In a column published by sports editor Chris Thomas this weekend, the Free Press called for MLB to punish the Astros as it shed light on how Fenech and Verlander’s relationship deteriorated, highlighted by solar eclipse chatter and a business card handoff. RIVERA: Seven things I totally didn’t expect to see in 2019 After concluding an interview with Verlander in August 2017, Fenech, Verlander and Al Kaline had a “casual” conversation that included Verlander discussing having traveled to Tennessee to view the previous day’s solar eclipse from the path of totality....

Devan Dubnyk reached an agreement with the Wild on a six-year contract extension Saturday, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The deal will pay the 29-year-old goalie $26 million, good for an annual cap hit of $4.33 million. MORE: Best 1-2 picks in draft history | Stars acquire Antti Niemi | Cam Talbot to Oilers | Eddie Lack to Hurricanes | Robin Lehner to Sabres | Connor McDavid goes No....

The team lost veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for the season after he sustained an elbow injury in the 28-26 defeat at home against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, and on Sunday it was left without backup signal caller Mason Rudolph. The quarterback was on the receiving end of a brutal hit from Baltimore safety Earl Thomas II as the Steelers lost 26-23 at home to the Ravens in overtime....

Roma 10/3 to win Group C With Chelsea leading 2-1 in the second half, Dzeko’s goals turned the match on its head and his first – a sublime volley from a Federico Fazio cross – will live long in the memory. The 31-year-old headed Roma into the lead six minutes later, only to see Eden Hazard score an equaliser for Chelsea with 15 minutes left. Di Francesco praised his in-form striker, as well as the rest of his team, telling Premium Sport : “Dzeko was born to score these goals....

Dzeko has hit eight league goals in Serie A this season, but the 31-year-old has found the net only once since October, in a 3-1 victory over SPAL on December 1. Saturday’s trip to Serie A champions Juventus would be an ideal time for Dzeko to end his dry spell, with Roma fourth in the table, three points behind Massimiliano Allegri’s side. Di Francesco feels it is only a matter of time until Dzeko is back among the goals, although Patrik Schick is an appealing attacking alternative....

Men with diabetes are about three times more likely to experience ED than men without diabetes, and both conditions become more common as men age. In fact, half of men with diabetes will develop ED. Although diabetes can raise your risk for ED, in 95% of cases ED is treatable, including for men with diabetes. Lifestyle changes and medications can help better control your diabetes, and help address ED at the same time....

The Congo has almost unparalleled mineral riches, including gold, uranium, the world’s biggest industrial diamond deposits, and 80 percent of world reserves in a mineral called coltan, which is crucial to the manufacture of mobile telephones. Yet decades of vicious warfare, breathtaking corruption and public neglect have reduced its people to among the world’s poorest. The Bijicka family will be lucky to make a dollar a day in their little mine, digging up tiny, low-quality diamonds; if they find a good-sized stone, says the mother, Marie, Kamwala and his brothers will be able to go back to school....

Arizona acquired three of Houston’s top 10 prospects: first baseman Seth Beer and right-handers J.B. Bukauskas and Corbin Martin. MLB.com analyst Jonathan Mayo did not display much enthusiasm when asked to rate the group during an appearance Thursday on DAZN’s “ChangeUp.” “Eh,” Mayo said. “It’s an OK haul given Zack Greinke wouldn’t go to half the teams in baseball, huge contract … so there were limitations. That said, the fact (Houston) got Greinke without giving up (Nos....

The 83-year-old Vitale, who was diagnosed with melanoma in August 2021 and lymphoma in October 2021 and lost his voice for a time, was declared cancer-free in April of this year. He flexed his vocal cords again Wednesday, speaking for nearly 20 minutes in acceptance of his award. In that time, Vitale shared stories of his battle with cancer, talked about the days leading up to Valvano’s famous 1993 ESPYS speech, talked about his own family, and blew off producers who were trying to tell him to wrap up his speech....

There's a fair amount of repetition, so to save you the time, here's a top 10 to peek at. Chris Fowler (:23) Dan Shulman (:43) Jay Bilas (1:32) Bruce Pearl (2:09) College GameDay crew (2:50) Linda Cohn (4:38) Seth Greenberg (4:43) Andy Katz (5:14) Stephen A. Smith (5:51) Fran Fraschilla (7:04) My personal favorites are Fowler, Katz and Fraschilla, with Katz being No. 1 for his insight. Fraschilla gets a co-No....

But there are a couple of big problems with McCain’s spiel about the fix we’re in. The first is semantic. He was speaking in the future tense; he should have been speaking in the present: there is chaos, there is genocide and they are following us home already. The second is conceptual. Neither McCain nor any other candidate from either party seems to have learned basic lessons about terrorism and organized crime that have been staring us in the face since the end of the cold war....

Pundits had confidently promised “The Year of the Woman” before this, only to find that the real political gains never quite matched the hopeful expectations of women’s advocates. By most measures, however, 1992 has come closer to living up to the advance billing than ‘88 or ‘90 or even ‘72, when a Life Magazine cover story featuring Bella Abzug opened with the proviso “It may not quite be the year of the ....

Erik ten Hag’s first taste of the fixture as United manager ended bitterly, as his side suffered a 6-3 defeat during which they trailed 4-0 at halftime and 6-1 after 72 minutes. Erling Haaland and Phil Foden each scored hat-tricks for a rampant City, who conceded two late goals to Anthony Martial after Antony pulled one back shortly after the interval. It was the third defeat in a row in this fixture for United since Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the club from Juventus last year....

The spot kick was converted by Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho, who was also the player who drew the foul in the box. Man City center back Nathan Ake was guilty of the infraction after he was caught on the ball by the Nigerian forward. Grealish came into the match when it was still 0-0 in the 65th minute, but could not help his team find a breakthrough. Here’s how he did, along with other key takeaways:...

OK, let’s break this thing down. Our investigation starts with the play itself… MORE: Allen Robinson’s “report” on Andre Drummond joining the Nets has a few holes The play The Knicks faced a three-point deficit with just 5.7 seconds left remaining on the clock. Knowing New York needed a 3-pointer to tie the game, All-Star forward Julius Randle caught an inbound pass, took one hard dribble and pulled up near the Barclays Center logo on the right wing....

Besides, safeties aren’t used to toe-tapping on catches, and that would have been the only way Hooker could have completed the catch on the pick. Since the play happened within two minutes of the end of the half, it was up to the officials to call for video review, meaning Mike Vrabel couldn’t challenge the pick. But a video replay showed the play might have been closer that meets the eye....

The Democratic presidential state carried the crucial swing state, which President Donald Trump had flipped red four years ago. Biden, who was also declared the winner in Michigan, another crucial state of the so-called Blue Wall that had voted Republican in 2016, trailed in Wisconsin as vote counting began but made up ground and was declared the winner 49.4 percent to 48.8 percent with over 98 percent of votes counted....

As we now know, the 49ers and Chiefs will meet in Super Bowl 54. But if we had paid close attention to this graphic made on Christmas, we all could have bet on the 49ers and Chiefs making it to the big game. Let us explain. Reddit user tom2727 discovered that in the graphic (seen below), the only two players wearing game pants in the photo are Patrick Mahomes and George Kittle....

Daylight Saving Time begins in March and ends in November, although the exact dates vary from year to year. In spring, we push the clocks forward an hour in an effort to extend the number of daylight hours. Then, in fall, clocks “fall back” one hour, returning them to standard time. This year, Daylight Saving Time ended on Sunday morning, at 2 a.m. local time. While commonly believed to have been enacted to help farmers, Daylight Saving Time, according to the Department of Transportation, is focused more on conserving energy....

Many users posted images and videos showing awkward interactions between the two leaders, which speak to the frosty relationship between them during Trump’s time in office. Germany has been a favored target of the Trump administration, with the president repeatedly accusing Berlin of free-riding on American security protection, engaging in questionable trade practices, and risking continental security through a huge gas pipeline deal with Russia. “As U.S. ambassador to Germany, I had a front row seat to Donald Trump’s America First foreign policy,” Grenell told RNC viewers in his Wednesday address....