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5 numbers that explain the Chicago Bulls’ slow start to the season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

The Chicago Bulls are mired in their slowest start of the last three years, dropping to 2-5 in the first two weeks of the season.Early losses dropped the Bulls to the bottom of the Eastern Conference, where they only sit ahead of the 1-4 Washington Wizards. Only three other teams in the league have five or more losses — the Memphis Grizzlies, Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz, who the Bulls play Monday night.A quick glance at league statistics makes it clear why the Bulls have struggled in the early weeks of the season. Here are five numbers defining the team’s first two weeks:Assists per game: 21The Bulls offense has been stagnant to start the season, averaging the second-lowest volume of assists in the league. Their assist-to-field goal ratio is the third-lowest in the league (15.7) as the offense continues to sink into isolation ball, which has been a comfort blanket for at-will scorers like Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.This was the main area of focus for coach Billy Don...

Red Sox pass on Qualifying Offers but make several roster moves

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

As expected, the Red Sox didn’t extend any Qualifying Offers before Monday’s deadline, so Adam Duvall and James Paxton are officially on the free agent market with no strings attached.The Qualifying Offer is a one-year contract specifically for a team’s free agents, but only those who spent the entire season on said team’s roster. The accompanying salary is calculated by averaging the league’s 125 highest-paid players, and this year’s rings up at $20.5 million. It’s the first time the QO salary has cleared $20 million.Extending a QO is typically just a formality. Players who merit receiving one are likely to do better on the open market. Jacob Ellsbury, for example, rejected Boston’s in November 2013 and signed a seven-year deal with the New York Yankees barely two weeks later.It’s largely strategic. If a player rejects the QO and signs elsewhere, their original team receives compensation in the form of an additional draft pick. When Eduardo Rodriguez rejected the Red Sox in N...

Jewish man dies after confrontation during pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 69-year-old Jewish man died Monday after falling and striking his head following a confrontation the previous day during competing pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations in suburban Los Angeles, authorities said.Paul Kessler’s death was being investigated as a homicide and authorities haven’t ruled out the possibility a hate crime occurred, said a statement from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. No arrests had been made.Kessler was injured shortly before 3:30 p.m. Sunday during competing demonstrations in Thousand Oaks, a city of about 125,000 northwest of Los Angeles. Police received reports that a battery had occurred and deputies sent to the scene found Kessler suffering from a head wound, the department said.“Witness accounts indicated that Kessler was involved in a physical altercation with counter-protestor(s). During the altercation, Kessler fell backwards and struck his head on the ground,” the department said.An aut...

Man killed in single-vehicle crash on Hwy. 404 at Finch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

Ontario Provincial Police say a 26-year-old man has died in hospital after crashing his car near an overpass on Highway 404 at Finch Avenue on Monday night.Emergency crews were called at around 8:08 p.m.Photos from the scene show the vehicle on a grassy embankment at the foot of the bridge overpass.Fatal Collison: NB #Hwy404/Finch Ave #TorontoOPPSingle motor vehicle struck bridge overpassLone male driver 26 years old pronounced deceased at hospital. Next of kin notifiedAny witnesses please call Toronto OPP at 416235-4981#Hwy404 NB Closed at Finch Av Unknown reopening^tk pic.twitter.com/Ix29Si3ek3— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) November 7, 2023Police say the driver was the only person in the vehicle and no other vehicles were involved.The driver was pronounced dead at hospital.It’s not clear how or why the vehicle left the roadway.An investigation is underway.

Scholarship fight puts spotlight on family struggles to find 'good' schools

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

CHICAGO — Theauntae Jones’ day begins before sunrise. He boards a bus near his home on Chicago’s Far West Side and embarks upon an hour-and-a-half-long commute to high school on the city’s South Side.It’s a commute that’s made his mother cry. Lawsuit seeks to block dispensary from opening in old Rainforest Café “It should not be that hard where you have to go outside your neighborhood just to find a better education for your child,” Theauntae’s mother, Tanisha Williams, said.Theauntae’s neighborhood high school is Orr Academy. It’s about a mile from his home but an eternity from his family’s expectations of a quality education.  Orr has a 59% graduation rate and 72% of its students miss 10% or more of the school year without a valid excuse, according to Illinois State Board of Education data. CPS as a whole has an 84% graduation rate and 40% of its students are chronically absent.Theauntae’s family said he had good grades in 8th grade but tested poorly so he had few options at CPS...

2 in custody after woman killed during attempted robbery in south suburbs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

WORTH, Ill. — Police say two people are in custody in connection with a deadly shooting that unfolded in the south suburbs over the weekend.Family members say the victim killed was a mother of two who was trying to make a withdrawal at a bank in the area when she was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery.Worth police say the shooting happened in the 6800 block of West 111th Street on Saturday afternoon. FBI-Chicago warns of charity fraud amid ongoing conflict between Israel, Hamas According to family members, 32-year-old Jonnie Angel Klein had just gotten off work at the Dunkin' Donuts around 3 p.m. with her son, who had just gotten his work permit."She dropped him off and she went straight to the bank. At that time we know that someone pulled up next to her," Bridget McLain, the victim's sister said. "Obviously it was an attempt to get her money and she was shot."Officers were called to the scene on reports of someone "in need of assistance," but when police arrived on th...

Maine man sentenced to 15 years for Chicago mosque attack plot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A 19-year-old from Maine who the FBI says built homemade explosives and plotted to attack a mosque in the name of the Islamic State group was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison.Xavier Pelkey, of Waterville, entered an agreement with prosecutors in April in which he pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists while a second charge was dropped.Pelkey planned to contribute firearms, ammunition and explosives for a mass shooting at a Shiite mosque in the Chicago area and possibly other houses of worship, and he was in communication with a pair of juveniles, one in Canada and one Chicago, about the plot, law enforcement officials said. Calumet City drops citations against reporter for asking too many questions Pelkey was 18 when he was arrested by FBI agents who found three homemade explosives in his home. The devices were made of fireworks bundled with staples, pins and thumb tacks to create shrapnel, the FBI said. Investigat...

5 Republicans will be on stage for third presidential debate. Who missed the cut?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The field of candidates onstage for the third Republican presidential debate will be the smallest yet.Five hopefuls will participate in Wednesday night’s debate at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, according to the Republican National Committee.To have qualified for the third debate, candidates needed at least 4% support in two national polls or 4% in one national poll as well as two polls from four of the early-voting states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. All the polls used for qualification must have been approved by the RNC. Can a Floridian win the White House? Trump, DeSantis vie to be first The White House hopefuls also needed at least 70,000 unique donors, with at least 200 of those coming from 20 states or territories. Additionally, they had to sign an RNC pledge promising to support the party’s eventual nominee.The escalating qualification markers have become increasingly difficult for candidate...

No. 18 Longhorns men's hoops clobber Incarnate Word 88-56 in season opener

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The No. 18 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team cruised to an 88-56 season-opening win over Incarnate Word on Monday at Moody Center.Five Longhorns scored in double figures and two more were a bucket away in a balanced offensive attack. Ithiel Horton, a transfer from Central Florida, led Texas with 17 points in 26 minutes. Max Abmas and Kadin Shedrick each scored 12 while Tyrese Hunter and Ze'rik Onyema had 11 points. Onyema led the team with seven rebounds. Brock Cunningham and Dillion Mitchell had eight points apiece.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersTexas shot 51% from the field and 38% from 3-point range while holding the Cardinals to 30% shooting. Incarnate Word took a 6-5 lead about five minutes into the first half, but the Longhorns ripped off a 21-0 run over the next five minutes to lead 26-6 with 9:54 left.Texas scored 23 points off 17 Incarnate...

Anthony Edwards shines as Timberwolves take down previously unbeaten Boston

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

Target Center is where undefeated records go to die.Five days after handing Denver its first loss, the Timberwolves did the same to Boston, downing the Celtics 114-109 in an overtime thriller that very much had a playoff feel.The game was billed as a matchup featuring the league’s top offense — Boston — against Minnesota’s top-ranked defense. It’s difficult to chalk that mini-duel up as anything other than a win for the Wolves’ defense. The Celtics struggled to generate anything that could be classified as a good look in the half-court set.Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum traded blows in the second half, with the two top-tier offensive wings each demonstrating their abilities to hit tough shots on command. Tatum finished with 32 points, while Edwards had 38 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. But, importantly for Edwards, even on a night where he had his offense rolling, he made a number of wise decisions with the ball down the stretch.The gu...