Tucson, Ariz. • Savon Scarver’s 96-yard kickoff return for a Utah State touchdown early in Friday’s game was just the kind of game-changing play that USU’s special teams made all season on the way to the Arizona Bowl.

The good feelings didn’t last long, in this case. USU allowed New Mexico State’s Jason Huntley to go 100 yards with the next kickoff, another momentum swing that a characterized a wild game of special-team adventures in NMSU’s 26-20 overtime victory.

Mark Tommerdahl, who coaches USU’s special teams, was the state of Utah’s only nominee for the Broyles Award, given to the country’s top FBS assistant coach of the year. Tommerdahl’s group produced mixed results Friday in a showing that USU coach Matt Wells labeled “a little bit unlike our special teams.”

USU punter Aaron Dalton was outstanding, pinning NMSU inside the 10-yard line three times during the third quarter. His work eventually enabled the USU offense to capitalize with a go-ahead touchdown.

But kicker Dominik Eberle made only 2 of 6 field-goal attempts, after going 16 of 18 during the regular season and becoming a Lou Groza Award finalist. Eberle’s last try, a 29-yarder in overtime, hit the right upright and bounced away.

That kick can’t be blamed for USU’s loss, considering NMSU’s Larry Rose III ran for the winning touchdown on his team’s OT possession. Yet if Eberle had made any of his other kicks that missed from 44, 49 and 48 yards, USU may have won in regulation.

“In a tight game, I thought he would win the game,” Wells said.

USU also failed on a fake-punt play in the first half and allowed NMSU to succeed on a similar play in the second half. USU’s Jacoby Wildman was stopped for a 2-yard loss (and lost a fumble) on a fourth-down play, while NMSU’s Izaiah Loftie ran for 9 yards on fourth-and-5. In each case, USU’s defense responded with an interception.

If NMSU had lost, a special-teams play would have been a big reason. Payton Theisler’s shanked punt that went only 13 yards set up USU for a 24-yard touchdown drive and a 20-13 lead in the fourth quarter.

The Idaho Steelheads feature one of the premier goaltenders in the league in Philippe Desrosiers. Idaho had only lost twice in regulation with its stellar netminder between the pipes. That was until Desrosiers and the Steelheads faced a soaring Grizzlies team that had posted a 4-2- 1 record in its last seven contests. Utah ensured that Desrosiers would lose for only the third time in regulation, recording an impressive 6-3 come-from-behind win.

With the score tied at three in the third period, Utah played perhaps its best final session of the year. Back-to-back goals by John Puskar and Michael Pelech brought the crowd of 5,389 to its feet. Taylor Richart scored the final goal.

Turning Point • Utah scored back-to-back goals less than two minutes apart twice in the contest. The first occurred in the first period when, trailing 1-0, Ryan Walters and Chris Leibinger found the back of the net, sparking life into a Utah offense that had only tallied three shots on goal through the first 15 minutes of play.

First STAR • Defenseman Chris Leibinger rarely shows up in the stats sheet, but he fired from the blue line, recording his second goal of the season, and had two assists.

Second STAR • Rarely is a shot successful from center ice but Grizzlies defenseman Sam Windle launched a precision pointed laser near the red line that got past Desrossiers and for the moment gave Utah a 3-2 lead.

Third STAR • Fan favorite Jon Puskar picked a perfect time to record his third goal of the year, this one being the game winner in the third period.

Quoteworthy • “This game is all about confidence and we generated a lot of chances and it’s a recipe for success,” head coach Tim Branham said.

What’s next • Idaho Steelheads at Utah Grizzlies on Saturday at Maverik Center, 7 p.m.

Washington • Otto Porter Jr. scored 26 points, Bradley Beal and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 21 each, and the Washington Wizards beat Houston 121-103 on Friday night for the Rockets' fifth straight loss.

The skid is Houston's longest since dropping seven straight from Jan. 9-19, 2013.

NBA scoring leader James Harden matched his season low with 20 points for Houston. Chris Paul returned after missing three games with a strained groin. He had eight points and six assists in 26 minutes.

A night after blowing a 26-point lead in Boston, the Rockets held their last lead midway through the first quarter en route to their worst defeat of the season.

Bucks 97, Thunder 95 • In Oklahoma City, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points, including the questionable winning basket with 1.3 seconds left, and Milwaukee ended Oklahoma City's six-game winning streak.

Replays clearly showed Antetokounmpo stepped out of bounds on his drive, but officials Derek Stafford, Ben Taylor and Leon Wood refused to review the play after the buzzer sounded, despite the pleas of Thunder coach Billy Donovan and several of his players.

Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 40 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. Paul George sat out because of soreness in his left knee.

Hornets 111, Warriors 100 • In Oakland, Calif., Dwight Howard scored a season-high 29 points and the Hornets won just their third road game of the season, derailing the red-hot Warriors.

Charlotte, beginning a four-game road trip, arrived with a 2-12 record away from home. But six Hornets players scored in double figures, led by Howard, who also had 12 rebounds and seven assists. Kemba Walker made just two of his first 12 shots, but warmed up to score 16 points.

On the night before the Warriors expect Stephen Curry to return from his sprained right ankle, they lost for just the second time in their past 15 games. They are 9-2 without Curry.

Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 27 points and Klay Thompson scored 24, 13 of them in the first quarter. Draymond Green had eight points, 11 rebounds and tied his career high with 16 assists.

Mavericks 128, Pelicans 120 • In New Orleans, Dennis Smith Jr. had his first career triple-double and Dallas made a franchise-record 22 3-pointers in its victory over New Orleans.

Smith had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He was 5 of 7 from 3-point range and 8 of 12 overall. Wesley Matthews made 4 of 7 3-pointers and scored 18 points, and Devin Harris hit 5 of 7 3-pointers and added 17 points to help Dallas win three consecutive game for the first time this season. Dwight Powell scored 15 points, J.J. Barea had 14 and Harrison Barnes and Dirk Nowitzki 13 each.

Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with 33 points. DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points and 20 rebounds.

Bulls 119, Pacers 107 • In Chicago, rookie Lauri Markkanen scored a career-high 32 points, Nikola Mirotic added 28 and surging Chicago beat Indiana for its third consecutive win.

Hot-shooting Chicago made 18 of 39 3-point attempts in its 10th win in 12 games. Robin Lopez and Bobby Portis each scored 12 points, helping the Bulls to their seventh straight home win for their longest such streak since a seven-game run spanning two seasons in 2013.

Darren Collison scored 30 points for Indiana.

Nets 111, Heat 87 • In Miami, Joe Harris scored a career-high 21 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 18 and Brooklyn Nets embarrassed Miami.

Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen each had 12 for the Nets, who were actually down 18-8 early — then outscored Miami 85-37 over the next 28 minutes. LeVert added a career-best 11 assists.

It matched the biggest win by the Nets over the Heat ever, going along with the 24-point victory by New Jersey on Dec. 1, 1989, which was early in the second season in Miami franchise history.

Josh Richardson scored 19 points 17 for Miami.

Suns 111, Kings 101 • In Sacramento, Calif., Devin Booker shook off a rough night shooting and scored 12 of his 26 points over the final five minutes to lift Phoenix past Sacramento.

Booker missed nine games with a left adductor strain before returning to score 32 against Memphis on Tuesday night. He wasn't as crisp against the Kings, shooting 9 of 25 from the field, but helped rally the Suns with his late scoring flurry that keyed a 17-4 run.

T.J. Warren led Phoenix with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Zach Randolph had 14 points for the Kings.

Raptors 111, Hawks 98 • In Toronto, DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Toronto beat Atlanta for its 11th straight home victory.

Toronto is an NBA-best 13-1 at home. The Raptors were 11-3 in December, their best record ever in the month. Taurean Prince had a career-high 30 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta.

Clippers 121, Lakers 106 • In Los Angeles, playing in his first game in a month, Blake Griffin scored 24 points and Lou Williams added 23 off the bench to lead the Clippers to a victory over the Lakers.

It was the Lakers' fifth consecutive loss and eighth in nine games.

Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers with 20 points and Brandon Ingram added 18, all coming in the second half. Julius Randle had 18 points and Larry Nance Jr. added 16.

Montrezl Harrell had 15 points for the Clippers, and Austin Rivers added 13.

Griffin had been out with a knee injury.

Edmonton, Alberta • Patrick Kane scored 50 seconds into overtime to give 32-year-old goaltender Jeff Glass a win in his NHL debut and lift the Chicago Blackhawks over the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Friday night.

Kane deked around a defender then shoved in the rebound of his own shot past Cam Talbot.

After scoring, Kane pointed toward the other end of the ice at Glass, and teammates quickly enveloped the journeyman. The Calgary native made 42 saves in his debut, which came 12 seasons after his first minor league game.

Ryan Hartman, Alex DeBrincat and Jordan Oesterle also scored for the Blackhawks, who snapped a three-game losing skid.

Jesse Puljujarvi, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl scored for Edmonton, and Talbot stopped 32 shots.

RED WINGS 3, RANGERS 2, SO • In Detroit, Frans Nielsen scored the only goal in the shootout to lift Detroit over New York.

Nielsen beat Henrik Lundqvist through the pads for his 47th career shootout goal and 21st winner, both NHL records.

Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard stopped Brady Skjei on a penalty shot in overtime and then foiled all three Rangers shooters. Howard had 37 saves.

Henrik Zetterberg and Andreas Athanasiou scored for the Wings, and David Desharnais and Vinni Lettieri scored for New York.

HURRICANES 2, PENGUINS 1 • Raleigh, N.C., Sebastian Aho scored the go-ahead goal with 1:55 left in the second period and the Carolina Hurricanes earned their season-best fourth straight win by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Friday night.

Derek Ryan had a goal earlier in the second for Carolina, which improved to 7-0-1 in its last eight games.

Brian Dumoulin scored for the short-handed Penguins, who were down a season-high five injured players — including top goalie Matt Murray and defenseman Kris Letang.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions have lost six of nine to slip to seventh place in the Metropolitan Division. Backup Tristan Jarry made 31 saves for the Penguins, who had won their previous seven meetings with the Hurricanes.

DUCKS 2, FLAMES 1 • In Anaheim, Calif., Rickard Rakell scored in his fourth straight game to lift Anaheim over Calgary.

The Ducks have won three of four following a three-game skid and 26 of 27 at home against Calgary. John Gibson made 22 saves and Cam Fowler also scored for the Ducks.

Mike Smith stopped 39 shots and Micheal Ferland got his 15th goal, but Calgary lost its third straight.

STARS 4, BLUES 2 • Dallas • Alexander Radulov had a power-play goal and an empty-netter in the final 2:21 to lift Dallas over St. Louis.

Dallas led 1-0 through two periods on a goal by Mattias Janmark, but Vladimir Tarasenko and Tage Thompson scored 1:05 apart in the third period to put St. Louis up 2-1. Jamie Benn tied it at 2 with a backhand goal at 15:10.

Ben Bishop made 35 saves for the Stars. Blues starting goalie Jake Allen left with 18:39 to play after he was knocked back into the crossbar. Carter Hutton replaced him briefly, but Allen returned to finish the game and made 25 saves.

WILD 4, PREDATORS 2 • In St. Paul, Minn., Mikael Granlund had the second three-goal game of his career and Devan Dubnyk made 41 saves in his first start since Dec. 12 to help Minnesota beat Nashville.

Matt Dumba had a goal and assist for Minnesota, which has won two in a row coming out of the league's holiday break. Dumba scored the go-ahead goal, his seventh of the season, midway through the second period in the first game of a back-to-back, home-and-home series between the two teams.

Pekka Rinne made 34 saves, but Nashville lost for the fourth time in five games. P.K. Subban and Kyle Turris scored for the Predators.

FLYERS 5, LIGHTNING 3 • In Tampa, Fla., Claude Giroux had three assists, Sean Couturier scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period and Philadelphia beat Tampa Bay.

Philadelphia also got goals from Wayne Simmonds, Shayne Gostisbehere, Brandon Manning and Valtteri Filppula. Brian Elliott, making his 13th consecutive start, stopped 24 shots.

Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point and Tyler Johnson scored, and backup Peter Budaj made 29 saves over 50 minutes for the NHL-leading Lightning. They had an eight-game home winning streak end.

JETS 4, ISLANDERS 2 • In Winnipeg, Manitoba, Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor each had a goal and an assist on Winnipeg's patchwork top line to beat New York.

Wheeler played center in place of the injured Mark Scheifele, with Connor on left wing and Patrik Laine on the right. Laine had two assists.

Shawn Matthias, a healthy scratch for 11 straight games, had his first goal of the season, and Adam Lowry tipped in a power-play marker and also had an assist. Connor Hellebuyck made 42 saves to help Winnipeg improve to 14-3-1 at home.

Anders Lee scored twice for the Islanders, and Jaroslav Halak stopped 33 shots.

SENATORS 5, BLUE JACKETS 4 • In Ottawa, Ontario, Mark Stone and Bobby Ryan scored in the third period and Ottawa held off Columbus.

Derick Brassard, Nick Paul and Matt Duchene also scored for the Senators, and Mike Condon made 21 saves to help Ottawa snap a four-game losing streak.

Zach Werenski scored on the power play with 32 seconds left for the Blue Jackets. Sonny Milano struck twice, and Josh Anderson also scored. Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves in a failed bid for his 200th victory.

SABRES 4, DEVILS 3, OT • In Newark, N.J., Rasmus Ristolainen scored 2:37 into overtime to help Buffalo snap New Jersey's winning streak at five games.

Ristolainen bulled his way out of the corner in the New Jersey zone to beat Cory Schneider for his first goal of the season.

Jack Eichel scored twice, former Devil Jacob Josefson added a goal, and Robin Lehner stopped 35. Miles Wood, Marcus Johansson and John Moore scored for New Jersey, and Schneider made 25 saves.

AVALANCHE 4, MAPLE LEAFS 3, OT • In Denver, J.T. Compher scored a power-play goal 3:25 into overtime to give Colorado a victory over Toronto.

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Alexander Kerfoot and Mikko Rantanen also scored for Colorado.

Semyon Varlamov had 31 saves for the Avalanche. Matt Martin, Roman Polak and James Van Riemsdyk had goals and Calvin Pickard stopped 24 shots for Toronto.

Arlington, Texas • Playoff-snubbed Ohio State got a bit defensive even without one of its best defenders in the Cotton Bowl.

Damon Webb returned an interception for a touchdown after recovering a fumble to set up an early score and the No. 5 Buckeyes beat No. 8 Southern California 24-7 on Friday night in a matchup that traditionally has been in the Rose Bowl instead of deep in the heart of Texas.

The Big Ten and Pac-12 champions would usually play New Year's Day in Pasadena, but the Rose Bowl is a College Football Playoff semifinal game this season.

Ohio State (12-2) instead quickly settled in at the NFL stadium where three years ago it won the first national championship in the four-team CFP format. The Buckeyes — with that bad loss at Iowa after an early setback to playoff team Oklahoma — were the first team left out this season.

"The mindset was obvious. We wanted to go down as one of the great teams at Ohio State, Big Ten champions, obviously a top five finish," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. "This will go down as one of the best teams I've ever coached and one of the best groups of young people I've ever been around."

USC (11-3), the Rose Bowl champion last season, lost for only the third time in its last 23 games. The Trojans had four turnovers that led to 21 Ohio State points in what could have been third-year sophomore quarterback Sam Darnold's final game.

Buckeyes All-America junior cornerback Denzel Ward has already decided to go into the NFL draft and didn't play after practicing with the team this week.

With Ward on the sideline in his No. 12 jersey over street clothes, fellow defensive back Webb had a fumble recovery on the third play of the game. That led to J.T. Barrett's 1-yard keeper for a score that put the Buckeyes ahead to stay.

"We kind of shot ourselves in the football in this game," USC coach Clay Helton said. "You're putting a hurt on your defense, and it led to points early in the game, and separation early in the game."

Webb's 23-yard interception return for a TD put Ohio State up 17-0 less than a minute into the second quarter. It was the first pick-six this season for the Buckeyes, and the team-leading fifth interception for Webb.

Ohio State was up 24-0 when Barrett ran 28 yards for another touchdown after the first of Darnold's two fumbles when stripped while being sacked. Darnold was sacked eight times overall.

"That defensive line took a quarterback that we have a tremendous amount of respect for and he didn't set his feet all night," Meyer said. "That's the way we won that game."

Takeaway

Ohio State: Barrett, playing his final college game only about a two-hour drive from his hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas, broke Drew Brees' Big Ten career record for total offense with 12,697 yards. Barrett played 50 games and was 38-6 as a starter. His 147 touchdowns (104 passing, 43 rushing) are also a Big Ten record, 41 more than Brees at Purdue.

"I love him. He's a member of the Meyer family as I've said many, many times," Meyer said. "More importantly, he's a legend at Ohio State. He's always going to have a home at Ohio State."

USC: Darnold, who became the first Trojans quarterback ever with more than 4,000 yards passing in a season, has until Jan. 15 to decide if he will head to the NFL or return to USC for another season. He didn't indicate afterward what his decision will be. While he threw for 356 yards on 26-of-45 passing in the Cotton Bowl, his turnovers were costly.

Not for the roses

This was the eighth time Ohio State and USC met in a bowl game. The first seven were in the Rose Bowl. The Trojans had won seven straight in the matchup of powerhouse programs, including four regular-season matchups since their last meeting in Pasadena 33 years ago.

Up next

Ohio State will play its 2018 opener at home against Oregon State on Sept. 1, the same day Southern Cal is home against UNLV. The Buckeyes and Trojans both return to the Lone Star State for games next Sept. 15. Ohio State will be back in AT&T; Stadium to play TCU, and USC will be at Texas that day to take on the Longhorns.

East Lansing, Mich. • Nick Ward had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and No. 2 Michigan State rolled to a 111-61 victory over Cleveland State on Friday night, the third straight game for the Spartans with over 100 points.

The Spartans led 63-25 at halftime after shooting 74 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes — including 9 of 13 from 3-point range. Michigan State (13-1) is making short work of the weaker opponents on its schedule. The Spartans scored 107 points against Houston Baptist and 102 against Long Beach State.

Joshua Langford scored 23 points for Michigan State, and Miles Bridges added 18 with eight rebounds and seven assists.

Bobby Word scored 26 points for Cleveland State (3-10) and made seven 3-pointers.

No. 7 West Virginia 85, Oklahoma State 79 • In Stillwater, Okla., Teddy Allen scored 15 points to lead six West Virginia players in double figures in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

West Virginia (12-1, 1-0 Big 12), trailed by seven early in the second half, but rode Allen, who scored 13 of his team-high points over the final 20 minutes. The Mountaineers, who won their 12th straight, got 13 points from Sagaba Konate, 12 each from Javon Carter and Daxter Miles Jr., 11 from Lamont West and 10 from James Bolden in a balanced scoring night.

The Cowboys (10-3, 0-1), the nation's No. 2 free throw shooting team entering the game, went just 11 of 19 from the line in the second half.

Jeffrey Carroll and Tavarius Shine scored 17 points each to lead the Cowboys.

No. 11 Kansas 92, Texas 86 • In Austin, Texas, Devonte' Graham had 23 points and eight assists, converting six 3-point baskets, for Kansas in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

Kansas (11-2, 1-0 Big 12), which converted 17 of 35 3-point attempts, including 11 in the second half, won a conference opener for the 27th consecutive season.

Lagerald Vick scored 21 points, making a career-best five 3s. Svi Myhailiuk added 20 points, hitting five 3-pointers.

Sophomore center Udoka Azubuike had 13 points and a career-best 13 rebounds for Kansas.

Kansas has won 13 of its last 14 games against Texas, including eight in a row.

Freshman Mohamed Bamba led Texas (9-4, 0-1) with 22 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks, all season bests.

No. 16 Kentucky 90, Lousiville 61 • In Louisville, Ky., Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came off the bench to score a career-high 24 points and PJ Washington added 16 for Kentucky in the annual showdown for Bluegrass supremacy.

The Wildcats (10-2) used a 20-6 run to close the first half. Their 24-11 surge over 8:41 built a 67-38 lead that eventually reached 32, a gap helped by 57 percent second-half shooting.

Kentucky earned its biggest series win since a 76-46 rout in the 1999-00 season.

Deng Adel had 13 points for Louisville (10-3).

No. 22 Texas Tech 77, No. 18 Baylor 53 • In Lubbock, Texas, Keenan Evans scored 18 points and freshman Zhaire Smith added 15 in his Big 12 debut as Texas Tech won in the conference opener for both teams.

Jarrett Culver finished with 13 points and Niem Stevenson had 11 points and a game-high five assists for the Red Raiders (12-1, 1-0 Big 12) in the first meeting out of 135 with both of these longtime conference rivals ranked.

Mark Vital scored 12 points for the Bears (10-3, 0-1), who were missing Big 12 rebounding leader Jo Lual-Acuil because of a left foot sprain. Baylor was outrebounded 39-21, including 22-8 in the first half while falling behind 40-19.

El Paso, Texas • North Carolina State's offense came up big in a Sun Bowl matchup that was supposed to be about defense.

Nyheim Hines had three of North Carolina State's Sun Bowl-record six rushing touchdowns to help the Wolfpack beat Arizona State 52-31 on Friday. Hines' three scoring runs were all from 5 yards.

"It just really goes to show how great our offensive line is," Hines said. "I'll definitely have to treat them when I get back to Raleigh."

Hines was named the game's MVP. He helped the team score on four of five first-half possessions to fuel the rout.

Hines finished with 72 yards on 16 carries for North Carolina State (9-4). The Wolfpack played in their fourth consecutive bowl game and sixth in seven years under coach David Doeren.

"Top 25 (in the College Football Playoff rankings) is the standard we want for this program," Doeren said.

Reggie Gallaspy added 79 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries for the Wolfpack, Ryan Finley completed 24 of 29 passes for 318 yards and a score, and Stephen Louis had three catches for 115 yards.

Arizona State (7-6) played its final game under fired coach Todd Graham, with former NFL coach Herm Edwards taking over the program. The Sun Devils had four turnovers.

"I don't think we've turned the ball over four times all year," Graham said. "But give them a lot of credit. They're a very good football team. We just couldn't stop them."

Manny Wilkins was 25 of 40 for 352 yards and three touchdowns for the Sun Devils. He also threw three interceptions.

N.C. State played without defensive end Bradley Chubb. Chubb, a projected top-10 pick in the NFL draft, announced before the game that he wouldn't play. It marked the second year in a row that the biggest star at the game didn't play. Last year, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey skipped it.

Takeaway

North Carolina State: The team's defensive experience showed. Even without Chubb, the Wolfpack limited ASU to 10 points through three quarters.

Arizona State: Graham called the plays Friday. It wasn't a great showing for him. The offense was unable to run the ball. ASU had 469 yards of offense, but 21 of their points came in the fourth quarter.

Chubb sits out

N.C. State's Chubb, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, announced Friday morning he wouldn't play. "I just let them know that the decision I made is not anything about them," Chubb said in a CBS interview. "It's just looking out for myself. They all understood."

And another one

Arizona State played without one of its leading tacklers, linebacker Christian Sam, who also sat out to prepare for the draft. Jay Jay Wilson had 13 tackles, but ASU missed Sam. The Sun Devils allowed 491 yards of offense. The Wolfpack ran 73 plays and had a 9:00 edge in time of possession.

Records

The 42 points scored in the fourth quarter set a Sun Bowl record for points in a quarter. The 45 points in the second half tied a game record, and the 83 total points was the second most in game history.

By the numbers

N.C. State is 17-13-1 in bowl games and won its first appearance in the Sun Bowl. Hines is the first Wolfpack rusher to have consecutive 1,000-yard seasons since 1977-78. Receiver Kelvin Harmon had four catches for 24 yards, pushing him over 1,000 yards for the season. All-purpose back Jaylen Samuels had seven catches for 46 yards, setting the team record for catches in a career.

Arizona State is 14-15-1 in bowls and 3-2-1 in the Sun Bowl. Running back Demario Richard had 50 yards to become the first ASU runner with multiple 1,000-yard seasons since 1974-75.

Up next

North Carolina State: Even though they will lose nine seniors on defense, the Wolfpack is still a team to watch in the ACC. They'll return nine starters on offense, including quarterback Ryan Finley, running back Nyheim Hines and four of the five starters on the line. The Wolfpack will open next season on Sept. 1 at home against James Madison.

Arizona State: Edwards takes over the program, and he'll have two new coordinators. Defensive coordinator Phil Bennet declined to return next season, and the team hired San Diego State defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales to replace him. ASU already had promoted quarterbacks coach Billy Napier to the role of offensive coordinator, but then Napier left to become the head coach at Louisiana. The team's new offensive coordinator will be Rob Likens, who was the wide receivers coach. The Sun Devils will open the next season at home Sept. 1 against UT-San Antonio.

It’s been a year, Tribune readers.

From shocking video of a nurse’s arrest to accusations of pornography in schools, there was a lot happening in the Beehive State — and we were there to keep you informed.

Beginning with the most-read story of 2017, here’s a look at the Salt Lake Tribune’s most popular stories:

Video shows Utah nurse screaming, being handcuffed after refusing to take blood from unconscious victim

The saga of University of Utah nurse Alex Wubbels reached far beyond Utah after a shocking video showed Salt Lake City Detective Jeff Payne arresting Wubbels and placing her into his patrol vehicle while she screamed “Help! Help! Somebody help me! Stop! Stop! I did nothing wrong!”

Wubbels was following a hospital policy that does not allow blood draws from unconscious patients, unless an officer has probable cause, has a warrant or gets the patient’s permission.

The July 26 video’s circulation ended up on news shows across the country, spurring outrage, local investigations and an FBI investigation.

Payne was eventually fired — a decision he is appealing — and Wubbels was awarded a $500,000 settlement to be paid by Salt Lake City and the University of Utah. She said she will use a portion of the money to help people get body camera footage, at no cost, of incidents involving themselves.

In September, members of the Utah Legislature’s Judiciary Interim Committee voted unanimously to draft a bill that will clarify when police may, and may not, draw blood without a driver’s consent.

The patient at the center of the controversy, William Gray, a full-time truck driver and a part-time reserve officer with the Rigby, Idaho, police department, died Sept. 25.

High-ranking Mormon official, who twice spoke in General Conference, is excommunicated; first such ouster in nearly 3 decades

The Mormon church excommunicated one of its top leaders — but provided no details about the removal.

On Aug. 8, the church announced James J. Hamula was released from his position in the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after disciplinary action.

The last time a high-profile disciplinary action occurred was in 1989, when the LDS Church removed George P. Lee for “heresy” and “conduct unbecoming a member of the church.”

Lee insisted the move was triggered by his opposition to the faith’s shifting approach to its Indian members, who Lee believed were meant to be leaders in the church, but later admitted to attempted child sex abuse.

Sources: Jazz open to a sign and trade with Celtics for Gordon Hayward

Utah Jazz fans were hurt to learn Gordon Hayward was leaving his first professional team for the Celtics — and understandably — wanted answers. The Tribune worked to provide as many as possible.

Amid the drama of Hayward’s decision to leave the Jazz for the Celtics, there was talk of a sign-and-trade involving Hayward and Jae Crowder.

As Tony Jones and Aaron Falk pointed out in their article, the trade could have helped ease the blow of Hayward’s exit — but things don’t always work out that easily. Crowder ended up with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Tribune Editorial: Why Orrin Hatch is Utahn of the Year

The Tribune made headlines — both local and national — on Christmas Day when it names Sen. Orrin Hatch as its Utahn of the Year.

The Tribune’s editorial board explained the distinction saying the senator was picked his “part in the dramatic dismantling of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments,” his “role as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee in passing a major overhaul of the nation’s tax code” and “his utter lack of integrity that rises from his unquenchable thirst for power.”

The Tribune stressed that the award is given to the Utahn who, over the past 12 months, has done the most — for good or for bad.

That disclaimer didn’t stop the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history from tweeting out his gratitude, starting a Twitter debate over whether he understood the negative connotation or not.

His spokesman eventually confirmed Hatch read the editorial and that his tweet was “tongue-in cheek.”

Mayor Ben McAdams posed as a homeless person for 3 days and 2 nights. Here’s what he saw.

Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams didn’t plan for his social experiment to be made public — in fact, it took nearly five months to persuade him to talk about it.

“I didn’t go as an exposé,” he told The Tribune’s Courtney Tanner in August.

McAdams‘ three-day, two-night experience with homelessness at or near The Road Home shelter in Salt Lake City’s Rio Grande district was intended to help him fine-tune Operation Rio Grande, the three-phase effort by local, county and state leaders to deal with crime and lawlessness in the area.

What he experienced during that time was, in his own words, “shocking.”

Brian Head Fire led officials to uncover survivalist’s explosive-filled bunkers hidden near makeshift cabins

The Brian Head fire, which burned 71,000 acres in southern Utah this summer, led firefighters and other officials to uncover something, well, interesting: several explosive-filled bunkers hidden near makeshift cabins illegally built by a survivalists.

Mariah Noble reported that while working to suppress the blaze, firefighters near Henderson Hill heard “popping sounds,” that they initially thought were rocks exploding from the heat of the wildfire, but as the sounds continued for about five minutes, the crews realized it was ammunition exploding.

An investigation into the illegal cabins, bunkers and storage caches is ongoing.

How much do top Mormon leaders make? Leaked pay stubs may surprise you.

Mormons and others who wonder about the salaries of top LDS leaders got a possible peek this year when purported pay stubs emerged online, the Tribune’s religion reporter Peggy Fletcher Stack wrote in January.

The 16-year-old records were posted by MormonLeaks and show Henry B. Eyring’s — then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — biweekly salary in 2000 broke down into a living allowance ($2,192.31), parsonage or clergy housing, ($826.92) and a child allowance ($76.92).

A second leaked document included a 2014 memo from the church’s Presiding Bishopric (which handles all financial issues for the faith), noting that the “base living allowance” for all Mormon general authorities was being raised from $116,400 to $120,000.

Other benefits Mormon leaders may enjoy, like health insurance, cars or book royalties, were not disclosed.

Kirby: Wait’ll you see how much the Mormon church pays me

Tribune readers are well-accustomed to Robert Kirby’s dry sense of humor and surprising tales tied to his Mormon faith or his time as a police officer. Like any good comedian, Kirby’s timing is always spot-on.

This particular column came out around the time purported pay stubs for a high-ranking church official emerged online.

“For my church, I’ve cleaned ditches, roofed houses, vaccinated livestock, fixed plumbing and even canned chili,” Kirby wrote. “I’ve also held various time-heavy jobs like being in bishoprics and serving as an Elders Quorum president. Not a pay stub to show for any of it. Now that we seem to know what LDS leaders are paid, it’s still OK with me. I say this because I wouldn’t do it for that much. Not even close.“

She was late just once to her job at Hill Air Force Base. So when the 75-year-old didn’t show up last week, her co-workers began to worry.

Chiyoko Copeland was a no show at her job on Dec. 18 and that was highly unusual. She had never missed a shift before, and she was known for walking to and from work.

Her co-workers were right to worry. Copeland was killed when a car hit her as she crossed a street in Layton on her 4-mile journey home from her favorite Wal-Mart.

Paighten Harkins’ tragic story of co-workers searching for their missing friend resonated with readers, and earned thousands of comments — many from locals who claimed to see Copeland walking everyday.

Isilda Abel, Copeland’s project manager, said everyone on the base knew of the short woman who no matter the weather, would walk to work carrying only an umbrella and small backpack.

And while Copeland’s death hurt, Abel said: “I know she’s at peace.”

Salt Lake City jogger stabs man who groped her during morning run

One of The Tribune’s most read stories is the tale of a brave woman who stabbed — and then literally chased — a man who groped her while she was on her morning run.

Police said the unidentified woman was running near 1700 South and 500 East around 6 a.m. Nov. 10 when a man grabbed her from behind.

She immediately turned around and stabbed the man multiple times with a small knife she was carrying.

The man turned to run to a nearby bus stop, but the jogger wasn’t giving up that easily. She ran after him before deciding to go home and file a police report.

The story led many readers to exclaim “You go, girl.”

Utahns drown out Chaffetz with demand to ‘explain yourself’ at tense town hall

Former Utah congressman and current Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz had a busy year. But one of his most, well, viral moments came from his final town hall meeting in February.

For 75 minutes, Chaffetz, who was then still in office, attempted to answer questions from an angry crowd — but struggled to speak over chants of “Explain yourself” and “Do your job.”

“If you want me to answer the question, give me more than five seconds to do it,” Chaffetz told the crowd.

Eventually, Chaffetz addressed 13 questions, three focused on public lands and four on investigating the new president. The other subjects jumped from Planned Parenthood to air quality to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

Five months later,Chaffetz submitted a formal resignation letter. By July, he was a regular on-air commentator on Fox News.

Utah lawmakers nix comprehensive sex ed, so porn site steps in

We’d like to act surprised about why this story got so much attention, but we can’t.

After the Utah Legislature rejected the idea of integrating a comprehensive sex education program in place of the current abstinence only program, the adult film site xHamster took matters into its own hands.

Every person who visited xHamster from a Utah IP address was immediately forwarded to a nonexplicit website featuring educational videos pertaining to sex.

”Utahns consume the most porn per capita of any state, but have some of the lowest levels of sexual education,” xHamster said in a pop-up to the site. “We’re here to change that.”

Transgender patient files malpractice suit against Utah physician who removed their ovaries

Tribune reporter Jennifer Dobner brought to light the issue of medical consent as it pertains to transgender patients in her story about Lesley Ann Shaw.

Shaw, who was born female, no longer identifies as a woman, but as a “transgender, nonbinary or agender individual,” was experiencing severe menstrual pain when she visited Dr. Rixt Luikenaar, a Utah doctor known for her work with transgender patients.

She and Shaw had decided on a hysterectomy, during which Luikenaar would remove both of Shaw’s fallopian tubes and one ovary — Shaw requested to keep the other ovary in case she wanted a biological child of her own one day.

When Shaw awoke after her procedure, she learned Luikenaar had removed both ovaries.

Post-operative notes say both ovaries were removed because Shaw was suffering from endometriosis, Dobner reports, but subsequent testing of the tissues found no sign of the disease, according to the pending lawsuit.

As of now, Shaw remains in a constant state of menopause as a result of the surgery.

Family holds out hope to find Utah man Paul Swenson despite few tips checking out

The disappearance, and subsequent death, of Paul Swenson is a story made for a movie or true-crime podcast. And Tribune readers couldn’t get enough of it.

Swenson, 30, was last seen July 25, in American Fork and reported missing July 29. The car he was driving was found unoccupied at Park View Elementary in Salt Lake City, according to American Fork police Sgt. Adam Stowers.

Swenson also complained about chest pain, but was cleared by a doctor. Days before he left, Swenson had deactivated his social media accounts. Family members, however, wondered whether he was going through a medical or mental health crisis.

Police said the circumstances surrounding Swenson’s case were suspicious because he missed an appointment and had his phone turned off. Many items found in his car did not belong to him, his wife told police.

Family members also reported he “wasn’t acting like himself.“ His wife, a blogger with tens of thousands of followers, told police he was talking about “random things” that “didn’t make sense” before he left.

In June, she published a post indicating that she was pushing through marital problems.

In early August, Swenson’s family shifted its focus “from daily searches out of Salt Lake City to a nationwide scope as investigators continue to follow various leads,” and expressed belief he would found alive.

On Aug. 13, however, Swenson’s body was found floating in Mill Creek. The state medical examiner’s office said there were no obvious signs of foul play, such as significant wounds or signs of a blunt force impact.

A later report by the medical examiner said Swenson died of drowning and that he tested positive for alcohol and THC — the main active ingredient in marijuana.

Video shows Mormon missionary beat back would-be attacker

It began with a Facebook video — one that depicted two Mormon missionaries on the tough streets of Manaus, Brazil.

Then, two men ride up on a motorcycle. One leaps off, approaches the white shirt and tie-wearing pair, pulls a gun from his belt and threatens the missionaries as he tries to rifle their pockets.

Wrong move. One of missionaries quickly grabbed the gun and threw it over a fence.

“While his companion watches,” Tribune reporter Bob Mims wrote, “the larger missionary proceeds to offer not the right hand of fellowship but a flurry of overhand rights and straight left jabs that send the culprit reeling across the street and finally tumbling onto the asphalt.”

The video ends with the would-be assailants fleeing and one missionary striking a pose of victory.

Draper pulls shelter sites after hundreds protest, boo homeless man

In one of the most intense public meetings of the year, Draper Mayor Troy Walker pulled two of his city’s proposed homeless-shelter locations off the table.

He’d offered the sites just the day before.

During the nearly four-hour meeting, residents threatened to oust him, brought up possible lawsuits and loudly booed a homeless man asking for compassion.

“We’ll help ourselves if you give us a place to start from,” he told The Salt Lake Tribune after walking off the stage.

Escalating violence around homeless shelter has Utah House speaker asking: Is this a job for the National Guard?

In a year of big news, Operation Rio Grande remained one of the most followed by Tribune readers.

Before phase one of the plan was implemented, however, Utahns knew firsthand the danger that surrounded the Rio Grande District.

The violence in downtown Salt Lake City became so serious, in fact, Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes mentioned bringing in the National Guard.

“The violence and what is going on there is escalating,” Hughes said. “When it gets that out of hand, you can have a discussion about the National Guard with a straight face.”

Hughes clarified he wasn’t asking Gov. Gary Herbert to call in the Guard just yet, but that he worried local officials weren’t “ready to do the things necessary to clean that area up.“

The comment came days after a homeless man attacked Las Vegas 51s baseball relief pitcher Logan Taylor in an attempted robbery and after a car plowed into a group of homeless people, leaving one dead and five injured

Dozens rally against Mormon church doctrines at mass resignation event

“I didn’t even know this was happening until five minutes ago,” Feist said shortly before the event began. “It was just serendipity.”

That’s what Donovan Feist, once a devout Mormon, told The Tribune moments after he resigned from the LDS Church in front 60 people Nov. 6.

Similar resignation events have been taking place in Salt Lake City since 2011. This particular gathering was scheduled on the second anniversary of the LDS Church changing its policy regarding children with LGBTQ parents.

Congressman’s shooting prompts calls for more security, joined by Utah politicians targeted by threats

The June 14 shooting of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) led many members of Congress to fight for further protection — of themselves.

“I feel very safe and secure at the Capitol,” Chaffetz said. “We work in a fortress with literally thousands of people to protect us, but once we leave the Capitol, it’s a whole different equation.”

Chaffetz, among other Utahns, had personal experience in being targeted, Thomas Burr reported.

A Florida man plead guilty to threatening to lynch the Utah Republican, among other explicit things.

Chaffetz isn’t the only Utah politician who has faced threats, Burr reported. Reps. Chris Stewart and Mia Love have both turned to local law enforcement for help this year.

KUTV anchor Shauna Lake arrested on suspicion of DUI

KUTV news anchor Shauna Lake was arrested on suspicion of driving drunk this May.

Stories that followed KUTV news anchor Shauna Lake’s arrest on suspicion of drunk driving caused debate among commenters and on social media about whether her personal life was fair game. It should be noted The Tribune is a content-sharing partner with KUTV.

Among those most outspoken about respecting Lake’s privacy and road to recovery was our own Robert Kirby.

Kirby: News anchor Shauna Lake’s DUI arrest raises question for public: Have we no shame?

“Public humiliation is one of the hazards of being well-known,” Kirby wrote days after Lake was arrested. “When you screw up, it’s news. And there are plenty of trolls eager to feed on your grief, including the media.”

Kirby proceeded to go after other local news stations for their “gotcha” stories, which he says equates to “reveling in the tragedy and pain of others.”

His column, like the original story, earned both high praise and condemnation from readers.

Mormon leader Dallin Oaks points to ‘aggressive’ Trump, climate change as ‘big worries’

In a Feb. 25 commencement address to graduates of LDS Church-owned Brigham Young University-Hawaii, Mormon leader Dallin H. Oaks discussed the “challenging times” and fears facing humankind.

The two “big worries” he noted included climate change and the Trump administration.

Those examples surprised readers, mostly because the Utah-based faith maintains a neutral stance in partisan matters, saying it “does not endorse, promote or oppose political parties, candidates or platforms” while adding that Mormons “may have differences of opinion” in such matters.

Oaks kept his speech relatively mild however, urging the graduates to “push back against the world” by avoiding the vice of hate and enhancing the virtue of love.

Outdoor Retailer is leaving Utah over public lands issues, a move Herbert calls ‘offensive’

After 20 years of twice-yearly shows, the Outdoor Retailer show left Salt Lake City this year — and took about 40,000 yearly visitors and $45 million of additional annual income with it to Denver.

“It is clear that the governor indeed has a different perspective on the protections of public lands from that of our members and the majority of Western state voters, both Republicans and Democrats — that’s bad for our American heritage, and it’s bad for our businesses. We are therefore continuing our search for a new home as soon as possible,” the Outdoor Industry Association, which has close ties to the OR show, wrote in a statement following the announcement.

In July, it was announced Denver will host trade shows starting next year.

After leading LDS congregations and designing Mormon temples, this Utah dad is building a new life — as a woman

Laurie Lee Hall believes she was excommunicated from the Mormon church for being a woman.

The former LDS stake president, who oversaw a group of Mormon congregations in Tooele for eight years and worked as an architect on her faith’s most sacred spaces, faced, in her mind, an impossible choice: Either return to living as a man or resign her membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Peggy Fletcher Stack’s profile details Hall’s journey through spirituality and the difficulties she faces with reconciling with her Mormon faith.

Denver Snuffer’s offshoot is drawing away Mormons with the mantra: God can talk to you, too. But will these freewheeling fellowships last?

Religion reporter Peggy Fletcher Stack’s look into an offshoot of the Mormon church. The Remnant, or Denver Suffer Jr.’s, group of small fellowships intrigued readers this past August with its “radically democratic“ method of operation.

Snuffer’s fellowship has no leaders, no rigid rules, no prescribed offices and no formal organization — a far cry from the ultra-organized and hierarchal Mormon church from which most of his followers came from.

By some estimates, the schismatic movement now includes between 5,000 and 10,000 followers in 49 states and several countries. Some have been disciplined by the LDS Church; others continue to participate in the Utah-based faith, while sneaking off to fellowships on the side.

Monson: Goodbye Gordon Hayward, whoever you were

Who better to respond to the exit of Utah Jazz small forward Gordon Hayward than long-time Tribune columnist Gordon Monson?

In his farewell column to Hayward, Monson accused the player of “ducking out down a back alley“ and “looking for the easier route,” and fans were even more critical.

“He knew he was going to choose Boston, and instead of just saying it, he was too timid and wanted people here to still like him, so he pretended he didn’t know what he wanted to do,“ wrote one reader.

“The Jazz, the fans, and community have invested heavily in Hayward’s development right down to signing players that he asked for in order to stay,“ wrote another.

Holly Richardson: LDS repent for not voting Trump? That’s not what the apostles say

Holly Richardson has no regrets about voting for someone other than President Donald Trump, and she’s not afraid to admit it.

So when a lobbyist called for her and hundreds of thousands of other Utahns to ask for forgiveness after he was named president, Richardson abruptly declined.

“I cannot speak for the many others who did not vote for Trump in Utah, but for me, I have no regrets,” Richardson wrote. “You see, I believe character matters. I believe it matters more than a party label. In fact, there are many things that matter more than a party label: principles, people, my religion, kindness, integrity. They all matter more than a party label.”

Trump will shrink Bears Ears during Utah visit Monday, when five tribes promise to sue him

Here in Utah, many expected Trump to shrink some of the state’s national monuments — we just didn’t know when.

On Nov. 28, we learned he would fly into the Beehive State days later for a rapid reduction and speech.

Sources close to the situation told The Tribune that Trump would change the boundaries of both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments after meeting with Mormon church leaders.

The announcement led to immediate plans for protests among Utahns.

How does a 3-year-old get left at a Utah corn maze? It’s a numbers issue, polygamous father says.

After Bob Mim’s wrote a news story about a boy lost in a West Jordan corn maze, Tribune reporter Nate Carlisle discovered the story had a unique twist: The family was polygamous.

And when asked how his wife lost track of their son, the father’s answer was unashamedly honest: There were “about four blond-haired boys about the same height” traveling with her that day.

“It was an oversight that we learned a lot from,” the man added.

$35 million Book of Mormon manuscript sale called the ‘biggest game-changer in Mormon history’

In September, the LDS Church acquired a book that Steven E. Snow, the church’s historian and recorder, called “both a spiritual and historic treasure.”

But the printer’s manuscript of the Book of Mormon didn’t come cheap: The Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, said they sold the book for $35 million.

“The printer’s manuscript is the earliest surviving copy of about 72 percent of the Book of Mormon text, as only about 28 percent of the earlier dictation copy survived decades of storage in a cornerstone in Nauvoo, Ill.,” Snow said.

Mormons believe the Book of Mormon, first published in 1830 and the faith’s signature scripture, was translated by church founder Joseph Smith from “reformed Egyptian” engravings on a set of golden plates unearthed from a hill in upstate New York with the guidance of an angel.

Singer resigns from Mormon Tabernacle Choir, says she ‘could never look myself in the mirror again’ if she performed for Trump

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir agreed to sing at Trump’s inauguration spurring debate among the faithful — and prompted thousands to sign a petition demanding that the group skip the event.

On woman, in particular, took matters into her own hands by resigning from the choir.

“Since ‘the announcement,’ I have spent several sleepless nights and days in turmoil and agony. I have reflected carefully on both sides of the issue, prayed a lot, talked with family and friends, and searched my soul,” Jan Chamberlin wrote in a resignation letter to the choir president and choir members. “I’ve tried to tell myself that by not going to the inauguration, that I would be able to stay in choir for all the other good reasons. I’ve tried to tell myself that it will be all right and that I can continue in good conscience before God and man.”

It was not the first time the choir was asked to perform at a presidential inauguration. In fact, the group previously sang at swearing-in ceremonies for George H. W. Bush (1989), Richard Nixon (1969) and Lyndon Johnson (1965). It performed in inaugural parades for George W. Bush (2001), George H. W. Bush (1989) and Ronald Reagan (1981).

Shortly after the announcement, choir leaders said it would allow singers who did not want to perform before Trump to opt out of the lottery being used to determine which 215 performers would travel.

Chamberlin maintained the decision was based on a moral issue, adding, “I only know I could never ‘throw roses to Hitler.’ And I certainly could never sing for him.”

Payson Jr. High accused of exposing children to pornography by showing the musical ‘Oklahoma!’

Both local and national readers likely did a double take when they say the movie “Oklahoma!” was causing a stir in a junior high school.

A brief scene in the 1999 film adaptation of the musical generated complaints in the Nebo School District after the movie was shown to students at Payson Junior High School in September.

In the film, Hugh Jackman’s a character is shown looking at a collection of erotic images while the camera closes in over his shoulder.

“She‘s plum, stark naked as a jaybird,” Jackman’s character remarks before the camera zooms out and the scene continues.

The movie, and that scene, was shown to somewhere between 100 and 150 students over a two-day period, according to a school spokesperson. An email sent out to parents said the film had not been pre-approved by school administrators.

“A pornographic movie was shown in a classroom setting to approximately 125 students … among other things, the movie contained an 8-second close-up of 10 full-frontal images of 10 naked women,” one Facebook post read.

Finnsæter, Norway • On a remote island in the Norwegian Sea, where fishing villages line the shore and cliffs jut thousands of feet over the fjords, a happy woman lives inside a theme park that is home to the world’s largest troll.

The 59-foot, molded concrete statue is both whimsical and ghastly. Visitors pay to meander the two floors inside, where trolls appear in a bar, in jail and in other scenes, and singers called The Trolling Stones perform.

Siw Rubach may live 5,000 miles away, but what she and her countrymen and -women have to say about how they live — along with science-based tips from a Utahn who is a world expert on happiness — can help those of us who want to live a happier life in 2018.

Norway has been dubbed the happiest country in the world by the United Nations, based on how content residents report feeling.

The troll park “is our lifestyle. … We have so much [joy] and we get so many good comments from the people about what we do,” Rubach said, in between serving free coffee and showing a visitor the cow’s tail that’s part of her costume as a hulder, a seductive forest creature in Norwegian folklore.

“We don’t work so much to get rich,” said Rubach, who, like all the Norwegians interviewed for this story, is fluent in English. “If we have enough to travel and do things we want to do, then we are happy.”

The answer to how we can all be happier in the new year is right there: Have enough money to live comfortably, connect with others, have a purpose. Traveling to Norway may be a luxury, but happiness is not, said University of Utah psychology professor Ed Diener.

Dubbed “Dr. Happiness,” Diener has studied how to measure and boost “subjective well-being” — the scientific term for happiness, and one he invented. His work has prompted some governments to include well-being in their analysis of how their people are faring.

“Happiness is not frivolous. It is not hedonism. Happy people have better health, better relationships on average, are more productive at work, and are better citizens,” Diener said. “Depressed and angry people do not do well.”

NORWAY IS NO. 1 FOR HAPPINESS <br>Norway was ranked as the world’s happiest country in the 2017 World Happiness Report by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network.<br>Survey respondents were asked to imagine a ladder with the number 0 on the bottom rung, representing the worst possible life for them, and steps numbered up to 10 at the top, representing their best possible life.<br>Norwegians averaged step 7.5, closely followed by their Nordic neighbors Denmark, Iceland and Finland. Americans ranked 14th, at 6.99, down half a step in the past decade.

Don’t focus on money

It would be easy to write off Norwegian happiness as a product of the nation’s immense wealth. Its offshore oil fields help pay for universal paid parental leave, subsidized day care, free medical care and higher education, along with generous pension and unemployment benefits.

Between pouring beers at an outdoor bar near a medieval castle overlooking a harbor in Oslo, a 25-year-old bartender named Nils said he makes a good living and doesn’t stress about finances. “If I want to do something, I can. There’s nothing stopping me, literally nothing.”

He doesn’t want to say money buys happiness, “but it helps.”

Diener agreed. People who have enough money to cover their basic needs, plus some more for leisure, are happier, he said. But studies show that continuing to move up the income ladder above around $100,000 will not add any more day-to-day joy. That’s because more money may lead to more pressure to achieve ever-higher goals, increasing dissatisfaction.

“Imagine that everybody was gone in the world and you were left behind and you owned the entire world,” Diener said. “You could do anything, you could live in the most expensive house, you could have the most expensive car. … You’d be miserable because you need other people to really thrive and enjoy life.”

Take time to ‘dugnad’

Eight men in their 50s and 60s were together, full and happy, after a meal at a Viking-themed restaurant that served venison and smoked reindeer. They were celebrating the end of a weeklong fishing trip in the tiny town of Flåm.

If there’s a secret to happiness, it’s social relationships, said Diener. The happiest people have supportive, positive, trusting and respectful ones.

But happiness also comes from giving support, which is why those men, when asked why Norwegians are the happiest, used the word “dugnad.” It’s the Norwegian concept of unpaid work for a cause. It’s technically voluntary, but essentially required for the good of the community.

The Gallup World Poll used to ask respondents: If you lost your wallet, would your neighbor return it? Responses from Scandinavians revealed an expanded social trust network, Diener said. “They not only say their neighbor would return it, but a stranger would return it.”

And there are easy ways to build trust in a community, said Diener: Volunteer. Join or create neighborhood watch programs, walking groups, book exchange boxes, community gardens, neighborhood cleanup days, block parties or street fairs.

Even making small talk on the train, letting other drivers into traffic, giving compliments and expressing gratitude pay happiness dividends, he said.

Get outside

The response was similar from all Norwegians asked about why they are considered the world’s happiest: Look around.

At the mountains jutting improbably from the fjords, at the uncountable waterfalls, at the forests and glaciers and clean waterfront cities.

“I feel very privileged to have these surroundings,” said 56-year-old nurse Torill Solstad, who was sitting in a seaside resort outpost designed like a lighthouse. Visitors had gathered to watch August’s midnight sun slip into the sea above the Arctic Circle but never truly set.

She appreciates the sense of perspective that nature brings — feeling small in the vast outdoors. Nature “has been forever and I can be a part of it. I can experience it. That makes me happy.”

Studies have found several ways nature contributes to happiness: It increases self-esteem and mood; reduces stress, anger and anxiety; promotes social interactions; and is a source of awe.

“People like looking out on landscapes. They like being near water. Just the views of nature are calming,” Diener said. “We’re pretty lucky here in Utah. We have nature all around us. You don’t have to go skiing. You can walk around Liberty Park.”

Look on the bright side

There’s no bad weather, just bad clothing, a Scandinavian saying holds. Some Norwegians look forward to the dark winters as a time to get cozy by a fire and enjoy warm drinks and good company. Their embrace of the cold is a choice.

“One of the things you can say about happy people,” Diener said, “is they learn to appreciate what they’ve got.”

That was evident in Bergen, a city on Norway’s southwestern coast where it rains more than 230 days a year. Two Norwegian women in a coffee shop were philosophical about it.

“Wherever you go, there’s going to be rain,” said Thordis Grímsdóttir, 25. “If you let it control your life, you’re going to be distressed.”

“It is not realistic to always experience good weather or good days,” added Veronica af Geijerstam, 28. “I appreciate them both equally. I am realistic. I like things how they are.”

Some people are born to see the positive, but we can train ourselves to savor the good and stop ruminating and worrying, Diener said.

One tried and true practice, created by Diener, is called AIM: Pay attention to the things that make you happy. Choose to interpret events in the best light. Focus on your positive memories.

Find a purpose

Rocade Records in Bergen has a deep collection of vintage country vinyl, from crooners like Johnny Cash and Hank Snow to autographed albums by lesser-known artists — such as Vernon Oxford’s 1967 “Woman, Let Me Sing You a Song,” which owner Roald Atle Larsen describes as “too country for Nashville.”

“I’m a lucky duck in the water here,” said Larsen, 66. He credits his faith, health and family for his happiness, but also country music. “I wouldn’t feel like a duck as a bus driver. This is where God has put me. Everybody has a calling.”

To be happy, Diener said, you must “do something with your life that’s bigger than yourself.” And work should be an essential piece of the happiness puzzle since it takes up so much of our lives, he said.

But it doesn’t have to involve following your passion, as Larsen did. Diener cited a study that showed how janitors find happiness in their work by crafting meaning and purpose in it, such as seeing themselves as reducing infections.

For many, religion provides meaning and purpose — even in Norway, one of the least religious countries in the world. At a secondhand store run by the Norwegian Mission Society in Bergen, a volunteer named Kjersti, 80, said her happiness comes from her religion. “For me, it’s the faith. I believe in Jesus Christ. That is very important to me.”

As if to underscore Norway’s philosophy on happiness, she sold a mug adorned with a quote from Norway’s famed playwright Henrik Ibsen. Loosely translated, it said: “If man is made for pleasure, he must enjoy.”

The salutation “Have a happy and prosperous New Year” is one we often hear this time of year. But for those on the bottom rungs of society, the phrase is freighted with both irony and hope.

Karren Cardenas, 43, has been living on the streets of Salt Lake City for years, and it has taken a toll. Making matters worse is that she now has cancer and uses a wheelchair. When asked what she would like to see in the new year, Cardenas began weeping.

When she collected herself, she said, “We all just need to get together and care for each other instead of stealing from each other.”

After some more thought, she added: “And I’d like for people to be less judgmental of the homeless.”

Mike is 52 and is staying at The Road Home shelter while he continues to recuperate from a life-threatening accident. In mid-October, he was riding his bicycle on 1300 South near 400 East when a speeding panel van rolled on top of him, leaving him with a broken hip, three broken ribs and a brain injury. He was in the hospital for 32 days and lost 70 pounds.

“I’d like to get back to normal, hopefully,” he said of his new year’s wish. “I’d like to get my health back, and I’d like to get back to work.”

Mike made his living hanging drywall. But now, he said, he’s too weak for that kind of work. He’s unsure what he will do now to earn a living. “I have to do something,” he said, “or I’ll go nuts.”

Shannon Owen, 40, has called the shelter home for about 12 months. She’s been fighting lymphoma for several years. Her chemotherapy treatments leave her too ill to work. If that isn’t enough, her compromised immune system is constantly challenged at the shelter.

“We’re in such close quarters here,” she said. “I’m sick all the time.”

Owen’s husband was busted for drugs but recently got out of jail. He now is in mandatory residential rehab and cannot work until he completes it. So Owen must fend for herself.

What she wants for the new year is what most people take for granted: good health, a roof over her head and a modicum of security.

“Living in the shelter is really tough, especially for a female,” she said. “And even when we qualify for housing, they say there are no funds available. That can’t be right.”

Loren is a 26-year-old man who on Thursday was pushing a shopping cart full of his possessions along 500 West near 200 South. He said he lost his home and his job because he got “out of control with drugs.”

“I had a great life,” he said. “It’s all my own fault that I lost it.”

His new year’s wish is that police treat homeless people with more respect. “The way we get treated, they have something against us,” he said. “They all have an idea about us. They think we’re like animals. It’s sad.”

Tricia Graham is 38 years old and has been homeless since 2012. She has lived in Layton, Park City, California and Salt Lake City.

“I just want an end of violence,” she said of her new year’s wish. “I want humanity and love.”

Graham seems content with her plight and is in no rush to find permanent housing. “I just need a couple of dollars here and there,” she said. “I just want everyone to have a good life.”

Randall Burke works for Advantage Services on a cleanup crew around the shelter. He’s 54 years old and has been homeless for five months. He has qualified for Rapid Rehousing, a federal program administered in Salt Lake City by The Road Home.

Rapid Rehousing pays a deposit and up to three months’ rent. But Burke has yet to find a place he can afford. When rent and utilities come due on the fourth month, it will be his responsibility, and the housing shortage in Salt Lake County is driving up rents.

Burke doesn’t mind working for Advantage Services, but he said he doesn’t get many hours. He used to have a job at a call center and hopes he can get back to that.

“I’d like to get a better job and a place to live,” he said, “just like everybody else.”

As the new year approaches, we are looking back at Tribune photos from 2017. Photographers travel across the state (and sometimes the country) to gather images that tell our stories best.

Bishop-elect Oscar Azarcon Solis speaks after being introduced as the 10th bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City on Jan. 10.

President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address during the 58th Presidential Inauguration Ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20.

Thousands of people attend the Women's March at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Jan. 23. Participants filled the Capitol Rotunda for a rally against policies they say hurt women.

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Johnathan Williams (3) shoots past Brigham Young Cougars forward Eric Mika (12) during a game at the Marriott Center in Provo, Feb. 2.

Ian James, of Wasatch High School, takes his first stroke in the finals of the 200 individual medley on the first day of the state 4A swimming championships in Provo on Feb. 10. James placed second in the event.

Carol Miller, 81, takes a spin on the dance floor with Karl Tinggaard as he celebrates his 103 birthday on Feb. 23. Tinggaard dances at the Heritage Center in Murray every week.

Chelsea Cho, of Los Angeles, tries to blow away her stress while waiting backstage to perform during the Junior Contemporary Competition for the Youth America Grand Prix regional semifinals, Feb. 24 at the Capitol Theatre. YAGP awards more than $250,000 a year in scholarships to send dancers to leading schools and dance companies for continued training. Selected competitors move on to the finals in New York City.

Hadley Racing and OK Boys #1 run neck and neck toward the finish line as they compete in the 2nd Utah Division of the 2017 Utah & Idaho State Cutter and Chariot Racing Championships, at Golden Spike Events Center in Ogden, Feb. 26.

Robbin Clark assists Kiyrah Miller as she touches Mickey Mouse during a special sensory tour for visually impaired students from Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind, hosted by Disney On Ice, at Vivint Smart Home Arena, March 10.

Members of Pacifica Institute Youth Dervishes perform a dervish at Sacred Music Evening in the Tabernacle on March 19. In most Sufi orders, a dervish is known to practice dhikr “through physical exertions to attain an ecstatic trance to reach God.” The evening included musical performances, dances, scripture readings and prayers from many Utah faiths.

President Thomas S. Monson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gives a thumbs up as he leaves with his daughter, Ann M. Dibb, after the morning session of the 187th Annual General Conference at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, April 1.

Ballet West dancers perform Garrett Smith’s “Façades” during the final dress rehearsal of "Journeys and Reflections" at the Capitol Theatre on April 6.

Diego Alvarez, 17, of South Ogden, laughs as he listens to small talk between his coach and friends after an evening of training at the tiny Los Gallitos Boxing Club gym on April 18 in Ogden. Alvarez was competing in amateur boxing's 114-pound national title at the Golden Gloves championship in Lafayette, La., for the second time.

Students attend a candlelight vigil for Dakota Kilburn on April 19 in Syracuse. Kilburn died after being hit by a car, then pinned under another car, in front of Syracuse Junior High School.

Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) walks off of the court after a game at Vivint Smart Home Arena on April 28. The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Jazz 98-93.

The Rev. Fr. Justin Havens hears confession before worship service at Saints Peter & Paul Orthodox Christian Church on April 30.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke snaps at pro-monument activist Cassandra Begay after she asked questions about his failure to meet with more American Indians during his tour of Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah in May. Zinke had just arrived at the Butler Wash Indian Ruins trail head within Bears Ears National Monument for a tour.

Ariana Juarez, 2, whose mother was detained by ICE agents and taken to an undisclosed location the week before, stands in silence during a rally by Mormon Women for Ethical Government and other concerned citizens on May 3. The group gathered at the Department of Homeland Security field office in West Valley City to show solidarity for the young mother, Silvia, who was arrested.

University of Utah's Kay Kay Fonda explodes off the bench as the Utes tied the game in the seventh inning during the NCAA softball regional game against Brigham Young University at Dumke Family Field in Salt Lake City on May 19.

Water Canyon High School graduate Danielle Barlow breaks down in tears in the arms of a friend, Paula Barlow, after a graduation ceremony in Hildale, May 22. Barlow is the 13th of 16 children, and the first to earn a high school diploma.

University of Utah centerfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. gives teammates a signal after he seriously injured himself trying to make a play on Hunter Bishop's home run during first-inning play, May 28.

Taken Alisea, 11, cools off under one of the waterfalls at the Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center, June 6.

The Salt Lake Tribune softball MVP Cambrie Hazel, a pitcher for the Spanish Fork Dons, poses for a portrait in Spanish Fork on June 8.

Yasmin Bilal, 14, relaxes by the pond at Sugarhouse Park after an Eid Mubarak celebration June 26.

Protestors block traffic on State Street in Salt Lake City during the "Senator Hatch: *You're Killing Us* Healthcare Rally" outside the Wallace Bennett Federal Building in Salt Lake City on June 27.

Dave Schoenbeck, center, talks to his neighbor Ron Bagley, right, as they stand across the street from Schoenbeck's fire-damaged home in Cottonwood Heights on July 4. Bagley had to evacuate his house as flames approached the neighborhood earlier.

Adeline Uwicyeza and her brothers Makuza Innocent, center, and Kayrianga Jules, right, are all smiles after their arrival to Salt Lake City with her family from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Salt Lake City office of the International Rescue Committee welcomed the last refugee family to Utah, July 6, before President Donald Trump's 120-day ban on refugees went into effect.

A dragonfly clings to a branch on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in Salt Lake City on July 10.

The Victor family plays volleyball as aerial crews fight the fires being driven uphill as seen from Creekside Park in Alpine, July 16.

Sumeya Ahmed, 11, Innocent Byiringiro, 11, and Halima Abdinasir, 13, jump as Promise Prevention Specialists Rylee Black (not pictured) and Said Mohamed swing the rope at the Hser Ner Moo Community Center in South Salt Lake, July 18.

Spectators watch rockets launch on the Bonneville Salt Flats during "Hellfire," a four-day event sponsored by the Utah Rocket Club, Aug. 5.

Law-enforcement officers from several agencies increase their presence in the Rio Grande homeless area in Salt Lake City, pictured here on Aug. 14.

Bob Duncan, of Grassvalley, Calif., of the Buzzards Racing Team takes the salt in stride on his 1927 Model T Ford with a ’53 DeSoto engine during the first day of Speed Week at the Bonneville Salt Flats outside Wendover on Aug. 14.

Pleasant Grove High School players try to block a Corner Canyon field-goal attempt as the sun sets late in the first half of the football game, Aug. 18.

The solar eclipse seen here at Melaleuca Baseball Park in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Aug. 21.

Meadowlark Elementary School students watch The Great Eclipse during the Salt Lake School District's first day of the 2017-18 school year. STEAM teacher-coordinator Wendi Laurence, who formerly worked at NASA, planned an event around the eclipse. All students had glasses to view the event and many had lunch outside on Aug. 21.

The body of fallen soldier Aaron Butler, who was killed the week prior in Afghanistan, arrives at the Monticello Airport, Aug. 24.

Shannon Young (sister) and Alexandria Seagroves (fiancée) at the Monticello graveside service for fallen soldier Aaron Butler, Aug. 26.

Pallbearers at the funeral for fallen soldier Aaron Butler in Monticello on Aug. 26. At right are members of the Patriot Guard Riders.

The crowd reacts as Congressman Rob Bishop addresses a question about public lands during his town hall meeting at Layton Christian Academy in Layton, Aug. 25.

Police respond to a suicidal man with a gun near 500 South and Denver Street in Salt Lake City as negotiators persuade him to toss his weapon on Sept. 1, 2017.

Members of the Hillcrest and Highland football teams hold hands during a remembrance for Hillcrest football coach Cazzie Brown before a game at Hillcrest High School on Sept. 1. Brown died Aug. 27 after spending four days in the hospital.

Sgt. Jordan Archibald and Capt. Chris Stephens look out over areas flooded by Hurricane Harvey in southeast Texas on Sept. 4.

Smoke from wildfires burning across the western U.S. is worsening air conditions on the Wasatch Front, as seen in downtown Salt Lake City on Sept. 6.

"I'm grieving for my neighbors," said Uintah resident Sally Wright, standing on the property of her neighbor, Glen Biddulph, and his wife, Jenette. Firefighters fought the 619-acre Uintah Fire, which investigators now believe was human-caused. The wind-driven fire, which began early Sept. 5 in tinder-dry brush and grass at the mouth of Weber Canyon, forced evacuations of nearly 1,000 residents as it burned five homes and a garage. No injuries were reported.

Football fan Brad Klekas of South Jordan shows his mutual admiration for the University of Utah and Brigham Young University by stepping into the Tribune studio to don both colors in anticipation of the schools’ September matchup.

Dango of the Mango and Dango duo performs for the crowd at the Utah State Fair on Sept. 11.

The scene of a plane crash at 1900 West and 4500 South in Roy on Sept. 12. The pilot of a single-engine airplane survived the crash, authorities said. Roy police Sgt. Matthew Gwynn said the pilot was transported to a hospital “out of precaution,” as was the driver of a car that the plane hit.

"I am unafraid," said Ciriac Alvarez, a DACA dreamer and University of Utah graduate in political science and sociology. Hundreds of members of We Are Dreamers, a Utah pro-Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival group, marched in solidarity from the Utah Federal Building to the state Capitol with undocumented immigrants who will be affected by the end of DACA.

Shell Danis, left, dances at the corner of State Street and North Temple as Kate Kelly, right, hands out cookies. Supporters and members of the LGBTQIA+ community held the Gayest Bake Sale Ever on Sept. 18 at City Creek Park in response to the LDS Church’s and Utah legislators’ support of the Colorado baker who refused to make a cake for a same-sex couple's wedding.

Utah Symphony percussionist Eric Hopkins plays several crystal singing bowls that are tuned to different frequencies during the Utah Chamber Artists’ annual collage concert, "In Memoriam," at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, Sept.18.

Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera speaks during a community meeting at Kearns High School on Sept. 21.

Protesters march across the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City to protest conservative commenter Ben Shapiro's speech, Sept. 27.

The congregation sings a hymn during a sacrament meeting of the Pinesdale, Mont., Second Ward, Oct. 1.

In their native Uganda, a place where being gay can send you to prison, Barnabas Wobiliya (left) and Appollo Kimuli risked their lives as advocates for AIDS education and equality for the LGBTQ community. Threatened with death, both men fled and spent a year in refugee camps before resettlement in Utah. The two are now trying to build their lives here, while using the Internet to continue their activism for others in Africa’s LGBTQ community.

Inmate Angela Rekoutis holds her daughter Ava during Kids Day at the Utah State Prison, Oct. 7.

Brinlee Densley, 10, of West Jordan, gives polar bear Nora a high-five at Utah's Hogle Zoo on Oct. 10.

Kathie Allen gasps as John Curtis answers a question about education by producing his fifth-grade report card at Utah’s 3rd Congressional District debate on Oct. 13. He shared that his teacher said "he did not play well with others," among other things.

Tourists near Sunset Point in Bryce Canyon National Monument hike along the Fairyland Loop Trial on Oct. 14.

A costume contestant at the Day of the Dead festival Oct. 21 at the state Capitol in Salt Lake City.

The "Oh Wow!" drawer of interesting bugs at the Natural History Museum of Utah was on display for a Behind the Scenes look at the objects held in stewardship for the people of Utah.

Mark Bailey stands next to his newly housed Torrey House-Alpenglow Observatory beneath the Milky Way. The research-grade observatory is a gift from his father that formerly occupied his backyard along the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains in Salt Lake City. The TEC 140 refractor telescope, mounted on a German equatorial mount, is completely automated and can be operated remotely. Bailey now takes astrophotography with the telescope's CCD camera, recording photos of galaxies, stars and nebulae.

2017 marked the 50th anniversary of Friendship Manor at 500 S. 1300 East in Salt Lake City. Gennevieve Russell, 95, can't imagine moving from her apartment. She said she has a lot of stuff she's collected over the years, especially Coca-Cola memorabilia. Russell has been a resident of Friendship Manor for nearly 14 years.

Mountain Crest's Lepi Taukiuvea (5) and Orem's Ben Daley (3) contend as Orem faces Mountain Crest in the Class 4A High School State Football Championship game in Salt Lake City, Nov. 17.

Chicago Bulls center Robin Lopez (42) as the Utah Jazz host the Chicago Bulls in NBA basketball in Salt Lake City, Nov. 22.

Animal-rights activists crash the annual Utah turkey pardon and Thanksgiving seasonal message by Gov. Gary R. Herbert on Nov. 21. on the Utah Capitol plaza. The two activists were quickly grabbed and hustled off site by the governor's security detail and Utah Highway Patrol. Turkey farmer Marlin Steadman, left, tries to keep Grateful the turkey calm during the interruption. The ceremony then continued and the governor pardoned Grateful, a 40-pound tom raised in Sanpete County. He will live out his days at the Thanksgiving Point bird refuge.

Supporters of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments rally at the Utah Capitol on Dec. 2. Utah Highway Patrol estimated 5,000 people attended the rally.

Rohim, 14, a Rohingya Muslim from Myanmar, also known as Burma, gets a kiss on the cheek from his foster sister Maddie, 5, near the family Christmas tree in Salt Lake. Rohim joined his foster family in July 2016 through a program offered by Catholic Community Services.

Bruce Adams, right, chairman of the San Juan County Commission, has his hat signed by President Donald Trump at the Utah Capitol on Dec. 4 after Trump's signing of two presidential proclamations to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.

Rachel Hebert, of Ogden, offers flowers to the police as protesters block traffic on State Street during President Donald Trump's visit to Salt Lake City, Dec. 4.

Puebloan Laguna tribe member Renie Medina weeps during a news conference at the Salt Lake Marriott City Center on Dec. 4.

A young American Fork High fan works on distracting Olympus' Jeremy DowDell at the free-throw line as American Fork hosts Olympus in the Utah Elite Eight tournament, Dec. 9.

Austin Lau, of San Francisco, watches the sunset above the fog in the valley from Ensign Peak on Dec. 11.

Rabbi Benny Zippel of Chabad Lubavitch, right, is joined by his son Rabbi Avremi Zippel as they light a giant menorah for the first night of Hanukkah, the Jewish eight-day festival of lights, outside Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City on Dec. 12.

Macadia Meyer lights up as she spots the toy she wanted to get for her sister while shopping with Officer Jose Munoz at the first Police Pay It Forward event, Dec. 16.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown steps away from his regular duties to drop off more than 1,200 donated books and read to kids during the annual children's book drive at Meadowlark and Backman elementary schools on Dec. 18.

Dawna Lane, center left, comforts Rosalind Shorty at a gathering at Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City to remember the homeless people who died in Utah over the past year. Shorty grieved the loss of her husband of 14 years, Vernon Blackmountain, on Dec. 21.

“There can be no doubt that some minimum of food, shelter and clothing, sufficient to preserve health and the capacity to work, can be assured to everybody. … Nor is there any reason why the state should not assist the individuals in providing for those common hazards of life against which, because of their uncertainty, few individuals can make adequate provision.”

- Friedrich Hayek, “The Road to Serfdom”

The 2018 legislative session is quickly approaching and legislators seem to be starting with their worst ideas.

Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, has proposed to reinstate an antiquated, appropriately abandoned, requirement that legal immigrants wait five years before receiving services from Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Christensen isn’t worried about these programs running out of money; saving money is not his motivation. The federal government pays for the Medicaid costs for new immigrants. What Christensen is worried about is a “fairness issue.” Christensen said, “Do we welcome immigrants and say the minute you get here you can have Medicaid when a lot of our people who are already here don’t?”

Actually, yes. That is what we should do.

And who are “our people?” Is Christensen really so xenophobic that legal immigrants to America are “them” and we are “us?” At what point do legal immigrants become “us,” if ever?

Lee Davidson of the Salt Lake Tribune reported that such a move would “strip CHIP coverage from 475 legal-immigrant children who recently qualified for it,” not to mention the thousands of future children and immigrant adults who would not receive such services in their first five years of legal immigration.

So, not only are we deporting mothers of young citizen children, but we’re now going to forbid legal immigrants from receiving necessary services during an arbitrary five year period.

This country was founded on the principle that every person deserves a safe haven. We chose this magnanimous role, and we continue to value it. It is this country’s, and this state’s, legacy.

We can’t very well invite immigrants here and then say, in this country of privilege and excess, good luck on your own. We hope you survive. We hope you don’t get sick. We hope you develop marketable skills, and quickly. Good luck.

We require them to pay sales tax and payroll taxes. We require them to obey laws and act as citizens do. We set rules and requirements for them to immigrate legally. We require them to act like citizens. They deserve the benefits that citizens earn.

President Donald Trump gave an impromptu half-hour interview with The New York Times on Dec. 28. We combed through the transcript and here's a quick round-up of the false, misleading or dubious claims that he made, at rate of one claim every 75 seconds. (Some of the interview was off the record, so it's possible the rate of false claims per minute is higher.)

"Virtually every Democrat has said there is no collusion. There is no collusion. . . . I saw Dianne Feinstein the other day on television saying there is no collusion."

Trump appears to be referring to an interview with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. She did not flatly say there was no collusion and instead was more nuanced. Asked by CNN's Jake Tapper on Nov. 5 whether she had "seen any evidence that this dirt, these emails, were ever given to the Trump campaign," she replied: "Not so far." Tapper than asked: "Have you seen any communications that suggested that the Trump campaign wanted them to release them through a different means?" She answered: "I have not."

"I think it's been proven that there is no collusion."

Trump is entitled to his own opinion but he sidesteps the fact that the investigation has revealed that members of the Trump campaign interacted with Russians at least 31 times throughout the campaign. There are at least 19 known meetings, in addition to the indictments or guilty pleas of his campaign manager, national security adviser and others.

"There was collusion with the Russians and the Democrats. A lot of collusion. . . . Starting with the dossier. But going into so many other elements. And Podesta's firm."

Trump has falsely accused Clinton campaign manager John Podesta of being involved with a Russian company. Tony Podesta co-founded the Podesta Group, a lobbying firm, with his brother John. But it's a U.S.-based company, not a company in Russia. Trump likely is referring to the Podesta Group being paid $170,000 over six months to represent Sberbank, a Russian bank. The Podesta Group said its work for Sberbank USA was "never about getting sanctions lifted," and "was simply about helping to clarify to what extent our client, the U.S. subsidiary [of Sberbank], was subject to sanctions. We confirmed they were not." As for alleged collusion between the Democrats and Russia, Trump is referring to the fact that Fusion GPS, the political research firm which assembled the dossier as part of an assignment for Democrats, relied on a British intelligence agent who used Russian sources for his research. So that's a rather big stretch.

"I won because I campaigned properly and she didn't. She campaigned for the popular vote. I campaigned for the Electoral College."

There is no evidence that Hillary Clinton campaigned for the popular vote, which Trump has previously has said he would have won if not for fraud. Clinton campaigned in many battleground states, including Republican-leaning ones where she thought she had a chance. She did not campaign as much in two states - Michigan and Wisconsin - that were considered locks for Democrats but which Trump narrowly won. Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million. If 40,000 votes had switched in three states, Trump would have also lost the Electoral College.

"Paul [Manafort] only worked for me for a few months."

Trump skips over lightly the fact that Manafort, now under indictment, was his campaign manager in the critical period in which he secured the nomination and accepted it at the GOP convention.

"There was tremendous collusion on behalf of the Russians and the Democrats. There was no collusion with respect to my campaign."

This is a breathtakingly false statement. Little evidence has emerged of any collusion between the Democrats and Russia, whereas evidence has emerged of many contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russian-linked individuals. The FBI, CIA and National Security Agency earlier this year concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government "aspired to help President-elect Trump's election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him."

"What I've done is, I have absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department."

Presidents do not have unfettered right to interfere with Justice Department investigations, unless they actively seeking a constitutional crisis.

"I'm the one that saved coal. I'm the one that created jobs. You know West Virginia is doing fantastically now."

West Virginia's gross domestic product increased 3 percent in the first quarter of 2017. The recent bump is due in part to the increased price of metallurgic coal, which is used to make steel, and a price increase in natural gas exports. West Virginia produces roughly 5 percent of the natural gas in the U.S. and as the price of natural gas rises, the demand for coal increases, spurring growth in the state. Trump can't take credit for the change in prices, which fluctuate with market forces.

"There is tremendous collusion with the Russians and with the Democratic Party. Including all of the stuff with the — and then whatever happened to the Pakistani guy, that had the two, you know, whatever happened to this Pakistani guy who worked with the DNC?"

Trump echoes a conspiracy theory that a criminal case involving a Pakistani information technology specialist who worked for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz - who had chaired the Democratic National Committee - was somehow related to the Russian hack of DNC emails. The case involves a fraudulent loan, and no evidence has emerged to connect it to the Russia investigation.

"They made the Russian story up as a hoax, as a ruse, as an excuse for losing an election that in theory Democrats should always win with the Electoral College. The Electoral College is so much better suited to the Democrats."

Trump is falsely labeling nonpartisan investigations as made up by Democrats. The CIA concluded in 2016 that Russia intervened in the U.S. presidential election to help elect Trump, an assessment backed up by FBI Director James Comey and then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. As we noted, the intelligence community released a declassified report expressing "high confidence" in this judgement. Senate and House committees led by Republicans have begun their own investigations, and a special prosecutor has been appointed. Meanwhile, Democrats obviously do not have an Electoral College lock. According to a tally by John Pitney of Claremont McKenna College, every Republican president since Rutherford Hayes in 1876 won a larger share of the electoral college votes than Trump, with the exception of George W. Bush (twice) and Nixon in 1968.

"I was for Strange, and I brought Strange up 20 points. Just so you understand. When I endorsed him, he was in fifth place. He went way up. Almost 20 points."

Polls indicate that Trump's endorsement made little difference - and in fact Strange lost to Ray Moore by a greater margin than polls suggested at the time of Trump's endorsement. While Trump says Strange was in fifth place, there were only three candidates in the GOP primary.

"I endorsed him [Alabama senate candidate Roy Moore]. It became a much closer race because of my endorsement. People don't say that. They say, Oh, Donald Trump lost. I didn't lose, I brought him up a lot."

Polls can vary, but there is little evidence this is the case. The fact remains that Moore lost an election in a state where Democrats usually lose by double digits.

"We have spent, as of about a month ago, $7 trillion in the Middle East. And the Middle East is worse than it was 17 years ago. . . . $7 trillion."

Trump, who previously would cite a number of $6 trillion, is lumping together the wars in Iraq (in the Middle East) and Afghanistan (in South Asia), which together cost about $1.6 trillion from 2001 to 2014. He is also adding in estimates of future spending, such as interest on the debt and veterans' care for the next three decades.

"By the way, and for that, we've ended across state lines. So we have competition. You know for that I'm allowed to [inaudible] state lines. So that's all done."

Trump signed an executive order encouraging the formation of health plans across state lines. But there is still a law in place which exempts insurance companies from aspects of federal antitrust law and ensures that individual states remained the primary regulators of insurance.

"I know the details of taxes better than anybody. Better than the greatest C.P.A. I know the details of health care better than most, better than most."

Lawmakers who dealt with Trump on taxes and especially health care privately told reporters they were shocked how little he knew about these issues.

"We've created associations, millions of people are joining associations. Millions. That were formerly in Obamacare or didn't have insurance. Or didn't have health care. Millions of people."

Trump is referring to an executive order, mentioned above, but it has no force in law on its own and no one has yet joined these associations. The rules spelling out how the executive order would work have not been issued yet, so Trump is simply making up his "millions" number.

"Now that the individual mandate is officially killed, people have no idea how big a deal that was. It's the most unpopular part of Obamacare. But now, Obamacare is essentially. . . . You know, you saw this. . . . It's basically dead over a period of time."

While the individual mandate was an important incentive for Americans to seek health insurance, it was only one part of a far-reaching law that remains intact. The repeal does not take effect until 2019, and enrollment in Obamacare has remained strong. The Congressional Budget Office says the marketplaces are expected to remain stable for years.

"We see the drugs pouring into the country, we need the wall."

The wall will have virtually no effect on drugs coming into the country. According to reports by the DEA, the majority of drugs are smuggled through legal ports of entry or smuggled through underground tunnels.

"They have a lottery in these countries. They take the worst people in the country, they put 'em into the lottery, then they have a handful of bad, worse ones, and they put them out. 'Oh, these are the people the United States. . . .' . . . We're gonna get rid of the lottery."

This is a gross misrepresentation of the diversity visa program. Individuals apply for the visa system, and must have at least a high school diploma or work in specific industries to be eligible for the program. As the term "lottery" implies, applicants are selected via a randomized computer drawing. The selected applicants undergo a background check before entering the country, and some applicants undergo an additional in-depth review if they are considered a security risk.

"I like very much President Xi. He treated me better than anybody's ever been treated in the history of China."

The Chinese put on a show for Trump, knowing he likes them, but this is a fairly ridiculous comment to make, especially given the limited interactions between the two men - and China's 3,500-year history.

"This [North Korea] is a problem that should have been handled for the last 25 years. This is a problem, North Korea. That should have been handled for 25, 30 years, not by me. This should have been handled long before me. Long before this guy has whatever he has."

Previous presidents, notably Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, made major efforts to rein in North Korea's nuclear ambitions. But the deals they struck did not stick.

"When I campaigned, I was very tough on China in terms of trade. They made - last year, we had a trade deficit with China of $350 billion, minimum."

The trade deficit in goods and services in 2016 with China was $310 billion. Trump often just cites the goods deficit, which was $347 billion, according to the U.S. Trade Representative. Under the Trump administration, the trade deficit with China has increased seven percent so far in 2017.

"We lost $71 billion a year with Mexico, can you believe it?"

Trump, as is his practice, inflates the size of the trade deficit by only counting goods, not goods and services. The 2016 trade deficit with Mexico was $55 billion, according to the U.S. Trade Representative.

"$17 billion with Canada — Canada says we broke even. But they don't include lumber and they don't include oil. Oh, that's not. My friend Justin he says, 'No, no, we break even.' I said, 'Yeah, but you're not including oil, and you're not including lumber.' When you do, you lose $17 billion."

In recounting a conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump gets his facts quite wrong. Trudeau said Canada had a total trade deficit with the United States while Trump insisted it was the other way around. In reality, the U.S. goods trade deficit with Canada was $12.1 billion in 2016, but the U.S. services trade surplus with Canada was $24.6 billion in 2016, according to the U.S. Trade Representative. So Trudeau was right, according to U.S. government data.

It was Phyllis Diller who once said she was so ugly as a kid that her mother had to tie a pork chop around her neck to get the dog to play with her.

As sports years in Utah go, 2017 needed that slab of meat.

It had its peaks, such as they were, and its nadirs, more of the latter than the former.

The Jazz helped build an All-Star, then lost him, then probably drafted one in embryonic form; BYU football was terrible and fired a school legend; Utah football was OK in a limited sort of way; BYU and Utah basketball didn’t do much; the NCAA Tournament returned to Salt Lake City; RSL failed to make the playoffs; a new women’s professional soccer team was founded; a BYU basketball player was investigated by the NCAA and left school; and an old arena was made new again.

The best of 2017 came when the lights stayed on in Vivint Arena in April and early May as the Jazz returned to the NBA playoffs for the first time in a fistful of seasons. They didn’t just qualify for the postseason by winning 51 games, they beat the Clippers in the first round.

That was a beautiful thing, although the road to victory was bumpy. Rudy Gobert injured his knee all of 11 seconds into Game 1, and when that happened, despite a win in that first game, it looked as though the Jazz would have to be content just to have made the playoffs.

They instead fought back and took the series, a series that featured highlights that included Gordon Hayward scoring more points in a single quarter — 21 — than any Jazz player ever had, the return of Gobert in Game 4, only to have Hayward suffer from food poisoning, causing him to miss most of that game, a scrum that broke out between Hayward and Chris Paul in Game 5, a Jazz loss at home in the sixth game, then their signature win in Game 7 in L.A.

Thereafter, the Jazz were eliminated, just like every other foe, by Golden State. But Kevin Durant did compliment the Jazz by saying they played the Warriors tougher than any other postseason opponent.

Hayward was named an All-Star, Rudy Gobert narrowly missed out on being the NBA’s defensive player of the year and Quin Snyder emerged as a great coach.

It was all a building block for the future — until it wasn’t when Hayward blew off the Jazz in favor of the Boston Celtics. In a story that garnered more attention than any other in 2017, the free agency of Hayward dominated the summer, and collapsed on July 4, when the seven-year pro announced — or didn’t announce, but then did — he was leaving in a dragged-out fiasco dubbed “The Indecision.”

Jazz fans had poured out their love to Hayward in the forms of posted billboards, standing ovations, messages on social media, attempting to sway him to stay.

It did no good.

The Jazz had built around Hayward for so long and then … when he left, the team was forced to manage what remained. They acquired guys like Ricky Rubio and Thabo Sefolosha. But most significantly, they moved up in the draft to take a kid out of Louisville with the 13th pick: Donovan Mitchell.

After a stellar Mitchell workout before the draft, Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey threatened every staff member who had witnessed the workout that he would fire anyone who opened his big mouth about the remarkable, promising showing that had transpired. Nobody did, and the Jazz got their burgeoning star.

Injuries continued to plague the Jazz, what with Dante Exum suffering another major blow, missing the season, and Gobert being sidelined for much of the early going. At this point, if locusts or frogs or plagues showed up, no one around the club would be shocked. Still, the Jazz battled on.

And they did so in the newly freshened confines of a building that has transformed from the Delta Center to EnergySolutions Arena to Vivint Smart Home Arena, which underwent a vast renovation over the summer. In so many respects, the place looks different and … new.

The Jazz also celebrated the 20th anniversary of their first trip to the NBA Finals, a celebration that brought back memories of the team’s most successful run. As a part of that reminiscence, people toasted John Stockton and Karl Malone, and former Jazz center Greg Ostertag, in a burst of honesty, publicly confessed that he had regrets about the way he prepared himself as a player and that he might have contributed more, and if he had contributed more … well, who knows what might have been?

One thing that in fact will be is the Utah Jazz themselves. That was made certain when owner Gail Miller announced that the team had been put in a rare trust, ensuring its stay in Utah for generations to come. It darn near killed any unborn thought by any future member of the family that the team would be sold.

Given the escalating values of NBA teams, that move may have been the most important of anything that happened in Utah sports this year. In an environment of greed in professional sports, that move stood out. A tip of the cap to the Millers for their gift to the community.

As for college football in the state … does anyone outside of Weber State and Southern Utah really want to go there?

BYU football suffered its worst season in about half a century with an offense that either pulled the shades over everything LaVell Edwards did or made people appreciate even more what he did. The Cougars were without dispute one of the most anemic attacks in all of college ball. They suffered injuries and player losses for other reasons, but to play under the banner and brand of a program that was raised and built on the forward pass and to crumble in such a dramatic fashion was … unexpected.

Emblematic of that fall was the fate and firing of the man who orchestrated the offense: Ty Detmer.

Even a Heisman Trophy-winner couldn’t survive an offense that flat could not move the ball. Couldn’t run it, couldn’t pass it and nobody could figure out any other way to attempt to advance it.

Now it’s Jeff Grimes’ turn.

Like a melon sliced in half and plopped back together, Utah football was half-good and half-bad, which made it … mediocre. The Utes went 6-6 in the regular season and finished with a Pac-12 record of 3-6. A bowl win over West Virginia gave Utah a seventh victory, but those league shortcomings were difficult to dismiss or defend. The Utes dropped games to Stanford, USC, Arizona State, Oregon, Washington State and Washington.

They did beat all the teams they played in out-of-conference games.

And Matt Gay, a walk-on, continued the Utes’ fine special-teams tradition, winning the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top placekicker.

Utah State bounced back — a slow, low bounce — after a three-win 2016 to finish at 6-7. It was nothing to shout about, but it did manage to keep coach Matt Wells employed at the school.

Weber and SUU were the two biggest winners, both qualifying for the FCS playoff, with WSU winning two postseason games before being eliminated by defending FCS national champion James Madison. The Wildcats finished 11-3, including a win over SUU in the playoff’s second round.

None of the major instate schools did much in basketball, although BYU did manage to beat the No. 1-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs at the end of the regular season. And another distinction: Cougar player Nick Emery was investigated for receiving improper benefits from a BYU booster, an investigation the results of which have yet to be announced.

Former Ute and NBA rookie Kyle Kuzma, a late first-round draft pick of the L.A. Lakers, is tearing it up at the turn of the year, and former Cougar Jimmer Fredette is doing all kinds of damage in the Chinese League, where he has found a hoops home.

The NCAA Tournament came to Salt Lake City in March, where first- and second-round games were played. Gonzaga, South Dakota State, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Saint Mary’s, VCU, Arizona and North Dakota rolled in, and Gonzaga rolled out on its way to a Finals appearance. It was cool to see the big-name programs and the small-school teams face off at the Viv. Good stuff all around.

In a year of transition, Real Salt Lake battled for an MLS playoff spot and failed.

RSL did gain, though, a partner team — a top-level women’s pro outfit known as the Utah Royals. Whether soccer fans here will pay to watch that team play will be interesting to watch. Club owner Dell Loy Hansen was optimistic, saying: “We have more soccer participation among young women than men [in Utah]. … To me, this will be their rallying point. Among women, this will be their epicenter.”

Brain trauma in sports, especially in football, remained a topic of discussion around here in 2017, with some parents growing more and more concerned about having their kids participate at junior levels.

And speaking of trauma to the brain, in March some genius connected to a local indoor football team known as the Screaming Eagles decided it would be a good idea to put to fans a vote on whether the club should sign former NFL defender Greg Hardy. The problem was that Hardy essentially had been run out of the NFL for his involvement in a horrific domestic violence case in which he allegedly choked and beat his ex-girlfriend.

The announced vote-to-come gained national attention and, after further review, not the kind the club wanted. The fans, and probably a suddenly enlightened executive in the team’s front office, voted the idea down.

It was that kind of year.

GORDON MONSON hosts “The Big Show” with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone.

LeBron James is still the best player in the NBA.

That’s an amazing accomplishment. He’s now 33 years old, and nobody that age should still be the best player in their sport. But here James is, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers on what should be yet another run to the NBA Finals. He’s averaging 27.8 points, 9.3 assists and 8.2 rebounds per game. His PER is 30.52, among the league-leaders. He’s shooting 56 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. By almost any measure, he’s having an MVP season.

And yet, his grasp on the “best player in the world” title is as tenuous as it has been in the last decade.

This is no knock on anything that James is or isn’t doing. But what has become increasingly apparent is that Kevin Durant has upped his level of play so dramatically that he has forced himself into the conversation.

Everyone knows Durant is one of the best offensive players in basketball, and this season has been no exception. He’s averaging 26 points per game, and that doesn’t do justice to how lethal a scorer he really is. He pulls down seven rebounds a game, and is one of the best passing forwards in basketball, averaging 5.1 assists a game.

Defense is where he has made significant gains on James. While LeBron is no longer as dynamic a defender that he was five years ago, Durant is the best defensive player in basketball right now, and it isn’t close.

He is spearheading Golden State’s defense and making the Warriors a team that’s great defensively on the perimeter and at the rim. Durant’s blocking a career-high 2.3 shots per game. He’s versatile enough to guard all five positions. At 7-feet he can swallow up ball-handlers on the perimeter and still recover and block shots if he gets beaten off the dribble.

If the season ended today, Durant would be the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, especially with the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard and the Jazz’s Rudy Gobert both dealing with injuries for much of the season. When you combine what he’s become defensively with his offensive prowess, Durant is without question the best two-way player in basketball.

The level Durant’s playing is propelling him ever closer to LeBron. James is still the ruler of the NBA roost, mainly because he is playing arguably his best basketball in a decade. And this can’t be discounted.

James has more offensive responsibility with the Cavaliers than Durant has with the Warriors. If Cleveland has success, almost everything offensively has to go through James on every possession. Durant plays with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. He has a luxury of running with dynamic playmakers that James doesn’t have. Energy-wise, that makes a difference, and it serves as a big reason Durant has been able to concentrate so much on being a difference-maker defensively.

At the same time, Durant deserves credit for actually taking the defensive part of his game as seriously as he has. It has made him a complete player. And that could make him an all-timer.

Durant was soft defensively when he came into the league. And after Wednesday’s win over the Jazz, he said he has been trying to change that reputation since 2012. He has gotten stronger, and become more steely mentally. He’s using his long arms to his advantage. What Durant is doing is impressive, because some of his contemporaries haven’t been able to match it. Curry. James Harden. Russell Westbrook. All are examples of game-changing offensive talents who still don’t get it done at the defensive end.

At age 29, Durant is playing at his absolute peak. He has already won an NBA title, and he’s likely to get another in June, because the Warriors are by far the best team in the league.

But can he pass LeBron as the best player in the world? I’ve always thought that wasn’t possible. But Durant has made it possible through his own improvement. It speaks well of him and his overall legacy. He could have coasted on his considerable talent, and that would’ve been enough for him to still be the second best player in the world.

That’s clearly not enough for Durant. He wants to be the best. And making that a question is good for the NBA as a whole. I, for one, want to see James and Durant go at it again this June for team and individual superiority.

NBA POWER RANKINGS<br>1. Golden State Warriors (28-7) • Won their first big showdown of the season against the Cleveland Cavaliers<br>2. Houston Rockets (25-8) • They’ve lost three straight, but much of the damage was done without Chris Paul in the lineup.<br>3. Boston Celtics (29-10) • Marcus Smart is one of the best role players in basketball.<br>4. Cleveland Cavaliers (24-11) • Should be getting Isaiah Thomas back within the week.<br>5. Toronto Raptors (23-10) • DeRozan is quietly having an MVP season.<br>6. Oklahoma City Thunder (20-15) • Finally turning the promise of their roster into production on the floor.<br>7. San Antonio Spurs (25-11) • Still getting Kawhi back to full strength.<br>8. Minnesota Timberwolves (22-14) • Teague sprained his knee and is out indefinitely. Big blow for the Wolves to lose their point guard.<br>9. Denver Nuggets (19-16) • Trey Lyles is having the best month of his career.<br>10. Milwaukee Bucks (18-15) • Overcame a 20-point deficit to beat Minnesota.<br>11. Detroit Pistons (19-15) • Lose Reggie Jackson indefinitely to a sprained knee.<br>12. Washington Wizards (19-16) • Had a team meeting to address perceived selfishness.<br>13. Indiana Pacers (19-16) • Are 5-5 in their last 10 games, slipping to the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference.<br>14. New Orleans Pelicans (18-16) • This happened: Rajon Rondo recorded 25 assists in a game. In 2017.<br>15. Portland Trail Blazers (18-16) • Gutsy comeback win over the Sixers without Lillard.<br>16. Miami Heat (18-16) • To this point, they’ve been better on the road than at American Airlines Arena.<br>17. Chicago Bulls (12-22) • If they keep this up, playoffs may not be out of the question.<br>18. New York Knicks (17-18) • Jarrett Jack is not the long-term answer at point guard.<br>19. Philadelphia 76ers (15-19) • Ben Simmons is starting to come back to Earth a bit.<br>20. Los Angeles Clippers (14-19) • Getting Blake Griffin back earlier than expected from injury.<br>21. Utah Jazz (15-21) • The nightmare December schedule is over. How long will it take for them to recover?<br>22. Phoenix Suns (13-23) • Chandler’s game-winning dunk a candidate for play of the year.<br>23. Los Angeles Lakers (11-22) • Are trade rumors fueling locker room unrest?<br>24. Sacramento Kings (12-22) • Vince Carter can still play at the ripe old age of 40.<br>25. Brooklyn Nets (12-22) • Have lost seven of their last eight.<br>27. Orlando Magic (12-24) • They’ve fallen off a cliff after a hot start.<br>28. Dallas Mavericks (11-25) • The most competitive of the bad teams.<br>29. Memphis Grizzlies (11-24) • Tyreke Evans is enjoying a career-saving year.<br>30. Atlanta Hawks (9-25) • The only team in the league with fewer than 10 wins.

Huron, Ohio • An Ohio man's tongue-in-cheek obituary blames the winless Cleveland Browns for contributing to his demise.

The obituary published in the Sandusky Register says Paul Stark died Wednesday at a hospice facility after a brief illness "exacerbated by the hopeless condition of the Cleveland Browns."

The football team was 1-15 last season and 0-15 this year ahead of Sunday's finale in Pittsburgh.

Even so, Stark's obituary included a nugget of the optimism voiced by some long-suffering fans. It says the 80-year-old Mansfield native "passed just before the Browns were prepared to turn the corner."

According to a Yale University study, 68 percent of Americans are worried about climate change and the harm to future generations, plants and animals from global warming. Some 82 percent of us want to see policy support for renewable energy sources and 74 percent want to see the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide regulated as a pollutant.

Until that support and regulation come from the government, we can turn our concern into positive steps that reduce our personal carbon footprint, save money, shift cultural norms and perhaps inspire others. Humanity urgently needs to stop burning fossil fuels. Small steps done consistently add up to big changes. Remember, attitude is everything. You can enjoy living well in the process! There is much satisfaction in aligning your actions to your values.

Beyond the typical recycling and changing lightbulbs, here are some of my favorites:

• Stop your junk mail and catalogues. Over 100 billion pieces of unsolicited mail are stuffed into our mailboxes each year. It’s annoying and wasteful. By reducing your waste, your city’s waste management and the U.S. Post Office save labor and fuel costs from delivery and disposal. Make a pile of your junk mail. Every few weeks, contact the senders by phone, web or mail marked with “return to sender” and “remove this address from mailings.” Bonus: Save trees.

• Check if your electricity supplier has a “green power” choice. In my home town this option adds up to less than a dollar a month. Businesses can sign up as well. What a deal for supporting clean renewable energy sources.

• Reduce your meat consumption. The United Nations calls the livestock sector a “major player” in affecting climate change through methane emissions. Listed in order of most to least emissions: lamb, beef, cheese, pork and chicken, eggs, nuts, yogurt and beans. If eating meatless is new to you, start one day a week, with meatless Mondays. Bonus: Less meat equals better health.

• Replace your disposables with reusable alternatives. Small steps add up to a big impact. The average American generates over 4 pounds of waste a day. Replace paper towels with rags or washcloths, plastic water bottles with reusable bottles and paper coffee filters with permanent ones. Use cloth shopping bags, handkerchiefs, diapers and menstrual pads. Wash and reuse zip lock bags. Bonus: Saves money.

• Buy less clothing. Americans buy five times as many clothes as they did in 1980. We throw out an average of 65 pounds of clothing per year per person. Make do with less, shop at thrift shops, have a clothing exchange party, clean out your closets to find out what you really do have. Bonus: Saves money.

• Schedule a home or business energy audit. Buildings account for about 38 percent of the U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. Some municipalities and electric companies offer help with weatherization assistance. A little caulk here, a door weather guard there can help hold in heat and lower your utility bills. Search “energy tips” for more savings.

• Hang your laundry on the line outside or clothes racks inside to dry. Bonus: The smell of freshly dried sheets and more dollars in your wallet.

• Consider taking advantage of renewable tax credits and rebates. For solar panels, your federal tax credit is 30 percent of cost. Electric and hybrid vehicle credits are up to $7,500 federal and some states have additional credits as well.

• Drive less, walk and bicycle more. Bonus: Saves money, better health.

• Reduce air travel. Air travel may be your biggest carbon footprint sin. One roundtrip flight from New York to Europe creates 2 to 3 tons of carbon dioxide per person. The average American generates 19 tons of total carbon emissions per year; the average European, 10 tons per year.

• Get your hands dirty. Grow a food garden, join a community garden. Start a backyard compost. In 1900, 41 percent of people in the U.S. were growing food. By 2000 the number was less than 2 percent.

• Use energy-efficient appliances. Check labels on your heater, refrigerator, washer, dryer and water heater. Invest in high-efficiency when possible.

Susan Atkinson, Durango, Colo., is a member of the Citizens Climate Lobby.

A recent Tribune sports page column urged Brigham Young University to scrap its honor code. BYU, it said, has conflicting desires: to be a football power, and to maintain “restrictive behavioral rules ... that many top athletes have a most difficult time following.” The op-ed claims some athletes violate the code — drinking, sleeping around — but get only wrist-slaps unless violations become public.

The author, Gordon Monson, states that “There simply are not enough clean-living ... cookie-dipping, milkshake-drinking Eagle Scouts with their Duty To God awards who bench press 450 pounds ... who dream of attending BYU to sustain a Top 20 football program.”

Monson denounces the hypocrisy required by BYU’s attempt to have it both ways and argues that it must abandon either football ambitions or its honor code. Let me suggest an additional possibility: Get rid of football entirely.

Conflicts between education’s principle missions and the necessities of highly competitive athletics afflict many universities. Selective institutions lower admission standards and some offer classes requiring little study, allowing athletes more time for training and practice.

Coaching salaries are so high that professors hate to think about the comparison. Speaking of pay, some athletes recently have demanded, unsuccessfully, to be paid. Outstanding student athletes remain probably the most exploited people in our country’s entertainment industry.

BYU would avoid these problems by getting rid of football, but it wouldn’t have to wipe out its team entirely. It could just spin football off to an independent organization, much like corporations spin off business that distracts executive attention from their core missions.

BYU could then enforce its honor code even-handedly. Football players, no longer students, could drink, smoke and so forth as freely as their organization’s management allowed. They could receive salaries and fringe benefits. Everybody could stop being hypocritical.

An independent team would probably owe property taxes on buildings and stadiums unless BYU retained ownership and rented the properties to them. But then BYU probably couldn’t retain immunity from taxes on the facilities, or from taxes on rent received.

If BYU transferred property worth millions to the new organization, the team would have to pay for them, either gradually, or with cash from selling bonds. Since bonds issued by the team could not pay tax-free interest, interest costs would be higher to compensate for this.

I don’t grok the culture of football. Once I went 20 years without attending a game. I taught at a small private college where football was respected but not the tail wagging the academic dog. Our family never even watched football on television. So I have no idea what would happen to our general culture if BYU and other universities were to spin off their teams.

One change would be obvious. University teams have been stud farms for the National Football League. The NFL would have to accommodate any mass exit of universities from the football business, with newly independent teams reserved for younger players and the NFL for the older players.

Old friends may consider my proposal just another volley in a long-standing vendetta. As an undergraduate, I campaigned to abolish Willamette University’s team, which had just enjoyed its first undefeated season in half a century. It seemed more sporting to kick them while they were up.

Irate players tried to throw me in the mill stream. Ted Ogdahl, the.football coach, surely had nothing to do with this. He knew how attacks can boomerang, having been a team member when it played the University of Hawaii in 1941. The players were stranded in Hawaii for several weeks after Pearl Harbor was attacked the next day, and Ogdahl knew how poorly that attack served Japanese interests.

My campaign failed. Willamette still has football. But I no longer advocate abolishing football there or at places like Adrian College, where I taught for 36 years. Both belong to NCAA Division III, institutions offering no athletic scholarships and featuring shorter practice times and playing seasons than powerhouse institutions. Football at these schools — which include MIT and Johns Hopkins as well as many fine liberal arts colleges like Adrian — doesn’t conflict with teaching and research.

But large universities with highly competitive athletic programs should seriously consider spinning them off and, in the process, ridding themselves of continuing headaches.

Paul deLespinasse is a professor emeritus of political science and computer science at Adrian College in Michigan, but now live in Corvallis, Ore.

Activist Erica Garner, whose father's death helped galvanize an emotional discussion about race and policing, died on Saturday, New York's WABC reported. Her death was confirmed by a statement on her verified Twitter account. Garner, 27, had suffered significant brain damage this week after a heart attack, representatives said.

Garner came to prominence when her father, Eric Garner, died in 2014 after being put in a chokehold by an New York City police officer, an event that touched off protests across the country.

Erica Garner had been in a coma since last Saturday, when she suffered a heart attack, according to local news reports and the Twitter account. A CT scan showed that Garner, who was being treated at a hospital in Brooklyn, suffered "major brain damage from a lack of oxygen while in cardiac arrest," according to a statement posted Wednesday.

"When you report this you remember she was human: mother, daughter, sister, aunt," according to a tweet Saturday on her Twitter account. "Her heart was bigger than the world. It really really was. She cared when most people wouldn't have. She was good. She only pursued right, no matter what. No one gave her justice."

Eric Garner died on Staten Island in July 2014, after being put in a chokehold by police officer Daniel Pantaleo. Pantaleo had been in the process of arresting Garner on the suspicion that he was selling loose cigarettes. The video of the encounter traveled around the world as Garner's last words — "I can't breathe" — became a rallying cry for advocates of policing reform, as stories and videos about the deaths of black men killed by the police continue to draw wide outrage.

A Staten Island grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo in 2014; the officer remains on modified duty. A Justice Department probe into Garner's death has yet to conclude.

Erica Garner used her prominence after his death to speak out against police abuse. She endorsed Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders for president and appeared in an campaign advertisement for the senator from Vermont, who posted a statement on Twitter earlier in the week in response to the news about her health.

"My thoughts are with Erica Garner," he said. "I have had the privilege of joining with her at a number of events and was deeply impressed with her courage and insights."

At 33 years old, the King has learned to poke fun at himself.

Reflecting on his six-game losing streak at Vivint Smart Home Arena, LeBron James had an explanation.

“I suck here,” he said, tongue firmly in cheek. “I personally don’t suck. But my team sucks. When we come here, we cannot win a game. Hopefully we can change that tonight.”

LeBron James on his six game losing streak in Utah: “I suck here.”

Later amended to: “I don’t personally suck, but my teams suck here.” pic.twitter.com/SEarqE9OSK

— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) December 30, 2017

Saturday, when the Cleveland Cavaliers (24-11) will face the Utah Jazz (15-21), is James’ 33rd birthday. And morning shootaround found him at times lighthearted, but at times deeply introspective about his life and career.

In his 15th year in the NBA, James has learned a lot, and he’s done it under near-constant scrutiny of the media which has latched onto him since he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a 17-year-old in Akron.

“When you come from where I come from, it doesn’t matter where your birthday is,” he said. “The way I grew up, not many guys make it past 18. The position I’m in today, I’m blessed. I don’t take it for granted.”

The celebrations for his birthday have been mostly kept under wraps. James acknowledged he got a card from his mom, which have always been “on point,” he said. The Cavs spent Friday in Napa Valley, presumably going through wine country. James said it was “phenomenal” and added nothing more.

Those are somewhat muted celebrations compared to his 18th and 21st birthdays, which James reflected on as well. He joked that he tried to get into clubs when he first got into the NBA, which often didn’t work because he was already a celebrity.

“People had known my story for so long, there was always certain clubs and stuff I used to go to, and they were like, ‘C’mon LeBron, we know you’re not 21 — we cannot let you in here and mess up our liquor license,’” he said. “So 21 was pretty cool too, especially when I went to Vegas with USA basketball so much when I turned 21 and went to Vegas that summer. I was like, ‘I’m back,’ and I was so happy to show my card.”

LeBron James talks about his favorite birthdays, 18 and 21. Unfortunately I missed the part where someone asked if he ever used a fake ID and he said, “S— who was I gonna be?” pic.twitter.com/m41HQR4RO1

— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) December 30, 2017

What LeBron really would like for his birthday this year? A road victory over the Jazz, which he hasn’t gotten since the 2010-11 season.

The common thread might be that he always seems to face the Jazz at the end of his road trips, which is the case in this game. He also said he’s noticed the fans are revved up to see him.

“So much energy, and the guys, they get energetic,” he said. “Obviously they’re gonna use this whole birthday thing today — the fans are gonna crack jokes about me.”

That’s real experience: Getting out his jokes ahead of the crowd.