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Vikings use fifth-round pick on BYU quarterback Jaren Hall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:25 GMT

The Vikings used their fifth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to take Brigham Young quarterback Jaren Hall, who led the Cougars to an 18-8 mark as a starter the past two seasons but is, by NFL standards, not a typical passer.At 6-feet, 207 pounds, he’s built more like an NFL running back than NFL quarterback, and he rushed for 700 yards in 22 games at BYU. But he also has been a tremendous passer.“I think I’m at my best when I’m doing both,” Hall said.Last season, Hall threw for 3,171 yards and 31 touchdowns against just six interceptions. In two seasons running the Cougars’ offense, he completed 65 percent of his passes for 6,174 yards, 52 touchdowns and 11 picks.His size clearly wasn’t an issue in college, but in the NFL, most everyone playing offensive or defensive line is bigger.“You’re never going to see over them; it’s impossible,” Hallsaid Saturday. “So, you’ve really got to be good at seeing through and anticipating space. That’s something I’ll continue to get better at at the nex...

Avalanche’s Josh Manson, Darren Helm out for Game 7; Jared Bednar miffed by Jordan Eberle avoiding suspension after hit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:25 GMT

Josh Manson has demonstrated his impressive capability to rejoin the Avalanche lineup seamlessly after an injury this season, so it didn’t bode well when he hinted Wednesday morning that his latest return hasn’t felt the same.“Just trying to still catch up a little bit,” Manson said the morning of Game 5 against the Kraken. “Trying to keep the body going.”The big defenseman left the bench that night in the third period, not feeling well enough physically to skate in high-stakes minutes, and hasn’t been back since. Manson and center Darren Helm are both officially out for Game 7 of the first-round series, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Saturday.Helm also returned from an injury during this series, but he played only in Game 2 before a hit from Will Borgen sidelined him again. Manson’s lower-body injury is a continuation of the one he has dealt with since early December 2022.Without Manson for Game 6 in Seattle, Bednar reunited Devon ...

Warriors need Jordan Poole to flush ‘frustrating night’ and prepare for pivotal Game 7

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:25 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson knows what it’s like to struggle on some of basketball’s biggest stages.So in the wake of Jordan Poole’s rough showing Friday night, Thompson offered some perspective and support for the fourth-year guard.“We’ve all been there. I’ve had terrible slumps during playoffs, the Olympics, at the highest level,” Thompson said after the Warriors’ stunning 118-99 loss. “Jordan is only 23 years old. We lose as a team; we win as a team. It wasn’t on just JP tonight. He could come out and get 30 effortlessly on Sunday.”The Warriors can live with Poole being a liability on defense when he’s being effective on offense. But the numerous blow-bys on the defensive end are tougher to swallow when Poole scored only seven points on 11 shots.Poole went 2 of 11 from the field, had one assist, two steals and one turnover before ultimately finishing the night a minus-14 in 26 minutes of action.“...

Why are the SF Giants playing in Mexico City?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:25 GMT

When Major League Baseball officials reached out to the 30 clubs about playing in the first-ever regular season games in Mexico City, the Giants rushed to the front of the line.“There were a lot of teams who expressed interest, more so than we anticipated,” said MLB executive Chris Marniak, “but the Giants held their hand up from the beginning.”They didn’t stop there. The Giants built a compelling argument to be one of the chosen teams.“The Mexican fanbase is really important to our future,” Giants president Larry Baer said. “We want to show this isn’t just a one-time relationship. We want Giants fans in our region to know there’s a real connection.”“We could have been doing a better job connecting with the Latin American and Hispanic community, here and abroad,” said Giants vice president Matt Valdez. “This is our opportunity to do so.”To that end, the Giants sent Hunter Pence to Mexico City last month to engage with youth programs and help launch their bid ...

Lee Elia’s epic rant, after a poor start, was 40 years ago today. What’s kept Mark Kotsay from blowing his top?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:25 GMT

OAKLAND – It was 40 years ago Saturday when former Chicago Cubs manager Lee Elia went on a profanity-filled rant in a postgame meeting with reporters, an epic tirade in which he ripped into the team’s fans for their lack of support — and their possible lack of employment — and protected his players from what he felt was unfair criticism after a 5-14 start.After a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Elia pleaded with the media to ease off the Cubs players and direct their brickbats toward him, saying in one of more printable passages, “don’t rip them (expletive) guys ’cause they’re giving everything they can give. And right now, they’re trying to do more than God gave ’em, and that’s why we make the simple mistakes. That’s exactly why.”A’s manager Mark Kotsay has seen his team get off to a worse start than Elia’s Cubs did four decades ago, making some of those same simple mistakes, as Oakland had a 5-22 record before Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds at the Coliseu...

High schools: Legendary Menlo School tennis coach retiring after next school year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:25 GMT

NEW: PREP SPORTS MAILBAGThe Bay Area News Group is introducing a high school sports mailbag in May. Get your questions in as soon as possible. Our debut edition is an open forum. Got questions about spring sports playoffs, coaching changes, an early peek at football season, etc.? Send questions to [email protected]. Please include “mailbag” in the subject line.Menlo School’s Bill Shine has achieved just about everything in high school tennis.Friday, the longtime coach of the boys and girls teams announced that next school year will be his last.Shine has led Menlo’s teams to a combined 27 Central Coast Section and 24 Northern California championships over nearly three decades.He could add to those totals next month as the boys team is 18-1 overall and champions of the West Bay Athletic League entering the CCS playoffs.In addition to filling up the school’s trophy case, Shine also teamed with Monta Vista coach Gene Fortino to start a national high school tou...

Commentary: Montgomery County declared a Climate Emergency. But we aren’t acting like it

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:25 GMT

This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.Boucher is a retired scientist; he directed the Climate Research and Analysis team of the Union of Concerned Scientists for a decade. Metchis is retired from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is now a member of the Climate Action Plan Coalition of Montgomery County.Sergeant Joe Friday of Dragnet fame advisedly said, “just the facts, ma’am”. So, here are the facts. The U.S. has warmed 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1970 and the annual rate of warming is accelerating. The frequency of billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. has increased from once every 4 months in the 1980s to once every 3 weeks (after accounting for inflation). The U.S. is experiencing some of the most severe sea-level rise on the planet. The incidence of Lyme disease, which thrives in warmer weather, has doubled since 1991. And Montgomery County is not immune ...

Phillies put OF Cristian Pache on 10-day IL with knee injury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:25 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Cristian Pache was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a torn meniscus in his right knee.Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Pache will need surgery, but the defending National League champions did not have a date scheduled yet and there was no immediate timetable for Pache’s return.Pache was injured Friday night in a game against the Houston Astros when he slipped going back to second base after taking a lead off the bag. He was removed in the fifth inning of a 3-1 victory.To fill his roster spot, the Phillies recalled outfielder Dalton Guthrie from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.The 24-year-old Pache was acquired from the Oakland Athletics in a March 29 trade for minor league reliever Billy Sullivan. Pache is batting .360 (9 for 25) with one home run, three doubles and four RBIs in 18 games this season. He has made six starts for Philadelphia in center field and three in right.Pache gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead Friday with an RBI d...

Braves-Mets game postponed by rain, Scherzer pushed back

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The game between the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets scheduled for Saturday has been postponed because of rain.It will be made up Aug. 12 as part of a split-admission doubleheader at Citi Field, with the opener starting at 1:10 p.m. and the nightcap at 7:15 p.m.The postponement until August means Mets ace Max Scherzer won’t be eligible to pitch in this series against the NL East rival Braves. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is serving a 10-game suspension imposed by Major League Baseball following his ejection for having a foreign substance on his hand while pitching in an April 19 game at Dodger Stadium.Scherzer’s penalty had been due to end Sunday and he was scheduled to start the series finale Monday against Atlanta. But with the rainout, Monday now would mark his 10th game sitting out, and he won’t be permitted back on the mound until at least Tuesday night in Detroit.Tylor Megill (3-1, 3.96 ERA) was slated to pitch Saturday for the Mets i...

Urawa takes home 1-1 draw with Al-Hilal in Asian final

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:25 GMT

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Urawa Reds came back and held on against Al-Hilal to return to Japan with a 1-1 draw after the first leg of the Asian Champions League final on Saturday.Salem Al-Dawsari opened the scoring for four-time champion Al-Hilal in a dominant first half at sold-out King Fahd International Stadium, but a fortuitous equalizer by Shinzo Koroki in the second half gave the Japanese visitors the advantage going into the return match next weekend.That did not look likely in the first half, highlighted after 13 minutes when Al-Hilal took the lead in the third final between the teams. Urawa won in 2017 and the Riyadh giant in 2019.Brazilian attacker Michael Delgado broke free down the right side and his low center pass caused confusion between Urawa defender Alexander Scholz and goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa, who left the ball for each other.It carried through to Al-Dawsari, who scored the winning goal for Saudi Arabia against Argentina at the World Cup in November. At the...