Sports

7:49 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim After Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa finish flinging menacing leather in each other’s direction on Saturday night in Houston, in the co-main event of UFC 271, it will be time for the real show. That’s not a reference to the main event between UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and former

5:13 PM GMT France began their bid for a first Six Nations title since 2010 with a 37-10 bonus-point win over Italy at a rain-soaked Stade de France on Sunday, as winger Gabin Villiere ran in a hat-trick. Italy, looking for a first Championship win since 2015 and their first ever victory in Paris, took

8:25 AM ET A not-so-great-week for professional golf, with plenty of discussion of rival tours and “obnoxious greed,” ended with two accomplishments that can surely bring everyone together. At the Saudi International, Harold Varner III sank an 90-foot eagle putt from off the green to win for the first time in six years and only

4:40 PM ET The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired Indiana Pacers guard Caris LeVert in a trade, sources told ESPN on Sunday, a significant addition to one of the most promising young rosters in the Eastern Conference. LeVert goes to the Cavaliers with a 2022 second-round pick via Miami for Ricky Rubio‘s expiring contract, a lottery-protected

6:09 PM ET Marcel Louis-JacquesESPN The Dolphins are working on a deal with San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel to make him their next head coach, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. When a deal is done it will mark the end of a nearly month-long search since the Dolphins fired Brian Flores on Jan.

6:00 PM ET The future of Auburn coach Bryan Harsin remains in flux, as the school’s outgoing president has indicated it is “moving quickly” to make the “appropriate decision” on Harsin’s future. Harsin has come under scrutiny by the university amid the exit of 20 players and five assistant coaches. Auburn’s first-year head coach went

7:00 AM ET Inner-circle Hall of Famers. The best player in the game today. A couple of PED-tainted superstars. Our ranking of the 100 greatest MLB players of all time comes down to the top 25. Dozens of ESPN writers and editors submitted more than 20,000 votes (see full methodology here) to determine the final

8:53 PM ET Associated Press MONTREAL — Former NHL enforcer Chris Nilan says he was fired from a Montreal sports radio station for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccine. In a letter posted to social media Thursday advising listeners of his departure from TSN 690, the 63-year-old Nilan said a request for an exemption was

7:31 AM ET “The Colosseum. Oh, you should see the Colosseum, Spaniard. Fifty-thousand Romans. Watching every movement of your sword. Willing you to make that killer blow. The silence before you strike. And the noise afterwards. It rises. It rises up like … like a storm. As if you were the thunder god himself.” —

12:25 AM ET ST. PAUL, Minn. — The U.S. men’s national team can breathe again. It can feel its fingers and toes again, too, as a 3-0 win over Honduras in frigid conditions has the U.S.’s World Cup qualifying campaign back on track. It’s a win that is most welcome for the players and manager

7:39 PM ET Australian fighter Tai Tuivasa said his heavyweight bout with Derrick Lewis is a fantastic opportunity, even if he agreed to the UFC 271 showdown against the American while “pissed.” Riding a four-fight win streak after a bumper 2021 that saw him defeat Harry Hunsucker, Greg Hardy and Augusto Sakai, Tuivasa has solidified

11:00 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr. are closing in on a deal for a light heavyweight title unification this summer in New York, sources told ESPN. At the moment, Smith is looking for a purse in the neighborhood of $1.8 million for the proposed ESPN main event; he was offered

11:30 AM ET The biggest fight in women’s boxing history is officially on the schedule. The bout between undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor and seven-division world titlist Amanda Serrano — ESPN’s No. 1 and No. 2 in the pound-for-pound rankings — has been scheduled for April 30 to headline a card in one of the

1:19 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN When Robson Conceicao challenged Oscar Valdez for a 130-pound title in September, he wilted down the stretch in a controversial decision loss. In his first fight since the first pro defeat of his career, Conceicao fought far more aggressively and dominated en route to a unanimous-decision victory over Xavier Martinez

5:01 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Teofimo Lopez is preparing to mount a comeback. Top Rank is exploring the possibility of a 140-pound bout between Lopez and Arnold Barboza Jr. in the spring, sources told ESPN. Lopez, who defeated Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020 to win the undisputed 135-pound championship, was upset by George Kambosos Jr. in

2:54 PM ET Bantamweight Ebanie Bridges is getting her second shot at a world title in the span of a year. The 35-year-old Australian fighter will be facing IBF bantamweight titleholder Maria Cecilia Roman on March 26 in Leeds, England, as part of the Kiko Martinez-Josh Warrington IBF featherweight title card. Roman, 39, has held

5:50 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Every time Canelo Alvarez prepares to select his next opponent, the fate of boxers in multiple weight classes hangs in the balance. Just whom — and at which weight — Canelo fights next is still undecided, but sources told ESPN that Alvarez has received two lucrative offers that stand as

3:58 PM ET Associated Press Floyd Mayweather Jr. is ready to put The Money into NASCAR. The long-delayed debut of The Money Team Racing team is set for the Daytona 500 later this month, with Kaz Grala as the driver. The team secured sponsorship from sunglass company Pit Viper and Grala will drive the No.

7:48 AM GMT England have added wingers Louis Lynagh and Adam Radwan to the squad as cover for their opening match against Scotland in the Six Nations championship, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) announced on Sunday. England, who finished fifth in last year’s edition, are due to travel to Edinburgh to face Scotland on Feb.

8:55 AM ET Women’s boxing has grown from a niche sport into something a bit larger in recent years. It became an Olympic sport in 2012. Women’s fights have headlined main event cards in big venues, and slowly, the top women’s boxers have started to seep into the consciousness of those who watch fights. Last