ESPN Daily

It has been ten years since Whitney Houston died on February 11, 2012. The link between the musical icon and sports is specific and indelible, through her iconic rendition of the national anthem at Super Bowl XXV. While her performance was breathtaking, much of what made it truly special, and the events surrounding it, have been overlooked. E:60’s Jeremy Schaap relives a classic Super Bowl memory,...

Outside of maybe Joe Burrow himself, there are not a lot of people who thought the Cincinnati Bengals would be playing for the Lombardi Trophy this Sunday. The franchise is just a couple years removed from having the worst record in the NFL and prior to the 2021 season, they hadn’t won a playoff game in more than three decades…and they entered this season with 125-1 odds of making it to the Super...

The NBA is in a frenzy, as the trade deadline approaches. Rumors have swirled about some of the league’s biggest stars but ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has the truth. He pulls back the veil of the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets front office as the Ben Simmons saga may continue past the deadline. With some teams already making moves, Windhorst has the details on some possible deals that could tight...

When the Los Angeles Rams traded for Matthew Stafford this offseason, they delivered one of the NFL’s biggest arms to one of its biggest brains: head coach Sean McVay. Over a dozen years in Detroit, Stafford put up big individual numbers, but the Lions’ lackluster talent meant that his ability was often squandered on teams that had no real chance at contending for a Super Bowl. That is no longer t...

The Beijing Olympics began this week, and while many will be supporting their country’s athletes from afar, the shadow of China’s complicated human rights record will be dimming the glamour of the games. From the disappearance of tennis star Peng Shaui to the horrific treatment of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province to China’s anti-democracy and free speech crackdowns, the moral and ethical compl...

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit this week against the NFL and three teams, alleging discrimination and racism in their hiring practices. The suit includes shocking details, alleging that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered Flores $100,000 per loss to improve the team’s draft position. Flores also allegedly learned that the New York Giants’ head coaching job he was set...

If you’re not paying attention to the Memphis Grizzlies this season, you might want to start now. Led by the electric Ja Morant, the Grizzlies have the NBA’s third best record, and have earned a reputation for their swagger and fearlessness. Tim MacMahon shares why things are finally clicking in Memphis, tracks Ja Morant’s rise, and explains what makes this team so entertaining - and if they can m...

The Winter Olympics begin this week, but if you’re anything like us, you probably need some help getting up to speed on who to watch out for in Beijing. There’s Red Gerard, defending gold medalist in snowboarding from the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, whose family just might be the Gronkowskis of the Olympics. There is the most decorated American skier ever, Mikaela Shriffin, who finally gets...

The Bengals and Rams are going to Super Bowl LVI! In the AFC Championship, Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ defense took the Chiefs to overtime and won in Arrowhead, sending Cincinnati to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1988. And, in the NFC Championship in Los Angeles, the Rams capitalized on a lackluster performance from Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers’ offense. Alex Smith breaks down the games...

“Thicc Six.” It’s a phrase that has exploded across Twitter this NFL season, usually when a quarterback throws a touchdown to an open…and eligible…offensive lineman. But, why are we seeing so many Big Man touchdowns all of sudden? And what makes them so awesome? Mike Golic Jr. takes us into the trenches and into the psychology of the NFL’s largest men, and explains why their moment in the spotligh...

When the Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook last summer, championship expectations were set. But now, they currently sit in the eighth seed of the Western Conference with a .500 record. They might even miss the playoffs. It’s become clear that the Westbrook experiment playing out on this Lakers team is failing. So who’s at fault? And what’s next? Ramona Shelburne takes us inside Crypto.com Arena...

It has been exactly two years since a helicopter crash claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, three members of the Altobelli family and four others. Alyssa Altobelli was a teammate of Gianna’s, and she was accompanied by her parents John and Keri. As it turns out, John was a legendary figure in his own right as the head baseball coach of Orange Coast College, a junior college in Or...

On Tuesday, the Baseball Hall of Fame will announce the results of what may be the most controversial ballot in Cooperstown history. It’s not only the final year players like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, and Curt Schilling can appear on the writers’ ballot, but also the first year David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez are eligible. So our baseball insider Jeff Passan walks us through the proce...

The football was very, very good this weekend. Mere seconds were the difference in NFL seasons living and dying, as all four games came down to their final play. Our Monday Morning QB, Alex Smith is here to unpack what may be the best couple days of playoff football ever. Mahomes vs. Allen lived up to the heavyweight billing with a quarterback duel for the ages, trading touchdowns and finally endi...

The NFL divisional round playoffs are here! In the NFC, the Niners are looking for another upset on the road: this time in Lambeau, vs. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. And Matthew Stafford’s LA Rams have a date with Tom Brady and the Bucs, in Tampa. Over in the AFC, Joe Burrow and the Bengals will face a healthy Derrick Henry and the Titans, while Josh Allen and the Bills meet Patrick Mahomes and t...

The NFL longsnapper lives and dies in football’s “game of inches.” These unsung heroes have to aim the ball and get it to the kicker when the game is on the line. But what goes into the art and science of longsnapping? Dave Fleming brings us onto the field and shows us what the world looks like from a longsnapper’s point of view, and shares how these niche players do their high-precision, high-pre...

Despite decades of mediocrity, the New York Knicks inspire an almost religious devotion from their rabid fanbase. The Nets may play across town with three of the biggest stars in NBA history, but New York still bleeds blue and orange. That was never more evident than in the 1990s, when you could watch the Knicks fight on the court…figuratively and literally…at Madison Square Garden. Under the dire...

Over the summer, Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks was struck and killed by fireworks at a 4th of July celebration in Michigan. It was a tragedy that hit especially hard for Kivlenieks’ friend and teammate, fellow netminder Elvis Merzlikins. The two goaltenders shared more than just their position: they were among just a handful of NHL players from the tiny nation of Latvia. Merzlikins eve...

The heroics and heartbreak of the NFL playoffs are here! Our Monday QB Alex Smith breaks down all the action from a Super Wild Card weekend that delivered…from Cincinnati breaking its 31-year playoff curse, to the Cowboys finding yet another year of heartbreak as the clock ran down to 0…to the Bills decimating the Patriots. Then, ESPN’s Louis Riddick previews the first Monday Night Wild Card match...

NFL Super Wild Card Weekend is here! This supersized first round of playoff action has it all. The AFC playoffs will see the Raiders travel to Cincinnati to take on Joe Burrow - who’s in danger from Las Vegas DE Maxx Crosby, the Patriots and Bills grinding through single digit temperatures, and T.J. Watt making a stand, as the Steelers visit the Chiefs. The NFC side of things sets up an Eagles tea...

The end of the NFL regular season inevitably means a round of firings of head coaches from the league's underperforming teams. But this year, one name came as a shock: Brian Flores. He was fired by the Miami Dolphins after compiling a record of 24-25 in his three seasons at the helm. The Dolphins nearly made it to the playoffs in 2020, and bounced back from an 0-7 start this season to finish 9-8....

The most surprising MVP candidate in the NBA this season basically spent a dozen years hiding in plain sight: DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls. Remembered by many as being the player on the other end of the Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard trade, DeRozan is having his best season yet at age 32. Now playing for the upstart Chicago Bulls, DeRozan isn’t just leading the 1st place team in the Eastern Conferen...

The Georgia Bulldogs are your 2022 College Football Champions! The biggest night in CFB was a thriller until the very end, with Georgia and Alabama trading touchdowns late into the fourth quarter. After a season that saw continued discussion of changing the College Football Playoff, the introduction of NIL freedom for players, and SEC omnipresence, Mike Golic Jr. breaks down the game that won the...

The NFL’s regular season has left us with wider eyes than when it started. Our Monday QB Alex Smith breaks down the Sunday chaos where the improbable ruled: the Raiders won in overtime, narrowly evading the vaunted tie scenario and keeping the Chargers out of the playoffs. Earlier, the 49ers pulled off the comeback to beat the Rams in LA in OT. And the Colts, who had a win-and-in scenario in Jacks...

The NFL finishes its first 17-game regular season this weekend, and stakes around the league are high. With numerous records across the sport on the verge of breaking this Sunday, Bill Barnwell reflects on what a weird football season it’s been, and answers our most burning questions headed into the playoffs, like: could the Saints sneak into the NFC race with Taysom Hill under center, or even unk...