6:31 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Agent Casey Close accused the Atlanta Braves of perpetuating a “false narrative” regarding the departure of first baseman Freddie Freeman from the organization, saying in a statement to ESPN that he “will
5:06 PM ET ESPN staff USC and UCLA are planning to join the Big Ten as early as 2024, sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday, spinning the conference realignment wheel again a little under a year after Oklahoma and Texas rocked the college football world by announcing their intentions to join the SEC. The fallout
9:09 PM ET Associated Press SILVIS, Ill. — J.T. Poston shot a 9-under 62 on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead in the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic. Coming off a second-place tie last week in Connecticut, Poston eagled the par-5 second and had seven birdies in a bogey-free round at TPC Deere Run. “It’s
8:48 PM ET The Boston Bruins are set to name Jim Montgomery as their new head coach, sources told ESPN on Thursday, confirming multiple reports. The appointment is expected to be made official Friday, the same day Montgomery’s contract as an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues expires. The 53-year-old Montgomery replaces Bruce Cassidy,
5:55 PM ET Associated Press Nick Kyrgios was fined $10,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct in his first-round Wimbledon victory, the largest of the penalties announced so far at the tournament. Kyrgios acknowledged at his news conference after that match that he spit in the direction of a spectator he said was heckling him. On Thursday, the
1:42 PM ET English wild card Katie Boulter dedicated her second-round 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over world No.7 Karolina Pliskova to her grandmother, who died Tuesday. Boulter, 25, played out a gruelling two hours with Pliskova and overcame a set deficit to beat the runner-up of last year’s tournament, entering the third round of
4:00 PM ET Connor O’Halloran Oleksandr Usyk has said he will return to Ukraine following the first defence of his WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight title belts against Anthony Joshua in August. Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs), 35, will rematch Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs), 32, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Aug. 20, having become heavyweight champion
3:28 PM ET ESPN News Services Rafael Nadal made it through to the third round of Wimbledon for the 11th time after getting past Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Thursday. The second-seeded Nadal looked far from his best at times, but he won on Centre Court in a match that finished under the
3:00 PM ET Franchise star Kevin Durant has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Nets general manager Sean Marks is working with Durant and his business manager Rich Kleiman on finding a trade, Kleiman told ESPN. As the Nets prepare to move one of the most valuable
1:31 PM ET Australia’s Ryan Fox carded an 8-under-par 64 to claim a 1-shot lead after the first round at the Irish Open on Thursday. The 35-year-old got off to a dream start at Mount Juliet Estate in Kilkenny, Ireland, as he birdied six of the first eight holes for a flawless opening round. 1