Sports

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

9:25 PM GMT It’s official: Kurtley Beale is returning home to Sydney and will be available for the Wallabies’ blockbuster three-Test series with England in June-July. Rugby Australia confirmed the code’s worst-kept secret on Sunday night that Beale would finish up with Racing 92 at the end of the French Top 14 season and rejoin

9:35 PM ET Jamahal Hill‘s nickname is “Sweet Dreams.” It’s not because of his propensity for singing lullabies. The top light heavyweight prospect put another highlight-reel finish on his résumé Saturday night after putting Johnny Walker to sleep with a knockout punch at 2:55 of the first round in the main event of UFC Fight

9:28 PM 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 MANCHESTER, England — Kell Brook will look back on Saturday’s sixth-round stoppage win over English rival Amir Khan as one of his career highlights

7:59 PM ET Associated Press DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Top-seeded Cameron Norrie reached the semifinals of the Delray Beach Open, beating No. 5 seed Sebastian Korda 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (4) on Friday. Korda won the first two points of the deciding tiebreaker, then lost six of the next seven points and didn’t recover. He was

7:31 AM ET There will be a Tiger Woods sighting this week on the PGA Tour. No, he won’t be playing, but the Genesis Invitational benefits his charitable foundation. So, this week, Woods will host a loaded field at Riviera Country Club when the event begins on Thursday. As always, this event will have four

9:53 PM ET Anthony Davis will be out at least four weeks after an MRI showed that the Los Angeles Lakers star has a mid-foot sprain, the team announced Thursday. Davis suffered the injury in the team’s 106-101 win against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. He underwent X-rays at Crypto.com Arena that revealed no fracture,

4:39 PM ET GREEN BAY, Wis. — Tom Clements, one of the coaches Aaron Rodgers has long credited for his development during his early days in the NFL, is coming out of retirement to return to the Packers as quarterbacks coach. Clements verbally accepted the job on Thursday, a source told ESPN. The contract still

7:00 AM ET The transfer portal has become an everyday part of college football roster management as more players switch teams each season. With more and more players opting to transfer, we have seen quite a few schools lose key contributors this offseason. Looking at the schools that have seen the most transfers since the

7:00 AM ET Jack Eichel is ready for his Vegas debut. The center will suit up for the Golden Knights at home Wednesday against Colorado, in his first game action since March 7, 2021. Eichel, then with the Buffalo Sabres, suffered a herniated disk in his neck that night, and went through a prolonged disagreement

7:09 PM ET Associated Press DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — No surprise this time. Michael McDowell topped the leaderboard again at Daytona. McDowell opened the first Daytona 500 practice session with a top speed of 192.736 mph, the first time NASCAR showed off its new car at the track ahead of Sunday’s sold-out race. McDowell, last

7:00 AM ET This year’s list of the top 100 MLB prospects comes at a time when the status of the 2022 season is in limbo, but not to fear: The minor league season will start on time regardless of if they agree to a new CBA in the majors. To give further context for

8:49 PM ET Associated Press LEXINGTON, Ky. — An attorney for Bob Baffert believes the Hall of Famer trainer and embattled Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit “will be fully exonerated” after stating to Kentucky racing stewards that the colt’s failed drug test for a steroid resulted from a prescribed topical salve rather than an injection.