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Cubs try to keep home win streak alive, host the Marlins

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:31 GMT

Miami Marlins (16-18, third in the NL East) vs. Chicago Cubs (17-16, third in the NL Central)Chicago; Sunday, 2:20 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Marlins: Sandy Alcantara (1-3, 5.35 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 31 strikeouts); Cubs: Hayden Wesneski (2-1, 3.49 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 17 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Marlins -123, Cubs +104; over/under is 7 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs host the Miami Marlins looking to extend a three-game home winning streak.Chicago has gone 10-8 in home games and 17-16 overall. The Cubs are 8-2 in games when they hit two or more home runs.Miami is 16-18 overall and 6-9 in road games. The Marlins have the ninth-ranked team batting average in the NL at .249.The teams meet Sunday for the sixth time this season. The Marlins lead the season series 3-2.TOP PERFORMERS: Nico Hoerner has six doubles, a triple and two home runs while hitting .315 for the Cubs. Cody Bellinger is 12-for-39 with four doubles, a triple and two home runs over the past 10 games.Jorge Soler l...

Diamondbacks take on the Nationals after Gurriel’s 4-hit game

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:31 GMT

Washington Nationals (13-20, fifth in the NL East) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (19-14, second in the NL West)Phoenix; Sunday, 4:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Nationals: Trevor Williams (1-1, 3.41 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 21 strikeouts); Diamondbacks: Ryne Nelson (1-2, 6.39 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 19 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Diamondbacks -166, Nationals +143; over/under is 9 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Arizona Diamondbacks play the Washington Nationals after Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s four-hit game on Saturday.Arizona has gone 10-6 at home and 19-14 overall. Diamondbacks hitters have a collective .437 slugging percentage to rank third in the NL.Washington is 7-8 on the road and 13-20 overall. The Nationals have a 6-15 record in games when they have allowed a home run.The matchup Sunday is the third time these teams square off this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Corbin Carroll has nine doubles, a triple, five home runs and 11 RBI while hitting .330 for the Diamondbacks. Christian Walker is 15-for-40 wi...

Brewers look to break 5-game road skid, play the Giants

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:31 GMT

Milwaukee Brewers (18-15, second in the NL Central) vs. San Francisco Giants (15-17, fourth in the NL West)San Francisco; Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Brewers: Adrian Houser (0-0); Giants: Ross Stripling (0-1, 6.10 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 19 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Giants -139, Brewers +118; over/under is 9 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Milwaukee Brewers will aim to stop a five-game road losing streak when they play the San Francisco Giants.San Francisco is 9-7 at home and 15-17 overall. The Giants have a 10-5 record in games when they scored at least five runs.Milwaukee has an 18-15 record overall and a 9-9 record in road games. The Brewers have a 13-5 record in games when they record eight or more hits.Sunday’s game is the third time these teams match up this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Thairo Estrada has seven doubles, five home runs and 13 RBI for the Giants. LaMonte Wade Jr is 10-for-33 with a double, a triple, four home runs and five RBI over the past 10 games.Rowd...

Padres play the Dodgers in series rubber match

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:31 GMT

Los Angeles Dodgers (20-14, first in the NL West) vs. San Diego Padres (18-16, third in the NL West)San Diego; Sunday, 7:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Dodgers: Julio Urias (4-3, 3.86 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 45 strikeouts); Padres: Joe Musgrove (1-0, 10.80 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, nine strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Dodgers -110, Padres -108; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: Both the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers are looking for a series win with a victory on Sunday.San Diego has an 18-16 record overall and a 10-10 record in home games. The Padres have a 14-2 record in games when they scored five or more runs.Los Angeles has an 8-8 record on the road and a 20-14 record overall. The Dodgers have the second-ranked team slugging percentage in the NL at .449.Sunday’s game is the third time these teams square off this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Juan Soto has seven doubles, five home runs and 17 RBI while hitting .220 for the Padres. Fernando Tatis Jr. is 16-for-46 with three dou...

Review: All creatures great and small in ‘Guardians 3’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:31 GMT

When Peter “Star-Lord” Quill, while inspecting a murky extraterrestrial region, pressed play on Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love” in the first “Guardians of the Galaxy,” it would have been hard to imagine that James Gunn’s space opera would ultimately lead to something as sincere, poignant and kinda cornball as the trilogy-ending “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” But as Gunn has showed over over the course of these increasingly soupy sci-fi spectacles, the genetically spliced DNA of his chaotic, cartoonish cosmic vision is a double helix of opposites. Breezy ‘70s rock papers over extreme violence. Cynical exteriors cloak sentimental emotions. A ragtag group of outcasts, more so than even the cast of “Fast and the Furious,” talk a lot about “family” and “friends.” Against the odds, “Come and get your love” has turned out to be a legit invitation.“Vol. 3” is a messy, overstuffed finale. But you rarely question whether Gunn’s heart is in it. Sometimes it spoils...

London’s upper crust is so over the royals

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:31 GMT

LONDON — As King Charles III arrived in Westminster Abbey for his coronation on Saturday, a 40-something woman in a red skirt stood up across town and raised her champagne flûte in a desperate attempt to generate a bit of enthusiasm.“Chin-chin!” she shouted.“God save the King,” the party surrounding her muttered with subdued enthusiasm.We were in western London in one of the city’s most exclusive private clubs, a 40-acre oasis of manicured tennis lawns, croquet and rugby pitches. I wangled my way into the club’s Polo Bar, hoping to get a feel for how the U.K.’s privileged feel about their new monarch and the state of the institution writ large.The bar, decorated with fading sporting prints, engraved silver trophies and a bronze bust of a polo player mid-swing, looked more like the living room on a country estate than a watering hole. The room, with sweeping views of the surrounding lawns, was packed for the coronation, which played out on two large television screens.The demographic...

Prosecutors recommend 5+ years for ex-State Police Association of Massachusetts president, union lobbyist

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:31 GMT

Attorneys have filed warring ideas of what penalty is appropriate for the fraud-filled mess the former leader of the State Police union and its chief lobbyist made.Former State Police Association of Massachusetts President Dana Pullman, 60, of Worcester, and lobbyist Anne Lynch, 72, of Hull, were convicted in federal court in November of one count each of racketeering conspiracy, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and three counts of wire fraud.“Pullman and Lynch ran SPAM as a racketeering organization for their own financial benefit for six years, depriving the union and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts of their right to Pullman’s honest services; defrauding vendors looking to do business with the Massahcusetts State Police; and attempting to obstruct the federal investigation into their crimes,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo filed on Wednesday.The case played out through a steady stream of financial ...

Trudeau says King Charles is ‘deeply aligned’ with Canadian priorities

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:31 GMT

LONDON — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says King Charles is deeply aligned with the fundamental priorities of Canadians on reconciliation and the environment. Trudeau made the comments while speaking with reporters in London, a day after the King’s coronation.  Trudeau says he has known Charles for decades as an environmentalist and someone committed to preserving nature. He says the King has also shown that he understands the problems created by Britain’s colonial history in Canada. “The work that he has done in reaching out to Indigenous leaders of the past number of years, including again this week, I think shows that he is deeply aligned with some of the really fundamental priorities of Canadians,” Trudeau said.Trudeau notes that Canadians had an extraordinary affection for Charles’s mother, Queen Elizabeth.He says that leaves a challenge for anyone who steps into the role as Canada’s head of state.  “Obviously, we will have many, many y...

Arab League poised to vote on restoring Syria membership

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:31 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Foreign ministers from Arab League member states in Cairo were poised to vote Sunday on restoring Syria’s membership to the organization after it was suspended over a decade ago.The meeting in the Egyptian capital took place ahead of the Arab League Summit in Saudi Arabia on May 19, where many have expected to see a partial or full return of Syria following a rapid rapprochement with regional governments since February.It also took place days after regional top diplomats met in Jordan to discuss a roadmap to return Syria to the Arab fold as the conflict continues to deescalate.Syria’s membership in the Arab League was suspended 12 years ago early in the uprising-turned-conflict, which has killed nearly a half million people since March 2011 and displaced half of the country’s pre-war population of 23 million.The body usually attempts to make decisions by consensus, but decisions otherwise could pass with a simple majority vote.The Arab League has not issued a statement ...

David Brooks: What our toxic culture does to the young

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:30:31 GMT

In the early 1960s, typical Americans were eager to get on with adult life. As soon as they could, they married, launched careers and started popping out kids. In those days, half of all women married before their 20th birthday.Then the boomers came of age. Typical members of that generation wanted to enjoy their freedom, so many put off marriage and parenting until their late 20s or their 30s. They adopted what some researchers call the “slow life strategy,” postponing the common milestones of adulthood until later in life.As psychologist (and Minnesota native) Jean Twenge shows in her lavishly informative new book, “Generations,” the members of Gen Z are now practicing the slow life strategy with a vengeance.They have already transformed adolescence. Members of Gen Z are, for example, content to get their driver’s licenses later than earlier generations. As high school seniors, they are less likely to do the things associated with adulthood and independence, like drinking alcohol,...