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Russell Crowe talks about his ‘affection’ for ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

The classic movie “The Exorcist” and its famous split pea soup are iconic, but in “The Pope’s Exorcist,” starring Russell Crowe, a demonic child isn’t even the only surprise, and don’t you also wake up some mornings feeling like Satan has possessed you?We all know Russell Crowe can put on a show, but no one can truly possess a character quite like… Satan.And in “The Pope’s Exorcist,” Father Gabriele Amorth investigates a young boy’s terrifying possession but ends up uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden.Alex Miranda: “Watching this film, I mean, it is so twisted. I was curious, when you first saw the film back, all special effects in…”Russell Crowe: “When you do a film like this, where you’re screaming prayers at non-existent demos, it’s a revelation, haha, when you get to see the film.”It may be the Oscar-winning actor’s most b...

Chicago Cubs President Jed Hoyer likes MLB’s balanced schedule — plus updates on Seiya Suzuki and Kyle Hendricks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

A balanced schedule for Major League Baseball inherently creates some scheduling quirks.For the Chicago Cubs, that means playing more games against the American League West (12) in the first seven weeks than against their division rivals (nine). After the April 5 rainout in Cincinnati, the Cubs will go more than a month until they play another National League Central opponent — when Willson Contreras and the St. Louis Cardinals come to Wrigley Field for a three-game series beginning May 8.President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer likes the reduction of division games, even if it means a lean stretch right now of NL Central matchups. He’s enjoying getting to watch the Cubs face standouts such as the Texas Rangers’ Corey Seager and the Seattle Mariners’ Julio Rodríguez.“That’s great for us and great for the fans,” Hoyer said before Tuesday’s game against the Mariners. “Six series against the Pirates or Cardinals or Reds I don...

Franchy Cordero, Gerrit Cole lead the way as Yanks blow Guardians out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

CLEVELAND — Aaron Boone isn’t sure why things never worked out for Franchy Cordero at his previous stops in San Diego, Kansas City, Boston and, this past spring, Baltimore.“I don’t know,” the Yankees manager said when asked Monday. “Game’s hard. It’s different for everyone. Some guys, it clicks early, and they have a Hall of Fame career. Some people, it takes a while longer.”One thing Boone has maintained, however, is that the corner outfielder can hit the heck out of the ball.“He’s got big time pop,” the manager said. “He’s got easy pop. The ball jumps off his bat.”Cordero showed that power again Tuesday when he launched his third home run in his sixth game with the Yankees after signing with the team just in time for Opening Day. The three-run, third inning bomb off overmatched Cleveland starter Hunter Gaddis provided an exclamation mark in the Yankees’ 11-2 series-tying win over the Gu...

Jacque Vaughn learned how to deal with NBA superstars watching Doc Rivers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

Jacque Vaughn played for Doc Rivers as a point guard on the 2002-03 Orlando Magic. On Saturday, Vaughn and Rivers will compete against each other as head coaches as the Nets and 76ers kick off their first-round playoff series in Philadelphia.Vaughn called it a “luxury” to play and learn under Rivers and said he’s known the Sixers’ coach for a long time.“Tremendous amount of respect and how many games he’s coached and the way he’s done it; won at a high level and been able to do it with different groups,” the Nets’ coach said after Tuesday’s practice. “Shows you how good he is. I think overall, he has a command of his team.”Vaughn said he learned from Rivers how to coach superstars, which came in hand when he assumed the head coaching post after Steve Nash’s dismissal seven games into the season. He was thrust into a role that required leading two NBA superstars in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. The experim...

‘Love is the question and the answer:’ Community calls Boston to remember Mel King’s legacy at historic funeral

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

Mel King’s familiar messages of love and action rang clear through the words of his family, friends, peers, students and others at a historic funeral Tuesday afternoon — calling on the city to carry the late Boston icon’s legacy forward.The sold-out, packed-in funeral and celebration took place in King’s South End home neighborhood at the Union United Methodist Church, starting at noon and lasting through nearly four hours of commendations, memories and music.Speakers included King’s children and granddaughter, Gov. Maura Healey, Mayor Michelle Wu, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, King’s former students, and community and religious leaders, with the eulogy delivered by former State Rep. Byron Rushing.The hosts remembered their own time being inspired by King and his incredible work — from protesting and pushing the historic Tent City to ensure affordable housing in the South End; to advocating for educational opportunities through his work at MIT, esta...

At least we can realistically talk about Magic luring Luka Doncic | Commentary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

This is not to say the Orlando Magic are about to go out and make a huge splash during the offseason and perhaps be a landing spot for potentially unhappy Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, but here’s the beautiful thing:At least we can have that conversation now.At least the Magic — with their own young stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, tons of draft capital and a respected coach in Jamahl Mosley whom Doncic absolutely loves — are a player in a potential blockbuster trade or a possible destination spot for bigtime free agents.“We’ve all talked about the the internal improvement that we can make, but obviously some of your improvements can come externally and that’s through the free agent market or through trades,” Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman told me Tuesday. “But it takes two to tango so all we can do is prepare and find out what’s out there. I was speaking with an agent the other day and he s...

Man killed in semi-truck crash near Camp Pendleton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A man was killed Tuesday in a crash near Camp Pendleton involving a semi-truck, the California Highway Patrol said.According to the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page, the crash happened shortly before noon on southbound Interstate 5, just south of the Aliso Creek Rest Area. The driver of a white Infinity QX4 crashed into the back of a semi-truck "for reasons still under investigation," CHP said in a news release.The 54-year-old man driving the SUV died. Authorities identified him only as a Westminster, California resident. Investigators do not believe alcohol or drugs contributed to the crash. At least 1 killed after semi-truck crash in Encinitas A Sig Alert was issued in the area until around 3 p.m. This is the second deadly crash involving a semi-truck on southbound I-5 in as many days. On Monday, a woman was killed following a multi-vehicle collision in Encinitas.The circumstances that led to the crash are still under investigation. The CHP incident page did not...

Industrial fire prompts evacuation order in Indiana city

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) — Authorities urged people to evacuate Tuesday near a large industrial fire in an Indiana city near the Ohio border that sent massive clouds of black smoke into the sky.The fire occurred at a former factory site in Richmond, 70 miles (112.6 kilometers) east of Indianapolis, that lately had been used to store plastics and other materials for recycling or resale, Mayor Dave Snow said.“They were under a city order to clean up and remediate that site,” Snow told The Associated Press. “We knew that was a fire hazard the way they were storing materials.”Snow described it as a “serious, large-scale fire” that apparently started in a tractor-trailer parked onsite and spread quickly. He said the fire had been contained on three sides by early evening. The cause was not immediately known.“This is an indoor and outdoor storage facility — very, very large,” the mayor said. There were no reports of injuries. But hundreds of people living within a half-mile (0.80 kilomet...

Trudeau claims Russia could be responsible for website outage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s official website was taken down for a brief period on Tuesday, and he suggests Russia may have been behind it.The site was taken offline as Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal visited Toronto for an official bilateral meeting and an announcement of more support in the war with Russia.“Russia being able to bring down an official Government of Canada webpage for a few hours is in no way going to dissuade us from our unshakable support of Ukraine,” Trudeau said.Read more:Trudeau announces new military aid, bilateral agreements during Ukraine PM’s visitIt wasn’t a long outage of the website, but Trudeau says the timing isn’t lost on him. He points out that Russian hackers tend to target countries when they are hosting Ukrainian officials.“For Russian hackers to target countries as they are showing their steadfast support for Ukraine as they’re welcoming Ukrainian delegations or leadership to visit so, the...

Report: Big Ten to hire Tony Petitti as new commissioner

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Big Ten has selected who will be the next commissioner of the conference.According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, the conference will hire Tony Petitti, a former senior-level executive for Major League Baseball, MLB Network, ABC, and CBS Sports, among others.The move to go with Petitti comes as the Big Ten is set to embark on a new multi-billion-dollar media deal, massively expanding the coverage — and revenue — the conference will receive in an ever-changing college sports landscape. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: USC and UCLA will join the Big Ten in 2024 Petitti attended Haverford College in Pennsylvania where he majored in economics before going on to graduate from Harvard Law School. After spending two years working for a law firm, Petitti joined ABC Sports in 1988 as a general attorney.From there, he would be promoted to vice president of programming before joining CBS Sports in 1997, working in a variety of senior leadership roles until April 2008, when he left CBS to beco...