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Column: Bullpen collapses in the midst of a playoff race are nothing new for the Chicago Cubs — and their fans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:41 GMT

There’s nothing quite as difficult to overcome as a bullpen implosion in a pennant race, as the Chicago Cubs appear intent on proving again.From Phil Regan to LaTroy Hawkins to Craig Kimbrel, Cubs relievers have left their mark on late-season collapses.This September’s fade has been a collective effort, and with three games remaining after Thursday’s game against the Atlanta Braves, they’re banking on the return of closer Adbert Alzolay to save the day.The Cubs entered the series finale with a major-league leading 10 blown saves in 15 opportunities in September after blowing one-run leads in the final three innings of Wednesday’s 6-5 loss.With Marcus Stroman making only his second start Thursday since his return from hip and rib injuries, the challenge for manager David Ross to safeguard the final innings was magnified.“Is that a challenge?” Ross asked Thursday afternoon. “You try to put the guys in there you trust and feel lik...

Orioles reach 30-year lease agreement to keep team at Camden Yards per in-game announcement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:41 GMT

The Orioles are here to stay.During Thursday’s game at Camden Yards against the Boston Red Sox when Baltimore’s ballclub has the chance to clinch the American League East, the club made an announcement that means the venue could host celebrations for years to come.After the third inning, the Orioles put on the video board at Oriole Park that the team and Maryland Stadium Authority have agreed to a new 30-year lease to keep the team in Baltimore. The deal was set to expire Dec. 31.“Earlier today, the Orioles, Governor Wes Moore and the State of Maryland, and the Maryland Stadium Authority agreed to a deal that will keep the Orioles in Baltimore and at Camden Yards for at least the next 30 years!!” the announcement read, with the Democratic governor and Orioles Chairman and CEO John Angelos were shown together on the video board above.An Orioles spokesperson confirmed the scoreboard announcement, saying more details would be released Friday.Moore’s o...

Orioles win AL East, exceeding expectations with unique blend of stars, survivors and castoffs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:41 GMT

The Orioles entered 2023 with high expectations for themselves but few beyond the clubhouse believed they were capable of what they achieved Thursday.A team of rising young stars, rebuild survivors, castoffs and veterans blended together in harmony across the past six months to win the American League East on the night the ballclub also signed a new 30-year lease to keep the Orioles in Baltimore.Even the team’s general manager was skeptical of this possibility, saying in December it would be “really hard to sit there and chart a course” for Baltimore to be the favorite of the daunting division. But Mike Elias did not completely dismiss it, noting “young teams pop all the time.”Well, they popped, and so have bottles of champagne. The Orioles won the AL East, a division considered baseball’s best, for the first time since 2014 with Thursday’s 2-0 victory against the Boston Red Sox in front of an energized crowd of 27,543 at Camden Yards...

San Diego leaders urge Newsom to sign bill expanding conservatorship to help homeless

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:41 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Several local policymakers and community members are calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign Senate Bill 43 into law, which would reform California's conservatorship laws. Supporters of the bill believe this would be a key to addressing homelessness. “I believe strongly California must do more on mental health, it’s a crisis that is ever present and ever visible," San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said. “We see it absolutely every single day in the streets across our city, across the state, across our country, homeless individuals desperately in need of intervention and access to care."According to supporters, the current conservatorship has not been updated for nearly 60 years and the current law only allows a conservatorship to be used when someone cannot provide for their food, shelter or clothing.Senate Bill 43 would expand conservatorship laws to include situations when people can't manager their medical care or their personal safety, and add substance-use disorders and men...

The boyfriend of a Navajo woman has been convicted of fatally shooting her in emblematic case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:41 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — The boyfriend of a Navajo woman whose case became emblematic of an international movement launched to draw attention to an epidemic of missing and slain Indigenous women has been convicted of first-degree murder in her death.Tre C. James, 31, was convicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix of domestic abuse and in the fatal shooting of Jamie Yazzie. The jury also found James guilty of several acts of domestic violence committed against three former intimate and dating partners. James is scheduled to be sentenced in late January.Yazzie was 32 and the mother of three sons when she went missing in the summer of 2019 from her community of Pinon on the Navajo Nation. Despite a high-profile search, her remains were not found until November 2021 on the neighboring Hopi reservation in northeastern Arizona. Many of Yazzie’s family members, including her mother, father, grandmother, and other relatives and friends attended all seven days of the trial, the U.S. Attorne...

Orioles announce new 30-year deal to stay at Camden Yards on same night they clinch AL East

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:41 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles have reached a deal with the state of Maryland that keeps the team at Camden Yards for at least 30 years, according to an announcement after the third inning of Thursday night’s game against Boston.Between innings, a message appeared on the scoreboard telling the crowd about the agreement between the Orioles, the state, Gov. Wes Moore and the Maryland Stadium Authority. The Democratic governor and Orioles chairman John Angelos were shown on the video board.The team’s lease was to expire at the end of the year, so this was a welcome announcement for fans — and the start of a night of celebrations at Camden Yards. The Orioles clinched the AL East title by beating the Red Sox 2-0, their 100th win of the season.“The Baltimore Orioles are an institution and an irreplaceable member of the collective family that makes up Charm City,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said in a statement. “I am extremely pleased that under this agreement,...

Thousands of women march in Latin American cities calling for abortion rights

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:41 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The streets of cities across Latin American were bathed in green Thursday as tens of thousands of women marched to commemorate International Safe Abortion Day.Latin American feminists have spent decades fighting to roll back strict prohibitions, although there are still few countries with a total ban, like El Salvador and Dominican Republic.In Mexico, marchers celebrated the recent decision by Mexico’s Supreme Court to decriminalize abortions at the federal level. In Argentina, marchers had a more somber tone, worrying that the strength of a populist far-right presidential candidate going into elections in October could signal peril after years of work by feminists. Abortion was the heart of the protests, but crowds of women also raised alarm about the region’s high rates of gender-based violence as well as abuses aimed at LGBTQ+ communities. Green smoke floated over a roaring crowd of thousands of women in Mexico City who waved green handkerchiefs, which ha...

Las Vegas stadium proponents counter attempt to repeal public funding for potential MLB ballpark

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:41 GMT

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Two Nevada residents representing a “broad-based coalition of business interests and labor” including the Oakland Athletics filed a complaint in Carson City District Court this week, attempting to thwart an effort from a teachers union-backed PAC to repeal hundreds of millions of dollars in public funding for a potential $1.5 billion MLB stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.Danny Thompson and Thomas Morley — a former and a current labor leader — filed the complaint on Tuesday in Carson City District Court in an attempt to invalidate a referendum petition that would make repealing the $380 million in public funding an option on the 2024 ballot. Three leaders from the PAC known as “Schools over Stadiums” are listed as defendants, along with Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, who runs elections across the state. The attorney for the two plaintiffs, Bradley Schrager, claimed the two plaintiffs represented a business and labor coalition, including the A’s. The org...

Navy issues written reprimands for fuel spill that sickened 6,000 people at Pearl Harbor base

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:41 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — The Navy on Thursday issued written reprimands to three now-retired military officers for their roles in the spill of jet fuel into Pearl Harbor’s drinking water in 2021 but did not fire, suspend, dock the pay or reduce the rank of anyone for the incident.The spill from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility poisoned thousands of military families and continues to threaten the purity of Honolulu’s water supply.Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro issued censure letters to the three rear admirals, the Navy said in a news release. He also revoked personal military decorations awarded to five rear admirals, three captains and one commander. “Taking accountability is a step in restoring trust in our relationship with the community,” Del Toro said in a statement.The spill “was not acceptable,” and the Navy will continue “to take every action to identify and remedy this issue,” he said. A Navy investigation last year concluded a series of errors caused the fuel to l...

California man who shot two sheriff’s deputies in revenge attack convicted of attempted murder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:41 GMT

COMPTON, Calif. (AP) — A Compton man who shot and seriously wounded two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in a 2020 revenge attack as they sat in a patrol car was convicted Thursday of attempted murder and could face life in prison.Deonte Lee Murray, 39, also was convicted of carjacking, robbery and other charges involving two other victims.Prosecutors said that on Sept. 10, sheriff’s deputies shot and killed Murray’s best friend while serving a warrant, and he wanted revenge.That day, Murray opened fire with an assault rifle on an SUV parked outside the Compton courthouse, mistakenly believing the driver was a detective, authorities said. The man was injured but survived.Two days later, on Sept. 12, Murray walked up to two deputies who were sitting in a patrol car at a Metro station in Compton and shot them, authorities said. The attack was captured on video that showed one bloodied officer, who was shot in the jaw and arms, tending to the wounds of her partne...