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Instant analysis: Undefeated 49ers top Cardinals behind McCaffrey, Purdy

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:49:25 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Three touchdowns by Christian McCaffrey put the undefeated 49ers’ fourth win in motion Sunday.But 35 minutes remained. Things stalled. The Arizona Cardinals rallied. The 49ers needed more.Sure enough, McCaffrey delivered with his fourth touchdown, and that fourth-quarter score vaulted the 49ers toward an eventual 35-16 win that secured a 4-0 record for only the fifth time in franchise history.The 49ers end their three-game homestand with its marquee attraction next Sunday night, when the Dallas Cowboys return to the site of their divisional-playoff loss, 19-12, on Jan. 22.McCaffrey nearly matched the franchise’s single-game touchdown record, but a potential fifth score was denied at the 2-yard line on a 2-yard run in the final minutes, and rather than give him the ball again, coach Kyle Shanahan called for a Brock Purdy sneak from inside the 1 to cap the scoring spree.“Honestly I had no idea until I came in here he had four touchdowns,” Shanahan said ...

Family of Sierra LaMar, Midsi Sanchez support Polly Klaas’ father on 30th anniversary of kidnapping

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:49:25 GMT

SAUSALITO – For three decades, Marc Klaas has lived with the trauma of his daughter Polly’s kidnapping and murder, and through years of child advocacy, carried the burden of scores of families whose children vanished, too.On Sunday, the 30th anniversary of Polly’s abduction from her bedroom during a slumber party at her Petaluma home, Klaas said he is phasing out the foundation that backed crime legislation and helped 1,500 families across the country search for their missing children.The work has helped him heal, he said. But he’s 74 years old now, and it’s taken its toll. To think Polly would have been 42 today.“Dealing with your own deceased child is one thing, but then dealing with other people’s loss repeatedly over and over and over and over and over again, it just becomes a little overwhelming sometimes,” Klaas said in an interview from the living room of his Sausalito townhome. “I don’t want to die carrying other people’s burdens. I really don’t.”On S...

Ex-Charger Jerry Tillery ejected for late hit on LA QB Justin Herbert

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:49:25 GMT

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Jerry Tillery was ejected for a late hit on Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert in the second quarter of their game Sunday.Tillery, a former teammate of Herbert’s, delivered a forearm shot to the quarterback’s upper body after he had stepped out of bounds at the end of a 3-yard scramble.The Chargers bench swarmed Tillery, surrounding him before he was ushered away by Raiders teammate John Jenkins.Tillery was subsequently ejected for unnecessary roughness, continuing a penchant for questionable sportsmanship by the five-year pro.A first-round draft pick by the Chargers in 2019, Tillery’s time in Los Angeles ended when he was waived midway through the 2022 season after making 10 1/2 sacks in 54 games and accruing a number of 15-yard penalties.Tillery signed with the Raiders and played the final eight games of the season, but his midseason move was best remembered for picking up a costly dead ball penal...

Losses piling up for Cincinnati Bengals with Joe Burrow limited by calf injury

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:49:25 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Joe Burrow keeps playing, yet the NFL’s highest-paid player with the lightning quick release clearly isn’t himself. Blame the right calf strained back in training camp. The challenge for the Cincinnati Bengals is that they go as their quarterback goes.Burrow threw for just 165 yards Sunday, and the Bengals had to settle for a field goal the one time they got close to the Tennessee end zone as Cincinnati lost 27-3 to the Titans. “This was unacceptable …,” Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor said. “And I’ve got the confidence that we’ve got everything we need in this locker room to get right and get back on track next week. Disappointing this is not the expectation we had going into this game.”Cincinnati won the coin toss and drove down the field with Burrow completing his first four passes, playing from the shotgun and making quick tosses. Then he got lucky Titans safety Amani Hooker didn’t pick him off on second-and-goal.The Bengals got to the...

Gas can erupts into flames during NASCAR race at Talladega Superspeedway

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:49:25 GMT

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — There was a fiery moment during the NASCAR race at Talladega Superspeedway when a gas can erupted into flames on pit road. Ty Gibbs pulled out of his pit stall Sunday with the gas can still dangling from his Toyota and the fuel can dislodged in the middle of pit road. It sparked when it hit the pavement and then caught fire. Other drivers had to swerve around the burning gas can as emergency workers waited until pit road was clear to approach the fire. They extinguished the flames and the race resumed. Gibbs was penalized for leaving his pit box with equipment. He finished 22nd. ___AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racingSource

Rangers falter in season finale in 1-0 loss to Seattle, allows Houston to win AL West

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:49:25 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — The elation of less than 24 hours earlier inside the Texas Rangers clubhouse was replaced with disappointment about a major missed opportunity.The Rangers are thrilled to be back in the postseason, but failed to win American League West title and earn some extra time off when they lost to the Seattle Mariners 1-0 on Sunday.Coupled with Houston’s 8-1 win over Arizona, the defeat handed the AL West title to the Astros (89-73) as the result of the season-series tiebreaker and sent Texas (89-73) to the postseason as a wild card team for a best-of-three series at Tampa Bay starting Tuesday.“There’s always going to be disappointment because this game was big. It was huge. And so I’m sure there’s disappointment in there,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “Once we get on the plane realizing you’re in postseason, and like I said, you get your head back to where it needs to be.”Instead of days of rest and home-field advantage, the Rangers will have to advance from the Wild Card ...

Questionable decisions by Bears coaching staff play a role in heartbreaking loss to Broncos

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:49:25 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Bears coach Matt Eberflus praised his team’s passion and energy. He said the team’s execution was “really good in spots,” and that was “a big improvement.” He pointed to what he called “a lot good moments in there.”It was quite the take on Chicago’s 14th consecutive loss dating to last season, one in which the Bears blew a 21-point lead during an ugly finish that included a couple of questionable decisions by Eberflus and his coaching staff.Justin Fields passed for a career-high 335 yards and four touchdowns, but he also had a fumble returned for a score and threw an interception on Chicago’s final drive in a 31-28 loss to Denver on Sunday. The Bears led 28-7 after Khalil Herbert’s 2-yard TD reception with 4:11 left in the third quarter.“Obviously we’re all very disappointed in this hard-fought battle that we had today and the outcome,” Eberflus said. “But I certainly can see things moving in the right direction for our football tea...

Racers at 27th Dunn’s Run compete to raise funds for Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:49:25 GMT

People laced up their sneakers and headed to Deerfield Beach this weekend to run for a noble cause at an annual race.Dunn’s Run returned Sunday morning for its 27th year. The event was founded by the late Jim Dunn of J.R. Dunn Jewelers and the late Rick Case.Dunn’s widow, J.R. Dunn Jewelers’ co-owner and president Ann Marie Dunn, remembers his love for the event.“We hope that this is the biggest one ever. My husband had his heart right into this charity,” she said. “This was his favorite one, and he’s looking at us from upstairs wishing us all good luck.”Racers participated in four different events as they traveled along A1A in Deerfield Beach.The event has raised millions of dollars for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County.

Former Boston Red Sox pitcher and 2-time World Series champion Tim Wakefield dies at age 57

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:49:25 GMT

(CNN) — Longtime Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield died Sunday morning at age 57, the team announced in a news release.No cause of death was provided, though the team issued a statement earlier this week acknowledging that the former pitcher was battling a “disease,” and requesting privacy for the Wakefield family.“Our hearts are broken with the loss of Tim Wakefield,” the Red Sox posted on X on Sunday. “Wake embodied true goodness; a devoted husband, father, and teammate, beloved broadcaster, and the ultimate community leader. He gave so much to the game and all of Red Sox Nation.”Red Sox legend and baseball Hall of Famer David Ortiz posted a photo on Instagram of him hugging Wakefield, writing, “I can’t describe what you mean to me and my family, my heart is broken right now because l will never be able to replace a brother and a friend like you.”“He was real. He was CLASS. This is truly horrible news,” longtime Boston sportswriter Bob Ry...

The Orioles are heading to the playoffs. Here’s everything you need to know.

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:49:25 GMT

For the first time since 2014 and just the third time in the past 40 seasons, the Orioles are division champions.Baltimore clinched the American League East title Thursday night with a 2-0 win over the Boston Red Sox.The Orioles had already secured a playoff berth — their first since 2016 — earlier this month, but the division championship is a rare feat for an organization accustomed to finishing in the AL East’s cellar. It also provides the club advantages heading into the postseason, such as a bye in the wild-card round and, thanks to a 101-61 record that is guaranteed to be the best in the circuit, home-field advantage up to at least the World Series.After the Orioles’ 6-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, the focus shifts to the postseason, which begins this week. After the wild-card round ends, the Orioles will play in their first AL Division Series since 2014, hoping to make it to the AL Championship Series for the first time since that same ye...