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Joe Mauer’s Hall of Fame fate comes down to this: Did the former Twins star catch enough games?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:00 GMT

Going by the percentages, Joe Mauer comfortably ranks among the best catchers of all time. Some of his raw “counting” stats make it look less obvious, because Mauer stopped catching after he turned 30 because of injuries — notably a series of concussions that shortened his career. Mauer never had a chance to become a great compiler or accumulator of stats when compared to many of the 19 catchers in the Baseball Hall of Fame.For the first time, Mauer’s career is up for judgment by BBWAA voters, who have until Dec. 31 to mark their ballots and mail them back to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. (No faxes or emails allowed, please.) Having covered Major League Baseball since 1998, and more pertinently being a member of the BBWAA since 2013, I get to vote on the Hall of Fame for the first time this month. And I plan on voting for Mauer.Not everybody will, and he won’t get in until he reaches a 75 percent threshold. The BBWAA is historically conservative about...

Support grows for former Twins star Joe Mauer on public Hall of Fame ballot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:00 GMT

Joe Mauer’s Hall of Fame support on publicly-revealed ballots has grown over the past week as more and more ballots from Baseball Writers’ Association of America members have trickled out.As the deadline for writers to submit their votes arrives — ballots must be signed and completed by Dec. 31 —  the former Twins star’s chances of getting inducted into Cooperstown on the first ballot have seemingly risen.As of early Saturday morning, 91 ballots had been counted by X user Ryan Thibodaux (@NotMrTibbs), whose tracker showed Mauer with 81.3 percent support with an estimated 23.7 percent of ballots revealed. A week earlier, Mauer was drawing support on 76.3 percent of revealed ballots with around 9.9 percent of the vote tracked.His percentage is second to just Adrián Beltré (97.8 percent) among the 26 players on the ballot and above the 75 percent needed for entry into the Hall of Fame.While he’s drawing plenty of support on the first-revealed ballots, players often lose percentage poin...

The Loop Fantasy Football Update Week 17: Last-minute moves

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:00 GMT

UPDATE: 2:25 p.m. SaturdayThere’s less than 36 hours left in 2023, and fantasy football standouts are dropping like flies.You can’t tell all the injured players without a scorecard, so here goes: The list is led by Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who will miss the first game of his career on Sunday.Others ruled out include one running back (Indy’s Zack Moss) and a slew of wide receivers (Miami’s Jaylen Waddle, the Chargers’ Keenan Allen, Denver’s Courtland Sutton, New England’s Juju Smith-Schuster, the Chiefs’ Kadarius Toney and the Cardinals’ Marquise Brown).Las Vegas RB Josh Jacobs is now listed as doubtful, as is Packers WR Christian Watson.Cincinnati wideout Ja’Marr Chase is considered a game-time decision. The same goes for Vikings WR Jordan Addison and Washington QB Jacoby Brissett.And our final Deepest Sleeper of the season didn’t even make it to the next game. Commanders rookie RB Chris Rodriguez has landed on injured reserve thanks to the injured ankle he suffered...

Schofield withdraws name for position with Troy City Clerk

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:00 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- According to a statement issued on Saturday, incoming 2024 Troy City Council Majority Leader and President Pro-Tempore Tom Casey announced that Jason Schofield has reportedly withdrawn his name for the position of Assistant to the City Clerk. The requested appointment of Schofield by Troy’s City Clerk was announced earlier this week. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Schofield previously pled guilty to 12 felony charges of voter fraud. The investigation found he filed fraudulent absentee ballots in 2021 and used personal information of registered voters without their permission. Troy City Council President-elect Sue Steele stated “We are grateful to see Mr. Schofield withdraw his name for consideration as assistant city clerk. Our Republican colleagues on the council should have never considered his appointment in the first place. Our hope is we can come together in a bipartisan way and select an appropriate candid...

AFD crews knock down structure fire on Swinton Street

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:00 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Crews from the Albany Fire Department responded to a structure fire on Saturday morning. The fire occurred at a vacant building located at 52 Swinton Street, between Thornton Street and Judson Street. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! At 8:45 a.m. on December 30, firefighters arrived to the scene of a fire on the first floor of the two story building. Crews were able to get the flames under control by 9:06 a.m., and no injuries were reported during the operation. A total of 23 firefighters from eight AFD units responded to the blaze. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Baby born with gunshot wound dies; St. Louis police rule death a homicide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A baby born with a gunshot wound in May after a quadruple shooting in St. Louis died from his condition in June. On Friday, more than half a year later, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department deemed the baby's death to be a homicide. Police say Dontrez Green Jr. was born on May 7 with a gunshot wound shortly after a shooting that left two dead and two others hurt in St. Louis' Hyde Park neighborhood. Green was pronounced deceased on June 11. Police: St. Louis woman Marquisha Williams found deceased in Illinois The shooting happened around 2 p.m. May 7 near the 2100 block of Branch Street. Police say four teenage girls were shot. Two were pronounced deceased at the scene. Two others were rushed to a hospital for treatment. At some point, Green was born at the hospital with a gunshot wound, presumably wounded as one of the surviving victims was shot. A St. Louis police crime summary report released on Friday reads as the following: "On 12/22/23, the Medical Examin...

LIST: St. Louis-area New Year's Eve events

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS - It's almost time to ring in the new year. If you're still looking to make plans, there are plenty of epic celebrations around the St. Louis area. FOX 2 has compiled a list of several New Year's events as we move from 123123 to the 2024 year. Click the links on the headlined events for more information. Winterfest in Downtown St. LouisWinterfest in downtown St. Louis is hosting a New Year’s Eve “Neon Nights” celebration. It is a family-friendly way to ring in the new year. There will be a DJ, fire dancers, princesses and superheroes, and party favors. Fireworks with monumental Arch views begin at 8:00 p.m.Winterfest events run from 4-8 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 31Fireworks start at 8 p.m.NYE Live at Ballpark VillageThis year's celebration has a Latin Night theme. The prime gathering spot will be at Ballpark Village's Sport & Social location. There will be DJ entertainment with artists Jose & Fonzo, in addition to a midnight champagne toast and celebration. Festivities ...

Samuel Girard will return to Avalanche lineup Sunday after seeking help for his mental health: “I found myself again”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:00 GMT

Samuel Girard will return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup Sunday, five weeks after stepping away from the team to focus on his mental health.Girard entered the NHL/NHLPA Players Assistance Program to receive help after struggling with severe anxiety and depression that led to alcohol abuse.“It’s feels good,” Girard said after practice Saturday. “Obviously, I needed that. Everybody was super supportive. It feels good to be back with the team, be back skating. I’m excited to be back tomorrow.”Girard last played for the Avalanche on Nov. 18. The league and players’ union announced he was entering the program Nov. 24. He released a statement through his agency, CAA, that detailed why he needed to take time away from the team.“I was just tired of hiding everything,” Girard said. “At one point, it just became too much for me. I couldn’t just like, leave it inside. I had to talk about it. I know there are other people strug...

Gypsy Rose Blanchard posts 'first selfie of freedom’ after release from prison 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:00 GMT

Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2016 for her role in her mother’s murder, was released from prison in Missouri on Thursday and took to social media to celebrate her freedom. Gypsy initially made headlines after her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, was found stabbed to death in her Springfield, Missouri in June 2015.  Paula Abdul sues ‘American Idol’ producer Nigel Lythgoe alleging sexual assault What started as a case of a young girl plotting to kill her mother unraveled when it was revealed that Dee Dee had been lying about her daughter’s medical conditions, which according to Gypsy included leukemia and muscular dystrophy among other ailments. Experts believe that Gypsy suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy (now known as Factitious disorder imposed on another), which is when a caregiver falsifies the appearance of health problems in a person under their care, most typically their child. Years of psychological and physic...

Reinhart scores twice, Barkov ties assist mark and Panthers top Rangers 4-3

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:00 GMT

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sam Reinhart scored two goals, Aleksander Barkov tied a franchise career record by collecting three assists, and the Florida Panthers beat the NHL-leading New York Rangers 4-3 on Friday night.Carter Verhaeghe got the winning goal for Florida with 6:23 remaining in the third period. Evan Rodrigues also scored for the Panthers, and Sergei Bobrovsky finished with 31 saves. Barkov tied Jonathan Huberdeau for the Panthers’ record with 415 assists.“That’s three wins in a row against three really good teams,” said Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, who had two assists for a Florida team that has topped Stanley Cup champion Vegas, then Tampa Bay and now the Rangers in its last three outings. “We really haven’t played a perfect start-to-finish game, but we’re finding ways. And that’s very encouraging.”Artemi Panarin, Will Culleye and Mika Zibanejad scored for the Rangers, who tied the game twice after facing deficits of 2-0 and 3-2. Panarin a...