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CBS’ Grant believed to be 1st Black director of a title game

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 18:00:28 GMT

Mark Grant was considering retirement two years ago after a long career as a director at CBS and ESPN. Those plans changed though when CBS Sports executives offered him the chance to be the lead director for college basketball and the NCAA Tournament.Grant will be the director for Monday night’s national championship game between San Diego State and UConn, and it’s believed he will be the first Black director for a championship game in any sport.“I know what this means to people who look like me, and I don’t take that lightly at all,” Grant said. “When you think about it, there haven’t been many opportunities. I hope this will open doors and give some opportunities to other people. We have a lot of talented Black people doing sports, I hope that they can look at me and say, ‘Well, if he can do it, then so can I.’ It just takes a lot of work, a lot of preparation and luck. You’ve got to be in the right place at the right time. ”Grant replaced Bob Fishman, who retire...

Potter fired by Chelsea after 6 months in charge

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 18:00:28 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Chelsea has fired manager Graham Potter with the club languishing in the middle of the Premier League standings despite spending around $630 million on players in the last two transfer windows.The team announced Potter’s departure on Sunday, a day after a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa that left Chelsea in 11th place.“Graham has agreed to collaborate with the club to facilitate a smooth transition,” Chelsea said. Potter was hired in September to replace Thomas Tuchel.___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Springs pitches 6 hitless innings, Greene singles in 7th

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 18:00:28 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay’s Jeffrey Springs was pulled after six hitless innings, and Riley Greene got the Detroit Tigers’ first hit Sunday with an infield single off Colin Poche in the seventh.Springs struck out a career-high 12 and matched his high of six innings. He threw 58 of 81 pitches for strikes.Detroit had just one runner against Springs: Nick Maton drew a two-out walk in the second. Greene hit a grounder leading off the seventh that first baseman Luke Raley fielded near the outfield grass. Greene beat Raley’s toss to Poche at first.Spring’s previous career-high of nine strikeouts was last June 23 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Springs signed a $31 million, four-year contract during the offseason after moving from the bullpen to the rotation in 2022. He was 9-5 with a 2.46 ERA last season in 25 starts and eight relief appearances.The Rays lead 4-0.___ More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Source

Chelsea says manager Graham Potter has left the Premier League club

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 18:00:28 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Chelsea says manager Graham Potter has left the Premier League club.Source

Medvedev beats Sinner in straight sets for Miami Open title

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 18:00:28 GMT

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Daniil Medvedev captured his fourth ATP title of the year on Sunday, beating Jannik Sinner 7-5, 6-3 for the Miami Open men’s singles title and to move to 6-0 in their career matchup.Medvedev is now the most sizzling player on the men’s tour, winning 24 of his last 25 matches after his 1-hour, 34-minute triumph. His only loss has come against world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in last week’s final at Indian Wells. Sinner ran out of magic, with his three-hour win late Friday night over Alcaraz in the semifinals — when he had mild cramping in the second set — looking to have taken a toll on the 21-year-old Italian. Sinner was visited by an ATP trainer midway through the first set Sunday. During the changeover at 4-3, Sinner received a packet of powder that he dumped into a water bottle to drink.“Woke up this morning not at my best — a little bit sick,’’ Sinners said during the during the post-match ceremony, acknowledging that the crowd was behind him. “Thanks ...

Augusta National has Sunday unlike any other at Masters

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 18:00:28 GMT

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Mark O’Meara is reminded every year how meaningful it was to win the Masters.O’Meara was on the practice green Sunday at Augusta National, 25 years removed from his birdie-birdie finish to win his first major. Now he is 66 and plays the PGA Tour Champions only occasionally. But he remains part of Masters week.And he has company, young and old.Also on the putting green was Bernhard Langer. They were with a half-dozen kids barely into their teens, preparing for the Drive, Chip and Putt Finals.There was little to suggest the first major of the year had arrived.“It never gets old,” O’Meara said. “I feel blessed. I feel privileged. I don’t play the tournament anymore, but I still come and enjoy what the Masters Tournament is all about.”Ultimately, it’s about a green jacket that gets presented in seven days.What makes this Sunday so unusual is the stage for the Masters is just a private club. Augusta National started the Drive, Chip and Pu...

Finnish PM Sanna Marin set for defeat in national vote

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 18:00:28 GMT

Finland’s center-right National Coalition Party was on course to take power in a general election Sunday after voter concerns about the economic outlook fed dissatisfaction with Social Democrat incumbent Sanna Marin, a star of the European left. With 99 percent of votes counted, the National Coalition Party (NCP) under the leadership of Petteri Orpo had secured 48 of Finland’s 200 parliamentary seats, pushing Marin’s party into third place with 43. The far-right Finns Party was second with 46 seats. The defeat of Marin would represent the latest blow for the European left with Germany’s Olaf Scholz under pressure at home and Sweden’s Magdalena Andersson voted out at a general election last September. Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen won a second term last fall only after a sharp shift to the political right. Marin pushed a traditional left-leaning campaign in the run-up to Sunday’s vote, railing against proposed public spending cuts by the center-right and calling on Finns...

Pitching struggles continue as Orioles drop opening series finale, 9-5, to Red Sox

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 18:00:28 GMT

If the Orioles are looking for good news out of Sunday’s finale to their season-opening series at Fenway Park, it’s that they only have to face Adam Duvall in 10 more games instead of 16.The Boston Red Sox center fielder continued to pound Baltimore pitching in Sunday’s series-ending 9-5 victory as the Orioles dropped a set they were an out from claiming. Duvall, who signed with Boston this offseason, is well on his way to joining a list of Baltimore terrorizers around the American League East, one that as of late has included Gleyber Torres, Randal Grichuk and Randy Arozarena, after going 8-for-14 with three doubles and two home runs in the series. That performance included a walk-off home run Saturday after Orioles left fielder Ryan McKenna dropped what would have been a game-ending flyball with two outs in the ninth.Major League Baseball’s scheduling changes, which include each team facing the other 29, mean six fewer games against each divisional opponent...

Blinken: Russia must free 2 detained Americans

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 18:00:28 GMT

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged his Russian counterpart, in a rare phone call between the diplomats since the Ukraine war, to immediately release a Wall Street Journal reporter who was detained last week as well as another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan, the State Department said Sunday.In the call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Blinken conveyed “grave concern” over the Kremlin’s detention of journalist Evan Gershkovich on espionage allegations, according to a State Department summary of the call. Blinken called for his immediate release.Blinken also sought the immediate release of Whelan, whom the statement said was wrongfully detained. U.S. officials said they were considering a similar determination for Gershkovich that could be made at any time. Should that happen, his case would be largely transferred to the office of the U.S. Special Presidential for Hostage Affairs.Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive, has been...

Can Mets find production against lefty pitching?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 18:00:28 GMT

MIAMI — Last season, the Mets hit .246 against left-handed pitching. It was neither good nor bad, it was exactly in the middle, foed for the 15th-best mark in the league. Or the 15th-worst mark, if you’re more of a glass-half-empty type of person. The .717 OPS was also toward the bottom half of the league.The struggle against southpaw pitching was well-documented last season and alarm bells sounded all over again this weekend after the Mets managed only two hits off Miami Marlins left-hander Jesus Luzardo on Friday night in a 2-1 loss to the Miami Marlins at LoanDeport Park. They answered some questions Saturday when they took four runs off of two left-handed relievers in a 6-2 win, but this particular storyline might be one that follows the Mets through the early part of the season if the trend continues.The Mets offense is balanced across both sides of the plate, but the 2023 lineup is almost identical to 2022′s. The club made a few tweaks to try and combat this ...