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Celtics clinch playoff spot, but alarming issues persist in loss to Jazz

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:22:50 GMT

Joe Mazzulla continues to harp on the little things and the margins but they’re not getting through to his team. The Celtics keep building double-digit leads and blowing them.The Celtics clinched a playoff spot on Saturday night because of the Heat’s loss to the Bulls but it won’t matter if these problems persist.The same movie keeps playing over and over for the Celtics, who are stuck in neutral as the playoffs near. A night after they seemed to be building some positive momentum on this road trip with a win over the Blazers, the Celtics fell back into bad habits and let their foot off the gas again. They responded in stretches but couldn’t overcome their flaws as they dropped another critical game with a frustrating 118-117 loss to the Jazz in Salt Lake City.The Celtics trailed by one with five seconds left and the ball, but Grant Williams – who was otherwise having a redemption night after hitting a career-high seven 3-pointers – got the ball and tried to make a play at the rim, ...

Orioles observations on Grayson Rodriguez finding his way, Daz Cameron’s ‘flourishing’ swing and more

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:22:50 GMT

For the second straight start, Grayson Rodriguez looked like a major league-caliber starter the first time through the order before struggling the second time through.Rodriguez, the Orioles’ top pitching prospect and a candidate for the starting rotation, allowed a two-run homer in the third inning and then unraveled in the fourth in a Grapefruit League game against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. The start was similar to his previous outing, also against Boston, in which the 23-year-old retired nine of the first 10 batters with six strikeouts before allowing five straight to reach base.“Obviously, I don’t enjoy them,” Rodriguez said of the tough outings. “But that’s been the key. It’s all learning experience, and for it to happen in spring training is better than during the regular season.”In the fourth inning, Rodriguez walked the leadoff batter and then got a comebacker that should have been a double play. But Rodriguez delivered a ...

Nuggets next in line as Nets’ tough stretch continues: ‘We all know math, and we see the seeding’

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:22:50 GMT

When the Nets last played the Denver Nuggets on March 12, the game plan was clear:Force MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic to assume more of an offensive responsibility and take away his help.Jokic finished with 35 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists on the night, but the Nuggets forfeited a 22-point lead. The Nets only allowed three other Denver players to score in double figures, outscored the Nuggets by 19 in the third quarter and secured a 122-120 victory — an unlikely outcome on the road against a team expected to emerge as Western Conference champions this season.But will it work again now that the cat’s out of the bag?Opponents can ill-afford to take their foot off the gas against this resilient Nets team.Just like the Nets can’t afford to believe the same game plan that allowed the Nuggets to build a 22-point lead in the first place will win against a motivated Denver team this time around, albeit in the second game of a road back-to-back after their six-point los...

BU beats Merrimack in OT to win Hockey East crown

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:22:50 GMT

Goliath slew Cinderella at 1:57 of overtime in the 38th Hockey East championship game on Saturday night at the TD Garden.Freshman sensation Lane Hutson scored his second of the game on a slap shot from the blue line to lift No. 5 ranked and top seed Boston University to 3-2 victory over upstart Merrimack before a packed house from both camps.“I saw Matt Brown had the puck down low and the Merrimack guys were collapsing down on him,” said Hutson, the Hockey East Rookie of the Year and Tournament MVP. “I called for the puck and he put it right on my tape.”BU (27-10-0, 19-6-0) won its 10th Hockey East title in its 13th championship appearance and secured a No. 2 seed at next weekend’s NCAA Manchester Regional. Michigan, which upset No.1 Minnesota in the Big 10 Championship, is expected to get the No.1 seed at Manchester. Merrimack fell to 23-13-1 and 16-9-0 and is winless in its two Hockey East championship game appearances.“I am really proud of our group and these guys have been so re...

18-year-old killed in East County crash identified

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:22:50 GMT

PINE VALLEY, Calif. -- The 18-year-old killed in a Pine Valley solo roll-over crash earlier this week has been identified by the San Diego County Department of the Medical Examiner.Joshua Spirz, a resident of Campo, was named as the driver of the vehicle.Around 11 p.m. Monday, Spirz was driving a Toyota Camry eastbound on Old Highway 80, when he lost control of the vehicle and crossed into the the westbound lanes. The 18-year-old then struck a rock embankment, causing the Camry to overturn. One of drivers injured in East San Diego crash dead after days in hospital A passerby reported the crash, according to medical officials, after Spirz was seen exiting the vehicle before collapsing on the shoulder of the highway. He was pronounced dead on scene due to "postmortem changes," the medical examiner's office said, after sustaining blunt force injuries to the head and neck.California Highway Patrol officials said in a release earlier this week that Spirz was not wearing a seatbelt duri...

N Korea launches missile into sea amid US-S Korea drills

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:22:50 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the sea on Sunday, its neighbors said, ramping up testing activities in response to U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal.The missile launched from the North’s northwestern region flew across the country before it landed in the waters off its east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.It said South Korea’s military has boosted its surveillance posture and maintains a readiness in close coordination with the United States.Japan’s Defense Ministry said a suspected North Korean missile was launched on Sunday morning. It said the suspected weapon landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. There were no immediate reports of damage in the area.The launch was the North’s third round of weapons tests since the U.S. and South Korean militaries began their joint military drills last Monday. The latest U.S.-South Korean d...

From highlands to the coast, quake damages Ecuador, Peru

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:22:50 GMT

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Juan Vera lost three relatives when a strong earthquake that shook parts of Ecuador and Peru on Saturday brought down his niece’s home. The government has offered to pay for the woman’s funeral and those of her baby and her partner, but Vera wonders why local authorities allowed his relatives to live in such an old home to begin with.“Because of its age, that building should have been demolished already,” Vera said outside the morgue in Ecuador’s community of Machala, where he was waiting for the three bodies to be released. “… I’m sorry, the mayor’s office is the entity that has to regulate these things through its planning departments so that the buildings are in good condition to be rented out or inhabited.”The earthquake with about 6.8 magnitude, as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey, killed at least 15 people, injured hundreds and brought down homes and buildings in vastly different communities, from coastal areas to the highlands. But in Ecuador...

UCLA beats Northwestern 68-63 to advance to Sweet 16

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:22:50 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 24 points and UCLA withstood a second-half push from Northwestern to get back to the Sweet 16 with a 68-63 victory on Saturday night.The second-seeded Bruins (31-5) turned up the defensive intensity late, holding the seventh-seeded Wildcats to 1-for-12 shooting during a key late-game stretch to seal the win.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesThe win was marred when David Singleton went down in extreme pain with a right leg injury with 20.3 seconds remaining. He stayed down on the court for a few minutes before getting helped off by teammates and going straight to the locker room. There was no immediate word on the extent of the injury.UCLA made it to a third straight Sweet 16 for the first time in 15 years. The Bruins will play the winner of Sunday’s game between Gonzaga and TCU in the West Region semifinals in Las Vegas, on Thursday night.Amari Bailey added 14 points and Tyger Campbell scored 12 for UCLA.Boo...

Austin FC allows goals late in 2-0 loss to Houston Dynamo

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:22:50 GMT

HOUSTON (KXAN) — Austin FC fell on the road to the Houston Dynamo 2-0 on Saturday at Shell Energy Stadium.Amine Bassi connected on a penalty kick in the 71st minute for Houston following a handball in the penalty area by Austin FC defender Adam Lundkvist. Hector Herrera put the match away in the 86th minute after his left-footed shot found its way past Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver. Griffen Dorsey served a short cross into the middle of the box for Herrera, and then he beat Stuver to the left side. Austin FC falls 3-2 on aggregate to Violette AC in CONCACAF Champions League 1st round It was Houston's first win of the season and gives them an early advantage in the Copa Tejas standings.Austin FC nearly got on the board in the 12th minute, but Maxi Urruti's header rang off the right post following a nice feed by Jon Gallagher. Houston goalkeeper Steve Clark was injured in the first half but played through and made saves on all five of Austin's shots on goal.Austin FC midfielder Jhoj...

Franco Fragapane’s service helps Loons win at Colorado for first time in MLS

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:22:50 GMT

Minnesota United expected an Argentine attacker to give opponents doses of danger on set pieces this season.It was supposed to be Emanuel Reynoso, but with the MLS All-Star suspended by MLS, Franco Fragapane has slid into that role and has done swimmingly.Fragapane’s great free kick was flicked on by Micky Tapias for the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.Fragapane also provided a sterling corner kick that led to a Tapias header and Bongi Hlongwane rebound goal in the 1-1 draw with New York Red Bulls last week.Minnesota (2-0-1, 7 points) snapped a five-match losing streak at Colorado and improved to 1-5-1 in the Denver suburb since 2017.The Rapids (0-3-1, 1 point) snapped 319-minute goalless drought across four games by capitalizing on MNUFC’s second straight slow start to a second half.After allowing New York an equalizer just after the break last Saturday, Colorado’s Cole Bassett beat the right side of the Loons’...