1:00 AM ET Manouk Akopyan LOS ANGELES — Filipino featherweight Mark Magsayo was starstruck the first time he met his idol Manny Pacquiao on the Philippines senate floor on Dec. 5, 2017. The moment occurred on his wife and manager Frances’ birthday and a week after he scored his 18th professional win. Pacquiao publicly praised
4:05 PM ET Corey LaJoie will miss Sunday’s race at Michigan because of NASCAR’s COVID-19 protocols. LaJoie posted “Protocols” on Twitter in what appeared to be clarification that he has not tested positive for COVID-19 and was missing the race because of NASCAR’s pandemic rules. Spire Motorsports said Thursday that Josh Berry will replace LaJoie
4:20 PM ET ESPN News Services The Dallas Mavericks are hiring two-time WNBA champion Kristi Toliver as an assistant coach, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Toliver has previous NBA coaching experience. She spent parts of two seasons as an assistant on the Washington Wizards’ staff. Toliver is currently playing for the Los Angeles Sparks where
8:00 AM ET This time a year ago, only a few conferences were planning to play college football because of COVID-19 concerns. Therefore, ESPN’s preseason All-America team was reduced to a smaller pool of players. But our 2021 team is back to full strength, and 14 of the 26 players are on teams ranked in
7:23 AM ET NFL NationESPN Minnesota Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson, Los Angeles Rams corner Jalen Ramsey and Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith are among the many NFL stars who have switched this season to numbers that are nontraditional for their positions. The league relaxed its restrictions on positional numbering earlier this year, opening the door
2:57 PM ET Associated Press CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Nelly Korda‘s sensational summer form is showing no sign of dipping. Two weeks after winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, the top-ranked Korda began her bid for a second major title in two months by shooting 5-under 67 to share the first-round lead at the
9:15 AM ET Social media is a boon for athletes because it allows them to speak directly to the world. No filters, no club press officers, no sponsor PR reps, no misquotes. Just their voice, with their chosen words and the opportunity to clarify and rectify. Somebody probably should have told Cristiano Ronaldo’s social media
1:26 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN In the end, Canelo Alvarez got his man. Boxing’s top star and Caleb Plant have agreed to terms for a November pay-per-view fight, sources told ESPN, that will be presented by PBC along with Canelo Promotions. The deal ends weeks of stop-and-start negotiations between ESPN’s No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer and
12:20 PM ET The NHL will allow teams to sell advertising on their jerseys beginning in the 2022-23 season. The measure has been approved by the board of governors, and teams are already having exploratory conversations with potential sponsors. To say those teams are salivating at the potential revenue the ads will generate is an
BCCI issued a new itinerary for Indian domestic cricket season 2021-22.© AFP The BCCI has issued a fresh itinerary for domestic cricket in India with the 2021-22 season of the Ranji Trophy tournament scheduled to be played between January 5 to March 20. The Ranji Trophy wasn’t held during last season due to the COVID-19
7:00 AM ET We’re more than halfway through August, and teams are making a statement in the MLB playoff races ahead of the final stretch. Have the Yankees surpassed the Red Sox in our rankings? Are the surging Braves finally in the top 10? Who’s on top in the seemingly eternal battle between the Dodgers
11:00 AM ET Auston Matthews played it coy when asked what EA Sports identified as his “X-Factor” in its new NHL 22 game. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say that I’ve got a good shot in the game. Maybe some good goal-scoring abilities,” said the Toronto Maple Leafs center, who last season
9:32 AM BST Flyhalf Handre Pollard as said winning is the priority for South Africa, not playing entertaining rugby, in response to continued criticism of the Springboks’ style of play. The world champions, who defeated the British & Irish Lions 2-1 in their recent series, have been roundly criticised for what is perceived as a
8:02 AM ET Genah Fabian‘s phone rang the night of May 23. It was a video call from Carlos Ulberg, her teammate at City Kickboxing in New Zealand. For nearly a week, Fabian had been distraught. Fau Vake, another teammate, was clinging to life in a Wellington hospital after being brutally assaulted six days earlier
6:20 PM ET Danny Lewis The summer transfer window is into its final month for the major European leagues, which means the biggest clubs are looking to make a splash in the market before the new season begins. Check out the latest gossip below, and see all official deals here. TOP STORY: Bayern keen on
10:47 PM ET ESPN News Services DETROIT — Shohei Ohtani hit his 40th homer and pitched eight sharp innings, helping the Los Angeles Angels beat Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit Tigers 3-1 on Wednesday night. The crowd of 27,282 was hoping to see Cabrera hit his 500th career homer, but the slugger went 1 for
7:00 AM ET The first handful of games of the 2021 college football season are less than two weeks away, with everything really kicking into gear over Labor Day weekend. It will be an opportunity to see some of the top prospects in the 2022 NFL draft class, including a bunch of talented quarterbacks. As
12:36 PM ET HOUSTON — The allegations of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior against Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson are being investigated by the FBI, Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said Wednesday. Hardin also said that Watson spoke to the FBI about allegations of extortion regarding one of the 23 lawsuits filed against the quarterback, of which