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Wendell Carter Jr. showed value for Magic — and what needs to be addressed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:48:12 GMT

For Wendell Carter Jr., the Orlando Magic’s 2022-23 season further showcased the developmental breakout the 24-year-old big man took the previous season.In 2021-22, Carter set several career highs, including scoring, rebounding, assists and shooting efficiency.He one-upped himself this past season, setting new career highs in points (15.2), 2-point (62.4%) and 3-point accuracy (35.6%), 3-point attempts (3.9) and effective field goal percentage (59.1%) — a formula that adjusts for 3-pointers being worth more than made 2-pointers.Carter was a foundation of Orlando’s defense, which allowed 111.4 points per 100 possessions with Carter on the floor — a top-six mark compared to the rest of the league. The Magic allowed 113.9 points per 100 possessions with Carter on the bench — a solid mark that’s closer to average.Although he wasn’t as prolific as last season, Carter was the Magic’s best rim protector while adjusting to playing as the lone ...

Bruins down Panthers, 6-2, to take control of series

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:48:12 GMT

SUNRISE, Fla. — The Bruins put a stranglehold on their first-round series with the Florida Panthers on Sunday, taking a 6-2 decision at Florida Live Arena and pushing their series lead to 3-1.They can finish off the Cats in Game 5 on Wednesday at the Garden.The B’s got a pair of goals from Jake DeBrusk and a four-point afternoon from Taylor Hall to seize control of the series.After the Panthers cut into the B’s two-goal lead late in the second period, Tyler Bertuzzi got it right back when he deflected a Brandon Carlo shot out high and it squeaked through Sergei Bobrovsky’s pads at to make it 3-1 at 2:26 of the third.But after Nick Foligno took an offensive zone penalty, the B’s were under siege on the kill and, on the seventh shot of the PP, Sam Bennett scored on a rebound at 6:11.The B’s, however, pushed it back to a two-goal lead at 8:05. Marc Staal turned it over at his blue to Taylor Hall, who fed Pavel Zacha in the high slot. Bobrovsky stopped Zach...

Chicago White Sox fall to the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 to cap a 3-game sweep and their 9th loss in 11 games: ‘We’ve just got to keep fighting’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:48:12 GMT

The Chicago White Sox hadn’t won since Lucas Giolito’s six innings of no-hit ball in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies.Giolito returned to the mound Sunday, but the Sox couldn’t stop their slide or slow down the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays.The right-hander allowed four runs on five hits in seven innings in a 4-1 loss to the Rays in front of 22,702 at Tropicana Field.The Sox were swept for the first time this season. They’ve lost four straight, six of seven and nine of 11, falling eight games below .500. They are 0-6-1 in series.At 7-15, the Sox are off to their worst start since 2018, when they began 6-16.“We’ve just got to keep playing,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “There’s nothing else to it. They’re not going to stop the season. … Buckle down. Head to Toronto and play good baseball. That’s it.“There’s a lot of care in there, there’s a lot of fight in...

Massachusetts weather outlook: After rain, ‘unsettled’ week with below normal temps

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:48:12 GMT

After some parts of the region were drenched in heavy rain on Sunday, the weather pattern is expected to stay “unsettled” this week with daily chances for rain amid below normal temperatures.It will feel more like April this week than earlier in the month when temps broke record-highs in the 80s.“Our weather pattern… remains unsettled through the upcoming week, with daily opportunities for isolated toscattered rain showers,” reads the National Weather Service’s forecast discussion for the Boston-area.“Periods of rain expected this week due to a mid-level feature stuck over New England,” the meteorologists added. “Though do not expect any heavy rain or washouts.”Western Massachusetts communities recorded the highest amounts of rainfall on Sunday. More than 2 inches of rain was measured in Northampton, Easthampton, Westhampton, and Greenfield.The start of the workweek should start out mostly cloudy.“There will be a chan...

Struggling Julius Randle watched pivotal Knicks victory from the end of Knicks bench

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:48:12 GMT

The biggest game of the year, the biggest quarter of the year and Julius Randle was parked at the very end of the bench.Randle, the only Knicks All-Star, was a disaster in the third quarter of Sunday afternoon’s 102-93 Knicks victory over the Cavaliers. His defense was lethargic and Cleveland took advantage, targeting the power forward in pick-and-rolls with great success.The struggles spilled into poor body language, with Randle disengaging himself from a timeout huddle in the third quarter while floating to the scorer’s table. Coach Tom Thibodeau, who typically has a long rope for Randle’s antics, benched the power forward and watched the Knicks cook the Cavaliers in the fourth quarter behind Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett.Randle did not speak after the game, leaving before the media was allowed inside the locker room.He finished with just seven points in 27 minutes, missing 7 of his 10 shots. Thibodeau hinted that Randle, who suffered a sprained ankle over three w...

Mexico president tests positive for coronavirus for 3rd time

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:48:12 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president suspended a tour of the Yucatan peninsula Sunday after acknowledging he tested positive for the cornavirus, having previously suffered two bouts of COVID-19. President Andrés Manuel López Obrado wrote in his social media accounts that “it isn’t serious.” The comment followed reports in the local press that López Obrador felt faint Sunday morning and had to cancel his tour, something his presidential spokesman denied. López Obrador, 69, who has ackowledged a history of heart problems, wrote that he would isolate for “a few days” in Mexico City.“My heart is 100 percent and as I have had to suspend the tour, I will be in Mexico City and celebrating, although from afar, the 16th birthday of (his son) Jesús Ernesto,” he wrote.López Obrador was ill with COVID-19 in early 2021 and recovered after receiving what he described at the time as an experimental treatment. In January 2022, he announced he had come down with COVID-19 a second time, amid a spike...

AP News in Brief at 6:09 p.m. EDT

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:48:12 GMT

Ukrainian troop positions spark counteroffensive speculationKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian military forces have successfully established positions on the eastern side of the Dnieper River, according to a new analysis, giving rise to speculation Sunday that the advances could be an early sign of Kyiv’s long-awaited spring counteroffensive.The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, reported late Saturday that geolocated footage from pro-Kremlin military bloggers indicated that Ukrainian troops had established a foothold near the town of Oleshky, along with “stable supply lines” to their positions. Analysts widely believe that if Ukraine goes ahead with a spring counteroffensive, a major goal would be to break through the land corridor between Russia and the annexed Crimean Peninsula, which would necessitate crossing the Dnieper River in the country’s south.Responding to Ukrainian media reports proclaiming that the establishment of such positions ind...

Biden expected to tap Julie Chavez Rodriguez to run campaign

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:48:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is expected to tap Julie Chavez Rodriguez, a senior White House adviser, to manage his reelection campaign, according to a person familiar with deliberations on the matter.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Chavez Rodriguez’s appointment has not been finalized and Biden has yet to formally launch his reelection campaign. CBS News was first to report that Biden has decided to pick Chavez Rodriguez.Chavez Rodriguez, a longtime Democratic party activist, also worked in former President Barack Obama’s White House. She’s the granddaughter of labor leader Cesar Chavez and labor activist Helen Fabela Chávez. Growing up in California she was active in campaigns, picket lines, boycotts, marches and union meetings.She has served as Biden’s director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs since the beginning of his presidency and added the senior adviser role last June.Chavez Rodriguez also has deep ti...

Stranger Things: The Experience comes to Canada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:48:12 GMT

Fans of the Netflix show Stranger Things can now have a seemingly supernatural immersive experience, as a new event has launched in Canada for the first time.Stranger Things: The Experience kicked off in Toronto in March, and the opening weekend saw more than 3,000 guests attend.“Fans are thrown into a world of supernatural mystery, enduring friendships, and ‘80s nostalgia in an atmospheric celebration of the show’s unique universe,” a news release from Fever, a live-entertainment discovery platform that paired up with Netflix for the event, reads.Stranger Things: The Experience, kicked off in Toronto in March of 2023. (Courtesy Fever media kit)General Manager George Anthony says guests who come will be led through some familiar, and perilous, sites.“You get to walk through them, and you get to touch them, potentially meet some of the favourite characters of the show and, together, you guys will fight the demons inside Hawkins Lab, and hopefully, make your wa...

Vigil held on 4th anniversary of the murder of Marlen Ochoa Lopez and her infant son

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:48:12 GMT

CHICAGO — Church clergy and the family of Marlen Ochoa Lopez held a vigil Sunday on the fourth anniversary of the grisly murder of her and her infant son.Attendees gathered in front of a large Pilsen mural that pays homage to the two, honoring her memory with a celebration of life that also functioned as a call for justice. ‘Day of the Dead’ altar built in honor of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez and infant son "I was there in the hospital. I held the baby. I saw the baby," said Attorney Frank Avila, who is representing the family in court. "I had been in a lot of cases, but this is probably one of the most heart wrenching cases.”Ochoa Lopez was a 19-year-old pregnant mother two weeks away from her due date when she was murdered on April 23, 2019. On that day, she went to Clarisa Figueroa's home under the impression she was getting free items for her soon-to-arrive toddler after the two of them connected in a group on Facebook.When she arrived, prosecutors assigned to her case alleged Figuero...