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Retro: When Orioles pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm’s knuckleballs baffled the mighty Yankees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:54 GMT

Sixty-five years ago, the struggling Orioles bought an aging relief pitcher, on the cheap, to help their porous bullpen. At 36, Hoyt Wilhelm’s best years were thought to be behind him. Moreover, his best pitch, the knuckleball, was a fluttery offering that drove catchers nuts, eluded their grasp and created havoc. But the Orioles, 17 games off the pace, took a chance on the soft-throwing right-hander and, on Aug. 23, 1958, claimed Wilhelm off waivers from the Cleveland Indians for $20,000.A little less than a month later, given a chance as a starting pitcher, Wilhelm shocked baseball by throwing a no-hitter — on national TV, against the American League-leading New York Yankees — on a drizzly Saturday before more than 18,000 giddy fans at Memorial Stadium.The 1-0 victory on Sept. 20, the first no-hitter in modern Orioles history, gave Baltimore baseball credence and helped trigger a winning mindset in the club that would last for decades, said Brooks Robinson, now 8...

Orioles minor league report: Pitching prospect DL Hall regaining form in Triple-A with improved velocity

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:54 GMT

The Orioles need another reliever to step up into a high-leverage role.Could that be DL Hall?It’s been an up-and-down 2023 season for the Orioles’ top pitching prospect. He had a slow start to spring training after recovering from a back injury. It prevented him from having a typical offseason in the weight room, causing his velocity to dip as he began the year with Triple-A Norfolk building up as a starting pitcher.The club then sent him down to its facility in Sarasota, Florida, for about six weeks to focus on strength training over throwing in hopes of building up his velocity. That plan, it seems, has worked, as the left-hander appears to be mostly back to himself since rejoining Norfolk in a short-relief role — perhaps the one he’ll fill in Baltimore once rosters expand in September.Whether Hall actually joins the roster or performs to a level that gives manager Brandon Hyde the trust to put him into big spots remains to be seen. But he has perhaps as go...

The Pakistani Taliban have ambushed military convoy in northwest, killing at least 6 soldiers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:54 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani Taliban fighters ambushed a military convoy in a former militant stronghold in the country’s northwest near the Afghan border on Tuesday, triggering an intense shootout that killed at least six soldiers, the military said.The attack took place in South Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said in a statement. It said a search operation is underway in the area in an effort to trace the attackers.Mohammad Khurasani, a spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack.The Pakistani Taliban are a separate group but are allied with the Afghan Taliban, who took over Afghanistan in August 2021, following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from the country. The takeover emboldened the TTP, who often carry out attacks near the Afghan border and elsewhere in the country.Riaz Khan, The Associated Press

In the basketball-crazed Philippines, the World Cup will be a shining moment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:54 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Considering that about 110 million people live in the Philippines, it’s not feasible to expect that they all would be basketball fans.“But it’s close,” said Tim Cone, the country’s top professional coach.And that might not be an understatement, either.Basketball’s World Cup starts on Friday, spread out over three nations — the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. It’ll be centered in Manila, where the medal rounds will be held in early September, where the favored U.S. team will play all its games in the event and where fans have been waiting for years for this chance at seeing some of the game’s biggest names competing in their city.“It’s so for big players to come here, unlike China. Everyone comes there,” said Inigo Herrera, 25, who works in sales for his family’s Manila business. “For us, it’s like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If this is your first time in the Philippines and you go around, you will see kids playing basketball...

Ex-Prime Minister Thaksin enters prison in Thailand, with allies on cusp of forming a government

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:54 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra began an eight-year prison sentence Tuesday after returning from years of self-imposed exile, while his allies in parliament faced a vote on their bid to form a government together with military parties that have been their rivals for decades.It was an emotional day for supporters of the 74-year-old billionaire, who won the loyalty of millions with populist policies that directed attention, and funding, to the country’s largely rural, often impoverished, north. Hundreds of people gathered outside of the airport hours ahead of Thaksin’s 9 a.m. arrival, donning red clothes and holding sign with welcoming messages. They sang and chanted in anticipation, then raised a raucous cheer when he appeared at the terminal door.“I feel fulfilled that I traveled here today to pick him up. If possible I want to hug him. Everyone has tears, tears coming out of their eyes,” said Makawan Payakkae, a 43-year-old from Maha Sarakha...

North Korean plane takes off from Beijing in a sign Pyongyang is opening borders post-pandemic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:54 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — A North Korean commercial flight has taken off from Beijing in a sign that Pyongyang is opening its borders again after almost three years of severe COVID-19 restrictions. The Russian-made Air Koryo Tupelev Tu-204 jet with capacity for 210 passengers reportedly landed in the Chinese capital Tuesday morning and was filmed taking off shortly after 1:30 p.m. local time (0530 GMT).China has “approved the regular flight plan of North Korean Air Koryo Pyongyang-Beijing-Pyongyang and other passenger routes in accordance with the procedures,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.“The specific flight is subject to the arrangement of the airline in accordance with the approval of the Chinese competent authority,” Wang said. China is North Korea’s closest diplomatic ally and a key source of food and fuel aid for an economy beset by natural disasters and mismanagement. Little is known about conditions inside the country due to the ruling Workers Party’s complete...

Microsoft revamps deal for video game maker Activision Blizzard to meet UK demands

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:54 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft revamped its bid to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard on Tuesday to appease British competition regulators, who are the last major hurdle to closing one of the biggest deals in tech history.The Competition and Markets Authority said it has opened a new preliminary investigation into the updated transaction with a deadline for a decision due on Oct. 18. Xbox maker Microsoft has been on a quest to acquire Activision, maker of the popular Call of Duty game franchise since announcing the $69 billion deal in January 2022. The blockbuster deal has secured approvals from antitrust authorities covering 40 countries, including the European Union. But it has been held up in Britain, where authorities moved to block it earlier this year over worries about competition being stifled in the emerging cloud gaming market, where players can avoid buying pricey consoles and stream games to their tablets or phones. Under the restructured deal, Microsoft will sell the clo...

Maui confronts the challenge of finding more than 800 missing people after the deadly wildfires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:54 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Two weeks after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century swept through the Maui community of Lahaina, authorities say more than 800 people remain unaccounted for — a staggering number that presents huge challenges for officials who are trying to determine how many of those perished and how many may have made it to safety but haven’t checked in.Something similar happened after a wildfire in 2018 that killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise, California. Authorities in Butte County, home to Paradise, ultimately published a list of the missing in the local newspaper, a decision that helped identify scores of people who had made it out alive but were listed as missing. Within a month, the list dropped from 1,300 names to only a dozen.“I probably had, at any given time, 10 to 15 detectives who were assigned to nothing but trying to account for people who were unaccounted for,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said in a phone interview. “At...

Stock market today: World markets, Wall St futures rise ahead of Federal Reserve conference

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:54 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets and Wall Street futures rose Tuesday as traders waited for signs of interest rate plans from this week’s Federal Reserve conference.London, Shanghai, Paris and Tokyo rose. Oil prices declined.Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose Monday for its first gain in five days as tech stocks rallied.Traders hope officials at the Fed’s summer Jackson Hole, Wyoming, conference say they are finished raising interest rates that are at a two-decade high. But forecasters warn they might say inflation isn’t under control yet.Fed Chair Jerome Powell “may even mention that further rate hikes cannot be entirely ruled out,” said Clifford Bennett of ACY Securities in a report.In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London rose 0.2% to 7,274.01. The CAC 40 in Paris advanced 0.9% to 7,265.01 and the DAX in Frankfurt added 0.9% to 15,749.52.On Wall Street, the S&P 500 future was up 0.3%. That for the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0....

Already breaking Usain Bolt’s youth records, teen sprinter Erriyon Knighton on fast track to success

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:54 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — From cars to race times, 19-year-old sprinter Erriyon Knighton has an appreciation for all things fast.He’s combining his two passions to provide extra fuel: Should Knighton achieve Olympic glory, he’s treating himself to a black McLaren supercar. One thing he can’t speed away from are the inevitable comparisons to retired Jamaican sensation Usain Bolt, which Knighton only welcomes as he gears up for the world championships.Because really, slow and steady is more Knighton’s speed in his evolution as a sprinter. He feels patience will get him to the summit as he chases American teammate Noah Lyles, the two-time defending world 200-meter champion and recently crowned 100-meter title-winner.“We’re not in a rush to be great,” Knighton said in an interview with The Associated Press in the lead-up to the first round of the 200 on Wednesday. “I mean, greatness doesn’t come overnight. Knowing this, we’re just taking everything step-by-step.”His ste...