With the conclusion of the USAC and Formula One seasons, this is the final edition of the SPEED SPORT Power Rankings for this year. Who closes out the year at the top of the Power Rankings? Click below to find out!

CONCORD, N.C. – Corey LaJoie has signed a one-year contract to remain as driver of the No. 32 Go Fas Racing Ford in the NASCAR Cup Series next season.

LaJoie recently completed his third full season in the NASCAR Cup Series and first with Go Fas Racing, earning two top-10 finishes at superspeedway events at Daytona Int’l Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.

“I’m going to be back in the 32 car at Go Fas Racing next year,” the 28-year-old LaJoie said during MRN’s Sunday Money podcast Tuesday afternoon. “It took a little while to get done, longer than both sides probably would have liked. I’m ultimately super excited to go back.”

The news comes a month after Go Fas Racing announced it had formed an alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing, which will see Go Fas Racing receive chassis and technical support from Stewart-Haas.

“We’ve got some Stewart-Haas cars coming into the shop today, so I’m going to go over and check those out today,” said LaJoie, who is traveling to Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., this weekend to compete in the Snowball Derby.

One significant change for LaJoie will be the departure of his crew chief Randy Cox, who has chosen to come off the road.

“We’re trying to find a crew chief right now,” LaJoie said. “Randall, he just moved on. He’s going to hang out at the house a little more. He’s got a little sailing boat he’s going to go sailing on. I wish all the best to him.”

Schluter Systems, Keen Parts, Superior Logistics and Drydene Performance Products are all expected to return to the team as sponsors.

“Mason [St. Hilaire] and I are excited to bring Corey back and continue Go Fas Racing’s growth with 2019 being our best year ever. The Stewart-Haas Racing alliance should allow us to continue that progress throughout the 2020 season with all the great employees and marketing partners this team has! We couldn’t be more excited for the 2020 season to begin,” said Go Fas Racing team owner Archie St. Hilaire.

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SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Indiana Midget Week enters its 15th year with a new look with the addition of Paragon Speedway as the opener to six-straight nights of USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing June 2-7.

On Tuesday, June 2, the tricky quarter mile of Paragon, located just a little less than an hour southwest of Indianapolis, will make its debut on the Indiana Midget Week schedule by hosting its first USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget race since 1985 and its first USAC-sanctioned race of any kind since 1998.

Paragon Speedway has hosted USAC Midgets only three times in its existence, a 1977 event won by Johnny Parsons, a 1978 victory by Mel Kenyon and the 1985 race, which served as the only career USAC National win for John Andretti.

Following the opener at Paragon, on Wednesday, June 3, the series travels northbound to the quarter-mile Gas City I-69 Speedway, whose origins with the Indiana Midget Week series date to the inaugural year in 2005.  Next, on Thursday, June 4, the five-sixteenths-mile Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville is back on the IMW docket for the 11th straight year.

The quarter-mile red clay of Bloomington Speedway provides the surface as IMW enters the weekend on Friday, June 5.  The three-eighths-mile Lawrenceburg Speedway, which hosted the very first Indiana Midget Week event in 2005, serves as the penultimate race of the mini-series on Saturday, June 6.  The 2020 Indiana Midget Week finale at Kokomo Speedway comes to the quarter-mile venue on Sunday, June 7, which first hosted USAC Midget racing in USAC’s inaugural season of 1956.

Indiana Midget Week debuted in 2005, and throughout the past decade and a half, has developed into one of the ultimate racing destination weeks of the year.

“Indiana Midget Week is annually one of the most thrilling weeks of the USAC season,” USAC National Series Director Levi Jones said.  “USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing right now is the most intense and unpredictable it’s ever been as proven by nine different winners in nine races during Indiana Midget Week over the past two seasons.  Witnessing that over six nights in 2020 will be something you won’t want to miss.”

Logan Seavey is the reigningIndiana Midget Week champion after capturing the 2019 title.  Bryan Clauson owns the most Indiana Midget Week feature victories with nine.

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WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals traded forward Chandler Stephenson to the Vegas Golden Knights for a 2021 fifth-round pick.

Washington needed to shed salary and chose Travis Boyd over Stephenson, who they dealt rather than risk losing him on waivers. The teams announced the move Monday night after Vegas played at the New York Rangers.

Stephenson, 25, helped the Capitals win the Stanley Cup in 2018 and is now in his third full NHL season. An excellent player on the defensive end and on the penalty kill, Stephenson has three goals and an assist in 24 games this season.

Vegas president of hockey operations George McPhee was Washington's general manger when it drafted Stephenson in the third round in 2012. He gives the Golden Knights some additional depth as they attempt to make the playoffs for the third time in three seasons of existence.

Winger Carl Hagelin's return from long-term injury prompted the salary cap-strapped Capitals to make a move. Team brass felt Boyd earned the opportunity to stick around in the NHL based on his play since being called up from the minors.

Boyd, 26, has a goal and six assists in 13 games with the Capitals this season.

"He's better than he was last year, in my mind," general manager Brian MacLellan said. "Offensive zone, he's controlled the play a little bit better. I think he's always been pretty good in the offensive zone, but he's winning more battles, he's creating off the cycle. I think he's done a great job for us this year."

The additions of Hagelin, free-agent signings Brendan Leipsic, Garnet Hathaway and Richard Panik made Washington feel good enough about its penalty-kill personnel to trade Stephenson, a longtime favorite of coach Todd Reirden for his fundamentally sound play.

Pretty tough out there in the goaltender landscape, isn't it? Early-season shares of Andrei Vasilevskiy, Sergei Bobrovsky, Pekka Rinne, John Gibson, Carey Price and Devan Dubnyk aren't looking so hot right now. The pain is made worse because Vasilevskiy and Bobrovsky were top-five goalies heading into the season; Rinne and Price were top-10.

As happens every season, regardless of how much we warn about it, the goaltender market has been cornered by this stage of the game. Why does it happen? Because while Vasilevskiy and Bobrovsky struggle, no one is dropping them from their roster. And rightly so; this market can turn itself around. But in the meantime, you can't just play Price or Dubnyk and expect to get ahead, so fantasy players are finding room to pick up additional goaltenders. As teams scoop up the emerging or trending netminders, while also holding the household names that are slumping, we quickly find the pickings become quite thin.

Any league deeper than a 10-team standard roster knows exactly what I'm referring to. It becomes a desert out there in the free-agent pool.

While I would never advocate for dropping most of these big-name goaltenders because it's absolutely true that their success can turn on a dime - I think it's time to stop hoping for a turnaround and start making some other changes.

We are two months into the season, which is enough action to call what a goaltender has been doing so far a trend. While I think Rinne, Vasilevskiy and maybe even Bobrovsky are in a position to turn this thing around sooner than later, we can't wait forever. So park them on the bench, and let's dive deep into the free-agent pool to find some goaltenders that might be available in your league regardless of its depth.

Alex Stalock, G, Minnesota Wild: Scooped up in up to 18 percent of leagues depending on where you play, Stalock is still available in the vast majority of fantasy leagues. And while Devan Dubnyk remains out as his wife deals with a serious medical issue, that doesn't really play into this recommendation for Stalock. You see, Stalock was the stabilizer here before Dubnyk took his leave of the team. And Stalock is having more success for the Wild than they've had this season to this point. He has more wins and better ratios and is giving Dubnyk the time off he needs. Given the current performances, even when Dubnyk does return, this is still a timeshare. The biggest indicator here is even strength save percentage, where Stalock is in the middle of the pack with a .916 percentage, while Dubnyk is near the bottom of the league at .893.

Chris Driedger, G, Florida Panthers: I say we jump in on Driedger for fear of missing out. I still think Bobrovsky can get right in the crease and pay off down the stretch run, but there is still doubt in my mind and Driedger's storyline scares me. Why? I know it's just one game, but he checks all the same boxes Jordan Binnington did when he stepped into the crease for the St. Louis Blues last season. Binnington was a mid-20s goaltender with a high pedigree, but got lost in the system and played some games in the ECHL before ultimately stabilizing a team that only needed solid goaltending to be a contender. Driedger has followed a similar path as an Ottawa Senators draft pick from 2012 that bounced around the minors and has finally been killing it in the AHL this season. The Panthers called up him to see what he could do, and he notched a 27-save shutout against the Nashville Predators on Saturday. Bobrovsky has been a dumpster fire so far this season, so expect the Panthers to give Dreidger a chance to see how this plays out. I waited to long last year with Binnington, so I'm OK with burning a roster spot for a week or two to give this situation a chance.

Eric Comrie, G, Detroit Red Wings: But what if you play in a league that is so active that Driedger was already scooped up on Sunday? Good on you for being competitive, but there is always another speculative play to make. The Red Wings traded for Comrie on the weekend and he's not nobody. If the Winnipeg Jets didn't fully commit to Connor Hellebuyck, Comrie was the backup plan in their system, but he became expendable with the emergence of Hellebuyck and they lost him to waivers at the start of this season. Comrie was playing in the system for the Arizona Coyotes until the Wings came calling this past weekend. He's a 24-year-old goaltender with four professional seasons under his belt and was among the top-10 in the AHL in save percentage last season. The Wings clearly aren't getting what they need from Jonathan Bernier and Jimmy Howard - and Howard just hit the IR with a mid-body injury. This is going to be Comrie's big chance.

Forwards on the move

Jeff Skinner, W, Buffalo Sabres (down 14 spots to No. 131): It's been two months and, despite scoring 40 goals last season, Skinner remains on the outside of the fantasy bubble in Buffalo. Sure, he has 10 goals and is on pace for 30, but Skinner has had otherwise-empty 30-goal seasons for fantasy before. He needs to be on this power play with Jack Eichel and he just isn't. He still has some fantasy value, of course, but unless Victor Olofsson or Sam Reinhart are bumped from Eichel's side, it won't be top-100 value.

Jake DeBrusk, W, Boston Bruins (up 16 spots to No. 195): It still amazes me that DeBrusk somehow hasn't exploded for fantasy purposes. He is the fifth-man on one of the best power plays in the NHL - and he has been playing there for the better part of a couple seasons. But that potential to go off as part of the power play will always be lingering in the background of his profile, so, when DeBrusk is also hitting at even strength, he should be in lineups. He has six points in five games and should be locked into lineups while Patrice Bergeron is out and the Bruins need offense to come from other lines.

Boone Jenner, C, Columbus Blue Jackets (enters ranks at No. 250): Perennially underrated because he'll slump below 40 points most seasons, Jenner is a great driver of offense for the players around him. He helped push Josh Anderson and Nick Foligno into fantasy-relevant territory last season. Now, he seems to have settled onto a line with Oliver Bjorkstrand and Gustav Nyquist. And, of course, both of Jenner's linemates are clicking at the moment. If you play in a league that has already rostered the two streaking wingers, consider Jenner as a subtle addition.

Defensemen on the move

Seth Jones, D, Columbus Blue Jackets (up 21 spots to No. 102): With Zach Werenski gone for four weeks, we can anticipate a boost from Jones as all offensive work from the blue line gets concentrated to his stick. He should get almost all the power-play looks on the blue line, which he has been splitting with Werenski to date.

Neal Pionk, D, Winnipeg Jets (up 24 spots to No. 169): Slowly, but surely, Pionk has pushed his way past Josh Morrissey on the depth chart for the Jets power play. The man advantage for Winnipeg hasn't been as good as it should be, but Pionk seems to be sewing up the role after Morrissey went cold in November. The Jets need results when their opponent gets a penalty, so expect more of Pionk here going forward. Really, only the return of Dustin Byfuglien would throw a wrench into his value, but that doesn't seem likely anytime soon.

Goaltenders on the move

Carter Hart, G, Philadelphia Flyers (up 23 to No. 148): Hart has been mercurial in these rankings this season for a reason: His play has been up and down. While his stats have been better in recent weeks, it has come at a cost. Hart and Brian Elliott are in a straight rotation for the crease, which reduces Hart's workload enough that he needs to be better than average to earn value. It doesn't help that Elliott is keeping pace and looking strong this season. Hart leads in goals-against average, but it's Elliott who has the better save percentage. It's natural to like Hart more for fantasy because he's younger and has more potential, but Elliott could be a sleeper for your team and certainly a bridge in net while you seek a goaltender with more playing time. Neither can be a G1 unless the other is out of the picture.

New to rankings

Alex Stalock, Adam Fox, Chris Driedger, Brendan Lemieux, Jared Spurgeon, Boone Jenner.

Just missed

Oliver Bjorkstrand, Ivan Barbashev, Hampus Lindholm, Brandon Montour, Sami Vatanen, Cam Fowler, Rasmus Ristolainen, Eric Comrie, Andrew Mangiapane, Jordan Eberle, Ondrej Palat, Mats Zuccarello, Kevin Fiala, Charlie Coyle, Denis Gurianov.

Dropped out

Nikita Zadorov, Joel Edmundson, Devan Dubnyk, Nick Suzuki, Jack Hughes, Josh Bailey.

Cristiano Ronaldo's sister failed to see the funny side after Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk joked that the Portuguese forward was "not really a rival" in the Ballon d'Or award voting.

Dutchman Van Dijk finished second behind Lionel Messi in Monday's ceremony in Paris -- the latest in a plethora of football awards -- with Ronaldo third.

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Acho que há pessoas a viver completamente frustradas!!! E fora da realidade... A tal humildade! Repórter: "Cristiano Ronaldo não estará cá esta noite. É menos um rival a ter em conta." Van Dijk: " É Cristiano Ronaldo realmente um rival?" Foi esta a resposta do central holandês do Liverpool, quando confrontado sobre a ausência do astro português da gala desta noite. É certo e sabido que Ronaldo não ganhará o prémio desta noite. Apesar de ter vencido importantes títulos colectivos...mas isso é outra conversa e que lá na frente iremos ver onde vai chegar a verdade sobre o futebol !!! Agora, caro Virgil, para onde tu vais, Cristiano Ronaldo já foi e já veio mil vezes . Vê lá bem, meu caro Virgil, que o Cristiano Ronaldo foi tri-campeão no país onde tu já jogas há anos e ainda não conseguiste meter a mão na "lata". O Cristiano Ronaldo até foi o melhor jogador e melhor marcador no país onde jogas Virgil. Por sinal, era até bem mais jovem que tu. Depois, caro Virgil, o Cristiano Ronaldo foi para outras paragens e tornou-se no maior jogador da história de um clubezito. Real Madrid, diz-te algo Virgil? É possível que sim, porque esse clube, com esse tal Cristiano até te derrotaram na final de uma tal de Champions League. Dessas, já o Ronaldo tem 5, Virgil. E esse tal Ronaldo e companheiros, com as quinas ao peito, esmagaram a tua "laranja" numa final. Foi duro, Virgil? Temos pena. E, caro Virgil, numa das épocas menos conseguidas da sua carreira, o Cristiano Ronaldo ainda venceu mais títulos que tu. Impressionante, não é? Agora, Virgil, vai vencer títulos daqueles que realmente contam e depois falamos. Quando tiveres uma mão cheia deles, dos realmente importantes, talvez te possas sentar à mesa com o Cristiano. Ou como se diz na nossa terra, cresce e aparece! E para mim @cristiano és e serás para sempre o melhor jogador do mundo!!! E quem não gosta que ponha na roda do prato !!!?❤️❤️❤️( como se diz na nossa terra ,pequenina para muitos ) mas de onde saiu o melhor de todos os tempos...#assinoembaixoluisfaria #cr7n1 #Eotrabalhocontinua #respostastánahistoriaenomuseu #orgulhodomeurei #Deusnocomando

A post shared by Katia Aveiro (@katiaaveirooficial) on Dec 2, 2019 at 3:00pm PST

Ronaldo was absent from the presentation for the prize he has won five times, preferring to go to Milan where he was voted Serie A's Player of the Year.

Asked by a Dutch reporter about Ronaldo's absence, Van Dijk replied: "Why, was he a candidate?", provoking an Instagram tirade from Ronaldo's sister, Katia Aveiro.

"Dear Virgil, from where you are now, Ronaldo has come and gone one thousand times," she said.

"Cristiano was three-times league champion in that country where you have played for years and still haven't put your hands on 'the tin'," she said, referring to her brother's Premier League titles with Manchester United.

After listing more Ronaldo achievements with Real Madrid, she said: "Now, Virgil, go and win some of those titles that really matter and we will talk again. When you have a hand full of them, maybe you can sit at the same table as Cristiano."

Ronaldo netted 21 Serie A league goals last season to help Juventus win an eighth successive Serie A title.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- Greg Schiano is back as Rutgers football coach. The university's Board of Governors approved an agreement Tuesday to bring back the former Scarlet Knights coach to lead the program.

The 53-year-old Schiano gets an eight-year, $32 million deal.

"Today we open the next great chapter for Rutgers Football," Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs said. "Coach Schiano is absolutely the best person to lead our program. He brings a quality of leadership and integrity that will make all of us proud in the years ahead. I couldn't be more excited for our student-athletes and our fans.

"A lot of hard work lies ahead, but we will all keep chopping together with Coach to achieve success in the Big Ten. We all know what the goal is and we all must do our part. I can't express enough appreciation to Greg and Christy Schiano, the first family of Rutgers Football. Welcome back!"

The move comes a little more than week after both sides walked away from negotiations and declared the possibility of a reunion dead. They came back to the table and reached the agreement on Sunday, sources told ESPN.

"Rutgers University and this football program have meant the world to me and my family," Schiano said in a statement put out by the school. "I arrived here in 2000 with the goal to build a program that would be a source of pride for the state of New Jersey and develop great young men. I look forward to embracing that challenge once again. This is a great opportunity for all of Rutgers to pull together to get us back to where we all know we belong. It will take everyone on this campus and in the State of Rutgers to get this done."

The New Jersey native went 68-67 at Rutgers from 2001-11 and turned the Scarlet Knights into consistent winners after years of being one of the worst major college football programs in the country.

"I commend Rutgers Athletics Director Pat Hobbs and Coach Schiano for reaching an agreement following very complex negotiations to bring on this new, exciting chapter for Rutgers Athletics," Rutgers President Robert Barchi said. "We are all thrilled to welcome Coach Schiano. He is the right coach at the right time to build our Big Ten football program into a long-running source of pride for Rutgers."

Schiano left Rutgers in 2012 to become head coach for the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but his tenure lasted only two years. He resurfaced at Ohio State as defensive coordinator under Urban Meyer in 2016. He had reached an agreement to become Tennessee Volunteers' coach in 2017, but an uproar from fans on social media led the school to rescind its offer.

Schiano left Ohio State after last season when the Buckeyes struggled on his side of the ball, and he briefly took a job as an assistant with the New England Patriots earlier this year. He stepped down soon after, deciding instead to take the season off.

Rutgers finished off a 2-10 season (0-9 in the Big Ten) on Saturday with a loss at No. 10 Penn State. Nunzio Campanile has been the interim head coach since Chris Ash was fired five games into his fourth season. Ash went 8-32 in three-plus seasons, including 3-26 in the Big Ten.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- After 17 years in the NFL, quarterback Josh McCown announced his retirement in June and happily transitioned to the role of quarterbacks coach for Myers Park High School in Charlotte, where his sons Owen and Aiden play.

As he also worked as an NFL analyst for ESPN, McCown received enough interest from NFL teams over the summer that he left the door for a return open a crack, but the circumstances had to be just right: The team had to have a chance to win, be located on the East Coast and be good with him flying home twice a week in-season so he could continue to coach high school ball.

When Philadelphia Eagles backups Nate Sudfeld and Cody Kessler went down because of injuries in back-to-back preseason games, Myers Park football coach Scott Chadwick concluded, "'Yeah, this is not going to end well for me,'" knowing an NFL opportunity could be waiting for McCown.

"He came in on a Saturday morning after one of our scrimmages and just told the kids, 'Hey, I've got this opportunity,'" Chadwick said, "and the kids were great. They applauded him." They gave McCown a standing ovation the next week, as he returned after throwing two touchdowns and posting a 122 quarterback rating in a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens.

He continues to juggle both gigs. With the Eagles' blessing, he flies back to Charlotte on Mondays, to be there as the quarterbacks coach for high school practice when the game plan is installed for the week, and then again on Fridays for games.

Josh McCown is out here putting on a clinic!#BALvsPHI | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/kGggF8bXx1

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 23, 2019

"That's dope," Eagles teammate Avonte Maddox said. "I ask him all the time, 'How do you do it?'"

McCown gave ESPN's Tim McManus inside access to follow the journey from Philadelphia to Charlotte for Myers Park's state playoff game against Ardrey Kell on Nov. 22.

Friday afternoon: It all begins

12:32 p.m.: Eagles practice ends. McCown hits the recovery tubs -- a must each week at age 40, he notes in typical self-deprecating fashion -- before getting dressed and making the 15-minute drive to the Philadelphia airport, where a private plane awaits. All of this travel to and from Charlotte is on McCown's dime. "We've got a really good booster club," Chadwick jokes, "but it ain't that good." Atlantic Aviation, the service McCown uses, offers light jets for about $13,000 to $14,000 per round trip from Philadelphia to Charlotte, though there are discounts for regular customers, a rep says. If you drop it down to $10,000 per flight, the 13 Friday night trips alone puts the bill at six figures.

1:30 p.m.: McCown's flight takes off. It's 52 degrees and raining in Philadelphia, but it'll be much nicer on the other side, with a forecast of 64 degrees and sunshine in Charlotte. It's Seahawks week for the Eagles. McCown uses the hour-and-a-half flight to watch a full game of the upcoming opponent, and mentally applies the week's game plan on top of it. If tape study ever gets overwhelming, he can mellow out by putting on some Myers Park film. "It's funny to sit for a couple hours and watch Seattle and Jadeveon Clowney wreck everybody's offense and make your heart beat fast, and then you turn on the high school film and you're like (in soothing voice), 'Oh yeah. This guy's not nearly as big as Clowney.' It's therapeutic."

From PHL to CLT

3 p.m.: McCown lands in Charlotte and makes the half-hour drive home to visit with his wife, Natalie, and daughter Aubrey, who gets back from school at 4. His oldest daughter, Bridget, who once gave her dad an unintentional ribbing by pointing out she's less than a year younger than Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, is away at the University of Tennessee. For McCown, it's just a short drive from his Charlotte home to Myers Park, the largest high school in North Carolina with about 3,500 students.

The sprawling, college-like campus backs up to the Myers Park Country Club and is a quick walk to a neighborhood filled with finely manicured, million-dollar homes set back on picturesque, tree-lined streets. There are also lower-income neighborhoods within the catchment, creating a melting-pot effect to which McCown was drawn. Chadwick provides further evidence of the two extremes by noting that he'll have one player talk to him about his family's spring break trip to Belize while another might ask if he can take home a protein bar because there's not enough to eat.

McCown welcomed back to the pack

5:24 p.m.: McCown walks into the school's expansive library, where the football team has been passing the time between dismissal and the game by lounging on rocking chairs, watching movies on the projector screen or, in one large boy's case, sleeping on a table with an open book over his face to block out the lights. They're stirring now as the pregame meeting begins. One Myers Park player said when McCown first joined the staff, "That's Josh McCown. I be using him in Madden.' It's just normal now. That's just Coach McCown."

Josh greets his sons, sophomore Owen and freshman Aiden, with hugs. Both boys are quarterbacks. Aiden is the junior varsity QB. Owen, who has the same blond, cropped hair as his old man, is the varsity backup and "would be the starter on 90% of the teams in North Carolina," according to Chadwick, but happens to be on the same team as one of the best QBs in the country, Drake Maye, a 6-foot-5, golden-armed Alabama commit who enters with 45 touchdowns to one interception on the season for the 11-0 Mustangs, who average 52 points per game and have been crushing souls all season.

"'How can I leverage my experience to maybe make somebody else's journey better or share something with them that can encourage them?' That's why high school football is important to me."

Eagles QB and Myers Park High School QBs coach Josh McCown

McCown settles into the background as a defensive coach begins to stoke the embers by talking about the boastful chatter allegedly coming out of Ardrey Kell's neck of the woods. "They think they're going to come in here and beat you," he says. "And to be perfectly honest, that kind of pisses me off!" As the meeting wraps up, a number of players line up to welcome McCown back into the fold. "Hey big dog. How was your week?" McCown asks one student, and then another. "Any tests today?"

5:55 p.m.: McCown takes a seat in Chadwick's office, which is situated across the hall from a 3,000-square foot weight room where the players are getting ready. He scarfs down a Chick-fil-A sandwich and goes over the play sheet Chadwick has handed to him. McCown was here for installs Monday, and he and Chadwick speak once during the week as well ("I have a 35-minute drive home and he's up there by himself, so I'll just put him on speaker and chat it up," Chadwick says) so there's just a detail or two to go over, leaving time for some casual conversation. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson comes up. "I'll tell you what, he did some things on tape versus Seattle I haven't seen many people do over my time," he said. "He's going to be a good one."

Local television outlets are reporting live from Myers Park's stadium. McCown and Chadwick look up at the TV in Chadwick's office and see players warming up in the background. "Is this live?" McCown asks as he springs from his chair and scrambles out the door. "You should definitely write that: 'Josh McCown learns he is late for warm-ups by watching TV,' " Chadwick jokes.

Pregame warm-ups begin

6:31 p.m.: McCown, wearing a grey Myers Park hooded sweatshirt and black athletic pants, pulls several footballs out of a duffel bag and begins to work with the quarterbacks and wide receivers, firing off passes and playing the role of designated catcher so his QBs have to worry only about throwing. They're practicing 40-yard corner routes and McCown, now situated near the end zone, slaps his hands together as a ball falls to the turf. Standards are pretty high around here, with five players on offense alone committed to play for FBS programs. That includes receiver Muhsin Muhammad III, the son of the former Panthers wideout who played with McCown in Carolina in 2008 and 2009. Muhammad, who is headed to Texas A&M next year, enters with more than 1,000 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.

"He teaches me new things every day and every time he shows up at practice," Muhammad said of McCown. "I feel like every moment I'm with Josh is kind of a meaningful moment. I know that sounds over the top but I just stop and think, 'Man, this guy is really doing his thing and I hope to be there one day.' Just taking it all in every time we link up." The wealth of athletic ability just oozes from this team. As the players begin to form a large huddle near midfield, Muhammad and tight end Logan Mauldin casually pull off backflips before sprinting toward the circle.

Leadership at kickoff

7:12 p.m.: Students fill the metal bleachers as well as the grassy mound that snuggles up alongside. The seniors get to pick a theme for every home game, and this week it's "Patriotic." The student section dresses accordingly -- a sea of and red, white and blue under the Friday night lights, making for one gigantic slice of hometown Americana. The public-address announcer urges them to make sure they take a trip to the tennis courts for some $12 barbecue before the big game. House music blasts over the speakers and clashes with the student band's drums and horns.

The team slips away following warm-ups and takes refuge on a hill behind a brick building a couple hundred yards from the field that blocks out the noise. McCown gathers the quarterbacks and, in a hushed tone, delivers a message that will soon prove timely. Players and coaches bow their heads and place an arm on each other's back as team chaplain John Patterson leads them in prayer. "Just seeing him come around the team, it's a great example of leadership and humility," Patterson says as the team makes its way back to the field. "He's doing the little stuff. He's picking up bags. He's doing that servant leadership work. We have a lot of big-talent guys, and for them to see Josh as kind of like a role model and see the way he moves and the way he works, I think that's awesome."

7:35 p.m.: Maye, the star quarterback (girls scream from the bleachers when his name is called out during introductions), loses a fumble on the opening possession -- a rare miscue. As he takes a seat on the bench, one coach comes over to correct him. McCown pulls up a seat next to Maye and offers an encouraging slap on the thigh pad before they review the play together on a tablet. Maye responds by orchestrating a long drive on the next series, which he caps with a 10-yard touchdown run to put Myers Park up 6-0.

Back on the sideline, McCown, Maye and the rest of the quarterbacks joke about how prescient their conversation on the hill had been. "They asked me how my week was. I said it was a good week. You have ups and downs, you have different people in and out of the lineup and you have to, as a quarterback and an Eagle -- Carson [Wentz] did a great job with it -- handling all the different variables. Bad things happen. Good and bad things happen and you've got to be ready for that. And so we were just laughing because a low snap, a turnover. That's life. Things happen. How do you respond? [Maye's] done a good job so far. Gotta keep it going."

McCown is an 'unbelievable coach'

8:01 p.m.: McCown steps onto the field and calls timeout to discuss a fourth-down play. He's often at the hip of Chadwick, will shout out the playcall to the guys on the field on occasion and, judging by how active he is on the sideline, has a greater role on the staff than his title of quarterbacks coach suggests. The Mustangs convert, setting up a 13-yard TD from Maye to Muhammad. "I want to do the smoke and go. Let [the corners] come up and then go by them," McCown says from one knee as the offense takes a seat on the bench. "What's the bubble signal?" He motions with his hands, and the players mirror him.

After a bumpy start, the machine is up and rolling, as Myers Park heads into halftime leading 27-7. Maye has rebounded and is on his way to a four-touchdown performance. "He's an unbelievable coach -- one of the best in the country," Maye said. "It's a blessing to be out here with him. I try to get everything I can out of him, ask him every question I can think of."

9:50 p.m.: The lead has ballooned to 48-7 late in the third quarter, and Owen McCown is warming up. Owen has gotten to play a lot this season with Myers Park building up so many big leads. Josh stands beside Owen as he warms up, and the two have a quick chat before he heads into the game. "It's different, but it's also cool. He's your coach, but he's also your dad," Owen said of having Josh as part of the team. "I like it a lot, it's awesome." Owen, a lefty with a smooth delivery, slings a 13-yard completion to start things off. The drive ends with a running back fumble. "Owen!" Josh calls out, and brings the tablet to him so they can go over a play. For the first time all night, Josh shows some frustration as an issue on an exchange between Owen and a running back during the next series results in a broken play. But that quickly fades.

"One of the reasons he does this is he knows there's a limited time where your kids are this age. There's a limited time they're in high school and there's a limited time you get to have these moments," Chadwick says. "You can't play and then go back and do it. When it's gone, it's gone."

End of Friday night

10:13 p.m.: The school band begins to play "Sweet Caroline" with 2 minutes, 25 seconds left on the clock. They've gotten so used to winning around here, the band knows exactly when to start the song so it peaks at the moment the game ends. McCown takes a moment with linebacker Roe Chitwood to offer some parting thoughts, then finds Owen and gives him a slap on the back. After Chadwick addresses the team on the field, McCown gathers the quarterbacks together a few yards away from the pack. "You three guys, you set the tone for the team, so let's get on with the mission," he says. "I love you guys, man. See you next week."

10:25 p.m.: McCown gathers at the edge of the field with Natalie, and the kids pose for a few photos. After saying his goodbyes, he and his wife walk up the now-empty bleachers hand-in-hand before disappearing past the grassy mound and out of sight. He's usually back at the Charlotte airport by this time on Friday nights and on the ground in Philadelphia by 11:30, but the game started later and lasted longer than usual, pushing his timeline back by about an hour. He'll be back in Philadelphia a bit after midnight and asleep not long after.

Saturday, back in Philadelphia

8 a.m.: McCown wakes up and readies to head over to the Eagles' practice facility. The first meeting is at 9:30. Myers Park football has become a big conversation point with some of his teammates, who hit him up when he walks into the facility, wanting to know how the game went. "We're all pulling for him. We know how much that means to him and his family, so we're happy he's able to do that and still be on our team and still provide a lot of value for us," Eagles quarterback Kyle Lauletta said. The coaching acumen McCown has picked up is "definitely" being felt in the quarterback room, according to Wentz.

"My human experience has been involved with the game of football, right, through high school, college and this pro career that has taken me all over, everywhere. I just look at that and go, 'How can I leverage my experience to maybe make somebody else's journey better or share something with them that can encourage them?' That's why high school football is important to me," McCown says.

"And for so many reasons it's helped me even throughout this season to kind of stand in both of these worlds as a coach and a player because you understand what's important in a game and what's important about 'team' and what makes teams good. It's the same thing no matter where you're at: You've got to convince a group of people to give of themselves to something greater."

12:01 p.m.: Meetings end. Since it's a home game in Week 12, McCown and the rest of the Eagles team get the afternoon off and are free to hang out and mentally ready themselves. "It's a long day, but it's good," McCown said. "It's really been probably smoother than I thought, to be honest with you. You think, OK, I'm going to do this and there's all these moving parts, but then you get a routine going and it's really made the weeks kind of fly by."

McCown's time flying back and forth to Charlotte to coach has ended. Myers Park was defeated by top-seeded Richmond 35-32 in the third round of the state playoffs Friday. But with each of his sons moving up the ranks at the school, there is plenty of Friday night football ahead for the McCown family.

NEW YORK -- Two players from Japan, Shun Yamaguchi and Ryosuke Kikuchi, have been made available to major league teams through the posting process.

Clubs have until Jan. 2 (5 p.m. EST) to negotiate with them, Major League Baseball said Tuesday.

Yamaguchi, a 32-year-old right-hander with the Yomiuri Giants, was 15-4 with a 2.91 ERA and 188 strikeouts in 170 innings. He led the Central League in wins and strikeouts, helping Yomiuri to its first Central League pennant in five years.

Kikuchi, a second baseman who turns 30 in March, hit .261 with 13 homers, 48 RBIs and 14 stolen bases for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.

Yokohama outfielder Yoshitomo Tsutsugo was posted last month and is available until Dec. 19.

MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball reached a posting agreement after the 2017 season. An MLB team would pay a Japanese club fee of 20% of guaranteed money in a major league contract through $25 million, plus 17.5% above that through $50 million, plus 15% over that.

A supplemental fee would equal 15% of any earned bonuses, escalators and compensation from option years that are exercised or become guaranteed.

AW promotion: The two-day event returns to Birmingham’s NEC in January

The organisers of The National Running Show Birmingham in partnership with Children with Cancer UK have confirmed a renewal of the partnership with AW for the event on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 January at Birmingham’s NEC.

AW, as the UK’s number one website, magazine and social media hub for road racing, track and field and cross country, is the perfect partner for the award-winning National Running Show, which welcomes thousands of runners of all interests and abilities through its doors each year.

The National Running Show Birmingham 2020 will once more bring sports brands, retailers, nutrition experts, race organisers, communities and expert speakers together under one roof for a weekend-long celebration of running. After the success of the previous two years, the third edition of the show will benefit from a larger floor space and many more retail opportunities, plus more interactive feature areas where runners can find out about specialist areas, chat to the experts and learn how to improve their running performance.

Feature Areas for 2020 include The Running Skills Theatre, The Ultra Zone, Obstacle Course Race, The Trail Zone, 3D Gait Analysis, Steve Cram’s Training Camp, Nutrition Advice Zone, Sweat Test Zone, All Terrain Running Zone, Treadmill Challenge, The Treatment Room and more.

The National Running Show Birmingham will also treat visitors to a first-class Speaker Programme which includes big names from athletics, trail running and endurance running. Confirmed speakers include Sally Gunnell, Linford Christie, Dean Karnazes, Kriss Akabusi, Jo Pavey, Steve Cram, Susannah Gill, Nikki Love, Lazarus Lake, Camille Herron, Nicky Spinks, Anna McNuff, Mimi Anderson, Jordan Wylie, Chris Nicholson, Allie Bailey and Alex Cook. The schedule for the Inspiration Stage and Ultra Zone is available online.

The National Running Show is the UK’s biggest independent running show, offering runners the unique opportunity to try out and purchase the latest products and limited editions from big, well-known brands through to smaller brands not found anywhere else. The show expects more than 55,000 visitor ticket registrations for 2020, all of whom will be able to discover the latest kit, tech, nutrition and races from over 250 exhibitors, learn from inspiring speakers and improve their running technique thanks to the hands-on feature areas.

Mike Seaman, CEO of Raccoon Events, commented: “We are delighted to confirm that The National Running Show Birmingham will once more be partnering with AW in 2020. This is the third consecutive year that we are working together and it is the perfect partnership given AW’s position within the UK’s elite and running club community. The show has something for every level of runner and we are proud to offer a thrilling line-up of exhibitors, partners and speakers under one roof. We are looking forward to working with AW to deliver another first-class event in January.”

Wendy Sly, MD Publishing at AW, added: “As the UK’s largest independent running expo, The National Running Show is an ideal partner for us at AW and we are thrilled to have renewed our partnership for a third year. We are looking forward to inspiring runners of all backgrounds to achieve their goals.”

The third edition of The National Running Show Birmingham in partnership with Children with Cancer UK takes place on 25th-26th January 2020. Tickets cost £10 and are valid for both days; there is the option to make your ticket £12 by adding a £2 donation to Children with Cancer UK, to support the 12 children diagnosed with cancer in the UK every day. Go to nationalrunningshow.reg.buzz to secure your ticket.

The National Running Show B2B Networking Dinner takes place at 7pm on Saturday 25 January. Go to nationalrunningdinner.com for information and tickets.

The National Running London takes place on 13-14 June, 2020. Tickets are currently free and are available at nationalrunningshowlondon.reg.buzz.

Go to The National Running Show Birmingham or The National Running Show London for full event information. You can also like the Facebook page and follow @nationalrunshow #runshow20 on Twitter and nationalrunningshow on Instagram.