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Column: How will this roller-coaster season end for the Chicago Cubs? It’s anyone’s guess.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

This Chicago Cubs roller-coaster ride has been one for the books.Whether it turns into a classic or gets thrown into the used-books bin remains to be seen.The trade deadline is quickly approaching, the heat index is rising and the Cubs suddenly have performed like the team they were at the start of the season, making believers out of longtime skeptics and forcing the front office to either commit to this group or fast-forward to the future.Does President Jed Hoyer believe in this team enough to stand pat or even add on? Or will his business sensibilities override his penchant for dreaming big?Like the “Save Ferris” campaign in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” Cubs players have engaged in a sort of guerilla campaign to “Save Belli” and “Save Stro,” hoping to keep Cody Bellinger and Marcus Stroman in the mix for a playoff push. If it works and they’re both still here Wednesday, the pressure will be on the players to avoid backslid...

Mets agree on deal to send 3-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer to Rangers, pending no-trade clause: reports

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

The Mets tear-down is officially underway. The Amazin’s have agreed on a deal to send veteran ace Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers, according to multiple reports.The 39-year-old has a no-trade clause and the deal cannot become official until he gives the Mets’ front office his approval.Scherzer inked a three-year, $130 million contract with the Mets prior to the 2022 season. The third year is a player option worth $43.3 million.The veteran right-hander has put together his worst season in recent memory as he owns a 4.01 ERA in 19 starts.The agreed-upon deal would be the second significant move made by the Mets as they just dealt closer David Robertson to the Marlins.This is a developing story. Check back for details. ()

East Boston man found guilty of brutal 2016 murder of woman, 18

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

One of the two men accused of brutally murdering a woman, just shy of her 19th birthday, in an East Boston parking garage in 2016 was found guilty of murder.Jose Hernandez, of East Boston, was only 16 when he took part in the murder of Blanca Lainez the evening of June 14, 2016. Hernandez was 23 when a Suffolk Superior Court jury found him guilty of first-degree of her murder on Friday.The conviction carries a mandatory life sentence without parole. Sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday at 10 a.m. in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston.The other man accused of her murder is Angel Ramos-Oliva, who was 21 at the time. His trial is scheduled to begin in the same court on Sept. 11Construction workers found her body “covered in blood” lying on top of pieces of wood, with one arm over her face, in an under-construction section of the parking garage at 54 Princeton St. in East Boston. An examination of her body and the scene would conclude she had been stabbed 15 times and beaten with a propane...

Gerrit Cole dominates, but Yankees lose to Orioles 1-0 in Aaron Judge’s return

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

BALTIMORE – Aaron Judge returned and Gerrit Cole shoved, but that didn’t stop the first-place Orioles from beating the last-place Yankees on Friday night after rain delayed the start of a critical series for the Bombers.Baltimore won, 1-0, after Anthony Santander clubbed a walk-off home run in the ninth inning. Tommy Kahnle, who has struggled in recent weeks, surrendered the dagger on a 2-0 count.“Tough, tough loss, obviously,” said Aaron Boone, whose Yankees are now 3.5 games away from the American League’s third and final wild card spot with the trade deadline approaching.The Orioles’ tight win spoiled Aaron Judge’s return from a torn ligament in his right big toe. Having last played on June 3, Judge said he felt jumpy early on at the plate, but he settled in for three walks after lining out in his first at-bat. The DH and No. 2 hitter also said that he felt good physically.“Shout out to all the guys down in Tampa,” Judge said,...

Yankees Notebook: Aaron Judge returns to right field before probable off day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

BALTIMORE — Aaron Judge returned to the Yankees’ lineup as a DH on Friday. On Saturday, he returned to the field.Aaron Boone used the reigning MVP as his right fielder and No. 2 hitter on Saturday with the Yankees looking for a bounce-back win over the Orioles at Camden Yards. Judge played the field for the first time since his efforts on a June 3 catch at Dodger Stadium resulted in a torn ligament in his right big toe.Boone said he checked on Judge after the slugger went 0-for-1 with three walks in his return to action on Friday. Judge felt good to go, and team trainer Mike Schuk felt comfortable with Judge playing two days in a row.With that said, Judge is expected to get a day off on Sunday.“Maybe. Probably, but we’ll see,” Boone said when asked if that was the plan. “We’ll get through today and see where we’re at.”After Friday’s game, Judge said that he wasn’t looking for a day off in Baltimore, but he and the Yan...

Source: Patriots host ex-Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott on free-agent visit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

The Patriots hosted ex-Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott on a free-agent visit Saturday, a source confirmed to the Herald.Elliott left the facility without a contract, but “the two sides will stay in touch,” NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Saturday afternoon.“No deal for Ezekiel Elliott and the Patriots today but that doesn’t mean there won’t be going forward,” NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo added. “He remains a free agent.”Elliott has been a free agent since Dallas released him in mid-March. Last season, Elliott rushed for 876 yards and 12 touchdowns, while averaging 3.8 yards per carry and starting 14 of 15 games. In New England, he could serve as the primary backup to star back Rhamondre Stevenson, especially in light of Ty Montgomery’s recent leg injury in training camp.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots extra points: Bill Belichick touts rookie WR, Matt Judon explains red sleeves New England Patr...

Del Mar race horse dies after training accident; marks first fatality of season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The 2023 Del Mar horse racing season recorded its first fatality on Friday after a 5-year-old mare suffered an injury during a training session, state horse racing officials confirmed.Nevisian Sunrise, who finished third in last Saturday's Osunitas Stakes race, was exercising at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club when she lost her rider and ran off, later crashing into a fence post. In the collision, the mare sustained severe injuries that veterinarians believed ultimately required euthanasia, Club spokesperson Mac McBride said in a statement to FOX 5 on Saturday."(It was) a freak accident," McBride said. "Attending veterinarians felt there was no choice but to humanely euthanize her." These county parks will be closed to visitors next month As with all fatalities relating to horse racing, a spokesperson for the California Horse Racing Board said a postmortem investigation into the incident will be taking place over the coming weeks. A team of specialists, trainers and vet...

30 days over 110 F in Phoenix. But expected monsoon rains could cool historically hot Southwest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — A historic heat wave that has gripped the U.S. Southwest throughout July, blasting residents and baking surfaces like brick, is beginning to abate with the late arrival of monsoon rains.Forecasters expect that by Monday, people in metro Phoenix will begin to see high temperatures fall under 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) for the first time in a month.But not on Saturday. The high temperature in the desert city with more than 1.6 million residents climbed past 110 F for the 30th straight day, the National Weather Service said. The previous record stretch of 110 F or above was for 18 days in 1974.There are increased chances on Sunday of cooling monsoon thunderstorms. Though wet weather can also bring damaging winds, blowing dust and the chance of flash flooding, the weather service warned. Sudden rains running off hard-baked surfaces can quickly fill normally dry washes.Already this week, the overnight low at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport fell ...

Appellate court rules that Missouri man with schizophrenia can be executed after all

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

The planned execution of a 45-year-old Missouri man with schizophrenia is back on after an appellate court reversed course Saturday. Johnny Johnson is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre for killing 6-year-old Casey Williamson after trying to sexually assault her in 2002.With questions swirling about his mental competency, the execution was halted last Tuesday by a divided three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court. But after the Missouri Attorney General’s Office asked that the full court reconsider, that decision was reversed in a 7-3 ruling.The case will likely end up before the U.S. Supreme Court before the scheduled execution date.Attorneys for Johnson have claimed his schizophrenia prevents him from understanding the link between his crime and the punishment. They have also said Johnson has delusions about the devil using his death to bring about the end of the world.The Missouri Supreme Court in June declined to halt the exe...

Woman arrested, second suspect outstanding after vehicle theft in Regent Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

Toronto police have arrested one person and are looking for one other suspect in a motor vehicle theft investigation in Regent Park.On June 19, an unknown suspect allegedly entered a vehicle in the King Street East and River Street area that did not belong to them, started the ignition and drove out of the area.The suspect then drove the vehicle to a parking lot and met the accused who took possession of the vehicle and moved it to another location.Investigators identified the accused who was involved in the theft and the vehicle has been recovered. The second suspect remains outstanding.On July 13, a Criminal Code Search Warrant was executed at a residential address and the accused was located inside.The accused, Alexandra Sandy Kottaras, 47, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and mischief – damage of property over $5,000.Kottaras was scheduled to appear in court at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre on July 14.