7:30 AM ET ON JULY 18, 2002, Kobe Bryant approached Rucker Park, the streetball institution in Harlem. He wore a powder blue sleeveless shirt and dark shades; an oversized key-pendant swung from his chain with each step. Onlookers sprinted toward the park’s metal fencing, meant to separate superstars from the streets, to catch a glimpse.
8:25 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim Keeping alive a quest to pocket $1 million would seem to be all the motivation Ray Cooper III really needs as he heads into Friday’s PFL welterweight playoff semifinal (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2/ESPN+). But Cooper does have an added incentive driving his desire to defeat Rory MacDonald. It has nothing
6:15 AM ET IN NORMAL TIMES, Tony Grimes exudes a boisterous, outgoing personality. His dad, Deon Glover, operates a fleet of ferry boats that shuttle passengers between Portsmouth and Norfolk, Virginia, and Grimes and his twin brother, Tino, grew up working customer service, taking tickets and chatting up customers. Grimes’ dad knows everyone, and by
5:41 AM ET Former world heavyweight champion boxer David Haye will return to the ring after a three-year absence to fight Joe Fournier next month, the 40-year-old Briton said on Thursday. Haye, who won the world heavyweight title in 2009 when he beat Nikolai Valuev, retired in 2018 with a 28-4 record following a re-match
Aston Martin have withdrawn their appeal against Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification from second place in the Hungarian Grand Prix. The German was thrown out of the results after his car was found to have less than the mandatory one litre of fuel remaining for post-race testing. Aston Martin withdrew their appeal “on the basis that we
6:21 AM ET The process for my annual preview series is pretty straightforward: set some early projections in February (check), embark on a conference-by-conference preview series (check), then update the projections in August to account for roster movement. With the preview series officially in the books, it’s time for step three. SP+ is my opponent-
10:13 PM ET ESPN News Services Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes tied a major league record by striking out 10 consecutive batters during Wednesday night’s start against the Chicago Cubs. Burnes’ record-tying strikeout came in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Cubs first baseman Frank Schwindel whiffed on an 88 mph slider at Chicago’s
4:42 AM ET Lionel Messi‘s transfer to Paris St Germain included a payment in cryptocurrency fan tokens, a source close to the matter said, providing another big name endorsement for new digital assets. Messi, 34, left Spanish side Barcelona and signed a two-year contract with PSG, with an option for a third year, on Tuesday.
8:55 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Wimbledon quarterfinalist Felix Auger-Aliassime and countryman Denis Shapovalov were ousted from the National Bank Open in their native Canada on Wednesday. Auger-Aliassime lost his first match, falling 7-5, 6-4 to Dusan Lajovic. Shapovalov dropped a 6-1, 6-4 decision to American Frances Tiafoe. Auger-Aliassime, who’s from Montreal, was the
12:42 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN WBA president Gilberto Mendoza told ESPN on Wednesday that he is suspending judge Gloria Martinez Rizzo for six months following her highly controversial scorecard in the Mykal Fox-Gabriel Maestre interim welterweight title fight and the uncovering of racist tweets on an account belonging to her. Mendoza said he will meet
1:11 AM BST ESPN staff Crusaders flyer Will Jordan has been handed a start in Bledisloe II at Eden Park on Saturday night. Jordan is one of two changes to New Zealand’s backline, with Rieko Ioane shifting from the wing to outside centre at the expense of Anton Lienert-Brown. Jordan’s inclusion on the right wing
ENG vs IND: Stuart Broad has been ruled out of the ongoing India series.© AFP England fast bowler Stuart Broad is in no hurry and will take time to prepare for the Ashes after being ruled out of the entire Test series against India. Broad has sustained a tear to his right calf. He underwent
8:15 AM BST Liam Napier Style versus substance. Or, more to the point, why not have both? The recently-completed British & Irish Lions series, won 2-1 by the Springboks, was a bore. There’s no other way to say it. Sir Graham Henry described the series as a tough watch; All Blacks coach Ian Foster said
5:35 PM ET ESPN News Services Los Angeles Dodgers star outfielder Mookie Betts has been placed on the injured list with a right hip injury, manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday. Roberts said Betts would fly back to Los Angeles from Philadelphia and meet with doctors on Thursday.. “We’re going to have some more experts chime
11:56 AM ET The Seattle Seahawks are releasing defensive end Aldon Smith, a source confirmed to ESPN. Smith was arrested in April for an alleged second-degree battery, two days after after he signed with the Seahawks, after he was accused of choking a man unconscious during an altercation that began inside a coffee shop. According
8:53 PM ET Associated Press OAKMONT, Pa. — Mark Goetz was the medalist among the 64 qualifiers Wednesday in the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont and managed only four holes of the first round when the rain-delayed championship was suspended by darkness. Ricky Castillo, a junior-to-be at Florida, was in the only one of the 16
4:00 PM ET ESPN staff As teams prep for this weekend’s 2021 preseason games, quarterbacks took the spotlight at training camp practices on Wednesday. The Ravens’ Lamar Jackson had his most accurate day of camp, Zach Wilson looked comfortable for the Jets, and Jordan Love prepared to start in the Packers’ preseason games on Aaron
8:55 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Wimbledon quarterfinalist Felix Auger-Aliassime lost his first match at the National Bank Open in his native Canada, falling 7-5, 6-4 to Dusan Lajovic on Wednesday. Auger-Aliassime, who’s from Montreal, was the ninth seed in the tournament and had a bye into the second round. He was coming off