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Mike Lupica: Willis Reed was the beating heart of the champion Knicks

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

It couldn’t have happened without all of them, without Clyde who played the game of his life in that Game 7 against the Lakers that May night in 1970, the night at Madison Square Garden when the Knicks finally won it all, 36 points from him and 19 assists and seven rebounds.It wouldn’t have happened without Dave DeBusschere, the bartender’s kid from Detroit, and Bill Bradley, the Rhodes Scholar out of Crystal City, Mo., and then Princeton. And it sure wouldn’t have happened without Red Holzman, the basketball lifer out of the NBA in the 1950s, the quiet leader of the band, growling at them to all see the ball.But none of it could possibly have happened without Capt. Willis Reed, who limped out that night on a ruined leg and made two jumpers against Wilt Chamberlain and the Lakers, in the greatest basketball moment of them all in New York City, the one that officially turned what Pete Hamill used to call the Basie band of pro basketball into as beloved and sto...

Willis Reed, two-time Knicks champion and NBA Hall of Famer, dead at 80

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

Willis Reed, one of the greatest players in Knicks history whose gutsy return from injury for Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals solidified him as a symbol of toughness and perseverance, has died at age 80, the team announced Tuesday.Reed, a Hall of Fame center who played each of his 10 NBA seasons with the Knicks, was the MVP of both of the franchise’s championships.“As we mourn, we will always strive to uphold the standards he left behind — the unmatched leadership, sacrifice and work ethic that personified him as a champion among champions,” the Knicks said in a statement. “His is a legacy that will live forever.”Born in Lincoln Parish, La., Reed was the eighth overall pick by the Knicks out of Grambling State in 1964. The 6-foot-10 Reed averaged 18.7 points and 12.9 rebounds in 650 career games from 1964-74 and made seven NBA All-Star teams.He was the MVP of the NBA’s regular season and All-Star Game during the 1969-70 campaign and led the Kn...

Tough decisions await Buck Showalter with five Grapefruit League games remaining

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

PORT ST. LUCIE — The Mets are in the home stretch of spring training.Five Grapefruit League games are left on the slate, and manager Buck Showalter scheduled an exhibition next week to prep the Mets for Opening Day in Miami. The team had their final off day of spring training Tuesday, getting a much-needed break.It’s been a rough few weeks for the Mets as the club has been dealt injuries to key players Edwin Diaz and Brandon Nimmo. There is some optimism that Nimmo could be healthy for Opening Day but as of right now, it’s still unclear. Left-handed reliever Brooks Raley is the only one of the injured players expected to be ready by March 30.Injuries aside, there’s still plenty to gain in this final week of tuning up.Many of the Mets’ core players are returning from the World Baseball Classic. Francisco Lindor, Eduardo Escobar and Omar Narvaez are back in camp. Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil are expected to return this week and they will head north from Mi...

Is this San Diego's rainiest 'water year' on record?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- This year has been off to a rainy start for much of California, and San Diego is no exception.With all the wet weather the region has experienced as of late, San Diegans may be surprised to learn that when it comes to the number of (measurable) rain days, these last few months haven't exactly shattered any records.The National Weather Service in San Diego compiled a ranking to show how this "water year" is stacking up against previous ones. (A water year, sometimes called a hydrologic year, starts Oct. 1 and goes through Sept. 30 in the Northern Hemisphere.) What California’s recent storms indicate about climate change The current water year thus far -- Oct. 1 through March 21 -- comes in at No. 11 with 45 rain days in San Diego.So, which same time period does hold the record? Oct. 1, 1951 through March 21, 1952 saw 53 rain days. RankNumber of rain daysYear1531951-19522501914-19152501943-19444491889-18904491936-19374491943-19447481972-19738471977-19788472004-200510461...

Arkansas restricts school bathroom use by transgender people

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday signed a law prohibiting transgender people at public schools from using the restroom that matches their gender identity, the first of several states expected to enact such bans this year amid a flood of bills nationwide targeting the trans community.The bill signed by the Republican governor makes Arkansas the fourth state to place such restrictions at public schools, and it comes as bills in Idaho and Iowa also await their governor’s signature. And it might be followed by an even stricter Arkansas bill criminalizing transgender adults using public restrooms that match their gender identity.Arkansas’ law, which won’t take effect until later this summer, applies to multi-person restrooms and locker rooms at public schools and charter schools serving prekindergarten through 12th grade. The majority-Republican Legislature gave final approval to the bill last week.“The Governor has said she will ...

Disconnecting the brain helps kids with epilepsy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

Disconnecting half the brain to stop seizures sounds unthinkable but it’s an actual procedure to help children with a rare form of epilepsy. R.J. Walters loves to play basketball, like many 8-year-olds. And he doesn’t let much slow him down.Jamilah Doyle-Walters is RJ’s mother.“April 2019, when he was 4 years old, is when he had his first generalized seizure,” she said.And they kept coming.Randall Walters, Sr. is RJ’s father.“With focal seizures, you see a kid (and) they are just staring off into space and you think they are daydreaming,” he said. “And they are still able to respond to you. I wanted to be that dad, the sports dad, ‘Let’s go climb a tree’ dad. And that was all taken away.”Dr. Sandi Lam is a neurosurgeon at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.“The right side of the brain doesn’t quite look like the left side of the brain,” Lam said. “There’s less brain matter on the right side than the left side.” ‘I was too young to die.’ How research and funding can help ped...

COPA People's Academy aims to bridge gap between locals, Chicago police

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

CHICAGO — The first class of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability's People's Academy, a free-to-the-public training that offers civilians insight into the organization, kicked off on Tuesday.Set to be held over six weeks, the inaugural class commenced at the new Police and Fire Training Academy in West Garfield Park. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Free-to-public training academy offers Chicagoans insight into COPAThe main goal of the class is to improve transparency.The multiweek program will be taught by experts in the field and includes topics such as:History of Civilian Oversight of PolicingIntroduction to Officer-Involved Shooting/Death InvestigationsWitness Reliability-Legal Concepts Overview-Standards of ProofAnalyzing Video–Use of Force Investigative ToolsPolicy Research & Analyses Division (PRAD)"This opportunity, we hope, will build trust between law enforcement and civilians so that there is a clear understanding, not only in our roles but also in how we reach those conclu...

Community supports garbage truck driver following the murder of his daughter

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - Residents in the St. Louis County town of Glendale are rallying in the wake of tragedy. They're doing it for beloved garbage truck driver Patrick Mack after his daughter, 28, was murdered over the weekend.There’s a new donation jar on the counter of Vitale’s Deli for Mack’s family, a family bigger than perhaps he ever knew.“We were all crushed,” said Mike Vitale, the deli owner. “It hits home because he’s us. He’s our family.” Top story: Missing St. Charles woman found dead; 1 man in custody “He hangs out the window and says, ‘Hey Ginger, what’s going on?’” said Ginger Fawcett, a Glendale resident.Residents would wait with their garbage at the curb on trash pickup day for a dose of Mack kindness: that big smile, that infectious laugh, maybe even a hug. That goes for kids, too.“Hi, Patrick. We miss you,” said Morgan Coulson in a video message recorded by her parents.Morgan was playing with her toy garbage truck.“The children in this neighborhood, they all kn...

Local parents of transgender children speak out on 2 bills threatening their community

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A group of St. Louis area parents says the rights of transgender children are under attack, but they're fighting back."He loves playing games on his computer with his friends, he's a great artist," said Becky Hormuth, a parent of a transgender child."He loves geography, he is super funny, he loves his cats, he's just a regular kid,” said Danielle Meert, another parent of a transgender child. Trending: After two escapes, bear from Saint Louis Zoo moving to Texas "He's a senior in college in Philadelphia, never to return to Missouri,” said Susan Halla, founder of TransParent and parent of a transgender child.For these parents fighting the legislation, it's personal. Each parent has a transgender son who has gone through medical treatments at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital that have helped them transition."His grades have gone up, his depression has alleviated, his anxieties have gone down, so it's just been an overwhelmingly...

St. Louis Fire Chief asks trains for list of chemicals they’re carrying

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Recent train derailments involving hazardous materials are raising concerns about what we know is coming through our towns. St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson says we need more answers.“You never know what’s coming through these towns, these cities. You just don’t know. The railroad doesn’t share the information with us about what they’re transporting,” he said. “We should have a schedule of what’s coming through a densely populated area and where it’s being parked; what we have over there.”Jenkerson’s concerns come in the wake of the Feb. 3 train derailment in eastern Ohio. It involved toxic chemicals contained in train cars that reportedly came from Madison, Illinois. One of the chemicals was identified as vinyl chloride. Top story: Missing St. Charles woman found dead; 1 man in custody Jenkerson described it as being, “…everywhere. And it’s a used in a lot of different production processes, so it’s highly flammable, caustic, cancerous when it burns. It’s a nasty,...