8:00 AM ET Sam MillerESPN.com Close ESPN baseball columnist/feature writerFormer editor-in-chief of Baseball ProspectusCo-author of “The Only Rule Is It Has To Work” It became clear a couple of years ago that Major League Baseball and its commissioner, Rob Manfred, were working toward an inevitable introduction of weird extra-innings rules, and in this space we
8:00 AM ET I was on the beach three weeks ago on July 9. The day was ending, and I was packing up my family’s gear to leave the shore and head back to the house for dinner when a man startled me with a “HEY!” He was walking directly toward me, overcooked by the
10:13 AM ET For what has to be the first time this year, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes wasn’t No. 1. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, the reigning NFL MVP, captured the top spot in The NFL Network’s Top 100 players of 2020, while Mahomes was No. 4. Mahomes, the Super Bowl MVP, was
6:41 AM ET After 20 full weeks on hiatus, the 2019-20 NBA season is finally ready to restart. In case you’d forgotten, the Milwaukee Bucks lead the Eastern Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers are atop the West, the Memphis Grizzlies are clinging to the West’s 8-seed and the Toronto Raptors are still — more than
8:59 AM ET Steve KimESPN Boxing was one of the first sports to return to action as the world continued its battle with COVID-19. Starting in early June, Top Rank created a bubble inside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and put on fights multiple times a week for fans of the sweet science to
6:51 AM ET Roman ModrowskiESPN.com Ronda Rousey believes undefeated middleweight Edmen Shahbazyan will win UFC gold one day, and when that day comes, the man who coached both fighters will unload a burden he has been carrying since Rousey’s last loss. “Once he wins the title, I’m going to tell everybody to shut up and
6:53 AM ET Naomi Osaka will play in next month’s U.S. Open in New York, the 2018 champion’s management team has told Reuters. Several media reports had said she had not registered for the tournament and had decided to skip the event, which kicks off on Aug. 31 and will be played under strict bio-security
7:45 AM ET Rory McIlroy has said he may not return to Europe from the United States this year due to the risks associated with travelling amid the coronavirus pandemic. McIlroy, who is in the field for the PGA Tour’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational this week, will play in the U.S. Open in September but
6:59 AM ET ESPN.com staff It’s almost time to hit the ice again. With NHL qualification-round series beginning Saturday, it’s time to take a look at odds for those matchups as well as futures bets. Who will advance from the East? From the West? Who will skate the Stanley Cup? Here are the updated odds
6:43 AM ET Three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray has said tennis is “missing a trick” by not including more team events involving both men and women on the main tours. Mixed doubles is currently played only at the four Grand Slams on the professional tennis circuit. “I think sports miss a bit of a
7:00 AM ET NHL Insiders NHL hockey is coming back! After a nearly five-month pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, the postseason will get under way Saturday. First up is the qualification round and round-robin seeding component, and the schedule includes five to six games per day. With games staggered throughout the day, this event
4:27 AM ET The coronavirus pandemic has made the transfer market uncertain — and you can find out when the windows open here — but here are the rumours floating around Europe’s big leagues and beyond. TOP STORY: Grealish to be a Gunner? Arsenal have registered their interest in signing Aston Villa attacking midfielder Jack
2:25 PM ET Denver Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly has spoken with Michael Porter Jr. about the second-year forward theorizing the coronavirus pandemic is “being used for population control.” Connelly did not make a statement, but Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said he learned about Porter’s comments — which were made on a
1:00 AM ET Back in spring training, when the sign-stealing revelations were new and the wounds were fresh, Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Alex Wood made a prophetic point when considering the possibility of retaliating against Houston Astros hitters this season. “Somebody will take it into their own hands,” Wood said, “and they’ll get suspended
12:10 AM ET Mike Babcock, fired as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this season, has been named a volunteer adviser for the University of Vermont’s men’s hockey team. Catamounts coach Todd Woodcroft, who has worked on staffs with Babcock, had a unique opportunity to add the NHL’s eighth-winningest coach to his program. Babcock,
3:50 PM ET ESPN staff The news from 2020 NFL training camps on Wednesday was good for teams who drafted quarterbacks. In Miami, Tua Tagovailoa received full medical clearance, meaning the No. 5 overall pick should be able to practice fully when the Dolphins begin on-field work in mid-August. In Cincinnati, coach Zac Taylor is
6:45 PM ET ESPN staff World number one Ashleigh Barty has confirmed that she will not play in the U.S. Open due to the coronavirus pandemic. Barty, the reigning French Open champion, said in a statement on Thursday (AEST). “My team and I have decided that we won’t be travelling to the U.S. for the