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Bucks hoping long layoff doesn’t prove costly against Heat

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:27 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee’s long wait for the start of the playoffs gave Khris Middleton and other notable Bucks an opportunity to recover from late-season injuries.The top-seeded Bucks hope it also didn’t create a rust factor that could cause them to fall behind the Miami Heat early in their Eastern Conference first-round series starting Sunday.Middleton hasn’t played since exiting an April 5 victory over the Chicago Bulls after he aggravated a right knee injury, but the three-time All-Star said Saturday he’s feeling fine. “My body is feeling is great, my mind is feeling great, so I’m ready to go,” Middleton said.Middleton has plenty of motivation after the way his 2021-22 postseason ended. He sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in Game 2 of a first-round playoff series with the Bulls and missed the rest of the postseason as the Bucks’ bid for a second straight title ended with an Eastern Conference semifinal loss to the Boston Celtics. “Everybody’s hungry,” M...

Randle back from injury, starting for Knicks in Game 1

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:27 GMT

CLEVELAND (AP) — New York Knicks All-Star forward Julius Randle is in the starting lineup for Game 1 of the NBA playoffs against the Cavaliers on Saturday after missing the final five games of the regular season with a sprained left ankle.Randle hasn’t played since March 29, when he rolled his ankle against Miami. He had played in New York’s first 77 games before getting hurt.Randle was limited in practice this week, but New York’s leading scorer, who averaged a career-high 25.1 points, tested his ankle during pregame warmups and appears ready to go.It’s not known how much Randle will play or how effective he’ll be.The Cavs will also get back starting small forward Isaac Okoro, who missed the final six games with a sore knee. Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender.Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau wasn’t worried about Randle’s conditioning because he’s had all season to build up his stamina. Thibodeau said his message to Randle wi...

McCutchen homers in 10th to help Pirates beat Cardinals 6-3

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:27 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Andrew McCutchen hit a tie-breaking, two-run homer in the 10th inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 on Saturday.McCutchen hit a 3-2 pitch from Jordan Hicks (0-1) over the left field wall for his third home run of the season in leading off the inning.David Bednar (2-0) pitched a scoreless ninth inning, and Dauri Moreta worked around a leadoff walk in the 10th to earn his first save of the season.Roansy Contreras allowed two runs on six hits in becoming the fifth straight Pirates’ starter to work into the sixth inning.Rodolfo Castro doubled off Ryan Helsley to score Connor Joe and tie the game 3-3 in the top of the eighth inning. Paul Goldschmidt had walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh to put the Cardinals ahead.Cardinals starter Steven Matz allowed two runs on three hits in 5 2/3 innings while walking five batters and striking out six.Matz walked Joe with the bases loaded in the top of the third inning to tie ...

Bulls exec Karnisovas all but slams door on total teardown

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:27 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Arturas Karnisovas just about slammed the door on a total teardown for the Chicago Bulls following a disappointing season.The team’s top basketball executive didn’t completely rule out anything. But he made it clear a complete overhaul is unlikely.“That’s been thrown around all this season,” he said Saturday. “Blow up, rebuild. It’s not on our minds.”The Bulls have some big issues to address after finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference and missing the playoffs. They went 40-42 and won a play-in game at Toronto before getting knocked out at Miami on Friday.For a team that came in thinking it was poised to make a jump in the East and a run in the playoffs, the season was a big letdown.The Bulls were hit by injuries, with point guard Lonzo Ball missing the season because of a knee injury, and never really developed the rhythm they anticipated. It didn’t help that Zach LaVine was slowed by a knee issue early on and that DeMar DeRozan dealt ...

Mbappé, Messi score as PSG beats Lens 3-0 to move 9 clear

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:27 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi scored a goal each as French league leader Paris Saint-Germain profited from a red card to beat second-place Lens 3-1 and move nine points clear of its rival on Saturday.Marseille can go above Lens with a home win against struggling Troyes on Sunday, with seven games left after this weekend’s round.Lens was in complete control until midfielder Salis Abdul Samed was sent off for a reckless challenge on right back Achraf Hakimi in the 19th minute. Mbappé scored his league-leading 20th goal when he took a pass from midfielder Vitinha and turned quickly before hitting a first-time shot into the bottom right corner in the 31st. Vitinha doubled the lead six minutes later with a 25-meter strike into the same corner.Messi then combined in the 40th with Mbappé, who backheeled the ball to the Argentine for a low strike. It was Messi’s 15th league goal.Lens played better than PSG in the second half, despite being a player down. A handball from ...

Kirkwood picks up 1st IndyCar pole with Long Beach run

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:27 GMT

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Kirkwood won the first pole of his IndyCar career on Saturday with a flying fast lap around the downtown streets of Long Beach — giving the series three different pole winners through the first three races of the season.The Andretti Autosport crew erupted in celebration when Kirkwood, a 24-year-old from Jupiter, Florida, returned to his pit stall. He was immediately congratulated by teammate Romain Grosjean and team owner Michael Andretti.Kirkwood, in his second season of IndyCar, will lead the field to green Sunday in the most prestigious street course race in the United States.“I am just ecstatic at the moment,” Kirkwood said. “I couldn’t be happier with this, the third weekend with the team.”Kirkwood was part of the Andretti development system but after winning the Lights championship in 2021 had to leave the organization because it didn’t have an IndyCar seat for him to be promoted. So he spent last year with AJ Foyt Racing until Andret...

Real Madrid wins 2-0 at Cadiz before trip to Chelsea

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:27 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Real Madrid eased to a 2-0 win at Cadiz in the Spanish league on Saturday despite resting several first-choice players ahead of its trip to London to face Chelsea in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.Karim Benzema had already hit the woodwork twice as Cadiz clung to the goalkeeping skills of backup David Gil to stay alive before Nacho Fernández and Marco Asensio broke though with goals in the 72nd and 76th minutes.The win left Madrid 10 points behind Spanish league leader Barcelona, which visits Getafe on Sunday.Madrid visits Stamford Bridge on Tuesday holding a 2-0 lead after its convincing win over Frank Lampard’s team in Spain.Coach Carlo Ancelotti once again rotated his squad after his team’s 2-1 loss to Barcelona last month effectively finished off its Spanish league title defense.Vinícius Júnior and Toni Kroos both stayed in Madrid to recover from what Ancelotti described as minor muscle issues that are not expected to keep them from ...

Georgia unveils English bulldog puppy Boom as new Uga mascot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:27 GMT

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — There will be a new English bulldog puppy roaming the Georgia sideline in the 2023 season.The G-Day spring scrimmage on Saturday marked the transition of Georgia mascots as Uga X, named Que, retired as the winningest mascot in school history. Uga X had a 91-18 record since 2015, including back-to-back national championships the last two seasons. Uga X was 2 years old when he took over as mascot.Another English bulldog puppy, named Boom, was introduced as Uga XI in a “collaring” ceremony before the scrimmage.The line of solid white English bulldog mascots began in 1955.___ AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25Source

Video: Police in New Mexico shoot man after responding to wrong address

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:27 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities in northwestern New Mexico on Friday released body camera footage of police officers opening fire and killing a homeowner after they showed up at the wrong address in response to domestic violence call.The video released by the Farmington Police Department — just over a week after the April 5 nighttime shooting — showed officers arriving at the home. They walked up to the front door, passing the address that was posted on the home and illuminated by an exterior light, knocked on the door and announced themselves.While knocking twice more, the officers can be heard asking a dispatcher to confirm the address and to tell the caller to come to the door. The dispatcher states the address of a home across the street.It was soon after that the homeowner, armed with a handgun, opened the door and the officers immediately began shooting, firing multiple rounds as they backed away. The man can be seen dropping to the ground.About a minute afterwards, a wom...

Sources: Top Trump attorney recused himself from handling Mar-a-Lago case

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:27 GMT

(CNN) — Attorney Evan Corcoran recused himself from representing former President Donald Trump in the special counsel investigation related to the Mar-a-Lago documents given that he testified for investigators, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.Corcoran’s exit, which was first reported by The Washington Post, was an expected development after special counsel Jack Smith’s office forced him to testify without the shield of attorney-client privilege in front of the grand jury and prosecutors accused Trump of using his attorney to advance a crime.Despite recusing himself from the Mar-a-Lago probe weeks ago, Corcoran continues to represent Trump on other matters, including the January 6, 2021, investigation. He appeared in court on behalf of the former president for sealed proceedings related to that part of Smith’s probe just days after his testimony in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.Corcoran could still resume representing Trump in the documents ...