KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Multi-faceted racer and noted industry giant Randy Sweet, the founder of Sweet Manufacturing, died Friday morning at the age of 72.

Sweet was a legendary innovator in the sport, but just as well-known for a time as a driver in his own right, with four late model track championships at Michigan’s Berlin Raceway (1975, ‘94, ‘95, ’99) and 63 late model feature victories at the seven-sixteenths-mile oval.

He began racing in 1963 and moved into supermodifieds late in the decade, all while developing and building his own race cars. The dawn of the 1970s saw Sweet step into the seat for car owners Glenn Miniat and Harry Obie, setting a track record at Indiana’s Winchester Speedway in 1978.

It was that same year that Sweet began manufacturing and selling products that he had tested and proven on his own machines already, debuting the Sweet Manufacturing brand which still exists today and supplies parts to stock cars and sprint cars across the nation.

The mid-1980s saw Sweet begin touring in his legendary “rocket car,” a purpose-built late model created for the purpose of shattering track records across the nation.

Sweet turned his final laps in a sprint car at Kalamazoo (Mich.) Speedway on July 21, 2013, while his last racing laps of any kind came at Berlin three years ago.

A 1997 inductee into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame, Sweet was inducted into the Berlin Raceway Hall of Fame on Nov. 1, a well-deserved honor for one of the kings of the Marne facility.

“Randy was a great racer in his own right, but his innovations over the years with things in motorsports and especially short-racing and a lot of that stuff is still used today,” said Berlin Raceway track announcer Matt McKenzie on Friday. “A lot of that stuff was innovated in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. That’s why so many people have so much respect for him.

“It’s not just because of his ability as a race car driver, which he was one of the best. He set track records in the ‘80s with his modified late model car. His innovations and his unique personality made for a combination of epic proportions.

“He was one of the giants of short-track racing.”

In recent years, outside of his product work with Sweet Manufacturing, Sweet was also well-known as a major backer of Scott Bloomquist’s Team Zero Racing operation.

Bloomquist, who won his Drydene heat race with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series on Friday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, was emotional in discussing his longtime supporter and friend’s passing.

“We certainly wish he was still here with us, particularly on this weekend. He was like a father to me,” noted Bloomquist. “We’re going to miss him a lot, but this No. 0 feels really good and I think we’ll be in there tonight to try and win one for him, that’s for sure.”

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Seeking to secure a spot in the Championship 4, Austin Hill secured the pole for Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 during qualifying at Arizona’s ISM Raceway.

Hill took down his third-career NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series pole with a lap of 27.021 seconds (133.230 mph) around the one-mile D-shaped oval in the No. 16 AISIN Group Toyota Tundra.

The Winston, Ga., native is seeking his fourth victory of the season, a win that would move him into the championship race at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway next weekend with a shot at the title.

“I knew that our mock run was really good, but after seeing everyone slipping and sliding around out there, I just tried to hit my marks the best I could,” Hill said. “I didn’t think it was that good of a lap, honestly, because I came off turn two and it was chattering the front tires pretty bad. The guys did a heck of a job adjusting on it, though, and I think we really picked up a lot (of time) in turns three and four.

“That’s the best the truck has felt in turns three and four all day, and now we’re starting on the pole, so we just have to go and finish it off here to go on to Homestead.”

Fellow playoff contender Stewart Friesen will join Hill on the front row, with non-playoff drivers Sheldon Creed and Ben Rhodes sharing the second row of the starting grid.

Ty Majeski, making his Truck Series debut, completed the top five qualifiers.

Chandler Smith, Brandon Jones, Grant Enfinger, Todd Gilliland and Matt Crafton fill out the front five rows. Tyler Ankrum starts lowest among the six playoff contenders after qualifying 15th.

The Lucas Oil 150 takes the green flag at 8:30 p.m. ET, with live coverage on FOX Sports 1, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

STARTING LINEUP: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series; ISM Raceway; Nov. 8, 2019

1. Austin Hill
2. Stewart Friesen
3. Sheldon Creed
4. Ben Rhodes
5. Ty Majeski
6. Chandler Smith
7. Brandon Jones
8. Grant Enfinger
9. Todd Gilliland
10. Matt Crafton
11. Johnny Sauter
12. Brett Moffitt
13. Anthony Alfredo
14. Ross Chastain
15. Tyler Ankrum
16. Dylan Lupton
17. Carson Hocevar
18. Tyler Dippel
19. Gus Dean
20. Tanner Gray
21. Sam Mayer
22. John Hunter Nemechek
23. Derek Kraus
24. Jordan Anderson
25. Austin Wayne Self
26. Joe Nemechek
27. Danny Bohn
28. Colby Howard
29. Kyle Plott
30. Natalie Decker
31. Carson Ware
32. Harrison Burton

DNQ: Jesse Little, Jennifer Jo Cobb

CONCORD, N.C. – As an international audience enjoys the Can-Am World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, track and World of Outlaws officials have announced that reserved grandstand seats for the event are sold out for the 11th straight year.

For those still looking to attend the race, standing-room only tickets, as well as pit passes, are still available. Fans are encouraged to call 1-800-455-FANS to buy and then pick up at will call.

Pit passes are available for race fans 18 year of age and older.

The Can-Am World Finals brings together the top series in the sport – the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series and the Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modifieds – for a full weekend of racing which culminates in Saturday’s crowning of all three series champions.

Fans from all 50 U.S. states have joined attendees from as far away as Tanzania and New Zealand to make the World Finals a world-class showcase of speed, excitement and drama.

Club Brugge striker Mbaye Diagne has been fined and dropped after he missed a penalty that he was not supposed to take in the Belgian club's 1-0 Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

The striker got up off the turf after being fouled by Thiago Silva in the 74th minute at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday and took the kick himself, instead of designated penalty taker Hans Vanaken.

Yet his feeble effort was saved by PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas. It effectively cost his side a valuable point, leaving them with just two points from four matches in Group A.

The 28-year-old Senegal international has been fined and left out of the squad for Sunday's Belgian league encounter at Antwerp and coach Philippe Clement said he had yet to decide whether Diagne would play for the club in the future.

"It was a dumb mistake. A mistake that had consequences for the result and we are all very cross about it," Clement told a news conference on Friday.

"This sort of incident leads to emotions and there was a confrontation in the changing room after, but it was verbal and not physical. Diagne realised he made a mistake and did not argue back."

Clement said a strong punishment was needed and that Diagne's future at the club would depend on his reaction in the coming weeks. He is on loan from Galatasaray.

"We have had disciplinary incidents at this club in the past and players have been given a second chance. It is now up to Diagne to show that he accepts and understands the norms and values of our club," the coach said.

"He can still have a future with us although it depends on what he shows in the coming weeks."

Clement also told reporters that it was wrong to criticise Vanaken for not insisting on taking the kick.

"Some have suggested he didn't want to accept the responsibility but he told Diagne not to take the kick," Clement said. "But when he realised this was not going to happen, he did not want to get into an argument on the biggest stage in the world. I'm proud of the way Hans dealt with the situation."

SEATTLE -- MLS commissioner Don Garber said Friday that the league's next expansion announcement is very likely to come in "the next number of months" and that Charlotte, North Carolina, has moved to the front of the line in terms of candidates.

Speaking at the annual state of the league address ahead of Sunday's MLS Cup final between the host Seattle Sounders and Toronto FC (3 p.m. ET, watch live on ABC), Garber touched on a variety of topics, noting that five teams -- in Miami; Nashville, Tennessee; Austin, Texas; St. Louis; and Sacramento, California -- will come online over the course of the next several seasons.

But the news about further expansion revealed an acceleration in the timeline for team No. 30. As recently as last month's expansion announcement for Sacramento, Garber hinted that the league would take its time in announcing the 30th team. Now it appears that thinking has changed. Garber added that Las Vegas and Phoenix are also among the top contenders, although they are playing catch-up.

"It's fair to say that Charlotte has done a lot of work, to move their bid really to the front of line," Garber said. "It starts with David Tepper, the owner of the [Carolina] Panthers. He's a very passionate guy about sport, he's very passionate about Charlotte."

One stumbling block has been the Charlotte bid's plan to play at Bank of America Stadium, the home of the NFL's Panthers. The venue's capacity of 75,523 is much larger than what MLS usually prefers for an expansion team's home, but Garber indicated that Tepper has been pointing to the success of Atlanta United -- which plays its games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home to the NFL's Atlanta Falcons -- as an example of the potential upside.

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"[Tepper] is reminding us that the league didn't see what Atlanta would become," Garber said. "I would be the first to admit that. There are lots of things happening in Charlotte that are very similar to the things that are happening in Atlanta in terms of the diversity of their fan base and a lot of the corporate energy that's going on down there. We've been engaged with them and will continue to do so. ... I think the Carolinas are a good state for soccer. You know that from the women's soccer perspective and the youth soccer perspective. Should we be able to move forward, and end up with a team in Charlotte, I'm confident we'll be successful."

Las Vegas is in talks with the Baupost Group and its chief executive, Seth Klarman, over the building of a 25,000-seat stadium. That venue would be part of a proposed redevelopment of a 62-acre site that includes Cashman Field, the home of USL Championship side the Las Vegas Lights. Baupost would also purchase the Lights contingent on the company and Las Vegas entering into a master development agreement.

Phoenix has long been eyed by MLS as a potential expansion market, with USL Championship side Phoenix Rising -- with an ownership group that includes Didier Drogba, Advantage Sports Union CEO Alex Zheng and club governor Berke Bakay -- enjoying considerable success both on and off the field, with the team claiming the Western Conference regular-season title last season.

The United States District Court for the Central District of California granted a motion for class certification in the ongoing gender discrimination lawsuit between members of the U.S. women's national team and the United States Soccer Federation, handing the players an early procedural success.

Judge R. Gary Klausner ruled Friday that the plaintiffs can proceed with certification that names Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn as class representatives. The class includes players who appeared for the national team dating back to Feb. 4, 2015.

Certifying a class would allow the players to argue their case as a group and allow any players to opt in to the class. Those who don't opt in can still sue on their own.

"We've sort of learned in this whole process there are all these steps you have to go through and different things mean different things and sometimes you don't know the context or the gravity of things," Megan Rapinoe told ESPN.com. "But this is a really big one. For us, personally, to feel from someone very important to the case, the judge, the sense of validation in what we're saying and the case that we have.

"From a legal perspective, I think it's a huge step forward for us."

In making the ruling, which was on the procedural question and not specifically the merits of the lawsuit, the judge nonetheless rejected several arguments made in U.S. Soccer's motion to deny certification. Most notably, that the four proposed class representatives lacked standing because they earned more than men's national team players during the period in question.

The Court cited previous rulings involving both the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, under which the players brought the lawsuit, that discrimination involves rates of pay and not the total income earned. U.S. Soccer had argued in the motion to deny class certification that because the players earned more total income, they did not suffer legal injury.

"Further, courts interpreting the EPA and [to a lesser extent] Title VII have explicitly rejected this argument - for good reason," Friday's ruling stated.

The Court also rejected U.S. Soccer's assertion that the plaintiffs provided "insufficient proof" for the contention that unequal working conditions -- including inferior playing surfaces, lower ticket prices, fewer marketing resources and fewer charter flights -- constitute "concrete" legal injury.

According to the judge's written ruling, agreeing with U.S. Soccer's argument could yield an "absurd result," in which a woman could be paid half as much as a man as long as she negated the disparity by working twice as many hours.

"This is a historic step forward in the struggle to achieve equal pay," said Molly Levinson, spokesperson for the plaintiffs. "We are so pleased that the Court has recognized USSF's ongoing discrimination against women players -- rejecting USSF's tired arguments that women must work twice as hard and accept lesser working conditions to get paid the same as men. We are calling on Carlos Cordeiro to lead USSF and demand an end to the unlawful discrimination against women now."

U.S. Soccer was not immediately available for comment on the ruling. At an Oct. 28 press conference to introduce Vlatko Andonovski as the new coach of the women's national team, federation president Cordeiro was asked about the status of the lawsuit.

"I will just reiterate what I have said in the past," Cordeiro said. "Which is the federation has always been committed to paying our players, our senior national team players -- both our women and our men -- fairly, equitably, regardless of gender."

Mediation between the sides broke down in August. The suit remains in the discovery phase, and U.S. Soccer last week filed a motion for the disclosure from players of all soccer-related income that did not come from U.S. Soccer.

A trial is current scheduled to begin May 5, 2020.

CHICAGO -- A key contributor won't be in the lineup for the Chicago Bulls when they tip off against Houston on Saturday.

Swingman Otto Porter Jr. has been ruled out against the Rockets with a left foot sprain, with no timetable for his return.

"It's a soft-tissue injury, so it's something that's difficult to put a timetable on," Bulls coach Jim Boylen said during Friday's practice. "That's about as easy as I could say. We're not exactly sure.

"I don't want to give you a definite timetable because it could be sooner or longer than maybe we see," he added. "I know that's vague and I'm sorry for that, but that's the kind of injury it is."

Porter suffered the injury during Wednesday's victory at Atlanta after a hot start with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 12 minutes.

For the season, the Georgetown product is averaging 11.2 points on 41.7% shooting as the team's fourth-leading scorer. Chandler Hutchison is expected to start in Porter's place against the Rockets.

"Because of the soft tissue, these are things that maybe it settles down in 24 to 48 hours," Boylen said. "Maybe it doesn't. That's where the uncertainty comes in where it's difficult to put a timetable on. So yes, it did not settle down like maybe we had hoped other injuries have. We're not taking any chances with him, or anybody. We'll manage him accordingly and support him in the appropriate way."

Celtics guard Marcus Smart was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Friday for public criticism of officials, money Smart himself predicted he'd lose when he went after the referees following Boston's 108-87 road win over the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night.

"Really, just, I wish they would call the game the right way," Smart said after the game, in which he got frustrated over foul calls in the third quarter and a confrontation with the Hornets' Miles Bridges in the fourth. "A lot of calls that they called, I didn't understand where the fouls were. And it just seems like whenever I get the ball and I'm on offense, I can't get a call.

"Nobody else is going to protect yourself. You've got to protect yourself. So if that means I've got to lose a little bit of money, then I've got to lose a bit."

Smart was furious with the referees first for getting called for a foul at each end of the court in a span of 11 seconds -- his fourth and fifth of the game -- midway through the third quarter, prompting him to get into it with Celtics coach Brad Stevens on his way off the court after being substituted, and then again while he was sitting on the bench. A few minutes later, Smart went over and apologized to Stevens during the next television timeout, and Smart returned to the game at the start of the fourth quarter.

He then got into it with Bridges early in the fourth quarter, with Bridges throwing Smart to the ground and earning a technical for his trouble.

"With the Bridges push and stuff like that, I told [the referees], I said, 'If it was me, y'all would probably throw me out the game and everything,'" Smart said. "'So you clean it up, or I will. I allowed y'all, I gave y'all the time, y'all keep telling me, 'Let us handle it, let us handle it.' I'm coming to y'all first, but at some point as a player, as a man, you've got to protect yourself.'"

Smart and the Celtics have won six games in a row since losing to the Philadelphia 76ers on opening night, and they enter Friday tied with the Lakers for the NBA's best record. They will conclude a three-game road trip Saturday night in San Antonio.

Memphis freshman James Wiseman, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA draft, suited up for the Tigers on Friday night despite being ruled ineligible by the NCAA earlier in the day.

Memphis said in a statement Friday that Penny Hardaway, before he was Memphis' coach, provided $11,500 in moving expenses to aid the Wiseman family's move to Memphis, without the player's knowledge. The NCAA deemed that Hardaway, a Memphis alum, was a booster at the time, according to Wiseman's attorney, Leslie Ballin.

However, a Shelby County judge on Friday halted the NCAA's ruling for the time being, making Wiseman eligible to play Friday night when the No. 14 Tigers hosted Illinois-Chicago.

The NCAA issued a statement Friday night in response to Wiseman's appearance in the game, saying "The University of Memphis was notified that James Wiseman is likely ineligible. The university chose to play him and ultimately is responsible for ensuring its student-athletes are eligible to play."

Memphis said the NCAA had declared Wiseman eligible in May. But months of investigation followed, ultimately revealing the finding of documentation of the moving expenses.

"The University is currently working with the NCAA staff to restore his playing status, and we are hopeful for a speedy resolution to the matter," the school said in a statement.

Wiseman, who was the No. 1-ranked recruit in the 2019 class, moved to Memphis from Nashville in the summer of 2017. He would attend East High School and play for Team Penny/Bluff City Legends on the grassroots circuit -- both of which Hardaway coached.

When Memphis hired Hardaway to replace Tubby Smith in March 2018, Hardaway made Wiseman his top recruiting target in the 2019 class. Wiseman picked Memphis over Kentucky in November 2018.

"Particularly given the unique circumstances in this case, we are hopeful for a fair and equitable resolution on James' eligibility," Memphis president M. David Rudd said in a statement. "We support James' right to challenge the NCAA ruling on this matter. The University of Memphis has high standards of ethical conduct for all faculty, staff and students, and we take seriously any allegations or conduct that is not aligned with our mission. We will acknowledge and accept responsibility for proven violations of NCAA bylaws. The University of Memphis firmly supports James, Coach Hardaway and our men's basketball program in this matter."

Wiseman, a 7-foot-1 center, had 28 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks in Memphis' season-opening win over South Carolina State on Tuesday.

He was the centerpiece of Memphis' No. 1-ranked recruiting class, a group that also included fellow five-star prospects Precious Achiuwa and D.J. Jeffries, ESPN 100 guards Boogie Ellis and Lester Quinones, and in-state guard Damian Baugh. The Tigers started five freshmen in the season opener.

Memphis attracted significant betting interest during the offseason. At Caesars Sportsbook, the Tigers' odds to win the national title went from 40-1 in May to 8-1 entering the season. Only five teams -- Michigan State, Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and Louisville -- attracted more money on Caesars' title odds than the Tigers.

The news of Wiseman's ineligibility broke roughly 45 minutes before Friday's game against Illinois-Chicago, and when it was believed Wiseman was out, the line dipped from Memphis -20 to as low as -17. With Wiseman cleared to play Friday, the line settled back at Memphis -20.

ESPN's David Purdum contributed to this report.

Now that MLB players have filed for free agency and teams have elected to make a few qualifying offers -- or not -- some developments are starting to take shape as the offseason kicks into high gear. Teams are making plans, and from there, trades and transactions are sure to follow.

With baseball's front-office chieftains headed to Scottsdale for the general managers meetings next week in Scottsdale, Arizona, ESPN.com's Jeff Passan is starting to find that some teams are already getting active in their pursuit of deals with free agents and considering trades among themselves.

Here's what he's hearing:

First, one team is already in pursuit of free agent Josh Donaldson, with the Rangers making inquiries:

Coming off a season in which they missed the postseason entirely, the Cubs might be willing to make a move with their starting catcher, Willson Contreras:

Meanwhile, on Chicago's South Side, the White Sox and Jose Abreu both might try to work something out now that the team has made a qualifying offer:

... while Drew Pomeranz might have some upside for teams looking to invest in bullpen reinforcements:

Finally, the Yankees might strike as quickly as they did last year to keep a veteran player in the fold: