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Top EU court should overturn football’s homegrown player rules: Court aide

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:50:17 GMT

The European Union’s top court should overturn European football rules that require clubs to keep spots for nationally trained players, a legal adviser to the Court of Justice said Wednesday.If Advocate General Maciej Szpunar’s recommendations are followed, European clubs may have to change how they recruit young players. UEFA — which organizes the Champions League football competition — requires clubs to have at least eight so-called homegrown players on their roster for every game and four trained by their current club. National leagues have similar rules. The players need to have trained in the same national league for at least three years between the ages of 15 and 21. Szpunar said judges should side with Royal Antwerp in a Belgian legal dispute over whether the so-called homegrown player rule unfairly restricts clubs’ ability to recruit players and infringes the EU’s freedom of movement rights.The requirements can “indirectly discriminate against p...

Mass. Gaming Commission to vote on issuing certificates of operation for 7 mobile sports betting platforms

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:50:17 GMT

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is expected to vote Thursday morning to issue certificates of operation for the seven mobile betting platforms that plan to launch Friday. During, the commission will also continue its review of mobile betting operators’ house rules. The commission started hammering out the final details at a meeting Wednesday, questioning sportsbook officials about the rules surrounding cancelling bets. On Thursday, members of Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office are expected to question commissioners on how mobile sports betting is being advertised and whether people under the legal betting age of 21 are being exposed to potentially addictive products. The AG’s office wants the commission to explain what it is doing to ensure people are gambling responsibly as mobile sports betting rolls out, something one gambling researcher says is critical.“The accessibility and the availability and the 24/7 nature of it is a big concern if you ha...

North End restaurant owners sue Mayor Wu, claim outdoor dining policy discriminates against white Italians

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:50:17 GMT

Five North End restaurant owners are suing Mayor Wu over her new outdoor dining policy, claiming it discriminates against white Italians.The group says the new policy, which requires restaurants to take their tables off the streets, is unfair and not inclusive by specifically targeting restaurant owners in the North End. “We do not want to sit in the back of the bus, we want to sit in the front of the bus with everybody else,” said Monica’s Trattoria co-owner Jorge Mendoza. “We want to have the same opportunity.” The restaurant owners say that rules in the North End have been more restrictive than in any other part of the city. They initially filed suit over the $7,500 permit fees that were levied by the city last year, and now they are angry that they will not be allowed to set up tables on city streets this year. According to the new policy, outdoor dining will be limited to sidewalks and patios. Mayor Wu says the policy isn’t discriminatory and...

Cactus League report: Cody Bellinger hits 1st spring home run — while Pedro Grifol stresses urgency in upcoming stretch

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:50:17 GMT

Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol didn’t make too much of returning to Surprise Stadium to play the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night in Surprise, Ariz.Grifol spent the previous 10 seasons in various roles with the Royals before being named Sox manager last fall.”It’s another game that we need to prepare ourselves for Game 1 (of the regular season),” Grifol said Wednesday afternoon. “That’s what the game does to you. It conditions you. You’re in and out of clubhouses. You build relationships, you’re in and out of relationships. I have a lot of friends there still, but I’m here now.”The Cubs’ 11-7 win Wednesday against Team Canada marked their fifth exhibition game against a World Baseball Classic team. They previously went 2-2 in such matchups.6-4 win versus Team Japan on March 18, 20178-7 loss to Team Italy on March 7, 20177-5 win versus Team Japan on March 15, 20133-2 loss to Team Japan on March 12, 2009Jus...

NFL free agency is near. What are realistic goals for Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles with all that salary-cap space to spend?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:50:17 GMT

An action-packed offseason for the Chicago Bears will shift into overdrive next week with the beginning of the NFL’s new league year and the opening of free agency. Contracts can’t be finalized until 3 p.m. Wednesday, but negotiations between teams and unrestricted free agents can begin at 11 a.m. Monday.The Bears, according to OverTheCap.com, have approximately $94 million of salary-cap space, the most of any team in the NFL by far. But they also have a roster in need of major replenishment after finishing last season with a franchise-record and league-most 14 losses. So how can general manager Ryan Poles make the most of this opportunity in free agency? How active will the Bears be through several waves this month? And what’s realistic for the team to accomplish as it looks to position itself for a successful draft in April?Tribune Bears writers Dan Wiederer and Colleen Kane put their heads together to survey the landscape of free agency in this edition of “...

Georgia to drop foreign agents bill after massive protests

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:50:17 GMT

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia’s ruling party said Thursday it would withdraw a bill that opponents warned would stifle dissent and curtail media freedoms, after days of massive protests demanding it be dropped.The bill would have required media and nongovernmental organizations that receive over 20% of their funding from foreign sources to register as “agents of foreign influence.” Its opponents argued that it was inspired by a similar law in Russia that is used by authorities there to silence critics and that it could hinder Georgia’s aspirations to join NATO and the European Union.Protests of the bill began last week, but swelled in recent days to bring tens of thousands of people to the streets of the capital, Tbilisi — and were met with tear gas and water cannons. The Interior Ministry said 133 demonstrators have been arrested.Citing the “controversy in society” the bill triggered, the Georgian Dream party and its allies said they would withdraw the proposed law. But tha...

Maple Leaf Foods reports $41.5M Q4 loss, raises quarterly dividend

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:50:17 GMT

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Maple Leaf Foods Inc. raised its dividend as it reported a loss of $41.5 million in its latest quarter due in part to weaker pork markets and a cyberattack.The food processing company says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 21 cents per share, up from 20 cents per share.The increased payment to shareholders came as Maple Leaf says its loss for the quarter ended Dec. 31 amounted to 34 cents per share compared with a profit of $1.9 million or two cents per share in the last three months of 2021.Sales totalled $1.19 billion, up from $1.12 billion a year earlier.The company says its most recent quarter included a $23-million hit related to what it called a cybersecurity incident in November and $25.8 million in startup expenses related to construction projects.On an adjusted basis, Maple Leaf says it lost 28 cents per share in its fourth quarter compared with an adjusted profit of nine cents per share a year earlier.“2022 was clearly a year of unprecedente...

NATO chief in new drive to bring Finland, Sweden in

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:50:17 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is spearheading a new drive this week to see Finland and Sweden become members of the world’s biggest military organization by the time U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts meet for their next summit in July.Fearing that they might be targeted next after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, the Nordic neighbors abandoned their traditional positions of military nonalignment to seek protection under NATO’s security umbrella.All 30 allies signed Finland’s and Sweden’s accession protocols. Almost all have since ratified those texts, but Turkey and, more recently, Hungary have sought guarantees and assurances from the two. NATO must agree unanimously for them to join.Representatives from the Nordic neighbors and Turkey are meeting on Thursday at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Stoltenberg isn’t directly involved in the talks, but he organized them after convincing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last...

COVID-19 pandemic led to largest drop in Canadian life expectancy on record, data shows

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:50:17 GMT

New data on the life expectancy of Canadians paints a stark picture of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.According to the new Health of People in Canada Dashboard, life expectancy dropped 0.4 years from 2019 going into early 2020 – the largest drop on record. The average life expectancy in Canada as of 2020 was around 82, with women averaging 84 years and men at 80. The average health-adjusted life expectancy – a measure of how many healthy years Canadians have left – averages just 69.7.The data also shows that the virus quickly became a leading cause of death in Canada, behind cancer and heart disease.Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, says the new interactive dashboard will become an integral part of her annual reporting on the overall health of Canadians.

Netanyahu airlifted to airport after protesters block road

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:50:17 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to be airlifted on Thursday to the country’s main international airport for an official overseas trip, after throngs of cars and protesters prevented him from driving there. The demonstrations were part of nationwide protests underway for more than two months against his contentious plan to overhaul the judiciary. Protesters had made blocking Netanyahu’s route to the airport a centerpiece of their intensifying efforts to oppose the legal changes, and the optics of the Israeli leader having to make alternate travel plans were a win for the demonstrators. The helicopter ride, far from the snarling traffic triggered by the protest, was also sure to deepen Netanyahu’s reputation as being out of touch with Israelis at a time when the country finds itself torn apart over the government plan and the economy is slowing.Thursday’s disruptions also took a toll on visiting U.S. Secretary of State Lloy...