Much has changed for Foo Fighters in the nearly six years that has passed since their last show in the metro, including the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (in their first eligible year) and the further expansion of their following. But the most obvious difference Sunday night at Target Field was the absence of drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died unexpectedly in March 2022 when the band was on tour in Colombia.

Thanks to his big personality and obvious talent, Hawkins served a crucial role in a band that was founded by a drummer, Dave Grohl. Indeed, there was a period of uncertainty about whether or not Grohl would keep Foo Fighters going, especially after his mother died months later.

Grohl ended up pouring his energy into the group’s 11th album, “But Here We Are,” which saw him find a new maturity as he frankly addressed the wide range of emotions that come with the passing of loved ones. While Grohl and company did play several songs from the new record Sunday, it was far from a glum, ponderous night.

If anything, Grohl has upped his on-stage antics to new heights, perhaps to compensate for the lack of Hawkins. When we last saw him, at Xcel Energy Center in October 2018, Grohl came across as a screamier, Gen X version of Bruce Springsteen. Somehow, he’s only gotten bigger and louder in the meantime.

To wit, Grohl blew up the second song of the set, “No Son of Mine,” into a mini rock epic complete with snippets of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” (Speaking of, Grohl’s exaggeratedly gruff speaking/shouting voice and ample use of profanity brought to mind Metallica’s James Hetfield.)

Grohl dropped references to both classic rock and his own favorites throughout the show, from a “Stairway to Heaven” tease before his acoustic “Skin and Bones” to the hook of the Beatles’ “Blackbird” that popped up during “Nothing at All.” During a band introduction — that, frankly, went on a bit too long — he riffed on hits from AC/DC (with guitarist Chris Shiflett), Beastie Boys (bassist Nate Mendel) and the Ramones (guitarist Pat Smear).

Elsewhere, Grohl gave not one, but two shout outs to Husker Dü (he called them one of his favorite bands ever) and, in introducing new drummer Josh Freese, he played the riff of the Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait” as an explanation of Freese’s Minnesota connection.

For his part, Freese proved to be an ideal match for Foo Fighters’ sound, with his muscular and precise playing, which was particularly noticeable during an extended take on “Breakdown.” The 51-year-old is one of the hardest working drummers in the business, having played with a wide variety of artists, including the Replacements, Guns N’ Roses, Devo, Sting, Kelly Clarkson, Weezer, Katy Perry and Michael Buble.

A brief downpour ended up delaying the show’s start by 15 minutes, which Grohl apologized for from the stage, but did little to dampen the enthusiasm from both the stage and the sold-out crowd of more than 40,000. The generous set list touched on various points of the band’s nearly 30 year career. However, Grohl’s commitment to full-throat screaming did feel awkward on the oldies “Learn to Fly” and “This Is a Call.”

Then again, two of the few songs he sang more naturally turned out to be two of the duller moments of the night. He brought his daughter Violet out to help him sing “Show Me How,” a tribute to his late mother, and dedicated the early album track “Aurora” to Hawkins.

Given his remarkable and sustained success leading one of the few contemporary rock bands left at this level, there’s not much Grohl can’t do — except turn personal songs of grief into stadium fodder.

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PARIS (AP) — Simone Biles dominated during qualifying with the U.S. women’s gymnastics team at the Paris Olympics on Sunday despite limping on her left leg and saying she had an issue with her calf.

Here’s what we know about Biles’ status:

What’s the latest on Simone Biles’ calf injury?

Simone Biles, of United States, prepares to compete on the vault during a women’s artistic gymnastics qualification round at Bercy Arena at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

U.S. coach Cecile Landi said only that Biles’ injury was minor, has been bothering her for a couple of weeks and there was no discussion of sidelining the seven-time Olympic medalist.

“I can’t express it,” Landi said. “I’m really proud of her and what she’s been through and what she’s showing the world what she’s capable of doing.”

Biles and the rest of Team USA did not speak to reporters after qualifying.

Did her calf issue impact her qualifying score?

Not by much. Biles completed qualifying and leads the all-around standings with a total of 59.566.

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Biles dazzled a star-studded crowd on balance beam to open qualifying, then appeared to tweak the leg while warming up on floor exercise. She left the floor with Team USA doctor Marcia Faustin — an eerily similar scene to what played out in Tokyo, when Biles dropped out of the team competition to protect her safety.

With her ankle taped, Biles posted the highest score on floor and vault through two subdivisions. She did limit the difficulty of her uneven bars routine, skipping a unique skill she submitted to the International Gymnastics Federation on Friday. She did her usual set to score a 14.333, then tried to keep from putting too much weight on her leg following her dismount.

Is Biles still planning to compete?

Landi said there’s been no discussion of pulling Biles from the Paris Olympics.

Biles’ next event would be the team final Tuesday — the one she skipped in Tokyo, citing concerns with her safety and prompting an international discussion on mental health. The individual all-around is Thursday, where Biles and teammate Sunisa Lee — the Tokyo gold medalist with Biles sidelined — will become the first pair of Olympic all-around champions to square off in an all-around final.

PARIS — On the first sunny day of the Paris Olympics, the stars from the United States shined bright.

Simone Biles and LeBron James dazzled, so did the U.S. women’s soccer team. Torri Huske grabbed some of the spotlight, and Haley Batten made a name for herself by earning a silver medal in mountain biking for the best finish ever by an American rider.

Although it was French swimmer Léon Marchand who received the most boisterous cheers in crushing the field to win gold in the men’s 400-meter individual medley, the U.S. had a strong Sunday on Day 2 of the Games.

Simone shines

Biles made her Olympic return three years after pulling out of multiple finals at the Tokyo Games to protect her safety, which prompted an international discussion about mental health, by powering through discomfort she felt in her calf to lead the U.S. women’s gymnastics team into the finals.

Biles, Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles went 1-2-3 in the all-around during early qualifying, though Chiles will miss the all-around final due to rules that limit countries to entering two athletes per competition.

There’s a chance Chiles will make the floor exercise final should she finish in the top eight. Lee is practically a lock for the beam and bars finals, with 2020 floor exercise champion Jade Carey in good position to join Biles in the vault final.

But all eyes were on Biles, who briefly scared an entire nation when she left the after her floor exercise and received medical attention. She had tweaked her calf in warm-up, but U.S. coach Cecile Landi said it was a minor injury.

She performed in front of a star-studded crowd that included Tom Cruise, Jessica Chastain, Snoop Dogg, Anna Wintour and Lady Gaga, who wrote on social media of Biles: “She nailed it, what an honor to be so close!”

LeBron James leads Team USA

Two of the most experienced Olympians on the U.S. men’s basketball team, James and Kevin Durant, began the squad’s bid for a fifth consecutive gold medal with a near-flawless performance.

LeBron James, left, of the United States, shoots as Bogdan Bogdanovic, of Serbia, during a men’s basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France. (Gregory Shamus/Pool Photo via AP)

Durant made his first eight shots and scored 23 points, James added 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and the U.S. rolled to a 110-84 win over Serbia in the Olympic opener for both teams.

James and Durant were a combined 18 for 22 from the field — 8 of 9 for Durant, 9 of 13 for James — as the U.S. had no trouble with the reigning World Cup silver medalists.

Jrue Holiday scored 15, Devin Booker had 12 and Anthony Edwards and Stephen Curry each added 11 for the U.S.

Pool party

Huske knocked off world-record holder Gretchen Walsh in the women’s 100 butterfly, using a strong finish to get her hands to the wall just ahead of her teammate in a 1-2 finish for the U.S.

The favorite went out with her usual strategy: start fast and try to hold on. It worked at the U.S. trials, where she set her world record of 55.18 last month, and she was under record pace at the turn.

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But Huske chased her down in the race that really mattered. The winner touched in 55.59 — about the length of a finger ahead of Walsh’s time of 55.63.

When Huske saw the “1” beside her name on the scoreboard, she reached across the lane rope to give Walsh and hug while breaking down in tears.

Marchand, meanwhile, lived up to the huge expectations at his home Olympics with a flag-waving crowd cheering his every stroke. He was under world-record pace on the final turn but faded a bit coming home, touching in 4 minutes, 2.95 seconds — an Olympic record, but just shy of his own world mark of 4:02.50.

Marchand claimed that mark at last year’s world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, erasing a record held by Michael Phelps for 15 years.

And, in an upset, Italian swimmer Nicolo Martinenghi shocked record-holder Adam Peaty in the 100 breaststroke.

Peaty, the gold medalist in both Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, had taken a long layoff to deal with mental health issues. Upon his return, he worked his way back up to speed and entered the final as the top qualifier but settled for silver as his quest for a third consecutive gold was ended.

US Soccer wins

Sophia Smith scored a pair of goals to lead the U.S. past Germany 4-1 and put the team in good position to advance out of its group at the Olympics.

Mallory Swanson and Lynn Williams also scored for the Americans, who defeated Zambia 3-0 in the opener but won’t know their fate in the knockout round for sure until after the final Group B matches on Wednesday.

The Americans play Australia in Marseille to conclude group play.

Mountain biker medals

Batten broke a rule but still came home with America’s best ever mountain biking finish when she won silver.

Batten was fined by the Olympic mountain bike judges for violating a rule on the final lap of her race. She was jockeying for second place when she went through a lane dedicated for taking on food and drink or stopping for mechanical problems.

Pauline Ferrand Prevot, of France, centre, winner of the women’s mountain bike cycling event, poses with her gold medal flanked by silver medallist Haley Batten, of United States, left, and bronze medallist Jenny Rissveds, of Sweden, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Elancourt, France. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

After the judges reviewed the footage, they decided Batten had done neither and broke one of the rules of the race. She was fined 500 Swiss francs, or about $565, for “failure to respect the instructions of the race organization or commissaires,” though the judges apparently decided that the infraction was not serious enough to warrant a disqualification.

Batten finished ninth three years ago at the Tokyo Games.

Tennis veterans win

Rafael Nadal was unsure he could even play men’s singles Sunday the day before his match, but turned up at Roland Garros and beat Marton Fucsovics of Hungary 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round.

The victory set up a blockbuster showdown against rival Novak Djokovic.

It will be the 60th meeting between this pair of greats, more than any other two men have played against each other in the sport’s Open era, which began in 1968. Djokovic, a 37-year-old from Serbia, leads the head-to-head series 30-29, and his 24 Grand Slam titles make him the only man in tennis history with more than Nadal’s 22.

Andy Murray’s tennis career, meanwhile, was extended for at least one more match when he and British partner Dan Evans saved five match points during a first-round doubles win. Murray and Evans rallied past the Japanese pair of Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori 2-6, 7-6 (5), 11-9.

The Brits trailed 9-4 in the decisive tiebreaker, which is held in place of a third set in doubles.

The 37-year-old Murray announced before the Summer Games that it would be the final event of his career, and then pulled out of the singles bracket, leaving him only in doubles.

Murray is a three-time Grand Slam champion and the only tennis player with two Olympic singles golds — from London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

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WAITE PARK, Minn. — When Sen. JD Vance of Ohio arrived to the Park Diner in Waite Park, Minn., on Sunday morning — a remarkably traditional political stop after a week on the trail that has been anything but — he told the dozens gathered outside that he thought he and former President Donald Trump held a “great” and successful rally the day before in nearby St. Cloud.

Many of them hooted in agreement, because they had been there. The diner was stocked with supporters invited by the Trump campaign.

Supporters wait for Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) before he visits Park Diner in Waite Park, Minn., on Sunday, July 28, 2024. When Senator JD Vance of Ohio arrived to the Park Diner in Waite Park, Minn., on Sunday morning – a remarkably traditional political stop after a week on the trail that has been anything but – he told the dozens gathered outside that he thought he and former President Donald J. Trump held a “great” and successful rally the day before in nearby St. Cloud. (Jenn Ackerman/The New York Times)

As Trump looks to broaden the electoral map by putting in play states such as Minnesota, which has not voted for a Republican president since 1972, he will likely need to win back voters in closely contested areas who helped him in 2016 then swung the other way four years ago. But Saturday’s rally and Sunday’s diner stop by Vance, a Yale-educated lawyer, were both in Stearns County — an area about an hour’s drive from Minneapolis and a place Trump won by more than 20 percentage points in 2016 and 2020.

Still, Vance insisted to the supporters greeting him that he and Trump were “going to turn Minnesota red,” telling reporters that Trump’s message would stand in sharp enough contrast to that of Vice President Kamala Harris, who he called a “San Francisco liberal,” that it would drive voters to the polls.

“We know that we have the votes in Minnesota to win the race,” Vance insisted. “We’ve just got to make sure that some of those low-propensity voters actually get out there and get to the polls and vote for us.”

Vance, who arrived at the diner with his wife, Usha, and two of his children, spent roughly 20 minutes inside, where staff members greeted his son, Vivek, and his daughter, Mirabel, with chocolate milk.

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) talks to media outside of Park Diner in Waite Park, Minn., on Sunday, July 28, 2024.When Senator JD Vance of Ohio arrived to the Park Diner in Waite Park, Minn., on Sunday morning – a remarkably traditional political stop after a week on the trail that has been anything but – he told the dozens gathered outside that he thought he and former President Donald J. Trump held a “great” and successful rally the day before in nearby St. Cloud. (Jenn Ackerman/The New York Times)

After ordering six Chubby Checker cinnamon rolls and six Big Bopper caramel rolls, he dropped two $100 bills as a tip, then wrote “No Tax on Tips” on the receipt, a reference to Trump’s relatively recent campaign pledge to make tipped income tax-free.

Vance’s reception among a crowd that included many supporters invited by the campaign was considerably smoother than the criticism that has greeted his debut on the trail, though when he arrived, one man shouted, “Where’s Trump?”

But, Vance insisted, he was having fun. “I’m doing great, man. I’m having a good time. My family’s here, they’re hopped up on chocolate milk. It’s going to be a wild plane ride.”

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