Colorado football coach Deion Sanders has assembled what he considers to be the best coaching staff he’s ever had in Boulder “by far.”

He doesn’t have any other Pro Football Hall of Famers on the staff, unlike last year, when he had two. But he does have two new assistant coaches who previously experienced something far less glamorous — homelessness.

New cornerbacks coach Aaron Fletcher and new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion discussed it with the team Friday, March 13, telling compelling personal stories Sanders used to drive home a point.

“You get paid to do something that you want to do,” Sanders told his team, as documented in a video from his son Deion Jr. “It’s hard to feel sorry for y’all, understanding… what just two of these men, what they’ve gone through.”

‘Dom was chosen to unite y’all.’ Deion Sanders delivers eulogy for Colorado QB

Marion said he lived out of a trash bag, washed his clothes in the sink and slept on the grass underneath the stadium bleachers when he was in junior college in California. Fletcher got emotional when talking about how he lived in a homeless shelter with his mom and younger siblings in Dallas at age 13.

Brennan Marion tells team about being homeless

Marion, 38, played junior college football at DeAnza College in Cupertino, California, in the shadow of Apple, one of the richest companies in the world.  He was a long way from home near Pittsburgh and had to decide if he wanted to pursue his dream or go back home because he couldn’t afford to live in the California Bay Area.

“I had probably, like, three pairs of jeans, a couple shirts, two pair of shoes,” Marion told the players. “And I rotated the outfits. I remember washing my clothes in the sink. You know what I’m saying? And I stayed in the training room. I stayed in the press box. I stayed in the hallway. I slept outside. I slept on the bus some nights. I slept in motels on El Camino. I don’t know if you’ve ever been on El Camino, but you don’t want to sleep in a motel on El Camino.”

Marion also said he couldn’t afford books for class, so he photocopied his teacher’s book. He said people laughed at him for wearing the same clothes so often.

“But I ended up being the No. 1 receiver in the country, in junior college, and finishing with a 3.0 and getting a scholarship,” Marion said. “So I made it happen.”

Marion then got recruited to play at Tulsa with assistant coaches Guz Malzahn and Mike Norvell, who went to become head coaches at Auburn and Florida State. Marion served as head coach at Sacramento State last year and is Sanders’ third offensive coordinator in four years. He will earn $1.5 million this year at Colorado.

Aaron Fletcher tells team about being homeless

Fletcher arrived in Boulder in December after previously serving as an assistant coach at Abilene Christian, Missouri and Tulsa. He grew up in Austin, Texas, and said he ended up in a homeless shelter in Dallas with his mom, who had recently given birth to his sister. His younger brothers were there, too, at ages 6 and 3. It wasn’t a pretty scene.

“It’s like general population,” Fletcher said. “You out there out on those cots in front of everybody. All right? And if you know anything about shelters, a lot go on in those shelters now. You know what I’m saying? And I stayed up, because in my mind at age 13… I would stay up sometimes just making sure nothing happened.”

After leaving the shelter, Fletcher said he remembers his mom filing her income taxes and him seeing how much money she made that year: $16,000 working three jobs.

“I know God is faithful because of how this opportunity happened for me,” Fletcher said as he got choked up.

“That’s right,” Sanders said.

Fletcher now makes $175,000 per year at Colorado, according to his employment term sheet.

Deion Sanders reminds players about recent tragedy

After the two coaches talked about being homeless, Sanders reminded his players they are provided three meals per day at Colorado. He wants something in return — effort.

“We want something back because we’re giving you plenty,” Sanders said.

His team conducted its first scrimmage of the spring football season Friday and is less than two weeks removed from the death of Colorado backup quarterback Dominiq Ponder at age 23. Ponder died in a single-car accident in Boulder County March 1. Speed was considered a factor, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

Sanders delivered a separate message about that before his team goes on spring break next week.

“We just endured a tragedy,” Sanders told his team. “Don’t be another one. Make the right decisions.”

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

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deion Sanders’ new Colorado football assistants overcame homelessness

TORONTO –With the Toronto Maple Leafs losing their captain for the remainder of the season, the Anaheim Ducks will be without their captain for the next little while.

Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas was suspended for five games for a knee-to-knee hit on Maple Leafs and USA Olympic gold medal captain Auston Matthews, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced on Friday. The department took into account the kneeing penalty, Matthews’ injury and Gudas’ prior suspension history.

Matthews suffered a Grade 3 MCL tear and quad contusion in the hit on Thursday and was ruled out of Toronto’s 16 remaining games this season.

The Maple Leafs visit Anaheim on March 30–nine games away for the Ducks. Pacific Division-leading Anaheim has 17 games remaining.

In the second period on Thursday, Matthews received a pass in the slot, and Gudas raced back to cover the Leaf’s leading goalscorer. With both knees bent, Gudas reached forward with his stick to try to defend the play, but Matthews made a move to try to avoid the oncoming defenseman.

As Matthews shifted to his backhand and took a step away from Gudas, the Ducks defenseman then shifted to lean forward to the left, which pushed his knee forward directly into the knee of Matthews’ trailing leg.

“We acknowledge Gudas’ assertion that he is attempting to make a full body check and prevent a goal,” the Department of Player Safety announcement video said, “but this contact cannot be excused as a play in which evasive or sudden movements by either player are the primary cause of the knee-on-knee contact. If he wants to deliver this hit, the onus is on Gudas to ensure that he makes an approach that allows him to deliver a legal, full body check.”

Gudas was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for the hit. Both calls were upheld on video review, and the play went to a phone hearing on Friday. Phone hearings limit suspensions to five games or fewer, as opposed to an in-person hearing.

Gudas’ hit and resulting major penalty turned the game, as the Maple Leafs turned a 3-2 Ducks lead into a 4-3 Toronto lead with two power play goals on the five-minute major. Anaheim lost 6-4 after leading 3-1 early in the second period.

This is Gudas’ fifth career suspension–first in seven years and the first for a hit in 10 seasons. The 35-year-old defenseman in his third season with the Ducks has amassed 21 games lost due to suspensions.

Gudas was last suspended for two games in 2018 for a high-stick on Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. He earned a 10-game suspension in 2017 for a two-handed slash to the neck of Winnipeg’s Mathieu Perreault.

Gudas was last suspended for a hit in 2016, where he took a six-game ban for a late and high interference hit on Boston’s Austin Czarnik. He was handed his first suspension in 2015–three games for a hit to the head of then-Ottawa Senator Mika Zibanejad.

This is the NHL’s first suspension for kneeing since 2023, when a four-game suspension was given to the Kings’ Arthur Kaliyev for kneeing the Ducks’ Chase De Leo

FIRST HALF ANALYSIS:

Nebraska needed a better start than the 14-1 deficit they had when they faced Purdue the first time. It technically started better…barely. Nebraska would be down 13-3 in the opening 4 minutes as the Boilermakers would hit 5 of their first 6 field goals. The theme of this first half would be the uncharacteristic number of turnovers by Nebraska. The Huskers would start to gain a foothold into this one, as Nebraska started 4-9 from deep.

Fletcher Loyer, who usually kills Nebraska since his freshman year approximately 18 years ago, started to get hot and keep Nebraska at bay. Every Nebraska turnover would seem to result in a Purdue basket, as the Huskers would commit 8 turnovers in the half, which led to 17 Purdue points. That stat alone is why Purdue took a 41-28 lead into the break.

FIRST HALF STATS:

Purdue shot 15-28 for 54% from the floor. They went 6-15 for 40% from deep and 5-6 for 83% from the free-throw line. The Boilermakers collected 14 rebounds, 5 of which were offensive. Purdue had 12 assists to 4 turnovers. They had 17 points off of turnovers.

The Boilermakers were led by Fletcher Loyer, who had 13 points. C.J Cox had 9. Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff had 3 rebounds each. Braden Smith, despite being held scoreless, had 7 assists.

Nebraska shot 10-26 for 39% from the floor. They went 6-17 for 35% from deep and 2-3 for 67% from the free-throw line. The Huskers collected 15 rebounds, 6 of which were offensive. Nebraska had 8 turnovers to 7 assists.

The Huskers were led by Pryce Sandfort, who had 10 points. Jared Garcia had 6 off the bench. Sam Hoiberg led the way with 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

SECOND HALF ANALYSIS:

Nebraska never had anything in it like it did the first time against Purdue. The Boilermakers immediately made the lead 18. Nebraska used an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 10, but outside of one time Nebraska cut the lead to 8, that was as close as they got. In the first half, Nebraska got torched by points off of turnovers. In this half, it was second chance points. Anytime Nebraska had gotten a crucial stop, Purdue found an offensive rebound and subsequent bucket. The Boilermakers used a 14-2 run over a 3-minute timespan to blow the lead open to 20. It was cruise control from there.

FINAL STATS AND THOUGHTS:

Purdue shot 26-58 for 45% from the floor. They went 10-31 for 32% from deep and 12-14 for 86% from the free-throw line. The Boilermakers collected 37 rebounds, 13 of which were offensive. Purdue had 20 assists to 9 turnovers. They had 17 points off turnovers and 19 second chance points.

The Boilermakers were led by Fletcher Loyer, who had 19 points. Trey Kaufman-Renn had 10 points and 9 rebounds, while Oscar Cluff had 12 points and 9 rebounds. Braden Smith had 10 assists.

Nebraska shot 22-56 for 39% from the floor. They went 10-31 for 32% from deep and 4-9 for a horrible 44% from the free-throw line. The Huskers collected 29 rebounds, 10 of which were offensive. Nebraska had 15 assists to 10 turnovers. They had 18 bench points.

The Huskers were led by Pryce Sandfort, who had 15 points. Rienk Mast had 11. Sam Hoiberg led the way with 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

It was a tale of two halves, but both were terrible. In the first half, Nebraska was outscored 17-0 on points off of turnovers. In the second half, the Boilermakers blew the door open with 2nd chance points. Purdue as a 7-seed in this tournament is a damn nightmare, especially when their 7-foot clones come trolling out of the engineering department. Nebraska was minus 11 in second chance points, minus 8 on free-throws made and minus 12 in points off of turnovers.

Nebraska will have to set the school record for wins next week, I guess. One of these days we’ll be able to gut one out like we did earlier this year. This was just disappointing on many levels. The same slow start against Purdue again and getting blown out like at UCLA. Nebraska needs to find an extra gear next week or we may be in serious danger of suffering an upset loss. The good news is they have the opportunity to right the ship. We’ll see where they go for the NCAA Tournament next week and who the opponent is.

The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the “New Jersey Americans”.

Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today.

To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise’s jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.

And for today’s article, we will continue with the first of 13 people to wear the No. 45 jersey, big man alum Bob Christian. After ending his college career at Grambling State University, Christian was picked up with the 109th overall selection (there were many more rounds in that era of the draft) of the 1968 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks.

The Gladewater, Texas native played the first season of his pro career with the ABA’s (defunct) Dallas Chaparrals and (then) New York Americans (now, Brooklyn Nets) instead, leaving the latter to join the Hawks in 1970.

During his time suiting up for the Nets, Christian wore only jersey No. 45 and put up 2.0 points and as many rebounds per game.

All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets jersey history No. 45 – Bob Christian (1969)

The Houston Rockets have had players donning a total of 52 different jersey numbers (and have one not part of any numerical series for Houston assistant coach and general manager Carroll Dawson) since their founding at the start of the 1967-68 season, worn by just under 500 players in the course of Rockets history.

To honor all of the players who wore those numbers over the decades, Rockets Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who wore them since the founding of the team all those years ago right up to the present day.

With seven of those jerseys now retired to honor some of the greatest Rockets of all time to wear those jerseys, there is a lot of history to cover.

And for today’s article, we will continue with the 15th of 20 who wore the No. 9, forward alum Terrence Jones. After ending his college career at Kentucky, Jones was picked up with the 18th overall selection of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets.

The Portland, Oregon native played the first four seasons of his pro career with Houston, with stints with the New Orleans Pelicans and Milwaukee Bucks as well as in another league before returning to Houston for the final season of his NBA career in 2019.

During his time suiting up for the Rockets, Jones wore only jersey Nos. 6 and 9 and put up 10.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.0 assist, and 1.2 blocks per game.

All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.

This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Rockets jersey history No. 9 – Terrence Jones (2012-16, 19)

The Dodgers take on the Mariners Friday night at Peoria Stadium. Landon Knack makes his fourth spring start for the Dodgers. Cade Anderson takes the ball for Seattle.

FRIDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers at Mariners
• Ballpark: Peoria Stadium
• Time: 6:10 p.m. PST
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: KIRO 710 AM (Mariners broadcast)

Circumstances towards the beginning stages of this season have been working in his favor, but the quick rise of Bayern Munich’s Lennart Karl has been something all of the footballing world has taken notice to. With Jamal Musiala’s long-term injury absence from the serious injuries he sustained at last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, there was a big void that temporarily needed to be filled, and Karl made the most of the chances that were given to him by Vincent Kompany.

Naturally, Karl did experience a bit of a dip in form in recent weeks, but that can hardly take away at all from how productive he’s been in such unexpected circumstances this season – no one could have envisioned how quickly he would establish himself as a producer for Bayern. So far this season, the 18-year-old has tallied seven goals and five assists from a total of thirty-one appearances across all competitions, with his two most recent goal contributions coming in the form of an assist in the 4-1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach and an assist in the 3-0 win at Werder Bremen. Those two assists came after a stretch of matches where he didn’t record a goal or assist, prompting pundits to describe that period as a bit of a dip in form.

Much like Karl, Aleksandar Pavlović is another player in the Bayern squad that’s had a meteoric rise to prominence in the senior squad, though his has come over the course of the bast two and half seasons, spanning from Thomas Tuchel’s tenure as manager to now. As a fellow youngster in the squad, he’s been amazed with how quickly Karl has been on the rise and established himself as a player that Kompany can trust in rely on, even in the big matches.

“I think the speed with which Lennart turned professional here and then became a starter in so many games is something no one has ever achieved so early. That’s why it’s so remarkable, especially at his age. What I always tell him is that he shouldn’t rest and should keep working hard every day. He should play the game and just give it his all. Of course, there are also tougher periods, for example, when you’re not playing as often. But that’s just part of the game, and everyone goes through that at some point,” Pavlović explained in a recent interview with Sky Germany (via @iMiaSanMia).

Musiala is getting closer and closer to 100% match fitness and completed a 90-minute shift for the first time since his injury return in the win over Mönchengladbach, which could mean lesser chances of future starts Karl. Musiala’s fitness getting better combined with the consistent form of both Michael Olise and Luis Díaz, it will be harder for Karl to get starts, but there is certainly wiggle room in the Bundesliga with the considerable gap over Borussia Dortmund Bayern currently has.

Former WWE star Matt Riddle has revealed how he was signed by WWE and noted that he could have also gone to NJPW.

Riddle said that he was close to join NJPW before his move to WWE, with the Japanese promotion pitching for him to be a part of the New Japan Cup and doing well in the tournament. He was interested in joining the promotion as he was a fan of the company and had wanted to wrestle for them, but a call from Triple H resulted in him eventually joining WWE.

“They [WWE] knew me dude. They called me, I didn’t call them for a job,” he said to “Rewind Recap Relive.” “New Japan hit me up and I was like, ‘Sick. Always wanted to wrestle for you guys. Awesome.’ But then I hit up Gabe, Gabe who runs EVOLVE, Gabe Sapolsky, and that does like kind of talent scouting for WWE now. And I hit him up and go, ‘Hey Gabe, I’m gonna ask you to release me in my contract. I just got a call from New Japan and they’re making me a better offer than what you are giving me now and I’ll get to wrestle in New Japan, and you know how much that means to me.’ I go, ‘Or, because I know you have Triple H’s number, you could see what they think.’ And I would say two minutes later, I got a call from Triple H, being like, ‘Hey, we’d love to have you at NXT.’ And I was like, ‘Sick.’ And then they were paying more. Also, I got to stay in America, be with my family and stuff like that. So, it’s kind of a no-brainer, you know. I just went down, moved to Florida and wrestled there.”

He added that he was keen to leave EVOLVE because the pay wasn’t as good, while the promotion also didn’t allow its stars to wrestle on television in other promotions, according to him. Riddle wrestled in EVOLVE and PWG after his transition from MMA, before making the switch to WWE.

Read more: Wrestlers Immediately Axed After A Match

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Read the original article on Wrestling Inc.

CHICAGO (AP) — Fletcher Loyer scored 19 points, Braden Smith collected 10 more assists and No. 18 Purdue beat No. 11 Nebraska 74-58 on Friday night in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.

C.J. Cox and Oscar Cluff each had 12 points for the Boilermakers, and Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Smith set a Big Ten Tournament record and matched a career high with 16 assists in an 81-68 victory over Northwestern on Thursday. The senior guard needs 22 more assists to break Bobby Hurley’s NCAA record of 1,076 assists in 140 games for Duke from 1989-93.

Purdue (25-8) advanced to the Big Ten semifinals for the fourth time in the last five years, bouncing back nicely after closing the regular season with four losses in six games. It will play UCLA or No. 8 Michigan State on Saturday.

Pryce Sandford scored 15 points for Nebraska, which dropped to 6-14 all-time in the Big Ten tourney. Rienk Mast finished with 11.

Nebraska (26-6) went 10 for 31 from 3-point range and 12 for 25 from inside the arc.

The Cornhuskers trailed 48-30 with 17 minutes left, and closed within 58-50 on Cale Jacobsen’s driving layup with 6:53 remaining.

The Boilermakers responded with a 14-2 run, capped by Loyer’s 3 and a dunk by Cluff with 3:26 to go. Cox also connected from long range during the decisive stretch.

Purdue beat Nebraska 80-77 in overtime in their regular-season meeting on Feb. 10. Kaufman-Renn grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds in the victory, helping the Boilermakers to a 54-37 advantage on the glass.

Purdue enjoyed a 37-29 rebounding advantage this time around, and outscored Nebraska 26-18 in the paint.

Up next

Purdue lost 69-67 at UCLA on Jan. 20. It also dropped its regular-season meeting with Michigan State, falling 76-74 on Feb. 26.

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