8:00 AM ET The preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll is out. And yes, it features teams from conferences that won’t take the field this fall. While that might detract from some of its credence, there are some notable takeaways. Our pool of writers weigh in on what it all means: Let’s take it with
12:54 PM ET Steve KimESPN WBC/IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev will now defend both of his titles against Adam Deines on Sept. 25 in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Top Rank officials confirmed on Monday. Deines (19-1-1, 10 KOs), who was born in Russia but lives in Germany, steps in for original opponent Meng Fanlong, who is
8:35 AM ET Back-to-back early playoff exits were enough to make the Washington Capitals realize that they had made a mistake. In the two seasons since the team promoted top assistant Todd Reirden instead of giving Stanley Cup-winning coach Barry Trotz a raise, the Caps have been knocked out of the playoffs in the first
2:03 PM ET Steve KimESPN Josh Taylor, the WBA/IBF junior welterweight champion, will defend both belts on Sept. 26 against Apinun Khongsong at the BT Sports Studio from London, in a fight that will air on ESPN+. It will be Taylor’s first outing since his victory over Regis Prograis last October in the World Boxing
1:18 PM ET The Toronto Raptors say that Kyle Lowry has been diagnosed with a left ankle sprain and that his condition will be updated as appropriate. Toronto’s Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Boston Celtics begins on Thursday. With just a little more than three minutes left in the first quarter of Sunday’s Game
James Anderson was left just one shy of becoming only the fourth bowler to take 600 Test wickets as a combination of poor catching, bad weather and some determined Pakistan batting conspired against the England paceman at Southampton on Monday. Anderson, denied an early breakthrough when Jos Buttler dropped a routine chance to reprieve Shan
12:42 PM ET Carla Suarez Navarro, a two-time US Open quarterfinalist, has withdrawn from this year’s edition of the event. Suarez, 31, ranked No. 68, had previously withdrawn from the Western & Southern Open, currently underway at the National Tennis Center, citing unspecified health reasons. The US Open will follow immediately, beginning on Aug. 31.
7:00 AM ET MLB InsidersESPN The most unusual MLB trade deadline in the sport’s history is approaching, and we’ve got you covered with all of the trade rumors, reaction and analysis you need as your team ponders its next blockbuster move in a shortened 60-game 2020 season with the standings packed leading up to baseball’s
10:45 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Almost a year ago, when Major League Baseball’s postseason expansion plans first leaked, a league official was trying to sell the idea. It would be good for competitiveness, he said, and would
6:55 AM ET If it feels like I’ve prefaced every one of my columns recently by pointing out that the 2020 NFL season is going to be weird, it’s not an accident. We’re approaching a season in which it would be a pleasant surprise if each team were able to play all 16 games. Even
Indi Rae and Ivy Mae have been a frequent appearance on David Warner’s social media.© David Warner/Instagram David Warner and family have been an absolute revelation on social media ever since the COVID-19 pandemic trapped people inside their homes. Warner, his wife Candice and their daughters have frequently shown up on TikTok videos and Instagram
7:30 AM ET It is 12.40 a.m. and Thiago Silva is the first Paris Saint-Germain player to get off the bus at the Myriad hotel in Lisbon city centre, for the last time. Unlike in his dreams, though the captain is not holding the Champions League trophy. Instead, he passes to the entrance of the
9:06 AM ET Steve Kim Nick Parkinson Close •Reports on boxing for ESPN.co.uk, as well as several national newspapers•Has been reporting on British boxing for over 15 years•Appears on BoxNation’s Boxing Matters show After two cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic, WBC/WBO junior welterweight unified titlist Jose Ramirez will finally meet Viktor Postol on Saturday
5:48 PM ET Does the future of the UFC’s women’s featherweight division depend on Megan Anderson upsetting champion Amanda Nunes? And does Anderson have much of a chance? Those are two questions that surfaced from this past Friday’s news that the fight is being targeted for December. And what about Fedor Emelianenko protege Vadim Nemkov
2:53 AM BST Former All Blacks captain Kieran Read is to make a surprise return to New Zealand rugby for Counties Manukau in the country’s Mitre 10 Cup provincial championship that starts next month. Read, 34, left New Zealand after last year’s Rugby World Cup and played under his former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen
8:29 AM BST Australian rugby has made great strides over the last couple of months, and the inclusion of their Super Rugby teams in a joint competition with New Zealand is the next logical step, All Blacks coach Ian Foster believes. New Zealand and Australia have held their own editions of Super Rugby this year
7:35 AM ET The second round of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs is in full swing, and we’ve already got a bit of everything: tight games, blowouts, and controversies quelled — and that was all just on Sunday! While the Boston Bruins–Tampa Bay Lightning was in some question until the finish, the Vegas Golden Knights
4:57 PM ET Bayern Munich won their sixth Champions League title on Sunday evening in Lisbon thanks to Kingsley Coman’s second-half header against Paris Saint-Germain. It was Bayern’s first European title since 2013 and capped a remarkable season in which they wrapped up their Treble. It was a nervy first half and despite the expectation