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NEW YORK — It was 29 years in the past that Reggie Miller scored eight factors in 8.9 seconds on this similar constructing, a brutal reminiscence for the New York Knicks and their followers.

They didn’t fairly get full redemption in Recreation 2 of their first-round sequence with the Philadelphia 76ers, however eight factors in 20.4 seconds – on the alternative finish of the ground of Miller’s heroics –was sufficient for the Knicks to show a five-point deficit right into a three-point victory on Monday.

On the opposite aspect, it was a painful sequence for the Sixers, who had come again from eight factors down early within the fourth quarter and seemingly had the sport in hand.

Listed here are some notes, quotes, numbers and movie because the sequence heads to Philadelphia with the Knicks up 2-0.

1. A miraculous sequence turns it round for the Knicks

Earlier than issues obtained wild, Kyle Lowry was fouled within the backcourt and had the chance to place the Sixers up six with 47.3 seconds left. However he break up his two free throws, making it only a five-point sport.

Lowry has shot 86% from the road during the last 4 seasons, and the Sixers have been the second-best free throw taking pictures staff within the common season (82.6%). However they have been simply 16-for-22 (72.7%) on Monday, with Joel Embiid going 8-for-12. Philly has shot worse than 73% from the road simply 11 occasions (in 85 complete video games) this season, and three of these 11 situations have come at Madison Sq. Backyard.

Then the insanity started:

• Brunson was stripped, however Donte DiVincenzo grabbed the ball again from Lowry.

• DiVincenzo finally discovered Brunson within the left nook, and Brunson’s side-step 3-pointer bounced excessive off the rim and thru the web to make it a two-point sport with 27.0 seconds left.

• Tyrese Maxey fumbled Lowry’s inbounds go, maybe as a result of he was held by Brunson. He managed to achieve up and seize the ball, however wasn’t on stability and hit the ground. Josh Hart then took the ball away.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse claimed afterward that he known as timeout twice, as soon as earlier than the ball was inbounded and once more when Maxey was on the ground. However upon assessment of the movie, it appeared like he was hesitating to name what would have been the Sixers’ remaining timeout within the first occasion. And after Maxey hit the ground, it was only a split-second earlier than Hart took the ball away:

• Hart obtained the ball to DiVincenzo, who missed a wide-open, left-wing 3 for the lead. However Isaiah Hartenstein crashed from the perimeter and went untouched as he leapt and grabbed the offensive rebound (extra on that beneath).

• Hartenstein was swarmed, however managed to get the ball to OG Anunoby, who handed it to DiVincenzo on the high of the arc. Nicolas Batum closed out arduous, however DiVincenzo drained a protracted 3 for the lead with 13.1 on the clock.

Successful on this league is difficult. And the Sixers discovered, properly … the arduous means in Recreation 2.

2. Win the rebounding battle, win the sport

The Knicks completely destroyed the Sixers on the glass in Recreation 1, turning 23 offensive rebounds into 26 second-chance factors. The Sixers did a a lot better job in Recreation 2, with New York totaling 12 offensive rebounds and simply 12 second-chance factors.

However Philly wanted these numbers to be 11 and 9. Even regardless of the backcourt turnover, they win the sport in the event that they get a physique on Hartenstein and rebound DiVincenzo’s preliminary miss:

Ultimately, the Sixers collected 49.1% of the obtainable rebounds on Monday.

“If we win the rebounding battle in that sport,” Maxey stated, “we win the sport.”

3. The Sixers’ MVP is Tyrese Maxey

The ultimate sequence ruined an unimaginable sport from Maxey, who completed with 35 factors, eight rebounds and 10 assists. This got here after a 33-point efficiency in Recreation 1 on Saturday, and after he fell in poor health between video games.

The Sixers listed their level guard as questionable for Monday, however he did what was essential to play (“I actually can’t stand taking drugs,” he stated). He performed greater than 44 minutes and was the perfect participant on the ground.

The Knicks merely haven’t discovered a solution for Maxey, who’s discovered some ways to beat them.

Rejecting screens:

Setting screens himself:

Slicing again door when he’s being top-blocked:

He actually turned it up in that fourth quarter, when he poured in 15 factors because the Sixers scored 27 on their first 18 possessions to take that five-point lead.

If the Knicks stopped his preliminary push, Maxey was trying to get the ball again and take a look at once more:

“The final quarter-hour,” Nurse stated, “he was actually chasing it down, turning on the jets and slamming on brakes, doing all of the issues he can do time and time once more.”

4. Brunson continues to wrestle from the sphere

The Sixers usually tried to get Brunson matched up with Maxey. And on the opposite finish of the ground, the Knicks tried the identical. However Brunson, regardless of that late 3 that bounced in, wasn’t as profitable, and he’s now 16-for-55 (29%) within the sequence.

Sure, that’s 55 pictures in simply two video games.

The All-NBA candidate is clearly the main focus of the Sixers’ protection. They’re not double-teaming him, however they’re shading his means, particularly if he will get the Maxey change. And if he will get into the paint, a second Philly defender will abandon his man to contest Brunson’s shot.

That focus is the most important cause why Hart (who performed 48 minutes on Monday) has tried 15 3-pointers within the two video games. That he’s made eight of these 15 is likely one of the greatest causes the Knicks are up 2-0.

Brunson might in all probability be passing extra as his shot chart is just not an environment friendly one, with 37 of his 55 pictures (67%) having come from between the restricted space and the 3-point line. That price is up from 51% within the common season.

5. Hartenstein comes up huge

Embiid wasn’t tremendous environment friendly (34 factors on 12-for-29 taking pictures), however was higher offensively on Monday than he was in Recreation 1. And the Sixers have now outscored the Knicks by 17 factors in his 76 minutes within the sequence, getting outscored by 27 (72.7 per 100 possessions) in his 20 minutes off the ground.

Hartenstein wasn’t Embiid’s equal in Recreation 2, however he was the whole lot the Knicks wanted on the 5, ending with 14 factors, eight rebounds (together with the one which led to DiVincenzo’s go-ahead 3), 4 assists and 4 blocks.

Eight of these factors got here on 4 completely enormous push pictures within the remaining quarter-hour to supply an outlet for the Knicks ballhandlers who drew consideration from Embiid.

And after DiVincenzo’s 3-pointer put the Knicks up one, Hartenstein was ready to stick with Maxey and block his layup to basically seal the win for the Knicks:

He’s not the MVP, and he’s rather less worthwhile with Mitchell Robinson again after a 3 1/2 month absence. However Hartenstein has been extremely essential for the Knicks this season and on this sequence.

The sequence isn’t over but. These have been two tightly-contested video games and the Sixers now head dwelling, the place they’re 20-5 with Embiid within the lineup. Recreation 3 is Thursday (7:30 ET, TNT).

* * *

John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You’ll be able to e-mail him right here, discover his archive right here and follow him on X. 

The views on this web page don’t essentially replicate the views of the NBA, its golf equipment or Warner Bros. Discovery

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s first moon lander has survived a 3rd freezing lunar night time, Japan’s area company stated Wednesday after receiving a picture from the gadget three months after it landed on the moon.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Company stated the lunar probe responded to a sign from the earth Tuesday night time, confirming it has survived one other weekslong lunar night time.

Temperatures can fall to minus 170 levels Celsius (minus 274 levels Fahrenheit) throughout a lunar night time, and rise to round 100 Celsius (212 Fahrenheit) throughout a lunar day.

The probe, Sensible Lander for Investing Moon, or SLIM, reached the lunar floor on Jan. 20, making Japan the fifth nation to efficiently place a probe on the moon. SLIM on Jan. 20 landed the unsuitable means up with its photo voltaic panels initially unable to see the solar, and needed to be turned off inside hours, however powered on when the solar rose eight days later.

SLIM, which was tasked with testing Japan’s pinpoint touchdown know-how and gathering geological information and pictures, was not designed to outlive lunar nights.

JAXA stated on the social media platform X that SLIM’s key capabilities are nonetheless working regardless of repeated harsh cycles of temperature modifications. The company stated it plans to intently monitor the lander’s deterioration.

Scientists are hoping to seek out clues in regards to the origin of the moon by the evaluating mineral compositions of moon rocks and people of Earth.

The message from SLIM got here days after NASA restored contact with Voyager 1, the farthest area probe from earth, which had been sending garbled information again to earth for months.

An U.S. lunar probe developed by a personal area firm introduced termination of its operation a month after its February touchdown, whereas an Indian moon lander failed to ascertain communication after landing in 2023.

NEW YORK (AP) — An eight-point lead was gone. The Knicks’ edge within the sequence and home-court benefit appeared about to observe. Madison Sq. Backyard had fallen practically silent.

“I imply, it wasn’t an excellent feeling,” Donte DiVincenzo mentioned.

Moments later, it was bedlam.

DiVincenzo made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining after a determined scramble, and New York beat the Philadelphia 76ers 104-101 on Monday evening to take a 2-0 lead of their first-round playoff sequence.

The Knicks trailed by 5 factors inside the ultimate 30 seconds earlier than some of the gorgeous rallies in playoff historical past, beginning when Jalen Brunson lastly bought a shot to fall throughout an in any other case depressing taking pictures evening.

Brunson’s 3-pointer from the nook bounced on the rim and fell in, slicing it to 101-99 with 27 seconds remaining. Josh Hart stole the ball from Tyrese Maxey to get the ball again for the Knicks, however DiVincenzo missed a 3-pointer. Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed the rebound and handed it to OG Anunoby, who bought it again to DiVincenzo, who hit that one to make it 102-101.

“It was loopy, it was hectic, however at that time we had nothing to lose,” Hart mentioned. “Obtained to get as bodily as we will and it panned out.”

Hartenstein then blocked Maxey’s drive, Anunoby made two free throws, and the Knicks held on when Joel Embiid missed a 3-pointer on the buzzer.

Brunson completed with 24 factors regardless of going 8 for 29 from the sector. Hart had 21 factors and 15 rebounds, and DiVincenzo scored 19 factors.

It was simply the fourth time within the play-by-play period, courting to the 1996-97 season, a group received a playoff sport after trailing by at the very least 5 factors within the final 30 seconds, based on Sportradar. The others included Miami’s series-saving rally in opposition to San Antonio in Sport 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, Golden State’s additional time victory over New Orleans in Sport 3 in 2015 en path to its first of three titles in 4 years, and Kobe Bryant’s game-winner to beat Phoenix in Sport 4 of a first-round sequence in 2006.

Maxey had 35 factors, 10 assists and 9 rebounds in an excellent efficiency after he was sick earlier within the day and missed their morning shootaround. Embiid had 34 factors and 10 rebounds.

Sport 3 is Thursday in Philadelphia.

“We’re going to win this sequence,” Embiid mentioned. “We all know what we’ve bought to repair and we did a greater job immediately, so we’re going to repair it. However we’re the higher group and we’re going to maintain preventing.”

The 76ers appeared on the verge of going dwelling comfortable after Maxey had 15 factors within the fourth quarter. His 3-pointer with 1:09 to play gave the 76ers a 100-96 lead and when Kyle Lowry made a free throw with 47 seconds to go, the group was as quiet because it had been all evening.

“That’s not an excellent feeling to lose that lead,” DiVincenzo mentioned. “The subsequent day it’s going to sting slightly bit extra.”

A couple of minutes later the followers had been chanting DiVincenzo’s title deliriously after he had given the Knicks their first 2-0 lead in a playoff sequence for the reason that first spherical in opposition to Boston in 2013.

“It was enormous, it was loud as hell in there,” DiVincenzo added.

And the sting goes to the 76ers.

“Obtained to place it behind us now,” Maxey mentioned. “You’ve bought 48 hours to consider it and provide you with a plan to get two at dwelling.”

Hartenstein chipped in 14 factors and Anunoby had 10, nevertheless it was principally the efforts of Brunson, Hart and DiVincenzo – the three former Villanova Wildcats who will now head again to Philadelphia for the following two video games.

Hart scored 19 within the first half to maintain the Knicks shut in a sport they didn’t lead for the primary time till there have been 4 minutes remaining within the third quarter.

Brunson was solely 8 for 26 in Sport 1 however had eight rebounds and 6 assists Monday.

Embiid performed 39 minutes, hardly ever trying bothered by his surgically repaired left knee he appeared to reinjure in Sport 1. However he and Maxey had little assist, with Tobias Harris the one different Philadelphia participant in double figures with 10 factors.

Maxey, a finalist for the Most Improved Participant award, hit three straight 3-pointers to begin the sport and ship the 76ers to a 9-0 lead. They had been forward by 10 within the second quarter when Embiid was known as for a technical foul. After he was known as for a foul attempting to dam DiVincenzo on a drive to the basket, he used the ball to shove DiVincenzo again.

That bought the followers into it, booing Embiid profanely, however the Knicks couldn’t make a lot of a dent within the rating till Hart scored seven straight factors, together with his 3-pointer in transition slicing it to 51-48. It was 53-49 on the break.

Reserves Bojan Bogdanovic and Deuce McBride, who had huge performances in Sport 1, mixed for 11 straight New York factors for a 90-82 lead with 7:43 remaining. However Philadelphia battled again to tie it at 94 on a basket by Maxey.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Monday, April 22 was Earth Day and to have a good time, I had a warmth pump put in. It wasn’t deliberate that method — I’ve been fascinated with this for months and I lastly pulled the set off two weeks in the past. The set up was initially scheduled for Tuesday, April 23 however on the final minute I obtained a name from the installer to see if I might accommodate them on Monday as a substitute. Serendipity.

My motivations for endeavor this mission have been different. Our home had an electrical furnace so I wasn’t burning fossil fuels for warmth however electrical furnaces that use resistive components to generate warmth, which is then blown via ductwork, are very costly to function. My January electrical invoice was $535. In December 2022, my invoice was $616. Shifting to a warmth pump ought to lower my heating prices by at the least 50% and as much as as a lot as two-thirds. Utilizing pretty conservative estimates for what portion of my invoice really goes to area heating vs. water heating and different makes use of — and assuming at the least some use of backup resistive heating when temperatures drop beneath the “Steadiness Level” of my system — I’m assured that the warmth pump set up will save me round $1,000 per yr.

Since nearly the entire electrical energy that we use in Washington is generated from hydroelectric initiatives, the vitality I exploit is clear. By lowering the quantity of vitality I eat, particularly throughout peak demand durations, I additionally scale back the necessity for the PUD to purchase further energy throughout these durations. That further energy isn’t essentially as clear as the ability that’s generated domestically, so there’s an added environmental profit from that.

One other motivation that was very compelling was the provision of rebates, reductions and credit that exist proper now. With over $2,800 in reductions, $300 in rebates from the PUD and a Costco rebate of $2,390, the entire value of the unit, put in, was beneath $15,000 and that’s earlier than accounting for two% member advantages from Costco plus one other 2% for paying utilizing my Costco bank card. After which there’s one other $2,000 tax credit score that I’ll get again off my 2024 taxes subsequent yr. The online result’s that this unit can pay for itself in about 12 years and that’s with out factoring in any enhance in the price of electrical energy over that interval.

A few of these reductions have been time restricted and are not accessible however maintain a watch out for brand spanking new reductions that I believe will emerge.  Additionally, I didn’t qualify for the entire potential rebates and tax credit so it’s value trying into further rebates and credit that could be accessible in your state of affairs. The PUD provides a rebate of as much as $1,800 (vs. the $300 that I acquired) if your own home is extra insulated and you’ll obtain a “steadiness level” of 30 F, which implies that the warmth pump you put in can meet the demand of the house for warmth when out of doors temperatures dip to 30 F with out the necessity for any backup resistive heating. There are additionally further rebates accessible for low- to moderate- earnings households via the federal authorities’s Inflation Discount Act incentives program.

And naturally, there’s the additional benefit of getting the choice of air con in the summertime time, though that’s unlikely for use greater than a few weeks out of the yr. However it’s good to have it — simply in case.

The precise set up went very easily. A staff arrived at my home round 8 a.m. One man put in the brand new air handler whereas one other put in the warmth pump outdoors and a 3rd did {the electrical} work. They have been all executed by 3:30 within the afternoon.

All in all, I’m more than happy with the simplicity of this course of and I sit up for having accessible air con this summer time and considerably decrease electrical energy payments subsequent winter.

If you need to be taught extra about this, SnoPUD is internet hosting an vitality block celebration in Everett on Saturday, April 27 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There may be additionally nice data on-line at Rewiring America. Among the greatest hyperlinks embody:

Caitlin Clark seems to be on the cusp of setting one other document.

Essentially the most prolific scorer in NCAA Division I historical past and the No. 1 general choose within the WNBA draft will proceed her affiliation with Nike by signing a $28 million contract that spans eight years and features a signature shoe.

The Wall Avenue Journal and The Athletic reported the pending deal, citing unnamed folks conversant in the negotiations between the sportswear large and Clark’s brokers.

Excel Sports activities Administration, which represents Clark, declined to remark. Nike didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from The Related Press.

Clark’s preliminary title, picture and likeness deal, signed in 2022, expired on the finish of the 2023-24 season.

The brand new deal could be the richest sponsorship contract for a girls’s basketball participant.

Underneath Armour and Adidas additionally participated in contract discussions with Clark’s workforce in February, based on the WSJ and Athletic. Puma additionally confirmed some curiosity however walked away when informed the bidding would begin at $3 million per 12 months, based on the WSJ.

Clark obtained gives of $16 million over 4 years from Underneath Armour and $6 million over 4 years from Adidas, with each together with a signature shoe, based on the WSJ.

Clark earned about $3 million in NIL cash at Iowa with offers she has had with State Farm, Gatorade and others, based on On3.com.

Clark’s brokers had been engaged on the brand new Nike contract even earlier than she introduced she would flip professional as an alternative of return to Iowa for a fifth season below the COVID-19 exemption provided to gamers in faculty throughout the 2020 pandemic season.

After averaging 31.6 factors and main the Hawkeyes to a second straight nationwide championship sport, Clark was drafted No. 1 by the Indiana Fever on April 15. She’ll earn a $76,000 wage as a rookie.

She’s been the primary driver for the dramatic uptick in girls’s basketball curiosity along with her mixture of deep 3-point pictures, flashy thread-the-needle passes and general courtroom presence. A girls’s basketball-record 18.9 million viewers watched Iowa’s loss to South Carolina within the NCAA title sport, and a WNBA-record 2.45 million watched the draft.

Of the Fever’s 40 video games this season, 36 will likely be nationally televised, and ticket gross sales have skyrocketed across the league.

Her marketability is enhanced by her polished performances in media settings, and her shock look on “Saturday Evening Reside” two weeks in the past was extensively acclaimed and uncovered her to a fair wider viewers.

The reported eight-year contract with Nike reveals the sportswear large’s dedication. At 22, Clark may play properly over a decade within the WNBA and she or he might be on the U.S. roster for the Olympics in Paris this 12 months, in Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane, Australia, in 2032.

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AP WNBA:

DENVER — — Jamal Murray did not even see the most important basket of his profession. No less than not reside, he did not.

Murray swished a step-back 15-footer over Anthony Davis on the buzzer Monday evening, giving the Denver Nuggets a surprising 101-99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers and capping a comeback from a 20-point second-half deficit.

Murray tumbled into the Nuggets’ bench together with Davis simply as his shot fluttered within the internet and the roar from the group shook Ball Enviornment.

“I simply misplaced my steadiness and fell. I feel A.D. was in my means or any person was in my means and I simply heard all people scream and that is how I knew it went in,” stated Murray, who was mobbed by his teammates after his bucket gave the reigning NBA champions their tenth consecutive win over the Lakers.

Extra importantly, it gave Denver a 2-0 lead in a Western Convention first-round sequence that shifts to Los Angeles for Recreation 3 on Thursday evening.

Murray missed 13 of his first 16 pictures and was simply probably the most flustered, frazzled and pissed off of all his teammates when it appeared the Nuggets would lose to the Lakers for the primary time in 494 days.

“I advised my teammates once I was struggling, ‘I’m gonna search for y’all,’ and each single one among them advised me to maintain capturing,” recounted Murray, who did simply that, going 6 for 8 for 14 factors within the fourth quarter to complete with 20 factors.

“They advised me to remain aggressive and preserve in search of it, preserve looking and once I had the ball with 2 seconds left, I knew as soon as I had made a pair, the following one ought to go down, as effectively.”

Nuggets coach Michael Malone selected to not name a timeout after Michael Porter Jr. grabbed the rebound off LeBron James’ missed 3-pointer with 13 seconds left and the sport tangled up at 99.

“We bought the cease. Tie sport. Why allow them to get set?” Malone reasoned. “As a result of, once they can get set and so they change out all the things, you may not even get the ball inbounds. So, I wished to ensure we might simply move into it and let our greatest gamers make performs.”

Murray faked like he was going to take a 3-pointer, bought A.D. to shut after which beat him to his spot alongside the appropriate baseline for the clear look.

“That is Jamal Murray proper there,” Malone stated. “He can wrestle, he can wrestle, he can wrestle. He sees one go in and he is by no means shying away from the second, the highlight. And that was simply an unimaginable play.”

Nikola Jokic stated Murray “made the robust pictures as we speak and he missed the simple ones. It was that type of sport.”

Requested to go although that last sequence, Davis demurred, saying merely, “Jamal Murray made a shot,” then standing up, dropping the mic — not figuratively — and strolling off from the postgame podium.

Jokic posted a triple-double with 27 factors, 20 boards and 10 assists. Porter added 22 factors and Aaron Gordon 14 for Denver.

Davis led the Lakers with 32 factors, James had 26 factors plus a serious beef with the officiating and D’Angelo Russell added 23 with a profession playoff-high seven 3s, together with six within the first half to assist the Lakers construct a 59-44 lead on the break.

The Lakers stretched their benefit to 68-48 two minutes into the second half and so they nonetheless led by 10 getting into the fourth quarter.

“I haven’t got a 20-point play,” Malone stated. “You have to simply preserve chipping away.”

That they did, lastly tying it at 95-all on Porter’s 3-pointer with 1:15 left earlier than the frenzied last minute.

“A 20-point lead on this league, it isn’t secure, particularly towards the defending champion,” James stated. “We have got to do higher. However we had our possibilities.”

——

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Like many little ladies, a younger Kristi Yamaguchi liked taking part in with Barbie. With a schedule full of ice skating practices, her Barbie dolls turned her “finest mates.”

So, it’s surreal for the embellished Olympian determine skater to now be a Barbie lady herself.

“It’s an enormous, enormous honor. I feel quite a lot of delight comes together with it, not simply recognizing the Olympic achievement, but additionally being acknowledged throughout AAPI Month and following within the footsteps of some unimaginable ladies that I idolize — Anna May Wong, Maya Angelou and Rosa Parks,” Yamaguchi told The Associated Press. “It’s hard to see me put in the category with them.”

Yamaguchi, who became the first Asian American to win an individual figure skating gold medal, at the 1992 Winter Olympics, has been immortalized as a doll for Barbie’s “Inspiring Women Series,” Mattel announced Wednesday. The release is timed for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, in May.

This isn’t Yamaguchi’s first doll depiction. In the ‘90s, touring show Stars on Ice put out a line of dolls modeled after notable skaters. The Barbie version is a lot more detailed.

Mattel duplicated everything the then 20-year-old medalist wore at the Olympics in Albertville, France: the sparkling black-and-gold brocade outfit designed by Lauren Sheehan, the gold hair ribbon and even a red-and-white bouquet like Yamaguchi held atop the podium.

Yamaguchi said both she and Sheehan are “just so tickled pink.”

She also is happy with the doll’s visage.

“It looks like me for sure. You know, the eyes and just the shape of the face. And then, of course, the hair, for sure. I mean, it has the bangs that are the ‘90s,” Yamaguchi said, chuckling.

She appreciates that the doll’s release comes on the high heels of the blockbuster “Barbie” movie last year. Her daughters, ages 18 and 20, are fans of the Oscar-nominated film. Their initial reaction to their mother being a Barbie? Disbelief.

“When they found out I was getting a doll, they were kind of flabbergasted and being like, ‘What? Like Mom, like how do you qualify? But that’s way too cool for you,’” Yamaguchi said.

When Yamaguchi became a household name in the ‘90s, most Asian American children were growing up feeling like toys-aren’t-us kids. If you were an Asian parent looking for an Asian doll in the U.S., you likely turned to independent mail-order companies or waited until you were visiting your country of heritage.

Since then, the toy market has evolved somewhat with big companies like Mattel diversifying and independent entrepreneurs filling the void. Two Asian doll lines — Jilly Bing and Joeydolls — launched within the last year, one by an Asian American mother and the other by an Asian Canadian mother. Both could not find dolls that looked like their daughters.

Sapna Cheryan, a professor of psychology at the University of Washington who served a year on Mattel’s Barbie Global Advisory Council in 2018, said Asian Americans have long dealt with two stereotypes: the model-minority whiz kid or the perpetual foreigner. Toys can help dispel those myths, and instead signal acceptance and inclusivity.

Dolls modeled after real people can get people talking about their human counterparts. Cheryan applauded Barbie’s choice of Yamaguchi.

“There are so many Asian American athletes but they’re just not propped up in a way that athletes of other racial groups are,” said Cheryan, who researches cultural stereotypes and their impact on race and gender disparities. “Having a match in terms of racial identification or gender or both,” she said, is important in creating effective role models for kids.

Mattel has mostly garnered praise for its diversity efforts but it’s had some missteps along the way. In 2021, the toy maker said it “fell short” by failing to include an Asian doll in a line of Tokyo Olympics-themed Barbies. In January, there was some backlash to Asian “You Can Be Anything” Barbies that seemed stereotypical. One was a violinist and the other a doctor in panda scrubs.

Tying Yamaguchi to Barbie, a symbol of American pop culture, is especially remarkable considering what she and her family have dealt with as Japanese Americans. She has spoken about how her maternal and paternal grandparents were forced into U.S. incarceration camps in response to Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

When she captured the gold over 50 years later, media coverage partially focused on why she didn’t seem to have many endorsement deals. In an AP article from 1992, a sports advertising executive blamed her Japanese heritage, citing an economic climate that was anti-Japan. “It’s wrong, wrong, wrong, but that is the way it is,” the executive said.

So while Barbie may seem like just a toy, it’s so much more for Yamaguchi.

“When kids see themselves or see someone who inspires them, then it just opens up their world and their imagination to what’s possible,” she said.

___

Tang is a Phoenix-based member of AP’s Race and Ethnicity team. Follow her on X at @ttangAP.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Korean Conflict veteran from Minnesota who nonetheless carries shrapnel in his leg from when he was wounded in fight will lastly get his Purple Coronary heart medal, 73 years late.

The U.S. Military notified Earl Meyer, 96, of St. Peter, on Monday that it has reversed itself and granted him a Purple Coronary heart, which honors service members wounded or killed in fight.

The resolution got here after a marketing campaign by his daughters and lawyer. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota championed his trigger. The Military’s prime noncommissioned officer — the sergeant main of the military — took an curiosity within the case after it had been rejected for years resulting from a scarcity of paperwork. U.S. District Decide John Tunheim this yr ordered an Military assessment board to take one other look.

The Military despatched Meyer’s lawyer a stack of paperwork Monday to inform them of the choice, together with a certificates in shade saying it was “for wounds acquired in motion on June 1951 in Korea.”

“Seventy-three years, yeah. That’s a very long time all proper. … I didn’t suppose they’d go for it,” Meyer mentioned in an interview Tuesday.

Meyer’s case highlights how it may be a battle for wounded veterans to get medals they’ve earned when the fog of battle, the absence of information and the passage of time make it difficult to provide proof.

“Earl Meyer put his life on the road in protection of our freedoms, and we’re endlessly indebted to him for his service,” Klobuchar mentioned in an announcement. “Earl earned this Purple Coronary heart, and I’m so glad that we have been in a position to work along with his household and the Military to get him the popularity he deserves.”

In Meyer’s case, few males in his unit who would have witnessed the mortar assault survived. Only some members of his platoon made it out unhurt. He didn’t even understand at first that he had been wounded. He thinks the medic who finally handled him on the battlefield was killed earlier than he might file the paperwork. And he wasn’t pondering then a few medal anyway — he was simply attempting to outlive.

Meyer completed out his tour guarding prisoners of battle. He was honorably discharged in 1952. The decorations he acquired earlier included the Fight Infantryman Badge, which is reserved for many who actively take part in floor fight below enemy hearth, and the Congressional Gold Medal for his service within the Service provider Marine in World Conflict II. He continues to dwell an lively life that features espresso with fellow veterans at his native American Legion publish.

Rising up, Meyers’ three daughters knew he had been injured within the battle. However like many veterans, he by no means talked a lot about it. It was solely up to now decade or in order that he opened as much as them. They persuaded him to pursue a Purple Coronary heart.

“We’re awfully excited,” mentioned his daughter, Sandy Baker, of New Buffalo, Michigan. “My sisters and I’ve been engaged on this for about eight or 9 years.”

Lawyer Alan Anderson mentioned they’re now hoping to rearrange a presentation ceremony “within the close to future.”

When the Military denied Meyer’s first functions for the medal, it mentioned his documentation was inadequate. Klobuchar’s workplace helped him acquire extra paperwork, and an Military assessment board concluded final week that the brand new proof “establishes past cheap doubt that the applicant was wounded in motion in early June 1951.”

The board cited information from the Division of Veterans Affairs, the place docs concluded the shrapnel in his thigh needed to be from a fight harm and famous that it continued to trigger him occasional ache. The board additionally cited a memo from Sgt. Maj. of the Military Michael Weimer, dated Feb. 27, who mentioned he believed Meyer’s account was correct, and that his medal request deserved one other assessment.

“It’s not nearly saying thanks, it’s about remembering,” Anderson mentioned. “Remembering all they did and their sacrifices, and the fellows that didn’t make it again.”