Byron Scott is in the business of giving the people what they want, so when asked the burning question regarding Bryant’s playing time in his final game Wednesday at home against the Jazz, the Lakers coach said he plans to milk the 37-year-old for every last minute of his career before Bryant can ride off into retirement. MORE: Classic photos of Kobe Bryant | Kobe’s retirement tour “He’ll play more than he has all season long,” Scott declared, surely to the delight of those doling out $1,000 for admission to Staples Center....

With a chance to slap the New York Yankees with a loss and hurt their playoff dreams, Uehara allowed a ninth-inning home run to Mark Teixeira to tie the game at Yankee Stadium. Then, Chase Headley homered for a 5-4 victory. The Yankees had one hit since the third before Teixeira drove a hanging splitter into the second deck in right field for his 21st home run this season, his first since Aug....

Giroud repays the faith to give Arsenal perfect Christmas present Olivier Giroud’s late header secured a vital 1-0 victory for Arsene Wenger’s side against West Brom on Boxing Day as Arsenal bounced back from two successive defeats. And though Chelsea maintained their significant lead over Arsenal by beating Bournemouth 3-0, Koscielny believes that Arsenal’s confidence will now flood back. “The confidence will come back when you win and the most important thing now is to continue to win games in a row so that hopefully we can get into the first position,” he told the club’s website....

The Ghanaian registered his sixth goal of the campaign as the Eagles recorded their 13th win of the season. The result temporarily leaves Niko Kovac’s men fourth on the table ahead of Sunday’s round of games. It did not take long for Boateng to break the deadlock at Commerzbank-Arena. Following a corner, the Ghanaian squeezed a shot over the line at the back post to put his side 1-0 up....

But before things get Krak’ing (just a few more, promise), the Kraken kickstarted their inaugural season with a five-game road trip that saw a few things slip through the Kraks. While the team scored its first franchise goal — via Ryan Donato — and recorded its first franchise win — 4-3 over the Predators — the start of the season wasn’t all it was Krak’ed up to be. With a 4-2 loss to the Devils on Tuesday, Seattle headed home 1-3-1....

On Monday evening, Noem tweeted that she would take “every action available” to stop vaccine mandates shortly after President Joe Biden urged businesses to require their employees to get vaccinated. Biden made the plea following the announcement from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that the Pfizer COVID shot had been given a full approval from the agency. The Pfizer vaccine is the first COVID shot in the U.S. to be granted full approval, as other vaccines have only been given emergency authorization by the FDA for use in the country but are expected to be formally approved by the end of the year....

The pair are international team-mates with Germany and are expected to line up alongside one another over the next few days as Bayern Munich star Manuel Neuer remains sidelined. His absence has opened the door for Ter Stegen to see regular minutes in a World Cup year, with the 25-year-old enjoying another impressive domestic campaign with Barca. Kroos has watched on from afar as his close friend has helped his side to eclipse the efforts of those in Madrid, with the classy midfielder quick to talk up the qualities of a man branded ‘Messi with gloves’....

If KSI can get past Swarmz unharmed, he will face Luis Alcaraz Pineda. KSI, a YouTuber and rapper, started his boxing career with a TKO win over Joe Weller in an amateur bout in February 2018. He then fought Logan Paul in August of that year in Manchester. The fight ended in a majority decision draw. Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing liked what they saw and gave KSI and Paul an opportunity....

After an injury forced Alex Wassabi out of a meeting with KSI, the YouTuber decided to up the ante and take on two opponents in one night. He kicked off the first installment of the DAZN X Series 001 PPV by dominating rapper Swarmz before finishing him in the second round. After a card full of social media influencers and YouTubers scoring knockouts, KSI emerged in the main event later in the night against Pineda....

To properly keep the sushi bar running in Kuma Sushi Bar, players will need to cook different entrées, collect money and clean up after customers. You can’t make all that money and cook all that food if you don’t bring in as many customers as possible, though, which is why it’s important to understand the way advertising works in the game. Unlike other life sim-style games, like BitLife, players will need to manage their restaurant by repairing tables, cleaning up trash and advertising their sushi bar within the game....

Three-wide. Up against the wall. Onto the apron of the track. Busch didn’t care. He’d drive his car wherever he could to get where he had to go, and he didn’t care who he angered on the way. “Ruffling some feathers and pissing people off,” Busch says now with a laugh. MORE: VIDEO: Jeff Gordon poses as ex-con cab driver | Earnhardt confident after big win | Comedian Tim Wilson dies...

The found out the sex of the baby during a baby shower Tuesday night and Sweet tweeted the news with photos. Larson also tweeted about it. Larson, 21, is a rookie on the Sprint Cup circuit, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. He is currently 14th in the standings and battling for a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR.com’s Holly Cain has more on how Larson and Sweet found out they are having a boy....

In just his 25th Cup race, Larson captured the pole for the GoBowling.com 400. He will lead the Cup field Sunday for the second time in his career — he sat on the pole earlier this year at Richmond when the field was set by practice speeds. MORE: Lineup breakdown | Pocono picks | Pocono odds | Spectacular crashes, big moments at Pocono His Pocono-record qualifying run of 183.438 mph was impressive, considering he had only competed at Pocono twice before, and both those times came on the same weekend in June when he won the ARCA race and placed fifth in the Cup event....

McDonald’s and Credit One Bank each issued statements Monday afternoon explaining the decision. The fast food chain said Larson did not act in a way that reflected its “inclusive values.” The financial institution, which three hours earlier had issued a statement on Larson not specifying whether it would take action, wrote in an updated comment that it denounced Larson’s offensive language. MORE: Kyle Larson apologizes for slur Larson has been suspended by NASCAR indefinitely as a result of Sunday’s incident....

The footage, obtained by WISN 12, shows Mount Pleasant officers interviewing employees of Pudgy’s Pub following Rittenhouse’s visit there on January 5. Mount Pleasant police confirmed with one staff member that the 18-year-old was there with his mother, so legally allowed to drink at the bar under Wisconsin state law. Another employee denied serving Rittenhouse, but told police that he did pose for a photo with him during the 90 minutes he was at Pudgy’s Pub....

“You must not have noticed the blue checkmark. I’m elite now!” Rittenhouse, who was acquitted in November 2021 after a jury found him not guilty of murder, wrote on Twitter on Thursday, using a smirky emoji. Rittenhouse is a deeply divisive and controversial figure, hailed by conservatives—a month after his acquittal, he received a standing ovation at a conservative conference in Phoenix, Arizona—and condemned by prominent Democrats, liberals and left-wingers, who were outraged at the November 2021 verdict....

Entering the halfway marker of the 2021 NFL season, questions surrounding the 49ers head coach are starting to percolate: With San Francisco 3-5 on the season, it seems as though the 49ers are caught in a state of flux when they should be competing for a Super Bowl. To that end, with no more real excuses surrounding Shanahan and his choice of roster construction in 2021, Shanahan’s seat could be getting a little hotter if San Francisco continues to play meh football this season....

Kyleen Waltman, 38, remains in a critical condition in the hospital after the attack on Monday, her sister Amy Wynne wrote on a GoFundMe page created Tuesday. “She has had both arm amputated up to the shoulder and now she had to have her colon removed and now her esophagus may have to be removed,” Wynne wrote. “She has a long road ahead of her and will need medical and financial help....