Sports

By George Ramsay, CNN Mesut Özil, the Arsenal and Real Madrid midfielder who won the World Cup with Germany in 2014, has announced his retirement from professional football aged 34. Once regarded as one of the best players in the world in his position, Özil won the La Liga title with Real Madrid in 2012

By Wayne Sterling, CNN University of Virginia fifth-year running back Mike Hollins said Tuesday it’s a “miracle” that he’s able to return to the practice field, four months after surviving a shooting that killed three of his football teammates. “It’s literally a miracle that I’m here today and just living that out,” Hollins told reporters

By David Close, CNN New York Knicks hero Willis Reed has died, the National Basketball Retired Players Association said Tuesday. He was 80 years old. Reed led the Knicks to two championship titles in the 1970s, which included one of the most iconic moments in basketball history. Although suffering from a torn thigh muscle, Reed

By Steve Almasy and Thomas Schlachter, CNN Japan won the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday night, downing Team USA 3-2 in the championship game at loanDepot Park in Miami. The game ended in dramatic fashion with Japan’s Shohei Ohtani striking out his MLB teammate Mike Trout with a full-count slider to seal Japan’s third title.

CNN By Eoin McSweeney, Jill Martin and Becky Anderson, CNN Although all-time tennis great Novak Djokovic says that his rivalry with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer made him the player he is today, initially the Serbian was “pissed off” to be part of the golden era. “They made me stronger, both mentally, physically, my game

By George Ramsay, CNN Tennis great Martina Navratilova says her “prognosis is excellent” having been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer. In an interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV, Navratilova said: “I mean, as far as they know I’m cancer-free … I definitely won’t be missing any of my check-ups. I will be very,

By Eoin McSweeney, Jill Martin and Becky Anderson, CNN Although all-time tennis great Novak Djokovic says that his rivalry with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer made him the player he is today, initially the Serbian was “pissed off” to be part of the golden era. “They made me stronger, both mentally, physically, my game was

By Jill Martin, CNN After being eliminated from the World Baseball Classic by the US team in Miami on Sunday, the Cuban team landed in Havana on Monday without one of its players. Ivan Prieto Gonzalez, a 26-year-old catcher, has defected from his home nation, Major League Baseball officials confirmed to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

By Ben Morse, CNN The Miami Dolphins officially exercised quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option on his rookie contract on Monday. The 24-year-old is now contracted with the team through the 2024 season. He will be guaranteed $23.2 million for the 2024 season, according to the NFL. Tagovailoa was the NFL’s highest-rated passer last season with

By Ben Church, CNN Tennis great Rafael Nadal has slipped out of the ATP top 10 for the first time since 2005 as he continues to regain his fitness. The Spaniard has not played competitively since the Australian Open and was forced to skip Indian Wells last week as he continues to recover from a

By Ben Morse, CNN First, it was the Stanford Cardinals — then, it was the Indiana Hoosiers. March Madness is certainly living up to its name as Indiana became the second No. 1 seed to be knocked out of the women’s NCAA basketball tournament in successive days after losing 70-68 to the No. 9 seed