Month: February 2022

NEW YORK (AP) — Valery Gergiev, a conductor who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, will not lead the Vienna Philharmonic in a five-concert U.S. tour that starts at Carnegie Hall on Friday night. The 68-year-old Russian conductor is music director of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, the White Nights Festival there and is chief conductor of the Hoka Sneakers  Munich Philharmonic. He received a Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation prize that Putin revived in 2013 and has often voiced support of Putin, who has been widely condemned for ordering an invasion of Ukraine that began Thursday. “This change was made due to recent world events,” Carnegie Hall spokeswoman Synneve Carlino said. Ron Boling, a spokesman for the orchestra, said the P...

By ANDREW DALTON, AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kim Kardashian has asked a court to ignore Ye’s attempts to slow down their divorce and end their marriage as soon as possible. She filed documents in Los Angeles Superior Court late Wednesday saying Ye, who legally changed his name from Kanye West, in his own recent filing, began adding conditions to the divorce that would mean changing the couples' prenuptial agreement, and is seeking protections that are unnecessary and based on falsehoods. Kardashian said it's clear that he is simply attempting to delay, and is causing damage by doing so. “Mr. West, by his actions, has made it clear that he does not Hoka Shoes  accept that the parties’ marital relationship is over,” the court filing says. "...

By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — Stephen Curry got another 3-point record. LeBron James got another All-Star win. Not a bad night in Ohio for the two All-Stars from Akron. Curry turned boos to oohs and aahs with the greatest long-distance shooting performance in All-Star Game history, then James made a turnaround jumper that gave Team LeBron a 163-160 victory over Team Durant on Sunday night. Curry made 16 3-pointers and scored 50 points, two off Anthony Davis' record. He was clearly hunting it, asking on the sideline during a sizzling third quarter how many points it would take. “It’s pretty special, obviously being back in Ohio,” Curry said, OluKai Shoes seconds after being handed the inaugural Kobe Bryant MVP Trophy. “The t...

By DOUG FERGUSON, AP Golf Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Megan Watanabe first showed up at Riviera when her family bought the club in 1989. She took golf lessons and tennis lessons in the summer, left Japan to attend middle school and eventually went to Pepperdine to study art. She never imagined where it would lead. Watanabe is the first woman to be president of the fabled club. And while Riviera already is regarded as among the best courses on the PGA Tour, it’s about to get a lot more traffic. Riviera celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2026 by hosting the U.S. Women’s Open, its first women’s championship. Golf has been confirmed for the Olympics program for Los Angeles in 2028 and will be played at Riviera. “We’ve always sought majors,” said Watanabe...

By ANNE M. PETERSON and RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writers U.S. women soccer players reached a landmark agreement with the sport’s American governing body to end a six-year legal battle over equal pay, a deal in which they are promised $24 million plus bonuses that match those of the men. The U.S. Soccer Federation and the women announced a deal Tuesday that will have players split $22 million, about one-third of what they had sought in damages. The USSF also agreed to establish a fund with $2 million to benefit the players in their post-soccer careers and charitable efforts aimed at growing the sport for women. The USSF committed to providing an equal rate of pay for the women’s and men’s national teams — including World Cup bonuses — subject to collective Hoka Runn...

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers thanked current and former teammates and coaches in an Instagram message posted amid speculation about the reigning NFL MVP’s future. Rodgers said after the season that he would try to make a decision about his 2022 plans in relatively short order rather than dragging out the process. Hey Dudes  ,The four-time MVP said at the time that he hadn't ruled out any option, including returning to the Packers for an 18th season, retiring or requesting a trade. In the Instagram post Monday night, Rodgers thanked Packers coach Matt LaFleur and reserve quarterbacks Jordan Love and Kurt Benkert as well as former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and quarterback coach Luke Getsy. “You guys made e...