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After battle with alcohol, A’s player and San Jose native gets sober, realizes MLB dream

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:42:48 GMT

OAKLAND – Lucas Erceg wasn’t sure if this moment would ever arrive.The San Jose native and Menlo College alum played in the minor leagues for close to six years, never rising above Triple-A as a hitter even though he was once considered one of the top 30 prospects in the Milwaukee Brewers system.But a position switch to pitcher before the start of the 2022 season, plus a commitment to sobriety two years earlier, changed Erceg’s life and perhaps opened up all kinds of possibilities for him going forward.Using both a four-seam fastball that ran up as high as 98 mph, and attacking the strike zone with an 89-90 mph slider, Erceg picked up his first Major League win Monday in the Oakland A’s 7-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Taking over for Paul Blackburn in the fifth inning, Erceg collected four strikeouts over three scoreless innings to go to 1-0 as a pitcher.“Guy’s coming in throwing, 98-99 mph bowling ball sinkers in there,” Blackburn said of Erceg. “ItR...

Russia launches pre-dawn attack on Kyiv, killing at least 1; Moscow attacked by drones

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:42:48 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a pre-dawn attack on Ukraine’s capital Tuesday, killing at least one person and sending Kyiv’s residents again scrambling into shelters to escape a relentless wave of daylight and nighttime bombardments. Moscow authorities reported a drone attack on the Russian capital. At least 20 Shahed drones were destroyed by air defense forces in Kyiv’s airspace in Russia’s third attack on the capital in the past 24 hours, according to the Kyiv Military Administration.The buzzing of drones could be heard over the city, followed by loud explosions as they were taken down by air defense systems.In Moscow, residents reported hearing explosions and Mayor Sergei Sobyanin later confirmed there had been a drone attack. Sobyanin said in a Telegram post that the attack caused “insignificant damage” to several buildings and that no one has been seriously hurt, without elaborating.Residents of two buildings damaged in the attack were evacuated, Sobyanin said.There was ...

NASCAR-Xfinity Alsco Uniforms 300 Results

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:42:48 GMT

MondayAt Charlotte Motor SpeedwayConcord, N.C.Lap length: 1.50 miles(Start position in parentheses)1. (1) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200 laps, 56 points.2. (2) John H. Nemechek, Toyota, 200, 53.3. (4) Cole Custer, Ford, 200, 38.4. (17) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 200, 44.5. (3) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 200, 0.6. (37) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 200, 31.7. (9) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 200, 30.8. (15) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 199, 30.9. (5) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 199, 31.10. (18) Sammy Smith, Toyota, 199, 27.11. (24) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 199, 26.12. (6) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 199, 0.13. (10) Chandler Smith, Chevrolet, 199, 34.14. (13) Riley Herbst, Ford, 199, 24.15. (14) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 199, 25.16. (32) Kaz Grala, Toyota, 199, 21.17. (23) Joe Graf Jr, Ford, 199, 20.18. (29) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 199, 19.19. (27) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 198, 18.20. (21) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 198, 17.21. (38) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 198, 16.22. (11) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 198, 22.23...

Moscow mayor confirms drone attack on Russian capital, says two residential buildings damaged

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:42:48 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Moscow mayor confirms drone attack on Russian capital, says two residential buildings damaged.Source

Judge’s 2 HRs help Germán win after suspension, Yankees top Mariners 10-4

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:42:48 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Aaron Judge hit two homers at the plate and robbed one in the field with a leaping catch at the wall, leading the New York Yankees past the Seattle Mariners 10-4 on Monday night.Domingo Germán pitched into the seventh inning to win his first start following a 10-game suspension for using a foreign substance on the mound.Judge was one of several Yankees batters to have a big night, most of it coming against Seattle rookie Bryce Miller. Judge’s first homer was a line-drive, two-run shot off the left-field foul pole in the third inning to give New York a 3-1 lead.The slugger settled for a double off the wall in the fifth, but got enough the next time up. His 17th homer came off reliever Juan Then in the seventh and eluded Jarred Kelenic’s leaping attempt at the left-field fence.It was Judge’s 31st career multi-homer game and first since May 15 at Toronto. He also had two homers on May 13 against Tampa Bay.And if his swings at the plate weren’t enough, Judge stole a...

Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon will consider offseason surgery after suffering painful forearm injury

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:42:48 GMT

Malcolm Brogdon fought through a painful right forearm injury to suit up for Monday’s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, but the Celtics guard ultimately just wasn’t himself on the biggest stage of his career.Brogdon confirmed after the Celtics’ season-ending Game 7 loss to the Heat that he was dealing with a partial tear of a tendon in his right forearm. The Sixth Man of the Year’s performance declined because of it as his terrific season ended in disappointing fashion.Brogdon, who missed Game 6 because of the injury, scored just two points combined over the final four games he played, and just eight minutes in the finale, as the discomfort he experienced put a toll on him.“Unfortunately, you use it a lot to shoot,” Brogdon said. “So, when I’m shooting, I’m having a lot of pain.”Brogdon said surgery is something he will consider this summer as he recovers from the injury.Brogdon was having one of the healthiest seasons of his career, but the injury bug caught him ...

At least 10 dead, 55 injured as bus of Hindu pilgrims falls into gorge in Indian-controlled Kashmir

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:42:48 GMT

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A bus carrying Hindu pilgrims to a shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir skid off a highway bridge into a Himalayan gorge Tuesday, killing at least 10 people and injuring 55, police said.The bus was on way to Katra town from the northern state of Punjab’s Amritsar city when it fell into the gorge near Jammu city, police said. Local police officer Chandan Kohli told reporters that the bus was overloaded. He said the dead were from India’s eastern Bihar state.Residents and authorities rushed to the accident spot and launched a rescue operation. The injured have been hospitalized.The shrine of Vaishno Devi in Katra is highly revered by Hindus and hundreds of thousands visit it every year. India has some of the highest road death rates in the world, with hundreds of thousands of people killed and injured annually. Most crashes are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and aging vehicles.The Associated Press

Economic boost or big business hand-out? Nevada lawmakers consider A’s stadium financing

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:42:48 GMT

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada lawmakers questioned whether a proposal to subsidize a new MLB stadium with tax credits and bonds would further boost Las Vegas’ economy, or serve as a handout for a big business that could strain government resources.In a committee hearing on Monday — likely the only before a vote on the proposal to help fund the Oakland A’s potential stadium on the Las Vegas Strip — the Republican governor’s chief of staff and the Democratic treasurer both said it would provide tax revenue and well-paying jobs while further aiding Las Vegas’ transformation into a sports city. But lawmakers questioned whether an A’s stadium on the site of the Tropicana Las Vegas would be worth it. They cited an MLB team with the worst record in baseball, financed in-part by a county and state struggling to fund public services including schools, which rank toward the bottom in national student-teacher ratios and per-pupil funding.“Regular citizens see us having a conversation and a d...

Spain PM’s shock election call brings unruly coalition to heel

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:42:48 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s snap general election call breaks apart the coalition he built with the far-left United We Can party, marking a line in the sand with a movement born from grassroots activism whose electoral fortunes have nosedived.On Monday, Sánchez brought forward a national election expected in December to July 23 after the conservative Popular Party, or PP, and far-right Vox movement dramatically increased their vote share in Sunday’s local and regional elections. Sánchez’s Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, known by the Spanish acronym PSOE, has led a minority central government with United We Can since 2019, but internal arguments with his coalition partners have increasingly dominated headlines. United We Can’s leadership is also engaged in a separate feud with Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz, who has started her own political movement, Sumar.Ernesto Pascual, a political scientist and professor at UOC university in...

Russia launches pre-dawn air raid on Kyiv, killing at least 1; Moscow attacked by drones

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:42:48 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a pre-dawn air raid on Ukraine’s capital Tuesday, killing at least one person and sending Kyiv’s residents again scrambling into shelters to escape a relentless wave of daylight and nighttime bombardments, while Moscow authorities said the Russian capital was attacked by drones. At least 20 Shahed explosive drones were destroyed by air defense forces in Kyiv’s airspace in Russia’s third attack on the capital in the past 24 hours, according to early information from the Kyiv Military Administration. Overall, Ukraine shot down 29 of 31 drones fired into the country, most in the Kyiv area, the air force later added. Before daylight, the buzzing of drones could be heard over the city, followed by loud explosions as they were taken down by air defense systems.In Moscow, residents reported hearing explosions and Mayor Sergei Sobyanin later confirmed there had been a drone attack. Sobyanin said in a Telegram post that the attack caused “insignificant da...