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NASCAR reverses Ryan Blaney disqualification. Template used in inspection was flawed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR on Monday rescinded Ryan Blaney’s disqualification at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when series officials found a problem with the template used during post-race inspection. The reversal restored Blaney’s sixth-place finish from Sunday’s race, which had been stripped hours after the checkered flag for an alleged illegal front shock on his Ford. The disqualification dropped Blaney to last in the race and would have crippled his championship chances. Blaney went from last in the round-of-eight field to seventh, but his deficit below the cutline was reduced significantly. NASCAR did not reveal any information about the inspection process that led to the initial disqualification. “Monday morning during its race weekend debrief, NASCAR discovered an issue with the damper template used for inspection. NASCAR then conducted a detailed investigation, and has restored the No. 12’s stage and race finishing positions from Sunday,” NASCAR said in a sta...

Raptors seek dismissal of lawsuit by Knicks accusing Toronto of conspiring to steal scouting secrets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

The Toronto Raptors seek dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the New York Knicks that says the Raptors – including new head coach Darko Rajakovic — conspired to steal thousands of videos and scouting files through a former Knicks employee.The initial lawsuit the Knicks filed in Manhattan federal court seeks unspecified damages and a ban on the further spread of the Knicks’ trade secrets. The Raptors called the Knicks’ lawsuit “baseless” and “a public relations stunt by the Knicks” in a court filing on Monday.The Knicks said the theft occurred after the Raptors hired and recruited “a mole” — identified in the lawsuit as Ikechukwu Azotam — within the Knicks organization. The lawsuit said Azotam had directed the planning, organizing and distribution of all video scouting responsibilities for the Knicks’ coaching staff since August 2021 before leaving the team this August.The Knicks lawsuit said on Aug. 11, Azotam sent two emails from his Knicks email address to his new Raptors email ...

Saints again facing questions about inconsistency on offense and squandered scoring chances

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The good news for the New Orleans Saints is that their muddling start has been good enough to keep them in contention in the anemic NFC South. After all four teams in the division lost in Week 6, New Orleans (3-3) entered Week 7 just a half game out of first place.Whether the Saints’ offense and quarterback Derek Carr can find the consistency and competence in the clutch to capitalize remains to be seen.It’s not like New Orleans is incapable of moving the ball. During Sunday’s 20-13 loss to Houston, the Saints outgained the Texans 430 to 297 in total yards. Carr passed for a season-high 353 yards.The Saints crossed Houston’s 35-yard line on seven of 10 offensive series — but got in the end zone only once.“When you’re not scoring down there, there’s a lot of factors that go into that,” coach Dennis Allen said Monday after reviewing footage of the game. “Can we call better play calls? We probably can. And yet, if we execute some o...

Montgomery Co. schools changes promotion process after former principal was promoted while under investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

Montgomery County Public Schools says it’s changing the process it uses to promote administrators, after an investigation into how a principal was promoted while facing harassment and bullying allegations unveiled several missteps.In a document sent to school staff last week titled “A Framework for Change at MCPS,” Maryland’s largest school system said that effective immediately, administrators won’t be considered for promotions while they’re under investigation.The school system will also require what it considers to be a robust, multifaceted background check before a preliminary recommendation for appointment to a new role is made.The action plan was sent to staff as part of a broader email last week, spokesman Chris Cram told WTOP. Local blog Moderately Moco first reported some of the plans detailed in the email.As part of the promotions process, according to the memo, the school system will use a “multifaceted” background check tha...

Ryan Tannehill remains Titans starting QB with bye week giving him time to heal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans believe they got lucky with the timing of quarterback Ryan Tannehill spraining his right ankle in London occurring right before their bye week.Tannehill left London on crutches after hurting the same right ankle that cost him a combined five games at the end of last season. Malik Willis was sacked on four of five pass attempts in the Titans’ 24-16 loss to Baltimore.Coach Mike Vrabel said Monday an MRI showed Tannehill’s ankle was similar to last season when the quarterback missed two starts after spraining the same ankle, not the second injury that sidelined the veteran for the final three games of the season. The Titans (2-4) are off until hosting Atlanta (3-3) on Oct. 29, and Vrabel said Tannehill will play if he can go. If Tannehill can’t, then they must choose between either Willis or rookie Will Levis. “I don’t know who that would be yet,” Vrabel said. “We’ll see.”Willis started three games last season before ...

Phillies slugger Bryce Harper wants big leaguers to play baseball at 2028 LA Olympics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper wants to take a swing at the Olympics.The Philadelphia Phillies slugger said it would be a dream to play for Team USA when baseball returns for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Harper, who turned 31 on Monday, has long been an advocate of Major League Baseball taking a break during the season to let major leaguers play in the Olympics.Harper said his wife texted him a happy birthday message attached to news about baseball’s return.“You talk about growing the game, and that’s the way you grow it at the highest peak,” Harper said. “You let guys that are playing in the league take that break just like in the NHL and see what happens. I think it would be really cool. I think it would be a lot of fun. I don’t know if they’ll ever go for it, but I would love to put USA on my chest and represent it at the highest level.”Baseball became an official Olympic sport in 1992 and was initially open only to amateur players. Pros were later permitted, but MLB hasn’t let ...

Jets get to .500 at the bye-week break in an unlikely yet promising turn of events

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

Raise your hand if you thought the New York Jets would be 3-3 at their bye-week break after Aaron Rodgers went down with a torn Achilles tendon four snaps into his debut.Yeah, sure.Even the most optimistic of fans likely had a tough time envisioning that scenario, especially after ugly losses to Dallas and New England in consecutive weeks, followed by a tightly contested defeat against Kansas City.It still probably seemed unlikely Sunday until late in the fourth quarter, when the Jets’ defense came up with stop after stop and made a big play — Tony Adams’ interception — to put New York in position to score the eventual winning touchdown in a 20-14 victory over previously undefeated Philadelphia.“Not that anyone cares, but there has been a lot of adversity within this organization, with all the different things that have transpired,” coach Robert Saleh said Monday. “But the resolve and the resilience of the group that we have in the locker room and the effort that’s put o...

Truck driver killed when train derailment collapses Colorado bridge, spilling coal cars onto highway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A truck driver was killed when a train derailed near Pueblo, Colorado, and caused a railroad bridge to collapse onto a major highway — crushing the semitruck, spilling coal and mangled rail cars across the roadway and shutting down traffic indefinitely, authorities said Monday. The 60-year-old driver was initially said to be trapped in the Sunday afternoon accident on Interstate 25, but authorities said Monday that he had died.The partially collapsed bridge could be seen Monday afternoon with the semitruck caught beneath it in the northbound right lane. Derailed train cars were piled up on the bridge and along the tracks to the northeast and large amounts of coal covered a portion of the highway.A nine-mile (14-kilometer) stretch of I-25 — the main north-south road corridor in Colorado, used by 39,000 to 44,000 vehicles daily — was shut down in what the Colorado Department of Transportation said Monday would be an extended closure.The bridge partially collapsed when th...

$557K settlement for pedestrian hit by texting Denver cop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — An Arapahoe County couple is expected to receive $557,000 from Denver to settle a lawsuit after Eric Szakmary was hit by a Denver Police officer who was texting while driving.The city council has the settlement on its consent agenda for Monday's meeting, which means the lawsuit settlement is likely to be approved. The lawsuit was filed by Szakmary and his wife, Kimberly.The Problem Solvers first reported on the lawsuit earlier this year after Szakmary's attorney, Scott Smith, complained negotiations with the city had stalled."Liability on the case seems very, very clear. And yet the City and County of Denver and the officer that hit my client refuse to accept responsibility for it," Smith said at the time.RTD surveillance video of a Sep. 17, 2019, crash involving a Denver police officer who was texting and driving (Credit: RTD)“You’d think if anybody was paying attention to their surroundings, it would be an officer,” said Szakmary, remembering the night of Sep. 17, ...

'Kids have to buckle up': Seatbelt could have saved teen's life

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — According to Colorado State Patrol, 61 teen drivers have died in the state so far this year, and that is a 53% increase from this time last year.Those numbers are shocking to the family of Sammie Caflisch. Sammie was in a car crash in Parker in July 2020 and wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Resident stabs alleged robber to death in Broomfield She died the day after her 15th birthday."Because she wasn't wearing her seatbelt, she was ejected from the vehicle. The kids that were in the car that had their seatbelt on actually didn't even have to go to the hospital, had no injuries," said Sammie's aunt, Shelly Gibson.Sammie's death was crushing for her family."Sammie was just a very spunky, ornery young lady," Gibson said. "She had so much life ahead of her and was just so much fun."Seatbelt use linked to deadly teen crashesNow her family runs the Sammie's Sunshine foundation. They help other families after crashes and go into schools to help with driver safety weeks. Their m...