The Golden State Warriors are destined to win a third consecutive NBA championship and their fourth title in five years, and the Toronto Raptors don't belong here. Those, more so than anything else, are probably the biggest storylines heading into an NBA Finals that are lacking juice if only because the outcome of the series feels inevitable. The Golden State Warriors are destined to win a third consecutive NBA championship and the fourth title in five years, and the Toronto Raptors don't belong here. Those, more so than anything else, are probably the biggest storylines heading into an NBA Finals that are lacking juice if only because the outcome of the series feels inevitable. Much like Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League semifinals, the Raptors have made mockeries of such predictions and produced multiple rallies worthy of a trophy-hoisting side. They're clearly comfortable in the underdog role. The scariest thought for Toronto supporters is that the Warriors can, and likely will, only get better as the series progresses. How many teams in history have been able to add a league and Finals MVP to the squad during the last series of a postseason tournament? A pair of nations, minus the Bay Area, will be behind The North when the proceedings get underway on the night of May 30. Toronto may require all of those individuals on the court to topple the side that dethroned King James after Cleveland's magical run in June 2016. Click here for the top storylines of the NBA Finals. Do the Raptors have a chance? Clearly, Toronto beating the Milwaukee Bucks in four straight outings didn't impress Las Vegas or those putting money on the Finals. Immediately after the Raptors booked a trip to the championship series, Jeff Sherman of SuperBook USA tweeted the Canadian club opened as huge betting underdogs, and, per Bleacher Report , Caesars Palace agreed with that assessment. Bulletin board material is a real thing for athletes of all levels, and Toronto head coach Nick Nurse won't have to search long and hard to find doubters and predictions of his team's impending doom. Then again, such alleged motivation didn't do much for the Portland Trail Blazers. Boogie's health Stephen Curry and the rest of the Warriors played like a "2K" cheat code for much of the romp over Portland, which makes it practically unfair they have two All-Stars, one of whom is also an MVP, rested and ready to return from injuries. As Logan Murdock of NBC Sports Bay Area wrote on May 23, DeMarcus Cousins (torn left quad) practiced the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend, and it's possible the 28-year-old center will be available to give Golden State minutes during Game 1. Even having Cousins on the bench at tipoff would be a gigantic boost for a side in need of additional options vs. Toronto's size and talent underneath. The gas tank is nearing 'E' What the Raptors are doing is literally historic. ESPN's Paul Hembekides tweeted Toronto is the first team in 50 years to make the NBA Finals without a top-10 draft selection playing any minutes for the club during the playoffs. The Philadelphia 76ers pushed the Raptors to a seven-game series ended via a Kawhi Leonard walk-off bucket, and Toronto then had to recover from a 2-0 deficit to down the Bucks. As much as Toronto's bench improved throughout the series vs. Milwaukee (more on that later), that lineup has to be gassed at this point of the competition. Meanwhile, Golden State last played on May 20. Golden State's surprising depth One reason some, myself included , were convinced Portland would, at the very least, take a couple of games from the Warriors was because the Trail Blazers possessed more overall depth from top to bottom, on paper. Whoops. With Cousins and Kevin Durant sidelined, Kevon Looney became a key contributor off the bench, averaging 10.0 PPG and twice hitting double figures in scoring during the series. Jordan Bell proved he could start for a championship team in a closeout game and also average over 13 positive minutes a night. Guard Quinn Cook appeared in all four contests against Portland. Shaun Livingston is an efficient option, one who can enter the lineup if Andre Iguodala and others are banged up, during what may be his swan song . Add in Cousins and Durant, and Golden State isn't hurting for choices. Toronto's resurrected bench Back on May 10, William Lou of Yahoo Sports referred to the Toronto reserves as "unplayable," and rightfully so, as the club's once dependable "bench mob" became an unreliable unit during the campaign. As analyst Kurt Helin pointed out, those individuals showed up when it mattered most against the Bucks. Per Justin Kubatko of StatMuse and Basketball-Reference, Fred VanVleet drained 14 of 17 three-pointers in the final three games of the conference finals, and as ESPN tweeted, he shot 68 percent from the field and averaged 16 points per game over those contests. He, Norman Powell and Serge Ibaka all hit double figures in the Game 4 win over Milwaukee, and VanVleet locating his Sixth Man of the Year form is critical if Toronto has any realistic hope of making this series more than a formality. Durant's health Those looking for a hot take about the Warriors playing better without Kevin Durant (right calf) and not needing him can just move along. Durant, out for Game 1, owned the Cleveland Cavaliers in back-to-back Finals appearances, averaging over 35 points per game in 2017 and 28.8 PPG last year en route to earning a pair of Finals MVP honors. Golden State doesn't need Durant to beat Toronto, but one couldn't produce a better closer if he's capable of playing during the second half of the series. On May 28, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported Durant traveled with the team to Toronto, suggesting the 30-year-old may be closer to returning than some thought ahead of the holiday weekend. Stopping Draymond The Splash Brothers and Durant, assuming the latter actually plays, are going to get theirs, and Toronto will have to live with that reality. Keeping Draymond Green in check could ultimately determine whether or not Toronto takes part in more than five games against Golden State. Green, a proven big-game performer, averaged over 16 points in those four victories over Portland, and he's a defensive nuisance who can handle any assignment coach Steve Kerr hands to him. One envisions Green as the victor in one-on-one battles against Pascal Siakam, Serge Ibaka or Marc Gasol, and that's not accounting for his abilities to rattle opposing players and force them into committing costly mistakes while losing their heads. If Green plays as he did in the conference finals, he'll be a series MVP candidate. Steph's form As of the typing of this sentence, no healthy individual is playing the sport better than Stephen Curry. Along with shooting over 42.5 percent from three-point range, Curry averaged 36.5 points per game without Durant on the floor in the victories over Portland. One thing missing from the three-time champion's resume is a definitive Finals moment   Iguodala and Durant earned MVP honors during Golden State's current run. The idea Curry somehow wouldn't be able to take a game over with his shooting if Toronto also had to concentrate on stopping or limiting a healthy Durant is downright ridiculous. Maybe the biggest worry for the Warriors is Curry will have cooled during the long break. Home-court heroes If the Raptors lose either of their first two home games, you can close the curtain on the Finals. Those who attended Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals between the Warriors and Cavaliers can attest to the atmosphere and noise inside Quicken Loans Arena and how those Cleveland fans would not let LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and the Cavs get eliminated at home. Toronto is a basketball town and will be more so than ever before on May 30, and those Scotiabank Arena crowds inside and outside of the venue will have ample energy to create a unique and special home-court advantage. The last dance? Unless you elect to completely ignore rumors about offseason stories, you know all about the forecasts of Golden State's inevitable demise. Kevin Durant continues to be linked with the Big Apple on a daily basis. Klay Thompson could also leave the Bay Area via free agency in search of a career-high payday. The previously mentioned Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston could retire as champions. DeMarcus Cousins can pick where he'll play home games next season come July. The Chicago Bulls of the 1990s, Peyton Manning and David Robinson all exited stages on top of their professions. Golden State can do the same if the squad is, in fact, on the final notes of its last dance. Can Kawhi be king? The Cavaliers beat the Warriors in 2016 because both Kyrie Irving and LeBron James scored 41 points in Game 5, and the two also delivered magical moments in the last minutes of Game 7. Kawhi Leonard isn't James and he doesn't have an Irving, and being merely the best two-way player on the court won't be good enough for the Raptors to pull this off. Leonard posted over 30 points against a stellar Milwaukee defense on four occasions, and there's no reason to believe he can't do so when facing difficult matchups against Iguodala or Green. Toronto dropped the first two of those games, though, a reminder that one person alone can't and won't beat Golden State. Golden State is simply better...right? The 2018-19 Warriors are a living reminder that, minus injuries that impact teams through June, the NBA regular season is largely meaningless. Great teams can and do flip the figurative switch. Remember that Golden State appeared vulnerable on the night of May 10 before dumping Portland in four contests. While every ESPN analyst predicted Golden State's series win, none called the sweep ahead of time. Somehow, the best team of the decade is exceeding expectations and peaking without Durant. The Warriors would be massive favorites against any team in the league. Prediction Steve Kerr knows the looks and feels of a dynastic run coming to an end. After all, he was part of the Chicago Bulls team that won the 1998 NBA Finals, a sixth title that decade, before Michael Jordan and others went their separate ways. He's the perfect head coach to match wits with Nick Nurse, prevent his squad from celebrating a championship it hasn't yet earned and keep all eyes focused on the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy rather than on potential summer moves and new homes. Those predicting a Toronto upset are probably voting with their hearts more than their heads. Any existing cracks in the Golden State foundation were patched ahead of the sweep over the Trail Blazers. Durant may remain a spectator in June if only because the Warriors wrap things up before he's ready to return to meaningful action. The pick is Golden State in five because Toronto takes one on its own court.


At least it wasn't a bear or something. Buzz60's Tony Spitz has the details.


While all eyes in Los Angeles were on Anthony Davis around the trade deadline , Bradley Beal was piecing together a super second-half of his season. After John Wall's season-ending injury on Dec. 28, Beal averaged 27.0 points, 6.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game on 47.5 percent field goal shooting, 35.7 percent three-point shooting and 82.3 percent free throw shooting across the final 46 games of the year. Despite that, Beal wasn't able to make an All-NBA team. Still, he remains one of the top players likely to be available on the trade market this summer for teams that strikeout out on max free agents, the Lakers potentially included in that mix. Similar to Davis, Beal would require a large trade package that would include multiple of the Lakers assets. That trade, and other trades for superstars, became easier with the Lakers moving up to the fourth pick in the draft. In a recent piece on NBC Sports Washington, Ben Standig discussed potential trade packages for Beal with sourced info on the Lakers assets, including Lonzo Ball. If there's a deal with the Lakers, most sources would want Ball involved regardless of any parent distractions from his attention-seeking father, Lavar. "People just don't grasp how good he is," a source said. Los Angeles owns the fourth pick in the 2019 Draft. One source views Ingram, Kuzma and four for Beal as fair value assuming Ingram, the No. 2 overall pick in 2016, is cleared medically following a blood clot scare that ended his season prematurely. As we've often seen, opinions on Ball can drastically differ but the general consensus falls in line with something close to the above sentiment. While LaVar can often be a distraction, Lonzo is talented enough to keep around. For that same reason, he'll likely also be a valuable commodity to the Lakers this summer as well. While superstar hunting is nice in theory, fans saw this season the risk of trading away a young talent like D'Angelo Russell, who blossomed into an All-Star in Brooklyn himself. Ball has shown enough potential to make him a tantalizing player but also a valued prospect. Beal, though, is a sure thing and can be a contributor to a playoff team and a team with title aspirations, which the Lakers will have with LeBron James. That dilemma will leave the Lakers in an interesting position this summer. MORE: 'Jeopardy' fans ripped James Holzhauer for how he said Dr. Dre's name but here's why he did it Jon Moxley Attacks Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega at AEW Double or Nothing NBA Free Agency 2019: The top players How the Bulls can help the Lakers facilitate an Anthony Davis trade Kevin Durant's contributions are stamped indelibly into Warriors' culture


President Trump's campaign acknowledged Friday having internal polling earlier this year that showed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden well ahead of Trump in several battleground states, though the campaign is insisting those numbers are "ancient" and "meaningless" now. The acknowledgment came after ABC News on Friday published the details of the Trump campaign's internal polling from March showing Biden ahead of Trump by as much as 16 points in Pennsylvania, 10 points in Wisconsin and seven points in Florida. It also showed Trump ahead by just two points in Texas. Campaign Manager Brad Parscale, in a statement to Fox News, argued those numbers are out-of-date and "should not be given any weight when discussing the current state of the race." "These leaked numbers are ancient, in campaign terms, from months-old polling that began in March before two major events had occurred: the release of the summary of the Mueller report exonerating the president, and the beginning of the Democrat candidates defining themselves with their far-left policy message," Parscale said. Parscale insisted the campaign has seen "huge swings in the president's favor across the 17 states we have polled." The campaign's pollster, Tony Fabrizio, said in a statement that the data is "incomplete and misleading." "The old numbers from March being reported represent a worst-case scenario in the most unfavorable turnout model possible," Fabrizio said. "In a more likely turnout model patterned after 2016, and when a Democrat is defined, the race is not only competitive, the president is leading." Earlier this week, the president denied the existence of internal polls showing him trailing Biden, telling ABC's George Stephanopoulos that "those polls don't exist." During a fundraiser in Chicago earlier this week, Biden acknowledged polls showing him the frontrunner in the Democratic primary. But he said: "I ain't counting on anything. This is a marathon, man." Fox News' Peter Doocy contributed to this report.


Bristol City have confirmed the signing of Chelsea youngster Jay Dasilva on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee. The 21-year-old spent last season on loan at Ashton Gate, making 28 Championship appearances as Lee Johnson's side flirted with the playoffs after a number of eye catching displays. We slip and slide as we fall in love... 😍 #BristolCity pic.twitter.com/GB31H9Dpdd   Bristol City FC (@BristolCity) June 26, 2019 Dasilva has now opted to make the permanent move, leaving Chelsea three years after graduating from the club's academy. In a statement on their official website , Bristol City CEO Mark Ashton revealed his delight at sealing the deal. "We saw first-hand last season just how talented Jay is and he quickly earned the respect of the City supporters. "His talents are clear for all to see and I am delighted we have been able to make Jay a permanent figure at this football club. "He has all the attributes we've been looking for and he will continue to flourish in the set-up and style of football which Lee Johnson and his staff have implemented." Robins manager, Lee Johnson added: "Jay proved to be such a great fit for us and is committed to helping City grow further. He is a young English player, with fantastic ability, and he will only become a better player. "With Lloyd Kelly's move, it was a priority for us to secure an established left-sided player and, having fulfilled that role along with Lloyd last season, Jay was a player we were very keen to bring here permanently. "He is energetic, quick and has the ability to both defend and attack, so he is an exciting addition to the squad and I am delighted we can continue to work with him." Dasilva will meet up with his new teammates for pre-season training after returning home with England from the UEFA Under-21 European Championships - having been eliminated in the group stages.


Rick Perry announced Friday he will suspend his presidential campaign, which has run out of money and largely subsisted on the work of volunteer staff. "When I gave my life to Christ, I said 'your ways are greater than my ways, your will superior to mine," Perry said in a speech at a forum in Missouri. "Today I submit that His will remains a mystery, but some things have become clear. That is why today I am suspending my campaign for the presidency of the United States." In interviews with staff in recent days, Perry's campaign acknowledged early missteps, saying it had overestimated its early fundraising abilities, and directed too much money on national ad buys meant to boost the former Texas governor's standing in the polls to make it to the prime-time stage for the first Republican presidential debate. Perry's staff in Iowa, which was once 10-strong and among the biggest campaign teams in the Hawkeye State, had been reduced to one paid staffer and a handful of unpaid volunteers. Perry's staff in South Carolina had similarly been cut to one paid staffer, and his team had pulled out of New Hampshire altogether. Still, Perry's announcement came as a shock to some staffers and supporters, who in interviews in recent days said they'd been assured fundraising had picked up and that the campaign was playing a long-game with an eye on primaries in Iowa and South Carolina. Perry's senior adviser, Jamie Johnson, told The Hill on Thursday that the staff had been assured that the campaign had reversed its fundraising woes, and that there was "no indication that the governor is intending to quit this campaign, and every indication that he intends to go the distance." On Friday, Johnson declined to say whether the news of Perry's withdrawal came as a surprise, but lauded the former Texas governor's efforts to "advance virtue, liberty, justice, peace and prosperity in American life." "It has been an honor to serve Gov. Rick Perry as his national campaign's senior director," Johnson said in a statement to The Hill. "He is the most honorable public servant I have ever known, and I wish him and his family God's richest blessings." Perry leaves the race just days before the second Republican presidential debate, which his supporters believed had the potential to propel him into the upper tier of candidates. He also leaves behind a trio of well-funded super-PACs, which raked in $17 million in the second quarter of the year. The primary super-PAC supporting Perry's bid, the Opportunity and Growth Fund, has only spent about $3 million to date, and had just booked another $250,000 in ad buys in Iowa this week. Austin Barbour, who runs the PAC, told The Hill on Friday he was eyeing an ad buy in South Carolina next. But Perry on Friday said he leaves with "no regrets." "It has been a privilege and an honor to travel this country, to speak with the American people about their hopes and dreams, to see a sense of optimism prevalent despite a season of cynical politics," he said. "As I approach the next chapter in life, I do so with the love of my life by my side, Anita Perry," he continued. "We have our house in the country, we have two beautiful children and two adorable grandchildren, four dogs, and the best sunset from our front porch that you could ever imagine." Perry entered the 2016 race badly damaged by his disastrous 2012 campaign. He never gained traction this cycle, and was facing a second consecutive appearance at an under-card debate for low-polling candidates. Still, he impressed many conservatives with his 2016 run, demonstrating a far stronger grasp on policy issues than he had in 2012. And Perry's brief 2016 campaign was not without its high notes. The former Texas governor launched his bid with a well-received speech highlighting his military service at an airplane hangar outside of Dallas flanked by Marines, Navy SEALs, and Medal of Honor recipients. In July, Perry gave an emotional and well-received speech at the National Press Club that the Wall Street Journal dubbed "the speech of the campaign so far." There, he argued that Republicans had lost their "moral legitimacy as the party of Lincoln" by ignoring the plight of African-Americans, who he said the party has dismissed because "we found that we could win elections without" them. He was the first candidate to take Donald Trump head on, denouncing the real estate mogul as "a cancer on conservativsm" that "must be diagnosed, excised and discarded." "I will not go quiet when this cancer on conservatism threatens to metastasize into a movement of mean-spirited politics that will send the Republican Party to the same place it sent the Whig Party in 1854: the graveyard," Perry thundered at a July speech in Washington that earned him a standing ovation. Perry took a parting shot at Trump in his Friday speech, nodding to the real estate mogul's controversial remarks on illegal immigrants by warning Republicans not to "indulge nativist appeals that divide the nation." Trump declined to fire back. . @GovernorPerry is a terrific guy and I wish him well- I know he will have a great future!   Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2015


Who knew Gordon Ramsay was an Ironman? We all know the celebrities who are ripped as hell-but there are some sneakily fit famous men out there who try to keep their buff bodies under wraps. It's time to give these dudes the recognition they deserve. Here are 40 super fit celebrities who know how to rock their talents and still kick ass in the gym. Tim McGraw This country singer is no stranger to the weight room. After dropping 40 pounds in his 40's, he was determined to maintain a healthy lifestyle-and he has. Justin Timberlake Justin Timberlake is best known for his music, but it's not just his stage presence that makes him awesome. He is also really fit, which makes sense since he's married to Jessica Biel, who's also pretty ripped FYI. Adam Levine The Voice judge's muscles are often overlooked by his many, many tattoos, but he is undeniably ripped, thanks to celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak and Levine's dedication to the gym. Dave Chappelle The comedian known for his standup and his sketch comedy for Chappelle's Show has bulked up a lot over the years. Case in point, his arms in this photo. Calvin Harris There are abs hiding behind this DJ booth. After signing on to be a model with Armani in 2015, Harris transformed his body to fit the role and has been dedicated to keeping it up ever since. Nick Jonas This Jonas Brother is known for his vocals, but he is also super buff. We're sure Priyanka Chopra isn't complaining. Usher After getting in shape to play a boxer in Hands of Stone in 2016, Usher decided to keep up with his fitness routine and healthy eating plan. Luke Bryan This country singer knows how to stay in shape past 40. No matter his hectic touring schedule, he still makes time for weights or a run. Drake Despite his busy schedule and stage life, Drake makes time to get in a solid workout. His trainer Jonny Roxx says he does circuit training that includes push ups, dips, and pull-ups in a 3:2:1 ratio Kevin McHale Artie from Glee no more. McHale went through a massive fitness transformation in 30 days and now has an undeniably jacked body. Sam Hunt He might have a big set of vocal chords, but he also has a big set of biceps. Having been a high school and college football player, he knows how to stay fit even on the road. Gerard Butler Butler got pretty buff thanks to his "300 Workout." He's maintained a dedication to fitness since. Jim Rash Best known as Dean Pelton on NBC's Community and as an Oscar-winning screenwriter, he's also in great shape. Whenever he needs to bare his chest on the screen, it's clear he trains. Vincent Rodriguez III After losing 25 pounds , the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star has become insanely strong. And he says his body transformation helped his marriage too (for those men out there who are struggling). Barack Obama You'd think being President is too time-consuming to make time for the gym, but Barack was able to stay fit and healthy throughout his two terms and continues to do so. Much like Michelle! Dane Cook While Cook is known as a top comedian, his workout routine is no laughing matter. He also doesn't drink , which probably helps his physique. Kevin Hart Comedian, actor, and producer, Hart sure knows how to entertain and make people laugh, but he also is pretty serious about his fitness routine. And he may even be going plant-based . Daniel Radcliffe That's right Harry Potter fans. Radcliffe got in great shape for his performance in Equus in 2008 and is still surprisingly fit. Chris Pratt Pratt hasn't always been fit (hello, Parks and Recreatio n ), but now he is big time. Here's a look back at his transformation . Orlando Bloom Bloom is known for his role in the Lord of the Rings series, but he's also into his fitness and has been known to share his workouts on Instagram . Justin Bieber Bieber is a famous singer first and foremost, but back in 2015 he also started taking his fitness more seriously with a 5-days-a-week bodybuilding routine . Jake Gyllenhaal Gyllenhaal gained 30 pounds and 15 pounds of muscle for his role in Southpaw , in which he played a boxer. Ben Shephard This Good Morning Britain star is super fit, whether he's at the gym crushing weights or playing on a field. Joel Dommett Other than being a comedian and TV star on shows like Skins , Live in Chelsea , and Impractical Jokers UK , Dommett is in great shape, too. He's even a marathon runner . Andrew Garfield Despite his thin frame, Garfield bulked up big time for his role in The Amazing Spider-Man. He reportedly worked out 7 hours a day in preparation for the role. Rob Lowe How does this 55 year old actor stay so fit? Apparently, he steers clear of booze and likes to surf and ski. Benedict Cumberbatch Cumberbatch is no stranger to getting in shape for his films, after all he's appeared in the Avengers franchise. He even dabbles with intermittent fasting as a way to get lean fast. Gethin Jones The Blue Peter presenter is definitely ripped. To be fair, he was a rugby player in college, so it makes sense. Gordon Ramsay You wouldn't realize he's a chef by looking at those guns. Yet Ramsay is able to serve up delicious plates and still stay fit after changing his lifestyle over a decade ago. He's since competed in multiple Ironmans. Toby Anstis This radio and television presenter with the Global Radio-owned Heart network is really buff. He was even on Dancing on Ice as a backup skater in 2018. Carrot Top Don't let the crazy red hair and goofball personality fool you. Carrot Top doesn't mess around at the gym, that's for sure. Paul Rudd Rudd isn't necessarily a "fitness buff," like his Avengers co-star Chris Hemsworth. But he still works out hard and stays pretty toned. Russell Dickerson This country singer might be famous for his vocals, but his abs and biceps are worth recognizing too. Ben Affleck Affleck when through a major transformation to play Batman , and now he's jacked. Robert Downey Jr. For being 52 years old, Downey looks strong as hell. Whether he's getting fit for a film, like Iron Man , or just staying healthy, he's stayed in shape through the years. Blake Shelton The coach on The Voice doesn't just kick ass on stage, but also in the gym (with Gwen Stefani, of course). He favors the treadmill and tries to eat a healthy diet. Keith Urban At 51, Urban looks super fit. He still manages to eat well and workout even when busy on tour. Shawn Mendes Mendes went from scrawny musician to totally buff rockstar. Here's his major transformation , which focused mostly on training, rather than diet, he said. (He loves his carbs!) Christian Bale Whether beefing up for Batman or American Psycho, Bale does what he needs to get fit fast for his roles. Here's a look into his transformations over the years. Gary Rhodes Despite his love of British food, this chef and television presenter knows how to enjoy each bite while still keeping the pounds off.


The Indianapolis Colts kicked off their preseason with a 24-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field on Thursday night. It was a sloppy start for the Colts offense to begin the game. They wouldn't find the end zone until the fourth quarter on Chad Kelly's 33-yard touchdown run. Cole Hedlund had two field goal conversions before that. After both teams went scoreless in the first quarter, the Bills drew first blood with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Matt Barkley to wide receiver Cam Phillips, who got behind cornerback Nate Hairston in the corner of the end zone. The Bills went up two touchdowns in the second quarter when running back Senorise Perry punched it in from the one-yard line. After a review, the play was upheld, and the Bills led 14-0. The Colts wound up getting on the board with Hedlund's first field goal of the night just before halftime-this first one coming from 42 yards. The Bills added three points on a Chase McLaughlin field goal from 38 yards just before the end of the third quarter. After Hedlund's second field goal of the night in the third quarter, Kelly took a read-option 33 yards into the end zone to make the score 17-13. The Bills, though, would answer right away when Christian Wade torched the entire Colts defense for a 65-yard touchdown on the first play following the Kelly touchdown. Hedlund would add his third field goal of the night from 25 yards to cut the Bills lead 24-16 with just under three minutes left in the game. Kelly was the star of the night, and wide receiver Daurice Fountain was his favorite target. The latter finished with five catches on seven targets for 63 yards. Kelly completed 13-of-19 passes for 121 yards while taking four carries for 53 yards and a rushing touchdown. Defensive end Carroll Phillips led the defense with 2.0 sacks and a fumble recovery while Al-Quadin Muhammad also recorded a sack. Defensive tackle Grover Stewart was solid working from the one-technique. The Colts host the Cleveland Browns for a joint practice next week before the preseason Week 2 matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium. MORE: How to watch, listen, stream Chargers vs. Cardinals A furious Chris Davis had to be held back from Orioles manager Brandon Hyde Patriots undrafted WR Jakobi Meyers wows in preseason debut How to watch and stream Broncos' preseason games Deadline passes as Elliott loses accrued season, fines reach $500K


Baltimore has no rain in the forecast for today, with light rainfall on the horizon, according to the seven-day forecast from drone-powered weather service Saildrone . Wednesday's forecast shows the greatest chance of rain at 88 percent, with rain likely through Saturday. The immediate forecast also has hot temperatures in store for today, with a high temperature of 93 degrees, then ease off slightly from Wednesday to Saturday. Skies will be partly cloudy today. Winds will remain somewhat calm in the course of the week, with the highest speeds today at only 10 mph. This story was created automatically using Saildrone's local weather forecast data, then reviewed by an editor. We also incorporate historic weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


"All human wisdom is summed up in two words; wait and hope." - Alexander Dumas. The NFL season, with all its heights, is currently in a lull. And so we wait, and so we hope. If Mr. Dumas is right, the Cowboys' concentrated efforts in the off-season, with a bit of patience sprinkled in might just lead to big things. Connor Williams, Jon'Vea Johnson and Trysten Hill all had to engage one or the other but could nowbe key contributors to a Super Bowl run, according to one NFL analyst. And if it does happen, will it be the last NFL action for a while? All this and more gets sorted out in today's news and notes. So…how many pounds has Cowboys LG added to his frame and bench press? :: Dallas Morning News In his rookie season, much was made about Connor Williams' room for growth, particularly in the weight room. Williams has spent the last four months waist deep in the Cowboys offseason lifting program, and it has paid dividends. Williams has gained 15 pounds since he was drafted, and the result is more pushing power. "The bulk Williams has added over the last four months isn't just weight. Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin is his lift partner in the Cowboys program. A player who would bench press 315 pounds 10 times as a rookie is already up to 365 pounds on nine reps." Cowboys see 'maturing' Trysten Hill, ability to impact in 2019 :: CBS Sports Hill is another big body looking to make a big impact for the Cowboys in 2019. The second-round draft pick turned heads at the first set of practices, where his raw athleticism stood out. Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli had this to say about the young 3-technique, "High-energy motor, good athlete," he said . "And he's a bigger man, you know. You don't see that type of guy inside. Those under tackles have always been 300-pound guys, [or around] 295. This guy runs, got the good movement, and good size." The Cowboys will look to maximize on Hill's natural gifts while coaching him into a game-changer in the middle of their defensive line. Meet the Undrafted WR Who's Turning Heads :: Dallas Cowboys Jon'Vea Johnson's the name, and he's here to make a dang roster. Johnson went undrafted out of Toledo after hauling in 125 catches for 2,265 yards and 25 touchdowns in his college career. The Cowboys have had Johnson on their radar since well before the draft, and as David Helman points out, "Johnson was one of just five receivers the team brought to their facility as a pre-draft visitor, and was the only one who wound up going undrafted." Johnson's got athletic gifts and big goals: ""I want to be the guy to take the top off the defense, the speedster guy or like a gadget guy," Johnson said. "I think I've got a really good chance of making this team."" Former NFL Offensive lineman: I think the Cowboys are gonna make the Super Bowl :: Dallas Morning News Wouldn't that be nice? Former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz was all over the Cowboys to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl while visiting with the Rich Eisen show this week. "(Travis) Frederick is back. They are healthy on the offensive line now. DeMarcus Lawrence, Tyrone Crawford, they have great linebackers and they have a good back end in their secondary," Schwartz said . "The Giants aren't that strong, the Eagles are gonna be good (and) the Redskins aren't that strong in my opinion. "I think the Cowboys. If Dak (Prescott) can take the next step, which we will see with the weapons he has. I think the (Cowboys) are gonna make the Super Bowl." "Every year there's different team kind of out of nowhere." - @GeoffSchwartz told us who he likes to win the NFC in 2019: pic.twitter.com/36vcOTbYfI - Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) May 21, 2019 NFLPA Director DeMaurice Smith Tells Agents to Plan for Work Stoppage After 2020 :: Sports Illustrated The current NFL-NFLPA collective bargaining agreement runs out after the 2020 season, and the head of the NFLPA, DeMaurice Smith is telling the players to start socking away their paychecks. That should be a full-boar, sirens blaring red-alert to fans around the world that there's a work stoppage coming. The players have been continually frustrated under the current CBA, with the Cowboys Ezekiel Elliott being example A, B and C as to why the current CBA does not work for the players. Among a laundry list of items the players will be working to gain ground on are; a limitation of Roger Goodell's powers, contract guarantees, and stronger support for retirees, particularly in regards to health care. Establishing how many Cowboys roster spots are totally locked in :: Blogging the Boys The Cowboys roster is chock full of young stars, of heady veterans, and of resolute leadership. There are more than a handful of individuals on the Cowboys team that is all but assured a roster spot come Week 1. Of course the young superstars like Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott, and Jaylon Smith are on the roster. So are veterans with extreme contract situations and All-Pro accolades, like DeMarcus Lawrence, Zach Martin and Tyron Smith. RJ Ochoa provides his take on the fringes of the 2019 roster. You can follow Burke at @BurkeDowner. MORE: Draymond Green to LeBron James' 14-Year-Old Son: "I'm at Your F--king Neck This Summer" This first pitch at Royals-White Sox game took a wild turn that the photographer never saw coming Louis Riddick: 'Dwayne Haskins is twice the thrower of Robert Griffin III' Four potential Khris Middleton landing spots in free agency The Gerald McCoy watch is on in Baltimore


Los Angeles County taxpayers will pay $3.75 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of a 16-year-old boy who was shot and killed by a Sheriff's Department deputy in February 2018, county leaders decided Tuesday. The killing of Anthony Weber sparked weeks of protests in South Los Angeles, fueled in part by frustration over deputies' claims that the boy was carrying a gun. Family members also said the department failed to communicate with them about details of the shooting. No firearm was found, the Sheriff's Department said, reasoning that it could have gone missing in the crowd that formed after the shooting. Anthony's family and community members said the boy was unarmed. Two deputies responded to a report of a young man who pointed a gun at a motorist in the 1200 block of 107th Street just before 7:40 p.m. on Feb. 4, 2018. Thirty-four minutes later, deputies arrived and walked down a driveway at an apartment complex where they spotted Anthony, who was wearing clothing that was similar to the description given by the caller, according to a county corrective action plan. Both deputies said they saw a handgun tucked into Weber's waistband, with one officer describing the firearm as a Smith & Wesson semiautomatic pistol with black Talon grips and a red dot sight, according to the county document. When the deputies drew their weapons and ordered Anthony to show his hands, the boy ran away before turning toward one of the officers and reaching toward his waistband, according to the county report. One deputy fired at the boy 13 times, striking him several times. The other deputy did not discharge his weapon. Attorneys for Anthony's parents and daughter said some of the shots hit the 16-year-old in his back. After the shooting, several people came out of their apartments and shouted at the deputies, who were unable to secure the scene for about 30 minutes, the county document says. Deputies said they believed someone in the crowd stole the firearm. A Smith & Wesson pistol similar to the one described by one of the deputies was later recovered in a search warrant on a residence near the shooting, according to the county corrective action plan. The caller who made the initial 911 call was interviewed and identified Anthony as the person who pointed a gun at him, the county document says. Anthony was described by family members as a loving person who displayed maturity in his devotion to his daughter, Violet. Anthony's father has said he wants all the money from the legal settlement to be set aside for the girl, who is still a toddler. The incident was not captured on a body-worn camera, as the Sheriff's Department does not outfit its patrol deputies with the devices. Dale Galipo, one of the attorneys for the Weber family, called the settlement "substantial." "I think a settlement like this is an implicit acknowledgement that this was a bad shooting," he said. Shootings by deputies in which a person was hit were up in the first three months of 2019, with four incidents, compared with the same period last year, when there were two, including the shooting of Anthony. Those figures are included in a recent report by the L.A. County Office of Inspector General. But the data also show that shootings by deputies have decreased over the last five years. In 2013, there were 44 shootings by deputies; last year, there were 22. Also Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors approved a $337,500 settlement in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union alleging the Sheriff's Department improperly withheld data from automated license plate readers pursuant to a California Public Records Act request. An additional $700,000 settlement was approved in the case of Osvaldo Ureta, who was shot while trying to flee from sheriff's deputies in 2011. He survived. The shooting gained attention as one of seven shootings by one deputy, Anthony Forlano. maya.lau@latimes.com Twitter: @mayalau


SANAA, Yemen   Heavy clashes erupted in southern Yemen on Thursday while a Saudi-led coalition carried out airstrikes on the capital, Sanaa, leaving at least six dead, including four children, in the city's residential center, officials said. The Sanaa airstrikes came after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who control the capital, launched a drone attack earlier in the week on a critical oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia, Tehran's biggest rival in the region. The renewed air campaign on Sanaa   which had remained calm over the past months   also came as the Houthis are pushing to gain more territory from coalition-backed government forces in the country's southern Dhale governorate. Yemen's human rights minister, Mohammed Askar, told reports Thursday that weeks-long fighting in Dhale has killed over 27 civilians and displaced around 10,000 people. Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war pitting the Houthis against the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, since March 2015. In Sanaa's al-Raqas neighborhood where Thursday's strikes hit, smoke rose from the rubble of several houses. An entire family   a father, his child and wife   was killed under the rubble. The rebel-controlled health ministry said 41 people were also wounded, including two women with Russian nationality. Dust, pieces of glass, metal, and debris were strewn on the streets and covered cars parked in the neighborhood. Windows on nearby buildings were shattered. Men and women, many without traditional black abayas that Muslim women wear over their clothes, had run out onto the street, fearing more bombings. A Sanaa resident, Ahmed al-Kori, said he and his entire family of six were woken up by the bombing to find themselves covered by debris. "We don't know how we hit the ground," al-Kori said. The war in Yemen has killed over 70,000 people, including combatants, and pushed the country's already impoverished population to the verge of famine.


ST. LOUIS (AP) Paul Goldschmidt is so hot at the plate, not even Yu Darvish can slow him down. Goldschmidt homered for the seventh time in eight games, a go-ahead drive off Darvish in the sixth inning that lifted the St. Louis Cardinals over the Chicago Cubs 2-1 Tuesday night and back into sole possession of the NL Central lead. Goldschmidt was 1 for 14 against Darvish before hitting a single and the winning home run. A six-time All-Star, Goldschmidt drove a fastball from Darvish (3-5) to center for his 25th home run this season. ''I haven't had too much success against Darvish,'' Goldschmdit said. ''I was just trying to get on base. Fortunately, I got enough of it to get it out of here.'' Goldschmidt is hitting .364 (12 for 33) in his last eight games with 14 RBIs. He has 11 home runs in July, which ties his career high for a month. ''This is something I've never done, hit home runs like this,'' Goldschmidt said. ''This game is crazy. Just enjoy the good times and forget about the bad.'' Chicago manager Joe Maddon knew how hot Goldschmidt has been lately. ''We didn't want him to beat us and he did,'' Maddon said. St. Louis (57-49) dropped out of first place on May 7 but has held at least a share of the lead since Thursday and moved one game ahead of the Cubs (56-50). Giovanny Gallegos (3-1) retired Kyle Schwarber on a bases-loaded flyout that ended the sixth after he relieved Adam Wainwright, who allowed one run and five hits in 5 2/3 innings. ''We've got a guy that is effective the same against lefties as he is against righties,'' St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said about Gallegos. ''We trust Gio. He throws strikes and has got two out pitches.'' After a pair of two-out walks in the eighth by Andrew Miller, Carlos Martinez struck out Ian Happ. Martinez then struck out his first two batters in a perfect ninth for his 11th save in 13 chances. Martinez was perfect in eight opportunities in July, and this was his third save of four or more outs. ''They are good but we are better,'' Martinez said. ''We think we are better.'' Darvish gave up two runs and six hits in six innings with nine strikeouts, no walks, a hit batter and two wild pitches. Darvish has 10 wild pitches this season. ''The pitch to Goldschmidt, I should maybe go more in but he's very good. It was a good pitch,'' Darvish said. ''He's a monster. That's why he could hit that pitch.'' Chicago has lost 21 of its last 29 road games and is 0-8-1 in nine road series since May 27. Javier Baez hit an RBI single in the fourth that scored Jason Heyward, who singled and advanced to second on Kris Bryant's fly to deep center. Heyward had his seventh three-hit game this season. The Cubs stranded 10 baserunners. ''We left a lot of runners on,'' Maddon said. ''We've got to drive them in. St. Louis tied the score in the bottom half when Jose Martinez and Goldschmidt singled, and Darvish threw a pair of wild pitches. HOME COOKING For the first time since the Cardinals and Cubs first met in 1892, the home team has won the first 10 games of the season series. ADDING Chicago acquired RHP David Phelps from Toronto for minor league righty Thomas Hatch. Phelps had a 3.63 ERA in 17 relief appearances with the Blue Jays. MOVES St. Louis recalled rookie OF Lane Thomas from Triple-A Memphis. He took the roster spot of OF Harrison Bader, who was optioned to Memphis on Monday. ... St. Louis acquired left-handed reliever Adalberto Mejia off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels and transferred INF Jedd Gyorko (right wrist/back strain) to the 60-day IL. TRAINER'S ROOM Cubs: RHP Pedro Strop (neck tightness) went on the 10-day IL retroactive to Saturday. RHP Don Underwood was recalled from Triple-A Iowa and joined Chicago roster for the second time in his career. Cardinals: OF Marcell Ozuna (broken right finger) was 1 for 3 with an RBI as he began a rehab assignment for Memphis. ... C Yadier Molina (right thumb tendon strain) will begin swinging a bat Friday. ... OF Dexter Fowler was 0 for 4 in his return to the starting lineup. Fowler last started Friday, when he fouled a ball off his left foot. He hit pinch hit Sunday and hit a ninth-inning homer. UP NEXT Chicago RHP Kyle Hendricks (7-8) starts Wednesday against St. Louis RHP Miles Mikolas (7-10). --- More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports


This Gold Cup isn't short on drama. A day after Haiti stunned Costa Rica to win Group B, it was Curacao's turn to up the ante. Needing a point to stay alive for a knockout round berth, Jurien Gaari ripped a stoppage time rocket into the back of the goal to defy Andre Blake and Jamaica a win and the Group C crown (at least for a couple of hours). [ MORE: Spurs set to add $82M mid ] Shamar Nicholson had given the Reggae Boyz a 14th minute lead, but Jamaica couldn't find a second goal. If Honduras beats El Salvador in the business end of the doubleheader in Los Angeles, Curacao will finish second in the group and advance to face either the USMNT or Panama. If El Salvador manages a draw or win, well, at least Curacao will have this wonder from RKC Waalwijk's right back: 🇨🇼 GOAL CURAÇAO!!! Jurien Gaari in the dying minutes scores this 🚀 !!! Curaçao can still advance to the next round with this result! #JAMvCUW #ThisIsOurs #GoldCup2019 pic.twitter.com/nSrxxe87GA   Gold Cup 2019 (@GoldCup) June 26, 2019 Follow @NicholasMendola


Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf plans to veto legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature to substantially expand taxpayer support by $100 million for private and religious schools in Pennsylvania. Wednesday's statement from Wolf's office comes a day after the Senate approved the bill on a party-line basis. The bill was sponsored by House Speaker Mike Turzai and just four Democrats voted for it in the House. Wolf ran for office pledging to boost aid for public schools. He has said that public schools remain underfunded and that the tax-credit bill is at odds with the need for accessible public education. It would nearly double the Educational Improvement Tax Credit to $210 million annually. The program lets corporations direct tens of millions in tax dollars to favored private and religious schools. READ MORE: Governor Wolf to veto $100 million private schools bill in Pennsylvania CHECK OUT WTAE: Stay in the know with the latest Pittsburgh news, weather and sports. Catch all of the day's top stories and more from the team at WTAE Pittsburgh Action News 4.


A 50-year-old Michigan grandmother won last week's $310.5 million Powerball jackpot, the Michigan Lottery announced on Tuesday. Julie Leach, from Three Rivers in southwestern Michigan, said that she planned to take the jackpot as a lump sum, which would amount to about $197.4 million. She said she planned to celebrate her "mind boggling" win with her family. "It's been a very scary situation, also, mind boggling, what to do..." Leach said in a press conference, adding she has called people for advice and believes she has a "good team" in place to figure out how to handle the money. The drawing was on Sept. 30. The lucky numbers were 21, 39, 40, 55, 59, 17. Leach bought the ticket at the Three Rivers West Shell gas station, located about 30 miles south of Kalamazoo. Wednesday's win was the third time a Michigan player has won the Powerball jackpot since the state began offering the game. Donald Lawson of Lapeer won $337 million playing the Powerball game in 2012 and holds the record for winning the largest lottery prize ever paid in the state, according to a statement from the Michigan Lottery. (Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Alan Crosby)


Curious just how far your dollar goes in Sacramento? We've rounded up the latest rental listings via rental sites Zumper and Apartment Guide to get a sense of what to expect when it comes to hunting down an apartment in Sacramento if you don't want to spend more than $1,300/month on rent. Take a peek at what rentals the city has to offer, below. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.) Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. 1 Shoal Court (Greenhaven) Located at 1 Shoal Court, #72, here's a 759-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom spot that's listed for $1,250/month. The residence offers a dishwasher and central heating and air conditioning. Building amenities include on-site laundry, additional storage space, a swimming pool and outdoor space. Neither cats nor dogs are permitted. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental. According to Walk Score, this location is somewhat walkable, is very bikeable and has a few nearby public transportation options. (See the complete listing here .) 2421 F St. (Marshall School) Listed at $1,250/month, this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment is located at 2421 F St. The building features on-site laundry and assigned parking. Expect to find central heating and air conditioning, as well as hardwood flooring in the unit. Pets are not welcome. Walk Score indicates that the surrounding area is very walkable, is great for biking and has some transit options. (Check out the complete listing here .) 1422 Sutterville Road (South Land Park) Next, there's this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment situated at 1422 Sutterville Road. It's listed for $1,260/month. In the apartment, expect to see a ceiling fan and stainless steel appliances. The building offers assigned parking and on-site laundry. Feline companions are welcome. Per Walk Score ratings, the area around this address isn't very walkable, is very bikeable and has some transit options. (Take a gander at the complete listing here .) 4337 Norwood Ave. (Robla) Here's a 590-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment at 4337 Norwood Ave. that's going for $1,283/month. The building has a fitness center. The unit also has a ceiling fan, hardwood flooring and a walk-in closet. Luckily for pet owners, both dogs and cats are permitted. Look out for a $250 pet fee. According to Walk Score, the surrounding area is moderately walkable, is bikeable and offers limited transit options. (Take a look at the full listing here .) Working with a tight budget? Here are the cheapest rentals recently listed in Sacramento . This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


Training camp is right around the corner for the 49ers. Chris Biderman and Kyle Madson begin their lead up to camp with a preseason look at the 49ers' top five position groups. The rankings are mostly clear for now, but there are a few intriguing questions that could shake up the rankings by season's end. The guys also discuss Jimmy Garoppolo's offseason progress and whether the concern over Kyle Juszczyk's contract is warranted. View embedded content MORE: Chauncey Billups had a brutally honest take on why Carmelo Anthony isn't in the NBA After Packers pass on Jalen Thompson, focus shifts to Natrell Jamerson The Ringer believes Raiders could trade SS Karl Joseph to Cowboys Angry Bagel Shop Guy Has a Truly Insane YouTube Account NBA Depth Charts


Forget the queues, letters of introduction and contrary embassy staff. These visas are issued quickly, with a minimum of fuss and no jumping through hoops, just the way we like it... Forget the queues, letters of introduction and contrary embassy staff. These visas are issued quickly, with a minimum of fuss and no jumping through hoops, just the way we like it... 1. Azerbaijan Until recently, Azerbaijan was a stalwart on our 'Hardest Visa To Get' list. Getting a visa to visit the country was a long and torturous process with no guarantee of success. Then the authorities surprised us by introducing an electronic visa. Overnight, the whole process of getting a visa to Azerbaijan was hugely simplified. Everything is done online and the visa is issued after only 2-4 days. The fees are significantly lower too. These days it costs a measly $20. 2. Cambodia Cambodia has joined the modern world and introduced an electronic visa too, again making the process simpler and faster. The application only takes 2-3 days and the visa is emailed to you once it s issued. Crossing into the country from Vietnam, Laos or Thailand? Not a problem. Cambodian visas can be obtained on arrival at most major border crossings. 3. Sri Lanka Whether you re heading to one of its golden beaches or one of its acclaimed National Parks, getting into Sri Lanka has never been easier. Simply fill in an online form and press 'Enter'. Your Sri Lankan E-Visa will generally be issued within 24 hours, without hassles, interviews or letters. 4. Tajikistan Last year, Tajikistan introduced an E-visa, simplifying the application process to the point where you can submit your application online with just a copy of your passport. With one quick stroke, tiresome visits to your local Tajikistan embassy were done away with. The visa is issued in 1-3 days. All you have to do is print it out and take it with you on your trip. Simple and easy, exactly as it should be. 5. Vietnam How's this for easy? UK citizens traveling to Vietnam for under 15 days don't need a visa at all. Simply turn up and you'll be issued an entry stamp on the spot. Planning to stay in Vietnam a little longer? Visitors who plan to explore the country for up to 30 days can apply for an electronic visa. The processing time is only 1-2 days and the whole process is done online.


Now that we have entered the dog days of the Western Conference playoffs, it is incumbent upon us to find ways to caricature the Portland Trail Blazers to keep up our interest in what most folks fully expect to be a desultory series against the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors? Got that handled. They're vampires, only they don't have to avoid light and have no fear of crosses. They lost DeMarcus Cousins and shrugged it off. They lost Kevin Durant and took us to the guardrail before running a highlight film of their happiest childhood days. They didn't have Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson in full splashy mode until they did, they removed the formaldehyde from Andre Iguodala and replaced it with tiger blood, they made a new undersized center in Kevon Looney, and in all reminded us why we once marveled at them before we grudgingly marveled at them. But Portland? What have we here? Unlike the Clippers, they aren't an appealing version of other people's spare parts and do not feature the ultra-handsy Patrick Beverley. There's a cohesive infrastructure here, needing only a really cool control panel and paint job. Which they don't seem to have. Unlike the Rockets, they aren't beardy Nerdtron, trying to reinvent officiating one audit at a time while creating prototype after prototype that look like they should be fun but always break down at the wrong moment. They're a bit like the scientist who has proven categorically and repeatedly that what they have discovered will stand up to peer review only to find that there is one person in the room who isn't a peer at all and spots their fatal flaw every time. But Portland? That is more of a head-scratcher. Damian Lillard? Well, he is more Oakland than the Warriors can ever be, and he has Stephen Curry's shooting conscience, and as the team's heart and soul has been fueled by May heartbreak time and again. C.J. McCollum? Always the go-to item when Lillard isn't available, although it would be a stretch to call him the Thompson to Lillard's Curry. Enes Kanter? The Turkish government-in-exile who has finally found a new place to be valued as a player. Seth Curry? Ahh, the blood-line argument. Evan Turner? Al-Farouq Aminu? Mo Harkless? Rodney Hood? Zach Collins? All useful players, none of them with a single character quirk to make them instantly memorable. Maybe one can quickly develop a habit of groin shots, though I sort of feel like that's been done already, and by better players. Even head coach Terry Stotts is largely an elongated version of Steve Kerr without the occasional political analysis or Liverpool fixation. He has been on the hyperbolic "hot seat" for years because he can't get this team past the Warriors with any more success than the Rockets, but the Blazers haven't been this far into the postseason in a generation, so he's probably safe from the ardors of the offseason rumor market this year. In sum, what we have here is a good basketball team of which little was expected save another place in the round of 16, but which gnawed through a traditionally weird Thunder team and then the Denver Nuggets in one of the best series of recent memory. That is, of course, for those of you who like your basketball more granular and remember series other than those that involve the Warriors or LeBron James. And while we're at it, Denver could have been the Blazers just as easily, only with Nikola Jokic as Balkan Lillard. The point is, we knew we were headed this way all along, as long as the Warriors didn't do something stupid and lose Draymond Green on top of Cousins and Durant and even then they'd probably have found a way to get here. The conference final was always painted as the anticlimax after the Armageddon of the Rockets series, only that ended in the usual way. Portland does not inspire those "aha!" moments of discovery that lead one to imagine a massive upset, or even an extended series. They are a valiant, persistent and ineffably charming team that is still undermanned and sees its best chance of advancement in a series of bad medical evaluations for Durant's calf muscle. For Anti-Warrior Nation to get what it wants, Lillard would have to be uber-Lillard, to be sure, and McCollum would have to be Game 7 McCollum. In addition, Kanter and Meyers Leonard would have to pummel Looney into undersized-center submission and foul Andrew Bogut out during the anthem, Iguodala would have to re-age, and Curry and Thompson would have to re-regress. Oh, and Durant's leg would have to completely accordion during his first re-evaluation . In other words, actually winning this series seems beyond Portland's skill set, even if the entire roster became warlocks before Game 3. Now what they will do is be completely devoted to making a good series of this, and truthfully, the Warriors don't look like the sweeping type these days. But the Blazers are still counterpunchers at best, the always-game Everton to Golden State's Manchester City, and we don't have much time to get a easy-to-caricature handle on them. In a world in which a team can hire a new head coach without Woj or Shams getting wind of it hours in advance, anything is possible. But almost certainly not this. By nearly any measure, Portland is easier on the eyes but not much easier on the scoreboard than Houston. If you want, you have permission to start fitting the Warriors vs. Milwaukee or Toronto into your mental Finals template. I mean, it's not like you didn't see this coming six months ago. Ray Ratto knew it all along. Then again, apparently so did everyone else.


MIAMI (Reuters) - During the second night of the Democratic presidential debate on Thursday, most eyes will likely be trained on former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders   but for wildly divergent reasons. Biden will be looking to safeguard his front-runner status. He has enjoyed a healthy lead in opinion polls since he entered the Democratic race to challenge Republican President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election. Sanders, a Vermont lawmaker, has been running second to Biden in most polls. But he has seen his support erode over the past several weeks and will be looking to reignite his campaign, perhaps by targeting Biden. Neither Biden nor Sanders was mentioned in a surprisingly heated first debate on Wednesday night, when 10 Democratic contenders clashed over healthcare and border policy but agreed there was a desperate need to remove Trump from the White House. The two top contenders will share the stage with eight other Democrats, including two other top-tier candidates who both face challenges, Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California. The debate will also include U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Kirsten Gillibrand, former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell, self-help guru Marianne Williamson and entrepreneur Andrew Yang. All six are polling nationally around 1% or less. But the exchanges between Biden and Sanders, who will stand next to each other onstage, could steal the limelight. On the trail, Sanders has been unsparing in his criticism of Biden, who served nearly four decades in the Senate from Delaware and two terms as Barack Obama's vice president. An avowed "Democratic socialist," Sanders has bashed the more moderate Biden over his record on trade, climate change, healthcare and, most recently, Biden's remarks about working with segregationists during his early days in the Senate. BERNIE'S CHOICE Democracy for America, a progressive advocacy group that endorsed Sanders in his 2016 presidential run, said in a pre-debate memo that Thursday's debate offered Sanders a chance to prove "he's the progressive best suited to not just beat Donald Trump, but also the rest of the Democratic field - including Joe Biden." But Sanders has not always played to type. He was notably reluctant to attack Hillary Clinton during their first debate in the 2016 Democratic presidential nominating fight. Pillorying Biden would not necessarily boost Sanders' campaign, said Democratic strategist Brad Bannon, who has worked for congressional and state candidates. "If Biden slides, it helps one of the moderate candidates," Bannon said. "The big problem for Sanders is Elizabeth Warren." Warren, a progressive U.S. senator from Massachusetts, has been steadily climbing in opinion polls, pulling closer to Sanders for the No. 2 slot behind Biden. She was the first choice in a recent straw poll of members of the influential progressive group MoveOn, with Sanders coming second. "Warren is sucking the oxygen out of Bernie's campaign," Bannon said. "She is siphoning off progressive voters who supported Bernie in 2016." Sanders may choose instead to burnish his progressive credentials at the debate to fend off Warren, who was onstage for Wednesday's night debate and emerged largely unscathed, as several of the lesser-known contenders turned their fire on one another. Slideshow by photo services For Biden, the most experienced debater in the field, Thursday is an opportunity to steady the ship after a series of rocky moments that included a flip-flop on his abortion position and the controversy over his remarks about working with segregationist senators decades ago in the interest of civility and getting things done. As he has done on the campaign trail, he will likely spend the night defending his record and talking about Trump rather than other Democrats. AGE GAP Biden, 76, and Sanders, 77, will make for a sharp contrast with the younger candidates onstage, including 37-year-old Buttigieg, 52-year-old Gillibrand and 54-year-old Harris, three candidates who may represent the future of the party. Buttigieg, who enjoyed a brief initial surge as a candidate, comes to Miami after facing a crisis in South Bend. The fatal shooting of a black man by a white police officer earlier this month laid bare some of the problems Buttigieg faces with African-Americans in his city   and with black voters in general. Harris' campaign has not taken flight like many political analysts expected and could use a boost from the debate. A polished public speaker from her days as a prosecutor and attorney general in California, she could be well positioned to make an impact. One dynamic to watch is how aggressively Harris goes after Biden. She has criticized him for, among other things, his support of the 1994 crime bill that opponents say opened the door to the mass incarceration of black men. But she is also considered a favorite for the vice presidential slot should Biden capture the nomination. She may instead address Buttigieg's issues in order to weaken his candidacy. With 10 Democrats attending the two-hour debate, each candidate will only have 60 seconds to answer a question and 30 seconds to respond to a follow-up, giving the field little time to leave a mark. Both Miami debates are sponsored by NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo. NBC News personalities Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Rachel Maddow, Chuck Todd and NBC and Telemundo anchor Jose Diaz-Balart will serve as moderators. (Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Peter Cooney)


Panthers wide receiver Chris Hogan has nothing but fond memories as he reflects on his last three years with the Patriots. Hogan told Mike Reiss of ESPN he considers himself lucky to have had Tom Brady as his quarterback and Bill Belichick as his coach. " I was very, very fortunate to be around one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game, if not the best," Hogan said. "One of the best coaches to ever coach. Great teammates. I miss Julian [Edelman] a little bit, going back and forth with him. I made a lot of friendships there, which I think will last the rest of my life." So why leave? Hogan didn't want to say, although it didn't sound like the Patriots tried very hard to keep him. "I'd rather not go into too much detail on that, but it's business, and I understand that," he said. "I appreciate everything that was given to me in New England   the opportunity to go there and play   and I'll always hold every single one of those people in that organization [in high regard]: Mr. [Robert] Kraft, Bill. It was time to move on, I guess. I take it for what it is. I enjoyed my time. And now I'm excited about the opportunity in front of me." After bouncing around the league with the 49ers, Giants and Dolphins but never getting on the field in a regular-season game, and then playing three years with the Bills but never getting to the playoffs, Hogan played in three straight Super Bowls with the Patriots. That's an experience any player would get grateful for.


The U.S. Senior Open is not over yet, though Steve Stricker likely has made winning a formality. Stricker, 52, distanced himself from the rest of the field with a four-under par 66 at Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame, giving him a six-stroke lead heading into Sunday's final round. His 54-hole score of 18-under par 192 is the lowest in the history of the U.S. Senior Open. His friend Jerry Kelly, who shot an even-par 70, is alone in second, while defending champion David Toms also shot a 70 and trails Stricker by seven. Stricker demonstrated the formula for a runaway victory by beginning the third round with a two-stroke lead, then equaling the best round of the day. He made a bogey on his sixth hole on Thursday and has played the next 48 holes without making one. "My goal was just to keep building on my lead," Stricker said, "and get as many under as I can, but not be dumb about it, either, and not take any unnecessary risks. If I can shoot another bogey-free round tomorrow and add my three, four, five, six or more birdies I'll be all right. But not making those mistakes, that's the key tomorrow, to go out and put up another clean scorecard." Though he continues to split his time between the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions, Stricker has been showing the ability to dominate on the senior tour. He has finished sixth or better, including a victory, in four of his last five senior starts. The victory, in May, came in the Regions Tradition, the first major championship of his long career.


The Florida Department of Health in Orange County is issuing a 60-day rabies alert for a two-mile radius around the intersection of Interstate 4 and Epcot Center Drive in southwest Orange County. The alert is in response to a cat that tested positive for the disease, officials said. The identified cat may have infected other animals in the area. Contact with feral cats, stray dogs and all wildlife such as raccoons, bats, foxes, skunks, otters, bobcats and coyotes should be avoided, according to experts. Anyone who has been bitten or scratched by a cat in the rabies alert area of southwest Orange County should seek medical attention and contact Orange County Animal Services at (407) 254-9150. Residents and visitors in this area of southwest Orange County should be aware that rabies is present in the wild animal population, and domestic animals are at risk if not vaccinated. The public is asked to maintain a heightened awareness that rabies is active in this area of southwest Orange County. READ MORE: Rabies alert issued for area near Epcot, Florida Department of Health says CHECK OUT WESH: Stay in the know with the latest Orlando news, weather and sports. Get the top stories and all the scores from the team at WESH.


Tesla's had a rough go of it in 2019, but that isn't stopping CEO Elon Musk from trying to psyche his people up and hit delivery targets. According to a report published Wednesday by Electrek , Musk sent out an email urging employees to push hard on vehicle deliveries while demand is strong, even going so far as to say that if they do well, Q2 could be "an all-time record for Tesla vehicle deliveries and an awesome victory!!" Deliveries were one of the most important topics during the brand's Q1 earnings call, with numbers being markedly down from the Q4 2018 figure of 90,700. Now though, reports say that the Big T could eclipse that figure if it can get out of its own way. What exactly is Musk's plan to do that? Well, in his typically hands-on fashion, he is planning on holding regular calls with Tesla's global delivery teams to keep them on track and find efficiencies in the delivery process, especially those that will reduce costs. Whether Tesla can meet current levels of demand will likely have a significant influence on whether that demand continues or slackens, and with the company looking increasingly like it's no longer the Wall Street darling it has been for years, that's more important than ever. Tesla didn't immediately respond to Roadshow's request for comment. Tesla pulls the wraps off its Model Y crossover SUV This was originally published on Roadshow.


The Patriots have signed tight end Lance Kendricks , according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Kendricks, they hope, will help to fill the void after Rob Gronkowski 's retirement. The #Patriots are adding some tight end help before training camp, signing TE Lance Kendricks, source said. He had 19 catches for the #Packers last year and will assist in filling the Rob Gronkowski void.   Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 24, 2019 Kendricks, of course, is not as accomplished as Gronk, though no other tight end in the NFL can make that claim. However, Kendricks did have 19 catches for the Packers last year and offers the experience of 125 career games for the Rams and Packers. Kendricks' best recent season came in 2016 when he hauled in 50 catches for 499 yards and two touchdowns for L.A. Earlier in his career, he had a 42/519/4 campaign for St. Louis as an NFL sophomore. In addition to Kendricks, the Pats have Ben Watson , Matt LaCosse , Andrew Beck , Stephen Anderson , Ryan Izzo and Jakob Johnson at tight end. With Watson set to start the year on suspension, LaCosse may open the year as the club's No. 1 tight end, unless Kendricks has something to say about it in the coming weeks.


TUCSON   A series of immigration raids is expected to begin as early as Sunday in several major American cities, according to President Donald Trump. It's part of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration and the plans have sown fear in migrant communities around the United States. The cities targeted are Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco. All of these cities were part of a one-year program that allowed the Department of Justice to fast-track the adjudication of cases through the normally sluggish immigration court system. Trump initially claimed that "millions" of immigrants would be deported when he stunned immigration officials in mid-June by announcing the raids ahead of time, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have said the raids would be smaller in scope. In anticipation of the expected immigration raids, here are answers to five key questions about what to expect. 'The crisis is real': Mike Pence sees 'tough stuff' and 'compassionate work' at Texas border facilities Who will be targeted? The roundups are expected to target about 2,000 migrants, most of whom have been ordered deported, according to Claudia Valenzuela with the American Immigration Council, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit advocacy organization. The primary focus is on individuals who have received standing deportation orders after they failed to show up to their court hearings. Immigration judges ordered that they be deported "in absentia." Valenzuela said a concern is that, in many instances, the families did not receive court notices, were summoned for non-existent dates, or simply didn't know how to navigate the complex U.S. immigration system. Another big concern, she said, is the possibility of "collateral arrests." If immigration authorities come across "others in the vicinity that maybe aren't the targets for arrest, maybe aren't the subjects of an outstanding removal order, but ICE agents determine they are not here lawfully, that could result in those individuals being apprehended," Valenzuela said. Trump: Immigration raids begin Sunday, will target criminals 'as much as we can' What happens after they are detained? After ICE officers detains someone, what happens next depends on whether the individual has a deportation order or not. Ruben Reyes, a board member with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said migrants who have final deportation orders have little recourse. "They generally are picked up, they get taken to central processing, and then from central processing their ID is verified, their history is verified, their documents are obtained through the consulate so they can be repatriated," he said. However, if someone doesn't have a deportation order, the person is placed into deportation proceedings, Valenzuela said. Such individuals could be held in immigration detention or released on bond while a judge determines if they should be deported. Can they be deported right away? Deportations from the United States depend on the home countries of the migrants. Under binational agreements, Reyes said, deportees from Mexico and Canada can be removed as quickly as the same day of their arrest. Mexican migrants are sent back to one of 11 repatriation points along the U.S.-Mexico border or flown to Mexico City. The process is different for countries that don't share a border with the United States. The 2,000 targeted migrants likely come mostly from Central American countries, which makes it more challenging to deport them quickly, Valenzuela said. ICE has up to three months to deport someone; on average, it takes one to two months. In these cases, it's likely the U.S. government will try to move much more quickly, she added. "I definitely think that the administration is aware that citizens of this country are outraged, that ... the legal community is ready to step up and help these families," Valenzuela said. "And one of their biggest tools is rapid deportation. I'm sure there have been discussions or plans to undertake these deportations as quickly as possible." What about the children? In the past, immigration sweeps largely have focused on adult individuals or on businesses, but the raids expected to begin Sunday will include children who traveled with family members to the United States. "To proactively go to homes to arrest children, we've never seen it in this way," Valenzuela said. "And as a policy and as an operation, we've never seen it." Reyes also expressed concern for mixed-status families and raised questions about what would happen to U.S.-born children if their parents are detained. DREAMERS: Trump team unveils new immigration framework with path to citizenship Based on what has happened in previous raids and sweeps, he encouraged families to plan so that their children and any property they own are protected. "All of these are issues that I believe should be discussed in a very honest way so that we can avoid what I think are going to be a lot of these secondary consequences of these enforcement operations," he said. Is there any last-minute recourse for migrants? Individuals with deportation orders don't have a right to go before court, Valenzuela said. Their only recourse is to reopen the deportation order, which means asking the court to step in and stop the deportation while the motion is pending. But under the way the system is currently set up, Valenzuela added, once there's a deportation order, it's difficult to get a court to hear the case. "What ends up happening is if your deportation is not stopped, the courts don't rule in time and ... you can be deported before your motion is reopened and even decided," Valenzuela said. Reyes said that as the expected raids play out across the U.S., attorneys with the American Immigration Lawyers Association will be monitoring the situation and looking for any red flags in the process. "We're going to be on the lookout for violations of due process," he said. "Are they coming in and claiming that they have an order of arrest signed by a judge in their jurisdiction that will allow them to go in? Are they knocking down doors? Are they looking for collateral damage?" While there may be little that can be done after a migrant with a deportation order is arrested, immigration advocates agree that consulting or retaining an attorney can make a big difference in the outcome of a case. Reyes urged migrants to seek legal advice beforehand to understand where their immigration cases stand and if they are eligible for any other type of relief of visa. Have any news tips or story ideas about the U.S.-Mexico border? Reach the reporter at rafael.carranza@arizonarepublic.com , or follow him on Twitter at @RafaelCarranza . This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 5 things to know about the upcoming immigration raids in major U.S. cities


JAKARTA (Reuters) - A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck the Moluccas islands in eastern Indonesia on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported, killing one person and causing panic among residents. The quake occurred at a depth of 10 km (6 miles) in an area 168 km south-southeast of the city of Ternate, the USGS said. Indonesia's meteorology agency (BMKG) recorded the quake at 7.2 magnitude and was not in danger of causing a tsunami. The country's disaster mitigation agency said on Twitter a woman in South Halmahera died due to the quake, without giving further details. Within less than four hours since the main quake, the disaster agency recorded at least 30 aftershocks, it added. The quake hit hours after a magnitude 6.6 struck offshore Western Australia, south of Indonesia. Iksan Subur, an official with Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency based in the regency of South Halmahera, near the earthquake's epicentre, said people in the area panicked and ran out of their houses. People who lived near the ocean left for higher ground despite reassurances from officials that the quake did not have tsunami potential. In a video uploaded on Twitter a few hours after the quake, authorities asked people to return to their houses. The BMKG said the main quake was felt in other parts of Indonesia, including cities on Sulawesi island and in Sorong on Papua island. Last week, the BMKG issued a tsunami warning, which was later lifted, after a magnitude 6.9 quake hit off the northeastern shore of Sulawesi, west of Sunday's quake. Indonesia is situated on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, which is frequently hit by earthquakes and sometimes accompanying tsunamis. The most devastating in recent Indonesian history was on Dec. 26 in 2004, when a magnitude 9.5 quake triggered a massive tsunami that killed around 226,000 people along the shorelines of the Indian Ocean, including more than 126,000 in Indonesia. Last year, a tsunami hit the city of Palu in Sulawesi, killing thousands. (Reporting by Tabita Diela, Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Ed Davies and David Evans)


The Indianapolis Colts pass rush had a surprising leader when the season was all said and done. Finding a perfect role in the defensive line, defensive tackle Denico Autry thrived with his new team in 2018. His production-9.0 sacks, leading the defense-was remarkable for the 12 games he appeared in. He proved to be a perfect match for the ever-aggressive, gap-shooting front run by defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. Explosion off the ball helped Autry generate so much pressure, and that has shown up quickly throughout the early portion of training camp. "Yeah, Denico has looked really good - really jumped off of the tape early these first couple practices. He's just so quick inside like that. He really could play inside or out, he's got that kind of talent," said head coach Frank Reich to reporters Sunday. Autry was one of the first free agents the Colts targeted and signed during the 2018 offseason. They felt his explosiveness and burst off the snap would be perfectly suited for the three-technique role on the interior. That, in addition to his versatility, was proven right. Throughout the offseason, there was much talk about the potential of second-year defensive tackle Tyquan Lewis competing with Autry for the three-technique position. However, if Autry can replicate the type of production he showed in just 12 games during the 2018 season, it will be hard for the 29-year-old to come off the field. "He's a tough matchup inside on the pass rush," Reich said. "And then with our defensive scheme, with all of the line movements we make, for an inside player, we're not just a smash you in the mouth, so that really plays into Denico's strengths." The Colts will have plenty of rotation with the defensive line, but Autry should continue to hold one of the premier roles on the interior as long as he stays healthy, which was a bit of a challenge in 2018. While there could be some changes to the defense for the upcoming campaign, the aggressiveness of the front will remain the same. As long as his health stays with him in 2019, Autry will continue to be a force up front. MORE: CPBL pitcher tried to fool a batter with the weirdest hidden-ball trick Reaction to Jerry Jones' comments on Elliott, star backs, unwarranted Packers FB Danny 'The Muscle Man' Vitale could play key role in new offense Tom Brady disobeys Bill Belichick at practice, and suffers the consequences Watch: Erik Schlitt recaps the first week of Lions training camp


ANAHEIM, Calif.   Edwin Encarnacion paused at the plate and watched while his 400th homer flew toward the Mariners' bullpen beyond left field. He pumped his fists as he circled the bases while his teammates went wild for the milestone. Although Seattle's season has been mostly dismal, Encarnacion has done his best to provide something to cheer. His latest power barrage even propelled the Mariners to a rare series win. Encarnacion hit two homers to become the third active player with 400 homers, and Tom Murphy added two more homers in the Mariners' 9-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. BOX SCORE: MARINERS 9, ANGELS 3 Encarnacion and Daniel Vogelbach hit back-to-back homers in the sixth, and Encarnacion added a solo shot in the seventh for his 35th career multihomer game and his second against the Angels this month. Kyle Seager connected in the ninth for the Mariners' sixth homer, their most in a game since May 12, 2015. Seattle took two of three from Los Angeles for its first series win since mid-May and its first road series victory since mid-April. But the Mariners were focused on celebrating Encarnacion, who also got his 1,200th career RBI in the process. "I feel really good that I accomplished this," Encarnacion said. "I've been waiting for it for a long time." While becoming the 56th player in baseball history to hit 400 homers, Encarnacion pushed into the AL lead with his 20th homer of the season. Even at 36 years old, Encarnacion shows few signs of slowing: His 282 homers since 2012 are the most in the majors. "What can you say (except) unbelievable," Seattle manager Scott Servais said of the milestone. "There's what, 19,000 guys that have played? Little disappointed nothing showed up on the (scoreboard) here, to be honest. But everybody in our dugout knew what was going on, how important it was to him. He's been a true professional since we got him. Nothing but happy for him." Although his name frequently comes up in trade rumors around the struggling Mariners, he's not planning beyond the next game and his next statistical goal, which might be 500 homers. "We'll see," Encarnacion said with a smile. "I'm ready for it, but I don't think about that. I just try to keep winning." Tommy La Stella hit his 15th homer for the Angels, who have lost five of seven. After the Mariners' six-homer outburst, Los Angeles' pitching staff has yielded 111 homers in 66 games this season. That's more homers allowed than every team in the majors except Baltimore and Seattle. Brad Ausmus was ejected for the first time in his tenure as the Angels' manager for arguing about the strike zone of home plate umpire Jeremie Rehak after the third inning, when Mike Trout struck out looking. "He's just defending the team," Trout said. "Things don't go your way sometimes, and he's trying to fire us up. That's the way things go sometimes." 400 CLUB The only other active members of the 400-homer club are Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols, who remained stuck on 644 homers after going 0 for 4 with two flyouts to the warning track in center. FOR STARTERS Jose Suarez (1-1) yielded four hits and two runs over 4 2/3 innings in his second big league start for the Angels. The lefty beat Seattle last weekend in his major league debut, but didn't get 13 runs of support this time. "It was a little bit more difficult this time," Suarez said. "I kind of got in my head that they knew my game plan, because I saw them already this season. But I still just tried to stick to that game plan." TOVAR'S TURN Wilfredo Tovar doubled in the seventh for his first big league hit since 2014. The former Mets prospect, filling in for injured Andrelton Simmons at shortstop, was called up by the Angels for this series. GOOD START After opener Austin Adams struck out Trout and Shohei Ohtani in the first inning, Wade LeBlanc (3-2) pitched six innings of six-hit ball with eight strikeouts for his first victory since April 7. "I got away with a couple of mistakes," LeBlanc said. "But other than that, it was crisp." SHO'S 0 Ohtani went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts one day after homering off Seattle's Yusei Kikuchi in their first big league meeting. TRAINER'S ROOM Mariners: Dee Gordon (bruised wrist) is expected to join the club Tuesday in Minnesota. Angels: Trevor Cahill went on the injured list with right elbow soreness, although he's only expected to miss one start. Matt Harvey (back strain), the Halos' other big free-agent pitcher signing, got hit hard in a rehab start for Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday. UP NEXT Mariners: After a day off, Mike Leake (5-6, 4.30 ERA) takes the mound in Minnesota against Martin Perez (7-2, 3.72). Angels: Rookie Griffin Canning (2-2, 3.52 ERA) makes his eighth career start in the Freeway Series opener Monday night in Anaheim. The Halos must face dominant lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu (9-1, 1.35 ERA) for the Dodgers. ------ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP--Sports