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Kiszla: On the verge of their first NBA Finals appearance, Nuggets ready to kick it down that freakin’ door

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:05:49 GMT

LOS ANGELES — Pinch yourself, Nuggets Nation. The dream is real. For the first time in their NBA history, the Nuggets are on the doorstep of the Finals.Knock politely? No way. No how.After rocking the L.A. Lakers 119-108 on Saturday night, the Nuggets are ready to kick down that freakin’ door.“I’ve never looked at the history of the Nuggets as a weight or a burden. I’ve looked at it as an opportunity to be the first team to win a championship,” coach Michael Malone told me as we stood outside the Denver locker room after the victory.Eddie Murphy was here at Crypto.com Arena, with his feet on the floor near midcourt, wearing sunglasses. Indoors. At night. In an building drenched in Hollywood glitz, Jake Gyllenhaal turned the head of every lady in the house. And at 86 years old, Jack Nicholson is still so cool he doesn’t even feel the need to comb his hair.So many stars.But on this spring night in SoCal, Nuggets guard Jamal Murray outshined th...

Pedestrian found dead on Monterey Park road

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:05:49 GMT

Police are investigating after a person was found dead on a busy Monterey Park road on Saturday.Officers received reports of someone lying down in the middle of Atlantic Boulevard near the 60 Freeway overpass around 1:36 a.m., according to Monterey Park police.When authorities arrived, the pedestrian was unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators believe the victim had been struck by a hit-and-run driver.The victim’s gender or identity has not been released. No suspect description is known as the investigation continues.Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Monterey Park police at 626-307-1200.

CCS softball playoffs: Willow Glen’s Clincy dominates, sets up showdown with St. Francis juggernaut

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:05:49 GMT

Open DivisionAlanna Clincy started the season as a closer for Willow Glen, splitting pitching duties with fellow freshman Lea Crawford.Midway through the season, coach Don Spingola pushed her into the starting role, a transition Clincy described as “rough.”But since finding her groove in late-April, opponents have been the only ones who have looked unnerved when Clincy is pitching. “I’m more comfortable because I was pushed to do it,” Clincy said.MILPITAS – Willow Glen pitcher Alanna Clincy throws a pitch. Milpitas and Willow Glen played in a CCS Open Division softball game at Milpitas high school in Milpitas, Calif. on Saturday, May 20, 2023 (Joseph Dycus/Bay Area News Group) She entered Saturday having struck out 42 over her last three starts, and that dominance continued at Milpitas in the Central Coast Section Open Division quarterfinal. Clincy K’ed 13 as No. 5 Willow Glen romped past No. 4 Milpitas 10-1.“She’s very calm and collected and she doesn’t let little things...

Hawaii-bound plane crashes off Half Moon Bay coast

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:05:49 GMT

A Hawaii-bound small plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean several hours after take-off from a North Bay airport, authorities said.In a statement Saturday night, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson said a twin-turboprop deHavilland DHC-6 flying out of Santa Rosa to Honolulu landed in the water off Half Moon Bay around 2:15 p.m.“Initial information indicates that two people were on board,” the statement read in part.According to a social-media post from the National Transportation Safety Board, the agency said shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday that it was investigating the crash about 40 miles off the coast.Preliminary flight data lists the plane leaving Santa Rosa airport shortly before 8:25 a.m. Saturday and flying southwest for just over two hours before abruptly doubling back toward California just after 10:30 a.m.Check back for updates.NTSB is investigating a crash of a Viking Air DHC-6-400 Twin Otter in the Pacific Ocean 40 miles off the coast of Half Moon Ba...

CCS baseball playoffs: Valley Christian makes most of opportunities against M-A ace

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:05:49 GMT

Division INo. 1 Valley Christian 6, No. 8 Menlo-Atherton 3Despite trailing 5-0 after only two innings, Menlo-Atherton might have at least a mild case of the “what-ifs” after losing to the Bay Area News Group’s No. 1-ranked team on Saturday.The Bears’ ace, Texas Longhorns-bound right-hander George Zaharias, had a rare bad game, lasting 4⅓ innings and yielding six earned runs, seven walks and making an error. But Zaharias’ off-day wasn’t the only reason M-A lost.The visitors outhit Valley Christian 11-6, but 10 of those knocks were singles. The Warriors, meanwhile, turned a few of those walks into the equivalent of extra base hits with six steals.Valley Christian starting pitcher Michael Castaneda also worked 4⅓ innings. He allowed two runs and starred at the plate with a double and two RBI, one on a sacrifice fly. He picked up the win while Jacob Hudson pitched the seventh for the save.Davis Phillips had three hits for M-A. Rowan Kelly and Trevor Heinz each had two.The Warriors (27-3...

Minnesota gets late goal to beat Portland 1-0

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:05:49 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Bongokuhle Hlongwane scored late in stoppage time to give Minnesota United a 1-0 victory over the Portland Timbers on Saturday night. Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair made four saves in the victory, including a dangerous header from defender Zac McGraw in the 89th minute. The loss snapped a four-match undefeated run for Portland. Minnesota midfielder Emanuel Reynoso did not play, although he was cleared by Major League Soccer this week. The two-time All-Star did not report to the team for the start of the season and was suspended by the league. In a statement released by the team, Reynoso said he remained in his native Argentina because of unspecified family issues. He arrived back in Minnesota in May 6.“The truth is I went through a very difficult time in my life,” he said in the video statement released Friday.Reynoso has 16 goals and 28 assists in 71 games for Minnesota since joining the club midway through the 2020 season. Last September, he signed a th...

Vassilev leads St Louis City over Sporting KC 4-0

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:05:49 GMT

Indiana Vassilev scored his first two goals of the season — one in each half — and St. Louis City cruised to a 4-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night.Eduard Löwen opened the scoring for St. Louis City (7-4-1) with his third goal of the season, finding the net on a penalty kick in the 19th minute.Vassilev followed with a goal six minutes later — with an assist from Jared Stroud — and St. Louis led 2-0 at halftime.Stroud picked up another assist on a goal by Nicholas Gioacchini — his fourth of the season — to up the lead to 3-0 in the 55th minute.Vassilev completed the scoring in the 75th minute with an assist from Tomás Ostrák.Sporting KC falls to 0-4-2 in its last six road matches against expansion teams. Its only win was a 2-0 victory over Los Angeles FC in 2018.St. Louis City entered play on a three-match skid in all competitions, with the last two coming at the hands of the Chicago Fire. The club got back on track with four goals after being shut out in three of ...

O’Hearn ties career high with 4 RBIs, Orioles beat Blue Jays 6-5 in 10 innings

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:05:49 GMT

TORONTO (AP) — Ryan Mountcastle scored the go-ahead run in the 10th inning when third baseman Matt Chapman’s throw hit him in the back on Austin Hays’ grounder, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 Saturday to become the second team to reach 30 wins.“Our guys are really competing every game right now,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “It’s a fun team to watch.”Ryan O’Hearn went 3 for 5 and tied his career high with four RBIs, including a three-run homer in the eighth off Jordan Romano that tied the score 5-5. Cedric Mullins hit a solo homer as the Orioles (30-16) won for the eighth time in 11 games. Baltimore trails Tampa Bay (34-13) by 3 1/2 games in the AL East.“Coming in here and getting a series win against a team we’re competing for the division with is huge,” O’Hearn said. “It does nothing but build confidence for the guys. It’s pretty fun to be a part of right now.”O’Hearn said he was looking for a fastball from Romano but recognized the slider after se...

Mexico prosecutors withdraw case against woman sentenced to prison for killing man raping her

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:05:49 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican prosecutors announced Saturday night that they are withdrawing a case against a woman who was sentenced to six years in prison for killing a man as he raped and attacked her.In a ruling last week that touched off a public outcry, a court in Mexico State said that while it agreed 23-year-old Roxana Ruiz was raped in 2021, it found her guilty of homicide with “excessive use of legitimate defense.” It also ordered Ruiz to pay more than $16,000 in reparations to the family of her attacker.Feminist groups, which have supported Ruiz’s defense, angrily protested, saying the ruling was criminalizing survivors of sexual violence while protecting perpetrators in a country with high levels of gender-based violence and femicides. Protesters in Mexico City carried signs reading “Defending my life isn’t a crime.” Ruiz, an Indigenous woman and single mother, told reporters after the court’s ruling that she had received death threats because of the...

Real Salt Lake keeps Rapids winless at home with 3-2 victory

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:05:49 GMT

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (AP) — Real Salt Lake scored three times in the first half and held on for a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night.Real Salt Lake (4-6-3) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute when Pablo Ruiz took a pass from Bode Hidalgo and scored for a second time this season.Danny Musovski stretched the lead to 2-0 nine minutes later with an unassisted goal — his first of the season.Defender Danny Wilson pulled Colorado (2-6-6) within a goal in the 33rd minute, using an assist from Connor Ronan to score his first of the season. Damir Kreilach scored his second goal of the season when he took passes from Rubio Rubín and Bertin Jacquesson and found the net in the 44th minute, giving Real Salt Lake a 3-1 lead into halftime.Wilson and Ronan notched assists in the 74th minute on a goal by defender Lalas Abubakar — his second — to get the Rapids within a goal.Zac MacMath held Colorado at bay from there, finishing with two saves. William Yarbrough saved two s...