Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post. 

“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”

Ponder was 23 years old. 

Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known. 

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Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)

Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder. 

Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt. 

The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen. 

Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)

“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”

Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing. 

Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)

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“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote. 

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Mikel Arteta admitted his “heart almost stopped” as Arsenal rode out a nerve-jangling end against 10-man Chelsea to record a 2-1 win and pass another major examination of their Premier League title credentials.

William Saliba opened the scoring from a corner midway through the first half at the Emirates Stadium only for Piero Hincapie to put through his own net.

Jurrien Timber restored Arsenal’s advantage in the second half, again from a corner, and Chelsea’s Pedro Neto was dismissed just four minutes later.

Arsenal might have been expected to cruise to the three points, but David Raya had to produce a brilliant diving save from Alejandro Garnacho’s curling effort, and Liam Delap also had a goal chalked off for offside – both in added time – as the Gunners took a significant stride to capturing their first title in 22 years.

And Arteta admitted: “The save that he (Raya) made in the last action, from what ended up being an unbelievable shot, I got the right angle and my heart almost stopped. But David’s hand was there to bring it back to life.

“I try to stay calm, but obviously, we weren’t getting the dominance and the sequences of play that we wanted and would expect against 10 men.

“You have to navigate through that, and it’s a big part of the game. Everybody’s suffering because the margins are so small.”

Timber’s crucial 66th-minute winner – a day after rivals Manchester City claimed a 2-1 win at Leeds – marked Arsenal’s 16th goal from a corner this season to equal a record shared by Oldham and West Brom for a single Premier League campaign with nine games still to go.

The set-piece goals carried Arsenal to a second win in a week in which they were drawing at half-time.

And Arteta added: “I reminded the players that we were in exactly the same position against Tottenham seven days ago in that dressing room.

“They said: ‘Look what happened in the second half! So we’re going to do it again, but we’re going to have to go through some difficult patches to earn the right to win the game’. And we certainly did that.”

Chelsea’s hopes were scuppered by Neto’s dismissal which marked their seventh red card in the league this season, their second in as many fixtures, and ninth across all competitions.

Neto talked his way into referee Darren England’s notebook as he protested against Timber’s goal before he scythed down Gabriel Martinelli four minutes later.

And manager Liam Rosenior said: “It is disappointing for Pedro, but it’s not just him, as a group – me as a leader included – we have to take accountability for some of the decisions we are making in terms of our discipline.

“You can fine players (for red cards) but it is not about the punishment. It is about finding the reason why.

“I know our record is not great since the start of the season, and we have now had two in two games so there is something deep-lying that we need to get to the bottom of.

“We need to do something for sure. We need to speak to the coaching staff and the players because it is not acceptable. In the last two games we have caused our own issues, and if we don’t eradicate it, it is going to cost us.”

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Manchester United produced another strong display to defeat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Old Trafford, continuing their impressive run and boosting their hopes of UEFA Champions League qualification.

The visitors struck first in the opening half through Maxence Lacroix, putting Palace ahead and briefly silencing the home crowd. However, United responded with character and determination after the break.

Bruno Fernandes brought the Red Devils level from the penalty spot after Lacroix was sent off for pulling back Matheus Cunha inside the box. The dismissal gave United the advantage, and they made it count.

The winning goal arrived when Fernandes delivered an inviting cross from the right flank. Benjamin Sesko rose highest in the area and powered a fine header beyond Dean Henderson to complete the comeback. The striker received a standing ovation when he was substituted late in the game.

The victory means United have now won six of their last seven matches under manager Michael Carrick. The team are unbeaten in the Premier League since Boxing Day and have climbed to third place in the table, behind Arsenal and Manchester City.

Sesko’s recent form has been a major boost for United. The Slovenia international has scored key goals in recent weeks, helping the club collect valuable points in the race for a top-four finish.

Speaking after the match, Carrick praised his players’ resilience and belief. He highlighted the team’s strong second-half performance and their ability to recover from a slow start.

With 10 matches remaining this season, Manchester United are firmly on course to return to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2023. Their current form suggests they will be serious contenders in the final stretch of the campaign.

Arsenal restored their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table after a hard-fought 2-1 win over 10-man Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners needed victory following Manchester City’s win over Leeds on Saturday, and they delivered with another strong performance from set-pieces.

Arsenal took the lead through William Saliba, who forced the ball home from a corner. It was their 15th league goal from a corner this season. Jurrien Timber later added the second, converting another delivery into the box to make it 16 goals from corners in this campaign.

Chelsea found an equaliser just before half-time, also from a corner. A dangerous cross from Reece James caused problems in the Arsenal defence and Piero Hincapie turned the ball into his own net under pressure.

The visitors’ hopes of a comeback suffered a major blow in the second half when Pedro Neto was sent off. The winger received a second yellow card for a foul on Gabriel Martinelli only minutes after being booked for dissent. It was Chelsea’s seventh red card in the league this season.

Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya made several important saves to protect his side’s lead, including a late stop to deny Alejandro Garnacho. At the other end, Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez endured a difficult afternoon and could have done better for Timber’s winning goal.

Chelsea were also left frustrated after a corner appeared to strike Declan Rice’s arm inside the box, but no penalty was given.

Despite late pressure from the 10-man visitors, Arsenal held firm to secure all three points. The result keeps them five points clear of Manchester City in the title race, although they have played a game more.

Chelsea remain in the battle for Champions League qualification but are now three points behind fifth-placed Liverpool.

Arsenal’s dominance from corners continues to be a key factor in their success this season, with their set-piece strength proving decisive once again.

Man Utd came from behind to beat Crystal Palace at Old Trafford and Michael Carrick jogged down the touchline at half-time to get his message across.

Michael Carrick told the Manchester United players he had been waiting to see them facing some adversity after they launched a stirring comeback to beat Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. The United head coach ran down the touchline at half-time, with Palace winning 1-0 thanks to Maxence Lacroix’s early goal, to deliver a few tactical adjustments to his players at the break.

But he also challenged them to show what they were made of. It was the first time United had been behind at half-time under Carrick and he admitted he had been waiting to see how his players would respond.

He was delighted with what he saw, with Bruno Fernandes at the heart of a comeback which saw the captain score from the spot and then set up the in-form Benjamin Sesko for the winner.

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Asked if there was a particular change he wanted to make that saw him run for the dressing room at half-time, Carrick said: “There’s always something. It was just a couple of little tweaks in shape, maybe a couple of ideas, some things we tried from the start that we wanted to kind of tweak a little bit, but honestly, it wasn’t major really and I’m not taking much credit for that.

“It was more that you’ve got to find a way in games sometimes and there’s a few ideas that we wanted to make more runs, we wanted it to be a little bit more aggressive in attacking their back line to a point, which is something you always try to do, but I thought we did it in the second half and ended up getting the penalty from that.

“So it was more how do we react. It’s been going in our favour. I said to them, here’s something I’ve been waiting for, this moment, to see, go on then, what we’re going to do about it and be positive. And the boys responded ever so well, so it was a big thing for us.”

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The spirit in the squad was clear with their second-half display, which was aided by Lacroix’s red card for bringing down Matheus Cunha inside the penalty area.

Carrick felt that was the most pleasing aspect of what was a sixth win in seven games in charge for him, with United now recovering seven points from losing positions under the 44-year-old.

“It’s the biggest thing for us to take from the game, really,” he said. “It’s the first time that we’ve been in that situation, going in at half-time. I thought we were a little bit off to start with. I think they started particularly well, so credit to them. Probably after 20 minutes or so, I thought the game started turning in our favour and we finished the half stronger and it looked a little like what we were trying to do.

“At half-time, it was about being in that position and how we react and showing that personality and the belief. Football is tough at times and this league is tough, so you’re never always going to have it your own way, but to then come back like we did second half and turn the game in our favour is the biggest thing for me to take from today for sure.”

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Former South African captain Faf du Plessis opined that Arshdeep Singh’s six-run over in the T20 World Cup 2026 match against the West Indies had a huge impact on the end result. Describing it as a match-winning over, Du Plessis added that small contributions like that often make a huge impact in the overall picture.

India beat the West Indies by five wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, March 1 in a must-win clash of the T20 World Cup 2026. Bowling first, India held the Windies to 195-4 and then chased down the target in 19.2 overs. With the win, the Men in Blue also qualified for the semifinals.

While Sanju Samson (97* off 50) was the star of the show for India, Du Plessis picked the 19th over bowled by Arshdeep as the game-changing moment. Having gone for 24 runs in his previous over, the left-handed pacer made a brilliant comeback and conceded only six runs in the penultimate over, which went a long way in ensuring that the West Indies did not cross the 200-run mark.

During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Du Plessis made a special mention of Arshdeep’s effort under pressure and commented:

“That one over in the context of the game is credit to him. The way that he executed – to go for six on a small ground, that is a match-winning over. If you are sitting in the dressing room and do the accolades, the coach or captain goes – our player of the day is you because of that over. People don’t realize how important a small contribution is in the big picture.”

Former India captain Anil Kumble also agreed that the Arshdeep’s six-run over was extremely crucial in the context of the match. He commented:

“Having gone for 24 runs, and then sticking to his plan of wide yorkers… Maybe West Indies could have been smarter. Instead of looking to pump him down the ground for a six., they could have used the pace and the ground as well, which they didn’t. So, it worked in his favor.”

Arshdeep ended the T20 World Cup clash with figures of 0-43 from four overs. Jasprit Bumrah stood out with 2-36, while Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakaravarthy registered identical figures of 1-40 from four overs.

“You cannot afford that against England” – Anil Kumble on India’s worry ahead of T20 World Cup 2026 semifinal

While India progressed to the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2026 with a win against the Windies, their fielding was poor once again. The Men in Blue dropped three catches on Sunday. Kumble opined that India cannot afford another bad day in the field against England in the knockout clash. He stated:

“The fielding, we saw the nerves were there. Dropped catches, misfields – you don’t expect that. Come semifinal, you cannot afford that against England. India would be happy, but there were nerves certainly because this was a must-win game.”

Team India will face England in the second semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 5.