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Colorado and Deion Sanders are winning in a way few saw coming — quietly

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Colorado and Deion Sanders are winning in a way few saw coming — quietly

He hasn’t grilled any reporters on whether they believe. None of his postgame interviews have gone viral.

He hasn’t shared a stage with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or had Lil Wayne lead his team onto the field. His team is garnering around half the TV viewers it did a season ago.

But Deion Sanders and Colorado? The team that finished alone in last place in the Pac-12 last season?

The Buffaloes have been handing out beatings, quietly fielding an improved 5-2 team that has played its way into the thick of the Big 12 title race with five games remaining.

“We’re not who we used to be. But we sure ain’t where we wanna be,” Sanders said Saturday after routing Arizona 34-7 in Tucson.

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Shedeur Sanders (2) and wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) have helped Colorado open 3-1 in Big 12 play. (Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)

Of course, it’s not like he’s avoiding headlines. He did go out of his way to needle former president Barack Obama after Obama told a crowd last Friday in Tucson that Colorado has “a couple good players” and people shouldn’t “bet against the Wildcats.”

“President, I heard what you said. Come on,” Sanders said after the Buffs’ win the next day. “We got more than two good players. … Somebody gave him some great statistics, but President, come on, man. You my man. I love you, appreciate you, but come on, dog.”

It’s easy to go after a former president (and it lands a lot better) when your team is playing the way the Buffaloes have played since a disastrous loss at rival Nebraska in Week 2, when the Cornhuskers ran up a 28-0 halftime lead in a 28-10 win.

Nebraska sacked quarterback Shedeur Sanders six times. The Buffaloes ran for 16 yards. Sanders threw an ugly pick six early in the game and lobbed criticism at his offensive line afterward. It looked a lot like the 4-8 team from a year ago. The season looked like it had the simmering potential to go awry.

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In Deion Sanders’ second year at Colorado, what will resonate most? Results

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Since then?

Colorado routed rival Colorado State in Fort Collins, beat Baylor on a miracle Hail Mary and went to UCF as a two-touchdown underdog and won by 27.

It hosted Kansas State, a Big 12 title contender, and rallied from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to take the lead before surrendering a game-winning touchdown pass with just over two minutes to play.

And last week, as an underdog, it went to Arizona and smacked another conference opponent to improve to 3-1 in Big 12 play, with already two more conference wins logged than a season ago.

A bowl game looks near certain. It would be Colorado’s first since going 4-2 in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. Competing for a conference title doesn’t appear likely but is still possible. The Buffs are one of six league teams that are undefeated or have one loss in conference play.

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Of the remaining games, only the next two — at home against Cincinnati and at Texas Tech — come against teams with more than one conference win this season.

Colorado has done it while weathering a host of injuries to its best position group and best player. Receivers Jimmy Horn Jr. and Travis Hunter — a two-way star who is also the Buffaloes’ best defender and in contention for the Heisman Trophy — have been sidelined. Sophomore receiver Omarion Miller is out for the season.

The offensive line is still the team’s biggest issue. It allowed quarterbacks to be pressured on 36.7 percent of dropbacks last season, which ranked 110th nationally, per TruMedia. This year, with four new starters, it improved to just 100th, at 34 percent.

Despite that though, Shedeur Sanders, one of Deion’s two sons on the team, has kept playing at an elite level. He’s fourth nationally in completion percentage and 16th in passer rating, with 19 touchdowns and six interceptions. Other than the interceptions, his passing numbers are up in every area compared with last season.

Sanders has still been sacked 25 times, more than all but three teams. And in the run game, backs are gaining just 1.29 yards before contact (117th nationally). That number was 1.74 last year, good for 95th.

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But despite those continued struggles, Colorado has found something close to a functional running game. Last year, it was a non-factor for the entire season. Since the loss to Nebraska, the Buffs have rushed for at least 90 yards in four of five games after doing that three times all last season. In three of those games, they averaged more than 3.75 yards a carry. The offense did that twice all last season.

The biggest difference, though, has been the addition of transfers on defense such as linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green, cornerback DJ McKinney to start opposite Hunter and edge rusher additions BJ Green II, Samuel Okunlola and Dayon Hayes.

The Buffaloes took 52 scholarship transfers in Sanders’ first offseason and followed it up with 43 this year. One way or another, the defense turned over all but three starters from last year. One of those is Sanders’ son Shilo, who missed three games after breaking his arm in the loss to Nebraska and struggled when he returned in the loss to Kansas State.

“I thought he played horrible,” Deion Sanders said. “I thought he was rusty.”

Sanders brought Shilo with him to his postgame news conference after the win at Arizona, though, and said he was proud of how he rebounded.

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Those new faces on defense, combined with first-time coordinator Rob Livingston who arrived from the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason, have revitalized the Buffaloes defense. Livingston had been with the Bengals since 2012 but never called a play.

Last year, Colorado ranked 115th in yards per play and 124th in scoring defense. It gave up 34 points or more in a half four times. More often, it was the Buffs defense being blitzed.

This year, the Buffs are up 53 spots to 62nd nationally in yards per play and 47th in scoring defense, up 77 spots.

Saturday, they sacked Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita seven times and held the Wildcats to a season-low seven points. And they did it playing the second half without Hunter, who sat as a precautionary measure with a shoulder injury.

There were pressing questions about how a team with such a transient roster would hold together after a shaky start against North Dakota State and the beatdown from Nebraska instead of signs this was coming.

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But Colorado hasn’t flinched. Instead, it’s playing the best football of the Sanders era by far and racking up wins in a hurry.

Saturday, it faces a Cincinnati team that’s 5-2. A win would put the Buffaloes into a bowl game for just the third time since 2007, in Sanders’ second season after taking over the worst Power 5 team in college football.

Sure, Sanders, behind his Blenders sunglasses, can always shoot back to the forefront of discourse in a second. Continuing to win will do that, too. Though the Buffaloes haven’t stirred the same fascination and aren’t the same television draw as they were a season ago, on the field, they’ve offered far more substance.

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 (Top photo: The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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Giants valued at $10.8B as Tisch family seeks equity transfer with Epstein investigation looming: report

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Giants valued at .8B as Tisch family seeks equity transfer with Epstein investigation looming: report

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As New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and his siblings look to transfer an equity stake to a children’s trust, the overall value of the franchise has been revealed.

An NFL memo obtained by ESPN earlier this month found the Tisch family — Steve, Jonathan and Laurie — are seeking a transfer of their collective equity stake in the franchise to their children. The proposed stake was 23.1% of the team. 

The proposed transfer of equity values the team at $10.8 billion, according to Sports Business Journal, which would put a 23.1% stake at roughly $2.5 billion. 

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New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch arrives for NFL owners meetings in New York City, New York on Oct. 21, 2025.   (Seth Wenig/AP Photo)

For comparison, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross sold 1% of his team to billionaire entrepreneur Lin Bin with the valuation at a record $12.5 billion. 

Julia Koch, a board member with Koch Industries, also bought a 10% stake in the Giants with a valuation at $10.3 billion in October 2025. 

GIANTS CO-OWNER STEVE TISCH, SIBLINGS LOOK TO TRANSFER EQUITY STAKE TO CHILDREN’S TRUSTS, NFL MEMO SHOWS

It’s also worth noting that the NFL memo stated, “Following the transactions, the Sellers will no longer own any interest in the Club.” 

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It is unknown if the transfer requests have anything to do with Steve Tisch’s name appearing in the Epstein files released by the U.S. Justice Department in January. His name appeared more than 400 times in the files, and while he said at the time he knew of Epstein, he denied visiting Epstein’s infamous island. 

Steve Tisch executive vice president of the New York Giants looks on before pre-season football game against the Carolina Panthers at MetLife Stadium on Aug. 18, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.  (Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

“We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy and investments,” Steve Tisch said in a statement on Jan. 31. “I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island. As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.”

The U.S. Justice Department released more than 3 million documents related to the Epstein investigation, which included email exchanges from April 2013 and June 2013 between Tisch and Epstein. Some of those exchanges appear to show conversations about women. 

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in February the league would look into Steve Tisch’s association with Epstein. 

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“Absolutely we will look at all the facts,” Goodell said at a news conference in San Jose, California, during Super Bowl week. “We’ll look at the context of those and try to understand that. We’ll look at how that falls under the (league personal conduct) policy. I think we’ll take one step at a time. Let’s get the facts first.”

New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch during warms up prior to the National Football League game between the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants on Oct. 28, 2018 at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.  (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Tisch family has been involved in Giants ownership since 1991 alongside the Mara family, which founded the franchise in 1925. 

Fox News’ Chantz Martin and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ohtani. Yamamoto. Sasaki. A 12-story ‘cultural bridge’ between L.A. and Japan to debut in Torrance

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Ohtani. Yamamoto. Sasaki. A 12-story ‘cultural bridge’ between L.A. and Japan to debut in Torrance

Robert Vargas is in a bit of a time crunch.

The Los Angeles-based artist has embarked on one of his most ambitious murals. Titled “Samurai of the Diamond,” it features the Dodgers’ trio of Japanese stars — two-way player Shohei Ohtani and pitchers Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — in larger-than-life fashion on a 12-story wall of the DoubleTree Hotel in Torrance.

Artist Robert Vargas takes a break from painting Saturday to show his progress on his newest mural.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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As of early Saturday afternoon, Vargas still had a lot of painting to do in order to have the mural finished by the official unveiling at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Anyone familiar with Vargas and how he works, however, knows he will get it done.

“It may be finished at 9:59, but at 10 o’clock we will unveil this,” Vargas said

Koreatown resident Diego Guerrero is one of those who knows Vargas’ style. After witnessing the artist working on his massive Fernando Valenzuela mural in Boyle Heights during the fall of 2024, Guerrero said he had “full faith” Vargas would meet his deadline this time around.

“I know he’s got this,” Guerrero said while visiting the DoubleTree site Saturday. “Last time he was doing this, it was raining and even that time he pulled it off. So I have no doubt he’ll finish it.”

Vargas said the new piece was conceived as a follow-up to the massive mural of Ohtani he painted on the side of the Miyako Hotel in Little Tokyo soon after the former Angels pitcher signed with the Dodgers prior to the 2024 season. In two seasons with L.A., Ohtani has won two National League MVP awards and helped the Dodgers win two World Series championships.

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The Dodgers signed Yamamoto during the same offseason and Sasaki a year later. Both pitchers played key roles in the team’s 2025 postseason run. Yamamoto went 7-1 with two complete games and pitched for the final out in Game 7 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Sasaki moved to the bullpen for the playoffs and recorded three saves and two holds.

“If [the Ohtani] mural was about ushering in a new era and a new face here in Los Angeles, this mural is about building a cultural bridge from Los Angeles to Japan and really emphasizing the greatness that these foreign-born Japanese players are contributing not only to the team, but to this community’s identity,” Vargas said. “And also inspiring to kids who can look up and see heroes that look like them from this community.”

A man standing on a riser and painting a huge Shohei Ohtani face on a textured wall

Robert Vargas paints an image of Shohei Ohtani as part of the local artist’s ‘Samurai of the Diamond’ mural Saturday at the DoubleTree Hotel in Torrance.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Known for its large Japanese American population and concentration of Japanese businesses, Torrance signed friendship city agreements with Bizen (Yamamoto’s hometown) in August 2024 and Oshu (Ohtani’s hometown) in October 2024.

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Vargas, who has a home in Japan because of the frequent mural work he does there, came up with the idea of a Torrance mural honoring the Dodgers’ Japanese stars around that time.

“I feel that they are examples of how to do things right on and off the field,” Vargas said of the three players. “Their work ethic is really reflected in the culture. That’s why Ohtani is so respected out there on the field, not just for what he’s doing with the bat or with the baseball but just how he conducts himself. It’s refreshing.”

His idea received support from local leaders, such as Mayor George Chen and city council member Jon Kaji.

“Ever since the Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani in December, 2023, the community has rallied around Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki giving us all a sense of pride,” Kaji said in an email to The Times. “…’Samurai of the Diamond’ exemplifies the unifying power of sports that transcends borders and nationalities.”

Chen wrote in a separate email: “There are many Dodgers fans in the City of Torrance and the greatness of these 3 players have been great role models to young and old. They are performing at the highest levels in MLB, yet they have shown us that even great athletes and celebrities can maintain a certain level of maturity, respectful to others, picking up trash, not retaliating when attacked, and always showing great sportsmanship.”

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The wall will include an interactive feature: When visitors scan a QR code, they will see each player come to life and throw a strike, with animation provided by the AR Firm. Also, lights are being installed in the parking lot to illuminate the mural at night.

“It’s going to be a destination,” Vargas said.

DoubleTree general manager Linda Amato, who is also the executive chairperson of the Discover Torrance visitors bureau, said the hotel plans to create “opportunities for guests to gather outdoors, enjoying [Dodgers] games under the stars alongside the interactive mural.”

“The response from the community has been incredible,” Amato said in an email. “There’s a real sense of excitement — people are stopping by daily to watch the progress and engage with the project. It’s brought a new energy to the city. Robert Vargas has been amazing throughout the process, often speaking with visitors about his vision and techniques, which adds to the overall experience.”

A man looking to the side while wearing a straw sun hat and holding a paint brush in his mouth

Vargas hand-picked the DoubleTree Hotel in Torrance as the location for his latest mural, despite the wall’s deep ridges, which make it difficult to paint.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Vargas hand-picked the DoubleTree as the site, even though he said the hotel’s exterior “presents the most difficult surface challenge” he has faced. The wall is lined with thick, vertical grooves, described by Vargas as “almost like a lattice surface because the corrugation is so deep.”

Because of that, Vargas — who always works freehand and does not use spray paints — has to carefully paint each section with a brush, as even a roller will not work on that surface. He calls the process “very exciting.”

Actor Edward James Olmos, who was visiting Vargas at the site Thursday morning, thinks his longtime friend is nuts.

“That’s the worst f— texture I’ve seen in my life,” the 79-year-old “Stand and Deliver” actor said of the wall’s surface. “Not one artist I’ve ever known would even want to try to do this. He chose it. I told him he’s off his a—. Have you ever seen that texture before? Never.”

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Vargas he said he’s not thinking about that or any other challenges when he’s several stories in the air working on a project he knows will mean a lot to many people.

“When I’m up there and I think about the community that’s down here and how excited they are to see an image like this — not only because of what the content is, but that it’s happening here in Torrance and not just in Little Tokyo — they feel very, very proud,” Vargas said. “So the wind conditions, the heat conditions, the scaling, all of that becomes secondary when you think about why you’re creating it.”

On Saturday afternoon, East Los Angeles resident Edgar Reyes came out to see the super-sized artwork being created in real time.

“It’s just amazing to be able to witness it and see how people are coming together,” said Reyes, who described himself as a “big Robert Vargas fan.” “I think for Torrance this is a good thing because you see a lot of murals in the east side of L.A. because there’s a lot of graffiti artists and all that, compared to over here. So it’s something really huge for Torrance, I believe.”

Koreatown resident Diego Guerrero, who also visited the site on Saturday, said it is “mesmerizing” to watch Vargas work and called the mural “mind-blowing.”

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“It’s so huge,” Guerrero said. “You could see it from miles away. And it’s like, hey, I know them — they’re part of the Dodgers. But not just that. They’re part of the minority. They’re Japanese players, we’re Hispanics, but we’re the same. We want to feel like we’re represented and we’re here. The world will see us, you know?”

A man wearing shades, a hat and a paint-covered jacket stands in front of a massive mural featuring three Dodgers players.

Robert Vargas plans to finish his ‘Samurai of the Diamond’ mural in time for its official unveiling Tuesday at 10 a.m.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Around midday Saturday, Vargas faced another delay when high winds caused him to temporarily come down from the wall. He had already made arrangements to be able to work through the night on Saturday and said he was prepared to work nonstop, if necessary, to be finished in time for the unveiling two days before the Dodgers’ season opener Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“I’m going to get it done,” he said.

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“My time frames are pretty ambitious, but I also know what I’m capable of when it comes to my speed,” Vargas added. “And also I think that my process is really charged by my intention of why I’m creating these pieces, and that is what fuels me to completion.”

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World Cup teams finalize US base camps as host cities prepare for global crowds

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World Cup teams finalize US base camps as host cities prepare for global crowds

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With the 2026 FIFA World Cup just three months away, cities across the United States are racing to finalize training facilities that national teams will call home during the global tournament.

Among them is Kansas City, which will serve as the base camp for defending champion Argentina national football team, a major win for the region as it prepares to welcome both players and tens of thousands of international fans.

Base camps are critical to World Cup operations. They serve as home headquarters where teams live, train and recover while traveling between match sites throughout the competition.

WORLD CUP 2026: WHAT ARE THE HOST COUNTRIES, CITIES, STADIUMS?

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World Cup 2026 signage is displayed in Kansas City, one of the tournament’s host cities. (Olivianna Calmes)

“From private practice fields to player recovery rooms, these facilities are designed to support some of the biggest names in soccer,” said Alan Dietrich, who has worked closely with organizers.

Local leaders have spent more than a year pitching their cities to international teams, hoping to showcase not just athletic facilities but the broader community.

“We started actually over a year ago with countries beginning to visit,” Dietrich said.

WORLD CUP DEMAND SPARKS LODGING SCRAMBLE IN KANSAS CITY

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Tourism officials say the opportunity extends far beyond the sport itself. Hosting a base camp allows cities to introduce themselves to global audiences and build long-term international relationships.

To show support for Kansas City’s bid for the men’s 2026 FIFA World Cup, the KC2026 Bid Committee and Outfront media installed a 90×90-foot banner on Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

“We knew that the World Cup was going to be kind of our first chance and probably our biggest chance to be engaging these international markets,” said Devin Aaron with Visit KC.

A locker room shows the “We are FIFA 2026 Kansas City” sign in Sporting KC training facility (Olivianna Calmes)

Early expectations had Argentina basing in Miami, but Kansas City ultimately stood out during the selection process.

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“When Argentina visited, they really loved it here,” Dietrich said. “They loved our facilities, they loved our people.”

The team will train at Sporting Kansas City’s Compass Minerals National Performance Center, a state-of-the-art facility in Kansas City, Kansas that will serve as Argentina’s training home base during the tournament.

THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP LESS THAN 100 DAYS OUT! HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW

The complex features multiple professional grade fields and elite level training amenities designed for international competition.

Inside, players will have access to private dining areas, meeting rooms and dedicated recovery spaces designed to help them rest between matches.

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A resting room for World Cup players (Olivianna Calmes)

“If they’ve traveled a lot and they’re tired, they can come in here, turn the lights out and get a nice nap,” Dietrich added.

Up to 100,000 Argentine fans are expected to travel to Kansas City during the tournament, a preview of the global crowds set to flood World Cup host cities across the U.S.

Across the U.S., cities selected as host sites and base camps are preparing for similar surges, as teams finalize training locations and fans follow their national squads.

Cities across the US which are hosting World Cup games (Fox News)

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The 2026 World Cup will be the largest in history, expanding from 32 to 48 teams and spanning host cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico, with each location competing for global visibility and long-term economic impact.

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