Colorado QB Dominiq Ponder, 23, dies in car accident

Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder died Sunday, head coach Deion Sanders said in a social media post. Ponder was 23.

Per reports from DNVR Buffs and FOX 31, Ponder was confirmed to be the driver of a 2023 Tesla that was involved in a single-car crash around 3 a.m. Sunday in Boulder County.

"God please comfort the Ponder family, friends & Loved ones," Sanders wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "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."

One of Ponder's teammates in the quarterback room, Colton Allen, also responded to the news in a social media post.

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"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. What happened feels so final. It feels heavy. It hurts."

Ponder was entering his third year in Boulder after redshirting at Bethune-Cookman in 2023 and transferring to Colorado. He saw his first game action in 2025, getting into two games as a reserve with one pass attempt and two carries.

The native of Opa Locka, Fla., would have been a candidate to move up Colorado's depth chart in 2026. His death comes the day before Colorado was scheduled to start spring football practices.

--Field Level Media

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Colorado QB Dominiq Ponder, 23, dies in car accident

Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder died Sunday, head coach Deion Sanders said in a social media post. Ponder was 23. ...

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In a NASCAR built for parity, Tyler Reddick has started 2026 with an unprecedented win streak

Tyler Reddick became the first driver to win the first three races of a NASCAR Cup Series season, and he did so Sunday by beating one of the greatest road course racers in modern NASCAR history.

Reddick scored the win at the Circuit of the Americas when he held off Shane van Gisbergen on Sunday. After winning the Daytona 500 and a week ago at Atlanta, Reddick became the sixth driver in NASCAR history and the first since Matt Kenseth in 2009 to win the first two Cup races of a given season.

Now he's got the record all to himself.

"In this day and age of Cup racing, the Daytona 500 is so hard to win. It's so hard to survive at [Atlanta] and we were able to do that," Reddick said. "And to be able to hold off Shane at the end of that race to make it three in a row, yeah, it seems just very fitting that we had to go through the hurdles we did, especially the last two weeks, to pull this off."

Reddick won the Daytona 500 by leading only the last lap of the race as 37 of the race's 41 cars were officially involved in a wreck. Over the last two races, Reddick has led 111 of a possible 366 laps.

He won at Atlanta even though he was missing his entire right-front fender following a crash with less than 50 laps to go. He worked his way back to the front of the field and took the lead with two laps remaining from teammate Bubba Wallace ahead of a green-white-checkered finish after a late caution flag.

Sunday, he started from the pole as van Gisbergen started 13th. The former Australian Supercars champion has been incredibly dominant since moving to NASCAR. He won in his first start at the Chicago road course in 2023 and then won five of the six road course races on the Cup Series schedule in 2025 and many of those victories came in dominating fashion.

The road course race he didn't win? The COTA race that Reddick started from the pole.

As the laps ticked down Sunday, Reddick said he had to remind himself that he didn't need to win by a blowout margin. He simply needed to be ahead of van Gisbergen at the finish line.

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"It's so important to just not make mistakes because who knows, Shane could have been playing games, right? Like back off a bit, see if I burn myself up and I back up to him at the end of the race," Reddick said.

"There's just so much going on there. He's just so good on the road courses. Even when I was pulling way, right, it's like, alright, I just didn't let myself think it was over until it was truly over."

[Watch Yahoo Sports Network]

Reddick entered the season with eight career wins and was tied with Alex Bowman and Kyle Petty on NASCAR's career Cup Series wins list. With the victory at COTA, Reddick now has more wins than drivers like Sterling Marlin, Clint Bowyer and NASCAR Hall of Famer Donnie Allison in just 221 starts.

It's a win percentage that's among the best across all active drivers despite a winless 2025 season. After scoring three wins and making the championship race in 2024, Reddick was one of just two drivers to make the 16-driver playoff field in 2025 without a win.

Yet that lack of a win was an anomaly given Reddick's underlying statistics. And it looks even more out of place now. Only seven drivers had more top-five finishes and a better average finish than Reddick did a season ago and no driver completed more laps.

In 2026, Reddick is piling up wins in a NASCAR era designed for no one to dominate. The current Cup Series car is built with spec parts that every team buys from the same suppliers. The margins for advantages are thinner than they've ever been.

That may make Reddick's streak even more impressive. And it's a streak that his 23XI Racing team co-owner Michael Jordan made clear that he wanted him to continue before Sunday's race. Like he was in Daytona and Atlanta, Jordan was in attendance in Austin on Sunday.

"He reminded me early this week, he does things in threes. He expected no less today," Reddick said of Jordan's two runs of three consecutive NBA Finals wins. "I was really glad to be able to live up to the standards that he has for us and be able to deliver three in a row. That was really cool to share that moment with him."

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In a NASCAR built for parity, Tyler Reddick has started 2026 with an unprecedented win streak

Tyler Reddick became the first driver to win the first three races of a NASCAR Cup Series season, and he did so Sunday by...

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FIA says it will focus on 'safety and wellbeing' in decisions on F1 races in the Middle East

PARIS (AP) — The president ofFormula 1'sgoverning body, the FIA, says it will prioritize "safety and wellbeing" as it decides what to do about upcoming races in the Middle East amid increasinglywidespread conflictin the region.

APTOPIX Bahrain F1 Auto Racing

F1 is scheduled to race next month in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, which have both been hit by attacks in recent days following jointstrikes on Iranby the United States and Israel.

The FIA statement also mentioned the World Endurance Championship, a leading sportscar series that opens its season in Qatar at the end of this month.

"We are in close contact with our member clubs, championship promoters, teams and colleagues on the ground as we monitor developments carefully and responsibly," FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem posted on Instagram on Monday.

"Safety and wellbeing will guide our decisions as we assess the forthcoming events scheduled there for the FIA World Endurance Championship and the FIA Formula One World Championship. Our organization is built on unity and shared purpose. That unity matters now more than ever."

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Ben Sulayem, who is from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, said "we are deeply saddened by the loss of life and stand with the families and communities impacted," adding that the FIA hopes for "calm, safety and a swift return to stability."

Followingpreseason testingin Bahrain last month, F1 teams and staff are heading to Melbourne for this week's season-opening Australian Grand Prix, despite disruptions to travel.

F1 races in China and Japan later this month before the Bahrain Grand Prix, which is scheduled for April 12, and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix one week later.

AP auto racing:https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

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04:06

FIA says it will focus on 'safety and wellbeing' in decisions on F1 races in the Middle East

PARIS (AP) — The president ofFormula 1'sgoverning body, the FIA, says it will prioritize "safety and wellbeing...

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Macron to update France’s nuclear deterrence doctrine in a speech closely watched by European allies

PARIS (AP) — European allies' eyes turn toward France on Monday as President Emmanuel Macron is set to update French doctrine on thepotential use of nuclear weapons, in a keynote speech from the military base hosting the country's ballistic missile submarines.

France Nuclear Weapons

Macron is expected to outline France's strategy and spell out how French nuclear weapons fit into Europe's security amid concerns raised on the continent by recurring tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump overUkraine,GreenlandandNATO.

The long-planned speech was maintained despite the growingconflict around Iran, because the current violence in the Middle East shows the importance of France's power and independence to face down growing threats, according to a French official, speaking anonymously in line with the French presidency's customary practices.

European leadershave voiced growing doubtsabout U.S. commitments to help defend Europe under the so-called nuclear umbrella, a policy long intended to ensure that allies — particularly NATO members — would be protected by American nuclear forces in the event of a threat.

France isthe only nuclear power in the European Union. Macron's office said the speech is expected to build on his 2020 address on nuclear deterrence, delivered before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine reshaped the security landscape in Europe.

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No detail has been disclosed ahead of the speech.

Some European nations have already taken up an offer Macron made last year to discuss France's nuclear deterrence and even associate European partners in nuclear exercises.

Earlier this month, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he'd had "initial talks" with Macron on the issue and had publicly theorized about German Air Force planes possibly being used to carry French nuclear bombs.

"We have to re-articulate nuclear deterrence," Macron said at the Munich Security Council this month. He said France had had "a strategic dialogue" with Merz and with some other European leaders "in order to see how we can articulate our national doctrine, which is guaranteed and controlled by the Constitution, with special cooperation, common exercises and common security interests."

France and Britain also adopted a joint declaration in July that allows both nations' nuclear forces, while independent, to be "coordinated." The U.K., no longer an EU member but a NATO ally, is the only other European country with a nuclear deterrent.

Macron has consistently insisted any decision to use France's nuclear weapons would remain only in the hands of the French president.

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Macron to update France’s nuclear deterrence doctrine in a speech closely watched by European allies

PARIS (AP) — European allies' eyes turn toward France on Monday as President Emmanuel Macron is set to update French ...

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Lakers blow out Kings for much-needed refresher

Back-to-backs in the NBA can be tricky.

With fatigue an even more significant factor than usual, it isn't always clear the type of energy or focus a team will come with when playing on consecutive days.

But the Lakers established early on in their 128-104 win over the Kings on Sunday night that they weren't taking the league-worst Kings lightly.

Marcus Smart made one of his signature hustle plays early, diving for a loose ball multiple times on a possession that ended with an Austin Reaves alley-oop to LeBron James to loud cheers from the crowd at Crypto.com Arena to give the Lakers an early 10-2 lead.

"Smart's defense just totally ignited us at different points in the game," coach JJ Redick said. "He ended up with five steals, but he was diving on the floor for loose balls. He's starting transition plays for us. He was another igniter for us."

It wasn't always smooth sailing.

And the Lakers weren't always in control.

But they once again took care of business a little over 24 hours after being the Warriors in San Francisco.

Luka Doncic led the way with 28 points, nine assists and five rebounds. LeBron James finished with 24 points and five assists.

Deandre Ayton made all six of his field goal attempts finishing with 12 points.

Smart finished with five steals to go with nine points and three assists.

What it means

The Lakers bounced back from their three-game losing streak with back-to-back blowout victories after beating the short-handed Warriors by 28 on Saturday night.

Yes, both were games the Lakers should've won.

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But in the tight race among Nos. 3-7 in the Western Conference standings, winning is all that matters at this point of the season.

The Lakers improved to 36-24, including 23-7 against teams below .500.

Turning point

When Doncic hit a fadeaway 3-point to put the Lakers up 89-65 late in the third quarter after losing control of the ball.

"It was on purpose," Doncic quipped. "I tripped on purpose and it was, how do you say, the And-1 Mixtape, that's what they said on the bench. So, I did it on purpose."

The Kings were feisty in the second quarter, which they won 31-28, and to start the third.

But when Doncic knocked that shot down, it was clear Sunday night was going to go in the Lakers' favor.

MVP: Luka Doncic

When the Lakers needed a spark, their best player provided it.

"Luka did great job of getting us going," Redick said.

Doncic scored or assisted on 16 points for the Lakers during the 21-9 run they went on after the Kings cut their lead to 70-60.

And Doncic was directly involved in the Lakers scoring on a few of those plays he didn't score or record an assist, like when Marcus Smart made a corner 3-pointer that Austin Reaves assisted him on to put the Lakers up 74-60 after the Kings trapped Doncic in the pick and roll.

Key stat of game: 18

That was the number of 3s the Lakers made, one night after making a season-high-tying 19 in the win over the Warriors.

Doncic led the team with four, while James, Smart and Luke Kennard each made three apiece.

Up next

The Lakers will face another one of the league's worst teams on Tuesday when they host the Pelicans.

The Pelicans, who are 19-43 on the season, had their four-game winning streak ended by the Clippers on Sunday at Intuit Dome.

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02:06

Lakers blow out Kings for much-needed refresher

Back-to-backs in the NBA can be tricky. With fatigue an even more significant factor than usual, it isn't ...

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