Grand Junction Sports News

Suplizio Field in Grand Junction is the best facility of its kind in the state.The field, which was built in 1949 and seats 11,000, was named 2009 Field of the Year by the Colorado Sports Turf Managers Association."The award recognizes outstanding turf sports facilities and the staff who work so very hard to maintain them," the city of Grand Junction said in a statement Tuesday.-City of Grand Junctionwww.gjcity.org

Local CoverageAspen Times Sports Reporter Nate Peterson and Vail Daily Marketing Consultant Mark Bricklin will be on-site covering our local Olympians and reporting on the circus that is the Vancouver Olympics 2010.Featured content includes:- Colorado Olympians' bios- Complete event schedules- Reader correspondents' blogs- Olympic Twitter feed- And much more!We're excited about our Local Olympians' sections that have each athlete's bio, photos, articles and links to their website, Twitter and Facebook pages. Note: This section will be finalized with late additions, deletions on Friday,...

SUMMIT COUNTY - So, are you going to watch that "professional football championship game" on Sunday? You know, "the big game?" Wink, wink.Oh, feel free to call it the Super Bowl on Super Sunday - so long as you're not an advertiser, that is.Americans may have noticed the elaborate wiggling advertisers are having to do nowadays to avoid using the phrases "Super Bowl" or "Super Sunday." That's because the National Football League is particularly vigilant about preventing commercial use of their trademarked phrases. In fact, a few years ago the NFL even tried to trademark "The Big Game," but...

DENVER (AP) - Starting this ski season, resort owner Intrawest is requiring helmets for all youth in ski school and students of any age in freestyle terrain parks.Age limits for "youth" will be determined by each resort.Previously, parents could opt out of having their children wear helmets in certain programs at some resorts.By the 2010-2011 season, on-duty employees will be required to wear helmets in terrain parks or if they are guides or teachers for programs where guests must wear helmets.The rules affect Copper Mountain, Winter Park and Steamboat resorts in Colorado, Stratton Mountain...

MOSCA, Colo. (AP) - A newspaper editor in southern Colorado is recovering from serious injuries after being hit while covering a high school football game.Sports editor Lloyd Engen of The Valley Courier in Alamos was hit Saturday while taking photographs on the sideline. Engen was hit by three players from Norwood and Sangre de Cristo high schools and landed on his back.Engen sustained a shattered pelvis and three cracked vertebrae. He was taken to a Denver hospital for treatment Sunday. Engen told the newspaper that it is unclear whether he'll be able to walk again. The Valley Courier is...

DENVER (AP) - Former NFL halfback and Colorado State University football and track star Alex Burl Jr. has died at age 78.His family says Burl died in Denver last week after a heart attack.CSU says a memorial service is planned Thursday. The Army veteran is to be buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery.Burl was the first black athlete in CSU history to win the Nye Trophy, presented annually to the institution's most outstanding male athlete.Burl qualified for the 1952 U.S. Olympic trials in track at age 19. In 1954, the Chicago Cardinals selected him in the NFL draft.Burl later coached...

Riar Geer, a former all-state football player from Fruita Monument High School, was named Thursday to the All-Big 12 team by the Associated Press.Geer is a 6-foot-4-inch, 250-pound tight end for the Colorado Buffaloes. He was the only player from the Buffaloes to be named to the first-team.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) - Ian Watts kicked a 33-yard field goal with 1:27 left as Wyoming became bowl-eligible Friday with a 17-16 victory over Colorado State.Quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels had touchdown runs of 8 and 49 for Wyoming (6-6, 4-4 Mountain West). The Cowboys had lost four of their previous five games and their last five meetings in Fort Collins.Wyoming was last eligible for a bowl in 2006, but it didn't receive an invitation. The last time Wyoming went to a bowl was the Las Vegas Bowl in 2004.Backup quarterback Jon Eastman, a junior college transfer, had a touchdown pass in his...

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Colorado coach Dan Hawkins will get a fifth season in Boulder instead of a pink slip and a $3.1 million buyout.Athletic director Mike Bohn announced Thursday that he's sticking with his coach despite a 16-32 record, including 2-20 on the road.The Buffs have endured four consecutive losing seasons under Hawkins, who has cleaned up a program tarnished by scandal under his predecessor, Gary Barnett, but has been unable to find success on the field.The Buffaloes (3-8, 2-5 Big 12) wrap up their season Friday against Big 12 North champion Nebraska (8-3, 5-2).

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Colorado football coach Dan Hawkins is expected to learn more about his future on Thanksgiving.The Camera newspaper reports that athletic director Mike Bohn says an official announcement about the coaching situation will come Thursday.The newspaper spoke to Bohn in Hawaii after Colorado's men's basketball team played there Wednesday. The newspaper said Bohn would not reveal his decision on Hawkins' future.Bohn did not return a message left Wednesday on his cell phone by The Associated Press.Colorado is 3-8 this season, with one game left Friday at home against Nebraska.