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Div. 1 swimming: Newcomer Needham captures championship

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:06 GMT

CAMBRIDGE — Andover, Chelmsford and Acton-Boxboro have dominated the girls swimming scene since 2004, with Andover capturing 13 state titles and Acton-Boxboro as the two-time defending champions in Division 1.Well, none of those squads had Needham to deal with until now.Needham knocked off Acton-Boxboro with a final score of 335 to capture the school’s first state title in the Division 1 Fall State Championships. The Revolution finished second with a 277.5 but trailed throughout.The Rockets did things the hard way without a gold medal in any event until the final two relays to cap off an unbelievable first season in Division 1 and for head coach Kate Curtain.“We had an unbelievable season. Going into this year, I knew we had some really good seniors and a really strong group returning,” said Curtain, who was an assistant the past two seasons but has coached most of the girls on the club level for the past decade. “We had a couple of hiccups here and there, but our record was good, w...

Celtics’ stars dominate in blowout victory over Raptors

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:06 GMT

Kristaps Porzingis only took four shots in Friday’s win over the Nets, but Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla still thought the big man made a valuable offensive impact.Mazzulla said the best thing that went unnoticed in that win was Porzingis’ screening, which opened up driving lanes and open looks for his teammates. Porzingis may not have been directly involved as he finished with just nine points, but his presence was certainly felt.The Celtics viewed Porzingis as a critical difference maker this offseason to put them over the top, and as he continues to build chemistry with their core by the day, it’s easy to see why. His mere presence on both ends has made these Celtics more dynamic, On Saturday, the theme continued. Porzingis was much more involved, scoring 21 points on 14 shots, and he once again helped unlock his co-stars. Jaylen Brown scored 29 points and Jayson Tatum added 27 and the Celtics rode one of their best defensive efforts of the season to a 117-94 over the Raptors at TD ...

A scramble. A run. A pass while falling down. It’s go time for Geneva’s Nate Stempowski. ‘Play backyard football.’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:06 GMT

Geneva’s Nate Stempowski looked up at the scoreboard and must have thought, “Why not?”The senior quarterback decided it was time to go out like his favorite player in Madden NFL 24. The Vikings had not scored, were trailing by a bunch, and the mercy rule was in place.“It was a running clock, so I guess I’ll just run around, throw the ball, play backyard football and do my thing,” Stempowski said. “We wanted to go out with a touchdown.“Let’s just leave it all on the field and have fun. It’s our last drive.”Stempowski went out in style Saturday afternoon, engineering a final touchdown drive for the Vikings in a 41-7 loss to host Cary-Grove in a Class 6A state quarterfinal game in Cary.Dealing with a running clock, Stempowski hit Michael Rumoro for a 1-yard TD pass in the third quarter. Stempowski finished with 80 yards on 16 carries. Rumoro added 51 yards.It was 41-0 when Stempowski led that 15-play, 75-yard scoring dri...

Authorities in Gaza say Rafah border crossing into Egypt to reopen as of Sunday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:06 GMT

Authorities in the Gaza Strip say the Rafah land crossing between the war-torn territory and Egypt will reopen on Sunday after being closed  for the two previous days. The announcement was shared on a Facebook page on which the General Authority for Crossings and Borders posts a daily list of foreigners cleared to make the journey. That list had not been updated as of Saturday night, but Global Affairs Canada previously confirmed that 266 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their families had been cleared to cross the border as of Friday. The border has been closed since then, however, leaving all stranded in Gaza amid a deteriorating humanitarian situation and escalating fighting between Israeli troops and militants from Hamas, which controls the enclave. Global Affairs did not provide any updates on Saturday and did not respond to multiple requests for information. A total of 107 people with connections to Canada managed to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing on Tuesday and T...

Multiple people hospitalized in 2-alarm North York apartment fire

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:06 GMT

Several people have been taken to hospital with critical injuries following a 2-alarm apartment fire in North York.Firefighters were called to a building in the area of Wilson Avenue and Murray Road, west of Keele Street just before 9 p.m. Saturday.Police say the building has been evacuated and that two children were transported to hospital with unknown injuries.Paramedics tell CityNews three people were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. They did not provide the ages, genders or extent of the injuries of those transported.

Blue Bombers beat B.C. Lions to secure 4th straight Grey Cup berth

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:06 GMT

Brady Oliveira rushed for 109 yards and one touchdown while Nick Hallett blocked a punt and scored to help propel the Blue Bombers to a franchise-record fourth straight Grey Cup appearance after a 24-13 victory over the B.C. Lions in Saturday’s CFL West Division final.Winnipeg will face Montreal in the 110th Grey Cup on Nov. 19 in Hamilton after the Alouettes upset the Toronto Argonauts 38-17 in the East final.The Bombers will try to win a third championship in four appearances after losing last year’s title game 24-23 to the Argonauts. Winnipeg won the Cup in 2021 and 2019. The league didn’t play in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros completed 14 of 21 pass attempts for 158 yards with no interceptions in front of a fifth straight sellout of 32,343 fans at IG Field. He was sacked twice.Vernon Adams Jr. was sacked nine times and was 13-of-25 passing for 221 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Winnipeg’s game-time decision for i...

Megan Rapinoe hobbles off the pitch after injury early in the final match of her career

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:06 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Megan Rapinoe of the OL Reign suffered a non-contact injury to her right leg early in the NWSL championship match Saturday night and needed assistance as she hobbled off the field in the last match of her storied career.Rapinoe broke toward Maitane Lopez of Gotham FC, who was dribbling outside the penalty area, and suddenly went down. After staying on the ground for a few minutes, Rapinoe needed help from two trainers for the long walk along one end line and then down the sideline back to the Reign’s bench at San Diego State’s Snapdragon Stadium.Ali Krieger of Gotham FC, who like Rapinoe is retiring at the end of the match, ran over and hugged her former teammate from the U.S. Women’s National Team.There was no immediate word about the severity of Rapinoe’s injury. The match had been billed as a showdown between Rapinoe and Krieger, neither of whom has ever won a NWSL title.The field at Snapdragon appeared in better shape that it was on Sunda...

Teen killed in shooting on Far South Side

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:06 GMT

CHICAGO — A shooting on the Far South Side left a teen boy dead on Saturday afternoon, police say.Officers say the shooting happened just before 3 p.m. in the 13000 block of South Drexel Avenue in the city's Riverdale neighborhood.  Arson investigation underway after woman, train conductor injured in fire on CTA train According to Chicago police, a 17-year-old boy was injured after he was shot in the chest and the right arm by an unknown individual. The teen was taken to the hospital in critical condition where he later succumbed to his injuries. Police say it is currently unclear what led to the shooting and no arrests have been made. An investigation into the deadly shooting is now underway and authorities have not yet identified anyone involved. West Side shooting leaves 1 dead, 1 critically injured Anyone with information that could help detectives in their investigation is asked to call Area Two Detectives at 312-747-8273.Tips for police can also be filed at CPDti...

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck puts losses on himself, so what’s he going to do after Purdue blowout?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:06 GMT

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The previous time P.J. Fleck’s defense allowed more than 300 yards rushing in a game came in his second year at Minnesota in 2018.The head coach was still building up Minnesota when his team allowed an astounding 430 rushing yards in a 55-31 loss to Illinois that November. The next day, Fleck fired defensive coordinator Robb Smith.On Saturday, the Gophers gave up 300 rushing yards for the first time since that Illini loss. Purdue rushed for 353 yards in a 49-30 win at Ross-Ade Stadium. The two-win Boilermakers hadn’t rushed for 200 yards in a game this season and hadn’t gone over 300 since 2018.“Just unacceptable,” said Fleck, who is 5-5 overall and 3-4 in Big Ten play with two games left in his seventh season. “Everything starts with me. I’ll continue to say that, but I mean that because I take that very personal when I say that. That’s not the cover up. Everything starts with me. And we got to get them ready to play.”Given his standard line of pu...

Premium Iowa Pork projects spring reopening of former HyLife plant

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:06 GMT

The new owner of the former HyLife plant in Windom, Minn., is looking to resume processing pork in the facility sometime in spring 2024.In a news release, Premium Iowa Pork, which bought the facility from HyLife for $14 million on June 2, says it is moving into the second phase of planning. For the past four months, it’s been evaluating the plant space. Premium Iowa Pork says it is now focusing on modernizing the plant.In the statement, company President Dan Paquin said it is removing outdated equipment and infrastructure.“As we’ve said from the very beginning, we are excited to be a part of the Windom Community and continuing to do what we’ve always done: Bring high-quality pork products to families’ tables,” Paquin said. “With that, we’re moving forward to physically improve the space to create a modern pork processing facility.”The company has several operations in the northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota region including in Luverne, Minn. It employs more than 900 workers in Mi...