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Despite losing 3 of 4 to the LA Dodgers — including 7-3 on Sunday — the Chicago Cubs believe they’re ‘right where we need to be’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:47:01 GMT

If vibes, mood and confidence worked like pitching, slugging and speed, the Chicago Cubs would be printing playoff tickets about now.Instead, they’ll settle for talking about it after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat them again Sunday 7-3 at Wrigley Field, handing them their first series loss since the opening three-gamer against the Milwaukee Brewers.“The confidence is nowhere lacking in this group of guys,” Cubs starter Marcus Stroman said. “On any given day we feel like we can beat anybody. There’s no one that we’re scared of.“I think this is reassurance to show us that we’re right where we need to be.”Maybe.“It felt like playoff baseball a little bit,” Cubs manager David Ross said of the seven games against the Dodgers in the last 11 days, “from the standpoint of they saw our bullpen multiple times, multiple pockets saw similar guys. We competed really well against them in a lot of games and split the series....

Celtics hold off Hawks for Game 4 victory, take control with 3-1 series lead

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:47:01 GMT

ATLANTA — The Celtics took the Hawks’ best punch in Game 3. They gave them credit for their tough shot-making. But make no mistake, they weren’t happy.They were punished on the glass. The Hawks had imposed their will on them. A day after the loss – after the Hawks had made this a series, at least briefly – Robert Williams called out the Celtics’ effort. They knew they had to be better.On Sunday, the Celtics reversed the narrative. And then they regained control of the series.Williams set the tone. The Celtics, maybe for the first time in this series, took back the glass. The Hawks’ shot-making, naturally, cooled off. And then the Celtics’ stars showed up when they needed them. Jayson Tatum scored 31 points, Jaylen Brown, now without his mask, also poured in 31 points. Each delivered haymakers and daggers as they took control of the fight, and the Celtics held off the Hawks with a 129-121 victory in Game 4.The Celtics can now finish off this series at home on Tuesday night, after tak...

Bruins notebook: Linus Ullmark ready for a fight

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:47:01 GMT

SUNRISE, Fla. — After facing 43 shots, Linus Ullmark had to be a bit gassed on Sunday. But as he geared up to fight the Florida Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk with 3:11 left in the Bruins’ 6-2 win on Sunday, he wasn’t showing an ounce of fatigue.After Tkachuk started doing what he does, Ullmark was ready to go, throwing down his blocker, glove and mask so he could put up his dukes.“I love it. He’s all-in,” said coach Jim Montgomery.But Ullmark’s teammates would prefer if they take care of that part of playoff hockey themselves and let the goalie continue to do the superb job he’s been doing all season.“I think we’re going to keep Linus’ hands intact and not let him risk breaking anybody’s face, so we’re going to leave it like that,” said Brandon Carlo with a laugh.Brad Marchand tried to handicap what a possible Ullmark-Tkachuk matchup would look like.“(Ullmark’s) got the size and reach but maybe a little less experience th...

Matt Mervis Mashes in AAA as Cubs first basemen struggle early at the plate

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:47:01 GMT

CHICAGO — Going into the 2023 Major League Baseball season, a popular question on the mind of Chicago Cubs fans was when prized slugging prospect Matt Mervis would make the leap to the major league roster.His play for the Iowa Cubs in Triple A is starting to make the argument against keeping him down harder and harder to maintain, especially given the pedestrian numbers being put up at first base on the North Side of Chicago so far this year.In 18 games so far for Iowa, Mervis has a slash line of .288/.410/.576 with 5 home runs, 4 doubles and 21 RBIs.His counterparts at the big league level — Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini — have fared much more poorly at the plate in what management viewed as a platoon situation heading into the season, featuring Mancini taking on left-handed pitchers, while Hosmer faced righties.Hosmer is currently sporting a slashline of .250/.316/.365 with 1 home run and 11 RBIs across 17 games, while Mancini has struggled even more, slashing .232/.250/.333 with 2...

Austin Fashion Week 4th largest in the country; debuts 27 high school designers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:47:01 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Lights, cameras and fashion: Austin Fashion Week (AFW) wrapped up Sunday. AFW Founder Matt Swinney said its the fourth largest one in the country. "New York, LA, Miami, and then little Austin, Texas. Who knew?" Swinney said. "We've kind of been become known even globally as the kind of hub for emerging designers, especially in the central part of the US in Texas,"27 local high school students had a chance to debut their own designs. One of them was AISD senior Jair Brown. "This took my like 2 hours. Then this is the back," Brown said. "It's crochet."Brown said his experience in Austin Fashion Week has solidified his dreams of being in the fashion industry. (KXAN Photos/Sarah Al-Shaikh)Brown said his experience in Austin Fashion Week has solidified his dreams of being in the fashion industry. (KXAN Photos/Sarah Al-Shaikh)Students with Round Rock High School, Stony Point High School, Cedar Ridge High School, Westwood High School and Vandegrift High School all took part...

Longhorns land 6-foot-11 Virginia transfer Kadin Shedrick

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:47:01 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — After three seasons roaming the paint for the Virginia Cavaliers, 6-foot-11 Kadin Shedrick is going to be a Texas Longhorn.One of the few impact post players in the transfer portal, Shedrick said on Jeff Goodman's "Field of 68" podcast Sunday that he's coming to the 40 Acres with two years of eligibility.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/newslettersShedrick visited Duke and Missouri along with Texas and said he's looking to showcase more of his offensive game with the Longhorns."I'm a better shooter than I was able to show, and I'm a better decision-maker," Shedrick said. "I wanted to go where I didn't have a short leash. I want to play free."With Dylan Disu announcing his return to the Longhorns on Sunday, the addition of Shedrick gives the Longhorns an extremely athletic tandem in the frontcourt going into Rodney Terry's first official season as the head coach. Sh...

Wild fall to Stars in Game 4, series tied 2-2 heading back to Dallas

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:47:01 GMT

Now everyone gets a chance to see if the Wild have truly learned from their past mistakes.Given a chance to go up 3-1 in a playoff series for the first time in franchise history, the Wild suffered a frustrating 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 4 on Sunday night at Xcel Energy Center. That means the series will head back to Dallas tied at 2-2.No doubt expecting a heavy push from the opposition, the Wild started the game with a ton of intensity. They won nearly every puck battle and generated a number of scoring chances near the crease. They simply couldn’t solve Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger.That trend continued in the second period as Oettinger stood on his head regardless of the situation. He twice denied Marcus Foligno on a breakaway, then did the same to Kirill Kaprizov in close.That left the door open despite some solid play by the Wild, and the game turned when Foligno got whistled for interference. The call didn’t make much sense considering the puck was near...

Wild get major boost from St. Paul crowd, sometimes at Ryan Suter’s expense

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:47:01 GMT

Wild coach Dean Evason took over behind the bench on Feb. 14, 2020. He’s approaching 250 games as the man in charge. He maintains that the sellout crowd for Game 3 was as loud as he’s ever heard the Xcel Energy Center.“Absolutely incredible,” Evason said on Friday after the Wild put the finishing touches on a 5-1 win over the Dallas Stars. “Tonight was a level that was off the charts.”It was a similar sentiment from almost every player in the Wild locker room.“When you’re wondering as a kid in the crowd if players hear you or if it affects the game, playing, it sure does, hearing that crowd,” rookie defenseman Brock Faber said. “Just feeding off that was special.”There might have been a reason for the rowdiness throughout Game 3. Let’s just say the 8:50 p.m. puck drop gave fans ample time to pregame on West 7th Street adjacent to the arena in downtown St. Paul.“They probably had a lot of downtime before this gam...

Endangered person advisory canceled: Spanish Lake teen found safe

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:47:01 GMT

UPDATE: The endangered person advisory was canceled just before 8:30 p.m. St. Louis County police located the teen and he is safe. As such, his name has been removed from this story.ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – The St. Louis County Police Department issued an endangered person advisory Sunday afternoon for a 17-year-old Spanish Lake boy.The teen left his home in the 1900 block of Lakeaire Drive between 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. He was last seen at the M&K Market on Bellefontaine Road at 4:40 p.m.Police say the teen has autism and is non-verbal.The teen is 6’5” tall and weighs 130 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes, and a medium complexion. He was last seen wearing a grey jacket with black fur lining, light blue jeans, and olive grey shoes.Anyone who has seen the teen or has information on his whereabouts is asked to call 911 to contact their nearest law enforcement agency, or contact the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210.

Local musician killed in Soulard fire, friends say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:47:01 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Authorities continue to investigate the cause of Saturday’s fatal fire in Soulard that claimed the life of a local musician.Friends of Tom Hall gathered Sunday to honor his life."It's devastating. He was so talented and not very many people played like he played or the kind of music that he played,” said Cory Hammerstone, owner of Hammerstone's. “It was kind of a niche, whenever it came to the blues.” Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News SIGN UP NOW Friends shared decades of memories captured on video and pictures."Playing guitar at Robert Johnson's grave, which I asked him to do, and he hated. He stopped it almost immediately, but I did get the picture," said Chris King. "I got to really take Tom and flash fry him in real blues country, with re...