BROWNSBURG, Ind. – Non-winged sprint cars will be on the card when the ARCA Menards Series visits Lucas Oil Raceway on July 3.

The event will run under rules similar to those utilized at nearby Anderson (Ind.) Speedway. Non-winged sprints were popular for years at Lucas Oil Raceway before USAC stopped sanctioning events on paved ovals for the USAC sprint car and midget divisions.

This is the second non-winged sprint car event announced for Lucas Oil Raceway this year. Must See Racing is sanctioning the inaugural Indy Summer Nationals, featuring non-winged sprint cars, on June 18-20 at Lucas Oil Raceway.

The last non-winged sprint car race held at Lucas Oil Raceway took place in 2011, with Bobby Santos winning the USAC-sanctioned feature.

Pit gates for the July 3 event are scheduled to open at 9 a.m., with grandstands at 1:30 p.m., practice at 2 p.m., ARCA General Tire Pole Qualifying at 5 p.m., the sprint car feature at 6 p.m. and the ARCA race at 8 p.m.

The event will be promoted by Track Enterprises.

Former NHL forward Akim Aliu has signed in the Czech Extraliga for the remainder of the season, a source told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Aliu joins the Czech league team with 14 games left in the season; playing for HC Litvinov gives him a chance to display his game to any NHL teams interested in signing him. The source confirmed the signing to the AP on condition of anonymity because Aliu's contract had not yet been announced.

Aliu, 30, spent last season with the ECHL's Orlando Solar Bears. A second-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2007, Aliu played in seven NHL games with the Calgary Flames. He last played in the NHL in April 2013.

The Nigerian-born Aliu, who was raised in Ukraine and Canada, said last fall that veteran coach Bill Peters directed racial slurs toward him while they were with the American Hockey League's Rockford IceHogs. Aliu said Peters "dropped the N bomb several times" because he didn't like the player's choice of music.

Peters resigned as Calgary's coach after comments from Aliu and another player who said Peters kicked him and punched another player while with the Carolina Hurricanes. Aliu has since met with league officials about racism in hockey.

New York forward Artemi Panarin, the Rangers' leading scorer and potentially the biggest offseason addition of any team in the NHL, missed Tuesday's 4-0 loss to the New York Islanders because of an upper-body injury.

Panarin, signed by the Rangers in July after he led the Columbus Blue Jackets to the playoffs, has 26 goals and 68 points this season, but the club -- clinging to postseason contention in the Eastern Conference -- wants to be cautious with their best player as the All-Star break nears. Pavel Buchnevich replaced Panarin at left wing on a line with Ryan Strome and Jesper Fast.

Between a bye week and the All-Star Game, the Rangers don't play again until Jan. 31 against Detroit. Entering play Tuesday night, Panarin was fifth in the league in scoring, 10 points behind the leader, Edmonton's Connor McDavid.

Joel Quenneville is used to winning games at United Center. When you coach the Chicago Blackhawks for 11 seasons, it comes with the territory.

Tuesday night was more of the same for him ... just on the opposing bench.

Frank Vatrano had three goals, Mike Hoffman had two assists and Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves as the Florida Panthers outlasted the Blackhawks 4-3 in Quenneville's return to Chicago, the city where he won three Stanley Cup titles.

"Made it a little interesting at the end of the game, but that was certainly a memorable event that I'm thankful for," Quenneville said.

The Blackhawks stopped the game at the 13:43 mark of the first period to air a lengthy video tribute for a coach who went 452-249-96 with Chicago before being dismissed last season. There was a standing ovation from the fans in the stands as well as the players on the bench, who tapped their sticks to honor the coach. The chant throughout the arena during the video was a simple and succinct "Q!"

"I think that ovation was incredible," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said. "I think all of us that played for him were all smiles."

Quenneville grinned while he watched the video on the scoreboard, and then waved and mouthed "Thank you'' while the crowd cheered.

"It was special. It was kind of like saying thank you to me, and I was thanking them," Quenneville said, "and it was all good. It felt great."

Quenneville, 61, signed a five-year deal with the Panthers on April 8, and in his first season, he has Florida primed for the Eastern Conference postseason. With the victory in Chicago, his Panthers will take a season-high six-game winning streak into the All-Star break. If the season ended Tuesday, Florida, with 61 points, would be the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division.

Evgenii Dadonov scored his 22nd goal of the season for the Panthers, off feeds from Aleksander Barkov and Michael Matheson, to open the scoring in the second period. Dadonov is one of six Panthers with at least 16 goals this season.

Patrick Kane, Drake Caggiula and Kirby Dach scored for the Blackhawks in the loss, which ended Chicago's season-high five-game winning streak. Kane's goal, his 25th, came a game after he recorded his 1,000th career point on an assist.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

ESPN has done player polls in the past -- here's a recent edition, in which we asked players about dreaded road trips, worst dressing rooms and Gritty -- but we've never done them in Russia.

While covering the 2020 Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game in Moscow -- plenty more content coming soon! -- we polled a variety of players on topics such as North America's misconceptions of their league, to the next big star to cross over from the KHL to NHL, to what the guys have been splurging on lately. But we start it off with the question that produced perhaps the widest variety of responses: Where should the next KHL team be located?

Editor's note: Interviews with Vyacheslav Gretsky, Kirill Kaprizov, Alexander Semin and Ilya Sorokin were conducted through interpreters. Some answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

If you could put a KHL expansion team anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Vyacheslav Gretsky, Dinamo-Molodechno (Belarusian): I would pick Stockholm, or Bern. Because the national teams are quite strong, and it would be interesting to have teams from those countries in the KHL.

Stephane Da Costa, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (French): Paris, of course. I don't think it's a big hockey country, but there is some hockey. The infrastructure and the money is not there for hockey, and that's a problem. But if you get an existing league to put a team there, that would be perfect.

Alexander Semin, HC Vityaz (Russian): Krasnoyarsk, my home city. The most important thing is to have a good team; if you have a good team, we will make sure the Siberian fans are there to cheer. I know the players in Krasnoyarsk are really big deals there.

Nigel Dawes, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (Canadian): Dubai is nice, just to get away a little bit. Get some sun and heat in the body, relax a little bit before you play the game. It would be like playing in Florida or Arizona when you're in the NHL. A lot of the cities in this league have direct flights there, so a lot of the guys have been there a few times over the years to celebrate breaks or days off. There have been a couple rumblings that they were thinking about expanding to Dubai, but I don't know if that's anywhere close to happening.

Chay Genoway, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Canadian): Dubai. I'm sure some guys have said that. We've always joked about having a KHL team in Dubai. We'd get a little more sunshine in the winter time. Something warm would be good, something like California, Florida or Texas teams in the NHL. It's just nice when you're up in Canada in the middle of winter to go get some sunshine, Vitamin D is a real thing. So, same thing here.

Ilya Sorokin, CSKA Moscow (Russian): My hometown of Novokuznets.

Kirill Kaprizov, CSKA Moscow (Russian): I'm not one to complain. I'm in Moscow now and I'm very grateful for that. I wouldn't pick anywhere else.

What's a common western misconception about the KHL?

Dawes: That we get paid in plastic bags at the rink, or straight cash in the dressing room. I'm not saying that it never happened, but before the KHL came in, I'm sure there were a lot of stories that westerners heard [about European leagues]. And some of them are probably true, but a lot of them are kind of far-fetched and exaggerated. It's like back home, you get a direct deposit in your bank account; there is nothing too exciting about it. I mean, before I came to the league, I heard stories about how you get paid before practice in cash and you have to run home because they're going to try to take it back. But those things are long gone. It's a great league, and it's pretty smooth.

And not only that, it keeps improving. The KHL is only 12 years old. There's things we've worked out. They've done a really good job, even in the nine years I've been here, of improving on things every year, whether it's the All-Star Game, payroll, salaries, travel, hotels, sponsorships or TV deals.

Genoway: There's always been so many rumors about all kinds of stuff. I think the misconception is how far away everything is to NHL standards. The way we travel, the way we eat and stay in hotels ... it's a pretty amazing bunch of cities all over the league. So I think that's probably a misconception here. We get treated well here, for sure.

Sorokin: I'm not really sure what westerners say about the KHL, but I grew up here, so everything feels normal.

Da Costa: I've heard many things. Like, the KHL is not that good; the AHL is better. I don't believe that. It's a really good league, it's just a different league with different kinds of players. I've heard that all the players are boozing every night, which is not true. I'm sure they actually drink more in the NHL. Russians party all the time, they drink all the time? Again, not true. They're just professional. Maybe a long time ago, but now the younger guys are so professional. And if anything, they're spending their times playing video games -- playing like six, seven hours a day. That's actually what's not healthy.

Gretsky: I feel the biggest misconception is that it's hard to live here in Russia, that it's a crazy country. But when [new players from abroad] come here, they understand it's quite a good place to live and play hockey.

Semin: I'm just playing here, and I'm happy to be here. And the conditions are exactly the same.

Kaprizov: What does the West think about the KHL? [ESPN lists a few of the stereotypes, such as players not getting paid, the competition not being as good, players partying too much.] It depends on the club. Obviously there are some richer clubs in Russia, some poorer clubs, while in the NHL it's more stable, and more leveled out. Regarding the partying, you can have a great time anywhere.

Who is the best player in the world right now?

Da Costa: Connor McDavid, offensively. Sidney Crosby overall.

Gretsky: I believe the two best players in the world are currently playing for the Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. They're the two best right now.

Kaprizov: I can't pin down one person. [Nikita] Kucherov, McDavid, Crosby -- a lot of guys. There's that many talented players, and they are each talented in different ways, with different qualities.

Semin: [Alex] Ovechkin.

Sorokin: I'd say Ovechkin. Statistics say so.

Dawes: To be honest, I don't watch much NHL because of the time change; I'll catch highlights that show up on social media, so I'll see a lot of the highlight-reel goals. I mean, Connor McDavid is a pretty safe answer.

Genoway: It's hard to argue with Connor McDavid. I still think Sidney Crosby is pretty darn good. I still follow the NHL a lot actually. I have a way of getting TSN back home. There's a way to get some of the programs; I love my TSN. In the afternoon after practice, I can pick up the feed from the night before.

Which KHL player will be the next big star in North America?

Gretsky: Kirill Kaprizov.

Semin: Kaprizov.

Da Costa: Kaprizov, I would say. Most people probably say that. Who else is there? [Thinks for a bit] No, I'd probably just say Kaprizov right now, he's a really big star. He's really good with the puck, he protects the puck well, he has good vision. He's overall a really great player.

Dawes: Kaprizov. I think everyone sees it. It's kind of a no-brainer. He's a great player, he's done a lot already in his young career. I'm sure he'll face some challenges going over to North America, but the way he plays the game and the type of guy he is, and his character, I think he'll have a lot of success in the NHL.

Sorokin: Kaprizov. His hockey intellect is very high. He has a good shot, as well as good vision.

Genoway: Kirill Kaprizov, obviously, I think has a really good chance. Sorokin, if he ever decides to go. There's a lot of good goalies in this league. Another guy who might fly under the radar a little bit is Denis Zernov from Avangard Omsk. That guy has a chance; he can play at both ends of the rink.

Kaprizov: [laughs] I don't know, I don't know. [After learning that the other players named him.] Thank you, we'll see.

What's the last thing you've splurged on?

Da Costa: I bought a house in Florida. Just a vacation house.

Gretsky: I bought a pair of shoes to wear to the KHL All-Star Game. They're black dress shoes -- I'm wearing them right now.

Sorokin: An iPhone.

Dawes: A wine purchase. I got a good deal on some wine back home. I don't buy wine here, I buy it at home. Cam Ward and Tim Gleason started up a wine company, Vineyard 36. I bought a bottle to drink here and I drank it with my wife, and I was like, "Oh, this is really good." I asked them, they had some they were trying to clear out, and it was perfect timing.

Semin: I had a really nice breakfast this morning.

Genoway: I'm a pretty cheap guy, so this is hard. I did get my daughter a teddy bear. And a jersey. Actually, here's a fun thing for you: A Russian tradition is if you make the All-Star team, you have to buy a hat for all players on your team, along with the staff. Luckily, I had a teammate make the team, too, so we could split the bill. We had to bring back 50 hats. That was a splurge.

Kaprizov: A trip to a good restaurant.

Who is the most talented player you've gone up against in your career?

Sorokin: McDavid. I went up against him in the final in the World Junior Championships. His speed, his mental game -- the way he sees the game -- and his shot were all very impressive. And he's gotten even better since.

Semin: There's not one person to me; everyone is equal to me when I come on the ice. But ... Ovi.

Dawes: I'm trying to think to when I was back in the NHL, it's been so long now. I came over here in 2011. I never really had any big battles with anyone because I moved around a lot and played on different teams, but I was playing when Crosby was just starting, Ovechkin was just starting. They were great. Some older players too, I played against [Nicklas] Lidstrom a little bit. [Zdeno] Chara -- playing against Boston when I was in New York was not easy being a smaller player.

Da Costa: Against? Crosby, I would say. I've never played against McDavid. So Crosby, [Jaromir] Jagr, Ovechkin.

Gretsky: I feel that the CSKA Moscow guys are the most talented players against whom I've played, because they have a lot of national team players. So it's hard to even name one player from that team.

Genoway: In college [at North Dakota] I got to play with Jonathan Toews and T.J. Oshie. Those two guys were pretty special. Since I've been in the KHL, the most talented player I've seen here is Alexander Radulov when he was here; he was so dominant.

What's the grossest thing you've ever seen on the ice?

Genoway: Gross, or disturbing? If you see a guy, and he gets knocked out or something like that, and if you get close to him and see his eyes go back, those ones to hard to swallow.

Semin: Many things happened. I don't really want to remember.

Da Costa: In juniors, I was in the NAHL. It was my first year in the U.S., I had no idea what the leagues were. One guy on my team -- I wasn't playing, I was in the stands -- he got cut with his skate, it cut two veins here [on his forearm] and the blood comes out really quickly. It went on the glass and everything. There was a pool of blood on the ice. Everything was fine with him, but that was scary. I was honestly shaken for a while; I was scared.

Dawes: In one of the last games we played, someone got hit with a skate on the way down. I didn't see his actual face, but his visor was just full of blood. Those are always scary to see.

Gretsky: Blood, of course. But let me think ... hmm ... there was one time when the coach threw the water bottle to the ref on the ice [to clean up]. That was pretty gross.

Kaprizov: I've been very lucky. When I've been on the ice, I haven't seen any horrific injuries. Of course I've seen some videos, but nothing like a player getting his throat slit by an ice skate. So no, nothing.

SAN DIEGO – In 2016, Jordan Spieth vowed to speed things up on the golf course, and his self-imposed transformation from problem to perfectly in the middle of the pack was cited as an example of how players can pick up the pace.

Spieth, who was voted among the PGA Tour’s five slowest players in an anonymous player poll in 2017, said his decision to play faster was “selfish.”

“For me, I just didn't enjoy having that label and wanted to change it,” Spieth said Tuesday at Torrey Pines.

Spieth was part of the process to develop the Tour’s new pace-of-play policy as a member of the policy board and considered the circuit’s shift to a program that focused on individual pace of play a step in the right direction.

“You can't just improve pace of play. You can't say, ‘Oh, our rounds are going to go from 4:40 [hours] to 3:40,’ it just doesn't happen,” he said. “But if you can limit the individualized significant overtimes, then I think, overall, it's just a better product that we're putting out there, whether it's people in your own group or how it appears to the public.”

The new policy, which begins in April, will create an “observation list” that will include essentially 10 percent of the Tour’s slowest players for additional monitoring during rounds, which is a significant shift away from the old policy that focused on keeping groups on pace.

SAN DIEGO – A new year means new equipment for many PGA Tour players, and Tiger Woods isn’t immune to the annual tinkering.

Woods revealed Tuesday at the Farmers Insurance Open that he’s been experimenting with new woods this offseason, specifically a version of the TaylorMade SIM driver.

“I have seen improvements in the new SIM. I'm a little bit faster, but still need to do a little more testing out here,” Woods said. “I think we're going to add a little bit of weight to it, feels a little bit light to me right now.”

Woods planned to keep tinkering with the new driver and said he would make a game-time decision on Thursday whether to put the new club in play or not.

Like most players, Woods is looking to pick up more clubhead speed, but he also wants to maintain the consistency that his driver last season provided.

“It's a driver where I can hit a draw anytime I want, and then when I do hit a cut, it doesn't really go very far but I know I can turn it at any given time,” Woods said of his current driver, a 9-degree TaylorMade M5. “That's what I want with the SIM driver, I want to be able to draw it and then hit my little slap cut up there kind of shortening the fairway. Trying to find both, meanwhile giving me more distance with both shots, would be ideal.”

SAN DIEGO – Jack Nicklaus celebrated his 80th birthday Tuesday, but it was another Golden Bear benchmark that Tiger Woods was asked about at Torrey Pines.

Woods renewed his chase of Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships with victory No. 15 last spring at the Masters.

“To even get to the number I'm at right now, 15, is a lot. Not too many guys who are around have seen that kind of number before,” Woods said. “It's just going to take time. It took Jack about 26 years to get to it; it's taken me 20 some odd years to get to mine.”

It will also take sustained health, which has been an issue for Woods in recent years. Following his victory at the 2008 U.S. Open, Tiger was limited by injury to just 28 starts in the next 42 majors before winning last year’s Masters. He was limited to playing just two majors in 2011 and ’14 and missed eight consecutive majo starts in 2016 and ’17.

“There were a number of years where I didn't compete and didn't play so those were some missed opportunities,” Woods said. “But I'm playing again now so these are blessed opportunities, I didn't think I would have these.”

SAN DIEGO – Tiger Woods will begin his year on the PGA Tour on Torrey Pines’ North Course at 12:40 p.m. ET on Thursday paired with young sensation Collin Morikawa and 2017 Farmers Insurance Open winner Jon Rahm.

This will be Woods’ 19th start in the event he’s won seven times with his last victory coming in 2013. The threesome tees off at 1:40 p.m. on the first hole of the South Course for Round 2.

Three-time Farmers Insurance Open winner Phil Mickelson highlights the other side of the draw along with Rickie Fowler and San Diego native Xander Schauffele. The group tees off on the South Course on Day 1 at 1:40 p.m. and at 12:30 p.m. Friday on the North Course.

Defending champion Justin Rose will also play the South Course in the first round (1:30 p.m.) paired with two-time champion Jason Day and Jordan Spieth.

SAN DIEGO – Jason Day was angry.

The Australian was supposed to be a big part of the International team’s game plan at last month’s Presidents Cup, but his ailing body wouldn’t allow it and he was forced to watch the matches from his couch.

“Every time I would watch the Presidents Cup coverage, I was angry,” Day said Tuesday at the Farmers Insurance Open. “I had to go up to the barn to kind of either ride or do some sort of exercise to get some frustration out, because I really wanted to be there.”

Day is making his 2020 debut following eight weeks of rehabilitation on his back, which caused him to withdraw from the matches at Royal Melbourne after captain Ernie Els made him a captain’s pick.

Despite his aggravation, Day said he did appreciate the competition, which had been mostly one-sided until last month’s event. The Internationals took a 10-8 lead into Sunday’s singles matches but lost to the Americans, 16-14.

“Watching it over here and seeing how it finished up, it would have been nice to finish really, really close,” he said. “It was fun to watch, but I was quite frustrated sitting on my backside watching it.”