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Mailbag: SMU’s fit in the Pac-12 (better than in the Big 12), SDSU’s competitive position, “chatter” about collapse and more

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:57:35 GMT

The Hotline mailbag is published Friday. Send questions to [email protected] and include ‘mailbag’ in the subject line. Or hit me on Twitter: @WilnerHotline.Some questions have been edited for clarity and brevity.If the Big 12 had a do-over, would the conference have taken a different approach and added SMU? Would taking the Mustangs off the table have further injured the Pac-12? — @d_klauserA fascinating question without a definitive answer, at least right now. But let’s dive in, because the topic itself is instructive to the broader conversation around realignment.First, the Big 12 could not have known in September 2021, when it added Houston, UCF, Cincinnati and Brigham Young, that the Pac-12 would lose the Los Angeles schools and fall into an existential crisis.Additionally, it’s reasonable to be skeptical of SMU’s value given that the Big 12 already had a school (TCU) in the greater Dallas media market.Finally, the Hotline has been told by indu...

Borenstein: The Titan implosion provides a tragic lesson in buyer beware

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:57:35 GMT

Caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware.Even if you’re a billionaire.As the world was gripped this week by the search for the Titan submersible, the tragic saga raised difficult questions about transparency and risk tolerance.“You know, at some point, safety just is pure waste,” Stockton Rush, the chief executive of deep-sea exploration company OceanGate Expeditions, told CBS. (Greg Gilbert/The Seattle Times via AP)We have heard two narratives. First, that the passengers understood they were taking risks climbing into a 22-foot vessel to dive 13,000 feet into the Atlantic Ocean. Second, that Stockton Rush, the chief executive of deep-sea exploration company OceanGate Expeditions, in a quest for technical advancement, played fast and loose with safety.Those two narratives are not mutually exclusive. To a certain extent, they are both true. For the story of the five deaths as the Titan imploded — just as some experts had feared and warned — isn’t just a lesson about risk....

SF DA won't charge suspect in Embarcadero Father's Day shooting

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:57:35 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The San Francisco District Attorney's Office will not be charging the suspect arrested in connection to a shooting that took place near Pier 39 on Father's Day. Lee Haywood, 33, of Pittsburg, was arrested in connection to the incident.Haywood was charged with a number of charges, including negligent discharge of a firearm, wanted felon in possession of a firearm and carrying a concealed firearm. He was also booked on an outstanding warrant out of Antioch.However, on Friday, the DA's office announced it would discharge the case against Haywood for further investigation. Suspect arrested in shooting near Powell Street BART Station identified "The Father's Day shooting and incidents along the waterfront were shocking and must be carefully investigated to ensure that we are able to hold the perpetrators accountable," said SF DA Brooke Jenkins. "Although, I am grateful there were no serious injuries to bystanders, events like this are terrifying, traumatic and u...

SEC’s dominance on display again with Florida and LSU matched up in the College World Series finals

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:57:35 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — LSU coach Jay Johnson remembered scanning the 64-team NCAA Tournament field when it was announced almost a month ago, and he had a premonition Florida would be the opponent if his team reached the College World Series finals.“You look at the bracket and you look on the other side, it’s like, yeah, this is not a surprise to me who we’re playing,” he said.Considering the Gators are the No. 2 national seed, it was a safe assumption. The way college baseball has trended for three decades, picking almost any Southeastern Conference team to make the finals is never a bad guess.With LSU and Florida playing in the best-of-three championship series opening Saturday night, the SEC is assured of winning its fourth straight national title — by four different teams. Fifteen of the last 33 champions will have come from the SEC, including nine of the last 14.Fourteen of the last 15 finals, in fact, will have included at least one SEC team.“We’re the best conference in base...

DICK’S Sporting Goods Open Tour Scores

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:57:35 GMT

FridayAt En-Joie GCEndicott, N.Y.Purse: $2.1 millionYardage: 6,994; Par: 72First RoundJoe Durant32-32—64Ernie Els33-34—67Jason Schultz33-34—67Paul Broadhurst34-34—68Darren Clarke35-33—68Ken Duke36-32—68Richard Green36-32—68Tim Herron33-35—68Miguel Angel Jimenez33-35—68Dicky Pride32-36—68Brett Quigley33-35—68Harry Rudolph33-35—68Vijay Singh35-33—68Harrison Frazar36-33—69Padraig Harrington35-34—69John Huston35-34—69Thongchai Jaidee35-34—69Shaun Micheel35-34—69Timothy O’Neal34-35—69Rod Pampling35-34—69Kevin Sutherland32-37—69Billy Andrade37-33—70K.J. Choi35-35—70Marco Dawson36-34—70Chris DiMarco38-32—70Tom Gillis36-34—70Paul Goydos34-36—70Lee Janzen36-34—70Rob Labritz36-34—70Bernhard Langer36-34—70David McKenzie34-36—70Paul Stankowski36-34—70Ken Tanigawa35-35—70Michael Allen37-34—71Shane Bertsch37-34—71Michael Bradley36-35—71Brian Cooper36-35—71Glen Day35-36—71Carlos Franco37-34—71Robert Gamez37-34—71Mike Goodes35-36—71Esteban Toledo37-34—71Tim Ailes37-35—72David Branshaw35-37—72...

DICK’S Sporting Goods Open Par Scores

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:57:35 GMT

FridayAt En-Joie GCEndicott, N.Y.Purse: $2.1 millionYardage: 6,994; Par: 72First RoundJoe Durant32-32—64-8Ernie Els33-34—67-5Jason Schultz33-34—67-5Paul Broadhurst34-34—68-4Darren Clarke35-33—68-4Ken Duke36-32—68-4Richard Green36-32—68-4Tim Herron33-35—68-4Miguel Angel Jimenez33-35—68-4Dicky Pride32-36—68-4Brett Quigley33-35—68-4Harry Rudolph33-35—68-4Vijay Singh35-33—68-4Harrison Frazar36-33—69-3Padraig Harrington35-34—69-3John Huston35-34—69-3Thongchai Jaidee35-34—69-3Shaun Micheel35-34—69-3Timothy O’Neal34-35—69-3Rod Pampling35-34—69-3Kevin Sutherland32-37—69-3Billy Andrade37-33—70-2K.J. Choi35-35—70-2Marco Dawson36-34—70-2Chris DiMarco38-32—70-2Tom Gillis36-34—70-2Paul Goydos34-36—70-2Lee Janzen36-34—70-2Rob Labritz36-34—70-2Bernhard Langer36-34—70-2David McKenzie34-36—70-2Paul Stankowski36-34—70-2Ken Tanigawa35-35—70-2Michael Allen37-34—71-1Shane Bertsch37-34—71-1Michael Bradley36-35—71-1Brian Cooper36-35—71-1Glen Day35-36—71-1Carlos Franco37-34—71-1Robert Gamez37-34—71-1...

Krejcikova and Ostapenko advance to Birmingham Classic semifinals

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:57:35 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Top-seeded Barbora Krejcikova cruised into the Birmingham Classic semifinals while No. 2-seeded Jelena Ostapenko had a far bumpier road on Friday.Krejcikova eased past fellow Czech Linda Fruhvirtova 6-3, 6-2. The 2021 French Open champion never faced a break point.Meanwhile, Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, had to rally from a set and 4-0 down to overcome Magdalena Frech of Poland 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in an error-strewn quarterfinal.Ostpenko also worked through a left calf issue.“I was thinking at some point maybe I should not continue but there is a fighter inside of me so I want to play until I cannot walk or something,” the Latvian said. “After winning the second set I felt like I was playing better and my footwork was there.”Ostapenko will face No. 4-seeded Anastasia Potapova, who thwarted the hopes of the last local singles player, Harriet Dart, of reaching her first WTA semifinal. Potapova won 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.Krejcikova has a semifinal against unseed...

How a Prince William County woman’s nonprofit is helping cover school meal debt

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:57:35 GMT

School girl holding food tray in school cafeteria(Getty Images/iStockphoto/XiXinXing) School girl holding food tray in school cafeteria(Getty Images/iStockphoto/XiXinXing) In 2017, Prince William County, Virginia, resident Adelle Settle heard a radio story about a boy in New Mexico who had gone through his school’s lunch line.When the boy approached the cashier, as Settle said the story went, the cashier told him there was no money in his account. So, the cashier took his lunch away and gave him a paper bag with a cold cheese sandwich instead.The anecdote resonated with Settle, who didn’t have a school-aged child at the time, but was worried about what was happening to students with similar school meal...

Man who fired shots at Tysons mall sentenced to 3 years in prison

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:57:35 GMT

The D.C. man who opened fire inside Tysons Corner Center Mall last summer, sparking fear among shoppers, has been sentenced to three years in prison.Noah Settles, 23, faced up to 33 years in prison after he entered an Alford plea on four felony counts in February. He was sentenced by a Fairfax County judge Friday to three years in prison for felony firearm possession and 10 years of probation on the other counts.In addition, Settles is not allowed to return to the mall again.“Today, the justice system has shown that perpetrators of gun violence will be held accountable for their actions,” Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a news release Friday. “Firing a gun into a public space is a serious crime, one that endangered our community members and threatened their future sense of safety. In cases like these, it is the prosecutor’s job to ensure accountability and use the tools at our disposal to prevent this sort of dangerous incid...

Miramar Police officer arrested after engaging in inappropriate relationship with underage teen

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:57:35 GMT

A Miramar Police officer was arrested after being accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old girl for several weeks. Miramar Police Officer Jose Robell Hernandez appeared before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Gisela Cardonne Ely on Friday.“You are to have no contact, no contact whatsoever with the victim in this case,” Cardonne Ely told the 28-year-old.The incident came to light on April 13, after the victim had a mental health crisis following a pregnancy scare. The victim disclosed to Miami Gardens Police and Fort Lauderdale Police officers that she had been involved in a consensual sexual relationship with Hernandez.According to an arrest report, the teen “met the subject online March of 2023 on Tinder.”Eventually, investigators said, the two of them met at a hotel in Hialeah where “the both got naked and ‘talked for awhile’ and ‘kissed.'”The victim told police that it was at the hotel where “they engag...