7:00 AM ET What if the Splash Bros. had Wilt Chamberlain playing center? How many titles would the Lakers have won if Magic Johnson was running the break with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal? Imagine Hakeem Olajuwon and James Harden teaming up in Clutch City. We asked our NBA writers to come up with an
8:47 AM ET Steve KimESPN After his momentous victory over childhood idol Julio Cesar Chavez on June 7, 1996, Oscar De La Hoya took the rest of 1996 off. He fought only twice that year. As the calendar turned to 1997, “The Golden Boy” embarked on what was perhaps the most productive stretch of his
7:30 AM ET Yaroslav Askarov is special. Any goaltender who can be comfortably projected to go in the top half of the first round anymore is. But 2020 NHL draft prospect Askarov stands out even among those few for so many reasons. The Omsk, Russia native has been described by some as the best goalie
7:00 AM ET Let me get this part out of the way: I don’t like the idea of the universal designated hitter. At the same time, I recognize it as the best option for what will already be a strange season, if we get even that. However, we shouldn’t let this be the end of
3:23 AM BST South Africa fullback Warrick Gelant has made the switch from the Bulls to Super Rugby rivals the Stormers, officials confirmed on Wednesday. Gelant, 25, will swap Pretoria for Cape Town, having been signed to fill the gap left by another Springboks fullback, Dillyn Leyds, who has moved to La Rochelle in France.
11:24 PM ET Associated Press DARLINGTON, S.C. — Denny Hamlin won NASCAR’s first Wednesday race since 1984 when rain stopped the event with 20 laps remaining at Darlington Raceway. The Daytona 500 winner was out front but out of fresh tires and trying to hang on when he got unintended help from Joe Gibbs Racing
10:08 PM ET The NHL and the NHLPA are discussing a 24-team, conference-based playoff format for a potential restart to the 2019-20 season this summer, sources confirmed to ESPN. The proposed format was first reported by Sportsnet. The NHL season has been on pause since March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The playoffs would
6:15 PM ET The PGA Tour is set to return to action next month in Texas, but the plight of international players residing overseas at the moment makes their involvement in the scheduled tournaments problematic. Veteran Lee Westwood highlighted those obstacles in an interview with Golf Channel on Tuesday in which he said he is
6:58 AM IST The BCCI will give freedom to the Indian players to decide for themselves whether to return to play as and when cricket restarts in the country. That is the assurance given by Rahul Johri, the BCCI chief executive, who said player safety would be given “paramount importance”. Johri also said the board
4:11 PM ET NBA teams are expecting the league office will issue guidelines around June 1 that will allow franchises to start recalling players who’ve left their markets as a first step toward a formal ramp-up for the season’s resumption, sources told ESPN. Teams expect a similar timeline from the league on when they’ll be
6:03 PM ET Just like that, life feels a little more normal, right? Three UFC events in eight days will certainly do that. After two months of uncertainty, we’re back to arguing about late/early stoppages, title shots and all the wacky, fun stuff that makes being an MMA fan so much fun. It also means
7:30 PM ET ESPN News Services The ATP is offering mental health support to players by partnering with a group founded by former England and Arsenal soccer player Tony Adams. The men’s professional tennis tour said it will be working with Adams’ Sporting Chance to provide a 24-7 helpline with therapists. 1 Related The tour
12:47 PM ET An unnamed NFL player is suing United Airlines, alleging he was sexually harassed, assaulted and violated by a female passenger on a February flight from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, and that the airline failed to properly respond to complaints. The civil suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on
4:09 PM ET Dallas Cowboys defensive end Aldon Smith has been granted conditional reinstatement by the NFL from an indefinite suspension for violation of the league’s personal conduct and substance abuse policies, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. The move will allow Smith to take part in meetings with Cowboys coaches and teammates in the virtual
5:05 PM ET Arizona Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet says he’s confident his team will be among the finalists for pending free-agent star Taylor Hall. “I’m not saying he is going to sign here, but I definitely think we’re a team he’s very interested in staying with,” Tocchet told the ESPN On Ice podcast this week.
4:31 PM ET The NCAA Division I Council voted Wednesday to allow voluntary on-campus athletic activities to resume in football and men’s and women’s basketball, starting June 1, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN. After the coronavirus pandemic forced the shutdown of sports across the country, the council banned all on-campus athletic activities. That moratorium was
4:50 PM ET Associated Press The LPGA Tour will not have its qualifying events at the end of the year, deciding Wednesday to keep the same roster of players it has on all of its tours. The LPGA already has canceled seven events, plus the UL International Crown team event, because of the COVID-19 pandemic
3:19 PM ET Some players are hoping for tweaks to MLB’s recent health-protocols proposal as discussions continue about how to safely restart during the coronavirus pandemic. Mostly, players want to know whether some in-stadium and clubhouse restrictions can be loosened based on the plan to frequently test players and staff for the virus. “The daily