lunar calendar for cockfighting 2024 A wild first season of the expanded Big 12 is down to what should be a chaotic final weekend. Through all the upsets, unexpected rises and falls, there are nine teams still in the mix to play in the conference championship game. No. 14 Arizona State and No. 17 Iowa State have the best odds, yet a multitude of scenarios could play out — 256 to be exact. There's even the possibility of an eight-team tie. It may take a mathematician to figure out which teams are in the Dec. 7 game in Arlington, Texas — even for the ones who win. Travis Hunter, Colorado. The Buffaloes' two-way star has excelled on both sides of the field, making him one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. Cam Skattebo, Arizona State. The senior running back can do a little of everything, but excels at punishing would-be tacklers. He's one of the nation's leaders in yards after contact and the focal point of the Sun Devils' offense. Shadeur Sanders, Colorado. If it weren't for Hunter, Sanders might be the Heisman favorite. The son of coach Deion Sanders, Shedeur is fifth nationally with 3,488 yards passing and has been a big part of the Buffaloes' turnaround. DJ Giddens, Kansas State. The Wildcats' running back is one of the nation's most versatile players. He is ninth nationally with 1,271 rushing yards and has added 21 receptions for 258 yards. Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona. The Wildcats have struggled this season, but McMillan has not. He is third nationally with 1,251 receiving yards with seven touchdowns on 78 catches. Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech. The Red Raiders' junior linebacker leads the Big 12 with 68 tackles, averaging 10.2 per game. He also has four sacks. Brendan Mott, Kansas State. He's a menace to opposing quarterbacks, leading the Big 12 with 8 1/2 sacks. The Big 12 has nine teams already bowl eligible and two more a win away. The winner of the Big 12 championship game will be in the mix for a College Football Playoff spot. Arizona State, Iowa State, No. 19 BYU, Colorado, Kansas State, Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia have already clinched bowl berths. Kansas and Cincinnati can get into the postseason with wins this weekend. Gus Malzahn, UCF. Despite successes in recruiting, the Knights are 10-14 in two seasons since moving to the Big 12. Maybe not enough to get shown the door this year, but another mediocre season could lead UCF to make a change. Kyle Whittingham, Utah. Whittingham was one of the Pac-12's best coaches, leading the Utes to consecutive conference titles. Utah was expected to contend for the Big 12 title its first year in the league, but enters the final weekend 1-7 in conference play, which could push Whittingham toward retirement since it's doubtful he'd be fired. Neal Brown, West Virginia. The Mountaineers' coach was in a precarious spot at the end of last season and West Virginia hasn't lived up to expectations this season. The Mountaineers are eligible to go to a bowl game for the second straight season, but Brown could be on the hot seat even after signing a contract extension before the season. Josiah Trotter, West Virginia. The redshirt freshman is the latest Trotter to have success at the linebacker position, following the footsteps of his father, former Philadelphia Eagles player Jeremiah Trotter, and brother Jeremiah Trotter Jr., a current Eagles linebacker. Sam Leavitt, Arizona State. The Michigan State transfer has been just what the Sun Devils' needed: an agile quarterback who extends plays with his legs and rarely makes bad decisions. Bryson Washington, Baylor. The Bears' running back has rushed for 812 yards — 196 against TCU — and 10 TDs. TCU has the Big 12's highest rated 2025 recruiting class with six four-star players among 26 commitments, according to the 247 Sports composite. Receiver Terry Shelton of Carrollton, Texas, is the highest-rated recruit at 71st nationally. Baylor is next with five five-star players among its 20 commitments, including running back Michael Turner, rated 13th at his position out of North Richland Hills, Texas. Texas Tech is ranked seventh in the Big 12, but has four four-star recruits. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

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Report: Chargers expect WR Ladd McConkey, LB Khalil Mack to play vs. RavensMembers of the Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practices before the start of the season at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. BRATTLEBORO — The Brattleboro Union High School girls hockey team starts its season with a change in leadership behind the bench as it welcomes a new head coach and assistant coach to this year’s program. Bethaney LaClair, who was the assistant coach for the team last year and is head coach of the junior varsity field hockey team at Brattleboro, was hired as the varsity coach to take over for Connor Little. There is also a new assistant coach, as Alyssa Leonard will join the staff as a first-year coach for the Bears. Both coaches bring different types of experience to the team, as LaClair has coached field hockey for 10 years and been involved with Brattleboro hockey for eight years, including being a manager for the team for six years and the assistant coach last year before taking on the role of head coach for this season. While LaClair never played hockey herself, what she lacks in playing experience is more than made up for with her new assistant coach. For Leonard, while this is her first high school coaching job, she’s played hockey since she was six years old, including here in town with the Brattleboro Hockey Association, and then went on to play at Hartford High School and also the women’s club hockey team at Keene State College. Leonard is a senior at Keene State, majoring in elementary education and psychology in physical activity of youth. In terms of their coaching styles, both LaClair and Leonard preach the values of mental toughness and accountability as important areas they want their players to grow in. “I try to have a really positive coaching approach. I want girls to feel good about themselves when they leave whether it’s the ice or the field or anywhere, I want them to learn to believe in themselves. I think mental toughness is an important component that athletes need to develop and so I think that’s something that I try to foster within our teams,” said LaClair. This is something Leonard echoed, and noted that she wants to help build up her players not just as athletes but also as future members of society. Leonard wants to help build life skills and social skills for the players that they can use beyond just their time with the Bears. “Mental toughness and accountability and taking responsibility for their actions and just building up those sorts of things that they can use for their whole lives,” said Leonard. In terms of this year’s team, the roster will be made up of 15 players, and will return a lot of experience from last season. After graduating only two players last year, the Bears will have nine seniors on this year’s roster with seven of them returning from last season. The rest of the squad is made up of five sophomores and one junior. On defense LaClair expects to have contributions from seniors Baylie Houle, Michaela Heiden, and Kelis Melo. LaClair also anticipates that sophomores Reese Thompson and Malika Anthes may see time defensively as well. Offensively LaClair believes that sophomores Jaidyn Denny and Elizabeth LaClair will be standouts at the center position. Senior Avery Hiner is also someone LaClair thinks will be a key player on offense. Other players who will provide depth at the forward position are seniors Emily LaClair, Gretchen Stromberg, Fiona Toole and junior Kaya Gibson. In goal the Bears have sophomore Dakota Vonfeldt and seniors Lakota Offenburger and Nellie Sterling, although LaClair noted Sterling has spent some time skating out so far this year. LaClair said she has been particularly pleased with the work so far of Vonfeldt and that she does expect a big role from her this year, however she hasn’t decided on who will start in net in their first game against U-32. On special teams, LaClair expects that Houle, Elizabeth LaClair, Denny, and either Emily LaClair, Hiner or Stromberg will all have roles on the penalty kill. She also believes some mix of those players will feature on the power play as well, but did say because of the lack of players on her bench, other players should expect to mix into those positions as well. “I think the energy with the team has really been positive and there’s a lot of excitement. Sometimes I think you get small teams and it can go one of two ways and I think this group has saw it as an opportunity to really rally together and so I’m looking forward to them translating their work on the ice in practice into those game settings,” said LaClair. When looking at the schedule, LaClair said she has a couple games in mind that she hopes will get competitive efforts from her team. Future games against Hartford, Stowe, Rutland and the team’s participation in the Mariotti Tournament are all contests LaClair is looking forward to for this season. The Bears begin their season away at U-32 on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Their home opener is against Middlebury on Wednesday, December 18 at 7:15 p.m. “I think that they’re a very hardworking group and I think that they’re ready to bring what they’re doing in practice into games and to show everyone else how hard they can work,” said Leonard. Emily LaClair, a senior at Brattleboro Union High School, takes a shot on goal during a Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practice at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Purchase local photos online. Members of the Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practices before the start of the season at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Members of the Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practices before the start of the season at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Baylie Houle, a senior at Brattleboro Union High School, takes a shot on goal during a Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practice at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Members of the Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practices before the start of the season at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Members of the Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practices before the start of the season at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Emily LaClair, a senior at Brattleboro Union High School, takes a shot on goal during a Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practice at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Baylie Houle, a senior at Brattleboro Union High School, takes a shot on goal during a Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practice at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Members of the Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practices before the start of the season at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Members of the Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practices before the start of the season at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Emily LaClair, a senior at Brattleboro Union High School, takes a shot on goal during a Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practice at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Purchase local photos online. Members of the Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practices before the start of the season at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Members of the Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practices before the start of the season at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Baylie Houle, a senior at Brattleboro Union High School, takes a shot on goal during a Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practice at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Members of the Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practices before the start of the season at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Members of the Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practices before the start of the season at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Emily LaClair, a senior at Brattleboro Union High School, takes a shot on goal during a Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practice at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Baylie Houle, a senior at Brattleboro Union High School, takes a shot on goal during a Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practice at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Members of the Brattleboro girls’ hockey team practices before the start of the season at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024.