It's been three years since Kyle Stanley last won on Tour, but through 18 holes in Puerto Rico, he's on track to potentially nab his third victory.

Stanley, who started with three straight birdies, carded nine total in a round of 8-under 64 Thursday to take the first-round lead at the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open, played opposite this week's the WGC-Mexico Championship.

The winner at the 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open and 2017 Quicken Loans National, Stanley has made the FedExCup Playoffs each of the last four years, finishing 103rd in the points race last August.

Although it's been a rough start to his 2019-20 campaign, with only four made cuts in 11 starts, Stanley could secure his Tour card for another two seasons with a win in Puerto Rico.

Two back in a six-way tie for second is Peter Uihlein, who just last week held the 54-hole lead at the Korn Ferry Tour's LECOM Suncoast Classic before a final-round 74 dropped him into a tie for 20th.

Pre-tournament betting favorite Viktor Hovland sits four back in a tie for 14th after an opening 68.

While additional events do not offer invitations to the Masters, the winner nonetheless receives a two-year PGA Tour exemption, 300 FedExCup points, and an exemption into both The Players Championship and the PGA Championship.

BRUGES, Belgium -- Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said the ball was partly to blame for the club's 1-1 draw with Club Brugge.

Anthony Martial's away goal has put United in the driving seat to progress in the Europa League but Solskjaer admitted his team had endured a tough night because of the inclement weather and the ball used by UEFA in the competition.

"It was a difficult game against a well organised team in difficult conditions," said Solskjaer.

"The conditions with the pitch and the ball made it hard. It's different and difficult to play with, but it's the same two teams. The conditions weren't nice."

Bruges coach Philippe Clement disagreed with Solskjaer's assessment and insisted afterwards said his team should have been awarded a second-minute penalty in an incident that he believed should have seen goalkeeper Sergio Romero sent off for his challenge on Emmanuel Dennis.

"We get the balls from UEFA, so it's not our ball," said Clement.

"In the Europa League games it's the same balls, so I don't see a problem with that.

"For me it's a clear penalty if I see the images and in some countries it's a red card, if you go with two feet forward against the leg of somebody it's a red card.

"All the circumstances need to go your way if you're going to beat United and tonight we didn't get that."

BRUGES, Belgium -- It's been four and a half years since Manchester United were last in Bruges, and it is evidence of the size of the job facing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that in that time not much has changed. The manager is different and so are most of the players, but the question being asked is the same now as it was then: When will United be back on top?

There were very few answers during a drab 1-1 draw with Club Brugge in the first leg of their Europa League round-of-32 tie in howling wind and rain on Thursday. Anthony Martial's away goal will mean United are favourites to go through, but they will have to be better at Old Trafford next week. Club Brugge, unbeaten for more than two months, are no respecter of reputations and have already drawn 2-2 with Real Madrid in the Bernabeu.

"It was a difficult game against a well-organised team in difficult conditions," said Solskjaer. "I don't think it was one of the best games, a bit sloppy, and conditions with the pitch and the ball made it hard."

In August 2015, United arrived in Bruges with an optimism that had been missing since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement. Unbeaten in the early exchanges of the Premier League, a Wayne Rooney hat trick in a 4-0 win booked a return to the Champions League. Louis van Gaal's team won 10 of their first 14 games in all competitions, including home wins over Tottenham and Liverpool and a 3-0 thrashing of Everton at Goodison Park.

By November they were genuine title contenders, but it unravelled quickly, and despite ending the season with the FA Cup -- the first trophy of the post-Ferguson era -- Van Gaal was dismissed at the end of the campaign.

In the past five years, United have sacked Van Gaal and his replacement, Jose Mourinho. More than £590 million have been spent on players, but there has been very little in the way of genuine progress. They are still trying to battle their way back into the Champions League, and the 21st title appears as far away as ever.

Fans packed into the bars around The Markt, Bruges' central square, are still talking about rebuilds and resurgence. It is Solskjaer's job to ensure the conversations are not the same in another five years' time. He will not be in the job if they are.

United have been treading water for too long and a swift return to the Champions League is a must, but for half an hour here they looked nothing like a team worthy of Europe's top club competition.

Nemanja Matic was forced to clear from underneath his own crossbar inside two minutes. Club Brugge, nine points clear at the top of the Belgian league, took the lead thanks to some diabolical defending when Simon Mignolet's long punt forward was lifted over the advancing Sergio Romero by Emmanuel Dennis. Mats Rits should have scored again moments later before Romero was forced into a save at his near post.

It took an awful mix-up between Maxim De Cuyper and Brandon Mechele that allowed Martial to race through to equalise and jolt United into life. Brandon Williams blazed over the bar. Martial hit the post.

Afterwards, Solskjaer called both goals "strange."

With Sergio Romero, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira and Diogo Dalot all picked from the start, this was Solskjaer's second team as he looks to nurse his squad through the second half of the season. He is not in a position yet where he can prioritise the Premier League or the Europa League in the hunt for Champions League football and, for now, he needs to stay in the race in both competitions. Had Mason Greenwood not been struck down with illness, Martial would not have started here, and it was telling the Frenchman was substituted with more than 20 minutes to go and the game still in the balance.

This is the business end of a European competition, but Watford at Old Trafford on Sunday is another big game in the battle for the top four. It would be typical of United's season if they were to follow up an impressive 2-0 win at Chelsea by failing to beat the team second bottom in the table. Bruno Fernandes, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Fred should all return to make sure that does not happen. After Watford comes the return leg against Club Brugge, and Solskjaer will again have to shuffle his pack.

"We needed to make everyone part of the squad, we've got so many games now," said the Norwegian. "We've got to think about the bigger picture. We got an away goal, got a draw, we go home next week and hopefully we can finish the job."

Five years on from the last visit to Bruges, the United rebuild is still a long way from being completed.

Arsenal will be confident of advancing to the Europa League's last 16 after beating Olympiakos 1-0 in their round-of-32 first leg in Athens on Wednesday. Alexandre Lacazette made up for his early defensive blunders to score a typical poacher's goal with 10 minutes remaining while an adaptable back four of Bukayo Saka, David Luiz, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi recorded the Gunners' third successive clean sheet.

Positives

An incredibly controlled first-half display would've encouraged travelling fans, with Mustafi in particular catching the eye. Bernd Leno backed up his two clean sheets against Burnley and Newcastle by performing confidently in goal, too, while the quick-moving Saka troubled Olympiakos' players on the left.

Negatives

Arsenal wobbled in the opening minutes of the game, and were extremely vulnerable to conceding an early goal as Sokratis settled into the right-back role. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brightened as the game entered its final 10 minutes, though previously his tendency to play centrally when out of possession aided the hosts' threat to counter on the wing.

7 -- It was a rather flat game in terms of pace and energy from Olympiakos, though the visitors' adaptable back four performed well to register another clean sheet. Mikel Arteta's introduction of Dani Ceballos had a slight impact on the game, while Saka's forward movement proved inspired as he bagged a worthy assist.

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK Bernd Leno, 9 -- Played a solid role despite Olympiakos rarely threatening the visitors' goal in the first half. Evidently read the game well when venturing away from his goal line to confidently claim loose balls and made several key saves in the second half.

DF Bukayo Saka, 8 -- Brilliantly skillful with his play at times, and while he lacked the delivery of a final ball in the first half, he more than made up for it in the second when making a bursting run into the penalty area before squaring play to Lacazette to score.

DF David Luiz, 7 -- A solid first half defensive performance, but his frustration with Arsenal's midfield players was evident amid a shortage of options. Similarly solid in the second half and fully deserved the clean sheet he got.

DF Sokratis Papastathopoulos, 7 -- At times found life tough in an unfamiliar right-back and wasn't helped by the central Aubameyang; Konstantinos Tsimikas was allowed to control the game for the hosts on the left wing as a result. Solid display just when it was needed.

DF Shkodran Mustafi, 7 -- Similar to his defensive colleagues, rarely put a foot wrong when called upon to shut out the hosts' threat. Excellent diagonal vision, too, to stretch play and allow Aubamenyang some freedom with his movement on the left.

MF Matteo Guendouzi, 6 -- A cheap giveaway of possession in the early minutes almost gifted Olympiakos an early goal. The occasional sloppy touch when under little pressure made him a slight liability.

MF Granit Xhaka, 6 -- Set pieces were a tad inconsistent, they either hit the mark of were way off it. Passing was occasionally off too and picked up another sloppy yellow card to round off a mediocre evening.

MF Joe Willock, 7 -- Possessed great vision in midfield to benefit Lacazette early on and made a couple of eye-catching runs, but his control on the game weakened as time passed and was unsurprisingly subbed in favour of Nicolas Pepe late on.

MF Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 7 -- Tended to drift into the central areas of the pitch when Arsenal were out of possession, and it left them vulnerable on the right. Played a key role in the Gunners' winning goal, though, by chasing a lost cause before feeding play to Saka who teed up Lacazette.

MF Gabriel Martinelli, 6 -- Good vision concerning his link-up play with Lacazette early on, but was extremely short on passes and struggled to link play with those around him before being subbed off shortly before the hour mark.

FW Alexandre Lacazette, 7 -- A dreadful miss from six yards out with 20 minutes on the clock perhaps epitomised his game for the first 80 minutes, but he bagged a typical poacher's goal with 10 minutes remaining before finding space moments later to almost strike a second.

Substitutes

MF Dani Ceballos, 6 -- Deployed in a playmaking role and aided the visitors' threat in the concluding half hour.

MF Nicolas Pepe, N/R -- Replaced Willock for the final 15 minutes.

MF Ainsley Maitland-Niles, N/R -- Only introduced for Sokratis on 90 minutes.

New Zealand opt to bowl v India

On a drizzly, windy Wellington morning, New Zealand got off to a good start to the two-Test series by winning the toss and asking India to bat first. They were missing their enforcer Neil Wagner away on paternity leave, who was replaced by the tall right-arm fast bowler Kyle Jamieson. Having named their XII on the eve of the match, New Zealand made the call to go in with a more orthodox combination, which meant Ajaz Patel made it and not medium-pace allrounder Daryl Mitchell.

India were more orthodox too than their edgy experimental selves on away tours. They went in with six specialist batsmen, the more accomplished spinner, and most importantly Ishant Sharma, who made a near-miraculous return to full fitness after tearing an ankle ligament in December. Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal were the chosen openers, and Hanuma Vihari the No. 6 batsman. Rishabh pant got the nod ahead of Wriddhiman Saha for his batting prowess. R Ashwin pipped Ravindra Jadeja, presumably because he can use the breeze better.

New Zealand 1 Tom Latham, 2 Tom Blundell, 3 Kane Williamson (capt.), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Ajaz Patel, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Kyle Jamieson, 11 Trent Boult

India 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt.), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Hanuma Vihari, 7 Rishabh Pant (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- As a catcher who spent parts of four seasons playing in the American League West between 2016 and 2019, Jonathan Lucroy found himself in a unique position to observe the sign-stealing tactics of the Houston Astros while needing to plan against the scheme.

Lucroy, who is now with the Boston Red Sox, played for the Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels in the AL West during that span. And, as a division rival, he saw up close the effectiveness of Houston's actions.

"I knew about that two years ago, that it was going on," Lucroy said Thursday. "I know it just recently came out. Everyone in baseball [knew], especially in that division that played against them. But we were all aware of the Astros doing those things and it was up to us to outsmart them, I guess you could say.

"It's kind of hard when you have a computer program that breaks your signs. We actively changed signs. Every single pitch, we were changing signs. You had to because they would relay them to second, stealing them from first, too -- from between your legs. They had a very intricate system going on. We were well aware of it, and it was a challenge. It was a mental challenge to really overcome that. It's easier said than done. But it's a shame, and I'm glad it came out and it came to light."

Lucroy said that Mike Fiers informed him of Houston's tactics once they became teammates in Oakland in 2018. The revelation led Lucroy, who signed a minor league deal with Boston earlier this week, to create more and more intricate sign-calling patterns to preemptively fight any tactics used by the Astros. Working with different pitchers called for different tactics as well.

Lucroy added that he never heard the banging of a trash can, but he would not have been listening for it in the first place.

"[Pitchers] don't want to sit there and try to think about decoding your signs and thinking about your indicators and all the different things that you're doing," said Lucroy, a 10-year major league veteran. "They want to sit there and just worry about executing. Some guys can handle it and some guys can't. It was very difficult to do.

"The guys were calling time and stepping out of the box as you take time to put your sign sequence down, and it was making games long and leaving guys out there. Their system, not only did it work with them having the signs and being able to see them, but it made our guys sit out there longer. You had to put down a more complex set of signs and everything. I'm glad it's been taken care of. It was out of hand and it affected the games in a lot of different ways."

According to Lucroy, the Athletics informed Major League Baseball about their experience with the Astros, but no investigation was started until Fiers went on the record with The Athletic in November.

Athletics general manager David Forst confirmed to The Mercury News last week that Oakland complained to the league well before MLB's investigation commenced.

Word began spreading quickly about the Astros, and Lucroy said he would text others around the league about what he had learned.

"It was crazy, some of the pitches they would take," Lucroy said. "It was like, 'Man, these guys are some of the best hitters I've ever seen.' It all made sense when I found out how they were doing it. Then it was like, 'What are we going to do?' I was with Oakland, and we had let MLB know, and they just called and said something. They didn't go through the whole investigation. It wasn't until Fiers came out publicly that they went and looked at it really hard."

Paranoia played a massive role in shaping Lucroy's preparation for Houston. Sign stealing has always been a part of the game, but Lucroy said Houston's efforts extended beyond what he had seen. At times, Lucroy said, players would look out into the outfield to see if anyone in the bullpen had binoculars.

"I remember a game with Edwin Jackson. He's a guy I've been around a long time, so I knew that I could get real complicated on signs and he would be OK," Lucroy said. "It was a mental workout. We were switching signs every pitch -- every single pitch -- because you had to. If you didn't, they were going to get it and go up there and take advantage of it."

While Major League Baseball has discussed new technology to allow pitchers and catchers to communicate without putting down signs, Lucroy has been skeptical about its effectiveness and its ability to not be hacked.

"They've talked about the earpieces, the radio transmitters, but the thing is, someone is going to hack into that, too," Lucroy said. "There's some kind of CIA-spy thing out there where someone will figure something out. I don't know. We've talked about it as a union, amongst ourselves as players, and there's gotta be something we can do to make it easier. The NFL does it with their quarterbacks. There must be something we can do."

Commissioner Rob Manfred gave Houston's players immunity from punishment in order to extract as much information as possible about the scandal, but Lucroy said Astros players deserve punishment for their actions, echoing the massive wave of player comments across the league in spring training.

Lucroy, who was teammates with Ryan Braun when the Milwaukee Brewers outfielder was suspended for using PEDs, said Astros players deserve punishment similar to what steroid users have received.

"Guys do steroids and they get punished. Guys cheat with steroids and get punished. I saw that in 2011 with the Brewers with that whole situation there," Lucroy said. "That guy [Braun] got punished. For me, the hardest part, and everyone else has been saying this, you're taking money.

"Guys are out there on the mound -- and it may be a Triple-A up-and-down guy and he gets rocked because you're stealing signs like that and gets sent down and never plays again. Or a guy who gets his career ended 'cause he goes out there and gets rocked. This game is a business, and if you're not performing, you don't play. Guys have families and have kids. That's the hardest part for me.

"These guys were essentially taking money away from players and their families and their kids. That's the hardest thing for me to swallow. I just think we should play the game the right way. If you want to steal signs, put them on second -- and I've been on teams that have done that. That's normal and part of the game. Doing it illegally? That's tough, especially with how it affects your livelihood."

LAS VEGAS -- The Nevada State Athletic Commission has barred heavyweight world titleholder Deontay Wilder and lineal champion Tyson Fury from participating in the traditional faceoff at the weigh-in on Friday ahead of their championship rematch.

Wilder and Fury are scheduled to weigh in on Friday at 6 p.m. ET.

"The reason the decision was made, on behalf of the commission, is because the press conference [on Wednesday] spoke for itself," NSAC executive director Bob Bennett told ESPN on Thursday.

As soon as Fury joined Wilder on stage to begin the final prefight news conference inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena, where they will fight Saturday (ESPN-Fox PPV, 9 p.m. ET), the two giants went nose to nose and their confrontation eventually erupted into pushing and shoving, forcing security to intervene to keep them apart.

"The actions of the two fighters pushing each other, which was not staged, is not indicative of the image of our sport as a major league sport, thus having a faceoff is not in the best interest in the health and safety of the fighters, the public and the event," Bennett said.

"And, quite frankly, that image, where you have two professional athletes pushing each other where somebody could get hurt, is not keeping with the image of a major league sport and we're a major league sport."

Bennett said he conferred with commission chairman Anthony Marnell III on Wednesday night to tell him he wanted to cancel the faceoff and that Marnell fully supported the idea. Bennett said he spoke to Wilder promoter Tom Brown of TGB Promotions on Wednesday night and to Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, Fury's co-promoter, on Thursday morning and both "were OK with it."

"I'm not going to put the public or the fighters or the event in harm's way because everybody is looking forward to a spectacular event," Bennett said. "This decision is in the best interest of the fighters, the fans and the event."

It is an unprecedented move, but it is one that Arum said he supported.

"If this fight depends on a faceoff to sell it, we have not done our job," Arum told ESPN. "They will take pictures, just no faceoff. This commission realizes because of ESPN and Fox that boxing is back as major sport and we're not going to f--- it up by having these guys push each other or fight each other at a weigh-in.

"It doesn't happen in the NFL, or Major League Baseball or the NBA where you have the athletes pushing and shoving before their contest. Boxing is now a major sport and we will conduct ourselves like one."

When Wednesday's final news conference ended, Arum on his own called off the faceoff between Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) and Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) because he was upset by the pushing and shoving that opened the news conference.

Top Rank president Todd duBoef, Arum's stepson, said he was surprised by the commission's decision.

"In my 25 years in boxing, I've never heard of an administrative body stepping in and prohibiting a faceoff," deBoef said. "It's the pinnacle moment before the fight. I am just shocked. That's the money shot and not having that is frustrating."

NFL owners on Thursday accepted the negotiated terms of a new proposed collective bargaining agreement, sending the vote to players ahead of a potential agreement between the sides.

All 32 owners met Thursday in New York City for an update on the current proposal.

Three-fourths of the owners had to approve the CBA for it to be ratified. While owners were not unanimous in their approval, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter, the proposal still garnered enough support to pass.

"Following more than ten months of intensive and thorough negotiations the NFL Players and clubs have jointly developed a comprehensive set of new and revised terms that will transform the future of the game, provide for players -- past, present, and future -- both on and off the field, and ensure that the NFL's second century is even better and more exciting for the fans," the league said in a statement.

"The membership voted today to accept the negotiated terms on the principal elements of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Players Association would also need to vote to approve the same terms for there to be a new agreement. Since the clubs and players need to have a system in place and know the rules that they will operate under by next week, the membership also approved moving forward under the final year of the 2011 CBA if the players decide not to approve the negotiated terms. Out of respect for the process and our partners at the NFLPA, we will have no further comment at this time."

NFLPA team player reps and the NFLPA's executive council, which had been planning a Friday meeting in Washington, D.C., on the topic, are now planning to hold a conference call Friday instead of meeting face-to-face. That call could result in a vote on whether to approve the owners' offer or reject it.

If two-thirds of the NFLPA's player reps approve the deal, it would move on to the next stage, in which all NFL players would vote and a simple majority would be required to approve it.

Sources previously told ESPN that the proposed CBA would allow the league to expand the regular season from 16 games to 17 games at some point in the next four years (although no sooner than 2021) in exchange for financial and other concessions the players have sought in negotiations. One concession is that the preseason will be shortened, sources said.

In addition, sources said that starting in 2020, the playoff field would be expanded to seven teams from each conference, and only one team from each conference would receive a first-round bye as opposed to the two that currently do.

The league's desire to expand the regular season has been met with harsh opposition from many players, who view an expanded season as an unnecessary increase in the risk to players' health and safety. But union leaders have touted to players the benefits of the proposed new deal, which includes a higher percentage of league revenue going to players, improvements in the drug policy and discipline policy, higher minimum salaries, higher per-team spending floors and relaxed offseason work rules.

In addition, players with existing contracts that stretch into 17-game seasons would have their deals amended to account for it, a source close to the negotiations said. Each payer in such a situation would receive a raise commensurate with one game check based on their negotiated per-game rate, but that amount would not exceed $250,000 per season.

Information from ESPN's Dan Graziano and Adam Schefter was used in this report.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jake Layman was finally cleared Thursday to return to practice, with his absence at 39 straight games and counting because of a sprained left toe.

Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, however, does not have that clearance as he continues to sit out with a sprained left wrist.

The Timberwolves will play Friday against Boston without Towns, who missed the last game prior to the All-Star break on Feb. 12.

Coach Ryan Saunders has only said Towns will miss multiple games.

"We're obviously still looking, getting opinions that are out there," Saunders said Thursday. "You want to make the best decisions possible for himself, and also for the organization."

Towns missed 15 games earlier this season with a left knee injury. His latest setback came in the aftermath of the whirlwind week leading up the trade deadline that landed guard D'Angelo Russell, a good friend of Towns. The Russell-Towns pairing energized a downtrodden fan base, but the duo has only been on the court for one game together.

Layman, who's in his first season with Minnesota, was hurt Nov. 18 at Utah. The Timberwolves said Layman will be reevaluated in one week, meaning he'll sit out at least four more games. He sounded optimistic about being ready to play after that.

"The toe feels great. It's just that conditioning part that I need to get back," Layman said.

The 6-foot-8 Layman was averaging a career-best 10.5 points over the first 14 games, on a career-high 35.2% shooting from 3-point range.

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is considering treatment options on his right shoulder impingement, including the possibility of surgery, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews. Irving is expected to reach a decision in the next few days, per sources.

Irving missed 26 consecutive games earlier this season with the right shoulder impingement. He said that the pain started during the Nets' Nov. 4 game against the Pelicans.

On Tuesday, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said Irving continued to struggle with shoulder discomfort after returning from his extended absence, which stretched from mid-November to mid-January.

Irving saw an Arizona-based specialist in December and received a cortisone shot on Dec. 24. Irving said at the time that he hoped the cortisone would eliminate an immediate need for surgery.

"You either continue to get cortisone shots, which is obviously detrimental to your health and your muscles, or you go get arthroscopic surgery," Irving said in December. "For me, it's just about being able to go back out there after the right amount of rehab, the right amount of rest and recovery and see what we can do for the rest of the season and then reevaluate after a few months."

Irving also missed one game for hamstring tightness, one game after Kobe Bryant's death, and the five games before the All-Star break with a sprained knee.