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New York visits Seattle after Loyd’s 41-point outing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

New York Liberty (10-4, 7-3 Eastern Conference) at Seattle Storm (4-11, 4-6 Western Conference)Seattle; Sunday, 6 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Seattle hosts the New York Liberty after Jewell Loyd scored 41 points in the Seattle Storm’s 99-97 overtime loss to the Minnesota Lynx.The Storm have gone 2-8 at home. Seattle has a 2-8 record against teams above .500.The Liberty are 5-2 on the road. New York leads the WNBA with 23.8 assists per game led by Courtney Vandersloot averaging 8.4.The teams meet for the second time this season. In the last matchup on May 31 the Liberty won 86-78 led by 25 points from Breanna Stewart, while Loyd scored 26 points for the Storm.TOP PERFORMERS: Loyd is scoring 25.7 points per game and averaging 4.8 rebounds for the Storm.Stewart is averaging 22.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.6 blocks for the Liberty.LAST 10 GAMES: Storm: 3-7, averaging 82.0 points, 33.2 rebounds, 18.8 assists, 7.0 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 40.8%...

Chicago visits Indiana on 4-game road slide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

Chicago Sky (6-9, 2-7 Eastern Conference) at Indiana Fever (5-10, 3-5 Eastern Conference)Indianapolis; Sunday, 4 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Chicago will attempt to break its four-game road losing streak when the Sky play Indiana.The Fever are 3-5 against Eastern Conference opponents. Indiana ranks ninth in the league averaging 6.5 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 32.3% from downtown. Kelsey Mitchell leads the team averaging 2.5 makes while shooting 38.4% from 3-point range.The Sky have gone 2-7 against Eastern Conference opponents. Chicago ranks fifth in the WNBA giving up 81.1 points while holding opponents to 44.2% shooting.The teams meet for the third time this season. The Fever won 92-90 in the last matchup on June 16.TOP PERFORMERS: Aliyah Boston is averaging 15.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks for the Fever.Courtney Williams is averaging 8.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists for the Sky.LAST 10 GAMES: Fever: 4-6, averaging 84.0 points, 35.6 rebounds, 18.7 assists, 5.0...

Atlanta and Los Angeles meet for non-conference matchup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

Los Angeles Sparks (7-8, 6-6 Western Conference) at Atlanta Dream (5-8, 5-5 Eastern Conference)College Park, Georgia; Sunday, 3 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles heads to Atlanta for a non-conference matchup.The Dream have gone 2-5 in home games. Atlanta has a 1-5 record in games decided by 10 or more points.The Sparks have gone 2-5 away from home. Los Angeles ranks fifth in the WNBA scoring 36.9 points per game in the paint led by Nneka Ogwumike averaging 10.6.The teams meet Sunday for the first time this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Cheyenne Parker is shooting 50.0% and averaging 16.1 points for the Dream.Ogwumike is averaging 19.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.7 steals for the Sparks.LAST 10 GAMES: Dream: 4-6, averaging 84.7 points, 36.1 rebounds, 18.1 assists, 6.1 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 43.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 91.7 points per game.Sparks: 4-6, averaging 74.4 points, 32.7 rebounds, 18.5 assists, 7.4 steals and 2.7 blocks per g...

Yankees minor league manager Rachel Balkovec ejected from game by female umpire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — In some ways, it was a typical argument between a minor league manager and an umpire.In another, nothing ordinary at all.Rachel Balkovec, skipper of the New York Yankees’ affiliate in the Florida State League, was ejected Friday night for the first time this season. And the ump who threw her out of the game is also a woman.A disputed call at first base — and a sign of some changing times in professional baseball. With her Class A Tampa Tarpons trailing 1-0 in the eighth inning against the Daytona Tortugas, a Cincinnati Reds farm team, Balkovec thought the Daytona first baseman’s foot came off the bag on a double play.Balkovec argued the out call and was tossed by field umpire Isabella Robb before a crowd of 791 at George M. Steinbrenner Field. In the low minors, games are often officiated by only two umps: one behind the plate and the other in the field.Not long after Balkovec was ejected, Tampa rallied for four runs in the bottom of the ninth to win 4...

West to Putin: We hate you. Don’t go.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

The recent attempted mutiny in Russia proved that no matter how much many world leaders hate Vladimir Putin, they don’t want the Russian president suddenly ousted.The instability that could follow isn’t worth the risk.The possibility of post-Putin chaos in Russia is one key factor many countries — from adversaries such as the United States to Russia partners such as China — considered as they calibrated their reactions to mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s armed rebellion against Moscow.It’s a tricky calculation, especially for the United States.The Biden administration has taken many steps, including imposing economic sanctions, that arguably are weakening Putin in the wake of his war on Ukraine. But Washington has repeatedly insisted it does not back regime change in Russia, a fellow nuclear power.At the moment, the lack of a clear successor, or the possibility of a violent warlord such as Prigozhin taking charge, leaves too many uncomfortable variables to openly root for a...

Farm report: Hunter Dobbins making fast strides since return from Tommy John surgery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

Hunter Dobbins’ career has taken some time to get off the ground. His promising sophomore season at Texas Tech was cut short due to the pandemic, and he never got a chance to take the mound as a junior after undergoing Tommy John surgery.Still, he showed enough to convince the Red Sox to take him in the eighth round of the 2021 MLB Draft, and since returning to the mound last summer he’s lived up to that promise.Dobbins has been among the fastest rising pitching prospects in the Red Sox system this year, and after dominating High-A Greenville he was recently promoted to Double-A and looked great in his first start with Portland.Now fully healthy and barely a year removed from his professional debut, Dobbins said his journey has been a whirlwind but he’s excited about what lies ahead.“It’s definitely flown by but my body is ready for it,” Dobbins said prior to Portland’s game in New Hampshire on Thursday. “I’m ready for the challenge and ready to get after it.”Upon earning a promotio...

The Dutch king will deliver a speech at an event on the anniversary of slavery’s end in its colonies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Dutch King Willem-Alexander is set to deliver a speech Saturday to commemorate the anniversary of the country abolishing slavery, amid speculation that he could offer an apology on behalf of the royal house.The king’s speech follows Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s apology late last year for the country’s role in the slave trade and slavery. It is part of a wider reckoning with colonial histories in the West that have been spurred in recent years by the Black Lives Matter movement.Slavery was abolished in Suriname and the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean on July 1, 1863, but most of the enslaved laborers were forced to continue working on plantations for a further 10 years. Saturday’s commemoration and speech mark the start of a year of events to mark the 150th anniversary of July 1, 1873.Research published last month showed that the king’s ancestors earned the modern-day equivalent of 545 million euros ($595 million) from slavery, including profits from...

Tajik man who fatally shot 2 at Moldova airport is wanted in a kidnapping case in his native country

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — A Tajikistan national who fatally shot two security officers at Moldova’s main international airport is wanted in his native country in relation to the kidnapping of a local bank official, Tajik authorities said.The General Prosecutor’s Office of Tajikistan named the assailant as Rustam Ashurov, saying he is a member of an “organized criminal group” that on June 23 kidnapped the deputy chairman of a Tajik bank in Dushanbe, the country’s capital. The prosecutor’s office said that after a criminal investigation was launched, Ashurov, 43, a resident of Dushanbe, fled to Moldova via Turkey “with the aim of going into hiding in EU countries.”After arriving at Chisinau International Airport in Moldova’s capital on Friday, he was denied entry into the country and grabbed a guard’s weapon as he was being escorted away by officials, according to authorities. He fatally shot two security officers. One traveler was also wounded in the attack. Ashurov sustained serious ...

At least 51 people killed in road accident in western Kenya, 32 injured, police and Red Cross say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A truck rammed into several other vehicles and market traders in western Kenya killing at least 51 people, police said.The Friday evening accident occurred at a location known for vehicle crashes near the Rift Valley town of Londiani, which is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of the capital, Nairobi. Officers at the scene counted 51 bodies, but more people were believed to be trapped in the wreckage, Rift Valley police commander Tom Odera told The Associated Press. The Kenya Red Cross Society said on Saturday 32 people were injured and hospitalized, and asked Kenyans to donate blood. It also said heavy rainfall interrupted rescue efforts and people were still trapped in wrecked vehicles.Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen visited the scene on Saturday morning and said the government would relocate markets away from the highways to prevent such future accidents.President William Ruto tweeted a condolence message to bereaved families describing the ac...

Sánchez visits Kyiv on the day Spain starts EU presidency to underline bloc’s support for Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez started Spain’s six-month presidency of the European Union with a lightning visit to Kyiv on Saturday to underline the bloc’s support of Ukraine in the face of the invasion by Russia.Sánchez arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train from Poland.The Spanish government said he would address Ukraine’s parliament at 0830 GMT (4:30 a.m. EDT) and then meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The two will give a news conference around 1030 GMT (6:30 a.m. EDT).Zelenskyy announced the visit Thursday in an address to European leaders gathered for a summit in Brussels. He highlighted the symbolism of the visit and the importance of the next six months for Europe. He added that it was the moment to begin negotiations for Ukraine’s entry into the EU.Speaking Friday in Brussels, Sánchez said, “The war in Ukraine will be one of the great priorities of our presidency, with the focus being on guaranteeing the unity (on the issue) among...