As winter approaches and the college sports season overlaps the outdoor games with the indoor variety, things really get heated.
Seasons are ending. Rivalries are renewing. Debates are raging. Jobs are on the line.
Football to soccer, volleyball and basketball, everything is in motion. It’s a zoo out there.
Even the recent president-elect is in on the action, with Barack Obama weighing in on college football’s need for a playoff system (something BCS commissioners didn’t find too endearing).
But big-school football isn’t the only game going. Sports across the spectrum will soon be deciding their champions.
• Division II football might not have the booster power of the big schools, but its playoffs, which begin Saturday with a round of 16 teams, are nearly always competitive and entertaining.
A Nebraska cross-state rivalry will highlight the first round, with Wayne State traveling to face Chadron State, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference representative. Chadron, a powerhouse in D-II, has only a loss to Pittsburg (Kan.) State this season. The Pittsburg Gorillas host Nebraska-Omaha in the first round.
The RMAC runner-up, Colorado Mines, also is still playing. The Orediggers play Western Washington in the Dixie Rotary Bowl on Dec. 6 in St. George, Utah.
• The 16th-ranked Colorado women’s soccer team has become a fixture in the NCAA Tournament, having qualified for a sixth consecutive season. The Buffaloes, the Big 12 Tournament runners-up, travel to St. Paul, Minn., to face South Dakota State today in a first-round game. The Jackrabbits, as Summit League Conference champs, are in their first NCAA field. The winner will face Marquette or Minnesota on Sunday in the second round.
• The Denver women’s soccer team also is in the national tournament. The Pioneers, on a five-game winning streak, play Kansas today in Stanford, Calif. DU, winner of the Sun Belt Conference title, is in its third NCAA Tournament. DU or Kansas will play Cal-Santa Barbara or No. 1 seed Stanford on Sunday.
• The NCAA Division II men’s and women’s soccer tournaments are rolling as well. The Fort Lewis men, ranked No. 3 in the nation, advanced past the first round Thursday, beating RMAC rival Metro State 1-0 on a goal by Jamie Cunningham. The Skyhawks will face Midwestern State (from Wichita Falls, Texas) or Incarnate Word (from suburban San Antonio) on Saturday.
For the women, Colorado Mines will play Minnesota State today in the first round. The winner will face RMAC champ Metro State in the second round. Regis plays Augustana (S.D.) today for the chance to play Winona (Minn.) State in the second round.
AROUND TOWN
Saturday’s showdowns are big.
Nationally relevant college football finally comes to Colorado in a big way this weekend, CU and Air Force hosting what could be wave-making games.
Colorado on Saturday goes against 11th-ranked Oklahoma State in a nationally televised game from Folsom Field in Boulder at 6 p.m. (ABC, KMGH-7). The Cowboys (8-2), losers of two of their past three games, have fallen all the way to fourth in the Big 12’s South division. But they could claw back into BCS contention.
Air Force at 1:30 p.m. hosts 16th-ranked Brigham Young. The Cougars (9-1) have fallen all the way to third in what’s become a truly competitive Mountain West Conference. Air Force (8-2) trails them by a game.
STAY ON THE COUCH
Topping Karl will be tough.
Chauncey Billups’ re-arrival in Denver is perhaps the second-best Nuggets debut this decade. Denver has gone 3-1 since the guard was traded for Allen Iverson last week — the team’s first loss with Billups came Thursday at Cleveland. But he has a long way to go to match George Karl’s arrival, who went 32-8 in early 2005.
Billups’ biggest challenge in Denver started Tuesday with a three-game East Coast road swing. The trip ends tonight at Boston against the defending champ Celtics. That game airs at 6 p.m. (ESPN, ALT). The Nuggets return to Denver for a 6 p.m.game Sunday vs. Minnesota (ALT).
Denver D-minded
Going into Thursday, the Nuggets ranked 21st in the 30-team NBA in points allowed. But Denver’s opponents are shooting the third-lowest percentage:
Defense, FG%
1. Boston Celtics, 38.9
2. L.A. Lakers, 40.2
3. Denver Nuggets, 41.2
Defense, Pts.
1. L.A. Lakers, 86.7
2. Boston Celtics, 88.4
3. Utah Jazz, 90.1
21. Denver Nuggets, 98.7
GET OFF THE COUCH
Fun fall run season continues.
Two late-season running events will dot Denver and Boulder this weekend as options for a fun day out racing.
The Wash Park 5K on Sunday at 10 a.m. in Denver includes a 1K and a Furry Scurry for dog-runners. The race supports Volunteers of America (washpark5K.com).
In Boulder on Sunday, the Panicking Poultry 5K will race around Boulder Reservoir starting at 9:30 a.m. The run helps the Colorado chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (panickingpoultry5k.com).
LAST CHANCE TO SHINE
Johnson is in good shape.
The motorsports season revs down Monday after a weekend of season-ending races. NASCAR will likely crown Jimmie Johnson with a third straight series title Sunday at the Ford 400 in Homestead, Fla. (ABC, KMGH-7, 1:45 p.m.). He needs to finish 36th or better to win the Sprint Cup. The drags will also determine season champions, with funny car, pro stock and motorcycles up for grabs. Tony Schumacher already locked up the top fuel title. The NHRA races Sunday at noon for the Southern California Finals in Pomona (ESPN2).
