catch

NEW YORK — The Dodgers don’t know when Shohei Ohtani will take the mound next.

He was tentatively scheduled to start Wednesday against the Phillies, after promising initial reports on his recovery from an injection in his left knee. But after seeing his knee’s response to playing catch, the team decided to give him more time.

“We just want to continue to give it the best chance to kind of get into a good spot,” manager Dave Roberts said. “And as he said, as we feel, it’s the pitching and the torque of landing on that leg that kind of gets it upset.”

It was clear enough from catch play that Ohtani’s start would have to be pushed back that Ohtani did not feel the need to test it by throwing off a mound, Roberts said.

“Where we’re at right now, how we’re proceeding, I would say that it’s going to be some time,” Roberts said. “It’s not going to be a day-to-day thing.”

That left a wide range of timeline possibilities, from days to weeks. Roberts did, however, rule out shutting Ohtani down from pitching for the rest of the season.

“I guess anything is possible, but I just don’t think that’s a possibility,” he said.

To fill Ohtani’s spot in the rotation this week, the Dodgers moved right-hander Emmet Sheehan’s start to Monday. Before the rainout bumped the second game of the series against the New York Yankees, Sheehan was scheduled to start Saturday.

For Sunday’s doubleheader, right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto will take the mound in the first game. The bullpen, and potentially multiple innings from the 27th man, will cover the nightcap.

“Honestly, a lot of it is where we’re at and how we’ve put ourselves in a good spot,” Roberts said of the MLB-leading Dodgers. “Could [Ohtani] probably do it? Sure. But right now, the benefits just don’t seem to outweigh the cost at this time of the season. So I think we still have plenty of time to get him to a good spot to then pitch.”

Ohtani, who went hitless in four at-bats as the designated hitter in Friday’s 2-1 win, was set to DH and hit leadoff in Sunday’s first game.

Ben Morris visited Sambuca di Sicilia, dubbed “Italy’s little America”, to investigate a seemingly incredible €1 home scheme, but he quickly discovered a catch

A travel vlogger who visited the beautiful Mediterranean island of Sicily to investigate a €1 home scheme quickly came across a major “catch”. A wave of reports advertise small towns in Italy flogging vacant properties for as little as €1 (just 85p in today’s money).

It’s a phenomenon that comes on the back of a reported rural exodus. Young Italians have been increasingly drawn to city life, leaving stunning villages to empty out as their ageing populations dwindle.

Around 25 municipalities are said to be offering the €1 homes, betting that renovated and occupied properties will be more lucrative; second homes come with tax bills.

Ben Morris visited the commune of Sambuca di Sicilia, Sicily, dubbed “Italy’s little America” due to the influx of US property buyers, to investigate. On his self-titled YouTube channel, Ben spoke to a local estate agent about the scheme.

She explained: “So, when they launched the first project, then there has been three: €1 houses, €2 houses, and €3 houses.”

The estate agent went on to say: “The rules are more or less always the same. You have to do an offer of at least €1, €2 or €3, but you know that the higher offer will win the house.”

Returning to Ben’s narration, he stated: “So there’s the catch in Sambuca. Although houses do go on the market for €1, they usually get bid on for up to €5,000 (about £4,200).

“However, the town that we’re going to visit after this actually has houses that you can straight up buy for €1. No catch. And there’s actually places available now.”

Ben then spoke about the home of Meredith Tabbone, who bought hers for €5,000 and later bought the home next door. However, her renovations set her back a whopping $446,000 (about £333,000).

Later, he set off in search of a no-strings-attached €1 home in the town of Mussomeli. Ben met up with a woman named Natalie, who said she’d show him a range of homes, including two that cost just €1.

Once he entered one such property, it was immediately visible that the house needed a lot of work. Ben was advised to only walk on the edges of the floor as he ventured through the property for “safety” reasons.

After he inspected the seemingly dilapidated two-level property, he commented: “And that is exactly why so many of these homes are being sold for so cheap. You’re going to need to do renovations and spend money to make it livable.

“You also have the responsibility to make sure your house doesn’t fall down and like kill your neighbour or something.”

Natalie also explained that, in addition to this, the buyer would have expenses to close the sale. Ben said this was another “little catch”, adding that you’d have to pay for notary fees and certificates.

Speaking previously about the scheme, 1eurohouses.com said in a statement, as reported by the Independent: “We do not need new constructions and new overbuilding.

“The strategy to improve the housing environment and reclaim our cultural identity is to revive the small abandoned centres or to redevelop buildings in a state of abandonment, with a story that is our history.”

After topscoring with the bat for Scotland, Kathryn Bryce makes an impact with the ball, taking a superb one-handed catch to remove Ireland’s Alana Dalzell for six in their opening match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at Old Trafford.

FOLLOW LIVE: Impressive Scotland complete victory over Ireland

Available to UK users only.

The first film by Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg to be shot partly in the U.S. is, perhaps not surprisingly, a freaky satire of Hollywood. Its take on fame has only grown more accurate in the years since its premiere in 2014. Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska and Robert Pattinson star in a demented tale of family, celebrity, ambition, ego and limousines. Funny and perverse, the film captures the uncanny cocktail of mean-spirited malignancy, self-obsessed delusion and just plain obliviousness that runs rampant around town. Presented by the screening series Mezzanine and the local literary magazine the Big One, the evening will be introduced by the film’s screenwriter, Bruce Wagner, a longtime chronicler of Los Angeles.

“Maps to the Stars” is playing June 14 at Brain Dead Studios. Tickets here.

German art student Miriam Wiskemann has won a year-long right-of-use agreement for the uninhabited island of Marsten off Sweden’s west coast – but there is a major catch

Starting next Monday, 27-year-old art student Miriam Wiskemann will become the sole guardian of an uninhabited island situated off Sweden’s coastline. The diminutive island of Marsten, measuring just 180 metres by 50 metres, attracts kayakers and paddle boarders throughout the summer season, but for most of the year remains the exclusive territory of a cormorant colony.

The only stipulation is that Miriam must relinquish her title in June 2027. She is among a handful of fortunate winners of a competition organised by Visit Sweden. According to Visit Sweden’s website, the initiative aimed to demonstrate that “true luxury isn’t about excess, but rather about time, space and balance”.

Miriam and four other individuals from across the globe will be granted a year-long right-of-use agreement alongside a travel voucher worth 20,000 Swedish krona – approximately £1,590. The prize doesn’t include permanent residency, as there are no structures on the island.

Miriam, who is pursuing a degree in art, intends to spend some time on Marsten in September, collecting inspiration for her final creative project for her illustration degree. She remarks: “The main prize is actually the journey there.”

Miriam, originally from Dusseldorf in Germany, is currently studying at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design. She reveals she aspires to eventually pursue a master’s degree in Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm.

The art student, who has actually lived in Sweden for a year, explained to German news agency dpa: “Sweden just has a more relaxed pace of life that I’ve often found myself missing in Germany. This trip is all I’m going to be thinking about for the rest of this term.”

“I’ll take time to cycle around the island and draw a lot of inspiration from my surroundings,” she said. “Having this luxury of being able to travel there will definitely have a big influence on me.

“The Swedish nature and the stark differences of the seasons have always really inspired me and my art,” she added.

Marsten sits amongst a cluster of islands located roughly four miles from Sweden’s western coastline. With over 267,000 islands dotted along the Swedish shores, a key objective of the competition was to spotlight these hidden gems.

VisitSweden’s “Your Swedish Island” campaign attracted almost 2,500 applications from 100 countries. The other winners hail from Canada, the US, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Each successful applicant will serve as guardian of their own remote island for the coming year.

Beware the Bruins Bombers.

UCLA claimed the first of a best-of-three super regional over Central Florida with a 9-1 run-rule win Friday at Easton Stadium, putting the Bruins one win away from reaching the Women’s College World Series.

Freshman infielder Bri Alejandre squared up and smashed a home run over the center-field wall to give UCLA the lead in the second inning. She tied the Big Ten freshman home-run record with her 23rd of the season.

“You don’t want this heat,” one fan yelled from behind home plate. The Bruins, though, were just getting started.

UCF struggled to find answers to match UCLA’s offensive firepower. Three Knights pitchers tried in vain as the Bruins diced up the diamond even though UCF walked UCLA and NCAA home-run leader Megan Grant three times.

Ava Stuewe ended her night in the fourth inning after she walked one Bruin and hit another. But her replacement, sophomore Isabella Vega, couldn’t find her footing, either.

UCLA strung together a sacrifice bunt and an RBI-ground out to score one run. Ramsey Suarez sliced a double down the left-field line as the ball landed less than a foot into fair territory.

Second baseman Kaniya Bragg’s three-run home run put UCLA up by five in the fifth inning. And Rylee Slimp ended the game with a three-run homer.

Yet, UCLA wasn’t perfect. The Bruins left the bases loaded when UCF’s Sierra Humphreys made a diving catch to end the fourth.

The Knights clawed back a run when Humphrey, the first batter of the fifth inning, homered to left. The hit was a small smudge on Bruins ace Taylor Tinsley’s line, finishing with two strikeouts and three hits across the five innings.

She looked shaky earlier in the game when she worked herself into a 3-2 count during the Knights’ first at-bat of the super regionals. As she took a moment to breathe, staring out at the blue wall, center fielder Jolyna Lamar nodded her head three times.

Tinsley then pitched three hitless innings before UCF’s Aubrey Evans doubled off to right in the fourth. Evans ran to third on a wild pitch, but Tinsley worked out of the jam with a groundout that she fielded herself and a lineout to Garcia at shortstop.

UCLA and UCF will play Game 2 Saturday at 7 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN. If the Bruins win, they advance to the WCWS. If they lose, the teams play again Sunday for the WCWS bid.

There are big savings on flights to Spain, Portugal, and more

A major airline has said it is reducing some of its flight prices by more than a fifth as it celebrates a huge 22 year in the skies.

Wizz Air said today, Tuesday: “We’re turning 22. Celebrate with us: up to 22% off ALL flights”. The Budapest-based airline flies to tens of destinations across Europe, from an array of UK airports including London Luton, London Gatwick, Liverpool John Lennon, and more. There is a catch on the savings, though, as flights must be booked before 11.59pm tomorrow, May 20.

Terms and conditions further stipulate that the discount applies only to the fare, excluding any administration fees. Flights within the deal depart between today, May 19, and October 30, 2027. Wizz Air added: “Promotion does not apply to group bookings.”

At the time of publication, we found return flights to Palma de Mallorca in June, from London Luton, from £31.80 per person. You can also get return flights to Bratislava from £30.24, or to and from Alicante from £31.80.

Looking ahead to the summer holidays, there are return flights to Palma de Mallorca from £40.81 in August, to Barcelona El Prat from £43.38 per person, and flights to and from Valencia from £45.04 per person.

If you’d prefer to travel from London Gatwick, there are return flights next month to Malaga from £31.80, to Valencia from £35.70, and to Faro from £47.72 per person. And in August, Gatwick passengers can fly to and from Faro from £56.94, Valencia from £58.64, and Malaga from £66.46.

Content creator Just Deano flew from Tenerife to Manchester after his recent holiday where he tested out how long it would take to get past the new EES system that has caused chaos for Brits

A Brit arrived at the airport in Tenerife three hours before his flight home after fearing new travel rules would delay him — only to breeze past the Entry/Exit System (EES) in just 30 seconds.

The travel requirement has led to major disruption across airports in Europe — and some Brits have ended up missing flights. This was after getting stuck in long queues in countries like Spain, Portugal and Poland.

For those who don’t know, new rules require non-EU nationals, which of course includes Brits, to register their biometrics instead of having passports stamped at border control.

It was introduced to replace the passport stamp and it works by automatically checking when a person enters or leaves a country in the EU.

As for what it means practically, Brits will have to register details including fingerprints and facial images before scanning their passports when they first visit a country in the Schengen area.

Content creator Just Deano arrived at Tenerife South Airport earlier than he normally would after hearing “horror stories”.

Some people in recent weeks have claimed that machines have been failing by rejecting fingerprints — while others have missed flights because of the delays this has caused.

One Brit wrote: “The key is to arrive three hours early so at least you are in the front of the queue when problems start.”

Another said: “Love Tenerife but HATE the airport.”

However, speaking about his own experience, Deano said: “That EES system, Entry/Exit system, was a piece of cake, you don’t have to do your fingerprints. We were in and out in 30 seconds. Literally 30 seconds. Straight to the e- gate. Put your passport in, went through no problem.”

But the catch here is that if it is your first time travelling to a European country this year, you will have to register your fingerprints, which is what has caused a lot of the carnage.

As was in Deano’s case, once you have registered your biometrics once, that information is then stored for three years, meaning you won’t have to keep repeating the process on each trip in Europe. However, some passengers have claimed they are having to repeat it and are therefore getting stuck.

Summing up his experience, Deano said: “But let me tell you people, don’t worry about the entry exit system, just forget the fingerprints (if already registered). We walk straight past the machines and just go to the e-gate as if you would as if you were getting your passport stamped. No need to worry. Absolutely fine. Even though it’s busy as anything here.

“I would imagine when all these people that are in here are going through that gate, going through that e-gate, you would get a little bit of a queue, but it takes about 10 seconds per person. So don’t worry at all.”

Despite Deano, who is from Huddersfield, not suffering from the new travel rules, some people wrote underneath the video, which you can watch here, that it wasn’t that easy for everyone.

One person wrote: “I have had my fingerprints taken on a few occasions now, did a full EES in Rome and about 5 times again. Didn’t work in Berlin, so hopefully Poland will be better.”

Another said: “Poor advice that Deano about the EES. Tell those stranded at the airport in Lanzarote yesterday as the plane left without them. I think it comes down to the number of flights departing to the UK at or around the same time. Summer is going to be a disaster.”

A third said: “I used the EES six weeks ago and still had to get in line for it again on Monday.”

One person added: “Lucky you – perhaps the delay did you a favour – we had to wait in a queue for over an hour with passport machines being very temperamental (we had done our fingerprints going into country) but both of still ended getting an actual border guy manually dealing with us and many others due to the machines.”

A fifth simply added: “EES, it is not as easy as you state deano.”