Leading Off: Landis’s U-turn

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The NCAA added women’s wrestling as a sport Friday, bringing its total number of championships to 91. The sanctioning body approved the addition at the annual convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Women’s wrestling had been under the “emerging sports for women” banner. Now, female athletes from Division I, II and III will compete against each other for titles.

This probably wasn’t a season destined for history. Not like last year, when the Colorado men’s basketball program set a team record with 26 victories, won a pair of games at the NCAA Tournament, and sent three players into the NBA Draft. As it turns out, the Buffaloes are indeed trending toward history.

When the Colorado women’s basketball team left West Virginia on Thursday morning, the message was simple. “I said, ‘When we leave West Virginia, we’re leaving West Virginia,’” head coach JR Payne said after her team’s 73-46 loss to the 20th-ranked Mountaineers on Wednesday night. The Buffs (12-5, 3-3 Big 12) are looking to move past that one quickly as they visit Cincinnati on Saturday. “Since we got here, it’s just all been focused on getting ready for Cincinnati,” Payne said. In turning the page, CU could have easily set its focus on the season-high 30 turnovers it committed against West Virginia – the most for the program in a game in 18 years.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will miss the team’s upcoming road trip after experiencing increased swelling in his left knee after a workout Thursday, the team announced, meaning Embiid will not play in Denver for the fifth consecutive season. The Nuggets and Sixers are set to play next Tuesday (8 p.m.

As Aaron Gordon’s calf heals, Michael Malone faces what can only be described as a good problem. The Nuggets have been steadily trending in the right direction, even while dealing with a variety of injuries to starters, most notably Gordon. During the most recent nine-game stretch that he spent on the sideline, Malone went small with his starting lineup, opting to start Russell Westbrook instead of Peyton Watson and repurposing Michael Porter Jr.

In an unexpected move, the Broncos fired special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica this week, a source told The Denver Post on Friday. Kotwica was hired by Denver in 2023 after serving as an assistant special teams coach for Minnesota in 2022. Over the past two seasons, he and former assistant head coach Mike Westhoff, who stepped down earlier this season to monitor a potential health issue related to his vision, were instrumental in Denver’s special teams success. Last year, Denver placed first in punt return average (16.3), second in punt return average against (6.3), eighth in kickoff return average (24.9) and ninth in kickoff return average against (21.5). This season, the Broncos ranked first in punt return yards (15.7), 15th in kick return yards (28.0) and sixth in field goal percentage (91.2%).