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Light the beam? Kings have been doing it all season while Warriors remain in hunt for playoff spot

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:19:35 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Coach Steve Kerr kept seeing the references over and over again.Light the beam… What does that even mean?Kerr had no clue, he said, until a week ago when he asked someone about it. They informed him it was the rallying cry for the Sacramento Kings, who flick on a royal purple laser that pierces through the night sky after every win. Locals can spot the victory beam shooting up from the roof of Golden 1 Center.But while the Kings have been lighting the beam, the Warriors have been trying to flip the proverbial switch for months during a rocky title defense. And that brings us to Friday; a pivotal late-season matchup between the two Northern California NBA teams.One has already secured a top-three seed in the Western Conference and resting some of its players; the other is still on unsturdy ground, trying to notch a top-six spot and avoid the play-in tournament.Who would’ve guessed seven months ago it’d be the team that hoisted the Larry O&...

Judge names 17 Antioch cops who allegedly sent racist text messages, memes

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:19:35 GMT

In a move that deepened the scandals engulfing the Antioch police department, a Contra Costa County judge on Friday released the names of 17 city police officers accused of using racist slurs, jokes and memes in text messages over a period of more than two years.The names include the president of Antioch’s police union, as well as five officers already under investigation by the FBI for alleged crimes. The judge also named 11 other Antioch officers — at least eight of whom have been put on leave over the group texts, which reportedly included frequent use of racial slurs as well as racist memes.In releasing the names, Judge Clare Maier urged caution, saying the content of the messages was so offensive it could “incite further hate or racial animus.”But, she said, information about the texts — and the identities of the officers involved — “doesn’t deserve protection” under the California evidence code. She did not disclose what ea...

Streaking Rays chase Waldichuk, make Athletics their latest victim

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:19:35 GMT

The Athletics are the latest bug on the windshield of the Tampa Bay Rays, who are laying waste to the have-nots of Major League Baseball.The Rays beat the A’s 9-5 Friday night at Tropicana Field, their seventh straight win to open the season. Tampa Bay jumped all over A’s starter Ken Waldichuk (0-2) in the second inning with six runs and hit four homers, two in the second and two more in the third.The Athletics, who fell to 2-5, had a solo home run from Ryan Noda, his second, and another solo shot from Shea Langeliers, a 440-foot blast to left in the seventh. It was his first of the season.If his first two starts are any indication, Waldichuk’s stay in the rotation could be a short one. The A’s No. 5 starter has now given up seven home runs in 8 2/3 innings and has an earned run average of 14.54.After arriving last season from the New York Yankees as part of the deal for Frankie Montas, the Saint Mary’s product gave up five homers in 34 2/3 innings.Victimizing Waldichuk for th...

Do Antioch police need outside assistance with so many officers on leave?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:19:35 GMT

More than a week after eight more Antioch police officers have been placed on administrative leave for allegedly sending racist and homophobic texts, it’s still unclear whether the department will need outside assistance.Acting City Manager Forrest Ebbs said that 62 officers “are able to report for full duty.”The department is currently staffed at 99 full-time sworn positions, which include both administrators and supervisors, he said. Ebbs said that the department is authorized for 115 sworn positions and can hire an additional six more to account for impending vacancies.As for patrol officers, Ebbs said 38 officers are currently assigned to that duty, including field supervisors. In contrast, Mayor Lamar Thorpe said at a Jan. 26 press conference that the police department then had 44 patrol officers.In addition to the eight officers put on leave as the department investigates the text messages, 12 other officers have been placed on leave – one has since left – as the FBI and Contr...

Gafford, Kispert power Wizards past Heat 114-108

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:19:35 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Daniel Gafford had 22 points and eight rebounds, and the Washington Wizards beat the Miami Heat 114-108 on Friday night in a meeting of short-handed teams.Corey Kispert scored 19 points for Washington, and Jordan Goodwin added 16 points. The Wizards have been without three-time All-Star Bradley Beal for the last nine games because of a sore left knee.Washington (35-46) stopped a four-game losing streak.Victor Oladipo scored 30 points and hit seven 3-pointers for Miami, which rested six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler and two other starters from Thursday’s 129-101 win at Philadelphia.Cody Zeller added 17 points as the Heat (43-38) prepare for a likely NBA play-in tournament appearance.Miami entered Friday a game behind sixth-place Brooklyn in the Eastern Conference in pursuit of the last automatic playoff spot. But Miami needed two wins combined with two Brooklyn losses to overtake the Nets, who owned the head-to-head record tiebreaker.The Wizards broke a 55-all ti...

Top seeds hold form heading to Charleston semifinals

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:19:35 GMT

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula led the top four seeds into the semifinals at the Charleston Open on Friday. Pegula beat 12th-seeded Paula Bedosa 6-3, 7-6 (6) to complete the final four in the season’s first clay-court event. Also advancing were second-seeded Ons Jabeur, No. 3 seed Daria Kasatkina and No. 4 seed Belinda Bencic, the defending champion. It’s the first time the top four seeds made it to the semifinals here since 2000 when Mary Pierce, Conchita Martinez, Monica Seles, and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario completed the feat. Pegula will face Bencic with Jabeur taking on Kasatkina on Saturday. Pegula continued her strong play this season with her fourth semifinal in six tournaments. She leads the WTA with 22 match victories. “The depth in women’s tennis is incredible. You can’t take any match lightly,” Pegula said. “A lot of people might say someone’s not as consistent, but it’s really just because of the depth.” Jabeur, who fell to Bencic in th...

Rockets beat Hornets 112-109 for 2nd straight victory

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:19:35 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green each had 26 points and the Houston Rockets beat the Charlotte Hornets 112-109 on Friday night.Kenyon Martin Jr. added 14 points, Alperen Sengun had 14 points and 21 rebounds and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 13 points. The Rockets won consecutive games for the fifth time this season, improving to 21-50. The Hornets (26-55) played its home finale without injured starters LaMelo Ball (right ankle surgery), Gordon Hayward (left thumb sprain), Terry Rozier (right foot injury), P.J. Washington (right foot sprain) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (left shoulder sprain) and top reserve Dennis Smith (right toe sprain).Svi Mykhailiuk led Charlotte with 25 points, Theo Maledon had 22 and Bryce McGowens 16.Houston trailed 26-25 after the first quarter but took the lead for good in the middle of the second quarter and led 55-49 at the break, 85-73 after three quarter and by 14 points early in the fourth quarter before Charlotte pulled within three.The Rocket...

DC Mayor Bowser announces hiring bonus increase for police recruits

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:19:35 GMT

As D.C. struggles to recruit new police officers to meet its quota, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Friday an increase in the hiring bonus for new police recruits.The new signing bonus for recruits will start Monday, April 24, and will be paid in two installments — $15,000 for the initial signing bonus and $10,000 upon completion of the police training academy.“The increase will make the department more competitive and support the goal of getting (the Metropolitan Police Department) back on the path to 4,000 sworn officers,” she wrote in a statement. More Local NewsMore DC NewsThe city has been struggling to fill gaps in the department, especially as more emergency calls are being made and crime has remained stagnant.As of February, the department is currently down 600 officers and its initial signing bonus of $20,000 only incentivized 97 recruits at the time. Additionally, the Office of Unified Communications, the agency that handles the city’s 911 and nonemergen...

Paredes hits grand slam, Rays beat A’s for 7th straight win

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:19:35 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Isaac Paredes hit a grand slam during Tampa Bay’s six-run second inning, and Rays beat the Oakland Athletics 9-5 on Friday night to extend their season-opening win streak to seven games.The Rays are the first major league team to win each of their first seven games by four or more runs since the 1884 St. Louis Maroons of the Union Association, according to STATS LLC. The Maroons’ season-opening stretch went 13 games. No other big league team has had a run of more than four.Harold Ramírez, Manuel Margot, Christian Bethancourt and Wander Franco also homered for Tampa Bay. The Rays’ 18 homers are the most through seven games in team history.Tampa Bay’s Zach Eflin (2-0), who signed a $40 million, three-year contract in the offseason, gave up three runs over six innings. The deal was largest free-agent agreement in franchise history. Eflin stayed in the game after Ramon Laureano’s infield single in the sixth went off his foot. The...

Pistons beat Pacers 122-115 to snap another 11-game skid

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:19:35 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jaden Ivey had 29 points and nine assists, Killian Hayes scored a career-high 28 points and the Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers 122-115 on Friday night.Detroit won for the second time since the All-Star Break — beating the Pacers both times to end 11-game losing streaks.Buddy Hield made five 3-pointers and finished with 22 points to lead six Indiana players in double figures. But it wasn’t enough to avoid a third straight loss, this time in the home finale.Instead, the Pacers blew an early 11-point lead when the Pistons went on an 18-0 run over the final three minutes of the first quarter and the first two of the second to take a 42-27 lead.The Pistons made it 70-50 late in the first half and fended off every second-half challenge Indiana posed.When Indiana cut the deficit to eight in the third quarter, Detroit went on a 9-4 run. When the Pacers closed to 99-95 early in the fourth, the Pistons answered with an 11-4 spurt. And when the Pacers got ton...