Sports

7:03 AM ET Charlotte GibsonESPN Before Team USA’s Nelly Korda teed off in the final round in the women’s Olympic golf competition at Kasumigaseki Country Club, gold medal winner and fellow Team USA member Xander Schauffele tweeted her a special message: “Bring home the gold @NellyKorda! I’ll be rooting for you tonight.” For 54 holes

2:59 PM ET In a press conference on Friday, Barcelona president Joan Laporta reiterated what the club had announced on their website Thursday: after 21 years, Lionel Messi would not be returning to the club. You can read about the background here, but Laporta doubled down on blaming LaLiga’s financial restrictions and the disastrous finances

1:44 PM ET Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will return to the Octagon in November. Rockhold (16-5) has agreed to face Sean Strickland (24-3) at UFC 268 on Nov. 6, multiple sources told ESPN. The UFC has not announced a location for the pay-per-view event, but the current target is New York City. The

7:00 AM ET The standoff between the Buffalo Sabres and star center Jack Eichel has progressed past the point of usefulness for all involved. It’s degenerated into public discourse for a matter than should have remained internal; now we have a general manager bragging about leverage, and agents sending Notes app missives to local media

2:22 PM ET The women’s Olympic golf tournament could be shortened to 54 holes due to an approaching tropical storm set to hit Kasumigaseki Country Club on Friday, with a golf official saying the hope is that players will be notified before the third round if a change is made. The scheduled 72-hole event is

7:30 AM ET Mike Coppinger Marc Raimondi If Derrick Lewis beats Ciryl Gane in the UFC 265 main event Saturday night in Houston to capture the interim heavyweight title, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him scan the crowd for a familiar face. And he wouldn’t necessarily be searching for heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou, who

Aug 4, 2021 After recently returning to Africa for the first time in nearly 30 years, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman told ESPN that an MMA event on the continent could be even bigger than the legendary Rumble in the Jungle. Usman, who became the first UFC champion from Africa when he defeated Tyron Woodley

12:00 PM BST The British & Irish Lions have made six changes for their series decider against South Africa on Saturday. With the series poised at 1-1, the two teams face off in Cape Town to decide who takes the 2021 tour. 1 Related Josh Adams, Liam Williams, Bundee Aki, Ali Price, Ken Owens and

1:18 PM ET Free-agent center Andre Drummond has agreed to a one-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, a source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski Drummond averaged 14.9 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in a season split between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. When the Lakers acquired Drummond after he cleared waivers once parting

11:59 AM ET Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz will undergo surgery Monday on his injured foot and be sidelined approximately 5 to 12 weeks, coach Frank Reich announced. Reich said it’s an old injury, possibly from high school, and a broken bone came loose in Wentz’s foot. Wentz felt a “twinge in his foot” when

7:05 AM ET When the 2021 NFL season opens, three starting quarterbacks will be former Oklahoma Sooners. Spencer Rattler is the odds-on favorite to win this year’s Heisman Trophy, which would make him the fifth Sooners quarterback to do so in the past 19 years. Lincoln Riley and his staff just got a commitment from

12:15 PM ET Jeff Passan Close ESPN ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Kiley McDaniel Close ESPN MLB Insider ESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel covers MLB prospects, the MLB Draft and more, including trades and free agency. Has worked for four MLB teams. Barring

6:14 AM ET Associated Press TOKYO — Alexander Zverev followed up his comeback win over Novak Djokovic by winning the gold medal in men’s tennis at the Tokyo Olympics. The fifth-ranked German overwhelmed Russian opponent Karan Khachanov 6-3, 6-1 at the Tokyo Games on Sunday for the biggest title of his career. The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter)

7:17 AM ET Typically, NHL free agency begins on July 1 each offseason: a cherished tradition on Canada Day up north, and a pre-Independence Day festival of commerce for those of us in the United States. On July 1, 2021, the Stanley Cup had yet to be awarded. But 27 days later, we are ready

12:29 PM ET Caitlin Murray The U.S. women’s national team is in the semifinals of the 2020 Olympic Games after beating the Netherlands in a thrilling back-and-forth affair that eventually went to penalty kicks. – Report: USWNT reach Olympic semifinals with shootout win– Lavelle: Naeher has saved us so many times Whether the win feels

1:24 PM BST South Africa’s director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, posted an hour-long video on Twitter on Thursday airing his grievances over the refereeing in the first test of the British & Irish Lions tour, before saying he would “step away” for the last two tests. The Boks and Lions have each repeatedly voiced their

1:08 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Amanda Nunes, the pound-for-pound best female fighter in the UFC, will have to wait a little longer for the next defense of her bantamweight championship. She tested positive for COVID-19, UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell told ESPN on Thursday, canceling her fight with Julianna Peña that was scheduled for

7:51 AM ET The welterweight clash between Conor Benn and Adrian Granados has been postponed as Benn tested positive for COVID-19, DAZN announced on Thursday. Benn (18-0-0) and Granados (21-8-3) were originally scheduled to meet in the WBA continental title fight at Matchroom Boxing’s Essex headquarters on Saturday. DAZN said a new date for the

2:40 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Canelo Alvarez’s longtime goal of becoming undisputed boxing champion is further from reality than ever since he won his third 168-pound title in May. Boxing’s top star was on the verge of a deal to meet Caleb Plant on Sept. 18 in Las Vegas — a PBC on Fox pay-per-view

5:40 PM ET Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Churchill Downs announced three capital improvement projects over the next three years Wednesday, including two totaling $135 million, for the home of the Kentucky Derby. The Homestretch Club will undergo a $45 million renovation and upgrade of areas adjacent to the Twin Spires and is scheduled for