Naoya Inoue's ambitious plans for 2020 under his new co-promotional deal with Top Rank may have to be tempered.

While "The Monster" unified bantamweight world titles and won the eight-man World Boxing Super Series tournament by unanimous decision against Nonito Donaire on Thursday at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, the victory in the action-packed contender for fight of the year came with damage.

Inoue and co-promoter Hideyuki Ohashi disclosed at a media gathering on Saturday in Tokyo that besides the very obvious terrible gash over Inoue's right eye suffered in the second round -- which required five stitches to close -- he also suffered a fractured orbital bone and a fractured nose, which bled from the third round on.

Inoue said he would not require surgery to repair either fracture and that he will be re-examined by his doctor in a month to asses his progress.

"Then I will decide my training schedule thereafter," Inoue said in translated remarks, adding that his plans for a spring fight in the United States would have to be delayed.

Before the fight with Donaire, Inoue and Ohashi signed a multi-year co-promotional deal with Top Rank contingent on beating Donaire that would bring Inoue to the United States to fight on ESPN platforms. The deal was announced immediately following Thursday's bout.

The plan was for Inoue to fight three times in 2020 with the first two bouts to take place in the United States, where he has fought only once previously in 2017, followed by a third fight at home in Japan later in the year.

But with the injuries it remains to be seen when his first fight of the new deal will take place.

The fight with Donaire was a fierce one. Despite having the most difficult fight of his career, three-division world titlist Inoue persevered through the injuries to knock four-division titlist Donaire down with a body shot in the 11th round and won by scores of 117-109, 116-111 and 114-113 before a sold-out crowd of more than 20,000.

Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs), 26, who is 14-0 in world title fights and ranked No. 4 in the ESPN pound-for-pound rankings, has won world titles at junior flyweight, junior bantamweight and bantamweight. Before the grueling final against Donaire, Inoue had torn through the World Boxing Super Series, destroying former world titlist Juan Carlos Payano with a highlight-reel first-round knockout in the quarterfinals and crushing Emmanuel Rodriguez in two rounds in the semifinals.

The Indianapolis Colts have ruled quarterback Jacoby Brissett out for Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins.

Brissett suffered a sprained MCL during last Sunday's 26-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he had been a limited participant in practice all week.

Brian Hoyer will make his first start since the 2017 season with the San Francisco 49ers, and the Colts called up Chad Kelly from the practice squad to serve as the backup.

The Colts also will be without wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, who suffered a calf injury in practice on Oct. 30.

New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball will miss Saturday's game against the Charlotte Hornets with a right adductor strain, the team announced.

Ball said he originally suffered the injury against Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 2. He felt the pain then but played through it against Brooklyn on Monday.

He left the game against the Nets in the third quarter with cramps in both calves.

The Pelicans listed Ball as probable for Friday night's game against Toronto but when he checked out in the third quarter, trainers wrapped his right leg and he didn't check back in.

So far this season, Ball is averaging 11.5 points, 6.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds in 29.0 minutes per game.

With Ball missing, the Pelicans transferred point guard Josh Gray back from the Erie Bayhawks. Gray is one of the Pelicans' two-way players.

World number one Ashleigh Barty hailed her "perfect match" in beating Caroline Garcia 6-0 6-0 to draw Australia level in the Fed Cup final against France.

France had taken the lead when Kristina Mladenovic swept aside Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1 6-1 in Perth.

But Barty thrashed world number 45 Garcia in 56 minutes to even up the scores after Saturday's rubbers.

"I couldn't have asked for a more perfect match," said Barty, who won the WTA Finals event last week.

"I think that's probably the best tennis match I've ever played in my life. And what a place to do it! This is incredible.

"I'm so happy to be back here in Perth. I started my year here, so it's a hell of a way to finish it off too."

Barty will face French number one and world number 40 Mladenovic in Sunday's opening rubber before Garcia is scheduled to face world number 51 Tomljanovic.

The fifth and final rubber - if needed - will be a doubles match in which Barty is set to team up with Samantha Stosur.

SWEDESBORO, N.J. – Last year on the final night of the Big Track Classic, JJ Grasso was leading when he suffered a flat left-rear tire on a restart and lost the win to Robbie Stillwaggon.

This year, however, the tables turned and Grasso found himself in victory lane during night one of the Midge Miller Memorial Big Track Classic on Friday at Bridgeport Speedway.

Twenty-two cars signed in to battle the brutally cold temperatures and compete in the final race weekend of the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club season.

There was much to be determined going into the weekend, including the crowning of the Midge Miller Memorial winner and the season champion, in addition to saying goodbye to the five-eighths-mile track at Bridgeport.

Steve Buckwalter and two-time Big Track Classic winner Stillwaggon shared the front row and led the field to the green for the first night of action. Stillwaggon jumped to an early lead while his brother, Ryan Stillwaggon, followed suit into second from fourth on the grid.

Battles began to ensue all over the race track, but clean air gave Robbie Stillwaggon the advantage as he began pulling away from the field and into lapped traffic.

At that point, Buckwalter was running third, Curt Michael was fourth, and Grasso found himself fifth. Lapped traffic caused havoc on the field and the first victim was Ryan Stillwaggon, who was running second and tagged the inside jersey barrier attempting to put lapped cars behind him. The contact eventually ended his night early.

Grasso worked his way through lapped traffic – using one to his advantage to get by Michael and into fourth and eventually working his way by Buckwalter and into the second spot.

On the final night of 2018, Grasso looked as though he was untouchable when tragedy struck and a left-rear flat on the final restart cost him the race.

This year, Robbie Stillwaggon looked as though he had the race wrapped up, when once again tragedy struck the leader and he hit a lapped car and backed into the outside wall in turn two.

Though Stillwaggon was able to keep going, his lead quickly vanished and Grasso – after having lap car issues of his own – took the point with Buckwalter behind him.

Grasso then cruised the last four laps to take home the win for night one of the finale weekend as Buckwalter, Tyler Ross, Michael and Chad Layton rounded out the top 5.

“Lapped cars helped us and hurt us tonight,” Grasso said after his win, “I heard someone say Robbie got into a lap car which helped us, but I did the same thing a lap earlier and hurt my car and my thumb and body.

“This win felt like it has been a long time coming,” he added. “This is the first win since a former crew member, sponsor, and friend, Todd Elwell, passed away so I dedicate this one to him.”

The KSE Hard Charger for the night went to Ross who started 10th and ended up on the podium in third. Heat race wins went to Layton, Josh Weller and Buckwalter.

The finish:

1. 25-J.J. Grasso, [3]; 2. 7X-Steve Buckwalter, [1]; 3. 5-Tyler Ross, [10]; 4. 5G-Curt Michael, [6]; 5. 35-Chad Layton, [7]; 6. 63-Josh Weller, [5]; 7. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, [11]; 8. 72-Ryan Smith, [14]; 9. 47-Adam Carberry, [12]; 10. 39-Ryan Watt, [15]; 11. 22-Troy Betts, [9]; 12. 11A-Austin Bishop, [18]; 13. 71-Chris Allen Jr., [17]; 14. 7-Ed Aikin, [8]; 15. 5Z-Jeff Geiges, [13]; 16. 67C-Jason Cherry, [21]; 17. 89-Robbie Stillwaggon, [2]; 18. 11-Ryan Stillwaggon, [4]; 19. 83-Larry McVay, [16]; 20. 5Q-Ryan Quackenbush, [20]; 21. 706-Mark Sasso, [19]; 22. 34-Mark Van Vorst, (DNS).

CONCORD, N.C. — In the jubilation of Friday night’s victory lane celebration for Jason Johnson Racing at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, team owner Bobbi Johnson stood back and realized something.

She didn’t want the feeling to end.

In the wake of David Gravel’s victory in Friday night’s Can-Am World Finals opener, Johnson confirmed that, at the very least, the journey for JJR won’t end — at least not for a little while — telling Sprint Car & Midget late Friday night that she will keep Jason Johnson Racing open for business in 2020.

Johnson originally committed to run the organization in the wake of her husband Jason Johnson’s tragic passing for only the 2019 season, but after a year that included 11 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victories and a Knoxville Nationals title she knew she couldn’t walk away.

“I don’t know if a dream even is the reality of the year we’ve had,” Johnson said. “It’s been a phenomenal season all the way around, from the big wins to a ton of highs, you know, and a few lows … but not anything we couldn’t overcome and work through. I mean, you couldn’t ask for a better driver this season. David has been phenomenal for us and we’ve so enjoyed how he’s fit in with this group and what he’s done for all of us, for Jaxx (Johnson, son) and just how he’s made this team what it is now.

“I was sitting in my hotel room this morning just thinking about the whole season and stuff and I know originally I said (we’d be) one year and done, but we’re going to continue here at JJR.”

Johnson noted that she had three boxes on her to-do list after hiring Gravel, but once she started looking deeper, there were other goals from members of her team that she wanted to help make possible if she could.

“My whole focus at the start of the year was that I told our crew I was going to give it 100 percent, give it my all and do everything I could possibly do to put a name on the car for the Nationals. I did that,” she explained. “I wanted to promote the race, Jason’s race (the Jason Johnson Classic) at Lake Ozark Speedway. I did that. And then I wanted to finish off the year down here strong, and David went out and we won one here at Charlotte tonight. So I feel like I checked off my three majors on my goal list this year. And then when I sat back and looked at it, it was just like, ‘man, I can’t quit.’

“Even though there might be a low next year, and we might not win a race, we have to go back and try again,” she continued. “Philip Dietz, Jason’s crew chief and cousin who stuck by us through highs, lows, everything … he wants to win a championship and I’m not going to deprive him of that (opportunity).”

Bobbi Johnson admitted that, while she knows she’s going to continue with the team next season, there are still unknowns as to exactly what the JJR squadron will look like for the coming years.

Current JJR driver Gravel has been the subject of speculation since his win at the Knoxville Nationals in August, with rumors swirling that he may go pavement racing with the support of four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, who brought longtime sponsor Axalta to JJR for the Knoxville Nationals.

Johnson said she’s still working on getting her team’s deals shored up for the new season, but that Dietz would return to crew chief the No. 41 next season and that in some capacity, fans of JJR will still be able to see the car contending for sprint car victories in the months to come.

“We’re not planning on going away and we hope we can do this (winning) again a good bit next year,” she said with a smile.

INDIANAPOLIS — The big picture. That’s what counts and that’s what we should be looking at.

Too often in racing, however, we get caught up in the small picture and worry only about the scene closely surrounding us.

Mario Andretti recently served as the ceremonial pace car driver for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Prior to the race, Andretti was asked his thoughts regarding a doubleheader with NASCAR and the NTT IndyCar Series at the ROVAL and he was very much in favor of pairing two major series on one weekend.

Earlier in the weekend, IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden ran some exhibition laps on the ROVAL.

“Our sport has loyal fans for different disciplines, but there is also a lot of crossover,” Andretti told SPEED SPORT. “If a doubleheader with IndyCar puts six more butts in the seats, then that is six more seats that you’ve gained. The crossover would be healthy for everyone.

“I would encourage it, of course. Probably IndyCar would benefit more than stock cars because the audience is much greater for NASCAR. But at the same time, you’ve got to look at the big picture — motorsports. Create the interest and the fans are the most important part.”

Exactly right.

Every racing series pursues growth and prosperity and, naturally, they tend to focus on their own agenda. That’s fine, but sometimes we forget that the health and well-being of all of motorsports is more important than any individual series.

Although most of us would say we hate politics, we tend to think politically. I don’t mean politics as in Democrat or Republican; I mean politics in terms of the type of racing or a specific series we favor.

For example, many fans of Indy car racing are loathe to support anything that would benefit NASCAR. And many NASCAR fans would hate the idea of doing something that would benefit Indy car racing.

But in terms of the big picture, it’s smarter to help each other grow because in the long run it is likely that growth benefits the entire sport.

Nowhere is this truer than trying to cultivate crossover fans. If a person is a staunch NASCAR fan and they discover IndyCar and like what they see, they might go to a race or begin following the series through the media. Ditto an IndyCar fan who begins to also follow a favorite driver in NASCAR.

The concept of a doubleheader at the Charlotte ROVAL is a positive step in that direction.

Loving one type of racing doesn’t mean you have to hate everything else. This is true from the highest levels of the sport down to the smallest short-track levels. Variety is the spice of life, you know.

Obviously, you can’t force people to change their tastes. A doubleheader with IndyCar racing on Saturday and NASCAR on Sunday would have many different faces on each successive day. But if — as Andretti astutely points out — you get even a couple of new fans out of the deal, that’s a win. And the current would flow both ways, I suspect.

What is interesting is that in recent years there seems to be more and more crossover occurring at the short-track level. It’s common to see a David Gravel or Brad Sweet shirt at a dirt late model race, and a Scott Bloomquist or Jimmy Owens shirt at a sprint car event. This didn’t used to be the case, but it’s common today.

Events such as the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte have been very successful at every level and they have introduced a lot of people to something different. There is no way that is a bad thing.

Speaking from experience, it’s a blessing to grow up with a lot of racing variety. Sprint cars on both pavement and dirt, and stock cars on both pavement and dirt, that was our world in the beginning. To a certain extent, it’s still our world.

That’s the big picture. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Big picture

It's all up for grabs now! As if we haven't found it hard enough to separate England and New Zealand on the field in recent months, so it has fittingly come to pass that the first five-match T20I series between senior Test nations is coming down to a winners-takes-all tie-breaker as well.

England 2, New Zealand 2. And only the decider at Auckland to come. You can't say you haven't been entertained by these two teams of late.

Okay, so it's not the World Cup final. But there's a special jeopardy attached to games such as these - with a series on the line and that extra pressure to perform - that will doubtless encourage the matchwinners on either side to tap into their A-games. With the World T20 only a year away, performances in contests such as these may be precisely what both captains are looking for as they finalise their 15s and separate the contenders from the also-rans.

And England, all of a sudden, are the team that is seemingly on a roll. Momentum is a fickle and over-rated thing at the best of times, particularly in the shortest format, but the bug-squashing dominance that England's batsmen exerted on Napier's short boundaries on Friday was a sight to behold.

In Dawid Malan, they were presented with a statement performance - a century of stunning power and no little frustration, as a man who has been flitting around the fringes of the white-ball squad for three years seized his chance to shine in the absence of the big three, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler.

Remarkably, his innings of 103 not out from 51 balls may not yet be enough to guarantee a starting berth in England's full-strength line-up. But in taking his T20I record to five fifties and a hundred in nine innings, he is making the sort of unanswerable case that Jonny Bairstow compiled in the 50-over squad prior to the World Cup. And that, more than anything, is what England were looking on this trip.

Can they now close it out and seal the silverware that remains the aim of every touring side, regardless of developmental priorities? New Zealand never really regrouped after their beasting in the field on Friday, but just as Malan and James Vince had hinted at their form in the earlier matches, so too do the Kiwis have a raft of players who've got their eye in in the course of the first four matches. Martin Guptill is getting there, Colin de Grandhomme can never be discounted, Tim Southee's savage range-hitting also hit the spot.

But on the bowling front, England will have been every bit as encouraged by the progress they have made on this trip. Chris Jordan's know-how with new ball and old has been a stand-out feature of every game he has played, and while Matt Parkinson's legspin endured a few lusty blows over the leg-side, Eoin Morgan is sure to have been encouraged by his wicket-taking gumption - five in six overs in his career to date.

Auckland's awkward dimensions promise another batsman's game - in particular the short fine-leg/long-off boundary that turns any error in line and length into a freebie. And if it's anything like the tri-series bunfight against Australia 18 months ago - 243 v 245 - we are in for a treat. And for England fans with nothing better to do this weekend, it's almost worth getting up in the middle of the night to pay attention...

Form guide

England WLLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)

New Zealand LWWLL

In the spotlight

It's been a promising first tour from Tom Banton but Malan's exploits in Napier have raised the bar for those who hope to crack into the full-strength team in time for next year's World Cup. He is one day shy of his 21st birthday, so to say that time is on his side is an understatement - and a return of 49 runs from 31 balls in two innings is significantly better than par - but as he showed in seizing the Royal London final for Somerset last summer, there's more to come from this one. No time like the present to show it.

Where's he really at then? Martin Guptill endured a hellish World Cup, not remotely helped by his cruel role in the decisive moment in the Super Over, but in the course of this series, he's been swinging back into the zone. The runs haven't come in a torrent, but the tap looks ready to be turned back on again - as his 27 from 14 balls in Napier hinted. His levers can make a mockery of Auckland's dimensions, given half a chance.

Team news

It was a chastening day at Napier for New Zealand's bowlers, not least Daryl Mitchell, whose solitary over was dispatched for 25 runs, and the temptation to mix things up will be extreme. But with Lockie Ferguson's wicket-taking menace now concentrating on red-ball cricket with a view to a possible Test debut, New Zealand may opt for a return to Scott Kuggeleijn's extra pace, or the crafty all-round seam option of Jimmy Neesham.

New Zealand (possible): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Tim Seifert (wk), 4 Colin de Grandhomme, 5 Ross Taylor, 6 Jimmy Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Tim Southee (capt), 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Blair Tickner /Scott Kuggeleijn

After his second TFC of the series, Lewis Gregory might be sweating on his role as England's designated finisher, although England may be loath to change a winning side, especially if the circumstances offer a chance to truly test his mettle if an opportunity arises. James Vince probably deserves one more chance to show what he's got after a couple of classy cameos, but the allure of silverware may limit the tinkering. Malan certainly hoped he had given Morgan a "headache", having only expected to play in the first four games.

England (possible): 1 Jonny Bairstow, 2 Tom Banton, 3 Dawid Malan/James Vince, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Sam Billings (wk), 6 Lewis Gregory, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Tom Curran, 9 Chris Jordan, 10 Matt Parkinson, 11 Pat Brown

Pitch and conditions

Known locally as the "postage stamp", Auckland offers another drop-in wicket of indeterminate quality, and little respite for error.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand have won just one of their last seven T20I matches at Auckland, against Sri Lanka in January.

• England have won each of their two previous T20Is at the ground too, by 32 runs in 2008, and by 40 runs in 2013, when Eoin Morgan and Jonny Bairstow made 84 runs from 48 balls between them.

• Tim Southee requires one wicket to become the eighth man to claim 75 T20I wickets.

• Colin Munro requires five runs to draw level with Kane Williamson's run-tally of 1,505 for New Zealand in T20Is. Munro has played two more games (59 to 57), though Williamson has batted once more often.

Quotes

"I don't think you can let there be any scarring. You don't completely sweep it under the carpet and you've got to learn from these experiences, but also you dust yourself off and there's a series to be won in Auckland." New Zealand's captain, Tim Southee is looking ahead rather than back

"That's probably why I chanced my arm; I thought if this is the last one I'd better make it count. Thankfully it came off, a few mis-hits went for six and a couple of them just landed in gaps so it worked out really well."
Dawid Malan vowed to go down swinging after fearing Napier was his last outing of the tour