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Sporting a stellar 12-3 record, the Golden State Warriors currently occupy the Western Conference's No. 1 seed. But, with a pricey injured role player's contract now burning a hole into majority owner Joe Lacob's pocket, the club hopes to get even better ahead of the 2024-25 February trade deadline. After newly-acquired starting shooting guard De'Anthony Melton was ruled out for the year with an ACL injury, it quickly became clear that the capped-out Warriors could probably best maximize his expiring one-year contract in a trade. Due to cap restrictions, Golden State would probably have to make another move to accommodate signing a new player into a disabled player exception, which would be worth $6.4 million, half of Melton's current salary. Read More: Warriors Guard to Have ACL Surgery, Out for Season Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer ruminated on exactly how the Warriors could look to move on from Melton and continue the team's current momentum. "The Warriors loved Melton's fit next to Steph, loved the fact that he could be an off-ball combination guard offensively, who could potentially take the ball and allow Golden State to put Steph off, and run off screens, and all the type of pin-down, flare actions that the Warriors always do. He looked really sharp," Fischer said. "How do you use that one-year, $12.8 million [deal] as a pure expiring contract?" Fischer wondered. "You're gonna have to attach some type of incentive, whether it's draft pick compensation or some younger piece on your books." Melton, a 6-foot-2 USC product, finishes his first (and, possibly, last) season in Golden State with averages of 10.3 points on .407/.371/.625 shooting splits, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals, while tackling the tougher defensive assignments and letting All-NBA point guard Stephen Curry focus on his offense. "Now, I know plenty of people... are hoping for the Warriors to supplement their frontcourt rotation," Fischer offered. "There's also something to be said about trying to replace the type of role that De'Anthony Melton was going to fill." For now, head coach Steve Kerr has installed third-year shooting guard Lindy Waters III as his Melton replacement in Golden State's starting five. The team's starting five is filled out by small forward Andrew Wiggins, power forward Draymond Green, and center Trace Jackson-Davis. In the four games Waters has started, he's averaging 6.0 points on 40.9 percent shooting from the field (40 percent shooting from long range on 3.8 triple tries), 2.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 steals. "There's a real opportunity for Golden State to shore up that rotation," Fischer said. "One clear data point on the board... the Warriors clearly looked at finding a second starter-level crunch-time-level, two-way wing to defend wings next to Wiggins. They plugged that hole with Melton, Melton's now gone... One name that would be fascinating that I know his team is more willing than ever to discuss him in a trade [is] someone like Patrick Williams in Chicago. Not an insurmountable salary to get to. Williams, who possesses the skill set of a 6-foot-8 bench small forward but whom the Bulls perpetually miscast as their starting power forward, inked a generous five-year, $90 million contract as a restricted free agent this offseason. The 23-year-old is averaging 9.9 points on .376/.394/.840 shooting splits, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.5 blocks a night. He is a solid man-to-man defender and a good-if-hesitant 3-point shooter. Fischer added that Williams, the No. 4 selection in the 2020 NBA Draft out of Florida State, has "lottery pick upside" and "has never truly tapped that potential." Fischer also floated Brooklyn Nets veteran small forward Dorian Finney-Smith. More News: Warriors 'Monitoring' Jimmy Butler Ahead of NBA Trade Deadline For the latest NBA news, be sure to check out Newsweek Sports .IOC needs to take a binary position on transgender participation in women’s sportA pair of holiday-themed fundraisers will give animal lovers a chance to support local rescues in time for the holidays. All Paws Matter, a nonprofit organization that raises funds for animal-related organizations, will be hosting “Pet Pictures with Santa” and its third annual “Holly Jolly Cookie Walk and Bake Sale.” “Pet Pictures with Santa” will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Dec. 14, at Hillcrest-Flynn Pet Funeral Home and Crematory, 2619 E. State St., Hermitage. The event will offer 4-by-6-inch pictures printed on the spot. Photos cost $5 each, with all the proceeds benefitting local rescues and animal sanctuaries, according to the event flyer. The event will also feature a guest vendor, “Wookee Cookees,” whose line of homemade dog treats will be available for purchase. All Paws Matter President Kim Burdick said Pet Pictures with Santa is a new event for the organization, based on a love of animals and activities that can incorporate family, pets and the Christmas season. “I have a lot of pictures of my pets taken with Santa from over the years, and it’s nice to be able to look back on those memories,” Burdick said. Each dog who gets their picture taken will receive an “iced doggy bone” — a milk bone with frosting and sprinkles. Cats will receive a similar treat that has yet to be determined, Burdick said. The “Holly Jolly Cookie Walk and Bake Sale” will be held from 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15, at the Sharon American Legion, 1395 E. State St., Sharon. This year will be the third annual cookie walk by All Paws Matter, offering at least 15 different kinds of cookies. Three businesses donated cookies, including Cookies by Christy, Lock Stock and Barrel, and Dylan’s Delectable Cookies and Treats. Volunteers also baked cookies for the event. “We get an awesome response each year, and you can get half a dozen or ten dozen cookies,” Burdick said. “You can buy a bunch, or if you want to buy two each of three varieties and mix it up, you can do that too.” While there will be some dog treats and merchandise for both pets and people, Burdick said the cookie walk will cater more toward people with activities such as a basket raffle and a lottery board. The proceeds from both “Pet Pictures with Santa” and the “Holly Jolly Cookie Walk and Bake Sale” will be dispersed among local animal rescues in need. All Paws Matter’s members usually try to raise and donate about $10,000 for local rescues around Christmas time, Burdick said. “It’s something that’s especially needed around this time of year, and especially with the way things are now,” Burdick said. “So many people are relinquishing pets because they can’t afford to keep up with everything, and now everybody’s overflowing.” Aside from their fundraisers, All Paws Matter is organizing a “Secret Santa” tree hosted by Daffin’s Candies in Sharon. The tree features pictures of animals from multiple rescues that people can either donate money or supplies toward. Each picture features the animals’ names and mailing info on the backs. Burdick said this is the second year All Paws Matter has posted a Secret Santa tree at that business. More information on All Paws Matter and upcoming events can be found on the group’s Facebook page, “All Paws Matter.” Like David L. Dye on Facebook or email him at .

Don’t Expect Donald Trump to Tackle America’s Record HomelessnessFreshman Tre Johnson poured in 18 points in just 22 minutes of play, lifting Texas to a 77-53 win over Northwestern State on Sunday afternoon in Austin, Texas. The Longhorns (11-2) won their fourth straight outing as Johnson returned from a two-game absence due to a sore right hip. He finished 7 of 11 from the floor with four 3-pointers, leading the way as Texas held the Demons to 30 percent shooting in the first half while building a 19-point lead. The Longhorns stretched the advantage to 56-26 on a dunk by Chendall Weaver with 13:50 to play. Texas had more than enough to cruise to the finish and is in fine shape in advance of its first run in Southeastern Conference play. The Longhorns play at rival 13th-ranked Texas A&M in the teams' league opener on Saturday. Jordan Pope added 11 points and Arthur Kaluma recorded 13 rebounds for Texas. None of the Longhorns' starters played more than 28 minutes. Micah Thomas scored 19 points, including 16 in the second half, and Addison Patterson had 18 points for the Demons (5-7). The Longhorns made an early bid to bury Northwestern State by scoring the game's initial eight points over the first 3:15 of the first half. The Demons responded with an 11-4 run, capped by a layup by Patterson at the 10:15 mark that cut the deficit to 12-11. Texas then reeled off a 18-4 surge that featured a pair of tough running jumpers and two 3-pointer from Johnson, the latter with 4:02 to play in the half that pushed the lead to 30-15. The Longhorns got a bucket and a 3-pointer from Pope before finishing the half with two free throws and a dunk by Ze'Rik Onyema off a nifty assist by Julian Larry to produce a 41-22 lead at the break. Johnson paced the Longhorns with 10 points before halftime as Texas outshot the Demons 62.5 percent to 30 percent over the first 20 minutes of play. Patterson led all scorers with 12 points in the half, making five shots while the rest of the participants for Northwestern State made four combined. The Longhorns opened the second half by scoring the first eight points on jumper and then a 3-pointer by Johnson and a 3-pointer by Kaluma. --Field Level Media

GameStop gets a holiday boost as Roaring Kitty's festive post surges stock priceTrump has flip-flopped on abortion policy. His appointees may offer clues to what happens nextMENLO PARK, Calif. , Dec. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META) board of directors today declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per share of the company's outstanding Class A common stock and Class B common stock, payable on December 27, 2024 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on December 16, 2024 . Contacts Investors: Kenneth Dorell investor@meta.com / investor.fb.com Press: Ryan Moore press@meta.com / about.fb.com/news/ View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/meta-announces-quarterly-cash-dividend-302324358.html SOURCE Meta

Four members of Congress unveiled a bipartisan bill Friday that would spark changes at the U.S. Center for SafeSport, placing a time limit on resolving cases that can sometimes take years and improving communication between the center and abuse survivors. The Safer Sports for Athletes Act looks to address some of the bigger concerns that have opened the center to criticism since it was established in 2017 to handle sex-abuse cases in Olympic sports and their grassroots cousins. The bill has potential for a fivefold increase of an existing grant to the center, bringing it to $10 million a year. But even if the full amount were approved, it wouldn't solve all of the problems. As before, that grant can only be used for training and education , not investigations and enforcement, which are the focus of complaints about the center , and also of the reforms the lawmakers are seeking. “We’re hoping the combination of appropriations for other activities will free up money for investigations, as well as the streamlining,” said one of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Deborah Ross, D-North Carolina. The center estimates the reforms in the bill could cost more than $4.5 million. It currently operates on a budget of around $21 million a year, most of which comes from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and its sports affiliates, known as national governing bodies, or NGBs. “It's really unclear, and I don't think that some parts of the bill jibe with other parts of the bill," SafeSport CEO Ju'Riese Colon said. "We're going to need some more conversation to suss out some of this stuff. Right now, it just doesn't really add up for us.” The center's critics, meanwhile, have long been skeptical about giving more resources to an agency they feel is missing the mark. The bill would also mandate that investigations be concluded within 180 days after a report is made, with possibilities to extend them. Some of the most egregious complaints about the center have come from people who say it has taken years for their cases to be resolved. The center currently receives about 155 reports a week, which comes to more than 8,000 a year. When fully staffed, it has 77 people on its response and resolution team. “Too many other survivors have also been left waiting for years for SafeSport to investigate or have their cases closed without action,” said soccer player Mana Shim, who helped lawmakers draft the bill. Shim's own case, involving sexual harassment and coercion by her coach, took more than two years for the center to resolve and led to investigations and reforms across American soccer. Other reforms include a requirement for the center to provide victim advocates at no cost for those needing them — a move already underway as part of a menu of changes the center announced earlier this year — and to assign case managers who can give timely updates to victims and the accused. “I have questions around, if the center were to hire and staff the advocates, there might be some conflict of interest with us doing this internally," Colon said. The center was also concerned with one provision that would redefine how arbitration works and another that would change the dynamics of information sharing between the center and the USOPC and NGBs. The other bill sponsors were Reps. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio; Don Bacon, R-Nebraska; and Kathy Castor, D-Florida. The lawmakers positioned the bill as one that will help the Denver-based center, while making clear they are not satisfied with the results so far. “We're going to make sure the center has the resources it needs to effectively respond to thousands of reports it handles annually,” Castor said. “It has unfortunately fallen short." Ross conceded this bill will probably get pushed to the next Congress, which convenes Jan. 3, “but we needed to set the stage as soon as possible.” ___ AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games Eddie Pells, The Associated Press