PORT ROYAL, Pa. – Port Royal Speedway has confirmed the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will again return to the track next season on Oct. 9-10.

Still using the Nittany Showdown moniker, this will be the third consecutive season in which the speedway will attempt a two-day event. The last two seasons have been hit with rain and, as a result, each race weekend has been shortened to one night. With the weekend date being moved up a few weeks earlier in the season, this could be the first time both races get run in the history of the speedway.

Last year Donny Schatz continued a recent string of success at Port Royal as he picked up the victory over Pennsylvania Posse regular Anthony Macri and weekend invader Brian Brown. The $8,000 checkered flag was the third consecutive at the Juniata County oval for Schatz and his fourth career at the track.

Once again racers will compete Friday night for $8,000 and $15,000 during Saturday night’s finale.

The first World of Outlaws sprint car race held at the speedway occurred in 1979 and Lynn Paxton picked up the checkered flag that evening. The series didn’t return until two consecutive seasons in 1986-87, when Don Kreitz Jr. and Doug Wolfgang picked up victories. More than a decade later, the series returned for four seasons from 2001-2004 where Danny Wood, Brad Furr, Jason Meyers and Schatz parked it in victory lane.

The series returned after a 10-year absence in 2014 and have been a regular on the yearly schedule since with Ryan Smith, Brad Sweet, Logan Schuchart and Schatz all collecting victories.

NASSAU, Bahamas – U.S. Presidents Cup playing captain Tiger Woods is gearing up for next week’s matches at Royal Melbourne, but earlier this week Woods revealed that there were still some logistics to work out before the first tee ball is struck Thursday in Australia.

Among them is the advice rule. The Presidents Cup rulebook states that when it comes to “any counsel or suggestion that could influence a player in determining his play, the choice of a club or the method of making a stroke, each team may appoint one person who may give advice to members of that team. Such person must be identified to the committee before giving advice.”

Typically, that person is the captain. But with Woods also competing, he said Tuesday that he was unsure of the rules surrounding when he takes off his captain’s hat to play.

“We have three great vice captains,” said Woods, who will be joined in Australia by assistants Fred Couples, Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson. “We'll have one of them be the captain, and I'm still waiting for the Tour to tell me when that happens … when do I relinquish the captaincy role and officially have someone be the captain? Because the captain's the only one who can receive and give advice. The vice captains can receive advice, but they can't give advice to the players or even caddies. Trying to figure that out now.”

GolfChannel.com reached out to the PGA Tour regarding the matter and got this response: “The captain needs to advise the chief referee before the start of each round who has the advice. The captain may switch the person during the round. For example, if Tiger is planning to play, he would need to advise rules before the matches start who has the advice. After he finishes, he could switch back if he wanted.”

It’s unknown how often Woods will need to surrender his advice privileges. He continues to be mum on how many sessions he’ll play next week.

“Yeah, I'm playing a minimum of two,” he said with a big smile. “Does that help you?”

NASSAU, Bahamas – Jordan Spieth may not be joining his fellow Americans next week in Australia, but he’s feeling pretty confident about Team USA’s Presidents Cup chances.

“I mean, you look at the board here and it looks obviously really strong,” said Spieth, motioning to a nearby television that showed a leaderboard with five U.S. team members in the top 5, including Patrick Reed, who leads by three after 36 holes of the Hero World Challenge.

“I honestly think over there, too, the guys on the team, you've got a lot of great putters and a lot of great putters on fast greens.”

Seven of the 12 Americans headed to Australia ranked in the top 50 in strokes gained: putting last season, including Webb Simpson (11) and Rickie Fowler (13), and just three ranked outside the top 100, including Justin Thomas (144), who typically is a better putter and is back near the top 50 in a small sample size this season.

Only four Internationals finished inside the top 50 last season.

Spieth added that he believes the greens at Royal Melbourne “will be the fastest greens they'll ever see.”

“I was talking to Tiger about that this morning,” Spieth said. “These will be faster than Augusta as far as what they'll stimp on … and I think that really plays into this U.S. team with a lot of just phenomenal putters of the golf ball.”

Woods said he’s monitored the forecast and is expecting firm and fast conditions, especially on the putting surfaces.

“The greens will be quick,” Woods said. “They can get them over 14 [on the Stimpmeter] very easily. Got to be very careful of where you hit the golf ball. The golf course is probably going to be playing on the shorter side. It's just fast, but still, just because it's on the shorter side doesn't make it any easier. Balls run out, fairways are sloped, they're banked. There's a lot of chase on the fairways because sometimes you get it downwind, 80 yards of chase you've got to worry about, so those are things a lot of the guys who have played Open Championships, they understand it, they know it.

“The only difference is you're going to get greens running like Augusta with hard, fast fairways.”

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has said the club could be active in the January transfer window after their two window transfer ban was lifted on Friday.

Lampard said that he will "put players forward to the club" after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) halved the club's transfer ban to allow them to sign players in January.

"If there is a chance to strengthen it, then we will look at it," Lampard said at a news conference.

While the Chelsea boss wouldn't be drawn on who he wants to bring to the club, he said: "It is important to keep the balance of the squad right. I don't see it as 11 players but 20 plus men. I need to ensure we go in the right direction."

Chelsea were handed a two-window transfer ban and fined £460,000 ($599,000) in December 2018 after FIFA found them guilty of breaching rules relating to the transfers of 29 players under the age of 18.

The club were found to have breached Article 19 and Article 18b of the Regulation of Transfers and Status of Players by FIFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee.

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Chelsea had appealed the ban earlier this year but FIFA rejected the attempt to lift the ban and upheld the decision.

Chelsea travel to face Everton in the Premier League on Saturday with Lampard saying that their opponents' sacking of ex-manager Marco Silva on Thursday was "perfect timing" for his team.

Lampard added: "It is unfortunate for Marco Silva. Every manager is always giving everything for their club. I am sure he will go on to manage well elsewhere."

Even as he waits for the Supreme Court to consider rolling back certain reforms, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has cautioned that without experienced people at the helm, even the richest and most powerful cricket board could fall swiftly.

Ganguly said "continuity" was "a very important" yardstick in running a sport and so the BCCI had approached the court in a "common sense" move to consider six amendments that his administration wanted to make to the board's constitution.

One of these concerns the tenures of the BCCI office-bearers. The BCCI has recommended that the president and the secretary be allowed to stay in office for two consecutive terms (6 years) irrespective of their past tenure. Except, as per the BCCI constitution, registered last August, an office-bearer who has held any post for two consecutive terms (six years) either at a state association or in the BCCI, or a combination of both, has to step away for cricket administration for a minimum of three years. During this period, they cannot serve in any capacity at either the BCCI or state level.

If the court allows the BCCI appeal, then Ganguly along with board secretary Jay Shah and the other three office bearers (treasurer, joint secretary and vice-president) can continue in their posts till 2024. If the court disagrees, then Ganguly, who was elected as BCCI president on October 23, as well as Shah will have to step aside in August 2020.

"That is what we have asked for in the court because both Jay and I have 10 months of term," Ganguly said in a chat with India Today on Friday. "Even Jayesh [George], who is the joint secretary, has 11 months. So we have requested on the basis of common sense that at the end of the day you need continuity to run the cricket board and we have just requested the Supreme Court. If they do it, fine, if they don't do it, then the term is only for 10 months."

On July 18, 2016, the court, in a seminal order, had approved the RM Lodha Committee recommendations which formed the basis for the structural reforms in BCCI. The board and the state associations did not conform to most of them, even after the court relaxed its stance in August 2018.

Eventually most of the state associations did fall in line, but questions are still being asked of the board and how it intends to implement all the reforms. Ganguly said the BCCI would take the opportunity at the next hearing on January 14 to explain that inexperience in administration is a factor that is preventing them from functioning as well as they could.

"I've been in the BCCI working committee for five years now, representing the Cricket Association of Bengal, which has a permanent seat in the working committee. This time when I went to the AGM, there was not one single face who had been there in the last four-five years. Sometimes, you cannot just throw away experience.

"It is required because you look at the earnings of the BCCI. They earn about INR 25,000 crores (approx. USD 3.51 billion) in five years. It is a phenomenal amount of revenue which comes in. The game has to be run, your representations with the world body have to be sorted, and to just expect newcomers to come and do it consistently over a period of time, I don't think is a fair thing. Continuity is important.

"Even in state associations when you go, to actually run state associations, the leadership is very, very important. And you have to find the right kind of people to run all these organisations because (there's) too much at stake is involved in running of these organisations are concerned. And if you don't get the right people, the entire system will come down."

Ganguly went to on to provide the examples of how struggling administrations in South Africa and West Indies had had a huge impact on their on-field performance. "You look at the other countries. South Africa. When I came into international cricket in 1996, they were probably the best side in the world. A team which had [Shaun] Pollock, [Allan] Donald, [Jacques] Kallis, [Lance] Klusener and you look at the current South African team.

"You've been following the news for the last two days. They speak about how the relationship with the administration has fallen off, how the sponsors want to back away because cricket is not being run properly. Even somebody like Graeme Smith, who was probably one of their greatest players, doesn't want to take up the job [as director of cricket] because he feels he won't be allowed to have a free run.

"Look at West Indies - the 1970s, the 1980s, what a force they were. And I feel one of the main reasons of cricket not doing well in those parts of the world is because of administrative failure. And you don't want to do that in India because India is the powerhouse of cricket in the world, in terms of finances.

"Look at our team. The best thing that has happened in the last three years is in spite of what has gone on in the courts, the team has performed fantastically. That's where the real strength lies of Indian cricket. In any form of work, whether it's business, running the state, running the country, running the board, you need good people to run it, experienced people to run it. Continuity is very important."

The typical buffet features lots of carbs and empty calories up front, designed to fill you up before you get to the good stuff, the protein farther down the row.

College football's Championship Week is the opposite -- the spread isn't nearly as large as normal, but there's no filler. It's all protein. So let's work our way through this gorgeous buffet, asking big questions for the sport's big games at every level, from LSU vs. Georgia to Cincinnati at Memphis to UW Whitewater at Mary Hardin-Baylor.

(Note: All times below are Eastern. All games are on Saturday unless noted otherwise.)

SEC: No. 2 LSU vs. No. 4 Georgia (4 p.m., CBS)

Who wins: New school or old school? This year, one of the last holdouts came over to the dark side. LSU finally, officially eschewed its Big Burly Manball existence to move toward a spread-intensive, pass-heavy, fullback-light offense. The effects were immediate and staggering. Ed Orgeron's Tigers are 12-0 for the first time since 2011, they're averaging 49 points per game, and quarterback Joe Burrow is probably about to become the school's first Heisman winner since Billy Cannon in 1959.

Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs, however, remain holdouts. They are 11-1 thanks to the tried-and-true SEC formula of defense (first in defensive SP+), special teams (first in ST SP+), defense, running the football and defense. LSU has scored fewer than 36 points only once all year, but UGA has allowed more than 17 just once. Per SP+, they boast the best run defense in FBS and the third-best pass defense. They know everything you want to do and meet it with three waiting defenders.

Something's got to give. Can Georgia move the ball effectively enough with star running back D'Andre Swift battling a shoulder injury? If the Dawgs actually try to throw the ball, how well will it work out with receiver Lawrence Cager out and George Pickens suspended for a half? Has Smart been keeping some offense-friendly cards close to the vest? Are Burrow and his loaded receiving corps too much for any defense at this point?

SP+ projection: LSU 29, Georgia 27

Big Ten: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 8 Wisconsin (8 p.m., Fox)

Can Wisconsin do anything to hurt the Buckeyes defense? Ohio State beat Wisconsin by 31 points on Oct. 26, but for about 35 minutes, Wisconsin had crafted a solid "how to beat Ohio State" recipe. It played strong defense, used dreary conditions to its advantage and allowed only one touchdown in OSU's first six drives. Two plays after blocking a punt early in the third quarter, the Badgers scored to make it a 10-7 game.

Things went south from there, though. Ohio State's J.K. Dobbins ripped off big runs, and Chase Young started harassing Wisconsin QB Jack Coan on seemingly every pass attempt. The Badgers defense did an admirable job -- it always does -- but the offense gave Wisconsin nothing.

Can that change? Michigan found success on OSU with some early-down vertical passing, and early in the year Coan did the same (against defenses far worse than OSU's). But that wasn't part of the game plan in Columbus. Are the Badgers capable of taking interesting risks, or is this another "hand it to Jonathan Taylor a million times and hope it's a close game in the fourth quarter (and it probably won't be)" game?

SP+ projection: Ohio State 34, Wisconsin 20

Big 12: No. 6 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Baylor (noon, ABC)

Was the first half or the second half more accurate on Nov. 16? Three weeks ago, OU and Baylor played one of the best games of the season. Matt Rhule's Bears raced to a 28-3 lead, and the Sooners eventually reeled them in, winning 34-31 with a late field goal.

It was as if the QBs traded places at halftime.

First half: Baylor's Charlie Brewer 13-for-18, 140 yards, 2 TDs, sacked once; OU's Jalen Hurts 8-for-14, 80 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, sacked three times

Second half: Hurts 22-for-28, 217 yards, 3 TDs, sacked once; Brewer 5-for-11, 54 yards, 1 INT, sacked three times

Baylor did its typically brilliant job of preventing big plays (OU lacking receiver CeeDee Lamb helped), but the Sooners' second-half advantages were bigger than the Bears' first-half advantages.

So what of that is more likely to happen a second time? OU has been the better team over the full season and has Lamb back, but Baylor was brilliant down the stretch, outscoring Texas and Kansas by 69 combined points to rise from 21st to 14th in SP+. Have the Bears made up enough ground? Can they find that first-half mojo again?

SP+ projection: Oklahoma 34, Baylor 28

Pac-12: No. 5 Utah vs. No. 13 Oregon (Friday, 8 p.m., ABC)

Can Oregon overcome the identity gap? No team in the country knows itself better than Utah -- the Utes know exactly how they're going to go about winning a game. They play at the slowest tempo in FBS; they force nonstop gang tackles; they never move backward; and they destroy your run game and force you to go one-dimensional. They are a violent football team. This has always been the Kyle Whittingham id, but this team executes it better than any other has. And it's on the doorstep of a playoff bid because of it.

Mario Cristobal's Ducks have alternated between brilliance and just getting by, and their identity shifted midseason from "brilliant defense compensating for hit-or-miss offense" to the opposite. After their best run of form, they finished the year with two duds or near-duds. They stay on schedule pretty well and punish you when you're off-schedule, and they've obviously got plenty of athleticism and star power. But Utah's been the better team, and Oregon has to figure out how to reverse that on Friday night.

SP+ projection: Utah 30, Oregon 23

ACC: No. 3 Clemson vs. No. 23 Virginia (7:30 p.m., ABC)

How much of the underdog script can UVa follow? Virginia picked a good time to finally beat rival Virginia Tech: The Cavaliers' fourth-quarter surge and 39-30 win last week gave them their first Coastal title and a shot at the ACC's Goliath. I guess that's a good thing?

The Hoos beat Tech despite an efficiency disadvantage (success rate: VT 43%, UVa 36%); they compensated with big plays (seven gains of 30+ yards), six sacks, superior red zone execution and a little bit of turnovers luck. And honestly, if they're going to pull an all-time upset this weekend, it'll probably be with the same recipe.

UVa is a four-touchdown underdog against the defending national champs, and Clemson has again looked the part of a contender since an early scare against UNC. With a spread this big, UVa's chances are based entirely on high-variability underdog tactics and good bounces. UVa has a pass rush that could get to Trevor Lawrence, and quarterback Bryce Perkins and receiver Hasise Dubois are big-play threats. That's a good start. (But probably not nearly enough.)

SP+ projection: Clemson 37, Virginia 16

American: No. 20 Cincinnati at No. 17 Memphis (3:30 p.m., ABC)

What's Desmond Ridder got in the tank? With the American East title already clinched last week, Cincy coach Luke Fickell decided to sit his ailing starting QB, who was battling a shoulder injury and had produced a ghastly 64.6 passer rating against USF and Temple. Freshman Ben Bryant took over and provided more pop than the passing game has seen since maybe mid-October, but a couple of picks were costly in a 34-24 loss at Memphis.

The Bearcats are returning to Memphis, and all indications are that Ridder will start. He probably won't throw well against a solid Memphis secondary, but if he can add steadiness to the run game (he averages 6.3 yards per non-sack carry), the trade might be worth it. Cincy was competitive enough last week that Memphis couldn't keep many game-plan cards close to its vest, but the Tigers still have devastating speed and a dynamic, balanced offense. Ball control could be UC's best friend if Ridder is capable of risking some hits.

SP+ projection: Memphis 36, Cincy 21

Mountain West: Hawai'i at No. 19 Boise State (4 p.m., ESPN)

Was the late defensive surge by Hawai'i a mirage? When BSU and Hawai'i played on Oct. 12, the Broncos did whatever the heck they wanted offensively. Despite QB Hank Bachmeier getting injured, they created 11 scoring opportunities (first downs inside the opponent's 40) in 15 drives and put up 518 yards and 59 points in a 22-point win. Bachmeier is still out, but with Jaylon Henderson as the primary QB, the Broncos averaged 43 points per game down the stretch.

Out of nowhere, though, the Hawai'i defense painted a couple of late masterpieces. The Rainbow Warriors clinched the MWC West by allowing just 18 combined points in wins over UNLV and SDSU; Rebel and Aztec QBs averaged just 4 yards per pass attempt on passing downs. BSU's offense is far better than UNLV's or SDSU's, obviously, but if the Warriors can actually take advantage when the Broncos are behind schedule, they could have the offense to spring an upset.

SP+ projection: Boise State 40, Hawai'i 26

Sun Belt: Louisiana at No. 21 Appalachian State (noon, ESPN)

What has changed since Oct. 9? This is a rematch of one of the odder and more compelling games of the year. In a low-scoring early-October affair, App State overcame a massive field position deficit and survived UL in Lafayette, 17-7, thanks primarily to red zone execution and an incredible 10-minute, 97-yard drive in the fourth quarter. The Ragin' Cajuns had the Mountaineers right where they wanted them but just couldn't quite take advantage.

Since then, UL has gone on a rampage. The Cajuns were 68th in SP+ after the App loss but have since gone 6-0, winning games by an average of 40-15 and rising to 32nd. They have one of the best run games in the country. App hasn't exactly fallen off, though. The Mountaineers are 28th in SP+ and have suffered only a rivalry glitch to Georgia Southern. We should get the best version of these teams on Saturday; can Louisiana close the deal this time?

SP+ projection: Appalachian State 32, UL 28

Conference USA: UAB at Florida Atlantic (1:30 p.m., CBSSN)

Can UAB snuff out the explosions? Safe to say, UAB's got this "defense" thing figured out. Bill Clark's Blazers won last year's Conference USA title thanks to a No. 45 ranking in defensive SP+, lost 10 of their top 12 tacklers in the offseason, then put out a unit that ranks 25th. That's wizardry right there. They are almost equally dominant against the run and the pass, and it allowed them to win the C-USA West again despite a sketchy offense (118th in offensive SP+).

FAU's got a solid defense itself (47th in defensive SP+), but the Owls create offensive explosions better than anyone else in the league. Running back Malcolm Davidson averages 6.4 yards per carry; tight end Harrison Bryant averages 15.8 yards per catch; and receivers John Mitchell and Tavaris Harrison average 14.5. FAU is 16th in marginal explosiveness. Can the Owls create enough big plays to keep the Blazers at bay? Can UAB score enough for that to matter?

SP+ projection: FAU 27, UAB 19

MAC: Central Michigan vs. Miami (Ohio) (noon, ESPN2)

Can Miami avoid being sunk by negative plays? Jim McElwain's first CMU squad caught fire late in the season, winning six of their last seven and rising from 120th to 83rd in SP+. The Chippewas are sturdy on both sides of the ball, but especially when it comes to line play. They run the ball efficiently and prevent you from doing the same.

Miami, meanwhile, runs the ball a lot -- running backs average about 30 carries per game -- but doesn't actually do it very well. The RedHawks are just 120th in rushing marginal efficiency and 125th in stuff rate (run stops at or behind the line). CMU's defense: 38th in rushing marginal efficiency, second in stuff rate. If Miami can't keep players such as linebacker Troy Brown and end Sean Adesanya out of the backfield and avoid constant second- or third-and-longs, nothing else matters, not even Miami's big-play pass potential (top four receivers: 19.3 yards per catch).

SP+ projection: CMU 30, Miami 23

The smaller-school playoffs are rolling! If you want to expand your horizons and coax maximum enjoyment out of this weekend's action, keep an eye on the smaller schools, too. High-stakes and high-leverage games abound this weekend.

FCS playoffs (ESPN3)

Last week's first-round action whittled the field from 24 to 16, and now the top eight seeds join the fray. While the top two teams -- North Dakota State and James Madison -- probably won't be significantly tested, there are some pretty tight battles further down the list.

This week's most interesting game: Austin Peay at Sacramento State (9:00 p.m., ESPN3). Former Utah offensive coordinator Troy Taylor inherited a Sac State program that had ranked in the SP+ 100s for three of the past four seasons. The Hornets are currently a revelatory seventh and 9-3 with losses only to Arizona State, Fresno State, and a top-five Weber State. APSU is 11th, though. Former UL Lafayette coach Mark Hudspeth has upgraded what new Charlotte head coach Will Healy had been building. Either of these teams could make a deep run here.

SP+ projections: North Dakota State 35, Nicholls State 22; Central Arkansas 28, Illinois State 25; Montana State 31, Albany 26; James Madison 40, Monmouth 18; South Dakota State 34, Northern Iowa 24; Montana 32, Southeastern Louisiana 24; Weber State 30, Kennesaw State 26; Sacramento State 32, Austin Peay 28

SWAC championship: Southern at Alcorn State (4 p.m., ESPNU)

The Celebration Bowl has been an overall success, drawing more than 30,000 attendees for three of its first four games and quickly becoming a fun part of the opening day of the bowl season. It could use some new blood, though. NC A&T will be the MEAC's representative for the fourth time, and only Alcorn State and Grambling (twice each) have represented the SWAC.

It'll take an upset to change that. Although Southern is decent on both sides of the ball (51st on offense and 57th on defense, per SP+), Alcorn is far more well-rounded (27th and 23rd, respectively). QB Felix Harper, a trio of go-to receivers, and a deep, attack-from-all-angles defense give the Braves excellent odds of Celebrating once more.

SP+ projection: Alcorn State 32, Southern 24

Division II playoffs

The Division II playoffs don't tend to follow much of a standard script. The teams ranked first (defending champ Valdosta State), third, fifth, seventh and ninth in the year-end polls failed to reach the quarterfinals. One team (Texas A&M-Commerce) has taken down two of those five. The Lions' reward: facing another heavyweight, Minnesota State (the No. 1 team in Div. II SP+).

This week's most interesting game: NW Missouri State at Ferris State (1 p.m., Stretch Internet). The closest projection, per SP+, comes from the game that features two top-10 teams. Ferris State came within two points of last year's national title, and NWMSU is the closest thing to a Bama/Clemson at the Division II level, having won four of the past 10 titles. The Bearcats had fallen off a bit but are peaking late in 2019.

SP+ projections: Slippery Rock 36, Notre Dame (Ohio) 28; Lenoir-Rhyne 33, West Florida 22; Ferris State 31, NW Missouri State 24; Minnesota State 33, Texas A&M-Commerce 25

Division III playoffs

It was an outright shock that Mount Union, the school with 20 Division III finals appearances in 24 years, lost in the second round of this year's playoffs. It probably shouldn't have been, though: UMU's conqueror, North Central (Illinois), has perhaps the most dynamic and prolific offense in the country at any level.

This week's most interesting game: Wisconsin-Whitewater at Mary Hardin-Baylor (noon, Stretch Internet). With UWW and UMHB playing in Saturday's quarterfinals, that means only one member of the D3 triumvirate -- these schools and Union have won all but two of this century's Division III titles -- will reach the semis. That's mind-blowing. UMHB has the edge here, but not an insurmountable one.

Hansen Ratings projection*: Mary Hardin-Baylor 31, UW Whitewater 16; Salisbury 35, Muhlenberg 37; North Central (Illinois) 47, Delaware Valley 24; Wheaton (Illinois) 33, St. John's (Minnesota) 22

* I haven't established SP+ ratings for Division III yet, but Logan Hansen's system works well -- among other things, it had North Central ranked ahead of Mount Union heading into last week.

Let's take off our shoes and hop around the league for 10 things:

1. The unlikely reserves of the unlikely Raptors

The defending champion Toronto Raptors roaring to a 15-6 start despite losing Kawhi Leonard and then two of their six best players -- Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka -- to injury might be the single-best story in the NBA. The Raptors rank in the top 10 in both points scored and allowed per possession. They have outscored a tough slate by 7.2 points per game -- fifth best. Wow.

Injuries forced Nick Nurse -- early Coach of the Year favorite -- to play goofy lineups featuring players who weren't supposed to be in his rotation. Those lineups have flummoxed opponents with long arms, screaming effort, and a little more drive-and-kick polish than anyone anticipated.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has defended every position. Nurse has stuck him on Marcus Morris Sr., Terrence Ross, and other scorers in box-and-one and triangle-and-two schemes. Toronto has given up a minuscule 94 points per 100 possessions with Hollis-Jefferson, Terence Davis (how was this dude undrafted?), and Chris "Bobby" Boucher (also undrafted!) on the floor -- miles stingier than Milwaukee's top-ranked overall defense. (Davis is also shooting 43 percent from deep!)

Marvel at this connectivity, focusing on the left wing:

OG Anunoby spots Al-Farouq Aminu's back cut, and slides away from Evan Fournier in the corner to take him. Davis reads that, and spins to Fournier before Fournier can fire. Fournier transitions into a pick-and-roll; Davis and Hollis-Jefferson switch it seamlessly.

Watch how Davis, Hollis-Jefferson, and Norman Powell -- on fire -- talk and switch and rotate through this possession before funneling poor Dennis Smith Jr. into the brick wall that is Boucher:

Milwaukee is running away with the East. The best versions of the Sixers have more championship equity than Toronto. Miami and Boston are legit. Victor Oladipo looms. But Toronto isn't a fluke. The Raptors are a problem.

2. Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle together

It is the perfect synthesis of why New York's summer spending spree yielded a team almost precisely as bad as last season's very bad one: The Knicks cannot effectively play their star free-agent acquisition with their second-most-important building block. That seems like a thing you would want to do.

Randle and Robinson share the court about 10 minutes per game. Opponents have humiliated New York by 18 points per 100 possessions in those minutes. The Knicks' offense has sputtered almost to a halt.

Robinson is a game-changing rim-runner, but he tiptoes through thickets of bodies with Randle and Frank Ntilikina also on the floor. New York's ball handlers have no actionable passing corridors:

Robinson knew this was coming -- that he would have to find other ways to contribute. He honed his jumper, and his passing from the elbows. Neither skill has yet translated to games. (Robinson has been massively impactful in non-Randle minutes.)

Randle is more versatile, but at heart he's a rim-runner too. He's at his best setting screens, rumbling into open space, and making plays in 4-on-3 situations -- a more selfish Draymond Green, basically. He cannot play that role next to Robinson.

That has left Randle to fling his body at the rim -- and into those same clusters of humans -- in hopeless one-on-one attacks. For long sequences, he resembles a video game protagonist running into a wall over and over because the human controlling him has abandoned the game (or is middle-aged).

Randle is averaging 9.8 isolations per 100 possessions, ninth most in the league, per Second Spectrum. The players above him are either multiple-time All-Stars (LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Leonard) or about to be (Pascal Siakam). New York has scored 0.81 points per possession anytime Randle shoots out of an isolation, or passes to a teammate who fires. Ugly.

Randle has coughed the ball up on 15% of those plays, eighth worst among 125 players who have compiled at least 25 isolations. Randle is a decent passer, but he undoes a lot of that with turnovers. His assist-to-turnover ratio is an even one-to-one, and that is not unusual for him. Dead man walking David Fizdale yanked Randle after 21 embarrassing, out-of-control minutes in yet another awful home loss against Denver on Thursday.

The Knicks can blame this on Fizdale if they want. Firing coaches in Year 2 is what the Knicks do. He hasn't nudged them toward any stylistic identity -- on either end. Guys are in the doghouse, and then they log 30 minutes.

But this roster never made sense.

3. The Nuggets, all-in on defense

Denver ranks a shocking 18th in points per possession as Nikola Jokic continues to look disengaged for chunks of almost every game. His post touches are way down, and the Nuggets are getting nothing when they dump the ball to him: an unthinkable 0.79 points per possession on any trip featuring a Jokic post touch, and 0.85 points whenever Jokic shoots out of a post-up or passes to someone who lets fly, per Second Spectrum. And that is after the usual "just beat the Knicks by 40" boost.

Those numbers last season: 1.22 and 1.05. That (early) decline is jaw-dropping. (Also: What happened to Gary Harris?) Hopefully Jokic is pacing himself for what should be a long season. Denver's cold shooting from almost everywhere should improve.

The Nuggets have not let their clunky offense infect their spirit on the other end; they top the league in points allowed per possession.

Denver still corrals pick-and-rolls high on the floor, and doubling that far from the basket exposes the juicy stuff -- corner 3s and shots near the rim. Denver gives up a few too many of each. The Nuggets are probably getting a little lucky; opponents are shooting just 30% from deep and 35% on midrangers -- the lowest respective marks in the league, per Cleaning The Glass.

But holy hell are the Nuggets flying around to close windows before opposing offenses slide through them. They rotate with both ferocity and calm attentiveness -- a tough balance to strike. Players rarely stray from the scheme, zip somewhere they shouldn't, or bite on fake cuts and other trickery.

They know where the offense wants to go, and which teammates might need a little extra help -- and when. They don't over-rotate providing that help. Their best possessions are filled with leans and half-slides -- just enough to make the offense hesitate, but not so much that anyone ends up out of place. It is quite artful. This is one way roster continuity manifests: chemistry on defense.

They are not dogmatic about their scheme, either. Jokic will sometimes hang back in the paint when that is more convenient. Denver's strong work so far is more evidence that Jokic -- big, smart, inhaler of rebounds -- is much less damaging on that end than heavy-footed optics might indicate.

Paul Millsap is a rock. Jamal Murray has stepped up his physicality and effort. Denver is 14-5. If it rediscovers its verve on offense, watch out.

4. Luka Doncic, decisive

One Dallas coach told ESPN's Mike Schmitz this week that Doncic "plays at his own pace." You hear this a lot. It is usually a way of saying Doncic is patient, maybe even a little slow, with a knack for changing pace from one dribble to the next -- and even between dribbles.

Doncic is all those things. When he gets a switch, he likes to pull the ball out, dance a bit, and launch step-backs.

But the best players -- the geniuses -- know how to play against type, and one driver behind Doncic's lightning-quick ascendancy into MVP territory is a new and carefully deployed decisiveness:

Clint Capela might expect some prolonged dribble dalliance leading to a step-back. Instead, Doncic puts his head down and goes right away. Doncic isn't fast, but acting without hesitation effectively makes him so.

Oh, baby. Upon engaging Capela, Doncic scoots back toward the arc mid-dribble. He then rises from his crouch and cradles the ball in what resembles a windup into a jumper, only to bust out a nasty hesitation dribble.

Doncic is getting to the rim more, and shooting a LeBronian 74% in the restricted area.

5. Brook Lopez is a force field

Milwaukee appears to have set the record for fastest transition from feel-good curiosity to "wake me up in the playoffs." Umm, hello? The Bucks are 19-3! They've won 13 games in a row! They're No. 2 in both offense and defense! Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging 31 points in 31.7 minutes per game -- plus 13 rebounds and 5.5 assists. He's on pace for the highest player efficiency rating ever.

Milwaukee's dominance might hurt Antetokounmpo's chances of becoming only the 12th repeat MVP. I recently heard two influential announcers proclaim LeBron the clear front-runner without mentioning Antetokounmpo. Harden is averaging 7.7 more points per game than Antetokounmpo, but playing time explains much of that gap; Antetokounmpo is pouring in 35.2 points per 36 minutes compared to 37 for Harden, but he doesn't have to play as much because Milwaukee is too good. (Early season foul trouble deflated his minutes, too.)

LeBron has drawn tons of deserved praise for his resurgence on defense. Antetokounmpo's continued destruction is ... boring, I guess?

Milwaukee's defense is functioning much the same as last season. The Bucks shut off the rim, avoid fouling, and encourage non-corner 3s from so-so shooters. Lopez is the keystone, and his rim protection has reached another level.

Lopez has dancer feet. His timing is exquisite. He doesn't bite on pump fakes. He stays in his stance and slides a little faster than ball handlers expect. He doesn't unfold to his full height until he absolutely has to, and when he does, he somehow appears 8 feet tall. Opponents are shooting only 45% around the rim with Lopez nearby, one of the best marks in the league.

A lot of guys are afraid to even approach; opponents launch way more midrangers with Lopez on the floor, per Cleaning The Glass.

Also refreshing on the Milwaukee center front: D.J. Wilson cracking Mike Budenholzer's rotation again. He deserves a chance.

6. Jersey propaganda

Did the NBA and/or Nike pass some rule that every local announcing crew must proclaim the home team's city edition jersey the league's best? There can only be one "best," and it is Miami's (with Denver's rainbow skyline duds as runner-up). Some are drab or derivative, but announcers talk each one up as if they are must-have and Oh my gosh, Jim, aren't you so excited to see the players finally wearing them?

The closest thing I've heard to criticism is one analyst -- his or her identity will be protected in this era of Orwellian jersey propaganda -- remarking that Team X's city edition was "growing on me."

Some of the jersey marketing campaigns are laughably faux intellectual, as if the thing is a piece of inscrutable avant-garde art and not a fancy tank top. Others are, well, this:

Those three words all mean the same thing.

I kinda like Orlando's new orange look, even if my brain registers the orange Magic as Oklahoma State. Teams should use city editions to experiment with alternate colors. A lot of the jerseys are nice! Some have interesting origin stories. Let's talk about them without puffing them up.

7. Dzanan Musa has big dreams, man

Hypothesis: Musa has the largest ambition-to-talent ratio of any current player. One of the unexpected pleasures in Brooklyn's wave of injuries has been watching Musa, thrust into duty, attempting acts of brazen individualism usually reserved for superstars. My man will go 1-on-3 in transition even if all three defenders are taller and more athletic than he is.

Going 7-of-40 from deep (17.5%!) has not sapped Musa's bravado. Open catch-and-shoot 3s from just beyond the arc bore him. Musa lives for 28-footers.

The best part of Musa flying too close to the sun is the aftermath. He seems legitimately astonished that any act of derring-do has failed.

I'm not even mad. I'm kind of impressed. I like to think Musa approaches the New York dating scene with the same unflappable confidence.

None of this is meant to render final judgment. Musa is only 20. He shot 36% on 3s in the G League. He has some craft to his game. Bravery will serve him well.

8. Markelle Fultz hit-aheads

After one of the strangest sagas in recent sports history, it's kinda starting to happen for Fultz. He's shooting 56% on 2s, including a preposterous 50% on dicey shots between 10 and 16 feet from the basket -- an important shot for Fultz, since he is still gun-shy from deep. His jagged, herky-jerky off-the-bounce game confuses defenders. He can go from zero to 60 and back to zero in a blink, and he changes direction with an unexpected cadence.

When defenders duck under picks to keep Fultz out of the paint, he bobs back-and-forth behind his screener in a game of hide-and-seek until he senses an opening.

Orlando's offense is still just 24th in points per possession, but there are hints of improvement to come once they get Nikola Vucevic back. Their new starting five (with Fultz in place of D.J. Augustin) has scored about 111 points per 100 possessions -- equivalent to the fifth-ranked overall offense. Fournier is on the tear of his life. Injuries have forced the Magic to trend a little smaller, and that is probably healthy for their offense; the Fultz-Augustin pairing is plus-32 in 79 minutes.

One Fultz favorite: his Lowry-style hit-ahead passes.

Fultz is not one of those control-freak point guards. If he sees a chance for Orlando to score against an unsettled defense, he's happy to pass the baton early. Sometimes, his target has no obvious path to pay dirt. That's fine. Just rushing the ball up is valuable. It preserves mismatches that materialized on the previous possession. Backpedaling defenders are prone to mistakes.

There is also something undeniably stylish about underhanded hit-aheads -- another Fultz thing:

9. Rajon Rondo, fitting in

The Lakers took deserved heat for paying Rondo $9 million to do whatever it is he did for last season's mishmash of a team, but Rondo -- now on a two-year, $5.2 million deal -- has fit in surprisingly well for this new version.

The Lakers have walloped opponents by 16 points per 100 possessions with Rondo and LeBron on the floor, per NBA.com. That might not sustain once Rondo cools from deep. (He's shooting 50% on 3s.) There is inherent tension pairing LeBron with a shaky-shooting ball handler. Toss in a non-shooting center -- JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard -- and you are asking for droughts.

But Rondo's playmaking has helped those lineups flow. Rondo's genius has always shone most brightly when the game breaks from script -- when the initial set hasn't yielded anything, and the floor is jumbled. In moments of chaos, Rondo sees things -- passes, cuts, rebounding opportunities -- that elude most players.

He rebuilds the bridge from Point A to Point B, or conjures a new Point B. He is more connector than initiator.

Rondo is dishing 10.2 dimes per 36 minutes, on par with his All-Star peak.

It helps on this roster that Rondo is a daring and accurate post entry passer. He is not afraid to lob over fronting defenders to LeBron or Anthony Davis. Rondo is a willing screener for LeBron, and if defenders switch, LeBron shifts into bully-ball mode knowing Rondo will feed him.

Frank Vogel has experimented playing LeBron alongside both Rondo and Alex Caruso, and with so much ballhandling around him, LeBron occasionally morphs into the league's most devastating off-ball cutter.

The Lakers might experience some hiccups on offense as their schedule stiffens. Lineups with Rondo and Davis -- but no LeBron -- are dead even for the season. Rondo's defense remains uneven. But Rondo has been a helpful presence, and it has been a while since we've gotten to say that.

10. Look at the rim, Wendell Carter Jr.!

I know long 2s are out, but would it kill Carter to, like, show some awareness that jump shots remain legal? Or have the Bulls -- sporting an analytics-friendly shot profile without the shot-making to pay it off -- banned Carter from glancing at the rim? This dude was supposed to be Al Horford 2.0!

Opposing centers are sagging off Carter as if he's DeAndre Jordan. They barricade every passing lane. In theory, Carter can punish that style of defense by pivoting into dribble handoffs. In practice, the Bulls have not demonstrated that sort of improvisational flow.

A wide-open pick-and-pop midranger is still an acceptable endpoint. You get only 24 seconds. Sometimes, there is nothing better around the corner.

Carter establishing himself as a threat would force defenses to press him, and unlock new options. Despite endless foul trouble, Carter has probably been Chicago's best all-around player. That doesn't mean the Bulls should be satisfied.

Howie Kendrick, who capped the Nationals' improbable run to their first World Series title last season with a Game 7 home run, has reached an agreement on a one-year, $6.25 million deal to return to Washington, a source told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Friday.

Steady-handed, versatile and battle-tested, Kendrick came through at the biggest moments of the Nationals' October run, peaking with his go-ahead, two-run homer off Houston Astros reliever Will Harris in the seventh inning of Game 7.

Kendrick's grand slam off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly broke a 10th-inning tie in the decisive Game 5 of the National League Division Series -- just the second extra-inning slam in postseason history. Kendrick was the MVP of the NLCS, hitting .333 with four doubles and four RBIs as the Nats swept the St. Louis Cardinals.

The 36-year-old Kendrick's first full season with Washington ended early in 2018, when the left fielder tore his right Achilles tendon while retreating to catch a fly ball against the Dodgers on May 19.

"There's no point in being mopey about it," he said at the time. "It won't heal as fast. So the happier I am, the faster I'll heal."

After making a tweak to his swing by boosting his launch angle and getting his hands a little lower before coming through the zone, Kendrick returned this year to hit .344 with 17 home runs and 62 RBIs in 121 games. He set career highs in batting average and on-base percentage.

Kendrick didn't play a full season, missing time in August with a strained left hamstring, and the Nats primarily used him against left-handers, against whom he hit .376/.421/.615.

In 13 major league seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and Nationals, Kendrick is a .294 hitter with a .768 OPS. He was primarily an infielder for Washington in 2019 after playing left field, second base, first base and other positions throughout his career.

Tampa Bay Rays left-hander and former Cy Young winner Blake Snell had an immediate and strong reaction when he apparently learned about his team's reported trade of outfielder Tommy Pham to the San Diego Padres.

"We gave Pham up for [Hunter] Renfroe and a damn slapd--- prospect?" Snell said during a Twitch stream early Friday morning in a moment that was captured and shared on social media.

Second baseman Xavier Edwards was the prospect referred to by Snell. Edwards, outfielder Renfroe and a player to be named later are headed to Tampa Bay from the Padres in exchange for Pham and two-way prospect Jake Cronenworth, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Thursday night.

Edwards is an athletic middle infielder with excellent bat-to-ball skills who is a favorite among evaluators. In July, ESPN's Keith Law ranked him as the Padres' No. 5 prospect and the No. 46 prospect in all of baseball.

The full recording of the video game live stream is not available on Twitch, but Snell reportedly acknowledged overreacting later on and said he didn't know anything about Edwards.

"I'm not trying to belittle a minor leaguer," Snell later said during the live stream, according to Yahoo Sports. "It's just super rude toward that guy. That kid didn't deserve me calling him a slapd---, let's be honest. ... Tommy's the man, bro. It's just hella stupid."

In another clip posted to social media, Snell said his primary issue was giving up Pham, who hit .273 with 21 home runs and 68 RBIs in 2019.

"I'm more just upset that we gave away a huge piece of our team," Snell said. "He was the swag of our team. He lifted a lot of our position players up with just his presence and made other guys more swaggy."

Snell's Twitch account has nearly 300 videos and more than 9,400 followers.

STAMFORD, Conn. -- While Brian Cashman was descending the Landmark Building on Friday in preparation for a holiday celebration this weekend, the New York Yankees general manager came across a message taped to a 10th-floor window from a fan: Please sign Gerrit Cole.

Cashman confirmed he met with Cole in California on Tuesday and spoke with free-agent pitcher Stephen Strasburg the following day.

"It was a great opportunity, clearly it was very public, that we met with Gerrit Cole and Strasburg while I was on the West Coast," Cashman said. "At least, that's who you all are aware of so far. Who knows who I met with?

The Yankees have made signing Cole their clear offseason priority and have ownership-level approval to offer him a record-setting deal, sources familiar with their plans told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Thursday.

Cole and Strasburg are the top pitchers on the free-agent market. The Yankees would like to add an ace to a rotation that already includes Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and J.A. Happ.

Along with Cashman, assistant GM Mike Fischman, manager Aaron Boone, new Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake and former Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte made the trip to speak with both pitchers, who are represented by Scott Boras.

The Yankees' fondness for the 29-year-old Cole, whose fantastic 2019 season with the Houston Astros set him up to smash David Price's record $217 million contract for a pitcher, was only reinforced during the meeting, sources told ESPN.

New York and the Los Angeles Angels, a team similarly smitten with Cole and in even greater need of pitching, are preparing for a bidding war that executives expect will reach well beyond $250 million, according to sources. The Los Angeles Dodgers' interest in Cole is acute as well, though they are also considering bids for Strasburg and third baseman Anthony Rendon, sources told ESPN.

Cashman offered little about possibly signing either player, declining to discuss how much the Yankees might spend.

"I think it was an important part of the process for them," Cashman said. "It sounds like they have met with many teams, and obviously I can't predict the future or the timing of their futures, only really they control that."

Cole was 20-5 with an AL-best 2.50 ERA and a big league-high 326 strikeouts this year for the AL champion Astros. He was originally drafted by the Yankees with the 28th overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft, but he declined to sign a contract and opted to attend UCLA.

Strasburg was the MVP of the World Series for the Washington Nationals and was the organization's first overall pick in the 2009 draft.

Cashman will return to California for the baseball's winter meetings, which begin Monday. First, he'll attend Sunday's Heights and Lights, where he will dress as an elf and again descend the Landmark Building.

"Obviously, I'll be flying back out after this event and in the meantime staying engaged," said Cashman, who declined to say if another meeting with either pitcher was planned.

"I'm open to do clearly whatever, as always, is important for the Yankees. If there are certain steps that need to be taken, or conversations on the phone, like any club we are fully prepared to do what's necessary."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.