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The only other time came in 2004-05, when Phoenix (from 29 to 62 wins), Chicago (from 23 to 47) and Washington (from 25 to 45) all got themselves turned around in a hurry. But for folks in Charlotte, Phoenix and Portland, it’s worth mentioning what happened to those teams next: All three lost ground the following year, and none made any improvement in their postseason results. That’s a common trait among teams that show sudden and dramatic improvement....

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey held a news conference to discuss the escalating health crisis Monday, along with Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. Christ said that officials are monitoring 250 residents who recently returned from travel abroad, but insisted that the state is “well prepared to a possible pandemic.” “In Arizona we still consider the risk to be low, unless you have a history of travel or contact with an infected person,” said Christ....

If you believed that, you’d be forgiven, since Jackson’s reputation as a genius coach precedes him — drawing up Xs and Os on the sidelines, he was playing chess while everyone else was playing checkers. But as an executive, he was playing chess while everyone else was building basketball teams. MORE: Knicks targeting Raptors’ Masai Ujiri after firing Jackson James Dolan, who’s been hands-off as promised during Jackson’s tenure, finally got wise and recognized that the team was heading nowhere in particular....

A new study found that time spent sleeping declines with age, dropping to the lowest point at age 40. At around age 50, people might start sleeping more again. Researchers say the trend may be influenced by a combination of biological and lifestyle factors. But sleep duration doesn’t necessarily equate to quality of sleep, which appears to decline as people grow older. The study evaluated data from over 11,000 people ages 6 and older....

Wildlife officers from the Queensland Department of Environment and Science (DES) were alerted to the presence of the saltwater crocodile after several calves went missing from the area in the last few months. The crocodile is suspected of taking them. The crocodile was found in the Upper Mowbray River in the Port Douglas region—an area known as “Croc Country.” “During the site assessment, wildlife officers observed the crocodile displaying assertive behavior, and the animal was unconcerned by the presence of the wildlife officers,” the DES said in a statement....

Speculation about the future of Messi has been rife for several months now after the Argentinian superstar — who scored a hat-trick to book his country’s World Cup place on Wednesday — entered the final year of his contract at Camp Nou. City 4/6 to claim PL crown Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu has claimed several times that Messi’s renewal has already been actioned and just needs to be announced, but the clock keeps ticking and that confirmation is yet to be made....

Aguero has scored six goals in as many league games this season and is just one strike away from joining Eric Brook as City’s all-time leading goalscorer. Aguero 7/2 to be PL top scorer The Argentinian is joined atop the scoring charts by Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku and Chelsea recruit Alvaro Morata. While Harry Kane (four goals) and Jamie Vardy (five) have also made good starts to the campaign, Arsenal great Henry said Aguero deserved most of the plaudits....

Argentina international Aguero, 29, started his career at Argentine outfit Independiente in 1997 before leaving for Atletico Madrid nine years later. Aguero has since moved on to City, where he is contracted until 2020 having helped the club to two Premier League titles since 2011, while they are poised to claim a third crown under Pep Guardiola this season. Discussing his future during the international break, Aguero – sidelined with a knee injury – reiterated his desire to return to the Estadio Libertadores de America when his contract expires....

Aguero hit 21 Premier League goals, the most by a City player during the 2017-18 campaign, as Guardiola’s men romped to the title by a huge 19-point margin from rivals Manchester United. But Aguero has endured spells out of the side during Guardiola’s two years in charge, with the Catalan appearing to prefer Brazil international Gabriel Jesus as the figurehead of his attack. The Argentina striker is preparing for the World Cup but shrugged off speculation he could leave City for Real Madrid or former side Atletico Madrid during the transfer window....

On Monday, the Purdue University Senate, the faculty’s governing body, passed an inclusion resolution requiring all commercial entities on campus to uphold university values and promote inclusivity with their policies, hiring practices and actions. The resolution was proposed in September, on the same day the university released a statement saying it would welcome Chick-fil-A to the campus. Equity and Diversity Committee Chair Audrey Ruple told The Exponent, an independent student newspaper at Purdue, that the resolution didn’t specifically name Chick-fil-A because the committee wanted it to be “bigger than just about Chick-fil-A....

A jury in November found three white men—Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan—guilty of Arbery’s murder. They were sentenced to life in prison earlier this month. All three men were due to stand trial in February on hate crime charges, accused of violating Arbery’s civil rights and targeting him because he was Black. But prosecutors filed notice in the U.S. District Court of Brunswick, Georgia, on Sunday asking a judge to approve plea agreements for the McMichaels....

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati looked at admissions to the Cincinnati Children’s emergency psychiatric department between 2011 and 2015 to see if there was an association with levels of air pollution. During this period, a total of 6,812 children, aged 14 on average, who lived in Ohio’s Hamilton County made 13,176 visits to the hospital. The team used the children’s addresses to estimate the amount of what is known as “particulate matter 2....

The goal is simple to state, if maddeningly difficult to implement: limit access to planes, and scrutinize everybody and everything that goes onto them. While many point to Israel’s El Al Airlines as the gold standard of aviation security–with its legendary grilling of every passenger, for example–it operates just dozens of flights a day. To copy its vaunted system would cost billions of dollars in new equipment and bring the U....

The video has garnered more than 690,000 views and hundreds of comments from viewers who thanked Houston for sharing her expertise. Houston’s tips came after a hectic weekend that reportedly saw more than 10,000 canceled and delayed flights. Southwest Airlines, said USA Today, was “the hardest hit in terms of the number of flights.” Due to Florida storms and “intermittent technology issues,” the company was forced to cancel more than 900 flights between Saturday and Sunday....

As it happens, I once spent a week interviewing inmates and staff at what was then the main “super-max” federal penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. It was the successor to Alcatraz, and the predecessor of the facility that opened in Florence, Colorado, in 1994. “Security” was its aim, its ethos, its excuse for everything. Life in Marion had so many grim limitations and restrictions that the worst of the worst criminals convicted in federal courts—spies, drug lords, racist murderers, gang leaders—actually would try to behave themselves in hopes they might someday get out of its peculiar purgatory, even though the greatest escape they could achieve was transfer to another federal pen....

The U.S. on Monday lifted restrictions from a wide range of countries, including Mexico, Canada and most of Europe, effectively reversing the travel ban that separated families, rooted tourists and halted business travelers as the world sought to curb the global spread of the virus. American citizens and permanent residents were not barred from the U.S. even before the restrictions were lifted Monday. The new rules require travelers to show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test in order to enter the U....

The former head coach on Wednesday issued a statement to Treliving apologizing for his racial comments directed at former player Akim Aliu, who played for Peters with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs in 2009-10. On Thursday morning, Aliu called Peters’ statement “misleading, insincere and concerning” in a statement of his own. MORE: Bill Peters abuse investigation — What to know, latest news about Calgary Flames coach Aliu — who alleges that Peters told him “Hey, Akim, I’m sick of you playing that n— s—,’” in reference to the then 20-year-old Aliu’s choice to play hip-hop music in the locker room — said he has accepted an invitation from the NHL to discuss the situation....

C: Derek Norris, Athletics. The Royals homer in me wanted to give it to Salvador Perez, but “Clutch Norris” is batting .301/.403/.512 with eight homers and 34 RBIs. Sal’s defense is better, but we don’t care about defense in fantasy baseball, do we? 1B: Edwin Encaracion, Blue Jays. Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera has him beat by a mile in batting average, but Encarnacion has almost twice as many home runs, more runs scored, more RBIs, and more stolen bases....