Sports

8:30 AM ET We’re in the middle of a very rare off week in the UFC schedule — and in MMA, in general, actually — with no big fights to watch as we close out March and kick off April. That said, there is plenty to discuss and reflect on in this sport, including the

8:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart, the leading defender on the NBA’s leading defense, believes he is the Defensive Player of the Year. So, too, does Mikal Bridges, the Phoenix Suns‘ fourth-year wing and the franchise’s top NBA All-Defensive candidate. But, based on the award’s history, it’s unlikely either of the

7:00 AM ET Mike TannenbaumESPN The 2022 NFL draft is four weeks away, and I can’t wait. At the moment, 24 teams will have the chance to add at least one impact player in Round 1 — eight teams no longer have a first-round selection — and while this year’s class might be light on

8:00 AM ET “An almost playoff game and you decide to turn down points because something called analytics says it’s smart,” Mike Lombardi, a writer, broadcaster and former NFL general manager, tweeted last December. “You deserved to lose last night — more proof each game is different and each situation is a stand-alone. No chart

7:00 AM ET The MLB offseason is nearly complete and virtually all of the major free agents have found new seats after baseball’s annual round of musical chairs. Every hot stove question you had about your team has been answered. Unfortunately, for some, that answer did not arrive in the form of a new player,

7:01 AM ET It has been two years since the NHL completed an 82-game regular season. Now, that finale is exactly one month away. The trade deadline has also passed, leaving each of the league’s 32 teams to approach these final weeks in their own way. Some will use it as a tune-up for the

11:44 PM ET ORLANDO — It’s a manager’s lot in life to be second-guessed. Decisions get analyzed to the smallest of details. Mistakes get highlighted. That’s especially true of international managers, with a country’s armchair coaches never holding back. Credit is due then to U.S. men’s national team manager Gregg Berhalter. Over the last week

8:14 PM ET Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas — Ross Chastain bumped and banged his way around the final overtime lap at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday for first career Cup win and upstart NASCAR team Trackhouse Racing’s first trip to Victory Lane. Trackhouse is owned by former NASCAR driver Justin Marks and entertainer Pitbull

3:37 PM BST Prop Marlie Packer scored a hat trick of tries as England got their Six Nation’s title defence underway with a 57-5 victory against Scotland at Edinburgh’s DAM Health Stadium on Saturday. The result was the Red Roses’ 19th-straight win, breaking the record for most consecutive Test match wins, which was set by

10:52 PM ET UFC Fight Night in Columbus, Ohio, delivered with the dust settling on three divisions as Curtis Blaydes, Alexa Grasso and Kai Kara-France put on a show while putting the current champions on notice. Will any of the three get a title fight with their next matchup? Blaydes certainly hopes so, as the

8:31 PM ET Associated Press NEW ORLEANS — Favorite Epicenter took a big step toward the Kentucky Derby, surging past leader Zozos and Pioneer of Medina entering the stretch and pulling away to a 2 1/2-length victory Saturday in the $1 million Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds. The Steve Asmussen-trained bay colt started the Grade

8:57 PM ET Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas — Jon Rahm lost his match and still made it to the weekend. Scottie Scheffler needed only 14 holes to win his match against Matt Fitzpatrick, and then six more to beat him in a playoff. The third full day of endless action in the Dell Technologies Match

9:00 AM ET Nick Parkinson Close •Reports on boxing for ESPN.co.uk, as well as several national newspapers•Has been reporting on British boxing for over 15 years•Appears on BoxNation’s Boxing Matters show Josh Warrington is confident he can emulate Saturday’s opponent Kiko Martinez’s reversal of fortune and turn his career around to become a two-time world

12:03 PM BST Bethan Clargo For the first two months of her new job, Lisa Neumann had a 200-mile commute. She didn’t mind the four-hour drive down the M6 from Manchester to the National Centre of Excellence in Cardiff. It was a journey she had made hundreds of times in the past few years to

12:00 AM ET Associated Press DENVER — Chris Paul returned from a broken right thumb to help the Phoenix Suns wrap up the top seed in the NBA playoffs with a 140-130 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night. Devin Booker led Phoenix with a season-high 49 points, and Paul had 17 points —

1:18 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Ashleigh Barty had just won the 2019 French Open and was standing on the court waiting for her team to join her. It was her first major title, and the realization of every young tennis player’s dream. Her longtime coach Craig Tyzzer rushed to be by her side, preparing an