South Florida Local News

The nation’s top two girls lacrosse teams met at the Class 1A state finals for a sixth consecutive year and the game did not disappoint as defending state champion and the nation’s top-ranked team, American Heritage-Delray, won its fourth state lacrosse championship with a 5-4 victory over rival Orlando Lake Highland Prep at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples on Saturday afternoon.

“They had to work hard for it,” American Heritage-Delray coach John McClain said by phone. “We had to fight complacency coming in because we beat them 14-5 in the regular season. They packed it in, so we couldn’t get inside, and some calls didn’t go our way. Ashley (Egbert) was incredible in goal. In the end, we just really finished strong.”

Senior Stallions’ attacker Chiara Scichilone and Lake Highland Prep junior attacker Ellie Greeno traded goals before American Heritage-Delray’s senior attacker Victoria Tomonto gave the Stallions a 2-1 halftime lead. Tomonto had five goals in a 17-3 semifinal win over Jacksonville Episcopal.

Lake Highland Prep’s Isabella Hughes tied the game at 2-2 in the third before the Stallions (22-1) scored twice in two minutes on goals by senior attacker Brooke Goldstein and Scichilone for a 4-2 advantage. The Highlanders trimmed it to 4-3 with 1:07 to go in the third on the first of two goals by Savannah Love. Junior Emma Hrzich stretched the Stallions’ lead to 5-3 with 10:44 left in the game before Love cut the deficit to 5-4 with 6:39 remaining.

American Heritage-Delray needed two key saves by sophomore Egbert on free possession shots in the closing minutes before forcing a turnover and running out the clock’s final 1:38 securing the win. Egbert finished with 10 saves.

“This is honesty indescribable,” said Egbert, who was pressed into duty this year following the graduation of Brianna Valdivieso (Fairfield University). “In my head, I just kept thinking about locking in on the ball. It was definitely so much fun and my first state game as a starter, so it was nerve-racking, but when that final buzzer hit, I dropped to the floor because I was so happy.”

The Stallions also captured titles in 2018 and 2021. Lake Highland Prep (20-4), which won state championships in 2019 and 2022, was making its sixth straight trip to the state final, while the Stallions reached their sixth consecutive trip to the final four and fourth straight final.

Stoneman Douglas falls in state semifinals to Tampa Plant

Stoneman Douglas got three goals from sophomore middie Chloe Resnick and two from senior attacker Taylor McGovern, but it wasn’t enough as the Eagles fell to Tampa Plant 16-5 in the Class 2A semifinals.

The Eagles (15-4) fell behind early 2-0 in the first period and had two goals disallowed for a dangerous follow-through and an in the crease foul that would have tied it. Resnick scored her first goal with 6:46 remaining in the first half to cut the Panthers lead to 3-1. Stoneman Douglas then had another goal negated for another dangerous follow-through call.

“I knew that team quite well and knew we were going to have our hands full,” said second-year Stoneman Douglas coach Scott Iardella. “We gave them a fight for a while, and it got away from us at the end.”

Tampa Plant (23-1), which went on to lose in the state championship 10-8 to Bartram Trail, upped the halftime lead to 5-1 and pulled away in the second half behind five goals from McKenzey Craig and four from Katie Fisher.

“Our draw control percentage was very low and against a team like Plant, we just couldn’t get possession,” Iardella added. “We hung in there and I am unbelievably proud.”

After finishing state runner-up in 2014 and 2022, Benjamin proved the third time was the charm as it captured the school’s first state boys lacrosse title Saturday with an 11-10 victory in Class 1A over Community School of Naples at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples.

“It doesn’t have to be pretty, you just have to win,” Benjamin coach Peter Cordrey said by phone. “That was hard. I am enormously proud of our guys.”

Buccaneers’ junior Alex Ponchock said the team didn’t take the Community School of Naples lightly.

“We knew it was going to be a good game because they beat St. Andrew’s (in the semifinals) and we lost to St. Andrew’s during the season,” said Ponchock, who had two goals. “It was awesome to win because we put in so much work and came up short in my freshman year.

Jayden Vega led the Buccaneers with four goals, and he put the celebratory exclamation point at the end of the game.

“I wanted to be the last one to throw the ball up, so I sprinted down to the other side of the field with 30 seconds left,” the junior said by phone. “We did everything on and off the field and even had a sports psychologist work with us.”

Three-time defending champion, nation’s No. 1 ranked Scots stunned in state semis

For the first time in four years, the St. Andrew’s boys lacrosse team didn’t win its final game of the season, falling 11-10 in overtime to Community School of Naples in the state semifinals.

Dylan Faison scored a team-leading five goals for the Scots (22-2), who entered the game as the three-time defending Class 1A state champion and ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps. Community School of Naples (19-5) was led by Cal Wyatt, who ended up with eight goals, including the game-winner in overtime. The Scots had defeated Community School 15-6 two months earlier.

“I feel bad for the kids,” St. Andrew’s boys coach Tony Seaman lamented by phone. “Our seniors haven’t had this feeling before. The past three years we always won the last one. The other team had a good game plan. They had a 16-6 advantage in faceoffs, and most of the goals they scored on us were in loose situations.”

The game was tied at halftime 5-5 and then 8-8 entering the fourth. The Scots seized a 9-8 lead in the fourth on a goal by Faison. Wyatt scored twice to put Naples up 10-9 with 5:36 left before the Scots’ Cole Denton tied the game at 10-10 to force overtime with 2:09 left in regulation.

“Their faceoff man (Isaac Lyon) and Wyatt were outstanding along with their goalie (Michael Slusar),” Seaman added. “Nick Testa hits the pipe with three seconds left for us and the game could have swung our way.”

St. Thomas Aquinas falls to Lake Mary in state semifinal

In a rematch of last year’s Class 2A state championship, St. Thomas Aquinas (12-9) fell behind early and clawed back only to fall 11-10 to two-time defending state champion Lake Mary in the state semifinals.

The Rams (24-1) jumped out to a 6-1 lead by scoring six unanswered goals before the Raiders were able to close to within 6-5 at halftime. The second half was much like the first as St. Thomas Aquinas trailed 11-7 in the fourth quarter before battling back.

James Finch, who scored three goals and three assists despite playing with a high ankle sprain, led the comeback. He scored with 2:39 to go in the fourth period to close to within 11-8 before James Dobson and Kyan East scored twice in the final minute to pull within one. Jack Rego also had two goals for the Raiders, while four others each tallied once.

“They were winning most of the game,” Raiders coach Terry Crowley said by phone. “We played a very difficult schedule this year, and we knew we had to play with a team like Lake Mary that is like 45-1 in the past couple of years. We didn’t quit and we fought back. We just ran out of time.”

MONTREAL — Lionel Messi played the entire game despite a first-half injury scare, Benjamin Cremaschi broke a tie in the 59th minute and Inter Miami overcame an early two-goal deficit to beat Montreal 3-2 on Saturday night for its fifth consecutive Major League Soccer victory.

Luis Suarez got his 11th goal of the season for Inter Miami, and Matías Rojas scored off a free kick. Jules-Anthony Vilsaint and Bryce Duke scored for Montreal (3-5-3).

Inter Miami (8-2-3) extended its unbeaten streak to seven matches (5-0-2) despite Messi being held without a goal or an assist for the first time in his nine MLS appearances this season. Inter Miami is 7-0-2 in those nine games; one of its losses came against Montreal in March, a game where Messi didn’t play.

Playing in Canada for the first time, Messi briefly left late in the first half after some sort of issue with his left knee after being fouled by defender George Campbell. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner as the world’s best player went down immediately, holding his knee and writhing in pain.

Inter Miami’s medical staff went onto the field to treat Messi, who got up after about two minutes and walked to the Miami sideline. He was not subbed out, which allowed him a chance to return moments later.

And for whatever reason, the match changed in that moment.

Inter Miami was down 2-0 when Messi got hurt; it was 2-1 when he returned and tied moments after he got back onto the field. Rojas scored off a free kick — one that Messi would have ordinarily taken — to get Inter Miami on the board, and Suarez tapped in a goal off a corner kick late in first-half stoppage time.

Suarez became the third player in MLS history to score 11 goals in his first 800 minutes of a season, joining Mamadou Diallo (11 in 2000) and Ola Kamara (11 in 2021).

The go-ahead goal came when Rojas sent a ball into open space and Cremaschi ran it down — then made a second effort to nudge the ball just clear of two defenders and into the net for a 3-2 lead. Messi had two chances in the final minutes to extend the lead, both narrowly missing.

Hundreds of fans greeted Inter Miami when the team arrived at its hotel Friday night and Montreal, in part because of Messi joining Major League Soccer last summer, sold out its 15,000 season tickets for the first time since the club joined MLS in 2012. Messi has scored in 31 countries.

An announced sellout crowd of 19,619 spectators — including one dressed in a Messi tracksuit and wearing a goat mask in a nod to Messi ass the Greatest of All Time — attended the match.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

MIAMI — Bryson Stott hit a tiebreaking, bases-loaded triple in the sixth inning, and the major league-best Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 8-3 on Saturday.

Stott finished with two hits and four RBIs. Catcher J.T. Realmuto had a run-scoring single and threw out two baserunners trying to steal for the Phillies, who have won 13 of 15 to improve to 28-12. Cristian Pache had three hits and an RBI and is 5 for 9 through the first two games of the series.

The Marlins dropped to an NL-worst 10-31. They are 1-7 since trading NL batting champion Luis Arraez on May 4 and are on pace to lose a modern-day-major league-record 122 games.

“The bottom of the lineup has done a great job the last couple of days,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “It’s good to see. We’re getting guys time off and the guys that don’t usually play are performing.”

Pache entered the series hitting .118 and has raised his average to .269.

“I am feeling very comfortable at the plate and appreciative for the club giving me an opportunity to play,” Pache said in Spanish.

Phillies starter Taijuan Walker (3-0) allowed one run in six innings. He gave up eight hits and struck out four.

“I felt my stuff was good. They were swinging it early and got some quick outs,” Walker said. “Our offense has been rolling — one through nine. My job was to go out there and try to put up as many zeros as possible because I knew they were going to put up runs.”

Philadelphia trailed 1-0 in the sixth before Realmuto’s RBI hit against Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo (0-3). Anthony Maldonado relieved Luzardo and allowed Alec Bohm’s two-out single and walked Nick Castellanos. Stott then hit a hard grounder over the bag at first that rolled to the wall and cleared the bases.

The Phillies broke it open with a four-run eighth. Stott and Pache hit RBI singles and Johan Rojas’ two-run single padded the lead.

“Luzardo was dominant early on but we were able to make adjustments,” Pache said. “Thank God we came out with the win.”

Otto López hit a two-run homer for Miami in the ninth.

Vidal Bruján put the Marlins ahead 1-0 in the fifth when he drove the first pitch from Walker over the wall in right-center for his first homer since Oct. 5, 2022, when he was with Tampa Bay.

Luzardo allowed two runs and four hits while striking out out eight in 5 2/3 innings. He had been sidelined since April 20 because of left elbow tightness.

“They have one of the strongest lineups in the major leagues and my job was to attack early,” Luzardo said. “I felt my body reacted well the entire game. It is something that we can build on for the next start.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: DH-OF Kyle Schwarber missed his first game of the season. Schwarber experienced back soreness during Friday’s series opener and was replaced late in the game.

Marlins: INF Tim Anderson (lower back tightness) was a late scratch. … LHP A.J. Puk (left shoulder fatigue) struck out the three batters he faced in a rehab appearance with Triple-A Jacksonville Friday.

UP NEXT

RHP Zack Wheeler (4-3, 1.64) will start for the Phillies as they seek a three-game sweep on Sunday. LHP Braxton Garrett will make his season debut for the Marlins. Garrett began the season on the injured list because of a left shoulder impingement.

UCF football picked up the first piece to its 2026 recruiting class with the commitment of 4-star receiver Keeyun Chapman on Saturday.

The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Chapman is a two-sport star at Jackson (Ala.) High School, where he plays varsity football and basketball for the Aggies.

This past season, Chapman played wideout and tight end, registering 546 yards on 18 catches with 9 touchdowns and a 30.3-yard average, helping Jackson to an 11-1 record and a spot in the 4A playoffs.

I don’t know who or what I miss more.

Norm Carlson …  or the era of sports journalism he represented.

Carlson — or Mr. C,  as he was known by some of us then-student journalists at the University of Florida — was the most media-friendly sports publicist I ever encountered and once upon a time gave us Gainesville sports writers and broadcasters unlimited access to the inner sanctum of Gators football.

Norm invited us to eat lunch with the head coach of the Gators every Tuesday and granted us exclusive one-on-one interviews with UF players every day after practice. He invited the professional journalists to a “press social” at the house of the head coach every Saturday night after home games where reporters would have a couple of beers with the coach and get the real story of what happened at the game a few hours earlier.

Those days died long ago.

Norm Carlson died on Friday.

He was 91.

Norm Carlson worked as the sports information director at the University of Florida for more than 40 years. (Photo courtesy of the University of Florida.)

You probably didn’t know Norm, but you should have. He is a UF legend who helped tell the story of Gators football in a bygone era before mega-million-dollar head coaches and mega-billion-dollar TV contracts.

Florida icon Steve Spurrier used to jokingly tell audiences on the Gator Club speaking tour that “when the University of Florida was moved from Lake City to Gainesville in 1906, Norm Carlson was driving the lead wagon.”

Actually, Norm didn’t begin working at his alma mater until 1963 and spent more than 40 years as the sports information director and assistant athletic director for communications. He attended nearly 500 consecutive UF games and more than 5,000 training sessions, where he would sit with the local media on the grass underneath an old oak tree and watch the Gators practice.

“I’m gonna miss Uncle Norm,” Spurrier said Friday night upon learning of Carlson’s death. “Everybody loved Norm. He built relationships with the media throughout the country.”

In fact, it was Norm who was largely responsible for helping Spurrier win the state’s first Heisman Trophy in 1966. Carlson worked the telephones every Monday, calling influential sports writers and Heisman voters from coast to coast to tell them of Spurrier’s exploits. He would also ship film of Spurrier’s highlights to TV stations across the nation.

Spurrier clinched the trophy in the seventh game that season when — even though he wasn’t the team’s regular kicker — he persuaded coach Ray Graves to let him attempt what was then considered an exceptionally long 40-yard field goal in the closing minutes against Auburn. Spurrier’s game-winning kick beat Auburn 30-27 in a game witnessed by many members of the national media whom Carlson persuaded to attend the game.

Atlanta Constitution writer John Logue famously wrote after the game: “Facing a firing squad — blindfolded with his back to the wall and his hands tied behind him — Steve Spurrier would be a two-point favorite at his own execution.”

Norm Carlson (left) with Steve Spurrier after Spurrier won the Heisman Trophy in 1966. (Photo courtesy of the University of Florida.)

 

Norm was also partly responsible for Spurrier giving UF’s football stadium the iconic nickname of “The Swamp.” When Spurrier was looking for a name that epitomized the intimidating nature of the stadium, Carlson pointed to a plaque he had hanging in his office. On the plaque was the inscription: “When you are up to your ass in alligators, it’s difficult to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp.”

And, thus, the Swamp was born.

Speaking of Carlson’s office, the door was literally always open. When I first started in the business, the Gators had a tiny media room on the third floor of the stadium, and Norm’s office was right down the hall.

Often as a young writer, I’d be sitting there in that media room struggling to craft an article and I’d walk unannounced through Norm’s open door to ask a historical question about UF or college football in general. Norm would automatically know the answer, and while you were talking to him, he might even give you a good angle for the story you were writing.

Recalls retired Gainesville Sun writer Robbie Andreu: “When I was a student, I started out as a part-time stringer covering the Gators for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. My first day on the job, Norm brought me up to his office and said, ‘Here’s some typing paper; there’s a typewriter down the hall and when you’re done with your story, we’ll send it [via the telecopier] for you.’ Norm didn’t know me at all, but he took care of me. He always took care of the local media.”

Norm, FSU’s Wayne Hogan and other college sports information directors of that era understood that the local writers and broadcasters were simply conduits to the fans and season-ticket holders. The more they helped the media tell the story of the team, the more interest it built among the fan base.

Joel Glass, the Orlando Magic’s chief communications officer, got his start in sports publicity while working underneath Carlson at UF. I consider Glass to be one of the best in the business because he often reaches out to the local media with what he thinks might be a good human-interest story about a Magic player or coach. Too many PR people think that sending out sanitized press releases or putting an athlete on a podium for a mass interview is the extent of their job.

“Mr. C taught us how to be storytellers,” Glass says. “He taught us that it wasn’t just the facts or the stats that people are going to remember, it’s the stories.”

Says John Heisler, who himself became a sports information legend at Notre Dame before recently wrapping up his career at UCF: “Back in the days before websites and cell phones, our whole job was media relations and helping the media figure out what to write about and what to talk about. … Norm Carlson was a pillar of the profession.”

When hearkening back to that era, Spurrier, too, seems a little wistful.

“Back in those days, we treated the local media like friends,” Spurrier says. “We invited them to practice and let ‘em interview any player they wanted to. I don’t know why it changed. Now it seems like everything has been shut down and coaches try to hide everything and are so guarded about what they say.”

There are still some college coaches like FSU’s Mike Norvell who  open up their practices and programs to the local media, but most don’t.  And, quite frankly, college programs don’t really need the local media anymore. They now have their own team websites where they can get their positive message out to the fans and accentuate the good news while burying the bad.

Colleges now understandably cater to the networks that pay them billions and not the local reporters who cover them daily.

I get it.

I’m not complaining.

Just reminiscing.

I miss “Breakfast with Bobby” when the media who covered FSU would show up at a local hotel every Sunday morning after a Saturday home game and share bacon and eggs with Bobby Bowden, who would fill our notebooks with quips and quotes and anecdotes.

I miss sitting with my sports-writing buddies and having lunch with Spurrier every Tuesday afternoon.

I miss sitting in the sun underneath the shade of an old oak tree and watching football practice.

But, sadly, that sun set long ago.

We not only mourn the loss of a man today but the passing a better era of sports journalism when Mr. C stood as a bespectacled beacon of openness and accessibility.

Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on X (formerly Twitter) @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen

The Hurricanes’ 2024 basketball recruiting class is already one of the best in program history, and it got deeper on Saturday.

Three-star combo guard Divine Ugochukwu is heading to Miami, announcing his decision on social media. UM announced he had signed is letter of intent, as well.

“Divine is great young prospect out of Houston, who had a tremendous senior season,” UM coach Jim Larrañaga said in a press release. “He is a high-IQ point guard with elite athleticism and a great feel for the game. We are very excited to add a player like Divine to our freshman class.”

Ugochukwu, who played for Clements High in Sugar Land, Texas, chose the Hurricanes over offers from Baylor and George Mason, among others. He is 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds. Ugochukwu is listed as the No. 35 combo guard and No. 274 player in the class, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings.

Ugochukwu averaged 17.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.4 rebounds in his senior season.

Ugochukwu is the fourth member of the recruiting class, joining five-star guard Jalil Bethea, four-star guard Austin Swartz and three-star forward Isaiah Johnson-Arigu.

#AGTG pic.twitter.com/bXx0NI9veU

— Divine Ugochukwu (@TheDivineUgo) May 11, 2024

General Daily Insight for May 11, 2024

Flowing feelings could get in the way of finding the best path forward now. While the gushing Cancer Moon disagrees with big-picture Pluto, trampling legitimate individual needs in a quest for the common good isn’t great, but letting a small group intimidate everyone else isn’t much of an improvement. When Luna squares irritable Mars at 2:36 pm EDT, it’ll be practically impossible to point out an imbalance without stepping on a few toes. Still, our criticism is potentially better out than in.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

Your desires likely loom large at the moment, but perhaps it’s hard for you to admit that honestly. Due to the delicate Moon in your vulnerable 4th house tangling with overbearing Pluto in your social sector, it’s potentially easier to hide behind the perceived authority of a large group of people as you push for a certain outcome. It may or may not actually be true that “everyone else” agrees with you. Either way, you still have a right to want what you want!

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

Resentment could sneak out in your speech today. As the sensitive Moon in your communication sector provokes aggressive Mars in your 12th House of Secrets, any efforts to hide your emotions when you interact with others probably won’t be entirely successful. You can feel however you feel, but you might benefit from pondering a few facets of the situation. You’re doomed to be disappointed if your unspoken expectations involve maintaining an unrealistic level of control. Grieve the loss of your fantasy, and then move on.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

Buying a sense of sophistication might seem like an appealing prospect now. While the nervous Moon in your money zone fusses at pushy Pluto in your exotic 9th house, you may worry that your peers don’t see you as cultured enough. In your desperation to correct that impression, an impulse purchase could seem like a way out. Be realistic about what this effort is equipped to achieve in the long term, though it is plausible that the temporary ego boost will be worth it!

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

A poorly defined commitment to someone else could be holding you back. Check in with yourself — do you typically accept that a lot goes unsaid between the two of you? This approach often works until it doesn’t. At this point, breaking out of the impasse might not be possible without a bit of chaos. Sometimes you must clear the air, even if it causes a storm. It’s okay — this emotional upheaval won’t last forever for you or anyone else involved.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

Knowing that a secret is being kept could put tension on your whole day. While the tender Moon in your privacy zone disagrees with bombastic Mars in your dogmatic 9th house, you may believe that someone else has a moral obligation to disclose certain information that they’re cagey about. Would convincing them to do what you want actually lead to a better outcome in the real world, though? Life is messy sometimes — know when to bend the rules a little.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Your responsibilities may seem to get in the way of your social life at present. They could also make for a convenient excuse to skip an engagement you weren’t that excited about in the first place. This dodge is probably less uncomfortable than a direct confrontation for everyone involved. Still, as the connection-craving Moon in your community zone pokes assertive Mars in your intimacy sector, your strategy may not go unnoticed. Do what you must, but understand that others will draw their own conclusions.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

Letting a private fight become public could be a relief for you now. While the expressive Moon in your visible 10th house disagrees with combative Mars in your relationship zone, you may not be ashamed to have the world find out about a messy conflict you’re involved in. You might believe that everyone will take your side! This approach isn’t always wrong, but be aware of what you’re doing — whatever happens next, you probably can’t claim to be totally innocent.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

The world probably isn’t living up to your expectations at this time. As the sentimental Moon in your philosophical 9th house stirs up toxic Pluto in your 4th House of Roots, whatever is upsetting you might also awaken memories of an early betrayal you experienced. Confronting someone about their irresponsibility may indeed be necessary, so brace yourself! For best results, however, try to keep that conversation focused on the present — you can delve deeper into the messy history on your own time.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

Finding the right level of emotional intimacy with a significant person in your life could be a challenge now. Things feel either too close for comfort or too distant! Either way, dropping pointed hints isn’t likely to bring about the change you crave. You may need to clearly say what you want before you explode. Try to avoid emphasizing blame for what the other individual has done wrong in the past — focus on what you hope to experience going forward.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

Conflict regarding money could currently weigh on a close relationship of yours. Even if you’re correct that the other person’s impulsive approach isn’t likely to lead to a good end, that’s not necessarily your only concern about them. Your other issue might be less logical, especially while the vulnerable Moon in your relationship zone agitates demanding Mars in your 4th House of Nourishment. You may worry that your connection lacks emotional security. Do your best to separate your grievances before you start any arguments.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Loading yourself up with too many responsibilities has the potential to go wrong with little warning. While the devoted Moon in your productive 6th house mismatches with domineering Pluto in your sign, you might be overcommitted for psychological reasons. Perhaps it makes you feel powerful to have the whole world on your shoulders! If you get the idea that your diligent effort gives you the right to say nasty things to others, however, you’ve probably gone too far. Know when to take a break.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

A provocation that threatens your self-worth could set you off at any moment. As the emotional Moon in your expressive 5th house conflicts with complicated Pluto in your 12th House of Secrets, you might not typically talk about the topic that’s been raised because it’s uncomfortable. You may need to say something to save face at this point, though. Even if you don’t share every detail, air enough of your side of the story to justify why you’ve handled things the way you have.

At the start of Game 3, as if to set the table for this night, Boston captain Brad Marchand leaned into Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov at the opening face-off with some choice words.

“Wanna go?” he said.

He wanted to fight Barkov right then, right there. Surely he was setting some “tone” or making some “statement” he thought important. Maybe he wanted to pick up this night where Game 2 ended, which was with an undercard of fights topped by the Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk flattening Boston’s David Pastrnak.

“No,’’ Barkov said to Marchand, smartly shaking his head.

By night’s end, Marchand was out of the game after being hit cleanly by Sam Bennett, Barkov had set up two goals, the Panthers’ power-play made Boston pay for its undisciplined play and the Panthers survived a late Boston rally to win in Boston, 6-2.

Wanna go?

Yeah, go up 2-1 in the series. Go into Game 4 on Sunday night with full momentum. Go playing their disciplined game that has limited Boston to 31 shots the past two games combined.

How do you enter the lion’s den, answer the bully, keep your cool and send the only message that matters in postseason play?

You dominate play in the manner the Panthers did in Game 3. You get the lead on a goal from Evan Rodrigues. You hold Boston to a measly three shots in the first period, none of them threatening. You outshoot them 24-8 after two periods.

“We just played our game,’’ Rodrigues said.

Boston fans came loaded with hometown anger after the manner the Panthers didn’t just beat Boston in Game 2 but beat them up in that wonderfully messy end.

Boston heavyweight Pat Maroon talked earlier Friday about how it was “dirty” that Tkachuk punched an ice-bound Pastrnak. That led to the strategic targeting of Barkov, the Panthers best player and, like Pastrnak, a skilled pacifist.

Charlie Coyle tried to mix it up with Barkov in the opening face-off circle and demanded he leave the circle. Marchand then stepped in with his offer.

Boston didn’t stop there. Morgan Geekie took a couple runs at Barkov, one of which resulted in a penalty. That’s one way to get back at a team.

The other, better way? Win.

“It wasn’t even brought up,’’ Bennett said when asked if the Panthers plotted to be more physical after Game 2. “No one was even worried about retribution. We were worried about winning.’’

Bennett had been out since taking a rifled puck to his wrist in the opening playoff game against Tampa Bay.

Bennett flattened Pastrnak in the first period with a sternum-thumping collision. Marchand took a run at Bennett, too. Bennett’s return hit left Marchand crumpled on the ice and in pain on the bench. He returned to the game but was a no-show by the third period.

“I love playoff hockey,’’ Bennett said. “It’s a little faster, more physical and every play is a little bit more important.”

It was everyone, everywhere like that for the Panthers. The fourth-line center, Steven Lorentz, contributed again in a different way. He had the Panthers opening goal in Game 2 to bring them back from a 1-0 deficit.

Now he took a high stick to the mouth from Boston defenseman Mason Lohrei. He was bloodied. Boston, too, would be thanks to Lohrei’s four-minute penalty.

Did Boston’s over-emotional edge this night lead to that penalty? Probably not. Lohrei just didn’t control his stick properly.

A minute apart, Vladimir Tarasenko and Carter Verhaeghe scored on the Panthers power play to make it 3-0. Brandon Montour scored early in the third period on another power play and it was over except for a Boston rally that briefly cut it to 4-2.

In the aftermath, Panthers coach Paul Maurice was asked about Marchand leaning into Barkov before that opening face-off.

“I don’t know what they’re discussing at the start,’’ Maurice said. “It’s not what Barky does for a living. I think he leads our team in hits. (But) he has a job. (Fighting) isn’t his.”

Go? Does Barkov want to go?

Sure, like all of the Panthers, he wants to go to the next round.

 

 

By JIMMY GOLEN (AP Sports Writer)

BOSTON (AP) — The Florida Panthers pounced on the power play, scoring twice on a Bruins double-minor — and four goals in all with a man advantage — to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Vladimir Tarasenko and Carter Verhaeghe scored 1 minute apart on the same power play, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 14 shots to lead the Panthers to a 6-2 victory over Bruins on Friday night. It was Florida’s second straight six-goal game, helped by Mason Lohrei’s high stick that hit Panthers forward Steven Lorentz in the face and drew blood.

“That was a huge opportunity for us. And we knew it, and we capitalized,” said Florida center Sam Bennett, who returned after missing four games with an undisclosed injury. “Power-play goals in the playoffs, they can be hard to come by at times. Our power play did a great job of bearing down and getting two very important goals at an important part of the game.”

Power-play goals have been especially hard to come by against Boston, which killed off 27 of its first 28 penalties in this year’s postseason. The Panthers have now scored in five of their last seven power-play opportunities in the series.

“I’ve been far more bullish on our power play than the stats — or at least the goals — would tell you,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “It’s easy to say now, ‘Well, it’s just a matter of time.’ But if you keep doing the right things over and over again, you’re going to have a good night. And I think we saved those up.”

Evan Rodrigues scored twice, and Brandon Montour also connected for the Panthers, who have won back-to-back games after dropping the opener at home. A 6-1 winner Wednesday night, Florida scored 10 straight goals before Jakub Lauko made it 4-1 early in the third and Jake DeBrusk followed with 11:31 left to make it a two-goal game.

But Boston, which played the final 20 minutes without captain and No. 2 scorer Brad Marchand, could get no closer before Sam Reinhart added an empty-netter with 1:24 left. Rodrigues scored again — Florida’s fourth power-play goal of the game — in the final minute.

Now the Bruins need a win at home Sunday night to avoid a 3-1 deficit heading back to Florida for Game 5.

“Florida was good. We weren’t. We move onto the next game,” said Bruins coach Jim Montgomery, who will have to decide whether to turn to Linus Ullmark, who alternated with Jeremy Swayman for almost the entire season before Boston abandoned the rotation in the playoffs. “It’s too early to be able to talk about changes.”

Swayman stopped 27 shots for Boston, which was outshot 13-3 in the first period and 33-16 overall. Things got worse when Marchand, who seemed to struggle after a first-period hit by Bennett, did not return for the third period.

But that turned out to be the only competitive period for the Bruins.

“I thought we rallied because of our captain,” Montgomery said. “I thought that (David Pastrnak) and Charlie McEvoy did a great job with him not being on the bench. I thought our players all elevated and we competed like Brad Marchand would.”

After splitting the first two games on their home ice, the Panthers made it 1-0 after eight minutes when Rodrigues knocked a puck out of the air and past Swayman. It stayed that way until Lohrei hit Lorentz in the mouth with his stick late in the second.

With 23 seconds left in the first half of the penalty, Tarasenko beat Swayman with a wrist shot from the left circle — with an assist from Sam Bennett, who was back in in the lineup for the first time since Game 2 of the first-round series against Tampa Bay. Verhaeghe scored a minute later to make it 3-0.

Early in the third, Lauko was sent off for interfering with the goalie. The Bruins howled that he was shoved into Bobrovsky by Aaron Ekblad, and fans threw water bottles and giveaway towels onto the ice, delaying the game for a few minutes.

But when the debris was clear, Montour scored to give Florida a 4-0 lead.

___

AP NHL playoffs:https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

By ALANIS THAMES (AP Sports Writer)

MIAMI (AP) — Ranger Suárez pitched seven scoreless innings, Nick Castellanos and Johan Rojas hit solo homers, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 8-2 Friday night.

The game was played in front of a crowd of 15,119, the majority appearing to cheer for Philadelphia in Miami’s first home game since trading two-time batting champion Luis Arraez to the Padres on May 4. Before the game, a handful of longtime Marlins fans gathered outside loanDepot Park to protest the state of the franchise.

Suárez (7-0), whose 1.50 ERA is the second-lowest in MLB, allowed just three hits while striking out nine and walking two.

“I just try to focus as I always do,” Suárez said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a good team or bad team. We’re in the big leagues. All teams are dangerous.”

Suárez has allowed just nine runs through 54 innings this season, including a career-high 32-inning scoreless streak in April that tied for the fifth-longest in franchise history. He’s the first MLB pitcher to reach seven wins this season.

“I think this is the best run he’s been on, no doubt about it,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He’s really been focused and locked in. Very consistent.”

Gregory Soto replaced Suárez in the eighth and allowed a two-run double to Josh Bell that ended the shutout bid.

Rojas and J.T. Realmuto each had three of Philadelphia’s 15 hits. Bryce Harper had two hits, including an RBI double. Kyle Schwarber and Cristian Pache had two apiece.

Castellanos opened the scoring in the second when he hammered starter Trevor Roger’s first-pitch changeup 400 feet to right-center for his third home run of the season. Rojas hit an RBI single off Rogers later in the inning, then homered off reliever Eli Villalobos in the seventh to put Philadelphia up 7-0.

The Phillies built a five-run lead in the fourth against Rogers (0-6). Pache doubled to drive in leadoff hitter Whit Merrifield, who reached on a fielding error by third baseman Jake Burger, and Schwarber drove in two with a grounder to right. Rogers was lifted after intentionally walking Harper a couple batters later, a move that was met with a host of boos.

The Marlins 26-year-old left-hander gave up nine hits, five runs — four earned — walked two and struck out three.

A frustrated Rogers could be seen slamming his glove on the ground, throwing his cap and swatting at some cups in the dugout following the outing.

“We’re a good group of guys in there,” Rogers said. “We’re all just (upset) at how things have gone. When we hit, we can’t pitch. When we pitch, we can’t hit. Me going out there and laying an egg doesn’t help any. What (upsets) me the most is I can’t give my team a chance.”

Bryan De La Cruz doubled off Suárez in the first, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Christian Bethancourt added Miami’s other hits against Suárez. Chisholm moved to 300 career hits with his double in the seventh.

The Marlins dropped to 1-6 since the Arraez trade.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: Schwarber did not bat in the ninth because of back soreness. Thomson said the team will check him out on Saturday but will be “very cautious.”

Marlins: Left-hander Jesus Luzardo (elbow strain) is getting closer to a return after going on the injured list on April 26.

UP NEXT

Right-hander Taijuan Walker (2-0, 6.39) will start for the Phillies on Saturday. The Marlins have not named a starter.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

By KEN SWEET (AP Business Writer)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge in Texas temporarily halted a plan by the Biden administration to lower late fees on credit cards to $8 that was slated to go into effect next week.

The temporary nationwide injunction imposed by Judge Mark Pittman in the Northern District of Texas is a win for the big banks and major credit card companies, which collect billions in revenue each year in late fees and were looking to stop the proposal from going into effect. It is also a win for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which led the lawsuit on behalf of the banks.

The new regulations that were proposed by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would have set a ceiling of $8 for most credit card late fees or require banks to show why they should charge more than $8 for such a fee.

The rule would bring the average credit card late fee down from $32. The bureau estimates banks bring in roughly $14 billion in credit card late fees a year.

White House spokesperson Jeremy Edwards said in a statement Friday night, “We are disappointed that a court sided with House Republicans, big banks and special interests to hit pause on a critical measure to save American families billions in junk fees.”

Banks had sued to stop the lawsuit earlier this year, but they had run into a roadblock when Pittman ordered the case moved to Washington, D.C., because of the fact that few banks operate in northern Texas. However, an appeals court reversed most of Pittman’s decision and ordered him to rule on the bank’s request for an injunction.

While Pittman did impose the injunction, he used a significant portion of his order to chastise the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for sending this case back to him after he had already ruled that the case should be handled out of Washington. Critics of the lawsuit have called the case the latest example of judicial “forum shopping,” where a company files a lawsuit in a friendly district in order to have a greater likelihood of getting a favorable ruling.

As part of his reelection campaign, President Joe Biden has tried to highlight his administration’s push to clamp down on what he calls “junk fees,” which are bank-related fees like late fees, ATM fees and overdraft fees.

“Every month that the credit card late fee rule is blocked will cost Americans over $800 million,” the White House said Friday.

Banks have seen the campaign as a political battle against their business model, while consumer advocates have seen these bank fees as excessive based on the amount of risk that banks and credit card companies are taking on.

“In their latest in a stack of lawsuits designed to pad record corporate profits at the expense of everyone else, the U.S. Chamber got its way for now — ensuring families get price-gouged a little longer with credit card late fees as high as $41,” said Liz Zelnick with Accountable.US.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 45-year-old man has pleaded guilty in the theft of a bronze Jackie Robinson statue that was cut off at the ankles and found days later smoldering in a trash can in a city park in Kansas.

Ricky Alderete entered the plea during his arraignment Thursday. A judge signed off on it Friday.

Authorities arrested him in February, with court records alleging he entered a Wichita home with the intent to kidnap someone as part of an effort to interfere with law enforcement.

He then was charged later that month with felony theft and aggravated criminal damage to property in the statue theft, along with two other counts. Police said there was no evidence it was a hate-motivated crime. Rather, the intent was to sell the metal for scrap, police said.

The bronze statue was cut from its base in January at a park in Wichita, Kansas. Only the statue’s feet were left at McAdams Park, where about 600 children play in a youth baseball league called League 42. It is named after Robinson’ s uniform number with the Brooklyn Dodgers, with whom he broke the major leagues’ color barrier in 1947.

Fire crews found burned remnants of the statue five days later while responding to a trash can fire at another park about 7 miles (11.27 kilometers) away.

Alderete had a criminal record that includes burglary and theft, state correction department records show. His sentencing in the latest case is set for July 1.

Donations poured in after the theft, approaching $300,000, and work is underway to replace it.

Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers, paving the way for generations of Black American ballplayers. He is considered not only a sports legend but also a civil rights icon. Robinson died in 1972.

By FATIMA HUSSEIN, SEUNG MIN KIM, AAMER MADHANI and DIDI TANG (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration plans to impose major new tariffs on electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar equipment and medical supplies imported from China, according to a U.S. official and another person familiar with the plan.

Tariffs on electric vehicles, in particular, could quadruple — from the existing 25% to 100%. The plan was described by the people on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details ahead of a formal announcement.

The tariffs, expected to be announced Tuesday, come as officials across the Democratic administration have expressed frustration over China’s manufacturing “overcapacity” of EVs and other products that they say pose a threat to U.S. jobs and national security.

Industrialized nations including the United States and its European allies fear a wave of low-priced Chinese exports will overwhelm domestic manufacturing. On the U.S. side, there is particular concern that China’s green energy products will undermine massive climate-friendly investments made through the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden signed into law in August 2022.

The additional tariffs also carry some political heft going into the November presidential election. Both Biden and his presumptive Republican challenger, former President Donald Trump, have told voters that they’ll be tough on China, the world’s second largest economy after the United States and an emerging geopolitical rival.

Biden has defined his policy as “competition with China, not conflict.” He has embraced an industrial strategy that has used government financial support to pull in private investment in new factories and advanced technology, while limiting the selling of computer chips and other equipment to China.

Trump has floated the idea of levying massive tariffs against China in order to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with that country. He has repeatedly claimed that Biden’s support for EVs would ultimately cause American factory jobs to go to China.

Tuesday’s announcement is expected to keep in place some tariffs that were imposed during Trump’s administration, covering about $360 billion in Chinese goods. The new tax on imports would add products such as Chinese syringes and solar equipment.

There is the risk that tariffs could lead to a broader trade conflict between the two countries as they respond to each other’s moves. China is seeking to create a technological edge and move up the economic chain.

There are some indications that China is cooling its production of lithium-ion batteries used in EVs, cell phones and other consumer electronics at a time when it is facing increasing criticism from the West.

On Wednesday, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a draft rule aimed at “strengthening the management of the lithium-ion battery industry and promoting the sector’s high-quality growth.”

The draft, which was posted on the ministry’s website for public input, says companies should be striving for better technological innovation, higher quality and lower costs, rather than expanding existing capacity.

Lithium battery plants built in restricted farmlands or industrial zones should be shut down, the draft says.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai is conducting a review of the Trump-era tariffs, and Republican lawmakers including House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith and Trade Subcommittee Chair Adrian Smith are urging a “swift conclusion” to the probe.

“Continued inaction on the four year review poses serious risks for U.S. farmers, manufacturers, innovators, small businesses and workers,” they wrote in a letter to Tai this week.

Meanwhile, Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown said in a tweet on Friday that “Tariffs are not enough. We need to ban Chinese EVs from the US. Period.”

The Biden administration has also said it will investigate Chinese-made “smart cars” that can gather sensitive information about Americans driving them. The Commerce Department in February issued a notice of a proposed rulemaking that launches an investigation into national security risks posed by “connected vehicles” from China and other countries considered hostile to the United States.

There currently are very few EVs from China in the U.S., but officials worry that low-priced models could soon start flooding the U.S. market, even with a 25% tariff.

A car model launched last year by Chinese automaker BYD sells for around $12,000 in China. The car’s craftsmanship rivals U.S.-made EVs that cost three or four times as much — and is stoking fear in the U.S. industry.

The Alliance for American Manufacturing — an alliance of businesses and the U.S. Steelworkers union — released a report in February that says the introduction of inexpensive Chinese autos to the American market “could end up being an extinction-level event for the U.S. auto sector.” The U.S. auto sector accounts for 3% of America’s GDP, according to the report.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who traveled to Guangzhou and Beijing in early April, cited the manufacturing of electric vehicles and their batteries as well as solar energy equipment — sectors that the U.S. administration is trying to promote domestically — as areas where Chinese government subsidies have driven rapid expansion of production.

“China is now simply too large for the rest of the world to absorb this enormous capacity. Actions taken by the PRC today can shift world prices,” she said during a speech delivered in Beijing in April, using the acronym for China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

“And when the global market is flooded by artificially cheap Chinese products, the viability of American and other foreign firms is put into question.”

The plan for new tariffs was reported earlier by Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal.

—

Associated Press reporter Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump’s 18-year-old son, Barron, has declined an offer from the Florida Republican Party to serve as a delegate to his father’s nominating convention in July.

“While Barron is honored to have been chosen as a delegate by the Florida Republican Party, he regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments,” a spokesperson for former First Lady Melania Trump’s office said in a statement on Friday, according to CBS News.

Barron Trump was one of four of Trump’s children named as a Florida delegate this week, along with Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump. Eric Trump will lead the delegation in Milwaukee, and Donald Trump Jr.’s fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle, was chosen to co-lead the party platform committee.

Barron Trump, who is scheduled to receive his high school diploma on May 17, would have been making his official debut as a political figure with the appointment.

Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social site that his election interference trial in New York could force him to miss Barron’s graduation, though the judge in the case told lawyers that the Friday date should not be a problem.

Trump is scheduled to appear at a Minnesota GOP dinner that same day, according to radio station KFGO.

 

Hawaii may be famous for its crystalline waters, multi-hued beaches, lush rainforests and Polynesian vibe, but its cowboy culture is not to be missed.

Heaps of delicious food and dancing usually translate to a luau in Hawaii, but on the Big Island, it can also mean the Paniolo Sunset BBQ dinner in the rolling green pastures of Waimea. The weekly dinner and dancing event at Kahua Ranch is inspired by the Hawaiian Islands’ long history of cattle ranching, which reaches all the way back to King Kamehameha I.

The view from Kahua Ranch stretches across rolling green pastures all the way to the ocean. (photo by Darleene Powells)

In an entertaining account from Big Island country singer Dave Toland, cattle arrived in the Hawaiian Islands as a gift from British explorer Captain George Vancouver to the king in the late 1700s. That one bull and six cows grew to become a major industry out of Hawaii, which is historically better known for its sugar cane plantations.

‘Paniolo’ refers to cowboys in Hawaiian, and according to Toland, the word came from the interaction between Mexican vaqueros who arrived to assist the burgeoning industry and Hawaiians who did not yet know how to wrangle cattle.

“When them vaqueros came over here, they were called Espanols, and they spoke what they call Espanol,” Toland said. “Well, they couldn’t speak a word of Hawaiian. And them Hawaiian folks, they couldn’t speak one word of Espanol. And the problem is that in the Hawaiian alphabet, there ain’t no S. So when the Hawaiians tried to pronounce Espanol, it came out paniolo.”

Two people pose as a third snaps a photo of them against the setting sun on the Big Island of Hawaii. (photo by Darleene Powells)

I heard the brief history lesson over the flames of a fire pit, not far from an overlook with expansive views of rolling green hills stretching all the way to the ocean. The views can deliver spectacular sunsets thanks to Hawaii microclimates that can bring cream puff clouds over the horizon and, occasionally, a rainbow over the hills.

Dinner, eaten at communal tables, is a tightly curated menu of delicious offerings – prime rib, barbecue chicken, asparagus, potatoes, baked beans, sweet rolls and salad. Dessert recently included thick brownie slabs and macadamia nut pie. Alcohol is served at a cash bar, while water, canned sodas and fruit juices, coffee, and hot chocolate are free.

The plates are heaped high with food at the Paniolo Sunset BBQ dinner on the Big Island of Hawaii. (photo by Darleene Powells)

Multiple trips to the food table are encouraged, but given the large oval plates and heaping servings given on the first round, another trip may not be necessary. All that food can be worked off with some line dancing to live music, a game of horseshoes or cornhole, or attempting to learn how to rope a steer. Attendees can also brand a piece of wood as a souvenir, grab a freshly made s’more, or take advantage of the 2,000-foot elevation to view the stars  – if they’re lucky, an astronomer might be on hand with a powerful telescope.

Guests of the Paniolo Sunset BBQ Dinner enjoy some line dancing after the meal. (photo by Darleene Powells)

The three-hour dinner is priced at $85 per adult and $42.50 per child over 5 years old. For comparison, admission to a luau on the Big Island starts at $130+ per person.

Most of the year, the Paniolo Sunset BBQ Dinner occurs weekly on Wednesdays, but Monday nights are added during the summer tourist season. Reservations must be made in advance online.

General Daily Insight for May 10, 2024

Today, we’re all prone to emotional frustration. As the tightly wound Gemini Moon squares repressive Saturn, answers probably won’t come as quickly as we want them. The bright side is that when Luna sextiles verbal Mercury, this delay might give us an opportunity to articulate our concerns. Still, our imaginations can run away with us while the Moon squares hazy Neptune. Once Luna slips into comfortable Cancer at 11:13 pm EDT, things could get less complicated. Resolution may be as simple as following what feels good!

Aries

March 21 – April 19

Small talk could fail to satisfy your need for connection. Pushing yourself to engage with the people around you in a lighthearted way might make you feel worse, since it risks making you increasingly aware of some heavy subject that you’re doing your best to avoid discussing. Quality is probably more important than quantity in your ongoing interactions. After the sensitive Moon shifts into your nourishing 4th house, identify who you can let your hair down with. Focus your efforts there.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

Your insecurities could be at a high point now. As the anxious Moon in your 2nd House of Resources snaps at judgy Saturn in your friendship zone, you may feel like there’s something wrong with you because you haven’t met certain financial milestones that your peers apparently have. It’s also probably tough to get a totally accurate view of what’s going on with your pals. Journaling or talking out your fears with a neutral third party can help you see how realistic they are.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

Power struggles are likely at the moment. You may feel held back by some authority figure who isn’t willing to give you straight answers. This person could maintain control of their perceived turf by keeping key information vague. After the attentive Moon moves into your resource zone, you might have a better grasp on the possibilities that are within your territory. Although this won’t necessarily give you the thrill of a dramatic confrontation, it can at least bring you achievable progress.

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

Holding yourself to a strict belief system could fuel your insecurities at present. Paradoxically, while the nervous Moon in your fearful 12th house agitates fuzzy Neptune in your philosophy zone, some of these same views may not even be very well defined. Looking harder for clarity might ask something from you — you’ll probably have to use thoughtful discernment to decide which of your past opinions you still agree with. As a result, however, you should end up able to carry yourself with greater confidence!

Leo

July 23 – August 22

Maintaining boundaries with your friends could be awkward at the moment. As the curious Moon in your wide-open 11th house provokes cagey Saturn in your intimacy sector, maybe you’d be okay with a particular pal knowing a specific piece of personal information about you under different circumstances. Right now, though, the context of your conversation could set off inner alarms. Taking the issue up in private might be useful. This is an opportunity to clarify expectations in a way that can ultimately strengthen your relationship.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

An emotional power play may set the tone in a close relationship of yours at this time. You could feel compelled to relax a boundary of yours because it upsets the other person too much. Once the impressionable Moon enters your 11th House of Community, you might want to ask around to find out whether this dynamic is common among your peers. You’re not required to copy your community exactly, but solely knowing where the normal lines are could validate your impressions.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

A longing for adventure could tempt you away from today’s responsibilities. The real problem is possibly that you feel like you aren’t getting enough results to show for the work you regularly put in. After the perceptive Moon pivots into your powerful 10th house, you may want to shine some light on your larger goals and how your daily tasks bring you closer to meeting them. Feeling like you have more connection to the outcome you experience should boost your motivation!

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

You may be emotionally wound up about a difficult problem at this time. Although your effort to resolve things is likely making slow progress, it’s okay if a complete fix just isn’t currently possible. Once the potent Moon powers into your 9th House of Travel, a change of scenery might succeed in helping you break out of a mental rut. Merely seeing that life goes on in the rest of the world in spite of whatever is bothering you could give you valuable perspective.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

Rigid roles could be sucking the air out of a close relationship of yours. Maybe you find it comforting to know exactly what’s expected of you. If you find yourself getting easily irritated with the other person, though, it’s possible that you’re also bored with the status quo. It’s hard to know in advance exactly what will happen if you take the risk of sharing that feeling. All things considered, the potential reward is at least worth chewing on in your thoughts.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

You’re capable of intense focus on your work today. As the devoted Moon in your productive 6th house conflicts with reserved Saturn in your communication sector, perhaps you’re honestly just quite fascinated with what you’re doing — you probably don’t intend for your avoidance of conversation to be seen as a personal attack against anyone else. That said, a loved one might still feel slighted because they crave your attention. Consider intentionally making time for them when you’re done with your tasks.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Worries regarding money could cut into your ability to have fun at the moment. Before you can do anything about the issue, you may need to admit, at least to yourself, that this upsets you. Repressing your fears won’t make them go away — especially if they’re founded in legitimate concerns! Once the nurturing Moon shifts into your practical 6th house, you’ll likely see some potential solutions. Taking action, no matter how small, should allow you to get a better grip on the situation.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

You may currently be conflicted about the image you want to portray to the world. Perhaps you’d like to be seen as nurturing and caring. However, you might realize a more serious persona is necessary to achieve the practical results you seek. Although your deliberations could be focused on what seems to be best for everyone else, you’d be wise to look inward as well. Other people have their own lives, and you deserve freedom to express your whole self — including your softer side!

GAINESVILLE — Florida lacrosse star Emily Heller arrived May 29, 2001, one minute prior to sister Hannah as their mother, Diane, delivered twins via C-section.

The race was on.

These days, the No. 9 Gators are following the lead of the two speedy sisters.

The Hellers’ competitive spirit, athletic prowess and unwavering connection have helped spur Amanda O’Leary’s senior-laden squad to a school-record 17-game winning streak entering Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener with No. 16 UNC — the last team to defeat UF, 19-10, on Feb. 17.

“It was eating me all season; that’s the game I like wanted back so badly,” Emily Heller told The Orlando Sentinel. “There’s not many chances where you get to redeem yourself.”

Hannah Heller (left) and twin sister Emily share a moment during the Gators’ game against Arizona State on March 3. (Courtesy of UF’s University Athletic Association)

Even rarer are twin sisters who spent four seasons at different schools before reuniting for one last hurrah.

The NCAA’s COVID-19 waiver allowed Hannah Heller to transfer from UMass to UF, where her “older” sister had evolved into one of the most complete players in school history.

“We never planned on playing together again,” Hannah said. “I’m very grateful. It almost gives you like flashbacks to high school and when we were younger.”

During separate interviews staged an hour apart, the sisters called the experience, “a full-circle moment” — an example of the Hellers’ penchant to echo each other.

“I feel like I almost know what she’s thinking,” Emily said.

Florida midfielder Emily Heller is one of three players in program history with 100 goals, 100 ground balls and 200 draw controls. (Courtesy of UF’s University Athletic Association)

Together, the Hellers have spelled double trouble for Florida’s foes.

Emily is one of three players in program history with 100 goals, 100 ground balls and 200 draw controls.

“I like to do a little bit of everything,” she said. “I help out where it’s needed — just be everywhere.”

Hannah is a lockdown defender also able to ignite the Gators’ transition game through the midfield.

“Hannah has the ability to shut down any attacker that she wants,” O’Leary said.

The Hellers’ games are built on grit, athleticism and alacrity.

“There’s one common question that always everyone asks is, ‘Who’s faster?’” Hannah said.

Florida midfielder Hannah Heller has been a defensive stalwart for the No. 9 Gators, winners of a school-record 17 straight games entering a matchup with No. 16 UNC to open the NCAA Tournament. (Courtesy of UF’s University Athletic Association Communications)

Emily doesn’t give an inch to anyone, even her twin. She also gives credit where due.

“Em doesn’t like to lose at anything,” O’Leary said. “But I’m glad she gave Hannah the nod, because she’s faster.”

The Hellers have pushed each other since Day 1, with a future together in sports preordained at their West Babylon, N.Y. home.

Mike, their father, played football at Penn State as did his brother Ron, who went on to play offensive tackle for 12 NFL seasons. Emily’s and Hannah’s paternal grandfather has grandchildren who earned Division I scholarships.

Early on, the twins played soccer and basketball before trying lacrosse in the third grade.

“I didn’t necessarily want to do it, but Emily was like, ‘No, we’re going to do it,’” Hannah recalled. “I was like, ‘OK, whatever, we’ll just do the same thing.’”

Success, scholarship offers and ultimately a difficult decision followed. After making official visits together, the Hellers chose different paths.

Hannah opted for UMass, four hours north of their Long Island home and less than 25,000 students for a more intimate setting. Emily headed a 1,000 miles south to a massive university with an athletic department anchored by a big-time football program.

The Hellers overcame separation anxiety to excel in new surroundings. Yet, the chance to play together again offered a fitting climax to their careers.

“We’re both our own person,” Hannah said. “But we complete each other, too.”

O’Leary calls the reunion, “a dream come true for the parents.”

The Gators aim to keep their dream season alive. Since 13-12 overtime win Feb. 24 against No. 5 Maryland ignited the record run, Florida has outscored opponents by an average of 13 goals.

“I love the wave that we’re riding,” O’Leary said.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

By AAMER MADHANI, ZEKE MILLER and JULIA FRANKEL (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have long managed a complicated relationship, but they’re running out of space to maneuver as their views on the Gaza war diverge and their political futures hang in the balance.

Their ties have hit a low point as Biden holds up the delivery of heavy bombs to Israel — and warns that the provision of artillery and other weaponry also could be suspended if Netanyahu moves forward with a widescale operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Netanyahu, for his part, is brushing off Biden’s warnings and vowing to press ahead, saying, “If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone.”

“If we need to, we will fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than fingernails,” he said.

Biden has long prided himself on being able to manage Netanyahu more with carrots than sticks. But the escalation of friction over the past seven months suggests that his approach may be long past its best-by date.

With both men balancing an explosive Mideast situation against their own domestic political problems, Netanyahu has grown increasingly resistant to Biden’s public charm offensives and private pleading, prompting the president’s more assertive pushback in the past several weeks.

“If they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem,” Biden said in a CNN interview Wednesday, laying bare his growing differences with Netanyahu.

Biden aides nonetheless insist the president is unwilling to allow the U.S.-Israel relationship to truly rupture on his watch. They cite not only the political imperative — a majority of Americans support Israel — but also Biden’s personal history with the country and his belief in its right to defend itself.

The president’s aides, watching how pro-Palestinian protests have roiled his party and the college campuses that have been breeding grounds for Democratic voters, have mused for months that Biden could be the last classically pro-Israel Democrat in the White House.

Their optimism about their ability to contain Netanyahu may be falling into the same trap that has vexed a long line of American presidents who have clashed with the Israeli leader over the decades.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby on Thursday declined to say whether Biden informed Netanyahu of his decision to suspend shipment of 3,500 bombs when the leaders spoke earlier this week. But he said Biden has been “direct and forthright” with Netanyahu about his concerns.

Biden and Netanyahu have known each other since Biden was a young senator and Netanyahu was a senior official in Israel’s embassy in Washington.

They’ve hit rough patches before.

There were differences over Israel building settlements in the West Bank during Barack Obama’s administration when Biden was vice president. Later, Netanyahu vehemently opposed Biden’s push to resurrect the Iran nuclear deal sealed by Obama and scrapped by Donald Trump. Netanyahu chafed at Biden prodding him to de-escalate tensions during Israel’s bloody 11-day war with Hamas in 2021.

The leaders went more than a month earlier this year without talking as Biden’s frustration with Netanyahu grew over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The relationship remained workable despite such differences between the center-left Democrat and the leader of the most far-right coalition government in Israel’s history.

But with the Biden-Netanyahu relationship now coming under greater strain than ever before, it is unclear how the leaders will move forward.

Netanyahu is caught between public pressure for a hostage deal and hard-liners in his coalition who want him to expand the Rafah invasion, despite global alarm about the harm it could do to some 1.3 million Palestinians sheltering there. He’s made clear that he will push forward with a Rafah operation with or without a deal for hostages.

The Israeli leader vowed to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and some 250 were captured and taken hostage. But his public standing has cratered since then, as he faces pressure to find a pathway to a truce that would bring home the remaining hostages and the remains of Israelis who have died in captivity.

He’s resisted an investigation into what led to the intelligence and military failures leading up to the Hamas attack. All the while, he’s still facing legal problems, including a long-running corruption trial in which he is charged with fraud and accepting bribes.

Netanyahu’s political survival may depend on the Rafah offensive. If he reaches a hostage deal that stops short of conquering Rafah, hardliners in his coalition have threatened to topple the government and trigger new elections at a time when opinion polls forecast he would lose.

“To keep his partners on board and prevent them from pre-empting an election, in which Likud will be decimated and he will be turned out of office, he needs to keep the ‘total victory’ myth alive – and that is only possible by avoiding a deal with Hamas,” wrote Anshel Pfeffer, a columnist and author of a Netanyahu biography, in the Haaretz daily.

Aviv Bushinsky, a former spokesman and chief of staff for Netanyahu, said the Israeli leader remains focused on the war’s primary goal – defeating Hamas – because of concerns about his image and legacy.

He said Netanyahu has spent his career branding himself as the “tough guy on terror.”

“He thinks this is how he will be remembered. He’s been promising for a decade to cream Hamas,” Bushinsky said. “If he doesn’t, in his mind he’ll be remembered as the worst prime minister of all time.”

Biden, meanwhile, faces mounting protests from young Americans, a segment of the electorate critical to his reelection. And he’s faced backlash from Muslim Americans, a key voting bloc in the battleground state of Michigan. Some have threatened to withhold their votes in November to protest his administration’s handling of the war.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Biden ally who has been frustrated by the administration’s handling of the war, said Thursday Biden should go further and suspend delivery of all offensive weaponry to Israel.

“The United States does and should stand by its allies, but our allies must also stand by the values and the laws of the United States of America,” Sanders said. “We must use all of our leverage to prevent the catastrophe in Gaza from becoming even worse.”

At the same time, Biden is facing bruising criticism from Republicans, including presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee Trump, who say that his decision to hold back weapons is a betrayal of an essential Mideast ally.

“What Biden is doing with respect to Israel is disgraceful. If any Jewish person voted for Joe Biden, they should be ashamed of themselves. He’s totally abandoned Israel,” Trump told reporters on Thursday.

Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Biden’s move is “simply a nod to the left flank” that is handing “a great victory to Hamas.”

Friction between the U.S. and Israeli leaders is not without precedent.

President George H.W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s relationship was strained as the Republican administration threatened to withhold $10 billion in aid to thwart new settlement activity in the West Bank. Obama and Netanyahu’s relationship was marked by mutual distrust over the Democrat’s effort to reignite the Middle East peace process and forge the Iran nuclear deal.

“There were always workarounds if the heads of government really don’t get along. We may get to that,” said Elliot Abrams, a senior national security official in the George W. Bush administration. “But of course, this may be a sort of problem that solves itself in that one or both of them may be gone from office” in a matter of months.

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AP writers Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington and Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami contributed reporting. Frankel reported from Jerusalem.