Tom Cruise has defied all odds through the Mission Impossible franchise since 1996, but he humanized himself a little bit as Empire Magazine's new cover star while describing a motorcycle stunt that will be featured in the forthcoming Mission: Impossible 7 and qualifies as his most dangerous stunt ever.
"If the wind was too strong, it would blow me off the ramp," Cruise said in the feature, which included exclusive photos. "The helicopter [filming the stunt] was a problem, because I didn't want to be hammering down that ramp at top speed and get hit by a stone—or, if I departed in a weird way, we didn't know what was going to happen with the bike. I had about six seconds once I departed the ramp to pull the chute, and I don't want to get tangled in the bike. If I do, that's not going to end well."
Tom Cruise speaks to Empire about pulling off the most dangerous stunt of his career for #MissionImpossible7. Read more and see an exclusive behind-the-scenes image here: https://t.co/ak4dz4Gn18 pic.twitter.com/sSH1xHGKec
— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) May 10, 2021
The Cruise-themed issue, on sale May 13, also delves into Top Gun: Maverick—a sequel 35 years in the making due out Nov. 19:
"Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Joseph Kosinski explain why it was crucial to introduce a new generation of fully fleshed-out pilots—including Rooster, played by Miles Teller, and Monica Barbaro’s Phoenix ... in the next chapter of Maverick's life story. 'We were always going to do a character piece,' says Bruckheimer. 'The mantra from everybody was following the Maverick story, and where he is in his life. And we explore his character through the younger pilots, and what he's searching for.'"
Long-awaited sequel #TopGunMaverick is 'a character piece' as well as an action blockbuster, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Joseph Kosinski tell Empire. Read more and see an exclusive new image here: https://t.co/UiX9pqcfDn pic.twitter.com/QMhsZQn0Qb
— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) May 10, 2021
Mission: Impossible 7 isn't expected until May 2022, and the eighth film will reportedly now follow in November 2022.
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The New York Yankees acquired several talented veterans after superstar outfielder Juan Soto walked in free agency this past offseason, with southpaw pitcher Max Fried (12-4, 2.62 ERA) chief among them. They signed the latter player to an eight-year, $218 million contract, and he's given them their money's worth thus far. Fried leads New York's pitching staff in wins and ERA. The 31-year-old is also tied for third in baseball in wins, is 11th in ERA, and is 11th with a 1.03 WHIP. Still, the Yankees could use pitching help, given that ace Gerrit Cole is out for the year after getting Tommy John surgery, and 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil will make his first start of the season on Sunday. Fried was asked after Tuesday's bout with the Tampa Bay Rays if he's anxious to see what New York does ahead of Thursday's Trade Deadline, via SNY. "You've just got to take care of business every day," he said. "That's not something that we can control...We have baseball games to win." The Yankees did just that on Tuesday, beating the Rays 7-5 in a comeback effort. Fried earned his 12th win after allowing four runs (two earned) in 6.2 innings to go with nine strikeouts and two walks. The veteran also tossed a career-high 111 pitches. Over the last few days, the Yankees acquired third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies and fellow third baseman Amed Rosario from the Washington Nationals. They also traded pitcher Carlos Carrasco to the Atlanta Braves for a player to be named later or cash. New York will face Tampa Bay again on Wednesday and Thursday.
The 2025 season will be a crucial one for the Pittsburgh Steelers and all of the decision-makers that completely revamped the roster during the offseason. The depth chart looks much different than it did back in 2024, so there will be several adjustments that need to be made. One positional group that looks relatively similar, but has been affected by some reshuffling, is the offensive line. Troy Fautanu is back after an injury-plagued rookie campaign, and Broderick Jones will finally get to play left tackle on a consistent basis for the first time in his professional career. Jones is, without a doubt, one of the most important players in the entire projected starting lineup. Keeping Aaron Rodgers upright will be crucial, and the third-year lineman has not necessarily proven that he can be trusted. He suffered an injury to begin training camp, but is reportedly going to be just fine and return to the field sooner rather than later. No one knows how important it is to have a strong offensive line more than future Hall of Fame quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers' legendary signal-caller never got to play with Jones, but he keeps tabs on the team and shares his thoughts often on his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger. On the most recent episode, he highlighted how critical it is so have a good group up front blocking, and he mentioned Jones by name. "I would probably start, as I do a lot of times, about the importance of the offensive line," Roethlisberger began. "I'd say that's the biggest question, and it should be because to me, the line is always the MVP. The way the line plays, run game, pass game, everything revolves around that. More specifically, Broderick Jones, moving now back to left tackle." Training camp hasn't gotten off to a great start for Jones with the injury, but some may be happy that he lost some weight during the 2025 offseason. Roethlisberger said he understands why, but is still concerned. "I've heard he's thinned down, which is good to a certain extent, right," Roethlisberger said. "They want to work on getting tackles out and running the outside zones and stretch plays. So, you got to be a little, you know, more agile, but you know, you also don't want to be too small when you're supposed to be a tackle. So, that's always going to be a concern of mine, is him and the line in general staying healthy." There are some massive edge rushers in the NFL, and Roethlisberger is right in saying that being too small as a tackle can be problematic. Jones will have to go up against Myles Garrett twice in 2025, and the offseason weight loss won't look like a good thing if he is manhandled throughout those matchups. The Steelers' offensive line might be the unit that makes or breaks the team's season. Staying healthy will be the number one priority, but it is almost imperative that the group actually is successful. If edge rushers are constantly bulldozing through Jones, it could be serious cause for concern. It seems as if that it what Roethlisberger has some reservations about. If Jones doesn't perform at a high level in 2025, the 2023 NFL Draft day trade-up in the first round will be looked at as a failure. The organization has to make a decision on Jones' fifth-year option during the 2026 offseason, so the left tackle better hope that some of the weight he had shed ends up helping him significantly, instead of the other way around. Steelers Will Need Entire Offensive Line To Be Elite In 2025 While Jones is going to be the number one scapegoat if things go south, the big men up front will be a huge part of Pittsburgh's offensive failures or successes as the season progresses. Roethlisberger's comments regarding the starting left tackle's offseason will certainly cause a little bit of worry, but the unit as a whole has to prove consistency when the games matter.
The Detroit Tigers have been unstoppable at the plate lately, and Tuesday night was no different. The Tigers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, 12-2, giving them 27 runs in the last three games. A big contributor to their offense on Tuesday was outfielder Wenceel Perez, who joined Sam Crawford (1912), Ossie Vitt (1915) and Ty Cobb (1924, 1916, 1915) as the only four players in franchise history to have a single, double, triple and two stolen bases in the same game. Perez began his historic night with a double off Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt in the second inning before adding a single in the fourth. A monster fifth inning put the Tigers ahead 8-2 after an early 2-0 deficit, which set the stage for a three-run sixth inning that included this triple from Perez off Arizona's Jake Woodford to give Detroit a 10-2 lead. Perez scored two more runs, one in the sixth and the other in eighth, to give the Tigers their final two runs in a 12-run outburst. Overall, Perez had three hits in five at-bats, scored four runs and added one RBI to go with his historic statline. Given his performance over the past month, it was surprising to see Perez show out against Arizona. After all, he did not have a single hit the last two games, and he only recorded more than one hit once in 20 games the entire month coming into Tuesday. The Tigers were once the hottest team in baseball when they held a 59-34 record on July 8. Since then, they suffered a slump that includes a six-game losing streak. Suddenly, Detroit has won its last three and scored 10 or more runs in two of those victories. As good as the offense has been, the pitching has been solid as well with the Tigers outscoring their opponents 27-7 during the three-game stretch. Yes, the last two wins have come against a struggling Diamondbacks team that sits fourth in the NL West with a 51-57 record. Still, they have taken care of business and won handily. The next step is getting healthy and having someone to pair with ace Tarik Skubal in the rotation. Right-hander Chris Paddack was added to the 26-man roster and is set to start Wednesday, while free agent signing Alex Cobb is beginning his rehab assignment. The Tigers will go for the sweep of the Diamondbacks on Wednesday before traveling to Philadelphia for a weekend series against the Phillies. It will be difficult to top Perez's historic outing from Tuesday, but if momentum is any indication, the Tigers may only be getting started, especially if the pitching depth is there.
Shortly after the Cleveland Browns traded up in the fifth round of the 2025 draft to take Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders with pick No. 144, multiple members of the NFL community strongly suggested that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam essentially forced Sanders on general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski. The fact that Sanders is clearly Cleveland's fourth-choice option at the position behind fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, veteran Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett during training camp has done little to quiet such chatter. While speaking with reporters on Tuesday afternoon, Haslam insisted that Berry was responsible for the drafting of Sanders. Haslam added that Stefanski will ultimately decide which quarterback starts Cleveland's regular-season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. For an article published on April 28, Browns insider Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand wrote that the club's desire for "attention" was "one of the reasons [the Browns] drafted Sanders after previously selecting quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round for football reasons." Some thought in the spring that the Browns could be selected for the 2025 edition of the "Hard Knocks: Training Camp" show, but that assignment instead went to the Buffalo Bills. Pickett is spending the final days of July recovering from the worrisome hamstring injury he picked up this past Saturday. Sanders should receive additional valuable reps during training camp practices with Pickett sidelined, but Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated was sure to say on Monday that the former Colorado star "isn’t going to start" Cleveland's Week 1 game against Cincinnati. If Pickett can't participate in Cleveland's joint practice with the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 6, Flacco almost certainly will end that day as the favorite to get the nod for the matchup versus the Bengals. Interestingly, Haslam indicated on Tuesday that he wants both Gabriel and Sanders to take snaps in meaningful games against live defenses before the Browns have to determine what they will do with their pair of 2026 first-round draft picks. Berry said ahead of the final weekend of July that he's willing to stash Flacco, Pickett, Gabriel and Sanders on the active roster for Week 1. It sounds like Haslam would have nothing to do with such a decision, regardless of what certain fans and analysts want to believe about how Berry and Stefanski view Sanders this summer.
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