10:34 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN NEW ORLEANS — When Zion Williamson finally does take the floor for his season debut with the New Orleans Pelicans, expect the team to be mindful of the workload for this year’s No. 1 overall pick. David Griffin, the Pelicans’ vice president of basketball operations, said Williamson’s return to the
9:45 PM ET Tory BarronESPN Editor Close Tory Barron is a Bristol-based writer and editor for ESPN.com. After retiring from playing lacrosse at UConn, the DC native decided to try her hand at writing about people playing sports. You must unlearn what you have learned about elite Internet memes in the past because Baby Yoda
9:30 PM ET Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Chase Elliott‘s run as NASCAR’s most popular driver hit two consecutive years when he was voted as the sport’s top star. Elliott won the award last season, the first since Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired to end his streak of 15 consecutive years as winner. Earnhardt Jr. fell
8:51 PM ET Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Joe Gibbs was honored with the Bill France Award of Excellence, capping a year in which he was elected to NASCAR’s Hall of Fame, won his fifth Cup championship as a car owner and thoroughly dominated the competition. Gibbs was surprised with the honor, given at the
7:00 AM ET Coaches kicking their players in the back, or punching them in the head, is unacceptable. That’s a given, right? That a superior assaulting a subordinate is wrong? That these power dynamics discourage any pushback, because the victim risks a reduction in playing time, outright removal from the team or escalating physical and
8:43 PM ET Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Joe Vaughn, a longtime volunteer and leader with the South Carolina-based Project HOPE Foundation that serves the autism community, won the ninth annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award on Thursday night. Vaughn received the award and $100,000 donation to the Project HOPE Foundation during NASCAR’s season-ending awards
8:16 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Max Holloway has won an unprecedented 13 straight fights in the UFC’s featherweight division. He has dominated at 145 pounds for five years. Holloway, the champion of that weight class, admits now that he must leave featherweight in the future if he wants to achieve his ultimate goals. Holloway
7:15 PM ET Forward Gabriel Landeskog will return from a lower-body injury Thursday night when the Colorado Avalanche take on the Montreal Canadiens. Landeskog, 27, Colorado’s captain who missed 16 games, confirmed coach Jared Bednar’s decision before pregame warm-ups at Bell Centre. Throughout the course of the injury, the team was vague about details. Landeskog
6:58 PM ET Former two-division world titlist Carl Frampton has been diagnosed with fractures in both hands following his win against Tyler McCreary. Frampton dominated McCreary, knocking him down twice with body shots and winning a 10-round shutout decision in their junior lightweight bout on Saturday night on the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card
6:27 PM ET Former Auburn Tigers quarterback Joey Gatewood is transferring to Kentucky, he announced Thursday. Gatewood, who left Auburn’s program in late October after serving as the team’s backup quarterback, said on Twitter that he’ll be joining the Wildcats. He took an official visit to Kentucky last month. The 6-foot-5, 237-pound Gatewood redshirted last