Arturo Vidal is claiming €2.4 million in unpaid bonuses from Barcelona in a move that the Catalan club believe is an attempt to force a January exit, sources have told ESPN.

Vidal's lawyers filed a complaint to the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE) earlier in December, in which they alleged Barca have only paid the Chile international €1.7m of the €4.1m he is due in bonuses.

Sources at the club told ESPN they were "surprised" by the demands being made by Vidal and his representatives, saying the player's payments are in order and they think he is trying to engineer a move to Italian side Inter Milan next month.

However, Barca remain reluctant to let Vidal leave in the middle of the season. Carles Alena has already been allowed to join Real Betis on loan until the end of the campaign, reducing the number of options available in midfield.

The same sources said it would take an offer of around €20m -- similar to what Barca paid Bayern Munich for Vidal in 2018 -- for the Blaugrana to even consider changing their stance.

"I am not in charge of that, that's what I have my agent and my lawyer for, to take care of bonuses and things like that," Vidal told ADN at an event for former teammate Rodolfo Madrid in Chile on Friday when asked about the dispute.

"It seems unfair to me that my claim is not being recognised, but it's not an issue that has anything to do with why we're here today."

Speaking in November, Vidal, who will turn 33 in May, said he would look to leave Barca in January if he was not playing regularly.

He stormed out of training when he learned he would not start the Clasico against Real Madrid in December, but did start the next game, scoring his fifth goal of the season in the 4-1 win over Alaves before Christmas.

Inter CEO Giuseppe Marotta has confirmed the Serie A leaders would be keen on signing Vidal, who previously played under the club's coach, Antonio Conte, at Juventus.

"I said when I arrived [in Chile] that I would speak about that issue when I am [in Spain]," Vidal added when asked about his future. "I am on holiday [until Jan. 2] and I just want to speak about what's going on today."

ESPN also contacted Vidal's agent Fernando Felicevich, but at the time of publication he had not responded to a request for comment.

The BCB's anti-corruption unit has completed its investigation on Krishmar Santokie, the Sylhet Thunder fast bowler who bowled a big no-ball on the opening day of the BPL, earlier this month. Jalal Yunus, the board's media committee chairman, said the next course of action would be based on the usual procedure followed by ACSU, which acted swiftly after the incident took place.

"The BCB's ACSU has completed investigation," Yunus said. "They followed the correct procedure. They questioned him, and looked into his track record. Now the ACSU will follow its own procedure, which could be by submitting their report to the BCB chief executive."

ESPNcricinfo understands that the severity of the no-ball, with Santokie overstepping by a long distance, caught the ACSU's attention almost as soon as the replays were shown on TV. Screenshots were published on social media with calls for the BCB to investigate the matter.

Santokie meanwhile has continued playing for the Sylhet side through the rest of the tournament.

The BCB's anti-corruption and security unit follows the ICC's code of conduct and other protocols on anti-corruption.

England 181 and 121 for 1 (Burns 77*) need a further 255 to beat South Africa 284 and 272 (van der Dussen 51, Archr 5-102)

True to their hard-earned reputation for perversity, England's cricketers gave themselves a fighting chance of victory in the first Test at Centurion, mere hours after seemingly tossing away their only opportunity in one of the most wasteful morning sessions of recent memory.

With Rory Burns once again to the fore, unbeaten on 77- the eighth time out of 11 that he had been the man to produce a half-century at the top of the batting order - England strode to the close on 121 for 1, after an evening session of improbable serenity, punctured only by the lapse in concentration that ended Dom Sibley's innings of 29 from 90 balls, and an opening stand of 92 that spanned 28 overs.

With two days to come, and 255 still required with nine wickets standing, one of these two sides is sure to head to Cape Town in the new year with a 1-0 lead in the series. And England, still a little bit giddy from their exploits at Headingley in the summer, will know that even a run-chase of 376 - 125 more than has ever previously been achieved at this venue - cannot be considered completely out of their reach.

After all, most of the men still to come in the middle order - Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow in particular - have spent the past four years making such chases seem commonplace in white-ball cricket at least, and perhaps relish the clarity that comes with a distinct endgame to their endeavours.

But this is also the side that has fallen in a batting heap on more occasions that they'd care to count in recent years - Mirpur 2016, Auckland 2017, Trent Bridge 2018, Bridgetown 2019, and the first innings of that self-same contest at Headingley in August, to name but a few. This could go down to the wire, or be all over by lunch. Neither upshot would be quite as eyebrow-raising as a common-or-garden 95-run defeat by mid-afternoon.

And in that context, it perhaps should not be surprising that England's gains in an uplifting evening were offset by one of the worst mornings of Test cricket that even this yin-and-yang rabble has ever yet produced.

Having come into the third day with the stated aim of limiting South Africa's lead to a manageable 300 (and how cushty would their overnight position seem had they done that?), England threw caution to the wind, tactics to the bin, and hope to the outer rim as Rassie van der Dussen, on debut, and Anrich Nortje, a nightwatchman with a previous Test best of 5 not out, thwarted their advances in a fifth-wicket stand of 91 that ate up the first 90 minutes of the day.

England, in some mitigation, were clearly distracted by dressing-room issues - or more accurately, issues in the field hospital-turned-"quarantine" where both Buttler and, for a time, the captain Root were housed after becoming the latest members of the camp to succumb to the unshakeable virus that has been plaguing the squad for a fortnight.

Buttler didn't take the field at all - he was replaced behind the stumps by the man he replaced behind the stumps, Jonny Bairstow (who had replaced the man who had replaced the man behind the stumps, Ollie Pope, when he too fell ill on the eve of the game). And though Root did reappear in a game attempt to reattach his side's wobbly wheels, he looked like death warmed up as South Africa took full toll.

More to follow...

It would be hard to imagine a more star-studded crop of quarterbacks than the four we have in the College Football Playoff.

There's Joe Burrow, from No. 1 LSU, who has taken the country by storm this year, transforming the Tigers' typically stodgy offense and winning a Heisman Trophy along the way. On the opposite sideline during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will be Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts, the Heisman runner-up who is making his fourth College Football Playoff appearance, first at Alabama and now with the Sooners.

No. 2 Ohio State is led by Justin Fields, a former No. 1 overall recruit who found a home with the Buckeyes, finishing third in Heisman voting after struggling to get on the field last year as a true freshman at Georgia. Facing Fields will be Clemson's Trevor Lawrence, the only member of this quartet not to be in New York for this year's Heisman ceremony. What has he done? Only demolish Alabama in last year's national title game as a true freshman and become the early front-runner for No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

Here's a breakdown of what makes these signal-callers special -- in their own words, by the numbers and more.

In their own words

Fields on Lawrence: "Everybody knows Trevor has a rocket arm and throws a great ball. That's the stuff I see. I can't really describe it, but when you see a quarterback throw, you can tell by the way the ball comes out of their hand."

Burrow on Lawrence: "He's super smooth, man. Watching him throw in person, it's like watching a beautiful piece of art. He's a big, strong guy but is super fluid. He's going to be a really good QB for a long time."

Lawrence on Fields: "One thing I really like about him is he has so much poise in the pocket. He's super athletic but never really looks like he's running hard. He's just a great player."

Burrow on Hurts: "His story is awesome. He's persevered through a lot of things. I can relate to him a lot. It's just been fun watching him this year with all the success he's had."

Hurts on Burrow: "He's a really good player and has played really efficient this year."

Burrow on Fields: "He's a big, strong cat with a strong arm. I'm so happy for him, because I know the people in the Ohio State program and everything I've heard about him has been nothing but great things."

By the numbers

Each quarterback in this group excels in his own way. Here, courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information, are the defining numbers for each signal-caller.

Joe Burrow

• 77.9% completion percentage, on pace to break the record currently held by Colt McCoy (76.7%)

• 73.5% completion percentage when pressured, next closest is Utah's Tyler Huntley at 63.6%

Justin Fields

• 96.1 QBR on third down, third in FBS

• 26 pass TDs against zone coverage, first in FBS

• 30 TD passes from pocket without an interception, first in FBS

Trevor Lawrence

Since throwing two interceptions in Week 8 against Louisville, he has...

• An FBS-best 20 touchdown passes and zero interceptions

• Completed 76% of his passes (2nd in FBS) with 27 passes of 20+ yards (third among Power 5 QBs)

Jalen Hurts

• 17 TD passes on play action, second in FBS

• 9 TD passes from outside the pocket, best in FBS

NFL prospects

Pro Football Focus ranked all 80 bowl quarterbacks by NFL draft potential. Here's how these four were rate:

1. Trevor Lawrence
It's difficult to go against the man who has yet to lose a college football game. Lawrence might not be playing at the level Burrow is now; but on the other hand, we've never seen anyone play at the level Lawrence has in his freshman and sophomore seasons. There's really not a single thing about the position Lawrence can't do at a high level, as indicated by his 90.7 grade last season and 91.5 this season. He'll be in contention to be the No. 1 overall pick in 2021.

2. Joe Burrow
There's no shame in finishing runner-up to the golden boy from Clemson. Burrow doesn't have a big arm like Lawrence, but he has accuracy the likes of which we've never seen. Burrow has been accurate on 72.3% of his passes targeted beyond the line of scrimmage this season. Second place is 65.8%.

3. Justin Fields
Fields is one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks we've graded since Cam Newton. Fields ranks third in the nation in accuracy on passes 10-plus yards downfield. In the run game, he is a battering ram who can run a sub-4.6 40-yard dash at 220 pounds. While he has thrown only one pick, fumbles have been a problem for Fields, as he has 11 on the season. He could compete with Lawrence to be the top QB in the 2021 class.

14. Jalen Hurts
Hurts offers value with his legs and the ability to protect the football. He has been far too inconsistent down the field, though, and struggles to throw with timing. There's a path to success for him in the NFL in a run-heavy offense, but he is nowhere near the dynamic runner that Kyler Murray and Lamar Jackson were coming out in recent years.

Zach Randolph has announced his retirement, ending a 17-year NBA career.

Nicknamed Z-Bo, the big man was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 19th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft out of Michigan State.

Randolph ends his career with 18,578 points and 10,208 rebounds.

"I gave this game my all, and it gave everything back and more," he said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Randolph was a two-time All-Star and won the league's Most Improved Player Award following the 2003-04 season.

Besides Portland, Randolph played for the New York Knicks, LA Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings. He last played in March 2018 and was not with a team this season.

Randolph earned a negative reputation in the early part of his career, but found a home and success in Memphis. He played for the Grizzlies for eight seasons and epitomized the team's "Grit and Grind" mantra during a run in which Memphis made the playoffs in seven consecutive seasons.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Draymond Green called his team's shot.

The veteran forward could see that his Golden State Warriors were improving in practice, and he could feel the camaraderie of the group building on a daily basis. So as the group went through a practice last week, he let Warriors swingman Alec Burks in on a little secret.

"I told AB last week sometime, we were in shootaround, I said, 'AB, I just had an epiphany.'" Green said following Friday night's 105-96 win over the Phoenix Suns.

"He was like, 'What?' I said, 'I had an epiphany we were about to win five games in a row.' And he was like, 'All right, cool.' And then last game he said, 'We're at three.' I just saw again, he's like, 'Hey man, we're at four.'"

The Warriors, who came into Friday's game with just eight wins, have won four in a row. It's their first win streak of the season. The confidence that has been waning at times from the group during an injury-riddled gap year is booming now heading into Saturday's home game against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

Green and the Warriors have gotten their season back on track by going back to the basics on the defensive end. The Warriors have the best defensive rating in the NBA since Dec. 19 (97.6 points per 100 possessions allowed), according to ESPN Stats and Information research.

"I think we're really flying around," Green said. "We're doing a great job of sticking to the game plan. One thing about defense is you're always going to give up something, so then it becomes what is it that you're willing to give up? And I think the things that we've been willing to give up, we've been giving those up, and it's been working out for us."

After a frustrating first half on Friday that saw Suns shooting guard Devin Booker score 17 of his game-high 34 points, the Warriors clawed their way back by forcing 27 turnovers against a Phoenix team that has now lost eight games in a row. The Warriors outscored the Suns 56-34 in last 20:32 of game and outscored the Suns 28-7 off turnovers, which at +21 is the season-best mark for Steve Kerr's team this season.

The Warriors' defense forced the Suns into more turnovers than they had assists for the first time all year.

Aside from Green's usual solid play, the Warriors got a nice lift from D'Angelo Russell, who scored 31 points and has found an offensive rhythm over the past week. Two-way guard Ky Bowman got the fourth quarter off to a fine start by stealing a pass and throwing down a big dunk that ignited the Warriors' bench, including injured stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

Green scoffed at the notion that the Warriors are feeling any pressure to pay off his epiphany of five straight wins on Saturday against a Mavericks team that beat the Warriors by 48 points on Nov. 20.

"Pressure for what?" Green said. "We have nine wins."

Green has set a tone the rest of his teammates are following: believing after a bad start to the campaign that they can compete against anybody right now.

"We still got nine wins," Green said. "Ain't no pressure. We still go out there and swing for the fences.

"This team is just really getting better, and it's exciting."

Stefanoni takes title for Team USA
By US SQUASH

The 2019 U.S. Junior Open Squash Championships produced a historic slate of results as Team USA’s Marina Stefanoni became the first three-time U.S. Junior Open GU19 champion, England earned its maiden BU19 title courtesy of Sam Todd and Egypt dominated the lower age divisions with six champions and six runners up Tuesday, December 17, at Harvard’s Murr Center.

Nearly 750 players representing 44 nations competed in the tournament, which took place across four days and four venues: Harvard, Northeastern, MIT and Andover. 

The U19 divisions augmented two of the most successful U.S. Junior Open legacies in Stefanoni and Todd.

The BU19 final yielded another tournament first in the form of an all-English final between top seeds Sam Todd and Max Forster. Todd clinched his fourth career U.S. Junior Open title in emphatic fashion, defeating his teammate 11-6, 11-2, 11-3.

“I’m good friends with Max,” Todd Said. “Coming all of the way over here to play a good friend is kind of funny in a way. We’ve always had a nice match together. I’m glad I played well today and was on form.”

At just sixteen years old, Todd now holds four US Junior titles since 2014—one in each age division from U13 through U19. Todd is also the first English BU19 champion since the tournament’s founding in 1993.

“It feels amazing, I didn’t actually know I was the first English champion,” Todd said. “It feels good to make history at the U.S. Open and good to win all of the age groups. It was my goal to win the U19’s ever since I played the U13’s. I’ve always loved coming over here, they always put on a great tournament.”

Official Results page

Stefanoni extended a six-year title streak spanning the 2014 U13 division, a U15 double in 2015 and 2016, and now her third consecutive U19 tile.

The 17-year-old completed her title run with a decisive three-game final against Barbados’ six seed Meagan Best, 11-7, 11-8, 11-3. With the result, the Darien, Connecticut native surpasses two-time champions Satomi Watanabe, Sabrina Sobhy, Laura Gemmell and Jessica DiMauro.

“The competition was great this year,” Stefanoni said. “Meagan is a great player, her shots are impeccable. Usually she slots them into the nick. I couldn’t leave anything through the middle, no volleys, she’d put it right away. So I just tried to hit the length, hit the corners and keep the ball low. The whole tournament was tough so it was great to get a win today.”

Egypt dominated the scene in the U17, U15, U13 and U11 divisions as a result of the Egyptian federation’s first official delegation to the tournament ever, resulting in some of the world’s top-rated players reaching the podium.

Across the bottom eight divisions, Egypt produced six champions, six finalists and three third place finishes. The two other outliers, representing Pakistan and Malaysia, needed to defeat Egyptian opposition in the finals. 

That entry figure will be eclipsed when the Dunlop British Junior Open takes place in Birmingham with more than 800 entrants from 56 nations taking part from January 2-6.
 

Pictures courtesy of  US Squash

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – It took him eight years and a boatload of effort to do it, but Tony Stewart finally returned to the top of the heap at the Rumble in Fort Wayne on Friday night.

Stewart raced to victory for the 10th time inside the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum with a dominant run through the field in the headlining 50-lap national midget feature.

The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion had to transfer in through one of three B-mains after missing the cut in his heat race, but once the main event started there was no stopping Stewart’s familiar No. 2 Our Gang Poker Munchkin midget.

Stewart raced from ninth to third by the halfway point of the event, then moved into second behind polesitter and race-long leader Cap Henry on lap 30 after then-runner-up Tim Buckwalter caught air with the front end of his car in turns one and two and slid back in a hurry.

From there, Stewart ran down and dogged Henry for four revolutions before making the winning pass on lap 35 with an inside maneuver off the fourth corner.

Once Stewart took the point, not even a red flag for fumes with 14 to go could keep his momentum down. He pulled away from Henry on two late-race restarts and never looked back after that.

Friday night’s triumph extended Stewart’s all-time record for event wins at the Rumble, as well as broke a tie with the late Rich Vogler for the most indoor midget wins in North American history.

It was a moment that left the usually-vocal Hoosier nearly at a loss for words in victory lane.

“It’s pretty damn cool; any time you put yourself in the same category as Rich Vogler, or take a record from him, you know you’ve done something pretty special,” said Stewart, whose last Rumble win prior to Friday night was in 2011. “Rich was pretty badass; it didn’t matter whether it was a midget, a sprint car, Silver Crown car, dirt or pavement. He was one of the best of all time for sure. That kind of thing is something you don’t think about when you show up here, but it’s a pretty cool stat to know now.

“It makes this win that much more worth it, really. The car was pretty good there in the main, even though I forgot all the tire rules and ran the same right rear the entire night,” he tipped. “After qualifying it was chewed up, so we dismounted it, flipped it around backwards for the main and luckily it cleaned up, but it started going away again right at the end of the race. This place is feast or famine and there are so many things that can happen in these races. You just have to hope everything goes right.

“For us tonight, everything did work out and we’re standing here with a trophy because of it.”

Henry topped the special dash race, contested between the four heat winners, to earn the pole for the midget feature and used the prime starting spot to lead the first 34 laps uncontested.

However, once Stewart got around him, Henry just didn’t have enough pace to keep touch with the leader and faded back in the final laps off Stewart’s bumper before his eventual second-place finish.

It tied Henry’s career-best Rumble mark, set during the opening night of competition in 2018.

“We just weren’t quite fast enough,” Henry noted. “We were kind of struggling there (toward the end), and I think I kind of burnt the tires up trying to hang on to it. I knew those guys were going to be coming. Tony had to run the B, so I knew it was only a matter of time until he got there.

“My guys did a really good job, though. I couldn’t be prouder of them and we’re excited for tomorrow now.”

Henry’s co-team owner, Joe Liguori, completed the podium ahead of former Rumble winners Justin Peck and Derek Bischak.

Famed Munchkin fabricator and designer Mike Fedorcak was sixth, followed by Bryan Nuckles, Jim Anderson, Kyle Hamilton and Cory Setser.

Saturday’s Rumble program will feature another complete midget program of time trials, heat races, consolation races and a 50-lap main event. Peck is the defending Saturday winner at the Rumble.

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

New Zealand's sorry Australian tour took another turn for the worse as Trent Boult was ruled out of the third and final Test in Sydney with a fracture on his right hand, sustained while batting.

Boult had been struck on the gloves by Mitchell Starc at the back-end of New Zealand's first innings at the MCG, and went to hospital for x-rays during the tea break. The results confirmed a fracture, meaning Boult will fly home after the Melbourne Test and be out for at least four weeks, although he did return to bowl towards the end of the day.

"Trent Boult suffered a fracture to the second-metacarpal of his right hand after being struck while batting on day three of the second Test against Australia in Melbourne," a New Zealand Cricket spokesperson said. "An X-ray during the tea break confirmed the undisplaced fracture which will require around four weeks of rehabilitation, meaning Boult will return home to New Zealand at the end of the Test. A replacement player will be confirmed in due course."

Boult had missed the first Test of the series, in Perth, because of a side injury, but recovered in time to play the Boxing Day Test.

Opening batsman Tom Latham said that Boult's recent run had been "gutting" for the left-armer and the team as a whole.

"It's obviously gutting news for Trent and also for our group to have someone like that ruled out with his injuries," Latham said. "We'll have to wait and see who the replacement is over the next few days, but I'm sure whoever will come in will be up for the task."

Boult is the second New Zealand bowler to fly home from the tour following the injury sustained by Lockie Ferguson in Perth. Their next cricket after the Sydney Test is the T20I series against India which begins in late January and is followed by ODIs and two Tests in February.