SAN ANTONIO, Texas // Were the Portland Trailblazers rattled, literally, before their 114-97 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semi-finals of the NBA play-offs on Thursday?
A snake – the Trailblazers think it was a rattlesnake – turned up in the locker of their reserve forward Thomas Robinson before the game, ESPN reported.
Robinson said he had only seen snakes on the Discovery Channel until now.
“I was scared,” he said. “I ain’t gonna lie, I was scared.”
He said he screamed and lept “about five feet high and 20 feet back”.
Reserve guard Will Barton, Robinson’s neighbour in the locker room, said he himself kept calm while hopping up on a chair.
There was all kinds of commotion until team trainers caught the creature.
A Spurs official said the snake was determined to be non-poisonous before being safely released back into the wild, ESPN said.
The snake was black and white, the Spurs’ colours, Robinson noted.
The report said that Spurs shooting guard Danny Green collects snakes.
“That’s the No 1 suspect right there,” Barton said with a laugh.
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars