Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall says he expects Liam Williams to be fit for the start of the Six Nations.

Saracens also say that Williams, who has been sidelined since October with an ankle injury, could rejoin Welsh region Scarlets earlier than expected.

Saracens need to reduce their costs in order to comply with the Premiership's £7m salary cap for this season.

"I think he might be fit for the Six Nations, but I don't think he will be fit for us before that," McCall said.

The English Premiership champions Saracens were deducted 35 points and fined £5.36m in November for breaking rules over three seasons.

Saracens will not be contesting their punishment, while Premiership Rugby has announced a "comprehensive review" of its salary cap regulations.

Williams will join Scarlets next season after three campaigns in England. When asked if the deal that will see Williams returning to Wales could be brought forward from this summer, McCall added: "It is possible.

"It is not ideal," he added. "Liam hasn't played a game for us this season. That's not his fault.

"It was Liam's decision that he was going to go back to the Scarlets and to Wales and that was a family decision.

"We understood that completely and he doesn't regret coming here and we don't regret bringing him to Saracens, he has been brilliant."

The news that Williams is winning his battle to to be fit for the start of the Six Nations will be a big boost to Wayne Pivac as he prepares for his first major tournament as Wales coach.

Williams suffered an ankle injury in training before the World Cup semi-final against South Africa in Japan.

However, McCall warned that Williams is unlikely to get any game time for his club before Wales' first match on 1 February against Italy in Cardiff.

"I don't think he will be fit for us before the Six Nations, so it is not ideal, he hasn't played a game for us this season, but that isn't his fault, he got injured before the World Cup semi-final," McCall added.

"I think he will be ready for the start of the Six Nations."

SYDNEY, Australia – Tyler Erb continued his early-season hot streak last weekend with another win at Australia’s Valvoline Raceway, picking up additional honors in the process.

Erb piloted the Case Construction No. 91 HDD Racing/Tri Tech Lubricants-sponsored XR1 Rocket Chassis super late model to victory in the Ultimate Sydney Speedweek finale, clinching the mini-series title.

“It was another great night at Valvoline Raceway, finishing one-two with my teammate, Cameron (Pearson),” Erb said. “Despite the extreme heat conditions, we managed to pull out another win. I want to thank HDD Racing and everyone who supports this team for again providing me with this awesome opportunity. Please keep everyone affected by the wildfires in your thoughts and prayers.”

After starting the night off with a heat race victory, Erb led flag-to-flag in the 25-lap feature to claim his second consecutive win.

Erb finished 3.315 seconds ahead of Pearson, Brad Smith, Lachlan Onley, and Daniel Moon.

With the Sydney Speedweek title in his back pocket, Erb will continue the U.S. Invasion tour later this week with a pair of events at Perth Motorplex on Jan. 8 and Jan. 11.

DRESDEN, Ohio – On the heels of a sixth place finish in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series standings, Devin Moran will return to the series in 2020 at the wheel of a Tye Twarog Racing No. 9 Longhorn Chassis.

Reuniting with car owner Tye Twarog, for whom Moran ran full-time during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Devin will start his 2020 campaign during Georgia-Florida Speedweeks.

Plans call for the No. 9 team to enter only the nine LOLMDS specials while down south, tackling Golden Isles Speedway near Brunswick, Ga.; East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Fla.; and All-Tech Raceway in Ellisville, Fla., between Jan. 31 and Feb. 9.

“I am really excited to be driving for Tye (Twarog) again this year and pumped up to get this 2020 season underway at the end of the month at Golden Isles,” said Moran. “We have a pair of new Longhorn race cars ready to roll and Clements Chevy motors to provide the horsepower, so Tye has definitely given us the equipment we need to compete throughout the year on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. I can’t thank him and his family enough, along with all of our great sponsors, but we are definitely looking for additional resources to be able to strive for the highest level possible.

“Right now, it is just me and my brother Wylie working out of Tye’s shop in Coshocton, Ohio, so we won’t be the most well-funded team out there on tour, but I enjoy being a bit of an underdog.”

INDIANAPOLIS – Landon Simon will pilot the newly-redesigned RAMS Racing-owned, Rockwell Security-backed No. 2L Mopar-powered Bullet during the upcoming Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.

The marquee midget event takes place Jan. 13-18 inside the River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, Okla.

“Jeff (Taylor) and Rick (Young) have given me a great opportunity in top notch equipment. I’m really excited to race out of the RAMS Racing/Rockwell Security stable next to Justin (Grant),” Simon said. “We have a great group of people with a lot of knowledge. All we need now is some Chili Bowl luck.”

Simon will be backed by The Hayloft Farm to Table Online, Dave & Buster’s, Lucas Oil and JEGS Performance, with continued support from long-time partners Simpson Race Products, Brown and Miller, DMI, Astro Titanium, Hoosier Racing Tire, KSE, Rod End Supply, High Side Design and Keizer Wheels during the Chili Bowl Nationals.

Jason Day will make his first competitive start of 2020 at a venue that's been very good to him in the past.

Day has committed to play the Farmers Insurance Open, scheduled for Jan. 23-26 at Torrey Pines.

It will remark a return to competition for the Aussie, who was last seen missing the cut at Mayakoba in November. Two weeks later, the International captain's pick announced that he was withdrawing from the Presidents Cup with a back injury.

"Frustratingly, I've been through back problems before and my medial team decided it best to shut down all practice and play," he said in a statement.

Day took the Farmers in 2015 and '18, both times in extra holes. He's recorded three more top-10s in San Diego, including a tie for second in 2014.

Winless for the last year and a half, the former world No. 1 could use a trip to Torrey after tumbling down to 37th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Joining Day in the field will be Rickie Fowler, who hasn't enjoyed the same success. In his last six starts at the Farmers, Fowler has missed the cut four times and finished no better than T-61.

Their commitments follow that of world No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who added his name to the field Monday.

Fresh off his playoff win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Justin Thomas is headed from Maui to Honolulu for this week's Sony Open.

The last time Thomas won the TOC, back in 2017, he followed it up with this first-round 59 at Waialae:

The round included eagles on his opening and closing holes — Nos. 10 and 9, respectively — which bookended eight birdies and a bogey for a round of 11 under.

Needing this 15-footer to go sub-60, Thomas jarred it and then promptly celebrated with his friends and playing partners, Jordan Spieth and Daniel Berger.

"It was the first time I’ve had a putt for 59," Thomas said, "and I was like, well, who knows if this is gonna happen again, so I might as well try to knock it in." 

“That was really cool to me,” he added, “to do that with two of your best friends and to have them go as crazy as they did was really cool.”

In his last 12 trips around Waialae, Thomas has not signed for a score worse than 2-under 68.

Detroit Pistons star Blake Griffin underwent an arthroscopic procedure Tuesday on his injured knee and will be out indefinitely, the team announced.

The Pistons said in a statement that following the surgery, Griffin will undergo an "extended rehabilitation period."

Griffin, a six-time All Star, has played only 18 games this season because of issues with the knee. He had arthroscopic surgery on the same knee in April.

Griffin is averaging 15.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists this season for the Pistons, who have struggled to a 13-24 record.

He was acquired by the Pistons in a multiplayer trade in January 2018 and has two years and $76 million left on his contract.

Griffin appeared in 75 games last season for Detroit, his most since 2013-14, averaging a career-high 25.5 points to go with 7.5 rebounds.

CLEVELAND -- Cavaliers star forward Kevin Love knows he should have handled his recent frustrations in a much better manner.

"I wasn't acting like a 31-year-old; I was acting like a 13-year-old," Love said. "That was not me."

Love spoke openly Tuesday for the first time since an outburst on the bench in Toronto last week and since showing up his teammates and coaches during a loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday.

He threw his arms up in disgust several times on the floor, fired a hard pass in anger and had his back turned on defense as one of the Thunder's players streaked past him for a basket.

Also, before that game, Love got into a verbal exchange with general manager Koby Altman because he was angry about being fined for losing his cool against the Raptors on Dec. 31. Love said the situation was overblown in the media and that he and Altman spoke before Sunday's game against Minnesota and are on good terms.

"I went in there and talked to Koby about it in conversation," Love said following Tuesday's morning shootaround as the Cavs prepared to host Detroit. "Came to the arena, Koby and I were great, gave him a [fist] pound right when I came in. There was no altercation, there was no screaming match. You can ask him; that's what it was."

Love has been the subject of trade rumors almost since the moment he arrived in Cleveland five years ago, and it's likely the young and rebuilding Cavs will deal him before the Feb. 6 deadline to add future assets.

Not long after LeBron James left as a free agent following the 2017 season, the Cavs signed Love to a four-year, $120 million contract. They wanted him to be the centerpiece of their rebuild but things haven't gone exactly as planned as the team has made a coaching change and moved several veteran players.

Love could be next. But he has no regrets about staying with Cleveland.

"No," he said when asked if he wished he hadn't signed the deal. "It's there. Everybody wants to paint a narrative that I didn't want to be here and just signed it because it was there. No, I've always wanted to be here. I don't know what the next few weeks are going to hold and this has been a frustrating situation and I know this is a team that's rebuilding and wants to go young.

"I've accepted that. Let the chips fall where they may."

Love has been open in the past about his struggles with anxiety and depression. He's become a national advocate for mental wellness. The stress of the past two seasons has taken a toll, but he said he's learning to cope when faced with challenges.

"I think you have to see all sides of it, and I've had to take a step back the last number of years and do that as well," he said. "Seeing things in their entirety when things are bad, when things are kind of not at a place where you want them to be, is super hard. I think that transcends the basketball court, professional sports, any walk of life. I think we can all be better."

Love acknowledged his failings over the past weeks and vowed to learn from them. He's had a hard time coping with the reality that he's not going to win another NBA title with Cleveland, but that can't affect the way he acts toward teammates, coaches, fans and media members.

"I've been at ease," Love said. "People ask me, 'Hey, are you OK?' and 'What's going on?' I'm like, 'I'm good.' Listen ... I showed my actions on a national level. That was childish of me, and just goes to show you, I'm an unfinished product, like anybody.

"That's why I speak to you guys not as Kevin Love the basketball player, as a human because it's no B.S. I just want to be authentic. I know I can get a lot better, and that can't go on here, especially when you have young guys that you are trying to help and I told that I would help. So, I got to be a better leader, but also a better person as somebody who has more often than not a majority of the time done the right thing, said the right thing, and shown that I can."

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers, still hoping to acquire a star player on the trade market, made another low-risk, high-upside addition on Tuesday, agreeing to terms on an incentive-laden deal with Jimmy Nelson, sources confirmed to ESPN.

Nelson, a 30-year-old right-hander who had spent his entire career with the Milwaukee Brewers, signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract that includes a $2 million club option for 2021, which could become a more lucrative mutual option if he reaches certain thresholds. Nelson's deal, first reported on by the L.A. Times, could surpass $13 million if he hits all of his incentives.

Nelson broke out as a starting pitcher in 2017, going 12-6 with a 3.49 ERA and finishing ninth in National League Cy Young Award voting. But he underwent shoulder surgery in September and missed the entire 2018 season. In 2019, he battled elbow soreness, got demoted to Triple-A and compiled only 22 innings in the major leagues. The Brewers decided not to tender him a contract in December, making Nelson a free agent with five years of major league service time.

The Dodgers believe that Nelson, if healthy, might be able to tap into some of the dominance he displayed a couple of years ago. They will give him an opportunity to compete for a spot in their starting rotation -- along with young arms such as Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin and Julio Urias -- but believe he can also be a weapon out of the bullpen. Nelson joins Blake Treinen, a previously dominant reliever for the Oakland Athletics, as the Dodgers' only substantive additions thus far.

Nelson agreed to a $750,000 base salary in 2020, but can make an additional $3.5 million in incentives, an industry source said. His $2 million club option for 2021 comes with a $500,000 buyout and can turn into a $5 million mutual option if he reaches 60 innings or 40 appearances in 2020. Other innings incentives could push the 2021 option up to $9 million.

Listed at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, Nelson relies on a four-pitch mix that includes a four-seam fastball, sinker, slider and curveball. His average fastball dropped from about 95 mph in 2017 to 93 mph in 2019.