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Desmond Ridder answers critics, Younghoe Koo kicks last-second field goal, Falcons edge Texans 21-19

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:57:33 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — All the talk from Atlanta coach Arthur Smith the last two years about Desmond Ridder’s poise and composure meant little until the quarterback demonstrated he could shine in the final minute with a game on the line.Now Ridder has a last-second comeback win as an impressive answer to his critics.Ridder passed and ran for touchdowns, providing a response to those who had called for him to be benched, Younghoe Koo kicked a go-ahead 37-yard field goal as time expired, and the Falcons snapped a two-game skid by beating the Houston Texans 21-19 on Sunday.“Now he’s got evidence, a great fourth-quarter comeback,” Smith said of Ridder.After Houston took a 19-18 lead with 1:49 remaining, Ridder completed each of his five passes on the final drive to set up Koo’s game-ending kick. The Falcons (3-2) stopped a two-game skid.“We proved we could stay calm, we could stay collected,” Ridder said. “That was one of my first true two-minute drives. I didn’t try to rush anythin...

Argentina, Fiji complete Rugby World Cup quarterfinals lineup. Portugal makes history

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:57:33 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Argentina and Fiji completed the quarterfinal lineup at the Rugby World Cup on Sunday. Argentina went through the front door, Fiji came through the back.Argentina ended Japan’s involvement in the tournament with a 39-27 victory in Nantes, where winger Mateo Carreras scored a hat trick of tries for the Pumas in a breathless match featuring eight in total.The Argentines finished runner-up in Pool D behind England and will meet Wales in Marseille on Saturday in the first quarterfinal.Fiji secured its place in the last eight for the third time, after the inaugural edition in 1987 and then 2007, thanks to a losing bonus point after falling to Portugal 24-23 in Toulouse.The Fijians jumped above Australia into second place in Pool C and set up a match against England in the quarterfinals on Sunday.The Wallabies failed to advance from the pool stage for the first time, though they’d had a couple of weeks to digest that likelihood after losing back-to-back to Fiji an...

Hyo Joo Kim completes a wire-to-wire win at The Ascendant LPGA in Texas

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:57:33 GMT

THE COLONY, Texas (AP) — Hyo Joo Kim of South Korea started with a five-shot lead and didn’t give anyone much of a chance Sunday, closing with with a 2-under 69 to win The Ascendant LPGA by four shots.It was the second straight week for a wire-to-wire winner on the LPGA Tour, following Hae Ran Ryu in the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.Bianca Pagdanganan, the big hitter from the Philippines, closed with a 65 to tie for second with Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand, who also shot a 65.“A five-shot lead feels like a comforting lead, but I did my best to just keep that edge until the end,” Kim said.Lexi Thompson could only manage a 70 in her final found on the LPGA Tour before she tests her game on the PGA Tour in Las Vegas next week. She finished six shots behind in fifth place and never seriously challenged Kim.Even so, Thompson said she was happy with the progress. This was her second straight top 10 after going the entire season without such a finish. Her last LPGA victory was mo...

Bryce Young doesn’t make excuses for his performance as Panthers fall to 0-5 with loss to Lions

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:57:33 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Bryce Young had plenty of excuses available for his performance against the Detroit Lions on Sunday.The Carolina Panthers rookie was playing just his fourth NFL game against one of the league’s hottest teams in one of the sport’s loudest arenas. Early in the game, he lost one of his offensive linemen to a scary injury.Given all of those factors, going 25 of 41 for 247 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions doesn’t sound all that bad.Young, though, wasn’t going down that road.“This is 100 percent on me,” he said after a 42-24 loss to the Lions. “There were two times in the game where I took a drive away from us and gave Detroit great position to start a drive of their own. I put our defense in a terrible position, and I’d love to have those plays back, but that’s not how this works.”Trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, the Panthers were facing second-and-7 at their own 31 when Young tried to set up a slip screen for tight end Ia...

Chiefs star Travis Kelce leaves game vs Vikings with right ankle injury, questionable to return

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:57:33 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce left the game with a right ankle injury in the second quarter at Minnesota on Sunday and is questionable to return.Kelce caught a short pass in the right flat from Patrick Mahomes on second-and-1 when he turned up the field and lost his footing in an awkward fall for no gain. He jogged off with a noticeable hitch and spent several minutes trying to walk back and forth on the sideline, before limping into a tunnel for further examination. CBS reported on the game broadcast that Kelce went for X-rays on his right foot.The injury could put a damper on a wild few weeks for Kelce, whose rumored girlfriend Taylor Swift made headlines when she showed up for Chiefs games in Kansas City and New York. Swift was not at the game in Minnesota. Kelce said this week he was “on top of the world” amid the Swift speculation but said he didn’t think the relationship was a distraction.The four-time All-Pro had five receptions for 22 yar...

Asistentes a un festival, niños, soldados: lo que sabemos sobre los rehenes israelíes tomados por Hamas

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:57:33 GMT

(CNN) — Se cree que decenas de personas fueron capturadas en Israel por combatientes de Hamas durante el fin de semana. Se encuentran retenidos en lugares de toda Gaza, lo que complica la represalia de Israel al mortal ataque del grupo militante el sábado.Israel intenta establecer el número exacto de rehenes que han sido tomados en Gaza, un enclave costero aislado de casi 2 millones de personas hacinadas en 362 kilómetros cuadrados, uno de los lugares más densamente poblados del mundo.El teniente coronel Richard Hecht, portavoz internacional del ejército, dijo a CNN el domingo que “docenas” habían sido capturados y enfatizó cuán compleja era la situación cuando el ejército lanzó ataques aéreos contra Gaza en represalia. En una sesión informativa anterior había dicho que “civiles, niños y abuelas” se encontraban entre los rehenes.Además de los cautivos israelíes, se cree que hay otras nacionalidades tomadas como rehenes. Dos ciudadanos mexicanos, una mujer y un homb...

Injured prop Lomax on the mend for New Zealand at Rugby World Cup

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:57:33 GMT

LYON, France (AP) — New Zealand was positive about the chance of injured tighthead prop Tyrel Lomax coming right in time to face Ireland in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals.Lomax strained the medial ligament in his right knee against Uruguay on Thursday in Lyon. He was forced off only nine minutes into his first start since the pre-tournament defeat to South Africa in August when his right thigh was accidentally gashed by studs.“He’s getting better by the day, better than we expected,” coach Ian Foster said on Sunday.“It’s just a strain, he’s had an injury there before. How much of it is old scar tissue we are not quite clear yet, but signs today are looking really good.”Ireland crushed Scotland 36-14 on Saturday to confirm the quarterfinal matchup with the All Blacks next Saturday at Stade de France.Ireland was eliminated by New Zealand 46-14 in the 2019 quarterfinals but has become a far better team. The Irish beat the All Blacks in a historic series in New Zeal...

NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400 Results

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:57:33 GMT

SundayAt Charlotte Motor Speedway Road CourseConcord, N.C.Lap length: 2.28 miles(Start position in parentheses)1. (6) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 109 laps, 41 points.2. (14) William Byron, Chevrolet, 109, 35.3. (5) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 109, 38.4. (10) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 109, 35.5. (7) Joey Logano, Ford, 109, 32.6. (1) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 109, 48.7. (20) Chris Buescher, Ford, 109, 30.8. (16) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 109, 29.9. (8) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 109, 42.10. (12) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 109, 40.11. (18) Ryan Preece, Ford, 109, 26.12. (17) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 109, 25.13. (36) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 109, 30.14. (15) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 109, 23.15. (2) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 109, 37.16. (4) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 109, 34.17. (24) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 109, 20.18. (19) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 109, 19.19. (22) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 109, 18.20. (11) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 109, 27.21. (21) Aric Almirola, Ford, 109, 16.22. (25) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 109, 15.23. ...

‘Dinger wins again at The Roval in NASCAR playoffs spoiler. Busch, Chastain, Keselowski, Wallace out

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:57:33 GMT

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — AJ Allmendinger spoiled NASCAR’s playoffs by winning Sunday’s elimination race on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Allmendinger is fantastic and wasn’t going to move over just because he’s not part of the championship field. Allmendinger, who is in his first full season of his Cup return, led 46 laps for Kaulig Racing to win for the first time in NASCAR’s top series since Indianapolis in 2021. Allmendinger, who became a father within the past month, was sobbing when he collected the checkered flag. “Because you don’t know when you are going to do it again,” cried Allmendinger, who turns 42 in December. He said he normally gives the checkered flag away to a fan but was keeping Sunday’s flag for his newborn son. “That was probably the drive of my life,” he said later. Allmendinger then went into the stands to pose for selfies with the fans chanting his name. Allmendinger won four consecutive Xfinity Series race...

Portugal pulls off Rugby World Cup stunner and Fiji advances in storming end to pool stage

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:57:33 GMT

TOULOUSE, France (AP) — Portugal pulled off a Rugby World Cup stunner to beat Fiji 24-23 with a try two minutes from the end and a match-winning conversion in the last seconds for a storming finish to the tournament’s pool stage on Sunday.Fiji was the last team to qualify for the quarterfinals with a losing bonus point, but the manner of progression was nowhere near what the Flying Fijians, or the rest of the rugby world, were expecting.It was Portugal’s first ever Rugby World Cup win and came in the last game of Os Lobos’ — the Wolves’ — second World Cup appearance. Portugal had a golden chance at a breakthrough first win two weeks ago at the same stadium in Toulouse but missed a last-second kick in an 18-18 draw with Georgia.This time they made the clutch kick and their history.“It’s incredible,” said flanker Nicolas Martins, one of Portugal’s standout players all tournament. “It’s historic, I’m so happy. It’s the best moment of my life.”D...