Sports

6:53 AM ET The World Junior Championship is a holiday hockey tradition like no other. And it should look a little different this year. Due to COVID-19 concerns, the 2021 tournament was moved to Edmonton, Alberta, and played in “bubble” conditions with no fans allowed to watch the proceedings. This year, Edmonton and Red Deer,

For the sixth consecutive year, ESPN presents its annual ranking of the best men’s players and coaches in world soccer! Welcome to FC 100. As always, rankings are broken down into Top 10 lists for positions, plus a countdown of managers, in order to present the most meaningful look at talent on the pitch and

5:40 PM ET Associated Press COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A deal for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to police drugs in horse racing cratered Thursday after months of negotiations that the agency’s CEO said did not give it “a reasonable chance to put in place a credible and effective program.” The USADA was set to become

2:08 AM ET UFC Hall of Famer Rashad Evans is returning from retirement — and now his opponent is set. Evans, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, will face Gabriel Checco on the Eagle FC United States debut card Jan. 28 in Miami, sources told ESPN on Wednesday night. Eagle FC is the MMA promotion

8:00 AM ET Since it first opened its doors in 1999, Staples Center has played host to seven NBA Finals, five WNBA Finals, four UFC pay-per-view cards, two Stanley Cup Finals and countless championship boxing matches. It was the home of the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament for a decade and has seen multiple All-Star games

7:00 AM ET Carlos Correa is a generational talent. Carlos Correa is inconsistent and injury-prone. Carlos Correa is one of the best all-around players in the game. Carlos Correa is overrated. Carlos Correa is worth a $300 million contract. Carlos Correa is a risky investment. While MLB teams committed over $1.9 billion to 51 free

3:42 PM ET Associated Press KAPALUA, Hawai’i — Phil Mickelson is headed back to Hawai’i for golf, not a vacation, committing to play the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua for the first time in 21 years. Mickelson won the winners-only tournament at La Costa Resort in 1998, then has played only twice since it

4:30 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN NBA commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN’s Malika Andrews that the league has no plans to suspend its season as COVID-19 surges through the league. “No plans right now to pause the season,” Silver said in an interview on NBA Today on Tuesday afternoon. “We have of course looked at all

7:15 AM ET EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It was such a big game that Tony Soprano had to be there. He was seated at the 50-yard line, front row, up close and vocal. On Christmas Eve 2011, the New York Giants and New York Jets met in their quadrennial state championship at MetLife Stadium. For

8:12 AM ET The year in hockey 2021 began with a 56-game season, impacted the COVID-19 pandemic, that saw the league’s 31 teams realigned into four new divisions. It ends with the teams back in their usual divisions, although there are now 32 of them thanks to the Seattle Kraken. Oh, and it’s once again

7:00 AM ET Wan’Dale Robinson went from favorite son to public enemy No. 1 on Dec. 5, 2018, when he announced that after a year of being committed to Kentucky he was flipping to Nebraska. Never mind that he had his reasons, wanting to play in a more wide-open offense when, at the time, the

6:24 AM ET Rafael Nadal said on Monday he had tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Spain after making his comeback from injury in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition event in Abu Dhabi last week. The 20-time Grand Slam champion said he was having some “unpleasant moments” but was hoping to feel better

5:51 PM ET ORLANDO, Fla. — Not quite sure exactly how this week would play out, Joe LaCava decided to get to Florida a few days early. After a year of virtual inactivity, the caddie for Tiger Woods wanted to get out of the house. Playing some golf with his son, Joe Jr., and soaking

4:00 PM ET New York Mets owner Steve Cohen is an avid collector of art, his collection of Picasso and Doig and others reportedly worth many hundreds of millions of dollars. But one of his favorite pieces is round: the baseball that rolled between the legs of Bill Buckner to end Game 6 of the

8:38 AM ET Alex Kirkland Rodrigo Faez Carlo Ancelotti has said he now does not consider Barcelona “a direct rival” for the LaLiga title, with Real Madrid top of the table and Barca 18 points behind them in eighth place. Madrid have won 10 consecutive games in all competitions — including against top four contenders

1:56 PM GMT All Round 2 matches between U.K. and French sides have been postponed hours after Ospreys vs. Racing 92 was called off due to a number of positive COVID-19 cases in the Welsh squad. European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) awarded Racing 92 a 28-0 victory and five match points, in accordance with competition

8:00 AM ET We have reached the finish line of another remarkable year for the UFC. According to Dana White, 2021 was the most lucrative year in the history of the company. Saturday’s UFC Fight Night inside the Apex will be tasked with putting a bow on this very memorable year. And as we all

10:38 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN David Benavidez and David Lemieux have signed contracts for a 168-pound bout slated for springtime on Showtime, a source told ESPN, an event that likely will land in Benavidez’s native Phoenix. The battle of former champions could move Benavidez one step closer to a shot at Canelo Alvarez. The volume-punching

8:13 PM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Karolina Pliskova has withdrawn from next month’s Australian Open and two warm-up tournaments because of a right hand injury sustained in training. Australian Open officials on Thursday confirmed the world fourth-ranked player’s withdrawal, and said in a tweet: “wishing you a speedy recovery.” Pliskova had earlier said

8:00 AM ET LUKA DONCIC AND Dennis Smith Jr. had become fast friends after the Dallas Mavericks selected the teenager from Slovenia third overall in the 2018 NBA draft. Smith, whom the team had drafted ninth a year prior, had shown Doncic around the city and invited the new guy into his social circle. They