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UNC QB Drake Maye has a good resource for advice. It’s his predecessor now in the NFL

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:50 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina star quarterback Drake Maye figures he has the perfect resource to help him navigate the challenges ahead in a season of high expectations.Speaking during the Atlantic Coast Conference’s preseason football media days, Maye said he has been in contact with current NFL quarterback Sam Howell as a sounding board.“Just trying to soak up all I can from him because he’s lived it and I want to be in the position he’s at,” Maye said.Maye is being mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate and future pro passer for a team aiming to contend for an ACC title.Two years ago, Maye was a true freshman while Howell was in a similar position. That ended up being a bumpier-than-expected season for UNC, which started ranked No. 10 in the AP Top 25 but finished just 6-7.Maye said he asked Howell — now set to be the starter in Washington — what he would’ve liked to have done better in that final year. Howell suggested making sure to take care of non-f...

Sean Payton pins blame for awful 2022 season by Broncos, Wilson on predecessor Nathaniel Hackett

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:50 GMT

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Sean Payton was so intent on having the Denver Broncos put last year’s awful 5-12 season behind them that he had a video made showing a 2022 Ford Bronco with its rearview and side mirrors removed.Clearly those mirrors were no longer missing this week when he excoriated his predecessor, Nathaniel Hackett, and lashed into Hackett’s new team, the New York Jets, in an interview with USA Today’s Jarrett Bell that was posted Thursday.Payton, who’s returning to the sideline after a year’s sabbatical, called the work Hackett and his staff did in Denver last season “one of the worst coaching jobs in the NFL” and said there were “20 dirty hands” around Russell Wilson’s career-worst season. “Everything I heard about last season,” Payton said, “we’re doing the opposite.”Although Payton was known for his frankness during his 15-year stint with the New Orleans Saints, his comments came as somewhat of a surprise given that he’s admonished his team not to look back at 2022 a...

University of Colorado to rejoin Big 12 conference

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Twelve years after leaving the Big 12, the University of Colorado Buffaloes have announced their return to the storied athletic conference.The Buffs have spent the past decade-plus as a member of the Pac-12 and have gone without winning a conference championship since. But one time, in 2016, they won the Pac-12 South division before losing in the championship game against Washington. From Decemeber: Deion Sanders named Colorado Buffaloes’ new head coach "These decisions are never easy and we've valued our 12 years as proud members of the Pac-12 Conference. We look forward to achieving new goals while embarking on this exciting next era as members of the Big 12 Conference," Chancellor Philip DiStefano and Athletic Director Rick George said in a joint statement posted to the school's website.The move back to the Big 12 was announced Thursday and will begin for the 2024-25 school year."After careful thought and consideration, it was determined that a switch in c...

Coloradans cashing in on home values with lines of credit

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — There's a silver lining to Colorado homeowners' golden handcuffs: more of them have a big piggy bank than ever before. The Centennial State has one of the highest levels of interest in home equity lines of credit, according to a new analysis from luxury real estate platform RubyHome. The firm commissioned data on the online search history of a home equity line of credit. Denver metro home prices steady in June This line of credit, or HELOC, is like a credit card drawn against a person's home. It allows the borrower to write checks against the difference between the home's value and what's already been paid off. HELOCs have become all the rage in the last few years. Home values across the country soared to record highs following the COVID pandemic, especially in Colorado and the western U.S. in general, so homeowners have a bigger value to draw credit against. RubyHome's data saw national searches for the term "HELOC" more than double from 2022 to the present. Colo...

Miami Dade teachers get pay raise of up to 10% under new union contract

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:50 GMT

Miami-Dade teachers will be receiving a boost in pay for the next academic year under a new union contract.The starting salaries for teachers will be $52,470.The United Teachers of Dade celebrated the end of negotiations with Miami-Dade County Public Schools on Thursday.The agreement represents $145 million in additional compensation, an increase between no less than 7% and up to 10%.Paraprofessionals, who provide instructional, behavioral and other support to students, will also see a boost. They will get 6%% increase, along with security guards.Clerical staff and part-time workers will see a 4% increase in pay.The tentative agreement also creates a new supplement for exceptional student education teachers and increased supplements for advanced degrees, which will aid in the district’s recruitment and retention of highly qualified employees.The pay raise aims to improve their lives and enhance students’ overall quality of education.

Police arrest 2 accused of stealing watch worth over $150K from jewelry store on Las Olas

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:50 GMT

Police arrested two people accused of carrying out a high-priced heist at a jewelry store in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The suspected thieves, identified as 48-year-old Aurel Dobos and 41-year-old Adina Buchuc, were taken into custody at Miami International Airport on Wednesday. The duo is accused of swiping a watch that’s worth more than most cars and, police said, they’re being connected to similar crimes that have occurred across the country.The suspected thieves blended in at Robinson’s Jewelry, located at  820 E Las Olas Blvd., back in April.“They looked the part; they were well dressed, had Rolexes on,” store owner Andrew Robinson said. “She had a big hat on they, said they were from Italy; they looked like tourists to me.”But according to police, Dobos and Buchuc weren’t tourists at all.The two are accused of stealing a Patek Philippe watch worth more than $150,000. Robinson said they tried on the watch and then swapped it out wi...

Three people pulled from water in Dennis

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:50 GMT

Three people were pulled from the ocean in Dennis and transported to the hospital in “various stages of medical distress” on Thursday, police said.Around 3 p.m., officials reported to Mayflower Beach where one female victim was identified as a possible drowning victim. When crews arrived at the beach, a total of three female victims were out of the water.No other information was immediately available.

Three luxury cars stolen from Shrewsbury dealership totaling over $120K

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:50 GMT

After 30 years in business, three stolen vehicles was a first for Shrewsbury’s Choice Auto Center. Last Friday morning, co-owner Shayan Daneshmand came in to find the dealership broken into and the three specialized, luxury cars missing from the lot.“We were prepared for something like this, but we truly didn’t think it would happen to us,” Daneshmand said. “Three cars totaling roughly $120,000, and they did some damage pulling them out.”Their surveillance cameras captured what appear to be five men sneaking onto the Route 9 car lot around 3:40 a.m. Daneshmand said it only took 10 minutes for them to pry open the door, raid the key room and drive away with the luxury cars.The video shows one of the cars stuck as the thieves try to back it up over a curb. Besides that, the auto dealer said it appeared to be a well-oiled operation.“There’s been a lot of similar incidents in Massachusetts in general, central Massachusetts recently,” he said. “Everything is being linked to that Providen...

Nets’ Ben Simmons ‘as healthy as he’s ever been’ since last season in Philly’: report

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:50 GMT

Ben Simmons is healthy.At least that’s what his camp is saying.The former three-time NBA All-Star who battled back issues the past two seasons is “as healthy as he’s ever been since his last year” with the Philadelphia 76ers, according to ESPN’s Marc Spears.Spears, who read a text message from someone close to Simmons live during an ESPN broadcast, delivered the most encouraging news regarding the star, whose season ended due to an ongoing back injury shortly after the All-Star break.“I would say he’s in the final stage of prep for the season and has passed every benchmark and is healthy as he’s ever been since his last year in Philly,” Spears read from his phone. “Brooklyn has been incredibly supportive, and the plan is for him to be the Nets’ point guard and primary ball handler this coming season. The expectation is he will fully resume his career at the level he was prior to leaving Philadelphia.”Simmons arr...

The Federal Reserve keeps raising rates. That means it’s harder to get a car loan

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:50 GMT

By CORA LEWIS and TOM KRISHER (AP Business Writers)NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s decision Wednesday to raise its benchmark rate for the 11th time, by a quarter-point, could once again send ripple effects across the economy.Mortgage rates, which have surged since the Fed began lifting rates in March 2022, may now rise further. So could rates on credit cards and some business loans.Perhaps no one has felt the pain more than car buyers. It’s not just that sticker prices are way up. Or that lenders have tightened credit standards. On top of all that, steadily higher auto loan rates have elbowed many would-be buyers out of the market.Consider: A study by the New York Federal Reserve has found that 14% of applicants for auto loans were rejected over the past year — the highest such proportion since the New York Fed began tracking the figure in 2013 — up from 9% in February.Auto-loan applicants, of course, aren’t the only borrowers being turned d...