HBCU Swingman Classic, part of MLB’s All-Star Game, draws Coppin State and Maryland-Eastern Shore players

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:55 GMT

HBCU Swingman Classic, part of MLB’s All-Star Game, draws Coppin State and Maryland-Eastern Shore players Ken Griffey Jr.’s legacy is deep and widespread, and it’s not limited to baseball.Case in point: Maryland-Eastern Shore graduate student outfielder Brantley Cutler said one of his most vivid memories of Griffey is not from his playing days with the Seattle Mariners, but the 13-time All-Star’s role in the film “Little Big League.” In the 1994 movie, one of the main characters hit a long fly ball to center field before Griffey made a leaping catch at the wall to take away a potential home run.“That’s when I first got introduced to Ken Griffey Jr., and I started to look into his career and saw how cool a guy he was and that kind of stuff,” Cutler said. “So I didn’t necessarily grow up watching him, but I could see that he had a really big impact on the game.”Griffey continues to have an effect on baseball and those who play in college. The Hall of Famer and Major League Baseball/MLB Players Association Youth Development ...

Column: With breakups in life and in sports, ‘it’s not what you do but how you do it’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:55 GMT

Column: With breakups in life and in sports, ‘it’s not what you do but how you do it’ Breakups happen to the best of us. Different kinds of ‘ships — relationships, situationships, friendships, championship teams — eventually come to an end. But when that end catches us off guard, we’re left with a lot of questions.Saturday, James Wade left the Chicago Sky for another opportunity. The announcement came on the heels of the Sky ending a six-game skid. A team in the middle of a rebuild with Wade at the helm was suddenly without its captain.My elders used to say, “It’s not what you say but how you say it.” And in this case we can add, “It’s not what you do but how you do it.”With Wade’s departure, the team isn’t searching to fill just one role — it has to fill two. The 2022 WNBA Executive of the Year was the head coach and general manager, the last such dual role remaining in either the NBA or WNBA. Emre Vatansever, an assistant with the Sky since 2017, will serve as head coach and GM for the re...

Bronco Sport Heritage explores the good ole’ days

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:55 GMT

Bronco Sport Heritage explores the good ole’ days It’s always Heritage Day in Ford’s lineup as the recent revitalization of the Maverick, Ranger and Bronco continue to be a profitable driver for the Ford Motor Co. As the Bronco Sport continues to find its own revitalization in the line-up, it has a lot going for it. Price, Size, fuel mileage, and now… Color!Similar to a 70’s style Ford Bronco in Robin’s Egg Blue, our 2023 Ford Bronco Sport Heritage Limited tester was an eye catcher. Fresh out of the 70’s, the white off-setting wheels and grille fascia’s were all the craze as the Bronco Sport Heritage showed out nicely. As an original Bronco color option in the 1970’s, the Heritage of Robin’s Egg Blue color option and white wheels and red badging are sure to be the talk of the town.The Heritage Edition offers an array of other features as well. Offsetting the historic exterior, is the beautiful interior. Wrapped in a saddle brown plaid leather, the seats are very, very comfortable. Tons of head room ride height excellenc...

Battenfeld: Maura Healey seeks national exposure, leaving crises at home to others

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:55 GMT

Battenfeld: Maura Healey seeks national exposure, leaving crises at home to others With the Sumner Tunnel closed and the MBTA in perpetual crisis, Gov. Maura Healey seems more interested in burnishing her national credentials than attending to problems at home.Healey, one of the first openly lesbian governors in the nation, spent a week in Ireland celebrating LGBTQ rights — positioning herself as one of the prominent leaders on that issue in the country.Even though she’s just in the first year of her term, Healey may already be getting tired of dealing with state issues like a late budget and legislative gridlock on tax relief.What could be in Healey’s future in the next few years is still unclear but running for a second term seems far, far away and less and less likely.Instead Healey could be waiting for a national appointment to the Biden administration or a U.S. Senate seat to open up.If Joe Biden doesn’t run again that would likely lead to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren mounting another presidential campaign that could take her out of her Senate seat. You’l...

2 New Jersey firefighters died battling a blaze deep in a ship carrying 5,000 cars

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:55 GMT

2 New Jersey firefighters died battling a blaze deep in a ship carrying 5,000 cars NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Two firefighters were killed battling a blaze that began when cars caught fire deep inside a cargo ship carrying 5,000 cars at a New Jersey port, Newark’s fire chief said Thursday. Responding firefighters found five to seven vehicles already on fire when they reached the 10th floor of the cargo ship at Port Newark around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night. The blaze quickly extended to the 11th and 12th floors, and as firefighters were pushed back by the intense heat, two of them were lost, Fire Chief Rufus Jackson said at a news conference.Firefighters weren’t initially able to find their colleagues and outside rescue companies from around the state were called in. They were found and removed from the structure, but unfortunately they lost their lives, Jackson said.Marine traffic trackers show the Grande Costa D’Avorio, which was built in 2011, arrived from the Port of Baltimore several days earlier.“We lost two firefighters today,” said Newark Mayor Ras Baraka at ...

7 children, 2 adults hurt after car crashes into school in Wimbledon, not far from tennis tournament

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:55 GMT

7 children, 2 adults hurt after car crashes into school in Wimbledon, not far from tennis tournament LONDON (AP) — London police say seven children and two adults were injured Thursday when a car crashed into an elementary school in Wimbledon, in southwest London.The Metropolitan Police said the incident was not being treated as a “terror” attack. Police were called to The Study all-girls school at 9:54 a.m., along with paramedics in ground and air ambulances. The driver of the vehicle stopped at the scene, police added. There have been no arrests. The incident occurred about a mile away from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club as it hosts the world-famous tennis tournament. The road the incident took place on is very narrow.“The size of the response tells you how serious the incident is and there are a number of casualties, and I understand that a number of those are being treated as critical,” Stephen Hammond, Wimbledon’s representative in Parliament, told the BBC. The Associated Press

Missing 2-year-old girl is found dead in Detroit, after her disappearance sparked massive search

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:55 GMT

Missing 2-year-old girl is found dead in Detroit, after her disappearance sparked massive search LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A missing 2-year-old girl was found dead in Detroit on Wednesday, authorities announced, three days after her disappearance sparked a massive search. Wynter Cole Smith’s body was discovered in the evening near a municipal airport that is about 6 miles (10 kilometers) northeast of downtown Detroit, Chief Ellery Sosebee of the Lansing Police Department reported.“I am deeply saddened to report that the search for Wynter Cole Smith has come to an end. … This investigation has moved from a missing child case to a homicide investigation,” Sosebee added. Sosebee declined to comment further on details of the ongoing investigation but promised the girl’s family will get justice. “This is not the outcome anyone had hoped for,” the chief said. A man identified as Rashad Trice is accused of stabbing the girl’s 22-year-old mother, his ex-girlfriend, at her Lansing home and stealing her car. Police said he also took the toddler with him on Sunday, but...

Deloitte report forecasts oil prices to rise modestly over next three months

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:55 GMT

Deloitte report forecasts oil prices to rise modestly over next three months CALGARY — A report by Deloitte Canada forecasts crude oil prices will increase modestly over the next three months.The report by the firm’s resource evaluation and advisory group says lower supply will begin to drain global crude inventories.Production cuts, including Saudi Arabia’s recent announcement of an additional cut of one million barrels a day, should help to prop up prices despite weaker demand, the report says.Deloitte also says that seasonally high natural gas storage levels in Europe combined with lower demand due to warmer than expected winter weather, have pushed down natural gas prices and reduced demand for liquid natural gas imports.It says the lower global demand and higher production in North America have created volatile prices for Canadian natural gas over the past quarter.Deloitte suggests this could be exacerbated this summer by higher-than-usual maintenance activities that will temporarily close some pipeline segments.This report by The Canadian P...

Top officials from Turkey and Sweden in fresh attempt to overcome NATO membership concerns

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:55 GMT

Top officials from Turkey and Sweden in fresh attempt to overcome NATO membership concerns BRUSSELS (AP) — Senior officials from Sweden and Turkey arrived at NATO headquarters Thursday to examine Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s objections to the Nordic country joining the military alliance and to see what more, if anything, could be done to break the deadlock.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is leading the talks, which will involve the countries’ foreign ministers, intelligence chiefs and national security advisers. Top officials from Finland, which joined NATO in April after addressing Turkey’s concerns, planned to take part.Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will be joined at the meetings by Erdogan’s chief adviser Akif Cagatay Kilic, Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akcapar and the intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin, according to a foreign ministry statement.As the officials entered NATO headquarters in Brussels, workers busied themselves inside a roped-off area where the national flags of the alliance’s 31 member countries fly and Sweden hope...

Belarus leader claims Wagner chief is in Russia, adding uncertainty about his fate after revolt

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:23:55 GMT

Belarus leader claims Wagner chief is in Russia, adding uncertainty about his fate after revolt MINSK, Belarus (AP) — The mercenary leader who led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin is in Russia and his Wagner troops are in their field camps, the president of Belarus said Thursday, raising new questions about the deal that ended the extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule.Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s claim could not be independently verified, and the Kremlin refused to comment on Yevgeny Prigozhin’s whereabouts. It was not clear if traveling to Russia would violate the deal, which allowed the Wagner chief to move to Belarus in exchange for ending the rebellion and a promise of amnesty for him and his troops.Few details of the agreement brokered by Lukashenko have emerged. Last week, Lukashenko said the mercenary leader was in Belarus. Russian media later reported he was seen at his offices in St. Petersburg, a sign that the deal may have allowed him to finalize his affairs in Russia.On Thursday, Lukashenko told internat...