Ex-avs Defenseman Jack Johnson Is Back Home, Ready To Help Rebuilding Blue Jackets

BOULDER — CU two-way star Travis Hunter was removed from the Buffs’ game with Kansas State on Saturday night and taken to the locker room for evaluation. Hunter, the Heisman Trophy candidate who leads the Buffs in interceptions, catches and receiving yards, took a hit from K-State safety Daniel Cobb during a 14-yard reception with 8:08 left in the second quarter. Instead of coming out with the Buffs defense to play cornerback when the Wildcats got the ball back, CU featured Colton Hood at Hunter’s spot. ESPN sideline reporter Quint Kessenich reported during the game that the junior’s right shoulder was being examined. When asked by a Post reporter during halftime, a university spokesperson said he did not have an immediate update on the Buffs star’s status. CU announced at the start of the third quarter that both Hunter and fellow wideout Jimmy Horn Jr.

The Mile High City is an MVP town. Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic was at Ball Arena ahead of the Colorado Avalanche home opener Saturday night to help recognize Nathan MacKinnon, the 2024 Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award winner, both given to the NHL’s most valuable player. Jokic walked out to center ice at Ball Arena with the Hart Trophy while wearing a MacKinnon jersey. MacKinnon set Avalanche franchise records with 140 points and at least one in 35 consecutive home games last season.

A week after its RMAC win streak came to an end, the Colorado School of Mines football program is ready to start a new one. Riding the arm of redshirt senior quarterback Evan Foster, the 12th-ranked Orediggers got back on track with a 45-20 thrashing of South Dakota Mines on Saturday afternoon at Marv Kay Stadium in Golden. Foster put up 319 yards and four touchdowns on 19-of-26 passing, connecting with senior Max McLeod and junior Flynn Schiele on two scoring passes apiece as Mines (5-1 overall, 3-1 RMAC) jumped ahead 42-6 with 3:20 left in the third quarter and cruised from there. McLeod finished the game with eight receptions for 172 yards, while Schiele hauled in six passes for 126. Sophomore defensive back Will Ramsey got things started with an interception return for a touchdown on South Dakota Mines’ first offensive possession of the game.

There were no Tears for a Clown when Broncos owner Greg Penner fired Nathaniel Hackett in 2022. After an odious 15-game performance, stained by players lacking discipline and fighting on the sideline, Penner identified the qualities most important for removing the floppy shoes and red nose from the organization’s coaching office. “We need a strong leader that’s focused on winning.

FORT COLLINS — The chip Jack Howell carried around on his shoulder for the past week didn’t weigh him down. In fact, it inspired him and his Colorado State teammates. “No one hung their head,” the senior linebacker said after Colorado State’s impressive 31-24 win over San Jose State on Saturday afternoon at Canvas Stadium. “We see everything that everyone writes about us, right?” Howell continued, referring to the feedback after the Rams’ gut-wrenching, double-overtime loss at Oregon State.

When a player logs nearly 1,200 games in the NHL, there aren’t going to be many scenarios he hasn’t faced. Still, Jack Johnson will encounter a scenario Saturday night that most players in league history won’t see twice. For the second time in three years, Johnson will play against his former Avalanche teammates … in the home opener at Ball Arena. “It’s always weird,” Johnson said in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ locker room.