Ron Veal has been coaching quarterbacks for nearly 20 years, and between camps and private sessions, he's seen more workouts than he can count. But there are two he'll always remember.

In 2017, Veal had a couple of prized protégés. One was Trevor Lawrence, a tall kid with a big arm and natural grace. He played an hour up the road from Veal's Atlanta home, and he'd lost just one game in his prep career at Cartersville High in Georgia. The other was Justin Fields, a bit of a late bloomer who'd burst into recruiting stardom by flashing a rare combination of arm strength and mobility. Fields played at Harrison High, about 30 minutes down I-75 from Lawrence.

To suggest that Lawrence and Fields were friends would be overstating things. Lawrence grew up in the QB spotlight, while Fields became a star recruit later in high school. Lawrence had seen Fields at a few camps along the way, but the two hadn't really connected. Then Veal arranged a workout -- his best student and his second-best student, though it was up to the recruiting services to actually rank them. Veal wouldn't dare.

There wasn't much talking, no subtle digs or chest-thumping boasts. Neither kid was much of a talker. They just went to work. Footwork drills turned into a ballet. Passing drills transformed into target practice. It felt a little like the world's best game of H-O-R-S-E. Not a rivalry so much as a challenge.

"It was, 'You complete one, I'll complete one. You miss one, I won't,'" Veal said. "It was a push session."

A year later, Veal repeated the workout. By this time, Lawrence and Fields were the top two recruits in the nation, the former bound for Clemson, the latter sticking close to home and heading to Georgia. The quarterbacks were closer now, too. One was rarely mentioned in recruiting circles without the other. They'd exchange texts on occasion, and after that 2018 workout session with Veal, Fields posted a photo on his Instagram of Lawrence, and hearts all over the football universe fluttered.

Those workouts were the starting point. Two kids, both top recruits, both from suburban Atlanta, both working with the same QB trainer, both destined for greatness.

Nearly two years later, Veal has his flight booked for Phoenix, where his protégés will step onto the same field once again when No. 2 Ohio State (where Fields has since transferred) faces No. 3 Clemson in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App) on Saturday. This time, there's a ticket to college football's national championship game on the line. That their paths have looped back around to another intersection felt almost inevitable for two signal-callers with so much in common. The journey here for Lawrence and Fields, however, has rarely followed an expected course.

Lawrence emerges, Fields sits

Both Fields and Lawrence knew they had competition when they arrived on campus. Lawrence was behind an incumbent starter (Kelly Bryant) who took Clemson to the Sugar Bowl in 2017. Fields had to beat out Jake Fromm, Georgia's starter who nearly won a national championship as a true freshman. Neither one expected to be handed a job based on recruiting rankings, but both were promised an opportunity.

At Clemson, that's exactly what happened. Lawrence opened the season as the No. 2 QB, but he got regular reps throughout the first month of the season. In the Tigers' fourth game, Lawrence was exceptional, torching an overwhelmed Georgia Tech defense and, as it turned out, convincing his coaches he was ready to take over as the starter.

For Fields, things didn't go quite so smoothly. He saw action, but it was sporadic -- often for just a play or two at a time and almost always with a limited list of plays he could run. By the time Clemson anointed Lawrence its starter, Fields had thrown only 17 passes, just one coming against SEC competition.

"I went into games not knowing how much I would play," Fields said. "I think the backup quarterback has the hardest job out of everybody because most positions rotate, but the backup quarterback you have to prepare like you're the starter even though you may not play at all. That was the hardest thing for me. I don't think there was one particular moment, but it slowly went to, 'Oh, I'm not going to play.' I get where the coaches were coming from. Jake took them to a national championship [game] the year before, so I can't fault them for that, and Jake wasn't doing bad at all."

While Fields' frustration simmered at Georgia, the ascendance of Lawrence at Clemson came with its own drama. Bryant met with coach Dabo Swinney, learned he'd been benched, then disappeared. He'd been excused from practice that Monday, but when he didn't show up for Tuesday's work, either, coaches were worried. The next morning, Swinney got a text. Bryant was done. He would sit out the remainder of the season, then transfer to Missouri for 2019.

"He's on to what he's doing, and I pull for him," Swinney said earlier this season. "But I'd make the same decision 1,000 times out of 1,000 times. That's my job."

Fields' father, Pablo, recalls a conversation he had with Nick Saban when Fields was being recruited by Alabama. Saban said it was incumbent upon a coach to give a guy with that much talent a chance to get experience. Pablo Fields figured that's how most coaches saw it. It's only now, after seeing his son endure a year on the bench, that he realizes how tough those decisions are.

"There are championship coaches that made tough decisions the normal guys wouldn't make," Pablo Fields said. "[Bill] Belichick and Saban and Dabo. Dabo saw something in the future. It takes courage. So I don't fault anybody, because if you ask 100 people, most will go with the safe bet."

Fields leaves, Lawrence flourishes

Justin Fields wants his play to speak for him. It was his play that always told the better story. Now he was relegated to the sideline, and one comment from a Georgia baseball player turned the spotlight entirely on the soft-spoken QB.

Adam Sasser was in a section of students watching the fourth quarter of the Bulldogs' blowout victory over Tennessee. Fields was, as usual, relegated to the sideline. Sasser began shouting for Georgia to play Fields, using a racist epithet to do so, and repeating it several times. Police were involved. The details were shared on social media. Sasser was dismissed from the baseball team. And there, in the middle of it all, was Fields.

"I was getting pulled on from all different directions," Fields said. "It was crazy because some people were like, 'Are you not going to do anything about it? Are you not going to confront him?' I'm not that kind of guy to go up to someone and try to start something. There were just too many voices coming my way, so I just tried to stay out of it, really."

While Fields rarely saw the field (he threw just 14 passes in Georgia's final eight games and didn't take a snap in a Sugar Bowl loss), Lawrence flourished at Clemson.

He capped his first season with a national championship.

Fields decided to transfer. He applied for a waiver to play immediately. He noted the racist incident as a reason the NCAA should approve the request. Some Georgia fans panned the family, saying it was using the incident for its own gain.

Fields and his dad talk every day and share a devotional. There was a week last season when Pablo suggested that they pray for everyone who criticized his son.

"We said a lot of prayers," he said.

Fields finds a home in Columbus

Lawrence ended his freshman season as the most famous player in college football, and all eyes were on the 6-foot-6 freshman with the long blond hair.

Fields had the opposite problem. He was alone.

Fields looked seriously at four or five transfer destinations, but he felt a connection with Ohio State coach Ryan Day. He'd never set foot on campus, had never even been to the state of Ohio, but that connection was enough.

Fields made things official on Jan. 4, 2019, and his father moved him in to the campus that Saturday. Two days later, Pablo Fields got a phone call.

"Come and get me, Dad," Justin Fields said on the other line. "I want to transfer back to Georgia."

Fields might've been the most talented quarterback in the country, but in that moment, he was just a homesick kid. He told his dad he knew there'd be criticism, but he could take the media hit. He was lonely, and he was overwhelmed.

"He would rather deal with the known at Georgia, even though the situation was very uncomfortable, than the unknown," Pablo Fields said.

Again, father encouraged son to rely on his faith. Give God time, he said.

A few days later, Chris Olave, Sevyn Banks and a handful of Ohio State teammates, mostly guys from the 2018 class, knocked on Fields' door and asked him to play a game of pickup basketball. They all lived in the same dorms, and the rest of the group had been playing 5-on-5 on the courts across the street for a year now. The invitation was a right of passage, really. Fields was one of them now.

Fields called his dad afterward. He'd made some friends. He had some fun.

It mattered to Ohio State, too. That first day out on the basketball court, teammates finally got a chance to see the real Justin Fields, the competitive kid with all the energy and enthusiasm that would become the heart of the 2019 offense.

"I could see him smiling, and it was a pretty fun moment for us," Olave said. "It made a big difference and it showed. Having him around, he opened up more. He was a quiet guy when he first got here, and being more talkative and when he gets on the court or plays video games he gets competitive and it brought that side out of him. Having him smile a lot and laugh, it was huge for us."

Pablo Fields was a fixture throughout the spring and summer, making more trips to Ohio than he'd ever made to UGA. There was one visit, later in the spring, when Pablo met his son after practice, and he could see a familiar look in the kid's eyes.

"I did good today," Justin said.

Lawrence's rocky sophomore start

The low point of Lawrence's career to date was a one-point win on the road against a team coached by a Hall of Famer. In context, this makes some sense. The guy lost two games in his entire high school career, and he's 24-0 as Clemson's starter, so the low points are tough to find. Funny thing is, though, this particular low point got a lot of traction.

It's not so much that Lawrence was bad in that victory over Mack Brown-led North Carolina in late September. He was ... fine. He led a winning drive in the fourth quarter, and for most QBs, that would be a mark of success. Lawrence lives in more rarified air.

"It was all sugar for him last year," Swinney said. "He hardly made a mistake. We won every game by 21 points. I'd never been in a fourth quarter with him until we'd won 20 in a row."

Coming off an iconic performance against Alabama in the national championship game, 2019 was supposed to be a coronation for Lawrence. He was already so good that his follow-up performance might be truly historic. The expectations were immense.

Then the season started. Game 1, two interceptions. Next two weeks, three more picks. Then came North Carolina, the first time in a year the Tigers played a close game. If this was historic, it was for all the wrong reasons.

"You're just walking around and the TV is on, and they'll be showing an interception I threw," Lawrence said. "You just realize it's crazy, all the propaganda that's out there."

If he's honest, Lawrence knows some of the criticism was right. Those early games were a test of how he'd handle expectations, and sometimes he struggled. Swinney chalked it up to being "too confident, too knowledgeable," but another assessment was that Lawrence was trying to be too much of what everyone else wanted.

"It was all sugar for him last year. He hardly made a mistake. We won every game by 21 points. I'd never been in a fourth quarter with him until we'd won 20 in a row."

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney

By late October, he'd found his bearings. In a 59-7 win over Boston College, Lawrence had his best game of the season, completing 16 of 19 passes, with three touchdowns. He walked out of the locker room for a postgame news conference feeling triumphant.

"And the first question anyone asked me was about a pass that almost got intercepted," Lawrence said. "At that point, it was like, 'It doesn't really matter.'"

It was a turning point. Once Lawrence stopped trying so hard, he suddenly found things came far easier. He enters the Fiesta Bowl having thrown 20 touchdown passes without a pick over his past six games.

"He's so much better this year as a quarterback," Swinney said. "It's not even close. And I think a lot of people have missed a beautiful season."

Fields the Heisman candidate

The worst game of Justin Fields' season came in early October against Michigan State. The Buckeyes won easily, but Fields threw a pick. It would be the only one he'd throw all season.

Fields' high school coach, Matt Dickman, had made the trip to Columbus for the game. He knew the past year had been difficult for his former quarterback. Dickman lives in Georgia, too. He heard all the same critiques, and he hated it for the kid.

"One of the most frustrating things I've dealt with in my 34 years of coaching," Dickman said.

But then he saw Fields after the game -- bright and bubbly, a big grin across his face.

"I hadn't seen him smile so much and be so happy in high school," Dickman said. "I could just tell how much fun he was having."

Pablo Fields knows it sounds a bit presumptuous, but the truth is, he's not surprised by this season. For more than a year, his son just wanted to let his game do the talking. He spoke volumes on the field this season.

"He got a dose of life that isn't put on ESPN," Pablo Fields said. "We all go through things in life that don't get put on display. His just got put on display. A parent never wants to see a kid go through adversity, but in the long run they have to go through those things that strengthen them in life."

The season did include a hint of disappointment, though. Fields had planned to fly home to Georgia in mid-December to be on the sideline as his old Harrison team played for a state championship. But it wasn't meant to be. Instead, he was in New York, where he was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

A full-circle moment

Fields begins an answer that seems obvious. If he knew then what he knows now, would he have gone to Georgia?

"I probably would've done things differently, but ... "

He stops himself. He thinks it over for a moment. No, this was the right path. It had to go this way.

"All the things I've been through, my journey has made me a better person, a better leader and, really, more wise," Fields says. "I've had a lot of guys ask me, 'What would you do in this situation?' They're thinking of transferring or whatever. I just give the best advice I can. It's just the trials and tribulations made me better."

That's the family's mantra, Pablo Fields said. Their faith is strong, and they believe there is a purpose behind each step. Still, he knows his son still wears the scars of his turbulent first season.

"Him going through that, Justin may say he doesn't have a chip on his shoulder, but me knowing my kid, I think he does," Pablo Fields said.

Watching Fields flourish in his new home resonated with Lawrence, too.

"He's earned everything he's gotten, and it's been cool to watch," Lawrence said. "Just everything not going perfect for him and having to bounce back. He could've fallen behind or thought about how things could have happened, but he didn't, and he's had a really great year."

Lawrence said he's considered how easily things might've been different. Maybe Fields found a perfect fit at Georgia, got to play early, blossomed through the season and took down Alabama to make the playoff. Maybe Lawrence had a few bad games, Bryant stuck around and the job never opened up at Clemson. Lawrence knows he's lucky he didn't have to make the same hard choices Fields did.

Still, this season has been all about perspective for a QB whose view had always been from the top.

"There's something to learn from every situation, and sometimes it's easier to learn in the bad situations than the good ones," Lawrence said. "For me, if that's the worst adversity I face is to get some criticism while still winning games, that's great. I'm doing what I'm supposed to do."

Lawrence and Fields met up over the summer of 2019, but it wasn't some momentous occasion when Fields opened up about his struggles at Georgia and Lawrence gushed about his national championship. Truth is, Lawrence can't even remember what they talked about. Just two guys who'd grown up a bit, catching up on old times. No big deal.

They haven't talked since then, just a few texts traded before the season's demands grew too vast. Now they'll meet again, and this time it will be entirely different.

The last time the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked QB recruits from the same class started a game against each other was 2007, when Ryan Mallett and Michigan demolished Jimmy Clausen's Notre Dame. This game has a far better narrative behind it, but Pablo Fields said the marketing doesn't match reality.

"They're not the rivals some people make them," Pablo Fields said. "Justin may be less of a rival with Trevor than a lot of quarterbacks."

Just like in those workouts with Veal years ago, there won't be any trash talk. Lawrence and Fields share so much -- a coach, a home state, a twisting journey -- that it's impossible not to share a mutual respect, too.

And Lawrence and Fields are trying not to take any of it for granted.

"Pretty much every night before I go to bed, I think about where I am and the place God has put me," Fields said, "and I still can't figure out how I'm doing all this stuff. Just seeing myself in this position right now is crazy."

ESPN's Andrea Adelson contributed to this story.

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ilya Mikheyev was taken to a hospital for evaluation Friday night after suffering what the team called a significant wrist laceration in a 5-4 overtime win against the host New Jersey Devils.

Mikheyev was cut by the skate of the Devils' Jesper Bratt. Bratt had his shot deflected, then got tripped up on the ice, causing his skate to go into the air and slice Mikheyev, who was defending.

The 25-year-old winger immediately went to the dressing room. The Leafs said he was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Mikheyev had a goal earlier in the game.

December 28: Sydney Sixers v Sydney Thunder in Sydney

Our XI: Josh Philippe, Alex Hales, James Vince, Usman Khawaja, Callum Ferguson, Chris Morris, Tom Curran, Benjamin Manenti, Chris Green, Daniel Sams, Sean Abbott

NOTE: We might not always be able to tip you off about a late injury (or other relevant) updates

Captain: Callum Ferguson

Ferguson has started the tournament strongly for the Thunder. In three games, he has 104 runs at a strike rate of 160, including a player-of-the-match effort against the Brisbane Heat. And before play was interrupted against the Adelaide Strikers, he had smashed six boundaries in his unbeaten 27.

Vice-captain: Chris Morris

Morris bowls in the death, and will be called upon when the team is under pressure. He picked 2 for 31 in his first game, and has been playing T20 regularly - he took ten wickets at 8.2 per over in the MSL. He can give you some handy runs with the bat if required too.

Hot picks

Alex Hales

Hales has one player-of-the-match performance already, courtesy the 38-ball 68 against the Melbourne Renegades, and scored 44 of those runs in boundaries. If he gets going, he could earn a lot of points. But his lack of consistency is why he is only a hot pick and not an obvious choice of captain.

James Vince

Vince is an under-rated T20 cricketer, and a busy, useful player. He has started well - average 23 and strike rate 116.45 - in all three games, but hasn't got a big one. The derby is a good time to get that.

Josh Philippe

In fantasy cricket, it is imperative to have the openers in your line-up. The probability of them playing a role is the highest and if you have an impact player like Philippe who can take away the match from the opposition, then it is a must.

Value picks

Daniel Sams: Six wickets at 8.67 runs per over, Sams has started the tournament well. His left-arm angle has made him hard to pick and he will be key towards removing the Sixers top order.

Benjamin Manenti: Two wickets in each of the three games he has played so far shows how consistent Manenti has been. His wickets have come at 7.9 runs per over. He gives control and gets wickets. Ideal bowler to get those points.

Points to note

The average score while batting first in the last two BBL seasons is 150. Spinners concede only 7.16 runs per over, while striking once every 25 balls, and pacers concede 8.03 runs per over while striking once every 18 balls.

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin says he is skipping the NHL's All-Star Game for the second straight season.

Ovechkin, 34, was once again voted by fans as the Metropolitan Division captain but told reporters on Friday he would rather skip the All-Star festivities and rest his body for the second half of the season.

"Thanks, first of all, fans, for voting me," he said after the Capitals' 2-1 overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. "It's a hard decision, but I have to listen to my body. I have to get ready for the second half of the year. I have to be healthy and focus on different things."

Per NHL rules, Ovechkin will be suspended one game, either Jan. 18 at the New York Islanders or Jan. 27 at the Montreal Canadiens.

The Capitals captain, who leads first-place Washington with 23 goals this season, has appeared in seven All-Star Games, second most among active players. Only Chicago's Patrick Kane, who has gone eight times, has more.

"You don't want to miss the game, but the rules are the rules,'' Ovechkin said of the suspension. "I'm healthy, thank God, and I just made this decision because I have to be in good shape and I have to be ready and good in the playoffs. The most important thing is not the regular year -- it's the playoffs."

Capitals coach Todd Reirden was supportive of Ovechkin's decision.

"I know it's something that he put a lot of time and thought into," Reirden said. "It's the right thing for him at age 34 to rest and get ready for what he ultimately wants, and that's another run at the [Stanley] Cup. That's what he's playing the game for now.''

The St. Louis Blues are hosting All-Star Weekend, with the skills competition being held on Jan. 24 and the 3-on-3 tournament on Jan. 25.

Joining Ovechkin as All-Star captains are Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon, Boston's David Pastrnak and Edmonton's Connor McDavid.

The NHL's Department of Hockey Operations fills out the rest of the rosters.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Lunch New Zealand 6 for 102 (Latham 42*, Santner 1*) trail Australia 467 by 365 runs

New Zealand's middle order was picked apart by world-class bowling from Australia's trio of quicks as they lurched to lunch on the third day on 6 for 102. Pat Cummins was on a hat-trick in the third over of the morning when he removed Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls, James Pattinson produced a beauty to remove BJ Watling and Mitchell Starc joined in to remove Colin de Grandhomme.

Tom Latham stood out amid the wreckage as he reached the break on 42 off 127 balls, repelling everything that was hurled at him from the quicks and Nathan Lyon. It could have been worse for New Zealand if Mitchell Santner hadn't benefitted from a controversial DRS ruling from the third umpire when he appeared to glove Starc but there chances of even getting a draw appeared in ruins.

New Zealand's ambitions at the start of the day rested on Latham and Taylor, the latter needing 47 more runs to become his country's leading scorer in Tests, but that lasted just 12 balls as technique and ticker was tested with every delivery.

The first ball of Cummins' second over drew Taylor into a flat-footed drive with the thick edge flying quickly to Marnus Labuschagne at third slip where it was parried into the air and settled comfortably for Joe Burns at first. Next ball, Cummins came around the wicket to Nicholls and pinned the left hander lbw with the review from Nicholls showing it would have hit the top of leg stump.

With the roar of the MCG crowd behind him, Cummins ran in for his hat-trick ball but Watling was able to keep it out. However, having managed to get onto the front foot a couple of times, he was not able to survive much longer when Pattinson produced a beauty that bounced from short of a length and took the shoulder of the bat to first slip to leave New Zealand 5 for 58.

The bleeding was momentarily stopped by Latham and de Grandhomme - helped by a surprising over for Matthew Wade which cost 13, four more than Cummins conceded in five overs - as Latham continued to show great composure in the face of the onslaught. de Grandhomme was less convincing and it was not a huge surprise when he fended an edge to gully off Starc.

Two balls later Starc, and the rest of the Australians, were convinced they had another when Santner fended a bouncer to leg gully. It was given not out on the field by Marais Erasmus and Tim Paine reviewed. As more replays came through the Australians become more sure, and with good reason, that it had brushed the wrist band before coming off the arm guard but eventually third umpire Aleem Dar said there wasn't conclusive evidence to overturn. Paine was far from impressed and had a lengthy discussion with Erasmus.

New Zealand's former captain Brendon McCullum has counselled his successor Kane Williamson one-on-one after he delivered stinging criticism of the visitors during his commentary stints on the second day of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

McCullum had questioned Williamson's tactics on the second day, notably his use of the very occasional off-spin of Tom Blundell immediately after lunch, claiming that New Zealand had "just rolled over" for Australia rather than searching more keenly for wickets. These criticisms made headlines in New Zealand as the tourists sank to a sorry position in the Test match and series, which has marked the national team's first Boxing Day Test appearance since 1987.

However on the third morning, McCullum went to speak individually to Williamson, and later explained that he was detecting signs that Williamson, a "reluctant" leader at times, was not enjoying the trials of captaincy.

"If we look back to the first session of the first day of the first Test match, since then we've probably seen a gradual strengthening of Australia's positions," McCullum said on commentary for Channel Seven. "I'm one of Kane Williamson's biggest fans, I really am. I think he's done a magnificent job with the New Zealand side in his time.

"He's been a slightly reluctant leader at times and I just noticed a bit of a trend where he doesn't look to me as though he's really enjoying the role as much as what he has in the past. And that can be a build-up of many things and playing Australia in Australia can be one of them.

"I thought tactically there were a couple of plays which he made yesterday which I thought were slightly uncharacteristic of Kane. But our relationship is very strong. He knows that I've got his back and it's just a bit of constructive criticism and he knows that some of those decisions weren't quite right."

Equally, McCullum wished to point out that for all the yawning gap on the scoreboard, there was still a huge contingent of New Zealand supporters who had travelled across the Tasman to see their team play and were looking for signs that their team was fighting for them, even if the odds were presently overwhelming.

"One of the points I was trying to make to Kane this morning was that there were 20,000-odd New Zealanders who have travelled from across the ditch to come and watch New Zealand. And even though New Zealand was under an immense amount of pressure the New Zealand national anthem was being belted out from the stands," McCullum said. "And it's just how proud of this team that he's built that New Zealand is and they don't expect that the New Zealand side is going to win every game and they can understand that this is a tough place to tour.

"But they want to see the team play with a smile on their face, that same positive attitude, and carry themselves in that confident manner and occasionally land a few blows back on the opposition so they know that they've been in a contest.

"And I just tried to remind him to try and play for that young boy who fell in love with the game way back in the early days when he started playing cricket. Sometimes the pressure and the extremities that you get put under at this top level can take a little bit of that enjoyment away and especially as captain how you portray yourself has such a big bearing on the environment. He looked like he had a bit of a spring in his step this morning, so here's hoping."

These words contrasted sharply with the disbelief in MCullum's voice on day two. "I think it's been a pretty poor session. I don't understand some of the tactics to be honest," McCullum told SEN Radio in mid-afternoon. "It's just staggering. By all means, have a blast, but the game was still in the balance.

"To me, it was a submissive move [to bowl Blundell at the start of the session]. I just don't understand it. They just rolled over.

"I would've thought you would've gone with a [Neil] Wagner, [Tim] Southee, [Trent] Boult combination and have a real dip at it. You knock over the Australians ... you can actually get into the game; they've just rolled over."

You have first pick for the NFL's All-Time Team's quarterback. The 10 possibilities are Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Johnny Unitas, Otto Graham, Sammy Baugh, John Elway, Peyton Manning, Roger Staubach, Brett Favre and Dan Marino.

Have fun.

Members of a special panel of 26 selected all of them for the position as part of the NFL's celebration of its 100th season. All won league titles except Marino. All are in the Hall of Fame except Brady and Manning, who are not yet eligible.

On Friday night, quarterback was the final position revealed for the All-Time Team.

Although Graham actually won seven championships -- four in the All-America Conference and three in the NFL -- Brady owns the most in the NFL with six Super Bowl rings. He's a four-time Super Bowl MVP and a three-time league MVP. The Patriots have won their 11th straight AFC East crown with Brady behind center. At 42, he has yet another chance at a title.

"It is pretty amazing, and look at all the names, and so many of the guys I looked up to over the years that were my idols and heroes," said Brady, who grew up in Northern California rooting for Montana. "I am glad I am still doing it, too."

"Through a lot of help and a lot of support, I just learned and tried to get a little bit better and a little bit better and keep evolving."

Favre also grew up watching the NFL and idolizing another man on the All-Time Team.

"When I was a little kid, I wanted to play pro football. I wanted to be Roger Staubach," Favre said. "That is who I looked up to and who was my favorite player, and he's still my guy. To be able to do exactly what i wanted to do and accomplish so much ... have all the passing records [when he retired]? Are you kidding me?"

Favre is the only player to win three consecutive NFL MVP awards.

"I never thought about Pro Bowls, never thought about MVPs," he said. "I envisioned what it would be to run out on the field for Super Bowls. How cool that would be. I got to live that, and everything that has come after: Are you kidding me?"

RENTON, Wash. -- Marshawn Lynch cited "unfinished business" as the reason he wanted to rejoin the Seattle Seahawks.

His own business has been booming thanks to his return.

Sales of Lynch's Beast Mode Apparel -- which includes new gear commemorating his Seahawks comeback -- have spiked since the running back re-signed with the team Monday night. According to Mitch Grossbach, the head of operations and finance for Lynch's Beast Mode business, Beastmodeonline.com had generated around $150,000 in sales from when his return became official to midday Friday.

Grossbach estimated that December sales will end up five to seven times greater than what the website averaged in the months leading up to Lynch's return.

"Obviously, we knew a little ahead of time that there might be this possibility of Marshawn returning, so we have a team that began thinking about what can we put on sale assuming he gets confirmed to play," Grossbach told ESPN.com. "And we designed a couple of styles."

The new gear includes hooded sweatshirts, T-shirts and long-sleeve tees that read either "back in action" -- which have sold out -- or "unfinished business." Lynch's agent, Doug Hendrickson, texted Grossbach the moment Lynch signed his deal. Grossbach then texted his team to push the new gear live.

"My phone started to blow up and I stepped out to check it," Grossbach said. "I saw that we had, within the first half an hour, we had thousands of sessions and we were selling at a rate of a couple thousand dollars in sales every few minutes. So the site had just gone crazy and spiked. I can see it exactly. This was on Dec. 23 at around 9 p.m. We had hit around $20,000 in sales within the first hour of it being announced."

Pete Carroll confirmed that Lynch and Robert Turbin will play Sunday night against the San Francisco 49ers in a game that will decide the NFC West champion. But he wouldn't divulge how much of a workload each running back will see nor where they stand on the depth chart. Carroll said earlier in the week that the Seahawks will "lean on" rookie sixth-round pick Travis Homer, who was their No. 4 option before Rashaad Penny went down in Week 14 and their only healthy tailback after Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise suffered season-ending injuries last week.

Turbin, who spent his first three seasons with the Seahawks, also re-signed with Seattle on Monday. Neither he nor Lynch have played since October 2018. They weren't listed on any of the team's injury reports this week, indicating full participation in all three practices.

"They fit right in," Carroll said when asked about what kind of shape they're in after their long layoffs. "You couldn't tell anything different that they weren't. The workouts before we got them here, that showed as well. So we were somewhat assured that they'd be OK and they looked really good out here."

Carroll said the coaching staff didn't try to teach the running backs the Seahawks' entire offense -- which is a somewhat different version of what Seattle ran when they were there previously -- just the game plan for Sunday night.

"They handled everything," he said. "Really, they did. You'll see the plan on how we're going to play these guys ... I don't have any hesitation at all in what we're doing."

With the help of Hendrickson, Lynch trademarked Beast Mode as a rookie in 2007. He officially started his clothing business in late January 2015 with the launch of his website and pop-up store in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Seahawks were in the area preparing for Super Bowl XLIX when Lynch, wearing a hat with his Beast Mode logo, famously answered questions during media day with the same line: "I'm just here so I won't get fined."

According to Grossbach, they quickly sold around 2,000 of those same hats.

"And then we knew we had something," he said.

Lynch recently reached a deal with Fanatics to have the online sports merchandise retailer overtake operations of Beast Mode Apparel and relaunch the company's website early next year. It's an unprecedented move for Fanatics. According to Jack Boyle, the company's president of global direct-to-consumer retail, Fanatics hasn't partnered with any other individual athlete before Lynch.

Lynch has brick-and-mortar Beast Mode stores in Oakland and in downtown Seattle. He's reopening his store in Las Vegas in late summer or early fall of 2020. According to Grossbach, the new location will be in the shopping center at Mandalay Bay, one of the nearest on-Strip hotel/casinos to the Raiders' new stadium.

The new apparel commemorating his Seahawks return will be available at the Seattle store by Saturday, according to Grossbach.

"He's just the ultimate merchant when it comes to his fans," Grossbach said. "People just want a piece of him. So that's been going on for the past five years, but obviously in the past week when he announced his return, our site and our stores have just been blitzed with people looking for something to represent him with. So it's been terrific. It's really been like déjà vu from back in 2015 when he first started this."

The buzz has been felt at Seahawks headquarters as well.

"There's no question," Carroll said. "Undeniably there's an energy and juice about him being back here. He's been such an extraordinary player and character over the years. For this opportunity to come back at this time with all that's going on -- Christmas and everything, New Year's just around the corner -- it's just fitting that we were able to figure it out. I'm thrilled about the way he's brought it and learned and studied and worked at it to fit in. It's only been an addition coming in. I'm fired up for it.

"Every once in a while -- I have to tell ya -- I'm chuckling a little bit about, 'Here he is. He's back with us.' It's exciting. I like it, too, just like the fans like it."

ATLANTA -- Hawks guard Trae Young had to be helped off the floor and was ruled out for the rest of the game after spraining his right ankle late in the second quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

Young was dribbling when he went down in the lane. He wasn't able to put much weight on his right leg while Kevin Huerter and John Collins lifted his arms over their shoulders and escorted him to the sideline.

From there, Vince Carter and a team trainer helped him into the locker room.

Young began the game ranked fourth in the NBA with 29 points per game. He scored 12 against the Bucks.

Atlanta trailed 63-40 at halftime.

SELINSGROVE, Pa. – A pair of Selinsgrove Speedway sprint car champions, car owner Maynard Boop and driver Tommy Spriggle, have died.

Boop, 99, was the owner of the famed Boop’s Aluminum Special No. 1 sprint car that broke records and stunned the sprint car ranks at Selinsgrove and across the nation from 1976 through 1982.

Overall his mounts scored 111 sprint car feature wins along with numerous track and series titles.

The Boop’s car was the Central Pennsylvania KARS owner champion mount in 1977, ’79 and ’80 while it also scored the KARS driver titles in ’79 and ’80.

At Selinsgrove Speedway, the Boop’s No. 1 took the 1982 track title with Lynn Paxton at the wheel while taking 10 wins on the season.

Paxton and Boop also won the Selinsgrove Jack Gunn Memorial in 1981, scored a Labor Day win in 1982 and also beat the World of Outlaws regulars at the oval in 1982.

The last of Boops 111 overall career owner wins also came at Selinsgrove Speedway, with Randy Wolfe at the wheel in October of 1982.

Spriggle, 75, was the 1977 Selinsgrove Speedway sprint car track champion.

Spriggle and his No. 42 super sprint campaigned for decades at Selinsgrove Speedway and around the region before competing regularly later in his career in the 358 sprint car ranks.

His son, Alan, previously raced in the 358 sprint car class at the Snyder County oval.