GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Dave Roberts was watching his players throw bullpen sessions and conduct batting practice while members of the 2017 Houston Astros stumbled through prearranged apologies Thursday morning. Later, while addressing an eager media contingent, the Los Angeles Dodgers' manager struck a distinct tone -- he was done talking about what might or might not have occurred three World Series ago, and he was ready to move on with the 2020 season. "Our story," Roberts said, "is moving forward."

The following morning, before the team's first official workout of spring training, it was clear that many of Roberts' players were not done venting, grieving and, in many ways, processing how the Astros might have unfairly beaten them in the championship round.

Cody Bellinger, one of the game's brightest young stars, went scorched earth on the Astros, saying Jose Altuve "stole" the 2017 MVP from Aaron Judge and that he "lost respect" for that team. Justin Turner, one of the Dodgers' clubhouse leaders, ridiculed Astros owner Jim Crane for initially stating that his club's sign-stealing methods "didn't impact the game." Alex Wood, who had the foresight to constantly change the sign sequences while starting Game 5 of the 2017 World Series from Minute Maid Park in Houston, said he wouldn't be surprised if several opposing pitchers threw at Astros hitters this season.

Clayton Kershaw, who might have been among the most directly impacted by the cheating scandal, admitted that he doesn't know what to think.

"Us in this clubhouse, we're all going to handle it differently," Kershaw said. "And I think that's awesome that everybody's gonna answer these questions differently. Everybody's gonna be honest about it, everybody's gonna move on in their own way, and I think that's really cool. I think as a team, we can all be individual in how we handle it, and then come together as a team after it and be ready to go. I think the script of this, of what happened in Houston yesterday, it didn't seem as genuine. And I think over here, you're gonna feel the genuineness of what we feel. And we're going to move on a little bit easier from it, I think."

The process is ongoing, the sentiments scattered. Kershaw says he believes adding a former MVP in Mookie Betts and a former Cy Young Award winner in David Price -- essentially shaking up the core group, an approach Roberts has long believed to be important -- "really helps bring a new excitement to this season."

Turner wasn't so sure.

"It's just like ripping open a scab," Turner said of constant revelations about the Astros' methods. "It rehashes some things, and you go back, think what if, what happened. And that's just going to drive us crazy if we continue to do that. You just gotta let them deal with it however they deal with it. Everyone's gonna have their opinion, everyone's gonna treat them however they feel necessary. Lucky for us, we don't play them this year. So we don't even have to worry about them. The rest of the league can deal with them."

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Ross Stripling was recently almost traded to the Los Angeles Angels, an American League West team that will open its season at Minute Maid Park and is scheduled to play the division rival Astros 19 times in 2020. He was asked if he would have taken it upon himself to throw at Astros hitters had he played for the Angels.

"I would lean toward yes," Stripling said after some thought. "In the right time, and in the right place."

Wood alluded to a fascinating dilemma with that approach.

"Somebody will take it into their own hands, and they'll get suspended more games than any of those guys got for the biggest cheating scandal in 100 years," he said. "It'll be pretty ironic when that happens, because I'm sure that's how it'll end up playing out."

A group chat began with basically every member of the 2017 Dodgers team that lost to the Astros in seven World Series games shortly after Alex Bregman and Altuve were unrepentant during the team's fan fest last month. It was initially an effective outlet for some of the affected players, but the onslaught of text messages eventually died down. As the weeks progressed and spring training approached, some of those players identified their own purpose within the sign-stealing scandal.

Wood, among the most vocal on Twitter, has taken it upon himself to educate fans on why stealing signs the way the Astros did was such a big deal.

"When guys know what's coming, it's a whole different ballgame," Wood said. "This is a game, but it's also a lot of guys' lives. It's how they feed their families."

Stripling pinpointed a goal -- to ensure that the stigma of all this doesn't die.

"One of the worst things that could happen is that we get through spring and it's just forgotten about, or that you get pegged for the first two games and it's just forgotten about," Stripling said. "It needs to be reiterated."

In that vein, several Dodgers will attempt to strike a difficult balance -- of making sure the extent of the Astros' transgressions is not forgotten, but also ensuring that it isn't a constant source of internal consternation throughout their pursuit of an elusive World Series championship. They'll all navigate it differently.

On Friday, the Dodgers seemed consistent with one thought -- that the Astros' apology was not good enough.

Stripling thought it was "as bad as it can be." Turner, like many others, didn't go out of his way to watch it, but did catch Crane's statement, which he later walked back, and said: "It's mind-boggling to me that you had that much time to prepare for this and you had to retract the first thing you said in the statement."

"That's just wild," Bellinger said when asked of Crane saying the Astros' sign stealing "didn't impact the game." "I don't know if he meant to say that or not, but that's obviously not true."

"To be honest, I don't know what to think anymore," Kershaw added. "Some of those guys seemed remorseful. Some of those guys said the right things, gave a good apology, and that's great. We'll move on with that. And then you get the owner up there saying some dumb stuff, and it's like, 'What's going on? How can you be that ignorant to the situation?'"

In the midst of his comments, Bellinger brought up how he just met Betts and Price and how excited that made him about what awaits. Turner expressed similar thoughts, acknowledging that the pain of the 2017 World Series would never vanquish while also expressing the importance of moving on from it.

Roberts hopes others will follow.

"Obviously when you start talking about the beginning of spring training, there's more opportunities for players to voice their thoughts, and there's media that wants answers, which is completely fair," he said. "But I do think that once we get going, it's got to be in the past. I think that they're aware of that."

We highlight some of the action you really won’t want to miss at the World Athletics Indoor Tour meeting

The weather which has howled its way across the UK has highlighted plenty of good reasons to stay indoors recently. Another particularly good one will present itself in Glasgow on Saturday (February 15) when the Müller Indoor Grand Prix, the annual indoor showpiece which alternates between Scotland’s largest city and Birmingham, pitches up at the Emirates Arena on the next stop of the World Athletics Indoor Tour.

The seemingly unstoppable Armand Duplantis will compete for the first time as a senior world record-breaker, when he jumps against the newly-crowned American record-breaker Sam Kendricks in the pole vault.

And there will be the home favourites. Jemma Reekie can’t race without breaking a British record these days it seems and goes in the 1500m, while her fellow Scot and training partner Laura Muir has made no secret of the fact that she is gunning for the 1000m indoor world record on the track where she trains and completed the European indoor double-double almost 12 months ago.

World champion heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson returns to the scene of her European pentathlon title and competes in the long jump.

For our full event-by-event preview, see the February 13 edition of AW magazine, which is available to order in print here or download digitally here.

Timetable

13:00 Pole vault M Final
13:26 60m hurdles W Heat 1
13:29 60m hurdles W Heat 2
13:52 1500m W Final
14:05 400m M Final
14:11 High jump W Final
14:18 1500m M Final
14:31 400m W Final
14:44 60m M Heat 1
14:57 60m M Heat 2
15:08 60m hurdles W Final
15:15 Long jump W Final
15:23 60m hurdles M Final
15:36 60m W Final
15:49 800m M Final
16:02 60m M Final
161:5 1000m W Final
Live from 13:15 on BBC One

Women’s 60m

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is widely regarded as one of the finest sprinters in history and is looking to add to her considerable honours list in 2020. The Jamaican double Olympic champion, who returned from the birth of her first child to win the 100m and 4x100m world titles in Doha last year, arrives in Glasgow for a mouthwatering match-up with Ivorian world indoor champion Murielle Ahouré.

Teenager Amy Hunt will receive the backing of the home crowd as the British under-18 200m world record-holder takes her place amongst illustrious company.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce chats to AW ahead of the Müller Grand Prix in Glasgow. @realshellyannfp pic.twitter.com/DPNvhcOrio

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) February 14, 2020

Men’s 60m hurdles

Andrew Pozzi could barely have started 2020 in better form and the world indoor champion will be looking to maintain the momentum which has brought him wins in Paris and Torun in front of his home crowd.

The trio of British athletes involved is completed by David King and  Cameron Fillery, while the USA’s Aaron Mallett – sixth behind Pozzi in Poland – also competes.

Women’s 1000m

After being somewhat upstaged by her training partner and friend Jemma Reekie in recent weeks, all eyes will be on Laura Muir to see if she can create another milestone on the track she calls home.

Beating Maria Mutola’s world record of 2:30.94 is the objective for the European indoor 1500m and 3000m champion and there is little doubt she will have the full support of the Glasgow crowd in the pursuit of her goal.

The 2018 British indoor 800m champion Adelle Tracey joins her in a field which also includes Ireland’s European U23 800m bronze medallist Nadia Power and Dutch 1000m record-holder Sanne Verstegen-Wolters.

Women’s 1500m

Jemma Reekie has broken British records every time she has raced so far this year and it will be fascinating to see how the young Scot performs back at the scene of her remarkable 800m showing which catapulted her into the spotlight.

Her Millrose Games performance only strengthened the glare but she will be joined by fellow Andy Young- coached athlete Gabriela DeBues-Stafford of Canada, as well as fellow Brit Sarah McDonald. Kenya’s world championships seventh-placer Winny Chebet will also take her place on the start line.

Men’s pole vault

In his first two appearances of the year, Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis came inches away from breaking the world record in Dusseldorf and then promptly followed that up by creating history when he cleared 6.17m in Torun. He couldn’t go higher in Glasgow, could he?

That is the question which will be on the lips of the Emirates Arena crowd for an event which gets the whole meeting off and running.

The presence of world champion Sam Kendricks, who has just broken the American record and took gold in Doha ahead of the Swede last summer, will make this a compelling competition, while Poland’s European indoor champion Pawel Wojcechowski already knows what it takes to win at this venue.

Britain’s Harry Coppell, who impressively vaulted an Olympic qualifying standard last weekend, is also very much on form and features alongside compatriots Charlie Myers and Adam Hague.

Paula Radcliffe hails Jemma Reekie’s impressive recent record-breaking form

Marathon star Paula Radcliffe has celebrated Jemma Reekie’s record-breaking start to the year, with the 21-year-old Scot’s hard work under coach Andy Young clearly paying off.

Reekie recently broke three British records in the space of a week, first improving Jenny Meadows’ indoor 800m mark with a time of 1:57.91 in Glasgow and then adding national indoor 1500m and mile marks of 4:00.52 and 4:17.88 respectively to her CV following a thrilling race in New York.

The latter two records had previously been held by Reekie’s friend and training partner Laura Muir and Radcliffe believes that success is sure to have inspired success within that coaching set up.

“She’s running really well and I’m really happy for her because I think she has worked really hard,” said former world marathon record-holder Radcliffe.

“When you start to run better then your confidence gets better and you believe you can go out and compete with the other girls and it is producing some great racing.

“She has probably fed off seeing what Laura could do and what (Canadian record-holder) Gabriela DeBues-Stafford was doing and just thought ‘well if I’m training with them and I’m keeping up with them in training then of course I can produce that in a race’.”

Reekie has also paid credit to Muir, saying in New York that the four-time European indoor gold medallist had taught her everything she knows.

“I came to her at such a young age and she took me straight under her wing,” said Reekie.

“Slowly I’ve crept up on her. She knows how hard I work and I appreciate how great an athlete she is. On and off the track I couldn’t ask for a better training partner and friend.”

Reekie also talked more about the sinus operation she had late last year in an attempt to end the time out through illness she has had to endure over the past few years.

“I think now a lot of her improvement is the fact that because she has had that sinus problem sorted out,” added Radcliffe.

“She is probably just sleeping better, recovering better and can breathe better while she is actually running.

“It’s just a shame for her that the World Indoors have moved to next year because the form she is in now, it would have been really great for her, but you completely understand why they have done that (postponed the event in China by a year).”

Next up for Reekie is Saturday’s Müller Indoor Grand Prix on home soil in Glasgow where she will race the 1500m, going up against training partner DeBues-Stafford and Ethiopia’s 2016 world indoor silver medallist Dawit Seyaum.

Radcliffe will be among those covering the event as part of the BBC’s commentary team, with the action televised on BBC One from 13:15.

Click here for an event preview and see the February 13 edition of AW for more.

Four-time European indoor champion has nothing but praise and pride for her record-breaking training partner

To the outside world, the idea of a training partner suddenly overtaking the major star of the group and hogging the record-breaking headlines might be the cause of some disgruntlement or potentially damaging friction.

But ask Laura Muir about Jemma Reekie, the friend and athlete who has spent the past few days replacing her at the top of the all-time British indoor charts for 1500m and the mile – not to mention usurping Jenny Meadows over 800m – and there is nothing but praise. A large measure of pride, too.

“I think the faster Jemma’s got, the closer we’ve got,” says the four-time European indoor champion.

“To have someone like Jemma right on my heels is so good for both of us. And, yeah, she’s like a little sister to me. We travel the world together, we race each other, so sorry to disappoint you but it’s not a big rivalry. We’re not upset with each other, we both work really well. She helps with my speed and I help her with endurance.”

The two were speaking at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, the venue which is not only their training base but also the stage for the Müller Indoor Grand Prix on Saturday. Unlike that remarkable 800m which unfolded on the same track at the beginning of this month, there will be no head to head between these Scots in front of a home crowd on this occasion.

Reekie will instead compete over 1500m while Muir is aiming to put herself back in the spotlight by breaking Maria Mutola’s 1000m indoor world record at the climax to what is a packed day of action.

The younger woman arrives on this start line with a completely different level of expectation around her, following a week which has made the athletics world sit up and take notice of a 21-year-old making the breakthrough of breakthroughs.

She is fortunate to have someone close at hand who knows a thing or two about dealing with increased levels of pressure and the added extras that come with on-track success.

“I have spoken to Laura about a few things and I know I can go to her with anything I need to speak about,” says Reekie. “I think I get a lot of advice from Laura. I learn a lot. We both manage things in different ways.”

Muir adds: “I remember what happened after she ran that 800m, she was a bit overwhelmed. And I said ‘this is what happens when you run fast’. I think it’s just having someone you can speak to. I have been through that, that high pressure, but she’s still got to enjoy her running and focus on that.”

“To have someone like Jemma right on my heels is so good for both of us. And, yeah, she’s like a little sister to me”

Muir jokes that she has been feeling “left out” by being one of the few of her training group not to have been breaking records of late. She will admit to it providing an added level of motivation, however.

“Yeah definitely,” she says. “Although since the turn of the year I am three down already! I am at a net loss so I have to turn one back – I am feeling a bit left out. Gabriela (Canada’s DeBues-Stafford, another partner) set two national records last week, too.”

Neither athlete opted to comment on the spikes and footwear debate swirling around athletics right now, preferring instead to talk about how the rising standards within coach Andy Young’s training group is of major benefit.

“I think it’s great because we can just push each other so much in training,” says Muir. “I’ve always trained with guys, but having another girl that’s up with you just adds that extra element. So it’s really exciting for both of us to be in such a good place in an Olympic year because we’re just going to push each other to get faster and faster and hopefully that will be exciting for the summer.”

There will be no echoes of the Seb Coe and Steve Ovett era, when the two greats rarely raced each other. “We won’t be avoiding it,” says Reekie of potential clashes.

Of more immediate concern, however, is Muir’s attempt at lowering Mutola’s mark of 2:30.94, set back in 1999. The Scot’s indoor personal best is 2:31.93.

“I’m pretty confident,” she says of her prospects. “I ran 1:58.4 (an indoor 800m PB in coming second to Reekie, so I’ve got 32-and-a-half seconds or 33 seconds to try and get round. It’s going to be very close. If I don’t pace it right I’m going to be in trouble.

“If I’m a second too fast or too slow on any of the laps it’s probably game over. It will be down to the line.”

And what if she does manage it?

“It will be really special. I’ve got British and European records – well, not as many as I had! But I’ve never been for a world record before. I’ve got lots of friends and family coming to watch so it should be special.”

That’s a word Muir also reserves for Reekie. The 26-year-old is wary, however, of too great a weight much being applied too soon on a burgeoning talent.

“I am being very careful because it is an Olympic year and she has raced amazingly but I am wary of piling loads of pressure,” says Muir, who has medal winning aspirations when it comes to Tokyo. “I think she is capable of doing very, very special things.

“It is about going at the right pace. To run amazing times is fantastic but you need championship experience as well and Tokyo will be her first Olympics. I want her to enjoy that as best as possible, you know, and not have that big, big bit of pressure.”

Reekie’s approach? Keep it simple.

“I always push to do the best I can,” she says. “I will keep the same mindset and do the same again.”

SILVERSTONE, England – Seventy-five days after the last race of the 2019 season, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team took to the track Friday to complete the first laps with the team’s new car for upcoming season.

The Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance turned laps Friday morning at the Silverstone Circuit with Valtteri Bottas behind the wheel. Lewis Hamilton turned his first laps in the car Friday afternoon.

“2020 will be particularly challenging because there will be teams that will put a lot of focus on 2020 and there will be teams that will start to shift their resources into 2021. Getting that balance right will very important, but that’s not an easy thing to do,” said Toto Wolff. “Our ambition is clear: we want to be competitive in both 2020 and 2021. That is a great challenge, but the greater the challenge, the more we like it.”

Named Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance. As part of the strategy of Mercedes-AMG, EQ Performance stands for the brand’s future Mercedes-AMG performance hybrid models. The EQ Performance designation places the car and its hybrid power unit at the forefront of the future Mercedes-AMG line-up. W11 represents the fact that this is the eleventh Mercedes-made Formula One car since the three-pointed star returned to Formula One as a works team in 2010.

“The atmosphere this year is very calm, very focused – we all know that there’s a job to do and results to be delivered in order to meet our own expectations, so we’re working hard to try and prepare in the best way possible,” said Wolff. “We feel no sense of entitlement to win races or championships, we know that we need to fight extremely hard for that as we had to in every year. This has been our mindset from the beginning.”

Today’s running constitutes an official 100 km filming day, which the team also uses as a final systems check before the first pre-season test in Barcelona. This initial test and filming day is known as the shakedown and takes place at the 2.98 kilometre Silverstone International Circuit.

Both drivers were eager to get back into the car after their winter break, which included intensive training to prepare for the upcoming season.

“It’s a real privilege for Valtteri and myself to be the only people who get to drive this machine and I’m really looking forward to stretching its legs,” said Hamilton. “I’ve been in constant communications with the engineers, trying to keep an eye on everything that was happening at the factory. Today is a really exciting day – finally seeing in person what this team has worked towards so hard. As a driver, you’re just itching to get back into the car.”

“The first time I came to the factory this was quite a few weeks ago for a number of meetings with the engineers and we’ve been in touch since then,” said Bottas. “It’s been really interesting for me to get more and more involved, learning about all the new features of our weapon for this year’s fight. Developing and building a new car is never straight-forward, it’s a huge effort by every single team member to deliver this year on year. Now things really kick off and I’m very excited to finally get the chance to drive the new car. I’ve been waiting to get back behind the wheel.”

“The shakedown has always been important, but it is particularly precious this year. It’s our last chance to make sure all is well ahead of the first official day of Winter Testing. If all goes well in the shakedown then we will be well placed to roll out the garage at nine o’clock in Barcelona and just start hitting the laps,” said James Allison, Technical Director. “With a shorter winter testing program, that last ticking everything off at the shakedown is proportionally more important so we are determined to squeeze every drop of goodness from it that we can.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR has announced a record-setting purse of $23.6 million for the 62nd annual Daytona 500, scheduled for Sunday at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

Since the first edition of the Daytona 500 in 1959, NASCAR drivers have aimed for a career-defining victory in the Daytona 500 – and the fame, prestige and, now, largest purse in the history of American motorsports that come with it.

“The Daytona 500 is more than just the season-opening race,” said Chip Wile, president of Daytona Int’l Speedway. “It’s a life-changing event for the winner, whose name will join the legends of this sport. Fans will pack the state-of-the-art motorsports venue, and millions will watch on television. And the reason is simple: The Daytona 500 is one of the premier events in all of sports, and now has the richest purse in history.”

The Daytona 500 has evolved incredibly since NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. introduced race fans to what has become a world-wide spectacle. Just fewer than 42,000 fans attended the inaugural event, won by Lee Petty, who took home just under $20,000 for the victory.

A sell-out crowd of more than 100,000 fans will pack the Daytona Int’l Speedway on Sunday to watch the most prestigious – and richest – race on the NASCAR calendar.

The Pittsburgh Penguins took one of the big names off of the 2020 NHL trade deadline board this week with their acquisition of Jason Zucker, but a number of interesting players remain on the menu of available options.

As the Feb. 24 deadline approaches, there are also playoff races to monitor, including a surprising run for the Columbus Blue Jackets. So we gathered our panel to hit a series of hot topics in buy/sell fashion:

• There will be a shocking big-name trade on deadline day.

• The Blackhawks will deal a goalie before the trade deadline.

• The Blue Jackets will finish top three in the Metro Division.

• The Bruins should bring back Joe Thornton.

• The biggest Pacific Division deadline winner will be a seller.

There will be a shocking big-name trade on deadline day.

Emily Kaplan, national NHL reporter: Buy. Big moves happen when we least expect it, and I have little expectations in a season where there are so many teams still hovering around the playoff race. Best guesses? The Carolina Hurricanes get a top-four defenseman with term, or the Colorado Avalanche swing for the fences with a top-six scorer. Would it qualify as a shocker if Ilya Kovalchuk is reunited with now-Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello?

Chris Peters, hockey prospects analyst: Sell. The summer seems to be the norm for the big blockbuster trades, when emotions are cooler, the cap situations are clearer and GMs still feel the burn of a season of missed opportunities.

Ben Arledge, NHL editor: Buy. There's bound to be one, though the answer to this question depends on what you consider a big name. It's the NHL trade deadline -- something will take us off guard, especially considering multiple division races are currently tightening up. But who will make the splash?

Sachin Chandan, fantasy hockey editor: Sell. The biggest question would be if the Arizona Coyotes would consider trading away Taylor Hall two months after trading for him, but the organization seems to want to make a run with him and then aim for an extension in the offseason. The Hurricanes seem like a strong fit if the Wild deal Matt Dumba, but indications are that the Wild have a high asking price that the Hurricanes may not be interested in matching. I do expect that Chris Kreider and Alec Martinez will move, but those wouldn't count as shocking.

The Blackhawks will deal either Corey Crawford or Robin Lehner before the trade deadline.

Kaplan: Sell. There just isn't a thirsty enough goalie market out there, and if Chicago is still in the race, the Blackhawks are keeping both guys. I think they'll ultimately extend Lehner this summer. They're also loyal to Crawford; if they part ways, it will be amicably over the summer.

Peters: Sell. Chicago has to figure out its long-term plans in net and making a trade under the pressure of the deadline does not seem to be the best way to sort that out. I agree with Emily that Lehner could be the answer in the immediate future and that the return on any deal would not be substantial enough to force the Blackhawks into such a hasty decision in net.

Arledge: Buy. No, the goalie market is not all that expansive, but the Blackhawks are currently in last place in the Central Division (though also just six points out of a wild-card berth somehow). Both goalies are on expiring contracts, but I'd expect Chicago to hang on to Lehner and bring him back next season. He's only 28 and has done plenty this season to prove last season's breakout wasn't a fluke. While Crawford is a fan favorite in the Windy City, he's also one of the better goalies available and Chicago likely ends up on the outside looking in come playoff time. Keep an eye on Carolina and Vegas -- if it can find the cap space -- as both are potentially looking for a 1B option.

Chandan: Buy. Crawford has a partial no-trade clause that the Blackhawks would have to work with, but he would be an instant veteran presence on a team looking to make a playoff run. If either of the two Chicago goalies were to move, I'd expect it to be the 35-year-old Crawford.

The Blue Jackets will finish as a top-three team in the Metropolitan Division.

Kaplan: Sell. I really want to buy this, but top defenseman Seth Jones getting ankle surgery this week worries me; he's out eight to 10 weeks, which aspirationally would yield a return during the first week of the playoffs. I still think goaltending can propel the Blue Jackets into the playoffs as a wild card.

Peters: Sell. Elvis Merzlikins is magic, but I don't know if he's a miracle worker. The Jones injury is devastating. Cam Atkinson is out for a few weeks. Columbus is going to stay in the mix, but I don't know that the Blue Jackets have the depth to stay with the top Metro teams and I don't think they should be too aggressive at the deadline to try to keep pace.

Arledge: Buy. As Dimitri Filipovic outlined this week, the Blue Jackets have navigated all sorts of injury woes and free-agency losses this season. Yes, Jones is a big one. And Atkinson going down for two to three weeks hurts, too. But between Merzlikins' incredible play and the Blue Jackets' style of play, I think they can steal the No. 3 seed and push either the Islanders or maybe the Penguins to a wild card, especially if Columbus buys at the deadline. I'm not ready to bet against this group just yet.

Chandan: Sell. The Blue Jackets have continued to play well despite injuries, but they play in such a tough division. We can reasonably pencil in Washington and Pittsburgh as the top two Metro teams, then you get into the mix of the Islanders, Flyers and Hurricanes that the Blue Jackets need to fend off. The Islanders have a tough schedule coming up, but should they weather that, I expect them to be the Metro's third seed.

The Bruins should bring back Joe Thornton.

Kaplan: Buy. How wonderful of a storybook ending would that be for Jumbo Joe, to finally hoist a Cup with the team that drafted him first overall in 1997? There are a few caveats here, the biggest being that Thornton actually has to want it. He'd need to waive his no-movement clause.

Peters: Sell. How awesome would that be? What a fun storyline ... but I'm selling. For one, I don't think Thornton is going anywhere. Second, I'm not sure he helps the Bruins a ton more than what they already have, in what would be a very limited role. It would be an incredible story, but unfortunately a little too far-fetched for me.

Arledge: Buy, but it obviously can't be the only move. I also love the storyline, and while Jumbo Joe isn't piling on the numbers this season, he'd provide some depth. Maybe he'll even have a little revival surrounded by Boston's talent. But the big thing here is Boston needs to go get a Chris Kreider type of player, too. Tampa Bay is back to juggernaut status, and Boston would like to add more than just a 40-year-old to push it over the top before the stretch run.

Chandan: Buy. For no other reason than it would be nice to see Jumbo Joe make one last Stanley Cup run in the place where his career began. I do agree with Emily and Ben that he wouldn't be the difference-maker for the Bruins, and that they still need to make another move for a winger. The Bruins should inquire, but I'd be surprised if Thornton waived his no-trade clause.

The biggest Pacific Division deadline winner will be a seller, not a buyer.

Kaplan: Buy. The Pacific Division is such a muck right now. The Kings are the only team I'm confident will be extremely busy, and they are looking to unload veteran contracts. And if they get a few picks and young players to add to their already loaded prospect system, they'll be one of the teams we look at as "winning" the deadline this season.

Peters: Sell. I don't think the pieces that are left for noncontending teams are going to net them a significant enough haul to put them over playoff contending teams that can beef up their rosters for a playoff run. My eyes are on the Golden Knights to get aggressive and keep pushing for that Cup that narrowly slipped through their fingers in Year 1.

Arledge: Sell. Edmonton has each of its picks for Rounds 1-5 for the next three drafts, and Vancouver is missing just a conditional first. And Vegas is set up even better than them, with an incredible seven Round 1-2 picks in 2020 and 2021. First to fifth in the Pacific is separated by three points. One of these teams is going to make a splash to distinguish from the cluster -- and really, it could be any of the three -- considering the neck-and-neck status and abundance of draft capital on the table.

Chandan: Sell. You have to go for the division while you have a chance, and while the standings may be a bit bunched up at the moment, the crown is there for the taking. With each top Pacific team dealing with injuries, it is critical for one of the buyers to add some depth. Vancouver is unexpectedly contending, and should add a veteran forward or two.

MOSCOW -- It's a Friday night at the hockey rink, and a dozen kids rush to the first row of the 100 level and begin calling for their hero. "Gretz-key! Gretz-key!" they yell, waving pens and asking for autographs.

No. 99 finally walks over. He's lanky, at 6-foot-4, with long, angular features but a boyish grin. He's still getting used to fame and adoration. No, it's not The Great One, but the greatly named one: 23-year-old Vyacheslav (Slava) Gretsky, a forward for HC Dinamo Minsk who has become the Kontinental Hockey League's biggest cult hero.

Gretsky is just a rookie, adjusting to the speed and physicality of the KHL, the world's top pro hockey league outside the NHL. He was a minus-3 in his first game, so coaches shaved down his ice time. He played just three shifts, for 3 minutes, 4 seconds, in Game No. 3. After that, he was scratched twice.

Fans didn't care. By his eighth KHL game (when he had yet to record a point), Gretsky had received 2,992 votes over a two-week span to be named to the KHL all-star game. Only two players (both goalies) received more votes. To fully understand the gravity, consider that Gretsky got more votes than the league's most talented player, Kirill Kaprizov -- who is an A-list celebrity in Russia after scoring the gold-medal-winning goal in the 2018 Olympics.

"At first, I was a little embarrassed by the attention," Gretsky said through an interpreter. "But I learned that if it is going to happen, I can only make the most of the opportunity."

Gretsky is the KHL's answer to John Scott, the journeyman enforcer who was famously voted into the NHL's All-Star Game in 2016 despite the league's desperate attempts to block it. By contrast, the KHL has fully embraced and promoted Gretsky. In fact, his own club added fuel to the all-star campaign, sending out tweets suggesting Gretsky and Wayne Gretzky might in fact be relatives, considering that Gretsky was born in the same area as The Great One's grandfather -- with the tweets punctuated with a winking face.

Eventually the hysteria reached Wayne Gretzky himself.

"A month ago, my friend sent me a story about him," Gretzky told ESPN in January. "And so I read all about him, and I think it's amazing. As soon as my friend sent it to me, I said, 'He might be related to me.'"

Gretzky explained that his grandfather Anton immigrated to Chicago from Eastern Europe in the early 20th century. As World War I broke out, Anton was going to join the U.S. Army but was told he'd be treated better if he joined the Canadian Army instead. "So my grandfather went up from Chicago to Winnipeg to join the Canadian Army, because they paid $5 more a month," Gretzky said. "When he crossed the border, he didn't know how to spell an S, so he put a Z. So my real spelling is 'sky.'"

Gretzky offered full support for his quasi-namesake.

"If he wants to wear No. 99, I don't care," Gretzky said. "It's great for hockey. I think it's cool. And I wish him all the success in the world.

Growing up in Gradno, Belarus, a small city nestled near the Poland and Lithuania borders, Vyacheslav Gretsky's name was never a big deal. "Maybe it would have been if I lived in Canada or the U.S.," Gretsky said. "But in my town, it was normal. People never stopped me because of it."

Gretsky began playing hockey at age 7, a bit later than his peers, after watching Belarus defeat Sweden in the quarterfinals of the 2002 Olympics. Coaches needed a goalie, and Gretsky was interested. "I asked my father about it," Gretsky said. "My father said, 'What? You should know where you play. With your name, you should be a forward.'"

The young Gretsky agreed, even though he had no idea who Wayne Gretzky was. That changed when he was 12 and first got access to a computer. Gretsky began researching Gretzky, and burrowed down into YouTube rabbit holes watching highlights. "Then, I understand," Gretsky said.

He became obsessed with hockey. From a young age, he often took public transportation to get to the rink, equipment and all. He even climbed out of the window of the family's ground-floor apartment from time to time to sneak off to the rink.

After years playing in the Belarusian Extraleague, Gretsky debuted in the KHL this season. "I wanted to wear No. 12," he said. "I agreed with the team administrator that I would wear No. 12." But when he showed up to his locker on the first day of training camp, he saw a No. 99 jersey hanging in his locker. "It's a big responsibility, to wear that number with my surname," he said. "I understood it would be a lot of attention, both positive and negative, but I didn't have another choice."

The beginning of the season was a struggle, as Gretsky battled with confidence issues and tried to avoid demotion to Minsk's farm team in the Belarusian Extraleague. His coaches sometimes jokingly call him Wayne. And he's heard, more than a few times, "How could you play that bad with that last name?" Compounding the issue was outside pressure. Fans began showing up at Minsk games in Gretsky jerseys and with printed photos of Gretsky cut out like masks.

When the Gretsky all-star mania heated up, Kaprizov said in an interview that he thought Minsk's more productive players, such as Mikhail Grigorenko, were more deserving of a nod. There were no hard feelings; Gretsky felt sheepish about the attention, too. He and Kaprizov later hashed it out over Instagram direct messages and have become quite friendly.

"At first, when the attention came, I was like, 'No, no, no,'" Gretsky said. "But the team supported me. The GM, my teammates. They said, if the fans voted for you, then you will go."

After getting the all-star nod, Gretsky scored his first two points (both assists). He had a blast at all-star weekend in Moscow. He dressed up in traditional Belarusian garb and served draniki -- traditional Belarusian pancakes -- to the goalie in the skills competition and then scored a goal in the game. And of course, there were the fans who swarmed him after for autographs.

"When people asked if I was related to Wayne Gretzky, I previously said no," Gretsky said. "Now I have doubts about it, and maybe we need to do some genealogy research. At the end of the day, I am not him. I would like to create my own legacy. My life is my own destiny and that is what I can control."

And if Gretsky needs help navigating life with a famous name, he has a good mentor. The Minsk press officer who accompanies Gretsky on most interviews is named Alex Kovalev.

In their latest podcast, Brandel Chamblee and Jaime Diaz discuss Riviera and Tiger Woods' past, present and future at the historic course, then take a deep dive into the USGA and R&A’s Distance Insights Report. Listen below: