CONCORD, N.C. – Though he’s spent much of the last two years racing dirt late models in North and South Carolina, Carson Ferguson looked like he’d never left the Bojangles’ Summer Shootout during opening night on Monday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The 19-year-old charged from ninth to the win in the headlining Pro division feature, driving the same Ladyga Motorsports No. 48 that he took to the Young Lions championship five years earlier.

Mark Green (Masters), Jason Alder (Semi-Pro), Landon Rapp (Young Lions), Layton Harrison (Bandolero Bandits) and Josh Horniman (Beginner Bandolero) were also winners in their respective divisions during the first of 10 races on the Summer Shootout calendar.

Ferguson rolled to his 23rd career win in the annual summer series for Legend cars and Bandoleros on the frontstretch quarter-mile, passing race-long leader Chase Scott on a lap-15 restart and pacing the final 11 circuits uncontested.

Monday night’s victory was Ferguson’s second Pro win in Shootout competition and the first triumph in the top class for the Ladyga Motorsports No. 48 since Derek Lemke’s round three victory in 2018.

“It’s just like riding a bike – when you do something for so long, it’s easy to pick back up,” said Ferguson in victory lane. “It was hard to get going in the first few laps, but we figured it out.

“It’s always good to win in front of my home crowd,” he added. “The Summer Shootout is a great opportunity and to come back and get a win is awesome.”

Ashton Higgins, making his first Legend car appearance since February of 2017, finished 2.021 seconds adrift of Ferguson in second. Garrett Manes completed the podium after driving through the field twice.

Joey Padgett crossed fourth and Vince Midas, a late model regular at Hickory Motor Speedway, was fifth.

Zach Miller and Daniel Wilk ran second and third for the first portion of the Pro feature, but came together in turn four on the 12th lap and both spun briefly before continuing.

Wilk finished seventh and Miller came home ninth after 25 laps.

Green used a last-corner pass of defending Masters division champion Robby Faggart to secure the first win of the season in the “over 40” class, fighting to the inside lane in turn three and winning a drag-race to the finish line by .054 seconds.

The victory was the fourth Masters win of Green’s Summer Shootout career. He led only the final lap.

“I didn’t really mean to get into him that hard,” Green said. “It was a good little bump-and-run deal. We had a really good race there. We had a good night. I usually start out pretty slow and work my way up, so it’s nice to get a win (early in the season).”

Faggart, who jumped up the outside from fourth to take the lead in the first corner, was in command for the first 24 laps of the caution-free feature but came home a disappointing second.

Jon Craig, Todd Midas and Bruce Silver followed in third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

Alder claimed a commanding victory in Semi-Pro action, jumping to the lead on the initial start and pacing all 25 laps to win with his neon green and white No. 77 for Steven Ross Motorsports.

The soon-to-be 16-year-old took the checkered flag 5.042 seconds in front of runner-up Gracie Trotter.

“It’s an honor to be standing here right now. I’ve never won at Charlotte Motor Speedway before,” Alder said. “I can’t thank Bojangles’ enough for sponsoring this series. The Bojangles’ Summer Shootout is the best Legend car series in the world.

“(The key to winning) was adjusting my car to the track as the race went on.”

D.J. Canipe completed the Semi-Pro podium, followed by Isabella Robusto and her younger brother, William Robusto.

Though Canadian Austin MacDonald crossed the finish line first in the Young Lions division, Landon Rapp was declared the winner after MacDonald was assessed a penalty for his bumper becoming partially detached mid-way through the 25-lap feature.

Rapp’s victory is the seventh of his Summer Shootout career and his first at CMS in a Legend car.

“I wasn’t sure if we’d won, because they gave him (MacDonald) the checkered flag, even though I’d seen them black-flag him earlier on,” noted Rapp. “This is cool, though. It’s a tough break for Austin, but I’m so happy to win another one here at the Summer Shootout. It’s been a little while.”

Sam Butler, Tommy Good, early leader Tristan Borkowski and Jake Waltman completed the top five.

MacDonald, who took the lead on lap nine, was demoted to 24th in the 25-car field after his penalty.

Harrison passed Lucas Vera on lap 11 en route to the Bandits division victory, while Horniman came out on top of a back-and-forth tussle with Katie Yonchuk in the Beginner Bandolero main event for his win.

The Bandolero Outlaw feature was rained out and rescheduled for Tuesday afternoon, after a drizzle began falling at the speedway following a multi-car crash on the initial start of the 20-lap race.

To view race results for all divisions, advance to the next page.

Fans in St. Louis looking to watch the Blues in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final with a few thousand friends have another option: Busch Stadium.

The Bruins will host the decisive game in Boston on Wednesday, and tickets to the Blues' watch party at their 18,400-seat Enterprise Center sold out in 31 minutes on Monday, according to St. Louis TV station KSDK.

So to meet the demand, the Blues announced a second party where fans can watch the game on a big screen, this one to be held at the 46,000-seat home of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Tickets for the event at the ballpark will go on sale Tuesday on the Cardinals' website, with proceeds benefiting Cardinals Care and Blues for Kids charities.

The Blues also sold out the watch parties at Enterprise Center to watch the first three Stanley Cup Final games hosted by Boston.

Whatever else you might say about Chandika Hathurusingha, the man does not do incognito. If you have paid him any attention over the past few years, chances are you have an opinion. More than likely, it is mighty sharp.

"He has great cricket knowledge," is something people say of him. Well that one, almost everybody can agree on. But what about: "He is a great coach"? This is not so universally held.

If you are a Hathurusingha hater, you probably hail from Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. His tenure at New South Wales did not seem to prompt such polarising opinions. In much higher profile roles in South Asia, though, where sports meld with politics, and cricket plays a role in the national wellbeing (more true for some South Asian states than others), he has been an unapologetic ruffler of feathers.

A month into his job, in Bangladesh, the superstar in the team, Shakib Al Hasan, was suspended for some months for "serious misbehaviour" with the coach. In Sri Lanka, Hathurusingha was part of a decision to sack Angelo Mathews as captain, and axe him from the limited-overs sides entirely over fitness issues last September. It was the selection committee, then headed by Graeme Labrooy, that finalised that call, but months later, Mathews' relationship with Hathurusingha had soured to the extent that in the course of batting an entire Test-match day in Wellington, Mathews dropped to the ground, completed a set of press-ups after and gestured pointedly towards the dressing room. It was only a little more polite than flipping the bird.

ALSO READ: Nuwan Pradeep ruled out of Bangladesh game after blow to bowling hand

And yet, can you argue with Hathurusingha's results? On his watch, Bangladesh made the knockouts in a World Cup for the first time, beat India and South Africa in ODI series at home, defeated Sri Lanka in an away Test, and made the semi-final of the 2017 Champions Trophy. In general, they became a serious force in world cricket for the first time. Specific players may have had grouses; Mahmudullah was dropped for the 100th Test - the one they won in Colombo - and Mominul Haque was edged out of the Test side. But if you try to argue that Hathurusingha did not leave Bangladesh (or should that be abandon Bangladesh?) in an immeasurably better place than he found them, then friend, you have let your Hathu-hate get the better of you.

Among the cornerstones to his success in Bangladesh, Hathurusingha felt, was his insistence that he be part of the selection committee. "If I'm responsible for the fortunes of the team, I should be given the power to choose it," has been his reasoning. Sri Lanka Cricket, who had practically pleaded with Hathurusingha to be their coach for three years, had initially allowed him this.

But here's the thing, Hathu: SLC is an untameable beast. He had the SLC board president on-side in his first few months in charge of Sri Lanka, just as he had done practically throughout his Bangladesh stint. But what if the SLC head is himself so plugged into the nation's political machinations, that the moment the governmental weather changed, that SLC president was ousted by judicial writ? Late last year, Hathurusingha lost his allies in administration, and with them the guarantee that he could have his way with the side. In February, following Sri Lanka's modest tour of New Zealand and their woeful Tests in Australia, he was in serious danger of being sacked by the governmental arm that had installed itself in place of a regular board.

And so we come to Bristol at the World Cup, where Hathurusingha is ostensibly head coach of Sri Lanka but, weirdly, it is on the opposition that bears the clearer marks of his influence. Even his critics in Bangladesh would concede that it was under Hathurusingha that this team developed the steel required to win; that it was on his watch that they began to seize key moments, the way they'd done in the victory against South Africa last week. During the Hathu years, Tamim Iqbal had become more consistent, Soumya Sarkar had begun to flourish, Mustafizur Rahman was thrown in and adorned, Mehidy Hasan got a start, and even Mahmudullah hit those back-to-back World Cup tons.

Compare this to the Sri Lanka side, which was in turmoil long before Hathurusingha arrived, and has not ceased to be in flux despite his best efforts. Last year, Hathurusingha had elevated Dinesh Chandimal to leadership, and then the selectors changed, and now Chandimal has barely been heard from for months. Captain, instead, is Dimuth Karunaratne - a man Hathurusingha seems happy to work with especially following the historic Test win in South Africa, but not one he would have ideally chosen for such honours. Save, perhaps, for Thisara Perera, there is no one in this ODI side that appears visibly altered by Hathurusingha's 18-month presence.

A good run at the World Cup could be key to changing all that. The historic Test win in South Africa, to which Hathurusingha did genuinely contribute, bought him goodwill, but it is limited-overs advances that will swing open the door those victories propped ajar. Sri Lanka still have Australia, England and India to play, so the match on Tuesday is virtually must-win. For the coach, a defeat might be a haunting by his own past successes, but nothing no one didn't expect. But if a victory helps light up Sri Lanka's campaign, maybe the team will switch to a smoother track. Perhaps Hathurusingha could still become the kind of transformer for Sri Lanka he once was for Bangladesh.

MINNEAPOLIS -- After months of uncertainty surrounding the status of his contract for the upcoming season, veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph gained some clarity with regard to his future on Monday evening.

A league source told ESPN that Rudolph agreed to terms of a contract extension with the Minnesota Vikings and will sign his new deal on Tuesday morning, the same day the Vikings begin their three-day mandatory minicamp. Rudolph's new deal is worth $36 million over four years, which will keep him in Minnesota through the 2023 season, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Rudolph relayed the news in a heartfelt message on Twitter in which he reflected upon the major events that have occurred in his life both in and out of football since he was selected 43rd overall in the 2011 draft by Minnesota, where he has spent his entire career to date. The ninth-year tight end married his wife, Jordan, had three children and has been an active member in the Twin Cities community through his philanthropic work with the establishment of Kyle Rudolph's End Zone at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital.

#UnfinishedBusiness #Skol pic.twitter.com/ooOXJruWFF

— Kyle Rudolph (@KyleRudolph82) June 11, 2019

Rudolph's new deal is expected to lower his cap hit of $7.625 million, which would help the Vikings with their current salary-cap situation. Minnesota, according to ESPN's roster management system, had less than $1.3 million in cap space prior to negotiating the terms of Rudolph's new deal.

Earlier this spring, the Vikings drafted Alabama tight end Irv Smith Jr. with the 50th overall pick. Throughout the spring offseason program, coaches have relayed the importance of the roles both tight ends will play in Minnesota's offense with their complementary skillsets.

TORONTO -- Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant appeared to reinjure the right calf that had kept him out for a month during the second quarter of a 106-105 win in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.

The Warriors said Durant would have an MRI on Tuesday to further evaluate the injury, which they announced as a right lower-leg injury.

"I'm hurting deep in the soul right now I can't lie," Durant wrote as a part of an Instagram Story post. "But seeing my brothers get this win was like taking a shot of tequilla, I got new life lol."

The play in which Durant was hurt happened with 9 minutes, 51 seconds left in the second quarter as he tried to drive by Raptors big man Serge Ibaka. Durant was just above the 3-point line on the right side, dribbled between his legs and went to drive with his left hand when his leg appeared to give, causing him to lose the ball.

Durant went down in pain after taking a couple of steps, grabbing the lower part of his calf on the sideline. Durant remained on the floor for a few moments as the Raptors came down the floor and made a basket. The Warriors called timeout as Rick Celebrini, the Warriors' director of sports medicine and performance, raced to the floor to check on Durant.

Durant was then escorted straight to the locker room for further evaluation. As he made his way off the floor, both Warriors and Raptors players offered him some well wishes as the crowd inside soldout Scotiabank Arena chanted, "KD! KD!" Warriors teammate Andre Iguodala was by Durant's side with Celebrini as Durant was helped off the floor. Warriors guard Stephen Curry followed Durant into the locker room as well.

Durant walked by the media workroom inside Scotiabank Arena on crutches wearing a walking boot on his right leg on his way to exit the arena. He was accompanied by Celebrini and Warriors general manager Bob Myers.

Meanwhile, the Warriors also lost Kevon Looney, who aggravated his shoulder injury and was also ruled out to return.

Durant had not played since injuring his right calf on May 8 against the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals. He went through Sunday's light practice and Monday's shootaround and was initially listed as a game-time decision before Steve Kerr confirmed before the game that Durant would start.

Kerr said Durant would play in "short bursts," but Durant left the game after playing 12 of the first 14 minutes of the game and scoring 11 points.

Kerr acknowledged after Monday's shootaround that the uncertainty surrounding Durant's status has been a tedious process for all involved.

"It's been frustrating," Kerr said. "We talked about it when the injury occurred. Pretty vague. A lot of gray area. One of the first things Rick [Celebrini] told me was, with calves, it could be a couple weeks, it could be a couple months. It's not often you have injuries like that. Usually you kind of get that four-to-six week thing or two-to-three weeks. So, calves, Achilles, muscular stuff is a little tougher to gauge than a joint. When you combine that with the scrutiny and the media coverage of the Finals, you've just been in the spotlight -- he's been in the spotlight -- and it's been tough."

Kerr was asked if he had been told that Durant was also dealing with an Achilles injury. Kerr previously stated initially after Durant's injury in May that he was assured it was not an Achilles injury that Durant was dealing with.

"No," Kerr said. "I just threw out 'Achilles.' I didn't mean Kevin's Achilles. I mean when you get non-joint issues, muscular issues are tougher to input in terms of how long a recovery will be. That's my understanding."