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NCAA may soon remove prohibitions on cannabis use

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

College athletes may soon be able to celebrate a win with a joint instead of a victory cigar.The National Collegiate Athletic Association has long prohibited the use of cannabis, and athletes are regularly tested for THC and sometimes punished if it's detected.On Friday, however, NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports recommended removing marijuana from the list of banned substances, the NCAA said in a news release. Bill to legalize ‘cannabis cafés’ heading to Newsom’s desk The organization cited "the shifting cultural and legal landscapes surrounding cannabinoids" as at least partially underpinning the decision.Performance-enhancing drugs would remain banned, but as for cannabis, the organization instead would focus on "a 'robust educational strategy' for college athletes when it comes to cannabis," according to a report from CBS Sports."When making a decision on an important topic like this, we agree that the membership should have an opportunity...

Photos: Bay Area’s Oktoberfest season now in full swing

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

Let the dancing and stein-holding contests begin!Oktoberfest season is well under way in Germany and here in the Bay Area.Redwood City’s celebrations under the tent at Courthouse Square will run through Sunday (with tickets available Sunday afternoon and evening only; Friday-Saturday are sold out), and the parties start soon at classic restaurants like Alameda’s Speisekammer and Teske’s Germania in San Jose.Big city Oktoberfests coming up include Clayton (Sept. 30-Oct. 1), Oakland’s Dimond district (Sept. 30-Oct. 1), Los Gatos (Oct. 1), Mountain View (Oct. 7-8), Walnut Creek (Oct. 13-14), Campbell (Oct. 21-22) and from now through Oct. 29 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.For details on these or more events, click on our expanded Oktoberfest list. And check out our feature on new beer gardens for gatherings any time of year. There are options in Gilroy, Livermore, Alameda, Menlo Park and elsewhere.People drink beer as they gather in the tent at Redwood City Okto...

As San Jose Earthquakes prepare for playoff push, owner John Fisher reportedly views PayPal Park as ‘outdated’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

The talk around the San Jose Earthquakes should be about the club’s playoff push as they try to earn their first home playoff match in the nine-year history of PayPal Park.But instead, the discourse on social media over the past two days is all about owner John Fisher’s seemingly throwaway comment that bashes the team and its stadium.Buried deep in a recent story about Fisher’s other team, the Oakland A’s, and its fight with the City of Oakland over ballpark issues came a passage where Fisher effectively bashes the stadium that San Jose helped build for his soccer team.“The comparison between the A’s and the Earthquakes is ‘apples to oranges,’ Fisher says,” ESPN’s Tim Keown wrote in the story. “And, according to Fisher, the eight-year-old PayPal Stadium in San Jose is already outdated compared to newer MLS stadiums — he mentions LAFC, St. Louis and Austin — and lacks the capacity and premium seating that drives the kind of revenue needed to compete for championship...

Mailbag: The problem with promotion and relegation, options for WSU and OSU, Kliavkoff’s duties, the Pac-12 Networks’ future and more

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

The Hotline mailbag publishes each Friday. Send questions to [email protected] and include ‘mailbag’ in the subject line. Or hit me on Twitter: @WilnerHotline.Please note: Some questions have been edited for clarity and brevity.What are your thoughts about the promotion/relegation idea that leaked? Is it a unique approach that could help draw more attention to the conference(s)? Are there blockers that will prevent it from getting done? — @BennyL1986Before we address the specific proposal, two points to frame the discussion:— The concept of a promotion-and-relegation structure in college football, in which schools would change divisions from year-to-year based on performance, has been discussed for years and is viewed by many as inevitable.— The decision-makers in college sports, particularly the university presidents, are inherently risk-averse. And nothing is riskier than not knowing your division/conference and revenue base from year-to-year.Also...

49ers reward Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch with contract extensions

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Off to a 3-0 start in their seventh season together, coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch are also the proud owners of contract extensions.The 49ers announced Friday they’ve extended the pair once again. Shanahan and Lynch are currently working under contracts they got in the summer of 2020 after reaching the Super Bowl.Terms were not announced other than they are “multi-year” extensions, according to a team press release, which was issued some 30 minutes after Shanahan concluded a media conference call to discuss Thursday night’s 30-12, home-opening win over the New York Giants. View this post on InstagramA post shared by Cam Inman (@49ers.cam)Winning a 13th straight regular-season game has the 49ers two shy of their franchise record. It’s the longest active streak in the NFL. And never mind that it skips over their NFC Championship Game disaster in Philadelphia.Are they in the same groove as last season, or specifica...

Atmospheric river to pour over NorCal wildfires, shower on Bay Area

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- It's only September, but an atmospheric river is already in California's forecast. Sunday's storm is good news for smoke-weary Bay Area residents. The storm will lightly shower over the Bay, and pour heavier rain on regions where wildfires are burning near the California-Oregon border.Rainy weather could give firefighters the upper hand in battling the blazes, which have been the sources of smoke plumes spewing across the state this week.A cold front will bring light drizzle to the Bay Area starting late Sunday night and into Tuesday morning. The brunt of the atmospheric river "will mostly miss the Bay Area," KRON4 Meteorologist Kyla Grogan said.The National Weather Service Bay Area wrote, "Rain chances increase late Sunday night in the North Bay, and into Monday across the rest of the Bay Area.""The current forecast offers good chances for rain across the North Bay, with reduced, but still good chances for the San Francisco Peninsula and the East Bay, and lo...

49ers sign general manager John Lynch, head coach Kyle Shanahan to contract extensions

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

(KRON) -- The general manager and head coach duo of John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan are staying in the Bay. The San Francisco 49ers have signed both Lynch and Shanahan to multi-year contract extensions, the team announced Friday. This will be Nick Bosa’s first purchase after signing historic contract extension The 49ers did not specify the details of the contract, disclosing neither how many years nor for much money.Both Lynch, 51, and Shanahan, 43, came into the organization in February 2017 and have been in their respective positions since. With the signing in 2017, the 49ers hired both a first-time head coach and general manager.Under that duo, San Francisco has won two NFC West titles and reached three NFC Championship games, including one Super Bowl appearance in 2019.In 2019 when the team went 13-3 and reached the Super Bowl, Lynch was named Executive of the Year by the Pro Football Writers Association of America. Also, Shanahan was named Coach of the Year by Sporting News.

Ex-FBI agent pleads guilty to concealing $225K loan from former Albanian official

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former high-ranking FBI counterintelligence official pleaded guilty on Friday to concealing at least $225,000 in cash that he allegedly received from a former Albanian intelligence official while working for the agency.Charles McGonigal, 55, was the special agent in charge of the FBI’s counterintelligence division in New York from 2016 to 2018, when he retired.The charge to which he pleaded guilty — concealment of material facts — carries a maximum prison sentence of five years. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C., is scheduled to sentence McGonigal on Feb. 16, 2024. The indictment for the Washington case does not characterize the payment to McGonigal as a bribe, but federal prosecutors say he was required to report it. The payment created a conflict of interest between McGonigal’s FBI duties and his private financial interests, the indictment said.In August, McGonigal pleaded guilty in New York to a separate charge that he conspired to...

How major US stock indexes fared Friday, 9/22/2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

Wall Street’s worst week in six months closed on another weak note. The S&P 500 gave up an early gain and ended 0.2% lower Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 106 points, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%. Stocks slid this week because of the growing understanding that interest rates likely won’t come down much anytime soon. Treasury yields eased a bit after jumping earlier in the week to their highest levels in more than a decade. That gave stocks a bit of a breather, particularly high-growth and technology companies.On Friday:The S&P 500 fell 9.94 points, or 0.2%, to 4,320.06.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 106.58 points, or 0.3%, to 33,963.84.The Nasdaq composite fell 12.18 points, or 0.1 %, to 13,211.81.The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 5.32 points, or 0.3% to 1,776.50.For the week:The S&P 500 is down 130.26 points, or 2.9%.The Dow is down 654.40 points, or 1.9%.The Nasdaq is down 496.53 points, or 3.6%The Russell 2000 is down 70.53...

Falcons CB Jeff Okudah could make Atlanta debut against his former team

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — After practicing all week, Atlanta cornerback Jeff Okudah could make his Falcons debut against his former team Sunday.Okudah was listed as questionable on the final injury report from the Falcons (2-0), who travel to Detroit to meet the Lions.Okudah was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft by the Lions, but injuries and other issues limited his effectiveness. He was dealt to the Falcons during the offseason for a fifth-round pick.A right foot injury sustained in training camp kept Okudah from playing in the first two games. But he returned to practice two weeks ago and could be ready to go against his former team. He fully participated in all three practices this week.The only other player on the injury report was running back Cordarrelle Patterson, who missed the first two games with a thigh injury. He was listed as questionable after sitting out practice Thursday and getting only limited time Friday.Linebacker Troy Anderson has been cleared to play a...