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Massive seaweed blob heading to Florida

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:01 GMT

A giant blob of seaweed, spanning 5,000 miles and weighing an estimated 6.1 million tons, threatens to blanket Florida beaches and Caribbean islands with smelly piles of decaying brown goop.Sargassum — the scientific name for the brown seaweed often found strewn across South Florida beaches — could start piling up in the Florida Keys in the next few days. Scientists expect Miami Beach to become a hot spot later in the sargassum season, which runs from March through October.This year’s sargassum bloom is shaping up to be one of the biggest ever recorded. Since 2011, a combination of human activity and climate change has created a string of unusually large seaweed blobs. Every year for the past five years has set a new record for the biggest blob ever.“We cannot predict whether this year will set a new record,” said Chuanmin Hu, who is part of a team of University of South Florida oceanography professors who track sargassum blooms via satellite and publish monthly bu...

Dave Hyde: Aaron Rodgers to New York Jets means Dolphins’ rivalry is on like never before

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:01 GMT

There’s no need to oversell what this means. There’s no need to hype its consequence with inflated sentences like were occasionally manufactured over the last decade with these teams.It’s on again.New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins.Aaron Rodgers vs. Tua TagovailoaOne AFC East team that’s all in for next year (and only next year) against another AFC East team that’s all in for next year (and only next year).Between dissecting the meaning of life and discussing five days closed off from the world, “in the darkness,” Rodgers announced Wednesday on The Pat McAfee Show he’ll be the Jets quarterback. You came for The Decision. You sat through a therapy session.The move isn’t official simply because the Packers are, “dragging their heels,’ Rodgers said. But it wasn’t a secret the four-time Most Valuable Player looked like a Jet before the interview and it’s just a matter of Green Bay signing the divorce papers now....

Pat Leonard: Little brother Jets snag New York spotlight from Giants with Aaron Rodgers’ imminent arrival

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:01 GMT

The Jets are the Giants’ little brother in New York and New Jersey, and everyone knows it.There are two teams here, but this is a Giants town.The Jets perpetually exist in Big Blue’s shadow, as much as they try to live in the light.The Jets wouldn’t even let the Giants boast the NFL’s worst record on their own from 2017 through 2021, for heaven’s sake.The Jets joined them in the basement at 22-59 over those five bleak years.“The Giants pretty much own New York,” Lawrence Taylor said in this newspaper in 2015. “We’ve got better fans and more fans than the Jets do. We’ve got four Super Bowls behind us. Until they win some Super Bowls, the conversation is over with.”On Wednesday, though, little brother stepped out of the darkness.When Aaron Rodgers announced on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ that he intends to play for the Jets, he immediately stole the New York market until further notice for Gang Green — only ...

NBA suspends Grizzlies guard Ja Morant 8 games without pay over gun video

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:01 GMT

The NBA is suspending Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant for eight games without pay after he flashed a gun during a live stream video earlier this month.“Ja’s conduct was irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.The suspension comes after a face-to-face meeting Wednesday between Morant and Silver at the NBA’s offices in Midtown Manhattan and a league investigation into his conduct.Morant, a two-time All-Star, has not played since the Grizzlies’ March 3 loss to the Nuggets in Denver. It was at a Denver-area nightclub early the next morning that Morant — described in the league’s statement as “holding a firearm in an intoxicated state” — went live on social media.The former Murray State star and the second-overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, was not charged with a crime by Colorado authorities.The NBA’s investigation found that Morant d...

Massachusetts communities dig out from 30-plus inches of snow, Ashby declares state of emergency, State Police search team rescues hikers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:01 GMT

Bay State communities pounded by feet of snow dug out from the whopper on Wednesday, as utility companies restored power to tens of thousands of households and a town was in a state of emergency.Massachusetts State Police also reported that a search team rescued two hikers who had been stranded in the heavy snow overnight in western Massachusetts.The nor’easter dumped three feet of snow on parts of the state, including a towering 37 inches of snow in Franklin County’s Hawley and 36 inches in both Colrain and Rowe out west, according to the National Weather Service’s updated snowfall totals on Wednesday.The last time the state had a snow report of 37-plus inches was the Blizzard of 1978, when Norton recorded a whopping 39 inches, according to the NWS’ record books.In northern Middlesex County, Ashby’s snowfall total hit 30 inches from this storm, and up to 34 inches in isolated areas of the town on the New Hampshire border.With downed trees piling across...

Sam Coonrod won’t be ready for Opening Day due to lat injury, joins list of injured Mets’ pitchers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:01 GMT

The Mets started spring with a deep group of relievers, most of which have Major League experience and minor league options, which allows the club flexibility to make transactions and supplement as needed throughout the year. When pitchers and catchers reported a month ago, there were 2-3 bullpen spots and about eight pitchers vying for them.But over the last week, three relievers have been injured, with Sam Coonrod being the latest arm to go down. Coonrod, a right-hander who came to the Mets as a waiver claim over the winter, was diagnosed with a high-grade right lat strain Wednesday, effectively taking him out of the running for one of those Opening Day spots. The club did not provide a timeline, but a typical return for pitchers is 6-8 weeks before beginning a throwing program.Earlier in the week, the Mets had to shut down talented right-handed prospect Bryce Montes de Oca for a stress reaction in his elbow. The oft-injured Montes de Oca won’t be throwing for 3-4 weeks. Las...

State rakes $300K in first full month of sports betting

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:01 GMT

Massachusetts gamblers bet nearly a million dollars a day on sports in February, according to the state’s gaming commission, and that’s just a fraction of what is to come, one expert says.“February marked the first full month of sports wagering at each property after those licensee’s launched the new industry on January 31, 2023. Approximately $2.01 million in taxable sports wagering revenue was generated,” the commission said with the release of their February revenue report.According to the commission, over the 28 days of February, Massachusetts betters spent $25.7 million gambling on professional and college sports.Of that $25 million, after writing off payouts and promotions, only $2 million was reported by the state’s casinos as revenue, generating $301,533.52 in taxes for the commonwealth’s coffers.“I would say that is slightly below what I expect, but not too far off. I would be expecting about $500 million (in revenue) a year – that would be short of ...

Sinclair Broadcast’s Diamond Sports Group, which airs games for 14 MLB teams, files for bankruptcy protection

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:01 GMT

Diamond Sports Group, a struggling subsidiary of Hunt Valley-based Sinclair Broadcast Group that owns regional sports networks, filed for a bankruptcy reorganization late Tuesday, burdened by more than $8 billion in debt.The move, expected after Diamond chose to miss a debt payment last month, sent Sinclair’s stock tumbling, down more than 8% to $13.32 a share in afternoon trading on Wednesday.Diamond said in an announcement Tuesday evening that it’s finalizing a “restructuring support” agreement with holders of a majority of the company’s debt and with Sinclair that will eliminate much of the outstanding debt.It filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code allows companies to continue operating as they try to restructure their finances.While it works through bankruptcy to restructure and strengthen its balance sheet, Diamond said it expects its 19 Bally Sports regional sp...

WNBA star Kelsey Plum blasts Raiders coach after husband Darren Waller is traded to Giants days after wedding

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:01 GMT

Newlywed WNBA star Kelsey Plum is having some fun on social media after husband Darren Waller was surprisingly traded to the New York Giants.The Giants flipped a third-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders for the tight end on Tuesday, a little more than a week after the sports couple tied the knot.Plum, a reigning WNBA champion with the Las Vegas Aces, married Waller on March 4, according to People magazine. The couple reportedly began dating last year.ESPN analyst and former NFL star Robert Griffin III reacted to Waller’s trade on Twitter, specifically how it reflected on Raiders coach Josh McDaniels.“Darren Waller JUST GOT MARRIED to Kelsey Plum of the Las Vegas Aces and Josh McDaniels’ wedding present was to trade him to the New York Giants. McDaniels is NOT a romantic,” Griffin tweeted.Plum got in on the fun, quote-tweeting Griffin’s remark and adding “Prolly cause he wasn’t invited to the wedding lol.”After going viral, Plum return...

The Patriots’ risk and reward of replacing Jakobi Meyers with JuJu Smith-Schuster

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:01 GMT

JuJu Smith-Schuster reaching terms with the Patriots on a free-agent contract Wednesday was no surprise.The Patriots need receivers. Smith-Schuster was the best available. Supply met demand, and Smith-Schuster became a Patriot.The surprise came moments later, when the financial details were first leaked: three years for $33 million, the same structure Jakobi Meyers agreed to in Las Vegas.In essence, the Patriots chose Smith-Schuster over Meyers, their leading receiver the past three seasons and the best of their in-house free agents. After re-signing seven of said free agents and tendering two fringe backups, the Patriots made Meyers the exception to their run-it-back approach to free agency.Why? What does Smith-Schuster, another 6-foot-2 slot receiver entering his age-27 season, offer that Meyers doesn’t?For starters, he’s proven to have a higher ceiling. While Meyers has never cracked 900 receiving yards in a season, Smith-Schuster reached 111 catches for 1,426 yards a...