Welcome to Thursday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

THURSDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NHL: Hurricanes at Bruins, 7 p.m. (NESN)
NBA: Bulls at Knicks, 8 p.m. (TNT)
NBA: Nuggets at Clippers, 10:30 p.m. (TNT)
College basketball: Duke at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Southeast Missouri State at Murray State, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: South Carolina at Florida, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
College basketball: Gonzaga at BYU, 11 p.m. (ESPN2)

AROUND THE WEB:

Members of the visiting Al-Ahly soccer team run to safety at the end of their match against Al-Masry on Wednesday in Egypt. (AP)

♦ More than 70 people were killed during a riot at a soccer game in Egypt on Wednesday, and fingers are being pointed at the police for failing to prevent fans from bringing weapons into the stadium and standing by while the melee exploded.

“People here are dying, and no one is doing a thing. It’s like a war,” said Mohammed Abu Trika, a star player for Al-Ahly, which was upset by the home team, Al-Masry. “Is life this cheap?”

“The reason for this tragedy is the deliberate neglect and absence of the military and the police,” said Essam el Erian, a senior lawmaker from the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm. Added el Erian: “This will not pass without punishment, a thousand punishments.”

♦ Jets tight end Dustin Keller weighed in the “bad situation” on his team but voiced support for embattled wide receiver Santonio Holmes.

“Santonio is a big playmaker,” Keller told the New York Post from Indianapolis. “He’s a great guy in the locker room. I think pretty much everyone would consider him a good friend on the team. It’s just really uncharacteristic of him. We know that things can be settled, and he’ll be a huge piece for us next year.”

Keller insisted the Jets’ problems aren’t as bad as people think.

“I think it’s been a little bit blown out of proportion,” he said. “Obviously, we do have some problems that we need to address. It’s just not as bad as things have been made out to be.”

♦ Officials from Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo want CareerBuilder.com to pull a Super Bowl ad that features chimpanzees in suits and ties. A zoo representative claims the ad hurts conservation efforts by this “frivolous use of an endangered species.”

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Feb. 2, 1910, the Red Sox signed which locally born first baseman who would hit the first home run at Fenway Park two years later?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Hopefully, I’ll be a Celtic for many years to come. I’ve seen the other side of the sea, and the fish is different. I don’t want to go back there.” – First-year Celtic Mickael Pietrus

STAT OF THE DAY: 60 – Points Paul Pierce trails Larry Bird for second place on the Celtics’ all-time scoring list, after Pierce scored 17 points in Wednesday’s 100-64 rout of the Raptors

‘NET RESULTS: During the finals of the Mini 1-on-1 hockey tournament at TD Garden, Oliver Wahlstrom of the Portland (Maine) Junior Pirates scores a lacrosse-style goal that has everyone buzzing.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is ejected from Wednesday night’s loss to the Thunder for kicking a ball into the stands.

Former NHL player Alexander Radulov, now playing in Russia’s KHL, smacks his coach with his stick. Radulov, who has complained about the coach and asked for a trade, was given some time off by the team.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Hugh Bradley

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Shakira turns 35 Thursday.

Leave a Reply