Archives for May 2021

1 killed, 1 injured in single-engine plane crash in Utah

EDEN, Utah (AP) — One man died and another man suffered severe burns when their single-engine aircraft crashed Saturday morning near the Powder Mountain area near Eden in northern Utah, authorities said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the crash of the Cessna 172S.

It’s not clear whey the plane went down.

Authorities said the injured man was transported by air to the University of Utah burn center.

The plane had left Ogden’s Hinkley Airport not long before the crash.

The crash resulted in a small fire, but officials say the crash site was cold and wet so the fire was quickly extinguished.

Wild show promise, despite latest one-and-done in playoffs

In the end, the Minnesota Wild were left with another early exit from the playoffs.

Still, this truncated season, while fully enveloped by COVID-19 protocols, looked a little bit like a new beginning.

Pivoting further away from the core and identity of the teams of the previous seven years, before the advent of the coronavirus and the arrival of Kirill Kaprizov, the Wild entered a new era with the dynamic Russian left wing at the forefront of their attack.

The Calder Trophy front-runner, who led all NHL rookies with 27 goals and 51 points, did not disappoint in his long-awaited debut. Kevin Fiala picked up where he left off before the pandemic pause in 2020 and gave the Wild another proven scorer. Joel Eriksson Ek played like a first-line center, ratcheting up his offense to match his tenacious defense. New goalie Cam Talbot was a decent match with the deep group of defensemen in front of him.

The Wild enjoyed a significant boost from the 56-game schedule that had them only playing opponents in the temporarily reshuffled West Division, with San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim producing three of the league’s seven worst records in 2021, but any pad the three California teams provided them in the standings was negated by the presence of Colorado and Vegas at the top.

Pitted in the first round against the Golden Knights, who had the most wins in the NHL, the Wild gave them all they could handle before falling 6-2 in the decisive seventh game of the series on Friday. Injuries caught up with them, with standout defenseman Jonas Brodin departing early and Eriksson Ek and defenseman Ryan Suter playing through pain.

“We all felt like we could beat these guys. Everyone else might think one thing, but the group of guys that we had we felt confident in ourselves,” Suter said. “We are pretty disappointed that it’s ended the way its has.”

ON THE BENCH

Head coach Dean Evason’s first full season on the job was an unquestionable success, but he’ll need to help the Wild build on this showing and ultimately advance in the playoffs for general manager Bill Guerin to give him another contract. Evason’s current deal will expire after next season.

“We got ourselves to a Game 7. We just didn’t push through. We need to learn from this experience right now, and we will,” Evason said.

CONSTRUCTION SEASON

Guerin has plenty to work on with the roster this summer, starting with a lack of depth at center. He’ll have to figure out which players to leave unprotected in the July 21 expansion draft for Seattle. Then there’s the matter of managing the salary cap, with Kaprizov, Fiala and Eriksson Ek all needing new contracts as restricted free agents. Veteran forwards Nick Bonino, Nick Bjugstad and Marcus Johansson will all be unrestricted free agents along with defenseman Ian Cole.

PARISE’S UNCERTAIN FUTURE

After playing their first season without longtime captain Mikko Koivu, the Wild appear headed for a split with another lineup fixture in left wing Zach Parise.

Parise, who helped trigger an unprecedented run for the franchise on and off the ice when he and Suter signed identical 13-year, $98 million contracts on July 4, 2012, fell to the fourth line down the stretch of the season and was a healthy scratch for the first three games of the Vegas series.

After reminding the team of his value by tallying two goals and an assist over the last three games, Parise described his benching as “sideshow stuff” in his interview with reporters following Game 7.

“We’ll have to figure that out in the coming summer what’s going to happen, but I really don’t have an answer on that right now,” said Parise, who has four seasons left on his deal.

BACK TO NORMAL

Under the previous alignment the NHL has planned to return to next season, the Wild would have finished in second place behind Colorado. They would have had home-ice advantage against Nashville, which was eliminated by Carolina in six games.

Seattle will enter the league for 2021-22, when Arizona moves over to become the eighth team in the Central Division with Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis and Winnipeg.

STILL WAITING

The Wild have made the postseason eight times in the last nine years, but they have not won a series since 2015. Los Angeles is the only other team in the Western Conference, which covers the Central and Pacific divisions under the regular alignment, that has gone longer without advancing. The last time the Kings won a series was actually the Stanley Cup finals in 2014.

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Fenway Park back to full capacity; Red Sox beat Marlins 3-1

BOSTON (AP) — Playing their first game in a rejuvenated Fenway Park since the state dropped limits on crowds during the coronavirus pandemic, Nathan Eovaldi went 5 1/3 scoreless innings and the Boston Red Sox beat the Miami Marlins 3-1 on Saturday.

Bobby Dalbec, Kevin Plawecki and Hunter Renfroe each had an RBI single for Boston, which won for the seventh time in nine games and posted its ninth straight home victory over the Marlins.

There was a lot more buzz in the fabled park, with the fans roaring after the national anthem and cheering loudly when Eovaldi fired a fastball past the swing of Magnerius Sierra, the game’s first batter.

Despite drizzly, chilly weather, the stands were about half full and the crowd broke in a chant of ‘”Let’s go, Red Sox!” that echoed around in the first inning from the announced paid attendance of 25,089.

Eovaldi (6-2) allowed four hits, striking out seven with one walk.

“It was awesome,” he said of the crowd. “They were definitely bringing the energy. You could definitely tell the excitement was there in the stadium.”

Adam Ottavino struck out Jesús Aguilar and Garrett Cooper to leave the bases loaded in the seventh. The crowd erupted into a loud cheer when Ottavino struck out Cooper on a sharp slider.

“I think the crowd was what made it different than its been,” Ottavino said. “Just a lot of energy in the moment, especially once I got to two strikes on the last guy. Just kind of an out-of-body experience. Glad I was able to make the pitch. I just kind of blacked out.”

Matt Barnes got the final three outs for his 12th save in 13 chances despite giving up Aguilar’s RBI single.

“We had the right guys up there, we just weren’t able to get the big hit,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.

Trevor Rogers (6-3) gave up two runs in six innings, allowing nine hits with six strikeouts and no walks.

“They were loud. I heard it for sure,” Rogers said. “The atmosphere was crazy. It was a really good atmosphere to pitch in. It was a lot of fun.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora missed the game and was back home in Puerto Rico, attending the high graduation of daughter Camila. Bench coach Will Venable ran the team.

FIRST PITCH

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, threw out the ceremonial pitch to Boston catcher Christian Vázquez, tossing a high arc from just in front of the mound. She said she warmed up in her backyard in nearby Newton.

“It’s such a bright moment right now,” she said. “Having been here, March 6, 2020, was the first call I received when we had our first case in Boston and our first case in Massachusetts. … It’s been a really long year, and we’ve seen some really, really dark times. … I’m cautiously optimistic, but I’m not declaring victory.”

The Red Sox were following CDC guidelines and fans that were fully vaccinated were not required to wear masks.

THAT’S HOW IT LOOKED

It was the first time since the final game of 2019, when the Red Sox beat Baltimore in front of a crowd of 35,427, they were able to open to full capacity.

“It’s emotional today,” Red Sox President Sam Kennedy said. “We’re seeing some people we haven’t seen in a year-plus.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: Mattingly said SS Jazz Chisholm, who missed his fourth straight game with a sprained right ankle, could return for the series finale Sunday. … OF Adam Duvall, a late scratch Friday with left side soreness, didn’t play.

Red Sox: Kennedy said: “the honest answer is, yes, it’s frustrating, but we’re respectful of individual choice” when asked if it was disappointing that the Red Sox hadn’t reached the threshold of 85% or more of their Tier 1 individuals being considered fully vaccinated.

UP NEXT

Miami RHP Sandy Alcantara (2-4, 3.46 ERA) is set to face LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (5-3, 5.06), who is coming off his shortest outing this season when he lasted just four innings in his previous start.

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Special House election measures political pulse after Trump

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A special congressional election is checking the political pulse of politics across the Albuquerque metro area and a few outlying rural communities in one of the few House campaigns since President Joe Biden took office.

Four names are on the ballot in Tuesday’s election to succeed Deb Haaland in Congress after her confirmation as secretary of the U.S. Interior Department. After weeks of early voting, polling locations are closed on Sunday and Monday before reopening on Election Day with allowances for same-day registration.

New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District has heavily favored Democratic candidates in recent years, shunning President Donald Trump with a gap of 23 percentage points in 2020 and reelecting Haaland with a margin of 16 percentage points as voter participation reached an all-time high.

Those margins bode well for Democratic nominee and second-term state Rep. Melanie Stansbury, as she confronts Republican state Sen. Mark Moores. Republicans hope to erode the 219-211 Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives ahead of midterm elections in 2022.

Stansbury, a consultant on land use and water policy, has embraced Biden’s core agenda for post-pandemic economic recovery, free universal preschool and infrastructure spending that modernizes energy and transportation sectors to address global warming. In recent debates, she has endorsed a $15 national minimum wage, reforms to address police misconduct and systemic racism, and a more humanitarian approach to immigration.

Moores has emphasized the need for aggressive drug interdiction and immigration enforcement along the U.S. border with Mexico and uninterrupted oil leasing on federal land as a crucial source of employment in New Mexico. His campaign has seized on concerns about public safety and crime as a core issue, backing more federal dollars for police body cameras that are required in New Mexico and voicing support for police officers.

A hardline approach to crime by Trump in 2020 fell flat with Albuquerque-area voters after he sent federal agents to bolster local law enforcement efforts. Still, crime remains an issue for the city.

Two additional candidates are vying for untethered voters in a state with strong currents of libertarian politics.

Independent contender Aubrey Dunn Jr., a former Republican elected to statewide office as land commissioner who didn’t seek reelection in 2018, has cast himself as a staunch defender of gun rights and an experienced steward of public lands. Libertarian nominee Chris Manning, who lives far outside the 1st District in Farmington, is campaigning on an unorthodox plan to reduce health care costs by eliminating employer-based coverage and insurance requirements.

The potential for low turnout in the vacancy election adds an element of uncertainty — and a sense of rare opportunity among Republicans, who account for 31% of registered voters across the 1st Congressional District.

The voting district encompasses Albuquerque, rural Torrance County and other outlying areas that include the Indigenous community of Sandia Pueblo.

Registered Democrats dominated early voting, casting roughly twice as ballots as registered Republicans as of Friday.

Political science professor Lonna Atkeson, of the University of New Mexico, notes that both major-party candidates have delved into attack ads and negative campaigning — a sign that neither campaign is confident.

“Nobody’s felt confident enough that they can just ride it out in a positive way. So they’re both feeling a little stressed,” Atkeson said. “I mean, we never saw Deb Haaland do a negative ad.”

The Democratic National Committee brought Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, to New Mexico on Thursday to campaign on Stansbury’s behalf. At a rally with labor unions and other supporters, Emhoff acknowledged the thin margin Democrats have in Congress and said electing Stansbury would help to ensure the party’s legislative initiatives make it to the president’s desk.

Moores has repeatedly sought to link Stansbury to the so-called BREATHE Act proposal from the Movement for Black Lives that would divest taxpayer spending from traditional policing agencies and invest in alternative approaches to public safety. And he says Stansbury voted in 2019 for a bill that benefitted her consulting client.

Stansbury said she has stood by law enforcement in coordinating spending on police infrastructure and initiatives at the state Legislature. She has bashed Moores for opposing some pandemic relief measures while accepting $1.8 million in federal aid at his medical testing business.

Moores frequently invokes Latino family ties that date back to the region’s Spanish colonial era, in a state where Hispanic pride is an enduring staple of politics.

Atkeson sees that as an overt push by Moores to win over socially conservative Latinos who might otherwise vote Democrat.

The 1st Congressional District has been controlled by Democrats since 2009.

The seat has consistently been a stepping stone to higher office for Republican and Democratic politicians, including now-deceased Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan Jr., former U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Oklahoma State’s Jin leads NCAA men by 3 after 65

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Oklahoma State freshman Bo Jin shot a 5-under 65 at Grayhawk Golf Club to take a three-shot lead after two rounds of the NCAA championship Saturday.

Playing in hot-but-benign conditions in the morning, Jin had seven birdies, including three straight to close on the par-70 Raptor Course. He was 8 under in the first NCAA championship in two years after the 2020 season was canceled due to the pandemic.

“To me, playing a hard golf course is is just managing your game more,” Jin said. “Everybody will be shooting a decent high number, so you’ve got to keep managing your game, make pars. Par is a good score and if you make birdie, it’s a bonus.”

Arizona State sophomore Ryggs Johnston had the low round of the day, shooting a 63 to tie Clemson’s Turk Pettit for second at 5 under.

Oklahoma State’s Carson Barry reached 6 under after a birdie on his 17th hole, the par-3 8th. A long, left approach shot into the desert on No. 9 led to a double bogey, dropping him to 4 under after a 67.

Jin’s round helped push Oklahoma State into the team lead at 6-under 554, five shots ahead of Oklahoma. Oklahoma State has won 11 national titles, the last in 2018.

The top 15 teams and nine individuals not on teams that advance move on after Sunday’s round. The individual final round is Monday and the team competition concludes Wednesday.

“We’re just getting more used to the golf course and obviously the conditions in the morning are a little easier,” Cowboys coach coach J.T. Higgins said. “Obviously, we’ll get to go out early again tomorrow and that’s big.”

Jin has made a name for himself quickly since arriving in the U.S.

Born in Beijing, he comes from a strong golf family. His brother, Cheng, won the 2015 Asia-Pacific Amateur before going on to play at Southern California, and his sister, Jiarui, was co-medalist at the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Jin moved to San Diego in 2014 after a stop in Singapore and had a sterling junior career before signing with the Cowboys. He’s been as sponge to Higgins’ coaching since arriving in Stillwater, rounding into one of the nation’s top collegiate players.

“If anyone’s been paying attention, he’s been doing that since the spring, but from the start of the year until now he’s improved in a big way,” Higgins said. “Just really impressed. He’s so good. He’s got a lot of shots for a young kid.”

Jin has been playing his best at the right time, too, finishing second at the Big 12 Championship and tied for second at the NCAA Stillwater Regional. He surged to the lead on Saturday with three birdies in five holes, starting at the long par-4 seventh, and nearly holed out on the 173-yard par-3 16th for tap-in birdie.

“I just feel like you have to play smart, you can’t go after every single flag,” he said. “My irons were pretty good and I hit my putts well.”

Johnston had a bit of an adjustment at one of the nation’s top college programs after growing up in Libby, Montana.

Located about an hour south of the Canadian border, Libby has about 3,000 people, a couple of stoplights and is 90 minutes from the nearest Walmart. It also has a short golf season, running from late March until about mid-October.

Johnston made the most of his limited time on the one 18-hole course in Libby, Cabinet Golf Course, and played at lot of out-of-state golf as a junior.

The lanky 6-foot-2 sophomore, Arizona State’s No. 3 golfer, matched the program’s low round of 2021 with a 64 at the Valspar Invitational in March and finished tied for fourth at the Pac-12 Championship.

Johnston got off to a hot start in sizzling conditions at Grayhawk, reeling off six birdies in eight holes after starting on No. 10. He offset a bogey on the par-4 third with three birdies on his back nine.

“I started off pretty hot, which was big,” Johnston said. “I didn’t really hit anything super close, but I made a ton of putts and kept hitting it on the line I was trying to hit it on, and kept making them.”

Pettit, a senior in his third NCAA championship, had four birdies to offset a bogey on No. 1 to shoot 67 after a 68 in the opening round.

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Archives for May 2021

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