/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