RANSOMVILLE, N.Y. – Two-time and defending series champion Chad Chevalier won the second annual Sean Letts Memorial for the BEI Lightning Series for the Investors Service Sportsman Friday at Ransomville Speedway.

Derek Wagner and Chevalier Brought the field to the green flag for the Sean Letts Memorial 40 for the BEI Lightning Series, with Wagner showing the way. Brett Senek and Brad Rouse was on the move early as both entered the top five after passing Trevor Wright and Andrew Smith.

While in lap traffic, the leaders would have a tough time to get through as Chevalier was able to start to reel in Wagner. Noah Walker would enter the top five for the first time on lap 16 after passing Andrew Smith.

After a couple of mid-race restarts, Chevalier was able to take the lead away from Wagner. Jim Harbison would race inside the top five and would start to go after the race leaders. Chevalier would lead the final 15 laps to score his second series win over Brad Rouse and Derek Wagner.

In other action, Brian Woodhall won the inaugural visit from RUSH Wingless Crate Sprint Cars. Pete Stefanski won the main event for the KiPo Chevrolet Street Stocks and Cole Susice took home the checkered flag in the Gippsters Collision Mini Stocks.

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Ricky Weiss became the first Canadian late model winner at Knoxville Raceway on night two of the 16th annual Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals.

Chris Madden led from outside of row one early in the 25-lap main event.  Weiss, Tyler Bruening, Dennis Erb Jr. and Tyler Erb rounded out the top five.  Don O’Neal passed Erb for fifth in what was a good battle that saw the two exchange the spot twice.

Eleventh starting Josh Richards was on the move as well, and passed both Erb and Don O’Neal, entering the top five on lap eight.  Richards passed Erb Jr. for fourth on lap 10.

Up front, Madden found comfort through the middle of the track until approaching lapped traffic on the fourteenth circuit.  On lap 16, he tried to shoot under the lapped car of Mike Mataragas, and slid across turn one.  It was all Weiss needed to jump to the point.

Weiss would pull away to win his second Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event.

“It’s just awesome,” said Weiss, who recently scored a marquee victory in the Baltes Classic at Eldora Speedway.  “Never did we think we’d be in victory lane at Eldora. We didn’t get to capitalize on it. We’re just taking baby steps at it.  We’re there. After last night, we were happy with that. We knew we were locked in the show.  We debated on switching cars tonight and trying something, but we knew this thing was good.  Every time we touched the track, we just got better and better.  (Madden) was struggling a little bit.  I eased a little bit, and when he got up in the middle of the track, I tried to hold the bottom. This car’s been phenomenal since we unloaded here.”

Madden held on for second, ahead of a late charging Richards, Bruening and Don O’Neal.

“We had a good car about half the race there,” said Madden. “Then I got extremely tight and I couldn’t turn across the middle there. We were trying to bide our own, and if we didn’t get to lapped traffic, I think we would have been OK. I about spun out there, and that left the door open for Ricky. To have the night we did last night, we were able to bounce back and have a good one tonight.”

Erb, Earl Pearson Jr., hard-charger Brandon Sheppard, Frank Heckenast Jr. and Hudson O’Neal rounded out the top 10.

Weiss’s win gave him $7,000 and 472 points, placing him in row two of Saturday night’s $40,000 to win finale. Thursday’s winner Shane Clanton will start on the pole alongside Darrell Lanigan. Friday’s runner-up Madden will start fourth alongside Weiss.

Others who have locked themselves into Saturday’s feature include Erb, Ricky Thornton Jr., Don O’Neal, Bruening, Sheppard, Scott Bloomquist, Richards, Chris Simpson, Chad Simpson, Erb Jr., Pearson, Hudson O’Neal, Devin Moran, defending event winner Jimmy Owens, Bobby Pierce, Kyle Bronson, Heckenast, Shanon Buckingham, Stormy Scott and World 100 winner Jonathan Davenport.

The finish:

Ricky Weiss, Chris Madden, Josh Richards, Tyler Bruening, Don O’Neal, Tyler Erb, Earl Pearson Jr., Brandon Sheppard, Frank Heckenast Jr., Hudson O’Neal, Dennis Erb Jr., Chad Simpson, Kyle Bronson, Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens, Chris Simpson, Jonathan Davenport, Darrell Lanigan, Ricky Thornton Jr., Shannon Babb, Brian Birkhofer, Shane Clanton, Jason Feger, Mike Mataragas.

OHSWEKEN, Ontario – Rain was all around Ohsweken Speedway on Friday night, but the wet weather held off just long enough for all of the scheduled racing to be completed in the Night Before the Nationals.

Cory Turner, Jason Barney, and Parker Price-Miller took full advantage of their opportunity by claiming wins in the Triple 15’s for the Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars, locking themselves into Saturday night’s Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Main in the process.

The first of the three Triple 15’s began with Mark Smith and Cory Turner on the front row. Smith was looking for the third Night Before the Nationals win of his career, but Turner had other ideas and took the lead from Smith on lap three.

Smith spent the remainder of the caution-free race unsuccessfully trying to chase Turner down, but Turner took his first Night Before the Nationals win by 1.239 seconds. Smith settled for the runner-up spot, followed by Jared Horstman, Shone Evans, and Ryan Turner.

Dylan Westbrook and Jason Barney made up the front row for the second Triple 15, but third place starter Max Stambaugh quickly entered the fray to lead the first lap. Barney did not allow Stambaugh to get away though, and took the lead at the start/finish line at the completion of lap two.

Yellow flags for Tyler Rand and Al Gilleta Jr. followed, but Barney stayed ahead of the field to take the win by 1.232 seconds over Mitch Brown. Stambaugh, row four starter Sam Hafertepe Jr., and row five starter Jordan Poirier rounded out the top five.

The third Triple 15 of the night started with Parker Price-Miller and Jonathan Preston on the front row. It appeared two-time Canadian Sprint Car Nationals winner Price-Miller was going to run away with the win, but Matt Farnham had other ideas; the rookie 360 Sprint Car driver drove past Price-Miller on lap five and began to open a lead. Farnham’s lead shrunk as he negotiated traffic and Price-Miller adjusted his line.

Disaster almost struck for the leaders with two laps to go, as Price-Miller had a big run out of turn four and almost got squeezed into the wall as Farnham drifted up the track. Farnham fought off a slide job from Price-Miller in turn one on the last lap, but Price-Miller drove around the outside to take the win in turns three and four. Farnham settled for second, followed by Preston, Jake Brown, and Billy VanInwegen.

In other action, Logan Shwedyk and Kyle Wert finished their seasons off with wins in the Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stock and HRW Automotive Mini Stock divisions, respectively.

FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Stars forward Corey Perry has a broken foot that could sideline him for the opener with his new team.

Perry said on the opening day of training camp Friday that he tripped on a step earlier in the week and broke a small bone in his left foot. General manager Jim Nill said Perry wouldn't skate for two weeks, and the Oct. 3 season opener at home against Boston is less than three weeks away.

The 34-year-old spent his first 14 seasons with Anaheim before signing a $1.5 million, one-year contract with Dallas. Perry was limited to a career-low 31 games last season because of a knee injury.

Perry said he didn't have any issues with the knee in the offseason. He said the foot injury was "frustrating, obviously, two days before camp." The four-time All-Star is third in Anaheim franchise history with 776 points (372 goals, 404 assists) in 988 games.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and restricted free-agent winger Mitch Marner have agreed to a six-year deal, the team announced Friday, ending one of the most controversial negotiations of the NHL offseason.

Marner's deal carries a $10.893 million average annual value against the salary cap. That makes the 22-year-old the third-highest paid member of the Leafs via the cap, behind centers Auston Matthews ($11.634 million) and John Tavares ($11 million). Marner's cap hit is the seventh-highest in the NHL among all players, and is second only to New York Rangers free agent signee Artemi Panarin ($11,642,857) among wingers.

Marner had 26 goals and 68 assists for a team-leading 94 points last season for Toronto while skating primarily with Tavares. In three seasons, he has 67 goals and 157 assists, and his 224 points ranked him 22nd overall in that span.

He was drafted fourth overall by the Leafs, his hometown team, in 2015.

I'm exactly where I want to be, in front of the greatest hockey fans in the world, proudly continuing the tradition with the @MapleLeafs. See you soon.

— Mitchell Marner (@Marner93) September 14, 2019

The negotiation between the Leafs and Marner was the talk of the NHL during this summer. A slew of other restricted-free-agent forwards -- including Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Matthew Tkachuk of the Calgary Flames and Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche -- remained unsigned, with some indication that they were waiting on Marner to set the market.

It was a controversial negotiation, too, as Marner's camp ignored any comparable wingers' salaries to focus on what Matthews signed for earlier this year. Toronto GM Kyle Dubas went as far as to say that if Marner signed a free-agent offer sheet, there was no guarantee Toronto would match it. Leaks to the Toronto media from both sides of the table showed a wide gulf between the player and team; especially on term, as the Leafs wanted and eventually won a long-term deal that eats up two unrestricted-free-agent years for Marner.

With Marner signed, the Leafs are currently $13,365,199 over the NHL salary cap ceiling of $81.5 million, but that's before Toronto places forwards Nathan Horton, David Clarkson, Zach Hyman and defenseman Travis Dermott on long-term injured reserve, where their cap hits will no longer count toward that number.

CHICAGO -- A posthumous study of Stan Mikita's brain shows the Hockey Hall of Famer suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy at the time of his death a year ago.

Dr. Ann McKee, the director of the BU CTE Center, announced the findings during the Concussion Legacy Foundation's Chicago Honors Dinner on Friday night at the request of Mikita's family.

CTE is a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated blows to the head. It is known to cause memory loss, violent moods and other cognitive difficulties. It can be diagnosed only after death.

Mikita is the eighth former NHL player diagnosed with CTE at the VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank, a list that also includes Derek Boogaard, Bob Probert and Reggie Fleming.

"The NHL is nowhere on this," McKee said. "They have completely denied a link. They have denied any responsibility, and it's clear that they are just protecting the bottom line."

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has consistently denied there is a conclusive link between repeated blows to the head and CTE. A message was left late Friday night seeking comment from the league about Mikita's diagnosis.

The NHL formed a concussion study group in 1997, cracked down on certain hits after the 2004-05 lockout, instituted a formal protocol and a rule against head contact in 2010, and added spotters in 2015.

McKee said she feels the concussion spotters are being too lax in having players examined.

"They need to really, really just be very conservative about what represents a hit," she said, "because what looks like a minor hit to you or me when we're looking at it can be a devastating hit to the player, and we need to keep these players safe. That's how these leagues got to be what they are."

Mikita, who helped Chicago to the 1961 Stanley Cup title, died last August at age 78. He had been in poor health after being diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a progressive disease that causes problems with thinking, movement, behavior and mood.

McKee said Mikita had Stage III CTE and Lewy body disease.

"What was interesting was he didn't just have CTE, which we know is associated with contact sports," she said, "but we're finding out that there are other neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Lewy body disease, which is a Parkinson's sort of disease that spreads through your brain, believe it or not, that's associated with contact sports."

Mikita spent his entire career with the Blackhawks, beginning with his NHL debut in 1959 and running through his retirement after playing 17 games in the 1979-80 season. He is the franchise's career leader for assists (926), points (1,467) and games played (1,394), and is second to Bobby Hull with 541 goals.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983. He also was the first player to have his jersey retired by the Blackhawks in 1980.

Mikita's family declined to speak with the media at the dinner. Mikita's daughter Jane accepted the 2019 Courage Award on behalf of the family.

"While my dad's professional hockey accomplishments were many, we are most proud of his legacy of giving back and caring for others," Jane said during her speech.

The wait is over. As the Toronto Maple Leafs begin training camp ahead of the 2019-20 season, the negotiations with restricted free agent Mitch Marner have finally resulted in a new contract: six years, with a $10.893 million average annual value.

That gives the Leafs three forwards with AAVs in eight figures (Marner joins Auston Matthews and John Tavares) but ends the drama at a much earlier date than William Nylander, the last RFA with which the Leafs had a sometimes-acrimonious negotiation.

Who comes out ahead? Glad you asked. Here's our grade for Marner's new pact:

The player: Mitch Marner, RW

The terms: Six years, $10.893 million AAV

Does the deal make sense?

None of this makes sense, and yet it ultimately makes a lot of sense. How's that for an answer?

GLENEAGLES, Scotland – Anne van Dam stole Danielle Kang’s soul.

Suzann Pettersen stepped on her neck.

Yes, Kang was having some fun being hyperbolic in explaining earlier this week how the joy of Solheim Cups is “trying to take souls,” make opponents “cry” and “just crush the other team.”

And yes, Pettersen was having fun when she responded in kind, saying the Europeans were going to have to step on some necks.

And yes, media types blew it out of proportion, but once the day ended you couldn’t help but wonder if Kang might need a shaman priest and a physical therapist.

You wondered if she needed treatment for a spiritual ache and a sore neck.

The European duo teamed to defeat Lizette Salas and Kang, 4 and 2, in the opening day’s most scrutinized match.

The rout helped the Euros seize the lead, 4½ souls to 3 ½ souls.

Yes, Europe took one more soul than the Americans.

OK, maybe that’s over the top, but if Kang can take some playful liberties to make the Solheim Cup more fun, so can we.

Of course, she doesn’t need a shaman priest. Her spirit probably got all the boost it needed watching the brilliant finishes teammates Lexi Thompson and Brittany Altomare delivered at day’s end to keep these matches tight.

The Euros might have won the day, but the Americans won momentum at day’s end, and that might win Saturday for them, or maybe lead them to win the whole thing.

That’s how important Thompson’s and Altomare’s late birdies were.

“Oh my God, they were huge,” U.S. captain Juli Inkster said.

The Americans were trailing going to the last hole in the final two matches of the day, looking as if they were going to go to sleep trailing by 5½ to 2½.

Instead, teaming with Jessica Korda, Thompson rolled in a 15-foot birdie at the last to halve their match with Carlota Ciganda and Bronte Law.

And moments later, teaming with fellow rookie Nelly Korda, Altomare rolled in a 25-foot birdie at the last to halve their match with Charley Hull and Azahara Munoz.

“It looked like we were going to lose two points,” Inkster said. “So, two huge half points.”

Altomare helped the Americans win the last three holes to come back from 3 down with three holes to play. She birdied four of the final six holes.

“You can’t teach that,” Inkster said of those clutch finishes. “It’s just in your belly. I’m just so impressed.”

Kang took to Twitter to applaud her teammates after play ended.

She also expressed her frustration over how her Golf.com podcast comments were used. She is one of the most colorful quotes on tour, and she says she likes being the center of attention, but she doesn’t like this.

“Dear people that are upset,” Kang tweeted. “Golf.com comment was about how [so] many players feel about match play. Now if that was [taken] of context, oh well . . .”

Kang actually never said she was coming to Europe to steal souls and make opponents cry. She was intentionally over the top, trying to explain how dramatic these team matches can feel to the players who are in them. Her mistake was in failing to understand the nature of team events on a world stage, how bulletin-board quotes are such a part of the dynamic.

Ask Hall of Famer Beth Daniel.

The first time the U.S. team went to Scotland for a Solheim Cup in 1992, Golf Digest quoted her saying every American on the U.S. roster would make the Euros better, but only two Euros could play for the U.S. team.

The Euros rode her quote to the biggest upset in the history of this event.

“Our players are hell-bent on seeing Beth Daniel eat her words,” European captain Mickey Walker said back then.

Daniel insisted then and still insists today that she never uttered those words.

Kang made it worse saying she was told she was going to be booed in Scotland. Anyone who knows the rich history of golf in Scotland knew that wasn’t going to happen. In fact, saying so might have insulted the Scots more than saying she wanted to take souls.

So, again, Kang really doesn’t need a shaman priest. She’s got Captain Inkster, who probably works more magic than any mystic can.

Inkster was asked if she thought this furor adversely affected Kang’s performance, because Kang really struggled.

“I'll definitely talk to Danielle,” Inkster said. “I talk to her every night. But, I think she's in a good frame of mind. Might have just run into a couple of buzz saws. I watched a little bit of their match. I know they got off to a slow start, bogeying the first hole. But, I'll definitely talk to them, see where they're at, and see if I need to coach them up.”

The best thing for Kang might be avoiding van Dam.

Van Dam, the LPGA rookie from the Netherlands with four LET victories, was terrific. She is the longest tour player in the women’s game, but she showed Kang her all-around skills. She was the total package on Friday.

“I mean, this girl, I think is the best golfer I've ever seen on the women's side,” Pettersen said. “Today, she just was absolutely a rock star.”

She was a soul snatcher. That’s what she was.

The 2018-19 season ended far too early for Kevin Chappell, who had microdiscectomy surgery on his ailing back after just three events last fall. The 2019-20 season is off to a vastly more encouraging start for the 33-year-old.

Chappell began his second round at A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier with a routine par on his opening hole, No. 10. It was his only par for his first 10 holes. He birdied Nos. 11-1 on his way to becoming the 11^th player in PGA Tour history to shoot a sub-60 round.

Chappell, who began the tournament with a 1-over 71 on Thursday, had just 10 putts on his first nine holes and was alone in fifth place at 10 under. He’s the second player to shoot 59 on The Old White TPC following Stuart Appleby’s final-round card at the 2010 tournament.

The only nervous moment for Chappell came on the eight hole when his lag putt from 54 feet came up 7 feet short. He converted his par attempt and had an 11-footer for birdie on his final hole to become just the second player to shoot 58 in a Tour event, but the attempt was short.

“I made [the birdie] on seven to get to 11 under par for the day and I just told my caddie I wanted to shoot 57,” said Chappell, who is making his first Tour start since last year’s Mayakoba Golf Classic. “I just tried to keep the mindset to attack.”

The round was particularly impressive given Chappell’s lengthy comeback following last November’s surgery and he was understandably emotional following his historic day.

“Ten months ago I was on the couch and couldn’t walk. So many people had so much to do with getting me back out here and getting me competitive,” he said. “I haven’t accomplished the goal yet, there’s a long weekend to go, but this is a step in the right direction.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he is still confident David De Gea will stay at Manchester United by insisting that the club has a track record of holding onto the players it wants to keep.

United goalkeeper De Gea is in the final year of his Old Trafford deal and can leave as a free agent next summer if he continues to stall on signing a new long-term deal.

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Italian champions Juventus are long-term admirers of De Gea, with the Turin outfit also having a track record in recent years for signing top-class players at the end of their contracts.

But despite the uncertainty surrounding the 28-year-old's future, Solskjaer believes De Gea can be persuaded to commit to a new deal at United.

"We are always aware of what's happening around in the world [with other goalkeepers], but my focus, and the club's focus, is to convince David to stay," Solskjaer said. "He can see what we're doing, and knows what we're doing.

"We want players here, the best ones, and the ones we want, most of the time they stay. There are not many who we want to keep that we don't manage to keep.

"I think you'd need to ask David and the club [why he hasn't signed]. I've obviously not been involved in all the discussions, but I'm very -- or pretty -- confident we'll get this sorted.

"David's never, ever said anything else to me, other than that he loves this club, he wants to stay here and he's had a fantastic time. So let's hope we just get it over the line."

De Gea has been criticised for making a series of uncharacteristic mistakes for United in recent months and the Spaniard has started this season in unconvincing form.

But Solskjaer claims that De Gea's mistakes are being highlighted simply because of the spotlight that comes with playing for United.

"Well, I think he's had a fantastic time here, but yeah, of course, whenever he concedes a goal, it's headlines, that he should have saved," Solskjaer said.

"Whenever we lose a game -- we've lost one game since July 1 and it sounds like we're really struggling -- but that's just the way it is at Man United and you have to handle it. You have to be resilient, you've got to have robust confidence, and he's fine. I don't worry about him at all.

"I have two very good backup keepers with Sergio [Romero] and Lee [Grant]. Dean [Henderson] is playing [on loan] at Sheffield United, so the goalkeeping department is in good health."

Manchester United host Leicester City on Saturday, with the Foxes in third place in the table and Solskjaer's side sitting in eighth place.