Sports

Mike Coppinger, ESPNJun 21, 2023, 07:53 AM ET Former unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez Jr. announced his arrival at junior welterweight with a sensational performance on June 10, a decision over the previously undefeated Josh Taylor to capture the WBO belt and the lineal 140-pound championship. Lopez’s first two bouts in his new division were

Jun 20, 2023, 02:43 PM ET Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma has declined his $13 million player option and will become a free agent, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Tuesday. Kuzma just completed his second season with the Wizards averaging a career-high 21.2 points to go with 7.2 rebounds. He had a career high

D’Arcy Maine, ESPN.com Jun 20, 2023, 09:40 AM ET It’s been a good nine months for Frances Tiafoe. Since reaching his first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open in September, the 25-year-old made a finals appearance at the Japan Open, led the American squad to a United Cup victory, reached the semifinals at Indian

Liam Napier Jun 19, 2023, 11:41 PM Ian Foster turned heads when he unveiled his 36-man Rugby Championship squad featuring five rookies: Chiefs wing Emoni Narawa, Hurricanes halfback Cam Roigard, Crusaders prop Tamati Williams, Chiefs loose forward Samipeni Finau and Crusaders midfielder Dallas McLeod. Liam Napier runs the rule over the major talking points as

Mark Schlabach Close Mark Schlabach ESPN Senior Writer Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia Paolo Uggetti Jun 19, 2023, 02:07 PM ET LOS ANGELES — As with any captivating Hollywood production, the 123rd U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club had no shortage of

NFL Nation reporters Jun 19, 2023, 06:35 AM ET A few big-name NFL veterans somewhat stole the spotlight at mandatory minicamps by showing up, or not showing up, or delaying showing up. And it kept the news cycle humming. But we also asked the NFL Nation reporters to keep a close eye on their team’s

Heather Dinich, ESPN Senior WriterJun 19, 2023, 08:00 AM ET Close College football reporter Joined ESPN.com in 2007 Graduate of Indiana University COLUMBUS, Ohio — A box of Yogi Stress Relief tea sat on Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ desk, where he watched film repeatedly this offseason to analyze defensive breakdowns in losses to

Joon Lee, ESPNJun 17, 2023, 07:15 AM ET Close Previously a Staff Writer at Bleacher ReportCornell University graduate MASATAKA YOSHIDA DOES NOT want to be the American League Rookie of the Year, and his reasoning is simple: He doesn’t view himself as a rookie. The Boston Red Sox outfielder spent the first seven years of

Jun 16, 2023, 04:53 PM ET In a turn of events, Gregg Berhalter has returned as the U.S. men’s national team head coach after his contract expired Dec. 21, 2022. It has been a tumultuous time in the U.S. camp since its World Cup elimination in the round of 16, a period in which the

The Super Rugby semifinals are upon us in the southern hemisphere, while there is no shortage of talking points as the northern club season winds down and we continue to shift our focus to the Rugby World Cup. Read on as we wrap up some of the stories you might have missed across the rugby

Jun 14, 2023, 11:22 PM ET Marvin Vettori meets Jared Cannonier in the middleweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. The main card at the UFC Apex is on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET, preceded by prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+ at 7 p.m. Vettori (19-6-1) has alternated

Jake Michaels, ESPN Senior WriterJun 15, 2023, 05:30 PM ET Close Jake Michaels is a Melbourne-based sports writer who covers everything from Aussie Rules to Formula One, basketball to boxing. He has been with ESPN for 10 years and works as a Senior Writer, covering sport in Australia and around the world. AS FIGHT FANS

The Vegas Golden Knights are the 2023 Stanley Cup champions, joining the distinguished list of the NHL’s best. And now, their title defense begins. As we await the 2023 NHL draft, along with free agency and trade season, it’s time for the Way-Too-Early edition of the 2023-24 NHL Power Rankings, voted on by the extended

Paolo Uggetti, ESPNJun 14, 2023, 10:05 AM ET LOS ANGELES, Calif. — If you’re not flying in a Boeing or manning a drone, the only glimpses Los Angeles can get of its namesake golf club are through a tree-lined fence on Santa Monica Boulevard. Across the street from the city’s most posh shopping mall in

Jun 13, 2023, 11:09 AM ET The Denver Nuggets are the 2023 NBA champions. Delivering the franchise its first title, two-time MVP Nikola Jokic has taken that long-awaited next step in his postseason legacy alongside his star teammate Jamal Murray. Now what? What lies ahead for Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat after they made

Alaina Getzenberg, ESPNJun 13, 2023, 12:28 PM ET Close Alaina Getzenberg is a staff writer who covers the Buffalo Bills and the NFL. She joined ESPN in 2021. Alaina was previously a beat reporter for the Charlotte Observer and has also worked for CBS Sports and the Dallas Morning News. She is a graduate of

Jun 12, 2023, 07:00 PM ET WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Colorado football program hasn’t won a league title since 2001, sputtered to a 1-11 mark last season and has hibernated on the south side of mediocrity for the better part of two decades. Despite that, Colorado has somehow managed to become the most compelling program

Greg Wyshynski, ESPNJun 12, 2023, 07:00 AM ET Close Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer. SUNRISE, Fla. — The Vegas Golden Knights have been spotted wearing T-shirts during the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs with the phrase “It Hurts To Win” printed on them. “Whatever we’ve got to do at this time of year, we’ve

Simon Cambers Jun 11, 2023, 12:52 PM ET History was made at Roland Garros on Sunday as Novak Djokovic won a record 23rd Grand Slam title, the most of any man who has ever played the sport. Djokovic, 36, began nervously, trailing 3-0 and 4-2 in the first set, with the weight of the occasion

Associated Press Jun 11, 2023, 07:09 PM ET SONOMA, Calif. — Martin Truex Jr. won at Sonoma Raceway for the fourth time in his career Sunday, passing Chase Elliott for the lead after a final-stage restart and holding off Kyle Busch for his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season. The 42-year-old Truex confidently

ESPN News Services Jun 11, 2023, 04:29 PM ET PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen recorded his 2,000th hit, Jack Suwinski hit his 12th home run and the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Mets 2-1 on Sunday, New York’s eight loss in nine games. McCutchen became the 291st player and fifth active player to reach 2,000 hits when

Associated Press Jun 11, 2023, 04:49 PM ET NEW YORK — Another horse has died after racing at Belmont Park, the second fatality in 24 hours after the Belmont Stakes. In the first race Sunday, Mashnee Girl suffered an injury and fell near the quarter pole, forcing three other horses to alter course, according to

Associated Press Jun 10, 2023, 10:52 PM ET NEW YORK — A horse that broke down in the race following the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes was euthanized on Saturday, completing a grim Triple Crown for a sport that has seen deaths cast a pall over all three tracks hosting its most prestigious races. In the

Jun 10, 2023, 02:00 PM ET This is it. Europe’s premier club competition has arrived at its showpiece event. It’s the Champions League final on Saturday (8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET) at Turkey’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul. Manchester City dominated reigning continental kings Real Madrid in the semifinals to reach their second final in

Associated Press Jun 9, 2023, 09:40 AM ET ELMONT, N.Y. — Live racing will resume at Belmont Park on Friday following significant improvement in air quality conditions in the state, the New York Racing Association announced. Both Belmont and Saratoga reopened for training Friday morning, and the 11-card race will start at 12:50 p.m. The

Jeff Wagenheim, ESPNJun 9, 2023, 08:19 AM ET It’s a rare treat to witness a performance by the greatest in a sport’s history. It is especially rare in the case of Amanda Nunes. The GOAT of women’s MMA will be making her first appearance of 2023 when she headlines UFC 289 on Saturday in Vancouver,

Timothy Bradley Jr. Jun 8, 2023, 07:34 AM ET Josh Taylor, the former undisputed junior welterweight champion who relinquished three of his four belts and now only holds the WBO strap, is back in the ring to face the young and bold Teofimo Lopez Jr., himself a former lightweight unified three-belt titlist. The fight Saturday

Jun 7, 2023, 08:56 AM London Irish became the third rugby team to be thrown out of the Gallagher Premiership in eight months after the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said the club had failed to pay their players and prove they had a financially viable future by Tuesday’s deadline. The club had been given a

WAY BEFORE JIMMY BUTLER BECAME JIMMY BUCKETS, before he’d take a play-in No. 8 seed to the NBA Finals, before his voice could take over practices, games and news conferences, he was just a frustrated sixth man for a fringe NCAA tournament team. Then everything changed. It was 2009. Butler was a junior at Marquette

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJun 6, 2023, 09:28 PM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia There have been plenty of bombshells during the PGA Tour and LIV Golf League’s ongoing battle on the course and in the courts to topple each other

Bill Barnwell, ESPN Staff WriterJun 6, 2023, 06:50 AM ET Close Bill Barnwell is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. He analyzes football on and off the field like no one else on the planet, writing about in-season X’s and O’s, offseason transactions and so much more. He is the host of the Bill Barnwell

Craig Haubert, ESPN Staff WriterJun 6, 2023, 08:00 AM ET Close National recruiting analyst and analyst for ESPNU More than a decade of college and pro coaching experience. Graduated from Indiana and Nebraska-Omaha Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program. Consistent College Football Playoff contenders such as Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State have shown the