Comment on FANTASY PLAYS: Start, sit and set your lineup for Week 1

The Colorado Avalanche needed a win in the worst way, and it certainly had to overcome plenty to get the first one of the 2024-25 season. Despite dominating this contest from start to end, the shorthanded Avs had to rally from two goals down and shrug off a tally in the final minute of regulation to defeat the Anaheim Ducks, 4-3, Friday night at Ball Arena. Nathan MacKinnon scored with 40.1 seconds left in overtime.

In a heart-stopping overtime thriller, Ralston Valley edged Columbine 35-34, handing the Rebels their first loss in nearly two years and ending their dominant winning streak that included a Class 5A state title last season. The Rebels opted to go for the win and a two-point conversion after senior tailback James Basinger ran in a 1-yard touchdown in overtime.

Class 5A 1. Mountain Vista (8-0) won at Fruita Monument, 49-6: The Golden Eagles freight train kept chugging along on the Western Slope as Austyn Modrzewski broke the state’s career passing touchdown record (131) in another rout. Mountain Vista has now topped 40 points in all but one game while allowing 51 total for the season.

Bo can’t throw. That is quite the takeaway from the Broncos’ Big Easy win over the New Orleans Saints. Returning home Friday brought surprising hand-wringing on talk radio and social media about Nix’s accuracy. His misses were unsettling, but no reason to break glass in case of emergency. Not yet anyway. Each game is not a referendum on Nix’s career. And the latest performance should not be an indictment after a week when the team did not practice.

Charlie Blackmon, who retired last month after a 14-year career with the Colorado Rockies, has moved back to Georgia and listed his home in Denver’s Belcaro neighborhood. Blackmon lives full time in Atlanta with his wife, Ashley, and their two young children, so he’s selling his home in a gated community near Cherry Creek. He listed the 5,500-square-foot, four-bedroom, five-bath home with a three-car tandem garage on Sept.

The Rockies’ offseason roster shuffle began Friday when versatile outfielder Jake Cave and right-handed pitchers Dakota Hudson and Peter Lambert opted for free agency after being outrighted to Triple-A Albuquerque. All three players were on the Rockies’ opening-day roster. Cave becoming a free agent opens the door for Sam Hilliard to compete for a roster spot in spring training as Colorado’s fourth outfielder.