Deion Sanders was clear and direct in a segment of his new television show: “I couldn’t coach pro ball,” said the Colorado Buffaloes coach.
In his show, We Got Time Today on Tubi, Sanders talked with his former Dallas Cowboys teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Troy Aikman about a variety of subjects. They reminisced about their Super Bowl experience and discussed Sanders’ conversation with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones regarding the Dallas head coaching job, which eventually went to Brian Schottenheimer.
Sanders compared the practices from their time to those of today. He mentioned how Aikman never wanted the ball to touch the ground, how Sanders never allowed a catch, how Michael Irvin wouldn’t let a ball drop, and how Emmitt Smith would hit the hole and run for 20 or 30 yards after each play.
“That’s the way we practiced,” Sanders said on his show. “I know it’s cute but I couldn’t coach pro ball. The way they practice, the way they go about it, I couldn’t take it — as a man, and as a football enthusiast. I care about the game. … There’s no way I could allow that to happen on my watch. That would be tough.”
Aikman added that having Sanders as the Cowboys’ head coach would “make a lot of sense.”
“I was asked a lot of questions about how do you think Deion would do?” Aikman said. “I said, ‘I think Deion would do great.’ There are a small handful of people that I know that I just simply would not bet against. And Deion is one of those people. He’s proven it at every stop. He’d be successful in the NFL.”
Travis Hunter and Deion Sanders in the 1st half
Aikman mentioned he understood how Sanders could have more of an effect on the college level.
“You’re not impressing upon young men the way that you are in college, but to suggest that he wouldn’t be good at it or successful at it, I don’t think people really know Deion’s story,” Aikman said. “I think that for Dallas, Deion would’ve been a really good fit, because he would’ve commanded the room.
His personality is such that people would’ve known he was in charge. I think that’s important for any organization to know that the head coach is the one who’s calling the shots and he’s in charge.”
Sanders and the Buffaloes are coming off a 9-4 season, which earned them a spot in the Alamo Bowl. Sanders has some big gaps to fill after losing Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, both of whom are expected to be high picks in the upcoming NFL draft.
The Vancouver Canucks are set to play with a fresh sense of energy when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.
The Canucks are looking to avoid a third consecutive loss after making big changes to their roster on Friday. One of the trades sent last season’s top scorer, J.T. Miller, to the New York Rangers.
On January 24, the Avalanche added Jack Drury and Martin Necas after trading their top scorer, Mikko Rantanen, to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Filip Chytil, Marcus Pettersson, and Drew O’Connor all made their debuts for Vancouver in the team’s 3-2 overtime loss to Detroit on Sunday.
“There is a lot of smiling, a lot of excitement,” said Canucks coach Rick Tocchet after Sunday’s game. “There was a freshness from the guys who are excited to be here.
“Now it is kind of OK, we got the trades over, and this is our team.
“Let’s start at zero, even for the guys who have struggled this year. It is a time to just reset your brain, come out with a good attitude, work hard. Those are the type of things that are going to get you out of slumps.”
Chytil had an immediate impact, scoring an unassisted goal in the third period.
“(Chytil) was really good. He controlled the play and he wanted the puck,” Tocchet said. “He scored a big goal for us, so it was a good debut for him.”
Colorado Avalanche (NHL)
Pius Suter also scored, and Kevin Lankinen made 15 saves for Vancouver.
The Canucks are hopeful that star defenseman Quinn Hughes will return to the lineup on Tuesday. He missed Sunday’s game due to an unspecified injury.
If Hughes plays, Tuesday’s game will feature a matchup between two of the league’s top offensive defensemen: Hughes and Colorado’s Cale Makar. Hughes won the Norris Trophy last season, while Makar was named the top defenseman in 2022.
Avalanche goalie Mackenzie Blackwood could be aiming for his third consecutive shutout if he starts against Vancouver.
Blackwood made 19 saves in a 5-0 win over the St. Louis Blues on Friday, then stopped all 24 shots in a 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday in Denver.
“I try and play the same way day-in and day-out,” said Blackwood, who has posted back-to-back shutouts three times in his career. “Over these last two games, we’ve done a tremendous job in the D-zone just playing the right way.”
Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Samuel Girard scored for Colorado, and Jonathan Drouin added two assists. Colorado completed a two-game homestand with wins in both games.
“I don’t think we’ve given up very many high-danger chances in the last couple of games,” said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar. “We’ve done a nice job defending, and when we have a breakdown, (Blackwood) has been there.”
MacKinnon, the league’s leading scorer, added a power-play goal and became the first player to reach 80 points this season.
Jonathan Drouin scored twice and added an assist, Martin Necas scored his first goal with Colorado, and the Avalanche scored four goals in the first period to defeat the St. Louis Blues 5-0 in Denver on Friday night.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 19 saves for his first shutout with Colorado and his second of the season. Cale Makar and Joel Kiviranta also scored, helping Necas and Jack Drury have a successful debut in Denver.
The Avalanche traded for Necas and Drury on January 24, sending leading goal scorer Mikko Rantanen to the Hurricanes.
Joel Hofer stopped 31 shots for St. Louis, which has now lost four straight games. The Blues have dropped five of their last six games.
Stars 5, Canucks 3
Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz each scored two goals and added an assist to help Dallas beat Vancouver 5-3 at home.
Oskar Back also scored for the Stars, who have won four consecutive games. Goaltender Jake Oettinger made 26 saves, especially in the first two periods.
Conor Garland, Jake DeBrusk, and Carson Soucy scored for the Canucks, who saw their three-game winning streak end, just hours after trading away forward J.T. Miller. Goalie Thatcher Demko made 11 saves.
J.T. Miller takes the puck forward
Sabres 4, Predators 3
Rookie Jiri Kulich scored twice, including the game-winning goal with 2:04 left, as Buffalo overcame blowing a 2-0 lead to beat Nashville at home.
Tage Thompson passed to Kulich, who fired a shot past Nashville goalie Justus Annunen (23 saves) to score his second two-goal game. The Sabres won back-to-back games for the second time in January.
Brady Skjei had a goal and an assist for Nashville, which has now lost three straight after winning five in a row.
Blue Jackets 3, Utah Hockey Club 2 (OT)
Zach Werenski scored 1:01 into overtime to lift Columbus over Utah 3-2 in Salt Lake City after coming back from a 2-0 third-period deficit.
Werenski finished a two-on-none breakaway with Cole Sillinger after stealing the puck in Utah’s zone. Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson also scored, and Daniil Tarasov made 31 saves for Columbus, which has now won three straight games, all in overtime.
Nick Schmaltz and Alexander Kerfoot scored for Utah. Clayton Keller added two assists, and Karel Vejmelka made 20 saves. Utah has lost four straight (0-2-2), despite being tied or ahead in the third period of each game.
Jonathan Drouin scored two goals and added an assist, Martin Necas scored his first goal with Colorado, and the Avalanche defeated the St. Louis Blues 5-0 in Denver on Friday night.
Mackenzie Blackwood recorded 19 saves for his first shutout with Colorado and his second of the season. Cale Makar and Joel Kiviranta also scored, helping Necas and Jack Drury have a successful debut in Denver.
The Avalanche traded for Necas and Drury on January 24, sending leading scorer Mikko Rantanen to the Hurricanes.
Joel Hofer stopped 31 shots for St. Louis, which has now lost four straight games and five of its last six.
Drouin got Colorado on the board early in the first period when Juuso Parssinen passed the puck from behind the net, and Drouin tipped it in out of midair at 4:57.
Necas made it 2-0 less than three minutes later when he carried the puck into the zone and fired a shot past Hofer at 7:39 for his fifth point since the trade.
Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues
The Avalanche’s power play, which had been quiet recently, scored in the latter part of the first period. Drouin scored his second goal at 14:43 when Alexey Toropchenko’s clearing attempt went right to Drouin, and he beat Hofer with a high shot. It was his second two-goal game of the season.
Colorado scored again on the power play when they passed the puck around the St. Louis zone to Makar at the point. Makar drifted to his right and fired a wrist shot through a screen into the net at 17:25.
It was the first time Colorado scored two power-play goals in a game since December 19. Kiviranta sealed the win with a goal at 13:21 of the third period.
Travis Hunter made every play special on both offense and defense, and won the Heisman Trophy as college football’s top player. Now, he has surpassed his famous coach at Colorado in the Heisman race.
Hunter, a two-way star, earned the prestigious award Saturday night after an incredible season full of standout performances. “Never thought I would be in this position,” Hunter said tearfully, as he thanked his fiancée, family, and coaches. “It’s crazy. Belief takes you a long way.”
During the past two days of photos with the Heisman, Hunter made sure not to touch it until it was officially his. When he finally had it, he grabbed it with both hands and shouted, “Let’s go!” He later headed to a local spot he reserved to celebrate with his teammates. “I don’t like to be out late, but I’m going to be out late tonight,” he said with a smile.
As both a star wide receiver and a strong cornerback, Hunter dominated for coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes, joining running back Rashaan Salaam, who won the Heisman in 1994, as the only Heisman winners in Colorado’s history.
Travis Hunter in the 2nd half
Hunter received 552 first-place votes and 2,231 points, easily winning the award. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty was the runner-up with 309 first-place votes and 2,017 points, the closest margin since 2009.
Hunter received 80.14% of the possible points, the 11th-highest percentage in Heisman history, and became only the second full-time defensive player to win the award, joining Charles Woodson of Michigan in 1997. Woodson played some offense, but not nearly as much as Hunter.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel finished third, and Miami quarterback Cam Ward placed fourth. This year’s Heisman ceremony was held at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan, with Sanders attending.
This marked only the fifth time in this century that a quarterback did not win the Heisman. The last time no quarterback was in the top two was in 2015, when running backs Derrick Henry and Christian McCaffrey took the top spots.
Hunter also won The Associated Press player of the year and several other awards this week. His performance helped lead Colorado’s impressive turnaround, from a 4-8 record in 2023 when he missed part of the season due to injuries, to a 9-3 record this year under Sanders. The 20th-ranked Buffaloes earned their first bowl game in four years and will play No. 17 BYU in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28.
Hunter plans to play in the bowl game, even though many top draft prospects skip such games to avoid injury. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior from Suwanee, Georgia, plans to skip his senior season and is expected to be a top-five pick, possibly No. 1 overall.
“He wants to be great at everything,” Sanders said. “He wants to have a commitment to excellence in everything he does — including fishing.”
Travis Hunter before the game
Hunter’s speed and playmaking ability made him a key player on both offense and defense. He rarely came off the field this year, making him the first true two-way player in decades.
On offense, Hunter caught 92 passes for 1,152 yards, 14 touchdowns, and one rushing score. On defense, he had four interceptions, 32 tackles, 11 pass breakups, and forced a crucial fumble in an overtime win against Baylor.
As Colorado pushed for a Big 12 title, Hunter went from a long-shot underdog to a Heisman favorite. He celebrated big plays with his teammates and often struck the Heisman pose, making it clear that he was the man to beat.
“I definitely can kick, (too). I’ve just got to practice,” he joked. “I can’t stop moving when I’m not on the field.”
Hunter played nearly 700 snaps on both offense and defense, making him the only Power Four conference player with 30-plus snaps on each side of the ball, according to Colorado research.
Despite the heavy workload, Hunter was up for the challenge. “I think I laid the ground for more people to come in and go two ways,” he said. “It starts with your mindset. If you believe you can do it, then you’ll be able to do it. And also, I do a lot of treatment. I keep up with my body. I get a lot of recovery.”
As the top recruit in the 2022 class, Hunter surprised many by committing to play for Sanders at Jackson State, an HBCU in the lower-level FCS, where he promised to play both offense and defense. “A lot of people told me I couldn’t do it,” Hunter said, wearing white shoes and a light blue suit, his favorite color. “I always say I’m going to prove them wrong and I’m going to prove myself right.”
Travis Hunter and Deion Sanders in the 1st half
After one season, Hunter followed Sanders to Colorado. Despite missing three games in 2022 due to a lacerated liver, he was named a consensus All-America player. Fully healthy in 2023, he finished strong and took off this season, becoming Colorado’s first Heisman finalist in 30 years.
Hunter, who plans to marry in May, is the sixth transfer to win the Heisman in the past eight years and the first to start his career in the FCS.
“Look where I’m at. It paid off,” Hunter said.
“I wanted to be different,” he added. “Me being different makes me feel more comfortable than doing the norm.”
Deion Sanders, known as Prime Time during his playing days, was a two-time All-America defensive back at Florida State and finished eighth in the 1988 Heisman voting. Sanders, an electrifying kick returner and MLB baseball player, went on to a Hall of Fame career in the NFL, but didn’t play much offense, aside from a 36-catch season with the Dallas Cowboys in 1996.
Hunter’s achievements now give him Heisman bragging rights over Coach Prime forever.
