Latest news with #Grapefruit
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
The Rays' Taylor Walls was ejected for tapping his helmet after blown call
The Rays' Taylor Walls was ejected for tapping his helmet after blown call During spring training, MLB made the decision to test an automated strike zone (ABS) with a ball-strike challenge system for a majority of Grapefruit and Cactus League games. And to signal a challenge, a batter would tap on his helmet after a pitch. Simple enough. It's safe to say that umpire Nic Lentz did *not* appreciate the callback to the ABS testing. With Taylor Walls staying in the game to hit in the ninth on Sunday against the Astros, he watched a first-pitch slider from Josh Hader miss low and away. Yet, Lentz called the pitch a strike, and Walls couldn't believe it. Walls called time to try to collect himself after having his entire approach changed in the at-bat. He also had some words with Lentz about the call. But everything took a turn when Walls tapped his helmet. Lentz took exception to the gesture and casually walked in front of home plate to inform Walls that he was ejected. Like, I don't think I've ever seen an umpire eject someone so nonchalantly. Walls, understandably, was livid. Umpires hate being shown up, and they have a quick trigger for arguing balls and strikes. But tapping on the helmet was an awfully tame way to express, "I disagree." Walls had to be restrained by his coaches before breaking out of those restraints and having more words for Lentz. All that over a helmet tap that Lentz really should have let slide. Walls was right, after all — the call was missed. Christopher Morel would have to hit in Walls' place, and he promptly struck out. The Astros held on to win, 1-0.
Daily Mirror
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
LookFantastic shoppers snap up Jo Malone perfume for £15 a bottle
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more LookFantastic shoppers snap up Jo Malone perfume for £15 a bottle (Image: Getty) Jo Malone London have released a Scent Layering Kit with three bottles of their iconic colognes that works out at £15 a bottle. The set costs £45 on LookFantastic but includes three 9ml bottles that can be worn individually or layered to create something more unique. Inside the set shoppers can find Grapefruit. This scent was inspired by the 'sun-soaked beaches of Spain' and combines citrus notes with rosemary and moss. It's not a huge surprise that it reminds fans of Pomelo by Jo Loves (£82), a more modern take on the citrus fragrance released from Jo Malone's new brand 29 years later. Peony & Blush Suede, a springtime favourite, also makes an appearance. Although it is a massively floral scent it actually opens up with bright red apple before delving into peony, rose, jasmine and carnation. Unlike Grapefruit it was created by Christine Nagel who is the in-house perfumer of luxury brand Hermès. READ MORE: Female-friendly sexual wellness brand's site-wide sale includes 'discreet and powerful' toys READ MORE: 'I tried Peugeot's new salt mill and it's changed my approach to food' The set finishes with English Oak & Hazelnut Cologne, a spicy woody blend of hazelnut, cedar and oak. It was crafted by Yann Vasnier, the nose behind Tom Ford's Santal Blush (£220), Velvet Orchid (£108) and Vanille Fatale (£290). All three scents are popular although Peony & Blush Suede Cologne is the most popular on the Jo Malone London website with an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 from 247 reviews. One shopper said: "I like to use this scent for special occasions. I've been in love with it for years! Many compliments also. It lasts on me." A second wrote: "A lot of perfumes give me a headache or make me sneeze but Peony and Blush Suede is perfect. It suits my skin, it's warm, floral and sensual - I sniff my arm when I'm wearing it as it's so lovely. I find that it lasts well as I also use the body wash and body lotion. I need to get the candle as well so my home can smell of it. I really feel that I've found my forever cologne." Jo Malone London Scent Layering Kit This trio of 9ml Jo Malone London scents can be worn individually or layered to create something unique. A third penned: "Perfume smelt really nice although the sent didn't seem to last, had to keep reapplying." It is worth keeping in mind that application can impact the longevity of a scent, with it being best to apply directly to clean freshly moisturised skin. A fourth added: "So evoking. I have been on a hunt. I feel like I've smelled it all somedays, so bored of everything. And here comes the bride moment happens at the first spritz of Peony & Blush Suede. What can I say, it's a romantic getaway I've awaited. The journey has been poetic. I spray it on my wrists so I can I go back and relieve the first moment. This is the signature perfume I've longed for. Thank you, Jo Malone." The Jo Malone London Scent Layering Kit is currently available for £45 on LookFantastic.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Yoko Ono Art Exhibit Heads to Chicago for Exclusive U.S. Run
A comprehensive exhibition of Yoko Ono's art, 'Music of the Mind,' will open at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in October. The institution will display more than 200 pieces, covering a span of more than seven decades' worth of work. These include photography, musical compositions, participatory instruction pieces, installations, and a curated music room, among several other highlights. London's Tate Museum previously showed 'Music of the Mind' last year and reported record turnouts. Some of the notable works featured include Cut Piece (1964), which invited participants to cut off her clothing, piece by piece, as a statement on feminism; her influential book Grapefruit (1964); and the films Fly (1970 – '71) and Film No. 4 (Bottoms) (1966 – '67). Her musical collaborations with John Cage, Ornette Coleman, and John Lennon will also be available to hear. One of her recent Wish Tree installations, on which people write a wish and pin it to a tree — a creation she's been planting consistently around the world since 1996 — will also be on display. More from Rolling Stone Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco's Adorable Valentine Album John Lennon and Yoko Ono's NYC Love Story Unfolds in 'One to One' Trailer Sean Lennon Says Yoko Ono 'Never Has Moved On' From John Lennon Participatory works include Painting to Hammer a Nail (1961/1966), Bag Piece (1964), and White Chess Set (1966). There's also a boat on which visitors can write their hopes and beliefs, Add Color (Refugee Boat) (1960/2016); and My Mommy Is Beautiful (2004) a sounding board for people to praise their mothers in words and photo. Ono, 92, moved to New York to study at Sarah Lawrence College in 1953. Three years later, she moved to Manhattan and became an instrumental part of the city's avant-garde scene and Fluxus art movement. In 1966, she met John Lennon, marrying him three years later. The couple released a series of experimental albums in the late Sixties, and she issued her first solo album, Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band, in 1970. She continued marking art, citing music as a force that kept her going after Lennon's death, and her work has previously been the subject of exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Japan Society Gallery, the Museum of Modern Art, and other institutions. In 2009, she received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 53rd Venice Biennale, and last year, she was recognized with the Edward MacDowell Medal, another lifetime achievement recognition. 'We are thrilled to present 'Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind' here at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago — a celebration of Ono's expansive practice which continues to challenge the boundaries of artist and audience,' Pritzker Director Madeleine Grynsztejn said in a statement. 'This exhibition underscores the avant-garde and interdisciplinary roots that made the MCA what it is today — our first performance in 1967 featured Fluxus artists. We're overjoyed to bring Ono's work to the MCA, a museum that so truly aligns with her practice and overlaps with her history.' Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
USA Today
27-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Verdict is in on MLB's ABS challenge system: 52% overturned in spring training
Verdict is in on MLB's ABS challenge system: 52% overturned in spring training Show Caption Hide Caption MLB players and managers have mixed feelings around robot umpires in Spring Training Bob Nightengale and Gabe Lacques share feedback from players and managers regarding robot umpires in this year's Spring Training. Sports Seriously In the spring training battle of pitchers, catchers and batters vs. borderline strike calls from umpires, the players prevailed – but just barely. Major League Baseball's tryout of a challenge system utilizing automatic ball-strike technology resulted in 52.2% of calls getting overturned, according to data furnished by the league. The Hawk-Eye technology that fuels the ABS zone was available in 13 ballparks and for 288 Cactus and Grapefruit league games played this spring, resulting in an average of 4.1 challenges per game. The challenge system was largely lauded by players, managers and fans, perhaps most notably because the impact on game play was minimal. The feedback was reflected in the data: Delays caused by challenges averaged 13.8 seconds, the time it takes for a batter, pitcher or catcher to indicate the challenge, the home plate umpire to signal to the press box that a review was requested, and then for the ABS verdict to be displayed both on a stadium video board and for viewers at home. Consequently, time of game increased slightly, from 2 hours, 35 minutes in 2023 and 2024 to 2:38 this spring; however, an increase in runs scored and on base percentage (from .331 in '24 to .340 this year) makes that increase even more statistically insignificant. Teams were granted two challenges a game and retained a challenge if it was successful. The grievances were virtually even among hitters (2.1 challenges per game) and pitchers and catchers (2.0). Yet it's catchers who were most successful. Batters were correct on 50% of challenges and the defense on 54.4%. Within that, reviews initiated by catchers were overturned 56% of the time compared to 41% for pitchers, perhaps attributable to the catcher's best seat in the house. And overall, the numbers closely mirrored a full season – or 740 games – worth of data at Class AAA in 2024. The minor leaguers challenged a few less calls per game (3.9 to 4.1) and were a little less successful (50.6% to 52.2%) than big leaguers this spring. The challenge system will not be used in major league games this season, but there is a strong chance it will be implemented for the 2026 season. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
NBC News
26-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC News
Baseball was largely unchanged for more than a century — now MLB is trying to shake things up
America's pastime is looking a little different every year as technological innovations, society's shrinking attention span and big-money marketing concerns creep into Major League Baseball. The sport, which had been virtually untouched from the turn of the 20th century, has seen a flurry of rule changes in just the past decade and a half. And there's a strong possibility that the most significant alteration in the game's history is just 12 months away from taking root. Baseball diehards at Grapefruit and Cactus League games this month have seen live-action previews of the automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge system, which could very well be implemented in real MLB games next year. The potential ball-strike earthquake comes in the wake of several other major MLB rule changes. They include prescribing where defenders could position themselves to encourage more balls in play (2023), introducing rules dramatically helping base stealers (2023), awarding teams free base runners to prevent long extra-inning games (2020) and giving National League teams the designated hitter so woeful hitting pitchers don't need to embarrass themselves at the plate anymore (2022). MLB officials have had low-level talks about a "Golden At-Bat," which could permit a star slugger to hit out of order once a game in a high-leverage situation. Lower levels of baseball have long considered using a double-wide bag at first base to lessen the chances of collisions between a sprinting batter and a first basemen. The elongated bag at first base is being widely used this season across Division I college baseball. "Rule changes were traditionally made because there's a problem that needs addressing. In baseball, it had to do with what was happening inside the lines of the field," said Peter Stolpe, who teaches sports business at the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Business Center. "But what's new, what feels interesting, is that all these rule changes are not necessarily to address a question of the product on the field. The questions being addressed here are about the game in the stands and on TV. Therefore, these rule changes equal business solutions. It wasn't that way historically." The rule tweaks coming into play th i s season seem minor compared with changes made in the recent past. Teams on offense this year can now take free and extra bases for violations of shift rules. And now an umpire can call a trail runner out and end a rarely used but ingenious hack of running through second base to create chaos on the diamond or a tag play that would potentially lead to scoring a two-out run. Mother of all rule changes coming in 2026? An absolutely monumental shift in rules could be implemented next season, with players and managers possibly being allowed to challenge some ball and strike calls. It would be a highly significant rule change on two levels: It would be s yet another expansion of video replay, which was introduced in 2008, and it would be the first time balls and strikes would have a completely objective measure. The strike zone is now rather nebulously defined as a ball pitched over home plate between a "batter's shoulders and the top of the uniform pants — when the batter is in his stance and prepared to swing at a pitched ball — and a point just below the kneecap." This spring, and perhaps in 2026, the strike zone is and could be defined by a batter's height: Over home plate, 27% above the dirt, stretching up to 53.5% high. Get with the times or keep it traditional Helene Stever, a New York Yankees fan from Columbia, Maryland, said she's uncomfortable with the rash of rule changes to her beloved pastime — but nonetheless understands to need to keep up with modern tastes. "I'd say I'm getting better at it because I really like the sport of baseball," she told NBC News this month at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. "Yeah, sometimes that's rough, but then at least I feel I'm open enough to see the benefits of it as we're growing into this sport." Fellow Yankees fan Dominick Albertelli, 23, said he embraces change in baseball but drew a line at using technology to call balls and strikes, for which he's perfectly comfortable with human error. "The sport's advancing, but some things they should keep traditional," he said. "As far as balls and strikes, you're splitting hairs at that point." Ball-strike count means everything A casual fan might not see the need or value of getting a handful of ball-strike calls right when an average MLB game features nearly 300 pitches. But just one call can radically change any at-bat. For example, when the count is 2-1 and the batter doesn't swing at a borderline pitch, his fate will be dramatically shifted by the home plate umpire's subjective call. If a ball is called and the batter goes ahead of the count 3 -1, that hitter in 2024 went on to have a .249 batting average, a .580 on-base percentage, a .433 slugging percentage and a 1.013 OPS. Or in other words, that ordinary hitter, with a 3-1 edge, became the equivalent of all-world slugger Shohei Ohtani, who recorded a 1.036 OPS last season. But if that umpire calls a strike and the count levels at 2-2, everything flips to the pitcher's edge. That hitter, at 2-2 last year, went on to have a microscopic .177 batting average, a .287 on-base percentage, an anemic .291 slugging percentage and a .578 OPS that would most likely have him on the next bus to the minors. One batter in all of MLB had a .578 OPS last season, hefty fan favorite slugger Daniel Volgebach. He was released by the Toronto Blue Jays and is now coaching with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Under the spring training rules of ABS, a team would run out of challenges after it gets two wrong. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he'll want his players to find a balance seeking instant-replay justice and keeping appeals in their back pockets for big moments. "We've kind of encouraged our guys, hey, if you feel like something's you want to challenge, you have that freedom to do it," said Boone, the son of longtime MLB catcher Bob Boone. "The thing we've asked our guys is to kind of think through situationally a little bit. "What's the situation? What's the leverage in the game? Is it a 3-2 count where it's a big difference between a walk and a strikeout?" Boone, known to be among the biggest critics of umpire ball-strike calls, joked that implementing ABS wouldn't lessen his harsh evaluations of the men in blue.
