Author: PlayActionNews

Aug 19, 2025, 11:05 AM ETIt’s Tuesday, and another week of NWSL action is in the books, which means it’s time for ESPN’s Power Rankings.Who’s climbing the table? Who’s in free fall? Our writers studied the action from across Matchday 16 to come up with this week’s order of all 14 teams in the league. Let’s dive in.Previous ranking: 1Next match: Saturday at Portland Thorns, 10 p.m. ETWhen the Current’s matchup with Orlando finally kicked off after a three-hour delay due to extreme heat, the game sure felt like … both teams had been sitting around for hours, getting stiff…

The Philadelphia Phillies go for the series win when they battle the Seattle Mariners in a key interleague matchup on Tuesday. Philadelphia earned a 12-7 win in Monday’s series opener. The Mariners (68-58), who have lost three in a row, are 31-33 on the road this season. The Phillies (72-53), who have won two consecutive games, are 38-21 on their home field in 2025.First pitch from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia is set for 6:45 p.m. ET. The Phillies have won four of the past six meetings with the Mariners. Philadelphia is a -171 favorite on the money line (risk…

San Antonio fight fans are in for a real treat on Saturday, August 23, when the Boeing Center at Tech Port hosts a stacked card dubbed the Summer Showdown. The main event sees undefeated Justin Figueroa (12-0, 10 KOs) headline for the first time, squaring off with Jarrod Tennant (9-5, 4 KOs) for the Junior NABF super welterweight crown. World Boxing News spoke exclusively to Fighters First Management’s Jolene Mizzone and Adrian Clark, who gave unfiltered thoughts on the event, the fighters, and why their partnership is changing the game for boxers behind the scenes. ‘These are the types of…

The Steelers have made a pair of roster moves on Tuesday. Pittsburgh announced the club has signed linebacker Kenny Willekes.A Vikings seventh-round pick in 2020, Willekes appeared in six games for Minnesota in 2021. He recorded 2.5 sacks and seven quarterback hits with one pass defensed.Since late 2023, Willekes has been with the Michigan Panthers of the USFL/UFL.As a corresponding move, the team waived offensive tackle Gareth Warren with an injury designation.

The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic’s MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox.Today’s lesson: Any good burger promotion involves at least a little beef.Plus: We’re talking about expansion (and realignment) again, the Blue Jays and Pirates got messy in Pittsburgh, and Ken has a Q&A with Cardinals manager Oli Marmol. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal — welcome to The Windup!Fact Check: Craig Counsell and the hamburger receiptsThings are bad enough on the North Side of Chicago right now. Kyle Tucker has been benched for a mental reset, Andrew Vaughn is hitting…

We don’t like to admit this, but NBA awards are handed out based off of relatively small samples. Sure, 82 games sound like a lot, but all it takes, especially in the 65-game minimum era, is a sprained ankle or tweaked hamstring to change a vote. Sometimes a player’s supporting cast robs him of a trophy. Sometimes a narrative takes hold and overrides common sense. Sometimes a player happens to peak at a weak point in league history. Weird things can happen across six months.But 25 years? That’s a more reliable sample. We’ve now made it through one quarter of…

Kevin SeifertAug 18, 2025, 06:08 PM ETCloseKevin Seifert is a staff writer who covers the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL at ESPN. Kevin has covered the NFL for over 20 years, joining ESPN in 2008. He was previously a beat reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Washington Times. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia.EAGAN, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson practiced Monday for the first time in 25 days as he continues to recover from the left hamstring strain he suffered last month.Jefferson last practiced on the second day of training camp. His history with…

Andreas HaleAug 18, 2025, 08:00 AM ETCloseAndreas Hale is a combat sports reporter at ESPN. Andreas covers MMA, boxing and pro wrestling. In Andreas’ free time, he plays video games, obsesses over music and is a White Sox and 49ers fan. He is also a host for Sirius XM’s Fight Nation. Before joining ESPN, Andreas was a senior writer at DAZN and Sporting News. He started his career as a music journalist for outlets including HipHopDX, The Grammys and Jay-Z’s Life+Times. He is also an NAACP Image Award-nominated filmmaker as a producer for the animated short film “Bridges” in 2024.A…

It’s Tuesday, August 19 and the Guardians (64-60) are in Phoenix to take on the Diamondbacks (60-66). Tanner Bibee is slated to take the mound for Cleveland against Eduardo Rodriguez for Arizona.The Guardians won the series opener, 4-3, over the DBacks, to break a three-game losing streak. For Arizona, the Diamondbacks are on a four-game losing skid after dropping all four by seven combined runs.Let’s dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two. We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch first pitch,…

There are shoes yet to drop. Big ones.So goes the unending NBA offseason. This year, the issue is the plight of the restricted free agent, whose originating team has the right to match any offer made to him by another team. Yet, the issue this summer is not the threat of some team dropping an offer sheet on the four RFAs of note still unsigned as of Aug. 19 — Golden State’s Jonathan Kuminga, Chicago’s Josh Giddey, Philadelphia’s Quentin Grimes and Brooklyn’s Cam Thomas. No team other than the Nets has cap space, leaving each player in the quartet in…