Today is
Sunday November 24, 2024
LOS ANGELES (AP) â Chris Woodward has been named first base coach by the Los Angeles Dodgers, marking his second stint on manager Dave Roberts’ staff.
The Dodgers made the announcement Friday night. Woodward was the Dodgers first base coach from 2016-18 before leaving to take over as manager of the Texas Rangers.
Woodward fills the opening created after former first base coach Clayton McCullough became manager of the Miami Marlins.
Woodward had a 211-287 record in nearly four seasons with the Rangers. He has been a senior advisor on the Dodgers’ Major League and Player Development staff for the past two seasons.
Dodgers executive vice president and general manager Brandon Gomes said Woodward will take over base running and infield responsibilities with third base coach Dino Ebel shifting to outfield duties.
LONDON (AP) â A woman who claimed mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor âbrutally raped and batteredâ her in a Dublin hotel penthouse was awarded nearly 250,000 Euros ($257,000) on Friday by a civil court jury in Ireland.
Nikita Hand said the Dec. 9, 2018, assault after a night of partying left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
McGregor testified that he never forced the woman to do anything against her will and said she fabricated the allegations after the two had consensual sex. His lawyer had called Hand a gold digger.
The fighter, once the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship but now past his prime, shook his head as the jury of eight women and four men found him liable for assault after deliberating about six hours in the High Court in Dublin.
He was mobbed by cameras as he left court but did not comment. He later said on the social platform X that he would appeal the verdict and the âmodest award.â
Hand’s voice cracked and her hands trembled as she read a statement outside the courthouse, saying she would never forget what happened to her but would now be able to move on with her life. She thanked her family, partner, friends, jurors, the judge and all the supporters that had reached out to her online, but particularly her daughter.
âShe has given me so much strength and courage over the last six years throughout this nightmare to keep on pushing forward for justice,â she said. âI want to show (her) and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and justice will be served.â
The Associated Press generally does not name alleged victims of sexual violence unless they come forward publicly, as Hand has done. Under Irish law, she did not have the anonymity she would have been granted in a criminal proceeding and was named publicly throughout the trial.
Her lawyer told jurors that McGregor was angry about a fight he had lost in Las Vegas two months earlier and took it out on his client.
âHeâs not a man, heâs a coward,â attorney John Gordon said in his closing speech. âA devious coward and you should treat him for what he is.â
Gordon said his client never pretended to be a saint and was only looking to have fun when she sent McGregor a message through Instagram after attending a Christmas party. He said Hand knew McGregor socially and that they had grown up in the same area.
She said he picked her and a friend up in a car and shared cocaine with them, which McGregor admitted in court, on the way to the Beacon Hotel.
Hand said she told McGregor she didn’t want to have sex with him and that she was menstruating. She said she told him ânoâ as he started kissing her but he eventually pinned her to a bed and she couldn’t move.
McGregor put her in a chokehold and later told her, ânow you know how I felt in the octagon where I tapped out three times,â referring to a UFC match when he had to admit defeat, she said.
Hand had to take several breaks in emotional testimony over three days. She said McGregor threatened to kill her during the encounter and she feared she would never see her young daughter again.
Eventually, he let go of her.
âI remember saying I was sorry, as I felt that I did something wrong and I wanted to reassure him that I wouldnât tell anyone so he wouldnât hurt me again,â she testified.
She said she then let him do what he wanted and he had sex with her.
A paramedic who examined Hand the next day testified that she had never before seen someone with that intensity of bruising. A doctor told jurors Hand had multiple injuries.
Hand said the trauma of the attack had left her unable to work as a hairdresser, she fell behind on her mortgage and had to move out of her house.
Police investigated the womanâs complaint but prosecutors declined to bring charges, saying there was insufficient evidence and a conviction was unlikely.
McGregor, in his post on X, said he was disappointed jurors didn’t see all the evidence prosecutors had reviewed.
He testified that the two had athletic and vigorous sex, but that it was not rough. He said âshe never said ânoâ or stoppedâ and testified that everything she said was a lie.
âIt is a full blown lie among many lies,â he said when asked about the chokehold allegation. âHow anyone could believe that me, as a prideful person, would highlight my shortcomings.â
McGregorâs lawyer told jurors they had to set aside their animus toward the fighter.
âYou may have an active dislike of him, some of you may even loathe him â there is no point pretending that the situation might be otherwise,â attorney Remy Farrell said. âIâm not asking you to invite him to Sunday brunch.â
The defense said the woman never told investigators McGregor threatened her life. They also showed surveillance video in court that they said appeared to show the woman kiss McGregorâs arm and hug him after they left the hotel room. Farrell said she looked âhappy, happy, happy.â
McGregor said he was âbeyond petrifiedâ when first questioned by police and read them a prepared statement. On the advice of his lawyer, he refused to answer more than 100 follow-up questions.
The jury ruled against Hand in a case she brought against one of McGregorâs friends, James Lawrence, whom she accused of having sex with her in the hotel without consent.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (ESPN) â Entering an important matchup with the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers will be without starting quarterback Brock Purdy and defensive end Nick Bosa.
The Niners officially ruled out Purdy (right shoulder soreness) and Bosa (left hip/oblique) Friday afternoon, just before the team was scheduled to fly to Wisconsin. Coach Kyle Shanahan announced that veteran Brandon Allen will start in place of Purdy, with Josh Dobbs available as the backup.
With Purdy and Bosa out and left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) again listed as questionable, the 5-5 Niners could be without three of their most important players in a game they desperately need to stay in the postseason hunt.
“We’re missing two good players, definitely,” Shanahan said. “But we’ve got a lot of good players out there. By no means do we not have a chance to win. We’re going to fight our tails off and expect this to be a real good game.”
While Bosa missing a game to recover has been a real possibility for the past two weeks, Purdy’s absence grew into one over the past 24 hours. Purdy was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice, but Shanahan and the Niners believed his sore shoulder would continue to get better as the week went on.
Then Purdy was on the field for some light throwing before Thursday’s practice, but that clearly didn’t go well as he retreated to the weight room for further treatment. That apparent setback surprised the 49ers.
The writing was on the wall earlier Friday when Purdy was nowhere to be found during the portion of practice open to media.
“This is something that we didn’t think would happen early in the week,” Shanahan said. “We were fully preparing for Brock to go and got a little surprised about this yesterday.”
According to Shanahan, Purdy had an MRI on the shoulder Monday and it did not show any structural damage that would offer cause for concern that he could miss extended time. But Shanahan also said he was unsure when Purdy will be back.
“I don’t want to say there’s long-term concern,” Shanahan said. “We thought he just needed some rest and we really weren’t concerned about [him] not being good this week. But when he started up Thursday, it just surprised him, surprised us with how it felt. So, we had to shut him down. I really don’t know what to think of it. … But the way it responded this week, it’s really up in the air next week. We’ll have to see on Monday.”
Shanahan added that Purdy could not point to a specific play where he hurt the shoulder in last week’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks. But Shanahan noted that Purdy’s shoulder felt tight during the game and led to him spending more time warming in the game than he usually would.
With Purdy out, Allen is poised to make his 10th regular-season start since entering the league as a sixth-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016. Three of those starts were for the Denver Broncos in 2019, with the other six for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020 and 2021. He has been with the 49ers since 2023, running the scout team against the defense for much of that time.
Allen said he didn’t know until Friday that he would be starting, based on the expectation that Purdy would feel better as the week went on.
Shanahan said that despite his injury, Purdy will travel with the team to Green Bay. Bosa, however, will not. Bosa has been dealing with injuries to both hips and obliques, though the left side has been more bothersome this week.
Last week, Bosa played against Seattle despite pain in his right side but injured the left side with about nine minutes left in the third quarter. He did not return to the game and when it was over said he felt like he was “compensating” for the injury on the right side when he hurt the left.
Bosa didn’t sound very optimistic Wednesday that he’d be able to play against the Packers, saying, “It gets better every day. We’ll see.”
In addition to Bosa and Purdy, the Niners will also be without cornerback Charvarius Ward for a third straight game. Ward returned to practice this week after being away from the team to grieve the death of his 1-year-old daughter. Ward rejoined the team last weekend, but Shanahan said neither side wanted to rush anything because Ward hadn’t practiced since before the Oct. 27 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
“We were just happy to get him back in the building this week,” Shanahan said. “We don’t want to put any pressure on him by any means to get ready to play. He just wanted to get back on the field. … Hopefully he’ll be good to go next week.”
As for Williams, he played last week against the Seahawks after not practicing all week. He could do it again this week after again sitting out all three days of practice, though this time the 49ers have a long flight to Green Bay added to the mix.
Shanahan said a decision on Williams won’t be made until “right up to kickoff.” Tight end George Kittle, who missed last week with a hamstring injury, does not have a game designation and is cleared to return against the Packers.
HOUSTON (AP) â Dillon Brooks scored a season-high 28 points and led the Houston Rockets to a 116-88 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in an NBA Cup game on Friday night.
Brooks matched a career-high with six 3-pointers on eight attempts, and the Rockets made 15 of 39 (38.5%) from beyond the arc.
Tari Eason scored 22 points off the bench, Jalen Green had 17 and Alperen Sengun added 14 as the Rockets won for the seventh time in eight games. Six of those wins were by double figures. Houston is 2-0 in NBA Cup play
For Portland, Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe scores 13 points apiece and Toumani Camara had 11.
Portland has lost two straight games to open a four-game trip. They previously won three straight at home. The Trail Blazers are 1-1 in the in-season tournament.
Takeaways
Trail Blazers: Portland was missing two of its five leading scorers in Scoot Henderson, out for the first time with a left quad contusion, and Deandre Ayton, who remained sidelined with a deep contusion in his right index finger.
Rockets: Houston, at 12-5, has outscored opponents by 163 points through 17 games, the highest total through the first 17 games of a season in franchise history. The previous record of 131 was held by the defending champion 1996-97 Rockets, who started the season 15-2.
Key moment
The Rockets were trailing early when Eason checked in and provided a spark, scoring 12 points in an energetic 13 minutes in the first half. Eason finished with a game-best plus-minus of +33 points.
Key stat
Houston outscored Portland 23-7 in fast-break points and generated 28 points off Portlandâs 21 turnovers.
Up next
The Trail Blazers and the Rockets will meet again Saturday night in Houston for the second half of a back-to-back.
NEW YORK (AP) â Yankees slugger Aaron Judge wins his second AL MVP award after leading MLB with 58 home runs.
(NEW YORK) -- Authorities investigating the rash of recent burglaries at the homes of professional athletes have recovered a watch belonging to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in Providence, Rhode Island, sources familiar with the case told ABC News.
Kelceâs Leawood, Kansas, home was burglarized as the Chiefs were about to kick off Monday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints hours apart from a burglary at the home of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Police had not previously disclosed a watch was taken from Kelce but did confirm that $20,000 cash was stolen.
Police believe the athletes are being targeted based on their game schedules and are working to determine whether a crime ring is targeting them along with other luxury homeowners.
So far all of these thefts have occurred while nobody is home. There is a concern about what happens if the athlete or his/her family members are present, a security source told ABC News.
The burglars conduct extensive surveillance, sometimes posing as delivery men, maintenance workers or joggers to learn about residences, neighborhoods and security systems, according to an NFL memo obtained by ABC News.
One security source told ABC News the burglars appear to know what theyâre looking for, where it is in the home and are in and out within 15 minutes.
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Week 1: Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs, Sept. 5 at 7:20 p.m.
Week 2: Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs, Sept. 15 at 3:25 p.m.
Week 3: Kansas City Chiefs at Atlanta Falcons, Sept. 22 at 7:20 p.m.
Week 4: Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Charges, Sept. 29 at 3:25 p.m.
Week 5: New Orleans Saints at Kansas City Chiefs, Oct. 7 at 7:15 p.m.
Week 6: BYE
Week 7: Kansas City Chiefs at San Francisco 49ers, Oct. 20 at 3:25 p.m.
Week 8: Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders, Oct. 27 at 3:25 p.m.
Week 9: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs, Nov. 4 at 7:15 p.m.
Week 10: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs, Nov. 10 at 12 p.m.
Week 11: Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills, Nov. 17 at 3:25 p.m.
Week 12: Kansas City Chiefs at Carolina Panthers, Nov. 24 at 12 p.m.
Week 13: Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs, Nov. 29 at 2 p.m.
Week 14: Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs, Dec. 8 at 7:20 p.m.
Week 15: Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns, Dec. 15 at 12 p.m.
Week 16: Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs, Dec. 21 at 12 p.m.
Week 17: Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers, Dec. 25 at 12 p.m.
Week 18: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos, TBD
Dallas Cowboys 2024 NFL Schedule:
Week 1: Dallas Cowboys at Cleveland Browns, Sept. 8 at 3:25 p.m.
Week 2: New Orleans Saints at Dallas Cowboys, Sept. 15 at 12 p.m.
Week 3: Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys, Sept. 22 at 3:25 p.m.
Week 4: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants, Sept. 26 at 7:15 p.m.
Week 5: Dallas Cowboys at Pittsburgh Steelers, Oct. 6, 7:20 p.m.
Week 6: Dallas Cowboys at Detroit Lions, Oct. 13, at 3:25 p.m.
Week 7: TBD
Week 8: Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers, Oct. 27 at 7:20 p.m.
Week 9: Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons, Nov. 3 at 12 p.m.
Week 10: Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys, Nov. 10 at 3:25 p.m.
Week 11: Houston Texans at Dallas Cowboys, Nov. 18 at 7:15 p.m.
Week 12: Dallas Cowboys at Washington Commanders, Nov. 24 at 12 p.m.
Week 13: New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys, Nov. 28 at 3:30 p.m.
Week 14: Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys, Dec. 9 at 7:15 p.m.
Week 15: Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers, Dec. 15 at 12 p.m.
Week 16: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys, Dec. 22 at 7:20 p.m.
Week 17: Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles, Dec. 29 at 3:25 p.m.
Week 18: Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys, TBD