A Liverpool side peppered with youngsters beat arch rivals Everton 1-0 at Anfield on Sunday to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup. Homegrown midfielder Curtis Jones won the tie in memorable fashion with a superb curling effort that cannoned home off the underside of the crossbar midway through the second half.

Positives

Jurgen Klopp will be delighted with the performances of several of his youngsters in this one, and a win against local rivals with a far-from-full-strength XI will provide even more ammunition for gloating Reds fans in the office on Monday.

Negatives

It comes with the territory when fielding a young team, but there was an occasional moment of naivety in possession. Fans and neutrals will certainly forgive them for that, though, as this inexperienced side proceeded to deliver an entertaining display.

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Manager rating out of 10

7 -- It takes a great deal of bravery to field so many youngsters against your fiercest rivals, but Klopp's courage was met with an excellent Reds display that was full of energy and heart.

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK Adrian, 7 -- Denied Everton with three good first-half saves, but was barely tested in the second period as the Toffees came unstuck.

DF Neco Williams, 7 -- The young Welshman very much looks like he's from the Trent Alexander-Arnold mould at right-back. The 18-year-old was extremely tidy with the ball at his feet, and wasn't afraid to get forward and cause problems.

DF Joe Gomez, 7 -- Quickly became the senior head in the Reds' defence after James Milner succumbed to injury early on, and the former Charlton man took on the responsibility well and guided his back four through the game.

DF Nathaniel Phillips, 6 -- Looked to impose himself physically against Dominic Calvert-Lewin early on, but was guilty of a couple of indecisive moments, including a poor defensive header that gifted Everton possession and a half-chance.

DF James Milner, N/R -- The Reds skipper was forced off inside the opening 10 minutes after pulling up with an injury as he looked to keep pace with Theo Walcott.

MF Adam Lallana, 6 -- As one of the most senior players in the Liverpool lineup, you probably would've liked to see the England international take the game by the scruff of the neck a bit more, with the 31-year-old drifting in and out of the match.

MF Pedro Chirivella, 7 -- Another of Liverpool's impressive youngsters. The Spaniard was a calm head in midfield, and kept the ball moving in excellent fashion. Looked like he'd been playing in the first team for years.

MF Harvey Elliott, 7 -- The winger always looks like he has a moment of quality in him, and he provided it with a great reverse ball for Divock Origi on the way to a rare Reds chance in the first half.

MF Takumi Minamino, 6 -- The January signing from FC Salzburg was lively and knitted play together nicely early on, but should've done better when making faint contact with a left-wing cross in the first half. Faded a touch in the second half, before being replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at the 70-minute mark.

MF Curtis Jones, 8 -- A couple of heavy touches in the opening quarter of an hour, but the 19-year-old grew into the game and looked a real presence in midfield, and supplied a moment of genius with a glorious curling effort into the top corner of Jordan Pickford's net to put his side ahead.

FW Divock Origi, 6 -- Forced an excellent save from Pickford in the closing stages of the first half and was always on the move and bringing his teammates into the game.

Substitutes

DF Yasser Larouci, 7 -- An impressive showing from the full-back, who got forward well and didn't look in any danger defensively.

MF Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 6 -- Only sight of goal was a shot straight at Pickford in the final 10 minutes.

FW Rhian Brewster, N/R -- Unable to get into the game in his brief cameo.

South Africa are prepared for the reality that they may not be able to win the Newlands Test against England, but they are not quite ready to accept defeat yet. On a surface that flattened out after 18 wickets fell on the first two days, coach Mark Boucher believes a long second innings is possible, whether his men are going for glory or a gritty draw.

"There's a Test match up for grabs. There are times that the characters have to come out. We understand our batters are under pressure. If we can bowl them out and look at a total worth chasing, we must do that, but good teams also manage to block out draws," Boucher said. "Depending on how well we bowl tomorrow and if we get quick wickets then hopefully we can go for a chase, otherwise we are going to have to fight and bat out a day or a day-and-a-half."

Conditions at Newlands changed significantly on the third day when cloud cover and cooler weather prevented the cracks on the pitch from opening up and made run-scoring a lot easier than on the first two days. Then, Boucher "would have said we wouldn't want to chase anything more than 250." Now, he thinks "anything around 330 or 340 will be great."

First, South Africa need to take six England wickets. The quicker, the better. Even though it will give James Anderson and co more time to get South Africa out, it will also mean fewer runs to chase. That's the conundrum the team that is not in control of the game faces, and Boucher knows it. "Let's be honest, our backs are up against it," he said. "If we come out tomorrow, new ball in hand, and we use it well, we believe we can pick up quick wickets but it's still going to be a tall ask."

Especially given that batting has been South Africa's weaker suit over the last year. With inexperience running through half the top six and no totals over 300 in their last seven innings, South Africa do not look like a side that can chase down a big target, never mind break a record. The highest successful chase in Cape Town is the 334 Australia scored almost 18 years ago, when they were the best team in the world. Since readmission, Australia are the only team South Africa have lost to at this ground, with England earning a hard-fought draw here in 2010.

Boucher was part of the XI that played against England a decade ago, two years after South Africa had done what many thought was impossible and successfully chased a 400-plus target in Australia, which led to a series win. "Back when we played, we wouldn't even think of chasing 400-odd but we did it in Perth and we took a lot of confidence out of that," he recalled.

For Boucher, the key to the Perth win was the planning that went into the chase and he will try to do approach this match in the same meticulous way over the next two days. "You have to break it down, and there's a lot of strategic planning that needs to go into it. If we look at the way they played Keshav [Maharaj], we might have to be a little bit more positive against [Dom] Bess if we are going for the total," Boucher said, indicating South Africa would take on the England spinner.

"You don't chase down totals like that without partnerships, big partnerships. If one or two guys get into a position where they can bat long and get big hundreds then we can get ourselves into a position where we can think of chasing the target. There's still a lot of work to be done. We've still got to bowl them out. If conditions allow us to go for the chase, I'm sure there's a lot of guys in the change room who would love to do that."

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick acknowledged Sunday morning that Tom Brady is "an iconic figure in this organization," but said now isn't the time to address Brady's future with the franchise.

In a season-ending news conference about 12 hours after the Patriots were eliminated from the playoffs in a 20-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans, Belichick added that "nobody respects Tom more than I do," but mostly deflected questions on the topic.

"I'm sure there are a lot of questions about the future. Nobody has thought about the future," he said.

Brady, who is scheduled to become a free agent on March 18, said late Sunday night that retirement was "pretty unlikely" and "hopefully unlikely."

Belichick was peppered with questions Sunday morning in an exchange with one reporter that edged toward getting testy.

Saying he didn't have a timeline on when he'd begin discussions about Brady's future, Belichick said, "Honestly, look, I know it's out there just like there are a lot of other things out there. We could bring up 50 questions just like that one. I told you what my state is on that. So you can ask all 50 of them and it's going to be the same answer 50 times. We've been working on Tennessee, it's 12 hours after the game, I'm not going to talk a lot of things about the future because I'm not prepared to talk about it."

But later, Belichick came close to acknowledging Brady's situation was different based on his iconic stature in the organization.

With all decisions, Belichick said he needs time and noted they are collaborative.

"I want to give the proper attention and communication and detail and thought into my input into those decisions," he said. "But any decision made is not an individual decision. There are other people involved. There has be some type of communication, understanding, agreement, whatever you want to call it. That's not a one-way street. I hope you can understand that. One person can't just decide what everybody else is going to do. ...

"There's a lot of time, thought and effort and communication that goes into that. Now is not the time."

NEW ORLEANS -- Drew Brees may have been the hottest quarterback in the NFL heading into the playoffs, but the New Orleans Saints turned to third-string QB Taysom Hill to take the lead in Sunday's wild-card game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Hill completed a 50-yard heave to undrafted rookie receiver/kick return Deonte Harris at the Vikings' 4-yard line. And Alvin Kamara followed up with a 4-yard touchdown run on the next play (with Hill as a lead blocker) to give New Orleans a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter.

Hill -- whom the Saints use often as a change-of-pace weapon as a read-option quarterback/running back/receiver/tight end -- was actually on the field for three straight plays. He gained 11 yards on a read-option keeper before his TD throw.

That's our [BACKUP] quarterback ?

...and UNDRAFTED ALL-PRO Punt Returner ‼️ pic.twitter.com/SQ74F0IgWp

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) January 5, 2020

The 50-yard pass was the longest of Hill's career. It was also the longest catch for Harris, who has been sneaking into the offense more recently after his breakout season as a return specialist. The 5-foot-6, 170-pounder from Division II Assumption was named first-team All-Pro as a return man this week. Harris had to wait for a moment on Hill's throw, which was slightly underthrown -- and he actually turned and caught it like a punt.

Hill, who also serves as a special-teams coverage specialist, nearly blocked a punt earlier in the game as well.

The Saints' offense needed a boost Sunday. They had gained a total of just 43 yards on 14 plays during their first three drives while struggling to keep Minnesota's defensive front at bay.

LA Clippers center Montrezl Harrell, one of the NBA's biggest sneakerheads, began the new year by pouring in 23 points in just 27 minutes and rotating through three different pairs of sneakers in a 126-112 win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.

Harrell sported a duo of Jordans that included the recent Chicago Bulls-inspired, red-and-black Jordan Retro 10, along with a surprise original 2004 pair of the Air Jordan 19 SE. For his opening act, though, the center broke out a gleaming gold pair of the 2003 Nike Zoom Flightposite 3. One of three limited-edition colorways designed with a "Battlegrounds" theme, the molded gold Foamposite sneakers were originally made to celebrate Nike's nationwide one-on-one summer streetball tournament of the same name.

Harrell's Flightposites even caught the eye of the league's sneaker champ himself, Houston Rockets power forward PJ Tucker.

"Wow!! Maybe the best pair of the year for him," Tucker told ESPN in a text message.

Harrell's heat helped give Tucker an added nudge before his own debut in the new year, a Friday win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

"I literally just got inspired and stopped by my shoe condo and grabbed these," he jokingly texted a half-hour later. Yes -- his shoe condo.

While the shoes may share a similar shade of gold, Tucker's extremely rare Air Jordan Retro 5 was made by the brand a year ago as a 50th birthday gift to actor Will Smith. The satin metallic gold-tone was drafted off of classic 50th anniversary hues, with the modernized model honoring Smith for constantly wearing the original Jordan 5 throughout "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" in its early '90s height.

All 100 pairs were given to the Philadelphia native, who then dispersed them to his handpicked list of friends and family. Tucker chose the pair to fit the magnitude of the matchup.

"Philly on ESPN and the first game in 2020," Tucker said. "Statement game."

Portland Trail Blazers power forward Carmelo Anthony, another longtime icon in the Jordan Brand family, was also spotted in a nostalgic sneaker this week, as he debuted a retro edition of his signature Melo 5.5 model in Washington, D.C. The approach was entirely unique when it was originally released in the mid-2000s, though the brand has since found success with a variety of .5 and hybrid-style designs.

"Instead of giving him his own signature shoe [from scratch], we decided as a brand it was best to ease him into the brand through a concept called the .5," D'Wayne Edwards, the original designer and former Jordan design director, said. ".5 was a 'what if' concept of me redesigning Air Jordans as if they were originally designed for Carmelo, with Air Jordan DNA."

According to Edwards, Melo's second signature shoe was actually intended to be his first.

"I originally designed the 5.5 first and then we decided to start at the beginning with the 1.5," Edwards said.

Not only would the Melo 1.5 serve as a natural starting point to the series strategy, blending together the Air Jordan 1 and 2, but it also was a nod to Anthony's No. 15 jersey number with the Denver Nuggets.

Now back in the NBA after a yearlong hiatus, Anthony's debut of the Melo 5.5 was a welcome sight for his longtime fans. The all-black pair with white logos is actually a wear test sample of an upgraded retro edition, with the shoe's original Nike Air units switched out for heel Zoom Air and forefoot Flight Plate cushioning setup.

Jordan released a handful of Melo 1.5 Retro colorways during Anthony's season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but it remains to be seen if the Melo 5.5 will actually be released.

Though Edwards has since left the company -- he founded the Pensole Academy in 2010 -- seeing some of his original Carmelo Anthony designs back on the court takes him back to the starting points of the Jordan Brand's relationship with the future Hall of Fame scorer.

"I met Melo when he was a rookie in his new top floor apartment overlooking the entire city of Denver," Edwards said. "Here was this 19-year-old young man with an entire city to save and I was responsible for designing his signature shoe. He was going to be one of the first Jordan basketball guys to have his own signature shoe, on top of being the face of the brand. That is a lot for a 19-year-old."

While Anthony has been with the Jordan Brand throughout his entire career, Miami Heat All-Star Jimmy Butler turned heads this week by opting to part ways with the company 10 months before the deal's original Sept 30 expiration date.

Butler was spotted in the Air Jordan 31 Low in the two games since the news broke on Thursday. The four-time All-Star is expected to continue wearing Jordan sneakers in the coming weeks, as he begins talks with potential new partners for a new multiyear sneaker deal in advance of All-Star Weekend on Feb. 14-16.

Check out each of the best sneakers worn around the league this week, and vote for your favorite pair in our poll below. For real-time updates on sneaker culture and NBA kicks, follow @SneakerCenter on Instagram.

RANSOMVILLE, N.Y. – Officials from Ransomville Speedway and Freedom Motorsports Park in Delevan, N.Y. have created a six-race series for the Mini Stock division.

Ransomville and Freedom will each hold three races during the season, and the top five finishers in series points will share in a $1,000 points fund.

The Mini Stock series will open Friday, May 29 at Ransomville with the second annual Dick Wilkinson Memorial Mini Stock race. On May 11, 2012, just one week after his 73rd birthday, Dick Wilkinson won the Fireball division (now Mini Stock division) feature to set a new benchmark for the oldest feature winner in the history of Ransomville Speedway. Wilkinson passed away in February 2019 and a race was created last year to honor his memory.

Wilkinson had a long on again-off again involvement in motorsports that spanned over 50 years. He raced late models on the dirt at Ransomville and on the pavement at Lancaster Speedway during the 1960s. He also owned a 358 Modified that was piloted by Mark Sylvies. Wilkinson then spent several seasons in the grandstands as a fan before getting the itch to get back behind the wheel in 2008.

“I didn’t race because I couldn’t afford it,” he told Dave Roberts in 2012. “I really did want to try it again. So when the Fireball division was at the track, we decided to give it a try.”

The Ransomville/Freedom Mini Stock Series will run its first race at Freedom on June 12, and then head back north to Ransomville the following Friday (June 19). The fourth race will be at Freedom on July 31 followed by the final race at the “Big R” on Aug. 7. The series will conclude on Sept. 12 at Freedom.

A kidney transplant was on the agenda from the day Roger Crockett was born.

Much like a driver navigates traffic as the laps wind down, Crockett pushed through the obstacles in his life without hesitation before the time for a kidney transplant arrived.

“Basically, I was born with a blockage from my kidneys to my bladder,” the 38-year-old said. “It wasn’t caught when I was born. When that happens, it creates damage in your kidneys. One was a little more damaged than the other. I kind of knew growing up at some point I’d need to do something.

“When I was younger, I didn’t think about it a whole lot,” Crocker continued. “I wasn’t allowed to play heavy contact sports. I wanted to race pretty much anyway. For the most part it wasn’t a big concern growing up. I was told don’t hit your back on something, be careful of your kidneys. I had a couple of tests that were not fun. I have pretty vague memories of it.”

While Crockett was kept off the football field, he was able to live out a reality many other children only dream about tackling. Crockett — the son of veteran sprint car driver and current series promoter Brian Crockett, who won 10 championships and 179 main events from 1981 to 1994 before pulling back once Roger began racing — first hot lapped a winged sprint car when he was 12 years old. The next year he made his sprint car racing debut during an ASCS race in Beebe, Ark.

“We went back (to the Midwest) and were going to run two weekends with four races,” Crockett said. “The first weekend rained out. We go all the way back there with our ’82 Suburban and 24-foot trailer. We’re walking the track (at the first race) and my dad is like, ‘Whatever you do, don’t go off turns three and four. No matter what don’t go off turns three and four.’

“There was a big drop off there. My first hot-lap session I got on the gas off turn two and drove right off the track in turn three,” Crockett recalled. “My dad says he looked at the flag man who was about to throw the red flag. Then he put it away and threw the yellow flag. Here I come crawling back on the track. I got back on the track and they waved the green flag again. I went hauling into turn one and straight off the track again. I hit the tires on the outside of the track.

“All I did was bend a radius rod. I came in and my dad was all freaked out about how we’re going to have to go home because we didn’t have any spare parts. That shows you the budget we had to go out there.”

While Crockett’s sprint car career began a little rough, he quickly became one of the top competitors on the West Coast. Crockett noted he has 12 championships between series and tracks and 224 feature victories.

The first title came at Eugene (Ore.) Speedway in 1995. Crockett has also claimed track championships at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore., as well as series titles with the Civil War Sprint Car Series, the Northern Sprint Tour, the Northwest Sprint Challenge Series and the ASCS Northwest Region.

As Crockett exited his teen years and he was developing into the driver to beat in the Northwest, his kidney function started to become a problem.

“As I got older when I lived in Oregon, I was extremely hungry all the time,” he said. “I ended up going to the doctor because I couldn’t get full. They ran some tests and saw my kidney function was way off what it should be for my age. That jump-started it back in my life realizing something would need to be done sooner than later. I was around 20 years old or 21 years old when that became more realistic.

“I went and saw a naturopathic doctor basically to prolong needing a transplant. They told me I’d probably need one by the time I was 23 years old,” Crockett added. “I ended up not needing to until I was 28 years old so that natural stuff worked. My kidney function was down to 13 percent.”

An unsuccessful surgery in the spring of 2008 pushed the medical problem to the forefront.

“When that didn’t work, they put the plan into motion a lot quicker,” he said. “My mom, dad and sister were the options at that time of my life. We did tests in August of that year. My dad and my sister were the best match. My sister didn’t have kids, so they suggested my dad was the best option for a lot of reasons.

“Nothing was ever like you could die, but at the same time if you don’t get a kidney transplant, you’re not going to live,” Crockett continued. “What’s amazing is how many people reached out and said if I ever need a kidney (they’d help). That’s just crazy. I don’t think that would have happened without the racing community and being a part of this sport. It’s an overwhelming feeling.”