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'Columbo' actor Bruce Kirby dead at 95
On Sunday, actor Bruce Kirby, best known for his role as Sgt. George Kramer on the television series “Columbo,” died at the age of 95. The news was shared by his son Jack via Facebook.
On Sunday, actor Bruce Kirby, best known for his role as Sgt. George Kramer on the television series “Columbo,” died at the age of 95. The news was shared by his son Jack via Facebook.
The news comes after Nick Nurse, along with five other members of the Raptors coaching staff were placed in the NBA's health and safety protocols.
Renee Montgomery, a two-time WNBA champion, announced her retirement this month.
The Sabres enter the weekend dealing with injuries to two key players and uncertainty as to whether coach Ralph Krueger is going to end the benching of his high-priced forward.
"Something is changing in this generation of Asian Americans."
In an interview, soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic essentially told LeBron James to "stick to sports" and was critical of athletes' social activism.
Women's hockey star Angela James, Oilers executive Kevin Lowe and former Hockey Canada president Bill Hay have been named to the Order of Hockey in Canada.
Investigators released photos of a suspect they believed was involved in the fire at Shaq's Atlanta Krispy Kreme store earlier this month.
Toronto Raptors general manager Bobby Webster spoke to the media about Pascal Siakam and several Raptors coaches missing Friday's game vs. the Houston Rockets due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Chelsea are on a four-game win streak under new manager Thomas Tuchel as they seek a place in the Premier League’s top four. On Sunday, they face an inconsistent but goal-producing Manchester United side who are hoping to cement second spot in the standings.
The Canucks have been shut out both times they've run a jersey-giveaway promotion this season and are now 0-4 in their new threads.
Quebec City police say they have arrested a 54-year-old woman in connection with the case of fake Alexis Lafreniere hockey cards circulating online.
Tua breaks down his former backup QB, two of his former receivers and even touted the former Bama teammate he wouldn't mind teaming up with in the NFL.
Tiger Woods was moved to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and underwent "follow-up procedures" on Friday morning.
TAMPA, Fla. — Assistant coach Sergio Scariolo took charge of the Toronto Raptors on Friday night with head coach Nick Nurse and five other members of his staff sidelined due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Star forward Pascal Siakam also sat out the game against the visiting Houston Rockets due to the same protocols, according to the league's injury report. Toronto GM Bobby Webster said it wasn't clear at this stage if Siakam's situation was linked to the coaches. "We'll see what tomorrow brings us," he said before the game. "We're all diligently getting tested and awaiting the results every day." Chris Boucher started in place of Siakam. Assistant coach Jim Sann was on the Toronto bench along with Mark Tyndale, assistant video coordinator/player development, and Jamaal Magloire, basketball development consultant. The Toronto coaching staff was already shorthanded given Chris Finch left the team earlier this week to become head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Adrian Griffin, Jama Mahlalela and Jon Goodwillie make up the remainder of Nurse's coaching staff. Scariolo came out of quarantine earlier Friday after a trip to Poland to coach Spain in FIBA qualifiers. He had been in a FIBA bubble there and then passed the NBA protocols upon his return. The 59-year-old Italian, who joined the Raptors in July 2018, has more than 30 years coaching experience. Webster, citing privacy issues, declined to identify the people affected or say whether they tested positive for COVID-19 or whether the tests were inconclusive. It could also involve contact tracing. He said all the players in action and those on the sidelines for the game had tested negative Friday. The team is tested twice each morning, with those with negative tests allowed to proceed. "Once the negative tests came back this afternoon, I think that gave the NBA the comfort that at least for today we're clear," he said when asked if the league had considered postponing the game. The team said the coaches will not be on the bench beginning with Friday night's game against the visiting Houston Rockets, but "will continue to work remotely, and details on their return will be communicated when appropriate." Webster said contact between Nurse and the bench during the game was not allowed under NBA rules. It's uncertain how many games the coaching staff will miss. The Raptors host Chicago on Sunday. Webster said one option, if needed, would be to bring back some of the Raptors 905 coaching staff, led by head coach Patrick Mutombo, who are in Orlando with the G-League team. Asked half-jokingly if there had been any consideration to make star guard Kyle Lowry player-coach for the night, Webster joked he didn't know if the team had the budget to make that happen. More seriously, he said you can't pay a player to do anything outside of his contract. Webster said he spoke to Lowry in the morning, noting he and Fred VanVeleet are the Raptors field generals — "just trying to get it in their head as soon as possible so they could think about it (being without the coaches)." Thursday was an off-day for the Raptors so nothing was scheduled. That prompted the team to go back further in time to try and determine what happened to cause this situation. "It's tough," Rockets coach Stephen Silas said prior to the game. "With the contact tracing and all of that, it's a hard deal to kind of keep everybody safe and have some sort of normal life experience. "You know, for us it doesn't really make much of a difference. It's Nick Nurse's team. They run Nick Nurse's stuff. He's a great coach. I respect the heck out of him. So not having him over on the side doesn't necessarily make me feel any better because it's his team that's (being) coached. And it's the players that they have that make them really good. "It's a really tough situation for him and his coaching staff. But walking from the bus to the locker room, they have a bunch of other coaches. If that happened to me, we'd be down to our trainer or Keith Jones (Houston's senior vice-president of basketball operation/head athletic trainer) or somebody would be coaching," he added with a laugh. "But for them, they have a bunch more good guys. So they'll be fine." The Raptors have been lucky amid the global pandemic with no games postponed or rescheduled. Because of Canada's border restrictions, they're playing the season at Tampa's Amalie Arena. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2021. The Canadian Press
MIAMI — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has heard all the reasons why the league should not have an All-Star Game in Atlanta next weekend. He has two reasons why the league should: the fans and the game’s economy. Silver, in an interview with The Associated Press, said the fact that about 100 million votes were cast by fans for All-Star starters shows that the people who follow the game globally wanted the league’s midseason showcase to be played. And the league, he said, didn't want to disappoint them. “It’s the largest factor, the amount of engagement we get from our fans around All-Star,” Silver said. “Historically, in the modern digital age, we have roughly 100 million people vote for our All-Stars, and we came out about the same this year even with a shortened voting period.” Players have raised some questions about why the game is necessary and the risks involved in playing it during a pandemic. The league has said it will fly players into Atlanta privately, keep them in a hotel for one night, play the game on March 7 and fly them back out again immediately afterward. They believe that plan, combined with ongoing daily testing and with no outside All-Star events, will minimize risks. “We know we can’t eliminate risk completely,” Silver said. “We never can in a pandemic.” The NBA has touted the game’s global reach for years and All-Star is no exception, with the game to be shown in more than 200 countries and broadcast in about 40 languages. The league expects 1 billion video views on social media from the events on March 7 as well. “For a league that doesn’t have a neutral-site championship series historically, the focus typically is having an opportunity during our season to bring the entire community together,” Silver said. “Of course, we don’t have the opportunity to do that in person this year. But the NBA community is 99% virtual. It’s a global community on social media, representing close to 1.9 billion people who are engaged with us. There fact that there won’t be the traditional receptions and parties and fan events — and we’ll sadly miss them — it won’t change the experience for the largest portion of our fans.” There is a financial element as well, and Silver has not hidden from that. He said last week that Turner Sports, a league broadcast partner, wanted the game to happen in Atlanta, where the network is headquartered — and that indeed is where the game is taking place. The league held last season’s final regular-season games and the entirety of the playoffs at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida; Disney owns ESPN, another league broadcast partner. “My personal view is very few people do anything just for the money,” Silver said. “But at the same time, while we’re clearly in a health emergency in this country, we’re also in the midst of an economic crisis and that extends to the NBA as well. There are tens of thousands of people who are dependent on the NBA for their livelihoods. So, for those who say we’re doing it for the money, they could say the same thing about our entire operation, about the fact that we’re even playing our season.” The league missed revenue projections last season by about $1.5 billion, and revenues will be down again this season largely because of fewer games and far fewer fans in buildings. Most arenas are empty for games; those that aren’t empty are playing to capacities 80% to 90% below normal. “We always begin with the health and safety of our players and everyone involved,” Silver said. “It was no different than our view going into the bubble. If we could keep our community healthy and safe, then it was appropriate to proceed. And we looked at the All-Star Game the same way. We know how to operate a bubble. We’re going to operate a mini-bubble in Atlanta that will be constructed no differently than the operation we ran either for the NBA in Orlando or for the WNBA in Bradenton, Florida, or for the G League for that matter is operating in right now in Orlando.” Silver addressed some other issues with AP, including: PANDEMIC SEASON The league has gotten about 95% of its scheduled games played in the season’s first half, with 29 called off for reasons related to the coronavirus pandemic. A handful of other games were called off after the ice storm that crippled Texas earlier this month. Silver said the league went into this season knowing some games would be postponed, and said he’s pleased that almost all games have happened as scheduled. He also touted the success of the league’s protocols regarding health and safety and how they’ve evolved as the season goes along. EXPANSION Silver said he continues to believe expansion of the league is “inevitable,” but said there is no timetable, either officially or in his head about when that will happen. “It was not under active consideration before the pandemic,” Silver said. “Certainly, during the pandemic as I’ve mentioned, we’ve dusted off some of the plans that we previously looked at for potential expansion,” But it remains on the backburner and it would not be appropriate to expand right now, given where our focus is on trying to work through this season. All our attention is on getting the business back to being fully operable as quickly as possible.” ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
CALGARY — The favourites set the tone in championship pool play Friday at the Canadian women's curling championship. With a few surprise teams making the eight-team cut, perennial contenders Rachel Homan, Jennifer Jones and Kerri Einarson posted afternoon victories and showed why they're good bets to reach the playoffs. "With only three teams advancing, you can't have very many losses to advance," Jones said. "So we know that and we know we're going to have to play every game as though we have to get that W and hopefully we perform well." Homan's Ontario team stole a point in the 10th end for a 7-6 victory over Chelsea Carey's Team Wild Card Three. Einarson, the defending champion, topped Saskatchewan's Sherry Anderson 10-6 to keep pace with Homan at 8-1. Jones's Manitoba team posted a 12-8 win over Beth Peterson of Team Wild Card Three to sit in third place at 7-2. Alberta's Laura Walker got by Quebec's Laurie St-Georges 7-6 in an extra end to improve to 6-3. Walker moved into fourth place with Saskatchewan and Quebec, which had an unexpected share of the Pool B lead after the preliminary round. Carey and Peterson fell to 5-4. All eight teams were scheduled to return to the Markin MacPhail Centre for the Friday night draw. Carey, who's filling in at skip for Tracy Fleury this week, barely missed a runback double-takeout attempt with her final shot. Homan had put the pressure on with two protected stones near the button. "They hung in there with me and we made some good ones in the end," Homan said of teammates Emma Miskew, Sarah Wilkes and Joanne Courtney. "Chelsea's team played phenomenal and I thought she almost had that last one in the end." Jones, who's aiming for a record seventh Scotties Tournament of Hearts title, stole five points in the 10th for her victory. Einarson was also tested early before a late deuce sealed the win. Two more draws were set for Saturday. The top three teams in the eight-team pool will reach the playoffs on Sunday. The second- and third-place teams will meet in an afternoon semifinal for a berth in the evening final against the first-place team. The Hearts winner will return as Team Canada at the 2022 national playdowns in Thunder Bay, Ont. The champion will also earn a berth in the Olympic Trials in November at Saskatoon. The men's national championship — the Tim Hortons Brier — starts March 5 at the same Canada Olympic Park venue. The Hearts is the first of six bonspiels to be held at the arena through late April. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2021. Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter. The Canadian Press
A rules official apologized to Annika Sorenstam on Friday for an incorrect ruling, something that nearly cost her a spot this weekend at the Gainbridge LPGA.
There is something so satisfying about a Black woman being part of the ownership group.
Colorado Rockies infielder Ryan McMahon figures players can find plenty to do with any extra time they could get at the end of days if spring training games don't go nine innings. “Maybe slide out for some golf. If not, head home, hit the couch and watch some basketball right now,” McMahon said. Or maybe even some extra batting practice. “It could be, right? Depending on the day and depending on how things went, there’s a lot of different ways that you could go with it,” McMahon said. "The days are different every day, that’s for sure.” Things certainly could look different when spring training games begin Sunday, with managers allowed to mutually determine in advance how many innings their teams need or want to play. “What we’re finding is it’s going to provide some flexibility," Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “I think teams are viewing this differently. My early read on it is we’ll have some different game lengths daily, based on teams’ available pitching." Some games may not even make it to a seventh-inning stretch, since they can be as few as five innings through March 13. Even after that, until the end of spring training, games can be scheduled for only seven innings. “It’s a very reasonable decision by MLB to be flexible,” said White Sox skipper Tony La Russa, managing again a decade after his game with the St. Louis Cardinals, and 35 years after he was last Chicago’s skipper. The potentially shorter spring training games, and the ability to end innings before three outs, come on the heels of 2020, when teams had to alter workouts and the season was shortened to 60 games because of the coronavirus pandemic that is still ongoing. COVID-19 health and safety protocols remain in place while Major League Baseball prepares for what it hopes will be a full 162-game regular season this year. Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell said he had already been in touch with Cleveland's Terry Francona by midweek about their spring training opener Sunday. Teams have to confirm with MLB the previous day on how many innings they intend to play. “It’s just going to be communication between the managers. It’s all new to us but it should be pretty seamless once we get into it,” Bell said. Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly expects his team's first three games to go seven innings. “After that, we're good for nine,” Mattingly said. While the number of innings have to declared in advance, all of those innings don't initially have to be three outs. Through March 13, defensive managers can end an inning before three outs following any completed plate appearance, provided the pitcher has thrown at least 20 pitches. “Fans may not like it in the beginning,” Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "You’ve got two outs and the bases loaded and you yell over there ‘Last hitter. We’re rolling him.’ But in the long run I think it’s a smart move to help, especially now as we’ll be trying to stretch pitchers out.” Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez said the ability to roll innings over, instead of trying to extend pitchers or use more pitchers to get out of an inning, will have managers on board to play nine full innings more often than not. “It’s all about trying to keep everybody healthy. We’ve got guys out there to start the inning. You want them to get their work in, 20-25 pitches, some of these guys will be the maximum,” Martinez said. “After the shortened season, I put a lot of thought into keeping these guys healthy, getting them ready in a very controlled environment and building them up, which is really, really good." MANNY'S LASER FIX Padres slugger Manny Machado said he had off-season laser eye surgery to deal with the lights. “I hope it helps me hit better. I was dealing with some stuff last year with the lights, just night games. I still have the same vision," he said. "We’ll just see when the lights turn on in San Diego, make that little adjustment there, if it helps me out or not. Vision’s fine, same thing, nothing major, nothing different, but hopefully it helps me see the ball a little better and I can hit .320, .330.” Before the surgery, Machado hit .304 with 16 home runs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and was third in NL MVP balloting. ARIZONA RELIEF Veteran right-hander Tyler Clippard has done just about everything in the bullpen in 14 years and with 10 teams as a big league reliever. He should be able to do whatever is needed in Arizona. “I understand the value in being a bridge guy, maybe covering multiple innings or coming in with guys on base in the sixth,” Clippard said Friday, four days after agreeing to terms on a $2.25 million, one-year contract. "I can do a lot of different things so I understand the value in that. So there’s no urgency to say I want to do this or that.” The 36-year-old Clippard, a two-time All-Star with 777 career appearances and a 3.13 ERA, had a career-high 32 saves with the Nationals in 2012 and 17 saves with the Athletics in 2015. But most of his best seasons have come as a setup man who can pitch longer stints if needed. He pitched in 40 games for the Diamondbacks in 2016 before being traded to the New York Yankees. JESSE'S TEAM Veteran right-hander Jesse Chavez is re-signing with the Los Angeles Angels on a minor league deal, and will join them in spring training after clearing intake protocols. With experience as a starter, long reliever and late-inning pitcher, Chavez could provide experience and versatility for a pitching staff lacking depth. Chavez appeared in 38 games for the Angels in 2017, including 21 starts. The Los Angeles-area native left for Texas as a free agent after one season, and he excelled after being traded in July 2018 to the Chicago Cubs, where he was managed by current Angels skipper Joe Maddon, then was with the Rangers again the past two years. ___ AP Sports Writers David Brandt, Howard Fendrich, Pat Graham, Steve Megargee, Charles Odum, Andrew Seligman, Mitch Stacy, Bernie Wilson and Steven Wine contributed to this report. ___ More AP MLB coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press
Tim Anderson believes the rest of the AL will have to go through the White Sox in 2021.