Latest news with #KeithJones
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
How Eagles backup QB Tanner McKee overcame cancer to reach the NFL
Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback Tanner McKee has big expectations this season after moving up the depth chart. He spoke with NBC10 about his excitement for the new season and how his faith helped him win his battle with cancer. NBC10's Keith Jones has his story. How Eagles backup QB Tanner McKee overcame cancer to reach the NFL originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
New York Times
17-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Flyers mailbag: Goaltending, Matvei Michkov extension, next trade deadline and more
The 2025-26 NHL schedule has been released. It could be the last bit of league news for a while. Good time for a mailbag then, right? (Questions have been lightly edited for clarity.) If the Flyers are healthy and playing well through the first half of the season (and in contention for a playoff spot), what does this year's trade deadline look like? — Sam K. We can confidently say that if they are in contention for a playoff spot, they aren't going to be sellers. But I'd argue that even if they're in range of a playoff spot, the next trade deadline won't look anything like the previous two. Both Daniel Briere and Keith Jones have already indicated as much. Advertisement For example, here's Briere on July 1 speaking about the free-agent additions made that day: 'We wanted to give the players something to chew on to be excited a little bit that we're more competitive. Now it's up to the players to take the next step. But, we wanted to start helping them.' That's a good reminder of the human element of all this. Guys such as Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny, for example, really seemed to fade after Scott Laughton got dealt last season. Owen Tippett sagged when he lost his buddies, Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. Matvei Michkov seems particularly driven to make the playoffs, and you can be sure lots of other young guys who have been here for a few years are, too. You can already predict that the message from Briere to his team on Day 1 of training camp will be something along the lines of, 'If you guys show us you're a good team and you're in the mix for a playoff spot, management is not going to mess with that.' Things are different now. Subtractions aren't inevitable. Something else to keep in mind, though, is that there aren't any obvious pieces to sell anyway, like there were previously in guys such as Laughton and Sean Walker, who were both on expiring contracts. Plus, Frost and Farabee, who just didn't fit into what the Flyers were trying to build. The only pending unrestricted free agent is Christian Dvorak, and as I've mentioned, they didn't sign him just to move him for assets at the deadline. If he's filling a key role on a competitive team, they're going to keep him around, even if it means potentially losing him for nothing next summer. If there's anyone who could be dangled, perhaps it's Rasmus Ristolainen. But after yet another injury, his value is down, and with another year on his contract, that's not even something the Flyers have to do, either — particularly if he returns healthy and becomes an important contributor like he was last season. Advertisement I don't want to see guys such as Karsen Dorwart, Nikita Grebenkin, Denver Barkey and Devin Kaplan blocked by Christian Dvorak, Garnet Hathaway and, to a lesser extent, Rodrigo Abols and Anthony Richard. What do you think Rick Tocchet's philosophy is going to be with the bottom six regarding playing veterans over prospects? — Clinton P. Honestly, I think it's going to be pretty simple from Tocchet's perspective. He's going to play the players that best give him a chance to win. Same as John Tortorella did before him. All four guys you mentioned at the top of this question probably need more time in the minors anyway. But if guys such as Dorwart and Grebenkin, especially, show they belong on the NHL roster in camp, I think Tocchet could find a spot for them, particularly if Tyson Foerster misses the start of the season. I'd suggest it's a tremendous long shot those four are already better than the established NHL players on the roster, though. And Alex Bump could already be penciled into the top nine at this point, too. You want your prospects to earn jobs rather than just be handed them. There's going to be competition for spots on the NHL roster in September, but even for the guys that don't make the Flyers, there should be healthy competition with the Phantoms for key roles, too. None of that is a bad thing. If they keep progressing, then it simply opens options for Briere to move other pieces. Do you think Torts' philosophy of trying to block every shot attempt contributes to poor goaltending/save percentages? Is there any data to back up this theory? — Andrew F. In conversations with Samuel Ersson, he sometimes mentioned that he would prefer to see certain shots all the way, rather than risk one of his teammates diving in front of it, risking a screen or a deflection. It was probably a factor in some of Ivan Fedotov's struggles, too, particularly early in the season when he seemed have tremendous difficulty with shots from long range. Advertisement Still, I have a difficult time thinking that greatly contributed to the poor save percentages. The Flyers under Tortorella were hardly the only club that stressed shot blocking. To me, there were just too many easy shots that went in on all three, but particularly Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov. And as I pointed out recently, it wasn't a problem until Carter Hart's departure midway through the 2023-24 season. Do the Flyers have a problem evaluating goalies? Fedotov and Kolosov were terrible misfires; they overpaid Dan Vladar, and Ersson definitely has talent but is still a huge unknown moving forward. — Jakub V. When it comes to Fedotov and Kolosov — absolutely. They represent perhaps the two biggest errors that the front office has made. If you recall, Fedotov's poor skating was identified pretty much right away by former Flyers goalie/analyst Martin Biron, and when it comes to Kolosov, they would have been better off just letting him stay home. Sure, they ended up with some higher draft picks because of how bad it was last season. But the question of whether this front office can identify good goaltending is a valid one. That includes Kim Dillabaugh, whom Briere said he relied on to identify Vladar as a free-agent target. I'm much more sympathetic when it comes to Ersson and Vladar, though. I do think Ersson still has potential and talent (as you say), and while his numbers have been generally poor for the past season and a half, I think the organization is to blame for putting him in an unfair position at this stage of his career as the only serviceable option. He had to have been feeling extra pressure at times. As for Vladar, well, we'll see. The overpay was due to the Flyers' desperation for help, coupled with a weak market, and Vladar at least seems to be coming to Philadelphia with the proper attitude. Say Matvei Michkov puts up 75-plus points this season. Do you immediately extend him next July 1st, and what does the contract look like? — Clayton W. This is a great question, because, frankly, I think Michkov could post that kind of production this season (particularly if the power play is better). Advertisement I suppose the answer depends on what you mean by 'immediately.' I seriously doubt there's any kind of extension in place on July 1, 2026, for example. The Flyers will have more pressing needs in the days and weeks leading up to that date, assuming they're still looking to open their wallets for a top free agent. And there would certainly be no rush to extend Michkov, who would still be under team control at the end of his third season, anyway. There's also Briere's history with young, pending restricted free agents. He extended Owen Tippett midway through the 2023-24 season, and, of course, waited until after the season to extend Foerster and Cam York. He's shown an ability to remain patient with key young players, and I'd argue it's been to his benefit considering how reasonable the Foerster and York extensions were, in particular. As for what Michkov might command in terms of his next contract, I want to wait and see what Connor Bedard's next one looks like before I go there. He has yet to sign an extension with Chicago, and various projections have been all over the map. Other forwards in Michkov's draft class, such as Adam Fantilli and Leo Carlsson, have yet to sign extensions either, despite now being eligible. No doubt, Briere will keep an eye on those, but again, there's probably not going to be a huge rush from his end to get it done before the start of the 2026-27 season. For a team that is so far removed from having a competent goalie, why did Briere choose not to pick a goalie in the last two drafts? — Todd C. I would argue it speaks to their confidence in the two they selected early in the 2023 draft: Carson Bjarnason (second round) and Egor Zavragin (third round). And it's not like any of their current NHL goalies are all that old, either. Ersson is still just 25, Vladar is 27, and while we don't know what the future holds for Kolosov, he's still just 23. Further, while the 2025 draft had decent prospects, it wasn't thought to be deep at the goaltender position. One year from now, the organization should have a much better handle on the goalies in the system. If Bjarnason struggles with the Phantoms, Zavragin takes a step back in the KHL, and Kolosov still refuses to develop properly in the AHL, maybe they'll reevaluate what they have and draft another one. But they're in a decent enough place with goalie prospects for now. Advertisement I'm surprised Torts hasn't said a word since his dismissal, and that made me realize we never heard from Alain Vigneault either. Do you think both of them, who usually spoke their minds, simply kept their mouths shut to ensure they continued to get paid? — Jeff K. I also doubt that has anything to do with contracts. When Pete DeBoer was fired from the Sharks midway through the 2019-20 season, for example, I spoke with him a couple of days later. While I wasn't here for Vigneault, I can tell you I've tried multiple times to reach Tortorella in the hopes he might want to talk. I also had to reach out to him when I reported the news about his spat with York, to see if he wanted to offer his perspective (he didn't reply). I tried him again about three weeks ago, for the heck of it. In other words, I think it's evident he doesn't really speak. Frankly, I'm not surprised. While I always thought Tortorella enjoyed some of his daily media conferences more than he liked to let on, I don't get the impression he goes out of his way for anyone in the media — and that includes friends and colleagues of mine who covered him in other cities. I believe he and I had a good working relationship. He really only snapped at me once, about the Sean Couturier scratching, and immediately afterward we had a brief, polite off-the-record chat about our differing perspectives on it. I'm still holding out hope he gets back to me at some point, though. I've got a list of about eight-to-10 questions ready to go if he does. (John, if you're reading this. Call me?) (Top photo of Matvei Michkov: Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)
South Wales Argus
25-06-2025
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Expert in civil engineering's solution to M4 relief road
Bristol, not south Wales, will benefit from investment and Wales will suffer if the M4 corridor problems are not addressed. The warning came from Keith Jones, an employee and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), who has an impressive CV and has advised on infrastructure policy and guided projects for decades. Talking to the Argus, Keith explained people need to understand what civil engineering is: 'People think of medicine and hospitals as the most important aspect of health. That's completely wrong! Infrastructure and delivering basic services come before medicine. 'Medicine doesn't work without access to clean running water and other basics. The same goes for other things we take for granted. You can't have anything delivered without civil engineering laying foundations. Clean water is more important than medicine – or anything else,' he explained. Keith, ICE Regional Director for Wales, laid out dilemmas facing Wales: 'The M4 is an old road and cannot now cope. We have outdated infrastructure, people wanting to drive cars because cars get you from where you are to where you want to go. Public transport can't do that and we all know it. 'We also have demands on reducing carbon and we need to balance growth, environmental concern and mobility without any silver bullet solution.' Keith stated ICE fully supports Welsh Government policy on carbon reduction and environmental management. He points out that by about 2030, Wales would have spent about £3bn on alternatives to the M4 and all that investment may be ineffective. Furthermore, the investment is aimed at alleviating problems in an era which has seen sluggish economic growth over nearly 20 years. How would we cope with normal growth? Recently, Welsh and UK governments combined to produce a near £1bn infrastructure boost. This will be spent on expanding rail services, bus lanes, cycling and walking routes. Keith responds: 'Five new stations? I haven't seen the detailed programme, but such things are notoriously hard to deliver on budget and on time. ICE is in full support of new stations and environmental concerns and will be calling for further measures in future.' He added a note of caution: 'The new train infrastructure could lead to delays elsewhere in the network. Don't be surprised if new rail services cause delays on mainlines.' Heavy goods vehicles caught flouting ban on Severn Bridge Calls to privatise Cardiff Airport as scrutiny over £400m funding continues Keith explained we are used to politicians asking for things and engineers building those things. Today, carbon reduction will measure the immense carbon footprint of large projects, with things like carbon hungry products, like concrete, being rationed. For Keith, delivering squared circles will be exciting for the future of civil engineering and its engagement with public policy. He starkly laid out problems: 'How is Wales is going to cope? If you're an investor, would you invest east or west of the Prince of Wales Bridge? I doubt big projects will come west of the bridge because there's major unresolved problems.' Asked about alternatives to a relief road, Keith was gloomy: 'We advise ministers and ministers decide. That is the way it should be. I would not advise a new tunnel or open cutting Brynglas Hill, to drive open lanes through the site. That is not an option because of environmental, topographical and policy constraints. These are major difficulties. A new road, of some sort, is the only real option.' Asked about sensitivity of the Gwent Levels and an alternative route, Keith said: 'That's a matter for ministers. All policies have consequences because all people have consequences on the world. Policy to manage it is down to ministers who must come up with imaginative solutions, based on technical advances and people accepting that all policies have both winners and losers and we can't have magic solutions – just trade-offs.' Nevertheless, Keith can sound optimistic on the matter. He says the completion of the Heads of the Valleys route offers new options, as does the proposed new rail stations. However, the challenge evolves, just as possible technical solutions evolve: 'Recent commitments are part of the solution and we welcome them, but ICE will be keeping a watching brief on the options open to ministers and also their decisions.'
CBS News
19-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Wilkinsburg residents frustrated by massive hole left behind from home demolition
People in a Wilkinsburg neighborhood say they need someone to come and solve a smelly and ugly problem soon. A recent home demolition left a deep hole, creating a safety and sanitary issue. The problem is that the hole is filled with stagnant water, raw sewage and debris. It's been here for a couple of months, and people living in this Wilkinsburg neighborhood along Ross Avenue want to know why it hasn't been filled in. "It's sewage. You can smell it and you can see it. And you can see where some of the cones they had fell into the hole," resident Keith Jones said. Neighbors say the whole thing became an issue about eight weeks ago when a nearby home was demolished. "They knocked all of [the house] down, put half of the dirt in the truck, and left," resident Lynda Scott added. Since then, the hole turned into a deep puddle and an open sewage pit. "I felt like the devil himself came out of that hole. Nothing good is going to come from this," Scott said. Scott lives across the street from the mess, and Jones lives next door. "And we have kids in this neighborhood. Plenty of kids," Jones said. "I don't even like standing this close. We don't know what we're breathing in," Scott said. Scott says she's voiced her concerns to a bunch of people and agencies. "Every time I talked to someone, it was, 'Oh, it's the borough. Oh, it's the city.' I don't care if you put concrete there. Just fill it." Wilkinsburg code enforcement says they were supposed to and have capped the sewage line. Now, they're waiting for the Allegheny County Health Department's plumbing division to inspect it, and then they can fill it back in, and the problem will be solved. The big question is: when is that going to happen? Allegheny County officials told KDKA-TV that they are aware of the issue and understand residents' frustrations, and they will be addressing the problem. Scott, meanwhile, says she hopes it's sooner rather than later. "I will keep complaining. That's all I know to do," Scott said.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Labour councillor expelled ‘for sexually harassing girl'
A councillor has been thrown out of the Labour Party over allegations that he sexually harassed a teenager. Keith Jones, who sits on Cardiff council, was originally suspended in 2022 after a formal complaint was made to the party about his behaviour. It is understood he was alleged to have inappropriately touched a then 17-year-old party member at a social event in Liverpool in 2016. Mr Jones was expelled from the party on Monday following the conclusion of a three-year-investigation by the Labour Party's Independent Complaints Board. The board was reportedly satisfied that the conduct alleged did occur. A Labour spokesman said: 'Action will always be taken if party members or elected representatives are found to have breached the high standards the Labour Party expects of them. All complaints are investigated thoroughly, in line with our rules and procedures.' An official complaint was only made about the incident in May 2022, when Huw Thomas, the council leader, announced that Mr Jones would be appointed to his cabinet. As a result of the complaint, Mr Jones's party membership was administratively suspended and he was not appointed to the cabinet. No further details of the allegations have ever been released by the party. Following his expulsion, Mr Jones, who has sat on the council since 2012, will represent the Llanrumney ward as an independent councillor. He told the BBC: 'The Labour Party have instructed me that there will be legal consequences if I discuss anything to do with this matter with the media or anyone else.' He has been approached for further comment by The Telegraph. Mr Jones was previously suspended from the party a decade ago after inappropriately messaging female party members. He was sacked from a previous job as a teacher in 2010 for tampering with GCSE coursework. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
