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Oh Yeah! ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ is a smash hit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

Audiences said let’s go to the movie theater for ” The Super Mario Bros. Movie ” this weekend.The animated offering from Universal and Illumination powered up with $204.6 million in its first five days in 4,343 North American theaters, including $146.4 million over the weekend, according to studio estimates on Sunday.With an estimated $173 million in international earnings and a global total of $377 million, “Mario” broke records for video game adaptations (passing “Warcraft’s” $210 million) and animated films (“Frozen 2’s” $358 million).Its global total makes it the biggest opening of 2023 and the second biggest three-day domestic animated opening (behind “Finding Dory”). It’s also a record for Illumination, the animation shop behind successful franchises like “Minions,” which has made over $5 billion from its 13 films.“This partnership between Nintendo and Illumination is just inc...

Cam Thomas erupts for 46; Nets walloped by 76ers in playoff preview

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

Cam Thomas is still a bucket — and the Nets are going have their hands full in their first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers.Those are the two takeaways from Brooklyn’s 134-105 loss to the Sixers in Sunday’s season finale, a game both teams opted to rest their starters and key rotation players.Thomas erupted for 46 points on 16-of-29 shooting from the field in a scintillating display of his isolation scoring abilities. He became the fifth player in Nets franchise history with four or more 40-point games in a season, with the other three coming in the wake of Kyrie Irving’s midseason trade request.Yet the depleted Nets remained a class below the depleted 76ers in a foreshadowing of what’s to come in the first round of the playoffs.Philadelphia sat its entire starting five — Joel Embiid, James Harden, Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey and P.J. Tucker — plus sixth man De’Anthony Melton against the Nets. Head coach Jacque Vaugh...

Heat hail Haslem in 123-110 win over Magic, with play-in showdown next against Hawks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

On the eve of something dramatically and desperately new for the franchise, the Miami Heat first paid tribute to someone enduring and exemplary.In a game with no impact on their place in the standings, the Heat instead put the focus Sunday on the final regular-season game of the 20-season career of 42-year-old team captain Udonis Haslem.For the Heat, the 123-110 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic stood secondary to the tribute to Haslem, who arrived undrafted in 2003 and went on to contribute to three championships during his two decades with his hometown team.Haslem received numerous ovations during his 24-point performance, including when he finished an alley-oop dunk and converted three 3-pointers, a career high for any previous season. He checked out with 58.9 seconds to play to a standing ovation. The effort tied his second highest scoring total in a regular-season game.“I just wanted to ride the wave until the game was over,” he said. “I just wanted to g...

Winderman’s view: Something old (Haslem) and something new (Kaseya) as Heat close regular season with win

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday ‘s 123-110 victory over the Orlando Magic:– It was quite the juxtaposition.– The last regular-season game in the building for Udonis Haslem.– And the first game with the building branded as the Kaseya Center.– Haslem looked perfectly in place.– The branding? That could take a while to get used to.– There will be a formal naming ceremony Monday.– With Sunday reserved for Haslem’s moment.– If nothing else, Haslem showed the conditioning resilience to be ready for the moment.– Now will the building’s new name have similar lasting power?– (It’s a Miami software company.)– So the end for something old.– Not that 42 is old in non-basketball years.– And the start for something new, with the stain of FTX in the building’s rearview mirror.– And so, for the postseason, as long as it lasts, Kaseya Center.– Starting Tuesday ...

Payton Pritchard records first triple-double, Celtics make 25 3-pointers in season-ending win over Hawks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

From day one since becoming the head coach of the Celtics, Joe Mazzulla has preached and stressed the value of the 3-pointer.“I love 3-pointers,” Mazzulla said after a win over the Wizards in October. “I like math.”As Sunday’s regular-season finale showed, that message has been received loud and clear all season long.Even without most of their starters and regulars on Sunday, Mazzulla’s ideal shot profile was on full display at TD Garden, where the Celtics let it fly from everywhere. Payton Pritchard hit a career-high nine 3-pointers, Sam Hauser made a career-best eight triples and Mike Muscala added four more as the Celtics drained 25 3-pointers – two off tying the franchise record – in their 120-114 victory over the Hawks.Hauser scored 26 points, Muscala had 27 and Pritchard finished with his first career triple-double with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Fittingly, the assist that gave him the triple-double was on a triple from J.D. Davison in the fourth quarter.The Celtic...

Texan declared innocent in slaying now arrested in another

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A Houston man declared innocent in 2021 after being convicted in a fatal stabbing and serving seven years in prison has been charged with murder in the shooting a fellow motorist, police said.Lydell Grant, 46, is accused of killing Edwin Arevalo, 33, following a minor traffic collision Thursday night, Houston police said. Police said Grant got out of his vehicle, shot Arvelo and then fled.Grant was the taken into custody Friday after a warrant was issued for his arrest, police said. He remained jailed Sunday on $1 million bond. The attorney for Grant listed in court records in this case could not immediately be reached on Sunday.In 2012, Grant was convicted of killing 28-year-old Aaron Scheerhoorn, who was stabbed outside a Houston bar in 2010. Six eyewitnesses to the stabbing had testified against Grant at trial. But Grant was was declared innocent in May 2021 by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals after a new analysis of DNA found on the victim’s fingernails pointed...

White Sox trade relief pitcher to Arizona

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox made a roster move Sunday afternoon, shipping a relief pitcher off to the Arizona Diamondbacks.The South Siders sent right-hander Jose Ruiz down to the Diamondbacks for cash considerations, according to a press release from the team.Ruiz got off to a rocky start pitching out of the pen in Chicago this year, posting a 22.03 ERA over four games pitched where he gave up nine runs on eight hits with four walks and three strikeouts across 3.2 innings. White Sox welcome back one pitcher, say goodbye to another Before 2023, Ruiz pitched in 122 games over the past two years for the White Sox, posting a 3.80 ERA across 125.1 innings pitched with 131 strikeouts to just 58 walks.Chicago wrapped up their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates today and are set to travel to Minnesota to kick off a three-game series against the Twins starting Monday at 1:10 p.m. CST.

Austin FC, Q2 roll out 3rd $100K Dream Starter Competition for local entrepreneurs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin FC and Q2 Holdings. Inc. have launched the third annual Austin FC Dream Starter Competition, a $100,000 opportunity to support area entrepreneurs coming from underrepresented backgrounds.The competition is led by Q2 in partnership with DivInc, an Austin nonprofit "whose mission is to generate social and economic equity through entrepreneurship," per a news release. The application is open to eligible entities now through Friday, April 21. A winner will be announced on Tuesday, May 23.“We’re excited to work with Q2 and DivInc once again for this amazing initiative,” said Austin FCPresident Andy Loughnane in the release. “It’s very important that our Club plays a role in fostering the diverse, entrepreneurial spirit that is such an important part of Austin’s identity as a city, and the Dream Starter competition is the perfect way to do so.”Last year, KXAN caught up with the inaugural winner of the competition, Anthony Gantt. He used his $100,000 in winnings to s...

Masters Live Updates | Rahm ties Koepka for lead at 10 under

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Live updates from Sunday’s third and fourth round of the Masters (all times local):3:50 p.m.Spain’s Jon Rahm has pulled into a tie with Brooks Koepka for the lead at the Masters with both players now at 10 under, setting up a potentially exciting finish to the weather-delayed tournament.Rahm, who has a PGA tour-best three wins this season, began the final round two shots behind Koepka but drained a birdie putt on the par-4 third hole and then picked up another stroke when Koepka missed his par putt on the par-3 fourth.Koepka has won four major tournaments in his career, but never the Masters.Both players have 14 holes left to play.Norway’s Viktor Hovland remains in contention two shot back at 8 under.___2:40 p.m.Now the real action begins.The final pairing has teed off at Augusta National with leader Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm both vying for their first Masters championship. Koepka, a two-time winner of both the U.S. Open and PGA Champions...

Uzbekistan: State guarantees developing a sustainable education system

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:52 GMT

It is an undeniable fact that in the 21st century the success in development can only be achieved by those countries that have chosen to prioritize investment in human capital, since the accumulated knowledge and information have now become strategic resources, writes Ranokhon Tursunova.A state system of sustainable education, which consists of pre-school, general secondary and primary vocational education, higher and postgraduate education, professional development and retraining, is well-developed in Uzbekistan. However, it is necessary to point out the peculiarity of the model proposed by our state, which implies a permanent learning process, in which a person has the opportunity to gain knowledge for a long time and further improve it.As for pre-school education, the system has not been regulated from a constitutional-legal point of view so far. It is quite relevant and timely to introduce a new edition of the Constitution with regulations that the state creates conditions for t...