MELBOURNE, Australia — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday that the league’s first regular-season game in Australia exceeded its expectations, with roughly 100,000 fans expected at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for a Friday morning kickoff local time. Goodell said on Netflix’s broadcast of the season opener between the San Francisco...

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer are considering a lawsuit against the NBA that would ask a judge to issue a restraining order over the penalties the league handed down in the Kawhi Leonard salary cap case, The New York Times reported Thursday. The Clippers...

NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have opened a criminal investigation into allegations that the Los Angeles Clippers helped arrange secret sponsorship contracts for Kawhi Leonard that circumvented the NBA salary cap, The New York Times reported Thursday. The investigation is in its earliest stages and is being handled...

ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers right-hander Jakob Junis was named among the top relievers in this winter’s free agent class Thursday in an early outlook on the market from ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Junis signed a one-year, $4 million contract with Texas in January, and the deal includes a $5 million...

ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka was among the players ESPN’s Jeff Passan listed Thursday as future free agents, part of Passan’s projection that every mutual option in Major League Baseball will be declined this offseason. Higashioka’s option for 2027 is worth $7 million and carries a $1...

FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys and tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford agreed Thursday to a three-year, $18 million contract extension that includes $12.075 million guaranteed, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported. His agent, Mike McCartney, announced the agreement on X earlier Thursday evening. The extension keeps Spann-Ford under contract through the...

MINNEAPOLIS — On Thursday at Target Center, the Minnesota Timberwolves formally introduced Jonathan Kuminga, the 23-year-old forward who agreed to a two-year, $12.4 million contract with the team on Aug. 26. The second year of the deal is a player option. Kuminga described how Minnesota recruited him while speaking with...

AUSTIN, Texas — Glen Powell will be the guest picker on ESPN’s College GameDay for the second time Saturday. The show will broadcast from Austin before the No. 4 Texas Longhorns host the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. At 11:07 a.m. CT Thursday, the...

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers said Thursday that whether he plays against the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday night’s season opener is his decision. He would not say what he has decided. Sitting out Sunday is still “a possibility,” Nabers said. The Giants are leaving...

FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Stars announced their 2026-27 training camp roster and schedule on Thursday, a 57-player group of 33 forwards, 18 defensemen, and six goaltenders. The on-ice portion of camp begins Thursday, Sept. 17, at Comerica Center, the team’s practice facility in Frisco. For the first two days,...