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The Pac-12’s stellar football season, the media rights collapse and the enduring disconnect that defined the conference

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

In an alternate universe, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff’s media strategy would have worked brilliantly.In an alternate universe, Kliavkoff’s lack of urgency, his willingness to let the football season and market forces play out simultaneously, would have led to stability and riches.In that universe, Kliavkoff convinces the university presidents to bet on themselves, to embrace the on-field hype and extend the media rights negotiations deep into the fall.Had the conference’s football inventory been available now, this week, today, there would be no shortage of motivated buyers.Colorado and coach Deion Sanders are the talk of the sport and smashing audience records.The conference has eight ranked teams and the betting favorites for the Heisman Trophy.USC is a hot property; so are Washington and Oregon … and Washington State and Oregon State.Had the presidents remained patient and unified, the Pac-12 would have a media rights proposal on the table that me...

Sophie Turner sues: Joe Jonas wrongfully keeping kids in the U.S., holding onto their passports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

A lawsuit filed Thursday by Sophie Turner reveals the high-stakes, transatlantic custody battle brewing between the British actor and her estranged American husband Joe Jonas, since the sudden breakdown of their marriage and over his alleged refusal to let their young daughters return with her to the UK, where she said they had agreed the girls would be raised.The British actor invokes 1980 The Hague Convention on “on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction” to allege that the musician has “wrongfully removed or wrongfully retained” their daughters, 3 and 1, in the United States.In Turner’s lawsuit, filed in US District Court in the Southern District of New York, the “Game of Thrones” star describes herself as the girls’ primary “day-to-day” caregiver. After she said the couple led a peripatetic lifestyle for much of their four-year marriage, she said she and Jonas settled in her native England in April and were ...

Bay Area to be blanketed by another day of dirty air

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

Another layer of thick haze greeted Bay Area residents with the sunrise early Thursday, but measuring tools suggested the dirty skies were not filled with as much soot as they were 24 hours earlier.Whether that trend would continue as the region entered its second straight day with a Spare the Air alert remained uncertain.A shift in winds toward a northerly direction — meaning they move in a counter-clockwise pattern over the region — created the possibility that more smoke from wild fires burning in southern Oregon and northwest California could billow into the region, according to weather forecasters.The gusts also brought with them a red-flag warning for fire danger in the northern and eastern parts of Napa County bordering the Sacramento Valley.The warning runs through 5 p.m. Thursday.At 7 a.m., air-quality index figures from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District showed much of the region to have fine particulate matter running between 105 and 115. Any figure between 101-...

Angus Cloud died in Oakland from drug overdose: coroner

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- Angus Cloud died from overdosing on a lethal drug cocktail including fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and benzodiazepine, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office told KRON4 on Thursday.The "Euphoria" star died on July 31 inside his family's home in Oakland. Cloud's death was investigated by the Sheriff's Office as a possible overdose, and his cause of death was confirmed this week by a coroner. Cloud died from acute intoxication due to combined effects of methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl and benzodiazepine, the Sheriff's Office said. Cloud was 25. The rising young actor was grieving his father's death in July, and he had recently returned to the Bay Area after burying his father in Ireland. Cloud's mother quickly dismissed rumors that her son's death was a suicide. His last day was a joyful one, Cloud's mother said."Although my son was in deep grief about his father’s untimely death from mesothelioma, his last day was a joyful one," Lisa Cloud wrote. ...

Spain women’s coach set to speak on eve of Sweden game amid month-long crisis at Spanish federation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s new women’s coach Montse Tomé is set to hold a news conference in Gothenburg on Thursday, a day before her soccer team tries to put off-field distractions aside to play Sweden in the Nations League.It will be the first game since the Spanish federation was rocked by a scandal caused by its former president Luis Rubiales kissing player Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent following its Women’s World Cup triumph.Tomé will be accompanied by Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas and veteran defender Irene Paredes at the news conference.All the focus remains on the turmoil engulfing the Spanish federation amid a push by its women players to force deep reform to eliminate what they consider to be deeply rooted sexism in the institution that runs Spanish soccer.Tomé, who replaced the fired Jorge Vidal, is now under scrutiny after having called up players, including 15 World Cup winners, after they had said they did not want to play for the federation u...

No. 23 Tennessee Volunteers looking to crank up run game, offense vs UTSA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

UTSA (1-2) at No. 23 Tennessee (2-1), Saturday, 4 p.m. ET (SEC Network)Line: Tennessee by 20 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.Series record: First meeting.WHAT’S AT STAKE?The Tennessee Volunteers have been busy taking a good, long look at themselves after the loss to Florida. Self-inflicted mistakes ranging from too many penalties, a turnover and turning the ball over on downs didn’t help. The Vols need a win to rebuild confidence that took a big hit. UTSA has won back-to-back Conference USA championships by going 23-5 over the past two seasons. Now the Roadrunners are off to a sluggish start needing some momentum before diving into league play. KEY MATCHUPTennessee didn’t run the ball particularly well in a win over Austin Peay. Then, the Vols were held to just 100 yards by Florida finding little room to run. UTSA is giving up just 129 yards rushing. Getting center Cooper Mays back from a medical procedure on a knee that has sidelined him since August could help the...

UN reports says West Bank settler violence has displaced over 1,100 Palestinians since 2022

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Violence from Israeli settlers has displaced over 1,100 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2022, according to a U.N. report released Thursday, with officials describing the exodus as unparalleled in recent years. The report documented about three settler-related incidents each day in the West Bank — the highest daily average since the U.N. began documenting the trend in 2006. The violence has completely emptied out five Palestinian communities. Six more have seen half their inhabitants leave, and seven have seen a quarter flee, the report said. As Israeli settlements expand under the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinians say the violence from radical Israeli settlers has reached a fever pitch. “The U.N. has recorded unprecedented levels of settler violence against Palestinians this year,” said Lynn Hastings, humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory. “The humanitarian community is responding to their imm...

2 Chainz says joint-Lil Wayne album is done, talks new ‘Amazon Music Live’ season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — It’s no secret that rap superstar 2 Chainz considers Lil Wayne an inspiration, and now that admiration for the “Tha Carter” series icon has translated into another official joint album that he says will be out before 2023 ends.“We have two videos shot, photoshoot shot, (the) album’s mixed and getting mastered, so it’ll be coming sooner than later, and I’m really excited about it,” said 2 Chainz, while promoting the new season of Amazon Music Live. “It’s rapping at a high level — steel sharpens steel. And he’s one of the people that I enjoy working with the most.”The long-awaited album, expectedly titled “COLLEGROVE 2,” has been teased since 2020 as the sequel to their 2016 collaboration. 2 Chainz is credited as the main artist on that project although Wayne appeared on eight of the 12 songs, due to Weezy’s contractual issues at the time. While much of the album is shrouded in secrecy, various reports say features will include Benny the Butcher and Usher, who re...

RYDER CUP ’23: USA looks to end 30 years of losing on European soil

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

The Americans never felt more confident. The Europeans rarely felt so annoyed.A two-year wait can feel even longer when it comes to the pride and passion only the Ryder Cup can deliver in golf. Both sides were eager for the next Ryder Cup outside Rome, for different reasons.Team USA was fresh off its most lopsided victory over Europe at Whistling Straits and had reason to believe they would turn the series back in their favor with such a young, powerful squad. Jordan Spieth already was looking ahead as he celebrated that autumn evening in Wisconsin.“If we play like we did this week, the score will look the same over there,” he said.Tommy Fleetwood of England recalled how much it burned to see the Americans celebrate, speaking as if he could still smell the smoke from Xander Schauffele’s victory cigar mixed with the spray of champagne.“All of us stood there and thought, ‘We want to get our chance back,’” Fleetwood said. “The flight on the way home, we were all a little tender and hun...

And end in sight? Striking writers and Hollywood studios resume negotiations for second day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood studios and striking screenwriters are resuming negotiations for the second consecutive day Thursday. The talks could potentially put an end to the nearly five-month dispute that has brought many film and television productions to a halt.In a rare joint statement issued Wednesday night, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the industry’s studios, streaming services and production companies in union negotiations, and the Writers Guild of America, said that they’d met for bargaining Wednesday and would continue Thursday. Present at the meeting were a group of top entertainment CEOs including Disney’s Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, Universal’s Donna Langley and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos. The four are likely to be present at the talks Thursday as well. CNBC reporter David Faber wrote on X, previously Twitter, Wednesday that the writers and AMPTP were “near” an agreement and “hope to finalize the deal,” acco...