Sports

5:05 PM GMT The 2025 Rugby League World Cup will take place in France, the French Rugby League federation confirmed on Friday. French prime minister Jean Castex will hold a full launch of the event on Jan. 11 in Paris. The tournament will be the 17th edition, and returns to France, where the first World

6:29 AM ET ESPN News Services A Czech tennis player has joined Novak Djokovic in immigration detention after having her visa canceled, authorities confirmed Friday. Renata Voracova was detained after being informed by Australian Border Force officials that she had to leave the country. Czech officials are seeking an explanation to the situation but said

7:46 AM ET Michael Rothstein Close ESPN Staff Writer Previously covered University of Michigan for ESPN.com and AnnArbor.com Also covered Notre Dame for Fort Wayne Journal Gazette Ben Baby Close ESPN Staff Writer ESPN Staff Writer Previously a college football writer for The Dallas Morning News University of North Texas graduate Predicting what could happen

12:44 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — Despite helping his team engineer a remarkable comeback from 25 points down against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, star forward Julius Randle wasn’t happy. Midway through the fourth quarter, Randle made a layup and, as he ran back to the other end

7:49 AM ET Do you feel that? That, my friends, is the feeling of a brand new calendar year of MMA. A year in which anything seems possible. It’s time to dream big for 2022. We’ve got a fresh slate. The table is set for some incredible fights, breakthrough performances and stories that will go

4:40 PM ET Congratulations to all! We have reached the time of year when we watch the game in front of us with one eye and the scoreboard with the other. Sunday began with six of the NFL’s 14 playoff spots filled. Nine others had a chance to clinch one of the eight remaining spots.

4:20 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The Belmont Stakes is moving to Fox Sports as part of an eight-year deal beginning in 2023. The deal announced Wednesday between Fox and the New York Racing Association includes NYRA Bets as the title sponsor of the third leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown series. NYRA

7:00 AM ET SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Every day, Marcus Freeman takes a moment to reflect on the opportunity he has to be Notre Dame‘s head coach. Six weeks ago, Freeman’s life forever changed. He spent the afternoon of Nov. 29 recruiting in Michigan as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator. That night, news broke that Fighting

7:00 AM ET As the NHL’s 32 teams all work their way back from the holiday break — and various postponements due to COVID-19 — it’s time for another round of the power rankings. And this week, we’re also laying out the most pivotal situations for every club by identifying one big question for 2022.

7:00 AM ET $615 million. On three players. By two teams. In one day. It began at about 4 p.m. in Dallas on Nov. 28, when a Texas Rangers team coming off a 102-loss season agreed to terms on a seven-year, $175 million contract with Marcus Semien, a top-three finisher in MVP voting after two

4:00 PM ET Rob DawsonCorrespondent MANCHESTER, England — It says everything about Manchester United‘s opening game of 2022 that Phil Jones returned for his first appearance in 708 days and was, by some distance, their best player. It’s no disrespect to Jones, without a game since January 2020 as he battled back from a serious

9:47 PM ET Associated Press REDDICK, Fla. — Billy Turner, who trained Seattle Slew to a Triple Crown sweep of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont stakes in 1977, has died. He was 81. Turner died Friday at his home here where he had been in hospice care after battling prostate cancer for two years,

1:00 AM ET Associated Press SYDNEY — Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman and Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut led their respective teams to comfortable victories Saturday on the opening day of the 16-team ATP Cup tournament. Argentina beat Georgia 3-0, while Spain easily accounted for Chile by the same margin in the opening ties of the team-based tournament

11:20 AM ET The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to trade Denzel Valentine to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Rajon Rondo, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday. The Lakers are expected to waive Valentine’s partially guaranteed deal and create an open roster spot. Rondo is eager for the chance to play a bigger

8:28 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim The shiny brass-and-leather belts worn by UFC champions do not merely signify achievement and ascendance. For the select few fighters who earn them, these esteemed titles can bestow an aura of invincibility. Yet nothing is forever. Among the 12 weight classes in the UFC, seven fighters now wear championship belts

1:00 PM ET Ryan Hockensmith ON CHRISTMAS DAY, John Madden gathered his close family members and friends around his TV at 2 p.m. A documentary about him and his tall-tale life, “All Madden,” was airing on Fox, and he wanted to watch it with the people he loved the most. Many of the people in

2:55 PM GMT England trio Owen Farrell, Jamie George and Manu Tuilagi are expected to be fit for selection for the Six Nations which starts on Feb. 5. Both Farrell and George were injured in England’s 32-15 win over Australia on Nov. 13, with the fly-half requiring surgery on his ankle. Tuilagi was forced off

11:40 AM ET While Alabama might have taken a little longer to get on track this season than coach Nick Saban would have preferred, he said Thursday his patience wasn’t necessarily tested. “I don’t have any patience, so anything that happens is a test of my patience, including sitting in this chair right now,” Saban

8:30 AM ET Mike CoppingerESPN After 2020 significantly cut down the volume of fights and memorable moments fans are accustomed to in boxing, 2021 delivered in a major way. Looking back at the last 12 months, the year could best be described as “the year of the upset,” with several key title fights that going

7:00 AM ET The Winter Classic has been the NHL’s signature outdoor event since 2008, when the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres played through picturesque snow and launched an institution. The game between the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild scheduled for Target Field on Jan. 1, 2022, will be the 13th edition of the