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Miami Heat, Florida Panthers head to the finals together for the first time in history

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:08 GMT

For the first time, the Miami Heat and the Florida Panthers are both headed to the finals at the same time. The two South Florida teams will now compete for a championship. Both teams entered the playoffs as 8 seeds and both won a Game 7 in Boston along the way. It’s the seventh finals appearance for the Heat. The Panthers haven’t been to the Stanley Cup Finals in nearly 30 years. The teams have been rooting for each other.It’s fun to watch them, it’s fun to see the heart that they’re playing with,” said Miami Heat guard Max Strus.Coach Erik Spoelstra said the Florida Panthers winning may have been just the distraction his team needed.“It’s unbelievable. That’s been one of the great joys of everyone in our locker room, is having something to rally around and get our minds off of this,” Spoelstra said.Panther fans are getting ready for a Vegas team that rolled the Dallas Stars. On the basketball court, fans will get familiar with Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets ...

18-year-old arrested in connection with shootout in Roxbury, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:08 GMT

Boston police have made an arrest in connection with a shootout in Roxbury last week, Police Commissioner Michael Cox announced Tuesday. Surveillance video from a nearby liquor store captured the moment shots rang out on Shawmut Avenue near a park and a playground on Wednesday. In the video, one man was seen walking up the street with his hands in his pockets before pulling out a gun and opening fire into a crowd of people. Another man was later seen coming out of a building and shooting back. Several people were on the sidewalk in the area when the shooting took place, including a young child who would be seen running for cover behind a nearby car. In addition to the scare for bystanders, police said multiple cars were damaged as a result of this shooting.Days later, Cox said an 18-year-old from Cambridge had been taken into custody and arraigned Tuesday morning. The man is facing a number of firearm charges. Boston, Cox said, will not tolerate the violence...

Red Sox notebook: The only show in town

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:08 GMT

With the Celtics eliminating themselves from the playoffs in lackluster fashion on Monday night, all eyes are on the Red Sox.For the next few months, they’re the only show in town.Is Boston’s baseball team feeling some added pressure now?“They had some great seasons,” Alex Cora said of the Bruins and Celtics. “And obviously, at the end, you know, it didn’t work out for their organizations, for the city, but at one point, we knew that it was us, and we just gotta keep playing good baseball.”The manager didn’t exactly offer a ringing endorsement of his team’s current state.“When you look back, we had some, four horrible series the whole season, and they put us in a spot that, you lose all those games, right?” But the overall thing, it’s been, it’s been okay.“Of course, we can get better, but I don’t think it’s that bad, or it’s that great. It’s kind of like, right in the middle,...

Mark Canha is refining his swing in hopes to produce better results: ‘I‘m working on things’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:08 GMT

Mark Canha knows that he hasn’t produced at the same rate in 2023 that he did in 2022, or even at the rate he did when he was with the Oakland A’s. But the good news is that he’s seeing the signs of a turnaround.The Mets outfielder came into Tuesday’s series against the Philadelphia Phillies slashing just .233/.318/.360 with a .678 OPS, which is almost 100 points below his 2023 OPS (.769), and his 89 OPS+ would indicate that he has been producing at a below-average rate.Canha has been focusing on the process instead of the results, which has sometimes been frustrating, but he’s seeing signs of progress.Over his last five games, he’s gone 4-for-14 with four walks. He had a four-game hit streak before going 0-for-2 with two walks Sunday in Denver during the Mets’ 11-10 loss to the Colorado Rockies.“I’m working on things,” Canha told the Daily News. “I’m trying to identify that there’s something that needs to...

Interior demolition begins on Arlington International Racecourse grandstand — a step toward a potential new Chicago Bears stadium

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:08 GMT

Workers began demolition Tuesday on the inside of the former Arlington International Racecourse, another nail in the coffin of the storied horse track, and a step toward a potential new stadium for the Chicago Bears.A backhoe, other heavy construction equipment and workers were seen outside the grand edifice, which won architectural honors and held up to 32,000 fans for nationally known races before being closed by Churchill Downs Inc. in 2021.Team officials emphasized that they still can’t proceed with their plans for a $5 billion enclosed stadium, housing and entertainment complex until they nail down what the property taxes would be, and get public financing for supporting infrastructure.The demolition, estimated to cost $3.8 million, would be expected to lower the value of the property for the next tax year, which should lower taxes on the site — a subject of contention between the team and school districts that get most of the tax revenue.Prior to the demolition, t...

Lawyers for Pittsburgh synagogue defendant admit he carried out deadliest US antisemitic attack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:08 GMT

By PETER SMITH (Associated Press)PITTSBURGH (AP) — Robert Bowers carried out the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history when he killed 11 people and injured seven others by storming a Pittsburgh synagogue and shooting everyone he could find. On that, everyone agrees.Even though Bowers’ defense acknowledged at the outset of his federal trial Tuesday that he was the gunman, they hope to spare the suburban truck driver from a possible death sentence over the Oct. 27, 2018, massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue. Bowers “shot every person he saw” that day in the building, his lead lawyer, Judy Clarke, said in her opening statement. But she questioned whether Bowers had acted out of hatred, as prosecutors contend, or an irrational belief that he needed to kill Jews to save others from the genocide he claimed they were enabling by helping immigrants come to the U.S.“He had what to us is this unthinkable, nonsensical, irrational thought: that by killing ...

Celtics lost their defense identity, and that was ultimate death of promising season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:08 GMT

When the Celtics suspended Ime Udoka for the season and promoted Joe Mazzulla to become a first-time head coach, they did more than simply make a coaching change. They changed their identity.The C’s were two wins away from a championship under Udoka behind the strength of their defense, but they came up short because they didn’t have enough offense. With Mazzulla in charge, the style shifted to an offensive-first approach.Ultimately, the Celtics fell short of expectations because of that lost defensive identity. It’s what dug them in an 0-3 series deficit to the Heat that was too much to overcome even after they rediscovered their defense to reel off three consecutive wins and force an unthinkable Game 7.“It was the issue,” Malcolm Brogdon said of their lost defensive identity. “I think this was a team in the last year that prided themselves on defense. I think defense was our calling card. This year offense was our calling card. I don’t think you win championships with a…bett...

About the numbers: Estimated 2.9 million watched ‘Succession’ finale 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:08 GMT

NEW YORK  — HBO said 2.9 million people watched or streamed the series finale of “Succession” on Sunday night, a series record that is expected to grow as delayed viewing is taken into account.That beat the first-night record of 2.75 million for an episode that aired on April 30, earlier in the fourth and last season of the family drama about a media company.The audience can be expected to expand significantly when delayed viewing is taken into account. For example, “Succession” episodes this season have been seen by an average of 8.7 million viewers, according to the Nielsen company.The series finale provided an answer to the question central to the story, about whether any of media magnate Logan Roy’s children would inherit control over his media empire.“Succession” didn’t approach HBO’s record of 19.8 million people who watched the 2019 finale of “Game of Thrones” on its premiere night. HBO estimated that some 46 m...

Woman, 23, suspected of DUI in fatal multi-vehicle crash on SR-76

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:08 GMT

PALA, Calif. -- A 23-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence following a multi-vehicle collision on State Route 76 Monday night that left one dead and four others injured, according to California Highway Patrol.Around 9:10 p.m., the woman was traveling eastbound on SR-76 in a Toyota Camry when it veered into the westbound lane of the highway east of Magee Road, CHP said, striking a Hyundai Santa Fe.The collision caused a series of crashes involving two other vehicles: a Lexus GS-350 and a Jeep Laredo.According to CHP, the driver of the Lexus, identified as a 65-year-old woman from Fountain Valley, sustained fatal injuries in the crash. She was pronounced dead on the scene by responding authorities. Overturned vehicle prompts freeway lanes to close near La Mesa The drivers of the Toyota and the Jeep, as well as two passengers from the vehicles, were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of minor to moderate injuries. The Hyundai driver was t...

New Hampshire city recognized for historic role in racially integrating baseball in the 1940s

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:08 GMT

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — The conversation around racial integration in baseball often revolves around Jackie Robinson, who broke the major league color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. But a year earlier, history was being made in the city of Nashua, New Hampshire. It was here that Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella and Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Don Newcombe would join the Nashua Dodgers, making the minor league club the first racially integrated baseball team in the United States. They played at the 86-year-old Holman Stadium, which celebrated their achievements Tuesday night by adding the venue to a stop on the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. A marker was unveiled before the Nashua Silver Knights game. The team plays in the Futures League. Already, the 2,825-seat stadium serves as a shrine of sorts to the players. Visitors are greeted with banners of the players at the entrance, and access streets leading to the venue have been named in their honor. Their Dodgers...