College Basketball

This week’s RMAC showdown now has national appeal

This weekend’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference showdown in Denver just got more national appeal.

The Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team remained fourth in the USA Today Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, while Metro State jumped two spots from No. 7 into the top five.

According to the FLC athletic department, Friday’s women’s basketball game in Denver between FLC and Metro State could be the first-ever in the RMAC between a pair of teams both ranked in the top five.

FLC (14-1, 11-0 RMAC) is first in the conference.

Metro State (14-1, 10-1) is second in the conference.

The two teams will play at 5 p.m. Friday, then FLC will play Regis at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Metro State men’s basketball team was ranked fourth in this week’s National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, while Colorado School of Mines was ranked 12th.

The FLC men (8-7, 6-5 RMAC) will play first-place Metro State (15-1, 10-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, then will play Regis at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Durango Herald

NFL

Break time is over; Fisher is ready for his challenge

ST. LOUIS – Jeff Fisher said he is ready for the challenge in St. Louis.

Fisher formally was introduced as the new coach of the Rams on Tuesday. He also interviewed for the head coaching job at Miami, but he went with the rebuilding job in St. Louis.

“My decision was very, very simple,” he said. “It was based on a shared collective vision in restoring this franchise to a place of significance. It was that vision that made my decision very, very easy.”

Owner Stan Kroenke said the team and Fisher had just signed a contract that will keep Fisher in place “for a good while.”

Fisher inherits a franchise with a recent history of futility. The Rams have totaled just 15 victories the last five seasons under Scott Linehan, interim coach Jim Haslett and Steve Spagnuolo.

The 53-year-old Fisher sat out the 2011 season after 17 years in Tennessee. His long stint with the Titans included a Super Bowl matchup against the Rams in 2000 in which Tennessee fell 1 yard shy of forcing overtime in a 23-16 loss. The Titans won three division titles and made six playoff appearances under Fisher, who stepped down a year ago as the league’s longest-tenured coach, saying he needed a break.

First father and son Polian, then head coach Caldwell

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Colts’ sudden crash has cost coach Jim Caldwell his job.

The team fired Caldwell on Tuesday, the second major decision in what is expected to be a long offseason shake-up. Team owner Jim Irsay fired team vice chairman Bill Polian and his son, Chris, the team’s general manager, the day after the season ended.

It took a little longer for the decision on Caldwell, who had just finished his third and worst season as head coach of the Colts, who stumbled to a 2-14 finish without injured quarterback Peyton Manning. Caldwell ends his Colts’ tenure 26-22 overall.

Caldwell won his first 14 games, an NFL record for a rookie head coach, and became only the fifth first-year coach to take his team to the Super Bowl.

Cycling

His specialty, Greipel wins Stage 1 in a sprint finish

ADELAIDE, Australia – Two-time champion Andre Greipel of Germany overcame fierce crosswinds and soaring temperatures to win the 90-mile first stage on the Tour Down Under on Tuesday.

Greipel edged Alessandro Petacchi of Italy in a sprint finish in 102-degree temperatures to claim his ninth stage victory in the six-stage race, the opening event of the UCI World Tour.

The sprint ace also won the tour’s criterium prelude Sunday for the Belgium-based Lotto-Belisol team. He won the Tour Down Under in 2008 and 2010.

Associated Press