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North Carolina holds off St. John’s 61-59 in March Madness

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:12 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Deja Kelly had a go-ahead three-point play with 2 seconds left and No. 6 seed North Carolina hung on for a 61-59 win over 11th-seeded St. John’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.The Tar Heels faced their first deficit of the game when Danielle Patterson sank a 3-pointer with 6:39 left to play.The Red Storm led for the next four-plus minutes until Paulina Paris was fouled in transition and made the ensuing free throw to tie the game at 54.The score tied twice in the final minute as Mimi Reid made a layup with 6 seconds left to knot the game at 58.Kelly drove the left lane and made the free throw to complete the game-winning score. Patterson then was fouled after a timeout shooting a 3-pointer with just over a second left that gave the Red Storm one last chance. She missed the first two free throws and then inexplicably made third one ending any chance the Red Storm had to tie the game.Kelly led North Carolina with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooti...

Orden de arresto contra Vladimir Putin ensombrece la visita del presidente chino Xi Jinping a Rusia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:12 GMT

WASHINGTON DC— El plan del presidente chino Xi Jinping de reunirse con su colega ruso Vladimir Putin la semana entrante en Moscú, pone de relieve las aspiraciones chinas de asumir un papel mayor en el escenario mundial. Sin embargo, también revela los peligros de la diplomacia global: horas después del anuncio del viaje el viernes, la Corte Penal Internacional emitió una orden de arresto contra Putin para juzgarlo por crímenes de guerra, lo que desinfló parcialmente el gran anuncio chino.Aunque Estados Unidos no reconoce a la CPI, el presidente Joe Biden dijo que la orden de arresto estaba “justificada”, y que Putin “evidentemente cometió crímenes de guerra”. En cuanto a la reunión de Xi con Putin, Biden dijo, “ya veremos cuando ocurra”, en declaraciones a la prensa al partir hacia su residencia en Delaware.Este es un vistazo a la reunión Xi-Putin y cómo la afectaría la orden de arresto.¿CUÁLES SON LAS IMPLICACIONES DE LA REUNIÓN DE XI CON PUTIN?La visita a Rusia será el primer viaj...

Rayo botches trick penalty in draw; Atletico sinks Valencia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:12 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Where soccer greats Lionel Messi and Johan Cruyff had succeeded, the talented but mortal midfielders of Rayo Vallecano came up short on Saturday.The modest Madrid-based club was held to a 2-2 draw at home by Girona in the Spanish league after failing with back-to-back penalties — including a botched trick penalty kick — in a sequence that will go down as one of the oddest in recent memory for Spanish soccer.Isi Palazón and Óscar Trejo had already scored to put their team ahead 2-1 when Rayo had a penalty call in its favor just before halftime.Goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga saved Trejo’s spot kick, but he got another chance after the referee ordered the penalty to be retaken because a Girona player had illegally encroached the area.On the second try, Trejo, instead of shooting directly at the goal, rolled the ball to the side for Isi, who had rushed into the box — only for Isi to fire it over the crossbar.Perhaps they had been inspired by Messi and Luis Suárez, wh...

Medvedev into Indian Wells final with win over Tiafoe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:12 GMT

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Daniil Medvedev defeated Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 7-6 (4) on Saturday for his 19th consecutive match victory of the year and a berth in the BNP Paribas Open final.Medvedev will play for the title Sunday against the winner of the other semifinal between top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz or No. 11 seed Jannik Sinner.Medvedev, the fifth seed, has dominated Tiafoe, winning all five of their career meetings, including 12 of 13 sets in the process. Medvedev’s winning streak dates to his title run in Rotterdam in February. He then won tournaments in Doha and Dubai. Now, the 2021 U.S. Open champion and former world No. 1 is in position to add another one.Medvedev has proven resilient during the 12-day tournament in the Southern California desert. He overcame a badly twisted ankle and a cut thumb in two straight matches to power through to the final.Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova won the women’s doubles title with a 6-1, 6-7 (3), 10-7 victory over Beatriz Hadd...

Michigan-LSU clash means Kim vs. Kim III in March Madness

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:12 GMT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU coach Kim Mulkey’s admiration for the effort that Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico extracts from her players was encapsulated in short a video clip that Mulkey thought the Tigers needed to see.Michigan guard Leigha Brown’s diving attempt to corral a loose ball on the hardwood in the Wolverines’ first-round women’s NCAA Tournament triumph over UNLV meant nothing on the stat sheet; Brown wasn’t able to prevent the ball from rolling out of bounds.But it meant plenty to Mulkey and Barnes Arico as they prepared for a second-round tilt between No. 3 seed LSU (29-2) and sixth-seeded Michigan (23-9) on Sunday night — a game that could be billed as “Kim vs. Kim III.”“I’m happy that, you know, they saw, and the rest of the world saw, that our team is willing to sell out and willing to sacrifice and make those type of plays, because we do believe those could be difference-makers,” Barnes Arico said after learning that Mulkey had highligh...

Nick Martinez leaves Team USA at WBC, returns to Padres camp

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:12 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — San Diego Padres pitcher Nick Martinez left the World Baseball Classic on Saturday after he wasn’t guaranteed to start for Team USA for the rest of the event.United States manager Mark DeRosa said Martinez will return to Padres spring training to prepare for the start of the major league season.“I didn’t feel that was fair to us as a whole or to him to guarantee that, regardless of result,” DeRosa said. “We’re trying to win this thing, so I thought it was best for everyone — and he agreed — that he would go back and get ready for opening day with San Diego.”Lance Lynn will start for Team USA in Saturday’s game against Venezuela with a spot in the WBC semifinals on the line.DeRosa said he decided to go with Lynn because the Chicago White Sox pitcher “threw the ball the best” so far in the tournament.Lynn picked up the win against Canada last Monday, striking out six and allowing just two hits and one run in five innings. Martinez started Game 2 of pool play a...

Miami, Xavier look to refocus after narrow 1st-round escapes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:12 GMT

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — If Miami’s Jim Larrañaga and Xavier’s Sean Miller didn’t have their players’ complete attention heading into the NCAA Tournament, they do now.Larrañaga’s Hurricanes and Miller’s Musketeers both needed huge second-half comebacks against lower-seeded opponents in the first round.Now, as the teams move through March Madness, the veteran coaches are hoping players realize the importance of cherishing every possession on both ends of the floor and avoiding lapses in concentration that can lead to an opponent’s run.“You just realize that we’re here and these teams are trying to win as bad as we are, and we’ve got to play our best every night,” Xavier forward Jerome Hunter said.Miami trailed 12th-seeded Drake by eight points with 5:40 remaining in the first round of the Midwest Region, but rallied and finished the game on a 19-1 run behind 21 points from Nijel Pack to win 53-46.Likewise, third-seeded Xavier survived a scare from tournament first-ti...

Taylor Swift travels through time during opening night of the ‘Eras Tour’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:12 GMT

(CNN) — Baby, let the games begin.Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” kicked off on Friday night in Glendale, Arizona during a three-hour show that ran through hits from every era of the Grammy-winner’s 17-year career.“Swifties,” as her fans are known, descended upon the city in full Swift-inspired costumes and the location itself changed its name to “Swift City,” according to the Glendale, Arizona website. Ticket sales for the tour even broke Ticketmaster, something the singer called attention to on Friday when she told her audience she felt it was safe to assume that it had taken “a considerable amount of effort” for them to be there.Full disclosure: This CNN writer is a Swiftie. I managed to secure tickets to Swift’s penultimate show in Los Angeles this August, but here are some of the highlights of her performance on Friday, based on social media posts from people in attendance.Donning a crystalized corset and matchi...

Cold weather returns Sunday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:12 GMT

After a mild Saturday, colder weather returns to the forecast Sunday, as temperatures fall back into the 30s. Windy conditions are also expected, with gusts over 30mph likely during the afternoon. Together, the colder air and windy conditions will make temperatures feel like the 20s most of the day. If you’re headed to the St. Paddy’s Day parade in Southie, expect a wind chill between 24-28 with a mix of sun and clouds.

Red Sox notebook: Joely Rodriguez injured in split-squad action

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:12 GMT

While the win and loss the Red Sox completed in Saturday’s split-squad action against the Orioles (9-6 win) and Rays (2-1 loss) don’t count against their record, the events of said contests could have lasting ramifications.Joely Rodríguez left the mound in the eighth inning of Boston’s game against Baltimore with what the Red Sox have described as “right torso pain.”After throwing a pitch, the left-handed reliever clutched his side and immediately left the game. According to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, he was “groaning in pain” and “holding onto his side” as he went into the clubhouse.Saturday was only Rodríguez’s third appearance of the spring. After making a career-high 55 appearances for the Mets in 2022, he had shoulder surgery during the offseason, leading the Red Sox to be careful about his preseason work.It’s unclear how serious the torso issue is.“Sore. We’ll know more tomorrow how he comes back and prob...