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Coach Deion Sanders said his Colorado Buffaloes were coming in 2023, and now they’ve arrived in our Power Rankings.

The Buffaloes’ 45-42 victory in Week 1 at No. 17 TCU, the national runner-up in the 2022 season, made believers out of ESPN’s writers. Colorado, which had only one win last season, went from unranked to No. 21. Now they get another chance to prove themselves, this time against Big Ten foe — and former Big 12 rival — Nebraska in their home opener.

The most impressive win of the week, though, belonged to Coach Prime’s alma mater. Florida State scored 31 consecutive points against No. 5 LSU on Sunday and ESPN voters rewarded that effort by moving them from preseason No. 7 in the power rankings all the way up to No. 2.

Five consecutive days of football ended with a stunning upset as Duke took down No. 9 Clemson.

A look at the full power rankings after the first full week of college football.


Ho-hum. Another dominant defense, another deep running game, another Brock Bowers touchdown. What else did you expect from the back-to-back champs? Yeah, quarterback Stetson Bennett is finally gone, but Carson Beck looked solid in his debut as a starter against Tennessee Martin, completing 21 of 31 passes for 294 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. All told, Georgia racked up 559 yards of offense, which should be plenty against one of the weakest schedules in the SEC this season. Ball State is up next in the quest to three peat, followed by a home game against South Carolina. — Alex Scarborough

Up next: vs. Ball State (Noon ET, SEC Network)


It is hard to remember the last time the Seminoles completely dismantled an opponent the way they did LSU in the second half of a 45-24 victory on Sunday night. It may very well have been during the 2013 national championship season, and this just happens to be its 10-year anniversary. After a slow start, Florida State scored 31 unanswered second-half points to turn a close game into a rout. Quarterback Jordan Travis settled down after a shaky first half and scored five total touchdowns — one rushing, four passing. But the star of the game was transfer receiver Keon Coleman, who arrived from Michigan State in the offseason. LSU could not cover Coleman, and he made the plays that counted most — three touchdown receptions, 122 yards and an exclamation point to start a season that began with high expectations and those expectations have skyrocketed even higher. — Andrea Adelson

Up next: vs. Southern Miss (8:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network)


​​No coach Jim Harbaugh, no offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, no problem. With both serving suspensions, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter was the acting head coach against East Carolina and helped lead Michigan to its first win of the season. The offense, surprisingly, was led by the passing game and quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who threw for 280 yards and three passing touchdowns in three quarters of work. Running back Blake Corum had a rushing touchdown, but it was receiver Roman Wilson who put up the most points, catching three McCarthy touchdowns. Michigan’s defense held East Carolina scoreless until a field goal on the final play of the game. — Tom VanHaaren

Up next: vs. UNLV (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)


Jalen Milroe was nearly perfect against Middle Tennessee, accounting for 242 total yards (194 passing, 48 rushing), four touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) and no turnovers. But was that enough to secure the starting job at quarterback? It might be a week too soon to say considering the caliber of competition. Next week, against Texas, will be the real litmus test about whether Milroe can handle the pressure and fit the ball into tight windows. But setting the QB battle aside, Crimson Tide fans can feel good about the receivers, particularly Isaiah Bond, and the defense, which consistently created pressure on the passing game. — Scarborough

Up next: vs. Texas (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)


After taking care of business in Week 0 against San Jose State, the Trojans handled Nevada at home with even greater ease by a score of 59-14. Aside from a 72-yard pass that led to the Wolfpack’s first score of the game and a 77-yard pass that resulted in the other, the USC defense looked much-improved against a subpar offense that struggled to get anything going. Caleb Williams produced yet another flawless performance, throwing for 324 yards on 24 pass attempts. He had five touchdowns, while adding a healthy dose of his patented scrambling highlights, and didn’t have to play beyond the first drive of the third quarter. — Paolo Uggetti

Up next: vs. Stanford (10:30 p.m. ET, Fox)


It wasn’t exactly pretty, nor was it a memorable debut for rookie starting quarterback Kyle McCord, but Ohio State earned a Big Ten road win at Indiana. The Buckeyes are going to have to improve quickly if they want to remain a CFP contender. McCord completed 20 of 33 pass attempts for 239 yards and one interception. It wasn’t the kind of offensive performance Ohio State fans are used to, as the Buckeyes had the second-highest scoring offense in the FBS last year, and have averaged at least 41 points every season since Ryan Day succeeded Urban Meyer in 2019. Against IU, which had the worst defense in the Big Ten last year, Ohio State settled for three field goals and was 2-of-12 on third downs. It was also a quiet day for the Buckeyes’ superstars, as receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. had just two catches for 18 yards. — Heather Dinich

Up next: vs. Youngstown State (Noon ET, Big Ten Network)

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Why Gilmore, Acho are concerned about Ohio State after Week 1

Rod Gilmore and Sam Acho explain their worries about Ohio State after a 23-3 win over Indiana.


Coach James Franklin’s reluctance to name a starting quarterback couldn’t calm the excitement around Drew Allar, who predictably took the field first against West Virginia and played well. Penn State’s most decorated quarterback recruit since Christian Hackenberg (2013), Allar opened the season with 325 pass yards and three touchdowns, completing 21 of 29 attempts with no interceptions. He became the first PSU quarterback since Daryll Clark in 2009 to reach 300 pass yards and three touchdowns in an opener. Penn State’s offense took a while to get going, though, recording only 14 points through the first 36-plus minutes. The Nittany Lions missed two field-goal attempts and didn’t really get their running game going consistently. Allar gives Penn State a different element in the pass game, as coordinator Mike Yurcich can stretch the field more with wideout KeAndre Lambert-Smith and others. — Adam Rittenberg

Up next: vs. Delaware (Noon ET, Peacock)


Turn on a Washington game and chances are you’ll see quarterback Michael Penix finding a wide-open receiver time and time again. The offensive scheme of head coach Kalen Deboer and coordinator Ryan Grubb makes the Huskies’ ability to move the ball seem almost effortless at time. In the Huskies’ dominant 56-19 win against Boise State, Penix passed for 450 yards and five touchdowns without a pick to get his Heisman Trophy campaign off to a strong start. As expected, arguably the nation’s top trio of receivers — Rome Odunze (7 catches, 132 yards, TD), Ja’Lynn Polk (3 catches, 101 yards, TD) and Jalen McMillan (8 catches, 95 yards, 2 TD) — were equally impressive. — Kyle Bonagura

Up next: vs. Tulsa (5 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network)


Tennessee was a four-touchdown favorite in its season opener against Virginia, and even though the Vols were guilty of a few missteps in the first half, they were never threatened in a blowout victory in Nashville. Joe Milton III was solid at quarterback with 201 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in three quarters, and the Vols racked up 499 yards of total offense. But the story of the game for Tennessee was its defense. The Cavaliers took over on Tennessee’s side of the 50 three times in the first half, but all Tennessee’s defense would allow was a single field goal, which set the tone for the rest of the game. — Chris Low

Up next: vs. Austin Peay (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+)


The Utes began their defense of two straight Pac-12 titles by avenging their season-opening loss to Florida from last year. Utah won despite several injuries, most notably quarterback Cam Rising, who couldn’t play as he continues to recover from an ACL surgery. His absence allowed coach Kyle Whittingam’s team to show off its depth at the position as well as their strong defensive identity on their way to a 24-13 win. Although the Utes and the Gators were only separated by 13 points, Utah dominated the matchup thanks to the work of Bryson Barnes (12-of-18, 159 passing yards and two touchdowns) and Nate Johnson (six carries, 45 yards and a touchdown), who split reps at quarterback and found success in the air and the ground respectively. Utah’s defense didn’t allow a score until early in the fourth quarter. — Uggetti

Up next: at Baylor (Noon ET, ESPN)


Texas eventually rolled past Rice, 37-10. The Longhorns scored only one touchdown on their first seven drives, settling for field goals and turning the ball over on downs twice, but a 21-0 third quarter turned an odd 16-3 game into a laugher. Quinn Ewers completed 19 of 30 passes for 260 yards and touchdowns to three different receivers, and the running back trio of Jaydon Blue, Jonathon Brooks and Cedric Baxter ground out 145 yards on 27 carries. The UT defense only sacked Rice’s JT Daniels once but hurried him constantly, picked off two passes and broke up four more. In all, kicker Bert Auburn made a few too many appearances, and the Longhorns were a pretty mediocre 6-for-15 on third downs, but this one was still easy. — Bill Connelly

Up next: at Alabama (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)


The Ducks became the first FBS team since — surprise? — UNLV in 2015 to score 80 points in a game during their 81-7 win against Portland State. The Ducks had more than 300 yards rushing (348) and 300 yards passing (381) in the same game for the first time since 2017 and played essentially their entire eligible roster. Considering the considerable talent gap, there’s probably not much that can be learned, but it was a nice way to welcome back college football in Eugene where expectations are high. — Bonagura

Up next: at Texas Tech (7 p.m. ET, Fox)


Playing just a week after a game in Ireland, Notre Dame got through a predictably sluggish first quarter to pull away from Tennessee State. Quarterbacks Sam Hartman and Steve Angeli combined for 324 passing yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. The Irish had 221 rushing yards, led by Audric Estime‘s 116, and continued to receive stifling play from their defense. Notre Dame has held its first two opponents without a touchdown for the first time since 1975. The Irish had 28 points in the second quarter, the team’s highest total in a quarter since tallying 31 in the fourth against Wisconsin in 2021. Notre Dame’s scoring margin of 98-6 marks its highest points differential (92) through the first two games of a season since 1932, when it outscored Haskell and Drake by 135. — Rittenberg

Up next: At NC State (Noon ET, ABC)


The biggest story in the Tar Heels’ 31-17 victory over South Carolina was not quarterback Drake Maye. It was their defensive performance, and in particular their physicality and aggressiveness up front that raised eyebrows. A season ago, North Carolina struggled through poor defensive performances and one of the biggest question marks about this team headed into the season was how much that defense would improve. We got an early answer in Week 1. After getting only 17 total sacks last season, North Carolina had a whopping nine on Saturday — in addition to 16 tackles for loss. That was its highest sack total in the last 25 seasons. Linebacker Kaimon Rucker was particularly impressive with two sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss and eight total tackles and was named the Walter Camp National FBS Defensive Player of the Week. — Adelson

Up next: vs. Appalachian State (5:15 p.m. ET, ACC Network)


A week after San Jose State put up 28 on USC, Oregon State’s trip to SJSU figured to serve as a measuring stick game. After losing some key players from the Pac-12’s best defense in 2022, how would this re-worked unit compare to USC? Pretty darn well. The Beavers’ starting group allowed just 10 points — looking every part as good as the one that led the team to a 10-win season a year ago — and, perhaps more importantly, were joined by a proficient offense as quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei turned in a sparkling debut. A San Jose State touchdown in the closing seconds only made the Beavers’ 42-17 win less of a blowout. It’s just one game but the combination of improved offense with no regression on defense is the formula OSU was looking for to contend in the conference. — Bonagura

Up next: UC Davis (9 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network)


You want your FCS games to be as forgettable as possible. In that regard, Saturday night against Southeast Missouri State was a total success for Kansas State. Granted, quarterback Will Howard made history by becoming just the sixth player in Big 12 history to record passing, rushing and receiving touchdowns in the same game — some might end up remembering that — and Avery Johnson, Howard’s four-star freshman backup, was dynamic in a small sample. But the Wildcats erupted for 28 second-quarter points and cruised in for a 45-0 victory. Running back DJ Giddens rushed for 128 yards, receiver RJ Garcia II and tight end Ben Sinnott each topped 100 receiving yards, linebacker Austin Moore recorded a trio of tackles for loss and now it’s on to a tricker game. — Connelly

Up next: vs. Troy (Noon ET, FS1)


The offense clearly needs some work after a lousy effort against Florida State, particularly in the red zone. And while quarterback Jayden Daniels showed once again he’s a big play waiting to happen running the football, he’s yet to prove he can consistently push the ball downfield in the passing game. But perhaps more troubling was the play of the secondary, which flat out got exposed by Keon Coleman, Johnny Wilson and Co. Getting Maason Smith back at tackle and pairing him alongside Mekhi Wingo should help when it comes to pressuring the quarterback, but the DBs have to step up. Grambling offers a good opportunity to regroup this Saturday, but don’t sleep on a trip to Mississippi State the following week where quarterback Will Rogers won’t be afraid to put the ball in the air. — Scarborough

Up next: vs. Grambling (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

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Ryan Clark not happy after LSU’s loss to FSU

Ryan Clark weighs in on LSU’s season-opening loss to Florida State and what the Tigers need to do to improve.


Lane Kiffin waited all preseason to name a starting quarterback, which must have motivated Jaxson Dart. He started Saturday’s opener by completing his first 11 passes and finished the game with 334 passing yards and four touchdowns — all four going to Tre Harris — as the Rebels steamrolled FCS foe Mercer 73-7 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Harris, a transfer from Louisiana Tech, set an Ole Miss single-game record with four touchdown receptions. Spencer Sanders, an Oklahoma State transfer, took over for Dart at quarterback in the third quarter and also threw two touchdown passes, as the Rebels piled up 667 yards of total offense. Jordan Watkins‘ 70-yard punt return for a touchdown put the Rebels ahead 45-7 a few minutes into the third quarter and was their first punt return for a touchdown in 10 years. — Low

Up next: at Tulane (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)


The Blue Devils were one of the most improved teams in college football last season, but not many gave them a chance against Clemson. After all, they had lost their previous five meetings to the Tigers by an average of 31 points. But coach Mike Elko has done a masterful job since taking over Duke a year ago — and his team outcoached and outplayed Clemson in a 28-7 victory Monday night, a stunning victory in every facet. Quarterback Riley Leonard outplayed Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, with 273 total yards and a score. It was Duke’s first win over an AP Top 10 team since Sept. 30, 1989, when Steve Spurrier was the head coach. The team they beat? Clemson. Spurrier and members of the 1989 team happened to be at the game, watching yet another historic moment in Duke football history. — Adelson

Up next: vs. Lafayette (6 p.m. ET, ESPN+)


After a frustrating 6-7 debut season, Brent Venables and his Sooners were looking for a bright start to 2023. Safe to say, beating Arkansas State 73-0 probably qualifies as “bright.” Dillon Gabriel (who only had to play in the first half) and backup Jackson Arnold completed a combined 30 of 33 passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns as OU scored on every drive of the first three quarters. Nineteen different Sooners got a touch, and eight scored a touchdown. ASU, meanwhile, couldn’t top 200 total yards until the final drive of the game. This was always going to be a blowout, but it was a particularly resounding one. One assumes OU will find more resistance against SMU next week, but you couldn’t ask for a better start to a rebound year. — Connelly

Up next: vs. SMU (6 p.m. ET, ESPN+)


The team of the offseason opened its season in record-setting fashion to beat TCU 45-42 on the road. Coach Deion Sanders was the story coming in, but his son Shedeur owned the spotlight by passing for 510 yards – a Colorado single-game record – and four touchdowns, while completing 38 passes. Travis Hunter, the other headliner in Deion Sanders’ massive group of newcomers, had an interception and 119 receiving yards while logging a staggering 129 snaps in his Buffaloes debut. Colorado had four 100-yard receivers for the first time and snapped a streak of 24 consecutive losses as an underdog of 21 points or more. The defense needs work after surrendering 541 yards, but Colorado appears much better than many of the bleak preseason forecasts, of which Sanders and his players have “got receipts.” — Rittenberg

Up next: vs. Nebraska (Noon ET, Fox)

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Sam Acho: Shedeur Sanders was MVP of Colorado’s win over TCU

Sam Acho has a lot of praise for Shedeur Sanders after Colorado’s win over TCU.


The head coach Jimbo Fisher-offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino pairing got off to a high-flying start in a 52-10 blowout of New Mexico, giving the Aggies hope last season’s woes that led to a 5-7 season are gone. The Aggies scored on their first five possessions and sophomore QB Conner Weigman had a career-high five touchdown passes, three to Noah Thomas and two to Evan Stewart, who had 8 catches for 115 yards. Since Weigman took over as the Aggies’ starter last October, he has thrown 12 TDs with zero interceptions — that’s the most touchdowns without an interception in the FBS during that span. The defense dominated as expected, allowing 91 yards and just 2.8 yards per carry. Another new face, Boston College transfer Josh DeBerry, made an instant impact with 10 tackles, a sack and an interception. — Dave Wilson

Up next: at Miami (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)


The Badgers’ new-look offense looked flat in the first half. Quarterback Tanner Mordecai threw an interception and Wisconsin held just a four-point lead over Buffalo. It was a different story in the second half, however, as the Badgers showed flashes of the offense new coach Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo are hoping to build. Running back Chez Mellusi ripped off an 89-yard touchdown run and finished the game with 157 yards and two total touchdowns. Braelon Allen also got in on the scoring with two rushing touchdowns and 141 yards of his own. — VanHaaren

Up next: at Washington State (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)


Picking up where they left off in last January’s Cotton Bowl Classic upset of USC, quarterback Michael Pratt was nearly flawless and Tulane began the season with a bang. Pratt completed 14 of 15 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns (three in the first half). Pratt’s second career four-touchdown game tied him with Patrick Ramsey for the Green Wave’s career passing touchdown record (72). Pratt connected with Jha’Quan Jackson (three receptions for 106 yards) for touchdown passes of 47 and 48 yards, helping highlight an offense that racked up 436 total yards. — Blake Baumgartner

Up next: vs. Ole Miss (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)


This was supposed to be the start of a new era for the Tigers. Dabo Swinney fired Brandon Streeter as offensive coordinator and brought in the hottest name on the market, Garrett Riley. QB DJ Uiagalelei, who shouldered much of the blame for Clemson’s offensive struggles in 2021 and 2022, transferred to Oregon State, and the keys to the offense were handed to Cade Klubnik. And Monday was to be the grand unveiling. Instead, it was more of the same. Klubnik struggled mightily, the receivers were rarely open and mistakes abounded. Four trips into the red zone resulted in zero points, and turnovers handed Duke several prime opportunities. If 2023 was supposed to be a rebirth, Monday sure looked a lot more like a step backwards. — David Hale

Up next: vs. Charleston Southern (2:15 p.m. ET, ACC Network)

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0:50

Duke fans storm the field after historic upset of No. 9 Clemson

Duke fans rush the field to celebrate a monumental upset of No. 9 Clemson.

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Remembering Ruffian 50 years after her breakdown at Belmont

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Remembering Ruffian 50 years after her breakdown at Belmont

Thoroughbred racing suffered its most ignominious, industry-deflating moment 50 years ago today with the breakdown of Ruffian, an undefeated filly running against Foolish Pleasure in a highly promoted match race at Belmont Park. Her tragic end on July 6, 1975, was a catastrophe for the sport, and observers say racing has never truly recovered.

Two years earlier, during the rise of second-wave feminism, the nation had been mesmerized by a “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. King’s win became a rallying cry for women everywhere. The New York Racing Association, eager to boost daily racing crowds in the mid-1970s, proposed a competition similar to that of King and Riggs. They created a match race between Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure and Ruffian, the undefeated filly who had dominated all 10 of her starts, leading gate to wire.

“In any sport, human or equine, it’s really impossible to say who was the greatest,” said outgoing Jockey Club chairman Stuart Janney III, whose parents, Stuart and Barbara, owned Ruffian. “But I’m always comfortable thinking of Ruffian as being among the four to five greatest horses of all time.”

Ruffian, nearly jet black in color and massive, was the equine version of a Greek goddess. At the age of 2, her girth — the measurement of the strap that secures the saddle — was just over 75 inches. Comparatively, racing legend Secretariat, a male, had a 76-inch girth when he was fully developed at the age of 4.

Her name also added to the aura. “‘Ruffian’ was a little bit of a stretch because it tended to be what you’d name a colt, but it turned out to be an appropriate name,” Janney said.

On May 22, 1974, Ruffian equaled a Belmont Park track record, set by a male, in her debut at age 2, winning by 15 lengths. She set a stakes record later that summer at Saratoga in the Spinaway, the most prestigious race of the year for 2-year-old fillies. The next spring, she blew through races at longer distances, including the three races that made up the so-called Filly Triple Crown.

Some in the media speculated that she had run out of female competition.

Foolish Pleasure had meanwhile ripped through an undefeated 2-year-old season with championship year-end honors. However, after starting his sophomore campaign with a win, he finished third in the Florida Derby. He also had recovered from injuries to his front feet to win the Wood Memorial and then the Kentucky Derby.

Second-place finishes in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes left most observers with the idea that Foolish Pleasure was the best 3-year-old male in the business.

Following the Belmont Stakes, New York officials wanted to test the best filly against the best colt.

The original thought was to include the Preakness winner, Master Derby, in the Great Match Race, but the team of Foolish Pleasure’s owner, trainer and rider didn’t want a three-horse race. Since New York racing had guaranteed $50,000 to the last-place horse, they paid Master Derby’s connections $50,000 not to race. Thus, the stage was set for an equine morality play.

“[Ruffian’s] abilities gave her the advantage in the match race,” Janney said. “If she could do what she did in full fields [by getting the early lead], then it was probably going to be even more effective in a match.”

Several ballyhooed match races in sports history had captured the world’s attention without incident — Seabiscuit vs. Triple Crown winner War Admiral in 1938, Alsab vs. Triple Crown winner Whirlaway in 1942, and Nashua vs. Swaps in 1955. None of those races, though, had the gender divide “it” factor.

The Great Match Race attracted 50,000 live attendees and more than 18 million TV viewers on CBS, comparable to the Grammy Awards and a pair of NFL “Sunday Night Football” games in 2024.

Prominent New York sportswriter Dick Young wrote at the time that, for women, “Ruffian was a way of getting even.”

“I can remember driving up the New Jersey Turnpike, and the lady that took the toll in one of those booths was wearing a button that said, ‘I’m for her,’ meaning Ruffian,” Janney said.

As the day approached, Ruffian’s rider, Jacinto Vasquez, who also was the regular rider of Foolish Pleasure including at the Kentucky Derby, had to choose whom to ride for the match race.

“I had ridden Foolish Pleasure, and I knew what he could do,” Vasquez told ESPN. “But I didn’t think he could beat the filly. He didn’t have the speed or stamina.”

Braulio Baeza, who had ridden Foolish Pleasure to victory in the previous year’s premier 2-year-old race, Hopeful Stakes, was chosen to ride Foolish Pleasure.

“I had ridden Foolish Pleasure and ridden against Ruffian,” Baeza said, with language assistance from his wife, Janice Blake. “I thought Foolish Pleasure was better than Ruffian. She just needed [early race] pressure because no one had ever pressured her.”

The 1⅛ mile race began at the start of the Belmont Park backstretch in the chute. In an ESPN documentary from 2000, Jack Whitaker, who hosted the race telecast for CBS, noted that the atmosphere turned eerie with dark thunderclouds approaching before the race.

Ruffian hit the side of the gate when the doors opened but straightened herself out quickly and assumed the lead. “The whole world, including me, thought that Ruffian was going to run off the screen and add to her legacy,” said longtime New York trainer Gary Contessa, who was a teenager when Ruffian ruled the racing world.

However, about ⅛ of a mile into the race, the force of Ruffian’s mighty strides snapped two bones in her front right leg.

“When she broke her leg, it sounded like a broken stick,” Vasquez said. “She broke her leg between her foot and her ankle. When I pulled up, the bone was shattered above the ankle. She couldn’t use that leg at all.”

It took Ruffian a few moments to realize what had happened to her, so she continued to run. Vasquez eventually hopped off and kept his shoulder leaning against her for support.

“You see it, but you don’t want to believe it,” Janney said.

Baeza had no choice but to have Foolish Pleasure finish the race in what became a macabre paid workout. The TV cameras followed him, but the eyes of everyone at the track were on the filly, who looked frightened as she was taken back to the barn area.

“When Ruffian broke down, time stood still that day,” Contessa said. Yet time was of the essence in an attempt to save her life.

Janney said that Dr. Frank Stinchfield — who was the doctor for the New York Yankees then and was “ahead of his time in fixing people’s bones” — called racing officials to see whether there was anything he could do to help with Ruffian.

New York veterinarian Dr. Manny Gilman managed to sedate Ruffian, performed surgery on her leg and, with Stinchfield’s help, secured her leg in an inflatable cast. When Ruffian woke up in the middle of the night, though, she started fighting and shattered her bones irreparably. Her team had no choice but to euthanize her at approximately 2:20 a.m. on July 7.

“She was going full bore trying to get in front of [Foolish Pleasure] out of the gate,” Baeza said. “She gave everything there. She gave her life.”

Contessa described the time after as a “stilled hush over the world.”

“When we got the word that she had rebroken her leg, the whole world was crying,” Contessa said. “I can’t reproduce the feeling that I had the day after.”

The Janneys soon flew to Maine for the summer, and they received a round of applause when the pilot announced their presence. At the cottage, they were met by thousands of well-wishing letters.

“We all sat there, after dinner every night, and we wrote every one of them back,” Janney said. “It was pretty overwhelming, and that didn’t stop for a long time. I still get letters.”

Equine fatalities have been part of the business since its inception, like the Triple Crown races and Breeders’ Cup. Some have generated headlines by coming in clusters, such as Santa Anita in 2019 and Churchill Downs in 2023. However, breakdowns are not the only factor, and likely not the most influential one, in the gradual decline of horse racing’s popularity in this country.

But the impact from the day of Ruffian’s death, and that moment, has been ongoing for horse racing.

“There are people who witnessed the breakdown and never came back,” Contessa said.

Said Janney: “At about that time, racing started to disappear from the national consciousness. The average person knows about the Kentucky Derby, and that’s about it.”

Equine racing today is a safer sport now than it was 50 years ago. The Equine Injury Database, launched by the Jockey Club in 2008, says the fatality rate nationally in 2024 was just over half of what it was at its launch.

“We finally have protocols that probably should have been in effect far sooner than this,” Contessa said. “But the protocols have made this a safer game.”

Said Vasquez: “There are a lot of nice horses today, but to have a horse like Ruffian, it’s unbelievable. Nobody could compare to Ruffian.”

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Volpe toss hits Judge as sloppy Yanks fall again

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Volpe toss hits Judge as sloppy Yanks fall again

NEW YORK — A blunder that typifies the current state of the New York Yankees, who find themselves in the midst of their second six-game losing streak in three weeks, happened in front of 41,401 fans at Citi Field on Saturday, and almost nobody noticed.

The Yankees were jogging off the field after securing the third out of the fourth inning of their 12-6 loss to the Mets when shortstop Anthony Volpe, as is standard for teams across baseball at the end of innings, threw the ball to right fielder Aaron Judge as he crossed into the infield from right field.

Only Judge wasn’t looking, and the ball nailed him in the head, knocking his sunglasses off and leaving a small cut near his right eye. The wound required a bandage to stop the bleeding, but Judge stayed in the game.

“Confusion,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I didn’t know what happened initially. [It just] felt like something happened. Of course I was a little concerned.”

Avoiding an injury to the best player in baseball was on the Yankees’ very short list of positives in another sloppy, draining defeat to their crosstown rivals. With the loss, the Yankees, who held a three-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East standings entering June 30, find themselves tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for second place three games behind the Blue Jays heading into Sunday’s Subway Series finale.

The nosedive has been fueled by messy defense and a depleted pitching staff that has encountered a wall.

“It’s been a terrible week,” said Boone, who before the game announced starter Clarke Schmidt will likely undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery.

For the second straight day, the Mets capitalized on mistakes and cracked timely home runs. After slugging three homers in Friday’s series opener, the Mets hit three more Saturday — a grand slam in the first inning from Brandon Nimmo to take a 4-0 lead and two home runs from Pete Alonso to widen the gap.

Nimmo’s blast — his second grand slam in four days — came after Yankees left fielder Jasson Dominguez misplayed a ball hit by the Mets’ leadoff hitter in the first inning. On Friday, he misread Nimmo’s line drive and watched it sail over his head for a double. On Saturday, he was slow to react to Starling Marte’s flyball in the left-center field gap and braked without catching or stopping it, allowing Marte to advance to second for a double. Yankees starter Carlos Rodon then walked two batters to load the bases for Nimmo, who yanked a mistake, a 1-2 slider over the wall.

“That slider probably needs to be down,” said Rodon, who allowed seven runs (six earned) over five innings. “A lot of misses today and they punished them.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s throwing woes at third base — a position the Yankees have asked him to play to accommodate DJ LeMahieu at second base — continued in the second inning when he fielded Tyrone Taylor’s groundball and sailed a toss over first baseman Cody Bellinger’s head. Taylor was given second base and scored moments later on Marte’s RBI single.

The Yankees were charged with their second error in the Mets’ four-run seventh inning when center fielder Trent Grisham charged Francisco Lindor’s single up the middle and had it bounce off the heel of his glove.

The mistake allowed a run to score from second base without a throw, extending the Mets lead back to three runs after the Yankees had chipped their deficit, and allowed a heads-up Lindor to advance to second base. Lindor later scored on Alonso’s second home run, a three-run blast off left-hander Jayvien Sandridge in the pitcher’s major league debut.

“Just got to play better,” Judge said. “That’s what it comes down to. It’s fundamentals. Making a routine play, routine. It’s just the little things. That’s what it kind of comes down to. But every good team goes through a couple bumps in the road.”

This six-game losing skid has looked very different from the Yankees’ first. That rough patch, consisting of losses to the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels, was propelled by offensive troubles. The Yankees scored six runs in the six games and gave up just 16. This time, run prevention is the issue; the Yankees have scored 34 runs and surrendered 54 in four games against the Blue Jays in Toronto and two in Queens.

“The offense is starting to swing the bat, put some runs on the board,” Boone said. “The pitching, which has kind of carried us a lot this season, has really, really struggled this week. We haven’t caught the ball as well as I think we should.

“So, look, when you live it and you’re going through it, it sucks, it hurts. But you got to be able to handle it. You got to be able to deal with it. You got to be able to weather it and come out of this and grow.”

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Former White Sox pitcher, world champ Jenks dies

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Former White Sox pitcher, world champ Jenks dies

Bobby Jenks, a two-time All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who was on the roster when the franchise won the 2005 World Series, died Friday in Sintra, Portugal, the team announced.

Jenks, 44, who had been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer, this year, spent six seasons with the White Sox from 2005 to 2010 and also played for the Boston Red Sox in 2011. The reliever finished his major league career with a 16-20 record, 3.53 ERA and 173 saves.

“We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today,” White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “None of us will ever forget that ninth inning of Game 4 in Houston, all that Bobby did for the 2005 World Series champions and for the entire Sox organization during his time in Chicago. He and his family knew cancer would be his toughest battle, and he will be missed as a husband, father, friend and teammate. He will forever hold a special place in all our hearts.”

After Jenks moved to Portugal last year, he was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. That eventually spread into blood clots in his lungs, prompting further testing. He was later diagnosed with adenocarcinoma and began undergoing radiation.

In February, as Jenks was being treated for the illness, the White Sox posted “We stand with you, Bobby” on Instagram, adding in the post that the club was “thinking of Bobby as he is being treated.”

In 2005, as the White Sox ended an 88-year drought en route to the World Series title, Jenks appeared in six postseason games. Chicago went 11-1 in the playoffs, and he earned saves in series-clinching wins in Game 3 of the ALDS at Boston, and Game 4 of the World Series against the Houston Astros.

In 2006, Jenks saved 41 games, and the following year, he posted 40 saves. He also retired 41 consecutive batters in 2007, matching a record for a reliever.

“You play for the love of the game, the joy of it,” Jenks said in his last interview with SoxTV last year. “It’s what I love to do. I [was] playing to be a world champion, and that’s what I wanted to do from the time I picked up a baseball.”

A native of Mission Hills, California, Jenks appeared in 19 games for the Red Sox and was originally drafted by the then-Anaheim Angels in the fifth round of the 2000 draft.

Jenks is survived by his wife, Eleni Tzitzivacos, their two children, Zeno and Kate, and his four children from a prior marriage, Cuma, Nolan, Rylan and Jackson.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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