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Elliott views pressure to make NASCAR playoffs as opportunity

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — Chase Elliott prefers to view a very challenging season as opportunity, not pressure. The 2022 Cup Series champ who won a career-high five races last year taking the regular season title sits 27th in the points standings as NASCAR returns from the lone break in its 38-race season. Elliott has started only nine of 16 races. A leg broken while snowboarding cost him six starts, a suspension another.The Cup Series’ most popular driver five years running sits 278 points behind leader Martin Truex Jr. with time running out to qualify for the playoffs. “We’re in a tough spot, but I think it’s a good opportunity to go and have some fun and embrace the challenge,” Elliott said. “And that’s really kind of where my head’s at.”All of NASCAR — Elliott especially — should be rested up for the stretch run starting Sunday night with the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.The 27-year-old Elliott should be a bit more rested than others after serving that suspension ...

Indiana visits Las Vegas after Mitchell’s 25-point performance

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Indiana Fever (5-7, 3-5 Eastern Conference) at Las Vegas Aces (11-1, 7-0 Western Conference)Las Vegas; Saturday, 9 p.m. EDTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK WNBA LINE: Aces -16.5; over/under is 167.5BOTTOM LINE: Indiana visits the Las Vegas Aces after Kelsey Mitchell scored 25 points in the Fever’s 80-68 win against the Seattle Storm.The Aces have gone 5-0 at home. Las Vegas is the top team in the Western Conference with 40.5 points in the paint led by A’ja Wilson averaging 10.7.The Fever have gone 4-3 away from home. Indiana is 2-1 in games decided by 10 points or more.The teams meet for the second time this season. The Aces won 84-80 in the last matchup on June 4.TOP PERFORMERS: Wilson is averaging 18.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks for the Aces.Aliyah Boston is averaging 15.4 points, eight rebounds and 1.6 blocks for the Fever.LAST 10 GAMES: Aces: 9-1, averaging 91.1 points, 33.8 rebounds, 22.4 assists, 8.8 steals and 5.4 blocks per game while shooting 49.5% from the field. Th...

Sutton leads Phoenix against Seattle after 21-point game

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Phoenix Mercury (2-9, 1-6 Western Conference) at Seattle Storm (3-9, 3-4 Western Conference)Seattle; Saturday, 9 p.m. EDTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK WNBA LINE: Storm -1.5; over/under is 158.5BOTTOM LINE: Phoenix visits the Seattle Storm after Sug Sutton scored 21 points in the Mercury’s 99-79 loss to the Las Vegas Aces.The Storm have gone 3-4 against Western Conference teams. Seattle is fifth in the Western Conference scoring 76.4 points while shooting 38.7% from the field.The Mercury are 1-6 against Western Conference opponents. Phoenix is sixth in the Western Conference giving up 87.6 points while holding opponents to 44.3% shooting.The teams play for the second time this season. The Storm won the last meeting 83-69 on June 14. Sami Whitcomb scored 18 points to help lead the Storm to the win.TOP PERFORMERS: Ezi Magbegor is averaging 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 2.3 blocks for the Storm.Sophie Cunningham is averaging 14.5 points for the Mercury.LAST 10 GAMES: Storm: 3-7, ...

2 winners emerge from Arlington’s first-ever ranked choice voting election

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Two winners have emerged from the debut of ranked choice voting in Arlington’s Democratic primary election for county board.Maureen Coffey and Susan Cunningham were announced as the first-ever winners of ranked choice voting in Arlington County.Coffey and Cunningham received the most votes amongst a group of six candidates also including Natalie Roy, JD Spain, Tony Weaver and Jonathan Dromgoole.With ranked choice voting, the candidate receiving the least amount of votes is eliminated and their votes get reallocated to each voters’ second choice of candidate.That process then repeats until candidates gain 34% of the votes, or until there are only two candidates remaining.The county said it hopes to certify the results by Monday.The Arlington County Board approved a pilot program last year, which gave voters the opportunity to list three choices for this year’s primaries.In 2020, the Virginia General Assembly opened the floodgates for ranked choice voting as local of...

Wagner forces will turn columns back from Moscow advance, Prigozhin says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Fighters loyal to Russia’s Wagner mercenary group will stop their advance towards Moscow to avoid a devastating civil conflict, the group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday.In a voice recording posted to his Telegram channel, Prigozhin said his troops had got within 200 kilometers of Moscow in a single day, but that they would now stand down.“During this time we did not spill a single drop of blood of our fighters,” he said. “Taking responsibility for the fact that Russian blood will be shed — on one side — we will turn our columns around and go in the opposite direction to field camps, according to the plan,” he said.Moments earlier, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko issued a statement claiming he held talks with the outspoken oligarch throughout the day.“As a result, they came to agreements on the inadmissibility of unleashing a bloody massacre on the territory of Russia,” the message from his office read. “Y...

18-year-old faces attempted murder charge for allegedly stabbing three teens in Middleborough

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

An 18-year-old Middleborough man was arrested for allegedly stabbing three teenagers early Saturday morning. Jayden Wainwright was charged with attempted murder and three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, Middleborough police announced Saturday afternoon. Around 12:05 a.m. Saturday, police responded to the area of the power lines on Wall Street and found two 19-year-olds with stab wounds. One, with multiple stab wounds in his torso, was taken to Boston Medical Center in critical condition. The second victim, with stab wounds to his leg, was transported to St. Luke’s in New Bedford.The third victim is a 15-year-old boy who was taken to the hospital independently.Wainwright is currently in custody and will face arraignment Monday.

Chicago White Sox fan describes ‘bizarre’ episode that left him dangling through sunroof after a hit-and-run incident at Sox Park

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

When Chuck Janczy hopped on the Green Line to Guaranteed Rate Field on Tuesday night he was hoping to watch a decent game between the Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers.As a longtime Sox fan with a partial season ticket package in Section 109, it has been a difficult season for the 64-year-old Evanston resident, and like many others he has come to expect the worst from this year’s team.But what Janczy didn’t expect was to wind up in a hospital with fractured ribs after being hit by a car, or falling headfirst through the car’s sunroof after impact, or going on a brief trip down the Dan Ryan Expressway during a pursuit of the hit-and-run driver by Chicago police that ended with a crash, or having a gun drawn on him minutes later as the driver was being arrested.“The whole thing is bizarre,” Janczy said Saturday in a phone interview.Janczy said he was walking across 35th Street at Shields Avenue to meet friends before the game Tuesday when he was one of ...

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge reveals he has torn ligament in toe, says he’s still in pain

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Aaron Judge revealed the true nature of his injured toe on Saturday.The Yankees superstar slugger told reporters ahead of Saturday afternoon’s game against the Rangers that he has more than just a sprain, he has a torn ligament in his big right toe.He said he is still dealing with pain when he walks.Judge, who was officially placed on the injured list on June 7 (retroactive to June 4), hurt his toe when he made a highlight reel catch on June 3 against the Dodgers in Los Angeles and crashed through the portion of the outfield fence that doubled as the door to the Yankees’ bullpen.“I’m not giving you any timeline,” Judge told reporters at the Stadium. “There’s no need. I’ve just got to get better and then I’ll be out there.”The Yankees desperately miss Judge’s presence in the lineup. He was hitting .291/.404/.674 with 19 home runs and 40 RBI in his first 49 games for the Bombers.“I don’t think too many peopl...

Month-long Sumner Tunnel shutdown nears as work crews prep for renovations

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Walk halfway into the Sumner Tunnel on a weekend and the acrid smell of construction quickly takes over as workers pound nearby walls in an effort to repair the 90-year-old road.The sites and smells are all part of a $160 million renovation project that will see the central link between East Boston and downtown fully closed from July 5 to Aug. 31. And on Saturday, crews with J.F. White Contracting were making final preparations before the month-long shutdown forces drivers to the Tobin Bridge, Ted Williams Tunnel, or public transportation.But first, those construction workers had to deal with a throng of media who were led on a short tour of the tunnel and at one point, took a group photo in the active construction zone with some Department of Transportation officials and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll.State officials have acknowledged that shutting down the tunnel will create a headache for any driver coming to Boston from the North Shore or East Boston. About 40,000 vehicles pass through t...

Cape Cod towns face new septic regulations that address a $4 billion pollution problem

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Cape Cod residents’ wallets are hanging in the balance as towns decide whether to create a plan to clean up wastewater contamination, an issue that state environmentalists say has plagued the region for decades.The Healey administration has released Cape Cod-specific regulations that look to “reverse decades of nitrogen pollution,” but if a town skips over them, all of its homeowners must do costly upgrades to their septic systems in the next five years.Communities have two years to opt into a process for a 20-year permit that would enable them to design and implement strategies to reduce nitrogen pollution, such as centralized wastewater treatment and permeable reactive barrier walls.If a specific community opts not to pursue such a permit, homeowners may have to fork over tens of thousands for their own septic upgrades. Officials, however, say that is not a likely outcome.Julian Cyr, state senator for Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, said earlier this year that most comm...