Leigh Halfpenny should be fit for Wales against the Barbarians on 30 November, says Scarlets head coach Brad Mooar.

Full-back Halfpenny, 30, missed the World Cup bronze match against New Zealand after suffering concussion in the semi-final loss to South Africa.

The British and Irish Lion missed five months of last season with concussion, but Mooar says he has recovered.

"I have met with Leigh - he looks good, is bouncy and ready to come back in due course," said Mooar.

"There is no problem. He is taking that wee break to freshen up and get some time with the family. Then he will get into the Barbarians game hopefully and then into the Scarlets."

Halfpenny failed a head injury assessment after the game against the Springboks, which automatically ruled him out of the All Blacks game.

Mooar says the tight tournament schedule in Japan contributed to Halfpenny missing the game against New Zealand.

"If they did not have a five-day turnaround then he would have made it back in that third and fourth game," said the Scarlets coach.

Halfpenny's fitness will be good news for Wales and the Scarlets, with centre Jonathan Davies (knee) and fly-half Rhys Patchell (shoulder) ruled out for six and four months respectively.

Quality will be missed

Mooar is still coming to terms with the loss of two key players from his back division.

"It is a blow," he said. "They are quality men and quality players who have put a big shift in the Welsh programme in the last five months and were excited about coming back.

"These things happen and the [Scarlets] squad is in a position to carry on and do a job as well."

Davies suffered his knee injury in the third World Cup pool game against Fiji and missed the quarter-final victory against France.

However, the Lion returned with the knee heavily bandaged for the matches against South Africa and New Zealand.

Mooar believes Davies was right to play in those two matches.

"When you are in a World Cup and you do everything you can to play then good on him," said Mooar.

"He was doing the right things at the time with all the right information at hand.

"Then as it turns out now what the scans shows is that an operation is needed and that is going to put himself in a better position going forward and fix things up."

Mooar said former England fly-half Ryan Lamb will continue to act as cover for Dan Jones at 10 until at least the end of the year.

Scarlets have no Wales World Cup squad members back for the opening Challenge Cup game against London Irish on Saturday, but could have hooker Ryan Elias and flanker Aaron Shingler available for the trip to Toulon on 22 November.

Hadleigh Parkes, Gareth Davies and Jake Ball, and possibly James Davies, should return for Scarlets in December.

Tonga lock Sam Lousi has also just arrived in Wales after playing in the World Cup in Japan.

SALEM, Ind. – Chase Burda, the inaugural Victory Custom Trailers CRA Junior Late Model Series champion, will move up to compete with the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour presented by Chevrolet Performance in 2020.

The 14-year-old Michigan native had a very impressive season with the Victory Custom Trailers CRA Junior Late Model Series, getting six feature wins in the series’ eight events, including a stretch of four in a row.

Burda had five heat race wins out of the seven events that featured heat races, and was also the MPM Marketing Fast Qualifier at seven of the eight events.

Burda won the season championship event at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway on Sept. 28 to claim the series’ inaugural title.

“It was an awesome feeling,” remarked Burda. “I was really nervous that day, even though I had a lot of confidence coming into the event. I was fast qualifier, then played it safe in the heat race to make sure nothing happened. I started second in the feature, once I got the lead, I wasn’t nervous anymore, just focused on hitting my marks and not making any mistakes. When Katie (Hettinger) spun towards the end, I knew that would bunch the field back together for a restart, but I was able to take the lead back and when I saw the white flag, I knew I only had a lap to keep my composure.

“I was shaking when I got to the checkered flag,” Burda added. “My sister Courtney was there when I climbed out of the car and hugged me. I was so happy! My dad and I had a goal this year to win the CRA Junior Late Model Series championship and we did it!”

Burda also competed in an IMCA dirt modified during the season, his second year racing on dirt. Burda was named Rookie of the Year in the Dirt Works Eastern Region and became the youngest IMCA modified driver to earn the award since its inception in 1993.

“As his parents, we are over the moon proud of Chase,” noted Rob Burda, Chase Burda’s father and car owner. “He sets his goals and goes all in to achieve them. We cannot wait to see what his future holds. He is an incredible driver on both pavement and dirt.”

“I have to thank all my sponsors that helped us reach our goals this year, including Rob’s Service, Finish Line Auto Sales, Express Auto Graphics, Super Flight Oil, Energy Release and U.S.103,” added Chase Burda. “I want to thank Chris and Jessie Hettinger for the Jim Hettinger Memorial Race at Toledo. Jim was a big fan of my racing from the beginning, and he did a lot to help to help me in my racing career.

“I would also like to thank Victory Custom Trailers for sponsoring the series, CRA for starting the series and VanDoorn Racing Development, because without any of them, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to win the inaugural CRA Junior Late Model championship.”

Burda will be racing in a VanDoorn Racing Development Chassis with the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour in 2020, competing for the series championship and rookie-of-the-year honors.

The team will also have new Chase Burda Motorsports colors in 2020 that will be revealed soon.

“I’m real excited about the upcoming 2020 season and moving up to race with the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour,” remarked Chase Burda. “There will be many new challenges in 2020. I haven’t raced very many 100-lap features and there will be a lot of competition in each race, but I am confident we will be up for those challenges!”

CONCORD, N.C. — Brad Sweet holds the top spot in the National Sprint Car Rankings for the 10th straight week.

Sweet, who wrapped up the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series title during the Can-Am World Finals, has an average finish of 3.429 in 78 starts.

Donny Schatz is second with a 3.517 average finish in 75 starts.

After winning both features during the Can-Am World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, David Gravel ranks third with a 3.590 average finish in 76 races.

Danny Dietrich and Aaron Reutzel complete the top five.

Dietrich leads the Eastern region on the strength of 14 victories, while other regional leaders are Buddy Kofoid (Great Lakes), Billy Balog (Great Plains), Dominic Scelzi (West), Jacob Patton (Mid-America), Donny Schatz (Northwestern) and Carl Bowser (Ohio-PA).

One hundred and 30 drivers have combined to win 383 features run through Nov. 10, with 715 drivers participating.

To view the full national and regional breakdowns, click to advance below.

COSTA MESA, Calif. – MotoAmerica and FOX Sports are pleased to announce that FOX Sports 2 will continue to carry MotoAmerica Superbike racing for the 2020 season.

One-hour shows will air live on both Saturday and Sunday from each of the 10 rounds.

Additionally, the Liqui Moly Junior Cup Series will also be shown on FS2 in 2020 with 30-minute shows for each race set to be aired on a delayed basis the week after each event.

Both the MotoAmerica Superbike and Junior Cup shows will be re-aired for a second showing via the FS2 Rewind shows.

With 20 live Superbike races, 10 re-airs of Superbike Rewind, 18 Junior Cup shows and 18 Junior Cup Rewinds, the number of MotoAmerica shows on FS2 will total 66 episodes over the course of the season.

“We’re happy to announce that we will be back with FOX Sports for the 2020 MotoAmerica Superbike Series,” said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. “Shortening the program to one hour instead of 90 minutes has allowed FS2 to slot us in for live airings instead of same-day coverage shows. Adding the Liqui Moly Junior Cup races to the FS2 programming is also great news as it not only brings a lot more exposure to our riders and teams in the Junior Cup class, but it also gives our fans more MotoAmerica racing on FOX Sports.”

“Motorcycle road racers are some of the bravest athletes on the planet,” added Frank Wilson, FOX Sports VP of Production. “MotoAmerica on FOX Sports will showcase the speed and daring of the competitors in the United States’ premier motorcycle road racing series.”

PELETIER, N.C. – A wet weather forecast for the upcoming weekend has forced the Carolina Mini-Stock Challenge and Bobby Watson’s Carteret County Speedway to postpone the 4-Cylinder Nationals.

Drivers from as far north as New Hampshire had pre-registered to compete in the race.

With a 70 percent chance of rain in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday, on top of already saturated grounds, Carolina Mini-Stock Challenge president Travis Provost and Carteret County Speedway owner Bob Lowery both agreed to cancel the race.

A make-up date will be announced by the Carolina Mini-Stock Challenge later.

Tiger Woods has been known to have a salty mouth on the golf course but he’s usually PG while doing interviews.

In a recent interview with an Australian radio show, however, Woods casually dropped the F-bomb.

Woods, who will captain – and play for – the U.S. Presidents Cup team at Royal Melbourne, joined “Triple M’s Hot Breakfast” on Tuesday to discuss everything from the upcoming matches to his eventual retirement.

In regards to the latter, Woods said, “For me, it’ll be simple. I love spearfishing. I love being in the water, I love hunting. I like going on hunting trips, fishing trips and diving trips so to me, just being out in nature is the f***ing ultimate best.”

As you can see in the video, the radio hosts loved the unfiltered moment.

Former Open champions Jordan Spieth and Henrik Stenson have been added to the field for next month's Hero World Challenge, rounding out the roster for the 18-man event in the Bahamas.

Spieth won the event in 2014 when it was played at Isleworth, and he missed it last year for the first time since 2013. After starting the year ranked 17th in the world, Spieth is down to No. 43 in the latest rankings and has not won since lifting the claret jug at Royal Birkdale in 2017.

Stenson was a runner-up in the Bahamas in both 2015 and 2017, and he has dipped from 26th to 40th in the world rankings over the course of this year. The Swede's last worldwide victory came at the 2017 Wyndham Championship. He will be one of only three non-Americans in the field, joined by Justin Rose and defending champ Jon Rahm.

The additions were announced by tournament host Tiger Woods, who will headline the field at Albany Golf Club Dec. 4-7, with the tournament ending on Saturday to facilitate travel to the Presidents Cup the following week:

The first 16 spots in the Hero field were determined by world rankings, with two spots reserved for tournament invites. Other participants include Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele, Gary Woodland, Patrick Reed, Patrick Cantlay, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar, Tony Finau, Bubba Watson and Kevin Kisner.

Inter Miami's first Major League Soccer home game will be against five-time MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy on March 14.

The game, which will see Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham come face-to-face with his former side, kicks off at 2.30 p.m. ET at its new 19,000 seat Fort Lauderdale Stadium.

"Football is not a sport, it's a lifestyle. What we are bringing to South Florida on March 14 is a club that unites fans and visitors from all over the world together for the love of the game," Jurgen Mainka, the chief business officer for Inter Miami, said.

"This is a historic day that our community has waited for, and we look forward to experiencing it together."

Inter Miami is one of two expansion teams joining MLS for the 2020 season alongside Nashville SC, which begins in February.

The full MLS schedule for the 2020 campaign will be announced at a later date.

The international break is upon us again with plenty of European Championship qualifiers live on various ESPN channels as well as ESPN+ in the U.S. Here are some of the biggest things to watch for.

England aim to move past Sterling-Gomez row

It has not been the best of starts to this international break for England and Gareth Southgate. The row between Manchester City's Raheem Sterling and Liverpool's Joe Gomez has overshadowed their preparations to face Montenegro (2:45 p.m. ET, Thursday, ESPN+) and Kosovo (noon ET, Sunday, ESPN+). Sterling will miss at least the first of those games. Whichever way you see the matter, it has been a bold move from Southgate to act this strongly when his side are not quite home and dry.

Admittedly they should be after Montenegro visit Wembley, even without their star forward, and a point would be enough to secure their place in the finals. It would take one of the worst results in their history, against a side that is yet to win in these qualifiers, to set them off course.

That would make Sunday's match in Kosovo a chance to experiment, and perhaps, if Southgate deems it appropriate, to reintegrate Sterling. The full story is yet to come out but, for the next couple of days at least, England hope safe passage to Euro 2020 can be what makes the headlines.

Northern Ireland to trip up Group B leaders

Age-old rivals Netherlands and Germany are tied on points at the top of Group B, and both look in good shape to secure their tickets to Euro 2020 in the coming days. But even if they do, they are unlikely to have it easy. They must take it in turns to face Northern Ireland, who are three points behind them in third, and both know by now that Michael O'Neill's team give nobody a free ride.

The Dutch visit Windsor Park on Saturday (2:45 p.m. ET, Saturday, ESPN3) and will hope that the hosts have been distracted by O'Neill's recent employment at Championship side Stoke City. He will job-share for the time being and has a chance to sign off in superb style. A draw would keep Northern Ireland theoretically in contention but essentially they need to win -- and can take heart from the fact that, in Rotterdam last month, they led at the 80-minute mark before eventually going down 3-1. Netherlands do have the insurance of a final home game against Estonia, but falling short in Belfast would lead to some dizzying permutations for all three sides.

Pukki ready for a party?

Finland have never qualified for a European Championship before, but that is about to change. A home win against Liechtenstein in Helsinki on Friday (2:45 p.m. ET, Thursday, ESPN+) would do the job and, even allowing for customary late jitters, it looks unthinkable that Markku Kanerva's exceptionally well-drilled side will let this slip now.

They are relatively short on stars, with one notable exception: Teemu Pukki, the Norwich striker, is a national hero and has scored seven of their 12 goals in the qualifying competition. Norwich, whom Pukki fired to the Premier League last season, are doing their bit to help the Finns celebrate by hosting a "Pukki Party" in a Helsinki theatre for those who want to cheer their side over the line. Odds are that the prolific centre-forward will give them at least one moment to celebrate in style.

Kosovo will be aiming high

Whether you can call Kosovo "minnows" anymore, given their form over the past two years and the wealth of attacking talent at their disposal, is debatable. But they are still relative unknowns on the international scene and it says so much that, just three-and-a-half years after joining UEFA and FIFA, they could qualify automatically for Euro 2020 by the end of Sunday.

Bernard Challandes' side need a couple of big results: they must beat Czech Republic in Prague on Thursday (2:45 p.m. ET, Thursday, ESPN+) to have the situation in their hands and, after that, there is the small matter of a home clash with England (noon ET, Sunday, ESPNN/ESPN3). But they have already defeated the Czechs and scared the English in this campaign, and even a draw against the former would give them a fighting chance going into the deciding round. The absence of their talismanic centre-forward, Vedat Muriqi, will be a blow but they have come so far that nobody would write them off just yet.

Ronaldo and Portugal must make sure

Cristiano Ronaldo might have been unhappy about his substitution by Maurizio Sarri during Juventus' match against Milan on Sunday, but that would pale into comparison with the rage he would feel if Portugal messed up their Euro 2020 campaign now. They still have work to do, sitting a point ahead of third-place Serbia with two games left, but given that they face Lithuania at home (2:45 p.m. ET, Thursday, ESPN+) and Luxembourg away (9 a.m. ET, Sunday, ESPNN/ESPN3) anything less than a six-point haul would be disastrous.

Joao Felix's absence with an ankle injury is a blow, but excuses will be thin on the ground for the European champions if anything goes wrong. They are unable to win Group B after losing to Andriy Shevchenko's impressive Ukraine side last time out, but the sense is that their 4-2 away win in Serbia two months ago will prove to have been the group's decisive result. If that is indeed the case, Ronaldo should be smiling again.

Iceland seek another miracle in Turkey

The Iceland fairytale will be over, for now at least, if they fail to beat Turkey in Istanbul on Thursday (noon ET, Thursday, ESPN2/ESPN3). They are four points behind Senol Gunes' Group H leaders and, even if they win, will probably still fall short given the Turks and second-placed France face Andorra and Albania respectively in their final games. But they have caused a ruction in this fixture before, stunningly winning 3-0 in October 2017 to tee up their qualification for Russia 2018 the following week. A lot has changed since then but Iceland couldn't ... could they?