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Havertz header moves Arsenal to the top of the Premier League after 1-0 win against Brentford

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 04:39:01 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Kai Havertz’s 89th-minute goal fired Arsenal to the top of the Premier League on Saturday after a 1-0 win at Brentford. Mikel Arteta’s team looked set to miss out on the opportunity to move into first place after Manchester City and Liverpool drew 1-1 earlier in the day. But Havertz came up with a decisive header to score his first goal from open play for Arsenal since joining from Chelsea in the offseason. The Germany international’s only other goal came from the penalty spot against Bournemouth in September. His strike at Gtech Community Stadium was crucial as Arsenal moved a point ahead of defending champion City. Meeting Bukayo Saka’s cross at the far post, Havertz headed between the legs of Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken. Arsenal’s players were celebrating earlier when Leandro Trossard thought he had opened the scoring, but the goal was ruled offside after a VAR review. ___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerSource

Victor Osimhen returns from injury and Napoli beats Atalanta 2-1 in coach Walter Mazzarri’s debut

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 04:39:01 GMT

ROME (AP) — Victor Osimhen is back and so might be Napoli under new coach Walter Mazzarri.Osimhen came off the bench to mark his first appearance after more than a month injured and proved decisive in a 2-1 win at Atalanta on Saturday for the defending Serie A champion.Osimhen took advantage of a poor clearance from Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi and stuck out his boot to push the ball with his toes toward fellow substitute Eljif Elmas, who used one touch to redirect it in for the winner in the 79th minute.Osimhen, last season’s top scorer in the Italian league, hadn’t played since injuring his right thigh with Nigeria last month.Mazzarri, who also coached Napoli a decade ago, was hired to replace the fired Rudi Garcia after Napoli lost to Empoli before the international break — the Partenopei’s third home loss this campaign after dropping only two all of last season.Napoli moved up to third place, one point ahead of AC Milan, which was hosting Fiorentina later, and within se...

Georgia Amoore scores 24 points as No. 9 Virginia Tech beats Tulane 76-70

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 04:39:01 GMT

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (AP) — Georgia Amoore scored 24 points, Elizabeth Kitley had 18 and No. 9 Virginia Tech topped Tulane 76-70 on Saturday at the Cayman Islands Classic.Olivia Summiel had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Hokies (5-1). Cayla King made three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.Amoore was 9 for 16 from the field. She also had seven assists and five rebounds.“She remembered that she was Georgia Amoore,” Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks said. “She’s been trying to facilitate for so many people and therefore she kind of loses herself. She knew we needed her in the second half and she stepped up and she was unbelievable.”For the second straight day, Virginia Tech struggled to pull away from an unranked opponent. Amoore made a 15-footer to give the Hokies a 65-63 lead with 5:55 left. Summiel had a big 3-pointer with 1:34 remaining, lifting Virginia Tech to a 72-68 advantage.“Another close one but all of this is going to bode well for us in the end,” Brooks s...

Holiday shopping season kicks off with DC-area Small Business Saturday events

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 04:39:01 GMT

Small Business Saturday arrived with D.C.-area businesses and artisans excited to show off their goods.Shoppers came out to support the businesses, and in Fairfax, Virginia, they even got to see a special guest — Santa Claus.One shopper, who identified herself only as Kathy, said she was pleased to support her neighborhood businesses in Old Town Fairfax.“We enjoy buying things within the city since we live in the city here. You can pretty much take care of a lot of your needs, which is great,” she added.In Fairfax City, you could find 50 participating shops. Some are a little offbeat, which pleased one shopper named Chris.“A variety of funky shops for funky things, it’s good,” he said, observing that local businesses are “bouncing back nicely from COVID, I think.”Chris Bruno, director of economic development for Fairfax City, said shopping small in Northern Virginia is important because “we have so many small businesses here in the city.R...

Sinner enjoys double success over Djokovic to lead Italy into Davis Cup final

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 04:39:01 GMT

MALAGA, Spain (AP) — Jannik Sinner secured back-to-back wins over top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the singles and doubles to lead Italy into the Davis Cup final after rallying past Serbia 2-1 on Saturday.Miomir Kecmanovic beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-1 to give Serbia a 1-0 lead in their semifinal showdown, and Djokovic had Serbia on the cusp of the final when he faced Sinner in the second singles match.But the fourth-ranked Sinner saved three match points before ending Djokovic’s streak of 21 straight wins in Davis Cup singles matches, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5, to pull Italy level at 1-1 with Serbia. It was the third meeting between the top-ranked Djokovic and Sinner in 12 days. Sinner beat Djokovic in the ATP Finals group stage last week before Djokovic beat Sinner in the final to earn a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals title.Sinner then teamed up with Lorenzo Sonego in the doubles. They beat Djokovic and Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4.Italy will face Australia in Sunday’s final on the same indoo...

Cochran, Jefferson lead No. 20 Louisville women past Liberty 72-63

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 04:39:01 GMT

KATY, Texas (AP) — Olivia Cochran scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Kiki Jefferson added 19 points and No. 20 Louisville dominated the fourth quarter to defeat Liberty 72-63 on Saturday in the Betty Chancellor Classic.Down six entering the fourth quarter, the Cardinals (5-1) opened with a 16-1 run with Cochran and Jefferson contributing four points each in a 12-0 burst that made it 62-53 with 3:14 to play.The Flames (2-4), who were on fire through three quarters (7 of 10 3s, 57% overall), went 1 of 7 behind the arc and were 3 of 13 overall with six turnovers in the fourth.Nina Rickards added 12 points and seven rebounds for Louisville, which lost to Alabama 78-73 in its tournament opener. The Cardinals made 12 of 13 free throws in the fourth quarter and 7 of 10 field goals.Bella Smuda led Liberty with 17 points and nine rebounds, Emma Hess had 14 and Jordan Hodges 13 with six assists. The Flames dropped their opener to Gonzaga 102-59.Liberty closed the first quarter with a 1...

Thriston Lawrence leads Joburg Open by 3 shots before final round

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 04:39:01 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence will take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Joburg Open as he tries to reclaim the title he won two years ago.Lawrence, who led after the first round, returned to the top of the leaderboard Saturday with a 3-under 67 to go 15 under overall at Houghton Golf Club. He made four birdies to go with one bogey in the third round.South Africans locked out the top six spots. Dean Burmester (68) is Lawrence’s nearest chaser at three shots back. Jacques Kruyswijk (69) and Nikhil Rama (72), the overnight leader, are four shots back.The Joburg Open is the season-opening event on the European tour. The 2024 season began on Thursday only four days after the 2023 one finished in Dubai.The event marks the start of three straight tournaments taking place in South Africa and co-sanctioned with the country’s Sunshine Tour.___AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golfSource

After a dominant Black Friday performance, the Dolphins have their eyes on winning AFC East

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 04:39:01 GMT

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa keeps reiterating that the Miami Dolphins aren’t satisfied yet.Miami improved to 8-3 with a dominant 34-13 win over the struggling New York Jets on Black Friday. The Dolphins are looking to win the AFC East for the first time since 2008, and then make a deep playoff push.“The sky’s the limit for us,” Tagovailoa said. “Whatever we want to accomplish, everything’s right there in front of us and we basically turn it on fate here in this league. So, we just have to continue stacking those wins.”The Dolphins have the benefit of a favorable schedule to close out the season: Four of their final five games are at home, where they are undefeated. Miami’s next three opponents have losing records, and the Dolphins have not lost to a team under .500 this season.Against the Jets, Miami put up 395 yards of total offense despite turning the ball over three times for the second straight game. Tagovailoa was 21 of 30 for 243 yards with a touchdown and two in...

10-man Brighton ends Premier League winless run with 3-2 victory at Nottingham Forest

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 04:39:01 GMT

NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) — Substitute Joao Pedro scored two goals as 10-man Brighton held on to win 3-2 at Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday. It was Brighton’s first victory in the league since beating Bournemouth on Sept. 24 and came after defender Lewis Dunk was sent off for two yellow cards in the space of a minute for dissent.Roberto De Zerbi’s team, which had gone six league games without a win, went behind to Anthony Elanga’s goal after three minutes at The City Ground. By the time Dunk was dismissed in the 73rd for protesting a penalty awarded to Forest, Brighton had come from behind to lead 3-1. Evan Ferguson evened the score in the 26th and Pedro – who had replaced the injured Ansu Fati in the 21st – gave the visitors the lead in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time. Pedro scored from the penalty spot in the 58th to put Brighton in control. But Dunk’s dismissal was followed by Morgan Gibbs-White converting Fores...

Hamas to release 13 Israelis, 7 foreigners in exchange for 39 Palestinians after hours-long snag, mediators say

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 04:39:01 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Hamas to release 13 Israelis, 7 foreigners in exchange for 39 Palestinians after hours-long snag, mediators say.Source