Sports
Colorado Football Will Undoubtedly Have Two Top Five Picks in 2025 NFL Draft
Just a few short years ago, Colorado football was the laughing stock of college football.
At 6-2, the Buffaloes won’t exactly be competing for a spot in the newly expanded College Football Playoff. However, you can no longer deny the raw talent on that roster, as they will have two top five picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.
After Karl Dorrell’s departure, the Buffaloes shocked the sports universe by hiring Deion Sanders from Jackson State. Sanders famously did not have too much coaching experience but dominated the HBCU ranks and led Jackson State to consecutive SWAC Championships.
At Colorado, he’d be tasked with reshaping the entire roster. In a fast-changing college football landscape dominated by NIL (name, image and likeness, which allows players to make money in college athletics), Sanders had a tall task in front of him.
It has not always been easy or pretty.
Last season, Coach Prime’s Buffaloes received an unprecedented amount of media attention and fanfare. Despite a hot start, they finished the season 4-8 with a 1-8 record in the Pac-12.
And while they still won’t be competing for anything in Year 2, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter are both primed to be top five picks in April’s NFL Draft, and that’s really saying something.
Before Sanders arrived, NFL scouts and decision-makers would need to have their socks blown off to even entertain putting a Colorado player on their practice squad. Colorado’s last NFL Draft pick was when the New England Patriots selected offensive lineman Will Sherman in the sixth round of the 2021 draft. He’s currently a free agent.
Despite a handful of second-round successes throughout the years, Colorado’s last first-round pick was when the Patriots selected offensive lineman Nate Solder with the No. 17 overall selection in the 2011 NFL Draft. Just ten picks later, the Baltimore Ravens drafted defensive back Jimmy Smith in the first round out of Colorado as well.
Shedeur and Hunter will put that dry spell to an end. And Coach Prime certainly deserves a little bit of credit for that.
Sure, his own son is the starting quarterback of the team. It’s the same son and quarterback that led Jackson State to the two consecutive SWAC titles. Bringing your own son to Colorado was a no-brainer. But Hunter’s loyalty and development are something to marvel at, especially as a player that succeeds on both sides of the football.
Hunter had offers from every major program in the country. He shocked the world of college sports when he flipped his commitment from Florida State to Jackson State to play with Sanders. Boy, that certainly looks like the right decision now, and nobody was saying it then.
Coach Prime, Sanders and Hunter have the Buffaloes bowl eligible after just two seasons with the program. It’s a remarkable turnaround.
But more remarkable is the fact that Prime will have secured generational success for his own son and Hunter, who will undeniably break the drought of first-round draft picks for Colorado football.
Sports
WNBA All-Star Game tickets soar to $340
May 9, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) passes the ball while Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Ticket prices for the WNBA All-Star Game continue to rise leading up to the tipoff on Saturday night in Chicago.
The get-in price at United Center escalated from $74 on June 19 to $118 on July 19 to $233 by Friday, according to ticket-tracking service TicketData.com. At 12:20 p.m. ET on Saturday, the price stood at $343.
The game is sold out, TicketData.com reported.
Chicago last hosted the WNBA All-Star Game in 2022 at Wintrust Arena, the 10,387-seat home of the Sky.
Per Front Office Sports, last year’s WNBA All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis had a gameday get-in price of $71. And that was in a smaller venue than the United Center.
Gainbridge Fieldhouse fits about 17,200 fans. The United Center, home of the NBA’s Bulls and NHL’s Blackhawks, can seat more than 20,000 people.
The All-Star teams will be headlined by Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings and Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever, the leading vote-getters.
Bueckers’ team features three former UConn players — Bueckers, Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty and Gabby Williams of the Golden State Valkyries — in the starting lineup, along with Kelsey Mitchell of the Fever and Natasha Howard of the Minnesota Lynx.
Joining Clark in the starting lineup are her teammate, Aliyah Boston, rookie Olivia Miles of the Lynx, Jessica Sheapard of the Wings and Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson.
A four-time WNBA MVP, Wilson is leading the WNBA in scoring (25.5 points) and blocks (2.0) per game.
ABC will televise the game, which has an 8:30 p.m. ET tipoff.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Richard Carapaz, Tadej Pogacar stand tall at Stage 20 of Tour de France
Richard Carapaz of Ecuador is in action during Stage 20 of the Tour de France on Saturday. The race ends Sunday. Richard Carapaz of Ecuador won the stage and Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia all but wrapped up his fifth general classification title in seven years during a wild penultimate day at the Tour de France on Saturday.
The 33-year-old Carapaz capped a monumental week with his second victory in three stages, and third of his career, while also taking over the polka-dot jersey for top climber of the three-week stage race. He also finished third in Friday’s Stage 19.
Stage 20 unfolded in dramatic fashion as Sepp Kuss of the United States held a comfortable lead with just over 7 kilometers remaining in the 170.9-kilometer stage as it approached the finish at the resort town of Alpe d’Huez.
Kuss then crashed against a curb on the right side of the road while exiting a tunnel but got back on his bike and continued with the lead. Misfortune struck again when Kuss crashed against a left-side curb with 5.8 kilometers remaining.
Carapaz passed Kuss after his second solo crash and went on to the stage victory for the U.S.-based EF Education-EasyPost team. Remco Evenepoel of Belgium passed Kuss near the finish line to take second place, while Kuss made his way to the podium with a disappointing third-place finish.
Kuss was trying for his second career stage and stands as the last American man to win a Tour de France Stage when he reached the finish line first in 2021.
Race leader Pogacar finished fourth in the stage, while his UAE Team Emirates teammate Isaac del Toro of Mexico was fifth. The finish kept del Toro in the white jersey given to the top rider under 26 years old.
All that remains is Sunday’s mostly ceremonial final Stage 21. Barring major disaster, Pogacar will wrap up his third consecutive Tour de France title as he takes a 6-minute, 26-second lead over Evenepoel into the final day.
In third place overall is del Toro, who is 9:42 off his teammate’s pace. Paul Seixas, the 19-year-old sensation from France, is fourth overall and nearly two minutes behind del Toro for the white jersey. Seixas finished 10th in Stage 20.
The final stage into Paris on Sunday was cut from 133 kilometers to 89 kilometers because of nearby wildfires, with fans now treated to two extra circuits along the Champs-Elysees before a climbing finish on the nearby Montmartre loop.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tour de France final stage rerouted due to wildfires
A firefighter works to battle wildfire near the A9 motorway near Beziers, France, July 3, 2026. Wildfires in southwest France have forced organizers of the Tour de France to reconfigure the final stage, set for Sunday.
The change is necessary because multiple first responders have been diverted to the fires. The new route will leave a smaller race footprint for local officials to secure.
“As numerous wildfires are currently affecting France, particularly the Gironde region, emergency services are fully mobilized to combat the blazes, while internal security forces are working to secure the affected areas and protect the population,” the Amaury Sport Organisation said in a statement.
“In light of this, the Ministry of Interior has decided to redeploy a portion of the internal security forces initially mobilized to ensure security for the final stage of the Tour de France, in order to reinforce the response efforts in the areas affected by the wildfires.”
The wildfires have led to the evacuations of about 200,000 people.
Stage 21 had been set as a 132.5-kilometer ride from Thoiry down the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
The re-imagined Stage 21 still will end along the famed road, just after a circuit on the Montmartre. But the run now will occur solely within the Paris boundaries and travel just 89 km. Cyclists will take two extra circuits along the Champs-Elysees before heading out for the Montmartre climb.
The Montmartre circuit has proven to be popular after it was used in the 2024 Paris Olympics and then added to the 2025 Tour de France. The area can accommodate large gatherings of fans, who turn the area into a party atmosphere.
Earlier in the Tour de France, fans were asked to stay away from the final 40 kilometers of Stage 3 because of wildfires and the need to deploy first responders to the area.
–Field Level Media
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WNBA All-Star Game tickets soar to $340
