Sports

Jul 26, 2024, 08:28 AM ET Open Extended Reactions We have spent the past week counting down our list of the top 100 athletes of the 21st century and three NHL players made the list, starting with Sidney Crosby at No. 22 overall. We also voted on an overall top 25 just for the NHL.

Bill Connelly, ESPN Staff WriterJul 26, 2024, 07:30 AM ET Close Bill Connelly is a staff writer for ESPN.com. Open Extended Reactions Here are the top 10 college football teams, ranked by their average SP+ ranking over the past 20 years. Alabama 23.9 Ohio State 20.9 Georgia 20.2 Oklahoma 19.3 LSU 18.7 Clemson 16.5 Florida

David Schoenfield, ESPN Senior WriterJul 25, 2024, 05:30 PM ET Close Covers MLB for ESPN.com Former deputy editor of Page 2 Been with ESPN.com since 1995 Open Extended Reactions On a humid, 83-degree day in the nation’s capital, Dylan Cease was sweating through his San Diego Padres uniform by the ninth inning, the brown pinstriped

Ryan McGee, ESPN Senior WriterJul 25, 2024, 09:09 AM ET Close Senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com 2-time Sports Emmy winner 2010, 2014 NMPA Writer of the Year Open Extended Reactions Of the 32 sports taking place at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, auto racing isn’t among them. AP Photo/Michel Euler, File Earlier

Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondentJul 24, 2024, 09:08 AM ET Close Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC. Open Extended Reactions When it comes to the hiring of a premier international manager, it’s usually a case of “Show me the money.” Hiring top talent requires paying top dollar, and as

Jul 23, 2024, 10:43 AM Open Extended Reactions Former England scrumhalf Ben Youngs underwent heart surgery after collapsing during an open training session with Leicester Tigers. Youngs is England’s most-capped men’s player and has been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat and tachycardia. Editor’s Picks 1 Related The 34-year-old had surgery after the incident but has

Jul 23, 2024, 07:53 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Mixed Martial Arts spent its early years being a male-dominated sport before women transcended the industry and broke down barriers in the 21st century. The ascent of women’s MMA peaked over the last decade when women were brought into the UFC in 2013 and were allowed

Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJul 21, 2024, 05:56 PM ET Close Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia Open Extended Reactions TROON, Scotland — Another major championship season has come and gone, and this one will be remembered as one that was dominated by American

Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing InsiderJul 21, 2024, 01:42 AM ET Close Mike Coppinger has covered boxing since 2010 with roles at USA Today, Ring Magazine and The Athletic before he joined ESPN in 2021. You can follow him on Twitter: @MikeCoppinger Open Extended Reactions Jake Paul scored a sixth-round TKO victory over bare-knuckle fighter Mike

Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPNJul 20, 2024, 09:56 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Cleveland Cavaliers 7-footer Evan Mobley has agreed to a five-year, $224 million maximum rookie contract extension that could become worth as much as $269 million, agents Joe Smith and Thad Foucher of Wasserman told ESPN on Saturday. Mobley, 23, has quickly become one of

Jul 20, 2024, 04:45 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Linebacker Shaquil Barrett, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Denver Broncos, announced his retirement Saturday. “I’m ready to shift my full focus to my wife and kids and helping them realize there dreams,” Barrett wrote as part of an Instagram

Associated Press Jul 20, 2024, 07:16 PM ET Open Extended Reactions OCEANPORT, N.J. — Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch captured the $1 million Haskell Stakes on Saturday at Monmouth Park to take charge of what had been a wide-open 3-year-old division. The Haskell featured a renewal of the budding rivalry between Dornoch and Mindframe. They clashed

Open Extended Reactions No team is perfect, even if the roster may look great on paper. Teams face movement often between the transfer portal, NFL draft, injuries and more. This season, we’ll see a starting quarterback play in his seventh year of eligibility, teams that are looking to rebuild at wide receiver and rosters that

Jul 19, 2024, 07:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions This season has been both predictable and unexpected. We’ve seen typical MLB powerhouses, such as the New York Yankees, re-emerge from down seasons, but we’ve also seen surprises such as the Cleveland Guardians having the best record in the American League or the Atlanta Braves going

Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterJul 18, 2024, 07:00 AM ET Close Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN. Open Extended Reactions Is Macklin Celebrini about to follow Connor Bedard in becoming the latest No. 1 pick to win the Calder Trophy? Or could a winner come from a dynamic field that features Cutter

Open Extended Reactions Manchester United are close to overcoming competition from Real Madrid to seal a £52.1 million ($67.9m) deal for Leny Yoro after the Lille defender was granted permission to travel to Old Trafford for a medical, sources have told ESPN. United, who completed the £35.8m ($46.7m) signing of Netherlands forward Joshua Zirkzee from

Associated Press Jul 17, 2024, 04:27 PM ET Open Extended Reactions OCEANPORT, N.J. — Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch and runner-up Mindframe are set to renew their rivalry when they return to racing for the $1 million Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday. Mindframe, who finished a half-length behind Dornoch in the final leg of

Kelly Crandall Jul 17, 2024, 09:17 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Jeff Gordon won the last of his five Brickyard 400s in 2014. Andy Lyons/Getty Images Jeff Gordon wishes he could remember more details from his first Indianapolis victory. It has been 30 years since that day, Aug. 6, 1994. A milestone that is pretty amazing

Jul 15, 2024, 07:55 AM ET Open Extended Reactions The greatest athlete of the 21st century? That’s easy. It has to be Tom Brady, the quarterback of the greatest dynasty America’s favorite sport has ever seen, a seven-time Super Bowl champ and five-time Super Bowl MVP. Yep. Tom Brady. Except. Except it has to be

Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff WriterJul 14, 2024, 03:35 PM ET Close MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Open Extended Reactions 2024 is already shaping up as one of the most dramatic years in MMA history, and it’s only just halfway over. Alex Pereira has saved not one