CALGARY, Alberta, Canada (AP)—Raffi Torres, Jan Hejda and Antoine Vermette each scored and the Columbus Blue Jackets edged the Calgary Flames, 3-2 Friday at the Pengrowth Saddledome in NHL action. Mathieu Garon added 20 saves in the win for Columbus, which improved them to 17-20-9 on the season. Mark Giordano and Rene Bourque each scored for the Flames in the loss, which dropped them to 25-14-5. In other NHL action Friday, Carolina doubled up Colorado, 2-1, Buffalo snuck past Toronto, 3-2, and Dallas humbled the New York Islanders, 4-3. The New Jersey-Tampa Bay game was postponed, due to a lighting malfunction.

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP)—Rihards Kuksiks tied a career-high with 27 points and the Arizona State Sun Devils pounded the #22 Washington Huskies, 68-51 Friday at Wells Fargo Arena in men’s Top 25 college basketball action. Ty Abbot added 17 points for the Sun Devils, who improved to 11-5 with the win. Isaiah Thomas had 20 points for Lorenzo Romar’s Huskies, who shot a lackluster 36 percent from the field in the loss which dropped them to 10-4. In other Top 25 action Friday, #24 Butler bested Wright State, 77-65.

MONROE, Utah (AP)—Dillon Bishoff had 22 points and Race Parsons added 18 more as the South Sevier Rams hammered the Millard Eagles, 73-50 Friday in non-region boys basketball action. Mike Louder had 18 points in the loss for Millard.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Utah (AP)—Colton Barnett and Nevin Jensen each had 18 points and the Emery Spartans ousted the North Sanpete Hawks, 62-48 in Region 12 boys basketball action Friday. Rhett Bird had 23 points in the loss for North Sanpete.

MANTI, Utah (AP)—Jake Bradford amassed 21 points and Taran Wright added 16 more to lead the Juab Wasps to a 51-38 win over the Manti Templars Friday in Region 12 boys basketball action. Kyle Moore had 10 points in the loss for Manti.

DELTA, Utah (AP)—Nick Nissen had 13 points to lead all scorers and the Delta Rabbits got past the Richfield Wildcats, 36-33 in Region 12 boys basketball action Friday at the Palladium. Tyler Thomas had 10 points in defeat for Richfield.

BICKNELL, Utah (AP)—Kace Roundy had 21 points for the Bryce Valley Mustangs in a 65-60 win over the Wayne Badgers Friday in Region 20 boys basketball action. Trevor Behunin’s 16 points led the Badgers in the loss.

PANGUITCH, Utah (AP)—Eric Frandsen amassed 24 points while Brooks Leach added 19 more as the Panguitch Bobcats outlasted the Piute Thunderbirds, 75-74 in Region 20 boys baketball action Friday. Tyson Westwood had 21 points in the loss for Piute.

MILFORD, Utah (AP)—Clay Williams had 35 points and the Valley Buffaloes snuck past the Milford Tigers, 63-60 Friday in Region 20 boys basketball action. Tyler Denny’s 24 points led the way for Milford.

BEAVER, Utah (AP)—Stoney White had 16 points and the Beaver Beavers got past Liahona, 47-44 in non-region boys basketball action Friday.

GUNNISON, Utah (AP)—Drayson Ball had 14 points, while Drew Despain added 12 more to lead the Gunnison Bulldogs to a 57-35 rout of Maeser Prep Friday in non-region boys basketball action.

SALINA, Utah (AP)—Matt Bossart’s 19 points led the way for the Rowland Hall/St. Mark’s Winged Lions in a 63-57 win over the North Sevier Wolves in non-region boys basketball action Friday. Derrick Christensen had 27 points in the loss for North Sevier.

EPHRAIM, Utah (AP)—Sixteen ex-Snow College football players will be able to continue their college football careers at numerous universities throughout the country. Quarterback Quinn Mecham will be playing for former Nebraska star signal-caller Turner Gill at Kansas, while offensive lineman Mike Overgaard will follow in the footsteps of former Badger Olin Hannum at North Carolina State. Wideouts Mazi Ogbonna and DeJay Lester will both go to Wyoming and cornerback Gavin Jones will go to Utah State. Those playing at the Division I-AA level include Chad Willson who will play for the North Dakota State Bison and linebacker Tyler Osborn along with offensive linemen Devin Tavana and Brandon Beddes will go to Southern Utah. Defensive lineman Charles Ho Ching and tight end Jeremy Sondrup will each go to Division II Chadron State, (Neb.) which has produced NFL standouts Danny Woodhead and Don Beebe previously. Other Badgers going to Division II schools include safety Daniel Dodd, and linebackers Taylor Kerbs, Bryn Roy, Aaron Corbiere each going to Adams State and safety Taylor Jeski going to the Colorado School of Mines.

(DETROIT)—A plea of not guilty has been entered for a Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. Umar Farouk Abdulmatallab appeared at a hearing in federal court in Detroit that lasted less than five minutes Friday. He answered in English in the affirmative that he understood the charges. After his attorneys waived the reading of the indictment, the judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. A grand jury indicted Abdulmatallab on six charges earlier this week. The most severe carries up to life in prison, the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

(LAYTON)—An audit has been released into what appears to be financial troubles at Layton High School. The Layton police chief says investigators will now go over the audit and conduct interviews to see if any criminal wrongdoing took place. That process could take weeks. The audit found reportable and significant deficiencies in accounts at Layton High school, resulting in falsification of records and misappropriation of funds. The superintendent of Davis School District told the Standard-Examiner he does not believe Layton High principal Paul Smith did anything wrong, although Smith is retiring at the end of the month after being on paid administrative leave since October.

(AMERICAN FORK)—Investigators have identified a body found Thursday near the Utah-Nevada border. American Fork police stated the body is that of 46-year-old Lehi resident Jesus Landin who they believe was murdered December 28. American Fork police arrested 29-year-old Ramon Alfredo Somoza Friday in connection with the murder. Authorities say he was the victim’s employer. Landin was reported missing as of December 31 by a friend. As investigators explored the case, they discovered Landin made a call to Somoza December 28, demanding to be paid for work he had done. Police said, when questioned, Somoza denied knowing anything about Landin’s disappearance, save the fact he received a call. Lieutenant Sam Liddiard of the American Fork Police Department said Somoza told investigators he shot Landin and investigators say they served a search warrant of the apartment where the shooting occurred and discovered Somoza had painted the walls after the shooting occurred. Somoza was booked into the Utah County Jail on charges of murder.

(SALT LAKE CITY)—The Utah Educational Savings Plan has reached more than $3 billion in assets. The savings plan was created by the state in 1996 to help families save for college. Earnings on the account grow tax deferred and are tax free when used for high education expenses like tuition, fees, textbooks and certain room and board costs. In 2009, the total number of accounts increased more than 12 percent.

(GREEN RIVER) – The Utah BLM is holding talks with the Grand County Council to temporarily close the White Wash Sand Dune Open Riding Area over the Memorial Day weekend for a Disney Movie Production. BLM Spokesman, Lynn Jackson met with Grand County Councilmembers Tuesday afternoon to discuss preliminary items needed for the closure of 1800-2000 acres for 7-10 days while the production company produces that portion of the movie. The Disney movie is titled, “John Carter From Mars” and the production company needs to have the county and BLM close the area to reduce noise while filming the movie. The White Wash Sand Dunes and Fisher Towers is located in an area about ten miles southeast of Green River. Jackson said more details will be forwarded to the Grand County Council on Jan. 27.

(SALINA) – Salina City is accepting bids for a Blackhawk Arena Food Concessionaire. Officials say the annual contract begins March 1, 2010 and may be renewed at the end of the contract period. A complete copy of the contract may be obtained at the Salina City office during regular business hours and interested parties may submit a resume with references by noon Feb.1. Salina City and the Blackhawk Committee reserve the right to award the concessionaire contract based upon experience and qualifications and can refuse any bid.