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Jamar Cain has unique title, big task: Help Broncos pass-rushers harass opposing quarterbacks

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

Sean Payton’s first Broncos coaching staff had mostly been unveiled when news of a late addition with a unique background and unique title emerged.That’s Jamar Cain, the longtime college coach who joined the Denver staff in late March as the team’s pass-rush specialist.His job: Pretty straightforward, as the title implies.The way he fits into the picture, of course, is more about communication and structure considering the Broncos have a defensive line coach, outside and inside linebackers coaches and a senior defensive assistant in Joe Vitt all working with the front seven in addition to coordinator Vance Joseph.But Payton had a clear idea of what he wants out of Cain, who spent 2022 as the defensive line coach and run game coordinator at LSU after two seasons at Oklahoma. The title may not be particularly common in the NFL, the task is.“We can call them assistant defensive line (coaches),” Payton said. “When you get deeper into recruiting (a coach), now we need something a little ...

Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic back in his Serbian hometown to watch family’s horses compete

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC (Associated Press)SOMBOR, Serbia — Nikola Jokic made it back to Serbia in time to watch his beloved horses race in his hometown. Less than a week after leading the Denver Nuggets to their first NBA championship, Jokic was back in his hometown of Sombor on Sunday to enjoy his big passion of horse racing.Thousands of his supporters in the usually sleepy northern Serbian town of some 47,000 people also converged on the local horse racing track where Jokic was watching his family-owned horses compete in harness races. Many had T-shirts with Jokic’s portrait, some reading “Be the Next Champion” and “Sombor, the Town of Champions.”A billboard reading “Welcome Home MVP” showed Jokic with his No. 15 Nuggets jersey, also depicting galloping horses.After winning the NBA title, Jokic was concerned about whether he could return home in time for Sunday’s races after the team’s victory parade in Denver on Thursday. He joked that he would ask Nuggets president Josh Kroenk...

2 dead and 3 hurt -- including suspected shooter -- at Washington state music festival

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

GEORGE, Wash. (AP) — Two people were killed and three others injured after police said a shooter began firing “randomly" into a crowd at a Washington state campground that was hosting people attending a nearby music festival on Saturday night, police said.The suspect was among those injured. He was shot in a confrontation with law enforcement, said Kyle Foreman, public information officer with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.Authorities received the first report of the shooting shortly before 8:30 p.m. at the camping area a few hundred yards from the Gorge Amphitheater, where thousands of people were attending an electronic dance music festival, Foreman said. The Gorge is near the small city of George, about 150 miles (239 kilometers) east of Seattle.After the initial shots were fired, the suspect started moving through the campground and “continued to shoot randomly into the crowd" until he was eventually confronted by police and taken into custody, Foreman said.A public alert ha...

Big blow to SF Giants’ rotation: Alex Cobb placed on IL with oblique strain

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

LOS ANGELES — Just as the Giants’ number of healthy starting pitchers grew to four on Saturday, their rotation shrank back to three starters Sunday morning.In a surprise move before Sunday’s series finale against the Dodgers, the Giants placed right-hander Alex Cobb on the 15-day injured list with a left oblique strain. Young right-hander Keaton Winn, who made his MLB debut this week in St. Louis and was already here on taxi squad, was added to the roster in his place.Cobb, 35, has been one of the majors’ most effective starters this season, teaming up with Logan Webb to form a formidable one-two punch. In 14 starts, including one complete game shutout, Cobb had a 3.09 ERA, eighth-best in the National League, with 76 strikeouts to 21 walks, the No. 10 K:BB ratio in the NL.It has been a tougher go of it for Cobb over the past month, with a 5.23 ERA over his past six starts.Nonetheless, any injury is a significant blow to an already shorthanded rotation, particularly...

Always entertaining John Brebbia takes lat injury in stride; who takes his place in SF Giants’ bullpen?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

LOS ANGELES — John Brebbia, the National League’s most prolific reliever last season who remains an integral piece of the Giants’ bullpen this year, won’t soon be forgotten despite what is expected to be a lengthy absence with a lat strain.Pitching coach Andrew Bailey suggested Brebbia step up as an assistant bullpen coach. (“If you hear yelling from the dugout it’s because I took it too far,” Brebbia said.)Fellow reliever Scott Alexander planned to take Brebbia’s No. 59 jersey with him to the right-field bullpen and hang it up, a la tributes usually reserved for more serious injuries than a moderate lat strain. (“I hope they show it on TV,” he said, laughing.)More seriously, the Giants have a Brebbia-sized hole in their bullpen, which had been coming into its own over the past two months, with the best ERA in the majors since the start of May. With a 1.15 ERA in that span, Brebbia has been a significant part of the turnaround an...

Brittney Griner misses 2nd straight game for Mercury with hip injury

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Brittney Griner sat on the bench in warmups for the second straight game, sidelined by a hip injury she suffered earlier this week.The All-Star center worked out on the court about an hour before the game against New York and looked good doing an array of post moves and jumpers. She told The Associated Press when she walked in the arena that she hoped to play.Instead, she sat on the bench cheering on her teammates, getting ruled out about 20 minutes before the game started after being listed as questionable on the injury report. The Mercury could have used her as they lost 89-71 to the Liberty.It was the Mercury’s first game in New York since Griner was detained in Russia for nearly 10 months last year.Before the game, Griner signed autographs and posed for photos with fans, one of whom had a sign that read “NY (hearts) BG”. She also caught up with USA Basketball teammate Breanna Stewart and other Liberty players.Stewart wore a Griner jersey walking into the arena an...

Mali’s military junta holds referendum on new constitution it calls a step toward new elections

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Malian voters cast ballots on a new draft constitution Sunday in a referendum that the country’s coup leader says will pave the way toward holding new elections in 2024, but critics have called it a delay tactic to extend his time in power.Col. Assimi Goita, who seized control of the landlocked West African country nearly three years ago, has told Malians that the proposed draft constitution “provides for a better-organized executive power.”“I am convinced that this referendum will pave the way for a new Mali, a strong and efficient Mali serving the well-being of our people,” Goita said after casting his ballot Sunday.The election observer group MODELE said that participation at midday had only been about 21% of eligible voters. The mission also cited dozens of polling stations that were closed due to security problems, disenfranchising people. The referendum also did not include Mali’s entire northern Kidal region.Imam Mahmoud Dicko, an opponen...

Son of the late-Tim Russert says he’s found a ‘place of peace’ this Father’s Day after years of grief

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

Father’s Day was the late-Tim Russert’s favorite holiday. The TV-news legend and former host of NBC’s “Meet the Press” wrote books about fatherhood and loved being a dad, according to his son Luke.In 2008, he died just days before the holiday at the age of 58.“I used to be very fearful of Father’s Day,” Luke Russert said. “It was a difficult day.”In his new book “Look For Me There,” Russert tells of his father’s untimely death, his career in journalism and following his father’s footsteps. He also speaks of why, ultimately, he choose to leave Washington, D.C. in order to properly grieve the loss of his beloved father and find himself.The book chronicles his sudden departure from the nation’s capital, as well as his journeys to six continents and over 67 countries.This Father’s Day marks the first since publishing his now New York Times bestselling book.“I’m much more at a plac...

Pete Alonso, the NL home run leader, makes speedy return to Mets after wrist injury

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — National League home run leader Pete Alonso returned to the New York Mets’ lineup on Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals after spending the minimum 10 days on the injured list with a left wrist bone bruise and sprain.Alonso was expected to miss three to four weeks after he was hit by a 97 mph fastball thrown by the Atlanta Braves’ Charlie Morton in the first inning on June 7. But Alonso, whose 22 homers are one fewer than major league leader Shohei Ohtani, said he thought last week he’d beat the timeline by a considerable margin.“Happy that it responded well to treatment,” Alonso said Sunday before the game. “I feel excellent and I’m at 100% everything. If I’m at 100%, why wait?”The stint on the IL was the second in Alonso’s five seasons in the majors. He was sidelined with a sprained right wrist from May 21-31, 2021. The 28-year-old Alonso has missed just 28 games since reaching the majors in 2019.“I kind of wanted to keep hitting those benchmarks as ...

¿Qué abre y que cierra el Día de la Emancipación 2023?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

Nueva York (CNN) — Más empresas que nunca celebran el Día de la Emancipación, que conmemora el fin de la esclavitud en Estados Unidos.Según datos de la consultora de recursos humanos Mercer, casi el 40% de las empresas estadounidenses consideran el 19 de junio como día festivo retribuido, lo que supone un aumento significativo respecto al 9% de hace dos años.¿Qué es el Día de la Emancipación (Juneteenth) y por qué se celebra el 19 de junio?El 19 de junio, lunes de este 2023, se celebra el Día Internacional de la Emancipación. Se convirtió en fiesta federal en 2021, después de que el presidente Joe Biden firmara la Ley del Día de la Independencia Nacional del 19 de junio.El 19 de junio de 1865, el general del Ejército de la Unión Gordon Granger comunicó a los esclavos de Galveston, Texas, que habían sido liberados, casi tres años después de que el presidente Abraham Lincoln firmara la Proclamación de Emancipación para poner fin a la esclavitud en Estados Unidos. Comunidades de ...