INDIANAPOLIS – A new NTT IndyCar Series team, Citrone/Buhl Autosport, is planning to make its debut during the Month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Co-owned by former Indy car racer Robbie Buhl and his business partner, Robert Citrone, the team intends to compete in the GMR Grand Prix on the IMS road course on May 9.

Multiple reports suggest that an Indianapolis 500 attempt by the Citrone/Buhl team is also possible.

Citrone/Buhl Autosport is a partnership between Robert and Nick Citrone, as well as Tom and Robbie Buhl.

Robert Citrone is the founder of Discovery Capital Management and the largest minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, while his son Nick is a Data Analytics Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Tom and Robbie Buhl own Buhl Sport Detroit, a motorsports marketing company that operates a rallycross team called Racing4Detroit, and an advanced driver training program called Teen Street Skills.

No stranger to IndyCar, Robbie Buhl competed in 78 Indy car races between 1993 and 2004, including eight starts at the Indianapolis 500. His best Indianapolis 500 finish was sixth in 1999 driving for A.J. Foyt Enterprises.

A two-time Indy car winner, the younger Buhl won the 1997 Pennzoil 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the 2000 Delphi Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway in Florida. His most recent Indy car appearance as a driver was the 2004 Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi, where he finished 21st.

Robbie Buhl was the Indy Lights champion in 1992 on the strength of one win and 11 podiums in 12 races. He was also a minority owner and team principal at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing alongside Dennis Reinbold.

A brief press release on the team’s website states Citrone/Buhl’s goal as being “competitive while partnering with the right people to deliver results.”

Team officials also see this May’s effort as “the start of a continued racing endeavor, with aspiration of more entries at more (NTT IndyCar Series) races in the future.”

A driver and engine supplier were not named in the team’s initial announcement on Friday.

South Africa players who want to be considered for the T20 World Cup have the chance to stake a claim in the next week, with several spots in need of filling, according to coach Mark Boucher. Despite the disappointment of his team's biggest T20 defeat in the opening match against Australia, Boucher sought to "take the emotion out of the whole scenario" and look at the bigger picture, with seven months to go before a major tournament.

"There are certain places up for grabs and with guys getting opportunities, it's important that they take them now," Boucher said. "A month or so before the World Cup we want to have our minds on who we want to take as a 15-man squad but it's difficult for players to make a name for themselves a month before the tournament. Now is the time that players need to put their hands up and stake a claim for positions and there are still position up for grabs. We don't quite know what our combinations are going to be and we are waiting for guys to step up."

After their performance on Friday night, which included their lowest T20I score, and Boucher's criticism of the bowling as "poor", it would appear that South Africa have plenty of positions to fill but the man in charge did not want to be overly dramatic. "It's not the end of the world - losing one game of T20 cricket," Boucher said. "Yes, we are going to have to shape up quite a bit in the next week but there is also a plan going through to the next World Cup."

ALSO READ: Jadeja-inspired Agar felt 'horrible' in training

Part of that plan was trialing Temba Bavuma in the opening role, which was a success against England before he got injured, using Heinrich Klaasen - who was also forced out with a niggle - in the middle order and experimenting with Rassie van der Dussen and Jon-Jon Smuts. All those options paid off during the England series and are likely to do so again.

A bigger concern is the inconsistency of the attack, who had the experience of Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada but still conceded heavily. Steyn, Lungi Ngidi, Rabada and Andile Phehlulwayo, who have 107 T20 caps between them, gave away 70 runs in the first six overs and failed to pitch the ball up, something bowling coach Charl Langeveldt discussed in the lead-up to the match. Both Boucher and Langeveldt have spoken about the importance of specialised skills training, but stressed that during a series, South Africa don't have the time to do that.

Boucher made the same point after the Wanderers defeat. "It's not something we can change overnight. We've tried to work on things like yorkers but our lines and length were really bad," Boucher said. "It's not like they were running down the wicket and taking us on. We were giving them boundary options."

Rabada, South Africa's "poster boy", as acting director of cricket Graeme Smith called him, was the most guilty and had six fours and two sixes scored off him to finish as the most expensive bowler on the night. Boucher put Rabada's showing down to a lack of game time, presenting an interesting conundrum between getting the balance between overbowling and keeping him fresh. "KG has come back from a long rest so it's no use making an emotional decision and saying we are going to leave him out for the next game," Boucher said. "We need guys like him and Anrich [Nortje] to come back but we also needed to rest them and that was the right decision because we want them fresh."

But how long does it take players to find their groove again? The answer might come on Sunday, when South Africa face a must-win situation to stay in the series or face further scrutiny over their progress in what has been a lean summer. As he done since he took over in December, Boucher pleaded for patience, even as he admitted that progress needs to come.

"We are working really hard off the field. We understand the areas we need to work on. We've got to get back on the horse," he said. "If we rock up and play 40% cricket we are going to get beaten and beaten badly, like we were today."

It would be easy to assume that Ashton Agar had been in fine form going into Friday's T20I at the Wanderers, but after taking a hat-trick and 5 for 24 to bowl South Africa out for their lowest-ever score in the format, Australia's spin-bowling allrounder revealed that he "was actually feeling horrible" in training ahead of the game.

"It was really exciting - obviously a highlight of my cricketing life," said Agar in the post-match presentation. "My job was made a lot easier when I had Mitch Starc, Patty Cummins, Richo [Kane Richardson] and Zamps [Adam Zampa] doing the job before me.

"It's funny, I was actually feeling horrible [coming] into the game. Obviously when the wicket turns a bit, [you] get a bit of assistance and your job's made a bit easier, you get on a roll and you keep going."

ALSO READ: 'Agar can barely believe it, he's king of the 'ring!'

After impressing in the home summer in T20I series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Agar underwhelmed in Australia's series in India last month, taking two wickets in three ODIs while conceding 5.60 runs per over. But despite his struggles on that trip, he explained that an end-of-series chat with another left-arm spin-bowling allrounder had helped him to turn things around.

"I had a wonderful chat with Ravindra Jadeja after the India series," Agar said. "He's my favourite player in the world - I want to play cricket like he does.

"He's an absolute rockstar: smacks them, gun fielder, and spins the ball. But it's just his presence when he's out there, watching his confidence… just talking to him about spin bowling, keep trying to spin the ball. When he's batting he has a really positive attitude, and he takes that attitude into the field as well.

"So I was pretty inspired by talking to him. And I've got good people around me: I've got a wonderful fiancée - she's very supportive, so I'm really lucky - and a great family. They're able to keep me really level."

Agar's job was made easier by four early Australian wickets, with Starc and Cummins leaving South Africa three down after the Powerplay and Zampa striking in the seventh over. And Agar said that his burgeoning partnership with Zampa - the last five T20Is that they have played together have ended in Australia wins - has been a great help to his game.

"It's developed massively," he said. "We've always got along really well, we're pretty no-fuss, away from the field we have similar interests, and we just get along well.

"So then going out into the middle, we both really enjoy talking about the game, speaking about spin bowling. I think we have a really good understanding of each other's games. What we did well in Australia in the last T20I series [against Pakistan], we identified that if someone is getting wickets early, it's their day to attack and the other one defends. It's good to string a few games together with him."

Agar's hat-trick - his first since 2013, when he managed the feat playing English club cricket for Henley in the Home Counties Premier League - owed plenty to a superb slip catch by his captain, Aaron Finch, who dived spectacularly for the catch to dismiss Dale Steyn.

And while Agar suggested the catch demonstrated Finch's "total skill" in the cordon, Finch himself suggested that it had simply been further proof that it was a day when everything went right for Australia.

"There was about a 10 percent chance of me catching that," he said. "[Agar] bowled beautifully. He deserved all the rewards today. The length, and just a little bit of assistance in the wicket, makes a huge difference in T20 when you're looking to go very hard.

"The way that we attacked the crease and bowled a really good aggressive length was crucial. We pride ourselves on not giving away width with the new ball, and making them hit good shots to good balls. If someone comes out and blasts you off good balls, you take your hat off to them - that's what we're all trying to do."

Tiger Woods will bypass an opportunity to play near his South Florida home next week as he is skipping the Honda Classic.

Woods did not enter the tournament by Friday's deadline, deciding to skip the event in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, for the second straight year.

The decision was not a surprise based on what Woods said Sunday after finishing last among players who made the cut at the Genesis Invitational.

"I was just off, it happens,'' said Woods, who also skipped this week's WGC-Mexico Championship. "I'm off and I got a chance to have the week off this week and do a little prep, a little practicing, some training, be at home and all positive things.''

Woods said he was plagued by back stiffness at the event he hosts as he posted his first two over-par rounds of the 2019-20 season.

The 295, 11 over par effort was his worst 72-hole score at the Genesis Invitational and just the second time in his career he finished last among those who made the cut.

Woods was 68th, 22 shots back of winner Adam Scott. At the 2015 Memorial, Woods shot a third-round 85 - his worst as a pro - and teed off last on Sunday before finishing last in the field - eight shots back of the second-to-last finisher.

In three official tournaments this season, Woods won the Zozo Championship for his 82nd PGA Tour win, tied for ninth at the Farmers Insurance Open and finished 68th at Riviera. He also finished fourth in the unofficial Hero World Challenge. He is ranked ninth in the world.

Woods has played the Honda Classic five times, finishing 12th in his last appearance in 2018. His best showing was a tie for second in 2012 to Rory McIlroy. It is also the place where he withdrew with less than nine holes to play in 2014 due to back issues which a month later led to the first of four procedures.

The Chicago Bears have released wide receiver Taylor Gabriel and cornerback Prince Amukamara, it was announced Friday.

These two moves will account for $13.5 million in salary-cap space for the Bears in 2020.

Gabriel, 29, had 29 receptions for 353 yards and four touchdowns for the Bears last season.

A six-year veteran, he spent two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, two with the Atlanta Falcons and the past two with the Bears.

Amukamara, 30, spent three seasons with the Bears. A first-round draft pick of the New York Giants in 2011, he was part of Super Bowl team there in his rookie year.

After a stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016, he signed with the Bears in 2017. In March 2018, he signed a three-year, $27 million extension.

The Detroit Pistons announced Friday that they have reached a buyout agreement with forward Markieff Morris.

Morris, 30, has appeared in 44 games for the Pistons this season, averaging 11 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

Morris had signed a two-year contract with Detroit in July that was to have paid him $3.2 million this season and included a $3.36 million player option for next season.

Morris is eligible to be claimed by a team with a trade exception. If that happened, the buyout in Detroit would be voided and the new team would be on the hook for his remaining salary this year and the $3.36 million player option in 2020-21, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks.

Teams with a big enough trade exemption include Houston, according to Marks.

CAMDEN, N.J. -- In the wake of benching Al Horford in the final game before the All-Star break and playing him just 18 ineffective minutes in Thursday night's overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown declared Friday afternoon that he still has faith in the four-time All-Star big man, saying, "I want to help him help us."

"There's a human side of this I take a lot of pride in, and figuring that side out as best as I can," Brown said after a brief film session at the team's practice facility ahead of Saturday night's showdown in Milwaukee against the league-leading Bucks on ABC. "Relationships and communication rule our sort of world in many jobs, and certainly does in mine.

"He's a prideful man. He's got a history ... he has been rewarded with the contract that he has, and [I'm] just keeping it very straight, very clean, very quick ... 'This is how I see it. This is how I see it, this way.' And not being apologetic about it. I want to help him help us.

"Somewhere in the middle of that, I am aware of it all. He knows that I am aware of it all. And I believe that things will settle."

Horford was not one of the players made available to the media Friday afternoon by the Sixers.

When Philadelphia signed Horford away from the Boston Celtics this past summer as a free agent, bestowing upon him a four-year deal worth $100 million, the hope was that he could both buoy the team when Joel Embiid went to the bench and play alongside him for significant stretches. The first part of that -- despite the noise that has followed Horford all season -- has actually worked out rather well. Philadelphia is outscoring teams by three points per 100 possessions when Horford is on the court, and the Sixers are actually slightly outscoring teams when Embiid is out of the game this season -- after they were famously outscored by 12 points in the three minutes Embiid sat in a two-point Game 7 loss in Toronto in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

But playing alongside Embiid? That has been a disaster. The combination has been outscored by 2.1 points per 100 possessions in 487 minutes together this season. The 98.7 offensive rating the Sixers have when the two of them are on the court together is more than five points worse than the Golden State Warriors' league-worst 103.9 rating this season.

Thursday night's game, however, might have been the low point of Horford's tenure in Philadelphia. Although he was removed from the starting lineup for the first time since early in his rookie year in the final game before the break against the LA Clippers, he played well and the Sixers beat one of the league's best teams. Thursday night against the Nets, however, he struggled mightily, as Philadelphia was outscored by 30 points in his 10 first-half minutes and by 26 points in the 19 minutes Horford played in the game. He was booed repeatedly when he missed shots -- and not for the first time this season, either.

Meanwhile, he played just a little over two minutes in the middle of the fourth quarter in relief of Embiid and sat out the overtime period completely. Brown attempted to downplay those struggles, chalking them up to the Sixers going up against a Brooklyn team that was playing extremely small. He added that the Sixers still expect Horford to be a significant part of their postseason plans.

"We have seen the history of Al Horford, and all of us would be very naive to think some of his signing wasn't driven to where we want to be in April, May and, we hope, June," Brown said. "Just progress out ... look ahead to see the matchups."

One of the matchups Philadelphia specifically targeted in signing Horford was Milwaukee, which features Giannis Antetokounmpo at power forward and the combination of Brook and Robin Lopez at center. After Thursday's struggles, the Sixers will be hoping for a bounce-back performance from Horford -- and a win on the road, something that Philadelphia, which is 9-19 away from home this season, has struggled to accomplish.

But even if Horford plays well in that game, the questions will continue about Horford's fit. After spending the past decade serving as one of the NBA's most versatile big men, he told ESPN last month that the adjustment to playing alongside Embiid and adjusting to downsized opportunities when they share the floor -- specifically being used as a spot-up shooter to try to give Embiid more room to operate in the post -- has been a difficult one.

It is also why Horford has looked much more like his prior self with the Celtics and Atlanta Hawks when he has been paired with Ben Simmons in the minutes while spelling Embiid at center.

"Yeah, I mean, it is definitely different for me," Horford told ESPN. "It's almost like me continuing to reinvent myself, and trying to figure out other ways that I can be effective."

Horford's struggles led to calls in Philadelphia for him to be replaced in the starting lineup long before Brown actually did it last week. And, after doing so, Brown indicated that Horford won't be returning to the starting five anytime soon. But when he was asked whether he has talked to Horford about what his future in Philadelphia will look like -- given that the 34-year-old is in the first year of an expensive four-year contract -- Brown dismissed the question out of hand.

"No," he said. "And how foolish would that be, to talk about what's going to happen in three years. Like, it's not even close to being on my mind. I'm living in now. I'm very candid, very honest with the way that I see it, the way I just said, and he's been great."

Brown also tried to point back to his time in San Antonio and the way his old boss, Gregg Popovich, coaxed a young Manu Ginobili to agree to come off the bench for the betterment of the team.

There is a stark difference between the way Ginobili was used and the way Horford has been, however: Ginobili was always going to be on the court in the final moments when the game was on the line.

As Thursday night showed, Horford's role in such moments is far from assured. And, judging by how things have gone this season, it's hard to see many instances when it will be assured.

"As I remind everybody, we brought Ginobili off the bench for many years," Brown said. "That's my most personal example that I can share with him. And that wasn't smooth at the start, and there is pride involved. But you end up where you end up, and I think his human nature of being selfless, and a tremendous persona and teammate, is filtered into that competitive spirit and that pride. And so far, I feel like he's in an OK place.

"[Thursday night] wasn't a great night. But that's an outlier, in so many ways, to me."

Griffiths and James Hunt among those set to battle at Llanelli, while Mark McKinstry and Breege Connolly defend titles at NI & Ulster Senior Cross Country

The Welsh Cross Country Championships takes place at Pembrey Country Park once again on Saturday and the event is set to go ahead despite further inclement weather forecast for the region.

This may play into the hands of Swansea Harrier Dewi Griffiths, who will be looking to secure an eighth senior title. The event stalwart is notoriously hard to beat in difficult conditions.

He will however race here following a long lay-off from training at a time when 2018 champion James Hunt seems to be moving from strength to strength.

Hunt’s last outing was a sub-14 minute posting at the Brooks Armagh 5km International last week with Griffiths showing a return to fitness with a 14:24 clocking.

Track specialist Guy Smith and GB international triathlete Morgan Davies will support Griffiths in the Swansea men’s team.

North Walian Nathan Jones is a new addition to the Cardiff AC team, joined by the British record holder for 50km, Dan Nash.

Cardiff are the defending team champions and are possibly the strongest on paper.

Melanie Wilkins of Wycombe Phoenix Harriers and Lauren Cooper of Parc Bryn Bach Runners will start as the favourites for the women’s race. Wilkins was the runner-up last time and Cooper was the silver medallist at the BUCS Championships over 3000m last weekend.

Former Alabama University team mates Sarah Livett of Menai Track & Field and Rebecca Evans of Cardiff AC will also feature in the women’s race.

Andrea Whitcombe is a former multiple Welsh cross country champion who will return to the event in the W45 category, racing for the Swansea Harriers team.

The women’s title went to the Harriers in 2019 but is perhaps wide open this time.

Training partners Elliott Lawrence and Dominic Smith of Swansea Harriers will be worth looking out for in the U20 men’s race.

Osian Perrin of Menai Track & Field was the U17 champion 12 months ago but will contest the U20 men’s race this time.

Samuel Roberts of Sheffield and Derne AC warmed up for the weekend with a solid run in Armagh with a time of 14:41 and finishing ahead of Lawrence, Smith and Perrin.

Morgan James of Cardiff AC will lead his clubs hopes here.

Bridgend AC’s Katrin Higginson will defend her U20 women’s title with Deeside AAC’s Martha Owen the runner-up from 2019 also racing.

Ashleigh Willis will return to Pembrey in the U17 women’s race having won her age-group and the race outright last time.

Lloyd Sheppard of Cardiff AC was the highest placed athlete in 2019 that will remain in the U17 age-group this time.

NI & Ulster Senior Cross Country Championships

Meanwhile, NI & Ulster’s senior athletes will compete at the Ulster University Coleraine on Saturday.

Among the runners vying for the top spots will be UK masters champion Mark McKinstry and Rio Olympic marathoner Breege Connolly, who will be hoping to retain their titles.

After victory at last year’s 6km event, Breege will no doubt be set for a podium position again, with competition coming from last year’s runner-up Sarah Lavery of Beechmount Harriers, who will be hoping to lead her club to a victory in the team competition as well, over three-time winners North Down AC.

In the men’s 12km event, McKinstry will face competition from last year’s runner-up Declan Reed of City of Derry Spartans, who will be hoping for the club prize for the second year in a row. Other contenders for the podium will be Newcastle AC’s Patrick McNiff and Zak Hanna.

Venezuelan’s 15.43m at World Indoor Tour in Madrid beats Tatyana Lebedeva’s global mark

Yulmar Rojas leapt 15.43m to improve Tatyana Lebedeva’s 16-year-old world indoor record by 7cm and in doing so the Venezuelan athlete showed further proof that Inessa Kravets’ long-standing outdoor world record of 15.50m is on borrowed time.

The tall 24-year-old from South America took to the runway with her trademark short-cropped hair on Friday night (Feb 21) in the Spanish city of Madrid and jumped a big 15.29m in the fourth round before soaring out to 15.43m in the sixth.

It follows the world records by Mondo Duplantis in the pole vault during this indoor season – and is the second world record in 24 hours after the women’s half-marathon mark fell to Ababel Yeshaneh in Ras Al Khaimah – and it makes Rojas the red-hot favourite for Olympic gold in Tokyo given that her big rival, Caterine Ibargüen, is now 36.

“I’m over the moon,” said Rojas. “I can’t believe I’m the world record-holder. I want to get home and cry. I need to cry to release the adrenaline I have right now. When I managed 15.29m so easily in the fourth round, I thought the record was definitely in my legs.”

Here’s Rojas’ WR from Madrid. https://t.co/eqTwknZtM2 https://t.co/bIiB8AQf49

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) February 21, 2020

Last year Rojas jumped 15.41m outdoors – at the time the second best in history – in Spain and went on to successfully defend her world title in Doha.

Rojas was born in Caracas in 1995 – the same year Kravets set her 15.50m outdoor world record. She had humble beginnings as she grew up in a crudely built shack that did not keep out water when it rained, but she grew into a 6ft 4in woman who initially played basketball and then did high jump (jumping 1.81m aged 15) and also long jump before focusing on triple jump.

In her breakthrough year of 2013, she set two national junior records in one day – 1.87m and 6.17m in the high and long jump – but she soon switched to triple jump and managed 13.57m on her debut and apart from some injury-related blips since, such as the 2018 season, she has continued to improve under the coaching of Cuba’s nine-time world long jump champion Ivan Pedroso in Spain.

“Yuli is achieving all her goals I set out as a coach,” Pedroso said in 2016. “We are now focusing on her speed, run-up and take-off. She has no limits. When she is focused on a competition, she can be a very dangerous rival and exceed all expectations.”

She is certainly exceeding expectations. Rojas is now the world indoor record-holder and the outdoor record is within her reach. Although given that Kravets was given an anti-doping ban during her career, many will now feel Rojas is already the all-time world No.1.

Outside of track and field, her performances have also boosted the spirits of her fellow country men and women from Venezuela – a nation that has suffered political and economic turmoil in recent years.

Elsewhere at the Madrid meeting on Friday night, Andy Pozzi of Britain won the 60m hurdles in 7.48.

Filip Mihaljević took the shot put by one centimetre from Konrad Bukowiecki in a Croatian record of 21.74m, while Juan Miguel Echevarria of Cuba won the men’s long jump with 8.33m.

Ronnie Baker of the United States, meanwhile, took the men’s 60m in 6.44 and Poland’s Justyna Swiety-Ersetic won the women’s 400m in 51.93