Cole Strikes Out 9 As Astros Win 4-1, Sweep A's

Around the AFC MV3. What a season it’s been for quarterbacks in the AFC. Any of Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson or Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow would be worthy of the award most years. They all enter Week 18 with 40-plus touchdowns — Burrow 44 (42 passing), Jackson 43 (39 passing) and Allen 40 (28 passing) — and eight or fewer interceptions.

Michael Malone’s inner monologue might be too cartoonishly profane for him to share on live television. “I was, man, walking off the court at halftime — you should hear some of the conversations I have with myself,” he said Wednesday after Denver allowed 71 points in the first half of an eventual 139-120 win over the Hawks. And if there’s anything this NBA season has taught players and coaches about talking to the media, it’s that speaking your mind too bluntly comes with a price tag.

In the latest edition of the Nuggets Ink podcast, beat writer Bennett Durando and sports editor Matt Schubert reconvene as the calendar flips to 2025 with a Denver rout of Atlanta. Among the topics discussed: Jamal Murray’s annual slow start to the season appears to finally be in the rearview mirror.

Rick George saved CU football by hiring Deion Sanders. Now comes the hard part: keeping him. Sanders made CU relevant over the past two seasons, turning a one-win team into one of the most-watched programs in college football. The Buffs finished 9-4 this season and were tied atop the Big 12 standings until BYU skunked them in the Alamo Bowl.

By BRETT MARTEL NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish found the right balance of family and football to produce a memorable performance under unprecedented, emotionally trying circumstances. Riley Leonard passed for a touchdown, Jayden Harrison returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score, and Notre Dame’s defense made it hold up in a 23-10 victory over No.

Perhaps more than any player in the NBA today, Michael Porter Jr. is the actualization of positional size, a basketball principle that drives front offices such as Denver’s. He’s a “small forward” only in title, towering over most wings with a 6-foot-10 stature that doubles the potency of his 3-pointer. There is no such thing as a contested shot for Porter, who’s 42% from the perimeter this season. Atlanta’s Trae Young represents the polar opposite of positional size.