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NBA Finals berth at stake as Heat, Celtics prepare for Game 7

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Moments after Boston’s dramatic win at Miami on Saturday night, Jaylen Brown began thinking about the future. He raised his hands, put up seven fingers and began yelling, “Game 7! Game 7!”Game 7, indeed.Brown and Boston are on the brink of history after Derrick White’s buzzer-beating putback lifted the Celtics to a 104-103 victory over the Heat in Game 6. One of the league’s most storied franchises is trying to become the first team in NBA playoffs history to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series.Next up is one more game in the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night in Boston. And it looks as if the back-and-forth series could be on its way to an epic conclusion.The Celtics are the fourth NBA team to erase a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series and force a deciding game. The previous three teams — the 1951 New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, the 1994 Denver Nuggets in the second round and the 2003 Portland Trail Blazers in the first ...

Isaac Paredes homers as Tampa Bay Rays beat Los Angeles Dodgers 11-10

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Isaac Paredes homered and drove in four runs as the MLB-best Tampa Bay Rays took two of three from the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers with a wild 11-10 victory on Sunday.Luke Raley beat out an infield single leading off the seventh and scored on Wander Franco’s grounder, giving the Rays an 11-10 advantage.Chris Taylor homered twice, and Max Muncy, Trayce Thompson and J.D. Martinez also connected for the Dodgers. Muncy left in the third with a left hamstring cramp, which occurred running the bases.Thompson, who entered in an 0-for-39 slide, had three hits and walked once.Los Angeles slugger Freddie Freeman went 2 for 5 with two doubles to extend his hitting streak to 17 games. He is hitting .441 (30 for 68) over the stretch.Tampa Bay left-hander Josh Fleming gave up 10 runs — eight earned — and 12 hits in six innings. He surrendered five homers.Dodgers righty Gavin Stone allowed seven runs and 10 hits in two innings. He has a 14.40 ERA over his first ...

Man City ends title-winning campaign with 1-0 loss at Brentford in Premier League

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Premier League champion Manchester City lost its final game of the campaign as Ethan Pinnock’s late goal earned Brentford a 1-0 win and a home-and-away double over Pep Guardiola’s team on Sunday.The center back celebrated signing a new four-year contract earlier in the day by scoring an 85th-minute winner.With the title sewn up last weekend, Guardiola rested some of his big hitters ahead of next weekend’s FA Cup final. The Champions League final is seven days later for City.With Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish missing completely and Erling Haaland left on the bench, it was a scratch City side and those established stars who did play, like Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez, had little impact.Brentford still had something to play for, by contrast, as the team was in with a slim chance of qualifying for the Europa Conference League before wins for Tottenham and Aston Villa ultimately wrecked those hopes.The home players applauded the champions onto the field, but ...

Leeds relegated from Premier League as Kane leads Tottenham’s 4-1 rout

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

LEEDS, England (AP) — Leeds’ three-season stay in the Premier League is over after a 4-1 home defeat to Tottenham confirmed the team’s relegation on Sunday.Harry Kane and Pedro Porro scored early in each half to put Spurs 2-0 ahead and, although Jack Harrison reduced the deficit, Kane struck a game-clinching second in what could be his last game for the London club.Tottenham substitute Lucas Moura sliced through a porous defense in stoppage time to complete the misery for Leeds, which ultimately would have gone down even with a win at Elland Road.Leeds went into the final day needing not only victory but for relegation rivals Everton and Leicester to drop points. Since they both won, Leeds’ 21st league defeat of the season was immaterial and home fans vented their frustration and anger after the final whistle sounded.Tottenham finished in eighth place and missed out on qualification for European competition next season.Leeds has not kept a clean sheet since February and ...

Twins’ Baldelli will soon be managing twins at home, too; wife expecting in September

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Near the end of this season, Rocco Baldelli will have his hands full managing even more twins.The manager of the Minnesota Twins and his wife, Allie, are expecting, yes, twins of their own in September. They have a daughter, Louisa, who turns 2 that month.Baldelli, who is in his fifth year managing the Twins, acknowledged that the arrival of two babies down the stretch of the pennant race will be challenging albeit exciting.Former Minnesota Twins star Joe Mauer, who retired after the 2018 season before Baldelli was hired, happened to be visiting the clubhouse before the game Sunday with his 9-year-old twin daughters.“I get some good nuggets of advice from everyone that has them, or is even related to them in any way, and I’ll take anything that I can get,” Baldelli said.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Orioles’ John Means ‘absolutely’ expects to pitch in 2023 despite setback during Tommy John recovery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

Orioles left-hander John Means was going through his typical routine to pitch ahead of an extended spring training game, slamming a medicine ball against a wall to activate his upper body.But on the final throw, Means “just kind of wanted to go a little hard,” he said Sunday morning in the Orioles’ Camden Yards clubhouse, only to feel a tug in his upper back. Having experienced shoulder issues in the past and working to address them throughout his recovery from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery, Means said his initial thought was, “Are you kidding me?” The injury — a strain of the teres major muscle in the shoulder blade area — proved to be unrelated to his previous ailments, but it will keep Means, the organization’s top starting pitcher for much of its rebuild, from returning from his elbow surgery in July as hoped.Asked whether August is now the target, Means said, “Something like that,” saying he “absolutely...

Tracing Memorial Day’s history and tradition

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

NORFOLK, Va. — Memorial Day is supposed to be about mourning the nation’s fallen service members, but it’s come to anchor the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers.For Manuel Castañeda Jr., 58, the day will be a quiet one in Durand, Illinois, outside Rockford. He lost his father, a U.S. Marine who served in Vietnam, in an accident in California while training other Marines in 1966.“Memorial Day is very personal,” said Castañeda, who also served in the Marines and Army National Guard, from which he knew men who died in combat. “It isn’t just the specials. It isn’t just the barbecue.” THE OFFICIAL PURPOSE OF MEMORIAL DAYIt’s a day of reflection and remembrance of those who died while serving in the U.S. military, according to the Congressional Research Service. The holiday is observed in part by the National Moment of Remembrance, which encourages all Americans to paus...

5 unique burger creations in San Diego: National Hamburger Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The handheld sandwich American's love -- the hamburger -- is so iconic that it's recognized annually on May 28. On National Hamburger Day, patty-filled buns with ketchup, mustard, onions and toppings galore will be devoured by burger-lovers nationwide. This is the most searched dog breed in San Diego, according to a study For those celebrating the mouth-watering occasion in San Diego and want to take a bite out of something more outlandish, here are five unique patty creations waiting to be enjoyed at local burger joints in the region. Spicy AF Burger at Smash & DashWith marinated serrano peppers, grilled onions, smoky habanero burger sauce and American cheese, this smoking hot double-patty burger can be found ordered for take out or delivery. Smash & Dash is located in the College Area at 6334 El Cajon Blvd. Aztec Food Hub.A Spicy AF Burger at Smash & Dash. (Photo: Smash & Dash)Pig Burger at Flying Pig Pub & KitchenStaying true to it's creators, ...

South Carolina group to ask Supreme Court to rename landmark school desegregation case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

SUMMERTON, S.C. (AP) — Civil rights leaders in South Carolina plan to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to rename the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision that outlawed segregation of pubic schools across the country.Over the next three months, a group representing past plaintiffs and their descendants plans to file paperwork asking the high court to reorder the set of five 1954 cases that led to the Brown ruling, The Post and Courier reports. The group, which has teamed up with a lawyer in Camden, South Carolina, wants to replace Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka with a South Carolina case that was filed earlier but is lesser known. Briggs v. Elliott is a South Carolina case named after Harry Briggs, one of 20 parents who brought a lawsuit against Clarendon County School Board President R.W. Elliott. The group sees the name change as a way to restore South Carolina as the cradle of the movement to desegregate public education.“Everyone else lays down and says you can’t d...

‘The Little Mermaid’ makes box office splash with $95.5 million opening

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “ The Little Mermaid ” made moviegoers want to be under the sea on Memorial Day weekend. Disney’s live-action remake of its 1989 animated classic easily outswam the competition, bringing in $95.5 million on 4,320 screens in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday. And Disney estimates the film starring Halle Bailey as the titular mermaid Ariel and Melissa McCarthy as her sea witch nemesis Ursula will reach $117.5 million by the time the holiday is over. It ranks as the fifth biggest Memorial Day weekend opening ever. It displaces “Fast X” in the top spot. The 10th installment in the “Fast and Furious” franchise starring Vin Diesel has lagged behind more recent releases in the series, bringing in $23 million domestically for a two-week total of $108 million for Universal Pictures. In its fourth weekend, Disney and Marvel’s “ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ” made an estimated $20 million in North America to take third place. It’s now ma...