THOMPSON, Conn. – Northeastern Midget Ass’n President Tim Bertrand has released the clubs schedule for the upcoming season.

The schedule features 14 NEMA midget shows and 17 NEMA Lites shows, with 13 combined NEMA Midget/NEMA Lites shows on the schedule.

“We plan to play off of the success that we had over the last couple of seasons, as a club. We had strong car counts in the 30 car range every week, with a season high of nearly 40 cars at the Boston Louie event,” said Bertrand. “I see us only continuing to gain momentum for 2020. We’ve got a number of new teams coming into the Lite series, have at least three new full time teams in the NEMA division, with 3-4 others returning for 2020.”

The Northeastern Midget Ass’n will play part in nearly all of the Northeast’s most prestigious races: The Thompson Icebreaker, the Star Classic, the Boston Louie Memorial, Seekonk’s Open Wheel Wednesday, Lle’s Open Wheel Opener and Oktoberfest, Waterford’s 4 Cylinder Frenzy and Thompson’s World Series of Racing.

NEMA starts its season at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park’s annual Icebreaker event, with a Lites only race. The club will visit Thompson on two other occasions, one with the Whelen Modified Tour in August, and the World Series in October.

“Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park has enjoyed its great partnership with with the Northeastern Midget Ass’n. For the past several seasons, they have provided some of the most exciting competition at Thompson and we are delighted to welcome them back in 2020,” said General Manager of Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park Terry Eames.

The club will return to Star Speedway with two combined shows and two Lites only shows this season. The highlight on the schedule is a return to the Star Classic, one of the biggest open wheel races in the country.

“NEMA did a great job for us last year at the Star Classic, and is a great addition to our race card,” said Star Speedway General Manager and owner Bobby Webber Jr. “We are excited to have them return a number of times this year, and continue our over 60 year tradition here at Star Speedway.”

The schedule will feature two trips to Seekonk Speedway, one with the Lites during Open Wheel Wednesday and the other, the Boston Louie Memorial, with the International Supermodified Ass’n in August.

NEMA will also return to two tracks this year, Claremont Motorsports Park for the track’s season opening event alongside the Granite State Pro Stocks, and one at Hudson Speedway, where NEMA has not competed at in nearly 20 years.

Three shows at Lee USA Speedway are on the docket, after NEMA rekindled its relationship with the speedway after the change of ownership last season. The last time NEMA visited the speedway, Sammy Swindell earned his lone victory of the season, extending his 49 year winning streak. Swindell is slated to compete with NEMA on a handful of occasions again in 2020.

NEMA also returns to Wiscasset, Monadnock and New London-Waterford Speedbowl.

“The Speedbowl is extremely excited to have NEMA headline our Inaugural 4 Cylinder Frenzy show, on Saturday Sept. 12, 2020. The NEMA midgets always provide the most exciting side by side action and down to the wire finishes! This will be the premier 4 cylinder show in the Northeast and will be one of our biggest events of 2020,” said Speedbowl General Manager Mike Serluca.

2020 Northeastern Midget Ass’n Schedule

April 4 – Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park – Thompson, Conn. (Lites)

April 24 – Claremont Motorsports Park – Claremont, N.H. (NEMA & Lites)

May 2 – Star Speedway – Epping, N.H. (Lites)

May 16 – Lee USA Speedway – Lee, N.H. (NEMA & Lites)

June 6 – Wiscasset Speedway – Wiscasset, Maine (NEMA & Lites)

June 20 – Star Speedway – Epping, N.H. (NEMA & Lites)

June 21 – Hudson Speedway – Hudson, N.H. (NEMA & Lites)

July 1 – Seekonk Speedway – Seekonk, Mass. (Lites)

July 18 – Lee USA Speedway – Lee, N.H. (NEMA & Lites)

Aug. 1 – Star Speedway – Epping, N.H. (Lites)

Aug. 12 – Seekonk Speedway – Seekonk, Mass. (NEMA & Lites)

Aug. 19 – Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park – Thompson, Conn. (NEMA)

Sept. 12 – New London-Waterford Speedbowl – Waterford, Conn. (NEMA & Lites)

Sept. 19 – Star Speedway – Epping, N.H. (NEMA & Lites)

Oct. 3 – Lee USA Speedway – Lee, N.H. (NEMA & Lites)

Oct. 10-11 – Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park – Thompson, Conn. (NEMA & Lites)

Oct. 25 – New London-Waterford Speedbowl – Waterford, Conn. (NEMA & Lites)

MANCHESTER -- Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Jesse Lingard is back to his best after hinting off-field issues have contributed to the midfielder's loss of form.

Lingard had not made a Premier League start since September before returning to the team to play a key role in back-to-back victories over Tottenham and Manchester City.

- ESPN Premier League fantasy: Sign up now!
- VAR in the Premier League: Ultimate guide
- When does the transfer window reopen?
- Premier League winter break: All you need to know

"Every one of us have things to deal with on the pitch and off the pitch and what he has had to deal with, that will be between us," Solskjaer said. "It's great to see him back.

"He's Man United through and through. He's a Red, he's got a great attitude and a great work rate."

Lingard was caught up in controversy over the summer when he accidentally posted a video on Instagram of his friend simulating sex with a pillow in a hotel room. He was reprimanded by Solskjaer over the incident.

This season the 26-year-old has spent two spells on the sidelines with injury and lost his place in the England squad but sent a message to boss Gareth Southgate ahead of Euro 2020 with two impressive displays against Spurs and City.

Some United supporters were quick to jump on Lingard's back during his dip in form but Solskjaer has told fans they cannot always see the full picture.

"You can criticise anyone about anything, that's the privilege some people think they have," Solskjaer said. "For me as a manager, I have to look after these boys in the good and the bad times.

"It's great to work with him. I had him in the reserves, I gave him his debut in the reserves against Burnley. It's good to see him back to his old self."

After collecting six points from two tough games in the space of four days, United have moved up to fifth in the table -- five points off the top four. They have a favourable run over Christmas with games against Everton, Watford, Newcastle and Burnley before a trip to Arsenal on New Year's Day and, after struggling against so-classed lesser teams this season, Solskjaer said it is down to him to lift his players for every game -- not just those against the top six.

"That's up to me, to make sure that for every single game," Solskjaer said. "They know they have to earn the right to win a game of football.

"You've got to earn the right to win. It's consistency and just being better at taking care of our chances. We've had chances in every single game.

"There are so many games I could go through that we should have won. We know that we have to get better results against teams that drop deeper. We'll improve on that."

Pep Guardiola sought out Fred after the Manchester United midfielder found himself at the centre of a racism storm on Saturday, sources have told ESPN FC.

The Manchester City manager spoke to the Brazilian after concluding his media commitments following United's 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium.

The club's chief executive, Ferran Soriano, also spoke to United director David Gill in the tunnel after the final whistle.

Pictures appeared to show a fan making a gesture towards Fred and teammate Jesse Lingard in the 67th minute of the Manchester derby.

Greater Manchester police have confirmed a 41-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order. Sources have told ESPN FC that City will issue a life ban for any supporter found guilty of racism.

Defeat to United saw City slip 14 points behind leaders Liverpool but Guardiola insists he will not throw in the towel to focus on the Champions League.

"We are not thinking to win the Champions League in that position," said Guardiola.

"We are trying to win games, to win the next one. I am not thinking about how many points we need or how many points they have to drop.

"We are not able to be consistent like we were in the last two seasons so that is the reality and you have to help the players."

PORT ROYAL, Pa. – Entering the 2019 season, one could argue that no driver in the pits was more determined to not let history repeat itself than Dylan Yoder.

Leading the point standings entering the final event of the 2018 racing season, Jeff Rine picked up the victory to Yoder’s second place finish, which allowed Rine to claim the championship in one of the closest of margins in the history of the Port Royal Speedway.

Obviously disappointed, Yoder could’ve easily packed up his trailer and went home. Already a 14-time winner at Port Royal in super late model competition, one could argue that he didn’t have anything left to prove.

However, he came back in 2019 with a goal in mind: win the championship. On the heels of three victories, eight podium finishes and 13 top-10 finishes, Yoder led the points from start to finish and picked up his first career River Valley Builders Super Late Model Championship title by a commanding 445 points.

“It’s always nice to win track championships and it says a lot about our team and it’s resolve to come back from last year’s heartbreak,” said Yoder. “We’ve had years where we won more races, but I think in terms of consistency this one was the top and was pretty special.”

Yoder opened up the season with a second-place finish, followed by finishes of sixth, third, eighth, back to back second place’s, fifth and once again second before finally landing in victory lane in late June. The following week Yoder was once again leading when a blown tire ended his night early.

He would be credited with 16th, which would ultimately be one of only three occurrences all season where his No. 24 finished outside of the top-10.

It would take Yoder roughly a month to park it in in victory lane a second time as he did again on June 20th, and he backed it up by winning the following weekend during the $2,500 Living Legends Dream Race.

Not bad for a guy who wasn’t even sure if he was going to run for points this season.

“We really wanted to head out to Eldora (Speedway) this year and it just so happened that their date lined up with an off weekend, so it allowed us to run for points,” said Yoder. “I’ll always be able to say going forward that we won the track title at Port Royal Speedway, so I’m really proud to have made this happen.”

He credits the unique track surface of the Juniata County oval for allowing him to make changes to the car that he normally wouldn’t other places and believes that the weekly competition the speedway presents make his season even more special.

“Port really slicks off a bit different than other tracks and that allows me to try things with the car that I normally wouldn’t be able to other places,” said Yoder. “And it seems like every week there is a bunch of invaders and past champions in the pits looking to capitalize on the payouts the track offers and be a part of this track. Those guys don’t make it easy on us, but that’s what makes us better too.”

While Yoder isn’t sure if he will return to weekly competition in 2020 to defend his title, he’s looking to returning behind the wheel next year. And even if he chooses not to defend his title, he’s extremely thankful to be able to put his name in the history books of the Juniata County oval.

“We might want to travel a little more next year, so I’m not sure what next season holds for us quite yet,” said Yoder. “But I’m really proud to represent a growing track like Port Royal as their champion and no matter what, we’ll always consider the place home anytime we pull in the pits.”

Aaron Reutzel was one of the hottest sprint car drivers in the country this season, recording 18 victories and wrapping up his second straight championship with the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions.

But for many Midwest race fans, it seems Reutzel has burst onto the racing scene the past two seasons. Besides scoring 25 All Star victories in two years, he has also defeated the World of Outlaw NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series drivers and tamed the Pennsylvania Posse on its home turf.

“We weren’t really planning to follow the All Stars in 2018,” explained the Flute, Texas, native. “But Josh Baughman called me around December (2017) and asked me to meet with him to discuss my plans. So I flew to Odessa (Texas) and listened to their proposal.

“It was also when the Folkens (Brothers Trucking) called and wanted to talk about 2018, so it really was great timing,” Reutzel continued. “And the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports team was born. I can’t thank Mike and Josh Baughman enough for the opportunity they have given me along with our great sponsors.”

Combining the resources of the two teams has helped produce tremendous results.

“This has allowed us to put together a great team with great people, better motors and more financial resources,” Reutzel said. “I couldn’t have been in that great situation if it wasn’t for a lot of people who helped along the way like Bob Miller of BC Fundz, who really got us going in sprint car racing, and my longtime crew chief, Grant Boyum. We have a great group of guys working on this team. ‘Jim Bob’ (Ben Kruse), ‘Cheese­burg­er’ (Jason Tetrault) and ‘Dylzo’ (Dylan Buswell) bust their butts to put us in this position.”

Reutzel, who claimed rookie-of-the-year honors in the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Series in 2011 and was the series champion in 2015, was also named Knoxville Nationals Rookie of the Year in 2015. Reutzel picked up his first winged 410 sprint car triumph at Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway in 2015.

“I think 2015 opened a lot of people’s eyes as to what we could do given the right equipment and situation,” Reutzel said.

That success gave Reutzel the confidence to expand his schedule, traveling to nearly 100 races in 2016 while recording 33 top-five finishes and scoring a victory at Ohio’s world-famous Eldora Speedway upon his first visit to the half-mile track.

But it’s been the past two seasons that have really solidified Reutzel as one of the top sprint car drivers in the country.

“This year alone, we’ve won 18 races but that easily could be nearly 25. We had six DNFs with the All Stars because of engine failures, tangling with lapped cars or flat tires and we were leading four of those and were running second in the other two,” Reutzel said. “Just having the resources now, thanks to the Baughmans, these Rider Engines have been phenomenal, we can concentrate on winning with no worries.”

Click below to keep reading.

Henrik Stenson made his triumphant return to the winner's circle for the first time since 2017 at the Hero World Challenge, topping Jon Rahm by a shot on Saturday in the Bahamas.

Here's what was in the winner's bag:

Driver: Callaway Epic Flash (9 degrees) with Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue 65X shaft

3 Wood: Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero (13.5 degrees) with Project X HZRDUS Green Smoke shaft

5 Wood: Callaway Rogue Sub Zero (18 degrees) with Mitsubishi Tensei CK Blue 80TX shaft

Irons: Callaway Legacy Black (3-9 iron) with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120X shafts

Wedges: Callaway MD3 Milled (46 degrees), Callaway Jaws MD5 (52 and 58 degrees) with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120X shafts

Putter: Odyssey White Hot Pro No. 7

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Lamar Jackson didn't break Michael Vick's record, but the Baltimore Ravens were able to earn something that required them to fight until the final minute.

Jackson threw three touchdown passes and the Ravens' defense delivered a fourth-down stand in the fourth quarter to help the Ravens slip past the Buffalo Bills 24-17 and clinch a second straight playoff berth. Off to their best start in franchise history, the Ravens (11-2) can secure their second consecutive AFC North title if the Pittsburgh Steelers lose to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.

After watching a double-digit fourth-quarter lead nearly get away from them, the Ravens couldn't celebrate until cornerback Marcus Peters deflected a fourth-down red zone pass from Josh Allen with 1 minute, 3 seconds remaining.

With top target Mark Andrews (knee) injured and Jackson getting bottled up in the running game, the quarterback had to scratch out his ninth straight win with his arm, hitting Nick Boyle (3 yards), Hayden Hurst (61 yards) and Willie Snead IV (4 yards) for touchdown passes at a windy New Era Field.

Jackson became the second quarterback in NFL history to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing, but he was held to 40 yards, the second fewest of the season. He's still 23 yards short of Vick's single-season rushing record for a quarterback.

The Ravens' defense had held the Bills out of the end zone for the first three quarters, when Baltimore extended its lead to 24-9. But the Bills marched to the Ravens' 16-yard line with the help of three Baltimore penalties before Peters made the timely pass breakup.

This marked the earliest that the Ravens have clinched a postseason berth.

Baltimore remains the top seed in the AFC with three games remaining. The Ravens have a quick turnaround, hosting the New York Jets on Thursday night.

NEW ORLEANS -- For the first time this season, the San Francisco 49ers found themselves in a shootout, fittingly against Drew Brees and the high-powered New Orleans Saints.

In a game with major NFC playoff implications, the Niners had just enough firepower to hold off New Orleans and leave with a scintillating 48-46 victory. The win was San Francisco's first in New Orleans since 2014 and gave the Niners their first 11-win season since 2013.

San Francisco kicker Robbie Gould booted a 30-yard field goal as the clock expired to send the Niners to the victory. The kick came after the Niners drove to New Orleans' 12-yard line with under a minute to play. A 39-yard completion to tight end George Kittle plus a face mask penalty on Marcus Williams put the Niners in position.

In the process, the 49ers also became the 12th team since 1978 to win 11 or more games after winning fewer than five in the previous season. The loss was the Saints' sixth straight in a regular season game against a team with at least 10 wins.

At 11-2, the Niners now hold an important tiebreaker in the race for the top seed, although they still need the Seattle Seahawks to lose another game before they can jump back into that spot. Regardless, San Francisco now holds a head-to-head edge against both the Saints and the Green Bay Packers, another top contender in the NFC.

For the 10-3 Saints, the loss removes them from the top seat in the NFC playoff picture and tosses them into a jumbled mess that includes the Niners, Packers, Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings. New Orleans has already clinched the NFC South division but has its eyes on a first-round bye and, potentially, the top seed in the NFC. While New Orleans holds the tiebreaker against Seattle, it now doesn't have one against the 49ers and Packers.

The Niners had to bounce back time and again with their most resilient performance in a game that featured fireworks right from the start. After a wild first half that saw the teams combine for 55 points and 581 yards -- the first time teams had that many combined points and yards in the first half since Week 8 of 2014 -- the Niners defense settled in a bit in the second half by holding New Orleans to 13 points, while the offense came up with enough big plays and the running game stepped up when needed to salt it away.

The high-caliber football played Sunday should have been no surprise, given that it was only the fifth game between two teams with two or fewer losses this late in the season in the past 35 years.

San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo did most of the heavy lifting to make it happen, finishing 26-of-35 for 349 yards with four touchdowns and one interception for a passer rating of 131.7. The four-touchdown effort puts Garoppolo with Steve Young and Jeff Garcia as the only Niners quarterbacks to have at least three games with four or more touchdowns in a season.

Receiver Emmanuel Sanders was Garoppolo's favorite target, finishing with 157 yards on seven catches with a touchdown. Sanders also threw a 35-yard touchdown, giving the 49ers five touchdown passes in a game for the first time since 1990. Sanders became the first Niner since San Francisco joined the NFL in 1950 to throw for and catch a touchdown in the same game, the second time he's done it in his career.

The 49ers also benefited from some late penalties that went against New Orleans on a drive that would eventually end with Kendrick Bourne's second 6-yard touchdown on the day. The Saints were flagged three times on third down, including a defensive holding and an unnecessary roughness to help that drive stay alive.

The Saints managed to stay in it with help of a penalty, too, as Niners cornerback Richard Sherman was called for holding on a third-down play that nullified a sack and would have forced a New Orleans punt.

But the 49ers, after losing their previous two games on last-second field goals, found a way to close this one out and stay in control of their future in the NFC playoff picture.

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Saints finally got the offensive outburst they’ve been waiting for. But they squandered it with their worst defensive performance of the season in a wild 48-46 track meet that nobody could have seen coming against the San Francisco 49ers’ No. 1-ranked defense.

The Saints (10-3) can still potentially wind up as the NFC’s No. 1 seed. But now they may need losses by the 49ers (11-2), Seattle Seahawks (10-2) and Green Bay Packers (10-3) to make it happen.

New Orleans definitively lost its grip on the NFC race right around the time that safety Marcus Williams was flagged for yanking on 49ers tight end George Kittle’s facemask at the end of a 39-yard catch on fourth-and-2 with 30 seconds remaining to set up San Francisco’s game-winning field goal.

But the Saints’ defense struggled to contain the 49ers all day. The 49ers picked on cornerback Eli Apple early while torching New Orleans’ pass defense. Then, they started gashing the Saints with the run. And San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan even threw in some trick plays, including a touchdown pass from receiver Emmanuel Sanders to running back Raheem Mostert. Costly penalties against Saints rookie safety CJ Gardner-Johnson added to their woes late in the game.

It was a disappointing performance for a Saints defense that had really been the strength of the team for much of the season, ranking eighth in the NFL in yards allowed coming into the game.

The Saints will now have to recover in time for a home date with the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football next week.

Silver lining: If the Saints bring this offense with them into January, they’ll have better days to come. Drew Brees was just talking this week about how they still hadn’t had that dynamic breakout performance from the offense yet this year, but he felt like they were “ascending” and ready to peak at the right time. Well, they came out and scored TDs on their first four possessions and even finished strong with a go-ahead TD drive in the final minute as Brees finished with 349 passing yards, five TD passes and one TD run. But it wasn’t enough on this day.

Pivotal play: You really can’t afford turnovers in a track meet like this. So the timing obviously wasn’t ideal when the Saints lost their first offensive fumble of the entire season at their own 20-yard line early in the third quarter. Alvin Kamara coughed up the ball on a handoff for just the second lost fumble of his career. And the 49ers scored a touchdown two plays later.

Pivotal no-call: The Saints tried a gutsy fake punt on fourth-and-18 from the 49ers’ 45-yard line late in the third quarter. And it looked for a moment like they might draw a pass interference penalty on Taysom Hill’s deep pass to receiver Tre’Quan Smith. However, the officials explained that there is no rule against pass interference on outside receivers on punt formations. The referee even explained it twice over the loudspeaker to drive home the point over the raucous boos of the crowd.

Promising trend: It feels like it happened three weeks ago, but the Saints’ first two touchdowns came courtesy of tight end Jared Cook, who has really been emerging as a much-needed weapon for them with four TD catches over the past four games. Unfortunately, Cook left the game with a concussion after his second catch – a terrific 26-yard grab that he held onto despite being hit in the head. Ideally, Saints will get him back in plenty of time for their playoff run.