PENSACOLA, Fla. – Derek Thorn said prior to Country Pleasin’ Pole Night for the 52nd annual Snowball Derby that he “wasn’t sure what he had” for a race car at Five Flags Speedway.

What Thorn ended up with after two laps was the pole for Sunday’s 300-lap finale, the two-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion’s first time topping qualifying for the super late model classic.

The 33-year-old native of Lakeport, Calif., toured the half-mile paved oval in 16.277 seconds (110.585 mph) with his No. 43 Campbell Motorsports entry to top a 57-car field in attendance for the Derby.

After struggling through two days of practice, Thorn admitted that Friday night’s pole-winning effort was “a bit of a shock” to both himself and his team.

“Man, we practiced here on Monday and were really happy with the car, but since we showed up on Thursday, we’ve been chasing it. This is the first time since Monday that it felt back to the original hot rod we had then,” Thorn told SPEED SPORT. “My hat’s off to Mike Keane and these guys; we tried a lot of things between Monday and now to try to find some speed and some drive and consistency to it. I think we found some things that worked and found a lot of things that didn’t work, but nonetheless, here we are and it’s such a great feeling.

“If you would’ve told me Thursday we were going to have the pole for this race, I don’t think I would have believed you. Man, this is cool!”

With Sunday’s Derby featuring controlled cautions instead of live pit stops, Thorn was quick to note that he believes track position – and the ability to manage the race pace – will be more important than ever.

“We’ll have to make some adjustments, obviously, to get this thing tuned up for the race and maybe a little bit better … but to be up front and start up front, that makes it easier to fall back and pace yourself than it is to move forward through the field,” Thorn said. “Hopefully we can maintain some track position, use those controlled cautions, and make the proper adjustments to be there at the end.”

Cole Butcher will join Thorn on the front row, qualifying second-fastest for the second year in a row. The Canadian turned a best lap of 16.379 seconds (109.897 mph) with his red No. 53.

Much like Thorn, Butcher feels that he can stay in the mix Sunday since he’s starting at the front of the field.

“After watching Dartfish, Derek just ran it in a little bit harder in both corners,” said Butcher of where he was a touch short. “Congratulations to Derek, though. They deserve it; they’ve been working hard lately. For us, though, to qualify second two years in a row is pretty amazing and I can’t thank these Wilson Motorsports guys enough. They’re building badass cars and to have all three in the show is incredible.”

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular Corey LaJoie timed in third overall, followed by the Georgia duo of Kyle Plott and short-track kingpin Bubba Pollard, who starts fifth on Sunday afternoon.

Josh Berry, Matt Craig, Jeff Choquette, Casey Roderick and Chandler Smith filled out the first five rows.

Notables starting in the middle of the pack include former Derby polesitter Preston Peltier (13th), young guns Gio Bromante (14th) and Kaden Honeycutt (16th), two-time Derby winner Augie Grill (21st) and NASCAR Truck Series team owner David Gilliland (22nd), making a rare super late model appearance.

After leading the first Friday practice, Ty Majeski rolls off 23rd on Sunday as he seeks his first Derby win.

Travis Braden was the final man to make the show on speed, qualifying 30th after his team thrashed to repair the right side of his Platinum Motorsports No. 26 from a crash with A.J. Wernette in final practice.

A host of big names will have to race their way in through Saturday’s 50-lap Last Chance Showdown, including Carson Hocevar, Johnny VanDoorn, Stephen Nasse, Harrison Burton, All American 400 winner Mason Mingus, five-time Derby winner Rich Bickle and Truck Series fan favorite Jordan Anderson.

Adelaide Strikers 2 for 130 (Devine 65*, McGrath 36) beat Perth Scorchers 7 for 126 (Redmayne 51, Barsby 31, Schutt 2-14, Devine 2-23) by eight wickets

Sophie Devine marched the Adelaide Strikers all over Perth Scorchers and into Sunday's WBBL final, and in doing so closed to within 14 runs of surpassing Ellyse Perry's 777-run tournament aggregate record, on a sweltering day at Brisbane's Allan Border Field.

The Strikers had taken the initiative from the first few overs after sending the Scorchers in, Devine claiming the pivotal first wicket of Meg Lanning while Megan Schutt played her customary stymieing role at the other end, ultimately conceding just 14 runs from her four overs.

Despite a recovery led by Georgia Redmayne, the Scorchers were held to 7 for 126, a total that was defendable only if Devine could be seen off quickly. Instead, she took control of the innings as she has so often this competition, gliding to a ninth half-century this season at the WBBL. She was aided by Tahlia McGrath and Bridget Patterson to rush the Strikers to their first-ever tournament final. The Scorchers, whose coach Lisa Keightley is set to take over as England coach, did not help themselves by dropping two catches and missing a stumping.

Devine, Schutt get the early break

An early start at Allan Border Field offered the chance for the bowling side to get the most of any movement in the air or off the pitch. Thanks to Devine and Schutt, the Adelaide Strikers were able to do both.

Critically, this reaped them the wicket of Meg Lanning in only the day's second over. After being corralled by Schutt's inswing in the opening over, Lanning leant forward to drive at Bates, only to slice an away-swinger into a well-staffed backward-point region, where Alex Price held the catch.

The Strikers' glee at dismissing the Australian captain was unconfined, but more was to follow as Schutt found a way past Chloe Piparo and Nicole Bolton in consecutive deliveries. A tally of 3 for 26 from the Powerplay meant the Scorchers were starting their innings from an awful long way back, requiring high skill, patience and stamina to rescue things as temperatures ticked towards the high 30s.

Redmayne, Barsby fight back

Initially, the Scorchers had to be principally concerned with the preservation of wickets, and as 10 overs ticked past with only 45 on the scoreboard, Redmayne and Barbsy knew they needed to add acceleration to occupation. The telling moment arrived when Redmayne hoisted the first ball of Sarah Cotye's third over high beyond the midwicket boundary for her first-ever WBBL six, starting an over that was to cost the Strikers 17 runs and allow the Scorchers to wriggle clear.

In mounting heat, the Strikers' earlier pristine fielding and bowling began to fray, as wides and byes accrued. Devine returned to end the stand at 88, and Schutt completed an outstanding analysis of 2 for 14 from four, but the Scorchers were able to pile up 81 runs from the final 10 overs of their innings, meaning that the Perth side had given themselves something to bowl at - the average winning score by teams batting first at AB Field being 129.

Devine takes charge...

Desperate for an early wicket to mirror the loss of Lanning, the Scorchers were able to manufacture one when Suzie Bates, who had looked out of sorts, sliced a ball to gully and set off, only to be foiled by a brilliant diving save and throw into the wicketkeeper by Bolton.

But where Lanning's exit had been followed by two more, Devine was soon able to find her stride in the company of Tahlia McGrath, negotiating the new ball with a combination of vigilance and the occasional rasping shot through the off-side field. Given how dominant she has been all tournament, Devine's calmness and control were perhaps not surprising, but she benefited from McGrath's willingness to drive the game forward herself.

That approach came with some risk, and she was to be dropped twice - by Redmayne when McGrath had only four, and again when Bolton turfed a straightforward chance at long-on with the Strikers No. 3 on 19. These chances allowed the Strikers to get to the midway point of their innings needing 68 from the last 10 overs, making a favourable comparison with the back-end of the Scorchers' innings.

...and sees the Strikers home

When McGrath was out, ending the second-wicket partnership at 79, the Strikers still needed 45 from 38, no sure thing. Bridget Patterson, another strong performer for Adelaide this season, had a few early jitters, notably a stumping chance spurned by Redmayne. But Devine did not for a moment lose her poise, even laughing with the broadcasters about how her swimming ranks rather poorly next to her cricketing skills.

The end duly arrived quickly, as 12, 11 and 16 were piled up from the 16th, 17th and 18th overs. That left Devine with just one more run to get, and her drive down the ground was about as commanding a finish as anyone could want.

The Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and Western Australia at the MCG was suspended on the opening day due to concerns over a dangerous pitch less than three weeks before the Boxing Day Test.

The umpires took the players off in the 40th over with Western Australia 3 for 89, following discussions with the players and head groundsman Matt Page, after the batsmen had taken a series of blows to the body with deliveries leaping unpredictably off a length. It was a unanimous view among both teams that the conditions weren't fit to continue.

After the umpires and match referee gave the groundstaff time to roll the pitch and for it to dry under the sun the decision was taken to abandon the opening day's play with the aim of attempting to resume the match on Sunday. It is understood the major concern centered around the pitch being too soft with the ball creating divots which led to the the dangerously uneven bounce.

Play has been suspended indefinitely at the MCG due to a dangerous pitch

MORE: https://t.co/LfPQKcZNSA

@VicStateCricket #SheffieldShieldpic.twitter.com/fKC1c4r6ni

— #7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 7, 2019

The MCG pitch has been the focus of much debate in recent years with a lifeless surface for the 2017-18 Ashes Test earning the ground a 'poor' rating from the ICC which put them on notice of formal sanctions. Last year's pitch against India was again slow, and given an 'average' rating, but the visiting attack managed to take 20 wickets to comfortably beat Australia.

There have been extensive attempts to bring more pace and bounce back to the pitch, as well as natural wear as the game progresses, and the surface for the Shield match against Queensland earlier this season earned positive reviews for being a good contest.

The pitch being used for this game is not the Test surface which is set to be the adjacent surface.

If it isn't possible for the match to continue and it is abandoned the points would be split between the two teams.

Following the five-hour-long Pakistan Super League 2020 draft at Lahore's National Cricket Academy, here's what the six 18-man squads - including two supplementary players - look like.

Quetta Gladiators

Platinum: Mohammad Nawaz, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Jason Roy

Diamond: Shane Watson (mentor), Ahmed Shehzad, Ben Cutting

Gold: Umar Akmal (ambassador), Mohammad Hasnain, Fawad Ahmed

Silver: Ahsan Ali, Naseem Shah, Sohail Khan, Tymal Mills, Abdul Nasir

Emerging: Arish Ali Khan, Azam Khan

Supplementary: Keemo Paul, Khurram Manzoor

Lahore Qalandars

Platinum: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Chris Lynn

Diamond: Shaheen Shah Afridi (brand ambassador), David Wiese, Usman Shinwari

Gold: Haris Rauf, Sohail Akhtar, Samit Patel

Silver: Salman Butt, Seekkuge Prsanna, Ben Dunk, Farzan Raja, Jaahid Ali

Emerging: M Faizan

Supplementary: Lendl Simmons, Dilbar Hussain

Multan Sultans

Platinum: Mohammad Irfan, Moeen Ali, Rilee Rossouw

Diamond: Shahid Afridi (mentor), Zeeshan Ashraf, Ravi Bopara

Gold: James Vince (brand ambassador), Junaid Khan, Sohail Tanvir

Silver: Ali Shafiq, Shan Masood, Khushdil Shah, Usman Qadir, Fabian Allen

Emerging: Mohammad Ilyas, Rohail Nazir

Supplementary: Imran Tahir, Bilawal Bhatti

Islamabad United

Platinum: Shadab Khan, Dale Steyn, Colin Ingram

Diamond: Faheem Ashraf (brand ambassador), Asif Ali, Colin Munro

Gold: Luke Ronchi (mentor), Hussain Talat, Rumman Raees

Silver: Amad Butt, Musa Khan, Rizwan Hussain, Zafar Gohar, Phil Salt

Emerging: Aqif Javed, Ahmed Safi Abdullah

Supplementary: Saif Badar, Rassie van der Dussen

Peshawar Zalmi

Platinum: Hasan Ali, Kieron Pollard, Wahab Riaz

Diamond: Kamran Akmal (brand ambassador), Tom Banton, Shoaib Malik

Gold: Darren Sammy (mentor), Imam-ul-Haq, Liam Dawson

Silver: Umar Amin, Mohammad Mohsin, Rahat Ali, Dwaine Pretorius, Adil Amin

Emerging: Amir Khan, Amir Ali

Supplementary: Liam Livingstone, Haider Ali Khan

Karachi Kings

Platinum: Babar Azam, Mohammad Amir, Alex Hales,

Diamond: Imad Wasim (brand ambassador), Iftikhar Ahmed, Chris Jordan

Gold: Aamir Yamin, Sharjeel Khan, Cameron Delport

Silver: Usama Mir, Mohammad Rizwan, Umaid Asif, Dan Lawrance, Ali Khan

Emerging: Umer Khan, Arshad Iqbal

Supplementary: Liam Plunkett, Awais Zia

Will India play two day-night Tests when they tour Australia next year? Cricket Australia would like them to, but BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has indicated that two pink-ball Tests in a four-Test series might be "a bit too much".

Ganguly was one of the major driving forces behind India playing their maiden day-night Test last month, against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens. He has been a vocal advocate for day-night games as a means to popularise Test cricket and bring more spectators to grounds. But he is less keen on the idea of India playing two pink-ball Tests on their 2020-21 tour of Australia.

"Whether India go to play two day-night Tests in Australia is not assured," Ganguly said at the India Today Conclave in Kolkata. "Two out of four would be a bit too much with the pink ball. We will assess it. I read it in the newspapers this morning. I haven't heard anything from the Australian cricket board. We will deal with it as it comes."

A CA delegation led by its chairman Earl Eddings is set to meet Ganguly on the sidelines of Australia's limited-overs tour of India in January, and discuss, among other things, the possibility of India playing two day-night Tests in Australia in 2020-21.

Negotiations have not yet begun, but "we'll mention that when we're over there in January talking during the one-day series," Eddings told ESPNcricinfo. "As you build that trust and build that relationship you have that chat.

"Pleasingly, they've played their first day-night Test and won easily. Now they've got through that it might give them the right build-up to it over here. I've got no doubt they'll consider playing one and maybe even more day-night Test matches. But that's down the track to when we catch up with them in January."

Mike Norvell, who in four seasons has taken Memphis' football program to unprecedented heights, is the leading candidate to become the next head coach at Florida State, sources told ESPN.

An official announcement could come Sunday.

Norvell has guided Memphis (11-1) to its third straight appearance in the American Athletic Conference championship game. The Tigers take on Cincinnati on Saturday.

The transformation of Memphis' program under Norvell has been stunning. The Tigers have won eight or more games for six straight seasons, and Norvell has been at the helm for the past four. For perspective, from 1974-2013, the Tigers had just two seasons of eight or more wins.

One of the youngest head coaches in the country when he took over at Memphis, Norvell, 38, would replace Willie Taggart at Florida State. Taggart was fired nine games into his second season at FSU earlier this year. He was 9-12 in 21 games as FSU's coach.

Norvell is one of the most respected offensive minds in college football. Memphis has set multiple school records on offense and scored 30 or more points in 43 of the 53 games of his tenure.

Norvell was the offensive coordinator at Arizona State under Todd Graham before getting the Memphis job, and prior to that, worked under Graham at Pittsburgh as the co-offensive coordinator and at Tulsa as the passing game coordinator.

Lane Kiffin is zeroing in on a return to the SEC.

Sources told ESPN that Ole Miss is finalizing a deal with Kiffin, currently in his third year at Florida Atlantic, to be the Rebels' next head coach. They hope to announce Kiffin as early as Saturday.

The former Tennessee head coach and Alabama offensive coordinator has the Owls in their second Conference USA championship game on Saturday. They won the league title in 2017 in Kiffin's first season in Boca Raton. The Ole Miss job would be the fifth different head coaching job for Kiffin, who just turned 44 earlier this year.

Arkansas also had discussions in the last week with Kiffin about its head coaching job.

It's been a wild ride for Kiffin, who's renowned for trolling anybody and everybody on Twitter, including fans and former bosses, and for putting together high-powered and entertaining offenses on the football field.

"I'm never going to apologize for having fun. Who says you can't have fun and still win football games?" Kiffin told ESPN earlier this year. "But I've learned along the way and am not the same person I was when I was younger. None of us are. I've been so fortunate to learn under two guys like Pete Carroll and Nick Saban, both of whom are great coaches, but have different styles. I think I've been able to combine those styles."

Kiffin's first head coaching job came in 2007 with the NFL's Oakland Raiders when he was a 31-year-old assistant at USC. Owner Al Davis fired Kiffin four games into his second season, and Kiffin was scooped up to be Tennessee's head coach in 2009. He went 7-6 during his only season with the Vols, one that saw plenty of fireworks both on and off the field. After 13 months in Knoxville, Kiffin left for what he called his "dream job" at USC when Carroll went to the NFL.

With the Trojans facing heavy NCAA sanctions, Kiffin went 28-15 at USC and was fired five games into his fourth season following a loss to Arizona State.

Kiffin spent the 2014-16 seasons at Alabama under Saban as the Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator and helped to open up and revolutionize the Tide's offense. They won an SEC championship in 2014 and a national championship in 2015. Kiffin was named the FAU head coach prior to the College Football Playoff in 2016, and Saban parted ways with Kiffin following the CFP semifinal victory over Washington. Alabama lost to Clemson in the championship game that season.

If FAU wins the Conference USA title Saturday, that would make it five conference championships in the past six years that Kiffin has been a part of with five different starting quarterbacks.

While he wasn't looking to leave FAU and was appreciative of all the support he received in Boca Raton, Kiffin told ESPN earlier this year that having a chance to get back into the SEC again would be an opportunity that would be difficult to pass up.

Kiffin is set to replace Matt Luke at Ole Miss and become the Rebels' fourth different head coach in the last 10 seasons. Luke was fired after just three seasons at Ole Miss, the first of which he was the Rebels' interim coach before being named the permanent coach following the 2017 season. Luke was 15-21 as Ole Miss' coach, including a 4-8 finish this season.

First-year Cleveland Cavaliers coach John Beilein is disputing a report that his players are tuning him out.

Beilein spoke before Friday night's 93-87 loss to the Orlando Magic and addressed a report from The Athletic that quoted anonymous Cleveland players. The report also said players have complained about Beilein's coaching style and that his methods are not working.

The former Michigan coach said he believes he has his players' attention and that they have been receptive.

"We've met ... and it's like, 'Coach, keep doing what you're doing because we really need this. We need accountability, we need to play harder, stronger, tougher. Don't stop what you're doing,'" Beilein said. "We were the worst defensive team in the NBA last year. What do we do, practice less?

"I have a lot of confidence the guys in the locker room are on board, and they've told me that.''

Cavs power forward Larry Nance Jr. expressed support for Beilein and disappointment that teammates had commented about Beilein behind his back.

"Ideally you want to keep that in-house if there was those issues,'' Nance said after Friday's loss, which was the Cavs' fourth straight and 11th in their past 12 games. "I guess that's today's NBA. ... I've never had an issue with a coach in my career, him being no different. I wanted to play for him at Michigan. I'm enjoying it."

MILWAUKEE -- Doc Rivers requested legal documentation ahead of Friday night's Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks showdown. The LA Clippers coach wasn't convinced that Giannis Antetokounmpo was celebrating just his 25th birthday.

"I want to see his birth certificate," Rivers said. "I don't believe it. Nah, I'm joking."

Antetokounmpo didn't get caught up in the festivities. Instead, he went about his work, finishing with 27 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in Milwaukee's 119-81 victory over the Clippers.

Milwaukee extended its win streak to 14 straight, which is the franchise's longest run since 1973.

The Bucks have won by a total of 137 points over their last four games, which is the second-best point difference over a four-game span within a season in NBA history, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

"Obviously, one of our best efforts on both sides of the ball," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "To do what we did defensively, offensively and just getting closer to 48 minutes of what we want to be.

"I think to come out and throw a great punch in the first quarter, kind of take one in the second quarter, then respond in the third was really impressive. I think lots of guys played well."

Prior to tonight's blowout loss, where they trailed by as many as 41, the Clippers' largest deficit was 23 against the Jazz on Oct. 30. At the start of the fourth, Los Angeles went 6-21 (3-12 3-point) on open looks, which forced Rivers to sit Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the rest of the starters while trailing 101-67 with 9:25 remaining in regulation.

The Clippers had their worst overall uncontested shooting performance with 38 percent from the field and 21 percent from 3, both season lows.

Leonard led the Clippers with 17 points and five turnovers on 5-for-14 shooting in his first matchup against Antetokounmpo since he was a member of the defending champion Toronto Raptors in their 2019 Eastern Conference Finals series. Milwaukee also defeated the Clippers, 129-124, on Nov. 6 in Los Angeles but Leonard and George didn't play that game.

"We was just so stagnant at the beginning of the fourth if you know what I mean," Leonard said of being pulled early. "We wasn't really running anything or executing. Coming down and taking shots early with no passes. So I understand why he pulled us and plus the lead was up high. We know we didn't have no type of momentum."

Although he's certainly grateful to see another year, the reigning MVP continued his detailed pregame routine, even turning down his mother's homemade birthday cake before the tip-off.

After a league-best 20-3 start, though, that might change.

"It was Giannis's birthday ... searched all over the city for a gift and we couldn't find one, so we gave him this one," Rivers said. "That's all I can come up with that's the best I got because we were awful."

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland Trail Blazers swingman Rodney Hood tore his left Achilles tendon in the first quarter Friday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The team announced the injury after Hood underwent an MRI.

The injury occurred with 3:29 left in the first quarter after Hood went up for a rebound over Lakers big man JaVale McGee.

Hood came down after grabbing the ball and immediately crumpled to the ground in pain. His teammates, as well as Lakers star LeBron James, huddled around him while members of the Blazers' medical staff came to the floor to assess the situation.

After a few moments, Hood gingerly made his way off the floor and straight to the locker room with the help of two members of the Blazers' medical staff.

Hood initially tweaked his left Achilles in Wednesday's win over the Sacramento Kings.