zos face for good measure. Becky Lynch came out to demand a rematch, and as Bliss tried to exit, McMahon inserte

Friends, ex-teammates and former coaches remembered 1994 Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam as much more than a football star upon hearing of his death in a park not far from the University of Colorado, where he stamped his name as one of the greatest players in the programs history.This is a great loss to the lives he had touched, said former Buffaloes assistant coach Brian Cabral, who recruited Salaam to Boulder.Ex-teammate Kordell Stewart, who went on to achieve the kind of NFL success that eluded Salaam, said, This is a tough one. He was our jewel. He said Salaam never wanted to be celebrated, he just wanted to play football.He just wanted to be one of the guys, a big kid playing a childs game, and he won the biggest prize there is, Stewart said. Football wasnt who he was; it was just what he did. He didnt care about his accomplishments. He cared about the people around him.Salaam was found dead Monday night in Eben B. Fine Park in Boulder, less than 2 miles from Folsom Field, where he carved his name into the schools record book from 1992-94. Police said foul play wasnt suspected.Salaams mother, Khalada, told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday that police said they suspect he killed himself. They said they found a note and would share that with us when we get there, Salaams mother said.Dave Plati, associate athletic director at Colorado and a close friend of Salaams, said the former Buffaloes star never let on that he was hurting : When you were around him he was just the same old Rashaan. You know, effervescent, jolly-go-lucky, smiling all the time, doing things for other people.There was just no way to tell Salaam had these kind of demons inside him, Plati added. I was as close to him as anybody and loved the guy ... and wish I could have noticed or done something for him or wished that he would have called me.Salaams death stunned the Colorado football community, which this year celebrated a revival with the teams 10-3 record, an appearance in the Pac-12 championship game and the Buffaloes first bowl bid in almost a decade.You talk about a young man who was smart, handsome, talented. He was very, very gifted. He was humble. He was a team guy, former Colorado coach Bill McCartney told The Associated Press.Salaam rushed for 2,055 yards and 24 touchdowns as a junior in 1994, leading the Buffaloes to an 11-1 record, a win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl and a No. 3 finish in the final polls.We are all hurting tremendously today, said former teammate Blake Anderson, who lauded Salaams work ethic, strength and dedication.Salaam was one of the nations most prized high-school recruits coming out of eight-man football at La Jolla Country Day, a private school in San Diego. His father played freshman football at CU in 1963 before transferring to San Diego State to be closer to home.When we recruited him and got him to commit, it was huge, McCartney said. We knew that he was going to distinguish himself. He was very highly recruited. I can remember how happy we were. He lived up to all our expectations.The Chicago Bears made Salaam a first-round draft pick in 1995, and he rushed for 1,074 yards and 10 touchdowns in winning NFC Rookie of the Year honors.Injuries cut short his career. He rushed for only three TDs over the next two years in Chicago and played his last NFL game with the Cleveland Browns in 1999. Salaam played for the Memphis Maniax of the defunct XFL and attempted one last comeback with the NFL before retiring.He was the only Heisman Trophy winner in the state of Colorado, Plati said. That could have been a burden in later years because he kind of felt he didnt have the great professional career that should have followed that. But that doesnt matter, its what you did to win the Heisman, and hes an icon in college football.Former teammate Matt Russell, now the Denver Broncos director of player personnel, said Salaam was a fiercely loyal friend, the ultimate teammate and the very definition of a winner.Rick Neuheisel, an assistant coach in Boulder when Salaam won the Heisman, said the play that epitomizes Salaam was the Miracle at Michigan, when Stewarts 64-yard Hail Mary pass to Michael Westbrook on the final play beat the Wolverines 27-26 on Sept. 24, 1994.All he did was create time for Kordell Stewart to get that play off, Neuheisel said. And if you ever see that play, Rashaan Salaam had one blocking assignment and then came back and got another blocking assignment, which allowed Kordell to kind of crow-hop up in the pocket and make the throw that well all remember for a lifetime.But there was the Heisman Trophy winner. He wasnt just about getting the ball or catching the ball. He was about, what do I need to do for my guys so that we can have the best possible chance for success? And whether he had the ball or didnt, it didnt matter, he was going to go all-out, Neuheisel said.And its a very tough time because hes too young. ... I think all of us that had that special time with him all wish we would have known what was going on in his life. And Im not sure we ever will. But we will know that the time we spent with Salaam was really cool.---AP College Football Writer Ralph Russo, Associated Press writer Sadie Gurman, Associated Press videographer Peter Banda and Associated Press photographer Brennan Linsey contributed to this story.---More AP college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org Cheap Bob Uecker Jersey .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Cheap Braves Jerseys . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. http://www.cheapbravesjerseys.com/ . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Cheap MLB Jerseys . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. Cheap Phil Niekro Jersey .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. With only three episodes of SmackDown Live left in the year, it would be completely reasonable for the show to start mailing it in as the holidays start to roll around and audiences start to wane. While there was definitely some element of that in play Tuesday, with some major storylines put on pause, SmackDown made a smart decision heading into the last two weeks of the year: They elevated performers who could use the opportunity.The promised WWE world championship match between AJ Styles and James Ellsworth was once again pushed off for another week, leaving a void that was filled by a Fatal 4-Way elimination match to determine a new No. 1 contender. Zack Ryder once again proved his stunning record of success in battles royal to make the Hype Bros No. 1 contenders for the SmackDown tag team championships (although a knee injury suffered during that match might make that victory moot). And an impromptu SmackDown womens championship match, albeit a brief one, gave Alexa Bliss another opportunity to prove just how far shes come in the last six months.Giving shots to guys like Dolph Ziggler, who seemed to be on a meandering path without anywhere to go after his feud with The Miz, makes the most of a window thats historically been filled with multiman tag team matches and silly gimmick matches. That goes for Luke Harper?too, who got a chance to prove he belonged against SmackDowns main event-level talent. And putting The Miz in the world title picture, which both myself and Brian Campbell have clamored for over the last couple of months, is a fitting reward for someone whos done so much to help carry the show as Intercontinental champion.There are a few different ways to manage a smaller roster effectively, and while a large contingent likely lamented the unfulfilled tease of adding Sami Zayn to the mix on SmackDown, giving underutilized talent a chance in the spotlight is another great way to make the show feel fresh. With John Cena set to return on Dec. 27, and a WWE world championship to boot on the last 2016 edition of SmackDown, it seems like coasting is the last thing on their minds.The build to the Royal Rumble and the show as a whole should benefit once the calendar turns over to a new year.Ziggler becomes No. 1 contender, and Harper truly shinesFor whatever reason, the epic clash between Ellsworth and Styles was postponed yet again as Ellsworth showed up to a meeting with Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon sick as a dog in the shows open. Ellsworths ability to fake sneeze on command and contamination of Bryan aside, there was a sudden need for a new No. 1 contender to the WWE world championship, and wouldnt you know it, wed get a solution right off the bat.A mutual admiration society between Styles and The Miz kicked off another edition of Miz TV, but the WWE nailed the execution of a fairly simple, but truly effective concept -- the good guys dont have to get along with all of the good guys, and the bad guys dont have to like all of the other bad guys. After running down mutual acquaintances, things broke down as The Miz claimed to have made the Intercontinental championship legendary and suggested he might do the same for the world championship.You said nobody is on your level, Miz said, after Styles dismissed every legitimate contender. Well, youre right. Im above it.Cue the inevitable chaos, as a mutual enemies in Dean Ambrose and then Ziggler came out. Ambrose laid out both Miz and Ziggler, but as Styles walked away, the Wyatts entrance hit and Harper appeared in the ring, clotheslining Ambrose out of his boots. The unlikeliest of four contenders then stared down the world champion, and even as the match went on, Styles put Harper over as a powerful unknown X-factor.As for the Fatal 4-Way itself, Harper cleaned house early and showed his versatility and mobility for a man of his size. Hes been an underutilized talent for most of his main roster run, excepting this most recent stretch and a brief run with the Intercontinental championship. But with any luck, this appearance in the main event is more evidence that the recent Wyatt Family surge also elevates Harper along the way.We also got a backdoor chance for a little more Miz-Ziggler after their rivalry seemingly closed at TLC. This Fatal 4-Way felt similar in a lot of ways to conflicts between Miz, Ziggler and Ambrose, but the inclusion of Harper kept things fressh in terms of story and pacing.ddddddddddddMiz ultimately got caught up trying to vulture a fall, and he ended up the first person out of the elimination match after Ambrose rolled him up. Similarly to American Alphas failure to become No. 1 contenders earlier in the night, you have to believe Mizs time in the world title picture is coming, but not quite yet. It was a competitive match for the next 10 minutes, and it took a superkick and a Dirty Deeds in quick succession to finally neutralize Harper.Ziggler vs. Ambrose seems to be a good mesh of styles, and the pairing showed some signs of great in-ring chemistry in about five minutes of action to close out the match. Keep an eye on this as a potential direction for both men once Ziggler gets his shot at Styles and Cena reintroduces himself to the mix.The Miz ultimately came back out and distracted Ziggler, but Ambrose hit a tope suicida, and Ziggler followed with a superkick. In the waning moments, Miz ultimately cost Ambrose the match by holding onto his leg, and thus laid out another potential path for Ambroses future. While few might foresee a Ziggler upset in two weeks, any excuse to get two of the best workers in the company into the ring and competing for a world title should be taken -- and it should be a great way to wrap up whats been a great year for SmackDown.Hits and misses? Some people might be disappointed by American Alpha not getting another shot at The Wyatts, but with Harper, Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton looking like theyre going to hold on to the Smackdown tag team titles for a while, its probably for the best for a few other teams to get a shot in the spotlight while Chad Gable and Jason Jordan rack up some wins and build back to the top. They seem to be the favorites to get a shot down the line, especially once Orton and Wyatts unlikely partnership likely dissolves at some point down the line.? The tag team battle royal was a fun and believable mechanism to give the Hype Bros their highest-profile opportunity since joining the SmackDown roster. Unfortunately, it appears they wont get to cash in on it in the near-future with Ryders injury. It could be The Usos, who missed the match because of a leg injury of their own but pleaded with Daniel Bryan on Talking Smack for a shot, who are now next in line? We also witnessed the likely end of the partnership between Heath Slater and Rhyno, as Slater accidentally knocked out his partner of the battle royal and then couldnt get it done on his own.? Carmella and Natalya had a pretty solid match, and Carmella is getting noticeably better in the ring by the week. Natalya, who for a long time in the WWE womens division was the most experienced in-ring competitor, has been a bit inconsistent of late, but this was a good showing for her too.? Alexa Bliss match with Deonna Purrazzo never started, with the champion indicating her disgust for even having to get into the ring. I dont do charity cases, Bliss said, followed by a forearm to Purrazzos face for good measure. Becky Lynch came out to demand a rematch, and as Bliss tried to exit, McMahon inserted himself into the situation and made the title shot a reality.The match and everything that preceded it was all good for Bliss, who displayed great heelish instincts in dismissing contenders and faking a knee injury to get herself counted out. The match itself was good, but the best part for Bliss was how quickly she went from faking the injury to laying in kicks to Lynch and then hobbling back up the ramp. Shes been thrown into the deep end of the pool with this title reign, but so far Bliss is more than holding her own.? Im not always a fan of the way WWE does its commercial tie-ins, but any excuse to play the Honky Tonk Mans Cool, Cocky, Bad music video gets a big thumbs up from me.? We didnt get a Baron Corbin appearance, but a sharp-looking promo video fit the bill and kept him fresh in our minds. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we got a rare Apollo Crews appearance, which featured an interaction with Miz, Maryse and comedian Gabriel Iglesias. The Miz got in some of the best lines, and Iglesias fell flat with his sophomoric line about Uranus, but if this is a sign that Crews can start making more regular appearances, Im all for it. ' ' '