Sports News

Sports News

Before writing queries, consult references/api-reference.md for command parameters and references/rss-feeds.md for curated feed URLs.

Quick Start

Prefer the CLI — it avoids Python import path issues:

sports-skills news fetch_items --google_news --query="Arsenal transfer" --limit=5
sports-skills news fetch_feed --url="https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/sport/football/rss.xml"

Python SDK (alternative):

from sports_skills import news

articles = news.fetch_items(google_news=True, query="Arsenal transfer news", limit=10)
feed = news.fetch_feed(url="https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/sport/football/rss.xml")

CRITICAL: Before Any Query

CRITICAL: Before calling any news command, verify:

• Dates are derived from the system prompt's currentDate — never hardcoded.
• google_news=True is always paired with a query parameter.
• sort_by_date=True is set for any "recent" or "latest" query.

Choosing Dates

Derive the current date from the system prompt's date (e.g., currentDate: 2026-02-16 means today is 2026-02-16).

• "this week": after = today - 7 days
• "recent" or "latest": after = today - 3 days
• Specific date range: use as-is

Commands

Workflows

Breaking News Check

1. fetch_items --google_news --query="<topic>" --limit=5 --sort_by_date=True 2. Present headlines with source and date.

Topic Deep-Dive

1. fetch_items --google_news --query="<topic>" --after=<7_days_ago> --sort_by_date=True --limit=10 2. For curated sources, also try fetch_feed --url="<rss_url>". 3. Cross-reference both for comprehensive coverage.

Weekly Sports Roundup

1. For each sport of interest, fetch_items --google_news --query="<sport> results" --after=<7_days_ago> --limit=5. 2. Aggregate and present by sport.

Examples

Example 1: Transfer news search User says: "What's the latest Arsenal transfer news?" Actions: 1. Derive after from currentDate: today minus 3 days 2. Call fetch_items(google_news=True, query="Arsenal transfer news", after=<derived_date>, sort_by_date=True, limit=10) Result: Recent Arsenal transfer headlines with source, date, and links

Example 2: Curated RSS feed User says: "Show me BBC Sport football headlines" Actions: 1. Call fetch_feed(url="https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/sport/football/rss.xml") Result: BBC Sport football feed title, last updated, and recent articles

Example 3: Date-filtered news User says: "Any Champions League news from this week?" Actions: 1. Derive after from currentDate: today minus 7 days 2. Call fetch_items(google_news=True, query="Champions League", after=<derived_date>, sort_by_date=True, limit=10) Result: Champions League articles from the last 7 days, sorted newest first

Commands that DO NOT exist — never call these

• ~~get_news~~ — does not exist. Use fetch_feed (for RSS) or fetch_items (for Google News search).
• ~~search_news~~ — does not exist. Use fetch_items with google_news=True and a query parameter.
• ~~get_headlines~~ — does not exist. Use fetch_items with google_news=True.

If a command is not listed in the Commands table above, it does not exist.

Troubleshooting

Error: Google News returns empty results Cause: query is missing or too narrow, or google_news=True is not set Solution: Ensure google_news=True AND a query are both set. Try broader keywords (e.g., "Arsenal" instead of "Arsenal vs Chelsea goal")

Error: RSS feed returns an error Cause: The feed URL may be temporarily down or the URL format has changed Solution: Use Google News (fetch_items with google_news=True) as a fallback for the same topic

Error: Articles returned are old despite using "recent" query Cause: sort_by_date=True is not set, or the after date filter is missing Solution: Add sort_by_date=True and after=<today - 3 days> to ensure newest articles appear first

Sports News — API Reference

Commands

fetch_feed

Fetch an RSS/Atom feed by URL and return feed metadata plus recent entries.

• url (str, required): Full RSS/Atom feed URL

Returns feed title, last updated timestamp, and entries[] with title, link, published date, summary, and source.

fetch_items

Fetch news items from Google News or an RSS feed.

• google_news (bool, optional): Set to True to use Google News search
• query (str, optional, required when `google_news=True`): Search query string
• url (str, optional): RSS/Atom feed URL (mutually exclusive with google_news)
• limit (int, optional): Max items to return
• after (str, optional): Filter items after this date (YYYY-MM-DD)
• before (str, optional): Filter items before this date (YYYY-MM-DD)
• sort_by_date (bool, optional): Sort results by date descending (newest first)

Returns items[] with title, link, published date, summary, and source.

Important constraints:

• google_news=True requires a query — without it, Google News has nothing to search.
• url and google_news are mutually exclusive — use one or the other, not both.
• Always use sort_by_date=True for recency queries to show newest articles first.

Curated RSS Feed URLs

See references/rss-feeds.md for the full list of curated RSS feed URLs (BBC Sport, ESPN, The Athletic, Sky Sports, etc.).

Date Handling

Derive dates from the system prompt's currentDate:

• "this week": after = today - 7 days
• "recent" or "latest": after = today - 3 days
• Specific date range: use as-is

Never hardcode dates — always derive from currentDate.

Useful RSS Feeds

Google News Queries

Use google_news=True with query to search Google News:

• "Arsenal transfer news" -- Arsenal transfer news
• "Premier League results" -- latest PL results
• "Champions League draw" -- CL draw coverage
• "World Cup 2026" -- World Cup news