PHILADELPHIA -- Eagles linebacker Zach Brown was not complimentary of former teammate Kirk Cousins when assessing Sunday's matchup between Philadelphia and the Minnesota Vikings.

"Cousins, I think every defense is going to want that guy to throw the ball," Brown said after Friday's practice. "For me, that's probably the weakest part of their offense is him. Everything else is good. They've got a good running game, probably one of the best in the league. They have real good receivers. You just want them to pass the ball. You want Kirk Cousins to get it in his hands."

Brown and Cousins played together for the Washington Redskins in 2017 before Cousins signed a three-year, $84 million deal with Minnesota in free agency. Cousins threw 27 touchdowns to 13 interceptions with seven fumbles that season as Washington finished 7-9.

"I realized when I was in Washington, he was kind of careless with the ball. But at the same time, hey, you make the bed you sleep in," Brown said.

"I was at the Redskins with him so I know about him. That's my viewpoint on him."

Cousins has often been at his best against the Eagles. He is 5-3 lifetime against Philadelphia with a career-high 17 touchdowns to five interceptions and a quarterback rating of 101.2.

The Vikings have found most of their success on the ground this season. They enter Sunday's game ranked third in rushing (166 yards per game) compared to 29th in passing (191 YPG). The Eagles, meanwhile, boast the top-rated rush defense (63 yards per game) but are 27th against the pass (271 YPG).

"Make him frustrated back there," Brown said of Cousins. "First we have to stop the run, and then make him frustrated back there. Our main concern is stopping the run because if they can run the ball, they're going to win."

Coco Gauff has reached the semi-finals of a WTA Tour event for the first time as her run continued at the Linz Open.

The American, 15, beat top seed and world number eight Kiki Bertens, of the Netherlands, 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 in Austria.

It was Gauff's first win over a top-10 player, at an event in which she only came into the draw as a lucky loser.

"I'm really happy and proud of myself," said Gauff, who will face Germany's Andrea Petkovic in the semi-finals on Saturday.

She becomes the youngest player to reach a semi-final on the WTA Tour since the Czech Republic's Nicole Vaidisova won in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 2004.

After a tight first set, Gauff came through the tie-break convincingly. She then grabbed the only break of serve at 1-1 in the second set and held her nerve for a memorable win.

It continues the breakthrough year in Gauff's fledgling career after she reached the last 16 at Wimbledon, which included a win over five-time former champion Venus Williams, and got to the third round at the US Open.

SANDUSKY, Ohio – ThorSport Racing has announced that GoFish, along with its cleaning-companion brand DishFish, will sponsor Ben Rhodes’ No. 99 Ford F-150.

GoFish is designed specifically for automotive and other large, sensitive surfaces to safely remove oxidation, tar, grease, bugs and more without scratching the paint or finish. DishFish uses PowerCell Technology and a flexible, ergonomic shape to deliver superior cleaning.

“ThorSport Racing is an established leader in NASCAR racing. We’re thrilled to partner with such an iconic name in the sport and support Ben, their talented driver,” said GoFish/DishFish founder Jim Kordenbrock. “For us, it’s a perfect match – a high-performance crew on the racetrack needs a high-performance cleaning tool that will keep up with their speed and power. We look forward to interacting with enthusiastic NASCAR fans and being part of a winning team.”

GoFish and DishFish will first be represented on Rhodes’ Ford truck this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway and at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 26, as an associate sponsor. Full sponsor activation will be in place on Nov. 8 at ISM Raceway and the season finale race, Nov. 15, at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“I’m proud to represent the GoFish/DishFish colors on and off of the track. They make an exceptional product that I know our fans will love – just as I do. It’s pretty exciting to have a new partner going into the last two races of the year. Hopefully we can give them two great finishes and wipe the competition away,” said Ben Rhodes.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The International Motor Sports Ass’n has announced further expanded initiatives for its IMSA Green Racing program.

In the on-going effort to pursue Green Racing Protocols, these initiatives include the continuing expansion of the sanctioning body’s own IMSA Green program. This includes increased involvement in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Program, discovery and implementation of solar energy within its paddocks and progress in the current move to electric and hybrid technologies in the mobility field.

IMSA announced earlier this year it became an affiliate of the EPA’s SmartWay program. This vital initiative assists companies in using more efficient transport modes, equipment and operational strategies. IMSA’s new trailers and nine Mack Anthem tractors use SmartWay technology to improve fuel efficiency, reduce emissions and save money within the transport sector.

There are several ways IMSA is serving as a high-profile Affiliate. They include using Michelin fuel-efficient truck tires, aerodynamic features on the tractors and trailers and the tractors use of the MY engine.

Michelin SmartWay verified tires have been determined by the U.S. EPA to provide an estimated fuel savings of three percent or greater, relative to the best-selling new tires for line haul trucks, when used on all three axles. These fuel-efficient truck tires offer low rolling resistance and can be used with lower-weight aluminum wheels to further improve fuel savings.

Tractor aerodynamics include an aero profile and aerodynamic bumpers and mirrors. The MY engine features significant improvements in fuel efficiency, power and productivity while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A SmartWay tractor and trailer annually save 2,000 to 4,000 gallons of fuel and reduce CO2 emissions by up to 20 percent as compared to similar trucks on the road.

The EPA recently bestowed a 2019 SmartWay Excellence Award on Michelin for outstanding environmental performance and leadership. IMSA’s “Official Tire Supplier” was one of 17 shipper and logistics companies – and the only tire company – to receive this distinction. The award is the EPA’s highest recognition and acknowledges the best environmental performers among SmartWay’s 3,700 partners.

IMSA has shared these improvements with its partners with the hope they will incorporate these technologies and protocols.

“These EPA SmartWay initiatives are an important component of the ever-evolving IMSA Green Racing Program,” IMSA President Scott Atherton said. “It is easy to see the monetary savings SmartWay provides and by adding in the reduction to our environmental footprint makes this something every team in our paddock should be exploring for their use.”

With the mobility landscape moving swiftly to electric and hybrid technology, IMSA has already announced the next generation of its top racing class – Daytona Prototype international (DPi) 2022 – will have a hybrid powertrain. The sanctioning body also continues to explore the possible adoption of ETCR (fully electric TCR) and ePrototype platforms in the future.

Discoveries in the areas of off-track solarization and electrification are evolving for IMSA as new technologies become available.

IMSA has been working closely with a number of companies to explore the use of available technologies to transform energy into opportunities. By implementing these technologies, IMSA Green can continue to develop its sustainability and innovation strategy.

The goal of these collaborations is for IMSA to have electric production vehicles from its manufacturer partners serve as hot lap and pace cars at its events. Today this technology is on display at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta with the 455 horsepower Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid, a plug-in hybrid SUV up to the task of serving as the safety car for this year’s Motul Petit Le Mans. IMSA foresees using solar-powered stations to charge these vehicles in the future. This technology could be used in the IMSA paddock to charge generators or possibly have a racecar use this plug-in feature.

The performance of this vehicle was on display earlier today at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta with it being driven for a demonstration lap on full electric power by Atherton along with passenger, Karl Simon, the EPA’s Director, Transportation and Climate Division.

“It is no secret the mobility field is focused on alternative forms of energy with most of these efforts revolving around electric and hybrid technologies,” Atherton added. “IMSA’s conversations with top companies in this sector have led to more innovations on how we can better utilize these advancements throughout our paddock.”

IMSA’s partnership with the EPA and SAE International has been invaluable for these evolving initiatives. The United States Department of Energy has been involved in IMSA Green, and the sanctioning body continues to have discussions with the agency for its return as an affiliate in 2020. The EPA has a display area here at the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta Midway this week as part of the Motul Petit Le Mans festivities.

Earlier this summer, IMSA announced it was focusing on ways to return to the Green Challenge Level. It hopes to become the first racing series to attain Green Racing Cup status, which is the highest level of environmentally responsible racing. IMSA continues to seek ways to implement innovative engine and fuel technologies to help obtain this status.

“There are new ideas in this space daily and IMSA is keeping track of these advancements,” he added. “The collaboration between the EPA and SAE International has been instrumental in being able to make these announcements today. The anticipated return of the U.S. DOE can only help us advance the IMSA Green Racing program further ahead.”

BRASELTON, Ga. – While Mike Skeen was driving his race of the year in IMSA Prototype Challenge, Rodrigo Pflucker and Austin McCusker were calmly maneuvering their way to the series championship.

Skeen recovered from a lap-three spin, charging from 18th place to win Friday morning in the final Prototype Challenge race of the season. Pflucker and McCusker, meanwhile, only needed to start the race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta to clinch the driver and team titles. A steady if unspectacular drive to sixth place wrapped up the crowns for the Forty 7 Motorsports duo.

“This season was a lot tougher, the competition was a lot tougher,” said McCusker, a 21-year-old New Yorker who finished second in the driver and team standings in 2018, driving the same No. 47 entry. “Look at us, we only got one win this year but we were very consistent. I think we had three podiums, four top-fives.

“I finished second in the championship last year, so one better is where we wanted to be. We accomplished that goal and I’m happy.”

Pflucker drove a sister Forty 7 Motorsports car last season before being paired with McCusker in 2019. Their lone win came at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July, but they added second-place finishes to kick off the six-race season at Daytona International Speedway and Sebring International Raceway.

“We came knowing this year that the points system in IMSA is close from each other,” said Pflucker, the 23-year-old from Lima, Peru. “It’s really important to get the points every race, be consistent.”

The No. 47 Norma M30 ran as high as second place on Friday, but a pit-speed violation during the lone stop forced a drive-through penalty that knocked it out of podium contention. It couldn’t diminish the joy of the championship, however.

“I’m really happy,” Pflucker said. “It was our main goal since last year (to win the championship). Austin was my teammate in 2018 and we got together (this year) to achieve this goal. We are happy, of course.”

Skeen, meanwhile, thought his race was all but over in the No. 23 Gilbert/Korthoff Motorsports Norma when he spun while battling Matthew Bell for second place early into the one-hour, 45-minute race.

“We ran side by side and he kind of pushed me over to the right between (turns) 10A and B and made it really tight. It was just a racing incident,” said Skeen, the 32-year-old Virginian whose 6-foot-3 frame towers over most drivers. “I’m so tight in that car that it’s really hard for me to correct oversteer. Cold tires, spun it, just kind of a dumb thing. I thought it was kind of over at that point as far as the win. I thought we might be able to eke out a podium if we were lucky.”

Falling all the way to 18th place, Skeen raced faster and longer than most anyone for the first stint, taking the lead for five laps before making his mandatory pit stop on lap 39, nearly an hour into the race. He emerged in second place after the pit cycle, trailing only pole sitter Stevan McAleer.

After a restart following the last of four full-course cautions, Skeen dove inside McAleer heading into the esses with five minutes remaining. McAleer slid into the grass before correcting and getting back on track, but Skeen was long gone.

“It was awesome,” said Skeen, who collected his first win of the season in just his third race. “We were both still kind of on cold tires after the restart and he just got a little bit deep into turn three. He was running an awesome race up to that point.

“He just let a small window open, I got a little pushy with no contact but had to make an aggressive move. I knew he was going to close the door if I didn’t go for it. I had to take a chance when it opened up and it worked out.”

Skeen pulled away to win by 2.928 seconds over Bell in the No. 64. The victory followed a second-place finish for Skeen in the previous series race at Virginia Int’l Raceway in August.

“We only did a partial season with this Gilbert Motorsports car,” Skeen said. “To do just a couple races and be up front, be on the podium (at VIR) and finish it off with a win is just good.”

Wayne Boyd and Naj Husain placed third Friday in the No. 30 Sean Creech Motorsports Ligier with McAleer finishing fourth. McAleer still secured second in the driver standings, tying No. 4 Ansa Motorsports drivers Leo Lamelas and Neil Alberico in points but owning the tiebreaker with a series-leading two race wins.

Kris Wilson in the No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P3 won the Bronze Cup trophy – for the highest placing Bronze driver lineup – for the second consecutive race and in just his second series start.

INDIANAPOLIS — The beat goes on — and on and on and on.

The 2020 NTT IndyCar Series schedule was recently released and it included a couple of key changes. Richmond (Va.) Raceway is in and Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway is out. Pocono, according to the current trend, is too dangerous for Indy cars.

Fifty years ago, championship racing — known today as Indy car racing — entered into the most enduring identity crisis in the history of motorsports. Once a sport that raced primarily on ovals — both dirt and paved — and an occasional road course, in 1971 the sport abandoned dirt racing and over the next decade began a longstanding shift toward road and street racing.

It would be easier if we forgot that inconvenient history and focused on current affairs, but the issue continues to dog Indy car racing. Factions within the sport have been fighting each other for 50 years: More ovals! No, less ovals!

Pocono was the latest high-speed oval up for debate. After a couple of serious crashes over the past few years, a growing number of drivers and team owners spoke out against returning to the giant 2.5-mile track.

The issue here is both cultural and generational. Over the past 20 years only a handful of drivers in IndyCar have come from an oval-racing background. There isn’t any question: High-speed ovals carry a higher degree of risk than road or street courses. For many young Indy car racers, fast ovals initially push them outside their comfort zone. Some racers adapt, but many never quite get comfortable with this form of competition.

Most current Indy car drivers are diplomatic about the topic, but it isn’t difficult to sense that most prefer road and street courses. That’s only natural; that’s where their roots lie. So with any dramatic crash or injury on an oval there is often quick pushback that perhaps these tracks are too fast and too dangerous.

In recent years we’ve seen at least one Indy car regular avoid ovals altogether, allowing their team to sub somebody else in for those races. This is as it should be; the people risking their neck should have the ultimate say in where they want to race. If you aren’t comfortable racing at high speed on an oval, don’t do it. There is certainly no shame in that.

How about this novel idea: Instead of changing the schedule — and walking away from ovals because contemporary Indy car drivers don’t want to race there — maybe we should change the personnel.

Let there be no doubt, there are hundreds of sprint car and midget racers in America who would leap at the opportunity to race an Indy car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Richmond, Iowa Speedway, World Wide Technology (Gateway) Raceway — and yes, Pocono.

In fact, given a couple of days for some phone calls we could easily guarantee enough candidates to fill the starting field — twice, maybe three times.

This is where the cultural divide in Indy car racing is most evident. For a great number of people within the sport, the mere mention of the words “sprint car” or “dirt” can trigger hysterical screaming, seizures and gnashing of teeth.

Here is the elephant in the room, the topic nobody wants to acknowledge. The fastest track on the IndyCar Series schedule is the beloved Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s only a matter of time before it is suggested that the Ind­ian­ap­olis 500 is “too fast,” because contemporary drivers are not comfortable with 230-plus mph. When that happens, the debate will rage with renewed vigor. And the stakes — for the entire sport — will be vital.

It isn’t polite or comfortable to point out that likelihood, but it is likely, nonetheless.

After decades of struggle and division, IndyCar has made great strides in recent years to stabilize its schedule, its teams and the overall series. Some of the races have been very competitive and entertaining and there is a growing and positive momentum surrounding the series.

However, the recent debate about Pocono has exposed the divide that continues to haunt Indy car racing. A faction within the sport believes a modern Indy car has no place on a high-speed oval and belongs on a road or street course. Shorter ovals — such as Richmond, which is a three-quarter-mile track — are grudgingly accepted. Based on the outcome, this faction got its wish as Pocono disappeared from the schedule.

The debate will go on … and on and on and on.

But always remember: Every weekend at short tracks across the nation there are hundreds of American racers who dream of racing an Indy car — on every type of course — at high speed. All they ask is for a chance.

Reece Topley is set to sign for Surrey on a two-year deal.

ESPNcricinfo understands that Topley, the 25-year-old left-arm swing bowler, will have a medical at The Oval next week. It is also understood he has been the subject of interest from several other counties.

Sussex were disappointed that he rejected their offer to renew his contract, and released a statement which made reference to the fact the club's medical and coaching staff had helped him back to fitness before he had signed for them. He was the club's leading wicket-taker in the Blast, and took six wickets in two end-of-season Championship games.

Topley will be viewed primarily as a T20 specialist at Surrey, though he could be used in the first-class side if required. He is also likely to be picked in The Hundred's inaugural draft next Sunday (October 20).

If Topley's signing is completed it would make Surrey the fourth county of his injury-blighted career. A series of stress fractures to the lower back have caused long injury absences but there are hopes that an operation performed during 2018 has delivered a long-term solution. Earlier fractures were treated with rest and gym work.

Topley's attraction to any teams are pretty obvious. A tall, left-arm bowler blessed with good skills and the ability to swing the ball, he looked set for a permanent role in England's white-ball squads before injury intervened. It remains possible he could yet feature in the England Lions squad over the winter.

His choice of Surrey is intriguing. A strong, deep squad could create selection issues at times, but may also ensure he is not over-bowled. And, rightly or wrongly, he may have reasoned that performances at The Oval are more likely to capture the attention of the media and selectors.

Ashley Giles, England's director of men's cricket, has warned that there is no easy way to protect the team's star players from the heightened profile that comes with their summer's successes, after a week in which Ben Stokes once again attracted media attention for all the wrong reasons.

Stokes was last week named as the PCA's Player of the Year following his remarkable feats during the World Cup and Ashes. However, he was subsequently forced to rebut claims that he had assaulted his wife, Clare, during the PCA event, after paparazzi photos were published on a website showing him raising his hand to his wife's face.

That incident followed the publication, last month, of a front-page story in The Sun, detailing a family tragedy that occurred in Stokes' native New Zealand, three years before he was born.

Stokes has since launched legal proceedings against the newspaper, citing invasion of privacy. But, with England due to tour New Zealand next month (Stokes is missing the T20I leg but will be involved in the Tests), the issue is doubtless likely to resurface - not least because Stokes appears to have attained a level of interest to the tabloid press that matches his fellow England allrounder, Ian Botham, in the 1980s.

England are also due to make two trips to Australia in the next 24 months - a country that Stokes has not toured since missing the 2017-18 Ashes in the wake of his arrest in Bristol - and Giles admitted that the pressures that come at the very top of the game are far removed from those that he fleetingly experienced in 2005, as part of the last England team to truly capture the public's imagination.

"I think everything is wrapped up for these guys now," said Giles. "Success brings money, brings more pressures, and the pressures are certainly far different to what we experienced when we played.

"There's a lot of good stuff there they get, but there's also a lot of negative stuff. Part of my job is to protect them from that, but how exactly do you do that? I don't know. You can't always watch them or their families 24 hours a day. But we're certainly there for them and player welfare and support is a big thing for us going forward.

"It's just a worry, in some sense, how his profile can be used against him, and how susceptible they are as a family to this," Giles added. "The bigger your profile the more difficult it can become."

Within hours of the photos appearing on the Guido Fawkes website, Clare Stokes dismissed the story as "nonsense", tweeting that that the pair had merely been "messing about" before leaving the event to get a "romantic McDonalds 20 mins later."

"I spoke to both of them the other night," said Giles. "I was pretty sure, as soon as I saw the story, there was nothing in it. They were obviously concerned because domestic violence is a really serious issue, and we're not making light of that at all. But in this instance it's a very happy couple having some fun, and a picture telling a thousand words, but just the wrong ones."

Chris Silverwood, England's newly appointed head coach, said that the PCA incident had been a "lesson for everybody", adding that "innocent things can be taken out of context if you are not careful". But he, like Giles, was satisfied that the issue had been taken out of context, and that the matter was now considered closed.

However, it is not merely Stokes who has been on the wrong end of some negative publicity in recent months. The England Lions duo, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Joe Clarke, were stood down from selection in the summer after their misdemeanours on social media came to light in the rape trial of a former team-mate, while Alex Hales was dropped from England's World Cup squad after failing two tests for recreational drugs.

Giles, however, reiterated that the players would be given the chance to learn from their mistakes and be considered for selection again, just as Stokes has done post-Bristol, so long as they too demonstrate a willingness to buy into the team culture in the future.

"Yes, some [headlines] have been not so good, but I think we have to accept that they're human beings and they're going to make mistakes," Giles said. "Ben has made mistakes in his past and we've seen how he can turn it around and we have to think that others who have made mistakes can do that also.

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"We've always said it's not the end of the line. But the culture bit is really important to us. We have to continue down that line because as we've seen with Australia and the scrutiny they fell under in South Africa [during the ball-tampering scandal], we don't want to be putting ourselves in that position. So it takes constant, consistent short-term checks to make sure we are functioning in the right way."

Asked whether he felt that Silverwood had it in him to make the tough decisions if challenged to do so in the future, Giles insisted that his new appointment had hidden qualities beneath his placid demeanour.

"I think there's a steeliness that don't you particularly want to cross as a player," Giles said. "I think the hairdryer treatment is a bit dated but one of the things that's impressed me about him from what I've seen and the people I've spoken to is the way he manages people.

"It's clear at Essex, you just need to look at that dressing-room and the different personalities - Alastair Cook to Ravi Bopara and others in between. But each of them only has good things to say about his style. I think it bodes well.

"He's a good man with solid values and I'm pleased the right man is English because it helps break that cycle we were in where we couldn't employ an English coach and I think we've got a good one here."