Against a backdrop of nerves, hype and controversial pot-stirring, Saturday's Pro14 final between Glasgow Warriors and Leinster promises to be a clash of titans.

Ticket sales indicate over 40,000 people will be there to watch the two conference winners battle at Celtic Park.

Warriors are on a nine-match winning run and are desperate for glory in their home city, while Leinster are formidable defending champions.

The Pro14 showpiece should be one to savour, and BBC Scotland looks at five key issues which set the stage.

Leo's lip

"I am sure all the Celtic fans will be out supporting Leinster because I believe Glasgow [players] are all Rangers supporters."

If Leo Cullen was casting his fishing rod this week, the Leinster coach baited a few after his side saw off Munster in their semi-final.

His football-related barb sounded like a joke - it probably was - but comments like these rarely go unnoticed in a football-mad city like Glasgow.

In any case, Celtic fans will be watching their team attempt to claim a third straight domestic treble in the Scottish Cup final a few hours before the rugby gets under way.

Have Glasgow found their muscles?

Dave Rennie's Glasgow have always played fast rugby, a team characterised by their willingness to attack from anywhere. But last season, in the Kiwi's debut campaign at the helm, he was often critical of his men for trying to "go around" their opponents before first going through them.

Now, they have found their muscles. Their set-piece, particularly the line-out, looks formidable. In their last nine matches, they have a success rate of just above 90% on their own throw, making 20 steals on opposition ball.

The 17 line-breaks, 22 beaten defenders, seven tries and half-century of points in the semi-final decimation of Ulster was underpinned by a relentless forward effort.

The case for the defence

When Glasgow beat Leinster in Dublin last month, it was the first time they had won in the Irish capital for eight years. All eight of the Warriors pack that day (barring Chris Fusaro, who was injured very early on and replaced by Adam Ashe, who made 33 tackles) made over 20 tackles, with Gray posting an astonishing tournament-best of 43, missing none.

Despite all those hits, Leinster still scored four tries. Glasgow have the league's best defence, but the champions are patient and clinical and they will be better on Saturday than they were then. Defence will again be key for Glasgow.

Can Leinster go again?

This is a Leinster team reared on success. In the last six years, they have won three European trophies and three league titles. Last season, they did the double, claiming the Champions Cup and Pro14 crowns. In their squad are 15 Irish Grand Slam winners, seven British and Irish Lions, two experienced Australia internationals and a brilliant New Zealander on the wing in James Lowe.

Saracens though had Leinster's number in this year's European final a fortnight ago. It was a brutally attritional game, and was swiftly followed by their Pro14 semi-final win over Munster, another bruiser of a contest.

Naturally, matches of such magnitude take an immense toll on minds as well as bodies. Cullen must make sure his players rouse themselves for one final effort.

Farewell, 'Hoggy'

This will be Stuart Hogg's last hurrah as a Warrior before departing for Exeter, the final game of a nine-year spell where he has grown to become one of the greatest talents in Scottish rugby history.

Hogg has mixed memories of these matches. By his own admission, he had gotten too big for his boots in 2014 and Gregor Townsend left him out of the Warriors squad that lost the final to Leinster. A year later, he was a vital part of the team that savaged Munster in Belfast, winning the first silverware of any Scottish pro-team.

In the time since, Hogg has become a leader in the Warriors team. How he would love to end with another title.

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Recent rainfall that has flooded Lakeside Speedway has forced cancellation of both events of the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car doubleheader weekend, May 31 at I-80 Speedway and June 1 at Lakeside.

Lakeside Speedway officials have learned there is an anticipated three-foot rise in river levels due to all of the recent rainfall and already high water levels. The Kansas City, Kan., track has been proactively moving equipment to higher grounds and taking proactive measures to minimize damage.

There is already damage on the grounds regarding light poles, and with the expected rise in waters, the situation remains unsafe.

The decision was made to cancel both events, including the I-80 Dirt Classic in Greenwood, Neb., to save teams the expenses of a far travel for a single race weekend.

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Dennis Reinbold, team owner of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, has presented the Pop Dreyer Legends Award to Indy car racing’s winningest driver and four-time Indy 500 champion A.J. Foyt at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The Pop Dreyer Legends Award honors the contributions of those Indy car racing participants who have demonstrated unparalleled commitment and dedication to the racing community throughout their storied motorsports careers.

Floyd “Pop” Dreyer, a famed national flat track motorcycle racer for the Indian factory in the 1920s, was a mechanic on the famed Duesenberg Indy 500 team in 1927 and began an auto racing legacy that includes building the cars for the entire 1931 Indianapolis 500 front row starters and a variety of championship-winning sprint cars and midgets in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Dreyer is also credited with introducing several innovations in racing such as the use of magnesium and many believe that he built the first quarter midget.

Reinbold, Dreyer’s grandson, has fielded 41 starters at the Indianapolis 500 dating back to 1999 with drivers including current team’s Indy 500 drivers Sage Karam and J.R. Hildebrand plus Robbie Buhl, Al Unser Jr., Buddy Rice, Sarah Fisher, Buddy Lazier, Ryan Briscoe, Oriol Servia, Townsend Bell and Davey Hamilton. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing also competes in the ARX Rallycross series and captured the 2016 ARX2 series title with Cabot Bigham.

“For Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, establishing the Pop Dreyer Legends Award in 2008 was a natural thing to do,” said Reinbold.  “We believe it is important to remember the incredible contributions that those before us have made to our sport, as without these men and women, none of us would have the opportunities that we currently have in motorsports.

“While there are no doubt other awards and Halls of Fame that exist and that undertake this same purpose, we want to honor those people who have demonstrated dedication, commitment and perseverance in their motorsports careers. We want to thank A.J. for all of his amazing contributions to Indy car racing as a driver, mechanic and team owner for over 60 years.”

CONCORD, N.C. – Twenty-five-year-old Shane Lee has landed a NASCAR Xfinity Series ride with a new organization which will make its debut next month at Iowa Speedway.

Lee will drive the No. 28 Toyota Supra for H2 Motorsports, owned by Matt Hurley, for the remainder of the Xfinity Series schedule following the team’s debut at Iowa on June 16.

The new deal comes after Lee ran part-time for Richard Childress Racing in 2018, earning one top-five and three top-10 finishes in 13 starts.

“I’m definitely looking forward to this; it’s a great opportunity,” said Lee. “I met Matt at a couple of races last year and became pretty good friends with him, even before we started talking about a racing deal in January or February. From there, he got some stuff figured out and hired some really good people to be a part of this deal, as well as getting aligned with Toyota and TRD to maximize our performance.

“I’m excited to see what we can do this year and looking forward to getting started.”

Hurley, a 23-year-old entrepreneur and venture capitalist, is looking forward to breaking into the Xfinity Series and making his mark in the NASCAR garage area as one of the youngest team owners in the sport.

“Entering any professional sport as a team owner is a significant commitment and undertaking,” Hurley said. “I’ve followed NASCAR closely for a number of years and appreciate the opportunity that is in front of H2 Motorsports. My due diligence has taught me much and reinforced my belief that now is the right time to build a team capable of winning races and ultimately championships.

“I believe that coming into the Xfinity Series and leveraging the ‘Names are Made Here’ platform is ”

Circuit City, an online consumer electronics retail company which was reborn in 2016 under the leadership of Chairman and CEO Ronny Shmoel, will sponsor H2 Motorsports’ Xfinity Series effort.

Back in the late 1990s, Circuit City was an official partner of NASCAR, as well as a major sponsor of Hut Stricklin and Stavola Brothers Racing from 1996 through the start of the 1998 season.

“Circuit City is excited to partner with H2 Motorsports and re-engage with NASCAR fans worldwide,” Shmoel said. “We know that NASCAR is a dynamic and one-of-a-kind property that will allow us to build strong and lasting business and consumer relationships through the power of competition and the most dedicated following.

“We know we’ve got a winning formula with Matt and the team, both on and off the track.”

Pete Rondeau, a veteran in the NASCAR garage area and the former competition director for Furniture Row Racing before that team closed following the 2017 season, will serve as Lee’s crew chief.

“Any time you work with a young guy like Shane, they have a lot of enthusiasm, which is something I like,” noted Rondeau. “I don’t get real excited in front of the cameras or anything like that, but I’m looking forward to seeing him on track and guiding this effort as we compete through the rest of the year.”

OWASSO, Okla. – Rain throughout this week along with the high percentage of wet weather predicted this weekend has forced TBJ Promotions officials to postpone the fourth annual Midget Round Up until July 5-6.

“With all the rain we’ve got and how the forecast looks we want to save everyone the time of traveling this weekend,” TBJ Promotions Founder Tony Bruce Jr. said. “Thankfully we were able to find a weekend in July where we can shift this event.”

The event continues at Airport Raceway in Garden City, Kan., where both nights will feature midgets with the POWRi Lucas Oil RMMRA Series and the POWRi Lucas Oil West Midget League as well as Winged ‘A’ Class micro sprints with the NOW600 Tel-Star Technologies Kansas Region.

The front gates are scheduled to open at 4 p.m. with racing at 7 p.m. each night.

Tickets are $20 for adults on July 5 and $15 on July 6. Children ages 12-years-old and younger get in free both nights.

There is limited reserved spectator parking at the track available. To purchase a spot, call 620-287-3695.

ROSSBURG, Ohio — After 35 years of paying $50,000 to win, the famed Kings Royal sprint car race at Eldora Speedway will pay $175,000 to win on July 20.

The Kings Royal Weekend featuring the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and all of sprint car racing’s royalty takes place July 18-20.

Eldora Speedway General Manager Roger Slack explained how the decision to increase the winner’s purse was made.  The event had paid $50,000 to win since it was introduced in 1984.

“Tony and I were talking where we were going to go with it and we had bumped the purse up everywhere but first place,” Slack told SPEED SPORT. “Second place paid $10,000 not that long ago. Our late model purses have been bumped up big-time the past few years. We’d decided and announced we were going to make it six figures for sure but we didn’t know what those six figures would be and we got talking about it and we had some different ideas in mind. Once we talked about it, Tony said if we are going to do this, we are going to be bold.”

Slack said Stewart’s love of winged sprint car racing contributed to the decision.

“It’s gonna be big and I think Tony has such an affinity for the winged sprint car guys, especially since he is racing with them so much,” Slack said. “He knows how hard those cars are to drive and what a fine line it is to be super-good at it. I think that had a lot to do with this decision.”

The popularity of dirt-track racing also played a role in the move.

“It is great for the sport and the fans that it keeps building,” Slack said. “We had the biggest crowd in the history of the Kings Royal last year. Our camping is through the roof right now and our ticket sales are ahead of last year. It is an exciting time, so let’s keep on building it. Hopefully, the economy stays well and this is something we can sustain.

“I think when you look back at the last 10 to 12 years or more, you look at how many of the Kings Royal finishes have been decided in the last few laps,” he continued. “When there is over $150,000 difference between first and second place, that makes a difference. It is already an unreal atmosphere and I can’t imagine what it can feel like.”

Slack also tipped there will be a format change for the event, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

“The Kings Royal is no points. It has its own format and there is a tweak coming to the format that we will be announcing in a few weeks,” Slack said. “There are no provisionals. It’s a one-day event. You don’t have to be here Thursday and Friday. Pennsylvania guys can run at the Grove on Friday and tow in for Saturday. That’s part of what makes it special.”

Moves like these keep the Eldora Speedway staff pushing for the next big achievement.

“It keeps pushing us,” Slack said. “It’s not just us throwing money at it. It pushes us to sell more tickets to make this work. We have to sell more tickets in what has been a rainy season so far. There is more pressure to produce. It’s not like we are going to sit back and eat pizza burgers and watch it happen.

“We are always putting ourselves in a pressure cooker.”

And sprint car racers will be in the pressure cooker on the final night of the Kings Royal.

“Sprint car racers don’t lack for confidence, so the majority of them think that they can win that $175,000,” Slack said. “That’s one thing about sprint car racers, they look at how much it is to win.”

The $175,000 winner’s share gives the Kings Royal the highest-paying winner’s purse in the sport.

Posted awards for the week, including point fund contributions and specialty awards, bring the Kings Royal weekend purse to $594,275, which is an large increase from just a few years ago when the purse monies stretched to $181,000.

To buy tickets, visit EldoraSpeedway.com or call (937) 338-3815.

The Ottawa Senators named D.J. Smith the team's new coach on Thursday. Smith, who is the 14th coach in the franchise's history, has been an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs the past four seasons.

He replaces Guy Boucher, who was fired on March 1 amid a six-game losing streak and with the team's record at 22-37-5. The Senators also had traded their top three scorers at the trade deadline -- sending Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Mark Stone to the Vegas Golden Knights.

"D.J. Smith is a winner. We believe he is the best person to drive the development and success of the Ottawa Senators," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said in a statement. "D.J is a great communicator and an exceptional strategist. His passionate approach, coupled with his ability to teach the game, is exactly what we were looking for throughout the process. We're thrilled to welcome D.J. and his family to Ottawa." In the 2017-18 NHLPA players' poll, players were asked which current NHL assistant would make the best head coach. Smith received 8.3 percent of votes, most of any assistant.

Smith, an Ottawa native, coached the OHL's Oshawa Generals for three years before joining the Maple Leafs. He was named the OHL coach of the year in 2013-14 and won a Memorial Cup title in 2015.

Smith's hiring extends the Mike Babcock coaching tree. Other Babcock assistants who went on to become head coaches include Jeff Blashill, Paul MacLean, Todd McLellan and Bill Peters.

The Senators interviewed several veteran coaches for the job, including Jacques Martin and Patrick Roy.

At 42, Smith is the second-youngest coach in the NHL. Only Chicago's Jeremy Colliton, 34, is younger.

ESPN's Emily Kaplan contributed to this report.

New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson has parlayed a career season into a new six-year contract.

The Islanders announced that Nelson had signed the new deal on Thursday. The total value of the contract is $36 million, according to multiple reports.

Nelson, 27, set career highs in points and assists this season while playing in all 82 games for the second straight year. He also had four goals in the playoffs, including two winners as the Islanders reached the second round for the first time since 2016.

He played on a one-year, $4.25 million contract this season, agreeing to that deal as a restricted free agent and avoiding arbitration.

Nelson has 124 goals and 117 assists in 480 career games, all with the Islanders after they drafted him in the first round in 2010.