Sports

2:15 AM BST ESPN staff The world champion Springboks have officially withdrawn from the Rugby Championship, leaving just Australia, New Zealand and Argentina to challenge for the 2020 title. SANZAAR, the tournament organisers, announced on Friday that South Africa would not travel to Australia due to several factors including South African government travel restrictions, player

7:30 PM ET UFC superstar Conor McGregor announced Wednesday that he will return to the Octagon and face Dustin Poirier as the main event of UFC 257 on Jan. 23, and he’s hoping the fight will be held at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys. Will the UFC, which hasn’t hosted an event

8:00 AM ET The 2020 NHL free-agent frenzy has started to mellow out. The flat salary cap had teams scrambling to find the right fits under less-than-ideal financial conditions, leaving some free agents waiting to see if lucrative opportunities would still materialize. Here are the top 10 unrestricted free agents still on the market as

8:04 PM ET Like most people, Australian tennis phenom Nick Kyrgios thinks his mum’s home cooking is some of the best there is – and he’s had plenty of time to come to that conclusion given he’s been living back at the family home since late February, when the COVID-19 crisis really took hold. “People

7:13 AM ET Teofimo Lopez Sr. was in a hotel lobby in New York City in December 2018. The world didn’t know it yet, but when he ran into Vasiliy Lomachenko — the two-time Olympic gold medalist, three-division world titlist and boxing’s pound-for-pound king — and extended his hand, Lopez’s plan for his son was

7:25 AM ET Who is the greatest player of all time: Michael Jordan or LeBron James? Those aren’t the only two candidates, but they do dominate the debate — which got new life this week when the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship, giving James his fourth title. We asked our ESPN Forecast panel

5:00 PM ET Roger Federer‘s reaction on social media when Rafael Nadal secured his 20th Grand Slam singles title on Sunday at Roland Garros — equaling Federer’s all-time men’s record — was a memorable, heartfelt statement paying tribute to Nadal as both lifelong rival and friend. “It is a true honor for me to congratulate

12:08 AM ET NEW ORLEANS — Chalk up another rare milestone for Drew Brees on Monday Night Football. Brees and the New Orleans Saints rallied from a 20-3 deficit on Monday night to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 30-27 in overtime — just the second time in Brees’ career that he had rallied from a

9:42 PM ET Associated Press ARCADIA, Calif. — Hall of Fame trainer Gary Jones, who oversaw Hall of Fame horse Best Pal and 1986 older horse of the year Turkoman, has died. He was 76. Jones died Sunday at his home in Del Mar near San Diego following a lengthy illness, Santa Anita officials said

7:06 AM ET Augusta National Golf Club opened to its membership on Monday, an annual fall occurrence that typically occurs without much fanfare. It is a private club, after all. Other sports are in full song, particularly football. Normally, the annual Masters tournament is still six months away, the golf calendar filled with a bunch

8:00 AM ET In the 116-year history of the Texas–Oklahoma rivalry, Saturday’s game will be perhaps its most memorable. Not necessarily for good reasons, but in a way that’s hard to even describe. “For 2020, ‘weird’ is starting to get overused,” said Darrell Debish, a 48-year-old Texas fan who estimated this was his 30th Red

8:00 AM ET ESPN.com staff Jae C. Hong/AP Photo Even though only one division series among the MLB quartet of matchups went the full five-game distance, we’re back in action after a one-day break with the American League Championship Series of the 2020 MLB playoffs getting into gear, pitting the defending AL champs from Houston

12:22 PM ET The fact that Premier League clubs spent £1.2 billion on transfers this summer may advance the sense that English football is returning to normal, but the reality beneath the surface is very different. The headlines certainly point to a continuation of the madcap money-slinging that has made it the most exciting league

12:45 PM ET NHL Insiders NHL free agency for 2020 is underway! For each key signing, Emily Kaplan, Chris Peters and Greg Wyshynski will be assessing the player’s fit with his new team, weighing whether the terms of the contract make sense, and serving up an overall grade. We’ll be grading the most notable offseason

12:02 PM BST The Rugby Football Union (RFU) will not ban England fans from singing “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” but will educate them on the history of the song and its links with American slavery, the domestic governing body said. The anthem, believed to have been written by a slave in the mid-19th century, became

8:39 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Clint Bowyer will retire at the end of the NASCAR season and join the Fox Sports booth as an analyst. Bowyer, in his 15th full season, heads into Sunday’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway facing elimination from the playoffs. He’s ranked 11th in the 12-driver field that