Schwarber’s walkoff HR lifts Phillies past Dodgers for sixth straight victory

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:22:13 GMT

Schwarber’s walkoff HR lifts Phillies past Dodgers for sixth straight victory PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a tiebreaking homer run with two outs in the ninth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 on Friday night for their season-high sixth straight win.Nick Castellanos, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner also drove in runs for the defending NL champion Phillies, who pulled within a game of .500.Schwarber drove an 87-mph cutter on a 1-1 pitch from Caleb Ferguson (3-2) into the seats in right field to end the game. It was his 17th home run of the season. The Phillies doused Schwarber with water during a raucous celebration at home plate, and Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh dumped a large ice water jug over his head during a postgame interview. It’s starting to feel like 2022 all over again for the Phillies, who struggled during the first two months of the season.Schwarber just needed the calendar to flip to June. The slugger had 12 homers in 27 games last June and now has four in eight games this month.Gregory Soto (2-4) pitch...

NWSL’s Wave get 4th straight road shutout with scoreless draw at Louisville

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:22:13 GMT

NWSL’s Wave get 4th straight road shutout with scoreless draw at Louisville LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The San Diego Wave picked up their fourth straight road shutout in a scoreless draw Friday night against Racing Louisville in the National Women’s Soccer League.Louisville had 10 shots and San Diego had 15, but each goalkeeper came up with four saves.In the 40th minute, Louisville forward Thembi Kgatlana nearly beat Kailen Sheridan to a Wave backpass, but the goalkeeper cleared it just before Kgatlana’s arrival.Seconds later, Louisville goalkeeper Katie Lund had to push Makenzy Doniak’s one-touch shot away from danger at the far post.The Wave had a couple of late chances, including substitute Amirah Ali’s shot that went just over the crossbar.San Diego moved to the top of the NWSL with a 6-3-2 record.It was the league-leading sixth draw for Louisville (2-3-6).___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Mitchell scores 22, Indiana rallied to defeat Minnesota 71-69 in WNBA

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:22:13 GMT

Mitchell scores 22, Indiana rallied to defeat Minnesota 71-69 in WNBA MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell scored 22 points, Aliyah Boston and NaLyssa Smith had double-doubles, and the Indiana Fever rallied in the fourth quarter to edge the Minnesota Lynx 71-69 on Friday night.Mitchell made 9 of 16 from the field and added three 3-pointers, Smith had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Boston added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Erica Wheeler scored 10 points.Back-to-back 3-pointers by Kayla McBride and Rachel Banham gave the Lynx a 52-46 lead with 1:38 left in the third quarter and Minnesota led 55-51 heading into the fourth quarter.The score was tied five times in the fourth quarter before Indiana (2-5) took the lead for good on Mitchell’s three-point play with 1:54 left. A pair of free throws by Wheeler gave the Fever a 71-66 lead near the one-minute mark. Napheesa Collier hit a three-pointer to get Minnesota within two points with 1:01 remaining but neither team scored again.Collier had 28 points and 14 rebounds for Minnesota (1-7) and McBride added 11...

Longtime Denver Nuggets fan dresses up as Joker for every game

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:22:13 GMT

Longtime Denver Nuggets fan dresses up as Joker for every game DENVER (KDVR) -- Fans from all over the state are coming together to cheer on the Denver Nuggets. But one fan stands out from the rest. For the entire season, Alberto Portalatin has dressed up as the Joker for every game.  Tix for trade: Nuggets fans get creative to get to the NBA Finals "I'm from Puerto Rico. We're known to be loud, so I always like to cheer up the fans," Portalatin said. "I noticed when I have the suit, everyone will stand up, cheer up. Kids will come by and take pictures, so it just kind of became a tradition to dress up for every game." Portalatin said he tries to do a different face of make-up for every game. (Courtesy: Alberto Portalatin)Portalatin will be at Ball Arena for game 5. (Courtesy: Alberto Portalatin)Portalatin said he was stationed for the military in Fort Carson back in 1987. “Once I got to Colorado I fell in love with the Nuggets,” Portalatin said. He’s been a loyal fan for years. This season, he started a new tradition...

Zito: Mike Rowe aims to make hard work something to value

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:22:13 GMT

Zito: Mike Rowe aims to make hard work something to value A few months ago, Mike Rowe stumbled upon a 2011 video of himself speaking in front of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee during the Obama administration about the mindset of government toward skilled trades. His argument was that skilled trades were the key to saving our economy, not those jobs that require a four-year degree.His argument fell on deaf ears.So he went again in April of 2014, this time testifying before the House Committee on Natural Resources to discuss the opportunities for skilled trade workers in the energy industry. This time he brought props, specifically the poster his guidance counselor from high school pointed to when he tried to bully Rowe into picking a high-priced university over a community college his senior year.Rowe said he had nothing against college, but the universities his counselor recommended were expensive. “I had no idea what I wanted to study. I thought a community college made more sense, but Mr. Dunbar said a t...

Editorial: LIV-PGA merger exposes leadership hypocrisy

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:22:13 GMT

Editorial: LIV-PGA merger exposes leadership hypocrisy Back in July 2021, the families of those who lost loved ones on Sept. 11, 2001, were outraged by the arrival of a Saudi-backed golf tournament at the New Jersey golf course owned by Donald Trump, just 50 miles from the wreckage of the World Trade Center.The families pointed out that 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi nationals. Trump, who was playing in the tournament with his son Eric, merely rubbed salt into their wounds by saying, falsely, that “nobody has gotten to the bottom of 9/11.” Also playing that cozy day in Bedminster: the chief banker to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.U.S. intelligence concluded that MBS ordered the torture and killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The Saudis have long denied it.Despite protests from families of 9/11 victims, the LIV golf league grew more successful, buoyed in part by the game’s surge in popularity during the COVID-19 crisis. Golfers from all over the world were offered obscene sums of upfront mone...

Ezra Miller latest troubled star to sideswipe a film with scandal

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:22:13 GMT

Ezra Miller latest troubled star to sideswipe a film with scandal As next week’s long-delayed “The Flash” reminds us, there is nothing inexpensive when Hollywood unleashes marketing campaigns for major movies.  Like mini military maneuvers, promotional costs can jump from $30 million to three or four times that and require nailing precisely specific dates for the crucial opening weekend.And all it takes to undo that monumental effort is one scandal.As Warner Bros. was quickly reminded when Ezra Miller, the titular character in their $200 million-plus superhero saga “The Flash,” began a self-destructive binge that threatened “The Flash” ever being seen.This “Flash,” after decades in development, involves time travel and boasts the return of two Batmans — Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck. Actual production wrapped in October 2021. A release was scheduled for last July.Having survived years of changing concepts and scripts, “The Flash” was soon plagued by leading man issues. The multiple reported incidents and legal troubles of Miller, 30, boggle...

Lowry: Anglo-Saxons latest to hit the cancel culture list

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:22:13 GMT

Lowry: Anglo-Saxons latest to hit the cancel culture list It’s official. The Anglo-Saxons are getting canceled.The move comes more than 1,000 years too late for the previously ascendant Romano-British who couldn’t resist these Germanic peoples who showed up on the shores of England beginning in the fifth century, but surely, they would appreciate the gesture.As part of an effort to make its instruction more “anti-racist,” Cambridge University is going to teach students that identities such as Anglo-Saxon are “constructed and contingent.” The school’s Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic is hoping to “dismantle the basis of myths of nationalism,” and also is keenly aware of “recent concerns over use of the term ‘Anglo-Saxon’ and its perceived connection to ethnic/racial English identity.”To be honest, the Anglo-Saxons have been living on borrowed time for a while now.In 2019, the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists — worried about their associati...

Dear Abby: Sister’s claims of illness lose sympathy bid

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:22:13 GMT

Dear Abby: Sister’s claims of illness lose sympathy bid Dear Abby: I have an older sister I’ll call “Vicky,” who has been a hypochondriac for as long as I can remember. Every sniffle, cough or sneeze is always a dayslong or weekslong complain-a-thon about how sick she is, and sometimes these illnesses or injuries are simply invented for attention.While this has always been annoying, it was fairly easy to brush it off — until after I married. My husband, “Jay,” a wonderful man, is chronically ill. Like many chronically ill individuals, his life is filled with doctors’ appointments, various treatment plans, trying new medications and a lot of financial stress around how to pay for it all.Through it all, Jay perseveres. He goes to work, cares for me and our animals and does his best to live a full, joyous life. Watching my husband suffer has been one of the biggest challenges of my life. He is strong and brave, and now that I see how chronically ill people struggle to live a normal day, my sister an...

4 Indigenous siblings found alive after surviving Amazon plane crash and 40 days alone in jungle

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:22:13 GMT

4 Indigenous siblings found alive after surviving Amazon plane crash and 40 days alone in jungle BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Four Indigenous children survived an Amazon plane crash that killed three adults and then wandered on their own in the jungle for 40 days before being found alive by Colombian soldiers.The announcement of their rescue on Friday brought a happy ending to a saga that had captivated many Colombians, a watch with highs and lows as searchers frantically combed through the rainforest hunting for the youngsters.President Gustavo Petro celebrated the news upon returning from Cuba, where he signed a cease-fire with representatives of the National Liberation Army rebel group. He said he hoped to talk with them Saturday, and officials said late Friday that the youngsters were being brought to Bogota to be checked at a hospital.An air force video showed a helicopter using lines to pull the youngsters up because it couldn’t land in the dense rainforest where they were found. The craft flew off in the fading light, the air force said it was going to San Jose del Guaviare, ...