sports-news

name	sports-news
description	Sports news via RSS/Atom feeds and Google News. Fetch headlines, search by query, filter by date. Covers football news, transfer rumors, match reports, and any sport via Google News. Use when: user asks for recent news, headlines, transfer rumors, or articles about any sport. Good for "what's the latest on [team/player]" questions. Supports any Google News query and curated RSS feeds (BBC Sport, ESPN, The Athletic, Sky Sports). Don't use when: user asks for structured data like standings, scores, statistics, or xG — use the sport-specific skill instead: football-data (soccer), nfl-data (NFL), nba-data (NBA), wnba-data (WNBA), nhl-data (NHL), mlb-data (MLB), tennis-data (tennis), golf-data (golf), cricket-data (cricket), cfb-data (college football), cbb-data (college basketball), or fastf1 (F1). Don't use for prediction market odds — use polymarket or kalshi. News results are text articles, not structured data.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"machina-sports","version":"0.1.0"}

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

Command	Required	Optional	Description
fetch_feed	url		Fetch an RSS/Atom feed by URL
fetch_items		google_news, query, url, limit, after, before, sort_by_date	Fetch news from Google News or an RSS feed

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