An 8th-grade Colorado Jewish student was called a ‘stupid k***’ while being strangled by a laptop charging cord, in one of many antisemitic assaults by other students described in a Title VI complaint to Boulder Valley Public School District.
Colorado
Utah blasts Avs to snap three-game winning streak as Colorado can’t solve goalie Karel Vejmelka
The Rocky Mountain region’s new hockey club sent a rude message to the Avalanche in their first game in Denver.
Utah blasted Colorado 4-1 on Thursday night at Ball Arena, with the Avs undone by a cheap goal in the opening period, a two-goal blitz in the second period and a lack of finishing on offense.
“I like the chances we created at times in the game, but (Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka) made some big saves tonight, no question,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “And we got a little unlucky (with a couple of shots off the post). … We turned some A’s into C’s tonight.
“At the end of the day, they put the puck in the net with some great opportunities, and we didn’t. It looked like we were really fighting to find our legs today. We had pretty good intentions, but that little extra that you need to create dangerous chances wasn’t there for the whole game.”
The visitors took the lead off a flimsy goal in the opening period when, a little more than eight minutes in, Dylan Guenther’s crossing pass deflected off Artturi Lehkonen and into the net. Lehkonen was bodying Logan Cooley in the front of the net, and Guenther’s pass that was intended for Cooley instead took a bounce off Lehkonen’s skate and past goalie Scott Wedgewood.
The Avs ended the opening period with a 9-7 advantage in shots on goal, with several bona fide chances, but were turned away by Vejmelka each time.
Then in the second period, Utah took control in a frame that cemented the end of Colorado’s three-game win streak and the feel-good vibes coming off a solid 4-1 road trip.
Joel Kiviranta’s slap shot 20 seconds into the period nearly put the Avs on the board, but Vejmelka slid over and made a snazzy save with his shoulder. Colorado continued to push the tempo and then went on the power play four minutes in, due to a holding penalty. But Vejmelka made another incredible save on a wrister by Lehkonen, plus some other stops as Colorado came up empty on the man advantage.
About midway through the period, Utah firmly took control of the game with a pair of goals within a two-minute frame to go up 3-0.
Vladislav Kolyachonok casually wristed one home from up near the blue line on the right side of the ice, and his low-trajectory shot deflected off Colorado defenseman Calvin de Haan as the puck beat Wedgewood’s leg kickout on the bottom left shelf.
“It was just bad luck tonight,” Wedgewood said. “It’s the way it goes sometimes.”
About 90 seconds later, Givani Smith — whom the Avs traded San Jose for earlier this week in the deal that also brought goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to Colorado — was sent to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct. Utah made quick work on the power play, needing only nine seconds for Guenther to find the net on a slap shot for his second goal of the evening.
Some impressive passing, described by Bednar as “tic, tac, toe,” preceded the goal.
“(Smith) was sort of continuing the scrum, but it’s a penalty,” Bednar said. “I don’t love it, because we were in the game. At that time, you’ve got to be real careful. I like the juice he played with the entire shift, and then we take a penalty and it ends up in the back of our net.”
The second period ended in four-on-four hockey as both teams were on the power play, and Colorado carried its advantage over to the third.
But the Avs couldn’t capitalize as Vejmelka continued to stand on his head. That included Lehkonen getting stuffed on a breakaway with eight minutes left in the game. Colorado finally lit the lamp after pulling Wedgewood with about five minutes to play, leading to Nathan MacKinnon’s wrister with 4:26 left. But Utah quickly responded 23 seconds later with Kevin Stenlund’s goal on the empty net.
Vejmelka finished with 23 saves, including four on the power play. Colorado dropped to 17-14-0 with the defeat, and 7-8 at home, as Utah got payback for the Avs’ 5-1 road win on Oct. 24.
“We’ve just got to start feeding off the momentum of the crowd more, and take a bit more onus to play our game and move our feet (to start stacking wins at home),” winger Logan O’Connor said. “We were doing that on our road trip and it’s really tough to defend us. We just let off the gas too much tonight in too many areas.”
Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.
Originally Published:
Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders has an overall record of 16-21 since taking over in Boulder prior to the 2023 season.
Where does Coach Prime rank among Big 12 coaches entering the 2026 college football season?
Deion Sanders No.15 in Big 12 Coach Rankings
On3 ranked all 16 Big 12 head football coaches heading into 2026. Deion Sanders is ranked No.15, only ahead of Kansas State Wildcats coach Collin Klein. This will be Klein’s first year as Wildcats head coach. He is a former Kansas State quarterback was most recently the offensive coordinator for the Texas A&M Aggies.
A top this ranking at No. 1 is BYU Cougars coach Kalani Sitake. Sitake has been at the helm for the Cougars since 2016. He has accumulated an overall record of 84-45. In four of Sitake’s 10 seasons with BYU, he has led them to double digit wins.
Here is the entire ranking:
1. Kalani Sitake, BYU Cougars
2. Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State Wildcats
3. Joey McGuire, Texas Tech Red Raiders
4. Sonny Dykes, TCU Horned Frogs
5. Willie Fritz, Houston Cougars
6. Lance Leipold, Kansas Jayhawks
7. Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia Mountaineers
8. Eric Morris, Oklahoma State Cowboys
9. Brent Brennan, Arizona Wildcats
10. Dave Aranda, Baylor Bears
11. Scott Satterfield, Cincinatti Bearcats
12. Morgan Scalley, Utah Utes
13. Scott Frost, UCF Knights
14. Jimmy Rogers, Iowa State Cyclones
15. Deion Sanders, Colorado Buffaloes
16. Collin Klein, Kansas State Wildcats
Is 15th a fair ranking for Coach Prime?
What stands out right away from this is a first time collegiate head coach is ahead of Sanders, Morgan Scalley. While Sanders’ team struggled in 2025, it would be hard to rank him behind Scalley.
When Sanders was hired, the Buffaloes were coming off a one-win 2022 season. It was a controversial hire, as Sanders’ collegiate coaching experience came at the FCS level with Jackson State. The Coach Prime era in Boulder got off to a great start.
In 2023, Colorado began the season 3-0. It got going with a stunning season opening upset on the road against the defending national runner-up TCU Horned Frogs. The Buffs won their next two games against the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Colorado State Rams to get to 3-0.
They hosted ESPN’s College GameDay for their in-state rivalry game against Colorado State. The country had their eyes on what Sanders had cooking. This undefeated came to a screeching halt with a road loss to Oregon. Colorado ended up losing eight of their final nine games to end with a record of 4-8. While the end was dissapoitning, it was still three more wins than the previous season.
2024 a major turnaround. The Buffs went 9-3 and made the Alamo Bowl. Buffs’ wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter won the 2024 Heisman Trophy and quarterback Shedeur Sanders was named 2024 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
2025 was more of what 2023 was. The Buffs went 3-9, missing a bowl game for the second time in three seasons. Will they get back to a bowl in 2026?
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook for the latest news.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
The ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) has filed a federal civil rights complaint with the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, alleging that Jewish Student A was subjected to repeated antisemitic bullying, slurs, and physical assault by multiple fellow students at Southern Hills Middle School (SHMS) throughout 7th and 8th grade.
In one incident, students in Student A’s PE class attempted to play a game called “Jew touch tag” and said Jews were “dirty” and “contaminated.”
In another, in December 2025, a classmate reportedly fashioned a Chromebook charging cord into a lasso, threw it around the student’s neck and dragged him backward from a chair while calling him a “stupid k***.” This was deemed severe enough that the Boulder Police Department was called in to investigate.
Following this particular incident, the Boulder Police Department opened a Juvenile Court Referral for third-degree assault.
ADL says no meaningful action taken by school district over assault
As a result of these incidents, Student A no longer wears a Star of David necklace and does not share his religious identity with anyone.
ADL and the family allege that the school took no meaningful action despite being informed of the situation on multiple occasions. For example, the complaint says the school failed to enforce the no-contact order between Student A and the classmate involved in the Chromebook assault.
The complaint also says that the burden was consistently placed on the victim, such as reassigning his study hall class rather than restricting the aggressor, forcing him to miss a school trip, and asking him to leave class early to avoid crowded hallways.
“The record here is overwhelming: written pleas from the student’s parents, formal school reports, and a police investigation all point to the conclusion that antisemitic harassment at Southern Hills Middle School was pervasive, escalating, and severe,” said James Pasch, ADL Vice President of Litigation.
“Despite the family’s pleas for help to stop the harassment, the school district failed to effectively address it, a clear violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. No family should have to fight this hard to ensure a Jewish child’s safety at school, and certainly no Jewish student should face the threat of assault or harassment because of their Jewish identity.”
Susan Rona, ADL Mountain States Regional Director, noted that 167 antisemitic incidents were recorded in Colorado in 2025, a “stark reminder that antisemitism is not something abstract – it is showing up in our communities, in our neighborhoods and even in our schools.”
ADL is requesting that the US Department of Education require the district to take steps to comply with Title VI and ensure that this student and all Jewish students feel safe and protected.
Boulder Valley School District said that while it does not comment on ongoing legal matters, “we take all allegations of discrimination and harassment seriously.”
“We continue to focus on improvements to our policies, reporting systems, practices, and education efforts – all with the goal of ensuring every BVSD student feels safe, welcomed, and a strong sense of belonging.”
When you walk inside the Conoco station at the corner of University Boulevard and Bonnie Brae Boulevard in Denver, you can’t help but notice the history on the walls.
“Here’s the 40s. The 50s and my dad and uncle in the 70s,” says owner Ken Wilson pointing to the pictures on the wall.
Ken is the third generation of the Wilson family to own the gas station and service center.
“Grandpa Ken started to lease this out in 1942. My dad bought the business from my grandpa and my uncle worked his whole career here for my dad and for me,” Ken recalls.
In all, the Wilson family has owned the Conoco station for more than 80 years.
“I started working here in 1978 when I was 12, just part time in the summers. I worked through high school and through college and then did my own thing, and I’ve been back here about 15 years,” said Ken.
“It means so much to our family. It’s been a great business.”
But Ken is the end of the road for the Wilson family ownership. In February, a for sale sign went up at the Bonnie Brae Conoco.
“We’re just looking now. We’re not in a rush. It’s not like we’re going to sell and be done this year. We’re going to get a price we want to get, and if it takes us years to do that’s okay,” he said.
Wilson has seen a lot of change during his time working at the station and service center.
“There aren’t a lot of garages anymore. They used to be everywhere. There were four of them on this block when I was a kid, he said.
When asked what he’ll miss most, Ken points to his relationship with his customers.
“I’ve had customers now where I actually waited on their grandparents. And then their parents. And now them.”
As for what his grandpa would say if he could see the place now, Ken says, “I think he’d say he was really proud of what we’ve done. Both my father, my uncle and myself. Hopefully he’s still hanging around here once in a while.”
-
New York1 hour agoVideo: Knicks Fans Celebrate With Ticker-Tape Parade
-
Los Angeles, Ca1 hour agoArmed, dangerous CHP pursuit suspect tied to double homicide in Pomona
-
Detroit, MI1 hour agoFirst responders honored after rescuing 12 people from capsized sailboats near Belle Isle
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoOakland man faces hate crime charges for Castro District attack
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoAt least 4 injured after vehicle drives into Dallas crowd, driver arrested
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoMiami Central students prepare for life changing trip to Zimbabwe amid funding challenges
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoGiannis to Boston is a possibility. Should the Knicks be worried?
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoDenver Public Schools’ decline in enrollment continues to reshape district
