How have the Broncos revamped a historically bad defense on the fly? Tough conversations, turnovers galore and the Justin Simmons effect

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:18:01 GMT

How have the Broncos revamped a historically bad defense on the fly? Tough conversations, turnovers galore and the Justin Simmons effect The only noise emanating from the visiting locker room underneath Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium was Sean Payton’s shouting as he ripped into his team.Equal parts bewildered, embarrassed and enraged after a 70-20 loss to the Dolphins, he made it clear in no uncertain terms that this could never happen again.Giving up 70 had only rarely happened in NFL history as it was, and 726 yards felt like double that as Miami rolled to 10 touchdowns in the 50-point blowout.Once Payton left the room, a ringing silence set in.After a small group of reporters around Alex Singleton dissipated, he quietly asked one, “Was it the worst of all time?”The worst in franchise history, no doubt. At 0-3, the Broncos defense looked on a collision course with all manner of dubious distinctions.Seven weeks later, the vibe could hardly be more different.On Monday night in Buffalo, Payton emerged from the visiting locker room after a last-second triumph and had to speak up at the podium as the music blasting from the ...

How Peyton Watson’s formative warm-up days and crucial cold months in Grand Rapids forced him to “just be a professional”

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:18:01 GMT

How Peyton Watson’s formative warm-up days and crucial cold months in Grand Rapids forced him to “just be a professional” It was cold outside and lonely inside the gym. As Peyton Watson got settled in Michigan last November, he was encountering new hurdles in every environment.Watson was used to being the young pup on his basketball teams. The rookie who gets messed with sometimes but has fun with it, because his default setting is lighthearted and laughing. In high school, he was the only freshman on varsity. After one of his team’s 6:30 a.m. conditioning workouts in Los Angeles, he was checking his phone, waiting to go to his first class of the day. An older teammate snuck up behind him and smacked his neck, giving him a scare.“Everybody fell out laughing and was like, ‘His neck is spicy,’” Watson recalled. The nickname “Spice” stuck the rest of that season.But ever a socialite, Watson was happy to be along for the ride. Maybe a small part of him preferred that to being just part of the pack on JV.He was used to not playing a ton, also. It was the story of his pre-NBA career. Watson didn’t blossom in...

Opinion: Tieghan Gerard’s Half Baked Harvest is far from a food-blog success story

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:18:01 GMT

Opinion: Tieghan Gerard’s Half Baked Harvest is far from a food-blog success story Tieghan Gerard’s Half Baked Harvest blog faced light criticism from the New York Times after a reporter visited the food influencer’s hilltop studio in Silverthorne, Colorado. The story flirted with some of the important questions being asked about Gerard’s hugely popular work, but failed to provide the answers America’s diverse culinary community needs at this juncture in history: What is food culture? What are food traditions? And what is the big deal with cultural appropriation?For some, food traditions mean eating chili over pasta, Cincinnati-style with multiple topping options, especially on cold winter days. For others, it means making tamales during the holidays to share with family and friends. Either way, those food traditions bring memories of time spent with loved ones, of lands we left behind, and regardless of how far away we might be they bring us a comforting sense of belonging.Food traditions don’t happen in a vacuum. In many instances, they are the result of regiona...

2 people charged after NWMD neighborhood shooting leaves 1 person dead, 1 hospitalized

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:18:01 GMT

2 people charged after NWMD neighborhood shooting leaves 1 person dead, 1 hospitalized A shooting in a Northwest Miami-Dade neighborhood left one person wounded and another dead on Saturday.Upon arrival, Miami-Dade Police said they found two men shot at Northwest 143rd Street and 16th Court. One of the victims was rushed to Ryder Trauma Center, where he is said to be critically injured and recovering. At least two people were detained at the scene. Investigators are figuring out what relationship they have to the shooting. “The relationship between the victims and the two people detained, has been a crucial part of the investigation and our investigators are still attempting to piece that together,” said Detective Andre Martin.Charges have been posted for the two people detained, but it remains unclear if they have been arrested.

Centerville man charged with murder in death of 6-week-old infant

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:18:01 GMT

Centerville man charged with murder in death of 6-week-old infant A Centerville man has been indicted on a murder charge by a Barnstable Superior Court grand jury for his role in the 2021 death of a 6-week-old infant, officials announced Sunday.Randy Patterson-Gerber, 25, is charged in connection with the Sept. 7, 2021 death of an infant in Barnstable. The charges stem from an ongoing investigation conducted by The Unsolved Homicide Unit of the Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office, the Barnstable Police Department, and the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office.Patterson-Gerber is slated to be arraigned Monday in Barnstable Superior Court.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Saturday’s high school roundup/scores: Hanover nips Danvers in 27-24 thriller

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:18:01 GMT

Saturday’s high school roundup/scores: Hanover nips Danvers in 27-24 thriller Ben Scalzi’s third touchdown pass of the game, a 34-yarder to Mehki Bryan with 9:32 left, gave top-seeded Hanover (11-0) a hard-fought 27-24 win over No. 5 Danvers in a Div. 5 state semifinal.Alex Barlow rushed for 135 yards and a pair of scores as No. 1 Duxbury (9-1) defeated No. 4 Tewksbury 19-7 in a Div. 4 state semifinal. The Dragons will face Scituate in a rematch of the 2021 Div. 4 final.Patrick Miller threw three TD passes, while Nathan Ehui ran for two scores as No. 3 Milton (8-3) defeated 10th-seeded Westfeld 37-14 in a Div. 3 state semifinal.Justin Marques ran for 247 yards and five touchdowns on 44 carries as No. 8 Fairhaven (10-1) held off fourth-seeded Hudson 40-37 in a Div. 6 semifinal. Colby Correia added 152 yards and a touchdown on six carries.Jamie McNamara ran for a pair of scores as No. 1 West Boylston (11-0) blanked No. 4 Cathedral 36-0 in a Div. 8 semifinal.Charly Gublin threw for three scores and ran for a fourth as Hamden Hall (9-0) held off Dexter Southfield...

Alouettes, Blue Bombers set to clash in first-ever meeting at Grey Cup

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:18:01 GMT

Alouettes, Blue Bombers set to clash in first-ever meeting at Grey Cup The Montreal Alouettes go into the 110th Grey Cup on a seven-game win streak, having dispatching league-leading Toronto in convincing fashion in the East final.So what will it take to topple West champion Winnipeg on Sunday at Tim Hortons Field?Be better.The mindset coming into this week was we’ve gotten to this game, but in order to win this game we better be better,” said Montreal coach Jason Maas.We have to be at our absolute best to win this game.”The Als have played with a chip on their shoulder all season, a franchise that was under league control until Quebec entrepreneur Pierre Karl Peladeau bought it in March.It has found its feet under Maas and quarterback Cody Fajardo, both let go by Saskatchewan after last season.The Als have been a team on a mission, looking to prove doubters wrong.Montreal slumped to 6-7-0 in mid-September before starting their winning run.The Alouettes, back in the championship game in the first time since a 2010 win over Saskatchewa...

Extreme weather can hit farmers hard. Those with smaller farming operations often pay the price

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:18:01 GMT

Extreme weather can hit farmers hard. Those with smaller farming operations often pay the price MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — Justin Ralph estimates he’s made about 200 trips delivering grain from the fields he farms with his brother and uncle this year. They’re accustomed to using their four semi-trucks to take the harvest from a total of about 800 acres each of corn, soybeans and wheat to market.What they’re not used to are the distances they’ve had to drive the past couple years, a consequence of bad weather that’s only expected to increase in their area as a result of climate change. They used to take advantage of a grain elevator in Mayfield, Kentucky — a massive facility that bought and stored millions of bushels of grain from farmers. But it was destroyed in the 2021 tornado outbreak that killed dozens of people and leveled entire parts of the town, and the company that ran it shut down. Now, instead of driving ten minutes, they sometimes travel an hour or more.“The swings in the weather events that we have … that’s kind of scary,” he said, es...

Dissent over US policy in the Israel-Hamas war stirs unusual public protests from federal employees

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:18:01 GMT

Dissent over US policy in the Israel-Hamas war stirs unusual public protests from federal employees WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal government workers from the State Department to NASA are circulating open letters demanding that President Joe Biden pursue a cease-fire in Israel’s war against Hamas. Congressional staffers are picking up microphones in front of the Capitol, speaking out to condemn what they say is the silence of lawmakers about the toll on Palestinian civilians. As the deaths soar in Gaza, Biden and Congress are facing unusually public challenges from the inside over their support for Israel’s offensive. Hundreds of staffers in the administration and on Capitol Hill are signing on to open letters, speaking to reporters and holding vigils, all in an effort to shift U.S. policy toward more urgent action to stem Palestinian casualties.“Most of our bosses on Capitol Hill are not listening to the people they represent,” one of the congressional staffers told the crowd at a protest this month. Wearing medical masks that obscured their faces, the roughly 100 congressional aides ...

Tentative deal reached, strike averted at 17 No Frills stores in Ontario

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:18:01 GMT

Tentative deal reached, strike averted at 17 No Frills stores in Ontario A tentative agreement has been reached with almost 1,300 workers at 17 No Frills grocery stores in Ontario.Details of the agreement have not been released. A ratification vote is expected to take place in the coming days.“Our bargaining committee at No Frills was determined to build on what grocery store workers had achieved this past summer with Metro,” said Lana Payne, National President of Unifor. “This tentative agreement delivers pattern wages and many other improvements for our members.”No Frills is the discount grocery banner owned by Loblaw Cos. Ltd., the largest grocery company in Canada. The 17 stores include five in Toronto, as well as locations in Whitby, Etobicoke, Niagara Falls and elsewhere. This round of bargaining is the first with a major grocery chain for Unifor since it reached a deal with Metro this summer that brought more than 3,700 workers in the Toronto area significant wage gains. Unifor had said the Metro deal would help i...