Sports

5:10 AM ET Pro pickleball player Megan Charity is asked to describe her sport so often that she has the answer down to a tee. She may as well wear it on a signboard around her neck. Charity, a South African former tennis player based in Charlottesville, Virginia, who is ranked 16th in the world,

7:22 AM ET It has become a go-to thought each year when the Players Championship arrives. Anybody can win at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course because the track does not favor a certain player’s game. Well, it’s true. Look at the champions list — everyone from Tiger Woods to Tim Clark, Rory McIlroy to Fred Funk,

7:00 AM ET Ninety-one games. So far. That’s the number of games that have been lopped off the schedule after MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s news conference last week. We can only hope that the number doesn’t go up. For now, if an agreement is reached post haste, the plan is for each team to pick

8:23 PM ET Associated Press LAS VEGAS — Alex Bowman beat NASCAR champion Kyle Larson in a door-to-door overtime battle at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that sent Hendrick Motorsports to victory lane for the second consecutive week. The win Sunday was the first of the year for Bowman and seventh of his career. It was

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7:48 AM ET Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – Jorge Masvidal walked into the American Top Team (ATT) gym one day in September 2019 and spotted Colby Covington. The two men, formerly best friends and

1:46 PM ET Associated Press LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky racing officials have denied trainer Bob Baffert’s request to stay his suspension for a failed postrace drug test by Medina Spirit that led to his disqualification as Kentucky Derby winner. Kentucky Horse Racing Commission board members on Friday voted 10-0 with three abstentions against the stay

8:36 AM ET Mark KriegelESPN RIVERSIDE, California — In a sport that’s loud, mean and profane, Jose Ramirez is quiet, earnest and humble to a fault. He’s faithful and stands tirelessly for his people — the farmworkers of California’s Central Valley. COVID-19 relief? Immigration reform? Water rights? He’s all-in. Everything Ramirez does — from his

8:13 AM ET The PGA Tour heads to Arnie’s place, Bay Hill Club & Lodge, this week for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau pulled out this week, citing an ongoing hand injury. Play begins Thursday. But a strong field will be at Bay Hill, a week before the Players Championship and a

7:01 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Ashleigh Barty, the world’s top-ranked women’s tennis player, pulled out of Indian Wells and the Miami Open on Thursday citing a need for an ongoing recovery after winning the Australian Open. Indian Wells begins next week, and had she played, it would have been Barty’s first

12:49 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — After a third straight sterling performance in a 76ers uniform — but a first in front of the fans here inside Wells Fargo Center — James Harden declared Philadelphia feels like home. “Just exciting,” Harden said after finishing with 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in Philadelphia’s

3:37 PM ET INDIANAPOLIS — Houston Texans coach Lovie Smith said he has “no idea” if quarterback Deshaun Watson will be on the team’s roster next season, but that he thinks both parties will eventually “benefit from the situation.” Watson, who requested a trade from the Texans in January 2021, faces 22 lawsuits alleging sexual

7:00 AM ET ESPN staff Our college football reporters recently examined the biggest strength and the biggest question mark for every team in our 2022 Way-Too-Early Top 25. Now we turn our attention to spring practices and what to watch for as position battles get underway and teams try to fill some missing gaps and

2:39 PM ET Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Embattled Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has sued Churchill Downs and track leadership in federal court, seeking to overturn his two-year suspension on grounds it violated his due process rights. The suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court names Churchill Downs Inc., CEO William C. Carstanjen

7:00 AM ET Patrik Laine is living his best life — and it’s about time. The Blue Jackets winger had been stumbling ever since the Winnipeg Jets traded him to Columbus in January 2021. That transaction — which swapped Pierre-Luc Dubois for Laine and Jack Roslovic — was meant to be a fresh start for

10:04 AM ET Baseball’s offseason has now entered what is supposed to be the preseason, the clean-slate rebirth, the start of spring training and the new calendar. But commissioner Rob Manfred’s so-called “defensive lockout” has been very much offensive. There is no new season as of yet. Spring training games have been canceled. Barring an

4:18 PM ET LONDON — The first trophy of the English season was claimed on Sunday, and in some style, as Chelsea and Liverpool played out a Carabao Cup final for the ages at Wembley (stream a replay on ESPN+). The sides combined to put the ball in the back of the net on four

5:12 PM GMT Ireland kept the pressure on unbeaten Six Nations leaders France with a 57-6 thrashing of Italy on Sunday in a game that descended into farce after the visitors were forced to play most of it with 13 men. Ireland were 7-3 up when replacement hooker Hame Faiva, on for the injured Gianmarco

9:49 PM ET No, it was not the signature win over a fellow contender like he and his team had hoped. But Islam Makhachev made a statement that was necessary to peg himself as the next UFC lightweight title contender. Makhachev dominated Bobby Green, finishing with a ground-and-pound TKO at 3 minutes, 23 seconds of

9:09 PM GMT TWICKENHAM, London — In the end it was record-breaker Ben Youngs who brought order to the chaos. As Wales threatened the most incredible comeback, with the clock well over the appointed time, it was Youngs who kicked the ball dead to bring an end to a game which looked finished at least

2:02 PM ET Associated Press RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Emblem Road rallied with a wide, sweeping move on the outside to win the $20 million Saudi Cup at 99-1 odds on Saturday, beating Bob Baffert-trained Country Grammar by a half-length. Ridden by Wiggy Ramos, Emblem Road ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.52 in the world’s

10:00 AM ET Nick Parkinson Close •Reports on boxing for ESPN.co.uk, as well as several national newspapers•Has been reporting on British boxing for over 15 years•Appears on BoxNation’s Boxing Matters show Jack Catterall might be the lesser-known name as he prepares to fight Scotland’s undisputed world champion Josh Taylor on Saturday, but he has shared

7:55 PM ET Associated Press ACAPULCO, Mexico — As much as Daniil Medvedev cared about taking over the No. 1 ranking in men’s tennis, he knew there were more serious matters happening Thursday involving his home nation of Russia. A loss by Novak Djokovic at the Dubai Championships meant that the Serbian player would move

8:14 AM ET Mark Schlabach Close ESPN Senior Writer Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia Tom VanHaaren Close ESPN Staff Writer ESPN staff writer Joined ESPN in 2011 Graduated from Central Michigan What started out as a typical Thursday morning for PGA Tour players,

8:00 AM ET The NBA’s Eastern Conference is deeper than it has been in decades, setting up what should be a wild sprint to the playoffs over the final seven weeks of the 2021-22 NBA regular season. With five teams within 2.5 games of first place in the conference, and just six games separating sixth

5:40 PM ET GREEN BAY, Wis. — When Aaron Rodgers returned to the Green Bay Packers last July from his offseason hiatus, both sides made it easier to separate this offseason based on adjustments to his contract. General manager Brian Gutekunst on Wednesday, however, said that he never promised Rodgers that he would trade him

7:00 AM ET MIKE MINTER IMAGINED the headlines more than a year ago: Former NFL defensive back makes history by bringing elite recruits to FCS school. When the 2022 recruiting cycle officially drew to a close earlier this month, Minter’s prediction was nearly ubiquitous. The biggest story in recruiting came when Pro Football Hall of

7:00 AM ET By this point of the 2021-22 NHL season, we have a good sense of where all 32 teams stand — and what they’re likely to do ahead of the trade deadline on March 21. For this week’s edition of the NHL Power Rankings, we identified one stat that helps explain how each

7:00 AM ET When (and if) baseball resumes in 2022, general managers will work a lot like NFL coaches at the outset of games, with their first moves scripted. At the transaction kickoff, you can almost imagine Red Sox honcho Chaim Bloom, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and their peers staring down laminated cards, playcalling

2:04 PM ET ESPN News Services Medina Spirit has been disqualified as Kentucky Derby champion and trainer Bob Baffert was suspended for 90 days after the horse tested positive for a banned medication, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission announced Monday. In addition, Baffert was fined $7,500 and all purse money from Medina Spirit’s win was

5:33 PM ET Barcelona found a new hero this weekend in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, just as Manchester City were reminded of the one that got away as Harry Kane inspired Tottenham. Meanwhile, Milan’s big two dropped points in their Serie A title pushes, while Luis Suarez went all spectacular again. Here are Sam Marsden, Mark Ogden,

7:00 AM ET DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR President Steve Phelps is sitting in his office overlooking Daytona International Speedway. You can see and hear race cars turning laps around the 2.5-mile World Center of Racing. On the shelves behind him are artifacts that represent the perfect mix of where NASCAR has been and where

9:56 PM ET DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Who in the world is Austin Cindric? As the 2022 Daytona 500 ground its way to the checkered flag, finally ending a 3½-hour enduro race that put a dozen cars behind the wall and saw 25 of the 40 cars in the field caught up in accidents (that’s