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John Shipley: Rolling rotation has lengthened the Twins’ leash on starters

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:38:38 GMT

Don’t look now but the Twins have the best starting rotation in baseball. They actually have the best pitching staff in baseball after their 3-2, 10-inning victory over the Houston Astros in Friday’s home opener.Twins pitchers have a combined earned-run average of 1.74, and their 74 strikeouts ranked third after Friday’s day games. But it’s really been a rotation that started the season with great potential and so far has exceeded expectations — a combined 4-1 with a 1.12 ERA and 52 strikeouts topped all big league rotations.That strikeout total was boosted considerably Friday by Sonny Gray. Making his second start of the season, he was lights out on a day that flummoxed hitters with cool temperatures and late-afternoon shadows at Target Field. He gave up four hits, walked one and fanned a career-high 13 batters over seven innings.Gray was so good that manager Rocco Baldelli and pitching coach Pete Maki sent him out for the seventh, in a 1-1 game, without much hesitation.“I di...

Investigating, cleaning up recent Albany fires

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:38:38 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Albany community is still dealing with the aftermath of two significant fires that took place in the past few weeks. The Red Cross is assisting 17 people affected by a fire that broke out on Grand Street early Wednesday morning. Three apartment buildings and a vacant structure were demolished. Officials said everyone got out safely thanks to the quick actions of two city employees who alerted the impacted residents. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Demolition is ongoing at the site of the former Doane Stuart school in Albany after much of the building was destroyed in a massive fire.Fighting fires is costly. Albany officials said the Doane Stuart fire cost the city $300,000, and the Grand Street fire cost the city $420,000.

Ballston Spa FD holds annual fish fry fundraiser

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:38:38 GMT

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A local fire department served up fish for a good cause on Friday. The Ballston Spa Union Fire Company No. 2 hosted its 23rd annual Fish Fry.It serves as a fundraiser for the department to help cover the costs of operation and training that's needed to keep firefighters and the community safe. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "We don't do a lot of fundraisers -- maybe two to three a year," Chief Mike Bashore said. "This one's pretty important. It raises money for us to be able to send our people to training, and you know, do things for our community. It's basically to support the community."Fire officials said they usually raise a couple thousand dollars through the fish fry.

One hospitalized after Troy hit-and-run

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:38:38 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- One person was hospitalized after a hit-and-run in Troy Thursday night. It happened around 10:30 p.m. in the area of Fifth Avenue and 111th Street. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The victim's condition is currently unknown. Police are still looking for the vehicle involved. Anyone with information is asked to contact police.

Ducks continually abandoned by Southern Californians who bought them as gifts

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:38:38 GMT

With Easter around the corner, animal experts are pleading with the public to avoid buying baby ducklings as presents.Ducks grow up quickly and require lots of care and a Lake Elsinore duck sanctuary is raising awareness on the issue.Howard Berkowitz is the founder of The Duck Pond of Lake Elsinore, a nonprofit sanctuary that is home to around 200 ducks. He said that number alarmingly continues to grow every year.“I’ve been doing this for approximately 10 years,” said Berkowitz. “It started out with five ducks that had been abandoned at a feed store in Costa Mesa and we took them in and then slowly, we started taking in more ducks.”Berkowitz said the ducks he houses have all been either stranded or abandoned by their owners.“At Easter time, most all the feed stores will start selling baby ducks and you can order them online which is even worse,” said Berkowitz.He said every year, people purchase cute, small ducklings without realizing what they’re actually getting into. When the res...

Light the beam? Kings have been doing it all season while Warriors remain in hunt for playoff spot

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:38:38 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Coach Steve Kerr kept seeing the references over and over again.Light the beam… What does that even mean?Kerr had no clue, he said, until a week ago when he asked someone about it. They informed him it was the rallying cry for the Sacramento Kings, who flick on a royal purple laser that pierces through the night sky after every win. Locals can spot the victory beam shooting up from the roof of Golden 1 Center.But while the Kings have been lighting the beam, the Warriors have been trying to flip the proverbial switch for months during a rocky title defense. And that brings us to Friday; a pivotal late-season matchup between the two Northern California NBA teams.One has already secured a top-three seed in the Western Conference and resting some of its players; the other is still on unsturdy ground, trying to notch a top-six spot and avoid the play-in tournament.Who would’ve guessed seven months ago it’d be the team that hoisted the Larry O&...

Judge names 17 Antioch cops who allegedly sent racist text messages, memes

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:38:38 GMT

In a move that deepened the scandals engulfing the Antioch police department, a Contra Costa County judge on Friday released the names of 17 city police officers accused of using racist slurs, jokes and memes in text messages over a period of more than two years.The names include the president of Antioch’s police union, as well as five officers already under investigation by the FBI for alleged crimes. The judge also named 11 other Antioch officers — at least eight of whom have been put on leave over the group texts, which reportedly included frequent use of racial slurs as well as racist memes.In releasing the names, Judge Clare Maier urged caution, saying the content of the messages was so offensive it could “incite further hate or racial animus.”But, she said, information about the texts — and the identities of the officers involved — “doesn’t deserve protection” under the California evidence code. She did not disclose what ea...

Streaking Rays chase Waldichuk, make Athletics their latest victim

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:38:38 GMT

The Athletics are the latest bug on the windshield of the Tampa Bay Rays, who are laying waste to the have-nots of Major League Baseball.The Rays beat the A’s 9-5 Friday night at Tropicana Field, their seventh straight win to open the season. Tampa Bay jumped all over A’s starter Ken Waldichuk (0-2) in the second inning with six runs and hit four homers, two in the second and two more in the third.The Athletics, who fell to 2-5, had a solo home run from Ryan Noda, his second, and another solo shot from Shea Langeliers, a 440-foot blast to left in the seventh. It was his first of the season.If his first two starts are any indication, Waldichuk’s stay in the rotation could be a short one. The A’s No. 5 starter has now given up seven home runs in 8 2/3 innings and has an earned run average of 14.54.After arriving last season from the New York Yankees as part of the deal for Frankie Montas, the Saint Mary’s product gave up five homers in 34 2/3 innings.Victimizing Waldichuk for th...

Do Antioch police need outside assistance with so many officers on leave?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:38:38 GMT

More than a week after eight more Antioch police officers have been placed on administrative leave for allegedly sending racist and homophobic texts, it’s still unclear whether the department will need outside assistance.Acting City Manager Forrest Ebbs said that 62 officers “are able to report for full duty.”The department is currently staffed at 99 full-time sworn positions, which include both administrators and supervisors, he said. Ebbs said that the department is authorized for 115 sworn positions and can hire an additional six more to account for impending vacancies.As for patrol officers, Ebbs said 38 officers are currently assigned to that duty, including field supervisors. In contrast, Mayor Lamar Thorpe said at a Jan. 26 press conference that the police department then had 44 patrol officers.In addition to the eight officers put on leave as the department investigates the text messages, 12 other officers have been placed on leave – one has since left – as the FBI and Contr...

Gafford, Kispert power Wizards past Heat 114-108

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:38:38 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Daniel Gafford had 22 points and eight rebounds, and the Washington Wizards beat the Miami Heat 114-108 on Friday night in a meeting of short-handed teams.Corey Kispert scored 19 points for Washington, and Jordan Goodwin added 16 points. The Wizards have been without three-time All-Star Bradley Beal for the last nine games because of a sore left knee.Washington (35-46) stopped a four-game losing streak.Victor Oladipo scored 30 points and hit seven 3-pointers for Miami, which rested six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler and two other starters from Thursday’s 129-101 win at Philadelphia.Cody Zeller added 17 points as the Heat (43-38) prepare for a likely NBA play-in tournament appearance.Miami entered Friday a game behind sixth-place Brooklyn in the Eastern Conference in pursuit of the last automatic playoff spot. But Miami needed two wins combined with two Brooklyn losses to overtake the Nets, who owned the head-to-head record tiebreaker.The Wizards broke a 55-all ti...