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The buzz around Simone Biles’ return is papable. The gymnastics star seems intent on tuning it out

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL (AP) — Ignore the wedding band and it could have been 2019 for Simone Biles. Or 2016. Or 2014.Long before Tokyo. Long before the “twisties.” Long before two years off in which the gymnastics star took a step back, took a long look at the arc of her record-setting career and decided she wasn’t done. Not quite yet.There she was walking onto the floor at NOW Arena on Friday on the eve of the U.S. Classic, her first meet since winning bronze on balance beam at the delayed 2020 Olympics, a medal she called among the sweetest she’s ever earned.There she was laughing with her teammates. There she was running and stretching and flipping — and yes, occasionally twisting — with the casual ease she summoned so regularly when the seven-time Olympic medalist was at her peak.Those heady days may be over. Biles is 26 now and at a different place in her life. She married Green Bay Packers defensive back Jonathan Owens in April. Her Instagram feed is filled with...

College sports realignment, always chaotic, gets another spin as Pac-12 dwindles

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

College sports in the U.S. has seen scores of schools change conference affiliation over the past century, but the pace has quickened over the past three decades. It is no longer a surprise to see storied programs leave their longtime conference home in search of more stability and more revenue in the college athletics arms race. A look at football membership in the Power Five and the Group of Five, largely dating to the launch of the Big 12 in 1996:ACC1996 (9): Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Wake Forest, Virginia.2023 (14): Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake ForestBIG TEN1996 (11): Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin.2023 (14): Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, N...

Top-seeded Pegula beats Svitolina in 3 sets to reach the DC Open quarterfinals

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top-seeded Jessica Pegula reached the DC Open semifinals by coming back to edge Elina Svitolina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 across more than two hours on Friday.Pegula saved six break points in the third set — five at 3-2, and the last while serving out the victory in the final game.Svitolina, who returned to the tour in April after having a baby in October, was coming off a semifinal run last month at Wimbledon, where she eliminated No. 1 Iga Swiatek.Pegula is a 29-year-old American who won the hard-court tournament in the nation’s capital in 2019 for one of her two WTA singles titles and claimed the doubles trophy in Washington last year. The six-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist will face No. 4 seed Maria Sakkari or No. 7 seed Madison Keys in the semifinals.Sakkari advanced to the quarterfinals by winning her rain-postponed fourth-round match against 2021 U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez 7-5, 6-2 earlier Friday.The other women’s quarterfinals: Coco Gauff vs. Bel...

Big Ten presidents’ council votes to admit Oregon and Washington in August 2024, a crushing blow to Pac-12 Conference

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Big Ten presidents’ council votes to admit Oregon and Washington in August 2024, a crushing blow to Pac-12 Conference.Source

Wolff responds with his clubs for a 61 to lead LIV Golf at Greenbrier

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (AP) — Matthew Wolff finally put some attention on his golf game Friday when he got off to a torrid start and then had three late birdies for a 9-under 61, giving him a two-shot lead after the opening round of LIV Golf Greenbrier.David Puig and Harold Varner III each had a 63 on the Old White course, which previously had a nine-year run hosting a PGA Tour event.Wolff was criticized last month by his Smash captain, Brooks Koepka, who accused him in a Sports Illustrated interview of quitting during rounds and not putting in the effort. Koepka referred to Wolff as “talent wasted.” Wolff issued a statement saying he is making progress on his mental health issues and that it was heartbreaking to hear his team captain use the media to say he had given up on Wolff.The former Oklahoma State star had no issues on the golf course. He was 6-under par through his opening seven holes, including an eagle on the par-5 12th. And then Wolff closed with three birdies over...

What does research say about minimum age gun laws?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Studies suggest Colorado's recent minimum age requirement may not have a big impact on homicides. Colorado's new minimum age requirement for handgun purchases will begin on Aug. 7. The new law raises the legal age to purchase a handgun from 18 to 21. Signed by Gov. Jared Polis in April, the law brings Colorado in line with 21 other states. Existing federal law required the same minimum age for handgun purchases, but a federal judge in Virginia ruled the law unconstitutional in May. The Rocky Mountain Gun Owners have challenged the Colorado law. Homeless camp cleared out, but where will they go now? Lawmakers aim to stop gun violence in the 18 to 20-year-old age group with the new law. The hope is fewer 18 to 20-year-olds will commit violent gun crimes if they are barred from legal purchases. Studies from the University of Washington and RAND Corporation, though, say states with minimum age handgun possession laws don't see a significant drop in gun violence amon...

Bodycam video shows police apprehending suspected truck thief who crashed into Miami home

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

Never-before-seen police body camera video shows a new view of a suspected thief who was trapped inside a stolen moving truck that crashed into a home in Miami.The footage captured a chaotic scene in the aftermath of the Feb. 14 crash along the 600 block of Northwest 18th Avenue.“The victims are on the scene, and the offender is still in the truck, and we’re working on getting him out,” a first responder is heard saying in radio transmissions.“What happened?” a witness is heard asking in Spanish.“Only two patients!” a paramedic is heard saying.According to City of Miami Police, the wounded man seen in the video looking disoriented and trapped inside the truck had just stolen it from a business down the street.Seconds later, investigators said, the suspect lost control and plowed into a home with a mother and baby inside. Fortunately, neither were hurt.First responders also kept an eye on the unsafe structure that was the home along Northwest...

Mets skipper Buck Showalter returns to Baltimore for first time since Orioles run ended

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

BALTIMORE — Pickles Pub was once the place where Baltimore Orioles fans drowned their sorrows. There were years when fans didn’t even go through the gates of Camden Yards, instead preferring to stay at the rowdy bar and play beer pong. Some of those games were probably more competitive than the Orioles games that were projected on the wall of the notorious Inner Harbor watering hole.But then Buck Showalter came to town and the fate of Baltimore’s beloved O’s changed. Showalter was hired in the middle of 2010 with the Orioles coming off four straight seasons with 90 or more losses and heading toward a fifth. Two years later, Baltimore was once again a postseason team.So, when Showalter, who became as revered a figure in the Charm City as Earl Weaver and John Harbaugh, decided he wanted to surprise fans he knew exactly where to go.“My kids were kidding with me, they said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if you just walked in there the day before the pla...

Gillette Stadium’s new massive jumbotron officially lights up ahead of Patriots preseason

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

For half of a minute, it didn’t seem like the new massive jumbotron at Gillette Stadium would offer that much more than the old one, other than two large black screens surrounding the video display.And then the system updated …Clips showing highlights from past Patriots and Revolution games, stadium events, and destinations across New England, filled the 22,200-square-foot video board, the largest jumbotron at an outdoor stadium in the country.Stadium officials turned on the video board in the north end zone for the first time Friday afternoon, hours before the Patriots practiced in front of season ticket holders.“This new video board is the centerpiece of the $250 million investment we are making to transform Gillette Stadium,” Kraft Sports and Entertainment Chief Operating Officer Jim Nolan told employees from Kraft-owned companies who gathered to see the jumbotron’s sparkling debut.The curved board measures 370 feet by 60 feet, equating to 22,000 square feet and nearly half of an...

Massachusetts appropriates $1M for alternative program or nonviolent offenders from Mass and Cass

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:34:50 GMT

Lawmakers are making a move to tackle the Mass and Cass problem by putting $1 million toward alternative treatment to get nonviolent offenders clean and out of the encampment at the center of the region’s opioid crisis.“We’re extremely grateful that the Legislature has recognized the value of this program and the extreme urgency of addressing the complex problems at Mass and Cass,” said Suffolk District Attorney’s Office chief spokesman James Borghesani.The $56.2 billion state budget, passed on the last day of July, is awaiting Gov. Maura Healey’s signature.The million dollars is found on page 23 of the nearly 400-page state budget. This section outlines an appropriation just shy of $1.5 million toward “the implementation and administration of drug diversion programs for nonviolent young adult drug offenders,” with the bulk of the funds intended directly for a program run in Suffolk County.“Not less than $1,000,000 shall be expended for the Services Over Sentences program to address...