Sports

9:00 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Serena Williams lost her first match since telling the world she is ready to leave professional tennis. No one knows exactly how many more matches Williams will play before walking away, and the 23-time Grand Slam champion exited the National Bank Open on Wednesday night with a 6-2,

8:17 AM ET Doug KezirianESPN Close ESPN Sports Betting Analyst Host of Daily Wager Behind The Bets podcast host The Boston Celtics, the consensus betting favorite to win the 2022-23 NBA title, have the highest projected win total for next season at 54.5 at Caesars Sportsbook, which released its numbers Wednesday. The Phoenix Suns have

6:01 AM ET HOUSTON — WEARING BLACK Crocs accented with two Fast U buttons, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris shuffles through the doors of O Athletik just after 9 a.m. Muhammad Ali’s likeness stretches across the back of his black T-shirt. A black Nike boxing backpack is slung over a shoulder. Inside the cavernous

9:00 AM ET GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Joshua Thompson walks across the street from his office inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium earlier this year, puts on a hardhat and begins a tour of the future home of Florida football. He has recently been hired as new coach Billy Napier’s director of football operations, and he’s impressed

6:53 AM ET The World Junior Championship is a holiday hockey tradition like no other. This year is an exception. The tournament is still coming your way during peak vacation time, only now it’s happening mid-summer, rather than post-Christmas. Confused? Let’s recap. The 2022 WJC was set to be played as usual last December. Due

8:11 PM ET CHICAGO — He’ll forever be known in Chicago for ‘the speech,’ but Jason Heyward‘s time as a Cub is winding down, despite having one more year left on his contract. Heyward, 32, won’t be back with the Cubs for an eighth season in 2023, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Monday.

8:57 PM ET Associated Press BROOKLYN, Mich. — Kevin Harvick got his groove back, fittingly at one of his favorite tracks. Harvick ended a 65-race winless drought that lasted nearly two years with his sixth victory at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday. “Good timing, for sure,” he said. Harvick’s win shakes up the playoff race

3:01 AM BST Beaten 2-1 by England last month, the Wallabies open their Rugby Championship away to Argentina in Mendoza in front of what will no doubt be a hostile crowd. The South Americans, too, are buoyant after a series victory over Scotland, the 2-1 triumph clinched in dramatic fashion after the final siren to

9:51 AM ET LONDON — Fulham showed they don’t want to be in the Premier League just to make up the numbers again as they came close to beating Liverpool at Craven Cottage, with the game finishing as a 2-2 draw.. – Report: Fulham 1-0 Liverpool | Premier League table | Next Prem fixtures Aleksandar

7:35 PM ET Associated Press EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Cool Papa Bell scored the biggest upset in the history of the Hambletonian, charging late to edge filly Joviality S by three-quarters of a length in a wild finish to the most prestigious race for 3-year-old in trotting. The stunning victory by the 52-1 shot gave

6:31 PM ET The UFC has its Madison Square Garden main event. Israel Adesanya will defend his UFC middleweight title against old rival Alex Pereira in the headliner of UFC 281 on Nov. 12 in New York, Adesanya announced Friday on SportsCenter. Pereira owns two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing, including one via knockout. ESPN

7:35 AM ET 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 getting knocked out of the ring in a jarring defeat five months ago, Michael Conlan would have been forgiven had he chosen an

7:00 PM ET As soon as the PGA Tour suspended players who competed in the rival LIV Golf Invitational Series, it seemed inevitable that the circuits’ battle for the best players in the world would end up in a courtroom. On Wednesday, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and nine other LIV Golf players field an antitrust

5:00 PM ET Editor’s note: This originally ran Monday and has been updated with the news the NFL is appealing Deshaun Watson’s six-game suspension, seeking a tougher penalty for violating the league’s personal conduct policy based on accusations ranging from inappropriate behavior to sexual assault during massage sessions. More than two years after the first

Aug 1, 2022 The NBA is investigating possible tampering charges involving the New York Knicks‘ free agent pursuit and signing of former Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson, sources confirmed to ESPN. Teams weren’t allowed to make contact with an agent or a player to discuss a deal prior to 6 p.m. ET on June 30,

7:00 AM ET Welcome to trade deadline day. We finally got a rush of action on Monday, so let’s see if the momentum holds into what should be a busy day. The deadline comes at 6 p.m. ET, so that gives Padres GM A.J. Preller a few extra afternoon hours to swing a deal …

7:00 AM ET ESPN staff The changes rippling through college football in the past two years have been impossible to ignore, but what has often been overlooked amid the upheaval is the people driving that change. ESPN looked at 10 key areas where the sport is in flux, and we identified 11 of the biggest

Aug 2, 2022 D’Arcy MaineESPN.com For one memorable set on Monday night in front of a sold-out crowd at the Citi Open, Venus Williams seemed to have rediscovered her former dominance. Battling the lingering heat and humidity of the Washington, D.C., evening — and Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino across the net — Williams chased down

Aug 1, 2022 The NHL free agency frenzy has calmed in recent days, as general managers retreat to their cottages and teams calculate their remaining salary-cap space. There are still significant names available on the unrestricted free agent market, including some who could be game-changers for the right team. Will they find the contracts they’re

Jul 31, 2022 Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Tyler Reddick this month already grabbed his first Cup career victory, qualified for NASCAR’s playoffs and signed a big contract with a new team. Now he’s got a victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Reddick closed the best month of his career with an overtime win Sunday on the