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TAMPA, Fla. — Steven Stamkos scored two goals, and the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning are headed to the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight year after beating the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals Saturday night.Stamkos put the Lightning ahead for good in the third period just 21 seconds after the Rangers’ Frank Vatrano scored on a power play with the Lightning captain in the penalty box for holding.AdvertisementNikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat assisted on the winner with 6 ½ minutes left, with the puck deflecting off Stamkos’ knee and into the net after Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin stopped the initial shot. Stamkos also scored on a wrist shot from the top of the right circle midway through the second period.Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 20 saves for the Lightning, who won the series 4-2 — rattling off four straight victories after losing the first two games on the road — to advance to the Stanley Cup Final against the Colorado Avalanche.AdvertisementGame 1 is Wednesday night in Denver.Lightning center Steven Stamkos, center, celebrates his goal against the Rangers with Jan Rutta, right and left wing Ondrej Palat, left, during the second period in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals Saturday in Tampa, Fla. The Lightning won 2-1 to clinch the series and earn a berth in the Stanley Cup Final. (Chris O’Meara/AP)

PEORIA — Never underestimate the power of small ball.Sophomore Maddie Hernandez certainly won’t from now on, and neither will her St. Charles North softball teammates. Not after making program history this way.AdvertisementThe 5-foot-3 Hernandez is the North Stars’ smallest player, but in Saturday’s Class 4A state championship game against powerhouse Marist, she came up with the biggest hit.“I was in a bad spot,” Hernandez said of being 0-for-3 entering her final at-bat. “I lost confidence in myself, but the team and coaches never lost confidence in me.Advertisement“Earlier in the game, coach (Tom) Poulin said that I was going to get a hit in this game.”St. Charles North’s Maddie Hernandez connects on a pitch to in the top of the seventh inning against Marist during the Class 4A state championship game at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria on Saturday, June 11, 2022. (Vincent D. Johnson / The Beacon-News)And what a hit it was.Hernandez’s sharp two-out RBI single to center field in the top of the seventh gave St. Charles North a 3-2 lead over the RedHawks at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex.Freshman relief pitcher Paige Murray and an outstanding defense made it stand for the North Stars (27-4), getting three more outs to secure the program’s first state title.Hernandez, who’s hitting .320, had the winner in a 5-4 sectional victory over Glenbard North but struggled and went hitless in the supersectional and the state semifinal.“She was tough on herself all game and didn’t like her at bats,” Poulin said of Hernandez. “We had a running conversation the whole game, and she got it done.”Junior third baseman Julia Larson, an Illinois State recruit, and Ashlee Chantos each had two hits against Marist pitcher Brooke McNichols (23-5).Larson tried to encourage Hernandez.Advertisement“She was dropping her hands a little bit,” Larson said. “We kept saying, ‘Stay level, stay level, stay level.’“That’s exactly what she did too, taking the ball right up the middle to score the run we needed.”St. Charles North’s Auburn Roberson, Meghan Nicastro and Morgan Lahner, left to right, hold up the trophy after beating Marist the Class 4A state championship game at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria on Saturday, June 11, 2022. (Vincent D. Johnson / The Beacon-News)Marist (31-6-1), the defending state champion, came in ranked No. 1, with St. Charles North at No. 7. The Redhawks had 45 home runs, compared to eight for the North Stars.“I think assistant coach Thijs (Dennison) were the only ones worried about that,” Poulin said. “These girls show up and win one at a time. They don’t know anything different.”The North Stars did know they were considered underdogs by most observers.They also were not deterred as starting pitcher Ava Goettel carried a no-hitter through four innings before giving up a double to Breanna Hanik.AdvertisementSt. Charles North, meanwhile, knocked on the door by putting runners in scoring position in three of the first four innings and stranding six runners.The North Stars then scored twice in the fifth inning on Sophia Olman’s sacrifice fly and Megan Bauwens’ RBI single for a 2-0 lead.St. Charles North’s Leigh VandeHei holds up her glove after making a diving catch in center field against Marist during the Class 4A state championship game at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria on Saturday, June 11, 2022. (Vincent D. Johnson / The Beacon-News)Sierra Sass reached on an error in the bottom of the sixth before Goettel gave way to Murray, who gave up back-to-back hits that forced a 2-2 tie.It set the stage for Hernandez and her heroics.In between, the North Stars’ outfield of Butler commit Leigh VandeHei in center, Winona State recruit Chantos in right and Meghan Nicastro in left turned in stellar plays that left Marist’s players and fans shaking their heads in frustration.VandeHei provided the highlight by ranging far from left to right in center to make a diving, laying-out catch to rob Gianna Richy of an extra-base hit. AdvertisementTwo innings later, Chantos ranged into right-center to make a running catch on Richy.“All year we’ve told them they were the best outfield in the state,” Poulin said. “Maybe now they’ll believe it. “That catch by VandeHei, that’s the best catch I’ve seen in my years coaching, especially on this stage.”St. Charles North’s Meghan Nicastro stretches out to snag a catch against Marist in the Class 4A state championship game at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria on Saturday, June 11, 2022. (Vincent D. Johnson / The Beacon-News)In the sixth, Nicastro started in before darting back to rob Caroline O’Brien of an extra-base hit that could have given Marist the lead.And in the seventh, junior second baseman Margo Geary ranged far to make a sliding catch on the right field line.“They are the best outfield in the state,” Goettel said. “I’m saying that right now.Advertisement“We came out here with nothing to lose, and getting the early lead was a big help.”Larson agreed and added, “All the pressure was on Marist.”

In a 1980s flashback, the first “Fire Tony” chants of the new era rang out Saturday in the 10th inning of the Chicago White Sox’s 11-9 loss to the Texas Rangers.Manager Tony La Russa also was loudly booed by the remnants of the crowd of 30,221 when he came to the mound remove reliever Matt Foster in the four-run 10th, reminiscent of the times he came out to remove Ken Kravec or another struggling Sox pitcher at old Comiskey Park in the 1980s.AdvertisementThe voices of discontent were impossible to ignore and a sign La Russa’s approval rating continues to plummet on the South Side.“Well, I hear it with one ear and I see it with one eye,” La Russa said. “I just know, I appreciate they want us to win, and when we don’t win they’re unhappy. I’m pleased that they are, you know? We have the team to win, and we’re losing games. Nobody in that clubhouse, including the manager and coaches, is happy. I like it when they care enough to be upset.”AdvertisementWhile there was no smoking gun pointing to La Russa for Saturday’s loss, like the infamous intentional walk issued with a 1-2 count Thursday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the 77-year-old manager has a target on his back.White Sox manager Tony La Russa, second from left, talks to his players during the 10th inning against the Rangers on Saturday at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Sox lost 11-9 in 10 innings. (Nam Y. Huh / AP)“I’ve said before: I learned you’re accountable for everything, right?” he said. “Anything that is happening with this team, in the end, I’m responsible for, so. … And you figure that out.“If you don’t like the record, (it’s my) responsibility. If you don’t like the moves? Whatever is it. Never have dodged accountability, and I won’t start now.”For four innings Saturday the crowd was upbeat and enjoying the ugly polyester shirt giveaway. But the game turned into a virtual rerun of Thursday’s 11-9 loss, a game in which the Sox also blew an early four-run lead. Only the names changed. After being staked to a 5-0 lead, Lucas Giolito was hit hard during a four-run fourth, a rerun of Dylan Cease’s fifth inning surrender against the Dodgers.And the crowd began reacting to the carnage in much the same manner as Thursday. Sitting in Section 117 during the fifth, I heard multiple suggestions from fans loudly pleading with La Russa to start warming someone up, along with the inevitable wisecracks such as “Better walk this guy, Tony.”It’s apparent the intentional walk La Russa ordered to Trea Turner with a 1-2 count Thursday won’t be forgotten anytime soon, even if NBC Sports Chicago decided to edit the fateful inning out of the replay of its telecast because of alleged “time constraints.”Wow.I was watching the replay of the Sox-Dodgers game on NBC Sports Chicago to see that intentional walk sequence again.Only they literally cut the entire thing out for time constraints! pic.twitter.com/WEtOvvJ6rY— Kevin Kaduk (@KevinKaduk) June 10, 2022

Move on. Nothing to see here.La Russa was limited Saturday by a tired bullpen. He said the five relievers he used were the only ones available out of his nine-man bullpen without risking injury. Trailing 5-0 and 7-4, the Rangers eventually tied the game 7-7 in the seventh off Bennett Sousa. By the bottom of the inning, aggravated Sox fans began doing the wave.AdvertisementFoster gave up four runs while facing only four batters in the 10th before the Sox rallied for two runs in the bottom of the inning to fall short, just like Thursday’s last-gasp rally. The loss left the Sox at 27-30, six games behind the division-leading Minnesota Twins.Giolito blamed himself for failing to get stronger as the game went on, forcing La Russa to go to the pen too early. The players know La Russa is taking the heat for their performance and heard the “Fire Tony” chants.“Fans are going to have their own opinions,” Giolito said. “A lot of colorful opinions at times. For us, we focus on (putting) a little bubble around it, focus on the game, trying to keep it close in extra innings and mount that comeback. Just fell short. Again, responsibility falls on me, even letting the door open in the fifth inning. It could have gone way differently.”But it didn’t, and now it’s up to Michael Kopech on Sunday to try to win the series before the start of a trip to Detroit and Houston.La Russa has been booed before and no doubt will be booed again. But Sox fans also vented on some of the players, particularly Yoan Moncada, who went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts and watched his average fall to .133. He was one of three sub-.200 hitters in Saturday’s lineup along with Yasmani Grandal (.175) and Leury Garcia (.185). Grandal had two hits before leaving with a left hamstring injury that is certain to sideline him.Waiting for a turnaround has been a maddening process for Sox fans, whose patience has worn thin one-third of the way through the season. La Russa has kept the faith, hoping he’ll be rewarded down the line with the kind of performances his underachieving hitters have shown in the past.Advertisement“It’s clear to me that during the long season, guys are going to play somewhere near what they do in their career as long as they are healthy,” La Russa said before the game.“That’s part of what is optimistic is what Yaz has done the last few days, he’s swinging better. Starting adding some of those guys to our lineup and it gets deeper and deeper and we can score more than a couple, three runs.”Truth be told, La Russa has few options. Catcher Reese McGuire was the only left-handed bat of the 12 position players. The three switch-hitters — Grandal, Moncada and Garcia — haven’t performed. The Sox optioned left-handed-hitting Gavin Sheets to Triple-A Charlotte on Friday and have no reliable lefty hitter to call up.The lack of left-handed bats was a predicament everyone knew about in the offseason but one Sox general manager Rick Hahn failed to adequately address. That’s on Hahn, not La Russa.But when things started going south Saturday, the mood at Sox Park quickly turned from festive to ugly, and La Russa was the one taking the heat.You could hear it with both ears, and you could see it with both eyes.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Luc Lipcius hit two home runs in an eight-run fifth inning and No. 1 overall seed Tennessee rolled to a 12-4 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday to stay alive in the Knoxville Super Regional.Tennessee (57-8) and Notre Dame (39-15) will play a third game at noon Sunday with a berth in the College World Series on the line. The Fighting Irish beat Tennessee 8-6 on Friday. Tennessee is looking for its second straight and sixth CWS appearance overall. The Vols have never won the event, finishing second in 1951. Notre Dame has made two CWS appearances — in 1957 and 2002.AdvertisementTennessee was clinging to a 1-0 lead — on Trey Lipscomb’s RBI double in the first inning — heading into the top of the fifth. Lipcius homered off Notre Dame starter John Bertrand (9-3) on a 1-1 pitch to lead off. Cortland Lawson doubled and moved to third on a single by Seth Stephenson. One out later, Jordan Beck hit a three-run shot to make it 5-0. After Lipscomb popped out, Evan Russell homered to left field. Jackson Dennies relieved Bertrand and walked Jared Dickey before yielding a single to Christian Moore. Lipcius made it 9-0 with a three-run shot.Jorel Ortega had a RBI double in a three-run seventh to cap the scoring for the Volunteers.AdvertisementJack Zyska hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth for Notre Dame. The Irish were held to seven hits — two for extra bases — after hitting four homers in their first-round win.Chase Dollander allowed just two runs on five hits in seven innings to up his record to 10-0 on the season. He struck out five.Tennesse played without its clean-up-hitting center fielder Drew Gilbert. Gilbert was suspended for a game after being ejected for arguing a strike call in the fifth inning on Friday. Pitching coach Frank Anderson, who was tossed for running on to the field, also missed the game.

John Sax, the son of former Major League Baseball player Steve Sax, was one of five Marines killed Wednesday in an aircraft crash in Southern California.“For those of you that knew Johnny, you saw his huge smile, bright light, his love for his family, the Marines, the joy of flying airplanes and defending our country!” Steve Sax said Saturday in a statement.AdvertisementSteve Sax throws a ball before an old-timers game in Los Angeles in 2017. (Chris Carlson/AP)“He was my hero and the best man I know, there was no better person to defend our country.”Capt. John Sax, 33; Capt. Nicholas Losapio, 31; Cpl. Nathan Carlson, 21; Cpl. Seth Rasmuson, 21; and Lance Cpl. Evan Strickland, 19; died in the crash.AdvertisementTheir MV-22 Osprey crashed around noon local time near Glamis, Calif., about 120 miles east of San Diego. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.All five men were part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing based out of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego. They were on a training flight.“There was never any doubt from a young age that Johnny would be a pilot and his passion was to fly!” Steve Sax said. “This loss will change my life forever and is a loss to not only the Marines but this world!”Steve Sax played 14 years in the majors and won the World Series with the Dodgers twice, once in 1981 and again in 1988. He won National League Rookie of the Year in 1982, and signed with the Yankees as a free agent ahead of the 1989 season. He was an all-star during two of his three seasons in pinstripes.With News Wire Services

Chicago White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal left Saturday’s game against the Texas Rangers with left hamstring tightness.Grandal exited after he singled to right in the third inning and is being further evaluated, the Sox said. Grandal was 2-for-2 Saturday.AdvertisementYasmani Grandal departed the game with left hamstring tightness and is being further evaluated.— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 11, 2022

He had two hits and three RBIs in Friday’s 8-3 win against the Rangers. Grandal broke a tie with a two-run double in the eighth inning.Grandal is slashing .185/.294/.237 with two homers and 15 RBIs in 50 games.

ST. ALBANS, England — Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel banked $4.75 million Saturday by winning the richest tournament in golf history, while the event’s Saudi backers faced renewed backlash after a 9/11 victims’ group called for American players to withdraw from the rebel series.Schwartzel held on for a one-shot victory at the inaugural LIV Golf event outside London to secure the $4 million prize for the individual victory — along with another $750,000 from his share of the $3 million purse earned by his four-man Stinger team for topping the team rankings.AdvertisementSchwartzel, the 2011 winner at Augusta National, collected more prize money from winning the three-day, 54-hole event than he had from the last four years combined. It came at a cost, though, having resigned his membership of the PGA Tour to play on the unsanctioned series without a waiver.“Never in my wildest dreams did I think we could play for that much money in golf,” said Schwartzel, who had not won a PGA or European tour event since 2016.AdvertisementCharles Schwartzel holds up the trophy after he won the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational on Saturday at the Centurion Club in St. Albans, England. (Alastair Grant/AP)Fellow South African Hennie Du Plessis, who was selected for Stinger by team captain Louis Oosthuizen in the draft, earned $2.875 million by finishing second at Centurion Club, located between Hemel Hempstead and St. Albans.Schwartzel entered the final day with a three-shot lead and did just enough to hold off Du Plessis despite finishing with a 2-over 72 for a 7-under total of 203.It is the first of eight events in the first year of LIV Golf, which began against the backdrop of the PGA Tour banning players who signed up. The European tour has yet to comment on any sanctions for players who jumped to the series without its approval.Twenty players have defected from the PGA Tour, with Patrick Reed the latest, the former Masters champion confirmed Saturday as signing up to LIV Golf as the final round was being completed.However, the lucrative rewards for joining the series funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund have not been enough to entice any players ranked in the world’s top 10.[ [Don’t miss] Saudi-backed LIV golf tour, bound for Illinois, tees up geopolitical intrigue and moral quandaries ]Reed, who has won almost $37 million in a decade on the PGA Tour, is ranked 36th. The 31-year-old American’s only major win was the 2018 Masters.Having appeared at three Ryder Cups, at which he has been one of the brashest characters on the American team, Reed’s decision could see him ineligible for selection in the future.Reed said he would make his debut on the second stop of the LIV Golf series in Portland, Ore., on June 30-July 2.AdvertisementPat Perez, the 46-year-old American who is ranked 168th in the world, also joined the breakaway Saturday, saying he wants to travel less after 21 years on the PGA Tour. He made no mention on the LIV live broadcast about the riches on offer.Saudi Arabia’s track record of human rights violations has sparked criticism from groups, including Amnesty International, that the country is “sportswashing” its image by investing in signing up sports stars.LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, who would not speak to the media at the event, called the series a “force for good” in a speech at the victory ceremony without addressing criticism of the Saudi project.LIV Golf plays up the financial largesse. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi’s Public Investment Fund, said on stage that there would be a prize of $54 million for any player who could hit an implausible 54 at a LIV event.For many in the United States, Saudi Arabia will forever be associated with the collapse of the World Trade Towers and the deaths of nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. All but four of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi citizens, and the Saudi kingdom was the birthplace of Osama bin Laden, the head of al-Qaida and mastermind of the attack.Terry Strada, the national chairperson of 9/11 Families United, sent a letter to representatives of LIV Golf stars calling on them to reconsider their participation in the series. Her husband, Tom, died when a hijacked plane flew into the World Trade Center.Advertisement“Given Saudi Arabia’s role in the death of our loved ones and those injured on 9/11 — your fellow Americans — we are angered that you are so willing to help the Saudis cover up this history in their request for ‘respectability,’” Strada wrote, accusing the players of betraying U.S. interests.Strada’s letter was sent to agents for Reed as well as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Kevin Na.“When you partner with the Saudis, you become complicit with their whitewash and help give them the reputational cover they so desperately crave — and are willing to pay handsomely to manufacture,” Strada wrote.“The Saudis do not care about the deep-rooted sportsmanship of golf or its origins as a gentleman’s game built upon core values of mutual respect and personal integrity. They care about using professional golf to whitewash their reputation, and they are paying you to help them do it.”Victims’ families are trying to hold Saudi Arabia accountable in New York despite its government’s insistence that any allegation of complicity in the terrorist attacks is “categorically false.”

LAS VEGAS — A Nevada woman has lost her bid in a U.S. court to force international soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo to pay millions of dollars more than the $375,000 in hush money she received after claiming he raped her in Las Vegas in 2009.U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey in Las Vegas kicked the case out of court on Friday to punish the woman’s attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, for “bad-faith conduct” and the use of leaked and stolen documents detailing attorney-client discussions between Ronaldo and his lawyers. Dorsey said that tainted the case beyond redemption.AdvertisementDorsey said in her 42-page order that dismissing a case outright with no option to file it again is a severe sanction, but said Ronaldo had been harmed by Stovall’s conduct.“I find that the procurement and continued use of these documents was bad faith, and simply disqualifying Stovall will not cure the prejudice to Ronaldo because the misappropriated documents and their confidential contents have been woven into the very fabric of (plaintiff Kathryn) Mayorga’s claims,” the ruling said. “Harsh sanctions are merited.”AdvertisementStovall did not immediately respond Saturday to telephone and email messages. Text messages to associate Larissa Drohobyczer were not answered. They could appeal the decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.Ronaldo’s attorney in Las Vegas, Peter Christiansen, was traveling and was not immediately reachable for comment.The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they are victims of sexual assault, but Mayorga gave consent through Stovall and Drohobyczer to make her name public.Dorsey had signaled earlier this year that she was ready to end the case after Stovall failed to meet a procedural deadline in his bid for more than $25 million in damages based on allegations that Ronaldo or his associates violated a 2010 confidentiality agreement by letting reports about it appear in European publications in 2017.Mayorga’s civil lawsuit — filed in 2018 in state court and moved in 2019 to federal court — alleged that Ronaldo or his associates violated the confidentiality agreement before the German news outlet Der Spiegel published an article titled “Cristiano Ronaldo’s Secret” based on documents obtained from “whistleblower portal Football Leaks.”Ronaldo’s legal team blamed the reports on electronic data leaks of documents hacked from law firms and other entities in Europe and put up for sale. Christiansen alleged also that information was altered or fabricated.Christiansen and attorney Kendelee Works in Las Vegas successfully fought since the case emerged in 2018 to prevent the pact from disclosure.Mayorga is a former model and teacher who lives in the Las Vegas area. Her lawsuit said she met Ronaldo at a nightclub and went with him and other people to his hotel suite, where she alleged he assaulted her in a bedroom. She was 25 at the time. He was 24.AdvertisementRonaldo’s legal team does not dispute Ronaldo met Mayorga and they had sex in June 2009, but maintained it was consensual and not rape.Mayorga went to Las Vegas police at the time, but the investigation was dropped because Mayorga neither identified her alleged attacker by name nor said where the incident took place, police and prosecutors said.Ronaldo, now 37, is one of the most highly paid and recognizable sports stars in the world. He plays for the English Premier League club Manchester United and has captained the national team of his home country, Portugal. He spent several recent years playing in Italy for the Turin-based club Juventus.Las Vegas police reopened their rape investigation after Mayorga’s lawsuit was filed, but Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson decided in 2019 not to pursue criminal charges.Wolfson, the elected public prosecutor in Las Vegas, said too much time had passed and evidence failed to show that Mayorga’s accusation could be proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.Stovall maintained that Mayorga didn’t break the hush-money settlement. Her lawsuit sought to void it, accusing Ronaldo and reputation-protection “fixers” of conspiracy, defamation, breach of contract, coercion and fraud. In documents filed last year, Stovall tallied damages at $25 million plus attorney fees.AdvertisementThe attorney argued that Mayorga had learning disabilities as a child and was so pressured by Ronaldo’s attorneys and representatives that she was in no condition to consent to dropping her criminal complaint and accepting the $375,000 in August 2010.Dorsey followed recommendations from U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts, who handled preliminary and procedural rulings in the case, that it be dismissed for bad faith, “inappropriate conduct” by Stovall and reliance on the leaked and stolen confidential documents.“There is no possible way for this case to proceed where the court cannot tell what arguments and testimony are based on these privileged documents,” Albregts said in an October 2021 report to Dorsey.Stovall “acted in bad faith by asking for, receiving, and using the Football Leaks documents to prosecute Mayorga’s case,” Albregts wrote. He blamed Stovall for “audacious,” “impertinent” and “abusive” attempts to make the confidentiality agreement public through legal maneuvers and the court record and recommended to Dorsey that she reject Stovall’s claim that Mayorga lacked the mental capacity to sign the 2010 agreement.The 9th Circuit ruled early this year that it would be up to Dorsey to decide that question.It was not immediately clear in Dorsey’s ruling whether the public might still get a look at the Las Vegas police report compiled about Ronaldo after Mayorga filed her lawsuit in 2018.AdvertisementAlbregts said in March that denying the New York Times access to what police collected “would almost certainly raise the ‘specter of government censorship.’” He recommended that Dorsey transfer to a state court the newspaper’s open-records request for documents.A protective order that Dorsey imposed to prevent the release of the 2010 agreement doesn’t apply to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Albregts found, and “does not bar LVMPD from disseminating its criminal investigative file.”Attorney Margaret McLetchie, representing the newspaper, did not immediately respond Saturday to a message about that case.

Anthony Rizzo never envisioned the Chicago Cubs would tear everything down so quickly.Rizzo endured the Cubs rebuild the first go-around, becoming a cornerstone piece en route to a World Series title. But there is a reason he’s now wearing New York Yankees pinstripes and was sitting in the home dugout reminiscing about his time with the Cubs before his new team team eked out a 2-1 win in 13 innings Friday night.Advertisement“I didn’t think that was going to happen the way it did, but in this game it’s really hard to win,” Rizzo said. “And as a player, as coaches, I think as you get a little farther away from the dugout and you see it from more of a computer standpoint, on paper, why didn’t teams win more? I could see why it’s frustrating. But on the field and in the clubhouse — I just think it’s a lot harder on the field than ever looks off (it).“We did everything we could do every year with what we had. Those years are going to be some of the best years of my baseball life.”AdvertisementRizzo believes baseball is better when big-market teams like the Cubs are always competing to win with a high payroll.“It’s just a different year than the normal standard that we created there over the last seven years,” Rizzo said.Rizzo looks forward to returning to Wrigley Field someday. This weekend series being played at Yankee Stadium makes it less emotional for Rizzo to play his former team, a roster that doesn’t feature too many familiar faces after last year’s overhaul. As Rizzo discussed what it has been like seeing new players called up and getting opportunities to impress the Cubs, it’s clear he has paid attention since departing Chicago. He referenced P.J. Higgins hitting his first home run and Frank Schwindel’s 2021 success and how he bounced back this year after his short option to the minors.Rizzo’s close friendships with Ian Happ and Jason Heyward play a role in staying up on happenings with the Cubs.“It’s fun to see it,” Rizzo said, “because you have guys that are grinding in this game for a while and they’re getting an opportunity, and opportunities in this game when you get older are not easy to come by.” Going through another rebuild after 10 years with the Cubs might have been tough, and clearly Rizzo landed in a great spot with a Yankees team that currently owns the best record in baseball.As Rizzo reflected on the timeline of the Cubs’ first rebuild, he recalled how there was a sense that the 2014 trade deadline would be the last time they would be sellers. In the offseason, the Cubs hired Joe Maddon and signed left-hander Jon Lester.Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.“I mean, it felt far away until it didn’t,” Rizzo said. “But we just knew some way, somehow, that in ‘15, we were going to be good and we really got on a roll there and rode that for a lot of years.”AdvertisementThis time next year catcher Willson Contreras could be in Rizzo’s spot, reminiscing about the organization that has defined his baseball career. Contreras’ contract situation for 2022 was finally settled Thursday when he avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing to a one-year, $9.625 million contract.The Cubs reached out to Contreras’ agent Wednesday about making a deal. Contreras said the arbitration hearing could’ve had an impact on him because of everything both sides would have said during it, so he is glad they struck a deal.“I’m really happy with the results that we got,” Contreras said. “I think both sides won.“I’m looking forward to seeing (Jed Hoyer) and thank him for how everything went.”No contract extensions were brought up between the two sides. As for whether the Cubs initiating contact with Contreras’ agent gives him any hope the team will engage him in extension talks, Contreras replied, “Who knows?”“I’m not focused on that,” he said. “I’m focused on playing my season the way I’ve been playing, keep helping my teammates, whoever needs my help I’ll be there, lead the team the right way and I’m just going to keep going.”

Yasmani Grandal pumped his first as he made his way to the dugout after being lifted for a pinch runner in the eighth inning Friday against the Texas Rangers at Guaranteed Rate Field.Moments earlier, the Chicago White Sox catcher hit a slicer to right field that landed out of Steele Walker’s reach for a two-run double.Advertisement“It’s just pretty much looking for a mistake or looking for something up, like everybody else they are looking for soft contact or something on the ground,” Grandal said of the approach against Rangers reliever John King. “He made the mistake, and I was able to capitalize on it.”The two-out hit put the Sox ahead and fueled a five-run inning for the Sox, who beat the Rangers 8-3 in front of 24,270.AdvertisementJosh Harrison had an RBI single and Danny Mendick hit a two-run homer in the decisive inning.“I thought we took better at-bats with runners in scoring position,” Grandal said. “We got more guys on base, and that’s what you want. You want to get guys on base in order to give us opportunities to be able to come up with a big hit or Luis (Robert) stealing both bags and being able to score (in the sixth), a lot of things we can do aside from just hitting.”Grandal had two hits and three RBIs. AJ Pollock and Jake Burger both had two hits. Pollock knock in one and Burger scored twice.With the game tied at 3, Burger started the two-out rally in the eighth by reaching on an infield hit. Yoán Moncada followed with a single and Grandal delivered with two-run double.“Can’t exaggerate how big it is to get them going,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said of Moncada (who is hitting .141) and Grandal (.175). “That’s where it starts. Have some success, and they’re pros and they’ll build on it.”General manager Rick Hahn said he recently had conversations with Grandal about how he’s feeling.“His was about strength, him feeling like he is as strong in his legs as he is when he’s ‘100%,’ ” Hahn said Thursday. “The communication’s been real good with our training staff. And in terms of Yaz’s personal preference, he feels the more he plays, the stronger his legs get, actually, perhaps a little counterintuitive. But he’s been doing this a long time and knows what it takes to build himself up.”Chicago White Sox batter Yasmani Grandal (24) celebrates at second base after driving in two runs with a double in the 8th inning of a game against the Texas Rangers at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on Friday, June 10, 2022. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)Said Grandal on Friday, “It’s been hard not being able to stick to the same routine over and over. As much as I try to do it, it’s whether I’m playing or not or catching or not, so a lot of things get mixed up in between, just timing-wise. I’m trying to work around it, but as I start playing more and more, the routine will start cleaning up a little bit. Once that happens and I stay with it, then it’s going to be a go.”AdvertisementHe said it traces back to offseason surgery on his right knee.“We knew that spring training for me was going to be very important time, especially getting back on the field and getting as much catching in as I could and then all of a sudden, as soon as we ramped up, the knee started acting up, and now we had to take it slow,” Grandal said.“Once that happened, now all of a sudden you start making little adjustments to still play and still get that playing time but not the adjustments you are trying to truly take. It’s almost a fake feel. It happened last year so I know exactly what it is, and like I said, it’s just a matter of keep on getting stronger.”Asked if he saw Friday as a step in the right direction, Grandal said “Not really.”“But I still have the ability to be able to do something up here, even when I’m not fully there,” he said. “I know when the situation comes that I like having two-out, late-in-the-game situations. I think I’ve proven that in the past few years.”Grandal was impressed with pitcher Davis Martin, who allowed two runs on three hits with six strikeouts and one walk in five innings in his third major-league appearance.AdvertisementMartin followed Reynaldo López, who allowed one hit in two scoreless innings as the opener.“It was fun,” Martin said. “I felt like a high-leverage reliever. What López did in the first two innings, all right, got to match it. I think it’s a testament to Lópey setting the tone for the staff those first two innings.”Both runs Martin allowed were solo homers. Nathaniel Lowe homered off the right-field foul pole in the fifth to tie the game at 1. Adolis García’s two-out homer in the sixth gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead.Robert used his legs to help the Sox tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Robert reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second and third and scored on a throwing error by Rangers catcher Sam Huff.The Sox went ahead when Pollock drove in Harrison with a two-out double in the seventh. The Rangers tied the game in the eighth on a Corey Seager solo homer.The Sox responded with the five-run rally in the bottom of the inning and bounced back after Thursday’s tough 11-9 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.Advertisement“Two outs and nobody on, that’s an amazing rally,” La Russa said of the eighth. “That’s the difference between this and pro football. Don’t have to wait a week to get rid of that one last night.”