Sports

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

7:00 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

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

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

8:00 AM ET Media days kick off Monday, officially ushering in the start of training camps around the NBA. The dust has finally settled from free agency, and September training camp kickoffs will mark the first normal schedule in two years. The biggest news surrounding training camp comes out of Philadelphia, where Ben Simmons has

2:35 PM ET Miami coach Manny Diaz defended his program and the school administration Monday, after pointed criticism that there was not a strong enough commitment to football from the university. Kirk Herbstreit questioned that commitment on College GameDay on Saturday, in comments that went viral and made their way to Diaz. Herbstreit questioned whether

3:46 PM ET SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — Delayed a year due to the pandemic, the much-awaited Ryder Cup delivered, even if the final-day drama was missing. Plenty of passion and pageantry, a slew of impressive shots and putts, the usual nitpicky irritation between both sides and — in the end — a joyous winning team and

10:42 PM ET Associated Press LAS VEGAS — Turns out 21 was Denny Hamlin‘s lucky number in Vegas. After finally getting his first career victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on his 21st try, Hamlin is on an undeniable hot streak he just might ride all the way to his long-sought first NASCAR Cup Series

3:30 PM ET Associated Press BOSTON — Even without Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic on the roster, Team Europe clinched its fourth consecutive Laver Cup victory by going up 14-1 against Team World on Sunday. Tokyo Olympics singles gold medalist Alexander Zverev of Germany and Andrey Rublev of Russia gave Team Europe an