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For ‘Fired Up Guy’ Merrill Heim, Orioles fandom comes from his heart and his diaphragm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:02 GMT

There’s a lull. It’s the second inning of a scoreless Orioles game at Camden Yards and the sea of orange, which filled in handsomely this particular weeknight, hasn’t fully engaged in the duel yet.Enter Merrill Heim, sensing the early-inning lifelessness.He rises from his season ticket seats of seven years near first base eager to provide resuscitation.He starts with a simple, yet effective, “Let’s go O’s” chant with first baseman Ryan O’Hearn at the plate that quickly catches on in nearby sections. Heim then shares a good-natured back-and-forth with the opposition’s first base coach.Turning back to the crowd, Heim flares his arms wide, beer in hand, to deliver his signature line: “I’m fired up! You fired up?”Now, the Orioles faithful stir when O’Hearn rips the next pitch into right field — the team’s first hit of the night.The energy snowballs when Heim, still on his feet, offers to treat the ...

7 ways the Red Sox can bring fans back in 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:02 GMT

The Red Sox don’t have much to do this offseason.Only hire a replacement for Chaim Bloom, overhaul the roster (again), and reestablish themselves as a legitimate force in the league.It’s a bit like saying “all” a broken-down car needs to run is a new engine, tires, and brakes.While giving themselves what should be an extreme makeover, the Red Sox should also make re-endearing themselves to their fans a priority.Last February, amidst growing perception that the team was losing relevance with its fanbase, team president and CEO Sam Kennedy stood in the Florida sunshine and declared, “If we’re competitive, it’ll take care of any lack of interest.”Days away from their third last-place finish in four years, they now have to work even harder to become relevant and worth fans’ while again.Here are seven ways – ranging from silly to serious – that the Red Sox can get their fans to come back next year and every season after:1. Roof, roof, roof for the home teamIt’s been a long season o...

South Korea parades troops and powerful weapons in its biggest Armed Forces Day ceremony in years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:02 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea paraded thousands of troops and an array of weapons capable of striking North Korea through its capital as part of its biggest Armed Forces Day ceremony in 10 years on Tuesday, as its president vowed to build a stronger military to thwart any provocation by the North.Concerns are growing that North Korea is seeking Russian help in expanding its nuclear arsenal in return for supplying Moscow with conventional arms exhausted by its war with Ukraine.“After looking at your imposing march today, I believe our people would trust you and have faith in our national security,” Yoon Suk Yeol told cheering soldiers at the end of the ceremony in a central Seoul plaza. “I’ll always support you together with our people.”Earlier, South Korea rolled tanks, artillery systems, drones and powerful ballistic missiles capable of hitting all of North Korea through the streets of Seoul, amid steady autumn rains. About 4,000 South Korean troops carrying rifles or flags...

Stock market today: Global shares dip with eyes on the Chinese economy and a possible US shutdown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:02 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares mostly sank Tuesday over worries about a possible U.S. government shutdown and the troubled Chinese economy.France’s CAC 40 lost 0.7% in early trading to 7,076.82. Germany’s DAX fell 0.5% to 15,329.25. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.2% to 7,638.01. U.S. shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures down 0.3% at 34,158.00. S&P 500 futures lost 0.5% to 4,359.25. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 1.1% to finish at 32,315.05. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.5% to 7,038.20. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.3% to 2,462.97. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1.5% to 17,470.31, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.4% to 3,102.27. Investors are watching for Chinese economic indicators being released later in the week. “The Chinese property woes are far from over, as the notorious developer Evergrande defaulted on its 4 billion yuan onshore bond repayment and delayed the restructuring meetings,” said Tina Teng, market...

Olympic doping case involving Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva starts in Switzerland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:02 GMT

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The doping case involving teenage Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva that marred the 2022 Beijing Olympics returned to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Tuesday.The highest court in sports began a closed-door hearing set to last at least three days. Valieva, who was 15 at the Olympics and is now 17, was expected to testify by video link from Russia in a case that was slow-walked in her home country and could now deliver a verdict by the end of the year.Awaiting the outcome are nine American skaters who could become Olympic champions in the team event after finishing second in Beijing behind Valieva and the Russians.Valieva’s defense has been that her positive test for a banned heart medication was caused by accidental contamination — maybe from a glass or plate — by tablets her grandfather claimed he took.The first Russian anti-doping tribunal to judge the case during the Olympics in February 2022 said Valieva and her legal team “intend to conduct ...

UN says cholera and dengue outbreaks have been reported in eastern Sudan as conflict grinds on

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:02 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Outbreaks of cholera and dengue fever have been reported in eastern Sudan, where thousands of people are sheltering as deadly fighting grinds on between the country’s military and a rival paramilitary force, the U.N. health agency said on Tuesday. According to the World Health Organization, there have been 162 suspected cholera cases admitted to hospitals in the province of Qadarif and other areas along the border with Ethiopia. Eighty cases have been confirmed and 10 people have died of cholera, a bacterial infection linked to contaminated food or water, WHO said.Sudan was engulfed in chaos in mid-April, when simmering tensions between the military and a powerful paramilitary group exploded into open warfare in the capital of Khartoum and other areas across the east African nation.The medical charity Doctors Without Borders has set up two centers to treat cholera patients along with two mobile teams in Qadarif. The U.N. health and refugee agencies have renovated ...

Australian prime minister says he’s confident Indigenous people back having their Parliament ‘Voice’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:02 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s prime minister said Tuesday he was confident that Indigenous Australians overwhelmingly support a proposal to create their own representative body to advise Parliament and have it enshrined in the constitution. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s remarks came as Tiwi Islanders cast their votes on making such a constitutional change. They were among the first in early polling that began this week in remote Outback communities, many with significant Indigenous populations. The Oct. 14 referendum is to decide on having the so-called Indigenous Voice to Parliament enshrined in the constitution.“I’m certainly confident that Indigenous Australians will overwhelming be voting ‘yes’ in this referendum,” Albanese told reporters in the city of Adelaide. He said his confidence was based on opinion polling and his interactions with Indigenous people in remote Outback locations.He blamed disinformation and misinformation campaigns for polls showing that...

Powerball jackpot climbs to $835 million after no one beats the odds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:02 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (NEXSTAR) — The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $835 million after no one beat the immense odds Monday night and won the top prize.The winning numbers were: 10, 12, 22, 36, 50 and 4.Three people in Florida and one person in Oregon matched five numbers to win $1 million.With the latest bit of lottery losing, there now have been 29 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner, dating back to July 19 when a player in California won $1.08 billion.That winless streak is due to the miserable odds of winning the Powerball jackpot, at 1 in 292.2 million. It’s those long, long odds that result in such large top prizes, as they cause the jackpot to roll over week after week.The jackpot is the eighth-largest ever, and would need to surpass $1 billion to climb any higher in the record books. The biggest jackpot was a $2.04 billion Powerball prize won in November 2022 in California.$2.04 billion (Powerball): Nov. 7, 2022; California$...

UAlbany women upholding a winner's mentality in 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:02 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The UAlbany women's basketball team held their first practice of the 2023-2024 season today. While the regular season doesn't tip off until November, it hasn't stopped the Great Danes from trying to get a jump on the competition. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! There's a mix of old and new faces on the team as the Great Danes who made an America East championship game appearance last season but lost to Vermont.Fast forward to today, and the Danes have acquired three new players from the transfer portal and returned three players from last season. The Great Danes will have some youth this season, but head coach Colleen Mullen believes that with solid veteran leadership, this year's team will uphold the winning tradition thats been set forth."With a small group of returners, but that just understands our coaching staff level of expectation and what we expect in terms of intensity and communication in prac...

Sold production of high-tech at 355 billion in 2022

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:02 GMT

In 2022, the sold production of high-tech products in the EU reached 355 billion, showing a 10.2% growth compared with the previous year (322 billion in 2021). Over the last decade, there has been an average annual increase of 2.6% (275 billion in 2012).Source dataset: DS-056120, PRODCOM extractionThree categories together constituted nearly three-quarters of the total sales of high-tech products. The largest share was in electronics-telecommunications (26.2%), followed by pharmacy (22.2%) and scientific instruments (20.6%). Aerospace made up 11.5% and non-electrical machinery contributed with 6.1%. The remaining categories, including computers and office machines, chemistry, electrical machinery and armament, each comprised less than 5%.Source dataset: DS-056120,  PRODCOM extractionArmament, despite having the smallest share in total sales of high-tech products, experienced the highest growth over the past decade, averaging 7.0% annually. Scientific instruments and pharmacy grew at...