Ken Tanigawa played the first 10 holes Sunday in two over par and was looking at a three-shot deficit, but rallied (along with getting a little help from Paul Broadhurst) to win the KitchenAId Senior PGA Championship. Tanigawa won by one over Scott McCarron, but it was Broadhurst that provided the main competition. The third-round leader, Broadhurst shot 75, including playing the final three holes in three over par with a double-bogey 6 on the 18th and a bogey at the par-4 last when he got overly aggressive with his birdie attempt to tie Tanigawa. Tanigawa, meanwhile, backed up a third-round 66 with a solid even-par 70 at Oak Hill C.C. After playing the first 10 holes in two over, he birdied both the par 3s on the incoming nine as well as the par-416th before bogeying the par-4 17th. A scrambling par at the last after his tee shot found a fairway bunker, necessitating a 12-foot par-save putt proved to be the difference. "It's just a real golf course," Tanigawa said on Saturday of Oak Hill's famed East Course a layout that had hosted eight prior major or senior major championships. "There's no faking it around here." Tanigawa ranked fourth in greens in regulation with his Ping i210 irons and fourth in putts per green in regulation with a Ping PLD Prime Tyne mallet. He also won using a yellow Titleist Pro V1 golf ball. The win was Tanigawa's second in two years on the PGA Tour Champions, his other coming at last year's Pure Insurance Championship. What Ken Tanigawa had in the bag at the Kitchen-Aid Senior PGA Championship Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Yellow Driver: Ping G410 Plus (Fujikura Ventus 6x), 9 degrees 3-wood: Ping G410, 14.5 degrees Hybrid: Ping G410, 19 degrees Irons (4-PW): Ping i210 Putter: Ping PLD Prime Tyne See the video.


OSAKA, Japan   President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to focus on the world's problems, perhaps as a way of limiting discussion on their own tensions. In a meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit here in Osaka, Japan, Trump and Merkel centered their comments on problems in other nations: Libya and the Sahel region of Africa, eastern Ukraine and Iran. They also addressed the trade issues between the EU and the U.S. According to the White House, Trump and Merkel discussed "a wide range of issues, including Iran's dangerous activity in the Middle East." According to Merkel's spokesperson, Steffen Seibert, that part of the conversation was on "the U.S. conflict with Iran." The differences in the readouts between the White House's version and the German chancellery's hinted at the deep, ongoing stress in U.S.-German dealings. The relationship has soured significantly since Trump took office and began relentlessly bashing Berlin over military spending and what he believes is an unfair trade imbalance. Trump has also slammed Germany over its support for construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which he contends will only increase European dependence on Russian natural gas. But when he spoke to reporters after their meeting, Trump seemed to minimize any conflict and praised Merkel with his usual over-the-top exaggeration, calling her "a great friend of mine." "She's a fantastic person, a fantastic woman, and I'm glad to have her as a friend," Trump said. In reply, Merkel thanked Trump and noted that "German companies are investing a lot" in the United States. Slideshow by photo services The U.S. president also veered totally off topic and noted that he had watched some of the debate between Democratic presidential candidates, but that "it wasn't very exciting." Trump accused the Democrats of wanting to give "maximum health care" to illegal immigrants. "Unfortunately, they didn't discuss what they're giving to American citizens," he said.


Mercedes has teased a first look at the "125 years of motorsport" anniversary livery it will run on its Formula 1 car at this weekend's German Grand Prix. The German manufacturer will make its 200th start as a works team at its home race at Hockenheim. also plans to honour the 125th anniversary of the 1894 Paris-Rouen event, widely considered to be the world's first motor race, with a special livery. It shared the first look of its commemorative design on the official Mercedes F1 Twitter account, with the usual Mercedes/Petronas colours on the side of the car in front of the cockpit interrupted by a white section bearing the Mercedes name in cursive font. Mercedes-Benz's original grand prix cars were traditionally painted white back when such cars were entered in the colours of their country. "This year's race is a very special event: we're the title sponsor and the race will mark the 200th start for Mercedes in Formula 1," said team boss Toto Wolff. "We will also celebrate a remarkable anniversary in Hockenheim: 125 years of motorsport. "In 1894, the world's first car race was held from Paris to Rouen and the winning machine had at its heart an engine manufactured to the design of Gottlieb Daimler. "It was the start of a great motorsport tradition that continues to this day and we are incredibly proud to write the next chapter in this legacy. We will run a commemorative livery to pay tribute to our heritage." Read Also: Mercedes takes fewest softs for Hungarian GP Mercedes' official pre-race preview documented the significance of the 1894 race and also the part the event plays in its own history. It noted: "Nine of the 17 finishers were powered by 3.5 horsepower, two-cylinder V-engines that had been invented by Gottlieb Daimler and were manufactured in France according to his original plans. "A 5 hp Benz vehicle was also among the finishers of the race." Daimler went on to build cars with the Mercedes name and after the Daimler-Benz merger early in the 20th century, the Mercedes-Benz brand established itself as a leading grand prix entity. The move away from the traditional white colour was allegedly spawned when the W25's white paint was scraped off to meet the weight limit before its first race in 1934. According to Mercedes: "Without the white paint, the metal bodywork of the car was exposed, giving it a silver look: the first Silver Arrow was born."


The Raptors' decision to part ways with Coach of the Year Dwane Casey and then to trade beloved star DeMar DeRozan generated some angst among the fan base last summer. But the moves ultimately paid off in dividends for the long-snakebitten organization this spring. A Raptors postseason run that featured an improbable Game 7 buzzer-beater against the Sixers and a comeback from a 2-0 deficit against the Bucks culminated with a Finals win over the Warriors for Toronto's first NBA championship. Now, with the hangover from that title celebration still wearing off, the club will have to figure out whether it can keep All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard and make another run in 2019-20. Here are five key questions facing the franchise this summer: 1. Will Kawhi Leonard re-sign? With Kevin Durant expected to miss the 2019-20 season due to his torn Achilles, Leonard is unquestionably the top free agent on the market. And with just hours remaining until free agency officially begins, we still don't really have a sense of what his plans are. Did his championship run with the Raptors make him gain a new appreciation for Toronto, or does he still want to play in his hometown of Los Angeles? Would teaming up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the Lakers appeal to him after he led a team to a championship as the unquestioned No. 1 option? Does he want to join forces with another top free agent like Durant or Jimmy Butler ? Does he intend to sign a shorter-term deal or opt for long-term security? All of these questions remain up in the air, which makes it impossible to get a good read on how likely a return to Toronto is. That puts the Raptors in a tough situation, especially if Leonard doesn't intend to make a quick decision once free agency opens, since their outlook going forward hinges on whether they'll have the Finals MVP for five years, two years, one year   or not at all. Fortunately for the Raptors, they're not in a position where they'd have to remain in a holding pattern with other top free agents as they wait for Leonard's decision. They don't project to have cap room, so Kawhi's decision may actually not impact their 2019 offseason roster moves in a huge way. Most of their key contributors remain under contract. It's possible Danny Green 's free agency decision will be tied to Kawhi's to some extent, and the Raptors may not be limited to just the taxpayer mid-level exception if Leonard heads elsewhere. Otherwise, I wouldn't expect their short-term plans to change too drastically based on Kawhi's decision. 2. Will Danny Green re-sign? Of the eight players who saw the bulk of the minutes in the Raptors' final two playoff series (Leonard, Kyle Lowry , Marc Gasol , Pascal Siakam , Green, Fred VanVleet , Serge Ibaka and Norman Powell ), only Leonard and Green are free agents. Green has suggested he'd be interested in running it back with the same group   many of whom will be on expiring contracts   and trying to defend their title. But if Leonard takes a few days to make his decision in free agency, Green probably can't wait around to see what he does. He'll be one of the more coveted three-and-D wings on the open market and should draw plenty of interest from around the league. With Green's Bird rights in hand, the Raptors are in position to be one of the bidders that can make a strong play for him, and I think they'd be interested in re-signing him whether or not Leonard returns. Despite some up-and-down performances in the playoffs, Green was the team's best three-point shooter during the regular season, and his ability to lock down perimeter players nearly earned him a spot on one of the NBA's 2018-19 All-Defensive teams. Green can reasonably expect to get mid-level offers, and it may take a stronger bid than that to land him   I wouldn't be surprised to see him go for more than $12M annually. If the Raptors want to keep him, they'll likely need to commit to a price in that range for multiple years. So far, Toronto has kept its books relatively clean beyond 2020 (only Powell and OG Anunoby are under contract past next season for now), but the team shouldn't be hesitant to offer Green a multiyear deal if it wants him back   at age 32, he should still have at least two or three more quality seasons left in him. 3. What's the plan if Leonard and Green don't return? As noted above, many of the Raptors' veterans will be on expiring contracts in 2019-20. Lowry, Gasol, Ibaka and VanVleet are all on track for unrestricted free agency next summer. So it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility that the club could begin a retooling process if Leonard leaves, flipping some of those useful veterans on expiring deals for younger pieces or future assets. I don't expect that to happen, though. Raptors management may feel as if it owes it to its players and fans to keep as much of its championship roster together as possible. And even if the team doesn't feel that obligation, there's a much more practical reason to keep the roster intact: It was a pretty good team even without Kawhi last season. While Leonard managed his load and nursed minor injuries in 22 games over the course of the season, the Raptors posted a 17-5 record. Obviously, Toronto's championship upside would take a hit without Leonard   and Green   but the club could potentially use its mid-level exception (and possibly its bi-annual exception) to add a starter and a rotation player via free agency. Throw in potential improvements from Anunoby and other young players and this is still a strong playoff team in the East. And if it struggles, midseason trades involving those expiring contracts are always a possibility. If Leonard and Green walk, I'd expect the Raptors to aggressively pursue wing help on the free agent market. Wesley Matthews , James Ennis , Trevor Ariza , Garrett Temple , Reggie Bullock , Wayne Ellington , Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Rodney Hood are among the many players who could be decent fits. 4. Is Nando De Colo finally in the Raptors' plans? De Colo, a longtime EuroLeague standout, appeared in 21 games for the Raptors in 2013-14 after a brief stint with the Spurs, and he hasn't been back in the NBA since then. However, Toronto has made an annual bookkeeping move involving De Colo, issuing him qualifying offers that he has never accepted to ensure the team retains his NBA restricted free agent rights. Those QOs may finally pay off this summer, as De Colo has parted ways with CSKA Moscow and will be seeking a return to the NBA . If the 32-year-old guard signs an offer sheet with any of the NBA's 29 teams besides the Raptors, Toronto will have an opportunity to match it. While De Colo may not be a fit on a roster that features Lowry and VanVleet at point guard, I wouldn't necessarily expect the Raptors to just renounce their rights to the former second-round pick and move on. Trading for De Colo was one of the first moves Ujiri made during his tenure as the Raps' head of basketball operations, and there's a reason the team never gave up its rights to De Colo over the last five years. I still have a hard time envisioning De Colo suiting up for the Raptors in 2019-20, but this is a situation worth watching. De Colo is one of two Raptors restricted free agents. Patrick McCaw is the other. McCaw's situation could be interesting as well, given how his restricted free agency with the Warriors played out last year   the two sides locked in a stalemate well into the regular season. Of the two, McCaw is probably the more likely one to suit up for Toronto next season, but I don't have a good feel yet for how attached the team is to either player. If Leonard returns, it's possible both will be renounced for tax-related reasons. 5. Will the Raptors extend Pascal Siakam? Technically, Siakam is part of that group of Raptors who are entering the final year of their respective contracts and haven't yet been locked up through next season. But there's little doubt that the NBA's Most Improved Player is part of the club's long-term plans, even if it takes a maximum-salary deal   or something close to it   to keep him in town. Siakam will become eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason, and if he's willing to accept something of a team-friendly rate, I'd expect the Raptors to work hard to get something done. If not, it makes more sense for the front office to be patient and re-sign Siakam once he hits restricted free agency in 2020. With so many contracts set to come off the books next year, the Raptors project to have a massive amount of cap room, which could give the team a ton of options in free agency or on the trade market. A lucrative new extension for Siakam would cut into the team's flexibility by upward of $20M. If Toronto lets the young forward become a restricted free agent, the club could keep his very modest $7M cap hold on the books for the first part of 2020's free agent period, then go over the cap to re-sign him once it has used up the rest of its cap room. It's hard to envision a scenario in which Siakam isn't a Raptor for the next several years, so if he doesn't sign an extension this offseason, it can probably be chalked up to cap-related technicalities rather than a lack of interest in a long-term deal.


The Bruins should have lost Game 3 in the first five minutes. And if not in the first five minutes, then the next 15 minutes. Either way, the Bruins had a horrible, no good, very bad first period. But the B's had Tuukka Rask and Rask had their collective backs, stopping 35 of 36 shots -- 20 of which came in the first period -- en route to a 2-1 Bruins win and 3-0 series lead. "Guys have played with Tuukka [Rask> for a while," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters after the win. "They know what he's made of. Obviously for us keeping the puck out of our net gives us a chance to regroup after the first intermission, find our game." The fact that the Hurricanes never even lit the lamp once in the first period is a miracle in itself for the Bruins. Just three minutes in, Rask made four consecutive saves on top-notch scoring chances for the Hurricanes. Tuukka Rask is good pic.twitter.com/1seB7zkyf4 -- Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 15, 2019 With his 20 stops in the first period, Rask became the first Bruins goalie to make that amount of saves in a postseason period since Tim Thomas during the third period in Game 2 of the 2011 Conference Semifinals when he made 22 stops. See, Tuukka-deniers: Rask is putting up Thomas-like numbers. "I think that's the experience," said Rask of the traffic in front of him in the first period. "Once you've played in the playoffs many many years and you've seen different kinds of scenarios and what might happen out there." Rask is so locked in right now that there were shots he admittedly didn't see and he still stopped them. "There's a couple chances I didn't see in the first period," said Rask. "But a lot of times, if you don't see it and don't move you have a better shot at saving it than if you would move too much. Justin Williams shot one high glove that I didn't see at all. One high blocker in tight that just hit me so that's kind of the thing like if it hits me, it hits me." Just like he has often throughout this postseason, Cassidy credited Rask's play with calming the rest of the team down between periods. "What it does for the team is it allows you to take a deep breath knowing you're going into the first intermission 'hey we haven't played our best but it's 0-0'," said Cassidy. "I think you have to have a short memory in the playoffs and we were able to find our game after that." Rask flourishing in the first period is nothing new; he's made 150 saves on 156 shots in all first periods this postseason, which is good for a save percentage of .961. But his outstanding play wasn't limited to the first 20 minutes on Wednesday night. Time and time again, when the Bruins were down and out, Rask was up and at 'em. His second period save where he stacked the pads on an odd-man rush was the epitome of this. TUUKKA RASK IS PLAYING OUT OF HIS GOD DAMN MIND pic.twitter.com/XWJHB7Xk90 -- Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) May 15, 2019 "To me it's been his poise," said Patrice Bergeron when asked about why Rask has been so successful throughout this postseason. "Tuukka's one of those guys who's always calm and collected and never too up or down. He's always even keel. Right now he's in the zone. He's been amazing and he's a huge reason why we're here right now." The "poise" Bergeron speaks of was on display in the third period when Rask stayed center and stopped a Jordan Staal tip. It also came into play when Matt Grzelcyk was called for tripping midway through the final 20 in a one-goal game. Once again, Rask was there to make the saves. "He's stopping the puck," said Brad Marchand. "He's in the zone right now. He's confident. You just let him be and let him keep doing his thing and giving us the opportunity to win every game. That's why we are where we are." Rask's overall numbers in this postseason are just as impressive as his performance in Game 3. His .939 save percentage and 1.96 goals-against average through 16 games are both ranked second in each category. Ironically enough, Curtis McElhinney ranks first in both, though he's only appeared in four games. "I've felt good for a couple months now," said Rask when evaluating his own performance. "It's just the way you're seeing the puck. You feel comfortable. It's about timing, patience and all that. I think experience helps that. You just try to stay mentally focused and sharp, night in and night out and not get rattled by anything. Being in the zone, although nobody knows what that means." His numbers throughout this Cup run actually rank above Thomas' stats through 16 games in 2011. In that year, Thomas had a .931 save percentage and a 2.27 GAA. Take that, Tuukka-deniers. "Rask is the difference maker," said Hurricanes bench boss Rod Brind'Amour. "You can feel that." Brind'Amour is right -- Rask was the difference maker in Game 3. That statement would also be true for this entire Cup run. Throughout these playoffs, it's been more of an opinion that Rask is currently playing the best hockey of his career. Now it's more of a fact.


Defensive tackle Bryan Bresee, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2020, committed to Clemson on Tuesday afternoon at an assembly at Demascus High School. With the commitment, Clemson moved to the top of the 247Sports Composite's 2020 recruiting class rankings, jumping past Alabama in the rankings. If the Tigers were to hold that position, it would be the first time in program history they had earned a No. 1 class ranking. Bresee joins 11 other commits in Swinney's 2020 haul so far, including the class's second-best defensive tackle Demonte Capehart, No. 33 overall prospect cornerback Fred Davis II and top-ranked safety RJ Mickens. The 6'5", 290-pound tackle picked the Tigers over offers from Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Alabama, Clemson and Georgia. He also considered Oklahoma earlier in the recruiting process. pic.twitter.com/WFjKEsHRP0   Bryan Bresee (@bryan_bresee) April 23, 2019 Bresee has been the country's top prospect throughout the entire 2020 recruiting cycle. The Demascus, Md. native said he felt like the Clemson program was the best fit for him. "It has top notch facilities. I love (defensive tackles) coach (Todd) Bates," Bresee told CBS Sports earlier this week. "He is real genuine. I can really feel that with him. All the players seem to love it down there. I have (Washington, D.C., defensive tackle commit) Tre Williams in my ear." Clemson won the 2018 national championship last season, becoming the first team ever to finish a season with a 15 0 record. Bresee will not be able to send in a national letter of intent until college football's three-day early signing period begins on Dec. 18.


A lot has changed at Rosemont College since Sharon Latchaw Hirsh took over as president in 2006. The small Catholic liberal arts school on the Main Line went coed nearly a decade ago. It began to offer online graduate-degree programs, overhauled how it charges tuition to appeal to more middle-class students, and made SAT and ACT scores optional for admission. Now comes more change. Hirsh last week announced that she will step down as president next May, after 14½ years at the helm. That's more than twice the average tenure for a college president. The only other four-year college presidents in the region who have been at it longer are Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania, and Sister Carol Jean Vale, president of Chestnut Hill College. Hirsh's departure will come one year shy of Rosemont's 100th anniversary. "I just think it's a good time," said Hirsh, who will be 72 when she departs. Though Rosemont, like many other colleges, faces challenges, Hirsh -- a 1970 Rosemont alumna -- remains optimistic about its future. "Rosemont is going to survive, because I know we're operating as this little, tiny machine," she said this month. "We just keep doing what we need to do.… We don't have a significant endowment, but we also don't have significant, out-of-proportion debt, which has been part of the concern of some other colleges." Rosemont has been taking steps to stay competitive and respond to a dip in high school graduates nationally. In 2009, it welcomed its first class with men. Today, about 35 percent of its students are males. In 2016, the college slashed its tuition sticker price by 43 percent, to $18,500, although the savings for students wasn't as stark because the college also doled out less financial aid than in the past. But the lower price helped by attracting more middle-class families who thought Rosemont's previous tuition of $32,500 was out of reach, Hirsh said. Next year, it will be $19,500. Also, in a bid to attract more students, Rosemont dropped its requirement this year that applicants submit SAT or ACT scores. "You have to be constantly changing and adapting, on small levels, on major levels," Hirsh said. "You can't be afraid of anything." The college's current traditional undergraduate enrollment is 471, down from just over 500 a decade ago. Rosemont expects to hit its freshman enrollment target of 110 this fall, she said. And while Rosemont is anticipating a deficit, it's nothing that will adversely affect operations, she said. More change is on tap. The college has decided to put more resources into programs for professional and graduate students, a population that isn't facing the same downward enrollment trend as traditional undergraduates. More than 470 students are enrolled in those programs. The school has added a program in applied psychology, an MBA in health-care administration, and a master's in homeland security and emergency management. Rosemont also has engaged in a proliferation of partnerships with other colleges and businesses, and she said more partnerships are in the works, most notably a closer relationship with its much larger neighbor, Villanova University. "We are in conversation [with Villanova] now about some other partnerships," she said. (The provosts from both campuses are meeting, but details aren't ready to be released.) The two schools for many years have offered cross-registration, letting students at one campus take classes at the other. Also for years, rumors have swirled that Rosemont might merge with Villanova. Hirsch said she remembers hearing it when she was an undergraduate. Rosemont looked at the pros and cons of merger more than a decade ago and decided against it. Hirsh said that was the right decision and still is. "If you have a huge company merging with a smaller company, there's no compromise," she said. The small one gets absorbed. In the last decade, Rosemont has partnered with Independence Blue Cross to deliver courses at its corporate headquarters. It has developed a nursing program partnership with Drexel; a path for Rosemont's undergraduates in sports management to go onto the graduate program at Neumann University; and a cross-registration agreement with Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. Rosemont also belongs to a consortium of eight local colleges, most of them Catholic, partnering to achieve cost-savings. The schools host an annual symposium for honors students. "It's a fantastic experience that we couldn't replicate as a single institution," she said. Under Hirsh, the college also upgraded its athletic complex, library, dining hall, and theater, and purchased and renovated a Victorian house as a residence for honors students. It also completed a $40 million fund-raising campaign in 2017. Born in Pittsburgh, Hirsh, an art historian, spent her career at three institutions. She completed her graduate work at the University of Pittsburgh, then was hired by Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., where she taught for more than 30 years. She left Dickinson in 2005 to become acting president of Rosemont when its then-leader became ill. She's not sure what she will do next. She definitely plans more time with her new grandson. She might finish a book she started at Dickinson. She doesn't want to teach. She loved it, but not its accomplice -- grading. "All the exams were essay-based," she explained, "and I would end up writing more than the student wrote." She also plans to return to Rosemont for her 50th reunion in summer 2020 and the college's 100th anniversary the following year. And her name will live on: The board of trustees this spring voted to rename the new 73,000-square-foot campus building under construction. It will be called the Sharon Latchaw Hirsh Community Center. ___ (c)2019 The Philadelphia Inquirer Visit The Philadelphia Inquirer at www.inquirer.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


FARMINGDALE, N.Y.   Every legendary moment began with an origin story and Brooks Koepka's is a tale of collective connections that have paved a generational path. Growing up in South Florida, young Brooks took to every sport, from golf to roller hockey, but his first love was baseball. His father, Bob, described a second baseman who was turning double plays in tee-ball and regularly competed against older players. Although he'd spend countless hours on the practice putting green at the Breakers West in Palm Beach, Florida, rapping shots across the surface from the time Bob Koepka put a plastic set of clubs in his hand at 2 years old, it wasn't until he was 12 that he approached his father, a former college pitcher, with a plan to focus exclusively on golf. "He made the right choice," Bob Koepka conceded. It was the first of countless choices Koepka made on a road that delivered him to a historic moment on Sunday at the PGA Championship, where he outlasted Dustin Johnson for a two-shot victory and his fourth major triumph in his last eight Grand Slam starts. You know the deal, it takes a village; and Koepka's brilliance has been pulled from an eclectic pot. Best of: Brooks Koepka through the years The earliest vestiges of the player who has become a golf iconoclast came late in his high-school career. Despite a solid resume, Koepka was lightly recruited by the game's traditional powerhouses, a slight, however unintended, that fueled him. Sound familiar? "[Former University of Florida golf coach] Buddy Alexander would always look but never sent him a letter," Bob Koepka recalled. "I told him, 'Every time you play Florida, go kick their butt; at some point [Alexander] has got to come say something.'" It was in the spring of 2009 when Trey Jones, the head golf coach at Florida State, first met Koepka. "I remember saying he's your problem child now," Bob Koepka said with a laugh. PGA Championship: Scores | Full coverage Chris Malloy, FSU's assistant coach at the time, described a "string bean" with a uniquely direct approach for someone of his age. He didn't have the best grades and needed to fix that. He did. He also needed to control his emotions on the course. That took some time. Malloy instituted a "five-second" rule, limiting the prodigy to how long he was allowed to hold a club after a bad shot before it had to be back in the bag. Violate the "five-second" rule and it was off to Doak Campbell Stadium to run the stairs. "We spent a lot of Saturdays at Doak Campbell," Malloy laughed. "We'd go at 6 a.m. after the team workout and I'd sit at the bottom with a trash can, we'd call it a puke can. He's a tough kid." In retrospect, punishing a player who has now taken fitness to the extreme with exercise quickly produced diminishing results. Instead, Malloy changed to a team punishment concept when Koepka violated a rule and the young man's distaste for collective retribution slowly began to have the desired effect on his on-course behavior. The player who stalked 72 holes this week at Bethpage Black seemingly without a care in the world came by his indifference honestly. As difficult as it is for those who are now in awe of the aloof champion to believe, it wasn't always that way for the bona fide hothead. "Everything you see with Brooks is a learned behavior. None of this is natural for him. He has worked his ass off to do every part of that," Malloy said. "He was a ball of flaming fire." When he took the path less traveled on the Challenge Tour, a secondary circuit in Europe that sent the aspiring professional to far-flung tournaments from Slovakia to Spain, it was legendary swing coach Pete Cowen who crossed Koepka's path. Skeptical Chamblee: Koepka has 'made a believer out of me' Although blessed with a monsoon of physical gifts, Koepka's swing isn't what an expert would deem technically flawless. But under Cowen's experienced watch that began to change. While the instant analysis of Koepka's victory at Bethpage Black will fixate on his ability to bludgeon the unrelenting layout into submission, it's the nuances of a repeatable swing and a widely underappreciated short game that has transformed him from a curiosity into a consistent champion. "Guys like Pete Cowen and myself have been able to give Brooks a lot," said Graeme McDowell, who served as an early sounding board for Koepka on the European Tour. In the spring of 2013 it was another chance encounter with swing coach Claude Harmon III that continued the process. During their first meeting, Koepka told Harmon he thought he could be the No. 1 player in the world and win multiple majors. If those lofty expectations may have caused some to flinch, Harmon said Koepka embraced every step of the process. Everything Harmon asked of Koepka he did, refining a swing that had proven world-class on the European Tour but still was rough around the edges when it came to the game's most demanding tests. "Brooks is a product of everybody that was a part of his life," Harmon said. "He values the people around him and his team." The final piece of the puzzle that propelled Koepka to a Grand Slam stranglehold fell into place in the fall of 2016 when his friendship with Dustin Johnson led him to Joey Diovisalvi. Although he was no stranger to the gym, Koepka wanted to take his training to the next level, to a place where golfers rarely if ever go, and in Diovisalvi he found a kindred spirit. Distance has always been an advantage in golf from the time the ancient Scots started hitting rocks with sticks, but for Koepka this was about more than the 36 drives he fearlessly launched over 300 yards this week. This was about cumulative strength and the ability to play shots the majority of players can't hit, particularly from the shaggy rough that loomed around every corner at Bethpage. "He was looking to make a change. He wanted to basically take his physicality to a place that would match his game," Diovisalvi said. "He wanted more intensity in his program. He took it very seriously and began to understand the benefits of a much more intense routine." Koepka fueled by negative energy from fans: 'Kind of deserved it' There will be those who believe that Koepka arrived a fully assembled champion when he won the 2017 U.S. Open for his major breakthrough, but that ignores so much. The self-confidence and calm born from countless hours perfecting his craft was there during the final round when he limped to the 15 th tee having allowed his seven-shot advantage to start the day to be slashed to a single stroke. But he was cast for these uncomfortable moments by a lifetime of reinforcement, both positive and otherwise. Few, if any, stumble into greatness. There's always an origin story and for Koepka it's a winding tale   from ill-tempered teenager to a globetrotting adult, who embraced being uncomfortable in order to condition himself for life's biggest moments, to a four-time major champion. It's never a single moment, it's a collection of experiences and chance encounters that have made Koepka greater than the sum of his parts. When he finally putted out for a nervy victory, Bob Koepka was there. So was Harmon. But even those who didn't make the trip to Long Island were still with him.


When Cleveland celebrated its sixth time hosting MLB's All-Star Game last week, it might have seemed an odd event to commemorate baseball's integration. But when Jackie Robinson stepped onto the field in a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform in April of 1947, becoming the first African-American to play in white organized baseball since the 19th century, it was the culmination of years of work by activists to integrate Major League Baseball. And one of the earliest battlegrounds for integration was a Negro Leagues all-star contest in Cleveland in 1942. In the 1880s, organized baseball had featured a small number of African-American players about a dozen, with brothers Moses Fleetwood Walker and Weldy Walker in the "major league" American Association. By all accounts, fans were accepting of black players, who instead faced harassment from other players, both opponents and teammates. By the end of the decade, all of the black players had been forced out and no new ones signed to replace them. There was no formal segregation policy in place with either of the major professional leagues at the time, the American Association and the National League. It was instead the result of a "gentlemen's agreement"; team owners essentially agreed among themselves to force African-American players from the leagues. That agreement held strong even as ownership changed hands, and maintained its grip on the American League once it was formed in 1901. There were sporadic calls to reintegrate baseball as the 20th century progressed, and they became more aggressive as the United States entered the Second World War. The war exposed contradictions in American society, because as troops fought for freedom in Europe and the Pacific theater, there were citizens in America that lacked basic freedoms. In 1942 the African-American weekly Pittsburgh Courier started what they referred to as the "Double V Campaign" black Americans not only had to fight for victory in the war, but also fight for equality on the home front. Baseball was a popular target; one of the arguments for the integration of baseball was that it would lead to desegregation in other areas of society. (In fact, the military was desegregated a year after Robinson broke the color barrier.) MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis inadvertently fueled the campaign when, during the summer of 1942, he claimed that there was no formal ban on African-Americans in baseball and that it was up to individual team owners to sign black players. This encouraged a number of African-American journalists to take the lead, but as had been evidenced by the prior half-century, no owners were exactly champing at the bit to be a trailblazer. The writers at the Cleveland Call and Post , an African-American weekly newspaper in the city, used Landis's statement as the basis for their sales pitch to Indians owner Alva Bradley, who had been team president since 1927. When the paper asked Bradley about the commissioner's comments, he echoed Landis by saying any owner could sign a black player at any time, and added that the Indians would consider it. (The Call and Post also reached out to Indians player-manager Lou Boudreau, who said that he supported the integration of the team, but would ultimately leave that decision up to Bradley.) Bradley managed to avoid and deflect specific questions about scouting Negro Leagues games, including the annual East-West All-Star Game. At one point Bradley claimed that "No Negro players have contacted me in any way," and implied that he would not offer a tryout until a player formally asked for one. Almost immediately, the Call and Post proposed three players on the Negro American League's Cleveland Buckeyes that they believed could cut it in MLB: outfielder Sam Jethroe, third baseman Parnell Woods, and pitcher Eugene Bremer (whose family name has alternatively been spelled "Bremmer" in a number of accounts over the years). John Fuster, one of the writers with the Call and Post , got permission from Buckeyes GM Wilbur Hayes to use the upcoming East-West All-Star Game in Cleveland as a "tryout" for Jethroe, Bremer, and Woods, since all three men would be on the roster. They penned a formal invitation to Bradley, and the request was signed by Parnell Woods, the only one of the three men who had a college degree. In addition to their talents on the field, African-American players considered for integration were also examined for their personality and their background. According to the Call and Post , Woods was "generally accepted as one of the game's real gentlemen," and his education was considered a résumé booster as well. The Call and Post hyped their stats, mentioning that Jethroe was hitting .436 on the season, Parnell was hitting .326, and that Bremer had an 11-2 record. The paper could hardly hide its excitement as it claimed, "From all that has gone before, it looks as if Cleveland may be the first big league club to actually set a date for a tryout of Negroes … we hope Bradley comes through." The East-West Game was played from 1933 until 1962, and was typically considered the premier event in the Negro Leagues each summer. Marquee names like Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, and Josh Gibson gathered at Chicago's Comiskey Park each year, in a game that often drew tens of thousands of fans. Due to the game's popularity, there were a number of years where the league held a second contest. In 1942, that second game took place on August 18 at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. The three Buckeyes players were set to play for the "West" squad in a game where proceeds would benefit the Army-Navy Relief Fund. It was a disaster. More than 10,000 fans were on hand at the cavernous ballpark to watch the East pummel the West 9-2 in what the Call and Post called "nine innings of listless baseball under the brilliant lights." The game's starter was Bremer, whom Fuster had compared favorably to Hall of Fame pitcher Stan Coveleski, who pitched for the Indians from 1916 to 1924. Bremer had a rough night, as he walked four and allowed five earned runs, and was knocked out of the game by the third inning, departing with the bases loaded. Jethroe and Woods managed to score the West's lone runs, but only reached base due to a fielder's choice and an error, respectively. Woods went hitless on the night, and let two balls past him at third base, while Jethroe dropped a routine fly ball and went hitless until a single in the ninth inning with the bases empty. If it was indeed a real tryout, it was truly the worst possible scenario for all three players. After the game, Bradley addressed Fuster, an account that was published in the Call and Post , and said "We have scouted these men…we saw them play at the Stadium on the night of August 18 th , and frankly, Mr. Fuster, they are not big-league material. Why, not one of them got a hit…and the pitcher, Bremer, was knocked out of the box. They just don't stack up as material for the Indians." It is difficult to discern how sincere Bradley was about integrating the team in 1942, or about his claims of having seriously scouted the three. It would take a level of boldness to break decades of discrimination, and Bradley was simply not that bold. It is also possible that he had grown tired of the Call and Post's persistent requests for integration, and he saw a ready excuse when Jethroe, Bremer, and Woods had bad nights in the East-West Game. The Indians would not integrate until after Bradley sold the team to Bill Veeck; they were the first American League to do so on July 5, 1947, when Larry Doby made his debut 11 weeks after Robinson first came up for the Dodgers. That East-West Game was not the last time that Jethroe would participate in a tryout with dubious sincerity. In 1945, Isadore Muchnick, a member of Boston's city council, threatened a Sunday baseball ban in the city if the Braves and Red Sox did not consider integration. Wendell Smith, a writer with the African-American Pittsburgh Courier , allied with Muchnick to arrange a tryout with the Red Sox. On April 16, 1945, Jethroe, Jackie Robinson, and Marvin Williams took the field in Boston, but it was fairly obvious that the Red Sox had no real intention of signing them. After the tryout, Jethroe joked, "We'll hear from the Red Sox like we'll hear from Adolf Hitler." (The Red Sox would be the last MLB team to integrate, in 1959.) Jethroe eventually signed with the Boston Braves, and in 1950 became the oldest player to win Rookie of the Year honors at the age of 33. Neither Woods nor Bremer made it to MLB. In 1946, Parnell Woods went to play in a Venezuelan winter league and decided to stay, later telling the Call and Post that he planned to spend the rest of his life there because he didn't have to deal with the racism of the United States. However, he ended up coming back to play in the Pacific Coast League in 1949 that's as close to the majors as he'd get. He ended up as the business manager for the Harlem Globetrotters for 27 years. Bremer stayed with the Buckeyes until the bitter end, when the team folded in 1950. Things got so bad for the team that year, Bremer went the first couple months of the season without being paid. He went to the media to try and shame the team into paying him, but it couldn't pay him with money it didn't have. Because the East-West All-Star gambit did not lead directly to integration in 1942, it is typically forgotten history, even for serious fans of the game. But it was the pressure put on baseball by the African-American press during the 1940s that eventually led to Robinson's debut, and the debuts of dozens of black players in subsequent years. Fuster and the Call and Post did not consider their push for tryouts to be a failure. In the newspaper, they published a statement that claimed, "We have plugged and plugged, until at long last we have got the question out into the open, and into the news columns of the large white dailies, onto the air over important radio chains, into the minds of millions of white people who previously never had given it a thought either pro or con." In 1954 Cleveland's Municipal Stadium hosted another all-star game. This time it was MLB's, and both leagues featured integrated teams. Among the players selected, making his sixth straight all-star appearance, was the Indians' Larry Doby. Stephanie Liscio is the author of Integrating Cleveland Baseball: Media Activism, the Integration of the Indians, and the Demise of the Negro League Buckeyes . She has a Ph.D. in history from Case Western Reserve University and is on Twitter @stephanieliscio . Related slideshow: The 2019 MLB season (Provided by imagn)


Falcons running back Devonta Freeman is participating in the team's offseason program and a full-go for training camp, coach Dan Quinn said Saturday. "We can't wait to get Free back," Quinn said, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . "He's having such an awesome offseason . His energy, his juice, like him being around the team, you feel what he brings. "So it's been awesome having him as part of the offseason program again. When you get to see the team out here this spring, I think you'll feel the energy at running back certainly with Free leading the way." Freeman was limited to two games last season because of knee and groin injuries. He rushed 14 times for 68 yards and caught five passes for 23 yards. With Tevin Coleman now in San Francisco, the Falcons plan on leaning on Freeman with Ito Smith also part of the game plan. They also drafted Pittsburgh's Qadree Ollison in the fifth round and UL Monroe's Marcus Green in the sixth, both of whom could factor in at the position. Freeman rushed for 3,000 yards and 29 touchdowns from 2015-17, earning back-to-back Pro Bowls with 1,000-yard seasons in 2016 and '17. The good news is he did not need offseason surgery on his right knee, per Ledbetter.


Curious just how far your dollar goes in Phoenix? We've rounded up the latest places for rent via rental sites Zumper and Apartment Guide to get a sense of what to expect when it comes to finding apartment rentals in Phoenix if you've got up to $1,300/month earmarked for your 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. 4333 N. Sixth Drive (Encanto) Listed at $1,204/month, this 695-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom spot is located at 4333 N. Sixth Drive. The residence has in-unit laundry, hardwood flooring, a dishwasher and a walk-in closet. Pet owners, take heed: This rental is both dog-friendly and cat-friendly. According to Walk Score, the surrounding area is very walkable, is convenient for biking and has good transit options. (See the complete listing here .) North 40th Street and East Greenway Road (Paradise Valley) Here's a 962-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at North 40th Street and East Greenway Road that's going for $1,215/month. In the unit, you'll see in-unit laundry, a dishwasher and a mix of hardwood floors and carpeting. When it comes to building amenities, anticipate assigned parking. This property is cat- and dog-friendly. There's no leasing fee required for this rental. Per Walk Score ratings, the surrounding area is moderately walkable, is bikeable and has some transit options. (Check out the complete listing here .) 1050 S. 16th Drive (Central City) Finally, check out this 925-square-foot two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment that's located at 1050 S. 16th Drive. It's listed for $1,215/month. Building amenities include a gym and secured entry. The unit also has a mix of hardwood floors and carpeting. Pet lovers are in luck: The property is both dog-friendly and cat-friendly. Look out for a $300 pet fee. According to Walk Score, this location is moderately walkable, is fairly bikeable and has some transit options. (Check out the complete listing here .) Working with a tight budget? Here are the cheapest rentals recently listed in Phoenix . This story was created automatically using local real estate data from Zumper and Apartment Guide , then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


Sudan's military and civilian leaders announced on Friday that they had reached an agreement to share power until elections, promising an end to the standoff that has paralyzed the African country since the ouster of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in April. The two sides, which resumed talks this week after a monthlong hiatus that included a bloody crackdown by the military, have agreed to form a joint military-civilian authority to run Sudan during an interim period of just over three years, a senior protest leader said. Power will rotate between military and civilian leaders during the transitional period, a mediator from the African Union, Mohamed Hassan Lebatt , told a news conference in Khartoum. Then, elections are to be held and the military is to return to its barracks, ushering in democratic rule. "We hope that this is the beginning of a new era," said Omar al- Degair , a leader of the coalition negotiating with the military. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, deputy head of the Transitional Military Council, said, "This agreement is comprehensive and does not exclude anyone." Sign up for the Morning Briefing newsletter A military general will lead the joint council for the first 21 months, then a civilian leader will lead for 18 months, said Amjad Farid, a leader of the Sudanese Professionals Association. The streets of Omdurman, Khartoum's twin city across the Nile River, erupted in celebration when the news broke, according to Reuters. Thousands of people of all ages took to the streets, chanting "Civilian! Civilian! Civilian!" Young men banged drums, people honked their car horns, and women carrying Sudanese flags chanted in jubilation. The deal appeared to be the culmination of a popular uprising that started in December with a demonstration against the soaring price of bread, then morphed into a movement that led to the removal of Mr. al-Bashir after 30 years of turbulent and often brutal rule. The two sides also agreed to open what they said was an independent investigation into the violence that began on June 3 when military forces cracked down on protesters , which has led to at least 128 deaths, according to the protesters. General Hamdan, known as Hemeti, has been widely seen as the most powerful figure in Sudan since his Rapid Support Forces led that bloody crackdown. Under the new agreement, both sides will nominate five members to the council. The 11th member is to be jointly nominated, according to Mr. Farid. It was agreed that the first leader would be Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the transitional military council, Mr. Farid said. Mr. al-Bashir   who was wanted by the International Criminal Court, which accused him of playing " an essential role " in a genocidal purge in the Darfur region   was toppled after peaceful protesters massed for days at the gates of the sprawling military headquarters in Khartoum. They refused to leave even as rival factions of the security forces fought gun battles around them. Some soldiers deserted their posts to defend the protesters from armed al-Bashir loyalists, who opened fire on them. Gun battles erupted at the protest site, and several people were killed. After Mr. al-Bashir's ouster, many protesters were dismayed to see power pass into the hands of his top lieutenants, including officials accused of war crimes in Darfur. They promised to continue their sit-in until a civilian administration took office. During negotiations led by the Sudanese Professionals Association, military leaders had presented themselves as supporters of democracy and had taken steps to meet demands for change. The generals moved Mr. al-Bashir into the notorious Kober prison in Khartoum, seized millions of dollars in foreign currency from his home and arrested several of his most senior aides. But the military refused to hand over power immediately to the protesters. Mr. al-Burhan moved into Mr. al-Bashir's old presidential office, and his officers sought to exploit apparent divisions in the ranks of the inexperienced protest leaders, a coalition of professional groups, leftists and small political parties that were marginalized during Mr. al-Bashir's rule. Thousands of protesters remained camped out at the gates of the military headquarters in Khartoum, refusing to budge until the military acceded to their demand for a swift transition to civilian rule. On June 3, soldiers with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces swept through the protest site, raping women, shooting protesters and throwing bodies in the Nile. At least 128 people were killed over several days of violence, doctors said, and hundreds were wounded. The government admitted 61 deaths. Ethiopia and the African Union, fearing the vast country could slide into chaos, deployed mediators to Khartoum in an effort to bring the sides together.


More than half a million residents in the greater Philadelphi area will travel more than 50 miles this year to observe Memorial Day, the majority of them   454,051   in cars. If you want to avoid traffic jams in southeastern Pennsylvania, stay off the roads late in the afternoon on Thursday and Friday, when afternoon commuters mix with holiday travelers. In the five-county Philadelphia area, about 11 percent of the population will be on the road, according to estimates. That would represent a 3.6 percent increase from last year, AAA's statistics show. "Philadelphia-area residents are ready to kick off the Memorial Day weekend with a trip," Jana L. Tidwell, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said in a statement. "After a long winter and soggy spring, locals are ready to pack up the car, or catch a flight, a bus or a train in order to enjoy the warmer weather." The federal holiday set aside to remember members of the military who died while serving their country is often considered the unofficial start of summer. The weather outlook is mixed, with the potential for thunderstorms Thursday and Monday, but sunny skies in between. This could potentially impact local parades and celebrations. Be sure to follow along for any cancellations and other announcements. Here's the forecast, per the National Weather Service: Thursday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8am, then a slight chance of showers between 8am and 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. Southwest wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Thursday night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2am. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 65. Southwest wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Friday : Sunny, with a high near 80. Northwest wind 13 to 15 mph. Friday night : Partly cloudy, with a low around 58. Saturday : Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Saturday night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms between 8pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Sunday : Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. Sunday night : A chance of showers and thunderstorms between 8pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Memorial Day: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 83. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Monday night : A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Delays could begin as early as Wednesday, experts said. Those delays would only be exacerbated by any potential severe weather. "Drivers in the most congested metros should expect much worse conditions than normal," Trevor Reed, transportation analyst, INRIX, said in a news release. "Travelers should anticipate delays to start on Wednesday and continue through Memorial Day. Our advice to drivers is to avoid the morning and evening commuting times or plan alternate routes." AAA says 2019 will see the second-highest Memorial Day weekend traffic by volume since it started keeping track in 2000 and the most travelers since 2005. Overall, there will be 1.5 million more people traveling by car, train or plane than there were in 2018, for an increase of 3.6 percent. Those traveling by automobile are doing so despite a rising national gas price average close to $3 a gallon. The national average for a gallon of gasoline was $2.86 on May 14, which compares to last year's national average of $2.87 a gallon on the same date a year ago. The average in the greater Philadelphia area is also at $3 a gallon. "When gas prices are expensive, travelers may shorten the distance of a road trip, eat out less or look for free activities," AAA gas price expert Jeanette Casselano said in the release. "But, overall, prices are very similar to this time last year and, like then, they aren't letting that deter them from taking summer road trips." The auto club said 33,000 Philly area travelers plan to fly, marking a 4.8 percent increase from 2018. Nationwide, it will be the busiest holiday in the skies since 2005. About 1.9 million people nationally, an increase of 3.8 percent over last year, will travel by train, bus or cruise ship, according to the release. And though gas prices are increasing, car rental and hotel rates are down a bit this Memorial Day. AAA's Leisure Travel Index shows car rental prices are down 7 percent, compared to last year, with an average daily rate of $55. Mid-range hotels are between 2 percent and 3 percent cheaper this year, with an average nightly rate of $146 and $183, respectively for the AAA Two and Three Diamond-rated properties. Airfares are holding steady compared to last Memorial Day with an average roundtrip price of $171, AAA said.


New England's rookies don't report until July 21. A guy who spent his rookie season on injured reserve already is there. As explained by Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, Braxton Berrios showed up early in the hopes of becoming one of the options on a depth chart that, beyond Julian Edelman and N'Keal Harry , is wide open. Reiss gives Berrios a real shot at landing a roster spot, based on a strong offseason program and the ability to return punts. Standing at only five feet, nine inches, the 2018 sixth-round pick becomes a candidate to play in the slot   and maybe to eventually take over for a certain seventh-round pick who became Super Bowl MVP. The key, as Reiss notes, will be staying healthy. If Berrios is able to suit up and compete on a regular basis, he could end up standing out in a crowded house at the position. Currently, the Patriots have 12 receivers on the roster. Edelman, Harry, and special-teams captain Matthew Slater are guaranteed roster spots. Philip Dorsett , Dontrelle Inman , and Demaryius Thomas also are in the mix, and there's a good chance at least one of them will get a short straw, especially since receivers at the bottom of the depth chart will be expected to contribute on special teams. Berrios seems ready to contribute in any way that he can. That gives him an edge if, again, he can stay healthy.


Welcome back to our Renters Week coverage of out-of-control rentals across the country. The specific moment where it really seems like this house got away from its designer(s) is the hallway that has one wall painted to look like its overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, when the house itself is already overlooking Lake Michigan. But hey, if $40,000/month mansions are your thing, then here's one of those . · Listing: 973 Sheridan Road [Trulia]


Pamela Anderson 's ex-boyfriend Adil Rami shot down her claims that he abused her during their relationship. Stars Who Survived Abuse "I will make it simple and super clear and as I said before I will not comment on the details of my life with Pamela," the soccer player, 33, wrote in French via Instagram on Saturday, June 29. "I want to tell you that these accusations of violence are completely false and I cannot let that go." Rami accused Anderson, 51, of lying and called the allegations "disgusting." The athlete went on to allege that the Baywatch alum took aim at him because of his involvement in a domestic violence charity called Solidarité Femmes. He was suspended from his role as ambassador as a result of the claims. "She knows that my commitment to the cause of violence against women is something that is really important to me," he added. "I respect [the people] too much … and this fight!" Celebrity Splits of 2019 The former Playboy model announced her split from the Marseille central defender in a Tuesday, June 25, Instagram post. "It's hard to accept," she captioned a photo of the pair. "The last (more than) 2.years of my life have been a big lie." Most Shocking Celebrity Splits She continued: "I'm devastated to find out in the last few days. That he was living a double life . He used to joke about other players who had girlfriends down the street in apartments close to their wives. He called those men monsters. ? But this is worse. He lied to all. How is it possible to control 2 women's hearts and minds like this   I'm sure there were others." Anderson further alleged that Rami "should not be the face of protecting women from domestic violence" and she hired a bodyguard because her ex "scares" her. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.


New Zealand police arrest a man in Christchurch on Tuesday following reports of a possible bomb threat in the city, where 50 people were killed in shootings by a lone gunman in two mosques in March. Rough cut - no reporter narration.


The Eagles have had several talented quarterbacks in their history, from Donovan McNabb to Randall Cunningham. But who is the best in franchise history? For McNabb, this can be viewed as a slight vindication because if you ask this question five years from now, the response will be totally different. NFL.com's Ali Bhanpuri is currently perusing the NFC East and decided to come with each team's all-time great signal caller, the biggest bust at quarterback and more. Using a formula that included 48 starts with one team and meeting two of the following three requirements - winning regular-season record, a minimum passer rating of 75.0, and at least one Pro Bowl selection - Bhanpuri decided on McNabb as the Eagles' ultimate franchise quarterback, beating out the legendary Cunningham. Philadelphia Eagles Who qualifies for the Eagles? - Donovan McNabb (1999-2009): 142 starts | 92-49-1 | 6 Pro Bowls | 86.5 passer rating - Randall Cunningham (1985-1995): 107 starts | 63-43-1 | 3 Pro Bowls | 78.7 passer rating - Ron Jaworski (1977-1986): 137 starts | 69-67-1 | 1 Pro Bowl | 74.0 passer rating THE Franchise QB: Donovan McNabb McNabb came under fire recently by both fans and Eagles players for comments he made pertaining to Philly's current QB1 (and potential franchise candidate) Carson Wentz. But put that aside - as well as the other gripes Eagles fans have had with the quarterback - and focus solely on his on-field achievements, and he becomes the obvious choice. He completely lived up to his draft status (second overall in 1999), guiding the Eagles to five conference championship games and one Super Bowl in 11 seasons as the team's starter. That Eagles' decision-makers were willing to trade him within the division late in his career is certainly an indelible stain on his resume. But Philly's NFC dominance under McNabb's direction simply counts for too much. For the Eagles, Wentz will be the obvious top name on the list and after only 40 games, he's closing in on or already owns a handful of team records. For the rest of the NFC East, Roger Staubach was the Dallas Cowboys' franchise quarterback. For the Washington Redskins, that honor went to Joe Theismann. Eli Manning is on the downside of his career, but without a doubt, he came in at No. 1 on the New York Giants list. MORE: Five potential Chris Paul trade destinations This 'Jeopardy' contestant failing to beat James Holzhauer to buzzer sums up his epic run Seahawks Sue Former Second-Round Pick Malik McDowell Over Signing Bonus Steve McLendon's speech shows why Jets wanted him back Geronimo Allison looks like favorite to be Packers slot WR


You can learn a lot of history from a single photo. You can learn a lot of history from a single photo It's been said that "those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." If that's true, it must mean no one on Wall Street has cracked a book since there was still an actual wall there. Not just Wall Street, though, it's a global phenomenon in finance. You wouldn't think that new generations of investors would be so ready to fall into the same trap the Dutch did in the 17th century when they nearly destroyed their economy speculating on tulips, but sure enough, every couple of decades there's a new crop ready to crash into that same ditch. As such, the way pundits often dissect financial situations is arguably somewhat backward. Perhaps, rather than fixating on the high drama of the stock market crash , they need to be digging through the smoldering wreckage of the glorious era of prosperity that preceded it. It's in that spirit that it's worth taking a long look at some of these iconic Wall Street photos of past golden ages for stocks. It's not hard to see the unbridled optimism in these pictures for what it is: catastrophic, suicidal hubris. But it's also worth learning one very important lesson about history from these photos: From Dutch tulips to mortgage-backed securities, these highs and lows are one pattern of insanity that's been tragically routine for centuries . Click ahead for 16 unforgettable photos from Wall Street's golden ages. The 1920s: Signing of the Treaty of Versailles The end of World War I in 1918 helped launch the era of economic prosperity that followed in America. While the maelstrom of death that descended on Europe was as horrifying as it was catastrophic, its worst effects weren t visited upon America. As a late entrant into the war, the United States had much more limited casualties than the European power who lost millions of soldiers. The country also benefited economically from arms sales and money lending to Britain and France that continued throughout the war, and because the fighting was entirely outside American borders, damage to American infrastructure or civilian casualties were virtually nonexistent. The above picture depicts the signing of the Treaty of Versailles   a pact that American President Woodrow Wilson played a crucial role in negotiating   in the eponymous palace s famous Hall of Mirrors. See: The Best and Worst Decades for America s Money Curbside Brokers in 1920s New York City The stock market in the 1920s simply could not be contained. Literally. While people had been trading stocks in New York nearly since its founding, the popularity of the practice started growing exponentially in the 1920s. And while the New York Stock Exchange was founded in 1792, the fact that there were a variety of securities that couldn't be listed there led to the existence of "curb brokers" who would trade unlisted securities on street corners. The most popular location was an open-air market that would come to be known as the American Stock Exchange. The exchange would move indoors the year after this picture was taken, but through 1920, curbside stock exchanges were not an uncommon site in New York City. Joan Crawford in 1928's 'Our Dancing Daughters' The economy might have been the primary reason for the decades  title of the Roaring  20s, but that also could have applied to the tremendous social change that was pulsating through the country at the same time. The 1920s are also known as the Jazz Age, and many people were shocked and/or thrilled by the behavior of a generation of younger, more-liberated women who came to be known as  flappers.  This picture of Joan Crawford is from 1928 s  Our Dancing Daughters,  which spoke to society s concerns about the era s changing social mores. Find Out: What Do People Do in a Recession? Survey Finds Out Patrons at a San Francisco Speakeasy After Prohibition in 1920 Of course, all of the wild times being enjoyed by flappers and stockbrokers alike weren't being fueled by legally-acquired alcohol. The ratification of the 18th Amendment in 1919 meant that Prohibition kicked off in 1920 and lasted until 1933, well into the Great Depression. While plenty of Americans might have felt visiting a neighborhood speakeasy, like the one pictured here, was harmless, the end result of the law was an increasingly common association between Americans and organized crime. The 1980s: Yuppie With Cellphone As America emerged from the energy crisis of the 1970s and stagnant growth and persistent inflation that continued into the early 1980s, the stock market and the economy were ready for a bull run. However, what followed wound up creating a new class of youthful city dwellers that came to be known as the  yuppies    for  young, urban professionals.  To many, the yuppies were obnoxiously rich and, well, just plain obnoxious with the ostentatious displays of the wealth they were acquiring in the days of easy money. And few displays of wealth were as prized as some of the earliest iterations of the cellphone. Check Out: 5 Shrewd Money Lessons From  Black Monday  Star Paul Scheer Financier Ivan Boesky in New York in 1987 Of course, there's probably no better embodiment of Wall Street in the 1980s than Ivan Boesky, the Wall Street trader who made a fortune trading stock only to end up in jail for insider trading. Boesky made his money in merger arbitrage, the practice of trading in stocks of companies that are merger targets. The field is one where predicting which companies would be targets of mergers or acquisitions, and it turned out Boesky was always ahead of the curve because he had a network of sources feeding him illegal insider information. Michael Douglas in 1987's 'Wall Street' If Boesky sounds familiar, that s because he s considered to be the primary inspiration for the now-iconic character of Gordon Gekko from Oliver Stone s 1987 classic film  Wall Street.  In fact, Gekko s iconic  Greed … is good  speech is specifically modeled after one Boesky made to the graduating class of University of California, Berkeley s School of Business Administration in 1986. Incredibly, the film was released in December 1987, just two months after the bottom had fallen out of the markets on Black Monday in October, providing an entirely different context for the sort of behavior depicted in the film. Michael Milken Getting Sworn In Before the House Oversight and Investment Subcommittee in the Late 1980s The Leveraged Buyout (or LBO for short)   industry came to define the era for Wall Street, companies taking on loads of high-priced debt   better known as "junk bonds" for their relatively high risks   to go private. The move would usually either be because management sees the company's stock as being undervalued or is concerned about a corporate takeover by another actor. However, the sort of job cuts or sale of portions of the business that often followed to pay for the cost of the bonds helped make LBOs widely unpopular outside of the industry. Michael Milken became known as the "Junk Bond King" in the 1980s for pioneering the market for subprime corporate debt. However, Milken and the rest of the LBO industry were in for harder times to come. Milken would eventually land in prison for violating securities law while his firm   Drexel Burnham Lambert   would go bankrupt in 1990. How did Milken get popped? It was Ivan Boesky who allowed the SEC to record their phone calls. The 1990s: CBOE Executives With Yahoo Employees in 1997 The dawn of the internet age was one of stunning possibility. The fact that so many industries are, even today, finding new ways to be  disruptive  based on an interconnected world speaks to just how vast the potential was in the earliest days of the World Wide Web. As such, the rash of new internet companies that began to hit the scene was difficult to understand or value. The world was clearly changing, but which horse to back to take advantage of that change was far from clear. As such, companies like Yahoo, that ultimately undershot the incredible optimism of the 1990s, were still rock stars in their own day. And, as traditional finance discovered just how much money there was to be made from helping these companies obtain capital and eventually go public, it sparked a major bubble for dot-com stocks. Find Out: 10 Worst Wall Street Opinions in History Lycos Employees Showing Off Cars With Company Logo in 1999 As Americans began to discover and use the internet, the companies that were building a business on connecting consumers to the web blossomed. However, easy money in the early days often gave way to the harsh realization that monetization over the long run would prove significantly more difficult than was initially realized. Here, a group of employees displays their personal vehicles that they've decorated with the decals that the employer, early web 1.0 company Lycos, had made for their NASCAR sponsorship. Yes, NASCAR sponsorship. And if you've never heard of Lycos, one of the internet's earliest search engines, you should, well, Google it. Cheap Gas in the 1990s Of course, the booming economy of the 1990s had more to it than just the emergence of the first internet companies. There were a number of additional factors that played into the sustained period of economic growth. Among those was the extremely affordable gas during the period, with the inflation-adjusted price of a gallon of gas reaching its lowest point since before 1929 in the late 1990s. Bill Gates Testifies on Capitol Hill in 1998 Of course, there was bound to be overreaching with so much undefined territory regarding commerce on the internet. Companies scrambling to control the exploding markets for software quickly found themselves running afoul of the law, most notably in the case of Microsoft, which was subjected to an antitrust suit by the Justice Department in 1998. So, if you're looking for the origin of Silicon Valley's "move fast and break things ethos," this era could be it. The 2000s: President George W. Bush Signs $1.35 Trillion Tax Cut Emerging from the dramatic bursting of the dot-com bubble was a new economic era. After winning the contentious election of 2000, the incoming Republican administration made its first priority   get this   a massive tax cut. Wow, how times have changed, huh? The Bush tax cut was a part of the new brand of  Compassionate Conservatism  that he had touted on the campaign trail. And while the long-term effects appear to include a dramatic increase in the deficit, the legacy of which continues even today, it also freed up a lot of money among investors and stock traders alike and ushered in an era where easy credit was more and more available to Americans of every stripe. Condominiums Under Construction in Downtown Miami, 2005 Part of what was driving the construction boom from 2001-2007 was actually the demand for more investable products that newfound wealth could be used for. Mortgage-backed securities (MBSs)   thousands of mortgages from American homeowners packaged together into a single security   had been in existence since the mid-1970s and had long played a positive role in the economy. They created investments with relatively low risk and high returns while simultaneously creating a secondary market for mortgages that boosted demand and made it easier for Americans to get a home loan. However, as demand for these MBSs started to spike, it led investment banks to push harder and harder for more mortgages, which in turn led mortgage lenders to loosen their standards more and more. Over time, the MBSs that were once a valuable piece of a strong, stable economy became filled with more and more questionable, subprime mortgages that were much more likely to default, turning them into a far riskier gamble. The Great Recession s Ripple Effects: Millennials Are Poorer Than Generations Before Them Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook Headquarters in 2007 While the rush of easy credit had dramatic effects on the housing market, there were also many people returning to investments in startups and venture capital firms during this period. Certainly nothing on the scale of the era that had immediately preceded it, but there was a modest but marked recovery in this market from 2001 to 2007. In many cases, some of today s most important companies hit major milestones in this period between the dot-com crash and the housing crash. Facebook, for instance, was founded in 2004 and grew rapidly during the period, while Google held its highly anticipated IPO that same year. And the Future? 5 Experts Predict What Will Happen To the Economy in 2019 Damien Hirst's 'The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living' and Sotheby's Auction in 2008 As is often the case, the huge profits for Wall Street translated to a spiking market for high-end goods, including artwork. The above work is Damien Hirst s  The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living.  Which is, as you can see, simply a tiger shark suspended in formaldehyde. The work was originally made in 1991 and had been the source of some criticism, including getting singled out by critic Robert Hughes as a sign of the commercializing of art that was a  cultural obscenity.  However, with timing that is truly ironic, Hirst would get the last laugh when his works fetched a stunning $200 million during an auction at Sotheby s that took place the same day as the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers. More on GoBankingRates Another Recession Would Ruin Two-Thirds of Americans, Survey Finds Warren Buffett s  Heroes  of the 2008 Financial Crisis   Where Are They Now? If a Recession Hits, Should You Invest or Hold Off?


Golfweek takes a look at who's up and who's down each week on the three major golf tours. Here are the latest rankings for men and women . The Golfweek /Sagarin ranking for each player is in parentheses. PGA Tour 2 Up Jason Day (19) Finished top-10 this week for the first time since the Masters as he eases into the new working relationship with caddie Steve Williams. Also tied for the low round of the week with a 7-under 63 on Friday. Day has been missing from the national narrative for quite a while now, but he was T-8 at the Players and T-5 at the Masters, and we're thinking the caddie switch-up might represent a needed mental shift for Day in his goal to get back to No. 1 in the world. Zack Sucher (280) Finished tied for second in just his fourth PGA Tour start of the season. He'd only finished top-25 once in 36 prior Tour starts and has played mostly on the Web.com Tour. His runner-up finish at the Travelers gives him the biggest paycheck of his career by a mile and gets him into the field at this week's Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit. 2 Down Tony Finau (24) Missed his third consecutive cut this week at the Travelers Championship, the first time he's missed three or more in a row since early 2016. This is all coming after a solo second at the Charles Schwab Challenge, where Finau again came oh-so-close to victory. The consistency over the past few seasons has been really impressive, and it's almost considered a given that Finau will pile up wins and at least a major title or two in the coming years. But the last three weeks are a good reminder that no one is immune to the highs and lows in golf. Jason Kokrak (26) His Tour-best streak of 23 consecutive cuts made comes to an end at the Travelers. Kokrak managed four top-10 finishes in that stretch, including a T-2 at the Valspar, and he's finished top-25 in 10 of 17 starts this season. Still well on pace to have the best season of his career at age 34, just didn't quite have it this week at TPC River Highlands. LPGA 2 Up Hannah Green (82) A wire-to-wire major victory for a maiden LPGA title is certainly one way to make a statement. The 22-year-old Aussie showed plenty of moxie at burly Hazeltine National, saving herself time and time again with her short game. With a strong head on her shoulders and a mentor like Karrie Webb behind her, buckle up. Lizette Salas (30) A second consecutive top 10 at the KPMG Women's PGA for Salas, whose share of fifth is her best finish of 2019. Certainly helps strengthen her position on the U.S. Solheim Cup team. Recorded only five bogeys all week. 2 Down Ariya Jutanugarn (4) It's hard to believe that Jutanugarn, the one most well-positioned player to give Hannah Green a run at Hazeltine, spiraled down the board with a birdie-less 77. Last year's most dominate player felt that she'd turned a corner mentally at the KPMG , but Sunday will send her back to the drawing board. Michelle Wie (143) If Wie doesn't come back for the rest of 2019, no one could possibly blame her. In fact, many believe it would be for the best considering how much pain she was in at Hazeltine National. Her scores - 84-82 - don't tell half the story. This a player whose future in the game has never felt more uncertain. MORE: As Wie winds down, Hovland and Wolff set to conquer the world European Tour 2 Up Andrea Pavan (114) T he former Texas A&M player scored his second win in the past year with a playoff win over England's Matt Fitzpatrick in the BMW International Open. Hard to believe the Italian took so long to settle into European Tour life considering he helped Texas A&M win the 2010 NCAA Championship. Five trips to the European Tour Qualifying School later and he's a two-time winner. Not much pointed to Pavan winning in Germany considering his best finish previously this year was T-15 in the British Masters. An opening and closing 66 in Germany did the trick. Matthias Schwab (130) The young Austrian notched his fourth top 10 of the season with a T-3 in the BMW International Open in Germany. Schwab is currently 44 th on the European Tour's Race to Dubai. The Vanderbilt graduate is there thanks to a 70.54 stroke average and hitting 71.19 of fairways. He's also averaging 29.85 putts per round. Schwab finished 72 nd on the Race to Dubai in 2018, his rookie season. He's sure to better that position this year. 2 Down Pablo Larrazabal (186) The four-time European Tour winner is still looking for his first victory following the 2015 BMW International Open. He does have four top 10s this year but placed 67 th in Germany. The Spaniard is averaging 71.40 strokes per round this season as opposed to 70.89 last season. His driving accuracy is down too, hitting just 51.28 percent of fairways compared to 58.48 last year. His putting stats are slightly better, with 29.30 per round against to 29.76 in 2018. Oliver Fisher (476) The young Englishman has only recorded one top 10 this season, T-5 in the Maybank Championship. He's only made four of 11 cuts in stroke play events. It explains why he's currently 111 th on the Race to Dubai. Fisher made history last year with a 59 in the Portugal Masters to become the first European Tour player to break 60. So far this season his best score is 67. In fact, he's only broken 70 nine times in 32 rounds. MORE: LaVar Ball offers explanation for his inappropriate remark to ESPN's Molly Qerim NBA Free Agency 2019: The top players D'Angelo Russell open to Lakers return with Magic Johnson gone Dez Bryant tweets in support of LaVar Ball after ESPN ban Roundup: Beth Chapman in Medically Induced Coma, Roseanne and Andrew Dice Clay Touring Together, Poker Hall of Fame Nominees


Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei is planning to lay off hundreds of employees in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The layoffs are reportedly expected to hit Huawei's U.S. development subsidiary Futurewei. The subsidiary employs 850 people in research labs throughout the U.S., including Texas, California and Washington state. A source familiar with the situation told the Journal that hundreds of people are expected to lose their jobs, although no exact figure was given. Huawei was added to the Commerce Department's entity list in May, which is seen as a death sentence for included groups as U.S. companies are banned from doing business with them. The decision was made citing national security threats. The Commerce Department subsequently implemented a 90-day extension before Huawei would be added to the list to give U.S. companies time to adjust. President Trump late last month seemed to walk back his administration's crackdown on Huawei while attending the Group of 20 summit, but the Commerce Department is reportedly still treating the company as blacklisted. Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei said in June that the company expects to lose $30 billion in sales over the next two years because of the blacklisting.


Neighborhood burger spot Wallyburger closed this week   seemingly for good, though they've teased a new venture in its place by the autumn. The Wallingford burger spot made an announcement on their Facebook on Thursday morning, stating that they were "hanging up their hats," and promising a new venture in its place. "Thank you Seattle and especially Wallingford for your amazing support," the Facebook post read. "Stay tuned for another venture here in the fall." Their website similarly reads that they've closed after "two wonderful years." RELATED: Meatless meat is the new trend -- even if Seattle's restaurants were ahead of the curve Located at North 45th Street and Wallingford Avenue North, the burger joint was also known for its milkshakes and country vibe. As of this time it's not clear what prompted Wallyburger to close, or what the new venture coming will be; the neighborhood staple did not return a request for comment. Over Memorial Day weekend Wallyburger was closed officially, with a sign in the window that read "due to unforeseen circumstances, we have decided to take the summer off. Thank you for your patronage." But fans of theirs will no doubt be keeping an eye out for their restaurant's next venture. RELATED: These are Seattle's best burgers, according to Yelp


OPELOUSAS, La.  In a quiet lobby off the main hall at the Equine Sales Company, a livestock auction house that doubles as an event space, Gerald Toussaint, 56, sat quietly Sunday morning with his personal leather-bound Bible. He wore a navy suit, tie, shoes and hat, and he kept in his pocket a white towel embroidered with "RGT," for Reverend Gerald Toussaint. "I get sweaty," he explained. Toussaint was preparing to deliver an Easter sermon to the congregation of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, where he has pastored for 13 years and where his father led for 21 years before him. Sunday's sermon was especially meaningful because, as Toussaint put it, "Somebody decided to burn our church down." Subscribe to the Post Most newsletter: Today's most popular stories on The Washington Post Mount Pleasant burned April 4 and was the third predominantly black church destroyed by arson in St. Landry Parish in a span of 10 days, following St. Mary Baptist Church in nearby Port Barre and the Greater Union Baptist Church, also in Opelousas. Holden Matthews, the son of a local sheriff's deputy, has since been charged with arson and state hate crimes. The Easter season is a fitting metaphor for recent events, Toussaint said. "Resurrection is a new beginning," he said. "It was dark the day Jesus was crucified. It was a dark night they burned the church." What has happened since, Toussaint said, "is like a resurrection. A new start. Old things are gone, but it's going to be a new start after." Mount Pleasant suffered a total loss in the fire: the building it occupied for 140 years and its pews, office equipment, choir stand, piano and more. But the greatest loss was the church's heritage, said Earnest Hines, 66, a member for close to 40 years. Hines, who plays piano for the church and leads its Sunday school, said his mother-in-law attended school at the church during a time when access to education was limited for black people in the rural South. "All those memories of that building, and that place has been burned," he said. Sunday morning, some 50 congregants trickled slowly into the auction house, many wearing colorful Easter attire and carrying their own well-worn Bibles. Before services began, members worked to turn the space into a makeshift church, using binder clips to pin white tablecloths down, turning on battery-operated votive candles and configuring extension chords to plug in the sole keyboard that would provide the day's music. Through the back windows, massive horse stables and sprawling green fields were visible. The burning of three small country churches in Louisiana initially drew little national attention, but the fire at France's Notre Dame on April 15 inspired support for the Louisiana churches as well. "As we hold Paris in our hearts today, let's also send some love to our neighbors in Louisiana," Hillary Clinton said via Twitter . A GoFundMe campaign started by the local Seventh District Baptist Association raised $2.2 million for the churches as of Sunday evening, and the Community Foundation of Acadiana started a second fundraising campaign. "This [crime] is not a reflection of who we are as a community locally and regionally, so it's important for people to step up to the plate to help these churches to get back on their feet," said Raymond Hebert, the foundation's president and chief executive. "Each has congregations that are over 100 years old and are an important part of the fabric of our community." "I got a call this morning from a men's Catholic group that wants to contribute," Hebert said. "That's the kind of thing we are hearing. It doesn't matter the denomination. It doesn't matter the race. Everybody is stepping up to the plate, which is impressive." A donor provided the PA system the church used for its services Sunday. The auction house contacted Toussaint to offer his congregation this space, which they can use free of charge each Sunday, except on auction days. A donor in nearby Crowley, La., gave the church the lectern from which Toussaint would deliver his sermon. The pastor picked it up himself, he said, and added castor wheels so it can be easily rolled out of the auction house's way. Someone in North Carolina has offered to restore the church's pulpit, which was severely damaged but left standing. "We got $1,000 from an atheist," Toussaint said with a laugh. "He said he didn't believe in God, but he don't believe in burning buildings down, either." Hines said church members have been moved by the outpouring of support. "You wish that we as a nation would have come far enough now that we don't have things like this to happen," he said. "But we got support from all across the nation. That tells you what kind of nation we have." "People are more together than the divide that's being portrayed about our nation, about the South, about race," Hines said. At this morning's service, Rylee Prejean, 13, recited a poem about the fire. "The building is gone, but the church is still here. It burned to the ground, but we will not fear," she read, prompting a standing ovation from many members of the congregation. "With God's grace, church, we will rebound." Toussaint went on to lead a loud and joyful sermon, punctuated by Hines's punchy keyboard, applause and affirmations from the congregation. He removed his glasses as he built up a trickle of sweat. "It was the first day when they set the church on fire," Toussaint declared. "But on the sixth day, we found out who did it." The case is now in the hands of the St. Landry Parish district attorney's office. Investigators continue to fine-tune the evidence in the case, said Ashley Rodrigue, a spokeswoman with the state fire marshal's office. St. Landry Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz said his office would support them in that investigation. The FBI has not yet made a determination about whether Matthews will face federal hate crime charges. "Even before they said it was a hate crime, I never looked at it like that," said Vera Roberts, 61, who has belonged to the church for 35 years. "This young man is very, very sick. Maybe through prayer he'll get the help he needs." "Things happen for a reason," said Chwayne Espree, 27, whose family has attended the church for four generations. "I'm just glad they found out who it is." "I'm feeling good because I know it's going to get better," said Marcus Andrus, the 10-year-old grandson of Toussaint. Such optimism ran high after this morning's services, when church members gathered in the gravel parking lot outside the equestrian center. "I got my joy   my everything   back," Virgie Espree, 69, said of the sermon. Toussaint's focus is now on rebuilding. The church must still file insurance claims and then begin the work of cleaning up, he said. The new building will stand where the old one did, this time with security cameras and alarms. Yesterday, Hines stopped by to look at the rubble that was once his church. On the damaged pulpit, he found the nub of a candle a well-wisher had left to burn. "That was so heartwarming," he said. "To know that somebody is saying unto us, 'There's still light.' That's what Christianity is about." national@washpost.com