THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Wednesday, January 27, 2016
If the recent homestand for the North Idaho College women’s basketball team is any indication, the Cardinals are getting healthier.
A little better as well.
How that impacts the finish to the season, stay tuned.
AFTER A pair of Scenic West Athletic Conference losses to visiting Salt Lake, then a heartbreaking two-point loss at Southern Idaho two weeks ago, the Cardinals — who remained ranked 25th last week in the NJCAA poll — beat Colorado Northwestern 86-56 last Thursday, then rolled 83-44 over Utah State-Eastern on Saturday to improve to 17-4 overall, 5-3 in conference.
“The girls are buying into the system and just continue to work hard on the court,” NIC women’s basketball coach Chris Carlson said. “They’re covering for each other and rebounding the ball really well.”
Hampered by a mix of illnesses running wild within the team, the Cardinals lost to Salt Lake 75-54 on Jan. 9 in Coeur d’Alene. A week later, NIC lost on a last second shot at Southern Idaho 72-70 on Jan. 16.
“We took a couple of tough losses in a row,” Carlson said. “That CSI game was an eye-opener for us and we weren’t at our healthiest against Salt Lake.”
NIC plays at Salt Lake on Thursday.
“Now we’re clicking and know what to expect,” Carlson said. “It’s not a bad trip for us to go on either. I don’t think we had our best effort against Salt Lake. I think the girls are ready for the competition and keep getting better one day at a time.”
IT IS amazing how things can change in a matter of weeks in the NFL.
When Brock Osweiler was in the midst of his run as starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos — including beating defending Super Bowl champion New England — that it was going to be his team, no matter if Peyton Manning was healthy or not.
As Osweiler struggled in a game the Broncos needed, in came Manning and saved the day — like he tends to do — and put the Broncos in the top seed in the AFC.
And it hasn’t been the old Manning as much, but he’ll get at least one more game, doing just enough to put the Broncos in the upcoming Super Bowl in Santa Clara, Calif.
Whether or not this will be his final game remains to be determined, but you can’t help but think that we’re seeing Manning’s final season.
He’s not the same quarterback on the field, and at least with Denver’s defense this year, he doesn’t have to throw the ball all over the field.
All Manning has to do is manage the game, not make mistakes, and keep his team in it.
John Elway — the Broncos’ general manager and executive vice president of football operations — brought Manning to town to see him bring back those glory days of the franchise and possibly close out his career with a Super Bowl title, like Elway did.
Granted, Carolina is on a heck of a roll, and it will take an outstanding effort from Denver to keep the Broncos from doing what they’ve done all season — blowing teams out.
What happens in two weeks is anyone’s guess.
Mine, I’d guess that win or lose, No. 18 for Denver rides off satisfied one way or another.
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.