ATLANTA - LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger's daughter-in-law, Carley McCord, was one of five people killed in a plane crash in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Saturday.

McCord, a sideline reporter and sports talk radio host covering the New Orleans Pelicans, Saints and other sports, was traveling on a private plane to Atlanta to watch No. 1 LSU play No. 4 Oklahoma in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

Her husband, Steve Ensminger Jr., was already in Atlanta.

WDSU-TV in New Orleans, which employed McCord as a sideline reporter, issued a statement on McCord's death.

"We are devastated by the loss of such an amazing talent and valued member of our WDSU family," WDSU president and general manager Joel Vilmenay said in a statement. "Carley's passion for sports journalism and her deep knowledge of Louisiana sports, from high school to the professional ranks, made her an exceptional journalist. As we reflect on her impressive body of work, we offer our deepest condolences to her family."

McCord, 30, was a graduate of Northwestern State University and LSU. She previously worked as a sports reporter in Cleveland before returning to her hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The eight-person passenger plane crashed into the parking lot of a post office about 1 mile from the Lafayette Regional Airport, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro said.

Four people were brought to the hospital: one from the plane, one on the ground and two post office employees who were brought in for evaluation, Lafayette Fire Department spokesman Alton Trahan said.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Giannis Antetokounmpo will sit for a second straight game Saturday as his Milwaukee Bucks host the Orlando Magic.

The NBA's reigning MVP missed Friday's victory over the Atlanta Hawks due to back soreness. He will now have an additional two days of rest before the team's next game on Monday at the Chicago Bulls.

"His back is something I guess would be in that category of something we manage and keep our eyes on, and sometimes it flares up," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before Friday's game. "Today it's enough that he can't play. But you're hopeful that it's not anything significant, even though it is something that we kind of monitor on a regular basis."

Ersan Ilyasova started Friday in Antetokounmpo's place, recording 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting, 17 rebounds and a game-high plus-37 in the 112-86 win.

Milwaukee is 2-0 this season without its franchise player. Antetokounmpo entered Saturday as the NBA's second-leading scorer with 30.5 points per game to go with 12.9 rebounds per game.

RANSOMVILLE, N.Y. – Ransomville Speedway will welcome the Northeast Late Model Alliance for the first time on Friday, Aug. 28.

The NLMA event will be part of a jam packed show alongside the Krown Undercoating 358 Modifieds, Investor’s Service Sportsman, Ki-Po Chevrolet Street Stocks and Sunflowers of Sanborn Mini Stocks.

“Our Crate Late Model event was a fantastic race last season,” said Jenn Martin, general manager at Ransomville. “We’re looking forward to working with the Northeast Late Model Alliance to bring more late model teams to the Big R in 2020.”

The crate late models returned to Ransomville last June for their first appearance since 2016. Jeremy Wondering won the feature after a thrilling battle with Paul Grigsby. A total of 20 cars from across New York and Ontario took part in the event.

Founded in 2018, the NLMA is collaboration between the promoters of the Brighton, Fulton and Humberstone Speedways to align and grow their late model divisions. In addition to events at its member facilities, the NLMA holds races at the Cornwall and Merrittville Speedways. Drivers earn series points based on where they finish in their home track’s point standings in addition to NLMA events.

This past season Charlie Sandercock of Belleville, Ontario claimed his second-straight NLMA series championship. Sandercock racked up the Brighton Speedway Late Model track championship along with a strong showing in the five series races. Additional series front runners include Sam Pennachio, Tim Gillespie and David Pangrazio from Humberstone Speedway, Steve Baldwin and Bradley Rainer from Brighton and Chad Homan and Kyle Sopaz from Fulton.

The Novice Sportsman division will be off on August 28, but drivers will have the option to compete with the regular Sportsman on that night.

Inter Miami CF will introduce Diego Alonso as the MLS expansion club's first head coach on Monday, according to multiple reports.

Alonso, 44, most recently served as head coach for CF Monterrey in Liga MX. He led Monterrey to the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League title, but was fired on Sept. 30 following a poor start to the season.

He is currently working as a TV analyst in his home country of Uruguay.

Prior to coaching Monterrey, he guided Pachuca to the CONCACAF Champions League crown in 2017. He also coached clubs in Paraguay and Uruguay before moving to Mexico.

ESPN Deportes and the Miami Herald both reported the impending hire on Saturday following months of speculation surrounding the job search. Others linked to the position included Nice manager Patrick Vieira (former boss at NYCFC) and River Plate's Marcello Gallardo.

Inter Miami's inaugural season opens on March 1 at LAFC.

Cristiano Ronaldo has said that when he eventually retires from football, he would like to test his skills as an actor.

Speaking at the Dubai International Sports Conference on Saturday, the Juventus star revealed his ambitions following his playing career.

"One of the things that I seek to challenge myself in, for example, is acting in a movie," the Portugal captain said.

- Champions League group stage: All you need to know
- ESPN Champions League fantasy: Sign up now!

Ronaldo, ranked as the world's No.2 forward in ESPN FC 100, said that -- while he is in a position to hang up his boots at any time -- he expects to continue playing for the foreseeable future.

He added that wants to "continue my studies after retiring from football."

Ronaldo recently became the only player in Europe's top five leagues to hit double figures in all competitions in each of the last 15 seasons. He won four of his five Ballon d'Or awards and three Champions League titles while with Real Madrid before joining Juventus in the summer of 2018. He won his first Champions League trophy with Manchester United before his move to Spain.

On the international level, he is one goal shy of 100 for his career with Portugal.

Just when you're about to change that stupid lock and ask them for that key, England turn up at your door with a bottle of wine and bunch of roses.

That's how it felt by the close of day three in Centurion. For as awful as England had been at the start of the day - and truly, the morning session was probably their worst in the field for a long time - by stumps they had reminded you of the good times. And as virulent as the bug sweeping through their squad may be, it isn't as contagious as hope.

Let's be clear: England still require something close to a miracle to win this match. They not only need to exceed the record fourth-innings chase at this ground by more than a hundred, they need to set a new England record for in this format of the game. But Rory Burns, who would have been dismissed for a pair in this game had it not been for the introduction of the DRS, underlined his growing stature as a Test batsman to take them to stumps with hopes intact. The performance in Leeds, just four months ago, showed what was possible.

Certainly that was the view of Graham Thorpe. Thorpe, one of England's assistant coaches, admitted after play that England had made life "very hard for ourselves". And while he conceded that victory remained "a long shot", he felt England had given themselves "a fighting chance" with their batting on their third evening.

"There's a lot of runs to get but there is belief in our dressing room and maybe that's because of what the players achieved in the summer," he said. "We'll keep fighting all the way and if we have a good first session they'll become nervous and then who knows?

"We've been inconsistent with bat and ball. We've made it very hard for ourselves with the way we batted in the first innings. It's a long shot and we'll have to play well, but we've given ourselves a fighting chance."

It appeared that that chance had disappeared at lunch. While Ben Stokes had suggested before play that England's hope was to finish off the South African innings within the first hour of the day, instead they added 125 in the session with England becoming an increasingly frustrated and ragged outfit.

There are few agonies in cricket to compare with the inability to dislodge a nightwatchman. And as Anrich Nortje, a No. 11 with a first-class average of 15, helped Rassie van der Dussen add 91 for the fifth wicket, England's frustration became clear to see. For a while they descended into something approaching chaos.

It seemed reasonable to open the bowling with Sam Curran and James Anderson. The ball was only 20 overs old, after all. But when it refused to swing, England quickly reverted to a short-ball attack that failed to make use of the uneven bounce exploited by the South African bowlers the previous day.

And when that didn't work - and to be fair to England, there were moments when it was hard to understand how Nortje survived - they were guilty of over-pitching in a bid to force the breakthrough. It was an odd performance from a team containing bowlers as experienced as Stuart Broad and James Anderson and, not for the first time, the thought occurred that a quality spinner would have been a major help.

Jofra Archer's five-wicket haul - the fourth most expensive (in terms of economy rates, not overall runs) in Test history - probably provided reflection of exactly where he is in his career: a hugely talented, very raw young man who is learning his craft in the public eye.

Credit, too, must go to the batsmen. Nortje, with his fierce pace and brave batting, looks a terrific character. You imagine the English counties are eyeing him as a Kolpak recruit as a lion looks at a zebra. It looked here as if he were having far too much fun to take such an offer at this stage.

In truth, England had probably wasted the new ball on the second evening with too much short-pitched bowling. And then, having fallen behind the game, they were guilty of chasing it on the third morning. So while it was a relief when Stokes came on and took two quick wickets with traditional length balls that may have left the batsmen, it was also galling: such a tactic should surely have been tried some time earlier.

ALSO READ: South Africa ponder selection issues after attempted Archer take-down

There are extenuating circumstances for England. For a start, the pitch seemed to offer less assistance for bowlers of both sides on day three. One theory was that the cooler weather had prevented the cracks from widening on the pitch, another was that the bowlers of both sides, given little time to recover by the frenetic pace of play, are simply a bit weary. And it's a theory which would apply to England, in particular. Coming into this game suffering from illness and a lack of preparation, their batsmen gave them just 53.2 overs between innings.

To their credit, England are trying not to use the illness sweeping through their squad - Pretoriarrhoea, as it should perhaps be known - as an excuse. But as Jos Buttler and Joe Root became the latest members of the side to feel the effects, it became clear that it has played havoc with their performance and preparations.

Root forced himself to stay on the field as much as he could on day three - which was not all the time by any means - but the England management later confirmed that he would not have been able to bat on the third evening as required. Stokes was padded up to come in at No. 4. The extra night's rest earned for them by the fortitude of Burns and co. may yet prove to be crucial. We probably have to take into account Root's predicament when evaluating his captaincy on day three, at least.

Thorpe probably has a point about South Africa's potential for nerves, too. They have lost their last five Tests, after all, including the Kusal Perera-inspired miracle of Durban. England probably do present another potential choking hazard. This would be quite a heist if they can pull it off.

"We know we haven't been at our best," Thorpe admitted. "And we're not going to hide away from our first-innings batting. We know first-innings runs are important and we wanted to get a lead.

"So we're going to have to do it the hard way now. It's still a long shot, but we do have a chance to do something really special. We'll keep fighting."

Serena Williams dominated the decade, on the court and in conversation.

There were, to begin with, the dozen Grand Slam singles titles -- no other woman had more than three over the past 10 seasons -- and the three and a half years in a row at No. 1 in the WTA rankings.

And then there was the celebrity status that transcended tennis, making everything she did and said newsworthy, whether it was the triumphs and trophies and fashion statements or the disputes with tournament officials, the magazine covers or the Super Bowl ad with a message about women's power, the birth of her daughter or the health scare that followed.

Still winning matches and reaching Grand Slam finals into her late 30s, still mattering as much as ever, Williams was selected by The Associated Press as the Female Athlete of the Decade on Saturday after a vote by AP member sports editors and AP beat writers.

The AP Male Athlete of the Decade will be announced Sunday.

"When the history books are written, it could be that the great Serena Williams is the greatest athlete of all time. ... I like to call it the 'Serena Superpowers' -- that champion's mindset. Irrespective of the adversity and the odds that are facing her, she always believes in herself," said Stacey Allaster, CEO of the WTA from 2009 to '15 and now chief executive for professional tennis at the U.S. Tennis Association, which runs the U.S. Open.

"Whether it was health issues; coming back; having a child; almost dying from that -- she has endured it all and she is still in championship form," Allaster said. "Her records speak for themselves."

Gymnast Simone Biles, the 2019 AP Female Athlete of the Year, finished second to Williams in voting for the decade honor, followed by swimmer Katie Ledecky. Two ski racers were next, with Lindsey Vonn finishing fourth and Mikaela Shiffrin fifth.

Three of Williams' five AP Female Athlete of the Year awards came during the last decade, in 2013, 2015 and 2018. She also won in 2002 and 2009.

"She's been my idol growing up," Biles said.

"She's remained humble. She's stayed true to herself and her character, and I think that's really neat about an athlete. Once you start winning, some get cocky, but she's stayed true to herself, win or lose."

It's the defeats that seem to drive Williams, helping propel her to heights rarely reached by any athlete in any sport.

"Whenever I lose, I get more determined, and it gives me something more to work toward," Williams said in a 2013 interview with the AP. "I don't get complacent, and I realize I need to work harder and I need to do better and I want to do better -- or I wouldn't be playing the game."

With a best-in-the-game serve, powerful groundstrokes and relentless court coverage, Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, more than anyone else in her sport's professional era, which began in 1968.

More than half came from 2010 to '19: four at Wimbledon, three apiece at the U.S. Open and Australian Open, and two at the French Open. That includes a run of four in a row from the U.S. Open in 2014 through Wimbledon in 2015, her second self-styled "Serena Slam."

Williams also was the runner-up another seven times at major tournaments over the past decade, including four of the seven she has entered since returning to the tour after having a baby in 2017.

In all, she made the final at 19 of the 33 majors she entered during the decade, a rate of nearly 58%.

The decade began inauspiciously in 2010, when Williams cut her feet on broken glass at a restaurant and was hospitalized with blood clots in her lungs.

Among her many accomplishments, though:

• Reaching at least one Slam final every year, a streak that dates to 2007;

• Winning gold medals in singles and doubles (with her sister, Venus) at the 2012 Olympics;

• Becoming the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam singles trophy in the professional era;

• Becoming the oldest No. 1 in WTA history and equaling Steffi Graf's record for most consecutive weeks atop the rankings;

• Leading the tour with 37 singles titles, 11 more than anyone else in the decade.

The day she won Wimbledon in 2016, Williams discussed the way she constantly measures herself.

"I definitely feel like when I lose, I don't feel as good about myself," she said.

"But then I have to, like, remind myself that: 'You are Serena Williams!' You know? Like, 'Are you kidding me?'" Williams continued with a laugh. "And it's those moments that I have to just, like, come off and be like, 'Serena, do you know what you've done? Who you are? What you continue to do, not only in tennis [but also] off the court? Like, you're awesome.'"

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart is no longer listed on the NBA's injury report and will be available for Saturday's home contest against the Toronto Raptors.

Smart had missed the Celtics' previous eight games with a case of viral conjunctivitis, an infection that affected both of his eyes.

"I thought I was going to go blind for a while," Smart said prior to missing the team's Christmas Day game at the Raptors. "I think it was the worst case of viral conjunctivitis that they've seen.

"It was the worst pain that I've been through in a very long time. I don't wish it on anybody."

The last time Smart played was Dec. 6 against the Denver Nuggets. He said the combination of getting an allergic reaction and a really bad cold in the wake of that game broke down his immune system -- and set the stage for him to be knocked flat by this virus.

Smart is averaging 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 20 games this season.

Athlete form through the year has been assessed by an international panel of experts to create rankings based on merit

For the 21st year, Athletics International has collaborated with AW to produce an annual statistical review including world top 10 merit rankings.

The selection panel – consisting of Athletics International co-editors Peter Matthews and Mel Watman, with Stuart Mazdon (UK), Mirko Jalava (FIN), Alfons Juck (SVK), A Lennart Julin (SWE) and Ed Gordon (USA), plus Elliott Denman for walks – assessed the year’s records of the leading contenders and the ranking order was determined by consensus.

The criteria are the traditional ones of honours won, win-loss records and sequence of marks.

The World Championships were, of course, the major focus for most top athletes but as usual there were many other major events such as the continental championships and for the elite the Diamond League and World Challenge meetings.

Marks made indoors were not considered, nor were any athletes who were suspended for two years or longer during the year for drug-related offences.

Below we list the top three in each women’s event. The men’s international rankings can be found here, while UK merit rankings for men are here and women are here. The full top 10 lists for every event, including the details of athletes’ seasons and more in-depth explanations, appear in our December 19 end-of-year review special issue, which is available to buy and read digitally here or order in print here.

100m
1 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM)
2 Dina Asher-Smith (GBR)
3 Marie-Josée Ta Lou (CIV)

Fraser-Pryce enjoyed a superb season and regains the top ranking she held four times between 2008 and 2015.

200m
1 Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH)
2 Dina Asher-Smith (GBR)
3 Elaine Thompson (JAM)

Miller-Uibo had four 200m races and won them all – by an average winning margin of 0.35.

400m
1 Salwa Eid Naser (BRN)
2 Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH)
3 Shericka Jackson (JAM)

The astonishing run by Naser at the Worlds was the highlight of her unbeaten year at the event and that was Miller-Uibo’s only loss.

800m
1 Ajee’ Wilson (USA)
2 Halimah Nakaayi (UGA)
3 Raevyn Rogers (USA)

Wilson was clearly ranked top prior to Doha, but one panellist felt that Nakaayi’s Worlds win beat that.

1500m/one mile
1 Sifan Hassan (NED)
2 Faith Kipyegon (USA)
3 Genzebe Dibaba (ETH)

Hassan achieved a unique double with top ranking at 1500m and 10,000m.

5000m
1 Hellen Obiri (KEN)
2 Sifan Hassan (NED)
3 Konstanze Klosterhalfen (GER)

Obiri is top for the third successive year.

10,000m
1 Sifan Hassan (NED)
2 Letesenbet Gidey (ETH)
3 Agnes Tirop (KEN)

Hassan made a successful debut at the event!

Marathon
1 Brigid Kosgei (KEN)
2 Ruth Chepngetich (KEN)
3 Worknesh Degefa (ETH)

Kosgei and Chepngetich each had two great wins with Kosgei taking an amazing 1:21 off Paula Radcliffe’s seemingly untouchable world record.

3000m steeplechase
1 Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN)
2 Emma Coburn (USA)
3 Hyvin Jepkemoi Kiyeng (KEN)

Chepkoech had another brilliant year for her third top ranking.

100m hurdles
1 Kendra Harrison (USA)
2 Danielle Williams (JAM)
3 Nia Ali (USA)

Harrison ranks top for the fourth year, but it was again very close at the top.

400m hurdles
1 Dalilah Muhammad (USA)
2 Sydney McLaughlin (USA)
3 Shamier Little (USA)

Muhammad set two world records and needed to do so to hold off the challenge of McLaughlin.

High jump
1 Maria Lasitskene (RUS)
2 Yuliya Levchenko (UKR)
3 Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR)

Lasitskene was again dominant, top ranked for the fifth time.

Pole vault
1 Anzhelika Sidorova (RUS)
2 Sandi Morris (USA)
3 Ekaterini Stefanidi (GRE)

It was close at the top as Sidorova and Morris were 3-3 in their clashes, but Sidorova came out on top with the world-leading 4.95m at the Worlds.

Long jump
1 Malaika Mihambo (GER)
2 Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk (UKR)
3 Brittney Reese (USA)

Mihambo had a superb unbeaten season outdoors.

Triple jump
1 Yulimar Rojas (VEN)
2 Shanieka Ricketts (JAM)
3 Caterine Ibargüen (COL)

Rojas closed on the world record with a brilliant year of seven wins and two second places.

Shot
1 Gong Lijiao (CHN)
2 Danniel Thomas-Dodd (JAM)
3 Chase Ealey (USA)

For the first year since 1970 there was just one 20m-plus throw in the world this year. That was by Gong in the Diamond League final and she had the next three best marks.

Discus
1 Yaimi Pérez (CUB)
2 Denia Caballero (CUB)
3 Sandra Perkovic (CRO)

Pérez had an 11-3 win-loss advantage over her compatriot Caballero.

Hammer
1 DeAnna Price (USA)
2 Wang Zheng (CHN)
3 Gwen Berry (USA)

Price had the year’s three best performances and seven wins in nine competitions.

Javelin
1 Lu Huihui (CHN)
2 Kelsey-Lee Barber (AUS)
3 Christin Hussong (GER)

Although beaten into third place at the Worlds, Lu had the year’s three best performances.

Heptathlon
1 Katarina Johnson-Thompson (GBR)
2 Nafissatou Thiam (BEL)
3 Verena Preiner (AUT)

After being top ranked for three years, Thiam had to yield to Johnson-Thompson.

20km walk
1 Liu Hong (CHN)
2 Qieyang Shenjie (CHN)
3 Yang Liujing (CHN)

With her commanding walk at the Worlds Liu Hong returned to the top ranking she had in 2015 and 2016.

50km walk
1 Liu Hong (CHN)
2 Liang Rui (CHN)
3 Li Maocuo (CHN)

The world record was taken under four hours, first by Liu Hong (who chose the 20km for Doha) on her debut at the distance and then by Klavdiya Afanasyeva.