Tom Goldman

The U.S. Open officially begins today with some notable tennis stars missing. But one is the talk of the tournament. Serena Williams is making what's expected to be her final appearance there.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson gets an 11-game suspension, the Big Ten Conference announces a huge TV rights deal, and the WNBA playoffs get underway.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will sit out 11 games and pay a $5 million fine. Watson agreed to the increased punishment after dozens of sexual misconduct allegations.

The WNBA playoffs begin Wednesday with some key match-ups, a pending retirement and absences of some notable players. The Chicago Sky are trying to become the first back-to-back champions in 20 years.

Brittney Griner sentenced in Russia. Deshaun Watson suspended from six games for alleged sexual misconduct. And the deaths of two titans of sport: Bill Russell and Vin Scully.

The feud between the PGA Tour and the new controversial Saudi-backed LIV golf series is in court. More than a dozen players have filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour which suspended them.

One of basketball's great players has died. Bill Russell was a star with the Boston Celtics and won the most titles of any NBA player: 11. (Story aired on All Things Considered on July 31, 2022.)

Bill Russell was one of basketball's all-time greats. He won a record 11 NBA titles, all with the Boston Celtics. But his dominance didn't stop off the court — he was a voice for racial justice, too.

Sacramento continues its dream run as the first lower-division soccer team to get to the final since 2008 - with a chance to become the first non-MLS champion since 1999.

The finals are set for the U.S. Open Cup, and there's a huge surprise. Lower-division Sacramento stunned a Major League Soccer powerhouse — the first time that's happened since 2008.

The U.S. Open Cup is the country's oldest national soccer competition, and it's coming to an exciting finish. Insiders say Sacramento's run is an indication of the growth of the men's game in the U.S.

The women's race starts Sunday in Paris and lasts for 8 stages, ending July 31. The last multiday women's race was held in 1989.

When the Tour de France ends this week, another one begins — this time for the world's best female riders. For the first time in 33 years, women will compete in the most famous cycling stage race.

A controversial women's final at Wimbledon, plus the WNBA All-Stars Game in Chicago.

A college sports seismic shakeup is underway with UCLA and the USC bolting the Pac-12 Conference for the Big Ten. The move consolidates power between two super conferences and portends more changes.

The controversial Saudi Arabian-backed golf series known as LIV plays its first tournament in the U.S. this week. The breakaway series is already shaking up the golf world.

Dozens of civil and human rights groups wrote a letter to Biden urging him to help secure the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner. She's remained in a Russian jail since February on drug charges.

Fifty years ago, Title IX banned discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs. Advocates say it's been a fight to make sure girls and women get the opportunities promised.

The Golden State Warriors have clinched the team's fourth NBA title in eight years, decisively defeating the Boston Celtics on the road, 103-90, to win the seven-game championship series, 4-2.

Some of the sport's biggest stars are under scrutiny for participating in a breakaway series funded by the Saudi Arabian government.