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How the Chicago Bulls match up with the Toronto Raptors in tonight’s NBA play-in game

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:30:25 GMT

The Chicago Bulls aren’t quite in the NBA playoffs, but they have a chance to claw their way into the first round with two wins in the play-in tournament this week.The challenge starts Wednesday, when the 10th-seeded Bulls visit the ninth-seeded Toronto Raptors in the first leg of the tournament (6 p.m., ESPN).The winner will advance to a Friday game in Miami against the Heat, who lost 116-105 to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. The Hawks earned the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference with the victory, while Friday’s winner gets the No. 8 seed.The Raptors finished 41-41 after jockeying with the Hawks (41-41) and Bulls (40-42) for play-in positioning over the final weeks of the season. The Bulls went 1-2 against the Raptors this season, dropping both of their games in Toronto.Here’s what to expect from the matchup.Working through pressureThe Raptors have taken a clear approach in each of their matchups with the Bulls — get the ball out of the hands of DeMa...

Dolphins NFL draft options: Wide receivers

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:30:25 GMT

The South Florida Sun Sentinel continues its eight-part series previewing top players in the 2023 NFL draft (April 27-29) with wide receivers. The Dolphins have one of the NFL’s best duos in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. But quality depth is always desired. Miami lost Trent Sherfield to Buffalo, and although they return a good number of wide receivers, including Erik Ezukanma, last year’s fourth-round pick, not many have meaningful experience.Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio StateSmith-Njigba (6 foot 1, 196 pounds), a slot receiver who doesn’t possess outstanding speed, only played three games last season due to hamstring issues and he totaled five receptions for 83 yards. But in 2021, he was dynamic with 95 receptions for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns.Quentin Johnston, TCUJohnston has good size at 6-3, 208 pounds. He had 60 receptions for 1,067 yards and six touchdowns last season. He’s a downfield threat who will be better once he learns to use his size more eff...

Who will step up as Dolphins’ third wide receiver option behind Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:30:25 GMT

In Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, the Miami Dolphins possess what many would agree is the NFL’s top wide receiver tandem.After an initial wave of free agency that saw Trent Sherfield depart to the Buffalo Bills and Braxton Berrios come in from the New York Jets in a pair of intra-division moves, the question now is who the Dolphins will rely on after that star Hill-Waddle combination?Will it be Berrios, in a return to the stadium where he played his college football with the Miami Hurricanes? Could Cedrick Wilson Jr. have a bounce-back season after the Dolphins invested free-agent money in him last offseason? How about Erik Ezukanma making a Year 2 leap after a quiet rookie campaign? Or River Cracraft making another stride after proving himself a viable option in 2022?The Dolphins have all those receivers plus returning members from last season’s practice squad in Braylon Sanders and Freddie Swain to compete throughout the offseason and into training camp.It makes wide r...

Chicago Bears Q&A: Who would you take at No. 9 — Jalen Carter or Paris Johnson? What will Kevin Warren add as he starts his new role?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:30:25 GMT

The NFL draft is 15 days away, and the Chicago Bears could go in a number of directions with the No. 9 pick. Meanwhile, Monday marks the first official day on the job for new Bears President Kevin Warren.The Tribune’s Brad Biggs reaches into his weekly Bears mailbag to tackle questions on these two topics and more.If Jalen Carter and Paris Johnson are both there at No. 9, who do you see Ryan Poles taking? — @ryyzohThat’s an impossible question to answer without knowing how the Bears felt about Carter, the talented defensive tackle from Georgia, after his visit to Halas Hall earlier this month. There were ample questions about Carter’s makeup before his involvement in a road-racing incident in January that resulted in the deaths of a college teammate and a Georgia support staff member, who was driving the car that crashed. Carter, who did not share any details of this issue when he met with teams at the scouting combine, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charg...

NFL executive assesses Patriots’ offseason, 2023 odds: ‘The talent gap is still pretty significant’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:30:25 GMT

It’s been three months since the Patriots punctuated their disappointing, dysfunctional and downright rotten 2022 campaign.What have they done to bolster their roster since then?Re-sign most of their defensive free agents, rebuild their offensive tackle depth and make non-trivial upgrades at their skill positions. But will those moves be enough to make the playoffs? What comes next in the draft? And how big is the gap between the Pats and the rest of the AFC East?The Herald posed those questions and more to an NFL front-office executive deeply familiar with the Patriots who spoke on the condition of anonymity.The resulting Q&A has been edited for brevity and clarity.Q: What is your overall impression of the Patriots’ offseason?NFL executive: “They obviously targeted offense and wanted to upgrade their weapons, which was smart. They did lose Jakobi (Meyers), and I think he’s a good player, but he’s not a great player. Though I think the same of JuJu ...

Edmunds: 2023 Volvo XC40 Recharge vs. Audi Q4 e-tron

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:30:25 GMT

With its original e-tron, Audi was one of the first luxury European automakers to offer an electric vehicle. Last year, it expanded its lineup with the more affordable Q4 e-tron. Slotting between two gas-powered models, the smaller Q3 and the larger Q5, the Q4 e-tron is an all-electric compact luxury SUV. It has a lot going for it but it’s not the only small European luxury EV vying for your attention. Another top option is the Volvo XC40 Recharge. It’s based on the brand’s stylish XC40 but is powered by electricity instead of gasoline. The car experts at Edmunds compare them to find out which one is the better buy.PERFORMANCE AND RANGE Audi offers the Q4 e-tron in two powertrain configurations: a single-motor base version that makes 201 horsepower and a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup good for 295 horsepower. The latter variant accelerated from 0 to 60 mph in a respectable 5.7 seconds in Edmunds’ testing. It also delivered responsive handling and proved to be plenty maneuverable i...

Mississauga set to reconsider ban on cannabis retail stores

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:30:25 GMT

Ontario’s largest municipality without any legal cannabis retail stores is set to reconsider its prohibition Wednesday, with a city report highlighting that its residents are “disproportionately” served by the illegal market.Mississauga was one of dozens of municipalities to bar retail cannabis stores from their communities when legalization came into effect in 2018. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is responsible for issuing licences, but the government left it up to municipalities to opt in or out of hosting stores.Now, four and a half years later, with more than 1,700 legal stores across the province and the sector contributing $13.3 billion to Ontario’s GDP — per a recent Deloitte analysis cited in a city staff report — there’s a push to get Mississauga on board.City councillors are set to discuss a motion Wednesday from Coun. Dipika Damerla to lift the ban on cannabis stores. Mississauga has spent the past several years advo...

Woman contracted to drive kids home from school charged with impaired driving

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:30:25 GMT

A woman who was contracted out to drive children home from school has been charged with impaired driving, according to police.Toronto police say they received reports of a van striking several vehicles in the city’s west-end shortly after school was let out on Tuesday afternoon.Several witnesses called 911 after spotting the vehicle driving erratically and swerving all over the road. Officers stopped the van near Dufferin and Bloor streets and say there were kids onboard at the time.Police say it is unclear how many vehicles were struck and how many children were inside the van at the time of the incident.No injuries were reported.The driver, a woman in her 40s, has been charged with impaired driving.Police say more information will be released on Wednesday.

MTY Food Group reports Q1 profit up, acquisitions help revenue more than double

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:30:25 GMT

MONTREAL — MTY Food Group Inc. reported a first-quarter profit of $18.4 million, up from $16.6 million a year earlier, as acquisitions helped its revenue to more than double.The restaurant franchisor says its profit amounted to 75 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Feb. 28, up from 68 cents per diluted share a year earlier.Revenue at MTY totalled $286.0 million for the quarter, up from $140.5 million in the same quarter last year, while system sales totalled a record $1.36 billion, up from $885.7 million.MTY says the increase in revenue was mainly due to its BBQ Holdings, Wetzel’s Pretzels, and Sauce Pizza and Wine acquisitions.MTY franchises and operates restaurants under more than 85 different banners in Canada, the United States and internationally.At the end of its first quarter, MTY’s network had 7,128 locations in operation, including 6,895 that were franchised or under operator agreements and 233 corporate locations.This report by The Canadian Press was...

Andalusia considers more irrigation near Spanish wetlands

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:30:25 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A plan to increase irrigation in an area adjoining one of Europe’s most prized wetlands is set to advance Wednesday when lawmakers in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia vote in favor. The proposal to rezone the lands goes against the advice of ecologists and repeated warnings from European Union officials.The vote is expected to start the bill down the path towards becoming law. It is sponsored by the ruling conservative Popular Party, which holds an absolute majority in the regional parliament based in Seville. It also has the support of the far-right Vox party.If the measure becomes law, some 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of land near the Doñana nature reserve will be declared as irrigable. This would grant an amnesty to the many farms that already use illegal wells to tap into the aquifer underlying the wetlands to grow strawberries for export across Europe. The Popular Party says that its intention is to help farmers who are in a legal limbo regulari...