CHARLESTOWN, N.H. – The Granite State Pro Stock Series will visit 11 tracks across five states during the upcoming season.

The series, in its ninth year of operation, will undertake its most ambitious schedule to date with one new venue joining the calendar.

The season will begin at the Claremont Motorsports Park in Claremont, N.H., as the third-mile oval has become the traditional opener for the series. The New Hampshire oval, now promoted by Granite State Pro Stock Series owner Mike Parks, will also host the annual Labor Day Spectacular on Sept. 6.

Star Speedway kicks off a busy May with the first of two visits. The traveling Pro Stocks will also be a part of the Friday night portion of the Star Classic in September.

Lee USA Speedway will be the only track with three dates on the schedule. The May Madness event will open the track’s season and will see the Pro Stocks go for 150 laps. The series will celebrate the fourth of July a day early at Lee and join them for the annual Oktoberfest extravaganza on Oct. 4.

Monadnock Speedway will have two dates on the calendar. The Granite State Pro Stocks will visit one of the original tracks to join the series in May. They will also visit the challenging quarter-mile bullring for a 150 lap event to kick off the month of August.

Riverside Speedway in Groveton, N.H., is back and under new management. The Humphreys have agreed to host the series on June 13. New London-Waterford Speedbowl is back after a year’s hiatus, with an event scheduled for June 20.

Hudson (N.H.) Int’l Speedway will hold one race next season. Ben Bosowski and his team continue to make improvements to the facility, which will host the series on July 12.

July 24 will be a high point for the season as series makes its first visit to Beech Ridge Speedway in Scarborough, Maine. On August 15 a second new facility will join the series as Adirondack Speedway in New Bremen, N.Y., will become the second track in the state of New York to host a series event. The half-mile oval will hold a 150-lap event for a minimum of $5,000 to win. In addition, there will be increased money paid out throughout the field to help competitors with the cost of the long tow. This race is still listed as tentative as negotiations continue.

In September the series will visit the Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts. For the second year in a row the series will sanction the Pro Stock portion of the annual DAV Fall Classic. There will once again be an open practice day on Sept. 25 with racing happening on Sept. 26.

The series will crown its champion at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park with a 50 lap event in October. The race will be held during the annual World Series weekend, but final negotiations are ongoing as to which day.

2020 Granite State Pro Stock Series Schedule

April 25 – Claremont Motorsports Park – Claremont, N.H.

May 9 – Star Speedway – Epping, N.H.

May 17 – Lee USA Speedway – Lee, N.H.

May 23 – Monadnock Speedway – Winchester, N.H.

June 13 – Riverside Speedway – Groveton, N.H.

June 20 – New London-Waterford Speedbowl – Waterford, Conn. (Tentative)

July 3 – Lee USA Speedway – Lee N.H.

July 12 – Hudson Int’l Speedway – Hudson, N.H.

July 24 – Beech Ridge Motor Speedway – Scarbourgh, Maine

Aug. 1 – Monadnock Speedway – Winchester, N.H.

Aug. 15 – Adirondack Int’l Speedway – New Bremen, N.Y. (Tentative)

Sept. 6 – Claremont Motorsports Park – Claremont, N.H.

Sept. 18 – Star Speedway – Epping, N.H.

Sept. 25-26 – Seekonk Speedway – Seekonk Mass.

Oct. 4 – Lee USA Speedway – Lee, N.H.

Oct. TBA – Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park – Thompson, Conn. (Tentative)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The International Motor Sports Ass’n and the FIA WEC have announced the provisional schedule for next year’s Super Sebring weekend on March 18-21 at iconic Sebring Int’l Raceway in central Florida.

After close collaboration between the sanctioning bodies and track management, start times for two of the weekend’s four races have been changed and will now be as follows:

– The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 moves to Thursday, March 19 at 3:50 p.m. EDT from its traditional Friday date.

– The WEC’s 1000 Miles of Sebring on Friday, March 20, will now take place four hours earlier with the race starting at 12 noon and finishing at 8 p.m.

The IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship’s 68th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts remains on Saturday, March 21. The classic endurance race begins at 10:40 a.m. EDT to complete what promises to be another fantastic weekend of the best sports car racing in the world.

Gates for the second edition of Super Sebring open on Wednesday, March 18 at 6 a.m. followed by a full-day of on-track action beginning at 8:55 a.m. Thursday’s action-packed schedule now features the IMSA Prototype Challenge and Michelin Pilot Challenge races, FIA WEC qualifying and the fan-favorite WeatherTech Championship night practice. Friday morning there will be WeatherTech practice and qualifying before the FIA WEC race.

For the first time in the Champions League era, the round of 16 consists solely of clubs from Europe's big five leagues -- England, Spain, France, Germany and Italy -- and the draw for the knockout phase has thrown up some heavyweight collisions involving holders Liverpool and La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Having won their sixth European crown in Madrid last season, Liverpool must return to the scene of their triumph for a tough encounter with Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid, while Real Madrid's reward for finishing second in their group is a clash with Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.

Barcelona will be wary of a two-legged tie with a dangerous Napoli outfit, while Chelsea and Bayern Munich meet in a repeat of their 2012 final, which Chelsea won on penalties at Bayern's Allianz Arena.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel has been handed a return to former club Borussia Dortmund, while Jose Mourinho and Tottenham Hotspur must negotiate a clash with Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig.

So which teams will win through to seal a place in the Champions League quarterfinals?

Atletico Madrid vs. Liverpool

One certainty about this tie is that Liverpool can forget about a comfortable walk down memory lane when they revisit the Estadio Metropolitano, nine months after winning the Champions League there. Diego Simeone's Atletico are having an unconvincing season in La Liga, but they remain a tough, battle-hardened Champions League outfit and their work ethic and tenacity will ensure two testing games for Jurgen Klopp's men.

Liverpool's form and recent European pedigree of not losing a knockout tie for almost five years, make them favourites to progress, but Atletico should not be underestimated. If Simeone can inspire a revival and get Diego Costa firing again, Atletico will push Liverpool all the way.

This is one group of players that will not fear Anfield like some teams have done in recent seasons.

Prediction: Liverpool to win -- just

Real Madrid vs. Manchester City

A rerun of the 2016 semifinal, which Real won 1-0 over two legs, will be a huge pressure match for two clubs who simply cannot afford to go out of the competition before the quarterfinals. Having won everything except the Champions League during his 3½ years at City, manager Pep Guardiola is desperate to complete the set this season, but Zinedine Zidane's Real will not fear the Premier League champions.

It will all boil down to which team can rediscover their best form first. Will we see the City which routed Arsenal at the weekend or the one which has lost to Norwich this season? And have Real become too old to beat City? Last season's early exit against Ajax exposed frailties at Real which have still to be corrected.

Such is the pressure on the two clubs and managers to win the competition, the squad best-equipped to deal with the expectancy will go through, so Real have the edge.

Prediction: Real Madrid to squeeze through

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Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich

Frank Lampard has fond memories of beating Bayern in the 2012 final, but the Chelsea manager will know that his young team head into this tie as heavy underdogs. A January spending spree might tip the balance back toward Chelsea if they invest wisely following the lifting of their transfer ban, but Bayern cruised through their group ahead of runners-up Tottenham and can rely on the goals of Robert Lewandowski.

Bayern's domestic struggles have so far not been reflected in the Champions League and, with a winter break behind them, they will expect to come out firing in time for the second half of the season. But while Bayern possess the experience and pedigree, Chelsea's exciting youngsters, including Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi, have the ability pull off a shock.

Prediction: Bayern to win

Borussia Dortmund v Paris Saint-Germain

Thomas Tuchel is under huge pressure to make PSG a genuine force in the Champions League, and the German knows he has to bury the ghost of last season's shock round-of-16 exit against Manchester United. But, having emerged as group winners ahead of Real Madrid, perhaps Tuchel has instilled some much-needed European belief into his squad. With a forward line of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani, PSG can beat any team on their day and the French champions will expect to overcome Dortmund, Tuchel's former club, in this tie.

But Dortmund have the ability to shock and, if they can hold onto England winger Jadon Sancho during the January transfer window, they will have more potential to inflict more Champions League misery on PSG.

Prediction: PSG to qualify

Napoli vs. Barcelona

After two calamitous collapses against Liverpool and Roma in the last two seasons, Barcelona will not take anything lightly as they attempt to win the Champions League in Istanbul at the end of this campaign. And Napoli are one of those opponents with the ability to upset Barca in a tie that stands out as a clash between two of Diego Maradona's former clubs.

Having sacked manager Carlo Ancelotti in favour of Gennaro Gattuso following qualification from the group stage, Napoli will be unpredictable when they meet Ernesto Valverde's team. But with Barcelona having the advantage of staging the second leg at home -- their collapses against Liverpool and Roma were both away from the Nou Camp -- it is difficult to see past Lionel Messi inspiring his team into the last eight.

Prediction: Barcelona

Tottenham Hotspur vs. RB Leipzig

While Leipzig top the Bundesliga under their highly-rated coach Julian Nagelsmann, Tottenham and Jose Mourinho will be delighted to have avoided the established heavyweights after finishing second in their group.

The pace and goals of Germany striker Timo Werner will be the biggest threat to Tottenham's hopes of progression, but last season's beaten finalists have the attributes to emerge as a dangerous outsider to go all the way in the competition this time around. Mourinho's Champions League expertise, Harry Kane's goals and Dele Alli's recent renaissance all point toward Spurs being the favourites in this tie.

This is new territory for Leipzig, who have made it into the knockout stages for the first time. Tottenham should have the edge with their experience and Mourinho's desire to win a third Champions League with a different club.

Prediction: Spurs win

Lyon vs. Juventus

Juventus continue to push for their first Champions League title this century, so they will be relieved to have avoided Real Madrid, Chelsea and Tottenham in the round of 16. Lyon booked their place in the knockout stages with a 2-2 draw against Leipzig on matchday six and, having progressed through the weakest group, will be big outsiders against Juve.

Losing Memphis Depay for the rest of the season through injury will be a blow to Lyon's hopes, but if Juventus are anywhere near their best form, Maurizio Sarri's team will qualify for the quarterfinals. Cristiano Ronaldo will catch the headlines as usual, but the likes of Paulo Dybala, Miralem Pjanic and Matthijs de Ligt will also be a threat to Lyon.

Prediction: Juventus

Atalanta vs. Valencia

Having lost their first three group games, conceding 11 goals in the process, Atalanta's presence in the round of 16 is remarkable. Gian Piero Gasperini's team did not even win their first game until matchday five, but back-to-back victories against Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar Donetsk secured an unlikely runners-up spot behind Manchester City in Group C.

Valencia emerged top of a tight group ahead of Chelsea and Ajax, but they remain an unpredictable and inconsistent outfit under head coach Albert Celades. With the Spanish side playing the second leg at the Mestalla, however, they have the edge to progress against the Italians.

Prediction: Valencia

Laura Marsh has retired from international cricket after an England career spanning 13 years and three World Cup victories.

Marsh, who turned 33 this month, started out as a medium-pace seamer, making her debut against India in 2006 before injuries forced her to reinvent herself as an off-spinner the following year. She finished as the most successful spinner in English women's cricket with 217 international wickets across her career and as the country's third-highest wicket-taker in women's ODIs with 129.

The leading wicket-taker in England's 2009 ICC Women's World Cup success, where she claimed a career-best 5 for 15 against Pakistan, she was one of one five members of that squad who went on to win again at Lord's in 2017. Marsh was also part of England's victorious World Twenty20 team in 2009.

Clare Connor, the ECB's Managing Director, Women's Cricket, described Marsh as "a fantastic servant to English cricket".

"Her record ranks amongst the very best bowlers in the history of our game but the stats are only one part of her impact," Connor said. "She'll be remembered by those who have played with her and worked with her for her kindness, her loyalty and her relentless desire to improve. Laura was softly spoken but fiercely determined to play her part for the team.

"Not many cricketers in the world have won three World Cups, and these are wonderful memories that Laura takes into retirement with her. She's been the complete team player and a role model for England women's cricket and she will be missed."

Marsh last featured for England during the Ashes in July, during which she played all three ODIs, the standalone Test - which was the ninth Test of her career - and two of the three T20Is, missing the final match in which England recorded their only win of the multi-format series.

Marsh scored half-centuries in all three forms of the game, including 55 off 304 balls to help England to secure a draw in the 2013 Ashes Test and eventually win the series to regain the urn from Australia.

She was left out of the England squad currently in Malaysia for ODI and T20 series against Pakistan amid a raft of personnel changes looking ahead to the T20 World Cup in Australia in February.

There are no perfect teams in this NFL season. The Ravens have looked pretty close for the past two months, and the Patriots got off to one of the hottest starts in league history, but there's no team that would be a mismatch for everybody or a favorite to win on every other team's home turf. Each of the league's playoff contenders has weaknesses.

Of course, if they run into a team that can exploit those weaknesses, the results can be fatal. Think about the 2017 season, when the Jaguars manhandled the Steelers in the regular season and then beat them again in the playoffs. The Steelers were likely a better team on paper and clearly had a quarterback advantage with Ben Roethlisberger against Blake Bortles, but the matchup of a dominant, ball-hawking defense against the aggressive Roethlisberger just wasn't a good one. Jacksonville was able to exploit it and nearly make a trip to the Super Bowl in the process.

Let's run through the 12 teams currently in playoff spots with two games to go and pick their possible playoff kryptonite. I'll identify a weakness that stands out in how they've played and pick out a team that might be able to exploit that problem on their side of the conference playoff bracket. In some cases, we've already seen those opponents use their would-be advantage earlier in the season. In others, we saw teams take advantage of the kryptonite in Week 15.

Would I favor every one of these kryptonite teams to beat their opponents? Absolutely not. I do think, though, that each of these 12 playoff teams would rather avoid a matchup with the team I'm mentioning. I'll start with the best team in football, because even the Ravens have weaknesses:

Jump to an AFC team:
BAL | BUF | HOU
KC | NE | PIT
Jump to an NFC team:
DAL | GB | MIN
NO | SF | SEA

1. Baltimore Ravens (12-2)

Playoff kryptonite: Quarterbacks who can beat the blitz

I'm pretty sure Lamar Jackson is impervious to kryptonite, which is why I'm looking toward the other side of the ball. Since the Ravens traded for cornerback Marcus Peters before Week 7, their defense is allowing the league's stingiest passer rating (72.5) and yards per attempt (5.8). Adding Peters has led the Ravens to blitz even more frequently, upping their rate to 53.5%. Their success rate with those blitzes has doubled; after sacking teams on 5.9% of their blitzes before Peters arrived, they're up to 10.8% after Week 7.

The kryptonite for blitzes can also be screen passes. Teams haven't been able to hit many screens against Baltimore's blitzes this season, but since the Peters trade, the Ravens are allowing a passer rating of 124.2 when teams throw screens against their blitzes, which ranks 24th in the NFL. Naturally, the Ravens want to avoid quarterbacks who consistently make blitzing defenses pay.

Team to avoid: Kansas City Chiefs

I'll go with one of the two teams to actually topple the Ravens so far. (I'm not sure anyone is willing to acknowledge that the Browns beating the Ravens by 15 points actually happened.) The Ravens probably don't want to see Patrick Mahomes again. The reigning MVP was 27-of-37 passing for 374 yards and three touchdowns when the Chiefs beat the Ravens in September, and he has a track record of absolutely shredding defenses who play like the Ravens. Since taking over as the starter in 2018, Mahomes has the best QBR (87.9) and second-best passer rating (120.2) in football. He was 10-of-16 for 104 yards with two touchdown passes against the blitz the last time these two played. Putting up just 6.5 yards per attempt isn't a Mahomes-esque number, but the Ravens were only able to sack Mahomes once off a blitz, and that came on a third-and-15.

While the Ravens have improved after adding Peters, the Chiefs didn't have Tyreek Hill for that first game, with Mecole Hardman instead popping up with an 83-yard touchdown catch. The Ravens go deeper at cornerback than arguably any other team in football, but the Chiefs respond with arguably the deepest group of weapons in the league. Travis Kelce had seven catches for 89 yards in the first contest, and outside of shutting down George Kittle, the Ravens really haven't had to deal with many star tight ends this season.

It seems odd to mention the Chiefs and their well-known sieve of a run defense against the league's most devastating rushing attack, but Kansas City was able to slow down Jackson the first time these two teams played. The Chiefs seemed to focus on stopping Jackson at all costs, limiting him to eight carries for 46 yards and a lone rushing touchdown. The other Baltimore backs ate -- Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards combined to touch the ball 23 times for 156 yards and three touchdowns -- but with Jackson averaging just 6.2 yards in the air across his 43 passing attempts, the Chiefs were able to keep the Ravens quiet for most of the game before allowing three late scoring drives with a big lead.

Baltimore still got to 28 points, but the Chiefs' strategy is likely going to be how teams try to slow down the Ravens in the postseason. There's absolutely no stopping the soon-to-be-named MVP Jackson, but he's the scariest part of this Ravens offense. Ingram is going to make opposing teams pay if they keep their defensive ends on the edge and force Jackson to hand the ball off, but the chances of Jackson running for 20 yards are higher than the chances of Ingram doing the same thing. The Bills last week did an excellent job of working as a unit and taking away big plays from the Ravens while making one mistake on the 66-yard Hayden Hurst touchdown just after halftime. Teams are going to try to follow that philosophy, although emulating the Bills will be tough.

2. New England Patriots (11-3)

Playoff kryptonite: Teams that minimize the importance of Stephon Gilmore

If Gilmore wasn't already the Defensive Player of the Year, the Patriots cornerback might have sealed up the award by picking off two Andy Dalton passes Sunday, taking one to the house for a pick-six. I hardly need to recite Gilmore's résumé at this point, but the 29-year-old has given Bill Belichick the ability to shut down whichever opposing receiver he wants from snap to snap.

The Patriots have a great defense around Gilmore, of course, but they're going to do best against opposing offenses that revolve around throwing to one star wide receiver in the postseason. Teams that don't rely heavily on the pass are likely to do best against the Pats, given that New England's dominance really stands out through the air. Through Week 14's games, the Patriots led the league with a -41.7% pass defense DVOA. To put that in context, while the 49ers are close to the Pats at -35.6%, the No. 3 Ravens are at -18.0% and closer to the Seahawks in 15th place than they are to the Patriots.

Belichick's defense ranks sixth in the league in DVOA against the run, and that will likely fall a bit after Sunday's game, when the Bengals ran the ball 32 times for 164 yards before dropping behind and being forced to throw. Sixth in the league is still pretty good, but I'm not sure that's good enough against ...

Team to avoid: Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens scored 30 points on offense against the Patriots in early November, the most of any team this season. Much of that, unsurprisingly, came on the ground: Baltimore ran the ball 41 times for 210 yards and three touchdowns, two of which came from Jackson. The Ravens had eight meaningful possessions in the game and punted just twice, with Baltimore scoring four touchdowns, kicking a field goal and Ingram losing a fumble to set up a Patriots field goal.

It would be wrong to say that Gilmore would be wasted against the Ravens, but the game doesn't optimally set up for him to shut down a heavily targeted player. The Patriots could theoretically stick Gilmore on tight end Mark Andrews, who is targeted on 36% of the routes he runs, but that would likely mean that they would need Jonathan Jones to play in coverage against speed demon Marquise Brown, and Jones was being used as the focal point of the spying package against Jackson.

Of course, the Ravens also gave Tom Brady fits when they were on defense. Brady's numbers have fallen across the board this season, but he has been notably bad when blitzed. Even when we include Brady's effective three-game stretch to start the season, he has posted a passer rating of 75.8 and a QBR of 39.7 against the blitz, which ranks 28th and 26th, respectively, in the NFL. The good news for the Patriots is that they still project as the second seed in the AFC, which means they wouldn't be in line to play the Ravens until the AFC Championship Game.

3. Kansas City Chiefs (10-4)

Playoff kryptonite: Patrick Mahomes' health

While the Chiefs might very well be susceptible to teams that run the football effectively, a bigger -- and more pressing -- concern would likely be the health of their star quarterback. While Matt Moore is an underrated backup, and Nick Foles proved that a team can win the Super Bowl if it does a good enough job of coaching up the No. 2 option, the Chiefs realistically need Mahomes to stay healthy to have their best shot of making it to the Super Bowl.

He has been very good since returning from his knee injury in Week 10, and he threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns in the snow against an underrated Broncos pass defense in Sunday's 23-3 victory. It's also fair to say that he hasn't quite hit the lofty heights of 2018 or what he was showing before he was slowed down by ankle and knee injuries. Remember that Mahomes was posting a passer rating of 141.1 earlier this season in games before repeatedly injuring his ankle, with that number falling to an even 80.0 in those games after the ankle injury.

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Over the past five games, Mahomes has been somewhere in the middle, posting a passer rating of 97.3, the sixth-best mark in football. He has looked fine as a rusher, racking up 59 yards against the Chargers, while a 20-yard scamper against the Broncos on Sunday was called back for an illegal shift. The Chiefs can win with this version of Mahomes, but they need him to stay healthy.

Team to avoid: Pittsburgh Steelers

Naturally, the Chiefs will want to avoid teams that batter opposing quarterbacks. No team has given opposing quarterbacks more bumps and bruises than the Steelers, who are second in the league with a sack rate of 9.1%. They have the sixth-highest blitz rate in the league. With T.J. Watt playing like a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Pittsburgh has one of the best pass-rushers in all of football.

Mahomes absolutely torched the Steelers for 326 yards and six touchdowns when the Chiefs faced the Steelers in Week 2 of 2018, but that was a different Pittsburgh defense. None of the starters who lined up in the secondary for the Steelers in Sunday night's loss to the Bills was in the starting lineup for that Chiefs game. Minkah Fitzpatrick was on the Dolphins and Steven Nelson was on the opposite sideline. Devin Bush, a huge upgrade in pass coverage on then-starter Jon Bostic, was still in college. Both Watt and Bud Dupree have also elevated their games to new levels since that 2018 contest. I suspect the Steelers want a second crack at Mahomes after what happened last time.

4. Houston Texans (9-5)

Playoff kryptonite: Teams that take away big plays

The Texans absolutely devastate opposing defenses by stretching them vertically. With Deshaun Watson's ability to extend plays and the work his receivers do after the catch, Bill O'Brien's offense is a threat to score from any spot on the field on any given play. Watson is tied for the league lead with Russell Wilson with 14 completions on throws traveling 30 or more yards in the air.

The Texans have produced 33 plays that gained 30 yards or more this season, which is second in the NFL behind the Chiefs. What's telling about that number is how many of those plays have come when they needed them most. They have 12 30-plus yard gains in the fourth quarter, four more than any other team. While the second-ranked Jaguars have mostly taken advantage of garbage time to rack up those plays, almost every one of those Texans plays has been in a competitive game.

Two of them came Sunday, when the Texans got the ball with 13:35 to go after the Titans scored to tie their crucial AFC South tilt up at 14. Given time to throw, Watson fired in a perfect pass to DeAndre Hopkins for a 35-yard completion. After Watson scrambled for a first down on the ensuing third-and-8, the Texans took the lead with a Carlos Hyde touchdown run.

On the next drive, Watson set the Texans up for more points with another big play. This time, Watson had to escape pressure, but he somehow managed to escape left, instantly reset his body, and throw another perfect pass upfield to Hopkins for a second 35-yard completion. The Texans settled for a field goal, but those three points ended up as the margin of victory in a close game.

Team to avoid: Buffalo Bills

While the Patriots and Steelers also rank among the stingiest defenses in the league in terms of allowing big plays, the Bills are on another level if we look a little further. Since the start of 2018, they have allowed just 24 plays of 30 yards or more. The Patriots are at 28, and they're the only other team in the league under 30 over the last two seasons. Six of those plays have come in the fourth quarter, where the Bills trail only the Vikings for the fewest huge gains allowed over the final 15 minutes of action.

Buffalo has also done excellent work over that time frame against deep passes. It ranks second in the league in passer rating allowed (69.0) against downfield throws since the start of 2018. In Tre'Davious White, it also has the sort of corner who can compete against any wide receiver. White, who had two interceptions in Sunday night's win over the Steelers, is allowing a passer rating of 32.1 as the nearest defender in coverage per NFL Next Gen Stats. That's the best passer rating in football for cornerbacks with 200 coverage snaps or more who don't play for the Patriots.

These two teams played in 2018, and Sean McDermott's defense gave the Texans fits. Watson went 15-of-25 for 177 yards with a touchdown, two interceptions and seven sacks. Houston's longest play of the day went for 24 yards, and its one offensive touchdown was set up by a muffed punt on a drive that only needed 29 yards to hit paydirt.

The Texans prevailed 20-13, because the Bills couldn't hold up their end of the bargain on offense. Josh Allen was 10-of-17 for just 84 yards before leaving in the third quarter with an elbow injury, which turned things over to embattled backup Nathan Peterman. After the Texans tied things up with a field goal to make it 13-13 with 1:37 to go, Peterman threw a pick-six to Johnathan Joseph to give the Texans a 20-13 lead. After getting the ball back, Peterman then threw an interception to Kareem Jackson to end the game.

The Bills aren't anywhere near as turnover-prone this season, as Sunday's win over the Steelers was the first time they have turned the ball over more than once in any contest since Week 4. We'll likely get a chance to see the rematch very soon, too, as FPI projects a 72.3% chance that the Bills will travel to Houston as the No. 5 seed and face the No. 4-seeded Texans in the wild-card round.

5. Buffalo Bills (10-4)

Playoff kryptonite: Getting boxed in the pocket under pressure

While Josh Allen has certainly made strides as a passer in Year 2, he still has that young quarterback habit of struggling against a pass rush. When he hasn't been under duress this season, he has been quite effective, posting a passer rating of 102.1. That's good for 15th in the NFL. When he has been pressured, though, his passer rating falls all the way to 31.7, which ranks 30th among qualifying quarterbacks. Only Kyler Murray and Jared Goff have been worse under pressure this season.

We saw the good and bad of Allen during Sunday's win over the Steelers. Early in the game, he took advantage of a short field with his legs. He ran for 12 yards on third-and-18 to set up a makeable fourth down, and then followed a lead block from Devin Singletary to walk in untouched for a 1-yard touchdown.

During the second half, Buffalo's touchdown drive was mostly two big Allen throws. The first was a 40-yard completion to John Brown, who had beaten Steven Nelson at the line of scrimmage. The second was more impressive and a sign of Allen's growth, as he worked all the way to the backside of his progression and found an open Tyler Kroft in a narrow window with a perfect throw for a 14-yard touchdown. If that throw is poorly placed, it either pushes Kroft out of bounds for an incompletion or draws him to the trailing defender for a possible interception. Allen's throw couldn't have been better.

The bad was what we saw when he came under pressure from a devastating Steelers defense. While he didn't turn the ball over on the 11 plays where the Steelers created pressure, he went 3-of-8 for just 22 yards with a sack and two unsuccessful scrambles. His interception actually came on a play where he wasn't under pressure and instead simply sailed a dig route to an open Cole Beasley, who couldn't bring the pass in with his leap.

It wasn't a horrific performance under pressure by any means -- consider that Mahomes was 2-of-8 for 11 yards, a pick, and a passer rating of 0.0 under pressure against the Broncos in the snow on Sunday -- but a reminder that the Bills need to protect Allen and use their quick game to help get the ball out of his hands quickly. Avoiding teams that get after opposing quarterbacks would be ideal, but in this AFC bracket, that won't be an option.

Team to avoid: New England Patriots

Allen has started twice against the Patriots, and both times, Belichick has stifled him. In 2018, the Patriots limited Allen to five carries for 30 yards and saw the rookie go 20-of-41 for 217 yards with two interceptions and a garbage time touchdown. Earlier this season, Allen was even more destructive, as the Wyoming product went 13-of-28 for 153 yards with three interceptions and a fumble before being knocked out of the game by a helmet-to-helmet hit.

In both contests, Belichick has successfully instructed his defense to keep Allen in the pocket. In his two starts against the Patriots, Allen has gone 2-of-8 for 21 yards and an interception on throws outside the pocket, good for a passer rating of just 4.9. He typically made mistakes when throwing out of the pocket, as his passer rating against the rest of the league on those throws is just 44.9, but by forcing him to process from the pocket, they've kept the speedy quarterback from making plays with his legs.

Allen will get a chance to mark off some level of revenge against the Pats before the playoffs begin, as the Bills get their rematch with the Patriots this weekend in Foxborough. Otherwise, if the current standings hold, the Bills wouldn't be in line for a third game against the Pats until the AFC Championship Game.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6)

Playoff kryptonite: The intermediate game

Devlin Hodges is a little like an appliance from the 1960s. While some modern marvel of a device might be able to toast your bread to one of 20 different specifications on demand through your phone, Hodges has two options: short or deep. A whopping 43.6% of his passes have been thrown at or behind the line of scrimmage this season, which is more than 10 percentage points ahead of Nick Foles for the highest rate in all of football. Foles is closer to 26th than he is to Hodges, who leads all 41 passers with 100 attempts or more.

At the same time, though, Hodges also gets the ball downfield quite frequently, as 13.7% of his pass attempts have traveled 20 yards or more in the air. Of those 41 passers, Hodges is tied for the 10th-highest frequency of long throws with Steelers teammate Mason Rudolph.

When you look at throws in the intermediate range -- between 5 and 15 yards in the air -- Hodges has trouble. He only attempts about four of those passes each game, and his passer rating on those throws is 66.5, which ranks 38th in the league. (Rudolph, coincidentally, ranks 39th on those same passes.) I mentioned that the Bills typically take away deep passes earlier in this column, and when they forced Hodges to throw intermediate passes on Sunday, he went 6-of-11 for 54 yards with an interception.

Team to avoid: New England Patriots

Hodges realistically needs those occasional deep shots to move the ball on offense and create some breathing room for his checkdowns and quick throws, so any team that erases deep passes should give him fits. Enter the Patriots, who have embarrassed opposing quarterbacks brave enough to throw downfield on them this season. The Pats are allowing a QBR of just 18.2 on deep passes, nearly 30 points better than any other team. If you prefer passer rating, the Pats are giving up a mere 32.0 rating on those deep throws, which is nearly 30 points better than the second-place Steelers.

Pick a stat for downfield pass defense and the Patriots are the best in the league, usually by a considerable margin. That's bad news for Hodges. The Steelers wouldn't be in line to face the Patriots until the AFC Championship Game if they make it to the postseason, but they would have to face the Ravens in the divisional round, and Baltimore ranks third in passer rating against deep throws since Week 5. Neither matchup seems particularly appealing for Pittsburgh's young quarterbacks.

NFC

1. Seattle Seahawks (11-3)

Playoff kryptonite: Missing pass rush

It's almost a prerequisite for a playoff team -- let alone a team that currently has the No. 1 seed in the NFC with two weeks to go -- to have at least a competent pass rush. While Jadeveon Clowney's efforts on national television against the 49ers in November are the biggest reason why the Seahawks actually hold the top spot in the NFC, he is injured and the team's other pass-rushers are floundering. Seattle's pass rush has been abysmal for most of 2019.

The Seahawks rank 30th in pressure rate (22.8%) and 31st in sack rate (4.1%). Only the Dolphins have sacked opposing quarterbacks less frequently. To put that latter number in context, the only team since 2001 to make it to the playoffs with a sack rate worse than 4.1% are the 2014 Bengals, who were all the way down at 3.1%.

What's worse is that the problems don't appear to be getting better. Sunday should have been a great opportunity for Seattle to get its pass rush right, given that Pete Carroll's team was going up against eminently sackable Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen. Allen had a 9.5% sack rate heading into the game, the second-worst mark in the league among starters. The Seahawks sacked him once on 42 dropbacks. He was pressured on just 13.3% of those plays, the lowest rate for any quarterback in football in Week 15. He threw three interceptions, but quarterbacks who thrive without pressure are going to give the Seahawks trouble come this postseason.

Team to avoid: New Orleans Saints

When the Seahawks lost to the Saints at home in September, it was with Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback. Bridgewater dropped back 27 times, but as you might suspect from Seattle's track record, he wasn't sacked once and posted a passer rating of 112.7 in his first competitive start with New Orleans.

Drew Brees only ups the degree of difficulty. If you don't get pressure on the future Hall of Famer, he will tear you apart. He ranks third in the league in Total QBR (83.6) and fourth in passer rating (117.1) when teams don't pressure him this season. His completion percentage on those throws is an unreal 77.7%, unsurprisingly tops in football.

Brees doesn't turn into a pumpkin under pressure, but you can certainly slow down the 40-year-old with some pass-rushers in his face. His Total QBR drops all the way down to 9.4 when he's under pressure, which ranks 20th in the NFL. His passer rating of 65.4 is 11th, which is still pretty good, but not the sort of pitch and catch an unbothered Brees can play with Michael Thomas.

2. Green Bay Packers (11-3)

Playoff kryptonite: Great pass rushes

Green Bay's two significant losses this season have come in games where it was torn apart by dominant defensive lines. As I wrote about earlier this year, the Chargers were able to put the Packers' offense into safe mode by moving Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram inside to go up against the weaker pass-protecting elements of the Packers' line. The Chargers eventually won that game 26-11.

I thought the 49ers might do the same with Bosa's little brother three weeks later, but it turned out they didn't really need Nick to move to the interior. With Bryan Bulaga going down injured in the first quarter, the 49ers were able to harass Rodgers from just about anywhere they wanted. Fred Warner strip-sacked Rodgers on the first third down of the game to hand the 49ers a short field, Tevin Coleman scored on the next play, and a 37-8 rout was on.

Team to avoid: San Francisco 49ers

Not a surprise, right? Even with Dee Ford sidelined for most of the season, the 49ers can boast three wildly productive pass-rushers in Bosa, DeForest Buckner and former first-round pick Arik Armstead, who has a team-high 10 sacks. A balky hamstring continues to sideline Ford, with the former Chiefs star having played just four defensive snaps since Week 11, but he should be back for a possible postseason rematch between these teams in the divisional round.

One other concern for the Packers that reared its head in the first matchup is that the Packers seem to really rely upon scoring early, given how their offense tends to shut down as the game goes along. Perhaps owing to whatever plays Matt LaFleur scripts early in contests, they have averaged 3.4 points per possession on drives starting in the first quarter, the third-best rate in football. On their other drives, they have averaged just 1.9 points per possession, which ranks 16th.

The 49ers haven't had the same sort of splits -- they rank 10th in points allowed per drive on defense in the first quarter and third in the NFL afterward -- but they shut out the Packers on four first-quarter drives when these two teams played and held Rodgers & Co. to just eight points afterward.

3. New Orleans Saints (10-3)

Playoff kryptonite: Controlling the middle of the field

The Saints simply don't have many weaknesses as one of the league's most well-rounded teams. My biggest concern for them is the injuries they have along the defensive line after losing Sheldon Rankins and Marcus Davenport to injured reserve. Wonderfully named undrafted free agent Shy Tuttle has come on in recent weeks and could impress in a larger role, and the Saints could very well be the sort of team to claim Terrell Suggs in waivers, but the Saints' edge rushers behind Cameron Jordan right now are Trey Hendrickson, Carl Granderson and Noah Spence. I would be worried about the Saints if teams are able to bottle up Jordan with double-teams.

The injuries are a little outside the purview of this conceit, though, so let's go with an issue we've already seen the Saints struggle with this season. While Marshon Lattimore remains a cornerback, opposing teams should avoid, we just saw the 49ers build their offensive game plan around attacking the lesser defensive backs in the New Orleans secondary. Kyle Shanahan repeatedly targeted Eli Apple, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, and the Saints' linebackers and safeties in coverage in that legendary 48-46 game from Week 14. The Saints, who play Monday night against the Colts, have had to spend the last week stewing over the tape of a difficult loss.

Many of those plays came over the middle of the field, where the Saints have been particularly bad in pass defense. When teams have thrown the ball between the hashes, Dennis Allen's defense really hasn't had an answer. Opposing quarterbacks are 57-of-76 for 758 yards, seven touchdown passes and two interceptions against the Saints between the hashes this season. The yardage total leads the league, while the resulting 96.5 Total QBR from passers ranks 30th, with only the Cardinals and Falcons worse.

Team to avoid: San Francisco 49ers

Could you have guessed? With a strong play-action game and superstar tight end George Kittle running up the seam, the 49ers are deadly over the middle of the field. Jimmy Garoppolo has posted a passer rating of 143.0 on throws between the hashes, the third-best mark in the league behind Patrick Mahomes and Ryan Tannehill.

In the Week 14 matchup against the Saints, Garoppolo was 4-of-6 for 101 yards and a 75-yard touchdown to Emmanuel Sanders between the hashes. That sounds good, but it wasn't even the best performance we saw all year from a quarterback in the middle of the field against the Saints. Go all the way back to Week 1 and you'll find Deshaun Watson going 8-of-9 for 134 yards and three scores between the hashes against the Saints, including the 37-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to briefly gave the Texans the lead with 43 seconds left in the game. The Saints will be quite happy if they get to play the Texans again this season, but a 49ers rematch could very well be in play this January.

4. Dallas Cowboys (7-7)

Playoff kryptonite: Kicking and special teams

Can you recall a team that won a Super Bowl despite their kicking? The Cowboys have been an absolute disaster on special teams this season, with the issues most famously rearing their head in the 13-9 loss to the Patriots in Week 12. Second-year kicker Brett Maher went 20-of-30 on field goal attempts before being released, including a scarcely-believable 1-of-5 performance between 40 and 49 yards. Replacement Kai Forbath missed an extra point in his lone week with the Patriots before being released, although he was 3-for-3 on field goals in his debut with the Cowboys against the Rams on Sunday.

Getting rid of Maher might help, but the Cowboys' woes weren't limited strictly to scoring plays. Football Outsiders ranked the Cowboys dead last in special teams DVOA heading into Week 15, and it wasn't just for kicking. The Cowboys were below average in every facet of special teams, including ranking last on kickoff returns and 26th on punts. Special-teams performance can regress toward the mean during the season, but the Cowboys realistically need to invest in new personnel (and/or a new special-teams coach) over the offseason.

Team to avoid: Green Bay Packers

In this case, the Cowboys need to avoid bad weather as opposed to a particularly onerous opposing special-teams group. The Saints would qualify as the best special teams in the NFC, mostly through Wil Lutz's success on scoring plays, but the Cowboys would likely welcome a chance to try to kick and punt in the friendly confines of a dome.

Instead, with the Cowboys sure to be on the road after the wild-card game, a trip to Lambeau would be scariest for this special-teams unit. Seahawks fans are legendarily loud, and the Pacific Northwest's weather in January is hardly inviting, but the chances for snow and swirling winds at Lambeau make for what could be a horrific special-teams day. Opposing kickers have missed eight field goals at Lambeau in the playoffs over the past 20 seasons, the most in any stadium. I wouldn't want to count on the well-traveled Forbath keeping that total at eight in a close playoff game.

5. San Francisco 49ers (11-3)

Playoff kryptonite: Play-action

I always find it strange when teams whose offenses excel at something have defenses that struggle against that very same thing. Kyle Shanahan's offense is predicated upon the zone-rushing scheme and the play-action passes that come off that concept. Just over 31% of San Francisco's dropbacks have included some form of a play-fake this season, the third-highest rate in football.

On defense, though, the 49ers have struggled to stop opposing offenses when they fire up their own play-action opportunities. While the San Francisco defense has generally been great in 2019, Robert Saleh's unit has allowed teams to post a passer rating of 112.9 off play-action, which ranks 24th in the NFL. When teams haven't used play-action, the 49ers have allowed a passer rating of 66.6, which is second in the NFL behind the Patriots.

The Falcons took advantage of this hole in the 49ers' defense in their upset victory Sunday. Matt Ryan went 7-of-8 on play-action for a relatively modest 49 yards, but the biggest play came on a 32-yard pass interference call against Jimmie Ward, setting up a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line for Atlanta. Factor that in and Ryan's nine pass attempts off play-action generated 81 passing yards. Nine yards per attempt isn't shabby against this pass defense, especially considering Ryan was otherwise 18-of-31 for 152 yards.

Team to avoid: Minnesota Vikings

The other team in the NFC playoff picture built off the Shanahan play-action playbook is the Vikings, who have Gary Kubiak as an offensive adviser. Kubiak played under Mike Shanahan in Denver and built his own offenses in Houston as a coach under the same tenets. Kyle, of course, was Kubiak's offensive coordinator for a time with the Texans.

The Vikings have been the league's most devastating play-action team. They've actually turned to play-action on nearly 32% of their dropbacks, which is just ahead of the 49ers for the second-highest rate. It has unlocked a career year for Kirk Cousins, who has thrown 13 touchdown passes without an interception and posted a passer rating of 136.3 off play-action. No passer with 100 play-action attempts or more has been better.

The 49ers unquestionably know the Kubiak scheme inside and out, and Dalvin Cook's availability appears questionable after he re-aggravated his shoulder injury against the Chargers, but the 49ers don't want to see a dominant play-action offense on the opposite sideline in January.

6. Minnesota Vikings (10-4)

Playoff kryptonite: Downfield passing

This has been a strange season for the Vikings. Mike Zimmer has generally done an excellent job of drafting and developing cornerbacks, and Minnesota devotes about as much in terms of draft resources to the position as possible. Xavier Rhodes had fallen off a bit from his peak in 2018, but with Trae Waynes entering a contract year and Mike Hughes returning from a torn ACL, it was reasonable to think that corner could be a plus position for the Vikings in 2019.

That hasn't happened. Rhodes and Waynes have the fifth-worst and 16th-worst passer ratings as the nearest defender in coverage per NFL Next Gen Stats this season. Rhodes has been particularly gruesome, with opposing quarterbacks going 52-of-63 for 652 yards and four touchdowns as the closest defender. Next Gen Stats predicts that 64.5% of those 63 attempts should have been completed, and quarterbacks are instead hitting 82.5% of their passes.

The resulting difference of 18 percentage points is comfortably the largest in football for corners with 200 coverage snaps or more, and the only other guy in the league over 10 percentage points is Josh Norman, who was benched for most of the last month and came in for six defensive snaps on Sunday, one of which was Norman getting beat on Carson Wentz's game-winning touchdown pass to Greg Ward. Rhodes has been worse than Norman.

The Vikings have generally been a mess when teams throw downfield. On passes traveling 16 yards or more in the air, Minnesota has allowed a Total QBR of 96.6, the fifth-worst mark in the NFL. The good news is that they have five interceptions against deep passes over the past two weeks, which I would attribute more to David Blough and Philip Rivers than the defense. They also picked off a Dak Prescott Hail Mary with three seconds left in Week 10, but I wouldn't want to trust these cornerbacks against a quarterback who has had success throwing downfield in 2019.

Team to avoid: Seattle Seahawks

While Russell Wilson's MVP run will likely fall short to the incredible work Lamar Jackson has done, the Seahawks star has diced teams up throwing downfield. His 97.6 QBR on deep throws ranks third in the NFL behind Garoppolo and Cousins, and he has nearly thrown deep more frequently than the two of them combined.

Take it a step further and look at ultra-deep passes traveling 26 or more yards in the air, and Wilson's dominance is clearer. He comfortably leads the league in ultra-deep completions (21) and passing yards (821). Wilson has generated 17.9 expected points on those passes, which is also ahead of everyone else in the league. He has also done this despite the fact that his receivers have dropped three of his 44 ultra-deep attempts.

What's interesting, though, is that Wilson didn't really have a great game on deep throws when the Seahawks beat the Vikings earlier this season. He was 1-of-5 on deep passes in that game, and while his completion was a 60-yard touchdown pass to David Moore, guys like Matt Moore and Derek Carr were able to piece together much more productive downfield passing days against Zimmer's defense. Given a second chance, I suspect Wilson would have a big game in a playoff rematch between these two teams.

Former Wales backs coach Rob Howley has been banned from rugby for 18 months, with nine suspended, for betting on matches, including Wales games.

The suspension is backdated to his withdrawal from Wales' World Cup campaign, on 16 September 2019.

The panel who judged Howley found from 14 November, 2015 to 7 September 2019 he "placed 363 bets on rugby union, featuring 1,163 matches in total".

Howley, 49, used his Welsh Rugby Union phone and email account to place bets.

The former Wales and British and Irish Lions scrum-half was sent home from Japan six days before Wales' opening win against Pool D opponents Georgia and replaced by Stephen Jones.

Warren Gatland went on to guide Wales to the tournament semi-finals before Jones joined new boss Wayne Pivac's staff.

Howley was part of Warren Gatland's backroom from the beginning of 2008 and he was scheduled to leave that role after the 2019 World Cup.

Instead his active role ended when he left the camp in Japan.

Howley lost £4,000

While the investigation was under way, Gatland said Howley had "been through hell" and WRU chairman Gareth Davies said they had been in regular contact with the former Wales captain.

Howley accepted the charges and can return to the sport on 16 June, 2020. The former Wales scrum-half has lost the opportunity to be the new Italy head coach.

He admitted to placing bets on 24 "connected events", which were games involving Wales or Wales players.

Howley's bets involved two on players, including on who would be the first try-scorer in Wales matches, one of those games being the Grand Slam win over Ireland in Cardiff in March 2019.

Howley said neither player had any knowledge of the bets and the duo also said they had no knowledge of the events when interviewed by investigators.

Over the five-year period investigated, the WRU panel was satisfied he made no financial gains and lost £4,000.

Family tragedy

The report stated Howley's betting stemmed from a family tragedy.

The report said: "It is clear that Mr Howley's betting on rugby was part of a hobby of betting on spot events.

"We use the word 'hobby' with some caution because it seems that a trigger for Mr Howley's betting activity was a family tragedy involving the death of his sister.

"While we are prepared to accept the trigger for Mr Howley's betting on sporting events has its seeds in personal family tragedy, it is much more difficult to understand why he chose to bet on rugby which he knew was prohibited rather than other sport exclusively, which of course was perfectly permissible."

Howley stated he has not placed any bets since September 2019 and was confident the help of a consultant psychologist would stop him from betting in the future.

His case was heard in Cardiff by an independent panel, chaired by Sir Wyn Williams.

The Sports Betting Intelligence Unit of the Gambling Commission has provided advice throughout the investigation.

Howley has 14 days to appeal the decision from 11 December, 2019, the date of the judgement.

MINSK, Belarus -- Vladimir Tsyplyakov, a Belarusian hockey player who spent six seasons in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings and the Buffalo Sabres, has died. He was 50.

The Belarus Hockey Federation said Tsyplaykov died Saturday, without giving any information on the circumstances of his death.

The federation said in a statement that when Tsyplyakov turned 50 in April, "who could have imagined then that this successful, affable man, who always kept himself in good physical condition, would soon leave this world?"

Tsyplyakov, a left winger, was drafted by the Kings in the third round in 1995 and stayed in L.A. until midway through the 1999-2000 season, when he joined Buffalo.

He scored 69 goals in 331 NHL games. He only got past the first round of the playoffs once, with Buffalo in 2001.

Tsyplyakov played at two Olympics and was on the Belarus team which lost to Russia in the bronze medal game in at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

I started covering the NHL two and a half years ago, and Tim Thomas' name has come up in a conversation about every other month. That's not an exaggeration. The former Boston Bruins goaltender has become an obsession in the hockey world. At ESPN, we bring up Thomas as our white whale. As in, how amazing would it be to land an interview with Thomas, who disappeared from the public eye in 2014, just three years after leading the Bruins to their first Stanley Cup since 2011?

I remember a player once using Thomas' name in jest. When I asked him if he thought about what he'd like to do after he retired, he said something along the lines of: "But whatever I do, I'll be around. I'm not going to fall off the face of the Earth like I'm Tim Thomas."

When it was rumored that Thomas was going to be a banner captain during the Bruins' playoff run last spring, the excitement was palpable. Boston is the city where Thomas became a folk hero. It's where, after a decade toiling in the minors and Europe, Thomas finally became an NHL starter at age 31, then became the oldest winner of the Conn Smythe trophy, at 37. Might he actually show his face here, all these years later? (Narrator: He did not).

Thomas became a punchline among hockey reporters. The few details we knew about his personal life and beliefs made it easy, and helped hatch conspiracy theories. He famously boycotted the Bruins trip to the President Barack Obama White House, because "government has grown out of control." There was word that Thomas (a Michigan native) lived in Colorado, but the altitude was too much for him, so he and his family moved to Idaho. And that he lived in a bunker.

I tried contacting Thomas twice in the past two years, to no avail. Then we tried to do a story told through teammates and friends. It didn't go very far. A former teammate of his on the 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team politely told me he didn't feel comfortable talking about Thomas, but gave me the phone numbers of two people who might. Neither of those two people ever called me back.

So when it was announced that Thomas was being inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame this year -- and that he planned on showing up to the ceremony -- you can bet I was intrigued. So I went.

This time, he showed up.

When Thomas addressed the small group of reporters on Thursday in a conference room at the Marriott Marquis in D.C., what came out of his mouth shook me. And it taught me a lesson about empathy.

Thomas revealed that in 2013-14, his last season in the NHL, he sustained a concussion that changed his life forever. He finished the season, and played in the IIHF World Championships that spring, because on the ice he was "able to be like 97 percent maybe, 95 percent of what I was before."

But off the ice, he was wrecked.

"I woke up the next morning after it and I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat, where I wanted to go," Thomas said. "I couldn't plan a schedule. I survived following the team schedule the rest of the year and just made it through that season."

When Thomas retired, he couldn't watch hockey because his "brain wasn't functioning well enough to be able to keep up with the game." He says he moved out to the woods for a few years because he "couldn't communicate with anybody." He felt it was difficult to maintain relationships with his former teammates. He didn't even talk to his dad.

It was devastating to hear, and difficult for Thomas to share. He fought back tears. "I didn't want to talk about this," he said. "I didn't want to talk. I didn't want to tell the world this stuff. Not till I felt ready, and I didn't feel ready yet. But here I am."

Hearing him speak, I felt so awful for all the times we joked about Tim Thomas. Truth is, we had no idea what was really going on. Afterward, I immediately thought back to two years earlier when I met an NHL scout and was talking to him about starting goaltenders in the league. When he brought up then-Sabres goalie Robin Lehner, he said, "that guy is f---ing crazy."

As we have since learned, Lehner was battling a lot during that time -- alcoholism, a dependence on sleeping pills, and post-traumatic stress disorder as well as bipolar disorder which, to that point, had gone undiagnosed.

Just as it was brave for Lehner to come forward with his diagnosis, it was courageous for Thomas to address his current situation on Thursday. I hope, in some way, it was cathartic for him to share. For the rest of us, it was a sobering reminder to not assume you know someone's story, especially if they haven't shared it. Because the truth is, we really don't know what anyone is going through behind closed doors.

Jump ahead:
What we liked this week | What we didn't like
Three stars of the week | Biggest games coming up

What we liked this week

• Sidney Crosby does a lot of good that often isn't publicized. Here's one example: Crosby and his equipment sponsor, CCM, donated 87 sets of hockey equipment recently. That's not exactly newsworthy. What is? Who they donated it to: Underrepresented communities, such as the Hockey Nova Scotia black youth hockey program, and the Hockey Nova Scotia indigenous female hockey program. Hockey Nova Scotia had this to say: "In the spirit of the holiday season, Crosby surprised eight participants from the three programs with their new hockey equipment on Monday afternoon via video and announced his commitment to fulfilling the donation of the 87 sets in the new year."

• The Detroit Red Wings finally won their first game in a month, snapping a 12-game losing streak. For context, there were four NHL head coaching changes in that span. The win was a good one: A 5-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. It was iced by this beauty of an empty-netter by Filip Hronek, who lifted the puck from behind his own net, across the entire length of the ice and into the goal -- without touching the ice. When we showed this clip on "Around the Horn" on Friday, host Tony Reali was most impressed by the camera man's shot.

• Another sweet goal from this week: This overtime tally by Elias Pettersson, in which Brock Boeser and the abandoned stick both earn assists:

Elias Pettersson with some overtime magic pic.twitter.com/V4gqCqeFPy

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) December 13, 2019

• I have a feeling this year's Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl could be a special one.

Cotton Bowl Winter Classic has blown away NHL expectations. They've had to open up sections they didn't expect to sell due to demand. With 83,000-plus tickets sold, 2020 Classic on track to be 2nd-biggest crowd in NHL outdoor game history behind Big House in 2014.

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) December 9, 2019

• It was good to see the Colorado Avalanche act swiftly and put their AHL head equipment trainer, Tony Deynzer, on leave once it was revealed in the Wall Street Journal that Deynzer once showed up to a team Halloween party dressed as Akim Aliu. He was in blackface. I'm told that when Aliu met with Gary Bettman and Bill Daly at the NHL league offices two weeks ago, Aliu shared several incidents, including this one. So I wouldn't be surprised if more stories come out.

• A milestone to look out for this week: Blake Wheeler is three points shy of surpassing Ilya Kovalchuk as the Winnipeg Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise's all-time leader in points.

• Tim Thomas and Gary Bettman might have headlined the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame 2019 class, but one inductee I was especially interested in was Krissy Wendell, one of the most accomplished women's players ever. During her acceptance speech, Wendell dropped this quote, which was, quite frankly, amazing: "I got married to my husband John after the 2007 World Championships. We had three kids in the next four years. So while most people are up here thanking their spouse for supporting their career, I can thank mine for ending mine."

What we didn't like this week

• Just devastating to hear the news that 23-year-old Flyers forward Oskar Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. He is going to miss the rest of the season as he undergoes treatment. In the first game since the diagnosis, the Flyers hung Lindblom's jersey in his stall at Minnesota's Xcel Energy Center. "He's a fighter, he'll get through this," Ivan Provorov told NBC Sports Philadelphia's Taryn Hatcher before the game. "We love him, we'll support him all the way and he knows we're here for him. He's not fighting this fight alone and we'll do everything that we can to make sure he feels that there's people supporting him." A friend in Philadelphia told me that Flyers fans are trying to organize a movement to nominate Lindblom as captain of the Metropolitan Division at the 2020 All-Star Game to show that the hockey world is standing behind him, too.

• The Blackhawks were up 3-0 with 15 minutes left against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. Chicago somehow found a way to lose -- in regulation. That capped off a rough road trip for Chicago, which lost to the Golden Knights and Coyotes by a combined score of 10-3. Chicago's (already slim) playoff hopes seemed to dwindle by the day. With so many injuries, the Blackhawks have had a good chance to check out some of their prospects like Adam Boqvist, Anton Wendin, Matthew Highmore and Dennis Gilbert at the NHL level. The Blackhawks did bounce back with a 5-3 home win on Sunday. As he was being interviewed after being named the first star, Patrick Kane told the United Center crowd: "We're gonna try to go on a run here and get hot. We need you guys, so stay with us." The next month will be critical. If the Blackhawks can muster a late hot streak -- like they did last season -- maybe management holds off on doing anything at the trade deadline. If the losses pile back up, look for one of Chicago's defensemen -- perhaps left-handed shot Erik Gustafsson, in a contract year -- to be on the move.

• Things aren't exactly going great with the Columbus Blue Jackets these days, either. But, we did get one vintage John Tortorella exchange out of it so far:

The Blue Jackets were limited to 17 shots tonight.

John Tortorella was asked about that output.

Reporter: "Disappointed by the total amount of shots on goal?"

John Tortorella: "Just thrilled with it. Just thrilled with it. That's a great question too."

— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) December 13, 2019

• When Peter DeBoer was dismissed as the San Jose Sharks coach, the organization said it was purely a hockey decision. You can understand why. According to Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic's model, the Sharks now have a 10 percent chance of making the playoffs. What I found noteworthy: the Sharks also cleaned house on most of their assistants, too, which is pretty rare for an in-season head-coaching change. Assistants Steve Spott, Dave Barr and Johan Hedberg were also dismissed.

Three Stars of the Week

Anthony Duclair, LW, Ottawa Senators

We've seen flashes of this before, but this time Duclair really does look like that hyped prospect we saw in his World Junior Championships breakout. A hat trick against his former team (the Blue Jackets) punctuated a terrific week for Duclair. He leads the NHL with seven goals this month.

Jack Eichel, C, Buffalo Sabres

Is there anyone on a better run than Buffalo's captain? In three games this past week, he had five goals and an assist, extending his point streak to 16 games, the longest for any player this season.

Artemi Panarin, LW, New York Rangers

It's still looking like a long shot for the Rangers to make the playoffs. Nevertheless, they don't regret the seven years or $81 million they committed to Panarin. The 28-year-old had five goals and one assist in three games this past week. A late hat trick was key in a 6-3 win over the Sharks.

Games of the Week

Monday, Dec. 16: Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues (ESPN+)

The top two teams in the Central Division face off, and it's going to be a fun one. The Avs are one of the teams rumored to be in on the Taylor Hall sweepstakes. Meanwhile, the Blues might also be looking to improve this season, given they have the cap money of Vladimir Tarasenko to spend (while he remains on long-term injured reserve).

Tuesday, Dec. 17: Buffalo Sabres at Toronto Maple Leafs

The Sabres have picked up points in nine of their past 10 games (going 5-1-4) to rise to second place in the Atlantic Division. (Above the Lightning, Panthers, Canadiens and Maple Leafs? In this economy?) Speaking of those Leafs, they're still on a chase to catch up and get in the playoff picture.

Sunday, Dec. 22: Calgary Flames at Dallas Stars

Both of these teams have already made coaching changes, for very different reasons. Both of these teams expected to contend this season, and both of these teams are in playoff spots (for now), salvaging slow starts.

Quote of the Week

"It's an 82-game season. We weren't going to go 80-3 or whatever it was." -- Boston Bruins forward Brett Ritchie, in a quote to the AP's Stephen Whyno, with some interesting math. Hey, he's not wrong.

When a cup is complete, the captains – win or lose – are asked if they’d like to return to their respective roles.

This week at the Presidents Cup was no different. Both International captain Ernie Els and victorious U.S. captain Tiger Woods punted on the question, but neither said they weren’t interested.

Steve Stricker, 2017 Presidents Cup captain and a Woods assistant this week at Royal Melbourne, is the U.S. Ryder Cup captain for 2020 at Whistling Straits. The next available captain opening is the 2021 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow in North Carolina. As for 2022, captains for a Ryder Cup are usually announced a few months after the previous installment.

“We are going to have those conversations in the future, but not right now,” Woods said emphatically. “We are going to enjoy this one moment.”

Els offered a similar refrain and provided some context to previous captains who have served more than once.

“We’ll have to discuss that,” he said. “Historically, it doesn’t really go well, but we will see. I love these guys. We’re taking this this defeat that we’ve had today, and I’m not sure yet.”

Ashley Young expects to leave Manchester United in the summer and is ready to talk to other clubs in January, sources have told ESPN.

Young has six months left on his contract and will be allowed to leave Old Trafford on a free transfer at the end of the season.

The defender, who will turn 35 in July, does not expect to be offered a new deal with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad well stocked with full-backs.

However, the England international does not have plans to retire and there is interest from a host of Premier League and Championship clubs. He has also not ruled out playing abroad and his contract situation means he is free to negotiate with foreign clubs from Jan. 1.

Young has made more than 250 appearances for United since arriving from Aston Villa in 2011. He was named club captain after the departure of Antonio Valencia in the summer.

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After converting from a winger into a defender, Young made 30 Premier League appearances in each of the last two seasons. Competing with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw and Brandon Williams for a place at full-back this season, he has been restricted to 11 starts in all competitions.