Tonga ends Rugby World Cup with win against Romania

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:13 GMT

Tonga ends Rugby World Cup with win against Romania LILLE, France (AP) — Tonga leaves the Rugby World Cup with a win after overpowering Romania 45-24 in their pool finale on Sunday.Both teams were drowned by Ireland, South Africa and Scotland in the deepest pool of the tournament, but against each other the ‘Ikale Tahi and Oaks found a contest in which they could express more of themselves and produced an entertaining, 10-try farewell.Tonga blasted to 21-3 and Romania came back to close within four points twice. Tonga pulled away in the last quarter when its zippier backs added three more tries for seven in total.The Tongans’ highest score and biggest margin in Rugby World Cup history ensured a win at a fifth consecutive tournament.Despite a prideful end, Romania finished on the bottom of Pool B with a bunch of unwanted records in their tournament history: Most points conceded (287), most tries conceded (43), and record defeats to their last six opponents.Tonga’s physicality steamrolled Romania in the first quarter ...

Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad says it is holding 30 Israelis captive in Gaza

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:13 GMT

Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad says it is holding 30 Israelis captive in Gaza BEIRUT (AP) — Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad says it is holding 30 Israelis captive in Gaza.Source

Colts lose rookie QB Anthony Richardson against Titans with right shoulder injury

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:13 GMT

Colts lose rookie QB Anthony Richardson against Titans with right shoulder injury INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson left Sunday’s game with a right shoulder injury late in the first half. The Colts said he was questionable to return.The rookie was hurt at the end of a 4-yard run with 4:29 to play. He appeared to go down awkwardly and also took a hit to the shoulder.Richardson stayed down for several minutes before walking slowly to the injury tent and eventually to the locker room.He was the fourth overall selection in April’s draft and has made four starts this season, but only has finished one game. ___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLSource

Bayern eases to 3-0 win over Freiburg but Bayer Leverkusen returns to top of the Bundesliga

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:13 GMT

Bayern eases to 3-0 win over Freiburg but Bayer Leverkusen returns to top of the Bundesliga BERLIN (AP) — Kingsley Coman scored twice as Bayern Munich eased to a 3-0 win over Freiburg but it was Bayer Leverkusen which returned to the top of the Bundesliga on Sunday.Goals from Coman and Leroy Sané gave the 11-time defending champion its fifth win from seven league games and extended Freiburg’s miserable run in Munich. Freiburg has never beaten Bayern in Munich in 24 attempts in the Bundesliga.Coman opened the scoring in the 12th minute when what looked like an intended cross flew over the Freiburg goalkeeper, Noah Atubolu, and in off the far post.Sané made it 2-0 in the 25th when he played a one-two with Harry Kane through a host of players before finishing for his sixth goal of the season.Sané scored again before the break, with a brilliant finish inside the far post after he played the ball through a defender’s legs, but the goal was ruled out through VAR for an apparent offside.Freiburg failed to put any notable pressure on Bayern, which was content to maintain pos...

Mac Jones benched again as Patriots get shut out by Saints 34-0

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:13 GMT

Mac Jones benched again as Patriots get shut out by Saints 34-0 FOXBORO — Patriots head coach Bill Belichick made an ominous statement early last week when he said the “formula” to winning, based on Week 3’s result over the Jets, was to not turn the ball over or allow any sacks.You can guess how the Patriots fared Sunday against the Saints when quarterback Mac Jones threw a pick-six, another interception and fumbled an errant pitch to running back Rhamondre Stevenson deep in their own territory.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots lose three key players Week 3 vs. Saints New England Patriots | Patrots inactives: J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones both dressing vs. Saints New England Patriots | Patriots-Saints preview: Can Bill Belichick and Mac Jones stop the bleeding? New England Patriots | Patriots make series of transactions day before game vs. Saints New England Patriots | NFL notes: The Patriots have failed Mac Jones, but they need quarterback to save them...

Bruins make room for John Beecher

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:13 GMT

Bruins make room for John Beecher The Bruins got under the 23-man NHL roster limit on Sunday, but there’s a good chance that they aren’t done shifting bodies around.The B’s waived veteran forwards A.J. Greer and Patrick Brown, clearing the way for their 2019 pick John Beecher to the make the team as the fourth-line center. The 6-foot-3, 215 Beecher has had a strong camp and earned the spot with his speed and long reach.That put the B’s roster at 22 players with Danton Heinen still in camp on a tryout agreement but they are currently too tight against the cap to sign him.If they want to sign him – and considering he’s still here with the season opener on Wednesday, it’s a good bet that they do – they could send rookie Mason Lohrei down to Providence without having to expose him to waivers. Or perhaps they’re thinking to make a trade on the back end that would allow the prized defense recruit Lohrei to develop at the NHL level. We shall see.As of right now, it looks like at le...

Some Boston homes have high lead levels in their drinking water, officials urge residents to remove lead service lines

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:13 GMT

Some Boston homes have high lead levels in their drinking water, officials urge residents to remove lead service lines City officials are urging residents to get the lead out after drinking water tests showed that some Hub homes have high levels of lead.The Boston Water and Sewer Commission recently tested a number of homes for lead and copper in drinking water, and more than 15% of the tested city homes had elevated levels of lead.Of the 33 higher risk properties that were tested for water quality, six of the homes were above the federal action level for lead in drinking water. The tap water samples exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection action level for lead of 15 parts per billion — with sample readings of 21 parts per billion.The Boston Water and Sewer Commission emphasized that all of Boston’s water mains are lead free, and that the drinking water is lead free when it leaves the reservoirs. However, some older homes in Boston may have a lead water service line.“The longer water remains in contact with plumbing ...

Patriots lose three key players Week 3 vs. Saints

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:13 GMT

Patriots lose three key players Week 3 vs. Saints The Patriots’ poor injury luck continued Week 5 against the Saints.Wide receivers Demario Douglas (head) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (head) and guard Mike Onwenu (ankle) were all ruled out of Sunday’s game early.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patrots inactives: J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones both dressing vs. Saints New England Patriots | Patriots-Saints preview: Can Bill Belichick and Mac Jones stop the bleeding? New England Patriots | Patriots make series of transactions day before game vs. Saints New England Patriots | NFL notes: The Patriots have failed Mac Jones, but they need quarterback to save them anyway New England Patriots | Four most important Patriots players Week 5 vs. Saints Douglas appeared to suffer his head injury while catching a 24-yard pass from Mac Jones in the first quarter. He briefly stayed in the game before being removed. He had two targets on the game.Smith-Schuster suffered...

Sweet 16: Salem shows off experience in 5-0 start

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:13 GMT

Sweet 16: Salem shows off experience in 5-0 start Salem coach Matt Bouchard doesn’t need a roster to figure out his players.Many of the current starters have been in the lineup for the better part of three years. Last week’s 55-20 victory over Saugus made the Witches 5-0 headed into the final three weeks of the regular season.“A lot of these guys have 20-plus games of varsity experience, so that helps,” Bouchard said. “We knew back then that we had some talented players, but the best thing about them is that they are so unselfish. All of those guys deserve to get touches, but they are just as happy seeing their teammates have success.”People could see it coming last year when Salem went 7-4 capped off by a thoroughly pleasing 39-0 victory over Beverly on Thanksgiving Day. Bouchard will gladly talk about the win, but good luck trying to get him to mention that opponent by name.“Beating the team over the bridge (Beverly) was big – anyone you beat a rival, that’s big,” Bouchard said. “The kids remembered the score fr...

German conservative opposition wins 2 state elections, with far-right making gains

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:13 GMT

German conservative opposition wins 2 state elections, with far-right making gains BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s center-right opposition won two state elections on Sunday at the halfway mark of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s unpopular national government, projections showed, and a far-right party that has been riding high in national polls celebrated gains.The votes followed a campaign marked by discontent with persistent squabbling in the national government and by pressure to reduce the number of migrants arriving in Germany. The national interior minister, who leads the federal response on migration, suffered a heavy defeat in a difficult bid to become governor of her home state.About 9.4 million people were eligible to vote for the new state legislature in Bavaria and around 4.3 million in neighboring Hesse, a region that includes Germany’s financial capital, Frankfurt. Both states were already led by the country’s main opposition Union bloc, made up of the Christian Democratic Union and the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union.Projections for ARD a...