BRAINERD, Minn. – There’s a certain affinity Ron Capps has with Brainerd Int’l Raceway and its huge on-site campground known as “The Zoo.”

After all, there is a part of the campground named after the Funny Car world champion, a corner aptly called “Capps Corner.” It’s an honor the veteran takes seriously and it’s evident in Capps’ track record at the fan-favorite facility.

Capps has five career wins in Brainerd, the site of this weekend’s 38th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, the most recent coming in 2014 to finish off a stretch of three straight Funny Car wins at the track.

In the midst of another solid NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, Capps hopes to start a new streak in his 11,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat.

After all, he feels a certain responsibility when it comes to performing well in Brainerd.

“When the fans started ‘Capps Corner’ you couldn’t ask for a bigger compliment,” said Capps, who has 63 career wins. “There’s certain accolades you get, but to have a corner named after you at Brainerd in ‘The Zoo’ it ranks right up there with anything. It’s a cool thing. The Canadians that come down are so much fun, and just the people that come out, you almost have to pay them back by going out to see them. Obviously it’s paid great dividends for me on the track.”

Brainerd is the 17th of 24 events on the NHRA calendar, and as the penultimate race of the regular season, Capps is fully aware of where his team needs to be heading into Brainerd.

The Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship is a month away, and Capps wants to see his team, led by crew chief Rahn Tobler, at its best. He grabbed back-to-back wins earlier in the year, adding another final round appearance at the most recent race in Seattle.

It’s a good sign heading into the most important time of the year and Capps wants to keep that momentum going.

“Right around the corner is Indy and the Countdown, so this time of the year is unique and you couldn’t ask for a better race at this time of the year because it’s so fun,” said Capps, who is fourth in Funny Car points. “Everything about Brainerd just takes the edge off. You’ve got teams, like ours, that are fighting for position. We want to be race ready for the Countdown, and if you’re a little lost in your tune-up right now, you’re not in a good place.”

Capps, though, seems to be in a really good place in a loaded class. Winning in Brainerd remains an important task for him, though he’ll have to deal with the likes of points leader Robert Hight, John Force, who picked up his 150th career win by beating Capps in the final round in Seattle, defending world champ J.R. Todd and Don Schumacher Racing teammates Tommy Johnson Jr., Beckman and Matt Hagan.

But Capps promises to have plenty of motivation this weekend.

“Brainerd has a lot of deep-rooted memories for me,” Capps said. “Certain tracks you learn to balance the karma, and the karma for Brainerd is you need to go to ‘The Zoo’ and hang out with the fans a little bit. In the past it’s definitely paid me back. You don’t have to go and get crazy, but you need to go enjoy it with the fans.

“Every Saturday night, we go to ’The Zoo’ and I tell Tobler we’ll have him back right after the fireworks and back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.”

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings have acquired forward Adam Erne from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman made the move Wednesday, adding a player he drafted in the second round in 2013 while running Tampa Bay's front office.

The 24-year-old Erne had seven goals and 20 points in 65 games for the Lightning last season and was among team leaders with 159 hits last season. The native of New Haven, Connecticut, has 13 career goals and 14 assists in 114 games over three seasons.

Yzerman, an all-time great in Detroit, is in his first year as the Red Wings' general manager.

Jurgen Klopp saluted the "incredible performance" of Adrian despite a lack of preparation time as the goalkeeper's shootout heroics won Liverpool the UEFA Super Cup against Chelsea in Istanbul.

The Spaniard denied Tammy Abraham in the shootout with a trailing leg in the 5-4 victory on penalties at Vodafone Park, with the match level at 2-2 after extra time.

A few weeks ago, Adrian was training with semi-professional side UD Pilas in his country's sixth tier to keep in shape following his release by West Ham United.

He was on the verge of joining Real Valladolid before Liverpool made him an offer to deputise for Alisson as Simon Mignolet joined Club Brugge.

- Chelsea Ratings: Kante gets 8/10, Pulisic 7/10 in cup loss
- Liverpool Ratings: Mane decisive as Reds lift Super Cup

The European champions expected the 32-year-old to have an extended adjustment period following his signing on Aug. 5, but those plans were derailed on the opening day of the Premier League season when Alisson limped off with a calf injury in a win over Norwich.

Klopp saluted the player's big "personality" as a factor in why he has settled so quickly and performed so admirably for Liverpool despite his competitive inactivity.

"He played an incredible game, he had sensational saves," the manager said. "Both goalies had that, but maybe from Adrian it's a bit more surprising because it was without pretty much any preparation. I don't know when he played the last game for West Ham, to be honest, so it's a while ago. Being ready like he was ready tonight is incredible.

"He's not only on the pitch a great person, he showed me already that he's a proper personality in the dressing room as well. He was maybe louder than I was at half-time. I was not loud because I wanted to give some information, but he was really on his toes and that was good. It's important and it helps us. He deserves that.

"Of course in penalty shootouts it's always lucky, but his performance over the 120 minutes was incredible. Making the save for the penalty is the icing on the cake and is wonderful. I saw now one time that he could really grab his towel before he started celebrating. That's special as well, so he's obviously quick in mind and knows what he wants to do. He helped us a lot and he can be really proud of what he did tonight."

Adrian, who last started a game in January while at West Ham, was adjudged to have impeded Abraham in the box during extra time by referee Stephanie Frappart, with Jorginho converting the penalty to take the contest to a shootout.

Klopp did not agree with the decision, but applauded the officiating of the Frenchwoman and her assistants Manuela Nicolosi and Michelle O'Neill after Frappart became the first female ref to take charge of a major UEFA men's competition on Wednesday.

"I told the refereeing team after the game that if we would have played like they whistled, we would have won 6-0," Klopp said. "That was my absolute opinion.

"They reffed a brilliant game. I told her as well that I am not happy with the penalty decision because I'm still not sure that it was a penalty, but it's not important anymore. They were really good.

"Whatever you could have thought before the game, there was pressure on them like hell with an historic moment. Staying calm and do what you have to do, decide very important things in a very difficult and intense game -- I couldn't have more respect, to be honest. It was really a brilliant performance."

Chelsea suffered a penalty shootout defeat to Liverpool in Wednesday's UEFA Super Cup but manager Frank Lampard praised his team's performance in a game which ended 2-2 after extra time.

Lampard's team had suffered a 4-0 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday in Lampard's competitive debut on the bench after taking over from Maurizio Sarri in July, but the former England midfielder said his players had responded in the right way.

- Chelsea Ratings: Kante gets 8/10, Pulisic 7/10 in cup loss
- Liverpool Ratings: Mane decisive as Reds lift Super Cup

"After Sunday, tonight was another level, and we were unlucky not to win. We've got three games now till the international break and we'll try to win them all," said Lampard, whose team host Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday. "Chelsea's season will be a good one if we play something like we played today.

"I've got nothing but pride in the team and the performance, and confidence in what that means. It was a tough game against a good Liverpool team that [played on Friday and] had extra time to recover after the weekend. But sometimes football comes down to little moments of luck."

Lampard was quick to praise the contributions of two of his younger players, who have returned to the club after loan spells in the second-tier Championship, given the transfer ban which stops Chelsea from bringing in new players.

"Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham added an extra dimension when they came on, and were unlucky not to score. Tammy needs to keep his head up because that's part and parcel of being a top player," he said after the striker missed the decisive final penalty.

But while much focus has been on Chelsea's youthful contingent, Lampard said there had been strong performances across the field.

"People keep talking about the young players at Chelsea. Let's talk about Jorginho and [N'Golo] Kante, and I could name a few others. We've got a quality bunch in there, a really good group, and we're working hard," he said.

"I'm trying to instil the way I want to play and there were so many good things tonight.

"Kante is an amazing player, amazing character. He's a machine on the football field. He hasn't trained much, had a swollen ankle two days ago, but he was desperate to play and you saw what he gave to the team today. He will be hugely important. I am delighted to work with him."

The United State Soccer Federation and members of the women's national team reached an impasse Wednesday in their attempts to mediate the ongoing dispute over equal pay, with a spokesperson for the players saying they "eagerly look forward to a jury trial."

Spokesperson Molly Levinson released the statement on behalf of the U.S. players after mediation ended Wednesday evening.

"We entered this week's mediation with representatives of USSF full of hope," Levinson said in the statement. "Today we must conclude these meetings sorely disappointed in the Federation's determination to perpetuate fundamentally discriminatory workplace conditions and behavior.

"It is clear that USSF, including its Board of Directors and President Carlos Cordeiro, fully intend to continue to compensate women players less than men. They will not succeed. We want all of our fans, sponsors, peers around the world, and women everywhere to know we are undaunted and will eagerly look forward to a jury trial."

U.S. Soccer said in a statement: "We have said numerous times that our goal is to find a resolution, and during mediation we had hoped we would be able to address the issues in a respectful manner and reach an agreement. Unfortunately, instead of allowing mediation to proceed in a considerate manner, plaintiffs' counsel took an aggressive and ultimately unproductive approach that follows months of presenting misleading information to the public in an effort to perpetuate confusion.

"We always know there is more we can do. We value our players and have continually shown that, by providing them with compensation and support that exceeds any other women's team in the world. Despite inflammatory statements from their spokesperson, which are intended to paint our actions inaccurately and unfairly, we are undaunted in our efforts to continue discussions in good faith."

Although equal pay has been a point of contention between the federation and the players for years, with five prominent players filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2016, the current dispute began when 28 members of the national team player pool filed suit this past March alleging gender discrimination.

The two sides subsequently agreed to enter mediation after the Women's World Cup.

Cordeiro released a public letter on July 29 that attempted to make the case that U.S. Soccer had paid members of the women's national team more than their male counterparts over the span of nearly a decade. Representatives of the players argued that the numbers unfairly counted the salaries that women players receive for playing in the National Women's Soccer League.

Asked about Cordeiro's letter before the opening game of the current Victory Tour, Megan Rapinoe said it caught her by surprise because it was her understanding that the two sides wouldn't speak publicly about the matter while mediation was ongoing.

No new mediation is currently scheduled.

"The world looks to the U.S. to lead," Levinson said. "And the players would like to tell the world that the USSF pays women equally to men. The goal is equal pay."

When asked if Wednesday's statement precluded any attempts at further mediation, Levinson pointed to a letter to U.S. Soccer officials dated Aug. 12 and signed by all 28 players involved in the suit that seems to leave open the possibility of resolution out of court.

"For both parties, the risk of not resolving our disagreements over equal treatment that were not addressed either in bargaining or through the EEOC is too high," the letter from the players stated. "U.S. Soccer's reputation, sponsor relations, fan support and federal funding for the 2026 World Cup tournament are all at risk, and that risk continues should we not reach resolution. We have demonstrated that we can perform at high levels on the field even while pursuing equality off the field, but it is certainly not what we want to continue to go through with a new coach and the upcoming Olympic Games if a resolution is possible.

"While we are prepared to take our equal pay fight through a trial if necessary, we believe that both sides would benefit from an equal pay and equal working conditions settlement now."