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MIAA state finals: Girls hockey preview and picks

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:50:39 GMT

It’s only fitting that a member from each of arguably the two toughest leagues are set to face off for the Div. 1 girls hockey state final at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday at TD Garden.It’s only more compelling that it’s a private school versus a public co-op, and that it’s the nightcap of a wild day.Top-seeded St. Mary’s of Lynn (25-1) has been the consensus choice all year to reach this stage, returning for the first time since winning in 2013. Jenna Chaplain (200-point scorer), Maggie Pierce (100-point scorer) and Amanda Forziati form an electric attack further bolstered by Gabbi Oakes and Tia Picardi, while depth across the board is a huge strength. Head coach Frank Pagliuca preaches defense, which is even better: senior goalie Angelina Catino has allowed just 18 goals through 25 games.The Spartans are the favorite, but No. 3 Shrewsbury (20-2-2) is as fit as any to challenge for the title within a different storyline.Having never reached this stage before, coach Frank Panarelli’s Colonial...

Recapping the Chicago Bulls: Hot 3-point shooting leads to 113-99 win against the Miami Heat

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:50:39 GMT

Sustained energy has been hard to find for the Chicago Bulls.The season has followed the same script — building a lead in the first half only to let it slip away. So when the Miami Heat began to chip away at a lead in the second half Saturday — carving a 27-point deficit down to only three points — it seemed the Bulls were set to once again repeat their greatest weakness.Instead, the Bulls absorbed the pressure to preserve a 113-99 victory at the United Center. DeMar DeRozan scorched from midrange for a team-high 24 points. Patrick Beverley threw himself from one touchline to the other and scored 17 points while Coby White led a barrage of shots from the 3-point line and finished with 18 points.The result came on the heels of a double-overtime win Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, giving the Bulls a rare pair of consecutive wins. And as they stretch out a 9-7 record following the All-Star break, the Bulls have found a small lift in their race for play-in c...

Heat unable to sustain, wilt in 113-99 loss to weary Bulls

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:50:39 GMT

The good news for the Miami Heat is that to advance out of the play-in round, you only have to win one game in a row.Because anything extended at the moment appears to be out of the reach of Erik Spoelstra’s team.Failing for the second time in 10 days to produce the team’s first three-game winning streak in a month, the Heat instead fell 113-99 Saturday night to the Chicago Bulls at the United Center.And in a season of bad losses in good spots, this one was right up there.Not only were the Heat coming off two days’ rest, idle since Wednesday night’s home blowout victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, but the Bulls were coming off a double-overtime home victory a night earlier.“This is a disappointing loss for sure, without a doubt,” Spoelstra said. “We have to take the L. That’s 0-3 against this team. They have our number this year. I don’t like to do this, but we got to move on.”Until late, it was as if the Heat were the team...

Winderman’s view: As Heat stumble, is the Omer Yurtseven era flaming out?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:50:39 GMT

Observations and other notes of interest from Saturday night’s 113-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls:– It’s almost as if Heat coach Erik Spoelstra merely is looking to buy time in the absence of sidelined center Cody Zeller, who is recovering from a procedure for the nasal fracture sustained last Saturday in Orlando.– This time, after three ineffective minutes in his initial stint, second-year Omer Yurtseven did not return in the first half, with Kevin Love instead shifted to center when Adebayo took his second break of the game.– Then, when starting center Bam Adebayo took his first break of the second half, it was Haywood Highsmith entering for the first time, instead of Yurtseven.– Even with Love also out of the game at the time.– In other words, Spoelstra was more willing to go with a front line of Highsmith, Jimmy Butler and Caleb Martin than tempt the fates with Yurtseven.– With Zeller, there was immediate trust from Spoelstra from hi...

San Jose Sharks reassigning top prospect to AHL’s Barracuda

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:50:39 GMT

SAN JOSE – William Eklund is going to Loveland, Colorado next week, not Edmonton, Alberta.The San Jose Sharks are reassigning Eklund to the AHL, coach David Quinn said Saturday after his team’s 4-1 loss to New York Islanders at SAP Center.Just minutes after the game ended, and after player interviews had been completed inside the Sharks’ dressing room, Eklund was seen walking out of Quinn’s office, as he received the disappointing news, at least from his perspective, from Quinn and general manager Mike Grier.Eklund, considered the Sharks’ top prospect, was recalled from the Barracuda on March 3 and had two goals and an assist in eight games, as he played exclusively inside the Sharks’ top-six forward group.But the decision to reassign Eklund now prevents him from playing a 10th NHL game this season. Had that happened, the first year of his three-year entry-level contract would have kicked in, and expired after the 2024-25 season.Per the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agree...

Long-serving Montenegro president seeks re-election

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:50:39 GMT

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Voters in Montenegro are casting ballots Sunday in a presidential election marked by political turmoil and uncertainty over whether the small NATO member state in the Balkans will unblock its bid to join the European Union or seek to improve ties with Serbia and Russia.Analysts predict that Montenegro’s presidential election will not produce a clear winner and that incumbent Milo Djukanovic, 61, will face one of several challengers in a runoff vote in two weeks. Though the presidency is largely ceremonial in Montenegro, the ballot is seen as a key indicator of popular sentiments ahead of an early parliamentary election set for June 11.Djukanovic’s opponents include a leader of the staunchly pro-Serbia and pro-Russia Popular Front party, Andrija Mandic, economist Jakov Milatovic of the newly-formed Europe Now group and former parliament speaker Aleksa Becic.Observers say Milatovic, who served in the government elected after the 2020 parliamentary vo...

UCLA women roll to 67-45 win over Sacramento State

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:50:39 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kiki Rice had 15 points, Emily Bessoir added 14 and fourth-seeded UCLA rolled to a 67-45 victory over No. 13 seed Sacramento State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night.Charisma Osborne had 11 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for the Bruins (26-9), who will face fifth-seeded Oklahoma on Monday with the winner advancing to the Greenville 1 Regional.Isnelle Natabou had 16 points and eight rebounds for Sacramento State (25-8). Kahlaijah Dean scored 11 points, but was 3 of 19 from the field.UCLA jumped out to a 16-2 lead midway through the first quarter on the strength of a 14-0 run. Rice had seven points in the first four minutes and 10 at the end of the first quarter, including a 3-pointer with 2:40 remaining that extended the Bruins’ advantage to 23-6.UCLA also had a 17-point lead at halftime and was up by as many as 24 late in the fourth quarter.Neither team shot well: UCLA was 29 of 70 while Sacramento State went 17 for 50. The Bru...

US Soccer again fails to make president position a paid job

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:50:39 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The U.S. Soccer Federation failed for the second straight year to approve a by-law amendment that would have given its president a $125,000 annual salary instead of remaining an unpaid position.The proposal received 62.87% approval at this week’s USSF annual general meeting, falling short of the two-third vote necessary for adoption, the federation said Saturday.Last year, the proposal received 58.91% approval.Former women’s player Cindy Parlow Cone became president in 2020 and is starting the second year of a four-year term. JT Batson took over as CEO last September.___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Leerdam helps Galaxy earn 1-1 draw with Whitecaps

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:50:39 GMT

CARSON, Calif. (AP) — Kelvin Leerdam scored in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time to help the Los Angeles Galaxy earn a 1-1 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night.Leerdam’s goal was unassisted for the Galaxy (0-1-2) and came after Tristan Blackmon took a pass from Julian Gressel and scored in the 14th minute to give the Whitecaps (0-2-2) an early lead.The Galaxy fall to 4-4-3 in their last 11 home matches against Vancouver. LA beat Vancouver seven straight times from 2011-14. The Galaxy came into the match with a 4-0-3 record in their last seven matches at home dating to last season. The loss ends the Galaxy’s longest unbeaten run at home since a nine-match streak in 2018.Vancouver snaps a streak of four straight losses on the road. The Whitecaps are 0-5-5 in their last 10 matches away from home. They have just four road wins since the 2021 season. That ties them with Houston and Toronto for fewest in the league.LA outshot Vancouver 20-12 with a 6...

Serbia, Kosovo reach pact on implementing peace plan, EU’s Borrell says

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:50:39 GMT

Kosovo and Serbia reached an agreement Saturday on implementing an EU-backed deal to normalize relations, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. “We have a deal,” Borrell tweeted late Saturday after 12 hours of talks by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and EU officials in Ohrid, North Macedonia.“Kosovo and Serbia have agreed on the implementation annex of the agreement on the path to normalization of relations,” Borrell said. “The parties have fully committed to honor all articles of the agreement and implement their respective obligations expediently and in good faith.”The two leaders held separate meetings with Borrell before a three-way session. Both sides had agreed to the underlying deal in Brussels last month.Kosovo and Serbia have been in EU-backed talks for nearly a decade since Kosovo declared independence in 2008. Serbia still regards Kosovo as a breakaway state and flare-ups between the two have...