Sunday provided an extreme example of what the San Francisco 49ers can look like, at their worst, with Brock Purdy left to fend for himself on offense. Star running back Christian McCaffrey remained out. Starting receiver Deebo Samuel fell ill shortly before kickoff and lasted three snaps. The other starting receiver, Brandon Aiyuk, suffered a…

After the Patriots lost their sixth in a row, first-year coach Jerod Mayo called his team soft. After the boos rained down on Saquon Barkley in his return to MetLife Stadium — one sign even read “TRAITOR” — the Eagles’ star running back torched his old team. And after another tumultuous week in the unending…

Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams. It’s time to take notice of BYU. The Cougars are undefeated and have delivered Kansas State and SMU their only losses of the season. Yet BYU remains outside the top 10 in both the AP and Coaches polls. But not…

The Charlotte Hornets’ first home preseason game felt more like it was being played 600-plus miles northeast, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in Manhattan. Blue and orange garb overpowered teal and white inside the Queen City’s Spectrum Center. There were more Jalen Brunson and Patrick Ewing jerseys than LaMelo Ball and Kemba Walker. The loudest…

LOS ANGELES — With the season over and dreams of advancing to the World Series dashed, Pete Alonso spent what could be his final moments inside a New York Mets clubhouse connecting with people he cared deeply about. He looked third baseman Mark Vientos eye-to-eye, both pairs moist, as he told the burgeoning star that…

The tennis world awoke to a surprise on Monday, with Aryna Sabalenka replacing Iga Swiatek as No. 1 in the WTA rankings. Sabalenka, who has won two Grand Slam titles in a sterling season, has been engaged in a battle for supremacy with Swiatek — who has a Grand Slam title of her own, and…

NEW YORK — The 2024 WNBA Finals was one of the most memorable series in league history. Even as they were competing against each other, Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty players recognized the beauty of their competition and what a great advertisement it was in a season that brought record viewership and enthusiasm to…

NEW YORK — At long last, the New York Liberty are WNBA champions. Sunday’s Game 5 between the Liberty and Minnesota Lynx was far from New York’s most aesthetically pleasing game of the season, but style points aren’t awarded in winner-take-all affairs. Instead, the only number that matters is the final margin — a 67-62…

LOS ANGELES — Eleven days before winning the National League pennant, the Los Angeles Dodgers huddled inside the visitor’s clubhouse at San Diego’s Petco Park, two hours away from Game 4 of the National League Division Series, one defeat away from another October ending without a parade, another year deemed a failure. The season had…

CLEVELAND — We know the final chapter now of the Deshaun Watson saga in Cleveland. It officially ended at 2:18 p.m. Sunday on the 23-yard line when Watson crumpled to the ground clutching his right heel in agony.  The ruptured Achilles will likely be confirmed Monday and the Browns will begin their disaster relief program…