SHELBY, N.C. – Hand lettering is a dying art form in the world of auto racing.

As the sport has progressed into the future, decals and vinyl have taken the place of carefully-placed brush strokes along sheet metal.

Heading into a new decade, the number of people still able to hand-paint a race car has dwindled down to a small number. The race car artist is a tradition upheld by a select few.

Roby Combs Jr. of Shelby, N.C., a historic racing town, was one of the talented men drivers could call upon to make their numbers and sponsors pop on their race cars with a paint brush over the years.

The hand-lettering business was abnormal to some, but for Combs it was a way of life.

“My dad was in the sign business, and I picked it up from him. He opened up a shop the year I was born in 1946,” Combs said. “It came naturally to me really; I played with it from the time I could hold a paint brush in my hand.

“I lettered my first car in 1964, which was for Preston Humphries, then I dwindled in it a bit through the 70’s when I lettered some of Stick Elliott’s cars. After that, I spent almost 10 years away from the sport and I didn’t go to many races.”

But with racing and painting in his bloodline, Combs couldn’t stay away from racing forever.

“In 1985, I got back to hand lettering cars by painting Buck Simmons’ cars, then I started lettering the Flintstone Flyer cars up until the mid-90’s.”

There were a lot of people who made race cars happen back then. In the present day, that task falls to the engine builder, tire guy, and crew chief. However, if a driver wanted their car to not only go fast, but look good doing it, they called a hand letterer.

“We did not have all these fancy wraps and graphics,” Combs said. “Hand lettering was all you had.”

North Carolina-based racing historian Phil Combs, Roby’s brother, said it was a way for not only for the artist, but for the drivers to express themselves on the track.

“If you look back, I think people put in a little more effort to make them look good, because your race car was an expression of you,” said Phil Combs. “A lot of people wanted to look good.”

Asked about why hand lettering has become a lost art, Phil Combs credited that decline to the financial aspect of the process.

“Nowadays if you get a car hand lettered its expensive; if you get it wrapped its expensive, and if you get decals made its expensive,” he explained. “It did not cost a lot back in the day to get your car lettered; that’s why people don’t put in the same amount of time and energy to it anymore.”

More people are beginning to reflect on the past and may want their cars hand lettered, but in an age of computer software and vinyl, hand painting of race cars is becoming more and more a fading art.

St. Louis Blues forward Alexander Steen will return from a 16-game absence Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks, according to the team.

Steen has not played since suffering a high ankle sprain in a collision on Nov. 6 against the Edmonton Oilers.

The 35-year-old Steen has zero goals and five assists in 17 games this season for the 19-8-6 Blues. They were 8-5-3 during Steen's absence.

Barcelona will complain to the Royal Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] after they were denied a late penalty in Saturday's 2-2 draw at Real Sociedad, sources have told ESPN.

Gerard Pique appeared to be pulled down in the area in the 93rd minute of the game but referee Antonio Alberola Rojas turned down Barca's appeals. The decision didn't even appear to be referred to VAR.

Real Sociedad had earlier been awarded a penalty in very similar circumstances when Sergio Busquets tangled with Diego Llorente.

Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu felt both penalty calls should have been looked at by VAR and was left so unimpressed with events in San Sebastian that he contacted his counterpart at the RFEF, Luis Rubiales, immediately after the match.

Bartomeu will now proceed to file a formal complaint about the use of VAR to the RFEF on Sunday. He will also ask for an explanation about how the technology is being applied in Spain, pointing out that Barca were among those who supported its introduction into La Liga.

Mikel Oyarzabal's early penalty had given La Real the lead but Barca fought back with goals from Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez.

The home side levelled just after the hour mark through Alexander Isak and both sides had chances to win the game, but it was Barca who were left unhappy as their late penalty shout fell on deaf ears.

"There's always going to be controversy," midfielder Busquets told reporters. "For their penalty, there's a clash [between two of us]. Maybe I have grabbed [Llorente] but if you set the bar there it's going to be difficult [to remain consistent].

"The proof of that comes with Pique, because it's clearer than mine. I don't know why VAR didn't review it. Those moments have to be looked at by VAR.

"But we don't know what's going on in the referee's head or when VAR should get involved. We don't know and we're not going to know because they don't say. They don't make any comments [about the decision process]."

The draw could see Barca give up top spot to Real Madrid if Los Blancos can win away at Valencia on Sunday.

Barca and Madrid then meet on Wednesday at Camp Nou in the first Clasico of the season, a game which has been rearranged having been called off in October due to the political unrest in Catalonia at the time.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has said he no longer celebrates when his team scores a goal due to the delay caused by VAR.

Liverpool extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League with a 2-0 win over Watford but VAR overruled a second-half Sadio Mane strike for offside, while there was a long wait before Mohamed Salah's second goal was awarded.

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"I don't celebrate goals anymore, obviously, because we have to wait until somebody says it is a goal," he said at a news conference after the game.

Salah's two goals moved Liverpool 10 points clear at the top of the league after second-place Leicester were held at home to Norwich City.

The Egypt international has scored his last three goals with his weaker right foot and admitted he has been practising in training.

"I've been practicing with my right foot," he told BT Sport afterwards. "I had good luck with the first goal. It was a counter-attack, got a good pass from Sadio, and I think we scored at the right time.

"We played against a tough team. I think they should be in a better position than what they are. Hopefully, we keep winning in the next few games."

Klopp was also adamant that he knew nothing about reported plans that clubs wanted more Champions League matches.

"I read an article today that the top clubs want more games in the Champions League -- I'm not involved in these plans, so that's absolute bulls--- as well," he added.

"We can talk about everything, but we have to cut off games, not put more in. We are quite positive about doing what we do, but it's clear we need each point we can get, because it is a tough and long season."

Liverpool will travel to Qatar next week, where they will look to win the Club World Cup for the first time in their history.

The Los Angeles Lakers will pack up their bags in Miami on Saturday and fly to Atlanta for the third leg of their five-game road trip Sunday, but the team plane will be missing some precious cargo. LeBron James chartered a flight of his own on L.A.'s off day to fly to Columbus, Ohio, to see son LeBron James Jr.'s Sierra Canyon High School play his alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary.

As exciting as the Lakers' 23-3 start has been for James, Sierra Canyon's 7-0 start without James present for the games has made him feel like he's missing out. Until Saturday, that is.

"If you ask me what's been the only sucky thing about this season so far is that my son has played like six games into his freshman year and I haven't seen one," James said after the Lakers' win in Miami on Friday night. "I love what I do. I don't take this for granted. This is a dream come true. But missing my son, you know Bron Jr., missing [my other son] Bryce's first game the other day when we left for Orlando, his first game of the season. Missing my daughter at gymnastics and things of that nature, and I understand the business, but it sucks."

James' eldest son, who goes by Bronny, is a 15-year-old freshman on Sierra Canyon's nationally ranked boys basketball team.

The Lakers star takes a break from his steady diet of NBA consumption to stream Bronny's high school games whenever the schedule allows. Anthony Davis says he's seen James on the bus, in the locker room and on the plane catching a glimpse of Sierra Canyon on his phone or iPad.

"I mean, it's a great time for him," Davis said Friday. "He's kind of reliving his past, watching his son play and go through everything -- all the media and all the games they're playing on TV." This week marks the 17th anniversary of James playing on national television on ESPN for the first time when his St. Vincent-St. Mary team beat Oak Hill Academy, then the No. 1-ranked team in the nation.

"Obviously, everybody knows that St. Vincent-St. Mary is when people started to recognize me from a national standpoint," James told ESPN this week. "And my son is about to play a high school game versus my alma mater in our home state. The only thing that would have been more emotional is if my son was playing St. Vincent-St. Mary at the LeBron James Arena in Akron. That would have been, like -- that would have been too much."

The game, officially dubbed the GermainCars.com Ohio Play-by-Play Classic (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3 and the ESPN App), is being organized by Jeremy Treatman, the president of the Play-by-Play Classics.

Treatman, who was an assistant coach on Kobe Bryant's Lower Merion High School basketball team, recognized the interest in emerging prep stars nearly two decades ago and began hosting showcase games around the country to show off the nation's top talent.

One of those games involved James' St. Vincent-St. Mary squad flying to Philadelphia to face Strawberry Mansion in 2002.

"Probably one of the most exciting things that ever happened to me," Treatman told ESPN, reflecting on the chance to stage spotlight opportunities for both James and now James' son.

Back then, Treatman, who was just getting his feet wet in the field, having organized a game between Dajuan Wagner's Camden High School and Eddie Griffin's Roman Catholic teams, sent a proposal to St. Vincent-St. Mary coach Dru Joyce with visions of hosting James' team at a marquee venue such as Madison Square Garden, the Dean Dome or the Palestra.

Joyce, who is still the coach at SVSM and will be roaming the sideline Saturday, took to the Palestra idea.

"I said, 'Listen, you're going to go to Philadelphia. You're not just playing a game, you're going to go to Independence Hall, you're going to get the best steak sandwich you've ever had, you're going to meet the Eagles,' and we did all those things," Treatman said. "There's going to be a cultural education component to every event as well, and then it was like, they called up and said, 'We're going to do all these games with you,' and I'm like, 'Oh my god, this is really happening! Now I have to execute.' Which is the same way I reacted to this. Because even though I'm older and accomplished and have a great track record and reputation now, I still felt the same way."

Saturday's game will be played at Nationwide Arena, home to the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, in Ohio's state capital. The venue seats about 19,000 for basketball and Treatman expects around 13,000 fans for Bronny's homecoming.

Just like in 2002, Treatman worked up a proposal and had to get buy-in from both Sierra Canyon and St. Vincent-St. Mary -- and approval from James -- before the game could come to be. "I had heard from both sides that LeBron James knew about it, gave the approval and was excited to have his son play against his team," Treatman told ESPN. "He thought it was a neat idea, and that was sort of the premise behind the whole thing, welcoming back Bronny James to the state of Ohio. And that's why I chose to do it in Columbus instead of Akron or Cleveland, also, because I thought it was something the whole state of Ohio would embrace."

Even though Bronny is just a freshman who has come off the bench more games than he's started and LeBron was the top-ranked player in the country in 2002, Treatman says the interest for Saturday's game is even bigger than the event he organized all those years ago. As of Friday there were already 262 media requests for credentials, and James himself will have a party of about 75 people -- family, friends and business associates -- at the game.

James has a pregame dinner planned with his former St. Vincent-St. Mary teammates -- including Willie McGee, who is currently the athletic director at the school -- and is making a full day of it, sources told ESPN.

"It's a pretty big deal," Treatman said. "It's pretty exciting how serious LeBron is taking this. He's flying in between two NBA games and everybody he knows and is close with and all of his old St. Vincent-St. Mary teammates are coming. So it's like a reunion for all of us from the 2002-03 season. Me and Willie McGee, we've been talking about how exciting it is that we're all going to be back together again."

Treatman is already in discussions with both schools about making this game happen all four years that Bronny is in high school. He does, however, recognize how different the circumstances around this game are than when he brought LeBron James to Philly.

"Setting up the game with a ninth-grader being the headliner is definitely a lot different than an accomplished No. 1 senior in the country, especially one who, I mean, nobody has come through with more hype than LeBron James. Ever," Treatman said. "So it is very different from that regard. I kind of feel we're a little bit in the area of unknown."

What's certain is how rare this opportunity is for James to be in the same place with his family in the thick of the NBA season and have his son's schedule take priority over the Lakers'.

"I know just as a parent, I know it's really exciting," said Lakers coach Frank Vogel. "We sacrifice a lot in this profession, in terms of the family time and the things we miss out on with our kids. I'm definitely happy for him that he'll be able to do that."

Added Lakers center JaVale McGee: "It matters. It matters big-time, just knowing as a kid you'd be like, 'Damn, I wish my parent was there.' So I would never want my daughter, or I'm sure LeBron doesn't want his son, to feel like, 'Oh, my father never came to any of my games.' I'm sure it's a great feeling for his son to know my dad's coming to as many games as he can come to."

And for James, it's certainly worth the extra plane mileage and adding the extra stress of packing his NormaTec machine with him on his trip to Ohio to make sure he can get his legs ready for Sunday's Hawks game on the flight back.

"To go watch my son play ... and also versus my alma mater," James said, "it's a pretty surreal, come-full-circle, unbelievable thing."

Maybe nobody digs the long ball now that everybody is hitting the long ball. Just five of the 135 hitters who qualified for the batting title in 2019 hit fewer than 10 runs. Five years ago, that number was 43. Home runs are cheap and plentiful, and in a world in which front offices are looking for versatile, well-rounded players, the offense-only sluggers have had a harder time getting attention in free agency.

But even if the $100 million contract for any random slugger is dead, there are always teams that need to add offense. Unlike in past years, some of the players in this category might actually be undervalued by the market during a winter in which pitchers are getting paid. Here are five teams that should pay to add some punch to their lineups.

INDIANAPOLIS – Racing will continue at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville thanks to Track Enterprises and Bob Sargent.

Sargent has entered into an agreement with city officials to promote a 10-race schedule of events at the historic .596-mile asphalt oval located in Nashville, Tenn. Seven of those races will be events for weekly competitors and three will be special events.

The news comes after the fair board voted to end its contract with Formosa Productions after the group failed to pay its outstanding debt to the city.

In recent months there has been an increased interest in Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville from Speedway Motorsports Inc., which is operated by O. Bruton Smith and the Smith family, to bring NASCAR back to the Nashville market. There are also plans to build a soccer stadium on the property next to he fairgrounds track.

Sargent said the long-term future of the speedway and his involvement at the track will depend on what happens with the soccer stadium and NASCAR.

“We already had a relationship. We’d been there for five years running the ARCA national series,” Sargent explained Saturday at the PRI Trade Show in Indianapolis. “We had a good relationship with the fairgrounds and I think we were always in talks about future. Of course the soccer stadium is big news in Nashville and the SMI interest is big news. We just wanted to make sure the facility stayed going while all this is going on.

“I think the future, short term, 2020 is solid. We would like to continue going at the facility in our role. A lot of that will depend on how the NASCAR and/or the soccer develops.”

The first special event on the schedule is a triple threat of events on May 2-3. The ARCA Menards Series East division will compete at the track on May 2. Also on the schedule for the weekend is the fifth edition of the North/South Super Late Model Challenge, which will feature a tri-sanctioned super late model event featuring the ARCA/CRA Super Series, CARS Tour and Southern Super Series. The JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour will also be in action as part of the weekend.

The JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour will return to Nashville for a headlining event on July 18 when the annual Masters of the Pros event moves to Nashville after most recently being held at Memphis Int’l Raceway.

Lastly, the 36th edition of the All-American 400 super late model race will be run Oct. 31-Nov. 1.

The addition of Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville to the Track Enterprises family adds another piece to an already busy and complicated schedule for Sargent, who promotes racing events across the United States with a number of different sanctioning bodies.

“We do around 80 events in several different states with a lot of different sanctioning bodies,” Sargent said. “This is really not unlike a lot of the other ones we do. We go in and we try to make a really good facility, good events, customer relations, participant relations, just trying to make the whole experience good from the racer standpoint, the fan standpoint, the sponsor standpoint and the media standpoint.

“We’ll work very hard on all of that.”

Sargent said he hopes to make a decision regarding a point fund for the seven weekly races on the schedule in the near future.

“It’s a little early, this has come together very quickly,” Sargent said. “We’re finishing all of that between now and the first of the year. We’re kind of telling everybody to stay tuned to all of the websites, social media. We’ll have more announcements as we get them and probably a larger gathering or press conference in Nashville.”

A full schedule of events for the upcoming season at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville will be announced in the near future.

Barcelona had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Real Sociedad, a result that takes them to the top of La Liga at least until Real Madrid play on Sunday.

Sociedad took the lead after only 12 minutes, when Mikel Oyarzabal scored from the spot after Sergio Busquets fouled Diego Llorente.

Barcelona turned it around with goals either side of half-time. Luis Suarez set up Antoine Griezmann for a 38th-minute equaliser, before Suarez got on the scoresheet himself four minutes after the break.

The home side would not leave empty-handed, however, with Alexander Isak making it 2-2 just after the hour.

Graeme Smith, South Africa's acting director of cricket, has chosen "hardened, experienced" former team-mate Mark Boucher as coach of the men's national side until the 2023 World Cup. Enoch Nkwe, the interim team director (a term that has now been scrapped), has been appointed Boucher's assistant for the same period while former convenor of selectors Linda Zondi has been brought back until April 2020 and Ashwell Prince will coach the South African A side.

Boucher, Zondi, Nkwe and Test captain Faf du Plessis make up the selection panel for now, whose first task is to choose the squad that will face England in a home series starting on Boxing Day. The squad for the first two Tests will be announced on Monday, before the Mzansi Super League final. A batting and bowling consultant will also be finalised in the coming week.

The radical changes to the South African national structure were made in the last four days after Smith accepted the director of cricket position in a temporary capacity on Wednesday. Smith has signed a three-month contract after which he has a commentary stint at the Indian Premier League and confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he would then consider a more permanent deal with CSA.

Smith's appointment comes after more than three months of negotiation, during which time he withdrew his interest before being re-engaged following the suspension of CSA CEO Thabang Moroe. While Smith confirmed he still has "no relationship," with the under-pressure CSA Board, he explained that the changes in the CSA executive administration played a major part in his accepting the role.

"I didn't have a lot of confidence in the leadership of CSA," Smith said. "With such an extensive job description, I didn't feel I could achieve in the role with the leadership that was there at the time. You need a robust CSA to be able to challenge each other, you need trust and you need to have an environment that was ready for that, and I didn't feel the environment was ready before I took this job.

"If I am going to come in, I want to be able to do the best that I can do. I feel that is slightly better now. The opportunity is there. I have got a lot of confidence in Jacques [Faul] as the CEO."

"I am very aware of transformation. I led my the country for 11 years and I had to be very much a part of managing those processes." Graeme Smith

Faul has also been appointed in an interim capacity for the next six months while Moroe undergoes a disciplinary process. With Smith making clear his allegiance, it would appear his future involvement with CSA is tied to Faul's and will be decided as the summer ends. Similarly, the position of Zondi, whose short-term contract was a result of what Smith called "a budget thing", will also be up for discussion when the 2019-20 season is over.

However, the positions of Boucher and Nkwe are confirmed until after the 2023 World Cup, a decision that aims to provide both expertise and continuity for the national side. "I felt at this stage, the Proteas needed a really hardened, experienced international guy," Smith said. "I feel that Mark, from a cricket perspective, is very knowledgeable. He is tactically very knowledgeable. We all know what qualities he has as a man as well. I felt those were the decisions best needed for the current Proteas set up."

Smith indicated the long-term plan would be to prepare Nkwe to take over from Boucher in the future. "We have had a couple of chats with Enoch in terms of his pathway going forward and developing him as a high-standing international coach. We feel he has got a lot of qualities that will be very useful to Mark and that will help him progress in international cricket."

Asked whether the demotion of Nkwe, South Africa's first black African coach, and the appointment of Boucher above him could be seen as a whitewash, Smith disagreed. "My job is to create cricket excellence. I feel I have made the right decision for the Proteas. I think for Enoch's future as well it is the right appointment. We need to think about managing people sometimes and not just a number," Smith said. "I am very aware of transformation. I led my the country for 11 years and I had to be very much a part of managing those processes. A number of discussions need to happen behind the scenes but I disagree with the statement [that it's a whitewash]."

Smith is also still in discussions with CSA around the transformation targets and the policy going forward but for now wants to focus on getting the South Africa team back on stable ground following a rocky 2019. South Africa lost five successive Tests, including a home series in Sri Lanka and a 0-3 defeat in India, where Smith indicated off-field problems appeared to bleed onto the field. "The disappointing thing has been how South African cricket has been run of late. That has been the most challenging aspect. That's filtered into the environment and made life difficult for the guys that have been in that position. Hopefully in the short term we can turn it around."

For Smith, it is key to "bring leadership back into the game", which can be provided by former internationals. Smith singled out Prince's involvement with the A side as particularly important. "I am very happy that we have Ashwell involved. He has got a lot of international experience, he is a hardened international cricketer. He is full of opinions which we love," Smith said. "The A side needs to be the second-best men's team in the country."

If Smith takes on the role post the IPL next year, his job will include developing a strategy that will include the A side, looking at the domestic structures, the Under-19 side, the women's game, and even cricket at grassroots level. For now, Smith's sole focus is the national men's team and the England series and creating the blueprint that will put South Africa on a path to success.

"We want the Proteas to play well and start winning again. Faf is happy that there is a bit of leadership around. Both him and Enoch have had very frustrating times over the last period. There has been almost no communication with them [from CSA] for a lengthy period of time. I'm glad we were able to come in and provide some direction for them," Smith said. "Hopefully we can take away some of the drama from them and Faf and the team that is selected can focus on playing cricket and doing the job well. That's what's expected of them. It's going to be our responsibility to clean up the rest."