For the second time in ten days, Shakib Al Hasan has expressed his unwillingness to lead Bangladesh. This time he said it after their 224-run defeat to Afghanistan in Chattogram, although he hinted that he is open to discussions about his role, with the BCB chief Nazmul Hassan.

"I think it will be ideal if I didn't have to be the captain," Shakib said. "From a personal point of view, it will be good for my cricket. If I have to take leadership, then we must have discussion about a lot of issues."

Six days before the start of the Afghanistan Test, Shakib had similar views on his captaincy in an interview to the Bengali daily Prothom Alo.

ALSO READ: Shakib not 'mentally prepared to lead in Tests and T20s'

"I am not even mentally prepared to lead in Tests and T20s," Shakib said on August 30. "But the team is not in a good shape, so I understand that I have to lead to get it back on track. Otherwise, I am not really interested in leading in any format. I can focus on myself if I am not captaining, which would help the team.

"I want to see the younger lot to take responsibility. We [Mushfiqur Rahim and he, in the main] got captaincy at a very young age, but they (the next bunch) have now turned 26-27. Unless you give them responsibility, you won't know what they can do. The World Test Championship and T20 World Cup are up ahead, so we should plan for the next four years."

While it is important to usher in the youngsters, there is a general view within the decision-makers in the BCB that the likes of Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hasan, Soumya Sarkar and Liton Das are not prepared to lead Bangladesh in any format yet. Among the seniors, Mashrafe Mortaza is still the ODI captain while Mahmudullah has led a few times in Shakib's absence in Tests and T20Is since last year. Tamim Iqbal led in Sri Lanka in the absence of Shakib and Mashrafe but it is well known that the BCB doesn't prefer him in the long term, while Mushfiqur has had his long stint as captain in all formats.

Shakib, however, accepted that he would have to shoulder the major blame for Bangladesh's disintegration on the fifth evening of the Chattogram Test. It was his needless cut shot, which he edged to wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai off Zahir Khan, off the first ball of the third session that gave Afghanistan their big breakthrough.

"I am really disappointed," Shakib said. "We had four wickets in hand to bat out an hour and ten minutes. My first-ball dismissal made it difficult for the team. The responsibility lies with me. I think it would have been better had I not played that cut shot. It put the team under pressure. I should have taken up the job to spend more time at the crease, which would have made the dressing room more comfortable. Maybe we could have taken it close to a draw."

Shakib also said that some of the players displayed a real lack of game awareness, especially Mehidy and Soumya who made crucial mistakes on the fifth evening. "The result shows we didn't have the ability [to last 70 minutes]. Taijul [islam] had inside-edged the ball to his pad, but since [Mehidy Hasan] Miraz had taken the review, he couldn't use it. Even someone who has played cricket for one day would know that this was plumb out. If he hadn't taken the review, Taijul could have used it. He defended well in the first innings.

"When you see Soumya react like that after taking that run [to give No. 11 strike early in the over], you know that he isn't sure of his role. There's a lot to learn but I don't know how long it will take them to learn," Shakib said in his fourth press conference in the last six days.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- So much for that new-look offense without Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell.

Those players were missed on a miserable night of football for the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose 33-3 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday left their quarterback placing blame squarely on himself.

"I wasn't good enough," said Ben Roethlisberger, who went 27-of-47 for 276 yards and one interception. "I wasn't giving guys balls where they needed to catch them. Put them in front, behind, things like that. So, just -- I wasn't good enough."

The Steelers finished the game with 308 yards, but many of those came in garbage time. At halftime, Pittsburgh had limped to four first downs, one third-down conversion and 87 yards. James Conner and the rushing attack managed 32 yards and and failed to convert several short-yardage situations.

From five-wide sets to zone running plays, nothing the Steelers tried worked, with Roethlisberger missing on three of his four deep-ball attempts.

The Steelers most recently scored three points in a season opener in 2001, losing 21-3 to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The message was sent.

"I think it was a wake-up call -- something we needed," said receiver Donte Moncrief, who dropped several contested passes Sunday and finished with three catches for 7 yards despite a team-high 10 targets. "It's something I felt I needed."

Struggling in New England is nothing new for the Steelers. The Patriots have outscored Pittsburgh 152-72 in their past four games at Gillette Stadium.

But the timing of the dud is noteworthy. Bell made his debut with the New York Jets on Sunday and Brown signed with the Patriots over the weekend, though he wasn't eligible to play in Week 1.

Coach Mike Tomlin said the Steelers weren't ready for prime time, and that has nothing to do with ex-players.

"I'm not specifically worried about anything relevant to Brown. I'm worried about the guys in our locker room and the quality of our execution in what we did and didn't do," Tomlin said. "Antonio has been off our team for a number of months. We moved on from that stuff in March."

JuJu Smith-Schuster understands that storyline but said he believes in his offense.

"People are always going to talk about not having certain players that we had last year," said Smith-Schuster, who led the team with 78 receiving yards. "I think this year, the guys we have here now, we have ultimate guys ... we've got so many guys, we just have to make our plays."

A video producer who worked with Antonio Brown said Monday that Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden approved the use of his phone call in a video released by the disgruntled wide receiver.

Alejandro Narciso, speaking on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, said he was recording Brown last week for a video project when agent Drew Rosenhaus told Brown that Gruden was on the phone for him. Narciso kept taping while Brown took the call, and later included it in a video that Brown planned to release.

In the call, Gruden asked Brown if he wanted to be a Raiders player or not. Brown countered by saying the Raiders should ask themselves if they wanted him.

There were questions on whether the inclusion of the call in the video was legal, as in California, both parties must consent to be recorded. Narciso said Monday he believes Gruden gave them permission to use the call in the video.

Narciso said while he was editing the video, Brown's marketing manager alerted him that he needed Gruden's consent to use the call. Narciso said Brown texted the video to Gruden, who answered 15 minutes later with three texts: "Wow, I love it," "loved it" and "I love it."

"All right," Narcisco said he told Brown. "There's our permission."

A source told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Gruden thought the video was "awesome."

The video came in a week that saw Brown on Wednesday post a list of team-issued fines on Instagram that resulted in a heated argument with Raiders general manager Mike Mayock later that day at practice. The Raiders then announced Friday that despite the argument with Mayock, Brown was expected to play in Monday night's season-opener against the Denver Broncos. But the Raiders also fined Brown more than $215,000 for conduct detrimental, sources told ESPN.

The video, including Gruden's phone call, was posted on Brown's Instagram on Friday night.

On Saturday morning, after Brown publicly requested his release on Instagram, the team released him. Brown officially became a free agent at 4:01 p.m. ET Saturday, and shortly after, agreed to a one-year deal with the New England Patriots.

CLEVELAND -- The NFL has spoken with Browns star Odell Beckham Jr. about wearing a watch during Sunday's game.

The flashy, fashionable wide receiver sported an expensive watch -- worth over $250,000 -- during his debut with Cleveland, which was rolled 43-13 by the Tennessee Titans.

Beckham, who came to Cleveland in a March trade from the New York Giants, caught seven passes for 71 yards in his first action for the Browns.

In photos taken during the game, Beckham is wearing a limited Richard Mille watch.

NFL spokesman Michael Signora said there are no rules prohibiting jewelry. However, the league does have a policy "prohibiting hard objects." He said the league will address the matter with Beckham and the Browns, who play at the New York Jets next Monday night.

"I was not aware he had the watch on," Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said Monday. "As long as they're going to enforce [the rules] with everyone, I'm fine with it. Let's just make sure we get it enforced with everybody."

Kitchens, whose team committed 18 penalties in his debut as Browns coach, later quipped jokingly: "Did they want to put another flag on the field? I was being facetious."

Beckham also drove his customized, orange Rolls Royce to FirstEnergy Stadium.

ESPN's Jake Trotter and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

It was jarring to realize that, nursing a shrunken lead on Saturday at No. 9 Texas, LSU really was going to live or die with the forward pass.

This was LSU, after all. The defense and field-position prototype. The team that was still grinding out yards between the tackles well into the spread offense revolution.

But there was quarterback Joe Burrow, attempting 11 fourth-quarter passes (to only three LSU rushes) while the Tigers clung to a 37-31 lead with less than four minutes remaining and looking to pass once more to clinch the game.

It almost backfired. Terrace Marshall Jr. nearly fumbled on an 11-yard catch to start the clinching drive, and after another first down, Burrow threw an incompletion (which stopped the clock), then took a huge sack to set up third-and-17. With 2 minutes, 38 seconds remaining, Texas was about to get the ball with a chance to win against an exhausted LSU defense.

The LSU of old would have run a draw play to keep the clock moving and steal a few yards for the defense. But now, the brain trust of offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger and passing-game coordinator Joe Brady elected to ride with what had gotten the Tigers the lead in the first place. Burrow narrowly avoided pressure in the pocket and found Justin Jefferson dragging toward the left sideline about 18 yards downfield. Jefferson stiff-armed a tackler around the 30 and raced to the end zone, victory in hand.

Burrow's production -- 749 yards, nine touchdowns and a 219.1 passer rating in two games -- has been revelatory. So has the offense Brady has brought to town. LSU talked all offseason about a new identity, but we couldn't completely believe our ears. We had to see it with our eyes. And now that we have? It's beautiful.

What about the other good teams with new identities?

Here are the teams that came into 2019 with certain expectations -- we'll define that as having a Caesars win total of at least seven in late August -- and either a new offensive coordinator, an announced identity change or both. How are things going so far?

Promising early returns

LSU

The change: Ed Orgeron brought in Brady -- a young assistant with experience under both Joe Moorhead and Sean Payton -- to serve as Ensminger's Rasputin, someone to complete the modernization process Orgeron initially hoped Lane Kiffin (his original coordinator choice before he took the FAU head job) or Matt Canada would initiate.

The early returns: LSU has indeed shown a commitment to a new identity that other teams (cough Michigan cough) haven't thus far. That was almost as encouraging as the result itself. Two years ago, Orgeron seemed to rebel against some of the changes Canada wanted to install, and it was hard for an offense to live up to its potential with the head coach pushing back against the playcaller. But if Orgeron had any remaining qualms in 2019, the play of Burrow and an incredible receiving corps certainly tamped them down.

Offensive SP+ ranking: Second (17th in preseason)

The next big test: If Texas couldn't keep LSU in check, odds are the next three opponents (Northwestern State, Vanderbilt, Utah State) can't either. So maybe the Tigers get to dial things back a bit before the four-game gauntlet (Florida, at Mississippi State, Auburn, at Alabama) that will define the season.

Florida State

The change: After going 5-7 and averaging barely 20 points per game against FBS competition, Willie Taggart hired offensive coordinator Kendal Briles and his trusty offensive line coach, Randy Clements, to reinvigorate the Noles' attack.

The early returns: FSU has scored 76 points and already has as many 30-point games against FBS teams as it did all of last season. That's something -- and it's reflected in the Seminoles' massive early jump in offensive SP+ -- even if it has come against Group of 5 defenses (a potentially awesome Boise State and a less-than-awesome Louisiana Monroe). But the Seminoles have been sloppy, fumbling five times, going 11-for-31 on third downs and falling into second-half funks in both games. It has been a "two steps forward, one step back" kind of rise thus far.

Defense is the major issue in Tallahassee right now -- after all, it wasn't the offense giving up 44 points to ULM in a narrow victory -- but the offense isn't fully on track yet either. It's enticing to think of what might happen when it is, though.

Offensive SP+ ranking: Ninth (83rd in preseason)

The next big test: Next up is a trip to Charlottesville to face a confident and aggressive Virginia team. Sloppiness won't cut it.

Appalachian State

The change: The immensely successful Scott Satterfield took the Louisville head coaching position and was replaced by former NC State offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz. Drinkwitz elected to serve as his own playcaller in Boone, North Carolina. Nowhere to go but down?

The early returns: App State still looks like App State, only better. The Mountaineers scored 98 points, rushed for an App State-like 553 yards and averaged 7.2 yards per play in wins over East Tennessee State and Charlotte. The defense, which gave up 41 points to Charlotte, is the bigger issue at the moment.

Offensive SP+ ranking: 11th (49th in preseason)

The next big test: After a bye, the Mountaineers head to Chapel Hill to face a rejuvenated North Carolina and its tricky defensive coordinator, Jay Bateman. We'll learn a lot then.

USC

The change: With his job on the line after a 5-7 campaign, coach Clay Helton hired Kliff Kingsbury as his new offensive coordinator in hopes of bringing things such as "fun" and "points" back to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. When Kingsbury quickly moved on to the NFL, Helton hired the younger version of Kingsbury: North Texas OC Graham Harrell.

The early returns: Harrell was dealt an awfully tricky hand, with starting quarterback JT Daniels tearing up his knee in the first half of the first game of the season. True freshman Kedon Slovis took over, and his first nine possessions (six against Fresno State, three against Stanford) produced three points.

Early in the second quarter against Stanford, however, Slovis ignited. USC scored touchdowns on six of seven drives, pulling off a 42-3 run to crush the Cardinal. Slovis finished an incredible 28-for-33 for 377 yards and three touchdowns, and just like that, the Trojans might -- might -- have a dynamite offense again.

Offensive SP+ ranking: 16th (27th in preseason)

The next big test: Having passed one test with flying colors, the Harrell-Slovis tandem faces four more in a row: at BYU, Utah, at Washington, at Notre Dame. Go 2-2 in that stretch, and the Trojans are in line for a lovely season. But they'll have to be a pretty strong and consistent team to go 2-2 in that stretch.

No massive changes yet

Alabama

The change: Nick Saban replaced new Maryland head coach Mike Locksley with a familiar face: Steve Sarkisian, who spent two years with the Atlanta Falcons after leaving his position as an analyst (and one-game offensive coordinator) in Tuscaloosa. The primary task was to bring an extra hint of diversity to an offense that set regular-season records in 2018 but faltered in the national title game.

The early returns: The Tide scored 104 points and averaged 7.8 yards per play against overwhelmed Duke and New Mexico State defenses, and Tua Tagovailoa's passer rating is above 200, just as it was early last season.

Offensive SP+ ranking: Fifth (second in preseason)

The next big test: We won't know what we need to know for a while. On Oct. 12, the Tide face a Texas A&M defense that managed to hold Clemson under 30 points, but the tests will likely come from LSU on Nov. 9, Georgia in a potential SEC title game matchup on Dec. 7 and whomever the Tide might face in the College Football Playoff.

Georgia

The change: Kirby Smart allowed Jim Chaney to leave for Tennessee and promoted quarterbacks coach and co-coordinator James Coley to the playcaller's chair.

The early returns: The Bulldogs scored 93 points, totaled 592 rushing yards and averaged 8.1 yards per play in easy victories over Vanderbilt and Murray State. Of course they did.

Offensive SP+ ranking: Eighth (fourth in preseason)

The next big test: Notre Dame visits Athens on Sept. 21, and that will provide a solid barometer. But the Dawgs might not face a truly elite defense until November, and that's only if Florida (maybe), Texas A&M (maybe) or Auburn (most likely) qualifies.

Oklahoma State

The change: Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich left to become Ohio State's passing-game coordinator, and Mike Gundy replaced him with creative young Princeton offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson.

The early returns: Same old, same old. Fifty-two points and 555 yards (7.3 per play) against Oregon State, 56 points and 580 yards (7.6 per play) against McNeese. Redshirt freshman Spencer Sanders has a 74% completion rate and 211.6 passer rating.

Change in offensive SP+ ranking: 13th (seventh in preseason)

The next big test: The Pokes head to Austin in two weeks to face a Texas team they've beaten four straight times. That'll be Sanders' first taste of a truly hostile crowd and a defense with blue-chip athletes (albeit athletes who just got torched by LSU).

Houston

The change: Former West Virginia head man Dana Holgorsen replaced the fired Major Applewhite, naming former WVU running backs coach Marquel Blackwell and former Texas Tech offensive line coach Brandon Jones his co-coordinators.

The early returns: The Cougars put up 31 points against Oklahoma in a shootout loss, and they scored 34 first-half points against Prairie View on Saturday before going into a second-half shell. There have been some funks, which have resulted in a drop in offensive S&P+, but I'm not concerned just yet.

Change in offensive SP+ ranking: 37th (11th in preseason)

The next big test: The Coogs meet Washington State at NRG Stadium on Friday, and they will likely need to score 40-plus to take home a win. Six days later, they head to New Orleans to face a potentially outstanding Tulane defense.

Utah

The change: Offensive coordinator Troy Taylor took the Sacramento State head coaching position, and Kyle Whittingham replaced him with an old friend: former Utah OC (2005-08) Andy Ludwig, most recently of Wisconsin and Vanderbilt.

The early returns: The Utes look awfully Utah-ish thus far. They pulled away in the second half against both BYU and Northern Illinois, riding a heavy dose of short passes from Tyler Huntley and punishing runs from Zack Moss, who's on pace for 300-plus carries and 1,700-plus yards.

Change in offensive SP+ ranking: 39th (30th in preseason)

The next big test: The Week 4 trip to USC might tell us more about the Utah defense than the offense, but we'll learn about the Utes' ability to define a game against an up-tempo opponent.

NC State

The change: With Drinkwitz down the road at App State, Dave Doeren replaced him with in-house promotions: running backs coach Des Kitchings and receivers coach George McDonald are now co-coordinators.

The early returns: Seventy-five points and 6.7 yards per play against a pair of directional Carolinas (East and Western). Doeren's quick passing game appears firmly in place, but a young RB corps has been lively thus far.

Offensive SP+ ranking: 58th (62nd in preseason)

The next big test: Trips to West Virginia and Florida State loom, but those might not test the O much. The Pack have a chance to find a nice offensive rhythm before Clemson comes to town in November.

Troy

The change: Neal Brown left to replace Holgorsen at West Virginia, and the Trojans brought in former Auburn OC Chip Lindsey as head coach.

The early returns: The Trojans torched Campbell in Week 1 (43 points, 527 yards), then took a Week 2 bye, so we know almost nothing so far.

Change in offensive SP+ ranking: 84th (101st in preseason)

The next big test: The Oct. 5 trip to Missouri will give us a good idea of what upside quarterback Kaleb Barker, receivers Reggie Todd and Kaylon Geiger & Co. possess in Lindsey's system.

A bumpy road so far

Miami

The change: New head coach Manny Diaz brought in Dan Enos -- formerly Central Michigan head coach, Arkansas offensive coordinator and Alabama QBs coach -- to liven up an offense in desperate need of energy and optimism.

The early returns: Redshirt freshman quarterback Jarren Williams has already endured a season's worth of ups and downs. He has taken 14 sacks (really bad) while completing 71% of his passes (really good), and after a late Week 0 comeback attempt against Florida fell short, he succeeded in bringing the Canes back against North Carolina ... only to watch the defense blow it.

Change in offensive SP+ ranking: 43rd (57th in preseason)

The next big test: The 0-2 Canes get a couple of tune-ups before huge home games against Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Michigan

The change: With an offense that was mostly solid but frequently staid, Jim Harbaugh hired former Penn State passing-game coordinator and Alabama co-coordinator Josh Gattis to modernize with fewer huddles and more run-pass options.

The early returns: On one hand, things are at least OK. The Wolverines scored 40 points on Middle Tennessee, and though they nearly lost to Army on Saturday, Oklahoma nearly lost to Army last season, and it still made the CFP. The Wolverines outgained Army by 97 yards and went to overtime only because of fumbles and fourth-quarter, fourth-and-short failures, neither of which are necessarily sustainable.

On the other hand, those fourth-and-shorts were awfully telling. Everyone in the stadium knew what Michigan was going to do (hand off to the running back between the tackles), and Army sent the house and made two stops. Michigan seems stuck between identities at the moment.

Also, the fumbles might be sustainable, given that the Wolverines have eight of them so far.

Change in offensive SP+ ranking: 54th (20th in preseason)

The next big test: Gattis and Harbaugh get a bye week to figure some things out, and then they go to, gulp, Wisconsin. The Badgers have pitched two shutouts to start the season.

Michigan State

The change: After dreadful production in 2018 (even by State's conservative standards), Mark Dantonio elected to make all of his changes in-house, giving a bunch of assistants new job titles and naming quarterbacks coach Brad Salem the new coordinator.

The early returns: Two games have told two completely different stories. The Spartans' offense was lifeless in a 28-7 victory over Tulsa, averaging just 3.9 yards per play. Against Western Michigan in Week 2, though? Hope! Sparty scored 50 points for the first time since the 2015 CFP run and gained nearly 600 yards in the process. That's one three-pitch strikeout and one home run. The Spartans' offensive SP+ ranking leaped this weekend, but we'll see if they can sustain it.

Change in offensive SP+ ranking: 67th (97th in preseason)

The next big test: Week 3 opponent Arizona State has allowed 14 points total in two games and gave up just 13 in an upset of Michigan State last season. With ASU's offense providing mixed results, expect a conservative slog until proven otherwise.

San Diego State

The change: With an LSU-like, run-heavy offense having grown stodgy, head coach Rocky Long tasked longtime coordinator Jeff Horton with spreading things out a bit while retaining a mostly physical identity.

The early returns: It's all about setting a clearable bar. After averaging just 3.3 yards per play in a gross 6-0 win over Weber State, SDSU looked downright invigorated in Week 2, averaging nearly 5 yards per play -- progress! -- in a 23-14 victory over UCLA. Still, the run game is lifeless (SDSU backs are averaging 2.8 yards per carry), and though quarterback Ryan Agnew was excellent against UCLA, the Aztecs might be stuck between identities at the moment.

Change in offensive SP+ ranking: 126th (87th in preseason)

The next big test: We'll learn if San Diego State is capable of a conference title run soon enough: Utah State comes to town Sept. 21, and Wyoming follows suit Oct. 12. The Aztecs don't have to be great offensively, but they probably can't afford to be wretched.

SHENZHEN, China -- Jayson Tatum was able to return to practice with the U.S. men's basketball team Monday, less than a week after he sprained his left ankle.

He did not play Monday night when the U.S. (5-0) closed out World Cup second-round play with an 89-73 win over Brazil. It is unclear whether Tatum will be ready for a quarterfinal game against France on Wednesday.

"I hope I can play," Tatum said. "There's no timetable or anything. I'm just trying to get back right."

Tatum said he went through the entire U.S. shootaround practice in advance of the Brazil game, able to run and cut without difficulty.

"Felt good," Tatum said.

The Boston Celtics forward sprained the ankle in the final seconds of overtime in last week's 93-92 win over Turkey on a play where he set up U.S. teammate Khris Middleton for what became the game-winning free throws. Tatum made two of three free throws with one-tenth of a second left in regulation of that game, sending it to overtime.

Tatum started the first two games of the tournament for the U.S., averaging 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per contest.

"When it first happened I was upset," Tatum said. "I didn't want to miss any games. But it's nothing significant."

U.S. coach Gregg Popovich said he didn't have an update on when Tatum could potentially return, though seeing him on the floor Monday was an obvious good sign.

"It's encouraging," Popovich said.

SHENZHEN, China -- The first mission for the U.S. is complete: The Americans are going to the Tokyo Olympics.

The World Cup quarterfinals are the next task.

Kemba Walker and Myles Turner each scored 16 points, and the Americans earned a top seed for the quarterfinals by beating Brazil 89-73 on Monday in the final second-round game of the tournament.

"A great team effort, man,'' Turner said.

It was a win three nations could celebrate: The U.S. victory not only resulted in an Olympic berth but also clinched an Olympic spot for Argentina and a spot in the quarterfinals for the Czech Republic. The Czechs moved on despite losing earlier Monday to NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece.

The Czech Republic grabbed the last spot in the round of eight via a three-team, points-differential tiebreaker over Greece and Brazil after they all went 3-2 in group play.

Greece defeated the Czech Republic 84-77 in Shenzhen, an outcome that meant the U.S. went into the Brazil game assured a spot in the quarters. All that was at stake was seeding and where it was going, either to nearby Dongguan by bus or back on a plane to Shanghai.

Get the bus ready. France, a 100-98 loser to Australia on Monday, awaits the U.S. on Wednesday in the quarterfinals. Other quarterfinal matchups: Spain vs. Poland and Serbia vs. Argentina on Tuesday, and Australia vs. the Czech Republic on Wednesday.

Jaylen Brown scored 11 and Harrison Barnes added 10 for the U.S. (5-0).

The U.S. opened on a 14-7 run, then led by as many as eight late in the half -- yet went into the break with only a 43-39 lead, unable to shake Brazil despite shooting 55% in the opening 20 minutes thanks largely to Walker and Turner. They were 9-for-11 combined in the half from the floor, while their teammates were 9-for-22.

Eventually, the Americans pulled away.

Marcus Smart's buzzer-beating, hand-in-his-face 3-pointer to beat the third-quarter horn put the U.S. up 11, and a 15-6 run to start the fourth -- mostly by getting to the rim, including back-to-back scores by Barnes, and capped by a 3-pointer from Walker -- put the game away and gave the Americans an 83-62 lead with 5:50 left.

The U.S. pushed its winning streak in major international tournaments -- Olympics, World Cup and FIBA Americas -- with NBA players to 58 straight games.

TIP-INS

U.S.: Walker, who missed the morning shootaround with an illness, was in the starting lineup. ... The Olympic berth was clinched because automatic spots go to the top two World Cup finishers from the Americas region, and the U.S. and Argentina are the lone quarterfinalists out of that group. ... Smart, who has twice battled leg issues this summer, limped to the bench in the fourth quarter in obvious discomfort. He was walking normally not long afterward. Brazil: Vitor Benite led Brazil with 21, and well-known NBA names Anderson Varejao and Leandro Barbosa each had 14. ... Brazil has lost seven consecutive meetings with the Americans now but always seems to be a thorny opponent for the U.S. in the World Cup. The teams' last meeting in 2010, a 70-68 U.S. win, went down to the final second and a missed shot by Barbosa. And Brazil topped the U.S. in four consecutive meetings at worlds from 1959 through 1970.

TOKYO-BOUND

The U.S. men will be in the Olympics for the 19th time next summer, extending their record. The only Olympic basketball tournament that didn't have the Americans was at Moscow in 1980, when the U.S. boycotted. The U.S. is 18-for-18 in earning medals -- 15 gold, one silver and two bronze.

PETROVIC EJECTED

Brazil coach Aleksandar Petrovic was ejected in the second quarter after picking up his second technical foul. His first came midway through the first quarter after arguing a kicked-ball call, then waving his hand dismissively at a referee's warning to calm down. The second came when Varejao had a clear lane to the basket, got cut off by Myles Turner and no foul got called -- so he went off, and was sent off.

UP NEXT

U.S.: Faces France in quarterfinals Wednesday at Dongguan, China.

Brazil: Tournament complete.

Brittni Donaldson was almost literally born into basketball in Iowa, but even she could never have imagined her improbable path to becoming the league's 10th current female assistant coach, and the youngest at just 26 years old.

Donaldson spent the last two seasons as a data analyst -- i.e., advanced stats guru -- in the Raptors' front office before Masai Ujiri, Toronto's president and alternate governor, and Nick Nurse, the head coach, picked her in mid-July to fill an opening on Toronto's bench.

"Losing someone so smart [from the front office] is tough," Ujiri says. "But she has coaching in her DNA."

Ujiri expects the NBA's first female head coach or general manager to emerge before anyone might have predicted even a few years ago. "One hundred percent, the time is coming," he says. "That is going to happen."

Donaldson had thought about moving to the bench before. She does not fit the caricature of a stats nerd. She was an all-state high school player at North High School in Sioux City -- the same school at which her dad, Jeff, was a star, in the early 1980s. Jeff Donaldson went on to play at what was then Briar Cliff College in the NAIA, and scored over 1,000 career points. In 2014, he was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Basketball Hall of Fame.

Father and daughter bonded over the game. "Sometimes it seemed like 90 percent of our conversations were about basketball," Brittni says. Jeff Donaldson put a ball in Brittni's hands when she was 2 or 3 years old. "It became an addiction," she says, "something I couldn't live without."

Iowa has no NBA team. Lots of Iowans root for the nearby Bulls and Timberwolves. Jeff Donaldson grew up on the 1980s Celtics and raised his daughter a Boston fan. They watched the Celtics together on League Pass, delighting in Tommy Heinsohn's throaty homerism.

"Not many young girls in Iowa love the NBA, but she did," Jeff Donaldson says. She gravitated toward Rajon Rondo. "She would rather see a nice pass than a dunk," her father says.

She played four seasons at the University of Northern Iowa, where Nurse played in the late 1980s and then began his coaching career. She had aspirations of playing professionally before suffering knee injuries.

Donaldson graduated in 2015 with a degree in statistics and actuarial sciences, and started a job the next day at CBE Companies, a provider of call center solutions based in Cedar Falls. She analyzed the company's internal data.

"This was not what I saw myself doing at age 22," Donaldson says. In her downtime, she applied the skills she was using at work to tackle questions about what she really loved -- basketball. She didn't publish her findings, or really try to. She was experimenting.

She liked it. Donaldson started applying to every basketball and basketball-adjacent job she could find. She even kept a database tracking what happened to each application -- whether she heard back, the rejections, all of it.

Finally, Chicago-based STATS LLC hired Donaldson to work the graveyard shift monitoring data pouring in from motion-tracking cameras installed at NBA arenas. A supervisor soon pulled Donaldson into a more strategy-focused role. She began analyzing the data and producing specific reports for NBA teams. She made such a good impression on the Raptors that they hired her.

Donaldson excelled in the front office, but made sure to touch and feel the game up close. She played pickup with the team's staff, outplaying most of them. (Her Toronto player comp: Fred VanVleet.) She rebounded for players at practice. Her passes still snapped.

"Every rep I do, even if it's just passing and rebounding, I try to be really precise and show that I'm there to make them better," Donaldson says. "I don't mess around."

The players noticed. "They trust her," Ujiri says.

One highlight: The Raptors were on the road when they acquired Marc Gasol at the trade deadline, but Gasol had to visit Toronto to undergo a physical. He asked whether someone might run him through a workout. The team thought about calling one coach back in. Higher-ups decided Donaldson could handle it herself.

"That was special for me -- to be basically the first person he interacted with on the basketball side," she says.

Ujiri watched from his office and was impressed when Donaldson sat with Gasol after the workout, opened a laptop, and took him through some of Toronto's plays.

"We were confident Brittni could do it," Ujiri says. "But when you see her do it, it's different."

(Donaldson also traveled to Tanzania and South Sudan this summer as an instructor with Ujiri's Giants of Africa developmental program. "I watched her energy, and her skill development," Ujiri says. "She's going to be very good at that.")

Nurse made it clear Donaldson will not be "the analytics person" on the coaching staff, though she will take the lead translating such data for players and coaches. She will do everything the other coaches do: scout opponents, debate rotations and X's and O's, and pitch strategic ideas.

"The conversation with Nick was, 'I'm going to treat you like an assistant coach because that's what you are,'" Donaldson says. "That was great for me to hear."

(The Raptors had Eric Khoury in a similar role the past two seasons after Khoury jumped from a front-office analytics position onto the coaching staff; Khoury will be with the Raptors 905 in the G-League this season. "I must be doing something wrong because something about the front office is making them run," Ujiri says, laughing.)

The NBA -- overall, and in Toronto specifically -- has evolved to the point where Donaldson's hiring is not surprising. The Raptors under Ujiri have been at the forefront for elevating women into positions of influence: Teresa Resch is among the team's most important day-to-day managers as vice president of basketball operations and player development; Jennifer Quinn heads up public relations; Shelby Weaver interacts with almost every part of the organization as manager of player development.

Donaldson is the fifth woman hired as an assistant coach just this summer, joining Lindsey Harding (Sacramento Kings), Lindsay Gottlieb (Cleveland Cavaliers), Kara Lawson (Boston Celtics) and Niele Ivey (Memphis Grizzlies). The other current female assistants are Natalie Nakase (LA Clippers), Becky Hammon (San Antonio Spurs), Jenny Boucek (Dallas Mavericks), Kristi Toliver (Washington Wizards), and Karen Stack-Umlauf (Chicago Bulls).

Donaldson's path is different. She is younger. She was not a star in college, or in the WNBA. She has no significant coaching experience. She arrives through the side door of analytics. It is perhaps a sign that some of the unconventional paths to NBA power that have long been open to men are opening to women, too.

Donaldson is just excited to get to work.

"The strategy and the X's and O's -- that is where it's at for me," she says.

SAN DIEGO -- Desperate times call for desperate measures, so the Chicago Cubs are calling up 2018 first-round pick Nico Hoerner from Double-A Tennessee to play shortstop while Javier Baez and Addison Russell are on the mend.

Hoerner, 22, compiled a .743 OPS in 70 games at Double-A and is slated to play in the Arizona Fall League, but the Cubs need him now. Baez is seeing a hand specialist on Monday after he was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his left thumb, while Russell is in the concussion protocol after leaving Sunday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers after getting hit in the face by a pitch.

Hoerner will be the first player from the 2018 draft class to make it to the majors, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Hoerner grew up in northern California and went to Stanford before the Cubs drafted him No. 24 overall last summer. He's hit for a high average at just about every level of baseball, but the Cubs are hoping he plays some solid defense in place of Baez and Russell. The team is thin at that position, hence the need for the Double-A call-up.

The Cubs are 4.5 games out of first place as they begin a series with the Padres, though they currently are the second wild-card team in the National League.

The New York Yankees have been dogged by injuries all season, with 29 players landing on the injured list, surpassing the previous major league record of 28, set by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016. While there is no pride in setting such a record, the Yankees not only have managed to run away and hide in the AL East, pretty much locking up their first division title since 2012, but also are on pace to win 105 games.

Some of those injured Yankees stars are on the mend and are in a race against the clock in hopes of being fully recovered in time to contribute this season. Things will get more interesting as the Yankees face a roster crunch heading into October.

Here's a look at the status of some of the Bombers' biggest names on the IL and what they might be able to contribute going forward.

Luis Severino

Position: SP

Injury: On the 60-day IL with right-shoulder rotator cuff inflammation (since March 25); was sidelined with a Grade 2 lat strain that set him back in his rehab

2019 stats: Has not pitched

Expected return date: Thursday

What the Yankees are saying: Severino will have a third rehab start in Double-A Trenton on Wednesday. If everything goes well, he's expected to rejoin the Yankees on their current 10-game road trip. The team anticipates that Severino will throw 60-plus pitches and then make his first start in the bigs this year when the team returns to the Bronx for its final homestand of the regular season.

What Severino is saying: "If I feel good, I think I'm ready to pitch in games [in the majors]. I just want to help my team. If they need me in the bullpen, if they need me to start, I'm here. I just want to help."

What you can expect: Former major leaguer Carlos Beltran, who is now a special assistant to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and was at Severino's last rehab start in Triple-A, told ESPN that Severino was healthy and looked great, with good speed on his fastball, which scouts present at the game said sat between 95 mph and 97 mph. With a big lead atop the AL East, the Yankees hope to use the last two weeks of the season to build Severino's arm strength, which should allow him to be part of the postseason roster. Manager Aaron Boone has said that Severino is currently undergoing the equivalent of spring training, and as such, he should have enough innings under his belt to be a solid postseason contributor, barring any setbacks. Severino's most recent major league start was in Game 3 of the 2018 American League Division Series, when he gave up six runs in three innings of a 16-1 loss to the Red Sox.

CC Sabathia

Position: SP

Injury: On the 10-day IL with right-knee inflammation (since Aug. 31)

2019 stats: 5-8, 4.93 ERA, 0.3 WAR in 20 starts

Expected return date: Wednesday

What the Yankees are saying: Boone announced Sunday that Sabathia will be activated Wednesday to start the second game of a three-game set against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. The Yankees will use Sabathia in a sort of "opener" role, with Domingo German coming in as a reliever. The Yankees are being careful with German and managing his total innings, given that he has 140⅔ innings pitched this season after logging 94 last year. Sabathia has not pitched more than 4⅓ innings in an outing since July 16.

What Sabathia is saying: After throwing a bullpen session Friday, Sabathia said everything went well, and he declared he was ready for the next step. "Hopefully I can just get enough rest where [my knee will] calm down and I'm able to get back out there and throw 90 to 100 pitches," he said.

What you can expect: Sabathia has a chronic condition in his surgically repaired knee, and he said he will likely get a knee replacement after he retires at the end of this season. The 39-year-old left-hander continues to get his knee drained and receive treatment and cortisone shots in order to remain a viable starter option for the Yankees as they continue their bid for the best record in the American League. Sabathia will certainly be a question in terms of the playoffs. If he's healthy, it would be tough for the Yankees to leave him off the postseason roster, given that he's one of the most vocal leaders, and Boone has repeatedly stressed how his presence impacts the Yankees clubhouse -- in addition to this being Sabathia's final season. But putting aside the intangibles, given Sabathia's below-average performance on the mound this season, the Yankees might be better served by carrying a healthy, younger arm.

Giancarlo Stanton

Position: DH/OF

Injury: On the 60-day IL with a right-knee sprain (since June 26); had strained left biceps (March 31), strained shoulder and strained calf during his rehabilitation before coming off the IL on June 18

2019 stats: 1 HR, 7 RBIs, .290 AVG, 0.3 WAR in nine games

Expected return date: Unknown

What the Yankees are saying: Stanton has been doing baseball activities such as outfield agility drills and running the bases, in addition to having at-bats in simulated games last week at Yankee Stadium and most recently at the Yankees' minor league complex in Tampa. The team expects Stanton to ramp up his rehab this week and hopes he can be activated before the season ends. "It's just building up and getting to a point where he can play in a game as far as passing everything from all of his running protocols," Boone said. General manager Brian Cashman, who originally targeted August for Stanton's return, expressed a clear level of uncertainty regarding his status: "We do expect him at some point, but he's also coming back from a pretty serious injury that takes time to heal. We'll just keep waiting on it and hope that at some point he becomes a legitimate option for us."

What Stanton is saying: Stanton has said he wanted to take "a few weeks" of at-bats before the month of October: "Once I start moving around, [I'll] just see how it bounces back. But I do want to have a few weeks of at-bats before October, for sure. I want to be out there for a couple weeks, just the game routine and having whatever amount of at-bats I can."

What you can expect: Stanton might be activated off the IL for the last two weeks of the season, which would give him enough at-bats to be considered for a postseason roster spot. But that is only if he doesn't suffer any more setbacks, which seems to be a big "if" with him. The Yankees have not missed Stanton's bat this season, but he was the National League MVP two years ago and is still regarded as one of the best power hitters in baseball. If he is healthy, he will be a playoff weapon for the Yankees. The decision will depend on whether he gets enough at-bats before the playoffs, and that remains to be seen.

Dellin Betances

Position: RP

Injury: On the 60-day IL with right-shoulder impingement (since March 25); was sidelined with a lat strain during his rehab

2019 stats: Has not pitched

Expected return date: Unknown

What the Yankees are saying: Betances, like Severino, pitched a rehab outing Friday with the Yankees' Double-A affiliate in Trenton. Betances threw 19 pitches (11 strikes), and even though his fastball was around 93-94 mph, a low figure for him, the Yankees saw this as a sign that he's on track to return this season. "Another positive step for him overall," Boone said. "I thought he threw some good breaking balls, threw some good fastballs in there. Was a little erratic with a couple of things ... and then even talking to him, I think he felt good about it, and now you're just dealing with a little bit of rust, kind of the early outings of spring training."

What Betances is saying: After throwing to hitters in a simulated game Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, Betances said he believed he could get major league hitters out with his stuff, and he was encouraged with the way he was throwing and pounding the strike zone. "Felt the best I've thrown so far," he said. "Definitely encouraged with the way I threw today. The breaking ball was good -- that's the most I've thrown it for strikes -- and my fastball's good. I threw a lot of strikes, so that's all I care about."

What you can expect: A scout at Betances' Trenton rehab outing said the right-hander looked healthy but "erratic," which means he will need to iron out the kinks before the Yankees decide on a return date. Betances continues to say he's fully healthy, and the Yankees would prefer to give him at least two more rehab outings in the minors, but with the minor league season winding down, his opportunities will be limited. The Trenton Thunder are getting ready to face the Bowie Baysox in the best-of-five Eastern League championship series, which starts Wednesday, and both Severino and Betances are slated to pitch. After that game, Betances should have one more rehab outing in the minors. Then he'll likely be called up for his first major league action of the season. He most recently pitched in the majors in Game 4 of the 2018 ALDS, when he went 1⅓ innings in relief, giving up one hit and striking out three in the Yankees' 4-3 loss to the Red Sox.

Aaron Hicks

Position: OF

Injury: On the 10-day IL with a right flexor strain (since Aug. 4)

2019 stats: 12 HRs, 36 RBIs, .235 average, 1.3 WAR in 59 games

Expected return date: Unknown

What the Yankees are saying: Hicks had yet another setback in his rehab from a flexor strain, near his right elbow, which has not allowed him to ramp up his throwing. "He's slowed down," Boone said. "He's not feeling quite right. We'll see how the next several days unfold. But as of right now, he hasn't been able to advance." Hicks had an MRI that showed no ligament damage, but Boone admitted it's possible Hicks' season is over.

What Hicks is saying: When Hicks was cleared to start throwing on Aug. 30, he said he "felt really good," even though his arm felt "weird."

What you can expect: With 18 games remaining this season, it is unlikely Hicks will have enough time to mount a comeback. The 29-year-old has been injury-prone throughout his career, including missing the start of this season with a back injury that kept him sidelined until May 15. Plus, even when Hicks has been in the lineup this season, he hasn't been productive. The Yankees are down to three healthy outfielders -- Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge and Clint Frazier -- with Mike Tauchman being sent to New York for evaluation after he suffered tightness in his right calf on Sunday. Cameron Maybin continues to deal with a left wrist injury that has kept him out of the lineup since Aug. 31, though he did come in for Tauchman on Sunday.