Sports

8:30 AM ET NBA Insiders The NBA first-round playoff series between the Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves has the makings of an all-time classic. We’ve seen young superstars Ja Morant and Anthony Edwards take their games to new heights — literally, in Morant’s case — Karl-Anthony Towns letting it fly from deep and some massive

8:00 PM ET NFL Nation The 2022 NFL draft began Thursday and continues through Saturday (ABC/ESPN/ESPN App). The Jacksonville Jaguars have the first pick of the draft and are one of eight teams to have two picks in the first round, joining the Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans

7:00 AM ET The 2022 NFL draft begins Thursday, with the final boards stacked and mock drafts being finished up before the clock starts ticking (8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App). While there are many names on Mel Kiper Jr.’s big board that are familiar to recruiting fans, such as former No. 1 overall prospect Kayvon

8:40 AM ET HAY RIVER, Northwest Territories — It is a frigid Saturday afternoon in mid-March, cold enough that the breath coming from the small faces pressed up against the panoramic window in Hay River’s one-room airport immediately covers the glass in an icy fog. A few dozen youth hockey players are here, dressed in

1:21 AM ET ESPN News Services ST. LOUIS — New York Mets right-hander Chris Bassitt expressed frustration and concern for his teammates after three more Mets batters were plunked in Tuesday night’s 3-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, raising the team’s major league-leading total to 18. Bassitt blamed the baseballs, which he says are

6:07 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR on Tuesday ordered Denny Hamlin to begin sensitivity training this week after he posted an anti-Asian meme from the television comedy “Family Guy” to criticize Kyle Larson‘s driving on the last lap at Talladega Superspeedway over the weekend. Hamlin deleted the tweet Monday night and apologized.

2:55 PM ET James Tyler Close Senior Editor, ESPN FC James Tyler is an ESPN editor for soccer. Austin Lindberg Another week, another LAFC victory, another edition of MLS Power Rankings topped for Steve Cherundolo & Co. Behind the Black and Gold, though, their closest rivals are steadily sneaking up the order. The LA Galaxy

3:10 PM BST England continued their winning run in the Women’s Six Nations with a convincing 69-0 win over Ireland on Sunday in front of a record crowd. Lark Davies, Lydia Thompson, Poppy Cleall and Ellie Kildunne bagged two tries each while Sarah Bern, Marlie Packer and Hannah Botterman also crossed the line for England.

11:19 PM ET Welcome back to the strawweight division, Jessica Andrade. Andrade (23-9) submitted Amanda Lemos (11-2-1) via standing arm-triangle choke just 3:13 into their UFC Fight Night main event Saturday in Las Vegas. The early finish marked the first by standing arm-triangle choke in UFC history. It was also Andrade’s first appearance at 115

10:27 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Nasa Hataoka took advantage of Jin Young Ko‘s late meltdown Saturday to take a four-stroke lead into the final round of the DIO Implant LA Open. Tied for the lead with Hataoka after a birdie on the par-5 15th, the top-ranked Ko bogeyed the par-4 16th and

7:32 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN LONDON — Tyson Fury remained on top of the heavyweight division, if not the sport, with a picture-perfect right uppercut that sent Dillian Whyte crashing to the mat for a sixth-round TKO victory on Saturday before 94,000-plus at Wembley Stadium. The obvious next fight for Fury is a matchup with

5:20 PM ET Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is experiencing significant pain and discomfort in his right thumb and could get an MRI in the near future to determine whether there is ligament damage, sources told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski. Despite the discomfort, Embiid practiced on Friday and expects to play in Game

9:45 AM ET Seven-time Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas wants to resume his NFL career after being out of the league for the past two seasons. “I’m ready,” Thomas texted ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Friday. “I’m in shape. My timing is on point — I’m proud of that.” Thomas, who turns 33 in May, hasn’t

7:00 AM ET For most college football teams across the FBS, spring practice is either over or will be winding down during the next couple of weeks. But the transfer portal, into which more than 3,600 FBS players have entered this year already, never stops churning. Coaches around the country will look to address weaknesses

9:42 AM ET Associated Press The Kentucky Derby television broadcast will be produced by a woman for the first time in the 148-year history of the race. Lindsay Schanzer is the new senior producer for NBC Sports’ Derby coverage, overseeing the network’s horse racing production. It’s her 10th Derby but her first running the show

8:55 AM ET The last few weeks of the 2021-22 NHL season have had all the drama of a foregone conclusion. The Eastern Conference playoff field has been set since, oh I don’t know, Halloween 2021. The eight playoff teams aren’t jockeying for position as much as they’re letting the chips fall where they may

7:29 PM ET ESPN News Services WASHINGTON — The U.S. Capitol was briefly evacuated Wednesday evening after police identified an aircraft that they said posed “a probable threat” — but the plane was actually carrying members of the U.S. Army Golden Knights, who then parachuted into the Washington Nationals‘ baseball stadium for a pregame demonstration.

3:05 PM ET Players from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to compete at Wimbledon this year. The decision was announced Wednesday. The third Slam of the year became the first to ban players from those countries, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’ close allyship to Russian president Vladimir Putin. The

5:00 AM ET When Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema finally wins his first Ballon d’Or, as he surely must in 2022, I sincerely hope that his first words are… “I have to thank Vinicius Jose Paixao de Oliveira Junior.” Right now, Benzema is playing the most beautiful football of any player in any major league,

9:44 AM BST Ed Sheeran has punted Munster from their Thomond Park Stadium for next month’s Champions Cup quarterfinal tie against Toulouse with the venue set to host the British singer’s concerts. The quarterfinals are scheduled for May 6-8 but with Sheeran set to play Limerick’s Thomond Park on May 5 and May 6 there