Tristan Timbers shot an incredible round of golf Thursday to take the Ogallala Goys Golf Invite.&nbsp; The Alliance Bulldog turned in a 68 on his scorecard that included a 33 on the back-nine to finish at the top of the individual leaderboard.

Timbers' total led the Bulldogs to a runner-up finish behind tournament champion Scottsbluff's 317 stroke.&nbsp; Alliance used 324 strokes with McCook coming in third at 328 shots.

Chadron finished in fifth place and was paced by the duo of Broc Berry and Andrew Sommerville who each carded 82 strokes.

Other local team finishes: Gering 6th, Sidney 10th.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713885357806.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By: Dave Collins Sports DirectorTristan Timbers shot an incredible round of golf Thursday to take the Ogallala Goys Golf Invite.&nbsp; The Alliance Bulldog turned in a 68 on his scorecard that included a 33 on the back-nine to finish at the top of the individual leaderboard.Timbers' total led the Bulldogs to a runner-up finish behind tournament champion Scottsbluff's 317 stroke.&nbsp; Alliance used 324 strokes with McCook coming in third at 328 shots.Chadron finished in fifth place and was paced by the duo of Broc Berry and Andrew Sommerville who each carded 82 strokes.Other local team finishes: Gering 6th, Sidney 10th.

Timbers fires incredible 68 to win Ogallala Boys Golf Invite

DENVER (AP) — Ezequiel Tovar had a triple, double and single and Brenton Doyle hit a three-run homer in a seven-run outburst in the fourth inning as the Colorado Rockies snapped a four-game skid with a 9-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday.

Colorado, which entered the game with the worst record in the majors, won for just the ninth time and avoided being swept for the fourth time this season.

Charlie Blackmon drove in two runs and finished a homer shy of hitting for the cycle for Colorado. The 37-year-old Blackmon has 762 career RBIs, fourth on Colorado’s franchise list.

Michael Conforto gave San Francisco a 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the top of the fourth before Colorado jumped on starter Keaton Winn (3-5). Tovar tripled to lead off the inning and the Rockies reeled off six straight hits, capped by Doyle’s 430-foot homer to center, his fourth of the season.

Winn got two outs, and then Blackmon tripled and Tovar doubled off of reliever Randy Rodriguez. The Rockies sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth and tagged Winn for seven runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings.

“Winn got some pitches up and we took advantage, finally, of some mistakes and barreled balls,” manager Bud Black said.

Tovar is the second player in franchise history to have a triple and double in the same inning. Garrett Hampson did it against Arizona on Aug. 11, 2020.

Cal Quantrill (2-3) worked six innings for his second consecutive strong outing. The 29-year-old right-hander pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings at Pittsburgh on Friday and has allowed one run in his last two starts.

“It’s a lot more fun pitching with a six-run lead,” Quantrill said. “I want to win when I pitch.”

San Francisco shortstop Nick Ahmed left the game in the fourth inning when he aggravated a sore left wrist in his at-bat in the third.

“It’s the same wrist he got hit on by the line drive,” manager Bob Melvin said. “It’s been bothering him off and on a little bit, but obviously affected him quite a bit on that swing. We’ll get a look at him."

Giants: OF Jung Hoo Lee was out of the lineup after fouling a ball off of his foot Wednesday night. “He’s sore enough to leave him out. We’ll see how he responds to treatment over the course of today and where we go from here,” Melvin said.

Rockies: LHP Kyle Freeland played catch Thursday and will continue to build up, Black said. Freeland (left elbow strain) went on the IL on April 16.

Giants: RHP Logan Webb (3-3, 3.50 ERA) will open a three-game home series against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.

Rockies: LHP Austin Gomber (0-2, 3.79) faces former teammate Jon Gray (1-1, 2.50) on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series with the Texas Rangers.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715356742867.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>DENVER (AP) — Ezequiel Tovar had a triple, double and single and Brenton Doyle hit a three-run homer in a seven-run outburst in the fourth inning as the Colorado Rockies snapped a four-game skid with a 9-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday.Colorado, which entered the game with the worst record in the majors, won for just the ninth time and avoided being swept for the fourth time this season.Charlie Blackmon drove in two runs and finished a homer shy of hitting for the cycle for Colorado. The 37-year-old Blackmon has 762 career RBIs, fourth on Colorado’s franchise list.Michael Conforto gave San Francisco a 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the top of the fourth before Colorado jumped on starter Keaton Winn (3-5). Tovar tripled to lead off the inning and the Rockies reeled off six straight hits, capped by Doyle’s 430-foot homer to center, his fourth of the season.Winn got two outs, and then Blackmon tripled and Tovar doubled off of reliever Randy Rodriguez. The Rockies sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth and tagged Winn for seven runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings.“Winn got some pitches up and we took advantage, finally, of some mistakes and barreled balls,” manager Bud Black said.Tovar is the second player in franchise history to have a triple and double in the same inning. Garrett Hampson did it against Arizona on Aug. 11, 2020.Cal Quantrill (2-3) worked six innings for his second consecutive strong outing. The 29-year-old right-hander pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings at Pittsburgh on Friday and has allowed one run in his last two starts.“It’s a lot more fun pitching with a six-run lead,” Quantrill said. “I want to win when I pitch.”San Francisco shortstop Nick Ahmed left the game in the fourth inning when he aggravated a sore left wrist in his at-bat in the third.“It’s the same wrist he got hit on by the line drive,” manager Bob Melvin said. “It’s been bothering him off and on a little bit, but obviously affected him quite a bit on that swing. We’ll get a look at him."TRAINER’S ROOMGiants: OF Jung Hoo Lee was out of the lineup after fouling a ball off of his foot Wednesday night. “He’s sore enough to leave him out. We’ll see how he responds to treatment over the course of today and where we go from here,” Melvin said.Rockies: LHP Kyle Freeland played catch Thursday and will continue to build up, Black said. Freeland (left elbow strain) went on the IL on April 16.UP NEXTGiants: RHP Logan Webb (3-3, 3.50 ERA) will open a three-game home series against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.Rockies: LHP Austin Gomber (0-2, 3.79) faces former teammate Jon Gray (1-1, 2.50) on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series with the Texas Rangers.

Rockies rout Giants with huge seven-run 4th inning

DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Stars built another multi-goal lead against high-scoring Colorado. This time, they held on to win and avoid another 0-2 hole in the NHL playoffs.

“Found a way to win the game, and that's the most important thing,” Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen said.

Heiskanen scored two power-play goals, Roope Hintz had a goal and three assists and the Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 in Game 2 on Thursday night to even the second-round Western Conference series.

Tyler Seguin got his first goal this postseason on a short-hander at the end of a 3-on-1 breakaway that put the Stars up 4-0 late in the second period. Esa Lindell added an empty-netter with 20 seconds left, with Hintz getting his final assist.

Jake Oettinger had 28 saves against a Colorado team that led the NHL in scoring during the regular season and is averaging an NHL-high 5.0 goals this postseason.

Joel Kiviranta, Brandon Duhaime and Valeri Nichushkin scored in the third period for the Avalanche, but they failed to score on a power play in the final three minutes that was partly a 6-on-4 after goalie Alexander Georgiev skated to the bench.

“Obviously, I think we can handle those situations better. But I think that the silver lining is that we built 3-0 and 4-0 leads, so we've played some very good hockey for long stretches against them,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “I thought tonight was better than Game 1. We did most of the things that we wanted to do tonight. Building that lead, the right guys scored, got on the board for us.”

Colorado had an extra attacker with 3:44 left when Nichushkin&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nhl.com/video/col-dal-nichushkin-scores-goal-against-jake-oettinger-6352631671112">got a goal on a puck that ricocheted off his right leg</a>. He has scored in all seven games, matching Pat LaFontaine's NHL record set in 1992 with Buffalo for the longest goal streak to start a single postseason. It also equaled the franchise's overall postseason goal streak with Claude Lemieux and Joe Sakic.

The Avs had also trailed 3-0 in the first period of Game 1 two nights earlier before&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/avalanche-stars-score-nhl-playoffs-3036ad047e3d8b27ecbc4ea09926f88a">coming back to win 4-3 in overtime</a>, and extend their postseason winning streak to five games. That was the third time this season they rebounded from a multigoal deficit to win in Dallas.

They came up short this time when hurt by some self-induced penalties and going 0 for 3 on power plays. Of their six penalties, they had two for delay of game after knocking pucks into the stands, and two more for too many men on the ice.

“The second period for me is when it fell part. Just not sharp,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “Then we turn around in the third and go to work, and that’s what happens.”

Hintz, whose only previous point this postseason had been an empty-net goal in Game 4 of the opening series against Vegas, put Dallas up 2-0 less than two minutes into the second period. That came after the Avalanche had failed to score on a power play that carried over from the end of the first period, when Oettinger made a couple of impressive stops, with a glove save after Nichushkin's close backhanded swipe at a rebound.

It also was soon after Miles Wood, who scored in overtime for Colorado in Game 1, had a shot blocked by Oettinger and the Stars took the puck the other way. Hintz was to the left of Alexander Georgiev when he got a cross-ice pass from Nils Lundkvist.

Dallas, which in the first round against Vegas lost the first two games at home before winning the series in Game 7, led 3-0 with four minutes left in the second period Thursday when captain Jamie Benn and Hintz had assists as Heiskanen scored with a shot off an Avs stick.

Benn was called for a major penalty a few minutes before that for a big hit that leveled defenseman Devon Toews behind the Colorado net. But officials reviewed the play and didn't call any penalty after replay showed a shoulder-to-shoulder hit. Toews left the game briefly, but returned before the end of the second period.

“It’s a physical game, it’s a physical player. ... I don’t want to say. I mean, does he catch a piece of his shoulder? Yeah. I guess you could argue that, but the target is high and it’s at his head, and it makes contact with the head,” Bednar said. “I've seen many times guys get called for the head shot penalty with a lot less than that, but I guess they didn’t think so. And this time of the year you've got to play through some of that stuff.”

Hintz was serving a holding penalty when Seguin got his first short-hander in his 123rd playoff game to make it 4-0.

League MVP finalist Nathan MacKinnon had the first delay of game penalty against Colorado, knocking the puck out of his own zone. Dallas capitalized, going up 1-0 after a circle-to-circle pass from Hintz to Heiskanen with 5:14 left in the first period.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715356643880.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Stars built another multi-goal lead against high-scoring Colorado. This time, they held on to win and avoid another 0-2 hole in the NHL playoffs.“Found a way to win the game, and that's the most important thing,” Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen said.Heiskanen scored two power-play goals, Roope Hintz had a goal and three assists and the Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 in Game 2 on Thursday night to even the second-round Western Conference series.Tyler Seguin got his first goal this postseason on a short-hander at the end of a 3-on-1 breakaway that put the Stars up 4-0 late in the second period. Esa Lindell added an empty-netter with 20 seconds left, with Hintz getting his final assist.Jake Oettinger had 28 saves against a Colorado team that led the NHL in scoring during the regular season and is averaging an NHL-high 5.0 goals this postseason.Joel Kiviranta, Brandon Duhaime and Valeri Nichushkin scored in the third period for the Avalanche, but they failed to score on a power play in the final three minutes that was partly a 6-on-4 after goalie Alexander Georgiev skated to the bench.“Obviously, I think we can handle those situations better. But I think that the silver lining is that we built 3-0 and 4-0 leads, so we've played some very good hockey for long stretches against them,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “I thought tonight was better than Game 1. We did most of the things that we wanted to do tonight. Building that lead, the right guys scored, got on the board for us.”Game 3 is Saturday night in Denver.Colorado had an extra attacker with 3:44 left when Nichushkin&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nhl.com/video/col-dal-nichushkin-scores-goal-against-jake-oettinger-6352631671112">got a goal on a puck that ricocheted off his right leg</a>. He has scored in all seven games, matching Pat LaFontaine's NHL record set in 1992 with Buffalo for the longest goal streak to start a single postseason. It also equaled the franchise's overall postseason goal streak with Claude Lemieux and Joe Sakic.The Avs had also trailed 3-0 in the first period of Game 1 two nights earlier before&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/avalanche-stars-score-nhl-playoffs-3036ad047e3d8b27ecbc4ea09926f88a">coming back to win 4-3 in overtime</a>, and extend their postseason winning streak to five games. That was the third time this season they rebounded from a multigoal deficit to win in Dallas.They came up short this time when hurt by some self-induced penalties and going 0 for 3 on power plays. Of their six penalties, they had two for delay of game after knocking pucks into the stands, and two more for too many men on the ice.“The second period for me is when it fell part. Just not sharp,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “Then we turn around in the third and go to work, and that’s what happens.”Hintz, whose only previous point this postseason had been an empty-net goal in Game 4 of the opening series against Vegas, put Dallas up 2-0 less than two minutes into the second period. That came after the Avalanche had failed to score on a power play that carried over from the end of the first period, when Oettinger made a couple of impressive stops, with a glove save after Nichushkin's close backhanded swipe at a rebound.It also was soon after Miles Wood, who scored in overtime for Colorado in Game 1, had a shot blocked by Oettinger and the Stars took the puck the other way. Hintz was to the left of Alexander Georgiev when he got a cross-ice pass from Nils Lundkvist.Georgiev stopped 26 shots.Dallas, which in the first round against Vegas lost the first two games at home before winning the series in Game 7, led 3-0 with four minutes left in the second period Thursday when captain Jamie Benn and Hintz had assists as Heiskanen scored with a shot off an Avs stick.Benn was called for a major penalty a few minutes before that for a big hit that leveled defenseman Devon Toews behind the Colorado net. But officials reviewed the play and didn't call any penalty after replay showed a shoulder-to-shoulder hit. Toews left the game briefly, but returned before the end of the second period.“It’s a physical game, it’s a physical player. ... I don’t want to say. I mean, does he catch a piece of his shoulder? Yeah. I guess you could argue that, but the target is high and it’s at his head, and it makes contact with the head,” Bednar said. “I've seen many times guys get called for the head shot penalty with a lot less than that, but I guess they didn’t think so. And this time of the year you've got to play through some of that stuff.”Hintz was serving a holding penalty when Seguin got his first short-hander in his 123rd playoff game to make it 4-0.League MVP finalist Nathan MacKinnon had the first delay of game penalty against Colorado, knocking the puck out of his own zone. Dallas capitalized, going up 1-0 after a circle-to-circle pass from Hintz to Heiskanen with 5:14 left in the first period.

Avalanche comeback comes up short in Game Two

Nebraska High School District Track/Field Results

Class C-9 at Bayard May 9 Boys District Champion: Chase County Girls District Champion: Chase County <a href="https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/554882/results/all">Full Results and State Qualifiers</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629461621684.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Nebraska High School District Track/Field Results</h2>Class C-9 at Bayard May 9 Boys District Champion: Chase County Girls District Champion: Chase County <a href="https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/554882/results/all">Full Results and State Qualifiers</a>

Chase County sweeps C-9 District Track; Local qualifiers for State meet

Nebraska surrendered eight unanswered runs in the eighth and ninth innings, as the Huskers fell 10-6 vs. South Dakota State on Wednesday night at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

Nebraska (30-17) totaled six runs, 12 hits and an error, while South Dakota State (18-25) scored 10 runs on 14 hits.

Case Sanderson reached in four of his five plate appearances, extending his on-base streak to 19 games. Rhett Stokes notched a three-hit game, while Ben Columbus and Gabe Swansen each added a pair of hits. Joshua Overbeek drove in two runs from the leadoff spot, including a solo home run.

Jackson Brockett pitched three innings, allowing one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts. Caleb Clark surrendered one run on one hit and punched out four Jackrabbits in 1.1 innings of relief. Evan Borst, Jalen Worthley, Kyle Froehlich and Kyle Perry teamed up to throw three scoreless innings.

Rans Sanders recorded an out, while Casey Daiss was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs on four hits in 0.2 innings. Grant Cleavinger and Bobby Olsen combined to record the final two outs.

Nebraska grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening inning after four consecutive one-out walks to Sanderson, Columbus, Tyler Stone and Dylan Carey.

The Jackrabbits tied the game at one with a pair of hits in the second inning. A two-out double on a misplayed pop-up in front of the plate set up an RBI single to right that locked the game at one.

The Huskers immediately got the run back with Overbeek’s 406-foot solo blast off the videoboard in the bottom of the second.

NU doubled its lead in the fourth after an RBI groundout from Overbeek brought home Riley Silva to make it 3-1. Silva was plunked to begin the frame, while a groundout and wild pitch moved the junior to third.

SDSU came within a run in the fifth inning after an RBI double down the left-field line plated the Jackrabbits’ second run of the night.

Garrett Anglim reached with a two-out walk in the fifth, before Silva ripped an RBI triple down the left-field line to grow the lead to 4-2 for the Big Red.

Overbeek drew a full-count walk to start the bottom of the sixth and came around to score on Columbus’ sacrifice fly to left, building the lead to 5-2.

The Jackrabbits loaded the bases with three singles in the seventh, but Perry escaped the threat with a strikeout to maintain the three-run advantage.

Silva reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to third on a wild pitch, setting up Stokes’ RBI single to right field in the bottom of the seventh.

A single and a fielding error, followed by a three-run homer to right brought the Jackrabbits within a run in the top of the eighth.

SDSU then grabbed a 10-6 lead with five runs on five hits in the top of the ninth. Four straight singles, followed by a three-run homer gave the Jackrabbits their first lead of the night.

The Huskers loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning on a pair of singles and hit-by-pitch, but were unable to capatilize to end the game.&nbsp;

Nebraska welcomes Indiana to Lincoln this weekend for the final home weekend series of the season at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. First pitch of Friday’s series opener between the Huskers and Hoosiers is scheduled for 5:02 p.m. MT

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715269286429.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Courtesy: Nebraska AthleticsNebraska surrendered eight unanswered runs in the eighth and ninth innings, as the Huskers fell 10-6 vs. South Dakota State on Wednesday night at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.Nebraska (30-17) totaled six runs, 12 hits and an error, while South Dakota State (18-25) scored 10 runs on 14 hits.Case Sanderson reached in four of his five plate appearances, extending his on-base streak to 19 games. Rhett Stokes notched a three-hit game, while Ben Columbus and Gabe Swansen each added a pair of hits. Joshua Overbeek drove in two runs from the leadoff spot, including a solo home run.Jackson Brockett pitched three innings, allowing one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts. Caleb Clark surrendered one run on one hit and punched out four Jackrabbits in 1.1 innings of relief. Evan Borst, Jalen Worthley, Kyle Froehlich and Kyle Perry teamed up to throw three scoreless innings.Rans Sanders recorded an out, while Casey Daiss was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs on four hits in 0.2 innings. Grant Cleavinger and Bobby Olsen combined to record the final two outs.Nebraska grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening inning after four consecutive one-out walks to Sanderson, Columbus, Tyler Stone and Dylan Carey.The Jackrabbits tied the game at one with a pair of hits in the second inning. A two-out double on a misplayed pop-up in front of the plate set up an RBI single to right that locked the game at one.The Huskers immediately got the run back with Overbeek’s 406-foot solo blast off the videoboard in the bottom of the second.NU doubled its lead in the fourth after an RBI groundout from Overbeek brought home Riley Silva to make it 3-1. Silva was plunked to begin the frame, while a groundout and wild pitch moved the junior to third.SDSU came within a run in the fifth inning after an RBI double down the left-field line plated the Jackrabbits’ second run of the night.Garrett Anglim reached with a two-out walk in the fifth, before Silva ripped an RBI triple down the left-field line to grow the lead to 4-2 for the Big Red.Overbeek drew a full-count walk to start the bottom of the sixth and came around to score on Columbus’ sacrifice fly to left, building the lead to 5-2.The Jackrabbits loaded the bases with three singles in the seventh, but Perry escaped the threat with a strikeout to maintain the three-run advantage.Silva reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to third on a wild pitch, setting up Stokes’ RBI single to right field in the bottom of the seventh.A single and a fielding error, followed by a three-run homer to right brought the Jackrabbits within a run in the top of the eighth.SDSU then grabbed a 10-6 lead with five runs on five hits in the top of the ninth. Four straight singles, followed by a three-run homer gave the Jackrabbits their first lead of the night.The Huskers loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning on a pair of singles and hit-by-pitch, but were unable to capatilize to end the game.&nbsp;Nebraska welcomes Indiana to Lincoln this weekend for the final home weekend series of the season at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. First pitch of Friday’s series opener between the Huskers and Hoosiers is scheduled for 5:02 p.m. MT

Jackrabbits hop over Huskers with huge 8th & 9th innings

DENVER (AP) — Michael Conforto homered and singled in a six-run second inning that sent the San Francisco Giants past the struggling Colorado Rockies 8-6 on Wednesday night.

Blake Sabol and Conforto each finished with three of San Francisco's 13 hits. Jordan Hicks pitched five effective innings and the Giants won their second in a row after a four-game losing streak to secure the series win against Colorado.

After a 5-0 victory Tuesday over the Rockies, it was just the third time this season the Giants scored five or more runs in consecutive games.

“It’s very encouraging,” LaMonte Wade Jr. said. “We’ve been working hard at it, so to see it come to fruition the last two nights has been really good. We’ve got to keep building on that and come out strong tomorrow.”

Mike Yastrzemski had two hits, including a triple, and Sabol delivered an RBI double. San Francisco withstood a two-run homer by Elias Díaz off Camilo Doval with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Sean Bouchard had three hits for the Rockies, who have lost four straight and nine of 10. They own the worst record in the majors at 8-28 and remain the only club without a series victory or successive wins this season.

“We hung in there,” manager Bud Black said. “We kept getting some guys on base, but the double play tonight sort of killed us three different times. That happens. That’s baseball.”

Charlie Blackmon added two hits and two RBIs, pushing his career RBI total to 760 and tying Nolan Arenado for fourth in Rockies history. Díaz had three RBIs.

Hicks (3-1) allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out five.

Peter Lambert (2-2) went three innings and permitted seven runs on nine hits.

The Giants matched their biggest inning of the season in the second, which began with Conforto’s leadoff homer on the first pitch he saw from Lambert.

Jung Hoo Lee helped keep the outburst going with an RBI double. Wade had a two-run single and Heliot Ramos, recalled from the minors earlier in the day, added an RBI single. Yastrzemski scored from third on Nick Ahmed’s sacrifice, beating the throw home from Lambert with a headfirst slide.

Brenton Doyle tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the second, but the Giants got another run in the third on Sabol’s RBI double.

“They hit some pretty good pitches. But overall, kept the ball in the ballpark here,” Hicks said. “Doyle put some good wood on it but besides that, we got an early lead and just tried to keep them at bay.”

Giants: DH Jorge Soler was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder strain, retroactive to Sunday. Ramos was recalled from Triple-A to fill Soler's roster spot.

Rockies: 1B/OF Kris Bryant, sidelined the last three weeks by a lower back strain, has resumed baseball activities in the past couple of days. He has been taking swings in the batting cage and was on the field before the game taking grounders. ... OF Nolan Jones, who went on the 10-day IL effective April 29 with a lower back injury, is expected to resume baseball activities Thursday or Friday. Both are likely to have a minor league rehab assignment before returning to the Rockies.

Giants RHP Keaton Winn (3-4, 4.41 ERA) is slated to pitch Thursday’s series finale against RHP Cal Quantrill (1-3, 4.31).

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715269141789.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>DENVER (AP) — Michael Conforto homered and singled in a six-run second inning that sent the San Francisco Giants past the struggling Colorado Rockies 8-6 on Wednesday night.Blake Sabol and Conforto each finished with three of San Francisco's 13 hits. Jordan Hicks pitched five effective innings and the Giants won their second in a row after a four-game losing streak to secure the series win against Colorado.After a 5-0 victory Tuesday over the Rockies, it was just the third time this season the Giants scored five or more runs in consecutive games.“It’s very encouraging,” LaMonte Wade Jr. said. “We’ve been working hard at it, so to see it come to fruition the last two nights has been really good. We’ve got to keep building on that and come out strong tomorrow.”Mike Yastrzemski had two hits, including a triple, and Sabol delivered an RBI double. San Francisco withstood a two-run homer by Elias Díaz off Camilo Doval with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.Sean Bouchard had three hits for the Rockies, who have lost four straight and nine of 10. They own the worst record in the majors at 8-28 and remain the only club without a series victory or successive wins this season.“We hung in there,” manager Bud Black said. “We kept getting some guys on base, but the double play tonight sort of killed us three different times. That happens. That’s baseball.”Charlie Blackmon added two hits and two RBIs, pushing his career RBI total to 760 and tying Nolan Arenado for fourth in Rockies history. Díaz had three RBIs.Hicks (3-1) allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out five.Peter Lambert (2-2) went three innings and permitted seven runs on nine hits.The Giants matched their biggest inning of the season in the second, which began with Conforto’s leadoff homer on the first pitch he saw from Lambert.Jung Hoo Lee helped keep the outburst going with an RBI double. Wade had a two-run single and Heliot Ramos, recalled from the minors earlier in the day, added an RBI single. Yastrzemski scored from third on Nick Ahmed’s sacrifice, beating the throw home from Lambert with a headfirst slide.Brenton Doyle tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the second, but the Giants got another run in the third on Sabol’s RBI double.“They hit some pretty good pitches. But overall, kept the ball in the ballpark here,” Hicks said. “Doyle put some good wood on it but besides that, we got an early lead and just tried to keep them at bay.”TRAINER’S ROOMGiants: DH Jorge Soler was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder strain, retroactive to Sunday. Ramos was recalled from Triple-A to fill Soler's roster spot.Rockies: 1B/OF Kris Bryant, sidelined the last three weeks by a lower back strain, has resumed baseball activities in the past couple of days. He has been taking swings in the batting cage and was on the field before the game taking grounders. ... OF Nolan Jones, who went on the 10-day IL effective April 29 with a lower back injury, is expected to resume baseball activities Thursday or Friday. Both are likely to have a minor league rehab assignment before returning to the Rockies.UP NEXTGiants RHP Keaton Winn (3-4, 4.41 ERA) is slated to pitch Thursday’s series finale against RHP Cal Quantrill (1-3, 4.31).

Giants stomp Rockies early to win second game of series

(AP) Nikola Jokic did it all again. And the MVP trophy is his again.

Jokic, the Denver Nuggets star from Serbia, was announced Wednesday night as the NBA's Most Valuable Player — his third time winning the award in the past four seasons, a feat that just six other players in league history have accomplished.

He averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists. Others averaged more in each category — and Jokic has had better years in each of those categories — but he was the only player to rank in the NBA’s top 10 in points, rebounds and assists per game this season.

Jokic got 79 of a possible 99 first-place votes from the panel of reporters and broadcasters who cast ballots on awards when the regular season ended.

“It’s got to start with your teammates,” Jokic said on TNT, where the award was announced. “Without them, I’m nothing. Without them, I cannot do nothing. Coaches, players, organization, medical staff, development coaches ... I cannot be whoever I am without them.”

Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was second and Dallas’ Luka Doncic was third, both getting into the top three of MVP voting for the first time. With Jokic from Serbia, Gilgeous-Alexander from Canada and Doncic from Slovenia, it marked the third consecutive season that three players born outside the U.S. finished 1-2-3 in the MVP balloting.

This time, the foreign dominance atop the NBA was even more pronounced: Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is from Greece, was fourth — so this became the first time in the award’s 69-year history that international players went 1-2-3-4 in the voting. It also became the sixth consecutive year that a player born outside the U.S. won the award.

Jokic appeared on television for the award announcement wearing a T-shirt commemorating the life of one of his mentors,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/warriors-milojevic-hospitalized-medical-emergency-4932cc2c1f8ef971924c09851867797e">Golden State assistant coach Dejan Milojević,</a>&nbsp;who died earlier this year after a heart attack on a road trip.

“To be honest, I’m wearing this shirt pretty much every day, especially when I’m in the training facility,” Jokic said. "Deki was the guy who gave me the freedom. He showed me the way how you’re supposed to do things — act, train, workout. ... He trusted me and I can just say, ‘thank you.’”

Jokic appeared on all 99 ballots, with 18 second-place votes and two third-place votes. Gilgeous-Alexander also appeared on every ballot, with 15 first-place votes, 40 second-place, 40 third-place, three fourth-place and one fifth-place nod.

Doncic was on all but one ballot and got four first-place votes. Antetokounmpo got one first-place vote on his way to fourth. New York's Jalen Brunson was fifth, followed by Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis and Phoenix’s Kevin Durant.

“Some people say it’s the best player on the best team,” Jokic said, when asked to define an MVP. “To me, it’s the guy who’s the most valuable, the team couldn’t play without him.”

Jokic is now the ninth player to win the MVP award at least three times. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won it six times, Bill Russell and Michael Jordan each won five, Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James won four, and Moses Malone, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson are the other three-time winners.

Jokic’s surprise rise to superstardom has been chronicled time and again over the years: He was the 41st overall pick in the 2014 draft, didn’t even think he had a realistic chance at playing in the NBA when his career was beginning and now has a Hall of Fame resume at 29.

The other players with three MVP trophies in a four-year span are James, Johnson, Bird, Abdul-Jabbar, Chamberlain and Russell. And Jokic becomes the fifth player to be first or second in the MVP voting in four consecutive years — joining Bird, Abdul-Jabbar, Russell and Tim Duncan.

Gilgeous-Alexander had perhaps the best feel-good story in the NBA this season, helping Oklahoma City to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference by averaging 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists. The Thunder won 57 games, 17 more than they did last season and 33 more than they did two years ago, their rise coinciding with Gilgeous-Alexander’s emergence as one of the game’s elite players.

“There is not a night when I don’t feel like we have the best player on the floor. … There’s no one I’d rather have on our team than him,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-coach-of-year-thunder-daigneault-90c23e458e9f2d1441ba64d0e6425d21">league’s coach of the year</a>&nbsp;this season, said last month.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/luka-doncic-nba-mvp-b0eeb6e6dbd13424a174bac30ce34b23">Doncic made a case</a>&nbsp;for the MVP award by posting the first season in NBA history in which a player averaged 34 points, nine rebounds and nine assists per game. There had been 14 instances before this year in which a player averaged that many points and rebounds in a season — of those, five had resulted in MVP wins, including last season when Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid averaged 33 points and 10 rebounds.

And this was the second time ever that a player averaged at least 33 points and nine assists per game. The other was in 1972-73, when Kansas City’s Tiny Archibald averaged 34 points and 11 assists. He finished third in that season’s MVP voting, just like Doncic did this season.

But in the end, it was Jokic who stood above all others — and the vote wasn't close.

“I think he’s stated his case pretty well," Nuggets guard Jamal Murray said. “He does it every night. It’s hard to do what he does and face the kind of pressure that he does each and every game. He does it with a smile on his face. He makes everybody around us better. And he’s a leader on the court and somebody that we expect greatness from every time he steps on the court and he’s delivered.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715223492040.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>(AP) Nikola Jokic did it all again. And the MVP trophy is his again.Jokic, the Denver Nuggets star from Serbia, was announced Wednesday night as the NBA's Most Valuable Player — his third time winning the award in the past four seasons, a feat that just six other players in league history have accomplished.He averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists. Others averaged more in each category — and Jokic has had better years in each of those categories — but he was the only player to rank in the NBA’s top 10 in points, rebounds and assists per game this season.Jokic got 79 of a possible 99 first-place votes from the panel of reporters and broadcasters who cast ballots on awards when the regular season ended.“It’s got to start with your teammates,” Jokic said on TNT, where the award was announced. “Without them, I’m nothing. Without them, I cannot do nothing. Coaches, players, organization, medical staff, development coaches ... I cannot be whoever I am without them.”Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was second and Dallas’ Luka Doncic was third, both getting into the top three of MVP voting for the first time. With Jokic from Serbia, Gilgeous-Alexander from Canada and Doncic from Slovenia, it marked the third consecutive season that three players born outside the U.S. finished 1-2-3 in the MVP balloting.This time, the foreign dominance atop the NBA was even more pronounced: Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is from Greece, was fourth — so this became the first time in the award’s 69-year history that international players went 1-2-3-4 in the voting. It also became the sixth consecutive year that a player born outside the U.S. won the award.Jokic appeared on television for the award announcement wearing a T-shirt commemorating the life of one of his mentors,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/warriors-milojevic-hospitalized-medical-emergency-4932cc2c1f8ef971924c09851867797e">Golden State assistant coach Dejan Milojević,</a>&nbsp;who died earlier this year after a heart attack on a road trip.“To be honest, I’m wearing this shirt pretty much every day, especially when I’m in the training facility,” Jokic said. "Deki was the guy who gave me the freedom. He showed me the way how you’re supposed to do things — act, train, workout. ... He trusted me and I can just say, ‘thank you.’”Jokic appeared on all 99 ballots, with 18 second-place votes and two third-place votes. Gilgeous-Alexander also appeared on every ballot, with 15 first-place votes, 40 second-place, 40 third-place, three fourth-place and one fifth-place nod.Doncic was on all but one ballot and got four first-place votes. Antetokounmpo got one first-place vote on his way to fourth. New York's Jalen Brunson was fifth, followed by Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis and Phoenix’s Kevin Durant.“Some people say it’s the best player on the best team,” Jokic said, when asked to define an MVP. “To me, it’s the guy who’s the most valuable, the team couldn’t play without him.”Jokic is now the ninth player to win the MVP award at least three times. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won it six times, Bill Russell and Michael Jordan each won five, Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James won four, and Moses Malone, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson are the other three-time winners.Jokic’s surprise rise to superstardom has been chronicled time and again over the years: He was the 41st overall pick in the 2014 draft, didn’t even think he had a realistic chance at playing in the NBA when his career was beginning and now has a Hall of Fame resume at 29.The other players with three MVP trophies in a four-year span are James, Johnson, Bird, Abdul-Jabbar, Chamberlain and Russell. And Jokic becomes the fifth player to be first or second in the MVP voting in four consecutive years — joining Bird, Abdul-Jabbar, Russell and Tim Duncan.Gilgeous-Alexander had perhaps the best feel-good story in the NBA this season, helping Oklahoma City to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference by averaging 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists. The Thunder won 57 games, 17 more than they did last season and 33 more than they did two years ago, their rise coinciding with Gilgeous-Alexander’s emergence as one of the game’s elite players.“There is not a night when I don’t feel like we have the best player on the floor. … There’s no one I’d rather have on our team than him,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-coach-of-year-thunder-daigneault-90c23e458e9f2d1441ba64d0e6425d21">league’s coach of the year</a>&nbsp;this season, said last month.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/luka-doncic-nba-mvp-b0eeb6e6dbd13424a174bac30ce34b23">Doncic made a case</a>&nbsp;for the MVP award by posting the first season in NBA history in which a player averaged 34 points, nine rebounds and nine assists per game. There had been 14 instances before this year in which a player averaged that many points and rebounds in a season — of those, five had resulted in MVP wins, including last season when Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid averaged 33 points and 10 rebounds.And this was the second time ever that a player averaged at least 33 points and nine assists per game. The other was in 1972-73, when Kansas City’s Tiny Archibald averaged 34 points and 11 assists. He finished third in that season’s MVP voting, just like Doncic did this season.But in the end, it was Jokic who stood above all others — and the vote wasn't close.“I think he’s stated his case pretty well," Nuggets guard Jamal Murray said. “He does it every night. It’s hard to do what he does and face the kind of pressure that he does each and every game. He does it with a smile on his face. He makes everybody around us better. And he’s a leader on the court and somebody that we expect greatness from every time he steps on the court and he’s delivered.”

Nuggets star adding to legendary status with third MVP award

Nebraska High School District Track/Field

Check back on result links this week as additional State qualifiers may be determined

Class D-9 at Creek Valley HS May 8, 2024 <a href="https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/554897/results/all">Full Results &amp; State Qualifiers</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629461621684.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Nebraska High School District Track/Field</h2>Check back on result links this week as additional State qualifiers may be determinedClass D-9 at Creek Valley HS May 8, 2024 <a href="https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/554897/results/all">Full Results &amp; State Qualifiers</a>

Hay Springs, Crawford sending athletes to State track, D-9 Results

Check back on result links this week as additional State qualifiers may be determined Class B-6 at Ogallala HS May 7, 2024 <a href="https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/554850/results/all">Full Results &amp; State Qualifiers</a> Chadron State Qualifiers: 3 Kyndall Carnahan: 3200m Olivia Lyon: Discus Sophie Watson: High Jump Alliance State Qualifiers: 5 Kayel Lambert: 200m, 400m Trevor Zurn: 800m Josie Sanders: 300m Hurdles Shyla Salcido: Shot Put Jaelynne Clarke: Triple Jump

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629461621684.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Nebraska High School District Track/Field</h2>Check back on result links this week as additional State qualifiers may be determined Class B-6 at Ogallala HS May 7, 2024 <a href="https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/554850/results/all">Full Results &amp; State Qualifiers</a> Chadron State Qualifiers: 3 Kyndall Carnahan: 3200m Olivia Lyon: Discus Sophie Watson: High Jump Alliance State Qualifiers: 5 Kayel Lambert: 200m, 400m Trevor Zurn: 800m Josie Sanders: 300m Hurdles Shyla Salcido: Shot Put Jaelynne Clarke: Triple Jump

Chadron, Alliance sending competitors to State Track, Sidney wins girl's B-6 District

DENVER (AP) — Rookie Kyle Harrison pitched seven scoreless innings and the San Francisco Giants scored four runs in a decisive fourth inning despite getting only two balls out of the infield in a 5-0 victory over Colorado on Tuesday.

Harrison (3-1) gave up four hits, all singles, and struck out two. He has given up one run in his last 18 innings, although this was his first decision in that stretch. He walked two and made only 86 pitches.

“Talk about pounding the zone," Giants manager Bob Melvin said. "Throwing strikes, getting early-count contact. It was fantastic.

“When you haven’t pitched here before, there are some unknowns when you go out there. Is your breaking ball going to break like it normally does? Am I going to get winded? All those things there is some uncertainty about didn’t seem to bother him at all.”

The Giants, who snapped a four-game skid, ended an 11-game streak of scoring no more than four runs in one game, a day after Melvin held a post-game meeting following a 6-1 loss at Philadelphia.

“It was well-timed,” said Nick Ahmed, who had two hits.

“We didn’t play well in Philly. We got embarrassed. They are a good team, but we didn’t play our best baseball. If you just come out and do the little things right, you’re not always going to win a game, but you give yourself a better chance."

LaMonte Wade Jr. had a two-run single to cap the Giants’ four-run fourth inning and walked three times, improving his on-base percentage to .485.

The Rockies got only two runners as far as second base and have lost three in a row and eight of their last nine, falling to 8-27 and extending the worst start in franchise history.

Jung Hoo Lee extended his hitting streak to five games with his first career three-hit game, one out of the infield.

Harrison is the sixth Giants starter to throw at least seven shutout innings at Coors Field, the first since Barry Zito on April 9, 2012.

“I felt great out there,” Harrison said. “The shapes of pitches were fine. Any time you have two strikeouts, you had a hell of a defense behind you. They made some great plays.”

Jacob Stallings walked and Elehuris Montero singled with two outs in the second off Harrison, who got out of that inning on a groundout and retired 10 of the next 11.

“We couldn’t square up the fastball," Colorado manager Bud Black said, “and he threw enough changeups and sliders in certain counts and he got us. He pitched well. He didn’t throw. He pitched.”

Ahmed had two hits and an RBI to raise his career batting average at Coors Field to .335.

Michael Conforto drove in the Giants’ final run with a single in the seventh.

After Matt Chapman walked and Blake Sabol singled to right with one out in the fourth inning, Ahmed hit a slow roller that third baseman Ryan McMahon could not handle off Dakota Hudson (0-6) to score Chapman.

Lee reached on a dribbler down the third base line to load the bases and Sabol scored on a groundout before Wade lined a two-run single to right-center.

Giants: OF Jorge Soler (right shoulder) was held out of the starting lineup for the third straight game. … C Patrick Bailey (concussion) may begin baseball activity Tuesday, manager Bob Melvin said, adding, “If he gets better every day, we’ll see what Saturday looks like.” Bailey is eligible to return Saturday. … LHP Blake Snell (thigh) was to throw about 50 pitches in live batting practice at Oracle Park on Tuesday. He is eligible to return Wednesday.

Rockies: LHP Kyle Freeland (elbow) threw a weighted ball off a trampoline from 15 feet Tuesday, his first throwing since being diagnosed with an elbow strain April 19. … OF Kris Bryant (back) hit off a tee, ran and played catch Tuesday, but there is no timetable for his return. He has been out since April 13. … OF Nolan Jones (back) did throwing and running drills in Pittsburgh last weekend and was to meet with a team doctor Tuesday. He will not return when eligible Saturday. … LHP Lucas Gilbreath (teres major strain) has not thrown since April 23, when felt soreness during a rehab assignment at Triple-A Albuquerque. He was placed on the 60-day injured list April 30.

Giants: RHP Jordan Hicks (2-1, 1.89 ERA) has given up two earned runs or fewer in each of his first seven starts. He is 1-1 in seven previous appearances against Colorado, all in relief.

Rockies: RHP Peter Lambert (2-1, 5.66) will make this third start of the season, after making his first six appearances in relief. He has a 6.99 career ERA at Coors Field.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715177323220.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>DENVER (AP) — Rookie Kyle Harrison pitched seven scoreless innings and the San Francisco Giants scored four runs in a decisive fourth inning despite getting only two balls out of the infield in a 5-0 victory over Colorado on Tuesday.Harrison (3-1) gave up four hits, all singles, and struck out two. He has given up one run in his last 18 innings, although this was his first decision in that stretch. He walked two and made only 86 pitches.“Talk about pounding the zone," Giants manager Bob Melvin said. "Throwing strikes, getting early-count contact. It was fantastic.“When you haven’t pitched here before, there are some unknowns when you go out there. Is your breaking ball going to break like it normally does? Am I going to get winded? All those things there is some uncertainty about didn’t seem to bother him at all.”The Giants, who snapped a four-game skid, ended an 11-game streak of scoring no more than four runs in one game, a day after Melvin held a post-game meeting following a 6-1 loss at Philadelphia.“It was well-timed,” said Nick Ahmed, who had two hits.“We didn’t play well in Philly. We got embarrassed. They are a good team, but we didn’t play our best baseball. If you just come out and do the little things right, you’re not always going to win a game, but you give yourself a better chance."LaMonte Wade Jr. had a two-run single to cap the Giants’ four-run fourth inning and walked three times, improving his on-base percentage to .485.The Rockies got only two runners as far as second base and have lost three in a row and eight of their last nine, falling to 8-27 and extending the worst start in franchise history.Jung Hoo Lee extended his hitting streak to five games with his first career three-hit game, one out of the infield.Harrison is the sixth Giants starter to throw at least seven shutout innings at Coors Field, the first since Barry Zito on April 9, 2012.“I felt great out there,” Harrison said. “The shapes of pitches were fine. Any time you have two strikeouts, you had a hell of a defense behind you. They made some great plays.”Jacob Stallings walked and Elehuris Montero singled with two outs in the second off Harrison, who got out of that inning on a groundout and retired 10 of the next 11.“We couldn’t square up the fastball," Colorado manager Bud Black said, “and he threw enough changeups and sliders in certain counts and he got us. He pitched well. He didn’t throw. He pitched.”Ahmed had two hits and an RBI to raise his career batting average at Coors Field to .335.Michael Conforto drove in the Giants’ final run with a single in the seventh.After Matt Chapman walked and Blake Sabol singled to right with one out in the fourth inning, Ahmed hit a slow roller that third baseman Ryan McMahon could not handle off Dakota Hudson (0-6) to score Chapman.Lee reached on a dribbler down the third base line to load the bases and Sabol scored on a groundout before Wade lined a two-run single to right-center.TRAINER’S ROOMGiants: OF Jorge Soler (right shoulder) was held out of the starting lineup for the third straight game. … C Patrick Bailey (concussion) may begin baseball activity Tuesday, manager Bob Melvin said, adding, “If he gets better every day, we’ll see what Saturday looks like.” Bailey is eligible to return Saturday. … LHP Blake Snell (thigh) was to throw about 50 pitches in live batting practice at Oracle Park on Tuesday. He is eligible to return Wednesday.Rockies: LHP Kyle Freeland (elbow) threw a weighted ball off a trampoline from 15 feet Tuesday, his first throwing since being diagnosed with an elbow strain April 19. … OF Kris Bryant (back) hit off a tee, ran and played catch Tuesday, but there is no timetable for his return. He has been out since April 13. … OF Nolan Jones (back) did throwing and running drills in Pittsburgh last weekend and was to meet with a team doctor Tuesday. He will not return when eligible Saturday. … LHP Lucas Gilbreath (teres major strain) has not thrown since April 23, when felt soreness during a rehab assignment at Triple-A Albuquerque. He was placed on the 60-day injured list April 30.UP NEXTGiants: RHP Jordan Hicks (2-1, 1.89 ERA) has given up two earned runs or fewer in each of his first seven starts. He is 1-1 in seven previous appearances against Colorado, all in relief.Rockies: RHP Peter Lambert (2-1, 5.66) will make this third start of the season, after making his first six appearances in relief. He has a 6.99 career ERA at Coors Field.

Rookie Harrison silences Rockies bats in 5-0 Giants win

DALLAS (AP) — Miles Wood screamed for the puck, and delivered the game-winner in overtime for the Colorado Avalanche once he got it.

Wood scored on a hard-charging backhander 11:03 into OT after getting the puck from Andrew Cogliano, and the Avalanche, after trailing by three goals in the first period, beat the top-seeded Dallas Stars 4-3 on Tuesday night in the opener of their second-round Western Conference series.

“Instead of just turning and firing it ... (Cogliano) gets his eyes up and Wood was fresh and went slashing through their D,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “When Woody get’s going like that, he’s hard to stop. He’s fast and he’s powerful, and he just took it to the house.”

Staying ahead of defenseman Miro Heiskanen, Wood got the puck around Jake Oettinger to wrap up only the Avalanche's third three-goal comeback to win a playoff game in their history — and first since 1997.

“There’s a scrum in the corner there. ... I was just screaming ‘Chip, chip, chip.’ He made a great play, and from there on out, I just used my speed,” said Wood, still breathing heavily from the game-winning play. “I definitely kicked it into high gear there.”

Cale Makar had a goal and two assists for Colorado, while Valerie Nichushkin had a goal and an assist. Nathan MacKinnon had the tying goal only 39 seconds into the third period when left open just to the left of the net, and Mikko Rantanen, who had two assists, had a shot off the post midway through the third period.

“It would have been easy to kind of fold after that first period," MacKinnon said. "But we felt like we were playing better than what the score showed. We wanted to see it through”

Alexander Georgiev had 19 saves while winning his fifth consecutive start in goal for the Avs. But Dallas, after nine shots on net in the first period, had only seven combined the rest of regulation, and six in overtime when he denied Tyler Seguin twice in less than a minute and knocked down a couple of long high shots by Thomas Harley.

“He's been playing great for us. We’re all so pumped for him,” Wood said of the goalie. “He let in three there in the first quickly, but he was solid from there on out.”

Stars goalie Oettinger stopped 22 shots, ending his six-game streak of allowing two goals or less.

Dallas led 3-0 in the first period against the 2022 Stanley Cup champion, only two nights after wrapping up a seven-game series against Vegas, last year’s champ, in which both teams finished with 16 goals and the margin was never more than two goals.

“It’s a tough turnaround for us as a group. I thought we had a great start,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “The fatigue from Game 7 I thought hit us in the second half of that game.”

Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist for the Stars, who lost their series opener at home like in the first round when they dropped the first two games. Ryan Sutter and Wyatt Johnston also scored goals.

Colorado scored 28 goals&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nhl-playoffs-avalanche-jets-score-rantanen-120d29a4360e66bbea245c713bd2015e">in five games against Winnipeg</a>, and had gone a full week since wrapping that series up in five games. The Avs had three comeback wins against the Jets, but none of those were from more than one-goal deficits.

It wasn't the first time this season for the Avalanche to come back from a 3-0 deficit in Dallas. They were down that early in the second period back in November before scoring&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/avalanche-stars-cale-makar-assists-7fface7f50d799ffb93a2dcb5d466158">six unanswered goals in a 6-3 win</a>.

“You can’t take a breath with these guys,” Benn said. “They’re a great team.”

Colorado scored two power-play goals in the second period, with Nichushkin getting his eighth goal of the playoffs, and extending his goal-scoring streak this postseason to six games before assisting on Makar’s goal that got them within 3-2.

Nichushkin, the 10th overall draft pick by Dallas in 2013, knocked in the loose puck after Makar had a shot off Oettinger that Ryan Suter was unable to clear. Makar did get a wrister from about 50 feet into the net on his next shot.

Suter, the 39-year-old defenseman whose 1,444 career regular-season games are the most for any player without winning a Stanley Cup, put the Stars up 1-0 with a 60-footer from near the left boards only 7 1/2 minutes into the game. Georgiev never saw the puck because of all the traffic in front of the net after Suter got a pass from Matt Duchene, who had just gotten up from taking a hit.

The Stars made it 2-0 directly off a faceoff win by Benn, with the 20-year-old Johnston scoring from the top of the left circle for his fifth goal this postseason.

Dallas was on a 5-on-3 power play when Benn scored with three minutes left in the first period by deflected a flying puck into the net.

And the Stars captain almost had another goal in the closing seconds on another power play. He made a nifty move and made a swiping shot while falling down to get the puck behind Georgiev before defenseman Josh Manson knocked it away from the goal line.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715177240621.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>DALLAS (AP) — Miles Wood screamed for the puck, and delivered the game-winner in overtime for the Colorado Avalanche once he got it.Wood scored on a hard-charging backhander 11:03 into OT after getting the puck from Andrew Cogliano, and the Avalanche, after trailing by three goals in the first period, beat the top-seeded Dallas Stars 4-3 on Tuesday night in the opener of their second-round Western Conference series.“Instead of just turning and firing it ... (Cogliano) gets his eyes up and Wood was fresh and went slashing through their D,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “When Woody get’s going like that, he’s hard to stop. He’s fast and he’s powerful, and he just took it to the house.”Staying ahead of defenseman Miro Heiskanen, Wood got the puck around Jake Oettinger to wrap up only the Avalanche's third three-goal comeback to win a playoff game in their history — and first since 1997.“There’s a scrum in the corner there. ... I was just screaming ‘Chip, chip, chip.’ He made a great play, and from there on out, I just used my speed,” said Wood, still breathing heavily from the game-winning play. “I definitely kicked it into high gear there.”Cale Makar had a goal and two assists for Colorado, while Valerie Nichushkin had a goal and an assist. Nathan MacKinnon had the tying goal only 39 seconds into the third period when left open just to the left of the net, and Mikko Rantanen, who had two assists, had a shot off the post midway through the third period.“It would have been easy to kind of fold after that first period," MacKinnon said. "But we felt like we were playing better than what the score showed. We wanted to see it through”Alexander Georgiev had 19 saves while winning his fifth consecutive start in goal for the Avs. But Dallas, after nine shots on net in the first period, had only seven combined the rest of regulation, and six in overtime when he denied Tyler Seguin twice in less than a minute and knocked down a couple of long high shots by Thomas Harley.“He's been playing great for us. We’re all so pumped for him,” Wood said of the goalie. “He let in three there in the first quickly, but he was solid from there on out.”Stars goalie Oettinger stopped 22 shots, ending his six-game streak of allowing two goals or less.Dallas led 3-0 in the first period against the 2022 Stanley Cup champion, only two nights after wrapping up a seven-game series against Vegas, last year’s champ, in which both teams finished with 16 goals and the margin was never more than two goals.“It’s a tough turnaround for us as a group. I thought we had a great start,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “The fatigue from Game 7 I thought hit us in the second half of that game.”Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist for the Stars, who lost their series opener at home like in the first round when they dropped the first two games. Ryan Sutter and Wyatt Johnston also scored goals.Game 2 is Thursday night.Colorado scored 28 goals&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nhl-playoffs-avalanche-jets-score-rantanen-120d29a4360e66bbea245c713bd2015e">in five games against Winnipeg</a>, and had gone a full week since wrapping that series up in five games. The Avs had three comeback wins against the Jets, but none of those were from more than one-goal deficits.It wasn't the first time this season for the Avalanche to come back from a 3-0 deficit in Dallas. They were down that early in the second period back in November before scoring&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/avalanche-stars-cale-makar-assists-7fface7f50d799ffb93a2dcb5d466158">six unanswered goals in a 6-3 win</a>.“You can’t take a breath with these guys,” Benn said. “They’re a great team.”Colorado scored two power-play goals in the second period, with Nichushkin getting his eighth goal of the playoffs, and extending his goal-scoring streak this postseason to six games before assisting on Makar’s goal that got them within 3-2.Nichushkin, the 10th overall draft pick by Dallas in 2013, knocked in the loose puck after Makar had a shot off Oettinger that Ryan Suter was unable to clear. Makar did get a wrister from about 50 feet into the net on his next shot.Suter, the 39-year-old defenseman whose 1,444 career regular-season games are the most for any player without winning a Stanley Cup, put the Stars up 1-0 with a 60-footer from near the left boards only 7 1/2 minutes into the game. Georgiev never saw the puck because of all the traffic in front of the net after Suter got a pass from Matt Duchene, who had just gotten up from taking a hit.The Stars made it 2-0 directly off a faceoff win by Benn, with the 20-year-old Johnston scoring from the top of the left circle for his fifth goal this postseason.Dallas was on a 5-on-3 power play when Benn scored with three minutes left in the first period by deflected a flying puck into the net.And the Stars captain almost had another goal in the closing seconds on another power play. He made a nifty move and made a swiping shot while falling down to get the puck behind Georgiev before defenseman Josh Manson knocked it away from the goal line.

Avalanche wipe out 3-0 deficit to steal Game 1 from Dallas

DENVER (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves, led by Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, overpowered the Denver Nuggets on Monday night in a stunningly efficient 106-80 thrashing of the reigning but reeling NBA champions.

“We’ve had some really good defensive efforts this year,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said after his team took a surprising 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. “That has to be right up there with the best of them."

The Wolves held Denver to an ugly 29-of-83 shooting night, and the most impressive thing about that was the absence of their best defender, 7-foot-1 center&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/timberwolves-rudy-gobert-son-birth-nuggets-playoffs-87a21750105b9ee38f602af91a2c4386">Rudy Gobert</a>, who was back in Minneapolis for the birth of his son.

Gobert's fingerprints were all over this masterpiece, Finch suggested.

“Rudy's driven the defensive culture here. I think it's a testament to his impact, his presence and what he's infused into the team of how important defense is and how great it can be when we play it," Finch said. “That aside, we expect to win no matter who's with us and who's not.”

Towns and Edwards both scored 27 points as the Wolves improved to 6-0 in the playoffs and gave themselves a chance to close out the fuming Nuggets with wins Friday night and Sunday in Minneapolis.

So flustered were the Nuggets by the second quarter that coach Michael Malone threw a fit at an official and scuffling point guard Jamal Murray&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BetMGM/status/1787679882459095340">threw a heat pack</a>&nbsp;onto the court in frustration as Towns was about to score on a layup.

Malone said he had no idea it was Murray who tossed the heat pack, saying, “I knew a heating pack was on the floor, but it was not in my field of vision."

Nor did the officials see him throw it, added crew chief Marc Davis.

“We weren’t aware it had come from the bench. If we would have been aware it came from the bench, we could have reviewed it under the hostile act trigger. The penalty would have been a technical foul,” Davis told a pool reporter.

Finch said he knew only that the heat pack had come from the Nuggets' bench.

“We tried to impress upon (the officials) that there's probably not many fans in the building that have a heat pack. So, it probably had to come from the bench, which they found logical," Finch said. "But yeah, it's inexcusable and dangerous.”

Murray, who has shot 9 for 32 in this series, left Ball Arena without comment for the second straight game. He is likely to be fined by the NBA for his actions.

Aaron Gordon led Denver with 20 points, Nikola Jokic had 16 points and 16 rebounds but their third-leading scorer was sub Justin Holliday with 13 points. Murray scored eight points on 3-of-18 shooting.

Kyle Anderson replaced Gobert in the starting lineup and had eight assists and nine rebounds and reserves Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker both scored 14.

During a 43-18 first-half flourish by the Timberwolves — Edwards was on the bench for much of it, no less — the Nuggets grew so frustrated that Malone ran way out onto the court and got in Davis' face for an extended blowup during a timeout but avoided a technical.

“Although Coach Malone was visibly upset about both his team and the officials, I did not hear him say anything unsportsmanlike that warranted a technical foul,” Davis explained.

Frustrated by their slow starts — the Nuggets have trailed by double digits in six of their seven playoff games and by nine in the other — Malone challenged his team to get off to a strong start for once.

Only Gordon heeded his coach's call, scoring 13 quick points, including a 3-pointer that brought the Nuggets to 18-17 late in the first quarter.

Trailing 61-35 at the break, the Nuggets' 26-point halftime deficit was Denver's largest in a home playoff game in franchise history.

Now the Nuggets, who lost consecutive games just once during the season, find themselves needing to beat Edwards four times in five tries to advance to the Western Conference finals again, a seemingly impossibility given both teams' level of play at the moment.

“The message we want to send is that we're extremely honored and blessed that we have this opportunity to go home up 2-0,” Towns said. “But we're humble in this approach.”

Edwards, for one, expects to see a different Nuggets team at Target Center this weekend.

“It worked in our favor tonight, man. That's all that was,” he said. “We made shots. They didn't. That's the defending champs over there. So, they're not going to come out and play like that again in Game 3.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715086820929.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>DENVER (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves, led by Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, overpowered the Denver Nuggets on Monday night in a stunningly efficient 106-80 thrashing of the reigning but reeling NBA champions.“We’ve had some really good defensive efforts this year,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said after his team took a surprising 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. “That has to be right up there with the best of them."The Wolves held Denver to an ugly 29-of-83 shooting night, and the most impressive thing about that was the absence of their best defender, 7-foot-1 center&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/timberwolves-rudy-gobert-son-birth-nuggets-playoffs-87a21750105b9ee38f602af91a2c4386">Rudy Gobert</a>, who was back in Minneapolis for the birth of his son.Gobert's fingerprints were all over this masterpiece, Finch suggested.“Rudy's driven the defensive culture here. I think it's a testament to his impact, his presence and what he's infused into the team of how important defense is and how great it can be when we play it," Finch said. “That aside, we expect to win no matter who's with us and who's not.”Towns and Edwards both scored 27 points as the Wolves improved to 6-0 in the playoffs and gave themselves a chance to close out the fuming Nuggets with wins Friday night and Sunday in Minneapolis.So flustered were the Nuggets by the second quarter that coach Michael Malone threw a fit at an official and scuffling point guard Jamal Murray&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BetMGM/status/1787679882459095340">threw a heat pack</a>&nbsp;onto the court in frustration as Towns was about to score on a layup.Malone said he had no idea it was Murray who tossed the heat pack, saying, “I knew a heating pack was on the floor, but it was not in my field of vision."Nor did the officials see him throw it, added crew chief Marc Davis.“We weren’t aware it had come from the bench. If we would have been aware it came from the bench, we could have reviewed it under the hostile act trigger. The penalty would have been a technical foul,” Davis told a pool reporter.Finch said he knew only that the heat pack had come from the Nuggets' bench.“We tried to impress upon (the officials) that there's probably not many fans in the building that have a heat pack. So, it probably had to come from the bench, which they found logical," Finch said. "But yeah, it's inexcusable and dangerous.”Murray, who has shot 9 for 32 in this series, left Ball Arena without comment for the second straight game. He is likely to be fined by the NBA for his actions.Aaron Gordon led Denver with 20 points, Nikola Jokic had 16 points and 16 rebounds but their third-leading scorer was sub Justin Holliday with 13 points. Murray scored eight points on 3-of-18 shooting.Kyle Anderson replaced Gobert in the starting lineup and had eight assists and nine rebounds and reserves Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker both scored 14.During a 43-18 first-half flourish by the Timberwolves — Edwards was on the bench for much of it, no less — the Nuggets grew so frustrated that Malone ran way out onto the court and got in Davis' face for an extended blowup during a timeout but avoided a technical.“Although Coach Malone was visibly upset about both his team and the officials, I did not hear him say anything unsportsmanlike that warranted a technical foul,” Davis explained.Frustrated by their slow starts — the Nuggets have trailed by double digits in six of their seven playoff games and by nine in the other — Malone challenged his team to get off to a strong start for once.Only Gordon heeded his coach's call, scoring 13 quick points, including a 3-pointer that brought the Nuggets to 18-17 late in the first quarter.Things unraveled for Denver after that.Trailing 61-35 at the break, the Nuggets' 26-point halftime deficit was Denver's largest in a home playoff game in franchise history.Now the Nuggets, who lost consecutive games just once during the season, find themselves needing to beat Edwards four times in five tries to advance to the Western Conference finals again, a seemingly impossibility given both teams' level of play at the moment.“The message we want to send is that we're extremely honored and blessed that we have this opportunity to go home up 2-0,” Towns said. “But we're humble in this approach.”Edwards, for one, expects to see a different Nuggets team at Target Center this weekend.“It worked in our favor tonight, man. That's all that was,” he said. “We made shots. They didn't. That's the defending champs over there. So, they're not going to come out and play like that again in Game 3.”

Timberwolves dismantle Denver in Game 2, Nuggets in big playoff trouble

DENVER (AP) — The reigning NBA champions could be facing an early exit if they don't bring more urgency and physicality into their series with Minnesota.

While Anthony Edwards was leading Minnesota's efficient offense, the Timberwolves' trio of towers hounded MVP favorite Nikola Jokic into 14 missed shots and seven turnovers in their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-score-nuggets-timberwolves-8e9fba52308be5d6e4af92b9fddce9cb">106-99 win</a>&nbsp;in Game 1.

The rotation of Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid confounded Jokic and underscored the Wolves' deeper bench, bigger lineup and more physical approach in the opener.

Jokic will have to figure out a way to counter that terrific trio in Game 2 on Monday night in order to send the series to Minneapolis knotted up.

“To have a duplicate clone of myself,” Jokic cracked after pondering the riddle for several seconds. “And then I can ... be fresh when they sub another guy.”

It'll be a serious matter come tipoff Monday night.

“Well, there's only one Nikola Jokic,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Sunday. "Obviously, everything he brings to the table on both ends of the floor is pretty unique, so as far as asking someone else on our roster to go in there and do what Nikola does may be a stretch.

“But what's not a stretch is for anybody to go into the game and play with a lot more physicality, play with a lot more urgency, play with a lot more discipline."

All were lacking as the Nuggets lost a Game 1 for the first time in two years.

“Now it's a new challenge,” Malone said. “So, let's embrace that. We are down, didn't want to be, but we are. So, let's fight like hell tomorrow night and leave it all out there.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1715001757709.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>DENVER (AP) — The reigning NBA champions could be facing an early exit if they don't bring more urgency and physicality into their series with Minnesota.While Anthony Edwards was leading Minnesota's efficient offense, the Timberwolves' trio of towers hounded MVP favorite Nikola Jokic into 14 missed shots and seven turnovers in their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-score-nuggets-timberwolves-8e9fba52308be5d6e4af92b9fddce9cb">106-99 win</a>&nbsp;in Game 1.The rotation of Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid confounded Jokic and underscored the Wolves' deeper bench, bigger lineup and more physical approach in the opener.Jokic will have to figure out a way to counter that terrific trio in Game 2 on Monday night in order to send the series to Minneapolis knotted up.Answers don't come easily.“To have a duplicate clone of myself,” Jokic cracked after pondering the riddle for several seconds. “And then I can ... be fresh when they sub another guy.”It'll be a serious matter come tipoff Monday night.“Well, there's only one Nikola Jokic,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Sunday. "Obviously, everything he brings to the table on both ends of the floor is pretty unique, so as far as asking someone else on our roster to go in there and do what Nikola does may be a stretch.“But what's not a stretch is for anybody to go into the game and play with a lot more physicality, play with a lot more urgency, play with a lot more discipline."All were lacking as the Nuggets lost a Game 1 for the first time in two years.“Now it's a new challenge,” Malone said. “So, let's embrace that. We are down, didn't want to be, but we are. So, let's fight like hell tomorrow night and leave it all out there.”If only the Nuggets could get a healthier version of point guard Jamal Murray, who was rusty and still bothered by his strained left calf Saturday night, going scoreless in the first half and getting targeted repeatedly after halftime by the Wolves' pick-and-rolls that produced so many good looks.Murray said everybody's fighting through ailments this time of year and he's no different, but he insisted he'll be fine for Game 2 after logging 35 minutes in Game 1.The Wolves shot 71% in the second half and snatched a page from Denver's playbook by using an 8-0 spurt to break open the back-and-forth game in the closing minutes.“Just watching the league the whole season, Denver is THE best team at executing down the stretch,” Wolves guard Kyle Anderson said Sunday. "They do such a good job. It's like uncanny at times, they're so good down the stretch. We were able to execute offensively and defensively. It was pretty impressive because you're so used to watching Denver pull out the win.”Also Monday night, the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks renew their storied rivalry as they open their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series at Madison Square Garden.TIMBERWOLVES AT NUGGETSTimberwolves lead 1-0. Game 2, 8 pm MT, TNT— NEED TO KNOW: The Nuggets realize a faster start will be their best counter to the athletic and loaded Timberwolves lineup. They've trailed by big margins in the first quarter of all six of their playoff games and allowed Minnesota to get off to an 18-4 start in Game 1. No more cruising, no more pacing was the message during film review Sunday. “We have to do a better job, and our starters in particular have to do a better job of being ready to play and setting a tone early," Malone said. "What are we waiting for?”— KEEP AN EYE ON: Edwards' supporting cast that came up so big in the second half, which was a bigger thorn in Malone's side than Edwards' 43 points. "This may sound strange but he's going to get his,” Malone said. “But you look at the third quarter. Mike Conley had 11 points, did not miss a shot, Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points, did not miss a shot. Fourth quarter, Naz Reid had 14 points, went 6 for 7. Those are the guys that we have to find a way to shut down.”INJURY WATCH: Murray's strained left calf robbed him of his usual burst to the basket and explosion off the dribble. His zero points at halftime marked his first scoreless half in 59 career playoff games.PRESSURE IS ON: The Nuggets. They have to even things up before the series shifts to Minneapolis or this could indeed be an early exit for the defending champs, who would need to beat Edwards four times in five tries otherwise.