Checking In on the Broadcast Competition BYU-Utah Will Face in 2025

BYU and Utah played each other on November 9th after both teams had bye weeks. There was a lot of prime college football inventory that weekend for t …

Last year, BYU and Utah played each other on November 9th after both teams had bye weeks. There was a lot of prime college football inventory that weekend for the networks to choose from, so the rivalry game was pushed to a less desirable 8:15 PM Mountain Time kickoff and was broadcast on ESPN.

Given the late time slot, the rivalry game pulled good ratings. The average viewers throughout the game was 2.07 million, one of the best numbers for the late-night ESPN window in 2024. 2.07 million was the second highest number for a game in the late-night ESPN window, behind only Cincinnati-Colorado.

On the same weekend that BYU beat Utah in 2024, ABC broadcast SEC showdowns Texas at Florida, Ole Miss at Georgia, and Florida at Texas. Michigan also played at Indiana that weekend, and Florida State played Notre Dame.

In 2025, at least as of this writing, there will be similar broadcast competition for the BYU-Utah rivalry game. On that same weekend, SMU and Clemson will play each other in a 2024 ACC Championship rematch.

Ole Miss will play at Georgia on that same weekend, Tennessee will play at Alabama, and Ohio State will play at Wisconsin. Other Big 12 matchups that weekend include Texas Tech at Arizona State and Baylor at TCU. USC will play also Notre Dame, although that game will be broadcast on NBC and won’t compete for a time slot.

In 2025, the BYU-Utah rivalry will have a chance to get a better time slot. If both teams have good records going into that game, BYU-Utah could potentially get the afternoon FOX window or an earlier ESPN timeslot. It will likely depend on the records of both teams going into the game. Last year, Utah’s record negatively impacted the television window.

Source: Utah News

Opinion: The most popular bills in the Utah Legislature this session

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Republican Renae Cowley and Democrat Frank Pignanelli discuss some of the most popular bills in the Utah Legislature: ending daylight saving time, making the term ‘Utahn’ official and renaming the …

Republican Renae Cowley and Democrat Frank Pignanelli discuss some of the most popular bills in the Utah Legislature: ending daylight saving time, making the term ‘Utahn’ official and renaming the …

Source: Utah News

Utah family remembers man who died in Alaska plane crash

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In just a matter of weeks, there have been at least four high-profile plane crashes in the national headlines. One of the victims was from Utah.

90 Day Fiancé star Michael Eloshway checked into prison to begin his 10-year prison sentence after being found guilty of possessing videos of children being abused, In Touch can exclusively report. According to court documents obtained by In Touch, Michael, 42, was scheduled to self-surrender on January 8, but the check-in date was postponed to…

Source: Utah News

Watch: Highlights From Cincinnati’s 85-75 Win Over Utah At Home

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Check out highlights from Cincinnati’s third consecutive win in an 85-75 triumph over Utah, setting up a massive afternoon battle at No. 10 Iowa State this weekend: Bookmark Bearcats Talk for the …

Check out highlights from Cincinnati’s third consecutive win in an 85-75 triumph over Utah, setting up a massive afternoon battle at No. 10 Iowa State this weekend: Bookmark Bearcats Talk for the …

Source: Utah News

Utah Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Abusing Patients “Using His Position as a Therapist”

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The plea comes after an investigation by The Salt Lake Tribune and ProPublica about the former therapist, who built a reputation as a specialist for struggling gay Latter-day Saints men.

This story describes explicit details of a sexual assault.

This article was produced by The Salt Lake Tribune, a member of ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published.

Former Utah therapist Scott Owen admitted in a Provo courtroom on Monday that he sexually abused several of his patients during sessions.

Provo police began investigating Owen in 2023 after The Salt Lake Tribune and ProPublica reported on a range of sex abuse allegations against Owen, who had built a reputation over his 20-year therapy career as a specialist who could help gay men who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some of the men who spoke to The Tribune and ProPublica said their bishop used church funds to pay for sessions in which Owen allegedly also touched them inappropriately.

While Owen gave up his therapy license in 2018 after several patients complained to state licensors that he had touched them inappropriately, the allegations were never investigated by the police and were not widely known. He continued to have an active role in his therapy business, Canyon Counseling, until the newsrooms published their investigation.

In pleading guilty on Monday to three charges of first-degree felony forcible sodomy, Owen for the first time publicly acknowledged that he sexually abused his patients.

Owen, 66, admitted that he sexually abused two male patients “using his position as a therapist” and led them to believe that sexual contact was part of their therapy.

He also pleaded no contest on Monday to another first-degree felony, attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a child, in connection with a third patient — a woman who alleged Owen touched her inappropriately during therapy sessions in 2007, when she was 13 years old. A no-contest plea means that Owen did not admit he committed the crime but conceded that prosecutors would present evidence at trial that would likely lead a jury to convict him.

Owen faces a maximum sentence of up to life in prison during a sentencing hearing scheduled for March 31.

Prosecutors agreed in a plea deal to dismiss seven other felony charges that Owen faced in connection with the two male victims. Both told police that Owen engaged in sexual contact with them during therapy sessions — including kissing, cuddling and Owen using his hand to touch their anuses.

Owen admitted in plea documents to having sexual contact with the two patients, including putting one patient’s testicles in his mouth.

Owen admitted in plea agreement documents that, as a therapist, he was in a special position of trust when he had sexual contact with his patients, which he told them was “part of their treatment process.” Utah law says patients can’t consent to sexual acts with a health care professional if they believe the touching is part of a “medically or professionally appropriate diagnosis, counseling or treatment.”

Provo police interviewed at least a dozen of Owen’s former patients, according to court records, all of whom say he touched them in ways they felt were inappropriate during therapy sessions. Many of those patients are men who told police they were seeking therapy with Owen for “same-sex attraction.” Provo police Capt. Brian Taylor has said that some of the former patients’ reports involved allegations that were outside the window of time that prosecutors had to file a case, called the statute of limitations.

Under a negotiated settlement with Utah’s licensing division in 2018, Owen was able to surrender his license without admitting to any inappropriate conduct, and the sexual nature of his patients’ allegations is not referenced in the documents he signed when he gave up his license.

Both state licensors and local leaders in the LDS church knew of inappropriate touching allegations against Owen as early as 2016, reporting by The Tribune and ProPublica showed, but neither would say whether they ever reported Owen to the police. In Utah, with few exceptions, the state licensing division is not legally required to forward information to law enforcement.

The church said in response that it takes all matters of sexual misconduct seriously and that in 2019 it confidentially annotated internal records to alert bishops that Owen’s conduct had threatened the well-being of other people or the church.

Source: Utah News

Los Angeles Lakers cruise to win over Utah Jazz in Luka Dončić’s highly anticipated debut

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In one of the most anticipated debuts in NBA history, Luka Dončić introduced himself to Lakers fans in winning fashion, helping Los Angeles to a dominant 132-113 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday …



CNN
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In one of the most anticipated debuts in NBA history, Luka Dončić introduced himself to Lakers fans in winning fashion, helping Los Angeles to a dominant 132-113 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night.

The 25-year-old superstar received a raucous welcome from the home crowd at Crypto.com Arena, who were gifted No. 77 Dončić T-shirts in celebration of the blockbuster trade that brought him to the City of Angels on February 2.

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“Special,” Dončić said of his first game in the famed purple and gold. “The way they received me, everybody, it was amazing to see. I was a little bit nervous before. I don’t remember when was the last time I was nervous before a game, but once I stepped out on the court, it was fun. Just being out there again felt amazing.”

Playing for the first time since Christmas Day due to a left calf strain, Dončić showed some rust, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting in 24 minutes of action. He also recorded five rebounds and four assists, giving the Lakers faithful a glimpse of what’s to come.

The five-time All-NBA selection wasted no time getting on the board, sinking a three-pointer from the top of the key in the opening minutes of the first quarter, leading to a loud roar from the fans.

Dončić shared the court with NBA all-time leading scorer LeBron James, who returned from a one-game absence to post a game-high 24 points, along with eight assists and seven rebounds.

James, seen warming up in a No. 77 Dončić T-shirt, offered words of encouragement before the game: “Don’t fit in, fit the f**k out.”

“It’s special for him to say something like that. It just feels amazing,” Dončić said. “It gives me confidence. And after that speech, there were chills. I was just happy to be a part of it.”

Monday night’s contest wasn’t particularly competitive as the fourth-ranked Lakers cruised to a sixth straight win with the rout of the lowly Jazz.

It was a who’s who in attendance to see Dončić, including Lakers superfans Adele and Will Ferrell, as well as Flea and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Dallas Mavericks great Dirk Nowitzki was also in attendance.

Nowitzki, who played his entire career with the Mavericks, explained his decision to attend: “I will always be a Mav for life, but had to come support my guy 77 in the first game of his new chapter.”

With his long-awaited debut behind him, Dončić and the Lakers now set their sights on the Jazz again on Wednesday in Salt Lake City as they look to continue their charge up the Western Conference standings.

Mavericks fans ejected after protesting Dončić trade

A cornerstone of the league’s future, Dončić arrived in LA from Dallas as part of a three-team trade that sent shockwaves through the NBA. In exchange, the Mavericks acquired nine-time All-Star center Anthony Davis, Max Christie and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick. The deal also saw Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris head to Los Angeles.

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Anthony Davis expected to miss multiple weeks with left adductor strain, per ESPN

Mavericks fans protested outside the team’s American Airlines Center before their game on Saturday, and after Davis’ promising debut was cut short by an adductor strain which could reportedly rule him out for up to a month, Dallas fans’ calls for the team’s general manager Nico Harrison to be fired and for the owners to sell the team have grown louder.

Multiple fans were ejected from the arena during the second half of the Mavs’ 129-128 overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday due to them violating the NBA’s code of conduct, according to a team spokesperson.

Two of the ejected fans held signs which read “Fire Nico,” according to ESPN.

“In the first incident, the guest brought in a sign that broke the following rule included in the NBA Code of Conduct: Clothing, garments or signs displaying explicit language, profanity or derogatory characterization towards any person(s),” Mavericks vice president of corporate communications Erin Finegold said in a statement, per ESPN.

Two more men, one of whom was wearing Dončić’s Slovenian national team jersey, were also ejected after a shouting match with Mavs minority owner Mark Cuban, according to ESPN.

“In the second incident, the fan wore a T-shirt that also broke the rule (cited) and was also intoxicated, disruptive and uncooperative, all listed in the NBA Fan Code of Conduct,” Finegold said in the statement, per ESPN.

CNN has contacted the Mavericks for comment.

The Mavs’ injury woes also deepened on Monday, as the team lost center Daniel Gafford to a right knee sprain. Gafford had to be helped off the court in the second quarter, after suffering the injury setting a screen for Spencer Dinwiddie. With his injury, Dallas will now be without their frontcourt stars in Davis, Gafford, Dereck Lively II and Dwight Powell.

Dallas sits eighth in the Western Conference on 28-26, half a game ahead of the Kings and the Golden State Warriors, each of which have won their last two.

Source: Utah News

Utah bill to ban ‘surprise billing’ for ground ambulances draws support, concern

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When someone dials 911 in the small, western Utah community of Wendover, the first responders who answer the call for help know they’re at least 120 miles from the nearest hospital. There’s no backup …

When someone dials 911 in the small, western Utah community of Wendover, the first responders who answer the call for help know they’re at least 120 miles from the nearest hospital. There’s no backup in the roughly 900-square-mile area that Wendover Ambulance covers on the border of Utah and Nevada. So the EMTs who respond in crisis have to rely “on what they know and their partner and what they can do” as they work to stabilize patients and get them to safety, said Lauara Lisk, an advanced EMT and the company’s owner.

Source: Utah News

CTE training: Getting Utah kids ‘off their phones’ and ‘doing things with their hands’

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House Speaker Mike Schultz’s bill is designed to expand CTE opportunities for Utah public education students. Grant money could be used to modify classrooms and buy up-to-date equipment for a variety …

KEY POINTS

  • House Speaker Mike Schultz’s bill is designed to expand CTE opportunities for Utah public education students.
  • Grant money could be used to modify classrooms and buy up-to-date equipment for a variety of career fields.
  • A key component of the bill is connecting CTE students with Utah’s industry professionals.

Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz remembers being the sort of junior high student that walked into a classroom and immediately claimed a desk near the window.

He would then spend much of the period looking outside “so I didn’t have to focus on what was being said the whole time inside the classroom.”

The House’s ranking Republican has often said he was once, like many of Utah’s K-12 students, not always an ideal fit for a traditional public school classroom.

But Schultz’s enthusiasm for school, he told the House Education Committee on Monday, grew once he discovered the junior high wood shop. He later enrolled in auto mechanics class and, along the way, developed appreciation for career and technical education.

Schultz remains a CTE fan and the value it provides to Utah students, prompting his sponsorship of House Bill 447, which helps establish and fund expanded CTE programs in schools called “catalyst centers.”

“CTE training has kind of taken a back seat inside of our public education system — for no other reason than probably lack of funds and prioritizing other portions of academics,” Schultz told the committee.

Committee members Monday voted unanimously to move the bill to the House floor.

Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, presents HB447, Statewide Catalyst Campus Model, his bill to create “catalyst campus programs” at Utah high schools, at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025.

Schultz’s bill aims to establish the Catalyst Center Grant Program which would support CTE-anchored programs — or “catalyst centers” — in participating Utah public schools.

The centers, according to HB447, would provide students with learning experiences that mirror workplace practices in, say, health care or construction management. In most cases, the centers would operate inside existing public schools and utilize in-place faculty that would not be funded by the grant program.

Instead, grant funds would typically be used to, say, modify classrooms and purchase new equipment needed to provide advanced technical training essential for today’s evolving industries. Meanwhile, participating schools would be required to align its CTE curriculum with Utah’s labor market and meet the state’s technical education industry goals.

Schultz, R-Hooper, said the state’s Public Education Economic Stabilization Account would fund the catalyst centers with earmarked funds.

“As long as the money is there, then $65 million a year would go into this program — recurring every year to keep making sure those (industry) needs are met all across the state.”

Brian Hunt, with the Davis School District, speaks in favor of HB447 as Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz presents the Statewide Catalyst Campus Model, in the House Education Committee at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025.

Connecting Utah students with Utah industry

A recent visit to the Davis School District’s Catalyst Center provided Schultz with a working vision of what CTE can be for Utah’s students — and inspiration for his bill.

The Catalyst Center draws students from the Davis district’s 10 high schools and offers studies in business marketing, culinary arts, video production, computer science, construction management, aviation and medical assisting.

The Catalyst Center also aims to prepare its students for careers by exposing them to industry professionals and collaborative group projects.

“Not only were (students) learning the types of technical education skills that they need to be successful in those particular industries — but they were also learning skills to be successful inside the workplace,” said Schultz. “That’s what I fell in love with.”

A member of the audience wears a pin in the House Education Committee as Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz presents HB447, Statewide Catalyst Campus Model, at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025.

Schultz originally envisioned similar CTE programs expanding to his native Weber County — “And then I thought, ‘You know what — I want every part of the state to have this opportunity.’”

The sorts of CTE offerings that the proposed catalyst centers would provide benefit participants in their academic pursuits, added Schultz. Studies indicate “that 99% of students who complete a CTE program actually graduated from high school.”

That’s 11% above the state’s high school graduation rate average.

Schultz added that the proposed catalyst centers would connect Utah students with Utah businesses.

“As I talked to some of the industry partners … they were excited to be there because not only were they training the future workforce — they were also able to look for their future (employee) prospects.”

The proposed catalyst centers, he noted, would facilitate students pursuing academic “first credentials.”

“Then they can take that first credential and go get a job right out of high school — (or) they can continue going to one or our amazing universities or technical schools throughout the state to build upon that first credential to earn more certifications and credentials.”

Rep. Candice B. Pierucci, R-Herriman, chair of House Education Committee, speaks during a hearing where Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz presented HB447, Statewide Catalyst Campus Model, at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

The committee’s chair, Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, called the proposed catalyst centers “game changers.”

“We have to find ways to make the American dream more of a reality for Utahns, and also to truly meet the needs of all kids in our state,” she said.

Schultz concluded his presentation saying CTE programs satisfy essential needs for Utah’s students and industry.

“We need to find ways to get kids off of their cellphones, get them interacting and get them doing things with their hands and learning these types of skills,” he said. “And I think this is the perfect program for that to happen.”

Speaking online, Monica Wilbur speaks in opposition of HB447 as Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz presents the Statewide Catalyst Campus Model to the House Education Committee at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Source: Utah News

How drones could be the future in boosting Utah’s precipitation

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These efforts have helped boost precipitation by about 6% to 12% over the past 30 years, Jonathan Jennings, meteorologist and cloud seeding coordinator for the Utah Division of Water Resources, …

These efforts have helped boost precipitation by about 6% to 12% over the past 30 years, Jonathan Jennings, meteorologist and cloud seeding coordinator for the Utah Division of Water Resources, …

Source: Utah News