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ST. PAUL, Minn. — The lingering evidence of the blocked shot that shelved Josh Manson for most of December is still visible when he removes the outer layer of his hockey gear. There’s a heavily wrapped wrist, with some extra padding, to help him play for the Avalanche while the injury he sustained on Nov.

The on-court maturation and education of RJ Smith wasn’t going to reach its eventual end phase without a few hiccups and hurdles along the way. Smith is dealing with his first extended challenge of the campaign right now. Related Articles College Sports | Against Kansas, CU Buffs look to continue home court success College Sports | Lior Garzon, CU’s first known Israeli student-athlete, makes instant impact for Buffs while dealing with war in her homeland from afar College Sports | Men’s basketball: Problems mount as CU Buffs struggle through start of Big 12 play College Sports | Men’s basketball: CU Buffs fumble away chance for road win at UCF College Sports | Women’s basketball: CU Buffs hit road for tough test at No.

The Broncos are playing with house money Sunday at Buffalo. Just don’t tell them that. Sean Payton’s team took the NFL by surprise this year, winning 10 games and ending an eight-year playoff drought in the process. They’ll be widely expected to lose to potential NFL MVP Bills quarterback Josh Allen and company at Highmark Stadium. Nobody in Denver’s building, though, is taking the approach that they’re just happy to be back in the playoffs for the first time since Super Bowl 50. Touchdown-plus underdogs?

At some point, the Colorado women’s basketball team will need to find wins on the road to make a run at the top of the Big 12 standings. Protecting the home court is crucial, however. On Saturday the Buffaloes will have another opportunity to get a victory in Boulder as Kansas visits the CU Events Center. “I think it’s essential,” CU head coach JR Payne said of winning conference home games.

Jordan Spieth has been playing golf for a month without pain and plans to return from wrist surgery at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, ending his longest stretch without competition and looking at his time off as a chance to reset. “I had some really bad habits for a long time,” Spieth said in a telephone interview Friday.

Sean Payton essentially chalked the offensive stats up to garbage time. They counted in the fourth quarter of a Week 6 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, sure. But did they mean anything? The Broncos coach scoffed at the notion that night at Empower Field. “Let’s be honest: It picked up when we started going up-tempo.