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Deion Sanders gives emotional eulogy for quarterback Dominiq Ponder

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Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders gave an emotional eulogy at the funeral of his sophomore quarterback Dominiq Ponder, who died in a tragic car crash this past week. Ponder was 23. 

Sanders went up to the microphone after Ponder’s family, saying it “didn’t feel right” to do so, but he couldn’t help feeling “inspired” by their words.

Then, Sanders, a spiritual man in his own right, began to speak. 

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Dominiq Ponder drops back

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

“We always ask questions about why this happened … ’God, why this and why that?’” Sanders said. 

“When we’re successful, we’re excelling, and overcoming adversity, we never ask God, ‘Why?’ then. Only in our demise and sadness of life, we challenge and ask God,’ Why?’ I think I’ve got the solution.”

Sanders, then, started to speak about his former signal caller. 

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“As I look right there, and look at a young man so full of life – so full of respect, bustle, hard work, and integrity. I ask God, ‘For real?’ And he whispered: ‘Dom was chosen.’

“Dom was chosen to unite y’all, to bring you all together. Dom was chosen.”

“Coach Prime” directed part of his eulogy to Ponder’s parents, which led to him getting understandably choked up at the podium. 

“The only darn thing I have regret for is that when you sent us a boy. I wanted to send you back a man,” Sanders said, taking a pause to try and control his emotions. 

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Ponder had been a walk-on quarterback with the Buffaloes in Sanders’ first season, as he tried to configure his team. He already had his son, Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, set to start for Colorado after their success at Jackson State. But Ponder and others in the quarterback room were looking to work and develop under the elder Sanders’ tutelage. 

Deion Sanders watches his players warm up

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, Utah.  (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)

Ponder saw appearances in two of the Buffaloes’ games last season. 

But while Sanders has a regret about Ponder, his parents gave him praise, issuing a statement thanking “Coach Prime” for his “unwavering generosity, support, and love shown to our family.” They also thanked everyone for their “heartfelt gratitude” in a separate statement.

Sanders called an emergency meeting with his Buffaloes roster after learning of Ponder’s death, and a raw scene shared on social media showed him comforting emotional players. Sanders himself was emotional while delivering a speech to his team. 

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“His character, humor, work ethic, and tenacity. It’s something that I want us to remember,” he said in the clip. 

Deion Sanders watches his team warm up

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. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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Sanders also confirmed Ponder’s death last 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.”

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Deion Sanders mourns loss of Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder: 'One of my favorites'

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Skateboarding World Championships: Britain’s Sky Brown wins park gold

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Britain’s Sky Brown has become a skateboarding world champion for the second time after winning gold in a rain-disrupted park event in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

The 17-year-old was leading the standings with a score of 88.16 on Sunday when organisers called off the final’s third run because of rain.

Japan’s Mizuho Hasegawa took silver with 84.36, while 83.90 was enough for American Minna Stess to claim bronze.

“The level is crazy. I had to put a lot down to get here, but I am definitely bummed how we couldn’t fully do a final,” Brown told World Skate.

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“To win, to be a world champion on International Women’s Day definitely means a lot, but there are bigger things going on.

“This feels huge and I am so thankful but there are bigger things, I just pray for peace.”

Brown became Great Britain’s first skateboarding world champion at the age of 14 when she won park gold in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates in 2023.

She was also Britain’s youngest Olympic medal winner of all time, winning park bronze as a 13-year-old at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games.

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Masked fan stages VAR protest by unplugging referee monitor during German match

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A dramatic scene unfolded at a German second-division football match on Sunday when a masked fan emerged from the stands to unplug the video assistant referee (VAR) monitor, in an apparent protest against the technology.

The incident occurred as referee Felix Bickel was deciding on a penalty.

The unidentified individual, clad in white overalls and a ski mask in Muenster green, interrupted Bickel during the game between Preussen Muenster and Hertha Berlin.

Muenster later confirmed the fan came out of the stands to unplug the monitor. Television footage captured the person climbing back into the home fans’ section immediately after the act.

Despite the audacious disruption, the decision ultimately went against the home side.

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Video assistant referee Katrin Rafalski made a remote ruling, communicating her findings to Bickel. Hertha’s Fabian Reese subsequently scored the penalty, the opening goal in their 2-1 victory.

The penalty was eventually awarded and scored

The penalty was eventually awarded and scored (Getty Images)

Preussen Muenster expressed regret, stating it would “do everything it can to identify the perpetrator or perpetrators and bring them to justice”, and added that “initial findings indicate that this was a planned action.”

A large banner displayed by home fans, reading “Pull the plug on VAR”, supported this.

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Curiously, Muenster captain Jorrit Hendrix voiced approval of the fan’s actions.

“It shows how the fans experience things and that they want to do everything to win the game,” he said in comments broadcast by TV show Sportschau.

“If they can do something to influence it, they do that. I completely understand it and think it’s a good thing.”

The incident underscores the ongoing controversy surrounding VAR in German football, where it has been a source of fan frustration due to perceived delays and an unwelcome interruption to the flow of the game since its 2017 introduction.

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Despite complaints, VAR is set to be given more power at this summer’s World Cup. The technology is set to be used to cover second yellow cards and cards awarded to the wrong team.

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Akanji explains differences between Inter’s last two defeats against Milan

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Manuel Akanji expressed his disappointment at Inter’s performance during their 1-0 loss against city rivals Milan on Sunday evening, and explained why last night’s defeat differed to their loss against the Rossoneri earlier this season: ‘Today was different. It wasn’t good enough from our side’.

Akanji reacts to Milan 1-0 Inter: ‘Wasn’t good enough from our side’

The Nerazzurri slipped to their second Serie A defeat against Milan of the 2025-26 season as Pervis Estupinan struck with the only goal of the game in San Siro on Sunday night.

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Cristian Chivu’s side still have a commanding seven-point lead at the top of the Serie A table with 10 league matches of the season left to play, but there is disappointment around the camp in the aftermath of Sunday’s defeat against their city rivals.

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“I think they played the way we expected them to play. They try to press a bit up front, if it doesn’t work, they drop deep and that’s what they did, especially in the first half,” explained Akanji in his post-match interview with CBS Sports.

“We had a lot of missed passes or duels that we lost, or we gave them opportunities by losing the ball easily. And also we didn’t defend well in a couple of situations and that’s why we lost the game in the end.”

Inter will make it two Serie A titles in three years if they hold out for the Scudetto in 2025-26. They have also reached the Champions League final in two of the last four seasons and have won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italia twice within the last five campaigns.

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If there is a recurring complaint about Cristian Chivu’s side, though, it is that they have struggled to overcome ‘bigger’ sides in the league and Champions League this term. The Nerazzurri have also failed to beat Milan in any of their last seven encounters.

“I mean, I’ve only played in the last two, today and the one in the first part of the season and for me, they were totally different games,” said Akanji.

MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 08: Rafael Leao of AC Milan competes for the ball with Manuel Akanji of Inter during the Serie A match between AC Milan and FC Internazionale at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on March 08, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

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“The first one we dominated them, we had so many chances to score goals, we even missed a penalty. So, we clearly had enough chances to win the game. They had one opportunity and they scored the goal, that’s why they won the game.

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“Today was different. It wasn’t good enough from our side. A lot of lost duels, a lot of balls that we should have kept that we lost. Just way too many mistakes and also sometimes in the duels, we weren’t aggressive enough and that’s why we lost today.

“I think as a team we didn’t create enough opportunities up front. We tried to cross the ball, but nothing really happened, not off the crosses. But still we had good opportunities to score a goal.

“I think right before they scored the goal for 1-0, Mkhi (Henrikh Mkhitaryan) runs alone at the keeper and couldn’t score. And even in the second half when Mkhi laid it off to Dima (Federico Dimarco) to score a goal and I think there were also a couple of opportunities with the corner that we had that the referee apparently blew the whistle before. Then a couple of situations where it maybe could have been a penalty.

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“So we tried to create something but I think it just wasn’t enough from our side today.”

MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 08: Referee Daniele Doveri at the end of the Serie A match between AC Milan and Inter after AC Milan 1-0 Inter at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on March 08, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Naturally disappointed by Sunday’s defeat against Milan, Akanji insists that he is still trying to look at the positives.

“The next few days are not going to be good. You’re never happy when you lose a derby. The good thing is that we’re still seven points ahead and we have enough time to recover. The next game is not until next Saturday at home against Atalanta, which is a big game, but we will be ready again.

“We need to make better what we didn’t do good today and I’m confident we can get the win there.”

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New York Knicks vs LA Clippers Preview: Starting Lineups Tonight, Betting Tips and Game Prediction (Mar. 9)

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The New York Knicks and the LA Clippers will lock horns at the Intuit Dome on Monday, with tipoff scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET. This will mark their second and final meeting of the season, with the Knicks securing a 123-111 win in the previous matchup.

However, New York enters the game after a 110-97 loss to the LA Lakers at Crypto.com Arena and will be playing on back-to-back nights. The Clippers, meanwhile, come in with momentum after a 123-120 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday at the FedEx Forum.

New York Knicks vs LA Clippers Preview, Starting Lineups Tonight, Betting Tips and Game Prediction

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New York Knicks vs LA Clippers Betting Tips and Odds

Moneyline: Knicks (-135), Clippers (+114)

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Spread: Knicks -2.5 (-105), Clippers +2.5 (-115)

Total over/under o/u: Knicks o220.5 (-110), Clippers u220.5 (-110)

Editor’s note: Odds might change closer to tipoff.

Betting Tips

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Kawhi Leonard is expected to score over 26.5 points.

Jalen Brunson is projected to combine for over 28.5 points and rebounds.

Darius Garland is expected to make over 1.5 3-pointers.

New York Knicks vs LA Clippers Preview

The New York Knicks had a rare off night offensively on Sunday, finishing with just two players in double figures. Mikal Bridges and Jose Alvarado were both held scoreless, while Jalen Brunson led the backcourt with 24 points.

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Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with a strong double-double of 25 points and 16 rebounds, while his frontcourt partner, OG Anunoby, added 16 points. Josh Hart, meanwhile, also struggled, recording just eight.

The Clippers pulled off an impressive comeback against the Memphis Grizzlies. After trailing by 18 points in the first quarter, LA outscored Memphis over the remaining periods to secure the win.

Kawhi Leonard led the team with 28 points, while Darius Garland added 21. Bennedict Mathurin matched Garland’s total off the bench. Despite three players finishing scoreless, the trio’s 20+ point performances were enough to power the Clippers to victory.

New York Knicks vs LA Clippers Starting Lineups Tonight

New York Knicks starting lineup

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PG- Jalen Brunson, SG- Mikal Bridges, SF- Josh Hart, PF- OG Anunoby, C- Karl-Anthony Towns

LA Clippers starting lineup

PG- Darius Garland, SG- Kris Dunn, SF- Kawhi Leonard, PF- Derrick Jones Jr., C- Brook Lopez

New York Knicks vs LA Clippers Prediction

The LA Clippers have been better at home and will fancy their chances against the New York Knicks on Monday. However, the Knicks have not lost back-to-back games since January and will likely pull off a win at the Intuit Dome.

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Final score prediction: Knicks win 117-101