Comment on JR Payne, CU Buffs women’s basketball ready for “intellectual challenge” of Big 12

By SHANE LANTZ SEATTLE — Joel Kiviranta and Nathan MacKinnon each scored in the second period to put Colorado ahead, and the Avalanche held on to beat the Seattle Kraken 3—2 on Tuesday. Kiviranta also scored late in the first period to give Colorado the lead and Justus Annunen had 25 saves.

BOULDER — Jon Cooper figured he was out of the unicorn hunting game when Travis Hunter picked off his heart and ran it all the way back to 1981. “Roy Green was an outstanding nickel safety for the Cardinals,” Cooper, the longtime pro scout, associate GM and senior draft analyst with Ourlads.com, told me recently.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — During Colorado’s winter sports media day on Monday in Boulder, CU women’s basketball coach JR Payne was, predictably, asked about the shift from the Pac-12 to the Big 12. Payne was raised on the West Coast, played collegiately on the West Coast, and has spent her entire coaching career in the west, with Boulder counting as the easternmost location of her journey.

The best part of Aaron Gordon’s contract extension to Michael Malone was the timing. More than a month after point guard Jamal Murray signed a max extension with the Nuggets, this was the team’s last order of business to complete before opening night. Gordon’s four-year, $133 million agreement Monday signified a triumphant end to Denver’s heavily scrutinized offseason and a transition into basketball season.

BOULDER — Travis Hunter’s Heisman Trophy stock might be in flux. But his health is trending up, CU Buffs football coach Deion Sanders said Tuesday. “Travis is better than last week,” said Coach Prime, whose 5-2 Buffs (3-1 Big 12) host Cincinnati (5-2, 3-1) in a Big 12 showdown late Saturday night at Folsom Field.

By JAMES ELLINGWORTH Vinicius Junior scored a hat trick as Real Madrid turned boos into cheers with a 5-2 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Paris Saint-Germain dropped more points. Madrid was 2-0 down at halftime in a rematch of last season’s final but rallied with three goals from Vinicius Junior — who also scored in the final in May — and one each from Antonio Rudiger and Lucas Vazquez. The crowd had jeered loudly after the halftime whistle as Madrid struggled and looked set for its second straight Champions League loss following a 14-match unbeaten run in the competition. “We know that when we are at home playing in front of our fans, anything can happen,” Vinicius Junior said.