B.j. Upton, Braves Finalize $75.25m, 5-year Contract

The film Joy, out on Netflix Nov. 22, follows what went into the landmark development of in-vitro fertilization, with a focus on one woman who helped pioneer the treatment. Joy is at once about IVF as it is about Jean Purdy (Thomasin McKenzie), a nurse who was part of the team that facilitated the birth of Louise Brown, the first “test tube” baby, along with the physiologist Robert Edwards (James Norton) and Patrick Steptoe (Bill Nighy), a pioneer of laparoscopy in gynecology in the UK. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The film depicts Purdy as suffering from a case of endometriosis that prevents her from becoming pregnant.

Objects have extraordinary power when they’ve been cherished and touched by human hands. That’s the underlying conceit of August Wilson’s play The Piano Lesson, in which a piano passed down through generations of one Black family wields the power to unite that family, though it also threatens to drive them apart.

Warning: This post contains spoilers from Gladiator II. Ridley Scott’s first Gladiator movie may not feature a show-stopping performance from Denzel Washington as a scheming, robe-swishing arms dealer, but the Best Picture winner does include a number of plot points that play a significant role in the long-awaited sequel. Nearly 25 years after Scott’s Russell Crowe-led tale of Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius’ quest for vengeance against Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus, the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery, Gladiator II, now in theaters, follows the rise of a new warrior with a score to settle against the powers that be of Rome. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] This time around, Paul Mescal takes the lead as Lucius Verus, the now grown son of Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla, who appeared as a child, played by Spencer Treat Clark, in the 2000 original.

WASHINGTON — Parker Kelly’s initiation as a center in the NHL was a bit like taking a first swimming lesson in the middle of an ocean. He felt it most when he settled into his position for a faceoff during his first exhibition game for the Avalanche and was nose-to-nose with Matt Duchene.

The NFL flexed, and once again fans were muscled out. For the first time in league history, the league moved a Sunday game into Thursday prime time, pitting the Broncos at the Chargers on Dec. 19. The NFL wanting viewers to watch the Broncos is a welcome change, indicating they have finally been forgiven for burning retinas with the Nathaniel Hackett-Russell Wilson pairing in 2022. But it stinks for fans with plans.

Colorado has been supplying the NWSL with top-end talent for years. Soon, the league could be paying it back with an expansion franchise in the Mile High City. National Women’s Soccer League Commissioner Jessica Berman named Denver as one of three finalists for an expansion team in a news conference on Friday. Speaking to media members ahead of Saturday night’s championship match in Kansas City, Berman confirmed three ownership groups are vying for one slot: Denver, Cincinnati and Cleveland.