6:26 PM BST Hosting rights for the next two men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups will be awarded within the same process as World Rugby attempt to build on the success of Japan 2019, the governing body announced on Thursday. The announcement means the 2025 and 2029 women’s and 2027 and 2021 men’s World Cup
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5:07 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — Indians pitcher Zach Plesac feels he and teammate Mike Clevinger have been unfairly portrayed as “bad people” in the aftermath of the pitchers being quarantined by the team for violating COVID-19 protocols last weekend in Chicago. Plesac said he posted a six-minute video on his Instagram page Thursday
11:00 AM ET All the scenarios, all the magic numbers, all the scoreboard watching — it’s all getting settled on Thursday. Here is where things stand as four teams battle for two spots in this weekend’s Western Conference play-in: Portland Trail Blazers: win and they’re in (as the No. 8 seed). Memphis Grizzlies: win and
1:41 PM ET Steve KimESPN For two years, IBF lightweight titlist Teofimo Lopez Jr. and his outspoken father, Teofimo Lopez Sr., have been asking for a fight against unified champion Vasiliy Lomachenko. After extensive negotiations and public comments regarding an impasse, a deal was finally reached on Wednesday night and the two will fight on
10:47 AM ET The delicate balance of player safety and pushing forward with football may have hit a tipping point at Florida State, where three wide receivers, including star Tamorrion Terry, have publicly spoken out about a lack of transparency in coronavirus testing at the school. On Wednesday night, D.J. Matthews tweeted that he had
4:29 PM ET Associated Press LEXINGTON, Ky. — Serena Williams came back and won the last four games to beat her older sister, Venus, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a hard-hitting, back-and-forth, second-round matchup at the Top Seed Open on Thursday. It was the 31st meeting of their careers — 22 1/2 years after the first.
4:11 PM BST All 12 top-flight clubs will take a stand against racism with different gestures as Premiership Rugby committed itself to making the sport more diverse and inclusive, on Wednesday. Harlequins, Leicester and Wasps players will take a knee to support the “Black Lives Matter” movement when the Premiership season resumes this weekend. 1
2:51 PM ET Associated Press GREENSBORO, N.C. — Harold Varner III tied his career low round with an 8-under 62 to grab the early lead at the Wyndham Championship on Thursday. Varner was three shots in front of Wesley Bryan and Brian Harman among the early starters at the Sedgefield Country Club. Varner had eight
1:49 PM ET More than seven out of 10 sports fans support teams and athletes speaking out on issues of social justice and racial equality, according to an online survey of 837 sports fans conducted for ESPN. Of the 71% of fans who supported athletes speaking out, 44% strongly supported it. Nearly half of the
2:24 PM ET Montreal Canadiens coach Claude Julien was admitted to a Toronto hospital after experiencing chest pains following his team’s game on Wednesday night. Montreal GM Marc Bergevin said he does not believe the issue is related to COVID-19, but Julien was undergoing tests on Thursday. “He’s for sure in really good hands,” Bergevin
6:55 AM ET NFL NationESPN As 2020 NFL training camps move from strength and conditioning work to padded practice over the next week, the competition for starting jobs will heat up across the league. There will be a maximum of 14 padded practices per team and, with no preseason games due to the coronavirus pandemic,
England great James Anderson returned to form with two wickets against Pakistan at Southampton on Thursday as Fawad Alam’s long wait for a Test recall ended with a duck. Pakistan were 126-5 at stumps after a combination of rain and bad light cut short play on the first day of the second Test. Anderson had
1:27 PM ET Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, a four-time Kentucky Derby winner, is recovering after recently testing positive for COVID-19. His condition was disclosed in a tweet posted by grandson Brady Wayne Lukas. “Wayne recently tested positive for COVID-19 and has since been isolating at home and
8:18 AM ET It was Sept. 11, 2017, a beautiful day in the Cleveland suburb of Valley View, and fire chief Ken Papesh was anxiously awaiting a visitor. UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was headed to the firehouse to interview heavyweight champ — and part-time firefighter/paramedic — Stipe Miocic for the FS1 show “In
Chris Froome lost more time to Egan Bernal during the brutal mountainous second stage of the Tour de Dauphine. The four-time Tour de France winner is now nearly 14 minutes behind Team Ineos team-mate Bernal, who is fourth in the overall standings, led by Jumbo-Visma’s Primoz Roglic. Roglic won the 135km stage, with Bernal 10th
7:25 AM ET Associated Press NEWPORT, Wales — French golfer Alex Levy has been withdrawn from the Celtic Classic, which started on Thursday. Levy came into contact with a friend who has since tested positive for the coronavirus, the European Tour said in a statement. The contact occurred while Levy was at home in France
Lewis Hamilton has no concerns about the introduction of a rule that appears to be aimed at slowing Mercedes down. F1 bosses are considering a rule that would prevent the use of high-power modes in qualifying, with which rivals believe Mercedes have an advantage. But Hamilton said: “It is obviously to slow us down but
9:00 AM ET The worst thing about the New York Rangers winning the Alexis Lafrenière draft lottery is how their fans are going to absolutely mangle his name. My father grew up in the city. His first attempt at a pronunciation was “Lufthansa.” The Canadian hamlet of Saint-Eustache produced an exquisite French Canadian moniker —