7:00 AM ET Bradford Doolittle Close ESPN Staff Writer Sports reporter, Kansas City Star, 2002-09 Writer, Baseball, Baseball Prospectus Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus Member, Baseball Writers Association of America Member, Professional Basketball Writers Association David Schoenfield Close ESPN Senior Writer Covers MLB for ESPN.com Former deputy editor of Page 2 Been with ESPN.com since 1995
Steve Smith scored 59 and 27 in the third Test vs Pakistan.© AFP Australia batter Steve Smith on Thursday set the record for the fastest to reach 8000 Test runs, getting there one innings quicker than Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara. Smith got to the milestone during Australia’s second innings of the ongoing third Test
7:00 AM ET Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the biggest names in soccer who could miss out on the tournament. Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images Can you imagine a FIFA World Cup in Qatar without Portugal‘s Cristiano Ronaldo or Egypt‘s Mohamed Salah? Or a tournament in which European champions Italy or African champions Senegal fail to
8:00 AM ET Malachi Nelson, the No. 2 prospect in the 2023 class, recently flipped his commitment from Oklahoma to USC. Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times/Getty Images The 2023 recruiting cycle is in full swing with 67 of the ESPN Junior 300 recruits already committed. Notre Dame has gotten off to the best start thus
8:00 AM ET The NBA playoffs are less than a month away and both conferences feature seeding races that are sure to come down to the wire. Several top teams are missing key players who could return in time for the playoffs and help their teams’ postseason hopes. The No. 5 Chicago Bulls and No.
7:10 AM ET Before the 2022 NHL All-Star Skills Competition in Las Vegas earlier this season, St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou was asked about participating in the fastest skater event. Specifically, if the 23-year-old thought he could outpace Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid, who had won the competition three times. “I’m gonna try,” Kyrou
3:50 PM ET FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Cornerback Malcolm Butler is returning home, agreeing to a two-year deal worth up to $9 million with the New England Patriots, his agent Derek Simpson told ESPN. Butler spent the 2021 season on the reserve/retired list after signing with the Arizona Cardinals and practicing with them throughout training camp
8:00 AM ET IT WAS DARK on the Minnesota Timberwolves team plane as it took off from San Antonio late on the night of March 14, headed home to Minneapolis. But it wasn’t especially quiet. There was no chance of that after the game star center Karl-Anthony Towns just had, scoring a career-high 60 points
4:51 AM BST Reuters with ESPN staff Super Rugby Pacific organisers on Thursday announced new dates for four matches involving New Zealand sides that were postponed due to COVID-19. The match between the Hurricanes and Chiefs has been rescheduled for April 3, while the Highlanders will face Moana Pasifika on April 8. The Hurricanes’ game
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel could miss the second round of the Formula 1 season because of Covid-19 after his Aston Martin team confirmed that he is yet to travel Saudi Arabia for this weekend’s race. The German missed last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix after testing positive. He is yet to return a negative result
2:08 AM BST The shifting assessment of Taniela Tupou’s cleanout of Jahrome Brown tells you everything you need to know about rugby’s ongoing wrestle with foul play – and that the breakdown looms as the next likely flashpoint, potentially at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Tupou was on Wednesday night cleared of any wrongdoing, the
11:25 PM ET ESPN News Services OAKLAND, Calif. — Free-agent catcher Stephen Vogt has reached agreement on a major league contract to rejoin the Oakland Athletics, according to multiple reports. The deal with the two-time All-Star is pending a physical. Vogt, a 37-year-old journeyman who had become a minor league free agent this winter, spent
12:40 AM ET ESPN News Services MIAMI — Jimmy Butler and Udonis Haslem were shouting at each other, fingers were pointed in various directions, some Miami players were trying to play peacemaker and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra slammed a clipboard to the floor in frustration. And that wasn’t the evening’s low point for the Heat.
11:43 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com In her first news conference since announcing her immediate retirement from professional tennis, three-time major champion and current world No. 1 Ash Barty called her decision “scary but exciting” and said she was looking forward to working with Australian junior players in the near future, as well as spending time
South Africa have sealed their semi-final spot in the ICC Women’s World Cup.© AFP South Africa on Thursday became the second team to qualify for the semifinals of the ICC Women’s World Cup after their league match against West Indies was abandoned due to rain at the Basin Reserve. Both South Africa and West Indies
5:12 PM ET UFC star Conor McGregor was arrested for “alleged road traffic violations” Tuesday in his native Dublin, Ireland, his team confirmed Wednesday with ESPN. The Irish Independent was first to report the news. “Mr. McGregor was driving to the gym when he was stopped by [Irish police] for alleged road traffic violations,” McGregor
11:56 PM ET UFC star Jorge Masvidal was taken into custody Wednesday night in Miami Beach on charges of aggravated battery with bodily harm and criminal mischief, both of which are considered felonies, according to an arrest report obtained by ESPN. Masvidal was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center at 10:27 p.m. local time
2:17 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Naomi Osaka was greeted by some cheers when she walked onto the court, then got significantly louder ones when her work for the day was done. Maybe the comforts of home helped. Flashing the level of play that vaulted her to No. 1 in the world