When Chris Colabello of the Blue Jays was suspended 80 games last week, following a positive test in spring training, it was a blip on the radar, and fairly easily understood. A guy who had labored for years in independent ball, made it to the majors with the Twins in 2013 and broke out last year with 15 home runs? It fit the archetype for a PED story and could easily be tossed into the file with the rest....
Barcelona travel to the Premier League champions for the first leg of their clash on Tuesday, the Catalan giants having seen their comfortable cushion atop La Liga cut to seven points after back-to-back draws. Chelsea and Barca have a rich shared history in the Champions League, having faced each other 12 times in the tournament since 2000, most recently in the 2011-12 semi-finals. There have been four Chelsea wins to three for Barca during that time and although the Blues have made a poor attempt at defending their league title, Pique believes Antonio Conte’s men should not be underestimated....
Lawmakers passed the act with a veto-proof majority of 295-125 despite repeated threats of a veto by President Donald Trump. The U.S. Senate is expected to negotiate with the House on the final version of the bill. In the Senate’s iteration of the bill, changing the names of the bases is expected to happen within three years. Trump has been an opponent of renaming the bases, saying on Sunday that “most other people” feel the Confederate names should remain....
It’s not surprising the official football sold for a lot, but $43,739.99 is a pretty large chunk of change. The ball was auctioned on Lelands.com Friday where five people placed a bid. There’s no telling if it was one of the under-inflated balls used in the AFC Championship Game, but Tom Brady’s magical hands did touch it. MORE: Top 25 quarterbacks | Gronkowski wants Brady’s suspension wiped out The ball was put up for auction by a Patriots fan, who was handed the prize by Brandon LaFell after a LeGarrett Blount touchdown....
Eddie Howe’s men are at home for the visit of the Hornets as they look to avoid a second consecutive defeat to start the new season. Defoe 15/4 to score first Bournemouth lost 1-0 at West Brom last week, a match in which new signing Defoe only appeared as a second-half substitute, but the England striker is now likely to start. “Jermain didn’t have a knock but he felt a tightness in his groin after the Valencia pre-season game,” said Howe....
Their vision of American society as irredeemable—suitable to being broken down with a sledgehammer, rather than adjusted with precision tools—has grown steadily in popularity over several decades. As that message has now taken over the media, academia and even much of Capitol Hill, we should not be surprised that the violent upheaval that is its goal is now being realized. That previous statement was no error. The violence in our streets is not the means to an end, the method by which to achieve a utopian dream....
After comments on Wednesday in which Saban singled out Texas A&M and Jackson State for buying their players, in which he said “Jackson State paid a guy a million dollars last year,” the blowback has been swift and thorough. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said his piece – and then some – in a nearly 10-minute press conference Thursday, and now Jackson State coach Deion Sanders wants in on the fray....
While players have opted in/out of contracts and free agent rumors swirl, the first major trade of the NBA offseason broke on Wednesday. The Spurs are trading guard and budding star Dejounte Murray to the Hawks for a package of picks and forward Danilo Gallinari, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The trade signals the culmination of recent rumors that San Antonio was surprisingly planning to move on from the All-Star. Now, Murray heads to Atlanta to pair with another All-Star guard in Trae Young....
Turner was a bishop for Cornerstone Ministries International in Bear, Delaware. Since Turner’s arrest, the church has taken down both its website and Facebook page. Cornerstone Ministries no longer rents meeting space at its previously listed location. “We are shocked and saddened by the events that have occurred,” said Chris Cashman, manager of real estate company Patterson-Schwartz. “Our utmost concern is for the well-being of any woman who may have been victimized....
The 21-year-old signed for Spurs in 2015 from MK Dons and wasted little time in making his mark. Spurs 9/2 to win Group H He has been a regular throughout his spell in north London, and has now become a club centurion. Alli made his debut against Manchester United on August 8, 2015. He went on to end his debut campaign with 46 appearances in all competitions, before adding another 50 to his tally last season....
Reports of Deltacron first emerged last week after Bloomberg cited Leondios Kostrikis, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus, as having detected evidence of a variant that had Omicron-like features within its Delta variant genome. Kostrikis said he and his team had found 25 cases of the virus and, defending his findings, said the samples had been processed in multiple sequencing procedures in more than one country....
“It’s just, some players I don’t respect,” Cousins said. “Just their playing style of basketball. I don’t respect it. I feel like it’s basically cheating and I don’t respect a cheater. If that’s your tactic to winning, I don’t respect you.” MORE: Kobe doesn’t want to play in All-Star game | Payton calls Bennett ‘fat’ | Howard snubbed as starter Cousins has been outstanding against the Clippers this season, averaging 24....
Players are encouraged to ask their followers to tweet out support for them with the hashtag #NBABallot. Cousins decided he would pick the best tweets endorsing him with the hashtag, print them out and sign them. A few of the tweets he signed. Cousins was clearly loving the moment. Cousins called it a day after about an hour of signing. He likely is going all out because he was considered an All-Star snub last year....
Atletico Madrid star Griezmann has been heavily linked with La Liga champions Barcelona amid his reported €100 million (£87m/$117m) release clause. The 27-year-old France international, who helped Atletico to Europa League glory this season , revealed he will decide his future before the World Cup in Russia . Barca winger and international team-mate Dembele said he is excited by Griezmann’s potential arrival. “We haven’t talked much about this [transfer] with Antoine,” Dembele said....
Demi Burnett was dating Derek Peth on the current season of the Bachelor spinoff. But on Tuesday her girlfriend, Kristian Haggerty, arrived in Paradise. Burnett and Haggerty have been in a non-exclusive relationship since after Burnett appeared on Colton Underwood’s season of The Bachelor in January 2019. Haggerty’s arrival marked the first same-sex relationship on any Bachelor show, and was met with support by participants on the show. Burnett and Haggerty are expected to stay on the show as an official couple, with neither likely to be sent home—each woman can ensure the other stays by offering a rose at each ceremony....
Urban Dictionary defines the phrase, “To abstain oneself from all of the drugs,” with the exception “of marijuana and psychedelics,” which appears to be the way many California sober people use the term. One of the first, in-depth stories on the California sober lifestyle came from Michelle Lhooq in a 2019 Vice article. In short, the California sober mindset accepts the use of drugs like marijuana and psychedelics (shrooms and LSD to name a few), while cutting out narcotics, opiates and alcohol....
On Friday, Democratic Colorado Governor Jared Polis tweeted his support for Justin Amash, who left the Republican Party in 2019 and is now affiliated with the Libertarian Party. Amash, of Michigan, was the first Republican to openly support impeaching then-President Donald Trump. Amash tweeted Friday that if he were named House speaker, he would push for single-issue bills; let committees work through bills without interference; ensure rules are followed, not regularly suspended/waived/ignored; allow amendments from the floor; give members adequate time to review bills; and ask for recorded votes....
Polling averages in Arizona, Maine and North Carolina currently show Democrats in the lead, according to Real Clear Politics. The biggest advantage for the Democratic Party is in Arizona, where Senator Martha McSally is being challenged by former astronaut Mark Kelly. Polling averages show Kelly, a first-time political candidate, ahead by nearly 12 points. The most recent survey from The New York Times/Siena College found Kelly with 47 percent support among registered voters compared to McSally’s 38 percent....
For anyone with any doubt, the recent threats made against political opponents of the president, be it in Michigan, Kentucky or Washington, D.C.—threats he has encouraged—solidify the importance of this election. And in just five months, Americans will have a chance to elect the single most qualified, effective and compassionate president in our country’s history. Never have the differences between two candidates been clearer or more consequential. That’s why, as passionate supporters of different candidates in the Democratic primary—Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden—we are writing this piece together....
Democrats and a tiny cohort of their Never-Trump former (or soon to be former) Republican allies hope the day will live forever in the American memory. As far as they are concerned, every day since then has been Jan. 6. They have never stopped talking about it and the perfidy not only of the rioters but also of former president Donald Trump and, by extension, everyone who supported him. Almost all Americans felt outraged at the appalling spectacle of a mob breaking into the Capitol....
