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Chiefs defense dominant while Mahomes and the offense goes through ‘growing pains’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs managed to win the Super Bowl last season thanks primarily to their high-octane offense, which so often outscored opponents when a young but fast-improving defense had trouble slowing them down.Now it’s the defense that is bailing out the offense.While the Chiefs continue to go through what Patrick Mahomes called “growing pains” after Thursday night’s 19-8 win over the Broncos, their defense has quietly become one of the best in the NFL. They held Denver quarterback Russell Wilson to 95 yards passing, the Broncos to 197 yards as a team and did not allow any points until late in the fourth quarter.Asked if his defense could possibly be playing any better, Chiefs coach Andy Reid replied: “Not tonight.”“I thought they did a nice job. The guys played well,” he added. “We’re doing OK.”That’s an understatement.The Chiefs (5-1) already had a top-10 defense coming into the game, and that ranking could well improve after ...

Scherzer and Gray added to ALCS roster as Rangers starters against Astros

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas Rangers starters Max Scherzer and Jon Gray were included on the roster for the AL Championship Series against the Houston Astros starting Sunday night.Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, has been out since Sept. 12 because of a muscle strain in his shoulder.Scherzer, who was traded from the Mets this summer, said he was “ready to go” after throwing a bullpen session and doing fielding drills Friday.Gray returns after last playing for the Rangers on Sept. 25. He had been dealing with tightness in his right wrist.For the Astros, their only change from the Division Series was replacing outfielder Jake Meyers with right-handed reliever Ronel Blanco. Manager Dusty Baker announced Saturday that reliever Kendall Graveman would not be on the roster as he continues to deal with discomfort in his right shoulder.To make room for Scherzer and Gray, the Rangers removed left-hander Brock Burke and right-hander Matt Bush from the roster.Scherzer is 7-7 with a 3.58 ER...

Blinken warned US lawmakers Azerbaijan may invade Armenia in coming weeks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned a small group of American lawmakers last week that his department is tracking the possibility that Azerbaijan could soon invade Armenia, according to two people familiar with the conversation.The call indicates the depth of concern in the administration about Azerbaijan’s operations against a breakaway region in the west of the country and the possibility of the conflict spreading.Azerbaijiani President Ilham Aliyev has previously called on Armenia to open a “corridor” along its southern border, linking mainland Azerbaijan to an exclave that borders Turkey and Iran. Aliyev has threatened to solve the issue “by force.”In an Oct. 3 phone call, lawmakers pressed Blinken on possible measures against Aliyev in response to his country’s invasion of the Nagorno-Karabakh region in September, the people said, who were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive call.Blinken responded that the State Department was looking at avenues to hold Az...

Ravens nearly fully healthy and with just five inactive players for Titans showdown in London

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

The Ravens enter Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as healthy as they have been since the start of the season with just one player (outside linebacker David Ojabo) listed as out, and that is reflected in their list of inactive players as well.Baltimore has just five players inactive: cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis, guard Sala Aumavae-Laulu, tackle Daniel Faalele, outside linebacker Odafe Oweh and quarterback Josh Johnson, who is the third/emergency quarterback.With rookie running back Keaton Mitchell not among the inactives as expected, that means the popular undrafted free agent out of East Carolina will be making his NFL debut. He is behind Justice Hill and Gus Edwards in the pecking order, but it’s likely he’ll see snaps on special teams after being activated from injured reserve Saturday.The speedy Mitchell had missed the first five games of the season after suffering a shoulder injury in the Ravens’ second preseas...

Man stabbed at Mass and Cass area shelter, police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

One man was injured and another arrested after a stabbing at a Southampton Street shelter in the Mass and Cass area at the center of the city’s addiction crisis.Boston police report responding to the shelter at 112 Southampton Street at 9:44 p.m. Saturday for a report of a stabbing. The victim suffered injuries to his arm and shoulder and is expected to survive, according to police.Arrested was Alexander Aulet, 40 of Fitchburg. Aulet is being charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He’s expected to be arraigned at Roxbury District Court.The Southampton Street  shelter is operated by the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program.

Ravens hold on to beat Titans, 24-16, in London behind Justin Tucker’s 6 field goals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

In a country known for soccer, it was fitting that the Ravens did their share of kicking Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.It was also needed.With their offense moving down the field at will for much of the afternoon against the Tennessee Titans but struggling to find the end zone, the Ravens (4-2) relied on the right leg of Justin Tucker. The most accurate kicker in NFL history, Tucker delivered, converting on all six field goal attempts to lift the Ravens to a 24-16 win.It was Tucker’s second career game with six field goals. He converted on kicks of 41, 28, 23, 29, 20 and 36 yards.The Ravens’ lone touchdown came on a 10-yard pass from quarterback Lamar Jackson to Zay Flowers in the second quarter. It was the first career touchdown for the rookie first-round draft pick, and it helped give the Ravens an 18-3 lead at the half.They nearly squandered it over the final 30 minutes.Leading 18-6 midway through the third quarter and with the ball on their own 26-yard line, ...

VIDEO: Los Angeles Clippers practice in San Diego County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

PALA, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Clippers scuffed up a San Diego County basketball court for an away practice on Saturday.The team worked out and practiced in front of an audience of about 100 fans at the Pechanga Indian Reservation’s recreation center in Pala, a spokesperson for Pechanga Resort Casino told FOX 5. As it turns out, the resort is a supporting partner and official Native American casino sponsor of the LA Clippers. NWSL Decision Day: San Diego Wave FC takes on Racing Louisville FC One fan in attendance, Darius Jackson, said the event was like "inviting superstars to your home." He explained how motivational it was for his kids and others in the community to see NBA professionals on the same court they play on every week."Being a young 23-year-old and seeing these guys out here, someone that I watch on TV that I play a video game of -- everyday basketball is just in my life consistently," said Jackson. "To see this up close is just a mind-blowing experience, it's a life...

Global Affairs confirms death of fifth Canadian in Israel after Hamas attacks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

OTTAWA — Global Affairs Canada has confirmed the death of a fifth Canadian in Israel after a series of attacks by Hamas militants near the border with the Gaza Strip.Three other Canadians who were in Israel when the attacks happened last Saturday are still missing, officials said Sunday. Global Affairs did not provide details of the fifth person who died or those who are missing, citing privacy reasons. “We are very focused on addressing the cases of the three missing persons, who we continue to try to locate and bring back to safety in Canada,” Julie Sunday, an assistant deputy minister with Global Affairs Canada, said at a media briefing in Ottawa. Canada considers Hamas a terrorist group, and Canadian leaders have decried the violence it waged last week near the Palestinian territory.The government is still working to get up to 300 Canadians and their relatives out of the 365-square-kilometre coastal stretch, Sunday said, as Israel gears up for an expected ground inva...

Israeli rabbis work around the clock — even on the Sabbath — to count the dead from Hamas attack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

SITRIYA, Israel (AP) — Rarely do rabbis spend the Sabbath counting bodies. But on Saturday, a week after Hamas militants blew easily past Israel’s fortified security fence and gunned down hundreds of Israelis — at music festivals, in their homes, in cars while trying to flee — Israel’s military rabbinate made an exception.At Shura military base in central Israel, bodies have been coming in faster than the rabbis can identify them. Hundreds of soldiers, women, and children in body bags line shelves of refrigerated trucks, awaiting examination. Identification teams gather on plastic stools opposite the trucks to take smoke breaks between shifts. They wear heavy gas masks — the smell of death is overwhelming.“Generally, Jewish law says that you cannot break the Sabbath for a dead person,” said Rabbi Israel Weiss, who is helping lead the operation. “The exception is when a family is in doubt, and the death is so crippling that it may risk the family’s lives. Then, you must work on the S...

Egypt’s leader criticizes Israel’s Gaza operation as the top US diplomat extends his Mideast mission

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:48 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s president criticized Israel’s military operation in Gaza in a stern pushback Sunday to the United States as America’s top diplomat extended his frenetic travels across the Mideast trying to prevent the war with Hamas from igniting a broader regional conflict.With an Israeli ground offensive looming, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed in some of his strongest language to date that Washington would stand with Israel “today, tomorrow and every day” in a partnership of shared democratic values, but that Israel must take “every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians.” He leveled no direct public criticism of Israel or its bombing campaign that has killed civilians in Gaza.From Cairo, where President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi conveyed his criticism, Blinken went to Jordan and planned to return to Israel on Monday, carrying to Israeli leaders the feedback he received in a rush of meetings with leaders throughout the Arab world.His second ...