8:52 PM ET EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State announced Mel Tucker as its 25th head football coach on Wednesday night in East Lansing after a somewhat public search process that started with Luke Fickell and circled back to Tucker. While Michigan State initiated contact with Tucker early on, the target for the position was
8:58 PM GMT The Rugby Football Union (RFU) said on Wednesday it was cutting its funding of clubs in the Championship, the second tier of English rugby union, by almost half next season. The RFU said its contribution towards the 12 Championship clubs next season will be around 3.46 million pounds ($4.48 million), or 288,000
7:00 AM ET Imagine a universe in which baseball has an ironclad, two-way reserve clause. A reserve claws, as it were. We’re not talking about the version that bound players to teams for decades before Marvin Miller and Curt Flood came along, when teams had all the power in deciding when or if a player
7:12 PM ET Associated Press TEMPE, Ariz. — Shohei Ohtani has no problem with the Los Angeles Angels‘ plan to delay his return to the mound so they can preserve his pitching arm for later in the season. The two-way star also wouldn’t have minded if the Angels wanted him to start on opening day,
7:12 PM ET FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Longtime Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio is closing on a contract extension with the club, a source confirmed to ESPN. Caserio’s contract is set to expire after the 2020 draft, and head coach Bill Belichick has cited his dual role in personnel and coaching as a “great
6:15 PM ET Associated Press SURPRISE, Ariz. — Preparing to return to the major leagues after a one-season absence, Salvador Perez caught a bullpen session from prospect Brady Singer in the Kansas City Royals‘ first spring training workout on Wednesday. Perez hurt a ligament in his right elbow during drills in spring training last year,
6:13 PM ET ESPN News Services The Minnesota Timberwolves say Karl-Anthony Towns will miss Wednesday night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets due to a left wrist injury. Towns had an MRI on the wrist Tuesday, which revealed the injury. He will be further evaluated over the All-Star break, according to the team. Towns is averaging
6:03 PM ET ESPN News Services Colorado assistant Darrin Chiaverini was named the interim coach of the Buffaloes on Wednesday, less than a day after Mel Tucker accepted an offer to become the coach at Michigan State. Chiaverini, 42, will lead the Buffaloes into spring practices that begin next month after Tucker’s late-at-night departure to
5:23 PM ET ESPN News Services The Oakland Athletics filed a formal complaint to Major League Baseball about the Houston Astros‘ sign stealing before Mike Fiers told The Athletic about the scheme, manager Bob Melvin and general manager David Forst told the San Francisco Chronicle. “MLB does a great job of monitoring these things, but
5:40 PM ET Associated Press PHOENIX — Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Pedro Baez became the first player to win in salary arbitration this year and will earn $4 million rather than the team’s offer of $3.5 million. A right-hander who turns 32 next month, Baez was 7-2 with a 3.10 ERA in 71 relief appearances