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Vikings, Raiders show that midseason misadventures needn’t result in giving up on the 2023 season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

The Minnesota Vikings and the Las Vegas Raiders are proof that major midseason upheaval doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time to start aiming for the draft instead of the playoffs.Days after the Vikings acquired him in a deadline deal with Arizona following Kirk Cousins’ torn Achilles, Joshua Dobbs was pressed into duty when rookie QB Jaren Hall went out with a concussion in the first quarter Sunday at Atlanta.Dobbs gathered his offensive linemen on the sideline to go over his cadence, then led the Vikings to three touchdowns, including the game-winning 6-yard throw to Brandon Powell with 22 seconds left to rally the Vikings past the Falcons 31-28.All this from “a guy who’s still living in a hotel,” marveled Minnesota offensive lineman Dalton Risner, who knows a thing or two about the challenges of joining a team midstream after he signed with the Vikings in late September.“I can only imagine, bro. I know what it was like to learn this in three weeks and have to...

Bayern Munich, stung by criticism after surprise cup defeat, hosts Galatasaray in Champions League

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

MUNICH (AP) — Bayern Munich hopes to continue its winning start to the Champions League against Galatasaray on Wednesday amid a brouhaha over coach Thomas Tuchel’s reaction to criticism.Tuchel broke off from a post-game TV interview following his team’s 4-0 win at Borussia Dortmund in “der Klassiker” on Saturday, when he was clearly still aggrieved by commentary from experts after Bayern’s surprise loss to third-division Saarbrücken in the German Cup just days before.The coach directed his ire at former Bayern stars Lothar Matthäus and Dietmar Hamann, now pundits for Sky TV, for saying there had been no development of the team since Tuchel had taken over from the fired Julian Nagelsmann in March.“I haven’t seen any development with the pair of them either,” Tuchel countered at a press conference on Friday.Tuchel was snappy when talking to Sky presenter Patrick Wasserziehr before the Dortmund game – “I don’t want to disturb when the experts are speaking about us,” he said and then fo...

At Dartmouth, the focus turns to winning basketball games amid its unionization push

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Romeo Myrthil and his Dartmouth teammates are pursuing multiple goals to start the college basketball season.There’s winning games. And then there’s the possibility of accomplishing something on a much bigger scale: changing college athletics through the team’s attempt to unionize.Nearly two months have passed since the team signed a petition seeking representation by the Service Employees International Union, which already represents some school employees. They’re focused on the start of the basketball season, which began with Monday night’s loss at No. 2 Duke. Their unionization effort lingers in the background, another challenge to the norms of college athletics in a time with athletes transferring freely through the portal and making endorsement money through the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL).“I feel like NIL’s been moving on a lot and changing the landscape of college basketball,” Myrthil told The Assoc...

Denver weather: Warm again before rain, snow, and cooldown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Sunny skies and mild temperatures are back across the Front Range Tuesday before the snow and cold move into the state for Wednesday in the Denver weather forecast.Weather today: Sunny and mildDenver will see plenty of sunshine on Tuesday, helping highs top out in the middle 70s. The record high for the day sits at 78 degrees. Could Denver see snow this week? Winds will be brisk through the afternoon, coming out of the west at 10-15 mph.Pinpoint Weather: Daily forecast on Nov. 7 Weather tonight: Partly cloudy, mountain snowThe Front Range has partly cloudy skies Tuesday night as snow moves into the higher elevations. Winds are slower in the metro with lows in the middle 30s.Pinpoint Weather: Overnight forecast on Nov. 7 Looking ahead: Rain, snow and colderSnow continues to fall on Wednesday in the high country with overcast skies. The metro area will have rain for the afternoon and evening hours with snow in the foothills and along the Palmer Divide. Highs on Wedn...

Colorado is deciding if homeowner tax relief can come out of a refund that's one-of-a-kind in the US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Colorado residents are deciding whether to siphon off a state tax refund that’s unique in the U.S. to help homeowners offset hikes in property taxes after years of rising home prices.If passed in the election Tuesday, the proposition would lessen property tax increases for homeowners over the next decade in return for decreasing a state tax refund called the Taxpayer Bill of Rights or TABOR.TABOR caps Colorado's tax revenue and requires the surplus to be redistributed to residents. Last year, TABOR provided $750 to each taxpayer. What to know before voting on Prop HH Under the measure, property taxes won’t drop below previous levels, but the expected future increases in bills would be dampened.The owner of a $500,000 home would pay anywhere from $186 to $276 less in property taxes this year than they would if the ballot measure didn’t pass, depending on local tax rates, according to estimates by legislative analysts.In exchange, after an initial increase in the taxpa...

What to watch for in Tuesday’s elections

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

(CNN) — Abortion rights are on the ballot Tuesday as Americans head to the polls for state and local races that will set the stage for next year’s presidential election.Fiercely fought contests in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio could offer a 2024 roadmap for both parties.Democrats have largely succeeded in running on the issue in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision last year to overturn Roe v. Wade, which effectively punted abortion law to the states. For the most part, they have done so by framing the debate as one of personal freedom – and leaving Republicans to haggle over the politically painful particulars.A victory for abortion rights advocates in Ohio – where voters could enshrine a constitutional amendment protecting abortion access – along with success in high-stakes races for governor, the state Supreme Court and control of the state legislature in other states, could further demonstrate the potency of the issue.Meanwhile, the gubernatorial election in...

Charles III gets to trot out Conservative slogans in first King’s Speech

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

LONDON — Pomp, ceremony, and a bored-looking monarch: it must be the King’s Speech.King Charles III opened the new session of parliament for the first time as king on Tuesday — and while there weren’t any fireworks, he did get the chance to deliver some Conservative campaign slogans with a poker face.The King’s Speech — a fixture of the U.K. political calendar — sees the monarch read out the government’s upcoming legislative agenda, signaling Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s key priorities for the next year.In doing so, King Charles, who must remain politically neutral, got to reel off phrases like “long-term decisions” and “strengthening the social fabric” plucked straight from government talking points. He spoke about the need to make “difficult” calls and resist demands for “greater spending or borrowing.”“By taking these long-term decisions, my government will change this country and build a better future,”...

Portuguese PM António Costa in crisis after cops raid residence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

Portuguese police raided Prime Minister António Costa’s official residence and detained his chief of staff, Vítor Escária, as part of a corruption investigation, Portugal’s attorney general said Tuesday.The probe is linked to lithium exploration schemes in the north of the country and a green hydrogen mega-project in Sines. Police searches of the prime minister’s residence and the Ministries of Environment and Infrastructure are ongoing. In addition to Escária, Costa’s personal adviser Diogo Lacerda — one of the prime minister’s closest confidants — and Nuno Mascarenhas, the socialist mayor of Sines, have also been detained, according to local media reports.Costa’s Socialist government has enthusiastically backed numerous schemes to extract lithium in different areas of Portugal as part of the EU’s wider drive to secure critical raw materials, but those projects have been mired in controversy because of the low quality of the elements s...

Column: USC quarterback Caleb Williams can cry if he wants to

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

In Saturday’s Top 25 college football matchup between Washington and USC, quarterback Caleb Williams — a past Heisman Trophy winner and projected 2024 NFL draft first-round pick — passed for 312 yards and three touchdowns for the Trojans (7-3, 5-2 Pac-12) in the 52-42 loss.He was strip-sacked late in the second quarter and three plays later, the Huskies went up 35-28 before the half. It was the fifth time in the last six games the Trojans defense gave up at least 40 points.After the game, Williams, 21, was shown sitting on a railing in the stands and embracing his mother with his face covered by a poster. He was visibly overcome by emotion, likely from the frustration of seeing his conference championship hopes dissipate despite his own best efforts. As he cried in his mother’s arms, the national broadcast cameras stayed there for a minute as ABC announcers Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, in tones suitable for the situation, provided context to what William...

True or false: DE Montez Sweat’s debut with the Chicago Bears was encouraging

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

The Chicago Bears lost their seventh game of the season Sunday in New Orleans, coming unraveled late and committing three of their five turnovers in the fourth quarter of a 24-17 loss to the Saints.Rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent had three interceptions and a lost fumble in the game and no Bears player was able to deliver the game-on-the-line playmaking impact the team has lacked for the past two seasons.The Bears will now make a quick turnaround before their Week 10 Thursday night home game against the Carolina Panthers.As the dust settles from Week 9, Tribune writers Dan Wiederer and Colleen Kane sift through four notable topics in “true or false” format.Kane: True or false? Montez Sweat’s debut as a Bear was encouraging Sunday in New Orleans.Wiederer: True. The “encouraging” label fits. Officially, Sweat played 41 of the team’s 63 defensive snaps and flashed some of his most valuable gifts. He was credited with a pass defensed in the third quar...