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Mike Lupica: Like it or not, Hal Steinbrenner is right about not needing a historic payroll to win

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:50:31 GMT

Here is something Hal Steinbrenner said back in spring training, something about which the son of George Steinbrenner, the biggest spender of his time in baseball, was absolutely right:“A decade-plus ago, I always used to say that you shouldn’t have to have a $200 million payroll to win a championship, right? Because nobody had it. Times have changed. I will acknowledge that. So I will say that you shouldn’t have to have a $300 million payroll to win a world championship because nobody has, including Houston.”Nobody has, at least not yet and maybe not ever, even with spending skyrocketing now in baseball, starting in New York. Nobody is going to do that this year, now that the Mets, at $348 million, are holding a tag sale. And guess what? Across the last 10 seasons, a time when long-term $300 million contracts for player came into baseball, only two teams with $200 million payrolls have won the World Series:The 2018 Red Sox.The 2019 Nationals, who just got ac...

Mike Elias has to worry about the Orioles’ long-term future. This season is testing that approach. | ANALYSIS

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:50:31 GMT

In a moment of jest, Mike Elias provided a condition in which he would go all in on the 2023 Orioles.“Unless we have information that the world is ending in November,” Elias quipped, “a big part of my job is worrying about the overall health of the team over the next several years.”Surely, though, if Earth’s demise was imminent, it wouldn’t be something that an MLB team alone would know. And, naturally, there would be more important matters than a game of stick and ball.But even without a credible forecast of impending doom, can’t Elias still push his chips to the center of the table?The throwaway line from the Orioles general manager’s 26-minute news conference was one of many that gave an insight into the thinking of the top executive of the American League’s best team. His answers were unsurprisingly pragmatic.But, perhaps, this could be the right time for Elias, who has shepherded the Orioles’ radical and rapid transfor...

Bangladesh opposition supporters clash with police in protest over election oversight

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:50:31 GMT

DHAKA,Bangladesh (AP) — Police in Bangladesh’s capital on Saturday clashed with supporters of the country’s main opposition party, which said scores of its activists were injured during anti-government protests in parts of the city.The Bangladesh Nationalist Party headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the transfer of power to a non-party caretaker government until the next general election, which is expected to be held by early January.Zia’s party and its allies accuse Hasina of vote rigging in 2018 and the party has been protesting over who should oversee the next general election.On Saturday, hundreds of activists of Zia’s party attempted to block several entry points to Dhaka, the capital, while police fired tear gas and charged with batons to disperse them. The opposition activists retaliated by throwing pieces of brick and attacked police vehicles with sticks, police said. On Friday, Zia’s party announced the si...

Kansas man sentenced to nearly 57 years in death of 2-year-old daughter who went days without food

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:50:31 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man whose 2-year-old daughter died after going days without food while he was passed out drunk has been sentenced to nearly 57 years in prison.The sentence ordered Friday was the maximum that could be imposed after Jeffrey Exon was convicted in April of charges that included aggravated child endangerment and first-degree murder in the commission of a felony, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.Exon, a 47-year-old who goes by the name of James, called 911 on Jan. 5. 2021, telling a dispatcher that his daughter, Aurora Exon, had stopped breathing. He also said she recently had been “starving herself.” She was cold to the touch when found, and appeared to have been dead for several days, Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said. The coroner blamed her death on a form of malnutrition called marasmus. Five empty liquor bottles were found in Exon’s bedroom, investigators said. They determined that Exon would not feed or attend to his children for...

Ex-Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon joins push for third-party presidential bid as Democrats try to stop it

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:50:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri is joining No Labels ‘ increasingly contentious effort to lay the groundwork for a moderate third-party presidential ticket in the 2024 election. He gives the embattled organization another prominent ally amid escalating concerns from Democratic officials that the No Labels campaign could unintentionally help Republican Donald Trump return to the White House.Nixon, a 67-year-old lawyer, is stepping back into national politics for the first time since leaving office in 2017 and will serve as No Labels’ director of ballot integrity. He said in an interview that he was drawn to the role after learning that well-funded groups aligned with Democrats were working to stop No Labels from securing ballot access in key states.He said that those seeking to block the group’s right to appear on the presidential ballot are attacking a pillar of American democracy.“What do I say to those Democrats? I say, ‘You’re entitl...

Saturday Forecast: Cooler, decreasing clouds, low 80s

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:50:31 GMT

Saturday: Decreasing clouds, much cooler & less humid. NNE 5-15 mph. Air quality is in the Good category for today. Low 80s inland mid 70s by the lake. Saturday Night: Mostly clear skies and a bit breezy. NNE 5-15 mph. Lows in the mid to upper 60s in the city, cooler outlying areas.Sunday: Mostly sunny & comfortable temps. N 5-10 mph. Upper 70s inland, lower 70s by the lake. Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Extended outlook calls for showers/thunderstorms to sneak back into the forecast by late Tuesday. Warmer and muggier as we get highs back towards 90 by next Friday with showers/thunderstorms likely. Next weekend looks cooler back towards the low 80s. =-=-=

Wicker Park fest coming back for 19th year this weekend

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:50:31 GMT

Join WGN Weekend Morning News where we hear more about Wicker Park Fest coming back for a 19th year this weekend.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

Taylor Swift concerts in Seattle produced seismic activity on same scale as a small earthquake, seismologist finds

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:50:31 GMT

(KOIN) – She's just gonna shake, shake, shake the earth.Taylor Swift's July 22 and 23 concerts in Seattle allegedly produced seismic activity on par with a 2.3 magnitude earthquake, according to a Western Washington University geology professor and seismologist.Jackie Caplan-Auerbach tracked the seismic activity emanating from Swift's Lumen Field performances earlier this month, finding similar and overlapping seismic waves on both dates. She later added that she couldn't be sure whether the fans or the sound systems had caused the activity, but plans to continue investigating."I'm not yet convinced that it's all dancing – the signals between the two nights are ridiculously similar and people tend to be messy," Caplan-Auerbach wrote on Twitter.She added that concertgoers were likely unaware of any geological activity at the time, saying the data recorded by the seismometer was "mostly below the range of human hearing." Taylor Swift urged to postpone Los Angeles-area shows Swift's ...

Another crack in the coaster? 'Weld indication' found on Carowinds ride after July repairs

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:50:31 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WJZY) – A "weld indication" has been discovered on the Fury 325 coaster at Carowinds in North Carolina — the same ride that had a support column replaced due to a crack found roughly one month ago.The North Carolina Department of Labor confirmed with Nexstar's WJZY that the agency was notified of the structural issue found on the popular coaster this week. A "weld indication" could be either a break or a crack on the coaster, the department said. Carowinds to hold ‘extensive tests’ before reopening roller coaster "No certificate of operation has been issued nor do we have a timeline of when the certificate of operation will be issued for the Fury 325," officials with the department said Friday. Carowinds has since issued a statement concerning the find. "We are conducting a full maintenance review of Fury 325 during this testing process. This maintenance review — which is consistent with routine off-season procedures — includes a review of the steel superstructur...

The next 3 meteor showers peak on weekends: What to know

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:50:31 GMT

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Right now, there are three active meteor showers. Their peak viewing times are approaching in the next few weeks, and they are, conveniently, all going to be on Saturday and Sunday. For optimal meteor shower viewing, it's best to be in an area with little or no light pollution. PerseidsAccording to NASA, the Perseid Meteor Shower is the best one happening this year, and viewers can see up to 100 meteors per hour. The shower became visible in the northern hemisphere on July 14 and will be around until Sept. 1.If you want to see the Perseids at its peak, plan a night of stargazing for Aug. 12 or 13, according to NASA. For best viewing, NASA says to look during the pre-dawn hours, although meteors and fireballs could be visible as early as 10 p.m. The meteors will originate near the Perseid constellation and will be more easily-found constellation Cassiopeia. We could be seeing the northern lights more often: Here’s why The Perseids shower is expected ...