Sports

7:45 PM ET The NHL announced on Thursday it had concluded an investigation into free-agent forward Evander Kane and the circumstances under which he traveled across the U.S.-Canada border during the holiday period, clearing the way for Kane to sign with an NHL team. The San Jose Sharks terminated Kane’s contract after he cleared waivers

7:15 AM ET ESPN staff With our 2022 Way-Too-Early college football top 25 established, we asked our reporters what each team’s biggest strength will be in the coming season — in other words, what makes the best teams so good. Looking into a crystal ball more than six months before the start of the season

7:00 AM ET As the Baseball Hall of Fame prepares to enshrine David Ortiz, plus the six former players elected last month, let’s look ahead to see what might happen over the next three Baseball Writers’ Association of America elections. Oh, don’t worry — we haven’t heard the last of the Hall of Fame debates

12:14 PM ET Every run-up to a World Cup qualifying window has its area of focus. Usually its centers around player availability, or the opponent. But the upcoming trio of games for the United States men’s national team against El Salvador in Columbus, Ohio, Canada in Hamilton, Ontario and Honduras in St. Paul, Minnesota has

7:43 AM GMT George Ford and Elliot Daly have been called up to the England squad as a replacement for the injured pair of Owen Farrell and Jonny May, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) confirmed on Monday. In-form Leicester Tigers flyhalf Ford, 28, has started all 12 of Tigers’ Premiership games and is the league’s

7:40 AM ET ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jon Jones was going to be in attendance at UFC 270 on Saturday night. He’d be there, likely close to the Octagon, to watch the heavyweight title unification fight between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane, and the winner would likely be his next opponent. That was the plan a

5:29 PM ET Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. — Danielle Kang readily admits she, and her golf game, remain a constant work in progress. She spent much of the offseason finding a way to be “comfortable being uncomfortable.” It seems to be working. On a difficult championship test at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, Kang

1:00 PM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — Shooter McGavin never liked Happy Gilmore. “He’s a disgrace to the game,” he once argued. “The man is destroying golf. Kick him off the tour.” Gilmore, the flamboyant, failed hockey player turned unorthodox golf pro, a fictional character wonderfully portrayed by Adam Sandler in the 1996 film, was a

12:48 AM ET The longest active run by a male titleholder in boxing is over. Mark Magsayo upset Gary Russell Jr. by majority decision on Saturday night — 114-114, 115-113 and 115-113 — to claim the WBC featherweight title in Atlantic City, New Jersey, taking away Russell’s title after almost seven years with the WBC

3:53 PM ET Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso will undergo surgery early next week for a fractured right wrist, the team announced Saturday. Caruso suffered the injury during the Bulls loss to the Bucks on Friday night in Milwaukee. Caruso was fouled hard by the Bucks’ Grayson Allen, who was assessed a flagrant 2 foul

8:31 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Red Farmer, one of the top late-model drivers, and the late Mike Stefanik, considered one of the most talented modified race car drivers to ever get behind a wheel, have been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. They were among the three drivers to be inducted

7:00 AM ET ESPN staff The NFL divisional round for the 2021 season is stacked with four great matchups, and we got you covered with what you need to know heading into the second weekend of playoff football. Our NFL Nation reporters bring us the biggest keys to every game, a bold prediction for each

11:03 PM ET Adam Rittenberg Close ESPN Senior Writer College football reporter. Joined ESPN.com in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University. Pete Thamel June Jones turned down an opportunity to return as Hawai’i‘s head football coach after meeting with school officials Friday. Jones, 68, expressed interest in the job shortly after coach Todd Graham resigned under

10:40 AM ET Hockey fans are an opinionated lot, willing to share our analysis on everything from player performances to big trades to playoff-worthiness of teams. But we also have those opinions that we’re hesitant to share, even if we’re convinced of their value or inherent truth. We whisper them at a game or text

7:00 AM ET It started with J.P. Crawford. I was digging into some statistics and noticed Crawford ranked as the worst baserunner in the majors according to Baseball-Reference’s baserunning metric at minus-5 runs below average. How could that be? Crawford isn’t slow. Well, he’s not slow, but he was 3-for-9 stealing bases and he was

3:18 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. recognized early he would never be a seven-time NASCAR champion like his dad. It was unrealistic to believe he would match the late Dale Earnhardt on the track. The Intimidator was tough as nails, didn’t tolerate any nonsense and built a winning resume that

12:01 PM ET The Football Association (FA) is examining a yellow card received by an Arsenal player linked to suspicious betting patterns during a Premier League match this season. Sources have to ESPN that bookmakers have alerted the FA to unusual amounts of money being staked on a member of Mikel Arteta’s team to be

4:43 PM ET Associated Press SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The New York Racing Association is planning to reconstruct the Wilson Chute at Saratoga Race Course, which will allow one-mile races to be run on the main dirt track during the summer meet. A chute is an extension of the backstretch or homestretch of a track

10:45 AM GMT Owen Farrell has retained his England captaincy for the 2022 Six Nations while George Ford, Elliot Day, Sam Underhill and Mako and Billy Vunipola miss out on the squad. Manu Tuilagi was also not named in the 36-man squad announced by coach Eddie Jones on Tuesday but he is expected to join

Dec 11, 2020 Marc Raimondi Eric Gomez Editor’s note: This story was originally published ahead of UFC 256. It has been updated to reflect the result of that fight and the upcoming trilogy fight at UFC 270. The half-made piñata would be sitting on the floor of Pinatas Moreno in Tijuana, Mexico, and business owner

12:42 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Defending champion Naomi Osaka didn’t need luck to win her opening-round match over Camila Osorio 6-3, 6-3 at the Australian Open on Monday. But that didn’t stop her from trying to create some. In an act of superstition that would surely make Rafael Nadal proud, Osaka took great lengths, literally

10:56 PM ET Associated Press HONOLULU — Five shots behind at the turn, Hideki Matsuyama figured all he could do was keep his head down and try to stay in the game Sunday in the Sony Open. And when he finally looked up, he couldn’t see one of the best shots of his career. In

2:37 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Shakur Stevenson and Oscar Valdez are in the process of finalizing a deal for a 130-pound title unification fight on April 30 in Las Vegas, sources told ESPN on Sunday. Sources said no financial agreement has been reached for the proposed ESPN main event. After Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) scored

11:09 AM ET After the Brooklyn Nets diagnosed All-NBA forward Kevin Durant with a sprained MCL of his left knee, the franchise expects a four- to six-week rehabilitation before his return, sources told ESPN. Durant underwent imaging on Sunday morning after Saturday night’s injury, and a realistic benchmark for Durant could be a return coming

11:15 PM ET CINCINNATI — When you find your quarterback, things become possible that weren’t. The Cincinnati Bengals won a playoff game Saturday. It had been 31 years and nine days since the last time that happened. Only four players on the Bengals’ current roster were even alive yet. There was, at that time, no

10:00 AM ET For a hockey player, representing your country in a Winter Olympic tournament is an unparalleled honor. “To be known as an Olympian is a big-time thing for everybody,” said John Vanbiesbrouck, the general manager of the U.S. men’s Olympic team. “That’s why the NHL players wanted to go in the first place.”

7:00 AM ET A lot of the credit for the Atlanta Braves’ postseason surge was rightly attributed to the midseason deals made by general manager Alex Anthopoulos, because without Eddie Rosario, Jorge Soler, Adam Duvall and Joc Pederson, Atlanta would not have hosted a championship parade. But what may have been lost in that narrative

5:01 AM ET Former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve will join Netherlands based outfit Team Hezeberg in a bid for a spot on the Daytona 500 starting grid, NASCAR said on Wednesday. The 50-year-old Canadian, winner of the 1995 Indianapolis 500 and the 1997 F1 drivers crown, took part in preseason testing at the famed

6:11 PM ET Alex Kirkland Sam Marsden Wednesday’s Supercopa de Espana clash between Clasico rivals didn’t disappoint, as Real Madrid hung on to defeat Barcelona 3-2 in front of an enthusiastic crowd in Saudi Arabia. (Stream highlights here: U.S. only.) After Barca twice battled back from a goal down to take the game to extra

4:09 PM ET A welterweight grudge match between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington will headline UFC 272 on March 5, UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell told ESPN on Tuesday. Contracts have not been signed for the 170-pound scrap, but the bout is nearly finalized, per Campbell. The UFC 272 pay-per-view will take place at

11:59 PM ET The 2021 college football season has just ended, with Georgia beating Alabama 33-18 in Monday night’s national title game, but it’s already time to look ahead to the 2022 season. Not surprisingly, Nick Saban’s Alabama squad will start our 2022 Way-Too-Early college football top 25 on top, leading three SEC teams in

8:05 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN George Kambosos Jr. crashed through the glass ceiling in 2021 with an upset victory over Teofimo Lopez in November, capturing all four of Lopez’s lightweight titles. The 28-year-old Australian wasn’t even on the radar of many in the boxing industry, and he was completely overlooked before he fought Lopez. On

5:05 PM GMT The 2025 Rugby League World Cup will take place in France, the French Rugby League federation confirmed on Friday. French prime minister Jean Castex will hold a full launch of the event on Jan. 11 in Paris. The tournament will be the 17th edition, and returns to France, where the first World