Brandon Crawford returns to SF Giants’ lineup, on track for Opening Day

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The loudest cheers in the Giants’ spring stadium Wednesday afternoon came a few minutes before first pitch, in response to a few words that hadn’t been heard in almost two weeks. “Your starting shortstop,” the stadium speakers boomed, “Brandon Crawford.”Crawford, 36, returned to the position he is expected to assume on Opening Day, one week from Thursday, for the first time since March 10. After being shut down with inflammation in his left knee, Crawford has maintained that he would be ready to make his 12th consecutive Opening Day start at shortstop, and he showed no signs Wednesday that he wouldn’t be ready to go at Yankee Stadium on March 30.Crawford reached base in both his trips to plate, but it was his defensive work that was the true test for his knee. It’s the side-to-side and stop-and-go movements while making plays at shortstop when the discomfort flares up most, he said.“I got a couple pretty good ...

Santa Clara standout Brandin Podziemski declares for NBA Draft

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

Santa Clara could be sending a player to the NBA Draft for the second consecutive year.Sophomore standout Brandin Podziemski, the University of Illinois transfer whose unexpected emergence earned him West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year honors alongside Gonzaga’s Drew Timme, announced on Wednesday that he was declaring for the NBA Draft while maintaining his collegiate eligibility.Podziemski is expected by pundits, including Sports Illustrated, to be a late-first or early-second round pick.“This past year has been filled with the best experiences of my life both on and off the court… I’m excited to get to work to prepare for this next challenge,” he said in a Twitter post. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard is known for his sweet left-handed shot, slick passing abilities and a knack for being in the right spot at the right time. He led the WCC in rebounding with 8.8 boards per game this year. He also averaged 19.9 points and 3.7 assists, making him one of three players in Division I...

Letters: Health care | Cut goalie | ‘Minimum sentence’ | Good cops, bad cops | Government essential

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Bill must focus onmore than mental healthRe: “Billions for psychiatric treatment proposed” (Page A1, March 20).In response to the governor’s proposal to spend billions of dollars on psychiatric treatment, it’s good to see a correction of Ronald Reagan’s destruction of the mental health system and the elimination of the vast majority of psychiatric beds in 1980.But it would be better to legislate the prevention of party politics attempting to interfere with or defund necessary health care funding like this, so we are not in a cycle of progressive care for people rather than regressive care based on political fears (Reagan didn’t believe mental illness existed) and classist forms of cruelty. We must constantly work to be better and do better, not worse.The treatment modalities of this bill must include equitable input from all mental health professionals, not just psychiatrists, to be effective...

Walnut Creek police search for suspect linked to multiple burglaries

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KRON) -- Authorities are looking for a suspect linked to multiple burglaries in Walnut Creek, the Walnut Creek Police Department (WCPD) said in a Facebook post. Surveillance footage (above) obtained by WCPD shows the suspect with a tattoo sleeve on his left arm and a black hat.The suspect is wanted for questioning after the department investigated multiple burglaries in the past six months on the 2400 block of Buena Vista Avenue. More photos of the suspect can be viewed below. VIDEO: Mountain lion spotted in Los Gatos, tranquilized at backyard of home (Walnut Creek Police Department)(Walnut Creek Police Department)KRON On is streaming news live now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }If you recognize this individual, WCPD says to contact Detective S...

Towns returns for Timberwolves after missing 51 games

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns is set to return Wednesday night for the Minnesota Timberwolves after missing 51 games with a right calf strain.Towns, the three-time All-Star, has been out since Nov. 28. Towns was averaging 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 21 games before the injury.“Expectations are that he just kind of settles into the flow of the game, not try to do too much at this point in time,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said before the Timberwolves hosted the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night. “Most importantly, knock the rust off. Certainly want him to be himself but not at the expense of what we’re trying to do out there. And I think that’s pretty easy ask for him.”Finch said Towns will have limitations but didn’t offer specifics.Anthony Edwards will miss his third straight game with a right ankle sprain, and backup point guard Jordan McLaughlin won’t play due to illness.The experiment of mixing Towns and newcomer Rudy Gobert...

Women’s Champions League: Chelsea beats Lyon, Wolfsburg wins

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

LYON, France (AP) — Lyon’s chances of a seventh Women’s Champions League title in eight years were hit by losing 1-0 to Chelsea in the first leg of the quarterfinals on Wednesday.Guro Reiten’s winner — a curling strike in the 28th minute — puts Chelsea in control against the defending champions heading into the second leg next week at Stamford Bridge.Since 2016, Lyon only once has failed to win the competition — in 2021, when the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals by French rival Paris Saint-Germain.PSG, which has never won the Champions League, lost 1-0 to Wolfsburg in Wednesday’s other quarterfinal first leg.Delphine Cascarino hit the post for Lyon in the second half but the eight-time champions couldn’t find the equalizer at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.The Norway international’s goal was set up by Erin Cuthbert, who fought off Ellie Carpenter in midfield before delivering a pass into the area for Reiten’s one-timer.Chelsea has never won the tournamen...

Arrest made in fire at planned Wyoming abortion clinic

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A woman was arrested for setting fire to a building in Wyoming that was being renovated to house the state’s only full-service abortion clinic, authorities said Wednesday.Lorna Roxanne Green, 22, of Casper, was arrested on Tuesday, police said. The fire was set on May 25, 2022, at a stucco house in Casper, the state’s second-largest city and the site of frequent anti-abortion protests.A person who called police said they heard glass breaking and saw a person leaving the area carrying a gas can and a black bag. Security video released by police showed a woman in a hooded shirt and mask carrying what appeared to be a red fuel can through a room of the building just before the fire.No one was injured in the blaze, which left the house with broken windows and smoke damage.The clinic had been scheduled to open last summer as the only facility of its kind in the state, offering women’s health care, family planning and gender-affirming health care in addition to abort...

Dell Match Play Results

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

WednesdayAt Austin Country ClubAustin, TexasPurse: $20 millionYardage: 7,108; Par: 71(Seedings in parentheses)J.J. Spaun (61), United States, def. Matt Fitzpatrick (11), England, 5 and 3.Min Woo Lee (41), Australia, def. Sahith Theegala (26), United States, 1 up.Xander Schauffele (6), United States, def. Cam Davis (64), Australia, 4 and 3.Aaron Wise (40), United States, def. Tom Hoge (32), United States, 1 up.Ben Griffin (62), United States, def. Tyrrell Hatton (14), England, 3 and 1.Lucas Herbert (46), Australia, def. Russell Henley (31), United States, 1 up.Rory McIlroy (3), Northern Ireland, def. Scott Stallings (52), United States, 3 and 1.Keegan Bradley (20), United States, halved with Denny McCarthy (48), United States.Tony Finau (10), United States, def. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (60), South Africa, 2 and 1.Adrian Meronk (45), Poland, def. Kurt Kitayama (19), United States, 2 and 1.Andrew Putnam (56), United States, def. Will Zalatoris (7), United States, 3 and 2.Ryan Fox (29),...

March Madness remains must-see TV during first weekend

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Both editions of March Madness have proven to be must-see TV for basketball fans.The first two rounds of the women’s tournament averaged a record 391,000 viewers, a 28% increase over last year. The four ABC games on Saturday and Sunday averaged at least 636,000 viewers per game. The second-round game Sunday between Georgia and Iowa averaged 1.5 million, a record for an early-round game, with South Florida-South Carolina bringing in 1.1 million.ABC will air the women’s championship game on April 2, which will be the first time since 1995 it has been on network television. The men’s first round on March 16-17 averaged 9.2 million viewers on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. The March 17 games averaged 9.3 million, making it the most-watched Friday first round.Michigan State’s win over Marquette on Sunday was the game with the largest audience with 10.9 million viewers.The overall tournament average of 9.04 million on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV is very similar to las...