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Grading The Week: CU, Nebraska, Stanford should be in same dang conference. Not three separate ones.

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:23 GMT

We give up. I mean, yeah, everybody got dragged across the Rubicon ages ago, the minute Fox and USC (allegedly) hatched a plan with the Big Ten, let UCLA ride shotgun, and took an almighty howitzer to maps and common sense.But the dumb keeps getting dumber.CU-Central Florida? Conference game. Oregon-Rutgers? Conference game. SMU-Boston College? Conference game. Stanford-Virginia Tech? Conference game. As the curtain closes on Summer 2023, Stanford and Cal are bound for the ACC, The Golden Gate Bridge is now an extension of Tobacco Road, and the kids in the GTW offices are measuring the drapes for a cell with padded walls. Yay, realignment!ACC meets West Coast — FCollege sports’ provincial, regional dynamic, one of the tenets that made it unique within American sporting fare, has been replaced by the ethos of “Let’s Be In All Four Time Zones” — which, of course, is code for, “Let’s Be A Junior NFL.” ACC? Junior NFL. Big 12? Junior NFL. SEC? Junior NFL (With only two time zones. For n...

Lionel Messi, Inter Miami agree to switch hotels in support of striking hospitality workers 

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:23 GMT

Legendary soccer superstar Lionel Messi is in Los Angeles as Inter Miami are set take on LAFC at BMO Stadium on Sunday, and the team is supporting local striking hotel workers during their stay in the City of Angels. According to the Los Angeles Times, Inter Miami were originally slated to stay at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica, but Unite Here Local 11 – which represents the striking workers – said the team canceled its reservations “at the union’s urging.” “The housekeepers, cooks, bellmen and servers of the Fairmont Miramar say thank you to the great Lionel Messi and his teammates for agreeing to move from the hotel and stand with the striking workers,” Unite Here Local 11 said in a statement. The union posted a message on social media on Wednesday asking the team to “stay out” of the Fairmont Miramar amid tensions and occasional violence on the picket lines.  Kobe Bryant’s daughter Natalia tosses first pitch on Lakers Night at Dodger Stadium The MLS Players Association, w...

Girl, 12, recalls terrifying encounter with homeless man

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:23 GMT

A mother recalls the terrifying moment a man snuck into her Riverside home and touched her 12-year-old daughter.The suspect, Daveon Alvarez, 28, is a convicted felon and a transient on parole for auto theft, Riverside police said.Alvarez entered the home through an unlocked door where the victim, 12-year-old Jessie Guitron, was asleep on the couch.“He walked straight into the living room, stood in front of my daughter as she was asleep and touched her face with his hand,” said Laura Guitron, the victim's mother.Alvarez then sat across from the girl and just stared at her, Laura said. Maintaining her composure, the girl calmly walked over to her older sister’s room while Alvarez followed behind.“He asked for the time and I tell him,” Jessie recalled. “Then he asked for my age which was very confusing to me. I was just very nervous and tense.”Police say Daveon Alvarez snuck into a home and touched a 12-year-old girl on the face. Aug. 28, 2023. (Riverside Police)Daveon Alvarez is seen ...

Kobe Bryant's daughter Natalia tosses first pitch on Lakers Night at Dodger Stadium

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:23 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Natalia Bryant threw out the first pitch on Friday night before the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the Atlanta Braves as the Lakers legend was honored.The 20-year-old University of Southern California student tossed the ball from in front of the mound. It took one bounce and into the glove of All-Star Mookie Betts, who was handling catching duties. A smiling Natalia hugged Betts, who wore her father's No. 24 jersey over his Dodgers uniform.Bryant was joined by her mother, Vanessa, and sisters, 6-year-old Bianka and 4-year-old Capri. They all wore Dodgers jerseys. The back of Vanessa's read Queen Mamba, a nod to Kobe's nickname. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka also attended.Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash in 2020.Natalia Bryant, daughter of Kobe Bryant, hugs Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch prior to a baseball game between the Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves Friday, Sept. ...

What is California Forever? Company behind huge land purchases releases details

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:23 GMT

The group of Silicon Valley investors who have been buying up land in Northern California under the company Flannery Associates has launched a website, revealing a parent company called California Forever and offering more details about its plans for building a new metropolitan area in Solano County. The website, which launched Thursday, features information about a survey conducted by the company, renderings of what the community would look like, and more information about the two companies, which it says are seeking to build a new "sustainable community." California Forever has existed since 2017, according to the site. But it wasn't until this year that it caught national attention after concerns were raised about the close to 55,000 acres it had purchased in the eastern part of Solano County, close to Travis Air Force Base. This summer, the land buyers started receiving more attention from media outlets and state and federal elected officials after concerns about the proximity o...

Bay Area high school football roundup 2023: Best of Week 2 action

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:23 GMT

Welcome back to the Bay Area News Group’s high school football roundup. Here, you’ll find all the details from the weekend’s action in this news organization’s coverage area, which encompasses teams that play in leagues based primarily in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.Check back every Saturday during the season for scores, highlights and top performers, updated throughout the day.If you have not already, please subscribe here for complete digital access all season long. Your contributions keep us going.On to the roundup …Ranked teamsNo. 3 Pittsburg 41, Granite Bay 21The visiting Pirates broke a 14-14 deadlock by scoring four touchdowns over a 9:23 stretch of mostly the fourth quarter. The eruption of six-pointers began when QB Marley Alcantara threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Makari Kenion with 15 seconds left on the clock in the third quarter. The Pirates (2-0) struck again when Alcantara flipped a 6-yard pass to Tristan Berena to make...

Man fatally shot in East Oakland late Friday night

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:23 GMT

OAKLAND — A 40-year-old man was fatally shot Friday night in East Oakland, authorities said.His name has not yet been released, but he is believed to be an Oakland resident, police said.The man was found shot about 11:40 p.m. Friday outside in a parking lot in the 2700 block of East 12th Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Shooting victim in critical but stable condition following gunfire in downtown Oakland Crime and Public Safety | Oakland police have a year to speed up 911 response times — and a lot to lose if they don’t Crime and Public Safety | One dead following shooting in Union City Crime and Public Safety | Alleged East Bay gang member convicted of killing teen in drive-by shooting Crime and Public Safety | Alleged co-founder of ‘Murder Mob’ Concord Sureño gang sentenced to 9 years for drug conspiracy Police have not...

‘Margaritaville’ singer Jimmy Buffett, who turned beach-bum life into a billion-dollar empire, dies at 76

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:23 GMT

By MARK KENNEDY (AP Entertainment Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavored song “Margaritaville” and turned that celebration of loafing into a billion-dollar empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, has died. He was 76.“Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,” a statement posted to Buffett’s official website and social media pages said late Friday. “He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”The statement did not say where Buffett died or give a cause of death. Illness had forced him to reschedule concerts in May and Buffett acknowledged in social media posts that he had been hospitalized, but provided no specifics.“Margaritaville,” released on Feb. 14, 1977, quickly took on a life of its own, becoming a state of mind for those ”wastin’ away,” an excuse fo...

Pleasant Hill: Alleged child pornography distributor found asleep in Kohl’s parking lot with a gun by his feet, police say

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:23 GMT

PLEASANT HILL — If a woman hadn’t decided to shoplift from a local Kohl’s at around 12:45 p.m. on Aug. 9, an alleged child pornography distributor may have avoided arrest.Pleasant Hill officers were called to the Kohl’s for a report of a woman who’d loaded merchandise into her purse, loaded it into a black Saturn sedan, then returned to the store for more. But when officers got there, they were more interested in what they found inside the Saturn, authorities say.In the front seat, police found the shoplifting suspect’s husband: a sleeping Jaime Nunez Hernandez, with a pistol plainly visible by his feet. The officers woke him up, detained him at gunpoint, then seized his mobile phone and a small amount of methamphetamine from the car, police said.Hernandez, a 38-year-old Pittsburg resident, allegedly told police he found the gun in Pittsburg.But when authorities searched the phone, the investigation took a turn. The investigators not only found mo...

South Sudan to represent Africa, Japan to represent Asia in Paris Olympic basketball field

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:23 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — It was a chant that Luol Deng waited years to lead. He stood along the side of the South Sudan locker room after their run in the World Cup was over, cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled the same thing, over and over.“Where we goin’?” he shouted.“Paris,” the players all responded.Deng’s vision when he founded the national team about a decade ago was to use basketball as a beacon of hope for his homeland. And his vision never seemed more real than on Saturday.A struggling country just 12 years removed from gaining its independence — making it the youngest nation in the world — is headed to the Paris Olympics as the automatic qualifier from Africa. Carlik Jones finished with 26 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds, and South Sudan rolled past Angola 101-78 on Saturday in the final game of the World Cup for both teams.The win, combined with Egypt’s 88-86 loss to New Zealand in a game that went final about a half hour later, clinched the O...