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Central Catholic stays hot, blanks North Andover, 6-0

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

ANDOVER – Ever since faltering to begin the year, Central Catholic has been firing on all cylinders.Joshua Florence, Will Norris, and Jake Bartlett all collected multiple hits while Lukasz Rondeau threw five innings of shutout baseball as Central Catholic defeated Merrimack Valley Conference foe North Andover, 6-0, on Thursday night at Greater Lawrence Tech.Since an opening day loss to Leominster, the Raiders (7-1) have won seven in a row. Their success has largely been behind the stellar starting pitching of Rondeau, Florence and Francisco Melendez.“Lukasz’s command got sharper as the game went on,” Central Catholic coach John Sexton said. “We had to get him out after five because of the pitch count North Andover made him wrack up but our arms across the board have really pitched well.”Central Catholic gave Rondeau all the run support needed in the bottom of the second. After a catcher’s interference to begin the inning, Tyler Normandie lined a double to right and Jeremy Dela...

Red Sox notebook: Boston to host Terry Francona, Guardians for three-game series

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

The Cleveland Guardians and old friend Terry Francona come to town on Friday for a three-game set.How hotly contested is the American League East? The Red Sox are 13-13 to start the season, which puts them down at the bottom of the division. By comparison, the Guardians are 12-13, which is good for second place in the AL Central.But the Guards are 3-7 in their last 10 games, including dropping their most recent series to the Colorado Rockies, and the Sox are 5-5.Here’s the weekend slate and probable pitching matchups:Friday (7:10 p.m.): RHP Nick Pivetta vs. RHP Shane BieberSaturday (4:10 p.m.): RHP Garrett Whitlock vs. RHP Zach PlesacSunday (1:35 p.m.): LHP Chris Sale vs. LHP Logan AllenOn this dayWith the NBA playoffs in full swing, it’s astounding to look back through sports history and see how much things have changed.April 27, 1963 is the perfect example, as it was the day two NBA players faced off in the same inning of a Major League Baseball game.When Gene Conley s...

2023 NFL Draft tracker: Patriots trade down from 14th overall, add 4th-round pick

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

Welcome to the NFL Draft!The Patriots are scheduled to make their first selection at 14th overall, which based on past drafts, should come around 9:45 p.m.  Thursday night.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | NFL Draft 2023 Live | Eagles take Jalen Carter at No. 9 New England Patriots | Patriots 7-round mock draft: Bill Belichick surprises in 1st round, adds WR and TE late New England Patriots | NFL Draft 2023: The Patriots’ five most likely first-round picks New England Patriots | How to watch NFL Draft 2023 on TV, streaming New England Patriots | The 10 NFL Draft prospects who best fit the Patriots after the 1st round The Pats have 11 picks total, though they are expected to package some in trades at some point during the draft.Follow along for every Patriots draft pick, trade, rumor and report throughout the draft, and read the Herald’s final 7-round Patriots mock draft here.Round 1Patri...

Elderly couple attacked in North County; man arrested

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

FALLBROOK, Calif. -- A man suspected of attacking an elderly couple last week at their home in the unincorporated area of Fallbrook was arrested, authorities said.Marcos Tapia, 31, was arrested on suspicion of felony elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon, Sgt. Marcello Orsini with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said in a release Thursday. He was booked into the Vista Detention Facility and also faces a charge of attempted murder due to his previous statements, history of violence and the severity of the recent attack.The incident occurred April 20 around 10 p.m. in the 200 block of South Brandon Road, according to law enforcement. Shots fired at large East County party; 2 dead When deputies arrived on scene, they found out the suspect assaulted a 75-year-old man while he was in bed and then attacked a 76-year-old woman with a baseball bat as she attempted to intervene, per SDSO.The two victims were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries."During th...

Hundreds stuck at Peru-Chile border in crackdown on migrants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A migration crisis at the border between Chile and Peru intensified Thursday as hundreds of people remained stranded, unable to cross into Peru in an effort to return to their home country of Venezuela.The mostly Venezuelan migrants are seeking to cross into Peru to continue on to their home country but Peru isn’t allowing them to enter because they lack documents.While stalled at the border of the two South American countries, the migrants face the inhospitable climate that characterizes the Atacama Desert, one of the driest on the planet, with extremely hot days and intensely cold nights. Some have improvised tents with blankets but they lack water and other basic services.A group of migrants ran through the desert toward Peru, but they were turned back by Peruvian officers. Some women complained and demanded that the government of President Gabriel Boric provide a bus for them to travel to Venezuela.Images showed migrants shoving Peruvian border patrol offi...

Lightning stave off elimination with Game 5 win over Maple Leafs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

Michael Eyssimont had a goal and an assist as the Tampa Bay Lightning kept their playoff hopes alive with a 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 5 of their first round series. Morgan Rielly sent the raucous crowd at Scotiabank Arena into a frenzy with his third goal of the playoffs six minutes into the first period. The Lightning countered 25 seconds later as Anthony Cirelli notched his third of the postseason. Eyssimont picked up his first of the playoffs just over four minutes into the second while Nick Paul’s first of the series midway through the third proved to be the ultimate game-winner.Auston Matthews with his fourth of the playoffs with just under four minutes brought the Maple Leafs to within one before Alex Killorn sealed it for Tampa Bay with an empty netter.Toronto leads the best-of-seven series 3-games-2 and will look to end their nearly two-decade first-round playoff drought when the two teams meet Saturday in Tampa.The Leafs have lost six consecutive fi...

Iran’s navy seizes oil tanker near Oman, heading for Houston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s navy seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday heading to the U.S. amid wider tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program, the latest-such capture in a waterway crucial for global energy supplies.The U.S. Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet identified the vessel as the Advantage Sweet. Satellite tracking data for the vessel from MarineTraffic.com showed it in the Gulf of Oman, just north of Oman’s capital, Muscat, on Thursday afternoon. It had just come from Kuwait and listed its destination as Houston.The Advantage Sweet issued a distress call at 1:15 p.m. while in international waters as Iran seized the vessel, the Navy said. “Iran’s actions are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional security and stability,” the 5th Fleet said in a statement. “Iran should immediately release the oil tanker.”The Navy initially said Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard se...

9 still missing after boat sinks in west Indonesia, 11 dead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

PEKANBARU, Indonesia (AP) — A speedboat carrying at least 78 people sank in western Indonesia, and rescuers were searching for nine people still missing in the rough seas early Friday.Rescuers have retrieved 11 bodies, mostly women and children, and rescued 58 people so far, many of them unconscious after drifting in choppy waters for hours, said Nyoman Sidhakarya, the Pekanbaru Search and Rescue Agency chief.Local television footage showed people standing on an overturned boat trying to reach a fishing boat packed with survivors.The Evelyn Calista 01 was carrying 72 passengers, mostly people returning from visits to their hometowns to celebrate Eid al-Fitr holiday with families, and six crew members, Sidhakarya said.The boat sank Thursday afternoon about three hours after leaving a port in Tembilahan, a town in the Indragiri Hilir Regency in Riau province. It was bound for Tanjung Pinang city in a neighboring province in the Riau Islands chain, a 200-kilometer (124-mile) trip.The c...

Young, Stroud, Richardson go in top 4 of NFL draft

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Quarterbacks dominated the first part of the NFL draft.Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson were among the top four picks Thursday night, an expected result in a league where teams know finding a franchise QB is the quickest path to success.The Carolina Panthers selected Young, the slender and dynamic Alabama quarterback, with the No. 1 pick, seven weeks after making a blockbuster trade with Chicago to move up to get their choice of potential franchise players.The Panthers chose the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner over Ohio State’s Stroud, Florida’s Richardson and Kentucky’s Will Levis. New coach Frank Reich said earlier in the week that the organization reached a consensus Monday after several weeks of deliberation.Stroud didn’t have to wait long. He went No. 2 to the Houston Texans, who then made a blockbuster deal with Arizona to acquire the No. 3 pick and selected Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr.Richardson then went at No. 4 to the Indian...

NATO: Ukraine allies sent 1,550 combat vehicles, 230 tanks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:48 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — NATO allies and partner countries have delivered more than 98% of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine during Russia’s invasion and war, the military alliance’s chief said Thursday, giving Kyiv a bigger punch as it contemplates launching a counteroffensive.Along with more than 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks and other equipment, Ukraine’s allies have sent “vast amounts of ammunition” and also trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian brigades, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.More than 30,000 troops are estimated to make up the new brigades. Some NATO partner countries, such as Sweden and Australia, have also provided armored vehicles.“This will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.His comments came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a “long and meaningful” phone call in their first k...