Michelle Kang, owner of the Washington Spirit, is to lead a multi-team women's soccer organisation that includes her National Women's Soccer League team and French club Lyon. The deal comes after American businessman John Textor bought a majority stake in Lyon under his company Eagle Football Holdings, and Kang's agreement with OL Groupe and Eagle Football Holdings, OL Groupe’s majority owner, is subject to NWSL approval. The organisation plans to eventually expand to include other international clubs. OL Groupe recently announced plans to sell the NWSL's OL Reign, with three NWSL clubs currently up for sale.
WHL playoffs: T-Birds cruise past ICE 6-3, lead final series 2-1
The Toronto Star
23-05-17 04:42
The Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the Winnipeg ICE 6-3 in Game 3 of the Western Hockey League Championship Series, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Jeremy Hanzel led Seattle's attack with two goals and an assist, while Kyle Crnkovic, Brad Lambert, Jared Davidson, and Dylan Guenther netted singles. Carson Latimer, Zach Benson, and Zack Ostapchuk scored for the ICE. The Thunderbirds went 2-for-3 with the power play, while the ICE were 1-for-4. Game 4 will take place in Seattle.
St Louis Cardinals player Nolan Arenado hit his fifth home run in five games, but the team lost 3-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers on 25 May. Despite the defeat, Arenado is on course to join Hall of Famers Eddie Mathews and Chipper Jones as major league baseball's only primary third basemen since 1920 to hit 300 home runs with 1,000 runs batted in before playing in 1,500 games. Arenado has hit 319 home runs and batted in 999 runs in 1,424 games. Milwaukee's victory came as Wade Miley, the team's starting pitcher, was forced off the pitch early on with a left lat strain. A Willy Adames RBI double helped the Brewers to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, which was eventually overturned by the Cardinals' Brendan Donovan in the fourth to make the game 2-1. Brewers outfielder Joey Wiemer then hit a home run for Milwaukee in the fifth, setting the stage for Brian Anderson to hit the game-winning home run.
Facing Pressure From China, Can the US Recreate Silicon Valley?
Diplomat
23-05-17 16:04
The Biden administration has announced a $500m tech hub funding scheme as part of its $10bn CHIPS and Science Act. The Regional Technology and Innovation Hub Program has a goal of identifying about 20 US cities or regions as prospective tech hubs and eventually selecting 10 for funding. The scheme aims to bring together industry, universities, state and local governments, economic development organisations, and labour and workforce partners to supercharge ecosystems of innovation for technologies that are essential to economic and national security. Each region will focus on one of the 10 key tech areas identified in the scheme, including AI, robotics, biotechnology, data management, cybersecurity, and energy technology.
The US enjoys the advantage of having many outstanding teaching and research universities across the nation that can serve as anchors for tech hubs. Several recent examples showcase the viability and vibrancy of even the existing regional private-public-academic collaboration. Community colleges are increasingly being enlisted to train a broader base of skilled workers to supply tech enterprises with skilled manpower to fill the new jobs created. Each tech hub will foster US global tech competitiveness in its focus area, while also fostering more regional economic equity. US Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo, said: “You shouldn’t have to move to Silicon Valley if you’re a scientist with a great idea.”
Seattle has a range of high-end homes on the market, offering waterfront living, pastel-coloured Tudor revivals, and architect-designed modern homes. One luxury estate listed with Windermere Real Estate / Luxury Portfolio International is a three-storey, five-bedroom residence in the hilly urban district of Queen Anne. Another property designed by the Beezer Brothers, designed in 1909, is located in the Harvard-Belmont district of Capitol Hill. Sotheby’s International Realty's listing is an updated 8,360 sq ft gated development featuring three en-suite bedrooms and 120ft of beachfront and private dock on Lake Washington.
The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Detroit Tigers 8-0, with Rich Hill pitching six innings of one-hit ball and Austin Hedges driving in three runs. Rodolfo Castro hit a home run and knocked in two runs. The Tigers' Miguel Cabrera, who is due to retire after the season, has struggled to balance the team's needs with giving Cabrera playing time; he is currently batting at .182 with no home runs. Pirates pitcher Ji-Man Choi is expected to return next month while LHP Rob Zastryzny is on a rehab assignment. The Pirates' Johan Oviedo will start the opener of a three-game home series against Arizona, while Detroit's Matthew Boyd will start the opener of a three-game series at Washington.
From sign-stealing to sticky stuff, Yankees work the angles against Blue Jays
CBC
23-05-17 17:55
New York Yankees’ starting pitcher Domingo German was thrown out of last night’s game against Toronto Blue Jays after the umpires searched his hands and found them to be abnormally sticky. German denied the charge, putting it down to sweat and the mound’s rosin bag. Though pitchers have long attempted to gain an edge on batters, this recent controversy has broken out as the MLB begins cracking down on rule-breaking. Seattle and Arizona have both had players suspended this season for breaching substance rules, and German is now likely to face the same penalty. Meanwhile Sportsnet broadcasters have questioned Yankees’ outfielder Aaron Judge’s body language before hitting a home run. Supporters have chided the pundits for their suspicions, however, arguing that sign-stealing is part and parcel of the game. The Yankees will play the Blue Jays in the third of a four-game series tonight.
The former CFO of a Seattle-based startup, Nevin Shetty, has been accused of taking $35m in company funds and using it to invest in cryptocurrency via a platform he owned. He hid the transactions from Fabric, secretly transferring the money to his HighTower Treasury platform, said the federal indictment. The funds invested soon became worthless. Shetty was subsequently fired and is now facing indictment charges on four counts of wire fraud regarding the incident. His lawyer Cooper Offenbecher, said Shetty disputed the accusations, arguing that the catastrophic crypto market crash following his investment lost the money, rather than the decision to invest itself.
Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn and six-time All-Star Tyler Seguin have found success this season playing on separate lines with less ice time. Benn played all 82 regular-season games, with 33 goals and 78 points for his best totals since 2017-18, while Seguin had 50 points in 76 games. Their new roles have been part of a strategy that has benefited the team, as they have the energy to play aggressively while expending a lot of energy to maintain the style of hockey that they have committed to playing.
Yankees pitcher Germán suspended 10 games by MLB for using foreign substance
The Toronto Star
23-05-17 22:44
New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán has been suspended for 10 games and fined by Major League Baseball for violating the sport’s rules prohibiting foreign substances on the mound. The penalty follows Germán's ejection in the fourth inning during Tuesday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays after the home plate umpire said he felt "the stickiest hand I’ve ever felt." Germán denied the allegation, saying he didn't have anything on his hand other than rosin. His ejection was the second this season and the fourth since MLB started its crackdown on grip aids two years ago.
The U.S. Census Bureau has revealed that the migration away from urban areas during the pandemic either slowed or reversed in the second year of the pandemic. It is estimated that in the US, more than half of the 20 largest metropolitan areas lost residents in 2021, while all US metro areas grew just 0.1%. This eased in 2022, as just eight of the 20 largest metro areas recorded a decrease and the growth rate for all US metros reached 0.4%. The areas that saw the largest growth included Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix and Orlando, all of which added over 60,000 new residents.
FC Dallas defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 on Wednesday night, with Jesus Ferreira scoring both goals for Dallas. Pedro Vite scored the lone goal for Vancouver. The win leaves Dallas third in the Western Conference standings, while Vancouver sits in sixth. Ferreira's two goals bring his season tally up to eight, tying him for second place in the league. Vancouver has not won in their last 14 road matches, matching the San Jose Earthquakes for the longest current skid in the league.
National Australia Bank's CEO, Ross McEwan, believes the Reserve Bank of Australia will have to raise interest rates again to fight the threat of inflation, despite the increased pressure the move could place on borrowers. McEwan has noted the Reserve Bank's challenge to determine how to slow quarterly inflation without hurting customers, especially as just 30% of Australian households have mortgages.
The owner of The Anarchist café in Toronto has closed the business and does not recommend starting a business if you are anti-capitalist. Gabriel Sims-Fewer, the owner and sole employee, referred to professional “class traitors” as “pigs,” a reference that did not endear him to the local police force. Writing a farewell note, Sims-Fewer, described the venture as a great success but admitted it had been an exercise in vanity and hubris and complained of being starved of “generational wealth/seed capital from ethically bankrupt sources."
Griner's return, Las Vegas and New York super teams among key WNBA storylines
CBC
23-05-18 20:26
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) will begin its 27th season this weekend, with speculation rife as to which team will come out on top. Super teams such as New York and Las Vegas have been busy signing free agents like former MVP Candace Parker, with Las Vegas a slight favourite to repeat its 2020 championship win. The Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner will also return to the court after missing last season while detained in Russia for drug-related charges. Her team mate, Diana Taurasi, will return for her 19th season as the league’s all-time leading scorer.
No Canada, but the NHL's final four could still be fun
CBC
23-05-18 20:17
The NHL Conference Finals will open this week and the competing teams have resulted in the league billing it as the "southernmost" final four ever as all of the semifinalists are based in Sun Belt states. These comprise Carolina, Dallas, Las Vegas and Florida. None of these teams have been in their current locations for more than 30 years, and the Golden Knights are just five years old. The four franchises have combined to win only two Stanley Cups.
The city council of Bellingham, Washington, has authorised its police to arrest people injecting, ingesting or inhaling drugs on downtown streets. The move followed the council’s acknowledgement that open use of drugs was scaring people away and impacting local businesses, creating zones occupied primarily by drug users and sellers. The council hopes that arrested people can be pushed into treatment programmes. However, experts warn that this approach could simply lead users to flee treatment within 24 hours and also creates further harms such as shame, which force user to conceal their substance use.
Washington state's Lummi tribe is seeking a judicial review of the Canadian government over a major port expansion arguing that a recent supreme court decision means it is owed the same rights of consultation as indigenous groups in Canada. The move could open the door to other US tribes seeking financial compensation from large industrial projects on Canadian soil. "They have to show that they had a historical right at the time of first contact, and that in addition, they’ve been exercising that right continuously since then," said lawyer Doug Rae. The Lummi plan to file an application this week for judicial review of Roberts Bank Terminal 2, a major proposed Vancouver Fraser Port Authority container facility that received federal government approval in late April after a decade-long environmental-review process.
Pete DeBoer, head coach of the Dallas Stars, who was fired from the Vegas Golden Knights after last season, now has the opportunity to beat his old team and qualify for the Stanley Cup Final. Dallas play the Knights in the Western Conference final, the first game of which was held on May 28. Knights coach Bruce Cassidy admitted that DeBoer may have an advantage when it comes to knowing the strengths and weaknesses of Vegas players, and said, tongue-in-cheek, “I’m just putting my feet up and relaxing because those guys have all the information.”
Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis and coach Dave Hakstol have received messages from their players that getting to the playoffs and making a run was great, but there was a missed opportunity to do something really special with the season. Making the playoffs was significant for the second-year franchise, but there was a bitter taste left behind from falling to Dallas. "We think we’ve got a good group and we’re headed in the right direction," said Francis. The team has 10 draft picks and is expected to have a chunk of space under the salary cap in the offseason.
