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A capsule look at all 20 Rugby World Cup teams in France

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:00:51 GMT

POOL AFRANCEWorld ranking: 3Captain: Antoine Dupont. Regarded as the best player in the world, for which he has been well rewarded. Six Nations Grand Slam, European and French club titles, world and Six Nations player of the year. Dupont’s ambition also reportedly includes a desire to play for France sevens at the Paris Olympics next year.Coach: Fabien Galthie. Played in four World Cups and one final. Assistant coach at the 2019 World Cup and took charge afterward. Has primed France to peak at its home World Cup thanks to a winning percentage of 80 and an unbeaten record at home for nearly two years.World Cup history1987 Final1991 Quarterfinal1995 Semifinal1999 Final2003 Semifinal2007 Semifinal2011 Final2015 Quarterfinal2019 QuarterfinalProspects: This tournament is France’s to lose. Les Tricolores have everything going for them; good coaching, a sweetly executed four-year buildup, strength and depth and smarts, and home advantage. In its unbeaten run at home since November 2021, Fr...

Winchester’s Corr gets big kick out of being one of nation’s best

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:00:51 GMT

After watching a meltdown turn into a miracle opportunity, Winchester High football head coach Wally Dembowski didn’t hesitate to put the fate of the game on the foot of his first-year starting kicker.Belmont scored a touchdown against the Red and Black with about 30 seconds left to take a 32-30 lead in Week 5 of last season. Winchester was on its way to a crushing loss, but the ensuing kickoff was returned over 50 yards into Marauders territory.Dembowski asked junior Kieran Corr if he needed a timeout before attempting a game-winner from 48 yards with three seconds to go, but he declined.Corr admits in hindsight he should’ve taken the timeout to prepare for the whipping winds that night, since his kick had the distance but pushed wide. The Red and Black lost, but Dembowski had no regrets. He knew what he had in Corr.Nine months later, the five-star kicker and punter announced his commitment to Harvard University. In the following days, he converted a 65-yard field goal to secure th...

Patriots point/counterpoint: Will Mac Jones, Bill Belichick and Co. make the playoffs?

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:00:51 GMT

It’s been more than a year since the Patriots made the playoffs.It’s been close to five since they won a playoff game.How much longer can those streaks last?Oddsmakers are giving the Pats roughly a 30% chance to return to the postseason this January. They’re widely projected to finish fourth in the division and face the NFL’s toughest schedule, according to opponents’ projected win totals by Vegas odds. Exceeding expectations would require Mac Jones’ best season yet, maintaining an elite defense and fixing their special teams.And yet, the Patriots just might do it. Their dynasty was forged in the fires of public doubt and long odds. Can they surprise again with a playoff run?The Herald’s Patriots beat writers debate.Kyed: I’ll start here: I think the AFC East is a little overrated. The Buffalo Bills will still win the division assuming nothing catastrophic happens.Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion issues are serious, and the Miami Dolp...

Snap decisions: Dufault, Vinci among country’s best long snappers

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:00:51 GMT

WESTWOOD — Westwood is clearly the hot spot for long snappers.Xaverian’s Andrew Dufault has become one of the premier long snappers in the country and recently committed to continue his craft at Penn State. Less than two miles down the road, Westwood’s Joe Vinci is a late bloomer to the art of long snapping, but has become so good at it that he’s drawn interest from several Power 5 colleges.Not surprisingly, both of them got their indoctrination to long snapping from the Crabtrees. Bill Crabtree is a longtime coach with Mass. Elite Football, while his son Kevin Crabtree played at Milton Academy before going on to Villanova, where he served as the team’s long snapper.“I went to play for coach (Bill) Crabtree’s Mass. Elite team back in the seventh grade, but I was about 5-foot-2 at the time and he said I was too small to play guard,” Dufault said. “He told me the only way I could play was to long snap. When the season came around, I would stay after pract...

Bavaria’s governor leaves his deputy in office despite a furor over antisemitism allegations

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:00:51 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The governor of the German state of Bavaria said Sunday that he will let his deputy stay in office despite a furor that started with allegations he was responsible for an antisemitic flyer when he was a high school student 35 years ago.Governor Markus Soeder, a leading figure in Germany’s center-right opposition, said he had concluded that it would be “disproportionate” to fire Hubert Aiwanger, his deputy and coalition partner, but that Aiwanger needs to work on rebuilding confidence with Jewish groups and others.A state election is due in Bavaria in a matter of weeks.In August, the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that, when Aiwanger was 17, he was suspected of producing a typewritten flyer calling for entries to a competition titled “Who is the biggest traitor to the fatherland?”It listed, among other things, a “1st prize: A free flight through the chimney at Auschwitz.”Aiwanger, 52, said last weekend that one or more copies of the flyer were found in his sc...

Israel’s Netanyahu demands Eritrean migrants involved in violent clash to be deported immediately

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:00:51 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he wants Eritrean migrants involved in a violent clash in Tel Aviv to be deported immediately and has ordered a plan to remove all of the country’s African migrants.The remarks came a day after bloody protests by rival groups of Eritreans in south Tel Aviv left dozens of people injured. Eritreans, supporters and opponents of Eritrea’s government, faced off with construction lumber, pieces of metal and rocks, smashing shop windows and police cars. Israeli police in riot gear shot tear gas, stun grenades and live rounds while officers on horseback tried to control the protesters.The violence on Saturday returned to the fore the issue of migrants, which has long divided Israel. Its resurgence comes as Israel is torn over Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plan, and supporters cite the migrant issue as a reason why the courts should be reined in, saying they have stood in the way of pushing the migrants...

Pope joins shamans, monks and evangelicals to highlight Mongolia’s faith diversity

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:00:51 GMT

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — With China’s crackdown on religious minorities as a backdrop, Pope Francis joined Mongolian shamans, Buddhist monks and a Russian Orthodox priest Sunday to highlight the role that religions can play in forging world peace, as he presided over an interfaith meeting highlighting Mongolia’s tradition of religious tolerance.Francis listened intently as a dozen faith leaders — Jewish, Muslim, Bahai, Hindu, Shinto and evangelical Christian among them — described their beliefs and their relationship with heaven. Several said the traditional Mongolian ger, or round-shaped yurt, was a potent symbol of harmony with the divine — a warm place of family unity, open to the heavens, where strangers are welcome.“The fact that we are meeting together in one place already sends a message: It shows that the religious traditions, for all their distinctiveness and diversity, have impressive potential for the benefit of society as a whole,” Francis said in remarks that ...

Horoscopes Sept. 3, 2023: Rita Volk, be positive and enjoy the ride

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:00:51 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Rita Volk, 33; Shaun White, 37; Omi, 37; Garrett Hedlund, 39.Happy Birthday: Look at the possibilities and see what piques your imagination and stimulates your mind. Refuse to let negativity set in and discourage your dreams, hopes and wishes. Be true to yourself, and you’ll gain ground and the confidence to reach for the stars. Opportunity is apparent. Be positive and enjoy the ride. Your numbers are 8, 15, 23, 29, 31, 38, 42.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Revamp your routine to satisfy your needs. Take better care of your physical and mental health; you’ll boost confidence and ease stress. Make a point to show enthusiasm for your pursuit, and you’ll gain support from someone you admire. Romance is favored. 3 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Choose the most inviting path. Social events will impact how you think and the changes you make. Don’t let emotions run wild, causing a fallout with someone you love. A physical outlet will ease s...

Four Days a Week: This Labor Day, Let's Talk About Laboring Less

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:00:51 GMT

Two child laborers eat lunch at the Economy Glass Works factory in West Virginia in 1908.Photo: Lewis Hine/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesWhich U.S. vice president said this, and when? “The time is not far distant when the working man can have a four-day week and family life will be even more fully enjoyed by every American. [These are] not dreams or idle boasts, simply projections of the gains we have made in the past four years.”The answer is Richard Nixon, when he and Dwight Eisenhower were running for reelection in 1956.When Nixon advocated for the four-day workweek, the demand to spend less time working had already been central to progressive politics for 90 years. After a long absence, it has finally returned. First and foremost, the United Auto Workers are preparing to strike, calling not just for better pay and benefits, but also a 32-hour, four-day workweek. Join Our Newsletter Original reporting. Fearless ...

Drier and Nicer Weather Pattern Begins to Settle In

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:00:51 GMT

A rather unusual weather pattern of mostly dry conditions will begin this Sunday for South Florida despite it being September in the midst of rainy season.The upcoming week will feature near-normal temperatures hovering near 90F along with lots of sunshine and isolated rain chances.Plumes of drier air behind a weak front that passed through the region Saturday evening will filter through much of this week, dropping our rain risk to a 20-30% chance through at least next Saturday.This is nice and timely for the Labor Day holiday weekend as both Sunday and Monday will feature mostly sunny skies and just a spotty shower chance. It will be breezy, however, with winds out of the northeast behind this front, which will make for hazardous beach and marine conditions.A bonus feature for Sunday will be the slightly less humidity in the air!In the tropics, we’re now down to Tropical Storms Gert and Katia over the open waters of the Atlantic. These should last another day or two before th...