BEAVER DAM, Wis. – The tentative IRA Bumper to Bumper Outlaw Sprint Series schedule, featuring 35 races from April through September, was revealed to the public Monday night.

Contained within the Midwestern gamut are stops to multiple longstanding series venues and traditional crown jewel events, as well as two premier facilities outside the state of Wisconsin.

Kicking off April 10-11, one of the opening weekend races for the IRA sprints will be a showdown with the Built Ford Tough MOWA Sprint Car Series, a Saturday event at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa.

The biggest stop in the month of May will see the stars of IRA headline the Great Lakes Shootout at Jackson (Minn.) Motorplex on May 15 before tentatively heading up to the Marion County Fairgrounds and legendary Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway to join Xtream Night powered by Mediacom on May 16 at the black dirt half-mile.

IRA will close the month of May with a tripleheader of action alongside the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions, set May 29-31 at Wilmot Raceway, Plymouth Dirt Track and Angell Park Speedway, respectively.

Angell Park’s traditional Corn Fest marquee special will be held Aug. 23 for the IRA sprint cars, while the tour’s 2020 season will close with the Wisconsin Championships at Plymouth Dirt Track on Sept. 26.

A second date is also tentative on the schedule as of press time, the Aug. 10 Front Row Challenge at Southern Iowa Speedway, while four dates – April 10, April 25, Aug. 29 and Sept. 4 – will be announced at a later date.

Bill Balog, from North Pole, Alaska, is the defending IRA Outlaw Sprint Series champion.

Balog, the driver of the familiar No. 17b, picked up his record-tying ninth series championship in 2019 on the strength of nine victories for car owner Mike Urner.

The full 2020 IRA Outlaw Sprint Series tentative calendar can be found below.

Tentative 2020 IRA Outlaw Sprint Series Schedule (as of Dec. 23)

Date – Venue – Location

April 10 – TBA – TBA
April 11 – 34 Raceway – West Burlington, Iowa (co-sanction with MOWA)
April 18 – Beaver Dam Raceway – Beaver Dam, Wis.
April 25 – TBA – TBA
May 1 – Outagamie Speedway – Seymour, Wis.
May 2 – Cedar Lake Speedway – Cedar Lake, Wis.
May 9 – Wilmot Raceway – Wilmot, Wis.
May 15 – Jackson Speedway – Jackson, Minn.
May 16 – Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, Iowa (T)
May 23 – Beaver Dam Raceway – Beaver Dam, Wis.
May 24 – 141 Speedway – Maribel, Wis.
May 29 – Wilmot Raceway – Wilmot, Wis. (co-sanction with ASCoC)
May 30 – Plymouth Dirt Track – Plymouth, Wis. (co-sanction with ASCoC)
May 31 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis. (co-sanction with ASCoC)
June 6 – Fairbury American Legion Speedway – Fairbury, Ill. (co-sanction with MOWA)
June 13 – Wilmot Raceway – Wilmot, Wis.
June 28 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.
July 3 – Dodge County Fairgrounds – Beaver Dam, Wis.
July 5 – 141 Speedway – Maribel, Wis.
July 25 – Beaver Dam Raceway – Beaver Dam, Wis.
July 31 – Langlade Co Speedway – Antigo, Wis.
Aug. 1 – Plymouth Dirt Track – Plymouth, Wis.
Aug. 8 – Wilmot Raceway – Wilmot, Wis.
Aug. 10 – Southern Iowa Speedway – Oskaloosa, Iowa (T)
Aug. 22 – Wilmot Raceway – Wilmot, Wis.
Aug. 23 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.
Aug. 29 – TBA – TBA
Aug. 30 – The Dirt Oval at Route 66 – Joliet, Ill. (co-sanction with MOWA)
Sept. 4 – TBA – TBA
Sept. 5 – Plymouth Dirt Track – Plymouth, Wis.
Sept. 6 – 141 Speedway – Maribel, Wis.
Sept. 12 – Cedar Lake Speedway – Cedar Lake, Wis.
Sept. 19 – Beaver Dam Raceway – Beaver Dam, Wis.
Sept. 25 – Dodge County Fairgrounds – Beaver Dam, Wis.
Sept. 26 – Plymouth Dirt Track – Plymouth, Wis.

Christmas Day has become not only a showcase for the league's best teams, but it has also become a footwear showcase for NBA players -- from the biggest signature stars to those simply looking to stand out.

Before the league loosened its footwear color restrictions before the start of the 2018-19 season, Christmas Day was designated as the first "any color combination" date on the NBA calendar. It allowed players to break away from the league's required color schemes, which added to the unexpectedness often seen on Dec. 25. Even now, as players can wear whatever they want all season long, Christmas remains a day for players to break out their best and brightest looks.

"Our hope is that the dynamic color of all of our teams, the socks that they wear, the way they coordinate their tights and the shoes that the manufacturers create in all their breadth of design and color, is a part of why you watch and embrace this game," said Christopher Arena, the NBA's vice president of identity, outfitting and equipment.

Here's an advance look at some of this year's most unique looks that will be hitting the hardwood on Christmas.

Boston Celtics at Toronto Raptors (noon ET, ESPN)

Gordon Hayward -- Anta GH1 "Ugly Sweater"

Hayward's ugly-sweater-themed pair of his debut GH1 signature shoe by Anta features a repeat print of Christmas trees, "XMas" lettering and his number, 20.

His first signature model with the China-based company will be launching throughout the country on Christmas in a handful of colorways. The "RBCN" along the heel is highlighted on every pair of the GH1s -- a nod to his wife, Robyn, and their 3 daughters: Bernie, Charlie and Nora Mae.

"I'm a huge family guy, and the other thing that I think really resonates with [fans in China] is that I've never been the highest-touted player and I've had to work to get to where I am," he said. "I had to put in a lot of effort and have had to be really dedicated and committed to improving."

Kyle Lowry -- Adidas Pro Model 2G

During the early 2000s, Adidas capitalized on the momentum of its prep-to-pros signings of Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady at its flagship ABCD Camp. Budding teenage stars such as LeBron James, Lenny Cooke and Carmelo Anthony made their names at the Camp, all while wearing the clean, white-and-black Pro Model 2G.

The following year, Adidas created bold, patent leather versions of the shoe for its top AAU teams, creating a statement piece for the nation's best hoopers to proudly wear. Fast forward 20 years and the patent leather Pro Model is getting its first rerelease this winter, on the feet of some of the league's rising stars and Adidas athletes who wore the sneakers during their own prep days. In addition to Lowry, players such as Jaylen Brown, Brandon Ingram and Jamal Murray are expected to wear this look on Christmas.

Milwaukee Bucks at Philadelphia 76ers (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

Giannis Antetokounmpo -- Nike Freak 1 "Soul Glo"

As the first international player to receive his own Nike Basketball signature shoe, Antetokounmpo knew he wanted to lean on celebrating his unique Greek and Nigerian background as part of telling his story. Only, he didn't at first know exactly how to bring that to life.

"In our first brainstorm with Giannis, we were asking him the classic questions, like, 'Favorite food? Favorite movie?'" Kevin Dodson, Nike Basketball's vice president of footwear, told The Undefeated. "He said his favorite movie was the 'Prince Akeem movie,' and we were like, 'What are you talking about?' Then we started putting it together. We're like, 'Oh, Coming to America.'"

An official partnership with the movie was born from that meeting, with Antetokounmpo's launch colorway of the Nike Zoom Freak 1 earlier this summer celebrating Eddie Murphy's character's fur coat and animal print attire. On Christmas Day, the Greek Freak will once again take a page from the movie, with a gleaming black-yellow-and-red colorway of his signature shoe, which is inspired by Soul Glo, the film's fictional high-sheen hairspray.

Joel Embiid -- UA HOVR Havoc II

Though he typically sticks to a palette of team colors, Embiid is expected to wear one of his boldest pairs of Under Armours yet this Christmas. The exclusive, mismatched, size-17 sneakers in bright green and red made for the 76ers' All-Star center celebrate the holiday's classic hues, with a fading HOVR foam midsole and perforated upper that will be eye-catching from the moment the ball is tipped.

Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors (5 p.m. ET, ABC)

Stephen Curry -- Under Armour Curry 7 "Super Soaker"

While Curry himself might be missing from the Warriors' holiday matchup against Houston, his teammates Damion Lee, Willie Cauley-Stein and Glenn Robinson Jr. have been spotted lacing up Curry's latest signature Under Armours often in his absence. The newest colorway of the Curry 7 honors his childhood love for Super Soaker toys, with neon, blue and orange accents seen throughout the shoe's speed plate, laces and upper.

LA Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers (8 p.m. ET, ABC)

Kawhi Leonard -- New Balance OMN1S "Money Stacks"

As he makes his Christmas Day debut in New Balance sneakers, Leonard is also expected to veer from his Clippers team colors for the first time this season. Inspired in part by everyone's favorite holiday gift -- good ol' Christmas cash -- the newest OMN1S colorway is styled in a variety of deep green shades.

LeBron James -- Nike LeBron 17 "More Than An Athlete"

Early in his career, James would often push his team at Nike to stick to traditional Christmas colors of red and green for his special-edition sneakers, as he liked to take a classic approach to the annual storytelling opportunity. Now playing for a 12th consecutive Christmas, James is looking to utilize the platform to expand his "More Than An Athlete" messaging.

The blue, white and black colors of the collaboration tie back to his Uninterrupted media company, while the shoe urges wearers to utilize the provided blue and black markers to write their own messages of inspiration along the erasable midsole and coated Air Max bag, like James has over the past several seasons. Even the familiar Nike Swoosh has been replaced by one styled in James' handwriting.

Kyle Kuzma -- Puma Clyde Hardwood custom

After signing a five-year shoe deal with Puma just before the start of the season, Kuzma has been working behind the scenes on a series of player-exclusive designs and colorways of the brand's latest on- and off-court models.

For Christmas Day, Kuzma went with a more quick-turn solution, partnering with custom artist Cory Bailey, aka Sierato, on a hand-painted pair of the Clyde Hardwood highlighted by winter graphics, snowflakes and ice-blue hues.

"Obviously, everyone knows I'm a sneakerhead, and that's one thing that's going to take part this year -- a lot of customizations this first year," he said.

New Orleans Pelicans at Denver Nuggets (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Multiple Players -- Nike KD 12 "Aunt Pearl"

Though Kevin Durant and his Brooklyn Nets won't be playing on Christmas, his shoes will grace the feet of multiple players. Nuggets reserves Torrey Craig and Monte Morris are among those who are expected to wear the latest version of the "Aunt Pearl" KDs, which honor Durant's aunt who died after a bout with lung cancer in 2000.

"It's been a great journey since we first started this collection," Durant said on SneakerCenter. "That story is a tough journey, fighting through cancer. Those women should be celebrated for doing so, and for inspiring so many other women around the world."

This year's "Aunt Pearl" model is highlighted by pearlescent textures and a custom, angel-wing strap design. Proceeds from the pink pair will once again benefit the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

"Having family members that were affected by cancer, I thought for me, as a basketball player, it'd be perfect to help push that message, stand behind that message and inspire as many people as I can," Durant said.

"My aunt was a loving and caring person who wanted the best for everybody," he added. "To keep her story alive, for one, for my family is very important. More importantly, to help people that are affected by this every single day has always been the goal."

Christmas is one of the biggest days on the NBA calendar.

We have a slate of five games and a great opportunity to evaluate many of the league's top title contenders in awesome matchups. But each of the 10 teams playing on Wednesday -- beginning at noon ET on ESPN and the ESPN App -- is facing at least one big question affecting its short- and long-term trajectories.

Let's dive into some of those questions facing this batch of Christmas squads and try to find a few answers.

LISTEN: Christmasketball: NBA Christmas Day Preview

Boston Celtics

One big question: Are they real Finals contenders?

Somehow, despite losing both Al Horford and Kyrie Irving in free agency, the Celtics look better than they did last season.

Kemba Walker is a great fit with this roster, and Boston currently ranks third in the league in net rating. The Celtics are one of just four teams to boast both a top-10 offense and a top-10 defense. (The others -- Milwaukee and both Los Angeles teams -- also play on Christmas.)

The Celtics have great young talent on the wings and good coaching, and their stats scream contender status, but here's the thing: Their bigs might not be good enough. The battle for the East will be won and lost in the paint, and if there's one glaring weakness looming on this roster it's the state of the frontcourt.

Can the Celtics' big men match up against the ferocious interior forces in the East? Can Daniel Theis, Robert Williams and Enes Kanter protect the paint against interior monsters such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid during a playoff series?

I'm skeptical. The Celtics are 0-2 against Philly this year, and Embiid torched Boston with 38 points and 13 boards on Dec. 12. Last season, the Celts were blown off the court by Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in the playoffs -- and that was with Horford.

You can't come out of the East without answers for Antetokounmpo and Embiid, and it will be difficult for Boston to upgrade at center while holding on to all of its valuable guards and forwards. The Celtics might be stuck trusting Theis and Kanter down the stretch. Nobody in Philly or Milwaukee is afraid of those dudes.

Watch: Celtics vs. Raptors | Noon ET | ESPN and the ESPN App

Toronto Raptors

One big question: How good is Pascal Siakam?

The future of this team rests largely on that question, but the answer seems to change every year. Siakam -- out indefinitely with a groin injury -- has made the leap at least two times now. The reigning Most Improved Player is still improving at a rapid clip, and while Raptors fans should be ecstatic about that, the emerging star still needs to refine a few things.

Siakam is scoring 25.1 points per game, up from 16.9 last season, but his efficiency is way down, especially inside the arc. Some drop in efficiency should have been expected as Siakam became the centerpiece of Toronto's offense, upping his usage rate from 20.5% to 29.3%. But this is pretty drastic:

• Last season, Siakam made 60.2% of his 9.1 2-point tries per game

• This season, he's making 48.6% of his 14.1 2-pointers

That huge drop is due to two factors: atrocious midrange/floater numbers and extra attention from defenders.

Consider this Christmas matchup: Last season, as Boston coach Brad Stevens prepared for the Raptors, his defensive game plan focused on Kawhi Leonard. Siakam was an afterthought. This season, Siakam is the focus, and he sees stronger defenders and more double-teams. His efficiency numbers reflect a young player trying to add a bunch of floaters, pull-ups and post moves to his repertoire, while simultaneously getting hounded by more capable defenders.

The league's brightest superstars blend high usage with high efficiency despite defensive attention, and the next leap for Siakam is clear: He has to recover his shooting numbers with this added load. If he can do that, Toronto will be just fine for years to come.

Watch: Celtics vs. Raptors | Noon ET | ESPN and the ESPN App

Milwaukee Bucks

One big question: Why should we trust this thing?

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on Bud.

Mike Budenholzer's Bucks have a top-five offense, a top-five defense, the best net rating in the league and the best record. So what? We said all the same things last season, and none of it mattered when Milwaukee crumbled in the Eastern Conference finals.

Once again, Bud has a regular-season juggernaut on his hands, but this time it's Finals or bust. The Bucks are approaching potentially the biggest NBA transaction of 2020 when they extend a supermax contract to Giannis Antetokounmpo. The pressure is on to convince him to stay in Milwaukee for the prime of his career.

The Bucks have something to prove to themselves and to their franchise star. Last spring, Milwaukee lost four straight games after Leonard and the Raptors locked down Antetokounmpo.

The good news is that Leonard moved to Los Angeles, but that doesn't mean getting out of the East this season will be easy. Philly and Boston won't be pushovers, but a trip to the Finals would make that summertime extension much more enticing for the reigning MVP.

Watch: Bucks vs. 76ers | 2:30 p.m. ET | ABC and the ESPN App

Philadelphia 76ers

One big question: Can you build a champion around Embiid and Ben Simmons?

Optimists can point to last season's playoff run and argue that the team was just a few plays away from the Finals, so the answer must be yes. They can also point to an easier path out of the East.

On the other hand, it's unclear if Horford and Josh Richardson can replace JJ Redick and Jimmy Butler in the playoffs. Right now, Philly's offense is on the naughty list. The Sixers have the 15th-best offense in the NBA, and it's particularly awful in fourth quarters, ranking 26th in the final frame. That's a big reason Philly has been a negative fourth-quarter team all season long.

If the Sixers can't execute down the stretch in the regular season, why should we expect them to do so in the postseason?

Last Wednesday, as Butler made his return to Philly, his Heat team emerged with a big win thanks in large part to a clever zone defense, for which Philly's bumbling offense had no answer. It was another failed test for a squad with sky-high expectations.

The other top teams in the East are strong two-way outfits. If Philly can't figure out its offense by the end of the season, the questions about Simmons and Embiid will become much louder than they are now.

Watch: Bucks vs. 76ers | 2:30 p.m. ET | ABC and the ESPN App

Houston Rockets

One big question: Can this team play defense?

When you have Mike D'Antoni as a coach and James Harden at the controls, the questions will never be about offense. Once again, Harden is breaking records and the Rockets' offense is humming along. However, you can't win the West as a one-trick pony. Right now, Houston ranks 16th in defensive efficiency, and that's not good enough.

Last season, the Rockets had an incredible defensive awakening. Their defense ranked No. 25 in the NBA before the All-Star break and then ranked No. 2 overall the rest of the year. So we know they're capable. But will they do it?

If the Rockets enter the playoffs with a solid defense, they are a legitimate threat to win it all. If they don't, they aren't. It's as simple as that. With D'Antoni in the final season of his contract, the next big question for this team might be who is going to be the next coach if Houston falls short again.

Finding a way to acquire Andre Iguodala from the Memphis Grizzlies could make a significant difference here.

Watch: Rockets vs. Warriors | 5 p.m. ET | ABC and the ESPN App

Golden State Warriors

One big question: When will Stephen Curry return?

The Warriors are in hibernation. After a flurry of injuries and defections, they've pushed pause on their dynasty, hoping to resume their dominance next season. In the meantime, they're one of the worst teams in the NBA. They rank 27th in net rating and have lost 12 of their past 16 games.

The state of the Warriors is a reminder of just how star-driven this league is. The defining team of the decade is in shambles following injuries to -- and departures of -- its core stars.

The good news is that eventually two of the best jump-shooters on the planet, Curry and Klay Thompson, will be back in action, and the Warriors will be awesome once again. Until then, it's a campaign for draft position and medical clearances.

Watch: Rockets vs. Warriors | 5 p.m. ET | ABC and the ESPN App

LA Clippers

One big question: Are they better than the Lakers?

There's no question that the Clippers are good, but they're limping into their huge Christmas showdown against the Lakers. They've lost three of their past five games and are barely hanging on to the fourth spot in the West. In the past week, the Nuggets and Rockets have jumped the Clippers in the standings, while the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz are threatening to send LA to the back half of the West playoff picture.

But the Clippers' overall record of 22-10 is deceptive. They are 11-3 when both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George play. Their statistical marks when those guys share the floor are outstanding, and that's what will matter come April, May and June. When Leonard and George are on the court together, the Clippers have a net rating of plus-14.6 points per 100 possessions. Their defensive rating is an absurd 99.6. In other words, they're dominant, folks.

Leonard and George form arguably the best wing combination since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Both guys are literally among the best in the world on both ends of the court, and the Clippers' less-than-elite overall numbers this season say a lot more about their infamous load management tendencies than they do about their championship chances.

Still, for the Clips to finally get to the promised land, they will have to finally vanquish their mighty crosstown rivals, and the man who has been to Finals in eight of the past nine seasons. Can they do it? We'll get a nice glimpse in this matchup.

Watch: Clippers vs. Lakers | 8 p.m. ET | ABC and the ESPN App

Los Angeles Lakers

One big question: Are they deep enough?

Sunday's home loss to the Nuggets wasn't just the Lakers' biggest margin of defeat all season, it was also the second data point in four days suggesting that this team has a major depth issue. In last Thursday's big showdown in Milwaukee, the Bucks' bench outscored the Lakers' bench 34-4.

Simply put, this team is awesome when LeBron James in on the court and bad when he isn't. The Lakers have major issues when James rests and players such as Quinn Cook, Kyle Kuzma and Rajon Rondo are out there trying to hold the line. It's an uneasy throwback to many of James' Cleveland squads that seemed to barely function whenever James was in a padded folding chair.

The Lakers have a negative net rating when James is off the court (-3.3) because their offense falls apart. Their offensive rating is a very robust 112.9 with James on the floor but a pitiful 102.2 when he's on the bench. For context, the Bulls rank dead last this season with a 103.2 offensive rating. So, yeah ... yuck.

Aside from Anthony Davis, the Lakers are putting up horrid shooting numbers without James on the court. Just how bad are they? Consider these two numbers:

Overall, the Lakers rank third in the NBA by averaging 1.12 points per shot The average shot in the NBA this season is worth 1.07 points.

Now check out the Lakers' most active shooters with LeBron on the bench:

• Anthony Davis: 204 total shots | 1.10 points per shot

• Kyle Kuzma: 91 total shots | 0.92 points per shot

• Quinn Cook: 82 total shots | 0.94 points per shot

• Rajon Rondo: 69 total shots | 0.87 points per shot

• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: 61 total shots | 0.90 points per shot

• Troy Daniels: 58 total shots | 1.05 points per shot

• Alex Caruso: 57 total shots | 0.91 points per shot

Everyone except AD and Troy Daniels is struggling. There's no doubt this team is a legitimate contender with James on the court, but the Lakers play like a lottery team when their MVP is on the bench.

Watch: Clippers vs. Lakers | 8 p.m. ET | ABC and the ESPN App

New Orleans Pelicans

One big question: When will we see Zion?

The biggest questions for the Pelicans all surround a player who has yet to play a single NBA game: When will we finally see Zion Williamson?

After a promising preseason, Williamson had knee surgery in October and has yet to formally make his NBA debut. Coming into the season, the Pels expected Williamson to spark a potential playoff run, but without him, they have one of the worst records in the league.

This Christmas they should be dreaming more about pingpong balls than playoff seeds, and with that in mind, the focus should turn from game results to possible trades and team-building concepts. Will they trade Jrue Holiday or Redick? Should they re-sign restricted free agent Brandon Ingram? Should they tank the rest of the season?

Few teams have a brighter long-term outlook than the Pelicans, but this season is toast, and the front office needs to start building for next season and beyond -- no matter when Zion is ready to play again.

Watch: Pelicans vs. Nuggets | 10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN and the ESPN App

Denver Nuggets

One big question: Can they get the No. 1 seed?

Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets come into Christmas as the hottest team in the NBA. After beating the Lakers on Sunday and the Suns on Monday, they've won seven in a row and stand alone in second place in the West. They're now within striking distance of the top spot. During the streak, Denver's offense has been on fire, playing through Jokic and punishing teams on the offensive glass.

The top seed is disproportionately important to the Nugs, who are just 7-5 on the road this season and 13-3 at ho-ho-home.

Denver might not have the same superstar shine as the other top teams in the West, but as the San Antonio Spurs have proved six times in the past 20 years, glamour isn't necessary to win the West.

Watch: Pelicans vs. Nuggets | 10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN and the ESPN App

A nice thing about baseball is that, with scores of past seasons, thousands of past players and hundreds of thousands of past games -- in the majors alone! -- there's always backstory to catch up on and extended universe to fall into.

So this year, while we were enjoying the drama, superlatives and weirdness of the 2019 season, we were also continually learning new bits of drama, superlatives and weirdness from baseball's long past.

Here are nine totally unexpected things I learned about baseball this year:

1. In its first few years as home of the San Francisco Giants, Candlestick Park was blamed for as many as 19 fatal heart attacks.

The team's owner, Horace Stoneham, liked Candlestick Point for his new stadium in part because of how much room there was for parking. But those parking spaces (as well as the public transit drop-offs) were a long incline from the main entrance, and until the team built giant escalators, fans had no choice but to climb. Within weeks of the stadium opening, writers noticed a lot of people were dying at it. Among the fatalities, according to the book "Death At The Ballpark":

• Leo Reardon, 68, who collapsed and died while walking to a first-aid station on May 4, 1960. He was the fourth victim in the stadium's first nine games.

• Donald Durbin, 45, who died just after completing the slope on April 11, 1961. He was the first victim of the 1961 season and the eighth overall.

• Joseph Costa, 56, who "was under a physician's care for a heart problem." The Associated Press reported in 1962 that "Costa collapsed prior to Sunday's San Francisco/Cincinnati game while walking up the hill. Costa was the eighth person to die this year from the climb." The report counted Costa as the 18th victim in three seasons.

Columnist Herb Caen is generally credited with giving the slope its name: Cardiac Hill.

Before that park opened, the Giants had already hosted one fatal cardiac arrest: Francis Ahern, the city's police chief, died of a heart attack in the stands that might have been caused by a 15th-inning rally. According to "Death At The Ballpark," Ahern "had a heart attack while cheering a close play at the plate during the 15th inning of the second game of a doubleheader between the Giants and Dodgers at Seals Stadium on Sept. 1, 1958. With the score tied at 4 and the bases loaded for the second consecutive inning, Ahern stood with the crowd to yell as the Giants' Willie Kirkland raced for home. Just as the player was called out on what would have been the winning run, Ahern collapsed to the floor in front of his seat. After being administered last rites by two priests, the chief was taken to a first-aid station where he was pronounced dead." The Giants won in the bottom of the 16th.

2. Mickey Mantle sometimes cried when he struck out.

It's not uncommon to read of the sadness of retired athletes: Fame and mission dissipate, their marvelous physical machines break down, and long-term effects of pain and medication and surgery accumulate. We rarely get the glimpse of how sad great athletes are while they're playing -- but, of course, they sometimes are, just as we all sometimes are. Mantle cried when he struck out, according to his manager Casey Stengel, quoted in a Sports Illustrated profile in 1959. When the Yankees lost the 1960 World Series, Mantle "couldn't stop crying." And Jane Leavy writes in her Mantle biography, "The Last Boy": "Frank Petrillo kept him company one evening after a particularly trying day at the ballpark. 'He was actually crying,' Petrillo told his son. 'I can't perform any better than I'm performing, and it's not good enough.'"

Like every kid, I sometimes cried when I struck out. And I felt ashamed that I cried in front of teammates, that I'd been caught being sad. Then one time our best player, who seemed so much more confident and grown-up than I felt, also cried after he struck out. What a relief that was. And now Mickey Mantle, too! And, for that matter, in his own way, Babe Ruth. This is how he reacted to a disappointing 1922 season, according to Leigh Montville's biography, "The Big Bam": "He wondered if the critics were right about 1922 and if he was indeed finished. He was afraid 1923 wasn't going to be any better. He thought that people hated him, despite the attention and the cheers.

"He said he pretty much hated himself."

3. Hideki Matsui asked his hitting coach to listen to his swing over the phone.

That's from Robert Whiting's book "You Gotta Have Wa": Matsui "was such a perfectionist about proper form that he once telephoned his former manager and mentor Shigeo Nagashima back in Tokyo to have him listen to the sound of his bat as Matsui swung it. Did it cut through the air with the proper 'whoosh,' he wanted to know."

Nagashima -- perhaps the most popular player in Japanese baseball history; his wedding, in 1965, was "the most-watched TV program in Japan that year" -- was a perfectionist in his own right. He built a room in his house just for practicing his swing.

4. The pitcher known as Toothpick Sam for his omnipresent toothpick chewing actually pitched with a toothpick in his mouth.

This is just terrifying to me. Toothpick Sam Jones wasn't some knuckleballer or control lefty who threw with 70 percent effort. He was a hard thrower who led the league in strikeouts three times in the 1950s (and in walks four times), and he did it all while a potentially lethal dagger was balanced about two inches away from his throat.

My initial hypothesis was that toothpicks in the 1950s must not have been like they are now -- surely Jones was gnawing on some flimsy, reedy toothpick, far more benign than the modern little spears we chew today. But that is definitely not true, says Henry Petroski, a professor of civil engineering at Duke and the author of "The Toothpick: Technology and Culture."

"Toothpicks in 1950s America were much better made than those of today," he told us. "The older picks were made domestically -- almost exclusively in Maine -- and the better brands, at least, were of high quality control. Today, virtually all toothpicks sold in America are made abroad, mostly in China. They break easily. Old American toothpicks did not have these deficiencies. ... The sharpness of good old toothpicks could be a hazard, as you suggest. I have an entire chapter on the dangers of using toothpicks and relate stories of deadly accidents involving them." (A researcher in 1984 estimated 8,000 toothpick injuries per year, including some deaths by swallowing.)

Jones did eschew what he considered the most dangerous toothpicks -- "those perfumed quill kind," he told Time magazine; he also never used the gold toothpick the Cubs gifted him, according to Cubs historian Ed Hartig -- but his preferred flat-style toothpicks did impale him at least once. Rory Costello, who wrote Jones' SABR biography, passed along this anecdote:

"Another example of his competitive fire was visible on Aug. 6, 1959. Against Milwaukee, Hank Aaron's fifth-inning blooper dropped into short left field. Jim Davenport and Ed Bressoud collided, Aaron motored for third, and Jones covered. Aaron came in hard, spiking the pitcher's right knee -- and driving Sam's toothpick into his throat. Trainer Bob Bauman dislodged the pick, though, and Jones went on to record a 7-1, complete-game win."

After Jones retired, U L Washington -- a speedy utility player -- became the toothpick guy: "U L always played with a blade of Bermuda grass in his mouth in high school. He kept up the habit in the minor leagues. Kansas City had artificial turf, so the toothpick was his adaptation to not having a blade of grass available." According to Petroski's book, Washington quit the habit because mothers worried their children would emulate him. The most recent example of toothpicking ballplayers is probably the Cuban hurler Jonder Martinez, who was spotted pitching with a toothpick in a 2015 international tournament and in a 2016 exhibition between Cuba and Tampa Bay.

5. In 1974, an umpire called pitches while the manager was on the field, about one foot away, still arguing.

The manager was Jim Marshall, who had just been hired by the Cubs midseason to his first managerial job. The umpire was Shag Crawford, most famous for being the home plate umpire in the Juan Marichal/John Roseboro game. The batter was the Cubs' Bill Madlock. He and the pitcher, Al Hrabosky, were engaged in a battle of stalls, each one taking long walks just when the other was ready. Crawford ordered Madlock into the box, and Marshall ran out to argue. The umpire told Hrabosky to pitch, and with Marshall standing over him, Crawford called Hrabosky's high fastball a strike. This set off pandemonium: Jose Cardenal jumped into the batter's box -- the wrong batter -- and, as Hrabosky wound to throw another pitch, Marshall moved in front of the catcher to prevent it. Then Madlock ran into the batter's box, apparently intent on swinging at the pitch, even though his teammate Cardenal was also in the box. The catcher, Ted Simmons, shoved Marshall aside to catch the pitch, which (thankfully) came in too high and tight for Madlock to swing at. The catcher then punched Madlock, and then there was a brawl. Roger Angell wrote about it. It's wild.

I learned so many good stories about brawls, fights, unprovoked attacks, fan violence, and so on:

• In 1981, benches cleared midgame for a fight under Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, in the tunnels. The Dodgers and Pirates left their dugouts and met in the middle, out of sight -- players, coaches and managers. "By the time the umpires tracked everyone down, the incident was already over. There were no ejections."

• Rob Dibble once fired a ball at a baserunner for no reason. He got ejected, and charged with the error (and the unearned run that followed).

• In the famous Marichal/Roseboro game, Willie Mays protected the Dodger Roseboro, and got booed by Giants fans for it.

• After a Yankees victory, fans exiting the Stadium through the center-field gates mauled Mantle. "In the punching, shoving, grabbing melee that followed, Mantle's cap was stolen and his jaw pummeled," Leavy wrote in "The Last Boy." "Scared he'd be poked in the eye, he bulldozed and elbowed his way to the dugout. ... In the aftermath, the Yankee switchboard was flooded with angry calls condemning Mantle and accusing him of accosting innocent children. 'I hit quite a few,' Mantle told Stan Isaacs of Newsday, 'but tell them I got the worst of it.'"

• Reggie Sanders charged Pedro Martinez after Martinez hit him with a pitch. The HBP had just broken up a perfect game in the eighth inning.

6. Orlando Cepeda sued a magazine for saying he wasn't very good.

According to James Hirsch's "Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend," the article in Look magazine was based in part on Giants manager Alvin Dark's "secret grading system" for his players, which involved a series of pluses and minuses for virtually anything Dark could think of. Dark concluded that Cepeda had a lot of minuses, and Look quoted him.

So Cepeda sued the publishers of Look for $1 million. The original article had come out just before the Supreme Court case New York Times Company v. Sullivan was decided, codifying a much higher standard for libel against public figures, and after that decision Cepeda had a difficult case to prove. Mays and Giants owner Stoneham, among others, testified in court on Cepeda's behalf, but a jury ruled against him. An appeals court in 1967 agreed. "About the only satisfaction that Cepeda received came when a judge ordered [article author Tim] Cohane to spend 10 days in jail for refusing to answer questions in federal court about the story. Cohane would not reveal the names of his sources, the ones that had criticized Cepeda."

7. Marshall McLuhan also said baseball was dying.

In his 1964 book "Understanding Media," the famous media theorist -- "The medium is the message," "Annie Hall" -- wrote that baseball was not a suitable sport for television, or for a television era.

"The removal of the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles was a portent in itself. Baseball moved West in an attempt to retain an audience after TV struck. The characteristic mode of the baseball game is that it features one-thing-at-a-time. It is a lineal, expansive game which, like golf, is perfectly adapted to the outlook of an individualist and inner-directed society. Timing and waiting are of the essence, with the entire field in suspense waiting upon the performance of a single player. By contrast, football, basketball, and ice hockey are games in which many events occur simultaneously, with the entire team involved at the same time. With the advent of TV, such isolation of the individual performance as occurs in baseball became unacceptable. Interest in baseball declined, and its stars, quite as much as movie stars, found that fame had some very cramping dimensions."

He goes on from there but, of course, baseball did, too: Attendance per game is more than double what it was in 1964, and TV revenue has made it a $10 billion-a-year game.

In the same genre -- famous experts trying, with mixed results, to apply their expertise to baseball -- here's the current director of the National Economic Council, Larry Kudlow, in 1992. He was then the chief economist for Bear Stearns, and he was forecasting the sport's doom based on rising salaries:

"In the 1980s nobody thought you could pay too much for real estate, but by the end of the '80s that bubble had burst. Baseball is not immune to speculative bubbles that burst. Any business that continues to permit high cost increases year in and year out becomes a suspect business. Look at [General Motors], at Ford." McLuhan's theory remains arguable today, though changing media obviously didn't destroy (or necessarily even damage) baseball. Kudlow got it all the way wrong.

8. The fan who showed up at SkyDome in Toronto in 1995 with a loaded handgun and declared she was there to kill Roberto Alomar was banned from the stadium -- for three years.

The fan was convicted and sentenced to nine months in prison and three years' probation, and prohibited from receiving a handgun permit for 10 years. The sentence the Blue Jays handed down is fascinatingly forgiving in comparison. If she had violated her probation, she could have been legally imprisoned longer than she was prohibited from seeing Pat Kelly.

I doubt it's the intentional point, but baseball occasionally makes rather bold decisions that nobody should be deprived of it. In September 1929, the Yankees' manager, Miller Huggins, died in the middle of a game. (He wasn't at the game -- he was hospitalized with "blood poisoning brought on by an infection beneath his left eye.") This was an awfully emotional time. The Yankees' owner said Huggins was less like a manager than a son. Lou Gehrig said he was less like a manager than a father. So it's the fifth inning, and this beloved manager had just died, and they called the Yankees together to tell them, and they halted the game -- for exactly one minute, timed on an umpire's stopwatch. Then they started playing again!

As the New York Times' account jarringly put it: "They stood at the home plate, a few fidgeting with their toes in the dust, some with their shoulders or heads quivering but most of them stonily immovable. Then they turned and trudged back to their dugout on the third-base flank of the grand stand. The scene became a ball game again." The Yankees won in extra innings and, as the next day's headline proclaimed, clinched second place.

9. One major league baseball will travel as much as 30 feet farther than another baseball in the same batch, based on minute physical differences nobody in the manufacturing process can really control -- and which, in fact, scientists still haven't identified.

It's not just that the physical characteristics of the baseball used in the major leagues seems to have changed from year to year recently, leading to huge spikes in home run rates in 2017 and 2019. It's that the ball changes from batch to batch, and from ball to ball within a batch, suggesting that a fair amount of what happens on a particular swing is based on which of five or six balls in his pouch an umpire puts in play. And it has probably always been this way: "That is kind of fundamental to the equipment choice we've made," said Morgan Sword, senior VP of league economics and operations. "I mean, it's always been the case. The baseball has varied in its performance probably for the entire history of our sport."

So: Babe Ruth's called shot might have been merely an embarrassing flyout had the umpire grabbed a different ball. Willie Mays might have had plenty of time to casually flag down Vic Wertz's flyball in the 1954 World Series -- or no chance to reach it at all if the pitch before had simply been fouled out of play. When Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball was sold for $3 million, the buyer didn't get just a memento of the record, but, perhaps, an actor in it.

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker has told ESPN that Thursday's Premier League clash with Leicester City marks a "decisive moment" in the club's attempt to end its 30-year wait to become champions of England.

While second-placed Leicester lost at Manchester City to remain 10 points behind Jurgen Klopp's league leaders, Liverpool claimed a third major trophy in 2019 by beating Flamengo in the FIFA Club World Cup final in Qatar.

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Another victory at Leicester would see Liverpool stretch their lead over Brendan Rodgers' team to 13 points, having played one game fewer.

And Alisson, ranked the No. 1 goalkeeper in ESPN FC 100, told ESPN that Liverpool are now in a key period of their title challenge.

"There's a big moment and decisive moment arriving for us in the Premier League and you need to stay focused on the moment," he said. "You cannot think on the long [term].

"You just need to look for what you have in front of you to not miss the moment, to not miss the chances that you have. If you want to win the Premier League, you need to try to win every game and I think against Leicester will be the same.

"They have a great team. They are in a good moment and we just need to give our best on the pitch to try to beat them."

Liverpool's title drought dates back to 1990 and their failure to lift the Premier League trophy is an issue that Klopp and his players are desperate to end this season.

And Alisson, who arrived from AS Roma in the summer of 2018, said that Liverpool supporters are reminding the players of the need to win the league title at every opportunity.

"For sure," he added. "I think all the players, all the people who work in the club are listening to that because this would be massive for the fans.

"It would be massive for us. We know how difficult it is to win the Premier League.

"Last season we were nearly one point in behind and yes, we will try to do our best to make that happen."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will miss the festive period after suffering a serious ankle injury during the FIFA Club World Cup.

Oxlade-Chamberlain was substituted in the second half of Liverpool's 1-0 victory over Flamengo in the final on Saturday, and was seen on crutches when the team went up to lift the trophy.

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"No news on anyone else, which is good," Klopp told a news conference to preview their top-of-the-table clash with Leicester City on Boxing Day. "With Oxlade, you have three ligaments on the ankle and one is damaged.

"I don't know exactly [how long]. It can take a while. No chance for rest of the year that is clear. We have to see how it settles."

Oxlade-Chamberlain will miss the crucial Premier League clashes against Leicester and Wolves before the new year.

The midfielder also missed the majority of last season with a knee ligament injury.

Manchested United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said he is already looking ahead to next season as the club are behind where he wants them to be in their development under his watch.

Defeat at Watford on Sunday left United eighth in the table and seven points off the Champions League spots, and Solskjaer said his aim for the remaining five months of the campaign is to build a squad for next season.

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"We're halfway through this season and we knew this season was going to be a season of some ups and downs," Solskjaer said. "This season will be used to find a team and a squad for next season, but hopefully we can speed this process up by getting more results.

"But at the moment we're a little bit further behind than what I was hoping for, yeah."

The only positive after a dire performance at Vicarage Road was the return of Paul Pogba, who impressed after coming off the bench following more than two months on the sidelines with a foot injury.

United are back in action against Newcastle at Old Trafford on Thursday and Solskjaer is considering throwing the Frenchman in from the start.

"Let's see how he reacts, how he feels," he added. "He did really well when he came on.

"Big, big plus. It might be that we do get him in from the start because you just want to get [him] more and more into the team when he plays.

"Paul is the best all-round midfielder in the world. He can do all roles, but if I play him low, he should have played high. And if you play him high, you should have played low. There's always going to be that discussion with him, but it's great to have him back."

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has defended Antonio Rudiger's integrity following criticism from Jose Mourinho for his role in Son Heung-Min's red card during the Blues' 2-0 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

Tottenham forward Son was sent off after kicking out at Rudiger following a VAR check. After the match, Spurs boss Mourinho had suggested Rudiger should "stand up and play."

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In the same game, Rudiger had been the victim of alleged racist abuse from someone in the crowd and Lampard said he unhappy for the Germany international's integrity to be put into question.

"With Toni, in this incident when he's having to post after the game about something we know is a huge deal [racism], I think to question his integrity in that time is disappointing for sure," he said in a news conference ahead of Chelsea's Boxing Day clash with Southampton.

"Pretty universally, certainly what I heard in the commentary and the post-match reflection was that the Son incident was a red card.

"It wasn't brutal but it was instinctive that warrants a red card in the modern day. It was pretty clear that was the case. I wouldn't question Toni's integrity on that. So I do defend Toni firmly on it."

Meanwhile, Lampard said club captain Cesar Azpilicueta suffered a knock during the win over Tottenham.

"Azpilicueta had a small issue at the end of the game, hence he came off when he never comes off," he added. "We need to check that one this morning.

"Other than that, we're pretty much where we are, but there were some bumps and bruises so there's nothing clear. We'll see."

Despite the tough stance adopted by the PCB on Bangladesh's unwillingness to play Test cricket in Pakistan, the BCB has reiterated that as things stood, it could only give the go-ahead to a T20I series in the country. In what could be seen as a slight softening of position on the Tests, though, chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said that Bangladesh would decide on the longer series after the T20I tour.

Speaking to a few reporters in Dhaka on Tuesday, Chowdhury said that while the BCB understood the sentiments of the PCB, it needed to take into account the views of the Bangladeshi players and the team management.

"Pakistan will definitely try for the full return of international cricket to their country. We have to take into account the views of our players and members of our team management, who are foreigners," Chowdhury said. "The match environment is also important to us. Relevant stakeholders' view is also important, regarding a longer tour to Pakistan.

"Our primary proposal is to play three T20Is in a shorter period so that players and team management can do a proper assessment of the situation there."

That is not too different from what Sri Lanka did recently. The original schedule was for two Tests in Pakistan in October, but with major Sri Lankan players reluctant to make the trip, only limited-overs internationals were played, and once that tour was conducted without incident, Sri Lanka agreed to tour in December for a two-Test series with their first-choice players.