Sports

9:21 AM ET With the UFC returning to action this weekend with its first card of 2023, it’s time once again for ESPN’s annual MMA rank. A two-step voting process involving ESPN’s MMA team set out to project which 30 fighters will have the best 2023. The final list features fighters across multiple promotions —

3:17 PM ET Alaina GetzenbergESPN BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was released from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center on Monday after spending almost a week in the hospital following his cardiac arrest on the field at Paycor Stadium. The news was shared by Dr. William Knight IV and Dr. Timothy Pritts

7:49 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN THE TORONTO RAPTORS are a rarity in the modern NBA: a franchise with options. Plenty of teams have sold off their draft picks to chase contention immediately. Plenty more have moved their stars to pursue futures built around young talent and the NBA draft. But Toronto is stuck somewhere in

Jan 9, 2023 Associated Press ADELAIDE, Australia — Petra Kvitova issued a reminder of her ability ahead of the Australian Open when she beat Elena Rybakina on Monday in a clash of Wimbledon champions at the Adelaide International. The 32-year-old Kvitova who won at Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014 relied on a powerful serve to

9:00 AM ET LOS ANGELES — There is no feeling in this world quite like reaching the pinnacle of your profession, whether that means hoisting a 35-pound College Football Playoff championship trophy on the floor of a Los Angeles stadium or being handed an 8½-pound Oscar in a nearby Hollywood auditorium. But no sooner has

5:46 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Jockey Manny Franco tied a New York Racing Association record with six victories on Friday’s nine-race card at Aqueduct. The 28-year-old rider from Puerto Rico tied a mark shared by Hall of Famers Steve Cauthen, Angel Cordero Jr., Javier Castellano, Mike Smith and Ron Turcotte, as well

Jan 6, 2023 The NHL Awards races had an upheaval since our last edition. (Well, except for the one where Patrice Bergeron is the leader. You know, like every year.) But the races for MVP, best defenseman, top rookie, most dominant goalie and coach of the year all have new favorites. Such are the unpredictable

2:04 PM ET A simmering feud between two of the most high-profile families in American soccer spilled over into a full-blown scandal this week as out-of-contract United States men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter went public with details of a decades-old domestic violence incident that was recently brought to the attention of U.S. Soccer by

9:34 AM GMT Scotland could be without fly-half Adam Hastings for next month’s Six Nations after his club Gloucester said he will require shoulder surgery, adding to coach Gregor Townsend’s injury problems in the build-up to the tournament. Hastings, who has 27 caps, damaged his shoulder in their 28-13 Premiership defeat to Leicester Tigers on

Jan 6, 2023 Is there one positional itch your favorite MLB team has that it can never quite scratch, at least to your satisfaction? Just as some ballclubs seem to have a feel for identifying standouts consistently at some spots over the years, others seem to flail at the same position year after year after

8:21 AM ET So much goes into a “breakout season” in mixed martial arts. One could argue, more so than in any other sport. A breakout season in MMA requires skill and preparation, but it also involves timing, health, luck and maybe a viral moment here and there. If you want to break out in

Jan 4, 2023 Pinehurst Resort, already the site of nine top-quality 18-hole golf courses, is adding No. 10. The North Carolina resort, which has hosted the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup in the past, announced Wednesday it will be constructing an additional golf course slated to open when

2:50 PM ET Detroit Pistons forward Marvin Bagley III has suffered a right hand injury and is expected to miss extended time, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. Bagley, who injured the hand in Monday’s 135-106 loss to Portland, is undergoing further evaluation to determine the next steps on the injury, sources said. Bagley has averaged

Jan 3, 2023 At long last, four years after their second bout, archrivals Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin met for a third time, but the September trilogy fight fell far short of the first two battles. It’s no surprise, of course, after boxing failed to deliver this matchup when both fighters were at their peak.

9:21 PM ET Alaina GetzenbergESPN CINCINNATI — Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin had his heartbeat restored on the field after suffering cardiac arrest during the team’s game Monday night against the Bengals, and he is currently in critical condition at a Cincinnati hospital, the Bills said in a statement early Tuesday morning. The chilling scene midway

1:10 PM ET Georgia tight end Darnell Washington has a strained ankle and soft-tissue bruise and is questionable to play against TCU in the College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T on Jan. 9. Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart told ESPN’s Marty Smith that Washington’s injury wasn’t a high ankle sprain and won’t require surgery,

Jan 2, 2023 Associated Press NEW YORK — Tennis great Martina Navratilova said Monday that she has been diagnosed with throat cancer and breast cancer. In a statement released by her representative, the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion and member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame said her prognosis is good and she will

Dec 30, 2022 There’s always that one surprise NHL team. The success story we don’t see coming. They’ve gone from missing the playoffs — usually by a sizable margin — to beginning the following season so well that it forces an inevitable question: Are they for real? This season’s Cinderella turn has belonged to the

Dec 31, 2022 Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — Giants executive Farhan Zaidi said the club expressed concerns to Carlos Correa‘s representative immediately when an issue arose with the shortstop’s physical exam that led to the deal collapsing. Zaidi, San Francisco’s president of baseball operations, spoke publicly Friday for the first time since the $350 million,

10:03 AM ET On the morning of June 11, 1975, a pack of rubbernecking New Yorkers gathers on West 52nd Street. They’re standing outside the venerable “21” club, a former speakeasy turned posh canteen to presidents, plutocrats and Hollywood grandees, drawn there by the steady drone of a police helicopter overhead — and, no doubt,