EPPING, N.H. – Steve Torrence heads to New England Dragway, the site of this weekend’s seventh annual NHRA New England Nationals, as the defending event winner and the defending Top Fuel world champion.

Both were impressive parts of an incredible 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, but Torrence seems set on topping himself in 2019.

The standout has been on a torrid pace through the first half of this year, winning half the 12 races and advancing to eight final rounds in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster. Torrence also received a Best Driver nomination at the 2019 ESPY Awards, putting him on another remarkable path this year. But despite the outstanding winning percentage heading into New England Dragway, Torrence, who has a massive points lead, isn’t looking too far ahead.

“That’s pretty good odds, but I really don’t want to think about that,” said Torrence, who has 33 career Top Fuel wins. “We’ll look at the points and the stats at the end of the season, and probably not look at them too hard then. That’s probably something you’ll look at when you finish your career and try to relish those moments. For now, we just want to keep moving forward. We just want to stay on our ‘A’ game and try to run with that through the end of the year.”

Torrence (Top Fuel) and Matt Hagan (Funny Car) were last year’s winners of the event, including live finals coverage starting at 1 p.m. (ET) on Sunday. It is the 13th of 24 races during the NHRA season, and Torrence will look for a repeat win in Epping while trying to stay dominant in the talented-filled Top Fuel class.

Torrence has been a step ahead of everyone thus far, winning six of the past seven races, posting 12 wins in the last 18 events dating back to the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship. He’s won 25 times since 2017, praising a team, led by crew chief Richard Hogan, that has given him a consistent car for the last several years. Mike Salinas stopped his five-race win streak in Bristol, but Torrence shrugged it off and rebounded with a victory at the most recent race in Norwalk, showing the type of resolve that’s necessary to compete at the top in the class.

“It didn’t do anything to us mentally,” Torrence said of the final-round loss in Bristol. “You know at some point something’s going to happen even if everyone does their job perfectly. It’s racing. We just took the punches and came back out here. That’s all you can do. You go back out and race. We want to win every race we go to. You’re not trying to play strategy and get into the top 10. We want to win all of them. That’s the mindset that we have.”

That’s been clear as Torrence continues to rack up accolades, including becoming the first driver in NHRA history to win all six playoff races. As impressive as that was, Torrence is far from satisfied with what he wants to accomplish. In Epping, there will be a host of stars trying to keep him from the winner’s circle, including Doug Kalitta, Antron Brown, Clay Millican, Terry McMillen, 2017 world champ Brittany Force, rookie Austin Prock and Richie Crampton. But Torrence has plenty of lofty goals remaining as he seeks to defend his world title in 2019.

“You still want to win championships and we’re still motivated to go out there,” Torrence said. “Yeah, we’ve set some records and done some things that are neat and prestigious, but there’s always those guys that are ahead of you. There’s still a long ways to go and a lot of success we need to try to achieve to be in those ranks with Tony Schumacher and John Force, and the legends of the sport. We’re going to do as much as we can and enjoy it because at some point this ride will come to an end. We’re going to try to have a good time doing it.”

The Carolina Hurricanes hung on to the goaltender who helped save their season, Petr Mrazek, with a two-year, $6.25 million contract Monday.

After signing Scott Darling did not solve the Hurricanes' void in goal, the team was left scrambling last year. Carolina signed Mrazek to a one-year, $1.5 million deal and then claimed Curtis McElhinney off waivers in October. It looked like another good Carolina team would be derailed by bad goaltending.

But the 26-year-old Mrazek and 36-year-old McElhinney ended up forming a solid duo, and the Hurricanes not only made it into the playoffs, they beat the defending champ Washington Capitals in the first round. Carolina then swept the New York Islanders before losing in the conference finals to the Boston Bruins.

Mrazek made 40 regular-season starts for the Hurricanes, going 23-14-3 with a 2.39 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.

He was the man as the Canes beat the Capitals in seven games, but he suffered a lower body injury in the next series against the Islanders and wasn't as effective. He finished the playoffs with a 5-5 record, 2.73 GAA and .894 save percentage.

After the season, Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said he didn't expect Carolina to be able to sign either goaltender.

McElhinney signed to be the Tampa Bay Lightning's backup Monday.

TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired defenseman Tyson Barrie, forward Alex Kerfoot and a sixth-round pick in the 2020 draft from the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.

Toronto is sending Colorado forward Nazem Kadri, defenseman Calle Rosen and its third-round selection in the 2020 draft.

Colorado will retain 50 percent of Barrie's average annual value ($5.5 million) as part of the trade.

The 27-year-old Barrie played 78 games for the Avalanche during the 2018-19 season and had 14 goals and 59 points, which was seventh among NHL defensemen.

In 484 regular-season games, all with Colorado, Barrie has 75 goals and 307 points. Barrie was drafted by Colorado in the third round (64th overall) in 2009.

Kerfoot, 24, appeared in 78 games for the Avalanche in 2018-19 and had 15 goals and 42 points. He is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent, finishing a two-year, entry-level deal with a cap hit of $925,000 that he signed after playing at Harvard.

Kerfoot was selected by New Jersey in the fifth round (150th overall) in 2012 and signed an entry-level contract with Colorado in August 2017.

Kadri, 28, had spent his entire career with Toronto after being selected seventh overall in 2009.

He had 161 goals and 357 points in 561 regular-season games, including back-to-back, 30-goal seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

"Nazem is a proven goal scorer and a fierce competitor who plays in all situations," Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said. "He is under contract for the next three seasons and will immediately fit right in as our second-line center and improve our scoring depth."

Rosen, 25, has split the past two seasons in the Toronto organization between the Leafs and American Hockey League's Marlies.

Rosen, signed by Toronto as a free agent in May 2017, has had one goal and one assist in eight NHL games. He spent parts of five seasons playing professionally in his native Sweden before joining the Leafs.

"Calle is a young defenseman with upside who has played in the AHL and has also seen some NHL time over the last two years," Sakic said.

"With the arrival and emergence of (defensemen) Samuel Girard and Cale Makar, as well as the recent draft pick of Bowen Byram, we felt it was time to move in this direction with Tyson's contract expiring next summer."

Earlier in the day, the Maple Leafs signed veteran center Jason Spezza to a one-year, $700,000 contract.

The 36-year-old is expected to fill a role for a young, talent-filled team that has lost to the Boston Bruins in the opening round of the playoffs the past two springs.

Spezza has had 332 goals and 915 points in 1,065 career regular-season games with Ottawa and the Dallas Stars. He's also added 70 points (25 goals, 45 assists) in 80 playoff games.

Toronto also made a trade about three hours before free agency opened, shipping defenseman Nikita Zaitsev and forward Connor Brown to the Ottawa Senators for defenseman Cody Ceci in a six-player deal that should help the salary cap-squeezed Leafs in their efforts to sign restricted free-agent winger Mitch Marner.

Zaitsev was on the books for $4.5 million for the next five years, while Brown is scheduled to make $2.1 million in 2019-20. Ceci, an RFA with arbitration rights, made $4.3 million last season and can become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The deal:

Toronto gets: Defenseman Tyson Barrie (50% salary retained), the signing rights to restricted free-agent forward Alexander Kerfoot and Colorado's 2020 sixth-round pick

Colorado gets: Forward Nazem Kadri, defenseman Calle Rosen and Toronto's 2020 third-round pick

Toronto Maple Leafs: A-

The Maple Leafs addressed two major needs with this trade. First, they freed up much-needed cap space for their attempt to re-sign restricted free agent Mitch Marner. Getting the Avalanche to retain 50 percent of Barrie's contract while simultaneously shedding the $4.5 million Kadri was making gives them more flexibility underneath the cap after their maneuvering earlier in the day that shipped out Connor Brown and the onerous Nikita Zaitsev contract to the Ottawa Senators.

Second, the Leafs get a legitimate top-four, right-shot defenseman in Barrie. He is coming off of a career-best 59-point season and has just one year left on his contract. He fits plans to contend next season but would also be off the cap in 2020-21, when the Maple Leafs may be able to count on prospects like Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren on the blue line, softening the blow of potentially losing him for nothing down the road.

GLENDALE, Arizona -- Gerardo "Tata" Martino has guided Mexico through to the Gold Cup semifinal against Haiti with a squad lacking star names, but only one of those absent from the tournament won't be welcomed back into the fold: LAFC's Carlos Vela.

Martino was asked on the eve of the semifinal whether the group of experienced veterans not in national team camp this summer -- such as Javier Hernandez, Hector Herrera, Jesus "Tecatito" Corona and Miguel Layun -- could return in the future to bolster the squad.

"Like I've said, aside from the case of Carlos, who made a public statement, there is no other player that the doors are closed for," responded Martino.

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Vela is on course to win the MLS MVP award this season -- he leads the league with 16 goals -- but wasn't included by Martino for the March friendlies and was then omitted for the Gold Cup squad, with the Argentine suggesting it was the player's decision.

"I spoke with Carlos Vela over the phone last week and he assured me that at this time his club and his family are his priority, that's why he stepped aside," said Martino in a news conference in May.

Vela than confirmed that it was time to step aside, without definitively stating his national team career was over.

"I've had my opportunities, I've played a lot of games with the national team and nothing extraordinary has happened with Carlos Vela playing," Vela told reporters in Los Angeles.

Martino didn't accept that he would be changing the rules and regulations for specific players within the squad so that they would be more likely to come to national team duty.

"No player is obligated to come to the national team and those that do should have to follow the rules that the coach lays down," said Martino. "There's no motive for a coach to have to negotiate with a player coming in. But sometimes there are different situations that stop them coming."

Martino's statements potentially left the door open for Porto winger Corona, who was slammed by the Argentine for not answering the call-up in March.

RIO DE JANEIRO -- The Gods of Football gifted us two bona fide rivalries in the Copa America semifinals.

Headlining is Brazil vs. Argentina (Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+), the "SuperClasico de las Americas" and, in terms of pedigree, one of the few international matchups that lives up to the hype, usually in terms of quality and almost always in terms of incident.

But the "Pacific derby" -- Chile vs. Peru (Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+) -- is an intriguing understudy, rich in a rivalry that often transcends football and not just over the paternity of the "Pisco Sour."

Indeed, one of the twists is that no matter what happens, Chile and Peru are playing with house money, whereas Brazil and Argentina are pretty much assured inquests, pulling of hair and gnashing of teeth if they stumble at this hurdle.

Let's start with the big one. Brazil and Argentina have faced off for more than 100 years and reached 12 World Cup finals between them, winning seven. They have produced three unquestioned GOAT candidates -- Pele, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi -- spawned oodles of sociological treaties about the importance of futbol/futebol to their national psyches and generally have been the yin to each other's yang.

In 105 previous meetings, there have been 41 wins for Brazil, with 38 for Argentina and 26 draws. If you discount friendlies, then Argentina are ahead, 18 to 17.

Not that too many encounters have been very friendly; from pitch invasions (1925), to Brazil walking off (1937), to Argentina walking off and Brazil scoring the winning penalty into an empty goal (1939), to police invading the pitch to stop the teams fighting (1946), to the "Battle of Rosario" (1978), to Maradona's horror tackle and red card at the World Cup (1982), to Maradona's genius right-footed pass for Claudio Caniggia and subsequent "holy water" controversy (1990), to five players getting sent off in the Copa America (1991) to Tulio's "hand of the devil" goal (1995), this rivalry has had plenty of controversy.

The last time they squared off in the Copa America was back in the 2007 final. Twelve years later, two of the protagonists are still around: Dani Alves, who came on and scored in a 3-0 Brazil win, and Messi, who had just turned 20 at the time.

Some reckon Tuesday's clash will be different, since many players are teammates in their day jobs. Messi is at Barcelona with Philippe Coutinho and Arthur. Gabriel Jesus lines up with Nicolas Otamendi and Sergio Aguero at Manchester City. Leandro Paredes and Angel Di Maria share a dressing room with Marquinhos; and Thiago Silva and Dani Alves at Paris Saint-Germain. Paulo Dybala and Alex Sandro break bread at Juventus.

Yeah, right. And the Easter Bunny loves hiding those eggs ...

The fact is, globalization, commercialization and, yeah, cold hard cash might have turned these guys into colleagues and maybe even friends, but this is different. This is international football. This is playing for your country.

And the usual pressure and stakes are ratcheted up further by circumstances. Brazil are still scarred by the aftereffects of the Mineirazo, the 7-1 World Cup semifinal defeat against Germany in 2014 that induced a one-way ticket to "The Twilight Zone." (Yes, they return to the scene of the crime for this game.)

It will take time to expiate, and another major trophy might accelerate the process, but the 2015 Copa America went off the rails when Neymar was banned and ended with a penalty shootout exit against Paraguay in the quarterfinals. A year later, Brazil failed to get out of their Copa America Centenario group.

Hopes were high for a fresh start at World Cup in Russia and plenty jumped on the Tite bandwagon, only for it to be derailed by Roberto Martinez and Belgium in the last eight. It is 12 years and counting since the Selecao's last major tournament win, not including a pair of Confederations Cup triumphs in 2009 and 2013.

There is still plenty of faith in Tite, and the major mitigating factor of Neymar's absence this time around weighs heavily in a rational assessment of the tournament. But this is Brazil and this is home soil, which means reason will quickly go through the power shredder should things go awry against the old enemy.

For Argentina, the pressure is myriad. First, there is the Messi issue. His detractors never miss the opportunity to point out his lack of trophies in an Albiceleste shirt, just as his supporters point to his four finals -- three in the Copa America, one in the World Cup -- and the fact that his side were twice beaten on penalties and once in extra time.

Knocking this eternal -- and, frankly, puerile -- debate on the head once and for all would be nice, particularly because, having turned 32 last week, Messi is not getting any younger. The idea that Argentina have failed to grab any silverware in nine attempts with one of the greatest players in history is an indictment of one of the game's traditional powers.

More broadly, there are other stains to wipe away, starting with the memory of Russia. It was not just the shambles at the tournament itself, where Argentina scraped through the group stage only to be beaten by France, but the embarrassingly chaotic qualifying campaign, which featured three managers and last-ditch turnarounds.

Moreover, there are the continuing difficulties of the Argentine FA (which, lest we forget, led Messi to announce his international retirement in 2016) and the fact that manager Lionel Scaloni has an interim contract that expires the moment Argentina are eliminated from this tournament.

Scaloni was charged with limiting "Messi dependency" and putting together a rational framework. After fits and starts in the group stage -- marked by copious changes in system and personnel -- he seems to have found some sort of balance in a 4-3-1-2 with Rodrigo De Paul in midfield, Messi in the hole and Lautaro Martinez alongside Aguero up front. It did the job against Venezuela, but it feels fragile enough that it could be blown away should old insecurities crawl back in.

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Meanwhile, Chile and Peru have effectively already won their respective Copa Americas. Chile are two-time defending champions dreaming of a three-peat, but the landscape is different and not just because they are in Brazil's house (they hosted in 2015 and the Centenario was on "neutral" territory in the United States).

Eight of the starting XI that knocked out Colombia in the quarterfinal are in their thirties, and another, Edu Vargas, turns 30 in November. The high-energy, flat-out, run-and-gun style that helped deliver those two titles is no longer an option, not for 90 minutes anyway.

As such, Chile must pick their spots. And with Alexis Sanchez coming off a nightmare campaign at club level -- he has scored as many goals (two) in four games at this tournament as he did in 27 appearances for Manchester United last season -- few expected them to get this far.

But Reinaldo Rueda's crew will start as favourites on Wednesday, mainly because Peru were not just unfancied before a ball was kicked, but due to the fact they have been lackluster in reaching the semifinals. Their only win was a comeback victory over Bolivia; they were hammered 5-0 by Brazil, and in the previous round, they survived three disallowed goals and failed to get a shot on target before ousting Uruguay on penalties.

"From a mental perspective, we're in good shape," Peru coach Ricardo Gareca said after that win. "Of course, when it comes to the footballing side, there's room for improvement."

Maybe so, but when margins are slim, every inch is contested and penalty kicks and intestinal fortitude often come into play; that "mental strength" to which he alluded could be key. It applies whether you are playing nearly pressure-free, such as Chile and Peru, or have the weight of the world on your shoulders, like Brazil and Argentina.

Australia opener Joe Burns is set to be available for Ashes selection, having been cleared to play again after recovering from post-viral fatigue disorder.

Burns had been forced to go home from his stint with English county side Lancashire in May after he was was diagnosed with post-viral fatigue, stemming from a virus he suffered in October 2018.

Post-viral fatigue is an umbrella term for serious fatigue symptoms that can afflict individuals following a viral infection. A number of cricketers and athletes have suffered from it, and it notably ended the career of former Australia under 19 captain and Western Australia batsman Rob Baker.

Burns' issues were not found to be as severe and after a prescribed rest period, Burns began training again on June 17. He took to Twitter on Monday to announce he has been cleared to play again.

Great news today that after clearances and a few solid weeks training with @qldcricket that I'm ready to get back on the park and play. Thank you to everyone for all the kind messages of support over this period. Can't wait to get out there and get stuck in.

— Joe Burns (@joeburns441) July 1, 2019

The major issue for Burns is whether he will be able to play anywhere in the lead up to the Ashes. Despite scoring a career-best 180 in Australia's last Test match against Sri Lanka back in February, Burns was not selected in the Australia A squad that is currently touring England.

National chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns did explicitly state that players not selected in the Australia A squad, including - Burns, Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Bancroft - were all still firmly in Ashes contention as county form would be heavily considered. However, Burns was replaced as Lancashire's overseas player by South Australia's Jake Lehmann.

Australia's other incumbent Test opener, Marcus Harris, has traveled to England to join the Australia A four-day squad for the first of two four-day games against Sussex and the England Lions. He is the only specialist opener in the squad for those two games, the first of which starts on Sunday. There is a third four-day game between Australia and Australia A in Hampshire on July 23 that will feature Ashes contenders who are currently in the World Cup squad.

There will need to be at least 22 players, possibly 24, to play in that game and the teams have not been named. The Ashes squad will be selected at the end of that game on July 27 with the first Test starting at Edgbaston just five days later.

David Warner is set to return to the top of the order in the Test team following his productive return at the World Cup. Steve Smith is also a guaranteed starter barring injury, meaning at least two of the top six who played in Australia's last Test are set to be squeezed out.

Cricket chiefs have implored the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) Trust not to abandon the ground's natural wicket block and replace it with "unproven" drop-in pitches under pressure from the AFL. They believe such a move would run the risk of imposing "boring cricket" on spectators.

This comes at a time when the MCG is undergoing extensive work to updates its 20-year-old drop-in pitch system that has been subject to heavy criticism for the standards of recent Test match pitches in particular. However, more contemporary drop in surfaces at Adelaide Oval (installed in 2013) and Perth Stadium (2018) have raised fresh discussion about whether the SCG should change over.

Lee Germon, the NSW chief executive, stated that the SCG's history of providing an array of different conditions, especially those aiding spin bowlers, would be at risk should the square be dug up and replaced. Such a move would also require extensive remodelling work to provide an access point for portable pitches.

"I would argue those advancements are yet to be proven," Germon told ESPNcricinfo. "It's a pretty fair assumption that they have improved with time, but in Adelaide we've seen largely day-night Test matches and the nature of the pitch change as a result of the drop-ins.

"It's become more swing and seam friendly, [Perth] the jury's still out on that. But irrespective of that, there is no substitute for a natural pitch and the natural deterioration that will occur with a natural wicket.

"Broadly looking at drop-in pitches, the deterioration has been more based around the fact that it suits swing bowling and seam bowling, not spin bowling, and drop-in pitches have certainly not been seen to deteriorate for that kind of bowling."

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Apart from a brief statement, the SCG Trust declined to comment, not revealing the names of pitch committee members nor the timing of the AFL's request and the committee's formation. The league was understood to be angered by CA scheduling a pair of ODIs between Australia and New Zealand at the SCG in mid-March next year, a decision unveiled in May. The Trust is chaired by Tony Shepherd, also the chairman of the Greater Western Sydney AFL club.

"At the request of the AFL, the SCG has formed a committee to consider advances in drop-in wicket technology," the Trust said in a statement. "The committee is made up of Trustees and independent experts and will consider the needs of all sports partners and other stakeholders."

The committee has been formed at a time when the SCG surface is subject to unprecedented extra traffic due to the rebuilding of the Sydney Football Stadium next door. Germon argued that the discussion should not be happening at any time, let alone when the ground is under an unusual level of strain. The SCG's ground manager, ex-Adelaide Oval groundsman Justin Groves, resigned earlier this year amid the fixturing glut.

"I don't think this discussion should be taking place anyway, irrespective of the timing," Germon said. "I think it's exacerbated by the extra workload that's on the SCG at the moment. Rectangular sports don't want to play at the SCG - they've made that clear and in three years time they're going to have a bright, shiny new stadium right next door that will be their home. The timing is not right, but from my perspective and cricket's perspective the sanctity of the SCG is paramount and this discussion in my view is a moot discussion and the timing is never right.

"We're certainly trying to get more effective use [of the SCG], we certainly play more cricket at the SCG than AFL, we certainly bring in ore crowds, we're the major tenant at the SCG, we want to play as much cricket as we possibly can there. My argument would be that rather than provide a venue that can hold concerts, have a venue that can provide more cricket. That's what the ground was made for, the quintessential nature of the SCG, and we just want more and more cricket there."

Cricket NSW argues SCG's unique characteristics in submission

The NSW submission to the SCG Trust stressed the ground's history of offering distinctive conditions and also argued that Adelaide Oval's move to a drop-in pitch had fundamentally changed the character of the surface and the cricket played on it.

"The SCG is the only ground in the country where spinners are the two leading wicket takers across the history of the venue - Shane Warne (64 wickets) and Stuart MacGill (53 wickets). Drop-in pitches simply do not deteriorate over the four days of a Sheffield Shield match or five days of a Test. In multiple venues, with some of the world's finest curators in control, they continue to have a sameness about them which fail to express the unique characteristics that exist in Sydney with the natural pitch.

"One of the main reasons for this uniformity is that the technology used for drop in wickets is largely unproven. There are only four venues in world cricket that use drop ins for long-form cricket, each with varying degrees of success. We've seen the impact of getting it wrong in Melbourne over the past two years, where the Boxing Day Test match has been overshadowed by the MCG becoming the only Test pitch in Australia to receive a poor rating from the ICC in recent years, in addition to both MCG and Optus (drop in venues) receiving average ratings last season.

"The top seven wicket takers in Sheffield Shield history at the Adelaide Oval are all spinners [If you count George Giffen from the 19th century, who was a medium pace off-spinner]. However, four of the top five wicket takers since the drop-in pitch six years ago are seam and swing bowlers. Deterioration is key to a spinning pitch, therefore there is a real risk that moving to drop ins will nullify the unique characteristic that the SCG is famous for, and risk it becoming just like any other ground around Australia."

CA has been contacted for comment.