Basketball - The Durango Herald

Dallas Mavericks win the NBA draft lottery and the chance to pick Cooper Flagg No. 1 overall

CHICAGO (AP) — The ping-pong balls have spoken: Cooper Flagg might be headed to Dallas to start his NBA career. And a fan base that lost Luka Doncic this season might have a new star to chee...

DATE: May 13, 2025 | CATEGORY: Sports

Top-seeded Thunder and Cavaliers host critical Game 5s in conference semifinals

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers, the top seeds in the playoffs and owners of the best regular-season records in the NBA, find themselves in dire need o...

DATE: May 13, 2025 | CATEGORY: Sports

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 25 points and leads Thunder past Denver 92-87 to tie series 2-2

DENVER (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets at their own game Sunday. The NBA's youngest team made all the clutch plays in crunch time against an experienced squad teemi...

DATE: May 13, 2025 | CATEGORY: Sports

Murray and Porter lead the Nuggets to a 113-104 bounce-back win over the Thunder

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets knew bouncing back from their 43-point loss would mean hanging with the tubro-charged, top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder so that they could tap into their exp...

DATE: May 10, 2025 | CATEGORY: Sports

Pacers, Nuggets trying to hold court after swinging playoff series with road victories

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Denver Nuggets accomplished one goal by stealing Game 1 of their second-round playoff series at Oklahoma City. The Indiana Pacers were even more productive in Cle...

DATE: May 9, 2025 | CATEGORY: Sports

Gilgeous-Alexander scores 34 as Thunder roll past Nuggets 149-106, tie West semis at 1-1

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points in three quarters, and the Oklahoma City Thunder set league and team records in a 149-106 win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesd...

DATE: May 8, 2025 | CATEGORY: Sports

Gordon's game-winner, Jokic's 42 points, 22 rebounds lead Nuggets past Thunder in West semis Game 1

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Nikola Jokic showed why he's a finalist for another MVP award with his historic stat line. But with Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals at stake, the ball again ...

DATE: May 6, 2025 | CATEGORY: Sports

James Harden scores 28 points and Clippers force Game 7 with a gritty 111-105 win over Nuggets

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — With the Los Angeles Clippers' season on the brink, Tyronn Lue took the unusual step of checking in with several players by phone on their off day. The coach said he...

DATE: May 2, 2025 | CATEGORY: Sports

Gregg Popovich, the NBA's all-time wins leader, retires after 29 seasons as San Antonio Spurs coach

Gregg Popovich stepped down as coach of the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, ending a three-decade run that saw him lead the team to five NBA championships, become the league’s all-time wins lea...

DATE: May 2, 2025 | CATEGORY: Sports

Jamal Murray, Russell Westbrook spark the Nuggets' 131-115 win over the Clippers

DENVER (AP) — Nuggets interim coach David Adelman sensed one of Jamal Murray's patented playoff performances coming, and he was right on the money — just like his point guard. Murray's 43-po...

DATE: Apr 30, 2025 | CATEGORY: Sports

Nikola Jokic has triple-double to go with 7 turnovers as Nuggets fall 105-102 to Clippers in Game 2

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic's triple-double — the first by anyone in these young playoffs — definitely stood out. So did this: The reigning NBA MVP's seven turnovers and four missed free thr...

DATE: Apr 22, 2025 | CATEGORY: Sports

Westbrook fuels Nuggets' comeback to edge Clippers 112-110 in OT in teams' NBA playoff opener

DENVER (AP) — Russell Westbrook, whose late-game follies hung over the Denver Nuggets as they navigated the stunning dismissals of coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth on the eve of the ...

DATE: Apr 19, 2025 | CATEGORY: Sports

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High Country Cattle Auction brings top-notch stock and country charm to Southwest ColoradoFamily run, generational business dates back to 1940s

BREEN – The family-owned and operated High Country Cattle Auction is “in the bones” of the Cugnini family, said third-generation owner Chris Cugnini. The business was founded by Chris’ grandfather, Pat Cugnini, in the 1940s. Pat then passed the business down to his son, Duane Cugnini, who then turned the business over to daughters, Becky Hawkins and Chris Cugnini, whose daughters plan to take over the family business one day. The auction, which takes place once or twice a month from April to January at 13062 La Plata Highway (Colorado Highway 140) near Breen, attracts ranchers, farmers and those in the cattle industry from far and wide.

Former Durango resident Steve Greenburg has been attending the High Country Cattle auction for more than 40 years, and continues to travel to Breen all the way from Arizona, where he now lives. He attended the September auction last week, where around 1,200 animals were up for sale. Greenburg said effective bidding takes concentration and a practiced hand. “You want to make sure you don’t pay too much,” he said. “And if you do, you want to buy the business.” Amber Belvin, employee of 15 years and Chris’ operations “sidekick,” said bidders are most often looking for signs of good health in an animal, like a plump, filled-out body. If bidding on a herd, a look of uniformity among the animals is key to a good purchase, she said.

Despite Greenburg already having a handful of filled out bidding cards marking the cattle he had won within an hour of the Sept. 23 auction, he said the day was young. One sale day last year culminated in Greenburg taking home 22 semi-trucks worth of cattle, he said. Chris said Greenburg is one of the auction’s longest-term and most generous supporters. “(Greenburg) pays top-dollar,” Chris said. “And (that) makes me feel good, because we’re giving back to (the sellers). I know these people around here, and they’re the hardest working people on the planet. If I can get them 10 or 20 cents more per pound, then that makes us happy.”

Cattle auction prices have gone up in recent years, both at High Country and nationally, Chris said. This year, animals are going for $2,500 to $3,000 a head – double and triple the average prices from last year. The increase, Chris said, is in part because of a screw worm making the rounds in cattle in Mexico, which has lowered the number of cattle coming in from the south, along with people subdividing and selling cattle branches, and local cattle herd numbers diminishing, which has increased demand.

Chris called the price increase “good and bad.” “It’s great if you’re a seller, because there’s prices that you’ve never seen before,” she said. “Older men come in, (and they) can’t believe the prices. Some of them do this for a living, and they count on that, so they’re so happy.” Belvin said some smaller farmers opt to buy less cattle during price surges like this, but echoed Chris’ sentiment about sellers being ecstatic about the unprecedented profit.

Local cattle farmer Lawrence Martinez entered 59 steers and 95 heifers in the auction Tuesday. Martinez has been involved in the High Country Cattle Auction “pretty much forever,” but recent years have been especially fruitful for sales, he said. “These last few years, we’ve been coming here to sell, because this is the place to go,” he said. “I wouldn’t sell anywhere else. (The market here has) been so good.”The auction’s community roots and generational touch doesn’t stop at the Cugnini family: Shane Hatch, the auctioneer, took over the job after his father’s death, Belvin said.

The auction serves as an opportunity for community members to get together and bond, Belvin said. “When we do have an auction, it’s a great place where local farmers and ranchers can get together and talk,” she said. “They come to the cafe, and they talk about the hay, and the drought situation, and I think it’s a good connecting point.” Chris and Belvin both expressed feeling glad the auction can supply so much generational value to the local farming and ranching community. “I mean, what other business can you think of around here that’s the same, right?” Belvin said. “We’re fair, and we’re very meticulous at our jobs. We take it very seriously, because this is (some peoples’) livelihood.”

For the Cugninis – and long-term employees like Belvin, who have become an honorary part of the close-knit High Country Cattle Auction family – the heart of the business aligns with the heart of the local farming and ranching community. “We’re just good, hard working people – Americans – that want to make a good living, and live off this great land,” Belvin said. epond@durangoherald.com

Family run, generational business dates back to 1940s

Photos: Ride with the Champions bike parade

Photos: Changing colors

Photos: Fort Lewis College Volleyball sweeps Black Hills StateSkyhawks off to best start since 2006

Skyhawks off to best start since 2006

Photos: Durango High School football takes on Piedra Vista High SchoolDemons’ defense dominates in 17-0 victory on Friday night

Demons’ defense dominates in 17-0 victory on Friday night

Skyhawks beat Lubbock Christian 2-1 in season opener on Thursday

Photos: Four Corners Motorcycle RallyLots of motorcycles and tattoos were on display on Saturday

Lots of motorcycles and tattoos were on display on Saturday

Photos: Four Corners Motorcycle Rally Rodeo

Photos: Durango High School football opens its seasonDemons lost 35-14 to Montrose at home on Friday night

Demons lost 35-14 to Montrose at home on Friday night

Photos: La Plata County Fair on Friday

Dallas Mavericks win the NBA draft lottery and the chance to pick Cooper Flagg No. 1 overall

Top-seeded Thunder and Cavaliers host critical Game 5s in conference semifinals

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 25 points and leads Thunder past Denver 92-87 to tie series 2-2

Murray and Porter lead the Nuggets to a 113-104 bounce-back win over the Thunder

Pacers, Nuggets trying to hold court after swinging playoff series with road victories

Gilgeous-Alexander scores 34 as Thunder roll past Nuggets 149-106, tie West semis at 1-1

Gordon's game-winner, Jokic's 42 points, 22 rebounds lead Nuggets past Thunder in West semis Game 1

James Harden scores 28 points and Clippers force Game 7 with a gritty 111-105 win over Nuggets

Gregg Popovich, the NBA's all-time wins leader, retires after 29 seasons as San Antonio Spurs coach

Jamal Murray, Russell Westbrook spark the Nuggets' 131-115 win over the Clippers

Nikola Jokic has triple-double to go with 7 turnovers as Nuggets fall 105-102 to Clippers in Game 2

Westbrook fuels Nuggets' comeback to edge Clippers 112-110 in OT in teams' NBA playoff opener

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