2:16 PM ET NEW ORLEANS — Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers said the typical fun that surrounds opening day is muted with star point guard Ben Simmons back home under team suspension as his trade demand has kept the team dealing with drama. “It’s a predicament that we’re in and that part is no fun. It really isn’t,” Rivers said Wednesday ahead of his...

6:11 PM ET LOS ANGELES — The Atlanta Braves‘ pitching puzzle for Game 4 of the NL Championship Series was complicated further by news that righty Huascar Ynoa would be unavailable because of tightness in his right shoulder. Atlanta made the announcement as manager Brian Snitker sat down for his pregame press conference. Ynoa had been slated to start what the Braves had previously...

10:00 AM ET Associated Press MOSCOW — Aryna Sabalenka played her first match since reaching the US Open semifinals and subsequently testing positive for COVID-19, beating Ajla Tomljanovic 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-1 on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup. The second-ranked Belarusian, who had a bye in the first round, had 10 aces but also made 30 unforced errors....

12:41 PM ET Bantamweight might be the best division in mixed martial arts and that extends to outside the UFC, as well. In a marquee matchup at 135 pounds, Sergio Pettis will defend his Bellator title in the weight class against former champion Kyoji Horiguchi on Dec. 3 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, Bellator officials confirmed with ESPN. Last month, Bellator announced the signing...

Wanindu Hasaranga’s rearguard fifty was beautifully complemented by a clinical bowling display as Sri Lanka sealed their place in Super 12s with a massive 70-run win over Ireland in a group A first round match of the ICC T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Asked to bat first, Sri Lanka recovered from 8 for 3 to make 171 for 7 in 20 overs and then returned to dismiss Ireland for 101...

2:53 PM BST Scotland coach Gregor Townsend has named 12 uncapped players in his squad for the autumn internationals starting later this month as he casts his net far and wide two years out from the next Rugby World Cup in France. Included in the squad are the South African-born duo of loose forward Dylan Richardson and prop Pierre Schoeman, as well as Ewan Ashman, Josh Bayliss, Rory Darge,...

12:00 PM ET James Jackson There are few things better than achieving a milestone for the first time. That’s the case for this year’s top pick Trevor Lawrence. The young centerpiece behind the Jacksonville Jaguars‘ rebuild played a crucial role in snapping the second-longest losing streak (20) in league history on Sunday in his first career start in London. 2 Related...

4:57 PM ET Mike CoppingerESPN The snakebitten lightweight championship fight between Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos is now set for Nov. 27 at New York’s Hulu Theater at MSG, multiple sources told ESPN on Wednesday, a bout that will be streamed on DAZN. This is the ninth new date for the fight, which was originally slated for May 29, then June 5 before being set for June 19 in...

1:16 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s company is under criminal investigation by a district attorney in a New York City suburb into whether it misled officials to cut taxes for a golf course there, according to The New York Times. The district attorney’s office subpoenaed records from both the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester and the town of...

Great Britain’s youthful team sprint squad of Milly Tanner, Blaine Ridge-Davis, Sophie Capewell and Lauren Bate took bronze at the first day of the World Championships in Roubaix, France. The team saw off Japan in the bronze-medal final, coming home more than half a second clear in 48.059 seconds. Germany secured an emphatic gold, retaining their title in a world record time of 46.064...