Yahoo SportsIs It true: There are no friends in Drag? | Reality Check with Baga, Blu and Vinegar
RuPaul's Drag Race Queens Baga Chipz, Blu Hydrangea and Vinegar Strokes bury the rumour that there is no such thing as a friend in the drag business.
RuPaul's Drag Race Queens Baga Chipz, Blu Hydrangea and Vinegar Strokes bury the rumour that there is no such thing as a friend in the drag business.
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.
Tiger Woods was moved to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and underwent "follow-up procedures" on Friday morning.
"Something is changing in this generation of Asian Americans."
"There are certainly some moments that I know I could have done better really for our team and for Jared in particular.”
Renee Montgomery, a two-time WNBA champion, announced her retirement this month.
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.
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.
The Toronto Maple Leafs can see the Edmonton Oilers in their rearview mirror. And that object is just as close as it appears. Toronto continues to lead the North Division standings, but hard-charging Edmonton is now just four points back on the all-Canadian circuit heading into a three-game series between the teams in Alberta's capital beginning Saturday. "That's the nature of the season," Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of the NHL's pandemic-condensed 56-game schedule. "Edmonton has played as good or better than anybody in the league the last while. They've been picking up a lot of points. "We feel like we've been going pretty well as a team here, and it's still real close." The Oilers sputtered to a 3-6-0 mark in kicking off the truncated campaign before going an NHL-best 11-2-0 since — a red-hot stretch sparked by a 4-3 overtime victory against Toronto at Rogers Place on Jan. 30. As a result, Edmonton (14-8-0) has clawed to within shouting distance of Toronto (15-4-2) and could overtake the Leafs with three consecutive regulation victories. "Everyone's buying in and starting to really believe," said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, whose 40 points leads the NHL. "When everyone believes in what we're doing, that's when it gets real dangerous." Edmonton centre Leon Draisaitl sits second in the league with 34 points, while Toronto counterpart Auston Matthews tops the goal race with 18. Matthews is also tied with Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane for third in scoring with 31 points, while Leafs linemate Mitch Marner one back in fifth. Matthews didn't take part in Friday's practice because of a wrist injury he's been dealing with most of 2021 before Toronto flew west to begin a five-game, eight-day road trip that concludes with two contests against the Vancouver Canucks, but Keefe indicated his best player hasn't been ruled out for Saturday. "He's day-to-day," said the coach. "We're just going to have to see how he continues to progress." Keefe said the fact Matthews picked up a pair of assists in Wednesday's 2-1 overtime victory against the Calgary Flames, despite not being able to take faceoffs for the second half of the game after aggravating the injury, speaks to how dialled in he is this season. "He's remained resilient and hasn't allowed little things like that to disrupt him," Keefe said. "While he had to adapt his game and I had to adapt how we used him a little bit, he still competed his ass right to the very end." Leafs backup goalie Jack Campbell hasn't played since Jan. 24 because of a leg injury, but declared himself ready to go after third-stringer Michael Hutchinson started three of the last four. No. 1 netminder Frederik Andersen (lower body, day-to-day) had an on-ice session before practice and travelled with the team. Meanwhile, Toronto defencemen Jake Muzzin (facial fracture) and Joe Thornton (lower body) were both full participants Friday and, like Campbell, appear on course to return after missing two games this week. "We're going to be have to be ready," Muzzin, who will be sporting a full cage, said of facing the Oilers. "They're a team that's firing right now. They've got good goaltending, their defence is doing well, and the stars are playing hard. "It's going to be a challenge." Despite the elite talent at the top of both rosters — Edmonton leads the NHL with 79 goals, while Toronto is next with 74 — the four previous meetings between the clubs this season haven't really lived up to the hype, save for McDavid's end-to-end, highlight-reel goal Jan. 30. "People expect these big offensive nights," said McDavid, who's four back of Matthews in the goal race. "Both teams have respect for each other where neither really wants to open it up and let the other offensive guys get going. "You can expect a tight-checking little series." Keefe has preached structure and strong play away from the puck as a key to Toronto's long-term success, and he's noticed Edmonton getting a similar buy-in the last month. "They're playing a real sound team game," he said. "I see a lot of similarities to how we've found consistency." Oilers goalie Mike Smith is 6-0-0 since returning from injury after Mikko Koskinen held the fort early. The 38-year-old has a .944 save percentage for a club that has allowed two goals or fewer in seven of its last nine contests. "I just really want to play well for this group," Smith said. "We've done a lot of good things this year to put us in a good spot. I don't want that to slide away because of goaltending. "It's a mission I'm on." Edmonton defenceman Darnell Nurse said he's seen a growth in the group since its shaky opening. "As you start to put games together and win different ways, the way that we have over the course of this stretch, it creates confidence," he said. "When you find ways to win games when you're down by a few, and find ways to hold on to them when up, win those tight games, it brings confidence in all different types of situations." The Leafs have two regulation victories over the Oilers this season, while Edmonton has one in normal time to go along with that OT triumph. The teams play twice more after this three-game set — March 27 and 29 in Toronto. The Oilers and Leafs both had disappointing qualifying round exits from the NHL's summer bubble. Toronto came out firing with a renewed commitment to playing a 200-foot game that complements its explosive offence. It took some time, but Edmonton appears to have followed suit. "The one thing is just how motivated everyone is," McDavid said. "Everyone came back with that chip on their shoulder and that bitter taste in their mouth, and want to do something special here. "Our start didn't show that, but over the last month we've been playing real well." The Leafs will get to see that up close for three straight starting Saturday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2021. ___ Follow @JClipperton_CP on Twitter Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
NEW YORK — Ryan Strome had a goal and two assists and Chris Kreider had a goal and an assist in New York's three-goal second period, leading the Rangers to a 6-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Friday night. Julian Gauthier, Colin Blackwell, Pavel Buchnevich and Jonny Brodzinski also scored to help the Rangers get their third win in four games. Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren each had two assists, and Alexandar Georgiev stopped 31 shots to improve to 2-0-2 in his last four starts. With fans back at Madison Square Garden for the first time this season, the Rangers beat Bruins for the first time in three meetings. Boston was 5-0-1 in the previous six games with the Rangers. After the game, the Rangers gathered at centre-ice to salute the 1,800 fans in attendance before skating off. Several players gave their sticks to some of the fans. Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist, Patrice Bergeron also scored and David Pastrnak had two assists for Boston. Tuukka Rask finished with 28 saves in the Bruins' fourth loss in five games. The Bruins, who lost 7-2 at the New York Islanders on Thursday night, had not given up more than four goals in their first 16 games. With Boston trailing 1-0, Jack Studnicka nearly tied the score early in the second period with a shot that hit off the crossbar. The Rangers doubled the lead shortly after that. On a rush, Alexis Lafreniere sent a cross-ice pass to Strome, who tapped it in past Rask from the right side for his sixth at 2:32. Lafreniere, the top overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft, got his first career assist. Bergeron pulled the Bruins to 2-1 just 90 seconds later, scoring from the right doorstep off Pastrnak's pass from the left circle. Charlie Coyle hit a goal post on a Bruins power play with about 6:50 left. Blackwell tipped Adam Fox's one-timer from the point on a power play to push the lead to 3-1 with 1:08 remaining in the second. It was Blackwell's third goal in five games. Kreider gave the Rangers a three-goal lead just 12 seconds later as his shot from a sharp angle deflected off Coyle's left skate and past Rask for his ninth. Kreider, who had his third career hat trick against Philadelphia on Tuesday night, scored for the third straight game. Buchnevich made it 5-1 on a tip-in 1:45 into the third, and Brodzinski got his first with the Rangers as he scored on a diving tip of a pass from Kevin Rooney at 3:43. Marchand got the Bruins within four as he swooped in and knocked in the rebound of Pastrnak's shot at 7:51 for his 10th. It was Marchand's 300th career goal. Gauthier got the Rangers on the scoreboard with 6:44 left in the first, firing a shot from the left circle between a screened Rask and the left post for his second career goal. STREAKS Kreider, who had his third career hat trick against Philadelphia on Tuesday night, scored for the third straight game. He has five goals and an assist in that stretch. ... Strome extended his point streak to four games. POWER PLAYS The Bruins are 3 for 21 on the power play over their last eight games after going 12 for 34 over the first 10. The Rangers scored a power-play goal for the fourth straight game, going 5 for 19 over that stretch. They were 2 for 31 over their previous 10 games. MOVING UP Bergeron's goal gave him 889 career points, breaking a tie with Bobby Orr to take over sole possession of fifth place on the Bruins' franchise list. UP NEXT Bruins: At New York Rangers on Sunday to open a two-game series. Rangers: Host Boston on Sunday to wrap up a two-game series. ___ More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
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 122-111 victory 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
The Braves extend Brian Snitker's contract, plus Christian Yelich talks about looking forward to the 2021 season on this edition of FastCast
MLS announced Sacramento was getting a team two Octobers ago.
NEW YORK — Kevin Durant will be out through the All-Star break because of a hamstring injury, sidelining the Brooklyn Nets star from a game for which he was chosen to serve as a captain. Indiana's Domantas Sabonis was chosen by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to replace Durant, with Boston's Jayson Tatum elevated to the pool of starters for the March 7 game in Atlanta. The Nets said Friday that after a routine follow-up MRI on Durant's left hamstring, it was determined that he needed additional recovery time. That ends the first half of his impressive return from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon. He is averaging 29 points and 7.3 rebounds. But he has been limited to only 19 games and missed nine of the last 10, first because of health and safety protocol reasons and then the hamstring. It also means the Nets will have Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden on the court together for only six full games before the All-Star break. Durant has missed Brooklyn's last six games. The Nets, who have won eight straight, have three more games before the break. The Nets said the latest images provided a clearer picture of the hamstring, adding that they would confident Durant would return at full strength after the extra recovery time. He will continue to undergo rehabilitation and be reassessed after the break. Durant was the leading vote-getter in the Eastern Conference. That made him a captain of one of the teams in the All-Star Game, and he's scheduled to select a team opposite LeBron James next Thursday. There was no immediate decision on whether the draft plans would change. Sabonis is averaging career highs of 21.5 points and 5.7 assists while ranking fifth in the NBA with 11.7 rebounds per game. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Brian Mahoney, The Associated 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