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Man City changes typical pre-match routine in Champions League to get used to an artificial pitch

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:37 GMT

BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Manchester City has changed its usual preparations for an away game in the Champions League ahead of a meeting with Young Boys on the Swiss team’s artificial pitch at its Wankdorf Stadium.City does not normally take up the option available to the team of training at the stadium where it is playing the game, instead preferring to work in Manchester before traveling.However, City flew to Bern early Tuesday and had a run-out inside Young Boys’ stadium on its unfamiliar terrain.Speaking at a news conference later Tuesday, City manager Pep Guardiola said he would prefer to be playing on natural grass but accepted the conditions.“If UEFA allows games to be played here, it’s because it is in good conditions,” Guardiola said.“That’s one of the reasons we never train away but this is an exception. This is why we travel in the morning for the players to feel how the ball runs, how to move left, right, backwards, forwards. That’s why. We’ll try it and the p...

The 49ers need to find their pass rush after back-to-back losses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:37 GMT

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Few teams in the NFL invest as much in draft picks and money in the defensive line as the San Francisco 49ers.So if a pass rush with players such as Nick Bosa, Javon Hargrave, Arik Armstead and Co. can’t do a better job of bringing down quarterbacks, it will be a big problem for the Niners.That was evident Monday night when Kirk Cousins picked apart San Francisco’s defense in impressive fashion, throwing for 378 yards and taking no sacks in Minnesota’s 22-17 victory over the 49ers. “I mean we have a lot of really good players on the D-line and, obviously, a lot invested in it,” Bosa said. “We have to make plays when they are there. We got lulled to sleep by some of the protections. When those opportunities come, you have to be ready for them.”San Francisco had plenty of chances against Cousins with the Vikings passing the ball 45 times. But none of those plays ended in sacks and very few even in a throwaway or scramble under pressure. For...

GOP picks Tom Emmer as its nominee for House speaker but Trump is against giving him the gavel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans picked Rep. Tom Emmer as their nominee for House speaker Tuesday as they desperately searched for a way out of the chaos they have created, but the choice was quickly rejected by Donald Trump and other hardliners, leaving it highly uncertain the GOP latest hopeful can win the gavel.Three weeks after Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy, throwing the House into turmoil, they appear no closer to ending the bitter infighting and choosing a new speaker who can credibly unite the GOP majority, lead the party and get the U.S. Congress working again.Dejected Republicans, many hearing from angry far-right callers pressuring them to vote against their own nominee, planned to reassemble later Tuesday afternoon ahead of possible floor action. “We’re in the same cul-de-sac,” said Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., the chairman of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.Emmer of Minnesota, who is the party’s third-ranking Republican as the GOP whip, jumped out in front du...

Man stopped in August outside Michigan governor’s summer mansion worked for anti-Democrat group

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:37 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A man dressed in black who works for a group specializing in opposition research about Democrats was stopped while climbing a bluff near Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s summer residence in August, according to a police report obtained by The Associated Press.The man, whose name was redacted in the document, said he worked as a “political tracker” for America Rising. The police report links to two websites as potential employers, one at an America Rising corporation and one for an America Rising political action committee.The man said he was “climbing the hill to get a ‘view up here’ when he was stopped Aug. 26. When members of the Executive Protection Section advised there was no view to see where he was at, (the man) stated, ‘I guess I’m leaving now,’” state police said.The mansion on Mackinac Island is a summer residence for any Michigan governor in office. It’s located “on a bluff overlooking the Straits of Mackinac,” according to the island’s t...

Clemson will be without 2 starters in DB Mickens and WR Williams vs. NC State

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:37 GMT

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson will be down a pair of starters in wide receiver Antonio Williams and safety R.J. Mickens when it faces North Carolina State on Saturday.Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said Williams, who had just returned after missing three games with an ankle injury, hurt his toe in a loss to Miami last weekend.Mickens had an appendectomy on Monday, according to Swinney.Williams was one one of Clemson’s top playmakers as a freshman in 2022. He’s had 17 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns this year. Williams made two catches for 47 yards before coming out near halftime in the 28-20 overtime loss to the Hurricanes.Swinney said Williams would be out for a while and may be able to return toward the end of the season.Mickens’ stomach was hurting and he was diagnosed with appendicitis, Swinney said. It may take two or three weeks before he’s healthy enough to return, the coach said.Mickens has started all seven games, with 37 tackles and three pass br...

Israel vows again to destroy Hamas, rejecting calls for a cease-fire in Gaza at a major UN meeting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:37 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Israel vowed again to destroy Hamas, rejecting calls from the U.N. chief, the Palestinians and many countries at a high-level U.N. meeting on Tuesday for a cease-fire and declaring that the war in Gaza is not only its war but “the war of the free world.”Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also dismissed calls for “proportionality” in the country’s response to Hamas’ surprise attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,400 people and has since led to more than 5,700 Palestinian deaths in Gaza according to its Health Ministry.“Tell me, what is a proportionate response for killing of babies, for rape (of) women and burn them, for beheading a child?” Cohen asked. “How can you agree to a cease-fire with someone who swore to kill and destroy your own existence?”He told the U.N. Security Council that the proportionate response to the Oct. 7 massacre is “a total destruction to the last one of the Hamas,” calling the extremist group “the new Nazis.” He stressed: “It is no...

After worst season in years, Ohio State looks for a rise to prominence again in the Big Ten

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:37 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State provided a tantalizing look of what might be when the Buckeyes beat three higher-seeded teams in the Big Ten Tournament before losing to top-seeded and eventual champion Purdue in a semifinal.Up until then, it had been a season to forget for the Buckeyes, particularly during a long, frustrating stretch of January and February when they lost 14 of 15 conference games.Ohio State finished 16-19 (5-15 Big Ten). It was the first season under .500 in 19 years and the first time the Buckeyes missed the NCAA Tournament in six years. Managing it was a challenge for coach Chris Holtmann, who had led the Buckeyes to 20-win seasons in each of his first five years in Columbus.Holtmann is hoping a group of new players will coalesce around fourth-year center Zed Key and a trio of second-year guards — Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle Jr. and Felix Okpara — who began to flash their potential in the second half of last season.Key was averaging 10.8 points per game and 7.5 ...

Udinese fires Andrea Sottil after going winless in the opening 9 rounds of Serie A

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:37 GMT

UDINE, Italy (AP) — Udinese fired Andrea Sottil on Tuesday after going winless in the opening nine rounds of Serie A.The Friuli club is third from the bottom with six points from six draws, including a 1-1 result at home with Lecce on Monday.Udinese has been in the top division uninterrupted since 1995.Former Udinese coach Gabriele Cioffi is expected to be rehired as a replacement.It’s the third coaching change in the Italian league this season after Aurelio Andreazzoli replaced Paolo Zanetti at Empoli and Filippo Inzaghi took over from Paulo Sousa at Salernitana.Sottil coached Udinese to a 12th-place finish last season.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/SoccerSource

'I'm a fan of Kenan': Deion Sanders laughs about SNL portrayal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:37 GMT

BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) -- Coach Deion Sanders of the University of Colorado Buffaloes has seen, and enjoyed, a recent Saturday Night Live sketch imitating the indomitable coach. Sanders's style and unique press conference answers fueled the late-night sketch, where Kenan Thompson attempted to capture the coach and NFL legend's spirit while talking about the team, race and Colorado's population to SNL's Colin Jost. What you need to know about the Nuggets ring and banner celebration Sanders, through smiles and chuckles, told reporters at his weekly news conference that he respects and loves Thompson. "I'm a fan of Kenan," Sanders said. "I love him, I love what he's brought to comedy over, what, over- it's gotta be over several decades now."In the Oct. 15 sketch, Thompson, dressed in head-to-toe CU Buffs gear (similarly to how Sanders usually dresses), chattered about the Buffs winning streak (currently 4-3) and divine intervention leading him to Colorado. Thompson poked fun at Sander...

Colorado, states sue Meta claiming its platforms harm children's mental health

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:37 GMT

Dozens of U.S. states, including Colorado, California and New York, are suing Meta Platforms Inc. for harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms. A lawsuit filed by 33 states in federal court in California, claims that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent, in violation of federal law. In addition, nine attorneys general are filing lawsuits in their respective states, bringing the total number of states taking action to 41 and Washington, D.C. Are you a ‘low-income’ worker in Denver? “Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens. Its motive is profit, and in seeking to maximize its financial gains, Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its social media platforms,” the complaint says. “It has con...