To recap: The Air Force men’s basketball team upset Miami 57-53 on Monday in the semifinals of the Black Coaches Association Classic in Seattle. It was the Falcons’ first victory over an Atlantic Coast Conference team in seven tries. Air Force began playing hoops in 1956, but really, when was the last time a service academy beat an ACC team in hoops?
And why wait for March to see big-time upsets when there already is plenty of action? The local men’s college basketball season really tips off this weekend:
Air Force, runner-up at the BCA Classic, hosts Colorado-Colorado Springs at Clune Arena on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. Coach Jeff Bzdelik, with his slow-tempo, Princeton-style offense, and Antoine Hood, who scored a game-high 22 points against Miami, lead the way.
Colorado sports a roster with 10 seniors, the most in the nation, and opens against North Carolina-Wilmington tonight at 8:30 p.m. at the Coors Events Center. UNCW is coming off a strong showing at the BCA tournament in Laramie, with wins over Butler, Wyoming and Northwestern. CU coach Ricardo Patton is 9-0 in season openers at Colorado.
In Greeley, Northern Colorado, now a Division I team, hosts Colorado State at 7 p.m. Jason Smith averaged 18 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.5 blocked shots in the Rams’ two exhibition games. It will be the 20th time CSU has opened its schedule with the Bears.
And the University of Denver travels to the cozy confines of Fairbanks, Alaska, to take on Kennesaw (Ga.) State in the opening game of the Top of the World Classic tonight at 8 p.m.
WEAK IN REVIEW
Walking a fine line between sweet-talking and strong-arming, NFL owners on Wednesday voted to award Kansas City the right to host a Super Bowl if city residents approve publicly funded improvements to Arrowhead Stadium. Those upgrades, including a retractable roof, could cost taxpayers upward of $500 million. Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt has used this model before. In Texas, where Hunt owns the MLS’ FC Dallas, he told the league he would build a soccer-specific stadium if they awarded him hosting duties for the MLS Cup, soccer’s Super Bowl. If Hunt can use the same model twice to fish for tax dollars for his private sports teams, what would stop Denver teams from doing the same? Will Invesco Field at Mile High, still in debt, soon need improvements? Will we start hearing about how Coors Field really needs a retractable roof?
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Some attention be paid to the small-school prep football classifications in Colorado, where a rivalry is just that; where entire towns travel hundreds of miles to see their team play; where, when Lyons plays Limon, kids from Lyons actually play kids from Limon; where the players lack the speed and size of the larger classes, but make up for it with skill, good coaching, passion and dedication. It’s everything Terrell Owens isn’t.
THE COUCH
On: Numbers abound when No. 9 Ohio State (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) travels to No. 17 Michigan (7-3, 5-2) on Saturday. It will be the 102nd meeting between the rivals. The Buckeyes, with a win over the Wolverines, could clinch a share of their 30th conference title. And if Michigan wins, a three-way tie could develop between Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State. Catch the action on ABC (KMGH-7) at 11 a.m. And for a further Big Ten fix, Penn State plays Michigan State at 2 p.m. on ESPN.
Off: A road race is a road race is a road race. But then there are trail adventure races, long-distance off-road affairs with natural obstacles and extreme terrain. Try your hand at one such race Saturday morning, when the Clevis & Clevis 50K Adventure Trail Run starts at 7 a.m. The race, free of charge and open to all comers, will take runners through Pike National Forest, site of the Buffalo Creek wildfire of 1996, in which 11,900 acres of forest were burned.
AROUND TOWN
The BooKoo Arenacross Championship Series – kind of like the Nextel Cup for off-road motorcycles – hits the Denver Coliseum this weekend, beginning tonight, for its inaugural tour. The Denver race, the third part of a 12-race series, required the installation of 1,600 square yards of dirt to construct the track. Josh Woods leads the series by 15 points over Tiger Lacey. Excitement? You pay for the whole seat, but you only use the edge.
