9:17 AM ET It's now exactly nine years since Pep Guardiola last laid hands on the trophy he most cherishes: the Cup With The Big Ears -- which the champions of Europe have hoisted to the sky every year since 1956. That was at Wembley, May 28, 2011. And for Manchester City fans, I guess there's some…

9:30 AM ET The conversation I've been having inside my head this week: Hockey Brain: "Hooray, hockey's comin' back!" Cynical Brain: "This 24-team tournament and elaborate draft lottery are merely the framework for a possible return to finish the 2019-20 NHL season. It's candy for the sugar-starved.…

9:29 AM ET UAB incoming freshman Jamari Smith drowned in a lake while swimming with friends Wednesday, according to Alabama authorities. He was 18. Smith, a former standout basketball player for state champion Robert E. Lee High School in Alabama, was set to play safety for the Blazers. "Our hearts…

The former Syracuse basketball star, who also was an assistant coach at Syracuse and Detroit Mercy, is sharing instructional videos through social media.

8:00 AM ET At first, Matthew Fitzpatrick said, the break from golf was welcome. He had no choice, really. The weather in England after the coronavirus pandemic shut down the PGA Tour was lousy. And golf courses were not open anyway. Eventually, Fitzpatrick decided he needed to do something. So he constructed…

Recent expansion allows for 13,000 fans per session at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium for the Women's College World Series.  8:05 AM ET Graham HaysESPN.com Close Graham Hays covers college sports for espnW, including softball and soccer. Hays began with ESPN in 1999. Kinsley Washington's time in Oklahoma…

8:06 AM ET You love baseball. Tim Kurkjian loves baseball. So while we await its return, every day we'll provide you with a story or two tied to this date in baseball history. ON THIS DATE IN 2004, Mariano Rivera saved his 300th game. He would save 352 more games, yet at 300, he probably was already…

4:38 PM ET Bill Connelly Close ESPN Staff Writer Bill Connelly is a staff writer for ESPN.com. Mark Schlabach Close ESPN Senior Writer Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia On the final play of the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State…

7:45 AM ET The NFL's half-baked idea to review pass interference is dead. The rule failed so miserably, in the words of league executive vice president Troy Vincent, that it won't so much as appear on the agenda for an owners conference call Thursday to vote on rule proposals. Writing its epitaph should…

7:37 AM ET Tyron Woodley is back in action on Saturday after more than one year away from the Octagon. The last time we saw Woodley, he lost the UFC welterweight title to Kamaru Usman at UFC 235 on March 2, 2019. His planned bout with Leon Edwards in March was scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic.…