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AP Top 25: Washington into top 5 for first time in 6 years; Air Force ranked for 1st time since 2019

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:02:39 GMT

Washington moved up to No. 5 on Sunday in The Associated Press college football poll, the Huskies’ best ranking in six years, after a thrilling victory against Oregon and unbeaten Air Force was ranked for the first time since 2019.The top four teams in the country were unchanged after No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Florida State all won Saturday in blowout fashion. The Bulldogs received 43 first-place votes, Michigan got 16 and Ohio State and Florida State each had one.Washington received two first-place votes and jumped two spots past No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 7 Penn State, giving the Huskies their best ranking since reaching No. 5 on Oct. 8, 2017. The last time Washington was ranked this highly this late in the season was 2016, when the Huskies made the College Football Playoff.That was the last time any Pac-12 team reached the four-team playoff.Washington beat Oregon 36-33 when the Ducks missed a field goal on the game’s final play. Oregon drop...

POLL ALERT: Washington jumps into top 5 for first time in 6 years after beating Oregon, Air Force moves into rankings

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:02:39 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — POLL ALERT: Washington jumps into top 5 for first time in 6 years after beating Oregon, Air Force moves into rankings.Source

Pavon cruises to 1st European tour win at Spanish Open. Rahm rallies early and Siem flirts with 59

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:02:39 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Matthieu Pavon broke through with his first European tour victory at a place close to home for him, fending off an early rally by Jon Rahm and a late charge by Marcel Siem to win the Spanish Open by four shots on Sunday.The Frenchman closed with a 7-under 64 to finish at 23 under for the tournament in an emotional wire-to-wire victory in a country where his father used to play soccer professionally and in a city where his grandfather was born.“He is up there, so I think he will be very proud of me,” Pavon said, pausing to wipe away tears. “A part of my heart is here in Spain. My grandfather was from here, lived in France because of (former dictator Gen. Francisco) Franco, and I just really thought about him on the course today and it was really hard to keep the tears inside, but now I can just let them go a little bit.”Pavon, runner-up to Rahm last year in the Spanish capital, held off second-place Zander Lombard (64) and finished five shots ahead of Nathan Kimsey (67)...

England ends Fiji’s crowd-pleasing run at Rugby World Cup with a 30-24 win to reach semifinals

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:02:39 GMT

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — England ended Fiji’s crowd-pleasing run at the Rugby World Cup with a tense 30-24 win to reach the semifinals for the sixth time on Sunday.In a welcome result for the northern hemisphere after quarterfinal losses for Ireland and Wales on Saturday, the English countered a second-half fightback by the Flying Fijians as captain Owen Farrell kicked a drop goal and a penalty in the final eight minutes in Marseille.England will play either host France or defending champion South Africa in the semifinals next weekend.Trailing 21-10 at halftime, Fiji turned on its attacking flair and crossed for tries through prop Peni Ravai and flyhalf Vilimoni Botitu to tie the scores at 24-24 after 68 minutes.The Pacific Island nation couldn’t complete the comeback in its bid to become the first tier two team to get to the semifinals since the game went professional after the 1995 World Cup.As for England’s players, they were largely written off six weeks ago after losing to Fiji...

Transatlantic blame game: Trump, Merkel, Biden and the danger of Germany’s dependence on Huawei

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:02:39 GMT

Four and a half years ago, former President Donald Trump’s crusade to pressure U.S. allies into banning the Chinese tech company Huawei ran into a wall of resistance in Berlin.Then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel dismissed Trump’s warnings that Huawei posed a grave security risk to the West — and defied his threat that the U.S. would curb intelligence sharing with allies who let the Chinese company build their future mobile networks.Germany will not “exclude a company simply because it’s from a certain country,” Merkel declared at global policy conference in Berlin in March 2019.What followed was a burst of lucrative contracts between the Chinese tech giant and German telecommunications firms: Huawei is in the midst of constructing 5G infrastructure throughout the country, connecting Germany with Europe and the U.S.Now, however, is a season of worry and regret on both sides of the Atlantic. The Biden administration told POLITICO and WELT, a German national daily newspaper, it is as ...

Opposition wins Polish election, according to exit poll

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:02:39 GMT

WARSAW — Poland’s opposition parties look like they’ve won a solid victory in the country’s general election, according to an exit poll released immediately after voting ended at 9 p.m. on Sunday.Although the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) came first in terms of support, three leading opposition parties would have a majority of seats in the 460-member parliament.If the result holds, it’s a stunning defeat for PiS and could help thaw relations between Brussels and Warsaw. The party mobilized the full resources of the state to help it win, and it was also strongly backed by state media — which are firmly in the ruling party’s camp.PiS was hobbled, however, by a growing number of scandals — including allegations that officials were selling vistas for bribes. Eight years of tensions and social conflict, with fights over abortion, rule of law, grain imports from Ukraine, and awful relations with the EU, which has frozen the payout of billions over rule of law worrie...

Mike Preston’s report card: Position-by-position grades for Ravens’ 24-16 win over Titans in London | COMMENTARY

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:02:39 GMT

Here’s how the Ravens (4-2) graded out at each position after a 24-16 win over the Tennessee Titans (2-4) in Sunday’s Week 6 game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London:QuarterbackLamar Jackson started hot and had a strong first half. He cooled off in the third quarter but made the plays the Ravens needed to seal the win late in the fourth. He completed 21 of 30 passes for 223 yards and one touchdown and rushed 13 times for 62 yards. The Ravens were successful with their small ball passing game, including some throws that turned into big gains. Jackson did have one interception, which was way over the head of wide receiver Rashod Bateman and led to a Tennessee touchdown in the third quarter, but he didn’t fumble, which has been a problem most of the season. Jackson’s statistics aren’t always impressive, but he is still the team’s top offensive threat. Grade: BRunning backsJustice Hill and Gus Edwards weren’t spectacular, but solid. Hi...

Enchanted: Taylor Swift concert film dominates box office

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:02:39 GMT

Movie theaters turned into concert venues this weekend as Swifties brought their dance moves and friendship bracelets to multiplexes across the country. The unparalleled enthusiasm helped propel “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” to a massive, first place debut between $95 million and $97 million in North America, AMC Theatres said Sunday.It’s easily the biggest opening for a concert film of all time, and, not accounting for inflation, has made more than the $73 million “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” earned in 2011. In today’s dollars, that would be around $102 million. And if it comes in on the higher end of projections when totals are released Monday, it could be the biggest October opening ever. The one to beat is “Joker,” which launched to $96.2 million in 2019.A unique experiment in distribution, premium pricing, star power and loose movie theater etiquette—more dancing and shouting than a Star Wars premiere—have made it an undeniabl...

Week 6 updates: Justin Fields out for the game with a hand injury as Tyson Bagent takes over as Chicago Bears QB

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:02:39 GMT

The 1-4 Chicago Bears are playing the 1-4 Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field in a Week 6 matchup. Here’s what you need to know.5 things to watch in the Bears-Vikings game — plus our Week 6 predictions3rd quarter: Justin Fields leaves with right hand injuryBears quarterback Justin Fields went into the medical tent on the sideline after a third-quarter sack and then headed to the locker room.Fields walked off the field and appeared to be holding his right hand. He sat briefly on the bench before going with a trainer into the tent. It didn’t take long before he emerged to go to the locker room.With 4:21 to play in the third quarter, the Bears ruled out Fields from returning to the game.On third-and-7 on the Bears’ first drive of the second half, Vikings outside linebacker Danielle Hunter took down Fields for a loss of 5 yards. It was the fourth Vikings sack of the day.As Fields was in the locker room, rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent began warming up on the s...

VIDEO: Los Angeles Clippers practice near San Diego County

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:02:39 GMT

Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect the location of the practice is Pechanga Indian Reservation.RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Clippers scuffed up a basketball court near San Diego County Saturday for an away practice.The team worked out and practiced in front of an audience of about 100 fans at the Pechanga Indian Reservation’s recreation center, a, a spokesperson for Pechanga Resort Casino told FOX 5. As it turns out, the resort is a supporting partner and official Native American casino sponsor of the LA Clippers. NWSL Decision Day: San Diego Wave FC takes on Racing Louisville FC One fan in attendance, Darius Jackson, said the event was like "inviting superstars to your home." He explained how motivational it was for his kids and others in the community to see NBA professionals on the same court they play on every week."Being a young 23-year-old and seeing these guys out here, someone that I watch on TV that I play a video game of -- everyday baske...