The ESPN Daily: Why Carmelo isn’t on an NBA roster, a huge golf penalty, and MMA’s problem with eye pokes
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Carmelo’s burnout … Why isn’t Carmelo Anthony on an NBA team? It has been almost a year since one of the most iconic players of the past 20 years took what might be his final shot in the NBA, and he’s still not on a roster. Melo still believes he can be a star in this league — and honestly, that might be the problem. He’s been a marquee name for so long that imagining him in a bench role seems difficult — for himself most of all. Baxter Holmes examines the challenges Carmelo faces as he strives to keep his NBA saga going. Read More
HOW many penalty strokes? Lee Ann Walker shot rounds of 85 and 74 at the Senior LPGA Championship. Not bad at all! Except, well … you know how golf is full of weird rules that tend to crop up at the oddest times? Walker violated an obscure one and only realized it midway through her second round. She had to take a two-stroke penalty … for each time it happened. Her final scores were not 85 and 74, let’s put it that way. Read More
Rip it up and start again … First, the mitigating factor: Canada is an up-and-coming team with some exciting talent. Now, the actual takeaway: The USMNT’s loss to our 75th-ranked neighbors is catastrophic, and not just because it’s the first time the Americans have lost to the Canadians in over 30 years. It’s endemic of a squad that can’t figure out what it wants to be — and needs to fast if it wants to avoid missing a second consecutive World Cup. We’ve got the legendary Ian Darke to break down Team USA’s tough position. Read More
Our midseason All-America team … We’re spoiled for choice in top talent for this year’s All-America team — particularly at quarterback, where Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa and Joe Burrow are all worthy of inclusion. Our experts attempted to winnow down the list to only the most elite players in college football. How’d we do? Read More
Stephen A. Smith argues that Jalen Ramsey will not have a big impact on the Rams this season because their offense is the bigger issue.
“If they don’t want to tip their pitches, then they should take consideration into doing the same thing over and over again.”
— Astros manager AJ Hinch, on accusations that his team is stealing signs. Read more
On this date in 2015, Michigan State beat Michigan, which effectively had the game won, when the Wolverines’ punter fumbled the ball. The Spartans recovered it for a touchdown in one of the most bizarre college football endings in recent memory. Watch
PFL Playoffs: Featherweight and lightweight (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2; 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+): Fighters will have to compete twice in one night to win the Professional Fighters League playoffs, and the featherweight and lightweight competitors will get their shot tonight. You can catch the prelims on ESPN2, with the main card on ESPN+.
Astros at Yankees (8:08 p.m. ET, FS1): Rain delayed this one to tonight, and it could change the pitching matchups somewhat. Houston could bring Zack Greinke back on regular rest, and New York could do the same with Masahiro Tanaka. This is a pivotal game in the series — when it ends, we’ll either see a tied ALCS or an Astros team with a commanding 3-1 lead.
Chiefs at Broncos (8:20 p.m. ET, Fox/NFL): The Chiefs will look to turn around a rare two-game skid against the Broncos on Thursday Night Football. Meanwhile, the Broncos have found themselves on an unexpected winning streak after dropping the first four games. We’ll find out which recent history is more reliable tonight.
UCLA at Stanford (9 p.m. ET, ESPN): The Bruins are probably a little better than their 1-5 record would suggest — most of their losses were close, and their one win was an upset of then-No. 19 Washington State. Stanford, on the other hand, feels exactly like a 3-3 team — the Cardinal won the games they were supposed to and lost the ones they weren’t. This is one of those midseason matchups between non-contenders in which anything can happen.