A three-team parlay that included an Arizona Cardinals game led the NFL in part to suspend Cardinals defensive back Josh Shaw for violating the league's gambling policy, multiple sources told ESPN.

Shaw, who has been on injured reserve in August and has not played since signing with the Cardinals last March, made the parlay bet on Sunday, Nov. 10 at a Caesars sportsbook in Las Vegas, according to the sources. The bet was on the second halves of three Week 10 games, the sources said, and included the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were leading the Cardinals 17-13 at halftime. The Buccaneers were 1-point favorites for the second half. They failed to cover the second-half spread but went on to defeat the Cardinals 30-27. Shaw's bet lost, according to the sources.

The NFL announced Friday that Shaw is suspended through at least the 2020 season for betting on NFL games on multiple occasions. The league said its investigation found no evidence that Shaw used inside information to make his bets nor that any games were compromised. Parlay bets, because they require multiple correct picks, typically have not been associated with point-shaving or game-fixing schemes.

The NFL declined to comment on specifics of the wagers, with a league spokesman saying that neither the type of bet nor the games involved matter in terms of the league's gambling policy.

Shaw, who is out with a shoulder injury, has not been around the Cardinals this season. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Arizona was not aware that the NFL was investigating one of its players before Friday's announcement, which was preceded by a league-wide memo re-emphasizing the gambling policy and penalties for violating it.

"If you work in the NFL in any capacity, you may not bet on NFL football," Commissioner Roger Goodell said in the release announcing the suspension.

Nevada gaming regulations require sportsbooks to "take reasonable steps" to avoid accepting or paying any wagers made by or on behalf of an official, owner, coach or a participant or team in the event involved with the bet. The regulation has been in place since 2007.

According to gaming industry sources, Caesars contacted the Nevada State Gaming Control Board on Nov. 10, and subsequently the NFL, shortly after discovering Shaw had placed the wager.

Shaw was open about his line of work when filling out his application for a betting account with Caesars, even listing "professional football player" as his occupation, the sources said.

"As a matter of policy, we do not confirm or deny that an individual is a Caesars customer," Richard Broome, executive vice president of communication for Caesars Entertainment, said in a statement to ESPN.

In January, the NFL announced a partnership with Caesars Entertainment, making the company the league's first official casino partner. The partnership, however, does not include sports betting initiatives.

Shaw's suspension is the first reported violation of a major professional league's gambling policy since a 2018 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that opened a path for states to authorize sports betting. Since the ruling, legal sportsbooks have opened in a dozen states outside of Nevada.

The NFL includes language in player contracts regarding the gambling policy, and the NFL Players Association has increased its efforts to educate players on the new sports betting landscape since the Supreme Court ruling.

In 1996, Jon Stark, a rookie quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, was suspended for gambling, after the NFL received an anonymous tip. Stark never played in an NFL game.

On a more high-profile level, Baltimore Colts quarterback Art Schlichter was suspended in 1983 for betting on NFL games, and in 1963, Paul Hornung of the Green Bay Packers and Alex Karras of the Detroit Lions were banned for an entire season for betting on NFL games. Both were reinstated the following season.

Shaw is represented by Elite Athlete Management. Messages left with the agency were not immediately returned.

When you're better than just about everyone ... but not your rival, your rival defines your perspective.

By December 1978, Tom Osborne had proved himself a worthy successor to Bob Devaney at Nebraska. In six seasons, he was 55-15-2, with four top-10 finishes. Against top-10 teams not named Oklahoma, he was 6-2. After reviving Devaney's tenure when he became offensive coordinator a decade earlier, Osborne had maintained a hold on the Huskers' elite status as head coach.

He lost his first five games to Oklahoma, though, and by an average of 20 points. OU found a new level of dominance with the installation of the wishbone offense and the appointment of Barry Switzer as head coach. The Sooners claimed national titles in 1974 and 1975; they were otherworldly, and Nebraska was merely elite.

The Huskers finally cleared the OU hurdle in 1978, beating the Sooners in Lincoln and positioning themselves for a shot at the national title. But they were upset by Missouri the very next week. Their consolation prize: an Orange Bowl bid against ... Oklahoma. The Sooners won, of course, then won again in 1979 and 1980.

"There was enough unhappiness here that [I thought] maybe I ought to look for a job," Osborne said, and he seriously considered going after the Colorado job for a fresh start after the 1978 season.

Your rival defines your perspective. John Cooper was granted, by today's standards, a pretty lengthy leash at Ohio State. Predecessor Earle Bruce generated eight top-15 finishes in nine years, but Cooper went just 35-21-3 in his first five seasons (1988-92).

He went 10-1-1 in his sixth year, but the Buckeyes' lone loss in 1993 was to Michigan. That made him 0-5-1 against the rival Wolverines. Michigan again knocked the Buckeyes from the ranks of the unbeaten in 1995 and 1996, and when OSU finally got past UM in 1998, it came in a season in which it had already suffered a historic upset loss to Michigan State.

Cooper built one of the most impressive programs of the 1990s. Ohio State won 10 or more games five times in six years, and the talent on those teams -- first-round picks Orlando Pace, Eddie George, Terry Glenn, Dan Wilkinson, Robert Smith, Joey Galloway, Alonzo Spellman, Korey Stringer, David Boston, Shawn Springs, Andy Katzenmoyer, Rickey Dudley, Antoine Winfield, Ahmed Plummer and Corey Powell -- was ridiculous. But like Osborne, Cooper couldn't figure out how to surpass his main rival.

Osborne rallied, of course. He beat OU three straight times from 1981 to '83 and crafted what was considered one of the best teams of all time in 1983 before an Orange Bowl upset loss cost him a national title. After losing another four in a row to OU as the Sooners enjoyed a late peak under Switzer, he finally got the permanent upper hand. Nebraska won nine in a row against OU and won or split the national title in 1994, 1995 and 1997.

Cooper never cleared the hurdle. Despite starting seasons 9-0-1, 11-0, 10-0, 10-1 and 8-0, he never found the elusive national title. To add salt to the wound, Michigan split the 1997 title with Nebraska. With a down year in 1999, Cooper was let go after 13 years in charge.

Average SP+ rating, 2014-present:

1. Alabama (32.5)
2. Ohio State (28.5)
3. Clemson (27.5)
4. Oklahoma (25.0)
5. LSU (24.3)
6. Georgia (22.8)
7. Michigan (21.4)
8. Auburn (20.0)
9. Penn State (19.7)
10. Notre Dame (19.4)
11. Washington (19.3)
12. Wisconsin (19.0)
13. Florida (17.2)
14. USC (16.4)
15. Utah (15.0)

Your rival defines your perspective. Michigan's hire of Jim Harbaugh has been an unquestionable success. A former Bo Schembechler quarterback in Ann Arbor, Harbaugh has gone 47-17 in five seasons; in the previous seven years, Michigan had gone 46-42. If Harbaugh goes 0-12 in each of the next two seasons -- call me crazy, but I'm guessing he won't -- he'll still have the better seven-year record. He has three top-15 finishes (with a chance at a fourth), and that's two more than Rich Rodriguez (2008-10) and Brady Hoke (2011-14) have combined.

Harbaugh hasn't beaten Ohio State, though. He came relatively close only once. Winners of nine of 10 in 2015, the Wolverines welcomed the Buckeyes to Ann Arbor and got walloped by 29. Winners of 10 in a row in 2018, they went to Columbus and lost by 23. This past Saturday, they had, after a slow start, won seven of eight and risen to 10th in the AP poll. Ohio State won by 29.

Michigan's revamped offense, which has risen to 20th in offensive SP+ (it was 72nd a month into the season), averaged 8.9 yards per play, with an excellent 53% success rate, in the first half against a Buckeyes defense that came into the week ranked first in defensive SP+. But thanks to miscues and a small dose of fumble luck, the Wolverines found themselves trailing by 12. When the offense inevitably slowed down, the game quickly got out of hand because of Ohio State's otherworldly offense. In the past two seasons, Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown's defense has allowed an average of 16 points per game against teams not named Ohio State and 59 points per game against the Buckeyes.

Michigan will have interesting options for replacing senior Shea Patterson at quarterback, and its leading rushers are a freshman and redshirt freshman. There isn't a senior to be found in the wide receiver corps, and there are only a few impact seniors on the defense. The offensive line will need some retooling, but the Wolverines absolutely look the part of a top-10 team in 2020. But Ohio State might be a top-one team.

Is Harbaugh an Osborne or a Cooper? There's no way for us to know the answer at the moment. All we know is that few teams can surpass the product Michigan has put on the field the past five season, but the rival from Columbus is one of them. Somehow, the Buckeyes have thus far gotten better since Ryan Day succeeded the historically successful Urban Meyer.

Harbaugh has rebuilt Michigan back to the level it established for most of the 1980s and 1990s. But the Buckeyes remain on a different plane of existence, and Harbaugh will continue to be judged harshly for that until something changes.

What it took for the CFP to become Bama-free

The Iron Bowl wasn't a win-and-you're-in situation for Nick Saban and Alabama on Saturday. A victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium, however, would have given the Tide an 11-1 record and a quality win and would have assuaged concerns about backup quarterback Mac Jones' ability to lead the team in the absence of injured star Tua Tagovailoa.

Bama was fifth in the CFP rankings heading into the weekend, and a win over a team that both LSU and Georgia barely bested might have been enough to fend off whatever conference title bumps a 12-1 Utah or Oklahoma/Baylor would have received.

It didn't happen. Somehow. Alabama enjoyed a 45% success rate to Auburn's 35% and outgained the Tigers by 161 yards (1.2 per play). Jones bested Auburn's Bo Nix play for play, and Najee Harris rushed 27 times for 146 yards. But Auburn scored touchdowns on a pair of pick-sixes -- one plucked off of Harris' back in the Auburn end zone and returned 100 yards -- and benefited from unlikely field goal events: Alabama's Joseph Bulovas' miss of a game-tying 30-yarder with two minutes left (granted, a key missed field goal is not the least likely occurrence of the Saban era) and Auburn's Anders Carlson's four bombs of 43-plus yards. Carlson was 4-for-10 on field goals longer than 40 yards heading into the Iron Bowl but went 4-for-4 when it counted.

Throw in a game-clinching penalty -- a wonderfully high-schoolish punt gimmick that confused Alabama into committing illegal participation -- and you have a wacky concoction that befits a rivalry game upset. Bama's CFP odds, per ESPN's Allstate Playoff Predictor, went from 46.4% at the beginning of the day to 0.6% at the end of it.

This will be the first CFP, then, that doesn't feature a team from Tuscaloosa. And because there is always a run of "Dynasty over?" think pieces and radio segments in the days following a Bama loss, it probably goes without saying that we'll be starting that cycle anew this week. It's pretty incredible, though, to step back and realize what it took to keep the Tide out:

• A run of injuries in fall camp and early in the season rendered what was supposed to be an experienced and dominant front seven more reliant on freshmen than ever under Saban.

• After serving as one of the last elite programs to rely on Big Burly Manball as its major offensive philosophy, Ed Orgeron's LSU team finally put together the right pieces for full-on modernization this season and ignited.

• That LSU offense surged to second in offensive SP+ and put up 46 points and 559 yards on Alabama in Tuscaloosa. All of it was needed (Bama scored 41), and much of the output came in the form of running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire running through front-seven arm tackles.

• Late in the first half of the LSU game, Bama suffered probably the worst two-minute span of Saban's tenure, giving up two Edwards-Helaire touchdowns in 20 seconds to turn a six-point deficit into a 20-pointer. The Tide made up 15 of those points but couldn't get over the hump.

• On what was supposed to be his final drive of the game against Mississippi State a week later, Tagovailoa, already slowed by an ankle injury that had him limping through the LSU game, suffered a freak hip injury and was lost for the season.

• See all the glorious Iron Bowl ridiculousness above.

Perhaps Saban was lucky from an injuries and/or "getting the breaks when you need them most" standpoint through the years, and this season was the comeuppance. But it took a huge run of key injuries, a perfectly timed surge from a rival and some good old-fashioned Iron Bowl nonsense to officially knock the Tide out of a potential spot in the final four. And they're still going to end up with a cushy bowl spot and, most likely, a top-10 finish. Dynasty over? Not so fast, my friend.

I don't want to understate this, though: It is undoubtedly a weird time for Alabama.

Clemson has a chance to win its third national title in four years. Georgia, led by former Saban protege Kirby Smart, has surpassed the Tide defensively (for now, at least). And now another conference rival, LSU, has surpassed them offensively (again, for now). These two SEC foes can match Alabama's athleticism as well as any team can, and they very much have their respective acts together at the moment. Plus, although next season's Bama squad will be as talented as ever from a recruiting standpoint, it will be breaking in a huge new set of offensive skill-position stars and hoping for a defensive surge that never really had a chance to happen this season.

These are, to be sure, Bama problems. Oh, no, we're merely ONE of the most likely national title contenders in a given year and not THE most likely. Bring me some garments to rend. But while the dynasty might not be over, it is absolutely under more stress than normal. And that isn't likely to change in 2020.

Utes or Sooners (or Bears)?

First things first: Both Utah and Oklahoma have some work to do before they can officially declare themselves deserving of CFP bids. SP+ says Utah has a 66% win probability against Oregon in the Pac-12 title game, and OU is at 64% against Baylor in the Big 12 Championship, but that means there's only a 42% chance that they both win. Hell, there's a 12% chance that they both lose.

That said, it's a pretty logical time for these two teams -- their fan bases, at least -- to start bickering about who has a better playoff case. After all, they ranked sixth and seventh in last week's CFP vote, No. 5 Alabama lost, and No. 4 Georgia is an underdog this week. Baylor isn't far behind -- the Bears were ninth last week -- and No. 8 Minnesota lost too.

I have two general rules that I try to follow when maneuvering between the confusing worlds of "best" and "most deserving" in the playoff debate. (Granted, this maneuvering is made more difficult when the CFP committee insists that it is picking the "best" teams when it is, for the most part, actually picking the most deserving.)

My rules are pretty simple:

1. If the résumé stands out, it stands out.
2. If it doesn't, let's go with who we think would win.

If you're an unbeaten power conference team, your résumé stands out and you're in the field. Obviously. So if Ohio State, LSU and/or Clemson win Saturday, they're clearly in. LSU's and Ohio State's respective strengths of schedule will be good enough next Sunday morning that they're in with losses too. And Georgia is in with a win over LSU.

Maybe those four teams will make up the CFP field. But things get blurry if LSU indeed beats UGA and leaves a spot open. (Things get even blurrier in the unlikely case that Virginia beats Clemson in the ACC Championship.)

There are plenty of wild scenarios still on the table: Two-loss Wisconsin gets in with a win over Ohio State and other falling dominoes! Two-loss Georgia gets in with an SEC championship game loss because the other contenders all lost! But there's indeed a solid chance that the fourth bid will come down to Utah vs. the Oklahoma/Baylor winner.

Because we'd have to pretty seriously parse their résumés to figure out whose is superior, let's step back and ask ourselves Question No. 2 above: Who would beat whom? Let's go to the tale of the tape to help us figure things out.

• SP+ ranking: Oklahoma sixth, Utah seventh, Baylor 14th
• SP+ trend: Utah's rating has risen by 5.5 adjusted points per game since the midway point of the season, Baylor's has gone up 2.1 points, and Oklahoma's has gone down 1.6 points
• SP+ win probabilities (trends not taken into account): Oklahoma 53% vs. Utah, Utah 61% vs. Baylor
• Offensive SP+ rating: Oklahoma 48.0 adjusted PPG (first), Utah 38.6 (10th), Baylor 36.2 (17th)
• Defensive SP+ rating: Utah 14.2 adjusted PPG (sixth), Baylor 16.6 (15th), Oklahoma 23.6 (41st)

It's hard to put too much stock in trend data with college football -- the season is too short, and the sample is too small -- but if there's any relevant trend here, it's Utah's rise. The Utes have been good all season, but since their upset loss to USC in Week 4, they have gone on a rampage. They have won eight games in a row, and only one (a rugged 33-28 win at Washington) was by fewer than 25 points. They are increasingly well-rounded.

Meanwhile, in a 34-16 Bedlam win on Saturday in Stillwater, OU put together its first well-rounded, contender-worthy performance in nearly a month and a half. Baylor has been bouncing between dominance (road wins by 19 points at Kansas State, 18 at Oklahoma State and 55 at Kansas, plus basically everything about the first half of the OU loss) and stuck-in-second-gear performances (three-point home wins over Texas Tech and West Virginia, plus basically everything about the second half of the OU loss).

SP+ thinks OU takes down Baylor about two-thirds of the time on a neutral field and still has the slightest of edges over Utah. Personally? I lean Utes. I think their upward trend is real.

Too many bowls? Psshh, not enough bowls.

Exhibit A:

Head Coach Will Healy and @CharlotteFTBL celebrating bowl eligibility for the first time. #ClubLit @NCGridiron #NCCFB pic.twitter.com/lNhtDyTtDj

— Brian Barnes (@NCGridironNews) November 24, 2019

Will "Scuba Steve" Healy just made the Bahamas Bowl announcement.

"Nobody's going to have more fun on a bowl trip than we will."#GOLDstandard | #EstablishTheFUN pic.twitter.com/gg4YA8EvEO

— ????????? ???????? (@CharlotteFTBL) December 1, 2019

Exhibit B:

IT. IS. HAPPENING.

The Golden Flashes win three straight to close their season and are bowl eligible for the first time since 2012! #FlashFAST | #BTA

?: https://t.co/vYBytm8KU8 pic.twitter.com/tfYqsEg7uT

— Kent State Football (@KentStFootball) November 29, 2019

Can't understate how good of a job @TheOC_CoachLew did this year with @KentStFootball, which became bowl-eligible today. Brutal schedule, lot of historic/institutional obstacles and still finished strong to get to six wins. At 33, Lewis is a coach on the rise.

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) November 29, 2019

⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️

Love the CULTURE our #FlashFAST ⚡️Family has created!!

Just getting started!#BeTheA1pha ?

⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️ https://t.co/ct9RzJnpLx

— ⚡️ Sean Lewis ⚡️ (@TheOC_CoachLew) November 30, 2019

Maybe my single favorite genre of stories in a given college football season is Mid-Major Team Gets To Six Wins And Celebrates Like It Won A Damn National Title.

It was a huge deal when Chris Creighton willed Eastern Michigan to its first bowl in 29 years in 2016. It was an even bigger deal when Doug Martin and New Mexico State won three of their last four games to reach 6-6 and a bowl for the first time in 57 years. Their crowd rushed the field after beating South Alabama to clinch 6-6, then rushed the Arizona Bowl field four weeks later after beating Utah State. Martin cried, just as Georgia Southern's Chad Lunsford did last winter after the Eagles beat EMU in the Camellia Bowl to complete a 10-losses-to-10-wins single-year turnaround.

The deck in the FBS is stacked dramatically in favor of the big schools and historic powers. That's never going to change. But for anyone who complains that there are too many bowls, and they used to mean something, but now we're all just championing mediocrity, know that if there were fewer bowls, we wouldn't have the Will Healy videos above, we wouldn't have reason to celebrate Sean Lewis, and we wouldn't have the Arizona Bowl and Camellia Bowl teams, and we would be so, so much worse off for it. Go 49ers, and go Golden Flashes.

The Oakland Athletics have traded infielder Jurickson Profar to the San Diego Padres for catcher Austin Allen and a player to be named later, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Profar was likely to be nontendered before the 8 p.m. ET deadline Monday, and Oakland wound up getting the 25-year-old Allen, who has some pop.

Profar was acquired by the A's from the Rangers in December 2018. In his one season in Oakland, he batted just .218 but equaled his career best with 20 home runs and drove in 67 runs.

The 26-year-old was coming off a career year in Texas, where he hit .254 with 20 homers and 77 RBIs. He spend the first five years of his career with the Rangers. Current Padres general manager A.J. Preller was assistant GM with Texas during Profar's time there.

The Padres had a void in the infield after trading Luis Urias to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Trent Grisham last week.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Doug Foley and his Foley Lewis Racing team have announced plans to compete during eight NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Top Fuel events next season.

The team’s first race is scheduled to be the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park on Feb. 21-23.

First, Foley will make his licensing runs and join the stars of NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car during preseason testing at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park on Jan. 29-Feb. 1. It will be Foley’s first time back in a Top Fuel seat since 2011, though he raced Top Alcohol Dragster in 2018.

Foley Lewis Racing returned to Top Fuel with Todd Paton driving at the NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals near Charlotte in October.

“Back in June, all we had to go Top Fuel racing was a bucket of sockets,” Foley said. “We put everything together over the course of a few months, and we didn’t leave [the Charlotte race] with a list of a million things that we needed to do. It was an accomplishment in that sense. In our opinion, we were only a couple runs away from starting to build some momentum.”

The Scott Gaddy-organized team went into the Carolina Nationals with the goal of making clean runs with Paton driving so everything would be sorted out for Foley to renew his license on Monday. The Foley Lewis Racing dragster made attempts in three of the four qualifying sessions, but none of them were quick enough to qualify in the 16-car field. A complete rainout on Sunday meant Foley was unable to make his licensing runs on Monday.

Given the facts that the car had never been started prior to just a couple hours before the first qualifying session, and that most of the crew members were equally new to the team, Foley was content with how smooth it went.

“Considering everything that had gone on and everything that could’ve gone wrong, it’s a testament to Scott’s preparation for the event that we accomplished as much as we did,” Foley said. “I really don’t have any qualms about how the actual race went. We didn’t go there with expectations of any particular performance other than to get out there and get some laps on the car.”

Foley spent the last couple months focusing on refining their part inventory and building a crew for the upcoming season. Foley is also working with longtime friend and business development advisor Guy Pierce to develop a robust sponsorship program to present to potential partners.

“We hope to add more than eight races,” Foley said. “To us, the difference between eight and 10 races means nothing. It’s how did we do at those eight races? It’s the quality of the program. We’re also going to be working on the financial partnerships. It’s important to us to provide value to the companies who decide to partner with us.”

Along with the Arizona Nationals, Foley plans to attend the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., the 4-Wide Nationals in Concord, N.C., the Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga., the Virginia Nationals in Dinwiddie, Va., and the Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. The team will take a summer break before continuing the season at the U.S. Nationals in Brownsburg, Ind., the NHRA Nationals in Mohnton, Pa., and the Carolina Nationals in Concord, N.C.

Foley admits he and racing partner Tim Lewis didn’t always have intentions of going back to Top Fuel after they stopped fielding a car in the class together in 2009. But the stars aligned, and Foley and Lewis are prepared to go all in on a competitive partial schedule.

“I think it’s an opportunity for me and Tim to go out and show that a small team can still be competitive,” Foley said. “I think the field lends to that. We don’t have the fields we used to.Yeah, the NHRA at the top is really, really good cars, but that’s the way it always was. So for us, we feel like if we run our race and focus on our guys and what we have to offer, I think we can be competitive.”

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HOUSTON, Texas – After three years of planning and development, the Xtreem Flat Track Series will launch next season.

Racers will take on a combination of short tracks (quarter-mile or less), three-eighths-mile, half-mile, five-eighths-mile and mile tracks.

“Its time to get back to the roots flat track motorcycle racing,” said Jason Baffrey Xtreem Flat Track Marketing Director. “We see the need for a national series where anybody, regardless of skill level has the opportunity to compete on good, safe tracks with any bike.

“Our rules package creates an open playing field for riders. And, our fans have the chance to see some of the top touring pros, some of the fastest up and coming talent, the coolest and fastest vintage bikes, and the next generation of the sport,” said Baffrey.

Children can hone their skills as 50cc, 65cc and 85cc racers race for free at every Xtreem Flat Track event.

The Xtreeme Flat Track Series will begin on April 4 during the Texas Fandango at the Gillespie County Fairgrounds in Fredericksburg, Texas. The event is being held on a half-mile track during the largest vintage motorcycle show and swap meet in Texas.

On April 18-19 the series will visit the Waco Eagles Clubgrounds half-mile for the Ronnie Stratton Memorial, followed by an event at Tri-State Speedway in Pocola, Okla., on May 1.

The tour returns to the Waco Eagles Clubgrounds on May 9-10, followed by a visit to L87 Speedway in Corpus Christi, Texas, on June 6-7. Oklahoma Sports Park’s three-eighths-mile will host the tour on June 19.

The G. Rollie White Downs complex in Brady, Texas, will host the tour on July 4-5, followed by a trip to the Billings (Mont.) Motorcycle Clubgrounds July 18-19. The Jackpine Gypsies Club Grounds (eighth-mile) and the Sturgis (S.D.) City Fairgrounds (half-mile) will team up to host the tour on Aug. 7-10.

The Xtreem Flat Track Series returns to Waco Eagles Clubgrounds on Sept. 19-20, followed by the season finale on Oct. 10-11 at the G. Rollie White Downs facility.

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SPEEDWAY Ind. – The 33rd annual Indiana Sprint Week schedule will feature seven races in a nine-day span between July 24 and Aug. 1 at seven familiar Hoosier-state venues on the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car trail.

The Indiana Sprint Week schedule includes seven distinct tracks with a rich history and unique characteristics each their own, ranging from quarter-miles to three-eighths to half-miles, with degrees of banking both flat and high throughout the mini-series, offering a unique challenge to both driver and machine throughout a rigorous week of racing.

“Indiana Sprint Week has been an annual cornerstone of USAC’s summer schedule for the past quarter century and we look forward to continue building upon its great legacy as we enter the decade of the 2020s,” USAC Series Coordinator Levi Jones said.

For the eighth time overall, and first time since 2016, Gas City I-69 Speedway will host the Indiana Sprint Week opener on Friday, July 24.  The quarter mile has previously hosted the Indiana Sprint Week opener in 2002 and each year between 2011-16.  From there, the series travels due west the following day, Saturday, July 25, to the quarter-mile Kokomo Speedway, whose Indiana Sprint Week origins date to the inaugural year of 1988.  The first weekend concludes Sunday, July 26. in the southeastern part of the state at the high-banked, three-eighths-mile of Lawrenceburg Speedway.

After a two-day hiatus, the series returns for a final four-day stretch beginning at the famed half-mile Terre Haute Action Track on Wednesday, July 29.  Then, it’s off to the world’s fastest five-sixteenths-mile, Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville on Thursday, July 30.  Working southbound and down, the quarter-mile red clay of Bloomington Speedway hosts Indiana Sprint Week for the 33rd consecutive year on Friday, July 31 and concludes with the Indiana Sprint Week finale Saturday, Aug. 1 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, the first time Indiana Sprint Week will have reached into the month of August since 1993.

Indiana Sprint Week debuted in 1988, but first became USAC-sanctioned in 1996. Since then, the event has grown from a single weekend to seven races over a week-and-a-half span and has become one of the marquee events, and most sought after tickets, on the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car schedule that draws massive crowds and welcomes travelers from around the world, both driver and fan alike.

The USAC National Sprint Car division’s winningest driver, Dave Darland, owns the most Indiana Sprint Week victories with 20. Levi Jones and Kevin Thomas have the most Indiana Sprint Week titles with four.  Newly crowned USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion C.J. Leary captured the most recent Indiana Sprint Week title this past summer.

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USA's selectors have kept faith with the side's touring party from Trinidad this past month by picking a largely unchanged 14-man squad for the ODI tour of the UAE. Medium-pacer Jessy Singh and opening batsman Sagar Patel have been dropped from the 16-man group that was selected for the CWI Super50. USA had won two games against Guyana and eventual champions West Indies Emerging team.

Jessy took 4 for 51 in his most recent ODI against Namibia on September 20 in Florida. But has struggled to maintain consistency ever since he was one of five players handed a 12-month central contract by USA Cricket in July. He managed just three wickets in four matches during the Super50 tour of Trinidad.

USA debutants Cameron Stevenson and Ian Holland put pressure on Jessy's place during that tour. Stevenson was clocked at a faster pace than Jessy, consistently above 80 mph, while taking seven wickets in five matches including a Man of the Match performance in USA's 43-run win over West Indies Emerging team.

Holland showcased his allround skills in USA's eight-run win over Guyana with an unbeaten 59 off 37 balls and contributed tidy middle-over spells as well as cagey variations at the death.

Sagar, 22, struggled in his first appearance for USA in nearly two years. He managed just 34 runs in three innings on tour before being dropped for USA's final three matches.

USA will play two ODIs each against UAE and Scotland. One match against each opponent will be played in Sharjah before the second round of fixtures takes place at the ICC Academy in Dubai. USA will begin the tour with a warm-up fixture against Scotland on December 6 before their first ODI against UAE on December 8.

Squad: Saurabh Netravalkar (capt), Karima Gore, Ian Holland, Akshay Homraj (wk), Elmore Hutchinson, Aaron Jones, Nosthush Kenjige, Xavier Marshall, Monank Patel, Nisarg Patel, Timil Patel, Cameron Stevenson, Steven Taylor, Rusty Theron.

BPL side Chattogram Challengers expect Chris Gayle to be available for them after he recovers from a hamstring injury. Gayle is likely to play in the BPL after January 4, after which Chattogram will have three league phase matches remaining.

"Chris Gayle has a hamstring niggle," Chattogram's managing director KM Rifatuzzaman, said. "He will need a bit of time to be completely fit. He was always going to play in the BPL and even though we will not have him for the entire campaign, he will be available in the latter part."

Chattogram had picked Gayle at the BPL draft on November 17, but exactly a week later, at a press conference in South Africa, Gayle had claimed that he wasn't aware of it.

Three days later, with Chattogram unsure of Gayle's arrival, BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury confirmed that the board had followed the correct procedure and that Gayle had indeed signed on for the draft. And now that his team has confirmed his participation, Gayle is likely to turn up for Chattogram if he is fit in time.

Gayle has played in every season of the BPL, appearing for five teams including Rangpur Riders for whom he played in the last two seasons. He has scored the most hundreds in the tournament's history, including a devastating unbeaten 146 against Dhaka Dynamites in the 2017 final.

Although Gayle has made no further comments on his BPL commitments since his Mzansi Super League exit, his agent in the Indian sub-continent (except IPL), Rudradeep Banerjee, has confirmed that he has agreed to travel to Bangladesh in January. Banerjee, who represents Second Innings Sports and Entertainment, said Gayle was aware of joining Chattogram in the BPL draft, but subsequent events had cast doubts over whether he would play in the tournament.

"In the MSL he picked up a niggle for which his doctor has advised him rest of at least two weeks," Banerjee told ESPNcricinfo.

Gayle, according to Banerjee, had also made it clear to the franchise that he would be "taking a break" during the Christmas-New Year period to spend time with his family. "That kind of puts him out for December. He would be free for maybe a game or two, but then to fly in to Dhaka and back to West Indies doesn't make sense."

Banerjee said "an arrangement" has been reached with Chattogram for Gayle to "come and play [BPL]" from January 4. "If he would have been fit he would have played the first leg, would have gone home on December 23 and come back again on January 4."

Phil Mickelson will bypass a staple of his annual schedule to play the Saudi International tournament on the European Tour.

The event is Jan. 30-Feb. 3, the same week as the PGA Tour's Waste Management Phoenix Open, which Mickelson has won three times.

The European Tour last year came under heavy criticism for adding the Saudi International to its schedule. The tournament is supported by the government of Saudi Arabia and will be played for the second time.

"I am really looking forward to playing in Saudi Arabia in January," Mickelson said in a statement. "I watched Dustin [Johnson] win the title last year and thought the course looked like an interesting challenge. Having so many talented players on show also made it look like a much more established tournament than one in its inaugural year. I have enjoyed my previous visits to the Middle East and am looking forward to playing in a new country and doing my bit to grow the game in the Kingdom."

In addition to defending champion Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia and Tony Finau also have committed to play the event, as have Henrik Stenson and Open champion Shane Lowry.

All of those players would be expected to receive appearance fees for playing the tournament.

Mickelson, 49, recently dropped out of the top 50 in the world for the first time since 1993 and is now ranked 58th.

NEW YORK -- Tara VanDerveer and Stanford are No. 1 for the first time in seven years.

The Cardinal moved up two spots after a weekend that saw previous No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Baylor both lose on Saturday. It was only the third time since the Top 25 became a writers' poll before the 1994-95 season that the top two teams lost on the same day.

Stanford received 23 of 30 first-place votes from the national media panel on Monday. The team was last No. 1 for six weeks in 2012.

"We've had a real good start," VanDerveer said after beating No. 10 Mississippi State to win a tournament in Canada over the weekend. "I think, maybe, it would be a positive thing in terms of motivating our team to continue to work hard and get better. You hope that it wouldn't have people be complacent."

The Hall of Fame coach knows there is already "a pretty big target on [Stanford's] back'' because of its ranking and storied history.

"I don't know that it would change much, honestly," she said. "I just go with the flow. Whatever people vote, I just go with it. I'm just trying to focus on our team -- and not the periphery stuff."

Louisville jumped up six spots to No. 2 after knocking off Oregon, which fell to third. The Cardinals got five first-place votes. UConn, which was the only top-10 team that didn't play over the holiday weekend, received the other two first-place votes and remained No. 4.

Oregon State moved up to No. 5. South Carolina and Baylor were Nos. 6 and 7. The Gamecocks beat the then-No. 2 Lady Bears in the Paradise Jam tournament.

Florida State, Maryland and Mississippi State rounded out the first 10 teams in the poll.

Missouri State entered the Top 25 for the first time since 2004, coming in at No. 22. The Lady Bears had a two-week run in the poll 15 years ago.

"It's a great accomplishment being a mid-major and getting recognized in the AP poll,'' first-year Missouri State coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. "We had a goal of doing that, get ranked and gain more respect. We've got to stay there and not get complacent or satisfied.''

Michigan and LSU were also ranked, at Nos. 24 and 25. South Florida, Syracuse and West Virginia all fell out of the poll.

VanDerveer will have a few weeks to enjoy the top spot; the Cardinal are on a break for exams until facing Ohio State on Dec. 15.

MOVING ON UP

With its win over South Carolina in the Paradise Jam tournament, Indiana climbed three spots to No. 14. The Hoosiers did suffer their first loss of the year, falling to Baylor in a tight game in the same tournament. Before this season, Indiana's best ranking was 22nd in 2014.

END OF A RUN

Syracuse had been ranked for 31 consecutive weeks before falling out on Monday. That's the longest run in school history. The Orange's three losses have come against Oregon, Stanford and Green Bay.