INDIANAPOLIS – Conor Daly, a top-10 finisher in the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500, has filed his entry to compete in a NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget during the Sept. 4-5 Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink.

The 27-year-old Noblesville, Ind. native will take the wheel of the Petry Motorsports No. 35 for the second running of the event at The Dirt Track at IMS.

Daly’s ride, sponsored by Jonathan Byrd’s Racing, FK Rod Ends and Keizer Wheels, will be part of a four-car stable for the Petry team, racing alongside USAC standouts Kevin Thomas Jr., Dave Darland and Jerry Coons Jr.

Daly is a veteran of 48 career NTT IndyCar Series starts, including six Indianapolis 500 appearances, starting 11th and finishing 10th in May. Last weekend, he recorded a season-best finish of sixth in the Indy car event at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

Daly has made two previous USAC midget appearances, both in 2018. His first race came in the inaugural BC39 for Landon Simon Racing, while his most recent came in the finale indoors at the Southern Illinois Center in DuQuoin, Ill., for owner Jody Rosenboom.

ATTICA, Ohio – Tim Shaffer will be in action this weekend when the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions travel to Attica Raceway Park for the Brad Doty Classic.

Shaffer has teamed with team owner Ron Gorby to drive the No. 1g during the Brad Doty Classic. The news comes on the heels of Shaffer losing his ride in the No. 49x Demyan-Rudzik Racing sprint car earlier this month.

“It’s just for this weekend,” Shaffer said when reached by phone Friday morning. “I’ve known the guy, Ron Gorby, for a few years.”

The deal for Shaffer to drive Gorby’s No. 1g was revealed via a Twitter post from Jac Haudenschild Racing Friday morning. Shaffer confirmed that they prepared the car in Jac Haudenschild’s shop.

“We’re working out of Jac’s shop,” Shaffer said. “Jac’s been a friend forever. We race together and have and we’ll have fun together.”

ITS RACEDAY! Jac and @TimShaffer49 race ready for this weekends @ASCoC @braddoty18 classic @atticaracewyprk ? pic.twitter.com/xmX7pVQR75

— Jac Haudenschild Racing (@jachaudracing) August 30, 2019

The Brad Doty Classic at Attica Raceway Park kicks off tonight with a $5,000-to-win feature, followed by Saturday’s $10,000-to-win finale.

Atletico Madrid are negotiating a deal to sign Mauro Icardi on loan from Inter Milan with the option to buy for €70 million, sources have told ESPN FC.

The Argentina forward has been placed on the transfer market by Inter and saw his No. 9 shirt taken by new signing Romelu Lukaku.

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He has been linked with moves to Serie A rivals Juventus and Napoli but, according to ESPN FC sources, would be delighted to join Atletico as he and his family are keen to move to Madrid.

However, while Atletico want a loan with the option to make the deal permanent next summer, Inter would prefer Icardi to leave outright in this window.

Atletico manager Diego Simeone is keen to bring in another forward and appeared close to signing Rodrigo from Valencia.

Icardi, 26, moved to Spain from Argentina when he was nine and was part of the Barcelona academy from 2008 to 2011, so Simeone is confident the forward will have no issues adapting to life in the country.

In February, Icardi was stripped of the captaincy at Inter, while comments made about his teammates by wife and agent Wanda Nara caused friction within the camp and sources have told ESPN FC that Simeone has made it clear he will not tolerate the same issues at Atletico.

The Rojiblancos have until Sept. 2, when the European transfer window closes, to complete the deal.

Inter declined to comment when contacted by ESPN FC.

Icardi left Barcelona to join Sampdoria in 2011 before moving to Inter two years later and has twice been the top goalscorer in Serie A.

Alisson Becker has "made steps" towards recovering from a calf injury, but Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said he will not rush the goalkeeper back into the fold.

The Brazil international, who sustained the problem during the first half of the 4-1 victory over Norwich City at Anfield on Aug. 9, was expected to be out for around six weeks, with half that timeframe having now elapsed.

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After Liverpool's trip to Burnley on Saturday, there is a 14-day gap owing to an international break before they host Newcastle United on Sept. 14. There is no desire from the club to escalate Alisson's rehabilitation during this period, despite the failure of the European champions to keep a clean sheet so far this season.

"He has made steps of course, but it was a proper injury, so it will still take time," Klopp said during a media briefing at Melwood on Thursday.

"How it always is with professional sportsmen, when you have a muscle thing and it takes long, then it takes a while as well until you can bring the muscle to at least the same level it was before.

"A calf muscle is pretty important for jumping -- and for a goalie, it is quite important that you can jump from time-to-time, so it will take time."

Klopp said that being without Alisson, named the 2018-19 Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season by UEFA on Wednesday night, has been a sizeable setback for Liverpool.

The German said, however, he is pleased with the contribution of Adrian between the sticks. The No. 2, signed as a free agent this summer, has had the chance to settle and get match sharp after being thrust into the starting lineup following Alisson's injury.

"Thank God -- and hopefully it stays like this -- we have a fit Adrian in the back and now in charge, which is good," Klopp said. "So far, I am really happy with everything I saw.

"He is a good guy, which is important as well, but most importantly of course he can catch balls and that's good as well.

"The solution we found for it is really good, but of course it would be better if Ali was around but that will take still some time."

Virgil van Dijk was Liverpool's other big winner at the Champions League draw in Monaco, scooping both the Defender of the Season accolade as well as the main prize -- Men's Player of the Year.

"I expected him to be a world class centre-half," Klopp said on the £75 million recruit signed from Southampton in January 2018, who beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the top honour.

"That's why we paid what we paid. I wasn't the only one at the club to think that."

Philadelphia hosts cup winners Atlanta in a big Eastern Conference clash, while Minnesota United will try to get over its U.S. Open Cup final loss with a visit to LAFC, plus Portland seeks a rebound from its rivalry loss to Seattle.

Walk-the-walk time for Philly against Atlanta

One could say that these are uncharted waters for the Philadelphia Union. Being in the mix for a conference crown on Labor Day weekend is a rarity for the Union, yet here they are and now they get the chance to show the rest of the East that they can be top dog when they host Atlanta United on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+).

Philly has had a few stumbles throughout the summer, including bad 4-0 losses at Real Salt Lake and Montreal, but last week's 3-1 victory over D.C. United lays the groundwork for a crunch stretch against the reigning league and new U.S. Open Cup champions, followed by league leaders LAFC.

Philly is a tough town, so over the course of the next two weeks, Union fans will see if their team has the punch to rise up the heavyweight rankings.

Atlanta continue to amaze with its late-summer surge, collecting cups in midweek and then beating teams away from home over the weekend. Josef Martinez is scoring every game, "Pity" Martinez is looking like the River Plate "Pity" Martinez and the defense is locking down opponents. At this moment, it takes a top performance to beat Atlanta, and that's just what Jim Curtin will be expecting his team to deliver.

Redemption calling for Minnesota in visit to L.A.

Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup final had quite the stirring finish, with Minnesota United desperately lurching forward in hopes of an equalizer that never came in a 2-1 loss to Atlanta. It was all there on a silver platter for Michael Boxall, only for his effort to sail over the crossbar. The look of disbelief on the faces of the Minnesota players was hard to miss, and losing the chance at a first trophy will sting, but luckily for coach Adrian Heath, there is no time to sit around and feel sorry for themselves with a visit to Los Angeles FC on Sunday night (10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+).

If anything, it's the perfect match to remedy any type of hangover Minnesota might be feeling from Tuesday's near miss. Going into the house of the league's best team and taking three points would make the loss in Atlanta fade into the background. It would also send a message to LAFC that playoff-bound Minnesota could be quite the formidable foe should the two meet in the postseason.

That's the big question in the Western Conference: Who can take down LAFC? It's hard seeing anyone do it at present, but with two cracks at Bob Bradley's men in the final two months of the regular season, the opportunity is there for Minnesota to send a message.

As for LAFC, another wild El Trafico ended without a victory, but long term the focus is making sure star striker Carlos Vela will be healthy after coming off with a minor injury against the Galaxy. With the team holding such a large cushion in the West, it would be no surprise to see Vela getting the week off.

Time ticking for Portland with RSL coming to town

With seven of their past eight matches at home, there is still time for the Portland Timbers to turn things around in the West, but sitting three points below the playoff line going into September is probably not what fans expected when remodeled Providence Park reopened back on June 1.

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Two consecutive home losses, including a particularly painful 2-1 defeat to rival Seattle that earned the Sounders the 2019 Cascadia Cup, have contributed to the angst. Not helping matters is that after enjoying a scorching start to his MLS career, striker Brian Fernandez has suddenly gone cold, failing to deliver a goal in the past two matches. It's no coincidence that both ended in defeat.

It does not get any easier Saturday as rejuvenated Real Salt Lake comes to town (10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+). Under interim boss Freddy Juarez, Real Salt Lake has ripped off an impressive run of four wins in five matches during the month of August, with the lone loss being a 2-0 defeat at LAFC. No shame there.

This has the potential to kick-start a title charge for RSL, while leaving Portland in a heap of worry about the playoffs.

The Europa League group-stage draw is done, but what are the main storylines?

What are Man United's prospects in Group L?

It will be a trip into the unknown for United, who will become the first English side to face Kazakh champions FC Astana. As well as a nine-hour combination of flights for fans, the trip will require mastery of an artificial pitch and an opponent that, while they should be beaten comfortably at Old Trafford, have a formidable European record at home. Astana have won nine of their last 11 Europa League games at Astana Arena and disposed easily of Rennes, who ran Arsenal close in the knockout stages, last season.

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That will make a trip to Partizan Belgrade seem small fry but the atmosphere inside Partizan Stadium will be predictably hostile. United should have few problems in either tie against the Serbian runners-up if their youngsters -- upon whom Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will probably rely significantly in this competition -- can handle the occasion. They will meet their old boy, Zoran Tosic.

At least AZ Alkmaar makes for a much quicker trip. The 1981 UEFA Cup runners-up -- who lost to Ipswich Town that year -- and Europa League quarterfinalists as recently as 2014 should not pose too many problems, but boast familiar names in ex-Southampton midfielder Jordy Clasie and the former Aston Villa centre-back Ron Vlaar.

Prediction: Manchester United to win the group, with Astana scraping through behind them.

What are Arsenal's prospects in Group F?

First and foremost, Unai Emery will be relieved at the lack of air miles required to face Eintracht Frankfurt, Standard Liege and Vitoria. None of Arsenal's opponents are more than two hours away and, while they could certainly have drawn an easier group, the Gunners should be confident of going through.

Eintracht will probably progress with them and will stage a fierce battle for top spot, even if last season's semifinalists lost their star forwards Luka Jovic and Sebastien Haller over the summer. They ran Chelsea within inches of a place in the final and their vocal support, both at home and away, should create atmospheres to savour.

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Both clubs will need to be wary of Standard Liege, who finished third in Belgium's top flight last season and are well managed by Michel Preud'homme. Arsenal defeated them twice in the 2009-10 Champions League and, back in 1993-94, overcame them 10-0 on aggregate in the Cup Winners' Cup.

The Belgian side can call upon Alen Halilovic, the one-time Barcelona wonderkid who is now on loan from AC Milan, and will be particularly dangerous at home. Portuguese side Vitoria, who scraped past a weak FCSB in the playoffs, look the least strong of the quartet and are unlikely to challenge for qualification.

Prediction: Arsenal to qualify as group winners, but after a couple of tight contests with Eintracht.

How about Wolves?

Nuno Espirito Santo's side might have hoped for a softer draw but, after beating Torino, will bounce into their first group stage appearance. Besiktas and Braga both have years of European experience and the latter, who beat Spartak Moscow in the playoffs, should not be discounted. Slovan Bratislava look likely to be Group K's whipping boys.

Prediction: Wolves to complete an English hat trick of group winners, with Braga pipping Besiktas to second.

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Who are the smallest team in the competition?

In country terms it would be F91 Dudelange, who come from tiny Luxembourg and play in a stadium that would barely meet English non-league standards. But they reached last season's group stage and performed creditably, so in terms of sheer obscurity and novelty it has to be the Ukrainian club Oleksandriya. They have bobbed around in the country's lower leagues for most of their existence but last season finished third in the top flight and make their debut in the competition proper. Their home city, which has around 80,000 inhabitants, is difficult to reach although their CSC Nika stadium holds just 7,000 fans so they may play in nearby Zaporozhiya or Dnipropetrovsk. Wolfsburg, Gent and Saint-Etienne will face a trip into the relative unknown.

What are the worst away trips?

Astana will have neither distance nor, as winter approaches, climate in its favour for travelling supporters. It is also a strange, hyper-modern city of extraordinary architecture that rises out of the steppe and is short on tourist infrastructure. However, it will be a memorable journey for those who choose to make it.

Anyone who visits Krasnodar will find a sleek, modern stadium that should really have been a World Cup venue last year. But the journey itself will be tough one if you support Getafe, whose fans will spend at least eight hours in the air.

The trip to face Qarabag, from Azerbaijan, is a notoriously arduous one -- with the host country of last season's final making global headlines in May when Arsenal kept Armenia international Henrikh Mkhitaryan at home as a result of the countries' geopolitical differences. There should be no such dilemmas for Sevilla, Apoel and Dudelange but Baku is hardly a destination high on most lists.

Any dark horses who might make a deep run?

Two excellent candidates can be found in Group C. They may not win the tournament but look out for Trabzonspor, from Turkey. They are brimful of ambition and newly spearheaded by Daniel Sturridge, as well as the Crystal Palace loanee Alexander Sorloth. Could both they and Krasnodar pip Getafe and Basel to go through? Krasnodar have been excellently managed over the last few years and a Champions League place is surely not far off. Coming through a tough group here would suggest they can go much further than last season's round of 16 finish.

How about the weirdest groups?

United's group is almost certainly the most diverse although there is something for everyone in Group A, which features a match between Luxembourgish and Azeri teams that would have been inconceivable at this level not so long ago.

And the must-see games?

Malmo and Copenhagen are separated by just 30km and a bridge. Now they will play out a pair of rare Sweden-Denmark derbies in what might be the hottest atmosphere of the entire group stage.

Celtic must have been hoping to consign CFR Cluj, who dumped them out of the Champions League qualifiers little over a fortnight ago, to distant memory but Neil Lennon's side have an early chance of revenge in group E.

Where potential heavyweight clashes are concerned, Roma against Borussia Monchengladbach -- both teams boasting exciting new managers in Paulo Fonseca and Marco Rose -- looks a tasty group-stage encounter, while Sporting CP against PSV pits two of Bobby Robson's former clubs against one another.

James Anderson has been ruled out of the rest of the Ashes after suffering a recurrence of his calf injury while playing for Lancashire's 2nd XI in a bid to prove his fitness. England had been hoping to add him to their squad for the Old Trafford Test, but have instead called up Somerset allrounder Craig Overton as bowling cover.

Anderson played in the first Test against Australia but only managed to bowl four overs before suffering pain in his calf, having picked up the problem playing for Lancashire. England were heavily beaten at Edgbaston but came back to level the series at 1-1 with two to play after Ben Stokes' heroics at Headingley.

Having featured for Lancashire's seconds in a three-day friendly against Leicestershire, Anderson stepped up his recovery programme this week, bowling 20 overs on the first day against Durham 2nd XI at Chester Boughton Hall. However, while delivering his ninth over on Thursday, he felt pain in his right calf and was subsequently assessed by England's medical team.

The most-prolific fast bowler in Test history, Anderson has in all likelihood made his final Ashes appearance. He has never hinted at setting a retirement date, but will be 39 by the time England next tour Australia in 2021-22.

It is possible he has played his final Test altogether, although the lure of becoming the first fast bowler to 600 wickets might encourage him to push for a return on the winter tours to New Zealand and South Africa. Anderson is currently fourth on the all-time list of Test wicket-takers, with 575.

His partnership with Stuart Broad is the most-successful in Tests between two quicks - they have taken more than 850 wickets in games together. In Anderson's absence, Broad has led the way during the Ashes with 14 wickets at 25.35, although the emergence of Jofra Archer has given England an additional cutting edge.

The selectors have otherwise stuck with the same players that helped secure a one-wicket win in Leeds, despite some speculation about the top-order batting after England were bowled out for 67 in the first innings. Overton, who featured twice in the 2017-18 Ashes, is likely to join Sam Curran in vying with Chris Woakes for the No. 8 spot.

The Old Trafford Test begins on Wednesday, with England needing to win at least one of the two remaining Tests - and avoid defeat in the other - in order to regain the Ashes.

England squad: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Craig Overton, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes

The cancellation of the Euro T20 Slam has opened up a window for Ireland to host Scotland and Netherlands in a T20I tri-series from September 15.

The short series consisting six matches - where each team plays the other twice - will give all three sides an opportunity to tune-up ahead of the T20 World Cup Qualifiers in UAE in October. All the matches will be played at The Village in Malahide.

"We are looking forward with excitement to some high quality T20 international matches against our old rivals Ireland and Netherlands," Malcolm Cannon, chief executive of Cricket Scotland, said. "We know we will always have a fiercely competitive challenge against these two nations."

Ireland will return to action for the first time since their Lord's Test against England in July. Scotland head into the series on the back of three successive wins, over PNG (twice) and Oman, in the World Cricket League Division Two in Aberdeen.

Following their impressive T20I and ODI series wins against Zimbabwe in June, Netherlands faced UAE in a four-match T20I series at home where they were beaten 4-0 by the visitors.

Fixtures
15 September 2019: Ireland v Netherlands
16 September 2019: Scotland v Netherlands
17 September 2019: Ireland v Scotland
18 September 2019: Ireland v Netherlands
19 September 2019: Scotland v Netherlands
20 September 2019: Ireland v Scotland

Toss West Indies opt to bowl v India

West Indies handed Test debuts to Rahkeem Cornwall and Jahmar Hamilton as their captain Jason Holder chose to bowl in the second Test in Kingston. Needing a win to share the series with India, West Indies brought in Cornwall for fast bowler Miguel Cummins while a late injury to wicketkeeper Shai Hope made way for Hamilton.

India captain Virat Kohli named an unchanged XI, which left R Ashwin without a Test on the tour.

The toss took place under blue skies. The pitch looked distinctively different from the one in Antigua, with a fair amount of grass spread evenly. Traditionally, that means pacers could find some extra rewards, and spinners may find less purchase for the first half of the Test.

Holder said that the pitch played a role in his decision to bowl while outlining the team's outlook for the Test.

"[We] wanted to make use of the grass, moisture and try to get into India's middle order," Holder said. "We have decided to not focus on the end result, but instead focus on the processes and once you focus on that the end result takes care of itself. Batting is about patience, we get through the tough periods. [We] need to find ways to form partnerships. We expect good things from Cornwall, [he] can spin the ball on all surfaces."

Kohli assessed the opportunity to bat first as "challenging".

"The first session will be tough like Antigua," Kohli said. "But the advantage is that you can put runs on the board and put pressure on the opposition. That follows the template we play with, so happy to bat first. In and out of the breaks, we need to be more focused and precise, and avoid the soft dismissals. The 70-80 partnerships need to be bigger to capitalise in the game. Our bowling has been fantastic, so nothing much to add there. But there's something for the batsmen to learn from every innings."

West Indies: 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 John Campbell, 3 Shamarh Brooks, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Roston Chase, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Jahmar Hamilton (wk), 9 Rahkeem Cornwall, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Shannon Gabriel

India: 1 KL Rahul, 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Hanuma Vihari, 7 Rishabh Pant (wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit Bumrah