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Excitement builds as 'Enjoy Illinois 300' NASCAR Cup series race draws near

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

MADISON, Ill -- With just one day remaining until the "Enjoy Illinois 300" at the World Wide Technology Raceway, anticipation is high as the NASCAR Cup Series race prepares to welcome a massive crowd. Remarkably, for the second consecutive time, the event is completely sold out, ensuring that the once-empty stands will soon be filled with enthusiastic fans. As attendees make their way to the venue, they can rest assured that there are certain items they are allowed to bring in: closed non-alcoholic beverages and a small soft cooler.The grandstand seats, accommodating 1,200 people, along with numerous hospitality suite areas, will be bustling with activity come Sunday. While tickets for Saturday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Toyota 200 are still available, it's important to note that there will be no walk-up ticket options or general admission. All tickets can be acquired through Ticketmaster. Furthermore, in addition to the thrilling NASCAR Cup Series qualifying, the Confluence Mu...

Near record highs and isolated showers forecasted for weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Today, temperatures reached near record highs, soaring into the mid 90s, just a few degrees shy of the previous record of 96 set back in 2011. Fortunately, the humidity remained relatively low, with dewpoints in the 50s, alleviating any potential discomfort. As we move into the night, the warmth persists, with overnight lows in the 60s. Despite the continuing heat on Sunday, the day promises some relief as clouds gradually gather throughout, bringing along with them a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. Looking ahead to the work week, temperatures are expected to drop back down to the more comfortable 80s.

June means the Five Points Jazz Fest and Jazz in the Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

June is the month the Five Points Jazz Festival and City Park Jazz return to Denver. That means there will be plentiful free expression, and free concerts, in the Mile High City.The Five Points Jazz Festival, taking place June 10, celebrates 20 years as a local, multi-venue party, mostly along Welton Street, but including some other neighborhood locales.The history of jazz talent in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood was so rich that it became known as the “Harlem of the West.” There was a time when legends like Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday would perform in the area’s storied hotels.In an attempt to recapture the energy of that legacy, the annual Five Points Jazz Festival will present numerous Colorado artists, like the Annie Booth Big Band, a tribute to the well-loved late pianist Joe Bonner, and Vincent Wiggins and Latin Soul, with special guest trumpeter Hugh Ragin.A longtime local fixture, Ragin established his name on the world stage long ago. He currently performs with the...

Grading the Week: No rush, CU Buffs. The Big 12 will wait as long as it takes for Pac-12 to implode.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

Another week has come and gone, and with it another smattering of CU-to-the-Big 12 rumors.The noise emanating from the Boulder has gotten so loud that, coupled with near-total silence from the Pac-12, the Grading the Week staff can no longer bite its tongue.CU to Big 12 — C-For those Buffs fans who envision a return to the Big 12 as a resumption of the good old days, we have a message: This isn’t your father’s Big 12. Or even your slightly older sibling’s.No, the Big 12 of the future is a sprawling collection of moderately like-minded institutions that, if commissioner Brett Yormark has his way, will cover four time zones, thousands of miles and one continental divide.Many of the rivalries that once defined the conference have splintered. And its regional and cultural ties — outside of the plains states of Kansas, Iowa and Oklahoma — are tenuous at best.There’s no Nebraska, no Oklahoma and no Texas. Only two of its members (Kansas and West Virginia) would be ...

NBA Finals roundtable: Is Nuggets center Nikola Jokic better than Celtics legend Larry Bird?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

Kiz: After Denver’s dominating victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, it feels as if the Heat is a prop in the championship coronation of the Nuggets. Sure, we could debate how Miami can play bigger in the paint with adjustments by coach Erik Spoelstra, or how difficult it will be for Denver to continue to keep Heat forward Jimmy Butler down. But I want to ask you geniuses to comment on a recent Twitter post comparing Nuggets center Nikola Jokic to Celtics legend Larry Bird by our old pal and former Nuggets coach George Karl. In the past week, Karl tweeted this bold prediction: “If Jokic wins a couple championships, all U Bird fans are going to need to accept Nikola > Larry … Start preparing yourself in advance.” Our little Joker is now being mentioned in the same breath as Larry Legend? Holy. Moly. I’m all for it. And I’m ready to boldly project Jokic will go down as one of the 20 greatest players in NBA history. But better than Bird? Is that cr...

Nuggets vs. Heat: Three keys to victory in Game 2 of NBA Finals 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

The Nuggets are close to dropping a dime.One more win and they’ll be a perfect 10-0 at home in the 2023 playoffs. A victory over the Miami Heat in NBA Finals Game 2 on Sunday (6 p.m. MT, ABC) would also give Denver a 2-0 lead for the fourth consecutive series.Here are three keys to Game 2.1. Winning whistles: Game 1 presented a pleasant twist of fate for the Nuggets. In the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers attempted more free throws in all four games. Maybe it’s that LeBron James is out of the picture and Denver is the heavy favorite, or maybe the Nuggets were simply more aggressive Thursday, but they attempted 20 foul shots to the Heat’s two. “That was pretty interesting,” Miami’s Haywood Highsmith said. “I think we were aggressive, but we did shoot a lot of jump shots because we were open. It’s weird having two free throws. I’ve never seen that before.” Bam Adebayo subsequently quipped: “We made history.”...

Nuggets Podcast: Breaking down Denver’s NBA Finals Game 1 rout of Heat, and looking ahead to Game 2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

In the latest edition of the Nuggets Ink podcast, beat reporter Mike Singer is joined by sports reporter Bennett Durando to break down Game 1 of the NBA Finals and preview Game 2 between the Nuggets and Heat. Among the topics covered:How did the Nuggets fare against the Heat’s famed zone defense? Can Denver again stifle Miami’s offense, which saw star Jimmy Butler struggle despite a terrorizing run through the Eastern Conference Playoffs?Durando and Singer are joined by Broncos beat reporter Parker Gabriel, who weighs in on the sights and sounds of Ball Arena, which like Los Angeles’ Crytpto.com Arena, was filled to the brim with local celebrities including Peyton Manning, Sean Payton and Ken Jeong.The trio look ahead at the likelihood that the Nuggets have already faced their toughest foe in the second round, the Phoenix Suns, much like their local NHL counterparts the Colorado Avalanche, who faced their stiffest competition in round two against the St. Louis Blue...

Metro Denver home prices defy gravity of higher mortgage rates in May

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

Metro Denver homebuyers were hit with a one-two punch of both higher mortgage rates and higher home prices last month, unexpected blows that could test their stamina in the weeks ahead, according to a monthly update from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.“Spring felt like a failure to launch, which has led to a summer kick-off where the natural rhythm of the Denver real estate market simply feels off,” said Libby Levinson-Katz, chairwoman of the DMAR Market Trends Committee, which compiled the report. “We thrive on predictability, and the current market feels uncertain.”After three months of robust gains, home prices are again zooming toward last spring’s record highs, despite 30-year mortgage rates near the 7% mark, which isn’t too far from the highs reached last November. Rather than home prices softening in the face of higher rates as they did in the second half of last year, and which is the expected pattern, monthly price gains remaine...

Brooks: Let’s smash the destructive college admissions process

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

Within days or weeks, the Supreme Court is going to render a decision on the future of affirmative action in higher ed. If things go as expected, conservatives will be cheering as these policies are struck down — and progressives will be wailing.But maybe we can all take this moment to reimagine the college admissions process itself, which has morphed into one of the truly destructive institutions in American society.The modern college admissions era was launched over half a century ago with the best of intentions — to turn finishing schools for the Protestant establishment into talent factories for all comers. But in the end, the elite universities merely exchanged one privileged elite for another. Today, you don’t need bloodlines stretching back to the Mayflower to have a decent shot at getting into an elite school, but you do need to be born into a family with the resources to make lavish investments in your early education.In 2017, research led by Raj Chetty found that students ...

Opinion: Congress should freeze historically high Pentagon spending

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

The debt ceiling deal reached by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has now been passed into law, and the winner is – the Pentagon.While the rest of the federal discretionary budget is slated to be frozen at roughly this year’s level, the Pentagon and related spending on nuclear weapons at the Department of Energy will be exempted from the freeze. Military spending has been set at $886 billion, the amount requested by the Biden administration for fiscal year 2024. This represents an historic high – hundreds of billions of dollars more than at the peaks of the Korean or Vietnam wars or the height of the Cold War, adjusted for inflation.An analysis of the agreement by the Wall Street Journal demonstrates that the Pentagon and veteran’s spending – neither of which will be subject to the freeze – will top $1 trillion, while all of the remaining discretionary programs will be left to split $637 billion. This means that public health, environmental protection, nutrition,...