Sports

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

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

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

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

3:12 PM ET Lee Mason will no longer act as VAR in the Premier League after it was confirmed on Friday that he had left his post by mutual consent. Mason had been responsible for the failure to disallow Brentford‘s goal at Arsenal, with Christian Norgaard offside before creating the equaliser for Ivan Toney. –

7:57 PM ET Associated Press DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Seven-time is officially back. Jimmie Johnson, making his return to stock car racing after a two-year dalliance in IndyCar, topped the first practice session for the Daytona 500 on Friday. The two-time Daytona 500 winner and seven-time Cup Series champion reached a top speed of 194.25

8:09 PM ET The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will enshrine a new class of legends in Springfield, Massachusetts, this summer. The full list of nominees from the North American and women’s committees were unveiled in December. Finalists for enshrinement were announced Friday ahead of NBA All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, and the

1:20 PM ET Associated Press Manny Machado says he plans to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract with the San Diego Padres after this season. Machado signed a 10-year, $300 million deal with the Padres in February 2019, a deal that gives him the right to terminate the agreement after this season and become

2:52 PM ET Associated Press QUEBEC CITY — Ukraine Team Select’s dream run at the Quebec International Peewee Hockey Tournament came to an end Friday with a 2-1 loss to Vermont Flames Academy. After the game, a Ukrainian flag was displayed on the ice with the name of one of the players’ fathers who died

7:52 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN In the wake of a high-profile missed call that went against Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James last month, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said officials are “absolutely held accountable” and disciplined for making such errors. “We don’t publicize discipline for officials. We don’t think that will be appropriate,” Silver said