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Penix picks apart Arizona’s defense in No. 7 Washington’s 31-24 victory

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Washington’s big-play offense had few deep options with Arizona sitting back on defense.Forced to adapt, Michael Penix Jr. went to his checkdowns, his receivers turned short passes into chunk plays and the Huskies’ run game finished it off with touchdowns.Penix Jr. threw for 363 yards, Dillon Johnson ran for two touchdowns and No. 7 Washington picked apart Arizona in a 31-24 victory Saturday night.“They were playing it safe and making us earn it, so naturally we hit the checkdowns,” Washington coach Kalen DeBoer said. “We know that’s our style (big plays), but it’s not always going to work out that way.”The Huskies (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) arrived in the desert with more big plays than any other team in the country. With the Wildcats sitting back, Penix turned to underneath throws, giving his receivers opportunities to make plays after the catch.They did, following downfield blocking and breaking tackles to turn short throws into chunk plays. Wa...

Kudermetova wins Toray Pan Pacific Open for second career title

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Veronika Kudermetova upset second-seeded Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-1 to claim the Toray Pan Pacific Open and a second career title on Sunday.The Russian’s triumph in Tokyo ends a four-match losing streak in finals since her maiden title on clay at Charlestown in 2021. It was also her second win over a top-five opponent this week, after beating second-ranked Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals. “I’m really happy because before, it was not an easy time for me, it was really tough moments,” said Kudermetova, who will next compete at the China Open. “Now I’m really happy and I have a lot of motivation for the next weeks.”The eighth-seeded Kudermetova had a fast start Sunday racing to a 3-0 lead on the back of winning ten consecutive points. Pegula, who had dropped only nine games in three matches coming into the final, fought her way back on serve. But the American undid the rally by making back-to-back double faults to give up the first set.“Jessica is a great player, she’s...

McElvain throws 3 TD passes, Central Arkansas beats Southern Utah 29-27

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP) — Will McElvain completed 29 of 48 passes for 349 yards and three touchdowns, ShunDerrick Powell had 115 yards rushing and Central Arkansas beat Southern Utah 29-27 Saturday night. Kylin James had nine receptions for 97 yards and two touchdown for Central Arkansas (3-2, 2-0 United Athletic Conference). Jake Gaster kicked a 34-yard field goal to open the scoring with 11:31 left in the first quarter and James scored on an 18-yard pass from McElvain about 10 minutes later to make it 10-0. Justin Miller threw an 8-yard TD scoring strike to Timothy Patrick early in the second quarter but the Bears answered just 2 minutes, 21 seconds later when McElvain connected with Jordan Owens for a 4-yard touchdown and Gaster made another 34-yarder to make it 20-7 at halftime. Patrick had TD receptions of 25 yards with 6:52 to play and 20 yards with 2:27 remaining to trim the deficit to 29-27 but Thunderbirds ran out of time. Miller finished 20-of-44 passing for 186 yards and fo...

Keene throws 2 TD passes to Gill, No. 25 Fresno State beats Nevada 27-9 for 14th straight victory

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Mikey Keene connected with Jaelen Gill on two touchdown passes, Malik Sherod had 12 carries for 123 yards and a score and No. 25 Fresno State beat Nevada 27-9 on Saturday night for its 14th straight victory. Fresno State (5-0, 1-0 Mountain West) is off to its best start since opening 10-0 in 2013. The 14-game winning streak is the second-longest active run in the nation (Georgia, 22 in a row) and the second-longest in program history. The Bulldogs won 17 in a row in 1988-89. Keene was 26 of 34 for 269 yards with two interceptions. He connected with Gill on a 65-yard touchdown to open the scoring midway through the first quarter and Sherod ripped off a 72-yard touchdown run with 4:15 to go in the second to make it 14-0 at halftime. Dylan Lynch kicked field goals of 48 and 40 yards in the third quarter and Gill scored on a 12-yard reception early in the fourth to make it 27-0. Fresno State’s Carlton Johnston intercepted a pass at the Bulldogs 2 and, on the ...

Alvarez thoroughly dominates Charlo to win by unanimous decision

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — There had been more than whispers that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was well past his prime.He put such talk to rest — for now at least — on Saturday night.“Nobody can beat this Canelo,” Alvarez said after he thoroughly dominated Jermell Charlo to retain his unified super middleweight championship.Alvarez (60-2-2) won by scores of 119-108, 118-109 and 118-109. The statistics were just as one-sided. Alvarez landed 42 punches to Charlo’s 11, almost all power punches for both boxers.Charlo, the unified junior middleweight champ, moved up two weight classes to take on Alvarez.“I just felt like I wasn’t me in there,” Charlo said. “I don’t make excuses for myself, so it is what it is. I take my punches and roll with it.”Even though Charlo (35-2-1) was the one moving up, he is 4 inches taller than the 5-foot-8 Alvarez and with a 2 1/2-inch reach advantage. That didn’t matter as Alvarez promised before the fight, saying his experience would prevail in the battle ...

More than 100 dolphins dead in Amazon as water hits 102 degrees Fahrenheit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

One of many dolphins found dead in the Amazon amid a worsening drought. (André Zumak/Mamirauá Institute) One of many dolphins found dead in the Amazon amid a worsening drought. (André Zumak/Mamirauá Institute) (CNN) — More than a hundred dolphins have been found dead in the Brazilian Amazon amid an historic drought and record-high water temperatures that in places have exceeded 102 degrees Fahrenheit.The dead dolphins were all found in Lake Tefé over the past seven days, according to the Mamirauá Institute, a research facility funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Science.The institute said such a high number of deaths was unusual and suggested record-high lake temperatures and an historic drought in the Amazo...

MLB Notes: Have Ohtani and Acuña locked up MVP?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

Today marks the final day of Major League Baseball’s regular season, and for a handful of baseball’s best and brightest it also represents the last opportunity to make a case for one of the league’s major awards.While some awards have long felt like a foregone conclusion, several appear likely to come down to the wire, with the National League Cy Young and Manager of the Year races in particular seemingly still up in the air.So who will take home the major hardware in the coming weeks? Here’s how things stand as the regular season comes to a close.Most Valuable PlayerEven though Shohei Ohtani will wind up missing the last month of the season, it shouldn’t make a difference. Between his dominance at the plate and his excellence on the mound, Ohtani turned in one of the best seasons in MLB history and is a sure bet to win his second AL MVP award.Offensively this will go down as the best season of Ohtani’s career so far. The 29-year-old batted .304 w...

Suicide bomber detonates a device in the Turkish capital. A second assailant is killed in a shootout

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in the heart of the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Sunday, hours before parliament was scheduled to reopen after a three-month summer recess. A second assailant was killed in a shootout with police, the interior minister said. Two police officers were slightly injured during the attack near an entrance to the Ministry of Interior Affairs, Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. The attack occurred as parliament was set to re-open with an address by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.There was no immediate information on the assailants. Kurdish and far-left militant groups as well as the Islamic State group have carried out deadly attacks throughout the country in the past. Yerlikaya said the assailants arrived at the scene inside a light commercial vehicle. Television footage showed bomb squads working near a parked vehicle in the area which is located near the Turkish Grand ...

Evacuated Illinois residents return home after ammonia leak from truck crash that killed 5 people

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Five people were killed and five were seriously injured after a truck overturned in central Illinois, causing a toxic substance to leak from its cargo and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of area residents, authorities said Saturday. A semitruck carrying caustic anhydrous ammonia toppled about 9:25 p.m. Friday night in Teutopolis, spilling more than half its 7,500-gallon (28,390-liter) load, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.Effingham County Coroner Kim Rhodes said the five dead included three from the same family: one adult and two children under 12. The other two were adult motorists from out of state, Rhodes said. Additionally, five people were airlifted to hospitals, their conditions unknown.Names of the victims were not released, nor would authorities discuss causes of death. About 500 residents within a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) radius of the crash site were evacuated after the accident, including northeastern parts of Teutopolis...

Pakistani Taliban attack a police post in eastern Punjab province, killing 1 officer

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani Taliban fighters attacked a police post in eastern Punjab province early Sunday, killing one officer and injuring three others, and triggering a shootout that killed two of the attackers, officials said.The attack occurred in the Mianwali district of Punjab province and led to an intense exchange of fire as reinforcements arrived at the besieged police post, said Imran Nawaz, a spokesman for the counterterrorism police. A group of 10 to 12 militants attacked the Kundal police post in the Easa Khel area of Mianwali, close to the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, after midnight, Nawaz said. The exchange of gunfire continued for hours, during which two of the attackers were killed and a third was wounded but escaped with the others, Nawaz said. A search operation was underway in the area to find the attackers, he said.Mohammad Khurasani, a spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack.The Pakistani Talib...