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Column: Nico Hoerner’s 3-year, $35 million extension was a small step forward in the Chicago Cubs’ future

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

The Chicago Cubs signed second baseman Nico Hoener to a three-year, $35 million extension, according to multiple reports — a small but important step toward the team’s future.The deal with Hoerner, who had a .281 average and 10 home runs in 2022, buys out two years of arbitration and the first year of free agency.Cubs President Jed Hoyer had yet to sign a prospect to a multiyear deal before free agency, a strategy many other large-market teams have adopted to gain cost certainty while rewarding players they consider part of their future.While it pales in comparison to deals like the eight-year, $100 million extension Ronald Acuña Jr. signed with the Atlanta Braves four years before he was eligible for free agency, it was the Cubs’ first multiyear signing of a prospect since David Bote’s five-year, $15 million extension in 2019. Hoerner was deemed talented enough to take a short-term risk on, but has not proven himself long-term enough to get a megadeal.H...

The Yankees and Cardinals brought up their star prospects. Why didn’t the Orioles with Grayson Rodriguez? | ANALYSIS

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

For the first time since the Orioles’ grueling rebuild began, the vibes entering a season were high.That balloon — one that grew ever-larger with talk about the end of the rebuild and postseason aspirations — was significantly deflated Monday afternoon when the team announced that prized pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez would not make the opening day roster.The six weeks of spring training leading up to the controversial decision were drama-free, but the choice to start Rodriguez, a consensus top-10 prospect, in Triple-A ended that streak. It also reinvigorated the belief from a portion of the fan base that, despite the offseason declarations about the rebuild and playoffs, the Orioles are still more focused on the long-term future than they are on winning this year.Making matters worse, two other major league teams — the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals — had similar situations with their top prospects, and they both chose a path different f...

ASK IRA: Did Heat err in expecting too much from too many on this roster?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

Q: Did you find Bam Adebayo’s explanation on why the defense breaks down at all surprising? Is fatigue an issue for professional athletes in a pivotal game after a couple of days off? I think this roster has only one guy who can bring it when it counts and that is Jimmy Butler. The others get fatigued. – Caer, Sanford.A: Part of it is expectations and taking the next step. Bam Adebayo not only already has surpassed his career high for minutes in a season, but now is taking a far more active role in the offense. Tyler Herro is only one minute away from his career high for a season, but now is having to do his work against starting-caliber players, as opposed to working largely against reserves as sixth man last season. Max Strus already has played 500 more minutes than any previous season, Gabe Vincent also is at a career high for minutes in a season. Both of those two have been less efficient this season. Part of taking the next step in the NBA is being able to endure th...

39 dead in fire at Mexico migrant center near US border

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A fire in a dormitory at a Mexican immigration detention center near the U.S. border left more than three dozen migrants dead, a government agency said Tuesday, in one of the deadliest incidents ever at an immigration lockup in the country.Hours after the fire broke out late Monday, rows of bodies were laid out under shimmery silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas. Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue swarmed the scene.Thirty-nine people died and 29 were injured and are in “delicate-serious” condition, according to the National Immigration Institute. There were 68 men from Central and South America held in the facility at the time of the fire, the agency said.It was the deadliest incident inside a Mexican immigration facility in recent memory. Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire and the governmental National Human Rights Commission had been called in to help the migrants.The agency said that it ...

IAEA head: Increased combat around Ukrainian nuclear plant

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

DNIPRO, Ukraine (AP) — Fighting has intensified near a nuclear power plant in Ukraine that is Europe’s largest, further increasing the possibility of a war-related nuclear accident, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday. “There is an increased level of combat, active combat” in the area of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano, Grossi told The Associated Press in an interview. “My teams there report daily about the attacks, the sound of heavy weaponry. This is practically constant.”Speaking a day before he was to cross the front lines for a second time to visit the plant, Grossi said he felt it was his duty to ramp up talks aimed at safeguarding the facility. He met Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said he would probably head to Russia in the coming days. Grossi has long called for a protection zone to be set up around the plant, which is very near the front line of the war. But so far, an agreemen...

A ‘Clutch’ tip helps Miller, Miami reach 1st Final Four

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Miller took 20 shots in the regional final for Miami and made them all, helping the Hurricanes rally their way into the Final Four. The personification of clutch.Fitting.A guy named Clutch is why he’s at Miami, why Miller has become one of the stars of March Madness — and why the Hurricanes are one of the four men’s teams lucky enough to head to Houston this weekend and see their season stretch into April.It was around this time two years ago when Miami then-assistant coach Bill Courtney’s phone rang with news that Miller had entered the transfer portal and was leaving George Mason. Courtney dove into some tape and began looking into Miller’s background. Turns out, one of Courtney’s old pickup-game buddies from Virginia — Clutch, real name Gary Collins — was Miller’s AAU coach.“The recruitment got pretty simple from there,” said Courtney, now the Hurricanes’ associate head coach.Good thing that recruitment went the way it did, because Miami has...

2 dead in Portugal stabbing at Muslim center

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portuguese police shot a man suspected of stabbing two people to death at an Ismaili Muslim center in Lisbon, Portugal’s prime minister said Tuesday.Prime Minister Antonio Costa told reporters it was “a criminal act” and that two lives had been lost in the incident Tuesday.The suspect is hospitalized, Costa said.“Everything points to this being an isolated incident,” Costa said, without elaborating. Police made no immediate comment but said they would provide more information later Tuesday.The Associated Press

Man seriously injured after being struck by vehicle in Mississauga

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

A man is in hospital with serious injuries after he was struck by a vehicle in Mississauga.Peel police and paramedics responded to the scene at Ridgeway and Unity drives near Highway 403 around 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday.The driver remained at the scene.The area is closed to traffic as police investigate.

Honda recalls more than 330,000 vehicles due to mirror issue

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

Honda is recalling more than 330,000 vehicles because heating pads behind both side-view mirrors may not be bonded properly, which could lead to the mirror glass falling out and increase the risk of a crash.Vehicles included in the recall are 2020-2022 Odyssey, 2020-2022 Passport, 2020-2021 Pilot and 2020-2021 Ridgeline. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the vehicles don’t comply with the necessary rear visibility requirements.Honda dealers will replace the side-view mirrors on impacted vehicles free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be sent out on May 8. Vehicle owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138 or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236.The Associated Press

Warehouse fire kills 11 people in China’s northern province

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities were investigating the cause of a fire that broke out Monday at an abandoned refrigerated warehouse in the country’s industrial province Hebei and killed 11 people, the local government said Tuesday. The government in Cang County said the blaze started Monday afternoon when the structure at a village in the northern province was being dismantled. Firefighters extinguished the fire at about 11 p.m. and the rescue team pulled 11 people from the scene but none showed any vital signs, its statement read. The provincial officials were highly concerned about the incident, it added. The Associated Press