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ASK IRA: Are Heat complementary pieces deserving of playoff compliments (and offseason cash)?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:37:50 GMT

Q: The Bucks series proved that there are at least a few of the undrafted players that are what we thought they were. Your thoughts? – Brent, Wellington.A: As long as expectations were tempered with Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Caleb Martin, their contributions certainly have contributed to success. What happened was once the Heat gave that five-year, $90 million package to Duncan Robinson, the calculus of concern changed, as if Pat Riley would lavish something similar on anyone and everyone with similar credentials. The Heat wound up re-signing Caleb at $20.4 million for three seasons last summer. That stands as a value contract as any measure. With a bit of salary-cap gymnastics, the Heat should be able to do the same with Gabe and Max this summer. At such price points, there would be value there, as well.Q: Pulling Bam Adebayo to play point guard during the last five minutes of regulation in Milwaukee was genius. – Ben, Weston.A: And was an interesting intersection of ...

Lucas: Biden’s debate phobia hurts voters

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:37:50 GMT

If President Biden were truly interested in standing up for democracy, he’d agree to debate his two Democrat Party opponents.After all, what is more democratic than a debate among candidates seeking to lead the greatest democracy the world has ever known?One opponent is easily written off. That’s fringe candidate Marianne Williamson, an author and spiritualist.The other is the more worthy candidate Robert F.  Kennedy Jr., son of New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.Asked about challenging Biden to a debate, Kennedy, in a roundabout way, as is his wont, said he would.Kennedy said, “I have known and liked Joe Biden for many years, but we differ profoundly on fundamental issues such as corporate influence in government, censorship, civil liberties, poverty, corruption, and war policy, among others. I look forward to engaging him in debates and town hall meetings, in a primary election that is honest, civil, and transparent.“I invite him into a n...

Guregian: Patriots can’t miss on can’t-miss prospect Christian Gonzalez

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:37:50 GMT

FOXBORO – Christian Gonzalez certainly has the desired profile to be a fixture on defense for many years to come. The Oregon cornerback, taken with the 17th overall pick by the Patriots, has future star potential written all over him.Given his athletic traits, he could very well be added to the list of great defensive first-round picks made by Bill Belichick, joining such luminaries as Richard Seymour (2001), Ty Warren (2003), Jerod Mayo (2008), Devin McCourty (2010) and Dont’a Hightower (2012) in the pantheon of all-time best first-rounders.But let’s not put the proverbial cart before the horse.It’s up to Gonzalez and the Patriots to turn that potential into NFL stardom.Because, when it comes to cornerbacks, the Pats have been all over the map. They’ve hit it out of the park with undrafted free agents (Malcolm Butler, J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones), but don’t have the best batting average when it comes to developing their higher round picks at the position.Outside of McCourty and As...

FBI snooped on Bill Russell for discredited Black Panther links, betting, more

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:37:50 GMT

Newly released FBI documents show Celtics legend Bill Russell was being shadowed by the feds for possible ties to the Black Panthers and allegedly gambling on hoop games.He was also interviewed by the FBI after a “threat was made against his life” and the State Department allowed the FBI to review Russell’s passport.That passport document from 1968 listed his date of birth in Monroe, La., Feb. 12, 1934, his height, 6-feet, 9-inches tall, his wife, parents, address in Reading, Mass., on Haverhill Street and his occupation: Professional athlete.It’s all part of the first installment of documents — some heavily redacted — on the legendary center who won a staggering 11 championships in Boston as a player and player-coach. The Herald obtained the records under the federal Freedom of Information Act.The news that the FBI snooped on Russell upset one former teammate who blasted the G-men for targeting a Civil Rights icon and genuine superstar.“Rus...

Families minister says Tory premiers touting child care should ask Poilievre for plan

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:37:50 GMT

OTTAWA — Provincial conservative premiers touting $10-a-day child-care deals with Ottawa is a welcome move, even if some of the leaders now campaigning on the deals were among the last to sign them, federal Liberal Families Minister Karina Gould said.Now she says they need to push federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to explain if he would keep the agreements in place.“They should probably be prodding their federal counterpart at the Conservative Party of Canada as to what their position is.”Between July 2021 and March 2022, the federal government signed deals with every province and territory that would see child-care fees cut in half within the year and to an average of $10 a day within five years. The 2021 budget earmarked $30 billion over five years for the plan.Poilievre has not committed to honour the agreements. During the last election, the Conservatives under then-leader Erin O’Toole campaigned on a promise to respect the deals — not all of which w...

Ancient ritual, drones, a star-packed concert: What we know about the coronation

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:37:50 GMT

Royal jewels dating back centuries. A four-tonne horse-drawn coach. A next-day concert and a nation illuminated by lasers and drone-driven lights.Elaborate tradition tinged with present-day sensibilities is expected at next weekend’s coronation of King Charles III, when the 74-year-old officially establishes a new era of the monarchy.The ancient ritual is typically an extravagant display of solemn pageantry that dates back more than 1,000 years.But Buckingham Palace has hinted at a scaled-down version compared to previous spectacles, and promised modern touches, too. Details have been sparse and slow to release in recent weeks. Here’s what we know about the coronation of King Charles III:What is a coronation ceremony? An heir instantly becomes the new monarch when the king or queen dies but there is also a mourning period, so public affirmation must wait. A coronation ceremony offers a platform for that transition. In this case, King Charles III will be crowned eight months af...

Ask Amy: A parent is haunted by her folks’ creepy friend

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:37:50 GMT

Dear Amy: My parents are wonderful people. They have a long-time friend, “Roger,” who is a heavy drinker and doesn’t have a family of his own. He doesn’t seem to reciprocate their friendship, and they seem to accept Roger as something of a family member — he’s just someone who is often around.I am a 40-year-old woman and have known Roger all of my life. When I was a teenager he repeatedly made leering and gross comments to me; I knew he’d been drinking and didn’t know what to do about it, so I did my best to avoid him. Once I went to college, it was easy to do, but on visits home Roger often seemed to find a way to sexually harass me.I never told my parents.Last year, my husband and I decided to move back to my hometown. We have a teenage daughter and a younger son. We moved back home in order to spend more time with my folks, who are getting up in years.Roger is still around, and doesn’t seem to have changed at all.I don’t want to control my parents, but I don’t want my daugh...

Bridge: April 29, 2023

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:37:50 GMT

“Simple Saturday” columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking.When you are declarer, you mustn’t try to play two contracts at once. Focus on the contract that is, not one you might have bid.In today’s deal, six spades would have been a reasonable spot for North-South, probably making if East had the queen of trumps, but they stopped at four, just as reasonably. West led the queen of diamonds, and South took dummy’s ace and let the jack of trumps ride for a finesse.ACE OF CLUBSWest took the queen and led another diamond, and South ruffed East’s king and drew all the trumps. That left him with none, and when West took the ace of clubs, he cashed three diamonds.South must have thought he was at a slam. After he wins the first diamond, he can cash the A-K of trumps, then start the clubs. West wins and forces with a diamond, but South runs the clubs. West can score his low trump and his queen, but South keeps control and loses only three tric...

Word Game: April 29, 2023

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:37:50 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — PROFESSED (PROFESSED: pro-FEST: Declared or claimed; pretended.)Average mark 38 wordsTime limit 60 minutesCan you find 52 or more words in PROFESSED? The list will be published Monday.YESTERDAY’S WORD — EULOGIZING legion lien lieu line ling lingo lion lionize loge loin lone long lounge luge lune lung lunge ogle ogling oiling glen glue glueing glug going gone gong gouge guile ionize zein zing zone niggle noel noilTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.Contact Word Game crea...

The Ejection of Tucker Carlson Is a Classic “Reverse Ferret” by Rupert Murdoch

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:37:50 GMT

It’s been a lifetime since Fox News offloaded Tucker Carlson, and when I say a lifetime, I mean six days.It feels like forever thanks to the exhausting velocity of theories that seek to explain the downfall of cable television’s most famous host and racist. Carlson was fired because of the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit. Carlson was fired because he used the C-word. Carlson was fired because he prayed too much. Carlson was fired because even his colleagues at Fox despised him.That’s just a partial list of the best guesses circulating in the media ether. While Carlson was probably felled by more than a single factor, these guesses are akin to the trees that obscure the proverbial forest. Rupert Murdoch, who founded Fox News, did what he often does at a moment of crisis, swiveling 180 degrees to secure his business empire. The move is famous enough to have an unusual name in Britain, where Murdoch first came to global prominence: the reverse ferret.In the 1980s, Kelvin MacKenzie was ...