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Bruins 2023-24 roster breakdown: No longer a juggernaut, making the playoffs a main goal for Boston

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:48:42 GMT

The fact many informed observers believe the Bruins will make the playoffs – of course, the Bruins always figure it out, right? – is a testament to the culture that has been built and talent assembled on Causeway Street over the past 15 years.But the post-season is no given.The B’s lost nearly half the roster from last year’s record-breaking 65-win team that sputtered disastrously in the playoffs. That much turnover in a depth-driven sport is scary.Yet the B’s still have some pieces. The have a bona fide superstar on right wing, two players who could be in the Norris Trophy conversation and the returning Vezina Trophy winner who’ll be sharing the net with a netminder who very may well be his equal.So, yes, the B’s have a decent shot to make the playoffs. But unlike last season, they could be playing some very meaningful, uncomfortable games in late March and early April.Here is how the roster breaks down:LW C RWJames van Riemsdyk Pavel Zacha David Pastr...

Five things we learned from the Orioles’ 7-1 season-ending playoff loss to the Rangers in the ALDS

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:48:42 GMT

The Rangers started strong and built a lead the Orioles could not challenge, sweeping the winningest team in the American League out of the playoffs with a 7-1 win in Game 3 of the AL Division Series on Tuesday night.Here are five things we learned from the game.The Rangers are a vision of what the Orioles could becomeThe worry going into this series was that Texas’ relentless bats would set a pace the Orioles could not match. That was exactly what happened over the last two games as the Rangers put 33 men on base and scored 18 runs.Their lineup guarantees a long night full of terrors, from leadoff hitter Marcus Semien’s 73 extra-base hits to Corey Seager’s .623 slugging percentage to Adolis García’s 39 home runs to rookie Evan Carter’s .413 on-base percentage. Manager Bruce Bochy has led three teams to World Series championships and recently said he’s never worked with a better batch of hitters.Then you look at the Orioles. Gunnar Hend...

Analysis: Red Sox burned by high-risk, high-reward approach to starting rotation

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:48:42 GMT

Coming into the season you could have easily talked yourself into the Red Sox having one of the better starting rotations in baseball.If Chris Sale could stay healthy, and if the 37-year-old Corey Kluber could replicate his strong 2022 with Tampa Bay, the Red Sox could have one of the best one-two punches atop their rotation in baseball.If Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Brayan Bello could take the next step as reliable, big-league starters, the Red Sox could be set up for years to come.If James Paxton could put his injury woes behind him, and if Nick Pivetta could remain a consistent innings-eater, the rotation could turn into a monster.That’s a lot of “ifs,” and with the benefit of hindsight it’s clear Boston’s plan was fatally over-optimistic.The problem with any high-risk, high-reward approach is when it doesn’t work out, things can get ugly in a hurry. Though there were certainly other failures along the way — poor defense, lack of depth a...

Stock market today: World shares mixed after Wall St buoyed by easing pressure on bonds

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:48:42 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mixed on Wednesday after an easing of pressure from the bond market fueled an advance on Wall Street. Oil prices edged lower.Germany’s DAX was little changed, losing 2 points to 15,421.12. In Paris, the CAC 40 fell 0.5% to 7,124.26. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.2% to 7,641.60. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up more than 0.1%. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 gained 0.5% and the Dow rose 0.4%. The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.6%.Investors have taken heart from signs that upward pressure on inflation in many economies may be easing. That would enable the Federal Reserve and other central banks to halt or reverse aggressive interest rate hikes meant to curb rising prices. However, reports this week on inflation at both the consumer and wholesale levels could alter those assumptions. In Hong Kong, investor sentiment got a boost Wednesday from a report by Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, that the government ...

Dozens of flights canceled after fire tears through a parking garage at London’s Luton Airport

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:48:42 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of travelers faced disruption as all flights were suspended on Wednesday at London’s Luton airport after a fire tore through a newly built parking garage, destroying vehicles and partially collapsing the structure.Four firefighters and an airport employee were treated in hospitals for smoke inhalation after the fire, which erupted on Tuesday evening.All flights were suspended until at least 3 p.m. on Wednesday, the airport said in a statement, and would-be passengers were asked to stay away because emergency crews were still on the scene.Luton, about 56 kilometers (35 miles) north of central London, is a hub for easyJet, Ryanair and other budget airlines running flights to destinations in the United Kingdom and Europe.Some passengers had to wait at the nearby railway station because the airport was closed.Nikodem Lesiak, a university student trying to return to Poland, said he had spent the night at the station.“When we got here, we found out Luton is b...

Apartment fire in northwestern Spain kills 4 people, including 3 children

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:48:42 GMT

VIGO, Spain (AP) — A fire in an apartment building that was reportedly occupied by squatters in Spain’s northwestern city of Vigo killed four people, including three children, municipal authorities said Wednesday.Emergency services initially said that all four victims were between 9 and 14 years old, but Vigo Mayor Abel Caballero later confirmed one of the victims was an adult.Medics evacuated nine other people to hospitals, emergency services for the Galicia region said. Three injured people, including a child, were in serious condition, they said.The town declared three days of mourning for the victims, Caballero said.The building in central Vigo had several apartments that were occupied by squatters, Spanish state television RTVE reported, but it was unclear if the victims were squatters or residents.The Associated Press

Some Israelis abroad desperately try to head home – to join reserve military units, or just to help

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:48:42 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — At the most harrowing of times, some Israeli citizens living overseas aren’t running from the war at home, but to it. From Athens to New York, they’re rushing to airports and diving into online chat groups for help, desperate to make their way to the country after Hamas militants attacked. Some of these Israelis abroad are yearning to serve, whether that means fighting in a military reserve unit or volunteering to shuttle supplies to those in need, even as the war has already claimed at least 1,800 lives and shows no signs of abating. On Tuesday, Israel’s military expanded its mobilization of reservists to 360,000, according to the country’s media, as it ramped up its retaliation for the surprise attacks. Yaakov Swisa, a 42-year-old father of five, said nobody called and asked him to return to Israel to fight, but he feels he has no choice. He served for 15 years, and he said he learned his army roommate was among at least 260 killed at a music f...

French troops are starting to withdraw from Niger following the July coup as extremist attacks rise

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:48:42 GMT

COTONOU, Benin (AP) — French troops have started leaving Niger more than two months after mutinous soldiers toppled the African country’s democratically elected president, the military said Wednesday. The French didn’t specify how many troops were departing or where they were headed.Late Tuesday, Niger’s state television broadcast images of a convoy leaving a base in Ouallam in the country’s north, saying it was bound for neighboring Chad, to the east. French military transport aircraft were also shown departing from an airbase in the capital, Niamey. The departure comes weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will end its military presence in Niger and pull its ambassador out of the country as a result of the coup that removed President Mohamed Bazoum in late July. Some 1,500 French troops have been operating in Niger, training its military and conducting joint operations.Since seizing power, Niger’s military leaders have leveraged anti-French sentiment a...

Norway activists renew protest against wind farm on land used by herders

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:48:42 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Dozen of activists protested Wednesday at Norway’s parliament to express frustration over the Norwegian government’s failure to shut down a wind farm they say endangers the way of life of Sami reindeer herders.At the center of the dispute are the 151 turbines of Europe’s largest onshore wind farm, which is located in central Norway’s Fosen district, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) north of Oslo. The activists say a transition to green energy shouldn’t come at the expense of the rights of Indigenous people. They have demonstrated repeatedly against the wind farm’s continued operation since the Supreme Court of Norway ruled in October 2021 that the construction of the turbines had violated the rights of the Sami, who have used the land for reindeer for centuries.”The trust of Sami in the state is at a breaking point,” activist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen said Wednesday. “It is absurd, because the reindeer owners of Fosen won in court. The gov...

What to know on 5th day of latest Israel-Palestinian war

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:48:42 GMT

The war between Israel and the militant group Hamas raged for a fifth day on Wednesday, as Israeli warplanes hammered neighborhood after neighborhood in the Gaza Strip, reducing buildings to rubble and sending people scrambling to find safety.As authorities in Gaza warned that rescue teams were unable to reach many areas and that electricity supplies would run out within hours, humanitarian groups pleaded for the creation of corridors that would allow them to deliver aid.The war, which has claimed at least 2,100 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate.Israel has vowed an unprecedented offensive against Hamas, after the Islamic militant group’s fighters broke through the border fence and stormed into the country’s south on Saturday, gunning down hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival.The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people, including 155 soldiers, have died in Israel since Saturday’s incursion. In Gaza, 950 people have...