Ashfaq Ahmed smashed a career-best 75 while Ghulam Shabber hit 58* - his first T20I half-century - to lead United Arab Emirates to a seven-wicket win against Netherlands in the fourth match, completing a 4-0 series sweep.

Ashfaq ended the series with scores of 54, 25, 26 and 75 - having never got into double figures in six previous T20Is.

Netherlands captain Pieter Seelaar won the toss and chose to bat, but while there were several useful contributions by the home side's batsmen, nobody carried on to get a big score. Netherlands ended up with 150 for 6 in their 20 overs. Each of the top six got into double figures, and four crossed 25, but none made higher than 28.

Opener Max O'Dowd got the game off to a brisk start, and by the time he fell for a 21-ball 28, Netherlands had 46 in five overs. However, that would remain the highest stand of the innings. Stephan Myburgh and Seelaar both made 25, and Antonius Staal's unbeaten 28 off 16 gave the innings fillip at the death, but Netherlands couldn't really kick on in the middle.

Ashfaq had a good first half too, giving up just 20 runs in four overs and castling Myburgh, to be the most economical among the UAE bowlers. Sultan Ahmed bagged 2 for 29, the best figures of the innings.

In UAE's chase, Zawar Farid fell in the second over, but thereafter Ashfaq and Shabber got together in a partnership that put the match beyond Netherlands. The two put on 111 runs in just 14.3 overs, with both men scoring freely. Ashfaq's wicket broke the partnership, but not before he had hit 11 fours and two sixes in a 53-ball innings. Muhammad Usman fell three balls later, but Shabber stayed the course to steer his team home in 19.4 overs.

For Netherlands, the wicket-takers were Vivian Kingma, Hidde Overdijk, and Phillippe Boissevain.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Tiger Woods' back appeared to be fine Thursday, but the same could not be said for his golf game.

Looking like someone who had competed in just 12 rounds over the past four months and perhaps with a corresponding amount of limited practice, Woods made numerous mistakes on his way to shooting a 4-over-par 75 at Liberty National in the first round of the Northern Trust.

"I just didn't play well," said Woods, who was outside of the top 80 players in the 125-man field when his round was completed. "Just one of those things where I just didn't hit any good shots and didn't make any putts. Other than that, added up to a round that broke 80."

Woods' self-deprecating assessment left little room for the good stuff, which was plenty of solid tee shots and the chance to play from the fairway most of the time.

But his wedge game was poor -- a common issue when he's been off this year -- and he didn't putt well, including a botched 3-footer for par on the third hole (his 12th) followed by a missed birdie putt from 5 feet at No. 4.

He took 30 putts for the round after hitting 10 greens in regulation.

Playing for the first time since missing the cut at The Open last month, Woods also began the tournament after taking a cautious approach to the pro-am Wednesday, when he hit a limited number of shots due to lower-back stiffness.

For the most part, those issues seemed to be missing Thursday, but on a benign golf course made soft by rain, with no wind and warm temperatures, Woods was unable to take advantage and found himself a whopping 13 shots behind early leader Troy Merritt, who shot a 62.

"It was just off," Woods said. "I was just trying to feel it, trying to find it, and then could never get it. Then I got on a bad run there, a couple of bogeys and a double. I had a couple of opportunities to make a couple birdies and a three-putt the third hole. ... I had my opportunities to turn it around, and I didn't do it."

Many of Woods' issues seemed to be due to rust, which raises the question of whether he has been able -- or willing -- to practice much in the two-plus weeks since he left Northern Ireland.

His first bogey, on the 12th hole, came when he missed the green with a wedge from under 140 yards, finding a bunker and then blasting through the green. After a two-putt birdie at the 13th hole, Woods misfired from short range at the par-3 14th, pulling a short iron shot into a hazard and making a double-bogey. A missed fairway led to a bogey at the 15th, and he added another at the 17th for a first-nine 39.

After finally hitting a wedge shot close for a birdie at No. 1, Woods couldn't get a birdie to drop at No. 2 then three-putted the third. He made a birdie at the par-5 sixth, and with a chance to get the round back to a respectable 2 over, he only managed to par the par-5 eighth and bogeyed the ninth after a perfect drive.

"It just feels frustrating to shoot anything high, no matter how I feel," Woods said. "I knew today with an early tee time, we had the perfect greens and had to go out there and shoot something under par and get it going. Had to be 4-, 5-, 6-under par today. I went the other way with it."

And he may be headed home as early as Friday. Woods is in danger of missing a cut for the third time this year. The top 70 and ties will advance to the weekend, and he will need to make up a lot of ground Friday.

If he doesn't, Woods could fall outside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings. He entered the week 28th and will make it to next week's BMW Championship for the top 70. But getting back to East Lake, where he posted his 80th career PGA Tour title last year at the Tour Championship, becomes more problematic.

There is no cut at the BMW, but Woods will need to have a decent week to assure himself a trip to Atlanta.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa has a "significant" ankle sprain and will not play in the preseason, general manager John Lynch said Thursday morning.

Lynch told KNBR Radio in San Francisco that Bosa, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft, does not have a "full-blown" high-ankle sprain, but there are "components" of that injury.

"It's a significant ankle sprain, and there's that dreaded high ankle sprain -- he doesn't have a full-blown one -- but it has some components of that," Lynch told KNBR. "As for timing, I think what we're comfortable saying -- and a lot is going to happen here with kind of the follow-up today, they've got the scans -- it's safe to say we won't see him in the preseason and then we're going to be very prudent."

Coach Kyle Shanahan and Lynch both said that the hope is for Bosa to be ready for the start of the regular season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 8. The Niners, however, won't push Bosa if he's not ready.

"We want him right," Lynch said. "We're gonna do what's in the best interest and trust the medical staff on that. And trust Nick. We'll see where that goes."

Lynch said the Niners "got a little sloppy" in Wednesday's practice and that "a big human being" fell on Bosa's leg on a running play off the right side. Bosa stayed down on the field after the play as members of the team's medical staff rushed to his side and examined the lower part of his right leg and ankle.

After a few minutes, Bosa was able to stand and walk off the field with two trainers. He slowly headed into Levi's Stadium, without assistance, for further examination.

Bosa has had a long injury history. He missed most of last season at Ohio State because of a core muscle injury suffered in the team's third game. After being drafted in April, Bosa missed most of the 49ers' offseason program with a hamstring issue. He also suffered a torn ACL as a senior in high school.

"We don't feel he is injury prone," Lynch said. "Yesterday, he had a big human being fall on his legs while he was engaged with someone else. So, some of those things, that's football, you can't prevent that. We're thrilled with what we have in Nick Bosa. We're gonna get him right and he'll be a great player for a long time in this league."

In his first NFL training camp, Bosa had made it through nine practices without issue and has made a strong first impression on teammates and coaches. He has worked with the starting defense and the second unit and was with the starters Wednesday before he was injured.

"The great thing I can tell you about Nick Bosa is he's been dominating practice out here on a daily basis," Lynch said. "He's a game-changing type player -- everything we hoped and expected -- and we have to get him right for this season."

Lynch said he hopes defensive end Dee Ford, who has been out with knee tendinitis, can return to practice prior to the third preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Aug. 24.

"Dee is fine," Lynch said. "He's kind of done his week down, and now it's back to ramping him back up. He should be ready, I believe, that Kansas City Week 3 of preseason. Whether we'll put him out there or not, I'm not sure, but he'll be back practicing then."

The Cleveland Browns traded running back Duke Johnson Jr. to the Houston Texans, the Browns announced Thursday.

The Texans agreed to send a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft to the Browns, a pick that can become a third-round selection, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The move comes after the Texans waived running back D'Onta Foreman earlier this week. Foreman was later claimed off waivers by the Indianapolis Colts.

Johnson had been seeking a trade this offseason and had said there was nothing the team could do to change his mind.

Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield publicly criticized Johnson in June for his trade request but said last month that the two had addressed their issues and were "good."

In June 2018, Johnson signed a three-year, $15.6 million extension with the Browns. He is under contract through the 2021 season.

A third-round draft choice of the Browns in 2015, Johnson has rushed for 1,286 yards over four seasons. He fell behind rookie Nick Chubb on the depth chart last season, and the team signed Kareem Hunt, who will miss the first eight games of 2019 for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.

Last week, Texans coach Bill O'Brien said running back Lamar Miller will be the starter this season but said the backup spot was "wide open."

THE BOYS HATED the hill. It loomed over every teenage workout like an appointment with an outdoor torture chamber. They could feel it in their lungs and in their legs well before they arrived at the park near their house in Orange, California.

The hill was almost 80 yards long, rows of houses on each side. Its incline increased gradually, until it was almost too much to bear at a full sprint. But every week, the Slater brothers -- Matthew and David -- would slog their way to the top, again and again. Their father, Hall of Famer Jackie, would stand, stoic and stern, at the base, a stopwatch in his hand. He'd give the two boys 18 seconds to reach the summit of the hill. If they didn't make it, the rep did not count. When they came back down, legs wobbling like newborn colts, they had 45 seconds to rest. Then it was time to sprint again.

"Running up that hill was no joke," Jackie says now. "If you go up it 10 times, it takes everything out of you."

This was a test of faith, and of commitment. The father did not want his sons playing football. He had endured thousands of collisions during his 19-year NFL career; he'd torn ligaments and mangled joints blocking giants of the game like Reggie White and Joe Greene, and he didn't want that for his boys. He tried to steer them toward other sports, like track, but they kept begging to play football, Matthew in particular. Keeping them away from pads only intensified the longing. "Matthew had asthma, so I always wondered if he'd have the cardiovascular strength to even play," Jackie says. "But he said he wanted to be a pro football player, and I had to find out if he could hold up to the rigors of the game."

As a deeply religious man, the father felt a test of faith brought out the best in people. Here was the chance for his boys to prove that they were up for this. Slater had played with Walter Payton in college, and each offseason Payton famously molded his body into iron by sprinting up the dusty hills near his Mississippi home.

Most of the hills in California were concrete, but this one was grass. Jackie had run it often during his career with the Rams, his boys watching quietly at the base of the hill. When the time came, he decided to reverse their roles.

"He didn't say a lot, but I remember him looking at us like: 'Hey, you wanted this, didn't you?'" Matthew says.

If you want to understand the origin story of the most unlikely NFL career of this era, that California hill is probably the best place to begin. Matthew Slater willed himself to climb the steep grass-covered incline hundreds of times. It became a metaphor for his entire career. He might have been born into NFL royalty, but that meant nothing standing at the bottom of the hill.

THERE SEEMS NO logical reason that Slater should be entering his 12th year with the Patriots, or that the least sentimental franchise in professional sports considers Slater -- an undersized wide receiver who has caught just one pass in his NFL career -- such an important part of its team culture that it has kept him around longer than anyone besides its kicker, Stephen Gostkowski, and a quarterback named Tom Brady, a guy you might be familiar with.

Each year, Patriots come and go, many traded away or outright released the minute Bill Belichick believes their salaries (or attitudes) are outweighing their impact. But Slater, improbably, has remained.

There is a real case to be made that Slater is as good at his job -- playing special teams -- as anyone in football. He's been voted to the Pro Bowl seven times, the same number as Aaron Rodgers, Von Miller and Antonio Brown. (It's also the same number, coincidentally, as his father.) For a decade, he's been a headache for opposing special-teams coaches, consistently beating double-teams and blowing up punt returns. But just as important, he might be the best marriage of selflessness and specialization of this NFL era.

Case in point: Do Slater's skills have as much impact as, say, Rodgers' ability to throw a football or Khalil Mack's devastating pass-rushing talents? It's hard to make a leap that generous. Slater, in fact, belly-laughs at the suggestion during an interview at his home the week before Patriots training camp. But if you study the film of the Patriots' 13-3 Super Bowl win last season, you can argue he was as important as anyone (including Brady and MVP Julian Edelman) to New England's win.

The Patriots punted five times against the Rams. Slater downed a punt on the 2-yard line, knocked another out of bounds at the 6, and tackled returner JoJo Natson for a loss on a third. The Rams' offense, which came into the game as the NFL's most prolific unit, could not escape the shadow of its own end zone, and the Patriots' special teams were a big reason for that.

"I know it wasn't everyone's favorite Super Bowl, but it was definitely mine," Slater says. "It was just so rewarding to see all the years of work that we'd put in coming to fruition. ... To put our defense in a position where they could play one of the best Super Bowls in history was so rewarding."

The reality of Slater's existence, however, is that he is beginning to look like the last of his kind. With each passing year, special-teams play seems to engender greater scrutiny. For several seasons, there have been discussions -- driven by the league's desire to reduce the number of vicious, dangerous collisions -- about eliminating kickoffs. Troy Vincent, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations, admitted in an interview with Dan Patrick last year that the idea of eliminating punt returns has come up for discussion. As the NFL tries to figure out how to balance its violent traditions with the reality of the game's uncertain future, it's easy to imagine that a career like Slater's won't be feasible a decade from now.

Whether that's a worthwhile trade-off is a different debate, but the truth is evident: Slater is carrying a torch that represents a certain kind of invaluable role player (Hank Bauer, Bill Bates, Albert Lewis, Steve Tasker, Larry Izzo, Brendon Ayanbadejo) who has been a part of the league since its inception. And the torch appears to be flickering.

"If you start messing with special teams, I think you start messing with the fabric of football, and that's a little sad in a way," Slater says. "I understand the desire to make the game safer, and if you take away an area that has some of the biggest collisions, you feel like you'll be taking some of the violence out of it. But the goal line iso is a pretty violent play, right? Do we get rid of that too? I don't think anyone would argue for that. Obviously, I'm biased, and I'm not blind to that. I just think it's important to understand that for a long time, the kicking game was the whole game."

One name in particular comes to mind for Slater when he thinks about the impact of special teams: Tasker, who made seven Pro Bowl appearances with the Bills and who is arguably the greatest gunner ever on punt coverage. "To me, you can't tell the history of the 100 years of the NFL without saying the name Steve Tasker," Slater says. "If he hadn't done his role at such a high level, I'm not sure guys like me would have a job."

Tasker, who has worked in TV and radio since he retired in 1997, shares Slater's concerns about how eliminating special teams would alter the sport's DNA. "Teams have been de-emphasizing it," Tasker says. "But the simple fact of the matter is, it's changed a lot over the years with the rule changes. The wedge isn't there; you can't hit the long snapper. If you're a kickoff cover guy, you might only have to cover one kick a game. There is only so much a great special-teams player can do for you. What are you getting out of him if you're hanging on to him for 10 years? You have to ask that question."

Which makes Slater's longevity, particularly in this era, especially with one team, even more remarkable in Tasker's eyes. He also can't help but feel a bit of a kinship with Slater that links one generation to the next. Ask them both what qualities they think make a great special-teams player and they come up with eerily similar answers: selflessness, toughness, fearlessness, adaptability and a willingness to be physical. Tasker (at 5-9, 185) and Slater (at 6-0, 205) might have had physical limitations as receivers, but both possess an intuitive ability to juke defenders at the line and then track a ball they can't see, based primarily on the ability to read the eyes of the man trying to catch it-all while running at top speed in a sea of chaos.

"I have so much respect for Matthew. ... I hope he dwarfs whatever I ever did," Tasker says. "Somebody asked me about him early in his career, and I said it was obvious he knew what he was doing when he was covering kicks. He has a real gift for it."

GETTING BILL BELICHICK to gush about any of his players, including Brady, often feels like you're engaging in a contentious deposition. But over the past 10 years, Slater has been the rare exception. In 2013, when he was voted to his second straight Pro Bowl, Belichick let fly what is arguably the most effusive string of compliments of his entire coaching career.

"Matt's really ... he's tremendous," Belichick said. "His attitude, his work ethic, the example that he sets, the way he interacts with his teammates in a really good way. I don't know that a player could do any more than what he's done for us in that role for the last several years. He's embraced his role on the team, he's been very good at it and he makes other players around him better. I think that's a great compliment to him and the job he does. He's smart, he's well prepared, he works hard, he has good skill, good talent, he's tough, he's a good playmaker for us. I could go on about him all day."

When Slater's contract was up last year, he took a free agent visit to the Steelers -- only to re-sign with the Patriots a few days later when they offered him a 75 percent raise over what they had paid him the previous season. The Patriots told Slater's agent that he was as important as anyone to their locker room culture -- Brady included -- and that they wanted him back.

This came after he missed seven games in 2017 with injuries, months before his 33rd birthday -- and in the era of the latest CBA, in which GMs looking to save a penny almost always choose cost-controlled young players over seasoned vets.

Such is the degree to which the most revered franchise in football reveres Slater -- yet the most fascinating aspect of his career is how close it came to never happening in the first place.

Sure, he had the pedigree and natural football instincts, plus a thirst for contact. "Our very first parent-teacher conference, in kindergarten, was about trying to get him to stop tackling any little boy or girl with a ball," Jackie Slater says. "I know it was serious, but I couldn't help but feel a little proud."

But much of his childhood was spent anticipating the growth spurt that would enable him to match his dad's 6-foot-4, 227-pound frame -- a growth spurt that never came. Every annual trip to the pediatrician was a source of frustration.

He was 5-6 and 150 pounds when he got to high school, so the only logical position for him was wide receiver. But he didn't catch a lot of passes even after, eventually, he grew 6 inches. His team ran the ball almost exclusively, so he did a lot of blocking. Opposing players who knew who his father was would often come looking for him, eager to prove something about themselves. He didn't mind. "I was definitely aware of it," he says. "But I learned to love the competition."

A dedicated student, he got into Brown and Dartmouth and took trips to both. But when Slater, who was also a track standout, finished second in the state in the 100-meter dash as a senior, UCLA suddenly took an interest. It was impossible to resist the draw of big-time football.

Then, over the course of four years, half his career with the Bruins seemed to get swallowed up by injuries. The coaches moved him from wide receiver to corner, but he rarely played.

It wasn't until his senior year that he asked if he could return kicks. Overnight, he became one of the best in the country, ranking first in the Pac-10 in kickoff return average and setting a UCLA record with 986 yards in 13 games.

But he still wasn't optimistic about his football future. "I was really starting to think about going into the ministry," says Slater, whose faith has been an important aspect of his life since childhood. "I was looking at the next step in my life beyond football."

Then one day during his final season at UCLA, a scout from the Patriots pulled Slater aside after practice. "The conversation lasted maybe 10 or 15 seconds," Slater says. He doesn't even remember who the scout was. But it changed everything. "He told me the Patriots had been watching film on me and that I had a future in the NFL doing something. That gave me just enough motivation to finish the year strong."

He didn't get invited to the NFL combine and went on only seven predraft visits with teams. The Patriots, who eventually picked him in the fifth round, weren't one of them. "When they drafted me, it kind of felt like it came out of nowhere," Slater says.

The first several months were a blur. He felt like an impostor. Physically he could compete, but intellectually he was lost. The Patriots-unsure what position he might play-had him working with the wide receivers and safeties, and in the kicking game. Every day, he thought someone would tell him it was over. "We called the guys who would tap you on the shoulder the Grim Reapers," Slater says. "You'd sit at your locker every day after practice and just wait for an intern to find you and say, 'Hey, Coach wants to see you. Can you bring your playbook?'"

He earned a spot returning kicks, but for most of his rookie season, every week felt like it might be his last. He went back to imagining his future in ministry -- daydreaming about using his time with the Patriots as part of a future sermon, watching people's eyes grow wide when he brought up what he learned from the few months he spent in the NFL. He and his father spoke often about the Bible verse Romans 8:28 -- the idea that whatever his fate was, the journey was more important. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

His anxiety came to a head in a late-November game against the Steelers when he muffed a kickoff in sloppy conditions, the ball bouncing comically off his face mask inside the 10-yard line, igniting a blowout loss. "It was the lowest point of my career," Slater says. "I felt like I'd cost us the game, and that was just the cherry on top of a rookie year where I felt totally lost. I figured I was done, and so did the other rookies. I know a lot of New England fans wanted me out of here, and a lot of them probably still remember me for that play."

The reaper never appeared. Slater refocused on the coverage game that saw him record 25 tackles as a senior at UCLA -- he had 12 for the Pats in that rookie season -- and served as the gunner on punt coverage. For Belichick, whose coaching career began with special teams, grooming a promising special teamer into a no-nonsense blocking threat came easily: Linebacker Larry Izzo served the same role for Belichick for eight seasons as special-teams captain in the early 2000s (making three Pro Bowls himself). "To play for [Belichick] has been incredible, but that isn't to say it's been easy," Slater says. "It's been hard. His standard is high, and there is no gray area. It's all black-and-white, but I think you learn to appreciate that. No coach or player is bigger than the team."

In time, Slater blossomed in his new role. In his third season in New England, he led the team in special-teams tackles with 21. And by 2011, he was the unit's captain (a designation he's held ever since). He again led the team in special-teams tackles but added kickoff returns back to his résumé. That winter, Slater was voted to his first Pro Bowl.

These days, Slater also serves as an unofficial team therapist in the New England locker room -- including on those days when the Patriots' ruthless approach to roster turnover dispatches a popular veteran, sending shock waves through the teammates left behind.

"He keeps the locker room together," Patriots running back James White says. "He makes sure it's a family-like atmosphere in this building. There can be some tough days, there can be some easy days, but he's the guy that kind of keeps everybody locked in and keeps that great camaraderie throughout this team."

One season, Patriots linebacker Gary Guyton pulled Slater aside and asked if he'd be up for a blind date with a friend of a friend, a doctor working in Rhode Island. Guyton thought they'd be into each other. Slater was skeptical, and so was the doctor, Shahrzad Ehdaivand. Now, nine years later, they're married and have a son, Jeramiah, and a daughter, Hannah. As Slater sits in his living room before this year's camp opens, they are expecting their third child any day now.

It's hard for him to put into words how different, how much less fulfilling, his life might be if football and faith hadn't been working in tandem to steer him to where he is now.

"Again, it comes back to Romans 8:28," Slater says. "Sometimes there is going to be pain, and sometimes it's going to be tough. But there is a purpose to it all."

EVERY OFFSEASON, MATTHEW Slater tries to get back home to California, and when he's there, he tries to sprint to the top of that hill. It's as hard at 33 as it was at 13. No one outruns the football reaper forever. But the hill is the best way to try.

He doesn't know how much longer he wants to play, but he knows the day will come, eventually, when he does get a tap on the shoulder. It's going to hurt a little, even if he understands the logic behind it. The league is changing. The way teams put together their rosters is changing. Metrics don't measure locker room leadership. Even at 33, he's still one of the fastest Patriots. But for how long?

"I'm not going to lie, it will sting a bit," Slater says. "I'm human."

But when that day does arrive, he plans to devote himself fully to supporting his wife, who put her medical career on pause to stay at home with their kids while he chases punt returners. The next step, he believes, will also feel like part of God's plan.

Someday he'd like his son to run the hill with him, whether he has a future in football or not. "That hill has a lot of meaning to my family," Slater says.

It's a rite of passage, a baton passed from one generation of Slater to the next. Every trip to the top has to be earned, then earned all over again.

LAS VEGAS -- It's a brutally hot August afternoon, and Gregg Popovich is running back and forth between Mike Krzyzewski, Jeff Van Gundy, Steve Kerr and Jay Wright, among others. They're comparing notes as Popovich's Team USA players go through scrimmages.

In the bleachers, a few dozen of his coaching peers, league executives and some scouts put in face time. They're keeping an eye on the action, but their minds also are occupied by questions about when would be the appropriate time to fly home, because it's finally vacation season for almost everyone in the sport.

The players, many of them at least the third choice for their roster spot, are facing a preposterous task of having to force themselves to come together in an environment in which they might only be remembered if they lose.

And yes, they're struggling a little. Their lungs are burning as they get into shape. The ball consists of thin rubber and deep seams that most of them don't like. They have to endure an onslaught of questions from the media, asking whether this squad is capable of keeping up Team USA's 13-year winning streak.

Over the past two days, the media has seen three scrimmages. In one, the Americans' backup Select Team crushed the senior team. In Wednesday's two scrimmages, the sides tied, and that's only because Khris Middleton saved one game with a three-point play with less than a second left. It seems possible a couple of Select Team members could get promoted to the senior team by the end of the week.

All of it makes you stop and ask: Just what the hell is Popovich doing here?

What does he have left to prove? Putting together this team is a big lift. Leading it to an undefeated run and a world championship is a big ask, even for a living legend with an impeccable record and solid gold reputation. The risk/reward ratio is off.

His past forays with Team USA have been fraught. Some think he should've made the 1972 Olympic Team because he was fantastic in that year's training camp. But as a relatively unknown guard from Air Force without size or a big name, he was cut in a move that his friends say deeply bothered him for decades.

"They picked the right guys. I was an alternate, went to Brazil, alternate team, and partied my ass off," Popovich said, using humor to cover a scar, as he often does. "The thing I always wanted to do was be on the Olympic team and play. That was always my dream. You don't sit down and say, 'I'm going to coach the Olympic team one day.'"

He did coach as an assistant in 2002 and 2004. In 2002, the U.S. team was an embarrassment, finishing a ridiculous sixth in the World Championships in Indianapolis. The 2004 team finished with a bronze at the Olympics in Athens and was remembered as a disgrace.

"Those were peppy gigs," Popovich said.

Yet here his is, grinding away, taking it as seriously as he would the start of a playoff run with the San Antonio Spurs.

"I thought about it," he said. "I met with Mr. [Jerry] Colangelo [Team USA's managing director]. I took a little bit of time. We talked several times. I knew what I was getting into. It's your country. You say yes. You man up and try to surround yourself with as much brainpower as you can."

That's why Popovich was sitting with Krzyzewski on Wednesday afternoon and why they planned meetings later in the night as Popovich searched for some insight on putting his team together. Krzyzewski, who led the team from 2006 to 2016, flew in to advise. Stunningly, prior to 2015, when Popovich was named as Krzyzewski's replacement, the two men had never met.

"When I was at Pomona-Pitzer, we didn't play Duke," Popovich said, referring to his nine-year stint as a Division III coach in the 1970s and 1980s.

It seems preposterous, but Popovich might be the star of this Team USA roster. When a Chinese film crew told him that he will be the most recognized member of the team when he is in China for the World Cup next month, he naturally waved them off. But they weren't necessarily incorrect.

Without proven superstars, Team USA is probably going to have to be carried at times by a system. The Americans can't rely on the tremendous driving ability of LeBron James or world-class shot-creators such as Kevin Durant or James Harden in this cycle. The mega-stars are not here. They'll lean on a coach who believes in a style that tests players' aptitude, selflessness and sense of humor.

They will have to move the ball, because under FIBA rules, there is no illegal defense and teams just dare the U.S. to shoot. Fairly or not, there is no one on this roster that opponents will fear. Popovich's San Antonio teams have moved the ball better than anyone else over the past 20 years. But that's a process, one he now needs to rush.

"We've had guys in the past who are great isolation players, but we can't rely on that with this team," center Myles Turner said. "His emphasis is 0.5. You have half a second, shoot it, pass it and go. We're learning."

That strategy and system are going to have to be the Americans' bedrock. Popovich's ability to get the team to buy in could be the difference between a gold medal and having a black mark on his résumé.

The team does have some budding stars. Donovan Mitchell has looked like the best player on the floor at times in scrimmages this week. De'Aaron Fox, who was promoted from the Select roster, has speed and the ability to break down defenses that is likely going to earn him one of the final 12 roster spots. Popovich is working his charms on them.

"We had a run where we played very well and he came in the huddle and talked about what we did wrong," Mitchell said. "I like playing for coaches like that. He does it in his own funky way. He can be sarcastic or serious, but he gets to the point where there's something more you can be doing."

Kerr, Popovich's former player and now his lead assistant, insists all of this is going to be fun for him. That it's a new challenge and it will require him to test out some old muscles.

"The whole game is trying to put the puzzle together," Kerr said.

For now, at the start of the journey, Popovich is doing a lot of smiling. He knows few will appreciate the actual challenge he has in front of him over the next six weeks. That's a notion he already has an answer for.

"I've never been too concerned with what people might say. I've never read an article on any of our five championships yet. What good does that do?" Popovich said. "Whether it's applause or someone saying I'm an idiot or whatever, I could care less. They're both fake notions to me. There are more important things, like what kind of wine to order for dinner."

The Houston Astros will become the latest team to extend the safety netting at their ballpark, announcing Thursday that they will make changes before an Aug. 19 homestand.

An incident at Minute Maid Park on May 29 had spotlighted the issue of expanding safety netting at ballparks. A 2-year-old girl was struck by a foul ball during a game, suffering a skull fracture and remaining in the hospital for several days.

The ball that hit the 2-year-old came off the bat of Chicago Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr., who was distraught during the game. Many players called for expanded netting after the incident, and several subsequent incidents of fans being hit by foul balls have further highlighted the issue.

The Chicago White Sox and Washington Nationals have already debuted expanded netting, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays have announced that they will also expand their netting. The Detroit Tigers made changes in 2018 to extend their safety netting.

"Fan experience is always a top priority for the Astros," the team said in a statement. "These changes will improve the fan's experience and increase the number of seats behind protective netting. Fans will continue to have the option to sit in areas without netting."

The Astros' current netting will be replaced with knotless netting, which is easier to see through than the traditional knotted netting.

Following recommendations from MLB, by the start of the 2018 season all 30 teams had expanded their protective netting to at least the far ends of the dugouts after several fans were injured by foul balls in 2017.

After the Houston incident, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said he did not expect teams to make changes to the netting around ballparks during the season, but said he expected conversations to continue about whether the netting should be extended.

Since 1913, every ticket to a major league game has included a disclaimer saying the holder of the ticket assumes all the risks inherent to the game. Called the "Baseball Rule," it has made it nearly impossible for fans injured at games to successfully sue teams or MLB.

The family of the 2-year-old retained an attorney to advise about the incident, but no lawsuit has been filed.

Cleveland Indians ace Corey Kluber, making his first rehab start in his comeback from a broken right forearm, pitched three innings on Thursday, allowing two runs.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner threw 41 pitches for the Indians' Triple-A club in Columbus. He struck out two, walked one and allowed two home runs against the Pawtucket Red Sox. He retired the last five batters he faced.

"I felt good," Kluber told reporters. "I haven't run into anything out of the ordinary yet. That's encouraging."

The right-hander was 2-3 with a 5.80 ERA in seven starts when he suffered the injury on May 1 after he was struck by a line drive hit by the Miami Marlins' Brian Anderson.

Kluber's next rehab start is expected to be on Tuesday.

"Each start you've got to take it by itself and try to separate them from each other so that you can honestly evaluate it and see how I feel, how I felt I executed pitches, that kind of thing," Kluber told reporters. "Then you discuss it with people back in Cleveland and move on to the next step, whatever it is."

The Boston Red Sox put left-hander David Price on the 10-day Injured List Thursday with a cyst on his left wrist.

An MRI revealed that Price had a triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) cyst, which was treated with a cortisone shot.

Price, 33, is 7-5 with a 4.36 ERA this season. He was pounded in his last outing against the New York Yankees on Sunday, going only 2 2/3 innings and taking the loss.

The move to the IL was retroactive to Monday.

Right-hander Hector Velázquez was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to take Price's spot on the roster.

The New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox will play a game at the famed Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, on Aug. 13, 2020, the teams announced Thursday.

A temporary, 8,000-seat ballpark will be built at the site where the 1989 movie was filmed to accommodate the first major league game played in Iowa.

"As a sport that is proud of its history linking generations, Major League Baseball is excited to bring a regular-season game to the site of Field of Dreams," commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "We look forward to celebrating the movie's enduring message of how baseball brings people together at this special cornfield in Iowa."

Construction on the ballpark will begin Tuesday, one year before the game will be played. Dimensions of the ballpark were not announced, though MLB posted a video of a rendering of the setup, which will include a pathway through the cornfield for fans and aspects of the White Sox's former Comiskey Park. The right-field wall will be broken up by windows to show the cornstalks beyond the wall.

Is this heaven?@Yankees-@WhiteSox, see you in Iowa on 8.13.20. pic.twitter.com/5GGbH7TWuq

— MLB (@MLB) August 8, 2019

The game, which will be played on a Thursday and air on Fox, will be considered a White Sox home date. Friday will be an off day before the teams resume their three-game series in Chicago.

The Academy Award-nominated "Field of Dreams" features Kevin Costner's Ray Kinsella interacting with a number of players from the 1919 White Sox who were banned from baseball for intentionally losing in the World Series.

"Field of Dreams is an iconic, generational baseball story built upon a deep love of the game that transcends even the most impossible of circumstances," White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. "The filmmakers tell a beautiful story that resonates to this day. It is an incredible honor for the White Sox franchise to be the home team against the Yankees in a special setting that will capture everyone's imagination just like the movie does. It seems very fitting that 30 years after the film's debut, MLB will build a ballfield in an Iowa cornfield where we will come to play a game so that baseball fans can create their own memories to be cherished for decades."

The one-off game in Iowa is part of the sport's recent trend of hosting games outside of traditional ballparks and cities, such as the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and a matchup between the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals in Omaha, Nebraska, in June ahead of the College World Series.

The Yankees also took part in a two-game series in London against the Boston Red Sox earlier this season.

"The Yankees organization is proud to participate in such a unique celebration of baseball," Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement. "Field of Dreams captures the pure essence of baseball, and it continues to bring generations of fans -- and families -- together to embrace its timeless roots."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.