4:19 PM BST Rugby World Cup winner Steve Thompson, who was diagnosed with dementia aged 42, has pledged to donate his brain for research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the former England hooker said on Thursday. Thompson is one of a group of nine former players who filed a class-action lawsuit against World Rugby and
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3:50 PM ET Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz will face in-form Andy Murray in the quarterfinals of the Moselle Open in Metz, France after he eased past Lucas Pouille in straight sets on Thursday. No. 1 seed Hurkacz took just 68 minutes to cruise to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Pouille, putting in a dominant display as
8:00 AM ET Our NBArank countdown is back for its 11th season. Which players are beginning their ascent up the league’s hierarchy? Who is on the verge of breaking into the superstar tier? To get the final NBArank prediction, we asked our expert panel to vote on pairs of players: Kevin Durant vs. James Harden,
8:00 AM ET NEW YORK — Getting a photo with an NHL star would be on the short list of life goals for many hockey fans. At the league’s new retail space at One Manhattan West, that dream can become a reality. Well, an augmented reality, at least. When the NHL moved its corporate headquarters
Max Verstappen has rejected Lewis Hamilton’s suggestion that he could be feeling the pressure of their title fight. Hamilton said he “remembers what it was like battling for my first championship and “knows the pressure that comes with it”. But Verstappen replied sarcastically: “I am so nervous I can barely sleep! It is so horrible
7:00 AM ET Everyone has their favorite harbingers that a new NHL season is upon us. Fresh ice. Awkward player photos. Unsigned restricted free agents threatening to sit out of meaningless games. Optimism in Toronto. Mine? The preseason penalty crackdown. Every year, the NHL’s hockey operations department, egged on by disgruntled and aggrieved general managers,
8:00 AM ET Marc Ratner was sitting cageside at UFC 255 last Nov. 21 in Las Vegas. It was part of his usual routine, one the UFC vice president of regulatory affairs had upheld for hundreds of fight nights. When a video started playing on the UFC Apex screen, though, things started to feel different
The inaugural Miami Grand Prix will be held on 6-8 May next year. Miami Grand Prix chief executive officer Richard Cregan said the circuit has “our date confirmed with Formula 1”. Miami becomes the second F1 race to reveal its scheduling for 2022 after Silverstone said this month that the British Grand Prix will be
2:33 AM BST ESPN staff World Rugby has reinforced its commitment to improving player welfare with the introduction of guidelines for the amount of contact and set-piece training undertaken each week. In conjunction with International Rugby Players [IRP], World Rugby has created guidelines that will seek to reduce the amount of injuries “while maintaining or
6:35 AM BST Wallabies coach Dave Rennie and All Blacks counterpart Ian Foster both say they were unaware of World Rugby’s move to place a limit on the amount of full contact players are involved in at training. The governing body on Thursday [AEST] released a set of “guidelines” which it hopes will lead to
3:42 PM ET Andy Murray saw off Vasek Pospisil in straight sets to advance into the quarterfinals at the Moselle Open in Metz on Wednesday. The three-time Grand Slam champion eased to a 6-3, 6-3 victory, reaching his first ATP Tour quarterfinal this year. Murray, 34, dominated the opening exchanges, nearly breaking Pospisil in the
Haas will continue with Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin as their driver line-up in Formula 1 next year. The move, which was always the plan when they signed the two rookies for 2021, was confirmed before this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix. Team principal Gunther Steiner said: “2021 has afforded both drivers the opportunity to learn
6:18 PM ET Associated Press INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Naomi Osaka pulled out of the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday, a move that was expected after she indicated following her US Open loss this month that she planned to take another extended break from tennis. The withdrawal was announced by the official Twitter feed for
6:39 PM ET Associated Press Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep will no longer be coached by Darren Cahill. Halep announced the split “after six wonderful years working together” via a Twitter post on Wednesday, saying that she and Cahill “have decided that it’s time to end our working relationship.” Halep won the French Open
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix from the back of the grid as a result of using a new, upgraded engine. The new power-unit features a revised hybrid system that provides a significant performance upgrade. Leclerc has already used his permitted number of engines this season so a new one means
The Monaco Grand Prix is to undergo a historic change of format next season by changing to a three-day weekend. Traditionally, Monaco has been held over four days, with the first practice day on Thursday, and Friday a free day for Formula 1 teams and drivers. But to add flexibility to F1’s calendar choices, the
7:46 AM ET HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Brian Ortega was feeling good, like his career and his life had been elevated to the next level. It was December 2018, and Ortega was invited to a holiday party at the Los Angeles home of actor Robert Downey Jr. Sure, a few weeks earlier Ortega had lost
12:53 AM ET Associated Press BENSALEM, Pa. — Medina Spirit, the Kentucky Derby winner who failed a postrace drug test, won’t run in Saturday’s $1 million Pennsylvania Derby. Embattled Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said Tuesday he is going to keep the colt in California and run in the $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes against