CM Punk, who will return to the Octagon on Saturday. tells SN that doing something “on your own, so to speak” holds more meaning than having something possibly “gifted” or “handed” to him.

Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson found themselves near the top of the leaderboard Thursday in Memphis.

“Every player doesn’t want to compete for a championship and be in a position where every possession is pressure.”

“He’s kind of built for the postseason at this point of his career … You definitely think about that,” James said of Dwyane Wade.

Four boxers made Forbes’ list of the 100 highest-paid athletes, with Floyd Mayweather leading the field in all sports.

Carlos Correa’s MRI came back clean Thursday, meaning the shortstop is day-to-day for a return.

These are the moments when it is probably wise to remember – this being England, after all– that it is never sensible to overdose on optimism before a World Cup actually starts. Yet there are at least grounds for positivity and increasingly there is a sense that Gareth Southgate’s players are high on confidence, capable of putting together some vibrant football and not showing any obvious signs of the end-of-season fatigue that has weighed them down before major tournaments in the past.

They fly to their base in Repino, on the Gulf of Finland, next Tuesday and Southgate is entitled to be encouraged after another satisfying win that will be remembered mostly for the spectacular first-half goal with which Marcus Rashford made it clear he was determined to press for a starting place when England arrive in Russia.

Though he helped Premier League clubs generate billions, the EFL may have cause to rue the executive chairman’s departure

After two decades carving out total dominance for the Premier League, Richard Scudamore was able to announce his surprise resignation at a high point of his own choosing – a happy position not enjoyed by some who challenged that supremacy over the years. The arc of his stellar career serving the 20 clubs which form the Premier League in any given season is pockmarked with the early departures of other talented chief executives, particularly at the Football Association, whose authority he was repeatedly determined to resist.

As a chief executive entrusted by the top clubs with great authority, his record is a reflection of the Premier League’s development itself: its glittering achievements and for many, glaring frustrations. The official farewell thanks to Scudamore from his friend Bruce Buck, Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea chairman, and chairman of the league’s remuneration committee which fixed Scudamore’s salary package at £2.56m last year, noted his most obvious achievement: the Premier League’s “outstanding growth”.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has rejected suggestions that he should change his driving approach after a season during which he has been involved in incidents at every race so far. Preparing for the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend he remained defiant and was dismissive of criticism of the errors that have compromised his performances.

Verstappen is still only 20 years old but now in his fourth F1 season. He has always been bullish in defending his driving style but this has been the worst start in his career. Sixth in the championship, he has finished on the podium once and is 27 points behind his Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who is in third.

The 20-year-old’s brilliant goal against Costa Rica hinted at what he could be capable of at the World Cup and at Old Trafford