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Peter Schmuck: Brooks Robinson was one of the greatest baseball players ever. He was an even better man. | COMMENTARY

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:00 GMT

This is all you need to know about Brooks Robinson. In the early days of the commercial sports autograph boom, a fellow Hall of Famer sidled up to him and told him that he was signing way too many free autographs, which was lowering his value on the memorabilia circuit.Brooks just went on signing. He didn’t have anything against making a few dollars off his signature, but he clearly did have something against saying no to anyone who met him on the street and wanted it.That’s why just about every self-respecting Orioles fan has one and remembers the time and place when Brooksie flashed his homespun Brooksie smile and said “Sure, kid” — just like the guy in that famous Norman Rockwell painting.Robinson died Tuesday, his family said in a joint statement with the Orioles. He was 86.To say that he was a nice guy is like saying that Abraham Lincoln was a good president or Rembrandt could paint a little bit. It’s true, of course, but it sure doesn’...

Column: Home cooking for Dansby Swanson and sleepless nights for David Ross as the Chicago Cubs enter the final week of the wild-card chase

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:00 GMT

David Ross participated in seven postseasons as a player with four different teams, and one season on “Dancing With the Stars.” But the pressure Ross faced before is nothing like what he’s going through now managing the Chicago Cubs in this crazy National League wild-card chase.The challenge of getting this Cubs team into the postseason has been one of the biggest of his life, and is why Ross sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night.“Way different as a manager than as a player,” Ross said Tuesday before the Cubs’ game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. “I don’t know how to describe it. It’s fun, and you try and prepare and keep it all the same, but inside you’re riding it.“We also have a lot of different guys in different scenarios in the back end of games right now that haven’t been there all year. So it’s a little like pulling the right lever is important, and doing all your homework and tru...

Brooks Robinson’s 10 greatest moments as an Oriole

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:00 GMT

No Oriole was more beloved or more integral to the story of the franchise than Brooks Robinson, who died Tuesday at age 86.Robinson played his first game for the Orioles in 1955, the year after the franchise arrived in Baltimore, was a key member of the club’s first four World Series teams and lasted long enough to suit up with a new generation of stars, led by Eddie Murray.Here are 10 moments that capture what Robinson meant to baseball and to Baltimore.1970 World SeriesAfter watching Robinson dismantle the Cincinnati Reds with his glove and his bat, Pete Rose put it simply: “Brooks Robinson belongs in a higher league.”What else was there to say about Robinson’s magnum opus? He hit .429 over five games, with two home runs and six RBIs. His home run off Gary Nolan provided the winning margin in Game 1. His two-run double put the Orioles on the board in their 9-3 win in Game 3.But it was Robinson’s incomparable glove at third base that left the strongest...

2 teens, 1 adult arrested after armed shoes robbery in North County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:00 GMT

ENCINITAS, Calif. -- Two teens and one adult were arrested after a man who was selling shoes was robbed at gunpoint in Encinitas, authorities said.The robbery occurred on the afternoon of Sept. 14 in the 2100 block of Carol View Drive, Sgt. Heather Bruton with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO) said in a news release Tuesday. The victim, who was selling several pairs of shoes, met with another man and woman in a parking lot when a third man joined the group and pointed a gun at the victim, according to law enforcement."Fearing he may be injured, the victim ran to his vehicle and got into the driver's seat. The woman and two men ran away together with the victim's shoes," Bruton said.During the investigation, authorities used the victim's Tesla cameras to identify the suspects. Body found on sidewalk; SDPD investigating On Sept. 15, the sheriff's department found and arrested two 16-year-old suspects, one was a boy wearing a pair of shoes stolen from the robbery...

Bathroom rental app aims to make it easier to find restrooms in downtown San Diego

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Restrooms have been an issue for years in downtown San Diego, and now one startup is attempting to capitalize on the lack of clean accessible restroom spaces available at all hours. “Imagine the smallest corner of your room right, usually your bathroom, and the smallest interval of time like 15 minutes, just enough to freshen up, and we think that by showing them the future, they could understand how we think people should interact with spaces generally,” said Nancy Asare, the co-founder of Restspace.us.Many downtown public restrooms have been overwhelmed by drug-use people with mental illness and sanitary issues. Asare says folks, especially families with young children, don’t feel comfortable, and paying $15 for a 15-minute break makes a lot of sense. Last supermoon of 2023: What to know about this week’s harvest moon Hundreds of people have been signing up for the Restspace app just as it starts to make a name for itself.Restspace recommends roughly a dollar a min...

Here’s when your favorite show may return now that the writers strike is ending

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The writers strike is officially over as of midnight Wednesday. So when will your favorite shows return?Well, it’s complicated.Screenwriters can return to work for the first time since they walked out on May 2, but 65,000 screen actors remain on strike, with no negotiations on the horizon. (Technically, the 11,500 member Writers Guild of America must still ratify their deal with studios, but that seems inevitable.)The actors strike stoppage will prevent many projects from returning to normal. Certain paused productions such as “Deadpool 3,” “Yellowjackets” and the next film from Quentin Tarantino will still have to wait on actors to reach a deal with studios.WHEN IS ‘JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE’ COMING BACK?Late-night talk shows were the first to be affected when the strike began, and they may be among the first to return to air now. NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on CBS could co...

Canadian women’s soccer team earns Olympic berth with win over Jamaica

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:00 GMT

Canada has booked its ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.The 10th-ranked Canadian women’s soccer team beat No. 37 Jamaica 4-1 on aggregate to earn the last CONCACAF entry in the 12-country field for the Games.Canada won 2-1 on Tuesday at BMO Field in the second game of the two-legged Olympic qualifier after earning a 2-0 victory at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica on Friday.Cloe Lacasse and Jordyn Huitema scored for Canada in front of a sold-out crowd of 29,212 which set a new record for a men’s or women’s national team game in Ontario.Drew Spence netted Jamaica’s lone goal.The U.S. qualified directly for the Games by defeating the reigning Olympic champion Canada 1-0 in the CONCACAF W Championship final in 2022.Jamaica, which lost 3-0 to Canada in the semifinal, defeated Costa Rica 1-0 after extra time in the third-place playoff to set up the playoff with Canada.The Canadian women have taken part in the last four Olympics, winning gold, bronze and br...

A fire at a wedding hall in northern Iraq kills at least 100 people and injures 150, authorities say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:00 GMT

MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — A fire that raced through a hall hosting a Christian wedding in northern Iraq killed at least 100 people and injured 150 others, authorities said Wednesday, warning the death toll could rise higher.The fire happened in Iraq’s Nineveh province in its Hamdaniya area, authorities said. That’s a predominantly Christian area just outside of the city of Mosul, some 335 kilometers (205 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad. Television footage showed flames rushing over the wedding hall as the fire took hold. In the blaze’s aftermath, only charred metal and debris could be seen as people walked through the scene of the fire, the only light coming from television cameras and the lights of onlookers’ mobile phones. Survivors arrived at local hospitals, receiving oxygen and bandaged, as their families milled through hallways and outside as workers organized more oxygen cylinders. Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr gave the casualty figure via t...

US suspends aid to Gabon after military takeover

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Tuesday suspended most non-humanitarian aid to Gabon after a military takeover in the country last month that was at least the second this year in an African nation. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a “pause in certain foreign assistance programs” to Gabon. pending a review of the circumstances that led to the ouster of the country’s former leader President Ali Bongo Ondimba. Blinken said in a statement that the suspension would not affect U.S. government operations in the oil-rich central African nation. The statement did not elaborate on what U.S.-funded programs would be affected or how much money would be placed on hold. Gabon is the second country to have seen a military takeover following the overthrow of the government in Niger earlier this year. The U.S. also suspended some aid to Niger but has yet to formally determine if what happened was a coup.“This interim measure is consistent with steps taken by the Economic Com...

One critical after crash involving pick-up, semi trucks on Interstate 88 in Oak Brook

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:00 GMT

OAK BROOK, Ill. — Several people were injured, one critically, after a crash involving a semi-truck Tuesday on Interstate 88 in Oak Brook.The crash was reported around 2:40 p.m. near the 139.5-mile marker of I-88 eastbound. ‘They’re not afraid of anyone’: Bucktown residents voice concerns after man beaten, robbed in broad daylight According to the Oak Brook Fire Department, the driver of the pick-up truck was trapped inside of the truck, which was on fire. Several bystanders tried to rescue the driver.Firefighters arrived and pulled the driver from the truck.One person was taken to a hospital in critical condition and another person was taken to another hospital and is stable, the fire department said. Several bystanders were evaluated after being exposed to heat and smoke from the fire, but refused further treatment.Additional details haven't been released.