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Kurtenbach: ‘Tush’ kicking — The Niners talked trash and turned in a masterpiece in Philly

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:21:21 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — The 49ers waited 11 months, but on Sunday, they finished their business with the Philadelphia Eagles.And they didn’t just beat them — they beat them down.This was a “Brotherly Shove” to the ground and a “Tush” kicking, for good measure.Yes, the Niners were holding some grudges from last season’s NFC Championship Game loss. They talked trash right up to the opening kick.“Obviously, we wanted some payback,” Nick Bosa said.“I ain’t gonna lie, I was in that zone all week long,” Deebo Samuel said.Then they went and walked the walk — right into the end zone six offensive possessions in a row.So while the Niners’ brilliant three-phases victory will go into the record books as a 42-19 win, it was, in truth, much more than that.It’s as impressive a performance as any team in the NFL has put on the field this season. These might be the two best teams in the NFL, but after Sunday, it’s clear that one i...

Panarin has hat trick as Rangers hold on to beat Sharks 6-5

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:21:21 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Artemi Panarin had three goals and an assist, Jonathan Quick won again, and the New York Rangers held on to beat the San Jose Sharks 6-5 on Sunday night.Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist, Will Cuylle and K’Andre Miller also scored, and Jacob Trouba, Vincent Trocheck and Jonny Brodzinski each had two assists to help the Rangers win for the sixth time in seven games. Quick stopped 23 shots to improve to 7-0-1 this season.The Metropolitan-Division-leading Rangers have won 16 of their last 19 games, have a league-best 18 wins and are tied with Boston for tops with 37 points.Anthony Duclair had a goal and an assist, and Jacob MacDonald, Fabian Zetterlund, Ryan Carpenter and Alexander Barbanov all scored for San Jose. Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 30 saves.BRUINS 3, BLUE JACKETS 1BOSTON (AP) — Brad Marchand had a natural hat trick in the third period and Boston rallied to beat Columbus.Facing each other for the second time in six days, the Bruins got some payback...

Kings beat Avalanche 4-1 as Kopitar breaks club record for assists

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:21:21 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Quinton Byfield scored twice, Anze Kopitar became the franchise leader in assists, and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 on Sunday.Trevor Moore and Drew Doughty also scored, Adrian Kempe had two assists, and the Kings got back on track after their five-game winning streak was snapped by Washington on Wednesday. Cam Talbot made 20 saves.Josh Manson scored and Alexandar Georgiev finished with 34 saves for the Avalanche. Star defenseman Cale Makar did not play because of a lower body injury.After tying it up at 1 midway through the second period, Byfield put the Kings ahead with 6:34 remaining in the third with his fourth goal in six games.Kopitar had the secondary assist, his 758th for the Kings and breaking a tie with Marcel Dionne for the club record.Kopitar was recognized during the next break in play, giving a wave and putting his hand over his heart to thank the fans for their standing ovation. Moore and Doughty then scored to add the finish...

Israel expands Gaza ground offensive, vows to hit the south with ‘no less strength’ than the north

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:21:21 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s ground offensive expanded to every part of the Gaza Strip, its military said Sunday, as it ordered more evacuations and vowed to hit south Gaza with “no less strength” than the fight that has reduced large parts of north Gaza to a moonscape. Heavy bombardment followed the evacuation orders, and Palestinians in the sealed-off territory bordering Israel and Egypt said they were running out of places to go. Many of Gaza’s 2.3 million people fled to the south after Israel ordered civilians to leave the north in the early days of the war, which was sparked by the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack in Israel that killed about 1,200, mostly civilians.After dark, gunfire and shelling were heard in the central town of Deir al-Balah as flares lit the sky. Israeli drones buzzed overhead in Gaza’s second-largest city, Khan Younis. U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk urged an end to the war, saying civilian suffering was “too much to bear.”Residents said ...

Juuse Saros makes 34 saves, Predators beat Sabres 2-1

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:21:21 GMT

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Juuse Saros made 34 saves, Filip Forsberg scored his team-leading 13th goal and the Nashville Predators beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 on Sunday night.Yakov Trenin also scored for the Predators — coming off a 4-3 home loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday — in a first-period burst.“I really liked our first half of the game,” Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. “I think a little fatigue set in, it’s our first back-to-back, and maybe we weren’t as sharp. But the will and the desire to win was there and we had some great goaltending so it was a big win.”Victor Olofsson scored on a penalty shot for Buffalo, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves. The Sabres have lost three in a row to fall to 10-13-2. They lost 6-2 at Carolina on Saturday.“I feel like right now it’s like it’s two different teams out there,” Sabres forward Dylan Cozens said. “We play a completely different way when we’re down and that’s how we need to play right off the bat. We need to play like we...

Hong Kong court puts off Chinese developer Evergrande’s hearing on its debt restructuring to January

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:21:21 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court postponed until Jan. 29 a court hearing scheduled for Monday on troubled Chinese property developer Evergrande’s winding-up petition. Evergrande is trying to win support from its creditors for a plan to restructure more than $300 billion in debt to stave off liquidation. The company’s lawyer told the court it was requesting an adjournment to “refine” its new debt restructuring plan.The Hong Kong High Court has postponed the hearing over Evergrande’s potential liquidation several times. Judge Linda Chan had said in October that Monday’s hearing would be the last before a decision is handed down. Evergrande could be ordered to liquidate if creditors reject its plan. The company, the world’s most indebted property developer, ran into trouble when Chinese regulators cracked down on excessive borrowing in the real estate sector.Last month, the company said Chinese police were investigating Evergrande’s chairman, Hui Ka Yan, for unspecified suspected cri...

Kennedy Center Honors fetes new inductees, including Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal and Dionne Warwick

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:21:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The newest group of Kennedy Center honorees, including comedian Billy Crystal and actor Queen Latifah, were feted Sunday night at a star-studded event commemorating their lifetime achievement in arts and entertainment.Opera singer Renée Fleming, music star Barry Gibb and prolific hitmaker Dionne Warwick were also honored at the black-tie gala. Each received personalized tributes including appearances and performances that are typically kept secret from the honorees themselves.President Joe Biden welcomed the honorees to the White House before the event, saying the performing arts “reflect who we are as Americans and as human beings.”The honorees “have helped shape how we see ourselves, how we see each other and how we see our world,” said Biden who then introduced this year’s class with a set of glowing superlatives about their work.Biden and first lady Jill Biden then headed to the Kennedy Center to attend the festivities. The ceremony began with 2017 Kenned...

Interim coach Chris Tabor’s debut is more of the same for NFL-worst Panthers

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:21:21 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Breakdowns at key times and missed opportunities doomed the Carolina Panthers in interim coach Chris Tabor’s debut.Carolina (1-11) scored late to pull within a field goal, but the Panthers didn’t get closer in Sunday’s 21-18 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.The Panthers fired Frank Reich last Monday, 11 games into the coach’s first season with the team. Special teams coach Tabor was promoted to the top job for the rest of the season.“I was proud of our guys,” Tabor said. “We had an opportunity to win the game. We have to continue to work to get better. I know that’s a lot of big coach-speak. We’re going to keep going.”It was the second time in two seasons that Carolina played Tampa Bay shortly after Panthers owner David Tepper made an in-season coaching change. Matt Rhule was fired in October 2022, two weeks before the Panthers knocked off Tom Brady and the Bucs 21-3.The Panthers have the worst record in the league, but even if that continu...

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts evaluated for concussion vs 49ers, returns for loss

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:21:21 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sure, Jalen Hurts says, he did have something to prove after he returned from a concussion check with the Eagles down 22 points.Hurts wasn’t interested in trying to convince the Eagles he was a tough guy. He wanted to show the Eagles still had a shot.“It was more so that the game was not over. We were just trying to keep fighting,” Hurts said.The Eagles kept up the fight, even as they ran out of time.Hurts did throw and rush for a score in Philadelphia’s 42-19 loss to San Francisco on Sunday night in a game that tightened the race for the top spot in the NFC.The Eagles (10-2) could have had a breezy path toward No. 1 with a win. The 49ers (9-3) are very much in the race and so are the Dallas Cowboys (9-3). The Cowboys will come off a 10-day break when they host the Eagles on Sunday — with a share of the NFC East and the top spot in the NFC at stake.The Eagles beat the Cowboys 28-23 last month at home.Last season’s NFL MVP runner-up, Hurts gave t...

Joe Flacco appeared to be the least of Cleveland’s problems in the Browns’ loss to the LA Rams

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:21:21 GMT

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Joe Flacco stepped behind center for his first NFL game since January and immediately led the Browns on a long scoring drive, capped by a 24-yard touchdown pass that set off a celebration on Cleveland’s sideline.Sure, Cleveland’s 36-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday rarely went that smoothly again for the Browns (7-4).Yet the 38-year-old Flacco seemed to leave the Browns confident that the quarterback position is no longer their biggest area of weakness while they attempt to rebound this week from their first losing streak of the season.“I think Joe showed he can still play some football,” Cleveland left guard Joel Bitonio said. “I guess if you play 15 years, you don’t really get rattled.”Flacco began his 16th season in the NFL on Sunday, and the former Super Bowl MVP performed remarkably well, considering he only joined Cleveland’s practice squad two weeks ago and officially got this starting assignment Friday.Flacco went 23 of 44 ...