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Moments after Colorado‘s once-promising season sputtered to a close with a 23-17 loss at Utah in November, coach Deion Sanders took about a minute to reflect on some of the positives his team showed in the game. Even with his son, star quarterback Shedeur Sanders, sidelined with an injury, he said the Buffs played well. But he also wasted no time turning the page. After a last-place Pac-12 finish in his debut season at Colorado, it made no sense to dwell on the team’s on-field performance.

“It’s time to start projecting and start thinking about the tomorrow already,” Sanders said.

With that, Sanders got back to doing what he has proven effective at: generating hype.

“We already know what’s going to transpire, you’re gonna be pleased with what’s coming. I promise you that,” Sanders said. “But everything you see that we have a lack thereof — a deficit — we’re gonna fill that need.”

As he did when he arrived, Sanders made it clear Colorado was, again, going to seek help in the transfer portal in the pursuit of one clear goal.

“We want to win now.”

Here’s a look at some of the most noteworthy moments of Colorado’s offseason as Coach Prime’s tenure remains one of the most captivating stories in all of sports.

Dec. 5: Sanders arrived to Colorado in late 2022 as a bona fide celebrity — one of the greatest athletes in American history — taking the reins at a downtrodden program. He leaned heavily into making Colorado as visible as possible. Everything, it seemed, was on camera.

But after a whole year of that constant visibility, it seemed to become a dynamic that wasn’t always positive, he told People Magazine.

“You always wish that you had a little more privacy,” he said, “but the same thing that makes you shine will show your blemishes.

“So you’ve got to take the good with the bad. You can’t just want everyone there when the hype machine is rolling, you have to understand there’s another side to this.”


Dec. 20: As Deion alluded to in the Utah press conference, Colorado had glaring holes it needed to fill and almost immediately took steps to shore up a porous offensive line that allowed Shedeur to become one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the country. Colorado welcomed 20 new players in the early transfer window, including six offensive lineman: OT Kahlil Benson, Indiana; OG Justin Mayers, UTEP; C Yakiri Walker, UConn; OG Tyler Johnson, Houston; OT Phillip Houston, FIU; including a big grab in five-star HS recruit OT Jordan Seaton.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Sanders said, “All these kids have been starters. They’re not backups. They weren’t lower-level players. They were starters in Power 5. And they know darn well they’ve got a first-round pick — maybe the first kid in the whole draft — that they’re protecting. That means something to them.”


Dec. 30: Shortly after getting through the early signing day, staff changes started. Defensive coordinator Charles Kelly left the program to serve as the co-defensive coordinator at Auburn, his alma mater. Kelly’s departure meant that both of Sanders’ initial coordinators would not be back for a second season. OC Sean Lewis, who was stripped of playcalling duties during the season, was hired as San Diego State‘s head coach.


Jan. 16: A little more than a year after Coach Prime delivered the famous line at his team meeting — “I’m bringing my luggage with me, and it’s Louis” — some of that proverbial luggage (his sons, Shilo and Shedeur) walked in an actual Louis Vuitton fashion show during Paris Men’s Fashion Week.


Jan. 27: Not even two weeks later, a video was published by Well Off Media — the YouTube channel operated by the oldest Sanders son, Deion Jr. — with a headline: DEION SANDERS’ SONS ARE BUYING HIM A NEW HOME IN COLORADO. It shows the family touring an exquisite property roughly 18 miles from Folsom Field, outside of nearby Golden, Colorado.

Four months later, however, that property is still listed for sale by the listing agent.


Feb. 3: Professor Prime? At least for a day. Sanders served as a guest lecturer to talk about the football program’s social media strategy, among other topics, alongside Sanders Jr. — known better as Bucky — for a class called Prime Time: Public Performance and Leadership.


Feb. 9: Former Cincinnati Bengals secondary coach Robert Livingston was hired as the defensive coordinator and Pat Shurmur, who took over playcalling duties from Lewis, was confirmed as the permanent OC. Colorado also announced Phil Loadholt as the OL coach and Jason Phillips as the receivers coach.


Feb. 20: Smack in the middle of a recruiting dead period, Sanders was announced as an owner of the sports nutrition company REDCON1.

In a press release announcing the deal, the company said, “Coach Prime will drive REDCON1’s expansion directly, especially within the sports nutrition and performance beverage sectors. His creativity and expertise are derived from his personal experiences and success in sports, which will play a pivotal role in continued product innovation and enhancing the brand’s visibility.”


March 12: Sanders’ second book — “Elevate and Dominate: 21 Ways to Win On and Off the Field,” written with Don Yaeger — was released as an instant New York Times bestseller. It was accompanied by a four-stop book tour.


April 1: Months after Sanders said it was going to happen, Hall of Fame defensive lineman Warren Sapp joined the program as a graduate assistant. Athletic director Rick George signed off on the hire, which drew criticism in light of Sapp’s past that saw him get fired by the NFL Network following his arrest for assaulting and soliciting a prostitute during Super Bowl weekend in 2015.

“Warren Sapp successfully completed all of the necessary steps required of anyone who is employed at CU Boulder, including a background check,” Colorado said in a statement. “Furthermore, athletic director Rick George personally met with Warren to clearly articulate the department’s standards and expectations, to which he acknowledged and agreed.”


April 10: Well Off Media took fans behind the scenes as Shedeur attended an in-person lecture for the first time.

During the video he jokingly said, “You know how long it’s been since I’ve been to an in-person class? Like five years.”


April 16: When the spring transfer portal window opened, several prominent players announced they would be leaving Colorado, including former five-star recruit Cormani McClain, lead rusher Dylan Edwards and two other backs, Alton McCaskill and Sy’veon Wilkerson.


April 20: On his YouTube channel, McClain took a pointed shot at the Colorado program.

“Some people just gotta take a step back from things sometimes, certain people, you know,” McClain said. “I feel like I just don’t want to play for clicks. I actually want to be involved with a great leading program that’s going to develop players.”

He would later transfer to Florida.


April 27: Colorado fans set a high bar when they sold out Folsom Field for the 2023 spring game and while this year’s version wasn’t quite the spectacle, it still drew a respectable crowd of 28,424 despite inclement weather. The game was part of a day that later featured a Lil Wayne concert.


May 1: After a story in The Athletic was published that detailed how former Buffaloes players fared after many were run off following the arrival of Sanders, a series of back-and-forth trash talk ensued, including tweets from Shedeur and Deion.

The coach took aim at one relatively anonymous FCS player from Austin Peay.

He later told Thee Pregame Show, “I gotta do better on that and not ride with it, but I was bored. I was bored, and I didn’t say nothing hurtful. I don’t attack people.”


May 8: As Shedeur preps for an important final season of college football in which he’s in the conversation to be one of the first quarterbacks taken in next spring’s NFL draft, he also found time to drop his first song, “Perfect Timing.”


May 16: Two-way star Travis Hunter was revealed as one of the three cover stars, alongside Michigan‘s Donovan Edwards and TexasQuinn Ewers, for the rebirth of EA Sports College Football 25.


May 20: The Coach Prime effect continues to pay off for Colorado’s ticket department. For the second straight year, the Buffs have sold out their season tickets, something the school had not done since 1996. And prior to 2023, the school had never sold out its season tickets before August.

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Leafs finish off Senators for spot in East semifinals

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Leafs finish off Senators for spot in East semifinals

OTTAWA, Ontario — Max Pacioretty scored the tiebreaking goal with less than six minutes remaining, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to a series-clinching 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night in Game 6 of their first-round matchup.

William Nylander had two goals, including an empty-netter in the final seconds, and an assist, and Auston Matthews added a power-play goal in the first period for Toronto. Anthony Stolarz made 20 saves.

Brady Tkachuk and David Perron scored for Ottawa. Thomas Chabot had two assists and Linus Ullmark made 19 saves.

The Maple Leafs advanced to take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in their first-round series.

Toronto grabbed a 3-0 series lead, but Ottawa stayed alive with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 4 and a 4-0 shutout in Game 5.

The Maple Leafs finally put away the Senators in Game 6.

With the game tied at 2, Pacioretty — a heathy scratch to start the series — scored the winner with 5:39 remaining off a pass from Max Domi that beat Ullmark to the glove side. It was Pacioretty’s first goal of the playoffs.

Scott Laughton hit the post before Nylander iced it into the empty net with 18.3 seconds left.

Matthews put Toronto up 1-0 on a power play with 70 seconds left in the first period when he fired a low shot through traffic.

Nylander, on his 29th birthday, made it 2-0 just 43 seconds into the second when he ripped a shot past Ullmark after Pacioretty forced a turnover from Senators defenseman Nick Jensen.

Ottawa got on the board at 7:28 when Tkachuk tipped a shot past Stolarz.

Toronto, which beat Ottawa four times in five playoffs series in the early 2000s, came close to restoring its two-goal lead when John Tavares poked a loose puck off the post before Ullmark denied Matthew Knies and Brandon Carlo off the rush.

Perron scored with 7:20 left in regulation to tie it on a shot from below the goal line that went in off Stolarz’s back to make it 2-2.

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Eichel’s 1st goal of series helps Knights advance

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Eichel's 1st goal of series helps Knights advance

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Jack Eichel scored his first goal of the series to give Vegas the lead late in the second period, and Adin Hill held it up on a 29-save night to spur the Golden Knights on to the second round with a 3-2 victory in Game 6 against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.

Shea Theodore scored first and Mark Stone scored last for Vegas, which will face the winner of the Edmonton-Los Angeles series. The Oilers took a 3-2 lead on the Kings into Game 6 on their home ice later Thursday.

Minnesota has lost nine consecutive series in the NHL playoffs and last made it out of the first round 10 years ago.

Ryan Hartman had two goals for the Wild, including a wraparound with 3:27 left that came 31 seconds after Stone had just given the Golden Knights a two-goal lead.

Stone, who set up Eichel with a long pass out of the zone that was inches out of reach of the stick of Kirill Kaprizov after he dived to try to prevent the breakaway, had four points in the last three games. Neither Stone nor Eichel recorded a single point in the first three games.

Hartman tied the game for the Wild with four seconds left in the first period, a goal safe from replay review unlike his go-ahead score in Game 5 with 1:15 remaining in regulation that was revoked for an offside call after Vegas challenged.

The Wild were unshaken by the consecutive overtime losses that erased their 2-1 lead, confident they measured up to the deeper Golden Knights and could still take the series.

They were quickly playing from behind, though, after Marco Rossi got the dreaded double minor penalty for high-sticking Brayden McNabb with just 2:27 elapsed in the game.

Theodore wristed in a shot from the high slot with Stone and Tomas Hertl screening Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson, immediately quieting the crowd near the end of the first power play. Gustavsson, who was forced out of Game 5 after two periods due to an illness, had 20 saves.

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Draisaitl, Hellebuyck, Kucherov are Hart finalists

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Draisaitl, Hellebuyck, Kucherov are Hart finalists

Edmonton Oilers star forward Leon Draisaitl, Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and Tampa Bay Lightning standout Nikita Kucherov were named finalists for the 2024-25 Hart Memorial Trophy on Thursday.

The award is presented “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team” and voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Draisaitl, 29, led the NHL in goals (52), tied for third in points (106) and was a career-best plus-32 in 71 games this season. He won the award in 2019-20 and is a two-time finalist.

Hellebuyck, 31, led the league in wins (47), goals-against average (2.00) and shutouts (eight) and was second in save percentage (.925) among goalies to play at least 25 games. The Vezina Trophy finalist as the best goaltender in the NHL is a first-time Hart finalist.

Kucherov, 31, led the NHL in scoring for the second consecutive season with 121 points (37 goals, 84 assists). He won the Hart Trophy in 2018-19 and is a three-time finalist.

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