SEBRING, Fla. – The fourth running of the Historic Sportscar Racing Classic Sebring 12 Hour officially began with opening practice Thursday at Sebring Int’l Raceway, where the first race winners of the season-ending HSR Sebring Historics were also crowned after a rapid-fire run of three-straight races brought the afternoon to a competitive close.

Saturday’s and Sunday’s HSR Classic Sebring 12 Hour, Pistons and Props, presented by the Alan Jay Automotive Network, is the weekend’s featured event, but all 2019 HSR season championships will be decided in a full schedule of HSR Sebring Historics races over the course of the next three days.

The opening trio of races ran in quick succession Thursday afternoon and included 2019’s final B.R.M. Vintage and GT Classic (GTC) Enduro and season-ending sprints for the HSR Global GT and HSR Classic RS Cup series.

Todd Treffert scored his third-straight Sebring B.R.M. Enduro overall and GT Classic (GTC) win in his Speedconcepts 1974 No. 141 Porsche 911 IROC. Less than an hour later, Treffert backed up the B.R.M. Enduro win with a flag-to-flag sweep of the HSR Classic RS Cup finale.

The Vintage class victory in the B.R.M. Enduro went to Travis Engen who crossed the finish line second overall behind Treffert in his GMT Racing 1962 No. 1 Lotus 23B.

Thursday’s other big winner was former Audi Sport LMP factory driver Marco Wernerwho returned to Sebring victory lane after winning the HSR Global GT finale in the Britec Motorsports 2013 No. 007 Aston Martin Vantage. In the heart of the dominating Audi Sport LMP1 era, Werner co-drove to three overall 12 Hours of Sebring victories in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

Treffert was joined on the B.R.M. GTC podium by runner-up Fred Schulte in his 1973 No. 31 Porsche 911 IROC and the husband-and-wife driving duo of Mike Banz and Kathy Blaha in third in Blaha’s 1974 No. 40 Porsche 911 RS. Both the No. 31 and No. 40 Porsches are prepared by Heritage Motorsports.

Banz and Schulte made return visits to the podium in the HSR Classic RS Cup sprint. Banz was second in his Heritage Motorsports 1974 No. 13 Porsche 911 RSR while Schulte wheeled his No. 31 Porsche to a third place showing.

Along with Engen and his Lotus, the B.R.M. Vintage and overall podium included runner-up Daniel Brown in the B-G Racing 1975 No. 85 Ford Escort RS. Rob Albinowas third in Vintage in his Hudson Historics 1999 No. 991 BMW Z3 Coupe.

A pair of Porsches chased Werner’s Aston Martin to the finish line in the HSR Global GT race.

Last year’s Sebring Global GT winner Stuart Fain was second today in his Autometrics 2010 No. 990 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup while Chris Ruppel was third in his 2010 No. 119 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup from Zotz Racing.

TULSA, Okla. – With the number of entries for the 34th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire sitting at 151 with drivers currently coming from 30 states and four countries, that number is expected to climb quickly over the coming week as the deadline for early entry is set to expire on Dec. 13.

Currently, $150 per entry, the price after Dec. 13, goes up to $200.

Teams can enter by phone at (918) 838-3777, Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (CT). Entry forms must include a current W9 form which can be downloaded at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf

The entry form for the 34th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire is online at www.chilibowl.com can be returned by mail to 1141 S. 83rd East Ave. Tulsa, OK 74112 or by fax to (918) 836-5517. If sending by mail, any entry postmarked on or before Dec. 13 will be charged the early discounted price.

Looking over the current entry list, 35 drivers have made their way to the final showdown of the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire with 28 looking to make their first appearance at the event.

While far from a rookie in the world of sprint car racing, Pennsylvania’s Mark Smith, who captured 14 wins this year, will make his first trek to the River Spirit Expo Center in the Daum Motorsports No. 1m.

Keeping with the Daum Motorsports camp, Virginia’s Logan Roberson will bring his late model skills to the world of midgets. During the 2019 season, Roberson captured 13 victories in crate late model competition.

For fans still looking for reserved seats, Monday and Tuesday’s Qualifying Nights are still available by calling (918) 838-3777, Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (CT). Seats are $54 per day with plenty of options still available.

December has started with a roar in the NHL, as we've seen some monster individual performances and another coach fired. It's time to pull together a panel of experts to discuss some of the hot topics as the third month of the 2019-20 campaign goes into full swing.

In this edition, we're buying or selling the following:

• Phil Kessel will finish the season with 30 or more goals

• The Panthers already regret the Sergei Bobrovsky contract

• The New York Rangers will make the playoffs

• Jack Eichel has graduated to being one of the NHL's top 10 players

• Someone other than the Blues will be the West's No. 1 seed

1. Phil Kessel will finish the season with 30 or more goals.

Emily Kaplan, national NHL reporter: Sell. Kessel should hit 20, though, something no Yotes player did last season. While Kessel's production isn't where we expected (and overall, he hasn't given the Coyotes' power play the boost they had hoped for despite two goals Thursday), he brings other intangibles that will help Arizona actually make the playoffs this spring.

Vince Masi, ESPN Stats & Information: Sell. There have been 54 forwards over the past five seasons who had at least 60 shots and a shooting percentage through the first 30 games of a season near Kessel's this season, and they finished with an average of 16 goals. According to Moneypuck, Kessel's expected goals is right around what his total has been this season, so he appears to be underperforming, even with a shot pace around what he's posted in his career.

Ben Arledge, NHL editor: Sell, but I do buy what Emily suggests. Kessel will score 20-25 goals this season. Only one of his four goals has come at even strength this season, and Arizona's power play won't be anywhere near the top-five unit that the Penguins boasted over the veteran's last three seasons in Pittsburgh. So 30 isn't happening. But he's too talented a scorer to suddenly miss the 20-goal mark for the first time since 2007-08, and his 8.1% shooting percentage is due a few upward ticks.

Sachin Chandan, fantasy hockey editor: Sell. I believe he'll have a strong second half, but 30 is out of reach, as he'd need a 19% shooting rate over his next 140 shots to hit 30. If he can hit it, he'd be a must-buy fantasy player.

2. The Panthers already regret the Sergei Bobrovsky contract.

Kaplan: Buy. Many worried how Bobrovsky's contract would age in Years 5, 6 and 7 of the deal, but few could have predicted we'd see these struggles this early (he's still at a sub-.900 save percentage and 3.48 goals-against average, by far career-worsts). Florida is looking like a playoff team in spite of Bobrovsky, not because of him.

Masi: Buy. He has the second-lowest overall save percentage in the NHL. According to Corsica Hockey, he has the second-worst goals saved above average total at 5-on-5, and Moneypuck has him with the third-worst save percentage below expectation in that setting. Imagine what the Panthers' record would be if they weren't averaging just over 3.5 goals in support of him.

Arledge: Sell. We're two months into a seven-year deal, and the only reason anyone is panicking is because it's the first two months. There was an immediate acknowledgement that the Panthers would take a hit for the 31-year-old goalie's lengthy deal on the back end of the term, and even an MVP-caliber start to 2019-20 wouldn't have changed that. Sure, no one expected such a hit on the front end, but goaltenders run into rough patches, and I don't foresee this being telling of Bobrovsky's level of play over the next few seasons. Save the regret for four years down the line.

Chandan: Sell. It's too early to say regret, but there is concern. I still believe he could regain his typical late-season form, in which he has averaged a .929 save percentage in March and April over his career.

3. The New York Rangers will make the playoffs.

Kaplan: Sell. Unfortunately for Rangers fans, this team is going to tantalize with their potential over the next few months (like that recent stretch we saw where they won four of five). New York's atrocious defensive play will be their ultimate undoing.

Masi: Sell. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Rangers' expected goals against per 60 minutes is last in the league, and their Corsi against per 60 minutes is almost five shot attempts worse than any other team's mark. Bad news for the Rangers, they only have two games left against the Devils this season.

Arledge: The heart says buy, but the brain says sell. There's always a young surprise team with tons of talent in the playoff field, and the Rangers do fit the bill there. They are ahead of their rebuild schedule and are at least making some noise in the East. But the Rangers seem lost in the defensive zone and, worse, don't seem to know how to exit it when they do gain possession. Then you look at the other teams in the conference -- there aren't any pretenders currently in a berth, and the Lightning and Leafs are both outside the field right now -- and it just doesn't look feasible.

Chandan: Buy. It's possible, as the Rangers have managed to remain in the playoff race despite facing the 10th most difficult strength of schedule and despite Mika Zibanejad missing much of their November run. They sit four points back with two games in hand on each of the teams above them in the wild-card race.

4. Jack Eichel has graduated to being one of the NHL's top 10 players.

Kaplan: Sell. He's on the cusp, but I'm not quite ready to put him there yet. I'd still put these 10 forwards ahead of him (in no specific order) Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Sidney Crosby, David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Nathan MacKinnon, Patrick Kane, Alex Ovechkin, Aleksander Barkov, Auston Matthews.

Masi: Sell. There are some encouraging signs that maybe he's ready for his elite player card, as his total points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 has increased each season. This season may be an overwhelming outlier, though, as he has posted a 5-on-5 shooting percentage of 14% on his lowest shots per 60 minutes rate since his rookie season.

Arledge: Sell. He's elite, but not top-10 elite. There are too many ridiculous talents in the game today. That said, his numbers aren't fraudulent: His 17 goals (seventh in the NHL) are coming on a 16.3% shooting percentage that exceeds his career averages by a good deal but isn't any form of anomaly among the league's best scorers; moreover, only four of his tallies have come with the man advantage. A full extra minute of average ice time certainly helps the raw numbers, but it also shows an increased confidence in Eichel from the Sabres' coaching staff.

Chandan: Buy. If we're taking the temperature for this season, I'd say he deserves a place. He's been an elite scorer this season at even strength and for your fantasy team, and the only players I'd put ahead of him right now are McDavid, Draisaitl, Pastrnak, MacKinnon, Marchand, Ovechkin, Kane, Panarin and John Carlson.

5. Someone other than the Blues will be the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Kaplan: Buy. The Blues have played admirably considering how banged-up they are -- they're 12-4-3 since Vladimir Tarasenko went down and have weathered injuries to Oskar Sundqvist, Alexander Steen, Sammy Blais and others -- but it might catch up to them eventually. The Avalanche are getting healthier, faster, and could make a big splash at the trade deadline considering they have the cap space and assets for it.

Masi: Buy. While it's impressive the Blues have been able to get off to this start with all their injuries, this is the Avalanche's conference -- and they've been hit by the injury bug as well. Colorado is second in Moneypuck's power score rankings behind the Boston Bruins, and the Avs have seen an uptick recently in their five-game moving average in expected goal differential.

Arledge: Buy. While the Blues hold a nice six-point lead on the Avalanche in the Central Division, they also have three games in hand. No team is going to run away in a race that'll go down to the season's final week, but I've got the Avs taking the top seed when the dust settles. Even though Colorado missed Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog for a good deal of time, it still leads the NHL in scoring by a healthy margin, with 3.7 goals per game.

Chandan: Sell. The Avs are charging fast on their heels, but the Blues hold slight edges over Colorado on the power play, penalty kill, Corsi differential, and expected goals. The Blues have been able to withstand their injuries thanks to their offensive depth, along with goalie Jordan Binnington's .925 save percentage.

Coaches kicking their players in the back, or punching them in the head, is unacceptable.

That's a given, right? That a superior assaulting a subordinate is wrong? That these power dynamics discourage any pushback, because the victim risks a reduction in playing time, outright removal from the team or escalating physical and mental abuse under the guise of "hard practices?"

Bill Peters punched and kicked two players with the Carolina Hurricanes. It might not be the primary reason he's no longer coaching the Calgary Flames, but it was a contributing one. Marc Crawford has been accused of kicking and choking players while coaching the Los Angeles Kings. His current team, the Chicago Blackhawks, has put him on administrative leave pending their investigation.

You know who else punched a player in the head on the bench?

Nashville Predators head coach Peter Laviolette.

It happened on Feb. 18, 2011, when Laviolette was coaching the Philadelphia Flyers. The player he punched was 27-year-old Finnish forward Ville Leino, in his second NHL season. We know this happened not because a retired player made an accusation. We know this happened because many of us watched it at the time.

What about this guy? Laviolette on camera punching Leino in the head. Likely not an isolated incident. pic.twitter.com/egiJEVECG7

— Burn Unit (@ClintonPapin) December 3, 2019

I've thought a lot about that punch recently. It hasn't been mentioned much, if at all, in this parade of accusations against coaches; despite, you know, being readily available on YouTube. We know how punching a player in the head looks now. How did some of us react at the time?

"I wish we could zoom in so that the camera could catch the single tear running down Leino's face after getting knocked on the side of the head." --Uproxx

"You know this will only make us love you more, Lavvy. And you too, Leino, for taking the shot like a man." -- NBC Sports Philadelphia

"The coolest part? It actually seemed to light a fire under the teams' collective a--. And Leino didn't even budge." --Broad Street Hockey

I'm not trying to pick on certain media outlets here. They were amplifying the overall reaction to the incident in the hockey community. In fact, you know who else didn't have a problem with Ville Leino getting punched in the head by Peter Laviolette at the time?

Ville Leino.

"There are lot of emotions in the game. Coaches get fired up and things happen," Leino told ESPN via email. "I don't think Peter tried to hit me, and it looks worse in the video than it was."

Leino hadn't thought about this incident in quite a while, until a friend showed him the video the other day. He recalls Laviolette apologizing for the punch at the time. "Peter was a very passionate and emotional coach. That made him good, but sometimes stuff like this happened," he said. "Nevertheless, it shouldn't happen."

Leino retired in 2015 and is now CEO of a successful clothing brand in Finland called Billebeino. He has watched from afar as this reckoning of coaches' behavior has happened in the NHL, from Peters to Crawford to the accusations of mental abuse against Mike Babcock, who was Leino's first coach in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings. And he has thought a lot about what was seen as acceptable then, and how we view it now.

"Back in the day, almost every coach I played for was doing or saying stuff that's not appropriate in a normal work environment. It happened every day. It was part of the culture. I guess it was considered normal," he said. "It's hard to put the blame on just few of the coaches or certain moments when it happened. Times have changed, and people have changed."

Can the culture change?

When Akim Aliu accused Peters of directing racist language toward him, which was corroborated by two teammates, the reaction from the hockey community, the Flames and the NHL itself was swift and justifiable condemnation. But accusations of physical abuse against coaches have entered an area that can be best called "selective enforcement." Part of that is the players' reactions. Call it toxic masculinity, or violence being the one true vernacular of a violent sport, but at best we're getting "it's wrong, but we didn't know better at the time" from players. And at worst, we're getting Sean Avery.

The former New York Rangers forward told the New York Post that Crawford kicked him in the back hard enough to leave a mark when the two were with the Kings. That was grouped with other accusations of physical abuse from players like Patrick O'Sullivan and Brent Sopel. But two days later, Avery backed away from the story so fast he left smoking tire treads on the sidewalk.

"Marc Crawford had every right in the world to kick me in the a--. He should have spanked my a-- a little bit more. I deserved it," Avery said, in a video posted to Twitter. "I loved Crow. He was my second-favorite NHL coach. Fact."

Avery excused it as "tough love." Others now view it for what it was, which is physical abuse of a power imbalance.

In which direction is the NHL, and hockey culture, going to head?

"I think the culture was that if a coach punches you in the head, that's acceptable. Whether that's actually acceptable or not, that was the culture at the time. But just like everything else, stuff is gonna change," former NHL player Anthony Stewart told us this week on the ESPN On Ice podcast. "The way things were 20 years ago, it's not going to be acceptable now. It's a new generation of kids. You have [social media], where you can get the information out there right away."

The "kids" are an important part of this solution. This type of abuse is far more prevalent in junior hockey than it is in the pros, where the power imbalance is more severe: Teams have less scrutiny and junior players have no leverage, considering their entire career path could be demolished for speaking out. This is where abuse gets standardized, and then it becomes accepted at other levels. Remember the outrage over hazing? Same culture, same toxic tradition.

"Coaches and athletic directors, general managers are generally former athletes themselves, right? So they're also a part of that culture. And in terms of hazing, had it done to them and did it to others," Jay Johnson, a professor at the University of Manitoba that studied hazing in junior hockey, told the CBC last year. "And that really normalizes behavior, because everyone's doing it."

So the culture has to change. But how far are we willing to take that change?

The walls of silence around the dressing room are crumbling, but I'm not convinced the hockey community is ready to traverse through the debris. To do this right, there needs to be a hard conversation about the gray areas. The days of a coach assaulting a player are going to be over, as players are more empowered and leagues are becoming vigilant about ending that behavior. But how do we define verbal abuse? How much yelling at someone is too much, knowing that it varies from player to player? Is a bag skate abuse? Is that scene from "Miracle," previously lauded as a defining moment for the late Herb Brooks, now a shameful display? Is "not knowing any better" an excuse, when any rational person would? Is there a statute of limitations for kicking or punching a player because "that's just how it was?"

It's astonishing how many players have stories about getting punched or kicked by a coach. It's astonishing how many chalk it up to an emotional outburst, which leads to apologies, which leads to the general manager shaking his finger and saying never to do that again, and everyone moves on.

This isn't about a few coaches losing their jobs or having their reputations taking a hit, and it being the end of this. It's about having that happen to break this cycle, and putting it back together in a better, safer, more respectful way. These are difficult, fundamental changes for a sport that typically lurches forward toward progress with the rapidity of an overfed zombie. But it's the kick in the pants the NHL requires right now.

"We need these latest talks, because they will change things," Leino said. "I hope it will be little easier, especially for the young guys."

Jersey fouls

From Madison Square Garden:

#jerseyfoul @wyshynski that's a bad tapeover pic.twitter.com/SPbz2QtiQT

— Paul Gizewski (@Pauliemacz) November 28, 2019

Well ... an attempt was made. If nothing else, we'll just see this as a Rangers fan who wants to honor the legacy of Ryan Callahan while pledging her loyalty to the Church of Kaapo Kakko.

Death to the shootout: ECHL edition

Regular readers of this space know I abhor the shootout with the fury of a thousand burning suns, as it's a completely artificial, inferior and inequitable way to determine the victor of a team sport.

The NHL recognizes this too, which is why we don't have the shootout in the playoffs and why the league shifted to 3-on-3 overtime in an effort to minimize them even more.

But according to ESPN Stats & Information research, shootouts are up this season: 9.38% of games have gone to a shootout. Last season, 6.85% of games (87 of 1,271) were shootout games. Through Dec. 4 this season, we've had 41 shootouts. Through Dec. 4 last season, we had 26. That is the highest such percentage through games of Dec. 4 in a season since 2016-17 (9.8%, 37 of 377 games).

Oh, this is not good. What shall we do?

There has been talk here and there about what expanding overtime could do to reduce the number of shootouts. One league is currently seeing what that looks like, and so far shootouts are down dramatically.

The ECHL expanded 3-on-3 overtime to seven minutes this season. Through the first 258 games this season, 54 were tied after regulation, or 21% of games played. Of those, 45 were decided in the 3-on-3 overtime (83.3%) and nine in the shootout (16.7%). At the 273-game mark last season, 60 were tied (22%), 39 were decided in overtime (65%) and 21 in the shootout (35%).

For context: In the 2018-19 ECHL season, out of 972 total games, 200 were tied after regulation (20.6% of games played). Of those, 122 were decided in overtime (61.0%) and 78 in the shootout (39.0%).

Of note: The average time of the winning goal in overtime so far this season is at the 3:02 mark, and nine of the 45 games were decided in those extra two minutes of overtime. Last season, the average time of the winning goal was at the 2:23 mark.

As shootouts creep up, perhaps it's time to increase the length of overtime. This would be good news for those of us who love the 3-on-3 overtime, which remains chaotically glorious no matter how conservatively teams try to play it.

Listen to ESPN On Ice

We returned from our holiday break to discuss ... well, a lot of what you read at the top of this column, with Anthony Stewart of Sportsnet. Plus, a spin around the NHL Awards Watch, Taylor Hall trade rumors and ... that Peloton ad. Listen here, and please rate and review!

Winners and losers of the week

Winner: John Hynes

Typically, a coach losing his job isn't going to land him on the winners list. But consider the outpouring of respect for Hynes after the New Jersey Devils fired him after four-plus seasons this week. "You'll see him in the NHL, head coaching at some point soon. He's a good man. I have a pretty cool trophy at home that I think he had a part in," former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall said. Also, Hynes will never have to stand behind the Devils' bench for another debacle like that 7-1 loss to Buffalo, either.

Loser: Ray Shero

This season is a disaster for the Devils. It took them seven games to get a win out of the gate. They gave away leads at home as if they were magnetic calendars. Shero, the Devils' general manager, added P.K. Subban, Nikita Gusev, Wayne Simmonds and Jack Hughes in the offseason. He had a healthy Taylor Hall. What he didn't address was the goaltending, which consisted of a still-untested Mackenzie Blackwood and the fourth season of hoping Cory Schneider could turn his career around. (Spoiler: He didn't.) Increasingly, Shero's approach to this season after seeing what happened last season is like that real estate guy from the original "Poltergeist": He put a bunch of fancy new property on top of where the bodies were still buried, and the team was haunted by it.

Winner: Nathan MacKinnon

MacKinnon is on an unbelievable tear, with 22 points in his last 11 games, giving him 44 points (18 goals, 26 assists) in 28 games this season. The Avalanche are the best offensive team in the league and are ensconced in a playoff spot. That MacKinnon and the team have accomplished this with Mikko Rantanen, who just returned on Nov. 30, and Gabriel Landeskog, who returned Thursday night, out of the lineup is the stuff that Stanley Cup contenders are made from.

Loser: Anyone trying to defend Connor McDavid

This could make our winners and losers every week, but watching the Ottawa Senators surround McDavid with five players while the Edmonton Oilers change, and still have McDavid slice through for a Grade-A scoring chance is as comical as it is awe-inspiring.

Ya'll if this ain't the most Connor McDavid photo ever I don't know what is. The fact that he got a grade A scoring chance after is something out of a novel. Absolutely unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/YsfPG3CqTM

— ???? (@OilersAdam) December 5, 2019

Winner: Mark Borowiecki

The Senators defenseman stopped a robbery in Vancouver recently when he saw someone breaking into a parked car. He wrestled away a bag from the person, who ran away. "I'm a mediocre fighter on the ice, but I'm very confident handling myself off the ice. I wasn't too worried about anything that would happen," he said.

Loser: Calgary taxpayers

Congrats to the Calgary Flames and their billionaire owner on their bountiful new well of corporate welfare, as the citizens of the city foot half the bill for their new arena.

Puck headlines

The Jakub Vrana love is spreading. "It doesn't take a scientist to realize Vrana brings immense value to the Capitals."

Very interesting lawsuit news: "The state appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a teen injured in "freak accident" during a 2013 hockey game at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough. The teen's wrist was sliced open by another player's skate, and he sued the player, the rink owner, and the referees overseeing the game."

Minnesota, just an FYI that Jenna Fischer is coming to your state to film a "Hoosiers"-esque hockey movie.

Safe to say that you've arrived as a legit competitor when traditional powerhouses like Denver are cutting promos on you, Arizona State.

For the first time in program history, we'll travel to Arizona State this weekend

It looks like the Sun Devils will be debuting new jerseys for the 2,000th time in their three-minute history #PioneerTogether https://t.co/4tTStPtd0E

— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) December 4, 2019

Nice piece here by Kevin Allen on Caley Chelios and the increasing roles for women in the NHL.

Is the honeymoon over for Sheldon Keefe with the Maple Leafs?

Snoop Dogg has been added to EA Sports' NHL 20, as an announcer and a playable character. Where was this when I was a kid? "Bliz-ades of Steel?"

Finally, remember Andrew "The Hamburglar" Hammond? Here he is making a "scorpion save" in the AHL. Wow!

Andrew Hammond also known as the "The Hamburglar" with the scorpion save in the AHL.... ? pic.twitter.com/pGOdQhXe02

— Robert Söderlind (@HockeyWebCast) December 5, 2019

Hockey tl;dr (too long; didn't read)

John Tortorella's players, current and former, on his tactics in light of everything that's happening in the NHL. Said Brandon Dubinsky: "As far as crossing lines, he's never crossed any lines with me. I've never seen him cross any lines, as far as physically or really saying things to the point of being abusive."

In case you missed this from your friends at ESPN

Which players who you should be "selling high" in fantasy at the moment?

SYDNEY – Australian Matt Jones birdied his final hole Friday for a 6-under 65 and a one-stroke lead after two rounds on a day of low scoring at the Australian Open.

Jones had a 36-hole total of 10-under 132 at The Australian Golf Club. Paul Casey shot 65 and Dimitrios Papadatos 66 and were tied for second.

''Anytime you get to lead is fantastic,'' Jones said. ''It would have been better to be more in front, but I'll take one in front. Still a long way to go. I'm sure the wind is going to pick up the next two days, which will make it a little tougher.''

American Cameron Tringale, who shot 65, and Louis Oosthuizen had a 66 to be among those two shots behind.

Casey, at No. 14 and the top-ranked player in the field, had seven birdies including four in a row to end his round.

''I've not been able to get it close to any flag for about a day and a half and then suddenly the back nine for me, the last half a dozen holes, I had some really good birdie opportunities,'' Casey said. ''I don't know if it was fully in the zone, but it was really nice stuff and it felt really good.''

Adam Scott followed up his opening 75 with a 67 Friday, but still missed the cut.

Scott and Oosthuizen are both on the International team for next week's Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne. Their captain, Ernie Els, may have some extra time to plot his strategy against the American team – Els shot 77 on Friday and missed the cut as well .

''I just didn't quite swing enough or good enough and so be it. But, it was always going to be tough for me to play well with next week coming up,'' Els said. ''Actually even last night, I got some pairings going for the guys and so things are really getting set up now. I'm really focused on next week now, absolutely.''

Friday's low scoring came after the bushfire-driven haze that blanketed the course on Thursday afternoon cleared significantly for the second round.

The Australian Open is the first qualifier for next year's Open Championship to be held from July 16-19 at Royal St. George's. The leading three players who finish in the top 10 and ties at the Australian Open who are not already exempt will qualify.

Jurgen Klinsmann wants Hertha Berlin to follow Liverpool's example as he targets turning the club into a European power.

Berlin has not been represented in the Champions League since 2000, while across Europe teams from the capital cities of France, Italy, Spain and England regularly participate in the competition.

- ESPN+ gets Bundesliga rights starting in 2020

Named to the supervisory board in early November and appointed as interim coach last week amid a relegation battle, Klinsmann has outlined his vision for Hertha in an interview with DAZN.

"Berlin is longing for things to happen here now in the future," former United States head coach Klinsmann said. "That people take the club in their hands and get it up to position in Europe sooner or later.

"I do believe that the identification can be like or maybe already is like you feel it in Liverpool when walking through Liverpool."

However, the city-owned Olympiastadion, a giant concrete bowl built for the 1936 Summer Olympics and brought into shape for the 2006 World Cup, has not helped Hertha's efforts to build a big fanbase in the German capital.

The club have plans to play in their own stadium, but the city of Berlin has not been forthcoming helping the club to find a place for the new arena, something that Klinsmann hopes to change.

"Someone has to speak it out loud," he said. "I believe that the Berliners have the inner wish to see a Hertha Berlin which one day has its own stadium, its own thing. They want a club playing in Europe, one which is positioned more than regional.

"It's a very special city, there are no two opinions. You must own up to it. A lot is possible. It's our capital. There must be a beginning."

For now, Hertha Berlin must end a five-match losing streak at Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday night. Following the 2-1 defeat to Dortmund last weekend, Hertha are in the relegation playoff place and Klinsmann is aware that in the short-term the club must start climbing the table.

"We need results, we need points now," he said. "You jump into the cold water and start swimming. And I think the lads didn't swim all that bad against Dortmund."

ECB chairman Colin Graves has predicted that Test matches played in England will never return to free-to-air (FTA) television, claiming that broadcasters have to put up with "astronomical" costs to show a five-day game.

In an interview with the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph, Graves warned that the next government should not interfere with how cricket sells its broadcasting rights, and suggested that the offering of short-form cricket on FTA TV next year was sufficient. The BBC are set to show ten games from the men's Hundred, up to eight games from the women's Hundred, two men's T20Is and one women's T20I live next summer.

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"One of the first things I said as chairman was we want cricket back on terrestrial television," Graves said.

"We have done it but Test cricket on terrestrial television is a totally different ball game. If you talk to broadcasters, none of them want it. It does not fit into their schedules.

"Can I ever see Test cricket being on free-to-air? No. I can't see how they fit it in. The cost to do a Test match is astronomical from a broadcasting point of view. For a five-day Test you are talking production cost of a million quid so there is not going to be a queue even if they push it that way."

The last Test shown live on FTA TV in the UK was the fifth Ashes Test in 2005, and the ECB came under pressure from a Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee in October for their decision to sell exclusive rights to Sky Sports.

Ian Lucas, the Labour MP for Wrexham, grilled senior ECB figures including Graves and chief executive Tom Harrison at an oral evidence session for the committee, and said he would "love to see at least one Test - the Lord's Test, for example - on FTA TV". The Labour Party's manifesto for next week's general election includes a pledge to add the Cricket World Cup to the list of 'crown jewel' sporting events that are broadcast on FTV TV, but does not mention Test cricket.

"If any government starts pushing free-to-air and says it has got to happen, they are going to take a chunk of money out of English cricket," Graves warned.

"That is not just professional cricket. It will take a chunk of money out of recreational cricket, women's cricket, schools, the whole shooting match. So we have to be very, very careful when we talk to governments and make sure they are aware of the situations they might want to get into."

Graves' five-year term as ECB chairman ends in November 2020. His replacement will be the first to be paid a salary, and the search for his successor is underway.