Chiefs try to cap perfect stretch

Hockey: The Victoria Royals, who were the Chilliwack Bruins last year when Spokane won a testy series in five games to open the Western Hockey League playoffs, are at the Arena tonight as the Chiefs try to cap a 7-0 homestand.

A victory would give Spokane eight straight wins at home to start the season, the second-longest such streak in franchise history. The 1995-96 team also started 7-0 and the 2001-02 team went 10-0.

The Chiefs (7-2-0-1, 15 points), who have come from behind in their last five wins, face a Victoria team (8-6-0-0, 16) that won 5-4 at Tri-City on Tuesday night.

The Chiefs used their last 7-0 home start as a springboard to a first-place finish in 1996, going 50-18-4.

The 2002 team only finished 33-25-11-3, second in the division.

Dave Trimmer

Big 12 votes to accept W. Va.

Colleges: The Big 12 approved bringing in West Virginia to replace Missouri when the Tigers complete their move to the Southeastern Conference, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The move would allow the Big 12 to maintain 10 members and is another blow to the embattled Big East, which already has lost two members and one member-to-be in the last six weeks.

The Big East is trying to reconfigure as a 12-team football conference, including a courtship of national power Boise State, currently ranked No. 5.

Since there is no timetable for Missouri to complete its expected departure from the Big 12 – and the conference’s board of directors announced that it expressed “a strong desire” for Missouri to stay during a Monday meeting – there is no timetable for West Virginia to receive a formal invitation, the source said.

Associated Press