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Celtics bench responds after Joe Mazzulla’s backups-only film session

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

While the Celtics’ win in Washington on Monday was dominant and never in doubt, it was not exactly complete.The Celtics led by 33 entering the fourth quarter when Joe Mazzulla pulled his starters. But the bench submitted an ugly effort against the Wizards’ backups. They were outscored, 32-18, and committed eight turnovers. Their lead dwindled to as little as 15 with 1:33 to go, and while their victory was not threatened, the performance was still alarming.So much so that on Tuesday, when they returned to Boston, Mazzulla called for a backups-only film session to go over what went wrong.The message was clearly received. On Wednesday, faced with the same situation after the Celtics’ starters built a 38-point lead over the Pacers entering the fourth, the bench had an encouraging bounce-back effort. They erupted for 46 points – which marked the highest scoring final period in TD Garden history – as they pushed the lead to as big as 53. They didn’t commit a single turnover in a dominant ...

New Patriots cornerback arrives with Willie McGinest, Jack Jones ties

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

FOXBORO — Patriots rookie cornerback Alex Austin walked into the team’s facility for the first time Thursday morning and spotted a familiar face.Childhood friend, former Pop Warner teammate and high school classmate Jack Jones.Austin, who signed Thursday to the open roster created by Kendrick Bourne’s recent placement on injured reserve, grew up with Jones in Long Beach, Calif. They reunited after Austin landed on his second of two flights, a redeye from Los Angeles that followed a short hop from Houston. Austin had spent weeks on the Texans’ practice squad until the team cut ties and released him Wednesday.After initially believing he would return to Buffalo, where the Bills drafted him in the seventh round last April, his agent called with an update.The Patriots wanted him. He could sign as soon as Thursday.Austin couldn’t have asked for better news. He had another connection to New England, aside from Jones: Patriots Hall of Fame linebacker Willie Mc...

A man killed a woman, left her body in a car, then boarded a flight to Kenya from Boston, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A man killed a woman, left her body in a car in Boston, then boarded a flight to Kenya, authorities said Thursday.The body of Margaret Mbitu, 31, was discovered about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in a parking garage at Logan International Airport in Boston, the Massachusetts State Police said in a news release. Mbitu, of Whitman, had been reported missing by her family on Monday. Investigators identified the suspect as Kevin Kangethe of Lowell and have obtained a warrant for his arrest, according to the news release. They said they’re working with Kenyan authorities to locate him. Kangethe, 40, and Mbitu knew each other, police said, adding that there is no threat to the public or airport visitors.The Associated Press

‘Letterkenny’ to end with Season 12, dropping Christmas Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

TORONTO — “Letterkenny,” Crave’s ode to small town antics, will wrap up after its twelfth season later this year.Bell Media says six new episodes will hit the streaming service on Christmas Day, tying a bow on the Canadian comedy.The final season will see the town contend with a country music hit and a new nightclub.“Letterkenny” was Crave’s first original series, launching in 2016 based on the web series “Letterkenny Problems.”Since then, it’s been picked up by Hulu in the United States and Crave launched a spinoff, “Shoresy.”Bell says the world of “Letterkenny” will live on through “Shoresy.”This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2023.The Canadian Press

Seattle-area police searching for teen accused of randomly killing a stranger resting on a bus

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Authorities in the Seattle area are searching for a 17-year-old boy who they say shot and killed a passenger on a city bus last month in what newly filed charging documents describe as “the senseless execution of a total stranger” — a recent example of shocking but rare attacks on public transit around the country.Miguel Rivera Dominguez was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He is wanted in the death of Marcel Da’jon Wagner, 21, who appeared to be sleeping when he was shot on board a bus in White Center, an unincorporated neighborhood just south of Seattle, on Oct. 3, the King County prosecutor’s office said.Court documents did not list an attorney for Rivera Dominguez who might speak on his behalf, and a voice mail left Wednesday for a couple identified in charging documents as his guardians was not immediately returned. The teen had no prior criminal record, Casey McNerthney, a spokesman for the pros...

Police seek 2 men in connection with fatal shooting in Brampton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

Police are looking to identify two men who may be connected to the July shooting death of 30-year-old Anthony Putzu.Investigators say Putzu was shot and killed in the parking lot of St. Roch Catholic School on Valley Way Drive in Brampton just after 9 p.m. on July 22. Police say the suspects fled the scene in a stolen Nissan Murano, which was later recovered burned. Police have not labelled the men as suspects, saying at this time they believe the two “have information relating to this homicide.”Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

FIFA to fund Canada’s soccer league

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

World football/soccer organization FIFA has announced it will be providing funding to Canada’s premier league in an effort to help grow a “player pathway.”Five years ago, the Canadian Premier League was created to establish and help grow soccer across the country, by giving Canadian talent a place to play.Five seasons and two playoff champions later, the CPL has seen many successes.FIFA says $2 million will be invested into the league between 2023 and 2026.The funding is expected to go toward travel, accommodation, and match fees of the league’s referees, as well as supporting the travel and accommodation budgets of teams.“We are pleased to support CSA and CPL through the FIFA Forward Programme in creating opportunities for Canadian players to excel at the highest levels of domestic football,” said Andrea Pizzati, FIFA Member Associations Regional Coordinator – Americas.“The CPL serves as a crucial component in Canada’s football development pathway and looking back...

Federal offender Stamatakos, ‘Toronto’s Joker,’ still wanted despite sighting claims

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says the search continues for a man wanted on a Canada-wide arrest warrant despite recent videos on social media of citizens claiming to know where he is. Federal offender Michael Stamatakos, 31, is wanted for once again breaching his statutory release. The same suspect was wanted in February for the same reason. He was taken into custody a few weeks later when he was recognized while checking himself into a hospital in Hamilton.Last month, the TikTok account “Toronto’s Joker”uploaded videos of a man who resembles Stamatakos and appears to mock Toronto police. In one, he stands in front of a Toronto police cruiser, sticking his tongue out. The TikTok account has since been deleted or suspended.More recently, one TikTok video recorded in Durham Region of someone being taken into custody outside of a residence in Oshawa went viral, with many claiming the suspect was Stamatakos. A Durham R...

Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí helped beat sexism in Spain. Now it’s time to ‘focus on soccer’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

SANT JOAN DESPÍ, Spain (AP) — It’s been a whirlwind last few months for Aitana Bonmatí, the newly crowned Ballon d’Or winner, with memorable victories on and off the field.Far from the days of being the only girl playing on her village’s soccer team, Bonmati led Spain to Women’s World Cup glory in August after helping Barcelona win the Champions League for a second time, while being named the best player at both competitions.The 25-year-old midfielder was also named the best player in the world along with Lionel Messi.Amid all the huge successes, it has also been a fraught time for Bonmatí after she and her fellow Spain teammates decided they would not be silent when the now-former president of the Spanish soccer federation Luis Rubiales kissed forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent during the World Cup awards ceremony, drawing attention away from their greatest achievement.While Bonmatí says that taking a stand was a source of pride and strength for the players...

Georgia lawmakers launch investigation of troubled Fulton County Jail in Atlanta

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:06 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The troubled jail in Atlanta where former President Donald Trump surrendered in August is in such bad shape that inmates are able to make weapons from broken flooring and pipes, an attorney for the sheriff’s office told state lawmakers Thursday.But Amelia Joiner also said the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office had made progress in recent months to reduce overcrowding across its jail facilities.Joiner was among several people who testified on the first day of hearings before a state Senate subcommittee studying problems with the jail system in Georgia’s most populous county. Fulton County’s main jail, which opened in 1989 in a neighborhood west of downtown Atlanta, has been plagued by overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and violence. Ten people have died in Fulton County custody this year, Joiner said. The U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this year that it had opened a civil rights investigation into conditions in the jail system, which has fi...