BEREA, Ohio -- Myles Garrett will not play again this season, and maybe longer.

The NFL announced Friday that the Cleveland Browns defensive end has been suspended for the rest of this season, including the playoffs should the Browns make it, and will have to meet with the commissioner's office before being reinstated in 2020.

Garrett ripped the helmet off Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and clubbed him in the head with it in the final seconds of Thursday night's game.

Garrett's suspension, which is at least six games, is the longest in NFL history for a single on-field incident.

In a statement, the NFL said that Garrett "violated unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct rules, as well as fighting, removing the helmet of an opponent and using the helmet as a weapon."

The NFL also suspended Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi one game for pushing Rudolph in the back to the ground shortly after Garrett had slugged the Steelers quarterback in the head with the helmet. Pittsburgh center Maurkice Pouncey, who jumped into Garrett, kicking and punching him after Rudolph had been struck, was suspended three games.

All three players -- who were ejected from Thursday's game -- are suspended without pay and will be fined. In addition, the NFL has fined the Browns and Steelers organizations $250,000 each for the incident.

All three can appeal the suspensions within three business days. The NFL left the door open for "additional discipline" of other players, including those that left the bench and ran onto the field.

"What I did was foolish, and I shouldn't allow myself to slip like that," Garrett said afterward. "That's out of character, but a situation like that where it's an emotional game, and I allowed myself to fall into those emotions with what happened."

Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam issued a statement shortly after the NFL's ruling.

"We are extremely disappointed in what transpired last evening at the end of our game," the statement said. "There is no place for that in football and that is not reflective of the core values we strive for as an organization. We sincerely apologize to Mason Rudolph and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Myles Garrett has been a good teammate and member of our organization and community for the last three years but his actions last night were completely unacceptable. We understand the consequences from the league for his actions."

Garrett had already been fined more than $50,000 this season, for punching Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker and for a pair of late hits on New York Jets quarterback Trevor Siemian, the second of which knocked Siemian out for the season with an ankle injury.

Before Garrett, the longest ban in NFL history came in 2006, when then-Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth was suspended five games for ripping the helmet off of Dallas Cowboys center Andre Gurode and kicking and stomping on his face.

Thursday's melee started when Rudolph dumped a pass to running back Trey Edmunds late in the fourth quarter then was dragged to the ground by Garrett.

Rudolph appeared to try to dislodge Garrett's helmet when the defensive end was on top of him after a late hit. Rudolph also kicked him in the groin area from the ground. Once they stood up, Garrett ripped off Rudolph's helmet and took a swing with it, connecting on the top of Rudolph's helmetless head.

Rudolph has not been suspended or fined in the incident, but the NFL's announcement left the door open for additional punishments for players who left the bench and entered the fight area under the league's standard accountability process.

Once off the ground with his helmet in Garrett's hands, Rudolph advanced toward Garrett because he felt he had "a bone to pick with him after what he did." That's when Garrett swung the helmet at Rudolph.

"I know it's bush league and a total coward move on his part," Rudolph said. "I get it, it's ok though. I'm not going to back down from any bully out there."

Multiple Steelers and Browns players left the bench during the fight and ran to the end zone.

The Browns and Steelers again play each other on Dec. 1 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

After the game, Pouncey wasn't worried about his own punishment from the fight. He told reporters he went into "protection mode" after watching Garrett strike his quarterback with his helmet.

"At that point, it's bigger than football," Pouncey said. "It's protection. ... He could have killed him. What if he'd hit in him the temple?"

Despite the hit, Rudolph said he was "fine" and "good to go" after the game.

Pouncey, along with Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward, called for Garrett's suspension after the game.

"Hands down," Heyward said. "And I told those other players on the other side, 'You all better handle that.' I don't care who is out there. We play this game, we all work for it -- but for someone to use a helmet as a weapon, is uncalled for."

Thursday night, Cleveland coach Freddie Kitchens called Garrett's actions "embarrassing."

Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin had "no comment" on the incident, only to say, "you guys saw what happened."

Several Cleveland players, including quarterback Baker Mayfield, condemned the incident.

"Obviously, stuff like that is dangerous," Mayfield said. "So it was tough to see that, knowing Mason. It was tough to watch."

After the game, a Steelers fan started a GoFundMe to pay for Pouncey's fine.

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Avery Bradley has a hairline fracture in his right leg, the team announced Friday.

He will be reevaluated in one to two weeks, according to the Lakers.

Bradley injured his leg during a collision with Dejounte Murray of the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 3. After missing one game -- the Lakers' comeback victory in Chicago -- he returned to the lineup and played in L.A.'s last four games.

Bradley's hairline fracture is on the fibular head of his right leg, which is a non-weight-bearing bone, according to the team. The injury was discovered after a MRI on Thursday night.

Initial X-rays on the leg came back negative, but since the injury continued to bother Bradley, the team followed up with a MRI.

Bradley signed a two-year, $9.7 million deal with L.A. in the offseason. In 10 games with the Lakers, all of them starts, he is averaging 9.6 points on 48.8% shooting, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals.

Many of Britain’s best-known track and field athletes take BOA to court over controversial ‘Rule 40’

Mo Farah, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Laura Muir and Adam Gemili are among group of athletes who have rallied together to take legal action against the British Olympic Association over sponsorship rules.

The athletes are angry with the restrictive nature of the BOA’s ‘Rule 40’ guidelines around marketing at next summer’s Olympics in Tokyo. These regulations are designed to protect Olympic and BOA partners but they forbid athletes to promote their own sponsors during the ‘Games period’ – from mid-July to mid-August next year.

The International Olympic Committee’s controversial Rule 40 limits an athlete’s ability to work with their own sponsors during the Olympics. Earlier this year the IOC softened its stance and the United States is among a number of national Olympic committees to relax its rules, but the BOA has only made minor changes to its policy.

For example British athletes will now be able to send one generic ‘thank you’ message for each personal sponsor during the Games, provided it doesn’t contain any Olympic branding.

Today I put my name to a letter submitted to @TeamGB asking for fairer rights for athletes around the @Olympics. I urge all British Olympic athletes to go to this link and support our position https://t.co/FFvhqs0ikM #Rule40GB #OneTeamGB pic.twitter.com/2bNPvBkz1h

— Adam Gemili (@Adam_Gemili) November 15, 2019

Gemili, who sits on the BOA’s athletes’ commission, told the BBC “We thought there would be more change and there wasn’t. That’s why we’re now taking legal action because it’s not enough and there won’t be any more changes from the conversations we’ve had, it will just be brushed under the carpet.

“It’s not good enough leading into the biggest event of all these athletes’ careers. We’re sticking with it and we’re publicly coming out and saying what needs to change, and the BOA has to listen to that.”

He added: “The BOA generates a huge amount of money. We are not asking to be paid to go to the Olympics, we aren’t even asking for prize money, which many other countries provide. We are just asking for a bit of flexibility to go out and create our own sponsorship opportunities around the biggest moment in our careers.”

Brandsmiths, the legal firm supporting the athletes, added: “The average BOA wage dwarfs the amount given to athletes by a factor of at least 3 to 1. When an athlete wins a medal, the BOA benefits but the athlete does not. The BOA generates tens of millions of pounds from sponsorship but does not pay its members and essentially stops them from earning a living elsewhere.”

"I'm not one to dwell on things," says Henry Slade deep in the bowels of Exeter's Sandy Park stadium.

It is less than two weeks since he was preparing for a World Cup final against South Africa, having been part of an England squad that had demolished New Zealand and Australia in the previous knockout rounds.

Eight days after that shattering defeat in Yokohama's International Stadium, Slade played for Exeter against Bristol last Sunday - his first start for the club since they lost to Saracens in the Premiership final in June.

Slade's attitude is even more impressive when you consider the rollercoaster of emotions he went through in the build-up and during the tournament in Japan.

A knee injury meant the 26-year-old missed all of England's warm-up matches and he aggravated the injury on his comeback in the opening pool game against Tonga.

A man many thought would be first choice ended up with more of a bit-part role, with George Ford and Owen Farrell operating so well at 10 and 12.

An impressive showing in the quarter-final win over Australia - his only start of the tournament, featuring a memorable break and kick ahead to set up Jonny May's try - suggested a return to frontline status.

But Ford was brought back for the semi-final and final, with Slade forced to settle for replacement appearances early in the second half of both games.

"It may or may not have been different for me, but things happen and you've just got to get on with it," he reflected.

England's progression under Eddie Jones

Slade has not been able to bring himself to watch the final and clearly still finds it difficult to talk about.

"They played very well, they were very physical and they nailed it pretty much," he says of South Africa. "And we obviously didn't.

"After the game in the changing rooms we were very disappointed initially, but then you've got to take a step back and think about where we came from four years ago."

Slade has a point. He was part of Stuart Lancaster's squad which failed to get out of the group stage in 2015.

It seemed as though Slade, then a young up-and-coming star at Exeter, would miss out as Lancaster seemed set to pick rugby league convert Sam Burgess ahead of him.

In the end he took both, but opted for Burgess, leaving Slade in the stands aside from a try-scoring start against Uruguay in England's dead rubber final group game in Manchester.

"When Eddie Jones took over we were around eighth in the world and just been knocked out of the home World Cup, it was pretty dark times," said Slade.

"The way the team's evolved over the past three or four years has been massive, we can take a lot of pride in that.

"Everyone was disappointed and upset about losing the final, as you would be, but I think if we're to take a step back and think about the bigger picture of things, that was a positive period for English rugby."

'I can't have any arguments'

And what about being dropped for the semi-final against the All Blacks?

"I didn't know it was coming," Slade said. "It was disappointing, but you've got to respect the coach's decision and go with it and it obviously worked.

"The way he explained it to me was that New Zealand win a lot of their games in the last 20 minutes, so he wanted the last 20 or 30 minutes for us to be strong and he hoped that I could help with that.

"I got a decent amount of game time, just under a half, so I was pretty pleased with that. I can't have any arguments."

While Slade and his Exeter team-mates Jack Nowell and Luke Cowan-Dickie did not come back from Japan victorious, Slade's boss at club level - Chiefs' director of rugby Rob Baxter - says they will still be treated as winners.

Baxter said: "Everyone will want autographs and everyone will want pictures and the fact that they didn't get what they wanted out of the World Cup will not matter one iota to the people here.

"They love them for what they do for the club and love them for what they've seen them do for their country and they will be really appreciative that they're here and playing for the club."

So can Slade help England go one better and lift the Webb Ellis Cup in Paris in 2023?

"I'm not thinking about the next World Cup yet; there's so much more rugby to be played this year and the following years," he said.

"Rugby's a sport where, if you worry too much about the future, you miss what's right in front of you.

"All I'm worried about now is getting back here and getting stuck in with the boys as we have a lot to play for this season. We've got so much to play for in the Premiership and in Europe and when the international periods come around we think about them as well.

"To win a World Cup would be unbelievable, but it is so far in the future that I'm not worrying about that yet at all."

BROWNSBURG, Ind. – IndyCar Series and sports car veteran Ryan Briscoe will join Renger van der Zande as a full-time co-driver of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next year.

The duo’s first order of business will be defending the team’s victory in January’s season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, doing so with the additions of Kamui Kobayashi, the former Formula One and current FIA World Endurance Championship regular who was part of this year’s victorious Rolex 24 effort, as well as five-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon.

Briscoe, 38, joins the team after a four-year run with the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing GT Le Mans-class program. With full-time co-driver Richard Westbrook and the addition of Dixon at the endurance events, his No. 67 Ford GT scored eight class wins, 18 podium finishes and eight pole positions in 44 races, including a class victory in the 2018 Rolex 24.

Briscoe was also part of CGR’s 24 Hours of Le Mans effort the past four seasons, with a best class finish of third in 2016.

In 11 seasons on the IndyCar circuit, including three with Ganassi and five with Team Penske, Briscoe scored seven victories and 27 podium finishes and qualified on the pole 12 times, including the pole at the 2012 Indianapolis 500.

His best IndyCar points finish was third in 2009 with Team Penske.

“I’m really excited to be joining WTR,” said Briscoe, who’s driven with the No. 10 team five times previously, including Rolex 24 efforts in 2006, 2011 and 2012. “I’ve always had so much respect for the organization. They’ve been so successful and are one of the most committed teams in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship. It’s an honor to join them as one of their full-time drivers.

“The Cadillac DPi is a fantastic machine and I can’t wait to drive it.”

Van der Zande, 33, co-drove with Jordan Taylor to a pair of victories and seven podium finishes the past two seasons, and also earned the 2017 Rolex 24 pole position in his first race with the team.

Taylor left after a seven-year run with the team that netted 19 victories and the 2013 and 2017 driver championships to join the factory Corvette Racing effort in the WeatherTech Championship’s GT Le Mans class.

“I am obviously very happy to be continuing with the team,” van der Zande said. “I think we’ve built up a good relationship over the past two seasons and it’ll be the third year in a row I’ll be driving for the same team, which is fantastic in terms of continuity. This team is all about continuity and repetition, doing things better and better every time you do them. That’s why there are so many people with this team who have been there for 10-plus years, some over 15 years. That’s also what makes this team good, makes it great.

“Obviously we’re working on having great success in 2020. I’m happy to continue, happy to move forward, and this definitely feels like my American home.”

Kobayashi, 33, returns to the team for the 2020 Rolex 24 after co-driving with Taylor, van der Zande and Formula One veteran Fernando Alonso to victory this past January, the team’s second win in the endurance marathon in three seasons.

He co-drove the No. 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing LMP1-class entry to second in the most recent World Endurance Championship standings and is back with that team full-time this season. Kobayashi was highly instrumental in WTR’s most-recent Rolex 24 victory, keeping the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R in the lead for 72 of his 87 laps behind the wheel.

It was his first career Rolex 24 outing.

“First of all, I want thank to Wayne Taylor Racing and Konica Minolta for giving me a chance to race at Rolex 24 hours for two years in a row,” Kobayashi said. “I had a great experience in winning with WTR and the Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi last year at Daytona, so I am really looking forward to go back there to try to win the race again. I know it is not easy to repeat the success the team had there last year but, with my 2019 teammate Renger and with very strong new teammates, I think we should be able to challenge for another win.

“Ryan and Scott are not only talented, but they also have had great success in other U.S. racing series, so I am really looking forward to working with them.”

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HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Stewart-Haas Racing has confirmed reports that the team will promote Cole Custer from its NASCAR Xfinity Series team to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020.

Custer will take over driving duties of the team’s No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang in place of Daniel Suarez, who announced Thursday he was leaving the team.

Custer has a chance to add the Xfinity Series championship to his resume, as the 21-year-old driver from Ladera Ranch, Calif., is set to compete for the series title on Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway as part of the Championship 4 with fellow Xfinity Series drivers Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Justin Allgaier.

“I was asked last year about this time what Cole needed to do to earn his place in the NASCAR Cup Series, and I said he needed to win,” said Gene Haas, co-owner of SHR with three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart. “Well, Cole has done that – a lot. He showed that he’s ready to compete at the next level and we’re giving him that opportunity.”

Custer finished second in last year’s Xfinity Series championship to Reddick, and 2019 has proven to be a breakout campaign for Custer. He came into the season with two wins – one in 2017 and another in 2018. This year he has claimed seven victories, six poles, 16 top-fives, 23 top-10s and led 907 laps. Custer’s seven wins are the second-most this year, behind only Bell with eight wins. Custer’s six poles ties him with Bell for the most poles this season.

Custer, Bell and Reddick will resume their rivalry in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020, with each earning a promotion from their respective teams to NASCAR’s premier series.

“Cole has certainly earned his spot in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020,” Stewart added. “He’s consistently running up front, leading laps and winning races. The level of competition increases dramatically in the NASCAR Cup Series, but it’s where Cole belongs after having proven himself in the Xfinity Series.”

Custer has steadily advanced through NASCAR’s stepping-stone divisions, finding success in the NASCAR K&N Series, followed by the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series and the Xfinity Series.

“This is the moment I’ve worked for ever since I first started racing,” said Custer, who began racing quarter midgets at age five. “I’ve learned a lot in these last three years in the Xfinity Series, and to be able to stay within Stewart-Haas Racing will make a steep learning curve a little less steep. I know the people, the culture and what’s expected of me. I’m ready for this challenge.”

The Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team has added Esteban Gutiérrez as the team’s reserve and development driver.

Gutiérrez had his first outing at the wheel of the Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01 during testing in Majorca in early August.

Over the course of the season, he will assist the team’s two full-time drivers, Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries, and reserve and development driver, Gary Paffett, to further develop the new car.

“I’m very much looking forward to continuing my journey with the Mercedes family by joining Formula E as a Reserve and Development Driver,” said Gutiérrez. “I would like to thank the team for giving me the chance to join them as they embark on this new and exciting chapter.”

Formula E is not completely new to Gutiérrez. Apart from testing with the team in Majorca, he raced in three E-Prix events during the 2016/17 season – in Mexico City, Monaco and Paris. He also contested 59 Formula One Grands Prix for Sauber and Haas from 2013 through to 2016.

Gutiérrez isn’t a stranger to the Mercedes-Benz Motorsport family, having provided support to Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport on their simulator program in 2018. Since 2019, he has worked as a simulator and development driver for the team, which recently won the World Championship double for the sixth consecutive time.

“We will face a lot of challenges in our first season in Formula E, so I’m really pleased we’ve been able to acquire the services of Esteban, another experienced driver,” said Team Principal, Ian James. “He did an excellent job during testing in Majorca, fitting in perfectly with the team. He has a lot of experience to offer from racing in a number of different series – Formula One, Formula E and Indycar – and has also gained a lot of know-how in the simulator about how to develop and setup a car. We are certain that he will be of enormous help with the tasks we face in our debut season in his joint role as Reserve and Development Driver with Gary.”

MIAMI — For NASCAR’s busiest driver, Ross Chastain, Friday night’s Ford EcoBoost 200 is the proverbial cherry on top of a season that has been nothing short of astounding.

Chastain will have a shot at his first NASCAR championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway when he vies for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series crown in the No. 45 Chevrolet Silverado.

Driving for Niece Motorsports, Chastain has earned three wins, nine top-five and 18 top-10 finishes in 22 Truck Series events.

However, his year is made that much more impressive when one considers he changed points declarations from the Xfinity Series to the Truck Series mid-year and still made the Truck Series playoffs.

To have added to that with a Championship 4 berth is just a bonus, Chastain told SPEED SPORT during Media Day festivities Thursday at the Miami Beach Edition Hotel.

“Certainly, I don’t know that I expected to get all the way here,” he admitted. “The most immediate thing, which was probably a little bit shortsighted on my part, was the Triple Truck Challenge races ahead of us at that point. We made that decision nine days from the first one at Texas, and really … when the Xfinity side started going the wrong direction, we had this opportunity. It was three more races than what we thought we’d run and we felt we could win some money for the team. We were short on our budget then and figured it was going to help.

“So I went and talked to Cody (Efaw), our general manager and then Al (Niece, owner) and said, ‘Do you want to make a push at this? Maybe it will work out, but at least we get more races together,’” Chastain recalled. “They were both 100 percent onboard. We set out to make the playoffs and obviously we know what happened with Iowa (with a disqualification), but I think that made us stronger, even though I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.

“But the only thing we talked about (at the time) was making the playoffs. We knew that alone would be a big deal. (To be here with a title shot) is just awesome.”

The Alva, Fla., native was quick to note that for Niece — who broke into Truck Series ownership for the first time in 2017 — having a shot at the championship with his “little team that could” is monumental.

“It’s awesome for Al,” Chastain said of being able to chase a title in Miami. “People don’t even realize … we ran ninth last week and were back to 14th, I think, at one point and upwards of fourth at some point. But we got out, knew we made it to Homestead and Phil (Gould, crew chief) and our guys and girls all kind of shook hands and we were just ready to put it behind us and focus forward to right here.

“Well, then Al comes up with a big smile, hugs us all, thanks us all so much for getting us to Homestead, and that kind of brought it back into us, you know? That feeling of, ‘Hey, why stop now? Why don’t we go down there and do something?’ And that got us smiling again and high‑fiving,” he continued. “It really brought it all into perspective and that’s what it’s all about.

“This is a team that most people think maybe shouldn’t be here, but we’re here and we’re ready.”

Friday night’s Truck Series event will be the 76th NASCAR national series race of the year for Chastain, who has competed regularly in all three series — Cup, Xfinity and Trucks — throughout the year.

But there’s just something special about returning to Homestead, which has always been a unique venue in his home state and one that is close to Chastain’s heart as a Sunshine State native.

“Every year of my career, Homestead is what set up my next year. It secured funding for me,” Chastain noted. “The Florida Watermelon Ass’n, different watermelon farmers, different people in the industry … whatever it was, I always used this as the spark for the next year. It was all effort. I’ve taken a lot of sponsorship dollars and put them all on Homestead in Trucks and the Xfinity car in the past, to go out and perform. We did in both. That’s what ultimately got me the ride at JD Motorsports in the No. 4 car.

“I flew to Fort Myers yesterday, slept in my bed at home, got up this morning and drove the camper over so I could do all the things I normally do. Normally I drive to Fort Myers on Monday,” he added. “… I wanted to do the same thing I always do. I wanted to drive across State Road 80, down 27 and do the same thing. It was good. It was a nice three-and-a-half hour drive to clear my head.

“Now it’s business as usual.”

As he looks back on the last 14 months, Chastain sees the whirlwind that took place from the time he lost his full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series opportunity with Chip Ganassi Racing, but he also sees the realization of a goal that he had in place even at that point.

“Honestly, if you back up to November, the goal was to get to Homestead and win a championship,” Chastain reminded the media. “I just had the title down wrong for the series, I guess.”

Toronto Maple Leafs center Alexander Kerfoot is out indefinitely after undergoing facial surgery to repair dental fractures, the team announced Friday.

Kerfoot initially suffered the injury Nov. 5 against the Los Angeles Kings but played in the Maple Leafs' next four games.

He reported discomfort this week, and testing confirmed that surgery was required, the team said.

Kerfoot, 25, has five goals and three assists in 20 games for the Maple Leafs this season. He signed a four-year, $14 million contract with Toronto during the offseason after the team acquired his rights in a July trade with the Colorado Avalanche.

Better to be lucky than good, right?

Thomas Detry has been good through two rounds at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, but had quite a lucky break Friday on the 17th at Gary Player Country Club when his tee shot sailed left and was headed for the water hazard, when, somehow, it hit a flag pole and bounced back into the rough.

When Detry stepped on the tee, he was sitting at 10 under. But he failed to make anything of the good break and finished with a double bogey. To make matters worse, Detry closed with a bogey at the last to card a second-round, 1-under 71 that certainly could have been much better.

Still, Detry finds himself just four back of leader Zander Lombard heading to the weekend in South Africa.