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Joe Mazzulla has Celtics’ trust as he approaches his first postseason as a head coach

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:13 GMT

When the Celtics suspended Ime Udoka on the eve of training camp, Brad Stevens trusted Joe Mazzulla enough to take over as the team’s interim head coach despite his inexperience and an organization going through uncertainty.In February, that confidence continued to carry through as Stevens took the interim tag off Mazzulla and gave him a contract extension.Now comes the true test of Stevens’ faith in Mazzulla, who will coach his first career playoff game when the Celtics open the first round at home on Saturday against either the Heat or Hawks. Mazzulla guided a successful regular season for the Celtics, who finished with 57 wins and the No. 2 seed. But the playoffs – and coaching a team with championship-or-bust aspirations – presents a different, more complicated challenge.Stevens’ confidence isn’t wavering based on the circumstances, though. Asked Sunday if Stevens, the Celtics’ former head coach, will communicate with Mazzulla more as the playoffs begin, he pushed back.“We talk ...

Tua Tagovailoa excited about Dolphins’ offseason, talks progress in workouts at charity luau event

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:13 GMT

There’s an abundance of excitement surrounding the Miami Dolphins in the midst of an offseason where, among other acquisitions, they brought in coveted defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and star cornerback Jalen Ramsey as they come off their first playoff appearance in six years.Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is certainly feeling the organization taking another step as he heads into a fourth season and second under coach Mike McDaniel and his offense.“I’m very excited,” a cheerful Tagovailoa said while sporting a new mustache at his second-annual “Luau with Tua” event, benefitting his foundation Monday evening at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood.“I think our entire team is excited to get back out there, get to meet a lot of the newer guys. A lot of the newer guys getting to meet a lot of the guys that have been in this system for a whole year now.”Tagovailoa, listed at 6 foot 1, 217 pounds last season, has noticeably gained muscl...

Boston honors the legacy of Mel King at City Hall wreath laying ceremony

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:13 GMT

Mayor Michelle Wu, city officials and Bostonians gathered on the steps of City Hall on Monday morning to lay a wreath to honor the legacy of civil rights activist and icon Mel King.“His legacy touched us all,” Mariama White-Hammond, Boston’s Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space, said opening the ceremony. “City Hall, this crowd would not look like it does if it were not for the legacy of Mel King. So many of us stand here knowing that we stand on the shoulders of a giant.”Speakers from the city government referenced his mark on the city, including the Tent City affordable housing development he championed, the South End Technology Center in Tent City he established, his historic campaign as the first Black man on the mayoral ballot in 1983 and much more. King passed at age 94 on March 28.Wu also signed a proclamation naming April 11, 2023, as a day of remembrance for his legacy.People also gathered for a visitation at Union United Methodist Chur...

CONCACAF Gold Cup match to be played at Snapdragon Stadium

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:13 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Snapdragon Stadium will serve as a first-time host for a popular soccer event this summer, officials said.The 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup, a men's professional soccer tournament between June 16 - July 16, will hold a match at the new San Diego stadium, Snapdragon announced in a release Monday. It features teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean. “The Concacaf Gold Cup is our flagship competition and showcases the very best of men’s national team football in the region," said Victor Montagliani, Concacaf president and FIFA vice president. "With each passing edition, this competition has reached new heights on and off the pitch and I am certain the 2023 tournament will deliver outstanding football, and capture the imagination of fans across our confederation and beyond.“ Cold temperatures, strong winds in store for San Diego County Games will be played at 15 stadiums in 14 U.S. and Canadian metropolitan areas, including the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final on July 16...

Lawmakers pass gun control, pot bills as session nears end

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:13 GMT

HANNAPES, France — Maryland lawmakers neared a midnight deadline on Monday to end a legislative session that included passage of measures on gun control, abortion rights, a licensing and taxation framework to open a recreational marijuana market, and a plan to boost offshore wind development goals.After a long debate, the Maryland General Assembly passed a bill Monday that would prevent someone from carrying a concealed handgun in certain areas. The measure would prohibit people with permits to carry concealed handguns in sensitive areas like school playgrounds, hospitals or polling locations. “The goal that we have in passing this bill is not to chip away at Second Amendment rights, as hard as it may be for some minority party members to believe. It’s to reduce gun violence of all kinds, gang violence, mass shootings, self-inflicted gunshots,” said Del. Marc Korman, a Montgomery County Democrat who is the House majority leader. But opponents said it violated Second Amendment ...

North Korean leader vows ‘offensive’ nuclear expansion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:13 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to enhance his nuclear arsenal in more “practical and offensive” ways as he met with senior military officials to discuss the country’s war preparations in the face of his rivals’ “frantic” military exercises, state media said Tuesday.The meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission on Monday came amid heightened tensions as the pace of both the North Korean weapons demonstrations and the U.S.-South Korean joint military drills have intensified in recent weeks in a cycle of tit-for-tat.North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said the commission’s members discussed unspecified issues related to strengthening defense capacities and perfecting war preparations to counter the threat posed by the allies’ drills, which the North portrays as invasion rehearsals. Kim reviewed the country’s frontline attack plans and various combat documents and stressed the need to bolster his nuclear deter...

Leaked US intel: Russia operatives claimed new ties with UAE

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. spies caught Russian intelligence officers boasting that they had convinced the oil-rich United Arab Emirates “to work together against US and UK intelligence agencies,” according to a purported American document posted online as part of a major U.S. intelligence breach.U.S. officials declined to comment on the document, which bore known top-secret markings and was viewed by The Associated Press. The Emirati government on Monday dismissed any accusation that the UAE had deepened ties with Russian intelligence as “categorically false.” But the U.S. has had growing concerns that the UAE was allowing Russia and Russians to thwart sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine.The document viewed by the AP includes an item citing research from March 9 with the title: “Russia/UAE: Intelligence Relationship Deepening.” U.S. officials declined to confirm the document’s authenticity, which the AP could not independently do. However, it resembled other documents ...

Canadian Laeticia Amihere drafted 8th overall in 2023 WNBA draft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:13 GMT

It’s a moment basketball players dream of from a young age — hearing their name called during the WNBA draft.On Monday night the draft was held in New York City where Mississauga’s Laeticia Amihere heard her name called 8th overall. The six-foot-four power forward was picked by the Atlanta Dream.Welcome to the Dream @_Theblackqueen_ ! ???? pic.twitter.com/r7G0VO8ECX— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) April 10, 2023“We went through so much this year,” Amihere said on the ESPN broadcast after being drafted on being able to share the moment with her family. “Just to be able to check a win off of that column, I am just so excited to be here.”Amihere, who is in her last year of college at South Carolina, averaged a career-best 7.1 points, along with 3.4 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 15.9 minutes across 36 games this season. Her team lost in the Final Four this year but last season she came off the bench for South Carolina and helped them win the national title.“You come to a gre...

Minnesota college student charged after cache found in dorm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:13 GMT

NORTHFIELD, Minn. (AP) — A student at a private southeastern Minnesota college faces multiple counts after authorities found several items in his dorm room that school officials believed posed a threat — including knives, a tactical vest and empty ammunition and magazine boxes — according to charges filed Monday.St. Olaf College student Waylon Kurts, 20, was charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree assault and conspiracy to commit threats of violence, among other counts.According to the charges, the items found in Kurts’ dorm room included a tactical vest, empty boxes for ammunition and magazines, a tactical knife, a folding knife, firearm earmuffs, six propane canisters, fireworks, lighter fluid, a battery with wires and a lock pick set. Police also confiscated notebooks with writings that included a plot to steal ammunition from a retailer, police radio frequencies and a hand-drawn map of the recreational facility on campus, the Star Tribune reported. The map include ...

Boston heads to Fever as No. 1 pick in WNBA draft; Canadian Amihere picked eighth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:13 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Aliyah Boston was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on Monday night, going to the Indiana Fever.It’s the first time that the Fever have had the top choice in the draft, and they chose the South Carolina star. Boston, a three-time Associated Press all-American who also was the Player of the Year as a junior, will solidify the post for Indiana. “It’s really special, I’m thankful to God for putting me in this position,” said the 21-year-old Boston, from the U.S. Virgin Islands. “Everyone in Indiana, they saw something in me, I’m ready to get there and get to work.”The Fever had the worst record in the league last season, going 5-31.“Aliyah Boston will have an immediate impact on our franchise on and off the court,” Fever GM Lin Dunn said. ‘We are excited to pair her with Kelsey (Mitchell) and NaLyssa (Smith) as we reload the Indiana Fever. We are very impressed with Aliyah’s post skills as well as her natural leadership skills. This a great day for our ...