Sports

10:16 PM GMT World Rugby will encourage elite competitions to have a shot clock for penalties and conversions from Jan. 1, with sanctions to be issued for time wasting as part of plans to speed up the game in 2023 – a World Cup year. The guidelines have been designed by the global governing body

7:52 AM ET The sport of mixed martial arts is never dull, and 2022 was a perfect example of that. In the span of four months, three of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world weren’t just beaten, but finished. The year started with Francis Ngannou, the hardest puncher in UFC history, using wrestling and

Dec 21, 2022 Naoya Inoue became the undisputed bantamweight champion after earning an 11th-round KO victory on Dec. 13 in Tokyo. The win also earned him eight first-place votes from our ESPN’s pound-for pound 21-member panel, moving him closer to Terence Crawford at No. 1. In his other fight this year, Inoue scored a second-round

Dec 20, 2022 Augusta National Golf Club announced Tuesday that any golfer who qualified for the Masters tournament based on its previous criteria will be invited to play in 2023, including 16 players who are currently competing in the LIV Golf League. Six past Masters champions are part of the group that defected from the

6:30 AM ET NFL Nation reporters Welcome to Week 16 of the NFL regular season. Our power panel — a group of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities — has evaluated how teams are stacking up through 15 weeks. As we near the end of the regular season, the surprises are still coming.

8:00 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN ORLANDO, FLA. — PAOLO BANCHERO was only five years old when the SuperSonics left his hometown of Seattle to become the Oklahoma City Thunder. Still, despite growing up in a city without an NBA team, Banchero was raised by the NBA. Long before the Orlando Magic made Banchero the No.

Dec 17, 2022 ESPN staff Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has scored goal No. 800 — reaching the feat with a hat trick against the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 13, the 29th of his career. Go inside Ovechkin’s journey to 800 — and what comes next — with our Ovechkin 800 project, narrated by Emily

8:00 AM ET JERRY KILL CONSIDERS himself something of a Mr. Fix-It for programs in need of a serious overhaul, the college football equivalent of an HGTV host who must convince an overwhelmed couple that the crumbling mess they just took out a mortgage to buy can, with a little hard work and the right

Dec 17, 2022 Bradford Doolittle Close ESPN Staff Writer Sports reporter, Kansas City Star, 2002-09 Writer, Baseball, Baseball Prospectus Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus Member, Baseball Writers Association of America Member, Professional Basketball Writers Association David Schoenfield Close ESPN Senior Writer Covers MLB for ESPN.com Former deputy editor of Page 2 Been with ESPN.com since 1995

Dec 18, 2022 ESPN News Services MELBOURNE, Australia — Venus Williams has been awarded a wild-card entry to play at the Australian Open next month, 25 years after she played the Grand Slam tournament for the first time. The 42-year-old Williams has reached the final twice in Australia, including a loss to her younger sister,

Goals 0 Shots 0 0 Shots on Target Fouls Committed 0 0 Fouls Against Assists 0 Offsides 0 Discipline 0 Yellow 0 Red Goals 0 Shots 0 0 Shots on Target Fouls Committed 0 0 Fouls Against Assists 0 Offsides 0 Discipline 0 Yellow 0 Red Saves 0 Shots 0 0 Shots on Target Fouls

3:44 PM GMT England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) on Friday approved the application by a bidder for the planned takeover of Wasps but rejected another for Worcester Warriors after an assessment by the governing body’s Club Financial Viability Group. Financially-hit Wasps and Worcester have both been suspended for going into administration and will drop from

9:30 AM ET Ryan Hockensmith Close Ryan Hockensmith is a Penn State graduate who joined ESPN in 2001. He is a survivor of bacterial meningitis, which caused him to have multiple amputation surgeries on his feet. He is a proud advocate for those with disabilities and addiction issues. He covers everything from the NFL and

Dec 15, 2022 Associated Press SANDUSKY, Ohio — Hailie Deegan will drive full time in the NASCAR Truck series next season with ThorSport Racing. ThorSport formally added Deegan to its driver lineup Thursday as it announced a manufacturer move from Toyota to Ford. Deegan, a 21-year-old California native, will race in the Truck series for

Dec 15, 2022 Associated Press LONDON — Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal were honored by the International Tennis Federation as its 2022 ITF World Champions on Thursday after each claimed two Grand Slam titles this season. The ITF determines its awards based on criteria that include all events and give special weight to the four

Dec 14, 2022 December 14, 1947 was a Sunday afternoon. Yes, most of the men who gathered in Daytona Beach, Fla. on that chilly, gray day were dressed in suits. But no, it was not a church service. Far from it. There was entirely too much brown liquor on the table and cigar smoke in

8:00 AM ET Picture this: Zion Williamson vs. Ja Morant in this year’s Western Conference finals. The New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies look capable of bringing that showdown to NBA audiences this year with their recent surge to the top of the West standings. Then again, just a few weeks ago, some were quivering

7:56 AM ET British No. 1 Emma Raducanu branded comments about her as untrue as she said the attention she has received after her meteoric rise in tennis has been “intense.” Raducanu, who received an MBE award from King Charles for her services to tennis, broke onto the scene with an impressive Wimbledon campaign in

1:54 PM ET TEMPE, Ariz. — Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, coach Kliff Kingsbury said Tuesday afternoon. Murray went down in Monday night’s 27-13 loss to the New England Patriots after a 3-yard run on the third play of the game. He was carted off

8:59 AM ET ESPN News Services Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach died Monday night after complications related to a heart condition, the school announced. He was 61. Leach’s family said, in a statement released Tuesday by the school, that Leach participated in organ donation at the University of Mississippi Medical Center as “a final