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What this franchise needs is some tough prescriptions. It needs to accept that being bad for a short while is good for the long term, and if there is a franchise that seems poised to prove that, it’s the Knicks’ West Coast counterpart, the Lakers. For decades, things came so easily for the Lakers that it seemed the indignity of a rebuild was beneath them. But as reality set in recently, the Lakers have given in to the necessity of a rebuild, and their future is looking brighter....

The accomplishment of winning sixteen major world championships is considered the record for professional wrestling (though purists and historians will tell you that Ric Flair has 21 world title reigns, several of which are not recognised by the NWA or WWE) and before Sunday the only man to reach that number was the inimitable “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. But now that the Leader of the Cenation has joined Flair in the rarified air atop the mountain of wrestling’s all-time greats the debate begs to be made, which man’s reigns meant more?...

A swimmer didn’t even know of it until a journalist enquired, a sprinter is worried while a hockey player is just relieved that his family is in a safe zone even though he is heartbroken for his state. India’s chef-de-mission at the Games, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, told PTI in Jakarta that the athletes will be updated on the safety status of their families after seeking the home ministry’s assistance....

Over the past week, the combined total number of new cases reported in Texas and Florida was greater than the combined total reported in all 27 countries within the European Union (EU). Florida saw a total of 50,000 new cases from June 25 to July 1, while Texas reported 44,300 new cases within the same period. The combined total new cases in both states in the past week amounted to 94,300, nearly three times more than the 32,458 new infections reported in the whole of the EU this week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University....

Redshirt junior cornerback C.J. McWilliams is out for the season with a torn Achilles, Florida coach Dan Mullen confirmed during his press conference Tuesday. “That’s a tough one,” Mullen said. “Non-contact injury. It’s a shame, because it’s one of those early in practice, planted, then drove, and felt the pop. It’s a shame. That’s what’s so tough is guys that work so hard. You know, they put all this work in the offseason and then get (injured)....

His comments came nearly a month after Florida State University (FSU) police arrested and charged seven students for hosting an “open house party” in defiance of the school’s rules for preventing a COVID-19 outbreak. “I understand that universities are trying to do the right thing,” DeSantis said at a news briefing on Thursday, “but I personally think it’s dramatically draconian that a student could get potentially expelled for going to a party....

The van belongs to Aniyah Williams, a Black woman in Gainesville who operates the Fancy Hair Collection beauty service. Williams’ van was parked outside of a graphics shop, Screaming Aero Graphix. The shop had newly added photo images of Black women on the van’s exterior. Video footage showed a male suspect driving into the area and spray-painting the letters “KKK” in red paint on the van’s side. The alleged vandal also spray-painted a crudely drawn noose around one of the women’s heads, Ocala-News....

Fidel Manual Valle, 34, was apprehended by deputies from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office last Sunday. He is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, drug possession and violation of probation, according to an arrest report released yesterday. Authorities say the Dade City man was in a vehicle with the victim when he accused her of stealing $40. The incident occurred in Trilby just before 11 p.m. Officials say the suspect forced the victim to “get naked to prove she was not hiding the money....

Pembroke Pines Police Department said its officers detained 33-year-old John Ireland in Oakland Park after a citizen recognized him from images released to the public after the prisoner went missing. Ireland now faces charges for the escape from South Florida State Hospital and he will be transported to the BSO Main Jail for detention. “Thank you to our community and news media partners for assisting us in locating this individual,” the police department said in a release....

Mayor Dean Trantalis witnessed the pickup truck drive into spectators at the parade. He described the events of the accident to a reporter for WPLG at the scene and said he believed the driver was aiming for Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz, who was nearby when the incident happened. “This was a terrorist attack against the LGBT community; this is exactly what it is,” he said. The reporter then asked Trantalis if he believed the crash was an accident....

Don’t Worry Darling made its much anticipated premiere at the Venice Film Festival yesterday, after a Pugh-free and tense press conference to promote the movie. The movie has been embroiled in controversy amid Wilde’s rumored feud with Pugh. The actress’ stylist threw some subtle shade at Wilde on Instagram as she shared Pugh’s look for the star-studded premiere. Rebecca Corbin-Murray posted a series of photos of Pugh before the premiere wearing a Maison Valentino gown at her hotel room, at a Venice pier and aboard the boat that ferried her to the red carpet event....

32-year-old Malouda was signed by Chelsea in 2007 for a reported £13 million and he is expected to return to France, although the Frenchman is unlikely to get the same pay as he earned at Chelsea. Yossi Benayoun and Paulo Ferreira, who are both Malouda’s Chelsea team-mates, were also released. William Gallas and David Bentley of Tottenham Hotspur were not given an extension and both the Tottenham players will be available on a free transfer....

The Sunshine State’s Department of Economic Opportunity announced Monday that the supplemental, federally funded pandemic unemployment compensation program will expire on June 26. “Thanks to Governor [Ron] DeSantis’ leadership, Florida’s economy has bounced back tremendously with over 460,000 jobs available throughout our state and the strongest economic conditions in the nation,” Dane Eagle, the agency’s secretary, said in a statement. “Florida’s employers are also seeing employment growth, as more Floridians, including some who completely left the workforce, are now eagerly reentering the workforce....

“This is something we have talked about internally for some time,” Florida athletics director Jeremy Foley said. “We have always been able to utilize the O’Connell Center as an indoor option for the football team, but with the renovation starting this spring, it will no longer be available.” MORE: SN early Top 10 | Staying put: 20 key players not going to NFL yet | Winners & Losers The new facility will be built on the site of the Sanders football practice fields, which are adjacent to Florida’s baseball stadium....

The Sunshine State filed an emergency application Friday arguing the federal agency’s order regarding cruise ships is “manifestly beyond its authority” and has cost Florida “tens of millions of dollars.” “It will continue to do so until all ships are able to sail free from the CDC’s mandates,” the court document read. “That is most unlikely to happen soon, especially given the many families who will be unable to sail until their young children are eligible for and administered COVID-19 vaccines....

According to the GoFundMe page, on June 30, Addison Bethea was scalloping on Keaton Beach when she was attacked by a 9-foot-long shark, which bit her several times. Her brother, firefighter Rhett Willingham, ran to help, and eventually dragged his sister away from the shark. Willingham and other local boaters nearby helped to tie a tourniquet around Bethea’s leg to control the bleeding before she was airlifted to the Bixler Trauma & Emergency Center at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital....

“I think there was really no justification to not move forward,” said Governor Ron DeSantis at a news conference in Orlando Friday. DeSantis responded after comments made the day before by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top adviser on the White House Coronavirus Task Force. “Despite the guidelines and the recommendations to open up carefully and prudently, some states skipped over those and just opened up too quickly,” Fauci said Thursday on FiveThirtyEight’s PODCAST-19....

During a Saturday press conference, DeSantis asserted that Florida is on its way to recovering from the virus, as the southern state remains under a stay-at-home order through the end of April. But the governor also pushed back against the urgings from some conservatives to fully reopen businesses and activities. “We’re not doing in-person sports yet no matter what …. That’s just not going to happen in May,” DeSantis explained....

The trailer is similar to those used by hospitals as a makeshift morgue when they did not have enough space in the building during the height of the pandemic last year. In a statement to Newsweek, Health First explained the presence of the trailer. “Health First does own and maintain a refrigerated trailer, which has long been parked in its same location at Viera Hospital. We’ve owned and operated this equipment for nearly two years,” spokesperson Lance Skelly said....

The hype video the university released Tuesday blends the success of those past teams with the ‘New Regime’ of Florida football, led by first-year coach Jim McElwain. MORE: Top 15 programs since 2000 | Top 10 SEC matchups | 10 greatest Gators Florida Football: A New Regime from Florida Football on Vimeo. The energy in Gainesville is growing as we kickoff a new chapter of Florida Football. As the video points out, Florida owns eight SEC championships and three national titles since 1991....