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If we’ve learned anything about the Colorado Buffaloes this season, it’s that they do not forget. Anything.

Slights, hating, trash talk, vague references to the transfer portal … Deion Sanders’ team has gotten all kinds of bulletin board material.

The Buffaloes are 3-0 after Saturday’s double-overtime win over the Colorado State Rams. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, CU is just the fourth team, and the first since 2008, to start a season 3-0 following a season in which it lost 11 or more games.

After Colorado’s upset win over TCU to start the season, Sanders offered what could have been an ominous warning to anyone who questioned him or his team about, well, anything.

“I’ve got receipts. I know who they are.”

At this point, that could be Colorado’s mantra. Here are the receipts the Buffs have shown so far this season:

Week 1: A whole summer of questions

Who started it: The media, in general.

Much was written and said about Sanders’ offseason overhaul of the Buffaloes’ roster. CU started the season with 86 new players, 10 of whom had followed Sanders from Jackson State. They included Shedeur and Shilo Sanders, two of Deion’s children, and former five-star recruit Travis Hunter.

There were questions about the level of competition those players faced, especially those who came from Jackson State, an FCS program. When Shedeur Sanders threw for a school-record 510 yards in the 45-42 win, Deion Sanders’ postgame comments were dripping with sarcasm.

“For real? Shedeur Sanders? From an HBCU? The one that played at Jackson last year? The one that you asked me, ‘Why would I give him the starting job?'”

Also catching a stray was ESPN NFL reporter Ed Werder.

Werder was on “The Dan Patrick Show” the Monday after the game and said he wasn’t sure what Sanders was referring to but thought it might be when he called him a “celebrity coach” in a tweet in March.


Week 2: Transfer tribulation

Who started it: Nebraska Cornhuskers coach Matt Rhule.

As noted, Colorado’s roster was practically unrecognizable from the one that played the 2022 season. According to ESPN Stats & Info research, Colorado had the most incoming players to an FBS roster since the inception of the transfer portal in 2018.

In the offseason, Rhule was asked about his approach to the spring transfer period.

“I hear other schools saying they can’t wait for … the transfer portal, I can’t wait to coach my guys,” Rhule said in April.

In the game, Shedeur Sanders went full Michael Jordan “I took that personally” meme.

“The coach said a lot of things about my pops, about the program,” said Sanders, who had 393 yards passing and three scores in the game. “I don’t respect that because you’re hating on another man. All respect was gone for them and their program.

“The respect level ain’t there because he disrespected us first.”

Nebraska might have compounded the problem during its pregame warmups by stepping on Colorado’s midfield logo.

“We go out there to warm up and you got the head coach for the other team trying to stand in the middle of the Buff,” Sanders said. “It’s OK if a couple of players do it, it’s fine. Just enjoy the scenery, but when you’ve got a whole team trying to disrespect it, I’m not going for that at all.”

Sanders added another flex after the game.


Week 3: SunglassesGate

Who started it: Colorado State Rams coach Jay Norvell

The above could be the tagline for an action movie sequel or just a dot on the map of a weird week of back-and-forth before the Rocky Mountain Showdown.

It started when Norvell took a swipe at Deion Sanders for wearing sunglasses just about everywhere.

“When I talk to grown-ups, I take my hat and my sunglasses off,” Norvell said during his coaches show. “That’s what my mom taught me.”

Sanders rebutted: “It was just going to be a good game and they done messed around and made it personal. It was going to be a great task — a battle of Colorado — but they done messed around and made it [personal].”

Shedeur Sanders also chimed in.

Deion Sanders, who has his own line of sunglasses with Blenders brand, began passing out eyewear to just about everyone. During a team meeting, Sanders gave every member of his team a pair of shades.

The game wasn’t holy retribution for Norvell’s coach’s show comment heard ’round the world. It was a nail-biter that saw Colorado need a 98-yard scoring drive to send the game to overtime, with the Buffaloes winning 43-35 in a second overtime. When the game was over, Coach Prime and Norvell shook hands and had a brief interaction. Sanders, however, knew the gravity of the rivalry, especially after such a hyped-up week.

“I said we can’t let this dude win,” Sanders said after the game. “There ain’t no way we let this dude win. This press conference is going to be unbearable if we let this dude win.”

The Buffaloes will have their biggest test to date Saturday when they visit the No. 11 Oregon Ducks. Surely Deion & Co. won’t remember what Oregon coach Dan Lanning said all the way back at the end of July when he was asked about Colorado leaving the Pac-12 for the Big 12.

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‘We’re back in it’: Pickard wins, Oilers tie series 2-2

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'We're back in it': Pickard wins, Oilers tie series 2-2

EDMONTON, Alberta — Evan Bouchard scored the game-deciding goal with 38.1 seconds in regulation, making a winner of goaltender Calvin Pickard in his playoff starting debut, and the Edmonton Oilers edged the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in Game 4 of their second-round playoff series on Tuesday.

The victory leveled the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series at 2-2, with Game 5 set for Thursday night in Vancouver.

Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring for the Oilers on a first-period power play and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added a tally late in the second period.

After replacing Stuart Skinner during Game 3, Pickard made 19 saves in his first postseason start, while Arturs Silovs stopped 27 of 30 shots for Vancouver.

“It was a tough bounce for sure. I guess both goals were tough bounces,” Pickard told SportsNet after the win, regarding the two tallies he allowed, both in the third period. “But it didn’t deflate us. … We weren’t playing for overtime (after the second goal). We were going right after it after that goal. So (Bouchard’s was) a great goal. And we’re back in it.”

The 32-year-old Pickard received plenty of standing ovations after saves Tuesday, adding to a dramatic week that began with him replacing Skinner, who allowed four goals on 15 shots in Edmonton’s Game 3 loss on Sunday.

“The guys made it easy on me,” Pickard said. “We had three big penalty kills in the first period, which was huge. I got some touches early, and I felt comfortable. So, it’s just one game, and we’re moving on to Vancouver.”

Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua had third-period goals for the Canucks, who lost their first road game of the postseason after no being able to solve Pickard after Bouchard’s tally.

“Unbelievable,” Draisaitl said of Pickard’s performance. “What an awesome guy, what an awesome story. All year, he’s given us a chance to win. And every time he goes in there, it seems like he’s standing on his head.”

Connor McDavid sliced a blistering pass to Draisaitl and the German forward ripped a one-timer past Silovs from the bottom of the right faceoff circle. The goalie got his glove on the shot but the puck bobbled and popped into the net to put the Oilers up 1-0 at the 11:10 mark.

The tally extended Draisaitl’s point streak to all nine of Edmonton’s post-season games, with eight goals and 12 assists across the stretch. He leads the league in playoff points.

The Oilers continued to push in the second but once again found themselves stymied by Silovs.

A missed hit created a two-on-one opportunity for the Oilers with less than a minute left in the second period.

Mattias Ekholm picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and when Juulsen went to bump him off, the veteran defenseman dished off to Nugent-Hopkins. The centerman streaked up the ice and blasted a shot over Silovs’ stick to give Edmonton a 2-0 lead with 39.8 seconds left in the period.

“We played too good of a game to not win this one,” Ekholm said. “It was something that, at least I was feeling out there, that we were going to get them. … It was really nice to see (Bouchard’s goal) go in.”

Garland finally got a puck past Pickard 6:54 into the third when he unleashed a blast from the top of the slot, cutting Vancouver’s deficit to 2-1 with his second postseason goal.

The Canucks pulled Silovs with 2:38 to go in favor of an extra attacker and the Canucks took advantage.

Brock Boeser collected a pass from Quinn Hughes, waited a moment for his opportunity, then threw a shot toward the Edmonton net and the puck bounced in off Joshua’s skate with 1:41 left in the third.

The Oilers refused to relent and Bouchard snapped a shot in with 38.1 seconds left on the clock, pinging the puck in off Silovs’ stick for his fourth of the playoffs.

Canucks defenseman Carson Soucy sat out for a one-game suspension for cross-checking Connor McDavid after the final buzzer in Game 3. Noah Juulsen took his spot in the lineup.

“The mantra the entire year is not getting too high or low,” Hughes said. “We’ll be ready to go Game 5.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Rangers’ Trouba earns Messier Leadership Award

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Rangers' Trouba earns Messier Leadership Award

NEW YORK — From one former New York Rangers to a current one, Jacob Trouba was selected as the winner of the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, the league announced Tuesday.

The award winner is selected personally by Messier and presented since 2007 to a player who “exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey.”

Trouba is the first Rangers player to earn the honor after helping lead his team to a franchise-best 55 wins and a Presidents’ Trophy for leading the NHL with 114 points. The Rangers hold a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven second-round playoff series against Carolina, with Game 6 at the Hurricanes on Thursday.

On the ice, the second-year captain ranked fourth on the team with a little more than 21 minutes of ice time per game in a two-way role in which Trouba had three goals and 22 points in 69 games, while also playing a key role on the penalty-killing unit. He finished 12th in the league and second on the team in being credited with 183 blocked shots.

Off the ice, the 30-year-old from Michigan has been a staple in promoting the sport by taking part in the Rangers annual weeklong hockey camp for boys and girls. As a budding artist, Trouba also sold prints of his original work to help raise money for the Garden of Dreams Foundation and the city’s Epilepsy Foundation.

He and his wife Kelly, who has epilepsy, founded the Trouba Creative Expressions Art Program to help connect adults with epilepsy and seizures with art therapist. The couple also took part in promoting the NHL and NHL Players’ Association’s Hockey Fights Cancer initiative to encourage people to get regular screenings.

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Tavares rescues Canada in OT victory over Austria

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Tavares rescues Canada in OT victory over Austria

PRAGUE — Canada squandered a five-goal lead in the third period before Toronto Maple Leafs star John Tavares scored 15 seconds into overtime to give the defending champions a 7-6 win over Austria at the ice hockey world championship on Tuesday.

The Canadians led 6-1, but Austria produced an unprecedented five-goal final period to force overtime in a Group A game in Prague. Peter Schneider led Austria’s surge in the third with two goals and an assist.

Benjamin Baumgartner completed a two-on-one rush before Schneider scored from a tight angle to make it 6-3. Dominic Zwerger’s slap shot made it a two-goal game.

Schneider added his second with 4:04 remaining, and Marco Rossi‘s backhander tied it at 6-6 with 49 seconds left.

In overtime, Tavares, whose Maple Leafs lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs to the Boston Bruins, carried the puck into the zone and snapped a wrist shot past goaltender David Madlener to clinch Canada’s third straight victory.

“It’s a good lesson,” said Tavares, Canada’s captain who also is Toronto’s captain. “This definitely grabs our attention, just how we have to stay with our game, continue to build our identity and how you have to manage the swings of emotion.”

Earlier, Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard scored for the third straight game, Kaiden Guhle had a goal and an assist, and Dylan Cozens, Bowen Byram, Jared McCann and Pierre-Luc Dubois all scored a goal each for Canada.

Canada scored three in the span of 6:55 in the first period to build a 3-1 lead. Cozens opened the scoring from the slot before Tavares fed Guhle to double the advantage from the left circle. Benjamin Nissner pulled one back for Austria before Byram wristed in the third.

McCann skated around Madlener to make it 4-1 in the middle period. Bedard added the fifth, shooting from the goal line with Madlener deflecting the puck into his own net. Dubois added a sixth.

Madlener made 42 saves for Austria, which earned its first point in the tournament. Canada’s Jordan Binnington stopped 15 shots.

After two overtime wins, Latvia beat Kazakhstan 2-0 for its third straight victory.

Roberts Bukarts and Haralds Egle scored for last year’s bronze medalist, and Kristers Gudlevskis made 22 saves to ensure three points in the Group B game in Ostrava.

Latvia had needed overtime to get past Poland and France.

In Group A in Prague, Norway got its first win at the tournament by beating Denmark 2-0.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard scored, Eirik Salsten added the second into an empty net and goalie Henrik Haukeland stopped 24 shots.

In Group B, Justin Addamo’s two goals helped France top Poland 4-2 for its first victory.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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