San Jose Sharks’ Quinn blasts ‘soft, slow’ play after latest home loss

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:28 GMT

San Jose Sharks’ Quinn blasts ‘soft, slow’ play after latest home loss SAN JOSE – David Quinn and the San Jose Sharks know they need to be a much harder team to play against this season to have any chance of improving over last year.While the Sharks had moments to that effect in the first two games of the season, Tuesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes easily represented a step in the wrong direction.After seeing his team play some of its best hockey of the season through the first five minutes of the third period, Quinn witnessed his team revert to some unfortunate habits the rest of the way in a 6-3 loss to the Hurricanes at SAP Center.A one-goal Sharks lead with 11 minutes left in the third period turned into a three-goal deficit in a matter of six minutes thanks to two penalties and an unwillingness to skate and engage. As a result, the Sharks fell to 0-2-1 with the Boston Bruins coming to San Jose on Thursday.“I didn’t like the way we played for most of the night,” Quinn said. “I didn’t think we skated the way we had been, I didn’t th...

Marchessault breaks tie in shootout, unbeaten Golden Knights beat Stars 3-2

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:28 GMT

Marchessault breaks tie in shootout, unbeaten Golden Knights beat Stars 3-2 LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jonathan Marchessault broke a shootout tie in the Vegas Golden Knights’ 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night in a Western Conference final rematch.Marchessault gave Vegas (4-0) a 2-1 edge in the shootout after teammate Shea Theodore and Dallas’ Matt Duchene traded goals. Dallas had a chance to extend the shootout, but Roope Hintz’s shot hit the crossbar.“I don’t know that I’ve ever won a shootout without making a save,” Knights goalie Adin Hill said.Kaedan Korczak and William Karlsson each had a goal and an assist for the Knights, and Hill stopped 24 shots. Craig Smith and Joe Pavelski scored for Dallas, and Jake Oettinger made 32 savess.This was the first meeting since the Knights eliminated Dallas in six games to advance to the Stanley Cup Final, where Vegas won the championship. They traded goals and plenty of punches in the second period in which each team received two fighting majors. It was the first time since March...

Seth Jarvis scores 2 power-play goals, Hurricanes beat Sharks 6-3

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:28 GMT

Seth Jarvis scores 2 power-play goals, Hurricanes beat  Sharks 6-3 SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Seth Jarvis scored two power-play goals and the Carolina Hurricanes scored four times in the third period to beat the San Jose Sharks 6-3 on Tuesday night.Martin Necas and Stefan Noesen each had a goal and an assist as Carolina improved to 2-1 on a six-game trip. Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin also scored.Jarvis broke a tie with 8:09 remaining to help the Hurricanes to their fourth consecutive victory against the Sharks.“We were playing solid all game,” Slavin said. “We had chance after chance. We knew we just had to stick with it.”Added Noesen: “I thought we played really well all night and some calls didn’t go our way. But we battled through it and found a way to capitalize in a big third.”Fabian Zetterlund, Filip Zadina and William Eklund scored for the Sharks. They were outshot 42-16.“I didn’t like the way we played for most of the night,” San Jose coach David Quinn said. “I don’t think we skated the way we have been. I don’t think we were physical e...

AUTO RACING: Larson the new favorite in NASCAR championship chase?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:28 GMT

AUTO RACING: Larson the new favorite in NASCAR championship chase? NASCAR CUP SERIES 4EVER 400 presented by Mobil 1Site: Homestead, Florida.Schedule: Saturday, practice, 9:05 a.m., and qualifying, 9:50 a.m.; Sunday, race, 2:30 p.m. (NBC).Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway.Race distance: 267 laps, 400.5 miles.Last year: Kyle Larson won after starting fifth.Last race: Larson became the first driver locked into NASCAR’s title-deciding finale in the opening playoff race of the round of eight, winning at Las Vegas and keeping him in contention for a second Cup title in three years. Fast facts: Larson, the 2021 champ, moved to the top of the playoff standings, followed by William Byron, 2017 champ Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin. The four on the outside looking in with two races left to jumble things are Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and Chris Buescher. … Blaney was disqualified after the race for an illegal front shock, but the penalty was later overturned. He finished sixth. … Truex won the regular-season title but has had a t...

Breaking, sports climbing and skateboarding set for debut at Pan American Games

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:28 GMT

Breaking, sports climbing and skateboarding set for debut at Pan American Games SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The Pan American Games in Santiago will try to reach new audiences and seduce a younger crowd by bringing breaking, sports climbing and skateboarding into the program. The two latter were hits at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, while the dance sport will have its debut in Paris next year.The Pan American Games, the largest multi-sport event in the Americas, are held every four years and precede the Olympics by a year. The Chilean capital will play host for more than 6,800 athletes from 41 countries and territories between Friday and Nov. 5 in its debut as host. The sports climbing and breaking competitions in Santiago will offer direct spots in Paris. Skateboarding athletes will be able to add points in the Olympic ranking so they can attend.Breaking, a dance that emerges from his hop culture and is characterized by acrobatic movements, will have men’s and women’s contests. The competition will be based on the footwork of the athletes, combinat...

Biden admin doesn’t want Israel-Hamas to suck U.S. back into the Middle East

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:28 GMT

Biden admin doesn’t want Israel-Hamas to suck U.S. back into the Middle East President Joe Biden heads to Israel tomorrow not just to show support for a country during one of its darkest hours but to prevent the administration from getting bogged down in a larger Middle East conflict — one that could derail its agenda.Biden has been privately adamant that the administration needs to demonstrate it has Israel’s back, said five U.S. officials, all granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations. The decision to make a one-day visit to the country was crafted with that in mind.But those officials also said there was a subtler objective inside the administration. No one, in the Oval Office or elsewhere in the West Wing, has an appetite to make Israel’s fight against Hamas the top foreign policy priority — and especially with mounting domestic concerns and a growing struggle to sustain support for Kyiv in its war with Russia.“We’re going to keep helping the Israelis wage this fight,” said one of the officials, adding that “there’s no interest in see...

Into the honey pot: Serbia and China ink free trade deal

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:28 GMT

Into the honey pot: Serbia and China ink free trade deal Serbia and China signed a free trade deal on Tuesday, bringing the two countries closer together at a time when much of Europe is seeking to “de-risk” trading ties with China.Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who attended the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on Tuesday, told reporters in Beijing the agreement was “a big step forward” for Serbia.“I am grateful to President Xi Jinping for the importance he gives to Serbia,” Vučić wrote on Instagram.The Serbian leader said he hoped the agreement would enter into force by May or June next year.It is the fourth free trade deal China has struck with a European country, after Switzerland, Iceland and Georgia. Though the details of the agreement have not been made public, it will particularly benefit Serbian producers of honey, Vučić said, as well as the country’s winemakers. It comes as the European Union, which does not have a free trade agreement with Beijing, is seeking to “de-risk&#...

Live updates | Biden arrives in Israel as tensions grow after hospital blast in Gaza

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:28 GMT

Live updates | Biden arrives in Israel as tensions grow after hospital blast in Gaza President Joe Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday on an urgent mission to keep the Israel-Hamas war from spiraling into a broader regional conflict and to encourage the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on the tarmac to greet Biden.The visit comes after hundreds of people were reported killed in an explosion at a Gaza Strip hospital on Tuesday. Hamas blamed the blast on an Israeli airstrike, while the Israeli military blamed a rocket misfired by another militant group, Islamic Jihad.The war that began Oct. 7 has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,778 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded. That was before the blast at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital hospital on Tuesday night. Another 1,200 people across Gaza are believed to be buried under the rubble, alive or dead. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, and at least 199 others, including children, were c...

UK national, South African and local guide killed in an attack near a Ugandan national park

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:28 GMT

UK national, South African and local guide killed in an attack near a Ugandan national park KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A tourist from Britain, another from South Africa and their local guide were killed in an attack on a tourist vehicle near a Ugandan national park, according to wildlife authorities. Unknown assailants set the victims’ vehicle ablaze Tuesday along a road by Queen Elizabeth National Park, located in a remote area of southwestern Uganda near the Congo border. The park is one of the most popular conservation areas in the east African country. Attacks within and around national parks are rare in Uganda, with specialist police units deployed there. Ugandan police, in a statement, blamed the attack on the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, a shadowy rebel group with ties to the Islamic State.Ugandan troops are currently hunting down the ADF deep inside Congo. Ugandan authorities say hundreds of ADF rebels have been killed in airstrikes in recent months.Thomas Tayebwa, deputy speaker of the national assembly said on social platform X, formerly known as Twitter, ...

In the news today: Israel-Hamas war roils as Canadians fear peace is impossible

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:28 GMT

In the news today: Israel-Hamas war roils as Canadians fear peace is impossible Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed tobring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Intense Israeli bombardments continue to strike GazaGaza’s Interior Ministry said Israel renewed airstrikes before dawn on Wednesday and hit locations across the Gaza Strip after the blast at al-Ahli Hospital. At least 37 people were killed following attacks in the al-Qasasib and Halima al-Saadia areas of Jabalia, north of Gaza, it said.Officials with Shifa Hospital, where hundreds of victims of the al-Ahli Hospital blast were taken, say the facility will run out of fuel on Wednesday unless more supplies enter the Gaza Strip.The hospital, Gaza’s largest, is stretched far beyond its capacity following the al-Ahli explosion, General Director Mohammed Abu Selmia said Wednesday, adding that health workers were still treating severely wounded patients.Aid workers, meantime, warned that life in Gaza was near complete collapse because of the Israeli siege that followed...