Sports

12:33 PM ET ATLANTA — Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. acknowledged an internal rift with former teammate Freddie Freeman during an interview late Wednesday, saying there’s “nothing” that he’d miss about the first baseman. Acuna, speaking in Spanish to Dominican Republic-based sports reporter Yancen Pujols late Wednesday night on Instagram Live, was asked what he’d

4:00 AM ET Dan HajduckyESPN Close Hajducky is a reporter/researcher for ESPN. He has an MFA in creative writing from Fairfield University and played on the men’s soccer teams at Fordham and Southern Connecticut State universities. Topps will replace Panini as UEFA’s exclusive partner in producing trading cards, stickers, and collectables for upcoming European Championship,

12:58 AM BST ESPN staff Perth has won the right to host the opening Test between the Wallabies and England, while the Wallaroos will commence their Rugby World Cup preparations with Tests against Japan and Fijiana in Queensland. Rugby Australia on Tuesday unveiled the fixtures for its opening Test series of 2022, with international rugby

7:16 AM ET AUGUSTA, Ga. — Five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods says it will be a “game-time decision” on whether he plays in the 86th Masters, which is scheduled to begin Thursday. Woods, 46, hasn’t played a round in a regular PGA Tour event in more than 500 days. He has been recovering from serious

8:00 AM ET Jeff Wagenheim A championship prizefight makes a Saturday night feel special. And when there are two tussles for titles on the fight card, that doubles the big-event exhilaration. This weekend’s UFC 273 (Saturday, 10 p.m., on ESPN+ PPV) offers all that and more. The 13-fight event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in

7:34 PM ET Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. — Denny Hamlin hoped a visit to the track he watched races at as a youngster would help kick-start a season that started in an uncharacteristic fashion — poorly. Thanks to some crafty tire strategy that his team timed right, he got it done. Hamlin ran down William

6:28 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Iga Swiatek left no doubt about her spot atop the game and Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz earned the biggest titles of their burgeoning careers. If there’s one thing we learned during the Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami over the past month, it’s that the future is very

1:02 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors have been coy about how much they’ve been watching the Western Conference standings. Some have admitted to monitoring them. Others have said they’re an afterthought. But, heading into Saturday’s game against the Utah Jazz, there was not one person in Golden State’s locker

11:31 PM ET Associated Press ARCADIA, Calif. — Bob Baffert won the sixth race at Santa Anita on Saturday, sending the Hall of Fame trainer out a winner two days before his 90-day suspension begins. Baffert was in the winner’s circle with Shaaz after the $72,000 race. He was joined by Hall of Fame jockey

3:12 PM ET FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots have acquired wide receiver DeVante Parker and a 2022 fifth-round draft pick from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick, a move that has a significant trickle-down effect in multiple areas. WR depth chart: Parker joins a clear-cut top four on the

7:00 AM ET Tim KavanaghESPN.com Close Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York. Beyond the Colorado Avalanche and Calgary Flames leading their respective divisions, the NHL’s Western Conference playoff races remain fairly wide open. Four weeks from today we’ll have much more clarity on the first-round

9:00 AM ET Shane Beamer had an opportunity to transform South Carolina‘s roster this offseason, and he took it. Like most coaches, Beamer targeted the transfer portal and tried to find players with experience that could help his team win at a faster rate than just recruiting high school recruits. He signed former Oklahoma quarterback

10:29 PM ET New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom felt tightness in his right shoulder while throwing long toss and might not be able to make his scheduled spring start Friday, according to manager Buck Showalter. The timing is far from ideal for the Mets, who open the season in a week, with deGrom slated

The weekend brings four major main events and some entertaining undercard bouts from California to Texas to Japan. Middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin faces fellow champion Ryota Murata in a highly anticipated fight in Saitama, Japan. A GGG victory will put him in position to face Canelo Alvarez in a trilogy fight, this time at super

3:34 PM ET Associated Press HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — Simplification will be the morning-line favorite at Gulfstream Park for Saturday’s $1 million, Grade 1 Florida Derby, one of the last big prep races for the Kentucky Derby. Simplification was given 5-2 early odds. White Abarrio was narrowly installed as the second choice at 3-1. Simplification

6:00 AM ET SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Inside a luxury hotel roughly nine miles from the site of the final game of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, United States men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter was at ease Tuesday. Six days earlier, he called the forthcoming week the most important of his coaching career and

3:11 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim Editor’s note: Khamzat Chimaev faces the biggest test of his career on April 9 at UFC 273, taking on top-five welterweight Gilbert Burns. This story has been updated since being published in October following Chimaev’s most recent fight. After an absence of over a year, Khamzat Chimaev returned to the

3:37 PM BST Prop Marlie Packer scored a hat trick of tries as England got their Six Nation’s title defence underway with a 57-5 victory against Scotland at Edinburgh’s DAM Health Stadium on Saturday. The result was the Red Roses’ 19th-straight win, breaking the record for most consecutive Test match wins, which was set by

8:07 AM ET Mike Coppinger Nick Parkinson Close •Reports on boxing for ESPN.co.uk, as well as several national newspapers•Has been reporting on British boxing for over 15 years•Appears on BoxNation’s Boxing Matters show After a slow start to the year, the boxing schedule heats up starting next month. April 9 really kicks the action off

7:00 PM ET Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas — Scottie Scheffler is the hottest player in golf and now has the ranking to prove it. Six weeks after his first PGA Tour victory, Scheffler won the Dell Technologies Match Play for his third title in his past five starts, this one enough to move him to