Sports

8:03 PM ET Associated Press INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Paula Badosa edged Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-6 (2) on Sunday to win the BNP Paribas Open in her debut in the Southern California desert, where the tournament returned after a 2 1/2-year absence because of the coronavirus. She joined Bianca Andreescu in 2019 and

8:25 PM ET Associated Press LAS VEGAS — Rory McIlroy capped a big weekend in Las Vegas on Sunday by surging past Rickie Fowler and holding off Collin Morikawa to win the CJ Cup at Summit for his 20th PGA Tour title. McIlroy seized control with a 35-foot eagle putt from just off the green

11:59 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN In one of the biggest boxing upsets in recent memory, Spaniard Sandor Martin scored a majority-decision victory over former four-division champion Mikey Garcia on Saturday in Fresno, California. Martin (39-2, 13 KOs) had never competed on the world-level before; this was his first bout outside the U.S. He was meant

8:54 PM ET Associated Press LAS VEGAS — Rickie Fowler returned to the spotlight Saturday in the foothills above Las Vegas with his best round in three years, a 9-under 63 that gave him a 2-shot lead over Rory McIlroy going into the final round of the CJ Cup at Summit. Fowler hasn’t had an

Oct 15, 2021 The UFC’s women’s featherweight division is in an interesting spot, in that one terrific performance at 145 pounds can catapult a fighter into title contention. That is the backdrop for Saturday’s main event, featuring Aspen Ladd (9-1) and Norma Dumont (6-1). Both Ladd and Dumont have competed in the UFC’s 135-pound division,

5:17 PM ET Associated Press INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Nikoloz Basilashvili outlasted No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 Friday to move into the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open with the biggest win of his career. Basilashvili next plays either No. 3 Alexander Zverev or American Taylor Fritz, who met in a later

6:45 PM ET Associated Press INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Cameron Norrie routed 11th-seeded Diego Schwartzman 6-0, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open and extend the best season of his young career. Norrie needed just 73 minutes to dismantle Schwartzman, who finally held serve to open the second set, drawing

8:00 AM ET FIFTY-FIVE MINUTES before tipoff at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook take the court for a joint workout that Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy guides. “We’ve been tied at the hip, pretty much, since we made the acquisition,” James says of Westbrook at media day. “We’re

10:01 PM ET HENDERSON, Nev. — An emotional Derek Carr, who had forged a unique friendship with Jon Gruden over the past three-plus years, had an idea in the wake of the Las Vegas Raiders coach’s resignation after leaked emails showed he had used racist, misogynistic and anti-gay language over a seven-year period: “Open up

5:11 PM ET Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said that while some Penn State players injured in Saturday’s game had legitimate ailments, he understands why Hawkeyes fans booed when other Nittany Lions players went down. Ferentz on Tuesday noted that Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford did not return to the game after leaving early in the

8:26 PM ET ESPN News Services TAMPA, Fla. — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the league has only four unvaccinated players as it opens up the 2021-22 season. Bettman was in attendance for the regular-season opener between the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. “Everybody banding together

3:25 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Off the bat, nine innings into a game surprisingly devoid of action, it seemed as if an entire ballpark believed Gavin Lux had tied the score with his Los Angeles Dodgers down to their final out. “My stomach pretty much sank when he hit it,” San Francisco Giants third

8:03 PM ET International tennis stars have been urged to get vaccinated if they are serious about playing in next year’s Australian Open. “If I was an ATP or WTA player, I’d be getting vaccinated,” Victoria’s sports minister Martin Pakula told Melbourne radio station SEN on Monday. “That will give them the best opportunity to

10:41 PM ET PANAMA CITY, Panama — A team can repeat its mistakes so many times before it gets punished. So it proved for the United States men’s national team in its 1-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Panama. In its first four games, the U.S. had managed to avoid defeat. But even as it

6:42 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kyle Larson rallied from early electrical issues Sunday to win for the seventh time this season and storm into the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs. Larson’s victory on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway ended a topsy-turvy day for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson and reigning Cup champion Chase

10:58 PM BST Former NRL luminaries Kevin Naiqama and Lachlan Coote have said the perfect farewell to St Helens, helping guide the Super League champions to a third straight crown with a thrilling grand final win over Catalans Dragons. Former Wests Tigers star Naiqama was player of the match on Saturday after he scored the

7:23 PM ET Marina Rodriguez passed another major test and stated her case as a potential future title challenger. Surviving several terrible positions on the ground, Rodriguez defeated Mackenzie Dern via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. It was a classic striker vs. grappler battle

7:38 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Tyson Fury was jovial, sarcastic and helpful as he worked with the young heavyweights training alongside him at Warriors Boxing Gym in Hollywood, Florida. Just days earlier, the 6-foot-9 “Gypsy King” found out that his dream fight — an undisputed heavyweight championship bout with Anthony Joshua — wasn’t going to

3:11 PM ET The big crowds following Jon Rahm in his return to Spain are starting to bother the world’s top-ranked golfer. Rahm couldn’t hide his frustration with some of the fans after a lackluster second round at the Spanish Open on Friday, when he carded a 4-under 67 to stay one shot behind leader

9:42 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Irad Ortiz Jr. rode his 3,000th career winner Thursday in the fifth race at Belmont Park. The 29-year-old jockey from Puerto Rico rode Saratoga Kisses to an 8 1/4-length victory for trainer and co-owner Rudy Rodriguez. Ortiz is 15th on the career earnings list, totaling over $220

9:27 PM ET Associated Press INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Kim Clijsters lost in three sets in her first-round match Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open. She was beaten 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 by Katerina Siniakova, a three-time major doubles champion from Czech Republic. Siniakova teamed with countrywoman Barbora Krejcikova to win a gold medal in doubles

11:00 PM ET PHOENIX — Trevor Ariza will be sidelined about two months after having surgery on his right ankle, the Los Angeles Lakers announced Wednesday. Ariza, one of 11 new players added in the offseason, underwent an arthroscopic debridement procedure Wednesday. He has missed most of training camp because of the ankle. The Lakers

8:04 AM ET FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots are releasing four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Stephon Gilmore, with a source telling ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the sides could not agree to terms on a restructured contract. Gilmore said goodbye to Patriots fans in a tweeted statement Wednesday. “We enjoyed so much success together and

10:50 AM ET FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots‘ plans to release cornerback Stephon Gilmore came as a surprise on Wednesday. Gilmore started the season on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) after having surgery on a torn quad suffered in Week 15 of the 2020 season. He was the 2019 NFL Defensive

7:00 AM ET Rick Mirer remembers the first time he slapped the “Play Like A Champion Today” sign at Notre Dame. The wooden sign — 3 feet high, 4 feet wide and painted gold with blue hand lettering — hangs over the narrow staircase in the tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium, just high enough where

7:36 PM ET It wasn’t quite as chaotic of an ending as it could have been, but the 2021 MLB regular season is finally in the books. Now, playoff baseball is finally in store. In the AL, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees renew their historic rivalry in what promises to be an

11:38 PM ET Associated Press ARCADIA, Calif. — Medina Spirit, the Kentucky Derby winner who failed a postrace drug test, romped to a five-length victory in the $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes on Saturday for embattled Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert at Santa Anita. Medina Spirit took command out of the starting gate and built

11:00 AM ET Rob DawsonCorrespondent MANCHESTER, England — Nothing is coming easily for Manchester United at the moment, and it’s making life hard for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Three days after the dramatic late Champions League win against Villarreal, there was another frantic finish at Old Trafford. This time, though, there were no Cristiano Ronaldo heroics

7:30 AM ET In the UFC’s light heavyweight division, 40 is the new 30. The current champion, Jan Blachowicz, turns 39 years old in February. No. 1 contender Glover Teixeira, who will challenge Blachowicz for the title at UFC 267 on Oct. 30, is 41. Blachowicz and Teixeira both have exhibited longevity and perseverance. Blachowicz

7:49 AM ET Oleksandr Usyk’s upset victory over Anthony Joshua kicked off a hectic fall season for the sport of boxing. The biggest stars will return over the next few months, and in many cases they’ll be competing against top-level competition rather than doing the stay-busy fights that have become all too common. Teofimo Lopez

7:00 AM ET Aesthetics matter in hockey. The player with the wooliest thicket of playoff beard competes with the might of King Leonidas of Sparta. The team that gets the spiffy state-of-the-art arena stands just a bit taller in its skates. I think the New York Islanders are a playoff team this season not because

6:02 AM BST Thirty-eight-year-old prop Greg Holmes has seen a few different incarnations of the Wallabies in his time. The Queenslander made his Test debut way back in 2005, in the final year of Eddie Jones’ reign, and has since played under both John Connolly and Michael Cheika within the national setup. And he will

7:00 AM ET ESPN.com staff It’s being billed as The Return and as Week 4 of the NFL season approaches, it’s the game everyone has been talking about: Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady heads back to Foxborough, Massachusetts, to face his former team, the New England Patriots (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). Brady won an