ESPN Daily ESPN

Since the 2023 CFB season came to a close, USC’s Caleb Williams has been penciled in as the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The team holding that pick is the Chicago Bears, who are well known for their inability to draft and develop quarterbacks to their potential. 

A couple of times throughout history, top prospects have used their leverage to force their ways out of unfavorable landing spots. The stories of John Elway, Bo Jackson, and most recently Eli Manning all come to mind. 

Even though Caleb Williams does not look to be joining their ranks, there is still a conversation to be had about how these “can’t miss’ players can and have used their standing to buck the system and how NIL adds new leverage to that dynamic. 

So today, Liz Merril tells us the story of those players who manipulated their landing spots, and why you never know what will happen until “the pick is in”. 
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So ESPN MLB expert Jeff Passan updates us on: the latest happenings in the Shohei Ohtani sports betting case, discusses how now isn’t the time for the league and the player’s association to go to battle over who is responsible for the slew of elbow injuries costing pitchers their season, and explains how players approach trying to be on the field for a full 162 games.
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Technically, the NHL regular season does not finish until Thursday, with a few teams still fighting for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. But the true contenders to raise Lord Stanley’s Cup have already become pretty clear.

So with the playoffs officially starting this weekend, we find ourselves filled with pressing questions. Is Canada finally poised to end its three decade title drought? Can Connor McDavid get over the hump? Are the New York Rangers for real? Our NHL expert Emily Kaplan tells us what to watch for and why this year’s race looks as wide open and unpredictable as ever.
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When a six-foot tall, 265-pound bronze statue of Jackie Robinson went missing from McAdams Park in Wichita, Kansas, it felt like a hate crime. An ugly echo of America’s unjust past and a crime leveled not just at the man who broke Major League’s color barrier in 1947 but also at an urban community within the city.

But as Bob Lutz, the founder of League 42, a youth organization geared towards exposing the city’s black and brown youth to baseball and more, learned, Jackie Robinson was more of an accidental victim than a target.

So ESPN’s Anthony Olivieri, who spent weeks trying to understand what happened, joins the show to tell us how the people of Wichita reacted to the theft and how in the aftermath, the community could be made whole.
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When the starter’s gun goes off on Monday for the 128th Boston Marathon, sadly Kelvin Kiptum will not be among the runners.

The Kenyan running superstar lost his life earlier this year and that tragedy has been compounded by what appeared to be limitless potential.

In a brief three year marathon career, Kiptum had built a Hall of Fame resume that seemed to push the boundaries of what a human can accomplish.

So today, ultramarathoner Kelaine Conochan joins us to explain just how much the world lost with Kiptum’s death and breaks down the possibility of the elusive record he was chasing.
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John Calipari’s tenure at Kentucky included a national championship and four Final Fours. At most other programs, that kind of resume would have guaranteed him a job for life. But things are different in Lexington, as the Wildcats’ five year streak of no Sweet 16 appearances made Calipari’s recent decision to jump to Arkansas shocking but not surprising.

So today, SportsCenter anchor and lifelong Kentucky fan Michael Eaves gives us the view inside the Big Blue fanbase and explains why picking the next head coach is an unenviable challenge.
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