Latest news with #Houston
Associated Press
31 minutes ago
- General
- Associated Press
Lance McCullers gets 24-hour security after online death threats, some aimed at 5-year-old daughter
HOUSTON (AP) — Soon after Lance McCullers Jr.'s family received online death threats following a tough start by the Houston Astros' pitcher, his 5-year-old daughter, Ava, overheard wife Kara talking on the phone about it. What followed was a painful conversation between McCullers and his little girl. 'She asked me when I came home: 'Daddy like what is threats? Who wants to hurt us? Who wants to hurt me?'' McCullers told The Associated Press on Wednesday. 'So, those conversations are tough to deal with.' McCullers is one of two MLB pitchers whose families have received online death threats this month as internet abuse of players and their families is on the rise. Boston reliever Liam Hendriks took to social media soon after the incident with McCullers to call out people who were threatening his wife's life and directing 'vile' comments at him . Boston Red Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks celebrates after the final out of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park, Friday, May 2, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) AP AUDIO: Lance McCullers gets 24-hour security after online death threats, some aimed at 5-year-old daughter AP correspondent Mike Hempen reports two major league pitchers dealing with online abuse are taking action. The Astros contacted MLB security and the Houston Police Department following the threats to McCullers. An police spokesperson said Thursday that it remains an ongoing investigation. McCullers, who has two young daughters, took immediate action after the threats and reached out to the team to inquire about what could be done to protect his family. Astros owner Jim Crane stepped in and hired 24-hour security for them. It was a move McCullers felt was necessary after what happened. 'You have to at that point,' he said. Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. reacts after Athletics' Jacob Wilson's home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren) Abuse increasing with rise in sports gambling Players from around the league agree that online abuse has gotten progressively worse in recent years. Milwaukee's Christian Yelich, a 13-year MLB veteran and the 2018 NL MVP, said receiving online abuse is 'a nightly thing' for most players. 'I think over the last few years it's definitely increased,' he said. 'It's increased to the point that you're just: 'All right, here we go.' It doesn't even really register on your radar anymore. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. You're just so used to that on a day-to-day, night-to-night basis. It's not just me. It's everybody in here, based on performance.' Milwaukee Brewers' Christian Yelich gestures after hitting a walk off grand slam during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash) And many players believe it's directly linked to the rise in legalized sports betting. 'You get a lot of DMs or stuff like that about you ruining someone's bet or something ridiculous like that,' veteran Red Sox reliever Justin Wilson said. 'I guess they should make better bets.' Hendriks has had enough Hendriks, a 36-year-old reliever who previously battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma, said on Instagram that he and his wife received death threats after a loss to the Mets. He added that people left comments saying that they wished he would have died from cancer among other abusive comments. He later discussed the issue and his decision to speak out about it. 'Enough is enough,' he said. 'Like at some point, everyone just like sucking up and dealing with it isn't accomplishing anything. And we pass along to security. We pass along to whoever we need to, but nothing ends up happening. And it happens again the next night. And so, at some point, someone has to make a stand. And it's one of those things where the more eyes we get on it, the more voices we get talking about it. Hopefully it can push it in the right direction.' What teams are doing Both the Astros and the Red Sox are working with MLB security to take action against social media users who direct threats toward players and their families. Red Sox spokesperson Abby Murphy added that they've taken steps in recent years to make sure player' families are safe during games. That includes security staff and Boston police stationed in the family section at home and dedicated security in the traveling party to monitor the family section on the road. Murphy said identifying those who make anonymous threats online is difficult, but: 'both the Red Sox and MLB have cyber programs and analysts dedicated to identifying and removing these accounts.' The Astros have uniformed police officers stationed in the family section, a practice that was implemented well before the threats to McCullers and his family. Abandoning social media For some players, online abuse has gotten so bad that they've abandoned social media. Detroit All-Star outfielder Riley Greene is one of them, saying he got off because he received so many messages from people blaming him for failed bets. 'I deleted it,' he said of Instagram. 'I'm off it. It sucks, but it's the world we live in, and we can't do anything about it. People would DM me and say nasty things, tell me how bad of a player I am, and say nasty stuff that we don't want to hear.' Criticism is part of the game, threats are not The 31-year-old McCullers, who returned this year after missing two full seasons with injuries, said dealing with this has been the worst thing that's happened in his career. He understands the passion of fans and knows that being criticized for a poor performance is part of the game. But he believes there's a 'moral line' that fans shouldn't cross. 'People should want us to succeed,' he said. 'We want to succeed, but it shouldn't come at a cost to our families, the kids in our life, having to feel like they're not safe where they live or where they sit at games.' Houston manager Joe Espada was livid when he learned about the threats to McCullers and his family and was visibly upset when he addressed what happened with reporters. Espada added that the team has mental health professionals available to the players to talk about the toll such abuse takes on them and any other issues they may be dealing with. 'We are aware that when we step on the field, fans expect and we expect the best out of ourselves,' Espada said this week. 'But when we are trying to do our best and things don't go our way while we're trying to give you everything we got and now you're threatening our families and kids — now I do have a big issue with that, right? I just did not like it.' Kansas City's Salvador Perez, a 14-year MLB veteran, hasn't experienced online abuse but was appalled by what happened to McCullers. If something like that happened to him he said it would change the way he interacts with fans. Kansas City Royals designated hitter Salvador Perez, right, celebrates his RBI single against the Minnesota Twins during the fifth inning of baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn) 'Now some fans, real fans, they're gonna pay for that, too,' he said. 'Because if I was him, I wouldn't take a picture or sign anything for noboby because of that one day.' McCullers wouldn't go that far but admitted it has changed his mindset. 'It does make you kind of shell up a little bit,' he said. 'It does make you kind of not want to go places. I guess that's just probably the human reaction to it.' Finding a solution While most players have dealt with some level of online abuse in their careers, no one has a good idea of how to stop it. 'I'm thankful I'm not in a position where I have to find a solution to this,' Tigers' pitcher Tyler Holton said. 'But as a person who is involved in this, I wish this wasn't a topic of conversation.' White Sox outfielder Mike Tauchman is disheartened at how bad player abuse has gotten. While it's mostly online, he added that he's had teammates that have had racist and homophobic things yelled at them during games. 'Outside of just simply not having social media I really don't see that getting better before it just continues to get worse,' he said. 'I mean, I think it's kind of the way things are now. Like, people just feel like they have the right to say whatever they want to whoever they want and it's behind a keyboard and there's really no repercussions, right?' ___ AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick and AP Sports Writers Jimmy Golen, Kyle Hightower, Larry Lage and Steve Megargee contributed to this report. ___ AP MLB:
Reuters
an hour ago
- General
- Reuters
Astros place OF Chas McCormick (oblique) on 10-day IL
May 31 - The Houston Astros placed outfielder Chas McCormick on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a left oblique strain. The move is retroactive to Friday for McCormick, who is batting .256 with two RBIs in 36 games this season. McCormick, 30, is a career .250 hitter with 55 homers and 193 RBIs in 472 career games with the Astros. Also on Saturday, Houston recalled infielder Shay Whitcomb, 26, from Triple-A Sugar Land. Whitcomb is batting .275 with a Pacific Coast League-leading 18 homers and 38 RBIs in 53 games this season with the Space Cowboys. He batted .220 with five RBIs in 20 games last season with the Astros. --Field Level Media
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why CenterPoint Energy (CNP) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now
All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. However, when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments. Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns. Based in Houston, CenterPoint Energy (CNP) is in the Utilities sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 16.96%. The energy delivery company is paying out a dividend of $0.22 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.37% compared to the Utility - Electric Power industry's yield of 3.27% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.56%. Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $0.88 is up 8.6% from last year. CenterPoint Energy has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 8.25%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Right now, CenterPoint's payout ratio is 55%, which means it paid out 55% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend. Looking at this fiscal year, CNP expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $1.75 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 8.02%. Investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. However, not all companies offer a quarterly payout. High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. Income investors have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, CNP presents a compelling investment opportunity; it's not only an attractive dividend play, but the stock also boasts a strong Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
USA Today
3 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Despite losing minutes, Jock Landale understands why Rockets prioritized Steven Adams
Despite losing minutes, Jock Landale understands why Rockets prioritized Steven Adams Jock Landale on losing minutes to Steven Adams: 'It was good for the team. You've got to tuck your tail between your legs every now and again, and I'm happy to do so.' After signing with the Rockets in the 2023 NBA offseason, Jock Landale finished the 2023-24 season as Houston's primary backup at center and posted quality metrics in the process. But in 2024-25, the 29-year-old Australian was largely the third-string center behind incumbent starter Alperen Sengun and veteran backup Steven Adams. It was a bitter pill to swallow for Landale, especially when Adams struggled at times in the regular season amid his return from knee surgery. But when Adams improved late in the season and became arguably Houston's most impactful player in the 2025 playoffs, the preferential treatment made sense. In an episode of the Tommy Talks podcast on the Ausmerican Aces YouTube channel, Landale explained his thought process: So much of the (regular) season is allowing guys to grow back into their roles. Unless you're in that top four or five (players), it's very interchangeable, because all the players on your roster are usually elite. There's so much politics involved and so much analytics these days, and they try things. The whole process is just to figure out what's going to be the best during the playoffs. With Steve coming back from a major injury this year, the general consensus among the team was let's give him time to get himself right, and see if we can get him back to being who Steven Adams is. To his credit, he put in a lot of work. This guy is wild with how much he works. Then you see that come together in the playoffs and him playing as well as he did. In my case, I like to think I'm a humble guy, being an Australian. I'll give credit where credit's due. There were times through the year where it was hard and frustrating, and I thought perhaps I was the better option, at times. But when you really sit back and you look at the playoffs, you're like 'Alright, it made sense.' It was good for the boys, good for the team. You've got to tuck your tail between your legs every now and again, and I'm happy to do so. Depending on what happens with Adams in unrestricted free agency this offseason, it's possible that Landale could have a larger role in 2025-26. The Rockets have two more non-guaranteed years (at $8 million annually) on Landale's contract, which will become guaranteed if he is not waived by June 29. In two seasons (98 games) with the Rockets, Landale has averaged 4.8 points (52.2% FG) and 3.2 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per game. The 6-foot-11 big man remains an effective backup with reliable defense and a physical presence, when given the opportunity to play. 'I've built myself into where I feel as though I'm good enough to be a backup center in the NBA, and I know that I am,' Landale said. 'But it was just the reality of our team. The third string was a tough pill to swallow, but I had to. It took me a little while, but around November or December, I was like, 'I get it.' Then you just accept it, and life becomes a hell of a lot easier. We'e in very privileged positions just existing inside of the NBA, and once you realize that that's how good life is, this huge weight comes off your shoulders.' 'That's not to say that I don't have bad days, and I don't go in there pissed off about the fact that I'm not playing,' Landale added. 'I'm human. But if I can sit down with the (coaching) staff before the season and they explain what the role looks like, then it's on me to just accept that. The message was pretty loud and clear.' More: Jock Landale on rising Rockets star Amen Thompson: 'Future of the program'
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Megan Thee Stallion Will Drop An Anime Series On Amazon Prime Video
Megan Thee Stallion/My Hero Academia Leon Bennett/FilmMagic, GETTY/ Studio Bones One of the highest-profile musicians in the world, Megan Thee Stallion, will branch into a new form of media soon enough, and Amazon Prime Video will help her do it. Stallion spoke at a panel at DreamCon in Houston, dressed up in Yoruichi Shihōin from Bleach cosplay, announced that she would have an anime series released on Amazon Prime Video. "You ain't never seen an anime like this ever in your life,' she said but offered no details other than the fact that she collaborated with The Boondocks' Carl Jones for the project. Even with no details, it would not be safe to assume this will simply be a series that's a fictionalization of Stallion's life or music career. The reason all this is not as random as it sounds is the fact that Stallion is a huge anime fan, from her outfits to her song lyrics to her extensive knowledge of the genre, which all led to the creation of this series, whatever it may be. If there are no further details on the show, it's not clear how far off it may be if nothing is ready to be shared, not even a concept, much less footage. But the fact that Stallion was making an anime series was revealed seven months ago, so it may be somewhat far along in production. I'm not sure what an anime that we've 'never seen like this in your life' may consist of, as that's a pretty broad range, but at the very least, we know this likely means a whole lot to Stallion, given her interest in the genre. Previously, she's said that My Hero Academia is one of her favorites, and she's cosplayed as characters from the show (see above). There is skepticism in the anime community about the project coming from Stallion, where this would be a huge departure from her music career, but she has the resources to expand, and we'll have to see how this plays out. It's a little surprising that her show is landing on Amazon Prime Video rather than Netflix or Crunchyroll, as those two usually grab most animation/anime projects, but who knows what the behind-the-scenes reasoning may be for that. It would be nice to have more details about this project, but it seems we'll have to wait a little longer for that. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
