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OBF: Red Sox are MLB’s Bermuda Triangle

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:45:00 GMT

Only the calamity that used to be the New York Yankees keeps the Red Sox from being the best last-place team in sports.The words “Yankees Suck” have never conveyed as much truth as they do in August of 2023.The Yankees being flat-out atrocious was always salve for fans in Boston, especially when the Red Sox floundered.Lately, the Yankees have become even less relevant than the Red Sox.They can’t even make losing interesting. The Mets own that department.The continued employment of Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman may be the best job insurance for Alex Cora and Chaim Bloom.While Boone doesn’t want to be fired, Cora would probably welcome it.George Steinbrenner would have dumped both Cashman and Boone at least a half-dozen times in the past five years.His son, Hal, appears almost as detached as John Henry.Almost.We miss the days of “Moneyball” John Henry.That John Henry was passionate about the Red Sox. He offered Brad Pitt $12.5 million to run his team.In 2011 John Henry was still spoil...

‘He’s a gamer’: Mike Tauchman delivers a late go-ahead homer in the Chicago Cubs’ 3-2 win over the New York Mets

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:45:00 GMT

Jameson Taillon’s phone lights up all the time with texts about his Chicago Cubs teammate Mike Tauchman.Taillon’s close friend and former Pittsburgh Pirates teammate Nick Kingham spent last season playing with Tauchman in the Korea Baseball Organization, where the Cubs outfielder’s career got back on track far from Major League Baseball.Kingham’s texts to Taillon often follow the same theme:“I’m not surprised.”“I knew he was going to come back to MLB.”“If he got a shot, he was going to do well.”Taillon first got a glimpse of what has made Tauchman so successful this year when they played together in 2021 with the New York Yankees.“He’s intense and he’s a gamer and he loves the game,” Taillon said. “He’s super prepared. He puts in the work and he’s studying pitchers. He really works at his craft.”Tauchman’s methodical, grinder approach set up his go-ahead solo home ...

Once a journeyman, Pablo Reyes finding a home with Red Sox

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:45:00 GMT

A few months back Pablo Reyes couldn’t even crack the lowly Oakland Athletics’ roster.Now he’s the last man standing in the Red Sox middle infield.Reyes survived yet another roster cut on Tuesday as Yu Chang was designated for assignment to clear space for returning shortstop Trevor Story. He previously earned the nod over Kiké Hernández and Christian Arroyo, the club’s opening day starters at shortstop and second base, and now it appears Reyes will be Boston’s primary reserve infielder for the rest of the season.It’s a remarkable turn for the career journeyman, who has emerged as an unlikely difference-maker since his arrival in mid-May.“Controls the strike zone, hits the ball hard, good baserunner, good defender, he can hit lefties,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Overall a good pickup by the front office. They recognized him in a time that we were looking for a middle infielder that can help and since he got here the at bats...

Heavy rain from unusual summer storm triggers landslides in Norway and floods Swedish harbor

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:45:00 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Days of heavy rain triggered landslides in mountainous southern Norway, where police described a “chaotic” situation Wednesday and said more than 600 people were evacuated overnight in a region north of Oslo. Storm Hans has battered parts of Scandinavia and the Baltics for several days, causing rivers to overflow, damaging roads and injuring people with falling branches. In Sweden and Norway, sheds, small houses and mobile homes floated in rivers or were carried away by strong sea currents.”We are in a crisis situation of national dimensions,” Aud Hove, mayor of Norway’s Innlandet county. “People are isolated in several local communities, and the emergency services risk not being able to reach people who need help.”More heavy rain was expected over southern Norway and central Sweden. “The situation is still unclear and chaotic,” Norwegian police said. Erik Hojgard-Olsen, a meteorologist with the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, was ...

Italian state TV says 41 dead in migrant shipwreck according to 4 survivors who set off from Tunisia

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:45:00 GMT

ROME (AP) — Forty-one people are believed dead after a migrant boat capsized off Tunisia, Italian state RAI television reported, citing four survivors who were rescued and brought to land Wednesday.According to RAI and ANSA news agency, the four were first rescued by the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier Rimona in the Straits of Sicily. They were then transferred to the Italian coast guard, which brought them to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa. The island, which is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland, is a frequent destination for migrant smugglers and has seen its migrant holding center repeatedly overcrowded with new arrivals this summer.Alessandra Filograno, a spokeswoman for the Italian Red Cross, confirmed four survivors arrived at the Lampedusa center Wednesday morning: two men, a woman and an unaccompanied minor. Filograno had no further information.Neither ANSA nor RAI provided attribution for the information but reported the four survivors — who hailed from Ivory Coast a...

Stock market today: Global shares mostly rise despite US bank, China worries

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:45:00 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares mostly rose Wednesday despite worries about the U.S. banking system which set off a decline on Wall Street, and concerns closer to home about Chinese economic growth.France’s CAC 40 added 1.3% in early trading to 7,366.35, while Germany’s DAX jumped 1.1% to 15,944.74. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.8% to 7,584.18. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up nearly 0.1% at 35,426.00. S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% to 4,528.50. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.5% to finish at 32,204.33. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.4% to 7,338.00. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.2% to 2,605.12. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3% to 19,246.03, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.5% to 3,244.49.Clifford Bennett, chief economist at ACY Securities, called the export data out of China “rather alarming,” noting it was the sharpest decline in three years and reflected global economic challenges, not just in China.“Global dema...

Profit at Japan’s Honda doubles on healthy global auto and motorcycle sales

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:45:00 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Honda reported Wednesday that its April-June profit more than doubled on healthy sales of its motorcycles and cars, as the Japanese company also received a perk from favorable exchange rates.Honda Motor Co. said its fiscal first quarter profit totaled 363 billion yen ($2.5 billion), up from 149 billion yen.Quarterly sales jumped 21% to 4.6 trillion yen ($32 billion). Honda’s financial service division also reported growing sales.Honda, which makes the Fit subcompact, Honda e electric car and Gold Wing motorcycle, said its profitability improved, especially in North America, where production recovered.Automakers around the world were slammed by supply shortages because of production delays related to social restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. But such restrictions have eased, allowing production to pick up again.Auto sales were about the same in Japan in the latest quarter as in the previous year, while dropping significantly in China because of intense competi...

India’s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi calls for army deployment to end ethnic violence in Manipur

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:45:00 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top opposition leader unleashed a strong condemnation Wednesday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for its failure to control bloodshed in a remote northeastern state that he said has been split in two.Rahul Gandhi told Parliament that the army would have restored peace in a day, but state authorities have allowed hatred and violence to fester for over three months. He called for the firing of the state government run by Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. More than 150 people have died in Manipur and over 50,000 people have fled in fear since clashes erupted in early May.The politician, who was reinstated as a lawmaker three days after the country’s top court halted his criminal defamation conviction for mocking the prime minister’s surname, was participating in a debate on a no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against the Modi government in the lower house of India’s Parliament. A vote is expected on Thursday.Gandhi accused ...

Greek police arrest five Croatians allegedly involved in deadly soccer violence

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:45:00 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Police in Greece have arrested five Croatian nationals allegedly involved in deadly soccer fan violence, apprehending them as they attempted to flee the country.The arrests were announced Wednesday, a day after a 29-year-old Greek fan was stabbed to death outside AEK Athens’ stadium, prompting the cancellation of a Champions League qualifier against Dinamo Zagreb.The five suspects were detained in the northwestern port of Igoumenitsa as they prepared to board a ferry bound for Italy, police said. More than 90 other suspects are due to appear before a magistrate in Athens for their alleged involvement in attacks that left 10 people injured. Four remain hospitalized.More violence was feared Wednesday as Athens club Panathinaikos faces Marseille in a Champions League qualifier, which was set to go ahead under strict security measures at Leoforos Stadium in the center of the Greek capital.Greek Public Order Minister Giannis Oikonomou said the police had made “tragi...

Sri Lankan president vows to strengthen provincial governments to share power with Tamil minority

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:45:00 GMT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president said Wednesday he will strengthen provincial governments to meet long-standing demands for self-rule from the ethnic Tamil minority, an issue that led to a bloody quarter-century civil war in the island nation.The provincial councils were introduced in Sri Lanka in 1987 after neighboring India intervened to resolve the ethnic conflict. But the system has not been fully functional because Tamil separatist rebels rejected the deal and successive governments usurped powers given to the provinces.President Ranil Wickremesinghe in a speech to Parliament said he will take steps to prevent confusion, overlap and intervention from the central government in provinces exercising their powers.But he said provinces would not be allowed to exercise police powers immediately since opposition by the majority ethnic Sinhalese could derail the process.Tamil lawmakers have demanded a federal system short of separation and say the provincial system is fa...