General Sports 3 Days

Last updated: August 13, 2026, 3:54 PM ET

NFL & College Football

With the 2026 season looming, ESPN's preseason All-America team highlights the nation's top players at every position. The final Preseason SP+ rankings show Ohio State leading the projections. Meanwhile, college football programs continue to spend big on quarterbacks: we talked to GMs and agents to put a price on each position, and John Mateer of Oklahoma has turned heads with his massive arms, sparking a debate at Manning Camp about whether signal-callers can get too jacked. Dan Orlovsky stacks the top 10 QBs by skill, asking whether Josh Allen really has the league's strongest arm. Under new OC Declan Doyle, Lamar Jackson has the chance to embrace a new vision as he adjusts to Baltimore's revamped offense. Coaches from across the country spilled the tea on 43 QBs, rating everyone from Heisman hopefuls to depth-chart sleepers. Matt Bowen breaks down his favorite fantasy football draft targets, from first-round superstars to late-round dart throws. Northwestern football received a $35 million donation from Liz and Dick Uihlein, aimed at strengthening the program. Several freshman phenoms could affect conference and CFP races this fall. And in a bizarre incident, a high school player in Arkansas unknowingly wore a helmet with a venomous snake inside for nearly an hour.

NBA & WNBA

The league has revealed the group-stage schedule for the 2026 NBA Cup, the fourth annual in-season tournament. The NBA also announced its opening week schedule, with the Knicks facing LeBron James and the 76ers in a tripleheader on Oct. 20. In college basketball, Seth Trimble has committed to Louisville following the court ruling that gave Class of 2022 high schoolers a fifth season of eligibility. For the SEC, projections for 2026-27 range from going undefeated to missing the NCAA tournament, with three possible champions and three teams that won't go dancing. In the WNBA, the time to nitpick every win and loss has arrived as teams jockey for playoff seeds. Fever coach Stephanie White spoke out against her critics and received support from Caitlin Clark after being booed in Indiana. For fantasy women's hoops, a playoff guide offers strategy and expert picks to help you win.

MLB

ESPN MLB experts updated their top 50 players as the regular season winds down, taking stock of the best performances. For fantasy baseball, Tristan H. Cockcroft goes with his gut to identify late-season heroes, including several in the Bronx.

Soccer

Cardiff City boss Brian Barry-Murphy says his side aim to prove doubters wrong after pundits dismissed them as possible relegation candidates in 2026-27. Swansea City suffered a heavy blow as scans revealed centre-back Cameron Burgess has a ruptured Achilles and will likely miss the entire season. Former Liverpool head coach Arne Slot confirms he withdrew from talks for the Netherlands vacancy, saying his next job will be in club football. In a historic pre-season encounter, Manchester United beat Leeds at Croke Park in Dublin—less than a month after Mayo's All-Ireland final win. Wales forward Brennan Johnson is tipped to thrive under David Moyes after his switch from Crystal Palace to Everton. The Irish League's long-term European hopes rest with Larne after Northern Ireland dropped outside Uefa's top 50 coefficient ranking. NIFL CEO Gerard Lawlor insists no side deals were done for the extraordinary general meeting to take place.

Golf

LIV Golf players have been warned that the season-ending Team Championship later this month is set to be cancelled. Rory McIlroy said he's confident he'll reach a compromise with the PGA Tour to fulfill his minimum qualification of 15 events and maintain his dual membership. The FedEx Cup playoffs start in Memphis at the St. Jude Championship, with spots in the Tour Championship on the line—tee times for the first two rounds are now available. In an embarrassing incident, an amateur golfer resigned from his club after admitting to faking a hole-in-one in a now-viral cheating scandal.

Tennis

Iga Swiatek will meet Elena Rybakina in the Canadian Open final after both battled through three-set semi-finals. Swiatek reached her first final of what she calls her "toughest season". Rybakina came back from a set and a break down to beat Naomi Osaka in their quarter-final.

Track & Field

Great Britain enjoyed a sensational night at the European Championships in Birmingham. Matthew Hudson-Smith made history as the joint-most decorated man of all time by claiming 400m gold on home track. Romell Glave and Jeremiah Azu secured a 100m one-two for the hosts, while Amy Hunt stormed to women's 100m glory in her "coming of age" moment. Jakob Ingebrigtsen fought back from "the lowest of lows" to win a stunning 5,000m gold after almost a year out with injury. He also expressed disappointment that British rival Josh Kerr chose to miss the Europeans. Keely Hodgkinson reached the 800m final alongside rivals Audrey Werro and Femke Broeders-Bol; Werro suffered a nasty fall but was reinstated after an appeal. The women's 800m world record, the longest standing in athletics, remains a tough target. American 1,500m champion Jonah Koech received a three-year doping ban for blood doping. There was criticism of empty seats and ticket prices at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, with nearly 10,000 seats empty on Monday.

Swimming & Aquatics

Great Britain dominated the European Aquatics Championships in Paris. Teenager Filip Nowacki claimed dramatic gold in the men's 200m breaststroke final. Angharad Evans won her first European gold in the 100m breaststroke, while Adam Ramsay-Peaty finished fifth in the same event, beaten for the first time at a European level. GB secured three medals on the opening day, and Jack Kelly set a new Irish record to reach the breaststroke final.

Cricket

Scotland enjoyed a thumping 170-run World Cup League 2 victory over Canada at Forthill, with captain Richie Berrington and debutant Lyle Robertson starring. Afghanistan sealed an ODI series win over Ireland with a game to spare at Stormont, posting their record tally in the format. Bangladesh dominated Australia on day one of the first Test despite a reprieve for Steve Smith via an odd technology decision. England have scrapped their midnight curfew seven months after introducing it; now only wins will repair reputational damage. In The Hundred, Ellyse Perry hit a superb 62 not out to lead Birmingham Phoenix to victory over MI London, but both MI London and Welsh Fire were eliminated in their final group matches. Welsh Fire missed the Eliminators despite a drastically improved season. Trent Rockets face a nervous wait after a six-wicket defeat by Southern Brave. Moises Henriques says helping Portugal qualify for their first men's T20 World Cup would be cricket "nirvana." Rocky Flintoff, 18-year-old son of Andrew, hit his first professional century for Lancashire. Glamorgan's One Day Cup coach highlighted positives despite winning only two from eight matches, with young players showing promise.

Rugby

Eddie Jones revealed an unusual method to coach Japan: watching videos of geese fly in formation ahead of their second Test against Australia. England head coach Steve Borthwick handed central contracts to five players for the first time—Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Alex Coles, Guy Pepper, Jack van Poortvliet and Seb Atkinson. Ospreys publicly rejected WRU plans to cut a professional team, insisting four sides is the right way forward. England's Red Roses have been using controversial smaller balls in pre-season training for the WXV Global Series. Former All Blacks star Ma'a Nonu, performed a solo haka before his side the Sharks took on New Zealand in Durban. Ulster captain Iain Henderson will miss several months after hip surgery.

MMA

UFC 330 in Philadelphia features two championship matchups. Ian Machado Garry poses a real threat to welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, who says he does not have much time left in the UFC ahead of Saturday's first defence of his title.

Other Sports

In NASCAR, Ty Gibbs will honor former driver Kyle Busch by driving an M&M's paint scheme at Bristol. Four Canadian hockey stars remain suspended after their sexual assault acquittal; an appeals board found the group broke Hockey Canada's code of conduct. British gymnast Ruby Evans spoke about fame ahead of the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships. The Great Britain dressage team qualified for LA28 by winning silver at the FEI World Championships in Aachen. Summer Shaw won Scotland's first Commonwealth Games judo medal—a bronze—then went back to work at McDonald's. A horse racing integrity firm is investigating five races at Saratoga and Monmouth Park after unusual betting activity was detected by bookmakers in the U.S. and U.K. The solar eclipse forced the horse racing meeting at Ffos Las to start two hours earlier. In snooker, Zhang Anda shocked world number three Zhao Xintong with a thrilling 6-5 win by potting a respotted black ball at the China Open. Briton Efe Obada retired from the NFL after 10 years to pursue his "true calling" with a foundation. A Texas judge initially backed a decision to remove a Tulsa Little League team from the Southwest Region (later overturned by a temporary restraining order, allowing them to compete). A weekly sports quiz tests your memory of tattoos, transfers and photo finishes.