Margaret Jarvis was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2013. Since then she has used running to help manage the condition and she explains how here

Parkinson’s is a disease I knew little about until about seven years ago, apart from being aware of a friend’s father who had had it for years and an uncle who had it in his later years of life. My uncle walked in a shuffle and he’d sit staring with an expressionless face.

In 2012 I developed a tremor in my left hand and my daughter noticed that when I ran my left arm hardly swung compared to my right. I also had this dragging sensation around the sides of my mouth.

I did some research, pieced my symptoms together and thought that I probably had Parkinson’s.

I was diagnosed “officially” by a consultant neurologist. Many people who receive this diagnosis find it totally overwhelming and become withdrawn and depressed. But fortunately my mind was already prepared for this life-changing knowledge.

What is Parkinson’s?

Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive and incurable neurological condition that causes problems in the brain and gets worse over time. It occurs when the brain cells that produce dopamine starts to die. Dopamine allows messages to be sent to the parts of the brain that co-ordinate movement. About one in 350 people in the UK are living with Parkinson’s and the main symptoms are tremors, slowness and muscle stiffness, plus fatigue, depression and anxiety.

Exercise helps me manage the symptoms by reducing stiffness and improving my mobility, posture, balance and gait. In addition it improves my cardiovascular system and reduces depression, stress and anxiety.

I am 64 and have been running for nearly 40 years, starting when I suddenly realised that I was not at all fit, having been a sporty schoolgirl. I moved to Devon in 2012 and since then I have increased the distances I run. I have found that multi terrain events are best for my condition because of the mental concentration, strength, flexibility and balance required. Several health professionals who have treated me have told me that my symptoms would have been much worse if I had not been running at the level I do.

I started my treatment for Parkinson’s about 3.5 years ago: my medication is Levodopa tablets which I take three times a day. Levodopa is absorbed by the nerve cells in the brain and turned into the chemical dopamine. My dose was increased about nine months later. The problem with this medication is that the dose may need to be further increased from time to time and long-term use is linked to dyskinesia (uncontrollable, jerky muscle movements).

Running for Parkinson’s

In 2017 I decided that I wanted to do more fund raising for Parkinson’s UK. I’d already raised nearly £1500 with my younger daughter running the Bournemouth Half Marathon in 2015 so I decided to tackle my first race across Dartmoor and was joined by my elder daughter for this event. We ran The Great Escape Half Marathon from Princetown to South Brent. The fund raising exceeded all expectations and we raised over £3000, making a joint total for the two events of over £4500.

The following year I challenged myself further. Up to this point my longest distance was a half-marathon so I chose an 18.5-mile event, appropriately called the Hartland Heartbreaker. I had to increase my weekly mileage and for this I was guided by some of the experienced runners from my club.

After this I thought perhaps I was ready for the challenge of the marathon, a distance that I had never thought I would be able to tackle. I decided to stick to a multi terrain race and went for the hilly Eden Project Marathon in Cornwall. After increasing my mileage in training, I finished in 5:12 feeling comfortable. I was first in the W60 age category and was delighted with my achievement, as well as the bottle of wine I won!

I have also qualified as a Leader in Running Fitness in 2013 and have helped form a cross-country club in my local village primary school. As for my future, I see no barriers at the moment. I have been tremendously well supported by my family, friends and fellow athletes and I know this will continue. I would hope that any athlete who is unfortunate enough to develop Parkinson’s keeps up their training and gets involved in other aspects of our sport.

Exeter head coach Ali Hepher has hailed the impact of centre Sam Hill after his two tries against London Irish.

The scores in Sunday's win were Hill's first of the season, and his first since he crossed in the Premiership final loss to Saracens in June.

"He's a top quality player," Hepher told BBC Radio Devon.

"He's very under-estimated, he's great on the ball, he's got good skills that people don't really think about when you talk about Sam Hill.

"Added with his obvious physicality and his pace he's got ability to show the ball as we saw today, and go through for a try.

"All round he's developed into a really good Premiership player."

The 26-year-old was called up to an England squad in 2016, but did not win a cap and also has strong competition for a place at Sandy Park.

Exeter kept their place at the top of the Premiership after their eighth successive win in all competitions.

Hill came in for Ian Whitten in the midfield alongside Ollie Devoto, who also scored in the 45-28 win at the Madejski Stadium as Exeter await the return to fitness of England centre Henry Slade in late February.

"Hopefully with the four centres, if we can keep them all fit we can rotate it before the injuries kick in," Hepher added.

"But you tend to always be one down if not two, so we're pleased with all those guys. Ian Whitten's been fantastic over the last few weeks and Devo was strong today as well.

"All in all they're all functioning really well, we've just got to get Sladey back now."

VADO, N.M. — He’s known as “Thriller” and on Sunday night at Vado Speedway Park in the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series inaugural Battle at the Border finale, Cade Dillard lived up to his nickname and then some.

With two-time and defending series champion Brandon Sheppard setting the pace, Dillard battled side-by-side with three-time series champion Darrell Lanigan on almost every inch of the three-eighths-mile dirt track, then slowly pulled away from Lanigan and closed the gap on Sheppard.

After a caution flag waved with nine circuits remaining, a single-file restart was Dillard’s last chance. Sheppard chose to ride the cushion around turn four while Dillard turned his MB Customs chassis No. 97 down off the fourth corner.

With the bite on the low side, Dillard blasted by Sheppard into the lead at the flagstand – one he would not relinquish, as he turned on the jets and flat-out ran away from his competition to score the first World of Outlaws victory of his career.

Overcome with emotion in victory lane, announcer Rick Eshelman welcomed Dillard into the World of Outlaws winner’s club, the 87th driver in tour history to join it, but all the 28-year-old could muster in response was, “I’m speechless.”

After celebrating with his crew, Dillard had some time to let it soak in and described the feeling of a national tour victory.

“I’ve watched these guys for a long time, back when I was modified racing, and dreamed of the day of getting to race with them. Never in a million years did I think something like this would ever happen for me,” he said.

Dillard stayed consistent the entire race, never dropping out of the top five in the 75 laps contested. But from the initial drop of the green, it appeared as though Sheppard was going to have his way with the field.

Sheppard jumped out to the lead and held it through several restarts, including one after an extended red-flag period for a three-car accident. Bobby Pierce was one collected in the incident that went over onto his side, made the repairs and came back out to finish all 75 laps in 10th.

As Sheppard continued to show the way and the laps clicked off, Dillard’s battle with Lanigan heated up. The Bluegrass Bandit regained the runner-up spot on lap 30 as Dillard faded back a bit, giving up third to Scott Bloomquist seven laps later.

Dillard rebounded on the next lap and got it back, just a few laps before another caution flew that placed him on the rear bumper of Lanigan.

“I should’ve picked the outside on that restart, I let Dillard have it,” Lanigan said. “I thought I could get some more grip on the bottom; the top was giving up some.”

Scrubbing the outside wall on the restart, Dillard took the momentum line up top and it paid off as he zoomed by the No. 29v to regain second. Dillard completely reeled in Sheppard by lap 60 and quickly put his wheelman skills on display, going slide job for slide job with the leader around the wicked fast oval and bringing the fans to the edge of their seats.

Then came the final restart on lap 67, where he made the move that won him $15,000.

“I didn’t think he would mess-up up there and I would even have a chance to get around him, honestly,” Dillard said. “He’s so good at running the cushion. If it hadn’t been for that restart… I just had my tires cooled off, and I felt like I fired really good.”

From that point, Dillard put his car on the wall all the way to the checkered flag, holding off Sheppard, Lanigan, Bloomquist and Saturday’s winner Ricky Weiss, who started 21st.

From Sheppard’s perspective, he said if he could’ve had the restart back, he knows exactly what he would have done.

“I would have just turned down and came off the bottom of [turn] four, like I did every other restart,” Sheppard said. “It kept getting slicker and slicker through the middle, so I didn’t want to kill my speed turning down across the track. But obviously I thought wrong on that because I needed to turn down, and I didn’t. I gave it away.”

Lanigan and the new Barry Wright Race Cars / Viper Motorsports pairing had a solid first weekend out in New Mexico, with two top-five finishes to cap off the Southwest stretch.

“If there wouldn’t have been that caution… we were on Sheppard pretty hard,” Lanigan said. “We’ve got something to learn, but the car seems to be pretty good.”

The finish:

Feature (75 Laps) 1. 97-Cade Dillard [4][$15,000]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard [2][$7,000]; 3. 29v-Darrell Lanigan [5][$5,000]; 4. 0-Scott Bloomquist [10][$4,000]; 5. 7-Ricky Weiss [21][$3,000]; 6. 28-Dennis Erb [12][$2,000]; 7. 0e-Rick Eckert [9][$1,900]; 8. 0M-Chris Madden [3][$1,800]; 9. 157-Mike Marlar [17][$1,700]; 10. 32-Bobby Pierce [22][$1,600]; 11. O1-Garrett Alberson [20][$1,500]; 12. 2s-Stormy Scott [13][$1,450]; 13. 18-Chase Junghans [23][$1,400]; 14. 4G-Kody Evans [18][$1,350]; 15. 99B-Boom Briggs [7][$1,300]; 16. 66c-Matt Cosner [25][$250]; 17. 6L-Ivedent Lloyd [26][$200]; 18. 12-Ashton Winger [8][$1,150]; 19. 99jr-Frank Heckenast [11][$1,100]; 20. 21-Billy Moyer [19][$1,050]; 21. B1-Brent Larson [15][$1,000]; 22. 6-Blake Spencer [24][$1,000]; 23. 3s-Brian Shirley [16][$1,000]; 24. 91p-Jason Papich [14][$1,000]; 25. 21jr-Billy Moyer [1][$1,000]; 26. 98-Jason Rauen [6][$1,000] Hard Charger: 7-Ricky Weiss[+16]

MOSCOW -- Some Russian hockey fans were celebrating victory despite losing at the world junior hockey championships because of a confusingly timed TV repeat.

Two state TV channels showed Russia-Canada finals at the same time on Sunday. One was live, and the other was from 2011.

While most fans, and Russia's players, commiserated after a 4-3 loss to Canada on Channel One, many Russians watched a nail-biting, 9-year-old 5-3 comeback win on rival broadcaster Match TV.

Some fans posted celebratory messages on social media, or complained media outlets were reporting the wrong score. It became hard to tell who was genuinely duped and who was in on the joke.

Soccer player Dmitry Tarasov wrote on Instagram: "Well done guys, congratulations on the win." After the post was widely mocked, Tarasov said it was meant as a joke after he forfeited in a board game he was playing with family.

Yana Tarasenko, a lifestyle blogger who is the wife of St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko, posted on Instagram that her husband had watched the 2011 game for 10 minutes in the belief it was live -- at least "until he saw himself in the game."

Tarasenko was on the winning Russian team in 2011, but at the age of 28 he is now far too old for world juniors.

It wasn't immediately clear why Match TV decided to show the 2011 final at the same time as the live broadcast. It had shown live world juniors games earlier in the tournament, but the medal rounds were only on Channel One. Match TV didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Talk to any general manager, coach or player and they'll tell you this about today's NHL: There has never been more parity. Any team can win on any given night (and gone are the nights where you can circle a date on the calendar and schedule yourself for an easy win). Halfway through the season, there has already been five comeback wins by four goals or more -- the most we've seen since the '80s. We've seen nine three-goal comeback wins occur in the third period alone, which is the most in NHL history through 638 league games.

So it's not a surprise that most teams still harbor hope to make the playoffs. And as we know in the NHL, once you're in, you always have a chance to make some noise. Blame the St. Louis Blues for giving even the bottom feeders extra hope. On Jan. 2 last season, St. Louis was in last place in the NHL and 11 points outside the playoff picture. We all know how that ended up.

So which team has a chance of repeating that success this season? Here's how teams currently not super secure in a playoff position stack up, in four different tiers.

Jump ahead:
What we liked this week | What we didn't like
Three stars of the week | Biggest games coming up

Tier 4: Sorry, no shot

Los Angeles Kings
Anaheim Ducks
New Jersey Devils
Detroit Red Wings
Ottawa Senators

Sure, three of these teams (Ottawa, New Jersey, Detroit) are where the Blues were last season: 11 points or more out of a playoff spot. But all of these teams have something in common: they're embracing a youth movement, but also dreaming of a tank and the prospect of drafting Alexis Lafreniere No. 1 overall in June.

The Senators have outperformed expectations a bit and look much more competitive this season under DJ Smith. Ottawa has a few individual bright spots on a roster generally lacking talent (Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anthony Duclair are having career years, while Thomas Chabot is the new NHL ironman, leading the league by skating more than 26 minutes per game). The Devils, meanwhile, flopped after a summer of hoopla. The idea that Jack Hughes, P.K. Subban and Taylor Hall could team up for a Stanley Cup has quickly vanished, and in return, fans are hoping the rebuild doesn't have to start from scratch again. The Red Wings, in Steve Yzerman's first season as GM, look like they have no desire to be competitive, bracing for a long play. The Kings cut their losses on Ilya Kovalchuk, owning up to a lack of self-awareness when they signed him in summer 2018. The Ducks have shown some flashes under the guidance of new coach Dallas Eakins, but lack the consistency to go on a wild run.

None of these teams will make the playoffs.

Tier 3: Desperation mode

New York Rangers
Montreal Canadiens
Chicago Blackhawks

Hey, it's still possible for any of these teams to make the playoffs, but they have to get their act together fast.

The Canadiens are a perplexing team. They looked decent for a stretch this fall, but injuries piled up quickly. And once they said Brendan Gallagher (second on the team in goals) was out indefinitely with a concussion, GM Marc Bergevin was baited into signing Ilya Kovalchuk for the rest of the season. It's a low-risk move considering that it's a two-way deal for the league minimum, but Kovalchuk will have to show a lot more than he did in Los Angeles for it to be an impact signing.

The Rangers are on the upswing, and are probably another year away from seriously pushing for a playoff spot. They have a lot of young players on the roster transitioning to the NHL (No. 2 pick Kaapo Kakko, especially, needs to find his way) and a hodgepodge defensive group, which at times has been hard to watch. However, the offseason signing of Artemi Panarin has been even better than imagined, and the bread man has sparked this team to several wins. The trade deadline will be telling, and if the Rangers ship Chris Kreider to one of many reported suitors, the door to the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs is likely shut.

As for the Blackhawks, they've proved they can play top-level hockey for stretches, and the goaltending tandem of Corey Crawford and (especially) Robin Lehner has compensated for their bad blue line. Patrick Kane is still a superstar. But the injuries to key players (Brandon Saad and Calvin de Haan among them) have prevented this team from finding a stride, and this is likely a transition season as plenty of young players get NHL reps.

Tier 2: Sneaky chance

Columbus Blue Jackets
Buffalo Sabres
Minnesota Wild
Philadelphia Flyers
Edmonton Oilers

Here's where things get interesting. These teams have some components of playoff teams. For the Oilers and Sabres, they have elite superstars (Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Jack Eichel) literally dragging their less-talented teammates to wins. Both teams are similar: they need goaltending to hold up to have any chance and they also might need to acquire scoring help at the deadline.

The Flyers and Blue Jackets have been hampered by injuries. But there are enough veteran players and ascending talent on both rosters to grind out wins when it matters down the stretch. If either team gets in, they might play spoiler to higher-seeded teams and have young goaltenders -- Joonas Korpisalo, when he's healthy again, and Carter Hart -- who can get just as hot as Jordan Binnington did last spring.

As for the Wild? They're staying afloat in the competitive Central Division and have made up significant ground after a horrid start. If they can close out the regular season with a playoff spot, they could make noise considering the veteran talent on this roster.

Tier 1: Feeling dangerous

Florida Panthers
Calgary Flames
Nashville Predators
San Jose Sharks
Winnipeg Jets

Here are the teams that profile most similarly to last season's Blues. Two (the Sharks and Flames) have already undergone a coaching change -- and let's note that two of the past four Stanley Cup champs switched coaches midseason.

San Jose is lowest in the standings of this group, but perhaps the most dangerous considering how we rated them entering the season. It feels like the loss of Joe Pavelski (and even Joonas Donskoi) was underestimated, and of course, goaltending has been the sore spot. The Sharks also haven't looked much better since Bob Boughner took over for Peter DeBoer a month ago. But all it takes is one long winning streak and they're right back in the mix. It helps that the Pacific Division isn't as talented as the Central.

The Flames, who had the best record in the Western Conference last season, picked things up since their coaching change, going 11-5-1 with Geoff Ward behind the bench. (Sounds similar to last season's Blues). Calgary has been buoyed by a surprisingly good David Rittich in net, though the team might need to manage his workload down the stretch. The Flames really need more out of their best offensive players, Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. If either (or both) of those guys get hot, the Flames could be a true threat.

The Panthers did everything they could this offseason to improve their chances at a playoff berth. Besides hiring multiple Cup winner Joel Quenneville as coach, they splurged on Sergei Bobrovsky and added veterans with playoff experience for depth: Noel Acciari, Brett Connolly and Anton Stralman. Everyone is waiting for Bobrovksy to turn a corner, and it's really not too late (either for this season, or the entirety of his contract). It all could come together for Florida.

In the Central Division, the Jets have outperformed expectations (especially with the turnover on the blue line) and the Predators have underperformed (Nashville's goaltending has been surprisingly undependable). But there's enough foundational talent on either team to really go on a run, a la the Blues.

Emptying the notebook

Calder Trophy favorite Cale Makar returned from his first injury as a pro, an eight-game absence due to an upper-body injury, believed to be his left shoulder. And something unusual happened in his second game back: he committed a penalty. It was Makar's first penalty as an NHL player; he made it to Game 31 without one. "It was a dumb one, too," Samuel Girard said. "Delay of game, just puck over the glass. That sucks when it happens like that."

I have a feature coming soon on Makar, and it's clear just how beloved he is by his teammates. "He's a clean player, but what I love about Cale is he's not afraid to get his nose dirty, too," Nazem Kadri said. "He can lay a big hit or have some physical confrontation. He's not cheap; he'll play by the rules. But he's tougher out there than you think."

Canada won the gold medal in the IIHF World Junior Championships, coming back to stun Russia, 4-3. All eyes were on the likely No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft, Alexis Lafreniere. I asked Chris Peters, who was onsite in Ostrava, to recap Lafreniere's tournament and what it means for the youngster's NHL future:

"Alexis Lafreniere has been dominant all season in QMJHL play, but that was expected. All eyes were on him for this World Juniors event, and he delivered in the biggest way possible. Despite only playing in five games, missing two entirely and most of the preliminary-round matchup against Russia due to an apparent knee injury, Lafreniere finished second on Canada with 10 points. He was named the tournament's best forward, All-Star and the MVP as selected by the media, capping his performance with two assists in the gold-medal game. There were about a half dozen other top draft-eligible players in the tournament, including three on Lafreniere's own team, but he stood head-and-shoulders above the rest.

"From the moment the tournament started, with Lafreniere recording four points in Canada's comeback win over the United States, including the late, game-winning goal, the 18-year-old wing took charge and never looked back. His skill, physicality and hockey IQ were all NHL-caliber as he led Canada to its first gold on European soil since 2008. It was one heck of a signature moment in the biggest season of his young life."

Make sure you check out Chris' piece later in the week, where he compares Lafreniere and Quinton Byfield, who are competing for that top spot.

This April, history will be made as a hockey game will be played on the North Pole for the first time. It's being billed as "The Last Game," and organizers are hoping it will bring attention to glacial melting. Former NHL defenseman Slava Fetisov has been a big part of it. On Jan. 11 at Madison Square Garden, during the second intermission of Harvard-Yale, there will be a 20-minute scrimmage raising awareness for the event.

Besides former NHL players, organizers asked four women's hockey players from the PWHPA to participate, including goalies Kimberly Sass and Sarah Bryant. "It's a really unique opportunity for us," Sass said. "I commend them for trying to use their audience and voice and power that they have to include the PWHPA and women in this event."

For Bryant, the issue is personal. She's a high school science educator and also worked for state parks as a naturalist. "We need to get serious about making a change," she said. "A lot of people don't realize, as I didn't before, how serious it is and what impact it will have on them in the future, just because they can't see it now."

What we liked this week

• I love this video from the Blue Jackets for a couple reasons. One, it's nice to see the softer side of John Tortorella (especially after a week in which he again became a meme for a press conference tirade). This is who Torts is behind closed doors. Two, it was really special to see Austin look for each of the players he announced in the lineup (including his beloved Vladislav Gavrikov) as if he can't believe they're actually right there in front of him.

Let's just say Austin had one heck of a day! #CBJ | #OutOfOurBlue pic.twitter.com/3S04npZQXE

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 4, 2020

• It's neat to see so many players across the league support Oskar Lindblom, the Philadelphia Flyers forward who is away from the team as he gets treatment for a rare form of bone cancer. Former Flyer Wayne Simmonds showed his support with his new team, the Devils, while the Coyotes showed support, too.

The boys are #OskarStrong pic.twitter.com/j19PhvQPtM

— Wayne Simmonds (@Simmonds17) January 3, 2020

Thank you @BiscuitTees & @NHLFlyers for the shirts. The boys were excited to wear them and show our support! #OskarStrong #HockeyFamily pic.twitter.com/ZqIWS2dVdB

— Jakob Chychrun (@j_chychrun7) January 4, 2020

• "We're a small community when it comes down to stuff like this," Arizona defenseman Jakob Chychrun said, per the Coyotes website. "Everyone's here for each other and we're going to support him however we can."

• We've been paying a lot of attention to Lafreniere, but don't sleep on Swedish prospect Lucas Raymond. Some team is going to be lucky to get the winger in the 2020 draft.

Lucas Raymond ? #WJC2020 #2020NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/YY3X65mK5o

— Anton Johansson (@antonj85) January 5, 2020

• Speaking of World Juniors, the final of the under-18 women's tournament between USA and Canada was spectacular. Kiara Zanon (a Penn State recruit) scored the golden goal for USA in 3-on-3 overtime, while America's goalie, 16-year-old Skylar Vetter, was sensational all game. Kudos to the IIHF for fixing their embarrassing doorbell cam stream from earlier in the tournament, after getting called out on social media. The camera work was much better -- and clearer -- for those streaming the final.

What we didn't like this week

• After taking one of the more memorable walks of shame in NHL history -- a seemingly endless march from the ice at the Cotton Bowl to the locker room -- Stars forward Corey Perry was suspended five games for elbowing Ryan Ellis. No doubt Perry deserved to be suspended; even if he didn't have intent to injure Ellis, it was a dangerous play. But five games feels harsh, and almost specifically high because it was a high-profile game. The suspension robs us of Perry's revenge game as the Stars visit the Ducks -- for whom he skated the first 14 seasons of his career -- on Thursday. Perry will have to wait until April 1 to make another appearance at the Honda Center.

• Did anyone have a worse weekend than Casey DeSmith? The goaltender missed his chance at a call-up to the Penguins because he lost his passport. So he stayed in Wilkes-Barre -- and got blasted by Springfield in a 6-3 loss. After allowing the final goal, Smith was so frustrated he slammed his stick on the post ... and snapped it in half.

• Wishing all the best to Hurricanes forward Erik Haula and his wife, Kristen, who announced this week the loss of their unborn daughter. On Instagram, Kristen said she "felt amazing" during her pregnancy, but found out on Monday when she went to get an ultrasound that her "sweet baby girl lost her heartbeat." Kristen wrote: "While it may be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel on some days going forward. And some may be harder than others to understand why this happened, the complete joy & excitement she has brought to us and those who love her will be with us forever." Haula suited up in Carolina's game on Tuesday, with "RIP 12/30/19" handwritten across his grip tape.

View this post on Instagram

❤️ Our baby girl gone way too soon. Mommy & Daddy will always love you and we cannot wait to hold you one day in heaven. ??

A post shared by Erik Haula (@ehaula) on Jan 1, 2020 at 3:45pm PST

• On the same day he was named an All-Star for the first time in his career, Penguins forward Jake Guentzel had a scary collision into the boards during a game against the Ottawa Senators. The next day, he underwent shoulder surgery, sidelining him four-to-six months. The Penguins have had bad injury luck, but this loss feels especially cruel. Guentzel had been an ironman in his two-and-a-half season career, never missing a game, and was on pace to surpass his career bests of 40 goals and 76 points he set last season. The good news for the Pens is that Sidney Crosby is back skating with the team and should return soon. If they finish out the season with a playoff berth, it's going to be hard to name anyone other than Mike Sullivan as Coach of the Year.

Three Stars of the Week

Zach Werenski, D, Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets saw their 12-game point streak come to an end Saturday, but Werenski remains red hot with five goals in his past three games. He catapulted all the way up to No. 2 on the list of goals by defensemen this season, trailing only Roman Josi's 14.

Mark Scheifele, C, Winnipeg Jets

With 20 goals and 28 assists in 41 games, Scheifele is on a career pace. He's been held off the scoresheet just twice in 15 games and is on an eight-game point streak, which includes eight points (three goals, five assists) in three games this week.

Antti Raanta, G, Arizona Coyotes

Hold your breath and hope that Raanta's injury that saw him leave Saturday's Flyers game isn't serious; Raanta softened the loss of Darcy Kumper with exceptional play lately. The Finn picked up three wins in three starts this week, with a .964 save percentage and a 1.13 goals-against average.

Games of the Week

Tuesday, Jan. 7: Vancouver Canucks at Tampa Bay Lightning

The Canucks might just be the hottest team in hockey with a seven-game winning streak. Goalie Jacob Markstrom has been the MVP for this resurgence. The Canucks take on a Tampa Bay team that's starting to put it all together.

Saturday, Jan. 11: Boston Bruins at New York Islanders

Two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference square off and you know it's going to be a good one. The Bruins have had a few clunkers lately but are still dangerous. It will be interesting to see how New York copes without one of its best defensemen, Adam Pelech, who is out for the season with an Achilles tendon injury.

Sunday, Jan. 12: Pittsburgh Penguins at Arizona Coyotes (ESPN+)

Another Phil Kessel revenge game! Or maybe this is the Alex Galchenyuk revenge game. Things haven't exactly been seamless for Galchenyuk since he came to Pittsburgh. The Penguins are shopping the 25-year-old, but might have to keep him if he's the only healthy forward.

Quote of the Week

"Please don't vote. I like the days off more." -- Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, on possibly being voted in by fans to the 2020 NHL All-Star Game.

New Zealand arrived in Australia ranked No. 2 in the world and with genuine belief they could challenge the home side, but instead left whitewashed in their worst-ever defeat.

They will head back across the Tasman needing to urgently regroup before facing India - which begins with the white-ball matches followed by two Tests in February - with reputations, if not quite on the line, then in need of some urgent repair work.

That is especially the case for the batting which had a collective failure across the three Tests, their highest score eventually being 256 (after the boost of five penalty runs for Marnus Labuschagne and David Warner running in the danger area) which was the lowest high score a visiting side has made in a series of at least three Tests in Australia.

In the first three innings of the series, when the contest was on the line, they could not make 200 with only Tom Blundell's hundred and Glenn Phillips' debut half-century offering later boosts. Blundell's 172 runs was their highest tally for the series and there were just four individual fifties to go alongside his century. Although at times they did not get the rub of the green, highlighted by Tom Latham's borderline lbw decision in the second innings in Sydney, they were rarely able to handle the sustained pressure of Australia's attack.

"It's just not one or two things, it's a number of things - basically, in all departments we were outplayed," Kane Williamson, who had missed the final Test with flu, said at the presentation. "With the ball in hand there was an incredible effort throughout the series, but at the same time, we really did struggle to put them under pressure for any period of time, to pick up wickets in clumps, and then a lot of credit goes to the way they played with the bat as well.

"With the bat, it was kind of the reverse situation, where we weren't able to get any partnerships together to create any sort of first-innings total to apply any pressure.

"So a number of areas [to work on], and we got exposed in a number of respects over here with an outstanding side in Australia with a fantastic bowling attack. It's important as individuals and a group that we do use this experience to be better for it as players, but collectively come out of it stronger."

"For us it's [about] staying tight, maybe regrouping a little bit, we've got a bit of time off before our next series but also so much to learn from this experience, and we must make sure we do so."

Latham, who stood in for Williamson as captain, admitted there would be some soul-searching after the team had arrived with such high expectations but cautioned against any kneejerk reactions.

"There's no one more disappointed than ourselves. We came over here with some high expectations. You want to come over here and play a good brand of cricket and win. We've failed to do that and that's cricket, it's important we do try and learn from this," he said. "Australia set the standard in this series, we knew they were a tough opponent and that's a standard we need to try and reach.

"We have been playing some decent Test cricket and it's important we don't start pointing the finger or looking at other factors. It's important we learn from this and when we get back together as a red ball team we face India and we can hopefully play our brand of cricket."

A decision to allow himself to enjoy the game and not think too hard about his technique before India's tour of Australia in 2018-19 preceded Rohit Sharma's successful move up as Test opener in the subsequent home season. Speaking to PTI, Rohit was effusive about the role his young family has had on his priorities, to the extent that he barely thinks about Test cricket now, a big change, he said, from days when he would over-analyse his innings.

"Honestly speaking, I stopped thinking about Test matches long time back," Rohit said.

"Earlier, I was thinking too much about success in Tests. I would go overboard as to why is this happening, why am I playing that shot. After each Test innings, I would go to our video analyst, sit, watch and then confuse (clutter) my brain further. That wasn't actually the right thing that I was doing.

"Thinking too much about technique was not allowing me to enjoy the game. All that was there in my mind was, 'Oh I need to do well in Test cricket'.

"So, before 2018-19 Australia series, I told myself, 'Boss, whatever has to happen will happen and I am not going to think about technique'. At the end of the day, I want to go out there, share a laugh with my mates and enjoy."

Rohit made 63* and 5 in his last Test on that tour, and has since rapidly turned conversations around his Test spot. In October 2019, he opened for the first time in Tests, and made 176 and 127 in the same match against South Africa. In the third Test of that series, he made 212. In the space of five innings since that Test in Australia, his average has jumped from 39.62 to 46.54.

"If you talk about opening in the SA series, from people's perspective, it was my last chance. But I am a sportsman and I can't think like that. If I thought it was my last chance then I wouldn't have scored runs with that mindset," he said.

"You can't allow negative thoughts to creep in when you are playing such a high profile sport. I know that I am no longer 22 or 23 years old that I will keep getting opportunities in Test matches and can take my place for granted. I know that every time I go out there, I have to put a high price tag on my wicket. I am blessed to get an opportunity that many are waiting for. So, why should I regret, worry or think about so many things?"

Rohit is closing in on 13 years as an international cricketer now, and has been among the world's foremost limited-overs players for a large part of that duration. His career did stutter for a while at the start, though, and he knows a thing or two about public perceptions around a talented player. His coping method - a "shield" - is something he has talked about with 22-year-old Rishabh Pant.

"When you play the sport, there is a lot of distraction and noise around you. You need to create an environment around yourself so that none of this bothers you. No idea, vision or sermons will come inside that shield unless you allow it. Let people say good things, bad things, one shouldn't be bothered about it.

"In fact, I was telling Pant the same thing. Poor guy is only 21 [22] and people are telling him to score hundreds in every game, do this and do that. I mean cut some slack man. I told Rishabh [to] create a wall and ensure that nobody comes inside. It's your safe house. People want to talk about you, let them do it outside that wall and you do what you intend to do inside your zone."'

For the first time in a generation, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft enters an offseason not sure who will be his team's starting quarterback, but he said he'd like for it to still be Tom Brady.

"My hope and prayer is No. 1, he (Brady) play for the Patriots. Or No. 2, he retires," Kraft told NBC Sports' Peter King prior to the Patriots' wild-card loss on Saturday. "He has the freedom to decide what he wants to do and what's in his own best personal interest."

Brady, 42, who is scheduled to become a free agent for the first time in his career on March 18, said after Saturday night's loss to the Tennessee Titans that retirement was "pretty unlikely" and "hopefully unlikely."

With all options on the table, however, Kraft said he hopes he doesn't see Brady end his career in another jersey, but he knows the quarterback wouldn't be the first future Hall of Famer to spend his last seasons playing for a different team.

"I'm thinking of all that, of all the quarterbacks who went elsewhere, and I just hope and believe that Tom ... he is so special that he's earned the right to do what's best for him. ... But I just hope and pray we fit into his plans," Kraft said.

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has told Jesse Lingard to tone down his use of social media in a bid to get the midfielder back to his best.

Lingard did not score or assist a goal in the league in 2019 and has lost his place in the England squad ahead of this summer's European Championship.

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"Jesse has had his ups and downs as I've spoken about before, but against City and Tottenham, they are examples of how important he can be for us," Solskjaer told a news conference ahead of their Carabao Cup semifinal first leg against Manchester City.

"We want him back scoring and making assists. No one who runs as much as Jess, he's a great trigger in the pressing and lively, bubbly character.

"I don't think you see as much social media from Jesse as you used to. He's got his head down and working hard and getting back to the Jesse I knew.

"It's part of being a Man United player, how you come across and it's important that you do give up yourself in a positive way and it's football-related.

"I do speak to players about how they portray themselves. I don't have these social media things but it's a different generation."

Meanwhile, Solskjaer is facing a crucial 36 hours as he sweats over the fitness of four key players ahead of the clash with City.

Anthony Martial, Lingard and Luke Shaw all missed the the FA Cup tie with Wolves on Saturday while Harry Maguire left Molineux limping heavily after picking up an injury in the first half.

"We're going to give them as much time as we can, that's the most correct and honest answer I can give," Solskjaer said. "Some of them are still not ready.

"If it was a a game today [Monday], I'm not sure they could perform at their best but there is another 36 hours until I give them the team."

Pat Brown, the 21-year-old seamer, has been ruled out of all cricket for the winter after suffering a second stress fracture of the lower back in as many years.

Brown, who enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2018 when he took 31 T20 wickets for Worcestershire to finish as the Vitality Blast's leading wicket-taker, was unable to play franchise cricket last winter after playing through pain towards the end of the county season.

He developed a recurrence of the symptoms while preparing to play for Melbourne Stars, and a scan revealed a partial stress fracture.

Brown was due to replace Dale Steyn as the Stars' overseas player in time for Wednesday's game against the Thunder, but will miss the whole competition and return to the UK to start his rehabilitation.

He will also miss the white-ball leg of England's South Africa tour, having been named in both the ODI and T20I squads. Brown had impressed in his maiden series in New Zealand, taking three important wickets despite conceding 9.84 runs per over, but his chances of being named in their squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia this October are likely to suffer due to his injury.

England will name a replacement for Brown in due course, while the Stars could hand another opportunity to Haris Rauf, the Pakistan fast bowler who starred during his three appearances as Steyn's replacement.

"It's really disappointing for Pat," said Trent Woodhill, the Stars' list manager. "We were very excited to have him on board this season to replace Dale Steyn and it's disappointing we won't get to see him in action for the Stars.

"It's been great having him around the group and we've enjoyed welcoming him into the Stars family. We wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully we can work on seeing him in green in the future."