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Napoli fans already celebrating in anticipation of title

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:00 GMT

NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Napoli fans are already celebrating in anticipation of sealing the club’s first Italian league title since the days when Diego Maradona played for the club.Hours before Napoli’s match against Salernitana later Sunday, fans waved flags in Italy’s green, white and red colors that featured a “3” on them to signify what would be the team’s third Serie A championship after Maradona led the Partenopei to their first two titles in 1987 and 1990.Napoli needs to hope that second-place Lazio doesn’t win at Inter Milan in an earlier match and then it needs to beat Salernitana to clinch with six rounds to spare.Napoli entered the day with a 17-point advantage over Lazio.Napoli Mayor Gaetano Manfredi told The Associated Press in a recent interview that there will be “a big earthquake of joy” when Napoli seals the title.Napoli’s game against Salernitana at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona was moved from Saturday to Sunday following requests from local authorities in or...

Larrazábal edges Helligkilde to win Korea Championship

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:00 GMT

INCHEON, South Korea (AP) — Pablo Larrazábal shot a tidy 5-under 67 in the final round of the Korea Championship to complete a two-shot victory over Marcus Helligkilde on Sunday.The Spaniard’s 12-under 276 at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea was good enough to secure his eighth European tour title after starting his last round one shot back.Larrazábal then closed to a five-way share of the lead at the turn on 9-under and pulled away with four birdies in the next five holes to open a three-shot lead that he never relinquished.“I love to compete, I love to fly out here, to see all these young guys hitting it miles and try to beat them,” said Larrazábal. “And that’s what makes me the happiest guy in the world.”Denmark’s Helligkilde finished his fourth round with a 68 to take second place, holding off a four-strong chasing pack that included home favourite Park Sanghyun.Scotland’s Scott Jamieson joined Park in third place along with Spaniard Jorge Campillo and Dutchma...

Hungry Maple Leafs finally get over hump, win playoff series

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:00 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Toronto Maple Leafs are eager to leave nearly two decades of playoff futility behind them.Seizing an opportunity to prove they’re no longer a team that falls short at the most important time of the year, the Leafs ended an 11-game losing streak in elimination games and beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in overtime Saturday night.The victory gave Toronto its first postseason series win since 2004 and sends the Maple Leafs into the Eastern Conference semifinals against Boston or Florida.The Bruins and Panthers are tied 3-3 in their first-round series. Game 7 is Sunday in Boston.“It’s felt different all season,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. “It’s nice to sit up here and say it is different.”The Maple Leafs were 0 for 7 in playoff appearances from 2013 to 2022, including first-round exits each of the past six seasons.To get past Tampa Bay, Toronto won three times in overtime on the road and ended the Lightning’s run of three straight appearance...

Florida visits Boston in game 7 of the first round

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:00 GMT

Florida Panthers (42-32-8, fourth in the Atlantic Division) vs. Boston Bruins (65-12-5, first in the Atlantic Division)Boston; Sunday, 6:30 p.m. EDTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NHL LINE: Bruins -239, Panthers +196; over/under is 6NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Series tied 3-3BOTTOM LINE: The Florida Panthers visit the Boston Bruins in game seven of the first round of the NHL Playoffs. The teams meet Friday for the 13th time this season. The Panthers won 7-5 in the previous meeting. Matthew Tkachuk led the Panthers with two goals.Boston has a 21-7-4 record in Atlantic Division games and a 65-12-5 record overall. The Bruins have given up 174 goals while scoring 301 for a +127 scoring differential.Florida has a 20-9-3 record in Atlantic Division games and a 42-32-8 record overall. The Panthers have a +16 scoring differential, with 288 total goals scored and 272 given up.TOP PERFORMERS: David Pastrnak has 61 goals and 51 assists for the Bruins. Jake DeBrusk has scored six goals and added two assists o...

Caleb Kilian looks for positives after getting roughed up in Chicago Cubs loss: ‘He’s not ready’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:00 GMT

Chicago Cubs right-hander Caleb Kilian tried to focus on the positives from his wayward spot start.His big-league season debut quickly unraveled Saturday in a 40-pitch first inning in which the Miami Marlins sent 11 batters to the plate. Five runs, four hits, two walks and two hit batters later, Kilian’s outing was already off track.The Cubs tried to chip away at the five-run deficit but ultimately fell short in a 7-6 loss. Kilian surrendered seven runs and 10 hits in 3⅓ innings.Asked what he took away from Kilian’s start, manager David Ross replied, “That he’s not ready — still got learning to do, still needs some seasoning.”Kilian, 25, became out of whack with his delivery, particularly his arm path. He felt too quick on the mound, causing his arm to lag and spray his pitches around the zone.The lack of control arm side in the first resulted in uncompetitive pitches against right-handed hitters. He fell behind in the count to seven of the ...

How Darnell Wright — not Jalen Carter — became the headliner of the Chicago Bears’ 2023 draft class

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:00 GMT

The most intense final exam of Darnell Wright’s life came on a Saturday morning earlier this month.April 8, 11 a.m., the Anderson Training Center in Knoxville, Tenn.Wright’s pre-draft journey to the NFL was almost complete. But now the Chicago Bears, who had hosted Wright at Halas Hall a few days earlier, were on campus at the University of Tennessee, intent on confirming their beliefs.General manager Ryan Poles — with offensive line coach Chris Morgan in tow — had designs on obtaining peace of mind for the NFL draft, even if it came, temporarily, at Wright’s expense.Poles wanted to feel certain the player he was leaning toward selecting with a top-10 pick had his preferred strands of football DNA. If the Bears were going to invest in an offensive tackle to support the growth of third-year quarterback Justin Fields, Poles wanted to identify a big, athletic standout who was fueled by a nasty competitive spirit.The 6-foot-5, 333-pound Wright made 42 start...

GOP election officials walking fine line on fraud, integrity

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:00 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Republican secretaries of state in Ohio, West Virginia and Missouri have promoted their states’ elections as fair and secure. Yet each also is navigating a fine line on how to address election fraud conspiracies as they gear up campaigns for U.S. Senate or governor in 2024. The split-screen messaging of Ohio’s Frank LaRose, West Virginia’s Mac Warner and Missouri’s Jay Ashcroft shows just how deeply election lies have burrowed into the Republican Party, where more than half of voters believe Democrat Joe Biden was not legitimately elected president. Even election officials who tout running clean elections at home are routinely pushing for more voting restrictions and additional scrutiny on the process as they prepare to face GOP primary voters next year.All three withdrew their states last month from the Electronic Registration Information Center, a bipartisan, multistate effort to ensure accurate voter lists. LaRose did so less than a month after calling t...

Deadly heat waves threaten older people as summer nears

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:00 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Paramedics summoned to an Arizona retirement community last summer found an 80-year-old woman slumped inside her mobile home, enveloped in the suffocating 99-degree (37 C) heat she suffered for days after her air conditioner broke down. Efforts to revive her failed, and her death was ruled environmental heat exposure aggravated by heart disease and diabetes. In America’s hottest big metro, older people like the Sun Lakes mobile home resident accounted for most of the 77 people who died last summer in broiling heat inside their homes, almost all without air conditioning. Now, the heat dangers long known in greater Phoenix are becoming familiar nationwide as global warming creates new challenges to protect the aged. From the Pacific Northwest to Chicago to North Carolina, health clinics, utilities and local governments are being tested to keep older people safe when temperatures soar. They’re adopting rules for disconnecting electricity, mandating when to switch on comm...

Texas mass shooting suspect could be anywhere, sheriff says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:00 GMT

CLEVELAND, Texas (AP) — The search for a Texas man who allegedly shot his neighbors after they asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard stretched into a second day Sunday, with authorities saying the man could be anywhere by now. Francisco Oropeza, 38, remained at large more than 18 hours after the shooting that left five people dead, including an 8-year-old boy. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said Saturday evening that authorities had widened the search to as far as 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the scene of the shooting. Investigators found clothes and a phone while combing a rural area that includes dense layers of forest, but tracking dogs lost the scent, Capers said. Oropeza likely is still carrying the AR-15 he allegedly used in the shootings, the sheriff said. “He could be anywhere now,” Capers said. The attack happened near the town of Cleveland, north of Houston, on a street where some residents say neighbors often unwind by firing off guns.Capers said the vi...

Takeaways about heat deaths and vulnerable older people

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:00 GMT

SUN LAKES, Arizona (AP) — Heat waves fueled by climate change are arriving earlier, growing more intense and lasting longer, creating higher risks of illness and death for older people who are especially vulnerable to hot weather. In America’s hottest big metro, older people accounted for most of the people who died last summer in broiling heat inside their homes, almost all without air conditioning. The heat dangers well known in greater Phoenix are becoming known familiar nationwide. Some takeaways: WHY ARE OLDER PEOPLE MORE LIKELY TO DIE FROM THE HEAT?People ages 60 and over tend to have more chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and kidney problems than younger people. Those conditions can be made worse by high temperatures because as the heat index rises, it becomes harder to cool off the body. Medicines that many older people use to treat chronic ailments, such as diuretics for high blood pressure, can also make them more vulnerable to the heat. Older people can hav...