Vaarian Bullish Over Pilaster

WASHINGTON — Two games ago, the Colorado Avalanche welcomed back three forwards against the Washington Capitals, but the performance was not the result or process they wanted. Flash forward six days to Thursday night with a second crack at one of the best teams in the NHL, with their starting goalie back in the lineup, and the Avs looked more like the team they hope to be this season.

The Colorado high school football season is down to its final three weekends. With eight teams left in each of the state’s three largest classifications, here’s a preview of what to look for: Class 5A No. 9 Erie (10-2) at No. 1 Cherry Creek (10-1), 7 p.m. Friday: Could the reigning 4A champion Tigers pull off a stunner at Stutler Bowl?

The irony is the humility. Shedeur Sanders is on the Zoom screen Thursday talking, and nobody gets more air time than Shedeur. He appears in commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken, Gatorade and Beats by Dre, where his co-stars are LeBron James, Shohei Ohtani and Lionel Messi. He has a watch flex touchdown celebration and a “Perfect Timing” song to accompany it.

As the number grew on Janet Lowry’s GoFundMe page, the scope of her life came into focus just as it was ending. Hundreds turned into thousands until more than 400 donations totaled a little under $100,000 — all in support of Janet and her husband, Columbine football coach Andy Lowry, as she neared the final days of a seven-year battle with cancer, much of which had been fought in private. “I sure wish in my lifetime that I could pay it forward like these people have paid it to me,” longtime friend Monica Kellogg recalled Janet telling her. In reality, the community was paying it back to her. Janet died Nov.

Nik Bonitto is closing in on a major milestone. On Sunday against the Raiders, Denver’s third-year edge rusher will need just one sack to become the first Bronco to record double-digit sacks in a single season since Von Miller and Bradley Chubb both did it in 2018. At nine sacks total, Bonitto’s tied for second-most in the league. Head coach Sean Payton said part of the reason Bonitto has had an uptick in his numbers is because he is playing more snaps.

During a Week 9 blowout loss at Baltimore, Broncos defensive end Zach Allen noticed he was getting double-teamed more frequently. Such is life when you’re as productive as Allen’s been through the first three months of the NFL season. One differentiator between Allen’s first season in Denver and this one: He’s got a teammate on the defensive line capable of making offenses pay when they dedicate extra resources to him. It’s not a coincidence, then, that John Franklin-Myers has two sacks in Denver’s past three games and has made more splash plays the more attention Allen’s commanded. “If you’re rushing four and the center turns to Zach and he’s getting double-teamed, ‘JFM’ has had success,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Thursday.