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As trade deadline looms, Oakland A’s right-hander shines at Coors Field

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:54:43 GMT

The Oakland A’s are having a mostly miserable season but do have some players playoff-contending teams might be interested in acquiring prior to Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline.One could be right-handed starting pitcher Paul Blackburn.Backed by a suddenly potent offense, Blackburn on Saturday allowed two earned runs over six innings to help the Athletics earn an 11-3 win over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.“Paul did a great job tonight. It’s probably the best we’ve seen him,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “In this field, you’re going to scatter some hits and it’s just about limiting the damage, and I thought he did a great job in six innings.“After the fifth, I thought he was a little gassed. I talked to him and he wanted the sixth inning, and he went out there and showed why.”Making his 11th start this season, Blackburn (2-2) gave up nine hits in a 106-pitch, six-inning outing for Oakland. He struck out seven and walked none.“Tonight, we moved the ball wel...

Pockets of passionate fans in Australia not fully tied to Matildas’ fate at the Women’s World Cup

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:54:43 GMT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — When Nigeria scored its third goal in the Women’s World Cup match that now has co-host Australia on the brink of elimination, the hundreds of Matildas fans watching on a giant screen in Melbourne’s Federation Square sent up a chorus of groans.In the sea of yellow and green jerseys, though, a few spectators cheered and exchanged high-fives.“You can see the joy all over here,” Nigeria fan Juwon Fayomi said.The Matildas’ 3-2 loss to Nigeria sent the tournament co-hosts into a must-win group-stage finale against Olympic champion Canada on Monday in Melbourne. So there’s a chance Australia could be knocked out in the group stage of the Women’s World Cup, a fate that no host country endured in the first eight editions.That undoubtedly could dampen some local enthusiasm. But because of Australia’s unique migration history, pockets of passionate fans still will be heavily invested in the Women’s World Cup matches.Almost one-third of Australians are fo...

Rangers agree to acquire Scherzer while losing 4-0 to Padres, their 6th loss in 8 games

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:54:43 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The slumping Texas Rangers agreed to acquire three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer on Saturday night during a 4-0 loss to Yu Darvish and the San Diego Padres, their sixth loss in eight games cutting their AL West lead to one game over Houston.The blockbuster trade with the New York Mets came as Rangers ace Nathan Eovaldi had his next start pushed back again and manager Bruce Bochy spoke of the need for the rotation to improve. Then Martín Pérez gave up four runs in the second inning, when the 32-year-old left-hander allowed five straight baserunners and two runs before getting his first out.The Rangers will add the 39-year-old Scherzer with another former Mets pitcher with Cy Young credentials, two-time winner Jacob deGrom, sidelined by Tommy John elbow surgery, possibly all the way through the end of next season. A person with knowledge of the deal spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been announced.“There’s ...

Crawford unifies welterweight division with 9th-round TKO in dominant performance over Spence

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:54:43 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The fight itself didn’t match the hype, but Terence Crawford’s performance exceeded it.He knocked down Errol Spence Jr. three times Saturday night before finally ending the fight at 2:32 of the ninth round on a technical knockout to cement himself as one of the greatest welterweights in history.The fight, the most-anticipated boxing match in several years, made Crawford the first undisputed champion in the 147-pound division in the four-belt era that began in 2004.Crawford (40-0, 31 knockouts) already owned the WBO belt, and took the WBC, WBA and IBF titles from Spence (28-1). Crawford also ran his KO streak to 11 matches, the second-longest active stretch.Crawford, 35, has won titles at super lightweight and lightweight in addition to welterweight, capturing the latter after moving up in 2018. The Omaha, Nebraska, fighter became the first male boxer to become the undisputed champion in two divisions in the four-belt era.“I only dreamed of being a world ...

Megan Rapinoe adjusts to new role at Women’s World Cup while still savoring final days in spotlight

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:54:43 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Megan Rapinoe is adjusting to her new role at the Women’s World Cup, even if it means she’s not on the field as much as she’d like to be. The outspoken 38-year-old known for her eclectic hair colors and the iconic victory pose she struck at the 2019 World Cup is the oldest player on the team. She already announced that her fourth World Cup would be her last. “Ultimately, we’re at the World Cup. This is where everybody wants to be, whether you’re playing 90 minutes, whether you’re a game changer, whatever,” she said Sunday. “I think it’s a lot similar to what I thought it would be — bringing all the experience that I can, all the experience that I have, and ultimately being ready whenever my number is called up.”Rapinoe has played limited minutes so far, coming in as a substitute in the 3-0 victory over Vietnam in the tournament opener, which was her 200th career appearance for the team. She was availa...

Ucrania traslada la Navidad al 25 de diciembre, alejándose de la tradición rusa

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:54:43 GMT

(CNN) — Ucrania aprobó una legislación que traslada su feriado oficial de Navidad al 25 de diciembre, distanciándose aún más de las tradiciones de la Iglesia Ortodoxa Rusa alineada con Putin, que celebra el feriado el 7 de enero.El proyecto de ley fue aprobado por el parlamento de Ucrania a principios de este mes. El presidente Volodymyr Zelensky lo convirtió en ley este viernes.Los patrocinadores de la legislación dijeron que su aprobación ayudaría a Ucrania a “abandonar la herencia rusa de imponer la celebración de la Navidad el 7 de enero” y ayudaría a los ucranianos a “vivir su propia vida con sus propias tradiciones (y) festividades”.Ucrania y Rusia son países mayoritariamente ortodoxos, pero desde que Rusia se anexionó ilegalmente Crimea y comenzó a apoyar a los separatistas en la región oriental de Donbas en Ucrania en 2014, una gran parte de la comunidad ortodoxa de Ucrania se ha mudado de Moscú.La guerra de Rusia en Ucrania aceleró aún más la división entre las dos ra...

Gaethje knocks out Poirier in second round to win UFC 291 lightweight bout

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:54:43 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Justin Gaethje knocked out Dustin Poirier with a head kick one minute into the second round to win the main event lightweight bout at UFC 291 on Saturday night.The third-ranked Gaethje (26-4) celebrated his victory by climbing to the top of the Octagon fence and doing a backflip off it. His perfectly timed headshot helped him avenge a loss to Poirier in 2018 when he suffered a fourth-round technical knockout via strikes. It was Gaethje’s 20th win by knockout or TKO and his seventh victory in his last nine fights.Second-ranked Poirier (29-8) entered the rematch between the two former interim lightweight champions as a minus-152 favorite according to FanDuel. He matched Gaethje blow for blow in the first round before being quickly dispatched in the second. With the victory, Gaethje claimed a BMF belt – the second UFC fighter to be awarded that belt.Beating Poirier opens the door for Gaethje to have a potential title bout against the winner of Islam Makhache...

Some of soccer’s biggest stars are struggling to make an impact at the Women’s World Cup

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:54:43 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Some of the biggest names in soccer have yet to show up at the Women’s World Cup. That’s literally been the case of Australian star Sam Kerr, who missed the first two games with a calf injury. Kerr has recovered in time to play for Australia in a crucial final Group B game against Canada on Monday. The Matildas need to beat the Canadians to ensure they advance to the knockout round, and the Chelsea striker’s return to the lineup brings needed energy to the team. “Mentally, it’s massive. It brings so much to our team and obviously also a lot to the opposition knowing that we have Sam available for this game,” Australia defender Ellie Carpenter said.Kerr’s injury on the eve of Australia’s opening game against Ireland set the tone for a tournament that hasn’t been kind to some of its biggest stars. She was the face of co-host Australia’s preparations for the tournament, which is also being staged in New Zealand. She dominated the ...

Mets follow up Max Scherzer trade with ugly loss to Nationals

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:54:43 GMT

Boos rained down early and often Saturday night at Citi Field, where the Mets followed up their trade of ace Max Scherzer with a punchless performance against the last-place Nationals.Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco surrendered eight runs — including four in the first inning — in his latest ugly outing, failing to get through three innings in New York’s 11-6 loss.A throwing error by Mets rookie third baseman Mark Vientos on the first play of the game set the tone, and a barrage of hits by the Nationals followed. Joey Meneses recorded an RBI single, ex-Met Dominic Smith added a two-run knock and Stone Garrett lifted a sacrifice fly to account for the first-inning offense.The booing started during that opening frame and grew louder with every Washington run. The contentious crowd let Carrasco especially hear it after a two-run double by Riley Adams knocked the 36-year-old pitcher out of the game with the Mets trailing 8-1.Six of the eight runs against Carrasco (3-5) wer...

African leaders leave Russia summit without grain deal or a path to end the war in Ukraine

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:54:43 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — African leaders are leaving two days of meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin with little to show for their requests to resume a deal that kept grain flowing from Ukraine and to find a path to end the war there.Putin in a press conference late Saturday following the Russia-Africa summit said Russia’s termination of the grain deal earlier this month caused a rise in grain prices that benefits Russian companies. He added that Moscow would share some of those revenues with the “poorest nations.”That commitment, with no details, follows Putin’s promise to start shipping 25,000 to 50,000 tons of grain for free to each of six African nations in the next three to four months — an amount dwarfed by the 725,000 tons shipped by the U.N. World Food Program to several hungry countries, African and otherwise, under the grain deal. Russia plans to send the free grain to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and Central African Republic.Fewer than 20 of Afri...