PAT RILEY'S INCREDIBLE track record aside, it was hard to take him at face value nine months ago.

"Whether you believe me or not, we're at the launching pad right now," Riley said during his annual postseason news conference. "We've been through this now a long time. We know how to do this. We have done it in a myriad of different ways. We're going to figure it out."

Riley's Miami Heat had missed the playoffs for a third time in five seasons. The Heat were capped out and had gone from chasing stars to overpaying role players. As a result, as the rest of the NBA was about to embark on one of the wildest summers of player movement ever, Miami seemed doomed to be relegated to the sidelines.

Riley, though, was undeterred.

"Don't make any conclusions that we're stuck with certain contracts. That would be foolish thinking," Riley said. "There aren't any obstacles, there are only opportunities."

The Heat front office saw something they thought doubters were dismissing. Their choppy last few seasons aside, they believed their franchise and the City of Miami hadn't dimmed as drawing cards. They felt they didn't need cap space or high draft picks to make it happen. They needed only a star who wanted to be in Miami.

Sure, the Los Angeles and New York teams were rivals, but that was nothing new. The Heat had beaten those teams for stars in the past. Riley and his trusted lieutenants firmly believed an active marketplace played to their favor, and 2019 free agency would be active.

Once again, the old master was proved right. It showed in his wide smile as he sat alongside Jimmy Butler last July, the landing of a star that has become a turning point. To some, it was an unexpected sign-and-trade. Then -- as Riley predicted he could -- he unloaded Hassan Whiteside's bloated expiring contract, creating the path for Bam Adebayo to elevate from role player to second star.

In short, the Heat are back, and back to doing what they've always done: gathering stars and contending. From Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway to Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal to the "Heatles" of Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh, Riley has done this time and again since joining the Heat 25 years ago.

Now the Heat are on the hunt for another big catch. Whether it's a member of the desirable 2021 free agency class or another star Riley lures to South Florida, he has one more chance to create a Big Three on the shores of Biscayne Bay.

THIS REEMERGENCE OF the Heat as a force comes after five difficult years. James left in July 2014. Bosh re-signed -- but recurring blood clots derailed his career. That they appeared for the first time just as the Heat were trading for Goran Dragic was a cruel twist of fate. All of it set the stage for Wade's ugly -- albeit brief -- departure.

The failure to sign any major free agents -- namely Kevin Durant and Gordon Hayward, on whom Miami put a full-court press to land -- was a reversal from the success the Heat had previously enjoyed.

As a result, the Heat changed tactics. In 2017, on the heels of failing to get Hayward, and after just missing the playoffs following a 30-11 close to the regular season, Miami invested heavily in non-stars. The Heat made more than $100 million in four-year investments to retain Dion Waiters and James Johnson -- deals that remain millstones around the team's neck.

"There aren't any obstacles, there are only opportunities."

Heat president Pat Riley

"That's on me. You can put that all over me because I'm the one who made the deal at midnight [on July 1, 2017]," Riley said last year. "I didn't want the two guys on someone else's team, which would've been an even worse scenario."

Riley also gave free agent Kelly Olynyk a four-year contract that summer. All of that followed the Heat's decision in 2016 to match a $50 million offer to reserve guard Tyler Johnson.

In settling for role players, the Heat adopted a slogan and hashtag to justify the method: "Heat Culture." And in fact, the Heat's culture has long been considered among the best in the NBA. But culture didn't deliver rings to Riley in Los Angeles and Miami -- stars did.

"EVERYBODY IS LOOKING for a star," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Not everyone, though, can land them. Riley has proved, time and again, that he can.

The man proved to be a wizard of a coach and one of the league's great innovators. But Riley's best work has always been getting stars -- and getting the most from them.

By the time last season ended, Riley had made the course correction and was vowing to return to his roots. That's what led to his brash proclamations. While the Heat were proud that they always competed hard, and swore they enjoyed the chase for a lower playoff seed, they had reached a decision to get back to being the old Heat.

Riley admitted it might take until the summer of 2020 to get a star, and he hinted he might even have to pay a surcharge to dump some of his bad contracts. But once Butler became an option, Riley pounced.

General manager Andy Elisburg executed the sign-and-trade that required four teams to pull together. Complicated deals have long been an Elisburg specialty -- whether it was the five-team, 13-player mega trade they executed in 2005 that stocked their 2006 title team, the Eddie Jones sign-and-trade where Elisburg had 20 different machinations of Jones' contact in 2000, or the James and Bosh sign-and-trade deals in 2010.

The Heat were doing Heat things yet again.

LAST SEASON THE Heat were 10-14 in games decided by five points or fewer, and just 19-22 record at home, where they let winnable games slip away. They missed the playoffs by two games and were full of regret.

With one of the league's best closers in Butler leading them this season, the Heat have made a huge turnaround in their clutch-time execution. They're a dominating 6-0 in overtime games. At home they've been almost untouchable, going 17-1.

"There's a reason why we chased him so hard, and backed up the Brink's truck to get a max player," Spoelstra said. "That was the idea: to have a guy that we believe can take us to a different level.

"That's what he's doing right now."

Butler is averaging a career high in assists, making the Heat's offense go without a traditional point guard and allowing Dragic to settle perfectly into a sixth man role -- one he's played arguably better than anyone in the league this season.

Butler also espouses all the principles of "Heat Culture" -- to the point where Spoelstra thinks about what could have been had the Heat drafted Butler in 2011 rather than Norris Cole, two picks before the Chicago Bulls took Butler with the final pick of the first round.

"It felt like he should've been with us all along," Spoelstra said with a smile. "All along. I was joking about it with [Heat senior adviser] Chet Kammerer. ... I was saying, 'Man, looking back on it now, how great would Jimmy Butler have been drafting him after that first year with the Big Three?' Could've slotted him in with LeBron be the point, Dwyane, Jimmy be your 3, CB, Shane ... that team could've gone on."

That is an alternate reality. In this one, the Heat are hoping Butler can be the lure to stars in the way Wade, his fellow Marquette product, was 10 years ago. Yes, Riley was able to persuade James and Bosh to come to the Heat in that wild summer of 2010 -- but that happened only because Wade was already there.

Part of why the Heat struck out in free agency for several years was they didn't have anyone for stars to play alongside -- just one of the reasons Bosh's medical retirement was so devastating. Butler, they hope, changes that.

"I'm just here to hoop," Butler said when asked if he thought about the future possibilities for the organization when he agreed to come to Miami. "I'll let Coach Pat, Coach Spo and everybody else in the front office deal with all of that.

"I just know that I wanted to be here, I am here, and whatever we do, if we stick with this team, our job is still to win. We're locked in right now, and we'll worry about the future when it gets here."

THE ASCENSION OF Adebayo might prove as important as the addition of Butler. Adebayo is an ideal fit for today's NBA -- athletic enough to switch onto virtually anyone on the court and skilled enough to dribble and pass like a wing. The differences between Adebayo and his talented but less versatile predecessor at center in Miami, Whiteside, are glaring.

"Our organization is built on: You've got to earn it," Adebayo said. "I feel like I've earned the right to be here and they're letting me expand my game."

The max contract handed to Whiteside in 2016 is as telling as any of Miami's other questionable deals. He frustrated the Heat with his inconsistent effort. When asked about how Miami was winning despite Butler's modest numbers, Spoelstra referenced Whiteside repeatedly without ever mentioning his name -- including Whiteside once saying he was "trying to get my 2K rating up" in a postgame interview.

The Heat have surrounded Butler and Adebayo with the type of under-the-radar finds the Heat are known for developing. Kendrick Nunn, winner of the first two East Rookie of the Month awards this season, was an undrafted free agent the team signed at the end of last season. Duncan Robinson was on a two-way deal with the Heat last season and has developed into one of the league's most accurate 3-point shooters. Chris Silva is on a two-way deal and is playing himself into a full roster spot down the road, while Tyler Herro has looked like a potential steal with the 13th pick in the draft.

Spoelstra credits Butler and Dragic, veteran players who have allowed those younger guys to take on specific roles, an assessment Robinson agreed with.

"For sure," he said. "Both those guys, particularly on offense, get us organized and get into stuff. It makes it more palatable for us. Particularly for myself, I know my job is to be aggressive on offense, space the floor, shoot it when I'm open, and sometimes when I'm not, and defense, just compete, be in the right spots, contain the ball and just focus on what's in front of me instead of getting too far ahead of myself.

"They've both been awesome."

The Heat are third in the East, back among the elite. They'll keep looking to add another star this season or this summer, though any such deal could cut into their ability to get a big free agent in 2021. But any doubts about Riley's ability to make a major move should be suspended. Riley is feeling lucky.

"I'm an Irish guy," he said. "I sling shamrocks around to my friends all the time. It's my favorite emoji."

Ethiopian duo will be among those hoping to challenge Eliud Kipchoge on the streets of the UK capital in April

Mosinet Geremew and Mule Wasihun are set to return to the Virgin Money London Marathon on April 26 after finishing second and third respectively behind four-time winner Eliud Kipchoge last year.

With Kenya’s Kipchoge already confirmed, it means all three podium finishers from last year will be back racing on the streets of the UK capital and they will be joined by Ethiopia’s Shura Kitata, who was fourth last year and second in 2018.

Geremew ran the fifth fastest eligible time in history of 2:02:55 to take second place behind Kipchoge in 2019 and then secured silver at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, while his fellow Ethiopian Wasihun clocked 2:03:16 in London last year for the 11th fastest ever legal marathon.

“Last year’s Virgin Money London Marathon elite men’s race was one of the best races we have seen for many years,” said Spencer Barden, head of elite athletes.

“Mosinet Geremew and Mule Wasihun pushed Eliud Kipchoge as hard as I have ever seen but ultimately could not hang on to the great man in the final two miles. But they will have taken confidence from last year and will come back this time round looking to cause a real shock.”

Kipchoge, who made more history by becoming the first human to run a sub-two-hour marathon at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna in October, is looking to become the most successful able-bodied athlete in London Marathon history by winning a fifth title in 2020.

Other athletes announced in the elite men’s field so far include Ethiopia’s 2017 world marathon silver medallist Tamirat Tola, Kenya’s Marius Kipserem and Norway’s Sondre Nordstad Moen.

The elite women’s field, which was partly announced on Monday, includes world record-holder and defending champion Brigid Kosgei.

This is the second of London Marathon’s ‘elite week’ announcements, with further athletes to be confirmed in the coming days.

Elite men’s field athletes confirmed for the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon

Eliud KIPCHOGE (KEN) 2:01.39
Mosinet GEREMEW (ETH) 2:02.55
Mule WASIHUN (ETH) 2:03.16
Tamirat TOLA (ETH) 2:04.06
Marius KIPSEREM (KEN) 2:04.11
Shura KITATA (ETH) 2:04.49
Vincent KIPCHUMBA (KEN) 2:05.09
Sondre MOEN (NOR) 2:05.48
Gideon KIPKETER (KEN) 2:05:51
Yassine RACHIK (ITA) 2:08.05
Jack RAYNER (AUS) 2:11.06

A player was forced to retire from Australian Open qualifying after suffering a coughing fit brought on by the poor air quality resulting from ongoing bushfires in the country.

Slovenia's Dalila Jakupovic had to be helped off court after she retired at 6-5 5-6 against Swiss Stefanie Vogele in the first round in Melbourne.

"It was really bad. I never experienced something like this," Jakupovic said.

"I was really scared I would collapse because I couldn't walk any more."

Qualifying was delayed by an hour on Tuesday and practice was temporarily suspended because of the air quality.

Organisers said the conditions were expected to improve and would be "monitored constantly".

Asked about the decision to continue with qualifying, Jakupovic said: "I think it was not fair because it's not healthy for us.

"I was surprised. I thought we would not be playing today but we really don't have much choice."

People in Melbourne were advised to stay indoors and keep pets inside on Tuesday.

At least 28 people have died and an estimated 10 million hectares (100,000 sq km) of land has burned since 1 July.

Eugenie Bouchard also left the court during her qualifying match against You Xiaodi, complaining of a sore chest. The Canadian returned after a medical timeout and won 4-6 7-6 6-1.

Jakupovic, world ranked 180 in singles, added: "I'm angry and sad. I'm more sad because I had the win [in my grasp] and I just couldn't finish it.

"I don't have asthma even and I don't have breathing problems from the heat."

Australian Open organisers said prior to Jakupovic's retirement: "Further decisions will be made based on onsite data, and in close consultation with our medical team, the Bureau of Meteorology and scientists from EPA Victoria.

"As always the health and safety of our players, our staff and our fans is our priority."

Maria Sharapova's exhibition match in Kooyong, which is in the east of the city, was also called off after both players complained about the air quality.

The Russian was trailing Germany's Laura Siegemund 7-6 5-5 when the match was ended.

"I started feeling a cough coming toward the end of the second set but I've been sick for a few weeks so I thought that had something to do with it," Sharapova told broadcasters after the match.

"But then I heard Laura speak to the umpire and she said she was struggling with it as well.

"We were out there for over two hours, so from a health standpoint it's the right call from officials."

TULSA, Okla. – NASCAR Xfinity Series star Chase Briscoe is hoping that his return to his own equipment at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals will also lead to a return to the Saturday night A-main as well.

Briscoe, who cracked the championship field in 2017 and finished 22nd, spent last year’s Chili Bowl in a throwback car wrenched by Flea Ruzic and came one spot short of the big show on finale night.

This year, he’s back in his own Chase Briscoe Racing No. 5 Boss/Stanton-SR11, hoping for his second start in the championship feature after three years stuck in the “alphabet soup.”

In speaking with Sprint Car & Midget on Monday following practice, Briscoe expressed both confidence and familiarity in being back in his own equipment, looking relaxed going into his preliminary night.

“It’s definitely nice to come run my own stuff again. It’s a lot less pressure and just a lot more fun in general,” Briscoe said. “So it’s nice to come back. Hopefully we can get some good results. It’s tough when you come do your own deal. We only race, you know, two or three times a year in general in the midget … and we’re running against these guys that run 50 or 60 races and have multiple cars, so it definitely makes it tough, but it is a lot more enjoyable, at least from my side of things.

“In my eyes, there’s really no pressure if I go run good or run bad at the end of the day, because my owner’s not mad at me,” Briscoe joked. “So it’s a lot better for me. Hopefully we can have some good results and have a good Chili Bowl overall, because I’d really like to be back in the big show Saturday.”

Briscoe’s midget will carry branding from DiaEdge CnC Tooling, the same company that backed him during the recent Gateway Dirt Nationals in December.

Notably, the connection between driver and sponsor actually came about thanks to work that DiaEdge does on the NASCAR side with Ford Performance, Briscoe’s manufacturer in the Xfinity Series.

“It’s really cool how the whole thing started out,” Briscoe said of the partnership with DiaEdge. “They’re actually a partner of Roush-Yates. They do all the tooling that make our Roush-Yates engines on the NASCAR side. And they put on a go-kart event twice a month at GoPro (Motorplex), and they were wanting one of the NASCAR guys to come out. So I went over there … and I’ve been going almost every time since then now. We started talking about doing the Eldora truck race, and they came on board to do that with ThorSport, and after we ran really well and got their feet wet in the racing world, a couple of weeks after they were asking about doing some dirt stuff.

“Once I told them about the Chili Bowl and Gateway, they decided to come on board, and it’s been awesome for them,” Briscoe added. “The amount of people in racing and on the dirt side that are in manufacturing and CNC machines, it’s awesome. In St. Louis, they got two new customers, and then already they’ve had two or three people come up and ask about their tooling. So it’s been a really good partnership … and it’s nice for me because I can send them parts now that actually get made. There’s a couple of parts on this thing that are way nicer than what I had before.

“All in all, it really is a perfect partnership all the way around this deal.”

Knowing that he hasn’t been in the 55-lapper since 2017, Briscoe is motivated to erase that stat, which starts Monday night during Cummins Qualifying Night inside the River Spirit Expo Center.

However, Briscoe also knows that success at the Chili Bowl takes much more than just a fast race car.

“We made it in three years ago now in a different car, but this car is actually the car I ran last year, just for a different team,” Briscoe noted. “We missed the show by one spot last year in this car, and I feel like we’ve made it a little bit nicer this year with some of the parts that DiaEdge made. Hopefully it’s enough to get us in the show, but obviously it doesn’t only take speed, it takes a little bit of luck here.

“We’re starting in the last row in the second heat race, so we’re gonna need a little bit of luck, but there’s a lot of chances for passing points that hopefully we can use to make a little magic happen.”

How to Watch the Chili Bowl:

LIVE From the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Presented by MyRacePass – Story Index Page
News, analysis, interviews, behind-the-scenes and more – updated throughout each day.

LIVE PPV Streaming Broadcast – Racinboys.com
Monday – Saturday coverage

LIVE Television Broadcast – MAVTV.com
Saturday, Jan. 18th at 8:30pm EST

LIVE Timing and Scoring – MyRacePass
https://www.myracepass.com/app

SPEED SPORT’s Chili Bowl coverage is presented by MyRacePass, the official timing and scoring app of the 2020 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. Fans can download the MyRacePass app on their phones to follow all the action during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. For more information on MyRacePass, visit www.myracepass.com and use the hashtag #GetTheApp on Twitter!

LIVE from the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Presented by MyRacePass
Opening Day Report Jan. 13, 2020

As the first day of the 34th Lucas Oil Chili Bowl is set to kick off, Tony Bokhoven shares an opening day report from the Tulsa Expo Center!

How to Watch the Chili Bowl:

LIVE From the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Presented by MyRacePass – Story Index Page
News, analysis, interviews, behind-the-scenes and more – updated throughout each day.

LIVE PPV Streaming Broadcast – Racinboys.com
Monday – Saturday coverage

LIVE Television Broadcast – MAVTV.com
Saturday, Jan. 18th at 8:30pm EST

LIVE Timing and Scoring – MyRacePass
https://www.myracepass.com/app

SPEED SPORT’s Chili Bowl coverage is presented by MyRacePass, the official timing and scoring app of the 2020 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. Fans can download the MyRacePass app on their phones to follow all the action during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. For more information on MyRacePass, visit www.myracepass.com and use the hashtag #GetTheApp on Twitter!

TULSA, Okla. – After putting himself in the conversation last year at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, Cannon McIntosh earned the biggest victory of his young career Monday night at Tulsa Expo Raceway.

In his debut for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, McIntosh earned high-point honors, lost the lead early, caught a break to get it back and then fended off a charging Tyler Courtney to win the 30-lap preliminary feature on Cummins Qualifying Night for the 34th edition of the crown jewel midget race.

The victory completed a clean sweep for McIntosh, who won his heat race and his qualifying race before leading all but six revolutions during the main event en route to victory lane.

McIntosh shot off like a bullet train from the pole position on the initial start, but it was less than five laps before the outside groove came in and allowed third-starting Aaron Reutzel to storm to the front.

Reutzel pulled away slightly, but McIntosh stayed close at hand, which was a good thing when Dustin Golobic made contact with Ryan Leavitt in turn two and flipped across the track – collecting Reutzel from the race lead as McIntosh snuck through on the bottom to resume command over the field.

From there, through five restarts – including an open red-flag period with eight to go after Trey Marcham flipped into the turn-two catchfence – McIntosh fended off every advance that Courtney and Michael Pickens threw at him from behind, pulling away to a .708-second victory in the end.

McIntosh’s most impressive moment was on the final restart with eight laps left, following the Marcham red, when he threaded the needle as Courtney and Pickens tried to take him three-wide off turn two.

The 17-year-old product of Bixby, Okla., never looked back after that, looking like a veteran despite taking an emotional win for the home crowd in just his second-career Chili Bowl appearance.

“I did not want to see that red, you know? Especially when they opened it up,” McIntosh admitted afterward. “I knew some of the drivers and crews were going to make some changes, and Tyler made a heck of a run there at the end. I was afraid he was going to get us, but I just stayed in it and prayed for the best. I knew that was my chance and I knew I couldn’t lift if we wanted to win this thing.

“I couldn’t have done this without this whole crew. Keith (Kunz), Pete (Willoughby), Al (Scroggins, crew chief), my dad and the whole Dave Mac Motorsports crew also … because I wouldn’t be here without all of them too, right? I have to thank God, just everyone that’s helped me. My dad, my mom, my main supporters … this is unbelievable. I’m really at a loss for words right now, honestly.

“I knew we could do it and this team could do it, but man; we really did it and it feels good right now.”

Monday night marked McIntosh’s second national midget victory and first since the Shamrock Classic last March, when he stunned the dirt-racing world by holding off Logan Seavey.

It had been a 10-month drought since then, but one that McIntosh was more than glad to snap.

“I’ve been looking for (another) win for a long time now,” he admitted. “We’ve had speed and been close so many times, but coming into this situation with Keith’s stuff, I put a lot of pressure on myself … and they did well actually keeping the pressure off me and keeping me relaxed. Coming in here, I just wanted to make the main event, but I never thought we’d be in victory lane tonight.

“It turned out well. When Keith hugged me … man that was special. This is all special.”

Courtney’s runner-up finish was enough to lock him into his fourth-straight Saturday A-main at the Chili Bowl, while Reutzel “drove in rage mode” to come from the back to third over the final 20 laps.

Pickens faded to fourth in the final laps, while Zach Daum completed the top five.

Paul Nienhiser crossed sixth, ahead of Kevin Thomas Jr., Wesley Smith, Chase Briscoe and Kevin Bayer.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

How to Watch the Chili Bowl:

LIVE From the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Presented by MyRacePass – Story Index Page
News, analysis, interviews, behind-the-scenes and more – updated throughout each day.

LIVE PPV Streaming Broadcast – Racinboys.com
Monday – Saturday coverage

LIVE Television Broadcast – MAVTV.com
Saturday, Jan. 18th at 8:30pm EST

LIVE Timing and Scoring – MyRacePass
https://www.myracepass.com/app

SPEED SPORT’s Chili Bowl coverage is presented by MyRacePass, the official timing and scoring app of the 2020 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. Fans can download the MyRacePass app on their phones to follow all the action during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. For more information on MyRacePass, visit www.myracepass.com and use the hashtag #GetTheApp on Twitter!

LIVE from the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals Presented by MyRacePass

Monday Second Place Interview – Tyler Courtney

Our Jacob Seelman catches up with Clauson-Marshall Racing’s Tyler Courtney after his runner-up finish during Cummins Qualifying Night at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals inside the River Spirit Expo Center.

How to Watch the Chili Bowl:

LIVE From the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Presented by MyRacePass – Story Index Page
News, analysis, interviews, behind-the-scenes and more – updated throughout each day.

LIVE PPV Streaming Broadcast – Racinboys.com
Monday – Saturday coverage

LIVE Television Broadcast – MAVTV.com
Saturday, Jan. 18th at 8:30pm EST

LIVE Timing and Scoring – MyRacePass
https://www.myracepass.com/app

SPEED SPORT’s Chili Bowl coverage is presented by MyRacePass, the official timing and scoring app of the 2020 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. Fans can download the MyRacePass app on their phones to follow all the action during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. For more information on MyRacePass, visit www.myracepass.com and use the hashtag #GetTheApp on Twitter!

LIVE from the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Presented by MyRacePass

Monday Winner Interview – Cannon McIntosh

After a thrilling performance to open the 34th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, Cummins Qualifying Night winner Cannon McIntosh catches up with our Jacob Seelman to discuss his victory in Monday’s 30-lap preliminary feature.

How to Watch the Chili Bowl:

LIVE From the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Presented by MyRacePass – Story Index Page
News, analysis, interviews, behind-the-scenes and more – updated throughout each day.

LIVE PPV Streaming Broadcast – Racinboys.com
Monday – Saturday coverage

LIVE Television Broadcast – MAVTV.com
Saturday, Jan. 18th at 8:30pm EST

LIVE Timing and Scoring – MyRacePass
https://www.myracepass.com/app

SPEED SPORT’s Chili Bowl coverage is presented by MyRacePass, the official timing and scoring app of the 2020 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. Fans can download the MyRacePass app on their phones to follow all the action during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. For more information on MyRacePass, visit www.myracepass.com and use the hashtag #GetTheApp on Twitter!

Edmonton Oilers forward Zack Kassian has been suspended two games for his attack on Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk during the teams' game Saturday night, the NHL announced.

Kassian took offense to a hit from Tkachuk late in the second period and threw off his gloves and started punching the Flames forward, also tossing Tkachuk to the ice twice.

Kassian was given two minor penalties for roughing, as well as a misconduct. Tkachuk was not penalized.

"If he doesn't want to get hit, then stay off the tracks,'' Tkachuk said after the game. "I got him three times there. You'd think he'd learn after the first one. If he wants to react like that, we'll take the power play, we'll take the game winner and we'll move on in first place.''

Kassian called the hits "targeted'' and was unhappy Tkachuk didn't respond with fists of his own.

"You don't let people take advantage of you no matter what the situation is,'' Kassian said, defending his actions.

The Flames won the game 4-3, scoring the decisive goal on the power play as Kassian served the second of his roughing minors.

The Oilers next play the Nashville Predators on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.