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With 8 games left, where do the Chicago Bulls stand in the NBA play-in tournament?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:50:12 GMT

The Chicago Bulls are fighting for a spot in the NBA play-in tournament, a battle for the last two playoff seeds in each conference. Here’s an explainer about the history of the event and how it works — and where the Bulls stand.When did the play-in begin?The NBA introduced the idea after the restart of the pandemic-delayed 2019-20 season, with a team needing to be within four games of the No. 8 seed to force a play-in for the last playoff spot in the conference.The Memphis Grizzlies finished a half-game behind the No. 8 seed Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference, and the Blazers won the first game of a play-in, thus earning the final playoff spot. In the East, the ninth-place Washington Wizards finished 7½ games behind the eighth-place Orlando Magic, meaning a play-in was unnecessary.How has the tournament evolved?The next year, the NBA expanded its play-in rules, with only the top-six seeds in each conference guaranteed of a playoff spot and the Nos. 7-...

How Spurs coach Gregg Popovich convinced Derrick White he belonged before trade to Celtics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:50:12 GMT

Before he became a regular starter with the Celtics and one of Boston’s most important players this season, Derrick White was a young player in San Antonio in need of some encouragement.A first-round draft pick by the Spurs in 2017, White had all the tools offensively and defensively that he’s showcasing on a consistent level this season with the Celtics. But before the deadline deal that sent him from San Antonio to Boston last season, and before he started flourishing on a team with championship aspirations, Gregg Popovich had some work to do – and most of it had nothing to do coaching basketball.“Derrick’s a really special case of someone over time figuring out that he belongs, basically,” Popovich said before Sunday’s game. “He started out in a small college situation and matriculated to a Division I school, and then we got him. In development he was just outstanding. He spent a lot of time before and after practices, and in summer leagues, learning how to play. You could see he...

Major brush fire near the Natick Mall has been knocked down

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:50:12 GMT

A “significant” brush fire near the Natick Mall has been knocked down by firefighters, according to officials.On a very windy day, firefighters were battling the brush fire at the border of Natick and Framingham. There were traffic restrictions in the busy commercial area near the mall due to the fire.“Crews are currently on scene at a significant brush fire with power lines down at the Natick/Framingham border between the Natick Mall and the parking lot for the Framingham AMC movie theater,” the Natick Fire Department wrote about the incident. “A second alarm has been struck and Framingham is also on scene assisting.“The fire has been knocked down at this time and crews are wetting down the area,” the fire department wrote at around 5 p.m.Framingham and Wellesley fire departments were providing coverage for Natick.“Vehicular access is limited,” the Natick Fire Department wrote. “This is an active scene. Please avoid the ar...

Broncos head coach Sean Payton nixes Jerry Jeudy trade talk

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:50:12 GMT

PHOENIX – The Patriots were believed to be among the many suitors for Denver wide receiver Jerry Jeudy.Broncos head coach Sean Payton, however, did his best Sunday to squash any trade talk surrounding Jeudy, as well as fellow receiver Courtland Sutton.Speaking to NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero at the Annual League Meeting, Payton sounded resolute.“I see and read just like everyone else does,” Payton said. “Then occasionally, when someone really crowds the plate, I throw a fastball right at their chin, and they back up, and they’re like, ‘Alright.’ And so I haven’t thrown any fastballs lately, but we’re not trading those two players.”Of course, Payton could just be posturing to drive the price up, but he didn’t leave much wiggle room speaking with Pelissero. It doesn’t appear Jeudy is up for sale.“When people call and the phone rings like it does this time of year, (general manager) George Paton’s ...

Bundle up for Red Sox Opening Day: Boston will be colder than it was during NHL Winter Classic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:50:12 GMT

Baseball at Fenway Park in March? Who thought that was a good idea?For Red Sox fans heading to Opening Day this week, make sure you bundle up because it’s going to feel quite chilly amid very blustery conditions.As Sox pitcher Corey Kluber throws his first pitch against the Baltimore Orioles at 2:10 p.m. on Thursday, it’s going to feel like the low to mid-30s, according to the National Weather Service.“It’s going to be pretty chilly on Thursday,” Kyle Pederson, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office, told the Herald.“The high temperature will be in the mid-40s, but it will feel a lot cooler with blustery winds gusting 20 to 25 mph out of the northwest,” he added.It’s expected to be significantly colder on Opening Day at Fenway Park than it was during the NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2, when Logan International Airport recorded a high temp of 52 degrees.In addition to the forecasted cold and blustery condition...

Column: Colder weather is in the forecast for the Chicago Cubs — but new players are eager for their 1st Wrigley Field outing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:50:12 GMT

The early forecast for opening day at Wrigley Field on Thursday calls for cloudy skies and balmy temperatures in the low 50s.After one of the coolest spring training stretches in Arizona, the Chicago Cubs should be well prepared for a day like that.“I don’t know what’s going on,” manager David Ross said Sunday of the unseasonable spring weather. “We’ve only had a couple warm days, right? We say it prepares us for (Chicago), but we’d be begging for this some days in Chicago.”A sunny, 70-degree Sunday at Sloan Park was about as good as it gets.The Cubs wound up with a 5-0 win over the Kansas City Royals before 15,261 in what technically was the final spring game. The final two home games against the White Sox on Monday and Tuesday were added late and won’t count in the Cactus League standings.Cold and rainy weather could play a factor for the Cubs early this season. Thirty-one of their first 56 games through Memorial Day will be pl...

High-speed motorcycle pursuit leads to arrest in National City

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:50:12 GMT

NATIONAL CITY, Calif. -- A motorcyclist was arrested Sunday after a high-speed pursuit started in North County and ended in the South Bay, authorities said.The incident began around 1:50 a.m. when a police officer saw a motorcyclist driving at excessively high speeds on southbound Interstate 15 in Escondido, said Lt. Suzanne Baeder of the Escondido Police Department. Police investigate ‘suspicious’ death of man in San Diego At that time, officers attempted to stop the driver who police say fled and continued southbound at a high rate speed.A San Diego Sheriff's Department helicopter was called in to assist and followed the motorcycle until it stopped in National City, said Lt. Baeder.Officers responded to the area and authorities say the driver initially hid, but was peacefully taken in to custody after the helicopter pilots made announcements for the driver to surrender.The motorcyclist has been identified by police as 23-year-old Michael Chavez who resides in Jamul. Chavez was ...

N.S. RCMP warn public of dangerous woman with handgun in Sipekne’katik First Nation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:50:12 GMT

INDIAN BROOK, N.S. — The Mounties in Sipekne’katik First Nation in central Nova Scotia are warning residents of a dangerous woman “on foot” with a handgun in the community. RCMP in the Mi’kmaq community issued a public alert just after 7 p.m. local time Sunday. The alert says the woman’s name is Shannon Yvonne Hudson and she is five feet, three inches tall and 119 pounds with shoulder length light brown hair and blue eyes, and was last seen wearing blue jeans, a light sweater and a red hat.Investigators say the incident started inside a house on Dowie Road earlier this evening in the First Nation, which is located about 66 kilometres north of Halifax.Police say the area had been closed to the public and they are warning anyone who encounters Hudson not to approach her.RCMP spokesman Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay said in a telephone interview that as of 7:30 p.m. it was believed Hudson was still in the area of the First Nation. He said no injuries have been reported...

Is the David porn? Come see, Italians tell Florida parents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:50:12 GMT

ROME (AP) — The Florence museum housing Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpiece the David on Sunday invited parents and students from a Florida charter school to visit after complaints about a lesson featuring the statue forced the principal to resign.Florence Mayor Dario Nardella also tweeted an invitation for the principal to visit so he can personally honor her. Confusing art with pornography was “ridiculous,” Nardella said. The board of the Tallahassee Classical School pressured Principal Hope Carrasquilla to resign last week after an image of the David was show to a sixth-grade art class. The school has a policy requiring parents to be notified in advance about “controversial” topics being taught. The incredulous Italian response highlighted how the U.S. culture wars are often perceived in Europe, where despite a rise in right-wing sentiment and governance, the Renaissance and its masterpieces, even its naked ones, are generally free of controversy. Sunday’s front page of ...

Churches provide solace in tornado-ravaged Mississippi Delta

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:50:12 GMT

ROLLING FORK, Miss. (AP) — As a deadly tornado tore through the lower Mississippi Delta, the Rev. Mary Stewart clung to a door in the hallway of her Rolling Fork home, shielding herself from the branches and chunks of debris that came flying through her shattered windows.Friday’s storm flattened entire town blocks, but the Rolling Fork Methodist Church withstood the high winds. And so the first Sunday after the twister would commence just like any other Sunday — with congregants reaffirming their faith and finding solace together. “We are a very religious community,” said Laura Allmon, a fourth-generation congregant. “It just means a lot for us to be able to get together and pray and be thankful for what we have.”At least 26 people were killed and dozens of others were injured late Friday in Mississippi as the storm ripped through one of the poorest regions in the country, leaving a swath of destruction in its wake.With their homes unlivable, many Rolling Fork residents flocke...