CNN – Sports

By Amanda Davies and George Ramsay, CNN Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner says the decision to allow racing on the last lap of Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was “the right thing.” The contentious move allowed Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to overtake Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton and seal his first world title in

By Ben Morse, CNN Patrick Mahomes threw a game-winning touchdown to tight-end Travis Kelce in overtime to clinch a thrilling comeback 34-28 win for the Kansas City Chiefs against the Los Angeles Charges on Thursday. The NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2018, Mahomes found Kelce in just the fifth play of overtime. The 32-year-old

By Steve Almasy and Jill Martin, CNN Two of the top professional sports leagues in the country are tightening their Covid-19 protocols in response to the surge in cases. On Thursday, the National Football League and NFL Players Association agreed to new rules that place the league’s 32 teams in restrictive protocols until Monday. It

By CNN Sport staff Manchester United announced on Thursday that its English Premier League home fixture against Brighton, which was to be played on Saturday, has been postponed due to “the number of players and support staff having to isolate due to Covid-19”. “The health of players and staff is our priority […] the club

By Jack Bantock and CNN Sport Staff No head coach, starting quarterback, or full practice, and 18 players on the Covid-19 list — pre-match preparations don’t come any tougher for the Cleveland Browns. Hosting the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday in a game with potentially crucial ramifications for their playoff ambitions, the Browns announced that

By Ben Church and Amanda Davies, CNN Max Verstappen’s first Formula One world title panned out “way more intense” than he could have imagined but the Red Bull driver can finally enjoy his victory after Mercedes officially withdrew its appeal into how the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix finished. Speaking to CNN Sport’s Amanda Davies on

By Ben Morse, CNN Former Tonga rugby international Taniela Moa has died at the age of 36, the Tongan Rugby Union announced on Thursday. “A stalwart of Ikale Tahi Tonga rugby who will now have his named etched among the echelons of the legendary greats. Such sad news to receive about the passing of Taniela

By Jill Martin and Seán Federico-O’Murchú, CNN Urban Meyer has been fired after less than a year as head coach of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, team owner Shad Khan said in a statement. Meyer’s dismissal follows a number of controversies that have dogged his tenure in Jacksonville, including a report Wednesday that former kicker Josh

By Seán Federico-O’Murchú, CNN The Chicago Blackhawks and Kyle Beach, the professional hockey player who said he was sexually assaulted by a former Blackhawks video coach in 2010, have reached a settlement, according to a joint statement from the team and Beach’s attorney. “The parties are pleased to announce that today’s mediation resulted in a

By Jacob Lev, CNN Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has tested positive for Covid-19 and is set to miss Saturday’s game versus the Las Vegas Raiders in Cleveland, the Browns announced on Wednesday. “Head Coach Kevin Stefanski, who has been vaccinated and received a booster, has tested positive and has immediately self-isolated,” the Browns

By Duarte Mendonca, CNN Barcelona striker Sergio “Kun” Aguero announced on Wednesday that he would be retiring from football at the age of 33, after being recently diagnosed with a cardiac arrhythmia. “This press conference is to communicate that I’ve decided to stop playing soccer. It’s a very hard moment but I’m at peace with

By Amanda Davies and Matias Grez, CNN Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta says footballers are ready and “waiting” to take part in another social media boycott if companies don’t clamp down on abuse on their platforms. Earlier this year, players, clubs in the Premier League, English Football League, Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship, along with

By Ben Church, CNN Robert Lewandowski equaled Gerd Muller’s Bundesliga record for most goals scored in a single calendar year after Bayern Munich crushedd Stuttgart 5-0 on Wednesday. The Polish international netted twice in the demolition, his second bringing him level with the record, 42 goals, which has stood since 1972. The striker now has

By Ben Morse, CNN Just when you thought the Arizona Cardinals were running off with the NFC West division title, the Los Angeles Rams might have just thrown a spanner in the works. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw three touchdowns and the LA defense was able to do just enough to stop the Cardinals to

By Jonathan Hawkins, CNN Video by Finn McSkimming, CNN Many couples have an interesting story about how they first met, but few offer a window into their relationship quite like that of racing drivers Kristen and Wayne Matlock. “We met in the desert,” Wayne tells CNN Sport, sitting by the glistening Pacific Ocean on a

By Steve Almasy, CNN With winter almost upon us and people spending more time indoors, Covid-19 cases have been rising. Sports groups and their players have not been spared — and Monday saw several announcements connected to the protocols each league has set up for competitors and staff members. Here’s a look at the Covid

By Ben Morse, CNN The season finale to the Formula One season has gotten a lot of people talking. Some congratulated Max Verstappen following his first drivers’ championship, while others complained about the ending to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. For the man himself, the controversial last few laps to Sunday’s race haven’t dampened the

By Eoin McSweeney, CNN The mood among an army of orange clad fans in the north grandstand is sombre. With four laps to go, seven-time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton is cruising to another victory, leaving a frustrated Max Verstappen in his wake. Red Bull principal Christian Horner is heard muttering on the radio

By Ben Church, CNN Paris Saint-Germain will play Real Madrid in a star-studded Champions League Round-of-16 tie after fixtures were redrawn following a technical error. European football’s governing body UEFA declared the initial draw void earlier on Monday after Manchester United was drawn by mistake and the English Premier League club will probably be relieved.

By Ben Morse, CNN Before Sunday, Tom Brady had almost every all-time NFL quarterback record to his name — and at the end of the day, he set another two milestone achievements. In the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ dramatic 33-27 overtime win against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Brady first passed Drew Brees’ record for the

By Ben Church, CNN Max Verstappen clinched his first Formula One World Championship after beating Lewis Hamilton in a controversial season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday. This season had been heralded as one of the greatest in the sport’s history and the title race went down to one of the most

By Ben Morse, CNN When the Washington Football Team (WFT) started their season 2-6 and the Dallas Cowboys began 6-1, the race for the NFC East division title looked like a done deal. But, as has been the case in the 2021 NFL season, nothing is for certain. Since Week 8, Dallas has split its

By Akanksha Sharma, Susanna Capelouto and Sana Noor Haq, CNN A stolen Hublot watch that belonged to Diego Maradona has been recovered by police in India‘s northeastern state Assam, one year on from the Argentinian football legend’s death. Calling it “an act of international cooperation,” Assam state police announced on Twitter on Saturday that the

By David Close, CNN Bryce Young was awarded the Heisman Memorial Trophy for the 2021 college football season Saturday night in New York City’s Lincoln Center, in the 87th annual ceremony for the sport’s most prestigious honor. The University of Alabama quarterback was the overwhelming favorite this year for the award, especially after last Saturday’s

By Ben Church, CNN Samuel Eto’o has been elected president of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) after winning a vote on Saturday. The former Cameroon international promised an array of reforms after receiving 43 votes from members of FECAFOOT’s general assembly. Eto’o enjoyed a glittering club career, playing for the likes of Barcelona, Inter Milan

By Ben Church, CNN Max Verstappen will start on pole position for his title showdown against Lewis Hamilton at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday. The Red Bull driver was fastest in qualifying on Saturday with his Mercedes rival in second, meaning the pair will line up on the front row together for the

By David Close, CNN College football’s most prestigious honor will be awarded on Saturday night in New York City. Any name other than Bryce Young’s being declared as the winner of the Heisman Memorial Trophy would be a huge upset. The University of Alabama quarterback is the overwhelming favorite according to Las Vegas bookmakers heading

By Eoin McSweeney, CNN Magnus Carlsen’s hair is disheveled, his beard messy and his white shirt tucked out. But leaning forward on his gaming chair, he towers over the chess board, supremely confident. In contrast, his challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi, looks despondent and resigned to defeat. He faces an almost insurmountable task in the World Chess

By Zachary Slater, CNN This weekend either Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen will be crowned the Formula One world champion. Either way, the sport won big in 2021. This year’s success starts with a boom in the sport’s fanbase that can be pinned to Netflix’s “Drive to Survive” docuseries. The show is a crash course

By Jack Bantock, CNN The Minnesota Vikings endured a late Pittsburgh Steelers rally to keep their playoff hopes alive with a 36-28 victory on Thursday Night Football. Having surged into a commanding 29-0 lead by late in the third quarter, the Vikings found themselves inches away from an embarrassing final-play collapse — Steelers quarterback Ben

By Andy Rose, CNN Legendary race car driver Al Unser Sr. died Thursday at his home in Chama, New Mexico, the president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) announced. He was 82 years old and had been battling cancer for the past 17 years, according to the racing league. Unser won the Indianapolis 500 four

By Jack Bantock, CNN Formula One‘s script writers have served up a season fit for Hollywood this season, but will the finale stick the landing? Tied at 369.5 points apiece heading into the final race in Abu Dhabi, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are only the second pair of leading drivers in the history of

By Matias Grez, CNN Superstar LeBron James became just the fifth player in NBA history to reach 100 triple-doubles for his career, but his feat was marred by the Los Angeles Lakers’ 108-95 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday. The four-time NBA champion put up 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists at the

By Andy Rose, CNN Demaryius Thomas, who played 10 seasons in the NFL and is considered one of the best wide receivers in Denver Broncos history, was found dead at his home in Roswell, Georgia, according to officials. He was 33 years old. Based on preliminary information, his death stemmed from a medical issue, Officer

By Jack Bantock, CNN Steph Curry edged closer to becoming the NBA’s all-time leader in three pointers as the Golden State Warriors beat the Portland Trail Blazers 104-94 on Wednesday night. Curry hit six threes en route to a team-high 22 points, moving the 33-year-old to within nine of Ray Allen’s record. An NBA Hall

By Travis Caldwell, CNN The Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League could potentially be without access to their home arena later this month if delinquent taxes and back rent aren’t paid, according to a letter sent to team ownership from Glendale city manager Kevin Phelps. The Athletic was the first to report this development.

By Ben Church, CNN Barcelona crashed out of this season’s Champions League after a 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday. The Catalan club gave itself too much to do in the final group stage match, needing to better Benfica‘s result against Dynamo Kiev in the other Group E game. While the Portuguese side strolled

By Patrick Sung and John Sinnott, CNN Tiger Woods will make his competitive return to golf next week at a $1 million tournament playing with his son Charlie. Woods has not played in a golf tournament since suffering serious leg injuries in a car accident in February. Father and son will play at the PNC

By Hande Atay Alam, CNN Brazilian soccer legend Pelé will stay in the hospital for “a few days” more after undergoing chemotherapy treatment earlier this week, he said in an Instagram post on Thursday. “I’m going to take this chance to do a new battery of exams, so I’m going to stay here for a

By George Ramsay, CNN Novak Djokovic has been named on the entry list for next month’s Australian Open, while Serena Williams has withdrawn on medical grounds. There is still uncertainty around nine-time Aussie Open champion Djokovic’s participation in the tournament after players were told they would have to be fully vaccinated in order to participate.

By Jack Bantock, CNN The Los Angeles Lakers saved their best performance of the season for their historic rivals, as an offensive clinic saw off the Boston Celtics 117-102 on Tuesday night. LeBron James led scoring for the Lakers with 30 points in his second game back since being in the NBA’s health and safety

By Matias Grez, CNN Atlético Madrid beat Porto 3-1 in a bad-tempered clash to steal a place in the knockout stages of the Champions League. Three players were shown red cards during Tuesday’s match as the two sides squared up on multiple occasions, with Atleti’s eventual win moving the team off the bottom of Group

By CNN Sports staff The 30 or so golf courses in the Salt Lake County of Utah drink up around nine million gallons of water a day to stay pristine green — that’s more than 13 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Managing the turf on golf courses also means using carbon-intensive fertilizers, plenty of mowing and, in

By Wayne Sterling, CNN The International Olympic Committee has defended its handling of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai’s disappearance from public life as “quiet diplomacy,” amid criticism of its approach. “Everybody should be concentrating on the well-being of Peng Shuai and not trying to use this for any other purpose,” Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., IOC

By Ben Church, CNN Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi put on a show as Paris Saint-Germain beat Club Brugge 4-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday. With the French club already through to the knockout stages, this was largely an opportunity for PSG to flex its muscles, and its stars certainly helped to do that.

Stella Chan, Cheri Mossburg, Wayne Sterling and Jack Bantock, CNN Medina Spirit is set to undergo a postmortem to determine the cause of the Kentucky Derby-winning horse’s sudden death at Santa Anita racetrack in Southern California, according to the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB). The three-year-old colt collapsed near the finish line just as he

By Ben Morse, Aleks Klosok and Glen Levy, CNN Australia and England take to the field for the first Test on Wednesday of the highly-anticipated Ashes series, with both teams burdened by off-pitch scandals in recent weeks. Considered by some the pinnacle of cricket, The Ashes, is five-Test series of contests between the two powerhouses

By George Ramsay, CNN Karenjeet Kaur Bains started her sporting life as a sprinter, but when she took up powerlifting at the age of 17 — initially to get faster and more explosive for athletics — her focus soon changed. “I found a love for feeling strong and never looked back” is how Bains explains

By CNN Sports staff The New England Patriots edged out the Buffalo Bills 14-10 on a blustery night at the Highmark Stadium in Buffalo to extend their winning streak to seven games. Due to the high winds, with gusts reaching 50 miles per hour, the Patriots completed just two of three passes for 19 yards,

By Travis Caldwell and Amir Vera, CNN Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett, Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud and Alabama quarterback Bryce Young were announced Monday as the four finalists in the running for college football’s top individual award, the Heisman Memorial Trophy. Ballots provided to 927 media members and former Heisman

By Ben Morse, CNN When Henrik Stenson pointed out to Jordan Spieth that his tee was slightly ahead of the marker, the American thought he must’ve narrowly avoided disaster. However, it made no difference as instead of teeing off from the ninth, three-time major winner Spieth and 2016 Open winner Stenson were teeing off from

By CNN Sports staff After 15 games without a victory across a period of almost a year, the Detroit Lions’ winless run has finally come to an end. Jared Goff’s last-gasp touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown handed the Lions a dramatic 29-27 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, sparking wild celebrations among the

By Mohammed Abdelbary, CNN László Polgár is an educational psychologist who believes a child can excel at anything if pushed. He home schooled his three daughters as an experiment to prove this, pushing them to play chess intensely from an early age. They would practice for hours on end with each other as they chased

By Matias Grez, CNN Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s rivalry continued to heat up on Sunday — both on and off the track — at an action-packed Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, as the Mercedes driver won his third consecutive race to go level on points with the Dutchman in the driver standings with one race

By George Ramsay, CNN Real Madrid moved eight points clear at the top of La Liga after a 2-0 victory against Real Sociedad on Saturday. Vinicius Jr. opened the scoring in the second half when he interchanged passes with Luka Jovic, before Jovic got the second 10 minutes later with a header from a corner.

By Jacob Lev, CNN Longtime Atlanta Falcons defensive end and Pro Football Hall of Famer Claude Humphrey has died at the age of 77. Humphrey passed away on Friday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced on Saturday. “The entire Pro Football Hall of Fame family mourns the passing of Claude Humphrey,” Pro Football Hall

By Ben Church and Darren Lewis, CNN On October 5, 2013, Adnan Januzaj made his mark in a big way. In what was his first league start for Manchester United, the slight youngster scored two goals in a dramatic comeback against Sunderland — his second a stunning left-foot volley. It was a special performance that

By John Lynch, CNN The 2021 NCAA college football season has looked a lot different than 2020: stadiums are packed with fans, the tailgates, the marching bands and the cheerleaders are back, too. All those things that the sport has sorely missed during the height of the pandemic will be on full display when the

By Joseph Ataman and Dalal Mawad, CNN Margaux Pinot, a judoka with the French national team, plans to appeal a decision by a Paris court to not pursue a conviction against her partner, whom she accuses of domestic abuse, her lawyer for the appeal Rachid Madid told CNN on Friday. Pinot, an Olympic champion, made

By George Ramsay, CNN After playing for clubs in five different countries over a 15-year period, Axel Witsel’s thoughts are starting to turn towards home. “I travel a lot,” Witsel, now in his third season with German giant Borussia Dortmund, tells CNN Sport as he reflects on his globetrotting career in football. “I think when

By Ben Morse, CNN Christian Eriksen is training at the Danish club where he played as a youth footballer as the Denmark midfielder continues his recovery from a cardiac arrest he suffered at Euro 2020. Eriksen collapsed during his country’s opening game of the tournament against Finland on June 12 in Copenhagen, and received life-saving

By CNN Sports staff Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy has defended players’ rights to compete in the Saudi International next year. The event in February, which used to be on the European Tour but has since moved to the Asian Tour, has already confirmed a field of high-profile names, including Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson.

By Amanda Davies and Jack Bantock, CNN Mercedes entered the 2021 Formula One season seeking an eighth-consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ championship double. That double is still possible but with two races to go, Red Bull and Max Verstappen have proven quite the irritants to Mercedes during 2021. While Mercedes leads the constructors’ championship, Verstappen holds

By Amy Woodyatt, Ben Morse, Nectar Gan, Emmet Lyons and Alicia Lloyd, CNN The International Olympic Committee (IOC) held a second call with Peng Shuai on Wednesday and said that the Chinese tennis star “reconfirmed” that she was safe and well given the “difficult situation” she is in, the sporting organization said on Thursday. One

By Travis Caldwell, CNN The collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the players’ union expired at 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, leading to the first official work stoppage in professional baseball since the 1994-95 seasons. The lockout will prevent players from using team facilities as well as free agents from signing new contracts