Archives for April 2021

Crowd returns to Wembley to see Leicester reach FA Cup final

LONDON (AP) — The goal scored by Kelechi Iheanacho didn’t just send Leicester into a first FA Cup final since 1969. It was the first to be cheered by spectators at Wembley in more than a year.

Not since March 2020 had fans been allowed into English football’s national stadium through three national lockdowns.

Now as coronavirus restrictions are eased, Wembley was allowed a 4,000-strong, socially distanced crowd on Sunday to witness Leicester’s 1-0 victory over Southampton to test the return of spectators.

While those permitted were only local residents in the north London district over the age of 18 who tested negative for COVID-19, some fans of both teams did manage to land tickets.

“We could hear a number of supporters for Leicester in the crowd so that was really, really nice,” Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said. “It’s a step towards getting that sort of connection back because the game is nothing without the supporters.”

Returning to a game for the first time in 2021 gave Leicester supporter Pascal Mollar a chance to reflect on what he’s missed.

“I think it’s just a sense of camaraderie, isn’t it?” he said. “Obviously, you go with friends, you go with family, people you’ve often known for a long time and grown up with, just getting together and having a laugh. I think that’s something that probably communities have missed anyway, across the country and around the world recently. So this is a step back towards that I suppose, it’s going be a good thing.”

While reaching an FA Cup final is rare — and it has never won the competition — Leicester did win the Premier League so unexpectedly in 2016 and collected the League Cup in 2000.

By the time Leicester faces Chelsea in the May 15 FA Cup final, the government hopes up to 21,000 spectators will be allowed, including a sizable contingent officially from both clubs.

The pilot scheme is aimed at trying to increasing the numbers up to half of the 90,000-capacity Wembley for the European Championship final on July 11.

Before then all Premier League grounds are due to have up to 10,000 fans allowed for the final two rounds of the season next month.

ARSENAL SETBACK

Arsenal, which was briefly allowed 2,000 spectators in December, might be glad not to have a disillusioned fan base at the Emirates Stadium to show its discontent during a miserable season.

It took a goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time from Arsenal substitute Eddie Nketiah to rescue a 1-1 draw on Sunday against a Fulham side fighting relegation, tapping in a rebound to cancel out Josh Maja’s penalty.

On the day Arsenal was linked to plans for a breakaway European Super League, the north London club is ninth in the Premier League — nine points from the four Champions League spots.

“When you face the games like today and you produce what you produce, you have to win it,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “That’s what the top teams are doing consistently in the league, and when you don’t do it then obviously the consequences are that you are where you are.”

UNITED CLOSES GAP

Manchester United moved within eight points of Manchester City with a 3-1 victory over Burnley. It could be too late to return to the top of the league with only six games left to reel in its neighbor.

United had to show resilience after Mason Greenwood’s opener at the start of the second half was quickly canceled out by James Tarkowski’s header. Greenwood’s deflected strike restored the lead in the 84th before a stoppage-time tap-in from Edinson Cavani.

“Our fitness, confidence and belief has improved so much this season compared to last year,” United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said. “That’s big, big progress. (Catching City) is probably unrealistic but stranger things have happened in football and we’ve just got to do our job and see what everyone else does.”

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Founder of Adobe and developer of PDFs dies at age 81

LOS ALTOS, Calif. (AP) — Charles “Chuck” Geschke — the co-founder of the major software company Adobe Inc. who helped develop Portable Document Format technology, or PDFs — died at age 81.

Geschke, who lived in the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Los Altos, died Friday, the company said.

“This is a huge loss for the entire Adobe community and the technology industry, for whom he has been a guide and hero for decades,” Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen wrote in an email to the company’s employees.

“As co-founders of Adobe, Chuck and John Warnock developed groundbreaking software that has revolutionized how people create and communicate,” Narayen said. “Their first product was Adobe PostScript, an innovative technology that provided a radical new way to print text and images on paper and sparked the desktop publishing revolution. Chuck instilled a relentless drive for innovation in the company, resulting in some of the most transformative software inventions, including the ubiquitous PDF, Acrobat, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and Photoshop.”

His wife said Geschke was also proud of his family.

“He was a famous businessman, the founder of a major company in the U.S. and the world, and of course he was very, very proud of that and it was huge achievement in his life, but it wasn’t his focus — really, his family was,” Nancy “Nan” Geschke, 78, told the Mercury News on Saturday. “He always called himself the luckiest man in the world.”

After earning a doctorate from Carnegie Mellon University, Geschke began working at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, where he met Warnock, the Mercury News reported. The men left the company in 1982 to found Adobe, developing software together.

In 2009, President Barack Obama awarded Geschke and Warnock the National Medal of Technology.

In 1992, Geschke survived a kidnapping, the Mercury News reported.

Arriving to work one morning, two men seized Geschke, then 52, at gunpoint and took him to Hollister, California, where he was held for four days. A suspect caught with $650,000 in ransom money eventually led police to the hideout where he was held captive, The Associated Press reported.

Australia-New Zealand travel bubble brings relief, elation

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Elation marked the opening Monday of a long-anticipated travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand.

The start of quarantine-free travel was a relief for families who have been separated by the coronavirus pandemic as well as to struggling tourist operators. It marked the first, tentative steps toward what both countries hope will become a gradual reopening to the rest of the world.

The idea of a bubble between Australia and New Zealand had been talked about for months but faced setbacks because of several small virus outbreaks in both countries, which were eventually stamped out.

To mark the occasion, Wellington International Airport painted an enormous welcome sign near its main runway and Air New Zealand ordered some 24,000 bottles of sparkling wine, offering a complimentary glass to adult passengers.

Air New Zealand’s Chief Operating Officer Carrie Hurihanganui said the carrier had previously been running just two or three flights a day between the two countries but that jumped to 30 flights on Monday carrying 5,200 passengers.

She said the day marked a turning point and people were excited.

“You can feel it at the airport and see it on people’s faces,” she said.

The leaders of both countries welcomed the bubble, saying it was a world-leading arrangement because it aimed to both open borders and keep the virus from spreading.

“Today’s milestone is a win-win for Australians and New Zealanders, boosting our economies while keeping our people safe,” Australian Prime Scott Morrison said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her country was welcoming new arrivals.

“The bubble marks a significant step in both countries’ reconnection with the world and it’s one we should all take a moment to be very proud of,” she said.

Travelers who lined up at Sydney and Melbourne airports early Monday said they were excited or relieved to finally fly to New Zealand after more than a year. Some were visiting family and friends, while others were attending funerals.

Both countries have managed to keep out the virus by putting up barriers to the outside world, including strict quarantine requirements for travelers returning from other countries where the virus is rampant.

Australia had previously allowed New Zealanders to arrive without going into quarantine but New Zealand had taken a more cautious approach, requiring travelers from Australia complete a quarantine.

The start of the bubble comes ahead of the New Zealand ski season and is welcome news for many tourist towns, including the ski resort of Queenstown.

Spain: police bust clandestine gun workshop using 3D printer

MADRID (AP) — Spanish police said Sunday that they have uncovered the first workshop using a 3D printer to make illegal firearms in the country.

Police said that one person was arrested on Tenerife in the Canary Islands after being linked to the clandestine workshop where the suspect allegedly made assault weapons from 3D printing.

Beside the printer, agents also confiscated the components for 19 weapons made from 3D printing, several knives, chemicals that could be used in fabricating explosives, and “objects with white supremacist symbols.”

The joint operation was carried out by Spain’s National Police and Treasury Office.

LEADING OFF: Patriots’ Day at Fenway, Twins still on pause

A look at what’s happening around the majors on Monday:

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WAKE UP!

The White Sox and Red Sox begin at 11:05 a.m. at Fenway Park in the annual Patriots’ Day game. Could mean early-morning batting practice for J.D Martinez and José Abreu.

The event usually coincides with the Boston Marathon — in past years, fans in the Green Monster seats would turn around to catch a glimpse of the leaders while others headed over after the final out to cheer on the runners in Kenmore Square, about a mile from the finish line. This year, the famous race has been moved to Oct. 11 due to the pandemic.

Chicago ace Lucas Giolito (1-0, 2.55 ERA) is slated to start the series finale against Nathan Eovaldi (2-1, 2.08).

STILL WAITING

The Twins will continue coronavirus testing and contact tracing with the hope of getting back on the field Tuesday for a doubleheader at Oakland.

Minnesota had games against the Angels in Anaheim on Saturday and Sunday postponed. The Twins-Athletics game Monday also was called off.

The Twins have had at least four positive coronavirus tests in the past week.

There have been six MLB games postponed this year because of the virus, including a season-opening, three-game series between the Nationals and Mets after Washington’s coronavirus concerns.

BEAT-UP BRAVES

Atlanta star Ronald Acuña Jr. left a game Sunday at Wrigley Field with pain in his lower abdominal muscles, an issue that arose after he dove back into first base on a pickoff attempt. The Braves are off Monday before opening a series at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, giving the dynamic outfielder a day to see if the discomfort will subside.

Acuña is off to a terrific start this year, batting .433 with seven homers and 16 RBIs heading into the series finale against the Cubs. The outfielder also had scored a major league-high 20 runs coming into Sunday.

Atlanta has been hit hard by injuries early in the season. Pitchers Max Fried, Drew Smyly and Sean Newcomb and outfielders Cristian Pache and Ender Inciarte have been placed on the 10-day IL since Wednesday.

MIZZOU FOR YOU

Rays left-hander Josh Fleming is set to pitch the series opener at Kansas City in front of his own personal rooting section.

The 24-year-old Fleming is from Bridgeton, Missouri, on the other side of the state in the St. Louis area. He’s expecting about 12 family members and 25 friends for the game. Many of them have not seen him pitch since 2018 at Bowling Green.

“Any time I hear screaming, here I’ll know it’s going to be from there,” he said.

Fleming’s parents will be on hand. They were forced by the pandemic to watch his debut on television at a hotel across from Tropicana Field but did attend World Series games.

REMEMBER ME?

San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler returns to Citizens Bank Park for the first time since being fired as Philadelphia’s skipper.

The Phils went 80-82 in 2018 during Kapler’s first year and 81-81 in 2019. The Giants didn’t play in Philly last season.

“I’m looking forward to seeing people. It’s not going to be the easiest thing with the COVID protocols. But I plan on getting a little bit of time with some people I grew close to during my time in Philly.”

What kind of reception does he expect from fans?

“Making that prediction, I just don’t know where to begin,” he said. “I did the best job I could every day. It didn’t work out. We didn’t win enough. That ultimately is the bottom line.”

NICE JOB

Jay Bruce has called it a career.

The three-time All-Star who was with the Yankees this season announced his retirement Sunday, 15 days past his 34th birthday. Bruce received an ovation when shown on the Yankee Stadium video board before the eighth inning but did not get in the game, a 4-2 loss to Tampa Bay that was New York’s fifth straight defeat.

“Just the consistent underperformance for me,” he said, his voice quavering at times. “Felt like I wasn’t able to do it at a level that was acceptable for myself.”

Bruce hit .118 with one homer and three RBIs in 39 plate appearances this year. He had a .244 average with 319 homers and 951 RBIs in 14 major league seasons with Cincinnati (2008-16), the Mets (2016-18), Cleveland (2017), Seattle (2019), Philadelphia (2019-20) and the Yankees.

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Archives for April 2021

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