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Brothers skip Pride jerseys; Panthers lose to Maple Leafs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:32 GMT

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Brothers Eric and Marc Staal of the Florida Panthers declined to wear special Pride-themed warmup jerseys ahead of the team’s 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.The jerseys were part of Florida’s Pride night game in support of the area’s LGBTQ community, and the brothers cited their religion as the reason for their decision.“We carry no judgement on how people choose to live their lives, and believe that all people should be welcome in all aspects of the game of hockey,” the Staal brothers said in a statement. “Having said that, we feel that by us wearing a Pride jersey it goes against our Christian beliefs.”While the Staal brothers declined to participate, Russian goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was one of the Panthers who went ahead with the Pride-themed jerseys.The Chicago Blackhawks have decided against wearing special warmup jerseys to commemorate their Pride night on Sunday, citing an anti-gay Kremlin law that could imperil Russi...

Tortorella earns 700th career win, Flyers top Wild 5-4

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:32 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — John Tortorella needed one word to sum up if 700 career wins meant anything to the Flyers coach.“No.”OK, then. Good thing the brusque Stanley Cup winner isn’t paid by the word.James van Riemsdyk scored the only goal in a shootout, and Philadelphia beat the Minnesota Wild 5-4 on Thursday night for Tortorella’s 700th victory.Tortorella is 700-573-181 in 1,454 games as an NHL head coach. His 700 wins rank 12th in NHL history and his career games rank ninth in NHL history. He led Tampa Bay to the Stanley Cup in 2004. In his first season coaching the Flyers, Tortorella joined Peter Laviolette as the second American-born coach to win 700 games.“I think the culture’s kind of changed around here,” Flyers forward Joel Farabee said. “I think he’s done a really good job of keeping the group together.”Farabee, Scott Laughton, Rasmus Ristolainen and Tyson Foerster scored for Philadelphia. The Flyers have two straight games for the first time since Jan....

Nowell has record 19 assists as Kansas State reaches Elite 8

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Markquis Nowell broke the NCAA Tournament record for assists in a game with 19, his last two on spectacular passes in the final minute of overtime, and Kansas State beat Michigan State 98-93 on Thursday night in a Sweet 16 thriller at Madison Square Garden.Playing in his hometown and fighting through a second-half ankle injury, Nowell found Keyontae Johnson for a reverse alley-oop with 52 seconds left in OT to give the Wildcats (26-9) the lead for good in this back-and-forth East Region semifinal. He then threw an inbound pass to Ismael Massoud, who knocked down a jumper with 17 seconds left for a 96-93 lead.With Michigan State needing a 3 to tie, Nowell stole the ball from the Spartans’ Tyson Walker and drove for a clinching layup at the buzzer. The 5-foot-8, Harlem-raised Nowell finished with 20 points and five steals in a signature performance at basketball’s most famous arena.Johnson scored 22 points for the No. 3 seed Wildcats, who will face either fourth-seeded...

DeBrincat, Tkachuk score twice in Sens’ rout of Lightning

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:32 GMT

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Alex DeBrincat and Brady Tkachuk each scored two goals and the Ottawa Senators cruised to a 7-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night. DeBrincat added an assist, and Derick Brassard, Erik Brannstrom and Austin Watson also scored for Ottawa, which earned its first 35-win season since 2015-16. Mads Sogaard made 27 saves.Brayden Point and Mikhail Sergachev scored and Brian Elliott stopped 28 shots for the Lightning, who are on a three-game losing streak and have been outscored 15-6 during that stretch.Sergachev made it a 3-2 game for Tampa Bay 4:10 into the third period with a power-play goal, giving the Lightning a chance.But less than two minutes later, Brannstrom had a beautiful end-to-end rush that culminated with a shot into the top corner to make it 4-2.Things went downhill from that point for the Lightning. Tkachuk padded the Senators’ lead with a power-play goal at 13:11 and added an empty-net goal 24 seconds later.Watson closed the scori...

UConn a step from Final Four after 88-65 blowout of Arkansas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:32 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jordan Hawkins scored 24 points for UConn and the Huskies are one step away from the Final Four after an 88-65 rout of Arkansas in a West Region Sweet 16 matchup Thursday.The fourth-seeded Huskies (28-8) will play the winner of UCLA or Gonzaga in an Elite Eight game Saturday in Las Vegas. Arkansas’ season ended at 22-14.UConn played like a team capable of winning its fifth NCAA Tournament title and first since 2014. The Huskies have outscored their three March Madness opponents by 62 points.They won their first two games by outscoring Iona and Saint Mary’s by a combined 86-49 in the second half. UConn surged early against Arkansas with a 14-point run and took a 46-29 lead into halftime. The Huskies never trailed and led by as many as 29 points when they went up 62-33. Arkansas answered with a 10-point run in just 27 seconds, but the outcome was never in doubt.UConn, which has won nine of its past 10 games, shot 57.4% compared to 31.7% for Arkansas. The H...

Argentina beats Panama in 1st match after World Cup title

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:32 GMT

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — The 83,000 screaming fans were not disappointed in Lionel Messi and his Argentina team’s first international match since lifting the World Cup title last December.Messi’s Argentina beat Panama 2-0 with two late goals Thursday night at the Monumental de Nunez Stadium in Buenos Aires, in the first of two matches for the team to celebrate its triumph in Qatar.Thiago Almada opened the scoring in the 78th minute, pushing the ball into an empty net after a free kick taken by Messi hit the post. Eleven minutes later, the Argentine great netted the second with another free kick to the delight of the capacity crowd.“I always dreamed of this moment, celebrating with you,” an emotional Messi said after the match, standing with his family on the pitch. He lifted the World Cup trophy once more in front of his fans and took a slow victory lap with his teammates, who carried miniatures of the same trophy, as fireworks erupted over the stadium.It was Messi’s 80...

Okoro’s 3-pointer sends Cavaliers past Nets 116-114

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Isaac Okoro hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 0.7 seconds remaining and finished with 11 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Brooklyn Nets 116-114 Thursday night.Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points, Evan Mobley had 26 points and 16 rebounds and Jarrett Allen finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds against his former team. Cleveland won for the eighth time in 10 games.Mikal Bridges scored 32 points, Spencer Dinwiddie had 25 points and 12 assists and Joe Harris hit five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points as the Nets lost their fifth straight game.Cleveland trailed 112-104 with 2:13 left before closing the game on a 12-2 run. Trailing by one, Mitchell missed the a second free throw that would’ve tied the game. But the ball bounced to Okoro in the corner, who drained the 3-pointer to give Cleveland the lead.A heave from half court by Bridges at the buzzer fell short.Bridges secured his eighth 30-plus point game as a member of the Nets through three quarters. ...

TikTok ban on city worker phones comes into effect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:32 GMT

The City of Kingston is following the lead of the federal and provincial governments and banning TikTok on employees’ work devices. The City’s Chief Information Officer, Jeff Bumstead, says there was already some discussion of a ban and the Canadian government’s decision helped move that along. “We had been having some internal discussions prior to the announcement from the feds about the risks and the possible restrictions on usage,” Bumstead said.“That was really just kind of the final incident that put us over to make the decision.”The removal was implemented as of March 20th and is still underway.The federal government brought the ban in over security and intelligence concerns from the China based app, and Bumstead said the same concerns were at the centre of discussions within the city.Bumstead says while he can’t speak much to city employee’s feelings around the app, in some conversations he’s had people are definitel...

Domestic violence suspect running away from police killed after being hit by truck

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:32 GMT

GREELEY, Colo. (KDVR) -- A 31-year-old man accused of assaulting his partner was hit and killed by a commercial truck while evading police, the Greeley Police Department said in a release. Police responded to a disturbance call in the 5500 block of 29th Street just after midnight Wednesday. The caller told police a man was "punching and kicking" a woman then got multiple knives and continued to assault her, the release said. Colorado’s violent, motor vehicle crimes are concentrated in these counties Before first responders got there, the suspect took off in his car, and officers in the area began a search for the vehicle. The suspect and car were spotted shortly after driving back to the scene, according to GPD.When officers tried to stop the vehicle, the suspect took off and police pursued him until he hit a dead-end, police said. He got out of the car and ran off. He jumped a fence a tried to cross Highway 34 when a large commercial truck struck him, the department said. The sus...

Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula reach Miami Open 3rd round

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:32 GMT

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Sixth-seeded Coco Gauff opened her 2023 Miami Open with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Rebecca Marino on Thursday and advanced to the third round where she will face 27th-seeded Anastasia Potapova.After her victory, Gauff, coming off a quarterfinals appearance at Indian Wells, said in a television interview that it wasn’t her best outing, despite converting five of her nine break points.“It was a shaky performances honestly,” Gauff said. “I knew it wasn’t going to be a straight forward match, even if I was up a break sometimes.”Gauff came back from a break down twice in the second set to claim her second career win versus Marino. Gauff defeated Marino in the first round at Roland Garros in 2022.Gauff said she was a bit nervous playing in her hometown — she’s a native of Delray Beach, Florida, a small city about 40 miles north of Hard Rock Stadium, where the tournament is played. Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat was among those in attendance Thursday.“Ji...