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Mike Preston: Make no mistake, Ravens defense is still the star of the show | COMMENTARY

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:56 GMT

The Ravens defense is as good as advertised.Baltimore entered Sunday’s game against Detroit with the NFL’s No. 2 overall defense but had not played an offense as complete as the Lions’. Then the Ravens shut them down. Actually, it was a beatdown, 38-6.There will be a lot of talk about Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and the offense after they scored five touchdowns and a field goal on 10 possessions and piled up 503 yards of total offense, but the story of this win was the Ravens defense.This group has been consistent all season, and it has to be that way because the offense is erratic. On Sunday, the Ravens shut out Detroit for three quarters and allowed only 337 yards of total offense, 97 of which came in the first half when the game was still somewhat competitive.If the Lions are one of the best offenses in the NFL, then what does that say about the Ravens defense? Baltimore crushed Detroit until the last quarter, when it was garbage time.“If I recall, I ...

Ravens blow out Lions, 38-6, behind Lamar Jackson’s big day and stifling defense: ‘It’s time to separate’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:56 GMT

In Lamar Jackson’s words, the Ravens showed a “glimpse” of what they’re capable of doing.Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell put it another way.“They kicked our [butts],” Campbell said. “Lamar beat us. He hammered us with his arm. He threw the ball extremely well. He ran when he needed to, and we did not handle it well.”It was also what Baltimore has been expected to do since signing Jackson to a five-year, $260 million contract extension, overhauling the wide receiver group and implementing what was supposed to be a more explosive scheme under offensive coordinator Todd Monken. The Ravens (5-2) spent more money on offense than any team in the NFL this offseason, and Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, it finally paid off.The Lions (5-2) came into Baltimore with just one loss and with one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, averaging 28 points and 383.7 yards per game and having scored at least 20 points in 15 straight dating to last s...

Matt Poitras scores twice to lead B’s to 3-1 win over Anaheim

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:56 GMT

The time may have come for Matt Poitras to find some permanent digs in Boston.The 19-year-old rookie has been trying to prove that he belongs in the National Hockey League instead of back with the US junior team in Guelph, and he made the best case possible on Sunday night in Anaheim.Poitras scored his first two career goals in the third period to lift the B’s to a 3-1 come-from-behind win over the Ducks in Anaheim.Before Poitras struck, it appeared the game was getting away form the B’s.The Ducks had broken a scoreless tie at 5:05 of the third period off the rush. Kevin Shattenkirk got caught trying to pinch and the Ducks were off to the races. Eventually, Mason MacTavish cleaned a up a Ryan Strome pass on a 2-on-1.But the B’s tied it up just 1:24 later on a momentous goal. Poitras had been the B’s most creative player from the second period on .But at 6:29, he was the recipient of a sweet feed. Off the rush, Morgan Geekie took the puck in deep on his off wi...

Eovaldi remains perfect, Rangers beat Astros 9-2 to force Game 7 in ALCS

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:56 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Nathan Eovaldi remained perfect this post-season, and Mitch Garver and Jonah Heim homered early before a ninth-inning grand slam by Adolis García helped the Texas Rangers avoid elimination with a 9-2 win over the Houston Astros in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Sunday night.Eovaldi, who also got the win in Game 2, yielded five hits and two runs in 6 1/3 innings to improve to 4-0 with a 2.42 ERA in the playoffs this year.The decisive Game 7 is Monday night in Houston, where the Rangers, one of six major league teams without a World Series title, need a win to return to the Fall Classic for the first time since back-to-back trips in 2010-11.The defending World Series champion Astros were again felled by a subpar start from Framber Valdez and lacklustre play at home. Valdez was charged with five hits and three runs with six strikeouts in five innings to fall to 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA this post-season.The Rangers led by two before a breaking the game op...

China crackdown on cyber scams in Southeast Asia nets thousands but leaves networks intact

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:56 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Zhang Hongliang, a former restaurant manager in central China, took various gigs in and outside China to support his family after losing his job during the COVID-19 pandemic.In March, a job offer to teach Chinese cooking at a restaurant led him into a cyber scam compound in Myanmar, where he was instead ordered to lure Chinese into giving up their savings for fake investment schemes via social media platforms.Zhang is one of tens of thousands of people, mostly but not all Chinese, who have become ensnared in cyber scam networks run by powerful Chinese criminal syndicates in Southeast Asia. Regional and Chinese authorities have netted thousands of people in a crackdown, but experts say they are failing to root out the local elites and criminal networks that are bound to keep running the schemes.When scam operations are shut down in one place they often just resurface elsewhere. The problem is an embarrassment for Beijing and is discouraging ordinary Chinese from travel...

Tensions rise amid clashing rallies in Skokie

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:56 GMT

SKOKIE, Ill. — Tensions came to a boil in Skokie on Sunday afternoon after pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel groups held rallies at the same time.The ensuing chaos from the events left three people, including a CPD officer with minor injuries after they were pepper sprayed by someone in the crowd. A solidarity with Israel event was getting underway at the Ateres Ayala event space in Skokie and those in attendance told WGN-TV News that a counter-rally was then organized for the same time, in the same area by Palestinian supporters. Rally in support of Israel takes place at Foster Beach According to Skokie police, the NIPAS Mobile Field Force and Cook County Sheriff’s Police were called in to assist in planning for the event.Police say while officers were on the scene, a crowd of about 200 counter-protestors formed outside of the solidarity with Israel event.Skokie police say during the protest, several disturbances broke out, resulting in a Chicago police officer and two citizens...

Sunday Forecast: Mostly clear, increasing clouds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:56 GMT

Sunday Night: Mostly clear evening. Increasing clouds overnight. SE 5-10 mph. Low: 44Monday: Mostly cloudy with some mid-day showers & building winds. S 10-20 mph. High: 63Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Extended outlook calls for a nice start to Tuesday and temps to build into the mid to upper 70s. Showers likely by the evening-- and we'll see on/off rain at times and a few iso. t'storms getting into Wednesday with temps settling back into the mid to upper 60s. And we'll stay pretty cloudy for the rest of the week as well with each day through the coming weekend has a chance of showers. The good news is that the rain will help the near peak to peak fall colors to really pop on the trees. 

Hundreds attend refugee job fair in Austin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:56 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Sunday, hundreds of refugees living in Austin showed up to a local mosque looking for resources and job opportunities. Several non profits partnered to host the hiring fair at the North Austin Muslim Community Center.The organizations that set this up include: The TENT Partnership, a coalition that supports refugees in the United StatesCombined Arms, a national organization focused on supporting veterans and individuals who arrived in the United States after having assisted the U.S. Armed ForcesGlobal Impact Initiative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to education programming and workforce development for marginalized communitiesDozens of employers 30 different employers from a variety of industries filled the community center.Landscapes Unlimited Chief Development Officer Jake Riekstins was among the employers in the room. "We're looking for folks with entry level skills all the way up to those that are career minded," Riekstins said. "We talked about their tr...

For sale: Fixer-upper home. Used to be a school. Cash only.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:56 GMT

HUNTER, N.D. — A property for sale 40 miles northwest of Fargo could have people yearning for nostalgia and the early days of their education.Built in 1903, the old school in Hunter, North Dakota, was purchased, renovated and lived in by Larry Schuler and his wife, Cheryl, from 1999 until her death from a heart attack in 2020.Schuler stayed for a few years longer, but the sheer amount of space and upkeep was just too much for him and his dogs.A former classroom is seen inside the old school in Hunter, North Dakota. Later transformed into a home, the property is for sale for $150,000 cash. (Contributed / CJ Anderson / BHHS Premier Properties)“I’d still be there if it wasn’t for life-changing situations,” he said.Now, the property at 320 Second St. E. in Hunter — population 332 — is on the market for $150,000 for a unique buyer who must be willing to pay cash.Listing agent CJ Anderson with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Premier Properties said lenders have told her the property...

Broncos coach Sean Payton may not be interested in baby steps, but that’s what his team took Sunday in win vs. Packers: “It was nice to finally finish”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:56 GMT

Even the ugliest of wins goes on the left side of the ledger.Sean Payton knows it.He praised his team Sunday for finding its way to the finish line of a 19-17 victory that won’t find its way into any sort of football pantheon.“The teams that have that trait generally fare better,” Payton said of handling adversity. “I was glad to see us do that.”The Denver Broncos, though? No finish line or arrivals or anything much beyond a deep breath in sight. They have a long way to go.Even the rosiest tinted glasses can’t hide the warts on this team.Or the 2-5 record.Or the virtually nonexistent playoff odds that increased infinitesimally when Denver staved off yet another shaky second half on its home field thanks to P.J. Locke’s interception just after the two-minute warning.Could the Broncos find themselves on the Autobahn? Suddenly whizzing past traffic, gaining on lost time and making like Jacksonville or Detroit last year? Riding a heater to the postseason like the 2-6 Jaguars did o...