Sports

4:03 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Kevin Durant plans to sign a four-year, $198 million maximum contract extension with the Brooklyn Nets sometime after he becomes eligible Saturday, his longtime business manager and co-founder of 35 Ventures and Boardroom, Rich Kleiman, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Durant is expected to decline his 2022-23 player option and extend

3:50 PM ET Kawhi Leonard has decided to return to the LA Clippers, a source confirmed to ESPN. Terms of the deal are being finalized for Leonard, who declined his player option for $36 million this coming season to become a free agent but was expected to return to the Clippers. His decision to stay

3:13 PM ET The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired guard Grayson Allen in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. In return, the Grizzlies will get guard Sam Merrill and two future second-round picks, sources said. Allen, the 25-year-old former Duke standout, set career highs in points (10.6), rebounds (3.2) and assists

7:27 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — Teen tennis sensation Coco Gauff said she was supposed to get her first vaccine shot the same week she got COVID-19, which forced her to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics and has left her without her sense of smell. “I’m just happy that I didn’t have really

Aug 5, 2021 The standoff between the Buffalo Sabres and star center Jack Eichel has progressed past the point of usefulness for all involved. It’s degenerated into public discourse for a matter than should have remained internal; now we have a general manager bragging about leverage, and agents sending Notes app missives to local media

6:00 AM ET GREEN BAY, Wis. — The first week of training camp here has revealed an early test of the Green Bay Packers‘ shadow general manager, aka quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Two slot receivers — one a veteran whom Rodgers campaigned to acquire, the other a rookie drafted when Rodgers was contemplating his future —

7:45 PM ET ESPN staff The college football season will look plenty different in 2021. The college football power rankings? Not quite as much. Despite new quarterbacks at Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State, those three perennial powers find themselves in the top five. They are joined by Oklahoma and Georgia, which both return quarterbacks in

7:00 AM ET The first time Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis spent meaningful time with Alex Ovechkin was after the 2004-05 NHL lockout. Ovechkin, who had been drafted No. 1 overall by the Caps in 2004, arrived at Leonsis’ house to spend a day with the family. Leonsis’ wife, Lynn, made lunch. Leonsis was impressed

4:40 PM ET CHICAGO — Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer says his ‘greatest source of frustration’ was the team’s inability to sign any of their stars to long term contracts before trading them last Friday. Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Baez were the talk of the baseball world last week as all

6:14 AM ET Associated Press TOKYO — Alexander Zverev followed up his comeback win over Novak Djokovic by winning the gold medal in men’s tennis at the Tokyo Olympics. The fifth-ranked German overwhelmed Russian opponent Karan Khachanov 6-3, 6-1 at the Tokyo Games on Sunday for the biggest title of his career. The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter)

12:48 PM ET LAS VEGAS — When the U.S. men’s national team and Mexico meet in Sunday’s 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup final, it will be the second time in 56 days that the longtime rivals have faced each other with a continental title on the line. And yet the two matches could not be more

6:29 PM BST South Africa assistant Mzwandile Stick accused British & Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland of “destroying the dignity of the series” following his reported fury at the appointment of Marius Jonker as Television Match Official (TMO) for the first test. South Africa’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has been under fire for an

1:24 PM BST South Africa’s director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, posted an hour-long video on Twitter on Thursday airing his grievances over the refereeing in the first test of the British & Irish Lions tour, before saying he would “step away” for the last two tests. The Boks and Lions have each repeatedly voiced their

1:08 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Amanda Nunes, the pound-for-pound best female fighter in the UFC, will have to wait a little longer for the next defense of her bantamweight championship. She tested positive for COVID-19, UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell told ESPN on Thursday, canceling her fight with Julianna Peña that was scheduled for

7:51 AM ET The welterweight clash between Conor Benn and Adrian Granados has been postponed as Benn tested positive for COVID-19, DAZN announced on Thursday. Benn (18-0-0) and Granados (21-8-3) were originally scheduled to meet in the WBA continental title fight at Matchroom Boxing’s Essex headquarters on Saturday. DAZN said a new date for the

2:40 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN Canelo Alvarez’s longtime goal of becoming undisputed boxing champion is further from reality than ever since he won his third 168-pound title in May. Boxing’s top star was on the verge of a deal to meet Caleb Plant on Sept. 18 in Las Vegas — a PBC on Fox pay-per-view

5:40 PM ET Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Churchill Downs announced three capital improvement projects over the next three years Wednesday, including two totaling $135 million, for the home of the Kentucky Derby. The Homestretch Club will undergo a $45 million renovation and upgrade of areas adjacent to the Twin Spires and is scheduled for

6:55 PM ET Associated Press IndyCar rookie Jimmie Johnson is hopeful of testing in August on the oval at Homestead-Miami Speedway as part of a path toward running in next year’s Indianapolis 500. Johnson, a seven-time NASCAR champion, jumped this season to IndyCar and has competed in seven races for team owner Chip Ganassi. He’s

6:19 AM ET Golf is back in the Olympics for the second time after a 112-year absence, following a successful return in Brazil in 2016, when England’s Justin Rose captured the gold medal. Rose held off Sweden’s — and then-reigning Open champion — Henrik Stenson. American Matt Kuchar finished third to win the bronze. None

2:45 AM ET She lit the fire to start the Olympics, but Naomi Osaka‘s Tokyo 2020 dreams were extinguished far too soon on Tuesday in just over an hour by Marketa Vondrousova. With a flurry of unforced errors and growing frustration, Osaka’s Olympics ended with a 6-1, 6-4 loss to Vondrousova, ranked No. 42 in