MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- The NFL's 100th season has a Hall of Fame class fit for the celebration.

Two of the best safeties to play in the league, a record-setting wide receiver, a fiercely competitive offensive lineman and a do-it-all running back were selected Saturday to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Former Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and former Broncos safety Steve Atwater, former Rams wide receiver Isaac Bruce, former Seahawks/Vikings guard Steve Hutchinson and former Colts running back Edgerrin James are the Hall's Class of 2020.

The five modern-era enshrinees were chosen by the Hall's board of selectors and were formally announced during Saturday's NFL Honors program. They will also be recognized during Super Bowl LIV on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.

The newest Hall of Famers will be formally enshrined Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio.

Polamalu, who was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2010, was in his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame. Players must be retired for at least five years before they are eligible.

With former coach Bill Cowher and safety Donnie Shell already named as part of the Hall's Centennial Class last month, the Steelers will be well represented at all of the celebrations later this year.

Polamalu's selection also means it's the 13th consecutive year a player has been chosen in his first year of eligibility, and he becomes the ninth player in the past four Hall classes to be have been chosen in his first year of eligibility.

"Honestly, it's just surreal," Polamalu told the Steelers' website. "I really feel surreal. I'm very thankful for all my teammates. This truly is a tribute to them. And I feel honored and unworthy of this, to be honest."

Congratulations @tpolamalu. You were a true game changer every time you took the field. It was a joy and a pleasure to coach you and nobody is more deserving of being a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer than you. So happy for you and your family.

— Mike Tomlin (@CoachTomlin) February 1, 2020

Both the Class of 2019 (Champ Bailey, Tony Gonzalez and Ed Reed) and the Class of 2018 (Ray Lewis, Randy Moss and Brian Urlacher) had three players chosen in their first year of eligibility.

"Troy was the kind of player who was able to impact the outcome of games from his safety position," Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. "And he did it with uncanny instincts that made it almost impossible for opposing offenses to predict where he would be. ... Troy was truly a playmaker every time he stepped on the field, and we couldn't be happier for him."

Atwater, a punishing tackler nicknamed the "Smiling Assassin," was a first-team All-Decade selection in the 1990s and started three Super Bowls in his career, including the Broncos' back-to-back titles to close out the 1997 and 1998 seasons. The eight-time Pro Bowl selection had at least 100 tackles in six seasons.

"He was everything you could ever want as a player, as a man, as a leader, as a guy," former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "He could cover, tackle, prepare, not make any mistakes, everything."

"Worth the wait."

The moment @SteveAtwater27 got "The Knock" from the @ProFootballHOF: pic.twitter.com/O9pSIDkXeR

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) February 1, 2020

Shanahan has said Atwater's performance in the Super Bowl XXXII win over the Green Bay Packers was "one of the best games I've ever seen a guy play.'' In the Broncos' first Super Bowl victory, Atwater had six tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and two passes defensed.

"I'm not just representing myself," Atwater told reporters in Miami. "I'm representing all my guys I played with -- Dennis Smith, Tyrone Braxton, Mike Harden, Alfred Williams, Ray Crockett, my boys. It's a great day for all of us, and I'm really honored and appreciative it's happening.'"

Atwater's Monday Night Football hit on Chiefs running back Christian Okoye in 1990 also still piles up views on YouTube.

"That story may have to come up a little more now," Atwater said Saturday. "It was again, I think, inspired by Dennis Smith. He was my guy, my strong safety. In meetings we'd just look at film and talk about how we were going to attack him. Fortunately, I had the opportunity and it turned out well. I've been in other games with some guys who probably weren't as big Christian Okoye was, but I'd go up and hit them and they got me -- they get the best of me. Definitely the timing was right and I was fortunate I came out on the good side of that."

Bruce was second all time in yards receiving -- behind only Jerry Rice -- when he retired from the NFL in 2009, closing out a record-setting career that began with a 34-yard touchdown on his first NFL reception.

He was a key member of the St. Louis Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf" offense, compiling eight 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Bruce was the first player in NFL history with at least 170 yards receiving in three consecutive games.

God is good and gracious to me! Tonight we rejoice in HIS faithfulness. St. Louis we headed to Canton!

— Isaac Bruce (@IsaacBruce80) February 1, 2020

The wait is finally over.

Congratulations @IsaacBruce80 on being elected to the @ProFootballHOF!

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 1, 2020

Hutchinson, a powerfully athletic guard who was named to seven Pro Bowls as well as the All-Decade team of the 2000s, is one of just 12 guards in league history to have been named first-team All-Pro at least five times.

He helped power two backs from two different teams to the league's rushing title -- Shaun Alexander in 2005 with the Seahawks and Adrian Peterson with the Vikings in 2008.

Hutchinson also was a technically sound player, as he once had a 44-game stretch during which he was not flagged for a penalty that was accepted.

He also changed the way teams were able to sign free agents. The "poison pill'' provision the Vikings put in a contract to sign him away from the Seahawks was never used again, as the league would not allow it after Hutchinson's deal.

His reaction says it all...

?: @livinwithlandyn pic.twitter.com/73hBHMMjVS

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) February 1, 2020

Congratulations to @HutchSevenSix! The second member of the greatest offensive line in NFL history to be enshrined in the @ProFootballHOF. pic.twitter.com/J7C2HXUuVE

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) February 1, 2020

James, who played collegiately at the University of Miami, retired in 2009 with 12,246 rushing yards to go with 3,364 yards receiving. He was the NFL's offensive rookie of the year in 1999 and won the league's rushing title his first two years -- with 1,553 yards in 1999 and 1,709 in 2000.

Peyton Manning, who was James' teammate with the Colts for seven seasons, has praised James as a "complete back, a complete player.''

In addition to being an elite rusher, James had 433 career receptions and had great ability as a blocker.

"Edgerrin James is one of the greatest players this league has ever seen and absolutely deserves this enshrinement in Canton," Colts owner Jim Irsay said in a statement. "Edge was the textbook definition of an every-down running back who could do it all, and we knew he was special from day one. ... I know he helped put that shine back on the Horseshoe, and all of Colts Nation is extremely proud today."

View this post on Instagram

"Started With Gold Teeth, Ended With a Gold Jacket." #HOF #CreateTheLifeUwant2Live

A post shared by Edgerrin James (@edgerrinjames) on Feb 1, 2020 at 1:27pm PST

The five modern-era players in the Class of 2020 will be joined for enshrinement into the Hall of Fame in August by some of the 15 members of the Centennial Class, who were revealed in January and include former coaches Cowher and Jimmy Johnson and former commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

Those members of the Centennial Class who aren't inducted in August will be enshrined at the league's 100th year celebration in September in Canton.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Pacers forward T.J. Warren left Saturday's game against the New York Knicks in the third quarter due to a head injury and was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, according to coach Nate McMillan.

Warren left after falling under the basket where it appeared he hit his head on the floor. A few possessions prior, Warren appeared to collide with teammate Domantas Sabonis and was shaken up, remaining down for nearly an entire possession before staying in the game.

In Victor Oladipo's second game back from injury the Knicks went on to win 92-85 as Indiana struggled to find consistent offense throughout the game.

Warren, 26, has a history with head injuries, missing a month in the fall of 2016 with what his former team, the Phoenix Suns, called a "minor head injury." The following season, Warren had to get stitches for a cut on his head after a collision, but he did not enter concussion protocol.

In his first season with the Pacers after being acquired in a draft night trade, Warren has been a staple in the Indiana starting five, averaging 18.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in 48 games this season.

SACRAMENTO -- A day later and 380 miles up the I-5 North from Los Angeles, the Lakers were a part of a Kobe Bryant tribute once again.

The Sacramento Kings, coached by a former Bryant teammate in Luke Walton and run by vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac, the man the Lakers traded to acquire Bryant in the first place, honored Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the other victims of last weekend's horrific helicopter crash during the Lakers' 129-113 win Saturday.

For Walton, who played 8 ½ seasons with Bryant in L.A., winning two championships -- and whose father, Bill Walton, played three seasons with Bryant's father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, with the San Diego Clippers -- Bryant's death was deeply personal.

Walton said he spent the past week tucking his 5-year-old son, Lawson, into bed by showing him highlight clips of his old teammate on the basketball court.

"We pull up Kobe Bryant [videos]," he said. "Ten minutes of the top 10 plays here or top 100 here off of YouTube. We've had some fun doing that."

Bryant was anything but fun for Sacramento during his playing days. His Lakers beat the Kings three times in the playoffs during their championship threepeat from 2000-02 -- including an epic Game 7 win in the 2002 Western Conference finals, coming back from a 3-2 series deficit to advance to the NBA Finals on the Kings' home court.

It was the days of cowbells and referee Tim Donaghy and food poisoning from a room service cheeseburger. Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Phil Jackson & Co. denied the greatest Kings team ever assembled -- featuring Divac, Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, Mike Bibby and others -- a trip to basketball's biggest stage.

And still, the Kings organization made sure to honor Bryant if as if he was one of their own, complete with a memorial outside the Golden 1 Center where fans could write personal messages to Bryant on a banner display and with several video compilations during first-half timeouts.

"I've heard all the stories from both sides now, and there's not a lot of love, but boy is there a lot of respect," Walton said of the former Bryant-Kings rivalry. "It's a very supportive group even though while competing there was a lot of hatred between the two."

The Sacramento crowd was split close to 50-50 between Kings and Lakers fans and on several occasions a cacophonous "Ko-be! Ko-be!" chant filled the arena. Kings assistant coaches showed their support for the fallen Lakers star by wearing black T-shirts with "KOBE" printed in large, white letters across the front during pregame warm-ups.

Walton's grieving process was intensified by the Kings' visit to Los Angeles earlier this week to pay the Clippers.

He said he couldn't help but think about Bryant and his family.

"Emotions are everywhere," Walton said. "You walk through Staples Center and Vanessa and the girls used to sit outside our locker room every game, and you kind of pay your respects on the way by, and you forget about it, and then you walk by that spot, and you see them there [in your mind].

"And it's really hard. And it's something we're all fighting through, but I truly believe the best way to honor and continue healing is to compete and give everything you have to the game."

And Walton knew Bryant's thirst for competition knew no bounds. He recalled teaching Bryant a drinking game called quarters, where you bounce quarters into a cup, on a road trip.

"We're in the hotel room and he was awful at it," Walton said with a smirk. "Kobe being Kobe, we kept hanging out and playing and he's over there at a side table just practicing for an hour straight."

Walton also remembered the time he called Bryant leading up to the 2015 Finals for tips on going against LeBron James when he was an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors while he was taking Lawson, then an infant, for a walk around the neighborhood in his stroller.

"I just asked, 'Kob, tell me anything you know about LeBron,'" Walton said. "And he goes for like 30 straight minutes. I'm sitting outside of my house and he's still going about his tendencies, and how he likes to pass first and get people involved. All these things he studied to play against him were just on the top of his mind. That's just how he approached being a competitor."

The Lakers figure the league will approach honoring Bryant much the same way the Kings did. It will be a constant theme the rest of the season.

"We're prepared for it," said James after putting up a triple-double, his 11th of the season, in the win. "We understand it and we hope it happens every night, just because of the legacy that he's left behind."

L.A. is leaning in to Bryant's memory, breaking their huddles by saying, "1-2-3 Mamba!"

They scored 81 points in the first half in Sacramento and the significance wasn't lost on anybody.

"It's a great number, 81," said Lakers coach Frank Vogel.

"That's pretty daggone cool, that's for sure," added James.

Avery Bradley took the meaning one step further.

"Knowing how special it was when he scored 81 and having 81 at halftime, I guess it's like our angel at all times here with us," he said.

BOSTON -- Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid had one of the worst games of his career in Saturday night's 116-95 loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.

Then he declined to talk about it.

After finishing with 11 points on 1-for-11 shooting to go with 5 rebounds, 4 turnovers and a game-worst minus-25 in 23 minutes, Embiid declined to talk to the media about an hour after the game had come to an end.

"I give credit to Boston's physicality ... they came at him," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "They came at him off the dribble. I think that they were physical with him with a crowd, and we just didn't start well with him."

After Philadelphia entered Saturday night's game having won each of the teams' first three meetings this season, and after Embiid dominated in each of the two games he played in, the opening moments played out just as everyone watching would have predicted. Embiid won the opening tip against Celtics center Daniel Theis, then came down and scored the game's opening basket off an assist from former Celtic Al Horford, who was playing at TD Garden for the first time since signing with the Sixers as a free agent last summer.

For both Embiid and the Sixers, however, it was all downhill from there. Embiid would take only one more shot in the quarter -- a 3-pointer that he missed -- and he committed all four of his turnovers in the period, as the Celtics responded to his opening basket with seven consecutive points to give Boston a lead it would never relinquish.

Embiid never was able to get going, missing his final 10 shot attempts from the field -- four of which came from 3-point range -- and failing to get anything going against a Boston defense that was employing either Theis, a 6-foot-8 center with far less heft than Embiid, or 6-foot-6 rookie Grant Williams against him inside.

"I think it was just tough for him to get into a rhythm and get going," Sixers forward Tobias Harris said. "We have to find a way to get him some easy ones, get him some easy baskets, get him some momentum plays. Because we know when he's going, and he's got the game flowing towards him, it makes us a better team, and it picks up his game a tremendous amount."

Embiid didn't have a problem doing that in either of the first two games he played against Boston this season, averaging 26.5 points on 48.6% percent shooting to go with 13 rebounds, 4.5 assists and just 1 turnover per game. The same could be said for the Sixers as a whole, as Philadelphia's size, length and athleticism across the board gave Boston all kinds of trouble in those first three games.

But with Boston missing Kemba Walker, who sat with a sore left knee, and Enes Kanter (sore hip), and Josh Richardson remaining sidelined for Philadelphia with a hamstring injury, the Celtics looked like a completely different team in this one.

That was personified by Jaylen Brown, who, after scoring 21 points in the first three meetings combined, went off for 32 points and nine rebounds in 36 minutes, including several highlight-reel plays.

"Just trying to be aggressive," Brown said. "Trying to get a win. I haven't played as well against Philly as I would have liked the first three times, so tonight I wanted to make sure I left my imprint on the game."

While the Sixers have finished with the advantage in the season series with the Celtics with a 3-1 record, they are beginning to put themselves in a deep enough hole that it might not matter. Saturday's loss dropped Philadelphia (31-19) into sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings -- and, more important, a full five games in the loss column behind the second-place Toronto Raptors, and four behind the Celtics and Miami Heat in third and fourth places, respectively.

With road games upcoming in Miami on Monday and in Milwaukee against the league-leading Bucks on Thursday -- and with Philadelphia now sporting a brutal 9-17 mark away from home (the same number of losses as the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers) -- the Sixers could find themselves looking at a five- or six-game deficit by the end of business Thursday with just 30 games remaining in the regular season.

"I've been looking at it," Horford said when asked if he was keeping track of where the Sixers sit in the East playoff race. "I've been looking at it, for sure. We are aware of it. Obviously we are not where we want to be, but we are definitely looking at it.

"We were counting on tonight. We weren't able to get it done. We have a very difficult one going into Miami. All our focus has to be on that, and making up some ground. But it all starts with that Miami game."

"At what point?" Harris asked in response to a question about whether he's concerned with where the Sixers sit. "Probably 10 games ago."

Before the game, Brett Brown summed up Philadelphia's topsy-turvy campaign perfectly when he said, "We've had an erratic season." Just a week ago, Philadelphia dominated the West-leading Los Angeles Lakers, with Ben Simmons playing arguably the best game of his career. On Christmas Day, the Sixers routed the Bucks, and they similarly controlled the first three meetings with the Celtics.

Then there are the games like Thursday's loss in Atlanta, and Saturday's loss to Boston, that leave Brown and the rest of the Sixers scratching their heads as to how different their team can be on a game-to-game basis.

Suddenly, a team that was expected to challenge for home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs is now looking increasingly unlikely to have it in even the first round, let alone beyond that. But rather than worry about that, Brown said he's just trying to discover what it will take to get Philadelphia to play the way it has at its best on a far more consistent basis.

"I quietly pay attention," Brown said of where the Sixers sit in the playoff race. "But if you say what's more important -- looking at the standings and really studying them, versus do you just feel like you're playing good basketball? Do you feel like there's a semblance of order to what you're trying to do defensively and what you're trying to do offensively?

"When I feel good about that, and I don't -- at times I really do, but right now we're not equipped to go into the playoffs in the way we need to go into the playoffs -- that is what I think about more than the standings."

Brooklyn Nets star guard Kyrie Irving said he would undergo an MRI after spraining his right knee.

Irving left Saturday night's 113-107 road loss to Washington in the fourth quarter, after getting tangled with the Wizards' Bradley Beal and falling back awkwardly on the knee.

"What a week," Irving said. "I'm OK, though. Just gotta get an MRI. X-rays were negative, just [have to] go home and see what's going on."

Irving initially stayed on the floor in pain before getting up to participate in a jump ball against Beal. Irving didn't jump and immediately limped to the locker room as a foul was called on teammate Joe Harris. The Nets called the injury a sprain.

Irving has missed 28 games during the regular season -- a high for his career. He missed 26 games because of a right shoulder impingement and one each due to a strained hamstring and to mourn the death of Kobe Bryant.

Irving has a history of right knee injuries. He strained his right knee in February 2019 when he was with the Boston Celtics.

"I've done some pretty decent things to my knees in the past," Irving said. "The most important thing is just making sure my ACL was fine. It was just a weird, weird, weird fall. I just felt a lot stretching and tension afterward. Just a bad fall."

The injury comes a day after Irving scored 54 points in a 133-118 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night in Brooklyn. The Nets are 21-27, a half-game ahead of the Orlando Magic in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

ESPN's Malika Andrews contributed to this report.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland Trail Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard continued his historic streak of dominant play Saturday with his third 50-point performance in his past six games as the Blazers defeated the visiting Utah Jazz 124-107 to win their fourth consecutive game.

According to Elias Sports Bureau research, Lillard is the first player in NBA history to average better than 45 points and 10 assists over a six-game span. He has gone for at least 47 points in five of the six games, and had his first career triple-double (36 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds) in the other one.

"I don't think we've ever seen anything like this," teammate Carmelo Anthony said. "We've seen great basketball, we've seen guys score the basketball in different fashions, but what he's doing, we haven't seen that in a long time.

"I'm just happy to be a part of it, be a fan of it."

Lillard's streak, which started with a career-high and franchise-record 61 points on Jan. 20 against the Golden State Warriors, has also been record-setting from beyond the arc. With nine more 3-pointers Saturday, his total of 49 surpassed Stephen Curry (46 in January 2019) for the most in NBA history over a six-game span.

While most of the attention has gone to Lillard's scoring -- his 293 points over the past six games is tied with Kobe Bryant (in March 2007) for third most over such a span behind a pair of overlapping streaks by James Harden last January -- his playmaking has also been crucial to Portland's success as opponents send traps and double-teams in Lillard's direction to try to take the ball out of his hands.

"Teams are trying to get more aggressive and make it harder for me," he said. "I'm just making the plays that I see. When I see them being aggressive, I'm not backing out. I'm going to continue being aggressive against it instead of just giving in to it. Cause a reaction -- pick out the helpside defenders and guys that are pulling over and trying to crowd the paint. Just moving the ball to where the help is coming from. Guys are making shots and making the right plays. It's pretty simple."

Half of Lillard's 12 assists Saturday -- against only one turnover -- went to center Hassan Whiteside, who had 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting and 21 rebounds while battling two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. By virtue of setting up four 3-pointers, Lillard created 28 points via assists to go with the 51 he scored.

All four of the Blazers' victories during their current streak have come against opponents with above-.500 records, nearly matching their previous total of five such wins this season. As a result, Portland has moved into a tie with the San Antonio Spurs for ninth in the Western Conference, a game and a half behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth and final playoff spot.

"It's a good feeling," Lillard said. "We're coming together. I think that's the best way to describe it. Getting healthier, starting to figure out what works for us. Trevor [Ariza] has made a huge difference for our team on both ends.

"We've been able to just keep working, keep our heads down, and I think it's just starting to show. We've been able to make it come together and keep doing it over and over against good teams."

WASHINGTON -- Longtime scout and Washington Nationals senior adviser Phil Rizzo has died. He was 90.

The Nationals confirmed Rizzo's death in a statement Saturday. Phil is the father of World Series-winning Washington general manager Mike Rizzo.

Phil Rizzo was named to the inaugural class of the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame in 2008. He scouted 2006 NL Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Brandon Webb while working for Arizona and signed the likes of Mike Matheny and Mark Loretta.

Rizzo joined the Nationals in 2009 and has served as an adviser to his son and the entire baseball operations department for the past 11 years.

When Mike Rizzo earned the promotion to be the Nationals' full-time GM in 2009, he called his dad and the two had an emotional conversation. Mike recalled that his dad's first words were, "It's about time."

"My dad is totally responsible for where I'm at today," Mike Rizzo said Saturday. "Not only the way he brought me up in baseball but that he gave me the love of the game, and we worked out hard together for me to become a good player. He taught me how to work hard, be aggressive, go after what you want and get it done."

Every year, as he packs his car with his luggage and his dog, Chicago Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer picks up the phone for some football and Major League Baseball talk. ESPN found him near Tulsa, Oklahoma, on the way to Mesa, Arizona, where the Cubs train. His beloved New England Patriots aren't in the Super Bowl this season, but that doesn't stop Hoyer from making a prediction on the game and talking some baseball. But we start with a question he's been wondering about as well.

Where is Tom Brady playing next season?

Jed Hoyer: My heart is hoping it's the Patriots, but my head says it will be elsewhere. I hope it's one or two more years there, but reading the tea leaves, it might go another way.

Are you as curious as the next guy to see how Brady does without coach Bill Belichick and vice versa?

Hoyer: It's been such a source of debate. People always wondering who's had the bigger influence. The answer is both. I want to see them stick together.

Since we're talking other sports here, besides baseball, did you ever run across Kobe Bryant for any reason?

Hoyer: No, I never did. It's just so crushing what the family is going through. It's hard to even articulate that effectively, but Kobe, as an athlete, I feel like he was the ultimate alpha male. He was such a competitor and winner. He drove himself to be great. Everyone that I talked to that was around him couldn't get over that Michael Jordan-like intensity and work ethic. It's impossible not to admire that. The whole thing is soul-crushing.

What about John Altobelli?

Hoyer: I didn't know him personally, but the people that encountered him in the Cape Cod League couldn't speak highly enough of him. Each of those lives lost is equally sacred.

OK, so to baseball. It's February. The Cubs have made minor moves, at least to this point. Why haven't you been able to execute any of your bigger plans?

Hoyer: This is obviously likely to be one of our less active offseasons. We've had some incredibly active ones. That said, the offseason is not over. For the Cubs, things probably got pushed back a little bit. We're probably at a different place in the offseason, calendarwise, than we normally would have been. We're not necessarily finished making moves going into spring training.

Whatever movement happens, is it going to be less than you hoped for?

Hoyer: I think it's too early to say that. There is no way to know that yet. It's fair to say there hasn't been a lot of activity yet. We've been incredibly active making calls and exploring options. As we talk here [in late January], we haven't been active as we usually are.

As we talk about this delayed offseason, how much did the time it took to decide Kris Bryant's grievance have an effect on all this?

Hoyer: The hearings were in October and we've been waiting on the results. But I'm not at liberty to talk about that at this point.

As for the grievance, all along, all parties have said there is no animosity, but can you say, with confidence, what happened in 2015 hasn't affected the business relationship?

Hoyer: It hasn't. If you look at the time Kris has been a Cub, it's been a fantastic run and it's been a great relationship. There is no animosity whatsoever. He and [agent] Scott [Boras] made a decision that they wanted to file a grievance based on the beginning of 2015. And that was from a business standpoint, but we've been around each other a long time now and we have a great relationship. This hasn't changed that.

Theo Epstein recently used the phrases "threading the needle" and "assumed risk" regarding this upcoming season. That doesn't sound like World Series contender talk. As crazy as this sounds, with salaries rising through arbitration and free agency around the corner for a bunch of guys, has there been one meeting or even one minute of a meeting where another rebuild was discussed? The freedom you would have in the trade market would obviously be much greater.

Hoyer: Our discussions have always been around threading that needle, as Theo alluded to. It's important to keep an eye on the future. There are times in your life cycle [as a team] you are really aggressive in trying to maximize your opportunity in that moment. We've done that over the last five years but there are other moments it's important to keep your eye on your future. But when you have as much talent that we have on our roster, it is one eye on the future, but we're not blind to how much talent we have. This roster can win with this talent.

By your own words, you guys have been a little frustrated you haven't signed more of your core up. Where does that stand?

Hoyer: We are still optimistic that some of these players that we control through 2021 will be long-term Cubs. There is still time.

At the winter meetings, you said you were probably going to discontinue contract talks during spring training. Does that still stand and does that put any deadline on getting something done by Feb. 12 (pitchers) or Feb. 17 (position players)?

Hoyer: It's not a hard-and-fast rule. Some guys aren't distracted by the conversations, others have told us through the years it has taken their mind away from spring training. So no hard-and-fast rule, but it depends on the player.

How much do you think the new rule changes -- three-batter minimum, 26-man roster and 15-day injured list for pitchers -- will have on the season? What's going to stand out three or four months from now?

Hoyer: Yeah, you never know. I remember when everyone was talking about the mound-visit rule and I feel like that ended up being a nonissue. But I definitely think the three-batter minimum rule will be something people notice and talk about. Just the number of conversations we've had about the strategy of it is something that's going to be debated as it's happening in games. And the 26th man is going to allow for some better matchups late in games. Those will have an impact for sure.

There was so much made of the baseball itself last year, are you curious how it's going to play this year?

Hoyer: Curious, of course. Last year was such an odd season and departure from what it had been, but do I have a sense for it this year? No. So, yes, I'm curious because last year was different, for sure.

Take your team out of it for a moment: If you were a betting man, would you put the Reds near the top of the division?

Hoyer: I thought they were talented last year. They stumbled out of the gate and it was hard for them to regain their footing. They were certainly a bear for us to play all of last year. And they've made significant moves, so I think they were formidable last year and think they will be even more so this year. We have a heck of division to play in. Whoever comes out of [the National League Central] will have really earned it.

Nick Castellanos and Pedro Strop just signed up with Cincinnati. Isn't that going to be a tough pill to swallow?

Hoyer: Yeah, I talked to Nick this week for a long time. We had a really good conversation. I admire what he did. In two months with the Cubs he became a fan favorite. When you barrel three balls a night you become a fan favorite. He played with so much passion. Other than the 18 games against us, I wish him the best.

Stropy is one of my favorite players I've ever been around. Win or lose, he came in with a smile on his face. He brought energy every single day and he was always accountable. If you look at what he did, he was one of the best relievers in baseball for six years. Sometimes he was underappreciated, and as an organization we think there is no way we have the success we had during his tenure [without him].

Circling back to this offseason, you were on the phone when I called -- are you on with other teams as much as we think you are?

Hoyer: We have been all winter. The activity of our offseason isn't indicative of how much we've been on the phone and have been working. The major free-agent market just wrapped up. There's been a lot of activity. I expect that up to and into spring training. That's going to continue. The trade market will continue to be an active place well into February.

OK, now for our tradition of you attempting to pick the Super Bowl winner. Who do you like?

Hoyer: I'm rooting for the Chiefs. During the preseason we were playing the Pirates and the Steelers were playing the Chiefs, and my son and I went over to see them. I know some of the guys that work for K.C. They couldn't be nicer. So with that personal touch I'll root for that. But I like the matchup for the Niners. Their run game is strong and that front four is phenomenal. They are in the opposing backfield for every game. My heart is with the Chiefs; my money would be on the 49ers. I'll say 27-24, 49ers.

GB international clocks 15:49 for the world’s fastest time by a female parkrunner

Charlotte Arter was already the world’s fastest ever female parkrunner but on Saturday morning (February 1) she went even quicker, clocking 15:49 in Cardiff for a one-second improvement on her previous best set last year at the same venue.

The 2018 British 10,000m champion finished eighth overall on the 5km Blackweir course, with Paul Graham of Pontypridd Roadents AC first to finish in 14:50, which looks to have been quickest parkrun time overall this week.

James McCrae was second overall in a parkrun PB of 14:57, while Clara Evans was second female, also clocking a parkrun PB of 16:04.

New female world record on our Blackweir course this morning. Fantastic! ? Congratulations @charlottearter @parkrunUK https://t.co/sv6M4yb9UE

— Cardiff parkrun (@cardiffparkrun) February 1, 2020

Before Saucony athlete Arter ran 15:50 at the Cardiff event in January 2019, the previous female parkrun record had been 15:55, which was set by Hannah Walker at St Albans in 2013.

Cardiff’s Arter broke the Welsh half-marathon record with a time of 69:40 in Barcelona last February and now sits 10th on the UK all-time list, while she ended her year with a seventh-place finish at the European Cross Country Championships in Lisbon.

Her 5km road PB is 15:39, while her best for 5000m on the track is 15:40.15.