in cuba and around the world, mourning and celebrating the death of a controversial leader. buffs win! it was an intense win tonight right down to the final 2 minutes but they held onto the lead for a 27-22 win over utah. ron mackey is live in boulder with a look at the the next step. that being the >> reporter: so exciting! worst to 1st! what a season. the defense is the reason the buffs got it done tonight against utah, a win they had to have. and they got it thanks to stop after stop after stop, and several key turnovers, including

a 20-16 lead. when there's a fumble on the field. and the scoop and the score, nail in the coffin as they win their 10th of the season. send the seniors identity in style. >> he made the may i just picked up the ball and ran. >> how big that was drive? >> really big. drive started, 13 yard, not too far to score a touchdown, and it just so happened he if you mean belled. >> the defense got it done >> it's not a big deal, it's what we do. that's what we pride

>> reporter: some of the guys on media day talked about winning the pac-12 championship. we all sort of smirked at them. they're the ones laughing now. next friday night, they take on no. 5 washington in santa clara in the same stadium where the broncos won the super bowl. >> the power ever suggestion, positive thinking. and the rise is really exciting. quite a >> reporter: yeah , i'm spending the night. [ laughter ] >> reporter: maybe i'll be there for game day live at this point. after years of more downs than ups, cu fans finally have a strong reason to keep that cheering going.

[ yelling ] >> reporter: what does this victory mean? >> i've been a buffs fan 22 years. [ all talking ] >> it's 1991 all over again. [ cheering and applause ] >> the buffs are back. >> they're back! [ cheering and applause ] >> reporter: a lot of years, bad football, losing season. how much does that make this? >> we've been recovering -- the rise. >> we're on the rise!

mcintire, he's done everything he can. >> everything! >> woo ! [ cheering and applause ] [ inaudible ] >> of course that beingig that's the exactly outcome i was expecting. [ laughter ] >> we'll have a closer look at the game and the historic trail to the championship coming up. and of course fans out at folsom field are probably already feeling the change in the air. don't even know that it mattered. it could have been snowing and freezing and they would have been on fire! >> yeah, i don't think the weather would have made a difference! [ laughter ] >> we're looking at some changes starting to roll into colorado. outside right now,

denver metro area. it is actually a pretty evening for us. temperatures at troo degrees in downtown -- 42 degrees downtown, boulder 37. estes park at 24. we're sitting at 28 in idaho springs. all that blue and red out to our west. winter weather advisories and warnings. a fast-moving storm crossing into utah. it's big enough that it will mountain, starting late tonight, all wait through tuesday. we may see rain or a snow shower out of it at 7:30 in the morning. lining up along fort collins down to the denver metro area. chance it'll stick around until about 12:30 in the afternoon, and partly cloudy skies will be back, and that'll help our temperatures get into the upper 40s and low 50s come tomorrow. a little change come from what we saw today.

weather is anticipated for next week. winter is on. >> looking forward to it. the man accused of hitting and killing a state patrol trooper is facing charges tone. he was arrested shortly after yesterday's crash. he is charged with careless driving resulting in death and failure to yield right-of-way to an emergency vehicle. he hit and killed a trooper yesterday. responding to another crash at the time of the crash. he was an 11-year veteran of the colorado state patrol. it is not every day that we get phone calls about a bad review posted online. today we had to look into claims made of using a dwae slur to a customer.

replace cracked slabs. yesterday james went back to the store with his 4-year-old son. an employee gave him permission to look through some bock boxes of stone. another employee sent over a manager, he ask him to buy the boxes and is leave. when james tried to explain, he says the manager had an unexpected and offensive response. >> i said my husband and i spend a lot of money here, we've been using you guys for ten years. and he goes oh, that the -- [ cursing ] >> that voted for hillary. >> james said another customer who overheard the exchange express his support for donald trump. the same customer philidelphia him outside and used a gay slur. a spokesman says the company is conducting a thorough investigation and all customers should be treated with courtesy and respect at all time times.

fidel castro has died. people from havana to miami and around the world either celebrated the end of the regime or honored the revolutionary leader's life. he was 90 years old. shortly after the thoument that came through late last night, thousands poured into the streets of miami, banged pots and pans with spoons and raised cuban flags. many left cuba to escape the dictatorship and went to miami. >> during all these years. this is nothing to feel ashamed of. it's something we're celebrating because he has caused pain on all generations of cubans. >> castro rule cuba for nearly five decades. his brother took over in 2006. to many who

today president elect trump said he leaves behind a legacy of firing squads, unimaginable suffering, poverty, and the denial of fundamental human rights. many see it as a sign and opportunity for freedom in cuba. reaction is split in cuba for his supporters as a time of sadness. his followers remember him for standing up to the united states and standing by his communist ideology. the government has decd a burial ceremony set for december 4th. president obama says it is time for the u.s. to extend a hand in friendship to cuba. she now lives here in denver is afrngsz is to see how our next president will handle relations with cuba.

administration, we don't know how president elect trump, what he's gonna keep from the beginning of new relations that president obama has reestablished. >> she moved to colorado after college. she worked for eight years on a former colorado governor's policy team and works for denver's office of economic developments currently. she's kept close ties to her home country in hopes the u.s. lifting of their embargo on cuba. the push to recount votes in several states is gaining steam. jill stein pledged to pursue recounts in pennsylvania and mish divan as well -- michigan as well.

effort. the chances of a recount changing anything in the electoral college are shim. downloading down rand where poerz have spent month -- protestors have spent months fighting the dakota site pipeline. law enforcement has already removed protestors from land owned by the pipeline company. until now they were allowed to stay for 1st amendment reasons. it's uncheer whether the core will force protestors to leave. some think is to limit liability. in north dakota more than 400 people marched in support of law enforcement. they held a bark the blue march to support the officers responding to the pipeline protests. organizers say the rally was neither for

the small business saturday rush in denver. not enough snow in the mountains? where the pros and amateurs are getting their thrills indoors. >> after a mild afternoon, big changes are moving into colorado! >> and why vaughn miller thinks he's -- von miller thinks he's

for the sixth year, shoppers looked for savings and supported local economies for small business saturday. >> i think a lot of people think shopping, they think going online or mad dash sales. so much more of your dollar goes

when you spend it locally. >> there's the internet but there's also someone trying to support a family as well. we need to keep those dollars working for families hike our own. >> the store's owner says she's seen an increase in small business saturday. the warm dry november isn't good news for the colorado ski and snowboard industry, but there is one place in the mountain where business is booming. the woodburn barn is a way for people to get the

>> reporter: everyone from the dedicated mountain dair devils to your regular everyday skiers are showing up for training. and i think a lot of folks are taking their vacation from out of town, want to get out on the mountain >> snow to our mountains, maybe a little snow to denver. outside right now, toward the city, partly cloudy skies over downtown, but we're dry. really, really mild day. not record-setting but well above the average high of 47.

in 1998. 20s and 30s lining up across the foothills. further out to the west, winter storm warnings, winter weather advisories. this is from a huge system that is rapidly approaching from the west. rain and snow showers lining parts of california. they extend across the pushes east of i-25, perhaps some of that moisture will bring it here to denver. unfortunately it does move quickly to the northeast. a lot of dry air that's going to follow it. so the chances for snow here along

isolated. in the afternoon dry and windy. for the broncos/chiefs game tomorrow evening, it's gonna be partly cloudy, dry, gusty and chilly. we'll see some rain and snow showers across inches of snow expected across the continental divide, 2-4 around the upper yampa river basin. southwest san juans, winter storm warnings, 10-12 inches of snow there.

crested butte. steamboat expecting about 10-20 as well. overnight as we wait for all this to approach, upper 20s and low 30s. lower 30s on the eastern plains. 20s for the mountains. denver a low of 31. winds out of the southwest at 10-15 miles per hour. clouds on the increase. and we'll see that chance for an isolated rain or snow shower tomorrow morning colder on monday with a high of 49, 36 and windy and cloudy on

guess what's in this box? uh, no, don't. i'll just tell you: clean, renewable energy. cool, right? fact is, xcel energy is the nation's number one provider of wind energy, and has been for over a decade. whoa! that's wind for ya. ? wind, wind, wind, wiiind. ? xcel energy.

the buffers are running directly into the pac-12 championship game. buffs maintain a 3-point lead and extend it. liufau to buffers up 20-13. the defense again, williams stripped again. colorado wins it 27-22. to clinch the pac-12 south. they will take on washington next weekend in the conference championship game. let's go live

>> reporter: we'd stand up here at the fifally win over a team and throw oranges onto the football field. now it's all about the rose. >> it's a great feeling. put in all this hard work with these guys, to finally get something been working really hard for all the time i've been here. we don't have much to show for it, but this year we do. >> this is what you guys have done. >> it's crazy. crazy atmosphere. we're just so blessed to be in this position. and i'm really lost for words. it just feels good. the whole team, really the whole community, they stick behind us all four years. to turn this

[ crowd noise ] >> next friday no. 5, washington. the coaches, the players, everyone involved in the cu program, and of course the fan, many of of whom are still screaming and yelling. a lot of excitement tonight in boulder.

stevens kent with the gallop for two touchdowns. and the rams got help on special teams as well. robert ruiz broke a school record with this 91-yard punt return for a score. rams piling it on. 63-24 in the 4th quarter right now. wyoming has a chance to host the mountain west championship game. this performance so far tonight at new mexico is not gonna help. lamar jordan ruled out for one. lobos score the next 37-7 on the post. fifth straight game the avalanche are without their captain. land scop continues to -- landeskog continues to heal

pinears won a shootout 6-5, extend their unbeaten streak to ten games. du men's soccer team. a 2nd half goal to put the pinears up 2-0. they went on to win 2-1. the broncos extension with the safety today. it's worth $7 million a year with $17.5 million guaranteed. stewart is a big-money guy but not quite von miller. von is the highest paid in the nfl. 9.5 sax, 4th in the league. but he's not thrilled. >> when you watch the film, the

take advantage of the opportunities. i don't know what it is. i just gotta go out there and do it. >> you just gotta go out there and create. >> it is the buffs and washington nfriday in santa clara for the pac-12 championship. broncos won a big game in santa clara earlier this

firefighters in orlando went above and beyond to save the lives of three dogs. dramatic rescue was caught on camera. a dozen firefighters surrounded the pups after pulling them from a burning home. all three are doing well. there were no people at home at the time of the fire. and investigators are still working to figure out what caused that. happy they're all okay.

something else a lot of people are gonna be happy about, snow in the mountains. we've got it coming our way through. not a lot of snow in denver but a big cool-off. 30s and 40s starting on monday. it's a long stretch. gonna start feeling like winter.