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LA Sparks defeat Griner, Mercury 94-71 in WNBA season opener

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:31 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nneka Ogwumike scored 17 points, rookie Zia Cooke added 14 and the Los Angeles Sparks defeated Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury 94-71 on Friday night in Griner’s first WNBA game since being jailed in Russia.Griner had 18 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots in 25 minutes. She has been free since December when she was part of a high-profile prisoner swap after spending months in a Russian jail.Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February 2022 after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.Cooke shot 5 of 6 from the floor and made both her 3-pointers in her league debut in front of Dawn Staley, her former college coach. Cooke was taken 10th overall by the Sparks in the draft after starring at South Carolina.The Sparks led 54-41 at halftime, having pulled away in the second quarter after what began as a close game.Chiney Ogwumike added 15 points for the Sparks, who had five players in...

Giants rally against Alcantara in 6th, beat Marlins 4-3

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:31 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants scored three runs in the sixth following a throwing error by Miami pitcher Sandy Alcantara, offsetting another big night by the majors’ leading hitter Luis Arraez, and beat the Marlins 4-3 on Friday night.Mitch Haniger had two hits including an RBI double as the Giants won their fourth straight.Bryan De La Cruz homered and drove in three runs for the Marlins. Arraez singled twice, doubled and scored, raising his average to .388 with his 17th multi-hit games this season.Miami manager Skip Schumaker and catcher Jacob Stallings were ejected in the ninth inning after J.D. Davis walked. There was a brief delay as both managers emerged from the dugouts, and all four umpires conferred before Davis was awarded first base.The Marlins were in good shape until San Francisco rallied in the sixth to chase Alcantara, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner.Alcantara walked LaMonte Wade Jr. to open the inning then gave up an infield single to Thair...

Celtics pay price for Williams dust up, Tatum’s cold finish in East finals Game 2 loss

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:31 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Grant Williams poked Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum went cold again in the fourth quarter and the Boston Celtics are staring at a 2-0 deficit in the Eastern Conference finals. Throughout the season, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has trumpeted his team’s ability to respond with angry resilience following poor outings. They showed examples of it each of the previous two playoff rounds, usually buoyed big performances by their two All-Stars in Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Boston couldn’t do it in Friday’s 111-105 Game 2 loss to the Heat that saw Miami confound Tatum with its zone down the stretch. He finished with 34 points and 13 rebounds, but went 0 for 3 in the fourth quarter with two turnovers. He scored his only points in the final 12 minutes on five late free throws. It came after he failed to take a shot in the fourth quarter of Boston’s Game 1 loss.Brown wasn’t much better, making only 1 of his 5 attempts in from the field in fourth with a turnov...

Heat’s Jimmy Butler comes alive after heated exchange with Celtics’ Grant Williams: ‘I like that’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:31 GMT

Grant Williams provided a spark for the Celtics in his return to the rotation on Friday night, but the lasting memory of him in their Game 2 loss to the Heat won’t be fond.Williams poked the bear, and it didn’t end well for the Celtics.The bear was Jimmy Butler, and an incident between the Heat star and Williams helped him will a Miami victory in Boston, sending the Celtics into a 2-0 series hole in the Eastern Conference Finals.The encounter between the two players came midway through the fourth quarter. Williams had just made a 3-pointer over Butler to push the Celtics’ lead to nine. When the two went to run down to the other side of the court, Williams got in his ear with a few words. Then, Butler got the ball matched up with Williams one-on-one, drove and scored over him for a three-point play. Butler then got in Williams’ face, and the two bumped heads in a heated exchange. The two were assessed a double technical foul.“I think he said something and I just responded,” Williams ...

‘A day of joy’: Brittney Griner makes WNBA season debut after being jailed in Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:31 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Brittney Griner stood for the national anthem before her first regular-season WNBA game since being jailed in Russia. Griner was outspoken for social justice in 2020 and didn’t take the court during the pregame anthem. But nearly a year behind bars in Russia changed her.“I was literally in a cage and could not stand the way I wanted to,” she said. “Just being able to hear my national anthem and see my flag, I definitely want to stand.”Griner had 18 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots Friday night for the Phoenix Mercury in a 94-71 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.“Not good enough, didn’t get the dub,” said Griner, who nevertheless couldn’t be down in defeat.“I appreciate everything a little bit more, all of the small moments, like, ‘Oh, I’m so tired I don’t want to go to practice today,’ that has changed, honestly,” she said. “Tomorrow is not guaranteed, you don’t know what it’s going to look like. I feel a lot older somehow, too.”The 32-ye...

Plane believed to be carrying Ukraine’s Zelenskyy lands in Hiroshima for G7 summit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:31 GMT

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — A plane believed to be carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has landed in Hiroshima for global diplomatic talks.Leaders of the world’s most powerful democracies have invited Zelenskyy as the Group of Seven tightens sanctions meant to punish Moscow and change the course of its 15-month invasion of Ukraine.Japan says Zelenskyy’s decision to visit Hiroshima stems from his “strong wish” to participate in talks that will influence his nation’s defense against Russia.U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan says that President Joe Biden and Zelenskyy would have direct engagement at the summit. A day earlier Biden announced his support for training Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, a precursor to eventually providing those aircraft to Ukraine’s Air Force.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Leaders of the world’s most powerful democracies warned China and North Korea against building up their nuclear arsenal...

Nevada Democrats scrap fentanyl bill, amend companion bill to adjust drug penalty proposal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:31 GMT

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — A bill that would enhance fentanyl penalties in Nevada did not pass after a hearing in an Assembly committee, while a companion bill was significantly amended in a last-minute shift for Nevada Democratic leadership’s plans to send fentanyl legislation to the governor’s desk.The amended legislation starts low-level trafficking charges at 28 grams of possession for fentanyl, which was formerly proposed at 4 grams. The alteration came on Friday evening in the Assembly Judiciary Committee, hours before the deadline for most bills to pass out of their second committee.For months, harm reduction experts and some Democrats have warned the legislation starting at 4 grams would repeat “war on drug” policies that criminalized low-level users. Those concerns animated bill hearings and back-door discussion, which were pushed by Democratic leadership but questioned by many rank-and-file Assembly members.Fentanyl trafficking charges in Nevada currently start a...

Venice Architectural Biennale gives overdue voice to long-silenced Africa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:31 GMT

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Scottish-Ghanaian architect Lesley Lokko is giving a platform to voices that have long been silenced at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale, which opens Saturday, the first ever curated by an African, featuring a preponderance of work by Africans and the African diaspora.The 18th architectural Biennale, titled “The Laboratory of the Future,” explores decolonization and decarbonization, topics about which Africans have much to say, Lokko said, citing the long exploitation of the continent for both human and environmental resources.“The Black body was Europe’s first unit of energy,’’ Lokko told The Associated Press this week. “We have had a relationship to resources since time immemorial. We operate at a place where resources are not stable. They are also often fragile. They’re often exploited. Our relationship to them is exploitative.”Lokko tapped global stars like David Adjaye and Theaster Gates among 89 participants in the main show — more than half of the...

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy arrives in Hiroshima for G7 summit as world leaders sanction Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:31 GMT

By FOSTER KLUG, ADAM SCHRECK and ZEKE MILLER (Associated Press)HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy landed Saturday in Hiroshima for diplomatic talks with the leaders of the world’s most powerful democracies who have tightened sanctions meant to punish Moscow and change the course of its 15-month invasion of Ukraine.Japan says Zelenskyy’s decision to visit Hiroshima stems from his “strong wish” to participate in talks that will influence his nation’s defense against Russia.An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity to brief reporters on the deliberations, said Zelenskyy will take part in two separate sessions Sunday. The first session will be with G7 members only and will focus on the war in Ukraine. The second session will include the G7 as well as the other nations invited to take part in the summit, and will focus on “peace and stability.”U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that Presi...

Nuggets Podcast: Breaking down Denver’s 2-0 lead over the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:29:31 GMT

In the latest edition of the Nuggets Ink podcast, beat reporter Mike Singer is joined by sports reporter Bennett Durando to break down the first two games of the Western Conference Finals and preview Game 3 between the Nuggets and Lakers. Among the topics covered:Michael Malone is raising the political spice level against the national “narrative.” The latest domino to fall in Denver’s war on ESPN was Lisa Salters’ comment about not previously covering Nikola Jokic. Mike Singer shares his thoughts on the Nuggets’ fight for “respect,” even with a 2-0 series lead. And on the topic of fighting words, what to make of Bruce Brown’s comments about D’Angelo Russell?Durando and Singer marvel at the timing of Jamal Murray’s electrifying fourth quarter and discuss the importance of Denver’s transition game as the series moves to Los Angeles. Was altitude actually a problem for LeBron James and the Lakers in crunch time of Game 2...