3:21 PM ET JOHANNESBURG — Charl Schwartzel sank a 75-yard eagle on his penultimate hole to card a second round eight under par 63 for the lead at the halfway point of the European Tour’s South African Open at the Randpark Golf Club on Friday. Schwartzel’s 12 under par tournament total is one ahead of
3:00 AM ET Cape Town Blitz 148 for 4 (De Kock 93, Bravo 2-18) beat Paarl Rocks 144 for 9 (Du Plessis 61, Steyn 2-22, Burger2-26, Siboto 2-27) by six wickets A blistering 93 from Quinton de Kock helped Cape Town Blitz romp to a six-wicket win over Paarl Rocks at a festive Newlands on
4:25 PM ET NEW YORK — The brilliant lightweight world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko is widely considered the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world despite having just 12 professional fights. He is aiming to add another significant accomplishment to his resume to embellish his argument. Lomachenko won world titles in three weight classes — featherweight, junior
3:31 PM ET Olivier Aubin-Mercier might be coming off a rare loss in his last performance, but he has never felt better about the direction of his career. That’s because Aubin-Mercier (11-3) believes he’s figuring things out — in and out of the cage. The 29-year-old lightweight has been in the UFC for a while
8:06 PM ET Associated Press CALGARY, Alberta — Calgary defenseman Mark Giordano was suspended for two games by NHL on Friday night for kneeing, while Flames forward Ryan Lomberg was suspended for a game and head coach Bill Peters fined $10,000. Giordano, the Flames’ captain, was assessed a tripping penalty after kneeing Minnesota’s Mikko Koivu
2:07 PM ET Associated Press CALGARY, Alberta — Calgary Flames forward Ryan Lomberg has been suspended for a game and coach Bill Peters fined $10,000 by the NHL for a confrontation at the end of a game with the Minnesota Wild. Lomberg went after Matt Dumba when the Wild defenseman steamrolled Flames center Mikael Backlund
2:47 PM ET Saturday’s UFC 231 pay-per-view in Toronto will feature a pair of title fights that have been a long time coming. Featherweight champion Max Holloway will finally meet undefeated Brian Ortega in a championship bout that was supposed to take place this summer but was canceled over concerns around Holloway’s health. And in
1:15 PM ET Philadelphia big man Joel Embiid won’t play Friday night when the Phildelphia Sixers take on the Pistons in Detroit. Sixers coach Brett Brown said Embiid needed a rest day. What’s really going on in the MVP race? This week the spotlight falls on John Wall stagnation, Kawhi stretching and a new headband
12:37 PM ET Great tennis matches occur every year, burned into our memory for any number of reasons. But for each there are also some that have a pivotal impact. This is not to say these three matches were the most memorable, the most dramatic or even the best. But the fallout provided turning points
1:00 PM ET Bob PockrassNASCAR Close • NASCAR writer for ESPN.com• 2009, 2013 NMPA Writer of the Year• More than 25 years experience covering motorsports MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t mind that he still has a little urge to drive a race car after a year where he competed in one Xfinity Series race and spent