Fargo Shanley beats Fargo North to advance to first state tournament … — and more

Feb. 21—GRAND FORKS — For the first time in more than 35 years, the North Dakota state boys hockey tournament will see the Fargo Shanley sweaters.

In its first season as a stand-alone co-op in more than 15 years, Fargo Shanley earned a trip to the state tournament for the first time since 1989 with a 2-1 win over Fargo North on Saturday afternoon in an East Region tournament state qualifier at Purpur Arena.

"I know there are a lot of Shanley alums that love to see the Shanley shield and have a lot of pride in it," Shanley coach Mark Olsonawski said. "But one thing I just said to the boys in (the locker room) is without our partnerships with Oak Grove, Park Christian and Capstone in the future ... we wouldn't have a Shanley Deacons hockey program."

Shanley previously competed with Fargo South as Fargo South-Shanley. Fargo South now partners in a co-op with Fargo North.

The Deacons reached state by shedding any bad memories from the region semifinals, an 11-1 loss to No. 1 Grand Forks Central.

"One thing our coach says all the time if we have a bad game is to flush it," said Shanley goalie Jack Furstenau, who finished with 16 saves. "It's in the past. So that's exactly what we did."

After a scoreless first period, the Deacons took a 2-0 lead on a pair of second-period goals. Aaron Meyer scored at 2:05 of the middle period, followed by Noah Oksendahl at 14:30.

Meyer scored his eighth goal of the season and has now scored a goal in four consecutive games.

"We came into the season and a lot of teams looked down on us because we were new," Meyer said. "No one thought we'd do well. This is huge. It really shows how far we've come this season."

North was held off the scoresheet through a five-minute major called on the Deacons to start the third period.

"We know we have a good PK," Meyer said of the penalty kill. "We know we can shut it down. We knew if we kill this off, we win it."

But the Spartans set up a tight finish after Jack Bartsch scored with 3:10 remaining to cut the lead to 2-1.

Furstenau made his toughest save with 10 seconds to go with the Spartans pressing with an extra attacker.

"He didn't get tested a lot but some of those chances were Grade A, and he came up big," Olsonawski said.

North goalie Dominic Crocker finished with 25 saves.

Brody King's vocal stance against the United States' Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has inspired the professional wrestling community to speak their mind. While King has been blocked from television over such chants, the momentum persists. "F*** ICE" chants have migrated from AEW to the United States independent circuit, as AEW World Champion MJF quickly learned at House of Glory (HOG) Wrestling's recent New York show.

The New York crowd was on their feet in the beginning moments of MJF and Zilla Fatu's match at "HOG: No Turning Back," but not in anticipation of their main event. Fists flew in the air as "f*** ICE" chants flooded the venue. MJF looked skeptically outside of the ring as Fatu's gaze surveyed the crowd. While the two men eventually locked up, the crowd's chants were the story of the night, as Fightful Wrestling's clip of the event has garnered over 145,000 views as of writing.

"F*ck ICE" chants before the match between MJF and Zilla Fatu at HOG.pic.twitter.com/bakP2Y5geE

— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) February 21, 2026

While anti-ICE sentiment has spread through the professional wrestling business like wildfire, with notable stars like King and Becky Lynch taking shots at the controversial organization, some fans are not on board. Most netizens underneath Fightful Wrestling's post were unsympathetic to the crowd and their rally cry, with reactions ranging from dismissive to critical, especially towards HOG, who, one netizen implied, was responsible for their crowd's political statement. King was not present at "No Turning Back;" whether the chants were directed towards MJF, King's most recent opponent, or at the greater American political crisis are unclear.

King, who many credit as a driving force behind the slogan within professional wrestling, has not commented on the situation. He has, however, doubled down on his statements, having recently reposted John Oliver's coverage of the phenomenon, as well as a piece of fanart depicting him crushing an ICE agent's head.

Read more: 30 Best Wrestlers Under 30 In 2025, Ranked By Wrestling Inc.

Don't miss any of the major wrestling headlines. Sign up to our free newsletter for the biggest stories, sent straight to your inbox. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google.

Read the original article on Wrestling Inc.

Deion Sanders' spring ball draft: Another innovation or trying to reinvent the wheel? originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Colorado Buffaloes in 2026 have taken on a completely different approach. In almost every way imaginable when compared to previous 'Prime' years. After a ‘last supper’ post-game press conference in November, head coach Deion Sanders all but vowed sweeping changes.

Following the 2024 season that saw a total of ten wins, a bowl game appearance, a Heisman Trophy winner, a 4,000-yard passer and a conference leading pass rush, 2025 was objectively a failure. There were positive moments, but the magic from the Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders show had all but faded.

Sanders had an offseason no one should envy. Negative NFL Draft narratives and a historic draft slide seem manageable when compared to the cancer fight Sanders revealed late in the summer of 2025.

Fair or unfair, Sanders was not available for much of the recruiting and practice calendar. His absence during stretches in the offseason calendar were noticeable. Looking back on the season and many of Sanders’ comments, dramatic change should have been expected.

Sanders called for big changes four months ago

Sanders was revealing and brutally honest in his final 2025 post-game press conference. There was a strong sense that Sanders knew what the problem was.

“We won’t be in this situation again, I promise you that,” Sanders said last November. “I’m not happy with nothing. This fanbase, this school, Rick, everybody deserves much better than this. There’s no rut… you’re just not good.”

In that press conference Sanders identified “mentality” as the largest root cause the Buffaloes issues. Short of calling people out by name, something Sanders often refuses to do, he believed the biggest issue was mentality.

“Mentality. Personnel. Coaching. Everything. I see everything being different. Even me,” Sanders told reporters. “You don’t develop mentality, you select mentality. Personnel is mentality. I tell you the truth, but sometimes the truth hurts when I tell it to you. We’ve got to do a better job of coaching.”

New coaches breathe new life

Sanders’ first move was to bring in former Sacramento State head coach Brennan Marion in to be the Buffaloes offensive coordinator. Marion has experience with some of the bigger coaching names in college football (Sarkisian, Malzhan, Narduzzi), but most of his career was spent with smaller programs.

Marion is the architect of the “go-go” offense. The system is fast paced, relying on downhill toughness and putting skill players in advantageous positions on the field to maximize big play capability. Marion has described himself as ‘partner in accountability’. An aspect that Sanders did not mention in November but seemed to be an underlying theme.

Colorado OC Brennan Marion keeping it real: “This gotta work for some of y’all.”

🎥 @KingDarius_NSpic.twitter.com/a55hsONicc

— Scott Procter (@ScottProcter_) January 23, 2026

Sanders surprised many with the hiring of Gainesville Florida high school coach Josh Niblett. High School 5A to Power 4 college football is a jump that caused some speculation. Once Niblett spoke in the Colorado meeting room, his comments went viral.

“A better you, makes a better CU.”

TE Coach Josh Niblett 🦬

Let’s get to work. 💪 pic.twitter.com/u0xlyUUqrc

— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) January 23, 2026

The program overall is carrying a different tone into 2026. In large part due to the messaging of Marion, Niblett and other new additions to the coaching staff. Sanders promised changes and delivered changes. However, many of those changes fly in the face of what has traditionally worked at this level.

Innovative changes or trying to reinvent the wheel

Something had to give after the 2025 season. Regardless of how they got there, change needed to happen. The question becomes, are these the right changes? College football has created a working model that has lasted decades. Recruiting the best players is the lifeblood of success.

With the addition of NIL and the transfer portal, there is even a higher premium on maximizing top end talent. Yet Colorado finds themselves in what feels like the college equivalent of gentleman’s tank. Facing a more than $20M deficit, Colorado has shed almost all its high-priced talent.

Jordan Seaton, DJ McKinney, Dre’lon Miller, Omarion Miller, Brandon Davis-Swain and many other potential NIL earners and expected foundational pieces have left via the transfer portal. Those players were replaced by incoming transfers, most of whom come from lower-level programs or less than good situations at Power 4 programs.

The plan could work. Or it could be an exercise in college football disproving outside the box approaches. Most fans can count on one hand the number of motivated by the opportunity but lower-level players beating teams loaded with five- and four-star talent.

The 2026 Colorado Buffaloes inaugural Spring Ball Draft

Sanders has tried to create ways to make the Black and Gold Spring Game more than your typical spring game. For the second year in a row, Sanders and Syracuse coach Fran Brown have attempted to schedule a joint practice and corresponding spring game. In both cases the NCAA has denied their request for reasons no spectator accepts as valid.

This season, Sanders has put the Spring Game in the hands of his players. Sanders created two teams not two sides. This year’s spring game will have two full teams playing against each other. Sanders applauded his spring game team captains for their research and preparedness for the draft that took place.

The Spring Game Draft is another innovative idea that Sanders and his coaching staff has implemented. It conceptually seems like an interesting idea. However, it also scratches that part of the brain that wonders if it is what it is being presented as.

If this works, Sanders might have made spring games more impactful for both the players and the fans. If it’s just something different and the regular season results aren’t better, this could become something people point to later. Was it a good idea or just a misdirection while the program resets amidst money problems and poor on-field results.

More college football news: 

• Oregon's Dan Lanning rips College Football Playoff, calls for major changes
• Deion Sanders buyout, contract details as Colorado Buffaloes coach
• Top 2026 NFL Draft prospect suffers broken rib in CFP quarterfinal loss
• Dabo Swinney fires Clemson coaches immediately after loss to Penn State
• Ohio State's Ryan Day faces backlash after Cotton Bowl