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J.J. Watt is keeping the door slightly ajar on a possible NFL return if the Houston Texans need him, but this is the final year he'll say that. Watt, who retired after the 2022 season, made his comments Saturday as he hosted his annual charity softball game in Houston. "I'm a very fortunate, lucky man, I have a beautiful wife, I have a beautiful son. I've had 12 great years in this league and I'm very thankful to have walked away healthy and playing great," he told reporters. "I told DeMeco [Ryans] last year: 'Don't call unless you absolutely need it, but, if you ever do call, I'll be there.' And he knows not to call unless he absolutely needs it. This is the last year I'll tell him that, because I'm not going to keep training [the way] I've been training." Watt, 35, and Ryans played together for the Texans in 2011, which was Watt's first NFL season and Ryans' last with the Texans. Ryans was hired as the Texans' coach last year and led Houston (10-7) to the AFC South...

SINGAPORE -- Brooks Koepka shot a 3-under 68 on Sunday to win the LIV Golf tournament, his fourth victory on the circuit. Koepka finished 15-under 201 for the three rounds, two ahead of Australians Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith. Leishman finished with a 66 and Smith a 64 at the Sentosa Golf Club. Talor Gooch shot 67 and finished in fourth place, 3 strokes behind Koepka. Koepka has four LIV titles to go with five major championships. The latest was the PGA in 2023. Koepka was the seventh different winner in seven events this season. "It's all starting to come around," Koepka said in his postmatch interview. "I've put in a lot of work, I feel like, on the golf course, off the golf course. And it's been a good two weeks to say the least." Jon Rahm, who has yet to win after joining LIV in December, ended 6 strokes behind after a 67. He finished tied for 10th. Rahm is the only player to have finished in the top 10 in all seven events in 2024. The team...

Alexandre Pantoja turned back a formidable challenge from Steve Erceg to earn a unanimous decision and retain the UFC flyweight championship in the main event of UFC 301 on Saturday night. Fighting in front of his fellow countrymen at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the champion dealt with a surprisingly sturdy opponent in Erceg who challenged him at every turn of their 25-minute battle. It would be Pantoja's experience, grappling and nine takedowns that would turn back the challenge of a fighter many thought was undeserving of a title opportunity But Erceg, from Perth, Australia, gave Pantoja all he could handle. "I'm in here to fight the best in the world and this guy is one of them," Pantoja said. "What a tough fighter and what a tough division." It was a fight that ended up being decided in the final round as two of the three judges had it even after four rounds of action. However, Erceg's ill-advised takedown attempt in the fifth round gave the Brazilian...

LOS ANGELES -- Dave Roberts recently joked that Shohei Ohtani should gift him a Porsche when the slugger breaks his Dodgers record for most home runs by a Japanese-born player. Ohtani obliged, just maybe not in the way Roberts imagined. Before Friday's game against the Atlanta Braves, Ohtani gifted Roberts a purple toy model Porsche in his office. Roberts said the car is sitting on his desk. Ohtani hit his eighth home run, and surpassed Roberts' mark, with a solo shot to right-center during the third inning of Saturday's 11-3 rout of the Braves. "He did buy me a car. I guess I didn't specify what type of car," Roberts said before the game. "So I can't say he never gave me anything." Ohtani gifted Ashley Kelly, the wife of Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly, a Porsche for Kelly giving up No. 17 when Ohtani signed with the Dodgers in December. Kelly's wife took to social media while Ohtani was weighing his free agency decision promising him that he could...

LAS VEGAS -- The boisterous, surprising support for Jaime Munguia was swiftly extinguished with a patented Canelo Alvarez combination on Saturday, a left hook followed by a right uppercut that planted the challenger on the canvas for the first knockdown of his 44-fight career. Alvarez, boxing's top star, continued to build momentum after that fourth-round knockdown and won the fight with his cleaner, sharper, harder shots to retain his undisputed super middleweight championship in an all-Mexican battle on Cinco de Mayo weekend before 17,492 at T-Mobile Arena. Alvarez's fourth successful defense of his four 168-pound titles was made official via scores of 115-113, 117-110 and 116-111. ESPN scored it 118-109. This was the third consecutive fight that Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) scored a knockdown. He also dropped Jermell Charlo and John Ryder in decision wins last year. "I'm very proud that all the Mexicans are here watching us," Alvarez, ESPN's No. 4 pound-for-pound boxer, said. "......

Lionel Messi set the Major League Soccer record for most goal contributions and assists in a single match during  Inter Miami CF's triumphant 6-2 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Messi's six goal contributions and five assists in a game set MLS records. He has now scored and assisted in six consecutive league matches. "All [goals] were fundamental to the game, but Leo did something historic tonight with five assists and one goal," Inter Miami coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino said.  "But I can't forget Suarez's three goals and Rojas' two goals. The first, well both, but the first Rojas goal was amazing. But because of the technical aspect of Leo on the assist I will choose  Luis Suárez's scissor goal as my favorite." Suárez had three goals and Matías Rojas scored twice as Inter Miami got six unanswered goals to come back from a 1-0 deficit at halftime. Messi and...

DENVER -- If you asked another young star what it felt like to go into the defending champs' building and put up a career playoff-high 43 points in a 106-99 Game 1 win to tip off the second round, he might call it a statement performance. If he was really feeling himself, he might say Saturday night represented a seismic shift in the balance of power in the Western Conference with the Minnesota Timberwolves stealing home court away from the Denver Nuggets. However, Anthony Edwards isn't like any other young star today. He might not be like any other young star in league history. "It's not about introducing ourselves to nobody. We know who we are," Edwards said when asked about Minnesota playing past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in two decades. "We're coming out and as long as we got each other's backs, it don't really matter what anybody else thinks." Edwards joked that he might not even have been born when Kevin Garnett and...

Lionel Messi set the Major League Soccer record for most goal contributions and assists in a single match during  Inter Miami CF's triumphant 6-2 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night at Chase Stadium. Messi's six goal contributions and five assists in a game are new MLS records. He has now scored and assisted in six consecutive league matches. "All [goals] were fundamental to the game, but Leo did something historic tonight with five assists and one goal," said Inter Miami head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino. "But I can't forget Suarez's three goals and Rojas' two goals. The first, well both, but the first Rojas goal was amazing. But because of the technical aspect of Leo on the assist I will choose  Luis Suárez's scissor goal as my favorite." Suárez had three goals and Matías Rojas scored twice as Inter Miami got six unanswered goals to come back from a 1-0 deficit at halftime. Messi and Suárez now have a...

BOSTON -- David Pastrnak scored on a feed from Hampus Lindholm 1:54 into overtime and the Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in Game 7 on Saturday night to clinch their NHL first-round series and advance in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Jeremy Swayman finished with 30 saves and Lindholm had the tying goal in regulation to help the Bruins avoid losing their second straight first-round series after holding a 3-1 lead. They have now defeated the rival Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs three times in the past seven years. After a loss in Game 6, Boston coach Jim Montgomery told reporters the club needed more from Pastrnak, and the right wing delivered. He ended up with four shots on net across 30 shifts and 21:21 of ice time. "I thought he was dynamic tonight," Montgomery said. "I thought he had his most possession time, he was creating shots, he was taking what was available." Boston will meet the ...

Lionel Messi had a record setting night for Inter Miami CF. He scored a goal and had five assists as Inter Miami trounced the New York Red Bulls 6-2 on Saturday night - with the Argentine great and eight-time Ballon d'Or winner as the game's best player setting no fewer than three Major League Soccer records in the effort. The six goal contributions and five assists in a game are  MLS records. Messi, who earned the MLS Player of the Month Award for April, has now scored and assisted in six consecutive league matches. - Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) Luis Suárez had three goals and Matías Rojas scored twice as Inter Miami got six unanswered goals to come back from a 1-0 deficit at halftime. Messi and Suárez now have a league-leading 10 goals each, helping keep Inter Miami (7-2-3, 24 points) atop the Eastern Conference. The win extended Miami's unbeaten string to six. The streak began after a 4-0 loss at...

DENVER -- Anthony Edwards scored a playoff career-high 43 points, Naz Reid had 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets 106-99 in Game 1 of the second-round series Saturday night. Edwards was unstoppable in the first half, scoring 25 points, and Reid took over in the fourth quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points despite dealing with foul trouble. "The whole team, we trust each other," said Edwards, who was 17 of 29 from the floor. "It doesn't matter down the stretch who takes the shot. ... I trust my teammates." Edwards is coming off a 40-point performance to close out the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of that first-round series. He joins Kobe Bryant in 2001 as the only players with consecutive 40-point games at age 22 or younger in NBA postseason history, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.  Game 2 is Monday night in Denver. Three days after...

DENVER -- Anthony Edwards scored a playoff career-high 43 points, Naz Reid had 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets 106-99 in Game 1 of the second-round series Saturday night. Edwards was unstoppable in the first half, scoring 25 points, and Reid took over in the fourth quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points despite dealing with foul trouble. Game 2 is Monday night in Denver. Three days after undergoing knee surgery, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was on the bench in the second row, next to the scorer's table and behind assistant coach Micah Nori, who did the instructing and roaming off the bench. Two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 32 points, eight rebounds and nine assists for Denver, but also had seven turnovers. Jamal Murray scored 17 points after being held scoreless in the first half. Tied at 84, the Timberwolves went on an 18-7 run to...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The 150th Kentucky Derby produced one of the most dramatic finishes in its storied history -- three noses at the wire. Mystik Dan desperately fought to hang on with two challengers coming to him in the closing strides. He did, too, after a delay of several minutes while the closest three-horse photo finish since 1947 was sorted out. That year, Jet Pilot won by a head over Phalanx and a length ahead of Faultless. This one was much tighter. Mystik Dan, an 18-1 shot, edged Sierra Leone by a nose, with Forever Young another nose back in third on Saturday. Sierra Leone was the most expensive horse in the race at $2.3 million. Long shots Track Phantom and Just Steel led the field through the early going, with 3-1 favorite Fierceness racing three-wide just off the leaders. At the top of the stretch, everything changed. Track Phantom drifted off the rail, opening a hole that Hernandez squeezed Mystik Dan through, and the bay colt suddenly found another gear. He...

DENVER -- Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch handed his crutches to a team staffer, grabbed a wobbly railing and walked up two steps onto the podium in the Ball Arena interview room before plopping down in a chair ahead of Game 1 of the conference semifinals between the Wolves and Nuggets on Saturday. "All right, that's easy," Finch said with a chuckle. Finch underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee. He suffered the injury last week when he collided with Minnesota point guard Mike Conley in Game 4 of the Wolves' first-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns. Finch, who finished third in voting for Coach of the Year this season in leading Minnesota to a 56-26 record and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, will sit in a seat slightly behind the rest of the courtside seats comprising the Wolves' bench. The scorer's table to Finch's right should serve as a sort of barrier to protect the coach from careening players...

MIAMI --  Max Verstappen secured pole position for Sunday's Miami Grand Prix after beating Ferrari's  Charles Leclerc to the fastest lap in Saturday's qualifying session. The Red Bull driver held a 0.141s advantage over Leclerc at the end of Q3, with  Carlos Sainz third fastest in the second Ferrari. The front row mirrors the result of sprint qualifying, which led to Verstappen beating Leclerc to victory in the 19-lap sprint race. As he has done throughout the season, Verstappen appeared unbeatable despite struggling with the balance of the weekend. His run of six consecutive poles at the start of the season puts him level with Alain Prost's record, who achieved the feat in 1993. The Dutchman said afterward: "I think we've definitely improved the car a bit. I don't know what it is here, every year we come here I find it extremely difficult to be very consistent with the tyre feeling, the car feeling over one lap. It's just super hard to make sure...

WrestleMania 41 will be held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 19-20, 2025, the WWE announced Saturday.  "Las Vegas is the Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World. Allegiant Stadium has proven to be even greater than the A+ venue Las Vegas guaranteed it would be," WWE president Nick Khan said in a statement. "We look forward to bringing WWE's biggest event, WrestleMania, to Las Vegas and Allegiant Stadium so we can collectively make WrestleMania 41 on April 19 & 20, 2025 the most successful WWE event of all time." WrestleMania 40 took place at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia this past April and had a combined attendance of 145,298 for the two-night event, a format the WWE established during the pandemic beginning at WrestleMania 36 in 2020. WrestleMania 40 became the most successful and highest-grossing event in company history, and the WWE will aim to break that record next year in Las Vegas. In addition to the two-night stadium event, WWE will bring Raw,...

After missing the past two-plus seasons with a knee injury, Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball has exercised the $21.4 million option on his contract for the 2024-25 season, sources told ESPN on Saturday. Ball has undergone three surgeries on his left knee, the most recent a cartilage transplant in 2023. There remains some guarded hope that he could return next season, but there are no assurances that the damaged knee will allow for him to play again.   Ball, 26, signed an original four-year, $80 million deal as part of a sign-and-trade with New Orleans in the summer of 2021. After a fantastic start that had the Bulls leading the Eastern Conference in 2021-22, Ball averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals before a knee injury 35 games into the season. His inactivity has caused his contract to become a blight on the Bulls' salary cap. Ball was the No. 2 overall pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2017 NBA draft and eventually was...

DALLAS -- Mavericks reserve power forward/center Maxi Kleber will be sidelined indefinitely after suffering a third-degree dislocation of the AC joint of his right shoulder, sources told ESPN. The injury could sideline Kleber for the remainder of the Mavs' playoff run, a source said. Dallas will face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals series that begins Tuesday night. Kleber, who missed most of the first half of the season with a dislocated toe, is a key defender who provides Dallas with lineup versatility. He shot 10-of-18 from 3-point range in the Mavs' first-round series win over the LA Clippers. Kleber suffered the injury on a gruesome fall early in the second quarter of Friday's Game 6 elimination victory over LA. He landed on the shoulder after being fouled by Clippers forward Amir Coffey on a fast-break layup attempt. Kleber, an important role player during Dallas' run to the 2022 West finals,...

NEW YORK --  Aaron Judge has accomplished plenty during his nine-year major league career. The five-time All-Star set the American League record for home runs in a season in 2022. He won the AL MVP award. He was named the 16th captain in New York Yankees history. And not once in his first 869 career games was the 32-year-old slugger ever ejected. That streak, though, ended Saturday at Yankee Stadium. Judge was tossed for the first time leading off the seventh inning after arguing a called third strike in the Yankees' eventual 5-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. Judge was displeased when plate umpire Ryan Blakney punched him out on a pitch he thought was outside for ball four. The outfielder had some words for Blakney as he walked away before turning around to go to the Yankees' dugout. Blakney then threw him out of the game. "Very surprising, especially in a 5-3 game, late in the game," Judge said. "Battling a 3-2 count and kind of walking away saying my...

Philadelphia Phillies star shortstop Trea Turner told reporters that he expects to miss six weeks with a left hamstring strain. Turner was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday, and he said any return before that six-week timeline "would be a win." The 30-year-old Turner He has started all 33 games this season and is slashing .343/.392/.460 with 2 homers, 9 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He entered Saturday ranked second in the National League in hits (47) and tied for fourth in runs (27) and doubles (10). A two-time All-Star, Turner is a career .298 hitter with 152 homers and 519 RBIs in 1,037 games for the Washington Nationals (2015-21), Los Angeles Dodgers (2021-22) and Phillies. Infielder Kody Clemens was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley before Saturday night's home game against the San Francisco Giants. Clemens, 27, played in one game this season for Philadelphia on April 22 and went 2-for-4 with 1 double, 1 homer and 3 RBIs in a...

Manchester City's Erling Haaland struck four times as the club remained on course to win a fourth successive Premier League title with a 5-1 thrashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday. Hours after Arsenal's 3-0 win over Bournemouth, Pep Guardiola's men responded with a resounding victory that pulled them to within a point of the north Londoners at the top of the standings, but with a game in hand. - Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) Arsenal have 83 points with two fixtures remaining in one of the tightest title races in years, while City have 82, but three games to play. "Nine [more] points, we will be champions. Seven points, six points, three points, Arsenal will win the Premier League," Guardiola said. "If we win the games, we'll be champs, the players know it and we have to do it again and again and again." Haaland, 23, -- who boosted his league scoring lead to 25 with the first four-goal haul of...

The Philadelphia Phillies placed star shortstop Trea Turner on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a left hamstring strain. Turner, 30, has started all 33 games this season and is slashing .343/.392/.460 with 2 homers, 9 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He entered Saturday ranked second in the National League in hits (47) and tied for fourth in runs (27) and doubles (10). A two-time All-Star, Turner is a career .298 hitter with 152 homers and 519 RBIs in 1,037 games for the Washington Nationals (2015-21), Los Angeles Dodgers (2021-22) and Phillies. Infielder Kody Clemens was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley before Saturday night's home game against the San Francisco Giants. Clemens, 27, played in one game this season for Philadelphia on April 22 and went 2-for-4 with 1 double, 1 homer and 3 RBIs in a 7-0 road win against the Cincinnati Reds. The youngest son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens is a career .196...

Real Madrid won the LaLiga title on Saturday, beating  Cádiz before rivals Barcelona lost at Girona and gave Madrid an insurmountable lead at the top. Madrid's comfortable 3-0 win over Cádiz at the Bernabéu means they've taken 87 points from 34 games. Girona beat Barça 4-2 at Montilivi on Saturday to move into second place, 13 points behind Madrid with just four games to play. - Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) The Spanish giants could still make it a LaLiga and Champions League double this season, as they prepare to face Bayern Munich in their Champions League semifinal second leg on Wednesday. The sides tied 2-2 in the first leg. Speaking after the title had been confirmed by Barça's loss, Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said his team would celebrate in due course but wished to focus on that semifinal. "We are very happy. All our fans are very happy. We deserved this title and we would like to...

CHICAGO -- The Cubs are inching closer to getting two of their better hitters back from injury, manager Craig Counsell announced Saturday morning. Outfielders Cody Bellinger (ribs) and Seiya Suzuki (oblique) could be back with the team as soon as next week. "Belli is a little ahead of Suzuki," Counsell said before the Cubs hosted the Milwaukee Brewers. "We're going through baseball activities, making sure they feel good coming out of that and then progressing." Suzuki, 29, has been out since mid-April after tweaking his oblique while running to first base, while Bellinger, 28, has missed the past two weeks after colliding into the brick wall while tracking down a fly ball. "What's the pain?" Counsell said of Bellinger's daily progress. "If it's nothing, just progress more." The team has struggled offensively without its two stars, averaging just under 3.5 runs per game since Bellinger's injury. Suzuki, in particular, was off to a great start to...

The NBA fined Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell $25,000 on Saturday for verbally abusing a game official. His actions occurred on the court after the Lakers' season-ending Game 5 loss at Denver on Monday night, the league said. Russell finished the 108-106 loss to the Nuggets with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, 6 assists and 1 rebound. He averaged 14.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.8 rebounds in five games in the Western Conference first-round series. The 28-year-old Russell averaged 18.0 points and 6.3 assists and set a franchise record with 226 3-pointers in 76 games (69 starts) in the regular season.

The NBA fined Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell $25,000 on Saturday for verbally abusing a game official. His actions occurred on the court after the Lakers' season-ending Game 5 loss at Denver on Monday night, the league said. Russell finished the 108-106 loss to the Nuggets with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, 6 assists and 1 rebound. He averaged 14.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.8 rebounds in five games in the Western Conference first-round series. Russell, 28, averaged 18.0 points and 6.3 assists and set a franchise record with 226 3-pointers in 76 games (69 starts) in the regular season.

NEW YORK -- Yankees ace Gerrit Cole threw off a mound Saturday morning for the first time since being shut down in mid-March, checking off another box in his road back from an elbow injury. Cole took the mound in the Yankees' bullpen at 10:40 a.m., hours before New York took on the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium. He said he threw 15 pitches, 13 for strikes and all fastballs. He said the pitches averaged 89 mph. "It was exciting," Cole said. "This was a good day for me. I was fired up." Cole, 33, started the season on the 60-day injured list after being diagnosed with nerve irritation and edema in his pitching elbow following one spring training outing. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner is eligible to come off the injured list May 27, but the Yankees have declined to share a timetable for Cole's return. On a scale from 1 to 10 -- 10 being game ready -- Cole reported he is "somewhere between 1 and 5." He said how his body responds over...

The San Diego Padres have acquired second baseman Luis Arraez in a trade with the Miami Marlins for reliever Woo-Suk Go and prospects Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee and Nathan Martorella, the teams announced Saturday. The Padres also received nearly $7.9 million in cash considerations, leaving them responsible only for the major league minimum salary for Arraez. The transaction represents the first significant move for the Marlins since Peter Bendix took over as the team's president of baseball operations in November after Kim Ng departed. It marks the beginning of the Marlins' teardown of an underachieving roster that has produced the third-worst record in the majors at 9-25 with a minus-61 run differential after reaching the postseason in 2023. On the other side, it's another aggressive deal for A.J. Preller, the leader of the Padres' front office since 2014. Arraez, one of the sport's best contact hitters, will give the Padres...

LOS ANGELES -- The Lakers fired coach Darvin Ham on Friday after two seasons, and the team now will open a job search in hopes of finding the right person to maximize what figures to be the final chapter of LeBron James' storied career while returning to championship contention. Ham, who had two years remaining on his contract, went 90-74 (.549) during the regular season and 9-12 (.429) in the postseason -- plus two play-in tournament wins -- since being hired to replace Frank Vogel in 2022. Ham also guided the Lakers to the inaugural in-season tournament title in Las Vegas in December. The decision came just days after the Lakers were eliminated by the Nuggets for the second straight season, this time in five games in the first round after being swept by Denver in the conference finals a year ago. "We greatly appreciate Darvin Ham's efforts on behalf of the Lakers and recognize the many accomplishments achieved over the past two seasons including last...

Birmingham City have been relegated from the Championship, ending a difficult first season for the club's American ownership group, which includes NFL legend Tom Brady. Birmingham endured a roller-coaster campaign that saw them use three different head coaches -- including Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney -- but ultimately ends in relegation despite a final-day victory over Norwich City. - Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) "Thank you for your support in a tough first year Bluenoses. We have a long way to go but it's because of all of you that we'll achieve great things in the future," Brady said in a post on X. Brady became a minority investor in Birmingham in August, entering into a partnership with the club's new owners, Knighthead Capital Management LLC. He also holds a position as advisory board chairman. Birmingham enjoyed a promising start under John Eustace with five wins from their opening 11 games....

ARLINGTON, Texas -- In front of a sold-out crowd of 6,251 at UT Arlington's College Park Center, 2024 No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark made her WNBA preseason debut Friday evening, scoring 21 points in the Indiana Fever's  79-76 loss to the Dallas Wings. The NCAA's all-time leading scorer scored 11 of Indiana's first 19 points before finishing with 16 in the first half, highlighted by a step-back 3-pointer against veteran Natasha Howard. Clark went scoreless in the third quarter and sat on the bench for much of the frame after picking up her third and fourth fouls in quick succession. Upon reentering the game in the fourth, Clark hit another 3-pointer, her fifth of the night, and found Aliyah Boston for an assist on the pick-and-roll. A "welcome to the WNBA" moment came with the game tied and less than 30 seconds to play when Howard blocked Clark's layup attempt with the shot clock dwindling. Clark's 21 points (6-for-15 shooting, 5-for-13...

DALLAS -- After losing in the first round with Kawhi Leonard injured for the second straight postseason, the LA Clippers head into the offseason with uncertainty surrounding the futures of Paul George and James Harden. George has a player option for next season worth $48.8 million and can become a free agent if he and the Clippers are unable to agree on an extension before June 30. Harden will be an unrestricted free agent and might wait to see what happens with George before figuring out his own future with the Clippers. After their 114-101 loss in Game 6 at Dallas, George was asked whether he sees himself with the Clippers long term alongside Leonard and Harden. "Yeah," George said. "If it works that way, absolutely." As the Clippers' season came to an end, George and Harden said they haven't really thought about their contracts yet. "I don't even know," said Harden, who finished with 16 points, 13 assists and 7 rebounds Friday...

DALLAS -- Kyrie Irving danced with his dribble, crossing over a few times in front of Clippers forward P.J. Tucker, before sidestepping and launching a 3-pointer from the corner in front of the Mavericks' bench. The Mavericks were up 20 midway through the fourth quarter, putting the Clippers on the brink of elimination, and Irving was putting the exclamation point on his spectacular closeout performance. He got fouled by Tucker as he launched the jumper and was mobbed by his teammates when the shot splashed through the net. It was an instantly iconic moment, the most memorable highlight of Irving's scorching second half in the Mavericks' series-clinching 114-101 win Friday night at the American Airlines Center. "I was on the floor looking, kind of squinting and seeing if it went in," Irving said after improving his record to 13-0 when his team can clinch a series during his career, the best record in closeout games in NBA history. "Just...

DALLAS -- Luka Doncic struggled with his shot again thanks to his ailing right knee, and Kyrie Irving spent a bunch of energy playing defense. Through all that, the co-stars of the Mavericks tag-teamed for a second-half surge that sent Dallas to the second round in their first postseason together. Doncic had 28 points and 13 assists, Irving scored 28 of his 30 points after halftime and the Mavericks finished off the LA Clippers with a 114-101 victory Friday night. With Irving alongside him this time, Doncic did what the Slovenian superstar couldn't three years earlier -- close out the Clippers in Dallas in Game 6 of a first-round playoff series. The fifth-seeded Mavericks beat the Clippers for the the first time in three first-round tries over the past five seasons and will open the Western Conference semifinals at the top seed, Oklahoma City, on Tuesday night. "We're pushing each other off the court to be better, and then when we get on the court it's...

ARLINGTON, Texas -- In front of a sold-out crowd of 6,251 at UT Arlington's College Park Center, 2024 No. 1 WNBA pick Caitlin Clark made her unofficial professional debut Friday evening, scoring 21 points in the Fever's narrow 79-76 defeat at the hands of the Dallas Wings. The NCAA's all-time leading scorer scored 11 of Indiana's first 19 points before finishing with 16 in the first half, highlighted by a stepback 3-pointer against veteran Natasha Howard. She went scoreless in the third quarter and sat on the bench for much of the frame after picking up her third and fourth fouls in quick succession. Upon re-entering the game in the fourth, Clark hit another 3-pointer, her fifth of the night and found Aliyah Boston for an assist on the pick-and-roll. A "welcome to the WNBA" moment came with the game tied and less than 30 seconds to play when Howard blocked Clark's layup attempt with the shot clock dwindling. Clark's 21 points (6 for...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Magic huddled up four minutes into the third quarter of Game 6 against the Cavaliers. Coach Jamahl Mosley called a timeout amid a 13-4 Cavaliers run that propelled Cleveland from down four at halftime to up seven. His message to his young team was simple: "Stay the course. This is a long game. We have to understand it's a game of runs." It was still a five-point game heading into the fourth quarter, but the Magic took the lead within the first two minutes.  Paolo Banchero scored 10 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Magic overcame a 50-point performance from  Donovan Mitchell to hold off the Cavaliers 103-96 and force a Game 7 on Sunday in Cleveland. Franz Wagner finished with 26 points while  Jalen Suggs had 22 points and six 3-pointers.  "Anything they have done to try and throw us off our game, knock us off balance, we've responded to it," Suggs said. "We didn't want to end it here, and I think we...

PITTSBURGH -- Ryan McMahon homered into the Allegheny River, Cal Quantrill pitched into the eighth inning and the Colorado Rockies finally held onto a lead during a 3-2 win over the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night. Colorado trailed in each of its first 31 games this season, a modern-era record. But not this time. "I'll sleep a little better because I haven't been sleeping well at all," Rockies manager Bud Black said with a laugh after he was reminded that the streak was over. "Really, it's been awful." McMahon put the Rockies in front when he opened the sixth inning with a drive over the right-field stands against Martín Pérez for his fifth homer. The ball splashed into the Allegheny 445 feet from home plate, the 71st time a home run has reached the water since PNC Park opened in 2001. "It's kind of like the goal of every hitter when you come in here to really juice one because you want to see it go in there," McMahon...

ARLINGTON, Texas -- In front of a sold-out crowd of 7,000 at UT Arlington's College Park Center, 2024 No. 1 WNBA pick Caitlin Clark made her unofficial professional debut Friday evening, scoring 21 points in the Fever's narrow 79-76 defeat at the hands of the Dallas Wings. The NCAA's all-time leading scorer scored 11 of Indiana's first 19 points before finishing with 16 in the first half, highlighted by a stepback 3-pointer against veteran Natasha Howard. She went scoreless in the third quarter and sat on the bench for much of the frame after picking up her third and fourth fouls in quick succession. Upon re-entering the game in the fourth, Clark hit another 3-pointer, her fifth of the night and found Boston for an assist on the pick-and-roll. Her "welcome to the WNBA" moment came with the game tied and less than 30 seconds to play. Howard blocked her layup attempt -- her final shot at the buzzer in an effort to tie the game fell...

ORLANDO, Fla. --  Paolo Banchero and the rapidly maturing Orlando Magic are growing up fast in the NBA playoffs. The 21-year-old All-Star forward scored 10 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter Friday night, helping one of the NBA's youngest teams overcome Donovan Mitchell's 50 points and hold off the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-96 to force a decisive Game 7 in their first-round playoff series. Three nights after scoring a career postseason-best 39 on 14-of-24 shooting in a one-point road loss that left the Magic on the brink of elimination, Banchero put his team on his back and carried them to their biggest win in years. Franz Wagner had 26 points and Jalen Suggs made six 3-pointers and finished with 22 for the Magic, who pulled away in the closing minutes, with Banchero hitting a 3-pointer that put Orlando ahead for good at 92-89. "We've definitely learned a lot through this series, seeing what works and what doesn't work," Banchero said....

Kris Kim, a 16-year-old English amateur playing on a sponsor exemption at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, became the youngest player in 11 years to make the cut in a PGA Tour event. Kim finished his second round Friday with a birdie for a 4-under 67. At 7-under 135, he was among 66 players who made the cut, which was 6 under. Jake Knapp was the leader at 14-under 128. Guan Tianlang was 14 when he made the cut at both the Masters and Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2013, according to ESPN Stats & Information. At 16 years, 7 months old, Kim is the fifth-youngest player ever to make a PGA Tour cut, according to the Tour. His feat also comes just two weeks after Miles Russell, 15, became the youngest to make the cut in the 35-year history of the Korn Ferry Tour. Kim, who is the son of former LPGA Tour player and South Korea native Ji-Hyun Suh, is making his PGA Tour debut. He is the first amateur sponsored by South Korean company CJ Group, which is the title sponsor of the Nelson...

The San Diego Padres are nearing a deal to acquire second baseman Luis Arraez from the Miami Marlins for reliever Woo-Suk Go and prospects Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee and Nathan Martorella, a source told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Friday night. The trade is pending medical review but is expected to be finalized soon. The transaction represents the first significant move for the Marlins since Peter Bendix took over as the team's president of baseball operations in November after Kim Ng departed. It marks the beginning of the Marlins' teardown of an underachieving roster that has produced the third-worst record in the majors at 9-25 with a minus-61 run differential after reaching the postseason in 2023. On the other side, it's another aggressive deal for A.J. Preller, the leader of the Padres' front office since 2014. Arraez, one of the sport's best contact hitters, will give the Padres a needed left-handed-hitting weapon after Juan Soto was sent to the ...

Artur Beterbiev suffered a ruptured meniscus and his undisputed light heavyweight championship fight vs. Dmitry Bivol on June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has been postponed, it was announced Friday. Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, told ESPN a replacement opponent is being sought for Bivol on the June 1 card. Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) will undergo knee surgery and is expected to be sidelined until at least September, sources said. The hope is for Beterbiev-Bivol to be rescheduled later this year. Alalshikh announced that the stacked undercard that features five boxers promoted by Matchroom vs. five Queensberry fighters will proceed June 1 as planned. The series of fights is highlighted by a bout between former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang. Both boxers are coming off losses to Joseph Parker. Wilder needs an impressive performance to move on to a planned Aug. 3 bout with Jared Anderson in Los...

The NBA sent invites to 78 players -- including projected lottery picks Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr and Donovan Clingan, as well as USC's Bronny James -- to the 2024 NBA draft combine, which will be held May 12-19 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. For the first time, all invited players will be required to attend and participate in the event or will be ineligible to be drafted, as part of an agreement the National Basketball Players Association reached with the league in the most recent collective bargaining agreement. Participation will include medical examinations, sharing of medical history, biomechanical and functional movement testing, as well as strength and agility testing, performance testing and anthropometric measurements. Players also will be required to conduct team interviews and participate in media circuits, player development sessions and more. Players will not be compelled to compete in 5-on-5 scrimmaging and other live-action drills, but will be...

The LA Clippers are planning to pursue a contract extension with coach Tyronn Lue that will allow him to avoid entering the final year of his deal in 2025-26, sources told ESPN on Friday. Lue is expected to be a target in the Los Angeles Lakers' coaching search and perhaps other looming vacancies. The Clippers' season ended Friday night with a Game 6 loss to the  Mavericks in Dallas in the teams' Western Conference first-round playoff series. However, that outcome has no bearing on the Clippers' desire to keep Lue as the franchise's long-term coach, sources said. LA was 51-31 and the fourth seed in the Western Conference this season. The Clippers were without All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard for most of the series because of right knee inflammation, but the organization's goal remains to re-sign free agents Paul George and James Harden alongside Leonard, sources said. The Lakers offered Lue their head-coaching job in 2019, but he...

MILWAUKEE -- Despite trying to push himself to be available to the Bucks for the playoffs, Giannis Antetokounmpo acknowledged he was "not close" to returning from his strained left calf, adding he only could run at about 30-40%. "I tried my best to come back to help my teammates," Antetokounmpo said Friday, a day after the Bucks dropped their first-round series to the Indiana Pacers. "It's kind of hard to see them being out there and not being able to help them, but I just couldn't. "I did all the tests I had to do, these like protocols you have to follow and have to check the boxes. I wasn't even close at checking the boxes." Antetokounmpo last played April 9. He ended up missing three weeks with his left calf strain, sitting out the final three regular-season games and the Bucks' six-game postseason. This was the second consecutive postseason when Antetokounmpo has missed games with an injury, with a back issue having sidelined him for multiple games of...

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers fired coach Darvin Ham on Friday after two seasons, and the team now will open a job search in hopes of finding the right person to maximize what figures to be the final chapter of LeBron James' storied career while returning to championship contention. Ham, who had two years remaining on his contract, went 90-74 (.549) during the regular season and 9-12 (.429) in the postseason -- which does not include his two play-in tournament wins -- since being hired to replace Frank Vogel in 2022. He also guided the Lakers to the inaugural in-season tournament title in Las Vegas in December. The decision came just days after the Lakers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets for the second straight season, this time in five games in the first round after being swept by Denver in the conference finals a year ago. "We greatly appreciate Darvin Ham's efforts on behalf of the Lakers and recognize the many accomplishments achieved over...

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be ready to go when the New York Jets begin OTA practices on May 20. The four-time MVP, eight months removed from surgery to repair a torn left Achilles, will have "no restrictions," according to coach Robert Saleh. "Once phase three hits, we're not anticipating any restrictions from what we can and can't do with him," Saleh said Friday at the start of a two-day rookie minicamp. Phase three, which lasts four weeks and covers 10 practices, is when teams are allowed to do noncontact, 11-on-11 work. That Rodgers will participate shouldn't come as a surprise; he was practicing on a limited basis over the final month of last season. Still, it's noteworthy, considering the severity of his injury. "The guy can still sling it," Saleh said. "Obviously, he's still working through his rehab, but there are no issues on the trajectory on which he's going." Even with Rodgers' return, the Jets won't be at full strength at quarterback until...

In the aftermath of the Jontay Porter betting scandal, the NBA and its partner sportsbooks are discussing changes to betting menus to combat similar occurrences in the future, sources familiar with the talks confirmed to ESPN. Among the changes that have been discussed is prohibiting betting on players on two-way contracts between the G League and the NBA, sources said. More extreme measures such as not allowing bets on the "under" on a player prop have been considered, sources said, but there are concerns that restricting wager types could push bettors into the unregulated betting market. The NBA has commercial contracts with sportsbooks such as BetMGM, DraftKings and FanDuel that give the league some influence on what types of wagers are offered. Gambling industry site Legal Sports Report first reported the talks between the NBA and sportsbooks. "Since states began legalizing sports betting in 2018, we have worked closely with betting operators as well as integrity monitoring...

Rick Bowness, Andrew Brunette and Rick Tocchet are the finalists for this year's Jack Adams Award, the NHL announced Friday. The award is given annually to the coach who is "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success." Bowness spent his second season in Winnipeg guiding the Jets to a 52-24-6 record, good for second in the Central Division and fourth in the NHL with 114 points. The Jets dominated defensively, tying for the fewest goals against in the league (2.41 per game) while sitting 15th in offense (3.16 goals per game). Winnipeg also posted an eight-game win streak for the first time, as part of a larger 14-game run when the Jets earned at least one point. Bowness balanced his coaching responsibilities with handling personal matters, including when he stepped away from the team to care for his wife following a seizure. Brunette took on his first full-time head-coaching job with Nashville this season, after previously being the interim bench...

MIAMI -- The Dolphins have agreed to terms on a contract with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., a source confirmed to ESPN, adding a veteran presence to a position group looking for a third option. The source said it's a one-year deal worth $3 million, with incentives that can push its max value to $8.25 million. Beckham visited with the Dolphins in March, but the sides were unable to reach an agreement then. General manager Chris Grier said before the NFL draft that there was "nothing imminent" on a deal with the three-time Pro Bowler; despite taking two wide receivers in the draft, Grier didn't downplay the possibility of signing Beckham after its conclusion. "We always look at opportunities and work through it," Grier said. "We're always looking to add to the roster and have the most competitive roster we can to make the team better; as we've always talked, competition is what breeds excellence. For us, we'll keep looking, like we've said, post-draft, like we've...