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Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam was found dead Monday night in a Boulder park less than two miles from Folsom Field, where he carved his name into the University of Colorado record books as one of the greatest players in the programs history.The Boulder County coroners office was still investigating the cause of the death of the 42-year-old Salaam, who won the Heisman in 1994. The body of the one-time running back was found at Eben G. Fine Park in Boulder. Police say foul play was not 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 a 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, Bill McCartney, who coached Salaam from 1992-94, told The Associated Press.McCartney remembered Salaam as a natural leader.His personality was infectious. He just had a warmth about him, a genuineness about him that was really contagious, McCartney said. On the surface, he had everything. We thought he was a cut above, and he turned out to be.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.He practiced hard, he played hard and he made our teams better, Russell said. My heart goes out to Rashaans mother and his family. They have a lot to be proud of with the person that Rashaan was, the way he treated people and the friend he was to everyone he came across. He will be missed by so many.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. He won the Heisman in a runaway.I went to New York with him, McCartney recalled. I was thrilled for him. Im pretty sure hes the only Buff that ever got that award. When we recruited him we knew he was special ... he just kept getting better.His work ethic was renowned. Former teammate Blake Anderson cant forget how Salaam used to lift weights with the offensive linemen, because thats how strong he was, and how dedicated he was.We were blessed with an incredible team and love for one another, said Anderson, who was a receiver on the 94 team that also included fellow receiver Michael Westbrook and quarterback Kordell Stewart. It was just an awesome, awesome experience to have the magnitude of the players that we had on that team, not only for their abilities to play football, but their abilities to love and be great friends, which we all are currently today.We are all hurting tremendously today.Salaam was one of the nations most prized 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. He was a tough kid, he was rugged, he had great acceleration, great athleticism.The Chicago Bears made him 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 only scored three rushing TDs in 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. Only 70 players or so have won the Heisman Trophy and hes one of them.Salaam fell on hard times after his playing career ended. In 2011 he auctioned his Heisman ring.I dont understand that, McCartney said. You talk about a kid that on the surface had everything. He was a real handsome guy, he was intelligent, he was personable. You couldnt really point at him and see any deficiencies.---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 Stitched Flames Jerseys . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Cheap Flames Jerseys . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations. https://www.cheapflames.com/ . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Calgary Flames Pro Shop . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. Flames Jerseys 2021 . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". CHICAGO -- Chuck Logan heard about it from his dad for years. Bill Sianis was born into it. And Lennie Merullo was there the day it happened and lived with it for the rest of his life.The it is the Curse of the Billy Goat, the story of a Chicago tavern owner who supposedly put a hex on the Cubs after the team refused to let his pet goat into Wrigley Field during the 1945 World Series -- despite the fact that the goat had a ticket.The memories of those three men are about a real event that has turned into an enduring tale that has only grown taller throughout the years -- one that may not explain why the Cubs are returning only now to the World Series after 71 years, but one that does get at what it means to be a fan of a team with the longest championship drought in major American sports at 108 years.This story begins with Logan. His dad was a Wrigley Field usher and he mentioned a few times over the years that he refused to let a tavern owner named William Sianis into Wrigley for Game 4 of the `45 World Series, but he never made a big deal out of it.I just assumed he was one of 20, 30 guys saying, `No, you cant come in with that goat, said Logan, 73. A few years after his father died in 2001, Logans cousin spotted a newspaper photograph of a lone usher standing between William Sianis and Murphy the goat at a Wrigley turnstile, and called to say he thought the usher was his dad.The usher was, in fact, Olaf Logan.The photo dovetailed into the popular story about the curse: Sianis, hoping to bring the Cubs luck, showed up to the game with Murphy, with the goat even sporting a We Got Detroits Goat blanket on his back.There, in the photograph, the 32-year-old usher stood at the turnstile apparently telling Sianis he cant come in. Murphy is standing on its hind legs, its front legs draped over the railing, a look of apparent disappointment on its face. The Cubs, of course, lost Game 4 and the Series in seven games. They havent been back until now.The usher story is what Logan told Lennie Merullo, the last surviving member of the 1945 Cubs team, when the 97-year-old Merullo returned to Wrigley to celebrate the ballparks 100th anniversary.Merullo, his son said, ran with it.My dad was giving him all kinds of grief, telling him if he hadnt done that theyd have won, said Len Merullo Jr., who watched his father, who died last year, tease Logan.A Cubs historian tells a slightly different story. According to Ed Hartig, Sianis actually got into the ballpark with a goat, which is strange enough. Even more aamazing, once inside -- and Hartig said there is a photo of this -- Sianis and Murphy somehow got onto the field to stroll among the players warming up for the game.ddddddddddddUltimately, they took their seats. The problems started when, after a rainy morning, the sun came out. That was good for the players but not so good for fans sitting near a drying goat.People started to complain about the smell, Hartig said. Sianis and his goat were shown the door.Bill Sianis, who backs the story about his great-uncle being turned away at the gate, said that whatever happened, his namesake was miffed and made sure he told the Cubs owner just that.He went back to the tavern and after they lost the Series he sent a telegram to P.K. Wrigley that read simply, `Who stinks now? said Sianis, whose great-uncle died in 1970.As the Cubs plummeted in the standings over the next few years, reporters asked Sianis if hed put some sort of curse on the team.He said as long as they dont let the goat in, they will never win the World Series, Bill Sianis said. And with that, a curse was born.Whatever happened at the gate was not captured by a photographer. Logan said the original photograph he saw showed his dad but did not identify him. A few weeks ago, he said, the same picture ran in the paper -- this time with his fathers name below it along with the words re-enactment.Hartig contends that what Sianis really wanted was publicity for his tavern and he recognized that getting kicked out of the ballpark could accomplish that goal just as much as being allowed to stay.Maybe, Hartig suggested, he told the Cubs, `Hey, take my picture and Ill go quietly.There have been many chapters since then, from black cats to fans eager to reverse the curse .Merullo said his dad didnt talk about the curse much, but he suspects he thought there was something to it. He was Italian, theyre all superstitious, he said, chuckling.Logan, who played football at nearby Northwestern, doesnt believe in curses. But, like many Cubs fans wistfully remembering the loved ones who died without ever seeing the team win it all, he finds himself thinking about his parents and siblings hes lost.I wish I could enjoy this story about my fat