Latest news with #Rawlings
USA Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
MLB goes full NASCAR with Braves, Reds uniforms for Speedway Classic at Bristol
In an effort to host more baseball games in more unique locations, the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves are set to play a game at Bristol Motor Speedway, the legendary auto racing track in Bristol, Tennessee, on August 2nd. This will be the first-ever MLB game played at a NASCAR track, and the teams involved are going all-out for their part in league history. On Monday, July 21, the Cincinnati Reds unveiled the uniforms they plan to wear for the contest: white jerseys equipped with classic checkered flag patterns and numbers in the same style seen on drivers' cars. The Braves also revealed their jerseys, which will feature similar NASCAR-inspired numbers, as well as a new ballcap designed by New Era with hod rod flames across the brim. The Aug. 2 game will count as a Reds home game and will be proceeded by games against the Braves at Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park on July 31 and Aug. 1. The game will be held a little more than a month before the speedway, know as "The Last Great Colosseum," hosts NASCAR's annual Bristol Night Race on Saturday, Sept. 13. The baseball field will be set in the middle of the track's infield. GUARDIANS: Why did Cleveland change baseball team name? Origins of decades-long controversy Are there any other specialty pieces of gear for this game? Rawlings has designed new batting helmets directly modeled after racing helmets for this game. Furthermore, Reds' catcher Tyler Stephenson has already revealed a custom chest plate for the game, modeled after the movie 'Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.' The straps on the back of the protector include the famous line from the movie: "If you ain't first, you're last." Has Bristol hosted other major sporting events? Bristol Motor Speedway anually hosts two NASCAR weekends a year – one in the spring and one in late summer or early fall. The speedway hosted a college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Virginia Tech Hokies in 2016, which had almost 157,000 fans in attendance. Partnership with MLB: The Show The Bristol Motor Speedway ballpark as well as the Reds' and Braves' specialty uniforms are expected to be available to play with in the popular baseball video game MLB: The Show 25. What other fanfare will be at the Speedway Classic? There will be a pregame concert headlined by Tim McGraw, Pitbull, and Jake Owen. Owen will host a full day of musical sets in a dedicated fan zone at the venue, per Bristol Motor Speedway. The Commissioner's Trophy is also expected to make an appearance, giving fans a once in a lifetime opportunity to take photographs with baseball's most coveted trophy.
American Press
18-06-2025
- Sport
- American Press
Westenburg earns Gold Glove
Conner Westenburg became the second player in McNeese history to earn a Gold Glove. (Kirk Meche/Special to the American Press) Before the season, Conner Westenburg picked out a brand new glove for his final year. Surprisingly, to all, he picked the color pink. 'I got a little heat for it,' said Westenburg. 'My dad asked if it was for a gender reveal.' The senior centerfielder had a simple response to those who joked about it: 'I told them I planned on getting a different color at the end of the year.' True to his word, Westenburg got his prize color on Wednesday when Rawlings handed out their postseason college honors. Westenburg was named just the second McNeese State player to earn a spot on the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings Gold Glove team. He joins Carson Maxwell, who was named to the 2019 team as a third baseman. 'I would go look at his glove and say to myself, I wanted one of those all the time,' said Westenburg. 'I feel very honored to have been named to the team. It is a great honor and was a goal of mine.' Westenburg joins Vanderbilt's RJ Austin and UConn's Caleb Shpur in the outfield. He is just the fifth Gold Glove winner in Southland Conference history. 'Conner is one of the best centerfielders I've ever seen, and I have had the pleasure to see it every day,' said McNeese head coach Justin Hill. 'He is so deserving of this, and I'm so happy for him to be recognized as the best in the country.' The news on Wednesday came as a surprise to Westenburg, who still works out in hopes of playing professionally down the road. 'I didn't expect to get it,' Westenburg said. 'There are so many good players out there, you just never know. Then, when I saw I was a finalist, I started to think maybe.' Westenburg had a good year offensively, but was huge for the Cowboys as a defender. He was named to the All-SLC first team and the All-Defensive squad in May. However, to be named one of the best defenders in the country puts the perfect finishing touch to his Cowboy career. 'I have always been a good defender, but I have always worked really hard at it,' said Westenburg. 'I take a lot of pride in playing defense. 'Even if you are having a bad day at the plate, you can still help your team win with big defensive plays and saving runs.' With 134 chances on the year, Westenburg recorded 123 put-outs with only two errors as he compiled a .985 fielding percentage. He also ran down balls in both gaps. 'If it was hit near me, I wanted to do everything I could to make the catch,' said Westenburg. 'Defense is really all about work and effort. You can't control hitting all the time, but you can control defense.' As a hitter, he hit .332 on the season with seven home runs and 33 RBIs. Of those seven homers, three came leading off games, setting another school record. He hit nine triples to rank second in the NCAA, nine doubles, and led the Southland Conference with 27 stolen bases. 'One of my goals at the beginning of the year was to win a Gold Glove,' Westenburg said. 'I didn't see a lot of action my first two years here, but when I got the opportunity, I got out and made the best of it.' And he can now retire that pink glove and replace it with the golden one.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Yahoo
Man sentenced for string of armed robberies targeting Trinidad construction workers
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — A D.C. man was sentenced to 16 years in prison for a series of armed robberies that prosecutors said targeted construction workers in the Trinidad neighborhood. The U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) for the District of Columbia said that Franco Rawlings Jr., 24, was charged with two counts of armed robbery, one count of robbery and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty in August 2024 to the charges. Fairfax County police searching for 3 involved in burglary, attempted burglary Court documents said that Rawlings and a co-conspirator worked together to rob Hispanic construction workers (whom they called 'Migos' in their texts) at gunpoint. According to evidence, on April 18, 2023, Rawlings approached a welder who was working at a home in the 1400 block of Montello Ave., NE, pointed a gun at him and demanded money. He stole the victim's wallet, which had $700 inside. On May 30, 2023, Rawlings and the co-conspirator approached two victims installing a deck in the 1300 block of Montello Ave. NE. They 'forced the victims into the basement, then to the ground at gunpoint.' The pair robbed the victims and then left. On June 27, 2023, Rawlings and the co-conspirator once again approached construction workers in Northeast D.C. Prosecutors said that they confronted three workers who were remodeling a home in the 1100 block of Owen Pl. NE. Rawlings was armed with a gun and ordered the victims to raise their hands. The duo stole money from the victims before escaping. DC Public Schools to ban cell phone use starting in 2025-26 school year One day later, on June 28, 2023, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department arrested Rawlings. They found a loaded handgun and clothing matching the clothing from surveillance footage during the robberies at his home. Rawlings has been in custody since then. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Corki's Embroidery closing after almost 60 years of personalizing gear and garments for the Newport Beach community
Corki's Embroidery took on a lot of custom jobs the other half-dozen or so other shops in the Newport Beach area wouldn't, which meant that over the years the business had many clients approach them with special orders carrying deep sentimental value. Employees recall one woman who came in carrying the wedding tuxedo of her husband, who had died at a young age. 'She wanted this inscription that we made inside the coat so he would be buried with her thoughts, that they would meet again. Stuff like that comes through the door, and you just sort of, 'Oof!'' seamstress Linda Pierce exclaimed. 'Yes, of course we'll do it!' Other memorable jobs were blankets customized with the names of children cared for by an orphanage and the sewing of American flags onto to the gear of beach volleyball pros April Ross and Jen Kessy ahead of their silver medal finish in the 2012 Olympics. Their work has helped people commemorate weddings, graduations, as well as countless other special moments and people over the course of their decades in business. Owner Barbara 'Corki' Rawlings told the Daily Pilot she has reveled in her role in the Newport Beach community. After celebrating her 90th birthday in 2024 and running her shop for 59 years, she's decided to close it at the end of June and settle into retirement. But that doesn't mean she's done sewing. She'll move her favorite vintage Singer 401A Slant-O-Matic from the store workshop to her desk at home alongside three other similar machines, she said. Rawlings has sold the building tucked away on Old Newport Boulevard she had been doing business out of. The commercial sized machine they used for high-volume orders will pass into the ownership of another local seamstress. 'I thought maybe somebody would buy the property and allow me to stay for a couple years while they're getting permits for tearing it down,' Rawlings said. 'And when I turned 90, I guess I just thought, 'Why?' And for me it was the right decision. No regrets.' Sewing is something threaded into the core of the business owner's upbringing. Some of Rawlings' earliest memories involved making garments 'at my mother's knee.' 'I worked the pedals on her sewing machine,' she said. 'She made all our kids' clothes. I made all my kids' clothes, drapes, everything.' Her mother was a teacher who eventually settled in Santa Ana. Through sewing and living in Orange County, Rawlings became involved in the boating community. She used to help the original owner of Nikki's Flags with orders for many of the yacht clubs in the Newport Beach area, and eventually bought that business in 1966. Rawlings sold the flag shop in 1994, but continued the embroidery store under her own name. 'The nautical part of it, I won't say came naturally; I had to learn it' Rawlings said. 'But it was easy. I loved the water. I loved the boating. And then it kind of turned into coaching.' She moved to a home at the Newport Sea Base in 1974, and became a scout leader for the Sea Scouts. She was also a volunteer for the Coast Guard, and has been a referee for NCAA rowing events for 26 years. She'll be in New Jersey as a guest referee for the Division I Women's championship in June. Two of her sons, Billy Rawlings and Bob Rawlings, help run the Newport Aquatic Center and the Sacramento State Aquatic Center, respectively. Another, Brian Rawlings, helped design Icebreaker Argus, a 68.5 meter long vessel built to explore polar waters. Yacht clubs have remained some of Rawlings' most loyal customers. Other longtime clients include local fire and police departments, as well as rowing teams and other aquatics programs at practically every high school in Coastal Orange County. So it's not unusual for Rawlings, Pierce and a third seamstress who has also been working with them for decades, Joyce Brownell, to find garments they personally stitched while they're out and about in the community. 'With the Junior lifeguard backpacks — I live on the Peninsula, so I can see [junior lifeguards] riding by on their bicycles, and I can go, 'Hey! I did that one!'' Pierce said. Pierce, Rawlings and Brownell take pride in their work, and have personally sacrificed to ensure everything that leaves their shop meets their standards. They've eaten the cost to replace garments inadvertently damaged by equipment malfunctions. And even when a swimming or rowing team shows up with a couple hundred blankets and polo shirts that need to be finished in a week or so, it's hard for them to say no and disappoint their clients. 'I spent many a night here, locked the doors and kept sewing,' Rawlings said. 'And I still love sewing. It's my own fault when that happens because I've said yes to something that was overwhelming or too much, and had to get it done.' 'But look at this! And look at these!' she continued while proudly holding up backpacks customized for the Newport Beach Junior Lifeguards and a folder of elaborately stitched designs in blue, gray, gold and practically every possible color of thread. Rawlings said their personal investment into each piece they make, and the relationships she built with the people she serves have been the key to her shop's longevity. She considers most of them her friends. 'I am obviously, and still, not very much of a businesswoman,' the founder of a store that has lasted almost six decades said. 'Friends brought in business, and it just expanded from there.' Humble beginnings founded on meaningful connections led Rawlings to a finale in a career she can bow out of proudly. In some ways, her decades in business mirrored the process of crafting a fine garment. 'A lot of the finished project depends on how you start; how you hoop, the backing you use, the overlay you use, whatever the material you're embroidering on requires,' she said. '... No puckering. you don't want pucker.'
BBC News
16-04-2025
- BBC News
Devon sculptor delighted as stolen animal heads found
A sculptor says it is "unbelievable" several pieces of artwork which were stolen from a farm have been found in "fairly good nick". Brendan Rawlings created a set of wooden animal head sculptures for a walking trail on Darts Farm in Topsham, Devon, which were then removed from their plinths in July 2024.A search for the artworks - which had been displayed at Glastonbury Festival before being taken to the farm - had been Rawlings said he was delighted when he received a phone call on Tuesday saying four of the nine heads had been found in a bin in Exeter. Mr Rawlings told BBC Radio Devon a man who ran a residential housing complex had found them in black plastic bags stuffed into a waste disposal unit."I then got a call from a mate of mine who is a police officer who said 'we've got four of your sculptures here', so they have found four of them," Mr Rawlings said."Where they've been for a year, I don't know, but we've got four out of nine which is a start."He added the heads appeared to be in "fairly good nick" and was looking forward to their return.
