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Ravens still searching for answers on offense: ‘There’s no way around it. We’ve got to be better’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:08:14 GMT

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said the offense is still “a work in progress.”Quarterback Lamar Jackson’s assessment: “Inconsistent.”Running back Gus Edwards? “It’s kind of like a fire right now and everybody is eager to put it out.”Six games into the season, Baltimore’s offense is still trying to find its footing.The Ravens are 15th in scoring with 22.2 points per game, which ranks behind the Houston Texans and is tied with the Washington Commanders. They’re only marginally better in FTN Fantasy’s Defense-adjusted Value Over Average, ranking 10th. And their 339.2 yards per game is only 11th-most, behind the Indianapolis Colts and barely ahead of the Minnesota Vikings.Most glaring are their passing numbers; the Ravens’ 194.3 yards per game rank lower than the 1-5 New England Patriots and the 0-6 Carolina Panthers.There are other issues that have stood out as well. Last week in London, the Ravens were just 1-for-6 sc...

Callahan: Bills QB Josh Allen has become Bill Belichick-proof

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:08:14 GMT

Three years ago, a weary Bill Belichick confided in the last group of people you would ever expect him to trust.The media.During a private production meeting before a Patriots-Bills game on Monday Night Football, Belichick dismissed Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen as an MVP candidate to ESPN. The suggestion alone apparently made him animated.“There was no question that Bill really got fired up when talking to him about potentially being swept, Josh Allen being one of the MVP favorites,” added Louis Riddick revealed on the December 2020 broadcast. “He was not having any of it.”Yeah, about that.Not only did Allen rip the Patriots that night in a 38-9 rout, passing for 320 yards, four touchdowns and no picks, he hasn’t stopped. Allen is now universally recognized as one of the game’s greats. In the process, he’s become something more: Belichick-proof.Against Belichick, Allen owns the highest passer rating of any quarterback to make more than five career sta...

Weekend need to know: Creepy Doll Museum, Boo at the Zoo, United Way ClimbUP

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:08:14 GMT

More Halloween-themed events are in the city this weekend, plus an annual charity climb at the CN Tower.The first Creepy Doll Museum is opening their doors this weekend in Toronto, and family friendly Halloween events are back at the zoo and Black Creek Pioneer Village. Meanwhile, United Way’s ClimbUP event returns to the CN Tower. There is a full-weekend subway closure on part of Line 1, alongside ongoing road closures. Scroll below for more details.Here’s what’s going on this weekend:Top eventsCreepy Doll MuseumThe Toronto premiere of the Creepy Doll Museum will be opening its doors on Friday and Saturday at the Red Sandcastle Theatre, located at 922 Queen Street East in Leslieville.The museum is home to almost 200 wayward dolls, and each doll has a unique biography written by a variety of Ontario authors that tell their haunting histories.The collection will be on display on Friday and Saturday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Museum curators say proceeds will be used to fund e...

Music Review: An expanded soundtrack marks 50th anniversary of ‘A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:08:14 GMT

An expanded soundtrack for the Thanksgiving season filled with childlike charm is reason to do the Snoopy dance.“A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” will be released Friday in advance of the 50th anniversary of the Peanuts TV special, which first aired in November 1973. The restored, remixed, remastered album by the late jazz composer and keyboardist Vince Guaraldi features 21 tracks, nearly half of which have not been previously released.As many “ Peanuts” fans know, Guaraldi’s tunes emit the warm glow of a fireplace at holiday time, which makes them ideal background music. Or turn up the volume to appreciate the evolution of these compositions, most of which are presented in multiple takes.Guaraldi is accompanied by Seward McCain on electric bass, Mike Clark on drums, Tom Harrell on trumpet and Chuck Bennett on trombone, and the tunes are explored by the ensemble in various configurations, including overdubs.Six cuts last a half-minute or less, which makes the album a bit choppy, but it...

China sends an envoy to the Middle East in a sign of its ambition to play a larger role

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:08:14 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China has sent an envoy to the Middle East to push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in the latest sign of its ambition to play a larger role in the region.Envoy Zhai Jun’s first meetings included one in Qatar with a Russian counterpart on Thursday as the two countries stake out a position at odds with the American approach.The two sides confirmed their “unwavering focus on closely coordinating efforts for the political settlement of this and other crises in the Middle East and North Africa region,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said, according to the country’s Tass state news agency.China, which sees the U.S. as too pro-Israel, has said it opposes attacks on civilians but has not condemned the initial Hamas attack that started the latest war. Instead, it has called for an immediate cease-fire to protect civilians as Israel bombards Gaza before a possible ground invasion.“We believe that when dealing with hot-spot issues in the international community, major power...

Transat AT CFO Patrick Bui moving to take job at retailer Dollarama

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:08:14 GMT

MONTREAL — The chief financial officer of Transat AT Inc. is leaving the company to become chief financial officer at Dollarama Inc.Transat says Patrick Bui will step down from his position at the travel company on Dec. 15.He is expected to remain in his role through the announcement of Transat’s results for its financial year ending Oct. 31 to help ensure a smooth transition.He is set to join Dollarama on Dec. 18.He fills a job left vacant by the departure of J.P. Towner who moved from the discount retailer to become chief financial officer at Rona Inc.Transat, which operates as an airline under the Air Transat banner, says it has started a formal search for a new chief financial officer.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:DOL, TSX:TRZ)The Canadian Press

A stampede in Kenya leaves 4 dead and about 100 injured during an event marking an annual holiday

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:08:14 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A stampede in Kenya during celebrations to mark an annual public holiday killed at least four people on Friday and injured 100 others, authorities said.The stampede happened when thousands of people struggled to get inside Kericho stadium in western Kenya at dawn, police said. The stadium was the venue for this year’s Mashujaa Day, which means Heroes’ Day in swahili.President William Ruto, who addressed thousands of people at the stadium about four hours later, didn’t mention the stampede. He instead dedicated his speech to his plans on a universal health care plan.It wasn’t clear if Ruto was aware of the stampede when he delivered his remarks.The Associated Press

Youth charged with attempted murder in Brampton

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:08:14 GMT

Investigators from Peel police’s Criminal Investigation Bureau have charged a 16-year-old youth in connection with a stabbing incident in Brampton.On Aug. 23, officers responded to a stabbing in a mall in the Queen Street and Dixie Road area. Police located a male youth with multiple stab wounds. He was transported to a trauma centre with serious but non-life threatening injuries. There was an alleged altercation between the suspect and the victim, who are known to each other, before the stabbing. The suspect fled the area.A criminal code search warrant was executed on Oct. 17 at a home in Brampton, and a 16-year-old male suspect was arrested and charged with attempted murder.He was held pending a bail hearing and appeared before the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton.

Protesters in Iraq, Indonesia, South Korea demonstrate over Israeli airstrikes

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:08:14 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Protesters gathered at Iraq’s border crossing with Jordan on Friday to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and call for an end to Israel’s blockade, while in Indonesia’s capital, demonstrators marched from several mosques to the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy in Jakarta to denounce American support for Israel and demand an end to Israeli airstrikes.Similar protests also took place in front of the United Nations mission, a few kilometers (miles) from the embassy, and in the compound of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Authorities estimated that about 1,000 people participated in the rallies across Jakarta following Friday prayers in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.A brutal incursion into southern Israel by Hamas fighters on Oct. 7 provoked Israel to declare war against the militant group that rules Gaza. The Israeli siege of the Palestinian territory and airstrikes on it were the focus earlier this...

Friday Forecast: Cloudy, scattered showers, high 50s

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:08:14 GMT

Friday: Mainly cloudy, decreasing clouds, NW IN Sct'd Rain, NW 10-15 G25. High: 57Friday Night: Partly cloudy, slight chance for showers, S 5-10. Low: 47Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Saturday: Mostly cloudy, a few showers, NNW 15-20 G35. High: 58