While they might not be producing a wealth of offense, the Kings have been penurious defensively of late and will take that stinginess northward to San Jose for a matchup with the Sharks on Monday. They surrendered just one goal in each contest during their three-game homestand and no five-on-five markers, most recently restraining the Seattle Kraken in a 2-1 win. Seattle had won five of its past six games, whereas San Jose has dropped six of its past seven. David Rittich, who has made three straight starts since Darcy Kuemper sustained his second lower-body injury of the young campaign during a loss in Colorado, has posted six one-goal-allowed efforts in 11 starts, with five of those performances being wins. The sixth was a 1-0 loss to Buffalo on Wednesday, which coach Jim Hiller said he thought gave the Kings additional motivation against Seattle. “I think we played really well the last couple (games), but (against Seattle) we did something extra with obviously scoring goals, which gives us the opportunity to win,” Rittich said. Individual Kings had plenty of motivation, too. Their second-period power-play goal represented the first point in seven games for Kevin Fiala and the first goal in six for Quinton Byfield, as well as the first power-play goal by any King against a goalie in the past seven games. Byfield’s scoring woes have been longer-standing. Byfield said he’d like to better integrate the physical side of his game into his offense, but for now was pleased to have broken through, and with an authoritative snipe, no less. “It’s obviously tough. You do think about it, but you’ve got to stay positive. I’ve learned from the best, Kopi, all the time he’s just even keel,” said Byfield, referring to Kings captain Anze Kopitar. “I try to be happy, that’s just my personality. I don’t want to bring anyone else down around me. It always comes eventually, and hopefully it’ll pile up.” Saturday also marked Byfield’s 200th career game, and he joined seven other players who have crossed that threshold from his 2020 draft class. He accumulated those games across parts of five seasons, some of which saw him bounce between the NHL and AHL while he also battled serious injuries and illnesses. “It was tough. There was a lot of adversity and a lot of challenging moments in those 200 games,” Byfield said. There might not be a ton of adversity ahead for the Kings in San Jose, given that the Sharks remain in a half-decade-long rebuild still waiting to take off and have been mired in a funk lately, too. But the Kings managed to lose to them and another bottom-dweller, the Chicago Blackhawks, in the same week, and their 4-2 loss in San Jose on Oct. 29 featured an 0-for-6 display on the power play. Five days earlier, the Kings had beaten the Sharks, 3-2, in L.A. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, Macklin Celebrini, did not compete in either meeting for San Jose. He’ll be healthy Monday and has scored seven points in 10 games, production spearheaded by three multi-point outings. Veteran Mikael Granlund’s 24 points are eight more than any other Shark has contributed this season.LAS VEGAS — Formula 1 on Monday at last said it will expand its grid in 2026 to make room for an American team that is partnered with General Motors. "As the pinnacle of motorsports, F1 demands boundary-pushing innovation and excellence. It's an honor for General Motors and Cadillac to join the world's premier racing series, and we're committed to competing with passion and integrity to elevate the sport for race fans around the world," GM President Mark Reuss said. "This is a global stage for us to demonstrate GM's engineering expertise and technology leadership at an entirely new level." The approval ends years of wrangling that launched a U.S. Justice Department investigation into why Colorado-based Liberty Media, the commercial rights holder of F1, would not approve the team initially started by Michael Andretti. Andretti in September stepped aside from leading his namesake organization, so the 11th team will be called Cadillac F1 and be run by new Andretti Global majority owners Dan Towriss and Mark Walter. The team will use Ferrari engines its first two years until GM has a Cadillac engine built for competition in time for the 2028 season. Towriss is the the CEO and president of Group 1001 and entered motorsports via Andretti's IndyCar team when he signed on financial savings platform Gainbridge as a sponsor. Towriss is now a major part of the motorsports scene with ownership stakes in both Spire Motorsports' NASCAR team and Wayne Taylor Racing's sports car team. Walter is the chief executive of financial services firm Guggenheim Partners and the controlling owner of both the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and Premier League club Chelsea. "We're excited to partner with General Motors in bringing a dynamic presence to Formula 1," Towriss said. "Together, we're assembling a world-class team that will embody American innovation and deliver unforgettable moments to race fans around the world." Mario Andretti, the 1978 F1 world champion, will have an ambassador role with Cadillac F1. But his son, Michael, will have no official position with the organization now that he has scaled back his involvement with Andretti Global. "The Cadillac F1 Team is made up of a strong group of people that have worked tirelessly to build an American works team," Michael Andretti posted on social media. "I'm very proud of the hard work they have put in and congratulate all involved on this momentous next step. I will be cheering for you!" The approval has been in works for weeks but was held until after last weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix to not overshadow the showcase event of the Liberty Media portfolio. Max Verstappen won his fourth consecutive championship in Saturday night's race, the third and final stop in the United States for the top motorsports series in the world. Grid expansion in F1 is both infrequent and often unsuccessful. Four teams were granted entries in 2010 that should have pushed the grid to 13 teams and 26 cars for the first time since 1995. One team never made it to the grid and the other three had vanished by 2017. There is only one American team on the current F1 grid — owned by California businessman Gene Haas — but it is not particularly competitive and does not field American drivers. Andretti's dream was to field a truly American team with American drivers. The fight to add this team has been going on for three-plus years, and F1 initially denied the application despite approval from F1 sanctioning body FIA. The existing 10 teams, who have no voice in the matter, also largely opposed expansion because of the dilution in prize money and the billions of dollars they've already invested in the series. Andretti in 2020 tried and failed to buy the existing Sauber team. From there, he applied for grid expansion and partnered with GM, the top-selling manufacturer in the United States. The inclusion of GM was championed by the FIA and president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who said Michael Andretti's application was the only one of seven applicants to meet all required criteria to expand F1's current grid. "General Motors is a huge global brand and powerhouse in the OEM world and is working with impressive partners," Ben Sulayem said Monday. "I am fully supportive of the efforts made by the FIA, Formula 1, GM and the team to maintain dialogue and work towards this outcome of an agreement in principle to progress this application." Despite the FIA's acceptance of Andretti and General Motors from the start, F1 wasn't interested in Andretti — but did want GM. At one point, F1 asked GM to find another team to partner with besides Andretti. GM refused and F1 said it would revisit the Andretti application if and when Cadillac had an engine ready to compete. "Formula 1 has maintained a dialogue with General Motors, and its partners at TWG Global, regarding the viability of an entry following the commercial assessment and decision made by Formula 1 in January 2024," F1 said in a statement. "Over the course of this year, they have achieved operational milestones and made clear their commitment to brand the 11th team GM/Cadillac, and that GM will enter as an engine supplier at a later time. Formula 1 is therefore pleased to move forward with this application process." Yet another major shift in the debate over grid expansion occurred earlier this month with the announced resignation of Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei, who was largely believed to be one of the biggest opponents of the Andretti entry. "With Formula 1's continued growth plans in the US, we have always believed that welcoming an impressive US brand like GM/Cadillac to the grid and GM as a future power unit supplier could bring additional value and interest to the sport," Maffei said. "We credit the leadership of General Motors and their partners with significant progress in their readiness to enter Formula 1." Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Ange Postecoglou relishing Tottenham’s key run of fixtures before ChristmasNo. 5 Alabama has a reputation as 3-point gunners, but it's defense and rebounding that have become a focus as the Tide welcome South Dakota State to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to end the 2024 calendar year. Alabama (10-2) is frequently thought of as an offensive 3-point shooting free-for-all program, but Nate Oats' 2024-25 squad has thrived largely on the basis of inside play. The Tide are shooting 62.2 percent on their two-point attempts and grab 45 rebounds per game, each figure placing the team among the national leaders in those categories. Alabama does still shoot an average of 31 3-point shots per game, again one of the nation's highest totals. But so far, Alabama's 31.2 percent connection rate is very ordinary. But connecting inside and owning the glass has held benefits for Alabama. Meanwhile, defense has concerned Oats, particularly coming off a 97-90 win over North Dakota on Dec. 18. Oats issued warnings about players losing spots in the rotation if defensive execution didn't improve. Alabama passed the first post-North Dakota test in an 81-54 win over Kent State on Sunday. "We did make a big point of emphasis on defense, especially after that debacle up in North Dakota," said Oats after the Kent State victory. "It was a much better defensive effort, so it will be a lot better Christmas break for us." Alabama won the rebounding battle over Kent State 60-40, although Oats contended that the Tide "gave up too many second-chance points." Alabama made 72 percent of its two-point attempts even as just 9 of 35 3-point attempts connected. Alabama has battled personnel uncertainty early in the season. An Achilles injury ended the season of guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. just as transfer Chris Youngblood was preparing to return from an ankle injury. The Tide have 11 players averaging double-digit minutes and eight averaging 7.4 points per game or better, led by super senior guard Mark Sears with 17.8 ppg. Super senior forward Grant Nelson remains a key player, leading the Tide with 8.7 rebounds per game while adding 12.8 ppg. Meanwhile, South Dakota State (9-5) will pin its upset hopes largely on Aussie transfer Oscar Cluff. A 6-foot-11 senior who transferred in from Washington State, Cluff has averaged 16.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Cluff is connecting on 71.4 percent of his shot attempts. He's also shooting 79.2 percent at the foul line and has stabilized a young Jackrabbits team with four freshmen among the top seven scorers. "Oscar's just built the right way," said coach Eric Henderson. "We have probably played through the post more than any other team in the country the last five years and we just felt like we needed a big man that had some experience and boy does he ever." Cluff had a streak of five straight double-doubles, but that ended in recent losses to Nevada and Colorado. The Jackrabbits won 87-72 over Chadron State in their last game on Dec. 19. --Field Level MediaUS markets continued to rally on Wednesday as investors continued to cheer President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Hedge Fund manager Scott Bessent as treasury secretary. Crude prices fell, as did the treasury yields, while the US Dollar weakened against peers. NSE The Dow Jones rose 1% or nearly 450 points, while the S&P 500 made a new high of 6,020 before closing below that level with gains of 0.3%. A mixed bag day for big tech meant that the Nasdaq Composite underperformed, although it closed with gains as well. The Smallcap-focused Russell 2000 index also ended 1.5% higher, making a new high of 2,466. Bitcoin slipped after a surge toward $100,000 fizzled just shy of the historic level. Oil sank as Israel moved closer to a cease-fire with Hezbollah. The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 14 basis points to 4.26%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.5%. “Investors are viewing this nomination as one that will provide a Goldilocks scenario for Mr. Trump’s pro-business proposals,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak + Co. A year-end rally will push the S&P 500 to 6,200 points, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Scott Rubner. Retail euphoria is accelerating just as stocks enter their best seasonal trading pattern. Corporate demand for buybacks is also increasing, adding to the reasons why the rally could start in the coming days, Rubner said in a note to clients on Friday. At RBC Capital Markets, Lori Calvasina says the S&P 500 is set to reach the 6,600 level by the end of 2025 due to what’s likely to be another year of solid economic and earnings growth, some political tailwinds, and additional relief on inflation. Her team’s new price target “does bake in the idea that the S&P 500 will experience a 5-10% drawdown before too long.” Elevated positioning, recent froth in sentiment, and higher valuations leave the S&P 500 vulnerable to bad news and perhaps simply in need of a breather. And Barclays Plc strategists expect further stock-market upside in 2025 amid constructive positioning and a solid macroeconomic backdrop, even though gains are set to slow from the breakneck pace seen this year and last. The team led by Venu Krishna raised its S&P 500 year-end target to 6,600 from 6,500. While the S&P 500 might be a long way away from fumbling a strong year, don’t get too optimistic about a strong, smooth finish to the year, according to Callie Cox at Ritholtz Wealth Management. “Investors are especially upbeat right now, too. We all love a good collective mood before the holidays, but I’m worried we could get caught off guard by bad news,” she concluded. US inflation figures this week that are seen showing stubborn price pressures will reinforce the Federal Reserve’s cautionary posture toward future interest-rate cuts. The personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy — the Fed’s preferred measure of underlying inflation — is projected to have risen by 0.3% in October from September, and by 2.8% from a year earlier, in what would be the largest advance since April. Fed Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee told Fox Business he foresees the central bank continuing to lower rates toward a stance that neither restricts nor promotes economic activity. (With Inputs From Agencies.)
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Daylen Berry scored 27 points as Charleston Southern beat Columbia International 95-89 on Saturday. Berry had 10 rebounds for the Buccaneers (4-11). RJ Johnson scored 25 points while shooting 7 for 19 (0 for 6 from 3-point range) and 11 of 13 from the free-throw line and added seven assists. Keenan Wilkins went 4 of 12 from the field (3 for 8 from 3-point range) to finish with 11 points, while adding six rebounds. JJ Vaughan finished with 24 points for the Rams. Columbia International also got 22 points from Christian Howard. Brandon Hunt also had 13 points and 11 rebounds. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Penn State looks to control offensive glass vs. Penn