Jokic, MacKinnon, Hunter among 2024 honorees

A historic year in Colorado sports produced co-Pro Athletes of the Year from the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame for 2024.

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon will share the honor, the Hall of Fame announced on Thursday, after both claimed their respective league’s MVP awards in 2024.

Heisman Trophy winner and CU wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter made the list in the college category alongside CSU Pueblo basketball player Alisha Little.

De Beque high jump sensation Scottie Vines and Valor Christian volleyball star Chloe Elarton are 2024’s High School Athletes of the Year.

These athletes will be honored at the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame’s 60th annual Induction & Awards Banquet on April 9 at the Hilton Denver City Center.

J.T. Poston goes 10 under for a 1-shot lead at The American Express

LA QUINTA, Calif.>> J.T. Poston shot a 10-under 62 to take a one-stroke lead over Justin Lower in the opening round of The American Express on Thursday.

Poston carded nine birdies and an eagle on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West in the Palm Springs-area desert. Lower was one stroke ahead of an 8-under pack that included Jason Day, Joel Dahmen, Chris Kirk, J.J. Spaun and Matti Schmid.

U.S. amateur David Ford upstages McIlroy and Rahm in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates>> A 22-year-old American amateur making his debut on the European tour upstaged Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and many of the world’s top players at the Dubai Desert Classic for a share of the first-round lead on Thursday.

David Ford, a senior at the University of North Carolina, holed a 40-foot eagle putt at his first hole, ran off five straight birdies midway through the round and signed for a 7-under 65 at Emirates Golf Club.

Title IX memo throws wrench in plans to pay NIL money directly to athletes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. >> Plans for colleges to pay athletes directly for their name, image and likeness deals would run afoul of Title IX, the Department of Education said in guidance issued Thursday that adds more confusion to the shifting landscape in college sports.

Under terms of the House settlement, a game-changing legal agreement that’s expected to be approved this spring, universities will be able to pay athletes directly under a revenue-sharing plan that would see the biggest schools distribute around $20.5 million each to athletes.

Many schools have publicly stated that the majority of that money would go to football and men’s basketball players, which, according to the guidance, would be in violation of Title IX.

Tommy Brown, youngest player to homer, dies at 97

LOS ANGELES >> Tommy Brown, the youngest player to hit a home run in a major league game and the last living member of the landmark 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers team that included rookie Jackie Robinson, has died. He was 97.

Brown died Wednesday at a rehabilitation center in Altamonte Springs, Fla. He had broken his hip and arm in a fall.

Nicknamed “Buckshot,” the 6-foot-1 Brown was 16 years, 241 days old when he started at shortstop at Ebbets Field against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 3, 1944, during the World War II manpower shortage.

— The Associated Press