Category: News
Breanna Stewart scores 32 points, carries Mist to a 80-74 win over Kelsey Plum and Phantom in Unrivaled final
MEDLEY, Fla. — She was a two-time state champion in high school coming out of the Syracuse area. She then was a four-time NCAA champion at UConn. She’s won three WNBA titles, three World Cup gold medals, three Olympic gold medals, even two EuroLeague titles.
And now, add an Unrivaled title to the mix — a league that she co-founded.
Breanna Stewart has won it all.
Stewart and Mist are the queens of Unrivaled for 2026, topping Phantom 80-74 in the championship game Wednesday night to cap the league’s second season. Stewart scored 32 points, setting the tone by scoring Mist’s first 12 points of the second half and her team — which went 0-2 against Phantom in the regular season — wouldn’t trail again.
“What I’ll remember the most about this Mist team is we might not be the loudest, but we’re going to work the hardest,” said Stewart, who was picked as MVP of the final — and whose team will split a $600,000 winners’ pool.
It ended somewhat controversially: an offensive foul on Stewart was overturned to a block on review, giving her a free throw to win the title. Stewart swished the shot, and confetti fell from the roof in celebration.
“Just focused on doing it for my team,” Stewart said.
Kelsey Plum carried Phantom with 40 points on 14-for-21 shooting, along with six rebounds and five assists.
It was a brilliant effort — but Stewart and Mist had just a bit too much. Arike Ogunbowale had 19 and Allisha Gray scored 12 for Mist, while Kiki Iriafen scored 13 and Tiffany Hayes had 12 for Phantom.
“There was complete faith in this group,” Mist coach Zach O’Brien said. “I’m just glad we got it done.”
Stewart and Napheesa Collier are credited as the co-founders of the league, one that if nothing else has filled a void on the calendar for the women’s pro game.
“I think that there was a space that wasn’t kind of being used as far as what professional women’s basketball players were doing,” Stewart said. “We used to have a seven-month blackout period where you didn’t know what these professional basketball players were doing. And now you know.”
The question is what comes next.
The WNBA and its players do not have a labor agreement for next season, one that is slated — at this point — to start in about two months. The WNBA has told the players’ union that it needs to get a deal in place by this coming Tuesday to start the season on time.
And for now, there’s no indication that’ll happen. That means the Mist-Phantom final could be the last professional women’s game in the U.S. for a while.
Unrivaled — a 3-on-3, full-court game played on a 72-foot floor, shorter than an NBA or college court — sells itself on being fast-paced, with an 18-second shot clock, 7-minute quarters and plenty of open space for players to create.
The title game didn’t disappoint in that regard.
They were the top two seeds entering the playoffs — Phantom 1, Mist 2 — and Wednesday was back and forth. It was 24-24 after one quarter, 43-43 at the half, neither team having led by more than seven at any point.
Mist led 68-62 going to the fourth, an untimed final quarter where 11 points get added to the leading score as the end-of-game target.
To win the title: first team to 79 wins. Mist scored the first six points of the final quarter, going up by 12. Plum answered with five straight points, pushing her total to 35 for the night and getting Phantom within 74-67.
But Mist held the lead the rest of the way, and Stewart — as she has so many times — had a title to savor.
“It was our goal from Day One to be here, to be on this podium,” O’Brien said.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/04/unrivaled-final-breanna-stewart-kelsey-plum/
Adoni Vassilakis, whose four older brother played for Lockport, leads Marist past Porters. ‘Meant everything.’
Adoni Vassilakis grew up going to Lockport basketball games, watching his four older brothers all play for the Porters.
When it was his turn to go to high school, though, Vassilakis took a different path and headed to Marist.
With a last chance for postseason glory at stake, his hometown team stood in the way. And the senior guard looked at it as the ultimate must-win.
“This game meant everything,” Vassilakis said. “I couldn’t lose or I’d hear it for the rest of my life.”
Vassilakis won’t have to listen to any smack talk from family or friends.
He produced a well-rounded effort Wednesday night with eight points, six rebounds and six assists as Marist rolled to a 59-33 win over Lockport in a Class 4A Joliet West Sectional semifinal.
Marist’s Adoni Vassilakis (0) reacts after forcing a jump ball against Lockport’s Nojus Venckus during a Class 4A Joliet West Sectional semifinal game on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Sean King / Daily Southtown)
Stephen Brown, a North Carolina State football recruit, led the second-seeded RedHawks (29-5) with 18 points and 13 rebounds. TJ Tate and Charles Barnes added seven points apiece.
Barnes also contributed 10 rebounds for Marist, which plays at 7 p.m. Friday against top-seeded Homewood-Flossmoor (29-3) in the sectional final..
“This was awesome,” Vassilakis said. “It’s definitely nice to get that weight off my shoulders that I had coming into this game. I think we played a great game. Lockport is a good team still.
“Our size just outmatched them. You can’t teach that.”
Marist’s Adoni Vassilakis (0) pushes the ball up the court against Lockport’s Grady Ruane (32) during a Class 4A Joliet West Sectional semifinal game on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Sean King / Daily Southtown)
Nedas Venckus finished with eight points and seven rebounds for Lockport (27-6), which was playing in a sectional game for the first time in 15 years. Nojus Venckus chipped in six points.
Marist shut out the Porters in the first quarter and led 24-1 five minutes into the second quarter.
Brown confirmed the RedHawks were extra fired up to play for Vassilakis.
“We had some beef with them before the game,” Brown said. “Our teammate, Adoni Vassilakis, this is his neighborhood school. So we knew we were going to go out there and dominate those guys for him. We wanted to go out there and play for him.”
Marist’s Adoni Vassilakis (0) shoots a free throw against Lockport during a Class 4A Joliet West Sectional semifinal game on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Sean King / Daily Southtown)
Vassilakis acknowledged it was a tough decision to go elsewhere after his family developed such a connection with Lockport basketball.
Ultimately, he knew he needed to go his own way.
“Going to Lockport games and watching my brothers, it was always my thing,” he said. “When they heard I wasn’t going there, they were pretty upset.
“I knew I had to do what was best for me at the end of the day. Obviously, you see which school is the better school.”
Marist’s Adoni Vassilakis (0) throws a pass to the corner as Lockport’s Nedas Venckus defends during a Class 4A Joliet West Sectional semifinal game on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Sean King / Daily Southtown)
Vassilakis still has close relationships with some of the Lockport players, including the Venckus brothers.
“The twins, I work out with them all summer, so I know them pretty well,” Vassilakis said. “I know their games. That helped me when I was guarding them because I know their tendencies and what they want to do with the ball.”
That knowledge certainly paid off as Marist’s defense frustrated the Porters all night. Lockport missed its first 16 shots.
The Porters got going in the third quarter, however, scoring 19 points and pulling within 41-28. But the RedHawks scored the first 11 points of the fourth to erase any doubts.
Marist’s Adoni Vassilakis (0) tries to block the shot of Lockport’s Nojus Venckus during a Class 4A Joliet West Sectional semifinal game on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Sean King / Daily Southtown)
Marist coach Brian Hynes felt his team played inspired basketball.
“We were lucky enough to get Adoni to come to Marist,” Hynes said. “For what that kid has meant to this program and me and his teammates, to say that we were going to do this one for Adoni, you saw how hard they played that first half.
“I’ve never seen my kids play that hard. It was unbelievable. It was all for Adoni.”
Vassilakis certainly appreciated it. Bragging rights are all his now.
“A lot of my friends go to Lockport,” he said. “They were talking before the game. Now I can be like, ‘I told you.’ I told them this was going to happen.
“I finally was able to go out and show it to them.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/04/adoni-vassilakis-marist-lockport-boys-basketball/
How Operation Epic Fury Unfolded
How Operation Epic Fury Unfolded
Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The Pentagon had been choreographing a prospective massive attack on Iran since 1980, but it wasn’t until December 2025 that U.S. President Donald Trump, after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, told military planners to give him that devastating option in case the fundamentalist Shia regime refused to end its uranium enrichment program.
Illustration by The Epoch Times, Public Domain, Shutterstock
With that request, the countdown to Operation Epic Fury kicked off.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine told reporters during a March 2 press conference that with the president’s December request, the Pentagon began “setting the force and setting the theater” and shifted forces into place over the previous 30 days to “provide the president with credible options should action be required.”
After U.S. negotiators, led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, left Geneva on Feb. 26 without concessions from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the die was cast.
The next day, the president called the Pentagon from Air Force One as it was en route to Corpus Christi, Texas, where he was scheduled to campaign for Republican primary candidates.
Caine recalled the exact moment he got the call: “H hour,” a military term for the time at which an operation begins, was 3:38 p.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 27, when the Pentagon “received the final go order from President Trump.”
“The president directed, and I quote: ‘Operation Epic Fury is approved. No aborts. Good luck,’” Caine said.
With that one call, he said, “across the globe, [U.S. military] operation centers came alive,” and Adm. Brad Cooper, Central Command commander at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, assumed operational command in the theater.
When Trump issued the “go order” at 3:38 p.m. Feb. 27, it was just after midnight Feb. 28 in Tehran. In the nearly 10 hours between H hour and the actual launch of the attack, Caine said, “in the region, every element of the joint force made their final preparations.”
“Air defense batteries readied themselves, checking their systems to respond to Iranian attacks,” he said. “Pilots and crews rehearsed their strike packages for the final time. Air crews began loading their final weapons, and two carrier strike groups began to move towards their launching point.”
“As dawn crept up, across the Central Command [area of operations], skies surged to life,” Caine said.
“More than 100 aircraft launched from land and sea—fighters, tankers, airborne early warning, electronic attack, bombers from the states, and unmanned platforms—forming a single synchronized wave.”
That wave arrived over Iran at 1:15 a.m. EST, 9:45 a.m. in Tehran.
That timeline was accelerated by “a trigger event conducted by the Israeli Defense Forces, enabled by the U.S. intelligence community” from the standard night attack to a mid-morning opening salvo that killed Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and up to 48 of the nation’s military leaders at a Tehran compound.
Illustration by The Epoch Times, Public Domain
That was among more than 1,000 targets struck in the first 24 hours of the aerial, missile, and drone assault.
“The full strength of America’s armed forces came together in a unified purpose against a capable and determined adversary,” Caine said.
“This deployment included thousands of service members from all branches, hundreds of advanced fourth- and fifth-generation fighters, dozens of refueling tankers, the Lincoln and Ford carrier strike groups and their embarked air wings, sustained flow of munitions, fuel supplies … all supported with command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance network. And the flow of forces continues today.”
The nation’s highest-ranking military officer laid out the order of battle and what forces, as of March 2, were engaged in Operation Epic Fury, a rapid assembly of forces that “demonstrated the joint forces ability to adapt and project power at the time and place of [the United States’] choosing” that included “several combat firsts” to be made public “at some point in the future.”
Before the first missile struck, Caine said, “the first movers” were Space Force, Army, and Air Force electronics and cyber warfare technicians “layering non-kinetic effects, disrupting and degrading and blinding Iran’s ability to see, communicate, and respond.”
With Iranian communications disrupted and its air defenses “without the ability to see, coordinate, or respond effectively,” U.S. and Israeli air forces, with “swift, precise, and overwhelming strikes,” established local air superiority immediately, he said, setting the stage for a campaign the Pentagon maintains it can sustain, and expand if needed, for weeks.
Combat Firsts
With Iranian air defenses hacked or blinded before the opening salvo, the assault began with waves of Tomahawk cruise missiles—long-range precision weapons capable of striking targets hundreds of miles inland—launched by the aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and USS Gerald R. Ford in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and their battlegroup destroyers.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, which had been deployed to the region in June 2025 during the 12-Day War that badly damaged, but did not destroy, Iran’s uranium enrichment program and was then dispatched to the southern Caribbean to lead Operation Southern Spear off Venezuela, was ordered back to the Sixth Fleet in January and is now in its eighth month of sustained operations.
It is to be relieved eventually by the USS George H.W. Bush, a Nimitz-class carrier undergoing post-overhaul sea trials.
With missiles outbound, hundreds of Air Force F-15s, F-16s, and stealth F-22 Raptors merged with carrier-launched F/A-18 Hornets, stealth F-35s, and EA-18G electronic warfare jets in the massive aerial attack against Iranian air defenses and missile-launch sites.
The fighters were later joined by Air Force stealth B-2 Spirit bombers that flew 17 hours from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, which had struck suspected nuclear complexes with 30,000-pound “penetrator” munitions in June 2025.
In the opening phases of the Feb. 28 assault, they targeted ballistic missile sites with 2,000-pound precision-guided bombs, confirming that the focus was on degrading Iran’s air defenses and communications.
Ground-based Army precision strike missiles from the M142 high-mobility artillery rocket system mounted on “shoot and scoot” mobile launchers added to the fray, lobbing short-range ballistics into Iran from bases in the Gulf states, the first time the short-range ballistic missile system was used in combat.
The Pentagon has acknowledged that Operation Epic Fury is also the debut of a new low-cost uncrewed combat attack system (LUCAS) drone—a one-way “suicide” drone reverse-engineered to mimic Iran’s Shahed 136 drone, which it has exported en masse to Russia for use in Ukraine.
Among the forces participating in the attack are Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drones carrying Hellfire missiles and guided bombs, twin-engine A-10 attack aircraft directed by E-3 Sentry and E-2 Hawkeye airborne surveillance and EA-11A BACN “Wi-Fi in the sky” reconnaissance jets, and KC-135 and KC-46 aerial refueling tankers.
Under attack from Iranian and Shia militias, there are about 2,400 U.S. soldiers in Syria and Iraq, including in Erbil, Iraq.
About 2,000 are from the Iowa National Guard, who are to be relieved by a unit from the 10th Mountain Division this spring.
At least 250 guardsmen left Iraq in mid-February, and on Feb. 27—before the attack was launched—the Iowa National Guard announced that 650 more were headed home.
It is uncertain what their status is now.
The U.S. base in Erbil is among installations across the region under sporadic Iranian and militia attacks.
Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth have not ruled out dispatching “boots on the ground,” although there is no indication that Army and Marine infantry forces have been ordered to deploy.
Read the rest here…
Tyler Durden
Wed, 03/04/2026 – 23:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/how-operation-epic-fury-unfolded
No. 15 Purdue rallies past Nick Martinelli and Northwestern 70-66
C.J. Cox scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 48 seconds left that helped No. 15 Purdue edge Nick Martinelli and Northwestern 70-66 on Wednesday in Evanston.
Cox outlasted Martinelli in a memorable duel in the final minutes, sending Purdue to a sorely needed victory. The Boilermakers (23-7, 13-6 Big Ten) had lost two in a row and three of four overall.
Trey Kaufman-Renn added 11 points and 10 rebounds, shaking off a shoulder injury in the second half. Fletcher Loyer finished with 10 points.
Martinelli, a senior playing his final home game, scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half. The Big Ten’s leading scorer moved into seventh on the school’s career list with 1,687 points, passing Northwestern assistant coach Bryant McIntosh.
Jayden Reid scored 16 points for the Wildcats (13-17, 5-14), who had won three in a row.
Northwestern was in control before Purdue got back in the game with a 9-0 run in the second half. Cox tied it at 43 on a layup with 13:22 remaining.
Braden Smith was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made three free throws to give the Boilermakers a 65-63 lead with 1:33 left. But the Wildcats moved back in front on Jordan Clayton’s contested 3 as the shot clock expired.
Cox then put Purdue ahead to stay on a 3 with 48 seconds remaining. Following a Northwestern turnover, Smith helped close it out with two free throws with 12 seconds left.
The Boilermakers shot 62.5% (15 for 24) from the field in the second half, compared to 45.8% (11 for 24) for the Wildcats.
Northwestern led by 11 before settling for a 34-25 lead at the break. Reid scored nine points in the first half on 4-for-5 shooting.
Up next
Purdue hosts Wisconsin on Saturday.
Northwestern visits Minnesota on Saturday.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/04/northwestern-purdue-nick-martinelli-senior-night/
Tiros libres de Quentin Grimes al final ayudan a 76ers, que condenan al Jazz a 7ma derrota seguida
FILADELFIA (AP) — Quentin Grimes encestó dos tiros libres para desempatar con 16,4 segundos restantes, Tyrese Maxey anotó 25 puntos y los mermados 76ers de Filadelfia superaron el miércoles 106-102 al Jazz de Utah.
Grimes terminó con 16 puntos y Jabari Walker aportó 22 a la causa de los 76ers, que no contaron con Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe ni el suspendido Paul George.
Keyonte George anotó 30 puntos por el Jazz, que ha perdido siete partidos consecutivos.
Filadelfia, que llegó al compromiso en el sexto puesto de la carrera por los playoffs de la Conferencia Este, perdía por 100-94 con 4:51 minutos por jugar después de que George encestó un triple. Pero Utah falló sus siguientes seis tiros de campo, y los Sixers empataron a 100 con una volcada tras un rebote ofensivo de Adem Bona con 1:50 minutos por jugar.
Una bandeja de Isaiah Collier 46 segundos después puso al Jazz arriba por dos puntos, pero Grimes empató mediante una penetración con 46,8 segundos restantes. Después de que George falló un tiro de larga distancia por Utah, Grimes convirtió ambos tiros libres tras recibir una falta.
El entrenador del Jazz, Will Hardy, no pidió tiempo muerto, y un tiro de Kyle Filipowski completamente solo desde larga distancia no entró.
Embiid se perdió su tercer partido consecutivo por una distensión en el oblicuo derecho.
_____
Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Haitiano fallece en centro de detención en EEUU con dolor de muelas sin tratar, dice su hermano
FLORENCE, Arizona, EE.UU. (AP) — Un haitiano recluido durante meses en un centro de detención de inmigración de Arizona murió en un hospital el lunes después de no recibir atención por una infección dental, declaró su hermano el miércoles.
Emmanuel Damas, de 56 años, le dijo al personal médico del Centro Correccional de Florence que le dolía una muela a mediados de febrero, pero no fue enviado a un dentista, según su hermano, Presly Nelson.
Nelson cree que el personal del centro no se tomó en serio las quejas de su hermano, aunque se trataba de una afección tratable. Nelson manifestó que esperaría una muerte así en países con menor acceso a la atención médica, pero no en Estados Unidos.
“Como país — ahora soy estadounidense — creo que podemos hacerlo mejor que eso”, manifestó.
Damas figura entre al menos nueve personas que han muerto este año bajo custodia del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE, por sus siglas en inglés).
El Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS, por sus iniciales en inglés) no respondió de momento a correos electrónicos solicitándole sus comentarios. El ICE había indicado que esperaba emitir un comunicado de prensa el miércoles.
Más temprano, funcionarios del ICE anunciaron la muerte del mexicano Alberto Gutiérrez Reyes, quien había estado en un centro de detención del ICE en California y falleció en el hospital el 27 de febrero después de reportar dolor en el pecho y falta de aire.
La concejal Christine Ellis, de la ciudad de Chandler —una estadounidense de origen haitiano que es enfermera titulada—, señaló que la familia de Damas se comunicó con ella después de su muerte.
“Como profesional de la salud, estoy absolutamente consternada de que hubiera personal con licencia médica trabajando allí y permitiera que esas cosas sucedieran”, manifestó Ellis. “No me parece lógico”.
En un informe de la Oficina del Médico Forense del Condado Maricopa aparecía el miércoles que la causa de la muerte de Damas estaba “pendiente”.
Ellis indicó que Damas fue puesto bajo custodia del ICE en septiembre y poco después fue trasladado al Centro Correccional de Florence, de seguridad media, donde permaneció detenido varios meses, incluso después de que se le negara su solicitud de asilo.
CoreCivic, una empresa penitenciaria con fines de lucro que opera el centro de Florence, no respondió a los correos electrónicos solicitándole comentarios.
———
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Why The GOP Could Defy Precedent And Win The Midterms
Why The GOP Could Defy Precedent And Win The Midterms
Historically, the party in power almost always loses seats in midterm elections. There are only two exceptions to this rule. In 1934, under Franklin D. Roosevelt, and then in 2002, under George W. Bush. Are there signs that 2026 could be another precedent-shattering year? A new Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll survey conducted late last month suggests it could be.
The poll has the generic congressional ballot tied at 50-50. Not only are these numbers on their face bad for the Democratic Party, but they also represent a significant shift from the Harvard CAPS/Harris January poll, when Republicans trailed Democrats by eight points.
The shift in the horse race is striking on its own. Perhaps the real question is why the GOP appears to have a fighting chance this year of defying precedent.
Pollsters handed respondents sample messages from both parties and asked whether they found them believable. 54% called the Republican pitch credible: “Republicans say that they are returning responsibility to government by arresting criminals, closing the borders, keeping taxes low, and lowering energy costs. We can’t go back to the Democrats, who were allowing our cities and way of life to deteriorate and prices on energy and food to soar while fraud took billions and billions of dollars of their giveaway programs.”
Only 48% said the same of the Democratic counter, which promised free housing, free transportation, healthcare for all, free student loan relief, and a shakedown of billionaires to pay for it. Among likely midterm voters, the GOP message drives a 46-37 advantage in vote intent. The Democratic freebie platform produces a net one-point edge for Democrats among the same group — a rounding error.
Does that mean things can’t change? Not all at. In fact, 61% of respondents said they’d be receptive to the message that “we need to stop Donald Trump. He is a runaway dictator, and we need a check on his power by returning the Congress to the Democrats. His tariffs are increasing prices, and he is off on foreign adventures.” That certainly implies that Democrat messaging can work; however, after both parties’ full messaging was laid out to poll respondents, Republicans moved to a 51-49 lead on the ballot, a two-point GOP shift.
Trump’s approval also gives the GOP signs of hope. His net approval improved from -6 points in January to -3 in February. Among likely midterm voters, he’s net positive at 50-47. The trajectory matters as much as the snapshot, and it’s up.
Beneath the horse race, the structural terrain looks even less hospitable for Democrats.
On economic management, voters trust the Trump administration over congressional Democrats 53-47. On whether today’s economy reflects Biden-era or Trump-era policy, 59% say Trump, yet 52% say things are better now than under Biden. Republicans are credited and rewarded for that, a double-win for the GOP. While both parties’ approval ratings are underwater, the GOP edges out the Democratic Party by three points.
The policy map reinforces the GOP’s positioning for the midterms. Lowering prescription drug prices commands a staggering 80% support. Deporting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes earns 75%. A full-scale crackdown on federal fraud comes in at 71%. Capping credit-card interest rates at 10% pulls 69%, and strengthening border security to close the border draws 67%. The same pattern showed up with President Trump’s State of the Union proposals. Banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks garnered 72% support, while federal retirement matching accounts attracted 70%.
On the issue of election integrity, it’s all great numbers for the GOP. Support for national voter ID gets 81% support. Removing non-citizens from voter rolls comes in at 80%. Requiring proof of citizenship to vote earns 75%. The SAVE America Act, which packages those provisions together, wins 71% overall support, including backing from half of Democrats and 69% of independents. When voters are asked to choose what matters more, 54% say preventing fraud outweighs maximizing access. Democrats have bet heavily that voter-integrity legislation is a political loser. This poll says otherwise.
The ideological fundamentals aren’t moving in the left’s direction either. Capitalism beats socialism 59-41 as voters’ preferred economic system, with 76% saying America should run mostly as a free-enterprise country. 91% say people should own their own homes and private property. 84% want grocery stores to be private, not state-run. This is not good news for the party of Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Zohran Mamdani.
None of this means November is a lock for the GOP. Eight months is a lifetime in American politics. But the picture that emerges from this data is of a Republican Party whose core arguments are resonating with a majority of the public, giving them a real chance to defy precedent.
Keep in mind that the poll was taken before Iran… so the next one should be interesting.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 03/04/2026 – 22:50
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/why-gop-could-defy-precedent-and-win-midterms
Manager de Bravos dice estar decepcionado por Profar, pero la suspensión abre opciones
Por CHARLES ODUM
Walt Weiss, manager de los Bravos de Atlanta, está decidido a mantener una perspectiva optimista, pese a manifestar su decepción tras el castigo que marginará a Jurickson Profar de toda la temporada 2026.
Las Grandes Ligas suspendieron a Profar el martes después de su segunda prueba positiva por una sustancia para mejorar el rendimiento.
Estaba proyectado que Profar, jardinero y bateador designado, fuera titular habitual, quizá como el segundo bate detrás del venezolano Ronald Acuña Jr., en la alineación de Atlanta. Weiss habló con reporteros antes del juego de exhibición del miércoles contra Colombia en North Port, Florida, y señaló que los Bravos podían sobreponerse a la baja de Profar, del mismo modo que ganaron la Serie Mundial de 2021 tras perder a Acuña por una lesión de rodilla.
“La moraleja de la historia es que probablemente saldrá algo bueno de las malas noticias”, comentó Weiss. “Suele pasar así. Alguien va a dar un paso al frente, alguien va a tener una oportunidad. En 2021, el día que perdimos a Ronald, nadie elige esa opción. Y nadie está eligiendo esta opción. Pero, ¿saben qué? De verdad creo que algo bueno saldrá de esto”.
La oficina del comisionado informó que Profar dio positivo por testosterona exógena y sus metabolitos. Al tratarse de una segunda infracción, la suspensión de Profar fue de 162 juegos.
Weiss dijo que tiene que prepararse para estar sin Profar toda la temporada, aunque el pelotero apelará la suspensión.
Seleccionado al Juego de Estrellas en 2024, Profar fue suspendido por 80 juegos el 31 de marzo del año pasado tras una prueba positiva por gonadotropina coriónica (hCG), una hormona que ayuda a la producción de testosterona. Entonces emitió un comunicado en el que enfatizó: “Nunca tomaría voluntariamente una sustancia prohibida, pero asumo toda la responsabilidad y acepto la decisión de las mayores”.
El receptor Drake Baldwin, Novato del Año de la Liga Nacional en 2025, fue el bateador designado el miércoles. Weiss dijo que espera que ese puesto sea “bastante flexible” sin Profar.
Weiss insistió en que la suspensión de Profar “no cambia nada de lo que hacemos aquí. Nos estamos preparando para nuestra temporada, y no cambia nada de nuestro campamento. Se crearán oportunidades por esto. Ese es el mensaje, y tenemos un grupo profesional. Lo están manejando muy bien y están muy concentrados”.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
El Thunder vence 103-100 a los Knicks con 28 puntos de Holmgren y 26 de Gilgeous-Alexander
NUEVA YORK (AP) — Chet Holmgren anotó 28 puntos y capturó ocho rebotes, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sumó 26 unidades y el Thunder de Oklahoma City superó por poco a los Knicks de Nueva York 103-100 la noche del miércoles.
Holmgren igualó su mejor marca personal con seis triples y Lu Dort añadió 16 unidades para el Thunder, que se recuperó después de que los Knicks tomaran la delantera con un tercer cuarto de 40 puntos, volvió a ponerse arriba al inicio del cuarto periodo y administró una pequeña ventaja el resto del camino.
Jalen Brunson y OG Anunoby fallaron intentos de triple para empatar en la última posesión, mientras Oklahoma City logró su cuarta victoria consecutiva y cortó la racha de tres triunfos seguidos de Nueva York.
Karl-Anthony Towns tuvo 17 tantos y 17 rebotes por los Knicks. Brunson aportó 16 puntos y un máximo de la temporada de 15 asistencias, pero encestó apenas 5 de 18. Anunoby también terminó con 16 unidades.
El primer enfrentamiento de la temporada entre los campeones de la NBA y un equipo de los Knicks que se quedó a dos victorias de enfrentarlos en las Finales de la NBA tuvo un alto nivel de intensidad. Los Knicks consideraron que los árbitros pasaron por alto lo que debió ser la tercera falta de Gilgeous-Alexander en el primer cuarto, después de que chocó contra Brunson, y un furioso Mike Brown recibió su primera falta técnica como entrenador de los Knicks.
Oklahoma City ganaba 63-48 con 8:45 por jugar en el tercer cuarto antes de que los Knicks empataran con una racha de 24-9 que Brunson coronó cuando su triple entró con un bote favorable. Un triple de Mikal Bridges con 1,2 segundos por jugar le dio a Nueva York una ventaja de 80-77.
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Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Knueppel anota 20, Hornets aplastan 118-89 a Celtics, para hilvanar su 6ta victoria
BOSTON (AP) — Kon Knueppel anotó 20 puntos y los Hornets de Charlotte ampliaron a seis su número de victorias consecutivas, al aplastar el miércoles 118-89 a los Celtics de Boston.
Brandon Miller y LaMelo Ball sumaron 18 puntos cada uno. Coby White terminó con 17 unidades y seis asistencias para ayudar a que Charlotte (32-31) rebasara la marca de .500 por primera vez desde el 26 de octubre.
Los Hornets nunca estuvieron en desventaja y llegaron a ostentar una delantera de hasta 29 puntos. Incurrieron apenas en cinco pérdidas de balón.
Derrick White encabezó a los Celtics con 29 puntos. Jaylen Brown añadió 20 tantos y 11 rebotes, pero la racha de victorias de Boston se frenó en tres.
Los Celtics (41-21) salieron apáticos al disputar su sexto duelo en nueve días. Atinaron apenas el 38% de sus disparos de campo (30 de 79) y cometieron 16 pérdidas de balón que derivaron en 21 puntos de Charlotte.
Boston también estuvo mayormente desacertado desde la línea de 3 puntos, al encestar solo 10 de 36 intentos.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
