San Jose Sharks in 2023-2024 might be expansion era bad. Are brighter days ahead?

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 17:30:02 GMT

San Jose Sharks in 2023-2024 might be expansion era bad. Are brighter days ahead? SAN JOSE – Training camp for the San Jose Sharks begins Thursday and one might have to go all the way back to the franchise’s earliest days to remember when expectations for the team were as low as they are right now.After they traded leading goal-scorer Timo Meier and leading playmaker Erik Karlsson from last season’s team that finished with the NHL’s fourth-worst record at 22-44-16, the Sharks outlook for the 2023-24 season appears to be just as dismal, if not more so.FanDuel has set the over-under for the Sharks’ point total at 65.5 points, 5.5 points more than San Jose’s actual point total from last season, but still lowest in the NHL behind the Anaheim Ducks (68.5) and both the Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens (71.5 each).The only time the Sharks finished dead-last in the NHL standings was in their inaugural year in 1991-92, when, with just 17 wins and 39 points, they were 13 points worse than the next-to-last Quebec Nordiques in what was then a 22-team NHL.No one’s sa...

Cal Golden Bears eager to face college football’s top passing teams, starting with high-flying UW in Pac-12 opener

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 17:30:02 GMT

Cal Golden Bears eager to face college football’s top passing teams, starting with high-flying UW in Pac-12 opener Cal’s defense, which has held up nicely through the first three games of the season, now braces for a gauntlet of high-powered Pac-12 passing attacks, starting Saturday night at No. 8 Washington.Asked if he’s having nightmares preparing for the nation’s most prolific passing team in their Pac-12 opener, Cal defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon tried to make light of the challenge.“Nightmares would be under the assumption I’m sleeping,” he said. “When I’m awake, I’m having nightmares.”Cal (2-1) heads to Seattle to face the Huskies (3-0) having surrendered just 17.3 points per game. The Bears rank second in the conference in fewest passing yards allowed at 185.7.Those numbers may get reworked after Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Husky Stadium.Washington leads the FBS with 493.3 passing yards per game and is eighth nationally in scoring at 46.7 points. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who finished eighth in the 2022 Heisman Trophy voting, is completing 74 percent of his passes with 12 tou...

Prince William’s quiet jog through Central Park contrasted with Harry and Meghan’s ‘car chase’

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 17:30:02 GMT

Prince William’s quiet jog through Central Park contrasted with Harry and Meghan’s ‘car chase’ Not surprisingly, critics of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seized on Prince William’s revelation Tuesday that he went jogging in Central Park Tuesday morning during his visit to New York — and no one noticed him and no one bothered him.William’s comments about his peaceful run through Central Park, even amid “the hordes of New Yorkers,” has been contrasted with the spectacle that Harry and Meghan created when they visited the Big Apple in May and raised the specter of Princess Diana’s 1997 death by making disputed claims that they were pursued for two hours by “highly aggressive” paparazzi, who subjected them to a “near catastrophic” car chase.NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 19: William, Prince of Wales greets fans as he visits a FDNY Firehouse on September 19, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images) The heir to the British throne was in New York for the Earthshot Summit, which celebrat...

Fact Check: Rep. Jordan’s false claims about Trump, Hunter Biden

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 17:30:02 GMT

Fact Check: Rep. Jordan’s false claims about Trump, Hunter Biden By Daniel Dale | CNNHouse Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan made false claims in his opening remarks at a Wednesday hearing at which Jordan and other Republicans pressed Attorney General Merrick Garland about the Justice Department’s handling of investigations into former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden.Here is a fact check of two inaccurate remarks from Jordan. The hearing is ongoing; this article might be updated with additional fact checks.FBI search of Mar-a-LagoCriticizing the FBI search of Trump’s home in Florida in August 2022, Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, falsely claimed in his opening statement at Wednesday’s hearing that Trump did everything the Justice Department had asked him to do prior to the search.Among other acts of compliance, Jordan said, Trump immediately turned over 38 documents he discovered prior to the search, then complied with a Justice Department request to further secure the storage room where official docum...

Uber Eats to accept food stamps in push to expand accessibility

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 17:30:02 GMT

Uber Eats to accept food stamps in push to expand accessibility By Natalie Lung | BloombergUber Technologies Inc. is planning to allow participants of federal nutrition and health care assistance programs to pay for food delivery with government benefits, joining rivals like Amazon.com Inc. and Instacart in making online shopping more accessible.Starting next year, participants in the US Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will be able to order food and groceries from the Uber Eats App, the San Francisco-based company said on Wednesday. It’s also working with Managed Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans to accept flexible spending account (FSA) cards, Flex cards and state waiver payments for food orders.The product updates are part of Uber’s efforts to increase affordability and access to fresh and healthy food, said Therese Lim, senior director of the grocery and new verticals product at Uber Eats. “We know that food access is incredibly important, especially for under-served communities, food-insecure places or individuals who have disa...

Man accused of killing California cop pleads not guilty due to insanity

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 17:30:02 GMT

Man accused of killing California cop pleads not guilty due to insanity The man accused of shooting Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer to death inside his patrol vehicle just steps from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s station in Palmdale over the weekend pleaded not guilty due to insanity on Wednesday, Sept. 20.Kevin Cataneo Salazar, 33, appeared inside the Lancaster courtroom, restrained in a vest while standing in the defendant holding area as he listened to the proceedings.Days earlier, Salazar found himself outside his home in Palmdale with his hands in the air after he had barricaded himself inside for several hours during a standoff with heavily armed deputies during his arrest.Law enforcement officials say they believe Salazar was the man driving a Toyota Corolla that pulled up alongside Clinkunbroomer, sitting in the driver’s seat of his sheriff’s SUV in the middle of the day on Saturday, Sept. 17.Video of the attack shows Clinkunbroomer had stopped the vehicle briefly, forcing the Corolla behind him to slow down. The driver then pulled ar...

What to watch: John Wick gets a shot on TV — and it works

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 17:30:02 GMT

What to watch: John Wick gets a shot on TV — and it works This week brings the arrival of one of the most anticipated streaming series of the fall — Peacock’s three-episode “The Continental: From the World of John Wick.” We take a look at it and see if it’s worth a look minus the presence of Keanu Reeves.We also weigh in on two documentaries with Bay Area connections: the inspiring “26.2 to Life,” about a running club at San Quentin State Prison, and Paramount+’s “Superpower,” which focuses on former Marin County resident Sean Penn’s meetups with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and how those face-to-face encounters affected him.Here’s our roundup.“The Continental: From the World of John Wick”: When it was announced that a three-part TV prequel was planned for the bloody and lucrative action/revenge John Wick film franchise (over $1 billion at the box office) without its charismatic star Keanu Reeves, there was just cause for worry. Would we get stuck with yet another lame origin story that would amount to no more than a...

Air quality updates: Red Flag Warning issued for interior North Bay mountains

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 17:30:02 GMT

Air quality updates: Red Flag Warning issued for interior North Bay mountains SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Plumes of smoke from wildfires in Northern California and Oregon have covered the Bay Area starting Tuesday. On Wednesday, a Spare the Air Alert was issued through Thursday due to the higher levels of particulate matter in the air, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District announced. Residents have been advised to avoid exposure if the smell of smoke is present by staying indoors and closing all doors and windows.Follow our live blog for the latest updates.Bay Area air quality updates:11:11 a.m. -- Red Flag Warning issuedA Red Flag Warning was issued by the National Weather Service for interior North Bay mountains that goes into effect Wednesday at 11 p.m. and ends Thursday at 5 p.m. The warning means that critical fire weather conditions exist now or will occur shortly. It does not relate to the smoke in the Bay Area coming from Northern California and Oregon. The NWS said the combination of gusty winds and low humidity can cause fire to rapidly intensify...

2 San Francisco men killed in separate shootings last weekend identified

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 17:30:02 GMT

2 San Francisco men killed in separate shootings last weekend identified (BCN) -- Two men killed in separate shootings over the weekend in San Francisco have been identified by the city's Medical Examiner's Office. James Allen, 34, died in a shooting reported around 9 p.m. Saturday in the area of Charles J. Brenham Place and McAllister Street in the city's Tenderloin neighborhood, San Francisco police said. Officers arrived and found Allen, a San Francisco resident who was taken to a hospital but died there. Another man was injured in the shooting but is expected to survive, according to police. San Jose PD investigating homicide Tuesday near Capitol Flea Market Edin Figueroa Acosta, a 19-year-old man from San Mateo County, died in a shooting reported shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday in the 500 block of Twin Peaks Boulevard. Officers arrived and found Figueroa Acosta, who was taken to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries there, police said. Investigators have not made an arrest or released suspect information for either shooting. Anyone wit...

Australia embraces honesty and long days of hard work to put right Rugby World Cup campaign

Published Thu, 28 Mar 2024 17:30:02 GMT

Australia embraces honesty and long days of hard work to put right Rugby World Cup campaign SAINT-ETIENNE, France (AP) — If Australia scrum coach Neal Hatley was in any doubt that there were some long days of hard work ahead for the Wallabies at the Rugby World Cup, he was put right very early on Wednesday.Hatley’s first message from head coach Eddie Jones pinged on his phone at 4:30 a.m., he said.Up and at it.Australia is staring at an early Rugby World Cup exit after its surprise loss to Fiji on Sunday put it out of the quarterfinal places in Pool C, with possibly an even tougher meeting with pool leader Wales next.Before knuckling down to the next challenge, scrumhalf Tate McDermott said there was a brutally honest talk among the players following the loss to the Fijians in Saint-Etienne, which was the Wallabies’ sixth defeat in seven games since Jones returned from England for a second spell in charge of his home country late last year.“The leadership group took the boys aside and we had a couple of honest admissions, around boys putting their hand up and (...