Vassilev leads St Louis City over Sporting KC 4-0

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:56:05 GMT

Vassilev leads St Louis City over Sporting KC 4-0 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 Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:56:05 GMT

O’Hearn ties career high with 4 RBIs, Orioles beat Blue Jays 6-5 in 10 innings 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 Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:56:05 GMT

Mexico prosecutors withdraw case against woman sentenced to prison for killing man raping her 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 Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:56:05 GMT

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

Russia’s Wagner group claims control of Bakhmut, but Kyiv says fighting continues

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:56:05 GMT

Russia’s Wagner group claims control of Bakhmut, but Kyiv says fighting continues Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group claimed on Saturday to have gained control of Bakhmut, the eastern Ukrainian city that has seen the fiercest battles recently in Moscow’s war on Ukraine, but Kyiv disputed the assertion and said heavy fighting continued there. Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner’s leader, said in a video posted on Telegram that Bakhmut came under complete Russian control around midday Saturday, according to media reports.“Today, at 12 noon, Bakhmut was completely taken,” Prigozhin said in the video. “We completely took the whole city, from house to house.”Ukrainian officials denied that Wagner had established complete control in Bakhmut, but called the situation in the city critical. Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern command, told the Associated Press that Prigozhin’s claim “is not true.” Ukrainian “units are fighting in Bakhmut,” he added.Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said heavy fighting was c...

Hundreds gather to celebrate new San Diego MLS team

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:56:05 GMT

Hundreds gather to celebrate new San Diego MLS team SAN DIEGO -- Soccer fans celebrated the announcement of a new MLS team on its way to San Diego in 2025.Hundreds of fans gathered at Snapdragon Stadium for the "Let's Kick It" party.There was a scarf giveaway of 1,000 scarves for the first fans. The scarves were gone within 24 minutes of the gates opening.It was a part for people to mingle and socialize, eat and drink beer.San Diego Loyal and Wave fans said they are looking forward to cheering on a third San Diego soccer team. Starbucks rolling out new ice cubes, dividing customers "It's surreal, we can't believe it. It's been a long time in the making. We went through ups and downs, failed attempts. We still we don't believe it yet, that's why we are here to make it resonate, make the sound, make us feel that we really have a team down here," said Kevin Herrera, with the Chavos Supporter Group."I grew up here in San Diego, I always wanted a team here. I'm really excited. I can't wait for 2025 to come and be here for the first game...

Sunshine is back in Chicago—and it's here to stay. Splendid weather ahead...

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:56:05 GMT

Sunshine is back in Chicago—and it's here to stay. Splendid weather ahead... We're in for a really nice stretch of spring weather in Chicago. High pressure stays in control of our weather for the next week, keeping us quite sunny. But as the high pressure right over us shifts a tad to the east we'll see some milder weather come in the forecast for Sunday-Monday in the seasonal 70s. Several days this week will be in the mid to low 80s inland, but near the lake it'll be in the low 60s.

Nuggets crush Lakers’ hopes with three greatest strengths, one at a time: “They’re a force. Tough for us to stop.”

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:56:05 GMT

Nuggets crush Lakers’ hopes with three greatest strengths, one at a time: “They’re a force. Tough for us to stop.” LOS ANGELES — With a triad of methods to issue a third successive strike to the heart, the Denver Nuggets humbled Hollywood, turned Crypto.com Arena into a crypt and crushed the Lakers’ hopes once and for all.Los Angeles isn’t officially done yet, but not even the NBA’s most celebrated franchise has pulled off what LeBron James and company must attempt now. In playoff history, teams to lead a series 3-0 have won the series 149 times out of 149.“I’ve never been in a position like this,” Lakers forward Rui Hachimura said when asked how to avoid feeling discouraged by the heft of that history. “So I don’t know.”“Right now, I can’t really give you anything (optimistic),” guard Austin Reaves said after a 119-108 Denver win Saturday night.To take a 3-0 lead, the Nuggets awed L.A. with an orderly and comprehensive display of their three greatest strengths, one at a time. It left the Lakers with nothing to do exce...

Colorado Rapids unable to climb back from two-goal deficit in 3-2 loss to Real Salt Lake

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:56:05 GMT

Colorado Rapids unable to climb back from two-goal deficit in 3-2 loss to Real Salt Lake COMMERCE CITY — Going down two goals — twice — against a team’s bitter rival is enough to drive a head coach to give a blunt one-sentence, 11-word opening remark following a loss.Colorado Rapids head coach Robin Fraser did just that in his opening postgame comments following a thoroughly disappointing 3-2 loss to Real Salt Lake in the first leg of the Rocky Mountain Cup Saturday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.“We can’t expect to concede goals like that and win games,” Fraser said.The Rapids lost a third straight game in the span of one week, as they were unable to fight back from two-goal deficits twice at 2-0 and 3-1. Despite a late goal from Lalas Abubakar, it wasn’t enough. Colorado (2-6-6, 12 points) was unable to find its home form again as it is still winless at DSGP. The Rapids are 0-3-3 through six games this season — the last team in MLS without a home win.“As we talked about last time, one goal can’t turn into four...

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

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:56:05 GMT

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