Comment on Thursday's Sports In Brief

A mantra for all of Sam Bassett’s time at the University of Denver: The Pioneers do not play in finals, they win them. The DU men’s soccer program has to get there first, of course, but not a single ounce of disbelief snuck onto the plane as the Pioneers headed to Cary, N.

Garett Bolles wanted to stay with the Broncos. He waited and waited and waited. Now it’s happening. Bolles announced his own news Thursday morning when he posted to social media that he’s sticking around for four more years. Sources confirmed the Broncos and their left tackle are indeed finalizing language on a contract that may well make Bolles a Bronco for life. The extension is for $82 million, $42 million of which is guaranteed, and can rise to as high as $86 million if certain conditions are met, a league source confirmed to The Denver Post. Bolles was entering the final weeks of a four-year, $68 million extension he signed in November of 2020 and his future had looked uncertain throughout the season. At 32 years old, though, the 2017 first-round draft pick has continued to play at a high level and is among the top-ranked pass-blockers in the NFL.

Travis Hunter is an undeniable star on the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team — and a current favorite for becoming only the second CU player to win the Heisman Trophy. But is he ready for Hollywood? A new promo for the Dec. 13 movie “Kraven the Hunter,” which depicts Spider-Man villain Kraven — minus Spider-Man — says an enthusiastic yes. “To promote the visceral, action-packed origin story starring Aaron Taylor-John (‘Bullet Train’), [Sony Pictures] partnered with Heisman Trophy favorite Travis Hunter to show he, too, is a skilled and cunning hunter,” according to a press statement. “I’m going to take down anyone who gets in my way,” Hunter warns in the 57-second video, which was released today on YouTube.

Jasper Löffelsend is headed to San Diego. San Diego FC, Major League Soccer’s newest club set to begin play in 2025, took the German Colorado Rapids midfielder in the MLS expansion draft on Wednesday night as one of its five picks. As compensation, the Rapids received $50,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM). Löffelsend arrived in Colorado nearly a year ago in a trade with rival Real Salt Lake to bolster the defensive midfield in new coach Chris Armas’s system.

It’s been a little more than five years since Lindsey Vonn won a world championship downhill bronze in Are, Sweden, in her last professional race. When the 40-year-old took to the Birds of Prey course Wednesday as a forerunner on the first day of downhill training, everything felt right in her world. “It was really fun.

California health officials probe raw milk link in child's flu A infection University of Minnesota Twin CitiesMarin County child with possible bird flu drank raw milk: officials KRON4California investigating possible case of bird flu in child who drank raw milk CNNTechnical Update: Summary Analysis of the Genetic Sequence of a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus Identified in a Child in California | Bird Flu CDCBird flu in California child related to virus in dairy cows, CDC says The Washington Post