Sports

By Wayne Sterling, CNN (CNN) — Monday night in New York didn’t feel like a standard draft; it felt like a launchpad. The 2026 WNBA draft class descended on The Shed at Hudson Yards into a transformed financial landscape, powered by the landmark seven-year labor deal struck just last month. For the second consecutive year,

By Kyle Feldscher, Jacob Lev, CNN (CNN) — Rory McIlroy held off a crowded field, his own erratic play and the weight of history to win the 2026 Masters, becoming only the fourth player in history to win two straight green jackets. With his victory, McIlroy joins Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as

By Don Riddell, CNN Augusta, Georgia (CNN) — There’s no such thing as a sure thing at the Masters – just ask Rory McIlroy. In 2011, his 4-stroke lead imploded during an excruciating final round that scarred him until he finally won the tournament in 2025. On Saturday, his record-breaking six-stroke advantage completely evaporated. The

By Don Riddell, CNN Augusta, Georgia (CNN) — At the Masters this week, a thought stuck in the minds of the patrons: Surely, it’s Justin time. On a golf course where every hole is named after a flower, only one player bears the name of one, and none has been as close to full bloom

By Associated Press Miami (CNN) — Terry Rozier, who is facing federal charges related to a gambling operation, was waived by the Miami Heat on Friday in an expected and procedural move that allows the team to sign another player to its roster before the postseason. Rozier was with the Heat for one game this

By Don Riddell, CNN Augusta, Georgia (CNN) — It took some time, but Rory McIlroy realized there are more mountains left to conquer. “Honestly, I felt like the career grand slam was my destination, and I got there, and then I realized it wasn’t the destination,” he told CNN Sports on Tuesday. “You think every

By Don Riddell, CNN Augusta, Georgia (CNN) — As you’d expect, much of the conversation around this week’s Masters revolves around the golfers competing at Augusta National for the famed green jacket. But just beneath the surface lies a somber discussion about the most famous man in the sport, who is a long way from

By Don Riddell, CNN Augusta National (CNN) — Gary Woodland is back at Augusta for the first time since 2024 and he is highly emotional. He also thinks that somebody might try to kill him. Woodland suffers from severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, having endured a series of personal trials and tragedies, including a

CNN By Don Riddell, CNN Augusta, Georgia (CNN) — As you’d expect, much of the conversation around this week’s Masters revolves around the golfers competing at Augusta National for the famed green jacket. But just beneath the surface lies a somber discussion about the most famous man in the sport, who is a long way

By Don Riddell, CNN (CNN) — Jack Nicklaus says that he gets chills when he drives up Magnolia Lane at the Augusta National Golf Club, and I know exactly how he feels about the hallowed grounds where The Masters is played every April. Like most of the visitors to Augusta, I’m here for the golf,

By Leah Asmelash, CNN (CNN) — When King Bacot took the floor in the starting lineup for Petersburg High School in the Virginia state championship game, it was in front of a sellout crowd and his coaches sported matching burgundy suits. King was already used to a big-time basketball atmosphere. He has multiple recruiting offers

CNN By Don Riddell, CNN Augusta, Georgia (CNN) — Rory McIlroy is one of only six golfers ever to have won all four majors and achieved the career grand slam, but even he will experience a few nerves when he pulls up a chair at the champions dinner at the Augusta National clubhouse on Tuesday

By Don Riddell, CNN Augusta, Georgia (CNN) — Rory McIlroy is one of only six golfers ever to have won all four majors and achieved the career grand slam, but even he will experience a few nerves when he pulls up a chair at the champions dinner at the Augusta National clubhouse on Tuesday night.

By Dana O’Neil, CNN Indianapolis (CNN) — The one-man tour began just above the 3-point line, not far from where the ladder stood beneath the recently cut nets. Elliot Cadeau brought his favorite new bauble, the brown-wood 2026 NCAA basketball national championship trophy, over to where his mother, Michelle, and older brother and doppelganger Justin

By Jill Martin, CNN (CNN) — One of the biggest names in the WNBA is changing teams. The Chicago Sky traded Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream, both teams announced Monday. The Dream acquired Reese, a two-time WNBA All-Star, in exchange for Atlanta’s first-round picks in 2027 and 2028. The Dream also receives the right

By Dana O’Neil, CNN Indianapolis (CNN) — A new CNN FlashDoc “Money Madness: College Basketball at a Crossroads” examines how betting culture, wealth-creating NIL deals, and fixers preying on the vulnerable have led to a perfect storm. Stream the special now on the CNN app. In 1999, a Boston Southie with daddy issues fueling an

By Jacob Lev, CNN (CNN) — A new CNN FlashDoc “Money Madness: College Basketball at a Crossroads” examines how betting culture, wealth-creating NIL deals, and fixers preying on the vulnerable have led to a perfect storm. Stream the special now on the CNN app. UCLA put on a masterclass performance to down South Carolina 79-51

By Dana O’Neil, CNN Indianapolis (CNN) — So, this is the clearest way to explain what Michigan did to Arizona in a national semifinal billed as a battle between two heavyweights: Yaxel Lendeborg played the second half after spraining his MCL and rolling his ankle. Yet, upon draining a 3-pointer at the 16:27 mark, the

By Dana O’Neil, CNN Indianapolis (CNN) — A new CNN FlashDoc “Money Madness: College Basketball at a Crossroads” examines how betting culture, wealth-creating NIL deals, and fixers preying on the vulnerable have led to a perfect storm. Stream the special now on the CNN app. Minutes after UConn gutted out its 71-62 national semifinal win

By Wayne Sterling, Jacob Lev, CNN (CNN) — UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma on Saturday issued an apology and taken full responsibility for his conduct during the closing moments of the Huskies’ season-ending loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks on Friday night. “There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the

By Dana O’Neil, CNN Indianapolis (CNN) — As their lives have darted and stretched in different directions, Tommy Lloyd, Mark Few and Dan Monson have tried to keep the Wednesday night of the Final Four sacrosanct, a standing date to reconnect. The three have been intertwined since 1999, back when Monson left his job as

By Jacob Lev, CNN (CNN) — South Carolina and UCLA will face off for the women’s basketball national championship on Sunday after their victories in the Final Four. Here is what to know from Friday’s madness: South Carolina shocks UConn South Carolina came into Friday’s game in a position they don’t usually find themselves in:

By Kyle Feldscher, CNN Indianapolis (CNN) — A new CNN FlashDoc “Money Madness: College Basketball at a Crossroads” examines how betting culture, wealth-creating NIL deals, and fixers preying on the vulnerable have led to a perfect storm. Stream the special now on the CNN app. The hour will premiere Sunday, April 5 at 8 p.m.

By Dana O’Neil, CNN Indianapolis (CNN) — The homemade picture hangs in Camryn Crocker’s Illinois basketball office. “Dad, you’re a slam dunk,’’ it reads, next to an imprint of Sienna Bobbie Crocker’s tiny little hand. Nurses in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Carle Foundation Hospital in Champaign, Illinois, made it for Crocker, the

By Dana O’Neil, CNN Indianapolis (CNN) — Asked if he recalled that he once suggested a young Alex Karaban might “turn his socks yellow” upon entering his first college basketball game, Dan Hurley did not pause. “Did I say he’d poop his pants, too?” Hurley said. This as he zipped through the hallways of Capital

By Kyle Feldscher, CNN (CNN) — The NFL is coming back to Topps as both the league and the iconic company look to capitalize on the trading card boom. The league, Topps’ owner Fanatics Collectibles and the NFL Players Association announced on Thursday that the league is once again making Topps its exclusive trading card

By Dana O’Neil, CNN (CNN) — Marcus Domask was not good enough and no one could convince Brad Underwood otherwise. As he watched the Southern Illinois would-be transfer on film, Underwood repeatedly told his staff no, as a power forward, Domask was simply not a Big Ten player. Until, that is, one of his assistants

By Ben Church, CNN (CNN) — He may be a four-time world champion and one of the faces of Formula 1, but Max Verstappen is not having a good time in the sport he once loved. For a while now, the Dutchman has seemed unsettled and unhappy with the direction F1 is heading, so much

By Dana O’Neil, CNN Washington, DC (CNN) — He launched his shot, fittingly, just to the right of the two Ss that finish the words “Madness” on the half-court logo. Because where else would an Indiana kid, born to hoop but stuck in a beyond-the-arc hole for 39 minutes and 59 seconds, find basketball immortality

By Kevin Dotson, Wayne Sterling, Jacob Lev, CNN (CNN) — The men’s Final Four is set and it’s going to be a doozy. Michigan and UConn earned their way into the tournament’s final weekend, joining Illinois and Arizona. The first tickets were punched to the women’s Final Four as well on Sunday as UConn and

By Dana O’Neil, CNN Washington, DC (CNN) — Back when he first came to town – back when some of his Big East peers derided his school as the Northwestern of the conference and questioned why Dave Gavitt even let them in – Jim Calhoun tried to solve UConn’s identity crisis one misinformed person at

By Wayne Sterling, Jacob Lev, Kevin Dotson, CNN (CNN) — Two spots remain in the men’s Final Four after dominant wins on Saturday by Illinois and Arizona, who are heading to the NCAA tournament’s final weekend for the first time since the early part of this century. The Illini and Wildcats both faced tough challenges

By Dana O’Neil, CNN Washington, DC (CNN) — Caleb Foster came zipping into the postgame press conference on his Knee Rover, the handy scooter that’s been his speed demon ride for the past two-plus weeks. His entire right foot encased in ice, Foster bunny-hopped onto the dais, hobbling from ice foot to sneakered foot, to

WPTV, CNN By Jacob Lev, CNN (CNN) — Tiger Woods is in jail Friday after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek. Woods was driving a Land Rover and clipped a pickup truck pulling a small trailer, Budensiek told reporters. The collision caused Woods’ Land Rover

By Jacob Lev, Kyle Feldscher, CNN (CNN) — Tiger Woods was arrested Friday on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to Martin County, Florida, Sheriff John Budensiek. Woods was driving a Land Rover and clipped a pickup truck pulling a small trailer, Budensiek told reporters. The collision caused Woods’ Land Rover to roll onto

By Jacob Lev, Kevin Dotson, CNN (CNN) — Both NCAA tournaments are in full swing on Friday as Sweet 16 action heats up, with the men’s bracket finishing up the round with four games and the women’s tourney showcasing four games as well. Here’s a look at who triumphed so far on Friday and moved

By Dana O’Neil, CNN Washington, DC (CNN) — Each morning, Yissel Raposo woke up early to make sure her three daughters had what they needed to get out the door – breakfast, belongings, school supplies. Then she packed her son, Yaxel Lendeborg, in the car and drove him through the-not-so-nice downtown part of Camden, New

By Gawon Bae, CNN Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — Choi Ga-on walks in very quietly with a faint smile, seemingly camera-shy. But just a month ago, this teenage South Korean snowboarder stunned the world when she made an incredible comeback from injury to complete her final halfpipe run at the Winter Olympics, clinching the gold

By Kyle Feldscher, Jacob Lev, CNN (CNN) — For the last few days, the fans of 16 men’s college basketball teams haven’t been able to get one thought out of their heads: Two more wins until the Final Four. For four teams – Iowa, Illinois, Purdue and Arizona – that number is down to just

By Dana O’Neil, CNN (CNN) — Trying to understand Brad Underwood is not exactly solving the riddle of the sphinx. A knee-bending acolyte of the “Our Fathers of the Unflinching” Church built by Bob Huggins, Underwood is a disciplined, taciturn, hard-nosed coach who long has preferred his players who are molded in his own likeness.

By Emile Nuh, CNN (CNN) — Denmark’s national soccer team takes on North Macedonia in Copenhagen on Thursday, aiming to move within one game of qualification for this summer’s FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. But given the US’ status as a co-host and American President Donald Trump throwing the idea

By Andy Scholes, CNN (CNN) — A fresh lineup of food across Major League Baseball stadiums is rolling out for a fresh new season. Levy Restaurants brought several of its newest creations directly to CNN Sports, and I got to try them. For Levy CEO Andy Lansing, this is the moment they build toward all

By Kyle Feldscher, CNN (CNN) — Watch “Homecoming: The Tokyo Series,” which will begin streaming on the CNN app at 9 a.m. ET on Friday. Subscribe to All Access here. Baseball in Japan, according to Yasuko Tanahara, starts and ends with a bow. It’s meant as a measure of respect – to your teammates, to

By Kyle Feldscher, Jacob Lev, Kevin Dotson, CNN (CNN) — Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. And wait another year for it to happen again. The first weekend of March Madness is in the books and it lived up to expectations. A couple of iconic buzzer-beaters, upsets, top teams being put on

By Dana O’Neil, CNN Buffalo, New York (CNN) — It looked like something out of a Harlem Globetrotters routine, a fake-out so complete that it drew equal parts awe and chuckles from Michigan pep band members who were watching. Standing on the baseline, the ball raised above his head, Aday Mara made like he was

By Kyle Feldscher, CNN (CNN) — The chaos of the opening round of the men’s NCAA tournament is behind us and spots in the Sweet 16 are starting to be booked. The women’s NCAA tournament is still rolling strong in the opening round after a slate of games that went heavily in favor of the

By Kyle Feldscher, Kevin Dotson, Jacob Lev, CNN (CNN) — The second full day of the men’s NCAA tournament was pretty chalky and the upsets were limited, in contrast to the chaos that was the opening day of the round of 64. But the day may have had the most iconic game of the tournament

CNN By Don Riddell, CNN (CNN) — Shiva Amini says that the lives of Iranian athletes can change with the snap of a finger. Amini was a soccer player on Iran’s national futsal team until 2017, when she was pictured casually playing soccer with some male friends in Switzerland – a crime, she was told

By Dana O’Neil, CNN East Lansing, Michigan (CNN) — Seconds after getting crossed up by Jase Richardson during an October 2024 practice, Jeremy Fears, Jr. responded by dishing a hard foul to the then-freshman Michigan State guard. Watching at the half-court line, Tom Izzo lost his marbles. Spewing invectives at Fears, he pointed to the

By Kyle Feldscher, Jacob Lev, CNN (CNN) — The first day of the men’s NCAA Tournament is over and boy did it deliver. A few upsets, a top seed being pushed to its limits by a 16-seed and a few other close games marked a fantastic opening day of the Big Dance. The night ended

CNN By Aleks Klosok, Amanda Davies, CNN (CNN) — Iranian-born judoka Saeid Mollaei believes members of Iran’s women’s soccer team could be killed or put in prison when they return home after declining to sing the country’s national anthem at the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia. As an athlete who faced a similar decision in

By Aleks Klosok, Amanda Davies, CNN (CNN) — Iranian-born judoka Saeid Mollaei believes members of Iran’s women’s soccer team could be killed or put in prison when they return home after declining to sing the country’s national anthem at the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia. As an athlete who faced a similar decision in 2019

By Kyle Feldscher, CNN (CNN) — Venezuela held off a star-powered Team USA offense to win the nation’s first World Baseball Classic on Tuesday to end a thrilling edition of the international baseball showcase with a worthy final. The Venezuelan win represents a moment of catharsis for a nation that has been racked by political

By Hannah Keyser, CNN (CNN) — Team Italy pitcher Dylan DeLucia threw four shutout innings in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against Puerto Rico – purportedly the first baseball game to be broadcast on national Italian television. When he was done, the prospect in the Cleveland Guardians system who hails from Florida had an