Sports

7:11 PM ET Associated Press AVONDALE, Ariz. — Kyle Larson won. That was the expected result of NASCAR’s season-ending championship race, right? Larson closed his comeback season in NASCAR with his first championship Sunday, where he capped his return from a nearly yearlong suspension with a title-winning victory at Phoenix Raceway. “I can’t believe it,”

11:58 PM ET It is notoriously difficult to see a truly great race car driver ever show us a lot of real, raw emotion. Not anger. We’ve all seen that plenty. Not celebratory joy. That’s what we see most, when the driver who has just pulled into Victory Lane finally shows us their face after

11:45 AM ET The 2021 World Series is in the books, with the Atlanta Braves triumphing over the Houston Astros in six games. Now, it’s 2021-22 MLB offseason time for all 30 teams, with trades to be made, extensions to consider, and free-agency decisions charting the courses of players and teams alike looming. Some of

9:30 PM ET Associated Press DEL MAR, Calif. — Knicks Go burst into the lead out of the starting gate and kicked away to a 2¾-length victory in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday at Del Mar. No one seriously pressed the colt, who earned his fourth straight victory and in the process

12:03 PM ET Rob DawsonCorrespondent Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said Manchester United have taken “a big step backwards” after their demoralising defeat to Manchester City. United had more shots at their own goalkeeper than at City’s during a comprehensive 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford and Solskjaer was left to accept that the November international break

10:14 PM BST ESPN staff While there were two games over the weekend, World Rugby’s November Test window officially begins this Saturday. And there are some mouth-watering fixtures to be played, highlighted by the weekend’s closing encounter between Scotland and Australia at Murrayfield on Sunday afternoon [BST]. Read on as we bring you all the

6:36 AM ET The 38th edition of the Breeders’ Cup will kick off two days of action Friday afternoon at Keeneland. A lot of eyes will be on the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and with so many high-profile races in the mix, there are numerous opportunities to wager on horses that offer significant value. Chris “The

8:00 AM ET SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — It’s a Saturday morning in October and Zhang Weili is in MMA gloves and her workout gear, walking to the mat at Fight Ready MMA & Fitness. A YouTube video with the sound of fans loudly booing at a sporting event is being broadcast over the gym’s speakers. Coaches

6:57 AM ET By the time the sun sets over Phoenix on Sunday, we will have a new NASCAR Cup Series champion, the last man standing after nine months, a 26-race regular season, a nine-race playoff and, finally, a 312-lap throwdown on the rugged 1-mile flat semi-roval that is the Phoenix Raceway. Here they are.

6:34 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN LAS VEGAS — Even during those hot summer days spent in a trailer park outside Nashville, Tennessee, Caleb Plant knew he was meant for so much more. Personal tragedy served to strengthen that steely resolve. His daughter, Alia, died three months shy of her second birthday. Just over four years

6:15 PM ET Associated Press PRAGUE — The United States won both singles matches against Spain to reach the semifinals of the Billie Jean King Cup on Wednesday. The Americans faced a must-win situation after losing to Slovakia 2-1 in Group C on Tuesday, and Sloane Stephens and Danielle Collins both earned straight-set victories to

11:12 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul moved into No. 3 on the all-time assists list with his eighth against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. With 1:34 left in the second quarter, on a 3-pointer by Jae Crowder, Paul notched career assist No. 10,336 to push past Suns legend

6:45 AM ET NFL NationESPN While the NFL Power Rankings prefer to look at the league through a positive lens, sometimes we have to go to Negative Town. That’s where we are this week, as we asked our NFL Nation writers to pick the weakest aspect of their team through eight weeks. Of course, some

7:00 AM ET The first rankings from the College Football Playoff selection committee will be unveiled on Tuesday night, and only one thing seems certain: Georgia will be No. 1. The undefeated Bulldogs have been dominant on defense and have already clinched the SEC East. But which teams will come next? Oklahoma is undefeated and

7:24 AM ET Along with an ability to drive a golf ball better than anyone with a persimmon club, Greg Norman had a keen awareness of his own worth as a golfer, especially as it applied to securing fees for his participation. Norman makes no secret of this. The Australian golfer who earned the nickname

2:43 AM ET ATLANTA — It’s almost a cliché to say that a team which falls behind 3-1 in a best-of-seven playoff series has been pushed to the brink. If that’s the case, the Houston Astros went to the brink and a little beyond and survived to tell about it. The Astros bounced back from

7:00 AM ET The NHL logo spun around before locking into place, with a sound effect reminiscent of a cell door locking. The next image on the video was that of the new sheriff in town. “I’m Brendan Shanahan, the National Hockey League’s senior vice president of player safety …” Shanahan was 42 years old

7:15 PM ET Associated Press MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Alex Bowman was the only driver celebrating after NASCAR set its championship four — and he’s not even racing for the title. Bowman picked up the victory Sunday at Martinsville Speedway in the final elimination race ahead of the winner-take-all season finale. Bowman wasn’t eligible to make

4:22 PM ET LONDON — There was only a short handshake between the managers at the end of Manchester United’s 3-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur, but by that point, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had already passed the baton to Nuno Espirito Santo as embattled boss of the Premier League‘s crisis club. Thousands of Tottenham supporters had

11:43 PM ET Associated Press EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Rebuff won the Colt & Gelding Trot to kick off Breeders Crown weekend at the Meadowlands Racetrack. The track presented four stakes, each worth $600,000, for 2-year-olds on a rainy, windy Friday night. The eight Crowns for older horses take place Saturday afternoon. The Breeders Crowns