11:47 PM ET LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers finally unveiled the franchise’s 17th NBA championship banner at Staples Center on Wednesday night, and LeBron James used the occasion to set his sights on No. 18. “We said we would not unveil this banner until we had some of you guys in the seats,
7:00 AM ET After the NHL staged a 24-team, bubble-based tournament to determine the Stanley Cup winner in 2020, we’re back to a more traditional 16-team event in 2021 — with a significant twist. The first two rounds of the 2021 playoffs will be intradivisional. After a winner is crowned from the four divisions, the
6:03 AM ET Associated Press PARMA, Italy — Serena Williams has accepted a wild-card invitation to play at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma starting this weekend. The move came immediately after Williams lost in straight sets to Nadia Podoroska at the Italian Open on Wednesday in her first match in nearly three months. “Maybe I
6:51 PM ET A short run of success can be extremely misleading. And when you make a few huge decisions based in part on a really short run of success, it can set you back for quite a while. Last summer during Project Restart, Arsenal beat league champions Liverpool and took down both Manchester City
9:00 PM ET The 2021 NFL schedule was released on Wednesday. Can quarterback Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers repeat as champs? Brady kicks off the NFL season Thursday, Sept. 9 with the Dallas Cowboys at the Buccaneers. ESPN’s Monday Night Football opener is Sept. 13 will feature the Las Vegas Raiders hosting the
9:15 PM ET ESPN NFL experts The 2021 NFL schedule is out, and the regular season will begin with the Dallas Cowboys facing the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday, Sept. 9. Week 1 also features a meeting of AFC powerhouses in the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns, the New Orleans Saints
9:53 PM ET The UFC is targeting a five-round middleweight fight between Darren Till and Derek Brunson in August, UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Wednesday. The bout is close to being finalized but still needs medical clearance, White said. Once finalized, it will headline a UFC Fight Night event on Aug. 14 at
8:58 PM ET The women’s golf NCAA regional in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was abruptly canceled Wednesday before the tournament even started. NCAA committee representative Brad Hurlbut walked down the stairs at LSU’s University Club and announced to players and coaches that the golf course was playable, but was not championship-level playable due to rain and
9:39 PM ET The UFC is close to finalizing a middleweight main event between Paulo Costa and Jared Cannonier for a UFC Fight Night in August, UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Wednesday. Contracts have not been signed, but the 185-pound contest is expected to become official shortly. The fight will headline UFC Fight
6:29 PM ET NEW YORK — James Harden returned to the Brooklyn Nets‘ lineup on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs after missing more than a month with a hamstring strain. Still, the Nets will have to wait, once again, to see their Big Three in action. Kyrie Irving was not playing in Wednesday’s game
8:13 PM ET Mechelle VoepelESPN.com Close Mechelle Voepel covers the WNBA, women’s college basketball, and other college sports for espnW. Voepel began covering women’s basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996. It’s been 13 years since three-time U.S. Women’s Open winner Annika Sorenstam played a United States Golf Association event. But that
8:43 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An appeals officer ruled Wednesday that JR Motorsports did not violate any rules when NASCAR disqualified Noah Gragson at Darlington Raceway. The decision restored the fourth-place finish Gragson earned Saturday in the Xfinity Series race and he can collect the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus he’d won.
5:36 PM ET The New York Yankees have confirmed seven COVID-19 positives on their coaching and support staff, manager Aaron Boone announced Wednesday. The new positives include pitching coach Matt Blake. The Yankees announced Tuesday that third-base coach Phil Nevin and first-base coach Reggie Willits had tested positive for COVID-19. Six of the seven people
7:39 PM ET Associated Press Eastern Washington quarterback Eric Barriere, Sacred Heart running back Julius Chestnut and VMI receiver Jakob Herres are among the Walter Payton Award finalists highlighting The Associated Press FCS All-America team released Wednesday. The Championship Subdivision’s spring season, pushed back nearly six months because of the pandemic, will conclude Sunday with
6:36 PM ET LONDON — Perhaps Chelsea felt they didn’t have enough to play for as it is. Either side of this weekend’s FA Cup final and the Champions League final at the end of the month, the Blues now face a needlessly nervous end to their Premier League campaign after slipping to a 1-0
Australia’s Caleb Ewan won stage five of the Giro d’Italia, but one of the general classification favourites, Mikel Landa, crashed out in Cattolica. Ewan came from behind to outsprint Italy’s Giacomo Nizzolo and Elia Viviani and win his fourth career Giro stage. Spain’s Landa was unable to finish and left in an ambulance after crashing
7:00 AM ET It’s time for the 10th Annual Luke Walton All-Stars, honoring journeymen and guys who have fought to stick in the NBA. (Learn about the origins of the column here.) Brown walked into the Detroit Pistons practice facility in November when his phone blew up: After a solid second season, the Pistons were
4:50 PM ET Associated Press LAWRENCE, Kan. — New Kansas coach Lance Leipold is retaining longtime assistant Emmett Jones, who had served as the Jayhawks’ interim coach when the program was missing both a football coach and athletic director. Leipold, who was hired away from Buffalo two weeks ago, announced the majority of his staff