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Pelicans snap Nuggets’ four-game win streak, as Nikola Jokic sits due to calf injury

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:29:18 GMT

Watching the Nuggets without Nikola Jokic is like taking down a bowl of cereal without milk.There’s nothing appetizing about it.Without their franchise cornerstone, the Nuggets sputtered to the visiting Pelicans, snapping their four-game winning streak with a 107-88 loss. Their offense was uncharacteristically ugly, with awful 3-point shooting, mounting turnovers in the fourth quarter and a cold streak from the free throw line.Asked where he felt the game went wrong, Nuggets coach Michael Malone was blunt.“Well, Nikola didn’t play,” he said, before crediting his team for competing without their generational talent.Jokic watched helplessly from the sidelines, as he sat with a calf injury. A win would’ve made sitting Jokic for Friday’s back-to-back at Phoenix more palatable, but Thursday’s loss could change the equation, slightly. The Nuggets fell to 51-25 overall and 32-7 at home. Their lead over the No 2. Grizzlies shrunk to three games with six games left.Jamal Murray motored...

C.J. Cron’s big opening night leads Rockies to 7-2 rout of Padres

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:29:18 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Opening night was a smash hit for the Rockies’ C.J. Cron, who launched two homers, went 4-for-5, racked up 11 total bases and drove in five runs in a historic starring role.Charlie Blackmon, German Marquez and Elehuris Montero co-starred in Colorado’s 7-2 victory over the Padres on a chilly Friday at jam-packed Petco Park. The Rockies banged out 17 hits, more than any road game all of last season.They also struck out 17 times. Go figure.The big-money Padres are considered World Series contenders, and a fired-up crowd of 45,103 cheered on their heroes until the Rockies scored six unanswered runs to put the game away. Those cheers turned to jeers in the seventh when Cron and Montero hit back-to-back homers off Domino Tapia.Cron’s three-run homer off Nabil Crismatt in the fifth turned San Diego’s 2-1 lead into a 4-2 Rockies lead. Cron, who also had an RBI single off lefty Blake Snell in the first inning, tied Blake Street Bomber Vinny Castilla ...

How 'swatting' calls spread as schools face real threats

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:29:18 GMT

A spate of threats and false reports of shooters have been pouring into schools and colleges across the country for months, raising concerns among law enforcement and elected leaders. Schools in Pennsylvania and Utah were the latest targeted by so-called swatting. Computer-generated calls on Wednesday made claims about active shooters, but it was all a hoax. One day earlier, nearly 30 Massachusetts schools received fake threats. School officials are already on edge amid a backdrop of deadly school shootings, the latest Monday at a Christian school in Nashville.Here is a look at the issues involved:WHAT IS SWATTING?Hundreds of cases of swatting occur annually, with some using caller ID spoofing to disguise their number. The goal is to get authorities, particularly a SWAT team, to respond to an address.An FBI official said in November that they believe the wave of false threats focused on schools may be coming from outside of the country.Officials said at the time that they had identi...

San Jose Sharks’ rookie defenseman enjoys fast start to NHL career

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:29:18 GMT

SAN JOSE – It didn’t take long for San Jose Sharks rookie defenseman Henry Thrun to make an impact in his first NHL game.Thrun assisted on first-period goals by Mario Ferraro and Oskar Lindblom as the Sharks took a two-goal lead over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday at SAP Center.On Ferraro’s goal at the 4:16 mark of the first, Logan Couture won a draw inside the Golden Knights zone, and Thomas Bordeleau tapped the puck back to Thrun. The defenseman then slid it over to Mario Ferraro inside the blue line, and Ferraro’s shot went off a body in front and got past Vegas goalie Laurent Brossoit for a 1-0 Sharks lead.Just over 10 minutes later, Thrun found Lindblom with a crisp diagonal pass in the neutral zone. Lindblom then carried the puck into the Vegas zone, then worked a give-and-go with Ferraro for a tap-in goal and a 2-0 Sharks lead.In a way, Thrun, 22, has had a faster start to his NHL career than last season’s Norris Trophy winner, Cale Makar, who made his NHL d...

Controversy over Alameda County DA's new policies

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:29:18 GMT

ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) -- A new report was released Thursday -- highlighting the accomplishments made over the first 75 days of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. A press conference was also held to push back against some of the controversies surrounding the new DA.Price's transition team held a press conference to present a 75-day report of what they say are unprecedented reforms by the county's first Black district attorney. VIDEO: Yelp review of Millbrae boba tea shop proves to be fake after customer caught sabotaging drink Highlights of the first 75-days in office include:The first-ever comprehensive survey of the office’s victim-witness advocates to assess their needs and concerns about the services. Trauma-informed support training and information about restorative justice strategies for the entire victim-witness advocate workforce Creating an automated system to enable law enforcement, child protective services, and the district attorney’s office to share...

North Texas secures 1st NIT championship in C-USA showdown

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:29:18 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kai Huntsberry scored 14 of his 21 points in the first half, Tylor Perry scored 14 of his 20 after halftime and North Texas beat fellow Conference USA foe UAB 68-61 on Thursday night to claim the program’s first NIT championship.It was the fourth NIT championship game to feature conference opponents — and the first in 20 years. Conference USA is now 18-2 in the NCAA postseason — with Charlotte winning the College Basketball Invitational title and FAU advancing to the Final Four.Perry, the conference player of the year and NIT MVP, made a steal and a 3-pointer on a fast break to give North Texas the lead for good at 55-53 with 6:22 remaining. Aaron Scott extended it to 61-55 after making a high-arching layup and a jumper.UAB guard Jordan Walker was fouled on a 3-pointer with 1:48 remaining and he made two free throws to get within 63-59. North Texas had two shots on its next possession after an offensive rebound and Perry sank a jumper.After UAB made two more f...

Blues win 5-3 to hand Blackhawks 7th straight defeat

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:29:18 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Logan Brown and Alexey Toropchenko scored 38 seconds apart in the second period, and the St. Louis Blues beat the skidding Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Thursday night.Jakub Vrana, Jordan Kyrou and Brandon Saad also scored for St. Louis. Justin Faulk had two assists.The Blues, still clinging to faint playoff hopes, have won two straight and three of four.“We’re scoring goals, and we’ve got a lot of guys playing pretty good offense right now,” coach Craig Berube said. “That’s the bottom line. Our penalty kill hasn’t been great. Our power play hasn’t been great lately. We’re still finding ways to score goals and win games.”It was the seventh consecutive loss for the Blackhawks, who dropped into a tie with Columbus for last place in the overall NHL standings with 54 points each.Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Johnson and Boris Katchouk scored for Chicago.Kyrou took Sammy Blais’ pass from left wing and beat Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek from the slot for his 34th goal of the seaso...

Renfroe makes no-look catch in right, delighting Ohtani

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:29:18 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Angels outfielder Hunter Renfroe made an amazing, no-look catch for the highlight reels on opening day.Playing his first game with the Angels, the right fielder could only grin ear to ear after robbing Jace Peterson of the Oakland Athletics with a defensive gem to start the bottom of the fifth inning Thursday night.Running backward toward the wall, Renfroe got twisted around and blindly reached his glove up to make the grab just in front of the warning track without even tracking the ball with his eyes at the end.Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani raised his arms in delight from the mound and put his hands on his head as other teammates smiled. After rounding second base, Peterson looked over his shoulder out at Renfroe in right — almost in disbelief.“WHAT WAS THAT” the Angels posted on Twitter with a shocked emoji face.The Angels led the A’s 1-0 after an RBI single by rookie catcher Logan O’Hoppe in the fifth.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.c...

Alcaraz turns away Fritz in Miami; Rybakina to women’s final

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:29:18 GMT

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The hopes of American men’s tennis rest largely on the talented rackets of Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.But a Spanish roadblock named Carlos Alcaraz is in the way – never more illustrated by the last few days at the Miami Open.Two days after routing the Australian Open semifinalist Paul, the top-ranked Alcaraz took his spectacular arsenal to the highest-ranked American man in No. 10 Fritz and blasted into the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-2 victory at Hard Rock Stadium.In the women’s draw, Elena Rybakina advanced to Saturday’s finals with a 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Jessica Pegula in a match delayed twice by rain.Rybakina, the Wimbledon champion, won her 13th straight match and is seeking to become the fifth woman to achieve the “sunshine double” — back-to-back titles in the hard-court tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami.Before a packed crowd that included John McEnroe and was split in support, Alcaraz broke Fritz’s serve in the first game. He used that ...

Today in History: March 31, Jews ordered expelled from Spain

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:29:18 GMT

Today in HistoryToday is Friday, March 31, the 90th day of 2023. There are 275 days left in the year.Today’s Highlight in History: On March 31, 1991, the Warsaw Pact military alliance came to an end. On this date: In 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain issued an edict expelling Jews from Spanish soil, except those willing to convert to Christianity.In 1814, Paris was occupied by a coalition of Russian, Prussian and Austrian forces; the surrender of the French capital forced the abdication of Emperor Napoleon. In 1917, the United States took formal possession of the Virgin Islands from Denmark. In 1931, Notre Dame college football coach Knute Rockne (noot RAHK’-nee), 43, was killed in the crash of a TWA plane in Bazaar, Kansas. In 1968, at the conclusion of a nationally broadcast address on Vietnam, President Lyndon B. Johnson stunned listeners by declaring, “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.” In 1993,...