Sports

8:24 PM ET A recurring theme Tiger Woods on a Friday: struggling to stay relevant in the tournament. He will need a good day during the second round at Winged Foot, not only to get back into contention, but perhaps to even make the 36-hole cut, which would be for the top 60 players and

8:00 AM ET Steve KimESPN Saturday’s boxing schedule ramps up with a pair of cards — one headlined by a clash of junior welterweight contenders inside the Top Rank bubble and the other by 154-pounders taking center stage at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. While there aren’t any direct title implications for the Top Rank

8:41 PM ET Naomi Osaka will not play in the French Open, she announced Thursday night. Osaka said a sore hamstring will keep her from adequately preparing for the clay court tournament, which begins Sept. 27 in Paris. She is coming off a win this past weekend at the US Open but had been noncommittal

6:24 AM ET THE NINE MONTHS it took to schedule a dinner between Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and the franchise’s newest superstar, LeBron James, really wasn’t that long by Los Angeles standards. James lives in Beverly Hills; Buss lives in Playa Vista. Busy people, L.A. traffic, intense jobs — nine months is actually

7:45 PM ET NFL NationESPN The 2020 NFL season heads into Week 2 with a battle of Ohio between the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns on Thursday night (8:20 ET, NFL Network). The Bengals could be without defensive tackles Geno Atkins and Mike Daniels, which could mean good things for the Browns’ run game. Elsewhere,

8:59 AM ET The Big Ten is expected to announce on Wednesday a return to football in October, sources confirmed to ESPN. The news was first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Big Ten on Aug. 11 postponed all the fall sports seasons, including football, because of concerns about the pandemic. The league’s presidents

7:00 AM ET The New York Islanders were one of the strongest teams in the Toronto bubble, but ever since they arrived in Edmonton, they’ve been outmatched by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference finals. Sure, we can forget about the 8-2 drubbing in Game 1 and chalk it up to an unfavorable

7:00 AM ET There is one thing Major League Baseball executives, scouts and players can agree on when it comes to the 2020 National League Cy Young race: It’s going to go down to the wire. With a tip of the cap to Los Angeles Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw, his current 1.98 ERA just isn’t

2:43 PM ET Tottenham and Everton were only separated by Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s 55th-minute goal at the Tottenham Stadium, but the game, which finished 1-0 to the visitors, suggested there is a bigger gulf in their respective searches for identity and improvement, and that should trouble home manager Jose Mourinho. The new Premier League campaign began

11:13 PM ET Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. — Brad Keselowski entered NASCAR’s playoffs certain he has as good a chance at the Cup championship as favorites Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. He even predicted he’d win at Richmond Raceway. His confidence was correct as Keselowski indeed won Saturday night at Richmond, the second playoff race,

4:20 PM ET Angela Hill will continue to make history Saturday night. Hill will become the first Black American woman to headline a UFC card when she faces Michelle Waterson in the Fight Night main event in Las Vegas. Hill already was the first Black American woman to sign with the UFC, which she did

2:58 PM BST England players will be entitled to two weeks of rest with their clubs following the Autumn Nations Cup, as part of improved welfare initiatives after they signed an elite player squad agreement for the 2020-21 season. A statement on the Rugby Players Association (RPA) website also confirmed that England players will take

12:58 PM ET Steve KimESPN On Tuesday, Canelo Alvarez filed a lawsuit against his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, and his broadcast partner, DAZN, alleging breach of contract and seeking a minimum of $280 million in damages. Two years ago, Alvarez and DAZN agreed to the richest deal in boxing history. Alvarez would fight on DAZN

5:38 PM ET Associated Press RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — The numbers suggested a stress-free time in the desert for Nelly Korda, who had five birdies and a clean card for a 5-under 67 to build an early two-shot lead Friday in the ANA Inspiration. All she could think about were two pars. The only fairway

3:14 PM ET Associated Press BALTIMORE — The official state song “Maryland, My Maryland” will not be performed before the Preakness next month because the lyrics are perceived by some to be racist. A spokesperson for Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness, said Friday the tradition of playing the song before the race will

2:31 AM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Serena Williams held onto the back of her legs as she bent over, wincing in pain on the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night. She limped over to her seat, requesting a trainer to take a look at her left ankle. Her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, and her longtime