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3 takeaways from Chicago White Sox camp, plus the 1st home run of the spring for OF prospect Oscar Colás: ‘It was special’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:01 GMT

Jake Burger slugged two home runs for the Chicago White Sox in a 6-5 Cactus League loss to the San Diego Padres on Saturday at the Peoria Sports Complex.Burger hit a two-run homer in the fourth and a solo shot in the eighth. He has four home runs and six RBIs this spring.Oscar Colás hit his first homer of the spring, a towering blast to right, as a pinch hitter in the ninth.“It was special,” Colás said through an interpreter. “I wasn’t looking for homers before, it just happened this time.”Colás, vying for a roster spot and competing for the opening in right field, is hitting .407. The Sox have shown their power recently with 12 homers in their last 11 Cactus League games.Here are three more takeaways from Saturday at Sox camp.1. Pedro Grifol sees the rotation as a team strengthsThe rookie manager likes how his rotation stacks up.“History says if you have a good starting rotation, good things should happen,” he said Saturday m...

Canton defeats Duxbury in Division 2 semifinal clash, 3-1

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:01 GMT

BOURNE — Coming off a penalty kill late in a 1–1 game, Canton captain AJ Thomas knew to gain some open space. He found a loose puck, gained body position, and fired the puck into the top corner to give his Bulldogs a lead over Duxbury in a Division 2 semifinal boys hockey game at Gallo Arena.He would add an empty netter to make it 3–1 a few minutes later and that would be all Canton would need to book its fourth trip to the TD Garden in the past five seasons.“I see (the puck) pop out into the middle of the ice,” Thomas said. “I raced for it, battled with the other kid and put it over his blocker side.”At one point in the contest, this result seemed unlikely. Neither team had surrendered a goal in the tournament up to this game, and the first period continued that streak. Towards the latter stages of the second period, Wick Ross buried a puck and put the Dragons in the lead.This felt like a dagger, and Dragons’ goalie Sam Mazanec continued to frustrate the Canton offense. Despi...

Rey Mysterio inducted into WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2023

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:01 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Chula Vista's-own Rey Mysterio, known for his high-flying Lucha Libre wrestling style, was inducted Friday into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame Class of 2023, WWE officials announced.The ceremony, held on Friday Night SmackDown, honored arguably one of the greatest cruiserweight wrestlers of all time in Mysterio. His wrestling career consisted of numerous accolades, from becoming the World Heavyweight Championship twice and the WWE Championship once to a Triple Crown and Grand Slam Champion."Mysterio had an abundance of memorable moments and rivalries, including his battles with Eddie Guerrero, Batista, Kurt Angle, Cody Rhodes and Edge, to name a few," the WWE stated on its website. Denise Russo of ‘The X-Life’ dies in San Diego at 44 Mysterio's iconic finisher move, called the "619," represented the area code for his native San Diego.In 2018, the San Diego and Chula Vista City Council proclaimed June 19 "Rey Mysterio Day" in honor of the wrestler.Myste...

Avalanche Canada releases details on B.C. avalanche that killed three Germans

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:01 GMT

INVERMERE, B.C. — Avalanche Canada has released more details about the deadly avalanche that killed three German citizens in southeastern British Columbia last week. It says in an incident report that nine heli-skiers and one guide were about 30 km southwest of Invermere, B.C., in the Coppercrown Mountain region on a run called “Too bad about the skiing.”It says the guide was regrouping higher up on the run, when “the fifth person in the group triggered a settlement at the regroup, which initiated the avalanche above.”The organization says the entire group was swept into the sparse forested area next to the larger avalanche path. It says two guests were fully buried and died on scene, while the guide and three others were partially buried and critically injured, and another sustained non-critical injuries.Avalanche Canada says all of the injured skiers were airlifted to the Invermere Hospital, where one of them died.The organization has described the avalanche as a class...

‘Utterly ridiculous’ misogynistic harassment of women curlers must end, says sports federation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:01 GMT

Despite their athletic achievements, women curlers continue to be the target of vicious online harassment off the ice.Members of Curling Canada are speaking out after hateful comments towards women athletes.“When we’re criticized for the gender that we are, it can be challenging,” said Jill Officer, a 2014 Olympic gold medallist in curling and six-time Scotties Champion.“We as female curlers are criticized for doing the exact same thing that our male counterparts do. Whether it’s tattoos, or how we scream, or the intensity we have on the ice. It’s all the same and we’re all trying to achieve the same thing.”Al Cameron, the director of communication at Curling Canada, says the types of messages he receives about women curlers are disappointing to read.“‘Can’t you get them to stop yelling, can’t you get them to stop screaming,’” said Cameron. “It’s just ridiculous, it’s just utterly ridiculous.”Six days into the Brier and not a single emailed fan complaint about players sc...

Vintage market brings sustainable shopping to Union Station

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:01 GMT

Massive lines filled the halls of Union Station Saturday, but the crowds weren’t there for trains or buses, they were waiting for their chance to shop secondhand clothing inside a space that used to hold horse carriages.Hundreds of shoppers made their way to Toronto’s transit hub for the travelling thrifting event known as The Street Market. Over 30 local vendors set up inside the newly revamped TD West Carriageway, where they’ll sell vintage clothing and handmade goods through the weekend.Shoppers sift through racks of secondhand clothing inside Union Station. (Brandon Choghri/CITYNEWS)“People used to be able to come in carriages and drop people off and go take the train and travel through Canada,” explains Jessica Lemire, Union Station’s director of marketing activations. “We were able to enclose the space in this beautiful glass so you can see the Royal York, you can see the CN Tower… it’s a very exclusive space but we’r...

Colorado GOP selects combative, election-denying new leader

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:01 GMT

LOVELAND, Colo. (AP) — The Colorado Republican Party on Saturday selected a combative former state representative who promised to be a “wartime” leader as its new chairman, joining several other state GOPs this year that have elected far-right figures and election conspiracy theorists to their top posts.The move in Colorado comes as the party totters on the brink of political irrelevance in a state moving swiftly to the left.Former State Rep. Dave Williams, who unsuccessfully tried to insert the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon” into his name on the party’s primary ballot last year and insists — incorrectly — that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election, was selected by the party’s executive committee out of a seven-person field.Williams crossed the required 50% threshold on the third ballot after being endorsed by one of his competitors, indicted former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who had failed to surpass 10%. Peters faces seven felony charges for her alle...

2 more children die after a Montclare house fire at a firefighter's home

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:01 GMT

CHICAGO — Two more children who were critically injured in a house fire at a firefighter's home in Montclare earlier this week died Friday evening, further echoing the pain and grief being felt throughout the Northwest Chicago neighborhood."It’s very sad," said Perla Martinez, a Montclare resident. "We’ve never had something like this happen before and it just caught us off guard ... It’s really sad."A family member told WGN the two children who died Friday evening were 2-year-old Emery Stewart and 9-year-old Autumn Stewart. Emery and Autumn's mother, Summer Day-Stewart, died from her injuries earlier in the day, while 7-year-old Ezra Stewart died in the fire Tuesday. Family tells WGN that Summer's memory will live on through organ donation, while the Chicago firefighter community comes together to help pay for the family's funerals. Memorial services begin Wednesday for fallen Chicago officer "I hope they are okay in this time of their loss," Martinez said. "And we're always here...

Local business 'Cloud Cookie' blows up on TikTok, orders from across nation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:01 GMT

CHICAGO — A small-owned cookie shop just outside of Wrigleyville would have never expected to take off the way it did with just a post of a TikTok.Cloud Cookie, located on North Clark Street, has received more shipping orders in the past week than they have in the past seven to eight months, the owner says.“We’re stretched a little thin right now, but we’re handling it.  We’re not rushing anything. We’re keeping the quality which is what’s important to me and always has been,” Morin said.Anne Marie Morin, the owner of Cloud Cookie, says the shop took off in quarantine, just getting off the ground, amid a global scare and is now grateful for the abundance of love.Her dedicated staff is working night and day to cater to their now national reach.“The orders are coming in, I’ll look at my phone, my email and every ten minutes, we’re getting more shipping orders.” Weekend Break: St. Patrick’s Day celebrations at Old St. Pat’s Church She has also gone live from the kitchen, a recen...

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Chicago

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:01 GMT

CHICAGO — The renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is gracing the stage in Chicago once again.“For me it’s always a giving back to me and thanking the city for bringing me forth,” Ailey dancer Vernard Gilmore said.Gilmore went from dancing at Chicago’s Curie High School to the world-famous Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He joined the New York-based theater in 1997.“Now being there for a quarter of a century it really is a tradition in itself as far as a spiritual moment for all of our audiences,” Gilmore said.He is one of the several current Ailey dancers originally from the Chicago area.Alvin Ailey founded the company in 1958, preserving and sharing Black cultural experiences through dance.His masterpiece, “Revelations,” is considered the mostly widely seen modern dance work in the world. It’s always the finale but this year’s program also features works from other acclaimed choreographers ranging from Kyle Abraham to Twyla Tharp.  “Our audiences are just as excite...