Leading Off: Surgery For Cespedes? Pirates Go For 11

The Rocky Mountain region’s new hockey club sent a rude message to the Avalanche in their first game in Denver. Utah blasted Colorado 4-1 on Thursday night at Ball Arena, with the Avs undone by a cheap goal in the opening period, a two-goal blitz in the second period and a lack of finishing on offense. “I like the chances we created at times in the game, but (Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka) made some big saves tonight, no question,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said.

Travis Hunter has spent this season doing things that nobody else in modern college football has done. On Thursday night, he was honored like nobody else before him. During the ESPN College Football Awards show, the Colorado Buffaloes’ star took home the Chuck Bednarik Award, one of the three major defensive player of the year honors; as well as the Biletnikoff Award as the most outstanding receiver in the country. Hunter is the first player in major college football history to win national awards for offense and defense, which is why he is also the odds-on favorite to win the most coveted award in the sport, the Heisman Trophy.

A ‘Second Tree of Life’ Could Wreak Havoc, Scientists Warn The New York Times‘Unprecedented risk’ to life on Earth: Scientists call for halt on ‘mirror life’ microbe research The GuardianSynthetic ‘mirror’ microbes pose unprecedented threat to life, scientists warn Financial TimesMirror Bacteria Research Poses Significant Risks, Dozens of Scientists Warn The Scientist'Mirror bacteria' could pose serious global health risks Phys.org

California reports more illnesses in people who drank raw milk. Here are the risks, according to health experts CNNCalifornia child who experienced fever and vomiting from raw milk does not have bird flu, CDC testing shows CBS NewsTechnical Update: Summary Analysis of the Genetic Sequence of a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus Identified in a Child in California | Bird Flu CDCCalifornia investigating possible case of bird flu in child who drank raw milk CNN

Perseverance rover prepares to investigate the mysterious early history of Mars CNNNASA’s Perseverance Rover Reaches Top of Jezero Crater Rim NASANASA Mars Rover Delivers Triumphant First Photos From Crater Rim CNETNASA’s Perseverance rover found a new potential setting for Martian life Science News MagazineWorld shaking discovery by NASA; here's what the space agency has disclosed about the red planet Mars The Economic Times

Violent superflares explode from sun-like stars every 100 years Space.comOur sun may be overdue for a 'superflare' stronger than billions of atomic bombs, new research warns Livescience.comSuperflares Erupt From Stars Like Our Sun Once Every 100 Years The New York TimesThe sun may spit out giant solar flares more often than we thought New ScientistObservations suggest sun-like stars emit superflares once per century Phys.org