Sports

4:30 AM ET Alex KirklandESPN FC Want to know how important Casemiro was to Real Madrid? Ask Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. Two-thirds of the most iconic midfield trio in modern football — with apologies to Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Andres Iniesta — are now facing up to life without the man Modric called

Aug 25, 2022 Liam Napier The All Blacks and Michael Cheika have history. From the 2015 World Cup final, when the then Wallabies coach was captured at his side’s captain’s run at Twickenham brandishing a sheet of paper with apparent plans to “rattle” Kieran Read and target wings Julian Savea and Nehe Milner-Skudder, to his

Aug 25, 2022 Associated Press SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — John Velazquez, already the leading career rider at Saratoga, had his 1,000th winner Thursday at the historic track. The 50-year-old Hall of Fame jockey won the eighth race by a neck aboard Precursory, who paid $14 to win. The filly is trained by fellow Hall of

8:08 AM ET FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — It began with a text message with an invitation to dinner. It was the start of a friendship set up by Shane Victorino. At the time, the two-time Philadelphia Phillies All-Star outfielder didn’t know Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota and UFC featherweight Max Holloway had never met. Victorino

Aug 24, 2022 As a young hockey fan, Trevor Zegras would dream about pulling off video-game moves as an NHL player. Now he’s on the cover of “NHL 23,” a video game that features a move named in his honor that he made famous as an Anaheim Ducks rookie sensation last season. “It’s weird. I

Aug 23, 2022 Oleksandr Usyk delivered another impressive performance in a split decision victory over Anthony Joshua on Saturday to retain the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight world titles. He also added the vacant Ring belt, making him the lineal champion in the division. This was a rematch of Usyk’s unanimous decision win over Joshua

8:00 AM ET ATLANTA — The winner of this week’s season-ending Tour Championship, which starts Thursday at East Lake Golf Club, will take home an $18 million bonus. The top 29 players in the FedEx Cup Playoffs points standings will compete for the top prize, after Will Zalatoris, who was third in the standings, had

3:49 PM ET NBA Insiders Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets are running it back. In a statement released Tuesday, Nets general manager Sean Marks said the past MVP and two-time NBA champion will remain with the franchise after originally requesting a trade on June 30. (Durant’s four-year, $198 million extension kicks in this season.)

11:43 AM ET ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Commanders placed defensive end Chase Young on the reserve/physically unable to perform list Tuesday, leaving him unavailable for the first four games of the season. Young opened camp on the active/PUP list after tearing his right ACL and MCL in a Nov. 14 game vs. the Tampa

Aug 23, 2022 Alyssa RoenigkESPN Close Alyssa Roenigk is a senior writer for ESPN whose assignments have taken her to six continents and caused her to commit countless acts of recklessness. (Follow @alyroe on Twitter). COCO GAUFF IS at a crossroads. She’s sitting in the passenger seat of her first car while her dad, Corey,

7:00 AM ET Kyle Bonagura Close ESPN Staff Writer Covers the Pac-12. Joined ESPN in 2014. Attended Washington State University. Mark Schlabach Close ESPN Senior Writer Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia The 2022 college football season kicks off Saturday with 11 FBS games

8:09 PM ET Marly RiveraESPN Writer Close Marly Rivera is a writer for ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com. NEW YORK — As the race for the postseason continues to heat up, so have the tempers in the toughest division in baseball. The Yankees clawed out a 4-2 win over the AL East rival Blue Jays on Sunday

6:57 PM ET Associated Press WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Kyle Larson zoomed past Ty Gibbs and William Byron when the two leaders made contact with under five laps to go, then held off AJ Allmendinger to win the Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International on Saturday. Byron and Gibbs dominated the 82-lap race around

11:22 AM ET Chelsea have banned a season-ticket holder after Tottenham Hotspur‘s Son Heung-Min was subjected to racist abuse during the sides’ game at Stamford Bridge last weekend. The west London team launched an investigation after footage on social media showed a fan in the stadium’s Shed End directing a racist gesture at Son during

8:00 AM ET WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman hasn’t fought in nearly 10 months. Usually, those who follow this sport refer to that amount of time between fights as a “layoff” — but nothing about how Usman chose to spend those 10 months sounds like much of a break. “Everyone says,

2:25 PM ET The NHL free agency signing period for 2022 is underway. For each key deal, ESPN NHL reporters Greg Wyshynski and Kristen Shilton will assess the player’s fit with his new team, weigh whether the terms of the deal make sense and hand out an overall grade for the team. We’ll continue to

Aug 18, 2022 Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. — A prominent New York-based horse trainer whose Early Voting won this year’s Preakness Stakes is facing a domestic violence charge for allegedly pushing a woman down a flight of stairs and trying to choke her, authorities said Thursday. Chad Brown, 43, was arraigned Thursday morning in Saratoga

7:48 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN ANTHONY JOSHUA STOOD in the center of the ring in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, and soaked in the moment as confetti rained down on him. He dealt with doubt, disappointment and uncertainty in the aftermath of his upset defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr. in June 2019, but six months later,

6:03 PM ET ESPN News Services MASON, Ohio — US Open champion Emma Raducanu routed Victoria Azarenka 6-0, 6-2 on Wednesday in the second round of the Western & Southern Open. 2 Related The 19-year-old Raducanu won the final seven games against Serena Williams on Tuesday and the first 10 against Azarenka. Seeded 13th, Raducanu

7:10 AM ET Tim Bontemps Kevin Pelton Close ESPN Senior Writer Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus series Formerly a consultant with the Indiana Pacers Developed WARP rating and SCHOENE system When the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled off a blockbuster trade to land Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz, the three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year wasted