Author: PlayActionNews

Week 2 of the NFL preseason wrapped on Monday night, giving us more intel on how teams plan to deploy their players early in the season. PFF’s Nathan Jahnke has tracked every rep with the starters and has done some great analysis of his own. I’ll be referencing his snap counts frequently, so be sure to check out his article as well.Arizona CardinalsTrey Benson rested, Emari Demercado and Michael Carter splitSecond-year back Trey Benson got the night off while his backups split the remaining work. Head coach Jonathan Gannon has made it stunningly clear that James Conner is the top…

The Kansas City Chiefs lost Felix Anudike-Uzomah for the 2025 NFL season this week, placing the defensive end on injured reserve thanks to a hamstring strain. It was a disappointing development, as coach Andy Reid noted following the preseason game in which Anudike-Uzomah was hurt. And that’s not only because the issue robs the veteran of a full season and depletes Kansas City’s defensive line depth.Anudike-Uzomah’s move to IR also underscores an unfortunate trend related to pass rushers from the 2023 draft class. It’s true that every draft class is scattershot, producing just as many, if not more, clear misses…

Deiveson Figueiredo has dropped consecutive outings at 135 pounds. | Getty/UFC A bantamweight banger has been added to the UFC Rio card. Deiveson Figueiredo (24-5) will face surging contender Montel Jackson (15-2) at UFC Rio on Oct. 11 at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ESPN Brasil first reported the matchup. The card is headlined by a lightweight clash between former champ Charles Oliveira and Rafael Fiziev.  Figueiredo Returns After Suffering Knee Injury Figueiredo moved up to bantamweight after going 1-2-1 in a flyweight title fight quadrilogy against Brandon Moreno. The former champ won three straight at 135 pounds against…

Brendan Rodgers refused to be drawn on reports he could be reunited with striker Jamie Vardy at Celtic. Vardy is a free agent after leaving Leicester at the end of last season and reports on Monday claimed that 38-year-old striker had his heart set on a move to Celtic. Sky Sports News understands there has been no contact between Celtic and Vardy at this stage.”Listen, I would not speak about any individual player,” said Rodgers said.”Of course I worked really well with Jamie, he was brilliant for me in my time at Leicester. But there’s been so many names floated…

Bradford DoolittleAug 19, 2025, 11:30 AM ETCloseMLB writer and analyst for ESPN.com Former NBA writer and analyst for ESPN.com Been with ESPN since 2013Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Feb. 28, 2024. It has been updated to reflect Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred’s comments on how expansion could impact divisional alignment on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast.When MLB expansion comes up, which cities will get new teams is always the first topic. But there’s another factor that will impact the entire sport: How will MLB realign its divisions — and structure its playoffs — to accommodate those…

Aug 19, 2025, 09:57 AM ETCLEVELAND — Larry Nance Jr. is going to shed some light on why so many NBA players have become big fans of international soccer.The Cleveland Cavaliers forward has teamed up with the Men in Blazers Media Network to launch a digital show called “Switch the Play,” a weekly program that will feature those NBA players who are soccer aficionados and discuss happenings in the game.The first episode, featuring Alex Caruso of the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, debuts Thursday.”I entered the NBA in 2015, and I was probably one of only a couple of guys…

Aug 19, 2025, 06:02 AM ETFormer heavyweight world champion Daniel Dubois has split with trainer Don Charles, the Brit has confirmed.Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) was knocked out in Round 5 by Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley Stadium last month.The win crowned Usyk as the undisputed heavyweight champion for a second time as he added Dubois’ IBF belt to his collection and condemned the Brit to a third career defeat.Now, Dubois has made the move to leave Charles, whom he started working with prior to his first fight against Usyk in August 2023.”I want to take this moment to thank Don Charles…

Two weeks of the NFL Preseason down, one more to go before we buckle in for the real thing in early September. Let’s dig into some of the noteworthy fantasy football developments from the second round of exhibition games. We’ll keep it to the stuff that’s actionable — or at least serious food for thought — for fantasy. Fantasy Football Takeaways: NFL Preseason Week 2 Big, Beautiful ‘Bill’ The Washington Commanders held Brian Robinson Jr. out of their Monday-night game against the Bengals, reportedly because they’re trying to trade him. Chris Rodriguez started for Washington, played all four snaps on…

After what feels like a long wait, the 2025 fantasy football season is finally near. Are you prepared? Do you know the settings of each league you’re in? If there are any holes in your plans or you want to level up this year, we’re here and ready to help you start the season on the right foot.The Athletic’s draft kit has everything you need to come ready on draft (or auction) day, from rankings and player projections to sleepers and dynasty advice to training camp reports from our NFL writers. And of course, there’s the penultimate Cheat Sheet, a…

A lot of fans and fighters expected cardio to be a substantial factor in the main event of UFC 319. After becoming the middleweight champion with a one-sided performance, Khamzat Chimaev said he intends to keep working with the coach that helped him improve this aspect of his game.Dricus du Plessis was unable to produce a substantial rally late in the fight because he was frequently taken down and controlled by his challenger.There is one contender in the middleweight division who some believe will have a better chance of dealing with the new champion’s elite wrestling.Chimaev even hinted that this…