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Wild sign Lou Nanne’s grandson Vinni Lettieri to two-year, two-way contract

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

With not a lot cap space to work with, the Wild knew they couldn’t go big on Saturday’s first day of NHL free agency. That played out as the Wild were forced to sit on their hands while other teams handed out big money for impact players.In the end, the Wild were able to add some depth to the organization, signing winger Vinni Lettieri to a two-year, two-way contract and winger Jake Lucchini to a one-year, two-way contract.The addition of Lettieri is the highlight largely because he is the grandson of Minnesota hockey legend Lou Nanne. The two-way contract will pay Lettieri a salary of $750,000 for time in the NHL and $550,000 in the American Hockey League.As a minor-league player for most of his professional career, the 28-year-old Lettieri spent most of last season with the Providence Bruins of the AHL, recording 49 points (23 goals, 26 assists) in 48 games. He got called up for one game with the Boston Bruins.Lettieri has 18 career points (7 goals, 11 assists) in 83 N...

Satellite photos, reports suggest Belarus is building an army camp for Wagner fighters

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

By The Associated PressSatellite images analyzed by The Associated Press on Saturday showed what appeared to be a newly built military-style camp in Belarus, with statements from a Belarusian guerrilla group and officials suggesting it may be used to house fighters from the Wagner mercenary group.The images provided by Planet Labs PLC suggest that dozens of tents were erected within the past two weeks at a former military base outside Osipovichi, a town 230 kilometers (142 miles) north of the Ukrainian border. A satellite photo taken on Jun. 15 shows no sign of the rows of white and green structures that are clearly visible in a later image, dated Jun. 30.Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and his fighters escaped prosecution and were offered refuge in Belarus last week after Minsk helped broker a deal to end what appeared to be an armed insurrection by the mercenary group. The abortive revolt saw Wagner troops who had fought alongside Russia forces in Ukraine capture a military headqua...

Wild hire Jason King to fill out Dean Evason’s NHL coaching staff

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

As the rest of the teams in the NHL worked to sign free agents on Saturday, the Wild hired Jason King as the newest member of their coaching staff. The opening was created last month when former assistant coach Brett McLean took over the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League.No word yet on what group of players the 41-year-old King will be responsible for. He served as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks from 2020-23. He also coached the Utica Comets of the AHL from 2016-20 and the St. John’s Ice Caps of the AHL from 2013-15.Drafted in the seventh round of the 2001 NHL Draft, King played briefly in the NHL, seeing game action with the Canucks and the Anaheim Ducks. He also spent time playing professionally in Germany.The rest of the Wild coaching staff features head coach Dean Evason, assistant coaches Bob Woods and Darby Hendrickson, goaltending coach Freddy Chabot, video coaches Jonas Plumb and T.J. Jindra, and strength and conditioning coach Matt Harder.Related ...

Nuggets Journal: NBA’s silly season reinforces strength of Denver’s rise

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

On Saturday morning, the basketball world erupted as news of Damian Lillard’s trade request shook the Association.Lillard had long waffled between staying in Portland and trying to win organically while contemplating a future with more talented teammates elsewhere.After so many years of trying and failing to advance to an NBA Finals (the furthest they got came in 2019 after ousting the Nuggets to advance to the Conference Finals), enough was enough.Lillard, who’s among the most devastating scorers of this generation, will likely land in a more advantageous situation than where he started. Miami, reportedly, is his preferred destination.Perhaps Jimmy Butler needs Dame, like Dame needs Jimmy. Who knows what this year’s Finals could’ve looked like?Bradley Beal, who’d been stuck in a Lillard-like situation in Washington his entire career, asked out, too. That got him to Phoenix, along with Kevin Durant, who’d grown tired of his situation in Brooklyn. The Beal deal sent Chris...

Miles Wood agrees to 6-year contract with Avalanche in free agency

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

Colorado’s first move in NHL free agency Saturday was a daring one. The Avalanche and Miles Wood have agreed to a six-year contract, a source told The Denver Post.Wood, a fourth-round draft pick in 2013, has spent his entire career in the Devils’ organization as a bottom-six wing, accumulating 148 points in 402 games for New Jersey. He scored 27 points in 76 games last season.With the six-year deal, the only Avalanche players who will be under contract longer than Wood are Nathan MacKinnon and Valeri Nichushkin. Wood won’t be an unrestricted free agent again until 2029, the same summer as Gabriel Landeskog.The Devils granted Wood permission to speak with other teams before July 1, according to a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on June 27. Wood is coming off a one-year deal with a $3.2 million salary cap hit. He turns 28 in September.A relentless skater who fits the style of Colorado’s bottom six, Wood has had trouble staying out of the box for...

Man sentenced to 80 years in prison for fatal Denver stabbings of his estranged wife, her friend

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

A man who stabbed his estranged wife and her friend to death in Denver has been sentenced to 80 years in prison.Matthew Madden, 38, was sentenced Friday for the September 2021 deaths of Katherine “Katy” Pivoda and Jennifer Gelvin, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office. Pivoda was estranged from Madden at the time. Both women died at the scene of multiple stab wounds.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | $10 million, $15 million, $100 million: Judges set sky-high bails in wake of Colorado Supreme Court ruling Crime and Public Safety | Judge sets $10M cash-only bond for Aurora dentist accused of poisoning, killing his wife Crime and Public Safety | Girlfriend of the dentist who killed his wife on safari sentenced to 17 years Crime and Public Safety | Greeley teen charged with murder in shooting death of 15-year-old ex-girlfriend Crime and Public Safety | Prosecutors seek the death penalty...

Antioch landlord pleads to 13 years in prison for killing tenant

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

MARTINEZ — An Antioch landlord has pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of his tenant/roommate, and is expected to receive a 13-year prison term in August, authorities said.Marc Siegel, 46, pleaded no contest in June to killing 43-year-old Michael Moreno. The shooting occurred in May 2020, inside the Antioch home where Siegel lived and had been renting a room to Moreno.According to police, Moreno was planning to move out of the residence the day of the shooting.Moreno was shot and killed around 8:30 a.m. on May 18, 2020, at their residence on the 1900 block of Iron Peak Court. Police said at the time that the two argued and that Siegel produced a gun and shot Moreno at least once. He died before emergency responders got there.Moreno was a military veteran who ran a martial arts studio in Pittsburg, known as the California Combat Academy. He taught self-defense techniques to adults and children.Siegel was initially charged with murder and use of a ...

NHL free agency: Sharks add toughness, hope they’ve shored up goaltending

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

The San Jose Sharks hope they’ve shored up one of their most problematic areas from last season as they signed goalie Mackenzie Blackwood to a two-year contract worth $2.35 million per year.Blackwood will make $2.2 million in salary this upcoming season and $2.5 million in 2024-25. He and the Sharks came to terms just minutes before Blackwood was set to become an unrestricted free agent at 9 a.m. (PDT).Blackwood was acquired by the Sharks from the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday for a sixth-round draft pick this year but was a pending restricted free agent in need of a new contract. Although Blackwood was not given a qualifying offer by the Sharks on Friday, the two sides continued to talk and were able to get a deal done.“Mackenzie is a big, athletic goaltender with a lot of potential and upside,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said in a statement. “He will be a good addition to our goaltender group.”Going into the first day of free agency on Saturday, the Sharks had only one...

Drive sober or get pulled over: DC police push importance of sober driving during holiday weekend

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

D.C. police are reminding people to drive sober for the safety of themselves and others this holiday weekend.To further prove the point, they said they are partnering with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to focus on avoiding impaired and distracted driving.Their goal is to make sure that drivers are safe on the road, with a focus on drivers that put other people in harm’s way, a news release said.Officers in D.C. police’s seven districts are instructed to concentrate exclusively on “traffic enforcement and education to drivers who are under the influence, distracted, or driving in an unsafe manner,” police said.“We want everyone to enjoy themselves with all that the District of Columbia has to offer for the Fourth of July weekend,” interim D.C. police Chief Ashan Benedict said, adding that the police department “has zero tolerance for people who get behind the wheel if they are impaired, distracted, or put others at risk b...

The Lakers are keeping Reaves and Russell. The Bucks agreed to keep Lopez in free agency

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

The Los Angeles Lakers kept two of their best guards. And the Milwaukee Bucks retained their big man, as the early trend in free agency of most players staying put continued Saturday.Austin Reaves agreed to a four-year deal that could be worth $56 million, and D’Angelo Russell returned to the Lakers as well on a $37 million, two-year deal, people with knowledge of those transactions told The Associated Press. The Athletic first reported the agreement with Reaves, and ESPN first reported the agreement with Russell.Reaves and Russell were both starters in the postseason for the Lakers, who made the Western Conference finals before falling to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets.Also Saturday, Milwaukee — which had already retained Khris Middleton — found a way to keep Brook Lopez on a two-year deal, a person familiar with the agreement told the AP. The Athletic and ESPN reported the deal was worth $48 million for the 35-year-old Lopez, who averaged 15.9 points in 78 games th...