US Open shock as 19-year-old saves two match balls
By SEAN REUTHE – Squash Mad Correspondent

Two-time World Junior Champion Rowan Elaraby claimed the biggest PSA Tour win of her career to date earlier at Philadelphia’s Drexel University as she overturned two match balls to scalp New Zealand’s World No.6 Joelle King at the FS Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships, earning a spot in her first ever Platinum quarter final.

World No.31 Elaraby had already beaten higher-ranked opposition in England’s Victoria Lust in round two, and she upped her game further to take out the tournament’s No.5 seed, with the 19-year-old battling to an 11-7, 7-11, 2-11, 12-10, 11-8 victory during a scrappy 55-minute encounter.

King held two match balls in the fourth game and the 31-year-old looked set to get the better of her younger opponent.

But a dogged showing from Elaraby saw the Egyptian come back from the brink, and she kept her focus despite a number of refereeing decisions in the decider to book her place in the quarter finals.

“I’m out of words,” said Elaraby afterwards. “I’m really happy with how I played and how I managed to go through the match. I can’t believe it. I feel as though what I was working on in the off season has been paying off now. My coach, Mohamed Effat, has worked with me so hard during the summer, so I’m really happy that I was able to play my best squash.

“My coach just said that I didn’t have anything to lose and just give it my all and that’s what I did.”

Elaraby will take on World No.3 Nour El Tayeb for a place in the semi-finals after El Tayeb put in a composed performance to overcome reigning World Junior Champion Hania El Hammamy, beating her 11-7, 11-7, 11-8 to avenge her Black Ball Open defeat to the teenager earlier this year.

“This court holds a lot of special memories for me,” said 2017 US Open champion El Tayeb.

“It was my first major title and doing it with Ali [husband, Farag] was extremely special and even though I had a bad result here last year, I still feel very happy and emotional coming here.”

Defending champion Raneem El Welily continued her imperious start to the season with a 21-minute dismantling of fellow Egyptian Yathreb Adel, and she will play World No.7 Sarah-Jane Perry in the last eight, with Perry requiring four games to see off the dangerous Malaysian Sivasangari Subramaniam.

In the men’s event, Peru’s Diego Elias navigated a tricky fixture against World No.12 Joel Makin, with an immaculate performance seeing the World No.7 run out an 11-5, 11-9, 11-8 winner.

The Lima-based 22-year-old had beaten World No.12 Makin in their previous two encounters on the PSA Tour, and added a third victory to that tally after a virtuoso display saw him hit his corners with regularity and move Makin around the court superbly to vanquish the Welshman.

“I feel good. I lost a bit of fitness after winning the Pan Ams, but after that I started training again and I have another goal, which is to win one of these big events,” said Elias, who won a gold medal at the Pan American Games during the summer.

“I’m really happy, I knew this was going to be really tough, he’s a really tough player, he’s so physical and fit and I knew it could have been 100 minutes, so I’m really happy I managed to win in three. We [Elias and his father] try to go to all of these events together and all of this wouldn’t be happening if it was not for him. I’m really happy he can come to these tournaments with me, and I really hope I can win one of these big ones.”

Elias will do battle with World No.4 Karim Abdel Gawad, who advanced to the quarter finals courtesy of an 11-5, 16-14, 11-7 win over France’s Gregoire Marche.

Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez also progressed to the quarter finals after beating Australia’s Ryan Cuskelly 13-11, 11-9, 11-7 and his reward will be a last-eight match-up with World No.1 Ali Farag.

Farag, the 2017 US Open champion alongside wife El Tayeb, built on a comfortable first game victory against Englishman Adrian Waller to complete an 11-3, 11-9, 11-8 victory.

“I’m really happy and feeling sharp and looking forward to progressing through to the quarter finals,” Farag said.

“Everyone is playing really well and everyone is really sharp and wants to do well this season. The season is still young but I hope I can achieve as much as last season and give it my all.”

Round three action at the U.S. Open continues today (Tuesday October 8) as United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy and defending men’s champion Mohamed ElShorbagy aim to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Play begins at 13:30 (GMT-4) and live coverage will be shown on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe and Japan).
 

PSA World Tour Platinum FS Investments US Open 2019, Daskalakis Athletic Center, Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA. (Equal prize money: $185,500 for both men and women).

Men’s Third Round (Top Half):
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Adrian Waller (ENG) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-8 (34m)
[8] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 3-0: 13-11, 11-9, 11-7 (55m)
[7] Diego Elias (PER) bt Joel Makin (WAL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-8 (50m)
[4] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 3-0: 11-5, 16-14, 11-7 (59m)

Men’s Third Round (Bottom Half):
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) v Raphael Kandra (GER)
Zahed Salem (EGY) v [5] Simon Rosner (GER)
[6] Paul Coll (NZL) v Mazen Hesham (EGY)
Campbell Grayson (NZL) v [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)

Men’s Quarter-Finals (Top Half, October 9):
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [8] Miguel Rodriguez (COL)
[7] Diego Elias (PER) v [4] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)

Women’s Third Round (Top Half):
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [15] Yathreb Adel (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-4 (21m)
[6] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 3-1: 10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 14-12 (48m)
Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bt [5] Joelle King (NZL) 3-2: 11-7, 7-11, 2-11, 12-10, 11-8 (55m)
[4] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [14] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-8 (36m)

Women’s Third Round (Bottom Half):
[3] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [13] Salma Hany (EGY)
[16] Joey Chan (HKG) v [8] Tesni Evans (WAL)
[7] Amanda Sobhy (USA) v [12] Joshna Chinappa (IND)
[9] Annie Au (HKG) v [2] Camille Serme (FRA)

Women’s Quarter-Finals (Top Half, October 9):
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [6] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
Rowan Elaraby (EGY) v [4] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) 

Pictures courtesy of PSA

DENVER, N.C. – Action Express Racing has confirmed the team expects to field only one prototype entry during the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi.V.R will be co-driven by 2018 IMSA Prototype champion Felipe Nasr and 2016 Rolex 24 At Daytona winner Pipo Derani for the full 2020 season schedule, with the team expecting to finalize the driver roster for the endurance events in the coming weeks.

However the team’s second car, which is currently driven by multi-time IMSA champion Joao Barbosa and Filipe Albuquerque, is not expected to return next season.

“Action Express racing has fielded two cars in every event since 2011,” said team owner Bob Johnson. “Beginning in 2020, it is likely that Action Express will become a single car team. We have worked for many months to find ways to remain a two car team. To be fair to all involved, we must report that the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac will probably be the single entry as managed by Action Express Racing in 2020.  We want to thank all of our fans and every one of our great drivers, partners and crew members that have supported our two car team along the way.”

Barbosa has been a part of Action Express Racing since the team’s inception in 2010, when the squad won the Rolex 24 in their debut race. Albuquerque joined the team for the first time in 2016 before going full-time in 2018.

Action Express captured the 2014, ’15, ’16 and ’18 IMSA team and driver championships, as well as five-straight IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup titles from 2014 through 2018.

NEW YORK -- The New York Rangers traded forward Vladislav Namestnikov to the Ottawa Senators on Monday night in exchange for defenseman Nick Ebert and a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NHL draft.

The 26-year-old Namestnikov, acquired from Tampa Bay at the 2018 trade deadline as part of the deal that sent Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller to the Lightning, had 13 goals and 22 assists in 99 games with the Rangers. For his career, he has 66 goals and 92 assists in 362 games.

Ebert has played in one game with the American Hockey League's Belleville Senators this season. He played in 49 games with Orebro of the Swedish Hockey League last season, with 11 goals and 22 assists. The 25-year-old native of Livingston, New Jersey, was a seventh-round pick by Los Angeles in the 2012 NHL draft.

The Rangers now have nine picks in the 2021 draft -- one in each of the first two rounds, two in each of the next two rounds and one each in the the last three rounds.

Eight games into the 2019-20 Premier League season, Liverpool have made a record start by winning all eight fixtures so far to sit eight points clear of the chasing pack heading into the international break. For Jurgen Klopp's team, the season could not have gone any better, and Liverpool are now overwhelming favourites to win the English title for the first time since 1990.

But what about the rest of the so-called "Big Six?" Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United have all had their problems during the early weeks of this campaign, with Spurs and United seemingly in a downward spiral.

- Premier League review: Man City are fading fast
- Are Man United in a relegation battle?
- Miller: How far can Chelsea's youth movement take them?

With two weeks until the Premier League resumes, what must those clubs do to solve their own issues and close the gap on Liverpool?

MANCHESTER CITY
2019-20: Second place, 16 points, +18 Goal Difference

The reigning champions and last season's domestic Treble winners have made their worst start to a season since Pep Guardiola took charge at the Etihad in 2016. At times, City have looked unstoppable, hitting five past West Ham on the opening day and then recording their biggest-ever top-flight win with an 8-0 rout of Watford, but defensive frailties have led to two defeats, against Norwich and Wolves, that have left them so far adrift of Liverpool in the early going.

City's defensive shortcomings were identified by Guardiola during the summer when, after the departure former captain Vincent Kompany to Anderlecht, he tried and failed to sign a replacement. It left the team short of experienced cover for Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi, and with Laporte and Stones now on the sidelines, City have big problems at the back.

Solving those will be easier said than done, but Guardiola needs to find a way to make City more robust at the back, especially at set pieces, before they return to action at Crystal Palace on Oct. 19.

ARSENAL
2019-20: Third place, 15 points, +2 GD

With Arsenal sitting in third position after eight games, Unai Emery is arguably overperforming with a squad that remains imbalanced and in need of extra defensive quality. But with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring seven of the team's 13 league goals so far, the Gunners possess a striker who could prove the difference between success and failure in their primary objective of qualifying for the Champions League.

Emery is gradually making Arsenal more durable and organised, with the continued absence of Mesut Ozil and a pointer towards the coach's determination to make his team more competitive, but so much rests on Aubameyang being fit and in form.

Furthermore, Emery must also not allow Arsenal's current position to distract from the reality of their winless run against "Big Six" opponents so far this season. In games against Liverpool, Spurs and United, Arsenal have taken just two points. They need to find a way to beat their biggest rivals to cement their top-four ambitions.

CHELSEA
2019-20: Fifth place, 14 points, +4 GD

A 4-0 defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford on the opening weekend was the worst possible start for manager Frank Lampard, but Chelsea have bounced back from that setback to climb to fifth position going into the international break.

It's true that Chelsea have been inconsistent, but with the club unable to add to their squad during the summer due to a two-window worldwide transfer ban, the inability to sign new players has enabled Lampard to give chances to youngsters such as Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori. All three academy products have now been called into the senior England squad as a reward for their progress, which has been a highlight of Chelsea's season so far. Abraham, in particular, has stood out by scoring eight league goals to stand alongside Sergio Aguero in the race for the Gold Boot.

Lampard's challenge from this stage is to build on the momentum and ensure that experienced players such as N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta are able to influence the youngsters on the pitch to the extent that the team finds some winning consistency.

TOTTENHAM
2019-20: Ninth place, 11 points, +2 GD

Spurs have collected just 22 points from their past 20 Premier League games -- their worst run since 2008-09 -- so it is not just the start of this season that will worry Mauricio Pochettino and chairman Daniel Levy.

The run to last season's Champions League final papered over cracks that had begun to appear all over the pitch for Spurs -- Hugo Lloris and Dele Alli's alarming loss of form, poor performances in defence, inconsistency in results -- and the new campaign has merely seen them exacerbated, with the serious arm injury suffered by Lloris in the weekend defeat at Brighton potentially ending the French goalkeeper's season.

Pochettino has done little to quell speculation over his future, and there are too many question marks over the Spurs futures of players such as Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld. The biggest question hanging over Spurs relates to Pochettino's future, but if he remains in charge, the Argentine must restore unity to an unhappy dressing room and get Eriksen on the pitch and performing again, otherwise we may be approaching regime change at the club.

MANCHESTER UNITED
2019-20: 12th place, nine points, +1 GD

The biggest challenge at Manchester United is not to pinpoint what is going wrong, but rather to identify what is going right under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Sunday's 1-0 defeat against Newcastle at St. James' Park was United's third of the season, and it left them languishing in 12th position, just two points above the relegation zone.

Defensively, United have conceded fewer goals than Manchester City, but the impact of summer signings Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been drowned out by the failings ahead of them in midfield and attack, where Solskjaer's team have scored just nine goals in eight games.

Solskjaer has allowed his squad to be cut too deep with the summer exits of Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Ander Herrera, Chris Smalling, Antonio Valencia and Matteo Darmian, choosing to hand opportunities to youngsters such as Mason Greenwood, Tahith Chong, Angel Gomes, Axel Tuanzebe and Brandon Williams. Too many of the kids are not ready for Premier League action, though, and their experienced teammates are underperforming or simply not good enough.

Solskjaer simply has to steady the ship, rely on his senior players and hope United are not in the bottom half by the time the January transfer window opens.

Western Australia

Last season Third (League stage: 5 wins, 3 defeats, 2 draws)
Captain Mitchell Marsh
Coach Adam Voges

2018-19 stats

Overview

Western Australia won five games last season but two defeats at the hands of New South Wales ultimately cost them a place in the final. The second was the most disappointing, suffering two huge collapses on a spinning surface at Bankstown Oval despite Cameron Bancroft facing 621 deliveries for the match and being dismissed only once. Their top order batting was a massive issue prior to the BBL last year with six different opening combinations tried in seven games but this season they will have a settled top three with Bancroft, Sam Whiteman and Shaun Marsh inked in for the majority of the season barring injury or Bancroft getting a Test recall. They have a power-packed middle order with Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Turner (when he recovers from a broken finger), Hilton Cartwright, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Philippe and D'Arcy Short all trying to squeeze into three spots when the full complement is available for three of the first four matches. Josh Inglis was the preferred wicketkeeper last season but Philippe, Whiteman and Bancroft can all do the job if there is a need to get creative with the line-up. Their attack relies heavily on the durability of Jhye Richardson and Matt Kelly. Joel Paris will be managed to maximise his appearances and young allrounder Cameron Green could come into the equation as well. Ashton Agar will be the No.1 spinner but Short has played as a specialist spinner previously.

Player to watch

Mitchell Marsh spoke of his strained relationship with the Australian public after taking his maiden Test five-wicket haul at The Oval recently. Love him or hate him, all eyes are on him. In part, that is not his fault. The national selectors have made him a player to watch whether he deserves to be or not. They are desperate for him to perform at Shield level. Last season he made two centuries, the first time he had managed such a feat in 10 seasons, and doubled his career tally. Yet he still only averaged 35.92 with the bat and 40.46 with the ball. If he can pound out more hundreds and reverse those numbers this season there will be a lot of love coming his way.

Young gun

Josh Philippe has already caught the attention of Australian cricket followers with some dynamic performances. He made his first Shield hundred last season but his performances tailed off after the BBL and he was left out of the team at one stage. He seems best suited to the middle order and the only question is can he develop the consistency needed and learn to work up and down the gears depending on the different scenarios middle-order players face in first-class cricket. His talent is absolutely undeniable.

Queensland

Last season Fourth (League stage: 3 wins, 5 defeats, 2 draws)
Captain Usman Khawaja
Coach Wade Seccombe

2018-19 stats

Overview

Queensland had a tough 2018-19 season after winning the Shield in 2017-18. While their attack remained essentially the same and delivered consistent performances on a Gabba track that suited their skilled seamers, the batting was not as prolific. Despite having three men on the cusp of the Test side in their top order, Sam Heazlett was the only player to score a century last season and bowling allrounder Michael Neser was the only player to average over 40, after making five half-centuries batting at No. 7 for most of the season. The surfaces played a part but a lot of half-centuries did go uncapitalized. Their top order will be loaded at the start of this season and there will be some decisions to make surrounding who bats where. Notionally, Joe Burns and Matt Renshaw would open to try and push for Test selection with Usman Khawaja batting at No. 3 and Marnus Labuschagne at No. 4. But Labuschagne is the Test No. 3 and Khawaja may see an opportunity to claim an opening spot in the Test side given his record in that position. The retirement of long-time servant Luke Feldman leaves a sizable hole in a well-rounded attack. But Billy Stanlake's re-emergence as a red-ball cricketer was an exciting development last season and Neser's ability to bat at No.7, plus the all-round capabilities of Jack Wildermuth, gives Queensland the chance to use Stanlake wisely for maximum impact.

Player to watch

Joe Burns' start to the season will be monitored closely. Last season he was affected by the post-viral fatigue issues he was eventually diagnosed with in the early part of the winter. He did well to get back and play on the Australia A tour of England and made a century against Sussex. That innings, combined with his 180 against Sri Lanka in the Canberra Test, as well as England decimating Australia's left-handed openers in the Ashes makes his omission from the Ashes squad look even more perplexing in hindsight. Despite four centuries in 16 Tests, Burns curiously continues to need to prove his credentials. He will need runs early in the Shield season to earn a fifth recall to the Test team.

Young gun

It's hard to call a man who has played 11 Tests, and has a Test century, a young gun but Matt Renshaw is the youngest of Queensland's regulars and is a player many are expecting to rise again. At just 23, he still has so much time to forge a path at international level. He slipped out of Test calculations after a poor summer last year but there is a lot of excitement about his form in the pre-season and his potential to elevate his game in limited-overs cricket. There are opposition state coaches who believe he has all the tools to be Australia's Test match opener long-term. Some big scores early in the season will not do his chances any harm.

Australia fast bowler Jason Behrendorff has confirmed he will undergo the same lower spine surgery as James Pattinson in order to solve his ongoing back issues and help prolong his career.

Behrendorff, 29, met with New Zealand-based surgeon Rowan Schouten in Sydney last week for an initial consultation and has been given the green light to undergo the procedure.

He will head to New Zealand with his family to have the surgery in the coming weeks. He will now miss the entire domestic summer and is also in severe doubt to be ready for next year's T20 World Cup in October, but the timing of the surgery has been designed to give him every chance to be fit.

"Unfortunately, I've had the same injury over the last few years and we've tried a number of things and the injury continues to return," Behrendorff said. "After a lot of thought and discussion we've decided that surgery is the best opportunity to find a more permanent fix.

"I'm feeling good about the surgery, I've spoken to a number of Aussie and Kiwi bowlers who've had a similar surgery and they were all very positive about the results.

"This particular procedure has had good success rates in other professional pace bowlers with similar reoccurring issues."

ESPNcricinfo revealed recently that Behrendorff, in conjunction with the Western Australia and Cricket Australia medical staff, was exploring the option of back surgery after scans recently uncovered a return of the stress fractures that have plagued him in the past.

Behrendorff had conversations with Pattinson and Shane Bond about the surgery and their experiences recovering from it. He also spoke with Sydney Sixers fast bowler Ben Dwarshuis who underwent the procedure earlier this year and is already back bowling.

The surgery involves fusing screws and a titanium cable into the lower spine to stabilise the stress fracture which is not healing conventionally. Christchurch-based surgeon Grahame Inglis has been the leader in the field and performed the surgery on both Bond and Pattinson. Schouten has worked with Inglis and performed Dwarshuis' surgery this year. The WACA's long-time head physio Nick Jones also did extensive research on the surgery and the recovery process and will be a key figure during Behrendorff's rehab.

The procedure was a huge success for both Pattinson and Bond and has also helped Matt Henry and Corey Anderson. Pattinson returned to Test cricket this year after going under the knife in late 2017, while Bond, who had the surgery when he was 30 years old, played six more years of top-level cricket.

The rough estimated recovery time is between nine and 12 months but it is far from exact. Pattinson took 12 months to return to first-class cricket and it was another 22 months before he played Test cricket, although he had been out of the Australian set-up for 18 months prior to the surgery due to his injury issues.

Dwarshuis played in the BBL semi-final on February 15 earlier this year before having the surgery. He bowled four overs for the first time in a match in Sydney grade cricket on October 5.

ESPNcricinfo understands that this specific type of surgery has been performed on 18 patients over the course of nearly two decades by Inglis and Schouten and has a 100% success rate in terms of returning to full fitness.

The surgery could pave the way for Behrendorff to return to all three forms of the game. He has been a white-ball bowler only in the last two years due to his ongoing issues. He has not played a first-class game since November 2017 but has an excellent first-class record.

Marcus Stoinis has been dropped from Australia's T20I squad following his disappointing 50-over World Cup, with Ben McDermott and Billy Stanlake among those recalled to face Sri Lanka and Pakistan as plans are formed ahead of next year's men's T20 World Cup.

Just seven of the squad that faced India in two T20Is in February - and won the series 2-0 - are retained with D'Arcy Short, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Peter Handscomb, who kept wicket against India, part of the group missing the cut. Jason Behrendorff was not available for selection having been ruled out for the season with his back injury that will require surgery.

"It is almost a year to the day until Australia hosts the men's Twenty20 World Cup and we have selected this squad with that in mind," national selector Trevor Hohns said. "We have looked to put a squad together that we think can take us through to that tournament. The squad we have selected is quite role specific and we believe it gives us the flexibility to thrive in all match conditions.

Stoinis made just 87 runs in seven innings at the World Cup and struggled with a side injury which hampered his bowling, but his omission comes after a stellar Big Bash last season where he made 533 runs at 53.30 at a strike rate of 130.63 and claimed 14 wickets. He played six T20Is last season - one against South Africa and five against India - and finished opening the innings, but the return of David Warner and Steven Smith, who hasn't played a T20I since March 2016, has led to a crunch for spots in the top order.

He started the domestic season with a bang for Western Australia in the Marsh Cup with an unbeaten 101 off 58 balls in the opening match against Victoria but has followed that with scores of 16, 19 and 1.

Stoinis' Western Australia team-mate, Ashton Turner, retains his place after there was doubt whether he would be fit following a broken finger in the Marsh Cup but Short, who made 483 runs and took 13 wickets for Durham in the T20 Blast, now also faces a challenge to force his way into the T20 World Cup plans.

McDermott played the most recent of his eight T20Is against India last November before scoring 376 runs in the Big Bash for Hobart Hurricanes.

The spin bowling will be in the hands of Adam Zampa and the recalled Ashton Agar, the latter preferred ahead of Nathan Lyon, with Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Kane Richardson and Andrew Tye the pace-bowling options.

"In terms of batsmen, we have selected top and middle-order specialists," Hohns said. "The likes of Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Ashton Turner and [Alex] Carey provide us excellent options through the middle-order after Finch, Warner and Smith.

"In terms of spinners, we feel like the all-round package Ashton Agar possesses is irresistible at the moment and Adam Zampa has proven to be a very good T20 bowler in all conditions."

The first T20I against Sri Lanka is on October 27 in Adelaide before matches in Brisbane and Melbourne. The Pakistan series starts on November 3 which games in Sydney, Canberra and Perth. Australia have further T20Is at the end of the season when they travel to South Africa and New Zealand.

Squad Aaron Finch (capt), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Nick Bosa clearly hasn't forgotten that Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield planted the Oklahoma flag in Ohio Stadium two years ago.

After knocking Mayfield down to force intentional grounding at the end of the first half of Monday Night Football, the San Francisco 49ers' pass-rusher celebrated by mimicking waving a flag, then planting it, with Mayfield flat on the ground behind him.

Two years ago, Mayfield led the Sooners to a 31-16 victory over Bosa and the Ohio State Buckeyes, which helped propel Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff. After the win, Mayfield took the OU flag to midfield, waved it around and planted it inside Ohio State's block O logo.

ASHBURN, Va. -- Former Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden sensed trouble for a couple of weeks. When he received a text late Sunday night asking him to come in early the next morning, he knew his job was in jeopardy.

The Redskins fired Gruden around 5:30 a.m. Monday and named Bill Callahan the interim coach.

"I thought it might happen last week after the Giants game," Gruden said, "based on reports, and they never said, 'You're not getting fired,' so I assumed I was. I had a good staff there, and hopefully they can make it work in the last 11 games and stick around. It's a good group."

Gruden lasted five-plus seasons -- longer under owner Dan Snyder than any other coach has in his two decades of ownership. None of the other five full-time coaches hired by Snyder made it five years.

Over the past year, there were reports of Gruden's frustration with some personnel moves, whether in the draft or free agency.

"I have mixed emotions about it," Gruden said. "At the end of the day, if you're not the GM, you have to accept the fact that you don't get everything you want. You accept the players given to you. I had input in some areas, but there are some major issues there. It's that way with most coaches. You don't have that total say. It's something you have to overcome and work with the guys you have."

There were also multiple reports about Gruden's preference for another player in the draft at pick No. 15, rather than quarterback Dwayne Haskins. Gruden wasn't alone on the Redskins' football side in thinking that it would take Haskins a while to get ready to start in the NFL, which is why Callahan said Monday that Haskins will remain on the bench for the time being.

On Friday, Gruden told ESPN, "If you haven't done it, there's a lot on your plate. Until he gets really comfortable, it's for his own good. If I didn't like him, I'd put him out there right now. I do like him. I think the world of him. He's going to be a great quarterback one day. Time is really important for him."

Gruden's tenure was marked by injuries, especially the past two-plus years. The Redskins placed a combined 52 players on injured reserve the past two years. They have 10 on injured reserve and also were missing Pro Bowl tackle Trent Williams (holdout) on Sunday. Tight end Jordan Reed hasn't played this season because of a concussion.

"I can't remember the last time all my guys played. It's hard," Gruden said. "The majority of our payroll, we paid a lot of money and never had guys on the field. I don't know if many other teams can say that with so many. Some teams lose a quarterback or a tackle. We lost a quarterback, a tackle, guard, center, wide receiver or running back. That's not easy to overcome. But we still should have been better on defense and perform better in certain areas. When you're 0-5, 0-5 coaches don't last very long."

Gruden, who spoke by phone Monday evening after landing in Florida, said he isn't sure what his future holds. He'll likely sit out the rest of the season, knowing the Redskins owe him money through the 2020 season. He was getting paid $5 million per year. Gruden said he'll look at head-coaching jobs after this season. If none materializes, he could end up as an offensive coordinator somewhere.

"It was a great opportunity to be a head coach of the Redskins," Gruden said. "I loved every minute of it. At the end of the day, we didn't get the results we wanted. It was very frustrating with the amount of injuries we had the last three years, but you can't use that as an excuse. You have to get ready to play, and I didn't do a good job of that, and our record shows that in the last 11, 12 games. We weren't able to overcome it."

Meanwhile, former Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay said he exchanged texts with Gruden on Monday and called it a "tough situation" for a close friend. McVay worked with the Florida Tuskers of the UFL in 2009 and with the Redskins from 2014 to '16.

"When I was his coordinator, in a lot of ways, he kind of groomed me and brought me along to where you kind of learn some of the things about how you're setting up a game plan," McVay said. "He protected me from a lot of the things."

When asked if he'd consider adding Gruden to his staff, McVay said, "He'll have a lot of options. Those are things that I think we'll, I'm sure, discuss at some point, but right now it's more about just reaching out to a buddy and seeing how he's doing."

ESPN's Lindsey Thiry contributed to this report.

The tough presence Marcus Morris vowed to bring to the New York Knicks this season showed up in their first preseason game.

Morris was ejected from Monday night's preseason-opening win against the host Washington Wizards when, while being guarded with the ball on the perimeter by Justin Anderson, he swung his elbows a couple times and then bopped the Washington forward on the forehead with the ball.

Morris and Anderson immediately had words, with players from both teams stepping in to intervene. Morris was handed a flagrant foul 2 and automatic ejection, and he could be facing a one-game suspension from the league.

After the game, a 104-99 New York win, Morris said there were "some things said" by Anderson that led to the exchange and noted that he "overreacted a little bit." But Morris also reiterated that the Knicks, whom he signed a one-year, $15 million deal with over the summer, won't back down to anyone this season.

"Am I concerned [about a suspension]? ... I would be concerned if it was regular season. I wouldn't want to miss any regular-season games. If that was regular season I wouldn't have done that. My team needs me. I've got to be smart, set a better example.

"But like I said at the beginning, we're not taking any s---. So it is what it is."

Morris finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes of his Knicks debut.

Wizards star Bradley Beal, who was previously teammates with Marcus' twin brother Markieff, said he wasn't surprised by what happened.

"You can't be surprised with nothing that the twins do," Beal told reporters. "They play hard and they compete, and they're going to talk their fair share of trash, too. Whatever happened is between him and JA. .... But you can expect that from the twins. Crazy in the preseason, though."