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Mike Preston: Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti can’t be happy about the state of the organization | COMMENTARY

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:45:15 GMT

I wonder what Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti is thinking these days with his organization being in such despair.There have been other dark moments, like the double-murder trial involving Hall of Fame middle linebacker Ray Lewis in 2000 and the domestic violence criminal charges against running back Ray Rice in 2014. There was the null-and-void trade for wide receiver Terrell Owens in 2004 and the purge of the Super Bowl XXXV team following the 2001 season.But at least then the Ravens had great players on the roster like Lewis, safety Ed Reed and outside linebackers Peter Boulware and Terrell Suggs. Then general manager Ozzie Newsome provided hope as demonstrated by the fans’ corny mantra of “In Ozzie We Trust.”Right now, the Ravens are an organization just twirling and dangling in the wind. There is only one alpha male on this roster, inside linebacker Roquan Smith. Shoot, the Ravens don’t even have a starting quarterback because no one is sure where Lamar Jack...

Nose tackle Michael Pierce agrees to pay cut as Ravens continue to clear cap space

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:45:15 GMT

Ravens nose tackle Michael Pierce agreed to take a $2 million pay cut as part of a contract restructure that will give the team about $2.7 million in salary cap space.Pierce, 30, signed a three-year, $16.5 million deal to return to the Ravens before last season but played just three games before he had season-ending surgery to repair a torn biceps. He was a candidate to be cut as the Ravens clear cap space to accommodate the $32.4 million nonexclusive franchise tag they placed on quarterback Lamar Jackson.Instead, the Ravens will keep an interior run stuffer who was playing well before his injury last season. Pierce played his first four seasons in Baltimore before he signed a free agent deal with the Minnesota Vikings in 2020. Though he played at least 14 games every year during his initial stint with the Ravens, he has not played more than eight games in a season since 2019.Pierce could earn back much of his pay cut if he meets a series of incentives.In a previous move to clear ca...

Revolution keeper Djordje Petrovic looking to keep shutout streak going

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:45:15 GMT

New England Revolution second-year goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic hopes to accomplish a significant club first against a formidable opponent.Petrovic will attempt become the only keeper in club history to open the season with three consecutive clean sheets when the Revolution (2-0-0) confront reigning MLS champion LAFC (1-0-0) on Sunday night (10:30) at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.Petrovic has logged 180 shutout minutes in wins against Charlotte FC (1-0) and the Houston Dynamo (3-0). Petrovic, a member of the Serbia National Team who experienced a call up in January, needs eight move saves to reach a hundred in his MLS tenure.“He’s played well but he wasn’t kept that busy in the last game against Houston,” said Revolution head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena. “He had one really good save at the end of the Charlotte game.“He is very reliable and he has grown as a goalkeeper from last year and he continues to get better. I think his distribution has gotten better and his ability t...

Patriots safety Devin McCourty announces NFL retirement after 13 seasons

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:45:15 GMT

Nicknamed “Red Coat” by his teammates, Devin McCourty’s destiny as a future Patriots Hall of Famer has long been clear.After his announcement Friday afternoon, the wait shouldn’t be much longer.In a video posted to social media, McCourty announced he is retiring from the NFL. McCourty ends his playing career after 13 seasons, three Super Bowl championships and two Pro Bowl nods. The 35-year-old grew into a franchise great in New England, where he was named to the franchise’s 2010s All-Decade team.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | NFL Draft 2023: Patriots receive two compensatory picks, own 10 total New England Patriots | The Patriots’ 18 best defensive fits in NFL free agency New England Patriots | How the Patriots can fix their offense in free agency New England Patriots | Long football careers linked to impulsive behavior, less white matter in the brain: Boston University CTE study ...

Justice minister commits to targeted bail reform to address repeat violent offenders

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:45:15 GMT

OTTAWA — Justice Minister David Lametti says the federal government will move forward quickly on “targeted reforms” to the Criminal Code that would update Canada’s bail system.He made the commitment on Friday afternoon after what he called a “good and productive” meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts.“We have a broad consensus on a path forward,” he told reporters, saying reforms will address the challenges posed by repeat violent offenders and those facing firearms or other weapons charges.“Bail is a constitutional right, but it is not absolute,” Lametti said.“Our laws are clear that bail can be denied where there is just cause, when it is necessary for the safety of the public or to maintain the public’s confidence in the administration of justice.”Premiers, federal Conservatives and law enforcement leaders have ramped up pressure on Ottawa since the beginning of the year to make bail more restric...

S&P/TSX composite falls more than 1.5 per cent, U.S. markets also slip

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:45:15 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index lost more than 1.5 per cent Friday on broad-based weakness led by financials and technology, while U.S. markets also fell.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 311.80 points at 19,774.92.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 345.22 points at 31,909.64. The S&P 500 index was down 56.73 points, or almost 1.5 per cent, at 3,861.59, while the Nasdaq composite was down 199.47 points, or 1.8 per cent, at 11,138.89.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.43 cents US compared with 72.52 cents US on Thursday.The April crude contract was up 96 cents at US$76.68 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was down 11 cents at US$2.43 per mmBTU.The April gold contract was up US$32.60 at US$1,867.20 an ounce and the May copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.03 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Killing of Maryland high schooler solved 52 years later

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:45:15 GMT

MILLERSVILLE, Md. (AP) — More than a half-century after Maryland high school student Pamela Conyers was found strangled to death following her disappearance from a local shopping mall, law enforcement officials announced Friday that they finally solved the case.But the suspect, Forrest Clyde Williams III — whom detectives identified using DNA technology and genetics research — died in 2018 of natural causes. Officials haven’t linked him to other unsolved crimes, leaving many unanswered questions for residents of the close-knit suburban community outside Baltimore. The night of Conyers’ disappearance, the 16-year-old attended a high school pep rally and then drove to the mall. Her parents reported her missing when she never returned from running errands. Four days later, authorities discovered her body in a wooded area, not far from the family car she had been driving.There was no evidence to suggest Conyers knew her accused killer, Anne Arundel County police officials said at a news...

Joly pushes China to include Ukraine in peace talks, as South Africa seeks resolution

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:45:15 GMT

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is asking China to expand its talks with Russia on a peace plan for Ukraine to include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Joly says that earlier this month at the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, she asked her Chinese counterpart Qin Gang to have Chinese President Xi Jinping speak with Zelenskyy.She was speaking at a public discussion on multilateralism with Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Anniken Huitfeldt in Ottawa.At that event, South Africa’s envoy to Canada urged both countries to support a peace settlement to the war instead of arming Ukraine.Meanwhile, Huitfeldt acknowledged that developing countries are upset that the Ukraine crisis has pulled the West’s attention and funding away from issues that have festered for years.Huitfeldt said that Norway prefers to take a neutral approach to conflicts and help peace mediations, but she said the invasion of Ukraine presents a security risk for all of Europe.This...

Mississippi man gets 2 years for threats to CDC officials

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:45:15 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man allegedly upset about the COVID-19 vaccination program has been sentenced to two years in prison for threatening federal health officials, federal prosecutors said. Robert Wiser Bates, 39, of Ridgeland, placed phone calls to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta in July 2021 and left threatening voicemails for the agency’s director, Rochelle Walensky, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca.An investigation found Bates made similar threats towards Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease at the National Institutes of Health, LaMarca’s office said. Bates pleaded guilty Dec. 19 to charges of making threats in interstate commerce.The Associated Press

Sketch released as police try to identify victim of vicious attack west of Toronto

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:45:15 GMT

Toronto police have released a composite sketch of a male victim violently assaulted and left unconscious on a sidewalk west of the city.Authorities were called to the Celestine Drive and The Westway area in Richview around 11 p.m. on Sunday for reports that a young man was unconscious on the sidewalk.It’s alleged that a dark-coloured sedan stopped in the area, and two suspects exited the vehicle and opened the trunk. The suspects moved an injured man out of the trunk and put him on the sidewalk.The suspects then got back into the vehicle and fled the scene.Police have been unable to identify the victim, described as a young man or boy, anywhere from 13 to 20 years old. He remains in the hospital in critical condition, with injuries to his face.Police say they’re working with neighbouring forces and the Homicide & Missing Persons Unit to identify the young man and gather information on suspects and the suspect vehicle. The composite sketch was completed by a forensic...