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By TIM REYNOLDS (AP Sports Writer)

FORT LAUDERDALE — Lionel Messi returned and helped salvage a tie for Inter Miami.

Messi scored shortly after checking in to begin the second half and helped set up Leo Afonso’s go-ahead score two minutes later. But Cole Bassett scored in the 88th minute for the Colorado Rapids and the game ended in a 2-2 tie on Saturday night.

It was Messi’s first appearance for Inter Miami since a hamstring issue led to him getting subbed out early in the second half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup match against Nashville on March 13. He had missed four Inter Miami games since, plus two games with Argentina.

He wasted little time announcing his return Saturday. Messi’s fourth goal in as many MLS matches this season came in the 58th minute, beating Colorado keeper Zach Steffen with a low shot that hit the left goalpost, then skidded back across the goal mouth before settling into the next just inside of the right post.

Not long after play resumed, Messi sent a pass to David Ruiz, who found Afonso all alone in front. Afonso put it home for his first MLS goal, giving Inter Miami the lead.

It didn’t last. Bassett knotted things late in regulation and Inter Miami (3-2-3) had to settle for just one point instead of three. Rafael Navarro got the first goal for Colorado (2-2-3), scoring late in the first half on a penalty kick.

A pair of fans got onto the field in the final minutes in separate incidents, presumably to try to get a selfie with Messi. They were both quickly escorted off by security, and time expired shortly after the second fan got onto the pitch.

It was a costly night for Inter Miami, which has been besieged by injuries — going back all the way to the team’s seven-match, around-the-world preseason tour — and now has more of those to deal with. The team was without seven players Saturday, plus lost Leo Campana late in the first half with what appeared to be a hamstring issue and Afonso a few minutes after his second-half goal.

Messi and his three former standout Barcelona teammates — Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba — were all available Saturday, though none started. It’s a clear sign that Inter Miami is trying to be cautious with workloads for its four oldest players, all of them age 35 or older. Alba and Busquets entered in the second half.

Inter Miami is in a stretch where it will play five matches in a span of 15 days. The team had a 1-1 draw with New York City FC on March 30, lost the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup matchup 2-1 to Monterrey at home on Wednesday and hosted the Rapids on Saturday. It then goes to Mexico for the second leg of the CONCACAF series this coming Wednesday before finishing the stretch at Kansas City on April 13.

Messi emerged from the bench area in the 35th minute to start warming up behind one of the end lines, the mere sight of him sending fans into a frenzy.

They almost missed a Miami goal at the other end.

Simultaneous to the initial Messi sighting, Julian Gressel found a bit of room and fired a 30-yarder from straightaway. The ball curled just left, keeping the match scoreless.

It didn’t stay that way. Colorado’s Kevin Cabral got taken down in the box — a few yards from where Messi was going through his warmup routine — and Navarro beat Inter Miami goalie Drake Callender with the penalty kick for a 1-0 lead.

___

AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer

GAINESVILLE — Florida’s defense dominated the 2023 spring game, led a September upset of Tennessee and then fell off a cliff, dragging down the Gators with it.

Amid the offseason talk of Billy Napier maintaining play-calling duties, quarterback Graham Mertz’s improvement in attacking down the field and tailback Trevor Etienne’s transfer to Georgia, the Gators set out to fix the team’s biggest problem during a 5-7 finish.

Napier is confident the Gators’ retooled defense has the talent, experience and staff to chart a new course after two seasons of historically poor play during consecutive losing seasons.

One thing is certain: Florida’s embattled D has a lot to prove.

UF head coach Billy Napier gets pumped up before the start of the Gators’ spring game April 14, 2022 in the Swamp. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

The Gators’ second spring scrimmage Saturday in the Swamp was another encouraging step. Defense won the day during the team’s final tuneup for the spring game, scheduled for 1 p.m. April 13 in the Swamp.

Florida’s offense needed time to get its bearings before putting up a fight.

“The defense started extremely fast,” Napier said. “We tackled extremely well; the coverage was tighter; the rush was effective. I think that affected the quarterback play. We had a couple of turnovers. We had some tipped balls.”

While the Gators’ attack certainly has work to do itself, Mertz and Co. were on point during Thursday’s practice  in instilling a sense of urgency on the other side of the ball.

“Today was a little bit of a reset button, ‘Hey look, let’s get our act together,’” Napier said. “They showed up and did that.”

Reason for optimism exists, given all the influx of talent and returners with plenty of mental scar tissue and chips on their shoulders.

Florida’s 5-star signee LJ McCray, the top nation’s top-rated defensive line prospect in the 2024 class, could step in and contribute during his first season with the Gators. (UF’s University Athletic Association Communications/Mallory Peak)

Napier also hired three new assistant coaches — defensive line coach Gerald Chatman, secondary coach Will Harris and veteran Ron Roberts to coach inside linebackers and lend a hand coordinating the unit with 30-year-old Austin Armstrong.

“I’m confident the staff changes have been a positive and, overall, you’ve got a bunch of veteran players,” Napier said.

The transfer portal yielded, among others, two safeties in their sixth college seasons (Asa Turner of Washington and DJ Douglas of Tulane), high-motor defensive tackle Joey Slackman (the 2023 Ivy League Player of the Year at Penn), and sophomore linebacker Grayson “Pup” Howard (a former UF recruit who signed with South Carolina).

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Howard has the combination of size and range the Gators have lacked at the second level for some time. The Jacksonville native has stood out while veterans Shemar James (knee) and Derek Wingo (shoulder) recover from offseason surgery.

“He certainly looks the part,” Napier said. “He’s still a somewhat inexperienced player but he’s a mature young man and he’s taken advantage of the reps.”

Third-year cornerback Devin Moore looks like a different player following an injury-riddled season. The 6-foot-3, 197 pound native of Naples is a sure tackler after playing high school safety and could suffocate receivers on the opposite side from four-year starter Jason Marshall.

“He’s got presence out there,” Napier said of Moore.

Redshirt junior end Justus Boone is another looming presence back in the picture after he missed the entire 2023 season with a torn ACL suffered in fall camp. The 6-foot-3¾, 267-pound Boone’s loss was among many factors in last season’s defensive struggles.

Florida redshirt junior defensive end Justus Boone returns to solidify the Gators’ front after tearing his ACL during 2023 fall camp. (UF’s University Athletic Association Communications/ Tim Casey)

Another was an overreliance on youth, out of necessity but also with an eye on the future.

Sophomore linemen Kelby Collins, who moved inside to tackle, and TJ Searcy, who flashed coming off the edge, will have major roles in 2024. Meanwhile, sophomore safeties Jordan Castell and Bryce Thornton combined for 94 tackles as true freshmen, including a team-high 60 by Castell.

“A lot of players that played last year for the first time in their career are kind of going through that benefit of being a vet,” Napier said. “That’s the theme here. We’ve finally got a group that has some experience.”

Among first-year players, 6-foot-6, 274-pound freshmen LJ McCray, the nation’s top-rated defensive line prospect in 2024 out of Daytona Beach, is likely to be in the mix.

Whoever plays in 2024 needs to produce.

The Gators’ defensive collapse culminated with a five-game losing to close the season, with opponents averaging 38.2 points. Without significant improvement, Napier’s third season at Florida could be a long one.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

By KEN POWTAK (Associated Press)

BOSTON (AP) — Jesper Boqvist scored 2:05 into overtime, Linus Ullmark stopped 28 shots and the Boston Bruins beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Saturday in a matchup of the top two teams in the Atlantic Division.

First-place Boston moved five points ahead of second-place Florida. Both teams have four games left in the regular season — with the Panthers’ all at home.

“It’s another big game, another playoff-type game against a team that’s going to be there and those games aren’t hard to get up for,” said Boston center Charlie Coyle, who had a power-play goal in the second period. “It makes you feel good. It gives you confidence to win those ones, first off, but just to do it and play the way we want to play and know how to play.”

Charlie McAvoy also scored for the Bruins, who improved to 5-1 since coach Jim Montgomery blasted the team during practice on March 25 for their lack of attention to details and not being prepared for the playoffs.

“I just think that was a wake-up call that our group needed that day,” Montgomery said. “I think why we’re 5-1 is because our team is growing and maturing, and we have great leaders.”

Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers, who lost for the fifth time in seven games. Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves.

The Bruins swept the four-game season series between the teams and moved a point behind the New York Rangers for the NHL’s best overall record.

The Panthers knocked out Boston in the opening-round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring after the Bruins set NHL records for wins (65) and points (135).

In the extra period, Boqvist skated down the left wing on a partial breakaway after taking a loose puck near center ice and fired a wrister inside the left post for the win.

With the Panthers trailing 2-1 and the teams skating 4-on-4 due to matching minor penalties, Barkov snapped a rebound past Ullmark 5:24 into the third period.

“I thought we got better in the third period,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “We had nothing in the tank to do it. They pushed through it. I was happy with the effort. I wasn’t happy with the result, but happy with the effort.”

With Tkachuk in the penalty box for interference, Brad Marchand sent a pass from the left wing to Coyle, who was hustling down the slot. He redirected it inside the left post for his 25th goal, making it 2-1 with 4:15 remaining in the second to end Boston’s 0-for-13 power-play drought.

Bobrovsky made a sprawling left-pad save on Marchand’s bid from in close with just under a minute left in regulation.

Florida outshot Boston 13-5 in the third period.

Ullmark made a glove stop on Evan Rodrigues at the end of a 2-on-1 break with just over six minutes left in the third.

“Linus was again really good,” Montgomery said. “He just continues a lot of impressive starts in a row here, making real desperation saves look easy.”

Tkachuk took advantage of a crazy bounce when Vladimir Tarasenko’s entry pass hit high off the back glass and directly to him in the slot, where he slipped a wrister past Ullmark to make it 1-0 just 37 seconds into the opening period.

McAvoy tied it at 5:42 of the first when he collected Danton Heinen’s backhand pass in the high slot before firing a wrister past Bobrovsky’s glove.

The teams showed a bit more intensity than a normal regular-season game, with tussles and scrums after whistles numerous times.

“It’s fun, it’s emotional,” McAvoy said. “I thought both teams played hard today and it was a really good hockey game.”

UP NEXT Panthers: Host Ottawa on Tuesday night to open a season-closing four-game homestand.

Bruins: Host Carolina on Tuesday night.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Two people have died in car crashes on the same stretch of road in West Palm Beach within a week, according to police.

On Friday night, a 35-year-old man was killed after being hit by a Corvette while running across South Australian Avenue in between Worthington and Belvedere roads, according to West Palm Beach Police.  Earlier that same week, a 51-year-old man was hit and killed by a Hummer that ran a red light at the intersection of South Australian Avenue and Belvedere Road.

James Christopher, the first victim, was not in the crosswalk when he crossed the six-lane road just before 11 p.m. Friday, police said in a news release. Upon impact, he hit the Corvette’s windshield and landed in the grassy median in the 2400 block of Australian Avenue, where he was pronounced dead.

The 25-year-old driver of the Corvette stopped a few hundred feet away. He and a 21-year-old woman riding with him were not injured but taken to Good Samaritan Medical Center as a precaution, the release states. Police are still investigating, though currently no substances are believed to be involved and no charges are pending.

Three days earlier, about 11 p.m. Tuesday, Charlie Gilbert was driving his Mustang south on Australian Avenue towards the intersection at Belvedere Road, where he had a green light, police said in another news release. As he approached, Susan Elman, 64, ran a red turn light and crashed her Hummer into the driver’s side of the Mustang. Gilbert was pronounced dead on scene, while West Palm Beach Fire Department paramedics took Elman to St. Mary’s Medical Center.

“Investigators suspect the driver of the Hummer was impaired, and the investigation is ongoing,” the release states. “Criminal charges are pending.”

As UCF wrapped up its second football scrimmage of spring camp on Saturday, the Knights have a better idea of how the roster could shake out over the offseason and into fall camp.

Additional depth this spring has provided coaches with plenty of opportunities to mix and match, allowing everyone to showcase their talents.

“What we’ve done, on both sides of the football, is mixed and matched with our ones [first team] and twos [second team],” said coach Gus Malzahn. “We want to see how some of the guys going with the twos go with the ones and how they respond and vice versa. We put the young guys working with threes [third team] with the twos and ones and it’s been really good.

“The biggest difference this year from last year is probably the quality of depth right now. That’s what stands out.”

Family atmosphere helps fortify UCF’s offensive line as it continues to evolve

“We have better depth, and that’s much of what spring is about,” added receiver Trent Whittemore. “Everybody is getting reps and trying to put themselves in situations that could happen in the fall.”

Malzahn said Saturday’s scrimmage was more situational and took place in front of a larger crowd featuring recruits and boosters. The offense focused heavily on the run game, which allowed the defense more opportunities to focus on stopping the run. According to the fourth-year coach, both units had their share of bright spots.

“[Tight end] Randy Pittman [Jr.] and Whittemore had touchdown catches from [quarterback] KJ Jefferson,” said Malzahn. “[Defensive tackle] Ricky Barber stood out with his work. He had two sacks and played in the backfield.”

It may only be his second spring camp, but Pittman has already seen an improvement from last time.

“We’ve got a lot more leaders,” said the sophomore. “There are a lot of guys encouraging each other from the sidelines, motivating, and trying to push guys to the standard. That’s been big for us.”

One of the units that’s drawn praise this spring is the linebackers.

UCF receivers want to demonstrate physicality, swagger

The group consists almost entirely of new faces, led by transfers Ethan Barr (Vanderbilt), Xe’ree Alexander (Idaho), and Jesiah Pierre (Texas Tech).

“We have quality depth at linebacker,” said Malzahn. “That group stands out in a good way.”

“Jesiah made a big TFL [tackle for loss] and started doing the Ray Lewis dance,” said Barber. “I was on the sideline, excited for him and it turned me up.”

For Barber, this spring has been about proving to himself and others that he can return to form and play at a high level after the fifth-year senior missed time last season with various injuries.

“I am a playmaker, a disruptive d-lineman, and one of the best d-tackles in the country,” he said. “I’ve taken those steps every day and am taking this spring seriously because this is my last spring. I’m reaping the benefits of it.”

UCF has three more practices before hosting its annual spring game next Friday at 7 p.m.

Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com

By WARREN MAYES (Associated Press)

ST. LOUIS — The winless Miami Marlins, who are off to the worst start in the franchise’s 33-year history, dropped their ninth consecutive game on Saturday, losing 3-1 to Steve Matz and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Iván Herrera and Brendan Donovan each had two hits for St. Louis. Jordan Walker contributed an RBI double.

Matz (2-0) surrendered four hits in five scoreless innings. Ryan Helsley pitched the ninth for his third save.

“I thought my fastball was working really well,” said Matz, who threw 85 pitches. “I’d definitely like to go deeper into the game. Bullpen did a great job. It was a good win.”

The Cardinals turned two double plays. Through nine games, St. Louis has not committed an error.

“Guys are continuing to play really good defense,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “Details matter. They’re making it important.”

Miami’s Trevor Rogers (0-1) was charged with three runs, two earned, and five hits in five innings. He struck out three and walked three.

“They’re finding holes and they’re finding grass. … My stuff feels good. It just didn’t go my way,” Rogers said.

The 0-9 Marlins are the only winless team in baseball. The New York Mets, who dropped their first seven games, beat the Detroit Tigers 2-1 on Thursday for their first win.

Baltimore holds the big league record with 21 losses to start the 1988 season.

“It always starts with starting pitching,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said. “No one ever has lost from a shutout before but that’s asking a lot. I think collectively all together, we have to figure it out. I’m not telling people to do more than they can do. I don’t need one guy to carry the team. We’ve talked. We don’t need any more talking.”

Miami has lost 10 consecutive games dating to last season. It has dropped 13 of its last 16 at Busch Stadium.

“We’ve got to find ways to win,” Schumaker said. “That’s the tough part. We have to figure it out pretty soon.”

The Cardinals scored two runs in the fourth. After Herrera singled and Nolan Gorman walked, Walker doubled down the left-field line. Walker was called out at second, but the call was overturned after it was challenged by St. Louis.

Gorman was thrown out at home on a grounder to third, but Walker scored on an errant pickoff throw to first by Rogers.

“That mental error — the pickoff move — can’t happen,” Rogers said. “Got to make that play. It’s something I’ve done since I was a little kid.”

The Marlins have allowed 10 unearned runs season.

St. Louis added a run in the fifth. Herrera singled home Donovan, who led off with a double.

“Little things add up to big things,” Donovan said. “Everybody’s showing up and pulling on the right end of the rope.”

Miami scored in the eighth against Andrew Kittredge. Luis Arraez doubled and scored on a single by Josh Bell, who had two hits.

“Other than that, we just couldn’t get anything going,” Schumaker said.

No team has started 0-10 since the 2002 Detroit Tigers.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: RHP Eury Pérez will undergo Tommy John surgery on Monday. He has been transferred to the 60-day IL.

Cardinals: C Willson Contreras (left hand) was scratched as the designed hitter 45 minutes before the game as a precautionary measure. He did not play in Thursday’s home opener. He was hit by a pitch Wednesday at San Diego.

UP NEXT

Marlins: RHP Max Meyer (0-0, 3.60 ERA) will make his second start of the season on Sunday. It also is his fourth career major league start.

Cardinals: RHP Kyle Gibson (1-0, 2.57 ERA) starts the series finale for St. Louis.

Two people are dead and three were hospitalized after a multi-vehicle crash in West Park Saturday afternoon, deputies say. Two of those hospitalized are minors.

A little after 2 p.m., Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the crash near South State Road 7 and Southwest 25th Street in West Park, spokesperson Gerdy St. Louis said in an email.

Two people were pronounced dead at the scene. Miramar Fire Rescue took an adult and two minors to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, St. Louis said. She did not provide their conditions or say how many cars were involved.

BSO Traffic Homicide Unit detectives are investigating, St. Louis said. The north and southbound lanes of State Road 7 between Hallandale Beach Boulevard and Southwest 21st Street in West Park were shut down as of 4 p.m.

This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis responded Saturday to the dramatic crane incident that killed a worker, injured three others and damaged a bridge in the city’s downtown two days before, describing it as “unusual” but adding that the city could potentially do more to oversee construction projects.

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• Local News | ‘Do something before someone gets killed’: OSHA had received complaints about Fort Lauderdale construction site where crane part fell

A large, blue piece of steel from a tower crane at the Gables Riverwalk construction site at 333 N. New River Drive E. had smashed into two cars on the Southeast Third Avenue drawbridge about 4:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon, landing on top of a van and crushing the passenger side of the vehicle. The front of a Tesla was also severely damaged.

“We all realize this was a terrible accident and it’s clear that the city perhaps needs to be more hands-on in terms of ensuring the best practices are observed in constructing these buildings,” Trantalis told the South Florida Sun Sentinel Saturday afternoon. “At our next commission meeting we will discuss this. But keep in mind there have been dozens of buildings built in the city over last 20 years and we’ve never had an accident like this.”

The accident killed 27-year-old Jorge De La Torre, a traveling construction worker from Atlanta with a young son, according to his family. Officials, including Trantalis, said it was lucky that more people were not injured or killed considering that the crash happened during rush hour in the congested downtown area.

In the days since, some residents pointed to the accident as the consequence of over-development and lack of oversight. One neighboring resident had complained about safety issues at the same construction site to both OSHA and the city. The same construction company he complained about had received multiple OSHA violations last year for failing to protect against falls.

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• Local News | ‘Do something before someone gets killed’: OSHA had received complaints about Fort Lauderdale construction site where crane part fell
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A construction worker was killed and two people were taken to the hospital after a portion of a crane dropped onto the Southeast Third Avenue bridge over the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale on Thursday afternoon, April 4, 2024. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)

Trantalis acknowledged that nearby residents had complained about the project but said that their complaints largely had to do with the building blocking their views, not safety.

“This is an urban setting, and these kinds of situations will continue to evolve as buildings are built next to one another,” he said. “But there was never a concern about safety or risk during these public meetings and for good reason, because we don’t have a history of that.”

Gary Grayson, the resident who had complained to OSHA, said he had also complained to the city commission about the construction for several years. According to minutes from a February 2021 commission meeting, he gave a video presentation “illustrating his opposition to the Project due to the small lot size, setbacks and wind studies,” with which other residents had voiced agreement. In a June 2023 presentation, he spoke about code enforcement violations and mentioned a lack of netting to protect people from falling objects.

Responding to critics who cited over-development as a cause, Trantalis said he had “anticipated voices against development would become sharpened as a result of this incident.”

“However, we are continuing to follow the path of the downtown master plan,” he said. “These buildings are consistent with what the community had agreed to many years ago. The commission is just following those guidelines, and nothing has changed.”

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan told reporters Thursday that the workers were in the process of “stepping” the crane, where sections are added to the tower crane to elevate it as the under-construction building grows taller. A platform holding equipment failed, he said, not the crane itself. De La Torre’s brother, Brandon, said that a cable had snapped, causing the piece to fall.

While the city wants to get to the bottom of what caused the accident, Trantalis said he did not want to “pre-judge” what happened or how it could have been prevented.

“We like to think it was an unusual situation,” he said. “Our hearts go out to the family members of the deceased, their friends, their coworkers. We want to continue to be able to build our city in a safe and proportionate way, and we’re prepared to listen to experts on next best steps as the construction process continues.”

Commissioner Warren Sturman, who represents the district where the accident took place, did not return voicemails Friday or Saturday.

Immediately after the incident, two people were hospitalized, one with only minor injuries. A third person who was injured refused to be taken to the hospital. No additional information was available Saturday.

Fort Lauderdale Police identified four people “directly involved” in the accident as Gemmalyn Castillo, 37; Carol Zinser, 69; Gregory Garcia, 43; and Mark Cerezin, 56, the driver whose Tesla was struck by the chunk of crane as he was driving across the bridge. Zinser did not return a voicemail Saturday. Castillo and Garcia could not be reached.

Staff writer Angie DiMichele contributed to this report.

Every professional wrestling fan has heard some variation of it in their lives.

“You know it’s fake, right?” they’ll say.

Predetermined? OK. But fake? Not even a little bit.

The intersection of sports and entertainment that is professional wrestling is meeting in a marquee way this weekend in Philadelphia with WrestleMania 40 and its surrounding events.

The days of a couple of oafs working headlocks and arm bars for 80 percent of the match as part of their four-move skillset are long gone.

The modern day WWE “Superstar” routinely blends acrobatics, athletics, daredevilry and bouts of brutality into a physical brand of storytelling that is worthy of the designation of professional athlete.

The increased athleticism has changed the game in WWE.

WWE has held tryouts in recent years predominantly featuring current and former college athletes to find their next stars. That trend continued during WrestleMania week at Drexel University on April 2-5.

The NXT developmental brand was previously stewarded by Paul “Triple H” Levesque, who now oversees all creative in WWE after the exit of former owner Vince McMahon. It’s now in the hands of fellow legendary wrestler Shawn Michaels, who continues to be impressed by the next generation.

“I really enjoy the fact that we’re out there recruiting out of these colleges and going after these young men and women. We had (a tryout Thursday) and it’s staggering,” Michaels said.

“They’re unbelievable athletes and the great many that we end up choosing are getting it so fast. I think that speaks very positively to the future of this industry.”

WWE legend and NXT head of creative Shawn Michaels speaks during a news conference at WrestleMania Media Day on April 5 in Philadelphia. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)

Among the prospects were Lehigh wrestling alum Karam Chakif, two-time U23 World wrestling medalist Jacob Cardenas, a large group of Division I football players on the men’s side; past NCAA volleyball players made up a large swath of the women’s hopefuls.

There’s a history of elite athletes finding professional wrestling. Arguably the greatest athletic bona fides that have come to WWE were wrestlers-turned-wrestlers: Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar.

After winning an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling in 1996, Angle was a natural and went on to become four-time WWE Champion and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017. Lesnar was an NCAA heavyweight champion before becoming the youngest person to win the WWE Championship, which he won seven times, and headline WrestleMania five times.

Current talent Chad Gable competed for the U.S. in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Football has served as a breeding ground for WWE, too.

Look no further than the main event of WrestleMania Night 1. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Roman Reigns were Division I defensive tackles at Miami and Georgia Tech, respectively, before joining the family business.

WWE wrestler Bianca Belair, center, poses with fans during a Make-A-Wish event on April 4 in Philadelphia. (Courtesy Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau)

The pathway hasn’t entirely changed. But the hit rate has.

The new generation arrived with Bianca Belair, who has gone from Tennessee track and field to women’s champion and WrestleMania main-eventer. She’ll compete alongside Jade Cargill (Jacksonville Univ. basketball) in a 3-on-3 tag team match Saturday.

Rising talents include Trick Williams (South Carolina football), who is the headliner of Saturday’s NXT Stand and Deliver event at Wells Fargo Center; the Creed Brothers, Julius (Duke wrestling) and Brutus (Otterbein wrestling); and Tiffany Stratton (USA Gymnastics).

Former NCAA and Olympic wrestling champion Gable Steveson has been on a developmental contract since 2022.

The makeup of top college athletes segues perfectly into the performance art of pro wrestling.

“The recruiting system that we have with these athletes coming in, they’ve been taught from a very young age and their normal is to perform, to get better, to achieve goals,” Michaels said. “That’s why what we’ve done in the last couple of years is so amazing to me because that’s all they know. We’re not taking them out of their normal, except teaching them a new craft. They’re born and bred to look at a goal and make it happen.”

It’s not exactly professional athletics, but a blend of it in the eyes of veteran Tomasso Ciampo, who will wrestle in his first WrestleMania match during Saturday’s Night 1 as part of the 6-Pack Ladder Match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship.

“I don’t think so. It’s improv, right?” Ciampa said Friday at WrestleMania 40 Media Day when asked if he and his colleagues are professional athletes. “There’s some acting involved, there’s a pro-athlete element to it.

“I think there are wrestlers who are capable of it, like a Ricochet, or Montez Ford, whose vertical is there, whose sprint is there, who can probably put up good numbers in a combine. The rest of us, it would be embarrassing, because we’re not training for the same thing.”

WWE wrestler Tomasso Ciampa (Courtesy Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau)

Professional wrestling is instead a unique blend of fitness, physical improvisation, endurance, appearance, acting and showmanship.

“There’s explosive elements, but there’s also aesthetics,” Ciampa said. “A quarterback doesn’t have to worry about taking his shirt off, no matter how he looks. They don’t have to worry about their physical appearance in the same way. I think there’s elements of pro-athlete to it, but I think it’s more, in a sense. It’s a whole different skill set.”

Other sporting pursuits carry a component of physical punishment, but elsewhere the goal is to avoid that, not embrace it.

Ciampa knows that experience as much as any. His wrestling career began in 2005 before joining WWE in its developmental brand NXT in 2015. His NXT run included a tag team title run with Johnny Gargano – his DIY partner in Saturday’s title match – time as the NXT champion and an iconic feud with Gargano that ranks among the best rivalries in recent WWE history.

The road to his first WrestleMania required endurance through countless injuries, torn ACLs, neck surgery in 2019, hip surgery in 2022, among them.

“I don’t think there’s a way for people to understand it,” he said. “The matches are one thing. They’re short sprints with a lot of heavy impact. But then it’s get in a car, drive a few hours, get on a flight that’s early with lack of sleep. Your cortisol levels and inflammation’s through the roof.

That’s the hardest part. And there’s no off-season. So the grind just continues.”

Philadelphia hasn’t been kind to Ciampa in his earlier years with some failed tryouts on the independent scene and matches in Ring of Honor that ‘didn’t live up to the hype for me.’

A ladder match is uniquely brutal in pro wrestling where getting hit, rammed into and jumping off ladders comes with the territory.

Yet it will hold a special place for him after WrestleMania 40, regardless of the physical toll that comes his way.

“This ladder match should top the chart for me,” Ciampa said. “This will be my biggest moment in wrestling ever.”

A competitive runner is fighting for her life in the hospital after a hit-and-run in Miramar early Saturday morning, police say.

Onyxia Delinois, 26, was jogging eastbound in the 18300 block of Miramar Parkway sometime between 6:30 and 7:15 a.m., Miramar Police spokeswoman Tania Ordaz said in a release, when she was hit by a vehicle that fled the scene. Paramedics took her to the hospital in critical condition.

“An avid jogger, Onyxia is fighting for her life,” Ordaz said in the release.

Pictures on social media show Delinois on early-morning runs, competing in 5Ks and the Miami Half Marathon.

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A post shared by Onyxia (@_onyxia)

Outside of running, she founded her own insurance broker business, according to her Instagram page.

The run Delinois took Saturday morning was not in a residential area and police need help finding witnesses who may have seen the driver, Ordaz told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

“We are desperately seeking the public’s assistance in this one,” she said.

Anyone with information should contact Miramar Police immediately at 954-602-4000.

Pro 93 Home Solutions – Win Home Inspection  Mymix1041.com

HOUSTON — Observations and other notes of interest from Friday night’s 119-104 victory over the Houston Rockets:

– For now, Erik Spoelstra can buy time.

– No one would be surprised if he continues in the short term with Tyler Herro off the bench.

– With Herro missing 20 games prior to Friday, building back up the minutes makes sense.

– And with Nikola Jovic a spark in Friday’s third period, starting each half likely will continue to make regular-season sense.

– But changes are coming.

– They have to, with Josh Richardson now the lone Heat player out due to injury.

– With Richardson done for the season following shoulder surgery.

– There were some hints Friday, with Jaime Jaquez Jr. last off the bench in the 10-man rotation.

– And with Haywood Highsmith less featured than recent games.

– Eventually Herro gets back in the starting lineup.

– Eventually Martin could move in there too, as a means to also give more time off the bench to Highsmith.

– Caught in the vortex could be Jaquez.

– With Friday offering that hint.

– When Jaquez entered in the third period, he was at seven minutes played, with everyone else in the Heat rotation at at least 14.

– With Jaquez promptly making an impact with a 3-pointer.

– Considering the stakes Sunday in Indiana, it will be interesting to see if the changes come sooner rather than later.

– Ten deep was the way Friday.

– It won’t necessarily be that way when the games mean most.

– Even with Herro back, the Heat continued with an opening lineup of Bam Adebayo, Jovic, Jimmy Butler, Duncan Robinson and Terry Rozier.

– That unit entered 6-6 as the starting lineup.

– Martin entered first off the Heat bench.

– Followed by Kevin Love.

– And then Herro entering for Rozier.

– With Highsmith following by playing ahead of Jaquez.

– Robinson’s first assist was the 600th of his career.

– Jovic extended his career-best streak of games with at least one 3-pointer to 13, with a conversion midway through the third period.

– Highsmith’s second offensive rebound tied his season high of 57 last season.

– Adebayo now has a career-high 41 double-doubles this season.

– While the Heat got Herro back, the Rockets were without Amen Thompson (ankle, finger) and Jae’Sean Tate (ankle), as well as previously out Alperen Sengun (ankle) and Tori Eason (tibia).

– Heat two-way guard Alondes Williams (Sioux Falls Skyforce) on Friday was named G League Most Improved Player. He averaged 20.3 points on .498 shooting, 5.3 rebounds. 7.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.6 blocks at 37.4 minutes a game in his 43 regular-season appearances.

– Williams also finished as runner-up to Osceola Magic guard Mac McClung for G League 2024 Most Valuable Player, with that announcement also coming Friday. Unlike Williams, McClung is not under NBA contract.

– In addition, Heat Vice President of Player Personnel and Skyforce General Manager Eric Amsler on Friday was named G League Basketball Executive of the Year, becoming the second in franchise history (Heat Vice President of Basketball Operations/Assistant General Manager Adam Simon took the honor in 2016) .

– Friday night’s game completed the 12th of the Heat’s 13 back-to-back sets this season. Still remaining is Tuesday night in Atlanta and Wednesday night at home against Dallas.

– The Heat entered with seven consecutive victories over the Rockets, one shy of the franchise record against Houston.

HOUSTON – It was a back-to-back set that could have been a backbreaker for the Miami Heat. And it certainly felt that way at the start of the pairing, with Thursday night’s home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Instead, a night after blowing a late lead, the Heat built on a late lead to push past the Houston Rockets 119-104 Friday night at Toyota Center.

“For us,” center Bam Adebayo said, “it was just about moving forward.”

Mission accomplished.

“It was a good response,” coach Erik Spoelstra said.

While the stakes weren’t as high as a night earlier, the victory put the Heat in a better frame of mind heading into Sunday’s showdown against the Indiana Pacers on the second stop of this three-game trip. The winner of that game will secure the inside track on the No. 6 seed in the East, with the Heat-Pacers three-game season series tied 1-1.

“You don’t have to be a mind reader to figure out how we felt climbing on that plane last night,” Spoelstra said of his team’s overnight flight to Houston. “Obviously we now have a big one in Indiana.”

With Jimmy Butler and  Adebayo setting the tone, and with Tyler Herro returning from a 20-game absence with a flourish, the Heat made it eight wins in their last 12 games.

“As we’ve said all year,” Butler said, “we always control our destiny. And that’s now more than ever.”

Afforded the opportunity to take the fourth quarter off, Butler closed with 22 points. The Heat also got 18 points and 12 rebounds from Adebayo, as well as 17 points from Herro in his return.

“Just excitement to be back on the court,” Herro said, “doing what I love doing with my guys.”

With Friday night’s victory, the Heat clinched no worse than eighth place in the East, meaning if they wind up in the play-in round, they get two chances for the one win needed to advance to the best-of-seven first round.

Five Degrees of Heat from Friday night’s game:

1. Closing time: It was tied 27-27 after the first period, with the Heat then taking a 64-59 lead into halftime.

The Heat then went up 13 points in the third period and took a 93-83 lead into the fourth.

With Butler on the bench, the Rockets then got within four early in the final period, before Herro helped push the Heat to a 110-96 lead with 6:09 to play.

Eventually the Heat pushed the lead to 18.

“They felt us more in the second half,” Spoelstra said of his defense limiting the Rockets to 45 points over the final two periods.

2. Herro time: Herro was back in action for the first time since Feb. 23 when he entered for Rozier with 3:42 to play in the opening period. Herro could have entered earlier, but there was confusion whether he was entering for Butler, who was at the line at the time.

Herro converted his first shot, a 13-foot jumper with 1:05 left in the opening period, and appeared comfortable being on the ball as the de facto backup point guard, with a team-high four first-half assists.

He closed 7 of 14 from the field, with six assists and five rebounds.

“Just good to have him back overall,” Adebayo said. “He was looking like a sad puppy over there, when he couldn’t play.”

It was the first time Herro played off the bench since the 2022 playoffs.

“It’s hard to just implement me into the starting lineup at this point.” Herro said of the reserve role.

3. Rotation alteration: With Herro back and with the Heat playing on the second night of a back-to-back, coach Erik Spoelstra went 10 deep in the first quarter.

After Butler, Adebayo, Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson and Nikola Jovic started, the first five off the bench, in order, were Caleb Martin, Kevin Love, Herro, Haywood Highsmth and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

The approach had Jovic back to a role of starting each half and then stepping aside, until a cameo during mop-up time.

“It’s great,” Spoelstra said of being able to go 10 deep with such quality. “It really is, especially for this stretch run. Our depth, we always felt was one of the greatest strengths of this roster.”

4. Attack mode: Surprisingly passive Thursday night against the 76ers and the defense of former Heat teammate Kyle Lowry, Butler this time was demanding from the outset.

He closed the first period with 10 points, at 3 of 6 from the field and 4 of 4 from the line.

He was up to 15 points at the intermission and at his 22 through three quarters.

“That was the most important thing,” Spoelsta said, “for Jimmy to set the tone for us early on.”

Butler closed 6 of 14 from the field, including 2 of 6 on 3-pointers, as well as 8 of 8 from the line.

“We streaking,” Butler said of now moving on to Indiana. “I love what this game means for them. I love what it means for us.”

5. The playoff race: With the Indiana Pacers (44-34) defeating the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night, the Heat (43-34) ended the night where they started, at No. 7 in the East, now a game ahead of the No. 8 76ers (42-35).

The Heat have five games remaining: Sunday at Indiana, Tuesday at Atlanta, Wednesday at home against Dallas, and then a pair of games against Toronto at home to close out the regular season, on April 12 and 14.

By TIM REYNOLDS (AP Sports Writer)

FORT LAUDERDALE — Lionel Messi is coming back to Inter Miami’s lineup, with the team saying his absence for a hamstring injury will end Saturday at home in an MLS match against the Colorado Rapids.

“He’s back,” the team wrote in a social media post Friday.

Messi has missed Inter Miami’s last four games, including one Wednesday when the club wasted a 1-0 lead and lost 2-1 to Mexico’s Monterrey in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal. Tensions boiled over after that physical game, with members of both teams — Messi included — involved in a postgame shouting match near the locker room area at Chase Stadium.

Inter Miami finished that game a man down, leading to Monterrey’s comeback.

“We know what those matches represent. They are played with intensity,” Inter Miami assistant coach Javi Morales said Friday. “But the truth is, the most important thing happened on the field. We played against a great rival. Yes, unfortunately when we went down to 10 players we did not maintain the result. But now we have to go to Monterrey and try to do it in the best way to be able to advance.”

The second leg of the Miami-Monterrey series is Wednesday. And Messi would figure to be available for that, given that he will be in the lineup on Saturday.

Messi hasn’t played since March 13, and also missed Argentina’s exhibitions last month against El Salvador and Costa Rica. He trained with Miami on Friday.

“He’s getting better every day,” Morales said.

___

AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer

The 2024 edition of Tortuga Music Festival took off at Fort Lauderdale Beach Park on Friday in an atmosphere that came close to perfect, with blue skies, mid-70s temps and sunny dispositions all around. Priscilla Block was sassy, Boyz II Men crooned, Warren Zeiders rocked and the evening crowd was surprisingly manageable. Another surprise: Ashley McBryde’s secret set on a small stage outside a Jersey Mike’s booth. She did a half-dozen songs and signed a few autographs. The 100 or so fans that caught her were giddy. Something to look out for as Tortuga continues on Saturday and Sunday.

The drive to Bristol, Virginia, from Jacksonville, Florida, takes more than eight hours. It’s over 10 from Orlando and closer to 14 from Miami. Despite that distance, Bristol Women’s Health Center is preparing for an influx of women from Florida seeking abortions when a stricter ban kicks in next month.

For many people who otherwise would have obtained abortions in Florida, the clinic in southwest Virginia will become the closest practical option — as it already is for a swath of the South after a Florida policy change expected to resonate far beyond the state’s borders.

“The majority of the patients we do serve are coming from banned states,” said Karolina Ogorek, the clinic’s administrative director. “I think that Florida will just become another one of the states that we serve.”

On Monday, the Florida Supreme Court upheld the state’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. That step allows another, stricter ban to take effect on May 1, making abortion illegal in the state after six weeks’ gestation — before many women realize they’re pregnant. The ban includes exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape, incest or human trafficking, or that threaten the life or physical health or the woman and for fatal fetal anomalies.

In a separate but closely related ruling, the court also allowed a referendum that will let the state’s voters decide in November whether they want an amendment to the state constitution allowing abortion until viability.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra speaks during a field hearing on reproductive freedom held by the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee at the Broward County Governmental Center in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Stephanie Loraine Piñeiro, executive director of the Florida Access Network, which helps pay for abortion care for Florida women, said that the law coupled with a 24-hour waiting period for abortion will be a “total ban” in practical terms.

And getting to a provider elsewhere, she said, will drive the average cost of abortion — including transportation, lodging, meals, child care and clinic fees — to around $4,000, about twice what it is now. That will strain organizations like hers, which already often hits its budget limit well before the end of the month, as they shift to helping people get care elsewhere.

That could strand people who can’t get time off work, afford travel, arrange child care or lack documentation to travel, Piñeiro said.

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“The people who are most marginalized are going to cotinine to not have access,” she said.

She said she expects some of the state’s clinics to close for lack of patients.

Currently, the average distance to a facility that provides abortion for Florida residents is 20 miles (32 kilometers), said Caitlin Myers, an economics professor at Middlebury College in Vermont who studies the impact of abortion bans. But when the new ban takes effect, the average distance to one that offers abortion after the first six weeks of pregnancy will be 584 miles (940 kilometers).

And that only gets patients to North Carolina, where two in-person visits are required 72 hours apart to receive an abortion — and only for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in most cases.

It’s more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) farther to Virginia.

Some areas already have long drives to the nearest abortion providers — eight hours from San Antonio, Texas, to Santa Teresa, New Mexico, for instance, and nine from New Orleans to Carbondale, Illinois, or Houston to Wichita, Kansas. But the geography will make South Florida the most highly populated place in the U.S. that’s farthest from in-person abortion access past the first six weeks.

Georgia and South Carolina, which have bans that begin after about six weeks and Ohio, which had a similar one for a time, have seen in the neighborhood of half as many abortions with those policies in effect. Some people are able to obtain abortion close to home earlier in pregnancy rather than traveling.

Who gets abortions in Florida? New data present a clearer picture

It’s not only Florida residents who will be affected by the new ban.

“Florida is a really important state for Southern abortion access, and it has been a state that has experienced a surge in travelers from Georgia and Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana who are traveling out of those states, avoiding near total or six-week bans to facilities,” Myers said.

Of the 84,000 abortions provided in Florida last year, about 7,700 were for people who live out of state. Now most of those patients will travel farther for access, too.

The total number of abortions in the country has been roughly stable since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended a nationwide right to abortion in 2022. But the details have changed.

U.S. Reps. Robyn Kelly, left, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Hakeem Jeffries are seen on the dais during a field hearing on reproductive freedom held by the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee at the Broward County Governmental Center in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Far more are provided by pills rather than surgery, with a major increase in prescriptions through telehealth — including to patients in states with bans from providers where laws seek to protect such prescriptions. But there could be legal tests of whether those protections are valid. And the U.S. Supreme Court is already considering an effort to roll back approvals for one of the two drugs usually used in combination for medication abortion.

Planned Parenthood centers in Florida have been preparing for the stricter ban to take effect. Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, said they’ve implemented rapid blood tests to determine pregnancy earlier, increased education and contraception programs, and ramped up efforts to help people travel elsewhere for abortion.

“We’re doing what we can,” she said. “But we’ve as we’ve seen in other states, it’s still going to have a devastating impact on our public health system.”

Since states began enforcing bans after the 2022 ruling, the Bristol clinic has added appointment slots in afternoons, Saturdays and some Sundays — and has adjusted to the idea that patients could be late because of traffic jams as far away as Atlanta.

“In order for them to come to Virginia, there’s a lot of planning involved,” Ogorek said. “It’s not just taking a few hours off of work and driving 20 minutes”

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday wrote to the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, calling on them to press Hamas for a hostage deal with Israel, according to a senior administration official, one day after Biden called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to redouble efforts to reach a cease-fire in the six-month-old war in Gaza.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private letters, said Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will meet Monday with family members of some of the estimated 100 hostages who are believed to still be in Gaza.

The letters to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, come as Biden has deployed CIA Director William Burns to Cairo for talks this weekend about the hostage crisis.

David Barnea, the head of Mossad, Israel’s spy agency, and negotiators from Egypt and Qatar are expected to attend. The Hamas side of the talks is indirect, with proposals relayed through third parties to Hamas leaders sheltering in tunnels beneath Gaza.

White House officials say negotiating a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas to facilitate the exchange of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel is the only way to put a temporary cease-fire into effect and boost the flow of badly humanitarian aid into the territory.

Biden, in his conversation with Netanyahu, “made clear that everything must be done to secure the release of hostages, including American citizens,” and discussed “the importance of fully empowering Israeli negotiators to reach a deal,” according to the official. The first phase of the proposed deal would secure the release of women and elderly, sick and wounded hostages.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said earlier Friday that Biden underscored the need to get a hostage deal done during the Thursday conversation with Netanyahu that largely focused on Israeli airstrikes that killed seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen.

“We are coming up on six months — six months that these people have been held hostage. And what we have to consider is just the abhorrent conditions” the hostages are being held in, Kirby said. “They need to be home with their families.”

Biden had expressed optimism for a temporary cease-fire and a hostage deal during the runup to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but an agreement never materialized.

The White House said in a statement Thursday following Biden’s call with Netanyahu that the U.S. president said reaching an “immediate cease-fire” in exchange for hostages was “essential” and urged Israel to reach such an accord “without delay.”

White House officials acknowledge that Biden has become increasingly frustrated with Israel’s prosecution of a grinding war that has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage. Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., Canada, and EU.

The Israeli military campaign in Gaza, experts say, is among the deadliest and most destructive in recent history. Within two months, researchers say, the offensive already has wreaked more destruction than the razing of Syria’s Aleppo between 2012 and 2016, Ukraine’s Mariupol or, proportionally, the Allied bombing of Germany in World War II. It has killed more civilians than the U.S.-led coalition did in its three-year campaign against the Islamic State group.

The White House has maintained its support for Israel amid growing domestic and international wariness with Israel’s prosecution of the war, and repeatedly said that a temporary cease-fire could have already come had Hamas agreed to release the sick, the wounded, the elderly, and young women.

But the pressure on Biden has only mounted since this week’s airstrikes that killed the World Central Kitchen workers.

The Israeli government acknowledged “mistakes” and announced some disciplinary measures against officers involved in ordering the strikes. Israel also approved a series of steps aimed at increasing the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including the reopening of a key crossing that was destroyed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday that the World Central Kitchen incident is part of a broader problem with how the Israeli military is carrying out the war. Nearly 200 humanitarian aid workers have been killed since the start of the conflict.

“But the essential problem is not who made the mistakes, it is the military strategy and procedures in place that allow for those mistakes to multiply time and time again,” he said. “Fixing those failures requires independent investigations and meaningful and measurable change on the ground.”

Florida football is amid a two-week stretch Billy Napier calls “critical” to his program’s turnaround. The Gators have two scrimmages, including the spring game, to sharpen their focus entering the offseason. Meanwhile, the biggest weekend in college basketball takes center stage, with UConn looking to become the first back-to-back champion since the 2006-07 Gators. But Iowa’s Caitlin Clark has stolen the show during March Madness and helped elevate the women’s games to new heights. During the latest Swamp Things, Edgar and Mark try to bring their A game ahead of a big sports weekend.

• UF Football: Critical 2-week stretch (1:02)
• DJ Lagway vs Graham Mertz (4:04)
• Billy Napier needs to get fans excited (15:54)
• Ricky Pearsall replacement? (19:56)
• Chimere Dike’s role (25:14)
• Mr. Intensity (30:45)
• Biggest weekend college basketball (33:37)
• Women’s sports (51:23)
• Baseball (59:00)
• Jeremy Foley’s Corner (1:02:00)

Florida’s high-speed Brightline train has partnered with Princess Cruises for a “Rail & Sail” program that includes one of its trains made over with the iconic imagery of the brand with ties to “The Love Boat.”

Most Princess ships call Port Everglades home in Fort Lauderdale, including the debut later this year of its newest and largest ship, the Sun Princess. The line is expanding with its first ship to be based out of Port Canaveral this fall when Caribbean Princess arrives.

The nearly 113,000-gross-ton vessel began sailing in 2004, christened by Jill Whelan who played Vicki Stubing on “The Love Boat.” Princess ships were featured during the show’s run in the 1970s and 1980s.

Brightline runs from Miami to Orlando with several stops in South Florida, including Fort Lauderdale and a northern terminus at Orlando International Airport. The line has future stops planned that include Cocoa, near Port Canaveral.

The deal between the train and cruise companies aims to offer passengers hassle-free travel to the two port destinations that includes an optional express baggage checking service at $35 per bag that people can use so their luggage is checked at the train station and will make its way to their staterooms.

The deals include complimentary motorcoach travel from the Brightline station to the cruise port terminal to board the ships. The Orlando-to-Port Canaveral service will begin once Caribbean Princess begins sailing in November.

“A Princess cruise is already the best value in travel and this new partnership with Brightline makes it even easier and more enjoyable to sail with us from the top-rated ports in South and Central Florida,” said cruise line president John Padgett in a news release. “Our guests can just sit back, relax, and let us do the rest, including delivering their luggage directly to their stateroom.”

The partnership also offers discounts of up to 15% on packages booked through the Brightline website. For those who book through May 5, an extra credit for up to $150 per person for certain packages is available.

The Princess theme design adorns four cars that include the Princess “seawitch” logo and depictions of popular ports of call. Princess branding will also be on display at Brightline terminals.

“Brightline has been connecting travelers to South Florida ports since we began operations in 2018 and cruisers from the beginning have found our train to be the easiest way to start their vacation,” said Brightline President Patrick Goddard in the release. “Today’s partnership with Princess Cruises and this train wrap with the iconic Love Boat branding is yet another example of the connection between cruisers and Brightline.

By ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN (AP Science Writer)

DALLAS (AP) — East Coast residents were jolted Friday by a 4.8-magnitude earthquake centered near Lebanon, New Jersey, with weak rumblings felt as far away as Baltimore and the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border. No life-threatening injuries or major damage have been reported.

Here’s what to know about earthquakes on the East Coast.

Earthquakes large enough to be felt by a lot of people are relatively uncommon on the East Coast. Since 1950 there have been about 20 quakes with a magnitude above 4.5, according to the United States Geological Survey. That’s compared with over 1,000 on the West Coast.

That said, East Coast quakes like the one experienced Friday do happen.

“There’s a history of similar-sized earthquakes in the New York region over the last few hundred years,” said Jessica Thompson Jobe from the USGS’ Earthquake Hazards Program.

In 2011, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake near Mineral, Virginia, shook East Coast residents over a wide swath from Georgia to Maine and even southeastern Canada. The USGS called it one of the most widely felt quakes in North American history.

The quake cost $200 to $300 million in property damages, including to the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.

The West Coast lies on a boundary where sections of Earth’s crust rub together, causing stress and slippage along fault lines that generate earthquakes relatively often.

East Coast quakes like Friday’s are caused by compression over time of hard, brittle rock deep underground, according to Robert Thorson, an earth sciences professor at the University of Connecticut. “It’s like having a big block of ice in a vise and you are just slowly cranking up the vise,” he said. “Eventually, you’re going to get some crackling on it.”

These East Coast quakes can be harder to pinpoint. And they tend to affect a broader area. That’s because colder, harder East Coast rocks are better at spreading the rattling energy from an earthquake.

The distribution of cities across the East Coast also means that more people are around to experience the effects of a quake.

“We also have population centers over a large part of the northeast,” said Leslie Sonder, a geophysicist at Dartmouth College, “So a lot of people around here feel the earthquake.”

USGS experts say there is a risk of aftershocks for weeks to months, which are expected after any earthquake. They recommend paying attention to emergency messaging from local officials.

To keep safe from shakes while sleeping, remove any furniture or objects that could fall and injure you or others.

If you feel shaking, drop where you are. Cover your head and neck with one arm, crawl under a table for shelter and hold on. If there’s no shelter nearby, grasp your head and neck with both hands until the shaking stops.

___

AP writer Pat Eaton-Robb contributed to this report from Storrs, Connecticut.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.