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Jill Ellis says allegations of poor work environment at NWSL's San Diego Wave are 'false'

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Jill Ellis says allegations of poor work environment at NWSL's San Diego Wave are 'false'


SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego Wave President Jill Ellis called allegations of a poor work environment made by a former employee of the National Women’s Soccer League team both “false” and “personally damaging.”

Ellis released a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday in response to a social media post by Brittany Alvarado, a former video and creative manager for the team. Alvarado called on the NWSL to remove Ellis, the former U.S. national coach.

Alvarado alleged the workplace was discriminatory and said it took a toll on her mental health in a lengthy post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Ellis said mental health concerns are a priority for the club and it has support measures, including an employee assistance program. She added that when allegations of mistreatment have occurred, the team has investigated.

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“In addition, when appropriate, independent third parties have assisted us in evaluating our workplace. At no time have those evaluations uncovered any wrongdoing by the club,” Ellis said.

Ellis, who coached the U.S. team to World Cup titles in both 2015 and 2019, added that the Wave is committed to building a strong and unified club.

“What we do is all about fostering a culture of respect, inclusivity, and excellence. The false accusations in (Wednesday’s) post are not only personally damaging but also take away from the incredible work and progress we’ve achieved together as a team,” Ellis said in the statement.

The Wave called Alvarado’s allegations inaccurate and defamatory. The team said it was looking into possible legal avenues available to address the matter.

Wave forward Alex Morgan, who played for Ellis on both of the World Cup-winning teams, issued a statement on social media in which she said she was disappointed by the allegations.

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“As players, we have worked hard to build a team that is surrounded by an inclusive, positive and safe environment,” Morgan said. “But it’s important to me that we are creating that environment for both players AND staff throughout the entire organization. Equity in the workplace is something I have and will continue to advocate for.”

___

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





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Mattel San Diego Comic-Con 2024 Exclusives [UPDATE July 7]

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Mattel San Diego Comic-Con 2024 Exclusives [UPDATE July 7]


Mattel is always doing something unexpected at San Diego Comic-Con. The company has some of the most beloved licenses around, from Barbie to Hot Wheels to Star Wars, Monster High, and beyond. To get your hands on this year’s items, they will once again be part of the Online Exclusives Portal lottery system, meaning you will need to submit for a chance to enter the booth when it opens on Tuesday, July 9.

While most of the day’s timeslots will be available through the portal, last year at a certain point, Mattel would open the booth to anyone with quantities that remain for that day — and we suspect it will operate the same way this year. For those lucky enough to win, make sure that you bring your QR code to the booth along with photo ID a few minutes before your designated timeslot.

Exclusives will be available for purchase at Booth #3029 at the con beginning Preview Night, as well as available on MattelCreations.com beginning Thursday, July 25 at 9am PT.

[UPDATE July 7]

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You’ll also find several booth activities at Booth #3029, including:

FRIDAY, JULY 26

  • 10AM — Mattel Creations Presents: Mattel TV. Unlock access with Mattel Creations. Go behind-the-scenes with Rob David, VP of Mattel TV Content Creative for insider info (and maybe a few secrets) about your favorite Mattel TV series including Masters of the Universe: Revolution, Monster High and Hot Wheels: Let’s Race. Join us for a sneak peek of What’s Next!
  • 11:30am — Barbie: Sneak Peak. Host Trisha Hershberger and Barbie designers will share details of product.
  • 12:15pm — From the Isle to the Aisle: An In-Depth Look at Jurassic World Toy & Packaging Design. Grab your flip-flops and tune in for a closer look at toy creation with members of the Mattel and Universal Jurassic World Design and Packaging Teams. Get ready for a dynamic and dinosaur-filled conversation led by designers Raf Bencosme, Katherine Benecke, Chloe Mun, Carlos Rosales, and Erick Solorzano and enjoy exciting product reveals, branding sneaks, and more!
  • 3pm — Street Sharks 30th Anniversary POSTER Signing. Mattel Designers will be on-hand to sign a jawsome reproduction of the re-release packaging character art spread.

SATURDAY, JULY 27

  • 11AM — Mattel Creations Opens the Vault. Unlock nostalgia with Mattel Creations. Join us as we dig deep into the archives and reintroduce you to some of your favorite toys from Barbie, Hot Wheels, Monster High, Masters of the Universe, Street Sharks and WWE! Relive your childhood and see which item from the archives won the fan vote.
  •  

[UPDATE June 24 #3]

Celebrate the 25th anniversary of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace with Mattel’s die-cast Hot Wheels Starships Select Royal Naboo Starship. The diorama packaging is the perfect backdrop fot eh 7.46″x5.43″x5.43″ starship, in the first-ever appearance of this ship in the Starships Select series. Pick it up for $30 beginning Preview Night at the booth or online beginning Thursday, July 25.

[UPDATE June 24 #2]

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Did you really think there wouldn’t be a Jurassic World exclusive? Of course you didn’t, and the toy giant has come roaring in with two new exclusives. Superhero Hype has the details.

Up first, raise your glass for Mattel’s Jurassic World Jimmy Buffet exclusive, which features a figure of Buffet’s iconic cameo from the film. Mattel pays tribute to the legend with this exclusive, which features a giant margarita glass (which Buffet can stand in), two margarita accessories, and attacking dinosaurs on flight stands. But to us, the best part of this set is that the box is shaped like a margarita pitcher. *chef’s kiss*. You can pick it up for $30 beginning Preview Night, or online starting Thursday, July 25.

They’ll also have a Masters of the Universe Two-Bad combo set, featuring individual figures of Tuvar and Baddrah. They come with the ancient Mirror of Avathar, from an episode of the Filmation series, as well as a double-sided mini comic. It will be available for $50.

[UPDATE June 24]

She’s Barbie, and he’s just a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive. Per People, Mattel will be releasing a Mini Mojo Dojo Casa House at San Diego Comic-Con. Based on the movie, the set will feature Ken’s iteration of Barbie’s Dreamhouse, as well as a Ken figure in a matching denim set, and a Kendom sign in the background. You can pick it up for $50. Sublime!

Like the other exclusives, it will be available at the con starting Preview Night, and then on MattelCreations beginning Thursday, July 25.

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[UPDATE June 20]

Mattel’s second wave of San Diego Comic-Con exclusives are worth the fight to get your hands on them. As revealed by IGN this morning, they’ve got four new exciting exclusives heading to the con, starting with a new WWE Ultimate Edition Shawn Michaels figure, based on his WrestleMania XII’s Iron Man Match. The figure comes equipped with a zip line accessory, as well as interchangeable head, hands, and arm pieces, so that you can recreate Michaels’ iconic entrance. It will be available for $45, and here is the pre-order link launching on July 25 (note that the link won’t work until 9am PT on Thursday, June 20).

Then, they’re making waves with a Street Sharks 30th Anniversary Collection Presents: Ripster, based on the character’s appearance in the episode “A Shark Among Us”. Ripster features a soft goods leather jacket and other episode-specific accessories and comes packaged inside a ’90s action movie-inspired box. You can pick him up for $40 beginning July 25 (or on Preview Night at the booth).

Monster High fans will want to get their claws on two new exclusives, starting with a Monster High Deadfast Ghoulia Yelps doll, which serves as a follow-up to Mattel’s San Diego Comic-Con 2011 exclusive. Ghoulia is decked out in her superhero best, and you can pick her up for $75 online or at the show.

And finally, for now, Mattel will be unleashing a MEGA – Adult Builder – Monster High Frankie Stein Boo-k Lab, which features 362-piece Mega Adult Builder set, inspired by the SDCC 2010 doll. It will be available for $40 both online and at the show.

[UPDATE June 17]

The hero we deserve. After teasing the set all the way back in March, Game Rant today revealed Mattel’s first full look at one of Mattel’s San Diego Comic-Con exclusives — a Fisher Price Little People Batman 85th Anniversary: I Am Batman Set. To celebrate the character’s 85th anniversary, Mattel is celebrating with this set, which features every film version of the character, from Michael Keaton’s 1989 portrayal to Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, and Robert Pattinson’s iterations. Each is dressed in their version of the costume, and comes with an iconic Batarang gadget.

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Fans will be able to grab this set for $40.

Up next is a Hot Wheels Batmobile Collector Set, which features the most iconic versions of the Batmobile in one set, including the Batmobiles from the Batman 1966 TV series, the Batman 1989 movie, Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Forever, Batman Begins, and The Batman.

Each iteration comes with a small figurine of its driver, representing Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, Christian Bale, and Robert Pattinson’s versions of the character. It will be available for $50.

There is also a Hot Wheels RacerVerse Marvel Secret Wars set for $20, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of Marvel’s Secret Wars comics. The original 1984 comics debuted the Symbiote Spider-Man suit for the first time, and Mattel is celebrating this with a Die-Cast Symbiote Suit Spider-Man in a little Spider-Buggy, along with a commemorative coin. There will also be a Wolverine chase variant, which features the Secret Wars version of the character in a mini X-Jet.

And finally, for now, they’ll also have a UNO Show ’em No Mercy Deadpool card set, on display only at San Diego Comic-Con. The game is a version of the game that is “even more brutal than its original counterpart”. It features new action cards and more brazen rules, and each card bears artwork from Deadpool comics over the years. It will be available for $19.99, and available exclusively as a Target.com exclusive.

 

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Padres come back, but lose to Diamondbacks in 10 innings

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Padres come back, but lose to Diamondbacks in 10 innings


The Padres’ offense didn’t do much of anything for five innings in the middle of Saturday night’s game at Petco Park.

Then they commenced trying to do something they have done quite a bit this season.

They made the game close in the seventh inning and tied it in the eighth before losing 7-5 in extra innings for the first time this season.

The Diamondbacks scored three runs off Wandy Peralta in the 10th. That denied the Padres their 19th victory this season in a game in which they trailed or were tied in the seventh inning or later. Their 18 victories earned that late are the same number they had all last season.

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“We’ve done really good,” Jake Cronenworth said after the Padres’ fourth loss in their past 16 games. “We’re not going to let a game where we lose by two runs and had bases loaded in the 10th get us down.”

Padres starter Matt Waldron threw 39 pitches in the second inning and then finished four more innings. He had allowed two runs to that point before being charged with another run in the seventh, when Yuki Matsui allowed an inherited runner and a runner of his own to score.

That gave the Diamondbacks a 4-1 lead, and that’s when the Padres started to convert on opportunities.

The Padres could not make much of all the strikes Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt threw them and then did nothing against local product Kevin Ginkel before scoring twice off left-hander Joe Mantiply in the bottom of the seventh to get to 4-3.

Ha-Seong Kim began the comeback with a single. He went to second on Kyle Higashioka’s dribbled infield single and to third on a line drive fielder’s choice by Luis Arraez that resulted in Higashioka being out at second.

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With runners at the corners, Jurickson Profar lined a double to the left field corner that scored Kim and moved Arraez to third. Jake Cronenworth’s bunt scored Arraez before Manny Machado, who had decided Saturday’s game with a walk-off home run, struck out against new reliever Bryce Jarvis.

Kim tied the game in the eighth with a two-out double off Ryan Thompson, driving in Donovan Solano, who had led off with a double against Jarvis.

Neither team scored in the ninth – not the Diamondbacks against Adrián Morejón nor the Padres against Thompson.

But the Diamondbacks clobbering of Peralta commenced with his ill-advised attempt to make a play on a bunt by Geraldo Perdomo on which third baseman Manny Machado was the only one who had a chance to get the out.

Perdomo’s bunt was perfectly placed, and he might have beat a throw from Machado, but even before he bobbled the ball, Peralta was at a disadvantage since he was running away from first base.

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“It was a big play,” a perturbed Mike Shildt said. “We know Perdomo’s gonna bunt. (He) put down a good bunt. Couldn’t make a play. So it opened it up for a bigger inning.”

Peralta then issued a walk to load the bases, and Christian Walker sent a grounder through a drawn-in infield to drive in two runs. Stephen Kolek replaced Peralta and allowed one of the runners he inherited to score while getting three outs.

The Padres came back from one down to win on Machado’s walk-off homer Friday after the bullpen allowed six runs in the top of the ninth.

But after scoring a run on another Solano double and having the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the 10th on Saturday, Bryce Johnson struck out against Thyago Vieira and Kim struck out and Kyle Higashioka flied out to left field against Humberto Castellanos.

Machado, who was celebrating his 32nd birthday on Saturday, gave the Padres a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

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His broken-bat flare into left field, on an 0-2 count, was the Padres’ third single of the inning and sent  Arraez racing home from second base.

The Padres had scored 10 runs (eight earned) in Pfaadt’s two previous starts against them this season, and it seemed they might be on their way to another big night.

But they could not capitalize on David Peralta’s lead-off single in the second inning nor Jackson Merrill’s one-out single in the fourth.

Through four innings, Pfaadt had thrown strikes on 41 of his 49 pitches (84 percent) and the Diamondbacks led 2-1.

Kim led off the bottom of the fifth with a double off the wall in left-center field before Kyle Higashioka struck out.

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Arraez then lined a ball at 98 mph that nailed Pfaadt in the left ankle. The ball bounced well past the third base line — far enough that Kim rounded third full speed before slamming on the brakes and getting back to third when third baseman Eugenio Suárez sprinted over and grabbed the ball.

Pfaadt was replaced by Ginkel. The El Capitan High School and Southwestern College grad struck out Profar and Cronenworth to end the fifth and Machado and Solano to start the fifth before getting Merrill on a lineout.

The Diamondbacks had tied the game during Waldron’s marathon second inning, which just sort of leaked away from him as he threw more pitches than any Padres pitcher had in any inning this season.

The inning began with an infield single by Christian Walker before Gurriel popped out and Brandon McCarthy struck out.

Waldron then walked Suárez, moving Walker to second, before Poway’s Kevin Newman hit a flare off the end of his bat to bring in Walker.A full-count walk to No.9 batter Jose Herrera loaded the bases before Waldron struck out Corbin Carroll with a full-count sweeper at the bottom of the zone and on the inside edge.

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Waldron was at 53 pitches. He got through the next two innings on a total of 25 pitches but also allowed a go-ahead homer to Gurriel leading off the fourth.

Waldron was at 89 pitches after six innings but went back out to start the seventh and promptly yielded a single to Suárez. Shildt said he liked the matchup of Waldron against Suárez and was also trying to shorten the game for his beleagured bullpen.

When Suárez got the hit, Shildt went to Matsui.

Matsui surrendered a one-out double by Herrera that brought in a run charged to Waldron and a two-out triple by Geraldo Perdomo that drove in a second run to make it 4-1.



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Actor David Dastmalchian Confirms Attendance at San Diego Comic-Con 2024

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Actor David Dastmalchian Confirms Attendance at San Diego Comic-Con 2024


Actor and creator David Dastmalchian will be heading to San Diego Comic-Con again this year.

Dastmalchian confirmed on Instagram that he will be attending the convention. It was in response to a post from his Count Crowley comic book series announcing its return to the convention, which likely signals that Dastmalchian will be on hand to promote it with Dark Horse.

The series follows TV journalist Jerri Bartman, who has returned to her Midwest hometown station, and finds that her new job hosting the nightly Creature Feature comes with a super, supernatural responsibility.

They promote “exciting plans” and news for the convention are incoming.

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Dastmalchian’s other upcoming projects, including Apple TV’s Murderbot, likely aren’t far enough along in production. The series follows a sentient security android who must mask the ability of free thought, and stars Alexander Skarsgård and Dastmalchian, but it only started filming in March.



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