January 31, 2026 Issue, Page 3 of 13

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SPORTS The Elk City News There you go! Opal - the best of the bunch Mom, do you have brakes... Golden Mayson - Sled is safer than slalom! Harper Flies! SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2026 • 3 Eric Rheaume - not much better than mom Mom Rheaume - 'kids are better than me!' 'I want photos of this!' Mom & Opal 'Dont worry about me - I'll go all the way down' Building Memories In The Snow With The Kids By Alex Alvarez The alarm clock ringed at 6:00 AM on a cold January morning in Elk City, OK, but for once, dad reached and turned it off. Today, he asked for a half day off as he would be taking his kids to a surprise snow sledding and skying trip just on the other side of town on a sloped area to a dry creek. The whole city had been blanketed with 8-12 inches of snow, a rarity in this Western Oklahoma town. He had not told his children or his wife of his idea. It was a five-minute ride to the area he had in mind, next to an abandoned building where they used to sell and repair computers. Empty place, about 40 yards from the busy street that came into town from the east. As he was having breakfast with the kids and his wife, he announced: “No work today for dad in the morning, we are all going to do some snow sledding. I challenge you all to see who is better. The kids’ eyes widened in disbelief and ate much faster than usual. The oldest said, “Really dad?”. “Yes, you know I wouldn’t kid about something like this. Let’s get dressed in warm clothes.” Dressed in warm winter clothes, they all got into the two vehicles, one with mom driving, and dad’s work truck as he would go to work after a couple of hours of memories with his kids. It was a sunny day after two days of snow and grey clouds, and the snow on the hill was better than they ever thought it would be, and the bottom of the slope, flat and safe from rocks or bushes, and very safe from traffic, just like a private slope. Not Breckenridge, just Elk City, but much more fun. No one paid attention but an old man with a camera who was passing by and saw the kids having a great time, bringing memories of when he took his own girls down to a golf course hill nearby their home 35 years prior. So, stopped, took pictures from afar with a telephoto, and sent them to the local paper after contacting the dad and getting permission. The Eric Rheaume family and kids Opal, Harper, Golden Mayson. College & High School Basketball By Alex Alvarez Early Road to The Final Four: With about two thirds of the regular season gone, the 10-top ranked teams overall, are: MEN: Arizona 20-0, UConn 19-1, Michigan 18-1, Duke 181, Nebraska 20-0, Gonzaga 21-1, Michigan St 18-2, Iowa St 18-2, Illinois 17-3 and Houston 17-2 and WOMEN: UConn 21-0, UCLA 191, South Carolina 20-2, Texas 19-2, Vanderbilt 20-1, LSU 18-2 Louisville 19-3, Iowa 18-2 Michigan 173, Oklahoma 16-4. The teams, as by NCAA rules, will play a maximum of 32 regular season games, and after their conference championships, the top 68 teams in both, men and women, will be chosen, with 62 teams seeded and four teams having a shootout for the last two spots in March Madness. With about ten weeks to go, it is unlikely that any of the top 10 teams, maybe the top 36 teams, will play so bad that they would not be in the top 64, even if they don’t win any of the 31conferences, of which the strongest are Big 12, Big 10, ACC, SEC, Big East, Mountain West among others, usually have powerful teams. For instance, this year, the Big-12 has 7 top 25 teams, short of the high of 14 teams that SEC had last year. The best ranking of an Oklahoma team is the Oklahoma Sooner ladies which has fluctuated between #9 and #13, now #10. The Men’s Sooner team is not ranked. The Oklahoma State Cowgirls are ranked #14 while the Cowboys are not ranked. OKLAHOMA COLLEGES BASKETBALL Oklahoma Sooners. Men. Southeastern Conference Coach: Porter Moser Record: 11-9 overall, 1-6 in SEC Conference. Last three games: 0-3. Losses vs Alabama, 81-83, South Carolina 76-85, Missouri 87-88 Coming up: Arkansas (Jan-27), Texas (Jan-31), and @Kentucky (Feb-4) Conference Position: Last. Conference Leader: Vanderbilt Commodores 17-3. #10 Oklahoma Sooners. Women. Southeastern Conference Coach: Jennie Baranczyk Record: 16-4, Conference 4-3 Last three games: 2-1. Loss to LSU 72-91. Wins vs South Carolina 94-82, Auburn 72-65 Coming up: Texas A&M (Jan29), @ Texas, @ Vanderbilt (Feb-9) Conference Position: 9th Conference Leader: Vanderbilt Commodores 20-1 #18 Oklahoma State Cowgirls. Women. Big-12 Conference Coach: Jacie Hoyt Record: 16-5 overall, Conference 5-3 Last three games: 2-1. Kansas 8576, Iowa St 86-58. Loss vs Colorado 65-79 Coming up: BYU (Jan-28), Arizona (Feb-1), Arizona St (Feb-4) Conference Position: 5th Conference Leader: TCU Horned Frogs 19-2 Oklahoma State Cowboys. Big12 Conference Coach: Steve Lutz Record: 14-6 overall, 2-5 Conference Last three games: 1-2. Win vs Kansas St 84-83, losses vs Iowa St ELK CITY BASKETBALL – IDLE NEW YEAR’S WEEK #11 CANUTE CLASS A BOYS: Coach Brock Steffes. Record 12-6 Last three games: 0-3. Losses vs Cheyenne/Reydon 41-50, Mang- Australian Open By Alex Alvarez The 114th Australian Open has entered its last week, and the top six players on the men’s and women’s singles draws, have made it to the quarterfinals, causing no surprises. Originally played on grass courts, the first Australian Open was played in 1905 at Melbourne’s Warehouseman’s Cricket Ground and was first named “Australian Championships” and has evolved from a nomadic, amateur grass court tournament into a premier world tournament considered a major, which has been won by greats like Novak Djokovic (10 titles), Serena Williams (7), Roger Federer (6), Roy Emerson (6), Margaret Court (11), Steffi Graf, and Monica Seles, along with Andre Agassi, Ken Rosewall, Martina Hingis, and Evonne Goolagong, and of course, Rod Laver. It was moved to this permanent site in 1972. By the deadline of this column, American Coco Gauff, seeded #3, lost her quarterfinal match to #12 Elina Svitolina from Ukraine in straight sets 6-1, 6-2, a surprise given that Coco, a major winner, has been playing very well. The Australian Open, which finishes this weekend did not have any surprises from the top six seeds in the men’s and women’s draw as all six made the quarterfinals. In the men’s side, two Americans made the quarterfinals, 20 year old Lerner Tien, seeded 25 who beat #11 seed Daniil Medvedev in the round of 16 in straight sets 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 and hard hitting #6 seed, Ben Shelton, who defeated Casper Rudd from Norway 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Tien faced #3 Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals and lost 3-6,7-6,1-6, 6-7. Zverev will play Carlos Alcaraz in the first semifinal. Carlos beat Alex DeMinaur 7-5, 6-2, 6-1. The two other quarterfinals which will be played after our deadline, are #2 and defending champion Jannik Sinner versus American #6 Ben Shelton and #5 Lorenzo Musetti vs #4 Novac Djokovic, who at age 38 now has a record of wins in the Australian Open with 103 and seeking his 11th title here and 25th major as well. The winners of these two matches will face in the second semifinal. Should Djokovic and Sinner win, the top four seeds will be in the semifinals, first time since 2012 and only the fourth time ever, the other times were 1988, 2005. In the women’s side, four Americans made it to the quarterfinals, and there will be at least one of them in the semifinals as two Americans will be facing each other, #6 Jessia Pegula will face #4 Amanda Anisimova in one of the quarterfinals. In the first quarterfinal, #1 Aryna Sabalenka best American #29 Iva Jovic 6-3, 6-0. In another quarterfinal, #12 Elina Svitolina beat #3 Coco Gauff from the United States in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. The last quarterfinals will be, #2 Iga Swiatek versus #5 Elena Rybakina and the winner will play the winner of Pegula and Anisimova, who has two runner-up finishes in majors and a semifinal, while Pegula was a finalist in the 2024 U.S. Open losing to Aryna Sabalenka. Hopefully we see one of the Americans reach the final! Sources: ESPN, Wikipedia, Personal Library, MSN Sports, On-Line media. 71-83 and TCU 65-68 Coming up: @Utah (Jan-31), BYU (Feb-4), @Arizona (Feb-7) Conference Position: 13th Conference Leader: Arizona Wildcats 21-0 um 60-62, Hydro/Eakly 57-60 Coming up: Fort Cobb/Broxton (Jan-27), Sentinel (Jan-30), Pawhuska (Jan 31) #2 CANUTE CLASS A GIRLS: Coach Tatum Ridling. Record 17-1 Last Three 3-0: Wins vs Cheyenne/Raydon 65-41, Mangum 6718, Burns Flat/Bill City 73-24 Coming up: Ft. Arapaho Butler (Jan 23 - Cancelled), Ft Cobb/Broxton (Jan-27), Sentinel (Jan-30). MERRITT CLASS 2-A BOYS Coach Tyler Snowden. Record 7-9 Last Three: 1-2. Win vs Texoma 50-39, Losses vs Hollis 42-46 and Anadarko 32-64 Coming Up: Snyder (Jan 27), Hammon (Jan 30), Quinton (Jan 31) #4 MERRITT CLASS 2-A GIRLS Coach Jeff Daugherty. Record 14-3 Last Three: 3-0. Wins vs Anadarko 78-27, Duke 74-10, Laverne 6143 Coming Up: Snyder (Jan 27), Hammon (Jan 30), Quinton (Jan 31) ELK CITY CLASS 4-A BOYS Coach Tyler Foale. Record 0-15 Last Three: 0-3. Losses vs Blanchard 22-70, North Rock Creek 36-71, Washington 43-58 Coming Up: Bethany (Jan-30), Woodward (Feb 2), Elgin (Feb 3) #20 ELK CITY CLASS 4-A GIRLS Coach Mason Jones. Record 10-6 Last 3: 2-1. Wins vs Blanchard 55-37 and Cache 45-42, Loss vs Washington 21-67 Coming up: Bethany (Jan 30), Woodward (Feb-2), Elgin (Feb-3) Sources: ESPN, MSN Sports, OSSAA, On-Line media sports. Sports Tidbits By Alex Alvarez BASEBALL: “I struck out about 1,700 times. I walked about 1,800 times. A baseball player averages about five hundred at bats every season. Which means I played full seven seasons without ever hitting the ball.” Mickie Mantle. By the way, Mickie Mantle had 536 home runs, or less than 1/3 of his strikeouts! NBA “I don’t think the Lakers can win the championship. You can have Luka and LeBron and the rest of the offense shine, but they can’t defend anyone from any team!” (Steven Smith). GOLF: RIP – John Brodie, a former NFL quarterback and senior tour golfer, passed at age 90. John was quarterback for the 49ers and was MVP in 1970. He retired in 1973 after 17 seasons. His side passion was al- ways golf, and he got to play enough and get good enough that he qualified for the Senior Tour, winning once in his lifetime and several top 10 finishes. There is a story from the Stanford football coach that one time, John Brodie was late for practice, and when he asked him why, was because he was also trying for the golf team and practice had run late. Here is a man who was a great athlete and successful in two professional sports! Both, the 49ers and the PGA Tour posted eulogy. Scottie Scheffler begins the year just like he ended 2025: with a win! Don’t start the “Tiger Woods comparison!”.... Ok, start it, this guy is awesome! TENNIS: Naomi Ozaka is not unfamiliar with controversies, and recently, in her match with Sorana Cisstea, from Australia, kept talking loud when Sorana had a second serve, distracting the Australian. She later “apologized” and was called out by Novak Djokovic’s wife Jelena who said, “have the rules changed?” No, bad referee who did nothing! NFL Coming into the Conferences championship games, this season was already the one with the most turnovers by teams during the post-season: 38, and 33 by quarterbacks. Good defense? The NFL and Associated Press today announced that Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen has been named a finalist for 2025 AP Coach of the Year and QB Trevor Lawrence is a finalist for both 2025 AP Most Valuable Player and Comeback Player of the Year (who decides these honors?) Broncos signed veteran Ben DiNucci to their practice squad ahead of the AFC Championship Game due to Bo Nix’s season ending injury. It didn’t help: Denver lost to New England 10-7. PLAYOFFS Fernando Mendoza turning pro. Raiders are happy! Alberto, his brother gets into the transfer portal and continues his college education. Fernando also offered the trophy to his mom, saying, “This belongs to you too! You were my biggest fan! OTHER Ivet Lalova-Collio, who represented Bulgaria at five Olympics, has been provisionally suspended for the use of Ostarine. The 41-yearold secured five sprints medals at European outdoor and indoor championships. Everyone should know better! Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, 400m record holder, announces pregnancy. Congratulations! Caitlin Clark is joining NBC for its new Sunday night NBA pregame show! Sources: ESPN, Wikipedia, Personal Library, MSN Sports, On-Line media. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Professional Team Sports By Alex Alvarez NFL: Rams 27 – Seahawks 31: Going into the National Conference championship game, the Rams boasted the NFL’s #1 offense (points/total yards), while the Seahawks had the #1 scoring defense, creating a classic clash of elite units, with Seattle’s defense excelling against the run and the Rams’ potent passing game led by Matthew Stafford. As it turned out, the Rams did have more passing yards than the Seahawks (374 to 346) and more rushing yards (104 to 75), but the Seahawks had the better stats where it counted, the score 31-27 in a very close game at the Seahawks stadium, and they head to the Super Bowl with a record of 16-3 for the year. Patriots 10 – Broncos 7: In the American Conference Championship, the Denver Broncos boasted a top-tier defense (league-best sacks, top in explosive plays allowed, 2nd in total defense) facing the Patriots’ potent offense led by rookie QB Drake Maye, who, despite some playoff struggles, drove an explosive unit that ranked highly in scoring offense, with a Denver’s defense that was expected to pressure Maye heavily, which they did sacking him five times and limited him to only 65 yards passing, but in a game played in a snow storm, with little visibility, the rush was the best of- fense and that is where Maye had the best offense, leading his team to rush for 141 yards to 79 yards, The finals score of 10-7 in the Patriots favor was one of the lowest scores ever for a championship game. You can’t say that Bo Nix, the starting quarterback for the Broncos who was missing due to a season ending injury in the game against the Bills the previous weeks would have made a difference, but you can’t eliminate that thought either, as the game ending play when the Broncos had little time left, was an interception by the Patriots. Super Bowl: The Patriots previously faced the Seahawks in a Superbowl when the Patriots won 28-24 giving Tom Brady his 4th Su- per Bowl ring, in a game that was known for a late interception against the Seahawks with 20 seconds left. The Seahawks, who were just a couple of yard from the in-zone, decided to call a pass, instead of using the best running back of the time, Marshawn Lynch the ball. Pete Carool, the coach is still being criticized for calling that play. Meanwhile, the Patriots have reached the AFC championship game with 3 different coaches and quarterback combinations. The Seahawks lead the Patriots in all time meetings 11-9, but the Patriots lead in Super Bowls matchups 1-0. The early line is Seahawks favorites by 3.5 points. See TEAM page 9