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Chicago Cubs’ Cody Bellinger has a limited pregame BP routine — and it has set him up for success. Here’s how.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

Cody Bellinger’s favorite time to hit happens long before the ballpark opens to fans.He finds solace during the 45-minute early batting practice sessions where “there’s no camera, no anybody and it’s not as controlled of an environment,” Bellinger explained to the Tribune.“If I’m going to hit on the field, I prefer the early hitting slot because it’s peaceful — it’s just you on a baseball field and it’s super, super enjoyable.”Outside of his early on-field work, Bellinger typically does not take on-field BP with his teammates at home or on the road. Bellinger instead prefers to go through his own routine using the indoor cage.It’s a practice that has become more common in the majors, among them most notably is Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani, who’s been known for how rarely he hits on the field pregame.Early in the season Bellinger would take BP with his teammates because he felt like he had to in a n...

Column: The ‘Royalization’ of the Chicago White Sox is full steam ahead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

Whenever Chris Getz hears Lorde sing “Royals,” he must feel compelled to sing along at the top of his lungs.On his first day as Chicago White Sox general manager, Getz revealed manager Pedro Grifol, his former coach with the Kansas City Royals, would be retained. Among his first front office hires, Getz is reported to be bringing in San Francisco director of pitching Brian Bannister, a former Royals teammate, and Gene Watson, the former Royals assistant general manager/scouting. Longtime Royals GM Dayton Moore has been linked to the Sox as well, according to USA Today.So the standard has been set for the Sox, and the question must now be asked:Could they be Royals, or at least a version of the organization that managed to win a championship without a team full of superstars back in the 2010s?The Royalization of the Sox is underway.Anyone with ties to the Royals might be Zillowing the southwest suburbs of Chicago right now, looking for available homes for 2024 and beyond....

Chicago Cubs can’t pull off a comeback in 13-7 loss as Justin Steele makes his shortest non-injury start of the year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

Left-hander Justin Steele has been a stabilizing force in a Chicago Cubs rotation that looks different from their Opening Day version.Through all the injuries, inconsistencies and role changes, Steele’s consistency helped the Cubs recover from being 10 games under .500 in early June to fighting for a wild-card spot. But for a second consecutive start, Steele allowed six runs and struggled to keep the Cubs in the game. His three-plus innings in Wednesday’s 13-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates represented his second-shortest outing of the season, exceeded only by his injury-related departure May 31.Steele struck out six batters through three innings when the Pirates started finding holes. Pittsburgh tallied six consecutive singles to begin the fourth inning, quickly ending his night and likely his case to win the National League Cy Young Award.“Six straight hits, the alarm goes off a little bit, like, what’s going on,” manager David Ross said.Steele was ch...

Patriots: 6 reasons to still be optimistic about 2023 season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

The Patriots have been underdogs in their first two games to start the season, so in many ways, the 2023 campaign has gotten off to a logical and predictable start entering Week 3 at 0-2.But panic seems to be creeping in around the region because the Patriots vowed to fix the mistakes that led to a Week 1 loss, and then those same exact issues plagued them Week 2 against the Dolphins.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Callahan: Bill Belichick has hamstrung Bill O’Brien, but O’Brien has to deliver anyway at the Jets New England Patriots | Patriots captain: Defense off to ‘hell of a start’ preparing for Jets New England Patriots | Patriots see increased participation from three players in practice New England Patriots | Patriots captain delivers important message to Demario Douglas after fumble New England Patriots | Mac Jones gets good news at Patriots practice ahead of Jets game The...

Rupert Murdoch, creator of Fox News, stepping down as head of News Corp. and Fox Corp.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old media magnate who created Fox News, is stepping down as leader of both Fox’s parent company and his News Corp. media holdings.Fox said Thursday that Murdoch would become chairman emeritus of both companies. His son, Lachlan, will become News Corp. chairman and continue as chief executive officer of Fox Corp.Lachlan Murdoch said that “we are grateful that he will serve as chairman emeritus and know he will continue to provide valued counsel to both companies.”Besides Fox News, Murdoch started the Fox broadcast network, the first to successfully challenge the Big Three of ABC, CBS and NBC. He is owner of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.Murdoch is a force in the conservative world, where Fox News Channel has profoundly influenced television and the nation’s politics since its start in 1996.Murdoch vowed in a letter to employees that he would remain engaged at Fox. “In my new role, I can guarantee you that I will ...

Fighting ‘through hell.’ To reclaim Bakhmut, a Ukrainian brigade must first survive the forest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

ANDRIIVKA, Ukraine (AP) — The Russian bullet struck the sergeant just above the left ear. The leader of the Ukrainian platoon was down. Headquarters radioed a battlefield promotion to the private who had called him “brother” — a man known as Courier.Courier knew the platoon’s orders were to move forward through the forest, on the road to Bakhmut. He hesitated near his mortally wounded commander. Then he decided: There would be no turning back. “Forward!” he howled.The men stumbled through the charred spindles of trees toward the village of Andriivka — the objective of the 3rd Assault Brigade since the start of Ukraine’s counteroffensive this summer, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) south of the city of Bakhmut.Days later, as he prepared for Gagarin’s funeral, Courier predicted his own future, his pale eyes unfocused.“This forest is taking our friends away, and this is the worst,” he said. “And when I think about how far we still need to move forward … most likely some...

Cisco buying cybersecurity firm Splunk for $28 billion, bolstering defenses as use of AI widens

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

Cisco is buying the cybersecurity firm Splunk in a $28 billion deal as it bolsters its defenses against potential security threats that may be heightened by the widening use of artificial intelligence. The Silicon Valley networking tech giant will pay $157 per Splunk Inc. share. “Our combined capabilities will drive the next generation of AI-enabled security and observability,” Cisco Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins said in a prepared statement. “From threat detection and response to threat prediction and prevention, we will help make organizations of all sizes more secure and resilient.” Dan Ives of Wedbush sees the transaction as a smart move for Cisco.“Cisco is focused on the next generation of AI-enabled security and observability and Splunk’s well regarded unique platform makes this the right move at the right time for Cisco in our view and an aggressive strategic play in cybersecurity,” he wrote in a note to clients. “For Cisco this is a shot across the bow at Palo Alto, Checkpoint...

UK prosecutors have charged 5 Bulgarians with spying for Russia. They are due in court next week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — British authorities on Thursday charged five Bulgarians living in the U.K. with spying for Russia.The Crown Prosecution Service said it had authorized charges of conspiracy to conduct espionage against three men and two women.The five — Orlin Roussev, 45, Bizer Dzhambazov, 41, Katrin Ivanova, 31, Ivan Stoyanov, 31, and Vanya Gaberova, 29 — are accused of “conspiring to collect information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy,” namely Russia, between August 2020 and February this year.Roussev lives in the eastern England seaside town of Great Yarmouth, and the others in the London area.All five were arrested early this year by counterterrorism detectives on suspicion of an offense under the Official Secrets Act. Roussev, Dzhambazov, and Ivanova were charged in February with having false identity documents. During a court appearance in July, prosecutors said they had 34 ID documents, some of which were suspected to be false, from the U.K., Bulgaria, F...

Ancient ‘power’ palazzo on Rome’s Palatine Hill reopens to tourists, decades after closure.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

ROME (AP) — An ancient Roman imperial palazzo atop the city’s Palatine Hill was reopened to tourists on Thursday, nearly 50 years after its closure for restoration.The nearly 2,000-year-old Domus Tiberiana was home to rulers in the ancient city’s Imperial period. The sprawling palace allows for sweeping views of the Roman Forum below. The public is now able to tour it, following decades of structural restoration work to shore the palace up for safety reasons. Excavations uncovered artifacts from centuries of Roman life following the decline of the empire.The director of the Colosseum Archeological Park, which includes the Palatine Hill, in a written description of the restored palazzo, dubbed it “the power palace par excellence.” On the eve of the reopening, the official, Alfonsina Russo, quoted a first-century Roman poet as saying the sprawling palace seemed “infinite” and that “its grandiosity was just like the grandiosity of the sky.”Although the domus, or residence, ...

A suspected serial killer pleads guilty in Rwanda to killing 14 people

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:00 GMT

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — A suspected serial killer in Rwanda on Thursday pleaded guilty at a court on Thursday, saying he killed 14 people. Most of the victims were women.Denis Kazungu, 34, admitted guilt to charges that included murder, rape and robbery. He appeared at the Kicukiro Court in the capital, Kigali, and didn’t appear to show any emotion during the hearing.Kazungu smiled as police led him into the courtroom. Police discovered 12 bodies on his property, but he said he killed an additional two people whose bodies haven’t been found. Kazungu said that he killed his victims because he said they intentionally infected him with HIV. But he offered no evidence of this.The victims include 11 women and one man, authorities said. The sex of the other two people Kazungu said he killed wasn’t immediately clear.He said he could remember the names of only three of his victims. Kazungu requested that his trial be conducted behind closed doors so that details about the ca...