Colorado

‘Say it again’: Deion Sanders revels in Colorado’s 4-1 start after big win over UCF

Published

2 months ago

September 29, 2024

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‘Say it again’: Deion Sanders revels in Colorado’s 4-1 start after big win over UCF

This story was updated to add a photo.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Travis Hunter wore custom-made football cleats in Saturday night’s game against Central Florida – a pair of gold-colored shoes with a graphic on them depicting the mountains and trees of Boulder, Colorado.

They had quite a night. First he scored a 23-yard touchdown in them in the first quarter. Then he made an interception and flashed the Heisman Trophy pose in them in the third quarter. After his Colorado team won the game, 48-21, Colorado’s two-way superstar even took those cleats off his feet and gave them to somebody in the stands here at FBC Mortgage Stadium.

“That’s who he is, man,” Colorado football coach Deion Sanders said of Hunter’s big night.

By the time it was over, Hunter had caught nine passes for 89 yards and a touchdown, snagged one interception, broke up one other opposing pass attempt and recorded two tackles before walking back to the locker room in his socks.

Mr. Everywhere had done it again.

But this time was different.

Why was this win different for Travis Hunter and Deion Sanders?

Hunter’s team also rose to the occasion around him to play what might be its best all-around game in Sanders’ two seasons as head coach.

It also came on a homecoming of sorts for both Sanders and Hunter, both Florida natives coming home to lead the Buffaloes (4-1) to their third straight win.

“I can’t even tell you how emotional I am about these young men and seeing what they could do when they put it all together and seeing what we’re capable of when we put it all together,” Sanders said afterward.

The win effectively puts the Big 12 Conference on notice. The Buffs are hot, on the move and might even come close to cracking the national Top 25. The Buffs led 27-14 at halftime and held the nation’s No. 1 rushing offense to 177 rushing yards, nearly 200 under UCF’s season average before Saturday.

Here’s how they did it Saturday and what it means:

What did Deion Sanders say about win?

He was in a playful mood after a warm, humid game that started about 50 minutes late because of lightning in the area. He poked fun of Hunter, who is known to wear onesie pajamas and doesn’t always like talking to the news media after games.

“Knowing Travis, he ain’t coming,” Sanders said at the postgame news conference. “He’s probably on the bus with a onesie on.”

Sanders also poked fun of his quarterback son Shedeur, who threw an interception on the game’s opening drive before leading the Buffs on scoring drives in six of their next seven possessions in front of an announced sellout crowd of 45,702 at FBC Mortgage Stadium. Shedeur Sanders completed 28 of 35 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns. He added three carries for 28 yards and was only sacked twice despite the loss of a starting guard to injury this week.

“C’mon Grown, they want to ask you about the interception,” Deion Sanders said to his son as the quarterback entered the post-game news conference.

That’s what Sanders calls Shedeur: “Grown” – as in mature beyond his years.

Shedeur Sanders showed it by settling down after the initial turnover and letting his running game take some pressure off of him for a change. The Buffs compiled 128 rushing yards on 29 carries, led by 39 from running back Isaiah Augustave, a native of Naples, Florida.

“We got outcoached,” UCF head coach Gus Malzahn said. “We got outplayed.”

UCF gave up two interceptions and two fumbles to Colorado, including one that was returned 95 yards by safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig for the final touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter.

What did Shedeur Sanders say afterward?

He was asked how he stays focused amid the hype and all the football legends that come to see him and his father at games. On Saturday, Cam Newton, the 2010 Heisman Trophy winner, greeted him before the game. Hall of Fame receivers Michael Irvin and Terrell Owens watched him from the Colorado sideline, too.

So how does he do it? Shedeur Sanders answered by saying he collects personal slights, either real or imagined. He said he remembers being described as “just an HBCU kid who couldn’t do it at the Power 5 level,” referring to Jackson State, a historically Black college where he played in 2022 before transferring to Colorado last year.

“I don’t forget anything,” Sanders said. “I don’t forget what anybody ever said, and personally I’m not one to make friends or feel like just because success is going on, now I’m going to forgive everybody. Nah, whatever you said at any point in time, I’m not really a forgiving type.”

That kind of mindset drove him to dominate a team Saturday that was favored by two touchdowns. He spread the ball around to eight different receivers and knocked the Knights (3-1) out of their comfort zone by forcing them to pass the ball more to keep up.

“To keep up with our type of scoring, that gets them out of their comfort zone and provokes them to throw the ball a little more than they’d like to,” Deion Sanders said.

His team now gets some rest heading into a bye weekend in Boulder. The Buffs resume play at home on Oct. 12 against Kansas State.

Deion Sanders talks about his record

Sanders pulled a trick on the news media afterward to make a point. With four wins, his team now has matched its win total from last year, when the Buffs finished 4-8 in his first season in Boulder.

“I’m so darn proud of where we are,” Sanders said. “We could be in a whole different place right now, but look it… We’re going into the break. What’s the record?”

“Four-and-one,” the news media responded.

“Say it again,” Sanders said, acting like he couldn’t hear.

“Four-and-one,” the room said again.

“I just wanted to hear y’all say it collectively, and y’all fell for it,” Sanders said with a laugh.

“We’re 4-1 going into the break, and I’m so excited, you have no idea,” Sanders said. “It’s gonna be a really good plane ride tonight.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

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Colorado

Seeking Revenge Against the Capitals | Colorado Avalanche

Published

2 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Seeking Revenge Against the Capitals | Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche (10-9-0) @ Washington Capitals (13-4-1)

5 p.m. MT | Capital One Arena | Watch: Altitude, 9News, My20, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)

For the second time in six days the Colorado Avalanche will faceoff against the Washington Capitals. Colorado will battle to split the season series after a 5-2 loss at Ball Arena on November 15.

Soaring Past the Flyers

The Avalanche beat the Flyers 3-2 at Wells Fargo Center on Monday. Cale Makar posted his 10th-career multi-goal game and Casey Mittlestadt added a goal. Additionally, Mikko Rantanen recorded two assists and Justus Annunen made 24 saves. Following a scoreless first period, Makar opened the scoring with a wrist shot from the slot at 8:30 of the second period after receiving Nathan MacKinnon’s set-up feed. Makar thought he had his second of the game at 10:44 of the middle frame, but the goal was taken off the board due to a successful Flyers challenge for goaltender interference. However, Makar would eventually double Colorado’s lead on the power play with his eighth tally of the season at 15:08 of the middle frame with a shot from the point that deflected off a Flyers player on its way in. The Burgundy and Blue took a 3-0 lead at 8:34 of the third period when Mittelstadt dispatched the rebound created by Rantanen’s shot into the net for his seventh goal of the season. The Flyers answered with goals from Owen Tippett at 11:48 and Tyson Foerster at 13:32 to cut their deficit to one, but the Avs held on to secure their 10th victory of the season.

Leading the Way

MacKinnon leads the NHL in points (34) and assists (27).

Makar leads NHL blueliners in goals (8), assists (19), and points (27). He’s tied for seventh among NHL skaters in points and tied for fifth in assists.

Rantanen is tied for sixth in the league in goals (12) and tied for seventh in points (27).

History

The Avalanche are 18-20-4 in 42 previous regular-season games against the Capitals. Colorado is 4-1-0 in its last five matchups against Washington dating back to the 2022-23 season.

Winning Out West

The Capitals beat the Utah Hockey Club 6-2 at the Delta Center on Monday. Alex Ovechkin scored twice, and Charlie Lindgren made 24 saves. Utah opened the scoring with a goal by Jack McBain at 3:05 of the first period but the Capitals responded with tallies from Dylan Strome at 7:46, Nic Dowd at 7:56, and Ovechkin at 11:05. Ovechkin extended Washington’s lead to three with a goal at 5:38 of the second period before Nick Bjugstad scored for Utah at 11:44 to make it 4-2 in favor of Washington entering the third period. Ovechkin did leave the game midway through the third period with a lower-body injury and has been placed on injured reserve and ruled week-to-week. The Caps added two more goals in the third period from Brandon Duhaime at 7:30 and Aliaksei Protas at 9:56 to win 6-2.

Putting Up Numbers on the Potomac

MacKinnon has posted 28 points (11g/17a) in 20-career matchups against the Capitals including 11 points (5g/6a) in 10 road matchups against them.

In eight previous meetings with Washington, Makar has recorded six points (2g/4a).

Rantanen has registered 19 points (8g/11a) in 14 previous games against Washington including eight points (4g/4a) on the road.

Capitals’ Contributors

Strome leads the Capitals in points (28) and assists (22).

Connor McMichael is second on the team in goals (12) and third in points (19).

Aliaksei Protas is fourth on the team in points (18), third in goals (7), and tied for third in assists (11).

A Numbers Game

10

Makar became the first defenseman in franchise history to record 10 multi-goal games.

3

The Avalanche have three players (MacKinnon, Makar, and Rantanen) in the top 10 in points. No other team has more than one.

165

The Avs have registered 165 high-danger shots on goal, which ranks sixth in the NHL.

Quote That Left a Mark

“Juice is great. I think he’s been great all year. [He made] some big saves, especially at the beginning there…So [it was a] heck of a job from Juice for sure.”

— Casey Mittelstadt on Justus Annunen’s performance on Monday

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Colorado

Residents rally to save Colorado Springs library on brink of closure

Published

10 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Residents rally to save Colorado Springs library on brink of closure

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Hundreds of Colorado Springs residents showed up at the Pikes Peak Library District Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday night in a last-ditch effort to save the Rockrimmon Library.

The library is set to close December 1. This comes after the board voted to not renew the library’s lease due to financial issues.

In a statement posted on their website on November 8, the board called the decision to close Rockrimmon a difficult one.

“A library provides access to resources and materials to everyone in the community, so considering a closure goes against the grain of our hopes for PPLD. However, our District provides access to nearly 700,000 people across El Paso County. We must make decisions that sustain the entire District.”

More than 250 community members showed up to Wednesday’s board meeting to show their support for keeping the Rockrimmon location open with another 119 tuning in virtually.

Former Rockrimmon Library manager Steve Abbott said he was glad to see the turnout.

“It shows that the community will not give up and they are going to fight to keep this library open,” he said.

For most of the almost five-hour meeting, 43 speakers took turns pleading with board members to postpone the library’s closure, extend the lease another year, and reconsider their decision to close the library in the first place.

One of those who spoke before the board, Abbott said closing the library will leave a massive gap for the 30,000 people who live in the area.

“It leaves a big library desert in the Rockrimmon area,” he said. “For a child to use a library now, they’ll have to go over I-25, under I-25, over Academy, under Academy to get to a library, and it’s six miles away from where Rockrimmon was.”

Speaker and Rockrimmon resident Jennifer Walker said closing the library would also deprive the area of a much-needed community center.

“There is no YMCA, there’s nothing else,” she said. “This is where we meet other moms when we’re desperate to talk to another human being that’s not a toddler, this is where we go to work when we need a quiet space, this is where the elderly come to use the computer or to check out books.”

The fate of the Rockrimmon Library was not on the board’s agenda and those who left the meeting tell 11 News the meeting ended with no resolution.

Walker said residents are still exploring their legal options.

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Colorado

What’s the latest on the Colorado River negotiations?

Published

18 hours ago

November 20, 2024

Press Room

What’s the latest on the Colorado River negotiations?

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released a breakdown Wednesday of five potential paths forward for the fragile state-to-state negotiations surrounding Colorado River operating guidelines that must be updated by 2026.

The Colorado River, which is Southern Nevada’s primary source of water, holds a precarious future as the basin experiences historic drought and state leaders disagree on how to deal with shortages. The range of alternatives is possibly the last major announcement about negotiations to come from the Bureau of Reclamation under the Biden-Harris administration.

“We have worked tirelessly over the past several years to bring Colorado River Basin stakeholders together for a transparent and inclusive post-2026 process,” Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said in a statement. “Today, we show our collective work. These alternatives represent a responsible range from which to build the best and most robust path forward for the Basin.”

What to know heading into 2025

The breakdown between two coalitions of states, the Upper and Lower Basins, centers around whether the Upper Basin — Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming — should be required to take cuts to its water allocation past what’s known as the river’s “structural deficit,” or the 1.5 million acre-feet lost to evaporation and transport. The Upper Basin has argued that it takes too many cuts already because of its reliance on snowpack instead of big reservoirs.

The Lower Basin also has called for smaller reservoirs in the Upper Basin states to be included in discussions about cuts in water usage across the system.

Notably, one of the five alternatives is based on proposals from Native American tribes, calling for the government to account for undeveloped tribal water.

The acknowledgement of the ongoing duel between the Upper and Lower Basins is the “Basin Hybrid” alternative, which appears to fall somewhere down the middle of the two coalition’s proposals.

In a statement, Upper Basin Commissioner and Colorado negotiator Becky Mitchell said it’s too early to speak directly about the five alternatives from the Bureau of Reclamation.

“Colorado continues to stand firmly behind the Upper Division States’ Alternative, which performs best according to Reclamation’s own modeling and directly meets the purpose and need of this federal action,” she said.

The Lower Basin states of Nevada, California and Arizona didn’t immediately release a statement when the announcement was released at 1 p.m.

All seven state negotiators will convene in Las Vegas in early December at the Colorado River Water Users Association conference, where experts and officials will discuss what’s to come from negotiations under President-elect Donald Trump.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.

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