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Bridge: Sept. 5, 2023

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:56:30 GMT

“The man’s an opportunist,” Cy the Cynic grumbled in the club lounge. “He would pat me on the back, then bill me for a massage.”Cy was talking about Ed, our best player, who consistently takes Cy’s money in penny games.Cy showed me today’s deal from a team match. Both Souths played at four hearts, and West led the nine of spades.“When my teammate was South,” the Cynic said, “he ruffed, took dummy’s A-K of trumps, unblocked the A-K of diamonds, ruffed a spade and took the queen of trumps. Unfortunately, West discarded. When declarer led a high diamond, East ruffed and led the king of clubs (!) to dummy’s ace, and South lost the rest. Down two.”SEVEN TRUMPS“I led the nine of spades at my table,” Cy went on. “Ed was declarer. He ruffed and took the A-K of diamonds, but then he cashed the ace of clubs and crossruffed spades and diamonds. He scored all seven of his trumps, plus three side-suit...

Horoscopes Sept. 5, 2023: Michael Keaton, now is the time to play your hand

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:56:30 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Jade Payton, 31; Kat Graham, 34; Rose McGowan, 50; Michael Keaton, 72.Happy Birthday: Take a walk down memory lane and you’ll get a reminder that can change how you manage your time this year. Be open to the alterations around you and look for opportunities to make the most out of whatever situation you encounter. Don’t hesitate because you think you aren’t ready; now is the time to play your hand and put your dreams, hopes and wishes first. Your numbers are 2, 14, 23, 27, 34, 38, 42.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Contact someone with insight into something you want to pursue. Ask how much time, effort and money are at stake before you sign up or make promises you may not want to keep. Nurture a meaningful relationship and you’ll get help reaching your goal. 4 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Take care of business and build an excellent reputation. Being responsible and doing what you say will turn you into the go-to person among your ...

Ask Amy: Things got out of hand at the party. Was my reaction unreasonable?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:56:30 GMT

Dear Amy: I would like to get your take on a recent incident at a dinner party.The hosts of the party had out-of-town guests who brought their dog with them. The dog proceeded to hump everyone at the party.I asked the male owner if he would put the dog somewhere away from the guests. He gave me a one-word answer: no.I then asked the female owner to do something, and she ignored me.At one point my sister was shouting, “Get off me!” and I finally snapped and told the female owner, “Your dog is obnoxious.”She replied, “You can’t speak to me that way, you are not my mother.” She then went crying to the hostess, saying she was going to leave.My older sister and I had words with her and then left the party.None of the other guests said a word.We are no longer invited when this couple is in town with the dog.I do not socialize with the hosts of the party anymore. They placated this couple at the expense of the guests.Did I overreact?– DoggoneDear Doggone: Wow – what a night! What a glitter...

Harriette Cole: I was drinking with new friends, and I regret telling this story

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:56:30 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I hung out with some relatively new friends last weekend. We got to drinking champagne, and the stories started flowing.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: My hobby scares my girlfriend, but she doesn’t like to be left out Advice | Harriette Cole: Why shouldn’t I live with my friend’s ex? Advice | Harriette Cole: Was I rude to this woman I passed in the restaurant? Advice | Harriette Cole: I hoped I was wrong about my son’s girlfriend. I wasn’t. Advice | Harriette Cole: My son needs discipline, and I’m thinking about the military It turns out that we have a couple of mutual friends — including my first true love. I can’t believe it, but I told them details about how we broke up and how much I still care for him. Never mind the fact that I am married to someone else and have been for decades.I’m not trying to get with this old flam...

2023 NFC West preview

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:56:30 GMT

49ers 11-6There’s an audible creaking noise in San Francisco. Like the sound of a window closing.Brock Purdy will be QB1 in San Fran with Trey Lance going from third overall pick to third string QB — in Dallas. But with the way things went last year, the Niners might miss Lance at some point.Even with a championship-caliber defense and an anticipated Brandon Aiyuk breakout to aid a loaded offense, I don’t think Purdy is a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Furthermore, the Dave Preston corollary comes into play in the major way, as the Niners play four games on the East Coast with a 1 p.m. kickoff (including a late-season tilt in Washington) and four teams coming off their bye.This is still the best team in a bad division but don’t be surprised if there’s a loud slam in the Bay Area come playoff time.Seahawks 9-8Seattle took many by surprise in 2022, and while Geno Smith and Bobby Wagner (yes, again) won’t sneak up on anybody this year, I have the Seahawks...

2023 NFC South preview

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:56:30 GMT

Panthers 9-8Carolina might have had the best offseason of anyone in the NFL.Former Maryland Terrapin Frank Reich is a nice addition as head coach and Ejiro Evero as defensive coordinator is the cherry on top of an experienced coaching staff.No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young is throwing to a receiving corps described as “under construction” and certainly opens the season injured, but he’s got the pedigree and coaching to help the Panthers win a bad division in Year 1 (not unlike Washington in 2020).Saints 8-9Derek Carr thinks he’s recovered from the personal and professional issues that derailed his tenure with the Raiders but the fact of the matter is, he’s only been the quarterback of a winning team twice in nine seasons. The notion that his presence automatically makes New Orleans the favorite to win even a bad division is laughable, especially when you consider his coach (Dennis Allen, who also had a bad tenure with the Raiders) did his best work (*chec...

2023 NFC North preview

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:56:30 GMT

Vikings 9-8Oddly, the rest of the football world seems to have a love affair with Detroit winning the North. I don’t necessarily disagree — I just have Minnesota winning it on tiebreakers.Having the Vikings fall back to earth, however, is appropriate since last year’s 11-0 record in one-score games (an NFL record) is near impossible to replicate. As much as I love the addition of Brian Flores as defensive coordinator, Minnesota’s best veteran pieces on that side of the ball (Eric Kendricks, Dalvin Tomlinson, Patrick Peterson and Za’Darius Smith) are all elsewhere. I think Flores can scheme this into being a good defense and the offense will be fine with Kirk Cousins playing catch with Justin Jefferson.Even as the Vikings’ luck levels out in 2023, they could still be good enough to eke out another division title.Lions 9-8I don’t know if it was last year’s Hard Knocks on HBO but Detroit isn’t a lovable loser anymore — they’re appar...

2023 NFC East preview

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:56:30 GMT

Washington 10-7You may be surprised to see Burgundy and Gold place this high — but hear me out.Basically, Washington already won its Super Bowl by getting new, nontoxic ownership. From the wave of good vibes at Commanders training camp to the revelation of Sam Howell as quarterback, expectations for the Commanders are higher than they’ve been in at least a decade.The fact is Washington has been competitive even with sheer misery at QB. No one has had more starting QBs since 2018 than Washington’s 12, and that dirty dozen amassed the NFL’s worst total QBR (37.8). New offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is ruffling the appropriate feathers and if the offense we saw in the preseason is just a watered-down version of what we’ll see in the regular season, it should be the most exciting unit we’ve seen since RGIII’s thrilling Rookie of the Year campaign.Sam Howell will play well and Washington is a sleeper team in the NFC. They will be a playoff team.— ...

2023 NFL Preview

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:56:30 GMT

At last, the 2023 NFL season has arrived.Longtime WTOP.com readers know the drill by now, as I’ve been doing this annual NFL preview at WTOP for over a decade. But for those new to the game: I’ll go division by division and predict win-loss records for every team and explain the logic behind each prediction.Just be aware there’s a really good chance you’ll read some things you may not like about your favorite team. If I’m wrong, enjoy your bragging rights. But if I’m right, be sure to give me my props.Before delving into the predictions, here are some of the biggest factors affecting the 2023 NFL season (and, in turn, these predictions).Can the Chiefs repeat?This is where I point out (again) that the NFL hasn’t had a repeat champion since 2004. After the 2021 Buccaneers failed to pull it off despite unprecedented continuity, it’s starting to feel like an impossible feat. But then again, Patrick Mahomes routinely does the inconceivable so there’s a decent chance thi...

Trip.com: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:56:30 GMT

SHANGHAI (AP) — SHANGHAI (AP) — Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) on Monday reported second-quarter profit of $89 million.On a per-share basis, the Shanghai-based company said it had profit of 13 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and stock option expense, came to 70 cents per share.The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 50 cents per share.The travel services company posted revenue of $1.55 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.51 billion._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on TCOM at https://www.zacks.com/ap/TCOMSource