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For Heat, there again will have to be playoff Plan A and Plan B for Spoelstra

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:45:09 GMT

It again is double duty for the Miami Heat scouting and video staff, working with a Plan A and a Plan B for the second consecutive playoff series.In the first round, it meant preparing for the Milwaukee Bucks both with and without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who played 2 1/2 of the five games in the Heat’s 4-1 series win.Having moved on from that challenge, it now is the sprained left ankle of New York Knicks forward Julius Randle that has Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and his staff working with dual game plans for the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.Randle initially injured the ankle in the Knicks’ March 29 home victory over the Heat, missing the balance of the regular season. The All-Star forward aggravated the injury as the Knicks closed out the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-1 on Wednesday night. He is listed as questionable for Sunday.“You have to prepare for both, if he’s available or not available,” Spoelstra said ahead of Sunday’s Game 1 a...

Yankees call up Jake Bauers after torrid start at Triple-A in effort to boost struggling offense

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:45:09 GMT

ARLINGTON — Beset by injuries and inconsistency, the Yankees called up one of their hottest-hitting minor leaguers to potentially provide a boost on offense.The Yankees added lefty-swinging outfielder Jake Bauers to the major-league roster Saturday ahead of their road game against the Texas Rangers. His call-up came two days after Aaron Judge left the series opener in Arlington with right hip discomfort and the morning after Franchy Cordero was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.Bauers, who slugged nine home runs in 21 games with the RailRiders this season, arrived in Texas before Friday’s game as a member of the traveling taxi squad.“I’ve got no expectations,” Bauers said in the clubhouse. “I’m gonna do whatever they need me to do. Whether it’s go sit at the hotel for a few days or be in the dugout, be in the lineup, it doesn’t matter. Whatever they need.”Bauers, 27, previously played in the MLB with Tampa Bay, Cle...

Jets finally land a tackle, select Pitt’s Carter Warren in fourth round of NFL draft

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:45:09 GMT

Entering the 2023 NFL Draft, many expected the Jets to address their needs at tackle in the first two days.But that wasn’t the case.Gang Green waited until Round 4 to select a tackle.With the 120th selection, the Jets drafted tackle Carter Warren from Pittsburgh. At 6-5, 311 pounds, there’s a lot to like about Warren. An All-ACC selection in 2021, Warren started 14 games en route to helping Pitt win its first ACC Championship.He was on an offense that averaged a school-record 41.4 points and 486.6 yards per game as the Panthers ranked third in the nation in scoring and eighth in total offense.Developing story, check back for details ()

Looking Glass: I’m livin’ the dream! What could go wrong with that?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:45:09 GMT

A man who was getting drunk in a bar in Wangaratta, Australia, left to get cash at an ATM where he discovered that the bank mistakenly informed him that he had $1.6 million in his account. So he went on a five-month-long spending spree, engaging in a luxurious lifestyle, throwing lavish parties, chartering private jets, and paying off his friends’ university fees among other things. The cops finally caught up with him, and he has now gone back to being a bartender for $22 an hour.I KNOW THIS SOUNDS CRAZY, OFFICER: Police pulled over an intoxicated 62-year-old man driving with a suspended license in Williamsport, Pa., and found a half ounce of methamphetamine in his sock as well as a baggie of crack and a crack pipe in his pants pocket. He said the pants weren’t his and he didn’t know how the meth got into his sock.BEST WEED DAY EVER!: A man, celebrating “weed day” in Iola, Kan., was driving his pickup truck with his knees while trying to light a marijuana cigarette, when he lost con...

NFL Draft 2023: Patriots take Maryland K Chad Ryland in the fourth round

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:45:09 GMT

The Patriots added some competition for veteran Nick Folk by taking Maryland kicker Chad Ryland with the 112th’s pick in the fourth round.The Pats made a trade with the New York Jets to move up to 112, giving Gang Green No. 120 in the fourth round, and 184 in the sixth round in the swap.Jumping up the board, they had to feel Ryland, one of the top kickers in the draft, would be gone by their next pick at No. 117.Ryland had played at Eastern Michigan for four years, posting a single-season record for points scored before transferring to Maryland.During his one season with the Terrapins, he was selected All-Big Ten with 19 field goals in 23 attempts. He also converted 39 of 40 extra point attempts.He has a powerful leg. Had a career-high 55 yard field goal, and experts see him having the leg to break into the 60-yard range. He also has quality hang-time on kickoffs.He tends to be a bit streaky, and would need to improve his accuracy to be a starter in the NFL. At Maryland, he was 3 of...

Marijuana job lands Oregon secretary of state in trouble

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:45:09 GMT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan is in hot water, with Republican lawmakers calling for her resignation and the Democratic governor seeking investigations because Fagan took a consulting job with a marijuana firm.Early Saturday, Fagan released a statement saying she welcomed the governor’s inquiry. “I am relieved that the Governor has asked DOJ and the Government Ethics Commission to engage in fact finding because the facts will restore trust in our audits division and in me as your Secretary of State,” Fagan said in an email to The Associated Press. The matter came to a head Friday after Fagan’s office released an audit of the state’s marijuana regulators, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. The audit called for the OLCC to “reform” some rules for marijuana businesses, saying they are “burdens” when combined with federal restrictions on interstate commerce, banking and taxation.Fagan, a Democrat, recused herself from the audit because she...

Be tough in seizing Iran oil, bipartisan senators urge Biden

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:45:09 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A dozen senators are making a bipartisan appeal to President Joe Biden to reinvigorate the power of U.S. authorities to seize Iranian oil assets under an enforcement program they say has been allowed to languish.Despite existing sanctions, Iranian oil exports jumped 35% last year and proceeds are being used to sponsor attacks on U.S. citizens and service members as well as allies, the senators said in a letter to the president.Brinkmanship at sea was on display Thursday when masked Iranian navy commandos seized a U.S.-bound oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, one of several vessels it has taken as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West. Without providing evidence, Tehran said the tanker had run into an Iranian vessel.Specifically, the senators, led by Republican Joni Ernst of Iowa and Democrat Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut — both from the Armed Services Committee — complain that the Homeland Security Department’s security investigations office has bee...

Four injured in three-vehicle crash in Major Mackenzie Drive area

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:45:09 GMT

Four people are in hospital after a three-vehicle crash in the Major Mackenzie Drive area in Richmond Hill on Saturday morning.ROAD CLOSURE – Major Mackenzie Drive between Bathurst St and Don Head Village Blvd in Richmond Hill due to a serious vehicle collision. Please avoid the area and expect delays.— York Regional Police (@YRP) April 29, 2023Police were called to the scene just west of Don Head Village Boulevard where four people were injured. Two were sent to hospital with serious injuries while two were sent to hospital with minor injuries.The cause of the crash is unknown and an investigation is ongoing as the major collision investigation unit on scene.Roads in the area are closed and will be for a few hours.

Louis Vuitton turns Seoul bridge into massive runway

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:45:09 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Louis Vuitton transformed a bridge spanning the Han River into a massive runway for its latest collection Saturday.Models strutted down the Jamsugyo Bridge to music to showcase the luxury fashion house’s pre-fall collection that included sunglasses, chunky black-and-white loafers and sandals as well as an assortment of large, colorful bags and smaller ones adorned with the label’s logo.The audience for Louis Vuitton’s first South Korea show included a mix of K-pop stars including Taeyeon from Girls’ Generation, members of Le Sserafim and Yeji from ITZY and celebrities like Chloë Grace Moretz, Jaden Smith and “Squid Game” director Hwang Dong-hyuk.The show opened with a burst of traditional Korean music before the lighting changed and cast the bridge in an eerie blue. Global luxury brands have been keen recently to expand into South Korea with the rise of K-pop music and global interest in the country’s film and television projec...

NYC partly shutters 4 parking garages after deadly collapse

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:45:09 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — After the deadly collapse of a parking structure in lower Manhattan, New York City building officials swept through dozens of parking garages and ordered four of them to immediately shutter because of structural issues that “deteriorated to the point where they were now posing an immediate threat to public safety.”Two of the parking garages have apartments above them — a 25-story high-rise in downtown Manhattan and an eight-story building in Chinatown — but officials said the residential areas appear to be in no danger.City officials directed the owners of the parking facilities to make immediate repairs to corroded concrete and other damage.Inspections were launched soon after a three-story stand-alone parking structure, about a century old, imploded into shards of concrete and twisted metal on April 18, crushing to death its manager.“This work was done in the interest of public safety, and out of an abundance of caution,” said Building Department spokesperson Andre...