INDIANAPOLIS – One of the nation’s leading tours for short-track truck racers is getting a shot in the arm for the 2020 racing season.

For the first time in its history, the entire Southeast Super Truck Series schedule will be broadcast live through the SPEED SPORT TV platform, as announced Wednesday during the build-up to the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Indianapolis.

“We’re always looking for the next thing we can do to help give our racers a better place to race and more value for not only their money, but also their sponsors’ investments,” said Jeff Myers, promoter of the Southeast Super Truck Series, which also encompasses touring divisions for limited late models, Legends, front wheel drives and more. “The opportunities presented by this partnership benefit us in multiple ways and we look forward to growing our brand of racing through fan engagement and additional exposure of our series to potential competitors.”

The Southeast Super Truck broadcast distribution will be one of the most unique models in grassroots motorsports, leaning on the strength of other platform brands with healthy audiences.

In addition to the SPEED SPORT TV brand, the tour will have its own presence through branded channels including SEST.tv, a website dedicated strictly to Southeast Super Truck and related content. Roku, Amazon Fire TV channels and additional access points will also include the SEST TV branding.

Subscribers to the popular LegendsNation TV service will also have access to the events which include INEX-sanctioned Legend car competition through the Southeast Legends Tour, while subscribers to Pit Row TV’s service for CARS Tour and other asphalt late model broadcasts will also have access to the Truck races included in their memberships.

“We’re always looking to provide additional value to our subscribers and members, giving them more race broadcasts and content for the hard-earned dollars they share with us every month,” said Tony Stevens, chief steward of Pit Row Media and the TV branch which will oversee production for the broadcasts. “Just as we have successfully done with the CARS Tour, LegendsNation, and other partners of ours, our goal is to grow interest and engagement in the Southeast Super Trucks and their related tours through broadcast and social media content.

“Our subscribers get to see more high-quality racing, and the tours get the additional exposure through our various media partnerships. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

The 2020 Southeast Super Truck Series schedule is still under construction, but it is likely a safe bet the traditional stops for the tour will be included multiple times over the course of the year. That includes Kingsport (Tenn.) Speedway, Tri-County Motor Speedway in North Carolina – which has served as a sort of home track for the tour – Anderson Motor Speedway in South Carolina, and a visit to Hickory Motor Speedway.

Additional visits to new tracks to the tour are also likely in 2020.

Founded in 2011, the Southeast Super Truck Series was launched to provide a cost-effective, competitive, and friendly environment in which competitors could race trucks from various rule packages across the region.

Currently, the tour sees competitors from Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia actively race with them every year. The events are held primarily on tracks of .4 mile or less, lessening the need for higher-cost engine and suspension packages while maintaining healty competition and better entertainment for race fans.

Pit Row Media produces over 100 motorsports broadcasts a year nationwide including nearly every major form of motorsports from karting and Legend cars to major late model stock car tours and dirt racing events with national names.

In August of 2019, Pit Row TV and its related properties joined the SPEED SPORT TV family, a concentration of motorsports-related broadcasters who jointly work toward common goals, while maintaining their own independent brands and relationships under the flagship of the most trusted name in motorsports.

Pit Row Media and other SPEED SPORT TV network affiliates are available in Booth 5057 at the 2019 PRI Show.

LAS VEGAS – The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has yet another full season of racing on tap for 2020.

The three-eighths-mile paved oval will host 15 events throughout the course of the year and will kick off its schedule with the Star Nursery 150 ARCA Menards Series West race on Thursday, Feb. 20.

That event will begin four consecutive days of racing at LVMS that concludes with the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube NASCAR Cup Series race.

The Bullring’s regular season begins with Championship Series Opening Night on Saturday, March 7, and concludes with Championship Night on Sept. 12.

The US Legends Asphalt Nationals returns after a year away and will take place on Saturday, Oct. 17, and the track’s competition schedule wraps up with the West Coast Short Track Championships on Nov. 21.

The track will host a number of theme nights that will include an array of special guests, extra activities, giveaways and surprises for fans. Fans can enjoy special evenings like Hometown Heroes Night on Saturday, March 28, as well as Military & Veterans Appreciation Night on April 18 and the Chris Trickle Classic on June 20.

The wildly popular Night of Fire is set for Friday, July 3, and the track will then take a break to avoid the summer heat before returning to action with Back to School Night on Aug. 8.

In addition, the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series, SPEARS Modified Series, Late Model Truck Series and Jr. Late Models are all expected to return to The Bullring in 2020.

New for 2020, the NASCAR Modifieds division will replace the NASCAR super late models as the track’s premier class, with modified drivers able to compete for national championships by earning national points at the LVMS short track.

The super late models will remain one of the track’s five NASCAR classes, along with the modifieds, NASCAR Bombers, NASCAR Super Stocks and NASCAR pro late models, a new class that has been added for 2020.

Another Montreal Canadiens legend is facing health problems.

At the request of Hall of Famer Guy Lapointe's family, the Canadiens issued a statement saying that the 71-year-old has been diagnosed with oral cancer.

The statement says: "Dr. Keith Richardson, the treating physician from the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), indicated that the cancer is located at the base of the tongue. Lapointe will begin his treatments in the coming weeks. This form of cancer has a high cure rate.

"The family wishes to thank the personnel at the MUHC as well as all hockey fans and asks for respect of their privacy as they face this challenge."

The news comes after Habs great Guy Lafleur had a second surgery just two months removed from quadruple-bypass heart surgery in late September.

The team disclosed the Nov. 28 procedure at the request of Lafleur's family and said doctors successfully removed a lobe on one of his lungs, as well as lymph nodes. The 68-year-old had heart surgery Sept. 26.

Lapointe played defense on the great Canadiens teams anchored offensively by Lafleur. Lapointe played 14 seasons with the team from 1968 to 1982 and won six Stanley Cups. He was a four-time All-Star.

Napoli have announced Gennaro Gattuso as their new head coach following the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti.

Former AC Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid and PSG boss Ancelotti was sacked on Tuesday following the 4-0 win over Genk which confirmed their place in the Champions League knockout stage. Despite advancing to the knockout stages, the club have won just one of their last nine Serie A matches and sit eight points off the top four.

#WelcomeGattuso ? #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/dzmNApimTX

— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) December 11, 2019

There have also been a number of internal issues with the players having refused to go into training ground lockdown as order by president Aurelio De Laurentiis, who began legal proceedings to fine each player 25% of their monthly salary.

In his presentation as Napoli boss, Gattuso labelled the club's league position as "embarrassing."

"The objective is to make up ground and make the Champions League places," he said. "We need to work hard, make up ground and come out of the other side in this delicate moment.

"Seeing Napoli in his league position is embarrassing. This team has the potential to make the top four. I have encountered a team aware of their difficult situation who want to do well. I have a good feeling."

Gattuso was fired by AC Milan at the end of last season after the club missed out on Champions League qualification, finishing one point behind Atalanta and rivals Inter Milan. The Italian has also spent coaching spells at FC Sion and Palermo.

Gattuso also said Ancelotti was "like a father." The two were together for eight seasons at Milan, where Gattuso grew to become of the best midfielders around and they won a Serie A title and the Champions League on two occasions.

"Carlo Ancelotti is like a father for me," he added. "In all these years he has always been near me and helped me in every situation.

"He won everything, I still need to show a lot."

As a player, Gattuso also won the 2006 World Cup as a player with Italy, and made a total of 467 appearances for Milan over a 13-year period.

Allrounders Glenn Maxwell and Chris Morris, as well as fast bowler Pat Cummins are all expected to fetch big money as part of the second set of players at the 2020 IPL auction, scheduled for December 19 in Kolkata. The auction, a one-day affair, will kick off with a set of seven batsmen which includes Aaron Finch, Chris Lynn, Jason Roy, Eoin Morgan and Robin Uthappa.

On Wednesday, the IPL sent the eight franchises the final list of players, which has been trimmed from the original 971 to 332, including 19 Indian capped players. The final list also includes 24 new players that were added after those names were requested by the franchises.

The two-dozen strong new list includes West Indies pacer Kesrick Williams, senior Australian journeyman Dan Christian, legspinner Adam Zampa, former Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim, and 21-year-old Surrey batsman Will Jacks, who had smoked a 25-ball century in a pre-season T10 match against Lancashire in the UAE.

The players have been grouped as per their specialty, with the auction order starting with batsmen, allrounders, wicketkeeper-batsmen, fast bowlers and spinners. The auction will commence with different sets of capped players followed by the uncapped players.

A total of 73 slots are available for the eight teams to fill up, 29 of which could be overseas players. Although most franchises would be aiming to plug some gaps and looking out for back-up for key slots, some of the bigger names will be optimistic about securing a hefty payday.

Maxwell tops that list. He was among the seven players - along with Cummins, Josh Hazlewood Mitchell Marsh, Dale Steyn, and Angelo Mathews - to list their base price at the maximum of INR 2 crore (US $279,000 approximately). In October, Maxwell had taken an indefinite break from international cricket to tackle mental health issues and made a successful return to club cricket in November. Maxwell, who has featured for three IPL franchises previously, opted out of the IPL auction last year to focus on the World Cup and the Ashes.

As far as the Indians are concerned, most of the attention will be on Uthappa, who has listed his base price at INR 1.5 cr ($209,000 approx). Uthappa has been part of the Kolkata Knight Riders for several years and had even been retained through the right-to-match card option during the 2018 auction. However, the diminishing returns from Uthappa, a 2007 World T20 winner, meant the franchise decided to release him.

One man who might fancy going for big money once again is Saurashtra and India left-arm fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat. This week, Unadkat led Saurashtra to victory in the first round of the Ranji Trophy with a match-winning performance against Himachal Pradesh. Unadkat became the most expensive Indian player at the last auction (December 2018) after Rajasthan Royals paid INR 8.4 cr.

Incidentally Unadkat had a base price then of INR 1.5 cr. This time, he has listed his reserve price at INR 1 cr ($139,000 approx).

After conceding 89 runs in the first, wicketless session in Rawalpindi, Pakistan remarkably got back in the game in the second. They had bowled 48 balls on a full length in 26 overs in that opening session, conceding 47 runs off these deliveries and straying on leg stump as well. Wayward in line, ineffective in length, captain Azhar Ali's statements the previous day on the important of discipline in Test format seemed lost on this attack. Speaking after the day's play, 16-year-old Naseem Shah admitted that new plans had to be drawn up for the second session, and those centred around containing the Sri Lanka batsmen.

It was the first time in 24 years that Pakistan were playing at home with an all-pace attack. The last time this happened was in 1995, against Sri Lanka in Sialkot. The hint of grass on the Rawalpindi pitch in combination with the earlier overcast conditions seemed to suggest it was the way to go but, at the toss, Sri Lanka opted to bat, baffling many. A lack of swing duly followed, and Pakistan conceded 3.4 runs to the over in that first session. In all, 120 balls were pitched on a length or fuller to concede 74 runs.

When asked if his side misread the pitch, Shah said: "It's cricket and it happens... yes there was moisture in the pitch but we couldn't get wickets early. They also batted well and we didn't bowl according to the plan in the first session.

"So we had to re-plan and went out to contain in the second session. Overall the pitch was good, all you have to hit the good areas for success. We could have taken another wicket [in the day] but we will come back fresh tomorrow to get them as quickly as we can to restrict them under 250 to have a full control [of the game]."

Shah finished the day with two wickets, as Sri Lanka slipped from 96 for 0 to 189 for 5. At stumps they were 202 for 5, and Shah, playing his second Test after a testing debut in Australia, was facing a crowed press conference for the first time. He came across as confident in answering whatever question was thrown at him. When asked about being rested in the second Test in Australia despite holding his own in the first, he kept it brief: "There wasn't any issue. Our management understands better how they want to take care of me, so nothing to worry about."

Of course, the Rawalpindi Test is a homecoming for Test cricket in Pakistan, and Shah was happy to soak up the atmosphere. "In Australia I saw how the crowd there was behind their bowlers all the time and their support really gave them a push," he said. "And today, playing at a home venue in front of my own crowd gave me the exact sense I got in Australia. The crowd was outstanding and they were cheering on every good ball I bowled, so playing at home wasn't about me being under pressure but instead I was enjoying the atmosphere."

METAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints' last-second loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday proved even costlier than it seemed.

Defensive end Marcus Davenport will have season-ending foot surgery after being injured in the second half, and starting defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins also suffered an ankle injury in the 48-46 defeat, a source confirmed Wednesday.

The Saints will sign veteran defensive end Noah Spence as a replacement for Davenport, a source confirmed. Davenport's injury and Spence's signing were first reported by the NFL Network.

Davenport, a first-round draft pick in 2018, also had foot surgery following his rookie season. He returned to start 13 games this season with six sacks, 16 quarterback hits and three forced fumbles.

The 6-foot-6, 265-pounder hit a bit of a lull in the middle of the season, but he came up huge in Weeks 12-13 when he totaled three sacks and two forced fumbles and affected a missed field goal by the Carolina Panthers in the final minutes by leaping over the line.

Davenport will be greatly missed by a defense that already was relatively thin at defensive end.

The Saints will likely count more on third-year backup defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who also was dinged up in Sunday's game.

Spence, 25, had a terrific rookie year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2016 with 5.5 sacks and three forced fumbles after being drafted in the second round. His production has tailed off since, however, and he was released at the end of this preseason. The 6-foot-2, 252-pounder later signed with the Washington Redskins and played seven games with them, recording one sack.

The Saints are deeper at defensive tackle if Rankins misses significant time. Backups David Onyemata, Mario Edwards Jr. and Shy Tuttle could all play greater roles along with starting nose tackle Malcom Brown.

Before Sunday, the Saints' defense had been a strength for much of this season, helping them win games by scores of 12-10 and 13-6 while Drew Brees was out with a thumb injury. The Saints rank 13th in the NFL with 338.3 yards allowed per game, are tied for fourth with 43 sacks and fifth with 94.2 rushing yards allowed per game.

TORONTO -- In his first return to Toronto since being the toast of the Raptors' championship parade, Kawhi Leonard had flashbacks on his drive to the Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday morning.

"The ride was fun," Leonard said at the LA Clippers' morning shootaround prior to Wednesday night's game. "I had a great time last year with the coaching staff, front office and the players. It was a great experience."

The All-Star forward said his July decision to leave Toronto as a free agent after one season wasn't easy when he considered the Raptors, Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers.

"Gave it big consideration," Leonard said of possibly re-signing with Toronto. "I took my time like I did; I didn't hurry up and make a quick decision. I talked to front office in deep detail. It was a hard choice to make."

Everything has felt larger than life so far in the hours leading up to his return, including a group of nearly 75 media members and cameras at the morning shootaround. Leonard and New Balance put up a massive billboard in the city with him standing and palming a basketball and the message, "THANK YOU TORONTO."

"They were amazing last year," Leonard said of the Raptors' fan base. "They rode with us through the ups and downs. Just talking to another media [outlet] and I was telling them how we were down in every series pretty much, except the championship, and they stuck through it with us and they brought great energy to every game and it helped us. That is my thank you to them."

The Raptors also expressed their gratitude to the man who helped deliver the country's first NBA championship with billboards posted around downtown. One read "BOARD MAN GETS HIS RING" with a Raptors logo and a picture of Kawhi holding up his Finals MVP trophy. Another billboard outside the arena said "FUN GUY IN TOWN" with a picture of Leonard celebrating in the locker room after beating the Golden State Warriors in the Finals.

The Finals MVP is slated to receive his championship ring from the Raptors before Wednesday's game, and the franchise has asked fans to show up earlier than usual for the moment.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers and fellow All-Star Paul George believe Leonard will be received like a returning hero. Rivers even said if he were part of the Raptors' fan base, he'd be ready to retire Leonard's jersey on the same night after delivering a championship.

"He fulfilled his promise," Rivers said. "I don't know if he promised a championship, but he fulfilled it, anyway. So I think it will be an amazing reception."

Leonard does expects to hear some jeers, though.

"I mean there will be some cheers but definitely more boos because they want to win the game," Leonard said. "They're not going to be cheering for a player that's on the opposing team. They're still rooting for the Raptors."

Taking things one step at a time, as he always does, Leonard is looking forward to receiving his second championship ring before facing his old teammates.

"I've seen it in pictures, not in person," Leonard said of the ring. "I think it looks nice. I want to see it in person, so it comes full circle."

The Milwaukee Bucks will try to win their 16th straight game Wednesday night without star Giannis Antetokounmpo who is sidelined with soreness in his right quad tendon.

Antetokounmpo has been dominant this season, averaging 30.9 points per game (second in the league) and 13.2 rebounds (fifth).

The 25-year-old is coming off a 32-point, 15-rebound, 8-assist performance in a win over the Magic Dec. 9.

The defending MVP and three-time All-Star has not missed a game yet this season.

The Bucks are currently the top team in the East, while Wednesday's opponent, New Orleans, has lost nine straight.

SAN DIEGO -- The past five years, the average win total needed to earn a playoff spot in the American League has rounded out to 91. For the Los Angeles Angels, striving to launch themselves into legitimate contention as quickly as possible, that means finding 19 more wins in one offseason. Teams have done it -- 29 of them since 2000, most recently the 2019 Minnesota Twins and the 2018 Oakland Athletics -- but never easily.

"I think it's going to require risk," Angels general manager Billy Eppler said. "So you have to be prepared to take risks, be willing to kind of pursue both marketplaces, free agency and trade, in order to do that."

The Angels' best chance to make up the difference might have vanished Tuesday, when Gerrit Cole joined the New York Yankees on a nine-year, $324 million contract. Now the Angels have a lot of money to spend and no obvious place to spend it. They seemingly began Tuesday with enough payroll space to give Cole a massive contract -- though perhaps not that massive. Then they sent the 15th overall pick in the 2019 draft to the San Francisco Giants so they could free themselves of the nearly $13 million they still owed Zack Cozart.

The Angels are now projected to sit roughly $70 million below the 2020 luxury-tax threshold, which is set at $208 million, according to information from Cot's Contracts. Owner Arte Moreno has declined to reveal his operating budget for next season, but Eppler acknowledged that the team "probably" has the means to sign multiple players to $20 million-plus contracts. Speaking five hours before Cole made his decision, Eppler expressed optimism about his ability to acquire front-line starting pitchers besides Cole, specifically through the trade market. He smiled when asked if he could access those players without parting with his top prospect, Jo Adell.

"Yes," he said, "I feel confident in that."

The Angels' actual record and Pythagorean record were the same last season: 72-90. They need to increase that win total to at least 91, but how? First, they need to count on improvement from their current players.

An obvious one is Shohei Ohtani, who will return to a two-way role next season. Steamer projects him to be worth 4.7 FanGraphs-blend wins above replacement (fWAR) in 2020, which would be 2.9 more than he was worth in 2019. Steamer also projects an increase of 1.8 fWAR from left fielder Justin Upton, who struggled to stay healthy last season. It projects 2.3 fWAR from newcomer Dylan Bundy, who is probably taking the spot of a replacement-level starter. That is -- ideally -- seven more wins.

If Adell can somehow match the 3.6 fWAR Fernando Tatis Jr. produced in 84 games as a rookie for the San Diego Padres this season, that would qualify as a one-win increase over Kole Calhoun, the man he will eventually replace. Now we're at a maximum of eight.

How do the Angels pick up the rest? Below is a look. We'll take a guess at the competitive balance tax payroll, which uses the average annual value of contracts, and put it at $190 million, giving the team an estimated $52 million or so to spend. And we'll ask that you be mindful that this is a very inexact exercise, especially because we are looking only at the fWAR new players would bring and not factoring in lost production from players they would replace.

1. An easier route: Sign starting pitchers Hyun-Jin Ryu and Dallas Keuchel, sign C Martin Maldonado
Estimated 2019 cost: $42 million
Projected fWAR added: 6.7

This is very straightforward. The Angels would move on to the next tier of free-agent starters and hope two of them can come close to or surpass the production the team would have received from Cole. Ohtani is expected to pitch once a week, not every five games, which means the Angels will need a sixth starter every now and then. This gives them a rotation of Ryu, Keuchel, Ohtani, Bundy and Andrew Heaney and allows them to keep the innings low for young guys such as Griffin Canning and Patrick Sandoval. It keeps them somewhat flexible with their payroll and keeps their improving farm system intact while giving them a shot at a playoff spot. It's safe. Too safe?

2. An alternative route: Sign 3B Josh Donaldson, sign Keuchel, trade for C Willson Contreras
Estimated cost: $45 million
Projected fWAR added: 8.6

Donaldson adds more might to the lineup, giving the Angels someone who can probably play both third and first base and easing the burden for guys such as David Fletcher, Tommy La Stella and Luis Rengifo. Keuchel isn't an ace, but he can slide into the No. 2 spot and give the Angels a respectable rotation of Ohtani, Keuchel, Bundy, Canning and Heaney. Contreras, attainable from the Chicago Cubs, solidifies the catcher's spot with someone new manager Joe Maddon is quite fond of. It isn't necessarily sexy, but it is solid.

3. A bolder route: Sign 3B Anthony Rendon, trade for starting pitcher Corey Kluber, trade for reliever Josh Hader
Estimated cost: $55 million
Projected fWAR added: 10.4

The cost would be high, both financially and in prospects, but this would be fun. Rendon would join a lineup with Mike Trout, Ohtani, Upton and Adell. Kluber would sit atop the rotation, making it a formidable group. Hader would be the dominant, left-handed force in a bullpen that includes Keynan Middleton, Hansel Robles and Ty Buttrey.

The Angels would be a pretty complete team, one that might be equipped to beat a Houston Astros club that seems poised to come back to the pack. Rendon will require an exorbitant contract, but Kluber and Hader are affordable. Question is: Can the Angels acquire those two without parting with Adell? Would guys such as Canning, Fletcher, Brandon Marsh and Jeremiah Jackson be enough?