Sports

9:24 AM ET ATLANTA — Right now, there is an unmistakable buzz going on behind the scenes at the PFL. It’s a buzz that has nothing to do with the promotion’s most established, recognizable talent. It’s independent of anything to do with Kayla Harrison, Anthony Pettis, Rory MacDonald or fan favorite Clay Collard. And it

7:55 AM ET Artur Beterbiev’s demolition of Joe Smith Jr. on June 18 impressed most of our panelists on Saturday night. Now the unified light heavyweight champion sits comfortably at No. 7 in ESPN’s pound-for-pound rankings. Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) is the only current champion with a perfect KO percentage. “He’s ‘The Terminator’. He showed

8:08 AM ET Four-time major champion Brooks Koepka is the latest golfer to defect from the PGA Tour to the LIV Golf Invitational Series, sources have confirmed to ESPN. Koepka, 32, is one of the highest-profile players to join the breakaway circuit, which is being funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and is fronted

7:00 AM ET The 2022 season is within sight, which means it’s time to put a bow on the annual crystal-balling exercise known as Future Power Rankings. The team list is here. If you’ve already digested top-25 rankings for quarterbacks, offenses and defenses, you have a decent idea of what will follow. The team rankings

9:16 AM ET Associated Press WIMBLEDON, England — This time, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will be on opposite sides of the draw. The seedings for Wimbledon were announced Tuesday, with Djokovic and Nadal being Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in the men’s draw because of the absence of Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev. The

8:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN The NBA Finals wrapped up only a few days ago, but The Association’s calendar stops for no one. This week, the next generation of players will be welcomed into the league when the Orlando Magic begin the 2022 NBA draft Thursday night at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. From there, free agency

6:40 AM ET NFL Nation reporters With veteran participation often kept to a minimum during offseason practices in the NFL, it’s only natural for attention to turn to the new faces and the rookies in particular. Eight teams didn’t have a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft. For the 24 that did (obviously some

11:25 PM ET Game 1 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final was a back-and-forth thriller, with the Colorado Avalanche winning a 4-3 contest in overtime over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Game 2 was … not nearly as thrilling, with the Avs jumping out to an early lead and then pouring it on en route to

3:49 PM ET Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain was designated for assignment on Saturday, the team announced before its game against the Cincinnati Reds. Cain, 36, was hitting .179 in 145 at-bats while the Brewers’ offense struggled throughout June. The veteran was 4-for-26 this month with no walks and seven strikeouts. As a team, the

12:24 PM ET Associated Press LAKE OZARK, Mo. — Former NASCAR driver and Fox Sports analyst Clint Bowyer struck and killed a pedestrian on a highway exit ramp in southwest Missouri earlier this month, police said. The crash occurred June 5 on a ramp off of U.S. 54 near Osage Beach, Missouri, according to a

3:30 AM ET Chelsea want Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski to replace Romelu Lukaku — ESPN’s Insider Notebook has the latest. PLUS: Why Barcelona missed out on signing Darwin Nunez to Liverpool. Jump to: Barcelona missed out on Darwin | FA stunned by Southgate backlash | Athletic target Pochettino Lukaku out, Lewandowski in? Chelsea head

12:02 AM ET TJ Dillashaw will look to become a three-time UFC champion later this year. A bantamweight title fight between champion Aljamain Sterling and Dillashaw, the former champ, is being targeted for UFC 279 on Sept. 10 at a location to be determined, sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday night. Dillashaw’s manager, Tiki Ghosn,

7:38 AM ET Timothy Bradley Jr. Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr. meet on Saturday to unify three of the four major light heavyweight titles in the main event of a Top Rank card at the Hulu Theater inside Madison Square Garden in New York (ESPN/ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET, with prelims on ESPN+ at 6:30

7:43 AM ET BROOKLINE, Mass. — We interrupt the ongoing drama of who has left the PGA Tour — and who might still be going to the LIV Golf Invitational Series — for the 122nd U.S. Open, the third major championship of the season. With two golf worlds colliding at The Country Club this week,

7:51 AM ET Serena Williams strongly hinted at a return to tennis this month at Wimbledon in a social media post Tuesday. Williams, 40, hasn’t competed since injuring her right leg last year at Wimbledon and did not appear on the women’s singles entry list released last Friday by the grass-court Grand Slam. But Williams

6:00 AM ET EAST LANSING, Mich. — After a practice this spring, Michigan State coach Mel Tucker sat in the lounge area of his office, which overlooks Spartan Stadium and the school’s athletic campus. Four months earlier, Tucker had agreed to a 10-year, $95 million contract with Michigan State. The deal made headlines around college

12:12 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — The NBA Finals allow for the slimmest margins of error. Opponents are too elite and opportunities too precious to squander in a seven-game series. For the Boston Celtics, sins of commission in Game 5 were too numerous to overcome a Golden State Warriors team with a championship pedigree on

6:00 AM ET NFL NationESPN Mandatory three-day minicamp kicks off for 17 teams this week after 12 others held theirs last week. The Miami Dolphins had their session two weeks ago, and the Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals aren’t holding one this year. Many players have taken part in voluntary organized team activities, but the

10:49 AM BST Castleford Tigers hooker Jacques O’Neill has been released from his contract in order to appear on ITV reality show Love Island. O’Neill made his debut for the Super League club in 2019 and has played 29 time since, despite being hampered by a persistent hamstring injury which caused him to miss the

10:45 PM ET TAMPA BAY — The Tampa Bay Lightning have eliminated the New York Rangers and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight season, with the Colorado Avalanche rested and ready for Game 1 (Wednesday, 8 ET, ESPN). Here are five things we learned about the Lightning so far in their