5:30 PM ET METAIRIE, La. — Drew Brees has been designated to return to practice, but New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton said the quarterback still has “a ways to go” in his recovery from 11 broken ribs and a punctured lung. “We haven’t ruled anything just because we don’t have to,” Payton told reporters
4:23 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Gordon Hayward‘s bad luck with injuries appears to have followed him to Charlotte. Hayward, who signed a four-year, $120 million contract with the Hornets last month after spending the past three seasons with the Boston Celtics, suffered an avulsion fracture of the fifth metacarpal on his right (shooting) hand in
6:34 AM ET Andy Murray has praised U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka and Manchester United‘s Marcus Rashford for their work in driving social change. Murray spoke in his BBC column on the importance of athletes speaking out and driving change. “In tennis, we saw Naomi Osaka decide she would not play in her Western and
7:00 AM ET Free agents on the whole tend to be a little older than the average player. The requirement of six or nearly seven big league seasons after some time in the minors puts most free agents around 30 years old or older. With most teams already slowing down the past few seasons when
Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir on Thursday announced that he is quitting international cricket. The 28-year-old pacer said that he does not think he can work with the current Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management and it is best for him to leave. He has promised a full statement soon. “To be honest, I don’t think I
4:12 PM ET LONDON — Mikel Arteta is still searching for a route out of Arsenal‘s malaise but keeping 11 men on the pitch might be a good place to start. As Gabriel jogged off, after being shown a second yellow card in the 62nd minute, midfielder Dani Ceballos turned to the assistant referee and
Formula 1’s governing body the FIA has confirmed the calendar for the longest season in history next year. There will be 23 grands prix held, starting in Australia on 21 March and ending in Abu Dhabi on 6 December. The British Grand Prix at Silverstone will be on 18 July and the Brazilian Grand Prix
12:15 AM ET Undefeated IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant will defend his belt against former titleholder Caleb Truax on January 30. The bout will headline a Premier Boxing Champions card airing on FOX. The fight was announced on Wednesday’s PBC broadcast and by Plant on Twitter. Plant, 28, is undefeated at 20-0 with 12
7:15 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN It was a normal Tuesday for Giannis Antetokounmpo, outside of inking a big business deal. He ate dinner with family, visited the Buy Buy Baby store in Wisconsin to shop for toys and clothes for his infant son, Liam, then went home and fell asleep, only to wake up for
6:58 PM ET LIVERPOOL, England — There were only 2,000 fans inside Anfield to celebrate Roberto Firmino‘s 90th-minute winner for Liverpool against Tottenham Hotspur, but the noise that the small crowd generated told you everything about the importance of the Brazilian forward’s late header. Firmino knew too, as his celebratory run deep into his own
8:00 AM ET Men’s tennis’s governing body has announced the Australian Open will start on February 8, three weeks later than planned. While Tennis Australia and the Victorian and Australian governments are yet to confirm, the ATP on Thursday revealed its revised 2021 calendar with the Melbourne Park grand slam front and centre of pandemic-forced
8:32 PM ET Associated Press DENVER — Bud Black hears the Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story trade rumors, and he is entertained. It’s just that time of year, the Colorado Rockies manager contended Wednesday in a Zoom call. “My expectation is that they’ll be with us come Opening Day,” Black said of his star players.
6:36 PM ET American Athletic Conference commissioner Michael Aresco strongly criticized the College Football Playoff selection committee for dropping undefeated Cincinnati another spot in its rankings — behind three two-loss teams. During an interview on the Paul Finebaum Show on Wednesday, Aresco said the CFP selection committee needed to do some “soul searching” and is
7:53 PM ET Associated Press LONDON — The Australian Open is set to begin Feb. 8, three weeks later than planned, as part of a pandemic-altered 2021 tennis calendar released by the men’s professional tour Wednesday. The ATP said that men’s qualifying for the season’s first Grand Slam tournament is being moved to Doha, Qatar,
Britain’s Chris Froome will make his debut for Israel Start-Up nation in January’s Vuelta San Juan in Argentina. Froome struggled for form last season following injury in 2019 and was not selected for this year’s Tour. “This will mark the beginning of a much-anticipated new chapter of my career,” said Froome, 35. The eight-day race
4:55 PM ET ESPN News Services NFL owners have delayed a decision on implementing a 17-game regular season for 2021. During a teleconference call Wednesday that replaced the usual December gathering of owners in Dallas, they opted to push back any move on the expanded season until early in 2021. The NFL and the players’
4:52 PM ET UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili‘s next fight is still up in the air. Most expected Zhang to fight former 115-pound champion Rose Namajunas in 2021, but UFC president Dana White recently told BT Sport that fight wasn’t finalized. “What I’m hearing is Rose does not want a title shot,” White said. “Rose
11:45 AM ET Yoel Romero said his release from the UFC was “completely unexpected,” explaining that he was training with the hope that he would be one or two wins from another title shot. Instead, Romero will now work toward getting a shot at a Bellator title, and he said there’s a “huge possibility” his