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Chad Ryland’s 56-yard field goal sends Patriots past Broncos 26-23 as Denver’s playoff hopes dim

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:06 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Chad Ryland made a career-long 56-yard field goal with 2 seconds left, and the New England Patriots delivered a near-fatal blow to the Denver Broncos’ playoff hopes with a 26-23 stunner Sunday night.The Patriots (4-11) scored a pair of touchdowns in a 6-second span of the third quarter, then fended off a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Broncos (7-8).Ryland’s kick capped a seven-play, 44-yard drive that began with 58 seconds left after the Broncos went three-and-out. Denver had tied it up with a pair of long TD drives and 2-point conversions on its previous two possessions.Ryland came in as the worst full-time starting kicker in the league in field-goal percentage at 65% (13 of 20), and the rookie missed from 47 yards late in the first half on Sunday night. He also missed an extra point in the third quarter.The Broncos were 7 1/2-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, making the Patriots the fourth underdog to win at Empower Field at Mile High...

Nevada tops Georgia Tech 72-64 to win Diamond Head Classic championship

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:06 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — Kenan Blackshear finished with 30 points and Jarod Lucas scored 20 to lead Nevada to a 72-64 victory over Georgia Tech in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic on Sunday night.Blackshear made 11 of 14 shots from the floor and 8 of 11 from the free-throw line for the Wolf Pack (12-1), who have won five in a row. Lucas sank 7 of 13 shots, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Nick Davidson pitched in with nine points and eight rebounds.Baye Ndongo totaled 20 points and eight rebounds to pace the Yellow Jackets (8-4), who had a four-game win streak snapped. Miles Kelly scored 10 on 3-for-15 shooting, including 1 for 9 from distance. Georgia Tech has not won five in a row since November 2021.Lucas sank two 3-pointers and scored 10, Blackshear scored nine and hit a jumper with one second left to give Nevada a 36-30 lead at halftime. Kelly and Ndongo both had eight points at the half for Georgia Tech.The Wolf Pack maintained the lead throughout the second half a...

Chad Ryland's 56-yard field goal sends Patriots past Broncos 26-23 as Denver's playoff hopes dim

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:06 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Bailey Zappe had a feeling this would be the New England Patriots' night when he coughed up the football at his 5-yard line on his very first snap and his defense bailed him out by keeping the Denver Broncos out of the end zone.“It kind of nullifies everything that happened,” Bailey said after helping the Patriots deliver a near-fatal blow to the Broncos' playoff hopes with a 26-23 victory Sunday night.“You don’t want to turn the ball over, but if they don’t get any points, that’s a win, of course,” Zappe said. “To have a defense like we do, I mean it’s phenomenal. It’s just awesome to see those guys play. They’re one of the best — if not the best — defenses in the entire league.”Chad Ryand's career-long 56-yard field goal with two seconds left was the difference for the Patriots (4-11), who scored a pair of touchdowns in a six-second span of the third quarter, then fended off a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Broncos (7-8).Ryland's kick capped a seven-play, 44-yar...

Bill Belichick explains driving force behind Christian Barmore’s breakout season

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:06 GMT

Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore was the best player on the field in one of the team’s best wins of the season Sunday.That was no accident.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots K Chad Ryland finds redemption in game-winning FG at Denver New England Patriots | Patriots QB Bailey Zappe reflects on worst moment of football career after game-winning drive New England Patriots | Patriots wishlist: Clarity, and a great draft pick New England Patriots | Bailey Zappe leads Patriots on first game-winning drive 26-23 over Broncos New England Patriots | Patriots captain Matthew Slater in list of inactives vs. Broncos Barmore has been enjoying a months-long breakout in his third year, highlighted by a three-sack performance in Sunday’s 26-23 upset win at Denver. Barmore also tallied another quarterback hit, posted a team-high eight tackles and drew a holding penalty. The former secon...

China OKs 105 online games in Christmas gesture of support after draft curbs trigger massive losses

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:06 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — China’s press and publications authority has approved 105 new online games, saying it fully supports the industry after proposed curbs caused massive losses last week for investors in major games makers. The National Press and Publication Administration issued a statement on its WeChat social media account Monday saying the approvals by the Game Working Committee of China Music and Digital Association were “positive signals that support the prosperity and healthy development of the online game industry.”Tencent’s “Counter War: Future” and NetEase’s “Firefly Assault” were among games approved.Draft guidelines for curbs on online gaming had caused share prices of video game makers like Tencent and Netease to plunge on Friday, causing losses of tens of billions of dollars and dragging Chinese benchmarks lower. The administration’s guidelines said online games would be banned from offering incentives for daily log-ins or purchases. Other restrictions include l...

Fire breaks out at California home while armed suspect remains inside, police say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:06 GMT

HERMOSA BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A fire started at a California home on Christmas Eve while an armed suspect remained inside the house hours later, authorities told local media.The Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to a 911 call on 11th Street in Hermosa Beach around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, KTLA-TV reported. A witness said neighbors heard an argument and saw a man with a gun who went into the two-story home and refused to surrender to police who arrived at the scene, KTLA reported.A garage at the home caught fire shortly before 5 p.m., KTLA reported. At 9 p.m., police believed the suspect was still alive inside the home, Hermosa Beach Police Chief Paul LeBaron said during a news conference.LeBaron said the suspect’s immediate family members, including children, fled before police arrived, KTLA reported.“They came out and, at that point, the only person left inside that we were aware of was the suspect,” LeBaron said, adding that neighboring homes were evacuated.Police repo...

Afghan schoolgirls are finishing sixth grade in tears. Under Taliban rule, their education is over

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:06 GMT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Bahara Rustam, 13, took her last class at Bibi Razia School in Kabul on Dec. 11 knowing it was the end of her education. Under Taliban rule, she is unlikely to step foot in a classroom again.In September 2021, a month after U.S. and NATO troops withdrew from Afghanistan following two decades of war, the Taliban announced that girls were barred from studying beyond sixth grade. They extended this education ban to universities in December 2022. The Taliban have defied global condemnation and warnings that the restrictions will make it almost impossible for them to gain recognition as the country’s legitimate rulers.Last week, U.N. special envoy Roza Otunbayeva expressed concern that a generation of Afghan girls is falling behind with each day that passes.Last week, an official in the Education Ministry said Afghan girls of all ages are allowed to study in religious schools known as madrassas, which have traditionally been boys-only. But Otunbayeva said it was...

Pakistani police free 290 Baluch activists arrested while protesting extrajudicial killings

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:06 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani police Monday freed 290 Baloch activists who were arrested when they attempted to hold a protest last week in the capital, Islamabad. Their release came days after protest organizers gave authorities a deadline to release all those detained. The activists had traveled 1,600 kilometers (about 1,000 miles) on Thursday from Turbat, a town in Baluchistan province, to protest forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the militancy-ravaged southwest. The protesters were mostly women and some had brought along their children, aged 7-12, when security forces used batons and water canons to disperse and arrest them.They wanted to draw attention to the case of 24-year-old Balaach Mola Bakhsh, who died in November while in police custody in Baluchistan. Authorities said he was killed after militants ambushed the police vehicle transporting him.Police said Bakhsh was carrying explosives when he was arrested. His family insists he is innocent, demanding justi...

The Patriots looked content with overtime. Broncos coach Sean Payton took timeouts until they considered something else.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:06 GMT

Finally, after most of a quarter spent climbing out of a hole they dug themselves, the Broncos had control of Sunday night’s game against lowly New England and a chance to actually win it.Set up first-and-10 at their own 39-yard line with 1 minute, 42 seconds to go in a tie game, the Broncos had several paths to the finish line.They only needed about 25 yards to get to field goal range and give kicker Wil Lutz a chance to win the game.At worst, they should have made it to overtime.Instead, they suffered a crushing 26-23 loss to the Patriots that will sting long after Christmas morning and likely well into an offseason almost sure to arrive without a trip to the playoffs for an eighth straight season.How did it happen? Head coach Sean Payton went from playing conservative in the third quarter to pushing aggression to and past the line of rationality in the final two minutes.Payton as a baseline knows what this team is. He said it himself after the game. It’s a group that has th...

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton into concussion protocol after first-quarter injury

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:06 GMT

The Broncos played the final three-plus quarters of Sunday night’s crushing 26-23 loss to New England without their best weapon in wide receiver Courtland Sutton.Sutton, in the midst of a resurgent season, was knocked out of the game in the second quarter and later was diagnosed with a concussion.That puts him in the league’s mandated protocol for such brain injuries, meaning he’ll have to show no symptoms and clear through several steps in order to return to the playing field down the stretch for the Broncos.Sutton’s final play of the night was Javonte Williams’ short touchdown run late in the first quarter. Sutton put his hands on his helmet momentarily, then celebrated the touchdown by throwing his arms in the air.After that, though, he didn’t return to the game and Brandon Johnson took most of his snaps.“Any time you lose a good player like that — it happened early in the game — there’s a couple adjustments we make and then we go play,” Payton said. “Knock on wood we’ve been hea...