Sports

10:48 AM ET Associated Press MADRID — Two-time Madrid Open champion Simona Halep and second-ranked Paula Badosa will meet for the first time in the tournament’s second round after opening with victories on Thursday. Halep beat Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-3; Badosa defeated Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-0. Halep won consecutive Madrid titles in 2016 and 2017

10:11 PM ET Jamal CollierESPN MILWAUKEE — The Bucks lost forward Khris Middleton to a sprained MCL and responded with three consecutive victories over the Chicago Bulls, advancing to the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 116-100 win in Game 5 on Wednesday. The Bucks will play the Celtics in the second round;

12:35 PM ET Associated Press A retired New York State Supreme Court Justice on Wednesday recommended a two-year suspension for Bob Baffert after the two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer’s hearing with the New York Racing Association. The ruling by O. Peter Sherwood is not a final decision. Baffert’s camp and NYRA each have seven days to

10:58 AM ET JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars and left tackle Cam Robinson have reached an agreement on a three-year contract extension worth $54 million, a league source confirmed Wednesday. Robinson was set to play the 2022 season on the franchise tag for a guaranteed $16.7 million and instead will make $18 million annually

7:00 AM ET ESPN staff There are 13 games on the NHL schedule tonight, including five being waged between teams that are currently in playoff position. But perhaps the most consequential matchup of the bunch features the Dallas Stars hosting the Vegas Golden Knights (8:30 ET, streaming live on ESPN+ for out-of-market customers). The Knights

7:00 AM ET Many of the names called during the opening round of the NFL draft will be familiar to recruiting fans, as they belong to former five-star and ESPN 300 prospects. Big things were expected from and delivered by the likes of Kayvon Thibodeaux, who was the No. 1 overall player in the 2019

11:07 PM ET Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer filed suit Monday against the San Diego woman who accused him of sexual assault, claiming defamation and tortious interference while seeking unspecified monetary and punitive damages. In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Bauer’s attorneys say that the

7:52 PM ET Associated Press TALLADEGA, Ala. — Ross Chastain surveyed his situation on the final lap at Talladega Superspeedway and decided his best strategy was to stay right where he was and not make a move for the win. It got him to victory lane. Chastain stole the win Sunday when leader Erik Jones

11:04 AM ET Napoli‘s hopes of winning the Serie A title this season suffered a huge blow as they surrendered a two-goal lead at Empoli in seven stunning second-half minutes to lose 3-2 on Sunday. With Empoli without a victory in their previous 16 league games before Napoli’s visit, Luciano Spalletti’s side were expected to

10:12 AM BST Former Springbok loose forward Pedrie Wannenburg has been killed in a car accident in Texas, his former South African franchise the Bulls said on Saturday. Wannenburg, 41, played 20 times for the Boks and was close to being selected for the World Cup-winning squad in France in 2007. He also turned out

6:47 AM ET Mark KriegelESPN MORECAMBE, England — Even as a child, Tyson Fury never envisioned an occupation other than his present one: heavyweight champion of the world. In his marvelously grandiose way of thinking — something required of a real heavyweight champ, which is to say, a fighter for whom mythology and marketing are

7:41 AM ET Cris Cyborg couldn’t help but smile as she heard her many accomplishments in MMA listed back to her. The Brazilian knockout artist has been a UFC champion, a Strikeforce champion and an Invicta FC champion. In 2020, she won the Bellator women’s featherweight title, making her the first fighter in mixed martial

10:34 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Alison Lee shot a 5-under 66 on Thursday afternoon at breezy Wilshire Country Club to take the first-round lead in the DIO Implant LA Open. The resurgent former UCLA star had a bogey-free round in testing conditions to start the LPGA Tour’s two-week run in the Los

9:42 AM ET Associated Press The Kentucky Derby television broadcast will be produced by a woman for the first time in the 148-year history of the race. Lindsay Schanzer is the new senior producer for NBC Sports’ Derby coverage, overseeing the network’s horse racing production. It’s her 10th Derby but her first running the show

11:41 PM ET Brianna Williams Joel Embiid knows what it’s like to be losing on the side of a go-ahead 3-pointer in the NBA playoffs, but that wasn’t the case on Wednesday night. The Philadelphia 76ers star splashed a turnaround three with under one second remaining in overtime to secure a 104-101 win against the

12:51 PM ET SANTA CLARA, Calif. — For the past few months, the San Francisco 49ers have repeatedly said they’d like to keep receiver Deebo Samuel for a long time. On Wednesday, it became clear that Samuel and the Niners don’t quite see things the same way. Samuel, who is entering the final year of

3:05 PM ET Players from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to compete at Wimbledon this year. The decision was announced Wednesday. The third Slam of the year became the first to ban players from those countries, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’ close allyship to Russian president Vladimir Putin. The

7:00 AM ET ESPN staff The transfer portal has turned college football rosters inside out, with more than 2,000 FBS players entering the portal in 2021 and 2022 and allowing them a second (or third) chance to find the best fit for their playing and academic careers. The reasons for switching schools and reentering the

7:00 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. With the NHL playoff field solidifying over the final two weeks of the regular season, we can begin to get excited about dream Stanley Cup Final matchups. One type of matchup that is

7:00 AM ET On Opening Day this season, six of the top 25 prospects in baseball took the field with their respective MLB teams. But years before Julio Rodriguez, Spencer Torkelson, Bobby Witt Jr. Hunter Greene and others in a stellar rookie class of 2022 broke camp as major leaguers, there was Kris Bryant. Bryant,