to-interception ratio (9-to-1) and interception percentage (0.7).
Unsurprisingly, Sanders remains confident. Even before taking a snap this season, No. 2 is projected to be one of the top quarterbacks selected in the 2025 NFL Draft.
“That’s the difference, I’d say, between me and a lot of other players,” Sanders said at Big 12 media day. “I’m not close to my ceiling at all. I’ve got a long way to go.”
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders talks with media during the Big 12 Conference NCAA college football media days in Las Vegas, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier)
Sanders’ performance could also be helped by consistency from the play-caller.
Last year, Sean Lewis called the Buffs offense for the first eight games before Pat Shurmur took over for the final four games. Now with Shurmur as the team’s offensive coordinator, the former Giants head coach and Broncos OC believes the Buffs will be able to establish a consistent run game his QB never had in 2023.
“It’s hard to cook in somebody else’s kitchen because you can’t really change anything at that point,” Shurmur said. “I don’t know if (the end of 2023) was a springboard, but what I do know, we were able to reset (the offense) the way we wanted to. We went out and got some new players, some more quality big men, then we installed an offense that works for us. I feel like it’s a new start moving forward.”
But will a revamped offensive line along with Shurmur’s now-permanent role be enough for Sanders to take his game to the next level? Head coach Deion Sanders believes so, especially after the work his son put in with his trainer over the summer.
“He’s worked on some of the little mechanical things with his quarterback coach (Darrell Colbert Jr) out of Houston,” Deion Sanders said on ESPN last month. “And it’s not just the mechanics of footwork and ball placement and releases, but also just getting to know his players and his receivers and where they want the ball. You can see after 7-on-7s and practice, him grabbing a guy, pulling him to the side and telling him what he wants and what he saw.”
Whether all of this will result in more wins, and even better stats for the quarterback, remains to be seen.
What is certain is that even with Sanders’ enormous popularity — he was recently ranked No. 1 on FOX Sports’ list of college football superstars — the QB needs to win to put himself in the discussion for end-of-season national honors such as the Davey O’Brien Award and Heisman Trophy.
“If he puts up the numbers and CU is winning a good amount of their football games, because of who Prime is and the attention he brings to CU, I think he’ll be in that conversation,” former CU quarterback Bobby Pesavento said. “Now, is he in New York (as a Heisman finalist) and does he truly have a chance to win? That would take the Buffs doing something really special, like playing for a Big 12 championship again.”
CBS Sports national college football writer Dennis Dodd agrees, noting that after Sanders “was almost a one-man team last year,” the Buffs must capture some magic in their first season back in the Big 12 for Sanders to be in the Heisman race.
“The Heisman winner almost exclusively plays for a 10-win team that competes for a national championship and does something dramatic in November — if not a Heisman moment, a series of Heisman moments,” Dodd said. “It’s going to be hard for a QB of a 6-6 team to win it.”
Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) shows off his watch to fans before the Rocky Mountain Showdown against the Colorado State Rams at Folsom Field on Sept. 16, 2023. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Former CSU Rams football coach Steve Addazio, whose Fort Collins tenure was short and tempestuous, is transitioning to television. ESPN announced that Addazio has joined the network as a college football analyst and will start calling games later this month.
Addazio posted a 4-12 record at CSU from 2020-21 and had a 61-67 career record as a head coach with the Rams, Boston College (2013-19) and Temple (2011-12). He was fired at CSU in December 2021, a few days after completing a 3-9 season and after being ejected from a 52-10 home loss to Nevada, then coached by Jay Norvell.
Norvell would replace Addazio as CSU’s coach shortly after.
Addazio spent the 2022 and ’23 seasons as the offensive line coach at Texas A&M under then-coach Jimbo Fisher. He was not retained by new Aggies football coach Mike Elko.
At 16 games, Addazio’s stint as full-time Rams coach was the briefest since George Cassidy posted a 0-5 record in 1910. The longtime former Urban Meyer assistant was also the subject of internal and external investigations during his brief tenure, although a third-party investigation largely absolved Addazio of the accusations that had been levied against him.
Colorado’s Angel-filled nightmare continued in Tuesday’s series opener in Anaheim.
The Rockies entered the game with the lowest winning percentage against the Angels of any opponent in franchise history at .311. And that mark slipped a little more after the Rockies blew an early lead en route to a 10-7 defeat at Angel Stadium.
Right-hander Cal Quantrill was roughed up in the defeat, yielding a season-high seven runs in 3 2/3 innings.
“We had the lead 6-2, we had the lead 6-4,” Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters. “It was surprising and frustrating for Cal that he couldn’t get through this one. He’s been so good for us all year, so that was unexpected.”
Colorado jumped on right-hander Griffin Canning right off the bat, with two runs in the first inning and then four in the second.
Kris Bryant’s sacrifice fly and Brendan Rodgers’ RBI double made it 2-0 early, then after Taylor Ward’s two-RBI single off Quantrill in the bottom of the frame, Ezequiel Tovar’s sacrifice fly plus Ryan McMahon’s three-run homer gave the Rockies a commanding early lead.
But Quantrill — who remains in a Rockies uniform despite being the subject of trade speculation up through Tuesday’s deadline — wasn’t sharp.
The right-hander lacked command of his signature pitch, the splitter. Los Angeles got a two-RBI double by Matt Thaiss in the third, then Ward and Thaiss drove home runs in the fourth to swing the lead back to the Angels, 7-6, and chase Quantrill from the game.
“There were some elevated pitches, and (Quantrill) threw a number of splits and that was part of the gameplan, he just didn’t have the feel for it,” Black said.
Tovar tied the game in the seventh off southpaw Jose Quijada via the shortstop’s 18th homer of the year, tying Michael Toglia for a team high. Tovar was the Rockies’ lone baserunner after the second inning.
Los Angeles retook the lead, again, in the bottom of the seventh via Jo Adell’s monstrous solo homer, a 439-foot shot to center off right-hander Jake Bird.
The Angels then added on to that late lead via Zach Neto’s push bunt and Thaiss’ RBI single that plated two more runs off Justin Lawrence.
“The pitching wasn’t up to par at all today,” Black said. “We didn’t hit in (a four-game sweep in) San Francisco… Today we hit, and we didn’t pitch.”
Thaiss finished with five RBIs, and is the first player in Angels history to drive in five runs and have two steals in a single game. Thaiss is also just the second catcher in MLB history to accomplish that feat, joining Hall of Famer Mickey Cochrane, who did it for the Tigers in 1934.
Meanwhile, the Colorado offense couldn’t muster another surge with the game on the line, getting set down in order in the eighth by Ben Joyce before fellow right-hander Hunter Strickland did the same to the Rockies in the ninth.
Wednesday’s pitching matchup
Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (2-4, 6.23 ERA) at Angels TBA
7:38 p.m. Wednesday, Angel Stadium
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Freeland was in a groove before getting derailed in his last start in San Francisco, when the Giants tagged him for six runs on eight hits in four innings, including a pair of homers. Before that, he posted five straight quality starts following his return from the injured list due to an elbow strain. The southpaw’s been decent getting hitters to swing at pitches out of the zone, as he ranks in the 68th percentile in chase rate. He’s also been striking out more hitters lately than he usually does, including eight K’s in his last outing and nine in Cincinnati on July 10. Los Angeles has yet to announce its starter for Game 2 of the series.
Pitching probables
Thursday: Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (1-10, 4.99) at Angels RHP Carson Fulmer (0-2, 3.77), 7:38 p.m.
Friday: Rockies TBA at Padres TBA, 7:40 p.m.
Saturday: Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (2-7, 4.79) at Padres RHP Michael King (9-6, 3.26), 6:40 p.m.
Andre Petroski made fighting in the UFC look easy on Saturday night at Ball Arena.
In the UFC’s return to Denver for the first time in six years — a period in which Petroski’s been in recovery from drug addiction — he won by unanimous decision over Englewood resident Josh Fremd in a middleweight preliminary bout. Petroski entered the night coming off consecutive losses and admitted the possibility of getting cut from the promotion with another defeat loomed in his mind.
But for someone who battled heroin addiction and came out the other side, a fighting career hanging in the balance is small potatoes.
“I really have been through so much (adversity) in my life, with the drugs and substance abuse, going through treatment and getting arrested,” Petroski said. “I’ve been through way worse positions than losing a fight or losing two fights in a row. If I don’t wake up and have to go find $10 to get high, then I’m winning at life.”
With that mindset and a well-constructed game plan, Petroski defeated Fremd 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 as the former college wrestler capitalized on his clear edge in grappling. Petroski took down Fremd in each round, and each time, the Factory X fighter was unable to get off the canvas.
“I had done some training with Josh in the past, and I knew where I had the advantage over him,” Petroski said. “I think that I’m a better striker than Josh, but I also knew my grappling was so much better than him.
“I was in a position where I’m coming off two losses and it’s not about getting a highlight or anything like that. It’s about doing what I have to do to win and keep this career going and provide for my family.”
Petroski improved to 6-2 in the UFC with the victory, while Fremd fell to 2-4. Petroski paid no mind to the deafening cheers for Fremd when the local stepped into the Octagon, nor did Petroski mind the chorus of boos that rained down on him throughout the fight and after he was declared the winner as the crowd expressed its distaste for the one-sided wrestling match.
Andre Petroski (white trunks) controls Josh Fremd (black trunks) during a UFC Fight Night middleweight bout at Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday, July 13, 2024. Petroski won the fight via unanimous decision. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
The Philadelphia fighter held Fremd down for the majority of the first round, nearly submitted Fremd via a triangle in the second round, and then fended off a quick flurry of punches from a desperate Fremd in the final round to eventually notch another takedown.
After the victory, Petroski reveled in the win and recalled how six years ago, he was an amateur fighter who was winning on the regional scene but his body was “depleting” as he battled his intravenous heroin addiction.
Now, he’s a father of three, including a newborn son who arrived two months ago amid his training camp for Fremd.
“(In 2018), I tried really hard to kick it, and ended up getting high and overdosing and got arrested,” Petroski said. “After that, I went through treatment and was able to get clean and go pro. My life has been constantly getting better (since that point).
“Me overdosing was my act of providence. Because I couldn’t stop. I had tried a million times to stop getting high and I couldn’t, but that happening was the interference from God. … The hardest reminder for me is seeing the guys I was in treatment with, and a lot of them are still getting high. I’m so many worlds moved on from that, and I’m so grateful that I’m not there anymore.”
Montel Jackson (white trunks) celebrates after defeating Da’Mon Blackshear (black trunks) during a UFC Fight Night bantamweight bout at Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday, July, 13, 2024. Jackson won the fight via first-round knockout. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Lightning-quick knockout. The highlight of the preliminaries came in the bantamweight fight when Montel Jackson knocked out Da’Mon Blackshear in just 18 seconds.
Jackson, who has now won five bouts in a row, hadn’t fought in over a year. His knockout of Blackshear came on a slick one-two combo where he connected with Blackshear’s face with a straight left punch.
“(Blackshear) came out a little passive, so I knew I could get on the gas and I went for it,” Jackson said. “… A lot of these (other bantamweights), they’re ducking…. eventually, I’m going to see everybody. I want to fight again ASAP. If something comes up on short notice, if somebody drops out, I’ll say yeah, even though I’m not sure if they’d say yeah to me.”
Cody Brundage (black trunks) winces after taking blows from Abdul Razak Alhassan (white trunks) during a UFC Fight Night middleweight bout at Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday, July, 13, 2024. The fight was ruled a no contest after Brundage was unable to continue as a result of incidental blows during the first round. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Controversial finish. The first fight of the main card came to a controversial ending 37 seconds into the first round after Cody Brundage, a Parker resident who trains at Factory X, could not continue.
Brundage’s opponent, Abdul Razak Alhassan, landed a couple of blows to the back of Brundage’s head as the Ghanaian had Brundage on the ground. The referee stopped the fight, and Brundage appeared confused as he took several minutes to get off the canvas, repeatedly asking his corner, “What happened?”
After being evaluated by medical personnel, it was deemed Brundage could not continue. The crowd was not pleased, and a loud chorus of boos permeated the arena. Alhassan was clearly furious at the stoppage of the fight, pacing around the octagon and cursing.
When Cody Brundage steps into the Octagon on Saturday, he’ll carry his daughter’s fight with him.
Brundage, one of four locals on the UFC Fight Night card in the promotion’s return to Denver at Ball Arena, has gained strength from watching 3-year-old Kingsley battle ALG13-CDG — a rare disease caused by a genetic mutation.
“This (fighting) life is pretty hard in terms of balance because it demands everything of you, and a lot of times it doesn’t really give that much back,” Brundage said. “At one point fighting was the most important, biggest thing in my life. But with kids, that changes, and especially with Kingsley and the care she needs.
“I know as long as I’m being a good dad and good husband and partner, I’ll check the boxes with fighting and that will take care of itself. I didn’t really have that perspective before.”
Doctors initially told Brundage and his wife, ex-UFC fighter Amanda Bobby Brundage, that Kingsley would likely never be able to use her hands, sit up or feed herself. But Kingsley has already met those milestones, and though she remains nonverbal, the Brundages feel fortunate with where she is now.
That includes getting Kingsley’s seizures under control over the past couple of years. When she was an infant, she was having roughly 130 seizures a day.
“Imagine trying to go off to training when you know your baby at 6 months old is going through that many seizures a day,” Amanda Brundage said. “You’re trying to fight for your dreams, which is what Cody’s been doing, and that’s going on at home. It makes it hard (to focus).”
Amanda, who fought in the UFC from 2016 to ’18 and was on the cusp of returning to the promotion when she got pregnant with Kingsley, gave up her professional MMA career to be a mom. While Cody trains at Factory X in Englewood, she stays home with Kingsley and the couple’s other daughter, 1-year-old Millie.
“People can view living through someone else as kind of a negative thing, but for me, it’s a positive,” Amanda said. “I’m living through Cody. I’m supporting him, watching him train. I want him to go to the top, to reach all his dreams and potential. I still get to go to the gym to train. So I still get my feel for the sport, I still learn stuff, and he’s teaching me now.”
That latter part has been a role reversal for the couple, who initially met at an MMA gym in Michigan where Amanda was an instructor. She became the first MMA coach for Cody, an ex-college wrestler searching for his next step in life.
“She was in there doing private lessons and she came up to me and was like, ‘You have no idea what you’re doing,’” Cody recalled with a laugh. “I was like, ‘Thanks for that.’ And in my mind, I was like, ‘Who is this little woman telling me I don’t know what I’m doing?’ Turns out she’s in the UFC.
“She would always tell me, ‘You’re just going to owe me 2% (of future earnings). I’m not ever going to charge you anything now for coaching.’ I’ve been chasing that 2% deal ever since.”
On Saturday, Brundage (4-5 in the UFC) will look to get back into the win column after losing his last fight by submission to Bo Nickal in April.
Brundage’s middleweight opponent at Ball Arena is Ghanaian fighter Abdul Razak Alhassan. Brundage, a 30-year-old Parker resident, is expecting “chaos and fireworks” in a bout between two fighters capable of big finishes. All six of Alhassan’s UFC wins have come by KO/TKO.
“We know Razak is a tough opponent, and we also know that Cody’s skill set could be Razak’s kryptonite,” Factory X head coach Marc Montoya said. “We think this is a fight he can win. Now, he just needs to go prove it. … Cody’s skill set is very well-rounded. Razak’s obviously a good striker, super powerful and explosive. Can Cody’s well-roundedness on the feet and defensively negate what he’s doing?
“I don’t think Razak’s game plan is to come out and try to finish Cody on the ground. The hardest part for our opponent is figuring out what Cody is going to do because he’s very well-rounded.”
Anthony Hernandez grapples Josh Fremd in their middleweight fight during the UFC 273 event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on April 09, 2022 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Fremd’s “coming-out party.” Another 30-year-old Factory X middleweight on Saturday’s card is Josh Fremd, who will fight Andre Petroski in the evening’s second preliminary bout.
Fremd is 2-3 in the UFC and coming off a KO loss to Roman Kopylov via a body blow last September. The Connellsville, Pa., native and current Englewood resident said he’s underperformed in his five big-show bouts so far.
“This one’s going to be my coming-out party for the UFC,” Fremd said. “Coming up through the regional scene, I was having viral knockouts and performing great, and then when I got to the UFC it’s been a whirlwind. Even my two wins, they weren’t my best performances. I want to do better and show everyone what I’m actually capable of.”
Like a lot of fighters, Fremd’s road to the UFC was underscored by a rough upbringing. He was in and out of juvenile detention centers, halfway homes and foster care before his grandparents took him and his five siblings in.
But Fremd came out the other side, then developed his will to fight on the regional scene, where he dealt with various injuries and worked as a bartender/bouncer to make ends meet.
“There’s been so many times I could’ve quit, took the easy route out, got a (9-to-5) job, and said, ‘To hell with it.’ But I’ve fought through a lot and it’s taught me work ethic,” Fremd said. “… My boxing and my cardio are my strengths, but at the end of the day, I’m just a fighter. I’m not going to cave, give in or wilt under pressure. I’m okay to get beat up for a little bit just to turn it around and finish a fight.”
Montoya believes Petroski is going to want to capitalize on his grappling ability against Fremd.
“Josh and Cody are in a very similar spot where they’re young in the UFC and they have a high, high ceiling,” Montoya said. “Josh just needs to go out and perform. When you see a confident Josh Fremd, he is scary to fight. And what I’ve seen in the build-up to this fight is that it seems like Josh has found a lot of the swagger he had pre-UFC, and that’s a big deal.”
While Fremd and Brundage fight, Factory X’s top UFC fighter, flyweight Brandon Royval, will be in the stands watching. The Denver native and top-ranked contender in his division had an offer to take on an unranked fighter Saturday but turned it down.
Montoya said the fight didn’t make sense considering Royval is waiting for another shot at a title fight against Alexandre Pantoja, whom he lost to in December before beating then-No. 1 contender Brandon Moreno in February.
“That’s the man of the city right there,” Fremd said of Rovyal, “so in honor of him, I’m going to go out and knock this fool out.”
Rose Namajunas celebrates as the referee kneels over Zhang Weili during a UFC 261 mixed martial arts bout Saturday, April 24, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)
Main event preview. The night will conclude with one of the state’s all-time fighters in the main event.
Westminster resident Rose Namajunas, a former two-time strawweight champion, fights Tracy Cortez in Namajunas’ third flyweight bout since moving up a weight class. Namajunas was originally supposed to fight Greeley native Maycee Barber, but Barber withdrew a few weeks ago due to medical issues.
Namajunas is No. 6 in the UFC flyweight rankings, and Cortez is No. 11. A win will inch Namajunas closer to an eventual title shot and a chance to become a two-division champion. Alexa Grasso currently holds the belt and is the No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound female fighter.
“I’m feeling lots of excitement, nerves, gratitude for this chance to fight here,” said Namajunas, a Milwaukee native who moved to Colorado about a decade ago. “I’ve had such a great career so far, with some ups and downs, so to get to this point of my first time fighting in Denver, there’s a lot to take in and a lot to process.
“If my heart is right, and my spirit is right … I’m the best for a reason, and (Cortez) will have to find that out.”
Cortez is riding an 11-fight win streak coming into Saturday — with five of those triumphs coming in the UFC — and is eager to hold on to her status as one of the promotion’s intriguing up-and-comers.
“I know right now (Namajunas) is a veteran, and we’re in her home, we’re in her backyard,” Cortez said. “All of that doesn’t really intimidate me. She was an amazing champion at 115 (pounds), but I don’t think she’s yet to face a true 125er like myself in her career. This is going to put both of us to a good test to see if, one, if she belongs in the flyweight division, and two, if I’m really as talented as I believe I am.”
During Namajunas’ training leading into Saturday, she worked with other local UFC fighters, including reigning bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington as well as flyweights Miranda Maverick and JJ Aldrich.
With Namajunas headlining alongside the trio of local men — UFC veteran lightweight and Colorado resident Drew Dober faces Brazilian Jean Silva in the third-to-last bout — Brundage believes Saturday will be a marquee night for the Centennial State’s MMA scene. The last time the UFC held a card in Denver was Nov. 10, 2018, at the then-named Pepsi Center.
“Hopefully we make enough of a statement that it doesn’t take six years to come back,” Brundage said. “This is where the UFC started (with UFC 1 in 1993 at McNichols Sports Arena), and there’s a ton of great MMA culture here. The fans here are awesome, they understand the sport. There’s a ton of jiujitsu gyms here with a lot of high-level UFC fighters who have fought for world titles, won world titles.
“I feel like with the history of this place with MMA, especially UFC, it’s crazy they haven’t been back sooner. … (We local fighters) are all going to go out, push a hard pace and show them what’s up.”
Drew Dober, left, exchanges strikes with Rafael Alves of Brazil in their lightweight bout during UFC 277 at American Airlines Center on July 30, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
UFC Fight Night
Saturday at Ball Arena
Preliminaries — 5 p.m.
Evan Elder vs. Darrius Flowers (Welterweight)
Josh Fremd vs. Andre Petroski (Middleweight)
Luana Santos vs. Mariya Agapova (Flyweight)
Montel Jackson vs. Da’mon Blackshear (Bantamweight)
Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Fatima Kline (Flyweight)
Joshua Van vs. Charles Johnson (Flyweight)
Main Card — 8 p.m.
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cody Brundage (Middleweight)
Julian Erosa vs. Christian Rodriguez (Featherweight)
Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa (Welterweight)
Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva (Lightweight)
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov (Welterweight)
Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez (Flyweight, Main Event)
UFC boss Dana White announced the return of mixed martial arts’ big show to Denver for the first time since 2018. UFC Fight Night 245 will be Saturday, July 13, at Ball Arena.
The main card will feature a pair of Colorado fighters in Maycee Barber against Rose Namajunas.
Barber, a Greeley native, is on a six-fight win streak heading into the bout and is ranked No. 4 in the flyweight division. Namajunas, a two-time strawweight champion and Westminster resident, is ranked No. 6. She snapped a two-bout losing streak with a win over Amanda Ribas in March. The fight has big implications for the winner to eventually get a crack at the belt.
The card also features a trio of welterweight bouts in Mike Malott versus Gilbert Urbina, Santiago Ponzinibbio versus Muslim Salikhov and Gabriel Bonfim versus Ange Loosa. Plus, Luana Santos versus Mariya Agapova in women’s flyweight, Abdul Razak Alhassan versus Cody Brundage in middleweight and Julian Erosa versus Christian Rodriguez in featherweight.
Denver fighter Drew Dober will also be on the card against Mike Davis in the lightweight division.
Tickets go on sale this week for UFC Fight Club members on Wednesday at 10 a.m., via a social presale on Thursday at 10 a.m. and to the general public on Friday 10 a.m.
The last time UFC was in Denver, Barber made her UFC debut with a TKO of Hannah Cifers at the Pepsi Center. Denver native Donald Cerrone also got a win on the main card, and the main event was Yair Rodriguez’s featherweight win over Chan Sung Jung.
Going back to the UFC’s roots, Denver is also where the organization had its first event, UFC 1 on November 12, 1993, at McNichols Sports Arena. That night featured an eight-man tournament won by Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist Royce Gracie.
If the Rockies’ opening road trip is any indication, the club’s first 100-loss season last year might’ve just been a harbinger.
Colorado dropped to 1-6 in 2024 with a 9-8 loss to the Cubs on a chilly Wednesday night at Wrigley Field. The Rockies roared back with a five-run eighth to tie the game, but then faltered in the bottom of that inning to get swept in three games.
“That was a tough trip,” manager Bud Black told reporters. “We didn’t pitch great, we didn’t swing the bats great. (That rally) was a good sign though.”
Once again, subpar starting pitching was a factor, as right-hander Cal Quantrill gave up four runs through four innings. The bullpen wasn’t any better, and the Rockies head into their home opener on Friday against the Rays already in a hole.
After setting the Cubs down in order in the first, Quantrill ran into trouble in the second inning as the Rockies went down 4-0.
The frame started innocently enough with Christopher Morel’s infield single, but quickly snowballed. A pair of sacrifice flies plated two runs, then Seiya Suzuki brought home two more with a single to right before Charlie Blackmon got the Rockies out of the inning by gunning Suzuki at second base.
After hard-throwing southpaw Luke Little served as the Cubs’ opener and went one-two-three in the first, Chicago brought on right-hander Ben Brown, who gave up one earned run over four innings.
In the fifth, Suzuki dinged left-hander Jalen Beeks for a solo homer to extend the Cubs’ lead to 5-0.
Jacob Stallings led off the sixth with a double, chasing Brown from the game, and Kris Bryant’s first hit of the season — a single to left — scored Stallings to get Colorado on the board. A Morel throwing throwing error led to another run to make it 5-2.
But Chicago responded in the sixth by plating three runs off Tyler Kinley, as Kinley couldn’t make it out of the inning before being spelled by fellow right-hander Jake Bird. Michael Busch led off with a single off Kinley, then Nico Hoerner and Mike Tauchman both walked to load the bases.
Miguel Amaya’s single then plated three runs, two off the hit and another off a throwing error by center fielder Brenton Doyle. Errors in the outfield have been a consistent theme through the Rockies’ early ugly stretch, a disappointment for a defense that was projected to be the strength of the team.
Facing an 8-2 deficit, Blackmon chipped away with an RBI double in the seventh, and then the Rockies made noise again in the eighth when they loaded the bases with one out against Yency Almonte, chasing the former Colorado hurler from the game.
Jake Cave proceeded to double off Hector Neris, plating two, then Blackmon’s two-out infield single scored two more, one on an RBI and another off a throwing error by Hoerner. The next batter, Ezequiel Tovar, doubled to deep center to score Blackmon, causing the smattering of Cubs fans in the stadium to boo.
“That was a big double late that should build his confidence,” Black said. “These are growth moments.”
That rally tied the game at 8-8, and gave Colorado a swell of momentum that’s been rare so far in 2024. However, it was short lived.
Nick Mears’ wild pitch on a third strike allowed leadoff man Miles Mastrobuoni to get on board in the eighth. Mastrobuoni checked his swing on a curveball that hit off the plate and got by Stallings. Black described the play as a “tough break.”
Ian Happ followed with a single, sending Mastrobuoni to third. When Suzuki chopped the ball to third baseman Ryan McMahon in the next at-bat, McMahon fired home, but his throw was a little high, and Stallings dropped the ball, allowing Mastrobuoni to score.
“That would’ve been a bang-bang play,” Black said. “(McMahon) made a nice play going to his left, had to throw a little bit off-balance and Jacob just couldn’t quite handle the throw.”
In the ninth, Bryant reached on an infield single to start the inning, but then Adbert Alzolay set down the next three batters to make it a long flight back to Denver for the Rockies.
The Rockies are off on Thursday before their first homestand starts on Friday.
Friday’s pitching matchup
Rays RHP Zack Little (1-0, 0.00 ERA) at Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (0-0, 7.71)
2:10 p.m. Friday, Coors Field
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Little looked strong in his season debut last weekend, throwing six innings of scoreless baseball in a 4-1 win over Toronto, with four hits and two walks to six strikeouts. In 26 games (14 starts) for the Rays last year, he was consistent, with a 3.93 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. Colorado’s seen little of him, although Elias Diaz and Michael Toglia both have homers off him. Meanwhile, Gomber takes the ball for the home opener for Colorado after turning in a so-so outing in his season debut in Arizona. The Diamondbacks tagged him for four runs in four-plus innings, and the southpaw was hurt by two homers.
Pitching probables
Saturday: Rays LHP Tyler Alexander (0-0, 9.00) at Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (0-1, 5.40), 6:10 p.m.
Sunday: Rays RHP Ryan Pepiot (0-1, 9.53) at Rockies RHP Dakota Hudson (0-1, 0.00), 1:10 p.m.
For the second time in as many games, Tommy Wight put on his green cape and played hero.
The senior forward’s buzzer-beating put-back propelled ThunderRidge into the Class 6A championship, the Grizzlies’ third appearance in the title game in four years after capturing the Class 5A crowns in 2021 and ’22.
It was the difference in a dramatic 64-62 win over Eaglecrest and marked Wight’s second game-winner at the Denver Coliseum after his lay-up with five seconds left helped ThunderRidge beat rival Rock Canyon in last week’s Great 8.
“This is even a little bit better feeling (than the Great 8 game-winner),” said Wight, a Point Loma commit. “It was the same plan as against Rock Canyon. High ball screen, let Andrew (Crawford) do his thing. He’s the best in the state at getting downhill, and I was right there in the right moment.”
Wight’s score came off Crawford’s miss on a contested lay-up, and after Eaglecrest star junior point guard LaDavian King sank three free throws on the other end to tie the game with 9.9 seconds left.
King’s clutch free throws capped his 31-point night, but that wasn’t quite enough to topple ThunderRidge, which had four scorers in double figures. Crawford paced the Grizzlies with 22 points, while Wight had 14, senior guard Charlie Spann had 14 and senior guard Ryan Doyle chipped in 10.
The quartet helped ThunderRidge avenge last season’s first-round playoff loss at home to Eaglecrest, a 75-56 setback that remains the Grizzlies’ lone playoff defeat over the last four seasons. ThunderRidge won on Friday despite going down 11 points in the first quarter, which was punctuated by a 12-0 Eaglecrest run.
“Just like the Rock Canyon game, we have great resolve, and we know what it means to come back and fight,” said Crawford, the team’s senior leader at point guard and a CU commit. “We made the plays when it was most important.
“LaDavian had four threes in the first half, and the game plan at half was to step up on him. He’s most of their production, along with (junior center Garrett) Barger. They were offensive rebounding over us, so we had to rebound and get stops on LaDavian in the second half, and we did that just enough.”
Eaglecrest Raptors Ladavian King (1), right, passes against ThunderRidge Grizzlies Ryan Doyle (1) in the first quarter of the 6A boys Colorado state high school Final Four game at the Denver Coliseum in Denver on Friday, March 08, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Barger finished with a double-double, with 15 points and 12 rebounds, and had a handful of impressive put-backs in the fourth quarter to help the Raptors rally after ThunderRidge went on a third-quarter scoring spree to take command. That spree came after the Grizzlies decided in the locker room to stop running set plays.
“All those buckets we took the lead on, there was no sets,” ThunderRidge head coach Joe Ortiz said. “There was structure, but it was our guys just playing.”
The Grizzlies dominated in the paint to take control in the second half and ultimately finish, outscoring the Raptors there 44-18. ThunderRidge was up 12 points late in the third quarter, but King and Barger wouldn’t let Eaglecrest go quietly. King poured in seven 3s total while shooting way beyond the arc.
“We had a couple mishaps down the stretch — missed an easy shot we should’ve made, then we had a sloppy turnover on the sideline that really hurt us, and they made shots,” Ortiz said. “Garrett made some phenomenal put-backs, and then LD can hit from 25 (feet out). He’s just something special.”
For Eaglecrest, the heartbreaking loss comes with a silver lining, as the Raptors graduate just one senior and figure to be an immediate contender again next season. Their deep run in the state tournament was unexpected to many, even head coach Jarris Krapcha.
Eaglecrest Raptors Ladavian King (1) is dejected after the ThunderRidge Grizzlies won the 6A boys Colorado state high school Final Four game 64-62 at the Denver Coliseum in Denver on Friday, March 08, 2024. Eaglecrest Raptors Kris Coleman (11) can only watch and walk past the celebration. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
“There was a pretty big stretch in our year where I didn’t think there was any chance we’d be in this spot,” Krapcha said. “We had problems on and off the court, injuries, etc. We came together at the right time and we were in a position to win a Final Four game. I’m proud of them, because we’ve got a lot of guys back next year, and we can come back here (to the Coliseum).”
ThunderRidge’s composure in the game’s tensest moments shows this year’s Grizzlies’ DNA is like the title teams in ’21 and ’22, albeit with a different cast minus Crawford, who is set to play in his third title game.
“Two years ago in the state finals, we were down 12-0 to start the game,” Ortiz recalled. “Then we were down eight at half, and Fossil Ridge thought they had it, and we came out and scored 12 straight (to open the third). And we had 11 or 12 straight stops. So the resolve is phenomenal, and it’s similar this year to those title teams.”
Saturday will mark ThunderRidge’s ninth appearance in the title game under Ortiz, who is 4-4 in those bouts. With a win, the longtime Grizzlies’ boss — who earned his 500th career win earlier this season — can move into a tie with Greeley Central’s Jim Baggott for fifth all-time for the most championships at one school.
“It’s just about one,” Ortiz emphasized. “This one.”
ThunderRidge takes on Valor Christian at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Grizzlies beat the Eagles earlier in the season, 62-55 at Valor Christian on Dec. 9. It was one of two losses for the Eagles, who avenged the other defeat with a 67-56 win over Smoky Hill in Friday’s second Class 6A Final Four game.
ThunderRidge Grizzlies Andrew Crawford (42) gets fouled by Eaglecrest Raptors Kris Coleman (11) in the second half quarter of the 6A boys Colorado state high school Final Four game at the Denver Coliseum in Denver on Friday, March 08, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Led by a freshman goalie who stood on his head, Regis Jesuit won its seventh hockey title on Tuesday at Magness Arena by outlasting fellow powerhouse Valor Christian in a 3-1 thriller.
The Raiders used a brick wall performance by goalie Easton Sparks to claim the championship, in conjunction with a second-period goal by senior Reece Peterson and then two empty-net lamp-lighters in the final minute to dethrone the defending champion Eagles.
Sparks stymied the Eagles with 23 saves, including three on one-on-one breakaways and another on a stuffed penalty shot in the opening period. The freshman was sensational in all aspects, and his play was the clear difference in the game.
“He stood on his head all season,” Reece Peterson said. “Freshman, coming into the biggest game of his life, and he played amazing. He played like a legend.”
Fans cheer for Regis Jesuit’s goaltender Easton Sparks (33) after he makes a save during a shoot out against Valor Christian’s Maddux Charles (23) during the Class 5A Colorado state championship game at Magness Arena in Denver on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Valor Christian High School played Regis Jesuit High School for the state title. (Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post)
Counting Tuesday, either Valor Christian or Regis Jesuit has appeared in the last nine Class 5A/unclassified state title games and combined to win seven of them. The two hockey behemoths met twice earlier this season, with Valor Christian winning 4-1 on Jan. 19 and Regis Jesuit retaliating with a 3-1 victory on Feb. 3.
In the championship rubber-match, the teams played to a first-period 0-0 draw as Sparks and Valor Christian senior goalie Trudeaux Coffey both turned away a number of promising chances.
Sparks’ denial on sophomore Maddux Charles’ penalty shot was an early omen of the goalie’s game-changing performance. After stopping the puck, Sparks got up, skated over to the raucous Regis Jesuit student section, threw his hands in the air and roared.
“I knew that was a big moment in the game, because I knew it was going to be a close game,” Sparks said. “I don’t even know what I was thinking as (Charles approached) — my mind just went blank. It was sort of like that all game. They had a couple more breakaways in the second, and I kept stopping them.”
Peterson got Regis Jesuit on the board with a wrister through Coffey’s five-hole on a breakaway a little over a minute into the second period. Then, about 45 seconds later, Peterson found the five hole again, and it appeared the Raiders had taken a commanding 2-0 lead.
But the referee near the goal indicated it wasn’t a score, and play went on. Video replays showed the shot went into the goal, then careened off the bottom of the inside of the net and back out.
Regis Jesuit’s Andrew Brennick (15) pushes Valor Christian’s Eddie Chen (4) to move the puck stuck at their skates during the Class 5A Colorado state championship game at Magness Arena in Denver on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Valor Christian High School played Regis Jesuit High School for the state title. (Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post)
Peterson said another referee later told him it was a goal, and the Raiders were determined to not let the botched call quash their momentum.
“We focused on the fact that we were getting the chances,” Regis Jesuit head coach Terence Ott said. “It would’ve been nice to (officially) bury that one, and we had a couple other odd-man rushes in that period where we elected not to pass the puck and we tried to make a move with it. But we built on the positive of that moment and that we were creating momentum.”
In a tense 1-0 game in the third, Sparks continued to come up clutch, and the Eagles pinged a shot off the crossbar just as they had done in the second period.
“(Sparks) plays with such calm, it really resonates with the team,” Ott said. “He doesn’t get rattled back there. And he’s athletic. He’s not blessed with the size, but what a super performance, and he kept it going (in the third).”
Valor Christian pulled Coffey with 1:20 to play, and the last minute was firework-filled.
Raiders junior Parker Brinner scored on the empty net with 57 seconds left, but Valor Christian finally broke the shutout with 19 seconds to play on senior Brock Benson’s top-shelf shot to cut the score to 2-1. But Regis Jesuit held on in the final seconds, and Ian Beck’s breakaway slap-shot on the empty net with with one second left was the exclamation on the Raiders’ revenge.
“Last year, we played Valor four times and lost every single game (including the semifinals) by one goal,” Peterson said. “So winning tonight, this is the perfect cap to my high school career. They gave us a great game, but I’m so happy this win came against them.”
Ott, in his second year as the Raiders’ head coach after serving the previous 17 seasons as an assistant, said his team — led by seven seniors — “did a great job of re-establishing the hockey culture that we want to have at Regis Jesuit.” The Raiders’ last title came in 2019, when they went back-to-back after beating Valor Christian in the championship the year prior.
“You win six championships, you’ve gone to 14 straight Frozen Fours (before a loss to Fort Collins in the 2022 quarterfinals) — you kind of start resting on the laurels of the men who came before you,” Ott said. “And we got away from being a team and doing the work you need to do to be a champion. This group got us back to where we needed to be.”
Regis Jesuit and Valor Christian players battle in front of the net to gain possession of the puck during the Class 5A Colorado state championship game at Magness Arena in Denver on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Valor Christian High School played Regis Jesuit High School for the state title. (Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post)
After winning its first Continental League title and making its first appearance at the Denver Coliseum, Legend girls basketball isn’t done on its march toward ultimate history.
The Titans easily dispatched of Front Range League champion Horizon, 62-35, to open the Great 8 games on Thursday at the Denver Coliseum.
“We knew what we were capable of at the start of our season, but we didn’t know fully what we could do with our talent,” junior guard Maley Wilhelm said. “Now we do.”
Morgan Ives (2) of Horizon Hawks drives as Maley Wilhelm (5) of Legend Titans defends during the first half of a Colorado state high school basketball tournament Great 8 game at the Denver Coliseum on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Legend used a dominant first quarter in which the Hawks didn’t score a field goal to take an early 11-2 lead, weathered a Horizon rally in the second quarter, and then pulled away in the second half. It was the Titans’ second win over Horizon this year after beating them 70-53 in a tournament at the beginning of the season.
Wilhelm’s three fast-break lay-ups on Titans’ steals was a turning point in the third quarter, and Wilhelm finished with a team-high 13 points. By the time junior guard Ava Gavi drained a pair of threes to start the final frame, Legend had the game in the bag, and Horizon never got close again.
“We had the intensity on defense, and we were pretty good on the glass today, but the one big, glaring weakness was not having composure on offense (in the second quarter),” Legend head coach Darren Pitzner said. “We played the second half with much more composure, and much more under control. You can’t come to the Coliseum and force tough shots. That’s Rule No. 1 coming here.”
Head coach Darren Pitzner of Legend Titans works against the Horizon Hawks during the first half of a Colorado state high school basketball tournament Great 8 game at the Denver Coliseum on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Pitzner, in his first year as the Legend coach, is headed to his fifth Final Four. He also made school history at Green Mountain, leading the girls to their first three Final Four appearances there, and was an assistant coach on the 2017 Lakewood girls team that lost in the state championship game to Grandview.
The Titans (24-2) blew the doors off opponents for much of the season with a high-octane approach on offense while also placing a premium on defensive pressure. Their lone setbacks came via forfeit to Lutheran (due to a player eligibility issue) and on the road to No. 1 Cherokee Trail, 52-42 on Jan. 8.
The Cougars haven’t lost to an in-state team all season and appear to be the Class 6A championship favorite, but not if Legend has anything to say about it. The Titans’ win over Regis Jesuit in the Continental League championship on Feb. 16, 68-53, underscored the team’s belief it could make a deep tournament run.
Grace Stanley (3) of Legend Titans drives against the Horizon Hawks during the first half of a Colorado state high school basketball tournament Great 8 game at the Denver Coliseum on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
“The girls knew they could be in the mix, but we also knew we had to prove we could play with the top teams,” Pitzner said. “That’s where the Regis win was really big, because it showed we were in that top group.”
Gavi, the team’s top three-point threat at 39% coming in, started slow on Thursday before draining a pair of decisive threes in the fourth. She finished with 10 points, seven in the fourth, while senior forward Katie Lamb (a Fort Lewis commit) led the team with eight rebounds and five assists. Horizon was paced by 13 points from junior center Kaitlin Schumann.
“At halftime, my teammates came up to me and told me, ‘Don’t stop shooting,’” Gavi said. “‘We’re going to keep finding you.’ That’s what they did, and I finally hit them.”
The Titans, who play either Regis Jesuit or Cherry Creek in next week’s Final Four, aren’t satisfied after Thursday’s big win. Junior forward Mason Borcherding finished with nine points, while junior guard Aislyn Korella had seven in a balanced scoring effort.
“We’re ready to prove ourselves even more,” Borcherding said.
