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Fidel Castro, who led his bearded rebels to victorious revolution in 1959, embraced Soviet-style communism and defied the power of 10 U.S. presidents during his half-century of rule in Cuba, has died at age 90.With a shaking voice, President Raul Castro said on state television in Havana that his older brother died at 10:29 p.m. Friday. He ended the announcement by shouting the revolutionary slogan: Toward victory, always!Castro, who outlasted a crippling U.S. trade embargo as well as dozens, possibly hundreds, of assassination plots, died 10 years after a life-threatening illness led him to turn over power to his brother and a little more than a year after Cuba and the United States resumed diplomatic relations following 50 years of Cold War hostility.The centerpiece of the détente saw U.S. President Barack Obama travel to the island nation to see the Tampa Bay Rays play a baseball game against the Cuban national team in March. It was the first time a major league team played in Cuba since 1999.Born near Birán, Cuba, on Aug. 13, 1926, to a sugar plantation owner, Castro grew up in a wealthy household and attended El Colegio de Belén in Havana, where he pitched for the schools baseball team, played basketball and ran track. After graduation, he turned his attention to politics. Castro became one of the leaders of a revolutionary movement, and in 1958 he and his guerrilla forces began a campaign to successfully overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.In February 1959, Castro became the countrys new leader and remained in power until 2008. His socialist policies and cozy relationship with the Soviet Union led to contentious relations with the United States.For decades, Castro was a source of inspiration and support to revolutionaries from Latin America to Africa, even as Cubans who fled to exile loathed him with equal measure.In 1961, a CIA-trained group of Cuban exiles launched a disastrous invasion of the Bay of Pigs, an attempt to overthrow Castro. A year later, the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a dramatic face-off over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from Florida. The conflict nearly resulted in nuclear war.His commitment to socialism was unwavering, though his power finally began to fade in mid-2006 when a gastrointestinal ailment forced him to hand over the presidency to Raul in 2008, provisionally at first and then permanently. Castros defiant image lingered long after he gave up his trademark Cohiba cigars for health reasons and his tall frame grew stooped.Socialism or death remained Castros rallying cry even as Western-style democracy swept the globe and other communist regimes in China and Vietnam embraced capitalism, leaving this island of 11 million people an economically crippled Marxist curiosity.He survived long enough to see his brother negotiate an opening with U.S. President Barack Obama on Dec. 17, 2014, when Washington and Havana announced they would move to restore diplomatic ties for the first time since they were severed in 1961. He cautiously blessed the historic deal with his lifelong enemy in a letter published after a monthlong silence.Raul has announced plans to retire as president when his current term ends on Feb. 24, 2018. Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, a relatively younger leader, is seen as a possible successor.In the Cuban capital, flags flew at half-staff at public buildings and some foreign embassies across the city Saturday. By midday, the U.S. Embassys flag had not been lowered.As Castros rivalry with the U.S. played out in diplomatic and military crises, it also played out on baseball fields, in boxing rings and on rubberized tracks.Soon after coming to power, Castro recognized the potential benefits of national excellence in athletics and Cuba eventually became one of the strongest sporting nations in the world -- despite a population only slightly greater than New York Citys.At the Olympics, Castros athletes were at their best. Cuba won no gold medals at any Games from 1906 to 1968, but all of that changed beginning in 1972. In Munich, then in Montreal and then in Moscow -- Games the United States boycotted -- Cuba was an Olympic force. Heavyweight boxer Teofilo Stevenson won three consecutive gold medals and Alberto Juantorena became the first man to win both the 400- and 800-meter races.Cuban sport was back in the international spotlight in 1991 as the nation hosted the Pan-Am Games, which, more than any athlete, Castro dominated. He seemed to be at every venue, cheering every heat and every Cuban athlete.The following year, Cuba returned to the Olympic fold just in time to win the first Olympic baseball championship, defeating the U.S. and delighting Castro. Soon thereafter, many of its top players started defecting to the United States, where, instead of earning the equivalent of a thousand dollars a year, they could sign contracts worth millions of dollars.In more recent years, baseball has provided opportunities for Cuban-American détente. In 1999, over strenuous objections from the Cuban émigré community in Florida, the Baltimore Orioles played two games against the Cuban national team. The Orioles won the first game, which was held in Havana, and the Cuban national team won the second game, which was held in Baltimore.In December 2014, Obama and Raul Castro announced a restoration of diplomatic ties between the two countries. And on March 22, 2016, in Havanas Estadio Latinoamericano. the Rays defeated the Cuban national baseball team 4-1 -- a game attended by Obama, Raul Castro and Rachel Robinson, the widow of baseball legend Jackie Robinson.Fidel Castro was not in attendance. Ever the revolutionary, he castigated the United States in a column he wrote three days after the visit, saying, We dont need the empire to give us anything. Arizona Diamondbacks Shirts . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. Diamondbacks Jerseys China . The catch: It needs a lot of money, and it needs it fast. https://www.cheapdiamondbacksjerseys.us/ . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Arizona Diamondbacks Gear . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota. Wholesale Diamondbacks Jerseys .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. OAKLAND -- Portland Trail Blazers center Festus Ezeli is contemplating a procedure on his left knee that would rule him out for the rest of the season, according to league sources.No final decision has been made, but sources told ESPN.com that Ezeli and the Trail Blazers are strongly considering the surgical route because Ezeli has not been able to play in Portlands first 29 games this season.Everyone has moments of setback. Its unfortunate and disappointing that I am facing one of those right now, Ezeli told The Undefeated. My aim is to fundamentally address issues that have lingered so that I can be the best that I can be, to help my team contend for and win the title. To all concerned I assure this: My love for the game nothing but ensures that I will be back better and stronger than ever, and you can take that to the bank.Blazers coach Terry?Stotts wouldnt confirm whether Ezeli was considering season-ending surgery, given that he has yet to play for his new team.I really dont have any comment on it, on his health or any medical procedure until something is scheduled or somethings actually done, Stotts said after Saturdays 135-90 loss to the?Golden State Warriors.ddddddddddddEzeli, 27, signed a two-year, $15 million deal with the Trail Blazers last summer. The second year of the contract is a team option.Ezeli missed all of his first training camp with the Blazers, as well as exhibition play, after recovering from offseason knee injections that included a bone marrow aspirate.A 7-footer from Vanderbilt, Ezeli spent his first four seasons in the league with the Warriors. He missed the entire 2013-14 season following surgery on his right knee and missed six weeks last season after undergoing surgery on his left knee.Ezeli has traveled with the team the past few weeks but has not spoken to the media about his condition.Information from The Undefeateds Marc J. Spears and The Associated Press was used in this report. ' ' '