NBCUniversal extends deadline, averting a Charter-Spectrum blackout, for now

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January 1, 2017

Media giant NBCUniversal has granted an extension in its carriage talks with cable television provider Charter Communications, averting a New Year’s Eve blackout of NBC-owned channels in nearly 16 million homes in the U. S. with Spectrum service.
NBCUniversal announced the extension late Saturday afternoon.
“Negotiations with Charter Spectrum for the NBCUniversal portfolio of networks have been extended,” NBCUniversal said in a statement. “We will continue to negotiate in good faith so that Charter Spectrum customers can continue to receive NBCUniversal’s valuable networks and we hope to be able to reach a deal.”
The current pact was set to expire at midnight Eastern time. The truce suggests that the two companies are making progress in their efforts to strike a comprehensive carriage deal for more than a dozen NBC channels.
NBC declined to specify the length of the extension.
NBCUniversal declared an impasse in the contract talks Thursday, but negotiations resumed Friday and continued Saturday.
Both companies appear motivated to resolve their differences and hammer out a new deal without an outage of popular TV networks during a long holiday weekend during which millions of people are at home watching television.
Such a blackout would have affected more than 1.6 million homes with Spectrum service in the Los Angeles region. Those customers would have lost coverage of KNBC-TV Channel 4, which is scheduled to televise Sunday’s high-profile NFL match-up between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions on “Sunday Night Football.”
In addition to KNBC, NBCUniversal owns the Spanish-language Telemundo network and cable channels USA, Syfy, Bravo, E!, NBC Sports, Golf Channel, MSNBC and CNBC.
Connecticut-based Charter, which declined to comment, acquired Time Warner Cable in May, and rebranded its cable TV, phone and broadband Internet service as Spectrum.
Contentious carriage contract negotiations have become more common in the media industry. Pay-TV operators face an increasingly fraught environment as more consumers cut the cable cord in favor of lower-cost alternatives, such as SlingTV, Netflix and Hulu. Distributors do not want to risk alienating more customers by continuously raising their rates.
At the same time, media companies such as NBCUniversal have been shelling out more money for programming, particularly for sports. NBC, for example, pays the NFL more than $1 billion annually for rights to televise “Sunday Night Football” and a handful of Thursday night games.
Media companies have demanded higher fees from distributors to help pay for the programming – prompting a more tenacious tug of war between the two sides.
NBC executives also have been laboring for years to raise their programming fees, which are below industry averages. When the previous round of deals was struck about six years ago, NBC was owned by General Electric Co. The NBC broadcast network was in the ratings cellar – in fourth place among the big broadcast networks. NBC had less bargaining power than rivals such as Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC, ESPN and the Disney Channel.
Philadelphia cable giant Comcast Corp. bought NBCUniversal in 2011. NBC now is a top network and has more leverage in negotiations with pay-TV companies, such as Charter.

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‘MAS*H’ Actor William Christopher Dies At 84

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January 1, 2017

PASADENA, Calif. (CBSNewYork/CBSLA.com) — William Christopher, the actor best known for playing Father Francis Mulcahy on the smash sitcom “M*A*S*H,” has died.
Christopher, a native of Evanston, Illinois just north of Chicago, was 84. His death was reported by his son.
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His other acting credits included “Hogan’s Heroes,” “Gomer Pyle,” “That Girl” and “Columbo.”
But it was “M*A*S*H” that made Christopher famous. He appeared in more than 200 episodes of the acclaimed series.
A Methodist off-camera, he played the kindly and gentle Catholic priest on the CBS sitcom from 1972 until 1983. He also appeared in the spinoff “After M*A*S*H” (1983-1985.) He also played Father Tobias on “Days of Our Lives” in 2012.
Christopher married his wife Barbara in 1957. They had two sons.
He reportedly died at his home in Pasadena, California.

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New Year fireworks 'show London is open'

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January 1, 2017

The UK has marked the start of 2017 with a spectacular firework display and a declaration that «London is open».
Tens of thousands gathered on the banks of the Thames to watch the display immediately after Big Ben sounded its midnight chimes.
New Year events across the UK went ahead under tight security, following lorry attacks in Berlin and Nice.
The music accompanying the London fireworks featured a recording of mayor Sadiq Khan saying: «London is open. »
Other celebrations also took place at popular city locations, including the mass Hogmanay events in Edinburgh, but everywhere there was a more visible police presence with security fears to the fore following a series of terror attacks around Europe in the past year.
News of the latest, an attack which killed at least 35 revellers at a nightclub in the Turkish capital Istanbul, emerged in the final hour of 2016.
In London, around 12,000 fireworks producing 50,000 projectiles lit up the city as part of a 12-minute display.
Music for the display also sampled famous artists who died in 2016, including David Bowie and George Michael.
Mr Khan said before the fireworks that their theme would be «hope and optimism going forward».
He added the capital was also sending a message to the world that «London is open», particularly post-Brexit, as part of its New Year’s Eve celebrations.
He added: «We’ve always been a city open to talent, to people, to ideas and that is not going to change. »
Singer Robbie Williams staged a live concert from the Central Hall Westminster in London, which was shown on BBC One as part of the New Year celebrations.
After taking a brief break to allow TV viewers and his live audience to take in the Big Ben chimes, Williams returned to the stage to the strains of Auld Lang Syne.
He then restarted his show with his most famous hit Angels, before belting out a version of the traditional New Year favourite New York, New York.
After that, he wound the clock back as he performed his debut single Freedom. Initially released in 1996 after Williams left Take That, it was a cover version of the 1990 hit written and released by George Michael who died on Christmas Day.
As he started the song, he told the audience: «This is dedicated to the legendary George Michael. »
Across the capital security had been stepped up, with more armed officers being deployed and concrete barriers in use.
There were also more places where vehicles are banned.
Greater Manchester Police also increased crowd protection in the wake of the Berlin attack.
British Transport Police «extended» its regular armed patrols across the nation’s rail network and there were armed officers on the London Underground.
Metropolitan Police Det Supt Phil Langworthy said 3,000 officers would be patrolling the streets in London.
Around 75,000 people had been expected to attend Edinburgh’s Hogmanay street party for its sold-out New Year’s Eve celebration.
Police Scotland said there was a «very visible police presence» at the event.
Edinburgh was treated to a total of four separate firework displays to mark Hogmanay.
The Police Federation had made special arrangements to temporarily ban vehicle access in certain parts of London because of the use of lorries as terrorist weapons in this year’s attacks in Nice and Berlin.
Two weeks ago a lorry, driven by Anis Amri, ploughed into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48.
In Nice in July, 86 people died during Bastille Day celebrations when a lorry drove into crowds on the Promenade des Anglais.

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At least 35 killed, 40 wounded in armed attack on Istanbul nightclub

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January 1, 2017

ISTANBUL — At least one gunman shot his way into an Istanbul nightclub packed with hundreds of New Year’s revelers on Sunday, killing 35 people and wounding more than 40 in what the provincial governor described as a terrorist attack.
One assailant shot a police officer and a civilian as he entered the Reina nightclub before opening fire at random inside, Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin said at the scene. Some reports suggested there were multiple attackers.
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«A terrorist with a long-range weapon … brutally and savagely carried out this attack by firing bullets on innocent people who were there solely to celebrate the New Year and have fun,» Sahin told reporters.
The attack again shook Turkey as it tries to recover from a failed July coup and a series of deadly bombings in cities including Istanbul and the capital Ankara, some blamed on Islamic State and others claimed by Kurdish militants.
The club, one of Istanbul’s most iconic, popular with locals and foreigners alike, overlooks the Bosphorus Strait separating Europe and Asia in the city’s cosmopolitan Ortakoy district.
Around 500 to 600 people were thought to have been inside when the gunman opened fire at around 1:15 a.m. (2230 GMT), broadcaster CNN Turk said. Some jumped into the waters of the Bosphorus to save themselves and were rescued by police.
US President Barack Obama, on vacation in Hawaii, expressed condolences and directed his team to offer help to the Turkish authorities, the White House said.
Sahin said there was only one attacker but other reports, including on social media, suggested there may have been at least two, dressed in Santa Claus costumes which they later ditched.
The Hurriyet newspaper cited witnesses as saying there were multiple attackers and that they shouted in Arabic.
«We were having fun. All of a sudden people started to run. My husband said don’t be afraid, and he jumped on me. People ran over me. My husband was hit in three places,» one club-goer, Sinem Uyanik, told the newspaper.
«I managed to push through and get out, it was terrible,» she said, describing seeing people soaked in blood and adding that there appeared to have been at least two gunmen.
JUST IN: An armed attack has taken place at a nightclub in Istanbul, according to state-run news agency https://t.co/AFuL4FnZn3 pic.twitter.com/vbshCsFGXj
— CNN (@CNN) January 1, 2017
«POLICE MOVED IN QUICKLY»
Dozens of ambulances and police vehicles were dispatched to the club in Ortakoy, a neighborhood on the city’s European side nestled under one of three bridges crossing the Bosphorus and home to nightclubs, restaurants and art galleries.
«I didn’t see who was shooting but heard the gun shots and people fled. Police moved in quickly,» Sefa Boydas, a Turkish soccer player, wrote on Twitter.
«My girlfriend was wearing high heels. I lifted her and carried her out on my back,» he said.
Hurriyet quoted Reina’s owner, Mehmet Kocarslan, as saying security measures had been taken over the past 10 days after U. S. intelligence reports suggested a possible attack.
Turkey, a NATO member and part of the US-led coalition against Islamic State, faces multiple security threats including spillover from the war in neighboring Syria.
It launched a military incursion into Syria in August against the radical Islamist group and is also fighting a Kurdish militant insurgency in its own southeast.
The New Year’s Eve attack came five months after Turkey was shaken by a failed military coup, in which more than 240 people were killed, many of them in Istanbul, as rogue soldiers commandeered tanks and fighter jets in a bid to seize power.
Istanbul, Turkey’s most populous city, has seen several attacks this year, the latest on Dec. 10, when two bombs claimed by Kurdish militants exploded outside a soccer stadium, killing 44 people and wounding more than 150.
In June, around 45 people were killed and hundreds wounded as three suspected Islamic State militants carried out a gun and bomb attack on Istanbul’s main Ataturk airport.
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Lakers' Nick Young is getting defensive too

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January 1, 2017

“It’s tough when you got labels on you,” Young said. “That’s what coach wants me to do. Told me before practice, ‘Even though we’re losing, don’t forget why we got you out there. Bring energy. We’re trying to label you a defender now.’ ”
Young embraced the memo wholeheartedly.
“That ain’t no foul,” Young said as the play concluded in points for his team.
“I don’t want to jinx myself,” Young said. “I just get extra shots up every day after practice. Playing with confidence. I think that’s the best thing for me.”
Against Dallas on Thursday, Young made his first six shots, five of them three-pointers. But after making his first four three-pointer in the first quarter, his opportunities dwindled. Young didn’t shoot in the second quarter, and shot only twice each in the third and fourth quarters. The Lakers lost, 101-89.
“I think we got away from him a little bit in terms of moving the ball, everybody making the next pass, getting the open shot,” Clarkson said.
All Young can do is keep shooting when his opportunities come.
But as he does that, Walton is making sure Young isn’t forgetting the other half — the half the Lakers have struggled with as a whole, and that Young has in the past. He’s at the point where the stops feel just as good as the baskets.
“Oh yeah, for sure,” Young said. “I like to talk trash, too.”
The Lakers were 2-14 in December, the worst December record in the NBA. They beat only the Clippers and the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Brooklyn Nets ranked 29th in victories in December with three, one against the Lakers. The 76ers, Phoenix Suns , Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat each won only four games in December, and one of the Heat’s victories came against the Lakers.
The Lakers ranked 27th in field-goal percentage, committed the second-most turnovers and had the second-worst defensive rating in the league during the last month of the year.
Zubac averaged 16.6 points, 9.5 rebounds and 29.6 minutes per game with the D-Fenders.

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Int'l outcry over imprisoned Iranian rights activist on hunger strike

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January 1, 2017

The 70-day hunger strike by Iranian civil rights activist Arash Sadeghi, on the verge of death at Evin Prison in Tehran for protesting his wife’s incarceration, sparked a social media and political protest against Iran’s regime over the weekend.
According to the NGO International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, the hashtag #SaveArash was for a time the highest trending topic on Twitter on Friday.
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On Saturday, Sadeghi’s lawyer Amir Raeesian said that Sadeghi and his wife, Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, would be released on Sunday if the bail requirements are met, but did not state the duration of their temporary release.
Marietje Schaake, a member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands, tweeted on Saturday to “remember those unfree #ArashSadeghi” and added, “All political prisoners and others unjustly detained in #Iran should be freed.”
Volker Beck, a leading German Green Party MP and human rights activist, said on Saturday, “Iran is a despot” and mentioned that there is no human rights treatment in its correctional facility.
Beck said the “alleged liberalization has changed nothing in Iran’s prison system.
The German government will probably not prevent the German DAX [made up of 30 major German companies on the Frankfurt stock exchange] from engaging in business with this regime. One would wish for something more oriented toward human rights in 2017.”
Bärbel Kofler, from the German Commission for Human Rights, said on Wednesday, “Arash Sadeghi was convicted for his human rights engagement.”
His wife “was convicted because she spoke out peacefully against the inhumane practice of stoning,” Kofler said.
Sadeghi’s 15-year-prison sentence started last June. According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Iran’s judiciary convicted Sadeghi of “assembly and collusion against national security, propaganda against the state, spreading lies in cyberspace and insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic.”
Experts say Iran’s opaque judiciary system does not meet international norms for fairness.
Canadian Sen. Linda Frum, chairwoman of the Senate Conservative Caucus, issued a series of tweets on Friday drawing attention to Sadeghi’s plight, urging that he be saved.
Salma Ataullahjan, a Canadian senator who is the deputy chair of the Senate’s Committee on Human Rights, wrote, “We must always support brave individuals like Arash Sadeghi who are not afraid to speak out against injustice.” The former UK soccer star Gary Lineker, described Sadeghi as “beyond brave.”
His wife was arrested last October.
“Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee is the latest young writer and activist to be caught up in Iran’s relentless crackdown on artistic expression. Her imprisonment for peacefully voicing her opposition to stoning is a terrible injustice and an outrageous assault on freedom of expression. It is also a shocking and deeply disturbing display of support for the cruel and inhuman punishment of stoning,” said Magdalena Mughrabi, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, in October.
Mughrabi added, “The Iranian authorities must break this cycle of injustice and immediately and unconditionally release… Iraee. We also urge them to ensure that her conviction is quashed.”
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Analysis: Is there a case?

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January 1, 2017

Is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about to be interrogated under caution as part of a full criminal investigation, or is the latest wave of reports on Channel 2 and Channel 10 and in Haaretz just another of many with the issue still undecided?
All of this is connected to what appears to be a concerted campaign by the police to pressure Attorney- General Avichai Mandelblit to interrogate Netanyahu and move things to the next stage.
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Some of the investigations of the prime minister, such as Bibi Tours – a probe about whether he violated any laws when various wealthy supporters paid for expensive flights and stays in expensive villas and hotels – date back to Mandelblit’s predecessor.
The probes have swallowed up some of the prime minister’s former top advisers, with the police trying to turn them into state’s witnesses.
Some date back to July, when Mandelblit announced a preliminary review of what appears to be a money-laundering case.
According to a report on Friday on Channel 2, Mandelblit met with Netanyahu on December 12 to tell him he was ordering the police to open a full criminal investigation.
The report added that the prime minister asked for a 48-hour delay, and that subsequently Mandelblit decided to delay the probe because of new evidence that came to light.
Multiple Hebrew media reports on Saturday indicated that the latest plan is to interrogate Netanyahu soon, possibly later this week.
There has been a steady stream of apparent leaks from police sources to Channel 2, Channel 10 and Haaretz to create a drumbeat toward opening a criminal investigation.
Hebrew media reports on Saturday indicated that World Jewish Congress president and long-time Netanyahu ally Ronald Lauder has provided evidence against the prime minister.
The question after all of these reports remains: If there was a decision on December 12, but there is still no announced criminal investigation by Mandelblit, then has the decision’s announcement just been delayed or is the issue still in play? Netanyahu issued various responses over the weekend denying everything and essentially accusing his accusers of trying to implicate him with the police, since they could not beat him at the ballot box.
From the often vague and disjointed reports, it appears that Mandelblit will soon order a criminal investigation of Netanyahu relating to one of the newer cases, but that he is delaying the announcement in order to make a comprehensive announcement on all cases, when the majority of them are closed.
There are even reports that, in an unprecedented move, he will delay his announcement until after Netanyahu has been questioned by police.
It appears that Mandelblit, who was Netanyahu’s cabinet secretary and got his current job with the prime minister’s support, knows that there is no way to avoid a criminal investigation in one or two of the cases, but is still trying to do Netanyahu a favor by putting the emphasis on closing several other cases and underplaying the allegations.
This would be similar to how his predecessor handled the possible indictment of Avigdor Liberman, announcing one smaller indictment with a decision about dismissing most allegations.
Is Netanyahu really in trouble, if there is a criminal investigation? That is far from sure, as the news reports have almost no details about the new cases other than that they involve some wealthy individuals: one foreigner and one Israeli.
Going back to Liberman, police had been sure that he would be indicted in the case that was criminally investigated and closed. They had several incriminating witnesses for a big money-laundering case, but police think in terms of finding evidence, not winning a trial, as do prosecutors.
When it came to trying to indict Liberman, prosecutors found that incriminating witnesses either had died, had “amnesia” or actively changed their stories to help Liberman.
The absence of mention of a state’s witness in reports and potential reliance of a case on wealthy individuals like Netanyahu ally Lauder, or months ago French billionaire Arnaud Mimran, shows police may have similar problems with witnesses in any trial.
After all of that, the picture is still pretty vague, but bets would be on an impending criminal investigation, several closed cases and probably no indictments in the end.
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Q&A: Bobby and Brett Hull

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January 1, 2017

ST. LOUIS — It was a perfect father-son moment.
Brett Hull had just finished playing for the St. Louis Blues in the 2017 Winter Classic alumni game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday at Busch Stadium, and he was sitting in the Cardinals clubhouse when his legendary father, Bobby, walked in.
«Hey, Dad,» Brett yelled across the room. «Come sit down. »
Bobby Hull shuffled over, sat down and quickly began to hold court. It didn’t take long for Wayne Gretzky, Chris Pronger and Adam Oates to come over and shake hands with the former member of the Blackhawks, Winnipeg Jets and Hartford Whalers.
It also turned into the perfect opportunity for an impromptu Q&A with Brett and Bobby Hull.
ESPN.com: How do you think you would handle the NHL if you played in today’s game?
Brett Hull: In this shape? Terrible [laughs]. But if I was in game shape, it’s just hockey. If you’re good at all, you can play, right? So I think I’d be all right. Would I get 80 goals? Doubt it.
ESPN.com: What do you think of the young superstars in the league today?
Brett Hull: Oh, they’re fantastic. Fantastic. They are so fast and skilled. Like, I’ve been watching the World Juniors, and those guys on Team USA, they are so fast, so skilled. It’s unbelievable.
ESPN.com: You said there was a lot of chirping going on during the alumni game. What was the best trash line?
Brett Hull: Oh, there’s too many. There were one a shift, two a shift, and I think someone got yelled at for doing the mannequin challenge out there.
ESPN.com: How would you describe the rivalry between the Blackhawks and Blues?
Brett Hull: It’s a huge rivalry, but not between the alumni. We’re all friends now and appreciate the battles that we had with one another. Once you retire, [the animosity] is gone. With the [current] players, it’s real.
Bobby and Brett Hull. https://t.co/8QgqaekBCK pic.twitter.com/1IXgMsXoX4
— Joe McDonald (@ESPNJoeyMac) December 31, 2016
This is when Hull’s father walked over and sat down.
ESPN.com: Bobby, did you want to play in today’s game?
Bobby Hull: I would’ve liked to been able to, but time passes everyone. It’s a young man’s game. I’ll be 78 in two days, or three days, on Jan. 3. I’ll accept cards and letters. But where has the time gone? I remember the first 40 years of my life, but this last 40, I don’t know if I’ve accomplished anything. It would be nice to know if I have, I don’t know [laughs]. All I know is it’s still fun to watch hockey played the way it should be played.
ESPN.com: What do you think of the young stars in the NHL today?
Bobby Hull: I just met the Russian out here, No. 91 [ Vladimir Tarasenko of the Blues], and I said, ‘If Chicago had you or if you had the Bread Man [ Artemi Panarin ], it would be a pretty good team.’ No, it’s great. It’s great that good, young players are coming along like that to entertain you. That’s what we need. We need guys like these future Hall of Famers in the game today. Grab that biscuit, and do something with it. Entertain the people.
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Maple Leafs great Wendel Clark expounds on the joys of pond hockey and watching today’s fast game, whether the concussion protocol is working, and what it will mean for Toronto to win a Cup.
Why is it so fashionable to be down on the idea of outdoor games? The fans, players, sponsors and teams love them. And for those reasons, there should be more.
What is a backyard rink to you? To John Buccigross, it’s more than a sheet of cold, perfect ice. It’s also a place of possibility and wonder, of hot cocoa and cold wrist shots — and happiness.
ESPN.com: You said earlier that no one could score goals in as many ways as Brett, so what about Wayne Gretzky?
Bobby Hull: No. Wayne was a fabulous player to set them up; Brett would finish it off. My dad used to say when I’d get an assist, ‘Anyone can get an assist. It takes someone to score a goal.’
ESPN.com: What was the worst injury you ever played through?
Bobby Hull: I was never injured. Just feelings, mostly [laughs]. I had bruised feelings to think that Bugsy [Bryan] Watson [was] out there just to prevent me from entertaining the people. That bothered me. Then when I clubbed him in the head for 35 stitches, he said, ‘Bobby, I never thought that of you.’ I went right over to the Detroit bench, and [Gordie] Howe, [Alex] Delvecchio and all of them were sitting, and I went over, and I stuck my head over the boards, and I said, ‘The blood is on your hands.’ And that’s what bothered me: that I was not allowed to entertain the people. That’s what bothered me the most because I knew what I was out there for: to entertain. I always said I played for five reasons: To make a boyhood dream come true to play in the NHL, which I dreamed about all my life. To entertain you people royally, and I hope I did, and to work up a thirst so I could drink beer and chase girls — maybe not in that order.

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Benching, sister's text inspire Donovan Mitchell's career day for Louisville

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January 1, 2017

INDIANAPOLIS — Donovan Mitchell usually gets a text from his sister, Jordan, before every game.
Saturday’s text before Louisville faced Indiana was different from the others. It filled his smartphone screen. And kept going, requiring Mitchell to scroll through what he described as «like a five-page essay. »
The gist of the message went something like this:
«I don’t know where my brother is. He’s not there on the court. Go out there and kick butt. »
Mitchell hadn’t recognized himself on the court lately, either. Louisville’s sophomore guard had been mired in a shooting and scoring slump, going just 16-for-54 from the floor in his previous five games. He was hesitant and unsure, passing up open jump shots for contested drives.
Those problems weren’t just limited to the games.
«If you saw me in practice, it was pretty bad,» Mitchell said. «Certain plays I was making, I looked like I was in middle school. »
The situation had gotten so bad that coach Rick Pitino kept his most explosive player out of the starting lineup for the first time all season. When Mitchell finally returned to the court, he was a different person.
His best self.
Mitchell scored a career-high 25 points as the No. 6 Cardinals beat the No. 16 Hoosiers 77-62 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. He did it in an assortment of ways, finishing with four layups, a career-high four 3-pointers and six free throw attempts. He was so red-hot that Indiana at one point went to a box-and-one defense to try and stop him.
His sister’s text inspired him to play with more confidence. So did the message from the coach who benched him.
«I told him, ‘I need a star, someone who wants to play like a star,'» Pitino said. «I want him to have no fear of missing. If he’s 0-for-7, I want him to go 0-for-10. »
Mitchell had a moment early on where he reverted to his earlier struggles. He passed up an open jumper, tried to penetrate and got blocked by Hoosiers center Thomas Bryant. Pitino immediately yelled, «What are you doing? »
But that was a rare occurrence. Every time Indiana tried to make a run, Mitchell held the Hoosiers off, including an eight-point outburst after Louisville’s lead was cut to 50-44. Late in the game, Mitchell grabbed an offensive rebound, passed to a teammate and then smiled and clapped his hands. He even gave a backhanded low-five to a young fan on the sideline as play continued.
It was, you might say, a star move.
Louisville, which has the nation’s best defense, according to Ken Pomeroy’s rankings, showed again how its length and discipline can smother opponents. Indiana bricked its way to 32 percent from the field and 4-for-21 on 3-pointers. The Hoosiers came into the day ranked No. 8 nationally in field goal percentage.
«I don’t see us shooting that way very often,» Indiana coach Tom Crean said. «Like, hardly ever. »
Shooting — and the lack of a true go-to guy on offense — has been the chief concern for the Cardinals this season. That’s why Mitchell’s big day could have big ramifications.
«When he’s aggressive,» teammate Deng Adel said, «we’re good as a team. And we’re going to need that all season. »
Coming off Louisville’s 61-53 home loss to Virginia on Wednesday, Pitino made more savvy adjustments to his lineup than just removing Mitchell. Anas Mahmoud got his first start of the season and responded with one of his best games. The 7-foot Egyptian junior had 10 points, three blocks and two steals in a career-high 34 minutes. He helped protect the rim and bothered Bryant, who was held to just two two-point field goals. Pitino’s staff also credited Mahmoud with 10 of the team’s 40 deflections.
Forward Jaylen Johnson , who also got benched for the first time this year, brought energy with his 13 points and seven rebounds. The Cardinals shot over 50 percent in both halves.
«We can’t play any better than this,» Pitino said.
Louisville has two of the best nonconference wins of the season, with this and the Kentucky victory 10 days ago. Those two opponents also happen to be geographic rivals, even though the Hoosiers and Cardinals meet infrequently. Come March, those victories should loom large. For the next 12 months, they will ensure that office water coolers and family reunions are safe spaces for Louisville fans.
This team could be playing for a long time in 2017 if Mitchell can match Saturday’s level of play and confidence. In his postgame news conference, Pitino slyly hinted that he instructed Mitchell to consult with someone outside of the program about his slump. Pitino then insisted to the media that he couldn’t reveal who that person was. But he added, «If he does talk to that guy, we’re very lucky. »
Mitchell spilled the beans on the mystery figure.
«He asked me if I’m a spiritual person,» Mitchell said. «Then he told me, ‘Pray.'»
Divine intervention? That might be a stretch. Mitchell found enough of a boost from his own sibling, who watched the game from the stands and then waited to congratulate him outside the team bus.
«She kind of inspired me for this one,» he said. «[Her text] really hit home, and I went out there and just played for her. «

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© Source: http://www.espn.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/116964/inspired-by-his-sister-donovan-mitchell-leads-louisville-to-big-win-over-indiana
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January 1, 2017

Cam Atkinson scored twice and the Columbus Blue Jackets stretched their winning streak to 15 games by stopping Minnesota’s 12-game run with a 4-2 victory over the Wild on Saturday night.
Never in NHL history had two teams taken winning streaks that long into a game, and Sergei Bobrovsky and the Blue Jackets made sure their party would stretch into the new year. Bobrovsky made 29 saves, yielding two or fewer goals for the 10th time during the run, and defensemen Jack Johnson and Seth Jones each had goals assisted by Brandon Saad in a frenetic second period sparked by consecutive fights.
Jason Zucker reignited the arena with his breakaway flip past Bobrovsky just 24 seconds into the third period for the Wild after he raced past Jones, but that was as close as they came. Devan Dubnyk stopped 21 shots, surrendering four goals for the second straight game after allowing three or fewer in his first 27 turns.
Mikael Granlund had the first goal for the Wild, who also had a franchise record-tying eight-game home winning streak end.
CAPITALS 6, DEVILS 2
NEWARK, N. J. (AP) — T. J. Oshie and Alex Ovechkin scored 33 seconds apart in the second period to power Washington to a victory and a split of a home-and-home series with New Jersey.
The Devils stunned the Capitals with a 2-1 shootout victory on Thursday in Washington.
This one was all Capitals, with six different players all hitting the net. Brett Connolly, Jay Beagle, Justin Williams and Marcus Johansson also scored as Washington snapped a two-game losing streak.
Backup goalie Philipp Grubauer made 21 saves, improving his record to 6-1-1. Grubauer saw action for the first time in six games as Braden Holtby rested.
Kyle Palmieri and Beau Bennett scored for the Devils, who have only two wins in their last 12 games (2-9-1). Keith Kinkaid stopped 20 and New Jersey wasted nine power plays.
PENGUINS 4, CANADIENS 3, OT
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Evgeni Malkin scored a power-play goal 1:54 into overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.
Montreal was whistled for too many men on the ice 1:10 into OT, and then Malkin scored his 16th of the season. Conor Sheary tied it with 55 seconds left in the third period by scoring his ninth goal of the season.
Patric Hornqvist and Phil Kessel also scored for the Penguins, who won for the fifth time in six games. Pittsburgh won 12 of 15 games in December, finishing with 12 wins in a calendar month for the fourth time in team history and the second under coach Mike Sullivan.
Alexander Radulov, Paul Byron and Brian Flynn scored for the Canadiens, who have one win in their last five games. Montreal, on a season-high seven-game road trip, has seven wins in 17 road games this season.
Carey Price made 37 saves for Montreal.
ISLANDERS 6, JETS 2
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — John Tavares and Ryan Strome each had a goal and an assist to help New York beat Winnipeg.
Nikolay Kulemin, Shane Prince, Anders Lee and Andrew Ladd also scored, Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson each had two assists, and Thomas Greiss made 32 saves. The Islanders have won four of their last five to get to.500 at 15-15-6.
Shawn Matthias scored a short-handed goal and Nikolaj Ehlers had a power-play tally for Winnipeg.
Connor Hellebuyck allowed four goals on 15 shots and was replaced by Michael Hutchinson with 5:47 left in the second period. Hutchinson made seven stops in relief.
LIGHTNING 3, HURRICANES 1
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Brian Boyle and Jonathan Drouin scored first-period power-play goals, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves and Tampa Bay beat Carolina.
Alex Killorn also scored for the Lightning, and Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman had two assists each.
Carolina got a goal from Sebastian Aho, and Cam Ward stopped 22 shots. The Hurricanes beat Chicago 3-2 on Friday night to extend their home point streak to 11 games (10-0-1). Carolina is 3-7-2 on the road over the same stretch.
BRUINS 3, SABRES 1
BOSTON (AP) — Patrice Bergeron and Tim Schaller scored second-period goals to help Boston beat Buffalo and complete a sweep of home-and-home games.
The victory also gave Boston a sweep of its four-game season series against the Sabres.
Frank Vatrano scored the other goal for Boston, which had lost five of its previous nine games but improved to 12-1-2 in the last 15 meetings against the Sabres. Tuukka Rask stopped 26 shots.
Former Boston University star and Hobey Baker winner Jack Eichel scored for Buffalo. Robin Lehner made 25 saves.