CINCINNATI -- The latest setback in A.J. Green's recovery process will keep the Bengals wide receiver off the field indefinitely.

Green said he will likely not make his season debut Sunday against Baltimore after his left ankle did not respond well to workouts earlier this week. Following Monday's off-week practice, Green said he experienced swelling that derailed his plans of participating in Wednesday's practice. The ninth-year receiver said he doesn't know how long he will need to stay off the ankle as he continues the rehab process.

"For me, just gotta make sure I feel comfortable going out there and pushing it," Green said Thursday. "For me, just gotta make sure I gotta take care of me first before anything else."

Green has not played since he tore multiple ligaments in his left ankle during the Bengals' first practice of the preseason. He underwent surgery in late July. In recent weeks, he started to go through individual drills and was working toward being a full participant at practice.

On Monday, Green said he did more than he ever had during the recovery process as he ran routes and participated in multiple back-to-back drills. The ankle swelled in response, which forced him to rest.

"Right now, my ankle is saying it's too much," Green said. "That's when you gotta back off."

Green said the swelling wasn't as severe as it was a couple of weeks ago. The ninth-year receiver said he's still optimistic that he can play at some point in 2019 but wouldn't feel comfortable returning to the field without being able to go through a full practice.

"I just take it day-by-day," Green said. "If that comes to a point where I can't play, that's what's supposed to happen. Then my ankle's not where I need to be for me to play. Right now, I'm still thinking I still can play. I still can give this thing a little bit more time and then we go from there."

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- What reception awaits Kemba Walker the first time he takes the court in Charlotte in a visiting team's uniform?

"Nothing but positive things, I hope," Walker said Thursday morning, ahead of the Boston Celtics' morning shootaround at Spectrum Center, hours before his first game against the Hornets. "I don't think I did anything wrong. I did an interview yesterday and they asked me the same question, and I'm not sure why that question should even be brought up, honestly. I think it should be all positive reactions.

"It's going to be great. It's going to be great. It's going to be a great feeling, and like I said, I'm looking forward to it. I've done plenty of good things here. ... I've always interacted with the fans, I've always signed autographs, I've always taken pictures and I was always nice to everybody. So I don't think there will be no negative reactions."

Walker, a three-time All-Star, played eight seasons for the Hornets before signing with Boston in July as a free agent. Former coaches and teammates in Charlotte praised Walker in the days leading up to Thursday's game.

"From day one when I signed here for the first time, he was probably the most welcoming person," Hornets forward Marvin Williams said. "... So just to have him kind of in your corner as a person is I think what we miss the most, what I miss the most I think in the locker room as well. Obviously he's a great player, All-NBA, one of the best point guards in the NBA. Obviously we all wish him well and are pulling for him, but again, tonight he plays for Boston and we've got a job to do.

"It'll be an emotional time for Kemba tonight, and it should be. The city of Charlotte is excited to see him play. I'm sure he's excited to be back in this building. And if I know Kemba, by [8 p.m.] he'll be trying to be Kemba, and he'll be trying to win the game."

The Hornets have been one of the early surprise teams of this NBA season, coming into Thursday's game with three straight victories and a winning record after being projected to be one of the worst teams in the league. Walker said he has been keeping close tabs on his former team and has been especially happy for his former backup point guard, Devonte' Graham, who scored 35 points in Tuesday's overtime win here over the Indiana Pacers.

"I watch every game, whenever we are not playing at the same time," Walker said.

"It's exciting, actually, to see their growth, especially Devonte', he stole a couple of my moves. I see that in his game a little bit," Walker added with a smile. "But it's so exciting. I know how hard those guys work, and I was their vet last year. Devonte' and Miles [Bridges] and Dwayne [Bacon], we were always together, and even now we have a little group chat that we're always in, talking. So yeah, we still communicate.

"But yeah, those are my guys forever, regardless of what teams we are on. That's what it's about, man. That's what this league is about. Creating friendships and maintaining them, and that's how it's been."

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Since his first season at Alabama in 2007 when the Crimson Tide just barely made a bowl game, Nick Saban hasn't lost many games.

He's a staggering 147-15.

LSU knows that. The Tigers have squared off in some memorable matchups against their former coach. But this year, No. 2 LSU arrives in Tuscaloosa with a little extra swagger behind its new offense led by Heisman candidate Joe Burrow ready to take on the No. 3 Crimson Tide (3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, CBS).

The Tigers will need all of their newfound firepower at Bryant-Denny Stadium. To truly put the Crimson Tide's home dominance under Saban in perspective, consider this: They've won one more national championship under Saban since his first season (five) than they've lost football games (four) at home.

Take heart, Tigers. It's a difficult, but not impossible, task. We asked key figures from those four wins why it's so hard to take down the Tide -- and how they did it.

"It's a unique environment. Everybody in that building is confident they're about to kick your ass," said Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury, who was Texas A&M's offensive coordinator in 2012 when Johnny Manziel and the Aggies raced out to a three-touchdown lead and then held on to beat Alabama 29-24 in Tuscaloosa.

"You just feel the expectation of that fan base, that they're going to dominate you. You gotta overcome that as a road opponent and just cut it loose. We got out on them 20-0, and even when you're rolling, you know it's coming.

"You gotta make sure guys go in there believing they have a chance to win that game."

That's a lot easier said than done.

Alabama hasn't lost a home football game since a 43-37 loss to No. 15 Ole Miss on Sept. 19, 2015, a streak of 31 games, the longest home winning streak in the nation. The Crimson Tide's past 28 wins at home have been by at least 14 points, and nobody has come within three touchdowns of Alabama in Tuscaloosa since they beat No. 19 LSU 24-10 in 2017.

Other than Ole Miss and Texas A&M, the only other two schools to beat Saban at Bryant-Denny Stadium since his first season were LSU in 2011, in a 9-6 triple-overtime slugfest, and Auburn in 2010, when the Tigers and Cam Newton rallied from a 24-0 second-quarter deficit to win 28-27.

The four home losses by Saban during that span were by a combined total of 15 points, and all four coaches who beat him are in different locales now.

"For Alabama to be that consistent, it speaks volumes about the depth chart Nick has built, his coaches and the atmosphere and tradition there at Bryant-Denny," said Hugh Freeze, who steered Ole Miss to back-to-back wins over Alabama in 2014 and 2015 and is now the head coach at Liberty University. "In that league, you can easily slip up and have a bad day and somebody has enough players to beat you on more than one Saturday.

"But that just doesn't happen to Nick. His record speaks for itself. It takes a special plan and a special belief that you can do it, especially to go into their place and win."

When LSU won in Tuscaloosa in 2011, the Tigers were ranked No. 1 nationally and the Crimson Tide No. 2. LSU will return as the nation's top-ranked team in the AP poll on Saturday night, although nobody expects the kind of defensive struggle that gripped that 2011 affair, which featured 28 defensive players -- 14 on each side -- who would go on to be selected in the NFL draft, including 10 first-rounders.

One of those first-rounders was LSU safety Eric Reid, who's now in his seventh season in the NFL.

"I remember they called it the 'Game of the Century.' Did anybody even score a touchdown?" asked Reid, who wrestled the ball away from Alabama tight end Michael Williams at the goal line for a fourth-quarter interception that saved a touchdown. "We got out of there with a win. It didn't mean much, though, because they got a chance to play us again in the national championship [and won].

"We were the SEC West champions, the SEC champions, and they were the national champions. That was strange."

Reid, now with the Carolina Panthers, couldn't resist throwing a little shade Alabama's way when asked why the Tide have been so good at home under Saban, only further illustrating that the Alabama-LSU rivalry endures long after players leave the two campuses.

"They pay the refs," Reid said, laughing. "Nah, their system works, and obviously they get great players every year, and they're a disciplined football team. They don't make many mistakes."

One of Reid's LSU teammates that season, receiver Odell Beckham Jr., said it begins and ends with Saban.

"You know, Nick Saban, he's the Bill Belichick, in my eyes, of what's going on. They remind me of each other. He's just got a system, and Alabama gets players," said Beckham, now with the Cleveland Browns.

Freeze agrees with Kingsbury that having a genuine belief you can win in Tuscaloosa is as important as anything else. The Crimson Tide have won their 31 straight games at home by an average margin of 32.3 points per game, although only six of those opponents during that winning streak have been nationally ranked.

The Rebels had already beaten the Crimson Tide in Oxford the year before they won in Tuscaloosa, and Freeze said that was huge for his team's confidence.

"I still remember my pregame talk in 2014 when we beat them at our place," Freeze recounted. "I told them, 'We're going to win the game. The goalposts are coming down, and don't let them fall on you.' Those were my last words to them. Then that next year, I preached to them that we were the better team. I don't know if we totally were, but they believed that and went out and played that way."

Ole Miss won the turnover battle 5-0 during its 2015 win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and Freeze acknowledged that was a big key to the win, a game that saw the Rebels play without one of their best players, suspended offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil. Freeze said the other key, if you're going to win in Tuscaloosa, is having a difference-maker at quarterback.

"If you don't have a guy who can make plays through the air, it's almost impossible to beat them," said Freeze, whose quarterback in 2015 [Chad Kelly] threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns. "You're just not going to go in there, control the ground game and be one-dimensional and beat them. It starts with a quarterback who can make plays in the passing game, and obviously LSU has that this year in Joe Burrow."

Texas A&M had that in Manziel, who passed for 253 yards and rushed for 92 against Alabama. And in 2010, Auburn had the ultimate difference-maker in Newton, as the eventual national champion Tigers snapped a 20-game home winning streak by the Crimson Tide.

The Tigers, unbeaten and ranked No. 2 in the country, were down 24-7 at the half and didn't score a touchdown in the first half until there was 5:08 to play when Newton hit Emory Blake for 36 yards to complete a 78-yard scoring drive.

In the locker room at halftime, Auburn coach Gene Chizik had a very pointed message for his team.

"I'll tell you what's going to happen," Chizik told his team. "We're getting the ball coming out. We're going to take the first possession down and score, and this game is on!"

Even now, Chizik can picture some of those "I'm not really sure about this" looks as he glanced around the locker room, and that's when he turned it over to Newton -- in the locker room and then on the field in the second half.

"He was pissed. We were all pissed, and we got after them in the locker room. We didn't pull any punches," Chizik said.

And just as Chizik predicted, Auburn scored a minute into the third quarter on Newton's 70-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Zachery, one of three touchdowns Newton accounted for in the second half, and a comeback for the ages was on.

"It's hard to beat Alabama, period. I don't care where you play them," said Chizik, who now works as an ESPN/SEC Network analyst. "Nick has done what I think is going to be an unparalleled job anywhere. But when you couple the fact that you're always going to go against an Alabama football team that's loaded with talent, coached as well as anybody in the country and then you walk into that environment ... that environment is pretty breathtaking on those types of days.

"If you let [the fans] get into the game early, that environment becomes really hard to overcome. You think about those three things. You've got all the talent assembled. You've got some of the best coaching in the country, and you've got an environment right now that is a feeding frenzy on success. Those three things right there make it really, really tough to win there."

Having veteran players helps, too, especially a senior leader who makes one of those never-give-up plays just before halftime. Alabama's Mark Ingram broke free for what appeared to be a touchdown on a short pass, a score that would have given the Tide a 28-0 lead. But senior defensive end Antoine Carter came out of nowhere to punch the ball out of Ingram's hands from behind, and the ball squirted through the end zone for a touchback.

"That play swung the momentum of the football game," said Ted Roof, who was the Auburn defensive coordinator in 2010 and is now the defensive coordinator at Appalachian State. "It was a great testament to that team's competitive will. After that, the momentum swung. We played lights out the rest of the game."

Roof said Carter's hustle play also helped set the tone for a halftime locker room that was more about correcting mistakes than it was pointing fingers.

"You don't ever turn on your players. You correct them hard, but you never turn on them," Roof said. "They knew what was at stake, too. If [Carter] doesn't run Ingram down, there would probably be no SEC championship and no national championship. We had such strong leadership from our seniors. They got it. They knew it was a 60-minute football game."

It's also impossible to overemphasize the mental part if you're going to beat Saban in Bryant-Denny Stadium, even if you have to drop Ivan Drago analogies.

Yes, Ivan Drago.

Before Texas A&M won in Tuscaloosa in 2012, Kingsbury said the coaches showed tape to the offensive players all week of Georgia Southern rushing for 302 yards the previous season against an Alabama defense ranked first nationally against the run.

It was a page out of Rocky Balboa's camp before he fought the monstrous Russian.

"It was the whole 'Rocky' thing," Kingsbury said. "We literally showed three touchdown runs by Georgia Southern to the team just to show, 'Yeah, they're not a machine,'" Kingsbury said. "We wanted to prove to them that they can actually believe."

Life on this planet is filled with so many unanswered questions. Most remain lost in a perpetual fog of question marks, left forever unanswered. So when we suddenly do receive some resolution on one of those eternal what-ifs, it rattles us to the core.

We likely will never know the identity of Jack the Ripper. We probably aren't going to ever know the names of everyone behind the JFK assassination. It is doubtful the lost city of Atlantis will ever be found.

But by god, we finally know how good LSU could be if it ever figured out how to move the football.

"People bring that up to me a lot, that maybe offense wasn't really the big deal around here for a while," said quarterback Joe Burrow, the Tiger whose right arm has slung his school's offense into the 21st century and into the College Football Playoff's No. 2 slot ahead of Saturday's trip to third-ranked archnemesis Alabama. "But all I know is that every day I walk down these halls in the football facility and Death Valley and every wall is covered with photos and names of some amazingly talented football players who played at LSU. Some of the greatest who ever played. I'm pretty sure they knew how to move the ball."

But that, young Joey Football, is precisely the problem. Or, was the problem. This weekend, there will be no fewer than 11 LSU offensive skill players on NFL rosters. During fall camp, that number was as high as 25. Talent has never been the issue. Using that talent to its fullest potential in Baton Rouge has always been the issue. Or, had been the issue.

Since the middle of the 2018 season, the Tigers have traded in their traditional stump-removal tractor offense for a top fuel dragster. LSU is ranked fourth in the nation in total offense, third in passing and seventh in points scored. Burrow broke the school's 16-year-old single-season TD pass record (28) against Mississippi State on Oct. 19, with five regular-season games still to play.

He spreads the ball around so much that LSU has a dedicated page in their weekly media packet to Burrow and his four primary targets titled "Everybody Eats." He ranks second in the nation in passing yardage (2,805) and TD passes (30), trailing only Washington State's Anthony Gordon (3,387, 32 TDs). But Burrow leads Gordon by a wide margin in QB rating (204.5), completion percentage (78.8%) and yards per completion (10.8), and the Tigers signal-caller has thrown fewer interceptions, with only four in 260 pass attempts.

Yeah, that's right, an LSU offense is racing door-to-door statistically with Mike Leach's Air Raid. And it has done so while playing an arduous slate that featured three matchups against teams in the top 10 at the time, including two against schools that claim to be Defensive Back University (Texas and Florida) and one against a team that might have the nation's best defensive front four (Auburn). In those three contests, the LSU offense averaged 512 yards per game, 341 through the air.

The folks down on the bayou are loving it. Even if they aren't entirely sure what it is they are loving.

"We were at the weekly team press conference stuff earlier in the season and I was approached by a guy who has been covering LSU football for a long time," said Jacob Hester, former LSU running back and a key cog in Les Miles' pro-style offense that won the 2007 national title. Hester is now a super popular and super busy sports talk radio host on ESPN Radio Baton Rouge and nationally with SiriusXM. "He came to me asking to help him really break down this offense X's and O's-wise, and he says to me, 'I don't even know what I'm looking at, and it kind of scares me.' I laughed and told him not to be scared. Change can be scary. But change is good. Especially when that change means you're 8-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country [in the AP Top 25] headed to Tuscaloosa."

Ah yes, the Alabama game. The one game everyone in Louisiana has circled on the calendar, in Sharpie. The one annual loss that has stood in the way of LSU returning to that 2007 glory. And it is played against Nick Saban, the head coach many believe would have led the Tigers to the same College Football Playoff immortality he has brought to the Crimson Tide had he chosen to stay in Baton Rouge instead of leaving for the Miami Dolphins and then Alabama.

The last time the Tigers defeated Bama was nine years ago, the legendary No. 1 vs. No. 2 Game of the Century that ended with a 9-6 score. But the Crimson Tide got a rematch in the national championship game, dominated LSU 21-0 and has never looked back.

Within three years, Saban -- who had been lobbying NCAA rules committees to slow the game down -- adapted, hiring Lane Kiffin and jump-starting Alabama's offensive revolution. The next five seasons included five playoff appearances, two national titles and star turns for QBs Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa. Meanwhile, LSU coach Les Miles infamously refused to do the same, stepping into offensive meeting rooms and squashing any talk of creativity by announcing the importance of asserting wills and announcing one's presence with authority.

"When I was at LSU, you were going to play in a phone booth, in between the tackles, stacking eight or nine guys and lining up with two tight ends and wearing them down offensively and making your move late in the game," Hester said. "And that worked. And LSU won a lot of football games doing that. But football evolved, and LSU kept winning a lot of games, but they stopped winning championships."

The 10-0 loss to Alabama was the signature game of Ed Orgeron's 2016 tenure as interim head coach, taking over the team after Miles was fired four games into the year and after a brutally one-dimensional offensive effort in an 18-13 loss at Auburn. Coach O pledged to himself that night that if he were given the chance to be full-time head coach, he would make recharging the LSU playbook his highest priority.

"LSU is always going to be packed with defensive talent," said Orgeron, the Louisiana-born former lineman. "It has been that way since they first started playing football here 125 years ago, and it will always be that way here. But now, we're getting those guys some help up on that scoreboard. We've always had plenty of talent on the offensive side of the football. We just needed to find the right way and the right leader to really take advantage of that talent. We got that."

In 2018, Burrow arrived as a transfer from Ohio State. Together with offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger, they started working the spread into the playbook. There were glimpses of greatness but a lack of consistency. This season, with the hiring of passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach Joe Brady from the New Orleans Saints, the Tigers' O has become a machine, the likes of which no one has ever seen in Death Valley.

Everyone likes what they're seeing. Especially those who played in Death Valley before -- even if they are a little envious:

"I'm jealous," admitted Odell Beckham Jr. of the Cleveland Browns, who was at LSU for its last SEC title in 2011 and played in the 9-6 Alabama game. In 2013, he had a school-record 1,152 yards receiving and eight TD catches. "When we were there, it just wasn't like this. I hope they break every record that's been put over there."

"Yeah, I'd like to go back and play in just one game with that playbook now," said Atlanta Falcons receiver Russell Gage. In 2017, his senior year at LSU, Gage had 21 receptions in 13 games and became known as a jet sweep specialist. "My friends who are still there are like, 'Dude, you'd already have so many touchdowns right now!' I'm happy for them."

"After the spring football game, I told everyone that [Burrow] was going to break all of my records," said Rohan Davey, who stepped in to helm the offense at the start of the Saban era and from 1998 to 2001 set a slew of school passing marks, including the most career 300-yard passing games (seven) and the most passing yards for a season (3,347) and a game (528, against Alabama in 2001). Burrow already has broken the first mark with eight and is only 542 yards behind the second with at least four games remaining. "I think some people might think I'd be mad about that, but they are crazy. This is too much fun to watch for anyone to be mad."

But the giddiest of all Tigers is the man who, 30 years after his final game behind center, is still the gold standard for the LSU passing game. Tommy Hodson always has been a purple-and-gold anomaly, the 6-foot-3 Matthews, Louisiana, native and his long right arm standing out for gaudy passing yardage right smack in the middle of a record book written by the pumping legs of Billy Cannon, Kevin Faulk, Leonard Fournette and others. A four-year starter, Hodson threw for 9,115 yards and 69 touchdowns. From 1986 to 1989, those were video-game-set-to-easy numbers.

"If you go back and look at the film, we were actually pretty conservative," said Hodson, 52. He points to yards per completion -- his career mark of 7.8 yards as compared to Burrow's 13.7 -- and his Cajun-laced voice picks up volume. "I have been waiting for this for so long! It's so much fun to watch. They're playing modern offensive football, like everyone else has been playing for the last 10 years. It's been so refreshing."

Then Hodson, the co-owner of a manufacturers' representation business in Baton Rouge, goes full-on businessman: "You have to keep fans interested. You have to keep them entertained. So you have to balance that. It's a lot easier to sell $8 popcorn and $10 beers when you have a product that first of all can win, but is also entertaining. Not just to watch but to play. Those guys look like they are having plenty of fun to me."

They are indeed. From Burrow thumping his chest and waving goodbye to opposing fans to wide receiver Justin Jefferson's TD dance "The Gritty." Offense is fun. But not as fun as winning. When it comes to keeping that perfect record intact, the fun bunch is willing to put in the work to ensure they have plenty more reasons to celebrate. And that's where the hidden benefits of this newfangled offense come into play.

"Joe is in our position room all the time," safety Grant Delpit explained. "He will come in and watch film of practice and explain what he saw us do that might have tipped something off. Or he will have watched the next QB we're facing and he can give us a tip on something they are doing we can take advantage of."

Jefferson offered his take.

"For the first time, we are throwing the same kind of offense at them in practice every day that they are seeing on Saturday from most of the teams that we're playing," said Jefferson, one of six Tigers with at least one TD catch. He has nine, tied with Ja'Marr Chase for the team lead. "Some teams I think maybe you don't see a lot of talking between the offense and defense. But with this team, we are all talking all the time. They are teaching us and we are teaching them. It's a good time, man, even when it's hard work."

That's also the perfect description of the Tigers' most recent game, a 23-20 cage match victory at home over Auburn. There was nothing pretty about it. It looked and felt a lot like old-school, pre-spread LSU football. But even during a cool, wet puntfest of a game in which Burrow was sacked three times and threw an ugly interception, the Tigers still produced 508 yards of offense to Auburn's 287.

"Yeah, now we know we can still get in there in the mud and play old-school football if we need to," Orgeron said as he walked off the field that night to start his preparations for Alabama, still two weekends away. "But now we can also do a lot more than that if we need to. Multidimensional. That feels good."

As good as it feels to the men wearing purple and gold on the field, it feels even better to those who wear those colors as they watch them, especially those whose photos hang on those walls of the halls that Burrow and his teammates walk each day.

"This offense is so much fun to watch, and it has to be so much fun to play," Hodson said. "I'd like to play just one game with that playbook. Heck, just one quarter. I think all of us former offensive players feel that way. But watching still feels pretty dang good, doesn't it?"

Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin has been cleared to participate in all basketball-related activities, putting him on track for a return to game action, the team announced Thursday.

Griffin has yet to play this season because of what the team is calling left hamstring and posterior knee soreness.

The Pistons are calling him day-to-day.

A six-time All-Star, Griffin appeared in 75 games last season for Detroit, his most since 2013-14. He averaged a career-high 25.5 points to go with 7.5 rebounds. He had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in the offseason.

Also Thursday, the Pistons said Derrick Rose (hamstring strain) continues to receive treatment and rehab his hamstring strain. He is day to day. Rose hasn't played since Nov. 1.

Tim Frazier (shoulder strain) also is day to day, while Reggie Jackson (stress reaction in lower back) remains out, the team said.

Runners can race for their country in the global competition, with Ennis-Hill, Bolt and Wayde van Niekerk announced as team captains

Runners have the opportunity to race for their country as part of national teams captained by athletics greats Usain Bolt, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Wayde van Niekerk.

A global and free-to-enter virtual running competition – the Vitality Running World Cup – will take place in March and April, with the initiative aiming to positively change people’s behaviour when it comes to physical activity.

Open to all, participants who log a 3km run in under 30 minutes on a smartphone or fitness device can contribute towards their country’s total, with sign-up now open at www.runningworldcup.com.

Jamaican sprint star Bolt, British Olympic and world heptathlon gold medalist Ennis-Hill and South Africa’s Olympic 400m champion Van Niekerk will lead teams from their respective nations, while other captains are set to be announced soon.

“It’s a real honour to be holding the position of captain for the UK in this competition,” said Ennis-Hill.

“By taking part, millions of people will now have the chance to run for their country, which is a fantastic opportunity.

“I have always got so much out of sport and with this event being 3km or more, I believe it will appeal to so many people. Whether you’ve never run before, or are an experienced runner, I hope you’ll all come together with me and start clocking up those runs next year.”

Bolt said: “Nothing made me prouder in my career than running for my country – and this event is giving everyone the chance to do the same, no matter their level.

“I hope by being part of this and leading my country, I can help inspire people across the world to get involved. Good luck to all the countries taking part – especially Jamaica!”

Also commenting on the Vitality Running World Cup, Discovery Group chief executive and founder of Vitality, Adrian Gore, said: “Vitality has successfully been incentivising people to move more for over 20 years, and the Vitality Running World Cup is an exciting new initiative linked directly to our bold commitment to help make 100 million people 20% more active by 2025. We invite everyone to join and become part of our global movement.”

To participate, runners register at www.runningworldcup.com and every run logged via a smartphone or fitness device which is at least 3km within 30 minutes contributes towards their country’s total. As the weeks go by, countries with the highest number of kilometres run relative to their country size and device penetration will progress to the knockout stages.

Each person who completes their first qualifying run (3km in 30 minutes) will receive a digital goody bag with over $100 of vouchers and discounts for brands and services. Even if a country is knocked out of the competition, participants can still accumulate kilometres as part of a weekly Vitality goal and be rewarded for it.

Scotland’s double European indoor champion eyes Maria Mutola’s mark at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix

Laura Muir heads to the Müller Indoor Grand Prix Glasgow on February 15 with her eye on Maria Mutola’s world 1000m record.

The four-time European indoor gold medallist currently sits second on the global all-time rankings with her European record of 2:31.93 set in 2017 and now she hopes to improve on the 2:30.94 recorded by Mutola in Stockholm in 1999.

Venue for the Grand Prix – the Emirates Arena – is not only where Muir claimed two of her European indoor titles earlier this year but it also serves as the British 1500m record-holder’s indoor training base and she’s keen for another strong performance in front of home fans.

“I can’t think of a better way to begin 2020 and Olympic year than with a world record attempt in my home city and in front of a home crowd at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix Glasgow,” said the 26-year-old.

“Through the hard sessions this winter, knowing that I’ll be stepping back out on to the track in Glasgow will be absolutely huge motivation, as will the opportunity to attack what is a really tough and long-standing world record.

“With that said, I feel that going quicker that 2:30.94 is a real possibility, and I can’t think of a better place to go for the record than in Glasgow and at such a world-class event.”

Tickets for the event are available in limited supply via theticketfactory.com/british-athletics/online

BECHTELSVILLE, Pa. – The annual free-to-the-public practice session will kick off the 58th consecutive season of stock car racing at Grandview Speedway on Saturday, March 28.

That practice, which starts at noon, is open to all forms of racing competition.

Once again the third-mile banked clay track will be operated by the Rogers family and will again carry a NASCAR sanction.

The first racing event of the new season will be the 3rd Annual Bruce Rogers Memorial offering $7,500 to the winner of the 50-lapper that has the Small Block Modifieds going up against the Big Block talents. The race is set for Saturday, April 4 and is run in memory of the man who was instrumental in building the track and making it the huge success it has become.

The inaugural Rogers Memorial was won by NASCAR Camping World Series and dirt modified standout Stewart Friesen while the 2019 race went to another top modified talent, Matt Sheppard.

Te biggest race of the season, the 50th annual Freedom 76, which paid more than $25,000 to winner Duane Howard back in September, is on the schedule for Saturday, Sept. 19 with a Sept. 26 rain date.

A complete schedule is being finalized and will be released shortly.