Sports

12:50 PM ET Associated Press NEW DELHI — Yannik Paul extended his lead to five strokes after two rounds of the Indian Open on the European Tour on Friday. The No. 119-ranked German began the day with a 1-shot lead before his 3-under 69 at DLF Golf and Country Club in New Delhi. Paul made

9:44 PM ET Associated Press USA Basketball is heading to this summer’s FIBA World Cup. The Americans clinched a berth in the 32-team field on Thursday night, rallying for an 88-77 win at Uruguay. The U.S. secured one of the seven World Cup berths allocated to the FIBA Americas region. Langston Galloway, who played in

12:48 PM ET Sergio Ramos has announced his reluctant retirement from international football after being told he is not part of new Spain coach Luis de la Fuente’s plans. Ramos, 36, revealed that De la Fuente phoned him on Thursday and said he would not be selected regardless of his form with his club side

6:02 PM ET Associated Press Tampa Bay Rays reliever Ryan Thompson called for more transparency in the arbitration process after losing his case last week. “The biggest issue with this process to me is that the arbitrators get to make whatever decision they come to, but with no explanation or defense of the decision,” Thompson

5:31 PM ET Associated Press DOHA, Qatar — Andy Murray reached the semifinals of the Qatar Open by beating French qualifier Alexandre Muller 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday. The 35-year-old Murray will next face Jiri Lehecka after the Czech player upset top-seeded Andrey Rublev 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Murray, a three-time Grand Slam

10:47 AM ET Associated Press NEW DELHI — Yannik Paul birdied his last four holes to shoot 7-under 65 and take a 1-stroke lead after the first round of the Indian Open on the European tour on Thursday. The No. 119-ranked German’s hot finish lifted him above Honey Baisoya, who was leading a contingent of

11:53 AM ET Politicians in California are hoping to give back to retired fighters. A proposal in the California Legislature would set up a pension fund for former MMA fighters who have a certain number of fights in the state, bill sponsor Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) told ESPN. The legislation was introduced in state

11:59 PM ET Georgia All-SEC linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson was arrested Wednesday on misdemeanor charges of racing on highway/streets and reckless driving, according to Athens-Clarke County jail booking records. Sources confirmed multiple reports to ESPN that an incident involving Dumas-Johnson occurred on Jan. 10, the day after Georgia’s 65-7 victory over TCU in the College Football

10:30 PM ET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO — Thomaz Bellucci, Brazil’s main flagbearer on the men’s tennis tour for the past decade, has retired after losing in straight sets to sixth-seeded Sebastian Baez 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the Rio Open on Wednesday. Bellucci, 35, is now preparing to transition into coaching.

Feb 22, 2023 Tim BontempsESPN There has been little reason to take the Los Angeles Lakers seriously as a contending team this season. The Lakers sit 13th in the Western Conference, meaning they have to leapfrog at least three teams to get into the play-in tournament. But when LeBron James was asked whether his Lakers

11:03 PM ET Associated Press TROIS-RIVIERES, Quebec — If you enjoy do-or-die showdowns between acrimonious rivals, circle Wednesday on your calendar. After the United States took the first three games of the seven-game national women’s Rivalry Series, Canada has bounced back with three consecutive wins, including Monday night’s 5-1 victory at the sold-out Colisee Videotron.

6:36 PM ET ESPN News Services Kevin Love wasted no time. He’s officially a member of the Miami Heat. The five-time All-Star and 15-year NBA veteran cleared waivers on Monday afternoon, then signed a contract to join the Heat for the remainder of the season not long afterward. The now-former Cleveland Cavaliers forward was in

9:43 AM GMT Professional Rugby Board (PRB) chair Malcolm Wall has apologised to Welsh players for the “stress and real discomfort” caused by their contract dispute stalemate as the threat of a strike looms over Saturday’s Six Nations clash with England. The build-up to the match has been overshadowed by tension between the PRB and

5:08 PM ET Two months have gone by since the end of the World Cup, and Brazil are still without a replacement for coach Tite, who stepped down after the competition. Local FA president Ednaldo Rodrigues originally gave himself an informal deadline of the end of January to appoint a new man. That, obviously, has

6:55 AM ET The body of Ghana winger Christian Atsu was flown home to Accra on Sunday evening, the day after he was found dead under a collapsed building in southern Turkey. Atsu had been missing since the Feb. 6 earthquake following the collapse of an apartment building in Hatay. He was 31. Draped in

9:33 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN SALT LAKE CITY — NBA commissioner Adam Silver pushed back on the notion that load management is a problem in today’s NBA, saying “I don’t buy into” the idea that players should simply just be playing more. “I hesitate to weigh in on an issue as to whether players are

Feb 18, 2023 Tim BontempsESPN SALT LAKE CITY — NBA commissioner Adam Silver and National Basketball Players Association executive director Tamika Tremaglio both insisted it is “absolutely a priority” for the two sides to come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement ahead of the March 31 mutual opt-out date of the current

12:11 PM ET ESPN News Services Kevin Love plans to sign with the Miami Heat after clearing waivers, his agent, Jeff Schwartz, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Love’s expectation is that he can play a sizable role in the Heat’s frontcourt rotation as they push into the Eastern Conference playoffs. Love also talked with the Philadelphia

6:19 PM ET Associated Press Major League Baseball announced Sunday that San Diego Padres pitcher Nick Martinez will replace Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw on the 30-man roster for the United States for the World Baseball Classic. Martinez went 4-4 with a 3.47 ERA in 47 games for San Diego last season, making 10

1:04 PM ET Associated Press DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Richard Petty might still reign as NASCAR’s King, but with Jimmie Johnson wresting control of Petty’s old race team, he is definitively not the boss. Petty essentially has been stripped of power inside his former eponymous race team that rapidly rebranded and has been rebuilt since