Sports

7:00 AM ET Mike Tannenbaum The NFL is back for the 2021 season, and Week 1 quarterback play brought a mixed bag of exactly what you would have expected and wild surprises. Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson picked up where they left off in wins, and Matthew Stafford shined for his new team. Jameis Winston

6:48 PM ET Michigan’s first victory over rival Ohio State in 10 years has given the Wolverines a clear path to their first appearance in the College Football Playoff. After upsetting the Buckeyes 42-27 at the Big House on Saturday, the Wolverines are No. 2 in the selection committee’s latest rankings, which were released on

2:26 PM ET Tiger Woods offered hope of a return but also a sobering assessment of his situation in his first interviews since a serious car crash in February. Speaking at his first news conference Tuesday, a day after a lengthy video conversation with Golf Digest was released, Woods expressed gratitude for being alive and

7:00 AM ET The 2021-22 NHL season is well underway, and the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup has players across hockey begging to see their rivals go belly up. While the action heats up in this dog-eat-dog league, it’s time for a different kind of ranking: a countdown of the best NHL team dogs.

7:00 AM ET If you’re old enough, you remember when the belligerent relationship between major league players and owners led to a strike or lockout every four or five years, culminating in the depressing cancellation of the 1994 World Series. We’ve had labor peace since then, but that streak is about to end at 11:59

7:47 PM ET Alex KirklandESPN FC Carlo Ancelotti praised Vinicius Junior‘s “extraordinary” late strike in Real Madrid‘s 2-1 comeback win over Sevilla on Sunday, admitting the Brazil star has what it takes “to be one of the best in the world.” The winger’s 87th minute winner — already his ninth goal in LaLiga this campaign

3:31 PM GMT The men’s Barbarians match against Samoa at Twickenham on Saturday was cancelled 90 minutes before kickoff after four players and two members of the staff in the Barbarians camp tested positive for COVID-19, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said. The Samoan players came out onto the pitch and sang their national anthem

10:53 AM ET UFC lightweights Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev have agreed to meet on Feb 26, manager Ali Abdelaziz told ESPN. The 155-pound, five-round contest will headline a UFC Fight Night, said Abdelaziz, who managers both fighters. The promotion has not yet announced a location for that event. “I don’t like it when two

2:11 PM ET After months of feuding, trading jobs during interviews and on social media, then seemingly making up at the Ryder Cup — there was even a bro hug! — until that unraveled earlier this week, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka are finally taking this rivalry to the golf course. Today, in the latest

7:32 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Teofimo Lopez bounced off the ropes, thrusting his entire body into each side of the ring, before stopping in the center and doing a backflip. Then he lay down on the mat and added a few snow angels for good measure. Lopez had plenty to be exuberant about on that

5:21 PM ET Associated Press MADRID — Former NBA player Marc Gasol will play for Girona, the club he founded in the second division of Spanish basketball, he announced Thursday. The 36-year-old Gasol said he will play until the end of the season before deciding whether to retire. Gasol is the owner and president of

7:00 AM ET ESPN staff The Week 12 NFL schedule for the 2021 season begins with three Thanksgiving Day matchups, and we’ve got you covered with what you need to know. Our NFL Nation reporters bring us the biggest keys to every game, a bold prediction for each matchup and, of course, final score picks.

7:00 AM ET [Editor’s note: It all comes down to this. What final weekend scheduling strategy will win the Bottom 10 title? Head-to-head matchups between ranked teams or blowout losses to good teams? One thing we know for sure: Michigan State left no doubt about the Coveted Fifth Spot.] Inspirational thought of the week: Someone

7:30 AM ET NEWARK, N.J. — Martin Brodeur made history for 21 years as a goaltender for the New Jersey Devils, leading the franchise to three Stanley Cup championships. Now, he has made something else for the Devils: a new jersey, for New Jersey. “I wish we could have played in this,” said Brodeur, while

7:00 AM ET Welcome to the Hall of Fame ballot as devised by Stephen King, George R.R. Martin and Beelzebub. It’s the final appearance on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Curt Schilling — and the first for Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz. There are other

4:30 AM ET Manchester United failed to take their first opportunity to hire Mauricio Pochettino as manager, but they can’t afford to miss their second chance following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s departure on Sunday. It will require ambition and a readiness to pay whatever it will take to get him, but sources have told ESPN that

8:52 PM GMT Kathleen McNamee TWICKENHAM, London — There is an argument to be made that England’s dramatic 27-26 win over South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday was Eddie Jones’ greatest masterclass. Much has been made of this England side since the summer, but no longer will fans be able to jibe this team as

9:30 PM ET Ketlen Vieira defeated Miesha Tate via unanimous decision in a five-round main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. It was Tate’s second appearance since returning from a nearly five-year layoff, as she was retired from 2016 to 2021. Two takeaways from this one for me. First off, Tate

5:48 PM ET Mike Coppinger Ben Baby Close ESPN Staff Writer ESPN Staff Writer Previously a college football writer for The Dallas Morning News University of North Texas graduate Terence Crawford defends his WBO welterweight title against Shawn Porter on Saturday in the main event of a Top Rank on ESPN+ PPV card at Michelob

10:36 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Earlier this month, tennis player Peng Shuai accused Zhang Gaoli, a former high-ranking Chinese government official, of sexual assault. Peng wrote, in a lengthy social media post, that Zhang had forced her to have sex despite repeated refusals. The post was removed within 20 minutes from her verified account on