4:46 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — The Raptors have gotten approval from the Canadian government to play games at their home arena this season, a team spokesperson said Friday. Toronto played last season in Tampa, Florida, because of travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s not clear whether the team will be allowed
6:04 PM ET The American Athletic Conference will be willing to negotiate a higher exit fee to accommodate earlier departures of UCF, Cincinnati and Houston to the Big 12 Conference, AAC commissioner Mike Aresco told ESPN on Friday. AAC bylaws require schools to give a 27-month notice before they leave and pay a $10 million
7:19 PM ET Restricted free agent forward Jarred Vanderbilt has agreed to stay with the Minnesota Timberwolves on a new three-year, $13.8 million contract, his agent Kevin Bradbury of Rep1 Sports tells ESPN. Vanderbilt, 22, played his first injury-free season since his junior year of high school for Minnesota last season. After playing only 28
10:06 AM ET Heather Dinich Close ESPN Senior Writer College football reporter Joined ESPN.com in 2007 Graduate of Indiana University Adam Rittenberg Close ESPN Senior Writer College football reporter. Joined ESPN.com in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University. The Big 12 presidents and chancellors voted on Friday to accept BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF into the
3:35 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers agreed to trade Marc Gasol, a 2024 second-round pick and cash to the Memphis Grizzlies, who plan to work on waiver and release to allow Gasol to remain in Spain with his family, sources told ESPN. The Lakers will save approximately $10 million in salary and luxury tax
7:03 PM ET The UFC has signed the only man to ever knock out one of its biggest stars. Kickboxing standout Alex Pereira has penned a contract with the UFC and will make his debut at UFC 268 on Nov. 6 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, promotion officials confirmed with ESPN on Friday. His
4:52 PM ET Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat maintained his lead at the BMW PGA Championship with another impressive round at Wentworth as the battle for last-ditch automatic qualification for the European Ryder Cup team intensified on Friday. Aphibarnrat followed his eight-under 64 on Thursday with a 68 to reach 12 under at the halfway point of
6:30 AM ET William Ricks There’s been a lot of change in the NFL as the 2021 season gets underway. The league added a 17th game to their regular-season schedule, permitted alternate uniforms for the 2022 season and gave players more freedom in picking their jersey numbers. The league has relaxed its once-stringent rule on
4:30 PM ET ESPN staff In a very unexpected US Open women’s final, we have two teenagers — Leylah Fernandez and Emma Raducanu — making their first appearances in the final round of a Grand Slam event. Honestly, who would have guessed this pairing? Or even that just one of these women would make it
4:34 PM ET Associated Press CALGARY, Alberta — – The Calgary Flames signed defensemen Erik Gudbranson and Michael Stone to one-year deals on Friday. Gunderson’s contract is worth $1.95 million and Stone signed for $700,000, the club said. Gudbranson, 29, has played 10 NHL seasons for six teams: Florida, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Anaheim, Ottawa and Nashville.
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas beat team-mate Lewis Hamilton to qualify fastest for Saturday’s Italian Grand Prix ‘sprint’ race. The Finn beat Hamilton by 0.096 seconds, with Hamilton’s title rival Max Verstappen third, 0.411secs behind. The usual second Friday practice was replaced by an hour-long qualifying session to decide the grid for Saturday’s ‘sprint’ race qualifying. Hamilton
South Africa took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series against Sri Lanka.© AFP Disciplined bowling and a quickfire 48 by Aiden Markram helped South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 28 runs in the first Twenty20 international on Friday. Markram’s 33-ball knock guided South Africa to 163-5, a total they defended by restricting Sri Lanka
12:39 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The New York Racing Association has charged Bob Baffert with detrimental conduct and scheduled a hearing for the two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer to respond to those allegations. NYRA announced the beginning of the hearing process Friday, adding the organization believes Baffert’s conduct warrants suspension or revocation of
1:20 PM ET ESPN News Services A young giraffe named after Cincinnati Bengals quarterback and former LSU star Joe Burrow died Wednesday, a day after falling ill. Officials at the Baton Rouge Zoo said in a release Thursday that the 20-month-old giraffe named Burreaux had died after developing a sudden onset of symptoms Tuesday, including
5:20 PM ET Indiana Pacers guard Edmond Sumner tore his left Achilles tendon during an offseason workout on Thursday and will be out indefinitely, the team announced. Sumner, 25, was a second-round draft pick in 2017. He played the most games of his NBA career last season for the Pacers, averaging 7.5 points in 16
11:59 AM ET The COVID-19 outbreak in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse is not over, as ace Chris Sale will miss at least his next start after testing positive for the illness. Sale, who will have to sit out a minimum of 10 days under MLB protocols, was scheduled to start against the Chicago White
T20 World Cup: MS Dhoni has been appointed as Team India’s mentor.© AFP India great Kapil Dev on Friday welcomed MS Dhoni’s appointment as the mentor of the national team for the T20 World Cup, saying it seems a special case since he has come back to the set-up only one year after retirement. Speaking
9:21 AM ET The United States men’s national team finished the opening round of World Cup qualifying on a high note with a win at Honduras after drab draws against El Salvador and Canada. Amid mounting injuries and off-pitch drama, the team learned tough lessons as it seeks to book its spot at Qatar 2022.