Colorado has undeniable talent, but a lot to prove still
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Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff Writer
BOULDER, Colo. — Minutes after North Dakota State’s potential game-winning Hail Mary pass left the Bison 4 yards shy of a Thursday night, prime-time upset, Colorado coach Deion Sanders strolled into the postgame news conference more relieved than anything else.
“You ever felt like you won, but you didn’t win?” Sanders asked.
He was summing up his feelings in the moment, but he could have been speaking for all Buffaloes fans who left not-quite-sold-out Folsom Field having watched a version of their team that looked a lot like the disappointing one from a year ago. Colorado did a lot of good things in its 31-26 win, but it wasn’t the type of comprehensive performance against a lower-division team that will inspire fresh optimism about a significant step forward to come this season.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter looked every bit like the potential top-5 NFL draft picks their coach expects them to be. Sanders completed 26 of 34 passes for 445 yards and three of his four touchdown passes were to Hunter, who represented an unfair mismatch for NDSU’s secondary. He finished with seven catches for 132 yards.
“I think 31 NFL scouts came tonight and I think they saw what they came to see. So, let’s move on from there,” Deion Sanders said. “I’m going to try my best to hold back my anger, but we got the W.”
The more Sanders talked, the more positive he was about the team’s performance, but it still stood in stark contrast to last year’s season-opening win against TCU after which Sanders famously proclaimed, “Do you believe now?”
After that game, Sanders had people convinced the Buffaloes could compete for a conference title. A year later, it seems foolish to use the first game of the season to provide a great sense of what’s to come.
Early last month at Big 12 media day in Las Vegas, Sanders was asked about his expectations for the season. It was a standard offseason type of question to kick off an interview. And after a last-place finish in the Pac-12 last season, it would have been reasonable for Sanders to be measured in his response or to lean into any number of coaching standbys that don’t invite additional external scrutiny.
Instead, Sanders dismissed the notion the Buffaloes didn’t belong in the same breath as the conference favorites.
“I’d be an idiot to sit over here and not tell you we plan on winning,” he told ESPN. “I don’t know who sits down and says they don’t plan on winning. You got to be an idiot to say that.”
Winning a national title? Winning the Big 12? Winning more games than they lose? He stopped short of providing specifics, but this was not a man who was open to the idea the Buffs’ 4-8 finish from a year ago was grounds for the idea they would be competitively irrelevant again in 2024.
2:42
Travis Hunter after 3-TD game: I have a lot of confidence in myself
Colorado star Travis Hunter joins Scott Van Pelt to discuss his huge game against North Dakota State.
One of the main reasons he cited for why winning was the expectation was a revamped offensive line. Aside from center Hank Zilinskas, who started two games last season, the other linemen made their debuts against NDSU — and they finished with mixed reviews. Although Sanders was sacked only once, he was consistently put under pressure and the line failed to open consistent lanes in the run game. Colorado finished with a measly 59 yards rushing on 23 carries (2.6 yards per carry).
“You would love to run the ball a little more but shoot, when you have [504 yards] of total offense, I’m pretty good,” Sanders said. “I’m going to sleep good. Really good. Really good tonight with that. So, I’m cool with that. We would like to see a little more balance, but what is balance? Balance is wins.”
Shedeur Sanders also hinted his offensive line might have had something extra to play for.
“The O-line had an incentive. That’s it. They had a great incentive,” he said. “So, they definitely did what they were supposed to do today. So now I feel good.”
Sanders wasn’t without his mistakes. Namely when it came to game management.
After NDSU scored to make it 31-26, Colorado converted a first down at its 42-yard line that left 1 minute, 41 seconds on the clock. The Bison had one timeout left, which meant if the Buffs ran three straight running plays, they could have wound the clock down inside 10 seconds to go before punting on fourth down, which might have ended the game.
Instead, Sanders checked to a pass play on first down and took a deep shot that fell incomplete, functioning as an extra timeout for NDSU.
“Cover zero. Cover zero and we have the best receiver room in the nation, so it’s kind of disrespectful,” Sanders said when he explained his decision to throw.
When NDSU took over at its 8-yard line, it had 31 seconds left, which were almost enough to pull off a last-ditch miracle. NDSU’s Hail Mary was caught at the Colorado 4-yard line.
“It was something I definitely would learn from,” Sanders said. “So that’s why I’m happy. Everything in my life — I always was able to learn from it. So, there are not too many mistakes you’re going to see I made twice. That’s just something I’m going to learn, understand that even if it looks super tempting … you just got to go with [running the ball in that situation].”
In the end, it didn’t matter. Colorado got the win, even if it didn’t feel like one.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A group led by Florida-based real estate developer Patrick Zalupski closed on its purchase of the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, finalizing the sale of the team from former owner Stuart Sternberg.
Major League Baseball owners unanimously approved the transaction last week. The price was not disclosed.
“It’s an incredible honor to become the stewards of the Tampa Bay Rays, a franchise with a proud history and a bright future,” Zalupski said in a statement. “We’re all energized by the responsibility to serve Rays fans everywhere and this great game. … We will work hard to earn the respect and confidence of our fans and new MLB partners, and we are excited about the upcoming challenge to deliver a world-class experience on and off the field.”
Zalupski’s group, which also includes Bill Cosgrove and Ken Babby, is expected to restart the search for a new ballpark. The Rays in March withdrew from a $1.3 billion project to construct a new ballpark adjacent to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, citing a hurricane and delays that likely drove up the proposal’s cost.
“Major League Baseball is pleased to welcome Patrick and his partners to the ownership ranks,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said. “Their collective experience and passion for the game will serve the Rays well as they enter this exciting new chapter.”
Sternberg took control of the team from founding owner Vince Naimoli in November 2005 and rebranded it the Rays from the Devil Rays after the 2007 season. The Rays won AL East titles in 2008, 2010, 2020 and 2021 and twice reached the World Series, losing to Philadelphia in 2008 and to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.
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Alden Gonzalez
Ron Washington, who missed the majority of the 2025 season after undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery, will not be returning as manager of the Los Angeles Angels in 2026, he told The Athletic on Tuesday.
Interim manager Ray Montgomery also will not get the full-time manager role in 2026, a source confirmed to ESPN, as the Angels will search for their sixth manager in nine years.
Washington told The Athletic that general manager Perry Minasian told him that the team’s decision to not pick up his contract option was based on the team’s performance — the Angels went 36-38 prior to him leaving — rather than the manager’s health.
“You know, when you’re a competitor, and you’re in charge, none of that stuff comes into play,” Washington told The Athletic. “Sometimes you’ve got to make chicken salad out of chicken s—.
“I have to accept that. I can’t go back to argue with them to try and tell them different when they’ve made a decision. … We were starting to perform better.”
Washington told The Athletic that he never had the opportunity to talk about the team’s decision with Angels owner Arte Moreno.
The Angels finished with a 72-90 record, accounting for their 10th consecutive losing season. They’ve made the playoffs just once since 2009.
After Mike Scioscia stepped down at the end of the 2018 season, ending a 19-year run that included the franchise’s only World Series championship, the Angels went through Brad Ausmus, Joe Maddon and Phil Nevin as managers over a five-year stretch. None produced more than 77 wins.
Washington, the former Texas Rangers manager and highly regarded infield instructor, was brought in ahead of the 2024 season in hopes that he could mentor a young nucleus headlined by Zach Neto, Logan O’Hoppe, Nolan Schanuel and Jo Adell. However, the team finished with a franchise-record 99 losses.
The 2025 team showed some promise but wound up finishing last in the American League West for the second straight year, 25½ games out of first.
“I think I had the team going in the right direction, I really did,” Washington told The Athletic. “And it was just too bad that my health came into play. There’s nothing that I can do about that.
“It was my team. I think the team took on my personality. We were definitely showing that. In this business, this is the kind of stuff that happens to you. When everything goes not the way people wanted, you take the blame for it. And I’m OK.”
Washington, who turns 74 in April, was the oldest manager in the majors this past season and last managed a game on June 19, when he left the Angels after experiencing shortness of breath and appearing fatigued during a four-game series against the New York Yankees.
He eventually underwent quadruple-bypass surgery but stressed last month that he was in good health and wanted to return as the Angels’ manager in 2026.
“What happened to me saved my life,” Washington said earlier this season, adding that he has quit smoking, changed his eating habits and is sleeping better.
Overall, Washington was 99-137 in two seasons with Los Angeles.
Montgomery’s option also will not be picked up. The rest of the Angels’ coaching staff also had 2026 options, but their status is not yet known.
Perry Minasian, who just finished his fifth season as the Angels’ general manager, is under contract through 2026, though the team has not made a formal announcement about his status.
Albert Pujols and Torii Hunter, two decorated former Angels who currently serve as special assistants with the team, are considered strong candidates to become the next manager — unless owner Arte Moreno seeks someone with more experience.
Washington was the winningest manager in Rangers history, compiling a 664-611 record from 2007 to 2014. He led them to their first two World Series appearances, in 2010 and 2011. After initially returning to the Athletics organization for the 2015 and 2016 campaigns, Washington joined the Atlanta Braves‘ staff from 2017 to 2023 and was part of their 2021 World Series championship team.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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